Reviews Written By: A1R29FLZWPCURKprovided by Amazon.com |
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 | The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness | |
 | "Deeply engrossing, inspiring, but . . ." | 2009-10-22 |
| I haven't been this engrossed in a book since college, half a century ago. Karen Armstrong writes beautifully and her concerns resonate sympathetically in my heart. Indeed, she had me with her until almost the end of the book. It is not a criticism of the book to say that I cannot agree with her conclusions. She puts compassion, the Golden Rule, at the center of religious teaching, and insists that we must love our neighbor even when he has done us grievous harm. I am obliged to admit that I don't love, say, a man who kidnaps a young girl and keeps her as his sex slave for 18 years; or surgeons who perform unnecessary operations for the money; or people who run torture chambers and then boast about it. Moreover, I don't think that most people who think of themselves as religious would agree that compassion is central - rather, God is (see the First Commandment).
She goes on to write: "The myths and laws of religion are not true because they conform to some metaphysical, scientific, or historical reality but because they are life enhancing." This is simply wrong. Those myths and laws may be useful for that reaon, it doesn't make them true. It may enhance your life to believe that the world is 6,000 years old, that doesn't make it true. As for the laws being life enhancing, for practicing Jews among the most important laws are those of Kashrut, that is complying with the kosher rules. I do not find a prohibition of eating lobster, shrimp, oysters and clams, or of sprinkling Parmesan cheese on your meatballs, life enhancing. I am suprised at the negative reviews which accuse Ms. Armstrong of blaming others for her own failings. I thought she did the opposite, even to a fault, always accepting the blame even when she was treated poorly. She repeatedly states that her failure as a nun was just that, her failure - that she was simply not made for that role, although others have done fine under that regimen. One of the things I most liked about this book was the generosity of spirit of the author. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the spiritual quest. | ||
 | The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness | |
| "Deeply engrossing, inspiring, but . . ." | 2009-10-22 |
| I haven't been this engrossed in a book since college, half a century ago. Karen Armstrong writes beautifully and her concerns resonate sympathetically in my heart. Indeed, she had me with her until almost the end of the book. It is not a criticism of the book to say that I cannot agree with her conclusions. She puts compassion, the Golden Rule, at the center of religious teaching, and insists that we must love our neighbor even when he has done us grievous harm. I am obliged to admit that I don't love, say, a man who kidnaps a young girl and keeps her as his sex slave for 18 years; or surgeons who perform unnecessary operations for the money; or people who run torture chambers and then boast about it. Moreover, I don't think that most people who think of themselves as religious would agree that compassion is central - rather, God is (see the First Commandment).
She goes on to write: "The myths and laws of religion are not true because they conform to some metaphysical, scientific, or historical reality but because they are life enhancing." This is simply wrong. Those myths and laws may be useful for that reaon, it doesn't make them true. It may enhance your life to believe that the world is 6,000 years old, that doesn't make it true. As for the laws being life enhancing, for practicing Jews among the most important laws are those of Kashrut, that is complying with the kosher rules. I do not find a prohibition of eating lobster, shrimp, oysters and clams, or of sprinkling Parmesan cheese on your meatballs, life enhancing. I am suprised at the negative reviews which accuse Ms. Armstrong of blaming others for her own failings. I thought she did the opposite, even to a fault, always accepting the blame even when she was treated poorly. She repeatedly states that her failure as a nun was just that, her failure - that she was simply not made for that role, although others have done fine under that regimen. One of the things I most liked about this book was the generosity of spirit of the author. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the spiritual quest. | ||
 | Polk Audio LSi9 Bookshelf Speakers | |
 | "Overrated" | 2009-04-17 |
| For the same money, I think better sound is available. I compared them with my Paradigm Monitor 11 v.3 speakers and found the Polks much less open, almost as if they had a blanket over them. I also found that at moderate volume the woofers began making a vibrating noise which obliged me to attenuate the bass. I was using a Cambridge Audio Azur 640a v.2 integrated amplifier rated at 120 watts into 4 ohms and initially set at direct (bypassing tone controls) - the same way I play my Paradigms - but as noted had to turn the bass way down. This stopped the vibrating but of course reduced the bass, which isn't very deep or strong to begin with. (Lest anyone think that it's unfair to compare stand-mounts with floorstanders, please note that they are almost exactly the same price - and the Paradigms don't need stands.) If you are limited to stand-mounts (you certainly can't put these deep, heavy speakers on a bookshelf), these might be worth trying. But I would certainly recommend giving others a try too. | ||
 | A Most Wanted Man | |
| "Serious book on serious subject" | 2009-04-17 |
| I am writing this review because my perspective seems to be somewhat different from that of many of the reviews here. First, I have never read any other novel by Le Carré, so I am not making a comparative analysis. On its own, then, I found this book compelling. It treats a serious current issue with the seriousness it deserves with no unnecessary detours into sex or the Hamburg landscape (very beautiful - I have spent enjoyable times there). Second, the portrayal of a Muslim refugee from Chechnya, who may or may not be a violent jihadist, I found to be nuanced and credible, though extremely strange. I found the depiction of his lawyer - I am a retired trial lawyer - less credible but I was willing to suspend disbelief in the interests of the larger story. Third, several reviewers have referred to Le Carré's anti-Americanism. There are in fact very few scenes involving Americans and I did not find them incredible. Indeed, I was more surprised at the actions of the official Germans and in particular their treatment of a German lawyer from a highly respected family. Is any of that true to life? I have no idea, but then I have no personal knowledge of spies or, for that matter, of the police forces of Germany or any other country (I was a civil lawyer). Finally, and to me most important of all, I couldn't put the book down. | ||
 | The Musical Dialogue | |
| "Superb" | 2009-04-17 |
| Superb study focusing on interpretation/performance of the works of the three named composers. Familiarity with the works discussed, and some knowledge of music notation, will be helpful - having records, CDs, or DVDs of Harnoncourt's performances of course adds an extra dimension. Highly recommended. | ||
 | Indivisible by Four: A String Quartet in Pursuit of Harmony | |
| "Lovely" | 2008-08-01 |
| This is a simply lovely book. I was a music student at Yale a few years before the author studied at Curtis, and his book invokes that time for me as if it were yesterday. I think anyone would enjoy it greatly even beyond the music, for it shows how four highly talented, strongly opinionated, dynamic men could blend into a coherent group - in their case, to make music, but law partners (I changed careers) could learn a lot from their example. A wonderful book. | ||
 | Panasonic SLBD20D Semi Automatic Turntable | |
 | "Excellent value" | 2007-08-12 |
| This is an extraordinary value, an excellent turntable for a modest audio system. I am using it with an Onkyo receiver and Polk 4a speakers and am thereby enjoying my record collection in the dining area of my kitchen. One important caveat is that the Grado black cartridge does not work with this turntable, it produces a strong hum even with the ground wire attached. The good news is that the cartridge which comes with the turntable is just fine. Very nice indeed! | ||
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