No comments about C. L. R. James.

1 comments about Falling Off the Roof of the World.

1. This book is the captivating tale of Lama Dudjom Dorjee Rinpoche, "The Jolly Lama." The book is divided into short stories in chronological order that make it easy to digest in segments.
   
   It is easy to see from this book that Lama Rinpoche is a giant of a man - but the book could almost be renamed (after a similarly-themed children's book) - "The Little Lama that Could." This accomplished yogi was not placed into a monastic setting as a child like many Tibetan master's, he had to compete for his education time and time again! A fulfilling read for anyone interested in yoga, Tibetan Buddhism or inspiring biographies.
   
   Side note: the first part of the book also gives detailed information about native Tibetan plants, animals, and customs that may be of interest.

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4 comments about God From Afar: Memoirs of a University Professor.

1. If misunderstandings proliferate and spread like an alluvial fan throughout the world to give us a false or naive understanding of the events we assume to know, then God From Afar is here to wake us all up and and clue us in to what it is REALLY like in the atmosphere of the educational environment. In two words: Absolutely Shocking. In one really twisted and psychologically enthralling word: Fascinating! One, like myself, would be inclined to think of the collegiate world as one of being a very stimulating and intellectually pleasing garden where the inhabitants stretch out behind tall shrubs and among the placid lakes, but this is not the case. As James Shiavone describes his long pursuit that yearns for the gratification one gets from teaching fresh minds in the classroom, we learn that there is actually quite a bit of turmoil behind the staff room doors. From the constant squabbling, to inane jealousies and rumours, to the physical altercations and trumped up charges, we see that the base apsects of human nature can take hold of even those we assume to be our most respected leaders. But it is Professor James Schiavone's valiant effort and endearment toward his students and passion for teaching that wins out overall. Even under the intimidation of hierarchal threats he does not back down and holds true to the cause he believes in, which has been long forgotten by most administrators, and that is teaching - the last thing that seems to be on the minds of those who have elected to be in this position. And through it all, what we see time and time again are those who reach a status rank only to grow sluggish, unenthusiastic, inflexible and self-serving. Those select few who attain power and leave no room for change or the little man, but what they expect from their often trite and narrow, little concerns. This book offers the reality of a cankered situation, and exposes it in a way so that we may bring remedy to a growing epidemic. Because invalid assumptions that go unchecked, only serve to help those who are helping themselves at the expense of the naive multitude. And this book brings these issues to light, and in a way you might say that with this book Professor James Schiavone is still in the classroom.



2. In GOD FROM AFAR, Professor Schiavone narrates a fascinating account of his decision to attend college and become a teacher, the first in his family to do so.. Beginning with his birth, he includes heartwarming sketches of growing up in a close and supportive family, his parents children of immigrants. He encompasses his transition from a high school teacher to college professor, earning full professorship, and becoming the author of several text books. Readers who cling to the notion or naive enough to believe that the world of pedagogy represents the pinnacle of human elements in the realms of character, integrity, and human relations will find this account disillusioning. Professor Schiavone tells of his travails with honesty and reality. In the first segment of his memoirs, the author tells of his beginning years in New York, New Jersey, and Florida. He pays tribute to mentors and model teachers. Schiavone spent thirteen years in Florida and relates his interaction with students there and reveals his sensitivity to them. It was in Florida that he had diverse experience: TV, high school, and university . However, Professor Schiavone combatted and transcended personal jealousy so bizarre that it would defy veracity if it were not for his probity in narration, along with supporting material. This man who simply wanted to teach was to meet and surmount even greater obstacles upon his return to New York City and appointment at a CUNY branch. Academicians who have fallen victims of machinations perpetrated by administration and colleagues will commiserate. Professor Schiavone's story will be a revelation to others . Despite documentation, there may be readers who will simply not believe the bizarre mode of behavior that is permitted and condoned in academe. . There are readers who will be shocked that minuscule mentality extends beyond "local" officials. Others might recall that revengeful comportment is designed to control , tarnish, intimidate, and eliminate EMPLOYEES WHO CRITICIZE THE SYSTEM. This author documents that even the "college designee" was a pawn and puppet of the administration. . Professor Schiavone does not limit his disclosure to finagling against him personally. With clarity and honesty, he questions the process by which reappointment, promotion, sabbaticals, and tenure are granted. He tells of the positive and negative aspects of tenure. This man's pursuit of equity evoked wrath since it robbed "masters" of the chain that bound their "slaves." . GOD FROM AFAR is a revealing and compelling account of a college professor's sojourn in the academic arena. It is a saga of one man's battle with and victory over an "academic Bastille."



3. I am delighted that Professor Schiavone has decided to reissue his groundbreaking book, GOD FROM AFAR for the new millenium. His book gives me hope that God is closer than we think. After the educational debacle of the last century I am hopeful that the words of Dr. Schiavone will be heeded and seriously considered by politicians and academicians alike-especially in the upcoming election where education is such an important issue. In his memoirs, the professor tried to warn us of the corruption rife in academia-apparently they fell on deaf ears. Now with the issuance of the 2000 edition, there is hope once more that the education of our students at all levels, and especially at the college level will be taken seriously by those who should care the most. He has courageously tried in his memoirs to delineate the political atrocities of the past century which has left our system in shambles-a whole generation of students semi-literate and unable to cope with a more complicated world which requires the ability to think, to write, and yes, to read. To read his book is to find out just what happened and how it can be averted or corrected. The professor pulls no punches-he places blame and praise on those who deserve it-alas, he who is without spot may throw the first stone. Now in retirement, I welcome the reissuance of his GOD FROM AFAR and hope that its far reaching implications will be heard and felt in all parts of the nation where politicals, greedy for power and election, are touting their theories about education with one eye on the ballot box and saying little that is substantive about how to remedy the current debacle. It behooves all in academia and in politics to read his impeccably edited book carefully, to quote him generously, and to heed his words with alarm. When may we expect a follow up to GOD FROM AFAR? Certainly the talents of the author should not stop with his retirement- he must be ever vigilant that his words will make a significant change in a system, alas, gone awry.



4. After reading Professor Schiavone gripping GOD FROM AFAR,I was seized by the power of his memoirs with a feeling of malaise: that disturbing fin du siecle malaise that alas, seems to bid farewell to one century, and greet the new one with a deep sense of existentional despair. For in this written memoir Professor Schiavone has had, unlike most of his colleagues, the courage to warn us of the current parlous state of our most cherished institutions of higher education and unflinchingly delineate its implications for the new millenium that hardly bodes well for our country's intellectual (not to mention moral and ethical)preeminence as a nation of poets and scholars. Within its impeccably edited pages the reader learns of the political and moral rot that was hertofore hidden from public eye by the academic power elite, who, within a generation, took over one of our most cherished educational institutions (CUNY) and made it a stygian cesspool of corruption, incompetence, and more disturbing, out right disregard for truth, integrity, and the professionalism that we as a nation so revered and associated with higher education. Fortunately, Professor Schiavone, now retired from the City University of New York (CUNY),has left us a legacy in what must have been an agonizing experience, his memoirs, which now brings to light what must be firmly addressed by those who now ascend or sit upon, the besmirthed throne of academia if we are to survive as a nation dedicated to those traditional values and disciplines that was once a great cathedral of our culture, our much vaunted system of higher education, the rock that we all so dearly clung to as a means of perpetuating the great accomplishments of the past with the promise of a golden tommorow. Professor Schiavone is to be commended for his painful journey through the past thirty years of his caree in which he fought the iniquities that he found all too common around him, and emerged, with the dignity and strength, to warn us of what awaits us if we, as teachers, parents, and civic leaders, do not take heed of the impliations for the future that his memoirs so elegantly address. Would that our politicans now running for public office and giving lip service to the decline of the American system of higher education, refer to GOD FROM AFAR as they legislate policy for our nebulous future!

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1 comments about Soundtracks of a Life.

1. As I read through the memoirs of this brilliant author I was reminded of many songs that had significance in my life. I found her story very compelling and the snippets added by celebrities such as Quincy Jones very interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes music, and loves life.

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