bob_muller 's review for:

The Road to Character by David Brooks

3.0

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Brooks starts off well, with a decently stated agenda of defining what constitutes a deep character, and then proceeds to teach by example. Unfortunately, as the book goes on, the examples get diffuse and the agenda Augustinian. Being a Stoic, I have always believed in things like controlling your behavior and developing your understanding as the basis for character. Those traits are there, but eventually overshadowed by an excessive emphasis on humility and a diffuse tendency toward self distrust. I learned a lot from the first few chapters, but I bogged down repeatedly during the last half of the book.