“Jack Matthew’s book on Schopenhauer has different aims. Intended more for the general reader than the scholar, it’s compact by design and consists of 2-3 page meditations on various episodes in Schopenhauer’s life. Every chunk has a title (“Hearing from Momma,” “And Now the Third Mountain,” “Escape to Venice,” etc) and ends with a relevant quotation from Schopenhauer or a contemporary.... The best thing about Shopenhauer’s Will is that it balances the need to convey Schopenhauer’s ideas with Matthews’ need to tell a good story; it’s just as much a book about dog walking as it is about one man’s gloomy philosophies.”