What do you think?
Rate this book
Ambition
From the back cover:
What role should ambition play in our lives? Our culture generally buys the American Dream that yes, we can fulfill all our aspirations. But to seek personal power an fame in the competitive world of Western culture has a dark side. Ambition can bet subtle and enticing, leading to great unhappiness.
Questions about ambition are more urgent now than they have ever been. What is ambition, exactly, and is it okay to be ambitious? What part does self-esteem play in persona growth an productivity? Can the ego's drive to get ahead an make a name for oneself lead to obsession or a growing narcissism? Does the desire to do one's best constitute ambition or faithfulness to one's calling? Can personal character and integrity be erodedf b y too much c celebrity and success?
The writers in this book address these complex questions about ambition in a variety of ways and in wonderfully different voices. Th pieces range from personal musings to thought experiments and more formal reflections. With elegance and wisdom, the writers raise and reflect on the question that lies at our most intimate core for being and at the very center of our culture.
What role should ambition play in our lives? Our culture generally buys the American Dream that yes, we can fulfill all our aspirations. But to seek personal power an fame in the competitive world of Western culture has a dark side. Ambition can bet subtle and enticing, leading to great unhappiness.
Questions about ambition are more urgent now than they have ever been. What is ambition, exactly, and is it okay to be ambitious? What part does self-esteem play in persona growth an productivity? Can the ego's drive to get ahead an make a name for oneself lead to obsession or a growing narcissism? Does the desire to do one's best constitute ambition or faithfulness to one's calling? Can personal character and integrity be erodedf b y too much c celebrity and success?
The writers in this book address these complex questions about ambition in a variety of ways and in wonderfully different voices. Th pieces range from personal musings to thought experiments and more formal reflections. With elegance and wisdom, the writers raise and reflect on the question that lies at our most intimate core for being and at the very center of our culture.
- GenresCultural
142 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2015
1 person is currently reading
13 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 22, 2016
An excellent, fully-orbed exploration of a multi-faceted word: ambition. Ten eloquent authors creatively delve into the meaning, implications and consequences of this word. Before starting my read of this volume, I thought of ambition as being - in the most part - bad, a trait that would lead me to greed, selfishness and pride, and possibly destroy my soul or my family. I'm on page 98 of this ambitious series of reflections and can't wait to read the last 30. The book has already turned me around; Scott Cairns and others have convinced me that what I actually need is more ambition, not less. Yes, there are aspects of ambition that I should avoid, but the question is what motivates my ambition - what is my ambition exactly and who or what is it for?
Buy this book for an aspiring writer or for yourself (especially if you're an author), or for the MBA student or other person you know with goals and the ardent longing and drive to reach them--or for someone wondering how much to sacrifice for their goals. No easy answers here, but it raises all the right questions.
I've been putting many stars by quotes I want to go back to again and again and I haven't yet reached two of my favorite authors. I was glad to read familiar voices and several new to me. One previously-unfamiliar author that I definitely want to hear more from is Professor Diane Glancey. Here's a favorite quote: "After all these years, I still struggle for identity--my voice. Much of my writing is to bridge the different and disparate parts of my heritage. I still struggle for understanding of what I have to say." p. 90 (this resembles me!)
These authors explore ambition within the framework of a Christian faith, but not with a single voice, or in a cranky, holding-the-party-line, or despotic manner. Often a single author will argue both sides of the question of whether ambition is good. Reading this book places me in the center of a chorus with each of a dozen voices singing a different line in a circle around me. Marvelous music!
To see how this book does not offer easy, naive answers, consider what Erin McGraw writes:
The preponderance of women authors adds the pleasure of an unexpected spice (turmeric? cumin?) to the delightful stew! Others have written of how often we females feel guilt and angst around the concept of ambition. Must we choose between family and career? Is it inherently selfish to sometimes prioritize work over children? Is it worth it? Several female authors in this book gently address these questions, but not in a preachy, authoritarian way; rather, they reveal their own paths--sometimes marked by sure trail signs and sometimes dotted with uncertainty or rabbit trails. Hearing more than one woman's experience and perspective on the concept of ambition is essential, and this jewel of a book provides that like a multi-faceted diamond.
I'll admit this book was sent to me by one of the authors I haven't read yet--i.e. a freebie, and I agreed to review it. I haven't even read her piece yet and already love this book. And even though I'm preparing tonight for a colonoscopy (and anyone who has gone through that horrific procedure knows how easy it leads to lethargy and self-pity--especially when required during the holiday season as is true for me), I'm eager to sit and digest more of the stimulating ideas and unique images and analogies, and fun or astounding stories found within the pages of this very creative non-fiction work.
Find it at http://imagejournal.org/ambition/ Cascade Books
Buy this book for an aspiring writer or for yourself (especially if you're an author), or for the MBA student or other person you know with goals and the ardent longing and drive to reach them--or for someone wondering how much to sacrifice for their goals. No easy answers here, but it raises all the right questions.
I've been putting many stars by quotes I want to go back to again and again and I haven't yet reached two of my favorite authors. I was glad to read familiar voices and several new to me. One previously-unfamiliar author that I definitely want to hear more from is Professor Diane Glancey. Here's a favorite quote: "After all these years, I still struggle for identity--my voice. Much of my writing is to bridge the different and disparate parts of my heritage. I still struggle for understanding of what I have to say." p. 90 (this resembles me!)
These authors explore ambition within the framework of a Christian faith, but not with a single voice, or in a cranky, holding-the-party-line, or despotic manner. Often a single author will argue both sides of the question of whether ambition is good. Reading this book places me in the center of a chorus with each of a dozen voices singing a different line in a circle around me. Marvelous music!
To see how this book does not offer easy, naive answers, consider what Erin McGraw writes:
I'm not confident about many assertions regarding God, but I'm inclined to think that our complacency is one of God's special irritants. Here God puts us in the middle of an inexhaustibly rich rich life, brimming over with potential no matter what direction we face, and complacency persuades us to take advantage of exactly none of it. It is fatly content. It is lazy. . .This fat, purring pleasure represents the happy side of complacency. There's a dreadful side, too. That's the aspect of Janus-faced complacency that says nothing will ever improve, and so we shouldn't waste our energy trying to make things better...It must be a sadness to God to see us limit our selves so. (p. 8)
The preponderance of women authors adds the pleasure of an unexpected spice (turmeric? cumin?) to the delightful stew! Others have written of how often we females feel guilt and angst around the concept of ambition. Must we choose between family and career? Is it inherently selfish to sometimes prioritize work over children? Is it worth it? Several female authors in this book gently address these questions, but not in a preachy, authoritarian way; rather, they reveal their own paths--sometimes marked by sure trail signs and sometimes dotted with uncertainty or rabbit trails. Hearing more than one woman's experience and perspective on the concept of ambition is essential, and this jewel of a book provides that like a multi-faceted diamond.
I'll admit this book was sent to me by one of the authors I haven't read yet--i.e. a freebie, and I agreed to review it. I haven't even read her piece yet and already love this book. And even though I'm preparing tonight for a colonoscopy (and anyone who has gone through that horrific procedure knows how easy it leads to lethargy and self-pity--especially when required during the holiday season as is true for me), I'm eager to sit and digest more of the stimulating ideas and unique images and analogies, and fun or astounding stories found within the pages of this very creative non-fiction work.
Find it at http://imagejournal.org/ambition/ Cascade Books
September 4, 2018
I really loved this book. The subject matter is rich and compelling, and explores the good, bad, ugly, ethical, personal, and scholarly aspects of ambition.
One tiny beef: I think it's a little juvenile when essays include, "Webster defines such-and-such-topic-of-my-paper as..." and there were two essays, I think, that had this in some form.
As with any collection, some essays are more brilliant and memorable than others. The ones that particularly stood out for me are the ones written by Eugene Peterson (can I dislike anything that man writes? I think not. Plus he persuaded me to investigate some authors I've been avoiding.), Luci Shaw (I love that woman), Jeanne Murray Walker, and Brett Lott (I didn't necessarily think his was one of the best essays, but it's memorable well after reading the book).
This book was especially poignant for me, a recovering productivist (I just made that up). I've spent my life pursuing things that Matter-with-a-capital-M and right now I'm in the thick of mundane mothering of an infant. Walker says it well: "Uneventful as my life may have seemed to others, every day I awoke to a minor crisis. ... After all, someone has to wash the dishes. ... I was grimly determined to become efficient, to learn how to get the details over with quickly and then move on to Something Important." Sheesh. I'm glad I'm not the only one, and that so many of these authors captured the paradox of wanting to matter but also entrusting our aspirations to God.
I have owned this book for a few years and am sorry that I didn't read it sooner.
One tiny beef: I think it's a little juvenile when essays include, "Webster defines such-and-such-topic-of-my-paper as..." and there were two essays, I think, that had this in some form.
As with any collection, some essays are more brilliant and memorable than others. The ones that particularly stood out for me are the ones written by Eugene Peterson (can I dislike anything that man writes? I think not. Plus he persuaded me to investigate some authors I've been avoiding.), Luci Shaw (I love that woman), Jeanne Murray Walker, and Brett Lott (I didn't necessarily think his was one of the best essays, but it's memorable well after reading the book).
This book was especially poignant for me, a recovering productivist (I just made that up). I've spent my life pursuing things that Matter-with-a-capital-M and right now I'm in the thick of mundane mothering of an infant. Walker says it well: "Uneventful as my life may have seemed to others, every day I awoke to a minor crisis. ... After all, someone has to wash the dishes. ... I was grimly determined to become efficient, to learn how to get the details over with quickly and then move on to Something Important." Sheesh. I'm glad I'm not the only one, and that so many of these authors captured the paradox of wanting to matter but also entrusting our aspirations to God.
I have owned this book for a few years and am sorry that I didn't read it sooner.
February 4, 2018
A book that communicates the meaning of ambition with theological images, Ancient Stories, and honest anecdotes. This work is less of a How To Manuel on ambition and more of a literary experience of the word.
It's refreshingly honest about a word that often enslaves people rather than liberates. [For a fuller review see James KA Smith review on Comment Magazine: https://www.cardus.ca/comment/article...]
It's refreshingly honest about a word that often enslaves people rather than liberates. [For a fuller review see James KA Smith review on Comment Magazine: https://www.cardus.ca/comment/article...]
February 26, 2016
Several very nice pieces in here, especially those written by Eugene Peterson, Jeanne Murray Walker, and Bret Lott.
Want to read
April 4, 2016Review here.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews