The Road to Character

By: David Brooks

Narrated by: Arthur Morey, David Brooks

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • David Brooks challenges us to rebalance the scales between the focus on external success—“résumé virtues”—and our core principles.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST

With the wisdom, humor, curiosity, and sharp insights that have brought millions of readers to his New York Times column and his previous bestsellers, David Brooks has consistently illuminated our daily lives in surprising and original ways. In The Social Animal, he explored the neuroscience of human connection and how we can flourish together. Now, in The Road to Character, he focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives.

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.

Blending psychology, politics, spirituality, and confessional, The Road to Character provides an opportunity for us to rethink our priorities, and strive to build rich inner lives marked by humility and moral depth.

“Joy,” David Brooks writes, “is a byproduct experienced by people who are aiming for something else. But it comes.”

Praise for The Road to Character

“A hyper-readable, lucid, often richly detailed human story.”—The New York Times Book Review

“This profound and eloquent book is written with moral urgency and philosophical elegance.”—Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree and The Noonday Demon

“A powerful, haunting book that works its way beneath your skin.”—The Guardian

“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.”—USA Today

Good content, disappointing delivery

The narrator overacted the book’s content, for my taste buds.
The content is somber already, for which I was prepared, so in my opinion adding a somber delivery to the text resulted in an overkill.

A deep, insightful guide to living a meaningful life (if a tad overlong)

David Brooks takes a microscope to the lives of some of the truly great individuals of Western history to discover and reveal the commonalities and differences that made those figures into the legends they’re seen as today.

I would be very interested to hear the justification however, for keeping some of the minutiae in the book. I understand Brooks’ desire to not reveal his guide for living a moral life until the last possible moment; however, up until that punchline, it’s not really entirely clear that there is an overarching thesis or even binding thread amongst all the various stories of these clearly great, but otherwise seemingly unconnected characters. That apparent disconnect—up until the very end at least— and perhaps a tad more detail than necessary is the only thing holding me back from 5-stars across the board.

Informative and 'Loaded' wit details

Very diverse with the number and names of people that were used in the story. Too much detail and too many obscure facts, Conclusions were outstanding and thought-provoking. Excellent book but could've been shorter and not left out any vital statistics or information.
I think I would've enjoyed listening to David Brooks narrate the reading but Morey did a fine job as he has done with the other readings he has done.

Very heady stuff and great historic perspective

Where does The Road to Character rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I wouldn't call it "easy listening" but it is highly educational. I learned a lot about important historical figures. LOVED the narrator. Very thought-provoking.

Amazingly insightful and balanced!

Should be required reading for all high school and college students. I recommend it to everyone!!!!