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
Whatever happened to the discipline of ethics? At a time when moral questions tend to be argued with more heat than light, Kidder offers practical guidelines for a coherent and mindful approach to ethical dilemmas. In the early morning hours of April 26, 1986, two electrical engineers, working at the control panel of Reactor Number Four at Chernobyl, overrode six separate alarm systems to see how long the turbine would free-wheel when the power was removed. For Kidder (Shared Values for a Troubled World, not reviewed), the ensuing catastrophe is a parable of why ethics matters. Founder of the Institute for Global Ethics, he deals not so much with the problem of choosing between right and wrong as with the daily dilemmas of choosing between right and right. Should I always tell all the truth? Should I divulge professional information that may help others but will certainly ruin an individual's life? Kidder spotlights the contemporary concern for ethical standards in corporations while guiding us through the thought of Aristotle, Kant, Bentham, and others. He posits four models for dilemmas of right vs. right: the clashes between truth and loyalty, individual and community, short-term and long-term goods, justice and mercy. He goes on to propose three principles he believes will enable us to resolve moral dilemmas: consideration of the likely consequences of our decision, knowledge of the laws of conduct, and adherence to the Golden Rule that we should do as we would be done to. Finally, Kidder lays out a practical scheme for approaching problematic situations and looks at complex modern questions such as computer hacking and ways of combatting AIDS. He offers no answers, instead giving readers a program for energetic self-reflection. A brilliant and practical synthesis that squarely faces all the issues and can be grasped by the thoughtful nonspecialist.
Pub Date: Jan. 24, 1995
ISBN: 0-688-13442-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
Faith-based poetry that aims to inspire.
The word “triumph” can signify both the act of obtaining a victory and the victory itself and the 37 poems and four prose pieces that comprise this book each aim to tap into the duality of the title’s meaning, offering the reader snapshots of success—or the ways in which to obtain it. In clear, unadorned language and simple imagery, the poems reassure the reader that life’s struggles and difficulties will not last forever: the thorn-covered path will eventually clear, as it does in “False Premise”, and the darkness will end with a new light, as in “The Raven Banished”. These hope-laden poems encourage the reader to escape the chaos and violence of the modern world by seeking emotional and spiritual sustenance. For Bell, this nourishment and the calm that accompanies it can only come from faith in God: “My will and mine alone had caused my pain; / Apart from God, I sought for peace in vain”. As a result what transpires is a collection filled with poems depicting domestic refuge (“The Dream”), springtime renewal (“Spring At Last”, “Fragrance”) and recapitulations of the New Testament stories of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection (“It Is Finished”, “Different”, “Judas” and “Rejoice”). Less successful are the four short prose pieces that close the collection, primarily due to their heavy-handed retelling of the biblical tales of Joseph, Pilate and the prodigal son. While this collection offers very little that is new or daring in terms of language and form—limiting itself to a comfort zone of free verse, rhyming couplets and haiku—it does tap into universal questions about our existence. Many may find the heavy Christian message in this volume limiting but readers of a similar mindset to Bell’s may discover that this book sparks spiritual contemplation and personal reflection. A collection with admirable intent.
Pub Date: April 30, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4415-4232-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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