A review by _ifitsthelastthingido
The Road to Character by David Brooks

2.0

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. I couldn’t even convince myself to finish reading it. I deeply appreciate his concept of eulogy virtues vs resume virtues, but it turns out the whole book is basically a biography in five parts of different people in history who he believed showed real character. It felt hard to relate to, insofar as his main argument centered loosely around the idea that we’ve morally backslid because people aren’t turning to religion for moral compasses. The examples of people with character were basically people forced to persevere in the face of trauma. None of the stories I read showed someone distinctly choosing between a resume virtue and eulogy virtue. I expected the book to give encouragement for people to find their own core values and follow that as a compass, but it didn’t bring that energy at all. You’re honestly better off skipping the book unless you’re a big history buff. But even then, I question the recommendation.