A fascinating, impassioned hybrid of memoir and divine supposition.
Former Guideposts editor Tompkins (The Divine Life of Animals: One Man's Quest to Discover Whether the Souls of Animals Live On, 2010, etc.) plumbs theories on mortality and the prospects of an afterlife.
From a childhood dominated by gloomy nightmares and spectral visions of death, the author grew up with conflicting notions of life and the mystery shrouding the dead. He was guided by his father who favored karma over science and religion and believed the human soul preexisted the physical body; he often referenced “great early architects of new age thought” like Russian mystic Helena Blavatsky, American clairvoyant Edgar Cayce, and Scientology’s L. Ron Hubbard. As a result, Tompkins’ own burgeoning mysticism took shape and developed into a pursuit that landed him a job writing articles for Guideposts, where he bonded with readers, embraced their otherworldly stories of life after death and transcended materialistic convictions. Following this short personal account, the author delves into a scholarly comparison of historical life-after-death belief systems. The discussion encompasses several books of the dead, including the ancient Egyptian belief in the immortality and divinity of the human soul and Tibetan theories of nonexistence. He also addresses a beguiling handful of related topics: residual postmortem consciousness, the concept of reincarnation, flying saucers, the American Transcendentalist philosophy of the regeneration (and perfection) of the self through consecutive lives and the largely overlooked studies of afterlife researchers. Perhaps most illuminating and convincing are the eerily beautiful true-life stories from those who believe they’ve experienced near-death events. Tompkins is a bright proponent, credibly arguing that personal life knowledge doesn’t halt with physical death, but instead continues into an otherworldly state of being that we’ve only begun to contemplate.
A fascinating, impassioned hybrid of memoir and divine supposition.Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4516-1652-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Dec. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
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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