by Salamah Pope ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 10, 2008
A clear, self-aware summation of a philosophical and intellectual quest for holistic awareness.
A methodical attempt to elucidate the holistic nature of our world and its processes.
During a course on child psychology, Pope, a practitioner of spiritual exercises taught by the Subud movement, experienced a waking vision of a grand, unified pattern of the universe, spiraling toward perfection. The author has since accumulated evidence of the truth of this vision, gleaned from sources throughout her life and studies. Here she attempts to illustrate her grand unification theory–as she calls it, “a cosmology fit for Gaia”–borrowing from the British scientist James Lovelock’s Gaia Hypothesis, a conception of the planet and all of its parts as a single organism. She lays out her book on the fourfold structure of an ancient Sufi cosmology: “Zat: Introduction and Conception,” “Sifat: Development,” “Asma: The Synthesis–Identity” and “Af’al: Outcomes–a better world?” This fourfold pattern is treated throughout book and can be seen, she maintains, in the simple, yet universally applicable underlying pattern of the universe and of our lives. As an anthropologist, Pope identifies isomorphic or similar features in the many theories, conception and cosmologies of the universe, drawing from diverse cultures and religions and striving, in her urge toward a new, holistic cosmology, to bridge the gap between the physical and mental, the Eastern and Western, the ancient and modern. The author also refers often to recent developments in the mathematical and physical sciences, like Chaos theory and the quest for a grand unification theory, that seem to call into doubt previously accepted dogma, suggesting that disparate elements may be more connected than formerly thought. The book’s biggest weakness lies in its attempts to bridge disciplines despite Pope openly admitting that she lacks knowledge in these fields. Its strengths lie in her consistent clarity of language and accessibility, and her use of concrete, day-to-day experience as a basis for her examples. Whether one accepts the premise, the book is a thorough survey of cosmologies which is earnestly focused on illuminating their similarities and unifying structures.
A clear, self-aware summation of a philosophical and intellectual quest for holistic awareness.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-9803780-0-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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