August 2007
Monthly Archive
Fri 31 Aug 2007
Gallileo, Copernicus, Newton, Niels Bohr, Einstein. Their insights shook our perception of who we are and where we stand in the world and in their wake have left an uneasy co-existence: science vs. religion, faith vs. empirical enquiry. Which is the keeper of truth? Which is the true path to understanding reality?
After 40 years of study with some of the greatest scientific minds as well as a lifetime of meditative, spiritual, and philosophical study, the Dalai Lama presents a brilliant analysis of why both disciplines must be pursued in order to arrive at a complete picture of the truth. Science shows us ways of interpreting the physical world, while spirituality helps us cope with reality. But the extreme of either is impoverishing. The belief that all is reducible to matter and energy leaves out a huge range of human experience: emotions, yearnings, compassion, culture. At the same time, holding unexamined spiritual beliefs, beliefs that are contradicted by evidence, logic, and experience, can lock us into fundamentalist cages.
Through an examination of Darwinism and karma, quantum mechanics and philosophical insight into the nature of reality, neurobiology and the study of consciousness, the Dalai Lama draws significant parallels between contemplative and scientific examination of reality. “I believe that spirituality and science are complementary but different investigative approaches with the same goal of seeking the truth,” His Holiness writes. “In this, there is much each may learn from the other, and together they may contribute to expanding the horizon of human knowledge and wisdom.”
This breathtakingly personal examination is a tribute to the Dalai Lama’s teachers, both of science and spirituality. The legacy of this book is a vision of the world in which our different approaches to understanding ourselves, our universe, and one another can be brought together in the service of humanity.
This audio includes an interview with Richard Gere.
Tags: the universe in a single atom, his holiness the dalai lama, arts & leisure, nonfiction, science, spirituality, science, religion, evolution, creationism, intelligent design, evolution, darwinism
Thu 30 Aug 2007
Eve Duncan has turned down the job twice already. Her skill and devotion in identifying murder victims and helping bring their killers to justice may be world-renowned, but Eve works exclusively for law enforcement and the families of the innocent - and the man on the other end of the phone is many things, none of them law-abiding or innocent.
Little is known about Luis Montalvo, one of the world’s most wanted men, except that he is extraordinarily dangerous and that he never takes no for an answer. Now he wants Eve’s help in the worst way. He believes they have something in common, and he’s about to prove it with a grisly warning.
Eve will leave everything and everyone behind, even the man she trusts and loves the most, to travel to Montalvo’s luxurious armed compound in the Colombian jungle and identify the skull he has recovered. She has agreed to this devil’s bargain to save an innocent family, but also for a reason she can’t admit to anyone. For the man in the jungle has promised he can give Eve what she wants most of all: the key to unlocking the darkest and most painful mystery of her past.
But as she gets closer to identifying the skull, Eve finds herself caught between two ruthless killers, with no way out. Now, with everything on the line, she must make the most chilling choice of all. And if she’s wrong…she’s dead.
Tags: stalemate, iris johansen, mysteries & thrillers, eve duncan, forensic sculptor, skull, identify, killers, columbia, jungle
Other books by the same author:
Wed 29 Aug 2007
High-school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background: average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But ever since he got busted for spraying graffiti on the school, and spent the summer doing outdoor work to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn’t believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father’s boss’ daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy, and Tyler’s secret crush. And that sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in the school, in his family, and in the world.
In Twisted, the acclaimed Laurie Halse Anderson tackles a very controversial subject: what it means to be a man today. Fans and new readers alike will be captured by Tyler’s pitch perfect, funny voice, the surprising narrative arc, and the thoughtful moral dilemmas that are at the heart of all of the author’s award-winning work.
Tags: twisted, laurie halse anderson, k-12 educators, parents & family, young adults, high school, graffiti, family, dysfunctional, crush
Tue 28 Aug 2007
Based directly on Frank Herbert’s final outline, which lay hidden in a safe-deposit box for a decade, Hunters of Dune will finally answer the urgent questions Dune fans have been debating for two decades.
At the end of Frank Herbert’s final novel, Chapterhouse: Dune, a ship carrying a crew of refugees escapes into the uncharted galaxy, fleeing from a terrifying, mysterious Enemy. Hunters of Dune is the exotic odyssey of the crew as it is forced to elude the diabolical traps set by the ferocious, unknown Enemy. To strengthen their forces, the fugitives have used genetic technology to revive key figures from Dune’s past, including Paul Muad’Dib and Lady Jessica, so their special talents will challenge those thrown at them.
Failure is unthinkable. Not only is their survival at stake, but they hold the fate of the entire human race in their hands.
Tags: hunters of dune, brian herbert and kevin j. anderson, fiction, science fiction & fantasy, dune, survival, galaxy
Mon 27 Aug 2007
She is one of the most recognizable women of our time. America knows Jane Fonda as an actress and an activist, a feminist and a wife, a workout guru and a role model. Now, in this extraordinary memoir, Fonda reveals that she is so much more. From her youth among Hollywood’s elite and her early film career to the challenges and triumphs of her life today, Jane Fonda reveals intimate details and universal truths that she hopes “can provide a lens through which others can see their lives and how they can live them a little differently.”
Fonda divides her “life so far” into three “acts”, writing about her childhood, first films, and marriage to Roger Vadim in Act One. At once a picture emerges: a child born to the acting legend Henry Fonda and the glamorous society princess Frances Seymour. But these early years are also marked by profound sadness: her mother’s mental illness and suicide when Jane is 12 years old, her father’s emotional distance, and her personal struggle to find her way in the world as a young woman.
By her second act, Fonda lays the foundation for her activism, even as her career takes flight. She highlights her struggle to live consciously and authentically while remaining in the public eye as she recounts her marriages to Tom Hayden and Ted Turner, and examines her controversial and defining involvement with the Vietnam War. As her film career grows, Fonda learns to incorporate her roles into a larger vision of what matters most in her life, and in the process she wins two Academy Awards, for Klute and for Coming Home.
In Fonda’s third act, she is prepared to do the work of a lifetime, to begin living consciously in a way that might inspire others who can learn from her experiences.
Surprising, candid, and wonderfully written, Jane Fonda’s My Life So Far is filled with universal insights into the personal struggles of women living full and engaged lives.
Tags: my life so far, jane fonda, arts & entertainment, bios & memoirs, workout guru, activist, philathropy, actress, marriage, ted turner
Other books by the same author:
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