A Guy's Guide to the Good Life: Virtues for Men [Paperback]

Robert P. Lockwood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 2009

What if the good life has less to do with prestige and plenty and more to do with prudence, hope and faith? Would you still want a guide to get there? Maybe the idea of a life based on the virtues creates an uneasy feeling. Too hard, you might think, too boring. Robert Lockwood sets the record straight in A Guy s Guide to the Good Life.

Lockwood weaves Scripture, Church teaching and everyday stories from Babe Ruth s funeral to the author s doomed efforts to make the varsity basketball team revealing the virtues for what they really are: a call to action and our tie to the living God.

The virtuous life isn t just the good life; it s the best life, the life you were made for.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Bob Lockwood is a guy s guy, and a Catholic guy s Catholic guy. Here he s done the step-by-step for all of us who won t stop and ask for directions, even though we really, really need them. This is the book my wife, my mom, my kids and my confessor have been waiting for me to buy. --Mike Aquilina, author, Love in the Little Things

Bob Lockwood is one of our finest living Catholic essayists and a great storyteller who never takes himself too seriously but we should. This book is filled with hard-won insights and loads of wisdom. --David Scott, author, A Revolution of Love: The Meaning of Mother Teresa

Reading A Guy s Guide to the Good Life is like settling down with a cold beer on a warm night with a friend! --Kevin Lynch, cofounder and president, National Fellowship of Catholic Men

About the Author

Award-winning Catholic columnist, editor and author ROBERT P. LOCKWOOD is the director of communications for the Diocese of Pittsburgh and general manager of the Pittsburgh Catholic. He wrote A Faith for Grown-Ups: A Midlife Conversation about What Really Matters (Loyola Press).

Product Details

• Paperback: 145 pages
• Publisher: St. Anthony Messenger Press (April 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0867168676
• ISBN-13: 978-0867168679
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,082,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anything is possible, May 30, 2009

By 

Carol Blank (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Guy's Guide to the Good Life: Virtues for Men (Paperback)

Robert P. Lockwood, director of communications for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, is also a columnist and general manager of the Pittsburgh Catholic. His writing is fast paced and informal, filled with personal stories and a wide swath of cultural, literary, and religious references. Early on, he quotes Paul's explanation of virtue in Romans 13:8-10. Addressing the theological and cardinal virtues, Paul defines how we should live, Lockwood writes, "answering the eternal question of men: `What the hell am I doing with my life?'" For those who believe a virtuous life is too difficult, Lockwood points to grace and the sacraments, which make living the virtues both attainable and easier than the alternative.

Each chapter of Guy's Guide is devoted to a single virtue and opens with a formal definition. Lockwood presents an array of stories, many related to sports, famous and unacknowledged heroes, and his own life, particularly the earlier times. A section called "A Little Scripture" is implanted in roughly the middle of each chapter to forge a connection between the stories of virtue and teachings of the New Testament. Within, between, and through all this are memorable nuggets expressed eloquently, as the following quotations show.

"The bravery of a guy trudging off to work every day to a job that's tearing his guts out because his family has to eat.... It's at the shank of the evening, when belief is hard, that fortitude becomes a virtue to live by.... Temperance is knowing how to live passionately without living by our passions.... We don't have to settle for the ordinary, for the good enough. With God, through grace and the sacraments, anything is possible."

5.0 out of 5 stars A Guys Guide to The Good Life, January 14, 2011

By 

Pat - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Guy's Guide to the Good Life: Virtues for Men (Paperback)

I purchased this book to give to my grandson, age 18; but decided to read first. After reading I thought it was better suited for his dad, my son, who was born in the mid sixties. The author referenced the 60's througout the book. It is well written - peppered with humor and spiritual wisdom. It is thought provoking and worth the read.