Books I Read in April
Jesus and the Lost Goddess: The Secret Teachings of the Original Christians by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
This is the middle book of the Jesus Mysteries trilogy, the other two being The Jesus Mysteries and The Laughing Jesus, which I've already read. According the Jesus and the Lost Goddes, the original Christian (a.k.a. the Gnostics) worshiped the pagan goddess Sophia, usually as represented by the two Marys, as a companion story to the tale of Jesus. It also goes into greater detail than the other two books about what specific elements of their stories are meant to represent.
Killed Cartoons: Casualties from the War on Free Expression by David Wallis
I was expecting a compilation of editorial cartoons that had been "killed" by editors for their controversial content, and to some extent, that's what this book is. But each cartoon (or group of two or three) is accompanied by a story about how and why it got cut. While some of the stories are pretty interesting, it also means that there are about half as many cartoons as I was expecting. In addition, the text often comes across as a bit preachy (even though I largely agree with the politics of the author) and in almost all cases, gives away the punchline of the cartoon before you see it, greatly lessening the impact. As you might have guessed, I was a little disapointed in the format of this book. If you get it, I suggest looking at the cartoons first, and then reading the text accompanying the ones you want to know more about.
This is the middle book of the Jesus Mysteries trilogy, the other two being The Jesus Mysteries and The Laughing Jesus, which I've already read. According the Jesus and the Lost Goddes, the original Christian (a.k.a. the Gnostics) worshiped the pagan goddess Sophia, usually as represented by the two Marys, as a companion story to the tale of Jesus. It also goes into greater detail than the other two books about what specific elements of their stories are meant to represent.
Killed Cartoons: Casualties from the War on Free Expression by David Wallis
I was expecting a compilation of editorial cartoons that had been "killed" by editors for their controversial content, and to some extent, that's what this book is. But each cartoon (or group of two or three) is accompanied by a story about how and why it got cut. While some of the stories are pretty interesting, it also means that there are about half as many cartoons as I was expecting. In addition, the text often comes across as a bit preachy (even though I largely agree with the politics of the author) and in almost all cases, gives away the punchline of the cartoon before you see it, greatly lessening the impact. As you might have guessed, I was a little disapointed in the format of this book. If you get it, I suggest looking at the cartoons first, and then reading the text accompanying the ones you want to know more about.