The Practical Cogitator represents the wisdom of the ages gathered together in one volume. It is what the editors call a sort of "cerebral Coast Pilot," a compilation of essential passages on the great themes of life.First published in 1945, the selections -- long and short, prose and verse -- cover a wide range of world literature, from Confucious to James Gould Cozzens, from the Old Testament to Jean-Paul Sartre and J. Robert Oppenheimer. Many of the passages quoted are of the kind that color the thoughts and shape the lives of men.