Another unconvincing call to women to run with wildlife—this time the reindeer. Leonard (Meeting the Madwoman, 1993, etc.), a Jungian analyst, explores the cross-cultural archetypal meanings of the reindeer. She unearths many myths among Northern peoples, particularly the Sami of Lapland and the Evens of far northeastern Siberia; some cultures see reindeer as shamanic messengers, other believe they are goddesses. She argues that the realities of these animals' lives help to explain their symbolic importance to humans; the seasonal shedding of their antlers, for instance, suggests decay and rebirth. They can also represent survival and even generativity, especially for women, since reindeer annually make their seasonal migration when females are pregnant. The way Leonard integrates myth with natural reality to explain why reindeer are important in northern cultures is often sound. However, she wants to universalize the reindeer's significance in a manner that is not always plausible. The reindeer clearly has a different meaning for New Agers living in San Francisco (Leonard's current home), than for Laplanders who depend on its meat for survival. Some of her analogies between humans and reindeer also seem a stretch, as when she writes, ``Transforming hopelessness into faith requires digging into the depths of the soul, just as the reindeer must dig deep in the snow for lichen''; after all, much of the animal world digs around for food. Leonard's contemporary pop spirituality clichÇs (``reindeer dance,'' ``wisdom,'' ``spiritual pathfinder'') may also frustrate readers whose sensibilities have not already been dulled by such stuff. Foggy logic and bland language will leave many seekers uninspired.
Pub Date: Nov. 13, 1995
ISBN: 0-553-07300-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
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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