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The Second Mountain

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The Second Mountain

By: David Brooks
Narrated by: Arthur Morey
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About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Secnd Mountain, written by David Brooks, read by Arthur Morey.

Are you on your first or second mountain?
Is life about you - or others?
About success - or something deeper?

The world tells us that we should pursue our self-interest: career wins, high status, nice things. These are the goals of our first mountain. But at some point in our lives we might find that we're not interested in what other people tell us to want. We want the things that are truly worth wanting.

This is the second mountain.

What does it mean to look beyond yourself and find a moral cause? To forget about independence and discover dependence - to be utterly enmeshed in a web of warm relationships? What does it mean to value intimacy, devotion, responsibility and commitment above individual freedom? In The Second Mountain David Brooks explores the meaning and possibilities that scaling a second mountain offer us, and the four commitments that most commonly move us there: family, vocation, philosophy and community. Inspiring, personal and full of joy, this book will help you discover why you were really put on this earth.

©2019 David Brooks (P)2019 Penguin Audio Ethics & Morality Personal Development Personal Success Philosophy Society Sociology Inspiring Morality

Critic Reviews

Brooks's best book yet ... Powerful ... His stirring new book is a self-help guide to escaping the prison of self. (Oliver Burkeman)
The book overall, candid about the reality of stress and failure in the author's life, has earned the right to put forward with equal candour the experience of finding, or being found by, faith. (Rowan Williams)
All stars
Most relevant  
Started with me engaged, but towards the end there was too much religious content for my taste.

Started ok.

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The book is just a bunch of quotes and examples including the author’s personal experience to what he calls the first and second mountains. I found it really hard to engage in the many stories that prove nothing but individual life experiences. I struggled to finish the book but I kept going hoping for an aha moment, however the book kept repeating the same things over and over with no real inspirational or deep conclusions.

Disappointed by this book

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I had high hopes for this book but rather, it feels like a lot of stories of what not to do. I feel more criticised for my life choices rather than empowered to move forward. The authors stories of the young feel belittling rather than helpful.

Wrong and misguided

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full of references and quotes and not much else. As a tool for insomnia it may work

what the hell was all that about

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The book provides a very conservative view and presents it as fact. If was very disappointing

What a waste of time

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This book is very problematic. I think thr author might be struggling with trying to reconcile a religious or spiritual vacuum with material success, and believes they have it all figured out. At best it's rambling and padded, at worst it's a vapid set of platitudes laid end to end.

An old dude withering

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