The Practical Cogitator: The Thinker's Anthology

by Charles Curtis (Editor), Ferris Greenslet (Editor)

This commemorative volume has been prepared for presentation at the dinner given by The Newcomen Society of the United States honoring Houghton Mifflin Company October 26, 1983 Boston Massachusetts.

Genres: Philosophy, Essays, Nonfiction, Reference, Anthologies, Poetry

692 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1945

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Selections (both short & longer) from all types of literature organized by themes such as "Man in Search of Himself", "What is Truth?", and "He Turns to Nature". A book for dipping into rather than reading per se.

[Kyle Zufelt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains quotes from scientists, artists, philosophers, economists, politicians, etc. Even though the book is very old, I would recommend it for the breadth of opinion and information contained in it.

[Eddie Merkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book. With the turn of almost every page you are in the mind of a beautiful thinker and being encouraged and challenged to think more deeply and beautifully yourself.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has taken me forever to read. So much of it is snippets that you need to stop and think about. And then I would set it aside and, occasionally, misplace the book. It is one of those books that are dip ins. You dip in now and then but to read straight through is a mental challenge because you keep finding things that challenge you.

It is broken into sections but the titles of the sections are a bit vague. Man in Search of Himself; He Solicits His Past; They Better Their Condition; see what I mean?? But there are great essays and quotes in here. Everything from man's belief in himself, how he treats others, how we should all be treating each other, how countries cause problems and how it relates to the common person. Thoughts on music, art, death, life, etc.

I just wish the formatting of it had been better because the themese are not clear and they could be.

[Ed and Beth Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the line of those Devotional tomes some folk find comforting, though it need not be read every day, nor devoted to uniform observation.
To say the ‘Cogitator’ is a road map and reminder of the great ideas, observations and thoughts of the greatest minds in the Western canon is, even so, a paltry accolade for perhaps the most varied and thoughtful compilation of Great Ideas.
The book is divided into several key sections, or roadmaps, if you will, highlighting topics such as; Man in Search of Himself, The Meaning of Life, The Mind and the World, Morality and Ethics, Religion and Spirituality; to name a few examples.
Rather than hammer home a particular subset of opinion and observation, The Practical Cogitator presents the reader with thoughts, observations and anecdotes from the haloed halls of our grandest intellectuals, politicians, scientists and skeptics.

[Angelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may finally close this book after 4 years of reading. Musings for a life.

[Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

brain ouch. lots think. small doses, good. yep.

[Michael Holm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an anthology of passages from literature and speeches on a wide variety of topics which the authors culled from their lifetimes of reading, selecting thoughtful comments about ideas. It was designed so those in military service who are stationed away from bookstores and libraries would have a compact reading resource to provide food for thought in the long idle hours. It is an excellent idea. Of course, every reader will probably feel some excellent passage is missing or that some passage is not worthy of inclusion. On the other hand, the reader will very probably discover an author here that intrigues him/her and will want to research more of that author's work. Not many women authors are found here even though it covers most of Western Civilization. Very few Asian authors are found herein. If one has space for only one book to take on a trip, this one is worth serious consideration. And it is an excellent humanist companion.

The organization is as follows:

Introduction
Preface
Chapter 1 - Man In Search of Himself
Chapter 2 - He Solicits His Past
Chapter 3 - He Turns to Nature
Chapter 4 - And Scrutinizes Her
Chapter 5 - And Himself
Chapter 6 - He Lives With His Fellows
Chapter 7 - They Better Their Condition
Chapter 8 - They Must Have Peace, Security and Liberty
Chapter 9 - And Justice
Chapter 10 - He Seeks Solace and Beauty
Chapter 11 - And Friendship And Love
Chapter 12 - And Even Something More
Chapter 13 - He Takes Better Aim
References to Sources
Index

[James Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a unique book with snippets and entries from thinkers of every stripe on topics bounded only by the limits of their imagination. And above all it is, as the editors say in their original preface, for the thinkers among us.
The topics cover man's search for himself in history, nature, other people, freidnship, within hemself, and more. It contains more than 650 pages of text, yet it is a small volume. It is a worthy addition to anyone's library if he is interested in thinking about anything or everything.

[Luis Uribe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of my all-time favorite travel books. It's a collection of quotes and short excerpts from various works of merit. I've carried this book on extended trips, camping, and it sits by my bedside. There's only a handful of books that I value as highly as TPC; ZAMM comes to mind but there are a couple of others.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for trips or on airplanes. It doesn't matter where you are, you can reat any part..loved it and still take it on flights

[Noah Stacy]

Received a copy of this when I interviewed for a scholarship at Pitt, and can't quite bring myself to let go of it now.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice variety of ideas.