Groups Books

Randy Shilts's intricately researched biography of one of the greatest gay activists of all time, Harvey Milk, is not only a political biography, but a chronology of an entire political movement.
This is the second book I've read by Randy Shilts, the first being And the Band Played On. While there are certainly some differences between the two, Shilts's imaginative narrative writing is the same. The Mayor of Castro Street is proof positive that he [the author] can turn even the most mundane of political machinations into high drama.
Starting out when Harvey Milk was growing up in Woodmere, New York, the book traces his life from there. From his high school athletic career, to his college years, his time with the Navy, and his Manhattan years. When Harvey makes the move from New York to San Francisco, the book changes pace, and a gay political hero is born. The book is filled with snippets of his speeches, and in the back appendices, the eloquent words of Harvey Milk come alive, as some of his more famous speeches are reprinted there.
At a solid 380 pages (including appendices and sources) the book never drags. Everything appears to be cause and effect, which makes for some white-knuckle reading even if the reader is already familiar with the budding gay movement, Harvey Milk's participation in it, and the untimely tragic assassination of he and Mayor George Moscone by a homophobic zealot.
I must admit, there were certain parts of this book that gave me chills: Harvey Milk's beautiful speeches, the candlelight vigils, the many marches, and the White Night Riots. The sheer epic proportions of it all can overwhelming.
However, epic or not, this remains the simple story of a man and his dream, vision, and hope for his gay brothers and sisters, and all of humanity.

Beyond the frank and up front story of the life of Harvey Milk, this book is an incredible source of information and understanding of the gay rights movement from before its beginning to after the death of Supervisor Milk. Easy to read, albeit long, it's definitely worth the effort. No matter your sexual orientation, this brings new light to an often misunderstood movement.

I read a lot of biographies and, while I love the genre, I'm often disappointed with the writing. This book, by the late Randy Shilts, is an exception. Shilts was a great writer, able to take a variety of facts and put them into readable passages (his "And the Band Played On" is another good example of this). Harvey Milk and the San Francisco of the 1970s come to life in this book. The tragedy of Milk's assassination and its aftermath are rendered in gripping detail.

In The Mayor of Castro Street, the late Randy Shilts paints a vivid picture, not only of the life of gay politician Harvey Milk, but of the fight for gay rights in 1970's San Francisco and the nation as a whole. After a description of the events immediately following Milk's death, Shilts begins the book with Milk's youth in New York City. He briefly describes Milk's years in New York, and spends the vast majority of the book on Milk's last five years in San Francisco. It was during his San Francisco years that Milk made his critical contributions to gay history, including encouraging the development of the Castro into a gay Mecca, and running for, and finally winning, elected office as an openly gay man in a time when most thought such things simply couldn't happen.

Shilts is a meticulous reporter. In his section on source material he details how he extensively interviewed Milk's former lovers, including Scott Smith and Joe Campbell. Many of the dialogues for the biography come directly from the personal diary of Michael Wong, a longtime Milk supporter. According to Shilts, dialogues with others who knew Milk virtually always corroborated those in Wong's diary. Shilts's history of the Castro area came from over one hundred interviews he conducted with area residents.

One of the best qualities of the biography is its astonishingly objective posture. Achieving something like objectivity is a tremendous challenge for the author of any modern-day history, and nowhere is this more true than in histories of the gay liberation movement. The living participants in that history inevitably portray it in a range of ways and often fight vigorously for placement of credit where they feel credit is due. Shilts allows those participants to speak for themselves, and focuses on telling the details of the story, rather than interpreting that story for the reader. It is this author's unique degree of commitment to researching and conveying all the details that allows him to present such an apparently unbiased account.

It is also Shilts's attention to detail that makes the book so tough to put down. It reads more like a novel than a history, and each segment leads into the next with a sense of a tremendous plot unfolding. In a style that would come to characterize his later books, such as And The Band Played On, as well as Conduct Unbecoming, Shilts manages to draw the reader into multiple stories of individuals that end in cliffhangers, only to be picked up again in a later chapter. It is these stories that make up the fabric of gay history in San Francisco and a portion of that larger tapestry called gay liberation.

Randy Shilts has taken great pains to present the man honestly, exploring his political and personal lives. The result is an illimunitating portrait of the Gay Rights champion, documenting his triumphs and ideals alongside his personal ambiguities and foibles. Milk's rise to power, as well as the city's rich gay history, are depicted with candor and clarity.

The assassinations are reported in graphic detail, as is the reaction of the people. Intial shock and grief turn to righteous indignation when, on May 21, 1979 White is convicted on two counts of "valuntary manslaughter" with a maximum sentence of seven years, eight months. The city explodes. Justice is thwarted. A martyr is born. Milk's murder galvanizes the Gay Community to stand up and take their rightful place in society. A great book.

Mary's journey is truly extraordinary! I couldn't put the book down. She is an amazing human being to have overcome such adversity! Great read!

I loved this book. Like most of the books I love, it offers a glimpse into a reality so different from my own. BTW, I can't stand depressing books...although Mary had a tough childhood, her book never left me feeling depressed.

I let a woman at my work read it after me and she loved it too!

Could not put the book down. What a quality written autobiography that reads more like a fiction. Entertaining, motivational and educational. No "poor me" in this one - just the facts told in a straightforward manner. As a professional who has worked in the field of Behavioral and Mental Health, I can highly recommend this book to adults AND teens. After reading what Mary experienced as a child and what she overcame to become an educated, successful and caring adult you too will understand that it IS possible!

My career was as the Director of a rape treatment center and child protection team. Having read Mary's book, I assure you that it is a compelling read, hauntingly told without hysteria or histrionics. In an almost eerily pragmatic tone, Mary tells her story of a seriously deprived childhood in which she quickly adapted and accepted the status quo. It is a story with which many of us can identify because of the slow, insidious, and steady impact of growing up in families that not only cannot provide the basic necessities of life such as food and shelter, but do not provide safety, security, or emotional and psychological support. As children we are great at taking responsibility for the family. Mary's story is a plain truth story of survival and determination. I was quite moved and I've heard it all.

This insightful and touching memoir - Catcher in the Rye meets Horatio Alger - makes you wonder how a young woman exposed to such a difficult and deprived childhood can graduate from high school, not to mention earning a PhD from Harvard and becoming a leader in her profession. Even with elaborate support systems in place, most of us accomplish much less. Mary Kilgour's story is just an incredible eye-opener, told with such self-deprecating humor and honesty that you'll find yourself laughing and crying - and happy to learn that Ms Kilgour is now working to help children who are growing up facing some of the same issues she did!

This little book packs a big punch. I start off every morning with this book. I believe it makes a me a little wiser everyday. It really makes you think about a lot of things we usually do not think about. Buy this book. It is a small price to pay for a lot of wisdom.

This is a wonderful book which I purchased as a gift. People enjoy these powerful daily reflections that are thought provoking and inspiring. They point to the awesomeness of God and use short proverbs from around the world that undergird the author's point. Each also contains a prescription for improving our daily lives. Not the usual how-to book.

An extemely stimulaing, insightful book that is in an easy-to-read format. Its call for balance and simplicity in life in this hectic, 21st century world is pertinent and practical. Written by a medical doctor, it includes a daily prescription for applicaion of truth.

This is one of those books that you won't want to put down. Dr. Swenson challenges you to think deeply about the true issues of life. And, after reflecting on what really matters in life, you will be left with no better alternative than to slow down and enjoy life and your loved ones. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is "too busy." It is a simple read and is broken down into two-page reflections, which take (surprisingly!) about a minute to read. Enjoy.

Outstanding book. Short but profound daily thoughts that help keep life and priorities on track. Outstanding gift to business colleagues, family and friends.

Do you feel isolated and judged at work, simply for being who you are? Then you may well be a Mustang Sally, insists journalist Fawn Germer ("Hard Won Wisdom"). Mustang Sallys (from the song) don't go along to get along, says Germer, which means great rewards, but also great trouble - especially in business, where women have little leeway as outspoken leaders.

Peppered with interviews from some 75 different women like Hillary Rodham Clinton, Erin Brockovich and Eve Ensler ("The Vagina Monologues"), Germer offers advice on being true to yourself, fighting for what matters, getting what you want and daring to make mistakes. While Germer suggests little in the way of self-examination, she will definitely reassure courageous yet criticized women who refuse to kiss up in order to move up.

I just discovered Fawn Germer's books thanks to a friend who saw her speak in D.C. last year. What great advice for someone who is struggling career-wise. I am in a situation where I am unwilling to compromise my beliefs in order to fit in to a work environment where I am not respected or valued. To read this book and hear what ultra-successful women have gone through in order to just be themselves has given me hope and renewed energy. I am presenting "Mustang Sallies" to my reading group next month and I feel confident thirteen other women are going to find strength in Fawn's writings.

I highly recommend this book to any and all career women who have felt undervalued and conflicted about their careers.

If these stories of women who made a difference despite all odds don't inspire you to achieve to your fullest potential, it's doubtfull that anything else can. The spectrum of women chosen is a testament to diversity. This would make a great holiday gift for anyone and everyone.

This book will have a permanent place on my nightstand so I will find a little calm before going to sleep. Finally. FINALLY! Someone has explained all of my self-doubts and shown a way around them. This is a powerful book that I am giving as gifts to every one of my friends. It's required reading for any woman who has ever felt judged or criticized by others when she was absolutely in the right.

I was given this book as a gift from a friend who said, "Now you'll understand what's going on with your life, Diane. You're a mustang. That's not a negative." When I read Fawn Germer's Mustang Sallies, I knew what she meant. I've always felt misunderstood and underappreciated. Now I realize I am what Germer calls a "trailblazer." I've never been one to go along to get along, and I don't kiss up to move up. That's hurt me in the past, but Mustang Sallies is filled with strategies to make me succeed without selling out. I love this book. (...) It's phenomenal.

First, Kropotkin discusses mutual aid among animals. His first point is that Darwin had nothing to do with Social Darwinianism. In fact, he quotes Darwin as saying, "Those communities which included the greatest number of the sympathetic members would flourish best, and rear the greatest number of offspring."

He gives numerous examples. One of his examples is about the crested screamer, a bird species which holds massive song recitals. Would Lorenz agree that those birds are chirping merrily? Or would he insist that they are marking their territory?

Next, he discusses mutual aid among savages. Note that he uses a word which is scientifically unacceptable today.

Since K. cannot travel back in time, he surmises how our earliest ancestors lived by observing how isolated tribes today live--which is in clans. Although such tribes are still called "primitive," there is some question of whether or not these tribes live like our prehistoric ancestors did.

Since isolated tribes tend to live in clans, Kropotkin claims that the marital bond is not as strong as in the nuclear family system. In the appendix, he debates Westermarck on this matter.

Next, he discusses mutual aid among barbarians--another taboo word. According to K., there was a wave of migrations in ancient Europe, in which "races were mixing with races." The social institutions seemed to be wrecked as a result, but K. assures us that they instead "underwent the modification which was required by the new conditions of life."

Next, he discusses mutual aid in the medieval city. Now we are up to the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. Our next institution, then, is the professional guild.

Finally, he discusses mutual aid among ourselves. He sees a faint vestige of mutual aid today. K. sees the union as the successor of the clan, the village, and the guild, so he calls for more and better unions. K. also speaks highly of organizations with special interests, such as garden clubs and glee clubs.

However, K. cautions us against the "reckless individualism," or "the war of each against all," which he sees as prevailing today.

Kropotkin's discussion, persuasive as it is, can be counterbalanced with arguments in favor of individualism and competition. I wonder how Kropotkin would respond to the famous anecdote about the Jamestown colonists.

One can also question Kropotkin's claim that only the most sociable animal species prosper. The feline order is renowned for the aloofness of its members, and the lion has been dubbed "the king of the beasts."

I would like to close this report with an ad hominem attack against Kropotkin himself: If individualism is so reprehensible, what is he doing writing a book by himself and claiming credit for it by himself?

Anarchist classic, rooted in observation of natural phenomena and history. Challenges the conception that capitalism is a natural progression of Darwinism at work in the wild. The author cites numerous examples of compassion and innate goodness at work outside the bounds of a structured power-based society. The study covers cooperation among animals, instances of non-hierachical interactions from primitive tribes to mediaeval cities, and on to his contemporary labor unions. It has been some years since I read it and I plan to revisit this title soon.

This book, which appears to be about the only surviving scientific text from Kropotkin's work, is very interesting and insightful. The first two chapters which deal with animals I found most interesting, because they address the roots of the falsehood of social-darwinism. Kropotkin then proceeds to move through the different stages of human society and describes the mutual aid a compassion fetures therein. It is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it. It is a scientific text, but it has major political implications and is very accessible.

Este libro es uno de los pilares fundamentales de la teoria del anarco comunismo tan desvirtuada por el imperialismo, y nos da la esencia que el anarquismo, lejos de lo que se cree comunmente es una doctrina que se basa en el amor y la ayuda mutua, quitando las barreras de desigualdad entre las personas y haciendo un recuento de cómo la ayuda mutua es un factor de evolución hcia una sociedad más justa.

Peter Kropotkin is one of the most noteworthy anarchist thinkers over the last two centuries. As with other political thinkers, so, too, with Kropotkin--his analy¬sis of human nature is critical for understanding his overall philosophical position. For his view of human nature, "Mutual Aid" is a key for understanding his views. His work is a harbinger of more recent studies of sociobiology, many of which explore the roots of altruism--human and otherwise.

Much of his thinking on the nature of society was formed when he was observing the behavior of animals in Siberia. While assigned to a Siberian regiment of the Russian military, Kropotkin did innovative original work on geography and geology as well as the study of animal behavior. His observation of animals led him to respond to Huxley's assertion that natural selection was based on keen com¬petition among animals with the following statement: ". . .wherever I saw animal life in abundance, as, for instance, on the lakes where scores of species and millions of individuals came together to rear their progeny; in the colonies of rodents; in the migration of birds which took place at that time on a truly American scale along the Usuri; and especially in a migration of fallow-deer which I witnessed on the Amur, and during which scores of thousands of these animals came together from an immense territory, flying before the coming snow, in order to cross the Amur where it is narrowest--in all these scenes of animal life which passed before my eyes, I saw Mutual Aid and Mutual Support carried on to an extent which made me suspect in it a feature of the greatest importance for the maintenance of life, the preservation of each species, and its further evolution."

He synthesized his observations of animals within a species cooperating with one another and concluded that, in the struggle for life, cooperation was at least as important as competition. Kropotkin did not argue that competition was unimportant in the natural selection process. However, he did emphasize that mutual aid was a factor that many Darwinists (although, as Kropotkin made clear, not Darwin himself) ignored. The data that Kropotkin utilized came from many different animal species.

Kropotkin goes on to speculate about the survival value of cooperative behavior. He states that: "Life in societies enables the feeblest insects, the feeblest birds, and the feeblest mammals to resist, or to protect themselves from, the most terrible birds and beasts of prey; it permits longevity; in enables the species to rear its progeny with the least waste of energy and to maintain its progeny with the least waste of energy and to maintain its numbers albeit a very slow birth rate; it enables the gregarious animals to migrate in search of new abodes. Furthermore, cooperation facilitates the development of intelligence, since that quality is so important for social life among animals."

Kropotkin is not content to rest his case at this point. He subsequently indicates the likely course of human evolution and the role played by cooperation. He adopts the method of using existing societies at differing levels of socio-cultural complexity to speculate about the course of human socio-cultural evolution. Kropotkin argues that, at each stage, mutual aid is apparent and important for humans. Even in the period dominated by the great states, the present for Kropotkin, mutual aid institutions still flourished despite the state's intimidating presence.

Thus, Kropotkin's view of human nature is, ultimately, that it is inherently good, i.e. cooperative toward his or her fellow. What of this assertion? Is Kropotkin's view of human nature completely inaccurate and confounded by the available evidence? That is where each reader must evaluate his or her view of humanity's nature and render a judgment on "the anarchist prince."

This was the very first *NSYNC book I got, and I loved it at first sight. I mean, I still like it. It's pretty informative...mostly stuff you could find out in any other book. The pictures are the best part. Some of the pictures a little old, though. It's a pretty good gift for the younger generation of fans, or the freaky fans like me.

Okay, this book is pretty good...it was my very first *NSYNC book and I think it's got some pretty good stuff in it.

Of course, it is unauthorized, which means the guys didn't stamp their names on it, and it has some inaccuracies in it. Of course, you might not notice it if you weren't a freak like me.

I think this is a great gift for a young fan...however, if you're older or a freak like me, then this definitely is a bit beyond your obsession for these hot and talented guys.

Well I know that I am a big fan of Nsync, and to read this book makes me fall in love with this group all over again...it gives 411 on the group and it has wonderful and beautiful pictures (and I mean BEAUTIFUL!) I know this isn't the best description but if your a true Nsync fan than you need to go buy this cuz it is awesome book and it is a great keepsake!!

This was the very first *NSYNC book I got, and I loved it at first sight. I mean, I still like it. It's pretty informative...mostly stuff you could find out in any other book. The pictures are the best part. Some of the pictures a little old, though.

This book about my favorite boy band was really cool! All of the stuff in the book was factual and there were some really cute pictures of the guys in there. There's a lot of stuff on each one of the guys personally and also stuff about the group as a whole. A fantastic book for any fan!

Few veterans describe themselves as "heroes." It's a painful word - filled with aspiration, horror and loss. Many veterans who write memoirs avoid the most devastating echoes of war - their own perceived culpabilities. It's understandable. Who wants to poke a finger into a festering wound?

Douglas Bergman is a brave man. Using a magnifying glass, he focuses a scorching sunbeam onto his own soul - allowing the reader to see his demons in great detail. It is unsettling in a world where few want to accept responsibility for their mistakes - where confessions are whispered litanies of shame washed away with a few penitential rosaries. My initial reaction was to look away but I soon found myself examining the author's broken heart like a curious onlooker drawn to a fiery car wreck.

This book is many things - a memoir, an adventure, a tribute, a confession and a sob. From the shiny hearse-white cover to the imagery-dense prose, Mr. Bergman's tale perplexes and intrigues. Vietnam was a conundrum for everyone. For the men who fought there, growing up was like peeling a scab off a half-healed wound. Boy soldiers drawn to the service to resolve other problems found new sorrows to occupy their nightmares. "Names I Can't Remember" is a close up view of a Vietnam Veteran's reaction to war - and a description of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that still torments many who were mere babies in the 1960s.

The author plunges into his story with profane vigor. He amuses and shocks with an almost adolescent glee - as though he has returned to his rebellious, angst-ridden youth and is set on taking the reader with him. He uses literary flourishes that complicate the read like a translucent veil draped over lovers laboring together for their love. You can see the movements, hear them moan - but their faces are dim behind the silken sheen of the fabric. Mr. Bergman peoples "Names I Can't Remember" with garish characters that touched his life but have now faded into ghostly symbols - a motherly whore, a man with a cat on his shoulder, a doofus unable to function in the jungle, an alcoholic CO who confuses courage and foolhardiness -- a nun and a Vietnamese child trying desperately to survive. Despite this distance - or perhaps because of it, this book is powerful and literate. I found myself lingering over the pictures the author created in my head - almost as if this was a novel. It was easier to appreciate this work on that level than to acknowledge the reality of Mr. Bergman's anguish.

The Vietnam War was not a Disney Movie -- neither is this book. However, if you are a student of psychology, a poet - or someone who wants to understand the warrior in your life, this is a wonderful read.

"Names I Can't Remember" is a tough, brilliant read of one man's journey into Dante's Inferno. All human foibles and flaws are put out for display. Mr. Bergman dares the reader to forgive him as he hasn't been able to forgive himself for thirty years. A piece de la triumph! 5 military gold stars - Lillian Cauldwell

"...there is something Keseyesque or Hunter Thompson - like about Bergman's prose: often profane and at the same time, image rich." - Daily News, Clem Richardson 7/8/05

This is not a book filled with words on a page, it is a capturing of a mans inner guts spewed upon pages from his tortured memory. We see the ramblings of a young boy yanked from the unsafe world of his home and the bottle, to be immersed into the world of drunking decisions, adult behavior expected from a still nursing infant. You need to digest every word and feel his feelings. Some of his experiences will fill you with disgust, horror, the need to nurture, but your diet will never be the same after you digest this meal of feelings.
Devour it...chew it... spit it out if you need to... But dont just sit there and read it........

"You'll be on an emotional roller coaster ride while reading this work. The author has given us a very raw look at a young life destroyed by a dysfunctional family drowning in alcoholism and how he carried that with him during his No Slack tour. Doug was in the same company as I was and we walked the same villages, but never met, the places he describes are familiar to me as they will be to others who read him. I wasn't ready for the constriction I felt in my chest as parts of this book made me wonder how he slipped through the cracks as he performed his duty as a platoon leader in an alcoholic fog. Read the book, it's a raw look at a personal battle with a life almost destroyed by abuse, mingled with war. Names I Can't Remember will shake your senses and make you ill but you will find that once you start reading it you can't put it down."
"Yankee Jim" Simchera - A Company 2/327th Infantry,101st Airborne Vietnam: 1969-70

Thomas Merton Writings:
Merton, who had a unique gift of a probing intellect, absorbed various human cultures since his early childhood in Prades. He digested a wide spectrum of knowledge during his study in Cambridge and Columbia and later when he adopted Trappist monastic vocation, delved into a very different environment. He synthesized his global cultural heritage and Cistercian piety into dozens of literary, mystical and inspiring Christian books (ca 50), articles, and lectures written from his cell at Gethsemani abbey, Kentucky.

The New Man:
This is Merton's Patristic theology debut, he approached a theological exposition of the monastic tradition and thought, so fundamentally important although it did not get the attention it deserves. The New Man shows Thomas Merton at the ripe of his spiritual powers and has as its theme the question of spiritual identity. Merton's meditative interpretation of the Bible can be met throughout his essay on the history of fall and theology of redemption. Reading such experience of the mystical transformation in which we will be perfectly conformed to the likeness of Christ, involves the kenosis / theosis way of the desert fathers. We will become 'the New Man' who is the Christ, the new Adam. Salvation, rightly understood and genuinely experienced, is to realize that we are shaped in God's image and created for fellowship with the Living and Loving Creator. This process promises not only self-discovery but also self-realization.
To reach one's 'real self' one must, in fact, be delivered by grace from the illusionary and falsely created self, corrupted by our selfish habits and self deceit.

Life, death, and identity:
What must we do to recover possession of our true selves? Merton discusses how we became strangers to our inner selves by our dependence on outward recognition and material success. Life and death are at war within us. As soon as we are born, we begin at the same time to live and die. Even though we may not be even slightly aware of it, this battle of life and death goes on in us inexorably and without mercy......, instructed by the Spirit Who alone can tell us the secret of our individual destiny, man begins to know God as he knows his own self. The night of faith has brought us into contact with the Object of all faith, not as an object but as a person Who is the center and life of our own being, at once. His own transcendent Self and the immanent source of our own identity and life. ( Opening and closing paragraphs)

Sample Quotations:
Promethean theology: The longing of the restless spirit of man, seeking to transcend itself by its own powers, is symbolized by the need to scale the impossible mountain and find there what is after all our own. ... The great error of Promethean mysticism is that it takes no account of anyone but the self.

Spirit in bondage: The image of God is brought to life in us when it brakes free from the shroud and the tomb in which our self consciousness had kept it prisoner, and loses itself in total consciousness of Him Who is holy. This is one of the main ways in which "he that would save his life will loose it." (Luke 9:24)

This book might truly change your view of life because it leads you to examine the deepest parts of your soul. In plain language that's very easy to follow, Merton describes how we can abandon our self-absorbed lives and then discover again our true selves in Jesus Christ. It is a book about the transforming power of God, and although it is deeply spiritual in tone and theme, it is highly logical and straightforward in style and structure. Merton hopes to lead us to transformation and salvation not through fear or blind hope, but by persuasion.

Thomas Merton begins with man without God and ends with man in union with God. This book provides the existential basis for man's need for a relationship of faith and love with God, our Creator. The reader finishes this book with a unique understanding, perhaps for the first time, of the purpose for which each of us was created and the destiny which can be ours if only we connect with both the God within us and with the infinitely transcendent God of the universe. This book is challenging reading, but the rewards are worth the struggle.

Apart from other theological musings, Merton develops rather profound thought, namely that "Christianity is not the religion of a law but the religion of a person." (page 181 of paperback edition).

The philosophical consequences of such move are profound, since the whole focus shifts from the logic of intellectual pursuit of knowledge to the mystical endeavour towards Truth by love.

Being an atheist, I do not quite understand how presented approach could be in any real sense satisfying to the human mind. However, Merton's analysis renders interesting feedback on assumptions, presuppostions and mechanics of the religius mind. I feel like the outcome of Merton's writing is much more than satisfaction of his artistic ambition. The author seems to be congruent about what has been written, which makes it even more interesting.

First I read Merton's "Mystics and Zen Masters" just out of curiosity--How does this Christian monk see the monastic tradition of Zen Buddhism? I found his writing on this subject so compelling that I wanted to find out more about the author himself and read "The Seven Storey Mountain". Then I was so moved by this guy's long and arduous spiritual journey that I just had to see what he had to say about his own tradition, Christianity...and so I read this book, "The New Man", and wasn't dissappointed.
In one way this book is an extended meditation on Saint Paul's idea of Christ being the New Adam, and of what this idea really means for us. Merton has an uncanny ability to take old, familiar passages from the Bible--passages that have become dull and opaque in their very familiarity--and breath new spiritual life into them; they come alive with a significance and relevance you never really thought about before, but that seem natural and unforced after the fact. And he does all of this in ways that communicate eloquently with modern, educated people in today's world without strain or condescension.
In another way this book is an extended meditation on the significance of the sacrament Baptism, and again Merton is able to take what some might see as an old, tired, silly ritual and tease out its deeper spiritual significance in compelling, convincing ways. For any adult preparing for this sacrament I would highly recommend this book for that reason alone. And in general I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to see the Christian tradition at its best.

I didn't recieve the book until nov. 3rd well after it's release date, but the media reviews were just too enthusiastic for me to not buy it. I read the whole thing in less than 24 hours and took hour naps,when the rest of the world was a sleep,to finish it.

Janine wrote about thoughts identifiable during those times of tragedy and crisis. The innocense of childhood colliding with maturity of a not yet adult. I ran through the gammit of emotions wondering where the trails would lead in her discovery. All loose ends were so conscientiously tied up in an ending totally unexpected. She even addressed possible stigmatizing of herself as a child of parents dead from AIDS.

It's real, it's raw, it's irrational and rational at the same time.

From the first sentence, this poignant and insightful memoir hooks the reader. Told with passion, depth, and humor, the author's straightforwardness and keen insight into herself offer a multi-faceted view into the struggles of a young woman orphaned too soon, her willingness to confront her demons, and her determination to steer her life toward a positive path. Her style balances bluntness with poetic, and her ability to view and analyze from multiple perspectives make Nightlight a must read.

Written in a terse, succinct style, this memoir offers a probing account of the unfortunate death of Janine's parents. There were many fine, touching scenes and her family members are painted in vivid, realistic tones. Perhaps most remarkably this memoir managed to be both empathetic and questioning, poetic and direct, sad and playful. In sum an impressive debut from a talented young writer that tells a very important story...

Like the other reviewers, I could not put this book down once I started reading it. I was forced to because I went to a wedding and spent time with family members but found that I was distracted during these interactions because I was fully immersed in Avril's world. She describes her experiences and feelings in such beautiful detail that I felt like I was right there with her. Avril shows the range of intense emotions that come with major loss and the devistation that family secrets can create. Through her strength and resiliancy, she opened up these secrets leading to hope and self-healing.

Nightlight: A Memoir

This book is riveting. I started it and couldn't put it down. Though Avril describes a tale that seems too difficult to bear, she left me with a sense of her hope and strength. Her descriptions of her childhood and adolescence ring true in a way that is often funny and always real. Read this book!

This is like the handbook version of the Being and Doing book by the same author. Something like a fist-aid kit in case of an "emergency" on stage or during a take. Break glass before storming off the set in disgust.

This is one the of the best approached to acting. It makes everything clear.
Also an easy read.

I'll admit that at first glance Eric Morris's System can seem scary and misaligned. But I believe it to be a very misunderstood system.

I too was skeptical in the beginning, but after studying this technique (with Eric, but mostly with Anthony Vincent Bova in NYC, Eric's protégé), and after seeing the difference from "acting" and what this Work creates, there's no way I'd ever go back to the "acting" form.

Eric Morris teaches the actor how to react honestly and in the moment, including everything that's going on inside and out-the other actor, the props, the imagined objects that one might be working for-that impels you to "do" whatever the character is required to "do", but out of a real reaction, not just because you're doing it.

I've studied Adler, Strasberg, Meisner, and with Robert Lewis. I've hashed through the process of verbs, actions, objectives, obstacles, and onward; and they're all good and dandy for figuring out what's going on in a script, what the characters are doing and why; but other than that, these techniques never helped me figure out HOW to make it real to ME... How to get to a place where I'm actually functioning from a real, organic, truthful state ... How to get to the point where I am "doing" all the script tells me to do, fulfilling the "actions," out of an honest REACTION to what's going on.... Not just "playing" as if I am; how, in essence, creating the realities of the character....

No matter where you go, all the great teachers (and actors) say the same thing, "Acting is reacting." Even the most used and cherished word in the actor's language, LISTENING, is about focusing outside of yourself and REACTING to what is there. This Work trains the actor to create the stimuli that will fulfill the demands of the piece, specifically, wholly, and with Truth.

For the most part, plays and movies are imagined circumstances, and we as actors, have to create stimuli to react from, so we're not just faking, or indicating our performance. I'd rather watch two people have a relationship on film or on stage, than two actors reciting words, no matter how well they "act" it. If they don't believe it, I won't. This System trains you to create those stimuli and REACT to them honestly, fully and truthfully.

A crucial part of Eric's System is based on Instrumental Work, which is the process of identifying blocks and fears and tensions to expression and, one-by-one, through the use of hundreds of exercises, eliminating them. It's really about self-awareness-learning about yourself and how you function, so you can "get out of your way" and function truthfully on stage or film and get to where you need to get to in a scene. I think this is the aim of every method, but I feel that this System is the only one to address the issues of the actor on a personal level. If I'm tense and depressed (in real life; me the actor), I'm not going to be able to REACT truthfully in a scene where the character has just won the lottery and is jumping with joy. If I push for the emotion, I'll be faking and will "act" that I'm joyful. If this is enough for you, then Eric's work is definitely not your thing. But if you're looking for creating reality and REACTING with truth, nothing surpasses this Work.

I know that Meryl Streep, Brando, Ed Norton, Johnny Depp, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, and a handful of other amazing actors don't fake it, don't just indicate the realities of the character and the circumstances. They create them. Be it imagined stimuli they are creating, or through the available stimulus around them, they open themselves up and REACT truthfully to everything -the other actors, the set, the space, the props, the object or person via Sense Memory, etc. I KNOW they do this for a fact! They've talked about it for years.

Eric helps you get to the place that they do-where you can function truthfully, where your instrument is accessible and available, where you are open and are willing to go where the character needs to go, emotionally, psychologically, and physically.

My advice is read Eric's books. If they pique any interest in you, if they strike a cord, study with Eric or Anthony, or at least contact them for further information about the system. I think you'll be quite surprised and utterly amazed at the tools this Work can provide you as an actor.

I am personally an Eric Morris actor. I live in Los Angeles and I attend his workshop weekly. Having actually experienced his Craft personally and by watching hundreds of others come and go, and succeed and fail: it has become strikingly obvious to me that his Work works. One of the elements of this uniquely personal Craft is that it can be very overwhelming and emotionally draining. Through my two plus years of experience in the Work, I have found that very few Eric Morris actors actually uses the Craft exactly as it is intended. I believe as do many of my contemporaries that the Craft provides the actor with a limitless supply of "acting" tools, which encourage the actor to experience truthfully. It is painfully obvious that "truth" or an organic expression of impulses and emotions is severely lacking in theatre, television and on screen. There is not one person who has come to class and gone on stage who has not gone through a substantial growth. Being a student of acting my entire life, on a constant pursuit of truth in my work, and having over 25 teachers since first grade: I have found the one teacher on the planet who can answer all of the difficult questions actors ask about the mysterious art of acting. If you have a thirst for truth in your acting and in how you live your life, you foolish to remain ignorant of Eric Morris.

I give this book a fairly high rating because all acting technique is personal. An actor's job in receiving training is to simply find the approach that works best for the individual. Method acting simply means to find one's own method. While responses to acting texts, approaches and classes are always subjective, one should always remain open for new ideas.

That said I reject Eric Morris' approach to acting on a personal and professional level.

As every actor knows (or at least should know), his/her job is "to do nothing more than to be believable while telling the best possible story that serves the script" (Bruce Morris). Or as Stanislavski defines acting: "Acting is living truthfully under imaginary circumstances". The root of an actor's technique must always be action. Again with Stanislavski: "while on stage, an actor must always be enacting something". Action verbs are the basis of all acting/storytelling craft. An audience does not pay precious money to watch an actor have an emotional moment, but rather to have the moment themselves.

All the great acting teachers, building upon the work of Stanislavski, have stressed the importance of finding and playing an action as opposed to an emotion. Robert Lewis, Sanford Meisner, Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, Michael Checkov and even Lee Strassberg (although he ventured too far into the emotional realm) all taught students to find the appropriate action and embrace that reality as the basis for their storytelling craft. Emotions are the by product of a person engaging in an action and either failing or succeeding in the quest to fulfill that action.

Eric Morris' approach, centers on "Being" exercises. He asks his students to simply get up in front of a group of people and simply "Be". As related in this book, he proceeds to grill them about their day and call them on the carpet for any false emotion as he dredges for some emotional moment. Morris' approach, at least to this reader, comes off as simply another example of acting teacher "power tripping" as well as pseudo-therapy hidden in the guise of acting. This approach simply leads to the teacher holding such power over his/her students as they become obsessed with pleasing the teacher as opposed to truly pleasing the audience.

This approach leads to emotionally crippling an actor. Actor's become obsessed with evaluating their acting on the basis of whether or not they "felt" the scene. If an actor finds they cannot reach the emotion, they immediately fill themselves with a great sense of guilt and personal disgust at their inability to produce an emotion. Acting should ultimately be a freeing experience as well as a fun and celebratory bit of life. Many acting teachers and actors, bowing under the weight of thousands of years of social stigma feel that they must deny the "fun" factor of acting and make it a painful and serious affair.

As any director or acting teacher can attest, when one simply asks an actor to "be" on stage, one will watch an actor squirm, blink and fold inside him/her self. Put an actor on stage and ask him/her to push a giant stone up a mountain, one will watch a fantastic story filled with all the emotional truth an audience could ever hope to find.

The key to acting is not "being" it is in fact "doing". Apparently Morris has a workbook that combines the two concepts. I will certainly read that as well- again the justification for the high rating. I am still learning my craft and I pray I will always continue to do so.

NO ACTING PLEASE is certainly worth reading and worth trying though so that one can form their own opinion. After trying Morris' approach, this review is simply my opinion. Proceed with caution.