The Rhetoric of Immediacy

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Summary: A brilliant deconstruction, this book reshapes Zen studies.
Review: After reading the only existing review of this book, I felt the need to offer a counter-view. From the perspective of a scholar, this book fundamentally reshaped Chan/Zen studies. But from the perspective of a practitioner it also reshapes our views. Faure forces us to rethink the cherished illusions of Zen. Whether scholar or practitioner, we had best take up the challenge. It is tough going, but it is work which we all must do to be worthy of the tradition we study.

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Summary: wish I could get my money back
Review: I had seen this book cited in many other books and so was expecting something useful. Man, was I disappointed. This book seemed to be written from an academic perspective of deconstructionism, of trying to make a name for yourself by upsetting the existing order, and by blowing things out of proportion and presenting them as great problems to be exposed, i.e. "straw men". For anyone interested in the genuine teachings and practice, or even historical developments and research, there are a lot of better books.

Rating:
Summary: This book is riddled with arbitrary misinterpretations.
Review: This book will recommend itself to those who believe that a run-of-the-mill contemporary college professor can have a deeper insight into what the Zen people were doing than they had themselves, and to those who believe that deconstructionism is more sophisticated than the Buddhist perspective on mind found in such works as the Avatamsaka Sutra and the Linji Lu.