Columbus & Cortes, Conquerors for Christ. John Eidsmoe.

Columbus & Cortes, Conquerors for Christ.
John Eidsmoe.
New Leaf Press: 1992.

Obviously written in response to liberal Columbus-bashing on the 500th anniversary of his voyage, this book is an overly apologetic defense of Columbus and Cortes.

The foreword by Peter Marshall gets off on the wrong foot, decrying adultery and homosexuality in entertainment, yet saying nothing of violence, rape, murder, etc. Eidsmoe's main fault is that he does not apply the same standards across the board -- thus, we have to understand that slavery and warfare was an acceptable practice back in days gone by, but those idolatrous cannibals must have worshipped Satan because their actions were so evil. His other main flaw is putting words in the mouths of his opponents who, he claims, either deny that Cortes and Columbus were Christians (saying they only gave lip-service to Christianity), or that they suffered from severe delusions. Although Columbus was, indeed, "visionary", none of the books I have read on Cortes indicate anything other than that he was a devout Christian.

The bulk of this book is retelling the story with occasional jabs at non-Christians. Eidsmoe uses older sources, and at least one teen-age book, rather than newer and/or more accurate texts, and he provides no historical or textual criticism. Disappointing and poorly written.

The Human Encounter With Death. Stanislav Grof & Joan Halifax.

The Human Encounter With Death.
Stanislav Grof and Joan Halifax.
Dutton: 1978.

Certainly one of the most interesting books I've read for quite some time. The authors are psychiatrists who administered LSD to dying cancer patients to see if it would alleviate pain or enable them to cope with their impending death. It did both -- sometimes, and in varying degrees.

After discussing this research project, the authors launch into a comparison of LSD sessions with both near-death/resuscitation experiences as well as initiation rites throughout world history. Not surprisingly, a major component is the death-rebirth experience (perinatal) where the subject describes a scene much like the process of birth; often followed by a transcendental feeling of unity with the cosmos. The authors, having experienced LSD themselves, may give too much credence to the reality of the hallucinations/insights, even after explaining that they are caused by lack of oxygen to the brain -- inhibited by LSD, through meditative breathing techniques, fasting, etc. Their argument is that because those archetypes are within all of us, they must point to an external reality. Not so sure...

Death and Dishonor. Iaian Pears.

Death and Dishonor.
Iaian Pears.
Scribner's: 1996.

Jonathan and Flavia Argyll are the husband and wife team of this mystery author, who is an art history professor. As we saw with Elizabeth Peters, the novel allows the author to show off (rather than share) his or her specialized knowledge. Fortunately, Pears is not nearly as obnoxious as Peters in this regard. I rather enjoyed the basic plot of the book, because although there were two murders, the mystery to be solved is an art theft, not a murder. However, there is a major stretch of imagination to be made (a monestary has proof that Constantine spent his last days there and brought a holy relic with him), and the crime is too easily solved. On the other hand, one character, who is a retired art thief and now a grandmother, is pretty amusing.

The author has the opportunity to develop some interesting points -- do supernatural powers of holy icons dissipate if no one believes in them? why is the mass public satisfied with religion, yet not the clergy? etc., but the author opts for a short, mostly-brainless, easy-to-read book instead.

Lord Foul's Bane. Stephen R. Donaldson.

Lord Foul's Bane.
by Stephen R. Donaldson.
Ballantyne. 1977.

First novel in popular epic fantasy series. Thomas Covenant has leprosy and is magically transported to fantasy world, which he refuses to believe in. The whole leprosy thing is done well, though overdone at some points, but his constant anger and disbelief are a bit wearisome. The problem with the book is that the reader doesn't care about any of the characters. The plot (Covenant has to defeat the evil Lord Foul) is so inane that it doesn't hold the reader's interest, either. So, the author does what all epic writers do: keep the characters moving, keep introducing new settings, weird characters, etc.

Well-written from a technial standpoint, but the author never gets us to question our own reality (even though this is the whole point of the book), and only in a limited way get us to see that there are other realities: specificly, how different it must be to be a leper. Overall, rather boring, and I doubt I'll read any further in the series.