No comments about Ibn Khaldun: History As Science and the Patrimonial Empire (Bibliotheca Orientalis Hungarica).

3 comments about Servant of the Lotus Feet: A Hare Krishna Odyssey.

1. Gabriel Brandis's book is paradoxical - he gives in many ways a very intimate look into the life of a Hare Krishna temple resident in the 80's - the rituals, chanting, temple worship etc. He also portrays accurately the focus of that era on fundraising, and the questionable morality employed by some devotees. He accurately portrays his spiritual master. He fails to tell us enough about his inner struggle with his sexuality, with his comprehension of bhakti-yoga and instead resorts to discredited anti-cult stereotype responses. In addition, referring to a devotee as " Asti Spumanti das " or "Rasta Farian das " is insulting to Hare Krishnas - as is his failure to note that in the 20 years since he left the movement, that the guru excesses have been eliminated, that his spiritual master Bhavananda Goswami is no longer a guru. The Hare Krishna movement is mainly composed of congregational members (like me) who have often never ben in a temple ashram to live. We aren't brainwashed zombies. The saddest indictement of this book is the acquiescence to the abusive and illegal kidnapping that he suffered at the hands of deprogrammers whose triumph in ripping off his neckbeads and getting him to eat chicken is appalling. Hare Krishna's do not need to answer forever for the sins of the few who abused the responsibility that His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada gave them before he died. We are a legitimate spiritual tradition, recognised by Hindus across the globe, committed to inter-faith dialogue, committed to respecting the rights of all people. Gabriel's deprogramming was an act of violence - physical, spiritual and psychological abuse, far worse than he experienced trying to deny his sexuality as a Hare Krishna monk. Gabriel struggled with his own inner demons and felt compelled to leave the ashram - his departure was inevitable, even if the deprogrammers hastened it. Nowadays our movement has thousands of householders, and for those lacking a vocation as a monk, spiritual life and material life can and do co-exist. It is a pity Gabriel didn't research that, because his book is caught in a counter-culture time-warp.



2. Apart from a few editorial glitches, this is a well-written book that takes the reader right inside the experience of being a Hare Krishna devotee. The strange manner of their dress and unfamiliar customs to Westerners may make them seem much more alien than they actually are. In fact, I recognized much of what Brandis went through, because I was once myself a member of a high-demand group, and even though the doctrines were very different between the two groups, the lifestyles were strikingly similar. I was a member of the Unification Church (the 'Moonies'), so it was amusing to read at one point what Brandis, who was then hawking wares for the Krishnas, thought of a Moonie whom he encountered who turned out to be engaged in a similar activity. He recognized him at once as "spaced out" and brainwashed, but failed to notice the strong parallels with his own situation. Eventually, Brandis burned out on the devotee lifestyle, as many cult members eventually do, and with the help of his mother, who engaged deprogrammers to speed his exit, he was able to make his escape.



3. Like any book dealing with experiences in a counterculture, Gabriel Brandis' book Servant of the Lotus Feet is worth reading to gain insight into a way of life so out of the ordinary and otherwise concealed to the general public. However, to my personal perception as an ex-Hare Krishna sympathizer, for a book examining the community from an ex-members' point of view, the book comes along oddly uncritical and un-distanced, without suggesting any process of detachment, which, for a four years membership within the movement, certainly must have been long, painful and complicated. On the last pages, Servant suddenly comes up with some rationalist analysis on mind-control, probably a result of some hastily-undergone process of de-programming, which contrasts drastically with the book's overall sentimental style. Great parts of the book are written in a narrative style which either shows that the author might not have really dealt with his cult experience or reflects it in some dream-like, hallucinatory way. The book's greatest plus is its strikingly detail-rich description of Hare Krishna rules, behaviours and prayers, thus catching well what being a Hare Krishna feels like.

No comments about The Fugitive Philosopher (Leary, Timothy).

No comments about Critics Against Culture: Anthropological Observers of Mass Society.

No comments about Havelock Ellis: A Biography.

1 comments about Sigmund Freud: Bergasse 19, Vienna.

1. Excellent Book!!!! This book was a required reading for my Modern Social Theory course. I didn't think I would enjoy it, however, I absolutely loved it! It was humorous while hinting at the darker parts of our postmodern society. I would suggest this book to anybody and everybody! Thank you Don Dellilo

No comments about The Biography Famous: An Intellectual Autobiography within a Biography.

No comments about Emotional Resonance: The Story of Helen Watkins, World Acclaimed Psychotherapist.

1 comments about Do Justice and Let the Sky Fall: Elizabeth F. Loftus and Her Contributions to Science, Law, and Academic Freedom.

1. This is an edited book which includes articles by a fair number of well-known friends and colleagues of Beth Loftus. Some articles provide reviews research topics while others provide personal details.
   
   The list of authors is impressive. Most of them are well-known cognitive scientists. I might add that these are REAL cognitive scientists, and not the over-zealous activists who pose as scientists in order to combat Loftus' solid scientific conclusions about memory. Here is a list of the authors/chapters: Preface (the editors). (1) Elizabeth Loftus, "Memory Distortions: Problems Solved and Unsolved." (2) Gordon Bower, Tracking the Birth of a Star. (3) Greg Loftus, Elizabeth F. Loftus: The Early Years. (4) M.S. Zaragoza, R.F. Belli, K.E. Payment, "Misinformation Effects and the Suggestibility of Eyewitness Memory." (5) Stephen Ceci, M. Bruck, "Loftus's Lineage in Developmental Forensic Research: Six Scientific Misconceptions About Children's Suggestibility." (6) H. Hayne, "Verbal Recall of Preverbal Memories: Implications for the Clinic and the Courtroom." (7) Henry Roediger, III, M.A. McDaniel, "Illusory Recollection in Older Adults: Testing Mark Twain's Conjecture." (8) D. Strange, S. Clifasefi, M. Garry, "False Memories." (9) J. McMurtrie, "Incorporating Elizabeth Loftus' Research on Memory Into Reforms to Protect the Innocent." Mahzarin Banaji, "Elizabeth F. Loftus: Warrior Scientist." Carol Tavris, "The Cost of Courage."
   
   The cover is amusing, It includes a photo of BL (beaming, beautiful, highlighted in purple) with a bunch of her colleagues --all men and most now famous -- from Stanford in the 1960s. Fortunatetly, the editors fall short of calling this a Festschrift (it's a "Bethschrift.").
   
   Many of the chapters provide excellent new summaries of research on specific topics. For instance, the Roediger & McDaniel chapter provides an excellent, brief discussion of research on memory distortions in older adults. The chapter is not about Loftus, but rather it is about a line of research that she inspired.
   
   Loftus has had a powerful effect on cognitive and clinical psychology. The ongoing controversies and debates surrounding recovered/repressed memories are understandable. As a cognitive scientist and a clinician, I can certainly understand why these are volatile topics because I find myself in the middle of them frequently. But Loftus remains one of my heros, even when I don't like what she has to say. She's a first-rate cognitive scientist and experimentalist, and she tackles tough, important issues with insight and guts. All this was true BEFORE she took on the recovered/repressed memory issue, but she essentially stepped on a land mine when she took on that topic. She's one of the greatest psychologists of our generation, as far as I'm concerned.
   
   Some of the following media (some of which I use in my classes) may be helpful when you are reading this book.
   
   "False Memories" - (~1999), Discovery Channel, Films for the Humanities & Social Sciences (51 minutes, DVD)
   
   Quicktime video of Loftus, UCI Today website (~2006) 2 minutes
   
   "Beyond Belief" (Session 6), Quicktime video, Edge website, Bingham's The Science Network, 2006 ~20 minutes
   
   "Contributions from the Study of Law and Psychology: Memory Research Applied to Real World Problems" 120 minutes, 1994, Quicktime, CCDL libraries
   
   There's an Alan Alda special featuring Loftus, which may be available online...
   
   There are plenty more... To be continued

5 comments about Man's Search for Meaning.

1. This is a wonderful book to read merely because of it's main message. Read it and find out the meaning of the title.



2. I bought this book because I was searching for yet another book on workplace bullying and another book came up in my search based on Frankl's book. I read the customer reviews on that book and one reviewer said something to the effect of, "If you want to read a book based on Viktor Frankl's opinion of how to get along at a bad work environment (like a Nazi death camp), why don't you just read Frankl's book?" So, that's where I started. I read it. Twice. Then I got out my computer and typed in passages that had meaning to me so I could re-read them during difficult times. I compressed the entire book down to about 10 pages, single spaced. I must admit that I consider myself a negative, often depressed sort of person, mostly because my work situation is so demoralizing. I was amazed by Frankl's coping mechanisms on how to get along in a difficult situation; every day meant multiple incidents of having to choose the correct path to avoid death or worse, making the choice to give up on your own life (suicide). He went through 5 years of that and lived to tell about it. It is a must read for everyone, particularly when you are having the hardest time of your life. I could tell that if I had read it as a college student, it wouldn't have the same meaning as now, when I am 50 and have had many ups and downs. I see everything at such a deeper level and appreciated this book so much more than I would have if I were younger. Briefly, the lessons in the book written 50 years ago still apply today. Here they are: Let luck be your guide. It's not what you know, it's who you know. Network with the equivalent of a one-step-up lateral (not your own) middle manager and they will help you when they can. Schmooze. Be kind to others. Don't complain, it doesn't help. You can't fix, deal with or appeal to a sadist, so don't try. Avoid sadists at all costs. Keep your mouth shut unless asked for your opinion and then be short and to the point. Praise, even when praise isn't deserved. Keep criticisms to yourself. Be inconspicuous. Work hard for the sake of doing a good job. Fantasize for escape. Everything can be taken away from you except for your past, so relish in it. When something good happens to you, write it down (keep a gratitude journal). Don't do anything that compromises your own values so you won't have regrets. Be careful who you abuse today because tomorrow they may be your master. You are not your job, your title or your position. You are a unique person loved by others. The only thing in life that really matters is the people you love and the people who love and need you. Love shared is eternal. Treat everyone with respect. The meaning of life is not what life can do for you, but what life expects of you; how you make the world a better place with your presence. The purpose of life is not happiness. The purpose of life is discovering what you can contribute to it. Save a slice of bread (or whatever is the only material thing that matters to you when there is nothing left) for later when you are really depressed and it's the only thing left that can get you through that difficult moment. (For me it's chocolate and a dark beer at the same time.) Apathy is the signaling of the beginning of the end of one's life. Everyone that you respect and look up to has human failings. Even tough guys cry. Suffering without purpose is meaningless. The larger the suffering, the bigger the lesson. There's lots more in the book for you to discover and it's an easy read.



3. This book is incredibly inspiring, both from a theoretical and practical perspective. I highly recommend it for anyone who is in an "existential vacuum" as Frankl says, or for anyone who just wants to get more ideas about what the "meaning of life" might be.
   
   The book is not only very well laid out and well written, but the content is rich. I highly recommend perusing it with a pen at hand to mark a response to a lot of his statements, then re-reading your own comments with his text... I think you'll learn a lot about yourself that way.



4. "Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible." ~ Viktor Frankl from "Man's Search for Meaning"
   
   Viktor Frankl. He's unquestionably one of my heroes and this book is a must read (or re-read as the case may be). If you don't have it yet, it's time to get it. It's impossible to be a serious student of life and not soak up as much Frankl as you can.
   
   The man survived the horrors of Nazi concentration camps and, from that pain, brought the world his "Logotherapy"--a philosophy based on the fundamental precept that we have ultimate responsibility for choosing our responses to any given challenge AND equally powerful responsibility to determine how we will give ourselves to the world and create a truly meaningful life.



5. Frankl wrote a brilliant book. The way of his writing is very clear and to the point. There are a lot of psychology terms, but not so many that it makes the book confusing. Frankl looks at the story from an unattached view, and thus he is able to give good, unbiased theories about why things happened. This book made many of the reasons of what happened during the holocaust clearer. It is an enjoyable and informative read.