Dead White Guys, Matt Burriesci
Dead White Guys, Matt Burriesci
1 Rating(s)
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Dead White Guys
A Father, His Daughter, and the Great Books of the Western World

Author: Matt Burriesci

Narrator: Lloyd James

Unabridged: 9 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/12/2015


Synopsis

After his daughter was born prematurely in 2010, Matt Burriesci set out to write a book about thirty-two great books, from Plato to Karl Marx, and how their lessons have applied to his life. As someone who has spent a long and successful career advocating for great literature, Burriesci defends the great books in this series of tender and candid letters, rich in personal experience and full of humor.Dead White Guys is a timely defense of the great books, arriving in the middle of a national debate about the fate of these books in high schools and universities around the country. Burriesci shows how the great books can enrich our lives as individuals, as citizens, and in our careers. Extending the argument first made by Anna Quindlen on the act of reading itself, How Reading Changed My Life —“It is like the rubbing of two sticks together to make a fire, the act of reading, an improbable pedestrian task that leads to heat and light”—Burriesci reminds us all of the enormous impact reading has on our lives.

About Matt Burriesci

Matthew Burriesci’s fiction has appeared in numerous literary magazines. From 1999 to 2011 he served in various capacities at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, including the organization’s acting executive director. From 1997 to 1999 he served as the marketing manager for the Tony Award–winning Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier. He received his BA in English and rhetoric from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, studied Shakespeare during an honors seminar at Oxford University, and received his MFA from George Mason University in 2002. He lives in Chicago.

About Lloyd James

Lloyd James has been narrating since 1996, has recorded over six hundred books in almost every genre, has earned six AudioFile Earphones Awards, and is a two-time nominee for the prestigious Audie Award. His bestselling and most critically acclaimed performances include Elvis in the Morning by William F. Buckley, Jr., Ben Hur by Lew Wallace, Searching for Bobby Fischer by Fred Waitskin, and Mystic Warrior by Tracy and Laura Hickman. Lloyd's background as a performer includes extensive work in classical theater and folk music. He lives in Maryland with his wife and children.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Dee on September 24, 2024

When I was in my early twenties, I wouldn't even pick up a paperback if it said, "New York Times Bestseller" on the cover. I always had a respect, love and admiration for the classics, and believed in looking towards the trusted and time-tested masters of whatever field I studied. Though my reading......more

Goodreads review by David on April 24, 2017

Don't let the unusual title freak you out --- this is a book with a creative premise. Matt Burriesci, who has a love for the "Great Books", and a recently born daughter, Violet, whom he loves even more, is worried that the Great Books won't be taught much, if any, as she moves through her school yea......more

Goodreads review by Kris on October 20, 2015

This book is full of contradictions -- it's like the author is trying to give lots of advice to his daughter and readers, but hasn't quite figured out his own worldview yet. He seems to believe in some Christian values, but is not a practicing Christian? He has a chapter on much of the "golden rule"......more

Goodreads review by Annie on November 22, 2024

Matthew Burresci’s Dead White Guys: A Father, His Daughter and the Great Books of the Western World is a blend of memoir and epistle. Burresci shares the wisdom he had learned from Plato, Aristotle, John Locke, Niccolò Machievelli, Michel de Montaigne, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and others and stories a......more

Goodreads review by Ron on January 16, 2018

I just can’t finish it...... not giving me anything worth spending my time on.......more


Quotes

“In an age of moral and political confusion, Matt Burriesci’s Dead White Guys offers a passionate, erudite remedy, mixed with a father’s gentle humor and deep love.” Dinty W. Moore, author of Between Panic and Desire