The Road to Character

By David Brooks

Book Overview

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - David Brooks challenges us to rebalance the scales between the focus on external success--"r sum virtues"--and our core principles. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST With the wisdom, humor, curiosity, and sharp insights that have brought millions of readers to his New York Times column and his previous bestsellers, David Brooks has consistently illuminated our daily lives in surprising and original ways. In The Social Animal, he explored the neuroscience of human connection and how we can flourish together. Now, in The Road to Character, he focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives. Looking to some of the world's greatest thinkers and inspiring leaders, Brooks explores how, through internal struggle and a sense of their own limitations, they have built a strong inner character. Labor activist Frances Perkins understood the need to suppress parts of herself so that she could be an instrument in a larger cause. Dwight Eisenhower organized his life not around impulsive self-expression but considered self-restraint. Dorothy Day, a devout Catholic convert and champion of the poor, learned as a young woman the vocabulary of simplicity and surrender. Civil rights pioneers A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin learned reticence and the logic of self-discipline, the need to distrust oneself even while waging a noble crusade. Blending psychology, politics, spirituality, and confessional, The Road to Character provides an opportunity for us to rethink our priorities, and strive to build rich inner lives marked by humility and moral depth. "Joy," David Brooks writes, "is a byproduct experienced by people who are aiming for something else. But it comes." Praise for The Road to Character "A hyper-readable, lucid, often richly detailed human story." -- The New York Times Book Review "This profound and eloquent book is written with moral urgency and philosophical elegance." --Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree and The Noonday Demon "A powerful, haunting book that works its way beneath your skin." --The Guardian "Original and eye-opening . . . Brooks is a normative version of Malcolm Gladwell, culling from a wide array of scientists and thinkers to weave an idea bigger than the sum of its parts." -- USA Today

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812983416
• ISBN13: 9780812983418
• Release Date: September 2016
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful explorations into the lives of notable people who contributed to the greater good

David takes you into the intimate lives, including warts and blemishes, of famous characters with whom you may already be familiar. Get ready: perhaps there is a great deal more to learn here that yields a less flattering, yet believably down-to-earth existence for these folks. I challenge you to read with an open mind. What is beautiful about David Brook's premise for the molding of great character is what it is not: there is no formula nor list of bullet points. He pushes the reader to patiently discover a multi-faceted examination into what is often a troubled soul's fall from grace into a truly graceful existence. We can all benefit from learning about the lives modeled within this book.

Very opinionated judgemental undertones stated as if they're fact

I felt the content was a matter of opinion/judgement which was negative, unconstructive, based on assumptions and bias but stated as fact. The author clearly is upset about certain developments in our society and seems to be shaming these evolutions or claiming they're somehow bad. Example would be referring to the change in language from the girl scout handbook to be more empowering "I can change the world." He labels this as just narcissistic, completely ignoring the positive implications of empowering young people to have the drive to make change. That part isn't addressed at all. Just the assumption that confidence is actually just narcissistic ego and therefore not good. Young people having confidence that they can change society should not be looked down upon or talked down to. Not an appropriate, constructive, or productive message. Find a better book. Not everything has to be about empowerment but I really don't think anti-empowerment is helpful at all and is also misinterpreting the positive changes in our culture as negative or pointless because he appears to be stuck in an old world that doesn't exist anymore and frankly good riddance. The content is outdated, I'm unsure of the authors background but I would venture a guess that he lands in the baby boomer Era, definitely American, and now bitterly looks down upon young people for living differently than he's used to and he fears change and therefore fears youth and the future generations. Unfortunately a title like this attracts young people, I would advise taking advice and lessons from somebody who isn't against you.

Book was in excellent condition?

Great resource for a Bible study class. It's well written and let's me delve deeper into what it means to be a Christian at this time.