Perhaps the best response therefore is to do what the Professor himself exhorts us to do: read books, with the emphasis on books.
In his words:
“Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet.”
So read this one certainly. It is short, easy to read and packs a powerful punch whether you find yourself agreeing or not. Set out in 20 snappy “lessons” it encourages the reader,in essence,to learn from experience, from history in fact. Not to take anything for granted.Not to sink into a weary “`twas ever thus” frame of mind nor to think that things were better “in the old days”. Rather we should stay alert: ask questions, be prepared to stand out (lesson 8), believe in truth (lesson 10), be courageous (lesson 20).
Other lessons urge us to interact in the real world,“Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people” at the same time as cultivating a private life, “We are free only insofar as we exercise control over what people know about us”.
Sound a bit melodramatic? Perhaps. But taken in its entirety this book is only suggesting we take personal responsibility for what`s happening in the world. Not an unreasonable proposition.
It is lesson 9 that emphasizes the importance of reading books (including, happily, fiction; "any good novel enlivens our ability to think about ambiguous situations and judge the intentions of others").
It`s a theme to which this reviewer will return.
**https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/20190412snyder
