Phil Lewis

hard work

After the brilliance of the first 4 books, this was a slog. 500 pages, and only the last 80 or so really got going.
It's not dreadful, but where I read the first 4 in a couple of days each, this took me more than two weeks to wade through.

not what I was hoping for

I was hoping for advice on how to go about running in later years.
It may be in there, but if it is, it's well hidden in several hundred pages of rather repetitive anecdote.
I'm afraid I gave up looking, and gave up reading.

surprisingly compelling

I really enjoyed this read. It's a great insight into the mind and life of a seriously dedicated climber who dominated the scene (with one or two others) in his day.
Thoroughly enjoyable.

Too much right wing subtext

The author is far too obsessed with his hatred for social services. It's distracting and stopped me from reading.
Especially as it is based on the patent nonsense that all modern large buildings are solely for the purpose of administration of these services.
I wouldn't mind. But he's American, and they don't even have any social services!

Heartbreaking

A great tragedy, well documented.
I must say I skipped the last section, which is just tributes and discography, but I get why they are included. They don't in any way diminish the value of the work even if you don't read them.

Quite a staggering work

I had no idea the liturgy of the church was so complex.
It's fascinating to try to work out what the order of service is for any given day. I'd say it's virtually impossible without a great deal of study and analysis.
I'd be very interested in understanding the principles used for determining what is to be included in each office on each day, but I doubt anything regarding that will ever be published...

Interesting and informative

Some good information here. It feels like it's worthy of a second edition. Maybe with a bit more coverage of third wave ideas, and some nice photos.
Well worth a read as it stands, though.

Outrageous balderdash

According to this twaddle, everything that happened in the world came from freemasons.
They taught Newton about gravity, and Leibniz calculus. They taught Oppenheimer about the bomb, and the only reason Roosevelt established the Manhattan Project is because he was a Freemason.
Absolute, utter garbage that I stopped reading half way through.
If this is the nonsense Freemasons delude themselves with, then they are nothing but a laughing stock.

Hodgepodge of ideas

“As Jesusists we do not follow Paul”... But this is full of Pauline ideas, Pauline traditions, and teachings based on the visions of Paul.
The author seems unaware of some fundamental Jesusism ideas, and even, for example, the existence and eminence of the Gospel of Thomas, the concept of Q and generally any kind of biblical criticism.
It reads like someone's personal manifesto for life, which is a nice thing, but it's not really a discussion of Jesusism.

A good and thought provoking outline

The only thing I was disappointed with is that it ended far too soon!
I'll definitely be following up on some of the “recommended reading”!

This is a really great book.

I decided to read it before having a bit of a dive into some philosophy, and I'm glad I did. It's not only going to help me to read some philosophy, but it's going to help me be a better thinker all round. I suspect I'll end up re-reading it a few times over the coming years, because even by making notes, I don't believe I've got anywhere near the most from it on a single reading.

As well as having excellent content, it's very well written, very clear, and with just enough humour to break it up, although at no point did it approach any level of tedium.

I'll be looking out for other books from Mr Baggini!