America's Most Critical Journal since 1999
The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot Review By Dan Geddes Many readers of The Holographic Universe will have doubted religion earlier in their lives, and so may be skeptical about spirituality in general. The Holographic Universe is one of those books th... More »
From Dawn To Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life by Jacques Barzun Review By Dan Geddes 5 January 2001 For most of its 800 pages From Dawn To Decadence is a triumph of historical survey. Barzun treats countless historical developments with grace and ... More »
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Review By Dan Geddes 1 January 2001 Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale unabashedly places itself in the negative utopian tradition, and may actually herald the beginning of a new genre: the feminist n... More »
The Kabbalah of Money Rabbi Nilton Bonder Review By Dan Geddes I found the title misleading, insofar as the mystical connotation of Kabbalah were largely missing. I think this book could easily have been titled more within the Jewish tradition without being mi... More »
How Buildings Learn by Stewart Brand Review By Dan Geddes How Buildings Learn is an examination of buildings in time, as opposed to buildings as they are photographed for architectural magazines. Brand’s thesis is that buildings should be designed to accommo... More »
The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy by Jacob Burckhardt Review By Dan Geddes 11 November 2000 Jacob Burckhardt’s Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy has achieved its now classic status because of the importance of its theses and its readability... More »
Hapworth 16, 1924 J.D. Salinger Review By Dan Geddes 10 October 2000 Note: This review was originally written as a review for the book version of “Hapworth 16, 1924,” which was announced for publication in 1997, but withdrawn at the last moment by Salinger... More »
See also: A Prayer for Owen Meany, A Widow for One Year The Fourth Hand and an imaginary review of Irving’s The Third Leg A Son of the Circus John Irving Review By Dan Geddes John Irving’s command of his material is masterful. He will make y... More »
Man’s Search For Meaning Viktor Frankl Review By Dan Geddes How delightful to read a psychological work that addresses life’s issues as most people understand them! Viktor Frankl’s prose sparkles with his humanity and reason, and marginalizes... More »
The Gnostic Gospels Elaine Pagels Review By Dan Geddes Contents Chapter I, “The Controversy Over Christ’s Resurrection: Historical Event or Symbol?” Chapter II, “One God, One Bishop” Chapter III, “God the Father/God the Mother” Chapter IV,... More »
Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa Review By Dan Geddes Cracking India tells the story of the partition of India through the eyes of young Lenny, a Parsee girl growing up in Lahore. Lenny narrates the events of her family and native Lahore over more than a ten yea... More »
by Dalma Heyn Review By Dan Geddes The Erotic Silence of the American Wife consists of snippets of interviews with women who have had extramarital affairs. These excerpts are loosely combined to further the author’s thesis: that marriage, in its tradit... More »