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Dead White Guys
Dead White Guys: A Father, His Daughter and the Great Books of the Western World | Matt Burriesci
22 posts | 1 read | 12 to read
Dead White Guys is a timely defense of the great books, arriving in the middle of a national debate about the fate of these books in high schools and universities around the country. Burriesci shows how the great books can enrich our lives as individuals, as citizens, and in our careers. Extending the argument first made by Anna Quinndlen's on the act of reading itself, How Reading Changed My Life," ("It is like the rubbing of two sticks together to make a fire, the act of reading, an improbable pedestrian task that leads to heat and light,) Burriesci reminds us all of the enormous impact reading has on our lives. After his daughter was born prematurely in 2010, Burriesci set out to write a book about 26 Great Books, from Plato to Karl Marx, and how their lessons have applied to his life. As someone who has spent a long and successful career advocating for great literature, Burriesci defends the great books in this series of tender and candid letters, rich in personal experience and full of humor. Matt Burriesci is a national literary leader, serving as Executive Director of both PEN/Faulkner, which bestows the largest peer-juried prize for fiction
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megnews
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megnews
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I read the introduction a couple weeks ago and set this book aside because I didn‘t think I was going to like it after all. I decided to give it one chapter and I‘m really enjoying it. Glad I gave it another chance.

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Tjackson
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Pickpick

11/52 -⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 During the first couple of chapters, I am as convinced I would not like this book but I was wrong. There are so many great id as and lessons go us all to learn, or at least be reminded of as we will our lives. The last half of the book was the best!

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Tjackson
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This is very disturbing food for thought! 😥😥😥😥😥

JessicaBates Wow. That‘s shamefully imbalanced. :( 7y
Quasifesto The most recent Oxfam report says it 42 richest = to bottom 50% now. 7y
38 likes2 comments
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Tjackson
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More food for thought!

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Tjackson
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Trying to finish the last few chapters of this book today. I thought this Paragraph was a very well-written and interesting paragraph.

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Tjackson
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Happy Friday! My morning reading😀😀😀😀😀

vamp 😄😄😄 7y
46 likes1 comment
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Tjackson
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Squeezing in a little reading time with my coffee!!! This book has so many lessons to learn or b reminded of!!!

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Tjackson
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A friendly reminder 😀😀😀

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Tjackson
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Love the crossover books! #myyearwithwill Shakespeare is progressing very well. Today I read this chapter and tonight I see Hamlet at The Shakespeare Company in DC! Life is good.

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Tjackson
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The more I read this book, the more I like it. There are many profound statements throughout this book from both the philosophers and historians that the author is quoting, as well as the author himself.

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Tjackson
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Truth!

Lauren_reading When students become a business 😢 as a public school teacher this makes me so mad - and it‘s only getting worse! 7y
Tjackson @LaurenReads 22 years in the profession and I totally agree - it is only getting worse😢😢😢 7y
37 likes2 comments
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Tjackson
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So many good quotes and so many important lessons.

RaimeyGallant Truth! 7y
49 likes1 comment
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Tjackson
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An important life lesson for all of us.

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Tjackson
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Continuing my practice of reading multiple books at once. Hoping to finish this one next, but it is a slower read for me. Great character building messages supported by great philosophical writings, but SLOW! Read on!

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Tjackson
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This is why I keep reading! He is giving his daughter great advice and supporting it with literature written by dead white guys! His advice is clear and direct!

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Tjackson
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This book is written for the authors daughter, Violet, to read when she becomes an adult. The part of the book that I really like our the end of each chapter which is the moral of the story. This is why am not giving up on the book because I like the last part of each chapter.

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Tjackson
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Spending another evening reading this book. Just when I think I‘m going to give up, I like it. I don‘t want to give up on the book but there are parts that just are not that engaging.

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Tjackson
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As an educator and a citizen, I totally agree with this statement!

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Tjackson
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The million dollar question!!!!

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Tjackson
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I started reading this late last night and I‘m looking forward to getting to Shakespeare. I am going to predict that this will be a so-so book for me, but I don‘t think I can bail on it. #myyearwithwill

JoeStalksBeck Omg this sounds awesome 7y
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stargazerblue49
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Book Riot Podcast gave me a terrifying thought today. Listening to the segment about the Svalbard Doomsday Library and I got to thinking... If the only books that made it into the library were "classics," then I would be screwed. With few exceptions, I have disliked reading the books that are typically referred to as "classics" and I don't know if I could make myself read them even if they were the only books left to read. #bookworldproblems