"A monster of a book, where you get to learn about the world and the people that we are. It is a book that I tried to read several times before finally reading it through, each time wishing I didn’t have a couple of kids on my shoulder or the roaring engine sound of a modern kitchen in my ears. It is simply the perfect book when you have time to really focus and think."

"Edith Wharton’s use of language alone isn’t easily paralleled. She takes you into this woman’s life and makes you feel for her while showcasing her shallowness, materialism, and lack of honor. It is a timeless story we have seen play out for hundreds of years — yet, it feels like it would only apply to modern day society in the form of a Kardashian. Her turn of phrase and sentence structure are beautiful."

"When rainforest Shamans are asked how they know such an extraordinary amount about medicinal plants, they respond, as if it should be obvious, ‘The plants teach us.’ In this riveting book, anthropologist Jeremy Narby explores a vision he experienced after drinking ayahuasca, the ‘vine of the soul,’ which Shamans have used for healing and to acquire knowledge for thousands of years. He makes an astonishing connection between ancient Shamanistic beliefs and those of modern science."

"This was one of the first poems I read that gave me the shock of recognition that great poets offer. “Withered stumps of time,” “I will show you fear in a handful of dust,” “these fragments I have shored against my ruins.” I even like the obscurity of parts of the poem that have unraveled throughout my life when reading other books and ancient myths. It’s a modern epic from ancient history."