Customer Reviews

The Freedom Manifesto: How to Free Yourself from Anxiety, Fear, Mortgages, Money, Guilt, Debt, Government, Boredom, Supermarkets, Bills, Melancholy, Pain, Depression, Work, and Waste

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book was excellent at first, then it frustrated, then it wavered between those two emotions for the remaining pages. About halfway through he acknowledges how someone could view his ideas as contradictory. For example, he juxtaposes Chapter 17 "In Praise of Melancholy" with Chapter 18 "Stop Moaning; Be Merry." That's fine, but the changes come quickly, and they don't compliment one another as well as they could. Sometimes the chapters feel like they are unfinished or could have gone deeper rather wider in reference across different texts. (The added section at the end titled "Further Reading" gives you a clue about his desire to let you know he's read many books in preparing this book. And yet, he seems to include books he found bland, but spent time looking through. Why do you want someone to do a lot of reading to tell you what's worth a shoulder shrug?)

I thought he was at his best when he was praising the will of the individual to find and create his own happiness, to break free of controls like government or the debilitating pangs of guilt. But then he talks about how people should live in communes and many other pieces of advice that seem to directly restrain the individual. Moreover, it's strange that he rails against external control and advocates freedom, while putting commands at the end of each chapter, like "Start a Guild" or "Cut Up Your Credit Card." When he's telling me things I should do to be free, one of which is "Say yes," the word that kept coming to me was "no."

A lot of his chapters could have been contained inside other chapters. For example, "Chapter 8: Stop Competing" was weak, and the negative sentiments could have gone in "Chapter 4: Reject Career and All Its Promise" and the positive sentiments could have gone in "Stop Working, Start Living," the last chapter on play. Or, they could have all been combined in one extended chapter on the complexities of work. So it comes off as being somewhat sloppy and pandering, even though the book is strongest when it sheds all consideration for what people think. Ironically, if he'd refined his philosophy and made it shorter (or "simpler"), I think it would have been stronger. As it is, the 29 chapters have large doses of filler.

Still, this was a fun book to read and think about and there are good ideas here. You have to find what you like and not get worked up over the abrupt changes in philosophical direction. Take what you like, leave what you don't. But if you needed me to tell you that, I wonder how much help this book could please you.

The freedom manifesto is a great read for the all those searching and yearning for a meaning to life. It is also a great read for those who believe are lives are largely manipulated by government, and corporate advertisement to maximise profits at the expense of our contentment. It doesn't pull its punches ~ and is not afraid to say things as they are. It is a doorway to the obvious ~ for when you read it you realize what it says is obviously common sense ~ although like most it is difficult to put in practice. It is a witty, cleverly crafted book that makes you laugh whilst trying to encourage us to lead a more rewarding self empowered life.
Well done!

Excellent book full of common sense and I don't know...I thought it was lovely and hopeful and more people should read it and follow some of the advice and give up all of the nonsense that it opposes because there is nothing wrong with anything Hodgkinson suggests. It is a no argument sort of thing...only if you believe in humans and the idea of them living a wonderful, whole, and fruitful life full of freedom and love and truth. And for the reviewer who said this book is for sociopaths...what the hell do you even mean? I do not think you are clear on what a sociopath is and it would be good to look it up and get clear because your comment made me laugh; it was so weird.

I don't even remember how I heard about or came across the book but the cover and title must have caught my eye. If you can get over the pain, humiliation, and shock when you figure out that you are not "free" but simply a corporate hack easily influenced by big marketing and empty promises of a "career" and a "life" you will love this book. Now don't beat yourself up too much as it happens to the best of us and the sad part is you start to fall deeper and deeper in without even realizing it. You work to live and before you know it you live to work. Your needs go from food and shelter to big cars, bigger houses, over priced vacations n so on.

In fact this book is so out there book stores have merchandised the book in both the humor section and the self help section. Here is a few sentences from the book - "Self importance is a trap, because the moment we start to think that we actually matter is the moment when things start to go wrong. The truth is that you are supremely unimportant, and that nothing matters. All of man's striving is for nothing; all effort is wasted." or "Career is just posh slavery. And career is an institutionalized putting-off, a paradise defferred. I also bought his book " How to be Idle" which I am currently reading and enjoying.

The amount of people, books, & articles he references from the last 200 years is vast and if you pursue them individualy could turn into a full time job, which if you read the book you may understand that it may not be a bad thing. However he helpfully listed all resources used in the back of the book for easy reference.

Buy it, love it and then try and live it if you dare!

This is an odd little book that I both enjoyed and shook my head at. On the whole the book is very readable. It's written in a conversational style with a kind of populist comfortability. It's a lot like talking to your grandpa about life on the farm. Hodgkinson offers lots of friendly advice and I think this is where the book does well - if you're looking for a coherent philosophy of simplicity and escape you won't find it here. For those of you familiar with the Britcom "The Good Neighbors" you could imagine Tom Good reading a couple chapters in front of the fire each night.
What I don't understand is Hodgkinson's skewed view of history: he seems to hold to an overly romantic view of history and especially of the middle ages. He refers to them frequently as time when trade guilds took care of their members, when times were more gentle and kind, and when everyone just got along in happy harmony. Silly facts like a thirty year old life span, rampant disease and poverty, and almost complete lack of freedom never seem to bother him.
In all I give the book four stars for general entertainment and you'll definitely come away thinking about things differently

After reading "How to be Idle" in the summer of 2007 and finding out that Hodgkinson had a new release in late 2007, I quickly reserved a copy at my bookstore. As much as I loved "How to be Idle", I enjoyed this one even more. Once again, Hodgkinson's insights prove very insightful and thought provoking. This is not a book that I will read only once.

Finally, an antidote for all those personal productivity books that make you feel guilty for not being an optimally efficient wage'bot, forever getting things done with your highly effective habits. This book made me feel happy about the times when I kick back and become a total slacker.

All I can say is that this is a must read. I love the author's style and sense of humor... He opened my eyes about a lot of aspects that I was stuck on and made me realize the real meaning of being alive!
I would read it once, twice and every time you feel trapped in the status quo painful system.

After having my world turned upside down first by Collins' "Good to Great" and then turned inside-out by Tim Ferris' "The Four-Hour Work Week", Tom Hodgkinson's "The Freedom Manifesto" was the last confirmation I needed that "There isn't a job good enough for me. There isn't a job good enough for anyone." Indeed.

Simply put, this book provides a perspective of life and work that is completely lacking on this side of the Pond. For me, it called into question the reasons why I have worked so hard, found great financial success, and still felt the clichéd question of "Is this all there is?" This is not a self-help book--far from it. Nor is it a diatribe about how you "should" be living your life, rather, it shines a light on the reasons why we now live our lives the way we do. Like Ferris, Mr. Hodgkinson offers some unique suggestions on how to break the completely arbitrary bonds that modern society places on the individual.

If you liked Tim Ferris' challenges to the status quo and Jim Collins' facts and depth, buy this book, you'll enjoy it.

I agree with other reviewers that this book is a joy to read. It presents noble solutions to a series of very serious issues faced by modern day career ladder climber, money spending consumers, government oppressed citizens with witty yet elegant languages. The book basically tells you to let go of your desire, decrease your consumption, see through the empty promises of career, and not rely on the conventional yard stick to measure your "success". They are all common senses as pointed out by other reviewer, and probably known by most people deep in their heart even when they are doing exactly what Tom Hodgkinson preached us not to do.

This is basically the reason why I only gave the book four stars instead of five. It merely presents the problem, but does not offer much solution other than some short suggestions. I can understand that the author probably think that each individual is too different to have dogmatic solutions, but I truly believe some sort of organized suggestions with more substance can greatly enhance this good book.