John Carroll writes books that are generally hard to categorise. They range across the areas of philosophy, history, politics, cultural studies and theology with consummate ease in his attempt to get to what he sees as the root causes of modernity. In Ego and Soul, Carroll looks at the cultural beliefs attached to modern existence and explains why each of these disguises an underlying and sometimes desperate search for meaning. In Carroll’s lexicon, ego is that fragile, insecure means by which we see ourselves in the world. While soul is our need to essentially feel good and right in the world. Carroll argues that a balance of both is essential to a well-led life, but that all too often in our daily lives we cast these things into the shadows. On a more positive note, this book argues that many of the cultural constructs that have arisen in contemporary culture are evidence of that search for meaning, for answers to the big questions, that have been with us in Western culture for thousands of years. Ego and Soul is written with clarity and is for anyone who wants to explore the reasons behind some of the perplexing cultural problems that face us today.

Shane Strange is a bookseller at Paperchain Bookstore, Canberra

Tags: john carroll