The Infiltrators

Average customer rating:

A Whodunnit with class

The Infiltrators
Donald Hamilton
Manufacturer: Fawcett
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0449125173
Release Date: 1984-04-12

Customer Reviews:

A Whodunnit with class.......1998-04-12

The Infiltrators is one of my favorite Donald Hamilton books. Matt Helm is called upon to escort a lady lawyer with a supposedly traitorous past. He meets her upon her release from prison and is shocked at the change from the way he remembered her nine years prior. Matt has to protect he while uncovering a master plot and battles against government agents as well. You won't be disappointed with this book.

The Infiltrator: My Undercover Exploits in Right-wing America

Average customer rating:

Pretty Good Read, from someone who is in it.
Weak attempt at satire
A top pick for any college-level journalism library.
Damn! This is funny stuff!

The Infiltrator: My Undercover Exploits in Right-wing America
Harmon Leon
Manufacturer: Prometheus Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1591024668

Book Description

Called "a cross between Michael Moore and South Park," gonzo journalist Harmon Leon shared his undercover exploits among fringe right-wingers in the riotously funny book Republican Like Me. Now, in The Infiltrator, Harmon exposes more of the harrowing and hilarious reality of living in red-state America.

· Desperate for a job in the no-new-job Republican economy, Harmon becomes O.J. Simpson's sidekick helping him to pull off hidden-camera tricks on O.J.'s budding reality show. · Harmon joins a civilian vigilante group of senior citizens called the Minuteman Project and helps them "patrol for illegal aliens" along the Mexican border by sitting in a lawn chair. · He becomes a Promise Keeper at one of the group's weekend stadium events, where he "gets pumped up about Jesus" but finds that women are clearly not welcome. · Harmon infiltrates the Protest Warriors (who vehemently oppose liberal protestors) and meets a right-wing Warrior who boastfully confides to Harmon that he's infiltrated leftist protests. Harmon rises to become president of the local chapter. · Harmon shows his flair for drama when he trains to be a teen abstinence educator and makes an unforgettable impression using mime. · At a faith healing extravaganza, Harmon throws away his crutches and walks again—before being "assisted" to the ground.

And there's much, much more in this twisted sampler of "infiltration journalism." Follow Harmon on each mission impossible as he dons various ingenious disguises, goes undercover, tries various ways to eke out a living, and then just barely escapes to report on the shocking and very funny truth about surviving in conservative America.

Customer Reviews:

Pretty Good Read, from someone who is in it........2007-08-14

Overall, I felt that this was pretty good book. Sure there were mistakes here and there, and maybe I am just new to these sorts of political humor books (I mainly keep with the academic readings), but overall I was pleased with it.

Now stating that, I proudly admit that I was in the book - under the chapter "Rage for the Machine." And it is strange to see some people eluding to Hank not actually being there in person, rather in his living room - because he truely did hang out with a large group of rowdy skinheads for a weekend - and he even made friends by the end. If he were to fake any of these events, I would guess that would be the one. Only issue that I can see (or can remember) is that he did not "trick" us into thinking he wrote for a "Right-Wing" music magazine, he was actually writing an article for Stuff Magazine on us (See the October 2006 issue) and we knew he was a lefty from the start (the tight shirt and pants gave him away).

Weak attempt at satire.......2007-06-29

This is not a funny book, though it certainly tries far too hard. The humor is strained, forced and relies mainly on Leon's failure to reconcile his notions of modern politics (which seem mainly gleaned from second-rate political cartoons) with the actions and attitudes of real people.

It's not clever - indeed, it's clear that Leon knows pretty much nothing about the politics he seeks to subvert and explore. His attempts to skewer the hypocrisy of Right-wing America just make him come off like a prejudiced dick. And if you can't hit a target as huge as Right-wing hypocrisy, how bad is your aim anyway?

As a work of journalism it's desperately weak: reportage is mixed with snide parenthetical observations gleaned from Leon's cartoonishly limited worldview, intercut with "this equals this and this is bad so HAH!!!" comparisons that are tenuous at best, just plain made-up at worst.

It's not particularly brave: much of the book takes place in Leon's living room. Most of the (material that passes for) really cutting observations are not actually delivered to their targets, just slipped into snide parentheses that betray Leon's grade-school-level powers of reasoning.

Much of what Leon observes isn't really bad at all, just deemed by him to be "uncool"; so he laces it with ridiculous extremes unconnected to the example at hand. Hey, it's fun to make fun of other peoples' beliefs if those people might know people who disagree with your politics!

The primary thrust of many chapters seems to be nothing so much as Harmon Leon trying to convince us that Harmon Leon is SO COOL!: the literary equivalent of a drunk guy telling you embarrassing, exaggerated stories about what he said this one time to this one guy and it was great, aw man, you shoulda been there!

After all this, it seems churlish to fault the book for having apparently not been edited at all: spelling errors and grammatical flaws are rife, and many quotes and passages make next to no sense. This may be due to their having been chopped and changed to fit into a book, or may just be due to Leon's inability to write or tell a story.

But hey, I'm a strong supporter of left-wing politics and subverting the system and all that good stuff - so, if the Harmon Leon character depicted in this book is any indication, "churlish dick" is my middle name.

A top pick for any college-level journalism library........2006-12-11

Gonzo journalist Harmon Leon infiltrated the right-wing movement and published REPUBLICAN LIKE ME, a hard-hitting yet humor-laden take on Republican sentiments and insider experiences: now THE INFILTRATOR: MY UNDERCOVER EXPLOITS IN RIGHT-WING AMERICA arrives to expose more Republican views draws on Leon's underground experiences with O.J. Simpson, a civilian vigilante group on patrol for illegal aliens, and another group which eventually promotes him president. As an amazing story of 'infiltration journalist' techniques, it's also a top pick for any college-level journalism library.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Damn! This is funny stuff!.......2006-11-02

Harmon Leon, perhaps the most daring infiltration journalist of this or
any other time. I had to stop reading several times because I was laughing
so hard, though a lot of the places he ventures to (Minutemen, Patriotic Pro-war
skinheads, Promise Keepers) are really disturbing under the surface.

The Infiltrator: My Undercover Exploits In Right Wing America is a good look
at the modern state of our country.

Average customer rating:

The future is not set...not even in Hollywood
A little too much fiction in this science fiction
It's a good series ...
It's ok.....
Kudos to Stirling for a great book

T2: Infiltrator
S.m. Stirling , and S. M. Stirling
Manufacturer: HarperEntertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0380808161
Release Date: 2002-04-02

Amazon.com

You've got to feel sorry for Sarah Connor. Try as she might, she just can't seem to finish off Cyberdyne Systems--the eventual progenitor of the malevolent super-AI Skynet--with any sort of finality, despite blowing up their headquarters in Terminator 2. And every time she turns around, there's yet another pesky Terminator who has just beamed back through time to finish off her son John, who (as we all know) is humanity's only hope in the machine-controlled future.

Skynet and its minions chalk this up to the persistence of "several alternative world-lines" coexisting in "a state of quantum superimposition." But how's this for an explanation: it's fun to watch Sarah, John, and company run from, then run to, then ultimately beat up on Terminators, and as long as there's an interested audience, Skynet will keep sniffing out these devilish little temporal loopholes.

Military-SF juggernaut S.M. Stirling takes the helm in a "fully authorized" new series that picks up where T2 left off: mom and son are on the lam in Paraguay, lying low and running a shady trucking company. Then a retired spook moves in next door, a burly Austrian type who--get this--looks just like Arnold Schwarze... um, the 800 Series Model 101. The harried John and mom, paranoid by necessity, suspect something's afoot and soon find themselves embroiled in yet another adventure involving this mysterious new stranger, the old family of Miles Dyson (the Cyberdyne scientist who took it in the kisser in T2), and a super-sexy I-950 whom Skynet has sent back in time to set things straight.

Now realize that just because this sequel is "official" and "fully authorized" doesn't necessarily mean that the story lines will jibe with the T3 movie--assuming it ever comes out. But, of course, any discrepancies can just be blamed on yet another temporal anomaly. --Paul Hughes

Book Description

Both Sarah and John Connor have survived repeated attempts on their lives by advanced Terminator killing machines sent from a grim tomorrow to ensure the total destruction of humankind. Now, hiding out from the U.S. Government in Paraguay, Sarah and her brilliant son have linked up with Dieter von Rossbach—a former counterterrorism operative and the human model for the original T-800—awakening him to the nightmare to come and drawing him into their revolution. Because the Cyberdyne Corporation's plan to launch its dread Skynet program was not destroyed, merely postponed. And the machine masters of the near future have sent a terrifying new breed of enforcer back to the Connors' time: a cyborg so humanlike that detection is virtually impossible; a relentless hybrid killer who understands how her human prey think and feel...and die.

Customer Reviews:

The future is not set...not even in Hollywood.......2006-09-18

I'm a big fan of Terminator, as evidenced by my Terminator: Future Fate D20 Modern supplement, so it was just a matter of time before I got around to reading this. My wife bought it for me two Christmases ago, but I never have time to read...that is, until my job sent me on several plane trips around the U.S. Suddenly, I had a lot of time on my hands. I read T2: Infiltrator in one day.

Having seen Terminator 3 already, I can see where some of the ideas in Infiltrator made it into the script. This is a good thing, as S.M. Stirling attempted to incorporate all aspects of the movie as well as incorporate the character's voices. In fact, Stirling did such a good job that his characterizations reminded me of the Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn.

The best thing about Infiltrator is that it picks up where the movie left off, letting the characters do what they would logically do after saving the future; in this case, hiding out in Paraguay. Sarah and her son John Connor, now 16, have a touching relationship in a crazy world. Then in steps a spitting image of a Terminator: Dieter Von Rossbach, a retired secret agent who just happens to also be hiding out in Paraguay.

Stirling checks off box after box in explaining the Terminator movies. Wonder where the Terminator gets its accent? Curious as to how Cyberdyne manages to continues its research? Wonder how Terminators think? It's all here.

Our arch villain, the man-eating I-950, is a cybernetic gorgeous blonde. Armed with a multitude of Skynet's limitless information, her own seduction techniques, and the know-how to create other Terminators, and I-950 is a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, that force is handily defeated in the conclusion, effectively ruining a really cool bad guy (gal?). It's almost as if Stirling had to stretch out the plot to two more books, so the poor I-950 had to be sacrificed.

Nevertheless, this is not your traditional action sequel; Stirling takes time with everyone from the Dysons who deal with Miles' death to Sarah struggling with her nightmares and alcoholism to John just trying to be a teenager. This is a smart book with big ideas in a heavily commercialized genre. Don't let the fact that the book is selling for one cent fool you; it's certainly smarter than a lot of drek out there.

A little too much fiction in this science fiction.......2006-01-07

Arrgh! I like the Terminator series, but this one stretches fiction too far! A human-turned cyborg/infiltrator (an I-950) in the future is sent back by Skynet to find and kill Sarah and John Connor. Her/its abilities to make new Terminators (T-101s) in the basement of her house gave me a science fiction headache! The ONLY thing novel in this book is the finding that the T-100 series is based on the physical profile of a present day anti-terrorism expert (retired). Why is poorly explained.

The storyline, and Terminator fans, deserve better.

It's a good series ..........2005-04-29

Unfortunately, speaking for the three books in the series, it's COMPLETELY discredited by the events in T3.

Having said that, (again, taken as a whole)I really enjoyed the hell out of each book. Well, book three was pretty weak, now that I think about it, but that's really beside the point. You just have to be reading each novel with the idea that it's an "alternate" to T3 and (unfortunately) not part of the "real" story bible.

You'll just wind up frustrated if you try to piece this work in with the three existing films. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like anyone had the foresight to forward the T3 script to Stirling.

It's ok............2004-03-03

T2 Infiltrator starts out SLOW...It takes just a hour after John and his mother Sarah escape from the metal factory. So now, they head to South America to lay low and train and get prepared for what is ever throw their way. Then Skynet sends another T-800, but not to kill John or Sarah, but to protect Skynet from John and Sarah. So now as the story moves along, we then meet Dieter; a agent in South America where he is signed to capture Sarah and John because they are the most wanted individuals on earth; they are considered terrorist, and the U.S. wants them BAD!
Now the T-800 then gets a job at Cyberdyne as a security personel. By day she works at Cyberdyne, but at night, she is constructing other T-800's in order to kill John and Sarah. As Dieter gets to know Sarah and John, he gets locked into their struggle, and joins them on their fight against Skynet. Then just when they at least expected it, a T-800 is sent down to South America to kill John and Sarah. It failed. So now, they head back to Los Angeles to finish off Skynet for good. We then meet Enrigue again, she gets her guns, and they go out fighting. The ending is great, but I just wish that the book did not start out slow. Good book, but not a classic.

Kudos to Stirling for a great book.......2004-01-09

Man created machines. The more machines man makes, the more man depends upon machines for daily living. But will machines ever become conscoius? Prof. John Searle argues that they won't. But the writers of Terminator 2 disagree w/ the professor. These folks create a world in which not only do machines become conscoius, but shortly after becoming conscious, they choose to try to exterminate the human specie. The human specie only confounds the fecundity of the machines.

In T2: Infiltrator, seven years has passed since the end of Terminator 2 (the movie). (I haven't seen Terminator 3, yet, b/c I heard that it was only so-so.) Sarah Conor has started a new life in South America. Cyberdine has started a new life in California. Conflict is bound to arise. By 2029, Skynet has spent years refining its research on Infiltrators, which are human-based instead of machine-based. Skynet's latest creation is the I-950, and it sends one back, with several mission objectives, to 7-years-post-T2.

I think that this book was written primarily to satisfy us T2 fans. (I watched T2 at least 12 times.) Infiltrator was well-written, and the author does his best to make the T2 story more coherent and more complete. There's even a character in Infiltrator that makes sense of why the T-101 (played by Schwarzenegger in the movies) had a German accent. I enjoyed Stirling's film-noir-like sense of humor, with lines such as the following: "Skynet just went for you; it didn't dance around and tease like this. Probably nothing in its experience had given it any more reason to try anything more subtle than a sledgehammer."

This book is pretty entertaining, and if you're looking for entertainment, then read it. Even though sci-fi is not the genre of books that often provides profound insight into life, Stirling's characters are realistic and multi-faceted. In particular, I enjoyed how Stirling depicted the life and thoughts of the I-950, who lived (and sometimes struggled) between the consciousness of a human and that of a conscious machine. And as with any action story written for a male audience, the author develops the extrordinarily intelligent and competent charismatic protagonist in a way that both elicits the young male reader's admiration and shapes the reader's wishful thoughts.

As for me, I agree with Prof. Searle. And I think that only God has the power to create conscious things with free will. But if man could develop conscoius computers that had free will, then I would expect them computers to become evil. And reading about these evil machines versus survivalist humans is part of what makes the Terminator 2 storyline so fun. And funny.

Average customer rating:

STNG #42 Infiltrator - A superb novel!

ST-TNG: Infiltrator

Totally a good Star Trek Book

Definitely one of the better Trek books

a great star trek book

Infiltrator (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Book 42)
W.R. Thompson
Manufacturer: Star Trek
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0671568310

Book Description

Centuries ago, followers of the tyrant Khan Noonien Singh left Earth for the planet Hera to continue his experiment in selective breeding. Now, they are finally ready to launch their plan of universal domination -- with the U.S.S. EnterpriseTM as their weapon. Captain Picard must enlist the help of Heran expatriate Astrid Kemal to defeat her fellow superbeings. Unless the captain and crew of the Enterprise can stop them, the Heran infiltrators could alter the genetic landscape of the galaxy for generations to come.

Download Description

On planet Hera, followers of the tyrant Khan Noonien Singh have been experimenting for centuries with selective breeding. Now they are finally ready to launch their plan of universal dominance--with the U.S.S. Enterprise as their weapon.

Customer Reviews:

STNG #42 Infiltrator - A superb novel!.......2003-12-14

"Infiltrator" is a very impressive book for being one of the numbered novels in the Star Trek The Next Generation line of novels. Sadly enough, this novel is the second and final Star Trek novel written by W.R. Thompson which is a shame considering how well this novel and the author's first novel, "Debtor's Planet" were written. It would be nice to see this author make a return to the Star Trek genre.

"Infiltrator," from beginning to end is an extraordinarily intriguing story, written with an excellent premise, superb plot setup and execution and very fast pacing, all combining to make for an excellent read in the Star Trek genre.

The cover art for this novel is good, but still merely standard for the time in which this novel was published.

The premise:

As authors in the Star Trek genre are often want to do and most successfully carry out, this novel draws from the "history" of Star Trek by furthering the legacy of Khan Noonien Singh, the leader of the Eugenics Wars.

During the height of Khan's reign on Earth, several of his followers left Earth to colonize the planet Hera and continue their experiments in selective breeding. After several centuries, the Heran's are ready to launch their plan for universal domination through genetics. The Enterprise comes into the picture and we soon learn that a Heran expatriate named Astrid Kemal is dubiously on board. We also soon learn that is it solely up to Captain Picard and the crew of the starship Enterprise to stop this plan before it comes to fruition.

As stated above, "Infiltrator" is one of the more intriguing and better written numbered novels to be released in the STNG line. I highly recommend this novel to any and all fans of Star Trek fiction! {ssintrepid}

ST-TNG: Infiltrator.......2002-11-29

Star Trek-The Next Generation: Infiltrator written by W.R. Thompson is a book about a selective breeding experiment on the planet called Hera.

At the time when Khan Nooien Singh was being a tyrant on Earth, some centuries ago, a few of his followers decided to leave Earth and start anew. Thus, we have a race of genetically alter humans wanting to reek havoc across the galaxy. Now, enters Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise as the foil in the Federation plans to stop this insanity.

Captain Picard enlists the help of an expatriate called Astrid Kemal to defeat this the plot hatched by these other superbeings. This book gives us a good look at what can go wrong with all good intentions, even those of superhumans.

We see Number One, William Riker in the thick of things to stop the brink of galaxy-wide eugenics war and gives us a good look of what he is made of. With Geordi and Wolf things get pretty dicey and grim, but I can't tell out how this gets all resolved or I'll ruin the book for you.

The narrative moves quickly and the character development grows, while the plot is forming and we get a well-planned adventure that will keep you engrossed till the ending. This is one of the better ST-TNG books where the lesser bridge crew do most of the action and clean-up what could be a galaxy-wide Khan on the universe.

Totally a good Star Trek Book.......2002-05-28

I read this book several years ago while stranded in an airport with a six hour layover. We all remember "Khan" the super genius that enslaved half the world was resuced by Kirk ect ect. What if there was an entire planet of such super geniuses? It is a very interesting premise for a book and even when I read this book it impressed upon by the facts of why the federation so feared someone or something genetically enhanced. I also liked the fact(being 14 at the time) that a 14 year old was the key leader of the oppositions peace negotations. Also the whole "What if Riker is a desendant of these people" was very cool.

Definitely one of the better Trek books.......2002-04-25

This book provided just the right balance between action and humor. I particularly liked the character of Astrid Kamal, a genetically enhanced woman descended from Khan. She handled her fear of being "a lab animal" quite well, and even managed to save the ship (surprise, surprise). Her attempts to learn proper insult technique were quite amusing. ("Go pet a tribble... just the thing to say to a kill-crazy Klingon. Damn, she really is your kind of woman, Worf!")

a great star trek book.......2000-07-03

The story is an excellent one. There are some interesting moments included in this book. I liked Thompson's treatment of the characters Worf, Geordi, Picard and Riker.

Average customer rating:

The Infiltrators
Philip Etienne , Martin Maynard , and Tony Thompson
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140292446

Average customer rating:

Great Read!
Exciting and Insightful

Infiltrator: A TekNoid Novel
D E Shannon
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0595408397

Book Description

Alone on a planet of machines.

Trapped in a web of deception.

Major Kareena Wolff doesn't know what she's about to encounter, nor could she see how the coming chain of events was about to change her.and her way of life.

Plotting for years, the Drell have grown impatient to overcome their sister planet, Baynoor-the cold, unspoken war has lasted long enough. Now is the time to act. Working quietly, patiently, the Drell are about to gain the ultimate advantage. And, once they strike an accord with the Earth corporation, Galispan, their influence and power will expand rapidly. Opportunity awaits; only a few details remain.

Now, as the future of the sector is negotiated away under a cloak of partnership and goodwill, Cleansing, a radical terrorist group, have secretly infiltrated the governing structure of a number of planets. Cleansing has different plans for the sector; most particularly, Earth. They begin with raids against Earth colonies. But mere raids are not enough; they need something new and powerful, something that will terrorize the humans-.

Customer Reviews:

Great Read!.......2007-06-22

I am not a sci-fi reader as a general rule. I was immediatley caught up with the characters and the action revolving around the city. I felt like I was there! The descriptive ability of the author was fantastic. I could also see the underlying similarity to the real world with big business and political intrigue. I hope there will be another installement in the future.

Exciting and Insightful.......2007-05-19

This novel had several story lines going at one time. The depth of the characters and their evolution within the stories was fascinating. Although this is a science fiction novel, DE Shannon has crated a very real world for them to interact and live in. I became very attached to the central figures and I hope to see them again in future novels by DE Shannon.

Carnaby and the Infiltrators (Black Dagger Crime Series)

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Carnaby and the Infiltrators (Black Dagger Crime Series)
Peter N. Walker
Manufacturer: Chivers North America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0745186416

Don't give me that old skool lip just get your metal out of my hardcover

Average customer rating:

Don't give me that old skool lip just get your metal out of my hardcover
Infiltrators
Manufacturer: Oink Records
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000IW2LUM

Average customer rating:

The Infiltrator
Eileen MacDonald
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster (Trade Division)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 067185268X

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The Infiltrator
Michael Hughes
Manufacturer: W. H. Allen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KK1EPU

Book Description

Until his death in 1976 Master Chuang, a descendant of 35 generations of Taoist Priests, carried out his ancient rituals for the benefit of a small band of believers in Taiwan. His family, who claimed to have come from Hua Shan, the Taoist mountain in western China, followed the observances of the Dragon-Tiger Mountain sect in southeastern China. Although there are many conflicting Taoist schools, the antiquity and authenticity of Master Chuang's traditions cannot be doubted.

Michael Saso, a Western disciple of Master Chuang, recounts the teachings of Taoist Master Chuang, including Taoist history as Master Chuang understood it, the role of Taoist Priests in modern Chinese society, and Master Chuang's own rituals of Taoist black magic, meditation, and rarely discussed exorcistic thunder magic.

Customer Reviews:

A Book of Religion, not Philosophy or Martial Arts........2004-10-13

TAOIST MASTER CHUANG (c. 2000) by Michael R. Saso, is a book of Taoist religious ritual and liturgy to control and exorcise evil spirits as practiced by the grade four Cheng-i Meng-wei sect (One Auspicious Alliance) priest, Master Chuang. The author, Professor Michael R. Saso, acted as a "participant/observer" on Taiwan as he recorded the style of magic from the Ch'ing-wei sect (The Heavenly Pilot, a Tantric Taoist order from the Tang Dynasty), from manuals originally in the collection of Wu Ching-ch'un, and as interpreted and practiced by Master Chuang.

The book TAOIST MASTER CHUANG contained the interesting 4th century Mao shan sect (Highest Purity Order of the Yellow Court Canon) rituals of the Tao of the Left black magic (Chapt. 4) and the Orthodox rituals of the Tao of the Right 'Thunder Magic' (Chapt. 5); and instructions of the use of the 'Lu' which is a register of spirit names. The Heterodox Tao of the Left black magic emphasized rituals to summon the six evil chia spirits; while the Orthodox Tao of the Right used 'Thunder Magic' to deflect those spirits. And the ritual of the 'chiao', bringing the priest into direct contact with the Tao itself, was explained to be dependent upon fasting, and a diet of simple foods, whole grains, and vegetables to alter the body's internal alchemy to become receptive to the required ritual. Also included were the drawn Talismans, finger-formed Mudras, and the chanted Mantras of all Ch'ing-wei sect rituals.

The book TAOIST MASTER CHUANG revealed that esteem and validity amongst Taiwanese Taoist priests seemed to rely on the possession of antique manuals, and that priests were constantly stealing each others books to gain knowledge of the name and descriptions of different spirits and the talismic charms and mantric incantations to control them; plus how to learn to perform various funeral and birth rituals. It appeared that being a Taoist priest in Taiwan was no different than any other vocation and individuals fell on Taoism as a means of making a living.

The subject of the book, Master Chuang Teng-yun (Chuang who ascends the Clouds) despite his alcoholism and bad temper, was a first rate expert on Meng-wei orthodox Taoism and a conscientious adherent to all the proper liturgy and rites of Ch'ing-wei Thunder Magic. Master Chuang was also one of the few advanced ordained Taoist priests on Taiwan who knew how to perform the rituals properly. Such as the dance of the Ho-T'U at the end of the Chiao festival which would bring the priest in direct contact with the Tao itself! Or the proper interpretation of the eight trigrams of King Wen; the Lo-shu (the octagon design you see on placemats at Chinese restaraunts).

Regardless of any scholastic short-comings, the book TAOIST MASTER CHUANG is an important work for the lay student of escoteric religious Taoism, contained a great depth of information which will require several readings, and should be read in conjunction with 'SEVEN TAOIST MASTERS: A Folk Novel of China'(c.1990) by Eva Wong

A Dissenting Opinion.......2004-09-26

I can certainly appreciate the excitement that a lot of readers have expressed about this book--I felt the same way when I read it years ago (the book was first published in 1978 as *The Teachings of Taoist Master Chuang*). But I was schocked to see that the book has been reprinted, because, to put it mildly, it was not very favorable received in academic circles. Now, for many readers, this won't mean a thing, and may in fact be a mark in the book's favor. That's cool. But if you are interested in the history of Daoism, or in good ethnography, then you may want to read an old (and infamous) review article on this book, published in 1980. It's called "History, Anthropology, and Chinese Religion." [Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 40, No. 1. (Jun., 1980), pp. 201-248.] This is an *extremely* harsh review of the book, and in many ways a petty one. But it makes many damning points. For example that Saso gets his history very wrong. But perhaps more importantly, he does some strange things for an ethnographer, like introducing material from the published Daoist canon for Master Chuang to comment on--material that Chuang had never seen. This calls into question just what kind of Daoism Saso is learning, in the book. But, it's an exciting book, it gives some views of Daoism that are valuable, etc. Just FYI, caveat emptor, etc.

Unique and Valuable Perspective.......2004-04-13

This is a real useful book. The beauty of it is that it gives us a deep look at the actual life of a Taoist master. Not a god, and not a perfect person, but a serious and committed Taoist who spent a lifetime practicing Taoism. That's a lot different from the average Taoism book, which is long on the vague restatement of philosophic theory and short on specific application of such theory. Want application? Here it is.

Unique...and Important.......2003-08-01

This is a totally unique book in that it provides copious details as to how a Taoist priest actually functions. Not theory but an actual diary of sorts. That's unique. For anyone who wants to go beyond the beautiful words of the ancients and discover how Taoists apply them, this is the book for you. That's important.

I give it my full support, and all 5 Stars.

the best book youl ever read.......2003-02-15

my how amazing this book is just goes beyond any human comprehention i am wiccan and i must say that this book has helped me learn of other riligions simmiler to mine and the rituals are grate.
(pleas excuse my spelling lol)

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First edition of Taoist Master Chuang

Teachings of Taoist Master Chuang
Michael Saso
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0300020805

Customer Reviews:

First edition of Taoist Master Chuang.......2001-01-16

This is the original edition of the book now offered as "Taoist Master Chuang." My teacher Michael Saso is an initiated priest of Daoism and offers an in-depth examination and explanation of contemporary Daoist practices based on the verbal instructions from Master Chuang that are seldom even spoken about to Westerners, much less actually spoken TO them as a disciple. The later edition provides some further explanation of certain points that were not clear to readers, so must readers will prefer that edition. The serious scholar and/or practitioner will find the differences between the two generally minor.

Thus Spake Master Chuang: A Structural Exegesis of Taoist Philosophy (American University Studies Series V, Philosophy)

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Thus Spake Master Chuang: A Structural Exegesis of Taoist Philosophy (American University Studies Series V, Philosophy)
Stephen Lukashevich
Manufacturer: Peter Lang Pub Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Taoism | Other Eastern Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0820403903

Average customer rating:

Nan-Hua-Ch'en-Ching (Taoist Masters)
Zhuang zi , and Chuang Tzu
Manufacturer: Llanerch Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

THE TEACHING OF TAOIST MASTER CHUANG
Michael Saso
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORT9Y2

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