Book Description
Soon to be a major motion picture starring Will Smith, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS is the inspiring, rags–to–riches story of the charismatic Chris Gardner –– a once homeless father who rasied and cared for his son on the mean streets of San Francisco and went on to become a crown prince of Wall Street
At the age of twenty, Milwaukee native Chris Gardner, just out of the Navy, arrived in San Francisco to pursue a promising career in medicine. Considered a prodigy in scientific research, he surprised everyone and himself by setting his sights on the competitive world of high finance. Yet no sooner had he landed an entry level position at a prestigious firm, Gardner found himself caught in a web of incredibly challenging circumstances that left him homeless with his toddler son. Instead of giving in to despair, the two spent almost a year moving from shelters, "HO–tels", and soup–lines, even sleeping in the public restroom of a subway station – ultimately making an astonishing transformation from the bathroom to the boardroom.
Part "Finding Fish," part "The Pact," THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS is a mythic, triumphant, and unstintingly honest memoir whose hero will appeal to every American.
Customer Reviews:
The Motivations of Negative Influences.......2007-10-08
This is a great inspirational story. It was a bit graphic for my personal taste and the book focuses tremendously on Chris Gardner's youth, which is where he derived his burning desire to excel through a number of horrific events. I bought this book after watching the movie. While the movie focuses on his life post-separation from his wife, the book only gets to this point at the end. Although I am only rating the book 4-stars, I could hardly put it down while I was reading it.
Meaningful Inspiration.......2007-09-11
Mr. Gardner's story is more than another story about having to pull oneself up by their own bootstraps, it is a mantra for Urban Americans who are dealing with cyclical social issues. Poor Education, Poverty and Single Parent household stories are no longer acceptable reasons for not achieving, unfortunately they are too common place. The Pursuit of Happyness is a great example of the saying "In order to be it, one must see it"!
Heartwarming.......2007-09-08
I've read one of the most touching and heartwarming book of one's life. It is a story that spreads open past hurts, the need for bottom-line respect that should come from the people who should give it (family) and speaks of success despite of...
The Pursuit of the Imagined.......2007-08-28
Chris Gardner says in the Acknowledgments, "Quincy Troupe [co-author] once paid me a backhand compliment by telling me that I was as crazy as his previous subject, Miles Davis. I'll definitely take that as a compliment!" Gardner's imaginings, that he could possibly become anything other than a replica of the hardworking poor men who enveloped his childhood, define him as crazy. His success is crazy. How he managed it defies sanity.
Gardner imagined a future bright enough to deflect the piercing influences of his childhood--violence, an alcoholic stepfather, a jailed mother, rape--and was able to grow up to be a man possessing little, if any, humility (refreshingly different than most memoirs). Good for him. That Gardner was once homeless and is now wealthy is interesting; that he had no reason to expect to succeed but succeeded anyway, is inspiring.
I should be so crazy.
Note: The movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" deals only with Gardner after he has lived in San Francisco for a while. My only complaint with the movie is its depiction of Gardner's wife. She is shown as an uneducated woman only capable of working in restaurants; she's actually quite educated, a dental school graduate who is waiting to sit for her dental boards. Tsk, tsk.
Engaging and Entertaining.......2007-08-23
I haven't seen the film, so I have nothing to compare it with. I found this book to be inspiring. It was a quick and easy read. It was entertaining and realistic. The language is colorful and his life is graphic. It's not a story for the faint of heart, but his experience is a wonderful read. Some of the other reviews have taken exception with the way he lives his life, but his account is genuine. His life is real in all its glory and its shortcomings. It's a wonderful read.
Book Description
What if one of the most powerful avenues to your achieving a balance of peacefulness and productivity - defined here as happiness - at home and at work, is so close that you may have missed it? What if by taking a new look here you can open truly unprecedented possibilities for yourself and your effectiveness, the quality of your relationships, as well as your emotional and physical well-being? And what if an incredible variety of your experiences and results - personally and professionally - have for years been connected to this, whether you've been aware of it or not?
This is the promise of this compelling new book by veteran consultant, certified personal coach and seminar leader Chalmers Brothers: A new way of understanding language provides a powerful new foundation and a new set of tools for literally designing your life, at home and at work and everywhere in between. This is especially relevant for anyone seeking to break free from repetitive and ineffective patterns, actions and outcomes. It's immediately valuable for everyone for whom building and maintaining mutually-beneficial relationships is important. And it's particularly useful for leaders, managers, administrators and anyone else who "gets paid to have effective conversations!"
In this book, the author leads you on an eye-opening exploration of yourself, your language, your conversations and their connections to your physical and emotional well-being. He introduces you to an emerging and thought-provoking way of thinking, one with very old and very new roots. You will see clearly that our collective common-sense understanding of language as merely a "tool for communicating" or "a way we describe how things are" is only a small and limited part of the full story. Having nothing at all to do with grammar, sentence structure or nouns and verbs, this book instead takes you on a journey through the many ways in which your internal and external conversations - fully inter-twined and braided together with your moods, emotions and physical body - are incredibly active, creative and generative (vs. merely passive and descriptive). Our language and our conversations are an ongoing force, a key causal element influencing and impacting virtually everything we do and how we do it, as well as every result we achieve and how we achieve it. In a very real way, we speak ourselves into the world!
Full of humor, real-life examples and practical how-to's, Language and the Pursuit of Happiness is essential reading if you're seeking to improve your openness and ability to continue learning, as well as to bring about desired changes in your life. It can be a source of new understanding and new practices that enable you to create and sustain healthier personal and professional relationships. It can support you in improving your effectiveness and productivity as a leader or manager (at any level), as well as your ability to influence and design your own moods and emotions. And it does all of this out of a sincere invitation for you to become a more powerful observer of the one person you can actually change anyway: yourself!
Customer Reviews:
Powerful tools to create the life you want.......2007-08-20
The distinctions in this book provide powerful tools for people to create the life that they have always desired. Instead of waiting for life to happen, Chalmers inspires readers to design it for themselves using language as the key. The author uses practical examples and real life situations that readers can relate to instead of just a theoretical approach. The book can also be used as a resource to refer back to for specific guidance at particular cross-roads. Each time the book is read, the reader can deepen their understanding of just how practical and powerful these distinctions are and how they will impact both their personal and professional life.
Professionally and personally...User Friendly!.......2007-08-13
Chalmers intergrates life changing concepts that can be applied to any situation you are faced with. Some difficult concepts are made easy for individuals to immediately bring into their lives and workplace. I personally have followed his format and found it to be superior. He not only writes a good book, but the material is easily applied and the outcome gets delivered in the ways it says it will.
I have and will continue sharing this book with others.
A must read for executives and entrepreneurs .......2007-08-09
Like Napoleon Hills book, Think and Grow Rich, Chalmers Brothers book, Language and the Pursuit of Happiness, gets to the point in practical, understandable language. Both books illuminate the key role played by the stories we tell ourselves in our internal dialogue. Brother's provides not only the why, but the how to greatly increase your business, professional and personal relationship skills. Working for many years with many CEOs and entrepreneurs has taught me that, as a group, these people are busy, creative, focused doers. At the end of the day, having invested the time to read a book, they insist a practical return on their investment. Language and the Pursuit of Happiness provides a great return on your investment of time and is a must read for executives and entrepreneurs who know they need every good tool they can acquire to create the outstandingly successful life they aspire to. I never recommend a book to my clients that doesn't meet my own return on investment needs, Chalmers Brothers Language and the Pursuit of Happiness is one of the select few books that I read and reread.
- Dr. Sparks Lunney, President, LifeCoachUSA, Inc. www.lifecoachusa.com
The basics of a more powerful way to be in today's world.......2007-08-08
Chalmers has done a fantastic job of articulating a whole new paradigm for how we can "be" in today's world in order to be more peaceful and effective in our work and personal lives. I'm partial, since I'm his former business partner, but I think he has done an excellent job in capturing the concepts we taught thousands of people in our work together for 3 - 1/2 years. The ontological framework is highly accessible to the layman as it's incredibly simple, yet profoundly powerful. Chalmers' engaging personal style, and optimism, shines through in his writing with his humor and personal stories. A must read, as far as I'm concerned, if you're fed up with the powerless, victim-oriented, external-focused way in which many people are going through life today.
Meh.......2007-07-28
I tried to read this book, but I gave up after the first 50 pages. I understand that this is not as complete of a review as it should be, but I just could not force myself to read it all the way to the end. I do not recommend this book.
Customer Reviews:
In Pursuit of Peace: 21 Ways to Conquer Anxiety, Fear, and Discontentment (Meyer, Joyce).......2007-03-21
Very true and helpful...Not an 'overnight' cure but a great start!
A Pathway to Peace in Life.......2007-01-30
In whatever you are struggling with in life, you will find that it all begins with seeking the peace of God. In learning to trust in Him and rely on Him completely, you can find a peace that surpasses all understanding. This is one of Joyce's most well written books and it is packed with the steps that you will need to find peace in an ever-changing, unstable world. Jesus came and died to give us HIS peace and it is up to US to pursue it! This is a must read for anyone desiring to enter the rest of God.
Disappointed.......2007-01-30
The audio tape contains useful information; however, I was disappointed that Joyce Meyers was not the actual speaker. I have listened to other audio cds of hers and found them to be not only useful but entertaining as well. I found my mind wandering often as I listened to Pat Lentz speak on the CDs.
Amazing- you need to have this.......2006-11-07
It was my first time buying an audiotape and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it but I loved it. I had never heard the subject of peace explained so well. The CD itself was very soothing. I listen to it everynight for the first two months. The voice of Pat Lentz works very well with the title of peace. I had to other 4 CDs for friends. The CD teaches you how not to be too busy, learning to relax and to rely on God, truly receiving the peace of God that surpasses all understanding in the midst of chaos. It teaches you how to handle stressful situations as well as valuing friendship and following God's plan. This is a very comprehensive CD that talks about behavior to even living a healthy life. I would say everyone should buy this CD.
I TRUST JOYCE MEYER UNSTINTINGLY.......2006-08-15
"If we speak badly about ourselves, we will feel condemned. Let's actively apply what Jesus taught in the Scripture above to speak positively about ourselves as the first step to overcoming insecurity, and never speak negatively about yourself. Speak words that empower you- not words that weaken you."
The reason that I trust this lady so much is because she is so strongly anointed by the Holy Spirit, and she writes about the serious matters which we need to address, matters we need to have spoken out, matters we need to hear. To say that Mrs. Meyer is a great teacher would be an understatement, and in In Pursuit of Peace, she has now taught me how I can have this peace and really, which is not truly hard, if we follow the rules, and lean on God's wonderful and powerful hand and His grace in our daily lives.
Some of the ways of keeping peace in our lives as suggested by Mrs. Meyer is to stop being double minded. Our peace can be maintained if we stop this double-mindedness, for changing our mind constantly shows instability and is not a good sign, plus double-mindedness steals our peace. Jesus intercedes for us so we should now relax, knowing that we have our Saviour who loves us carrying our burdens. Other ways of pursuing peace are:-
Not overloading our day with too many things. Knowing your limits will help you take care of your schedule.
Take a humble position and so avoid strife, and we shall experience peace.
Designate help when you have overload.
Accept yourself, and value yourself, as children of God, and you shall have peace.
Stop comparing yourself with others; focus on Jesus.
Look after you financials in a wise way, and if you cannot do that, get someone to help you.
Resist anxiety, which steals you, joy.
Don't think of another task without finishing the first.
Set boundaries for your friends and family so that they would not turn up into our lives whenever they feel like, forcing us to drop our work-load, and to sit down and sort-of entertain them.
These things and so much more, are offered to us, to show us how we can have peace and pursue it with all of our hearts.
This book is highly recommended! Enjoy!!!
Reviewed by Heather Marshall Negahdar (SUGAR-CANE 14/08/06)
Book Description
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Ron Suskind takes you deep inside America's real battles with violent, unrelenting terrorists -- a game of kill-or-be-killed, from the Oval Office to the streets of Karachi.
You may think you know what the "war on terror" is.
But to know it truly, you must read this book.
Suskind has written a riveting work of narrative nonfiction, filled with exclusive, historically significant disclosures that will echo across America and the world.
What is the guiding principle of the world's most powerful nation as it searches for enemies at home and abroad? The One Percent Doctrine is the deeply secretive core of America's real playbook: a default strategy, designed by Dick Cheney, that separates America from its moorings, and has driven everything -- from war in Afghanistan to war in Iraq to the global search for jihadists.
The story begins on September 12, 2001, the day America began to gather itself for a response to the unimaginable. Ultimately, that reply would shape the nation's very character.
Suskind tells us what actually occurred over the next three years, from the inside out, by tracing the steps of the key actors -- the notables, from the President and Vice President to George Tenet and Condoleezza Rice, who oversee the "war on terror" and report progress to an anxious nation; and the invisibles, the men and women just below the line of sight, left to improvise plans to defeat a new kind of enemy in an hour-by-hour race against disaster. The internal battles between these two teams -- one, under the hot lights; the other, actually fighting the fight -- reveal everything about what America faces, and what it has done, in this age of terror.
Who is actually running U.S. foreign policy? Is there an operational cell, armed with WMDs, inside the United States? Have some of the world's most dangerous terrorists -- including leaders of al Qaeda -- been caught and accidentally released? Can America prevail in this struggle against enemies who are patient, ingenious, certain, and have clear tactical advantage?
With his unparalleled access to senior officials, past and present, Ron Suskind -- author of The Price of Loyalty, the most revealing book yet written on the Bush administration -- finally answers the questions that keep Americans awake at night.
And in this startling book, he reframes the debates that roil the globe.
Customer Reviews:
Inaccurate information makes conclusions suspect.......2007-09-20
The present administration misled the american public regarding the presence of weapons of mass distruction (WMD) in Iraq.
Suskind alleges that George Tenent, former chief of CIA, knew nothing about the misrepresentation. This seems to be incorrect.
This inaccurate reporting makes other conclusions Suskind reaches suspect as well.
Fascinating.......2007-09-06
As someone who originally supported the Iraq war, I very much appreciate this book. It's insightful and engaging, well-researched and thoughtfully written. If you're undecided or lean toward the conservative and want to hear a good anti-war argument (as well as an analysis of the state of the government and its intelligence or lack thereof) that isn't just empty mud-slinging or hoaky conspiracy theories, then I highly recommend this book.
A strong book about what were facing in the post 911 world........2007-09-04
I'd recommend this book for anyone who wants to find out how the internal dynamics of the Bush WhiteHouse operate in the post-911 world. The author also gives us a better understanding of what our intelligence and law enforcement agencies are also having to face in the post-911 world. If the author is right and I think he is in many regards we are not really much safer now than we were on September 10th, and Al Qaeda is poised to strike again. I recommend that anyone interested in this title also read the 911 Commission Report.
AmBUSHED.......2007-08-28
Suskind makes a strong case that being smart doesn't mean you can't be president. After reading The One Percent Doctrine and another Suskind book, The Price of Loyalty about Paul O'Neill, I am more than ever convinced that we have a C- GPA graduate of Yale in the White House and we deserve what we get.
So much for exchanges of opinion in the Oval Office. I must say, however, that Suskind has done a thorough job of researching the way policy is adopted and implemented, even though Cheney comes out looking like the mad Rasputin.
I recommend you read The Price of Loyalty because this time, it GETS PERSONAL with Paul O'Neill and puts the frosting on Bush's obvious mantra, "My mind is made up. Don't confuse me with the facts."
Signed,
Ashamed Utah Republican
Mostly Blowing Smoke.......2007-07-26
Unlike some other reviewers, I found this book unfocused and lacking a central theme. It bounces all over time and the world without tying the pieces together.
Perhaps I am just naive and unimaginative in not identifying Bush bashing and Cheney chasing as a good central basis for a largely fictional plot.
That is the other great problem with this book. I guess Suskind is trying to copy Bob Woodward in writing a tell all book without identifying source material. If you compare his description of supposedly secret events with his with the author's index, there is little correlation. Suskind attributes his sources as "Many former officials with the CIA, the FBI, the White House" and others in the US government. But we accept the claims of an author who seems to have such a political bias?
If you are a committed Bush hater, the answer is obviously yes. This must be great reading and confirms what you have suspected all along.
For those who might be interested in having a more solid feel to the information you are reading, this book will be disappointing.
Customer Reviews:
A little disappointing........2007-02-08
Paul Watzlawick has written some really exceptional material, but I found this book to be less so. I did finally get a very useful insight near the end, but I felt like I was going through a lot of repetitive material. Kind of like a long run for a short slide. For a more enjoyable read by the same author, try "Change: Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution." For me his best was "How Real is Real? (An Anecdotal Introduction to Communication Theory)" , now out of print and a classic.
A really amusing and tale-telling reading.......2005-07-11
The author extracts from his extensive practice and writing in the field of communication theory an amusing list of "technics" people use to make their own lives miserable. They span from the avoidance of things that could solve one's own problems to the dual tendency to insist focusing on what cannot be reached; to projecting one's prejudices on others like when one wants to ask something fearing it will not be given and thus putting in act behaviours that forster just that reaction.
All in all the feeling that one gets from the book is that we do not need terrorism, wars, discriminations, torture, presidents of the United States or Osamas... all that is needed to make ourselves unhappy is already inside ourselves - thus, and here comes the positive message, it is there that it may, and must, be cured.
Funny and insightful!.......2003-02-08
This book is such a joy to read! It is one of the funniest books I have read and yet we learn so much about ourselves with it! It shows us how we create much of the unhappiness that we experience and in an indirect way, how we can step out of it. If you want to learn more about consciousness and how it relates to our happiness, read "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. It is not as funny but it tells us more about how consciousness works in a simple way. I think you will like it.
LAUGHING YOURSELF OUT OF UNHAPPINESS.......2002-11-02
A review by the marqueeofburano: A wonderful, witty, exposé of our endeavors to live a more miserable life by Watzlawick, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stanford University. The treatment of the subject will surely make you laugh at yourself and thus, perhaps, contribute to make you a better person.
W. deals with the fundamental, painful, necessity of the human being to be unhappy (in order to be quiet). And in fact, he contends that the best chapters of universal literature dwell with disaster, tragedy, guilt, madness, etc.
Dante's Inferno-W. writes- is very superior to his Paradise; same case as Milton's Paradise Lost compared with his Paradise Regained; Faust I's greatness is proportionally inverse to the tediousness of Faust II. So the author embarks hilariously in a methodic introduction to the best and more verifiable mechanisms to achieve unhappiness. Samples:
Always be truthful to yourself. A principle, from Polonius in Hamlet,of the outmost necessity for us ( its application is what gets the guy killed by Hamlet like a rat). So then, we must resist any temptation to yield to any other criteria or opinion, apart from ours. Never compromise or accept someone else's advice. The author then addresses the issue of the old saying: "time cures all wounds"..... According to W. four sound mechanisms exist if you want to avoid time's healing effects and transform the past into a present source of suffering. In the exaltation of the past we find those that only remember the good things about their youth and not the years of insecurity and anxiety. In so doing, they have a consistent reserve of sadness about their miserable present...... Also, this fidelity to the past, impairs our ability to enjoy the present and fully dedicate our efforts to the endeavors of the moment. Another mechanism is to consistently dwell with the guilt complex that past errors create, finding excuses or scapegoats (our parents, God, chromosomes, teachers etc.) while doing nothing to avoid committing the same mistakes again.
The author drives his point with practical examples. For instance the story of the hammer. A man wants to hang a painting. He has the nail, but not the hammer. Therefore it occurs to him to go over to the neighbor and ask him to lend him his hammer. But at this point, doubt sets in. What if he doesn't want to lend me the hammer? Yesterday he barely spoke to me. Maybe he was in a hurry. Or, perhaps, he holds something against me. But why? I didn't do anything to him. If he would ask me to lend him something, I would, at once. How can he refuse to lend me his hammer? People like him make other people's life miserable. Worst, he thinks that I need him because he has a hammer. This is got to stop ! And suddenly the guy runs to the neighbor's door, rings, and before letting him say anything, he screams: "You can keep your hammer, you b......"
Watzlawick not only discussess techniques to create false problems, but also the ones that make it actually possible to avoid solving problems and conver them into eternal torments. Here we get the example of the man that claps his hands every ten seconds. Asked why he does that, he answers: "to drive away the elephants..." -"But why, there are no elephants here"- The guy says: "Precisely".
This is a very funny book. It deals, with a fresh and delightful approach, with many of our karmas and mind bothering mosquitoes.......
Hilarious.......2001-10-28
Brilliant. When I wasn't laughing out loud, I was pierced by his trenchant obervations. Shows us how we choose unhappiness without even thinking about it. He is no Pangloss, the world is a tough place, but Watzlawick shows us how we make it worse than it has to be for ourselves. Highly, highly recommended for anyone with a sense of humor who wants to know more about him/herself.
Book Description
The definitive manual for the hopeless Venetophile.
Love of Venice can strike anyone, not just romantic wusses. Among the toughies with serious cases were Lord Byron, Richard Wagner, Ezra Pound, and Ernest Hemingway. Symptoms include:
• Wishing that the movie stars in films set in Venice would move aside so that you can get a better view of the scenery.
• Wondering why people ask if you had good weather when you were there—as if rain could dampen your love.
• Thinking that people who go to Tuscany or Provence must be nuts.
• Believing that the "Per San Marco" street sign with arrows pointing in opposite directions makes perfect sense.
• Consoling yourself when you leave by remembering the generations of Venetian merchants who, as they were borne away from Venice, vowed to be back as soon as they had more money.
There is no cure for this affliction. This is a guide to managing it. 35 illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
an epidemic .......2007-09-16
Judith Martin ought to be placed in quarantine as the most threatening carrier of a communicable disease since Typhoid Mary. Her 'No Vulgar Hotel' not only threatens to spread Venetophilia (her coinage, it seems) among the uninefected at epidemic strength; it may well render milder fevers than hers terminally virulent. Beware, after reading this delightful book, of the usual symptoms of this incurable contagion -- the urge to buy and repair decaying, waterlogged and insanely overpriced palazzi, the wearing of scary masks other than on Hallowe'en, a fascination with saints and saint's relics, the adoption of Venetian ancestors (whether they're actually ancestral or not), the collection of gimcracks and gismos whose only value is a tenuous connection with Venice, and not least the impulse to go to bad or mediocre movies merely because they have pictorial connections with Venice; and finally, at the risk of drowning, to go into training as amateur gondoliers." -- Edwin M. Yoder Jr., author of "Lions at Lamb House" and other books.
It doesnt deserve one star........2007-08-21
Cute title. After that this book sinks into the canal. I agree with another poster I do not think Ms Martin wrote much of this book. If she did she should be ashamed.
If you want to read a good book about Venice read CITY OF THE FALLING ANGELS. Or read any Donna Leon book all set in Venice and all excellent mysteries that are filled with the life of the people of Venice.
This book is just boring!
Don't Bother.......2007-07-24
This is a book without a purpose, beyond the self-adulation of the author. It has nothing new which is relevant to Venice nor is it insightful about its history, culture, or physical presence. There is not even anything relevatory about her experience in the city. These are simply Ms. Martin's musings about a city that she likes a lot. Unfortunately, it's hard to care.
Mixed review..........2007-07-14
I agree with the other posters that Judith Martin's tone is self-adulatory to the point of self indulgence. That, of course, isn't my favorite part of this book. However there is new stuff here that I didn't know and I've been returning "home" to Venice regularly for many years.
I actually bought this book hoping, among other things, to learn about hat etiquette (as excerpted on this Amazon page), since I sometimes wear a hat in Venice and would hate to be doing it the wrong way. I didn't find it, and that's a shame. Advising on such matters is--or ought to be--the author's forte. Imho it's too bad Miss Manners didn't write this book.
(By the way, another poster mentioned something called the "Venice Card," which is a discount gimmick for the tourists. This is quite different from the city-issued photo I.D. which allows a resident to purchase the monthly vaporetto pass for 30 euro, and this is what Martin was writing about. I didn't find it too awfully difficult to obtain, but maybe that has changed. My own abbonamento expired years ago but the brusque lady behind the counter still honors it every time, bless her heart.)
No Pompous Books.......2007-07-06
As a regular traveler to Venice, I am pretty familiar with all of the literature and guidebooks on La Serenissima. Alas, the Martin tome is among the most disappointing of the lot, as it is written as a set of disconnected anecdotes with the lone purpose of allowing the author to boast about her elite connections. Rather offputting. To truly gain insight into residing in Venice, Vitoux's "Living in Venice" is hard to beat. Equally useful and charming is McGregor's "Venice (From the Ground Up)."
Book Description
Twenty-five years ago, this book opened Christians' eyes to a new way of ""running the race""--today it still inspires a real and tangible holiness. Now available with an updated new look.
Download Description
Still running strong. Twenty-five years ago, The Pursuit of Holiness posed the question: What does holiness look like? For starters, it doesn't look anything like perfection. And it doesn't necessarily look like victory. Mostly, it consists of effort, prayer, grace, and obedience. "Scripture speaks of both a holiness we have in Christ before God, and a holiness we are to strive after," writes the author. In other words, we can ignore neither Christ's role nor our own if we are to successfully pursue holiness. It is as simple as refusing to smudge the truth on a tax return or as complicated as forgiving the person who has most viciously hurt us. Jerry takes holiness out of the realm of the impossible and brings it into "the real world" of our daily lives and decisions.
Customer Reviews:
Good book.......2007-08-16
Very good book for anyone who wants to become a more mature Christian. It really helped me understand the differense and interrelation between God's provision and my responsibility for addressing sin. Direct, practical, and "to the point".
The Best.......2007-05-22
This is one of the best and most influential books (other than the Bible) I have ever read. I could not recommend it more for anyone who wants to truly understand the importance of holiness in our lives.
legalism to tha max.......2007-04-15
justifaction, santification and holiness, are all linked to one thing the finished work of christ. guys like this say we are justified by faith but were are pertty much on are own when it comes to living the life of a christian.1 the 5;23 eph 5;25 and many othe rscriptures state that we are present tense justified, santified and glotified. by any effort of our own. o foolish jerry who has bewiched you. you stated in the spirit are you made perfect by the flesh.surrendering of the will not will power is the key to the christians walk. only god is holy. how do we become holy, the same way the temple became holy Gods Spirit resided there, "whos temple you are." he says he tried the let go and let god method of holiness and failed, so it was false. he then says try his method but do not be discouraged by constant failures and setbacks. read hebrews 4 and do not try to do it but trust god and apprehend it for yourself. by faith and faith alone. brother stop laying burdends on others you yourself can not bear. '
Insightful, practical, scriptural, and vital........2007-03-04
The Word of G-d plainly teaches us, in verse and example, that "without holiness, no man shall see G-d."
Jerry Bridges' examination of this foundational doctrine is both cogent and compelling. He has drawn extensively upon some of the finest writings on the subject; e.g. D.Martyn-Lloyd Jones, and Bishop JC Ryle, among others. We are given a practical and edifying guide to empower, encourage, and exhort us to pursue holiness, for holiness is the very essence of who G-d in Christ is.
This book is not an easy, quick read despite the fact that it is under 200 pages. There is much to pray about, to meditate on, and to consider if holiness is to be the characterization of our lives, and not merely head-knowledge. This book's strong point is that the author uses so much scripture to buttress his central thesis that one does not first have to get holy in order to be saved, but that holiness is a part of salvation and we are to expect the fruits of this in our lives.
Read and weep tears of repentance. One of the mnost important, yet underrated books of our time.
Holiness simply explained.......2007-02-23
I would highly recommend people to read this book. Especially in today's fast paced world, where sin practically comes to our doorsteps on a daily basis, we all need to learn how to best combat our deformed nature. The most beneficial section of The Pursuit of Holiness is by far chapters 5 - 7; in fact these chapters are an excellent companion to Romans 6 - 8.
In chapter five, Bridges rightly comments: "In a similar manner, Christians tend to sin out of habit. It is our habit to look for ourselves instead of others, to retaliate when injured in some way, and to indulge the appetites of our bodies. It is our habit to live for ourselves and not for God. When we become Christians, we do not drop all of this overnight. In fact, we will spend the rest of our lives putting off these habits and putting on habits of holiness" (p 51). In this chapter he really focuses in on the fact that as Christians when we sin it is because we choose to.
Chapter six I must state is the best chapter out of the entire book; the chapter centers on Romans 7:21, "I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good." Three fantastic points are brought out:
1. The seat of indwelling sin is the heart (pp 54-56).
2. Indwelling sin works largely through our desires (pp 56-57).
3. It tends to deceive our understanding or reasoning (pp 57-58).
Bridges explains that our evil desires are always looking to satisfy our lusts, which when engaged in a battle against sin our evil desires lead us to amuse ourselves with said sin. Our deformed nature tends to lead us into a misplaced confidence in our own will (i.e. pride). Therefore our desires must continuously be directed toward God. Last, he correctly warns "We abuse grace when, after sinning, we dwell on the compassion and mercy of God to the exclusion of His holiness and hatred of sin" (p 58).
Then in chapter seven, the consistent intake of scripture with the refocused fact that we are filled with the Holy Spirit and therefore dead to sin closes off a true gem of a study.
The remainder of the book focuses on solidifying holiness in our lives and the responsibility a Christian has to live a proper life of holiness. In closing, I once again recommend reading The Pursuit of Holiness; for Jerry Bridges covers this wonderful aspect of God in a way that is accessible to all Christians at all stages of growth.
Average customer rating:
- Fantastic for backpacking meals...
- very nice
- Backpackers Rejoice!
- Preserve Your Own Food
- Very good little book!
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Trail Food: Drying and Cooking Food for Backpacking and Paddling
Alan S. Kesselheim
Manufacturer: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Accessories:
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Rayovac SPHLTLED 3-in-1 LED Head-Lite
ASIN: 0070344361 |
Book Description
" . . . a book that will appeal to everyone who has ever choked down the pre-packaged, bargain-basement camp food (or gone bankrupt buying the good stuff)." --Canoe & Kayak
. . . if you're on the lookout for a way to bring real meals to the field, [this book] might have the answer." --Field & Stream
Life in the outdoors revolves around food--cooking it, eating it, packing it, carrying it. We even fantasize about it, especially after a week of eating store-bought provisions. This book is all about fulfulling those food fantasies and avoiding those expensive disappointments. Trail Food tells you how to remove water from food, to make it lighter and longer-lasting, without removing its taste. Learn to plan menus and prepare meals just like the ones you left behind, using fresh foods from your garden or market, prepared and seasoned the way you like them.
Why fantasize when you can have the real thing?
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic for backpacking meals..........2007-09-02
As a boyscout leader, we like to outdo the scouts on our creative cooking to inspire their creativity. It is a great book, to show how to make creative meals without the weight of heavy food items. This has been great!! Thanks C>
very nice.......2007-07-22
good and informative book for the price. I tried a few of the recipes and was able to improvise from there.
Backpackers Rejoice!.......2007-05-12
Good airflow throughout the cabinet meaning everything dries close to the same rate. The sound is basically is low and unobtrusive - lower than a humidifier. I like the square shape because it maximizes counter space in the kitchen. I dehydrate entire meals for backpacking. In addition to the standard fruit and veggies, I've dried chili, lasagna, chicken enchilada & rice, tuna noodle, spaghetti & sauce, lemon lentil soup, and more. Again, size of the trays and airflow work great for spreading out the food and getting it dried evenly. Rehydrating food out on the trail is much easier and tastes better than carrying ingredients separately and combining them out there. Dehydrating my favorite recipes for the trail also beats a week of store bought mac 'n cheese type foods out there. Geez, I should have been doing this years ago.
Preserve Your Own Food.......2007-04-12
Learn to use a food dehydrator and pack for those camping and hiking trips. There are also great tips on preserving fruits and vegetables.
Very good little book!.......2007-01-12
If you're looking for condensed information and ideas on how to purchase & use a food dehydrator, preserve fruits vegetables and mushrooms, meats for home use, as well as ideas for planning back country packing meals, this is a very good little book.
Book Description
With a focus on the five P's of competitive advantage—power, position, pace, potential, performance—this text selectively applies and adapts the concepts and methods of strategy analysis to the unique constraints and realities of the healthcare industry. This comprehensive text gives your students the basics of strategy, provides them with the know-how to adapt to their future organization's unique strategic plan.
Text is truly geared towards the unique healthcare market, addressing subjects as payment structures, autonomous groups of health professionals, and merging systems.
Benefits:
An accompanying web-based study system, Strategy Resources, will give readers access to StratCenter, an extensive database of U.S. healthcare organizations and markets. StratCenter allows you to compare competitors and complete in-depth market analyses.
A glossary is also available.
Customer Reviews:
Competitive strategy applied to provider-side healthcare.......2005-10-11
I was pleasantly surprised by this book, which provides a nice overview of the leading concepts in graduate-level, economics-based competitive strategy as it applies to provider-side healthcare. The book takes many of the key concepts and frameworks from the likes of Porter, Mintzberg, Ghemawat, Hamel, Prahalad, etc., and applies them to provider-based strategic competition in a way that is both intuitive and functional. If you're not already familiar with the authors mentioned above, the book is a good starting place for moving on to more advanced (though less healthcare- and provider-specific) work. Regardless, I'd highly recommend this book for those trying to improve the rigor of their strategic thinking for hospitals, medical groups, schools of medicine, and health systems.
Amazon.com
Few aristocratic English families of the 20th century have enjoyed quite the delicious notoriety that the Mitford sisters courted in the years bracketed by two world wars. For a start, two of the girls, Unity and Diana, were Fascists (the former was a friend of Hitler and Goebbels, and the latter married Sir Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of Fascists). Two others took the writing route: Jessica ran away from home and became a famous muckraking journalist, and Nancy composed maliciously witty--and transparently autobiographical--novels as well as several biographies. The Pursuit of Love (1945), her greatest fictional success, and its companion, Love in a Cold Climate (1949), keep closely to the spirit (and details) of their youthful amusements and more grown-up adventures.
Seen through the adoring eyes of Fanny Logan, the self-effacing cousin who records their shenanigans with a wicked sincerity, the Radletts of Alconleigh shine with Gloucestershire glamour: apoplectic Uncle Matthew; Lord Alconleigh (modeled to a fine nuance after Mitford's father, Lord Redesdale, who like Uncle Matthew used to hunt his children with bloodhounds); his kind, rather vague wife, Aunt Sadie; as well as Fanny's favorite cousin Linda and the other six Radlett children. The Radlett daughters and Fanny wait impatiently for life to become interesting. Because of their station, however, nothing but marriage is expected of them, so they hurl themselves at love like crusaders, with varied and always fascinating results. At one point Fanny recounts:
A few minutes only after Linda had left me to go back to London, Christian and the comrades, I had another caller. This time it was Lord Merlin...."This is a bad business," he said, abruptly, and without preamble, though I had not seen him for several years. "I'm just back from Rome, and what do I find--Linda and Christian Talbot. It's an extraordinary thing that I can't ever leave England without Linda getting herself mixed up with some thoroughly undesirable character. This is a disaster--how far has it gone? Can nothing be done?"
The Pursuit of Love follows the romantic fortunes of Linda Radlett, while Love in a Cold Climate ventures further afield with the story of Polly Hampton's shocking love affair and its unexpectedly funny aftermath. Fanny's inexhaustible narration is a pleasant buffer for Mitford's deft teasing, which dances along just this side of mockery. The author of U and Non-U, a famous tongue-in-cheek treatise on the shibboleths of upper-class mores, Mitford often leaves the reader wondering just where she stands in the class wars, and much of her humor arises in the fine distinctions of aristocratic manners and speech. Still, there's an inimitable tart sweetness to these stories of true love and its pallid imitators, making them perfect snapshots of a vanished world. --Barrie Trinkle
Book Description
Few aristocratic English families of the twentieth century enjoyed the glamorous notoriety of the infamous Mitford sisters. Nancy Mitford's most famous novels,
The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, satirize British aristocracy in the twenties and thirties through the amorous adventures of the Radletts, an exuberantly unconventional family closely modelled on Mitford's own.
The Radletts of Alconleigh occupy the heights of genteel eccentricity, from terrifying Lord Alconleigh (who, like Mitford's father, used to hunt his children with bloodhounds when foxes were not available), to his gentle wife, Sadie, their wayward daughter Linda, and the other six lively Radlett children. Mitford's wickedly funny prose follows these characters through misguided marriages and dramatic love affairs, as the shadow of World War II begins to close in on their rapidly vanishing world.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting Read........2007-06-17
I knew nothing of these two novels until just a few short days ago when I fell for the charms of Nancy Mitford. It was really interesting to learn that both The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate are semi-autobiographical.
Both novels were a classic read. Maybe they were a little boring in parts, but then so is life at times. Anyway, I am a huge sucker for love stories, and that's exactly what these were. I absolutely love how Ms. Mitford shows the two different sides of the narrator, Fanny in each novel. It definitely makes the entire book much more heart warming.
Overall, it was a challenging, and interesting read. (I even had to consult my dictionary several times for new and interesting words.)
funny, charming and touching.......2007-02-23
Mitford has a deft touch with comedy, romance and pathos. Her scenes of an eccentric upper-class British family are delightful (and she obviously knows this subject). Worth reading on its own, and especially if you are interested in the amazing Mitford sisters.
Love in an Ambivalent Climate.......2006-09-05
England between first and second world wars: few girls were as famous as the Mitfords, five beautiful daughters of a well-known upper class "county family" as the British would call them. Nancy, writer of the family, knew her debutante balls well. In fact, she later came up with a way to define English social class by defining speech as "U"for upper class; and "non-U" for those who weren't.
The Mitford girls were "brought up to marry,not fall in love,"Nancy once wrote. Unfortunately, of the actual Mitford girls, only one did as she was expected to do. Deborah (Debo) married the eleventh Duke of Devonsheer. Unity, however, hung around Germany, striking up warmer friendships with the Nazis, and expressing herself more forcefully in their support, than suited the British public. Diana went and married Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the British fascists, who was "detained" for WWII. Jessica ran off to Hollywood, no less, took American citizenship, and wrote the whistle-blowing "The American Way of Death,"a very inflential indictment of the funeral business. Nancy did marry an "Honorable," but then she turned around and published "The Pursuit of Love," and "Love in a Cold Climate,"two novels that pretty well blew the whistle on society, and on the Mitfords.
For everyone agrees that the central family of these novels, the Radletts, are the Mitfords to the life. Eccentric, choleric father; vague amiable mother; clamorous, animal-loving, quicksilver charming children. The action is narrated by a cousin who seems to resemble Nancy Mitford, and she seems to get most of the action too. As heroine of "In Pursuit of Love" she seems to have pursued love in most of the same places her creator did, though she knew what was expected of her.
How could she not? At one point, a powerful peeress advises Fanny, the narrator,"'Don't you go marrying anybody, for love. Remember that love cannot last; it never, never does; but if you marry all this it's for your life. One day, don't forget,you'll be middle-aged and think what that must be like for a woman who can't have, say, a pair of diamond earrings. A woman of my age needs diamonds near her face, to give a sparkle. Then at mealtimes, sitting with all the unimportant people for ever and ever. And no car. Not a very nice prospect,you know.'"
But Fanny, our narrator, hardly seems to need warning. She remarks at one point,"'always be civil to the girls, you never know who they may marry,'" is an aphorism which has saved many an English spinster from being treated like an Indian widow.'"
On a deeper level, however, Fanny seems to reflect her creator's ambivalence on whether to marry for love, or "all this." But there's still substantial ambivalence on that question.
These novels are undeniably bright and charming, and they seem to pick up right where tv's "Upstairs Downstairs" left off. Not to mention Evelyn Waugh's "Bright Young Things,"and "Brideshead revisited". If you liked them, you'll love this.
Light and entertaining read.......2006-06-05
I bought this book after I became acquainted with Mitford sisters through a biography I have read.
After reading the biography, the first novel, "Pursuit of Love" seemed very familiar to me because in some parts it is almost a narration of the Mitford history. Some characters are given a different history but it is easy to recognize Jessica or Nancy herself.
I wouldn't go so far as to call these novels masterpieces but they are very witty and enjoyable. Especially if you are an Anglophile like me, you will most certainly enjoy this humorous depiction of upper class society in England.
Both novels are narrated by Fanny, cousin/friend to the heroines of the novels. "Pursuit of Love" is about Linda's love affairs and "Love in a Cold Climate" is about Polly's scandalous marriage. Both novels contain very enjoyable side characters like the bellowing Uncle Matthew, the health-conscious Uncle Davey and the lovable sissy Cedric Hampton. In fact the leading ladies are not explored so well as these characters. In the case of Polly we know very little about what goes in her mind.
I must also note that these novels are more about characters than plots. Nancy Mitford writes along about the characters and when there is nothing more to say, she abruptly ends the novels. Besides if you haven't read them one after the other, some of the points Fanny makes will be quite irrelevant as in the case of Fanny's meeting Fabrice in "Love in a Cold Climate" and mentioning that she will be adopting his son years later. First novel's heroine Linda is just a distant character in the second novel but the other, funnier characters appear in both novels.
All in all an enjoyable read but do not expect a literary masterpiece.
Both are fantastic.......2006-04-18
I had read Love in a Cold Climate years ago, but hadn't read The Pursuit of Love. They are both hilarious.
The Pursuit of Love is the stronger book, but Love in a Cold Climate I found more amusing. I believe these were written in the 1930s, so the style and language can seem a little dated at times, but quaintly so. If you know anything about the British Upper Class, they are satirically hilarious.
Enjoy.
As other reviews more than adequately cover the two novels, my review gives you some background on the author and the circumstances that shaped her.
Love in a Cold Climate is loosely based on Mitford's own family. Famous or infamous depending on your point of view, their father did march them around the house. As a matter of interest two of the sisters were facists Unity shot herself, Diana married Oswald Moseley. Another Decca (Jessica) wrote for articles and books including "The American Way of Dying" and Nancy is the author of numerous books, including these. Sister Debo (Deborah) is the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire.
The Mitfords were a wonderfully eccentric minor aristocratic family. Nancy Mitford wrote the famous "Noblesse Oblige" about U and non-U in 1956. It is a glimpse into how the British could instantly tell if someone is truly an aristocratic/upper class or a pretender. Upper Classes would, and often still do, say lavatory and not toilet, rich and not wealthy, spectacles and not glasses, looking glass and not mirror, drawing room and not living room or lounge and so forth. Amazing, but true!
Understanding these codes, may help you understand the books and nuances a little better. Nancy Mitford has considerable insight and sends up her own class relentlessly.
If you want another great book with charming and hilarious antics of a young female relative forced to live with rustic eccentrics in 1930s England, read Stella Gibbons "Cold Comfort Farm". A true gem.
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