Customer Reviews

Aristotle Would Have Liked Oprah - Lessons for Living and Other Philosophic Musings

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book makes philosophy fun as well as applicable to my personal life. Each chapter provides pertinent lessons presented in original and memorable ways. The book is so refreshing that I look forward to reading it again and again. I recommend it most highly!

We know for a fact that Aristotle seldom watched television and never during the daytime but it seems safe to assume that, had he read this book, he would have been entertained by it. Frankly, I began to read it with certain reservations and was pleasantly surprised to discover that its substance is sound (albeit modest) and the material is presented with an effective writing style. I would have rated it higher were its scope wider and its depth greater. (Those who share this preference are urged to read Solomon's A Passion for Wisdom.) Diamond reveals her objective in the subtitle: to share "lessons for living and other musings." She achieves that objective. This is neither a book for "dummies" nor an "idiot's guide." Rather, it is an examination by Diamond of several key ideas she has selected from the writings of various philosophers. Musings tend to be unstructured and, more often than not, intensely personal. Fair enough. Obviously, other reviewers think very highly of this book. Diamond established a rapport with them that she did not establish with me. This book is what it is. Diamond makes no claim that it is more than that. It is not a book to which I will return but one which I will recall fondly.

This book is terrific. It is not only fun to read, I found it incredibly useful as a tool for changing my life. This book really is exceptional because Diamond presents the insights of the famous philosophers to the readers so they can start using them at once in their daily life. I never would have believed I could use advice from Socrates to improve my life, but this stuff really works.It is better than any self-help book I've ever read, plus it's really so much fun to read. I highly recommend it.

Delightful! Brilliant! I wouldn't have guessed that a book purporting to be about philosophy would be a page-turner; I couldn't stop reading. The author seems to have translated a whole college-major-in-philosophy's worth of information in a simple (but not simplistic)and entertaining way. This is my new "most favorite" book.

This playful examination of some of the world's great thinkers is a pleasure to read. I find myself reflecting on many of lessons that I learned from the book even now, a month or so after first having read it.

This is a very unusual book - informative yet highly entertaining. I have taught philosophy for years and have searched for a way to make the teachings of these great thinkers relevant to my students; this book brings a new dimension to these great works and I intend to use it an introductory primer in my classes. For the lay person I highly recommend it as enjoyable introduction to some of the greatest thoughts that humankind has produced. I agree completely with the reviewer who categorized this book as "a gem." It is definitely a five star recommendation.

This book is extraordinary. It's funny, wise and witty, all at the same time. I can't recommend it highly enough. Don't miss it!

I know that philosophy for the masses is a daunting task. Still it must be possible to give the non-specialist reader the flavor of the insights of the great thinkers without totally trivializing it. Diamond is sometimes clever and occasionally insightful, but the device of reducing great thought to a sit-com epigram trivializes the thinking of the greatest minds of our generation.

The inability to give insight into great thought is not surprising, given the brevity of the chapters. I don't want to sound too stuffy, but what is the use of attempting to summarize the great philosophers if the format is too brief to give the reader any insight at all into why these thinkers are important.

Interestingly, this book is probably more entertaining if you are already familar with the philosophers discussed, since you can chuckle at the humor of the caricature. For the rest of us, everything of interest has been left out for the sake of the wit. What is more, there are precious few "Lessons for Living," and little or no "Other Philosophic Musing."

Sadly, the bibliography is too lame to even point the inquisitive reader in the direction of more substantive discussion of the issues. (In fairness, Diamond's two recommendations are good ones: Russell's History of Western Philosophy and Plato's Republic will give the reader the sense of what philosophy is truly about.)

Ethel Diamond wrote such a terrific book..informative and so humorous. A non-frightening way to approach Philosophy. I got so interested I started reading more books on Philosophy. Why not write another one on another subject Ethel. Then I can keep learning!

A gentle exploration of the greatest minds we have known - placed side by side with our most familiar and popular icons of today's society, this book leads the reader happily into an examination of self in both the inner and outer world.