This book will generate some deep discussions.
593304
Very insightful book by William Bramley, in making connections between unexplained events and possible alien activity. Good research in this book.
3923093
This book made me think a lot about how we interpret what other people say and do.  Many misunderstandings could be eliminated if we would try to tune in and seek clarifications.
3015659
Some of the excerpts included in this book will be familiar to many a  reader. Most of the authors have instant name recognition. What makes the  book readable however is neither the familarity of the content nor the  writer. It is the assemblage of thought brought together under five general  rubrics: search, faith, love, meditation, death--all wonderfully  provocative concepts that lend themselves to reflection. And most of us  have thought about these at some point in our lives. Here the entries are  brief enough for us to do a quick read (and a quick re-read if necessary),  and still have time to ponder--all within a 10 to 15-minute time frame. My  recommendation is to read an entry a day, and spend the rest of the day  pondering the content. From Deepak Chopra to Isabel Allende, from Mother  Teresa to Maya Angelou, each of the twenty-five authors shares a bit of  insight, one facet of a larger jewel that we come to recognize as our self.  For its inspirational aspect, this is the sort of book you might want to  share with a friend going through difficult times.
4727800
Irshad Manji is new and effective freedom fighter.  She has produced a great book with lots of ideas and lots of data.  We need more like her even if errors are made.  Errors are found in every good dialogue.  These errors are corrected naturally as the dialogue proceeds.  In her words, I learned of something very human and beautiful ' the huge amounts of love that reside in the Muslim mind.

 The debates between monarchism and free states are thousands of years old and are amplified today with the debates between conservatives and liberals.  Thus, one cannot expect these debate to end without continued discussion.  So, let Irshad Manji express her thoughts.  We need as much thought as we can get on both sides of these debates and by both sexes.  The days of trying to silence people for expressing their thoughts is out-dated and an indication of the degeneration of the repressor's MINDSET.

 However, debates among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam could fade away fast after the spiritual atoms (or monads) of Gottfried Leibniz are applied to God's creation and revealed to the general population.  With spiritual atoms, all forces in the holistic universe are based on love relations.  All things in the universe will be understood only with infinite sets and the transfinite numbers of Georg Cantor.  When God empowers and enlightens things in the universe through spiritual atoms, all metaphysical theories and all higher celestial worlds are rejected. And, God becomes the only higher world. Mediators (angels demons, etc.) no longer exist because God has secured His communications to us through the new atoms.  With spiritual atoms, revealed religions become figments of one's imaginations. This new atomic creation theory describes Nature as an eternal and non-linear continuum. Heaven and Hell are gone and reincarnation is in. Obviously, the new theory goes well beyond Moses creation theory.  It will become public soon.

 Of possible interest to Muslims is a 15th century paper on the Koran.  Specifically, in 1461, Bishop Nicholas of Cusa of the Roman Church made an interesting report in response to a request by Pope Pius II for information on the Koran.  (See Cusa, Nicholas of, 1461,'Prologues to an Examination of the Koran.' Found in the USA in Wertz, William,1993, 'Toward a New Council of Florence;' Washington, DC: Schiller Institute, Inc., pps. 387-396.)  Cusa reports that Muhammad prepared the Koran only to explain and simplify the words of Jesus Christ for his followers in Mecca.  He also reports that Muhammad died as a Nestorian Christian.  In his report, Cusa speaks of three very crafty Jews who attached themselves to Muhammad in order to avert him.  After Muhammad's death, Cusa reports that these Jews approached Alis, the son of Abitalip, to whom Muhammad had bequeathed his collection of writings.  Abitalip was persuaded by these Jews to elevate himself to a prophet.  They added and deleted what they wanted from the book of Muhammad and added passages so that Muhammad would also appear as a prophet.  The full report should be available at the Vatican.
954083
At my book club meeting for this book, our discussion was longer than discussions that we have had for any other books that we have read.  There are so many ideas and topics in this book that are each worthy of a long discussion in themselves.  Some of the topics that we discussed included child abandonment, working together as a team, learning something about a sport, politics, rivalries, loyalty, inner struggles, history of the United States during the depression and the aftermath, personal responsibility and some that I cannot remember.  It is a book that is rich with lessons of the heart and history.  It will stick with you and you will think about it again and again after you read it.
1564194
This volume will evoke feelings and provoke thoughts to a greater degree, probably, than almost any book you have ever read.
789533
This book can provoke a lot of thought and discussion about what in the environment is worth going to bat for. This is a well-written book than any sixth grade teacher can use to stimulate class discussion around the environment, friendship, guilt, economics and moral dilemmas. As someone who works with children and cares about the environment, I found this was a first class read that should provoke great discussions.
2932611
Moving.  Stirring.  Provocative.  This book asks one of the largest questions in life and then requests major thinkers, mostly theologians, to weigh in.  I think it could be improved by asking thoughtful experts from other points of view (such as psychologists, politicians, and historians) to add to the discussion.  I can't get it out of my mind which is the mark of a good book.
4455362
The theory in this book is very deep, but the topics are very pertinent. Not an easy read, but I really enjoyed the course that I took that used this book.
4696689
This book could bring an important topic of conversation and action to the table.  This story is an individual story with an important theme.  While the conversation is important across many ages, cultures, and beliefs, the book does not necessarily prompt a dynamic and wise response.  It is reflective and personal.
1166351
What makes this book outstanding is the chapter on Hopeful Predictions. For me those predictions showed the degree to which we have a religion-based government (theocracy) and that it's sociological impact is far more serious than commonly imagined.

The author articulates a number of reasons why it's unreasonable to believe in a God but I doubt that they are powerful enough to convince any true believers. Instead I would suggest that a deep scientific review of the reasoning and human communication process would be more valuable, particularly if it probed into two interrelated subjects (1) how we assess the credibility of human communication and (2) the neurological causes behind religious belief. See http://www. 999info.net/Informational%20Mechanics/45R9.pdf for an introduction.
2963637
This is conceptual an important area of discussion.  Michael Lewis does a great job giving the background.
2080965
This is an interesting, thought-provoking book with considerable insight and many fine suggestions.
4458407
We are finding this to be a great study- we are having lots of discussion about things that some of us have never considered before.
3953268
Myers' book engages the reader with very expansive predictions on the coming changes in human social interaction, which the author manages to present in extraordinarily subtle ways.  More of a philosophical discourse than an essay, Myers book manages to engage the reader in a very provocative dialectic without the reader initially realizing such.  Very descriptive despite its compactness, the commentary is quietly but firmly inquisitive in ways that engage the reader beyond its instructiveness.

On the surface Myers discussion is of how humans interact with one another in simulated worlds, but far more profoundly, he mounts an almost-disconcerting discussion of how these changes will alter the way in which people are going to interact with *themselves*.

The book is a prediction (harbinger perhaps) of the ways that previous concepts of social fabric will change as people interact in the world of dreams -- but only as an allegory of interacting in worlds comprised pure *self*, unfettered by any limitations of identity.  With great delicateness, Myers suggests how this unfettered self may also self-actualize, both as its own identity and also as a symbiote of the real self -- and perhaps even an adversary.

Myers leaves his book open ended, which is perhaps the only obvious allusion in the book -- that there is much more yet to come.
349323
While many may find Benatar's thesis hard to accept on an emotional level, it's difficult to find fault with his pragmatic argument.  At the very least, this fascinating book will stimulate thought and conversation.
2166099
This book seems to settle in with a lot of what I'm seeing today in the Christian realm.  Lets make things more palitable for our own liking.  Let us "create" something we can live with so to speak.  Although, he did give me a lot to think about while reading the book.  Maybe I'm not seeing things clearly yet, but this book has caused me to dig deeper and think more about the things of God.

Paul states clearly the Gospel of Christ, and this book does spend a lot of time there, showing the most vital part of that gospel.  There are so many foundational truths there, that I sometimes feel that those who fill the pews are not getting.  How many study the Word for themselves, or are they simply waiting to be hand fed.

This book will cause everyone to take a closer look, to dig a little deeper.  In that, they will find the true deep truths that are there.. we just haven't taken the time to look close enough and study them.  We will be using this book with or home group, as I think it will be more of a deeper growth for all of us.

This review submitted for BookSneeze.