2021 Book Reviews
A year of reading and note taking
I spent a large amount of time reading and note taking in preparation for writing down some ideas I’ve had on martial arts and their relation to philosophy and psychology. I thought that it would be helpful to share my notes in the form of book reviews/summaries, key takeaways, and quotes on my Instagram page. Below you can see the reviews/summaries collected in one place with links to the original posts along with the quote I felt most described the book in entirety. For more quotes from the book click the link.
Note — not every quote from each book received a separate post on Instagram and thus not every one here provides a link. Please enjoy and let me know which you’ve read.
The War of Art — Steven Pressefield
“The War of Art” is a modern classic from Steven Pressfield which delivers the author’s thoughts on the creative process and its relation to the creator. Pressfield is not afraid to share his no-nonsense take on what blocks the path of the artist from accomplishing their goals, what it takes to sit down and produce results, and where inspiration ultimately derives.
The book is short and the brevity with which he writes is appreciated. The book is divided into three sections: Defining the Enemy, Turning Pro, and The Higher Realm. Pressfield personifies Resistance, characterizes its behavior, and reveals all its forms so that it can be recognized and overcome. How? By treating the act of creation as a professional endeavor. In the second section Pressfield shares some of his early struggles and how he eventually overcame them by adhering to a disciplined regimen. Finally, Pressfield presents his beliefs on the philosophical, psychoanalytical, and Romantic origins of inspiration and Muses or, as he calls them, Angels. It is a soliloquy that may divide some readers, but it can easily be read as metaphors for the mysterious, deeper psychological processes humanity is still uncovering.
Though the content primarily reflects on the art and profession of writing the wisdom is equally applicable to other arts, physical fitness and sports, starting a business venture, or similar creative outlets. Those who need a quick dose of motivation are sure to like the structure and plain approach which makes it handy to keep by a desk. Those who identify with procrastination, anxiety, and their ultimate origin, Fear, will find they are not alone in their struggles to start their work and may find new strategies to help get a project off the ground.
Quotes from The War of Art
“[T]he most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying. Why? […] Because when we sit down day after day and keep grinding, something mysterious starts to happen. A process is set into motion by which, inevitably and infallibly, heaven comes to our aid. Unseen forces enlist in our cause; serendipity reinforces our purpose. This is the other secret that real artists know and wannabe writers don’t. When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us. The Muse takes note of our dedication. She approves. We have earned favor in her sight. When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete. Just as Resistance has its seat in hell, so Creation has its home in heaven. And it’s not just a witness, but an eager and active ally.”
Courage is Calling — Ryan Holiday
Ryan Holiday‘s latest book, “Courage is Calling” is another venture into Stoicism. It is the first of a planned four-part series on the virtues of Stoicism: Courage (Andreia), Temperance (Sophrosyne), Justice (Dikaiosyne), and Wisdom (Sophia). The book is short at about 270 pages with short chapters that are easy to pick up right where left off. Holiday’s writing style is straight to the point and conversational in tone, as if he is writing in thoughts and logical statements, but it makes for good progression and feels like he is placing his thoughts directly into one’s own mind. Holiday is a voracious reader and it shows in his writing whilst referencing the courageous stories of slaves, Roman emperors, civil-rights activists, watchful neighbors, founders of non-profits, revolutionaries, and more. Holiday always narrates his own books which is always a treat because the listener gets to hear the author’s words exactly as intended.
This book is separated into 3 parts: Fear, Courage, and The Heroic. Each chapter is titled like a thesis statement which makes it easy to find a section to revisit. Holiday brings in a diverse set of historical figures — including the police whistle blower Frank Serpico, the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, WNBA legend turned activist Maya Moore, WW2 French resistance fighter and statesmen Charles de Gaulle, revolutionizer of nursing Florence Nightignale, and more — to illustrate his thesis and shares quotes throughout. Holiday ends the book on a personal experience from his time at American Apparel where he considers the courage he showed in a time of turbulence at the company, but also the courage he didn’t.
This book is good for readers on the move or who cannot sit. down in large batches of time. It is a good introduction for those interested in learning more about Stoicism and its practice or for those wanting to hear inspirational anecdotes from history.
Quotes from Courage is Calling
“Just a few seconds of courage… That’s all it takes. It also may be all you have… If you had more time, you’d overthink it. You’d come up with a reason. Your self-preservation would kick in. You’d be scared. You’d freeze. And where does that leave your friends? Where does that leave your comrades? Your cause? No, you have to go. You have to hit send. You have to push the child out of the way. You have to step forward. You have to speak up — there’s not even time to clear your throat first. You don’t get to sleep on it. You don’t get to run through all the scenarios. You don’t get to ask for advice. Because people are counting on you. Because this is what you were trained for. Because this is what the situation demands, what your ideals demand. Trust your gut. Do your duty. Maybe it will work out. Maybe it won’t. The hero does it anyway.”
Man’s Search for Meaning — Viktor Frankl
This work is part autobiography and part psychoanalytical theory written by a survivor of the Holocaust. Dr. Viktor Frankl analyzes his and his fellow prisoner’s behavior while providing slave labor in Nazi concentration camps. As a psychiatrist before the war, he was able to help others to comprehend and understand these experiences. During his time he used the image of his wife to keep himself focused on survival as well as give meaning to his suffering. When his camp was finally liberated he learned that his father, mother, brother, and wife all died in concentration camps. Only his sister survived. A psychiatrist who survived this environment is a psychiatrist worth listening to.
This work is not just another brutal recounting of life in concentration camps, but also an analysis of the nature of suffering and meaning. Most of the first section of the book, “Experiences in a Concentration Camp,” explores what happened to apathetic prisoners and how Frankl managed to avoid this apathy himself. Frankl uses the second half of the book to explain Logotherapy, his version of psychoanalytical and existential analysis. Frankl distinguishes himself from Freud by theorizing that the root of certain neurosis stems. from the patient failing to find meaning in life and a sense of responsibility for his or her existence. This is man’s main motivating factor and he labels it the ‘Will-to-Meaning’. Nietzsche’s phrase, “He knows the “why” for his existence will be able to bear almost any “how” supports this notion.
Throughout the book Frankl shows the reader that life holds a meaning under any condition, even the most miserable. The book has sold more than 10 million copies in 24 languages and has a title that promises to deal with suffering and the meaning of life; it must say something about the state of the world during the majority of the last century. But as dour as the book’s subject is, Frankl’s analysis seeks to provide meaning to the suffering and eases the somber tone. I find it moving each time I read it and recommend it to everyone. It is a best seller and classic for a reason.
Quotes from Man’s Search for Meaning
“If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete. The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity — even under the most difficult circumstances — to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal. Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not.”
Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego — Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud is best known for popularizing and advocating the use of psychoanalysis. Though a large portion of his hypotheses (e.g. the Eros or sex as the central motivating factor for human behavior) leave much to be desired in the modern era, “Group Psychology” remains one of his lasting contributions. Those disproven ideas make an appearance in this book as well, but in this work Freud expands on the work of others before him like Gustave Le Bon’s “The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind”, William McDougall’s “The Group Mind A Sketch of the Principles of Collective Psychology”, and more to analyze the psyche in the group setting.
In that regard, the Freud’s psychological model of id, ego, and superego form the foundation to his analysis. He reviews the process of identification as well as the function of the libido in his model. By doing so he links the role of the leader to the parental bonds formed in childhood. Freud is also able to explain how this influences the change of behavior in individuals. He ends the book with a post-script dedicated to describing his thoughts on mythology, heroes, and the nature of psychological truths which can be unearthed by analyzing myths.
This book and Freud’s other work are available in the public domain and can be found for free quite easily. This makes it quite attainable for most people while simultaneously not being very accessible. The book is a short read, but the sentence structure and translation do not make it easy. It is full of complex ideas and jargon that require rereading and integration into your vocabulary. Perhaps it would read better in German or Austrian. That being said there were many passages and excerpts worth highlighting and saving. In the end I would recommend it only to those truly wanting to delve deeper into Freud’s theories. on psychic mechanisms which drive behavior rather than those just looking to for their next non-fiction read.
Quotes from Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego
“The most striking peculiarity presented by a psychological group is the following. Whoever be the individuals that compose it, however like or unlike be their mode of life, their occupations, their character, or their intelligence, the fact that they have been transformed into a group puts them in possession of a sort of collective mind which makes them feel, think, and act in a manner quite different from that in which each individual of them would feel, think, and act were he in a state of isolation.”
The Denial of Death — Ernest Becker
This Pulitzer Prize-winning book from Enerst Becker is a culmination of his life’s work. Using psychoanalysis as a framework, Becker addresses the fear of death in contexts ranging from societal hero-systems to mental illness. Becker’s main thesis asserts society has constructed roles and narratives for citizen’s lives that bestows meaning and to make sense of the events in their lives. The roles individuals embody allows them to be memorialized after they die and achieve a semblance of immortality. The fear of death, then, becomes the primary motivator of human behavior. A consequence of narratives developed by society is the potential for violence between societies with conflicting narratives. The problem is that the fear of death lies just underneath the surface of these constructs and the old religions of the world are harder to conceive as valid and logical today; it is inescapable leaving behind a constant state of anxiety in society. If individuals become aware of this lie, depression and other mental illness or perversion are likely. Those that run away from the hero-system try to replace it with hedonism or triviality, but still lack any meaning and eventually fall back into dread.
Becker’s conclusion’s are profound, if depressing. He does offer one solution, to create your own illusions to live under. The path of the creative, whether artist, academic, or otherwise, allows creations to serve as immortality symbols and can include ideological components, thus fulfilling the need to be distinct from the crowd but part of something bigger than themselves.
His work has left a lasting mark in psychology by motivating the development of Terror Management Theory along with the Death Positive movement, a group of people trying to encourage the discussion and acceptance of death in everyday life. The Denial of Death challenges the reader to question their own motives and look inward to see what really drives our beliefs, our obsessions, and our role in society. It should be required reading for all.
Quotes from The Denial of Death
“The prison of one’s character is painstakingly built to deny one thing and one thing alone: one’s creatureliness. The creatureliness is the terror. Once [it is] admit[ted] that you are a defecating creature […] you invite the primeval ocean of creature anxiety to flood over you. But it is more than creature anxiety, it is also man’s anxiety, the anxiety that results from the human paradox that man is an animal who is conscious of his animal limitation. Anxiety is the result of the perception of the truth of one’s condition. What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one is food for worms. This is the terror: to have emerged from nothing, to have a name, consciousness of self, deep inner feelings, an excruciating inner yearning for life and self-expression — and with all this yet to die.”
Kierkegaard in 90 Minutes — Paul Strathern
This very short audiobook (free with an Audible subscription) is an entertaining take on Soren Kierkegaard’s life & work and one of a series of books on philosophers. Kierkegaard took on a problem long ignored by prior philosophers — why we exist in the first place & what it actually means to exist. His answer lay in subjectivity & Existentialism. He did his thinking 100 years before Satre & the Absurdists, but laid the groundwork for them all the same. He also contributed toward early psychology before Freud & his followers. Later he used his reasoning to advocate for faith in a Christianity of his own creation complete with universal celibacy. It was not well received & his overall thesis fell to the wayside as more & more people lost faith in religion over time. Kierkegaard published many of his works through pseudonyms. He was an excellent agitator, criticizing the Danish church & using it to gain notoriety for his writing. The audiobook starts with a review of Kierkegaards life and then transitions into his work. This time Strathern turns his refined sarcastism towards Kierkegaard for essentially remaining a virgin his whole life — his first & only sexual experience was at a bordello that apparently left him embarrassed; he never had sex again. He only had one girlfriend, which he subsequently dumped and then spent the rest of his life pining over. These early experiences. later crept into his call for universal celibacy as part of true Christianity.
Whitfield’s British accent remains a delight when coupled with the prose. This work and others in the series are great as a quick reference to review these great philosopher’s contributions to their fields. This audiobook and series is highly recommended.
Quote from Kierkegaard in 90 Minutes
“Philosophy is quite right when it maintains that life must be understood backward. But one forgets the other principle that it must be lived forward. When one analyzes this latter principle, one inevitably comes to the conclusion that life and time can never be properly understood because no moment in which one is living can acquire the complete stillness necessary to orient oneself backward.”
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover — Robert Moore, Douglas Gillete
Masculinity has had a bad rap for a few decades & deservedly so, but Robert Moore & Douglas Gillette theorize it is for reasons other than the main stream line of thought. These author’s take a Jungian psychological perspective & focus on men’s disconnection from the Archetypes, the primal behavioral patterns C.G. Jung described.
Moore & Gillette go further & illustrate how men can identify with their gender more effectively by accessing the four Man Archetypes: King, Warrior, Magician, & Lover. By doing so, the author’s report that men can shed their Boy psychology & assume Man psychology based off their client’s therapy sessions. Their perspectives & findings run counter to some contemporary gender theory, but the Jungian theory incorporates anthropological evidence & a diversity of psychological thought is welcome.
Though the whole text comes across as “new-agey”, individuals will recognize the four behavioral patterns & their Shadow components in everyday life. Writers will find the Archetypes & Shadows useful for character development. For those looking for ways to better identify with & find peace with their masculinity in a rapidly changing culture, the book offers a path forward.
Quote from King, Warrior, Magician, Lover
“In our view, patriarchy is not the expression of deep and rooted masculinity, for truly deep and rooted masculinity is not abusive. Patriarchy is the expression of the immature masculine. It is the expression of Boy psychology, and, in part, the shadow — or crazy — side of masculinity. It expresses the stunted masculine, fixated at immature levels.”
The Book of Five Rings — Miyamoto Musashi
This is a collection of works by the master swordsmen Miyamoto Musashi (1584 — 1645) including: “The Mirror of the Way of Strategy”; “Thirty-five Instructions on Strategy”; “Forty-two Instructions on Strategy”, “The Book of Five Rings; & “The Way to Be Followed Alone”. They span from his early 20's to days before his death. The Go Rin no Sho is regarded as one of the earliest documents written on martial arts from a samurai victorious in over 60 duels.
Tokitsu starts the audiobook with an excellent historical & cultural lesson on the martial arts from Feudal Japan to WW2 to place the writings of Musashi into context. Also included are descriptions of the different schools of thought on Musashi & his accomplishments as well as a short biography.
This work is extremely rare due to the general lack of texts & the emphasis in budo, or warrior culture, on speaking few words. Musashi’s prose is a joy to listen to — he’s got chiasmus crammed into as many lines as possible — and it shapes his authoritative tone. Musashi believed what was applicable to the swordsmen should also be applicable to the strategist and he based his thoughts on these principles.
Though not all his advice may apply to today’s strategists, it still delivers excellent advice for the individual and at the tactical level. If you have an interest in the marital arts or in self-development, it’s required reading.
Quote from The Book of Five Rings
“You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain”
Zen in the Art of Archery — Eugen Herrigel
This is a very short work chronicling Herrigel’s lessons in archery while teaching philosophy in Japan. Originally looking for a teacher of Zen, he was told he would first need to learn an art and ended up taking 6 years of archery. He did so under the watchful eye of a Master Kenzo Awa, who’s puzzling quips and sayings are generously doled out across the pages. He learns breathing exercises, posture, and the ritualistic exercises found in popular meditation practice today — through which, he slowly begins to encounter and realize Zen, the loosening of spirit and detachment — thus becoming agile and free of mind. He might describe Zen as pure introspective mysticism, but Herrigel pays homage to the art, the beliefs, and the culture of Dhyana Buddhism.
Herrigel’s attitude comes across as enamored by the strange and alien nature of the experience, but his words do justice in describing an inward journey. If you ever wondered what it would be like to apprentice under a Master, this book perfectly describes the feeling. The work pays great attention to describing the instruction and the Master-Student dynamic. It concludes with a comparison of Zen in archery to swordsmanship by referencing an old samurai text — Master Takuan’s “The Unmoved Understanding”. If you care to gain deeper understanding of the mysticism that lies at the heart of martial arts — then this text is recommended.
Quote from Zen in the Art of Archery
“The right shot at the right moment does not come because you do not let go of yourself. You do not wait for fulfilment, but brace yourself for failure. So long as that is so, you have no choice but to call forth something yourself that ought to happen independently of you.”
The Warrior Ethos — Steven Pressfield
A very short read, this work comes from the author of The Legend of Bagger Vance, The War of Art, and Gates of Fire. Pressfield has written several novels centered on war, soldiers, and the Writer’s Journey. Here he gathers knowledge from his research into one place to give form & function to the Warrior Ethos. Based on western notions of warriors like the Spartans, the work servers as a keyhole through which non-combatants can peer into the psyche of those who willingly choose adversity, to face death, & master one’s inner turmoil to rise to the noble planes. Pressfield narrates his own book with a voice that expresses genuine intellectual curiosity & thoughtfulness like he does in his other works. It’s a great read for writers, artists, & those who wish to embody something from the past in a world which seems to care for nothing but vanity and greed.
Quote from The Warrior Ethos
“We all fight wars — in our work, within our families and abroad in the wider world. Each of us struggles every day to define and defend our sense of purpose and integrity, to justify our existence on the planet and to understand, if only within our own hearts, who we are and what we believe in. We are all warriors.”
