Exodus Lost by S.C. Compton

It is amazing how we take so many things for granted, how much we assume about the history of the New World. Before reading Exodus Lost, I was comfortable believing that Columbus had discovered America in 1492 and that maybe, just maybe, Leif Ericsson had landed in Newfoundland a few centuries before. I also knew that the Native Americans were thought to have crossed a land bridge from Asia across what is now the Bering Strait with no mention of Africa. Thanks to Compton’s book, I can say with certainty that the Pre-Columbian world was linked beyond random encounters and coincidences. Through compelling examples backed up by hard facts, including the Bible, he links ancient Egypt with Mesoamerica, dispelling the teachings of traditional history textbooks.

You would expect a book like this to be long-winded and pedantic. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Compton’s prose is succinct and informative, the kind of writing that makes you want to turn the page and see what’s next. Despite having done thorough research, he doesn’t get hung up on quoting and referencing scholarly works and riddling his text with footnotes. Instead, he makes sure to insert 126 beautiful photos, maps and engravings, making Exodus Lost all that more amenable. Each chapter is choc full of information on the ancient world and facts as well as hypotheses that will make you want to jump out of your seat. You will also probably ask yourself a few questions. One of mine was, “Why didn’t they teach me that in school?”

This exquisite combination of informativeness and simplicity means that this book can be read by everyone, from the merely curious to historians and Bible scholars. For those of you who feel more comfortable reading this work in Spanish, you will be delighted to know that there is a Spanish translation, Éxodo Perdido, which I am happy to report is rendered so well in Spanish that I, a professional Spanish-English Translator with twenty years of experience, was unable to notice that it was indeed a translation and not the original work. This speaks well of the author, his choice of translator and reflects his scholarship and the general care invested in Exodus Lost. So I urge you to challenge your traditional textbook knowledge and uncover the mystery of the link between ancient Egypt and the New World and have a wonderful time along the way. Available as an e-book from Amazon.

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.

How to be Selfish (And other uncomfortable advice) by Olga Levancuka

From the title, you would think that this book is about being selfish in the traditional sense of the word. However, if you think that you are going to learn how to be greedy, self-centered and inconsiderate after reading it, I'm afraid you're in for a big disappointment. What it is actually about is how to be a better person, in other words self-help in order to work on yourself so that you can be of better use to others. It touches on weighty subjects like the body and self-image, religion and relationships. The author gives several examples from her own life and shares both painful, successful and joyful experiences she has had – which makes her all the more credible to the reader. There are also some exercises that you can work on in order to achieve your goals, and at the end of the book there are testimonials by the author's clients as Ms. Levancuka is also a life coach.

We are constantly bombarded by all kinds of advice in the media: from psychologists and other mental health professionals to members of the clergy to popular icons of the day. Some of them I find to be truly helpful, others do not strike a chord in me and others definitely turn me off. I would definitely put Olga Levancuka in the first category! I'll tell you why: she starts off by saying that the book is a conversation, as if she were sitting in front of the reader, and she truly carries on in this fashion in a credible manner. Being spontaneous and natural is a hard thing to do on paper (or in this case digitally). Many authors make this attempt and fail at it. Another aspect that I feel is in her favor is that she is an immigrant to the UK. She was born and raised in the USSR. Not always, but many times, coming from another culture and having to adapt to a new one gives a person insight (which the author definitely has) on life that not all natives to a particular country have the benefit of acquiring. You get to pick and choose what you like about the new culture and either retain or discard features of your original culture.

In this particular case, I also felt that the author has an advantage in being a layperson because everything she has to offer comes from her own experience and she does not use any psychological jargon. Her plain, simple language is a powerful vehicle to get her ideas across, and she uses it to elicit powerful emotions from her readers. In addition, the reader is not meant to follow an entire system, but rather he or she may pick and choose what advice to follow and what not to. That is not to say that How to be Selfish is unorthodox or unconventional. Some of the exercises in order to break free from unhappy relationships can be found in television programs on Discovery Home and Health.

If you feel that there are some issues in your life that you would like to address but have not had the courage or encouragement to face them, you would benefit from reading this book. It is a cathartic, yet no-nonsense approach to slowly becoming a better person and improving your own life to be better prepared to face the world and help others. Even if you find just one piece of advice that helps you (I have found at least four or five), you will have gotten your money's worth.

 

Available on Amazon.

Horn Pattern by Gretta Hines

Do you like roller coaster rides? If you do, you're in for a treat if you choose to read Horn Pattern. Indeed, the adrenaline never stops no matter what page of the book you happen to be on. The story starts out in Toronto, Canada (actually, there is a brief scene in Japan that precedes it, but Toronto is definitely the home base). The reader is almost tricked into believing that he or she is experiencing another day in an ordinary teenager's life - just as a roller coaster will falsely lull its riders into believing that it is utterly harmless as it secretly and slowly climbs its way to the top with a clackety-clack. The teenager in question is named Lorissa Vollist, and though she seems fairly normal, she is enshrouded by a dark, mysterious force. This is an entity that the reader gets to glimpse, to guess at, but it is always hiding, always lurking, never quite showing its face. Lorissa, who lives with her grandparents, is invited by her estranged father one day to spend her vacation with him in a place called Yelidin, a small town surrounded by countryside several hours from Toronto. Hesitantly, Lorissa agrees to go and finds herself surrounded by the splendor of her father's mansion complete with several servants. She discovers that all of the women who live in Yelidin dress in an antiquated yet fashionable way (it has a name, but I would rather you learn it through reading the book instead of me giving it away). Lorissa is anything but on vacation in Yelidin with all of the family and town secrets that she is busy deciphering and this dark force, taunting her while the reader follows right along in a frenzy of adrenaline.

Gretta Hines is without a doubt a master storyteller. No matter how intricate Horn Pattern becomes, the reader will always know where he or she is in the book. There is no sacrifice of clarity in order to provide suspense and excitement as there is in many other books that I've read. I also like how the author intervenes from time to time to give the reader a message. This reminds me of the device that Miguel de Unamuno used in his book Niebla. I also detected a clear Edgar Allen Poe influence in the story's gloominess, in Hines's foreshadowing. She has a knack for engaging the reader by using suspense, by hinting at what is to come without revealing it until the right moment. Her style is clean and crisp without being pretentious. She is more than able to juggle different registers in the speech of the various characters. Ms. Hines has a wonderful knack for describing women's clothing and accessories — things that I as a man would not know how to describe or name, nor would it occur to me to mention them.

　

The best reason for reading this book is that it is a quality story. You won't be bombarded by clichés or run into dead ends. You might say that this book is best suited for teenagers and young adults because Lorissa Vollist is 19 years old. However, I can assure you that it has appeal for adults as well. Go ahead, let your imagination run wild. Satisfy your curiosity. Horn Pattern awaits you here: http://www.amazon.com/Horn-Pattern-ebook/dp/B00DXNGA82/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374955123&sr=8-1&keywords=horn+pattern+gretta+hines

Empalado

by Javier Romero Valentín (Spanish)

 

This story is a painting as much as it is a book. I would liken it to a painting by El Greco, laden with gloomy and macabre details that give the eyes as well as the soul a great deal to gaze upon and contemplate afterward. However, I would be telling only part of the truth if I said that this book is about horror, a mere collection of words and thoughts to scare the reader, to appeal to the need for adrenaline. On the surface, it may be just that, but if you dig a little deeper, you will find that it has plentiful philosophical, geopolitical and religious underpinnings.

 

Almost everyone knows about the mythical Count Dracula. Not everyone knows, however, that there was a real Dracula named Vlad Dracul who ruled part of what is now Romania with terror. In fact, he was also known as Vlad Tepes, or the Impaler. Impaling, which I already knew about to some extent, entails forcing a wooden stake through the lower part of the body (I'll let you discover the exact part for yourself) all the way through the inside of the body, taking care not to damage any internal organs, exiting through the shoulder. The victim is then hoisted up, fully conscious, and left to die a slow, cruel death, usually of infection from the wounds made from impalement. The story starts out with the impalement of a young soldier, Mircea, who sought to avenge his relatives' death caused either directly or indirectly by Vlad Dracul who would either maim or impale a person over any trivial matter. Not only that, he took pleasure in watching his subjects suffer. The author makes it clear that Vlad Dracul is the closest thing to the devil himself on Earth.

 

The nice thing about this book is that it is well researched. I learned a lot about medieval Romania, the way people lived, the way they dressed, and especially about the conflicts. The Vlachs were at war with the Hungarians and the Turks. There was much instability at that time, and many saw Dracul as an ironfisted defender of his realm. The problem was that he took advantage of his power and showed no mercy to anyone. Everyone was susceptible to his wrath — nobles and commoners alike. Once a person fell out of his favor, he or she was doomed.

 

The real philosophical and religious exercise of the story begins when Mircea is impaled alongside a priest. The priest wants him to confess , but Mircea is reluctant to do so because of the way that the church treated him and his family — especially his sister, Nicoleta. She was probably mildly retarded or perhaps autistic, the author doesn't really let us know that part. According to the beliefs of the day, she was viewed as a witch because she didn't interact with her surroundings. She was always lost in her own special world. This is a firm reminder of the way people used to act and think and how that had a deep influence on those who did not fit in. In fact, this is an example of myth versus reason, an important motif throughout Empalado. The question of God comes up here as well. Why would God let people be so cruelly treated, their lives taken away from them only to die a slow, lonely and excruciating death? Why would an infinite and benevolent being do such a thing? The priest next to Mircea does his best to explain, but even then he falters once or twice and does not always come up with a clear answer.

 

I am still thinking about this book, and I will undoubtedly do so for some time to come. Being impaled can be construed as being in a finite situation of suffering or distress that limits one's existence. This type of situation occurs every day to humanity — without any physical stake being driven through us. It only takes one little mishap, even a psychological one that does not outwardly affect the body, to place one in a similar predicament to that of Empalado. I was moved by the way that the people who were impaled still cared about their lives even though they knew that they were going to die anyway and that there was no way they could be saved — even if they were taken off of the stake, because they would either bleed to death from opening the wound or most likely die from infection. It only goes to show how much life is worth living for, even in its terminal phase.

 

From my description, I surmise that have already made it clear that this is not the type of book that you can read in a hurry or even casually. To get the most out of it, you have to set aside some time, maybe make a few notes, and definitely look up some of the more arcane terms and find the place names on the map. Google Maps is great for that. I have been to get this book for free thanks to Amazon's policy of making certain books free for a limited period of time, but I believe that the original price is quite low.