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Boomeritis : A Novel That Will Set You Free

Boomeritis : A Novel That Will Set You Free

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Transformational Dialogue for Healing the Planet
Review: "My generation, my dear sweet generation, do you know how much I love them?" By now you know not to really expect a novel in Boomeritis -- the characters are slight but memorable. Expect Wilber's characteristic highly differentiated thinking at its best in a wickedly entertaining, endlessly ironic device to get you interested in the extremely important Spiral Dynamics and the disasters of pluralism, narcissism, deconstruction, the New Age, artificial intelligence, hardwired sexuality, "boomeritis" . . . . apparently a 1,000 page diatribe on "boomeritis" was edited in two weeks into this 456 page "novel." In his fabulous marriage to Spiral Dynamics, Wilber has written his best and most cutting popular descriptions of his Pre-Trans Fallacy, of preconventional/regressive and postconventional/integrated (and narcissistically resolved) values, behavior and "spirituality" to date. If you don't get every last nonstop beyond ironic joke in, about, and on the cover of this book that, despite the bitter irony of the subtitle, really is meant to "set you free" into the "hyperspace of second tier consciousness," it's frickin' time you did -- dude. The ultimate goal of Boomeritis is to get you to study second tier thinking and into an "integral transformative practice" (page 410). Though not without its uncovered flaws, on a scale of five stars Boomeritis is monumentally, gloriously way off the scale.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Mellow Yellow
Review: Almost three tears ago, my amazing and wonderful wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. I concentrated my life on assuring her the best medical treatment, but our cancer continues to spread. We are betrayed by science in general and by medicine in particular. In an attempt to make sense of all of this, I read Ken Wilber's Grace and Grit and decided to read all of his books. I began with Boomeritis, which gave me the overview I needed in spite of my disappointment by its many errors in spelling, grammar and reference. However, I assign these to Mr. Wilber's commendable urgency to disseminate the material to you and me. Boomeritis appears to be about Ken Wilber, but it is about the reader. I am now reading The Spectrum of Consciousness and am pleased by the careful attention to detail lacking in Boomeritis. I recommend Boomeritis in spite of its warts because of the ideas it shares.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times...
Review: As I read the opening of this twisted tale ["I am the bastard child of two deeply confused parents, one of whom I am ashamed of, the other of whom is ashamed of me. None of us are on speaking terms, for which we are all grateful. (These things bother you, every now and then.)"], I had the distinct sense that I was on the initial incline of a breathtaking roller-coaster (chunk, chunk, chunk). I was not disappointed.

WARNING: This ride is not for everyone!

It is a terrible novel, yes, and full of awful ideas...in the sense that the book simply won't behave and it takes you places that you may not want to go. This book offends and irritates and soothes...it slaps your [rear] while it holds your hand and fills your head with all manner of difficulty. When it's not doing that, it's busy warping the boundaries between what's real and what's imagined. Oh, yes, there's also distracting sexual imagery and escapes into non-ordinary states that interrupt the flow of the story. (How irritating and what poor form!) In between, it provides yet another view of Ken's overwhelming synthesis and blasphemy, arrogance and sheer joy in a vehicle that provokes as much it transports.

I understand the editorial critiques that say this is just one more look at Ken's philosophy, but that's a bit like saying "oh...another look at the Louvre. Haven't we seen that already?" However, every time I am exposed to this vast body of thought and spirit and heart, I learn. So don't read this solely to be entertained...although that's likely to happen. Don't look for character development -- that is, not in the characters in the book -- it seems to happen instead to the people who read the book.

So be forewarned. I have a friend who is a former pro ball player, a cognitive psychologist and a seeker. His one sentence review, after eating the book whole, was "I loved every minute of it...but it was really painful."

That's why you should read it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Who Will Really "Get It" ? Many, hopefully.
Review: At least thirty percent of the population will probably not like this book, yet it may turn out to be a great example of the Perfect Postmodern Novel. If the three editorial reviews of "Boomeritis" I've seen are any indication, many readers will not understand Wilber's intent in writing this book. It's so sad when you see people get whacked between the eyes with a Stick Of Compassion and yet they don't even know they've been whacked.

You'll soon see why I give this book 5 stars, but this is what you can expect to find in Boomeritis (as I shamelessly rip concepts and phrases from the book - I doubt Ken would mind. He might even find it humorous):

1) This book is sharply critical of many of society's closely held ideals and ideas, and many sacred cows are viciously gored. Too, it isn't soothing that the author comes across as polemical and pathetically narcissistic.

2) As written, there seems to be no difference between fact and fiction. Did this really happen? Does this character really exist, or not? At least one character, in fact, has a real-life counterpart of the same name and job description, but others seem to be an amalgam of various personalities both real and fictional. And many so-called facts are truly questionable.

3) Some of the main characters have been portrayed with shady, shallow, and reprehensible backgrounds. A certain segment of the readership will probably find the demographic distribution of these characters to be expected and fitting, others will find it curiously unnerving.

4) It's boring! The writing is incredibly flat. It often seems to be all Theory, a stream of verbal vomit, with no flowing prose or colorful descriptions of surroundings, people, or places. If it weren't for the X-rated fantasy scenes interjected every ten minutes, would the book even hold our interest?

5) There seems to be no great, highbrow writing here, as we're accustomed to seeing from 'old' Ken Wilber. The text is simply an ad hoc mixture of fleeting images and scenes, largely drawing on elements of pop culture and the quintessential hooks of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll.

6) The characters are flat and two-dimensional. No depth, only surfaces. 'Character development' would be an oxymoron in "Boomeritis."

7) The book is written with an attitude of cranky criticism. What is positive in the book has been ripped off from other people, including Wilber's own past work.

And all of that, Dear Souls, is exactly why this book is so darned wonderful!

Readers who are not at all aware of Wilber's intent will find the book to be most objectionable. (Let's hope!) Some readers might consider it to be nothing more than convoluted spew. (Well, yes, it is.) Others who are more familiar with Wilber's previous works will consider this to be a further reduction by a pandit who claims to shun reductionism, a lame attempt to boil his message down into a form suitable for mass marketing, a sell-out, nothing more than a continuation of the thinning down that was last seen in steps from "Sex, Ecology, Spirituality" to "A Brief History of Everything" to "A Theory Of Everything." (Okay, that's true, of course.)

If or when you feel this way, open your copy to page 324. Read the next few pages very carefully. Now, stop and realize: The book is INTENDED to be all of this and more!! (Or shall I say "less"?) This book is a deliberate poke in the ribs with a sharp stick. He even TELLS you this right in the text. Why does this escape some people? Gosh, it's about as subtle as, well, a sharp stick in the ribs.

I fear that many won't see the beauty of "Boomeritis." The cunning humor, irony, layered mind-play, inside jokes, fact, fiction and fantasy that were cleverly crafted into this intentionally vitriolic indictment of our society's greatest problem will go unnoticed as some engage in reflexive, knee-jerk reactions when confronted with their own behavior. Indeed, the more you react to this book in a negative fashion, the more you need to pay attention to exactly what it is that bothers you about it. Only truthful introspection will tell you, then, that Wilber has twanged a nerve for our betterment.

This is not a self-absorbed romp for Wilber; his intention is clear and pointed when you understand what he's doing. Through his latest work, he has attempted to make his message known to more people, primarily those not familiar with his previous work, in terms and language that they might absorb, understand, and integrate into their lives. Sadly, the fact that he's had to resort to this format says a lot more about the audience than it does about the author.

At the very least, Wilber has tried to reformat his message and, Spirit willing, he'll continue to try. If he can help just a fractional percentage of "Boomeritis" readers to move along on their path, then his efforts will not have been in vain. For those who 'get it', this book is a reaffirmation of what we have already experienced in the behaviors we've witnessed, in our own path, and in the unlimited potential of humanity unfettered by self-absorbtion. In the end, the book is every bit as touching and inspirational as we might expect from Ken Wilber, and his message remains the same. Only the format has changed, as he jumps up and down on the wire a bit more vigorously than before.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "You've got to try this."
Review: Boulder philosopher, Ken Wilber, has proven once again that he is the smartest man on the planet. In BOOMERITIS, he reformats the integral theories of A BRIEF HISTORY OF EVERYTHING and A THEORY OF EVERYTHING (two books that summarize much of his work) as fiction. (Readers new to Wilber probably just won't get this novel.) According to Wilber, human consciousness is evolving into three "tiers," with less than 2 percent of the population at second-tier, integral thinking. While the Boomer generation advanced civil rights, ecological concerns, feminism, and multicultural diversity, Wilber observes, the Boomers also suffer from emotional narcissism, or "boomeritis," the final barrier preventing them from leaping from first-tier to second-tier thinking.

However, set in a series of Integral Center seminars, Wilber's thin-on-plot, but deep-in-thought novel offers some "encouraging signs" that "boomeritis is on its way out." As the Boomers enter the second half of life, their "secret weapon" (p. 414), about twenty to twenty-five percent of the American population is poised to "wake up, to really, really wake up" (p. 456) by leaping to the second tier consciousness--about 40 to 50 million Americans, mostly Boomers (pp. 395-6). Wilber's two-dimensional characters ponder the question, can we have a more integral, caring, encompassing world, a world truly at peace? The answer BOOMERITIS offers is yes (p. 38). "Once you get out of flatland," Wilber writes, "the possibilities are endless" (p. 377).

BOOMERITIS is more than just philosophy thinly disguised as fiction. Because the first-person narrator of Wilber's novel is a 20-year-old MIT graduate student "wise beyond this lifetime" (p. 7) (also named "Ken Wilber"), readers will also encounter explicit sexual fantasies about once every ten minutes throughout the 456-page novel.

G. Merritt

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Read More and Be Inspired By these Great Books!!!
Review: Can't get enough of visionary fiction? Neither can I! These are just a few titles that will inspire you: The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield) ; The Butterfly (Jay Singh); The Monk who sold his Ferrari (Robin Sharma) ; The Alchemist (Paulo Coehlo); Chasing Rumi (Roger Housden). My favorite is by far and away THE ALCHEMIST! Go ahead...be inspired. Happy reading. Donald S. Buckland.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Postmodern perversity and Beyond!
Review: Dear God! What a rip-roarin' wild romp through postmodern perversity and Beyond Ken Wilber's latest is! Dust off those egos and let the polishing began before the author makes short order of such perishables in the fire of an intellect so blazingly brilliant it renders transparent the most opaque narcissism and reduces to ash the politics of pathology! Wilber's uncharacteristically polemical, take-no-prisoners approach leaves even the most sacred cow sizzling on the barbecue (no hypocrite, he shishkabobs himself while he's at it), emitting the distinct aroma of reason and compassion so concentrated it stings the eyes to tears. A joyride (albeit an intentionally two dimensional one) through the grating gates of irony and searing sweetness of ecstasy, this gem of panoramic vision represents the maverick marriage of the best of Wilber's integral theory with quasi-fictional characters so madly endearing as to make sarcasm the international language of love. A postmodern cut-and-paste montage of pop culture, transcendental philosophy, frenzied anticipation of a silicon-to-soul revolution, enough robust scholarship to satiate the most rumpled academic, and sexual scenery sufficient to entice the colossally voyeuristic, Boomeritis is a strange and wonderful concoction, shaken like hell, insistently rousing you into the wakefulness of a Reality so radiant it could only be described as JUST THIS. Viva la Wilber!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not Brilliantly Dull
Review: First off the rating above is based solely on the books literary content. The review below is based on Boomeritis and some of Ken's philosophy behind it's content. Hence, this review is as disjointed as Ken's ideas.

As the AQAL model expands like cancer trying to cover it's major holes; Wilber demonstrates one more time that his writings are but an attempt to cash in. Breaking from grandiloquent works; Wilber has birthed something so ho hum. (Wilberians insert applause here.) Wilber has stated verbosely that this novel is meant to be terrible as a literary work to demonstrate the failings of post-modernism. His disciples question if his message will be understood while failing to recognize the errors of his absurd path to enlightenment that he based upon his All Quadrants All Levels (AQAL) model of reality which is now seeping it's way into the management of corporations, educational institutions, and probably even government.

Is it correct to unleash what one believes is a damaging philosophy to the uninitiated as long as a warning label is attached?

Anyone that destroys the illogic present in Wilber's books is assumed to have not read enough of Wilber's writings or, being lower on the spiral, to be misunderstanding the message due to the pre/trans fallacy. In other words, the pre/trans fallacy is Integralism's equivalent of Scientology's word clearing. The only differences are the dictionaries and the target audience. Keep looking it up in the Volumes of Ken until you agree. Once you agree, by agreeing with Ken, you have successfully avoided the pre/trans fallacy.

I emphatically suggest Reason and Existenz by Karl Jaspers as one anti-dote to Wilber's madness (available on Amazon and recommended.) Wilber has read Jaspers masterpiece; he just didn't get it.

The only item of value found in Wilber's books are the bibliographies and Boomeritis doesn't have one if I remember correctly. Why does he credit works he considers 'integral' to his 'non-fiction books' but not the ones he obviously took from in this work of fiction? I suggest that bibliograpahies present in his other works are there to impress those who will not follow up by reading any of his source material (that includes just about every Wilber follower I have ever met.) It might also explain why there is not one in Boomeritis, as it might lead to the reading of works he considers damagingly post-modern as if only he knows how to distribute the anti-virus. He is probably just getting lazy.

Others have done successfully what Ken has attempted with Boomeritis, long before Ken ever had the idea. I suggest the Illuminatus! by Robert Anton Wilson which can be found on Amazon. Moreover, Illuminatus! is hilarious.

Not recommended to buy... Wilber's works have attracted many to the idea that there is something more to reality and consciousness and that is a good thing, but he should learn to admit when he is mistaken...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Boomeritis: a light in the politically correct darkness
Review: Having read all of Wilber's books, I often wonderd which would be the best introdution, the best to give to a skeptical professor or cynical freind, the book to spark a real interest. This book is it. As a daring, accurate, and sophisticated exposure of the narcissim which pervades our culture, Boomeritis is a demanding read. Philosophicaly dense, the book delves into the implications outlined in many of his other books. He outlines the cutting edge psychological model called Spiral Dynamics, and using this developmental framework he examines everything from post-modernism to UFO abductions, from 60's counter cuture to gender roles to artificial intelligence. And yet it's a novel, and it's witty and hilarious. The book unfolds as a series of lectures attended by some very cynical and always amusing gen Xers. But as the story moves along irony slowly gives way to a more serious look at the state of the world. Ultimately, however, it is an invitation to awaken not only to the meaning and depth in the world which unfolds around us, but to the very single Self which stares out through all our various eyes. Ken Wilber has released a bomb of integrity, a land mine of meaning into our culture, and disguised it as the perfect post-modern novel. Be careful, the blast may leave you naked and alone, but it may take you from that alone to the Alone.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Review the Book apart from your view of Wilber
Review: How about a review of the book for what it is?

This is not much of a novel. Compared to other pieces Wilber has written, it is not much of a book. Wilber still has fascinating ideas all over the place, but fascinating ideas abounding doesn't make a book into a novel. What about plot, conflict, characterization -- the basics of novels?

Ezra Pound notes in ABC of Reading: "One definition of beauty is aptness to purpose. Whether it is a good definition or not, you can readily see that a good deal of BAD criticism has been written by men who assume that an author is trying to do what he is NOT trying to do."

I had to skim the surfaces of this one ... which is uncharacteristic of the way I've read other things Wilber has written --


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