Dialogue: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Effective Dialogue (Write Great Fiction)

Dialogue: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Effective Dialogue (Write Great Fiction)
Average customer rating:

Just What the Editor Ordered

Not As Good As It Looks

dialogue moves the story along

Thecniques and Excercies for Effective Dialogue

Not so Great

Dialogue: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Effective Dialogue (Write Great Fiction)
Gloria Kempton
Manufacturer: Writers Digest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Plot & Structure: (Techniques And Exercises For Crafting A Plot That Grips Readers From Start To Finish) (Write Great Fiction)

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Description & Setting (Write Great Fiction)

Dynamic Characters: How to Create Personalities That Keep Readers Captivated

The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile

ASIN: 1582972893

Book Description

How do some writers craft conversation so authentic, it feels like they've been eavesdropping? What's the secret behind getting characters to talk to each other? How can writers make their dialogue sing?

Answers to all of these questions and more can be found in Gloria Kempton's in-depth look at this crucial component of fiction. Readers will learn how to create dialogue that sizzles, with tips on:

* Creating dialogue for specific genres

* Bringing characters to life with revealing dialogue

* Identifying and fixing common dialogue problems

Each chapter features numerous examples of successful dialogue drawn from bestselling novels, and chapter-ending exercises help readers apply the lessons learned. This is one book that will get readers talking!

Customer Reviews:

Just What the Editor Ordered.......2007-09-23

When writing fiction stong dialogue is a must. Gloria Kempton's book is also a must those writers who find writing effective dialogue a challenge. She gives excellent instructions on how to use dialogue effectively to move the story forward and maintain the tension or the conflict. Any author who wants to become a better writer should have a copy of this book.

Not As Good As It Looks.......2007-08-25

This book attempts to be comprehensive. It breaks down dialogue based on genre type. It offers these categories to sort and understand dialogue: magical, cryptic, descriptive, shadowy, breathless, provocative, and uncensored.

While I think the attempt is admirable, and perhaps the exercises could be useful for some, it falls flat, and I'm going to try and show you why I feel this is so. It's the magical/fantasy dialogue section that is particularly worthless and the biggest reason I gave this book one star.

In her example of "magical" dialogue she uses a brief excerpt from Lord of the Rings, part of which goes like this: ""No, Sam!" said Frodo. "Do not kill him even now. For he has not hurt me."

Almost everyone has heard of Tolkien, and, wonderful as he was, *no one* cites Tolkien for his snappy, award-winning dialogue. It simply was not his strong point.

She claims the dialogue from that example is "eloquent" because it does not use contractions, and also "direct" which she supports by this further example from the same text, "But do not expect me to wish you health and long life. You will have neither."

Direct, according to thefreedictionary, "Straightforward and candid; frank"

Let me show you direct: "Die." Or, "I hate you." Or, possibly, "Death comes quickly." And so on. If there is one thing such 'magical' dialogue is not, it would be direct. (Or advisable. It's usually just plain bad writing.)

Despite her claim that she does not read much Romance because romance authors often write dialogue which does not 'transcend' our modern culture which leaves their 'magical' dialogue sounding "hokey" (her word), she claims that if you want to be a successful fantasy or science fiction author, you must master the art of 'magical' dialogue which is all about this attempt at transcendence. So, romance and fantasy should have similar cheesy dialogue. The more cheese, the closer it is to real romance, or fantasy, or science fiction.

That is utter dreck. If you want to go back in time and become a writer then by all means follow her advice. If you'd like to become a successful author today you'd have an easier time of it if you never got this book - unless you buy it only to know What Not To Do. Instead, read widely both in and outside your usual preferences/genre to get a better understanding of what's being published today.

Dialogue is about the character's voice - Gloria Kempton gets this confused with style assumptions based on genre. And it's not just fantasy. Her opinions and examples in general were lacking. I'm not saying that an inventive person would find nothing of use - especially if writing is completely new - but I believe the damage to a new writer could be astonishing if they took everything she said to heart.

The magical dialogue is just a nice name for hokey dialogue, if that's something you aim for then follow her advice advice. If it isn't, you would be far happier, and receive far better advice, if you stick with the other books in the series and ignore this one. Nancy Kress's "Beginnings, Middles & Ends" is a great pick, so is Orson Scott Card's "Characters & Viewpoints". Stephen King's "On Writing" is another good pick.

All in all, I highly recommend you do not buy this book. It is a flat out waste of time and money and could even make your writing journey more difficult.

dialogue moves the story along.......2007-02-14

A relatively comprehensive guide to dialogue writing which highlights important aspects such as finding rhythm, identifying writing fears, and common mistakes. On the minus side, I found some of the advice to be rather obvious, while the chapter on mood is a litle thin and the one about dialogue quirks, over the top. Advice is ultimately aimed at mainstream writing, so if you fall outside of that you'll get less out of it.

Thecniques and Excercies for Effective Dialogue.......2007-01-04

Not very good book, worst exemples, Don't think will help anybody trying to write literature.

Not so Great.......2006-12-28

I read a lot of books on writing, and I felt that DIALOGUE: TECHNIQUES AND EXERCISES was definitely one of the weaker ones. This book imparts very little practical advice on how to write dialogue well. We instead get lots of pages devoted to irrelevant subjects (like a lengthy chapter on personality types) and a lot of other filler. If you're looking for a no-nonsense, get-to-the-point book on writing, this book isn't it.

There's some useful information in this book, but most of it could have been summarized in less than 50 pages. My advice is to skip this overpriced book and spend your money on better, more comprehensive guides (such as Stein on Writing, Orson Scott Card's Character & Viewpoint, and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers).

I felt like I wasted my money on this one.

Average customer rating:

EXCELLENT HANDBOOK FOR THE CRAFTING OF DIALOGUE
Bent Basics
Actually 1 star is too high of a rating
Ready For a Spanking From the Headmaster?
Good Workout for the Creative Mind

Writing Dialogue
Tom Chiarella
Manufacturer: Story Press Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1884910327

Customer Reviews:

EXCELLENT HANDBOOK FOR THE CRAFTING OF DIALOGUE.......2007-01-07

Prof. Chiarella here provides a very useful guide for the writing of conversation. Not only does he explore the basic grammatical mechanics of different writing tricks and techniques, but he gives us generously as a good teacher the strength and encouragement to pursue our individual talent and multiple voices. Basically the author tells us to write, and then to write, and then to write some more. He has us listen as carefully as possible everywhere we can, and to absorb, to take notes, and above all to write.

This humbly slim yet very substantial manual deserves an easily accessible place of honor upon any aspiring and practiced and advanced writer's reference bookshelf, along with the unabridged Webster's and Elements of Style. It is valuable not only for presenting the standard forms of dialogue, but also for courageously opening the door for us to break any and all rules, and above all at all times to write.

Highly recommended. The author's voice is that of an excellent and supportive and gentle teacher, well practiced and effective in his pedagogy. Well structured and well written, and isn't that a nice change from the vast majority of how-to-write texts which come surprisingly poorly written, angry and incompetent. His examples are all useful and well selected or written as well. Buy this book for the writer you love, including yourself.

In no time you will be writing complex conversation like Joyce's Ivy Day in the Committee Room, or maybe even the mighty Mamet!

Bent Basics.......2005-08-22

Speaking across a generational divide, I find "Writing Dialogue"
helpful for self-editing. I am too annoyed by the tv culture to sustain interest in author's clever essays. But I do look at tv in spurts with better informed, purposive ear. It is bending the ear to picture scenes that instructs my writing.
Helpful, but annoying in my sixties.
Grandma Writer

Actually 1 star is too high of a rating.......2005-08-10

this book is lousy its the worst. It promises alot but doesn't deliver.

If you want to learn to write meaningless every day conversation like:

"Hi how are you Sam?"

"I'm fine thanks George."

Then this book is for you. It never gets past the above formatt of dialogue and the narrative of this book is boring and hard to understand. The writer is a bafoon who admittedly carries a journal around recording conversations like the above "Hi sam..." The book is so annoying it make me want to scream.

Ready For a Spanking From the Headmaster?.......2005-07-31

Chiarella looks so far down his nose you'd think he was Pinocchio. Some good ideas buried pretty deeply in the bloated monologue. I learned very little I didn't already learn from more general books on writing that had a single chapter on dialogue.

The man curses some very four letter words and brags about how he did it as a kid. He says to listen to others for book ideas. He hasn't a clue about modern block-busters we want to write. I have about twenty books on writing, and no good one on dialog yet.

The author is indeed high in his ivory tower looking down on his ignorant students. He is a teacher, not an author. He has written a book of short stories (no reprints is my guess) and several short stories for various magazines. Come on, this is the lowest rung of professional writers.

Boo for Chiarella and Boo to Story Press.

Good Workout for the Creative Mind .......2005-03-21

Having spent more than a third of a century writing non-fiction--55 business books--coming out of retirement to write my first novel, I thought, would be easy. Wrong! What a shock. Going from under 10% dialogue to more than 50% was no small barrier to hurdle. ##### Some would say, if the shoe doesn't fit don't wear it. O.K. Good logic. But the problem, I found, was not insurmountable. And, Chiarella is quite right: fictional dialogue and conversational dialogue are worlds apart, and his book zeros in admirably on the differences. ##### In the final analysis, though, I feel close study of early 20th century classics is the best way to learn the proper use of dialogue: The Great Gatsby, 1925, Fitzgerald's lyrical use of prose, incorporating free-flow dialogue so seamlessly, is a good example. And, for crisp, hammerlike-impact speech the earthy utterances as presented in James M. Cane's The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1934, and the gritty, survalist tone of the words spoken in his Double Indemnity, 1935, I think, illustrate my point. Then there is Nabakov's Lolita, 1947, to study for the eloquent, multi-layered emotonal landscape it lays out and the dialogue that echos this. ##### In sum, I found Chiarella's "take" on dialogue to be most interesting--as a "spur" to reach further for answers, in all, a good "kick-off" platform.

Writing Realistic Dialogue and Flash Fiction

Average customer rating:

GREAT BOOK
Somehow disappointed
Beyond Dialogue
Keeping your readers turning pages, begging for more

Writing Realistic Dialogue and Flash Fiction
Harvey Stanbrough
Manufacturer: Central Ave. Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Punctuation for Writers: A Thorough Primer For Writers Of Fiction And Essays
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Dialogue: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Effective Dialogue (Write Great Fiction)
Plot & Structure: (Techniques And Exercises For Crafting A Plot That Grips Readers From Start To Finish) (Write Great Fiction)
Flash Fiction: Very Short Stories

ASIN: 0971534454

Book Description

Writing Realistic Dialogue and Flash Fiction explores why and how authentic, realistic dialogue works to engage the emotions of the reader, and catalogs the nuances of the sounds of individual letters and words and the effect of those nuances on the reader. It also explores why and how narrative is effective when used in conjunction with realistic dialogue.

Customer Reviews:

GREAT BOOK.......2006-09-03

This one is full of helpful info.
Also, I recommend his punctuation for writers book.
If you aren't sure how to properly use semi-colons or colons, it'll fill you in.
This author is easy to understand and knowledgable.

Somehow disappointed.......2006-07-15

I bought the book based on the reviews on the Amazon but was disappointed by the content of the book. The examples on the book are very limited and the author keeps referring his another book for further discussion. Since the book is short and the author uses his own short stories as examples, it is hard to learn the depth of writing a realistic dialogue and I found myself getting more from other editing books such as "The First Five Pages."

Beyond Dialogue.......2005-06-08

"Writing Realistic Dialogue & Flash Fiction" was very helpful in that the book teaches how to write realistic dialogue that will not only impact the reader's emotions, but shows how to use punctuation to move the reader along. Most authors who write "help books" don't seem to realize that new writers don't have a clue as to how writing fiction differs from formal writing. Harvey Stanbrough understands this and makes it easy for new authors to grab onto the differences!

Keeping your readers turning pages, begging for more.......2005-04-04

While working on the great American novel, I have been reading many how-to books on writing fiction, but none had helped me with the heart of the story - realisic dialogue. Until, that is, I came upon Mr. Stanbrough's primer at a writer's conference. I laughed. I cried. Then my writing transformed with this simple realization: you can lose your reader in narration (horrors), but even weak dialogue will invite her deeper into the story line, becoming an eavesdropper intent on turning the page to find out what tidbit will said next. (Whew, saved!) With dry wit and a gentle but insistent manner, the author takes you by the hand through such topics as 'Conveying Emotion,' 'Influencing the Mood of the Reader,' 'Writing Naked,'(Yeah, now that's a topic!) 'The subtleties of Implication,' 'Mechanics of Punctuation,' 'Action Verbs and Mental Movies'....and the list goes on. And the cool thing is, he makes sure you get it! This primer is filled with examples and exercises that WILL improve your dialogue writing skills. Weak dialogue? Not anymore. Using these techniques, I just had my first article published in a national publication. Buy it! It'll be the best 10 bucks you spend on your craft.

Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Video Games (Charles River Media Game Development)

Average customer rating:

Great for knowledge on how video games are made
Good, but Focused
A 'must' for any video or computer game writer.
Bringing a Story to Computer Games

Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Video Games (Charles River Media Game Development)

Manufacturer: Delmar Cengage Learning
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Accessories:

Game Writing Handbook (Charles River Media Game Development) (Charles River Media Game Development)

ASIN: 1584504900

Book Description

As computer games become more and more like Hollywood productions, the need for good story lines increases. Research shows that stories are highly valued by game players, so today's studios and developers need good writers. Creating narrative - a traditionally static form - for games is a major challenge. Games are at their heart dynamic, interactive systems, so they don't follow the guidelines and rules of film or T.V. writing. Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames addresses these issues and is the first book written to demystify this emerging field. Through the insights and experiences of practicing game writers, the book captures a snapshot of the narrative skills employed in today's game industry. This unique collection of practical articles provides the foundations to the craft of game writing. The articles, written by member of the International Game Developer's (IDGA) Game Writer's SIG, detail aspects of the process from the basics of narrative and non-linear narrative to writing comedy for games and creating compelling characters. Throughout the articles there is a strong emphasis on the skills developers and publishers will expect a game writer to have. The book is suitable for both beginners and experienced writers, and is a detailed guide to all the techniques of game writing. This book is an essential read for anyone wishing to get into this exciting field, particularly for new game writers wanting to hone their skills, and film and T.V. scriptwriters who want to learn how to transfer their skills to the games industry.

Customer Reviews:

Great for knowledge on how video games are made.......2007-03-12

Great book for seeing how video games are made!

Good, but Focused.......2006-12-30

This is a good book. It suffers from having multiple authors in that it lacks the consistent tone that most writng books have, but all the writng is still good.

It is focused on the interface betwen the writer, the game, and the team, and is long on cautionary points. It will be of value to anyone who is writing, producing, or leading all or part of a game team, particularly if they lack practical experience.

If you are only interested in a book about writing for games, Lee Sheldon's 'Character Development and Storytelling for Games' is probably a better choice, but if you are intending or actually writing game, or working with a game writer, this is a good read and a potentially vital resource.

A 'must' for any video or computer game writer........2006-10-14

Computer games are becoming more like Hollywood productions, requiring good plots and valued story lines which use good narrative styles. In Chris Bateman, Editor's Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames are practical articles on how to do so, written by members of the International Game Developer's Association and covering all kinds of game writing, from comedy to plots. A 'must' for any video or computer game writer.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Bringing a Story to Computer Games.......2006-08-10

The days of the super simple games like Pac-Man are long gone. Today's games must entertain with all the finesse and skill of a Hollywood movie. This is not to say that a game must be all narrative, neither is a movie.

This book is the first complete guide to writing stories for games. They are not stories alone, that would just be a book. But nor are they just action games. They are games with a story.

The book is edited by Chris Bateman, an expert in market oriented game design and narrative. He has gotten an even dozen of game developers to contribute in various aspects. They range from game developers to writers, to educators, to journalists. Each is able to bring his/her own insight to the book and to the writing profession.

As computers, software, game engines (and always more memory) develop, games can grow more powerful, more lifelike, more movie like.

A Community of Writers: A Workshop Course in Writing

Average customer rating:

Good freshman composition text

A Community of Writers: A Workshop Course in Writing
Peter Elbow , and Patricia Belanoff
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Writing with Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process
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Everyone Can Write: Essays Toward a Hopeful Theory of Writing and Teaching Writing
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A Writer Teaches Writing Revised

ASIN: 007303181X

Book Description

This groundbreaking rhetoric/reader is known for its practical, workshop approach. Addressing students as writers, A COMMUNITY OF WRITERS features numerous writing activities and assignments that challenge students to develop their skills by writing often, by exploring their writing processes, and by sharing their writing with others. The third edition features a new design and incorporates expanded treatment of argumentation and research, in-depth coverage of the Internet (including a mini-workshop on composing a web page) and computer-based writing, coverage of visual literacy, more material on drafting, and a variety of new student and professional essays.

Customer Reviews:

Good freshman composition text.......2005-10-23

I have used a variety of textbooks to teach English composition over the past 19 years, but this one is my favorite.

Elbow & Belanoff offer a variety of pre-writing strategies, drafting tips, single and group assignments, and peer-editing activities. The book is very readable; the writers put the practical suggestions in the body of the chapter, and the detailed theory of WHY the suggestions work is in special sections at the end. Those students who want to know why certain strategies work can get the answers without bogging down the rest of the class. Each assignment comes with process journal questions, which force the students to analyze their own writing and which lead smoothly into the writing autobiography assignment at the end. Due to the author's excellent explanations and samples of various peer-review methods, I have fewer problems with and student complaints about peer-review with this text than with any other I have tried.

When I use this text, more of my students take control of their own writing processes. They begin to understand the reasons behind the failure or success of a given paper. This text is very empowering to student writers.

Much of the analysis done in peer-review and in process journals promotes development of higher-level critical thinking skills, and I can see those skills reflected in my students' writing by the end of the semester.

Disclaimer: If you don't agree with Peter Elbow's other work about writing, you probably won't like this book, either.

Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader (5th Edition)

Average customer rating:

An excellent advanced college rhetoric

Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader (5th Edition)
Gary Goshgarian , and Kathleen Krueger
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0321288467

Customer Reviews:

An excellent advanced college rhetoric.......2007-03-17

Dialogues contains both interesting readings and well-written college level rhetoric. The title 'Dialogues' is an appropriate one as itstrives to untangle the myth that the only good argument is one with opposing sides that offer no compromise. Perhaps the only letdown -- few examples of what a good college paper should look like.

The Book of Dialogue: How to Write Effective Conversation in Fiction, Screenplays, Drama, and Poetry

Average customer rating:

Near 100% Copy of His Earlier Book on Dialogue, and Still Bad !
Who is this book for?
Don't be fooled - SAME book as "Dialogue"
This book sucks

The Book of Dialogue: How to Write Effective Conversation in Fiction, Screenplays, Drama, and Poetry
Lewis Turco
Manufacturer: UPNE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Writing Dialogue
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How Not to Write a Screenplay: 101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make
Dialogue: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Effective Dialogue (Write Great Fiction)
How to Write: A Screenplay, 2nd Edition

ASIN: 1584653612

Book Description

Originally published in 1989, this revised and expanded edition focuses on the art and craft of writing effective dialogue in fiction, cinema, television, drama, radio, and poetry.

Turco's unique technique teaches by showing: he creates a Socratic dialogue as the form of the book itself. Says the author, "Plato wrote lies in order to tell the truth. That's what a fiction writer does and has always done."

The book covers how to:
* Write dialogue that is believable as conversation--carefully selected, paced, and
organized.
* Break up dialogue at strategic places with action, replies, scene-setting and
other elements vital to telling your story.
* Balance dialogue and other story elements
* Dramatize conflict through dialogue.
* Use dialogue to lay the groundwork for upcoming events in the story.

Customer Reviews:

Near 100% Copy of His Earlier Book on Dialogue, and Still Bad !.......2007-04-30

* This is a rip-off if you already have the previous version.

* Still uses the same useless, and poorly done, 'Socratic' conversation method.

* You will spend more time trying to figure out what the heck he is trying to put across than you will actualy learning about Dialogue.

* You will go crazy trying to find the actual examples of the concepts that are mixed in with dialogue that does NOT relate to the topic.

I would not recommend this book to *anybody* that is trying to learn about the forms of Dialogue or the usage of those forms. Just about any other book would be better.

Who is this book for?.......2006-12-27

As a screenwriter, I borrowed this book from the library and returned it quickly. The author demonstrates his own lack of skill in creating dramatic and purposeful dialogue by creating a fictional character for him to banter with througout the book. Their discussions are terribly unfunny, unclever and quickly become tedious and annoying. I kept asking myself as I read, "who is this book for?" as the "insights" and topics presented are of no value to any adult. And so, I can only imagine this book is for grade school students to increase their awareness of different elements that go into a dramatic text.

Don't be fooled - SAME book as "Dialogue".......2004-06-13

This is the SAME book titled "Dialogue" that was published by Writers Digest Books. Read the reviews for "Dialogue" (ASN 0898793491) if you want to know more about THIS book, because the content and approach are the same.

Although he's added longer examples than in the previous book, he insists on using the same self-consciously unfunny, unhelpful and even confusing "Socratic dialogue" between himself and a fictional "student" character.

He's also added a 4-page introduction defending this choice and bragging about the original book's reprints and translations. (So I suspect he's seen the reviews at Amazon. You'd think he'd learn something from that.) Repackaging alone does not improve this book one bit.

This book sucks.......2004-06-04

It is diificult to express how disappointed I was in this book. The author's fiction and poetry, which he quotes from ad nauseum, is mediocre, his prose turgid. The concept of this book, a book that discusses dialogue through dialogue is annoying and rambling. I read half-way through and gave up. The book imparted absolutely no practical advice and its theory was mere horse-sense, banal beyond belief. Why this book has gone through a re-release is beyond me. It should perish among remainders. See Sol Stein, who in a single chapter does more than Turco could dream of, or see the excellent "Writing Dialogue for Scripts" by Rib Davis for a real book on dialogue. This book is a waste of time and money.

The Jew in the Lotus: A Poet's Rediscovery of Jewish Identity in Buddhist India

Average customer rating:

Nice
Almost Kabalic
a chance to learn along with Kamenetz
A creative encounter
Jews & Buddhists finding common ground

The Jew in the Lotus: A Poet's Rediscovery of Jewish Identity in Buddhist India
Rodger Kamenetz
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Jewish With Feeling: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Practice

ASIN: 0060645768

Book Description

"A highly entertaining personal account of one man's surprising journey into the mystical heart of Judaism."--Kirkus Reviews

Customer Reviews:

Nice.......2007-01-04

This was a very nice and interesting account of a visit paid by a group of Jewish rabbis to the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama had expressed interest in the mystical tradition of Judaism (Kabbala). Thus, a group of them went to Dharamsala in 1990 in order to teach and learn. Some of them were very liberal, progressive, open and inclusivist thinkers, such as Rebbe Zalman, who does not shy away from incorporating elements from other religions in his practice of Judaism. Others in the group were more conservative and traditionalist.
The Dalai Lama inquired at length about the secret of the Jewish spirit's resilience and endurance during the exile. He asked how to keep religion relevant with the new generations; how to renew without ever losing continuity. Similarities were noted between sunnyata and the kabblaist Ain Sof; the teaching of rebirth; emanation; the common visualization practices used in "thought transformation"; and belief in spiritual entities (angels, devas). Check this out! Tibetan monks spend 5-10 hours a day, studying and debating basic texts for 20 years or more..
The issue of "Jubus" came out, namely of Jews who abandon the practice of their religion and become interested in the practical, spiritual and empirical methods of development offered by Buddhism. Even liberal Jews such as Zalman felt an ache for the "loss" of such intelligent and spiritually oriented people.
Two interesting things:
a)A warning not to compare an idealized version of a particular religion with a worn out version of one own's religion
b)The Dalai Lama pointing out to the windows and saying that "out there," on the mountains, there are individuals who concentrate soleley on individual practice(p. 223)

Almost Kabalic.......2006-04-08

A Jewish spiritual journey of interfaith connection that is unpoetic as it claims and connects in no other way then that it is a communication between people. It is apparent that two religions will always remain to have many perspectives. Read it for its spirituality context and for its religious zen like experiance.

a chance to learn along with Kamenetz.......2005-06-22

It's clear that Kamenetz himself learned a lot during the events he writes of, and the book makes it possible to ride on his shoulders through that both the meeting between the Dalai Lama and a delegation from across the spectrum of Judaism and his digestion of those events afterwards. The book is centered more on Judaism than about Buddhism, and covers issues such as the principles of Kabbalah in an authentic, nontrendy form and how it fits into mainstream Judaism; the commonalities and differences between Jewish and Buddhist views of the world; the failures of current Jewish religious education, and the effects of the Holocaust on modern Judaism (not just the people killed, but ho it has changed the focus of the religion). It addresses some of the same concerns about assimilation as Anne Roiphe's Generation Without Memory, but by contrasting Judaism to Buddhism and examining some of the people who are in a spectrum between the two ("JuBus") comes closer to finding some answers.

A creative encounter.......2005-03-12

In 1990 the Dalai Lama invited a cross-section of American rabbis to Dharamsala to discover what Buddhism and Judaism have in common and what they can learn from one another. The author, a more or less secular Jew until that experience, was a member of the group. His book is a little long, but I found it absorbing, although I neither want to nor could myself share this longing for spirituality, let alone for mysticism. But it was moving to read of the Dalai Lama's openness, and of one or two rabbis in the group. It must have been a great experience for them all.

Jews & Buddhists finding common ground.......2004-11-28

My friend Sue recommended this book to me. We have had many conversations about her life as a Jew in America. We've talked about and explored the differences in how we were brought up and our approaches to life because of our religions. She thought Kamenetz's ecumenical experience in India would appeal to me. She was right. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

In so many ways, the world and worldview of Buddhism and Judaism seem so different as to be unbridgeable. Yet there is something that exists in Buddhism to draw so many Jews to the mystical life found in Tibetan Buddhism. Ram Dass and Alan Ginsberg are only two of the most famous Jews who found spiritual solace by moving from Judaism to Buddhism. After making that observation, a group of Jewish rabbis travelled to Dharamsala, India to visit and engage in dialog with the Dalai Lama.

It was October 1990. India was in the midst of one of the recurring dramas of confrontation between Hindus and Muslims. The rabbis made their way through some tense military scenes to get to Dharamsala. There they found a community of exiles, a community not unlike that Jews had been experiencing for hundreds of years. This theme of commonality was to come up over and over again as the Dalai Lama looked to his Jewish visitors for keys to maintaining an identity after fleeing his country and the Chinese invaders.

Through conversations with the Dalai Lama, the rabbis, accustomed to their differences, were forced to look at themselves anew and examine some of their most cherished beliefs. For many it was a life-changing experience.

It's a fascinating read and a great journey. For us non-Jews and non-Buddhists, Kamenetz offers a though-provoking look at ecumenism among two faiths that would seem to have little in common.

Rousseau, Judge of Jean-Jacques: Dialogues (Collected Writings of Rousseau)

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Rousseau, Judge of Jean-Jacques: Dialogues (Collected Writings of Rousseau)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Manufacturer: Dartmouth
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

French | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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The Confessions and Correspondence, Including the Letters to Malesherbes (The Collected Writings of Rousseau, Vol 5)
Letter to Beaumont, Letters Written from the Mountain, and Related Writings (Collected Writings of Rousseau)
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Discourse on the Origins of Inequality (Second Discourse), Polemics, and Political Economy (Collected Writings of Rousseau)

ASIN: 0874514959

Book Description

One of Rousseau's later and most puzzling works and never before available in English, this neglected autobiographical piece was the product of the philosopher's old age and sense of persecution. Long viewed simply as evidence of his growing paranoia, it consists of three dialogues between a character named "Rousseau" and one identified only as "Frenchman" who discuss the bad reputation and works of an author named "Jean-Jacques." Dialogues offers a fascinating retrospective of his literary career.

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"Scaffolding" to help my ACIM work
You have found a great tool.
No Room for Misinterpretation
Tom is a wonderful teacher
Yes, it really IS this simple!

Dialogue on Awakening
Tom Carpenter
Manufacturer: Carpenters Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Other Voice: A Companion to the Text of "the Course" Chapters 1-15 (Miracles Studies Book)
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Your Immortal Reality: How to Break the Cycle of Birth and Death
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ASIN: 0963305107

Book Description

In communion with us through Tom Carpenter, a great teacher once known as Jesus answers questions about the nature of our physical life but describes our true reality as Spirit. A greater understanding of this Reality is the key to experiencing a personal expansion of peace, love, and joy in our life today. In this book, we more clearly see there is a choice between what we ourselves have made and experience as this often painful world, or of awakening to the remembrance of our innate, eternal Spirit. In these dialogues, Jesus, now teaching as the fully awakened Christ, shares how he awakened to this Reality and clarifies many of his own experiences when he too experienced this world. Many readers feel the information contained in this book has helped to change their lives.

Customer Reviews:

"Scaffolding" to help my ACIM work.......2007-01-28

If ACIM is the "main building" of my current study path, "Dialogue on Awakening" is a helpful "scaffold" to help me to access some of the ACIM concepts and practices. Not a substitute for the little willingness asked of us in our ACIM work, but, for me, a "post workbook completion" review of what I have uncovered in my journey through the workbook. As a scaffold allows us access and perspective to a building, so does "Dialogue" give me access and another perspective to ACIM. Its richness is my "mental dessert" many evenings as I sit quietly before bedtime and read a page or two and ponder it in relation to my journey. As a result, many times, my morning meditation is enhanced which contributes to my daily goal of more inner peace. Ken Wapnick's work helps me the most these days, but the Carpenter's warmly written work here is a very close second.

You have found a great tool........2007-01-06

This book is a fantastic tool to unlocking our belief systems that block not just our ability to begin to understand the Course in Miracles, but the purpose behind the Course, our awakening. If you want to really be guided on how to break free from this paradigm that we ascribe to, do not hesitate and get this book. It really is that good. It reads easily and answers the big questions with a directness and consistency that gives one assurance of Truth.

No Room for Misinterpretation.......2006-11-15

This book, "Dialogue on Awakening", is an extremely powerful force not to be compared to any other book. All I can say is that when you are ready for these direct and poignant answers to all the questions you think stumble you on your journey Home, the book is there. It leaves no room for misinterpretation, it discusses very real concerns in our modern world and it rings of Truth so much you cannot deny it. I send much gratitude to Tom and Linda for sharing this dialogue with us.

Tom is a wonderful teacher.......2002-02-22

Tom expresses the clarity of truth in the Course in beautiful ways. I found his book, as well as his teaching and his presence, most helpful and healing when I was privileged to spend time with him and Linda, his wife, a wonderful counselor in her own right.

(Note: Please enter my complete name rather than the public
nickname: Amanda Armstrong)

Yes, it really IS this simple!.......2000-06-03

I've been on what I call my "spiritual path" for 13 years, and the foundation of my life is A Course in Miracles. If you had trouble understanding the Course, because of the way it was worded, read "Dialogue on Awakening..." You won't be confused anymore. This book covers it all, but it definitely challenges our beliefs about the way a spiritual path works.

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