I wish I could express myself better concerning the matter of biographies, because to me, they are the ultimate kind of book to read, other than the Torah, of course. Everybody loves a story, right? Well, biographies are not only a story, but a true one, and the best stories are those talking about single individuals, which is what biographies are. History is important, right? Well, biographies are history, but history that one can actually grasp. Histories of entire peoples can be quite overwhelming, while individual biographies are much easier to get a handle on. Besides, it is great individuals that make great history happen in the first place. Into psychology, into what makes people tick? Well, what better way to understand human nature, than to study the actual lives of individuals, to see how they responded to their real life situations? Are you more philosophically inclined, more interested in ideas than people or things? Well, even in such a case, biographies describe the ideas of the given individuals, but do so in the context of their lives, making those ideas much more comprehensible. Feeling down about life and want to get inspired? Reading the biographies of truly great people can do wonders for such feelings of hopelessness, as it can inspire us to greatness. Just about the only limitation I can see concerning biographies, is in the realm of the creative or artistic. I could read a biography of Mozart, for example, but is that really as good as simply listening to his great music? Same with Shakespeare, Dickens, and so on.
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 04:44:10 +0000
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