Here are the factors that make this a three star book. (3 stars means "I liked it", not "really liked it" or "loved it"...)
- The writing is excellent. Esolen has a fluid command of the English language and uses many juicy, excellent analogies to hammer home his point. I enjoyed reading his words very much.
- The book is mistitled and this is my primary problem with it. One thinks it's a practical manual on how to raise children rich in authentic humanity-- only in reverse psychology Screwtape Letters style. It is not. The book can keep its main title but needs a new subtitle like "a diatribe on how works of Western literature are far more rich in virtue and humanity than today's culture". Or maybe "how studying The Great Books will make us realize how far our society has degraded." The book does not offer practical solutions other than what is obvious: homeschool your children, limit media and have a rich home library. But even that has to be inferred because each chapter is only a listing of what is WRONG with modern American culture.
- This book won't add anything to those who are already convinced of its premise... which is the exact audience to which Esolen seems to write. I.e., if you have read Dante, Homer, Shakespeare, etc., not only will you be able to fully appreciate all his references to these writers (which, I kid not, are at least once every two pages), but you will have been steeped in a culture of higher level thinking that makes it almost certain that you already value the values he's preaching on here.
Chapter discussions include but are not limited to: mass education (incl. Common Core), utilitarian overworking, lack of critical thinking, predominance of lust over love, "tolerance", mob mentality, and the disintegration of the family.
So, most intelligent people will enjoy reading this book but that's only if they are already intelligent and enjoy getting fired up about previously held convictions. At best, such people might learn new ways to nuance and articulate these convictions by reading this book.
For the masses, like another reviewer stated, the ones who need to read this book, won't be able to.
Bottom line: as one who is already convicted on the degradation of culture, I was looking (and misled by the title) for something practical to accompany the rhetoric. Instead, I was treated to a well-written sermon designed for the choir with lots and lots of external references to great literature. 3 stars.
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