This is an easy introduction to Catholic theology -- most particularly angelogy (which I did not previously know was a thing) and demonology. There4.5
This is an easy introduction to Catholic theology -- most particularly angelogy (which I did not previously know was a thing) and demonology. There are some true accounts of exorcisms, and that is interesting, but pick this up only if you are really looking for a Christian, specifically Catholic (man, I felt guilty almost the whole way through) take on possession and the whole demon thing. I thought the explanation of theology was concise and understandable. However, if you are looking for detailed case histories, this probably isn't for you -- see Martin or others....more
Changed the way I ate 100%. Really amazing review of nutrition. Doesn't get 5 stars only because I am not an expert on nutrition 4.7/5
Well researched.
Changed the way I ate 100%. Really amazing review of nutrition. Doesn't get 5 stars only because I am not an expert on nutrition yet I feel he may be a bit biased against meat protein, but hell, to the extent he provides evidence, especially for weight-loss, dude gets a 10....more
I am a sucker for true-life ghost stories/hauntings/demons-coming-at-you tales. I do not know why I find these sorts of books so intriguing since t2.5
I am a sucker for true-life ghost stories/hauntings/demons-coming-at-you tales. I do not know why I find these sorts of books so intriguing since they are generally too outlandish to be taken seriously and are typically poorly written as well. Yet, tempt me with demon-probably-lives-in-your-basement and for some reason I am sold. Maybe I am like Fox Mulder and just want to believe or believe for the few hours I am reading and get a good scare in. After all, Stephen King is too busy writing about spree killers these days to provide the needed dose of evil clowns. Whatever is the motivation here, recently two books crossed my path dealing with real-life ooga-boogas. Debi Chestnut's Something Wicked is one.
According to the blurb, “Something Wicked explores the topic of negative energies, dark forces, and exorcisms with fresh eyes so that you may come to your own conclusions.” So, yeah, light reading for a summer afternoon I suppose, but right up my true hauntings alley. Interestingly, Chestnut is not going for a demoniacal tell-all here. The reader gets little in the way of her experiences with negative entities/demons beyond a mention that she has had some, but instead Something Wicked is meant as a manual for parapsychologists or ghost hunters on the demonic. Something Wicked is meant to prepare the uninitiated for experiences with negative entities. According to Chestnut, “my main goal in writing this book was to give information, and perhaps a warning, on what demonic creatures do, how they behave, how they infest and possess, and what to look for before the situation gets out of control.”
Accordingly, she begins by describing the types of negative entities that exist like demons, poltergeists, elementals, and so on and gives a brief example of what these types of entities are and what they typically do. I found this discussion underinformative and unsupported and if I were one to go exploring haunted houses, I would still be unable to tell an avenging poltergeist from a demon from an elemental, much less know what to do about any of them. She goes on to describe why negative entities enter one's life – they apparently like messy houses, Ouija boards, Satanism, and drug/alcohol abuse and the like – and how they bother one when they get there – knocking on walls, moving stuff, smelling bad, being terrifying, you know, the usual. It is during this latter part where the book temporarily derails into an enumeration of exorcisms gone wrong. While this is interesting in its own way, particularly her call-out of the first case to use “possessed by demon” as a legal defense, I have no idea how this has any bearing whatsoever on identifying negative entities or dealing with them. This section sits oddly with my understanding of the purpose of the text. As does the following section where she paraphrases and then dissects the Catholic Rite of Exorcism. I have to say that this was just bizarre and sort of academically offensive. Chestnut is not a theologian, or even a Catholic, and literally her critique comes down to no more than whether she commonsensically agrees with any particular directive. Here is an example:
“Clearly this directive was important and valid in the 1600s and probably up through most of the 1800s, however, there really isn't a need for it now and it should have been removed from the revised directive as it deals with witchcraft and the fact that a church-appointed exorcist should not resort to witchcraft or any other activity while performing an exorcism that is not sanctioned by the Church”.
?? Okay then.
On the positive side, the book does seem well-intentioned and she does provide some tips on how to avoid having demons come home with you after a ghost hunt and how to try to keep your home demon-free. However, if one really believes in this sort of thing and is worried about encountering something evil, I think going to one of her source texts, like Martin's Hostage to the Devil may be more useful.
Thanks to Debi Chestnut, Llewellyn Worldwide, and NetGalley for the ARC.
Probably the best book I have ever read for learning basic geography, random country facts, and what flags look like. While naturally this is not a seProbably the best book I have ever read for learning basic geography, random country facts, and what flags look like. While naturally this is not a serious atlas, it is pretty informative and totally hilarious....more
The story is amazing, the telling of it is not. I felt as if Hoffman just could not decide on a thesis: is this about Asmat culture? Primitive art? HoThe story is amazing, the telling of it is not. I felt as if Hoffman just could not decide on a thesis: is this about Asmat culture? Primitive art? Hoffman's travelogue? Michael Rockefeller's death? Colonial rule? There is a little bit about all these things and with the exception of presenting a compelling case to explain Rockefeller's disappearance in 1961 and the exposition of his feelings about "the primitive" (i.e. indigenous peoples) and how off-putting it is to swim in a river with poop floating by, the other threads are not supported adequately. Well, that is really only true in the case of politics (Netherlands v. Indonesia, Part III: Screw You) and primitive art, he does cover the Asmat culture quite extensively though I found it so repetitive that I wanted to hunt his head at times. There just didn't seem to be a lot of substance for the 300 pages: Rockefeller's disappearance is truly handled in about 50 (and that is counting the historical run-down in addition to examining plausible theories of which there really only seem to be two: the Asmat ate him or he drowned) and without delving more deeply into the issues discussed above, it sort of meandered occasionally circling back on itself to cover the same content again. Savage Harvest drinking game: take one drink every time Hoffman says something about the recency of headhunting (e.g. "while the Dutch denied that the Asmat were headhunters, headhunting widely still took place until at least the 1970s") or every time he mentions the Asmat like axes, fishing lures, or tobacco.
For a travelogue and discussion of "the primitive", I suggest Into the Heart of Borneo . Yeah, it isn't New Guinea, but it is close. Not that this was a bad book, but I can't as wholeheartedly recommend it as Amazon does. ...more
Story: Overall, this is a very strong book. Well written and comprehensive, Cullen manages to dispel the mThis review refers to the audiobook edition.
Story: Overall, this is a very strong book. Well written and comprehensive, Cullen manages to dispel the many myths surrounding the Columbine shooting and present the facts. He chronicles the timeline of the shooting down to the minute and conveys well the horror and the arbitrariness of this crime. What works against him, in my opinion, is his tendency to want to explain everything, which is something that can't be done in a book of this length. For instance, while he picks only certain survivors to follow and only talks about 2 or 3 of the murdered, he still gets bogged down. He tends to repeat himself often -- witness testimony is unreliable! -- and spends too much time on things that are obvious like being a psychopath is really a legit explanation for why someone would be an unrepentant killer. I probably know too much about psychopaths, actually since I read the book Cullen sources for most of his psychopath explanation, I probably do, but Dylan Kleibold had more unexplained motives than Eric and I felt this exploration was lacking. It seemed as though Cullen had just discovered the concept of a psychopath and was so impressed with this concept we had to hear about it in detail. We just get on Dylan's end: he was depressed, had a temper, and was manipulated by...a psychopath! (If you want to be in the latter part of this book, spend 10 minutes here marveling at the psychopath's ability to manipulate). For other readers who aren't as steeped in psychopathic literature as I am, maybe this is enlightening. I found it tedious. And a convenient way to sidestep dealing with the psychology driving non-psychopathic school shooters.
I also wondered often why Cullen chose to follow and discuss who he chose to follow and discuss. What did the other survivors and dead kids lack that made them not interesting enough to write about? This is just something that bothered me, but I don't take points off Cullen's story for this since he couldn't have covered everything unless he was willing to expand the book. I couldn't help but note it though since Cullen works hard to make his motives/intentions plain and this was an area that went unremarked on.
Narrator: Excellent. Read fairly slowly, so had to bump up the reading speed a bit at the beginning, but clear and articulate overall....more
3.5. Interesting coverage and a lot of interesting topics and personalities introduced, but the threads never really tie together. It seems that a cen3.5. Interesting coverage and a lot of interesting topics and personalities introduced, but the threads never really tie together. It seems that a central thesis is lacking or maybe a determination of what sort of book it wants to be: a look at how the agricultural industry ruined small farms and the aftermath? A book about meth addiction? A book about the history of the manufacture and distribution of meth in America? Something else (there are many possibilities to pick from)? The lack of focus prevents the book from being more than a series of vignettes and factoids. That is really too bad, because I think Reding was onto something here, he just didn't quite capture it. Nonetheless, an interesting, though surface, look at rural Midwestern America in mid-2000s and the history of meth in the US....more
In comparison with other Jon Ronson books, this was my least favorite. While the information is interesting, there were not many laugh out loud momentIn comparison with other Jon Ronson books, this was my least favorite. While the information is interesting, there were not many laugh out loud moments and some of the book seemed awfully disjointed -- as if he simply added a chapter of already prepared material that was only tangentially related to the book's theme. The book seemed to start to go downhill in general about 3/4 of the way through. However, it is worth a read just for his reporting on Ruby Ridge and for the bit about the giant lizards....more
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