cover image A Second Look in the Rearview Mirror: Further Autobiographical Reflections of a Philosopher at Large

A Second Look in the Rearview Mirror: Further Autobiographical Reflections of a Philosopher at Large

Mortimer Jerome Adler. MacMillan Publishing Company, $23 (322pp) ISBN 978-0-02-500571-6

Satisfaction with his continued intellectual progress prompted this sequel to A Philosopher at Large , the autobiography Adler published in 1977, when he was 75 years old. A force in educational reforms, Adler appeals to the culturally fluent, frequently referring to classical and contemporary thinkers. The book's delights lie chiefly in his recollections of friends, among them Clifton Fadiman, Jacques Barzun and the late Robert Hutchins of the University of Chicago, with whom Adler compiled the Great Books of the Western World series from 1943 to 1952 (Adler unveiled a new edition in 1990, prompting canon-related controversy). Surprises include news of Adler's conversion to Christianity after decades of writing ``as a pagan for pagans.'' Now past 90, Adler chairs the board of editors of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica and directs the Institute for Philosophical Research, among other commitments. Furthermore, he plans to add to the 50 books he has written, and expects to publish these by 1995. (Oct.)