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The Art of Worldly Wisdom: A Collection of Aphorisms from the Work of Baltasar Gracian
by Baltasar Gracian (Translator: Martin Fischer)
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Inner City Books/see Bookworld (1994-02-24)
ISBN: 1566191335
EAN: 9781566191333
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 208 pages
SKU: 20380
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Hardcover. No Dust Jacket. All pages clean and free of marks.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Written 300 years ago, Gracian's work draws on his observations of statesmen and people in power who managed to combine material and worldly success with ethical behaviour.
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Customer Reviews
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Classic
Rating  (5)
Date: 2010-03-11
If you are a fan of The Art of War and other polical and social theory books, then this book should be added to your collection. Even though this book was written in the 1600s the concepts and advice is still relevant today whether you are in politics or corporate America.
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Mandatory
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-01-12
Buy several, give them away. I bought extra to give to my nephews. Tried to steal the first one from my best friend when I first read it. He kindly directed me where to buy one. Cannot travel without a pocket version. Make your own bookcovers for these and bring them everywhere. There are too few gentlemen out there as it is, and most think you have to be effeminate to be one. Give them as gifts! Indispensable.
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Only for certain appetites
Rating  (4)
Date: 2007-11-30
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
I own this book and read it over a prolonged period. You cannot read this book in 2-3 days; you have to sip it slowly like a good, calm dessert wine.
The language is strange at first and the aphorisms take a while to get used to, however once you grow an appetite for this type of writing, you quickly realize that good writers transgress time/civilizations.
His aphorisms are all applicable today not simply because they are nebulous but because they speak to the ways of the world in the context of global civilization and is agnostic to time.
Hope this helps.
-Richie Etwaru
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Interesting Book
Rating (4)
Date: 2007-01-04
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
I heard about this book from an online newsletter. Some of it is very interesting, but the translation into English leaves something to be desired. Some of it is very obscure and difficult to understand. After awhile I found it to be repetitive and it got a bit boring.
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The "Art of War" for office politics
Rating (4)
Date: 2006-10-16
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
These 300 maxims by the disobedient Jesuit of the 17th century are practical rules to live by if you would succeed in human society. While not rising (or sinking) to the level of Machiavellian, it must be stated that pragmatism is the guiding light behind this guide to advancement in life. It's not strictly immoral, and indeed Gracian urges the cultivation of virtue, but it also recognizes the fact that one's success depends on the approbation of a fickle, superficial and jealous humanity which sometimes has to be treated with guile, cunning and artifice when flattery, style and native talent just won't cut it. While the idealist might shrink from the book's subject matter, the realist will smile at its insightfulness.
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