There is substance in this book – and depth. Yet the reading is delightful. Of course I knew David Brooks from television. Of course I knew he also wrote. I now have a much greater appreciation of the work of this nuanced thinker.

Today when mature men walk down my favored block in a lucky part of the nation for their daily constitutional — in the middle of the day — a reflection that achievements of character may weigh in even over achievements of resume is a refreshing thought. Furthermore, in a day when the few remaining moralist preachers are of necessity shrill and schmaltzy in order to get a hearing, and holding any traditional notion of character is seen as backward and tending toward the obstruction of progress, a work that is at once morally aspiring and also nuanced and examined is – the rarest of gems.

Thank you, David Brooks. Everybody else – who has the IQ and reading ability – run to get this book. Read it. Twice. Then buy copies for your children, cousins, and neighbors.