There’s ample food for thought in this action star’s reflections.
The quiet side of a man of action.
In the preface to his book, Li writes that despite his worldwide success as a martial-arts master and action-movie star, he never allowed himself to enjoy his triumphs for too long: “My desires and fears ruled over my mind like the cruel tyrants I’d face off against in my martial arts films; they were my boss, and I was their employee.” Li was still a teenager when he became a star in China and Hong Kong with Shaolin Temple (1982); before the movie’s release, he suffered a gruesome leg injury that nearly derailed his career. He persisted, though, becoming a bankable star in Asia, and later, the U.S., after he made his Hollywood debut in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998). Li doesn’t spend much ink on his career in film, instead focusing on the spiritual insights he gained along the way. In the late 1990s, he became “passionate” about Buddhism, and he draws from it extensively in the book, with a particular emphasis on zi zai, which he describes as “not a concept—it’s the embodied experience of being perfectly at home in the universe, unburdened and utterly alive, yet beyond self, beyond life, and beyond death.” He writes movingly about surviving the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which nearly killed him and his family, and about his struggles with injuries, stomach illness, and hyperthyroidism. It’s a lot like reading a book by an all-star quarterback that focuses not on his Super Bowl victories, but on his various muscle strains, fumbles, and incomplete passes—and that’s what makes it such a fascinating read. “Life is a constant dance of mastery: balancing effort and surrender, wisdom and compassion, the child’s wonder and the sage’s perspective,” he writes, and he makes a startlingly effective argument in this self-effacing and enlightened book.
There’s ample food for thought in this action star’s reflections.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9780593855072
Page Count: 288
Publisher: TarcherPerigee
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
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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