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Title: TAKING RESPONSIBILITY by Nathaniel Branden ISBN: 0-684-83248-8 Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: 21 April, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.86 (7 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A satisfactory self-help book...in a touchy area
Comment: All of us have tried something and failed. The question then is, "How did this happen?" The answers are sometimes complex, but one central feature under each person's control is whether he or she can claim some amount of responsibility for their thinking, feeling, and behaving.
Self-responsibility and accountability are the heart of Branden's self-help book, especially the notion that each person is accountable for choices, decisions, actions, beliefs, values, management of time, choice of companions, and one's own happiness. At some level, this self-help book is a refreshing reality-based tonic.
Branden also talks about self-responsibility in organizations, which I found helpful. Less helpful, however, is his condemnation of welfare, because he does not take into account the lack of responsibility in the people who made the welfare system so "good." Also, he does not take into account the realistic difficulties that people in poverty have, nor the success stories of families who have emerged from poverty. In this sense, he presages O'Reilly. He would have been more consistent by talking about the destruction of responsibility by drugs and alcohol.
This is a short read. I hope you enjoy it.
Rating: 5
Summary: Your Life. Your Choice.
Comment: In this brilliant tome, Nathaniel Branden makes a definitive statement on leading the joyful life of personal responsibility and reality-orientation...and the alternative where individuals "unconsciously" ignore the fruits of their own actions. Branden uproots this rejection of responsibility from every corner where it hides, from your choice of values to your choice of companions. He applies this vision of responsibility to romantic love (where using others for your fulfillment often becomes sport), organizations (where avoiding blame becomes the goal), and government (where entitlements have replaced rights). Branden also includes do-it-yourself exercises (I can attest to their effectiveness) to help readers explore their own deep-rooted attitudes towards their own role in the world. An essential read that communicates the true demands of the free and sovereign life.
Rating: 5
Summary: Not as great as Six Pillars, but still an important work
Comment: The word "responsibility" carries an unfortunate moralistic implication, which Branden takes pains to dispel repeatedly throughout this book. Nevertheless, a light reading of this important work may create a false impression in the reader that Branden's term "Self-Responsibility" does in fact mean a moralistic responsibility. This is the major problem that haunts this work.
Even with this flaw, this is one of Branden's more important books. It is brilliant and profound. It is a book to read and re-read at regular intervals throughout one's life. Two of the most important chapters are "Self Reliance and Social Metaphysics" and "Self-Responsibility and Romantic Love". Both of these themes appeared in his earlier "The Psychology of Self-Esteem". In particular the concept of social metaphysics is one of the most vital to understand in attempting to gain true psychological freedom and intellectual sovereignty. In my own case, had I just taken the time to understand how social metaphysics was impacting my decision to seek a divorce, I might been able to save my marriage.
The Introduction to this book is by itself almost worth the price of the entire book. It contains indispensible advice for finding true happiness in life. It also shows Brandon's essential modesty, as he credits his wife for these important insights.
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Title: Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden ISBN: 0553374397 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 May, 1995 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: The Art of Living Consciously: The Power of Awareness to Transform Everyday Life by Nathaniel Branden ISBN: 0684838494 Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: June, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Honoring the Self: Self-Esteem and Personal Tranformation by Nathaniel Branden ISBN: 0553268147 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 August, 1985 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: How to Raise Your Self-Esteem : The Proven Action-Oriented Approach to Greater Self-Respect and Self-Confidence by Nathaniel Branden ISBN: 0553266462 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 October, 1988 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The Psychology of Self-Esteem : A Revolutionary Approach to Self-Understanding that Launched a New Era in Modern Psychology by Nathaniel Branden ISBN: 0787945269 Publisher: Jossey-Bass Pub. Date: 19 December, 2000 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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