{"product_id":"0812983416-the_road_to_character","title":"The Road to Character","description":"\n\n\u003cb\u003e#1 \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER • David Brooks challenges us to rebalance the scales between the focus on external success—“résumé virtues”—and our core principles.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY \u003ci\u003eTHE ECONOMIST\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e With the wisdom, humor, curiosity, and sharp insights that have brought millions of readers to his \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e column and his previous bestsellers, David Brooks has consistently illuminated our daily lives in surprising and original ways. In \u003ci\u003eThe Social Animal,\u003c\/i\u003e he explored the neuroscience of human connection and how we can flourish together. Now, in \u003ci\u003eThe Road to Character, \u003c\/i\u003ehe focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives.\u003cbr\u003e Looking to some of the world’s greatest thinkers and inspiring leaders, Brooks explores how, through internal struggle and a sense of their own limitations, they have built a strong inner character. Labor activist Frances Perkins understood the need to suppress parts of herself so that she could be an instrument in a larger cause. Dwight Eisenhower organized his life not around impulsive self-expression but considered self-restraint. Dorothy Day, a devout Catholic convert and champion of the poor, learned as a young woman the vocabulary of simplicity and surrender. Civil rights pioneers A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin learned reticence and the logic of self-discipline, the need to distrust oneself even while waging a noble crusade.\u003cbr\u003e Blending psychology, politics, spirituality, and confessional, \u003ci\u003eThe Road to Character\u003c\/i\u003e provides an opportunity for us to rethink our priorities, and strive to build rich inner lives marked by humility and moral depth.\u003cbr\u003e “Joy,” David Brooks writes, “is a byproduct experienced by people who are aiming for something else. But it comes.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Road to Character\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A hyper-readable, lucid, often richly detailed human story.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “This profound and eloquent book is written with moral urgency and philosophical elegance.”\u003cb\u003e—Andrew Solomon, author of \u003ci\u003eFar from the Tree\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Noonday Demon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A powerful, haunting book that works its way beneath your skin.”\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—The Guardian\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Original and eye-opening . . . Brooks is a normative version of Malcolm Gladwell, culling from a wide array of scientists and thinkers to weave an idea bigger than the sum of its parts.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eCategories:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePolitics \u0026amp; Social Sciences\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003eSociology\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n","brand":"Random House Trade Paperbacks","offers":[{"title":"Used - Poor","offer_id":46729375514814,"sku":"0812983416-6","price":12.47,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0640\/9689\/5166\/files\/61l6yJCXFfL.jpg?v=1778093707","url":"https:\/\/shop.sustainablebooks.com\/products\/0812983416-the_road_to_character","provider":"Sustainable Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}