The second mountain : the quest for a moral life / David Brooks.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780812993264
- ISBN: 0812993268
- Physical Description: xxxiii, 346 pages ; 25 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Random House, [2019]
- Copyright: ©2019
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 317-327) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Part I. The two mountains -- Moral ecologies -- The Instagram life -- The insecure overachiever -- The valley -- The wilderness -- Heart and soul -- The committed life -- The second mountain -- The four commitments -- Part II. Vocation -- What vocation looks like -- The annunciation moment -- What mentors do -- Vampire problems -- Mastery -- Part III. Marriage -- The maximum marriage -- The stages of intimacy I -- The stages of intimacy II -- The marriage decision -- Marriage: the school you build together -- Part IV. Philosophy and faith -- Intellectual commitments -- Religious commitment -- A most unexpected turn of events -- Ramps and walls -- Part V. Community -- The stages of community building I -- The stages of community building II -- Conclusion: the relationalist manifesto. |
Summary, etc.: | Conservative columnist David Brooks explores the four commitments that define a life of meaning and purpose: to a spouse and family, to a vocation, to a philosophy or faith, and to a community. Our personal fulfillment depends on how well we choose and execute these commitments. Brooks looks at a range of people who have lived joyous, committed lives, and who have embraced the necessity and beauty of dependence. He gathers their wisdom on how to choose a partner, how to pick a vocation, how to live out a philosophy, and how we can begin to integrate our commitments into one overriding purpose. "Every so often, you meet people who radiate joy--who seem to know why they were put on this earth, who glow with a kind of inner light. Life, for these people, has often followed what we might think of as a two-mountain shape. They get out of school, they start a career, and they begin climbing the mountain they thought they were meant to climb. Their goals on this first mountain are the ones our culture endorses: to be a success, to make your mark, to experience personal happiness. But when they get to the top of that mountain, something happens. They look around and find the view ... unsatisfying. They realize: This wasn't my mountain after all. There's another, bigger mountain out there that is actually my mountain. And so they embark on a new journey. On the second mountain, life moves from self-centered to other-centered. They want the things that are truly worth wanting, not the things other people tell them to want. They embrace a life of interdependence, not independence. They surrender to a life of commitment. In [this book], David Brooks explores the four commitments that define a life of meaning and purpose: to a spouse and family, to a vocation, to a philosophy or faith, and to a community. Our personal fulfillment depends on how well we choose and execute these commitments. Brooks looks at a range of people who have lived joyous, committed lives, and who have embraced the necessity and beauty of dependence. He gathers their wisdom on how to choose a partner, how to pick a vocation, how to live out a philosophy, and how we can begin to integrate our commitments into one overriding purpose. In short, this book is meant to help us all lead more meaningful lives. But it's also a provocative social commentary. We live in a society, Brooks argues, that celebrates freedom, that tells us to be true to ourselves, at the expense of surrendering to a cause, rooting ourselves in a neighborhood, binding ourselves to others by social solidarity and love. We have taken individualism to the extreme--and in the process we have torn the social fabric in a thousand different ways. The path to repair is through making deeper commitments. In The Second Mountain, Brooks shows what can happen when we put commitment-making at the center of our lives. "--Dust jacket. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Social interaction. Caring. Conduct of life. Relationism. |
Genre: | Self-help publications. |
Available copies
- 51 of 53 copies available at Bibliomation.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 53 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
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Ansonia Public Library | 170.44 BRO (Text) | 34045120744169 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Babcock Library - Ashford | 302 Bro (Text) | 33110144135595 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Beekley Community Library - New Hartford | 302 BROOKS, D. (Text) | 32544072543886 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Bethel Public Library | 302 BRO (Text) | 34030141532397 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Black Rock Branch - Bridgeport | 170.44 BROOKS (Text) | 34000081466336 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Brookfield Library | 302/ BROOKS (Text) | 34029145626908 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Burnham Library - Bridgewater | 302 BROOKS (Text) | 36937002156546 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
C.H. Booth Library - Newtown | 302 BRO (Text) | 34014141723321 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Chester Public Library | 302 BRO (Text) | 33210000529962 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
David M. Hunt Library - Falls Village | 302 Bro (Text) | 33180141806902 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |