Review for Choice Magazine: Peter Toohey, Hold On: The Life, Science, and Art of Waiting (Oxford University Press: 2020)
Peter Toohey, Hold On: The Life, Science, and Art of Waiting (Oxford University Press: 2020) Reviewed By: Ronald F. White, PhD. Professor Emeritus Mount St. Joseph University The title of this book tells you a lot about it’s contents. However, aside from a few forays into Science (biology and psychology) it is mostly about various works of art (paintings and drawings) and how they depict/interpret the “art of waiting.” It includes a brief, but highly informative prologue, four chapters, and a summarizing epilogue. There are twenty-five black and white illustrations. Previous recent publications by Toohey include analyses of “Jealousy (2014) and “Boredom” (2011). We are all familiar with the phenomenon of waiting. The contexts for “waiting” are resplendent. We wait for future pleasures and future pain. For example, when we are at boring/unpleasant work, many of us “wait” to go home, wait for the weekend, and wait for retirement. When we wait, “patience” is usually regar