2.Author :Joseph Epstein
3.Publisher :Elephant Paperbacks ,Ivan R.Dee,Inc.,Publisher ,Chicago
4.Copyright :@1980 ,Joseph Epstein
5.ISBN :0-929587-18-9
6.Format :Elephant Paperback
7.Page count :312
8.Price :$ 18.90
9.Genre : General
10.Part of Series :No
11.Rating :***
Is it good to be ambitious? Or does ambition fuel self-promotion and getting ahead ?Why are some persons more ambitious while others are not? These are some of the questions which led me to this book.
Epstein defines ambition as the fuel of achievement.But he also says:"If life is to be more spiritual , more tender-minded and large- hearted , ambition clearly must go.Or so it is said."But in the same breath , he also says that "If people are to retain the energy that ambition can give --and as Dreiser writes in Sister Carrie ,"there is nothing so inspiring in life as the sight of a legitimate ambition , no matter how incipient"-then a clearer view is needed about what ambition is and what it entails."
"Moderation", says la Rochefoucauld ,"is languor and idleness of the soul , ambition is its activity and energy". But neither , it must be added , is ours an age noted for moderation.The middle class has from the beginning run on ambition .In the end , forming our own destiny is what ambition is about.
Epstein's examples of eminent Americans Benjamin Franklin , Henry Ford , Edith Wharton , F. Scott Fitzerald, Adlai Stevenson, Rockfeller, Guggenheim, and Kennedys make a fascinating reading to illustrate how they achieved their secret passion (ambition).
Epstein in his book gives a spirited defence of ambition which has been given a bad name by some.To discourage ambition , says Epstein , "is to discourage dreams of grandeur and greatness".But he says nothing original in support of his stand .The book is a broad sweep but he catches nothing to show. In many cases the fuel of achievement has also been the engine of destruction.Though the book is full of many interesting sides of eminent personalities , and perhaps that makes it worthwhile to read , it lacks intellectual substance to clearly convince us what it says .Most of the spiritual books guide us to be moderate and less ambitious . Epstein has tried to make a case for ambition but has not really succeeded.
"Thinking about ambition ", he says ," has caused me to disregard the notion that our final judgment about the men and women of history hangs on the question of whether we should like to dine with them".
Epstein defines ambition as the fuel of achievement.But he also says:"If life is to be more spiritual , more tender-minded and large- hearted , ambition clearly must go.Or so it is said."But in the same breath , he also says that "If people are to retain the energy that ambition can give --and as Dreiser writes in Sister Carrie ,"there is nothing so inspiring in life as the sight of a legitimate ambition , no matter how incipient"-then a clearer view is needed about what ambition is and what it entails."
"Moderation", says la Rochefoucauld ,"is languor and idleness of the soul , ambition is its activity and energy". But neither , it must be added , is ours an age noted for moderation.The middle class has from the beginning run on ambition .In the end , forming our own destiny is what ambition is about.
Epstein's examples of eminent Americans Benjamin Franklin , Henry Ford , Edith Wharton , F. Scott Fitzerald, Adlai Stevenson, Rockfeller, Guggenheim, and Kennedys make a fascinating reading to illustrate how they achieved their secret passion (ambition).
Epstein in his book gives a spirited defence of ambition which has been given a bad name by some.To discourage ambition , says Epstein , "is to discourage dreams of grandeur and greatness".But he says nothing original in support of his stand .The book is a broad sweep but he catches nothing to show. In many cases the fuel of achievement has also been the engine of destruction.Though the book is full of many interesting sides of eminent personalities , and perhaps that makes it worthwhile to read , it lacks intellectual substance to clearly convince us what it says .Most of the spiritual books guide us to be moderate and less ambitious . Epstein has tried to make a case for ambition but has not really succeeded.
"Thinking about ambition ", he says ," has caused me to disregard the notion that our final judgment about the men and women of history hangs on the question of whether we should like to dine with them".
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