b#1 iNEW YORK TIMES/i BESTSELLER David Brooks challenges us to rebalance the scales between the focus on external success résumé virtues and our core principles./bbr b /bbr bNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY iTHE ECONOMIST/i/bbr bi /i/bbr With the wisdom, humor, curiosity, and sharp insights that have brought millions of readers to his iNew York Times/i column and his previous bestsellers, David Brooks has consistently illuminated our daily lives in surprising and original ways. In iThe Social Animal,/i he explored the neuroscience of human connection and how we can flourish together. Now, in iThe Road to Character, /ihe focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives.brbr Looking to some of the world s greatest thinkers and inspiring leaders, Brooks explores how, through internal struggle and a sense of their own limitations, they have built a strong inner character. Labor activist Frances Perkins understood the need to suppress parts of herself so that she could be an instrument in a larger cause. Dwight Eisenhower organized his life not around impulsive self-expression but considered self-restraint. Dorothy Day, a devout Catholic convert and champion of the poor, learned as a young woman the vocabulary of simplicity and surrender. Civil rights pioneers A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin learned reticence and the logic of self-discipline, the need to distrust oneself even while waging a noble crusade.brbr Blending psychology, politics, spirituality, and confessional, iThe Road to Character/i provides an opportunity for us to rethink our priorities, and strive to build rich inner lives marked by humility and moral depth.brbr Joy, David Brooks writes, is a byproduct experienced by people who are aiming for something else. But it comes. brbrbPraise for iThe Road to Character/i/bbrbr A hyper-readable, lucid, often richly detailed human story. b iThe New York Times Book Review/i/bbrbr This profound and eloquent book is written with moral urgency and philosophical elegance. b Andrew Solomon, author of iFar from the Tree/i and iThe Noonday Demon/i/bbrbr A powerful, haunting book that works its way beneath your skin. bi The Guardianbr/i/bbr Original and eye-opening . . . Brooks is a normative version of Malcolm Gladwell, culling from a wide array of scientists and thinkers to weave an idea bigger than the sum of its parts. b iUSA Today/i/b