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12 Rules for Life cover art

12 Rules for Life

Written by: Jordan B. Peterson, Norman Doidge MD
Narrated by: Jordan B. Peterson
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Publisher's Summary

What does everyone in the modern world need to know? Renowned psychologist Jordan B. Peterson's answer to this most difficult of questions uniquely combines the hard-won truths of ancient tradition with the stunning revelations of cutting-edge scientific research.

Humorous, surprising, and informative, Dr. Peterson tells us why skateboarding boys and girls must be left alone, what terrible fate awaits those who criticize too easily, and why you should always pet a cat when you meet one on the street.

What does the nervous system of the lowly lobster have to tell us about standing up straight (with our shoulders back) and about success in life? Why did ancient Egyptians worship the capacity to pay careful attention as the highest of gods? What dreadful paths do people tread when they become resentful, arrogant, and vengeful? Dr. Peterson journeys broadly, discussing discipline, freedom, adventure, and responsibility, distilling the world's wisdom into 12 practical and profound rules for life. 12 Rules for Life shatters the modern commonplaces of science, faith, and human nature while transforming and ennobling the mind and spirit of its listeners.

©2018 Jordan B. Peterson (P)2018 Random House Canada

What the critics say

"Jordan Peterson is the most important and influential Canadian thinker since Marshall McLuhan. His international fame and impact continue to grow exponentially. Peterson's bold interdisciplinary synthesis of psychology, anthropology, science, politics and comparative religion is forming the template for the genuinely humanistic university of the future." (Camille Paglia)

"Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life hits home - from identifying the deeply engrained hierarchical ladder that motivates our decision making to asking indispensable and sometimes politically unpopular questions about your life and suggesting ways to better it. If that's not enough, its first twenty pages give a summary of evolutionary psychology that's breathtaking." (Howard Bloom, author of The Lucifer Principle)

"Firm but caring.... Peterson speaks the way I always wished my father had.... He is the right man at the right time, someone capable of showing young men that cleaning up their room has cosmic significance, and that imposing a little order upon chaos is good for the soul, which in turn is good for the world." (National Review)

What listeners say about 12 Rules for Life

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Listening to this was like sitting through church.

Too many hypethetical situations yielding underwhelming common-sense conclusions. He exaggerates deeper meaning behind basic human behaviors. Too many bible references. Few note-worthy revelations.

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128 people found this helpful

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Less than expected

Big fan of Jordan Peterson.
have watched many of his interviews and YouTube videos.
in this book he rambles on for hours about the Bible. Jesus and the devil...
I wouldn't have minded the odd reference to illustrate a point. For much of the book he is just reading scripture.
if you have watched his lectures and YouTube videos you will likely get nothing more from this book.
At points it was painful to listen to.
Disappointed to say the least.

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106 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A good summary of all his videos.

After having watched Dr. Peterson’s videos, it is good to have single and accessible text that summarizes most of the themes he has spoken about over the years. It is also good to hear his own voice animate the text. You can feel it in your chest when he speaks of “Chris” or of his daughter. I am certain that I will continue to listen to this book, as I have listened to his lectures, for many years to come.

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106 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

too religious

The first half of the book was great and then in the second half he ended up preaching solely on Christianity. I felt like I was in a church..

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102 people found this helpful

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Bible Said This, Jesus Said That... Waste of Money

This book is less 12 rules for life and more like 12 hours of extraneous bible references and christian theology.

Still I tried to continue listening to this, but it gets so dogmatic and desperate to take chriatian quotes and reinterpret them to have some profound meaning that corresponds to the authors own ideas that it borders on the ridiculous.

There were other aspects, besides the borderline bible thumping, that bothered me (see other reviews).

But the essence of my review is that this book is not what it would have you believe it is from the cover (and would not be suitable for anyone that isn't North American, Christian, white and of a conservative background)

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83 people found this helpful

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It’s like being scolded by your parent for hours

Perhaps somewhere is this book is buried a message of hope but I can’t seem to hear it because the author sounds like he’s yelling at the listener the whole time from his throne of condescension.

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78 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars

Miscategorized. See Religion.

Belongs in Religion, not the Science and Math category. Yes he is an intellectual, but this book isn't science. Packed with references to the Bible, primarily Genesis, and with more and more as the chapters pass. I can see how he may be helpful to lost, young men who need a father-figure to tell them how to be a man and take responsibility. Hold your head up, the strong survive, do something useful, be nice to people, raise nice kids, pet the dog and cat, let kids be kids, except when they are bad,..... It sounds like he belabours every point to repeatedly pound it into our skulls. Some really rudimentary stuff here, presented in a prolonged, intellectualized way with circular references, stretched relationships, some quoted philosophers and thinkers, assumptions, personal anecdotes as evidence, and did I mention...Genesis.

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75 people found this helpful

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  • Dar
  • 2018-03-21

excessive religious comparison

I couldn't make it past chapter 8 way too much religion comparisons and hard to understand language.

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    2 out of 5 stars

far too religious

not only does this right here seem to like to find the way to say something with as many words, and as many big words yes, as possible, but also seems to to love the sound of his own voice. in addition, the focus on God and the Bible, is so heavy that for anyone who does not subscribe to this philosophy, is certainly alienated from these"rules for life".

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68 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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What is the chapter about again?

Jordan goes really in-depth into his personal life and psychological teachings. But quite often halfway through the hour-long chapters I would catch myself going like "Wait, what's the chapter about again?" He digresses very often but then somehow manages to tie it back to the original purpose of the chapter. Great read, but you have to really pay attention and sometimes listen to the chapters 2 or 3 times to fully grasp and process everything that's talked about.

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49 people found this helpful