The Secrets to Power, Mastery, and Truth: The Best of William George Jordan

by William George Jordan, Brett McKay (Editor), Kate McKay (Editor)

The Secrets to Power, Mastery, and Truth is an anthology of the very best self-improvement essays of singularly gifted writer William George Jordan (1864-1928). Selections were drawn from The Kingship of Self-Control, The Majesty of Calmness, The Power of Truth, and The Crown of Individuality, and in some cases further condensed, resulting in the most potent distillation of Jordan's uncommonly keen wisdom ever to have been published. Jordan touches on many existential, philosophical, and personal development themes that have recently reemerged as popular principles in our own time, including Stoicism, simplicity, self-reliance, and the paramount importance of living truthfully. Unlike many modern authors, however, Jordan does not forward a vision of discipline and mastery that is focused solely on the self; instead, he also deals with an individual's relations with family, friends, and community. He encourages the reader to improve his own life, in order to improve the lives of others. Each of the essays are short and "devotional" in nature and rich in incisive, edifying insights that will help the reader see his life through a transformative lens. For the individual who seeks greater personal strength and character, sees the pursuit of self-development not as a shallow, superficial lark but a committed, lofty conquest, and is, as Jordan puts it, "determin[ed] to live nearer to the limits of his possibilities," great treasures lie within.

Genres: Philosophy, Self Help

85 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 25, 2019

About the author

Editor of Book Chat magazine 1886-87 and The Saturday Evening Post 1898-99.

Reviews

[Tyler]

This short book of essays by William George Jordan are chock full of wisdom expressed in vivid, memorable language. I loved the essays on self-mastery, personal influence, love, self-reliance, and doing your best each day the best of all. There are some sentences that were so magnificent I just had to pause and savor and really consider the full implications of what Jordan was saying. There was a lot of pragmatic truth about life packed into this slim little book of essays. I highly recommend this book.

[Jeremy Corter]

OK, so, to be fair, I’m biased here. I love these kinds of books, these old motivational books. I love the gusto and metaphors and all that. And this book is no exception.

So my understanding of this book is that it’s a distillation of a distillation: the best parts of his best essays. And while there is no unifying theme to the essays, he hits on certain points a few times over: self-reliance, self-control, things of that nature. The same thing you hear a lot about in these old motivational books. But I enjoyed the prose of William George Jordan, a man I never heard of before. But this book has inspired me to seek the full versions of his essays.

[Neal]

A tome of wisdom, which unfortunately at times drowns itself in wordiness. Perhaps why the most succinct chapter about “air castles” is also my favorite. There is nothing earth shattering here, but I’m grateful for this worthwhile exploration of common values and I certainly plan return to these chapters to help them fully sink in.

[Garrett Brock]

This book is so full of moral goodness, it certifiably repels evil. As such, you had better read it in private, lest your "ironic" friends start feeling hellfire approach. Anyone looking to begin their career as a paladin should start with this! Reading this book cures vampirism.

[Jason]

Sometimes a bit wordy, most of the time not. Sometimes beautifully simple, but mind blowing.
I really enjoyed this. I could re-read this and still get a lot out of it.

[Michael Lundgren]

The Secrets to Power, Mastery, and Truth is a well-compiled collection of essays by William George Jordan about those things in life that will help us succeed, our values. Jordan masterfully lays out the values that we each should have in life to help us succeed and be respected and loved by our family, friends, and those we don't know. Each short essay is succinct and to the point and Jordan is effective in his arguments and his writing style keeps you engaged. It's another great book put out by Kate and Brett at the Art of Manliness and I look forward to seeing what's coming next.

[William]

4+ stars. This is a special compilation of essays from several books written by Jordan and edited by The Art of Manliness crew.