In this collection of the writings of Simone Weil there is made available to the English speaking public the basic materials forming the spiritual autobiography of his remarkable women. Born of Jewish parentage in France in 1909, she died in exile in 1943. Into this short span of life she crowded many varied experiences. She was an intellectual, but her main interest in life centered in the class struggle. She was early attracted to Marxism and then disillusioned by it. But she entered wholeheartedly into the trade-union movement, and the Spanish Civil War, was thought of as a radical with leanings towards anarchism. Not until after her death was it disclosed that all the while she had been having real religious experiences of a mystical nature, which brought her to the verge of uniting with the Catholic Church. This final step she resed to take out of the conviction that she could serve the course of truth among the materialistic unchurched masses by remaining, outwardly at least, one of them. The of her faith contained in this book are mostly in the form of letters to her catholic friend and adviser Father Perrin. Because of the intensity of a religious experience couched in non-ecclesiastical forms and for the trenchancy of her language this an unusual book which men of all faiths or no faith will appreciate. The introduction by Leslie A. Fiedler adds much to the value of the book. Check your market for of and follow through with this book.
Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0061718963
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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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