This is an exceptional presentation of the memory palace technique of learning vocabulary. The author provides a clear description of the theory, giveThis is an exceptional presentation of the memory palace technique of learning vocabulary. The author provides a clear description of the theory, gives concrete examples, and provides tips on how to succeed in language studies.
I like his narrator's voive. It is plessant, knowledgeable, and fun. This book is particularly useful in helping me with a professional goal.
He does a lot of summarizing of the works. But I liked this better than the last one or two that I have listened to. I guess it means something that IHe does a lot of summarizing of the works. But I liked this better than the last one or two that I have listened to. I guess it means something that I keep listening to more. I recommend it....more
I listened to this as an audio book. Well done. The two novels make a great introduction to the author. I'm not certain what the editor was attemptingI listened to this as an audio book. Well done. The two novels make a great introduction to the author. I'm not certain what the editor was attempting to do with her selection of short stories. Following are the titles of the stories:
1. Strangers on a Train (novel) 2. A Mighty Nice Man 3. The Still Point of the Turning World 4. Where the Door is always Open and the Welcome Mat is Out 5. Quiet Night 6. In the Plaza 7. The Great Card House 8. The baby spoon 9. The Price of Salt (novel)...more
It was okay, but I think it promised much more than it delivered. I read it because I am interested in Steiner's thought as it informed the thought anIt was okay, but I think it promised much more than it delivered. I read it because I am interested in Steiner's thought as it informed the thought and work of Owen Barfield, especially Barfield's, mythmaking, understanding of symbol, and Anthroposophy.
I am interested in Barfield as an Inkling. This book is an interesting alternative to Tolkien's exploration of the same topic in On Fairie-Stories....more
This book contains a reproduction of all of the known surviving writings exchanged between Lewis and Barfield in what Lewis would later refer to as thThis book contains a reproduction of all of the known surviving writings exchanged between Lewis and Barfield in what Lewis would later refer to as the Great War.
It is philosophy and demanding of the reader. It is worth the self-investment. A great pleasure is to see the foundation stones of ideas that will be revisited and included in the works of both Lewis and Barfield throughout each of their writing careers.
Well done to the editors and the organization that published it....more
This is the third volume of Barfield's Burgeon trilogy. It is quite a book, loaded with ideas and imagination, and references to the work of Rudolf StThis is the third volume of Barfield's Burgeon trilogy. It is quite a book, loaded with ideas and imagination, and references to the work of Rudolf Steiner.
The first volume: This Ever Diverse Pair introduces Burgeon, the principle character of the books. He is the silent partner of a law firm. He is imaginative and poetic. He presents the narrative of an incident that occurred between himself and his law partner. The partner, named Burden, represents rationalism and carries out the majority of the work. Burden decides he can do without Burgeon. There is a struggle for survival between the polar opposites.
The second volume: Worlds Apart occurs a few years after the previous book. Burgeon invites seven men from very different educational backgrounds and work disciplines to have a three day conference in which they discuss reality and knowledge as they understand it. He believes disciplines exist in compartments and wants to do what we now call thinking outside of the box. It is a wide-ranging and pleasant book. The book is supposed to be a transcription of a tape recording taken throughout the conference. I think it is the best of the three books.
The third volume: Unancestral Voice occurs twenty years after the conflict of the first book. Burgeon is instructed by a spirit of wisdom called the Meggid. The book opens by reproducing conversations with Burgeon's law colleagues and conversations between himself and the Meggid. It moves on to conversations he has with three educated men that he meets on an Ocean liner, the Meggid joins in the conversation using Burgeon as a mouth-piece. In the book Burgeon continues away from the other passengers to talk with the Meggid. At the end Burgeon attends a meeting to listen to a paper presented by a microbiologist named Flume. They have been friends for several months. There is much discussion about the nature of science and knowlege. The book ends with a discussion with the Meggid about who the spirit is, his purpose and why he selected Burgeon.
It is a solid piece of writing. It is worth reading for Inklings aficionados who are interested in Barfield as another piece of the puzzle of that literary group. I would warn off readers who will be bothered by Christian heresies. I recommend the book for readers interested in different outlooks and who enjoy critiques of the fundamental assumptions of contemporary thought....more
This is a wonderful book. I would recommend it to just about anyone. And, I'm not being facetious, sarcastic, or ironic. I really do like it.
It is a tThis is a wonderful book. I would recommend it to just about anyone. And, I'm not being facetious, sarcastic, or ironic. I really do like it.
It is a tour of the evolutionary paths of author-chosen word groups from their ancient Greek or Latin origins, through their early English, and on to current usages. The tour has the over-all purpose of showing that humanity has undergone an evolution of consciousness since ancient times that means we do not think as the ancients did, experience the world the same, and has resulted in the present world itself being different from that of the ancients. Ultimately, think what you will of the thesis, it is a great tour.
I have to clarify that I genuinely recommend the book because I can also characterize it as being like a 220 page version of Sheldon Cooper's fun facts, about every subject, from TV's The Big Bang Theory. Barfield provides almost unending minutiae of the origins of English Words. I don't find it to be a boar, but I can see how someone might. I urge the reader to be patient and to give it a chance. Imagine Barfield carrying on, "Did you know that..."
This book would sit comfortably on the shelf with The Splendid Century: Life in the France of Louis XIV by fellow Inkling W.H. Lewis. It too is an anecdotal history but about France during the reign of Louis XIV. Both are fun to read. The Lewis book is often jocular in choice of anecdotes and in their presentions. I can imagine an uproarious reception when he read the manuscript to the Inklings. It wouldn't surprise me if it were crafted, to some degree, for that effect. Both are quality anecdotal histories written by members of the Inklings. I highly recommend them both. ...more
This is my second time to read the book. The first time was a rushed skim to see what it was about. It warrants a careful rereading.
Barfield was a solThis is my second time to read the book. The first time was a rushed skim to see what it was about. It warrants a careful rereading.
Barfield was a solid writer and thought deeply. Most of us are going to be struck with how that man--with those analytic and imaginative skills, education, atheistic upbringing (a free-thinking household that ridiculed religion), social influences (meaning C.S. Lewis and other University students and faculty), and nearly 70 years to think about it-- believed a set of, what we would now call, New Age believes. It certainly exacerbated his friend C.S. Lewis who said Something to the effect that Barfield was the kind of friend who had the same education and studied all of the same books as himself but reached all of the wrong conclusions. But the beliefs where not a phase in the life of a young man in his 20s. They lasted. Late in life he said his thoughts never changed. He believed the Same in his 90s that he did in his 20s. He said there was never anything new in his books, that they were just restatements of the same things, over and over.
The following is a quick summary of Barfield's understanding of evolution. His work is a continuous critique of rationalism, and the scientific method as a representation of all worthwhile knowledge. And, his anti-Darwinian understanding of evolution is contrary to the way it has been understood for over 100 years. My purpose is not to hold Barfield up to ridicule nor as his champion. He is a mysterious figure to many readers interested in the Inklings. And this review is to give only a taste of what Barfield is about. Since Goodreads is a place for volunteer and amateur reviews I am stopping with physical evolution, and not particularly polishing this. There is more about the evolution of consciousness that is more important to his work but dependent upon the ideas below.
Barfield was devoted to the work of the mystic Rudolf Steiner and was a member of the Anthroposophy society. From Steiner, he believed souls exist eternally (meaning, among other things, they predate the formation of the earth) for all creatures. With the help of spiritual beings, the souls of living things became tied to the physical universe (I'm not saying there is an influence. But it is the same sort of thing described in Tolkien's Silmarillion when the Valar volunteer to be permanently tied to the elements during the creation of the planet in order to participate in its ordering, and destiny. I mention this for illustrative purposes of the sort of thing Barfield describes.).
Barfield believed that everything (even rocks, other minerals, plants--everything in the physical universe) has eternal consciousness. Consciousness in the physical world has guided the physical evolution of Earth from phases of being liquid to solidity to some of the weak souls manifesting into animals (who together share a common soul). While the strong souls have directed their physical evolution to become humans (while still a part of nature develop an ego).
In other words, souls direct their physical evolution (over successive births and deaths) by their will to change a succession of species to eventually become the kind of animal they desire to be, (and place themselves in environments that will assist the survival of that animal they wish to become) and develop physical features such claws or fins that perform as a tool for survival in the natural environment. While mankind has developed general purpose features, such as the hands, that do not do a single thing, thus allowing for varied and changing purpose of the individual, withing a single life. This all quite different from Darwinism.
Obviously, Barfield is an author that a lot of readers are going to lose interest in before getting very far, because his work is demanding. It takes a lot of reading to get to the kernel of the work and isn't going to be worth it for a lot of people. Especially, since he telegraphs a lot of his thoughts and refers to Rudolf Steiner over and over again. And, it helps to read Steiner to get a better understanding of how Barfield makes a lot of his conclusions. This requirement is going to turn a lot of people off and it is another way the work is demanding.
This does not mean Barfield only restates the work of Steiner. He elaborates, restates and contributes to his teacher's work, especially Barfield's discussions of the role of the evolution of language to the evolution of human consciousness.
To end, I will point out that we don't have to agree with an author to enjoy his or her work. Prime examples for me are Thomas Pynchon and William S. Burroughs. Both do things in their work that I really like and keep returning to read, sometimes repeatedly. At the same time there are lots of things I don't enjoy about both authors. Yet, as I say, I reread them again and again. Sometimes there is a thing an author does that makes it worthwhile to read his or her work, even if it is only a sliver of the the whole....more
It is a short, mild post-apocalyptic novella. It is pretty much what I would expect as a science fiction apprentice piece by about anyone and what I wIt is a short, mild post-apocalyptic novella. It is pretty much what I would expect as a science fiction apprentice piece by about anyone and what I would expect of Barfield plying his hand at the genre at age 77. It is more interesting as something written by Barfield than as a composition interesting in its own right....more
This has become my favorite Barfield book. It contains essays he wrote spanning from the late 1920s to the early 1960s. It fills in the gaps to claimsThis has become my favorite Barfield book. It contains essays he wrote spanning from the late 1920s to the early 1960s. It fills in the gaps to claims he made but doesn't explain in Saving the Appearances. What do I think of Barfield? I enjoy putting together his world view in my own imagination. I don't have to believe him to enjoy it anymore than a reader has to believe in the existence of fantasy worlds to enjoy the stories they are described in.
An added attraction for me to read Barfield is the hope of recognizing elements of his work that remind me of things in the works of his friend C.S. Lewis or his acquaintance J.R.R. Tolkien. Sometimes I feel that seeing these similarities add depth to my understanding of the authors.
I would say Barfield`s work tends toward what we would call New Age today. And his constant reference to Steiner is going to turn off most people. Still the total picture is fun to grasp, and I think, worthwhile....more
This is a good book for getting a handle on the direction of what Owen Barfield thought and wrote about. That is why I read it. It presents itself as This is a good book for getting a handle on the direction of what Owen Barfield thought and wrote about. That is why I read it. It presents itself as being about Barfield. Interestingly, it isn't so much a book about Barfield's thought so much as an explanation of what the author called The New Enlightenment. This is more of a book about this philosophy that Barfield was converted to early in his adulthood and dedicated to throughout his life, rather than an explanation of thoughts that were his specifically.
It is a professionally written book and quite readable. Rudolf Steiner and Barfield are both mentioned throughout but it isn't really a book about Steiner's thought or what the source of Barfield's thinking was, though the reader is given to understand that the ideas were from Steiner and believed by Barfield....more
I have to agree with John D. Rateliff's review of the book that it is both quirky and a title that any serious future Barfield scholarship is going toI have to agree with John D. Rateliff's review of the book that it is both quirky and a title that any serious future Barfield scholarship is going to have to deal with. The major quirk is that information is presented thematically instead of chronologically. The reader has to pay attention to what year an event is said to have happened. The first nine chapters contain information that will interest Inklings scholars. At the end of chapter 9 the reader is warned that the remainder of the book goes into the esoteric and anthroposophic side of Barfield. I'm glad of the book. It does a nice job of introducing the reader to the man and gives an overview of his work. It provides food for thought about reading Barfield strictly for his own sake and not because he was an Inkling or friend of C.S. Lewis'....more
Admittedly, no book is for everyone. But, this book won't be for everyone. It is an important study about a period in the intellectual development of Admittedly, no book is for everyone. But, this book won't be for everyone. It is an important study about a period in the intellectual development of C.S. Lewis and his friend Owen Barfield during their 20s as young men. The book discusses a philosophic disputation they had over a 5 year period. I recommend it more for readers interested in Barfield or for readers interested in the academic C.S. Lewis, not so much for those interested in the Christian apologist Lewis or the author of Narnia, and the Space Trilogy Lewis. The book is well done. Personally I really liked it. I know I will be rereading it, probably sooner rather than later....more
The book presents four University lectures that Barfield presented in the United States in 1965. This book goes well with his earlier Romanticism ComeThe book presents four University lectures that Barfield presented in the United States in 1965. This book goes well with his earlier Romanticism Comes of Age. I recommend it....more
Finished my 4th complete rereading of the book. It stands up to this sort of attention. It makes me more interested in Rudolf Stiener and Goethe becauFinished my 4th complete rereading of the book. It stands up to this sort of attention. It makes me more interested in Rudolf Stiener and Goethe because they provide the context of his remarks that are introduced but not developed enough to be anymore than intriguing.
This is my first complete reading of this book. I read a section of it in the Barfield reader and then did alongish but unsatisfying read of most of the book earlier in the year.
I have no problem believing that he leavened the intellectual horizons of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.
It is difficult reading and I will need to give it another careful read to be confident about what the author meant. It is worth it. ...more
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