What Would Shakespeare Do?: 101 Answers to Life's Daily Dilemmas

Jess Winfield may profess that he is not an authority on Shakespeare's works, but he sure knows them better than most people. This book is a gently thoughtful and often amusing read for anyone fond of Shakespeare or indeed, of life in general. And since the author's interpretations of Shakespeare's writings (as a guide in addressing modern problems) are by his own admission subjective, there is plenty of room for spirited discussion with friends and co-workers. A light, quick, and thought-provoking read.

I was attracted to this book by having enjoyed seeing Jess Winfield's hilarious play, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), in London. I knew that Winfield would offer good humor for the reader.Many recent books about Shakespeare have turned him into an expert on management. This is the first attempt I am aware of at making Shakespeare a self-help expert.The effect is essentially to make Shakespeare more relevant to the modern world by translating his messages into our current circumstances. Winfield poses one question at the top of each page, for about a hundred contemporary issues. Then, he quotes Shakespeare. Each quote is a famous one, if you pay any attention at all to Shakespeare. Then, he expands on what Shakespeare meant, and provides Winfield's own contemporary thoughts. As Winfield says in the introduction, the book is often "What Would Jess Winfield Do? . . . as illustrated by the words of William Shakespeare." As an example, one of the questions is "What would Shakespeare do about designer labels?" The answer is Juliet's from Romeo and Juliet, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet . . . ." He then goes on to tell a story about someone who was into buying designer clothes, and couldn't enjoy something that looked great but was a knock-off at a modest price. The key limitation then, of this book, is Jess Winfield. As he forthrightly points out, he has "no training in pscyhology or social work." He has "never raised a child, and . . . has plenty of personal quirks and character flaws." "I'm not even a Shakespeare scholar." Although he doesn't say so, it looks like the way the book was written was to start with the quotes from Shakespeare. Then, he probably developed a humorous, contemporary question to fit the quote. At that point, he filled in around the edges with personal anecdotes. If you read this book as a humorous connection between Shakespeare and today's world, then you will like this book. If you take it literally, you may not like it at all. Most of the questions and answers will simply not make a lot of sense to you.I've evaluated the book against Winfield's stated purpose, to "draw out of ourselves the qualities [Shakespeare] champions: practicality, compassion, humility, generosity, honesty and tolerance." By having considered Shakespeare, Winfield feels like he has "caught a glimpse of the man behind the quill pen . . . ." and wants to share that glimpse with us.I graded the book down one star because I found that the book could have used more Shakespeare and less Winfield. I also think the book needed either different questions or fewer questions. A lot of them are either very trivial or repetitive (like the series about eating meat).Young people often don't read much Shakespeare now. Shakespeare has retreated from the English department curricula in many schools. Don't tell anyone, but he is a dead white European male. For those with