schinko94's reviews
107 reviews

Read this for my Cults in America class at Illinois Wesleyan. Good stuff, it goes through the history of the cult booms and busts in the US.

This book focuses far too much on bashing Christians and white people, even going so far as calling the whole Christian religion "fascist." It also bashes other major religions, some of which are among the largest in the world. Vodou is certainly not a white religion, nor should it be white-washed, but I don't feel like the insulting of nearly every major religion adds to the authors' credibility. Likewise, the authors rage on against dichotomies, yet they frequently dichotomize the world as "Voodoo religion or fascist religion" and "black and white" without recognizing these dichotomies themselves. In addition, the authors make it seem like most voodoo involves blood sacrifice, when the reality (based on everything else that I've read) is the complete opposite. Beyond this, blood sacrifice is impractical and even unethical for many modern readers/practitioners. Sure, blood sacrifice is frequently practiced in Haiti and within various voodoo temples, but for the solitary practitioner, the EXPECTATION of blood sacrifice is quite lofty.

I've read enough of this book in my Spanish classes to know that I never want to hear about it or read it again. It's a classic, but one that's been drilled into my head since 6th grade, and I hate that.

Absolutely one of the first sources to which I would direct people if they wanted to know more about Vodou. Deren's book is an excellent and detailed ethnography, and is really a must-read for any Vodouisant.

This book was absolutely wonderful, and deepened my understanding of Vodou tremendously. Mama Lola, since the time that the book was written, has become one of the most important Haitian-American spiritual leaders in the diaspora, and this book is a stunning account of her life. My only criticism is that, since this book is first and foremost an ethnography, the author is sometimes a bit too analytical. She has to be, because she is an academic, but too much analysis takes away from the orthopracitcal core of Vodou. It is a religion that depends more on what a person does rather than what he or she believes in, and this notion gets somewhat lost when the author expounds her thoughts on spiritual matters. However, on the whole, this book is very good, easy-to-read, and highly enjoyable.

Although the Myers-Briggs personality typification system doesn't really work for some people, I am a textbook ENFP. This book gave me a lot of insight into how I make decisions and interact with other people, and came in very handy while I was looking for a job. It's easy to read and not jargon-y, and I appreciated the author's good humor. Note: Don't read the foreword, that was the only part that I didn't like.

What can I even say about this book? It has the power to literally save lives. Alan Downs has a lifetime of experience in psychoanalyzing gay men, and his analyses are a wonder to behold. He sees gay culture for what it really is (sometimes fun but ultimately superficial), and really gets to the root of why gay men have so many relationship issues. I don't entirely agree with his "lack of a father figure" argument, simply because it's a little too Freudian and philosophical for me. However, for most of the book, he is spot on, and offers some very good advice to gay men who are looking to find true contentment in their lives.