By: Jay Forseth on October 11, 2017
Seven short years ago, I threw my family of four into our Dodge mini-van and drove from Montana to Maine, and back again. Two teen-agers, our bird dog, a portable DVD player, and us crazy parents for 7752 miles! 26 United States later, people would ask my kids what their favorite part of the trip…
By: Jim Sabella on October 11, 2017
Some who argue from a Christian perspective in opposition to A Brief History of Humankind, focus on chapter 12 because it deals with religion and how in Harari’s analysis man created religion to “legitimise widespread social and political orders…” [210] Though I do not agree with Harari’s evolutionary position nor his analysis concerning religion, he…
By: Mike on October 11, 2017
Pierre Bayard’s, How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read is a shocking, non-traditional, and awe-inspiring reading approach that challenges readers not only on how to read, but specifically on how to not read books. Bayard says that “non-reading is not just the absence of reading, but a genuine activity” that keeps us from “drowning” in a…
By: Kyle Chalko on October 6, 2017
Really? How To Read a Book? You’d think by the time someone was in the process of acquiring their terminal degree they would have already figured out how to read. Of course, this book title will only be surpassed in irony by our future reading requirement, How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read. I…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on October 6, 2017
I can recall reading the history textbooks in both primary and secondary school. In every historical account it seemed to praise or revere the Eurocentric formation of western civilization. I was told of this by my mother who was my first teacher. I was home schooled until I was in the 3rd grade. It was…
By: Trisha Welstad on October 5, 2017
If I had to describe Mortimer Adler’s How to Read a Book in one word, I would say it is ‘thorough’. As helpful as Adler attempts to be in sharing the methods and insights on reading productively and for various purposes, much of the content is so thorough with illustrations and redundancy, I found myself…
By: Kristin Hamilton on October 5, 2017
I thought my 6th grade history teacher was way off base until this week. I have a very clear memory of Mr. Spence telling us that, even though we would learn that Greece and Rome were the center of civilization, Persia should really have that title. In all of my years studying and teaching history,…
By: Chip Stapleton on October 5, 2017
When I went on Amazon.com six or so weeks ago to buy my books for this semester, I did so mostly laser focused on the task at hand (finding the exact correct title for the lowest possible price). Because of this focus, I didn’t notice much else on that visit to the world’s largest book…
By: Jean Ollis on October 5, 2017
Welcome back to reality! It didn’t take long to have to readjust back to reading (or not), writing blogs, gathering research resources, and developing annotated bibliographies. My blissful two weeks of experiential learning is surely over – or at least that was my attitude as I began reading the book “How to Read a Book,…
By: Lynda Gittens on October 5, 2017
This book was similar to a potluck meal or even gumbo. Why do I say that? The author covers so many aspects of history that one could stumble over themselves trying to grasp each one. He covers cultures, trades, economics, technology, religion and more. Each chapter has a specific purpose presenting his view…
By: Jay Forseth on October 5, 2017
Of the 137 authors listed in the recommended reading list in Appendix A of “How To Read A Book” by Adler and Van Doren [1], I am embarrassed to say I have truly only read seven (7), and two of those were the Old Testament and New Testament! How could a educated guy who attended a private…
By: Stu Cocanougher on October 5, 2017
Growing up in the United States, my Tennessee public school education taught history like it began in the 1700s. Sure, there was Columbus, the Pilgrims, and some scuffle with the French; but the bulk of my education was focused on 1776 and beyond. I grew up during the Cold War. As I reflect on my…
By: Shawn Hart on October 5, 2017
First an apology for my long delay…the book finally arrived the day after I returned from South Africa. I must say however, that though I could have faked this report, after our visit south, I very much wanted to read it; I am not disappointed…well, not entirely at least. Early in the Welsh’s writings, he…
By: Mark Petersen on October 5, 2017
Mortimer Adler’s classic How to Read a Book arrived on my doorstep, and as it emerged from the bubble-wrapped envelope, I chuckled. This used edition had the look of a 1970s era hardback with the traditional font selection, oversized white space, and garish coloured dust jacket. Likewise, the stilted language of another generation transported me…
By: Jason Turbeville on October 5, 2017
I have read some pretty dry books in all my years of college, seminary and beyond. I remember one from an Old Testament survey class where the first chapter was entitled “An Introduction To Introductions”. It took me a week to read one chapter because of the dryness, and moribund nature of the book. I…
By: Greg on October 5, 2017
Where have you been all my life! I don’t know about the rest of you but while reading this book by Alder and Van Doren, I kept wondering if I had read this in college would it have made a difference in how I read books? There are times that I start a book and…
By: Jim Sabella on October 5, 2017
One cannot do justice, in a four-day reading period, to a book so influential and impactful, not to mention that it is 600 plus pages. Besides, I am not an historian, and so a review of his methodology would be less than accurate. However, I do wish to bring a modicum of connection to The…
By: Chris Pritchett on October 5, 2017
I remember my father recommending this book to me when I went to college, 20 years ago. I did not read it, then. I thought it was oddly titled to begin with, a play on words, to be sure, but logically impossible to be of any assistance. “If I needed to know how to read…
By: Mary Walker on October 5, 2017
It is easy to mold the past into a shape that we find convenient and accessible. But the ancient world was much more sophisticated and interlinked than we sometimes like to think. …A belt of towns formed a chain spanning Asia. … Together with increasing traffic connecting India with the Persian Gulf and the Red…
By: Katy Drage Lines on October 5, 2017
“Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?”—Hamilton, the musical After Alexander Hamilton’s death by duel with Aaron Burr, his wife, Eliza, spends the next fifty years cementing his legacy. She advocated for the building of the Washington Monument and founded the first private orphanage in New York City, in memory of her orphaned husband.…
