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  • The Second Mountain

  • How People Move from the Prison of Self to the Joy of Commitment
  • Written by: David Brooks
  • Narrated by: Arthur Morey
  • Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (61 ratings)

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The Second Mountain

Written by: David Brooks
Narrated by: Arthur Morey
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Publisher's Summary

Number-one New York Times best seller

Everybody tells you to live for a cause larger than yourself, but how exactly do you do it? The best-selling author of The Road to Character explores what it takes to lead a meaningful life in a self-centered world.

Every so often, you meet people who radiate joy - who seem to know why they were put on this earth, who glow with a kind of inner light. Life, for these people, has often followed what we might think of as a two-mountain shape. They get out of school, they start a career, and they begin climbing the mountain they thought they were meant to climb. Their goals on this first mountain are the ones our culture endorses: to be a success, to make your mark, to experience personal happiness. But when they get to the top of that mountain, something happens. They look around and find the view...unsatisfying. They realize: This wasn’t my mountain after all. There’s another, bigger mountain out there that is actually my mountain. And so they embark on a new journey. 

On the second mountain, life moves from self-centered to other-centered. They want the things that are truly worth wanting, not the things other people tell them to want. They embrace a life of interdependence, not independence. They surrender to a life of commitment. 

In The Second Mountain, David Brooks explores the four commitments that define a life of meaning and purpose: to a spouse and family, to a vocation, to a philosophy or faith, and to a community. Our personal fulfillment depends on how well we choose and execute these commitments. Brooks looks at a range of people who have lived joyous, committed lives, and who have embraced the necessity and beauty of dependence. He gathers their wisdom on how to choose a partner, how to pick a vocation, how to live out a philosophy, and how we can begin to integrate our commitments into one overriding purpose. 

In short, this audiobook is meant to help us all lead more meaningful lives. But it’s also a provocative social commentary. We live in a society, Brooks argues, that celebrates freedom, that tells us to be true to ourselves, at the expense of surrendering to a cause, rooting ourselves in a neighborhood, binding ourselves to others by social solidarity and love. We have taken individualism to the extreme - and in the process we have torn the social fabric in a thousand different ways. The path to repair is through making deeper commitments. In The Second Mountain, Brooks reveals what can happen when we put commitment-making at the center of our lives.

©2019 David Brooks (P)2019 Random House Audio

What listeners say about The Second Mountain

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Not what I expected at all

This book was very preachy without giving any real practical advice for living that more service-centered life. I get it …it’s better. How do I overcome all the obstacles to living this way? I still don’t know.

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Pseudo-intellectual hypocritical drivel

Just abysmal writing from the very start; preachy and pretentious. It’s clear the man is a hack and loves the sound of his Chopra x Trump ego voice. Upset I spent a credit on this utter crap.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A beautiful treatise on how to live the good life.

Brooks weaves together all the essential strands of human relational life into a rope that can help guide our way forward, individually and as a collective. He explores the interface between individual and collective - best thought of as specific others we make commitments to, not some abstract concept of “everyone else”.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

If you could read just this one self help book, this is the one.

Now I see why Mark Manson said it’s the best self help book he’s ever read. I agree. Unlike other books within this category, this has no fluff, and not corny. Thoughtful and well written, this book brings together all fundamental principles and wisdom regarding life and relationships into one book. A must read for anyone at any point in their life journey. Audio narrative is great. Will also get a physical copy to share and to revisit over time.

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I tried so hard to like this ... but

Honestly, I heard this gentleman interviewed by Oprah Winfrey on a podcast and I enjoyed the talk and of course she highly recommended the book. However to be honest, I simply could not finish this book. I read 2 to 3 hours of it at the most skipping some sections as I found it repetitive, slow moving, and frankly quite boring. The message is a good one, and one I believe in. However, I feel the author failed to engage the reader enough to hold attention to the topic. Personally I even found the reader, simply just fell flat for me. It is a 13 hour read and there is absolutely no way I could force myself to get anywhere near close to finishing this book.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant.

A must read. Best book I've read in the last few years. Additionally, great narration on Audible version. A book I'll come back to again and again.

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