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A HANDBOOK FOR HUMANITY

Name: A HANDBOOK FOR HUMANITY
Author: Jeb Taylor
ISBN: 978-0-578-54644-5

by Jeb Taylor ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 28, 2019

An empathetic but awkwardly organized call for humanity to overcome an overly conservative mindset.

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A short but comprehensive plan for a sustainable future.

This latest book from Taylor (Embracing Reality, 2017, etc.) begins with an arresting big-picture view of the difficulty of addressing major societal problems: Humanity is, for the most part, technologically progressive and always striving to go from one mechanical advancement to the next, but it’s also often socially conservative and unwilling to embrace wholesale ideological change: “Nearly every problem that threatens civilization today,” Taylor writes, “from suicide bombings and wars—to pollution and overpopulation, can be traced directly or indirectly back to the disparity that exists between progressive technological development and conservative social behavior.” Taylor stresses that many of the world’s current difficulties, from violence to rampant environmental degradation, demand a change to the latter, or “comprehensive global interdependency and cooperation.” Over the course of this book, the author identifies organized religion as the foremost proponent of conservative social behavior. He concentrates his analysis on the three major Abrahamic religions and spends the bulk of his book providing a rational, and highly readable, logical deconstruction of such things as the Old Testament story of Noah’s flood. Taylor effectively relates his ideas with compassion; his goal doesn’t appear to be to antagonize the religious, but to convince them, and other readers, that progressive social behavior is necessary if humanity is to survive long-term. Only by embracing reason, he asserts, can humanity embrace commonality, which it must in order to face its many problems. On the whole, Taylor shows himself to be an engagingly passionate writer. However, the balance of his book feels a bit off; he does clearly address some major issues, such as overpopulation and unsustainable production of factory-farmed meat. However, because he devotes so much space to religious analysis, these and other discussions feel somewhat cursory, and thus unsatisfying.

An empathetic but awkwardly organized call for humanity to overcome an overly conservative mindset.

Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-578-54644-5

Page Count: 130

Publisher: Self

Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2019

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
EMBRACING REALITY
by Jeb Taylor

- BOOK REVIEW
SAVING CIVILIZATION
by Jeb Taylor

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.