The Good Person Guidebook: Transforming Your Personal Life by Richard Bayer, PhD

Release date: 2008 / 274 pages

Synopsis (from back cover): “What type of person should you be? What should you do when faced with a decision of ethical importance? Those are the two key questions that everyone should answer, and The Good Person Guidebook helps you answer them and [learn how to] overcome suffering, learn the true meaning of love, and develop the character traits that will make you happy and fulfilled.”

Review: I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I agreed to review this ARC, and this feeling only increased when the book arrived and was formatted as a small, daily inspirational book (in some ways). I was also surprised that it felt a little “indoctrinating.” It is put out by an organization called “The Five O’Clock Club” for professionals, managers, and executives.

The Five O’Clock Club describes themselves as “special. We attract upbeat, ambitious, dynamic, intelligent people… most people’s salaries range from $30,000 to $400,000 an much more… The original Club was formed in Philadelphia in 1993. It was made up of the leaders of the day, who shared their experiences ‘in a spirit of fellowship and good humor.’”

I had never heard of this club and was a little unsure of how to approach this handbook. On the one hand, it has a lot of interesting information about ethics and morality and does not only focus on one discipline, whether religious or philosophical. On the other hand, I took quite a few philosophy courses in college and felt as if much of this book was a review — which is not bad, of course. But it seemed a little disjointed, like it was trying to teach everything about ethics, without leaving anyone out.

So, if you are interested in learning about morality and ethics in general, with some nice pointers on how to apply the ideas to your life, then you may enjoy this little book!

If you would like the chance to win a copy of this book, simply drop me a comment!

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