Readers who see spiritual perfection as a journey, rather than a destination, will appreciate Henderson as a fellow traveler.
An exhaustive spiritual journey unspooled in free verse, short prose and original artwork.
An assemblage of 17 chapbook-length collections, this massive volume intimidates by its dimensions and heft alone; however, once inside, readers will find accessible poetry that invites browsing rather than marathon reading sessions. Thanks in large part to the endlessly recursive nature of the poetry, there’s not a best place to start or finish. In fact, the image of spindled time perfectly captures the experience of encountering Henderson’s cosmic tome, as he circles a central, eternal mystery, sometimes spiraling in and sometimes flying around. This rhythmic alternation of inward and outward focus is one of Henderson’s persistent themes, introduced in the prologue—“Looking outward, at my world, / I observed the constant changes around me, / Peering inward, I analyzed / My own shifting feelings”—and revisited frequently, most memorably in several examples of concrete poetry featuring spirals and waves. Elsewhere, various narrators on numerous “paths” and “journeys” invariably learn how much they do not yet know. In Blakean fashion, Henderson strives to deconstruct the tension of man simultaneously seeing himself as “the image of perfection” and as a “mere, and mortal, fool.” Wisdom, he suggests, lies in unifying both visions, often via paradox. In “The Flight of the Spirit,” for instance, the narrator laments, “I have searched for an escape. / But, death comes to all. / Escape then, is inevitable. / Life is short.” After further contemplation, however, he instead concludes that “chains are loosened by death. / The soul drifts into the freedom / Of eternity, / Forever has no end / If death is short / And life is everlasting.” For all its lofty philosophical inquiries, Henderson’s poetry is generally unadorned, marked by plain speech and the occasional simple rhyme scheme. Because the mystic nature of these revelations is likely to confound reason, the mind can be slow to believe. After enough repetitions, the contemplation could descend into navel-gazing, so reading in small doses may be the best approach.
Readers who see spiritual perfection as a journey, rather than a destination, will appreciate Henderson as a fellow traveler.Pub Date: April 28, 2011
ISBN: 978-1456751029
Page Count: 672
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Readers unfamiliar with the anecdotal material Greene presents may find interesting avenues to pursue, but they should...
Greene (The 33 Strategies of War, 2007, etc.) believes that genius can be learned if we pay attention and reject social conformity.
The author suggests that our emergence as a species with stereoscopic, frontal vision and sophisticated hand-eye coordination gave us an advantage over earlier humans and primates because it allowed us to contemplate a situation and ponder alternatives for action. This, along with the advantages conferred by mirror neurons, which allow us to intuit what others may be thinking, contributed to our ability to learn, pass on inventions to future generations and improve our problem-solving ability. Throughout most of human history, we were hunter-gatherers, and our brains are engineered accordingly. The author has a jaundiced view of our modern technological society, which, he writes, encourages quick, rash judgments. We fail to spend the time needed to develop thorough mastery of a subject. Greene writes that every human is “born unique,” with specific potential that we can develop if we listen to our inner voice. He offers many interesting but tendentious examples to illustrate his theory, including Einstein, Darwin, Mozart and Temple Grandin. In the case of Darwin, Greene ignores the formative intellectual influences that shaped his thought, including the discovery of geological evolution with which he was familiar before his famous voyage. The author uses Grandin's struggle to overcome autistic social handicaps as a model for the necessity for everyone to create a deceptive social mask.
Readers unfamiliar with the anecdotal material Greene presents may find interesting avenues to pursue, but they should beware of the author's quirky, sometimes misleading brush-stroke characterizations.Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-670-02496-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2012
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