Integrity [Paperback]

Stephen Carter (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Basic Books (1996)
• ASIN: B0016G4GM0
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great beginning discussion, August 15, 2002

By 

Matthew Dodd (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Integrity (Paperback)

If you have ever thought about integrity (who has not?) and are looking for a comprehensive study or analysis on what this often-used and often-misunderstood character trait means traditionally and in today's society, then this book is a great place to start.

Carter defines integrity with three required steps. Step 1 is the act of discerning what is right and what is wrong; your personal views are well thought out in advance. Step 2 is acting on what you have discerned, even at personal cost. He cautions that doing what is right will often be painful. Step 3 is saying openly that you are acting on your understanding of right from wrong. Carter repeatedly makes the point that the test of integrity comes only when doing the right entails a significant cost.

Carter analyzes actual and hypothetical examples using his three-step definition. His examples include journalists, marriage vows, political candidates, competitive sportsmanship, and college professors' letters of reference, and more.

Carter's scholarly and lawyerly-logic efforts were certainly not light-reading, but he did well in making a potentially dry subject interesting and informative. While his frequent and almost excessive direct references to his Catholic beliefs and his admiration of the American Civil Rights movement led by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. might make some readers uncomfortable, I thought they were effective and appropriate to his discussions. Towards the end of the book, Carter even proposes a set of eight principles for bringing true integrity to our politics and democracy that will certainly generate both positive and negative critiques.

Overall, I admire Carter's courage in tackling such a difficult subject (everybody thinks they know what it is, but very few seem to agree on it) and being the first to put it out front for all to see. An introspective and thought-provoking book that was well worth the effort it took to read and absorb.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Society's integrity: finally someone has addressed it., October 11, 2000

By 

Craig K McConnell (Walnut Creek, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Integrity (Paperback)

It is about time that someone has had the courage to stand up and say what he believes about integrity in the world today. Stephen Carter does a good job of posing questions that provoke thought upon a subject that is generally avoided because people like to fool themselves into thinking that they are living a life of integrity. Carter points out how often, in everyday situations, people show that they have not sat down and contemplated their actions before they do something that could make them look bad later. He shows have many people "shoot first and ask questions later" rather than thinking about what is important enough to stand behind and what isn't. A word of warning though, don't read this book unless you are prepared to look at your own life of "integrity."

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He writes about Walking ones Talk, January 25, 2000

By 

MotherLodeBeth "MotherLodeBeth" (Sierras of California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Integrity (Paperback)

It was after reading the authors Culture of Disbelief that made me want to read INTEGRITY. For weeks I had been searching for a book that would best sum up my belief that there are to many hypocrites. People who say one thing but act the opposite. I knew there was a word or theory that would best describe how I felt and then I saw this book and it was like a lightbulb going on. INTEGRITY. It is all about having the gutts to be the person you project yourself to be. Prof Carter has this gift for opening your eyes and you find yourself going "That's Right!" "Yes that's true" "Oh my god that's right" or simply "YES!" Then I got to page 31 and he mentions Commitment. Then begins to describe how we as Americans want reliability, and how we each admire the rare soul who has the integrity to do what is right while all the naysayers mock. How we love it when someone keeps a promise. He then discusses being Forthright, Steadfastness. This is a must read in this election year. A great book for reminding that ethical little person inside all of us that sometimes all it takes to renew anothers faith in humanity is for one man or woman to walk their talk.