BOOK REVIEWS
The Sign by Thomas De Wessellow
THE SHROUD OF THE TURIN AND THE SECRET OF THE RESURRECTION
Christianity was born more than 2000 years ago but the controversy about many issues and the efforts to put them to bed continues. Was Christ resurrected – literally - or is it a myth? The Shroud of the Turin which can and do offer many authentic clues has been subjected to many a scientific test but sometimes even science of today cannot always prove many mysteries. Then again, it often cannot explain or disprove, with conviction either.
In this book Thomas, who is an art historian and widely recognised for his ability to prove the “unsolvable”, approach the authenticity issues surrounding the Shroud and Christianity from a different angle and prove the authenticity of the Shroud, and thus the resurrection, without any doubt. His findings are also illustrated with maps and pictures.
The book offers a comfortable but enticing read also referencing many Bible verses should you want to cross-refer.
Faith is to accept the possibilities of what is or can be even though one cannot necessarily see it at the time. Be that as it may, it is still fascinating to read and study various viewpoints about those elements which make up life – it creates wisdom and insight.
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Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
“A lifetime’s worth of wisdom”
This is an extremely demanding and engaging book to read – it requires total focus as it works with two concepts or as Kahneman calls it systems. It is about being a good diagnostician – it is about how these two systems function – I will call them the conscious and the sub-conscious - it is about how it evaluate everything which is observed to make decisions or create impressions and at which point the one will be stronger and more accurate than the other.
Everything we do, or not, are based on or is as a result of judgement – the latter is again based on love or fear. This book is about that which we are aware - what is going on in the mind but then takes one further into that which the mind is busy with that we are not aware of while we are focussing on the stuff that we think we are aware of but is not! It offers one a better understanding of the biases of intuition and the awareness of how we can be confidently in error without realising it. Are people statistically good intuitive? Many scientific studies often lack adequate evidence and observation which result in subjective decision making.
The long and the short, I think, of this book is that it illustrate the flaws within our thinking and direct us towards insight as to how we should modify our thinking by being aware of the benefits or not, of the two systems. Once one understands the methodologies of the latter, we can apply our minds and thinking methodologies to eliminate those perceptions which we identify as not being real or applicable at any one time thus improving our thought success rate.
Sometimes thinking fast is better than thinking slow, but the vice verse also offers many benefits.
I am not complete done with this book – have decided to sleep on it for a couple of weeks – 2013 to be exact! If you are “lazy” or seriously casual reader, you will not enjoy this book – so be warned! It will most certainly change the way you think about things.
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The elephant whisperer by Lawrence Anthony
A truly apt title for a book which keeps its reader spellbound from the first chapter.
This is a true story of how Lawrence, who owns a game park in Zululand, was, out of the blue, presented with a herd of “rogue” elephants. The park’s name - Thula Thula.
Spellbound because the matriarch got shot during capture, the herd broke out of the holding pen shortly after its arrival at Thula Thula! They found a way to short-circuit the electric fence, were threatened to get killed by the Parks Board but faith and a superhuman effort brought them back to Thula Thula where Lawrence and one of his staff stayed with them for days. During this time Lawrence would walk around the boma and talk to them by name – carefully observing every member of the herd’s behaviour.
Suffice to say that in time he gained the herds trusts and he describes the subtle mannerisms of these elephants through which he recognised their acknowledgement of him and what he was trying to do for them. Despite the latter, he found himself in a spot of bother with this herd on more than one, and every time, unexpected occasions whilst also having to manage and combat poaching in the park. There were also those times when the matriarch Nana and her somewhat rebel sister Frankie taught him valuable lessons in compassion and caring for family.
This is a book for animal lovers and adventurous souls alike – it touches and speaks to the heart.
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