Nicholas J. Pappas
Published: 2011
Total Pages: 203
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The reader of this book is invited to enjoy a tasty feast of bite-sized philosophical dialogues. One reader might choose to enjoy a single dialogue at a time. Other readers might prefer to try a few at a time, in a “dim sum” approach to thoughtful inquiry. Either way, the reader will find a variety of individual themes that reflect upon each other and add up to a larger discussion. Sections center on notions including Peace, Dread, Daring, Ignoring, Hiding, Doubt, Sparks, Time, Patience, Fluff, Dwelling, Revealing, Stepping Back, Knowing, Worry, and Gratitude. As with the author's previous two books with Algora, the main character, Director, leads his interlocutors through an analysis of the issues in question in each dialogue. Sometimes the characters reach agreement; sometimes they don't. But in all cases light is shed on the questions at hand. Readers will find that the book stimulates thought about important topics, and that, if read with other people, it stimulates conversation. A reader might not agree with the conclusion that the characters draw in a particular dialogue, or even how they handled the discussion, but the reader will often find him or herself smiling nonetheless. Like Nick's previous two books, the style here is that of a Platonic dialogue; the language is concise, pointed, and fun.