What does it really mean to be blind?
925729
A blind Iranian college professor gets his sight restored.  How does this affect him, and how does it especially affect those who have cared for him up to this point in his life?  There are some surprises here that will require a re-viewing to really understand.  This is the most subtle of the films I have seen by Majidi... and I have seen as many as I could find!
4543291
When a man dreams of becoming someone, he goes through any minor and major obstacles to achieve this dream. When I thaught about the fact that one mans reality can be another mans illusion,is the primary definition of self separated agenda.

My perception of this book is the matching definition of ones reality and illusion. Beyond my opinion of this vast but not so unfamiliar knowledge, it is very wise to understand that not all will accept nor follow the path of the wise, and what we consider wise is soley upon each and every indivisual.

I was born with the ability to see beyond the perception of a human being. Ive always consider my self abit different from the ones who consider themselves normal. I cannot accept the theory that we are the only living inteligence bataring our way through the universe.

If the knowledge contain inside is true then indeed the world is on a path to freedom.
3697590
This product may be fine for someone who just needs a little help.  I have low vision and it's not that helpful for me.  I have another similiar product, "Owl", which I was trying to replace only because I thought the viewing area would be larger.  It is, but the magnification is not as good for my circumstances.
4259472
I really enjoyed the writing in this story of a blind man who is given the chance to see. The first part of the book introduces the life of Mike May, the fellow who has lived without vision since childhood.  It is, by any reckoning a good life.  The second part of the book explores the feelings he and his family go through at the prospect of him being given vision.  The last part of the book explores his experience of his new sense.

I actually cried a few times, so well was May's reaction to his newfound sight described.  I had to put the book down and take a break from reading.  Much of the book is, though emotional, softer and less striking.  That is what I found so impressive about Robert Kurson, he built up the foundation of the story, then gave it a payoff with his detailed descriptions of what it was like to see.  Amazing stuff.

There is a little bit of information about research into visual perception, a subject which as always interested me, but Kurson avoided the mistake of clouding the drama of his story by over-explaining the science.

Very well done.
441313
The absolute "real" thing.  These ascetics mean what they say when they want to give their hearts to the Lord! This way of life, though not for many, and though extremely difficult, must bring such profound possession of the love of God. Their witness is a definition for "true surrender".
2137952
I live by blind spot mirrors as my vision isn't what it was.  cheaper than oreillys and you can adjust.
2463169
A totally different perspective as "seen" by some one blind. Very well done but sometimes the story lags with so much detail.
806241
Jose Saramago was one of the most significant writers of the modern novel. Blindness is a haunting story written with great skill and authority. The characters are peculiar, and yet the book is contemporary and bravely depicts the human condition.

The story reads like one of Dantes apocalyptic fables. However, Saramagos purgatory is rooted in real life. The interest of the story centers on an unnamed town whose citizens, bar one, who are afflicted by blindness. We follow the path of the first blind man (no one has a name in Blindness, and even the city is not identified) as he loses his eyesight while driving his car. Distraught, the first blind man, is comforted by a stranger.

The Good Samaritan, who helps him get home, eventually steals his car.  However, the thief soon loses his eyesight. They later meet at the doctors surgery and the the first blind man rages at the thief for stealing his car. But, the thief responds: If you think you're going to get away with this, then you're mistaken, all right, I stole your car, but you stole my eyesight, so whos the bigger thief.
Thus with everyone both a victim and a culprit, the carnage of the blind begins.

The doctor who exams the first blind man could find no cause or lesion for his blindness.
Who would have believed it? Seen merely at a glance, the mans eyes seem healthy, the iris looks bright, luminous, the sclera white, as compact as porcelain.

Later, even the doctor succumbs to the spreading epidemic of blindness. Soon almost, the entire city becomes blind. The Minister of Health recommends quarantine for all those who were blind or had been in contact with them until a cure is found. From this environment of the blind leading the blind a tragedy unfolds where the world becomes a dangerous place, a hell of hells where even soldiers fear the blind citizens. With their blindness, the citizens had transported war from the field to their streets, with man more fearsome than a beast.

It is at this point that the reader may flinch, and even turn away in disgust at the carnage that unfolds. The dark streets are covered in filth; there is no food or running water; the dead lie unburied: the city is teeming with scavengers; there are multiple accidents with planes plunging from the sky because the pilots are blind. There seem to be no limits to the misfortune of the blind.

However, the storys magnificence transcends the evil, and even turns it into a light that illuminates the universal tragedy of ignorance. At the end of the book one of the characters asks: Why did we become blind, I don't know, perhaps one day well find out, Do you want me to tell you what I think, Yes, do, I don't think we did go blind, I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see.

None of the tragic events in the book is superfluous, and they show that human dignity is insulted every day by the corrupters of the truth in our world. Sadly, these are the ones that hardly make an appearance in the book. In Saramagos refreshing but tragic fantasy is the truth, and in his damnation there is a grudging respect for mans instincts and will to survive, and even thrive.

The strangest passage in Blindness happens when the inmates manage to escape from the asylum after a battle between two gangs of blind people: Say to a blind man, you're free, open the door that was separating him from the world, Go, you are free, we tell him once more, and he does not go,  he has remained motionless there in the middle of the road, he and the others, they are terrified, they do not know where to go, the fact is that there is no comparison between living in a rational labyrinth, which is, by definition, a mental asylum and venturing forth, without a guiding hand or a dog leash, into the demented labyrinth of the city, where memory serves no purpose.

Blindness belongs to many, and what Saramago is urging us to do is to strike a match as an escape from the disease and pathology of darkness. Blindness is masterfully written-an incredible book that surpasses all of Saramagos other works.
1839755
Walking out of the DARK, ISBN: 9780993240201, a novel based on a true story in e-book by Steven R, Mailkowski,
Mike, the protagonist, is a young man in his twenties who has moved from his rural home to the city to attend a school for the blind. The move has been recommended because, although he still has marginal vision, he has been told it gradually will fade. To save money his residence is a rather run-down hotel/boarding house peopled by druggies and prostitutes among others. It is cheap and close to school, however. The story follows Mike and his activities as he interacts with Ruby, an interesting resident of his hotel, Margaret, his first teacher, George, a somewhat older fellow student who was an auto mechanic, Norman, a former football coach, Samantha (Sam) a lovely younger teacher and others as well as some of their friends and/or acquaintances.
Discussion: The author has provided a quite engrossing look at the activities of sightless individuals. The thought and practice that is required for the simplest activity and how the slightest wrong or not well-thought-out move could cause a problem that could range anywhere from amusing to complete disaster. The entire tale is absorbing and is set forth in an intriguingly light up-beat manner that glosses over the devastating effect that the sightless person must experience and avoids much of the downside' per se and the more obnoxious individuals who no doubt are encountered. Instead it focuses on the statement: There are a lot of things you can do in a bad situation; try to choose something that doesnt make it worse. It concentrates on the tremendous strength, fortitude and humor exhibited by the affected individuals and even describes some of the physical games devised for and by the blind for entertainment  games ranging from a type of baseball called Beep Ball to such dangerous sports as downhill ski racing where the skier is followed by another with sight who, when approaching the flags, shouts to a blind watcher that it is time to vigorously shake a tambourine so the blind skier will know the flag has been reached so as to make the appropriate turn.
Conclusion: This book is a worthwhile read that provides a number of insights into the world of sightlessness that demonstrates existence of a degree of resilience, hope and humor that is amazing.
1549375
Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer, as well as the first deaf & blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Her early life story is told in the film&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Miracle-Worker/dp/B003HIFZ5W/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Miracle Worker</a>, of course., and her entire life is told in&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Helen-Keller-The-Story-of-My-Life-Dover-Thrift-Editions/dp/0486292495/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Helen Keller: The Story of My Life (Dover Thrift Editions)</a>.

She writes about Swedish theologian/philosopher/scientist Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), "I have not been able to discover anything about the circumstances of his birth and early training which seems to explain the most independent movement ever started in the history of religious thought... is not it ever thus with genius---an angel entertained unawares?" (Pg. 19) She states, "He was an eye among the blind, an ear among the deaf, a voice crying in the wilderness they could not understand. Possibly my own partial isolation from the world of light and sound gives me this keen sense of his peculiar situation. But I cannot help thinking that he was lonely with more than earthly loneliness, and the world seemed strange to him because he had already outgrown it." (Pg. 27-28)

Considering Swedenborg's ideas of heaven and hell, she suggests, "I feel that I am peculiarly able to grasp his meaning at least partially. For nearly six years I had no concepts whatever of nature or mind or death or God. I literally thought with my body... Then, suddenly, I knew not how or where or when, my brain felt the impact of another mind, and I awoke to language... I was actually lifted from nothingness to human life---two planes as irreconcilable as Swedenborg's earth experience and his contacts with a realm beyond the cognizance of our own physical senses!" (Pg. 30)

She suggests, "[Swedenborg] was a prophet sent by God... He did not make a new Bible, but he made the Bible all new! One who receives him gains a great spiritual possession." (Pg. 71) She adds, "The higher criticism of the Bible, as Swedenborg indicates, does not take away a jot or tittle of its essential meaning, but corrects erroneous views of the early Jewish writers." (Pg. 82) She further explains, "The old thought tells us we are given earth to prepare for heaven, but there is a truth in the other way round. We are given a knowledge of heaven to fit us better for earth." (Pg. 108)

This book contains much insight into Ms. Keller, as well as a famous perspective on Swedenborg. One need not agree with Swedenborg's theology/philosophy/hermeneutics to enjoy this fascinating book.
3553612
Excellent! As this was a purchase for a blind person, they were impressed with the content as it was read.
384194
"You can't be what you can't see." Direct Quote from the book. Ummm, yes you can. It's called dreaming. Which is important for kids.
703037
By pocket guide, it truly means "pocket size".  It is about the size of a 3x5 card, so not friendly for the vision impaired!
3705954
These work great for those of us who have failing sight and also for the blind. I have started using for myself and also for my blind students. A trick I have discovered for ease of threading, especially for the blind, is to put the needle into a bar of soap first and then both hands are free to hang onto the thread and push into the top of the needle.
544733
Rosemary Mahoney has written a book that needed to be written. She exposes her own fear of blindness and her fascination with it  a combination she shares with half the world! Her book documents the stupidity and cruelty blind people have endured through all ages and all cultures. It then showcases Sabriye and Pauls work with blind children in Tibet, and young entrepreneurs from developing nations in India.
Some parts of this book might not be easy reading for someone in the middle of shock and grief over vision loss. There are graphic descriptions of eye surgery, and ways blind eyes can look if left untreated. They also give intimate descriptions of young blind people who have been neglected and have developed idiosyncratic behaviors. But throughout the book there is a respect and admiration for what people with every disadvantage can survive and build on, and what the other four senses can deliver when sight is not a big distraction.
In the end this is an inspiring story of Sabriye and Paul, and the management team at the school in Tibet  the young blind adults leading the blind children towards active, money-earning lives.
3082139
I have loved this book.  It really opened my eyes as to what dyslexia really was, and gave me a greater understanding of my son. I love that dyslexia was not put in the context of a curse or disability but a gift. How true this is and what a difference it has made for us as we learn to understand this new gift in our lives.
3115670
The word invisible gives a false state belief, everything is visible , you can see with your ears, nose  and suspicion helps you to find what you don't see. H.G. Wells story really makes you think and understand that just because the eyes cannot see you, an invisible man you are not. The old man knew there was someone in the house!