The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culture [Paperback]

David Emory Shi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2001

Traces a persistent strain in American thought and conduct: the effort to turn away from materialistic society and to live instead a `simple life' devoted to plain living and things of the mind and spirit.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A thoughtful book, filled with carefully assessed observations...strongly recommended reading for anyone contemplating simplification of their personal lifestyles." -- The Midwest Book Review

"Combines creative synthesis with a fresh exploration of neglected materials, especially in the fascinating chapters on the twentieth century." -- Michael Kammen, Cornell University

"It takes a book like David Shi's...to reveal the rich history and surprising complexity of the human impulse to simplify." -- Sal Alfano, Psychology Today

"Meticulously researched...it should stand as a seminal study of an enduring theme in U.S. social history." -- Patrick G. Coy, Sojourners

"Mr. Shi's study is interesting for the light it sheds on America's moral development." -- Israel Rosenfield, The New York Times Book Review

"Offers some assurance that the simple life can be personally gratifying, if not, in the long run, socially constructive." -- Myron A. Marty, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Shi has written a magnificent book, weaving together disparate themes from American history into a wonderful new web of meaning." -- Dale Suderman, Christianity Today

"Shi manages time and again in specific instances to be lively and illuminating." -- Larzer Ziff, The Philadelphia Inquirer

"The first comprehensive survey of America's persistent efforts to bring some moral restraint into our frantic search for wealth." -- Gordon S. Wood, History Book Club

"The most recent expression of a complex intellectual tradition which has shaped American cultures for centuries. If many of Shi's sources for this tradition are familiar, he does a masterful job of bringing them together." -- Jackson Lears, The Nation

About the Author

David E. Shi, Associate Professor of History, Davidson College. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: University of Georgia Press (November 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0820323403
• ISBN-13: 978-0820323404
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,661,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A candid, informative, scholarly examination, April 8, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culture (Paperback)

The Simple Life: Plain Living And High Thinking In American Culture by David E. Shi (President and Professor of History, Furman University) is a candid, informative, scholarly examination throughout American social history of the drive to simplify one's life and find meaning by the means of deliberately giving up excess material vanity, as embodied in the writings and lifestyles of Thomas Jefferson, Henry David Thoreau, Jimmy Carter, and others. Individual chapters discuss the simple life concept from the Puritan, Quaker, Republican, and other points of view, and the importance and value this way of thought, behavior, and culture retained even in today's increasingly fast-paced electronic world. A thoughtful book, filled with carefully assessed observations, The Simple Life is strongly recommended reading for anyone contemplating simplification of their personal lifestyles and circumstances as a means of improving the quality of their lives and themselves.

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get this book first, if you're interested in simple living., June 23, 2001

By 

Richard (Richmond, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culture (Paperback)

This is the best book I have ever read on simple living. The writer not only knows his history, but he can write. I especially liked the chapter on Emersonian views of simple living.

Richard J. Lorenz

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best, September 5, 2004

By 

Ash (abroad) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culture (Hardcover)

On my bookself sits a number of volumes on voluntary simplicity. This one is simply one of the best. It is so good in fact that I am considering giving the other books away. In this history, the author chronicles three centuries of simplicty in America.