I picked up this book by Stephen Batchelor because I liked a prior book of his. I read it all the way through, but at times wondered why. And wondered why the publisher bothered. It is a collection of essays on three themes: the author’s and others’ experience of solitude, drug use, and Michel de Montaigne (1500s), the originator of the essay. The arrangement appears random or possibly just in the order written. Why the first theme is obvious. Why the second theme becomes clearer from a quote (from memory: sense correct, wording not), “People seek drugs so they can manage being alone.” Why Montaigne? I don’t know. He does little for me.
This book lowered my respect for both the author and the publisher.