Sometimes it's good to take a break from reading novels, and to read something that challenges you; that takes your old assumptions about the world and turns them on their head; that makes you think more carefully about the world and the people in it; that gives you a new or better system for living.

This is not that book.

Instead, this is the most crass examination and interpretation of Confucius that I could imagine. A self-help book that lacks any depth (as they mostly do), full of truisms and simple statements, and written in a simple style that lacks any depth or greater meaning. It only took me a few hours to read this book; I regret the loss of those hours. ( )