Confucius in 90 Minutes

By: Paul Strathern

Narrated by: Robert Whitfield

Confucius knew all about life and told us how to behave, but we can't find out precisely what he was up to. His well-meaning platitudes, quaint maxims, and quasi-enigmatic anecdotes combined to produce an ideal philosophy for civil servants. It would appear that his aim was to turn his pupils into good government officials, but his teachings succeeded beyond his wildest expectations, providing rules of conduct and spiritual fodder for more than two thousand years.

In Confucius in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern offers a concise, expert account of Confucius's life and ideas and explains their influence on man's struggle to understand his existence in the world. The book also includes selections from Confucius' work, a brief list of suggested readings for those who wish to delve deeper, and chronologies that place Confucius within his own age and in the broader scheme of philosophy.

©1999 Paul Strathern (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Well-written, clear, and informed, they have a breezy wit about them. I find them hard to stop reading." (The New York Times)

Exceptional

Great place to start learning for the beginner. Great for those with concentration and focus stuggles. Straight forward and to the point with bits of subtle humor here and there.

Entertaining read of Confucius

Author and reader have charming sense of humor. Minimum everyone should know about being a good person.

Very good.

Gave me exactly what the title promised. It's well written, easy to follow, entertaining and narrated by one of my favourites: Robert Whitfield.

In 90 Minutes Series overview

If you could sum up Confucius in 90 Minutes in three words, what would they be?
aka Cliff Notes

Would you recommend Confucius in 90 Minutes to your friends? Why or why not?
Yes - I've listened to each book in the series about a major philosopher that is available on Audible. Strathern's books don't have the analytical depth found in Will Durant's "The Story of Philosophy" books, but he does a good job summarizing each philosopher's biography, major philosophical points, and criticisms. Additionally, Strathern's breadth is broader than Durant's in that he covers a greater number of philosophers. I believe that the time spent listening to these books has been well-spent.

My reviews for each book in the series about a philosopher are identical.

What about Robert Whitfield’s performance did you like?
Voice is clear, well-modulated, and easily understood, even at 1 1/2 speed.

Surprised at the basis in this one.

I’ve listen to 4 “... in 90mins” titles and was surprised by the author’s lack of understanding and at times disrespect for Confucius. I think he’s entitled to write his books how every he wants but felt like it was a deviation from his other work. He even includes a section saying that western and eastern philosophers believe that they will never understand each other.

I don’t think this the case but I’ve got one foot in each camp. I think Jonathan Haidt’s book The Righteous Mind sheds some light on this. Post Enlightenment thinkers come from “strange culture,” conceptualizing the world as a series of individual things, as compared to “orthodox culture” that conceptualizes the world as a series of relationships between things. Though they both have the ability to understand each concept, the starting place or the focus of their world view begins with one and not the other.

Title was fine. It’s a decent place to start with Confucius if you understand the author is not acting as remotely as an academic and occasionally sticks his foot in his mouth.