Customer Reviews

Self-Reliance: The Wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson as Inspiration for Daily Living

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I cannot pick up this book without feeling encouraged and inspired. The editor has gone through and picked out some of the best passages from Emerson's works, thus saving us the trouble of wading through hundreds of pages of prose for the really good stuff. Everyone needs a copy of this book.

This is the first book by Emerson that I've read, but hope to read more of his essays later. The book really is inspirational. Emerson is an excellent writer and his words flow together like nothing I've ever read. The essays in this book are pure poetry.... really beautiful. Even if you don't believe in the Transcendalist/Idealist view, you can still read this book and feel like you've gotten something out of it. I would recommend this for anyone who has a liking for beautiful writing.

I note one of the descriptions provided by Amazon reviews mentions something like "[By providing just the most inspiring passages from each essay, the author makes Emerson more accessible and inspiring to the reader." Emerson is often quoted as he did come with some beautiful language. But, to really judge Emerson, I think it is crucial to read, for example, the entire essay "Self-Reliance" and "Love". These essays are short, and quite passionately written. Amazingly, Emerson's "Transcendentalism" is exactly the same as "The Secret" and the Law of Attraction, and also Carl Jung's concepts of Universal Spirit / Collective Consciousness. The problem is that Emerson's views expressed in essays such as "Self Reliance" and "Love" are incredibly inconsistent, and they are greatly inconsistent, over and over again, when compared to other famous speeches he gave such as "The Nature of Man", I believe. Emerson is famous for having written, in "Self Reliance", "Inconsistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.", in other words, don't be afraid to be inconsistent as that is what "Great Men", as he calls them, must do. Many people glorify this aspect of Emerson as meaning he provides us with paradoxes. For you to judge his value as a spiritual or life guidepost, you just cannot rely only on excerpts; which, probably have been selected because they are beautifully written but, by only selecting certain excerpts, this author can avoid revealing Emerson's fatal inconsistencies. Emerson's inconsistent views seem to come from insecure, egotist who simply has a need to always be provocative (scholarly reviewers all point to the fact that Emerson was, indeed, greatly insecure due to his failures as both a Harvard professor and a Unitarian minister, as well as in his very unhappy marriage. These scholars say that he had no choice but to retreat into the wilds because he had no way to make a living! Emerson's views are also just wrong. For example, just like all these New Thought movements, he dismisses rational thought as worthless and destructive to your decisions and actions. He falsely romanticizes the, according to Emerson, impulsive, non-rational thinking patters of "laborers"; "youths" "[who act quickly and taking no need of any other or any societal norm"]; and of primitive and aboriginal peoples, who somehow (just as Jung believed) were all so in touch with the Universal Spirit that they were wise enough to act quickly just on pure instinct. Each person is divine. Each person can tap into the Universal Mind, and when you do, any thought, emotion, or feeling because it comes both from God, who lives inside each of us and from the divine Universal Spirit. This is exactly what "The Secret" / Law of Attraction teach. In my opinion, it is a very dangerous fact that so many intelligent, college graduates, guided by Oprah, are so fully committed to such anti-intellectual, anti-rational thought movements. While these thinking views all have some good ideas similar to "The Power of Positive Thinking"; they, also, absurdly all claim to be "scientifically proven" based on the mysterious, strange movements made by electrons in quantum mechanics physics. What non of them tell you is that the mathematical equations describing the behavior of electrons in quantum mechanics, ONLY applies to extremely tiny particles such as a single electron or, possibly, an atom. They have no effect on the matter that we live with such as toaster ovens, trees, human beings, mountains, etc. You can not prove that you can "attract" or "manifest" a Rolls Royce, which is the example they all use, by using the laws of quantum mechanics physics. This disturbs me greatly because, again, it is so ant-intellectual. The fact that so many educated people fall for this "scientific" nonsense just because they watch one or two sell-out charlatan physicists claims that the Law of Attraction has been "scientifically proven", makes me realize why, as one example, we seem to have no hope getting people to accept the true dangers facing human civilization, over the next 100 years or so, by global warming. No one who does not believe in global warming will change their behaviors if they refuse to do any simple basic research and make an informed independent judgement.
Read the whole of a few of Emerson's essay's and be prepared to enjoy his language but to need to study them carefully and flip the pages back and forth as you see his inconsistencies. Then, you can, I think, make a fair judgement on his true worth you you and to society as a spiritual or philosophy of life guidepost! Whether you come out with me or come to the opposite conclusion, you will enjoy reading the often beautiful language used by Emerson. Have fun with it! I would enjoy reading any and all Replies, of any opinion, to any or all portions of this lengthy comment. Thanks!

"In Roxbury in 1825, I read Cotton's translation of Montaigne. It seemed to me as if I had written the book myself in some former life, so sincerely it spoke to my thought and experience."
-Emerson in his journal

I use the above quote from Emerson because it describes exactly how I felt when I opened this little book. Despite what other reviewers have claimed, the editor does make it explicit in his introduction that these selections are edited down for ease of reading:
"I realized that an abridged edition of his essays could introduce Emerson, and make his down-to-earth wisdom accessible to a readership that might otherwise be put off by his sometimes long, difficult, and overwritten passages."

This approach was perfect for me. If I had been exposed to Emerson's writing in its full strength, it may have been too much. Emerson's work does not lend itself to casual reading. Not only because the depth of his ideas but the vernacular he uses to explain them. Do not be disheartened though if you find his work abstruse. Many of his contemporaries who heard his lectures, which he later distilled into his written essays, had difficulty understanding him too.

In my case, this little book fulfilled the editor's stated goal. It won me over instantly and I have been an adherent of Emerson ever since.

If one is seeking to read Emerson unedited be sure to check out the Library of America collection of his works. Emerson: Essays and Lectures: Nature: Addresses and Lectures / Essays: First and Second Series / Representative Men / English Traits / The Conduct of Life (Library of America) Also, Harvard University Press is publishing an annotated collection of his essays which drops in February 2012. This is one I am really looking forward to adding to my Emerson collection.The Annotated Emerson

when i was in college, RWE literally saved my life. when i thought i was crazy for the ideas swimming around in my head, he showed me i was just connected into something greater than just my immediate surroundings. now that i am 45 years old, it was nice to reconnect with the words that changed my outlook on the world. this book was like sitting down and having conversations with an old friend. the book is broken into 1/2-page and 1-page chunks. it is very easy to grab the book, spend 10 or 20 minutes, and reenter this crazy world with a fresh and enlightened face. keep it in your car, your purse, your briefcase, your backpack, or next to your bed. you'll reach for it often.

Didn't realize this was written by someone other than Emerson. I wanted his writings, not somebody else's interpretation of them.

This book contains edited essays of Emerson written in the 1800's. They seem to me like the sermons of a minister, which he was. They are often incomprehensible -- maybe 10% inspirational, using words as ministers did at that time. I had to push myself to finish it; however, the later essays were better (more understandable, showed common sense at times).

So dude, I was totally blown away by this book. Emerson was like some sort of genious, I mean, like up to now I always felt trapped and unable to cope and stuff but now I feel like I can do anything. Or as Emerson would say, "Actuate to the fullest" Right on! I mean now I could go live in the woods on acorns and stuff and be fine because I have self-reliance. I read this book in my class called English in high-school and we were studying a group called the Trancalendarists or something and apparently Emerson was one of them and he wrote this to show how cool it was. Well I'm a believer too baby. So read this book it will change your life for the better. I guess Emerson summed up endings the best so I'll leave you with his memorable statement, "In the netherworld of indecidabilty, there is but one truth, and this truth is the incorrigible falseness of truth people. Ignore them all" Take it to the bank and stay cool, friends.

I just finished reading Self-Reliance by Emerson. It was subjected to me by my overly-enthusiastic english teacher who thought that the transcendental movement was best described via his retarded words. Well, it wasn't. It sucked. A lot. Bravo, Mr. Emerson. Yeah, I know that he thought he was changing the world when he wrote it, and that he KNEW his work was supposed to be revolutionary, yet, here we are; embittered and angry, seeking revenge. You know, it's times like these when I wish that I was illiterate. While reading this 26 page drivel, my incredibly bored and irritated brain decided to give me visions of thrusting thorns into my eyes so I could stop reading. For any of you who have to read this, please do so, I mean after all, if i had to you have to. Sincerely, Laphroaig