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The Path: A New Way to Think About Everything Kindle Edition
by Michael Puett (Author), Christine Gross-Loh (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 out of 5 stars 197 ratings
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Harvard's most popular professor explains how thinkers from Confucius to Zhuangzi can transform our lives
The first book of its kind, The Path draws on the work of the great but largely unknown Chinese philosophers to offer a profound guide to living well. By explaining what these teachings reveal about subjects from decision-making to relationships, it challenges some of our deepest held assumptions, forcing us to "unlearn" many ideas that inform modern society. The way we think we're living our lives isn't the way we live them.
The authors show that we live well not by "finding" ourselves and slavishly following a grand plan, as so much of Western thought would have us believe, but rather through a path of self-cultivation and engagement with the world. Believing in a "true self" only restricts what we can become - and tiny changes, from how we think about careers to how we talk with our family, can start to have powerful effects that will open up constellations of new possibilities.
Professor Michael Puett's course in Chinese philosophy has taken Harvard by storm. In The Path, he collaborates with journalist and author Christine Gross-Loh to make this timeless wisdom accessible to everyone for the very first time.
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Print length
210 pages
Language
English
Publisher
Penguin
Publication date
7 April 2016
Product description
Review
I couldn't wait for this. Brilliant. This is where it's at now . . . so fascinating (Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2)
I can't think of anyone who wouldn't benefit from reading The Path, from my youngest son to the future President of the USA. It's accessible, realistic and far from being an ordinary self-help book. It gives immediate reassurance that this chaotic life can be mastered and it challenges you to strive for better (Patrick Neale Bookseller)
Very good. Based on Puett's popular class at Harvard, it's a great introduction to Eastern philosophy, which I always chide myself for not studying enough (Ryan Holiday)
The Path is very interesting . . . makes you want to read further (Nigel Warburton)
The Path is in part a pleasing debunking of fashionable self-help disciplines . . . I can testify that Puett is one of the nicest people - if not the nicest person - I have ever interviewed: attentive, generous and patient (Tim Dowling Guardian)
I have been talking about it to everyone. It's brilliant, mesmerizing, profound - and deeply contrarian. It points the way to a life of genuine fulfillment and meaning (Amy Chua, author of 'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother')
I couldn't wait for this. Brilliant. This is where it's at now ... so fascinating (Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2)
Can you turn a Chinese theory class into a smart self-help book? US academic Michael Puett did. Puett's book encourages us to chuck away our stiff, encrusted western notions, and to adopt a more fluid, less didactic approach to life. The Path is not your classic self-help book, and not just because it dismantles the self. It doesn't serve up an easy set of how-to activities ... you are also advised that any changes you make will be slow, incremental, the result of constant daily work ... To talk to Puett is to view our western tradition through an entirely different lens (Sunday Times)
A new book from a cult Harvard professor turns contemporary thinking around happiness on its head...There can't be many cult professors. Especially ones that lecture Chinese philosophy to undergraduates. But Professor Michael Puett of Harvard is one of them. Via word of mouth, his courses became full. And now he's written a book, with co-author and journalist Christine Gross-Loh, based on his course. The Path looks at the teachings of ancient Chinese philosophers and explains how we can apply these largely forgotten teachings to our everyday lives. Granted, it sounds like a tough read. It sounds specialist and niche and intimidating. It sounds all of those things. But it is none of those things. It's a big ask in under 200 pages. But there's something wonderfully simple and refreshing about the ideas. There is a simplicity to this book: all we have is ourselves, let's try and make things better (Marisa Bate The Pool)
His course has become the most popular on campus, even with those studying other subjects, and that's because he talks about how to have a good life, and using ancient Chinese philosophy challenges all our modern assumptions about what it takes to flourish in life (Sarah Montague Today programme) --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
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Product details
ASIN : B016PKNV2C
Publisher : Penguin; 1st edition (7 April 2016)
Language : English
File size : 2101 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 210 pagesBest Sellers Rank: 50,406 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)23 in Chinese History (Kindle Store)
24 in Other Eastern Religious Philosophies
40 in History of ChinaCustomer Reviews:
4.1 out of 5 stars 197 ratings
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Kennyelvis
5.0 out of 5 stars Urging some deep thinkingReviewed in Australia on 6 August 2017
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Really enjoyed the challenging nature of this book. For the psychologists the philosophers and those wanting the answers. I like a book that then tells you there may be no answers. But the questions are fun.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in Australia on 19 May 2017
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This is a book that you will read more than once.
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literati
5.0 out of 5 stars ElevationReviewed in Australia on 13 February 2018
This book is based on a Chinese philosophy course taught at Harvard College by a professor who tells his students that if they pay attention and implement the ideas, their lives will change for the better.
I read 'The Path' to gain a broad understanding of Chinese philosophy, and it certainly does that, presenting insights with great depth, nuance, and understanding, but at the same time abstracting away all the technical jargon that is specific to Chinese language. It is something that both experts in Chinese history and ordinary laymen can read and learn from.
But the greater value of this remarkable work goes beyond its philosophical discussions. We live in societies where social capital has drained away. Where religion no longer reinforces groups and individuals, and where ordinary people live in fear and helplessness. This work takes the insights from ancient philosophers and allows people to apply it in their daily lives. It gives effective techniques on living a meaningful life, breaking down your negative patterns and characteristics, cultivating yourself to become more than what you currently are, building influence and affecting change. In short it teaches you all this content that many successful and happy people seem to effortlessly understand.
I read widely and there are few books that are worth reading again, or taking highlights and reviewing regularly, or buying copies to give to friends. This is one of those rare few works that meet all the criteria.
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WindWater
4.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful reminder of how we can learn from each culture ...Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 January 2018
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When Westerners criticise Western culture through the eyes of Chinese thought, it becomes a global culture. This book suggests we should learn from each other rather than impose our culture onto each other, such as the Opium war or the invasion of China called colonialism. The new China is Maoism, it is a global culture with Chinese minds, it has been brutal and deemed as a mistake. Marx was wrong, so was Mao, they ignored or unconscious of human nature. China is building a new culture with ancient Chinese thoughts, but with a global view. It is tantalising to think we actually can remedy the wrong within ourselves. A beautiful reminder of how we can learn from each culture and especially an ancient Chinese wisdom by old masters. Puett has given us an account of what life could be if we read ideas from ancient sages of China.
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A reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Profound insights coupled with practical adviceReviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 August 2017
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I love this book! I have now read it twice and intend to read it again in the future (probably several times). It's full on profound insights as well as practical advice. I would highly recommend this!
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Liam Delahunty
1.0 out of 5 stars Over hypedReviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2021
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This was praised as profound, necessary, and many other superlatives.
I found it dull, repetitive, and completely unsatisfying.
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