The Te of Piglet

A book review.

The Te of Piglet

by Benjamin Hoff

published: 1992

ISBN: 9780140230161

genre: Philosophy

reviewed:2004.01.10

This is a sequel, of sorts to The Tao of Pooh. Once again, it dissects the "Winnie the Pooh" works of A. A. Milne as a Taoist work. It discusses the "Te" (Way of the Small) evidenced in the character of Pooh's sidekick Piglet. Through a rather belabored dialectic framework, the author highlights the courage and strength by which the small accomplish something in the world around them, on which they have little direct impact.

While an interesting concept to explore, the book is much more ponderous than The Tao of Pooh, more didactic, and more shrill. By taking stabs at the then-current Bush (I) administration, and with pot-shots at then-modern feminism, the book is more dated and irrelevant than the earlier, more timeless work.

I picked them up together at a used book shop and am glad to have them on my shelf, but it's the first that I prefer.