July 1, 2009

Great books teach life lessons: Christopher Beha reads the Harvard Classics cove

A new book documents a Princetonian’s year-long immersion in the Harvard Classics, the venerable "Five-foot Shelf" of Great Books.

Princeton alumnus Christopher Beha records the life-affecting experience of reading his way straight through the "Five-foot Shelf" of Harvard Classics, the Great Books famously published in 1909 under the editorship of Harvard's towering president, Charles W. Eliot. Harvard Magazine contributing editor Adam Kirsch guided readers on a witty and urbane tour through the collection in "The 'Five-foot Shelf' Reconsidered," published in these pages in 2001.

Beha's book, The Whole Five Feet: What the Great Books Taught Me About Life, Death, and Pretty Much Everything Else (Grove Press), was reviewed in the New York Times Book Review on June 28.

You might also like

Collage of book covers featuring various titles on a vibrant orange background.

America’s Past, Opera's Future: 11 New Books from Harvard Authors

These newly released novels, histories, and memoirs grapple with identity in all its forms.

Portrait of a man in a denim shirt beside a blue book cover for "Gretal and the Great War" featuring an illustration of a leg holding an army helmet..

How Adam Ehrlich Sachs Writes Absurd and Beautiful Fiction

The Gretel and the Great War author on how the Lampoon derailed his science career—and set him on a literary path.

Caricature of a young man in front of red doors, wearing a green striped sweater.

The Year a Beat Poet Squatted at Harvard

In 1954, Gregory Corso moved into Eliot House. How he stayed there is a literary legend.

Most popular

Drawing of a distant solitary figure walking alone toward the horizon along a narrowing path of light edged on both sides by darkness

The Loneliness Pandemic

As the country isolates, are we all alone?

Historic brick building with a tall, ornate tower against a clear blue sky.

As Union Protests Continue, Stephen Colbert and Yo-Yo Ma Event at Harvard Cut Short

A conversation between the comedian and the celebrated cellist was interrupted by a fire alarm in Sanders Theatre.

For 15 years, William Francis Gibbs greeted the SS <i>United States</i> every time the liner he had designed arrived in New York City.

Naval architect William Francis Gibbs, designer of the SS United States

Brief life of America’s greatest naval architect: 1886-1967

Explore More From Current Issue

Bronze statue of a seated figure holding a book, with a campus setting in the background.

Humanities

As humanities shrink across higher education, one department is flourishing. Is its success a fluke, or a roadmap?

Black and white portrait of a woman with medium-length hair, smiling softly.

Alumni

The outgoing executive director and Harvard Business School graduate went from dancing The Nutcracker to growing a ballet company.

A smiling man in a brown plaid suit stands outdoors with greenery in the background.

University News

The professor and former Harvard College dean is the next president of Harvard Magazine’s Board of Directors