Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man and Life's Greatest Lesson [Paperback]

Mitch Albom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2003

Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, and gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago. Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you? Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying of ALS - or motor neurone disease - MItch visited Morrie in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final 'class': lessons in how to live. TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This true story about the love between a spiritual mentor and his pupil has soared to the bestseller list for many reasons. For starters: it reminds us of the affection and gratitude that many of us still feel for the significant mentors of our past. It also plays out a fantasy many of us have entertained: what would it be like to look those people up again, tell them how much they meant to us, maybe even resume the mentorship? Plus, we meet Morrie Schwartz--a one of a kind professor, whom the author describes as looking like a cross between a biblical prophet and Christmas elf. And finally we are privy to intimate moments of Morrie's final days as he lies dying from a terminal illness. Even on his deathbed, this twinkling-eyed mensch manages to teach us all about living robustly and fully. Kudos to author and acclaimed sports columnist Mitch Albom for telling this universally touching story with such grace and humility. --Gail Hudson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A Detroit Free Press journalist and best-selling author recounts his weekly visits with a dying teacher who years before had set him straight.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Sphere (July 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0751529818
• ISBN-13: 978-0751529814
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,529 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #830,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mitch Albom is an author, playwright, and screenwriter who has written seven books, including the international bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie, the bestselling memoir of all time. His first novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller, as were For One More Day, his second novel, and Have a Little Faith, his most recent work of nonfiction. All four books were made into acclaimed TV films. Albom also works as a columnist and a broadcaster and has founded seven charities in Detroit and Haiti, where he operates an orphanage/mission. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#74 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#90 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs

#94 in Books > Self-Help

#74 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#90 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs

#94 in Books > Self-Help

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

253 of 271 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Certainly makes one think. April 18, 2001

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

This book is a best seller and continues to stay on the best seller list because in my opinion most people down deep understand the truth of Morrie's basic philosophy that people living exclusively in a materialistic world generally do so to replace what they feel is missing from their lives even though they may not be consciously aware, at the moment, of what precisely is "missing." What is missing ? I found part of this answer in a general sense in this book. I found even more precise and concrete answers in the book An Encounter With A Prophet. I highly recommend both of these books to anyone seeking to find out why they seem to continue to feel something is missing from life.

324 of 351 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book to remind you of what really matters in life February 7, 2000

By Levi VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I read this book after hearing so many good things about it and the TV movie based on it. It's a very quick read - I finished it in two days, which is unheard of for me! The book is basically about Morrie Schwartz, a history professor at Brandeis University, who has been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and is dying. A former student, Mitch Albom, who had become a fairly well known sports writer, heard about his teacher from an interview with Ted Koppel on Nightline and decided to pay a visit. This visit soon turned into regular meetings - on Tuesdays - since at the time there was a strike at Albom's newspaper. Albom plots Morrie's declining health, which is quite depressing, but at the same time imparts Morrie's wisdom. One definitely can get a sense of what the important things in life are from someone who has little left, but Morrie is particularly eloquent and seems to carry an upbeat dignity to the end. Sometimes it takes the wisdom of a dying man to jog us enough to realize that human relationships and health are more important than all the gadgets, modern conveniences, pressures to get ahead professionally and monetarily combined. This is just the main point that Morrie starts "teaching" Albom and getting through to someone who, like many of us from time to time, have gotten obsessed with the real trivialities of life. The only complaint I have about this book is that it wasn't longer. I wanted to take more time and savor the wisdom and sweetness of this old man, but, like his illness's swiftness, reading the book seemed to go by all too quickly.

165 of 179 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is The Most Powerful Book I've Ever Read December 9, 1999

By J. Hoopes

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book has had more impact on my life than anything else I've ever read, by far. It's a reminder to appreciate the simple, little things in life. It's a reminder that when you're dead, the things you've accumulated and the things you've done will disappear. What will remain is the ways that you've affected or touched other people.

This is a simple book with simple messages.

Live fully and in the moment. Treat others with respect, kindness, love, and dignity. Seek joy.

However, these messages are easily lost given the constantly increasing pressures we all face. This book is a guide to a way that you can live your life where you'll be able to look back at the end and feel peace and contentment.

I've given copies of this book to many people that I know. I encourage you to read this book and do so with an open mind and heart.