Rousseau said something about Rudy probably developing asbestosis from striding around Ground Zero (only Rousseau said it far more colorfully) and it reminded me of one of the most frightening books I've read in the last few years.

The books is called, "An Air that Kills: How the Asbestos Poisoning of Libby, Montana Uncovered a National Scandal" by Andrew Schneider and David McCumber.

It's the story of how our old friends W.R. Grace Company poisoned most everyone in the town of Libby, Montana, and then did their best to cover it up. I couldn't put this book down. We last saw W. R. Grace in "A Civil Action," which uncovered the toxic waste they poisoned land and water in Woburn, MA with. It's a chilling book, and one that everyone should read. This is what corporate America will do to us, over and over again, if we let them.


What have you been reading? What books do you recommend - fiction or non?

I'll perennially suggest "the assault on reason" and the works of Tolkien, Hesse, and Baudelaire.

also, anything published by the yogi publication society (type it into your search engine), and the works of Ralph waldo trine, for inspiration and metaphysical ability.

beyond that, i haven't done much but research alternative medicines, and the writings of those that fit into nutritional well-being...

anyone that wants good resources for these subjects should PM me.

A friend just sent me 'Anatomy of the Spirit:The Seven Stages of Power and Healing' by Caroline Myss. I don't know if this would be up your street Maxanne (you don't strike me as the sort of person who'd be into these things, though I may be way off there!)
Myss is described as a 'medical intuitive' and a 'mystic', and this particular book is all about the influences of the 7 points of power (or energy) - which coincide with the Hindu Chakra's as well as the Christian sacraments and the Kabbalal's 'Tree of Life' - within the human body and how these areas of power effect our physical (and even tribal) health.
Personally I'm finding it fascinating and am getting a lot out of it. I'll certainly be looking out for her other books and audio publications in the future!

Libby Montana.
A documentary

http://www.highplainsfilms.org/fp_libby.html

Thanks, karen. Your intuition is good. I'm afraid I am unable at this point in time to read those kinds of books. My former AA sponsor has given me a shelf-full of books I'll never read. She always tells me that they'll be there when I'm ready. I'm afraid my spirituality is of a more nuts and bolts, pragmatic sort.

I am reading "The Way of Ignorance" , a book of essays by Wendell Berry. I've never written a fan letter to an author before - but I'm considering one to him.

Your AA sponsor said exactly what I would say - They're there if and when you ever feel inclined to read them. We all make our way through this life as best we can. I've found a way that suits me ell, and I'm sure you have too! There are no rights and wrongs where respect an honour are given.

I'll definitely look out for Wendell Berry in the future. A fan letter from someone such as yourself is a high recommendation indeed!

This will give you an idea of why I love Wendell Berry:
The Failure of War

and: Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front

Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.

So, friends, every day do something
that won't compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion - put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.



Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" from The Country of Marriage, copyright © 1973 by Wendell Berry, reprinted by permission of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.

Fantastic!!!
Thank you Maxanne!