12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
Jordan B. Peterson
What does everyone in the modern world need to know? Renowned psychologist Jordan B. Peterson's answer to this most difficult of questions uniquely combines the hard-won truths of ancient tradition with the stunning revelations of cutting-edge scientific research. Humorous, surprising, and informative, Dr. Peterson tells us why skateboarding boys and girls must be left alone, what terrible fate awaits those who criticize too easily, and why you should always pet a cat when you meet one on the street. What does the nervous system of the lowly lobster have to tell us about standing up straight (with our shoulders back) and about success in life? Why did ancient Egyptians worship the capacity to pay careful attention as the highest of gods? What dreadful paths do people tread when they become resentful, arrogant, and vengeful? Dr. Peterson journeys broadly, discussing discipline, freedom, adventure, and responsibility, distilling the world's wisdom into 12 practical and profound rules for life. 12 Rules for Life shatters the modern commonplaces of science, faith, and human nature while transforming and ennobling the mind and spirit of its listeners.
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0First things first, I listened to an audio version of this book read by the author (which btw was a very bad idea, his voice made me loose focus after a minute of listening). Therefore, I may not have had the same experience as people who read the paper version but nevertheless...
The author begins his book by saying that those rules started off as a list on Quora. And in my frank opinion, they should have stayed as such. Maximum that this should have become is a 3000-5000 word blog post. He did not think that it would be enough. As a result, this book is filled with fluf that just made me want to skip through entire chapters. The examples he provides and the language used are too complex for the issues discussed in this book. He is clearly an academic, professional. However, he was inable to convey this knowledge for a wider population.
This leaves me wondering, how did this book gain so much fuss and was on so many "recommended" and "best-seller" shelves? I guess it's still business, even mediocre authors can make it given the investement.
However, it is still my personal opinion and should be judged as such. This book gave me very little value for the time spent on it (although, as mentioned previously, I skipped through some parts of it), but it is very likely that someone else will find it useful.
0While I think Mr Peterson has many interesting ideas and imparts a lot of wisdom in this book, ultimately I wasn't a fan of the structure of his writing. Anecdotes wrapped within metaphors stacked on more metaphors for around 35-50 pages per chapter to the point where I completely lose track of what was the lesson in the first place. The book is somewhat self indulgent as Mr Peterson tries to guide us along his lines of thought, drawing connections that don't work well (at least for me), gandering through bible scenes and Disney movie plots to reach a point where we understand 'standing up straight' is not just a posture - it's a life attitude. It's a good message, but there has to be a less mind-boggling way of telling us that. I like stories and examples in my self help books as much as the next guy but I feel this book really was just too much.
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