1 comments about Rememberings: The World of a Russian-Jewish Woman in the Nineteenth Century (Studies and Texts in Jewish History and Culture, 9).

1. Being an avid reader, I rarely read a woman's perspective on history, but Pauline Wengeroff's story opened my eyes to Jewish history from a totally different viewpoint. The story is magnificent and a must for independent minded women of any age. People of the twenty-first century will be able to identify easily with a woman of the 1840-1860's. Conditions of life change, but people don't.

5 comments about Josyp Terelya: Witness To Apparitions and Persecution in the USSR : An Autobiography.

1. Mr. Terelya, now living in Canada, has survived unrelenting persecutions for the sake of his religion. To say he was saved by God is an understatement. This book will reinforce the beliefs of all Christians and especially verify the stories of the Blessed Virgin told to many Catholics.



2. Intimidation, hunger, cold, torture, escapes, 20 year prison sentence! Newest suspense novel? No, true account of a life as lived by a young man in the former Soviet prison system. Josyp Terelya, son of high communist officials, raised by beloved grandmother as a catholic in underground Ukrainian Catholic Church.Josyp, then a teenager dares to challenge the occupaying Soviet authorities for the right of his beliefs and to practice his faith. Josyp's fellow prisoners are old and young people from different walks of life, different nationalities, ordinary and famous people, professionals, bishops, priests... Josyp persevered, survived and now shares with us 20 years of his nightmare. The book is spellbound, fascinating. I highly recommend it. It is a tale that very few survived to tell .-



3. Intimidation, hunger, cold, torture, escapes, 20 year prison sentence! Newest suspense novel? No, true account of a life as lived by a young man in the former Soviet prison system. Josyp Terelya, son of high communist officials, raised by beloved grandmother as a catholic in underground Ukrainian Catholic Church.Josyp, then a teenager dares to challenge the occupaying Soviet authorities for the right of his beliefs and to practice his faith. Josyp's fellow prisoners are old and young people from different walks of life, different nationalities, ordinary and famous people, professionals, bishops, priests... Josyp persevered, survived and now shares with us 20 years of his nightmare. The book is spellbound, fascinating. I highly recommend it. It is a tale that very few survived to tell .-



4. This is an absolutely wonderful book, that speaks of the hardships that one man had to face becuase of his religion. He is an incredible man who deserves all of our respect.
   IT is a very inspiring novel, and I encourage every person, no matter their religion, to read this book



5. If you've ever questioned the power of prayer, Josyp Terelya's Witness will put your thoughts to rest. Taking the reader into the depths of communism, the historical reality of the unimaginable captures one's attention. Mr. Terelya's story reassures grandparents of their important role, despite their children who don't live by the faith they were taught. Witness is an affirmation of intercessory prayer to the Blessed Mother and offers assurance of divine providence. It is by far the most powerful book I've read in ages.

4 comments about Paramhansa Swami Yogananda: Life-portrait and Reminiscences.

1. FOR ANYONE WHO READ YOGANANDA'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND OTHER WRITINGS THIS BOOK GIVES A LOT OF INSIGHT INTO HIS EARLY LIFE IN INDIA AND WHAT HE EXPERIENCED WHEN HE FIRST CAME TO AMERICA. ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK IS BECAUSE IT IS WRITTEN BY SOMEONE WHO KNEW YOGANANDA IN PERSON AND SOME OF THE INFORMATION CONVEYED FALLS OUTSIDE THE "PARTY LINE" PROMULGATED BY SELF REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP; I.E. IT SHOWS THAT YOGANANDA HAD A HUMAN SIDE WITH MANY PROBLEMS AND CONFLICTS TO RESOLVE AND HOW HE HELPED AND WAS HELPED BY OTHER PEOPLE.



2. First of all, I must warn future readers who revere Yogananda and consider him as their guru, would find this book quite difficult to read. The author, who is a disciple of Sri Yukteshvar, presents a very impartial and honest account of Paramhansa Yogananda. This account also includes unflattering behavior of the great guru while he visited India in 1935.
   
   Before I proceed further, one should realize that the author has great reverence for Yogananda and gives him credit where credit is due. However, the author also revels to the reader that Sri Yukteshvar was not always pleased by Yogananda's behavior when he returned to India. Of course, this new information was not available to the public in the "Autobiography of a Yogi" written by Yogananda himself.
   
   This is an important revelation as well. This shows that if a person is Self-Realized and has attained a high spiritual understanding, he/she will still be prone to errors of judgment, behavior and understanding.
   
   In conclusion, the reason why I gave this book a 5 star rating is because of the new and not always positive information about Yogananda. This shows that Yogananda is "human" after all. I would not recommend this book to most SRF members who view Yogananda as their guru as the information would be pretty hard to digest. However, if a person who admires Yogananda and reads this book with a deep sense of understanding and still revers Yogananda, then this book is for them.



3. The original Autobiography of a Yogi is uniformly positive and inspiring, with institutions and initiatives simply popping into being.
   
   In this book, written by a close associate and contemporary in India, more insight is given into what it took (warts and all) to make Yogananada's early projects happen on a human level, with the teams of characters assisting, particularly Swamis Dhirananda and Satyananda.
   
   It also sets the context of a Calcutta profoundly influenced by the Babaji line of gurus as well as the Ramakrishna/Vivekananda line.
   
   I do not believe this book diminishes Yoganandaji, quite the opposite it shows his ultimate success with the challenges of team and project building on a human level, as well as the divine level, already so beautifully encapsulated in the Autobiography itself.



4. I was surprised how much I liked this. Yes, it shows some of Yogananda's short comings but it also shows his greatness. I thought the person who wrote this thought Yogananda was a very great man. He had his faults but all in all I was very impressed with Yogananda as presented in this book.
   
   This is the grown-up version of Yogananda's story. He was human but a really great human.
   
   This is highly recommended. Also, my thanks to the people who made this book possible. It's really, really good.

No comments about Be Myself: Memoirs of a Bridgebuilder.

5 comments about The Most Reluctant Convert: C. S. Lewis's Journey to Faith.

1. Downing does well in his concise and colorful account of C.S. Lewis' progression to faith -- thus leading to a joyful life. Primarily Downing is helpful in allowing the reader a glimpse into the patient ascension of Lewis to discovering an intimate and substantial faith in Christianity. The reader is not simply walking blindly in this telling of Lewis' conversion, but is led by Downing with a careful examination of Lewis' own thoughts through this spiritual and thoughtful pilgrimage. Thus, Downing allows Lewis to speak for himself on many accounts through highlighting his own letters; and the writings of others close to Lewis, including his brother. The reader will also recieve a luminous lesson on 19th and 20th century thought; they will be intoduced to Rationalism, Romanticism, Idealism, Modernity and a host of other worldviews and religious expressions Lewis engaged in his early adulthood.
   This book affirms the reason why so many find solace and stimulation from this Christian literary giant. Lewis' genuine and ardent quest for faith should not be overlooked and can only command respect and admiration.



2. David Downing has achieved something quite remarkable with this book: He has succeeded in making a thoroughly researched, philosophically-heavy, intellectual biography an engrossing read.

   This is by no means a CS Lewis biography. It is, rather, a biography of Lewis' mind before, during and immediately after his conversion to a belief in Christ. Downing explores several avenues of Lewis' philosophical quest, none more so than his unceasing pursuit of "Joy." This pursuit leads Lewis, and the reader, through all stages of Lewis' intellectual and religious development--from atheistic materialism to the occult to philosophical Idealism to pantheism and finally to Christ. Along the way, the reader is introduced to many of Lewis' spiritual, philosophical and intellectual mentors.

   This could have easily (almost predictably) become a dry, excruciatingly dull narrative with all the readability of a poorly-written freshman philosophy text. Instead, it is a true page-turner as Downing relates Lewis' intellectual pursuit of the aforementioned concepts. One-by-one the philosophical challengers to Christianity are discovered, honestly scrutinized, shown be intellectually wanting, and ultimately rejected.

   Don't be put off by the centrality of philosophical discussion in this book. It is an easy read and it is actually quite fun to see how Lewis used his monumental intellect to punch irreparable holes in philosophical concepts considered sacrosanct by preening, self-important atheistic egotists. Though an atheist during his teens and twenties, Lewis never stopped pursuing iron-clad intellectual arguments which would quench his thirst for "Joy." His intellectual honesty never allowed him to be satisfied with answers which rested on shaky philosophical ground. And part of his restless pursuit of "Joy" was his search for a firm and unassailable theoretical foundation on which he could build a consistent belief system.

   Bravo to Mr. Downing for writing this marvelous book. Perhaps no other work allows us to peer more deeply into the mind of this magnificent intellect.




3. I'm not quite sure how to classify this book. It's not exactly a biography, because it does not attempt a thorough inspection of CS Lewis's life. It's not literary criticism, because it mentions most of Lewis's works only in passing. I suppose this book is rather an examination of the various steps of CS Lewis's departure from, avoidance of, and eventual return to Christianity. In this book, Downing explores and evaluates all the stages of Lewis's philosophical and religious thought-from materialism to idealism to pantheism to Christianity, with brief stops along the way to consider spiritualism and theosophy.
   
   Lewis's time away from Christianity was a very interesting time in his life. He toyed with many systems of belief, and struggled to come to grips with reality as he found system after system of philosophy to be flawed. Downing does a good job of exploring the influences that aided Lewis's development-his teachers, mentors, and books he read all played an important part in this. For that, at least, there is merit in this book, and Downing also uncovers a few (but they are few) details which Lewis himself leaves out in his autobiography, `Surprised by Joy.'
   
   Anyone who has read `Surprised by Joy,' however, will find that this book is basically just a rewording of what Lewis himself said in that work. There is little in this book which cannot be gleaned from Lewis's own sketch of his early life, and Lewis's work has the added advantage of being both better written and written from his own point of view. This book provides a decent summary of Lewis's autobiography, but little more.
   
   For the most part, Downing's insights are helpful, if not unique. The narrative is sometimes confused, with Downing jumping (for example) from a period of doubt in Lewis's life to a scene from The Chronicles of Narnia or other of Lewis's fiction which illustrates what he later came to believe on the subject. And the greatest flaw of this book comes in the last two pages of chapter 8, when Downing attempts to describe Lewis's spiritual experience while riding to a zoo with his brother. Lewis describes that something happened (though he admits he doesn't know what) on that ride, and that he believed in Christ as the son of God when he arrived at the zoo, but hadn't when he had set out for the zoo. Downing, in analyzing this experience, waxes psychological and attempts to get inside Lewis's head. The result is a flowery blurb of supposed thoughts which Lewis had, told mostly in the first person (as if Downing had access to a level of Lewis's conscious which even he, Lewis, did not have) and reeking of an attempt at literary prowess rather than narrative fidelity. Those two pages alone ruined the entire book for me.
   
   Despite these flaws, however, this book deserves three stars for its interesting look at Lewis's Journey to Faith (as the subtitle implies). As I said, there is nothing new or groundbreaking here, and longtime fans of Lewis will find little which is unique, but this book is nevertheless merits a quick perusal.



4. C.S. Lewis was a complex man, and it would be easy for a biographer to bog down in the details. However, David Downing deftly weaves together an engaging and fast-moving story that follows various threads in Lewis's life, his writings, the major intellectual trends of the early 20th century, and Lewis's gradually unfolding Christian belief. Downing draws from Lewis's well-known writings, but also from letters and unpublished works to create a complex and intriging portrait. I found the book to be intellectually and spiritually nourishing. All in all a good story and a good read.



5. If a book has any connection to C.S. Lewis, I am predisposed to like it. And though many have been published, I have never read a Lewis biography. So, I began this book with high expectations, which were not quite met.
   
   My criticisms of this book are two-fold. First, it felt very uneven. Some chapters were very biographical in nature, while others (especially Chapter 4) read essentially like a book report. While it is obviously necessary to point to Lewis' writing to understand his thinking, I was very bored with the play-by-play, plodding description of an uncompleted work from Lewis' teen years. Indeed, Downing spent much time throughout his work picking apart fragments of Lewis' writing (published and unpublished), and it felt very tedious to me. This might be more appropriate for an academic publication, and scholars of Lewis might find such an approach to be gripping. But this regular Joe who just likes to read Lewis was not especially engaged.
   
   My second critique, though hard to verbalize, is that the book did not seem to flow well. Downing admitted that he could not tell this story strictly chronologically because the progression of Lewis' religious thoughts was not linear. Nonetheless, I felt rather tossed about while reading this book.
   
   Admittedly, I probably would have appreciated this book more if I had read previous Lewis biographies that covered different parts of his life. And my general unfamiliarity with most of Lewis' fiction (especially the space trilogy) allowed Downing's references to those works to be rather foreign to me.
   
   As promised, Downing limited himself, as much as possible, to C.S. Lewis' intellectual journey from atheist to Christian. Though I learned a great deal, I can't say that I especially enjoyed the ride. At the very least, I now want to read more Lewis to observe that journey first-hand. But if you're looking for a primer on the life of C.S. Lewis (which this book never claims to be), I'd recommend looking elsewhere.

2 comments about Living in God's Love: The New York Crusade (Recorded Live).

1. THIS IS A WONDERFUL BOOK OF GREAT COURAGE AND HOPE ! "LIVING IN GODS LOVE " BY BILLY GRAHAM IS A GREAT COLLECTION OF ALL OF HIS SERMONS FROM HIS RECENT NY CRUSADE AND THERE ARE ALSO SOME PHOTOS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SEEN YET. THIS GREAT EVANGELIST CAME IN 1957 TO NY AND THIS BOOK RECENTLY CAME TO NY RECENTLY AND THIS BOOK "LIVING IN GOD LOVE" HAS ALOT OF SERMONS AND THE NY CRUSADE AND THIS BOOK HAS ALOT OF COMFORT AND PEACE AND HOPE. I REALLY LOVE THIS WONDERFUL PAGE TURNER. PLEASE GIVE A GIFT TO A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER OR A PASTOR THIS IS A REALLY NICE BOOK CALLED "LIVING IN GODS LOVE" BY BILLY GRAHAM" GREAT GIFT FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL.



2. The product came quickly. It was exactly as advetised and met expectations. Thank You.

3 comments about Simple Peace: Spiritual Life of Francis of Assisi.

1. The Simple Peace of St. Francis of Assisi is remarkable because it actually catches the heart of this incredible saint, his spiritual development, his formation from troubadour to holiness. I strongly suggest this book for anyone who enjoys books about spiritual transformation or St. Francis. You can actually feel St. Francis as his heart widens and grows into perfect joy!



2. St. Francis is almost untouchable as a saint. His miracles, his link to the common person and his love of animals (all God's creatures) makes him a hugely popular and well-loved saint. This book allowed me to get beyond all the hype and other worldliness of St. Francis. It took me to his heart and let me feel what he felt as his spiritual journey evolved. His love for God and the world was huge.

   I now know that St. Francis is most like us, the most human of all the saints. He lived beyond the average but he loved the simpleness and ugliness of life. This book does not ram religion down your throat and it does not put St. Francis on a pedestal that is unreachable. It puts his heart and mind in focus and attempts to give the reader a view of Francis as a friend might see him today.

   Wonderfully rich and full of spirituality. You will feel closer to the saint no matter what other books you have read on his life.




3. This book truly gives you a wonderful introduction to Saint Francis. Studying the life and practice of Saint Francis is truly beneficial for all Christians, whether Catholic or Protestant(I am Episcopalian), and actually it would be helpful for people of all religions. I truly adore Saint Francis and am fascinated by his Simplicity. I find that people on the spiritual path tend to embrace Simplicity. This is a great book that can easily be read and it will make you eager to read more about this beloved saint!

2 comments about Aldous Huxley: A Biography.

1. Laura Huxley herself said to Sawyer [paraphrased], "Out of all the biographies written about Aldous, this is the only one he would have actually liked." With emphasis on philosophical studies and works, it is the definitive source for understanding Huxley's influence and ideas. Being a student myself at Maine College of Art, I can vouch for the know-how of Sawyer.



2. I enjoyed the book. When I read it, I felt that the author was a close friend of Huxley's. If any reader plans on reading any books by Huxley, please read this informative, well-written biography first.

No comments about Every Person's Guide to Jewish Philosophy and Philosophers.

1 comments about Gurdjieff and Orage.

1. Gurdjieff and Orage: Brothers in Elysium
   
   by Paul Beekman Taylor
   
   This book is interesting, maddening, and ultimately disappointing as I think the author completely misses the point. The back cover says the book is "informed by both rigorous scholarship and his own relationship with Gurdjieff." In my opinion, his relationship with Gurdjieff and the work cannot be terribly deep given the analysis he provides of the relationship between the two men.
   
   Alfred Richard Orage was a prominent literary critic and editor of the highly influential review "The New Age" whose contributors included Ezra Pound, G.B. Shaw, and Katherine Mansfield. It covered not only literature and poetry, but also economics, a discipline that would preoccupy Orage until his untimely death in 1934.
   
   Before meeting Gurdjieff, he had written for the theosophical review and had a keen interest in esoteric matters. Orage was one of the most influential men in England at the time, although he was not well-known. His influence came from his relations with the people he knew, who were themselves famous.
   
   After hearing Gudjieff in London, Orage gave up his literary life and went to Le Prieuré in France, home of Gurdjieff's Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man, where he dug ditches, got calluses on his hands, and worked to see a glimpse of the personality he called "Orage". A year later, Gurdjieff sent him to New York before Gurdjieff and his dance troop arrived in order to prepare the terrain for G's first visit to the United States. Orage spent the next seven years in New York as the leader of the Gurdjieff groups there. In this capacity he nourished links with artist, writers, politicians, and people of money, spreading the word about the Gurdjieff work, as well as raising money to support the Institute in France.
   
   He also did the bulk of the translation of Gurdjieff epic work, "All and Everything, Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson".
   
   The book contains many extracts from Orage's letters. Taylor is a friend of the Orage family and was given access to letters and journals of both Orage and his wife Jessie, with whom he fell in love shortly after his arrival in New York. This aspect of the book is its best. We can read Orage and Jessie's own words.
   
   But the idea that Jessie could have been a diversion sent by the General Law to take Orage away from the work is never considered by Taylor.
   
   It is clear from her writing that Jessie was only participating in the work to the extent she needed to in order to retain Orage. Once they were married, she pretty much gave up on it completely. When she was at Le Prieuré alone, she hated it. When she was there with Orage, she hated it. She had no interest in the work for herself.
   
   Other commentators have argued that it was his relationship with Jessie that ultimately led to the parting of the ways between Orage and Gurdjieff. William Patrick Patterson discusses this question in his book "Struggle of the Magicians". Taylor says there is no evidence in Orage's papers that Gurdjieff expressed his displeasure with Orage over the matter and says that Gurdjieff was always fond of her. Taylor's friendship with the Orage family seems to have coloured Taylor's analysis of the relationship between Orage and Jessie, as well as the effects of this relationship on his work with Gurdjieff, because there is much evidence in Taylor's book itself if one can read between the lines and knows something of how Gurdjieff worked.
   
   Take this statement from Orage, cited in a footnote and taken from Louise Welch's book, "Orage":
   
   "Orage confided to his New York group that Gurdjieff 'regarded me as someone who had...come with him from another planet with a task to carry out. But, I had fallen in love with a native, and this interfered with his aim.'"
   
   Orage finally gave up on this "common task" he shared with Gurdjieff and returned to London and his career, spending his final years promoting the ideas of Social Credit. Jessie enticed Orage onto a descending octave. She split him from the work. Throughout their relationship, she continually was putting Orage into the position of choosing between Gurdjieff and the work and her. The evidence is clear in Taylor's book.
   
   While Taylor quotes Welch, he dismisses the comment from Fritz Peters that Peters heard Gurdjieff yelling at Orage over the matter of his relationship with Jessie, saying that there is no evidence in Orage's own writings it ever happened.
   
   Moreover, during his 1924 trip to France during which the incident reported by Peters occurred, Orage spent long hours discussing the question of love with Gurdjieff, finally putting these ideas into his well-known essay "On Love". Gurdjieff was obviously trying to help Orage understand that his relationship with Jessie was not the highest form of love, but Orage was blind to it. Taylor completely ignores this, only mentioning in passing that the essay came from the discussions. However, in his penultimate chapter, Taylor quotes this advice on love from Gurdjieff to Jean Toomer, another American student:
   
   "The only type of sexual relations possible are those with someone who is as advanced and capable as oneself. In either case there will be no feeling of responsibility in regard to progress in the work to interfere. Such a feeling of responsibility should not cut across a sexual relationship. Real sex is impossible if it does. We are not permitted to entertain ideas of development or reform for another person."
   
   Clearly, the relationship between Orage and Jessie was not one of this type. She had no deep need or interest in the work. Orage was given the message, but he was unable to hear it. He made his choice, a choice that is tragic for anyone involved in the work. And this is where the book ultimately fails for someone doing the work: Taylor is interested in Orage the man, not Orage the potential Man. Yes, Orage was extraordinary in so many ways. But to what good if one loses one's soul in the end?