The Art of Loving

By Erich Fromm and Cpn2113 Cae

Book Overview

"Every line is packed with common sense, compassion, and realism." -- FortuneThe renowned psychoanalyst and social philosopher Erich Fromm has helped millions of men and women achieve rich, productive... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061129739
• ISBN13: 9780061129735
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.5" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

Waste of time

No real advice. I would not read this book again. It was a waste of my time.

Read it, then give a copy to the people you care about

I have reread this book more than any other that I own, partly because it's short, but mostly because Fromm is such a lucid and perceptive writer. I simply cannot recommend this book highly enough. I don't agree with all of it -- his take on homosexuality, for instance, which may or may not be attributable to the day in which it was written -- and many readers may not care for the way he frames behavioral patterns in psychoanalytic terms. That said, you can read right past those stylistic elements, because his prose is positively oozing with compassion. I don't think it's overly dramatic to say that it would take me longer to convey how excellent this little book is than it would take you to read it.

The art of real love.

This book belongs on the life changers shelf in the bookstore. Because modern man is alienated from himself, from his fellow men, and from nature, we seek refuge from our aloneness in the concepts of love and marriage (pp. 79-81). However, psychologist and social philosopher, Erich Fromm (1900-1980), observes that real love "is not a sentiment which can be easily indulged in by anyone." It is only through developing one's total personality to the capacity of loving one's neighbor with "true humility, courage, faith and discipline" that one attains the capacity to experience real love. This should be considered a rare achievement (p. vii). The active character of true love, Fromm observes, involves the basic elements of care, responsibility, respect, and knowledge (p. 24).Readers will be disappointed if they approach this book as a how-to book. Rather, Fromm's 1956 classic is more of an exploration into the theories of brotherly love, motherly love, erotic love, self-love, and the love of God (pp. 7-76), and an insightful examination into love's disintegration in contemporary Western culture (pp. 77-98). We are starved for love, yet all our attempts to attain love in Western society are bound to fail. However, like art, Fromm observes that real love is possibile with discipline, concentration, patience, and a supreme concern for mastering love (pp. 99-123). For anyone interested in what it means to love, Fromm's book is a must read.G. Merritt