Our 10 Books… list looks easy when compared to reading project undertaken by Christopher R. Beha, who set out to read the 51 books in the Harvard “Five-Foot Shelf” of classics in a year.
Charles W. Eliot, president of Harvard University in the early part of the 20th Century, put together the collection as “a good substitute for a liberal education” for the growing middle class who could not go to college at that time. The set, published by P. F. Collier and Son between 1909 and 1917, contains many of authors one might expect-- from Plato to Thoreau, and from St. Augustine to Darwin.
Beha, 27 at the time, worked his way consecutively through each volume. The beginning of this reading project coincided with his aunt’s finding out she had skin cancer. Beha spent time reading at her bedside as the cancer spread. During his year of reading Beha came down with a case of Lyme disease. So, the consolation of philosophy played a part in his real life.
Beha decided to write a chronicle of his reading experience and produced The Whole Five Feet: What the Great Books Taught Me about Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everything Else. Check the work's website after picking up the book from the library.
There was also a good piece about The Whole Five Feet in the New York Times Sunday Book Review
Charles W. Eliot, president of Harvard University in the early part of the 20th Century, put together the collection as “a good substitute for a liberal education” for the growing middle class who could not go to college at that time. The set, published by P. F. Collier and Son between 1909 and 1917, contains many of authors one might expect-- from Plato to Thoreau, and from St. Augustine to Darwin.
Beha, 27 at the time, worked his way consecutively through each volume. The beginning of this reading project coincided with his aunt’s finding out she had skin cancer. Beha spent time reading at her bedside as the cancer spread. During his year of reading Beha came down with a case of Lyme disease. So, the consolation of philosophy played a part in his real life.
Beha decided to write a chronicle of his reading experience and produced The Whole Five Feet: What the Great Books Taught Me about Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everything Else. Check the work's website after picking up the book from the library.
There was also a good piece about The Whole Five Feet in the New York Times Sunday Book Review
I have to give him credit. I couldn't read the whole five feet. Interesting that this is the second book that I know of to come out recently about the "Great Books", the other one being "A Great Idea at the Time". I think it's interesting, anyway.
ReplyDeleteThere are a number of books in this area, notably: The western canon: the books and school of the ages, by Harold Bloom; The lifetime reading plan, by Clifton Fadiman; and a favorite of mine, Great Books, by David Denby.
ReplyDeleteWe had someone (obviously a reader) come to the desk and ask for all the books on our list. Not quite "the whole five feet"-but I'm impressed!
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