Religion and Spirituality Books

I really said it in the title. The copy I have is hard cover. I ordered four copies and received 2 hardback, used and 2 paperback, new. These are gifts, so I will be proud to give them.

What a gift it is to find the words that fit, the words that calm or quicken or clear or connect as needed! This is what I receive as I regulary use A Diary of Private Prayer morning and evening.

After reading other books by John Baillie, I was endeared to his Scottish Prayers, based on his Scottish Presbyterian Thelogy. As a gift from a daughter of one outstanding Presbyterian Pastor and Father, I noted the Greek inscription from Luke 18:1, "That men ought at all times to pray and not faint."

Each Day of Morning and Evening prayer followed the same format:
"Almighty and eternal God, Thou art hidden from my sight:
Thou art beyond the understanding of my mind:
Thy thoughts are not as my thoughts:
Thy ways are past finding out."

This became familiar to me as the Fourth Day for each Month. It was followed by yet a longer version of related Baillie Prayer. In the third place, there was another prose prayer with excerpts from Psalms, such as 17, 36, 57 and 91, In this Fourth Morning Prayer he concluded with a more personal and intimate prayer, beginning: "O Thou who alone knowest what lies before me this day, grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to Thee." There lies his wee touch of Scottish Theology.

From this first example I always linger over his final sentence:
"Suggest, direct, control every movement of my mind; for my Lord Christ's sake. Amen."

Nearly every day followed this same format with exceptions for the 11th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th Days, he altered both style and paragraphs. Yet that hardly ever affected his sustained interest in my daily Prayers.

Another poignant beginning prayer comes on 16th Morning: "With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early; for when thy judgements are in the earth, the inhabitants of the earth world will learn (your) righteousness." Many are longer yet equally intimate... Retired Chaplain, Fred W Hood "Barbara377" (Fayetteville,GA United States)

This is one of the best books, for individuals to learn not only how to oray, but its also good for those who are wanting to become
prayer warriors. I use this book to teach Christians the process of daily prayiny to become a life stile through there walk in life. Great Book

Baillie has the rare ability to put into words the hopes and failings of Christian hearts and lives. I frequently give this book as a gift to friends,and most make it a part of their daily devotion. Even though Baillie uses the language of the King James Bible, he has a command of the language that is beautiful, compelling and inspirational. The thirty days of morning and evening prayers become more meaningful with repeated readings.

This is a beautiful & eye-opening book! It changes your way of thinking and your life!! I absolutely love it and can read it over and over. It helps understand God.

The print in this book is quite small making reading difficult. I would recommend searching for a copy with normal size print.

I couldn't put this book down and over the years I have revisited it often. It has enriched my prayer life and strengthen my faith. Everyone should read this book...at least once. I higly recommend it.

This is my all-time favorite spiritual book. By reading about St. Faustina's growth in holiness, I learn about growing in holiness and above all, God's endless mercy. I've read this book probably a dozen times and I everytime I hear something new and grow more deeply in my relationship with Christ. By this book for yourself and everyone you know! Spread the hope of God's awesome mercy!

This book has helped me to grow so much in my spirituality. I highly recommend it!

This book is a perfect introduction into the liturgy of prayer. It is basically a simplified version of the Liturgy of the Hours (simplified in complexity, not content). Each day of the week has morning and evening prayer. There are also prayers for mid-morning, noon, afternoon and evening. Also included is a very nice selection of traditional prayers (the Creed, Act of Contrition, etc.) as well as prayers for various occasions. At the end of the book there is a selection of quotes from the Rules of St. Benedict.

This prayer book is put out by the Benedictine community of Glenstal Abbey in Ireland. The book is a slim volume and is easily carried around. It is perfect for someone (like myself) who wants to develop the habit of prayer and needs a nice introduction to it. There is only one ribbon to move around and it just goes from one day of the week to another. The prayers and liturgies are fairly short and can be done in five or ten minutes. The prayers for mid-morning, etc., are perfect for doing in your car before or after lunch (in the parking lot, not propped up on your steering wheel).

If you are looking for a great tool to help you develop the habit of prayer and that is easy to incorporate into your home and work life, this is it.

Simple reverant prayers in the Benedictine tradition that brings the holy to the every day. A wonderful book to bring along whenever one is seeking a practice to remember the art of spiritual surrender.

I consider this a very meaningful addition to my collection of prayer books. It would make a wonderful gift for anyone on the Benedictine path.

The secular prayerful person may find in this prayer book a schema of prayer accessible to and useful for the person who cannot give up their day job for contemplative purposes. I keep a copy on my prayer table at all times, and find it very useful for constant prayer.

Unlike other such Books of Common Prayer or Monastic Diurnals, it is not overwhelming in its requirements. It gently and lightly suggests a system of prayer for every day of the week, and for the holidays, morning and evening, following the traditional monastic format which dates back before Saint Benedict. No wonder as Glenstal is a Benedictine Abbey.

It also includes much of the traditional prayers once so well known but now difficult to locate, in a very useful and handy lay out. Many of those traditional prayers heard at your grandmother-s knee and not heard since but cherished in memory are represented here, as well as suggestions for prayers at every occassion of the day.

Highly recommended for anyone wishing to introduce regular prayer into their lives (or the life which God has so generously lent to us) as a centering worship of recollection and peace in God-s love. An urgently necessary element of any prayerful life.

I have been looking for a good benedictine prayer book that is easy to follow, and practical for my Oblate studies, and the Glenstal book fits the bill. The monks of Glenstal really put clever thought in putting together this book of prayer for non-monks. Thank you for an excellent tool for lay-monastics, and anyone interested in a solid book of christian prayer.

Read this book!!!

George Foreman's personality, style and charisma make this perhaps my favorite book of all time. Why? Because George gives us a detailed look at his personal journey to finding spirituality and happiness in life and how he has shared that lesson with others in an attempt to improve their lives.

I liked George Foreman before reading this book but afterward, I achieved a higher sense of respect for a selfless man who gave up his boxing career to preach and follow the path to God. He even started the George Foreman Youth and Community Center in 1984 with retirement money that he had "tucked" away during his 8-year retirement from boxing. His goal was not to indoctrinate local kids but to give them a place to come and follow a productive direction.

Though George "un-retired" from boxing several times, he continued as a minister in his own local church and spreading the word of God in many ways. In fact, George illustrates that money, wealth and power do not necessarily create a sense of fulfillment; it's the spirituality that brings joy and contentment. George lays the advice out for his readers, plain and simple:

"I am convinced that God gives us all a chance to know Him. He gives us the opportunity and if we say "yes" to Him, He will choose us. But He won't force Himself on anyone".

"God is merciful and will always give us a new beginning if we are willing to change."

Clearly, this advice comes from a man who was transformed in that locker room in 1976.

I have never been a fan of boxing, but the name George Foreman has become a household name. From boxing to grilling, George tells his story of being born in poverty, to living on top of the world, only to have everything lost and be penniless once again, and back on top. He deals with his issues of hate, and overcoming all his obstacles to be the man who lives Christ. Some of his writings become repetitive through out the book, but it is a good read of how a man's life was change,gone to Hell and back, and now pastors a church and operates a life saving center for youth.
I am glad that I read this book. You will see both sides of George of what he once was, to what he is now.

I'm a boxing fan, which was part of the reason I was interested in this book. But the author's story goes well beyond boxing. He book is filled with lessons to be learned from a man who was a most lost soul and a downright mean-spirited person. He found God, and his life was changed forever. But the story doesn't end there. Once he had a relationship with God, he still had to pick himself up time and time again. And it was his relationship with the Lord and his Faith that saved him.

The way he interjects his boxing career into the story makes this an amazing read. It's a biography filled with spirituality. And you'll learn a lot about yourself as well as George Foreman after reading it.

Fight The Good FightForeman writes a great book about his life. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend it to anyone. I loved the Big Bass analogy for success. A lake was stocked with many Bass at the same time. Several months later some of them were much bigger than the others. Foreman's explanation as relates to success also. The bigger ones were more hungry. Wow! What an analogy.

What a thoroughly uplifting and inspiring book.
This book has been a pure delight to read.
George provides spiritual solutions to lifes challenges via
his real life experiences.

I read this book once . These are truly the words of the god . A normal human being cannot conceive or write such words . It is humbling , i could
only hold it with utmost reverence also feel quite blessed to know the way the gods creation works as said by him .Definitely improves the out look of the world . After spending decades trying to rationally explain away every thing that happens in the world , this book lead me back to faith and devotion .

Attempting to "rate" a book such as this is a very humbling task since it is truly beyond such Earthbound concepts as "good" or "bad'.This book is Meher Baba's definative work, the words of an Enlightened Master.If you're ready to move on from the plethora of "Spirituality Lite" books in the New Age section of your favorite book store, this is the one book that you need to read. A truly profound and extremely challenging work
by a true Avatar

WOW!!! If there is one spiritual book that you should read, it is this one. It explains everything that you ever wanted to know - period. It anwered all my questions regarding life and its purpose. In order to fully leverage the content, Discources should be read first.

I was exposed to this book first by Avisa during medical school 1998. The book has changed my life. It helped me to cope with life problem much easier. It makes you understand life better, what is death and what happens to us when we die? Without purpose, life is meaningless. you become less materialistic. You can cope better with death of the loved one. I think all of us should read this book. I refer to it as a solution to problems. The book will be bring meaning to all the religion, Koran, Bible and Jew. The more time you read the book the more you get out of it, they say one must read it at least five times. I love this book, there is lots of love. God bless God in man.

this book explains "the meaning of life" in a way that is the best raodmap I have ever seen before. The book is complex, not so easy to read but is so full of amazing info that it is worth the investment of time and effort it takes to go thru it. Nothing else you will ever read even comes close to explaining the mystery of life and the universe////

Mrs Osteen does a wonderful job showing the reader how to keep your chin up even in the worst of times. Giving us views and glimpses into her own heart of steel, Dodi Osteen shows the reader the true power of applying God's word to not only your health, but your daily life as well. A Must read!

I purchased this book after I was diagnosed with cancer. I found it to be very uplifting and inspiring. My husband and mother also read it and found it to be a blessing for them as ones who are dealing with a family member going through such an ordeal. I then passed it on the a friend who was diagnosed with cancer and then order another one for myself. The point being, purchase several of these as you'll want to keep one and pass on to others as inspiration.

I bought this book for a friend with lung cancer. I see Dodie Osteen every Sunday sitting in her son's congregation on nationwide TV nearly 25 years after being told that she had weeks to live in 1981. I have since come back and bought more copies of the book for my aunt with Parkinson's, my mother with rhuematoid arthritis, for my sister and her husband who have had breast/prostate cancer. An inspirational book whether you are ill or not that everyone should read, especially if you or someone you love is ill.

Don't let the title of this review fool you into thinking I'm skeptical of Dodie Osteen's story; not at all! This gorgeous booklet, chock full of Scripture as well as Dodie's remarkable story, is only further proof to me of God's miraculous ways. God has used Dodie in many ways as a tool to spread His glory, and her disease was just another way He came through for her. Dodie is now living fulfillment of His promise to work all things for His good.

The only qualm I had with the book was not the story itself, but some of Dodie Osteen's occassionally extreme and presumptious remarks. Shortly after she and her husband found out she had life-threatening cancer, they went home to pray. At this point, Dodie turned to her husband and said "Darling, you are the head of this house. You are going to have to take authority over this cancer in my body".

Now, I've heard of men being told that they're the head of things they really have no authority over, but this is a new one: cancer? I rather think that only God has authority over disease, not man or woman. Talk about placing a load in your husband's hands!

Dodie then said that her husband "anointed her with oil as they got down on the bedroom floor, face down before God, and he took authority over any disease and any cancerous cells in her body".

This just gave me a bad taste: her husband "taking authority" over her disease and anointing her with oil? He's her husband, not a priest or an intermediary between herself and God. This display of theirs seemed overly done and rather misdirected. Just goes to show how men ruled the roost back then. (And I don't just say this because of her husband's actions; this poor woman had to go to a gynecologist who was not only male, but a friend from church! Can you imagine being a pastor or pastor's wife and having someone from your own flock inspect you in such a personal way? Blecch! The very thought makes me sick)

There was only one other comment in this book that I found offensive, but it did rather throw me. Dodie, when relating her prayers to God, said, "I reminded the Lord that my husband needed me, my children needed me, my flock needed me, and HE needed me".

I actually read this line over to make sure I'd understood it. She actually told God that He NEEDED her? I was so gobsmacked, I almost laughed. Dodie honey, God doesn't "need" anyone. Or, if He does, it's only because He chooses to. He made you, knowing perfectly well what He would do with you. The Word tells us, in fact, that before we existed, God wrote in His book everything we would do. We are needed in the world by others, yes, but only because God made it so, not because He was at a loss without us. What threw me was not only Dodie's thought that God needed her, but the fact that she "reminded" Him of this. As though God Almighty needs reminding of anything! Good heavens; I'm no stodgy conservative, but that line of thinking is laughable at best and blasphemous at worst. God knows how He plans to fit you into His works, Dodie; He doesn't need any help or reminding, and if He did, you'd be in big trouble having to entrust your disease to such a God!

Inspite of these faults of logic, this book is, altogether, a beautiful recounting of an event that could only be described as miraculous. If nothing else, I recommend you read it for the more than forty Scripture quotes in it; those alone should prove healing to the most deeply wounded soul. Rest assured, Dodie Osteen is a woman of gump, but she gives all the credit to God as the Healer of all.

My wife has been diagnosed with Cancer. This book has helped us to remind us of God's promises. He is faithful. Dodie's testimony is so amazing and encouraging. She offers a chapter with 40 healing scriptures that have been uplifting for us. I saw her the other day on TV and she does not look like a 90th years old lady. God is good, get the book if you need to be remind of His grace and healing power.

I was inspired to write page after page in my personal journal after reading the first few chapters. This book was used as the foundation for facilitator training for a week long retreat for The Center for Formation in Higher Education. I especially appreciate the use of metaphor to illustrate the many paradoxes in our lives as we call upon the shy inner teacher. The explanations and examples are clear.

Mr Palmer has distilled his life experience for us through his authentic and well written book. If know you are on a journey go no farther until you have read this book for its practical and uplifting content.

The guiding image of this book is a rope tied from a house to the barn, which helps the farmer back home in case of a blizzard. The book does exactly that. It helped me find my true self in the midst of a storm.

What an excellent book! Parker Palmer has quickly become one of my favorite authors. The imagery of the midwestern blizzard and early farmers lost in storms in thier own backyards as an analogy of the social and psychological turmoils we face today was masterful. Palmer's outline of steps toward awakening and the promise of the continual journey toward wholeness was inspiring. I highly recommend this book to all of us who are aware of the infinite potential of mankind and are struggling to maximize our own potential.

"This book," writes Parker Palmer, "brings together four themes I have been musing on since my mid-twenties: the shape of an integral life, the meaning of community, teaching and learning for transformation, and nonviolent social change." Writing from his Quaker tradition (think "inner light"), most of this book explores the first of these four themes. How do we join our inner and outer lives into an undivided whole? How do we bring together "soul and role?" Instead of impersonating ourselves, wearing masks, living on the surface of social images, accepting how other people define us, etc., how do we discover our true selves? We do it through forming what Palmer calls "circles of trust" where others can help us to hear the voice of our individual and unique "inner teacher." These circles of trust function much like church small groups, only they are much more intentional about their narrow purpose, and have very strict guidlines (eg, "no fixing, no saving, no advising, and no setting each other straight"). In these groups we hold each other safe, and neither invade or evade. I love the notion of integration and wholeness. I am less convinced of the wisdom of listening to my own inner voices, and sense a need for an "outside" voice from God and Scripture to help me understand my true identity in Christ. The Lutheran tradition provides a balance. Palmer's book does not help here because even though he is a Christian, this book is written for the broadest possible audience (school teachers, business people, health care workers, etc.). It is a good half loaf; I'd love to hear his specifically Christian version.

It is an excellant book. It gives the cancer patient a feeling that he/she is not alone in her feelings. It really helps give hope and a feeling of companionship.

I really don't feel worthy reviewing this book because I do not have cancer nor do I have a family member that has cancer, but I realize I am a minority.

So you might be like me and think, why should I read this book? Well let me give you some information on why this is a must read book.

Who gets breast cancer?

All women are at risk for breast cancer. Known risk factors like having a family history of breast cancer, starting menopause after age 55 or never having children account for only a small number of new breast cancer cases every year. That means that most women who get breast cancer have no known risk factors except being a woman and getting older. (source Koman.org)

So if you are a woman and you are getting older, you have a risk of contacting breast cancer.

Ortega's books is a sixty day journey looking for hope in the midst of cancer. But don't be fooled, this book is not just for the one who HAS cancer, but for family members and friends who are helping someone through breast cancer. Ortega is open and honest about her fears, her pain, depression, and having to relying on others. God took each of these areas and gives Ortega HOPE.

Each devotional begins with a "Hope Builder" which is the bible reading for each day. She displays real honesty and humility right from the first page until you finish the last. I found I could not put this book down, I kept it in my car and read it while waiting for my kids to get out of school, it was that good.

I strongly recommend each church library to have a copy of Ortega's book, each person who knows someone going through a medical crisis. I promise you this book will bless whoever reads it.

HOPE FOR THE JOURNEY THROUGH CANCER
YVONNE ORTEGA
Revell. 160pp. Paperback. $12.99

Published 2007.


A teacher and counselor, Yvonne Ortega, confronted with breast cancer, chronicles her diagnosis, surgery, treatment and recovery, traversing each phase with the help of medical skill, daily Bible study passages and prayer, as well as the aid of family, friends, colleagues, students - even strangers and convicts. Often tearfully, but also joyfully through small successes, she acknowledges her dependence on God, and her own mortality, while still looking to the future, and planning for it.

This is a work that will comfort those who have experienced cancer, or are newly diagnosed. In addition, it is a helpful read for everyone, for we are all subject to being affected by the disease, one way or the other.

Submitted by: A Hanrahan

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2007, had a lumpectory and radiation. I read "Hope for the Journey Through Cancer" and felt that it was so supportive to me and would help countless women. I am now purchasing copies to place in care packages that are being given to women newly diagnosed with breast cancer by a local Breast Cancer support group. I hope that it blesses them as much as it has blessed me.

Hope for the Journey through Cancer is a book that should be in everyone's personal library with extra copies at hand. It's an invaluable gift for those facing this disease, or those traveling this ( or any other) painful journey with a loved one or friend. There are no clichés here, just inspiring reality. Real fear, real tears, real depression, real wrestling with truth and decision-making, real nightmares describe a real battle against cancer and the emotional pitfalls that accompany it. But the pages are also filled with real courage, real understanding, real humor, real faith and real help from real friends and a real God. Ortega admits to it all with such humility and honesty you are one with her from the first page. What is meant to be a 60 day devotional/work book becomes a first-time straight through read. Then, you go back - again and again. She is gentle, tender, concerned and challenging -- always straight from the heart. Her suggestions and activities work! They truly do bring to life that definitive word in the title, "HOPE." Let Yvonne (through her book) be one of your traveling companions.

I truely believe in the teaching of this book. I believe that everyone alive should read it. Rob Brendle's teachings about the "practice of proactive waiting" are not only insightful, they are practical and hold true to everyday life. Using the example David (from the Bible) and other everyday real-life examples, Brendle brings to light the struggle of figureing out your next step. It doesn't matter whether you know what you are destined to do, or you are still trying to figure that out, Brendle teaches that it is what you do while you wait that helps you become the man or woman you are destined to be.

I recommend this book to everyone. As a twenty-something who is still trying to figure out her calling is, I found this book helpful is teaching me to enjoy the now, and how to work towards what it is that God has planned for me. However, no matter what your age or place in life, this book has something to help you with your next step.

What do you do after the Lord has called you to be his special worker? Go off half cocked? Forget the whole thing? Become so bemused you just stand there, achieving nothing? The aim of In The Meantime is to help you realize God has truly called you, stop pleading with Him to let you know if He has, and start listening to Him, doing what He wants right now thus heading into your particular calling.

Using a new and interesting spotlight, pastor and author Rob Brendle illustrates his ideas with chapters from the life of David, shepherd, king, and psalmist. Themes discussed include: the wrong way to go about this adventure; accepting and learning from those who are in authority over you; do the job now at hand, don't wait for the `right' position; consent to the lessons of humility, and losing your life to find it; practice fleeing from sin; accept the costs of grace; make Bible reading, prayer, and patience an integral part of your life. Brendle quotes extensively from his own ministry and life, illustrates comprehensively with relevant Scripture, and cites many sources, Star Wars to the U.S. Hockey team. The closing section of notes, listing the references for Scripture used in this book, provides research material and is a fine devotional aid.

An associate pastor ministering to those in their twenties and thirties, Rob Brendle's vocabulary is very contemporary. With a light air, and a heart for the Lord, Brendle casts the age-old Christian themes in a modern light. Much of In The Meantime provokes new thought on Christian ideas, for instance: "Jesus massacred the devil that day in the wilderness, and just to show it could be done, he did it in the weakest human condition imaginable." (p. 178). Readers of all ages, teens to retirees like me, who are truly seeking to follow their Lord, will find this book valuable and interesting. - Donna Eggett, Christian Book Previews.com

Rob Brendle uses some imaginative and insightful stories to clearly demonstrate what we all feel when spoken to by God, how to deal with calling he gives us, and how to confidently and proactively wait for God's plan, God's journey for us, to unravel. Thank you Rob, but more so thank you God, for having inspired this man to put pen to paper in order to give us greater understanding of your love and plans for our lives.

Daniel and Dayna Webb, UK

So, you have looked at your life and asked yourself "What is the big picture" or you are saying "I know the big picture so beam me up Scotty". But, nothing is happening. You are frustrated and ready to tear your hair out. Relax, you are in your prime time with God.

This book has the humor, and the guts, to show you how to discern God's heart for your life and how to relax and work into your calling with God.

Rob utilizes personal experience, biblical stories, and theology to weave an intricate story about his life, which by the way, probably looks a lot like your life to.

I suggest reading the book, then buying a dozen for your friends.

This is the first book of hopefully many from this young Associate Pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Co. The writer blends the narrative of the life of King David with his personal life experiences, resulting in a guide on how to live out one's specific calling. Rob fills the book with his energy, wit, wisdom, and biblical insight, along with his personal relationship with his Lord and Creator.

While the book's main focus is how to live out God's personal and specific calling, the principles set forth are invaluable for those navigating the general calling of God. Regardless of the reader's life circumstances, the principles in this book will help them to live life well.

It is my sincere hope that this is the first of many writings from this gifted and talented young man, and look forward to the next book.

This book is a major and accurate indictment of American Academia in the department of religion. That indictment is based on sound research, careful argumentation and theory, and is irrefutable. What shocks one is that some of the "research" by so-called "scholars" that is refuted is funded by American tax payer funds and originates in universities of high repute in other areas of research. More than how Hinduism is distorted by these Academics, Americans need to be concerned about the fact that such research originates from universities otherwise well reputed and a considerable amount of it is funded directly or indirectly by American tax payer money that could be well spent on legitimate, honest and valid research. The abuse of the First Amendment freedoms and the tenure system and cliques in academia that fosters the environment exposed by this carefully conducted research is one that should concern one and all if America is to improve its educational system. A must read for any one concerned about the quality of American liberal education and not just for those interested in religious studies.

Invading the Sacred arrives at a very important time. India remains in the grips of an upswing in economic and political fortunes, and this has breeded a certain triumphalism amongst our Hindu community, especially the diaspora. It is easy to believe all the headlines, and forget in this context the numerous issues that remain for Indians to confront, both internally--the threat from poverty, a widening income gap, corruption, and political incompetence--and externally--the threat from various other nations, corporations, and nonbusiness organizations determined to use or exploit India to their own ends. This book has done a wonderful job of exploring and highlighting one of these issues.

Invading the Sacred tells the story of how American scholars of Hinduism have long been free to write whatever they wish about the religion, with minimal input or feedback from practitioners, until very recently, when the Hindu community began to take notice of what was being written. This book details the sexualizing, trivializing, and even dehumanizing extremes to which Hinduism studies has occasionally gone in describing its "object", and it also details the multivarious Hindu response to these extreme mischaracterizations. It spends most of its time discussing the works of religion professors like Paul Courtright, Jeffrey Kripal, Sarah Caldwell, and above all, Wendy Donniger, who in the 80s and 90s became very influential in their fields while (and perhaps by?) hawking theoroes of Hinduism that emphasized to ridiculous extents (and with fleeting evidence) sexual and fringe practices within the tradition, based largely on discredited Freudian motifs. It also discusses how these motifs were discovered and publicized to the Hindu community worldwide by a variety of diaspora Indians, most notably Rajiv Malhotra, through the medium of the internet, and how this mobilized Hindus to more closely scrutinize the ways in which they were being depicted and respond with interventions ranging from scholarly reviews to diatribes to petitions and townhall meetings.

To a practitioner of Hinduism, seeing our practices described in such stark, sordid, and distorted language as used by religion professors is sure to evoke a powerful emotional reaction, but the book wisely does its best to avoid this and focuses its critique on fact and method. Indeed, it succeeds best where it sticks purely to cataloguing deficiencies. One hopes that our community takes heed and learns how to argue its positions more objectively the next time its interests are threatened.

The book's greatest simultaneous weaknesses and strength lie in its ability to put this story in the historical context of "othering" the Native Americans before taking their land and killing them. The end comparison is both histrionic and thought-provoking. The thesis that Hindus are being targeted for dispossession, eviction, recolonization and even extermination through an initial "softening" by academic distortion, in much the same manner as the Native Americans before them, is certainly interesting. Indeed, the book draws attention to the similarities in the ways that Native Americans were depicted by those who ultimately colonized them, and the ways in which Hindus are being depicted now. The case is, unfortunately, overstated; the scholars who misrepresent Hinduism hardly seem, even in all the episodes described in this book, to be deliberately trying to hurt Hinduism or Hindu sentiments. The damage they do comes across as the consequence of callousness and contempt rather than an active expansionist or missionary agenda, despite the book's strongest efforts to paint it otherwise. And though this is in fairness not its purpose, the book does not do justice to the criticism elaborated within it that some fault for the current state of affairs certainly lies with Hindus ourselves. We have not treated our religion with importance, and hence our story has been written by others. These others, not connected to our tradition, are free to deduce whatever they wish, and ultimately invent it, because of the lack of voices from within the tradition to critique and counterbalance them, and demand--assertively--the proof for their varied and banal interpretations.

In spite of this, the similarities in language and tone between how the Native Americans were described before and during their uprootment and genocide and how we are being described today are striking and, in places, more than a little frightening. It is painful, vexing, and eye opening to realize that scholars of religion and anthropologists actually believe--and are trying to get others to not just believe, but accept as fact--that our cultural respect for the mother is due to an underlying desire (on the part of every man, apparently) to have sex with her, or that our women do not bond with their children, or that we look at everything in life through phallus colored (or shaped!) glasses. This may not all be part of a calculated plot against Hinduism, but it is not hard to see (and the book provides a few warning examples) how this could be used by those who wish Hinduism ill, however the original authors may have intended their statements. The book is an exhortation to us to act, at a minimum by speaking up, and in this it is an extremely valuable resource. It is a must for Hindus who, like I used to be, ask, "who cares what others think?", for it shows how important such opinions--and opinion-making--can be in an open society and climate.

This book also documents yet another example of how the internet can decentralize a debate or at least level a playing field. It has been used very effectively by Rajiv Malhotra, Sankrant Sanu, and others to get exposure for their ideas when a more traditional article in an academic journal or book may have been impossible to produce. One lesson from this ongoing debate is thus certainly that alternative media channels can allow for very fertile discussions when the official channels are closed to thoughtful outsiders. The importance of this, demonstrated previously to the Indian community by George Allen's campaign going down in flames post-"macaca", is demonstrated here again.

Overall, a very thought-provoking and exciting read. A must for every Hindu who heard about or was involved in the various Hinduism-studies controversies and seeks to understand them better at a temporal and emotional remove. We should look forward to many more books on this controversy and others, and more books besides by these excellent authors. Bravo!

This is a difficult book for several reasons: 1. a large part of the discussion is fairly technical. 2. The subject matter is quite revolting for most practicing Hindus. 3. The book is quite large, over 450 big size pages, with a lot of text.

However, if you can manage to go through it, the effort would be worth the reward. The prose is crisp, fairly non-emotional, and intellectually engaging. The book is a compilation of essays by different persons, so you get a decent variety in terms of writing styles as well.

The book is divided into four main sections. Section 1 deals with the bias in one wing of American Academy of Religions (AAR). Section 2 sets out the Hindu American response to the bias, once the bias was exposed. Section 3 details out the vicious fight that followed. Section 4 provides a snapshot of how the media dealt with the issue. Each section has several chapters, a total of 29 chapters in all. Four appendices are given, followed by copious notes containing references and interesting sidelights.

The book has been typeset and bound in India. There are some proofing errors, and other editing goof-ups. For instance, often you can't figure out who has contributed a particular essay (Chapter 11, 12, for instance). Similarly, it is not clear as to what do the notes on pages 469-472 relate to. This is to be expected as Indian publishing is in its infancy, and newer publishing houses do not have access to high quality editorial or proofing services.

However, the quality of the discussion is of a very high standard, quite unlike what we found in Eminent Historians by Sh. Arun Shourie, which was also full of repetitions. The arguments are cogent, and mostly have been presented very well. There is some repetition here also, but not too much. Both books, incidentally, deal with essentially the same issue: systematic destruction of a community's cultural or spiritual heritage by a section of intellectuals, and the community's agonized response to it. The book appears to be doing fairly well, considering its relatively difficult subject, and may very well mark a turning of the tide.

An interesting feature of the book is the use of comic sheets, which serve to wrap up the broad arguments, and dramatize their implications for one's everyday life. On the one hand, this distracts from the seriousness of the book. On the other hand, it also adds interest and life to a relatively dry book.

The book is difficult to put down (though it is fairly difficult to hold it up as well!). It also has the potential to ruin your sleep, and your morning puja, with the kind of images that are discussed in the book. Be warned: if you are young or have newly discovered or rediscovered Hindu heritage, you may get emotionally scarred by some of the vivid and vicious portrayal of Hindu icons by AAR scholars.

It would be clear to anyone that in today's world cultural confidence matters as much as economic and military power. Destruction of one's cultural heritage could allow a country to remain theoretically independent, but intellectually dependent and emotionally crippled. Therefore, mutual respect for other's cultures, and an overall committment to intellectual integrity should be an essential feature of the academicians.

Unfortunately, some devitants among the modern intelligentsia band together like intellectual cartels. Their professional life depends on digging up (or rigging up) ever more interesting tidbits in order to stay in business. For decades, such academicians have fed off dead cultures such as the Maya, Aztec and the Egyptians, with no one to shoo them away. However, when they attack a living culture such as India or China, a robust response is natural.

This response has been late, but going by this book, it seems to be adequate and highly sophisticated, as well as effective. The book also shows that such mercenaries have no staying power - they like to hunt in secrecy and prey on the weak and the undefended. Once challenged, they run away quickly, though they may come back to attack again as a pack. However, all you need to do is to hold your ground and shout, and they will melt away again. One does wish, though that such academicians will apply their considerable talents to something constructive and productive, instead of whiling away their lives pursuing intellectual frivolities.

Buy this book if you want some very interesting insights into the ongoing cultural wars. Keep your blood-pressure pills handy, though.

Indians who criticize Western scholars in regard to their dubious interpretations of Hinduism and Indian history are generally denounced as Hindu fundamentalists, fascists and right wingers in order to detract from issue of Western racism. I am in fact a left-leaning Indian and no Hindu fundamentalist, see my 1999 book on the synthesis of Science and Mysticism, in which I attack the BJP. On seeing this book I was amazed that long-discredited Freudian superstitions (see below) are allowed to pass as scholarship in academia - this book does not challenge the basis of Psychoanalysis, rather an Appendix essay by an American psychoanalyst is given which questions the validity of such Eurocentric Freudian reductionism to the Indian context and mysticism. I will give scientific arguments undermining Freud below. See the website www.invading the sacred.com for more info. Note also that Jeff Kripal who mistranslated Bengali words like 'lap, head and touching softly' as 'genitals, phallus and sodomy' in his attempt to portray Ramakrishna as a homosexual pedophile is now linked to the New Age Esalen Institute!
Adam Curtis showed in his BBC Series Century of the Self that Freud's dubious ideas caught on in the USA through the influence of his nephew Edward Bernays due to Freud's titillating emphasis on SEX. Similarly we find that Wendy Doniger's works sell because she focuses on sex, sex and nothing but the sex, writing racy books with the sex element hyped up in spite of their inauthenticity and her struggling with first year Sanskrit! I was amused by de Nicolas' example of how she used a Hebrew translation for a Vedic word making 'the world of possibilities' into 'the one-footed goat'!
I had noticed in 1991 that the 6th East-West Philosophy Congress book "Culture and Modernity" edited by Advaita scholar Eliot Deutsch gave pride of first place to Eliminative Materialist Richard Rorty who believes that Consciousness does not really exist! Rorty asserted that "ascetic priests" like Heidegger and brahmins sublimate their sex drives and pretend to 'penetrate the veil of appearances' so as to claim to be more manly than the warriors! Thus first position in a East-West philosophy book was given to an American who not only denies the reality of Consciousness (the (primary reality of Advaita Vedanta and much Buddhism) but uses the thoroughly discredited Freudian sex-mythology to supposedly undermine the claims of mystics to transcend mundane reality! Were Hildegard, Mechthilde and Teresa trying to be more manly! I also noticed in 2002 that Thomas Blom Hansen in his "The Saffron Wave" chastised Hindu Nationalists for reworking German Romanticist ideas (with no mention of the heavy Indian philosophical influence behind Romaticism founded by the Sanskritist Schlegels) whilst himself referring to the likes of Freud and Lacan (whose pretensions to Einstein-like genius were exposed in "Fashionable Nonsense") as if these European thinkers were 'scientific'.
Coming from a Science background and having identified the physical correlate of the Divine Light (cit, Atman, Buddha Nature, Godhead)with overwhelming empirical evidence for this and showing how Science and the core Indian transcendental mystical picture are integrated, I basically treated such ludicrous Freudian myths with the contempt they deserve. Indeed, I am currently writing a comprehensive section entitled "The Failings of Western Philosophies, Psychologies and Science in regard to Mysticism and Consciousness" including a subsection "Sigmund Freud's Sexual Superstitions and the Regression to the Womb Myth". In fact my overall analyses show by undermining every possible form of western ontology that the only viable ontology is one based on distinctionless Pure Consciousness as the Ground from which physical phenomena manifest as in Tantric Kashmir Saivism - i.e. a logical argument by elimination of alternatives rather than "experience it in mystical union".
I was just reading this week Thompson and Madigan (2005) Memory (a survey of recent research)which asserted that there is no scientific evidence supporting Freud's key notion of unconscious Repression of memories. David Bakan's 1958 "Freud and the Jewish Mystical Tradition" showed that Freud secularised Kabbala omitting supernatural elements in his "psychoanalysis". In 1973 Morton Schatzman in his 'Soul Murder' showed that Schreber's father had disciplinary devices and real child abuse had been misinterpreted by Freud as unconscious fantasy based on the nonsensical Oedipus Complex idea! In the 1980s Masson's "Assault on the Truth" and Peck's "The People of the Lie" continued to undermine the Freud Cult.
Freud urged Jung never to abandon the sexual theory and even "we must make a dogma" of it. Jung stated that F's obsession with the primal incest archetype led to dogmatic rigidity. Medical doctor and psychiatrist Anthony Stevens rubbishes Freudian interpretations of dreams of predatory animals as 'fear of castration' when REM dream research shows that such instinctual dreams of being chased prepare all young mammals for life's dangers. F was also wrong to locate all mental problem origins in infancy as Stevens shows adolescence and attaining 'manhood' etc. are more critical than early childhood. Schwarz and Begley point out that Foot Fetishism is explained by the brain maps of feet being adjacent to maps of genitals with some overlap, contrary to F's ideas about sexual deviations. Griffin and Tyrrell whose work is followed by the UK NHS rubbish Freudian talk therapy as it usurps normal healing processes based on sleep etc.
Finally, in regard to F's primary notion of the Libido, such a notion of a "sexual energy" is just nonsense scientifically as opposed to Jung's notion of Libido as a generalized psychical energy. Indeed, Jordens essay on Libido and the Prana/Atman identity in Harold Coward's "Jung and Eastern Thought" provides one of the many pieces of evidence supporting my identification of the Atman/Prana with the underlying activating energy of the brainwaves of the brainstem Reticular Activating System. This ties in with Jung's ideas of generalised energy as the RAS is simply that, the energy underlying all gross brain activity and the brainstem Reticular Formation is the only structure essential for consciousness. Thus whilst undermining more serious philosophical ideas, my RAS brainwave/Light of Pure Consciousness correlation also undermines the nonsensical Freudian myth of an underlying Sexual libido!
Sutapas Bhattacharya

This book is really an eye opening for many Hindus. Most of the Hindus like myself think that American Academic Scholars loves Hinduism and have a great opinion about the great Hindu Religion and Culture. But after reading this, it was shocking to see how American Academic is so biased and professors who are either anti hindus or non-practicing hindus write and teach about Hinduism.

Hindus should read this, wake up and make sure that correct Hinduism is taught in American Schools.