Lost in the Cosmos The Last SelfHelp Book edition by Walker Percy Literature Fiction eBooks
Download As PDF : Lost in the Cosmos The Last SelfHelp Book edition by Walker Percy Literature Fiction eBooks 
“A mock self-help book designed not to help but to provoke . . . to inveigle us into thinking about who we are and how we got into this mess.” (Los Angeles Times Book Review).
Filled with quizzes, essays, short stories, and diagrams, Lost in the Cosmos is National Book Award–winning author Walker Percy’s humorous take on a familiar genre—as well as an invitation to serious contemplation of life’s biggest questions.
One part parody and two parts philosophy, Lost in the Cosmos is an enlightening guide to the dilemmas of human existence, and an unrivaled spin on self-help manuals by one of modern America’s greatest literary masters.
Lost in the Cosmos The Last SelfHelp Book edition by Walker Percy Literature Fiction eBooks
Imagine a young man, freshly graduated from a mediocre State College. He studied music, or painting, or sociology, i.e. something a bit idealistic in ambition but rather quite useless to him in actual practice. He is in a used bookstore in a large Northeastern Metropolis and comes across a book entitled, "Lost in the Cosmos". He is intrigued. He flips intently through the book to ascertain if the little money he has to his name should be used to buy it. Certainly the title speaks to him. He, too, feels lost--maybe not "in the cosmos" so much but certainly in his own general vicinity. Nonetheless, little of the book quite makes sense to him. Let's face it, he wants to *stop* feeling lost, not go further into this awful feeling. He wants an answer, one that he can understand. He wants to be found, dammit! So, he puts the book down and moves on.Twenty years later the man--now, alas, not so young--has been reading the novels of Walker Percy, e.g. "Love in the Ruins", or "Lancelot" and is reminded of "Lost in the Cosmos". He finally orders it online. After two decades of self-loathing masquerading as inflated notions of self-worth; after a lifetime of so many bad choices followed by even worse choices (punctuated by some really monumentally bad choices bordering on the comical) he finally reads the book.
He starts to get it, or so he hopes. The book explains his own life so brilliantly, not just his to be sure, but virtually everyone he knows. It is so pitch-perfect in laying out the dilemma of the free-floating, postmodern, nihilistic, autonomous self--and the various attempts to overcome this empty nothing we feel ourselves to be--that he is finally stunned into silence. More than anything else he finds this silence compelling. A choice is required. One that he has been studiously avoiding his entire life. He is lost in the cosmos--he always had been--but now, thank God, he finally knows it.
Do you:
A) Dismiss this review as the self-inflated pomp that it actually is and instead purchase something more entertaining or perhaps watch an episode of your favorite show on the internet? Nothing wrong with a little diversion, is there?
B) Buy the book and find out for yourself just exactly how lost you are?
Choose one.
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Lost in the Cosmos The Last SelfHelp Book edition by Walker Percy Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
Given as gift as part of their list. It was appreciated ! It arrived in good shape.
Im still lost
This book is spectacularly brilliant in what it has to say about the postmodern condition of mind and soul. Percy had a uniquely gifted insight into the nature of dread and boredom that no can match while at the same time his penetrating wit produces a laugh out loud response. This is a must read....there isn't another self-help book ever written that can hold a candle to it. You will come away with a renewed mind and spirit and have more insight than a lifetime of counseling.
This book is not for everyone. It is now a little dated and makes a number of references to popular culture that you might not get if you didn't live through the 80s (if you don't know who Donahue is, substitute Montel and you'll get the idea). But if you want a book that makes you really examine what you believe about your life and how it fits into the universe, then you will enjoy this fun, quirky romp through the cosmos, and, more importantly, through yourself.
I just happened to see this book in a university bookstore one day. Total serendipity. The subtitle of the book grabbed me immediately "The Last Self-Help Book". It seems that all I did in the 80s was read self-help books, without much effect. Was this THE ONE?
At the start of the book he gives a Preliminary Short Quiz, to find out if you even want to take the Twenty-Question Self-Help Quiz to find out if you even want to read the book. The witty writing style and thought-provoking questions had me hooked. I devoured the book and reread it several times. There are a number of things in the book that I still remember today after 30 years. His entertaining and enlightening takes on fashion and depression are two chapters that come to mind. This book definitely changed the way I think about myself and my place in the world. It also inspired me to read every Walker Percy book I could find which was a treat in itself.
I think that one of the more important things he does in the book is that he reestablishes the place of Man as a creature above all creatures by using science and philosophy. He doesn't need to bring in Genesis or any type of religious argument to do it. But, he explains, because we are unique among all creatures (self aware, triadic interactions), we are also lost because the self is the one thing you can't get outside of to study and examine. He makes his points with all sorts of imaginative scenarios, entertaining answers and thought-provoking narrative.
I recently decided to reread the book again and it is still an incredible adventure. You might still be lost after you finish, but at least you'll have some idea as to why.
Imagine a young man, freshly graduated from a mediocre State College. He studied music, or painting, or sociology, i.e. something a bit idealistic in ambition but rather quite useless to him in actual practice. He is in a used bookstore in a large Northeastern Metropolis and comes across a book entitled, "Lost in the Cosmos". He is intrigued. He flips intently through the book to ascertain if the little money he has to his name should be used to buy it. Certainly the title speaks to him. He, too, feels lost--maybe not "in the cosmos" so much but certainly in his own general vicinity. Nonetheless, little of the book quite makes sense to him. Let's face it, he wants to *stop* feeling lost, not go further into this awful feeling. He wants an answer, one that he can understand. He wants to be found, dammit! So, he puts the book down and moves on.
Twenty years later the man--now, alas, not so young--has been reading the novels of Walker Percy, e.g. "Love in the Ruins", or "Lancelot" and is reminded of "Lost in the Cosmos". He finally orders it online. After two decades of self-loathing masquerading as inflated notions of self-worth; after a lifetime of so many bad choices followed by even worse choices (punctuated by some really monumentally bad choices bordering on the comical) he finally reads the book.
He starts to get it, or so he hopes. The book explains his own life so brilliantly, not just his to be sure, but virtually everyone he knows. It is so pitch-perfect in laying out the dilemma of the free-floating, postmodern, nihilistic, autonomous self--and the various attempts to overcome this empty nothing we feel ourselves to be--that he is finally stunned into silence. More than anything else he finds this silence compelling. A choice is required. One that he has been studiously avoiding his entire life. He is lost in the cosmos--he always had been--but now, thank God, he finally knows it.
Do you
A) Dismiss this review as the self-inflated pomp that it actually is and instead purchase something more entertaining or perhaps watch an episode of your favorite show on the internet? Nothing wrong with a little diversion, is there?
B) Buy the book and find out for yourself just exactly how lost you are?
Choose one.
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