"Ain't I a Wonder . . And Ain't You a Wonder Too?"

by Jess Ph. D. Lair

down to earth wisdom about how to be happy & loving & successful in this world

Genres: Self Help

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Alexia · Rating 1 out of 5]

es demasiado repetitivo y no tiene datos sólidos

[Michael David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book is good enough in and of itself, but my perspective of this book has been colored by Ernest Becker's Denial of Death. It was such a focused and intense disquisition on the nature of man and psychoanalysis that this book (as a diffuse, conversational tome) stands out in stark contrast and inferiority, particularly to a person who tends toward the cerebral. Both books have many similarities, but the focused nature of Becker's book made his content more salient to me, in spite of its intensity.

"I think we need to know and accept death, and then put it aside. (p. 14)" after all, is not much different from the solution Becker poses for humanity.

"You've got to accept some higher power, some power outside yourself, or you've got to be it (p. 73)"

This ties closely with the solution Becker proposes regarding the heroism people seek as part of their immortality project. There's THE higher power, or God (religious solution); some power outside yourself (romantic solution); or you've got to be it (creative solution).

It also has good reminders to a person like me: "[T]hat magnificent intellect of yours can't solve all your problems."

It's essentially a less well-written version of Becker's thesis. Even Lair's quotation of Anais Nin explains Becker's thesis:

"Women are so much more honest than men. A woman says 'I am jealous.' A man covers it up with a system of philosophy, a book of literary criticism, a study of psychology."

Freud constructed the psychoanalytic theory out of his desire and pursuit of greatness. It was his own immortality project, which is why he had a difficult time escaping from his focus on sex, which made a lot of his thesis erroneous.

I simply think this book is too diffuse for my tastes. It would be more appropriate for the informal student of psychology or the non-reader, but its lack of focus detracted from what Lair really wanted to say.