Books reviews, 2020
The Big Book of Wisdom by Larry Culliford
Heather Speight
This intriguing book is the work of a retired psychiatrist and Life Member of MAW. The title may be slightly disconcerting...but one is soon drawn in. Cultivating wisdom seems very relevant to MAW’s central message. The author suggests that we first need to ‘sort ourselves out’, so we can then be better equipped to contribute usefully to the common good. (Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me?) He takes us on a fascinating journey of self discovery. It is a rich and comprehensive mix of ideas and experiences. We are shown how we can use these to grow and mature into wisdom - a cumulative process of discovery, embodying compassion, caring, suffering and joy, and an emerging sense of universal connectedness, of what is best for all in any given situation, of what connects rather than divides us. We then may begin to get a glimpse of our seamless connection to the Whole..“We are all already one”.
This is a critical message for our times - which our fractured world desperately needs. We are in an unprecedented global emergency - the combined and all too familiar existential threats to our survival - Injustice, War, the threat of nuclear annihilation, catastrophic climate change.... By joining with others we can hope to challenge the status quo collectively and more effectively. We can share our hard earned wisdom to help us contribute to a more peaceful, secure and sustainable world, balancing all the needs of humankind and our fragile planet. It’s a tall order, but we have to start somewhere...
This is an inspiriting book, a welcome source of hope and encouragement.
Published by Hero Press, 19th March 2020
ISBN (Paperback): 9781789551211
ISBN (Ebook): 9781789551228
Heather Speight
This intriguing book is the work of a retired psychiatrist and Life Member of MAW. The title may be slightly disconcerting...but one is soon drawn in. Cultivating wisdom seems very relevant to MAW’s central message. The author suggests that we first need to ‘sort ourselves out’, so we can then be better equipped to contribute usefully to the common good. (Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me?) He takes us on a fascinating journey of self discovery. It is a rich and comprehensive mix of ideas and experiences. We are shown how we can use these to grow and mature into wisdom - a cumulative process of discovery, embodying compassion, caring, suffering and joy, and an emerging sense of universal connectedness, of what is best for all in any given situation, of what connects rather than divides us. We then may begin to get a glimpse of our seamless connection to the Whole..“We are all already one”.
This is a critical message for our times - which our fractured world desperately needs. We are in an unprecedented global emergency - the combined and all too familiar existential threats to our survival - Injustice, War, the threat of nuclear annihilation, catastrophic climate change.... By joining with others we can hope to challenge the status quo collectively and more effectively. We can share our hard earned wisdom to help us contribute to a more peaceful, secure and sustainable world, balancing all the needs of humankind and our fragile planet. It’s a tall order, but we have to start somewhere...
This is an inspiriting book, a welcome source of hope and encouragement.
Published by Hero Press, 19th March 2020
ISBN (Paperback): 9781789551211
ISBN (Ebook): 9781789551228
Postnational Memory, Peace and War: Making Pasts Beyond Borders
Routledge, 2019. 364 pp, 64 illus
Colin Archer
Memory is now a specialised field of its own and the author has spent much of his career deeply engaged in it, especially as it relates to modern war, genocide and mass violence - including nuclear weapons. Drawing on a huge range of examples from prose, poetry, film and theatre, painting, photography, music and the popular arts, he traces a narrative path through the tragic events of the 20th century. In this way, Young sketches out a history of modern remembering and explores the formation of a 'transnational' (or 'postnational') historical awareness, as an alternative to purely national narratives and imperial, militarist or ethnocentric histories. He takes us to 'sacred' sites (Auschwitz, Hiroshima and many more) and intersperses the more theoretical passages with telling personal 'vignettes'. This remarkable work is intense and deeply felt; not always an easy read, but one that repays the effort.
Nigel Young is Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Research Professor in Peace Studies at Colgate University, USA. He is editor in chief of the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace and author of several important works on memory and modern peace-making.
Routledge, 2019. 364 pp, 64 illus
Colin Archer
Memory is now a specialised field of its own and the author has spent much of his career deeply engaged in it, especially as it relates to modern war, genocide and mass violence - including nuclear weapons. Drawing on a huge range of examples from prose, poetry, film and theatre, painting, photography, music and the popular arts, he traces a narrative path through the tragic events of the 20th century. In this way, Young sketches out a history of modern remembering and explores the formation of a 'transnational' (or 'postnational') historical awareness, as an alternative to purely national narratives and imperial, militarist or ethnocentric histories. He takes us to 'sacred' sites (Auschwitz, Hiroshima and many more) and intersperses the more theoretical passages with telling personal 'vignettes'. This remarkable work is intense and deeply felt; not always an easy read, but one that repays the effort.
Nigel Young is Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Research Professor in Peace Studies at Colgate University, USA. He is editor in chief of the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace and author of several important works on memory and modern peace-making.