Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates


Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using philosophy (and jokes!) to explore life, death, the afterlife, and everything in between
Thomas W. Cathcart and Daniel M. Klein
1.5/5

First Sentence
"Uh, Daryl, we're still waiting for an answer here. Do you really think you're going to die?"
Publisher's Description:
The new book by the bestselling authors of Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar is a hilarious take on the philosophy, theology, and psychology of mortality and immortality. That is, Death. The authors pry open the coffin lid on this one, looking at the Big D and also its prequel, Life, and its sequel, the Hereafter. Philosophers such as Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Camus, and Sartre have been wrestling with the meaning of death for as long as they have been wrestling with the meaning of life. Fortunately, humorists have been keeping pace with the major thinkers by creating gags about dying. Death’s funny that way—it gets everybody’s attention.

Death has gotten a bad rap. It’s time to take a closer look at what the Deep Thinkers have to say on the subject, and there are no better guides than Cathcart and Klein.

Dear Reader,

This book made me roll my eyes so much they almost fell out of my eye sockets. What do you get when you mix really dumb jokes with basic philosophy? You'd think something interesting and fun, this was the opposite of that. Maybe it wasn't just for me... maybe it was meant for someone with a different sense of humor. The jokes just didn't get me going AT ALL. I laughed maybe once, if even that. However, I do believe there is an audience out there that could be intrigued by a book like this, pre-teen or maybe teens just starting out with philosophy. I could also see this being strongly suited to people who like a light listen in audio book format. I really think this format is the only way to experience the book. I wish I could give this more praise but this just wasn't for me.

Happy Reading,
AmberBug

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