I was surprised to read that this book became/was a bestseller in the category philosophy. I think its an interesting book, but its hard to read and i'm still curious why it resonated with so many people? Or what specifically.
One thing he mentions in the book has bee then electroshock therapy which was not as sever as he described it. He did not forgot his old him.
I also had the feeling to follow his illness with the obsession about quality. But more in a way you follow a schizophrenic. It becomes very unclear to me if he was a genius or became crazy. I had a friend with schizophrenia, he was 60% smart and knew his facts and then 40% have been just crazy like he believes in a stargate and has connections to the chines government. The problem with this person was very simple: i stoppend trusting him even if he was right to some extend.
I had the same feeling with this book. There is a high chance that his career downfall happend because he was in an illusion ale state. Especially at the end when he describes teaching in one university and taking the lecture in the other. That fued was probably very one sided and he imagined it. The others probably just saw some crazy dude.
There have been thinks which resonated with me, like this logically cutting of things. The balance between western and eastern (or was it asian?) philosophy.
I also really disliked how he handled his son. He did not sound like a good father.
Im very unsure what i took from this book.