A fresh taste of reality
355311
A fresh taste of reality packed into an easy to read book.  Once I read the first page of this, I couldn't put it down.  The stories, the characters, the experiences - it's a modern day "On The Road".  I found some of Eli's other books out there and they pack as much engagement as this piece.  Keep 'em coming Eli - can't wait for the movie!
2996164
This is a great collection of short stories set in a new fantasy world...except it is clearly not a 'new' fantasy world. This is a richly detailed world with a number of fascinating cultures.

Unlike many fantasy worlds where a single religion dominates, or where good and evil are clearly defined, this world offers something a bit different. This book is clearly just the first taste of this world, each story offering a tiny kernel, a tasty morsel of a grand meal. Be prepared to settle down and enjoy a nice mug of hot cocoa on a winter night and enjoy this peek into the wondrous world of Threforfar and the people that live there.
2952088
A quick and painless trip to reality!  Shain cuts through the fat to expose some of the basics of human nature in a non-judgmental and factual manner.  She has mastered the use of brevity to allow the reader, usually hooked, to pursue the work in one sitting, if desired. A breath of fresh air.
4122892
There is something about walking that offers one a unique perspective on things. We fly through life, drive through life, or simply go through the motions of life without giving much thought to what we - and others - are experiencing. This loss of detail creates the need to catch up, and fill in the gaps in our knowledge by watching the news on television, reading the newspapers to find out what's happening in the world, and reading the blogs that confirm our suspicions and biases.  We avoid the need for and opportunity to, slow down to experience the soul of the moment. And as a society we have lost our view of The Big Picture - we can no longer tell the trees from the forest.

Walking Israel seeks to accomplish what Blue Highways did in the early 1980s. In that book, William Least Heat Moon went off the interstate highways, and travelled the "blue highways", the smaller roads on the map, the roads that allowed one to "live the real jeopardy of circumstance". America, and the world, was a very different place 28 years ago. What better place on earth exists for a re-discovery of the real jeopardy of circumstance than Israel?

And so, Martin Fletcher walks Israel. Along the way he informs the reader of the historical contexts for modern, current events, and the people he meets. Other casual reviews on amazon have shared stories that were told, events that transpire in the book. My favorite section of the book relates the current state of the kibbutz, the idealist utopian communal farms that Jewish youth all over the world aspire to experience at some point in their lives. It seems that Socialism has failed even in Israel. Today, those who work the kibbutz, the kibbutzim, sell portions of their land to mega-stores and real estate developers to earn enough money to support the farm.

Walking Israel provides perspective on a country founded on ideals and religious belief, and being torn apart by ideals and religious belief. It allows us a fresh perspective on the epicenter of this difficult, fragile, volatile region of the world. This is a must read for those with any interest in the Middle East, Israel, or simply enjoy good journalism.
2968031
Are you tired of the same old literary meal? You know the ones served up at American's Publishing Diner, filled with selections from the same old tried and true literary basket of formula writers?  Sick of obnoxious plots, predictable endings, and paying good money for boring forte?
If you are, BAD TRADES is the book for you. It will satisfy your hunger for something different and written in a style that is uniquely the authors, a private recipe, if you will.  The writing will make you think, (remember being inspired, remember how it made you travel the path within, remember the act of thinking?), and you'll journey with a man who cannot escape the ghosts of his past, who cannot turn his back on the hungry soul he is, who leaves the world of addiction and confronts the complexities of sobriety, all with a flavor that lights a path in the shadowland of your own life.  We all have ghosts, both living and dead, events that replay and direct our current life course; BAD TRADES follows Harry in his quest to make sense of the meaning of it all in his life.  Take a risk, think about your meal for a change, and enjoy a rare delicacy of literary achievement in BAD TRADES.
3791716
If you want to get a really fresh perspective on the state of the West, read this book. Nicholas Beecroft has done a highly innovative job of bringing out the predicament and the potential of our Western civilisation in a very novel and interesting way. Its obvious that in recent times we are not at all confident or positive as a civilisation - to say the least; full of doubts and guilt and wondering if we are a spent force.
Here West is a person embodying our consciousness who presents as a patient to a psychiatrist - in all his (our) many sides and value systems. Personifying the West in this way rather than giving an academic analysis makes the subject far more accessible and relevant so that we can see and also feel our different and often conflicting value systems, drives, which are in all in us; and also we can see what needs transforming. Its not out there. We are Western civilisation; were not separate from it. As Orwell famously said, speaking of being British - but it applies here too: And above all, it is your civilisation, it is you.

The psychiatrist in the story talks to Wests various voices, many of which are conflicting, and West even becomes suicidal at one point, burdened with all the worlds woes and his slipping power.
Using the framework of Don Becks and Clare Graves SDi, as well as psychological techniques like EDMR and voice dialogue to articulate the many values and world views within us and our civilisation, you get to viscerally feel our problems, our concerns and most importantly, our potential for higher integration and development.

An important feature of the book which makes it enjoyable to read, animating the text and stopping it getting bogged down, is that the whole thing is presented within a subplot hospital story in which our psychiatrist narrator is getting in increasingly deep trouble with the medical authorities for his highly unorthodox treatment of a crazy guy who claims to be the embodiment of Western civilisation. This doctors soap drama further serves to illustrate the warring value systems of our society to great effect as they are played out in the drama. It makes an immensely complex subject as simple as it could be, set in a drama with recognisable faces, without trivialising, in order to convey big picture of the ailing West - us - right now and what we need to do to recover dignity and vigour. Culminating in the excitement and drama of a new Magna Carta, this is a radical and ambitious call for us to grapple with the BIG issues and help actively shape a future we would want to live in.
Its a must read in my opinion.
4742302
Mr. Cote-Crosskill's book. So many things to say here.

First and foremost, I was struck by how immediate this book was. The author's mind was really accessible here; this is an honest, candid read. At the same time: this isn't a self-aggrandizing post-college journal. It's a big book in a small package, and it takes interesting detours through moments of surrealism and reflection on the modern/post-modern condition.

For the 21st century reader,it's a cleansing experience. You get to follow a man on the cloudy verge of alcoholism, through fluorescent office despair and techno-white noise. And finally, you get to see him make his way to clearer days. It feels good to come out the other side with the author.

Hold out for the end... you'll learn about the muffin man.
3962718
In this book, one will discover the political, financial, and social-engineering tactics that plague the progress of true self-actualization; for the betterment of society. The author presented a practical, poetic and philosophical approach to convey these undeniable truths. If one truly wants to know, "What is going on" I highly recommend that they read this insightful piece.

P.S. I have found that truth can be so glaringly simple, but profoundly effective that it may confound those who profess to be of a complex intellect. For people who are not hostage to their ego, this book brings a fresh-air approach to understanding why societies never seem to grasp the fatal lessons that destroyed the civilizations which preceded them.
3984224
Reading Person was a transformative or transitory experience.  It took me far, far away from my daily life to a very different world without all the feel-good, "everything is ok" trappings of my daily life.  This place where Person exists is real, and absurd but deadly serious.

The book moves with an easy-to-follow immediacy and includes enough physical description to keep the characters grounded in reality without alienating the reader with excess.  Since nothing is made to look unusual, everything is familiar and this draws the reader in.

The Person is definitely a strange guy but his strangeness is so clearly committed to the page that its hard not to relate to him.  Strong thoughts, reactions or opinions spring from deep within, but sometimes doubt is immediately on its heels.  He is moved to real, genuine emotion by an unexpected experience with a sandwich.  He comes to competent life when some manageable, necessary task arises.  And interpersonal relationships become complex, intense worlds unto themselves.  All this is to say, he's extremely real.

Ultimately I found the book succeeded in making me extremely uncomfortable when I realized it wasn't that different or far from my experience at all.  If I cleared all the clutter out of my head... the job, the rent, the neighbor's annoying dog, and the TV...I would find Person lying there underneath.
1147110
It was a pleasure to read the true reality instead of what was falsely portrayed by the network and those producing the show. It was a good reminder that life isn't as it always appears to be and that we should all be careful of what we wish for.
553190
I am reading P F Kluge's book on loan from a friend. Not only is it entertaining prose but it is perceptive, fresh and even 10 years on very relevant. Although it is written around a trip to the islands, this is no  travel book. It is hard nosed social commentary.
Fortunately I am working  in Micronesia, with people who remember Kluge. This makes the book more  personally relavant. His observations are sometimes stark and even biting,  almost to the extent of being satirical. They are not however untrue.  Perhaps in their vividness they overpower other more positive aspects of  Micronesia as it is for Micronesians.
This should be mandatory reading  for anyone dealing with the renegotiations of US funding support for FSM  and other Compact countries. I am finding that all too often it is  convenient to forget the history of US involvement here and how the impacts  of decisions made in Washington and elsewhere in the Trust Territory  administration are as much to blame for the 'mess' here as is the conduct  of this small population of Micronesians.
I am just a short term Aussie  with no liver spots, so I can say these things. Mr Kluge is an American and  states them with the clarity of an outsider and the intimate knowledge of  an insider.
Find out what happens to the tails of turkeys, why it is  dangerous to have sex in Chuuk, how to identify a Peace Corp volunteer by  the look in their eyes. This book has it all.
While outsiders trickle  into their idea of an island paradise, Micronesians flow out to their idea  of a consumer paradise. Only occasionally do we really meet. When that  happens you have lasting friendships which Mr Kluge's book chronicles so  well.
Enjoyable enjoyable enjoyable. I will read it many times after I  depart in a years time because it captures images of the recent social  history islands so well.
611478
Being a native South Carolinian, I enjoyed reading about (fictional) folks from a city I am very familiar with.  The places and personalities seemed authentic to me and the love story was, as in life, strange.  I am 66 years old, old enough to know that the turns our lives take are truly amazing and make every life worthy of a novel. Enjoy the taste and atmosphere of a unique place and I hope you will one day make an actual visit there after you've lived this virtual one.
3133058
A nice blend of good sense and humor, this book's personal tone makes the author seem like an experienced, chatty friend.  Some of the suggestions will be familiar in this food-conscious age, but nearly every page offers a fresh and challenging notion.  Highly giftable.
1533055
A great read for anyone looking for an escape from the ordinary or just tired of reading the headlines.  The author immerses you in a fantastic world that is just real enough to make you wonder if you could find it if you got on the right train.
4065977
I downloaded In My Mind's Eye kindle edition, even though I don't have a kindle. I have a kindle app. on my phone. I don't read much at all actually. So, I read the whole thing on my phone, while on the beach, and couldn't put it down, except when I killed the battery and had to charge up to finish it.
It was refreshing to read something so real, organic, local. Growing up in Southern CT I knew the area well enough to make some connections. I found the author's story fascinating and refreshing. This is what real life looks like underneath the politically correct layers of BS that most people have us believe.
I look forward to reading more from this author. His style is witty and engaging. I did get temporarily lost at times in the narrative, but quickly realized where the author had taken me. I found the jumping around to be very effective as the book wove common themes through the various events. This book could easily become an entertaining movie.
4532581
Greg's book, "Lost in the Pages" is a refreshing read. He invites the reader to think about life not in the familiar cliches of taking charge and creating a five year plan for success, but in terms of being a part of a bigger story. The result is that the reader is guided to a peaceful place where all is calm and yet full of significance. Greg helps us see ourselves in a fresh way through seeing God in the story of our lives. Greg's lively, sharp style of writing makes reading very enjoyable. Very good.
2330095
I enjoyed this book very much. It was very honest and open and real. I say's a lot to the way so many believe today, and the need to look at life from a fresh perspective.