Great Book: Contemporary Reading of Western Classics

Author: David Denby (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: This book takes readers from the Bible to Machiavelli, then to Boccaccio, and finally to Nietzsche, making it a delightful read for anyone who loves literature. I couldn’t put it down the moment I started reading. It’s one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to continue exploring literature. The book offers a captivating narrative about the literary world, and no matter what your questions about literature are, you’ll find answers. – Philanthropist Brooke Astor
A brilliant and talented individual who has immersed himself in the new media era for three decades feels that he only has “principled opinions without conviction.” He needs to be reeducated, so he goes back to reading classic works he hasn’t touched since adulthood. In this book, through engaging insights and reflections, he shares his year of reading experiences, inspiring both himself and readers to regain vitality and revitalize their spiritual lives. I feel I owe Columbia University and Denby a tuition fee. – New York State Governor Mario Cuomo
Colleges are filled with trained individuals who can write about writing, but Denby can write about reading—such a skill is rare, and he adds sincerity, humility, and a consistently sharp intellect. Denby may be the most perceptive and enthusiastic person in the Western world. His casual, conversational style makes reading this emotional education a pleasure. – Cultural Scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Going back to college to read great literary works may not sound like the plot of an adventure story, but Mr. Denby’s book is just that. It’s filled with passionate observations about literature and society, offering the thrill of exploration and discovery. It’s a magnificent book. – Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Kidder
At 48, the film critic Denby grew tired of the fragmented life of modern media and boldly returned to school, reading Homer, Plato, Kant, Nietzsche, Machiavelli, Montaigne, and Austen, Conrad, Woolf, and others alongside young adults in their late teens. This book is the third encounter between the 1990s’ frustrated middle class, college freshmen, and timeless classics. These two millennia of accumulated cornerstone of Western culture now fall into the eyes of the new new humans of the 21st century and the middle-aged with mixed emotions, becoming a new field eager for reinterpretation.
Denby boldly casts off the curse of “political correctness” and, from the perspective of a social being, a husband, and a father, explores what these classics bring to our secular lives in the electronic age. It’s an adventurous journey that can sometimes be perilous, sometimes tranquil, and sometimes full of surprises.