Cannibalism among the Sawi Tribes of Irian Jaya, (formerly Netherlands New Guinea), was not necessarily survival, but the way of life, in which they used humans as prizes to demonstrate their arrogance, pride and strength. Civilized or uncivilized, there is one common ground in all people, all nations, which is the struggle for peace throughout the centuries. Yet the Sawi people were difficult, perhaps so stubborn, there are no other words in the English language to describe them other than accepting their primitiveness engrained by subliminal psyche. However, the husband and wife missionary team, Don and Carol Richardson without a doubt, understood this challenge. The Apostle Paul who brought the gospel to Europe, his account with the Greek Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in the Aeropagus in Mars Hill, Athens, applied "cross-cultural" approach in lieu of criticizing their pagan beliefs (the common mistake of the west) bearing the inscription of their "unknown" god (Acts 17, New Testament). The Apostle finding a parallel thereby used it as opportunity to present the gospel message to these Greek philosophers. The question among the Sawis that challenged them was likened to a hidden key? However, they too discovered a parallel like that of the Apostle, which provided them with the right approach and the right attitude. Through patience and perseverance, somewhere in the thick of the woods they unlocked its secret code, that breakthrough, in which they discovered within the hearts of the people. Trusting in a "temporary" child that never brought forth peace among the Sawi villages, not only the people discovered that peace was possible, they also discovered the "everlasting, eternal" child that brought them not temporary peace, but everlasting peace.

I have had the good fortune of reading this book (twice), seeing the film, and hearing Don Richardson in person tell this story, and have been thrilled by each vehicle of communication (though I think Richardson's personal telling probably the most vivid.) The Sawi of New Guinea were a people still living at a stone age level when Richardson and his family went to live with them in the early 1960s, and their bizarre cultural customs make for fascinating reading. Their most developed form of treachery was betrayal, to 'fatten an enemy with friendship' before murderously turning on them. When Richardson told the Sawi the story of Christ's life, the real hero to emerge was Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed his close friend. Things changed among the Sawi when Richardson found how they stopped their wars through the means of a Peace Child, exchanged between warring tribes for adoption and peace. Read this fascinating account of what happened next.

Richardson's personal experiences with the Sawi tribe in former Dutch New Guinea was moving, inspiring, and fascinating. God used Richardson and his family to bring the redemptive message of salvation through his son Christ to this tribe of cannibalistic people, a group that idealized treachery the way some idealize intelligence or artistic ability. Quite a daunting task. God showed Richardson that the answer to making the message come alive lie in the Sawi's own culture, the custom of the peace child. It is through this custom that Richardson is able to begin to connect the message of Christ into the hearts of the Sawi. This is an excellent book.

Yesterday I was having one of those "I need to have an attitude adjustment sort of days". My parents are both deceased, my mother having been buried the week of Christmas in 1988. I get sort of melancholy this time of year, and without meaning to, can slide into a "funk". Anyway, it was that kind of a day. I was looking for something in the bottom, deep drawer of my desk when I came upon Tim Richardson's book, JUMP STARTS. I had actually forgotten I had it. I read the table of contents and knew IMMEDIATELY the place I was to begin reading: Part Seven: Life Teaches Us Lessons in Attitude Adjustment! Yesterday I read "The Sun". This morning I read "Music in the Morning". Thank you, Tim, for the gift of your book. Thank you for writing it for people like me. And I thank God, who always in His timing, knows who or what to put in my path. It was no coincidence that I came across your book yesterday.

Jump Starts is a very inspiring book. It's fun to read and leaves you with the motvation to live each day to it's fullest.

Jump Starts is a rare book that combines modern-day parables and makes them easily digestible. The author is able to see the simplest of events and put thought provoking meaning to them.

Jump Starts is a must read for people who strive to stand above the negativity of the everyday world.

A Review by Eric F. Newell
April 10, 2002

An insightful understanding of interpersonal dynamics, this writing affords an insightful look at relations in the church. Using as a point of reference, the author describes two churches that meet a situation within the church from two opposite positions. Using the Family Systems Theory as a basis for the writing, Richardson tells that the dynamics of relationship, "specifically in the church, are based in cultural, structural communication, decision, and economic systems. These systems are fairly easy to change if necessary. The system most difficult to change is the emotional system." (p.29)

Using the model of a mobile, he speaks of the delicate balance with which it hangs. There will always be times of imbalance in the churches emotional system. "What is important is how these times of imbalance turn out. The out come as to whether they are positive or negative depends upon the action and reaction of the church leadership as well as the lay leadership." (p.30). Differences in these emotional systems are more difficult to address as persons begin to personalize the issues. "The skill for learning how to deal with these systems is the ability to be a good observer. Stepping outside of what we feel is happening and being able to see what is actually taking place."(p.31)

Anxiety can bring unbalance to the system. This is intensified in proportion to sense of threat that persons feel within a given situation. When there is the sense of not having control, the feeling that one does not know what is going on, there is a higher sense of anxiety. As the leadership is able step outside of the subjective to the objective side of the situation, they will be able to bring a sense of calm to people around them. Anxiety spreads from one person to another. It is the place of the leadership to as much as possible minimize levels of anxiety and create the sense that church is a safe place.

Apparent differences in people bring differences in the way that they relate to each other. To this the author tells that individuals have their own comfort zones. Abandonment and Engulfment are two terms used for the opposite ends of the spectrum of these comfort zones. As persons move up and down this continuum toward or away from the other person, there will be acceptance or rejection. Differences in others are met with patterns of reactivity. There is the pressure for sameness. Richardson in one of the four patterns of reactivity identifies this: compliance, rebellion, power struggle and emotional distancing.

In addition to ways that people act and react to situations, because of their own comfort zones, the author also identifies the triangles in relationships that can happen as a result of these differences which are allowed to because threats. "It is difficult for any two persons to maintain a one to one relationship for any period of time." (p.115) When one person has an issue with another, and first person seeks support against the opposing person a triangle is formed. "Generally triangles serve two purposes: (1) absorbing anxiety, and (2) covering the basic differences and conflicts of emotional systems." (p.116). "Whenever one takes a side in the triangle, regardless of how righteous the reason, they become part of the problem."(p.123). It is necessary to notice warning signs which could help to identify these possible triangles; "The best clue is our own sense of confusion. When you find yourself in situations that do not seem to add up, there is an issue that is missing. Another warning sign is when someone talks to you in a negative way about someone else in the church and you have not particular need to know."(p. 119)

Richardson's approach to those things that bring balance and imbalance deal with structure, systems, leadership styles and personal comfort zones. The terms used for the explanations of moving in and out of these different systems seemed to be a bit redundant. The strength of his writing however was his identifying and defining of the personalities involved in the given setting.

A review of Ronald W. Richardson's book,
Creating a Healthier Church: Family Systems Theory, Leadership and Congregational Life.

Richardson does a fabulous job of applying Bowen's theory (family systems theory) to church congregations. He illustrates the differences between two congregations dealing with similar problems. In 1986, Richardson offered courses for clergy based on the Family Systems Theory (FST) after clergy reported how his application of FST was revolutionizing how they dealt and thought about problems within their own congregations. Yet, the most notable change that they reported was "their own role in relation to these problems" (22).

Richardson clearly states that his book is not about the one and only correct way for leaders to lead. Instead, he suggests that his book can be a tool to assist clergy in thinking about their function within their churches and how they relate to others. Leadership is any kind of decision-making position or role and therefore, FST is not just for the top clergy or leaders (20).
The questions Richardson addresses are:
1)What is happening when a church gets into difficulties and the leadership seems to be making things worse rather than helping resolve the problem?
2)How can we explains things going well at one church where leaders are able to avoid the emotional outbursts and turmoil that is common in another church?
3)What in our human nature including our strengths and liabilities, and in the way we organize ourselves in groups make things go well or poorly as we deal with difficult situations?

Richardson addresses these questions and offers the reader the following resources. First, he provides a theory about human behavior that will enable the reader to understand how situations can get out of control in the faith community, resulting in emotional outbursts and turmoil. Second, he offers a practical set of leadership ideas, guidelines and behaviors as a plan to prevent situations from becoming negative and instead turn out positive. Thirdly, he provides guidelines for how to behave in the midst of upsetting and conflictual circumstances. And, lastly, he gives personal steps so that the leader can become more positive and cooperative in assisting healing and developing a healthier faith community (20).

Richardson has framed the book specifically either for personal study or for group discussions. He has incorporated thought provoking questions at the end of each chapter, in order to guide the readers into an in-depth examination of themselves and their congregations.

Richardson identifies two unspoken theories of human behavior: the individual model and the systems model. In the individual model people have little sense of their interconnectedness, or of how their own behavior affects that of others. In the systems model, there is "a recognition of the connection between people. Where no one lives or acts in isolation, and we are all affected by each other's behaviors" (25).

One key to "functioning in a healthy manner as a church is for the leaders to look at the church as a system rather than as a collection of isolated people"(26). Thinking systemically is very difficult, because we are taught to think linearly, and systemic thinking is more circular. Richardson uses the illustration of delicately balanced mobiles to prove his point. "Any movement by any part of the mobile, toward or away from the center of gravity, affects the balance of the whole mobile. This is most true of the parts closet to the tope of the mobile (the leadership), and only somewhat less true of the parts closer to the bottom" (30).

While each part of the mobile is an individual component, it is still connected to the mobile as a whole. Richardson sees this as a metaphor for the two deep and basic life forces: individuality and togetherness. Although, these forces are at the core of our emotional system, they are not at the opposite ends of the continuum. Instead, they coexist within us, each having it is own level of intensity at different times. The togetherness is the force that drives us to want to be connected to and affiliated with others; whereas, the individual force impels us to become our own person, to become emotionally independent, and to act in ways that make sense to us.
What unbalances systems? Anxiety. Richardson says anxiety is different from panic attacks. Anxiety is threats of the unknown.

Anxiety is an uncomfortable feeling. Anxiety is less tangible and more amorphous than fear. And just like individuals, churches experience different levels of anxiety. Therefore, anxiety, collectively and individually, is a powerful force for the church and leadership to understand and deal with. Therefore, the task for church leaders is to slow down the process before it gets out of hand. Effective leaders help people minimize their levels of anxiety so they can accomplish their goals. Leaders do this by managing their own anxiety by simply bringing their own calmness to the situation.

I highly recommend this book for anyone in a position of leadership, for it is an excellent resource.

In Creating a Healthier Church, Ronald Richardson used the late Dr. Murray Bowen's family systems theory to present a formula for encouraging pastors and congregations to grow in spiritual health. Its application has to be intentional, but the formula is simple to express: Understanding + Re-Patterning = Spiritual Health.
The first key element, Understanding, is a process of education and self-analysis. The question that must be answered is: 'Who am I as a member of the emotional family structure in the church?' The second key element, Re-Patterning, is to respond in a positive way to the question: 'What must I do to re-pattern my interaction and relationships with others in order to promote harmony and well being in the church?' Then, as a result of such Understanding and applied Re-Patterning, the Spiritual Health of the church will flourish.
Richardson used as an inciting incident, a description of two churches who react very differently to the same bleak December flood and cold, which threatens the well being of the imminent Sunday morning worship service. In case #1, the people involved apparently worked well together to cope with the emergency. In case #2, the people reacted poorly. Richardson used the rest of his text to examine the: who, what, where, why, and how, which were illustrated by the very different reactions to the same crisis.
To be a "non-anxious presence" is one factor essential to the 'Understanding' of what it means to be an effective church leader. Re-Patterning, then, becomes possible. Richardson wrote: "The goal of this work is for each leader to improve his or her own level of emotional functioning in relation to each other member of the congregation and particularly in relation to other leaders" (1996:177). The formula, now, can be re-written:
Non-Anxious Presence + Sensitized Emotional Relationships = Spiritual Health.
Creating a Healthier Church is practical, thought provoking, personal, objective, and clear. I found aspects of myself objectively held up in the light of truth, and was challenged accordingly. I found aspects of my church revealed in both the positive and the negative scenarios. I know there is still work to be done in the vineyard, if the harvest is to be bountiful. This book is insightful and timely. I highly recommend it.

Thank goodness this classic tale is still available for readers of all ages. The timeless nature of this tale endures. A satisfying tale and delightful ending for everyone.

Author of historical fiction.

This book is a treasure for your library. It brings endless pleasure, and is the kind of story that spans all ages.

It is the tale of a boy and his dragon who lives up on the Downs. In spite of the bad reputation dragons have, the boy and he become quick friends. Saint George shows up to do battle with the reluctant lizard, and the boy arranges a mock battle, unbeknown to the villagers that pleases everyone.

(...) THE BOOK IS ABOUT THIS BOY WHO MEETS THIS DRAGON AND THEY
BEACOME FRIENDS THE DRAGON TELLS THE BOY STORY AND NONE ARE
TRUE. BUT ONE IS TRUE THE DRAGONS FAUTHER DIED WHEN A KNIGHT
FOUND OUT ABOUT HIM WHEN THE DRAGON WAS LITTLE. THE KID
HEARS ABOUT A KNIGHT NAMED ST. GEORGE HE TELLS ST. GEORGE
ABOUT THE DRAGON. THE NEXT DAY THE KID SHOWS ST. GEORGE THE
THE DRAGON THE DRAGON DID NOT WHANT TO FIGHT. THE NEXT DAY
ST. GEORGE TOLD SOME OF THE DRAGONS TALES TO THE VILLAGE.
THE TALES WHERE ABOUT KNIGHTS AND DRAGONS FIGHTING. THAT
AFTER NOON THE DRAGON HID IN THE CAVE AND ST. GEORGE FAKED
TO KILL THE DRAGON AND WAS FAMOUS.

(...)

This book is really a must read for anyone interested in developing a "breakout strategy" for their business, especially if you want a strong ethics/values orientation. When it comes to most business books today, the suggestions that they make are often add-ons to existing ways of doing business, so implementing the suggested strategy or system will still rely on access to significant capital or technology to achieve a successful result. In reading "Business is a Contact Sport", I found a fundamentally different perspective that guided me to create a completely unique competitive approach based on developing relationships with other businesses that should be willing to promote expansion of my business because it will also help them expand their business. The more I let my imagination wander, the more different types of businesses I came up with that could have an interest in this approach because they could benefit in a unique way too. It was exciting. On a practical level, the authors provide very good methods for organizing the "relationship management" process in order to keep a company focused on getting good business results from using this approach.

In addition to the "breakout" value for businesses, I would suggest that this book is worthwhile for anyone who is looking for a way to make their personal work more meaningful and challenging. The book is full of good advice on how to build good business relationships. Even if the company you work for is not into this approach, you can use it for your own benefit. There is a lot of uncertainty in the job market these days and good relationships will always be the most valuable way to find another job, so the advice is good on a personal level as well as corporate level.

This book is a must read for anyone looking to secure lasting relationships with clients and employees. It provides a great framework and reference on how to approach prospects and retain key people necessary for building a successful organization. I found the book to be grounded in reality versus theoretical management speak. It's about time someone put in writing what some people have been trying to pass along by word of mouth for many years. This will definitely be a must read for everyone in my organization, support staff and consultants alike.

Tom Richardson and Augusto Vidaurreta, the founders of the Systems Consulting Group, have had tremendous success since the late 1980's using some of the obvious techniques necessary in business that we all know are important, but sometimes forget to practice. For the seasoned business professional BUSINESS IS A CONTACT SPORT easily defines and labels terms for the principals we know are important for us to succeed, but didn't know how to organize them to teach them to new entrants into the business world. Business leaders should read and develop a cheat sheet of the 12 principals and post it as a reminder of what we need to be doing each day. BUSINESS AS A CONTACT SPORT has been tested and passed with high grades from some of our best business schools. RAM, Relationship Asset Management and CRO, Chief Relationship Officer will become a standard in the evolving business world. Managers need to arms their sales staff with this book as well as department heads and HR personnel.

I've been using Word for years, and I thought I knew my stuff. But I was really floored by how many shortcuts and key strokes I didn't know. I can't understand why no one has done this before now. The format is great; I just leave it on my desk and grab it when I need it or when I want to learn something new. And the writing makes it easy to follow. I can't wait for the PowerPoint book!

"Thank You Wendy and Bob for creating such 'User Friendly' book!, Finally, a reference tool thats 'idiot proof', I can't say enough about the short-cuts that I found in this book, that saved me time in my work, and also for recreation.I found the format was very comfortable to understand, my nephew even picked up quickly on your 'Tips', and the characters made it FUN through-out!It's easy to keep 'on-hand' on my desk, and the built in spiral-stand design doesn't get in the way at all.I'm looking forward to purchasing more 'Nerdy Books'."

No matter what your level of experience in any subject you can sometimes run into problems and need some sort of help. Nerdy Books has put together a special way of making getting help easier and hassle free.

With over 500 tips in this small desk reference product, you'll be able to have the answers right at your fingertips. Looking just like a small desk calendar, this portable unit has a stand to hold up the book or you can fold it up and store it in your desk or briefcase.

Laced with excellent illustrations and tips that range from easy to cool to hard there is something in the manual for every level of expertise. One thing that maybe a drawback to this product is the fact that some of the pages stick together and flipping the page could cause ripping and tearing.

Covering topics like documents, paragraphs, cut, copy and paste, auto correct, toolbars, table, spell check are but a few of the areas you'll find tips and trick to. Overall this is a very good product any word user. Check out nerdybooks.com for other tips books, you won't be disappointed.

If you talk to ANY Russian in the world, and mention "The Twelve Chairs" from their cultural heritage, or the "Rogei e kapuuta" phony business in the book, ALL Russians will spontaneously and uncontrollably smile. Normally glum Russians are unable to resist a smile at remembering the hilarious antics and insights in "The Twelve Chairs." It is set in the 'crazy time' when Russian society was in upheaval and some men just wanted to make their fortune. What do the Russians know that you are MISSING out on? They get the joke. You should get it, too! This English translation is a MUST read.

I've read the novel together with its sequel, The Golden Calf, in Russian about a dozen times. Now I simply have to get an English copy to share it with my non-Russian speaking friends! It is true: the speech of an average Russian contains quite a few quotations from the novel (also due to a number of film versions). Twelve Chairs is something definitely worth having in your home library: you can open it at any time and start reading on any page. In minutes, you're guaranteed, if not to laugh, then to smile.

I never read this in English,so I'm not going to comment on the quality of the Northwestern U. translation,but I did read it in Russian. First off,everyone needs to read this book in order to understand Russians better. I re-read it many times in my teenage years simply because if you live in Russia(or any other Eastern European country for that matter),you will be able to understand those countless quotes taken from this masterpiece and incorporated into everyday language. The characters are hysterical in the least, and the story so seemingly simple contains much bigger messages than available to the naked eye.Please,read this book,and if you understand the humour and sadness of it,you'll be well on your way to understanding not just Russian culture but humans in general.

Forget the beach. I bought this book for my vacation and wound up consuming it before I left my house. I'd read the author's last book, "Dark Horse," and thought it was a great political-thriller-in-a-small town sort of read. But this one made a "true believer" out of me (pun definitely intended). W.D. Theroux is a villain on par with Hannibal Lecter. From page one, this book makes promises and then it delivers over and over again. I especially liked the recovering alcoholic senator as a hero and the very obvious, Drudge-like cyber-sleaze of a journalist who acts as Theroux's unwitting accomplice in crime. Don't leave town without this book!

"True Believers" is neatly woven and compelling with a fabric populated by real people caught up in lives and a political arena that is all too real...

As an avid reader and a (screen/t.v.) writer for over twenty years "True Belivers" captured my attention totally. I couldn't put it down until I finished the last page.

It is a taut, suspenseful rollercoaster ride, filled with people and a political arena that are so well etched you're hooked from page one; pulled into lives that smack with such reality you forget that you're reading a book and become a voyeur watching characters grow and change as they reveal intimate moments.

It was like peeling a grape. Each layered chapter brought forth the bitter-sweetness of life and left you with an aftertaste for more long after the book is finished.

Filled with such subtlety and foreshadowing, the book demands a second read, so that one can catch the almost visceral nuances missed in the first enthralling pass.

The plot was ingenious yet remained realistic. The characters were multi-faceted and interesting, what made them realistic was their imperfections. A fantastic book, True Believers kept me on the edge of my seat until the last page. I anxiously await the next offering from Doug Richardson.

BLAST OFF is not only a beautiful book to behold it is researched by and with the help of fans who love the space toys of the 30's, 40's and 50's. The team at Dark Horse has given space toy fans a bookmark in the history of childhood toys.

BLAST OFF includes photos and information on toys inspired from the space heroes of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon to the Space Opera heroes of Space Patrol, Tom Corbett, Rocky Jones and other role models of the 1950's. There are chapters on the English toys and the robots from Japan along with well-researched sections and chapters on the makers of the space toys of our childhood, Archer, Marx and Pyro. Many of the toys displayed in this book are rare and hard to find items that have not been seen before now.

However, the backbone of the book is the interviews with collectors and fans of space toys. Why we remember and kept these playthings of our childhood is as interesting as the fantastic photos and ads that are generously spread throughout the book.

I found that I would move back and forth between chapters, reading about the toys that I remembered but had not seen in many years. It brought back many good memories along with information and research that should be saved and shared with future generations.

A must have book for any science fiction or space toy collector. Thank you Dark Horse Books and the creative team of Mark, Steve and Mike for bringing us this fantastic slice of childhood back to life. I hope BLAST OFF stays in print for many years to come as a reference point in the history of not just toys but SPACE TOYS!!!!

Blast Off! does what other collector's books only pretend to do. Collector books usually center around value guides, and pass themselves off as glorified shopping lists for toy shows and antique malls. Other books forego any knowledge of the subject whatsoever, and go with photographic essays of the nostalgia craze. A third sort of book tells long stories about growing up in some bygone era. All three sorts of books have, understandably a small readership and limited popular appeal.

The authors of Blast Off!, on the other hand, did the hard work of writing a real book, somehow combining it with the best photos and graphics I've seen in a collector's book, and sprinkling in enough anecdotes and oral histories to keep it interesting. This book is a major effort from an accomplished team: a knowledgeable collector, a lively writer, and an avid fan and history buff--the last being Mike Richardson, publisher of Dark Horse comics and owner of the Things from Another World sci-fi comic shops.

Blast Off! launches itself as an overview/ intro to the golden age of space toys, but its appeal is really wider than that. This is a book collectors will want, not simply to locate market values for haggling at the junk shop, but to remind them what they like about their hobby. Beautiful and imaginative graphics evoke the promise and wonder of the space age, but the book is so lively and informative I had to read it twice: once to read the captions and look at the pictures, and again just enjoying the text.

It's impossible to overstate how great this book is. The photographs are incredibly clear and bright, and the subject matter is drawn from endlessly rich collections. Books like this tend to fall through the cracks--not really appealing to the general reader, and yet not in-depth enough for the collector. But a reader from the first category who casually glances at this book may find a new interest, and seasoned collectors may find rarities they didn't know existed. Every era has volumes that define it; for the space age, that would be Blast Off!

BUY THIS BOOK!!! "Why?", you may ask. Well, aside from being the definitive book on space toys, BLAST
OFF! gives you more color photos of incredible space toys than you have ever seen at one time and in one place.
We all have fond memories of some space toy from our childhood. Trying to recapture our past, we may even
buy back one or two of these toys at a swap meet or toy show.
Going one step further, we now start buying books, magazines, or auction catalogues featuring space toys. All
these serve as our mental guide to what's "out there".
Initially, this method succeeds; eventually, however, it fails because the photos we've assembled are in black and
white while our memory of these toys is in true, living color.
Enter S. Mark Young with his book, BLAST OFF! Any space toy you ever had or read about, along with others you've never seen before, is photographed here in color so real that you can almost reach into the page and take out whatever wind-up rocket, disintegrator pistol, or bubble helmet your heart desires.
And, for those fans starved for information, wait until you read the chapter on Archer Plastics! Did you know that
the first Archer space playset and the first Marx space playset debuted at the same time? The year was 1952.
So, don't wait, don't hesitate, order your copy now. Be the first kid on your block to own a copy of S. Mark
Young's BLAST OFF!

I must confess that I don't understand the reader review below who found this biography of Emerson to be a difficult read. Although not quite a page-turner, I managed to read this in very little time at all. I must also confess that I do find Emerson himself incredibly difficult to read. But what I find to be the case in Emerson himself, I did not find to be true in Richardson's biography. While I find that Emerson constructed one stunning sentence and aphorism after another, I generally find his essays to be slow going. Nonetheless, while I am not his biggest fan, he is unquestionably one of the four or five greatest figures in American intellectual history, and Richardson's biography does him great justice.

The great merit of this biography is that at the end of it, you feel that you have gained considerable insight both into Emerson and New England intellectual life in the 19th century. I was especially intrigued with Richardson detailing of Emerson's reading. Emerson was, without any question, a great reader. Great readers rarely read books from cover to cover. Samuel Johnson, who was himself one of the most accomplished readers in the history of civilization, once said that we have more of a need to reread than to read. But he also once quipped, "What, you read books all the way to the end?" Emerson did not read books all the way to the end. But like Johnson and other great readers, he had a genius for picking out the most important points. What Boswell wrote of Johnson is true also of Emerson: "He had a peculiar facility in seizing at once what was valuable in any book, without submitting to the labour of perusing it from beginning to end."

One comes away from the book also enormously impressed with Emerson's character. He seems by any standard to have been a remarkably good human being. He was both a man of high principle, and a man of powerful attachments to other human beings. I found the accounting of his various friendships, many to equally famous individuals, to be of the utmost interest. Also, he seems to have met virtually every important thinker and writer in the English-speaking world, from Coleridge to Carlyle to Melville.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants to gain a deeper knowledge of Emerson's life and work. By any standard, Emerson is one of the giants in American life. His influence on American thought is incalculable. Consider: not only was he the major influence on such American literary figures the magnitude of Thoreau and Whitman; he was a profound influence on artists such as Thomas Cole, Moran, and Bierstadt. America's deep-rooted environmentalism is steeped in Emersonian Transcendentalism. John Muir was a devoted reader of Emerson. One could make a case for Emerson having had perhaps more influence in the shaping of American thought than any other individual. This biography is an outstanding introduction to that person.

A remarkable biography of an enduring genius in American history.'Emerson: The Mind on Fire', is a reading experience that was at once moving, educationally rewarding and, above all, inspiring. The book is a well- crafted, well- researched analysis of 'the' American philosopher of the 19th century. After completing the work, I felt as though I knew the great man intimately, and found myself feeling sad that he wasn't in the phone book or had an email address to invite him and his family over for dinner. As Thoreau once wrote, "Surely joy is the condition of life." And this is most certainly the leading emotion that I felt while reading this book. And as Emerson wrote: "The purpose of life is individual cultivation, self expression, and fulfillment." At the risk of sounding too praiseworthy, Richardson's commendable biography has given me the opportunity to experience all three of the above. Since a freshman in highschool, my predelication to Transcedentalism has moved in and out of my life like a warm breeze. This particular work has re-lit this old philosophical spark,causing the winds to rise again, so to speak, creating a kind of intellectual excitment. I have read hundreds of biographies on many great individuals, but this one ranks as one of the best. I recommend this book highly.

If you have a desire to know one of the greatest inspirations in American history.. Richardson's biography on Emerson will bring you as close to the real man as any historical perspective can! Richardson's research and flowing phrase truly do justice to one of the most engaging writers, lecturers in U.S. history. The biographer not only highlights Emerson's work--he puts it into detailed context: through Emerson's thoughts and through the societal and political currents that were shaping the United States, at that time. Robert Richardson has carefully preserved an american icon: both the myth and the man that was Ralph Waldo Emerson.