Tag Archives: landmark books

Theosophy by Rudolf Steiner: a field guide to reality

Theosophy: An Introduction to the Spiritual Processes in Human Life and in the Cosmos by Rudolf Steiner My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book speaks with vigor and authority about things that most of us spend our lives studiously … Continue reading

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Aristotle, meet Paul. . . .

On Thursday, March 7, 2019, I reached a personal milestone: I finished reading the works of Aristotle. I read them mostly from the 2 volumes of Encyclopedia Britannica’s Great Books of the Western World that contain his works: volumes 8 … Continue reading

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The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene: the nice need not apply

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene My rating: 4 of 5 stars A comprehensive manual on how to gain worldly power. Not for the just, the kind, the ethical, or the fainthearted—but is that a surprise? I acquired … Continue reading

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developing a story

Once you’ve worked out what story is, it’s time to figure out how to write one. This part-developing a story-isn’t easy; for some of us, it can take longer than the natural human lifespan. But now, more than ever before, … Continue reading

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Cities and the Wealth of Nations by Jane Jacobs

Cities and the Wealth of Nations by Jane Jacobs My rating: 5 of 5 stars (This review is an edited version of a blog-post I wrote on the occasion of the death of Jane Jacobs in 2006.) The first I … Continue reading

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The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell My rating: 5 of 5 stars One of the most important books of the 20th century, Campbell’s breakout text transformed the word myth from denoting something antique, primitive, and false into … Continue reading

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Sacred Contracts by Caroline Myss

Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential by Caroline Myss My rating: 5 of 5 stars If you want to make your life more meaningful and more fulfilled, this book gives you a powerful and specific means to do it. I … Continue reading

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The Great Ideas: A Syntopicon of Great Books of the Western World by Mortimer J. Adler

The Great Ideas A Syntopicon of Great Books of the Western World: I (Great Books of the Western World, #2) by Mortimer J. Adler My rating: 5 of 5 stars The 2-volume “Syntopicon” of Britannica’s Great Books of the Western … Continue reading

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The Great Conversation by Robert M. Hutchins

The Great Conversation: The Substance Of A Liberal Education by Robert Maynard Hutchins My rating: 5 of 5 stars This slim opening volume of the Britannica Great Books of the Western World contends that liberal education, an unquestioned necessity for … Continue reading

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A Study of History 1 by Arnold J. Toynbee

A Study of History 1: Introduction; The Geneses of Civilizations, Part One by Arnold J. Toynbee My rating: 5 of 5 stars This first volume of Toynbee’s 10-volume investigation of how civilizations arise, flourish, and die provides a fresh and … Continue reading

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