TL;DR PSA: Adler's book is a classic written by a conservative philosopher who became a Christian and taught Western culture and the great books to the masses better than anyone else in the twentieth century. It can be had for free online, and there's a free audio-book. It's in all likelihood broader than Naselli's and is mischaracterized by Naselli here. By all means, acquire Naselli's book afterwards. It would be nice if "Canon Press" provided any preview and esp. an extensive preview so we could compare Naselli's high claims for his own books quality against Adler's. (Amazon says there's a sample, pero no funcion; same for Canon Press) Adler's book is a classic for a reason; yes Adler wrote this prior to his conversion, but he always wrote well within the classical tradition of education which is Christian and the study of which ultimately led him to faith. Adler speaks about the pleasures of reading as an experience of enjoyment and the pleasing experience of reading well multiple times; he also uses "pleasure" to refer to baser instinct, but this is clearly used as such and not (obviously) a denigration of the virtue of joy. Even if he didn't, this would hardly score your book as "broader"; but he did. Is your book really broader? His is less accessible because it addresses more and varied literature, yet his is. . . narrower? There's a reason why Adler's remains at the gate of classical education for so many, by definition education in its broadest form. Accessibility? Says who? To what end? Adler's as readable as any, and there's a free audiobook online for accessibility of another kind. Concision is a vice as often as it is a virtue for good writers--and claiming it as a quality per se is bizarre. "Relevance" is subjective to you, and your personal touch is more "there" than "here" for me, and probably neither here nor there for everyone else. Yeah titles aren't copyrighted. But you know. I know. We all know. One of these books was borne out of the seasoned reading experience of a wise philosopher, who laboured for decades at educating the masses, promoting the classical (and Christian) worldview in education, and who embodied a clear and deep familiarity with the Western tradition and the Great Books/Great Conversation and Naselli's isn't it. We know this without reading it, and that's the point. C'est la vie in the strange world of even "classical" Christian "education." Do we need more biblical scholars doing publishing ventures (albeit by friends--inside sparring; fake plates, etc.) far and wide outside their field just because they are smart? Just promote the great books and supplement them in teaching for further enrichment if you're so sure a given book (like Adler's) really requires it. Better yet, let your students guide you by their own engagement with Adler.
I really wanted to watch this, but the volume is just too low. I keep being told it's my fault, but it can't be. I listen to some videos and they sound nice and loud. Others are like this. It makes no sense. I usually watch/listen to things while doing other things around the house. I can't sit right in front of my computer. Bummer! It started off really interesting. I love to think of reading a gift from God.
