(books I recommend)
(books I recommend)
the above photo is of a cathedral Micah "found"
in Liepzig, Germany in 1998
The following are courtesy of micah's readings...
Hildegard von Bingen
I first learned of Hildegard through the UK dark-folk band Current 93, who took one of her writings and read it amongst some eerie music ("Forever Changing" on Christ and the Pale Queens Mighty in Sorrow). Now credited as greatly suffering from migraines, the 12th-century church in her home town of Bingen, Germany (which I've been to!!!) believed she was able to see visions of heaven, angels, god, and of the devil. Whether this is to believed or not, with this fame Hildegard was able to achieve many groundbreaking acts, specifically the publication of many writings, primarily those of her visions but also one of the first excellent natural healing manuals which included a study of the human body and its illnesses. Amongst writing a play, music, and a book of natural history, Hildegard established "her sense of the unity of creation and the goodness of the natural world", making her one of the most ecologically-aware and liberated women of the middle ages.
[Hildegard von Bingen - A Discography] [Hildegard of Bingen - Bio] [The Catholic Encyclopedia - St. Hildegard]
You must read Ishmael, You must read Ishmael, You must read Ishmael, You must read Ishmael.
Did I say it enough times? Don't make me go on...
I'll let the book speak for itself, but let me say thats it is the best book I've ever
read; ultimately, it says everything I've ever wanted to say after 4 years of education in
biological anthropology.
Even better than Ishmael is the sequel, The Story of B... it says all that Ishmael does, plus much more. It really has changed my life, so I would be highly honored if you would check it out. It will change yours too... but beware, you may never rest on your sedentary arse ever again!
The Future Eaters by Tim Flannery
If you have ever been interested in learning about the wildlife, arrival and occupation of indigenous peoples, and European settlement (which was quickly followed by intense destruction) of Australasia, this is the ultimate book! I learned of it during my studies in Australia, and frequently used it to briefly summarize several of my papers. Although highly thorough (yet written for the layman), It specifically addresses the unique adaptation of Australasian wildlife and plants to the rare ecosystems, recognizing them as the amazing species they truly are; then discusses the discovery of Australasia by ancient hunter-gatherers; then a discussion of the debate concerning whether it was climate or people who have caused the extinction of all the megafauna (huge animals) at the end of the last ice age, including interesting descriptions of many of them; followed by an outline of the process of exinction and destruction which has occurred since European arrival. But most importantly, how some open-minded Australian scientists have worked ingeniously to optimize civilization and wilderness together to create the amazingly beautiful Australian natural beauty that we know today: may the Goddess bless them for not destroying it like Americans have their own mother!
DEMONIC MALES by Richard Wrangham
I enjoyed this book immensely, though it is quite long. Presented within is a thoroughly developed hypothesis regarding the irreversible destructive nature of humans. With an examination of all so-called peaceful cultures in humanity's past, a lengthy discussion on the aggression and sexuality of the other great apes (bonobos, orangs, chimps, gorillas), and observations on modern human society, one has a difficult time hoping for a positive future for humanity. This book is primarily responsible for the information I have presented in my evolution page.
Jared Diamond
I've read his highly significant The Third Chimpanzee, and am about halfway through Guns, Germs, and Steel; I've also read some of The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee (but I don't think this is available outside of Australia!). The 3rd chimp is an amazing book that serves its purpose: an outline of the 2 other extant chimpanzee species, with comparisons of them to our own species... The conclusion: we are merely a 3rd species of chimpanzee, very much like the other 2. Sorry, anthropocentricists, but the truth hurts, ya hairless apes! Guns, Germs and Steel is a nice counterpart to Daniel Quinn's Ishmael and the Story of B books, particularly since it's nonfiction and fills in all the gaps of the details that Quinn has left out. With all these together, we are able see exactly how the rise of agriculture led to the destruction of millions of cultures and ways of living upon this earth. While Quinn's purpose is to examine the mentality of this, the most shameful event in humanity's past, Diamond preferes to detail the reasons why western culture came to prevail over much of the planet, specifically in the americas and europe. In the words of one of his friends from New Guinea: "Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?" So Diamond answers this question, in one of the best counterattacks against the Bell Curve Theory, and explains that the reason why people like the spanish came to conquer the incas rather than vice versa is due to factors other than racial differences.
I've so far read "Monkey Wrench Gang" and most of "Desert Solitaire", but I realise now that his work is exceptionally useful in depicting the true nature of people and ecology in the western USA. Although he writes fiction, Abbey's very realistic writings, especially in Desert Solitaire (found in the travel writing [non-fiction] section) shows exactly how poorly the Native Americans are respected here in the states, and also exemplifies the "money talks" situation with U.S. national parks & our government, and why they're the way they are.
Abbey also specialises in a breed of bitterness rivaled only by Morrissey perhaps. He is excellent in directing most of this at the US government, accurately and specifically. If only there were more of us to carry out the acts described in his books!
Finally, Abbey possesses a fine grasp of the scientific understanding
of evolution's forces upon the shaping of the ecosystems we see today, as well
as the relationship of man to them, which has become such a poor relationship
in the 90's.
ANNE RICE
So far I've only read the Vampire Chronicles (and The Servant of the
Bones), but I have immensely enjoyed all 5 of them enough to make her one
of my favorite authors.
I was handed "Interview" near the end of my stay in Australia, and
didn't put it down until I had finished it (meaning I read NOTHING else during
that time)...
What struck me as so interesting was how she is able to make her story seem
very realistic. Her use of historical facts and true geographical locations
are probably two of the most important tools in achieving this, but she also
does something more:
the lives of the vampires in her story are described as though they could easily have taken place without our knowing... they're always present, but we do not see them, we're too caught up in the fleeting moment to notice them watching us... to notice them watching you.
Anne says that her story is not about vampires... it's about us.
My guess on this, without ever having spoken with her, is that she wishes us
to consider our own mortality when reading her books. We seem to be so concerned
with the question of "why?" that we have, ironically, destroyed our
purpose. In our quest we have imagined divine origins for ourselves, produced
by divine creatures (gods, souls, and angels) who watch over us, pay attention
to us, care for us. As a result we become very arrogant beings, thereby destroying
the beautiful world which we inhabit. A recurring theme in the Vampire Chronicles
is the idea that a being should do just what it is that being is made to do.
Vampires drink blood, birds fly, fish swim. In this same light Lestat is a sly
little devil, while Louis becomes "Merciful Death"; the two are nearly
as different as black & white, yet both try to change one another. The main
law of nature is diversity, and we as humans violate that law with our religion,
destroying the diversity of life on earth because we cannot be animals, oh no,
we must be gods: rulers of this planet, and of our universe.
Some links:
Anne Rice1
Anne Rice2 Anne Rice3
Dracula's Daughter
Rice Comics
I've read only "Frankenstein", an annotated version (which I highly suggest!). It was, to me, perhaps the most GOTHIC thing I've ever read. Such a surprise to those who read it, thinking they will read about the surgery, electricity, a monster, etc., for all they will find is the rhetorical questions of our own mortality: accusations on the validity of the right of the creator to fulfill his destiny: create. Like Rice, Shelley allows us to sink down to a level far below that which many other books will allow us to go. Is not the most important question we have to ask is: what is the point of seeking knowledge if all we will realize is that not only is true knowledge unattainable, but that its acquisition must lead to a loss of all of life's bliss?
We must also question the idea of creation...
What is it really all for... Why are we here?
Much of Shelley's vocabulary in Frankenstein is chosen as a result of those
made by MILTON in his work: Paradise Lost. The choice of thee vs. thou,
as used by the creator vs. the created is of particular note. I think
the relationship of the created to the creator is well developed in Anne Rice's
5th Vampire Chronicle, "Memnoch the Damned".
The point is, we don't really know. We can take a universal perspective on things,
and say "Yes, in relative proportion to the universe, what happens on Earth
and particularly in my life are of VERY little significance to anything at all".
But we can also say "Well, the truth is, this particular species is going
extinct, for this reason, at this rate, etc.," and that would be a valid
fact, significant or not. That seems significant to me: things that are in fact
happening.
Although the same could be said for the majority of our human lives, the fact remains that most people's lives do remain highly insignificant.
Vampires, Burial, and Death by Paul Barber
Barber spends the first half listing all of the known recordings of instances where a vampire was believed to be present, and spends the rest of the book disputing their likeliness. His overall opinion is that vampires are merely a product of folklore and distorted pop culture, but we all have our own opinions!
Having only read "Trainspotting", I don't feel comfortable writing much about Welsh, but it is without doubt that in writing this one he achieved much. I can only imagine the pains of writing a whole book as it would sound coming from a slang-heavy Scot telling it to us. I highly recommend reading this book, at least to see how well he's reconstructed it to sound as such. Besides, Trainspotting is a great story regardless, and most of it consists of stories not even mentioned in the movie! Also by Welsh are "Ecstasy", "Maribou Stork Nightmares", and more.
Also read:
THE SCIENCE OF GOD by Gerald Schroeder
THE PREHISTORY OF SEX by ?
anything by Edward O. Wilson
anything by Stephen Jay Gould.
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