quaintrelle333's review against another edition
A classic! An exceptional autobiography about one of the great scholars.
srturner's review against another edition
3.0
Long; very long. Samuel Johnson, himself, complained about the difficulty of reading two-hundred year old fiction. My take aways: Dr. Johnson was a sharp conversationalist, who mixed with the literary glitterati of his day and had his own version of an 18th century "Entourage".
ericjaysonnenscheinwriter2392's review against another edition
4.0
I love this book. It is one of the ultimate fantasies of life and literature...two friends and companions, one the persona,the other a patient amnuensis, who devotes himself to capturing that personality in the amber of a transparent prose.
chairmanbernanke's review against another edition
4.0
A notable monument, full of interesting material.
grubstlodger's review against another edition
4.0
This may be one of the very few books where I feel an abridgement is necessary. I plunged through the whole unabridged biography and the amount of times I wondered whether another letter to the publisher about typeface was really required was pretty frequent.
That said, this book was such a rich, engaging and deeply immersive look at Johnson and his coterie (including Goldsmith who I developed a fondness for) that when it came to ending the book, I found myself crying for the death of Samuel Johnson; I'd enjoyed his company that much.
I feel that's probably the sign of a good biography.
That said, this book was such a rich, engaging and deeply immersive look at Johnson and his coterie (including Goldsmith who I developed a fondness for) that when it came to ending the book, I found myself crying for the death of Samuel Johnson; I'd enjoyed his company that much.
I feel that's probably the sign of a good biography.
smardiros's review against another edition
4.0
A quite extraordinary book. More of a portrait of a friendship than that of a man. One is granted an extraordinary perspective into a unique relationship — the wit and the sycophant, the considerate and the callous — and through this relationship, a vision of the period. It's quite enlightening to read the dinner table conversation in London regarding the American Revolution, slavery, and class.
As to the subjects of the books? In general I find Boswell's pettiness and egocentricity quite unappealing, except in the purity of his vast admiration for Johnson. Johnson himself is a stranger fish to categorize. He's a contrarian philosopher who toadies to authority, a strong believer in an unequal society and class who pays as much, if not more respect to manual laborers and craftsmen than to his peers. He strongly opposes the American Revolution but believes slavery to be fundamentally monstrous and unjust — these two go hand-in-hand for him, as he considers the American battle for freedom to be fundamentally hypocritical. In the general, he is bigoted, inconsiderate, classist, sexist, obnoxious; in the specific, he is considerate, kind, apologetic generous. I don't think I like Johnson, but I can understand why his friends valued him.
As to the subjects of the books? In general I find Boswell's pettiness and egocentricity quite unappealing, except in the purity of his vast admiration for Johnson. Johnson himself is a stranger fish to categorize. He's a contrarian philosopher who toadies to authority, a strong believer in an unequal society and class who pays as much, if not more respect to manual laborers and craftsmen than to his peers. He strongly opposes the American Revolution but believes slavery to be fundamentally monstrous and unjust — these two go hand-in-hand for him, as he considers the American battle for freedom to be fundamentally hypocritical. In the general, he is bigoted, inconsiderate, classist, sexist, obnoxious; in the specific, he is considerate, kind, apologetic generous. I don't think I like Johnson, but I can understand why his friends valued him.
soavezefiretto's review against another edition
5.0
I won't deny that it was hard going sometimes, but oh so worth it. I read every line and learned so much. And yes, this is definitely the best biography ever written. Now I just wish someone had written one as good about Boswell. Recommended if you want to read something really good, if you're willing to be surprised, and if you're very patient.