from the editor of the IDLER ( )

There's a lot to quibble about in this book, but essentially I like the message of the book: stop being so distracted, and embrace the joys and sorrows of life. Or more simply: Be a human, not a machine.

Hodgkinson finds nice literary quotes, looks back (perhaps a bit romantically) to the past for inspiration, and shows you how you might lead your life differently to enjoy freedom and happiness. At times, he can be a bit repetitive, but that's okay. The book kinda encourages skimming and skipping around to what interests you. ( )

Good ideas, and well researched, but a little too long. Expected more jokes. Not Hodgkinson's best work. ( )

I sure don't agree with all of his premises, but he does raise some interesting points- and advocates some possibilities that most of us would not really think of otherwise.

Note that i do NOT favor his dicta to stop voting. I think voting is not only important, but a civil obligation. However, voting for what YOU want- not to try to game the system- is vital here. In the next election, I plan to vote green; I know they won't win, but I would hope that my vote, combined with others, might give the Powers That Be pause. I am no longer willing to vote for the "lesser evil".

I think the author is really ignorant about a lot of the history he raves about- like "Athens was great, except for a few slaves". Well, MOST Athenians were not citizens nor had a vote; not just the slaves, but the lower classes and the women.

And favoring the American South over the North because it was more courteous? How "courteously" did they treat the slaves???

I was also not impressed by his "revelation" that when women whinge- they don't want solutions! Since he'd been all along discussing male whingeing without the desire for solutions, the notion that this was a female peculiarity is ridiculous, and casts some doubt on his ability to get outside himself and see others fairly.

So: I think he has some interesting and enticing points, but his arguments from history show a partisan lack of historical knowledge and/or willful ignorance and/or intentional provocation.

However, I also think it's true that we can be more empowered to change our condition than we normally think of ourselves as being- and that's really valuable. ( )

La lettura, che sembra agevole per argomenti trattati e formato, in realta' è appesantita da continui rimandi storici - che a volte rimandano più alla utopia personale dello scrittore [di un mondo medievale dove tutto o quasi era meglio] che non ad una dimostrazione delle ipotesi esposte. Senz'altro, diverse cose che H. afferma sono ampiamente credibili; altre, meno - ad esempio, l'occupazione delle case sfitte e il cibarsi da quello che altri gettano [pur di non lavorare] non trovano in me alcuna solidarietà. Vi sono pero' alcuni punti di vista che potrebbero esser operativamente interessanti. Ad esempio, lavorare un po' meno e vivere di piu' con le persone è un atteggiamento che puo' fin da subito dare ottimi frutti. Altre [non tante, ad essere sinceri] idee inframmezzate per tutto il resto del testo- che è sufficiente prendere in biblioteca... ( )