Since the 70's we have had a serious non fiction book budget. Bought 8 non fiction books this week, and our UPS driver sees the Amazon delivery and takes his lunch break so we can sit and talk books. Love making people into readers!
@@leatherandlace7 In Praise of Walking: A New Scientific Exploration by Shane O'Mara The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton James Madison John Jay Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas who also wrote Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. Whom my late parents knew. The View from Flyover Country: Dispatches from the Forgotten America by Sarah Kendzior The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by Roger Williams who also wrote the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty The Math of Life and Death: 7 Mathematical Principles That Shape Our Lives by Kit Yates Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker PhD Got a copy of Dennis Prager's 2013 book Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph for a friend.
Thank you for the conversation. Thanks for the summary of the book Larry. It's interesting that the discovery in this book that our emotions bring us into bondage is something that is spelt out over and over again in the Bible. Romans chapter 8 is one place where it's described very clearly. Galatians chapter 5 is another, where it talks about freedom and about the flesh and the spirit. The word Flesh in the old translations represents our desires and our emotions. Some of the newer translations of this word are not particularly helpful. In Romans 8 it says that if we set our minds on the desires of the flesh, our emotions, then that leads to death but that if we set our minds on the things of the spirit it leads to Freedom, life and peace. I just mention this to say that we can spend a lifetime searching for answers when they are already there in the Good Book. We think we have discovered something new but it was there or along. Thanks very much for the good conversation.
One of my favorite books! I have told my two boys, they are required to read Of Human Bondage and discuss it with me. This is a prerequisite before they are ever allowed to take a young lady out...
@@screamtoasigh9984 There are plenty of books that are required reading in my house for children (like Jane Austin's major works). But, I would like my boys to understand the Philip/Mildred situation... To discourage going for the girl they think is perfect (same concept would apply if had a daughter to boys). I have seen people destroy their lives this way more than a few times... There is also the part about Fanny, but just to start on that topic would take more time than I have tonight... This book really should be required reading in highschool...
Aye you in a real book club? Because a friend and I were talking about book clubs last week, and decided they must just be an excuse to drink a lot of wine. 🤔 (I read a lot, but even in books I've read, the book clubs seem to be an excuse to drink a lot of wine... Or set singles up with their friends and relatives... while they are drunk on book club wine 😒).
I was so thrilled to see that you're reviewing this book! Maugham is my favorite writer. His short stories are amazing and I read them about every 2 years. He can turn every day happenings into amazingly fascinating, gripping stories. I wish I could read them for the first time again. The Razor's Edge is wonderful too. Thanks guys.
Most profound book. Gives me a flood of emotions just thinking of the book. Maugham’s understanding of human nature gives me the shivers! And Larry Elder loves it too!
This book club video style is pretty interesting. Two respected intellectuals reviewing one of their favorite books. Nothing commercial just true intellectual rapport.
I can't get enough Larry Elder! Love the guy and it was a great conversation. I very much appreciate the idea of this segment, reawakening the love of reading in America. I'll be checking out this book
Thank you for this experience with the Book Club. As a high school student, I honestly didnt care much for reading. But now that the world has changed into a weird dystopia, at 19 I've deleted my social media, and got into the books at 21. Thank you.
Just started reading this book a few days ago, and I'm surprised at how much I love the writing style! It's spellbinding. I'm looking forward to going on Philip's journey alongside him.
I really enjoyed this discussion, and the previous Book Clubs. Terrific show! If I may make some suggestions, here are some additional books to consider for future videos: Solzhenitsyn - One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch. It is much shorter than Gulag Archipelago and it is a terrific story. Camus - The Plague. Loaded with insights relevant to the current Scamdemic, and great literature to boot. Orwell - 1984. Need I say more? You could also consider Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 or Huxley's Brave New World. Rand Paul - The Case Against Socialism. Very good book and Rand Paul would make a wonderful guest to talk about his own book. Plato - The Republic, or Apology. Perhaps someone like Victor Davis Hanson could be your guest to discuss the works of Plato. Homer's Odyssey or Thucydides would also be very good choices. Melville - Moby Dick. A timeless classic. Walter Van Tilburg Clark - The Ox-bow Incident. Mob violence in the Old West. Wonderful book. Pirsig - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Love this book. Huntington - The Clash of Civilizations. This book has not lost it's relevance. Heather MacDonald would make a great guest to discuss this or one of her own books. Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Infidel. A very powerful book and she makes a great guest. Marcus Aurelius - Meditations. Values we have left behind, to our detriment. C. S. Lewis - The Abolition of Man. Any of his books would be suitable, but Dr. Steve Turley has done some great analysis of this one and would make an entertaining guest. John Stuart Mill - On Liberty. The classic case for free speech. There are so many others but these just come to mind. Again, I love the show and your selection so far has been absolutely great.
One of my friends recommended this book to me several years ago. I still consider it the best book I ever read. Maybe Don Quixote is a close second, but I could never manage to finish that one haha.
Loved this! Look forward to future reviews. All the classics, this is a wonderful addition to Prager. Request: Thomas Wolfe's 'You Can't Go Home Again'.
A great book to read after Of Human Bondage is Compton Mackenzie's Sinister Street. A great line from Of Human Bondage is, "People ask you for criticism but they only want praise."
W. Somerset Maugham is one of my favorite authors, mostly because of this book. I always think this is a perfect book for anyone, but for black people in particular who are wandering around, trying to figure everything out. It has so many life lessons in it, anyone who reads it finds oysters of insight. Great choice for the book club (ANY book club, for that matter)!!!!!
Ran across this book at the perfect time. I saw so much of myself in Philip and so many other characters. Then I see a review by one of my favorite thinkers, and turns out we read the books just ahead of 30. This was a great review!
One of my favorite books. One goes through many mistakes in order to appreciate the truth. This story is also like the Prodigal Son. Phillip's biological father was also a doctor, and at the end he returns to his father in a way, by following his footsteps and becoming a doctor himself.
Good convo. I enjoyed this. Will check out this book. This was a welcomed respite from all the craziness going on in America and the world right now. Wonderful.
I read this book 30 years or more ago and I certainly need to re-read it. I recall that S.M.'s use of the English language was spectacular and I can only dream of being as articulate.
It’s in my top ten. A Razor’s Edge is one of my favorites too. Maugham himself is a character/narrator in his novel who follows another man’s spiritual quest in between the two World Wars.
I love the movie with Bette Davis- she was wicked! I’ll definitely read the book because the movie was more about Philip and Mildred rather than Philip’s entire life.
I read this novel as a teenager. I loved the variety of characters, like the man who I believe becomes Phillip's father-in-law. "Children thrive on bad drains!" 😆 And the daughters all had similar names...._(something)_ Maria Del Sol.... And the hop-harvesting holiday in the country, near the end. Wish I could've done that.
jfsfrnd About nine years ago, I found Maugham’s book in a book shop and learned the title/concept came from Spinoza’s Ethics. So I found myself a copy and read it. I’ve read a lot of philosophical works, but Spinoza’s Ethics will always be a favorite. It is well structured, and not unnecessarily convoluted like most philosophy. Of Human Bandage, the first part I read will always stay with me. One of those things that puts your thoughts into words. If you live by your emotions you are a slave, to be free is to step away and examine through reason. It’s fairly simple but it’s profound, and like the interview points out uncommon in many people. I try to remind myself of it when I’m caught up with emotional thinking.
@Echo PM: Ah. Good lesson for me. Just when I think I've seen it all and heard it all . . . you prove me wrong. Nevertheless, with 67 years behind me . . . I'm confident that it would be another 67 before I hear a Woman say that Maugham led her to read Spinoza and that it changed her life. Sincere props.
How can someone living today claim physical and emotional injury of their relatives if ages gone by? One can imagine life in chains and indentured servitude, but unless you have been there with them you can not know them and their emotional life!
My poor mother tried to get me and my two brothers to read more than motorcycle magazines and comics. Nearly 50 years later, there is so much I haven't read. There is still time.
Reminded me of my English teacher in high school with a handlebar mustache. He recommended Somerset Maugham. (I was too immature then to read it.) P.S.--Did you know that Persian carpets are more valuable after being worn rather than right out of the box?
I was born in Russia and educated on skimming Russian literature. I could never read it because almost every story had a hopeless ending at the end of a senseless life journey. As a former liberal , neo-conservative, I usually run away from these “I never knew who I was and I failed in the end, but here’s another depressive life for ya, just like your neighbors”. So how do you see this as people of so much faith and optimism?
@marialiyubman: You seem not to understand what tragic literature is all about. It's a means of testing and refining your emotional sensibility. If you don't feel for the lives of characters in Russian literature . . . you're probably lacking just such an emotional education. Basically: you don't really care . . .
@@eliopalombi you're right he's done too much... RECORD-BREAKING RESULTS: Under President Donald J. Trump, economic opportunity was soaring and unemployment was dropping for African Americans. As of 2019, the jobless rate for Hispanics hit a record low of 3.9% in September, while African Americans was at its lowest rate ever, 5.5%. unemployment rate. The jobless rate for all Americans was at 3.5%, its lowest reading in 50 years. Total African-American employment has increased by over 1 million since President Trump’s election and stands at a record high. The poverty rate for African Americans reached its lowest level on record. INVESTING IN DISTRESSED COMMUNITIES: President Donald J. Trump’s Opportunity Zone Incentives are promoting investment in left-behind, economically distressed communities. President Trump’s historic tax cut legislation included new Opportunity Zone Incentives to promote investment in economically distressed communities across the country. Opportunity Zones offer tax incentives for businesses to invest in economically distressed communities, making them a powerful vehicle for economic growth and job creation. Nearly 35 million Americans live in communities designated as Opportunity Zones. 8,761 communities in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and five United States territories have been designated as Opportunity Zones. Through these tax incentives, we will jumpstart our American communities, create momentum for economic recovery, and attract investment to diverse areas across our Nation. PROMOTING MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS: Through job training, tax reform, and deregulation, President Donald J. Trump and his Administration are creating a better environment for minority-owned business. President Trump is empowering minority business owners by eliminating a historic amount of unnecessary and burdensome regulations that too often hinder their growth. Through the Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency, President Trump is delivering numerous new opportunities for minority business enterprises. President Trump’s tax cuts included provisions that benefit minority-owned small businesses, a segment that contributes more than $1 trillion in annual economic output. The President signed a memorandum dedicating at least $200 million a year to promote STEM education and especially benefitting women and minorities. DELIVERING FOR HBCUs: President Donald J. Trump has made supporting our Nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) a key priority for his Administration. In February 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order on the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Executive Order moved the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to the White House from the Department of Education. This was the earliest Executive Order on HBCUs signed by any President. Earlier this year, President Trump signed legislation that increased Federal funding to HBCU programs by more than 14 percent. Furthermore, it made this finding permanent. Prior to this executive order, HBCU programs had to come to DC every year and beg for funding. No more, this funding is now permanent. The President signed legislation that forgave more than $300 million in Hurricane Katrina related debt that threatened New Orleans, Louisiana, area HBCUs. CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMS: While the pundits wrote it off as a pipe dream, Trump fought for and delivered the most meaningful criminal justice reform in a generation. Since the First Step Act became the law of the land over a year ago, more than 3,000 Americans have been released from prison, and 90 percent of those who have had their sentences decreased are black Americans. They are now reunited with their families and also have a second chance at life. ADRESSING UNDERPRIVILEGED LOW INCOME SCHOOLING: This president is also a champion for school choice so that every child can achieve their full potential. Education is still the master key to unlocking all the opportunities our country has to offer. But unfortunately too many Americans, and especially too many black Americans, remain trapped in failing schools. By giving every student the freedom to attend the school of their choice, Republicans will make good on our belief that the quality of education for our kids should not be predetermined by their zip codes. STOPPING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: There is no doubt that Trump has been tough on illegal immigration and trying to secure our border. In a 2010 study on the social effects of immigration, the Cornell University professor Vernon Briggs concluded: “No racial or ethnic group has benefited less or been harmed more than the nation’s African American community.” The Harvard economist George Borjas has found that, between 1980 and 2000, one-third of the decline in the employment among black male high school dropouts was attributable to immigration. He also reported “a strong correlation between immigration, black wages, black employment rates, and black incarceration rates.” LOWERING INSULIN COSTS: Under President Trump’s leadership, for the first time, CMS is enabling and encouraging Part D plans to offer fixed, predictable copays for beneficiaries rather than leaving seniors paying 25 percent of the drug’s cost in the coverage gap. Both manufacturers and Part D sponsors responded to this market-based solution in force and seniors that use insulin will reap the benefits. Based on CMS’s estimates, beneficiaries who use insulin and join a plan participating in the model could see average out-of-pocket savings of $446, or 66 percent, for their insulins, funded in part by manufacturers paying an estimated additional $250 million of discounts over the five years of the model. With a robust voluntary response from Part D sponsors, CMS anticipates beneficiaries will have Part D plan options in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, through either a standalone prescription drug plan (PDP) or a Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage. Beneficiaries will be able to enroll during Medicare open enrollment, which is from October 15, 2020 through December 7, 2020, for Part D coverage that begins on January 1, 2021.
@jfsfrnd Joe Biden, the Delaware senator broke ranks with northern liberals- and joined his virulently racist North Carolina colleague Jesse Helms in voting to kneecap all federal efforts to integrate schools, anywhere in the country. Specifically, Biden voted to bar the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare from requiring schools to provide information on the racial makeup of their student bodies - thereby making it nigh-impossible for Uncle Sam to withhold federal funds from school districts that refused to integrate. The NAACP called Biden’s proposal “an anti-black amendment.” The Senate’s sole African-American member, Ed Brooke, called it “the greatest symbolic defeat for civil rights since 1964.” But Biden helped his fellow liberals reconcile themselves to the wrong side of history by recasting integrationists as the real racists. Biden is famous for his lead role in crafting the 1994 crime bill, or, as the senator preferred to call it (as recently as 2015), the “1994 Biden Crime Bill.” Some aspects of that legislation remain popular within the Democratic Party - It expanded the death penalty, creating 60 new death penalty offenses under 41 federal capital statutes. It eliminated education funding for incarcerated students, effectively gutting prison education programs. Despite a wealth of research showing education increases post-release employment, reduces recidivism, and improves outcomes for the formerly incarcerated and their families, this change has not been reversed. And the bill created a wave of change toward harsher state sentencing policy. That change was driven by funding incentives: the bill’s $9.7 billion in federal funding for prison construction went only to states that adopted truth-in-sentencing (TIS) laws, which lead to defendants serving far longer prison terms. Within 5 years, 29 states had TIS laws on the books, 24 more than when the bill was signed. New York State received over $216 million by passing such laws. By 2000 the state had added over 12,000 prison beds and incarcerated 28 percent more people than a decade before. Joe Biden, fighting for racism for over 40 years.
Great commentary about such a complicated book... Now do the Satyricon! I will keep requesting it until Y'all review it! But my husband does not like me commenting under his UA-cam channel, so I will be requesting for the Satyricon under a different name, so I have to make my own channel in order not to stain his name with questionable comments.
May I recommend two books to cover, the first being George Orwell's 1984 which I think is a brilliant book to read during our.... Currant situation, and the second being animal farm, which i feel is basically a guide book to communism, and I feel if more people read it well maybe they see that Marxism isn't their Lord and savior (sorry Karl that honor goes to JESUS). I feel it also shows them without demonizing them for being ignorant if that makes sense. They are both modern classics and especially 1984 is a great read!
Larry Elder is a great man. A gentleman and a scholar. We are blessed to be able to hear him speak.
Can you believe the Dems gave transracials their own flag?
ua-cam.com/video/c6tXHepXQxI/v-deo.html
@@bigdongle9051 leave it to dems.
I'm going to take Larry's advice. I plan to never meet him. ;)
I always listen when he speaks, I'm trying to learn from great people
@Cryonic Family He said this in what context?
Enjoyable. Looking forward to "Uncle Tom". Thank you. Larry, aren't we lucky to have him.
It's a great book I read it on fourth grade
We definitely are!
Since the 70's we have had a serious non fiction book budget. Bought 8 non fiction books this week, and our UPS driver sees the Amazon delivery and takes his lunch break so we can sit and talk books. Love making people into readers!
Beth Grant-DeRoos This is so wonderful that I’m at a loss for words. Any book recommendations.
Lovely
ua-cam.com/video/58K4fHHQs_s/v-deo.html
@@leatherandlace7
In Praise of Walking: A New Scientific Exploration by Shane O'Mara
The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks
The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton James Madison John Jay
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas who also wrote Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. Whom my late parents knew.
The View from Flyover Country: Dispatches from the Forgotten America by Sarah Kendzior
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by Roger Williams who also wrote the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty
The Math of Life and Death: 7 Mathematical Principles That Shape Our Lives by Kit Yates
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker PhD
Got a copy of Dennis Prager's 2013 book Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph for a friend.
instaBlaster
Thank you for the conversation. Thanks for the summary of the book Larry. It's interesting that the discovery in this book that our emotions bring us into bondage is something that is spelt out over and over again in the Bible.
Romans chapter 8 is one place where it's described very clearly. Galatians chapter 5 is another, where it talks about freedom and about the flesh and the spirit.
The word Flesh in the old translations represents our desires and our emotions. Some of the newer translations of this word are not particularly helpful.
In Romans 8 it says that if we set our minds on the desires of the flesh, our emotions, then that leads to death but that if we set our minds on the things of the spirit it leads to Freedom, life and peace.
I just mention this to say that we can spend a lifetime searching for answers when they are already there in the Good Book. We think we have discovered something new but it was there or along.
Thanks very much for the good conversation.
One of my favorite books! I have told my two boys, they are required to read Of Human Bondage and discuss it with me. This is a prerequisite before they are ever allowed to take a young lady out...
Really? Only this one?
@@screamtoasigh9984 There are plenty of books that are required reading in my house for children (like Jane Austin's major works). But, I would like my boys to understand the Philip/Mildred situation... To discourage going for the girl they think is perfect (same concept would apply if had a daughter to boys). I have seen people destroy their lives this way more than a few times... There is also the part about Fanny, but just to start on that topic would take more time than I have tonight...
This book really should be required reading in highschool...
Dave Brunero you very wise Dad. Happy Fathers Day.
Dave Brunero Have you seen what the high school required reading list? It has gotten steadily worse in my area.
@@diannalaubenberg7532 I'd really rather not see it... pause... I suspect it would make me cry... 😬
No such thing as abstract morality. What a terrific line and how timely. Somerset Maugham is a fabulous writer.
Larry Elder is a very gifted individual. We need more men like him today.
This is one of my favorite books. I read it when I was 16 years old.
I read it about the same age. It should be required reading in highschool.
1969Vanessa G time to read it again... for a different view.
Good for you! 😊✌️❤️
I am embarrassed to say this but I just found Larry’s videos. I’ve been listening to them every second the last 2 days.
He has a podcast too. I just found him last year. Love him! You might enjoy Walter E. Williams, Shelby Steele and Thomas Sowell also. :-)
I read this with my book club about 5-6 years ago will be interesting to hear different takes about it...
Aye you in a real book club? Because a friend and I were talking about book clubs last week, and decided they must just be an excuse to drink a lot of wine. 🤔 (I read a lot, but even in books I've read, the book clubs seem to be an excuse to drink a lot of wine... Or set singles up with their friends and relatives... while they are drunk on book club wine 😒).
@@screamtoasigh9984 what is wrong with drinking wine?
@@davidweiss9891 it's not lambic ale. 😂😉 But nothing is wrong with it.
Cryonic Family you are annoying with your cnn style stuff . I can say many things out of context but it’s misleading ...
I was so thrilled to see that you're reviewing this book! Maugham is my favorite writer. His short stories are amazing and I
read them about every 2 years. He can turn every day happenings into amazingly fascinating, gripping stories. I wish I could
read them for the first time again. The Razor's Edge is wonderful too. Thanks guys.
Most profound book. Gives me a flood of emotions just thinking of the book. Maugham’s understanding of human nature gives me the shivers! And Larry Elder loves it too!
This book club video style is pretty interesting. Two respected intellectuals reviewing one of their favorite books. Nothing commercial just true intellectual rapport.
I can't get enough Larry Elder! Love the guy and it was a great conversation. I very much appreciate the idea of this segment, reawakening the love of reading in America. I'll be checking out this book
Thank you for this experience with the Book Club. As a high school student, I honestly didnt care much for reading. But now that the world has changed into a weird dystopia, at 19 I've deleted my social media, and got into the books at 21. Thank you.
Just read this because of your recommendation! I actually didn't care for it at all. But I'm glad to be a part of the book club!
Just started reading this book a few days ago, and I'm surprised at how much I love the writing style! It's spellbinding. I'm looking forward to going on Philip's journey alongside him.
I haven’t read the book but I got a great deal out of your discussion.
@Max RV citation needed
Max RV I’ve seen many , all bs up to now .
Max RV they can’t censor them so they try to discredit ... simple
I want more of this type of video on youtube. Very much enjoying this book club series!
I really enjoyed this discussion, and the previous Book Clubs. Terrific show! If I may make some suggestions, here are some additional books to consider for future videos:
Solzhenitsyn - One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch. It is much shorter than Gulag Archipelago and it is a terrific story.
Camus - The Plague. Loaded with insights relevant to the current Scamdemic, and great literature to boot.
Orwell - 1984. Need I say more? You could also consider Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 or Huxley's Brave New World.
Rand Paul - The Case Against Socialism. Very good book and Rand Paul would make a wonderful guest to talk about his own book.
Plato - The Republic, or Apology. Perhaps someone like Victor Davis Hanson could be your guest to discuss the works of Plato. Homer's Odyssey or Thucydides would also be very good choices.
Melville - Moby Dick. A timeless classic.
Walter Van Tilburg Clark - The Ox-bow Incident. Mob violence in the Old West. Wonderful book.
Pirsig - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Love this book.
Huntington - The Clash of Civilizations. This book has not lost it's relevance. Heather MacDonald would make a great guest to discuss this or one of her own books.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Infidel. A very powerful book and she makes a great guest.
Marcus Aurelius - Meditations. Values we have left behind, to our detriment.
C. S. Lewis - The Abolition of Man. Any of his books would be suitable, but Dr. Steve Turley has done some great analysis of this one and would make an entertaining guest.
John Stuart Mill - On Liberty. The classic case for free speech.
There are so many others but these just come to mind. Again, I love the show and your selection so far has been absolutely great.
One of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors (The Painted Veil is a beautiful novel, as well). Everyone should read this Classic.
I loved Of Human Bondage. Haven’t read The Painted Veil. Thanks for the recommendation
If you haven't read it, read "The Razor's Edge".
One of my friends recommended this book to me several years ago. I still consider it the best book I ever read. Maybe Don Quixote is a close second, but I could never manage to finish that one haha.
I saw this movie in black and white as a child it moved me so much I got it from the library! Great read
Which movie? With Betty white or not?
Excellent job Michael... love the Book Club!
I love Larry Elder is definitely "the sage". I love Michael too, another wonderful young man.
Loved this! Look forward to future reviews. All the classics, this is a wonderful addition to Prager. Request: Thomas Wolfe's 'You Can't Go Home Again'.
Not to be effusive, but Larry Elder has an AMAZING intellect. Michael Knowles is no slouch either. Thanks for the great media Prager U!
@Gogo Plata it is. www.yourdictionary.com/effusive
A great book to read after Of Human Bondage is Compton Mackenzie's Sinister Street. A great line from Of Human Bondage is, "People ask you for criticism but they only want praise."
W. Somerset Maugham is one of my favorite authors, mostly because of this book. I always think this is a perfect book for anyone, but for black people in particular who are wandering around, trying to figure everything out. It has so many life lessons in it, anyone who reads it finds oysters of insight. Great choice for the book club (ANY book club, for that matter)!!!!!
Definitely going to read the book, due to this review!
I finished it the other day. One of the best books I've ever read. It didn't feel like 700 pages.
Ran across this book at the perfect time. I saw so much of myself in Philip and so many other characters. Then I see a review by one of my favorite thinkers, and turns out we read the books just ahead of 30. This was a great review!
One of my favorite books. One goes through many mistakes in order to appreciate the truth. This story is also like the Prodigal Son. Phillip's biological father was also a doctor, and at the end he returns to his father in a way, by following his footsteps and becoming a doctor himself.
Good convo. I enjoyed this. Will check out this book. This was a welcomed respite from all the craziness going on in America and the world right now. Wonderful.
Always appreciate you Larry!
My Grandmothers favorite author! I really appreciate his work.
Sexual freedom is actually slavery of the soul.
How can you not admire Larry Elder?
I read this book 30 years or more ago and I certainly need to re-read it. I recall that S.M.'s use of the English language was spectacular and I can only dream of being as articulate.
Somerset Maugham's collection of short stories are wonderful. Check them out East and West, two volumes.
The Book Club: Starship Troopers!
This was great! I’ve never read the book, but I’m interested now. A lot of amazing insight.
his short stories are great.
One of my favorite novels ever! I read this book and could not put it down. Mildred was
*Keep* *America* *Great*
By far the greatest novel of the 20th century. A masterpiece!
No is isn't you liar.
Awesome conversation. Thank you PragerU.
Great conversation... I’m getting the book!
It’s in my top ten. A Razor’s Edge is one of my favorites too. Maugham himself is a character/narrator in his novel who follows another man’s spiritual quest in between the two World Wars.
Really enjoyed that - thanks.
Buuuttttt, those that need to read it won't. Just look in our schools.
I love this idea. More book club please!
I love the movie with Bette Davis- she was wicked! I’ll definitely read the book because the movie was more about Philip and Mildred rather than Philip’s entire life.
Really enjoy the book club videos
I read this novel as a teenager. I loved the variety of characters, like the man who I believe becomes Phillip's father-in-law. "Children thrive on bad drains!" 😆 And the daughters all had similar names...._(something)_ Maria Del Sol.... And the hop-harvesting holiday in the country, near the end. Wish I could've done that.
Great episode
Surprised they’re talking about this book, I love this book.
This book led me to reading Spinoza. Changed my life.
@jfsfrnd She won't answer you.
jfsfrnd About nine years ago, I found Maugham’s book in a book shop and learned the title/concept came from Spinoza’s Ethics. So I found myself a copy and read it. I’ve read a lot of philosophical works, but Spinoza’s Ethics will always be a favorite. It is well structured, and not unnecessarily convoluted like most philosophy.
Of Human Bandage, the first part I read will always stay with me. One of those things that puts your thoughts into words. If you live by your emotions you are a slave, to be free is to step away and examine through reason. It’s fairly simple but it’s profound, and like the interview points out uncommon in many people. I try to remind myself of it when I’m caught up with emotional thinking.
@Echo PM: Ah. Good lesson for me. Just when I think I've seen it all and heard it all . . . you prove me wrong. Nevertheless, with 67 years behind me . . . I'm confident that it would be another 67 before I hear a Woman say that Maugham led her to read Spinoza and that it changed her life. Sincere props.
@@QED_ Thank you, I really appreciate that you let me surprise you.
How can someone living today claim physical and emotional injury of their relatives if ages gone by? One can imagine life in chains and indentured servitude, but unless you have been there with them you can not know them and their emotional life!
10:30- Answer. It also ties into the question of God's sovereignty over man's life, and not man over his own
There’s some things I can relate to in this book that was discussed.
I have been asking myself that every day.
One of the more fulfilling episodes, next to "Man's Search for Meaning"
I would also recommend, Cake and Ale, Somerset Maugham.
Didn't think much of Cakes and Ale, but "
The Razor's Edge" is great.
_The Razor's Edge_ is epic! Talk about a coming of age story....
When will we get to a Terry Pratchett book?
I adore Terry Pratchet! My husband is a fabulous reader, does all the voices and accents. We are reading them thought a second time!
Not come across these before, but excellent review/discussion.
My poor mother tried to get me and my two brothers to read more than motorcycle magazines and comics. Nearly 50 years later, there is so much I haven't read. There is still time.
Reminded me of my English teacher in high school with a handlebar mustache. He recommended Somerset Maugham.
(I was too immature then to read it.)
P.S.--Did you know that Persian carpets are more valuable after being worn rather than right out of the box?
Great show
Great episode!
He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest-paid author during the 1930s. Wikipedia.
Larry, please run for office. Particularly President. We need Larry in 2024.
How do I find out that they will be discussing in advance so that I can read it???
Agree wholeheartedly! This one I listened to on UA-cam for free which took about 5 days for me. Reading the book would have taken much longer.
Somerset Maugham is the bomb! The Razor's Edge by S. M. is my favorite book, much better than the Sun Also Rises but has a similar Paris vibe.
Awesome! Thanks.
Love books by Maugham
Great video!
Bravo gents.
Now this is a topic I can get behind! Live a little S&M!
Kink time!
I always felt Razor’s Edge as his most recognized novel.
The 1934 film with Leslie Howard and Bette Davis is worth a look.
Amazing!
I was born in Russia and educated on skimming Russian literature. I could never read it because almost every story had a hopeless ending at the end of a senseless life journey. As a former liberal , neo-conservative, I usually run away from these “I never knew who I was and I failed in the end, but here’s another depressive life for ya, just like your neighbors”. So how do you see this as people of so much faith and optimism?
@marialiyubman: You seem not to understand what tragic literature is all about. It's a means of testing and refining your emotional sensibility. If you don't feel for the lives of characters in Russian literature . . . you're probably lacking just such an emotional education. Basically: you don't really care . . .
You should Get subtitle in Portuguese or dubbing in Portuguese. The show is very interesting and cultural.😊
You produced "Uncle Tom" with the all-star cast? Awesome!
16:47 OMG. Props.
If you still read a newspaper you're in bondage 😆
The main if not only reason I've even heard of this book is because in Spider-man: Homecoming MJ was reading this book during gym class.
This was a fantastic book and review of the book, now do the Satyricon! Pweese?
TRUMP 2020
Trump won't win this time, not after everything he's done
@jfsfrnd YES.
@@eliopalombi you're right he's done too much...
RECORD-BREAKING RESULTS:
Under President Donald J. Trump, economic opportunity was soaring and unemployment was dropping for African Americans.
As of 2019, the jobless rate for Hispanics hit a record low of 3.9% in September, while African Americans was at its lowest rate ever, 5.5%. unemployment rate.
The jobless rate for all Americans was at 3.5%, its lowest reading in 50 years.
Total African-American employment has increased by over 1 million since President Trump’s election and stands at a record high.
The poverty rate for African Americans reached its lowest level on record.
INVESTING IN DISTRESSED COMMUNITIES: President Donald J. Trump’s Opportunity Zone Incentives are promoting investment in left-behind, economically distressed communities.
President Trump’s historic tax cut legislation included new Opportunity Zone Incentives to promote investment in economically distressed communities across the country.
Opportunity Zones offer tax incentives for businesses to invest in economically distressed communities, making them a powerful vehicle for economic growth and job creation.
Nearly 35 million Americans live in communities designated as Opportunity Zones.
8,761 communities in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and five United States territories have been designated as Opportunity Zones.
Through these tax incentives, we will jumpstart our American communities, create momentum for economic recovery, and attract investment to diverse areas across our Nation.
PROMOTING MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS: Through job training, tax reform, and deregulation, President Donald J. Trump and his Administration are creating a better environment for minority-owned business.
President Trump is empowering minority business owners by eliminating a historic amount of unnecessary and burdensome regulations that too often hinder their growth.
Through the Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency, President Trump is delivering numerous new opportunities for minority business enterprises.
President Trump’s tax cuts included provisions that benefit minority-owned small businesses, a segment that contributes more than $1 trillion in annual economic output.
The President signed a memorandum dedicating at least $200 million a year to promote STEM education and especially benefitting women and minorities.
DELIVERING FOR HBCUs:
President Donald J. Trump has made supporting our Nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) a key priority for his Administration.
In February 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order on the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
The Executive Order moved the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to the White House from the Department of Education.
This was the earliest Executive Order on HBCUs signed by any President.
Earlier this year, President Trump signed legislation that increased Federal funding to HBCU programs by more than 14 percent.
Furthermore, it made this finding permanent. Prior to this executive order, HBCU programs had to come to DC every year and beg for funding. No more, this funding is now permanent.
The President signed legislation that forgave more than $300 million in Hurricane Katrina related debt that threatened New Orleans, Louisiana, area HBCUs.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMS:
While the pundits wrote it off as a pipe dream, Trump fought for and delivered the most meaningful criminal justice reform in a generation. Since the First Step Act became the law of the land over a year ago, more than 3,000 Americans have been released from prison, and 90 percent of those who have had their sentences decreased are black Americans. They are now reunited with their families and also have a second chance at life.
ADRESSING UNDERPRIVILEGED LOW INCOME SCHOOLING:
This president is also a champion for school choice so that every child can achieve their full potential. Education is still the master key to unlocking all the opportunities our country has to offer. But unfortunately too many Americans, and especially too many black Americans, remain trapped in failing schools. By giving every student the freedom to attend the school of their choice, Republicans will make good on our belief that the quality of education for our kids should not be predetermined by their zip codes.
STOPPING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION:
There is no doubt that Trump has been tough on illegal immigration and trying to secure our border.
In a 2010 study on the social effects of immigration, the Cornell University professor Vernon Briggs concluded: “No racial or ethnic group has benefited less or been harmed more than the nation’s African American community.”
The Harvard economist George Borjas has found that, between 1980 and 2000, one-third of the decline in the employment among black male high school dropouts was attributable to immigration. He also reported “a strong correlation between immigration, black wages, black employment rates, and black incarceration rates.”
LOWERING INSULIN COSTS:
Under President Trump’s leadership, for the first time, CMS is enabling and encouraging Part D plans to offer fixed, predictable copays for beneficiaries rather than leaving seniors paying 25 percent of the drug’s cost in the coverage gap. Both manufacturers and Part D sponsors responded to this market-based solution in force and seniors that use insulin will reap the benefits.
Based on CMS’s estimates, beneficiaries who use insulin and join a plan participating in the model could see average out-of-pocket savings of $446, or 66 percent, for their insulins, funded in part by manufacturers paying an estimated additional $250 million of discounts over the five years of the model. With a robust voluntary response from Part D sponsors, CMS anticipates beneficiaries will have Part D plan options in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, through either a standalone prescription drug plan (PDP) or a Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage. Beneficiaries will be able to enroll during Medicare open enrollment, which is from October 15, 2020 through December 7, 2020, for Part D coverage that begins on January 1, 2021.
@jfsfrnd Joe Biden, the Delaware senator broke ranks with northern liberals- and joined his virulently racist North Carolina colleague Jesse Helms in voting to kneecap all federal efforts to integrate schools, anywhere in the country. Specifically, Biden voted to bar the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare from requiring schools to provide information on the racial makeup of their student bodies - thereby making it nigh-impossible for Uncle Sam to withhold federal funds from school districts that refused to integrate.
The NAACP called Biden’s proposal “an anti-black amendment.” The Senate’s sole African-American member, Ed Brooke, called it “the greatest symbolic defeat for civil rights since 1964.” But Biden helped his fellow liberals reconcile themselves to the wrong side of history by recasting integrationists as the real racists.
Biden is famous for his lead role in crafting the 1994 crime bill, or, as the senator preferred to call it (as recently as 2015), the “1994 Biden Crime Bill.” Some aspects of that legislation remain popular within the Democratic Party -
It expanded the death penalty, creating 60 new death penalty offenses under 41 federal capital statutes. It eliminated education funding for incarcerated students, effectively gutting prison education programs. Despite a wealth of research showing education increases post-release employment, reduces recidivism, and improves outcomes for the formerly incarcerated and their families, this change has not been reversed.
And the bill created a wave of change toward harsher state sentencing policy. That change was driven by funding incentives: the bill’s $9.7 billion in federal funding for prison construction went only to states that adopted truth-in-sentencing (TIS) laws, which lead to defendants serving far longer prison terms. Within 5 years, 29 states had TIS laws on the books, 24 more than when the bill was signed. New York State received over $216 million by passing such laws. By 2000 the state had added over 12,000 prison beds and incarcerated 28 percent more people than a decade before.
Joe Biden, fighting for racism for over 40 years.
@Freeze Peach citation needed
I'm literally seconds in and ... Pastor, father...? You mean Vicar, Uncle.
I'm always saddened when the Krupa-like drum solo in the intro doesn't turn out to be Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing."
I blame society for my mind immediately going to the gutter when I read the title. XD
Yeah.....same here. 😳😳😳
Musashi by Eji yoshikawa. Try that for book club please. It’s soooo worth it
Unless morality is absolute and rooted in truth, it's just an opinion.
What is the 'truth' you have chosen to base your morality upon?
Does anyone know his short story "the hadicapper'. (I think.) I can't find it anywhere. its about equity and not equality. quite funny.
Great commentary about such a complicated book... Now do the Satyricon! I will keep requesting it until Y'all review it! But my husband does not like me commenting under his UA-cam channel, so I will be requesting for the Satyricon under a different name, so I have to make my own channel in order not to stain his name with questionable comments.
LAW AND ORDER
May I recommend two books to cover, the first being George Orwell's 1984 which I think is a brilliant book to read during our.... Currant situation, and the second being animal farm, which i feel is basically a guide book to communism, and I feel if more people read it well maybe they see that Marxism isn't their Lord and savior (sorry Karl that honor goes to JESUS). I feel it also shows them without demonizing them for being ignorant if that makes sense. They are both modern classics and especially 1984 is a great read!
PragerU!!!
Did Larry laugh when Michael said sound smart at cocktails parties.