O r i g i n a l    V e r s i o n

Book Review: Living, Loving and Learning
Author: Leo F. Buscaglia

Living, loving and learning is a book about learning to love, to trust, to think, and to care about each other out of true spontaneity. Human beings should learn who they are, what their inner power is, and then transfer the inner strength into outside love.

The book is full of love, appreciation, and joys. The words, sentences and stories are very delightful. The book also has lots of materials with it, such as his interaction with his students, his readers' opinions and feelings toward their lives, his friends' comments, and his own experiences. These are something happened around us, but we often neglect them. People get used to take almost everything for granted, they are misguided by the fame, authority, benefit and so on. They forget the real meaning and value of life and love.

People may be inspired by the touching and wise talking in the book, especially to those who are not clear of what they are and those who need spiritually growing up. People get to know that love is as a modifier of life. They may get some encouragement, comforts and caring from the book. However, Leo doesn't mention much about the process of learning love is like the progress of a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. Suffering, sorrow, and tears are the important elements in the process of learning to love and becoming loving.

Leo has given a hope and inspiration in book. His book is like a reminder that we are able to love and not to forget the best gift that everybody has. Continuing to love is always the greatest reward that nothing can compare to in the world.

R e v i s e d    V e r s i o n

BOOK REVIEW
Living, Loving and Learning
by Leo F. Buscaglia
Fawcett Books (1982)
ISBN: 0449901815 (288 pp.) US $10.00
Chinese Translation: __________________
(trans. by _________) _________________


This is a book about learning to love, to trust, to think, and care about each other with spontaneity. The author, a former teacher at the University of California who passed away in 1998, believes we should learn more about who we are and what our inner power is. This quote provides a hint about his ideas concerning love -

"Because you are human, you do have magic. Get in touch with it.
When you feel the insanity rising, don't push it down. Let it come out." (p. 139)

This delightful book is based on lecture notes from 1979-81 and is replete with anecdotal interactions from students, readers, and friends. Buscaglia's message is inspired from everyday events that we often fail to notice. He points out most people take too many things for granted and become misguided by fame, authority, or money. They forget the real meaning of living and loving.

One shortcoming of this work is that the author doesn't mention much about the process of learning to love. He merely likens it to the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. An example of his wonderful vagueness can be found in this quote -

"The one thing I would like to see more than anything else in the world is your returning again to your initial spontaneity, the spontaneity of a kid who just said what he felt and what he thought was easily adjustable to what other people were saying and thinking. Getting back to looking at each other again. We are so ruled by what people tell us we must be that we have forgotten who we are." ( p. 28)

Buscaglia maintains that suffering, sorrow, and tears are the key elements in learning to love and becoming more loving. He rails against apathy as one of the main impediments to love.

Buscaglia's sixth book on this theme, readers will notice much familiar territory in this work. The author reminds us that being able to love is a precious gift and that continuing to love offers incomparable rewards. Living, Loving and Learning has sold over eleven million copies in the two decades since it came out. ______'s Chinese translation is faithful to the original and has sold over ______ copies. Buscaglia's words continue to stir millions of people around the world.