Review of 'Hubs that Provoke'

Reviewed by

Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Hubs that Provoke is a non-fiction philosophical collection written by Roy T. James. In this work, James offers a selection of his Hub Pages that deal with a wide-ranging variety of subjects. His opening Hub explores libido and gender, and further Hubs discuss religion and contrast the material and the spiritual worlds. Some of his more provocative Hubs examine terrorism and extremism, and in them he attempts to find the roots of each in other, more mundane and acceptable aspects of thought and culture. James briefly covers GMO crops, chemical fertilizers and organic farming, and offers his own take on the uses and benefits of each. He also presents an historical view of global warming and considers how differing philosophies may see the phenomena as something to adapt to rather than to attempt to curtail. His concluding Hub deals with intolerance, citing its possible roots and causes, and offering avenues towards solutions.

Roy T. James' non-fiction philosophical collection, Hubs that Provoke, offers much that will provoke, even infuriate the reader at times. There were times when I could feel my figurative eyebrows raising in disbelief or I wanted to reach out to the author and dispute something I knew was not correct. I think, in retrospect, that those reactions are exactly what the author had in mind in writing these Hubs and eventually compiling them in this collection. This is not an easy work to read nor one to be read through from cover to cover. Rather, I think, James meant for it to be doled out sparingly, one Hub at a time, to be read slowly and be doled out sparingly, one Hub at a time, to be read slowly and deliberately, pondered on a bit, and read once again. This author knows when he steps just outside the bounds and he seems to revel in his ability to do so. Stepping outside cultural norms and viewing them dispassionately is a brave step indeed, and challenging others' perceptions while doing so, a worthy enterprise. As I finished reading the last of Mr. James' Hubs, I wondered at the scholarly learning and life experience that went into the creation of the author's philosophy and found myself suitably impressed. Hubs that Provoke is not an easy read, and it may make you angry at times, even passionately so, but it's well worth both the effort and the angst.