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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
Thought provoking. However, as soon as I thought I was getting "into" the meat of the book, it ended. It's a quick read and only begins to touch on so many possible topics of interest. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others. I particularly appreciated learning about the study on happiness. There are three common denominators for leading a "happy" life: competence, authenticity and community. Beyond meeting basic needs, money, power, status, fame do not contribute to happiness.
short book, very readable. I had heard about the concept of increasing mental illness correlated to developed societies before, and this helped to clarify the concept even further. We have removed the concept of the tribe from our society, and so we are all alone. We have no real sense of obligation or desire to sacrifice for our communities because we have no real sense of community, thus we allow people to violate the security and stability of our society with deeply selfish and harmful behaviors which have no real or lasting consequences. We will have to fall very far in order to unite and rebuild our world in a healthy manner.
informative
slow-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
A fascinating and controversial argument. A lot of open ended questions are posed, which really makes a person slow down and think.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This Veteran recommends
This book really made me stop and think about a lot of things, especially in how well it lays out the exact feelings and responses of those with PTSD or compassion fatigue, sometimes without even meaning to. I really enjoyed it, because it gave me a lot of insight on why some of my colleagues, and myself, react the way we do in the animal rescue we run.
emotional
informative
reflective
This book was very interesting. I love it when people recommend books and I end up enjoying them beyond reason. That is definitely the case with this one. (Thanks to Kyle D. at work for the great recommendation and for loaning me your copy!) I have read a few other books that have mentioned that the lack of community in modern society is a major factor in mental health and other problems in daily life today. This book covers a lot of different topics and reads like a long Atlantic article. An intriguing history of Native American life and their history of tribes flows into why disasters make people happier than calmer, safe everyday life which flows into how we can actually help returning soldiers with PTSD. There are even insights into modern politics. I highly recommend reading this book if you want a fresh perspective on some of the problems of modern life. This is one of those books that will truly make you think and maybe even rethink some of your worldview. I really appreciated the insight into what soldiers deal with and think that the author's suggestions make more sense than most of the other advice I have heard in the past. A few of my favorite passages/thoughts are below.
September 27, 2019 – page 126
65.63% ""The most alarming rhetoric comes out of the dispute between liberals and conservatives, and it's a dangerous waste of time because they're both right.... The eternal argument over so-called entitlement programs- and, more broadly, over liberal and conservative thought- will never be resolved because each side represents an ancient and absolutely essential component of our evolutionary past.""
September 24, 2019 – page 112
58.33% "Spider story about moral failings- "My friend Ellis was once asked by a troubled young boy whether there was any compelling reason for him not to pull the legs off a spider. Ellis said that there was. 'Well, spiders don't feel any pain' the boy reported. 'It's not the spider I'm worried about' Ellis said.""
September 24, 2019 – page 101
52.6% "Soldiers need 3 things: Cohesive and tribal society to come home to, not to be seen as victims, to feel productive and necessary as members of society (jobs/normal contributions)."
September 24, 2019 – page 93
48.44% ""Whatever the technological advances of modern society- and there nearly miraculous- three individualized lifestyles that those technologies spawn seem to be deeply brutalizing to the human spirit.""
September 24, 2019 – page 59
30.73% ""The beauty and tragedy of the modern world is that it eliminates many situations that require people to demonstrate a commitment to the collective good. ... What would you risk dying for- and for whom- is perhaps the most profound question a person can ask themselves. The vast majority of people in modern society are able to pass their whole lives without ever having to answer that question..." (blessing and loss)"
September 24, 2019 – page 56
29.17% "Men vs women bystander rescues
Men- "impulsive sensation seeking", more likely to rescue women of reproductive age
Women- "moral courage", empathy, donate more kidneys"
September 23, 2019 – page 28
14.58% ""Subsistence-level hunters aren't necessarily more moral than other people; they just can't get away with selfish behavior because they live in small groups where almost everything is open to scrutiny. Modern society, on the other hand, is a sprawling and anonymous mess where people can get away with incredible levels of dishonesty without getting caught.""
September 23, 2019 – page 1
0.52% ""It's about why- for many people- war feels better than peace and disasters are sometimes remembered more fondly than weddings or tropical vacations. Humans don't mind hardship, in fact they thrive on it; what they mind is not feeling necessary. Modern society has perfected the art of making people not feel necessary.""
September 27, 2019 – page 126
65.63% ""The most alarming rhetoric comes out of the dispute between liberals and conservatives, and it's a dangerous waste of time because they're both right.... The eternal argument over so-called entitlement programs- and, more broadly, over liberal and conservative thought- will never be resolved because each side represents an ancient and absolutely essential component of our evolutionary past.""
September 24, 2019 – page 112
58.33% "Spider story about moral failings- "My friend Ellis was once asked by a troubled young boy whether there was any compelling reason for him not to pull the legs off a spider. Ellis said that there was. 'Well, spiders don't feel any pain' the boy reported. 'It's not the spider I'm worried about' Ellis said.""
September 24, 2019 – page 101
52.6% "Soldiers need 3 things: Cohesive and tribal society to come home to, not to be seen as victims, to feel productive and necessary as members of society (jobs/normal contributions)."
September 24, 2019 – page 93
48.44% ""Whatever the technological advances of modern society- and there nearly miraculous- three individualized lifestyles that those technologies spawn seem to be deeply brutalizing to the human spirit.""
September 24, 2019 – page 59
30.73% ""The beauty and tragedy of the modern world is that it eliminates many situations that require people to demonstrate a commitment to the collective good. ... What would you risk dying for- and for whom- is perhaps the most profound question a person can ask themselves. The vast majority of people in modern society are able to pass their whole lives without ever having to answer that question..." (blessing and loss)"
September 24, 2019 – page 56
29.17% "Men vs women bystander rescues
Men- "impulsive sensation seeking", more likely to rescue women of reproductive age
Women- "moral courage", empathy, donate more kidneys"
September 23, 2019 – page 28
14.58% ""Subsistence-level hunters aren't necessarily more moral than other people; they just can't get away with selfish behavior because they live in small groups where almost everything is open to scrutiny. Modern society, on the other hand, is a sprawling and anonymous mess where people can get away with incredible levels of dishonesty without getting caught.""
September 23, 2019 – page 1
0.52% ""It's about why- for many people- war feels better than peace and disasters are sometimes remembered more fondly than weddings or tropical vacations. Humans don't mind hardship, in fact they thrive on it; what they mind is not feeling necessary. Modern society has perfected the art of making people not feel necessary.""
informative
slow-paced