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BUDDHA

Those who wish to acquaint themselves with how Buddhism came to be, and with the individual who created it, will find this...

An excellent primer on the Buddha’s life and teachings.

Departing from her usual Judeo-Christian stomping grounds (The Battle for God, 2000, etc.) to pen a biography of Siddhatha Gotama (circa 563-483 b.c.), Armstrong admits up front that she has set herself no easy task. The little information available about his life simply will not “satisfy the criteria of modern scientific history.” In addition, Gotama himself would likely reject an effort to chronicle his doings, as “throughout his life he fought against the cult of personality and endlessly deflected the attention of his disciples from himself.” In response to these difficulties, Armstrong has produced not so much a rendering of the few extant details of Gotama’s quotidian life, but an account of how his circumstances led him to develop one of the great religions. She makes vivid the vanished world of the turbulent Ganges basin from outlines provided by the earliest texts available, those written in the North Indian dialect of Pali and preserved by Buddhists in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand. Beginning with Gotama’s rejection of his family to join one of the many bands of mendicant monks in search of a higher truth, Armstrong creates a profile of an intensely practical man. When he cannot reach Nirvana using any other teacher’s practice, Gotama makes up his own, rejecting “abstruse theories about the creation of the universe or the existence of a Supreme Being” in favor of a series of practices to be strictly followed. The resultant religion was based entirely on actions and was open to all, something truly revolutionary in a land whose culture was based on an unshakable caste system. Armstrong details these practices and theories and also provides an invaluable glossary.

Those who wish to acquaint themselves with how Buddhism came to be, and with the individual who created it, will find this an essential text.

Pub Date: Feb. 19, 2001

ISBN: 0-670-89193-2

Page Count: 205

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000

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NIGHT

The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the...

Elie Wiesel spent his early years in a small Transylvanian town as one of four children. 

He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions. 

The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance.

Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2006

ISBN: 0374500010

Page Count: 120

Publisher: Hill & Wang

Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006

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ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

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

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