Esquire The Meaning of Life: Wit, Wisdom, and Wonder from 65 Extraordinary People [Hardcover]

The Editors of Esquire Magazine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

Every month in Esquire, the captains of industry (Jack Welch) and the pop culture icons (Gene Simmons, Loretta Lynn), the leaders (Rudolph Giuliani) and the loudmouths (Don Rickles), reveal their philosophy of life in the What I’ve Learned column. Ten entertaining years’ worth of their often-humorous, always thoughtful advice, along with stunning portrait photography, is gathered in this sharply designed compilation. The contributors include Muhammad Ali, Bill O’Reilly, Faye Dunaway, former Secretary of State Robert McNamara, Hugh Hefner, Elvis Costello, Lou Reed, Suge Knight, and Julia Child.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Hearst (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588162613
• ISBN-13: 978-1588162618
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #929,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, Interesting, and Fun, March 11, 2005

By 

Sean Magruder "USN" (Naples, IT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Esquire The Meaning of Life: Wit, Wisdom, and Wonder from 65 Extraordinary People (Hardcover)

Opinions on some of life's most talked about subjects from past and present; writers, painters, musicians, politicians, actors, etc.... great stories and insightful views on religion, sex, faith, gender differences, relationships, etc..... easy to read and very witty. If your interested in what shapes extraordinary people into who they are then this book is for you. I loved it from the first page. I read this book from start to finish in one sitting. Thats a first.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very inspiring, highly recommended, January 8, 2005

By 

David Weiner "The Doc" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Esquire The Meaning of Life: Wit, Wisdom, and Wonder from 65 Extraordinary People (Hardcover)

Esquire The Meaning of Life : Wit, Wisdom, and Wonder from 65 Extraordinary People (by Esquire Magazine) is a MUST buy. I read it all in one sitting. Extremely wonderful and inspiring writing. 5 stars!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Distilled nuggets of Wisdom from 65 Extraordinary People, March 14, 2009

By 

Herbert L Calhoun "paulocal" (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Esquire The Meaning of Life: Wit, Wisdom, and Wonder from 65 Extraordinary People (Hardcover)

In this "picture book" with the distilled nuggets of wisdom of 65 extraordinary people, Esquire gives its answer to the Playboy Interview. While not quite as robust or as carefully arranged or thought out, or as wide-ranging, as the Playboy interviews themselves, these "interview summaries" do have their finer moments. They are divided into eight broad categories - The Characters, The Trailblazers, The Voices, The loudmouths, The Mavericks, The Leaders, The Visionaries, and The Showmen. And surprisingly, the most profound nuggets of wisdom, come, not necessarily from those one would expect: the trailblazers, the leaders and the visionaries, but from the characters, the Mavericks, and yes, the loudmouths.

Some of the best are:

James Caan on the difference between sex and love: "I have four wives and five kids. I apparently don't know the difference." Robert De Niro on fear: "There is no such thing as not being afraid." Kirk Douglas on success: "In order to achieve anything you must be brave enough to fail." Or on religion: Religion has killed millions of people. Something must be wrong." Faye Dunaway on fear: "Fear is a pair of handcuffs on your soul." Or on greatness: "Great artists never know if they are making the right choice." Christopher Reeves on being paralyzed: "Some people are walking around with full use of their bodies and they're more paralyzed than I am." Mark Burnett on leadership: "Most people are waiting around for someone to lead."

Hugh Hefner on getting girls: "My best pick up line is `My name is Hugh Hefner'." Or on the meaning of Playboy: "Playboy is the antidote to Puritanism." Or on human differences: "We are separated by our myths." Or on the meaning of life: "I stand in awe of existence. I don't pretend to know what its about." Or on feminism: "Gloria Steinem said that a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle. And now she is married to a wealthy guy. So what does that say to you? Ray Charles on music: "Music is about the only thing left that people don't fight over." Muhammad Ali on love: "Love is a net that catches hearts like flies." F. Lee Bailey on winning juries: "Laughing juries never convict." Robert Evans on living without a plan: "Instant gratification takes too long." Larry King on religion: "I'm not an atheist because that is a religion." Larry Flint also on religion: "Religion has caused more harm than any other idea since the beginning of time. There is nothing good I can say about it. People use it like a crutch."

Lauren Hutton on Shakespeare: "Shakespeare is a reason to believe in aliens. Most authors have one idea per book. Shakespeare had two per sentence." Surge Knight on being in jail: " One thing I knew was that one day, I'd be paying a debt to the system. If you grow up in the ghetto and you are active, you're gonna get caught up." Red Auerbach on having an edge in sports: "If you think we got an edge, we got an edge." Bobby Bowen on rearing children: "If you don't disciple your kids, the sheriff's gonna." John McCain on his unlikely selection as presidential candidate: "I'm the guy that stood fifth from the bottom of his class. If my old company officer had contemplated that I would make a serious bid for the presidency of the United States, he would probably, had either me or himself committed." Robert McNamara on being hard headed: "There s no contradiction between a soft heart and a hard head." Sumner Redstone on friends in life: "If the company is pleasant, the wine gets better." Or: "A good hot dog is as good as a good steak." Jack Welch on reincarnation: "If I could, I'd be Tiger Woods." John Wooten on discipline: "Discipline yourself, and others won't need to." Or on character: "Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation." Or jobs and life: Don't let making a living prevent you from making a life."

Or my Favorites:

Roseanne Barr on the difference between men and women: "Women love to lose themselves in effect. Men love to lose themselves in cause." Or on marriage: "You have to participate in marriage. That was news to me?" Or: "The hardest thing I have had to learn about being a wife is that I am not a husband." Or about personal awareness: "You are as sick as your secrets." Or about U.S. society: "Our world is about things rather than ideas. It's vanquishment by enticement." Or on conspiracy: "Everything is a government conspiracy."


And by Rod Steiger on success: "Fantasies of success should never precede endeavor." Or on pain: "Pain is a teacher that must be understood." Or on hesitation: "He who hesitates is bossed." Or on symbolic rewards: "Man is cursed with the ambition to be the best hunter in the tribe. When a guy came home to the village covered with blood, there was no argument when he asked for a gourd of water or a piece of -ss. Or on differences: "Respecting differences is difficult." Or on responsibility: "Freedom without responsibility is chaos." Or: "Too much pleasure, you're destroyed; too much non-pleasure, you're destroyed." Or on selfishness: "We get confused between self-esteem and narcissism." Or on time: "Time is the pawnbroker of all values." Or on fear: "What you don't know will scare the sh-t out of you." Or on surprise: "Surprise is the lubrication of adventure." Or on childhood injuries: "A so-called deficit in your childhood can be an asset as you get older."

Three Stars.