Friday, June 24, 2011

Open letter

Dear Thom Hartmann,
 

May I say what a pleasure it was to read a couple of your books: The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, your account of global energy consumption, and The Greatest Spiritual Secret of the Century. Great titles by the way. Comparing the two, I have to say that I prefer your nonfiction over your fiction (I’m speaking of the style, you realize).
 

But rarely do I read books purely for their literary value, and I never worry about a book’s condition, age et cetera. For me, those come a distant second to the content, and so when I started to struggle with the structure of your story, I persisted. I just had to find out your ‘secret’.
 

My patience paid dividends. On page 222, I read: "The Greatest Spiritual Secret of the Century, of every Century, is 'We Are All One.'" And then, a few pages later, you wrote that time and space do not exist. “Right on!” I thought, “Thom rocks!”
 

But Thom, you failed to take it further. You didn't build upon that theme or follow where it led. I was expecting a conclusion; you were on the verge. You had a hold of the dragon’s tail, but then you let it go. You let the big one get away, my friend. Puff petered out.
 


Elsewhere in the book you state that there are six billion (and counting) answers. One of those, therefore, is mine. And, if I may say, my answer works better for me than yours does—well, I guess that’s only natural. But look, let me make you a deal. Just as I pressed on with your book, I suggest that you keep a-reading here . . .


No comments:

Post a Comment