Customer Reviews

The Gift of Fire

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One of the joys of reading is finding an out of print book or an author you've never heard of, and having the book change your life. Richard Mitchell's books are clear, hilarious, fascinating critiques of the decline and fall of Western Civilization. I first found Mitchell's Graves of Academe by accident in the library. I quickly read all his books, including The Gift of Fire, which is excellent. The latter is the only one I have not come to own through used books stores and sales. Unfortunately it is also the most moving and important and the one I most often want to lend out or quote to my students. I am always amazed when I reread Mitchell that, despite years of teaching, I had never heard of him. On the other hand, his ideas and advice are toxic to the educational extablishment and all hypocritical and unthinking aspects of our society, and I can understand why education schools everywhere would eschew him. If I had to recommend three authors to an aspiring teacher, they would be Mitchell, Kozol and Postman, in that order. I normally do not submit reviews, but anything to get this and other of Mitchell's books into other hands (or reprinted) is worth it.

I've never read a book quite like this one. It manages to be scholarly but entertaining, educational but entertaining and . . . well, just plan good, cover to cover.

My favourite portion of the book covers Jesus' confrontation with the teachers of the law concerning a woman found in adultery. The author is straightforward in his approach to the situation and, by not bogging himself down with needless pedagogy and epistemology, shows the simple wisom of Jesus and how it can apply to us.

We all should read this.

Richard Mitchell (aka The Underground Grammarian)examines what it means to be a thinking person. Not a how-to book, but a study of the relationship of morality, education and thought, "The Gift of Fire" considers the human experience from the pre-historic cave painters to slavery and cannibalism to nuclear war and child-rearing. With subtle wit and brilliant clarity, Mitchell uses stories as diverse as the parable of the stoning of the adulterous woman to his own experiences in a toll booth to show the role of Reason in living a satisfying life. A tour de force! If you can find a copy, it's a must read.

Imagine you have a child. How will you teach her to live, to find goodness? Well, surprise: you have always had one. How are you answering these questions for your own life?

So asks Mitchell's first book-length foray into outright philosophy. This book is not as humorous as his other ones; it is more disturbing, more unsettling, but still, equally brilliant. Rather than again tackle what bad language and educationist silliness bodes for "society," he makes you consider what your cherished beliefs, assumptions, and actions bode for you personally. And you will finish this book realizing how important it is to be thoughtful-- perhaps more so than from his other books. A masterpiece.

This brilliant, passionate book is a plea to teachers to act with integrity and humility. Mitchell understands the power and responsibility of those who have a true vocation to teach, which is as important a vocation as that of the religious person. Anyone who wants to understand what separates hack teachers from those with a gift and vocation should read this book. Of course, hack teachers would never consider reading a book that might improve their abilities, so, like so many things, this will be preaching to the choir.

This book describes real learning. I was moved and shocked by his acknowledgement that any student can become Socretes and that the real purpose of learning is not to develop some obedient dog of a skill, but rather to develop a relationship with a life-long nagging counselor.

I strongly recommend this book- for the clarity and beauty of the prose and for the equal beauty of the ideas. Thinking doesn't get much clearer or more delightful than this.