A review by lmreboy
Solitude: In Pursuit of a Singular Life in a Crowded World by Michael Harris

3.0

A better title would have been "The Extinction of Solitude." This book is less an exploration of the experience and benefits of solitude (which is what I was expecting and wanting) than it is a treatise on technology's encroachment and annihilation of solitude -- something I quickly tired of as I often grow weary when people demonize the current technology of the day as destroying some inherent human way of being when, in fact, it usually is just amplifying a different human characteristic. Humans have ALWAYS been remarkably good at avoiding themselves on a serious contemplative level and instead invest great focus and energy on plugging in to the pack and attending to the demands of the pack. When we do focus on self, it is often in a not-so-healthy way and has some tangential if not direct connection to the pack. The Internet and smartphones did not cause this "alarming" behavior but because we are in the midst of a significant technological shift that has a generational component to it, we are acutely aware of it. So, if THAT issue intrigues you and you want to dwell on the dark side of technology, go ahead and read this. If you want to contemplate solitude, though, read something else