Truly deft handling of the (mostly) daft.
Science writer Roach, having told all about cadavers in Stiff (2003), progresses to the logical next step: What happens after death?
Her journey begins in India, where she tracks down stories of children purported to be reincarnations of dead relatives. Lots to debunk here. Then on to all-but-unbelievable experiments to weigh, see or tape-record the soul, as well as tales of celebrated mediums, spirit guides and ectoplasm. Did you know there are mediums being tested in university labs today, and that you can attend medium school in England? While researching this, Roach learned a good bit about human psychology of the “if you wanna believe it it’s true” variety. She makes the point that, historically, investigators of the afterlife often capitalize on the latest scientific discoveries of new sources of energy so that they can be invoked to power a soul or, alternatively, explain away a phenomenon. Thus, the perception of ghosts might be due to some people’s sensitivity to very low frequency “infrasound.” One of her best ghost stories concerns a revised last will and testament whose discovery was attributed to a ghost telling his son where it could be found. The case went to trial and the ghost won. (There’s a neat follow-up.) For all Roach’s skeptical and often hilarious accounts, she is an eager volunteer and ready to accept evidence if evidence there be. Thus she reports that experiments are under way to study near-death experiences in which patients are briefly “killed” during surgery to implant defibrillators. If even one person reports seeing an image on a ceiling-mounted laptop in the O.R., whose screen faces the ceiling, she might be convinced. As it is, she admits to not “knowing,” but sort of believing in ghosts. Throughout, she is critical and witty—e.g., speaking of postmortem “recordings,” she says there is one of Chopin, “who has, we learn, resumed composing following a short stint of decomposing.”
Truly deft handling of the (mostly) daft.Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2005
ISBN: 0-393-05962-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2005
The ABC’s to living a fulfilling life.
A minister catalogues the qualities needed to live a spiritually rich life.
In this Christian self-help guide, Caldwell outlines 26 characteristics (one for each letter of the alphabet) individuals should strive to achieve in order to realize the full potential of their lives. He shows how the pursuit of each quality–adventurousness, enthusiasm, openness, zeal, etc.–not only leads to personal satisfaction but a life closer to God. Living life to its utmost and realizing one’s full individual potential, Caldwell argues, will bring readers in line with the full glory of God’s creation. Not, as others have insisted, the fearful adherence to rules and commandments. The author illustrates these qualities and how they are evident in daily life with fables, poetry, hypothetical scenarios and anecdotes from his own life. Those who consume Caldwell’s book in one sitting may find his list of worthy characteristics a tall order, particularly if the volume’s seemingly simple, Zen-like title is what initially appealed to them. Indeed, he states in his conclusion that these 26 traits are not an exhaustive list, but rather that the A-to-Z format simply offers starting and ending points. But there is much continuity among the 26 qualities he describes, which reinforce and complement one another. Readers, however, may find it more helpful to read and meditate upon one or two chapters at a time. Caldwell does a good job of showing how one might encounter or embody these qualities in everyday life, but some of his illustrative anecdotes are more compelling than others. Although the book’s structure is somewhat gimmicky (as many self-help books tend to be), Caldwell’s advice is deeply grounded in serious and sincere theological study, encompassing both ancient scripture and more contemporary religious analysis. For those wishing to pursue further spiritual inquiry, the author’s footnotes at the end of each chapter provide ample suggestions.
The ABC’s to living a fulfilling life.Pub Date: March 26, 2007
ISBN: 978-1425743093
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Lyrical tale of the survival and triumph of a small farm amid the suburban sprawl of southern California, with writing as rich and satisfying as the taste of a ripe melon. Fairview Gardens exists amid tract housing, malls, and endless miles of freeway. Ableman (founder of the Center for Urban Agriculture; From the Good Earth, not reviewed) tells of how the farm made peace with this suburban world and how this world came to first tolerate and then embrace this oasis of connection to the land. It hasn—t been easy. Homeowners do not rest quietly with manure spreaders hard at work near their backyards; Ableman resents, albeit with grace, the imprecations of the modern world onto the land he manages. Yet, over time, the farm has become accepted as an eccentric neighbor, at first as a convenient place to buy good, healthy food and then as a repository of the dying knowledge of what is to be learned from working the land. Ableman’s writing on these lessons—perseverance, patience, humility, a feeling of empowerment when one eats what one grows—forms the heart of this work. It is writing of inspiring joy, without the overblown “cosmic” rhetoric that often mars such paeans to nature. Along the way he offers some valuable tips to farmers, on mulching, watering, weeding, fighting city hall. Today Fairview Gardens is a public place, not a bucolic back-to-nature vacation spot for the few. It stands not apart from the community but within it, no small reason for its survival in the face of hungry developers. It remains a thriving farm, but also a place where people, especially children, come to experience the land. Among a sprawl of books incessantly issued and hyped, this small, wise volume quietly calls us to read and be renewed. (50 color photos)
Pub Date: July 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-8118-1921-3
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1998
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