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

1. I really love his travel books, but Bryson brings a fresh approach to any subject!



2. My wife and I picked this one to listen to together and talk about. Call me ignorant, but I was surprised to learn how little is/was known about Shakespeare (the man). The things I learned from this book are what it was like to live in 16th/17th Century England and how a series of improbable acts provide us the library of Shakespeare's work.
   
   Having read or listened to two of Bryson's other books (A Walk in the Woods, A Short History of Nearly Everything), I have gained a respect for the diversity and complexity of topics he takes on.



3. Bill Bryson has become one of my favorite writers. Whether he is writing about his travels, the English language, or the world of science, he writes with wit and enthusiasm. Here, he applies his typical humor and zest for knowledge to a person about whom we know very little: William Shakespeare. I learned more about Shakespeare's age than about the writer himself, but that's not Bryson's fault. There's just not that much that we know about the Bard of Avon. The last chapter, in which Bryson debunks the "alternative author" theories, is the worth the price of the book alone.



4. 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.



5. 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.

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

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

1. 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?



2. 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.



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. 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.



5. 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!

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

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



2. 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.



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 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.



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

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

1. 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.



2. 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.



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. 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.



5. 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.

5 comments about Autobiography of a Spiritually Incorrect Mystic.

1. 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.



2. 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



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



4. 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!



5. 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.

5 comments about All too Human.

1. In this moving look into the White House, Stephanopoulos carefully treads the line between worship for his idealized boss who embodied all the dreams and hopes Stephanopoulos had for his country, and distraught disappointment at the human flaws that caused this man to dally with a certain females and to lie to his aides about it. For Stephanopoulos, the crime here is not the actual act, but the fact that his boss let his people lie for him - without even realizing they were lying. This lack of trust and respect was crushing to the young idealist and it shows through in every page of the book. He mourns for what could have been, but wasn't; he hangs his head for the mistakes made by his "all too human" boss. He does not, however, descend into mudslinging - he obviously still adores his former boss, even if he did turn out to be a little less large than life.



2. This book is interesting in two ways. The first is the rise of a working class immigrant's son to the position of political advisor of the world's most powerful statesman. The father of Stephanopoulos was an working class immigrant yet his son was able to become a Rhodes scholar and reach the position in politics he did. The American success story. It is also interesting, from a much more cynical perspective, in that Stephanopolous' political advice was all politically motivated and absolutely none (with emphasis on absolutely) had a basis in the actual non-political benefits or costs (or efficacy). Extremely cynical. One comes away wondering whether it is even possible for the political process to produce socially beneficial policies instead of just politically expediant solutions.



3. First, my standard disclaimer: I am a political moderate and social conservative. This book is an average look at what happens in political inner circles, specifically the Clinton white house. I was a little disappointed that Stephanopoulos did not take more risks to write about subjects that the general public did not already know. It seemed that much of the reason for the book was for the author to exonerate himself from any wrongdoing.



4. George Stephanopoulos' memoir of working in the White House during Bill Clinton's first term in office makes you feel like a fly on the wall of the Oval Office. Written in that hypersmart, jargon-fluent style familiar to "West Wing" viewers, "All Too Human" is an engaging, candid companion to readers of any political stripe, in part an impassioned defense of one of America's most infuriatingly bipolar personalities, in part a cautionary tale of power trumping principle.
   
   Among the best and brightest that made up Clinton's 1992 campaign staff, no one burned brighter than Stephanopoulos, a senior advisor to the President at the tender age of 31 whose charge included Congress (he formerly worked for House Majority Whip Dick Gephardt) and satisfying Clinton's critical liberal base.
   
   Stephanopoulos makes no bones about being a true believer. He likens his work with Clinton to being an altar boy for the Greek Orthodox priests of his youth. "It's Nazi time out there," Clinton explodes when the Republicans campaign against him in a special congressional election in Kentucky. Stephanopoulos seems on board with this Hitlerian characterization of the GOP.
   
   Yet Stephanopoulos' passion is tempered by a cool calculating side that finds much common ground with the president, too much, he comes to find. "The last temptation is the greatest treason/To do the right thing for the wrong reason," goes the Eliot verse Stephanopoulos keeps on his desk, in a cramped room he coveted for its proximity to the Oval Office. Even when he manages to get the president to save affirmative action or appease other liberal concerns, it all comes back to a base sort of pragmatism. Is Clinton doing it because it's the right thing to do, or for the political benefit? What about George?
   
   Stephanopoulos' candor is this book's greatest asset, candor about the calculating Clinton, his prickly wife Hillary, and especially himself. He recalls a moment in the first campaign when he caught himself telling a small child that her father is "a bad man" for lying about Clinton. Stephanopoulos wants us to see him, and his boss, as good people, but like the title suggests, with some intrinsic flaws.
   
   While the first half of the book is marginally more interesting as a whole, as the Clinton team finds their way into the White House amid bimbo eruptions and fights its own party to pass a budget through Congress, the second half has the book's most interesting figure, the one man Stephanopoulos paints in entirely black hues: Dick Morris.
   
   Morris could be a Dickens character, "a small sausage of a man encased in a green suit with wide lapels, a wide floral tie, and a wide-collared shirt." As unctuous as Uriah Heep, Morris twitters on about his access to the president, all the time sizing our narrator's back for a place to stick his knife. Stephanopoulos, who views Morris as nothing less than a Republican mole, does likewise.
   
   "I have no home. I have no one left to talk to," Morris tells Stephanopoulos at one point.
   
   Get a dog, Stephanopoulos finds himself wishing he had the nerve to reply.
   
   Morris has claimed Stephanopoulos misrepresented him, but I find the depiction very close to the bone from what I've seen of this fellow commentating on Fox News.
   
   There are flaws in the book, like Stephanopoulos' shorthand with the facts. He seems to assume the reader is as well-versed as he is about the Clinton years, which has him skirt over a lot of material or peripherally refer to things like Tammy Wynette being upset with the First Lady as if we all will know the rest of the story. There is also a fatal Yuppie self-absorption in how Stephanopoulos whines about his trials. A lot of people deal with mega-stress. Not so many have a movie actress ready to draw them a bath.
   
   But "All Too Human" is a good read, and buttressed by Bob Woodward's "The Agenda," one gets an immersive sense of life around Bill Clinton in his first term, a time of great possibilities, hopes, and, inevitably, more than a bit of frailty.



5. The subtitle of this wonderful memoir taught me more about politics in 400 pages than I'd learned in 40 years. A diehard liberal and a political fanatic, someone whose views would normally make me sneer and scoff, Stephanopolous paints a picture of the stresses, ins-and-outs, spin, activities and the vital scope of the world inside the Oval Office. Every newsworthy event or program is canvassed for its political ramafications; the very definition and refinement of the word "politics" is reinforced on every page; the mistakes that lead to triumphs, and the feel-good preparations that lead to disasters are all here in stark detail. Stephanopolous proves himself a very sensible man, and even his staunchly liberal views are sidenotes to the greater energies, arguments and preparations that occur inside the White House. I occasionally disliked S's speaking his own platform (which he did sparingly), or telling how political parties are constructed to blunt the other even when their plans are sensible, but all in all I learned more from this book about the workings inside the White House than from all my prior readings and public education.

5 comments about Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius.

1. 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.



2. 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).



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. 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.



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

5 comments about In My Own Way: An Autobiography.

1. 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.



2. 
   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.



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. 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.



5. 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.

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