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Excellent resource for providing a basic understanding of Amazonia

Revisado: 12-19-24

It is a very succinct text describing the uniqueness of the Amazon rainforest forest, the threats deforestation poses to its continuing viability and the importance of protecting its ecology and the tribal peoples who inhabit it.

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A delightful, practical, and compassionate guide

Revisado: 03-21-23

Your Way There: To Being Fully Alive is a book that promises to provide “Concepts and Tools for Mindful Transformation.” The author, clinical social worker and psychoanalyst, Gretta Keene, delivers on that promise with specific, practical, and creative ideas for navigating life. The engaging anecdotes drawn from Gretta’s life and her psychotherapy practice make the book hard to put down. Whimsical illustrations by clinical psychologist, William Murray (Bill), Gretta’s partner in her therapy practice and in life, beautifully clarify the concepts presented.

The following quote captures my response to this book: “Buddhist ideas, like any ideas, are true or useful not because of who said them, or how ancient they are, or whether they reflect the intended meaning of a sacred text. They are true to the degree that they correspond to how things are.” Bhikkhu Santi, Getting the Ball Rolling.

Gretta has articulated concepts, such as “full spectrum of thoughts and feelings,” “activation,” “bodyguards,” and “sticky beliefs,” that are “true” - because “they correspond to how things are” in the human experience. The terminology is non-judgmental and is accessible to all readers, and is especially useful for people in the helping professions. The concept of a “full spectrum of thoughts and feelings” provides a useful way to hold the contradictions of our internal experience. Most humans don’t like to think of ourselves as overreacting, becoming defensive, or being stubborn. We are much more likely to acknowledge being “activated,” to identify our emotional “bodyguards,” and to recognize our “sticky beliefs.”

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Gretta, with the hardcover book in my lap. The warmth and enthusiasm in her voice, augmented by comforting musical interludes composed by Bill, created a nurturing environment for appreciating the stories and metaphors, absorbing the lessons, and applying them in my life and work. The Toolbox section will be a valuable tool for ongoing self-reflection.

Joan G. Sudmann, LICSW, LIMHP

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Remarkable homage to a one families endurance in the face of evil

Revisado: 01-11-23

There are many Holocaust memoirs. This one is from a descendant dedicated to finding out who were her family and particularly how her father survived the war. A must read. Tragic and inspiring.

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The concept is intriguing but the lessons overreach

Revisado: 04-26-22

The best parts of the book are in the explanation of plant behavior. Much of what is reported is relatively new, and we are just at the beginning of understanding plant responses to the environment and how plants react to other organisms.

Taking lessons from plants for human behavior is a novel approach and several interesting lessons are put forth. However, towards the end of the book it seems the ‘lessons’ went way beyond logical inference. The book became a lecture on various philosophies of leadership and group interactions.

It is one thing to recognize stimulus and response, various biochemical and physiological adaptations. It is another to claim that there is some brain like activity making decisions. Plants don’t have brains and people do. There is not much attention to this difference. Plants may have programs that can be applied under certain circumstances but they don’t have free will. The changes suggested by the author maybe beneficial to society, but I am not convinced that they logically flow from plant behavior.

I would recommend this book for its plant science, just be aware that you will get a good dose of lecturing on how humans should behave.

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Good advice, a bit long

Revisado: 11-20-19

I found the advice to be valuable. Given that the Rabbi was using 1000s of year old text, the criticism that the material was not new is not that important. He lays out many good practical ideas that transcend a specific religion. However, the Jewish take will be of interest to many. There is a repetition and it could be shortened. May main criticism is that his enthusiasm for business is so one sided that he appears to not understand the abuses that have occurred in the marketplace to people, things, and the environment. I would overlook this and read it anyway since the advice is solid.

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This book needs a pdf!

Revisado: 09-24-19

The emphasis on data, revising one's world view as conditions change, suggestions on how to combat our tendency to the complacency of the mind were all excellent. The themes seemed to be redundant at times, and shortening up the chapters would help. One omission was how to deal with the level 4 world that is quite diverse, and there are super-rich people that are ignored. I understand the focus of the book is on the changes on the bottom, but we need to understand the other side of the curve as well.

As an Audible selection, there needs to be an associated pdf with the chapter titles and the summaries at the end of each chapter. The 'What do you think you know' quiz and the answers should also be included with relevant web links for the websites discussed in the book.

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Not sure what the title has to do with it.

Revisado: 09-24-19

This collection of stories did not do much for me. Maybe I am too old. There seemed to be a disconnect between the TOC and the stories. The best story was the one with the voice of a dog. Usually, the intro to the story was better than the story. I did not see how these were bedtime stories.

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Very short but says a lot

Revisado: 03-28-18

Tito's life's highlights are presented in a straightforward manner. The introduction seems to indicate that maybe it is from a 'communist' perspective, but I did not get that feeling when listening to the book. The paradox that transcends the specifics is how can we feel comfortable with a man who was at the same time so ruthless and yet fought the Nazis, kept the Soviets from controlling his country (one that his force of will created). The people of Yugoslavia lived under a dictator, but they were in a better state than many of their neighbors. He fought against the tribalism that seems not to be too far hidden under our 'civilized' exterior. What we learn is forcing it undercover is not the same as destroying it.

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You will need a hardcopy to use the recipes

Revisado: 07-27-17

If you could sum up The Drunken Botanist in three words, what would they be?

Need to experiment.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bitters, seems to be useful in many situations. This is a book about alcohol and plants, the characters are the plants and their transformations into flavorings for cocktails.

What does Coleen Marlo bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

While I did not remember the details, she made each plant interesting. In the end she was reading an encyclopedia, but it did not seem so bad.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely not, one would ideally come across a drink one wanted to try, go out get the ingredients, make the drink, then either linger or go on. I would think this could not happen more than once a day, and it would be close to a year before you were finished. As a good cocktail, it should be savored, preferably with friends.

Any additional comments?

I bought a hard copy for the library.

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Do something and sit there!

Revisado: 02-16-17

Other reviews explain that this a compilation of previous essays. A fact I missed if it was in the introduction. That explains a lot about the 'flow' the book. Putting that aside the book gives a mixture of biography and analysis with some hints about practice. I liked the narrator's voice, it was calming and soothing. It made me realize that there was a wealth of variety in Buddhist practice and described the goals of Buddhist practice.

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