5 comments about Alexis de Tocqueville: A Life.

1. Hugh Brogan brings to light on of the most careful and subtle minds ever to ponder the origin and meanings of democracy in American history, the fall of the Ancien Regime, and the the basis for much of what passes for modern political thought.



2. I have been using Tocqueville's teachings in my college classes for years. However, it has been difficult to piece together exactly how his thought process came together. Brogan has brought this process together so beautifully in this book. Thank you.



3. He seems the unlikeliest person to write an incisive study of American democracy: a rather spoiled son of a French aristocrat of the ancien regime, and one who suffered from a sense of futility in his own life. But the amazing truth is the Alexis de Tocqueville was exactly the best qualified man to do exactly that. Scholarly, intelligent, a precise writer, de Tocqueville was the one to write an immortal study of American life that would become in time a classic. Best of all, he wrote his work not in his study, but after an intense journey through America itself in the early 1830s.
   Hugh Brogan's biography is an excellent study of this young author, and probably the very best modern biography. He uses de Tocquevilles' letters and other contemporary writings to illuminate the life and thought of the young aristocrat. And aristocrat he was, his father having stoutly stood by the French crown through its many vicissitudes (and nearly executed by the Jacobins for this). Young Alexis himself clung to the aristocracy until the turbulent days of the July Monarchy, when the Bourbons were unseated by the Orleanists. After this, the young writer lost much of his loyalty to the crown.
   Brogan's book is well written, and covers the political scene in France during de Tocqueville's time quite thoroughly. It is simply a book not to be missed about the world of this very talented young man, who proved to be so influential in studies about America and democracy in general.



4. This very enjoyable book is an excellent study of the very interesting French writer and politician Alexis de Tocqueville. Known best for his analysis of contemporary America, de Tocqueville is a notable figure in the history of political thought and a key source for the history of 19th century America. Brogan's Tocqueville is an essentially conservative figure. The descendent of relatively liberal aristocrats under the Ancien Regime, a number of whom were executed during the Terror, Tocqueville grew up in a legitimist household that detested the Bonapartist state and feared the radicalism that led to the Terror. Tocqueville, however, was too intelligent and preceptive to be a dogmatic Throne and Altar conservative. Following his famous trip to the USA in the early 1830s, he published Democracy in America, a case study in how a liberal society dedicated to political equality, property rights, and respect for law could produce lasting stability. Brogan points out well that Democracy in America, while about American democracy, was inspired by concerns about the role of democracy in France. At the same time, while Democracy affirmed a liberal vision, Brogan is careful to point out that it was a somewhat conservative version of liberalism and that Tocqueville did not really understand important aspects of American democracy. He didn't really understand the role of Congress and appears to have been completely clueless about the crucial role of the party system in providing stability.
   Tocqueville's failure to understand crucial aspects of the American democratic system would prove to be hindrance in Tocqueville's political career. Brogan devotes much of the book to a thoughtful description of Tocqueville the politician. More than anything else, his political career shows his essential conservatism. At times, his fear of unrest led him to support distinctly illiberal policies. Like many of his contemporaries, Tocqueville doesn't seem to understand the changes being brought about by the industrialization of Europe and to his last days, he had a fear of urban unrest and the nascent working class.
   Brogan shows very well that his last great work, the very interesting Ancien Regime and the French Revolution, should be interpreted in good measure as a critique of the Second Empire. Tocqueville's contemporary preoccupations clearly influenced the themes of his last major work.
   Tocqueville is often compared with Montesquieu and this is quite apt. Its clear from Brogan's account that Tocqueville's version of liberalism and democracy was one in the tradition of classical 18th century republicanism. He would definitely have preferred a society with democratic elements but also with institutions that allowed a powerful voice for a principled elite. This vision, shared by people like John Adams and even James Madison in his early constitutional proposals, essentially evaporated in the early years of the American democracy. Tocqueville was pursuing something that had really become anachronistic in his own time.
   Brogan writes affectionately but objectively about Tocqueville. This book is written very well with a nice combination of the primary narrative and enough background information to be informative but not over power the narrative.



5. I read "Democracy in America" when I was in college and wrote a paper looking at how the issues Tocqueville discussed in the 1830s played out in 1980s America. My conclusion was that many of his insights still had amazing relevance and yet his over-arching analysis of how America functioned as a democracy was pretty weak. He didn't understand the Presidency and Congress and completely neglected the role of political parties. However, his thoughts about American character; the striving for material success, the triumph of mediocrity, our refreshing practicality, the tyranny of majority and most amazingly how America and Russia would one day become polar opposite but competing superpowers were still all wonderfully relevant to modern American life.
   
   Hugh Brogan's book similarly points out the strength and weaknesses of Tocqueville's work so I feel vindicated in my youthful analysis. As a biographer, he is terrific. He has studied Tocqueville for much of his 40 years as a historian but waited to complete this work until he could access much of the Tocqueville archives that had been off-limits until recently. I felt he got inside Tocqueville, revealing his character, his times and feelings with amazing power. He also gave a sense of his many close relationships. I knew how he felt towards his tutor, his parents, best friends and wife. Sadly, he also gives a harrowing description of Tocqueville's last years of illness and the man's relationship to his sickness which was both complex and naive.
   
   I thought he was less successful in helping me understand Tocqueville's intellectual process. He talks about him being insightful but doesn't detail how those insights came about. I also think he could have put Tocqueville's work into intellectual historical context; how did he compare to other great thinkers of his era? What accounts for his ongoing influence when many others have faded away, have become important as indicative of their age or how they changed the way people thought about issues but aren't worth consulting for how we should think about our world today. That quality is what make Tocqueville so special.
   
   I have one other quibble. There is no discussion of why he and his wife didn't have children. Was it because of infertility? Choice? How did they feel about this? I have to believe that during this period and in the aristocratic class, not having children would be a big deal.

5 comments about In My Own Way: An Autobiography.

1. Though I was skeptical when handed this book - I am neither into religion nor do I desire to have a hip-zen lifestyle in Southern California - I was immediately drawn in to the way this amazing man's life unfolded. Early on, he set out to be an independent intellectual, constantly learning and living in his "own way." He succeeded, in spite of the odds, on the terms that he set out for himself. This was deeply inspiring to me, and it turned out that despite the surface differences of interest, Alan Watts had a lot to say about the choices one makes in life and how to go about living.

   The book is also filled with details that are as fascinating as they are hilarious. A friend of his youth made a pilgrimage to a famous and ancient monastery, which he discovered was "an elaborate homosexual organization." Though he lacked a university degree, Watts was allowed to study at Northwestern, which he described as "the type of place where philosphers worked from 9 to 5." Later, in LA, he hung out with Aldous Huxley, experimenting with hallucinogens, beating drums all night long, and listening to the incredible rhythm of that brilliant man's speech, which he says arrested all conversation in entire restaurants. The list goes on and on.

   Warmly recommended.




2. This is the finest autobiography I have read. Watts was a master of prose and many of the paragraphs in this work are memorable for their lyrical beauty. He was a very complex human being and does a frank job of highlighting his imperfections. Whatever missteps he took, though, he had a tremendous amount of wisdom to share.
   
   An added bonus to this book is that it gives the reader a vicarious introduction to many of the intellectual luminaries of the 20th century, many of whom were close friends of Watts.



3. If you have any interest in Alan Watt's writing, you will enjoy reading his autobiography. He is a great storyteller and this book contains some of this most funny stories. I found myself laughing out loud in many sections.
   
   One of the most memorable stories for me was his recounting of a game he used to play called, "you are the target." In this game, you shoot an arrow up in the air and measure how close it lands to you. This was done in the context of adolescent competition and Watts brings this spirit and fearlessness of youth alive.
   
   Alan Watts had a great sense of humor and was a deep thinker. He also had a gift for analogy and getting his points across with rich prose. This book represents some of his best writing in terms of vulnerability, openness and reflecting on his own life. It may or may not be very accurate, but it is certainly quite entertaining.
   
   I also found that this was a good book to get a sense of the context for various other books that Alan Watts wrote over the course of his life. I have found some to be better than others, but all of them to be useful in some ways.
   
   My favorite books by Alan Watts are the WAY OF ZEN, THE WISDOM OF INSECURITY and THE BOOK. Some of his later books, I found to be of lower quality, but he was in the zone when he wrote the three above. NATURE, MAN and WOMAN was also quite good and there is a lot of humor and deep insights throughout.



4. 
   I saw Alan Watts speak at Oklahoma University. Dressed in a suit, he began by saying that he usually war robes but said that "I'd been told I was going somewhere called 'Norman' in 'Oklahoma.'" He'd given a speech the night before and the head of the philosophy department had presented him with a list of 13 logical objections to his speech. He thought that was pretty funny and didn't even bother to reply. I recall thinking how humiliated I would be if I'd been that guy.
   
   Watts was my first introduction to Asian thought. As Buddhism became popular in America I began reading other authors who seemed to take it more seriously. For years I thought of Watts as a lightweight. When I picked up one of his essays a couple years ago I began thinking that really, his gift was his light heart.
   
   He lived quite a life. He was born in Victorian England and he died in psychedelic America. He was a sharp observer of the world and understood both places very well. He was wise enough to avoid taking an ideological position on religion. He was a guy who was way out there living life just as it was. Anyone intersted in a breezy history of the counterculture will find this book a fascinating read.



5. Alan Watts' autobiography is an engaging read, and surprisingly easy going if you expected leaden profundity. He is also very funny, largely because he is quite unable to take himself too seriously.

5 comments about Story of Edgar Cayce: There Is a River.

1. I purchased this book to replace the one I'd given away. I don't like to be without a copy. It's one of my very favorite Edgar Cayce books.



2. This is the first book on Edgar Cayce I read. It opened up a whole new, wonderful, and fascinating world for me.
   
   I loved to read of how Cayce, as a child, played with ghostly little children only he could see. Cayce must have been such a strange child, making his lean-to in the woods and reading his Bible all by himself. No wonder his extended family members called him, "Old Man."
   
   The book shows how difficult it must have been to be such an unusual person. It describes Edgar's fears that the information coming through him might hurt someone. I love the story of how he sat with his finger on a passage in the Bible in the dark until the sun came up. The words his finger pointed to were, "There is a River" from Psalm 46. As a result of reading the psalm, which describes God's strength in helping us, Cayce felt secure about using his special gifts to help others.
   
   Although I first read the book years ago (A.R.E. Press has reprinted a new edition), I still refer to it. My favorite part is the philosophy section at the back of the book which summarizes Cayce's trance source's understanding of who we really are and our place in the universe.
   
   If you look up Cayce's readings (available to members of Edgar Cayce's A.R.E. online), you'll discover some readings for Thomas Sugrue, the author of There is a River. The purpose of some of these Thomas Sugrue psychic readings appear to be to clarify concepts in the book. This means that concepts in the book were verified and clarified by Cayce's trance source.
   
   There are other Cayce biographies, all with their own merits. There is a River is a comprehensive, chronological biography. Edgar Cayce: The Sleeping Prophet describes Cayce through the topics of his readings, for example, a chapter on dream work. Edgar Cayce: Mystery Man of Miracles concentrates on Cayce's early years. [[ASIN:1573228966 Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet tells fascinating personal stories never before revealed about Cayce and the people around him.
   
   I keep two copies of There is a River--one for myself and one to lend.
   
   by Carol Chapman, photographer for Divine in Nature: With Quotes from Edgar Cayce and author of When We Were Gods: Insights on Atlantis, Past Lives, Angelic Beings of Light and Spiritual Awakening.



3. I was very disappointed in this book. After seeing the Edgar Cayce story on the History Channel, I was eager to learn more about Cayce. This book is nothing but Christian propaganda and a big waste of money. I learned more from the documentary on TV and various websites than from this book.



4. Edgar Cayce is one of the most interesting people that I have ever read about. I have read many books on Edgar Cayce; "There Is A River" is by far the best book I have ever read on the life and times of this exordinary man and his phenomenal abilities. I highly recommend this book to all those who seek universal knowledge and enlightenment.



5. I've glanced at some of the other reviews, and I see that the book gets mixed reviews. I can only say what it did for me. It changed my life, because it shifted how I view life. It motivated me to read other books that further convinced me that Edgar Cayce was right on. Personally, I enjoyed reading the book. I don't read many books more than once, but I enjoyed re-reading this one. I saw in it a man of unwavering honesty and steadfast ethics. Because of this I found him to be exceptionally credible. This is why I was shaken from my comfortable 20-year mindset. This book gets my nod of approval.

5 comments about Autobiography of a Spiritually Incorrect Mystic.

1. I love this man. If he were still alive, and if I had a daughter, I would not trust him around her, and I would also not take anything he says too seriously. But that is sort of the point. Follow any teacher or master too closely and you will be disillusioned. This guy tells you where he found his keys to the kingdom, and his stories and message are all you need to find your own key. I really enjoy his books.



2. It is believed that the tribals lead a much better life than us educated, sophisticated, and evolved humans. Osho proves this in his biography. His quest for the ultimate truth, lead him to question not only established cult-typed religions but also ourselves in terms of psychology.
   
   For a moment, if seekers were to be stranded in an island and they knew nothing about religion, sex, luxury, philosophy then what would they do? One thing is sure, that their freedom of choice would not be limited by these norms and beliefs. In other words, they will be free than us living in advanced nations.
   
   Osho has achieved just that while living around dogmatic people like us. With his clarity of thought and analysis he has seeked his answers everywhere. Born as a Jain, he questioned not only his birth religion but also every school of thought, from Zarathustra to Zen.
   
   I loved reading this biography. It challenges people to look at their reactions to similar situations in their lives. What we have taken for granted, Osho has given a thought to it rationally!



3. Nice book only half is about is life which is suprising as he seemed to talk and do alot.



4. The only thing incorrect about OSHO is that he could not have lived a hundred years. This book is a delightful and funny look into the early life of a spiritual rebel, even as a child. I see in OSHO the courage it took to ask the questions I never asked for fear of retribution or crusifiction. Reading his autobiography inspired me to "question my answers."
   Rahasya Poe, Lotus Guide Magazine, Chico, CA



5. I was unaware of all the controversy about this man, and I wish I still was naiive to it. I love osho's books they have helped me so much ...as a younger person, I didnt know about all the bad stuff, or Rajneeshpuram. This book doesnt go too far into THAT, which is good because his teachings were and still are so strong. Some say that this book left out a bunch of stuff ... maybe for good reason. Osho is to YOU what you want him to be. You dont have to wear marroon or orange clothing and go to retreats to experience Osho. Hes right here! OSHO-NEVER BORN NEVER DIED-ONLY VISITED THIS EARTH FROM 1931-1990. And I believe that Sheela poisoned him, she was the one to go to prison for her wrongdoings not Osho.. But maybe it was the government like he thought when he was in jail for 12 days and deported for no real reason. Regardless, he died at age 59. Left his body. Perhaps it was his time to leave that body and come back later on. I love tis book. I have disregarded all the bad stuff Ive read abou him, and focus only what he taught me (and continues to teach me) through his books and words. I wish I could have met him. Namaste.

5 comments about Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius.

1. After reading this biography it suffices that I don't read any other.



2. This is biography the way it should be written--focused on what made the subject important, and providing background context only to the degree necessary to situate people and events. Wittgenstein's temperament and personality were so inextricably bound up in his thought that any distinction evaporates. He thought like the person he was: ascetic, intuitive, and introverted. He questioned the value of his doing philosophy, as he questioned the value of his own thinking. His sense of duty was the obligation to speak the truth, no matter how awkward...or to be silent.



3. The positivist, analytical tradition in philosophy is what most people would associate Wittgenstein with in the first instance, provided they had heard of him in the first place. Because of his, and because of his philosophical attacks on the meaningfulness of the concepts of metaphysics, theology, spirituality and even most of logic, he is often depicted as some sort of cold, unfeeling Grand Master sitting on a pinnacle of Genius of Philosophy. But as Ray Monk's biography shows with much vigour, he was in reality a very troubled, confused, unhappy, spiritual, and above all very human person.
   
   Making use of all the manuscripts available as well as the many correspondences of Wittgenstein, Ray Monk, a philosopher at the U of Southampton, is able to show the Wittgenstein we know as a person that one could not only sympathize with, but even pity. Because as it appears from the biography, Wittgenstein was a deeply unhappy man. His relationships were, from early life on, troubled - not as often supposed because of their bisexual nature, but rather because of his general revulsion to what he calls "sensuality" on the whole, and his tendency to flee from the people he loved. His friendships fared no better, since Wittgenstein was both fickle and dominating, unable to deal with disagreement and very strong in his views even on very minor things of daily life - which leads to repeated diary notes and comments by everyone, from Keynes to Russell, on how talking to Wittgenstein was simply too exhausting. Add to this a constant wrestling with the fact that Wittgenstein was very religious, yet thought all religious theory meaningless babble, and you have a recipe for depression.
   
   Monk of course also pays attention to the content of his philosophical views, and makes sure that these are, in broad outlines, accessible and useful to a general public. For specialists and professional philosophers this will rather be a tantalizing overview than a sufficient working out of Wittgenstein's philosophical views, but fortunately Monk has also written several works of secondary literature on the subject, so that people can read those if they enjoy this biography (which I would certainly read first): How to Read Wittgenstein. What Monk does best is to integrate these philosophical viewpoints into the larger narrative of his life, precisely as a good biography of a philosopher requires. The only thing I found somewhat unsatisfying was why Wittgenstein changed his views so strongly after the Tractatus, more or less rejecting the entire foundation this work was based on. One would have expected something personal to reflect as radically the change in philosophy, but either it isn't there, or Monk doesn't bring it out.
   
   The style of writing Monk uses is very pleasant, and he avoids being opinionated either way (though he seems to sympathize with Wittgenstein's spiritual problematic a lot more than I would). An appendix to the book also deals with the (in)famous Bartley's commentaries on Wittgenstein (Wittgenstein (Modern)), in particular those parts dealing with his sex life. Ray Monk very sensibly here chooses the middle road - it is quite beyond any doubt that Wittgenstein had homosexual relations, but the idea of him prowling the Prater in search for rentboys belongs firmly in the domain of fantasy.
   I devoured the 600-page biography of this neurotic genius in one weekend, owing to the fascinating nature of the subject as well as Monk's effective and lively portrayal of him. Very much recommended to a wide public.



4. I do not have major problems with the book though the writing certainly did not capture my attention. I stopped liking and admiring Wittgenstein half way through the book. I was drawn by his ideas to his biography. However, just like what an old saying says -"If you like the egg, you don't need to know the chicken that laid it", I should have just stayed with the ideas. Wittgenstein might be an accidental genius but certainly not someone likable (by my criteria).



5. This is a very good biography of the brilliant, very influential, and rather odd Ludwig Wittgenstein. Monk sets out to provide a thorough narrative that depicts both Wittgenstein's career as a philosopher and his unusual personal life in a way that shows the unity of this life. Monk presents Wittgenstein as a man in constant search of an elusive goal of authenticity or a very demanding form of self-fulfillment. Wittgenstein seems to have been driven by a virtually religious need to pursue some form of meritorious life. This doesn't appear to be in any ordinary sense a desire to be useful to others but rather a sense that life would be misspent if not devoted to some kind of higher calling. This is the "Duty of Genius" referred to by the title of the book. Wittgenstein attempted to do this in various ways throughout his life. In addition to what was at times an obsessive preoccupation with philosophical issues, Wittgenstein sought fulfillment by serving as an enlisted man in the Austro-Hungarian Army, as an elementary school teacher, and as a hospital porter in London during the Blitz. In a particularly telling episode, he signed over all of his considerable wealth (his father had dominated the Austrian steel industry) to his equally wealthy siblings, apparently because he regarded affluence as an obstacle to self-fulfillment. Much of this search for fulfillment had an irrational or even mystical element, and its clear that he spent much of his life profoundly unhappy with himself. One gets the sense that if Wittgenstein had had conventional religious views, he might well have found satisfaction in a cloistered religious life.
   
   Wittgenstein's personal relationships reflected his rather self-involved focus. In addition to his intellectual brilliance, he must have possessed considerable charisma. Throughout his life, he was able to attract the friendship and support of intelligent, and in many cases, remarkably patient individuals who were able to tolerate his often odd and sometimes thoughtless behavior. While he clearly had strong hermetic impulses, he clearly had a strong need for friends. In later years, he actually attracted disciples, and seems to have had somewhat homoerotic relationships with at least 2 of them.
   
   How does this fit in with Wittgenstein's work in philosophy? Monk points out the strange way that Wittgenstein came to philosophy. In his early 20s, Wittgenstein had apparently embarked on a career as an engineer. He then became interested in basic questions of logic, influenced by the work of Frege and Russell. He sought out Russell, who accepted him as a disciple at a time when Russell felt that someone else needed to take up the task of continuing the work that Russell had started. Wittgenstein had little prior knowledge of philosophy. As Monk points out, while he later read some important philosophers, Wittgenstein had read little philosophy at this point in his life. Wittgenstein does seem to have been influenced by Schopenhauer but probably more importantly by figures from the Viennese milieu of his youth like the critic Karl Kraus. A particular favorite seems to have been an obscure Viennese writer named Weininger, of whom Wittgenstein remained very fond, and who originated the duty of genius notion. In later years, Wittgenstein would look to other unconventional thinkers for inspiration including Goethe's writings on biology and perhaps most surprisingly, the pseudo-historical analysis of Oswald Spengler.
   
   Wittgenstein, then, was both congenitally and by choice, an outsider to the Western philosophical tradition. This accounts partly for his apparently unique approach to philosophy.
   
   Monk emphasizes Wittgenstein's primary preoccupations with ethical self-transformation, the irrational, and methods, as opposed to conclusions in philosophy. This is one aspect of this book I found disappointing. The descriptions of Wittgenstein's philosophic work and the context in which they arise are not as good as the narrative about his personal life and psychology. To get the most out of this biography, I recommend reading Monk's concise book, How to Read Wittgenstein, which is about 100 pages and quite clear. Taking both the biography and Monk's other book together, Monk shows very well how Wittgenstein's personal life and philosophic work come together. If the point of life was a search or struggle for ethical self-fulfillment rather than attaining a given goal, its not surprising that Wittgenstein's analysis would stress methods and the limits of reason rather than scientifically oriented conclusions. If what made life valuable was aesthetic concerns and somewhat Romantic ideals of culture, then its not surprising that there would be mystical, even contradictory element in Wittgenstein's work.
   
   Monk records that Wittgenstein's last words were, "Tell them I've had a wonderful life." An odd statement for a man who was so often profoundly unhappy. Yet, if the search for self-fulfillment rather than any definite piece of knowledge is the measure of success, Wittgenstein was one of the most successful men of his time.

No comments about Theodor W. Adorno: One Last Genius.

5 comments about William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism.

1. This book will resonate perfectly with scholars trained in philosophy and psychology. Biographer Richardson traces William James' evolving thought patterns with a thoroughness no writer could exceed. For the average reader, though, I suggest the book will have value mostly because of the interesting lives of William James and his novelist brother Henry.
   
   Certainly I had been unaware of William's lifelong health problems. Too, the book provides fascinating tidbits about his courtship with his eventual wife Alice. Note his highly formal writing style in a love letter to her: "My duty is to win your hand if I can. . .What I beg of you now is that you should let me know categorically whether any absolute irrevocable obstacle already exist to that consummation."
   
   Another highlight for me--William James' rejection of "copied religion." He has no use for the person whose "religion has been made for him by others, communicated to him by tradition, determined to fixed forms by imitation and retained by habit." James noted that "the founders of every church owed their power originally to the fact of their direct personal communion with the divine."
   
   I enjoyed the book as a life story well told.
   
   The Complete Communicator: Change Your Communication-change Your Life!



2. I need not repeat the summaries set forth below by other reviewers, since these explain both Richardson's method -- to tell the life story through the work -- and the essentials of James' theories. What I will say is that, even if you have no background in philosophy or psychology, you should read this brilliant, passionate biography. James wrote for a popular as well as a professional audience; he was open and curious to all experience, and wished to be inclusive rather than exclusive in disseminating his ideas. Richardson is clear and succinct in explaining James theories -- often in the man's own, crisp, evocative language and clarifying analogies. Moreover, the concepts that James developed have in many cases become part of our popular vocabulary, including through organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous, which Richardson reports took inspiration from James' Gifford lectures, published in the U.S. as "The Varieties of Religious Experience."
   
   I had not read James for many years but, since reading this biography, have purchased a collection of his writings and am re-reading many of his works. You will come away from "In the Maelstrom of American Modernism" with a better understanding of both American values and ideals, and the history of U.S. higher education. Most importantly, however, you will come away with enormous admiration for the radiant personality that was William James, or as Richardson exclaims (using italics, not caps) at the end of this great work, for "the SPIRIT the man." When I finished reading, I not only wanted to read William James; I was sorry that I had not known him or had him as a teacher. That's how good this book is -- for every reader.



3. I would suggest reading this book first before reading some of William James other books. This book gives you an overview and thought process to give the reader a context for understanding all of his work. I am 35 years old and know of no one in my age that reads William James but I just wish this book came out years ago before I read all of his work.



4. More than an interesting read, not only into the life of one of the gotfathers of psychology and pragmatism, but of the period. Well written.



5. Richardson's biographies of Thoreau and Emerson are two of the best books I've encountered in my life of voracious reading and this is one is just as wondrous. I cannot read any of these books in public, because they all make me want to weep and clutch my chest and shout, "At last! Everything has been revealed!"
   
   I wish I could explain why Richardson's biographies are different from anyone else's. It's not just an artful piling up of delightful and distressing facts. Instead it's like the doorbell rings and you have a new best friend: William James. There's something magical and occult about this. It's not like he went to the research library, it's like he drew mystic diagrams on the floor.
   
   Richardson writes that one of James' gifts was "his uncanny ability to pick up redemptive ideas from his reading." And it is Richardson's gift too, to fill each page with life-giving ideas. These biographies are as purely inspirational as a strong Lao coffee with sweetened condensed milk. Reading them makes me prone to fits of euphoria.
   
   Richardson points toward the sources of James' genius-- one of the most important of which was James' own depression and heartbreak. He writes, "James had a remarkable capacity to convert misery and unhappiness into intellectual and emotional openness and growth. It is almost as though trouble was for him a precondition for insight." How hopeful that is!
   
   Richardson's compassion for his subject spills out, somehow, to the reader, and makes one feel that one's own nonsense and bleakness do not render one disqualified for a whole human life. What more can I ask for?

5 comments about Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity.

1. A great introduction to a fascinating man and his philosophy. I want to read more Spinoza now



2. This is a very nice (sometimes auto-)biographical novel about a philosophical voyage. The traveller is Baruch Spinoza whose influential ideas about God and separation between God and the State is narrated in a very engaging style. Rebecca Goldstein melts autobiographical, historical and philosophical levels of narration in in an enjoyable way. You are entertained and invited to think about a set of observations including Inquisition, diasporas, jews theology, Teens' life in the Big apple during the 60s, logic and qabbala.
   
   However, this is not a philosophical book neither an introduction to philosophical concepts (some of them are presented in a debatable way); do not think you are reading a philosophical book: the best way to approach Goldstein's last work would be as a biographical reconstruction of a philosopher and his times, and how his ideas impacted on modernity.



3. Overall, I liked the book. I enjoyed the story Goldstein had to tell, particularly her own experience encountering and teaching Spinoza. However, I think the book fell short of my expectations and was, at times, too superficial of a presentation.
   
   I was expecting more development of the connection between Spinoza's thought and the Marrano/Jewish tradition. Also, I was looking for more development of her argument that Spinoza played a major role in "giving us modernity".
   
   The connections here were tenuous and more guessed at than established. Goldstein didn't go into enough detail in trying to make her case on either count. We get mostly loose connections between Spinoza and Marranoism. And on Spinoza's contribution to modernity we get even less. We get: Spinoza was influential on modernity because lots of freethinkers flocked to Amsterdam. Spinoza may have influenced Locke because he went to Amsterdam and left with stronger views on rational, tolerant, republican government. Thomas Jefferson owned a copy of Spinoza's work.
   
   Nonetheless, Goldstein does make room for the stronger point of Spinoza's influence on modernity; namely that he was the first to systematically formulate the essence of modernity: reason, individualism, and freedom.
   
   A good book with plenty of information to chew on, but too much speculation (and if one doesn't read the footnotes, one doesn't know she is speculating).



4. This book is the reason why books exist. So many books are either light reading with little reward, or too dense with endless little facts that leaves one feeling overwhelmed.
   
   Not so this book. I could tell by reading it what a fantastic philosophy professor this author must be. I learned so much by reading this book. It brought together so much of who I am as well as my interests, such as Judaism, philosophy, psychology, biography, and history. The book explained Spinoza's ideas about as clearly as can be expected for such abstract ideas, doing so in such a thoughtfully compelling manner. Even more fascinating for me was how the most rational of all philosophers, was really motivated by his deeply gentle, sensitive nature. Paradoxically, the man who was ex-communicated by his Jewish people for his heretical views, was ultimately driven to formulate his ideas by a deep love of his Jewish people.
   
   Reading this sympathetic book about Baruch Spinoza, made me wish that he himself had read it. I wish those who ex-communicated him would have read it, too. It would have served to reconcile both himself and his ideas with his Jewish people.



5. This is a wonderfully written book by an amazing author. Anything she writes is worth reading.

No comments about Richard Rorty: The Making of an American Philosopher.

5 comments about Shakespeare: The World as Stage (Eminent Lives).

1. Bill Bryson's "Shakespeare: The World as Stage" is an excellent short biography of the playwright, ideal for someone who has never read a biography of the man. It's short, not only because it's part of HarperCollin's subsidiary Atlas Books's "Eminent Lives" series, but because not much is known about Shakespeare.
   
   Anyone who has read a number of Shakespearian-related books will recognize a lot of the material here, so it was up to Bryson to infuse it with style and humor, and he does so admirably. He steps into the narrative at least twice, in discussing the known portraits, and near the end, visiting the Fogler Library in Washington to discuss the variations in the First Folios. He also comes up with pertinent anecdotes to illuminate his points. To show how far the English language has evolved since Elizabethian times, he describes the Globe's staging in 2005 of "Troilus and Cressida" in "Early Modern English" or "Original Pronunciation." Bryson writes that "the critic John Lahr, writing in the `New Yorker,' estimated that he could understand only about 30 percent of what was said."
   
   Unlike his other books I've read ("Notes from A Small Island" about England, "A Walk in the Woods" about the Appalachian Trail and "Made in America," a collection of essays), Bryson uses his sense of humor sparsely, almost as an aside. This is appropriate; the book isn't about him, after all. And while it may appear irritating to constantly refer to how little we know the man behind the plays, it, too is appropriate. This makes it an ideal first biography to read, before wading into the seas of speculation that have nearly drowned the humanity.
   
   Finally, one section should be made required reading in the schools. At the end, Bryson takes on the anti-Shakespeare crowd, who refuse to accept what little evidence there is and put forth no less than 50 candidates, including the Earl of Oxford, Christopher Marlowe or Francis Bacon or a committee of the whole as "William Shakespeare." Bryson does them too much honor by quoting their arguments, but does them no favor by demolishing them, and he instructs us that, just because The New York Times, PBS and Derek Jacobi questions the existence of Shakespeare, doesn't mean that they're right.
   
   Bryson reveals their claims, and shows that "nearly all of the anti-Shakespeare sentiment -- actually all of it, every bit -- involves manipulative scholarship or sweeping misstatements of fact. Showing that maintaining the existence of such a conspiracy would have to include the book publishers who affixed Shakespeare's name to his works, the writers who praised him in their works, and Ben Jonson, who reminisced about Shakespeare in his private notebook a dozen years after the man's death.
   
   As a final shot that strikes home, Bryson concludes that "one really must salute the ingenuity of the anti-Stratfordian enthusiasts who, if they are right, have managed to uncover the greatest literary fraud in history, without the benefit of anything that could reasonably be called evidence, four hundred years after it was perpetrated."
   
   In fact, the evidence against such an impersonation is so all-encompassing, the evidence on the anti-Shakespeare side so weak, that it should be considered a measure of a person's intelligence and reasoning ability. If you believe that Shakespeare didn't exist, you're an idiot. It's comforting know there's some certainly in this world.



2. If you're the type of person who would normally walk past a biography on Shakespeare because...well...it's a biography on Shakespeare, give this book a chance. If you're the type of person who's thinking, "Not another biography on Shakespeare," give this book a chance. And I'll give you one excellent reason: Bryson wrote it.
   
   Bryson starts out by telling us that we know little about Shakespeare, and therefore, his book is going to be succinct. And while it is that, it is also rich with well-researched detail, a palpable canvas of 16th and 17th-Century England and 16th and 17th-Century theatre, and Bryson's normal intelligent wit.
   
   This book is a quick, fun, and educational read. And to think I only picked it up because Bill Bryson wrote it. I would have walked right past it otherwise. Well, maybe I'd have picked it up if David McCullough wrote it, but then it would have been 800 pages.



3. Full disclosure - I buy anything Bryson writes. Few writers have his ability to make me laugh and learn in equal proportion. He achieves that again with this brief journey into the world of Shakespeare. It is brief because ryson makes it clear we know so little! I give this only 4 stars because Bryson has done better (Mother Tongue, A Short History..., Notes from a Small Island) but this is still definately worth the read. But if you have never read Bryson before I would not start here.



4. Bryson says that Shakespeare's lasting tribute is his love of language, and while one certainly senses his love and mastery of language, I think the lasting tribute is Shakespeare's characters, as other scholars such as A.C. Bradley and Harold Bloom have touched on. Bryson's own writing is accessible and erudite, which makes for pleasant and engaging reading, if not passionate dedication, except for the last chapter, entitled "Claimants," at last something amidst the fog of Shakespeare that Bryson can approach with clarity, and it sends the book out in a blaze of personality.
   
   In the last chapter Bryson defends Shakespeare as the author of Shakespeare. If you've been curious about the playwright, I'm sure you've encountered theories about someone else being the author of the plays. Bryson levels them all, using many of his best lines in the book to do it: "Shakespeare 'never owned a book,' a writer from the New York Times gravely informed readers in one doubting article in 2002. The statement cannot actually be refuted, for we know nothing about his incidental possessions. But the writer might just as well have suggested that Shakespeare never owned a pair of shoes or pants. For all the evidence tells us, he spent his life naked from the waist down, as well as bookless, but it is probable that what is lacking is the evidence, not the apparel or the books" (182). And again on page 192 about Mary Sidney, one in a long line of potential Shakespeares: "All that is missing to connect her with Shakespeare is anything to connect her with Shakespeare."
   
   But Bryson doesn't just show there is no evidence for a different author of Shakespeare, he gives evidence of Shakespeare's humble beginnings appearing in his plays and his existence as a "country boy." And one senses a personal connection here that Bryson bristles to defend. It's fitting that the book ends not only with more of Bryson's personality, but also with the eccentric men and women on the fringes of Shakespearean scholarship, as they are peculiar people with often beguiling personalities. And when one reads Shakespeare, personality exhilarates--it can be contagious, even maddening.



5. As Bryson points out repeatedly throughout this book, there is surprisingly little we really know about the life of William Shakespeare, apart from his writings. As a result, a fairly sizable amount of the contents of this book amounts to filler. Granted, it is interesting filler, providing plenty of detail about London, the theatre, politics, religion and much more during Shakespeare's lifetime. This information helps us understand what his life might have been like, but ultimately, as Bryson clearly points out, we simply can't know.
   
   For the most part this book is competently written, but Bryson's usual wit seems to be lacking here. I found much of the historical information interesting, but ultimately I don't know much more about Shakespeare than when I started. The last chapter, which covers the various claims that Shakespeare's works were, in fact, written by others is well argued, relying on the principle that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.