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The Second Mountain

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The Second Mountain

By: David Brooks
Narrated by: Arthur Morey
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About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Secnd Mountain, written by David Brooks, read by Arthur Morey.

Are you on your first or second mountain?
Is life about you - or others?
About success - or something deeper?

The world tells us that we should pursue our self-interest: career wins, high status, nice things. These are the goals of our first mountain. But at some point in our lives we might find that we're not interested in what other people tell us to want. We want the things that are truly worth wanting.

This is the second mountain.

What does it mean to look beyond yourself and find a moral cause? To forget about independence and discover dependence - to be utterly enmeshed in a web of warm relationships? What does it mean to value intimacy, devotion, responsibility and commitment above individual freedom? In The Second Mountain David Brooks explores the meaning and possibilities that scaling a second mountain offer us, and the four commitments that most commonly move us there: family, vocation, philosophy and community. Inspiring, personal and full of joy, this book will help you discover why you were really put on this earth.

©2019 David Brooks (P)2019 Penguin Audio Ethics & Morality Personal Development Personal Success Philosophy Society Sociology Inspiring Morality

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Critic reviews

Brooks's best book yet ... Powerful ... His stirring new book is a self-help guide to escaping the prison of self. (Oliver Burkeman)
The book overall, candid about the reality of stress and failure in the author's life, has earned the right to put forward with equal candour the experience of finding, or being found by, faith. (Rowan Williams)
All stars
Most relevant
This book is pure gold.

It talks about how “self” and the pursuit of happiness no longer works, and shows an alternative where the society at large, and the reader in particular, could follow.

Really great book, worth the read.

This book is a jewel

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this audiobook is fascinating, the author goes into great detail with each of the four areas of one's life - vocation, marriage, faith/religion and community. while the religious element had the least appeal to me, it was interesting to hear the author's journey into becoming a religious person. I would have liked to hear more on community and less on religion.
I found the audiobook excellent but quite long.

fascinating view on life

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I am humbled by this very thoughtful book about personal transformation. It's both heart-felt and rational. As a religious, I cannot imagine a more convincing argument for what we call mysticism. Though I'm embarrassed to make such a confession, I must attempt to be as honest as the author: traditional Mystics are good at describing their experience but not so good at making a rational apology that so keenly appeals to our modern minds. Here is a mostly secular guy (al be it, one that stands on the shoulders of two great mystical traditions--Jewish and Christian) who is well able to describe our experience in modern, well-informed language. Bravo, David Brooks. You've helped to clear away some of the dust and cobwebs of my mind...not by "answers" but by opening cracks. "That's how the light gets in!" Thanks

Thank you, David Brooks

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a must read. brings perspective to what is important and what's not. At times the stories are a bit too long at other times not long enough. Very thoughtful and enjoyable

the second mountain the important peak

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Good book all in all but unfortunately a bit to scattered and long and therefore difficult to finish. It should be possible to say what he's trying to say in a shorter way.

Interesting ideas but could be more efficiently described

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