Ruining The Tao Of Pooh

[An anonymous master of wisdom suggested:]

Words only get in the way of your mind...do not speak nor write..only think!

[...and helped the process by deleting the page. For the rest of us, here is the original content:]

SPOILER ALERT - Do not read this page if you intend to read TheTaoOfPooh and actually enjoy it.

Benjamin Hoff seems to have a problem with academics. He gets all hot and bothered about trade languages, for example. It gives the vague impression that he still bears Princeton University a grudge for not letting him in as an undergraduate, which seems like a stark contradiction to much of the message of TheTaoOfPooh.

Yeah, I noticed that too. I first read TTOP at an impressionable age, and found it to be a wise and witty book. A few years later, I tried to re-read it and found it patronizing, anti-intellectual, and twee. -- TomKreitzberg

I read and enjoyed it, although it was a bit too much of a muchness. I read the Te of Piglet also, just to see. That was OK, although more of the muchness and not. I do enjoy how he pulls value from the different characters in Poohland. -- Alistair

In TTOP I got the impression the Hoff did not like "Ivory Tower" academics. Not so anti-intellectual that it bugged me, but enough that I noticed. I found the Te of Piglet to be very annoying, more of a rant against stuff Hoff doesn't like, and have never reread it. If I could I would un-read it, and wipe it from my mind. I am still amazed at the difference in the two books. I give away copies of TTOP and warn people to not read the sequel. -- KenMegill

It has been years since I've seen my copy of the book, but my favorite bit goes something like this:

Christopher Robin:

: I'll bet eating honey is your favorite thing in all the world.

Pooh:

: Not really. There is a moment before the honey gets
: to your tongue which is better than when it gets there.

-- MichaelFeathers

I have a small problem with Hoff's stuff. Simply, it's nowhere near as good as AaMilne's stuff. Reading Milne directly will teach you ever so much more about taoism than reading Hoff. But adults often read Hoff and don't read Milne. TiddlyPom. -- PeterMerel

One of my ambitions is to be able to enjoy Pooh as much as daughters do and I once did.

I haven't read it, but I have an inherent scepticism about the value of any philosophy put about by a bear who starts each day being dragged downstairs by the legs, and hasn't thought to question it. ChangeYourOrganization, Pooh.

AhHa... it's not about what Pooh espouses himself. It's about what a reader can discover while reading about Pooh. It is a more meaningful enlightenment to realize that Pooh needs to ChangeHisOrganization? (simply because he doesn't realize it), than it would be if Pooh looked right at the reader and said, "If you're in a bad situation, change it".