Summary of Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren's How to Read a Book

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The modern world is full of information, but not all of it is necessary to understand. We do not have to know everything about something in order to understand it. Too many facts are often as much of an obstacle to understanding as too few.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669390626

IRB Media

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Book preview

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The modern world is full of information, but not all of it is necessary to understand. We do not have to know everything about something in order to understand it. Too many facts are often as much of an obstacle to understanding as too few.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

Reading is an activity, and all reading is active. The more active the reading, the better. Reading is similar to catching a ball in baseball: the more you participate, the better you will be at it.

#2

The analogy between reading and writing is that of a ball. The ball is either completely caught or not. Reading is a complex activity that involves a large number of separate acts. The person who can perform more of them is better able to read.

Insights from Chapter 3

#1

The art of reading is the process of elevating your understanding by the power of your own mind. It is a major effort, and it requires not only more varied activity but also much more skill in the performance of the various acts required.

#2

The distinction between reading for information and reading for understanding is deeper than just the goal of gaining new information. It is also about how we read. For example, we can read a newspaper or magazine for information, or we can read it for understanding.

#3

Reading for information is not the only reason to read a book. You can also read a book for entertainment, which requires less effort than reading for understanding. However, any book that can be read for understanding can also be read for entertainment.

Insights from Chapter 4

#1

There is a distinction between being informed and being enlightened. To be informed is to know simply that something is the case. To be enlightened is to know what it is all about: why it is the case, what its connections are with other facts, in what respects it is the same, in what respects it is different, and so forth.

#2

The difference between learning by instruction and learning by discovery is that in the former, the learner acts on something communicated to him, while in the latter, he acts on nature or the world. Thinking is more closely associated with research and unaided discovery than with being taught.

#3

The art of reading includes all of the same skills that are involved in the art of unaided discovery: keenness of observation, readily available memory, range of imagination, and, of course, an intellect trained in analysis and reflection.

Insights from Chapter 5

#1

If you are not in school, your ongoing education depends on books alone. If you want to continue learning and discovering, you must know how to make books teach you well. That is the primary goal of this book.

Insights from Chapter 6

#1

There are four levels of reading: Elementary Reading, Intermediate Reading, Advanced Reading, and Mastery Reading. The first level is about learning the rudiments of the art of reading and receiving basic training in reading.

#2

The third level of reading is called Analytical Reading. It is a more complex and systematic activity than either of the two levels of reading discussed so far. It makes more or less heavy demands on the reader, depending on the difficulty of the text.

#3

The fourth and highest level of reading is called Syntopical Reading. It is the most complex and systematic type of reading. It makes very heavy demands on the reader, even if the materials he is reading are relatively easy and unsophisticated.

Insights from Chapter 7

#1

The first historical trend is the United States’ commitment to educating all of its citizens, which has led to widespread literacy. The second is the teaching of reading itself, which has been refined and improved over the past century.

#2

There have been many different methods of teaching elementary reading over the years, and none of them was successful for all pupils. The current books have a long ancestry, and every innovation carries in its train a posse of suspicious and, one feels, unpersuadable observers.

Insights from Chapter 8

#1

There are at least