{"product_id":"american-philosophy-a-love-story-paperback","title":"American Philosophy: A Love Story - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJohn Kaag\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe epic wisdom contained in a lost library helps the author turn his life around\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJohn Kaag is a dispirited young philosopher at sea in his marriage and his career when he stumbles upon West Wind, a ruin of an estate in the hinterlands of New Hampshire that belonged to the eminent Harvard philosopher William Ernest Hocking. Hocking was one of the last true giants of American philosophy and a direct intellectual descendent of William James, the father of American philosophy and psychology, with whom Kaag feels a deep kinship. It is James's question \"Is life worth living?\" that guides this remarkable book. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The books Kaag discovers in the Hocking library are crawling with insects and full of mold. But he resolves to restore them, as he immediately recognizes their importance. Not only does the library at West Wind contain handwritten notes from Whitman and inscriptions from Frost, but there are startlingly rare first editions of Hobbes, Descartes, and Kant. As Kaag begins to catalog and read through these priceless volumes, he embarks on a thrilling journey that leads him to the life-affirming tenets of American philosophy--self-reliance, pragmatism, and transcendence--and to a brilliant young Kantian who joins him in the restoration of the Hocking books. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePart intellectual history, part memoir, \u003ci\u003eAmerican Philosophy\u003c\/i\u003e is ultimately about love, freedom, and the role that wisdom can play in turning one's life around.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn Kaag\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eAmerican Philosophy: A Love Story\u003c\/i\u003e, which was an NPR Best Book of 2016 and a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Editors' Choice. His writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times, Harper's Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e, and many other publications. He lives outside Boston with his wife and children.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 272\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.8 x 8.1 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 03, 2017\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45336677154918,"sku":"9780374537203","price":26.76,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/7255\/0758\/files\/Y3hWL3lVK01qdGZKZ012MkZ5eEZkQT09.webp?v=1774615800","url":"https:\/\/infinitylightwa.com\/products\/american-philosophy-a-love-story-paperback","provider":"Infinity Light","version":"1.0","type":"link"}