具体描述
How to Read a Book, originally published in 1940, has become a rare phenomenon, a living classic. It is the best and most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader. And now it has been completely rewritten and updated.
You are told about the various levels of reading and how to achieve them — from elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading, you learn how to pigeonhole a book, X-ray it, extract the author's message, criticize. You are taught the different reading techniques for reading practical books, imaginative literature, plays, poetry, history, science and mathematics, philosophy and social science.
Finally, the authors offer a recommended reading list and supply reading tests whereby you can measure your own progress in reading skills, comprehension and speed.
There are over 190,000 copies in print of this classic guide to getting the most from your reading.
作者简介
Mortimer J. Adler was Chairman of the Board of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Director of the Institute for Philosophical Research, and Honorary Trustee of the Aspen Institute. He authored more than fifty books.
目录信息
Preface
PART ONE
THE DIMENSIONS OF READING
1. The Activity and Art of Reading
Active Reading
The Goals of Reading: Reading for Information and Reading for Understanding
Reading as Learning: The Difference Between Learning by Instruction and Learning by Discovery
Present and Absent Teachers
2. The Levels of Reading
3. The First Level of Reading: Elementary Reading
Stages of Learning to Read
Stages and Levels
Higher Levels of Reading and Higher Education
Reading and the Democratic Ideal of Education
4. The Second Level of Reading: Inspectional Reading
Inspectional Reading I Systematic Skimming or Prereading
Inspectional Reading II: Superficial Reading
On Reading Speeds
Fixations and Regressions
The Problem of Comprehension
Summary of Inspectional Reading
5. How to Be a Demanding Reader
The Essence of Active Reading: The Four Basic Questions a Reader Asks
How to Make a Book Your Own
The Three Kinds of Note-making
Forming the Habit of Reading
From Many Rules to One Habit
PART TWO
THE THIRD LEVEL OF READING: ANALYTICAL READING
6. Pigeonholing a Book
The Importance of Classifying Books
What You Can Learn from the Title of a Book
Practical vs. Theoretical Books
Kinds of Theoretical Books
7. X-raying a Book
Of Plots and Plans: Stating the Unity of a Book
Mastering the Multiplicity: The Art of Outlining a Book
The Reciprocal Arts of Reading and Writing
Discovering the Author's Intentions
The First Stage of Analytical Reading
8. Coming to Terms with an Author
Words vs. Terms
Finding the Key Words
Technical Words and Special Vocabularies
Finding the Meanings
9. Determining an Author's Message
Sentences vs. Propositions
Finding the Key Sentences
Finding the Propositions
Finding the Arguments
Finding the Solutions
The Second Stage of Analytical Reading
10. Criticizing a Book Fairly
Teachability as a Virtue
The Role of Rhetoric
The Importance of Suspending Judgment
The Importance of Avoiding Contentiousness
On the Resolution of Disagreements
11. Agreeing or Disagreeing with an Author
Prejudice and Judgment
Judging the Author's Soundness
Judging the Author's Completeness
The Third Stage of Analytical Reading
12. Aids to Reading
The Role of Relevant Experience
Other Books as Extrinsic Aids to Reading
How to Use Commentaries and Abstracts
How to Use Reference Books
How to Use a Dictionary
How to Use an Encyclopedia
PART THREE
APPROACHES TO DIFFERENT KINDS OF READING MATTER
13. How to Read Practical Books
The Two Kinds of Practical Books
The Role of Persuasion
What Does Agreement Entail in the Case of a Practical Book?
14. How to Read Imaginative Literature
How Not to Read Imaginative Literature
General Rules for Reading Imaginative Literature
15. Suggestions for Reading Stories, Plays, and Poems
How to Read Stories
A Note About Epics
How to Read Plays
A Note About Tragedy
How to Read Lyric Poetry
16. How to Read History
The Elusiveness of Historical Facts
Theories of History
The Universal in History
Questions to Ask of a Historical Book
How to Read Biography and Autobiography
How to Read About Current Events
A Note on Digests
17. How to Read Science and Mathematics
Understanding the Scientific Enterprise
Suggestions for Reading Classical Scientific Books
Facing the Problem of Mathematics
Handling the Mathematics in Scientific Books
A Note on Popular Science
18. How to Read Philosophy
The Questions Philosophers Ask
Modern Philosophy and the Great Tradition
On Philosophical Method
On Philosophical Styles
Hints for Reading Philosophy
On Making Up Your Own Mind
A Note on Theology
How to Read "Canonical" Books
19. How to Read Social Science
What Is Social Science?
The Apparent Ease of Reading Social Science
Difficulties of Reading Social Science
Reading Social Science Literature
PART FOUR
THE ULTIMATE GOALS OF READING
20. The Fourth Level of Reading: Syntopical Reading
The Role of Inspection in Syntopical Reading
The Five Steps in Syntopical Reading
The Need for Objectivity
An Example of an Exercise in Syntopical Reading: The Idea of Progress
The Syntopicon and How to Use It
On the Principles That Underlie Syntopical Reading
Summary of Syntopical Reading
21. Reading and the Growth of the Mind
What Good Books Can Do for Us
The Pyramid of Books
The Life and Growth of the Mind
Appendix A. A Recommended Reading List
Appendix B. Exercises and Tests at the Four Levels of Reading
Index
· · · · · · (收起)
读后感
我是抱着虔诚的学习的心态翻开这本书的，但是内容太令人失望了。 但是不得不说，你得弄清楚此书作者期望的受众群体，即所谓停留在阅读第一阶段的外国小朋友或者大朋友们。 首先第一大缺点，繁冗晦涩。如果你确实是停留在阅读第一阶段的人，此书的详尽理论上可以满足你的需求...
评分本书售价38元人民币，对我的价值却远远超过这个纸面价值。他不仅仅告诉我如何去科学的阅读一本书，最重要的是让我避免了去花很多时间阅读那些对我无用的书，提高了我的生命效率。 我从中学到的一些道理： 慎读书 在开始读一本书之前，你应该先决定自己读什么样的书，你的读...
评分一本不值得阅读的书，就不值得把它阅读好，这是真理。对一个读者而言，大部分的书籍，并不值得认真读，停留在作者所谈到的阅读的第二层面（检视阅读）就足够了。 可是，大部分人还没学会检视阅读或者说略读呢，这本书的意义，对于大部分人来说，在于前50页，前50页教了一套让...
评分对这本书很失望. 看着豆瓣上的很高评价, 阅读之前我对这本书非常期待. 我希望能籍此提高我的阅读和理解能力. 但是, 在我抱着 "万分积极主动" 的态度读完该书, 却不得不说: 这本书或许适合别人, 不适合我 -- 它太拖沓了; 它可能更适合在校学生来了解阅读的多样性, 并拓宽知识...
用户评价
读完这本书，我有一种强烈的感受：作者似乎在小心翼翼地回避真正的“实用技巧”。它更像是一份阅读的“道德经”，教人如何“应该”阅读，而非如何“快速”阅读。书中关于如何提问、如何标记、如何构建个人知识系统的论述，总是停留在一种非常抽象的、理想化的层面。举个例子，当他谈到如何“解构”一本书的论点时，他描述的流程仿佛需要读者拥有一个全职研究员的精力与时间投入。现实生活中的我，可能只有晚上九点到十点这段时间能留给阅读，我需要的是能立刻在接下来的三十分钟内看到成效的策略，而不是一套需要我重塑生活习惯才能勉强实现的阅读哲学。这种理想化的构建，让这本书的指导性大打折扣。它更像是为那些已经拥有大量闲暇时间、并且对阅读本身抱有宗教般虔诚态度的“纯粹读者”准备的指南。对于我这样的普通人——希望在有限的时间内，从信息洪流中榨取出有效营养的求知者——这本书提供的帮助，更像是精神上的安慰剂，而非物理上的导航仪。它肯定了阅读的崇高性，但对付世俗的阅读焦虑，效果微乎其微。
评分这本书的语言风格如同十九世纪的学术论文，严谨、精确，但同时也充满了繁复的长句和晦涩的术语，如同走在铺满鹅卵石的小路上，每一步都需要仔细掂量落脚点。它的论证过程是密不透风的，几乎不允许任何含糊不清的解释存在，这一点值得称赞。然而，这种对完美表达的追求，却牺牲了阅读的流畅性和愉悦感。我常常需要反复朗读一句话，才能确保没有误解作者在限定条件、排除例外和定义边界时所设置的层层保护网。这种阅读体验，与我期待的“与智者的对话”相去甚远，更像是一场高强度的逻辑辩论赛，我必须时刻保持警惕，生怕自己一个走神，就错过了作者埋下的一个关键转折点。对于那些渴望通过阅读放松心情、激发灵感的人来说，这种持续的智力拉扯，只会带来疲惫。这本书更像是一本需要被“攻克”的教科书，而非一本可以被“享受”的指南。它对读者的要求太高了，高到让人望而却步，尽管其核心思想或许并无那么难以企及。
评分这本书的阅读体验简直是一场迷宫般的探索，但并非那种令人振奋的、直达目标的探险，更像是在一片茂密的知识森林中迷失方向。我原以为它会提供一张清晰的地图，指引我如何高效地穿梭于浩瀚的书海，学会区分“略读”和“精读”的微妙边界，然而，它给我的感觉更像是一本详尽记录了造纸术发展史的古籍，每一个段落都充满了对“阅读行为本身”的哲学思辨，却鲜有直接、可操作的阅读技巧。比如，作者花了大量的篇幅讨论“理解的层次”，从基础的事实认知到复杂的批判性评估，这无疑是深刻的，但当我合上书本，试图立即应用这些理论去攻克一本晦涩的专业著作时，我发现自己仍然像一个初学者，拿着一把过于精密的瑞士军刀，却不知道该用哪一把刀片去切开眼前的难题。它似乎更关注阅读的“意义”而非“方法”，这使得那些渴望快速提升阅读效率的人可能会感到挫败。这种过于理论化的倾向，让原本应该轻盈愉悦的知识获取过程，蒙上了一层沉重的学术面纱，仿佛作者在告诉我，在你能“真正”阅读之前，你必须先成为一名合格的哲学家。我期待的是一套实用的工具箱，结果得到了一套关于“工具箱应该如何设计”的理论模型，这中间的落差，着实让人有些意难平。
评分这本书的结构，坦率地说，像是一座宏伟但略显臃肿的大教堂，其建筑学上的精妙令人赞叹，但对于一个只想快速找到洗手间的访客来说，无疑是令人晕眩的。它的论述充满了周期性的回环和深入的自我引用，每当我觉得自己终于抓住了某个核心概念的脉络时，作者又会将话题拉回到更宏观的视角，用一种近乎布道者的口吻，重新定义他刚刚介绍的那个术语。我不得不承认，作者的学识是渊博的，他对不同时代阅读范式的变迁有着惊人的洞察力，仿佛他能“预知”每一位读者的阅读困惑。然而，这种全知全能式的写作风格，无形中拉远了与普通读者的距离。书中大量的例子都来源于那些经典名著，这对于浸淫在人文社科领域多年的学者来说或许是如鱼得水，但对于习惯了快餐文化和网络摘要的我来说，跟不上这种语境的跳跃速度。我常常需要停下来，在脑海中重构作者所引用的那些早已被时间冲刷的文本背景，才能继续领会他当前想要表达的观点，这无疑极大地拖慢了我的阅读节奏，让原本应该是一次轻松的知识充电，变成了一场高强度的文化考古。我更希望看到的是对当代阅读挑战的直接回应，而不是对历史文献的深度挖掘。
评分如果说阅读是一门手艺，那么这本书更像是一部关于这门手艺材料科学的百科全书，而不是一本教你如何握紧工具、雕刻木头的操作手册。它对“阅读”这个行为的解剖，细致入微，达到了病态的程度，每一个环节都被拆解成了更小的、理论上可分析的单元。这种拆解的深度，无疑展现了作者惊人的分析能力，但对于实际操作层面的帮助却微乎其微。例如，书中谈论了如何识别作者的“意图”，这一部分的内容极其丰富，但它更多的是提供了一系列批判性的框架，而不是具体的扫描或标记技巧。我读完后，依然感觉自己像个拿着显微镜观察细胞结构的生物学家，对细胞的构造了如指掌，却不知道如何快速地将其移植到培养皿中进行生长。这本书更像是一份宏大的理论宣言，它试图为阅读建立一个坚不可摧的知识殿堂，但它忘记了，大多数读者只是想知道如何在那座殿堂里，找到通往出口的最快路径。它的价值在于启发思考，而非立即解决问题，这使得它在“实用性”的评估中，得分严重偏低。
评分: G792-62/A237-1/rev ed.
评分補mark2010年讀過
评分Luckily, it is obtained, while not too late; sadly, it has not been made compulsory, as it should be.
评分Kindle读完的第一本英文原版书，对立志从事社会科学方面的人很有裨益。
评分how to read a book
相关图书
本站所有内容均为互联网搜索引擎提供的公开搜索信息，本站不存储任何数据与内容，任何内容与数据均与本站无关，如有需要请联系相关搜索引擎包括但不限于百度，google,bing,sogou 等
© 2026 qciss.net All Rights Reserved. 小哈图书下载中心 版权所有