Daniel Klein

2012

---

A meditation is exactly what this book is: a wandering, thoughtful, and ultimately open-ended examination of aging and what it means to age well. The author is a knowledgeable philosopher, well able to explain the thoughts of a dazzling range of thinkers. In the end – and to the extent that the book has a conclusion – he seems to arrive at a measure of Zen mindfulness: a valuable old age is best achieved by being the old man, by exploring what the state has to offer, and not wanting it to be other than it is.

4/5. Finished 11 February 2016.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Helen Russell

2015

---

Fluffy and without pretensions, this is a fun and mildly entertaining read, half unserious cultural analysis and half displaced biography. But there's a lot to be learned from Danish culture for those of us from other (or, as the Danes would possibly say if they weren't too polite, less developed) cultures, not least the importance of getting away from the stresses of industrial life. It doesn't convince me to move, I have to say (not least because I already know that I don't like pickled herring and excessive numbers of rules), but the power of tradition and ubiquity of festivals and entertainment do make it sound inviting.

3/5. Finished 30 January 2016.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Michael Collins

1974

---

Truly an inspirational read. Collins' personality comes through perfectly: human, humble, excited by his luck, a keen observer of technical and human features and frailties, not trying to sound other than he is.

This is a book about the space programme taken broadly, perhaps best exemplified by the fact that it takes until page 364 (of 478) to get to the take-off of Apollo 11. Collins talks about his history in joining the programme (at the second attempt), his experiences in the Gemini programme before Apollo, the tensions and differences that went into the design, testing, and flight of the vehicles themselves. He deals frankly with his flight experiences and his lack of jealousy at not actually making a moon landing himself: he probably could have done on a later mission had he not consciously decided beforehand to walk away from spaceflight after Apollo 11. He is fascinating on the subject of his own isolation in the orbiting command module, which he found far from lonely and which led to an amazing exchange with Charles Lindbergh, himself no stranger to solo flight.

His relationship with his flight companions is extraordinary, perhaps because he is the most outgoing of the group (Neil Armstrong coming "a distant second" in terms of self-containment to John Young, his commander on Gemini 10). Collins clearly feels something of a lack in his communications with these other men, in that they interact almost purely technically without sharing their inner experiences: one gets the feeling he would have liked to hear more from them, but realised he could never open them up.

5/5. Finished 08 January 2016.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Alan W. Watts

1966

---

A book that tries to take some of the planned seriousness out of life, recommending a more accepting and present course that enjoys the journey rather than worrying about achieving some future goal. As such, as a way of approaching living, it's an excellent antidote to the cult of self-help and self-actualisation books that currently flourish, and has lost none of its power in the half-century since it was first published.

3/5. Finished 24 December 2015.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Roman Krznaric

2011

---

An excellent tour through philosophy and cultural history in search of the good life. There's a lot to like in this book, which is erudite and subtle without being in any way pretentious or a hard read. Starting off discussing the six modes of love recognised by the ancient Greeks, it then proceeds through ideas of travel, belief, work, time, money, and finishes with ways we might improve the ends of our lives (treading a very similar path to that identified by Atul Gawande in Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End). On the way it performs a welcome rehabilitation of Adam Smith and visits the thought of Gandhi, Goethe, and a whole range of less famous (but equally important) innovators.

It's impossible to read a book like this without comparing it to The Consolations of Philosophy. In many ways it's a perfect complement to Alain de Botton's work, similarly addressing modern concerns from the perspective of classical authors. I prefer Krznaric's approach mainly because it's more broadly about art and literature rather than strictly about philosophy, which allows him to draw on a wider range of inspirations. It certainly provides a lot of provocations to leading a better, more thoughtful, and richer life.

5/5. Finished 15 December 2015.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)