Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Book Review: Twelve Rules for Life

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A great deal of ink has been spilt on the subject of Jordan Peterson and this book. I can not add much to what has been said, but to say that I would unreservedly recommend it.

This is a self help book after a fashion and a lot of what it advises is plain common sense. There is a great deal of value in hearing good advice again and I suppose every generation has to learn the same lessons again. It’s radical firebrand stuff like tell the truth, stand up straight and pursue what is meaningful.

I found the book accessible and eminently practical. The audio version is well produced and read by the author, though it lacks the illustrations, introduction and footnotes that come with the printed edition.

This book (and the work that preceded it, but that is codified within it) helped me when I was in a tough spot with injury, work and family. It has made me a happier, more useful and ultimately a better man.

As Mrs Kinch put it, “you can’t argue with the results.”

If you want a flavour of what the book is about, you could do a lot worse than watch this video, which is about eight minutes long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDcOu...


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4 comments:

  1. Yup, bought it when it came out on Audi book.

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    1. The audio book is very good. In some ways almost too good. I ended up listening to the final chapter where he is describing his daughters illness while walking home at night in the rain. Gave me a bit of a lump in my throat I can tell you.

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  2. Very interesting! Especially the video. I saw a feature on him in The Observer a few weeks ago, and kept the cutting. 'Compare yourself with who you were yesterday...' struck a chord. You have clearly had some big challenges recently, I'm glad this has helped you perhaps to 'be the reliable one at the funeral. Very tempted to get the book; does he have any advice for dealing with a massive reading backlog?

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  3. "Any advice for dealing with a massive reading backlog"

    The difficult he can do today, the impossible will take rather longer.

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