The Second Mountain

The Quest for a Moral Life

By: David Brooks

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Everybody tells you to live for a cause larger than yourself, but how exactly do you do it? The author of The Road to Character explores what it takes to lead a meaningful life in a self-centered world.

“Deeply moving, frequently eloquent and extraordinarily incisive.”—The Washington Post

Every so often, you meet people who radiate joy—who seem to know why they were put on this earth, who glow with a kind of inner light. Life, for these people, has often followed what we might think of as a two-mountain shape. They get out of school, they start a career, and they begin climbing the mountain they thought they were meant to climb. Their goals on this first mountain are the ones our culture endorses: to be a success, to make your mark, to experience personal happiness. But when they get to the top of that mountain, something happens. They look around and find the view . . . unsatisfying. They realize: This wasn’t my mountain after all. There’s another, bigger mountain out there that is actually my mountain.

And so they embark on a new journey. On the second mountain, life moves from self-centered to other-centered. They want the things that are truly worth wanting, not the things other people tell them to want. They embrace a life of interdependence, not independence. They surrender to a life of commitment.

In The Second Mountain, David Brooks explores the four commitments that define a life of meaning and purpose: to a spouse and family, to a vocation, to a philosophy or faith, and to a community. Our personal fulfillment depends on how well we choose and execute these commitments. Brooks looks at a range of people who have lived joyous, committed lives, and who have embraced the necessity and beauty of dependence. He gathers their wisdom on how to choose a partner, how to pick a vocation, how to live out a philosophy, and how we can begin to integrate our commitments into one overriding purpose.

In short, this book is meant to help us all lead more meaningful lives. But it’s also a provocative social commentary. We live in a society, Brooks argues, that celebrates freedom, that tells us to be true to ourselves, at the expense of surrendering to a cause, rooting ourselves in a neighborhood, binding ourselves to others by social solidarity and love. We have taken individualism to the extreme—and in the process we have torn the social fabric in a thousand different ways. The path to repair is through making deeper commitments. In The Second Mountain, Brooks shows what can happen when we put commitment-making at the center of our lives.

Critic reviews

Praise for David Brooks

“David Brooks’s gift—as he might put it in his swift, engaging way—is for making obscure but potent social studies research accessible and even startling.”—The New York Times Book Review

“At his best, Brooks is a normative version of Malcolm Gladwell, culling from a wide array of scientists and thinkers to weave an idea bigger than the sum of its parts.”—USA Today

“Brooks’s considerable achievement comes in his ability to elevate the unseen aspects of private experience into a vigorous and challenging conversation about what we all share.”—San Francisco Chronicle

I had to force myself to get through it.

I have read almost all of David Brooks' books enthusiastically. This one was rough, as it is the product of his midlife crisis, The book tries to find meaning in life where sometimes there just is none. Your marriage failed you, your party failed you and there is less ahead than behind. He's just looking for meaning in something new, This all leads to what feels like a disjointed book with a forced overarching theme that falls flat. He should stick to social commentary and political analysis rather than venturing into introspection and self-improvement.

Not what I expected

Worth listening but heavy on the intimate and personal story of religious peregrinations of the author, not relevant to more skeptical audience.

Love is essence of relationalism

I deeply appreciate David Brooks as a political commentator and as a source of wisdom based on his day to day life experiences that are expressed so well in his writings and tv presence. Keep the faith and keep sharing your perspectives.

An Inspiring Read

Amazing insight into the human condition and our American society. I highly recommend this book to anyone is on the quest to life a happier more satisfying life.

Everyone should hear/read this book!

While I don't necessarily agree with all of his ideas, I think he makes really good points that will make you open your mind to possibilities to enjoying a more fulfilling life.