Preparation
Preparation: 'Failure to prepare is preparing to fail,' said Benjamin Franklin. He is one of many eminent figures who lay great store by this idea. Mark Tully considers its wisdom.
For the boy scouts and Cicero, for Benjamin Franklin and Confucius, preparation has been a key to success. Some, however, feel that too much preparation is the gateway to procrastination - that it is dangerous to be over-prepared.
Mark Tully considers both these views - the wisdom of preparing and the value of spontaneity - with the help of writers as diverse as Napoleon Bonaparte, Effie Waller Smith and Louis MacNeice. There is music too from Mozart, Paul Termos and Charlie Parker.
The readers are David Holt, Adjoa Andoh and Francis Cadder.
Written and presented by Mark Tully
Produced by Frank Stirling.
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Next
Music Played
-
![]()
Paul Temos
Groundwork
Performer: George Wiegel, Doelenensemble.- Concerto / String Quartet I / Expres (S) / Groundwork / Concerto.
- Composers Voice.
-
![]()
Leonard Cohen
Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye
Performer: Leonard Cohen.- Leonard Cohen Greatest Hits.
- Columbia.
- cd32644.
-
![]()
W A Mozart
Don Giovanni, Act II. Scene XVI: Questo 猫 il fin di chi fa mal, e de' perfidi la morte alla vita 猫 sempre ugual"
Performer: Academy of St Martin In The Fields, Sir Neville Marriner.- Mozart: Don Giovanni.
- Decca.
- 455-500-2.
-
![]()
Michael Kiwanuka
I'm Getting Ready
Performer: Michael Kiwanuka.- Home Again.
- Polydor.
- 2785405.
-
![]()
Sergey Prokofiev
Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25, "Classical": II. Larghetto
Performer: Berliner Philharmoniker.- Sergiu Celibidache In Berlin: The Early Years, 1945-1948, Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv.
- Music and Arts Programs of America.
Readings
Title: Noah听
Author: Roy Daniells听
Found in Chequered Shade : Poems by Roy Daniells.听
Published by: McClelland & Stewart
听
Title: The Art of War听
Author: Jay Luvaas听
Published by Simon & Schuster
听
Title: Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully听
Author: Geshe Kelsang Gyatso听
Published by Tharpa
听
Title: Prayer Before Birth听
Author: Louis MacNeice听
Published by Faber & Faber
听
Title: Preparation听
Author: Effie Waller Smith听
Found in 'Collected Works' published by Oxford University Press, USA
听
Title: Just In Case听
Author: Charlotte Mitchell听
Published by Souvenir Press
Broadcasts
- Sun 24 Sep 2017 06:05大象传媒 Radio 4
- Sun 24 Sep 2017 23:30大象传媒 Radio 4