The Metaphysical Club

By: Louis Menand

Narrated by: Henry Leyva

Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Hardly a club in the conventional sense, the organization referred to in the title of this superb literary hybrid (part history, part biography, part philosophy) consisted of four members and probably existed for less than nine months. Yet its impact upon American intellectual life remains incalculable. Louis Menand masterfully weaves pivotal late 19th- and early 20th-century events, colorful biographical anecdotes, and abstract ideas into a narrative whole that both enthralls and enlightens.

©2001 Louis Menand (P)2001 Highbridge Company

Critic reviews

• Pulitzer Prize winner, History, 2002

"The Metaphysical Club is a compellingly vital account of how the cluster of ideas that came to be called pragmatism was forged from the searing experiences of its progenitors' lives." (Daniel Kevles, Yale University)
"The Metaphysical Club is a brilliant reanimation of American pragmatism." (Richard Poirier)

a wonderful book, but...

Charles Sanders Peirce's name rhymes with "purse," not "fierce." The consistent mispronunciation on this recording is unfortunate, because Menand's book redresses a gaping hole in Americans' consciousness of their own philosophical heritage. Imagine Greeks ignorant of Plato or French of Descartes: such is the state of popular awareness regarding our own Big Thinkers Peirce, William James, John Dewey, and others. So: 5 stars for the book, 3 for the recording (which will put off those who've heard of CSP, and misinform the rest).

frustrating

The narrator has a fine voice. The problem is that not all content is in the audible. I followed using the book and many parts of the book are skipped over or left out completly. Also, there is no way to choose by chapter or search by chapter and listen to specific selections. It seems it is seperated by parts rather than chapters which makes it hard if you are studying the book by specific chapters. When you try to forward to get to another chapter it jumps so far into the book that you cant keep track of where the narrator is or left off. I found this audible very frustrating and ended up having to start from the begining and waste a lot of time on listening to things I didn't need.

Very Good

Great listen, logical and easy to follow. Still excellent relevance to today. Very interesting people.
Good reader.

disappointing

Unfortunately, the book inevitably dissapointed me - I wanted to read about the club meetings, discussions, arguments, papers presented. Unfortunately, little exists about the club itself. The book relates stories about the members of the club - their biographies and beliefs, which was interesting, but not what I hoped for. Well written, but not great.

A quibble

I will forego a fuller review of the book at present, which is largely well done, if a bit meandering (excessive, irrelevant detail of Louis Aggasiz’s career, and the Howland will forgery trial). I would simply like to note: C.S. Peirce’s name is mispronounced throughout the book — as (to write it phonetically:) Pierce,’ rather than the proper ‘Purse’. Again, it is a small point, but heard many times over, it grates — and should have been researched prior to recording the audiobook.

Great American Thinkers That Underpin Our Lives

A concise yet substantial education in late 19th Century American thought and thinkers that is the basis for so much of our modern legal, philosophical, educational and critical thinking. Well read and presented. Beyond the founding fathers this is the next great period of exceptional thinking and thinkers.

The Great American Experiment

Menand brilliantly weaves from the strands of late nineteenth century scientific and philosophical thought, the entire tapestry of America's secular theology -- democracy, free speech, enlightened self-interest, pragmatism, public schools and individual rights. Less than half way through this engaging discussion on the origins of the great American Experiment, I regained a small part of the national pride of which the sixties and seventies deprived us all. I also realized, to my great surprise, that the values I most dearly hold today were taught to me by the California public school system in the 1950's and 1960's -- that an eager, open-minded inquiry into the natural, social and political world is the best road toward wisdom, peace and prosperity for the greatest number; that diversity of opinion (like the diversity of the species) is the most important source of a society's health and longevity, and, that, as Oliver Wendell Holmes opined, it is certitude itself that inevitably leads to violence. Fascinating, stirring and entertaining. One of my new top ten books to take to a desert island.

Scholarly, diverse, engaging.

Fascinating story of nineteenth and twentieth century ideas and intellectual currents. Highly recommended for academically oriented readers.

This is an Abridged Version

A fine selection of materials from the book, but it is not the whole book. Not even half.

Not bad

An interesting topic, though you need to be a history or philosophy buff to get the most out of this book.