Philosopher-author Daniel Klein (coauthor of “Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar”) blends contemplation with travel writing in this lively yet thoughtful memoir. At the age of 73, Klein has a rather depressing appointment with his dentist, during which he learns that he may have to accept dentures. While contemplating a change that feels to him like a descent into old age, he decides to return to the Greek island of Hydra, a place he loved while in his 20s. There – in the company of old friends and gorgeous scenery – Klein begins a learned and delightful meditation on the dignity of age and questions about the best way to spend one’s life. If you are the type of reader who likes to blend easily digestible philosophic concepts with dips in the Aegean, draw up a deck chair on some sunny patio and make room for this quick but nourishing read.
Mark Sappenfield
Dear Reader,
About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:
“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”
If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.
But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.
The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.
We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”
If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.
