"u"?

posted by szarka at 7:59 pm (EST) on Apr 6, 2006

I like that! And I tend to follow that advice. That's also another book we share in common, though it doesn't show up on the list. That's a book I like to pull down just to look for great conversations. (And Johnson wasn't big on finishing every book you begin, anyway.)

You ought to give the book a look. It is easy to get into, and each of the six portraits stands on its own. I often pull the book down just to re-read a chapter.

In each case, Cooke actually met the man in question, so in addition to some biography, there is a great journalistic account of what it was like to meet the man.

posted by solarblogger1 at 3:27 pm (EST) on Nov 8, 2005

That's a book I have yet to read. I tend to follow this: "Dr. Johnson advised me today, to have as many books about me as I could; that I might read upon any subject upon which I had a desire for instruction at the time." (Boswell's Life of Johnson)

posted by TSORAMA at 11:32 am (EST) on Nov 8, 2005

Six Men by Cooke was wonderful. I especially enjoyed the chapter on Russell, and the picture of him as "The Lord of Reason." Have you found other books to be good in a similar way?

posted by solarblogger1 at 6:24 pm (EST) on Nov 6, 2005