Waller R. Newell

Tyranny and Revolution: Rousseau to Heidegger, by Waller R Newell, is an engaging and well-argued assessment of the Marx, Nietzsche, and Heidegger responses to Hegel.

My personal background leans very much toward Marx, Nietzsche and Heidegger so I was very interested in Newell's readings of them. While I don't fully agree with every bit of his analysis (c'mon, who ever agrees completely with anyone's analysis) I found a number of areas I will revisit. Since I have retired I have missed just this type of thinking, the give and take (even with a written text) which leads to rethinking both major positions and subtle nuance.

In particular, Heidegger can be a problematic figure. As Newell makes clear, you can't ignore his political beliefs during the Nazi period. Yet one can't dismiss ideas because of the use they were put to, whether by the thinker or by those who might later misappropriate them. When I was first studying Heidegger his political leanings were either less known (in the US) or overlooked, so I didn't grapple with this aspect until well after finding a lot I found useful in his work.

While I am not going to go back and reread everything, there are several areas that I want to look into more carefully. After doing so I want to come back to Newell's book with whatever new(ish) perspectives I may have. I don't mention this because I think you are all that concerned with what I want to do, but rather to point out that no matter how familiar you might be with these philosophers you will likely want to step away do some research and analysis of your own. Newell offers wonderful notes that include both ideas and sources, plus an extensive bibliography. Whatever areas you will want to delve deeper into you will find other sources to assist you.

I would highly recommend this to readers either in academia or those who have some grounding in modern philosophy and want to have some of these thinkers placed in intellectual proximity to each other. While this isn't a breezy read it is accessible for those with an interest. That said, if you're just casually interested you may not want to devote the time to thinking through everything.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (meer)

Second reading:
Hof funny. I have an even higher regard for this book than my first reviewing it in 2015 (now 2017). I was also simultaneously reading Meditations (Marcus Aurelius) and Tribe of Mentors (Timothy Ferris). Actually was a great combination. What Aurelius wrote in 170 AD obviously fit within What is Man and includes a chapter from his Meditations (pages 253-259). Unlike the anthology of world history of What is A Man, Tribe of Mentors is a collection of 'accomplished' people alive today, sharing what leads to 'success'.

I particularly enjoyed the chapter The American Man. Breathtaking reading these ideals that have stood the test of time and yet ring pertinent from today's headlines! Make sure you read Lincoln's "Towering Genius Disdains a Beaten Path", penned 22 years before he was inaugurated. If only the politicians of today could point to a life history of core values that far back in their own lives.

First reading:
OUTSTANDING BOOK! Buy as many copies as you can and give them to every young man in your life! Would have been great supplemental reading when I went to enlisted and officer Marine Corps. ABSOLUTELY INDISPENSABLE LIFELONG READING! Best book I have purchased in ten years!… (meer)

I have to admit, I wasn't expecting much from this book, as most of this type are loaded with fillers, with very few real gems. But that isn't the case at all. From Francis Bacon on Love, to St. Augustine on the path to manhood, to Kurt Cobain on how fatherhood changed his life, this book answers almost every question where being a man is concerned.

If you're excepting false macho posturing, you'll be disappointed as every passage in this large book (over 500 pages) is insightful, deeply thought out, and sincere.

There are hundreds of passages, some only a paragraph long, some pages long. The subjects are varied, and include Love, Wisdom, Women, Family, Fatherhood, Childhood and adolescence, Honor, Integrity, War, Character and Conduct, Leadership, Nobility, Rebellion, and much more. There are even some poems (including Kipling's outstanding poem 'If', on what it is to be a man), correspondance, and myths. Each passage is prefaced by a bit of commentary by the editor, Waller R. Newell.

My favorite passages were Kipling's 'If', The Man of Character by Charles de Gaulle, A Man Must Stand Erect by Marcus Aurelius, and the couple passages from John F Kennedy. Actually, this collection is so remarkable, it really is hard to choose favorites.

This book reintroduces (as if it were lost!) all the qualities that men are taught to shun these days, namely, honor, pride, responsibility, strength, and dignity.

I can't recommend this book enough. If you're a man, or know a man (so yes, that means just about everyone), you need to get a copy of this book. It is a breath of fresh air, sorely needed, and indispensible.… (meer)