Crisp, entertaining, scholarly, scary.
Social philosopher Jacobs (Systems of Survivals, 1992, etc.) warns that the collapse of Western Civilization is in the cards, unless we start reshuffling our economic, cultural, and political decks with alacrity.
The author begins with some generous praise of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997), crediting him for the seed that sprouted into the flower of her thesis: Diamond explained why some cultures won and others lost, but he did not sufficiently explore the question of why some successful cultures collapse. (Diamond has been at work for some years on just such a book, as yet unpublished.) Jacobs argues that what she calls the “five pillars of our culture” are in jeopardy. These comprise families and communities, higher education, science and technology, taxes and governmental power, and, finally, the self-policing of learned professions. This seems a motley mix, but Jacobs can write, and so by the end her arguments and admonitions all appear persuasive and disquieting. She has the knack of looking with a fresh eye at a phenomenon we all think we understand (e.g., the collapse of the nuclear family, the decay of the modern city) and pointing out what few of us have noticed. She explains how the advent of the city bus as a replacement for the electric streetcar has fouled the air, clogged the streets, and sent maintenance costs (and thus transportation costs) soaring. Streetcars are much cheaper to buy and maintain—and they last three times longer, she says. She patiently explains economic concepts like “subsidarity” and “fiscal accountability” and shows how powerful central governments that collect large income taxes are sucking away from cities and other communities the resources they need to pay for transportation, health care, and education. But she also takes some powerful swipes at tax-cutting neocons: “The tax cuts’ chief benefit, as far as I can see, is the emotional satisfaction they bring to ideologues.” Jacobs advocates multi-use boulevards and chides us for cultural hubris.
Crisp, entertaining, scholarly, scary.Pub Date: May 11, 2004
ISBN: 1-4000-6232-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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