The Practical Cogitator; Or, the Thinker's Anthology

By Jr. & Ferris Greenslet (eds.) Curtis, Charles P.

Book Overview

The Practical Cogitator represents the wisdom of the ages gathered together in one volume. It is what the editors call a sort of "cerebral Coast Pilot," a compilation of essential passages on the great themes of life. First published in 1945, the selections -- long and short, prose and verse -- cover a wide range of world literature, from Confucious to James Gould Cozzens, from the Old Testament to Jean-Paul Sartre and J. Robert Oppenheimer. Many of the passages quoted are of the kind that color the thoughts and shape the lives of men. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B000FMPTIQ
• Release Date: January 1950
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 597 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Please get this back into print!!

One of the editors of this anthology, Charles Curtis, had commanded a US Navy destroyer during WWI. Observing that soldiers are nearly always idle in war, Curtis conceived of an anthology of passages from the nonfiction of recent centuries, that soldiers could read while marking time between rare battles. Throughout his busy professional life, Curtis continued to read widely, copying passages he loved into notebooks by hand...

The best small book on the planet

No other volume on my shelf has been taken down as often as this little gem of an anthology. It is full of stuff not found in any familiar collection to get one thinking, from an epigram of Archie the cockroach to three pages of a dissent by Justice Holmes. One can let it season on the shelf for years at a time, then stuff it into your carryon or backpack, open it at any page and become absorbed with the wit and wisdom...

One of the very best

I first purchased this book in the Yale University bookstore as an enlisted sailor in the mid-'70s, hoping to someday go to college and looking for inspiration. This book has been with me ever since. The section entitled "He Lives With His Fellows" taught me more than any other single source about how to develop into an adult in the midst of conflict and indecision. This book led me into the Great Books Program at St John's...

Read this, if you want to experience a life-changing event!

Pearls of wisdom wrapped in nuggets of gold--the best thoughts from the best of minds--find their home in this "must-have" collection of forward thinking and introspective thought. I read this as an adolescent, and it had a profound impact on the course of my life. I understood knowledge was power, and direction. This volume gives you plenty of both. The only question I have, is WHY hasn't anyone updated this volume since...

The only philosophy book you really need.

Curtis's labor of love was compiled with the WWI trench soldier in mind, but we are all the beneficiaries. The idea was to bring together all the most important ideas and writings into one small volume that could fit into a coat pocket; to be included, a passage must be worthy of multiple readings, and be the best that Curtis could find on its topic. I discovered many little-known writers, thinkers, and scientists in this...