LIFE AS A PRECIOUS GIFT | LETTERS TO MY TEENAGE FRIENDS | EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW...
LIFE AS A PRECIOUS GIFT | LETTERS TO MY TEENAGE FRIENDS | EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW...
EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT SAVING THE WORLD I LEARNED BEFORE I WAS TEN!
By Craig Franklin and Gary HutchinsonA manual for human survival- a humorous sojourn through serious subject.
Drawing on the diaries he kept between the ages of six and ten, the author presents his early observations (consistently entertaining!) that supported his contention, at ten, that saving mankind and building an “Eden” on Earth was really a rather simple, straightforward and logical undertaking which should - he believed - take him only a matter of weeks to achieve. This little book approaches, with humor, the very serious topic of building a world-wide, humanity-friendly society, and describes the obstacles the author ran into during his sixty-plus year “mission” to implement his early findings. Although he contends it all boils down to following one simple guideline, he provides two-dozen “Agreements” (“for those who feel the need for more”), which if followed, he believes can provide a safe, happy, productive human race, overflowing with love, compassion, helpfulness, and indomitable self-esteem.
Review by
Leslie Goodpasture
Professor of Social Philosophy and adoptive parent of four
Although a fifteen word title certainly is not the longest on record, it does grab your attention – as will its delightful and important content. Drawing on passages from the early diaries of Craigy Franklin – an orphaned, perceptive, young genius, sincerely out to save the World – the author (Craigy, grown up) illustrates 24 positive Social Agreements he believes we must each accept and regularly model if mankind is to survive and improve as a species.
Young Craigy’s combined brilliance and naiveté allowed him to cut to the chase. He saw saving the World as a simple task (“…two weeks at the most”). Initially, and in the end, Craigy boils it down to two simple rules based on positive values – “Do right and be nice!” Along the way he asks important questions, which allow the thoughtful reader to reassess, regroup and grow (perhaps, even, save the World!).
His vocabulary was well beyond his years and since it was new to him, it was fresh and precise and devoid of superfluous meaning. Craigy delighted in words. He delighted in his family, in people in general, and in life itself. In turn, the reader will delight the lad’s humor – that which he intended to write and that which just evolves as the passages are viewed through the adult perspective. Early on, Craigy found that people fell easily into two main groups – those with SFL’s (stuff focused lives) and the HFL’s (humanity focused lives). He discovered and confronted that most pernicious of all social monsters – the Yesbutt (“folks who are probably terrified of giving up the status quo [and are]…primarily between the ages 30 and 60.”).
Much of the book’s power emanates from the never stated, though clear contrast of its simple, natural, people-centered setting (the 1940’s in the rural, Midwestern, United States) with the artificially complex life styles of today.
This thoroughly delightful little book is must reading for every human being who is sincerely interested in seeing that his species survives and grows in comfort through many generations to come.
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LIFE AS A PRECIOUS GIFT
By G.F. Hutchinson, Ph.D.A collection of three short books about Values, Life and Living
This volume is a collection of three short books: Love's Several Faces, Getting One's Priorities in Order and A Sense of Precious.
The first explores the concept of love and suggests that the wide ranging, often indiscriminant, use of the term has rendered it confusing if not all quite meaningless. An alternative set of precise terminology is suggested to simplify conversation, sharpen our thinking, and enhance our deepest mental functioning.
The second book talks about values, how to discover them, set them into a meaningful hierarchy, and make sure you actually live your life according to them. Its postulates that these three steps are essential for a happy, well-adjusted, humanity-friendly life.
The third work presents the belief that preciousness is an essential, basic, predisposition that everyone must possess and demonstrate in his approach to living. The author traces the downward path he sees mankind following without it, and provides numerous clear and practical suggestions for instilling it in our children.
Taken together these presentations provide a brief and simplified version of Dr. Hutchison's social philosophy - Reciprocal Esteem.
Review by
Beth Ann Prescott-Finch, Ph. D.
Professor of Social Philosophy, London
Life is precious - or should be. Love is extraordinary but confusing. Values are elusive but must be discovered, clearly stated, properly "set" into one's Deep Mind and arranged into a meaningful sequence.
These are the premises Dr. Hutchison sets forth in this collection of three of his most widely read and influential books. In each, he simplifies the concepts to their basic ingredients, offers a liberal array of real life examples and makes specific, down-to-earth suggestions.
His basic postulate is that if the human species is to survive in a safe, ever-maturing, productive, manner there is one clear and simple direction society must move:
"If I had to boil that thesis down to just a few words it would be these: Acting in accordance with our unique human capacities - those that raise us above all other creatures in the known universe - requires that people must first regard one another positively and take good care of one another as altruistic kinsman." [From the Introduction]
If you have read Dr. Hutchison before, you will realize he leaves nothing hanging. He blends history, social theory, psychology, current events, common sense and personal experience as he methodically weaves his offering into a neat, concise, uncomplicated presentation.
If you are concerned about or merely interested in the roles that personal and social values can (and must) play in fostering the good life for all human beings, this book will intrigue you. If you recognize that love has been so broadly construed that as a term it is now meaningless and confusing, you'll find this book immediately helpful. If you share Dr. Hutchison's concern about the growing lack of respect for universal human wellbeing and life itself, you must read this book.
I forewarn you. You cannot read this book and remain unchanged. You cannot read this book without feeling a renewed sense of purpose and direction. I recommend it for all ages, high school level and above.
LIFE AS A PRECIOUS GIFT | LETTERS TO MY TEENAGE FRIENDS
EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW...
LETTERS TO MY TEENAGE FRIENDS
By Gary Hutchinson, Ph.D.An old guy who used to be a teenager
LETTERS TO TEENAGE FRIENDS
For more than thirty years, Dr. Hutchison has made it his practice to follow up many of the informal chats he has had with young people with a letter in which he summarizes the advice or the information he provided. Sometimes he includes an article he has written on the topic. Other times, he asks questions that he thinks the young person needs to be thinking about. This is a collection of 20 letters, which he wrote to some of his teenage friends. The topics are the same topics that teens of every era have had to struggle with: love, anger, values, self-assertion, self-confidence, making your point, competition, cooperation, happiness, the future, what it means to live a good life, priorities, relationships and even some information about how the mind is structured and how knowing that can help make life go along easier.
Review by
Wilma Ripsche
Youth Librarian, Cincinnatti
Upon finishing this little book, the first words out of my sixteen-year old's mouth were, "Let's get the next volume." Sadly, this is the only volume currently available.
It is a compilation of 20 letters Dr. Hutchison (he signs his name Gary) wrote to some of his teenage friends. Each letter was written in response to a question he was asked directly or inferred from some behavior which he observed. The topics are timeless. They represent the themes that have plagued adolescents since society began. The opening letter is a moving and touching piece in which he skillfully points out to a young man why he could not possibly be the worthless creature he makes himself out to be.
Many of the letters reflect and even explain in a simple, concrete way Dr. Hutchison's social philosophy, which he calls, Reciprocal Esteem. He talks about values - what they are, how they are acquired, and why it is absolutely essential to develop and become committed to a positive set of values during the teen years. In one, illuminating letter, he reduces the concept of Peer Pressure to pure fiction, making a strong point that such an "excuse" merely reflects the individual's lack of commitment to a strong, personal, positive value system.
At the end are included two short essays. One is a delightful tale from his own pre-school days when he discovered the tremendous positive power of a simple smile. He examines the truth of that discovery with a surprisingly clear explanation drawn from psychology, sociology, philosophy and neurology. The final essay is a clearly written, powerfully convincing, summary of Reciprocal Esteem, which he simplifies in this way. "We all respect one another's basic human rights, and always only do to and for each other those things which we thoughtfully believe will be best for all concerned in the long run."
Teens will find this book friendly, enlightening and comforting. Parents will find it instructive and reassuring. Teachers will be reminded that the most significant challenges of adolescence seldom occur within a stone's throw of a classroom. "Dr. Gary," we are eagerly awaiting the next volume.ADD LETTERS TO MY TEENAGE FRIEND TO MY SHOPPING CART