The Whole Five Feet

What the Great Books Taught Me About Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everthing Else

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Drama, Anthologies
Cover of the book The Whole Five Feet by Christopher R. Beha, Grove Atlantic
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Christopher R. Beha ISBN: 9780802199904
Publisher: Grove Atlantic Publication: May 11, 2010
Imprint: Grove Press Language: English
Author: Christopher R. Beha
ISBN: 9780802199904
Publisher: Grove Atlantic
Publication: May 11, 2010
Imprint: Grove Press
Language: English

This unique memoir of reading the classics to find strength and wisdom “makes an elegant case for literature as an everyday companion” (The New York Times Book Review).
 
While undergoing a series of personal and family crises, Christopher R. Beha discovered that his grandmother had used the Harvard Classics—the renowned “five foot shelf” of great world literature compiled in the early twentieth century by Charles William Eliot—to educate herself during the Great Depression. He decided to follow her example and turn to this series of great books for answers—and recounts the experience here in a smart, big-hearted, and inspirational mix of memoir and intellectual excursion that “deftly illustrates how books can save one’s life” (Helen Schulman).
 
“As he grapples with the death of his beloved grandmother, a debilitating bout with Lyme disease and other major and minor calamities, Beha finds that writers as diverse as Wordsworth, Pascal, Kant and Mill had been there before, and that the results of their struggles to find meaning in life could inform his own.” —The Seattle Times
 
“An important book [and] a sheer blast to read.” —Heidi Julavits

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This unique memoir of reading the classics to find strength and wisdom “makes an elegant case for literature as an everyday companion” (The New York Times Book Review).
 
While undergoing a series of personal and family crises, Christopher R. Beha discovered that his grandmother had used the Harvard Classics—the renowned “five foot shelf” of great world literature compiled in the early twentieth century by Charles William Eliot—to educate herself during the Great Depression. He decided to follow her example and turn to this series of great books for answers—and recounts the experience here in a smart, big-hearted, and inspirational mix of memoir and intellectual excursion that “deftly illustrates how books can save one’s life” (Helen Schulman).
 
“As he grapples with the death of his beloved grandmother, a debilitating bout with Lyme disease and other major and minor calamities, Beha finds that writers as diverse as Wordsworth, Pascal, Kant and Mill had been there before, and that the results of their struggles to find meaning in life could inform his own.” —The Seattle Times
 
“An important book [and] a sheer blast to read.” —Heidi Julavits

More books from Grove Atlantic

Cover of the book What the Buddha Taught by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book Chairman Mao Would Not Be Amused by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book Binu and the Great Wall by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book A Question of Mercy by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book Untamed by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book Quietly in Their Sleep by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book The Lie by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book How to Fix the Future by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book A Peculiar Grace by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book Baise-Moi (Rape Me) by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book The Explosion Chronicles by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book War Law by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book Nova Express by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book Bankei Zen by Christopher R. Beha
Cover of the book Poison Flower by Christopher R. Beha
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy