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How to Read a Book

by Mortimer Jerome Adler, Charles Van Doren

3.91 · rating details · 1,398 ratings · 276 reviews

How to Read a Book, originally published in 1940, has become a rare phenomenon, a living classic. It is the best and most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader. And now it has been completely rewritten and updated.

You are told about the various levels of reading and how to achieve them -- from elementary reading, through systematic skimming a

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Paperback, 426 pages

Published May 10th 2011 by Touchstone (first published 1940)

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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,728)

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Oct 09, 2008

booklady rated it

Recommends it for: any reader

Shelves: 2005, 2006, books-on-books, education, non-fiction, literature, 1990s, classic, favorites, worth-reading-over-and-over

Read this with my two daughters when they were in seventh and eighth grades respectively. It not only teaches how to read different materials, but also gives a list of must-read books. Every serious reader needs to read this book! Both of my daughters say they still use things they learned from this book in their reading. (But they weren't terribly crazy about the book when we read it! Ha!)

Most important thing about the book--while there are many useful books you will read over ...more

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Jan 27, 2008

Paul rated it

Shelves: education

Probably one of the most important books you can read. I outlined the first three levels of reading a while back and I saved it. I'll post that for my "review."

How To Read A Book:

(This is an outline of part of Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren’s excellent book, "How To Read A Book." The outline takes one up to the third level of reading - analytical reading. There is a fourth level, syntopical reading, but most of the intended readers of ...more

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Mar 19, 2008

Jeremiah rated it

Shelves: education

In junior high & high school I made it my job to avoid reading altogether, just like politicians who avoid hard questions. When I was twenty I hadn't read a book since I was in fourth grade, was only partially literate, & was a high school drop out with no intentions of ever cracking another book or attending another school....then I became a Christian. Jesus not only transformed my desires, habits, and life's direction; he radically transformed two things: my desire to learn and my pursuit of t...more

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Aug 23, 2011

Jay Liu rated it

Shelves: skimmed-only, partially-read

It changed the way I read books (I read primarily non-fiction). Reading is no longer just "look at every word until they are all seen," nor is it like a tape that plays from the beginning to the end. This book taught me the value of skimming books as a way of time management. From this, also I learned the basic skills of how to use the 'tools' the author provides to help understand the content: everything from the table of contents, to the introduction, to each paragraph, to the index...more

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Apr 12, 2011

Игорь Емельянов rated it

Начать следует с ошеломительного утверждения: мы не умеем читать. Вы не умеете читать книги, этого не умею делать я и ваш преподаватель по литературе. Наверное, каждый из нас замечал, как читая какую-нибудь книгу, мысленно отвлекался, а через несколько страниц понимал, что только что занимался фоновым чтением, ничего не поняв и не запомнив. Примерно так и выглядит ваше сегодняшнее чтение по сравнению с тем способом чтения, о котором говорится в книге Мортимера Адлера.
Читать дальше...

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Dec 22, 2011

Pavel Kalugin rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Написал большой пост об эффективном чтении книг на основе этой книги Адлера и собственного опыта чтения http://pavelkalugin.ru/2011/04/25/pravila-chteniya/.

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Oct 23, 2011

Dante rated it

Recommended to Dante by: Doug Geivett

Shelves: expository, non-fiction, practical, reading, favorites, reference

I'm reading this awesome book again. I'll be writing my notes for each chapter below (It will be like a "running account" of my summary of and thoughts about every chapter). So, be warned, this is going to be a very, very long review. I hope I'll be able to write a shorter version after I'm done with the book.

Overview

Basically, How to Read a Book is a practical book. It aims to help people become intelligent readers. To read intelligently means to read actively. To ...more

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Apr 04, 2010

Najibah rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: books-on-books, read-2010, non-fiction, read-but-not-own, in-tsl

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Buku ini secara keseluruhannya cuba mengajar kita menjadi pembaca yang lebih aktif, supaya berhasil mendapatkan lebih manfaat dari bahan bacaan. Manakala tujuan tertinggi dan terakhir dari kegiatan membaca adalah untuk meninggikan akal budi.

Manfaat Membaca: Pengetahuan & Kefahaman

Ada dua manfaat utama daripada membaca, pertama menambah pengetahuan dan kedua menambah pemahaman. Pengetahuan hanya melibatkan fakta, manakala pemahaman melibatkan keupayaan mendalami makna di s...more

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Sep 04, 2008

Natasha rated it

Recommends it for: serious readers

Recommended to Natasha by: Oliver DeMille

Shelves: education

I read this book because I live by the mantra, "Life is Short---Read Fast" and I hoped it would teach me how to read faster. Instead it teaches you to read slower, analytically. It also teaches you how to "date" a book---to decide if you really want to spend the time to read the whole thing before commiting yourself to it. This book has a rather pedantic tone, which makes it a little dry to plow through. But I kept at it because there were philosophical gems interspersed t...more

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Sep 02, 2007

Mikol rated it

I read this book in the mid-seventies. I was in my early twenties I think. I had a voracious appetite for books. This volume really helped me organize the way that I read and helped me be discerning regarding what books to read.

One idea from the book that I still recall 30 years later is his discussion about teachers, dead and alive. Books were the dead teachers, but teachers nonetheless. And as a result of the published work, one could get to know the teacher if the work was of...more

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Jun 23, 2011

Paul rated it

Shelves: landmark-books, philosophy, studying-thinking

It's not how much you read, but how well--and this book gives you specific, step-by-step techniques to get you to read as well as possible.

First of all, who would be so presumptuous as to advise fellow adults on how to read--a skill notionally possessed by everyone who's made it through public school? Well, Mortimer J. Adler, philosopher, longtime editor of the Encyclopedia Britannica, and moving force behind the Britannica Great Books of the Western World series; and Charles Van Dor...more

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Jul 12, 2009

Mike Knox rated it

Shelves: non-fiction

This book promotes reading as an active art. The goal of reading ought to be more than increased knowledge; rather, it strives for increased understanding. Thus the authors can talk about reading as a form of research, elevating the task of reading far above its stereotype of passivity.

The authors describe four ascending levels of reading: (1) Elementary; (2) Inspectional; (3) Analytical; and (4) Syntopical. The levels are cumulative in the sense that, if you are to read at say level...more

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Jan 20, 2012

Chris rated it

This book is absolutely fantastic for anyone looking to read more analytically. The book attacks the problem with great clarity and rigor. It is not a list of cheap tricks to magically improve your reading, but rather a guide for learning from a book as you would a teacher. It provides a gamut of advice from small investments that can benefit the reading of any book to exhaustive and time-consuming strategies for fully engaging a book that you have determined to be worth understanding completely...more

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Sep 25, 2011

Sasha Martinez added it

Shelves: books-read-in-2011

It’s such a dinosaur. Cranky, snooty, stuffy, pedantic, often condescending. It’s a manual. For intelligent reading. Very textbook-y, very fundamental. Very practical. Like some invisible ruler cracked against my keyboard-clobbering knuckles, like a pesky voice in your head.

It’s like having tea with your cane-thumping retiree-professor of a great-grandfather. Him demanding why you aren’t wearing hose, and will you please stand up straight? You bide your time, you promised you’d keep hi...more

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Apr 22, 2011

Leon M rated it

Shelves: skills

Most people do not know how to read. You probably think you do (I did certainly think I was proficient at it), but you will realize that you do not at the moment that you actually start improving. To do so, there are two books you must read (how ironic!) and two methods you must utilize: you must learn to go faster, and then you must learn to go slower. This may sound strange to you, but trust me: these two are the keys to good reading. You can learn how to go faster by reading "Breakthroug...moreMost people do not know how to read. You probably think you do (I did certainly think I was proficient at it), but you will realize that you do not at the moment that you actually start improving. To do so, there are two books you must read (how ironic!) and two methods you must utilize: you must learn to go faster, and then you must learn to go slower. This may sound strange to you, but trust me: these two are the keys to good reading. You can learn how to go faster by reading "Breakthrough Rapid Reading" by Peter Kump. You can learn how to go slower by reading "How to Read a Book" by Mortimer Adler.

"How to Read a Book" is exactly what the title says: a practical guidebook on learning how to really delve into books, how to extract information and understanding from them. Adler presents a useful collection of reading hints, all already ordered into a neat system so that you really learn a list of rules that you can apply to make your reading experience more strenuous, but also more rewarding and interesting.

The book argues that there are four “levels“ of reading: elementary, inspectional, analytical and synoptical. The problem is: we only really learn elementary reading in school. This is why the book focuses on the other three levels and especially discusses analytical and synoptical reading in detail.

Inspectional Reading refers to two things: (1) the reading of the table of contents, publisher's blurb and title as well as the skimming of the last few pages of a book. (2) the superficial reading of the whole book (at high speeds: don't stop if you do not understand something). Both of these are necessary to get a superficial understanding of the subject matter a book deals with and they both act as precursors to the next level of reading.

Analytical Reading is where the real meat can be found: it basically works by reading the whole book very slowly, always taking notes about your thoughts and the authors arguments. The book states several rules for analytical reading in an attempt to systematize this important process: The first stage of analytical reading consists of finding out what the book is about. In order to do that you first have to classify the book according to kind and subject matter. Then you should write a very short summary (preferably one sentence) about the book. Also, you should enumerate the major parts into which the book is separated and outline these parts. Finally, you need to list the problems the author has tried to solve.

On the second stage of Analytical Reading, the reader is concerned with interpreting the book's contents. He does this by first coming to terms with the author (i.e. by interpreting and listing the key words he uses) and then dealing with the most important sentences and thereby finding the author's propositions. Having found the propositions, the reader proceeds to searching the author's arguments. Finally, the reader must determine whether the author solved the problems he assigned himself.

The third stage of Analytical Reading deals with criticizing a book. One should remember that criticism always has to follow understanding, it should never be the other way round. One should also decide not do disagree disputatiously and present reasons for any judgement. If one follows these basic rules, one can criticize the book by separating the criticism into the categories of where the author is uninformed, where he is misinformed, where he is illogical and where his analysis is incomplete. If one does not find any criticism in these four categories, one has to agree with the book or suspend judgement.

The last level of reading, Synoptical Reading, is concerned with reading several books together (the authors stole the name from their own “Synopticon“). It is basically what you would do when you were trying to write a PhD thesis or something similiar: your aim is to find all (or at least the most imporant) books on a subject and then read all the relevant extracts together. Synoptical Reading has two stages: first, you have to survey the field. You do this by creating a tentative bibliography of your subject and then giving all the books in that bibliography an Inspectional Reading, so that you can adapt your bibliography to your immediate needs. Secondly, you need to inspect all the relevant books again to find the relevant passages. Now comes the most interesting part: as you are reading several books at once, you do not come to terms with the author, but you bring the authors to terms by constructing a neutral terminology. This could be compared to translating all the books into a common language. Next, you determine the questions that all the authors tried to give answers to and define the issues and disagreements relating to these questions. Now you can analyze the discussion by ordering the questions and disputes. While doing this, always remember to try to find all opinions on a subject and not to choose your own until you have finished evaluating everything.

Apart from the different levels of reading, the book has a lot to say on how different kinds of books need to be read differently. Nonfiction, for example, should be read in the smallest number of sessions possible. There are also different kind of reading rules for it: they basically urge the reader to get know the characters and really delve into the imaginary world of the author. If you read dramas, you can imagine yourself to be the director for a surplus of enjoyment and understanding. Poems need to be read as a whole and out loud. The philosophers should be read with the author's often unstated basic philosophical principles in mind and always in search for the question the author tries to answer. It also helps to read them in chronological order as philosophy is often a conversation between authors across several millenia. If you read social science, be careful to pay attention to the terms the author is using: the same goes for philosophy. Those two subjects often use common words in quite a different way from the one they are commonly used in.

All in all, “How to Read a Book“ is a very good introduction to the skill of slowing down and paying attention, what some may call active reading. I would recommend it to anyone who would like to learn how to read, especially in combination with “Breakthrough Rapid Reading“ by Peter Kump.(less)

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Jul 06, 2011

Arsene rated it

Basically it's a good book, but not essential.

Admittedly, before learning about it, I could hardly consider myself an efficient reader in the sense that through reading, I could improve my understanding to the greatest extent, or that my view of each book I read was exactly clear. So I took the advice of a much respected writer/translator and tried reading the book that, according to her, is an indispensable guide for anyone who loves reading. Although I haven't finished it, I can tell...more

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Feb 15, 2011

Deemah rated it

· review of another edition

كنت ابحث منذ فترة ليست وجيزة عن كتاب يعلمني كيف اقرأ .. لأني كنت ابحث عن اجوبه لأسئله صعبه , ومهمه جدا بالنسبه لي .. ماذا يجب ان اقرأ , ماذا اريد ان اقرأ .. و السؤال المهم كيف اختار كتـبي ؟

فأنا عندما أدخل مكتبه , لا اعرف ماذا اريد .. فأضيع بين الكتب , استمتع بالنظر اليها واتمنى لو كان عقلي يشبه الكمبيوتر فأخزن به كل هذة الكتب جميعا , فجميعها له شكل جذّاب ! و عديد من الكتب في المكتبه كتبوها كتّاب لهم شهرة واسعه و اسمائهم تلمع في عيني ! فتعميني و لا استطيع ان ارى جيدا مالذي اختارة ومال...more

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Jan 31, 2010

Natalie Zarowny rated it

Oh "How to Read a Book"....never before have I had such a love/hate relationship with a book. On the one hand, this book made me feel like I'm extremely lazy if I don't annotate in an extremely complex way any non-fiction book I come across. On the other hand, the methods that I was forced to use on the fifteen or so books we read in AP Great Books senior year had an enormous impact at how I look at reading. As someone who has always had a passion for non-fiction, using Mortimer Adl...more

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Jul 26, 2011

John Harder added it

Mortimer Adler is a pompous snob. This is why I like him. Old Mort (actually he is now dead Mort) takes us through various techniques of reading, with a focus on how to gather the most from a book in the most efficient manner. Depending in the circumstances and type of book a light skim might be best, others a lifetime of study.

Much of what Adler discusses is obvious but like with all things we sometimes get lazy and ignore the fundamentals.

I love how Mort says that in the history of man only...more

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Aug 05, 2011

Kelly rated it

Very helpful book, detailed, emphasizing our responsibility as readers to fully understand a text before criticizing it, to represent another person's ideas conscientiously and thoroughly, and to dignify the act of reading by responding to what is being proposed. Response does not imply agreement with the author's proposals. The point is that if you are going to read an expositional book, you should do so with the aim of expanding your understanding. Taking on this responsibility only makes sens...moreVery helpful book, detailed, emphasizing our responsibility as readers to fully understand a text before criticizing it, to represent another person's ideas conscientiously and thoroughly, and to dignify the act of reading by responding to what is being proposed. Response does not imply agreement with the author's proposals. The point is that if you are going to read an expositional book, you should do so with the aim of expanding your understanding. Taking on this responsibility only makes sense if you've taken the time to determine beforehand whether the book is worth your time or not, which is the point of the second stage of reading Adler and Van Doren teach. Because understanding take work.

While I consider myself an active reader, it has never been my habit to take the time and trouble to understand that Adler and Van Doren require. I've always thought I could get a sense of what an author is saying by merely getting through the material. I've come to realize over the years, however, that this kind of reading is ultimately unproductive because I was unable to remember for more than a month what it was I had read. There are few things as aggravating as wanting to explain an argument to a friend but not not quite being able to remember what the argument is. I also find I cannot respond, and cannot incorporate ideas into my own thought process unless I take the time to read things properly. Adler and Van Doren were able to help with this.

It helps, of course, that I already shared a lot of their philosophy. I plan to read the book again at a later date and make myself an outline of all the philosophical statements contained in the book so I will be prepared to compare Adler's and Van Doren's principles with those of other contrary theories in the matter. They clearly expect that truth can be arrived at through debate, which means that the intentions of the author matter, whereas other literary critics privilege the reader over authorial expression. In fact I know that Robert Scholes in his *The Rise and Fall of English* disagrees to some extent with Adler and Van Doren's emphasis on Great Ideas. I look forward to comparing Adler and Van Doren's ideas with those of others operating in the same field.(less)

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Apr 26, 2010

Taka rated it

Shelves: japan_jul07-aug10, other

Tedious,turgid, and torturous--

Thank God I've gained a few insights from this: the usefulness of inspectional reading and how to read poetry (which consists of reading it as fast as you can and rereading it aloud). Some thoughts on syntopical reading are somewhat interesting for anyone writing dissertations and theses, but not really for the average reader without a Ph.D. to pursue.

I thank God for the insights because otherwise I would've wasted all my time. I found 90% o...more

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Jun 26, 2008

Russ rated it

The title sounds completely ridiculous - as the author points out, why do you need a book that tells you how to read a book when you are already reading it?

This is a great resource for learning how to read analytically - a must for any student... I wish I knew about this text when I was in school. I think I would have had better comprehension about what I was reading.

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Sep 12, 2011

Joshua rated it

Shelves: top

Primarily=read the title and the chapters and the preface. Theres TONS of info here!

Fist skill=pigeon hole a book. Dont read Karl Barth for answers on how to live. Understand what You are reading. This saves me time and clears confusion. Also dont read Cognitive therapy book for deep questons of the nature of the self or psych.

Next skill=X-ray a bookwhats the skeleton behind all the words. In fiction this is "Plot" In philo this is the main Idea that the ...more

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Mar 27, 2009

Daniel rated it

This book gives reading a new angle. Adler argues, and after contemplating I totally agree, that there are primary and secondary teachers and that reading originals is easier to follow and provides the full knowledge.

Primary are the ones who find/discover/create something new. When primary teachers publish their ideas and findings they explain how they arrived at their conclusions; ergo they explain the complete rationale. Secondary on the other hand use the knowledge of many primary teac

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Jul 24, 2011

Hilal rated it

Jaman sekarang, sudah jarang sekali ditemui orang yang buta huruf. Seiring semakin meratanya pendidikan, banyak pula orang-orang yang pintar membaca. Namun, meskipun banyak yang bisa membaca, masih langka orang-orang yang bisa membaca dengan baik. Skema sosiologisnya kira-kira seperti ketupat, di mana bagian tengahnya berisi orang-orang yang sekedar bisa membaca, sementara orang yang buta huruf dan bisa membaca dengan baik menempati ujung bawah-atas ketupat tersebut. Buku “How to Read a Book” ka...moreJaman sekarang, sudah jarang sekali ditemui orang yang buta huruf. Seiring semakin meratanya pendidikan, banyak pula orang-orang yang pintar membaca. Namun, meskipun banyak yang bisa membaca, masih langka orang-orang yang bisa membaca dengan baik. Skema sosiologisnya kira-kira seperti ketupat, di mana bagian tengahnya berisi orang-orang yang sekedar bisa membaca, sementara orang yang buta huruf dan bisa membaca dengan baik menempati ujung bawah-atas ketupat tersebut. Buku “How to Read a Book” karangan Mortimer J. Adler ini ditujukan untuk orang kebanyakan tersebut, dan dia menyebut mereka sebagai Average Reader.

Berhubung ini adalah tindakan membaca, maka Tuan Adler membaginya menjadi tiga model. (i) Structural/analytical reading, yakni membaca untuk menambah informasi, untuk melengkapi data-data dalam memori otak. (ii) Interpretative/synthetic reading, yakni membaca untuk menyelami maksud pengarang secara lebih mendalam, baik kata-perkata, kalimat-perkalimat, atau pun hujjah-perhujjah. (iii) critical/evaluative reading, berarti semacam memenuhi hutang pembaca kepada sang pengarang, memberikan beberapa penilaian pembaca terhadap yang dibacanya. Tuan Adler memberikan langkah-langkah dari tiap jenis membaca di atas.

Bersamaan dengan tiga model di atas, ada baiknya juga menghindari kesalahan-kesalahan dalam membaca. Tuan Adler menyebutkan 4 kesalahan dalam tindakan membaca. (1) kesalahan purism, yakni menganggap bahwa sebuah buku bisa dibaca dengan satu buku, seakan-akan sama sekali tidak terkait dengan buku yang lain. (2) Obscurantism, kesalahan bahwa semua buku bisa dibaca hanya dengan satu model saja. (3) Aestheticism, yakni anggapan bahwa semua buku adalah puisi dan tak ada nilai pengetahuan blas, meskipun ia merupakan buku sastra. (4) kebalikan sebelumnya, intellectualism, yakni menyangka bahwa semua buku hanya berisi pengetahuan, seakan tak ada unsur seninya sama sekali.

Namun, namanya saja hasil karya manusia, tentu ada batasan-batasannya yang jika diterobos akan mengalami kekeliruan dalam membaca buku. Pertama, perlu ditentukan dulu untuk tujuan apa kita membaca buku, apakah untuk sekedar bersenang-senang ataukah untuk menimba pengetahuan. ketiga model membaca itu hanya bisa digunakan jika kita membaca dengan tujuan mengunduh pengetahuan. Kalau untuk bersenang-senang, asalkan bisa mendatangkan rasa senang, habis perkara, tak usah pakai metode ini-itu.

Kedua, tahu diri dulu sejauh mana kemampuan kita membaca. Sebagaimana disebutkan di atas, Tuan Adler mengkhususkan buku ini bagi average readers, mereka yang sekedar bisa membaca. Bagi yang buta huruf, jangan coba-coba belajar membaca melalui buku ini, sebab memang sama sekali tak ada tuntunan belajar membaca. Begitu juga yang sudah berkemampuan di atas rata-rata, mending tidak usah buang-buang waktu baca buku ini. Wong sudah bisa membaca dengan baik kok, bukankah tahsîlul hâsil namanya?

Ketiga, tentukan dulu buku apa yang kita baca. Kalau yang kita baca itu buku sastra, sebaiknya tidak hanya mencukupkan diri hanya pada tiga model itu saja. Buku sastra tidak dibikin untuk menyampaikan pengetahuan, melainkan untuk berbagi pengalaman. Pengalaman orang lain tidak bisa –atau lebih tepatnya tidak cukup—dipahami dengan sekedar tiga model pembacaan di atas. Oleh Karena itu, kalau mau menjadi pembaca buku sastra yang baik, jangan sekali-kali memperlakukannya seperti halnya buku nonfiksi.

Selanjutnya, perlu adanya penemuan jawaban dari “apa selanjutnya?”. Setelah membaca buku, lantas apa lagi? Ini adalah kebijaksanaan tertinggi dari aktivitas membaca, dan selayaknya tidak dijawab dengan tiga model di atas, sebab ia memang berada di luar lembaran-lembaran buku. Tuan Andler menawarkan jawaban yang menarik:

“In this larger view, reading is only a means to an end…. Knowledge may be a good in itself, but knowledge without right action will bring us to a world in which the pursuit of knowledge itself is impossible—a world in which books are burned, libraries closed, the search of truth is repressed and disinterested leisure lost.”

[Look also at curusetra.wordpress.com](less)

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Aug 07, 2011

Zachary Zhao rated it

Shelves: classics, nonfiction-others, favorites

There is a certain irony in writing - and reading - a book that is intended to teach one how to best read a book. Fortunately, How to Read a Book by Mortimer Alder - despite what its title may suggest - is more than just a practical handbook on reading. Interwoven in Alder's instruction about "analytical reading" and "syntopical reading" are some extremely thought-provoking and cogent discussions on the philosophy of knowledge, information and understanding.

Alder s...more

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Jan 10, 2012

Damion rated it

Doesn't go too much into fiction but solid all around. Good descriptions (and descriptions of descriptions) of what the book lays out and describes. Kinda sexist, as it barely even mentions women as everything is set as "he..." never they or them or people or persons. He, he, he. Oh, and there's a "men don't belong in the kitchen" analogy as well about 200 pages in. So much for "completely revised and updated" version! I was hoping for more on fiction reading. Fortu...more

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Mar 20, 2011

Ryan rated it

Adler's classic reads more like an essay on the importance of careful reading to our personal growth than the title suggests. In this respect it is quite successful, but anyone looking for advice on tackling difficult fiction would probably be best off elsewhere.

The book begins with the assumption that the ideal reading ends with a perfect understanding of the author's intended message, and then presents four rules for finding that message within the text. Overall the approach is tail...more

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Jun 17, 2008

Tammi rated it

One of the best books I have ever read. It takes some thinking, but I am a better reader and can give much more meaningful analysis because of it.

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Feb 18, 2011

مهند rated it

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Shelves: ثقافة-culture

كتاب قيم مؤلف منذ فترة طويلة من قبل خبير امريكي
حول طرق القراءة الحديثة
بالرغم من كوني قارئ قديم الا انني بين الفترة والاخرى اقرأ كتب من هذا النمط
وهو دليل على اننا جميعا مهما وصلنا من تقدم في مختلف المعارف فأن ذلك لا يشكل الا نقطة البداية
سبحان الله!!
كيف تقرأ كتابا وكلا منا قرأ الاف الكتب!! ذلك هو النقص في جملة بني البشر
القراءة جدير بالقراءة والاطلاع

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Filipinos: [Buddy Reads] How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles van Doren (Kwesi 章英狮, Maldita & Dante), Start: November 25, Friday	56	24	Dec 24, 2011 08:47am

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About Mortimer Jerome Adler

Mortimer Jerome Adler was an American educator, philosopher, and popular author. As a philosopher he worked with Aristotelian and Thomistic thought. He lived for the longest stretches in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and San Mateo. He worked for Columbia University, the University of Chicago, Encyclopædia Britannica, and Adler's own Institute for Philosophical Research.

Adler w...moreMortimer Jerome Adler was an American educator, philosopher, and popular author. As a philosopher he worked with Aristotelian and Thomistic thought. He lived for the longest stretches in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and San Mateo. He worked for Columbia University, the University of Chicago, Encyclopædia Britannica, and Adler's own Institute for Philosophical Research.

Adler was born in New York City on December 28, 1902, to Jewish immigrants. He dropped out of school at age 14 to become a copy boy for the New York Sun, with the ultimate aspiration to become a journalist. Adler soon returned to school to take writing classes at night where he discovered the works of men he would come to call heroes: Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, John Stuart Mill and others. He went on to study at Columbia University and contributed to the student literary magazine, The Morningside, (a poem "Choice" in 1922 when Charles A. Wagner was editor-in-chief and Whittaker Chambers an associate editor). Though he failed to pass the required swimming test for a bachelor's degree (a matter that was rectified when Columbia gave him an honorary degree in 1983), he stayed at the university and eventually received an instructorship and finally a doctorate in psychology. While at Columbia University, Adler wrote his first book: Dialectic, published in 1927.

In 1930 Robert Hutchins, the newly appointed president of the University of Chicago, whom Adler had befriended some years earlier, arranged for Chicago’s law school to hire him as a professor of the philosophy of law; the philosophers at Chicago (who included James H. Tufts, E.A. Burtt, and George H. Mead) had "entertained grave doubts as to Mr. Adler's competence in the field [of philosophy]" and resisted Adler's appointment to the University's Department of Philosophy. Adler was the first "non-lawyer" to join the law school faculty. Adler also taught philosophy to business executives at the Aspen Institute.

Adler and Hutchins went on to found the Great Books of the Western World program and the Great Books Foundation. Adler founded and served as director of the Institute for Philosophical Research in 1952. He also served on the Board of Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica since its inception in 1949, and succeeded Hutchins as its chairman from 1974. As the director of editorial planning for the fifteenth edition of Britannica from 1965, he was instrumental in the major reorganization of knowledge embodied in that edition. He introduced the Paideia Proposal which resulted in his founding the Paideia Program, a grade-school curriculum centered around guided reading and discussion of difficult works (as judged for each grade). With Max Weismann, he founded The Center for the Study of The Great Ideas.

Adler long strove to bring philosophy to the masses, and some of his works (such as How to Read a Book) became popular bestsellers. He was also an advocate of economic democracy and wrote an influential preface to Louis Kelso's The Capitalist Manifesto. Adler was often aided in his thinking and writing by Arthur Rubin, an old friend from his Columbia undergraduate days. In his own words:

Unlike many of my contemporaries, I never write books for my fellow professors to read. I have no interest in the academic audience at all. I'm interested in Joe Doakes. A general audience can read any book I write—and they do.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortimer_Ad...(less)

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How to Think About the Great Ideas: From the Great Books of Western Civilization

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Quotes from How to Read a Book

“....a good book can teach you about the world and about yourself. You learn more than how to read better; you also learn more about life. You become wiser. Not just more knowledgeable - books that provide nothing but information can produce that result. But wiser, in the sense that you are more deeply aware of the great and enduring truths of human life.” — 25 people liked it

“...true freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline.” — 14 people liked it

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