The Last Train to Zona Verde

by Paul Theroux

One's idea of a country, a people, and most importantly a culture differ from reality. There is no substitute for actually going there and being there — even with the advent of the Internet which Paul Theroux points out. As much as I would like to go to Africa, with all the hardship and danger involved, I'll go with second-best, that is reading a first-hand account of an accomplished writer as he journeys through the Dark Continent.

Theroux starts out in Cape Town, South Africa at the continent's southern tip. He is not content to see the typical tourist sights. As always, he delves into what it means to be the average citizen of a nation. He takes the reader through the townships of Cape Town and describes how people live there. He is bold, and asks questions that people don't always like to answer but prove essential in understanding what makes them tick, what makes their country tick.

He then moves up the Atlantic Coast of Africa, weaving his way through Namibia where he is introduced to the Bushmen and then into the no man's land of Angola, which, he reports has no wild game animals anymore. He even teaches students in southern Angola, something he had done initially in Nyasaland, now Malawi, when he was only 22. I cannot stress how brave Paul Theroux is in taking this trip. Did I mention that at the time of the writing, he was age 70? How he could endure the fatigue of traveling overland in crowded buses on torturous roads and sometimes not eating all day I do not understand. Yet he did it. He pulled it off. It was his farewell to Africa trip.

Whenever I read a book by Paul Theroux, I not only learn about the world in which we live, I learned about myself. You see, Mr. Theroux expresses many opinions, some of which I wholeheartedly agree with and others I strongly disagree with. Sometimes the most enlightening opinions are the ones I disagree with. You see, he does not write them in such a way that he is offending the reader, at least not me. He leaves room for people to disagree with whatever they want to. For example, he mentioned that he hates going to any kind of zoo or viewing wild animals that are kept on farms, such as an elephant park in Botswana. My reply to that is that as long as the animals are well cared for and their people who benefit from and enjoy watching them, then what's the problem? In disagreeing, I strengthen my own position.

One thing I've noticed about Paul Theroux is that he doesn't exactly "go native" when he visits the countries he writes about, but he doesn't act like any American I know. It's like his "first worldness" has rubbed off and we are able to view a person who is a citizen of the world, and far beyond the sense of the cliché. He has a knack for mixing and matching cultures and attitudes and can thus get along with the people he meets on the road, a skill as valuable and laudable as any other. It doesn't matter if it's a bureaucrat, a slum dweller or someone hawking something on the road. He blends in; he takes up little space.

This is not Paul Theroux's best travel book. He harbors a great deal of disappointment. He is disappointed in the state of modern Africa with its countless cities with slums with uneducated, hopeless people. He is disappointed in the politics and terrorism and violence that keep him from traveling as far afield as he had planned. If you choose to read it, be patient. If you are, you will be rewarded by nuggets of knowledge and experience that you can either apply toward your own journey to Africa or general knowledge that will stand you in good stead.

Available at Amazon.com.

Buddhism and Politics

By Victoria Stoklasa, MA
　

Even before I started reading this book, I was intrigued by its title. What this Buddhism have to do with politics? What do politics have to do with Buddhism? From page one, I got a sensible, free-flowing answer to this question and was enlightened well beyond my initial expectations. Ms. Stoklasa expertly explains that Buddhism does not have to be embraced as a religion in order to be applied by politicians. No matter what religion or lack thereof a politician has, he or she can complement his or her faith with Buddhist teachings. The main aspect of Buddhism that the author wishes politicians to consider and apply is called the Eightfold Path.

According to this path, politicians (and for that matter, people in general) have to listen to others as well as express their own views. This means that a politician should never cut his or her opponent off in a debate or engage in mudslinging. I can't tell you the number of times I've judged people in politics as being petty for putting others down. According to this book, in order to curb the mudslinging desire, instead of saying "You're such an idiot." to another politician, one should say: "Let me share with you my information/opinion."

Before I read this book, I took for granted the status quo of today's politics. Don't politicians belittle each other by nature? How could something like Buddhism possibly have an effect? Well, the great thing about Buddhism, as mentioned above, is that it can be molded in adapted to fit an individual's needs without compromising the core of what it means to practice Buddhism. For instance, many Buddhists do not eat meat in order not to harm animals. However, there are some monks in Tibet who do eat meat because land is scarce for agriculture. According to this model, politicians will also be able to make decisions based on their own circumstances without veering from Buddhist teachings.

Despite being neither an expert in Buddhism or politics, I came away enlightened by the content of this book. Wouldn't it be great if US politicians practiced Buddhist philosophy? Wouldn't it be great if they listened to others instead of expounding their own greatness? If more politicians followed this way of thinking, many more great deeds would be done and there would be less talking for talking's sake and mudslinging for mudslinging's sake. Indeed, politicians would necessarily be more compassionate, understanding and forgiving and the country will live in would undoubtedly be a better place.

I urge you to read this book. Even if you haven't the slightest idea about Buddhism and perhaps a vague idea about politics, you will benefit from it. Victoria Stoklasa, I assure you, is knowledgeable about both Buddhism and politics. She holds a master's degree in Political Science and has been involved in Missouri state politics. Whatever shortcomings you think that American's politicians have today can be remedied by Buddhist philosophy as this book so poignantly points out. You will also receive a grounding in Buddhism itself with references to other books on this religion. Did I mention that this book is only $0.99? Available starting October 7. Get it here!

The Soulmate Experience by Mali Apple and Joe Dunn

Are you looking for that special someone to spend the rest of your life with? Do you already have that person in your life but want to make the relationship better? Do you want to be a better person and have a better life? If you can answer yes to at least one of those questions, then this book is for you! You will be presented with a set of guidelines to achieve this goal. Some of the topics included are: changing your beliefs to be more positive, loving your body the way it is, creating a context for your relationship, turning expectations into invitations and transforming the energy of jealousy. I would mention more, as there is much more, but I want you to experience that for yourself.

 

When you read this book, set some time aside for it, as it is not casual reading for entertainment but rather a book that will change your life. I feel so much more prepared for my soulmate (happily married for almost twenty years!) from just two lessons I learned: 1. Focus on what you have instead of what you don't have. Immediately, I started to think about all the wonderful things I have in my life that maybe I don't give myself credit for because I am yearning for things that I do not have. I am already going about more chipper and enthusiastic about life just from reading that. 2. What beliefs you hold about a person or thing will greatly influence your perception. In other words, if you think that all women are bad drivers, every time you see a woman driving a car, you will find something to support that belief even though it is not necessarily true. Therefore, you can modify your beliefs and see the world through a more positive lens. You will find yourself improving your life and relationships as I have already done after reading this book just once. I definitely look forward to future improvements!

 

Self-help books are commonplace in this day and age. I find many of them to be trite and unhelpful. In fact, some can frustrate the reader because they propose unrealistic goals. Others make you say, “I already knew that.” or “My mother/grandmother/aunt, etc. told me that. I don’t need to read this.” Maybe some authors just want to make money or become famous. If you think like me, you will find Mali and Joe's book to be a breath of fresh air. They truly wrote The Soulmate Experience to help others be better partners in existing relationships and to find their soulmates if in fact they are still searching. In addition, their book is priced extremely reasonably (less than four dollars). In other words, for about the same price as a latte, you're getting hundreds of hours of advice with exercises that can be applied to hundreds of hours more, and who knows, quite probably the key to finding or keeping your soulmate. So what are you waiting for?

 

Purchase it here.