In the main, uninspired and trite.
A melodramatic, overwritten examination of present-day virtue—or the lack of it.
This investigation of the Ten Commandments and how far Americans have fallen from their standard began as a series that staff correspondent Hedges (War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, 2002, etc.) wrote for the New York Times. He now devotes a chapter to each commandment and chronicles the stories of quirky individuals whose lives intersect with each. The chapter on the Sabbath, for example, describes the outré Friday-night rituals of pediatricians Stephen Arpadi and Terry Marx, who drink Shabbat vodka gimlets and allow their kids to watch a video, Shabbat TV. He also tells us that letting go is an integral part of parenthood; that “all love hurts”; and that love “is difficult and hard” and “filled with a transformative power.” Self-help pabulum of this kind might be expected from a Hallmark Hall of Fame special, but not from a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist. The most engaging section is the transcript of a controversial antiwar commencement speech Hedges gave in 2003 at Rockford College. He was practically booed off the stage, and he transcribes every heckle the audience hurled at him. It’s a revealing slice of Americana, though perhaps only tenuously connected to Hedges’s putative theme of honoring one’s parents. Another failing is Hedges’s grandly capacious interpretation of the commandments: ironically, this roominess may even allow ordinary readers to wiggle out of the commandments’ range. Take the chapter on adultery, for instance. Hedges profiles a man named H.R. Vargas, whose father left his mother and took up with another woman while Vargas was in utero. Vargas, now a father himself, is still battling the emotional consequences of this early abandonment. The story is powerful—but abstract: one wonders whether the tale of an ordinary, white-collar office affair might have cut a little closer to home for most readers.
In the main, uninspired and trite.Pub Date: June 7, 2005
ISBN: 0-7432-5513-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Free Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2005
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
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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