Sir Walter Ralegh: Poet, soldier, explorer

"Raleigh's First Pipe in England" - an illustration included in Frederick William Fairholt's "Tobacco, its history and associations". [Public Domain] via Wikimedia.

Poems by Walter Raleigh

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I must admit I had no idea Sir Walter Ralegh (alternatively spelt Raleigh) was a poet. This volume is interesting as it outlines the purpose of such poetry as a form of "appropriate" court communication that would otherwise be unacceptable in ordinary speech.

The book includes some of the poetic responses to Ralegh's work, especially from Queen Elizabeth and Ralegh's arch-rival, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. These two engaged in literary as well as political struggles. From what I have read about Ralegh, he was a key figure in the English Renaissance, and many members of the aristocracy dabbled in poetry. 

This book includes some of Ralegh's translations of classical Greek and Roman works into rhyming poetry, no doubt reflecting his education at Oxford (which was never completed). The ABAB rhyme scheme was quite common in many of the works, but several of the poems include ABBA and ABABCC rhyme schemes in the stanzas. 

I was surprised that such rigid rhyme schemes were used and the book develops a sort of rhythm that only appears to be interrupted in the section where poems "attributed" to Ralegh seem to miss a few beats. 

Two poems by Sir Henry Wotton, "The Character of a Happy Life" (p. 109) and "Upon the Sudden Restraint of the Earl of Somerset, then Falling from Favour" (p. 111) are worthy of quoting (respectively):

How happy is he born and taught, That serveth not another's will... This man is freed from servile bands, Of hope to rise or fear to fall, Lord of himself, though not of lands, And, having nothing, yet hath all.

And:

Virtue is the roughest way, But proves at night a bed of down.

I sense some Stoic training in these lines. Wotton was a member of the House of Commons and an English diplomat before becoming provost of Eton College. 

From this small snippet of history, there is little wonder that Shakespeare emerged during this period, often regarded as the height of the English Renaissance. 

It was interesting to see Ralegh's use of smoke (from tobacco) and smoking pipes in his poems. Surprising, too, that Shakespeare died two years before Ralegh, supposedly from drinking, whereas Ralegh was beheaded. 

One of the many smoking stories about Ralegh suggests that he was nonchalantly smoking his pipe in the window of his cell in the Tower of London as he watched Essex being executed. 

I have generally avoided this period in history as I am yet to do a cover to cover reading of Thomas Hobbes Leviathan, and I am dreading a reading of the tome of Shakespeare's complete collection that is sitting there waiting for me when I can read without distraction. 

Yet all roads in English literature are leading to this period in history, and it was a pleasant surprise to learn something new about someone I had only ever known in the history books as a soldier and a maritime explorer.

View all my reviews

Lessons from Boy's Own Macabre: How not to be a twerp

Boy's Own Paper masthead, circa 1890s [Public Domain] via Flickr.

The Most Dangerous Game and Other Stories of Menace and Adventure by Ernest Hemingway

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes I fear reading short story collections like this are little more than entertainment. Masculine, turn of the century Boy's Own macabre entertainment in this case. But writing about one's reading has its own kind of spiral effect, where learning about the authors leads from one thing to another. 

I purchased this book online because it listed Hemingway as the author and I had never heard of "The Most Dangerous Game". This title piece is actually by Richard Connell, and reminds me of Scott Fitzgerald's "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz". Hemingway's work was "The Killers" (with the racism appropriately edited out), which seemed somewhat out of place with the other authors' work. 

Five of the eight authors were all new to me, but I am pleased to own a copy of Jack London's "To Build a Fire" which I had only heard previously in a YouTube video narration.

Each of the stories has some form of inevitability as its theme, especially Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", the residue of which is still clinging to my thoughts. Kurt Vonnegut (another author I am yet to get around to) wrote in his 2005 work, Man Without a Country (p. 17):

Do you know what a twerp is? ...I consider anybody a twerp who hasn’t read the greatest American short story, which is ‘Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’ by Ambrose Bierce.

In the same book, Vonnegut (p. 18) writes:

‘Socialism’ is no more an evil word than ‘Christianity.’ Socialism no more prescribed Joseph Stalin and his secret police and shuttered churches than Christianity prescribed the Spanish Inquisition.

He sounds like my kind of author.

H.G. Wells' "The Country of the Blind" was also new to me, but of course I have read his work previously. The others, which include H.H. Munroe (Saki), W.W. Jacobs, and Carl Stephenson are all freshly discovered and open up for me an entirely unexplored area of turn of the century literature.

Sometimes, taking a break from the classics and the odd tome is necessary to give me the feeling that I am getting somewhere with my reading. On writing about my reading, I find many lessons that I would have missed had I just consumed, rather than digested, the work.

The sense of inevitability that permeates this collection is not of the hopeless sense: sometimes we are just lucky. But the themes mirror a key Stoic lesson about luck. When someone else is unlucky, remember - Fortune was aiming at me.

View all my reviews

On Taste, Sound, and Smell: Calvino's unfinished business

Skunks rayé ou mouffette. Photo by Tomfriedel [CC BY 3.0] via Wikimedia.

Under The Jaguar Sun by Italo Calvino

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My experience of Calvino is quite limited, but after reading his Why Read the Classics, learning more about Calvino's influence from Harold Bloom, and more recently purchasing The Cambridge Companion to the Italian Novel, I have decided to immerse myself in Calvino's work. 

In Under the Jaguar Sun, Calvino begins what was planned to be a novel on the five senses. Unfortunately, Calvino died before he was able to complete sight and touch, but the three short stories on taste, sound, and smell survive and work as stand alone pieces, or pieces on a theme. 

The first story (the title piece) covers taste and tells the story of a couple of gastro-tourists discovering the link between taste and ancient Central American human sacrifice and cannibalism. 

The second piece, "A King Listens", had me shivering with imagery so vivid as to be on the edge of surreal. 

The third piece, "The Name, the Nose", was my favourite, although I can barely work out what was meant to have happened. This is, so far, the most gritty of Calvino's work I have read. 

It reminded me of Bukowski crossed with Thomas Mann. The language seems suited to the 1980s (when it was written), but after mostly reviews of classic works and Marcovaldo, I wasn't ready for Calvino to be so grunge. 

Cynthia Ozock's review in the New York Times of 23 October 1988 suggests "The Name, the Nose" was not a success. 

But I found it interesting in the way it echoes Arthur Schnitzler's Dream Story. Or rather, having previously thought of Calvino as a late-nineteenth early-twentieth century writer, "The Name, the Nose" is more like Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, where you get the sense that the characters and setting are of another time, but not as in the "on steroids" Baz Luhrmann version of Romeo and Juliet. 

I am often amazed at how good short stories can fire up the imagination in such a way that the work takes some time to digest. "The Name, the Nose" has left its residue, and while it may not be regarded as one of Calvino's best, I am pleased to discover that his range is not as limited as I first thought.

View all my reviews

Plato finds God, modern philosophers ignore Him, ego ruins Socratic method

Discourse into the Night, from William Blades' "Pentateuch of Printing with a Chapter on Judges” (1891). [Public Domain] via Wikimedia.

Meno by Plato

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This short dialogue on the issue of virtue (arete) and whether it can be taught is apparently one of Plato's works from his second literary period, written after Book 1 but before the remaining books of The Republic. The introduction to this version is by the translator, Benjamin Jowett.

There are few references to other works in the modern academic tradition, but Jowett makes particular mention of Meno in relation to the works of Descartes, Locke, Bacon, Hume, Spinoza, and Berkeley. I found this interesting as I have been exploring deductive versus inductive methods of research in recent times. Plato tends to be deductive, in moving from general ideas and principles to specifics, whereas the inductive method draws on specific cases to lead to general principles. Karl Popper was not a fan of induction, it seems.

That Plato draws on Pythagoras and Heraclitus is obvious, but Jowett points out that there is no explicitly stated link. Most interesting was Plato's finding (through the words of Socrates, p. 75):

Then, Meno, the conclusion is that virtue comes to the virtuous by the gift of God.

That this is an early work makes sense. I frequently adopt the Socratic method in my teaching (as does much of academe even if implicitly) and a few times I have received feedback that sums it up thus:

The Socratic method sucks. I hate it.

By the end of this work, I couldn't help think that Socrates was being egotistical. Sure, he tried to shock people to realise their ignorance, but in this case, and as important as the idea is to so many philosophers, but in particular, Heraclitus, I thought the finding was quite a cop-out. All that posturing to say what Heraclitus had said more eloquently?

The big lesson for me is that the Socratic method, when practised by the un- or under-practised, could easily come off as it does in Meno. I am half-way through a cover-to-cover reading of The Republic at the moment, which seems better polished and far less obtuse. It may well be that Desmond Lee's translation is better than Jowett's. But clearly, if I am to be better at using the Socratic method, I must take into account how an amateurish use of the method may come off as egotistical with my students. I can recall the instances where this may well have been the case.

But the idea of deduction versus induction and Jowett's comments on Plato in relation to other philosophers ranging from Descartes to Spinoza are worthy of further exploration.

Additionally, Jowett states that modern philosophy no longer asks the sort of questions asked by Plato (p. 29). I think this explains why Nietzsche's madman shouts in the market place (The Gay Science, section 125, p. 90):

God is dead! ... And we have killed him!

Here Plato has Socrates tell us that virtue is a gift of God, which I can see means that to be virtuous requires one to find God. Rather than the shopkeepers telling Nietzsche's madman that they didn't know we had lost Him, and in spite of Plato's unrefined use of the dialogue (compared to his more advanced, later use), it would seem that modern philosophers are the crowd looking on and laughing at Nietzsche's madman (or, if you prefer, Huxley's self-flagellating Savage), while all the time they have forgotten their very origins. 

But best not to be egotistical and amateurish.

View all my reviews

Ralph Waldo Trine: Inspirational stuff, but no cure for illness

Infrared Echoes of a Black Hole Eating a Star (Illustration). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

In Tune with the Infinite: Ralph Waldo Trine's Motivational Classic - Complete Original Text by Ralph Waldo Trine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book reads like a series of sermons and draws on the "law of attraction".  Apparently, it inspired Napoleon Hill's book Think and Grow Rich. In its modern form, it might be compared to The Secret, but Trine was an academic and his practical influence inspired the likes of Henry Ford to greatness. 

This work is of the New Thought Movement which apparently developed from Christian Science. Members of the Christian Science church believe that illness can be cured by prayer alone and works best when not combined with medicine. Yet members of the congregation have been in trouble with the law for refusing to give their children medicine. 

None of this is covered by Trine, but he too suggests that the ailments of the body are a result of poor living and can be cured through right living. When taken to the extreme, it seems that Trine's work is less helpful in a practical sense. However, Trine's work draws on the teachings of Jesus and his scholarly background is obvious. Trine states (p. 108):

It has been my aim to base nothing on the teachings of others, though they may be the teachings of those inspired.

Yet it is obvious that he was familiar with Stoicism and the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Trine's work is inspiring and I took copious notes. He suggests that all religions are based on a single truth and that it does not matter what religion one follows. He covers a lot of ground, including pedagogy (p. 67):

The true teacher is one whose endeavour is to bring the one they teach to a true knowledge of himself and hence of his or her own interior powers, that they may become their own interpreter.

He discusses the creation of art, literature, and music and suggests that great works emanate from one who knows both God and oneself, echoing the ideas of the ancient Greek philosophers. Further, his work echoes Nietzsche's concept of amor fati (p. 52):

You must recognise, you must realise yourself as one with Infinite Spirit. God's will is then your will, your will is God's will, and with God all things are possible.

While I will not be taking Trine's medical advice any time soon, there is much to be gained from a reading of this work. Originally published in 1897, it is one of the earliest self-help books I have read. Although he was at one time a salesman, Trine was no charlatan - he was a philosopher and a teacher and lived to the age of 92, realising in many ways what he argues in this book. 

This work amounts to a series of sermons based on some of the greatest philosophical ideas about the inner life. Although it is not referenced (although he occasionally refers to authors and prominent individuals), this is as good an overview of the inner life as I have read. 

The big lesson I take away from this book is to have faith and to be cautious of the thought-word-action cycle so as to avoid self-fulfilling prophecies. But make sure you go to the doctor if you get sick.

View all my reviews

Hesiod's Misogyny (err... Theogony) and his Unhelpful Contribution to Internet Bulletin Boards (Works and Days)

Dance of the Muses on Mount Helicon, 1807 by Bertel Thorvaldsen  (1770–1844) [CC0 1.0]

Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days are interesting in the context of other classic works and provide an interesting understanding of the genealogy of the ancient Greek gods and the agrarian life of the time. This is a work of poetry translated into prose and there are some issues.

The first thing that struck me was the misogyny of Theogony. Women (pp. 20-21) were sent down by Zeus as a curse to men:

No fit partners for accursed Poverty, but only for Plenty... a bane for mortal men has high-thundering Zeus created women, conspirators in causing difficulty.

The misogyny doesn't stop there. In Works and Days, the mythological Pandora (echoing Eve in Genesis), releases evil upon the world (p. 39). Not by opening a "box" as Erasmus mistakenly conveyed, but by opening a clay storage jar (p. xiv).

La Rochefoucauld's maxims often talk about love as an illness that is difficult to cure, no doubt echoing Hesiod (p. 21):

...the man who gets a good wife who is sound and sensible, spends his life with bad competing constantly against good; while the man who gets the awful kind lives with unrelenting pain in heart and spirit, and it is an ill without cure.

In Works and Days, Hesiod provides advice to living the agrarian life. Virgil seems to echo Hesiod in his Eclogues and Georgics. But Virgil is reflecting back on the simple life, whereas Hesiod reminds me of people offering advice on an internet bulletin board (p. 56):

I will show you the measure of the resounding sea - quite without instruction as I am either in seafaring or in ships; for as to ships, I have never yet sailed the broad sea...

Of course, in true bulletin board style, Hesiod goes on to instruct others in how and when to sail.

This is an important historical work and well worth reading. But while there are instances of timeless proverbs (which have tended to reappear through history), I don't think I will be taking on too much of Hesiod's advice any time soon.

Clausewitz: Lessons in Social Scientific Inductive Theory from On War

Prussian Army during battle of Mollwitz 1741, anonymous plate circa 19th century [Public Domain] via Wikimedia.

On War by Carl von Clausewitz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My first full reading of Clausewitz (accepting that the Penguin volume does not include several books on early nineteenth-century military operations) impressed upon me the essence of philosophy and theory as it applies to the social sciences. 

This Penguin volume is interesting in that it includes an introduction from the editor of the 1908 version used by the US military (Colonel F.N. Maude) and a later introduction from the time of the Cold War (1966 and the early stages of the Vietnam War) by Professor Anatol Rapoport. I have long viewed On War much the same as one might Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations: the quote “war is the continuation of policy by other means” proving to be as similarly unhelpful “as if by an invisible hand” in comprehending the extent of the philosophical grounding in store for the avid reader of classic literature. 

Reading Clausewitz is like reading John Stuart Mill: almost every lesson is so ingrained in the education of political scientists (or in this case, from my training as an army officer) that it seems like nothing new. From morale being one third of combat power (p. 424) to the implied role of the infantry (which I memorised years ago and can still recite), to the essence of war and the changes heralded by the Napoleonic period to the future of absolute or total war that would arrive in 1914, these things I mostly knew. 

But the references to philosophy (the Stoic’s negative visualisation gets a run), to how to develop a theory, to the social scientific view of the world that is largely inductive (and unfalsifiable if one is a fan of Karl Popper) astounded me. That I could learn so much unexpectedly was a blessing. Some ideas are worth noting. First, in the introduction, Rapoport writes of Clausewitz (p. 72):

Those without specialized mathematical knowledge (e.g. political scientists, administrators, military men) tend to conceive of their expertise as that of the artist rather than of a scientist.

Rapoport explains (p. 431):

In the exact sciences, theory is used precisely in the sense rejected by Clausewitz, namely, in the sense of a collection of theorems deduced rigorously from postulates formulated in ‘if so… then so” terms, i.e. as formulas. Clausewitz here uses ‘theory’ in the sense often used in the social sciences, namely, as a synthesis of concepts which illuminate the subject matter without necessarily enabling us to make specific predictions or to control specific situations.

This was illuminating, given that only today I was rummaging through the inductive nature of my own theories developed from research and then reading of Popper’s critique of historicism (another discussion that is new to me). 

An interesting reference from the notes is one of what was probably the most outdated books of the twentieth century even before it was published: Cavalry in Future Wars written in 1908. Rapoport argues that by then, cavalry in its traditional form had no future (Henry Chauvel aside). Finally, Clausewitz subordinates the military to the political without diminishing what he considered to be its noble qualities:

In one word, the Art of War in its highest point of view is policy, but, no doubt, a policy which fights battles instead of writing notes.

Clausewitz frequently argues that the Art of War can only be learnt through practice. While policy-makers might best be suited to determining the aim of war (as policy) from book-learning, military commanders could never attain the artistic qualities necessary for successful military campaigning without direct experience of the fog of war. 

As I have recently moved into research that involves practitioners, Clausewitz gives me some hope for my theoretical aspirations and the use of induction in my work. This was a wonderful surprise, a circumstance that often repeats itself when I embark on a cover to cover reading of books that I thought I knew. 

I must admit that this is the second volume of this work I have purchased. When the first arrived and I discovered it was an abridged version, I donated it to my local library. When this book arrived (Penguin classics are ‘unabridged’ – this version is unabridged from the 1908 abridged version), I was disappointed but pushed on out of frustration. 

I must say it was worth it and I will be recommending this as a reading project for others in my field who, like me, might also think they know Clausewitz.

View all my reviews

Festschrift Podcast: Professor John Wanna: Career Reflections

Professor John Wanna and Dr Michael de Percy at their recent book launch in Canberra, 4 September 2018.
Photo Credit: John Masiello.

Professor John Wanna has studied politics, policy, and public administration since the 1970s and has published over 50 books and supervised over 50 research students. He is the inaugural Sir John Bunting Chair in Public Administration at the Australia and New Zealand School of Government based at the Australian National University.

He is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) and National Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA). He received IPAA's Meritorious Service Award in 2014 after serving for twenty years as the editor of the Australian Journal of Public Administration.

John’s scholarly contribution is to be honoured with a Festschrift in September 2018, supported by ANZSOG, the ANU, and Wiley Publishing.

In this podcast, I interview Professor Wanna and ask him to reflect on his career.

John's personal website is at http://www.johnwanna.com/.

A number of John's books are available for free download at ANU Press.

The podcast is available on Soundcloud below:

Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats: Revisiting corporate learning, 1990s-style

Six Thinking Hats from the master of lateral thinking. Image Credit: Nelly Ghazaryan [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia.

Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As a young staff officer in an artillery regiment in the mid-1990s, I was tasked with learning more about de Bono's Six Thinking Hats in preparation for an officers' retreat. The commanding officer at the time was completing an MBA and he had developed a vision statement and vision motto for the regiment. For many of the officers and men, it was deemed quite unnecessary. 

The deputy principal at Brisbane's Clayfield College was an expert in de Bono's work, and I met with him to learn more. The one thing that stuck with me was his approach to using random words as a 'provocation' (p. 131). His approach was to have a list of sixty random nouns, numbered one to sixty. Whenever he needed to 'po', he would look at the minute hand on the clock, go to the corresponding number on his list, and then use the word as a way to shake things up in his thinking. 

On reading the Penguin version of this book for the first time, I noticed that the deputy principal at Clayfield College gets a mention (p. x), and then I learnt how much I had forgotten about de Bono's process. 

It was enlightening because I have used the Six Thinking Hats in the 'leading creativity' part of my leadership teaching, but with large classes and students in groups being introduced to the method for the first time has rarely proven any more than an introduction. It has often meant that I have inadvertently used the hats incorrectly, as people would end up using the same hat for the session (p. 7). 

Based on my re-reading of de Bono, I will try again in tutorial classes, which tend to be smaller, and I will act as the blue hat and focus on an issue of common concern. This problem is quite obvious. As former Vice Chancellor of the University of Canberra, Professor Stephen Parker once said:

A university is a collection of disciplines brought together by a common concern over car parking.

I will use car parking as it is an issue that most students struggle with every time they attend class. 

It was interesting to revisit 'parallel thinking', and to ensure the hats are used in this way. In effect, everyone must be looking in the same direction, something that falls apart when the hats are used by separate individuals rather than as a group (p. 4). 

I continue to find de Bono's critique of the 'Greek Gang of Three' fascinating (p. 1). 

In my leadership classes, we discuss the opposing theories of Fred Fiedler versus Hersey and Blanchard. Fiedler suggests our leadership style is either task or relationship focused and it is difficult or impossible to change, whereas the Hersey-Blanchard model suggests we can and should change our style to suit different situations. While not referring to leadership styles per se, de Bono suggests that (p. 140):

I don't think it is possible to change personality... [however] the tragedy mask and the comedy mask are separate. The actor himself does not change.

Finally, the concept of the creative pause is useful. One should stop, pause, and put on the green hat just because... for no reason, even if everything is on track, just stop, pause, and 'po'. 

I have been using what I call the Stoic 'deliberate pause' when making decisions to assess externalities. But I will now try to deliberately pause from time to time to also consider the possibilities. I think I can do this rather well, although I do have an efficiency preference for using the 'standard situation box' (p. 3) to deal with administrative matters and then only think creatively about the things that fall outside the box. But using the creative pause is something I would like to be more conscious of until it becomes a habit. 

There is something to be said about de Bono's method, and I believe if used properly, it can wield innovative results. At the same time, I think the number of management fads has turned most people off any form of corporate game, and we have all experienced vision statements that say one thing while the organisation does the exact opposite to its stakeholders. 

De Bono's method, however, does not need to be seen as a fad if the underlying philosophy and design of the systematised thinking process is considered. The concept of design thinking in all aspects of life is on the rise at the moment, so I would recommend revisiting the Six Thinking Hats as a way to bring design thinking to bear. But we shall see.

View all my reviews

The Politics of Road Reform: The challenges ahead for road pricing and provision

The Politics of Road Reform: The challenges ahead for road pricing and provision from University of Canberra

Our book, De Percy, M. and Wanna, J. (2018). Road Pricing and Provision: Changed Traffic Conditions Ahead. Canberra: ANU Press, was officially launched by Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Australia (CILTA) Fellow and Director-General of Transport Canberra and City Services Emma Thomas at a CILTA event held in Canberra today.

At the launch, I gave a presentation on the politics of road reform, looking at the challenges ahead for a road pricing regime that will hopefully replace the existing motor vehicle registration charges and fuel excise. Such changes are viewed as inevitable in the developed world, where fuel efficiency and the advent of electric and autonomous vehicles are impacting upon road-related revenues and where traditional approaches to road use and provision are unsustainable.

My view is that a road pricing system in Australia will need to be introduced in conjunction with GST reform to replace the existing state-based revenue streams. This is necessary from a variety of perspectives, including broad revenue reform, to reduce congestion, and to reflect more accurately motorists' use of the road network.

An objective look at the facts and figures will lead the independent observer to the view that a 'do-nothing' approach will impact upon productivity and ultimately the standard of living. An integrated transport pricing system will remove the existing cross-subsidisation and create a more transparent, market-based system. But leadership from the federal government will be a major factor in any reform initiative.

It is not about if, but when we should act. While commuter attitudes are one hurdle, anyone who has driven in peak hour traffic in Sydney or Melbourne will know that the present system is unsustainable. But the broader issue of GST reform will be challenging. Any system change will require bipartisanship and a broad federal-state mandate for action.

Who will act first? Any road reform initiative will provide numerous opportunities for political scare campaigns. But can we afford another 'GST birthday cake'? It is worth reflecting upon this the next time you are stuck in traffic.

The University of Canberra's press release on the event is available here.

Photo by Alex Proimos from Sydney, Australia (Sydney City Traffic) [CC BY 2.0] via Wikimedia.

The Wit and Wisdom of Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu. Photo by Elke Wetzig (Elya) [CC-BY-SA-3.0] via Wikimedia.

Believe: The words and inspiration of Desmond Tutu by Desmond Tutu

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This short book includes an introduction by Desmond Tutu and a short biographical essay by Mike Nicol. The quotes are interesting and inspiring. It is a little like the Dover Wit and Wisdom series of books, although somewhat shorter. The most interesting quote concerns Ubuntu, "a central tenet of African philosophy:

A person is a person through other persons.

Many great thinkers influence these quotes, including Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Jeremy Bentham,. John Stuart Mill, and George Santayana. But my favourite quote (which echoes Mill) is:

Differences are not intended to separate or alienate. We are different precisely in order to realise our need of one another.

Although this is a very short book, I am glad I picked it up at my local second-hand bookstore and it has taught me a little about Desmond Tutu and courage and compassion in the face of terrible oppression.

View all my reviews