Take My Advice: Letters to the Next Generation from People Who Know a Thing or Two [Hardcover]

James L. Harmon (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 26, 2002

"Take Their Advice: "

Camille Paglia - Wayne Koestenbaum - Jonathan Ames - Jennifer Belle - Howard Zinn - Joe Dallesandro - Bruce LaBruce - Dr. Laura Schlessinger - Tom Robbins - Judith Butler - Martha Nussbaum Horst - William S. Burroughs - Larry Niven - Veruschka - Lydia Lunch - Spalding Gray - Eileen Myles - Roger Scruton - Ken Kesey Mary Gaitskill - Richard Powers - Mark Dery - Florence King - Mark Simpson - Bob Shacochis - Joanna Scott - Quentin Crisp - Carolyn Chute - Michael Thomas Ford - Alexander Theroux - George Saunders - Charles Baxter - Ian Shoales - Fay Weldon - Bruce Benderson - Scott Russell Sanders - John Shirley - Dr. John Money - Cindy Sherman - Richard Meltzer - Gene Wolfe - Abbie Hoffman - Diane Wakowski - Richard Taylor - Bette Davis - Arthur Nersesian - Jim Harrison - Martha Gellhorn - Lucius Shepard - Dan Jenkins - Steve Stern - Murray Bookchin - John Zerzan - Maurice Vellekoop - Joel-Peter Witkin - Stewart Home - Maxx Ardman - Katharine Hepburn - Bret Lott - Lynda Barry - Alain de Botton - Mary McCarthy - Hakim Bey - Anita O'Day - Chris Kraus - R. U. Sirius - C. D. Payne W. V. Quine - Rita Dove - Robert Creeley - Valerie Martin - Paul Krassner - Alphonso Lingis - Mark Helprin - John Rechy - Ram Dass - William T. Vollmann - and Bettie Page

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the spirit of Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, Harmon's tongue-in-cheek collection of words to live by should become a new classic. Over the past 10 years, he queried hundreds of social thinkers, academics, poets, artists and more--and received some fantastic responses. As Harmon says, "I would be a complete ingrate not to share those thoughts." And so, Mary McCarthy advises, "Be truthful... and pay attention. I would also recommend the avoidance of credit cards." Anita O'Day suggests, "Just get up there and let it rip!" Dr. Laura Schlessinger counsels, "Never sell your soul." And Katharine Hepburn recommends, "Work as hard as you can, whatever you do, and try to spread generosity of spirit."
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Determined not to make a "warm, gooey book with the shelf lifeof a banana," artist and writer Harmon asked a wide range of authors,activists, artists, radicals, journalists, and academics to offertheir advice to a new generation just reaching adulthood. Theresulting "letters" range from shocking to straightforward, intenselypersonal to generic, and the views are slanted far to the artisticleft. There's sound advice: "Look for independent sources ofinformation." And less sound advice: on the necessity of travel, onecontributor scolds, "Don't say you can't afford it. In a pinch you canalways smuggle something." And there's the completely outrageous:"Beware of whores who say they don't want money. The hell theydon't." The best selections are wise, realistic, and not coddling,and they offer fine, provocative browsing to world-wearytwentysomethings with artistic aspirations. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First edition (March 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743210921
• ISBN-13: 978-0743210928
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #712,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Wisdom & Reflections!, May 2, 2003

By 

Joseph J. Hanssen "Joe" (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Take My Advice: Letters to the Next Generation from People Who Know a Thing or Two (Hardcover)

There are 79 fascinating original essays in this collection that were gathered together over a period of ten years from public figures who give out their advice, wisdom, and reflections on life. The book is chuck full of insight from people like Quentin Crisp, Bette Davis, William S. Burroughs, Katharine Hepburn, and others. Joe Dallesandro, star of Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey's late 60's cult films, "Flesh, Trash, and Heat" offers some excellent advice in his essay. He states, "The negative aspect of beauty in our culture is our obsession with it - like when a person becomes bulimic or anorexic because they want to look like a celebrity or a model in a magazine. He further states, "Beauty is fun, it has its place, but don't mistake it for self-worth". In other words we need more than beauty and good looks to feel fulfilled. We need to look inside ourselves and find inner beauty and true meaning in our lives. Once in a while we should forget the "me" and lend a helping hand to others who need us. Good advice.

You may not agree with all of the advice being dished out in these essays, but it is a fascinating look into the lives of these famous and not so famous individuals, and the way they think. It will also make you think a little more deeply yourself, and provide you with plenty of interesting advice to digest and compare with your own beliefs. Harmon has done an excellent job in bringing these people's thoughts into our own thoughts. This is a book I certainly will read again!

Joe Hanssen

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much food for thought, July 23, 2002

By 

"roshanpaul" (Davidson, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Take My Advice: Letters to the Next Generation from People Who Know a Thing or Two (Hardcover)

In the unbelievably commercialized world we live in, this book comes as a breath of fresh air telling college graduates how they should think as they head out into the world. Since most of the advisors are artists, their advice isn't likely to help you make a lot of money! However, I firmly believe that artists hold the key to the future because they alone refuse to buy into the dominant cultural/political system (in this case, mindless consumerism) and seek ways of framing new modes of thought. For this reason, this book should be read by anyone discontented with sheer consumerism and searching for a better way to live. What's especially telling is how many of these artists suggest that we stop watching TV!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as Dorky as It Sounds, May 25, 2002

By 

Steven Moore (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Take My Advice: Letters to the Next Generation from People Who Know a Thing or Two (Hardcover)

because of the colorful list of contributors, folks like Richard Powers, Tom Robbins, William S. Burroughs, Alexander Theroux, Judith Butler, William T. Vollmann, Robert Creeley, Ken Kesey, R. U. Sirius, et al.--not your usual advice-mongerers. An especially appealing feature is the young photographs of many of the contributors: Camille Paglia at her first job, Quentin Crisp as a young exquisite, and a drop-dead glamorous photo of philosopher Martha Nussbaum as a college freshman that will make you weak in the knees. And the advice is more frank and useful than you'll find in most books of this ilk.