ON THE UNSERIOUSNESS OF HUMAN AFFAIRS

What They're Saying...

"For Father Schall, everything having to do with a liberal education, whether acquiring or imparting it, is among the most 'unserious' of human occupations, and therefore—as he is at pains to disclose—the most important. He will be most pleased if a reader of this book has plenty of fun along the way and finishes by taking himself a bit less seriously."
— The Review of Politics

"On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs is an enthusiastically recommended contribution to the study of contemporary philosophy and welcome reading for anyone with an interest in the nature and relevance of the arts to the quality and substance of human life."
— Wisconsin Bookwatch

"James V. Schall, a Jesuit priest and professor of government at Georgetown, is one of the most valuable participants in the public life of our nation's capital; against the political obsessiveness of his neighbors, he proposes a more reasonable understanding of what life is all about."
— National Review

"Readers will not go wrong "wasting" the time it takes to cavort with the eternal truths presented, with such an enervating spirit of fun, in On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs."
— National Catholic Register

"Schall has some important things to say. He urges letting the world go by, realizing that it will all vanish some day and there are things more important than the daily hustle…We must pursue the so-called useless, which he says is 'the best thing about us'"
— Philadelphia Inquirer, December 6, 2001

"One would expect that an author, having written a book entitled On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs, might wish to revise the title of his work to reflect the unrelenting seriousness of events in our post-September 11 world. Not so in this case. For these are essays that, at a time when we would rather ponder anything else, call us to consider both the insignificance of what we deem critical, and the significance of what we deem 'unserious.' As such, they make for good reading in these straitened circumstances."
— Washington Times, December 16, 2001

"Recruiting philosophy and literary theory into an inspirational narrative, Father Schall will appeal to fans of C.S. Lewis, Chesterton, and Peter Kreeft."
— Publishers Weekly, October 15, 2001

"What is entrancing about [his writings] stems from the religiously informed perspective suggested by the book's title-that the most human actions (see the subtitle) aren't necessary but recreational-and from Schall's citing and reciting of ideas that his career as a teacher has verified, such as the observation of Saint-Exupery's Little Prince that the only time that counts is the time we 'waste' with friends."
—Booklist, October 1, 2001

"'It's hard to keep up with his writing. He's a reproach to us all, he's so prolific.'"
—George F. Will, as quoted in the Washington Times

"Another gem from Fr. Schall, that combines delightful readability with utter practicality. A worthy successor to Joseph Pieper's classic Leisure, the Basis of Culture. Schall is the best literary matchmaker I know: after you read him you just have to go out and buy a dozen great books, which, having been his lifelong friends and sources of wisdom, become yours. His latest book is (as befits a lover of Chestertonian paradoxes) Countercultural, and therefore culturally relevant; 'unserious' and therefore serious; personal and particular and therefore universal."
—Peter Kreeft, Professor of Philosophy, Boston College

"Professors only very rarely possess Schall's combination of erudition, thoughtfulness, clarity, and self-confidence."
—Peter Augustine Lawler, Professor of Political Science, Berry College

"James Schall has reminded us of an eternal verity: that great wisdom can to be found in things considered foolish. In an age where our discussions are all too grim, this book opens the window to a fresh, reorienting breeze."
—Frederica Mathewes-Green, Author, The Illumined Heart

"Schall's call to take seriously the unseriousness things of life is clearly, cleverly, and creatively stated."
—Perspectives on Political Science

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