These ponderings on the meaning of life find theoretical concepts and notional fancies so thick on the ground that readers may wish to approach the book armed with a machete. Personal meaning and orientation, argues freelance writer Heyneman, were thrown to the wind after the Copernican revolution, the Reformation, and the discovery of the New World. God was no longer in his heaven, time and space became infinite, and we lost our cosmological guideposts. Heyneman yearns for a simple and elegant order to help us reorient ourselves, to gain ``that all- embracing communal image of the whole of things and our place and function in it.'' In her search for a new cosmology, the author combs through hundreds of worldviews; explores three-dimensional surfaces buried in four-dimensional space; details the supposed balance of things prior to the Big Bang; and wades into the deep waters of the teachings of the mystic G.I. Gurdjieff. Heyneman's new cosmology take its cues from the very latest in matter/energy- time/space theories (which, she says, have returned boundaries, and hence the possibility of symmetry, to our lives), coupled with, and informed by, her appreciation of earlier cosmographies. A sample of Heyneman's requirements for self-realization includes: a sense of our centers of spiritual and physical gravity; regeneration of the memory palace via an architectural exploration; and a balanced, grounded life. Historical echoes abound throughout, as do some extremely powerful moments—including, for instance, the guided tour Heyneman gives through the mind-scape of her own memory palace, and the disturbing return to her family's summer home. A convincing vision quest that may, however, lose readers in its mazelike abundance of references and quotes. (Thirty-three line drawings—not seen)
Pub Date: June 10, 1993
ISBN: 0-87156-687-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1993
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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