Passion The Books

Any institution has its myths and legends. One of the most enduring myths in law is that good decision making is devoid of emotion. The image we have of justice is a blindfolded decision maker holding scales.

Susan Bandes' book, The Passions of Law, explodes the myth that emotion has no place in law. She has collected essays from some of the most respected legal theorists, philosophers and jurists of our time: Martha Nussbaum, Austin Sarat, Martha Minow, Chesire Calhoun, John Deigh, Danielle Allen, Dan Kahan, Robert Solomon, Toni Massaro, William Ian Miller, Jeffrie Murphy, Samuel Pillsbury, and Richard Posner. Emotions are rampant in law, the essayists observe, and often they are central to good decision making. For example, we allow defenses to murder for crimes committed in the heat of passion; in capital cases some states require juries to find a murder was "heinous, atrocious or cruel" before imposing a death sentence.

The theorists tackle a range of emotions - compassion, mercy, anger, vengeance, hatred, romantic love, remorse, and shame. One of the most intriguing colloquys is a debate between Yale law professor Dan Kahan and University of Chicago law, philosophy and divinity professor Martha Nussbaum on the propriety of considering disgust in law. Kahan advocates that disgust "is essential to accurate moral perception" and makes an interesting case why liberals should embrace disgust as a means of expressing social outrage: it is, for example, the idea behind enhanced penalties for hate crimes. Nussbaum counters that disgust has "been at the root of gross evils throughout history, prominently including misogyny, antisemitism, and loathing of homosexuals." Other theorists write about the invisibility of emotions, the relations between emotion and reason, and the reconstructive role of the legal system in shaping emotions.

The collected essays contain discussions of the most famous and provocative trials, legal issues, and atrocities of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: Oscar Wilde's trial for obscenity, au pair Louise Woodward's murder trial, the trial of O.J. Simpson, the proposals of Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin to regulate pornography, laws against sodomy and same sex marriage, the Oklahoma City bombing and the Holocaust.

The book is truly interdisciplinary, drawing on the criminal law, political philosophy, law and literature, gay legal theory, the classics, psychology, social theory, relgion, moral philosophy, and ethics. And the writing itself has sparks - it contains passion.

Few collections of essays are pathbreaking. Susan Bandes has compiled such a collection.

Romance on a Greek island! The heroine ends up there after escaping a failed relationship. Simon is there helping his aging parents, but also escaping his real life in London. Sparks fly and Elsie Lee makes a great story of it.

Wow Wow Wow, What an amazing read!

This book was recommended to me by a close friend and I can't thank her enough for her recommendation. This amazing story about Roxanna had re-ignited my own passions from within. From the moment I picked this book up I was unable to leave it alone, chapter after chapter I needed to know what adventure and experience Roxanna was to have.

This is a real love story that honestly hits you in your heart and believably makes you cheer that Roxanna finds exactly what she has been dreaming for. No matter how old you get never give up on your dreams and passions. Life is an amazing journey and if your want to escape this is one great way to get there.

This book took me along to Italy and for the few hours I believed that I was observing right alongside sharing in Roxanna's adventures. Great read and I can't wait until Hollywood turns this story into a movie; big question now is, "Which classy sexy actress will be awarded the honor to portray Roxanna?"

Can't rave enough, read this adventure today, you will not be disappointed, now I must plan my next trip to Italy to experience this for myself!

- Dan

I found this book very uplifting, and encouraging for the future hope of the generations to come, in ending the cycle of Genocides. Also, I felt it touched my heart, as it brought out the tears when it reflected so realistically on the huge suffering of the Armenians on the death marches. Besides for giving detail about the history of Armenia and the terrible Genocide, the author's additional included poems expressing the pain, grief, and agony were very impressive. I especially cared for the Prayer for Armenia, and the Prayer for the Martyrs.

Irving Stone writes the best biography's that read like a novel.
A great way to learn history & be entertained at the same time.

This book is just plain facts. Not even a little exaggeration. Well researched and well written book. The book gives tremendous amount of facts on the anti-Sanskrit, anti-brahminical and anti-Aryan passions of Tamils and great savants of Tamil from 1860 to till date. Clearly answers the reason for the passion. Tamil as mother is given great importance and (tamilthai) `mother Tamil', symbolizing Tamil as the mother of the entire Tamil speaking community is dealt in great detail.

The struggle against the Sanskrit in pre independence and against Hindi in the post independence time is dealt in great detail. All great poets, political leaders, the erudite are mentioned; the author herself shows immense passion in bringing out the passions of the Tamils.

The symbolization of Tamil as mother, lover and child, both in classical Tamil poems and by latest Tamil poets is shown as the main reason behind the passion, especially by the male dominant society, certain examples of female patrons are also provided.

The passion for Tamil is ignited not only by the symbol of Tamil as mother (tamilthai) but symbolizing Sanskrit and the Hindi as daemons disrupting the valor, greatness and the beauty of `Tamil mother' both as symbolic pictures in the print and as well as the rhetoric of various Tamil political leaders and others is also stated as a reason for the passion.

The renaming of Madras State as TamilNadu and the anti-hindi protest during the 1960's are also dealt in detail.

A great work by `Sumathi Ramaswamy'. A must read not only for Tamils, but also for people who don't understand the passion of Tamils and the classicality of the language.

I read this book nearly 12 years ago and remember I loved it. I wish I had held on to my copy of it, but I'm glad to see that it was re-released in 1995. If only, Janelle Taylor still wrote like that. Her historicals were out of this world, now it's contemporaries and science fiction/fantasy. She never finished her Lakota series though, so may be there's hope for the old Janelle Taylor of returning.

Pilgrimage in the Footsteps of Jesus is the second title in the Threshold Bible Study program developed by the editor of God's Word Today.

It takes readers to 30 sites from the life of Jesus. Black and white photos and maps of the region are included. Each session is divided into six, 3-page lessons consisting of a passage from scripture, history of the site, reflection questions, and a prayer.

For example, Session 3 covers the Jordan River, Cana, Capernaum (the synagogue and Peter's house), the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes, and the Mount of Beatitudes. The lesson on Peter's house in Capernaum begins with readings from Mark (1:29-34, in which Peter's mother-in-law is cured of a fever and 2:1-12 in which the paralyzed man is lowered through the roof).

We are introduced to the site as it is today: "A short distance from the synagogue are the remains of Peter's house... it had one large room, measuring about 20 feet by 20 feet, and several smaller rooms" with walls of black basalt stones and a roof of clay and straw. In the next paragraph we "see" Jesus in this place he called home, and are given more scripture references to fill out the picture. Next we learn that Peter's house was a gathering place for early Christians and, in the second half of the first century, the walls and ceilings of the large room were plastered to create a church.

The author briefly describes further changes to the building in the fifth century and closes by describing the scene today, in which a modern church is built on pillars over the ruins. In the center of the church, a glass floor allows visitors to look into the excavations below and stand directly above the place Jesus called home.

The reflection/discussion questions deal with what is sacred about the place we call home and ways in which we can bring others to Jesus as townspeople brought the paralyzed man to Jesus at Peter's house.

This was really a very spicy (erotic actually) and suspenseful romance. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a quick beach read!
:)

"Sometimes on the way to your dream you get lost and find a better one. It is okay to change your mind. If you thought you always wanted to be a doctor only to discover after medical school that what you really wanted to do was open a bakery--open a bakery. Life is too short not to follow your heart." - Lisa Hammond

Known as the Barefoot CEO, author and entrepreneur Lisa Hammond encourages all women to honor their experience, follow fulfillment, cultivate joy and pursue outrageous dreams. Founder of Femail Creations, a catalogue and website shopping extravaganza for women and by women, Lisa passes along inspirational stepping stones to passionate and purposeful life in her 48-card deck Permission to Dream (Conari Press).

Illustrated in pink and brown, these attractive cards feature a fantastic quote from Lisa or other source, with a commentary on the reverse side. Here are a few of my favorite quotes and commentaries found in the Permission to Dream deck:

"Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm and our intelligence aglow." - Helen Keller ~~ "If you have lost your joy, start looking! It's in there, perhaps buried deep inside, but definitely worth finding again. Pay attention to what you love and put your focus there."

"The best thing a mother can give her child is a happy and fulfilled mom. There are many paths to happiness and fulfillment--follow your heart and choose your own way." - Lisa Hammond ~~ "We are each unique, and what works for me won't work for you. Do what is right for you and don't listen to what everyone else has to say about it. Believe me, you and your children will both win."

"Growth demands a temporary surrender of security." - Gail Sheehy ~~ "You'll be amazed at how inspired and rejuvenated you feel when you step out of your comfort zone! TRY IT!"

"Women are so good at so many things we often end up doing way too much...If you are trying to spin too many plates, sooner or later one of them is bound to hit you right smack in the head." - Lisa Hammond ~~ "Leave some space in your life and on your calendar for down time. Having space for quiet and calm allows inspiration and intuition to flow into your life."

"Well-behaved women rarely make history." - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich ~~ "Sit down with your `ideas' journal and try to imagine what your life would be like if you knew that you could not fail. Write a story or a description of the alternate life you could have. Take a look at what an exciting life you can have if you were to truly follow all of your passions!"

I've owned dozens of inspirational decks, and Permission to Dream exceeds them all for those who are ever-conscious about doing "something" of importance in this life or who want to pursue a life of unique excellence but are unsure how to proceed or maintain momentum. If you want to put your original stamp on the world, discover your passion, or need an inspirational boost from someone who walks confidently in her realized dreams, I highly recommend the Permission to Dream deck from Lisa Hammond. In addition, you may want to check out Lisa's book Dream Big, also by Conari Press.

(To see 6 card images from this deck, visit the Reviews--Decks section at JanetBoyer.com)

Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (coming Fall 2008 from Hampton Roads Publishing)