Hillman Reviews

I love this collection of poems. The poems are well-organized and compelling. A good read! Not just for men--I'm female and enjoyed going through the book.

.

There is nothing but water in the holy pools,

I know, I have been swimming in them.

All the gods sculpted of wood or ivory can't say a word,

I know, I have been crying out to them.

The Sacred Books of the East are nothing but words,

I looked through their covers one day sideways.

What Kabir talks of is only what he has lived through.

If you have not lived through something, it is not true.

-- Kabir, translated by Robert Bly (p. 282)

This eclectic offering of verse reminds the reader of what he has lived through. It illuminates forgotten & ignored experiences through rhythms and images of people who have made their lives' works out of committing the unconscious to the written page. These nuggets of truth find value as they elicit Truth from the reader's experience.

DON'T trace out your profile

forget your side view--

all that is outer sutff.

LOOK for your other half

who walks always next to you

and tends to be who you aren't.

-- Antonio Machado, translated by Bly, (p. 366)

It's difficult to flip at random through these pages, and not find an echo of something stirring deep, writhing in forgotten darkness. These words shine from the page to cast the shadow of that "Other" in sharp relief upon your mind. This is not a book of pretty verse, not poetry to read to grandma during the Christian Ladies Tea Party in the rose garden. These are words to sever the bondage to dysfunctional social programming: "We have been busy accumulating solace / Make us afraid of how we were." (Rumi, p. 135)

Although the subtitle says "Poems for Men," I'm certain women will find power & freedom in these words, too. Some poems specifically name masculine woes, sorrows & challenges. Where these do not apply directly to the lives of women, perhaps they will open a portal into men's souls for the other gender.

I've nearly worn mine out and will soon be getting another copy. If I only had one book of poetry to take to a desert island, this would be the one.

I have been hooked on the power of words in poetry -- secretly, of course, since I'm a guy -- since I was a little kid. I have absolutely no problem with reading an entire book of modern poetry and coming away with a single line, a single image that moved me, the hunger is that great in me.

I found this book back in '92 when it was first published. It spans the centuries and the continents; but has a healthy dollop of contemporary writing that is stunning. It's quite possible to imagine that all greatness belongs to ages past; this book proves that a lie by nestling examples of past excellence with their contemporary heirs.

My favorite pieces especially include "Becoming Milton" (p. 81), "The Colonel" (p. 89), "A Story About the Body" (p. 266), and "What Happened During the Ice Storm" (p. 249); which I have redubbed "A Sack Full of Ears," "Entombed in Tanks," "A Bowl Full of Bees," and "Frozen Pheasants," respectively. I just read the last one at a poetry reading in New Hampshire on the first Wednesday in January 2001. A third of the way into the poem, the entire room audibly gasped and tensed. At the end, I felt a tremendous sense of redemption and relief overcome the SRO room as they burst into applause. No credit is due to myself; it's entirely the power of Jim Heynan's words. If you believe, or need to believe, in good poetry, you should own this anthology and read from it frequently, as I do.

And the search continues ...

"Blue Fire" is an anthology of selections from James A. Hillman's major works, including "Insearch: Psychology and Religion," "Suicide and the Soul," "Healing Fiction," and others, including journal and magazine articles in such diverse publications as "Spring," "Utne Reader," "Institute Newsletter," and "Loose Ends: Primary Papers in Archetypal Psychology." This should not scare you away. On the contrary, the reader will find that "Blue Fire" is quite readable and understandable. The selections in this book challenge you to think. Thomas More (editor) did an excellent job in assembling and introducing the selections in the book, tying them together so that they show a logical continuity of thought. If you read "Psychology Today," you should have no trouble with this book. You will find it delightful. If you have a deeper interest in 'depth psychology,' Jungian Psychology, or archetypal psychology, you will find this an excellent read.

Hillman's approach to psychology is one of addressing the individual as an individual within a society, paying strict attention to the needs of that individual and his/her soul. Psychology is not treating mental disorders and symptoms of such disorders, it is caring for the soul. Much of what can be accomplished is a transformation of the soul symbolically through the use of imagination, poetry, symbolism, and metaphor. "Blue Fire" was an epiphany for me. It caused me to look at many things from a different prospective. I found a new appreciation for spirituality and soulfulness, as well as the need to accept others and myself.

This book can be consumed as a full course meal. For example, read a chapter like "The Salt of Soul, the Sulfur of Spirit," and there is enough material to feel full for several hours as you digest the many metaphors, and delicious word play. For a snack, Hillman provides "Recipes", little snippets to be consumed in the morning or before going to bed.If consumed before bed, one's dreams may be seeded by an ever-expanding Hillman metaphor. Bon Appetit.

i

This book is soulful dynamite, appearing intellectual, but don't be fooled; read it with an open heart, and if you are into meditation, you will find much to meditate on here, e.g., "The Psyche historicizes to make it look real." Don't just think about it, meditate on it, and perhaps you, too, will pierce the veil of Illusion (Maya). I can at least hope that for you :)

As a London Underground enthusiast, I just couldn't resist what this book had to offer. The sections on the history of the Underground were very informative and easy to read.
But there's more to the book than that. I thoroughly enjoyed every page. The author's conversational (and often amusing) tone lend a lightness to a subject that could otherwise be very dull. The book runs the gamut of subjects--from the underground and now mostly mysterious Fleet to the high-speed cables of British Telecom. It's all there.
This book is an excellent resource for anyone doing research, and a great read if you're fascinated by things beneath the surface.

This is a fantastic history of what's underneath the ground of today's London. Blending history, geography, and engineering, this book describes the smothered streams and covered rivers, the water pipes and sewers, and the tunnels under the Thames.

A major section is devoted to the London Underground - the "Tube" - and its history. The Post Office's automated mail-handling railway is briefly touched on as well.

The role of London's underground spaces during wartime is reviewed including the underground factories and the Cabinet War Rooms of the Second World War.

The book is profusely illustrated with a heavy emphasis on contemporary cut-away and explanatory drawings. The pictures make the text come alive.

A really great book for the Anglophile or London-buff.

It's a great book if you're interested in this sort of thing. From the early beginnings of London's sewers to the modern day tube and postal networks, this book covers it all in a remarkably easy to read fashion. Of particular interest to me were the sections on Londons 'lost' rivers as well as the Underground, both covered in this book. Highly recommended.

In TGIF: Today God Is First, Os Hillman provides a scripture and commentary for each day of the year. The 365 meditations on the principles of Christ in the workplace wonderfully focus the readers attention on how God's way is to employ ordinary men and women leading ordinary lives to achieve extraordinary things and personally experience how even adverse situations can be doors to spiritual opportunity. Highly recommended reading, Hillman's commentaries are not just simple homilies, they are enduring messages of principles and testimony of how God has worked experientially in his own life -- and can work in yours.

Os Hillman does a great job of hearing from God, and expressing it in a concise, meaningful way for those of us in the marketplace. Few today recognize the viability of ministry by those who are laboring in the secular workplace; Os brings practical experience and perspective to those of us who are. And, it rings with the heartfelt experience of someone who has been there, and understands the unique trials and challenges of today's Christian walk in the marketplace. Highly recommended!

I really enjoy this book. The first devotional that I have seen that is focused on the Workplace. The daily devotionals are a great way to start the day, especially if you don't have much time. They get to the point and always challenge me to live a more Godly life.

James Hillman (who I came to through Thomas Moore and Robert Sardello) delves deeper into the processes of the Soul than any other writer I've read. His view of psychology (or re-viewing if you prefer) is to take the emphasis off of the Mind and put it back upon the Soul. It is this dialogue with our Soul (or daimon) that will make us (and our culture) feel better. In this work he redefines the approach to psychology and therapy in a dynamic voice.

I think Jung would have appreciated the irony: in a way this book both completes and thoroughly undermines the Jungian project. At least that's how it worked for me.

Hillman is a genuinely wise man (I do hope he never reads this, or if he does, that he forgives me for saying so! :-). Yes, he is certainly a poet, a mythologist, a psychotherapist, a thinker, an iconoclast, a scholar etc, etc... But above all, he is a wise man -- a shaman, a guide. In this book he turns his gift for "seeing through" to the subject of psychotherapy itself. I can only describe the result as an astonishing, erudite, profoundly beautiful and ultimately liberating dance, in which Hillman, on our behalf, engages (and disengages!) himself with the psychological stuff of psychotherapy. This is healing of the highest order, and I never expected to encounter it in such an accessible form.

Having read this book, I can no longer think of Psyche in terms other than those of polytheistic "seeing through". And I can no longer read any books on psychotherapy, except through Hillman's playful, re-visioning eyes -- no, not even Jung, nor Hillman himself. The circle is complete. The thesis and anti-thesis have combined into synthesis, and in the four-step magical dialectics, got transmuted into a new totality. Where do we go from here? I have no idea, but it will be somewhere else.

Hillman boasts in his foreword that this book is packed with ideas. He was being humble. It will take several rereads to fully savor all the things he has said and all the things he has intentionally left for our imagination to grasp and intuit. This is one of the few 20th century books I have come across that does indeed deal with psyche-ology--understanding the soul. The closest contender I have seen is Rollo May's "Love and Will." After reading Hillman other works read like elementary textbooks.

Many may be repelled by Hillman's seeming anachronistic and animistic return to gods, daimons, and personifications; as if taking the field of psychology on a regress. Hillman may even seem to some as living in a fantasy world concocted out of what he's read between Plato and the Renaissance period. But this is not mere atavism on his part, to revive a nostalgic time and worldview. As Hillman states in his latest book "The Soul's Code" we need only fall madly in love to admit of a daimonic possession. Gods--archetypes--animate us. Some gods may be dead but many others certainly are up to the task of roiling us.

Hillman is a master writer. He is effusive as any scribe of the soul should be. He is poetic and mythic; he provokes the reader and evokes a litany of images and connections. Helmsmen Intuition and Imagination are continually steering Hillman's hand. If there are contradictions in this work then they are most welcome, and even sought. How else can it be? Simple sciences breed simplistic answers. Something as complex as the soul and as great as the imagination cannot but procreate that which to Logic appears as contradictions. And so his style and objective as he admits is to confuse and confound rather than reduce and ground (in the empirical and, therefore, to a halt). There can be no pat and final answers or theologies of the soul and the gods, and Hillman makes certain of that.

One of San Francisco's most promising writers, Thea Hillman digs deep to express a vast range of experiences, emotions and discoveries in this impressive collection of poetry. Packed with punch, along with poignant and surprising observations, this book will really get to you in one way or another. At times contradictory, violent, funny, innocent, raw, intelligent, brave, and always in your face, "Depending on the Light" will definitely make an impression on anyone who picks it up, so dive in!

Thea was obviously able to pry it lose as so much common experience is reflected in these amazing pieces. This book reflects Thea's eyes on the world around her. She is a talented writer who has the ability to articulate thought into poetry.

Thea's book absorbed me like so few have. All the poems and prose are gritty and raw and real, yet they are delicately woven together. It's great that you can pick up the book and read pieces at a time or read it as a montage of a woman's life and the multifacted person she is--grappling with sex, women, men, family, insecurities, and language. I would highly recommend this book to people infatuated with poetry--and people who are not.

This book is astonishing! It is a simple masterpiece. The author has given an amazing account of different types of psychopaths in the short, but oh so sweet, book.
Guggenbuhl-Craig should write more books. His style is amazing- it is easy to comprehend and extremely intelligent.
I applaud this book and its author. This is one of the best books on the subject I have ever read. Should get 10 Stars!!!

This is a good start! I hope they get together for part two! Mr. Hillman I enjoyed this tape verymuch! But It stoped in the middle of a thought. One tape is not enough!

Five tapes would just scratch the surfice.

I run a website about this disorder, so anything on psychopathy is always of interest to me.

I would recommend that before reading this book, however, the novice should start off with Dr. Robert Hare's book "Without Conscience..." and go on from there.

Guggenbuhl-Craig's book is marvelous. A small gem (and a great price for such illustrious thoughts) of a book, and easy to read and digest.

He speaks not only of the psychopath, his traits, and so forth, but explains to us the deeper mysterious of the psychopath's behaviours and thought processes.

I thouroughly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in psychopathy, psychology, or just wants to learn more about this very much ignored disorder (every three out of ten men are estimated to have psychopathic personality disorder).

I encourage all women to study psychopathy, and to visit my website and the support group on the links page as well. See my profile for the link.

This book is awesome! The only bad thing is that the stories didnt last that long, but it was still awesome! All three stories are great, but my favorite was the first one, Mason & Erin. It was the perfect story. Anyways, it was real great reading about three different couples going to the same dance, and how it was different for all of them. And I also really liked how in each of the stories the same characters from the other stories were talked about (example: Michael & Caroline were in Mason & Erin's story, and vice versa. Also, Serena and David were in all three stories.). Anyways this was a great book, and you should definitelyget it!

All three of the stories in this book were awesome. The first is about a sophomore trying to get elected "queen" of this dance, just so she can dance once with her brother's best friend, the guy she likes. The second is about 2 class clowns who decide to go in gag outfits, but in a series of mix ups, they go in proper formal wear. The third story is about a foreign exchange student who has to leave the next day and has only this night to get together with the girl he's had a crush on since he got there. All three stories are good, and hilarious! Especially the one about Caroline and Michael, the class clowns. Even if you don't normally go for these kind of books, read this one. It's worth it.

A very honest trip through kundalini awakening, the author has avoided to tell us precisely what happened exactly before that very day, but you have a very clear understanding of the process.
Carefull attention is required, nothing forced like for Gopi, however his experience show us there will be a lot of awaken people in the future.
Be wise don't overdo it, awakening comes with a change in the brain and spinal apparel, consciousness has to shine within your body,needs a good and stable mind and body . Do read Osho rasjneesh books too, as meditation is learning to die going through the process of dying brings real life within you.

I THINK IT IS MY DESTINY AND GOODFORTUNE,I CAME ACCROSS THIS 'FACINATING' BOOK. IT WAS RECOMENDED BY A WISE FRIEND OF MINE,WITH AN ADWISE TO 'STUDY ' IT.
IT TOOK A WHILE TO GET INTO THE 'GROOVE'...AFTER THAT COULD NOT PUT DOWN THE BOOK..IT WAS A THRILLER!!
I AM 52YEARS OLD NOW,ALL MY LIFE I HAVE READ ALL SORTS OF 'SPIRITUAL BOOKS',LISTENED TO SOME GOOD PEOPLE,FORMED MY OWN OPINION ABOUT 'GOD'..SOUL..PURPOSE OF OUR LIVING..WORSHIPPING..ETC.
SUDDENLY THIS BOOK BY PANDIT GOPI KRISHNA...SHATTERED ALL MY CONCEPTS/VIEW POINTS, ABOUT ''GOD''AND 'SPIRITUALITY.
NOW I BELEIVE THERE IS NO 'GOD' ..THERE IS ONLY'ENERGY'ALL AROUND US..AND THE SAME ENERGY IS IN EVERY ONE OF US..IF IT IS 'AWAKENED'IN YOU...THATS ''NIRWANA''OR THE PURPOSE OF YOUR LIFE...
IF YOU ARE 'BLESSED''YOU WILL READ THIS BOOK..
YOU MAY CONTACT ME IF YOU WANT TO..E.MAIL.. may the 'energy'bless us all.

..suddenly it struck me..
How come that countries with "Gurus" and and a tradition of mental mastery and such are dirt poor, have lots of thieves, child labour and much else. Why isn't it that, at least one time in a tousand years one of these gurus was clever enough, and free from ego to mastermind a regime that could create decent conditions. How come that countries like Norway or Denmark have better conditions and less crime? They were berserks! Think about it?

When America declared war in 1917, Carl A. Brannen was an 18-year-old freshman at Texas A&M. He finished out the fall semester of his sophomore year and then enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 1918, reporting for boot camp in February. Immediately upon graduation, he was shipped overseas to France to join the American Expeditionary Force under Gen John Pershing's command. After more training in Europe, he moved to the "front" to join the 6th Marine Regiment under the Army's 2d Division as a replacement for marines killed in the first 48 hours of the battle of Belleau Wood. Brannen kept a very good diary. We discover that he is not a heroic figure-just a marine trying to stay alive. He knows that a foxhole or trench is a valuable piece of real estate in face of murderous machine gun fire. Brannen understands and appreciates the difference between his gas mask and those the French have (they are better), so he watches for a spare one. He knows what hunger is and how much a hot meal means, when he can get one. He also knows what thirst is and how uncertain resupply is in a combat situation. Brannen quickly learns the difference in the sound of the explosion of a gas, shrapnel, or high-explosive shell. He stayed in Belleau Wood until it was captured on the first of July, a great morale victory for all the Allied armies. Brannen wasn't relieved until 16 July 1918. Instead of receiving a period of rest and recovery, he and his fellow marines were trucked to the battle area of Soissons, where he participated in an advance led by tanks. The Germans countered the attack with near-point-blank artillery, killing Brannen's best friend. It took only 40 minutes for his regiment to be nearly annihilated. Brannen, however, is a survivor. He participated in battles in Saint-Mihiel, Mont Blanc, and the Meuse-Argonne. Following the armistice, as a member of the 2d Division, his unit became part of the Army of Occupation. Pershing kept the army sharp by means of a rigorous postwar training program. Brannen writes about how morale plummeted in this situation since most soldiers only wanted to return home. Just when Brannen began to feel down, he was selected to join the ranks of a regiment referred to as Pershing's Own. He had fought with the 4th Marine Brigade in every major battle and had survived-a claim few people could make. The 6th Regiment, composed of three thousand men, suffered 1,161 killed and over 4,656 wounded for total casualties of 5,817.

Over There is a very moving book. Brannen, who knows he was lucky to survive, is a quiet man in a heroic way. If it were not for his son and some dedicated scholars, the papers, photographs, and diary entries that tell his story would have been lost. This book, together with Robert Asprey's At Belleau Wood, provides a poignant reminder of just how terrible war really is.

Carl Andrew Brannen died the year I turned 18. The same age he was when he began his journey through the Marine Corps, into France and back home to Trinity County, Texas. I have visited his battlefields several times and have used "Over There" as a field reference guide. In the summer of 1999 I stood in the Soissons battlefield with my 4 children as they lay in the same road in about the same place their great grandfather clutched the earth for a dozen hours or so waiting for the German counter attack or darkness or death which ever came first. He with a couple of dozen Marines were all that stood between the German line of defense and the rear echelon for most of that fateful day. I read his account out loud to them as we walked down the road and know that it brought insight and meaning to them as it would any American. Knowing that there are thousands of decendants of war veterans with stories untold, I highly recommend this book as a way to begin your own personal journey to discover the trail, Washed with Tears, as my Uncle Joeseph Patrick Brannen, C.A.Brannen's son, and one of the authors of this book, might say. C.A. Brannen's point of reference for his experiences was that of his uncle Eaph Dial, a Civil War veteran of Hood's Texas Brigade, who from 1862 to 1865 fought in most every major engagement his brigade was a part of. Like Eaph Dial, my grandfather was also a part of every action the 2nd Division participated in between June of 1918 and the end of the war. His war decorations include 5 battle stars all of which are featured in this book. C.A.Brannen's dash across no man's land at Soisson's and Blanc Mont Ridge was often described to me as child listening with great awe, as similar to the Confederate attacks at Gettysburg. There is a bit of every American in his story and ought to be read. It is a quick read, complete with historical research to confirm his accounts and is perfectly suitable for readers of every age.

These memoirs have been quoted in Toland's book on WWI and now in Farwell's book. It was good to go to the source because of the writing of the Carl A. Brannen, the editorial comments from the editors, and then the addition of the excellent view of the son in 1990. This should be a must read for every Marine and for anyone who wants to know about war.