If we understood the true role of money in our lives, writes philosopher Jacob Needleman, we would not think simply in terms of spending it or saving it. Money exerts a deep emotional influence on who we are and what we tell ourselves we can never have. Our long unwillingness to understand the emotional and spiritual effects of money on us is at the heart of why we have come to know the price of everything, and the value of nothing. Money has everything to do with the pursuit of an idealistic life, while at the same time, it is at the root of our daily frustrations. On a social level, money has a profound impact on the price of progress. Needleman shows how money slowly began to haunt us, from the invention of coins in Biblical times (when money was created to rescue the community good, not for self gain), through its hypnotic appeal in our money-obsessed era. This is a remarkable book that combines myth and psychology, the poetry of the Sufis and the wisdom of King Solomon, along with Jacob Needleman's searching of his own soul and his culture to explain how money can become a unique means of self-knowledge. As part of the Currency paperback line, it includes a "User's Guide" an introduction and discussion guide created for the paperback by the author -- to help readers make practical use of the book's ideas.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Philosopher Needleman ( The New Religions ) believes that our obsession with money and compulsion for material wealth undercut personal authenticity: "The money question is formed in us at the very roots of our personality," instilling a narrow attitude of personal gain. If only we would step back and look at the emotional and spiritual effects money has on us, the green stuff could "serve the aim of self-knowledge" and become "a tool for breaking out" of our mental prison, insists Needleman. Then we would appreciate existence as a gift. How to accomplish this self-transformation is not spelled out in this portentous sermon, which draws on ancient Greek and Hebrew views of hell, Christian teachings, the legend of King Solomon, Eastern wisdom, Meister Eckhart, Rilke, Emerson and an analysis of Max Weber and the roots of modern capitalism.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Needleman, a philosophy professor, argues that while we have countless books on making and managing money, there is little published on the relationship between the quest for money and the quest for the meaning of life. While that is often seen as humanity's main weakness, it is Needleman's thesis that in our time the principle of personal gain is embodied in the quest for money. In what seems to be an updated version of the gospel of wealth (complete with solemn quotes from a "businessman," probably Laurance Rockefeller), Needleman concludes that money can be accumulated not only for personal needs and wants, but for higher, philanthropic purposes that can give life real meaning. Recommended for academic and large public library collections.
- Jeffrey R. Herold, Bucyrus P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
- Jeffrey R. Herold, Bucyrus P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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More About the Author
Jacob Needleman, the acclaimed author of The American Soul and Money and the Meaning of Life, is a professor of philosophy at San Francisco State University, and a former director of the Center for the Study of New Religions at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
41 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There are good ideas, interesting asides, and new philosophical propositions to spare in Money and the Secret of Life. The basic premise--that money is a technology invented, not to accumulate wealth, but to realize human potential--is certainly worth our attention. Needleman is best describing money as the great tool of capitalism and capitalism as a great metaphysical system. The problem with Money and the Meaning of Life is that Jacob Needleman set out to write an inquiry into the spiritual potential of money, then sketched out a history of Western religious thought, and ended up writing a first person narrative full of punch lines thinly disguised as surprise philosophical discoveries. Mixing Max Weber, Guradjieff, Maimonodes, King Solomon, and an anonymous businessman (who really DOES know the meaning of life) could have been a rollercoaster ride full of unexpected connections and insights; what it actually ends up being is long-winded, self-conscious, and pretentious. In terms of the capitalist object, a good product, but, word for word, not exactly a terrific value.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Could there be a subject more charged with the drama of
human life? Each of us lives in some private, personal
struggle with money that to a great extent dictates the
course of our dreams, our search for meaning, and our
compromises with deep Self. If you read nothing else about
money, give yourself the great treat of opening the pages of
this book. You may finally begin to comprehend why, if you
have ever attempted to make money conscious, make it work for
you rather than against you, take it into the domain of
spirit, you have not succeeded. Not succeeded in finding
deep or lasting satisfaction with it: as it squeezes you this
way, frightens you that way, appears, disappears, plays with
your hidden shame, seduces you to give up your heart's
desire for more of it, etc. Beginning to understand why,
you may also begin to have compassion for yourself in the
midst of this journey, this search for The Way, in and
through money. Needleman is fluent, wise, humble, and
provocative as he lays out the foundation of a timely and
really comprehensible thesis about the power of the most
ubiquitous of elements fueling our lives and fantasies,
money.
human life? Each of us lives in some private, personal
struggle with money that to a great extent dictates the
course of our dreams, our search for meaning, and our
compromises with deep Self. If you read nothing else about
money, give yourself the great treat of opening the pages of
this book. You may finally begin to comprehend why, if you
have ever attempted to make money conscious, make it work for
you rather than against you, take it into the domain of
spirit, you have not succeeded. Not succeeded in finding
deep or lasting satisfaction with it: as it squeezes you this
way, frightens you that way, appears, disappears, plays with
your hidden shame, seduces you to give up your heart's
desire for more of it, etc. Beginning to understand why,
you may also begin to have compassion for yourself in the
midst of this journey, this search for The Way, in and
through money. Needleman is fluent, wise, humble, and
provocative as he lays out the foundation of a timely and
really comprehensible thesis about the power of the most
ubiquitous of elements fueling our lives and fantasies,
money.
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have been on a never-ending search for a higher-paying, more satisfying job/career my entire life believing totally that this would be the answer to many of my life's challenges and problems. Further, I believed that all of these challenges and problems were for the most part being driven by external factors. After reading this book, I appreciate that my search surely was and is about more than making money.
The structure of the book is somewhat like a quilt pieced together of various subject matter, ideas and reflections about money. I had to make an effort to stay with the flow when I couldn't see where it was going. Perhaps this was a strategy the author choose to use and the one that kept me reading to the end.
It's not a book I was able to rush through because as I read the truth of what he was saying presented me with quite an accurate and painful reflection of my own behavior and beliefs about money. I could only read a little bit of the truth at a time because as I recall hearing once, the truth will set you free but first it's going to just about kill you. I had to let it kill me a little bit at a time.
An excellent companion piece to this book and one that Needleman cites is by Lewis Hyde entitled, "The Gift."
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Full of himself
I purchased this book on the basis of other reviews, and then thought those reviewers were from a different planet when I got into it. Read more
Published on November 15, 2009 by Cegar
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth a read for anyone with issues around $
Needleman's plot and dialogue are not strong, so this is not a brilliant literary achievement. The man is a professor of philosophy, not a novelist, and some how his story does an... Read more
Published on August 18, 2009 by Tedro
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't waste your time...
I have to say I was very disappointed with this book. The author seemed to be reaching too often to come off as a wise academic and ended up surrounding a complex topic with... Read more
Published on April 1, 2007 by Alvis Snipes
5.0 out of 5 stars
a darn good book
The book is a good one. We enjoyed it and recommend it to others. The service was great too.
Published on January 3, 2007 by Susan L. Mcbride
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not that great
Needleman had some interesting stories but I didn't find the book all the helpful or entertaining. I had to read it for class and the only good part about the assignment was the... Read more
Published on November 28, 2006 by William R. McNeill III
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not just a book
As a spiritual healer I have been recommending this book to clients for about ten years. The differences in their lives and their attitude to money have been simply amazing. Read more
Published on August 16, 2006 by M. Wyze
1.0 out of 5 stars
A philosophy professor's lecture and lunch conversation
A rambling, self-important, name-dropping, and pretentious work that I forced myself to finish. The literary device of focusing on discussions with two fictional students during... Read more
Published on April 27, 2006 by D. Ashley
1.0 out of 5 stars
Washroom wall précis of "Money and the Meaning of...
Current events contribute to the genius of pulp prose. The larger lesson made evident by the Katrina hurricane disaster as well as the recent but already forgotten corporate... Read more
Published on September 5, 2005 by Don Anderson
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not too helpful
I really didnt find answers to anything regarding the meaning or essence of money. Only the authors confused philosophy. Read more
Published on July 19, 2005 by Helpfortheweary
2.0 out of 5 stars
Pretentious, read chapter 20 onward,
I'd give it five stars but 1) It lacks an index. 2) It borders on salve for gilded yuppies much like Chopra's Seven Laws for Spiritual success. Read more
Published on July 15, 2002 by R. Clampitt
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