How to Read a Book by Mortimer J Adler and Charles Van Doren

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	• How to Read a Book (A Touchstone Book) Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren Touchstone, 1972 - 426 pages average customer review:based on 103 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A critical guide for reading comprehension skills

If you've ever finished a book and walked away thinking, "what?" this book's for you. It's a recommended part of the ninth grade curriculum for the Well Trained Mind. This book is best used BEFORE you start your great books list that you know you've been thinking you ought to start reading.
How to Read a Book will tell you it's OK to write in the margins of your books. It will tell you about rereading passages for clarity and then for argument.
You come away from this book thinking, "ok, your title didn't have to be quite so snooty, but I think I get it now." You'll be amazed that you ever retained any information when you read books before.
It's a good read, too.
One of the authors is the guy from Quiz Show.

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Must Reading!

A young Army Officer who operated a tiny used book store just outside Fort Hood (Texas) handed me this book when I was waiting to be discharged from the army. What more can you say for a book than: 'it changed the course of my life'? It did.

How many intellectually oriented books remain in print for sixty years? Not many. "How to Read a Book" insured I would not be restricted to the shallow fare our University's spoon out and I learned not give up on reading the Western Canon, which most university students today do. They flee from the classics, after one course. I did not. I knew something my teachers did not tell me. I knew from "How to Read a Book": 1) do not get side tracked looking up strange words or reading the commentary on the bottom of the pages. Do that and know nothing from the first reading, except frustration. Just read the story, treatise of book through. You will be surprised how much you comprehend; 2) No one masters a classic from one reading. For a decent grasp, figure on three readings; 3) The only books truly worth reading are books that are over your head.

"How to Read..." is not what many people conclude from the title. It is not a 'how to read manual.' It is a how to approach and comprehend different kinds of books. Adler's primary aim is to introduce people to learning by reading the Western Canon (The Great Books), which academics have all but expelled from school. "How to Read" could have been titled 'What Your Teachers Forgot to Teach You' or 'What Your Teachers Could Not Teach You. Adler points out (he wrote his book in the 1940s, concerned at how gullible people were to war propaganda) that few professors know how to read a book. Several years later, an Adler collegue published a journal article titled: "How to Read an Essay"

"How To Read..." gave me confidence to believe what I thought I discovered when I read academic reviews. It seemed that half the reviewers did not bother to read the book they "reviewed" and others seemed to criticize the book that was not written (Adler warns readers about this). I also found true Adler's advice that many students are turned off forever to writers such as Shakespeare because their teacher did not tell them to not worry about mastering a play or Great Book on first reading. Many students walk away mistakenenly conviced some have what it takes to read great books, others do not. (Today, many higher mathematics teachers convey to students that one either does or does not have what it takes to master mathematics. Like any other subject, the average person can master it. Mathematics is a language, a language smaller & more consistent than English. Genius just learns fast and can go further.) Just read. Do not get side tracked reading annotations, lengthy introductions, expert notes, or looking up words. Just read the story or essay. You will be surprised by what you do understand by the time you finish the work.

Adler teaches you that the book that is most worth reading is the book that is over your head. You must understand that a great book must be read at least three times. Just read the story the first time. If you wish, look up words and read commentary and notes the second or third time. Each time you read a Great Book you get more out of it. Annotations, commentaries, teachers rob you of the greatist gift of a great book, self-discovery.

Before you decide not to buy "How to Read a Book" pick up a copy and look it over. All libraries have a copy. It is a classic. If you are interesting in learning, you will want your own copy!

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How to Read a Book by Mortimer J Adler and Charles Van Doren

How to Read a Book clearly explains the four levels of reading a book. These are elementary, inspectional, analytical and syntopical. The authors teach that each reading level builds on the previous one. It was shown that the ability to read at the inspectional, analytical and syntopical levels were required to review a book or research paper effectively. It is clear that learning to read actively and effectively is a complex skill that requires careful and detailed study.

The authors of How to Read a Book, Mortimer J Adler and Charles Van Doren, clearly and methodically delineate the four levels of reading, namely elementary, inspectional, analytical and syntopical. The authors explain how each level builds on the previous one. The authors have a deep understanding of a wide range of subjects. They presented propositions and arguments in a logical, thorough and convincing manner. This is reflected in their ability to simplify the subject whilst capturing its essence in a simple, easy to follow and understandable style.

How to Read a Book is divided into four parts. The first part teaches the distinction between the four levels of reading. In this section there is a detailed discussion of the first two levels of reading, namely elementary and inspectional. The second part focuses on the third level of reading, namely analytical. The rules of analytical reading are carefully explained. The three stages of analytical reading comprise the rules for finding what a book is about, interpreting a book's contents and criticising a book as a communication of knowledge.

Part three is an exposition of the different ways to approach different kinds of reading materials which include practical and theoretical books, imaginative literature, history, science, mathematics, social science and philosophy. Part four of the book focuses on the ultimate goal of reading, that is, syntopical reading. It teaches how to achieve a goal of lifetime reading.

I have never been formally taught to read properly. The book provided me with the opportunity to learn to carry my reading to higher levels of skill. The book enabled me to understand the complex art of reading and the flexible application of some basic rules to different types of reading.

My job involves carrying out a lot of research on various airline subjects that requires reading a number of related books. The book teaches me how to read the different books in relation to one another in such a way that I can clearly understand the complementary and conflicting aspects.

I need to continue learning throughout my life. The book teaches me how to choose the best books to read so that I can develop the habit of self-directed lifetime learning.

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Help!

I never could bring mice elf to finish this book. Does anyone know if there are cliff notes?

Read this book - at least twice!

I read the original version of this book which was first published in 1940. I was so enamored with the book that upon finishing the 1940 version (which I had obtained from the library), I went out and bought the updated edition and read that! The updated edition (published in 1970) is even better than the original. The material is more logically organized and topics such as speed reading which were absent from the original edition are now discussed. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. If you are an avid reader you will learn how to get so much more out of your reading than what you get already. And, perhaps most importantly, you'll get the courage and confidence to tackle a more difficult yet more rewarding class of books. Read this book before you read anything else!

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, page 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

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