Next book

THE SOCRATES EXPRESS

IN SEARCH OF LIFE LESSONS FROM DEAD PHILOSOPHERS

“The world needs more philosophical enthusiasts,” Weiner writes. This book is sure to generate its share.

Passing through middle age and wondering “what matters and what doesn’t,” a journalist undertakes figurative and literal journeys around the world to learn how philosophy might help answer his question.

Not all philosophy is concerned with helping us figure out how to live, but that’s the aspect that interests Weiner, the former New York Times reporter and author of The Geography of Bliss and other works. In joining the long line of writers who have heralded philosophy’s practical possibilities, he takes a place among the more catholic in taste. Sei Shōnagon, a 10th-century Japanese author and courtesan to the empress, has to be among the more surprising (and welcome) additions to the company of the better-known philosophers of ancient Greece, China, and modernity. Unencumbered by ideology, Weiner is free to find his way to philosophers—a designation, as with Shōnagon, he’s happy to apply loosely—who were interested not in the meaning of life but in “leading meaningful lives.” Thoreau teaches him how to see; Nietzsche, how to have no regrets; Shōnagon, how to appreciate the small things; and so on. Weiner’s challenge in these chapters is to give a sufficient overview of his subject while maintaining a brisk pace and distilling useful instruction. Such a globe-trotting tour of philosophy can only be as good as its guide, and Weiner proves to be a curious, sincere, and generous companion. His good cheer alone serves as a model for how to live, and many readers will appreciate his method of taking what’s useful for him and leaving what’s not (Plato, Kant, Sartre, to name a few). Each reader will cotton to certain of Weiner’s philosophers more than others; the author’s example teaches us that this is as it should be. We must all find our own teachers.

“The world needs more philosophical enthusiasts,” Weiner writes. This book is sure to generate its share.

Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-5011-2901-8

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Avid Reader Press

Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020

Next book

ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.

This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005

ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Next book

THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS

AND OTHER ESSAYS

This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.

Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955

ISBN: 0679733736

Page Count: 228

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955

Close Quickview