Road to Character (Subject)

The book that I picked to read was The Road to Character by David Brooks.  This book is mainly about how to improve one's character.  Brooks sets up the book by discussing Adam I and Adam II which are described as the two different sides of all us: the hard working side that actually takes action and the side that wants to work hard and wants to things to become successful, but does not fully commit.  The focus of the book is how to overcome Adam II and make Adam I the dominant force within so we actually take action when we want to make a change or a positive difference.  Brooks uses eight different well known successful people of the world as examples of the eight different things characteristics create good character: being self summoned, self-conquest, struggle, self-mastery, dignity, love, ordered love, and self examination.  Through these people, he showed how each specific characteristic helped these people become successful in their lives.  Brooks developed these ideas by comparing a person from the beginning to the end.  As each person learned to develop the characteristic, they became better people, who were goal driven, and ended up being successful.  He starts off the chapter by showing the flaws of the character, to show things they needed to work on in order to achieve the specific characteristic.  when describing the characters journey, he does not sugarcoat anything.  He talks about the struggles and mistakes they made and the failure that they went through.  Brooks admits many times throughout the book, that developing ones character is not easy; it takes perseverance and self control, which, in my opinion, are two very difficult things to master.  By mentioning the common themes of perseverance and self control, Brooks is able to emphasize how important it is to be patient with yourself and keep trying when working on each the different characteristics.  By finishing up with their successes, Brooks shows how all the hard word, blood, sweat, and tears are all worth it in the end.  He doesn't make it seem like a hopeless cause or fight.  He successfully encourages readers that one can achieve good character by developing all these characteristics through perseverance and self control.