In this invigorating mix of natural history and adventure; artist-naturalist Ellen Meloy uses turquoise—the color and the gem—to probe deeper into our profound human attachment to landscape. From the Sierra Nevada; the Mojave Desert; the Yucatan Peninsula; and the Bahamas to her home ground on the high plateaus and deep canyons of the Southwest; we journey with Meloy through vistas of both great beauty and great desecration. Her keen vision makes us look anew at ancestral mountains; turquoise seas; and even motel swimming pools. She introduces us to Navajo “velvet grandmothers†whose attire and aesthetics absorb the vivid palette of their homeland; as well as to Persians who consider turquoise the life-saving equivalent of a bullet-proof vest. Throughout; Meloy invites us to appreciate along with her the endless surprises in all of life and celebrates the seduction to be found in our visual surroundings.
#227062 in Books Tom Bissell 2016-03-01 2016-03-01Format: Deckle EdgeOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.60 x 1.30 x 6.80l; 1.80 #File Name: 0375424660432 pagesApostle Travels Among the Tombs of the Twelve
Review
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful. A JourneyBy John D. CofieldTo most people; Christian and non-Christian alike; the Twelve Apostles are both known and unknown. Most can correctly identify them as the first followers of Jesus Christ; but after that knowledge of the Twelve quickly dwindles into half-remembered stories and legends. Tom Bissell was born and raised a Roman Catholic; but lost his faith as a teenager and now considers himself a non-believer. His journeys to visit the tombs and shrines associated with the Apostles reveal both his early religious training and his present skepticism. The book which is the result of those journeys is a fascinating combination of religious and cultural history with a modern-day traveler's diary; leavened with good humor which is often; not surprisingly in the circumstances; irreverent.Bissell's book is full of fascinating information that often branches into surprising tangents. The first chapter; on Judas Iscariot; includes a lengthy segment detailing Bissell's journey to Jerusalem and his efforts to locate the Hakeldama or Field of Blood; which involves a lot of tense Israeli/Palestinian contacts and confrontations. Similarly; his chapter on Thomas covers Bissell's arduous journey to and through Chennai/Madras while that on Matthew includes a long odyssey through the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union. Every chapter describes what is known about an Apostle and what the legends and traditions surrounding him tell us. Inevitably this means that there is a lot of early Christian history; which Bissell does a good job of explaining so that the differences between Arianism and Athanasianism; for example; are clear even to those without much background in the subject.I have a strong religious background; but I was surprised by so much that I read in Apostle that was new to me. I knew vaguely that the Apostle Thomas was supposed to have traveled to India; but I had never realized that "Thomas Christians" had played a long and continuing role in the subcontinent's history. I have studied the early Christian heterodoxies but have rarely found them described so clearly and succinctly;Apostle necessarily includes many terms and concepts which may not be familiar to readers without much background in the subject; but Bissell helpfully provides a Glossary of People and Terms at the end which was invaluable. I also appreciated his lengthy annotated Bibliography. I finished Apostle with renewed appreciation for the complexities of Christianity and the lengthy; sometimes intricately detailed; road (or roads) it has followed since its beginnings in first century Judea.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. I liked this bookBy J - and then someApostle is an interesting book that covers Bissel's travels; searching for what happened to the 12 apostles. I liked this book. In places I couldn't set it down; but in other places it flowed slowly. It seemed odd to me; however; that at times Bissel just missed opportunities; and at other points he goes so far afield that I wonder why he called it only "Apostle". For example; he spends an entire chapter on Jesus and never mentions going to the tomb of Jesus; or some of the conflicting sites. In places Bissels seems willing to challenge the accepted version of what happened to a disciple; and in other places he ignores challenges and just accepts. In this sense; it's rather uneven. Yet; I enjoyed the book; learned a great deal that I never learned in Sunday School; and I would recommend it.11 of 12 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating; entertaining; even-handed treatment of this important subject!By NarimasaTom Bissell takes us with him on his journey through the Middle East; Central Asia; and Europe as he searches for the tombs of the Apostles. He shifts back and forth between serious considerations of an exhaustive number of historical sources and fascinating; highly entertaining stories about his own journey to these holy sites.Bissell lets us know upfront that he is a lapsed Catholic—in other words; not a believer himself. This is apparent in the detached and sometimes irreverent takes on his subject matter; he often uses inconsistencies or unclear language in the Bible to begin discussion around what might have "really" happened. These things said; however; he clearly holds tremendous respect for the material and treats it with the gravity it deserves. He never argues "against" belief; he simply examines the historical facts from the perspective of a neutral third party. It is only readers who are insecure in their own faiths who might find these kinds of rigorous intellectual investigations objectionable.
