[.ca] Striking Thoughts (ISBN 0804834717)

Philosophy? Did you say philosophy?:
Once more, the people responsible for Bruce Lee's, ahem, legacy are attempting to boost the '70s star's image, this time drifting to a different domain: philosophy. What you get here is a collection of notes, aphorisms, quotes and thoughts, taken from conversations, interviews, and book margins (sic), arranged in conceptual order by the usual suspect (a.k.a. Mr. John Little). What you _really_ get is a mishmash of tangled thoughts, usually associated with a teenager's epiphanies on things philosophical. There is nothing (repeat, NOTHING) you will find in this book that can't be found in an "Anthology of philosophical thought through the ages" of sorts -run a search with the words "philosophy" and "anthology" here, in Amazon, and you'll get 18,067 results most of them much more concrete, I'm sure. In a nutshell, and for those wanting to avoid the rest of my ramblings, there's *nothing* original between it's covers. End of story. The problem with the book isn't that the thoughts contained herein are bad -they aren't and thoughts generally aren't, anyway. The problem is they are (a) extremely banal and (b) simply one more effort to present Lee as something he wasn't -this time as a philosopher. OK, we all know that Lee took philosophy in college (whatever that means) but a _philosopher_ he wasn't and this book is -even to a superficially trained eye- the living, breathing proof, despite the editor's trials. Speaking of the editor, his introduction, where pseudo-philosophical language has been employed to present Lee's "methods" is the book's funniest part, mostly due to it's portentous, self-important style. Another hilarious thing about it (and that's also an editor's choice, I presume) is that Lee is presented here as the source for all the answers -not "all the answers about the martial arts" but "all the answers, period". From money to inter-personal relationships and from reality to gung-fu, everything is here. Everything right from the mind of a 30 y/o in the '70s -'nuff said. All in all, the book is business as usual. A quote going on in the Bruce Lee circles is "Bruce Lee made a difference in my life" -it's mentioned in this book too. I do, too, believe he really made a direct difference in some people's lives (after all, everybody does) and an indirect one -the martial arts were widely publicized thanks to the Hong-Kong flicks of the '70s (his and others') and maybe, after all, everybody interested in the martial arts ows him a snippet despite the fact that he *wasn't* a martial artist but an, ahem, actor portraying one. Trying to pass him as a philosopher (or a, for crying out loud, "Rennaisance man") though, is simpy ridiculous. There have been people who really counted in the martial arts field -real martial artists who lived by the sword (or the punch, if you will) and lived to tell their insights. If it's this kind of philosophy you're after, check Miyamoto Musashi, Tesshu Yamaoka, Soho Takuan or maybe the more modern ones (Kano Jigoro, Ueshiba Kisshomaru, Funakoshi Gichin etc.) and let Lee RIP. I dunno what Bruce Lee was (people who have met him should answer this) but he wasn't the greatest martial artist (in the same vein that James Dean wasn't the greatest actor and for the same reasons) and he sure as h*** wasn't a philosopher.

Not Bruce Lee:
I enjoyed this book at first, but after reading James Bishop's book "Dynamic Becoming" he showed that most of the stuff published in "Striking Thoughts" comes from other authors. It is still good info, but clearly this is not Bruce Lee's words.

Never Be Too Much Help:
Whether or not you study JKD or anything similar, it doesn't matter...you will keep on continuing to learn from one of the most influential people of our lifetime. This book doesn't have "the answer" per say. But neither did Bruce, as he said...he is only a guide...it is up to us to find our own truth, our own "way". So to the people that get this book. Just read it, and move on...keep moving.

Great Book:
This book is wonderful. I found it to be usefull in a lot of situations, and opens up new windows to other topics of life. His views on life make you think about new things and are really deeper thoughts than I ever knew about. Great book. Pick it up.

A new side to a well known man:
Before finding this book I was unaware of Bruce Lee's work in Philosophy. I am a Phil major myself, and I found the balance of western and eastern thought refreshing. A lot of Philosophy is grouped in long wordy essays that make it somewhat a stratified ivory tower type of field. Lee's book is organzied in easy to read, simple koans, proverbs and sayings. To one who has read a great deal of Buddhism, Pyschology, or Eastern thought, they may read a lot of what they may have already read. But this book doesn't disappoint, there are some quality nuggets in here. Bruce says much in few words, his eloquence can be stunning & profound. Although I'm not really into martial arts or anything like that I always revered him in a certain light, in fitness, command, and eloquence. Worth a read, I have new respect for Bruce Lee.