Ambition: The Secret Passion

By Joseph Epstein

Book Overview

"Ambition is not what it used to be," writes Joseph Epstein. The desire to get ahead no longer evokes the same admiration it once did-indeed, modern novelists seem hardly able to deal with ambition without a sneer. But is ambition necessarily synonymous with ruthless, narrow self-interest? Or, as Mr. Epstein suggests, is it "the fuel of achievement"-an honorable way to influence and advance civilization? Mr. Epstein's sketches of eminent Americans-from Benjamin Franklin (that premier go-getter) to Henry Ford, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Adlai Stevenson, and the Rockefeller, Guggenheim, and Kennedy dynasties-and his pointed reconsideration of the ingredients of the American Dream (success, money, and power) form a fascinating social history, one that may change many readers' attitudes toward their "secret passion."
"Should be must reading in executive suites as well as college classrooms."-Forbes.
"Handled with a good amount of wit and with the clear, straightforward analysis of a man with a point of view. Like Samuel Johnson, Epstein] reminds more often than he instructs."-Jack Richardson, New York Times.
"To have so rich an intellectual fare so pleasurably served is rare. Read Ambition and feast."-Saturday Review.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0929587189
• ISBN13: 9780929587189
• Release Date: August 1989
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee Publisher
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

An interesting exploration of a complicated topic

Epstein's Ambition is the rare kind of book that simply kicks around an idea for a few hundred pages rather than beating the reader in accepting a certain interpretation of it. Despite being nearly two decades old, the approach has kept the book current and refreshing. Frankly, I'm not sure I could tell you what Epstein thinks of Ambition beyond the fact that he has, in fact, thought a lot about it and that it is a complicated subject. The book has sub-chapters called "Curiosity Shops" that really are just curious explorations of different situations. One could fill a nice bookshelf with the obscure sources Epstein drags up to discuss and I plan on doing just that. Ambition is best looked at as book to be flipped through and consumed in pieces. Don't struggle too much when it starts to drag and take and absorb what you like. Definitely marvel at the fact that Epstein is a hell of a writer.