Having really enjoyed his last book, I was looking forward to this one, which I assumed picked up where the previous one left off. I was particularly hoping there would be some anecdotes about The West Wing.
So in that respect, the book disappointed, because it's not so much a second volume of his autobiography as it is a collection of speeches he's given (graduations, funerals, etc.) and his thoughts thereon. Because I am a storyteller myself, I found it somewhat less engaging to read. But I am also a thinker and even a philosopher at times, in my way, and ultimately it was more thought-provoking than the stories were.
Alan Alda and I do not agree about everything; like a lot of people, he appears to believe science and religion are incompatible, and regards religious people as blind followers of a path that leads nowhere (though it's not stated overtly, the implication is there.) I believe that religion gives us answers science hasn't found yet, and as what we know about our universes grows and changes, principles that seemed to be diametrically opposed foes end up as different methods of expressing the same idea. But his theories are deeply pondered and thoughtfully expressed, and I respect the work even if I don't always care for the product.
As in the previous book, his words are a joy; my favorite phrase was this: "being passionate doesn't make you right." In a book filled with intriguing concepts, that's the one I'll take with me.
Author: Alan Alda
Potentially objectionable content: Less than the previous book (probably because most of these words were spoken at ceremonial occasions in public forums)
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