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.

Most people read at an elementary level. Common print media -- newspapers, magazines -- are geared to this first level, that of eighth or ninth grade. Reading at this level is simple and unsophisticated. It is a fairly simple procedure. As someone once said, "You just pick up a book and look at every word until you've seen them all."

The second level of reading is inspectional. Two steps are performed simultaneously. The reader skims, or pre-reads, by studying the title page, preface, table of contents, index, dust jacket and a chapter or two. He thumbs through the book, reading a bit here and there. Then he reads the entire book superficially without bothering whether he understands it or not. I might argue that if you don't understand what you're reading, you're not reading at all. However, this is the kind of reading I do when I'm selecting a book to review. It is just the beginning.

Adler and Van Doren argue that this kind of superficial reading can prepare a reader for enjoying more difficult works. "The tremendous pleasure that can come from reading Shakespeare, for example, was spoiled for generations of high school students who were forced to go through 'Julius Caesar,''As You Like It,' or 'Hamlet' scene by scene, looking up all the strange words in a glossary and studying all the footnotes," write the authors. "As a result, the never read a Shakespeare play. By the time they reached the end, they had forgotten the beginning and lost sight of the whole...They should have been encouraged to read the play at one sitting and discuss what they got out of that first quick reading. Only then would they have been ready to study the play carefully and closely because then they would have understood enough of it to learn more."

The book describes how to be an active reader. A clue for the average reader: Active readers don't go to sleep over books. The third level of reading is analytical reading, which is what book reviewers do. The reader classifies the book, reads it carefully, determines the author's message and evaluates how well it's presented and compares it to comparable works.

Adler and Van Doren cover subjects like classifying books, x-raying them, determining the author's message, how to criticize a book fairly, and the role of relevant experience in reading. They then go on to describe the different approaches to various kinds of reading -- practical books, imaginative literature, plays, stories, poems, history, science, mathematics, social sciences, and philosophy.

The highest level of reading, synoptical reading, is the reading of several books on a particular subject. They describe how to select a bibliography (which I found truly useful), how to narrow the subject, how to inspect the material. The five steps of synoptical reading are included in this chapter.

Reading is a search for truth, and truth can be found only through thoughtful comparison and discussion. "The truth then, insofar as it can be found -- the solution to the problem, insofar as that is available to us -- consists rather in the ordered discussion itself than in any set of propositions or assertions about it...thus, in order to present this truth to our minds -- and to the minds of others -- we have to do more than merely ask and answer the questions. We have to ask them in a certain order, and be able to defend that order."

Sunnye Tiedemann (aka Ruth F. Tiedemann)


Foundational to all non-fictional reading   December 9, 2000
 300 out of 305 found this review helpful

"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested" (Francis Bacon). This is one of those books.

How to Read a Book is a classic guide to intelligent reading and my opinion is that it should be standard reading, particularly for the college-bound student. Don't let the title fool you. This book is not a simplistic review of what you learned in the second grade. The book is divided into four parts.

Part one includes what Adler calls the first two levels of reading: elementary and inspectional reading. In total he sets forth four levels of reading: elementary reading, inspectional reading, analytical reading and synoptical reading. He proceeds to tell us that reading is an active process since the teacher is not available to deliberate. In keeping with this activity we are told how to read faster while comprehending more, how to find answers to our questions from within the book and how to make the right kind of notes in the book.

Part two contains the third level of reading: analytical reading. "Reading a book analytically is chewing and digesting it" (p.19). We now learn how to determine the type of literature we are reading, what type of structure it has and we learn that we must come to grasp with the author's vocabulary. The point of all this is to understand the message of the author. If we are unable to state the author's message concisely in our own terms, we have learned nothing. Only after we first understand what the author is saying, can we begin criticize him fairly. Once we have read analytically, we can agree with the author, disagree with him or we can postpone judgment until we have learned more if we wish. Adler suggests that we do not consult other study helps until we first have read the book analytically. This will deaden our ability to read and think for ourselves as well as confuse the message of the author.

Part three tells us how to read different types of literature including practical books, imaginative literature, stories, plays, poems, history, philosophy, science, mathematics and social science. Each type of literature has it's own vocabulary, propositions, arguments, and questions that must be asked of it. This section is particularly helpful in applying the basic rules of reading to the type of literature that is to be read.

The final part of the book is dedicated to the ultimate goals of reading. The first goal is the fourth and final level of reading: synoptical reading. Synoptical reading is the reading of different works on the same subject with a view to constituting a general view on the subject. The idea is to read a number of books on a given subject, as objectively as possible, and withhold judgment and criticism of all the books until you understand the different perspectives. This is the bread and butter of research and is the best way to understand any given subject matter, which is why this book is vital to the college student as well as anyone with academic pursuits. This is also the way to become educated as opposed to being indoctrinated. The last of the two ultimate goals of reading is to expand your mind for further understanding. Your mind is like a rubber band in that when it is stretched, it never fully returns to its original shape.

I found this book to be highly organized and thoroughly outlined. The back even contains two appendices with a list of recommended books and exercises at the four levels of reading. It is essentially a "how to" book therefore it's contents are very practical and immediately helpful.


How to read more deeply   October 31, 2000
 103 out of 115 found this review helpful

How To Read A Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren is a very useful book for anyone wishing to give their books a more thoughtful, in-depth reading.

The book does have an agenda to push. That agenda is to see more people go beyond high school reading levels. The authors begin by reviewing how America got to the point where almost everyone could read, but very few people could read well. They offer the techniques in this book as a path from this superficial knowledge of reading to a deeper understanding of how to read more effectively and more deeply.

The book breaks down the levels of reading. They present four levels of reading: Elementary, Inspectional, Analytical, and Syntopical.

The most time and attention is given to Analytical writing. The authors present ways to read more analytically. They also lay out rules for giving a book a fair analytical reading. I found this part very helpful personally.

The other three levels of reading are treated in much less detail. Each is more presented than taught. The authors demonstrate how each level is dependent on the one preceding it.

This book is very well put together and nicely laid out. One can tell that this was a labor of love by the authors. A feature that I found particularly interesting was the suggested reading list in the back of the book.

How To Read A Book will be helpful to any reader who desires to learn how to read more deeply. I recommend it.


The best reference book you can have!!!!   October 29, 1999
 56 out of 56 found this review helpful

Now in my last year of law school, I found myself extremely angry upon completing this book. How invaluable this book would have been if I had read it before reading the hundreds of books that were assigned to me in high school, college, and law school. Why didn't anybody tell me about this marvelous gem?!! But the good news is that I have my entire life ahead of me, and I will begin putting this book to use right away.

Anybody who hasn't bought this book yet, stop reading and buy it NOW!

Anybody who knows somebody about to enter high school, college, or graduate school, or who is serious about education and the pursuit of knowledge in general, buy this book for them NOW and they will be forever grateful!!


Changed My Life   July 3, 2000
 46 out of 48 found this review helpful

I know that the title of this review may seem over the top but this little work has in fact changed my life. A friend of mine recommended this book during my first year of college. I had been struggling through my literature and history classes, bogged down with reading. In the book Mr. Adler taught me what it means to really read and listen and to extract meaning from a work. I have applied my reading skills not only to books but also my relationships. My GPA rose a full point after reading this and my critical listening skills were greatly enhanced. The book may seem a bit dry at first but it is well worth reading. Every high school student should have a copy.