Biography & True Story Books:

Misanthrope! Autobiographical Notes

Click to share your rating 1 rating (5.0/5.0 average) Thanks for your vote!

Format:

Paperback / softback
$77.99
Available from supplier

The item is brand new and in-stock with one of our preferred suppliers. The item will ship from a Mighty Ape warehouse within the timeframe shown.

Usually ships in 2-3 weeks

Buy Now, Pay Later with:

Afterpay is available on orders $100 to $2000 Learn more

Availability

Delivering to:

Estimated arrival:

  • Around 8-20 May using International Courier

Customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Based on 1 Customer Ratings

5 star
(1)
4 star
(0)
3 star
(0)
2 star
(0)
1 star
(0)
Write a Review
"An uncommon delight"
5 stars"

This is an extraordinary book. Here, in part, is why.

(1) If you’re intrigued by how a creative thinker, an independent-minded staunch individualist, thinks and expresses what he thinks, you’ll find this book extraordinary in its clarity and impact. If you’re interested in both innovative and relentlessly rational approaches to common issues, you’ll be fascinated by this book; for, though you may not agree with all the author’s conclu­sions or perspectives, there’s no denying that he is always (sometimes frustratingly) rational. In short, the book and, apparently, the author’s life are ruled by reason—or, as he says, by induction and probability.

(2) The book is also extraordinary in its consistency. The author ruthlessly maintains a uniform perspective from the first page to the last. This perspective, which is overtly presented to readers from the outset, informs the author’s real-life behavior as well as his writing. It’s comprehensive, logically coherent, and compelling and undeniable if its premises are accepted, in which case readers have no choice but to go where the author goes—and those destinations are often surprising and not always palatable, not even to the author himself. In short, the author has a single framework on which he invariably hangs everything.

(3) It’s extraordinary in its candor. The author reveals himself, both directly and indirectly, with a frankness and ingenuousness that are rare in autobiographical works. The author doesn’t always come off as admirable but always as honest. In short, he pulls no punches: no excuses; no apologies.

(4) The book is extraordinarily well written. In its informal “autobiographical notes,” in its examples of the author’s fiction, and in its more scholarly entries, the author speaks with one voice, one powerful voice, whether the style is casual or formal in any particular instance. The language—for the most part, but not entirely—is simple, direct, and economical, the artistry accomplished, the command of verbal expression masterful, the architecture impressive, and the flow smooth and, apparently, effortless but with stunning impact. In short, the author knows how to write.

(5) The book exhibits as well a command of a wide range of topics and disciplines (though the author claims only to be “more than a dilettante but less than a scholar”) from the esoteric to the mundane, from lofty philosophical issues to petty concerns of everyday life. In short, the author reveals himself to be something of a savant and an exceptionally educated person.

(6) Another extraordinary feature worth mentioning: I know of no other work, whether by a professional philosopher or a popularizer of how-to-live books, that presents a complete philosophy for living, from premises and underlying values through a set of explicit principles for navigating through life to implications and ramifications. And the entire framework is presented systematically in numbered point-by-point fashion. Along the way, the author offers new perspectives for such topics as the nature of happiness, the difference between knowledge and belief, and the problem of free will.

(7) The book is not dull, another of its special features. It’s not a plodding chronological rendering of a life that takes us from past to present. Instead, it intersperses revealing ruminations with actual life experiences in an episodic, apparently random, order. But closer analysis reveals entries are carefully selected and the manner and order of their presentation are well thought out. In short, the structure of the book is very much a part of its “message.”

The above are only seven reasons I call the book extraordinary; there are at least that many more, but these are enough to support my contention that the book has the potential to revolutionize how autobiographies and personal essays are written from now on. This book deserves a wide readership.

Description

This may be the oddest book of its kind that you'll ever read. It's a memoir of a sort, an autobiography, in much the same way that crumbs dropped on the forest floor are a pathway to the old hag's hut where Hansel and Gretel are held. If you collect the crumbs as you walk, you'll have a sum greater than its parts at the end of your trek-a surprisingly coherent account of a unique personality, an incorrigible individualist, fiercely independent, defiant of tradition, who is sometimes profound and insightful and sometimes trite and narrow-minded, highly original but not necessarily admirable. Most important, the author is someone who thinks, which challenges readers to think. And whether or not you're sympathetic to his way of thinking, one thing is clear: he is above all else rational.
Release date Australia
October 17th, 2017
Pages
338
Audience
  • General (US: Trade)
Dimensions
216x279x18
ISBN-13
9781387304127
Product ID
27622558

Marketplace listings

There are no Marketplace listings available for this product currently.
Already own it? Create a free listing and pay just 9% commission when it sells!

Sell Yours Here

Help & options

Filed under...