The Road to Character
David Brooks
Move beyond the pursuit of professional status to cultivate the "eulogy virtues" that define a person’s true legacy. By analyzing the moral journeys of diverse historical figures, you will learn how to transform personal struggles into a foundation for lasting character and profound inner depth.
The Conflict of the Two Adams
Explores the fundamental tension between our external drive for success and our internal quest for moral depth through the lens of Adam I and Adam II.
Résumé Virtues vs. Eulogy Virtues
The Moral Bucket List
The Crooked Timber Philosophy
The Summoning and the Struggle
Examines how Frances Perkins and Dwight Eisenhower transformed their personal weaknesses into professional and moral strengths.
The Summoned Life
Sacrificing the Self for the Mission
The Art of Self-Conquest
The Strategy of Victories
The Grace of Suffering and Duty
Details how Dorothy Day and George Marshall found meaning through redemptive suffering and institutional commitment.
Redemptive Suffering
The Discipline of Radicalism
The Institutional Mindset
The Ethics of Reticence
The Power of Dignity
Focuses on A. Philip Randolph and the development of self-respect through restraint and public character.
The Calm Center
The Strategy of Restraint
The Victory of the Soul
The Transformation of Desire
Uses the lives of George Eliot and St. Augustine to show how reordering one's loves can lead to moral agency.
From Neediness to Love
The Habit of Sympathy
The Restless Heart
Ordering Your Loves
Wrestling with the Self
Follows Samuel Johnson’s relentless battle against his own nature to achieve moral realism and self-correction.
The Moral Realist
The Habit of Self-Correction
The Value of the Struggle
The Humility Code
Synthesizes the book's lessons into a practical framework for building character in the modern world.
Defining True Humility
The 15 Rules for Character
The Road to Redemption
Living for the Eulogy
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Interactive Socratic dialogue, level by level