Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot
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- Author：James B. Stockdale
- ISBN：0817993924
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Summary
Thoughts on issues of character， leadership， integrity， personal and public virtue， and ethics， the selections in this volume converge around the central theme of how man can rise with dignity to prevail in the face of adversity—lessons just as valid for the challenges of present-day life as they were for the author's Vietnam experience。
Reviews
Stefan Andrei
，
This is a collection of articles， essays and speeches of James Stockdale， an american pilot （among other things） during the Vietnam war。 He was shot down during a bombing run and ended up spending close to 8 years as a POW /political prisoner。Through his recounting we discover a man who under 8 years of torture and isolation， not only survived， but rather thrived。 Similar to Viktor Frankl the passing through this harrowing experience， instead of destroying him， forged him into a better human bei This is a collection of articles， essays and speeches of James Stockdale， an american pilot （among other things） during the Vietnam war。 He was shot down during a bombing run and ended up spending close to 8 years as a POW /political prisoner。Through his recounting we discover a man who under 8 years of torture and isolation， not only survived， but rather thrived。 Similar to Viktor Frankl the passing through this harrowing experience， instead of destroying him， forged him into a better human being。 He attributes this transformation to the teachings of Epictetus， which he not only learned but took to heart during that difficult experience。If you’re an adept of stoicism，read this to find out about yet another example of a man putting philosophical theory into action in almost contemporary times。The reason I’m not rating this a 5 star is that due to how it was edited and put together in separate excerpt， along recounting the same story from various angles it features a lot of repetition。 There is also a sizeable portion of political critique and some writings focused around the arena in Washington vis-a-vis the Vietnam war which I mostly skimmed over。 。。。more
Bobby Daugherty
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Great book by Stockdale。 He also taught philosophy at Stanford at one point。
Zohar Abramovitz
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Interesting and by turns deeply disturbing as well as inspiring。 If there was ever a case study for the efficacy of the Stoic worldview， this is it。 I could have done without the section at the end that includes a bunch of excerpts from speeches and media appearances - they were a little repetitive and actually acted to mute the impact of the main text。 If you pick this one up， I'd actually recommend just skipping that part。 Interesting and by turns deeply disturbing as well as inspiring。 If there was ever a case study for the efficacy of the Stoic worldview， this is it。 I could have done without the section at the end that includes a bunch of excerpts from speeches and media appearances - they were a little repetitive and actually acted to mute the impact of the main text。 If you pick this one up， I'd actually recommend just skipping that part。 。。。more
Eric Atkisson
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Excellent work， though the vast majority of the essays， lectures， interviews， etc。 collected within it are essentially the same story over and over again—a brief summary of Stockdale’s military service， how he was introduced to Epictetus and Stoicism at Stanford， how that benefitted him as a POW in Vietnam， and his thoughts on Stoicism and human nature writ large。
Elise
，
This book is a collection of essays and speeches given between 1980 and 1995 plus or minus。 There's a lot of repetition， yes。 Modern sensibilities may be offended， yes。 But oh， what a story James Stockdale has to tell。 I only knew of him as the bumbling side kick of the independent candidate/election spoiler Ross Perot but I missed out on the public presence of a truly interesting guy。 These lectures are a mix of commentary on social and political life and the impact stoic philosophy had on his This book is a collection of essays and speeches given between 1980 and 1995 plus or minus。 There's a lot of repetition， yes。 Modern sensibilities may be offended， yes。 But oh， what a story James Stockdale has to tell。 I only knew of him as the bumbling side kick of the independent candidate/election spoiler Ross Perot but I missed out on the public presence of a truly interesting guy。 These lectures are a mix of commentary on social and political life and the impact stoic philosophy had on his time as a POW in Vietnam。 Both are fascinating reading。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Skylar
，
This book is not for the weak of heart。 Jim Stockdale has had a life that makes most men's lives pale in comparison。 He breaks down his values and explains how he dealt with hash circumstances and how those ordeals made him。 He leans heavily on stoicism and the writings of Epeticus。 This book is not for the weak of heart。 Jim Stockdale has had a life that makes most men's lives pale in comparison。 He breaks down his values and explains how he dealt with hash circumstances and how those ordeals made him。 He leans heavily on stoicism and the writings of Epeticus。 。。。more
Tg
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Fabulous Book---What I want to share with you---These are things Stockdale gleaned from Epictetus: "Epictetus was a man of unusual sensitivity mixed with intellect， who distilled mainly wisdom from his exposure to extreme cruelty and outright debauchery among Rome's Elite "What is up to me ？ My desires， my aversions， my grief， my Joy， My opinions about those things going on around and/or Happening to meWhat was the most important thing in The Hanoi Prison---The Well-being of the Guy next door， t Fabulous Book---What I want to share with you---These are things Stockdale gleaned from Epictetus: "Epictetus was a man of unusual sensitivity mixed with intellect， who distilled mainly wisdom from his exposure to extreme cruelty and outright debauchery among Rome's Elite "What is up to me ？ My desires， my aversions， my grief， my Joy， My opinions about those things going on around and/or Happening to meWhat was the most important thing in The Hanoi Prison---The Well-being of the Guy next door， the Love for your fellow detaineeWhat is not up to you in the long-run ？ Your Reputation， Health， Wealth， Your External Circumstances， even life and Death Itself"File these things in your roll-top desk under matters of indifference"Refuse to want to fear and you acquire a constancy of character that makes it impossible for another to harm you externally ""The Prison Authority never took a prisoner downtown for propaganda purposes unless he felt extreme fear ""Within those walls the Prisoners experienced a Spiritual Power， not necessarily religious that would have made the Greek Polity of Athens Proud ""Grim Determination， that come from behind attitude is disproportionately represented in "Medal of Honor recipients regardless of Service"Veni。。。Vici，，，，Vidi 。。。more
THOMAS J。 DWYER
，
Fantastic bookThe war in SEA remainders questionable war this brave pilot was able to find inner strength through。 An ancient but effective philosophyInspiring account of a brave POW
Zoran Zeković
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This is one of the worst books on Stoicism in the world。 Antiphilosophical to the core。
Ravi Raman
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What can we learn from a prisoner of seven years in one of the most brutal （mentally and physically） war-time POW jails of the modern era？ Stockdale survived， dare I say "thrived"， in no small part due to his understanding of Stoic philosophy。 The Stoics made a hard-line distinction between the uncontrollable outer-world and controllable inner-world。 While not easy， striving to grasp one's deepest sense of moral and ethical codes of conduct are - as the book claims - the most valiant things we c What can we learn from a prisoner of seven years in one of the most brutal （mentally and physically） war-time POW jails of the modern era？ Stockdale survived， dare I say "thrived"， in no small part due to his understanding of Stoic philosophy。 The Stoics made a hard-line distinction between the uncontrollable outer-world and controllable inner-world。 While not easy， striving to grasp one's deepest sense of moral and ethical codes of conduct are - as the book claims - the most valiant things we can do in pursuit of a purposeful life。 This book is a compilation of talks and stories by and about Stockdale。 Often repetitive （in a good way） many of the stories recounts the details of his POW experience， what it means to modern day soldiers and the philosophy upon which one can survive the ordeals of life。 。。。more
Zach
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Wish Stockdale was alive when Drumpf made the comment about heroes not getting captured。 A truly brilliant and inspiring man， even if I disagree with some of his assertions about education。
Michelle DeVente
，
Stockdale is awesome。
Derek
，
While Stockdale does repeat himself， as the nature of the book is a collection of lectures and speeches， this does serve the purpose of driving home its central messages of practicing Stoicism， strength through unity， the conscience and morality， and what really kills a man。
Joel Gray
，
SICKNESS IS AN IMPEDIMENT OF THE BODY， BUT NOT TO THE WILL UNLESS ITSELF PLEASES。James Stockdale was shot down in 1965 during a mission of North Vietnam。 He spent 7。5 years as a prisoner of war。Prisons provide inspiration to many through reflection， through the opportunity their prison experiences provide for uninterrupted thought。The big threat to morale in the crucible arent the pessimists but the incurable vocal and persistent optimists。True happiness doesnt come from externals but from withi SICKNESS IS AN IMPEDIMENT OF THE BODY， BUT NOT TO THE WILL UNLESS ITSELF PLEASES。James Stockdale was shot down in 1965 during a mission of North Vietnam。 He spent 7。5 years as a prisoner of war。Prisons provide inspiration to many through reflection， through the opportunity their prison experiences provide for uninterrupted thought。The big threat to morale in the crucible arent the pessimists but the incurable vocal and persistent optimists。True happiness doesnt come from externals but from within。Honour is often what remains after faith， love and hope are lost。True leaders come out of nowhere to control the flow of events in times of peril。The roots of resolve are in your heart， not your head。Something deep-seated in human nature likes and feels safe in repetition - a time for this， a time for that， repeated regularly every day。If you let fear or guilt get out of control， they will tear the very core out of your being。Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity （aristotle）。 。。。more
C
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Possibly my favorite book。 As a collection of speeches and articles， it is often repetitive。 This helped me grasp the nuances of Stockdale's stoicism as they were repeated to diverse audiences。 A must read for leaders， but especially military and political leaders。 Possibly my favorite book。 As a collection of speeches and articles， it is often repetitive。 This helped me grasp the nuances of Stockdale's stoicism as they were repeated to diverse audiences。 A must read for leaders， but especially military and political leaders。 。。。more
Jasper Burns
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View my best reviews and a collection of mental models at jasperburns。blog。 View my best reviews and a collection of mental models at jasperburns。blog。 。。。more
Kevin
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Tough to review， because it has a lot of great points and is well worth reading。 On the other hand， it's a collection of speeches and so goes over the same life stories many times。 Tough to review， because it has a lot of great points and is well worth reading。 On the other hand， it's a collection of speeches and so goes over the same life stories many times。 。。。more
Ross Cohen
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At his worst， Stockdale sounds like TR circa 1912; at his best， like Epictetus himself。
Ryan
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Contains some good stuff， but a lot of redundant material; read "Stockdale on Stoicism" instead。 I was interested to learn more about Stockdale's relationships with Rhinelander and Brennan。 No index。 Contains some good stuff， but a lot of redundant material; read "Stockdale on Stoicism" instead。 I was interested to learn more about Stockdale's relationships with Rhinelander and Brennan。 No index。 。。。more
Sepideh
，
This book was written by Jim Stockdale， the vice presidential candidate who was Ross Perot's running mate in 1992。 Since he really did not say much in the debates， it was interesting to see that he had thoughts about things。 However， the book did not live up to my expectations。 This book was a series of speeches and not really a book。 The chapters were repetitively discussed how Stockdale was a prisoner of war during Vietnam。 Many phrases were repeated over and over。 For example， there was somet This book was written by Jim Stockdale， the vice presidential candidate who was Ross Perot's running mate in 1992。 Since he really did not say much in the debates， it was interesting to see that he had thoughts about things。 However， the book did not live up to my expectations。 This book was a series of speeches and not really a book。 The chapters were repetitively discussed how Stockdale was a prisoner of war during Vietnam。 Many phrases were repeated over and over。 For example， there was something about an "artful dodge" that happened several times during the early chapters of this book。 It stuck in my head because the artful Dodger is a character in Oliver Twist。 There was also some disparaging quote about the French that was repeated over and over。In the first chapters， the names of philosophers were thrown around without any discussion of their philosophy。 It was not until the last section starting at about half way through the book that the book started to discuss why the philosopher Epictetus was so important to Stockdale while he was being held as a P。O。W。 in Vietnam。 。。。more
Shayne
，
Collection of speeches; don't expect this to be a single coherent narrative。 Nonetheless， good for learning more about Vietnam and/or stoicism。 Might make you want to pick up the Enchiridion for yourself！Edit: if you want to get the gist of this thing， just read the last talk in it， and you'll be pretty good， saving yourself a lot of duplicate reading。 Collection of speeches; don't expect this to be a single coherent narrative。 Nonetheless， good for learning more about Vietnam and/or stoicism。 Might make you want to pick up the Enchiridion for yourself！Edit: if you want to get the gist of this thing， just read the last talk in it， and you'll be pretty good， saving yourself a lot of duplicate reading。 。。。more
C。 Patrick
，
One can't be faulted for developing the sense that Providence played a role in charting Stockdale's life experiences so that he would have the will or moral purpose to lead an American flyer prison population in Vietnam for 7。5 years。 This collection of speeches， essays， and other documents represent his post-captivity purpose to contribute to society's understanding of human nature as revealed to him in the crucible of a torture prison。 Several items that penetrated my mind:- The Stoic。 I had a One can't be faulted for developing the sense that Providence played a role in charting Stockdale's life experiences so that he would have the will or moral purpose to lead an American flyer prison population in Vietnam for 7。5 years。 This collection of speeches， essays， and other documents represent his post-captivity purpose to contribute to society's understanding of human nature as revealed to him in the crucible of a torture prison。 Several items that penetrated my mind:- The Stoic。 I had an understanding of stoicism before， but these readings helped solidify further the power of indifference to those things that share the potential of being fleeting， whether it is material objects， relationships， or one's physical form。 What is not fleeting is one's will or moral purpose， which produces the idea that one can only be a victim of yourself， which creates a different kind of power over one's environment or oppressor。- The US prisoner Code of Conduct was completely unsuitable for life in a political prison in which torture would eventually force a response。 As Stockdale puts it， his order to his prison command was to not give their captors anything for free， that they must submit to torture first。 And it seemed to be the kind of structure that prevented him and his fellows from developing the serious feelings of guilt that adherence to the Code of Conduct would unreasonably demand。- "My Kind of Guys。" I enjoyed this section of readings most， probably because it made real to me great Americans whose stories saddened yet still inspired， like CDR Thomas Hayes， a surgeon who underwent captivity under the Japanese in the Philippines， later perishing while being shipped to the Japanese homeland; or USAF Captain Lance Sijan， the posthumous Medal of Honor winner who showed amazing grit and defiance despite terrible and debilitating injury after being shot down over Laos。 The remarkable naval career of Admiral Aubrey Fitch took on a more personal element in Stockdale's speech at the commissioning of USS AUBREY FITCH。- The fraud that was the Gulf of Tonkin incident。 Then CDR Stockdale， by his telling， was a frontline participant in this non-event， and it is remarkable to me that this critical moment in US history hasn't publicly received the examination it deserves。 The war may have been a valid and necessary decision for the US， as Dr。 Mark Moyar's excellent and revisionist "Triumph Forsaken" argues， but entry should have been on the basis of leadership making a compelling case for strategic aims， not on the basis of an imaginary attack on US destroyers。Much of what Stockdale offers I found appealing， and I appreciate his sense of self as something other than an "organization man"。 He valued the idea that one should endeavor not to be "disdained by history"， Stockdale's position in that regard is very secure。 。。。more
Ixris
，
A collection of Stockdale's post-war writings and speeches。 Honestly， most of them blend together a lot， and I found myself saying 'yes， yes， yes， okay， I know。' Because a lot of them were the same thing in different wrappings。That said， the final speech/essay/whatever ACTUALLY got into stoicism pretty hardcore。 And that one piece saved the whole book for me。 A collection of Stockdale's post-war writings and speeches。 Honestly， most of them blend together a lot， and I found myself saying 'yes， yes， yes， okay， I know。' Because a lot of them were the same thing in different wrappings。That said， the final speech/essay/whatever ACTUALLY got into stoicism pretty hardcore。 And that one piece saved the whole book for me。 。。。more
Michael
，
Should be required reading in schools。 He's the definition of the warrior scholar。 Though he's been gone a number of years， his inspiration lives on。 Should be required reading in schools。 He's the definition of the warrior scholar。 Though he's been gone a number of years， his inspiration lives on。 。。。more
Hai Quan
，
Almost all people in the world and authors of books and articles about Viet Nam war have agreed that this war that has started by the USA was morally wrong。The enormous protests in the US in the eve of this war is a strong testament to this assessment If we realize that the much talked about DEFEAT OF FRENCH COLONIALISM marked by the shameful surrender of French troops and its Legionair slaves in the valley of Dien Bien Phu and the equally shameful defeat of American neo-colonialism right after Almost all people in the world and authors of books and articles about Viet Nam war have agreed that this war that has started by the USA was morally wrong。The enormous protests in the US in the eve of this war is a strong testament to this assessment If we realize that the much talked about DEFEAT OF FRENCH COLONIALISM marked by the shameful surrender of French troops and its Legionair slaves in the valley of Dien Bien Phu and the equally shameful defeat of American neo-colonialism right after that WE ARE EASILY TO SEE THEY （ the French and American ） are BROTHER-IN-ARMS ！（when I said French and American，I mean French and American Governments）So why we bother to know about what an American fighter pilot thinks ， much less what is his philosophy， his world view， his self congratulation （ of being courageous when being captured by the North Viet Nam people after his bomber was shot down ）When he admitted in his memoir IN LOVE AND WAR that because he missed （to participate ） in the Korean war，he 。。。。" has more debts to pay"。。。。。。， what does it means to us？I don't know what it mean to you，dear readers， but it means to me that Stockdale is a mercenary of sort。If we notice that in IN LOVE AND WAR， he has confessed he had hide the fiasco TONKIN GULF incidence ， not only from his jailers ， but also from American people， for fear of consequence to the "MORALE"，then what does this actually tell us about this WAR "HERO" ？Is he actually a hero if his actions and non actions are solely for the purpose of gaining FAME AND FORTUNE for himself instead of for the honor of American people ， much less for the country and people he claimed to "help" ，namely Viet Nam， and of course much less for humanityIf we also know that，in IN LOVE AND WAR he had called his jailers， even a lowly orderly who had not even touched him， much less tortured him--by many slurs such as "dog"， "owl"， "deepshit"。。。。。we can appreciate the character of this "war hero"He is lucky now that he had passed away。May he rest in peace。If he is still alive ，I wish to ask him a lot of questions。But the most important question I would ask him is : YOU CLAIMED TO BE A COURAGEOUS FIGHTER PILOT AND COMMANDER ， TO SERVE THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE ，TO PROTECT HONOR， FAMILY ETC 。。。。 ETCTO WHOSE COUNTRY，WHOSE PEOPLE，WHOSE HONOR WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT ？It would be very interesting and enlightening to hear his answers ！！！！ 。。。more
Jan Beck
，
I read this book because many excerpts from it were featured in Donald Robertsons "The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy （CBT）Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy"。 I had hoped for more insightful wisdom covering the Stoicism topic but frankly Robertson already put all the nuggets in his book。 The leftovers are mainly cold-war military， business and politic talks that I found very tenacious to get through。 One should also mention that this books contains speeches th I read this book because many excerpts from it were featured in Donald Robertsons "The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy （CBT）Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy"。 I had hoped for more insightful wisdom covering the Stoicism topic but frankly Robertson already put all the nuggets in his book。 The leftovers are mainly cold-war military， business and politic talks that I found very tenacious to get through。 One should also mention that this books contains speeches that Stockdale gave in his career。 Be prepared for a lot of repetition。TL;DR: Don't read this book only because you are interested in the Stoic subject matter。 Read Robertsons book instead。 。。。more
Mark Fallon
，
This is a thought-provoking and sometimes difficult book to read。 A collection of articles and speeches by Admiral Stockdale， where he explains how he came to adopt stoicism as a way of life， and how that helped him not only to endure torture， but to remain a leader in the prison camps in Hanoi。
DANIEL
，
This is a memorable book。 Despite the repetitions of some of sequences among the lectures of Stockdale， here， we have a testimony - and one of the most radical one can imagine - that goes against the current conception of philosophy， ie， that it is a discipline without any practical significance （a pure theory）。 And as well， in such days when everyone is a victim of circumstances， victims of their color， their financial position， social， national origin or disability etc， it's nice to hear someo This is a memorable book。 Despite the repetitions of some of sequences among the lectures of Stockdale， here， we have a testimony - and one of the most radical one can imagine - that goes against the current conception of philosophy， ie， that it is a discipline without any practical significance （a pure theory）。 And as well， in such days when everyone is a victim of circumstances， victims of their color， their financial position， social， national origin or disability etc， it's nice to hear someone explain why there should really be no such thing as a victim， that we are only victims of ourselves。 。。。more
James
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Sad they lampooned this guy on SNL back in the 90s。 So much for respect for elders， or highly decorated war veterans /ex-POWs。
Len
，