The 2003 book Buddha in Your Backpack by Franz Metcalf is a strangely disappointing attempt to sell Buddhism to teenagers. As with every other 50¢ remaindered tome from the local library's sale, my expectations were low when I snagged it—but it fell short even of those. Too doctrinaire, too preachy, too predictable. No poetry of language, no glimpses of enlightenment ... not even moments of nothing. The author tries too hard to be cool (e.g., "I quote Hamlet a couple of times there. If you haven't read it yet, you soon will. It's great. Why? Because Hamlet is this totally honest guy dealing with huge family issues. Sometimes he acts loco, but ...") and invariably comes across as a pedantic pretender. Maybe it's just me ... but there have to be better introductions to the subject than this one.

(cf. EatTheOrange (2004-11-28), Buddhism Without Beliefs (2008-09-19), Buddhism - A Way of Life and Thought (2008-09-30), Being Nobody, Going Nowhere (2008-10-13), ...) - ^z - 2008-11-18