THE SPIRIT OF NOTRE DAME

Bob Moore

THE SPIRIT OF NOTRE DAME
by Jim and Jeremy Langford(Doubleday, 2005).

For those of you who haven't read this superb book, please do so. It's the best book about Notre Dame, football or otherwise, that I've even seen. You will thoroughly enjoy all 280 pp. starting with Regis Philbin's Foreword and ending with Fr. Ted Hesburgh's Afterword. To quote Fr. Robert Griffin: "If you want to belong, you have to learn the myth. You have to wrap your heart and mind in it. You have to believe that the merest rocks of the place tell a story....Behind the myths is a cast of hundreds working in loyalty for the Notre Dame of their dreams, in a love affair that lasts a lifetime."

DUBLINERS

Bob Moore

DUBLINERS
by James Joyce(1914; Bantam Books, 1990).

Joyce is considered the 20th Century's most influential novelist, born in Dublin in 1882. Dubliners, his first work, is a collection of 15 short stories and culminates in what many believe to be the all-time best short story, "The Dead." I have read "The Dead", seen the play and watched the movie directed by John Huston, and fully agree that it's the finest short story in the English language. Joyce's novels such as ULYSSES and FINNEGANS WAKE are challenging but very worthwhile. You might start at the beginning with Dubliners; or if you're really busy, read "The Dead", a literary classic. Also, rent the film which is absolutely true to the story by a masterful director.

DISTRICT AND CIRCLE

Bob Moore

DISTRICT AND CIRCLE
by Seamus Heaney(Farrar, Straus & Giroux; 78 pp.).

This is the latest of 16 collections of Seamus Heaney, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize for Literature, starting with his first work, DEATH OF A NATURALIST, in 1966. Forty years later, Heaney's book, named for two lines in London's subway system, has come full circle from his artistic beginnings and yet he's never really left his district in Ireland. He also won the 2000 Whitebread award for his great translation of BEOWULF, a best-seller. I'd recommend any and all of Heaney's poetry books. He can relate to the Irish people and to their land better than any poet alive.

The Gnostic Gospels

Jack Reed

The Gnostic Gospels
by Elaine Pagels
Random House, Inc. (1979)
ISBN: 0-394-50278-7

With the current interest in the errors promulgated by The Da Vinci Code, this book makes for timely reading. After 30 years, it is still the best book written on the subject. Pagels, a professor at Princeton University, is the acknowledged expert on the subject. Very easy reading

The Fall of Berlin

Jack Reed

The Fall of Berlin
by Anthony Read and David Fisher
W. W. Norton & Co., Inc. (1992)
ISBN: 1-56852-333-5

For the history buffs. This is the "inside story" of what it was like living in and around Berlin during the period 1936-1945. These are first-hand accounts. Marian and I found it extremely valuable when we spent an extended period in Berlin during 2004. We could trace the reports in the book to the actual streets and locations we visited. WW II from the "other side".

Fingerprints of the Gods: Evidence of the World's Lost Civilizations

Jack Reed

Fingerprints of the Gods: Evidence of the World's Lost Civilizations
by Graham Hancock
Random House, Inc. (1995)
ISBN: 0-517-88729-0

This book provides the reader with a discussion of several related topics that make for fascinating reading. Whether the entire subject is pure fantasy or contains certain elements of truth makes for serious contemplation. Ed Fox and I have discussed it.

Is it possible that the Great Sphinx of Giza is several thousands of years older than Egypt's necropolis (including the great pyramids)? Was it build by an earlier civilization near the end of the last ice age? Why? I'm going to inquire into this next September when I am in Egypt.

What is the meaning of the very old legend about a great civilization predating the Inca empire in the Andes, supposedly founded by visiting foreigners from overseas the natives called the Viracoches?

How does the "wobble" in the earth's rotation "sweep out" a circular view of the star-clusters in the Milky Way galaxy every 25,000 years, and how does that relate to the 12 constellations in the scientific version of the Zodiac? Do the Egyptian pyramids of Giza provide observation points previewing these star-clusters annually at the time of the 2 Equinoxes/2 Solstices?

What does all of this suggest about the possibility of an older civilization that vanished long ago?

The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness

Jack Reed

The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness
by Bruce H. Lipton, PhD
Elite Books (2005)
ISBN: 0-9759914-7-7

Formerly tenured at the University of Wisconsin's School of Medicine. This book carries the subject of cell biology to a new level. The author "believes" that the DNA molecule in the cytoplasm of each controls genetic reproduction but nothing else. It is his conjecture that the "intelligence" controlling all other cell functions resides in the outer membranes of each cell. This may have far-reaching implications for how the mind controls the body. This book and The Hidden Face of God: Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth are compelling reading!

The Hidden Face of God: Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth

Jack Reed

The Hidden Face of God: Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth
by Gerald L. Schroeder, PhD
Simon & Schuster (2001)
ISBN: 0-684-87059-2

Dr. Schroeder received his PhD from MIT and is now doing research at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has been reviewed in Time, Newsweek, and Scientific American. He makes clear the significance of the latest research into DNA, including a riveting description of each step of the growth process of a new human embryo as well as the functioning of the various types of cells in the human body after birth. What blew me away was his discussion of how thoughts in the mind drive the physical functions of the brain.

What Jesus Meant

Jack Reed

What Jesus Meant
by Garry Wills
Penguin Group (USA), Inc. (2006)
ISBN: 0-670-03496-7

Just off the press. By the author of Why I am a Catholic as well as Papal Sin. Like some of his books, a little controversial. Wills is a professor at Northwestern University and was a classmate of Ed Fox at Campion Academy.

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Jack Reed

A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
Broadway Books, a division of Random House, Inc. (2003)
ISBN: 0-7679-0818-X

This book simply has to be experienced to be believed. Every person to whom I have recommended it has loved it. Funny and very informative. A great read!

The Elegant Universe

Jack Reed

The Elegant Universe
by Brian R. Greene
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. (2003)

The most accessible explanation of the last 300 years in astro-physics for non-scientists. Explores the possibility that the world may finally be on the verge of finding what Einstein liked to call "The Theory of Everything." (He never succeeded.) Outstanding lead-in to the understanding of Superstring Theory.

From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present

Jack Reed

From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present
by Jacques Barzun
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. (2000)
ISBN: 0-06-017586-9

This is perhaps the most comprehensive work written in the field of cultural history in the last 80 years. Compelling and entertaining. Is Western culture on the wane? Has this been coming for the past 100 years?