A review by zbmorgan
The Road to Character by David Brooks

5.0

If you're in the right frame of mind, this can truly be a life-altering book. Brooks profiles several people throughout history with what he considers 'character'. They are humble, loyal, devout, inspired, hard-working, willing to take one for the team - in short, not most of the things the average American is right now. We are into 'self' and identity and 'what do we want? really?' Brooks theorizes that right after World War II, (earlier than most people who have ever had to wait for a millennial to show up for work assume) we became the 'me' generation. Then he launches right into his short profiles of people like Dorothy Day, General George Marshall, and even Eisenhower's mother. These people all had character - not the type of qualities that made them famous (most are already on their way to being forgotten by history, if they were ever 'famous' in the first place) but the type that changed people around them. Then in the last chapter, Brooks discusses the things we should learn from these people - if you didn't already figure it out while being humbled by them yourself. They weren't perfect, these humans, but we can learn from them anyway.
Highly recommended for everyone from college graduates to people trying to find their purpose to self-involved hipsters.