Review Of Personalities And Problems

Review of Personalities and Problems

Ken Wolfe's Personalities and Problems is a good book that goes into depth about many important figures in history. Each personality that is discussed has played a vital role in how the world has come to be and how it is run; politically, religiously, and even as far as explorations and trade is concerned. Wolfe depicts each personality very well and gives great examples of what each personality has accomplished in his/her lifetime. Each chapter is broken down into groups of two people which have certain similarities or specific differences that link the two together. For example, in his preface, Wolfe states that he grouped Hammurabi and Mahivara together because their actions reflected the dominant values of their society. Each chapter or essay begins with a series of questions that Wolfe answers about the society or personality at hand. His work is laid out very well and concisely.

Personalities and Problems is a balanced work in that it has the same layout for each group of personalities. Wolfe goes into each chapter with the notion that the reader has no previous knowledge of the situations and people he speaks about. As I mentioned earlier, each chapter's participants have something in common or some characteristic that completely contrasts the others. He goes into full detail about what the similarities or differences are between the personalities which he is discussing. One example uses Asoka and Shi Huangdi and compares them to honey and vinegar. He then goes into telling how Asoka believes that it is most effective to run a government by moral persuasion and that Shi Huangdi feels that coercion is the most effective way to govern people. This is just one example of how he states the differences of the two personalities he discusses in a chapter. When Wolfe discusses Confucius and Plato, he states first states that they both agree that only virtuous people could create a peaceful community, but Confucius believed that all humans were good, and Plato believed that people were too easily deceived by greed.

I have to say personally that this work is very important for a couple of reasons. I feel that the way in which Wolfe portrays each individual is quite good. He goes into how each civilization was run both before and after the discussed personalities reigned and lived. Personalities and Problems gives us a solid look into each person's life and the teachings, beliefs, and governing methods. He also describes the living conditions of the civilians and how the societies in which they lived operated. He even lets us see what the people thought of their leaders and what was expected of each citizen in the state.

As I take the question about who I would like to have dinner with into consideration, I looked for the people with qualities that either I have or qualities that I enjoy in other people. The most important thing to me about a person is what they have to offer to the world and weather they are able to accomplish their goals. Each personality that I selected touches on at least one of these requirements of mine. As I read each chapter, I was able to see many people that I would like to have a meal with or spend an evening talking to. I narrowed down my list based on how relevant each personality was to my idea of a good leader.

The first person I would enjoy spending a moment with at a dinner table is Louis XIV. I chose Louis because he had a strong work ethic and was adamant about hard work and people taking care of their responsibilities. He felt that hard work was what made large state systems work properly. He was a very goal oriented man who controlled his followers and citizens to the best of ability in his mind. He was not a person that would waiver his ideas because someone questioned him and was the type of ruler that felt personally responsible for the welfare of his subjects. Although, however fight major wars in which he extended his lands and the amount of people he reigned over. The excessive price of war, both in money and lives, made it difficult for Louis to keep his desire for power alive and to improve the lives of his people. The main reason I enjoyed reading about Louis and wanting to have dinner with the man is his strong will to succeed and doing whatever he needed to do in order to do so.

My second dinner guest goes by the name of Hammurabi. Hammurabi was a very active leader who came up with a long list of 300 laws which he engraved in a large pillar located in what is now Baghdad, Iraq. This list of laws has become known as "Hammurabis Code." One of his chief concerns was to make justice appear in his land and to destroy all evil and wicked so that the strong could not and would not oppress the weak. According to his code, he is very much for the idea of retaliation and revenge on others. Another important thing to Hammurabi is marriage and how it is the "legal contract aimed at the production of children and the safeguarding of property for both parties." Hammurabi states in his code that, "if a male is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall