Book Description
An autobiography put together from conversations, writings and lectures with Jung's cooperation, at the end of his life.
Customer Reviews:
Intensity-his mind was flooded with profound ideas.......2007-09-14
This book is sublime, a GEM. In his subjective view of the world -"with half closed eyes and somewhat closed ears, to see and hear the form and voice of being" he arrived at an inspiring insight about life: supreme meaning of being can consist only in the fact that is,not that it is not or is no longer; nature, the mystery of love, the psyche, life, human beings, a state of lively contemplation of images is divinity unfolded (the greatest of miracles)-being conscious of this can come to you not through emptiness, imagelessneess or wanting to be freed from nature or yourself.
Here's a passage of the book that reflects the quintessence of his wisdom:
No language is adequate for this paradox. Whatever one can say, no words reflect the whole; for only the whole is meaningful...love "bears all things" and "endures all things". These words say all there is to be said; nothing can be added to them. For we are in the deepest sense the victims and the instruments of cosmogonic "love"- a unified and undivided whole. Being a part man cannot grasp the whole. He is at its mercy. He may assent to it, or rebel against it; but he is always caught by it and enclosed within it. He is dependent upon it and is sustained by it. Love is his light and his darkness, whose end he cannot see. "Love ceases not"-whether he speaks with the "tongue of angels", or with scientific exactitude traces the life cell down to its uttermost source. Man can try to name love, showering upon it all the names at his command, and still he will involve himself in endless self-deceptions. If he possesses a grain of wisdom, he will lay down his arms and name the unknown by the more unknown- ignotum per ignotius-that is, by God. That is a confession of his subjection, his imperfection, and his dependence; but at the same time a testimony to his freedom to choose between truth and error.
If we understand and feel that here in this life we already have a link with the infinite, desires and attitudes change.
Reflections.......2007-07-08
Jung's work is often difficult to read. This is an excellent introduction to his thinking, and a fine outline of his life. Man and his Symbols is also a good intro to Jungian thought.
However, over long, somewhat pompous comments are really not appropriate. Jungians would call this inflation.
Read and Reread.......2007-05-18
This is a book that I read with intense interest, I walked around the house , this book in hand.
C.G. Jung is caught here , his childhood, his quirks. He remains a very fascinating man. This is the only book about C.G. Jung I've read.
I particularly liked the chapter 'Late Thoughts", though the book in whole is very curiosity inspiring.
Loved it.
The correct understanding of Jung's compensation theory.......2007-05-17
According to Jung, the unconscious tries to "compensate" the "lopsidedness" in the conscious attitude, and dreams are part of this process. He says: "The relation between conscious and unconscious is compensatory. This is the best proven rule of dream interpretation" (Collected Works, Vol. 16). The examination of Jung's dream interpretations reveals that what he calls "lopsidedness" is a harmful mistake, or a harmful mental/behavioral failure, and "compensation" means the correction of the mistake, or the termination of the mental/behavioral failure.
As I explained elsewhere, the compensation of the lopsidedness in the conscious attitude by the unconscious is only a particular manifestation of the general truth that all functions of the mind, or all of its "topographical parts" in Freud's words, complement each other and constitute an integrated system, in contradiction with Freud's theory of conflict. In fact, Jung's theory was produced as a reaction to Freud's conflict theory. Consequently, we can equally say that consciousness sometimes compensates the lopsidedness in the unconscious attitude. Besides, it is most natural to expect such cooperation to work even when it is not possible to talk about any lopsidedness in the conscious or unconscious attitude. I described this cooperation in much detail elsewhere in my chapter on cerebral lateralization.
Again as I explained elsewhere, Jung's conception of the function of dreams is basically correct and constitutes a very fruitful idea. But he did not apply this idea adequately to dream interpretation, apparently because he did not express it clearly and used instead obscure ideas like lopsidedness and compensation. His major mistake was to assume that every dream presented the compensated state of the lopsidedness, or the corrected state of the mistake.
Jung could be able to produce a correct theory of dreams if he tried to answer the following questions: (a) What is the content of lopsidedness in general but clear terms? (b) How does the conscious attitude become lopsided and why it cannot correct its lopsidedness itself? (c) What makes the unconscious fit to compensate the lopsidedness of the conscious attitude? (d) In what measure the unconscious succeeds or fails in doing the compensation work, and why? (e) Most importantly, how does the unconscious do the job of compensation, or the correction of the harmful mistake? It is evident that in the absence of especially the answer to the last question, it is not possible to discover all the thoughts expressed by a dream.
As I explained elsewhere, a complete dream contains three types of thought: (a) the presentation of the lopsidedeness, or the mistake, which is treated by the dream; (b) the explanation of the cause of the mistake, or failure, which is often in the form of the external attribution of the failure; and (c) the correction of the mistake, or the termination of the failure. A complete dream begins either with thought (a) or (b) and ends with thought (c). Thoughts (b) and/or (c) may be missing in a dream or may be implicit in another part of the dream, but thought (a) is always present in explicit or implicit form because it is the reason why the dream is produced. In reality, this understanding of dreams is implied by Jung's compensation idea, because the fact that the unconscious can compensate the lopsidedness in the conscious attitude means that the unconscious is rational enough to do that, and the above three types of thought are the ones produced consciously and rationally when dealing with failures in the waking state.
Jung was not able to see these facts, because he could not free himself sufficiently from Freud's influence. Just as Freud interpreted everything in a dream as meaning wish fulfillment, Jung interpreted every dream as presenting the compensated state of the lopsided that it treated. In reality, a dream may present the lopsidedness instead of its compensated state, as exemplified below.
Jung's dream about his patient (p. 133): In his dream, Jung looks up at his female patient who is "sitting on a kind of balustrade," "on the highest tower" of a castle "at the top of a steep hill;" he bends his head back too far to see her properly and wakes up with a crick in the back of his neck.
Jung's interpretation based on the compensation hypothesis was this: "If in the dream I had to look up at the patient in this fashion, in reality I had probably been looking down on her." So, he assumed that the dream was telling him not to look down on her. This interpretation was based on the assumption that the dream scene represented what Jung had to do in real life, which means the solution of his problem, or the compensation of the lopsidedness in his conscious attitude. This interpretation contradicts the fact that Jung hurt himself in the dream by looking up at his patient and also by the fact that he considered his patient in real life "a highly intelligent woman." These contradictions can be eliminated by assuming that the dream scene represented the mistake that Jung was making in real life, or his problem, not its solution as he assumed. So, the correct message of the dream appears to be this: "You are making a mistake and hurting your interests by overestimating your patient." The implied advise was to stop overestimating her, which is the exact opposite of what Jung thought the dream was advising him. This interpretation is supported not only by the pain that Jung felt in the back of his neck at the end of the dream and his waking state evaluation of his patient as a highly intelligent woman but also by the fact that he was unable to realize progress in the therapy of his patient, evidently because he considered her a highly intelligent woman. This dream shows that the compensation hypothesis can cause a wrong interpretation even when the subject matter of a dream is approximately recognized, which is not always the case, and that therefore this hypothesis may also say nothing about the meaning of a dream. In such cases, Jung introduced obscure ideas in the interpretations, such as mandala, archetype, and collective unconscious, without explaining why these appear in the dream and what they precisely mean in relation to the dreamer's life. In fact, many of Jung's ideas are found "mystical." In opposition to this, Freud's interpretations are always clear and detailed but always wrong basically. But despite this fact, Freud's dream theory is more popular than Jung's, because it is found plausible due to the fact that it is produced by likening dreams to daydreams which mean wish fulfillment as everyone knows.
Jung's understanding of dreams needs to be corrected, or completed, also concerning the language of dreams. He criticized Freud's idea of dream symbolism saying that what Freud meant when he said "symbol" was "sign," and that a symbol was something more complex than a sign. Today the widely accepted view is that dream language is concrete-analogic, or concrete-metaphoric. In reality, most of Freud's dream symbols involved analogies, but many other writers abused the concept of dream symbolism and produced largely invalid dictionaries of dream symbols. Not only dream language but also dream cognition is concrete-analogic and therefore cannot use abstractions and logic. This is a consequence of the accepted view that dream thoughts are produced by the right brain which operates using concrete analogies instead of abstractions, speech, and logic. The verbal metaphors that are used in the waking state are also used in dreams in concrete pictorial form, because the source of both the waking state analogies, or metaphors, and dream analogies appear to be the right brain. Because of this, dictionaries of dream symbols can contain correct entries, but even the most common analogies can carry special meanings when used in dreams in relation to the dreamer's life experiences. Many otherwise correct dream interpretations by Jung and his followers are somewhat flawed because of they twisted the meanings of dream analogies in various ways. An example is below.
A man dreamed that as he came out of a meeting he put on somebody else's hat. Jung could say nothing about the relation of this dream to the dreamer's life experiences and claimed only that the hat represented the Mandela, which, according to him, is a concept present in every human mind. The analogic interpretation of this dream can be that the dreamer had easily accepted, or was in the habit of easily accepting, other people's ideas and views. This would be the presentation of a lopsidedness in his conscious attitude.
Jung was aware of the insufficiency of his theory and said: "There are still boundless opportunities for pioneer work in this field" (Collected Works, Vol. 16). Nevertheless, he and his followers produced many correct and nearly correct dream interpretations. Jung's readers can use his compensation theory better then he did by keeping in view the facts mentioned above and reading my books.
Jung's compensation theory can be seen as the solution of the problem of dream interpretation, and thereby of the problem of dream function, if the process by which compensation is realized and the analogic cognition and language of dreams are taken into consideration, both as explained above.
Cognitive-Behavioral Cybernetics of Symptoms, Dreams, Lateralization: Theory, Interpretation, Therapy
Theory Construction and Testing in Physics and Psychology
An incredible chronicle of an amazing inner journey!.......2007-02-24
I think Carl Jung was very ahead of his time and he was in sense an explorer like Columbus, except that his territory was the vast space of his own interior. My understanding of Jung is that he took his own explorations to the brink of psychosis in the service of understanding himself and the psyche. Whether you are a Jung fan or not, it has certainly been my experience that he has a lot of insight and wisdom to share with respect to the nature of the psyche.
This book is basically an autobiography and it is very dense reading. Jung was highly educated in a variety of fields and without some basic understanding of philosophy, major literary figures and mythology, it may be a difficult reading. However, if taken slowly, it is truly manageable and you will discover many gems.
I agree with some of the other excellent reviews that suggest that this volume presents Jung the legend more than being an objective account of his life. However, it offers a lot of insight into his thinking, major influences, etc. It is a fascinating story in itself.
I think this book is most useful and interesting to people who already know a lot about Jung. It is not the best introduction to Jung. If you want a good introduction, I would suggest Murray Stein's "Jung's Map of the Soul." Another concise introduction in Jung's own words is Aion. I would read one or both of these first before tackling this volume.
Book Description
REFLECTIONS AND DREAMS features the enigmatic Nickolai Davidov, choreographer of Kate Stanislaski of CONSIDERING KATE, as well as cross-characters from both titles, together now in one volume.
REFLECTIONS -- A lifetime pursuing her dreams had left Lindsay Dunne little time for romance. But seductive Seth Bannion is about to give the inexperienced beauty a crash course in the art of love.
DANCE OF DREAMS -- Innocent Ruth Bannion is in awe of her demanding mentor Nickolai Davidov. But when their partnership erupts into passionate desire, it's up to Ruth to teach the guarded Davidov the tender dance of love.
Customer Reviews:
Love Entwined With Ballet..........2004-03-13
This is an anthology of two stories, both by Nora Roberts.
In "Reflections", Lindsay Dunne was a principal dancer in a New York ballet company until her father was killed in an accident, and her mother badly injured. Forced to put her dance career on hold, she returned home to Connecticut to care for her mother. Now she teaches ballet at her studio, and has found a very promising student in the new girl in town, Ruth Bannion. Lindsay would like to send Ruth to New York to further her training, under the instruction of her previous dance partner, Nikolai Davidov. However, Lindsay has found an obstacle in the girl's uncle and guardian, Seth Bannion. Seth is the darkly handsome architect who recently bought Cliff House, a large oceanside home which Lindsay explored as a child, and swore to someday live. Their clash of wills over Ruth's future leads them to consider a future together.
"Dance of Dreams" is the story of Ruth and Nikolai who were introduced in "Reflections". Ruth is now in New York dancing under the experienced direction of Nick, the passionate and temperamental Russian heading the troupe. Ruth shows great promise of becoming a prima ballerina, and it's not long before their partnership extends off the dance floor.
I have read several books by Nora Roberts and she has never disappointed me yet. This book is no exception. These stories were originally released separately in 1983, but have amazingly stood the test of time. Both stories are very good, but my favorite is the second, "Dance of Dreams". I just love the temperamental Nikolai, and those two really sizzle on and off the dance floor! If it were possible, I'd give 4 stars to the first story, "Reflections", and 5 stars to "Dance of Dreams". This book would make an especially good summer read.
A Light Hearted Quick Read.......2003-11-01
Reflections and Dreams is made up of two novels written by Nora Roberts in 1983. It is amazing to read these books to see how well they stand up against the test of time. Many other romance books from the same period are now unreadable due to their outdated plots and hideously overbearing male `heroes' and pathetic heroines. `Reflections' and `Dance of Dreams' in contrast both have strong female characters and likeable and sexy male heroes.
Reflections is the story of Lindsey Dunne and Seth Bannion. Lindsey and Seth were interesting characters though not overly memorable. A few parts of the novel were outdated such as their cliché first meeting. Also Seth makes a quite unreasonable demand that Lindsey doesn't do one last ballet performance, which I found hard to justify. Certainly I didn't think it was something one of Nora Robert's fabulous modern heroes would say.
Dance of Dreams is the better book due to the characters of Nikolai Davidov and Ruth Bannion, Seth's niece from the first book. Nikolai Davidov was easily the most entertaining and original of all four of the lead characters, although sometimes he could be sharp and snappish for no apparent reason. Ruth's ex-boyfriend Donald seemed to have no other purpose than to provide conflict between Ruth and Nikolai - he wasn't even likeable.
Overall Reflections and Dreams is a good book which you can read quickly. It is also light hearted and has fairly strong characters. The details about the world of ballet (about which I know nothing) were interesting.
JoAnne
EXCELLENT BOOK FROM A GREAT AUTHOR!.......2002-11-22
I have always enjoyed books from Nora Roberts and this one is no exception! Reflections and Dreams contains two stories - Reflections and Dance of Dreams and I find both great. Each story is about ballet dancers who eventually find love.
This book has wonderful characters who are fully developed by the author. Every detail is described carefully and fans of Nora Roberts would find this trait familiar in many of her books. The characters are so described such that you actually feel like you know them. Personally, I prefer Nikolai to Seth but I find that I prefer the first story, Reflections to the second one. Nonetheless, kudos to Nora Roberts!
Magical Journey Into the World of Ballet.......2002-10-14
Book Review
If you want slow and sensuous, light and romantic then engage on this journey into the world of ballet. Nora Roberts is at the top of her game in her masterpiece Reflections and Dreams. This book not only has vivid female characters who go after and accomplish their dreams, but two very complicated and steamy romances woven around the world of ballet.
The first story, Reflections, is about an accomplished ballerina Lindsay Dunne. She leaves her fast paced life, as a dancer in New York, to return to her childhood home in Connecticut. Lindsay opens a dance school and when her car stalls on her way home one day, the handsome Seth Bannion offers her a ride home. They cautiously fall in love with each other as Seth's niece Ruth shows her aspiring dancing talent to Nick, Lindsay's old company director.
The second story, Dance of Dreams, is about Ruth Bannion a principal ballet dancer, and her demanding company director Nickolai Davidov. Ever since their meeting in Lindsay's school of ballet, Ruth has been captivated by Nick. Their professional partnership blazes out of control after five years of dancing together. Her intense and complex love teaches Nick how to open his heart to her love.
This book showcases the glamorous world of ballet, and the backbreaking exhaustion that dancers endure. This is a light and quick read. Jealousy, control, and character only add to the mystique of this book. The colorful storytelling of Nora Roberts adds a mixture of sexual tension and drama. This extraordinary book will have everyone wanting to re-read it.
on the whole, not that great.......2002-06-22
If I were rating the two novels contained in this book separately, the first one would either get a 2 or a 3 and the second one would get a 4. I was thinking about what it was that made me think the first novel was mediocre, and I didn't come upon the answer until after I'd started on the second novel. In every Nora Roberts book I've read so far, her greatest strengths always seem to be the way she develops the romance between the two main characters (the romance is more important than the sex). The greater percentage of a book is told from the woman's point of view, but there's just enough from the man's point of view that you get an understanding of how his mind works. The first novel in this book, _Reflections_, has nothing from Seth's point of view. I didn't realize how much I missed that until I got the the second novel and got to see little tidbits of how Nickolai saw his and Ruth's relationship. I ended up feeling like Seth wasn't really a person. He's very one-dimensional, little more than a sharp-eyed architect who Lindsay is sleeping with.
It feels like this whole two-novel book was really about two people, Ruth and Nickolai. They're the two most interesting characters in the first novel, and their personalities practically sparkle in the second. I don't know very much about the world of dancers and ballet, but I still enjoyed reading about it. By the time I finished this book, I found myself wishing that the details about Ruth's childhood and the death of her parents had somehow been worked into the second novel and that the story of Seth and Lindsay hadn't been included (or at least that it had been written better). _Dance of Dreams_ was a bit rough at times, but it was much better than _Reflections_.
Book Description
Winner of the 2006 PEN/Beyond Margins Award
A Book Sense Notable Book December 2005
Customer Reviews:
A Look at Life through The Eyes of a Vietnamese-American .......2007-10-07
Andrew Lam writes with such great passion and sensitivity that one becomes totally absorbed in his essays that are in his award winning book "Perfume Dreams". Truly a gifted effort that delivers a literary image of what it feels like to be a Vietnamese-American immigrant. His essays are like a coming of age story with so much more depth than most you read today. This book is amazing and inspiring--it will leave you in an emotional state long after you put the book down.
The author writes about his culture and his struggles for identity. He has roots in two countries not only physically but also spiritually and emotionally as well. His observations, along with his reactions, thoughts and his musings about life and other people are both insightful and entertaining; his essays are important chronicles. The book can be read in an afternoon but it may take a lifetime to fully appreciate what the author has lived and written about.
The book is worthy of your time to its read. I give this book my fullest personal recommendation. This book is a FIVE STAR BOOK!
A telling recounting of one person's Diaspora.......2007-07-28
The telling of this most personal journey avoids any and all hyperbole or belittling. Boldly Andrew Lam presents the opportunities found by the exile who chooses to leave his homeland as well as the demanding adjustments he must undergo if he is to succeed in his adopted country.
Back in Vietnam he is viewed as one who is exceptional, a person who has achieved the highest level of sucess. Those opportunites, he finds, do not exist in fact or spirit in his native land.
Andrew is a gifted writer and a gate keeper / historian for Vietnamese Americans .......2006-12-15
Perfume Dreams is a must read book for all Vietnamese Americans. Andrew is a gifted writer, a gate keeper / history teller for Vietnamese American who are living in America. He has never lost his touch with his root.
The Perfum Dreams touches all sides of experiences the Vietnamese refugees and immigrants. The "haves and not haves, the fortunate and unfortunate" lives of Vietnamese-Americans.
I am looking forward for more of his future books. We should all feel proud to have someone like Andrew to keep us in touch with ourselves and remind us of the challenges in living in America.
Important, poignant essays.......2006-05-28
Andrew Lam has been writing about the Vietnamese diaspora longer than anyone I know. Since the early 1990s his works have appeared in national publications. "Perfume Dreams" is the amalgamation of his perspectives, ones that many of us former refugees can relate in our own lives. I had the pleasure of taking part in book events in NYC and LA with Andrew. In a way we've come full circle since our last elementary school day in Saigon when a defecting South Vietnamese jet bombed the Presidential Palace a few hundred meters across the street. Pick up this must-have book to better understand the Vietnamese identity in America.
STRIKINGLY HONEST AND TRUE.......2005-11-14
As I read this collection of essays, I almost felt as if it were my own memoir. Lam's feelings of growing up in two different cultures struck a cord in me and made me realize that someone else out there felt the same way I did growing up in America.
This is an important piece of literature because it truly captures the sentiment of the Vietnamese-American torn between two cultures, betweeen the contemporary and the traditional, between two separate generations, between war and peace.
For anyone who grew up feeling not really accepted by either your heritage culture or the current one, this is the book for you. Lam truly captures the Vietnamese-American experience and I highly recommend this book.
Book Description
Along with To Begin Again and Stay Me, Oh Comfort Me, this anthology was the last project M.F.K. Fisher worked on before her death in 1992. Last House presents a frank, wry, and revealing portrait of Fisher's life, her loves, and herself. 304 pp.
Customer Reviews:
A summary, a reflection.......2006-03-13
The great essayist Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher wrote this last volume, starting in 1943 and then in the 1990's, when Parkinson's Disease began to make it impossible for her to speak, as a sort of summary of her writings. This book gives a lot of insight into MFK Fisher's life when she returned to the US from Europe, married again after her first husband's death. Some of the writing is familiar, subjects visited before such as her life in Europe, and some is quite new, if all you've read are her classic essays in "Serve it Forth", for example.
The Last House is one designed for her in Glen Ellen, California. In this house, she writes honestly of the ravages of age, incapacity, fright and regrets. It's brutally honest, as all her writing is. If you love the works of this author, this is a must-read.
A sharp, unsparing honesty.......2004-02-11
These autobiographical essays can be returned to again and again for the beauty of the writing and the startling frankness of the writer. The earlier essays explore the experiences that shaped her - trips to her beloved France, caring for an aging and difficult father, lifelong regret over an impulsive rejection of her sister, musings on literary characters, minor thieving, incidents that retain their emotional charge over decades.
The second half of the book is a portrait of her own aging and increasing illness - her rages, fears and love of life. Whether baring her soul or keeping a whimsical distance, Fisher's writing has an immediacy that connects with the reader.
brutally honest, reflections on ageing.......1998-09-21
I marveled at her honesty, such as resenting looking after an ageing father or her unsent, unsympathetic letter to an elderly friend, her frustration and rage at her own diminishing health and her observation that none of us is prepared for the inevitible process leading to death.
Book Description
The popular college basketball lead analyst for ESPN recounts his quarter of a century with the network and the many great players, coaches, and moments he's covered in the process.
Customer Reviews:
It's Awesome, Baby!.......2006-01-01
This is a must read for any college basketball fan. "Dickie V" lets every reader know what it feels like to experience big time college hoops from the best seat in the house. Also includes stories about Jim Valvano, Rick Pitino, Coach K, MJ, and everyone who has influenced his life in broadcasting over the last 25 years. Funny, heart-felt, inspiring, and down right a good read. You won't regret it.
The Wonderful World of Vitale.......2005-04-05
If you like college basketball or Dick Vitale you'll enjoy this book. Dick spends quite a bit of time going through his humble beginnings at the embryonic Espn. Hard to remember it being a start-up. Actually he goes back further describing getting fired as a coach and what a mental challenge that was.
But this book is all about celebrating college basketball as seen through Dick Vitale's eyes. Yes, I'm aware he can be "over the top". But listening to him describe how much he loves his job and how much he is overpaid gives you an idea of just how much he loves waking up everyday and finding someone new to listen to him.
While a substantial amount of the book is about Dick, he also hits the major problems with the game today and what he would do to change them. Destined to be controversial, Dick Vitale makes an impact in his job and other peoples lives. Recently I attended a U of Louisville/U of Memphis game and right before the cameras start rolling Dick jumps out on the floor to dance to the band. I'm sure many people would find this foolish. But with his bald head and big smile, he brought the crowd to a standing ovation. He makes you have more fun and that's a great profession to be in.
Be forewarned that you can't read this book without the words sounding like their coming from Dick's mouth, similar to listening to the book on tape. I know that sounds weird but when you read it, you've heard the voice and the themes so many times that it becomes familiar to you. I've had the pleasure to meet Dick and let me assure you he is EXACTLY in person like you see on TV. A guy having fun and wanting everyone else to also.
He's not just any Dick. He's Dick Vitale!.......2003-11-09
I found this to be a fascinating review of the college basketball scene from a viewpoint rarely taken, from inside the "Coach K Waste Disposal Tunnel at Cameron Indoor Stadium," where many Duke fans in the media hang out, and discuss matters of interest to Duke athletic supporters. Dick Vitale really dares to go where no other living soul would.
Beyond that, Dick's use of hackneyed cliches sets the standards for a whole generation of 1-trick pony sports broadcasters yet to come. Kudos to Dick for having the courage to be an exemplar of stupidity, BABY!
More Dreck.......2003-11-08
Self-parody at its finest
Fantastic Read.......2003-11-08
This book contains a foreword written by a CLASS ACT, Mike Krzyzewski. Much unlike the classless Gary Williams, who refused to attend my barbeque ----- Perhaps this explains why can't pull recruits from his own backyard? This is described in detail in chapter 5. Mr Vitale is a pleasure to read. He describes his trips to Cameron Indoor and his friendly conversations with Coach K, Mike Dunleavy, and Wayne Gooch.
Book Description
A surprising, thought-provoking, powerful collection, the best essays from Warren Bennis, the world's preeminent writer on leadership
Warren Bennis has become synonymous with leadership, exploring all its dimensions as both practitioner and scholar for over four decades. Managing the Dream is an intimate portrait of leadership, comprising over a dozen essays that represent the author's most incisive and creative thinking. It features many of Bennis's most recent works, including "The End of Leadership," and a new preface reflecting on the challenge of leadership in the new millennium.
Customer Reviews:
Walking the Talk.......2005-03-01
I picked up this book as part of the recommended reading list for my administrative internship and now, internship over, I am still carrying out the remainder of my first year as a Principal. This brings me to my specific appreciation for this book:
Bennis is an academic who forced himself to "walk the talk" - an experience that tested his idealism and helped him define who he is. I share the sense of guilt that would lead an idealist intellectual toward practical pursuits. I feel that if I do not lay it on the line and practically demonstrate what I advocate - then my work is only halfway accomplished, and not ready to be taken seriously. I guess you could view it somewhat like the old faith vs. works dichotomy familiar to religions.
As a Muslim, the two are equal. In God's eyes you may not justify the common excuse that you did not need to pray or act charitably because your "belief is in the heart". Rather, your works flow naturally from your beliefs and are a reflection of their authenticity. Likewise, your works reinforce your faith too. Righteous actions lead to increased faith, while wrong actions lead to hypocrisy and eventually the deterioration of belief. This does not preclude the sinful from belief - rather all people make mistakes and do wrong - but repentance is the righteous action prompted by sin, and thus, the unintentional sin has a purpose toward the fulfillment of the human being's growth and development: to fall down, to reflect, to resolve to improve, and to carry forth with good works and faith. And either may preclude the other. The one who begins with belief, learning intellectually and then accepting the belief, then acting, is as legitimate as the one who begins with works, like praying for guidance and doing what is instinctually right, and finally arriving at the realization of faith. And lastly - neither faith nor works are static or guaranteed - both require continuous attention to be legitimate.
The reason for this digression is that I think it is at the heart of what drives a man out of his idealistic comfort zone onto the battlefield of real life situations to be tested. Bennis shared his angst in this regard, and through the process has learned that it is okay to be an intellectual, and that there probably is a point where the intellectual should step back and allow the hands-on guys to take the lead. But I personally think that what gives him the authority and respect to make this observation is that he still put himself through the fire - going from social scientist to administrative leader. Even if he himself still came away from the experience with the self-acknowledgement that it was not his forte, his action still tested his commitment to his ideas and lent validity to the values and beliefs about leadership that he had espoused as an academic on the subject.
Personally, this gave me a light at the end of a tunnel I recently entered. Whereas I chiefly became a principal in order to fill a void, I know that my heart lies in learning and teaching. Someday I will be able to go back to my first love, but first, I think it is very important to push the boundaries of schooling to pave the way for the kinds of schools where I would like to teach, to be a reality. Otherwise, I would just grow old as a disgruntled educator with a lot of untested and untried dreams about the way schools should have been - or more likely others will come and shape the new face of schooling without my input or contribution.
And this is what the book is about. As the subtitle says, it is a collection of essays, articles, and other reflections on leadership and change. It advocates some of what I would consider the basics of leadership: maintaining the dream, or vision of where you are going (i.e. the changes that you believe will make your organization successful and effective in the future) and the importance of empowering leadership throughout the organization (i.e. the embodiment of democratic vs. bureaucratic leadership). The book is not necessarily focused on education. Bennis is an intellectual, his leadership experience was at the college/university level, but many of the examples cited are from commercial corporations that may appeal more to the businessman than the educator. It is well known to me that principles of organizational management will apply across organizations. A school has a social environment like any company where people have roles, formal and informal interactions, hierarchical positions in the society, etc.
In closing, this book provides inspiration for the aspiring leader. S/he should not be discouraged when the ideals they held before taking a leadership position are tested by the experience. For me this has been reinforcement in my first year where I have faced the urge to impose rather than inspire democratic leadership within my school. Trust and initiative have to be fostered and grown over time. While you are waiting to see the fruits, there are the naysayers who push for micromanagement, seeking the quick fix - but destroying the chance for future organizational excellence to emerge from within. Because it is a collection, the book does not require chronology or even thorough reading, though this is the way I approached it. But it can also be flipped through and individual sections sought that may provide perspective on different issues applicable at the time.
Advice when "change is the only constant".......2001-08-27
The venerable leadership master, Warren Bennis, puts his life's work in perspective in this very personal collection. Bennis's work on leadership remains highly relevant in the new economy. His view is that this is an era "in which the very pace of change is accelerating with each new day", and that "change is the only constant". His most durable advice to leaders is to stay nimble, but this book -- part meditation, part how-to manual -- goes much deeper than these quotes can convey.
Required reading from the foremost authority on leadership.......2000-08-08
Don't be fooled by the book's title - this collection of essays is more about leadership and less about management. They are not the same. For instance, managers generally focus on the near-term whereas leaders usually take long-term perspectives; managers rely on systems and structures whereas leaders focus on recruiting outstanding individuals and empowering them; managers rely on control whereas leaders inspire trust; managers generally accept the status quo whereas leaders constantly challenge it.
Particularly interesting is the author's take on Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame and former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Politics aside, Ellsberg exhibited true leadership, Bennis contends, when he morphed from "loyal insider to defiant outsider, from organization man to prison-risking dissident." McNamara, on the other hand, may have become equally disillusioned with the war effort in Vietnam, yet he succumbed to organizational pressures and continued to manage as best he could. Bennis, you might have guessed by now, loathes government bureaucracies and other large organizations - this story tips the iceberg on this and several other Bennis themes, like risk taking.
Bennis bounces around from politics (both left and right), business, and sports to effectively communicate some very powerful messages. The core competencies of leadership apply not only to individuals but also to groups - "few great accomplishments are ever the work of a single individual." And who can argue - witness the Manhattan Project, Lockheed's Skunk Works, and even the Los Angeles Lakers. The ten principles of great groups is a must read for any working professional. The book is especially useful, however, for leaders and managers aspiring to be more effective leaders; I highly recommend it.
A must-read for any manager.......2000-07-20
Whether you are a first-year MBA student or a management veteran, Warren Bennis is a must-read for anyone looking to unlock their leadership abilities. His newest collection of essays confirm his title as one of the most interesting and articulate management gurus today. He will entertain as well as engage your mind in how leadership continues to change and evolve in the 21st century.Add this to your summer reading list. You won't be disappointed.
Classic Bennis.......2000-07-12
Some years ago, a friend gave me a copy of "On Becoming a Leader." While I wasn't much into leadership theory at the time, I was struck by Bennis' observation that most constructive leaders tended to be simply intent on expressing themselves fully, while most unhealthy/failed leaders tended to be bent on proving how great they were (ultimately to the detriment of themselves and others). Seemed to be wisdom that applied to everyone, not just leaders.
Since then, I've become extremely impressed with Bennis' command of the history and psychology of leadership. This book covers all the bases -- essays that blend social science, personal experience and good old-fashioned wisdom. Most of the things I've read by the famous management experts are fluff and wishful thinking; but Bennis seems to have more depth and science at his disposal than the rest. I've already begun giving this book to friends who want to be better leaders and stewards.
Average customer rating:
- A Handbook for Self Realization
- Simple and accessible
- A gift for your Soul!
- A Companion Book
- Bartholomew changed my life, so very very grateful
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Reflections of an Elder Brother: Awakening from the Dream
Bartholomew , and
Mary-Margaret Moore
Manufacturer: Hay House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books | Adolescent Psychology | Applied Psychology | By Topic | Child Psychology | Clinical Psychology | Cognitive | Counseling | Creativity & Genius | Developmental Psychology | Education & Training | Ethnopsychology | Experimental Psychology | Forensic Psychology | General | History | Hypnosis | Industrial Psychology | Logotherapy | Medicine & Psychology | Mental Illness | Movements | Neuropsychology | Occupational & Organizational | Pathologies | Personality | Philosophy of Psychology | Physical Illness & Psychiatry | Physiological Aspects | Psychiatry | Psychoanalysis | Psychobiology | Psychopharmacology | Psychosomatic Medicine | Psychotherapy, TA & NLP | Reference | Research | Sexuality | Social Psychology & Interactions | Statistics | Suicide | Testing & Measurement
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ASIN: 1561703877 |
Book Description
"This positive message has lasted long after other, more transitory, teachings have fallen out of favor; and Mary-Margaret Moore is certainly to be congratulated for taking personal responsibility for every word uttered by Bartholomew." Inner Views
Customer Reviews:
A Handbook for Self Realization.......2003-01-31
The subtitle of this book is "Awakening from the Dream" and thats what this book is about. This is a book about experiencing God and is packed with exercises toward that end. This book also has a very comprehensive description of "conscious creation". We must first be conscious before we can create consciously otherwise we create unconsciously. Bartholomew speaks of the importance of using our conscious focus for creating things that last beyond this lifetime (awareness not a cadillac).
"Many of you have not yet reached that "now-or-never" moment. You are still hoping that the next love affair or the next job or the next something is going to bring you happiness. My friends, be careful. When you keep looking for the next ego gratification, you are also saying, "Next lifetime."
Like "I Come As A Brother" this book is very much in line with Advaita Vedanta teachings like those of Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Simple and accessible.......2003-01-12
We live an dream. That dream is so real, we perceive it mostly as the only thing that matters. But even dreams have to come from a dreamer and the circumstances which create the possibilities for such realistic reveries.
Bartholomew offers insights into the workings of that reality in simple and accessible terms.
'Life is but a dream' has never been truer, especially when you find out how you can direct and influence that dream, your life.
Highly recommendable for anyone who is willing to shed old notions and prepared to think beyond certain confines.
A gift for your Soul!.......2001-03-31
As a frequent Amazon shopper I enjoy reading reviews. Those before mine inspired me to take another chance and buy this book. I seem to be a metaphysical book junky. But this book was the greatest book I've bought in years. It contains so much wisdom that one, two or three readings will not be enough. I was finally at a stage where I could "accept" the messages it contains and it has transformed my long held attitudes and beliefs. For that I am very grateful to the author! Thank you for sharing such wisdom via Bartholomew! Wonderful! Love IS the answer.....
A Companion Book.......1999-11-22
This book is packed with insights and techniques for bringing about the experience of our expanded, enlightened Self. It is written with deep love and compassion; the words nurture and nourish the Self. A true companion book!
Bartholomew changed my life, so very very grateful.......1999-10-19
I will probably never stop reading my 'Bart' books,I seem to find something new each time I pick one up, such commonsense, such truth, you can't turn away from it.
Book Description
Daring to Dream takes the reader through a year in the author's life - a year of rebirth following the end of a 32-year marriage - into those private moments of anguish and reflection where we discover that we have the strength, wisdom and power to grow from life's most challenging experiences. "It is about a year in time, a year when I lived on the top of a mountain in near total silence and found myself. It was a year of sadness and loss but, more importantly, it was a year of incredible magic." Karen Ely's journey toward an authentic life and a stronger sense of herself is both heartbreaking and exhilarating. Her honesty reaches out invitingly, encouraging all women to turn their attention inward and listen to the beatings of their own hearts.
Customer Reviews:
Walking in My Shoes.......2006-12-07
Daring to Dream is a book that so wonderuflly depicts what it is like to leave a long term marriage, the changing of the family structure and the concern about how it is going to effect your children. I also left a long term marriage of 27 years and moved into a life I could have never imagined. The way Karen describes the worries, doubts and confusion parallels so much of my own experience that it felt at times as though she had walked in my shoes. It is not easy to leave a marriage and your family as you have known it for decades. Your emotions are on a roller coaster ride and so much of the time it felt as though I was at the very top just waiting for the car to go rushing down leaving me filled with anxiety and guilt. This book reveals the true agony of making such a decision that is life changing for you and the people you love. I hope this brings comfort to other women who have traveled this road, as it did for me, and to help families understand that this type ofdecision is not taken lightly by most women, even if it looks easy from the outside. Thank you Karen for having the courage to open up your life so others can find comfort and validation for their experience in leaving a marriage.
Finding Joy in Times of Turmoil .......2006-12-02
Reading this book, I was most struck by the author's ability to find beauty and joy in every day things, and to create a safe,soothing place for herself even as she undergoes the pain and turmoil of ending a 30+ year marriage. Her happiness in small comforts brought happiness to me!
Daring to Dream: A Challenge to Dream Our Dreams.......2006-12-01
Karen tells her story with an honesty that is at once devastating and endearing. She captures the reader's emotions with her emotions and draws us into her life and takes us with her on her journey as she pursues her dreams. She writes with descriptive charm, and I found myself walking with her through the pages of her book. Also, throughout the book, there are blank pages to share our own thoughts and dream our own dreams. But in the end, it is her story and her courage that truly challenges us to dream our own dreams.
courageous journey.......2006-12-01
This book tells about one woman's courageous journey of stepping outside of familiar roles into the unknown of finding one's true self. This woman happens to be my mother. This is her story, told with great honesty, about a time in which I lived through but did not truly understand. As her daughter, this book gave me the rare opportunity of looking into her inner thoughts and feelings to help have greater understanding and insight. However, I believe that this book has the incredible potential to help other adult daughters gain greater perspective and understanding of similar transformations that their mothers may have made or be in process of making. Additionally, I feel the book can help validate the experience of any woman who has, or is considering, making a courageous change in her life.
existential.......2006-12-01
Life sent Karen to places she never thought possible and she unfolds her journey with unflinching honestly. Some men reviewing this memoir said this isn't a 'man's book', but as I read Karen's book I realized that every one of us encounter these 'crux moments' that forever define our lives into a 'before' and an 'after'. I was left wanting to know more about the next stages of Karen's life.
Average customer rating:
- Long overdue and rich in experiences
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Technology and the Dream: Reflections on the Black Experience at MIT, 1941-1999
Clarence G. Williams
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
1945 - Present | 20th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0262731576 |
Book Description
This book grew out of the Blacks at MIT History Project, whose mission is to document the black presence at MIT. The main body of the text consists of transcripts of more than seventy-five oral history interviews, in which the interviewees assess their MIT experience and reflect on the role of blacks at MIT and beyond. Although most of the interviewees are present or former students, black faculty, administrators, and staff are also represented, as are nonblack faculty and administrators who have had an impact on blacks at MIT. The interviewees were selected with an eye to presenting the broadest range of issues and personalities, as well as a representative cross section by time period and category.
Each interviewee was asked to discuss family background; education; role models and mentors; experiences of racism and race-related issues; choice of field and career; goals; adjustment to the MIT environment; best and worst MIT experiences; experience with MIT support services; relationships with MIT students, faculty, and staff; advice to present or potential MIT students; and advice to the MIT administration. A recurrent theme is that MIT's rigorous teaching instills the confidence to deal with just about any hurdle in professional life, and that an MIT degree opens many doors and supplies instant credibility.
Each interview includes biographical notes and pictures. The book also includes a general introduction, a glossary, and appendixes describing the project's methodology.
Customer Reviews:
Long overdue and rich in experiences.......2003-09-04
This historical volume contains a wealth of information about the MIT experience as seem from the black perspective -- in all its diversity. Dr. Williams' insightful telling of these personal stories, coupled with individual interviews, gives the reader a sense of the fullness of the MIT experience across a broad spectrum, from the estatic to the achingly painful. A compelling read, whether you want a true glimpse of the Black scholar's experience at MIT or to enrich your knowledge of the Institute itself.
Book Description
This 176-page autobiography is the rags-to-riches story of multimillionaire philanthropist E.J. Ourso of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, the man for whom the LSU Business School is named. It reveals how Ourso acquired 56 businesses in 48 years - the first 25 with no money down. A testament to the effectiveness of the American free enterprise system, the book chronicles Ourso's life beginning with his early years as a salesman. It reveals his secrets to the acquisition of wealth.
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