Amerika

A reader writes:

I received my copy last week and took Thursday off to read. I am very much enjoying it. I may have to order my wife her own copy, as she is becoming impatient.

Another reader says:

[A] week ago you wrote a short article in which you asked for pictures of copies of “Nihilism”. Here is a picture of my copy which arrived today.

With such readers, the book has succeeded beyond my hopes. The emails, reviews and mentions out there are responsible for briefly restoring my faith in humanity, specifically between 3:13 AM and 3:17 AM last Tuesday. The above reader is correct in that some time ago, I encouraged people to send in their pictures of the book so that they could be published here. This request is still open not in the least because it is great fun to see all these copies showing up from across the world.

Nihilism: A Philosophy Based In Nothingness And Eternity also received a review from internet apocalypse/whiskey/sex/robotics hub groin.com, which is (fair disclaimer) one of our sites, but run by an entirely different staff:

Nihilism by Brett Stevens (2016) Highly Recommended.

Are you ready to challenge your basic assumptions about humanity? If you answered yes, then I would highly recommend you add this book to the end of summer reading list. Its author keeps the readers turning the pages by strongly challenging basic assumptions about whether modern civilization is on the right track or not. Stevens argues that society is in denial about how bad things are, like in Voltaire’s Candide. His condemnation of society as well as his remedies both challenge the reader to brainstorm with him about how it could be possible to get civilization back on track. He avoids fatalism by not saying everything is doomed. But rather suggests his own solutions, which is refreshing (whether or not you necessarily agree with all of them). The author believes that much less government imposed order would be beneficial to humanity. This is interesting because it evokes some libertarian principles. There is Rousseau/Hobbesian inspired state of nature aspects to this book. At the same time it is ironic. Since it crosses with a form of Jacksonian social Darwinism, which is looked down upon by scholars traditionally (yet has always had populist appeal). A highly provocative book, for deep thinkers. – Steve C.

Tags: book reviews, faith in humanity, Nihilism: A Philosophy Based in Nothingness and Eternity