BOOK REVIEW INDEX

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Most book reviews on this website are under specific topics on various pages.  Whatever doesn't go anywhere else right now, is listed below, under the index.  Unless otherwise noted, reviews are by Steven Olderr, MLS, the reviewer from hell.  He subscribes to the philosophy "So many books, so little time."  Do the math.  A person would be  hard pressed to read 3,000 books of their own choosing in their lifetime, and most of us will read far less.  Life is too short for bad books.

Authors
Anonymous  The Book of Privy Counseling.
Anonymous  The Cloud of Unknowing.
Atemose, Charlene  What You Should Know about Angels.
Atwell, Robert, et al.  Benedictine Handbook.
Bishop, Jim  The Day Christ Died.
Bonomo, Carol  The Abbey Up the Hill. 
Borg, Marcus, ed.  Jesus & Buddha: The Parallel Sayings.
Bottomley, Frank  Abbey Explorer’s Guide 
Chittester, Joan  Wisdom Distilled from the Daily.
de Dreuil, Mayeul  From East to West.
Derkse, Wil  The Rule of Benedict for Beginners.
Doyle, Leonard, trans.  Rule of Saint Benedict.
deWaal, Esther  Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict.
Freeman, Laurence  Christian Meditation: Your Daily Practice.
Gladwell, Malcolm  Tipping Point.
Graham, Billy Angels: God’s Secret Agents.
Hebron, Stephen  Life in a Monastery. 
Henry, Patrick  Benedict's Dharma.
Herman, Nicolas Practice of the Presence of God.
Huber, Georges  My Angel Will Go before You.
Kardong, Lawrence  The Benedictines.
Kreeft, Peter  Angels and Demons.
Lawrence, Brother Practice of the Presence of God.
Main, John  Word into Silence.
McAleavy, Tony  Life In a Medieval Abbey. 
Merton, Thomas  Contemplative Prayer.
Merton, Thomas  Wisdom of the Desert.
Norris, Kathleen  Cloister Walk.
Pennington, M. Basil  Centering Prayer.
Steindl-Rast, David  Music of Silence
Taylor, Brian C.  Spirituality for Everyday Living
Vest, Norvene  Preferring Christ.
Ware, Corrine  Saint Benedict on the Freeway.
Widdicombe, Catherine Small Communities in Religious Life.
Wittberg, Patricia  Creating a Future for Religious Life
Wittberg, Patricia Pathways to Re-Creating Religious Communities
Woodward, George W.O. Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Titles
Abbey Explorer’s Guide  Frank Bottomley 
Abbey Up the Hill.  Carol Bonomo 
Angels and Demons.  Peter Kreeft
Angels: God’s Secret Agents.  Billy Graham
Benedictine Handbook.  Robert Atwell, et al.
Benedictines. Lawrence Kardong
Benedict's Dharma.  Patrick Henry, ed.
Book of Privy Counseling.  Anonymous
Centering Prayer.  M. Basic Pennington
Christian Meditation: Your Daily Practice.  Laurence Freeman
Cloister Walk. Kathleen Norris
Cloud of Unknowing. Anonymous 
Contemplative Prayer. Thomas Merton 
Creating a Future for Religious Life  Patricia Wittberg
Day Christ Died.  Jim Bishop
Dissolution of the Monasteries.  Woodward, George W.O.
From East to West.  Mayeul de Dreul 
Jesus & Buddha: The Parallel Sayings.  Marcus Borg, ed.
Life In a Medieval Abbey.  Tony McAleavy
Life in a Monastery.  Stephen Hebron
Music of Silence  David Steindal-Rast
My Angel Will Go before You.  Georges Huber
Pathways to Re-Creating Religious Communities  Patricia Wittberg
Practice of the Presence of God.  Nicolas Herman
Preferring Christ.  Norvene Vest
Rule of Saint Benedict.  Leonard Doyle, trans.
The Rule of Benedict for Beginners.  Wil Derkse 
Saint Benedict on the Freeway.  Corinne Ware
Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict.  Esther deWaal
Small Communities in Religious Life.  Catherine Widdicome
Spirituality for Everyday Living  Brian C. Taylor 
Tipping Point.  Malcolm Gladwell
What You Should Know about Angels.  Charlene Atemose
Wisdom Distilled from the Daily.  Joan Chittester
Wisdom of the Desert.  Thomas Merton
Word into Silence.  John Main
 

Unclassified Reviews

Bishop, Jim The Day Christ Died.  HarperSanFrancisco, c1957, 272 p. Short hour-by-hour chapters of the last day of Christ are interspersed with longer background chapters on biblical times.  The rather free speculation about the thoughts of Christ doesn’t always inspire confidence, but the deftly and succinctly rendered background chapters help the reader accept the speculative chapters.  The end result is a picture of Christ as more fully human than generally comes across in the Bible or in a sermon.  Feeling his humanity makes the suffering of this gentle human being all the more tragic, his dogged determination to see through the will of God all the more inspiring, and the impact of his gift to us all the more amazing.  This is not a happy book, but it is a moving one.  *****

Borg, Marcus, ed. Jesus & Buddha: The Parallel Sayings.  Seastone, 2002, 160 p. [232.954/BOR] Despite a distance of 3000 miles and 500 years, there are many similarities between Buddhism and Christianity and the author captures those to a certain extent.  A large format book, each page has one quote from the Buddha and one from Jesus, or from the Bible at least. Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.  Luke 6:20 Let us live most happily, possessing nothing; let us feed on joy, like the radiant gods.  Dhammapada 15:4 Sometimes the connection is a bit weaker, and one might even say misses the point entirely. Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.  Mark 3:29 Do not let there be a schism in the order, for this is a serious matter.  Whoever splits an order that is united will be boiled in hell for an aeon.  Vinaya, Cullavagga 7:3:16 This is an interesting book, but a much more enlightening one on a parallel topic is Benedict's Dharma: Buddhists Reflect on the Rule of Benedict, edited by Patrick Henry.  *****