(...)This, as any other books by the renowened analyst and sociologist is richly textured with insights on the human condition, on its psyche and healing. It is as valueable as any of his books and the next too reviews do a good job of a synopsis of what this book deals with. In every book or article authored by Fromm you will find an author who is compassionate, caring, with a wide breadth of knowledge and an vast depth of enquiry and sensitivity.

Some have critisized Fromm for being too analytical, and putting too much emphasis on rationality and abstract conceptualizing and too little on measurable evidence, laboratory experiments, statistics and the like. But to me this seems to miss the point. Our reasoning does have limitations due to our social upbringing, our character and idiosyncrasy, our logical limitations and discrepancies vis a vis the complexity of the world, etc. But being aware of these limitations and being actively involved in examining them, evaluating them, and in a sense knowing their limitations does give us the right to make estimates and to develop hypothetical constructs that might or might not reflect reality more or less accurately. Social Science is an art, and as any art it is an imperfect endeavour. Logical positivism has been written off in the annals of history for good. For me the most important test for a theory is how well, and in what detail, and to what extent, it explains the physical, social, psychic etc. phenomena around us with some degree of internal coherency, accuracy and scope.

And in this respect Fromm's ideas have, and will continue to be, exemplary, his thought as relevant in our modern neo-liberal capitalist "democracies", as in the rest of the world, as ever. He is a creative ("productive" in his own words)force to be reckoned with.

This book contains his pearls of wisdom on the art of listening, on the art of therapy and on the art of living. I would heartily recommend it to anyone in the therapeutic vocations as well as to the individual who just wants to be inspired and enlightened.

This book answered my question why sometimes when slums are converted into nice neighborhoods, why those neighborhood have a tendency to become slums again (pag 68-69). Dr, Fromm explains that unless the whole individual is help to modify his personality (( his super-ego) : the way he thinks , act, feels, behaves, etc... , unless we modify all those things simultaneously, many of the hundreds of millions of dollars in aid will be almost wasted, because it must be an INTEGRAL overall program to be able to help people to succeed in life . This should be arequired book for all the presidents of third world countries, so that the international aid funds can be used more effectively, to obtain more development in their respective countries.

Get a copy of this book. It can change your life. A must read before you leave the face of this earth. An insightful and wise view of life, other people and the world you live in. Fromm is the best. Thank God he lived and wrote everything down for us, and all we have to do is learn from it. After Fromm, you have no excuses for not "getting it".

Get a copy of this book. It will change your life. A must read before you leave the face of this earth. A refreshing look at yourself, other people and the world you live in. Fromm is the best!

Rainer Funk brings together the most lucid and poignant passages from Fromms oeuvre. The chapters are concise and the ideas are cogently presented. In Fromm's humanistic writings and critiques one, of course, finds references to Marx and Freud. However, one can equally recognize the insights of Heidegger, Nietzsche and even the mystic traditions of Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism and Christianity. Fromm's insights on capitalism and the 'having' mode of being are incredibly insightful and should offer the reader a great deal of reflection, especially in context with today's consumerism. Yet, in contrast, Fromm offers suggestions to free oneself from the limited and pernicious sensibilities of materialism and pecuniary greed. This collection will be an excellent complement to Marx, Veblen and Marcuse, and an indispensible introduction to Fromm and the Frankfurt school.

This compilation of Fromm's writing, speeches, and interviews surrounding the topic of "having" versus "being" was very well compiled. Editor Funk takes relative material throughout Fromm's career and organizes it into a flowing, readable format; Not to mention the amazing insight Fromm covers when addressing this pertinent concept. Anyone seeking an alternative vision of how to live life more fully, and more humanistically should read this, as well as the rest of Fromm's writings. He was a genius.

This book is the first book that goes so far and deep into unknown territory. It gives answers to many questions on gender differences and issues. The way sex and love affect our societies and us personally. By all means, read it, digest it and you will never look at people the same way. Since I've read the book I have started to discover another human quality: the matriarchic or patriarchic personality types.

Another masterpiece of life and love by Erich Fromm.

Meister Eckart once asked, "How can anyone live without being instructed in the art of living and dying?" Examining what it means to truly live, psychologist and social philosopher, Eric Fromm (1900-80) drafted the manuscript of this book as a supplement and expansion to his book, TO HAVE OR TO BE. This book, which is somewhat uneven, is not so much a how-to book on how to live life more meaningfully, but an insightful exploration into the theories of escaping the "shackles" of greed and illusion that prevent us from realizing our full potentials for self-awareness, well being, independence, and the capacity to love.

The "average man today," Fromm observes, thinks very little for himself, and his capacity to concentrate has become "a rarity" (pp. 44, 89). We are a composite of data presented by schools and mass media, and we know very little from our own observations and thinking. We live our lives by the political, idealogical, and religious cliches that appeal most to our character and social class. Fromm encourages his reader to avoid the false paths ("shams") in the field of human enlightenment, and to also avoid "trivial talk." Instead, we should pursue self-awareness through the difficult practices of concentration, meditation, psychoanalysis, and breaking through the consumer/property structure of our existence.

G. Merritt

Erich Fromm has spent many years studying the corners of our human psyche. We go to school to learn biology, chemistry, physics, economics but we do not take any courses on how to live.

Mr. Fromm has made an intense effort to help us realize that we are who we want to be. There is a genetic structure that leads everyone of us in their own direction. However, nature is only one of the forces behind our development. As we become aware of who we are - our fears, strengths and weaknesses, we begin to understand how little we know about ourselves.

Looking inside is a wonderful way to begin seeing the world around us. Erich Fromm is allowing us to become more comfortable with who we are, where we are, and where we want to go!

Enjoy the book and the River of Life!

This book is an expansion of his book entitled "To Have or to Be". One should not read one without the other. Highly recommend both,as an insight into the art of trying to function in this life as a whole, real person in this consumer driven world.

This is a collection of formerly unpublished works by Fromm. Please take my advice to read this only after you are familiar with Fromm. I made the mistake of reading it before I knew of Fromm's works. The essays contained serve to reinforce his studies and theories. Most who are reading this as their first Fromm book will find his essays insufficient. I was particularly at a loss regarding the Meister Eckhart and Karl Marx essays.