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Rating: 
Summary: An Antidote for the Modern Mass Mind
Review: It is nice to occasionally find a book that resonates at the same frequency as one's own soul. In my case, it was this perceptive and extremely well written study of hermits, solitaries, and recluses. It is not often in our modern world that the possibility, and legitimacy, of a solitary existance is examined in a sympathetic manner. I do not think that I've seen a more comprehensive study of the phenomenon of the solitary lifestyle (Chinese and Tibetan hermits, the desert fathers, medieval anchorites, monastic and hermit religious orders, wandering holy men from Ireland to Russia, shamans, the pastoral posers of the 18th century, American mountain men, the New England transidentalists, eccentric noblemen, classical Stoics, Romantic poets, conservationists- even Howard Hughs!) Clearly, this is a topic that resonates with the author too, but then as a writer that would seem only natural (i.e., she is a member of what has traditionally been considered the solitary profession.) She clearly understands the various motivations that come to drive individuals to a solitary existance, both voluntarily and involuntarily (love of nature, inspiration, world weariness, high sensitivity, preservation of the poetic ego, scopophobia, religious dedication, and the desire to find union with the Divine itself....)
Rating: 
Summary: Unreadable.
Review: This random monk wore a yellow loincloth, that random monk wore a saffron loincloth. A mountain in some painting by Cezanne resembles some other mountain in India where another random monk lives. Various famous writers have lived by themselves, or at least lived in small apartments; hence, reference to these famous writers is appropriate in a book that purports to be about "hermits, solitaries, and recluses."
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