Be A Mensch

I found this slim trade paperback an engaging and thought-provoking anthology. According to Wikipedia, "Mensch (Yiddish: מענטש mentsh; from German: Mensch, for "human being") means 'a person of integrity and honor'." (Something I point out only because I've heard people use it in context as if a “mensch” meant “patsy”.)
The contributors present their philosophies on mensch-hood, grounded in Judaism and including ideas as diverse as psychological theory, game theory, immunology, business theory on what makes a mensch. From backgrounds including imprisonment in a Soviet stalag, religion, business, psychology and medicine, they explore how living with integrity benefits both a mensch and society as a whole.
These essays are both self-help and philosophy: self-help not as an exhortation, but as an examination of personal experience and application of the philosophies explored by each contributor.
It is not necessary to be Jewish to benefit from a close reading of these essays. Full disclosure: I am not Jewish, but was raised in a suburb that was at least half Jewish, so I have had extensive exposure to most of the religious concepts and cultural milieu represented here. Personally agnostic, I do not subscribe to the Torah, Bible or Koran as the sole repository of the wisdom of the Deity, but do see that they all share some common values. I believe open minded people of other faiths, or no faith at all, would find considerable value in these essays. ( )

A brief and rather uneven anthology on the benefits of developing a good character. The best pieces were Sarah Yoheved Rigler's introduction, Judith Mishell's "Psychological Benefits of Good Character" and editor Moshe Kaplan's concluding chapter. In between are essays and excerpted book chapters from the perspectives of a corporate CEO, a scholar of game theory, and a doctor studying psycho-neuro-immunology, among others. A quick and moderately enjoyable read, but ultimately not recommended. ( )

I was excited to receive this book through the LibraryThing Early Review program because I was raised with and inspired by the idea that Jewish values are conducive to success. The book, however, was disappointing. I felt that it did not live up to its subtitle, "why good character is the key to a life of happiness, health, wealth, and love", and that the best elements of it were already familiar to me through other readings.

Furthermore, I felt that some of the essays even undermined the book's goal. In Chapter 2, businessman Howard Jonas describes how his kindness to an old woman saved his early hot dog business -- because her son was a gangster who successfully threatened a would-be competitor into setting up elsewhere. To me, this story is disturbing, not heart-warming.

In Chapter 6, Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb argues that it is best (and holiest) to do good without thought of reward, which seems out of place in a book that advertises itself as showing how good character leads to individual reward.

The essays that I liked had ideas that I had already read about in greater depth, such as the benefits of cooperation presented in game theoretic form by Nobel laureate Robert J. Aumann, which I already knew of from many sources, including Robert Axelrod's Evolution of Cooperation.

Similarly, I had already read the moving story told by Natan Sharansky in his memoir, Fear No Evil.

While this book might be more valuable to someone quite a bit younger than I am (middle-aged) who had been exposed to fewer ideas, I think many would be encountered in a good college education. As a Bar/Bat Mitzvah present, I would sooner give the books that I mentioned above, Fear No Evil (which is Jewish) or The Evolution of Cooperation (which is universal), which go into greater depth and are internally consistent. For light reading, I'd prefer Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul. ( )

This is a varied collection of essays on character from a Jewish perspective. It's quite a mixed bag. I expect most readers will find some essays that they really enjoy, and others that don't speak to them. Although all the essays do treat the central theme of character in some way or another, I still found that the essays didn't cohere together as a whole. Although that is probably to be expected to some degree in any such collection of essays, I found it more the case than I would have liked here. ( )

An interesting concept, but not terribly well executed. The essays are only loosely held together, with some being more anecdotal than self-help, and not all ending up at the same theme. Two of the stories are particularly engaging, but the rest fizzle out like unwanted advice. I actively disliked one of them for some of its implications. Overall it's a short read that passes on a largely secular-applicable message to "be a good person." If you are looking for something short, not overly religious, and generally "feel-good," it's worth a read. If you are not predisposed to tolerance for self-help books, though - pass. ( )