GREAT BOOKS Paperback – September 25, 1997

Note: This review is based on the unabridged audiobook narrated by Ed Asner."Great Books" is itself a great book. The surface plot involves Denby's returning to his alma mater, Columbia University, to revisit (some of) the great books of the Western canon as a middle-aged adult, 30 years after first reading them as a young undergraduate.But this is no superficial treatment focused on frivolities related to going back to school. Instead, Denby goes deep, thus making the book intellectually elevated in a manner which befits the great books (mixed metaphor intended). He covers a sampling of these books and probes them with sensitivity, thereby giving us insights which are often penetrating and profound, and sometimes even rather original. He didn't say so, but I imagine that his professors were pleased.An added plus, which is what makes the book uniquely special, is that we get to see the difference between Denby's response to these books as a mature adult versus his younger formative years. For those of us in our own middle years, Denby thus gives us a sense of what we might gain from returning to these books.I agree with Denby's ultimate conclusion. The primary reason for reading these books isn't that we become trained to (ethnocentrically) value Western culture, but rather that, by wrestling earnestly (and sometimes painfully) with these books, we're stimulated to grow as individuals, but still each on our own path.Last but not least, Ed Asner did a fabulous job of narrating the book, thereby rendering the audiobook perhaps even superior in some ways to the print version. And this is on top of Denby doing a fabulous job of writing the book itself.Needless to say, I highly recommend this book to anyone open to the possibility of growing via encounter with the great books (and great books about the great books).

Take a ride with David Denby through many worlds. I certainly benefited from his understanding. Aspects of books , I thought I had read, now became clear to me that I must read again. A gift to those whose adventure is in meaning! Thank you David Denby

Mr. Denby's book is not a tour de force of literary analysis, ala Harold Bloom, nor a provocative reinterpretation of the role western thought in education. It is a thoughtful, and at times very personal reexploration of what good literature means to those who read it.Denby's journey of reexploration is set with a map and compass. He goes expecting to find what he found before, but with years of experience and perspective on contemporary issues. He doesn't go expecting to encounter some great profundity (and doesn't) but instead reexamines his own understanding.Much of his experience has come as a critic and magazine journalist and the book shows this form. It is a string of short pieces - reflections - on the text and his experiences taking the courses.This creates some occassionally awkward transitions as well as a lack of momentum. This result of his style makes the book somewhat less enjoyable to read, but serves to reinforce his own understanding of the great works.They provide us with access to, "the greatest range of pleasure and soulfulness and reasoning power that any of us is capable of. The courses in western classics force us to ask all those questions about self and society we no longer address without embarassment."Mr. Denby relies on personal meaning and personal experience - transcending race, gender, and religion - in his understanding of the significance of these works. It is the power of the work to connect on these levels which should provide a basis without regard to differences of skin color, sex, and faith.For those of us who treasure literature, and thought, and reading it is a joy to share his experience.

This book is about the experience of reading and thinking about the Great Books, so it is not merely a summary of the Great Books. The author does provide in the front of the book a list of the books in the Great Books courses at Columbia, (1) Literature Humanities and (2) Contemporary Civilization. At the end of the book he provides samples of previous reading lists. The author personalized the experience of reading and thinking about the Great Books. I particularly appreciated how on pages 203-205 (Interlude 5)a professor from Europe expressed disagreement over the use of such a course. The professor's point was that the great books were read in high school in Europe, and therefore was not suitable material for college. The European professor also disparaged the reading skills of American students. The author pointed out that it is exactly because American high schools neglect the Great Books that they should be studied in college, which helps improve the students' reading skills.We really should consider whether all colleges would benefit their students by making a similar Great Books course mandatory. It's a shame the Great Books are not studied in high school.

I read all the time and everything, but I confess to being excited and thrilled by only a few of the books I read. David Denby's "Great Books" is one of them. His love of great books is plain, and infectious, but beyond that his fondness for his fellow students at Columbia University, young, quirky, opinionated, bright and full of passion, is an inspiration. I'm sixty-four years old now. I'm a member and organizer of a Great Books group, and find myself going back to Denby's Great Books for inspiration. David Denby is able to move from what he reads to how he lives and back again; when we accomplish that now and then in our group's discussions we understand why we read.

The book was in good condition.

Have not finished the book yet, but an interesting account of how reading good books (under the guidance of good teachers) helps build a self. A good balance between discussing the books and discussing the self but, if course, no substitute for reading the books and attending the lectures yourself.