Meetings with Remarkable Men

1877-1927

Meetings with Remarkable Men

Hmmm. Most of the books I read are either books that I have hunted down because I read or heard something somewhere that lead me to believe I would enjoy it, or because it came in the giant load of books my wife bought the day she walked into a bookstore going out of business nine years ago and said "I'll take the entire science-fiction section for $40". This book, however, was given to me by a lady at the church I used to go to whose husband used to be a rocket scientist. Although he was as old as the hills, I had one or two conversations with him about sci-fi, and he was unsuprisingly very well read in the greats of the genre, and made a few suggestions which I can't specifically remember but am sure I jotted down and added to the timeline.

His wife gave me a stack of books as they were planning on moving away from the Aspen-Carbondale area and she just wanted rid of junk. This is the only one I have read so far, as it takes place at the turn of the century. I read it a year and a half ago, and it really didn't make enough of an impression on me to speak about it off the cuff.

Hence, my Living Social/Goodreads review:

I agree that many of the stories contained within this semi-autobiographical history are far-fetched, and Gurdjieff's tangent-prone style alternates between fascinating and frustrating as hell. Nonetheless this book will inspire every would-be scholar and entrepanuer. A good read!

Hmmm. Well, I liked it at the time, I guess. I recall that the book flows back and forth from essays on people the dude knew during his lifetime to actual stories about his life (in a mostly chronological manner). I suppose that any one who has lived a full life could sit down and list the most amazing things that ever happened to them, and a lot of it would sound far-fetched. I plan on writing that book about my own life one day. My recommendation is a bit vague, though, don't you think? Would-be scholars? Whatever. The more I stare at that phrase, the more lame it sounds.

I guess... don't go search this book out. Nine out of ten people who read it did not experience a miraculous change in their life, despite reading about a lot of cool stuff the guy did through hard work and persistance. BUT, if a cool old lady with an even cooler old husband hands the book to you and you find it in your hands one day, check it out for sure.

In my next post, we return to Oz!