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The Path  By  cover art

The Path

By: Michael Puett,Christine Gross-Loh
Narrated by: Michael Puett,Christine Gross-Loh
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Publisher's summary

For the first time, an award-winning Harvard professor shares his wildly popular course on classical Chinese philosophy, showing you how these ancient ideas can guide you on the path to a good life today.

The lessons taught by ancient Chinese philosophers surprisingly still apply, and they challenge our fundamental assumptions about how to lead a fulfilled, happy, and successful life. Self-discovery, it turns out, comes through looking outward, not inward. Power comes from holding back. Good relationships come from small gestures. Spontaneity comes from practice. And excellence comes from what you choose to do, not your "natural" abilities.

Counterintuitive. Countercultural. Even revolutionary. These powerful ideas have made Professor Michael Puett's course the third most popular at Harvard University in recent years, with enrollment surging every year since it was first offered in 2006. It's clear students are drawn by a bold promise Professor Puett makes on the first day of class: "These ideas will change your life". Now he offers his course to the world.

©2016 Michael Puett and Christine Gross-Loh (P)2016 Simon & Schuster

What listeners say about The Path

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Narration too difficult

What would have made The Path better?

I typically LOVE hearing the author narrate their own book but in this case a more understandable narrator is necessary. I stopped listening simply because it was too hard to understand. :(

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11 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, unfortunate narrator

This is an excellent book which I would highly recommend. The narrators voice was at a very difficult to listen to timbre which was very unfortunate..

I'd still recommend this audiobook!

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9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Sound Quality

The narrator was clear in his delivery, but I found the volume on my audible recording limited, resulting in strained listening.

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6 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Very Good and not all Religion based

If you could sum up The Path in three words, what would they be?

I thought this would be a book very religion based and I was so surprised. I really enjoyed it.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Best read/listen EVER! on my 2nd listen!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Path to be better than the print version?

I almost want both versions. Because there are many quotes I wanted to rewrite and had to keep rewinding to hear it accurately. But, listening to it is perfect for me because it is a subject I want to hear again and again. Gaining more each time I listen to it. And, I can absorb the ideas while I am exercising, driving or just hanging out in my house.
I also would like the printed copy so that I might get the spelling correctly of some of the philosophers mentioned and I would hope that he might have added the original text titles he references and assigns to his students somewhere in the text...

Who was your favorite character and why?

n/a

What about Michael Puett and Christine Gross-Loh ’s performance did you like?

Their voices are fine and I always prefer to listen to books that are read by their own authors

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

MANY, -when he talks about the very early society that developed in China of meritocracy and based on educated success rather than based in nobility- and how the west was only able to access a very small part of what the philosophers actually meant in the concepts. How western rationality and self absorption and separate-ness in how we approach the world is antithetical to these concepts. He has enlightened my long term limited understanding of the ideas behind these ancient thinkers!

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Makes practical sense of sophisticated philosophy

The authors break open the ideas of ancient Chinese philosophy, redirect and interpret the wisdom to our contemporary lives. Not just scholarship, but applied life lessons that really could change the way we think, treat each other and treat ourselves.
Worth the effort of careful listening.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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An Inspired Book

It is really an inspired book. Everybody can find basic and pragmatical advices they can use them in their daily lives to generate better world.

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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not my cup of tea.

just ok. somewhat enlightening. ritualistic behavior doesn't resonate with me personally. but some of the books discussions about personal relationships are interesting. I would have appreciated better a more evolutionary perspective.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Fabulous book

The author makes the claim that the concepts from eastern philosophy have the power to change your life. I agree. The Path is very well written and I do feel like I learned a lot.

My one issue is that I listen on my commute and the reader's voice is soft and low enough that it sometimes got lost in the road noise even when I had the volume up.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great eastern philosophy introduction

Good read for one that wants to take a glimpse at eastern philosophy and not at hype interpretations of it.

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1 person found this helpful