ARA Review by Ling54aR of In It Together
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Ling54aR
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ARA Review by Ling54aR of In It Together
[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, In It Together.]
Does the world seem dark and lonely at times, no matter how bright the sun shines or how many people are around you? Do you feel lost in the world or that the world has lost sight of you at times? In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All, by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes, is a non-fictional self-help book written to: prove that a common uniting struggle for something exists, explore and define that something, and present an effective strategy for working together to achieve that something. This book has two hundred twenty-four pages and is divided into eight chapters. In the Introduction, the author identifies fundamental human equality and freedom as the common struggle uniting us all. In this review, I will summarize the first and third chapters.
In the first chapter, A World of Problems, the author talks about significant problems that humans are capable of preventing, yet fail to do so. He cites specific examples such as: thousands of children starving to death each day on a planet capable of feeding everyone; humans willfully causing hundreds of thousands of deaths using nuclear blasts in Japan during World War 2; and millions of humans suffering in prisons, caged like animals, dehumanized, for nonviolent crimes.
In the third chapter, We Can't Help Starving Children Because We Can't Help Ourselves, the author says humans, individually as well as collectively, behave unsympathetically and cruelly toward those who suffer, because they treat others like they treat themselves; which is cruelly. He identifies common human flaws such as greed, overindulgence, money-addicted materialism and gluttony, as symptoms of this self-destructive, self-loathing attitude. Other indications of this self-hate among Americans include: overeating, alcohol and drug addiction, and the high death rate among teenagers and the elderly by suicide. The author concludes the battle is within. In the remainder of the book, he analyzes the common human struggle and presents his strategy to overcome it.
There are several things about this book I liked very much. First, I found the progression of the book well-organized and easy to follow. It also delivered the three objectives stated in the Introduction. The author identified the common struggle; then two human factors, one collectively and one individually, that contribute to the problem; followed by a proposed solution.
Second, at the beginning and end of the book, the author uses the imagery of painting with words. Some of his descriptions in the text provided me with vivid word-pictures. A couple of these include: comparing the daily death of children by starvation to the vicious feeding schedule of a gluttonous vampire; and describing the excessive climb up the tracks of the roller coaster resulting in the extreme plummet to the depths.
Third, the author utilized at least two techniques for adding emphasis in the text. He used extra spacing between short sentences to slow the reader’s eye; to emphasize the statement made. He also posed many questions, prompting the reader to pause and contemplate the issue being discussed.
This is a well-written book. However, I will also mention the two things I liked least about it. First, in chapter four, Why We Can't Help Ourselves: The Two Yous, the author talks in detail about the body and spirit of a human. For me, parts of this chapter became quite conceptual, even mystical. Discussions on things such as philosophical metaphysical dualism; synthetically or accidentally true versus what is analytically or necessarily true; and the seemingly static unchanging eternal timeless 4D spacetime of infinite; introduced some confusion for me rather than enlightenment. It seems to me that the major attributes or characteristics of the “two Yous” presented by the author could have been accomplished more concisely with simpler wording.
Second, the author, for the most part, did a good job defining what he meant by terms he used in a way the reader might misunderstand, such as: spiritual freedom, philosophical zombies, two Yous, spirit, the real you, consciousness, and temporal unity, to name a few. However, it would have been helpful if other words or phrases, with which some may not be familiar, were also defined in the book. Some of these include: solipsist and solipsism, VR simulation, and Occam’s Razor. I found it distracting to stop reading to consult a dictionary or the Internet to understand what the author was attempting to communicate to me.
In conclusion, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. I deducted one star because of the observations made in the previous two paragraphs. I would recommend this book to those who are seeking oneness with humanity through self-awareness.
***
View In It Together on Bookshelves
Does the world seem dark and lonely at times, no matter how bright the sun shines or how many people are around you? Do you feel lost in the world or that the world has lost sight of you at times? In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All, by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes, is a non-fictional self-help book written to: prove that a common uniting struggle for something exists, explore and define that something, and present an effective strategy for working together to achieve that something. This book has two hundred twenty-four pages and is divided into eight chapters. In the Introduction, the author identifies fundamental human equality and freedom as the common struggle uniting us all. In this review, I will summarize the first and third chapters.
In the first chapter, A World of Problems, the author talks about significant problems that humans are capable of preventing, yet fail to do so. He cites specific examples such as: thousands of children starving to death each day on a planet capable of feeding everyone; humans willfully causing hundreds of thousands of deaths using nuclear blasts in Japan during World War 2; and millions of humans suffering in prisons, caged like animals, dehumanized, for nonviolent crimes.
In the third chapter, We Can't Help Starving Children Because We Can't Help Ourselves, the author says humans, individually as well as collectively, behave unsympathetically and cruelly toward those who suffer, because they treat others like they treat themselves; which is cruelly. He identifies common human flaws such as greed, overindulgence, money-addicted materialism and gluttony, as symptoms of this self-destructive, self-loathing attitude. Other indications of this self-hate among Americans include: overeating, alcohol and drug addiction, and the high death rate among teenagers and the elderly by suicide. The author concludes the battle is within. In the remainder of the book, he analyzes the common human struggle and presents his strategy to overcome it.
There are several things about this book I liked very much. First, I found the progression of the book well-organized and easy to follow. It also delivered the three objectives stated in the Introduction. The author identified the common struggle; then two human factors, one collectively and one individually, that contribute to the problem; followed by a proposed solution.
Second, at the beginning and end of the book, the author uses the imagery of painting with words. Some of his descriptions in the text provided me with vivid word-pictures. A couple of these include: comparing the daily death of children by starvation to the vicious feeding schedule of a gluttonous vampire; and describing the excessive climb up the tracks of the roller coaster resulting in the extreme plummet to the depths.
Third, the author utilized at least two techniques for adding emphasis in the text. He used extra spacing between short sentences to slow the reader’s eye; to emphasize the statement made. He also posed many questions, prompting the reader to pause and contemplate the issue being discussed.
This is a well-written book. However, I will also mention the two things I liked least about it. First, in chapter four, Why We Can't Help Ourselves: The Two Yous, the author talks in detail about the body and spirit of a human. For me, parts of this chapter became quite conceptual, even mystical. Discussions on things such as philosophical metaphysical dualism; synthetically or accidentally true versus what is analytically or necessarily true; and the seemingly static unchanging eternal timeless 4D spacetime of infinite; introduced some confusion for me rather than enlightenment. It seems to me that the major attributes or characteristics of the “two Yous” presented by the author could have been accomplished more concisely with simpler wording.
Second, the author, for the most part, did a good job defining what he meant by terms he used in a way the reader might misunderstand, such as: spiritual freedom, philosophical zombies, two Yous, spirit, the real you, consciousness, and temporal unity, to name a few. However, it would have been helpful if other words or phrases, with which some may not be familiar, were also defined in the book. Some of these include: solipsist and solipsism, VR simulation, and Occam’s Razor. I found it distracting to stop reading to consult a dictionary or the Internet to understand what the author was attempting to communicate to me.
In conclusion, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. I deducted one star because of the observations made in the previous two paragraphs. I would recommend this book to those who are seeking oneness with humanity through self-awareness.
***
View In It Together on Bookshelves
