Nick Kolakowski's "How to Become an Intellectual"
Or as the title goes on "100 Mandatory Maxims to Metamorphose into the Most Learned of Thinkers".
Anyone who reads ENS knows that this is spontaneous commentary, not one of a studied book or film reviewer, a trained economist, a focused polemicist, a record setting stock picker, or a fanatical sports follower. All far from it. Here there is just a generalist avoiding television.
I say that because making comments about Nick Kolakowski's book is fraught with self- consciousness. He is a friend and the son of two long time college friends, still my close friends, one of whom was a college roommate. Maybe I should just stop here.
That would be appropriate if this wasn't a terrific book, but it is. It evolves from an opening half that is a combination of satire, cynicism, and astute observations, to a second half that is a primer on appropriate etiquette for whatever generation is now being processed and appropriate knowledge to be learned for a fulfilling life.
Let's start with one sentence, page 13, "The urge to learn and become a true autodidact are what constitute the basis of an intellectual mind." After double checking that my understanding of the word "autodidact" was correct, this set the tone for the book.
It is easy to take this book personally. That was my mistake at the beginning. Maxim 1, "Carry an Intellectual Book(at all times)" immediately brought to mind the oft told story of young Bill Clinton at Oxford carrying around a paperback of Blake poems in his back pocket - always the poseur I guess as well as, perhaps, the intellectual. Whenever heading into NYC on the LIRR, I always carry my shoulder bag with books, magazines, and writing pad, books intellectual and not so much, like now by Duane Swierczynski and Colum McCann - odd combination obviously.
Maxim 1 is investigated here just as an example of the thoughts that emerge as one reasonably well read generalist goes through Nick's maxims. There is Maxim 19 about disliking an author in which, in a related way, the writer uses as an example someone pounding on a bar and saying that "Ken Kesey's 'Sometimes a Great Notion' is a far finer piece of writing than his 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." I say "Something Happened" by Joseph Heller is far more nuanced and insightful than his incredibly humorous and popular "Catch 22".
That's what this book does to me. It says something and I respond. Not exactly some jazz call and response pattern, but maybe related.
In various instances, many instances, "How to Become an Intellectual" refers to books, not really a coincidence. Here there is an addiction to books, among other things. They are everywhere in our house as others point out although younger daughter seems to have a growing problem with the same behavior. Den shelves around the major fireplace are well ordered, but the living room renamed the computer room long ago, two of the bedrooms, the ping pong room in the basement, and another long ago named "library room" in the basement that is painted bright red with a wall of bookshelves are all full and out of order. I envy Geoff Dyer's description of his large and orderly collection of books on shelves that he built with his father. I feel more like a hoarder than anyone with the pretense of being an "intellectual".
This commentary could go on and on, for no reason. I enjoyed reading Nick Kolakowski's book that clearly comes from a talented writer, a well read and thoughtful person with a good heart and a fine tuned sense of humor. The last three Maxims - "Learn One New Thing from Everyone", "Analyze Ideas, Not People", and "Know When to Say Nothing" are to this commentator the author's foundation.
---more to come I hope--what's next
Anyone who reads ENS knows that this is spontaneous commentary, not one of a studied book or film reviewer, a trained economist, a focused polemicist, a record setting stock picker, or a fanatical sports follower. All far from it. Here there is just a generalist avoiding television.
I say that because making comments about Nick Kolakowski's book is fraught with self- consciousness. He is a friend and the son of two long time college friends, still my close friends, one of whom was a college roommate. Maybe I should just stop here.
That would be appropriate if this wasn't a terrific book, but it is. It evolves from an opening half that is a combination of satire, cynicism, and astute observations, to a second half that is a primer on appropriate etiquette for whatever generation is now being processed and appropriate knowledge to be learned for a fulfilling life.
Let's start with one sentence, page 13, "The urge to learn and become a true autodidact are what constitute the basis of an intellectual mind." After double checking that my understanding of the word "autodidact" was correct, this set the tone for the book.
It is easy to take this book personally. That was my mistake at the beginning. Maxim 1, "Carry an Intellectual Book(at all times)" immediately brought to mind the oft told story of young Bill Clinton at Oxford carrying around a paperback of Blake poems in his back pocket - always the poseur I guess as well as, perhaps, the intellectual. Whenever heading into NYC on the LIRR, I always carry my shoulder bag with books, magazines, and writing pad, books intellectual and not so much, like now by Duane Swierczynski and Colum McCann - odd combination obviously.
Maxim 1 is investigated here just as an example of the thoughts that emerge as one reasonably well read generalist goes through Nick's maxims. There is Maxim 19 about disliking an author in which, in a related way, the writer uses as an example someone pounding on a bar and saying that "Ken Kesey's 'Sometimes a Great Notion' is a far finer piece of writing than his 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." I say "Something Happened" by Joseph Heller is far more nuanced and insightful than his incredibly humorous and popular "Catch 22".
That's what this book does to me. It says something and I respond. Not exactly some jazz call and response pattern, but maybe related.
In various instances, many instances, "How to Become an Intellectual" refers to books, not really a coincidence. Here there is an addiction to books, among other things. They are everywhere in our house as others point out although younger daughter seems to have a growing problem with the same behavior. Den shelves around the major fireplace are well ordered, but the living room renamed the computer room long ago, two of the bedrooms, the ping pong room in the basement, and another long ago named "library room" in the basement that is painted bright red with a wall of bookshelves are all full and out of order. I envy Geoff Dyer's description of his large and orderly collection of books on shelves that he built with his father. I feel more like a hoarder than anyone with the pretense of being an "intellectual".
This commentary could go on and on, for no reason. I enjoyed reading Nick Kolakowski's book that clearly comes from a talented writer, a well read and thoughtful person with a good heart and a fine tuned sense of humor. The last three Maxims - "Learn One New Thing from Everyone", "Analyze Ideas, Not People", and "Know When to Say Nothing" are to this commentator the author's foundation.
---more to come I hope--what's next
posted by John Borden at 9:39 PM
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