A new edition of the revolutionary bestseller, with four million copies in print. Allen Carr’s innovative Easyway method—which he discovered after his own 100-cigarette-a-day habit nearly drove him to despair—has helped millions kick smoking without feeling anxious and deprived. That’s because he helps smokers discover the psychological reasons behind their dependency, explains in detail how to handle the withdrawal symptoms, shows them how to avoid situations when temptation might become too strong, and enables them to stay smoke-free. Carr discusses such issues as nicotine addiction; the social “brainwashing” that encourages smoking; the false belief that a cigarette relieves stress; the role boredom plays in sabotaging efforts to stop; and the main reasons for failure. With this proven program, smokers will be throwing away their packs for good.
Book Description
The new grand theory of leadership by Ram Charan . . . The breakthrough book that links know-how—the skills of people who know what they are doing— with the personal and psychological traits of the successful leader.
How often have you heard someone with a commanding presence deliver a bold vision that turned out to be nothing more than rhetoric and hot air? All too often we mistake the appearance of leadership for the real deal. Without a doubt, intelligence, vision, and the ability to communicate are important. But something big is missing: the know-how of running a business—the capacity to take it in the right direction, do the right things, make the right decisions, deliver results, and leave the people and the business better off than they were before.
For well over four decades, Ram Charan has been learning in the most visceral way the underlying reasons why leaders succeed and fail. As one of the most influential advisers to top management teams of leading companies around the world, he has had a front-row seat to observe the cause and effect of leadership practices and behaviors.
Ram Charan’s insight into the real content of leadership provides you with the eight fundamental skills needed for success in the twenty-first century:
• Positioning (and, when necessary, repositioning) your business by zeroing in on the central idea that meets customer needs and makes money
• Connecting the dots by pinpointing patterns of external change ahead of others
• Shaping the way people work together by leading the social system of your business
• Judging people by getting to the truth of a person
• Molding high-energy, high-powered, high-ego people into a working team of leaders in which they equal more than the sum of their parts
• Knowing the destination where you want to take your business by developing goals that balance what the business can become with what it can realistically achieve
• Setting laser-sharp priorities that become the road map for meeting your goals
• Dealing creatively and positively with societal pressures that go beyond the economic value creation activities of your business
Know-How is the missing link of leadership. By showing how the eight know-hows link to, interact with, and reinforce personal and psychological traits, Ram Charan provides a holistic and innovative portrait of successful leaders of the twenty-first century.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Book.......2007-10-17
I read a lot of business leadership books and this is one of the best in recent months. Ram Charan uses simple, well selected words to get his point across. I found myself wishing I could hire him to help me develop these eight skills. I have purchased several copies to give away. You won't be disappointed in the content of this book.
Some Good Insights.......2007-09-05
This book has some strong insights into identifying the skill set of performers and non-performers. It is also in some ways though too concise in terms of what Charan identifies.
For instance where he defines Tenacity - the drive to search, persist and follow through, but not too long.
I think Tenacity in leadership is terribly important and not something that has a point of stoppage.
I recently read Bob Prosen's "Kiss Theory Good Bye" and found its identification in terms of Crippling Habits that leaders/companies must overcome to be another inspiring book on how leaders and managers can truly empower long-term change in accountability and in terms of a company's bottom line.
Kiss Theory Good Bye: Five Proven Ways to Get Extraordinary Results in Any Company
Eight priorities for success as a CEO.......2007-08-30
Forty-five years of observing businesses and business leaders as a trusted business-advisor lead Ram Charan to conclude that eight areas of know-how are essential to success: Positioning the Business; Pinpointing External Change; Leading the Social System of your Business; Judging People; Molding a Team; Developing goals; Setting Laser-sharp Priorities; Dealing with Societal Pressures. Using relatable examples Charan explains what he means by these areas of know-how and then ends each chapter's discussion with some guidance on how to gather this know-how.
An easy read that may leave you thinking, "He speaks common sense."
This book is recommended for business leaders who want to consider if they are giving the right priorities to their time and energies. Dennis DeWilde, Author of The Performance Connection
Common sense leadership advice.......2007-08-28
This book covers eight leadership principles in a generic way. The author uses the trick of using success cases that sustains his ideas, but neglects the countless other cases that do not fit his theory. Anyhow, it's an easy and worth read.
Use this to clarify thinking.......2007-08-26
The essence of the book is in the way the thoughts are organized and clarified - and the confirmation that many of our thoughts about running a company and who should be in the company are not just intuition.
It is good value for money and provides a good checklist. I think the first chapter sums it sum nicely; the financial essence of running a profitable company are the same, whether a shoe-shop, a pizza place or a consulting company. What makes the difference is the deep know how needed to succeed in the marketplace - and his value is in giving a framework around which a reader can do substantial self-assessment and put in place a good plan for self improvement.
I also think this is really a good read before making critical hires in particular - it allows one to step back a bit from the hurried pace of today's hiring and take a deep look at what is really needed.
If this book can also help prevent entrepreneurs going off into areas where they lack know-how, this alone would be a great outcome.
Book Description
Giants. We must face them. Yet, we need not face them alone.
This profound look at the life of David digs deeply into the defeats he suffered, and the victories he won, as he faced the giants in his life. When David focused on God, giants tumbled. But when David focused on giants…
he stumbled.
Goliaths still roam in our world. Debt. Disaster. Dialysis. Divorce. Deceit. Disease. Depression. These super-sized challenges swagger and strut into our lives, pilfering our sleep, embezzling our peace and robbing us of our joy. And while these giants try to dominate our lives, we know what to do! We've learned what David learned, and we do what David did. We become God focused. We pick up five stones. We make five decisions. And we take a swing.
Customer Reviews:
Overcoming circumstances.......2007-09-29
I was given this book, it was a good read, but the information wasn't anything new, nor was it very impressive. It was a smooth reader, but almost to the point of beating a dead horse. Now, I am not putting down the work of the Cross or Jesus or the Holy Spirit or even King David. It's just the same ole story with a different author. I did find some of Max's antedotes and case histories of his own family interesting and the view of the Rainbow, that was most interesting.
Would I buy the book, no. Would I recommend someone else to buy the book? Not really. There are better books for the money.
Here are some examples: They Smell Like Sheep by Dr. Lynn Anderson
True Discipleship by Kossler, The Holiest of All by Andrew Murray, Power Filled Living by R.A. Torrey. These are just a few.
I've found when we are facing the giants, if we focus on God, Center ourself on Him, in Him and then look outside the box, so-to-speak and allow the Spirit of God to lead us to someone else that is hurting more than ourselves, God will work out our problems usually by the interaction of our neighbors.
In Christ we pray. Amen.
Learning from David's Triumphs and Mistakes.......2007-09-21
Max Lucado is known for his encouraging books, and this book is no exception. Here, he studies King David, both the good and the bad, to show us how to face the giants in our lives.
The ultimate lesson is simple, when your focus is on God, giants fall. Yet he uses stories from first and second Samuel, both the good and the bad, to show us how this played out in David's life.
The book works as a biography, showing us the events in David's life as they happened. While most chapters are a self contained lesson, it does allow us to see how one event often led to another.
Obviously, we see David fighting Goliath. But we also see him hiding from Saul, his friendship with Jonathan, hiding with the enemy, keeping his promises, falling into adultery and murder with Bathsheba, and watching his own children spin out of control. From this we learn the importance of friends and family, but ultimately the importance of putting our focus on God.
Max Lucado very rarely brings anything new to the table. That's certainly the case here. There is very little I haven't heard before. But he always puts such a fresh, encouraging spin on things, I always see things in a new light. And even when admonishing us, he still does it gently.
I set this book down reluctantly when I finished. My heart was encouraged, and my focus was where it needed to be, God. If you need some help remembering where your focus needs to be, this book is for you.
Max's Best .......2007-09-17
This is absolutely the most enlightening and funny book I've ever read from a Christian author.
This wonderful book is deep enough for an elephant to swim in, yet shallow enough for a child to wade in.
That describes Facing Your Giants to a T.
Like all Lucado books, awesome.......2007-09-06
An insightful tie to old testament events around Davids life and life for us today.
Wonderful book!.......2007-08-26
Story of King David's successes and failures confronting the giants in his life, and how we can learn from them. Many challenging question in study guide at the end of book.
Amazon.com
Change can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. The message of Who Moved My Cheese? is that all can come to see it as a blessing, if they understand the nature of cheese and the role it plays in their lives. Who Moved My Cheese? is a parable that takes place in a maze. Four beings live in that maze: Sniff and Scurry are mice--nonanalytical and nonjudgmental, they just want cheese and are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Hem and Haw are "littlepeople," mouse-size humans who have an entirely different relationship with cheese. It's not just sustenance to them; it's their self-image. Their lives and belief systems are built around the cheese they've found. Most of us reading the story will see the cheese as something related to our livelihoods--our jobs, our career paths, the industries we work in--although it can stand for anything, from health to relationships. The point of the story is that we have to be alert to changes in the cheese, and be prepared to go running off in search of new sources of cheese when the cheese we have runs out.
Dr. Johnson, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and many other books, presents this parable to business, church groups, schools, military organizations--anyplace where you find people who may fear or resist change. And although more analytical and skeptical readers may find the tale a little too simplistic, its beauty is that it sums up all natural history in just 94 pages: Things change. They always have changed and always will change. And while there's no single way to deal with change, the consequence of pretending change won't happen is always the same: The cheese runs out. --Lou Schuler
Book Description
The Change Survival Kit is an A-Mazing Way to Deal with Changes in Your Work and in Your Life. It reminds you to use what you discovered in the "Cheese" story - and enjoy it!
The kit contains:
A copy of the #1 Hardcover Book
12 Animated Reminders
24 Screen Saver Prompts
12 Desktop Wallpapers
Photo-Top Mouse pad
FREE! Multi-Level Maze Game
Customer Reviews:
Simplified change.......2007-10-15
Got an hour to fill? That's how long it'll take to read. As many have stated, company heads and consultant groups hand this book out to employees when there are about to be changes in the company. Basically, this is a very simplified parable on four different takes on how to deal with change. Of course at the end you are supposed to decide which of the characters you currently are. Sniff - you actively move about seeking change. Scurry - you move about and quickly adapt to the change to make things happen. And then there's Hem and Haw. Both resist change and stick to the old expecting it to return to the promised treasures. Eventually Haw decides that staying in one place with no rewards is not progressing so opts to go seek change on his struggling legs. The Hem remains obstinant and refuses to change and his fate fades away. Of course no one wants to claim they are Hem but most people are. One of my favorite bits in the book is the statement along the lines of "If you can't change, you may become extinct."
Overall this is a very simple take on how people can adapt to change in their personal and professional lives. Seems quite similar on how to change your personal attitude and outlook that is presented in Benjamin Hoff's "Tao of Pooh". If you're in a company that is about to use outside consulting, expect to get 'homework' to read this book.
Great book.......2007-10-15
This is a fantastic book about reassessing your life and career. I've given it to friends after reading it myself.
It's an OK book.......2007-10-04
Just like most of the people, I got this book from my employer (I hope it's not a sign of restructuring :)).
I'm afraid that I do a too good job of reviewing the book one would no longer need to buy it anymore. In essence, the whole book can be summarized in about 10 statements. In all fairness though, these are insightful and worth meditating on statements.
So, like I said... An OK book.
Thought Provoking.......2007-10-03
The book is an easy and quick read but the story will put thoughts in your head that you will think about for years if not a lifetime. Life brings us all challenges so this book is for all of us... That is, unless your life is perfect.
Genuinely Insulting..........2007-09-29
Genuinely insulting to the independent thinker. Yeah I know, it's been said countless times but I felt the need to reinforce that notion. If you're someone that's more comfortable being a follower and having your life and work environment structured for you then you're more likely to enjoy this book and find something meaningful in it. If you're someone that uses logic and reason to guide your decisions then don't waste your time or money on this rehashed brainwashing manual. This is a book written for unquestioning, mindless followers, not a book for leaders. But a tool that leaders would use to try and control their subordinates.
Book Description
Tracy Kidder is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the author of the bestsellers
The Soul of a New Machine,
House,
Among
Schoolchildren, and
Home
Town. He has been described by the Baltimore Sun as the “master of the non-fiction narrative.” This powerful and inspiring new book shows how one person can make a difference, as Kidder tells the true story of a gifted man who is in love with the world and has set out to do all he can to cure it.
At the center of
Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant, world-class Robin Hood, Farmer was brought up in a bus and on a boat, and in medical school found his life’s calling: to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. This magnificent book shows how radical change can be fostered in situations that seem insurmountable, and it also shows how a meaningful life can be created, as Farmer—brilliant, charismatic, charming, both a leader in international health and a doctor who finds time to make house calls in Boston and the mountains of Haiti—blasts through convention to get results.
Mountains Beyond Mountains takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes minds and practices through his dedication to the philosophy that "the only real nation is humanity" - a philosophy that is embodied in the small public charity he founded, Partners In Health. He enlists the help of the Gates Foundation, George Soros, the U.N.’s World Health Organization, and others in his quest to cure the world. At the heart of this book is the example of a life based on hope, and on an understanding of the truth of the Haitian proverb “Beyond mountains there are mountains”: as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one too.
“
Mountains Beyond Mountains unfolds with the force of a gathering revelation,” says Annie Dillard, and Jonathan Harr says, “[Farmer] wants to change the world. Certainly this luminous and powerful book will change the way you see it.”
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
This is one amazing guy.......2007-10-09
I actually listened to this as a book on tape, but bought the book version as a present. In fact, it was recommended to me by another friend. I found it well written and the subject very interesting.
An Amazing Man.......2007-10-04
This book is inspiring but troubling as well. I am a nurse and find his ideas of medicine/poverty to be right on target. Fighting the system is what is hard, he manages to do so at least in his areas of clinical work. His take on poverty and the world economic systems while not new, is seen through the eyes of a scientist and an anthropoligist which gives it a slightly new twist. For anyone interested in a larger world view I would recommend this book. Dr. Farmer is a unique man and his efforts, where ever he is, to change the world's systems is a challenge to us all.
Very Good.......2007-09-25
Although I had to read this book for a mandatory assignment, it was not a labored read. The author writes in a way that allows the reader to continue reading easily and endlessly until the book is finished, or stop whenever the reader needs a break. The story is eye-opening and enlightening while arousing feelings of anger towards the governments overseas conduct with "democracy" and aiding big business. The tale is capturing and the read is light. The only reason it wasn't a five star is because I wasn't very fond of the assignment.
Awesome.......2007-09-15
Kidder's biographical account of the life and work of Dr. Paul Farmer is moving and munumental and reads like a novel---a compliment from me. The determination of one man supported by competent and trusted colleagues is an awesome monument to the power of the human spirit. Also opens American minds and hearts to the povery lying just off our borders in Haiti. Kidder's narrative is superbly told and presented most effectively with a plot line that moves in and out between past and present. Compact, concise and compelling.
Inspirational.......2007-09-05
It's wonderful that one man can turn his passion into something that benefits so many!
Book Description
The dust storms that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years of the Depression were like nothing ever seen before or since. Timothy Egan's critically acclaimed account rescues this iconic chapter of American history from the shadows in a tour de force of historical reportage. Following a dozen families and their communities through the rise and fall of the region, Egan tells of their desperate attempts to carry on through blinding black dust blizzards, crop failure, and the death of loved ones. Brilliantly capturing the terrifying drama of catastrophe, Egan does equal justice to the human characters who become his heroes, "the stoic, long-suffering men and women whose lives he opens up with urgency and respect" (New York Times). In an era that promises ever-greater natural disasters, "The Worst Hard Time" is "arguably the best nonfiction book yet" (Austin Statesman Journal) on the greatest environmental disaster ever to be visited upon our land and a powerful cautionary tale about the dangers of trifling with nature.
Customer Reviews:
It's Good --- but is it National-Book-Award good?.......2007-10-16
I liked this book. For the most part.
It's an exciting account of an amazing and horrific time in the nation's history, and its descriptions of the dust storms as they came in over the prairies are absolutely terrifying--but I think it's far from the great book that it could have been.
The story, of course, is one of the great stories of American history, and will no doubt enthrall any readers unfamiliar with the 1930s Dust Bowl. But the book fails, I think, in bringing across the full scope of it all, focusing so intently on handful of towns and counties (and always forgetting to remind us what states these towns are in) that it feels like more like a gathering of a number of isolated occurrences. It also fails to provide all the facts that the story begs to contain. And it kind of peters off toward the end, as if the author just grew tired of the subject.
Is this a good book? Sure. I enjoyed it. But would I have given it the National Book Award? No. And is it the best book on the subject? No, again. I prefer the book "Dust Bowl," by Donald Worster, which I found to be much more thorough and vivid in its treatment of the subject.
Outstanding.......2007-10-10
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
This is an outstanding book! I had no idea how bad the Dust Bowl was. I was so impressed with the book that I bought a copy for each of my 3 siblings.
Unbelievable!.......2007-10-03
This book was fantastic. Although the majority of books I read are fiction, I'm not hesitant to read good non-fiction. This book was so well written that it reads like a taut novel. Along with Seabiscuit and The Devil in the White City, it is one of the best historical books I've read. Very well researched and thought out. You almost can't believe that this could have actually happened. You feel like you know the characters, and you certainly root for them even though you seemingly know how it will turn out. I would recommend this book to any avid reader - fiction or non-fiction.
Hopefully, we will learn from our past.......2007-10-02
This is an important event in US history that is so relevant today, supplying more fuel for both side of the ongoing debate on global warming.
I found it a bit difficult to stay connected to the characters. In spite of that, the story remained interesting, showing the plight and hardships endured by the generation before us, and bringing us an awareness of our fragile ecosystem.
Eye Opening and Hard to Put Down.......2007-09-25
A must read for history buffs and readers in general. Information places the midwest, its people, and past in an entirely different light of appreciation. (Absolutely Facinating)!
Book Description
For almost 1,500 years, the New Testament manuscripts were copied by hand––and mistakes and intentional changes abound in the competing manuscript versions. Religious and biblical scholar Bart Ehrman makes the provocative case that many of our widely held beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, and the divine origins of the Bible itself are the results of both intentional and accidental alterations by scribes.
In this compelling and fascinating book, Ehrman shows where and why changes were made in our earliest surviving manuscripts, explaining for the first time how the many variations of our cherished biblical stories came to be, and why only certain versions of the stories qualify for publication in the Bibles we read today. Ehrman frames his account with personal reflections on how his study of the Greek manuscripts made him abandon his once ultra–conservative views of the Bible.
Customer Reviews:
Good reading.......2007-10-18
This is a very good study into alternative views of how The New Testament was put together. I recommend reading this book.
Enlightening.......2007-10-13
Keep your bible handy when you read this book, no matter how familiar you may be with the New Testament. Ehrman is very convincing--the NT as we know it is a far, far cry from the original, but he makes no claim to knowing that original. His point is that the copies of copies of copies have introduced thousands of changes--some very significant. And he backs his claims with scholarly and very convincing arguments. The title is misleading, however. Jesus' words, as recorded in the NT, make up only a small portion of this work. It's thrust, instead, is how ignorant, prejudiced and sometimes well-meaning scribes altered the texts, time after time. Fascinating, interesting, enlightening and very readable.
good reading.......2007-10-04
Anything worth believing is worth questioning. This book will help you realize there is a lot more to know about the bible, than you have been told. I would recommend this to people who have never looked into how the NT came to be.
For those who take the Bible seriously.......2007-10-03
Whether you are a member of a Bible study group or a skeptic, this book should be read. The author is candid about his personal spiritual path, which allows readers some insight into his possible bias, but he is also scrupulous about his scholarship. If you believe every word of the Bible--whichever translation you read--is divinely inspired, you may have no interest in reading this book. However, if the idea that modern translations alter the meaning of the King James version on which you were raised has already occurred to you, you may have begun to wonder about other changes to the Bible over the years. This book is enlightening, and for anyone willing to study the Bible seriously, reading "Misquoting Jesus" will be important to your spiritual study. Because the author respects his readers enough to explain the painstaking nature of his field of study, the book demands a willingness to wade through some difficult passages, but the effort is worth it. I highly recommend this book.
Clear and respectful exposition of a hot topic.......2007-10-02
In spite of the provocative title, "Misquoting Jesus" is very respectful of Scriptures - so much so that it willing to tell the truth about them. Bart Ehrman does his typically great job of explaining a difficult topic -- in this case, the history, operation and findings of biblical textual criticism -- to a lay audience. Ehrman's journey as a textual critic has been a long and difficult one, and it seems to have knocked him off-balance, at least for a time. Starting as a fundamentalists of the fundamentalists (to paraphrase Paul) he decided to study scripture. His first epiphany was when he asked himself, if the Bible is God's word, then why do I have to learn Greek and Hebrew to understand it? This question led to others, culminating in a nuanced and complex understanding of the Bible and its history -- as told by the ways scribes have changed the Bible itself.
Ehrman discusses the history of the Bible's transmission through the centuries-- via scribes whose literacy was sometimes comprised only by their ability to copy the shape of letters from an old copy to a new, without understanding their meaning. This was eye-opening for me, but Ehrman supports his contentions with evidence that is sometimes funny and always persuasive. Ehrman helps us to understand the world from the scribe's point of view, as they miss and repeat words, misunderstand abbreviations and (as they listen to dictation) write down homonyms that sound the same but mean vastly different things.
Ehrman gives us a glimpse at the history of biblical textual criticism. We learn how we got the Vulgate, St. Jerome's 4th-century translation of scriptures into Latin, and about 16th-century scholar Erasmus's rush to be the first to print a Greek New Testament. Erasmus's slapdash work then became a basis for the King James Bible, a translation still considered sacrosanct and untouchable by many. Through Ehrman, we learn of the great men whose work lay the foundations for modern biblical scholarship. We also learn of the tens of thousands of variant readings of Scripture that exist. It is this variation that causes consternation for those who believe the Bible to be unblemished and inerrant, and prompts delight for scholars who use the variants to piece together the original words, and to determine the theological biases of the scribes who introduced the variants into the text.
Ehrman is not on a mission to destroy the sacredness, the authority of the Church or to downplay the teaching of Jesus. He seemed constantly poised to deliver a death blow to the basic authenticity of the Bible. But mostly, he delivered examples that show the conservatism of even the most interventionist of scribes. Most of the variants, Ehrman admits, are insignificant -- misspellings and such. Interestingly, the truly significant variants are mostly tentative add-ons to the text, where a scribe changed one unpalatable word, but left the rest of the text alone. Textual critics identify these "patches," note their mismatch with the surrounding text, and propose solutions that bring us closer to the originals. Ehrman shows how variants can tell us much about the struggle for ideas that was the history of the Church. Ehrman identifies texts that were used against heretics like Marcion, against Jews, against gnostics and against women. Difficult texts, says Ehrman -- those that contradict what we would like the Scriptures to say, may well be the most accurate. For instance, in Mark 1:40-45, Jesus encounters a leper hoping to be cleansed. Most translation say that Jesus, filled with compassion, touched and healed the man. But some variants say that Jesus grew *angry* before healing him. Which is correct, and why? Ehrman argues that the variant in which Jesus becomes angry fits better into Mark's overall presentation of Jesus, and may therefore be original.
Ehrman's greatest sin is the way he vastly overstates his case. Perhaps this is due to his extremely conservative starting point (one shared by his more vituperative critics and reviewers) which cannot tolerate even the suggestion of the hand of Man in the Bible. Perhaps Ehrman's seeming overreaction (and the consequent lack to deliver) is akin to the doctor who warns that a procedure will hurt, bringing relief to the patient when he delivers only a minor sting. More darkly, perhaps Ehrman really believes that his work brings the Bible into such disrepute that he has lost faith in its divine authorship. But one need not believe that God inspired the Scriptures by literally dictating his words to scribes. One need not believe, along with the simpleminded, that Jesus had scribblers in his entourage. There are solutions to the divine authorship of the Bible that don't require the unsupported belief in its inerrancy posited by the fundamentalists nor the utter rejection of atheists. Some sort of imperfect, mysterious divine-human cooperation is an alternative, supported by mainstream scholars, which Ehrman's work certainly supports.
"Misquoting Jesus" is a terrific primer to the obscure field of textual criticism, especially as applied to the Bible. Though it provides many examples to illustrate Ehrman's points, it is not an exhaustive study of the discipline, but ably and gently leads Bible lovers to a new level of understanding of their holy book. There is no question that Ehrman simplifies his presentation. For instance, he gives us little insight into which textual criticisms are generally accepted and which are hotly debated. Some might see this book as a way for Ehrman to rush his own opinions into print. But Erhman backs up each of his contentions with logic and plausible theories. At the very least, the reader gains enough knowledge to follow the argument.
Ehrman's book helps us to be more careful about selecting biblical translations, and helps us appreciate the work of the legion of scholars who try to parse out the real meaning in its many verses. It lets us see through the gauze of false piety to understand and appreciate the differing worldviews and intentions of the Bible's writers and scribes, letting them speak for themselves. Above all, "Misquoting Jesus" helps us to see that the Bible cannot be read apart from the personalities and world-views of those who wrote it, those who copied it, those who translated it or those who read it. As such, it is a living document.
Which when you think of it, may have been its Inspirer's idea all along.
Book Description
In this short, powerful book, multimillionaire and bestselling author Steven K. Scott reveals King Solomon’s breakthrough strategies to achieve a life of financial success and personal fulfillment.
Steve Scott flunked out of every job he held in his first six years after college. He couldn’t succeed no matter how hard he tried. Then Dr. Gary Smalley challenged him to study the book of Proverbs, promising that in doing so he would achieve greater success and happiness than he had ever known. That promise came true, making Scott a millionaire many times over.
In The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, Scott reveals Solomon’s key for winning every race, explains how to resolve conflicts and turn enemies into allies, and discloses the five qualities essential to becoming a valued and admired person at work and in your personal life. Scott illustrates each of Solomon’s insights and strategies with anecdotes about his personal successes and failures, as well as those of such extraordinary people as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, and Steven Spielberg.
At once inspiring and instructive, THE RICHEST MAN WHO EVER LIVED weaves the timeless truths of one of our greatest works of literature into a detailed roadmap for successful living today.
Customer Reviews:
Just read Proverbs.......2007-09-13
The book is redundant and contradictory of itself. First the author says he didn't follow Proverbs as a young man then he says because of following Proverbs as a young man things went his way. I commend the author's efforts and I believe to some degree he does live by The Good Book, but honestly I think we all know what the author wants you to do, and what the Man Upstairs wants you to do. I now read Proverbs daily. It is a wonderful thing to do and I've recommended it to many. Rather than buy this book go download Proverbs and start reading. If you are looking for a book that will take you about 3 hours to read that will ultimately tell you to read Proverbs about 100 times then read this book. Thank you for your time.
Dynamic Wisdom.......2007-08-13
This book definitely changes your perspective and causes you to reposition yourself concerning the promises and principles of God.
A challenge with a promise........2007-07-25
After praying about what career advice to give his friend, Gary Smaller offered his friend Steve Scott a challenge in which he promised that if Steve would follow the advice, he would not only be successful, but would be a millionaire in 5 years. The challenge was to read a chapter of the proverbs every day. Since there are 31 chapters in proverbs, and most months have 31 days, he was instructed to read the chapter that corresponded to the day of the month. Steve took the advice and made good on the promise his friend gave him.
The book is based on the principals/lessons/advice from the Proverbs. It explores the meanings of certain passages and shows how to derive benefit from them. Steve shares some of his own experiences throughout.
Solomon was the wisest, richest man that ever was or will be. Seems like someone worth listening to and studying doesn't it?
This is a book that can make a positive difference in your life.
Great Book.......2007-07-16
Great Book that discusses the benefit of not going alone but having other like minded individuals around you. Backs a lot of his thoughts/facts with scripture from the book of Proverbs. I actually read the book about a year ago and am currently re-reading it. Great book, great, easy, quick read.
Finances by the Wisest Man.......2007-07-10
Great Book Sucess based on biblical principles We read it on a trip as a couple--enjoyed it!
Book Description
Meet Denver, a man raised under plantation-style slavery in Louisiana in the 1960s; a man who escaped, hopping a train to wander, homeless, for eighteen years on the streets of Dallas, Texas. No longer a slave, Denver's life was still hopeless-until God moved. First came a godly woman who prayed, listened, and obeyed. And then came her husband, Ron, an international arts dealer at home in a world of Armani-suited millionaires. And then they all came together.
But slavery takes many forms. Deborah discovers that she has cancer. In the face of possible death, she charges her husband to rescue Denver. Who will be saved, and who will be lost? What is the future for these unlikely three? What is God doing?
Same Kind of Different As Me is the emotional tale of their story: a telling of pain and laughter, doubt and tears, dug out between the bondages of this earth and the free possibility of heaven. No reader or listener will ever forget it.
Customer Reviews:
What a Great Read!.......2007-10-10
This book was recommended by a colleague and I could not find it here in Key West. I ordered two copies from Amazon and gave them both to friends (after reading). I was moved to tears by parts of the book. If anybody has any concerns about homeless issues, this book will renew one's faith in what can be done. It is one of the finest books on homeless issues that I have read in many years.
Very touching.......2007-10-01
This is a very readable book. It is also extremely touching. Several times as I read,I found tears streaming down my face. It will restore your faith in mankind and that there is more to a person than meets the eye.
A must read book.......2007-09-29
I don't have proper words to express this "amazing" book.
I can now better understand how it used to be in Slave times,
and feel a better understanding of my own faith and life after death.
I cried at moments of revealation! Would help anyone become a believer.
This book changed my life!.......2007-09-25
It's very easy to forget that this is a true story - it is such an amazing story that it could be fiction! It's a beautiful, poignant, touching book and it changed the way I view the homeless and how I share my resources with others. LOVED IT and I've been telling everyone I know to read it too!!
book.......2007-09-18
I ordered this book for my husband who had heard it was wonderful. He thought it was the best book he had ever read and he highly recommends it!!
Book Description
Masters of the Air is the deeply personal story of the American bomber boys in World War II who brought the war to Hitler's doorstep. With the narrative power of fiction, Donald Miller takes readers on a harrowing ride through the fire-filled skies over Berlin, Hanover, and Dresden and describes the terrible cost of bombing for the German people.
Fighting at 25,000 feet in thin, freezing air that no warriors had ever encountered before, bomber crews battled new kinds of assaults on body and mind. Air combat was deadly but intermittent: periods of inactivity and anxiety were followed by short bursts of fire and fear. Unlike infantrymen, bomber boys slept on clean sheets, drank beer in local pubs, and danced to the swing music of Glenn Miller's Air Force band, which toured U.S. air bases in England. But they had a much greater chance of dying than ground soldiers. In 1943, an American bomber crewman stood only a one-in-five chance of surviving his tour of duty, twenty-five missions. The Eighth Air Force lost more men in the war than the U.S. Marine Corps.
The bomber crews were an elite group of warriors who were a microcosm of America -- white America, anyway. (African-Americans could not serve in the Eighth Air Force except in a support capacity.) The actor Jimmy Stewart was a bomber boy, and so was the "King of Hollywood," Clark Gable. And the air war was filmed by Oscar-winning director William Wyler and covered by reporters like Andy Rooney and Walter Cronkite, all of whom flew combat missions with the men.
The Anglo-American bombing campaign against Nazi Germany was the longest military campaign of World War II, a war within a war. Until Allied soldiers crossed into Germany in the final months of the war, it was the only battle fought inside the German homeland.
Strategic bombing did not win the war, but the war could not have been won without it. American
airpower destroyed the rail facilities and oil refineries that supplied the German war machine. The bombing campaign was a shared enterprise: the British flew under the cover of night while American bombers attacked by day, a technique that British commanders thought was suicidal.
Masters of the Air is a story, as well, of life in wartime England and in the German prison camps, where tens of thousands of airmen spent part of the war. It ends with a vivid description of the grisly hunger marches captured airmen were forced to make near the end of the war through the country their bombs destroyed.
Drawn from recent interviews, oral histories, and American, British, German, and other archives, Masters of the Air is an authoritative, deeply moving account of the world's first and only bomber war.
Customer Reviews:
A "must read" for all those interested in WW II........2007-10-10
This monumental work covers the bomber war in Europe in a more complete way than any other book I have read including anything the great Martin Caidin has written. Mr. Miller tells the story from the perspectives of the tail gunners, waist gunners, radiomen, bombadiers, navigators, co-pilots and pilots as well as the generals who devised the strategys. All aspects of the war are covered from the original construction of the air bases to airplane maintenance to training to missions to time-off at local village pubs. Unlike other books, this one covers the POWs and their horrendous plight especially as the war is winding down and the Nazis more them from location to location ahead of the advancing Allies. Miller also includes stories about Capt. Tibbets of Hiroshima fame and a fascinating story of Chuck Yeager's escape from occupied Europe through Spain and his subsequent return to combat, something almost never allowed because re-patriated flyers knew too much about the french underground that would jeapordize lives if they were shot down a second time. Also of interest was information about what happened to crewmen who elected to land in "neutral" Switzerland in wounded ships. I recommend this book highly.
Masters of the Air.......2007-09-11
A marvelous story about the WW II air war over Europe. Full of interesting details and descriptions. I have shared it with friends that did their 35 missions, and they concur.
The Story of the "Mighty Eighth".......2007-09-08
This well-written and exhaustively researched book chronicles the rise of the American Eighth Air Force from its early days in England to VE Day in 1945.
At the outset of the war, the British believed that night bombing was the best way to attack German cities and industry. However, once America entered the war, they chose a philosophy different from that of the British. The Americans believed that daylight precision strategic bombing was the only way to defeat the Germans. The British, on the other hand, still favored nighttime area bombing. This difference of opinion between the Americans and British was never really settled, but by combining the "round the clock" attacks of American planes during the day and British planes at night, the Germans faced an unending stream of planes and bombs.
When the Eighth flew their first mission in the fall of 1942, they could barely muster thirty planes, but at the end of the war, they were putting up well over one thousand, with several hundred fighter escorts as well. The German Luftwaffe could not match these incredible numbers of planes, and, despite such tactics as underground production and introducing the world's first jet fighter, there was little they could do to stop the Allied bombing.
Differences also existed between the British and Americans regarding target selection. The British favored carpet bombing Germany's cities with little or no regard for civilian casualties. The Americans favored targeting German industry (synthetic oil production, ball bearings, and transportation hubs). The Americans believed that the systematic destruction of the German economy would bring about surrender quicker than the British belief of "terror attacks" designed to break the will of the German people.
An interesting point made by the author is whether or not strategic bombing was effective against the Germans. A preponderance of the evidence would suggest that the answer to this question is "yes", but there are some compelling counter-points made in the book.
This is a fine work of aviation history. The book is well-researched and is easy to read and understand. Every aspect of the Allied bomber offensive in Europe is covered in great detail. The author also includes many personal testimonials from the men who flew the B-17s and B-24s against the Germans. An interesting chapter is also devoted to the Swiss government and how they treated "captured" Allied fliers. The terrifying incendiary raid on Dresden as well as the horrific destruction of Berlin is also told in vivid detail.
I give this fine book my highest recommendation. If you're looking for information on the Eighth Air Force and the air war over Europe, this is the book to read.
Does anyone at Simon & Schuster proofread?.......2007-09-04
Mr. Miller's book includes not only substantial research into prior publications but very interesting research based on letters and interviews he's found on his own. It's a good book. But if you're a member of the word police you'll be annoyed by the many proofreading errors. Here's a sample: "In the heavily defended Ruhr, with its permanent cloud of industrial smoke, the number was only in ten." (p.54) Should have been "within ten miles." Some errors are so simple a spell checker would have caught them: (p.199) "spining" for spinning. And there are some factual errors as well. Miller attributes contrails to wingtips. They're created by engines. It's much easier to criticize than to write. Still, S&S should have, with the several editors listed in the acknowledgments, caught the errors. I have no idea whether they have been corrected in the paperback.
The Unsung Heroes of The Eighth Air Force.......2007-08-26
This is an overdue tribute to those young men who gave their lives, in great numbers, fighting the air war over Germany in WWII.To those who think WWII was fought without major tatical errors, this book will be a revelation. In tribute to the kids who lost their lives in this bloody effort, everyone should be required to read this story. If you thought that service in the Air Force was a cake walk read this book.
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Books Index
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General
| Recovery
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
The Little Book of Quitting
Tapping the Healer Within : Using Thought-Field Therapy to Instantly Conquer Your Fears, Anxieties, and Emotional Distress
The Easy Way to Stop Drinking
Allen Carr's Easyweigh to Lose Weight
Allen Carr's Easy Way for Women to Stop Smoking
Commit Lozenges , 4 mg, 72-Count (Mint)
LifeSign QuitKey Smoking Cessation Computer
NicoDerm CQ Step 1 Clear Patch, 21 mg, 2-Week Kit (14 patches)
The Substance of Successful Leaders
