Joseph Campbell - very important works...he could retitle his books - the immaturity of a species.

Well put. 

Based on a sitemail conversation on the weightiest topics of all with dino27 (to whom I am grateful for raising these issues) I will add just three more books by two authors:

Karen Armstrong is an amazing theologian and author of a zillion books on every religious question imaginable. But I mention here:

Karen Armstrong, The Great Transformation - no relation to the Polanyi book already noted above. It is a work on the Axial Age philosophies and how they changed the world.

and Karen Armstrong, the Case for God - she argues for deeper understandings of God and religious questions and eschews the idea of any understanding of God that is anthropomorphic or literal or limited to our own understanding and ability to translate into literal images and forms. This, in a different way is the point of The Masks of God by Campbell (see above).

On a similar note,  book by a close friend, and one that  made a major impact on overcoming fear of death:

Charles Stein, Persephone Unveiled. A study of the mystery religions of ancient Greece but with an eye on relevance to our daily lives. 

Thank you. Well done.

Posted by italyprof on 5/31/2015 11:49:00 AM (view original):
Based on a sitemail conversation on the weightiest topics of all with dino27 (to whom I am grateful for raising these issues) I will add just three more books by two authors:

Karen Armstrong is an amazing theologian and author of a zillion books on every religious question imaginable. But I mention here:

Karen Armstrong, The Great Transformation - no relation to the Polanyi book already noted above. It is a work on the Axial Age philosophies and how they changed the world.

and Karen Armstrong, the Case for God - she argues for deeper understandings of God and religious questions and eschews the idea of any understanding of God that is anthropomorphic or literal or limited to our own understanding and ability to translate into literal images and forms. This, in a different way is the point of The Masks of God by Campbell (see above).

On a similar note,  book by a close friend, and one that  made a major impact on overcoming fear of death:

Charles Stein, Persephone Unveiled. A study of the mystery religions of ancient Greece but with an eye on relevance to our daily lives. 

Frankly, I believe 'polyanna' would be a generous word to use about Karen Armstrong ...

Posted by seamar_116 on 5/26/2015 10:50:00 AM (view original):

Posted by dino27 on 5/25/2015 10:50:00 AM (view original):
I have time travelers wife...I havnt read it yet...I have to find the time....is harry turtledove an alternate history writer ?
a great movie/book recommendation - time after time.....h.g wells travels to the future to catch jack the ripper who escaped in his time machine...early mary Steenburgen.

Yes, Turtledove is a prolific alt history/fantasy/sci fi writer. I've read quite a few of his books. The short story collections are a good place to start before jumping in.

Trentonjoe loves Turtledove.

i would love to see anyones top 10 list of civil war books including battles......same for WW2.

Posted by dino27 on 6/2/2015 5:11:00 PM (view original):
i would love to see anyones top 10 list of civil war books including battles......same for WW2.

James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom
David Williams, A People's History of the Civil War
W.E.B. DuBois, Black Reconstruction in America
James McPherson, Why Men Fought the Civil War
Library of America, The Civil War Told by Those That Lived it
Ulysses S. Grant, Memoirs
Don Doyle, The Cause of All Nations: An International History of the Civil War 
Drew Gilpin Faust, The Republic of Suffering
Bruce Catton, Stillness at Appomattox
Charles Royster, The Destructive War

thanx bronxcheer and Italy...I have bunches from both lists but some I didn't know are mentioned..i am interested in the Atkinson books and dubois.is essential..on reconstruction eric foner is indispensable as well as Herbert gutman and g.vann woodward.
regarding gore vidal may I recommend Kalki..

Impending Crisis by I forget is also an excellent read on the causes of the Civil War.

Speaking of the Civil War, I just found out that I'm the great-great-great-great grandson of Gen. George G Meade. Mixed bag, I know. But still kinda cool.

impending crises is one of my keepers.

Too many books/categories for the relatively small number of owners we have posting here.  Maybe if we narrowed our focus to baseball books and did the tourney on that?   I'm sure the majority of us have read more than a few great baseball books and could nominate a fair number of them...

I'm getting books for the flights (it's a long trip from Los Angeles to Paris) and just received Pedro's new autobiography, Pedro, and Leerhsen's Ty Cobb, A Terrible Beauty.  Thoughts?

PS - those will last one way; I'll probably reread Atlas Shrugged for the return flight.