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What Really Matters: Living a Moral Life amidst Uncertainty and Danger 1st Edition, Kindle Edition
by Arthur Kleinman M.D. (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (42)
In this moving and thought-provoking volume, Arthur Kleinman tells the unsettling stories of a handful of men and women, some of whom have lived through some of the most fundamental transitions of the turbulent twentieth century.
Here we meet an American veteran of World War II, tortured by the memory of the atrocities he committed while a soldier in the Pacific. A French-American woman aiding refugees in sub-Saharan Africa, facing the utter chaos of a society where life has become meaningless. A Chinese doctor trying to stay alive during Mao's cultural revolution, discovering that the only values that matter are those that get you beyond the next threat. These individuals found themselves caught in circumstances where those things that matter most to them--their desires, status, relationships, resources, political and religious commitments, life itself--have been challenged by the society around them. Each is caught up in existential moral experiences that define what it means to be human, with an intensity that makes their life narratives arresting.
These stories reveal just how malleable moral life is, and just how central danger is to our worlds and our livelihood. Indeed, Kleinman offers in this book a groundbreaking approach to ethics, examining "who we are" through some of the most disturbing issues of our time--war, globalization, poverty, social injustice--all in the context of actual lived moral life.
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"This is a fascinating and deeply entertaining book by an eminent anthropologist, psychiatrist, and teacher. It offers the kind of insight that makes you think and think again. But it isn't only analytical. For me at least, the richness of the book comes mainly from the stories Dr. Kleinman tells, about patients and friends and one remarkable historical figure--complicated stories that confront life's miseries and renew the cheapened word 'inspiring.'"--Tracy Kidder "In this searingly written book, Arthur Kleinman takes us deep into the contrasting worlds of genuine reality and cultural pretense which he has spent so much of his life exploring. I have rarely read such a powerful portrayal of what Kleinman wonderfully calls 'the quality of anti-heroic everydayness.'"--Jonathan D. Spence "In this luminous new book, master scholar Arthur Kleinman offers a handful of stories that open a channel between personal experience and the broader contexts--such as war or illness--in which we live our short lives. What Really Matters is a stern yet humble antidote to the shallow self-help books now crowding bestseller lists. It is also an instructive, deeply affecting and, in the end, transcendent and spiritual book."--Dr. Paul Farmer, Founding Director of Partners in Health, and author of Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor "Arthur Kleinman is one of the most broadly informed and wisest people in the life sciences, bridging medicine and the social sciences in a way that is extremely rare and valuable. Moreover, he is an exceptionally keen observer and writes beautifully about matters of great significance. His new book, What Really Matters, is certainly timely when violence is so much in focus and yet it is a contribution of long-term significance." --David A. Hamburg, President Emeritus, Carnegie Corporation of New York "This is a fascinating and deeply entertaining book by an eminent anthropologist, psychiatrist, and teacher. It offers the kind of insight that makes you think and think again. But it isn't only analytical. For me at least, the richness of the book comes mainly from the stories Dr. Kleinman tells, about patients and friends and one remarkable historical figure--complicated stories that confront life's miseries and renew the cheapened word 'inspiring.'"--Tracy Kidder "In this searingly written book, Arthur Kleinman takes us deep into the contrasting worlds of genuine reality and cultural pretense which he has spent so much of his life exploring. I have rarely read such a powerful portrayal of what Kleinman wonderfully calls 'the quality of anti-heroic everydayness.'"--Jonathan D. Spence "In this luminous new book, master scholar Arthur Kleinman offers a handful of stories that open a channel between personal experience and the broader contexts--such as war or illness--in which we live our short lives. What Really Matters is a stern yet humble antidote to the shallow self-help books now crowding bestseller lists. It is also an instructive, deeply affecting and, in the end, transcendent and spiritual book."--Dr. Paul Farmer, Founding Director of Partners in Health, and author of Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor "Arthur Kleinman is one of the most broadly informed and wisest people in the life sciences, bridging medicine and the social sciences in a way that is extremely rare and valuable. Moreover, he is an exceptionally keen observer and writes beautifully about matters of great significance. His new book, What Really Matters, is certainly timely when violence is so much in focus and yet it is a contribution of long-term significance." --David A. Hamburg, President Emeritus, Carnegie Corporation of New York
Review
"Arthur Kleinman is one of the most broadly informed and wisest people in the life sciences, bridging medicine and the social sciences in a way that is extremely rare and valuable. Moreover, he is an exceptionally keen observer and writes beautifully about matters of great significance. His new book, What Really Matters, is certainly timely when violence is so much in focus and yet it is a contribution of long-term significance." --David A. Hamburg, President Emeritus, Carnegie Corporation of New York
"In this searingly written book, Arthur Kleinman takes us deep into the contrasting worlds of genuine reality and cultural pretense which he has spent so much of his life exploring. I have rarely read such a powerful portrayal of what Kleinman wonderfully calls 'the quality of anti-heroic everydayness.'"--Jonathan D. Spence
"This is a fascinating and deeply entertaining book by an eminent anthropologist, psychiatrist, and teacher. It offers the kind of insight that makes you think and think again. But it isn't only analytical. For me at least, the richness of the book comes mainly from the stories Dr. Kleinman tells, about patients and friends and one remarkable historical figure--complicated stories that confront life's miseries and renew the cheapened word 'inspiring.'"--Tracy Kidder
"In this luminous new book, master scholar Arthur Kleinman offers a handful of stories that open a channel between personal experience and the broader contexts--such as war or illness--in which we live our short lives. What Really Matters is a stern yet humble antidote to the shallow self-help books now crowding bestseller lists. It is also an instructive, deeply affecting and, in the end, transcendent and spiritual book."--Dr. Paul Farmer, Founding Director of Partners in Health, and author of Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor
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What Really Matters: Living a Moral Life amidst Uncertainty and DangerProduct details
ASIN : B004S9CITA
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : 1 May 2006
Edition : 1st
Language : English
File size : 891 KB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 272 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-0199839810
Page Flip : Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: 1,222,883 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)870 in Violence in Society (Kindle Store)
967 in Ethics Textbooks
1,668 in Anthropology Textbooks
Customer Reviews:
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (42)
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Dr. D
5.0 out of 5 stars Great readReviewed in the United States on 13 March 2012
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
A book which touches your life, and has the potential to change the way you look at the world. Prof AK derives from real life experiences of people who had interacted with him and shared their stories. Interspersed are his opinion, about the individual and moral lessons. Readers can sometimes empathize with their own lives, may be. The last chapter is a little dense.
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Ant
5.0 out of 5 stars A touching and uplifting bookReviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 January 2020
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Fantastic book, could not put it down. Would reccomend to everyone.
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Anthony R. Brunello
5.0 out of 5 stars What Really MattersReviewed in the United States on 7 January 2014
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Kleinman's book and its title is not a question. The author explores both philosophically, and specifically through case studies (really-- human narratives) of people, the many ways to approach understanding what really matters in life. Our lives in this world are filled with joys and tragedies and it is dangerous, fraught with moral dilemmas, and we as people are each on a journey to navigate these treacherous waters. In the end, the navigation itself and the way we respond and learn from all of our experiences, tells us what really matters. I recommend this book to scholars and to everyone.
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Magdalene's choice
5.0 out of 5 stars Raised my level of consciousness about moral choicesReviewed in the United States on 29 August 2006
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
I loved this book, though the intellectual level of the prose was sometimes difficult to grasp with just one reading. Hence I read some sections a number of times, and it was well worth it.
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yumyumshisha
3.0 out of 5 stars DeliveryReviewed in the United States on 13 November 2011
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I can see there's a number of good reviews. Sure, the author knows what he's talking about. And what he talks about- matters. But if you are put off by bad writing, do not buy this book. I'm surprised that this distinguished M.D. can't write cohesively; he uses run-off paragraphs, unnecessary "...and...s" and all kinds of bad stuff.
It is an exhausting read, and not in the good way.
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