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
Playfully illustrated, this fun, easy guide for identifying personality styles provides insights as to why people behave as they do. Based on Don Lowry's True ColorsÒ model, you will discover tips for understanding, appreciating and relating to each style. Lighthearted anecdotes convey concepts in “real life” situations, offering immediately useful methods for resolving conflicts, opening lines of communication, and enhancing personal effectiveness. Convenient reference lists and a set of color character cards are included for easy determination of your True Colors spectrum. The end result is a celebration of the uniqueness in yourself and others.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome Book!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-11-05
True Colors is a true way to learn how to communicate and learn how to deal with other people. Being the Blue personality that I am, I have learned how to read other colors. I have learned how to deal with strong Gold personalities. Every boss and/or organizer should pick up this book to learn how to deal with the people they work with. It will make life so much easier. Buy this book today!!!!!!!!!!!!
Showing Our True Colors.......2005-03-05
Mary Miscisin's book was outstanding! It was a fun and easy read, yet full of informative and interesting ideas about people and how and why they act the way they do. Having been an educator for many years, this is THE book I could have used long ago to better interact with my students and their parents. The book's content makes easy what Myers-Briggs tries to do. I would recommend it to anyone who has a desire to deal more effectively with children or adults.
Color Me Satisfied.......2005-03-04
Easy to read, full of wisdom. I never could figure out how to use Myers-Briggs. I can use this everyday with everyone I meet. Useful for all ages, both sexes. Entertaining presentation helps emphasize a language of Colors that is non-threatening, non-emotional, and constructively wonderful
Life-long Learning!.......2005-03-04
As an educator with 30 years experience in the classroom and in coaching, I wish I could have read Mary Miscisin's book 30 years ago! I would have been a much better teacher and coach because I would have had a much better understanding of my students and athletes and how to more effectively communicate with them based on their colors. I couldn't put the book down because I kept meeting past students as well as people I know now represented in Miscisin's creative and stimulating examples. "Showing Our True Colors" was so challenging and packed with information, yet so simple to understand and implement. Every parent, teacher, and coach ought to read the book. It is a must for couples and anyone who wants to communicate more effectively. Where was this book when I needed it? Oh, yeah, I still do need it today. Thanks Mary!
Easy-to-Use Reference Guide.......2004-11-16
Miscisin and company do an excellent job of taking a complex topic, stripped it of the "psycho-babble" that can turn you off (or at least give you a headache) and presented it in a fun, easy to use guide on different styles. As a Human Resources professional. As a person who just wants to know more about me and those with whom I interact, it's been of phenomenal help. Most helpful is the section on "when colors fade". It has provided insight into how to manage and assist people who are in the middle of burnout and are heading downhill personally and professionally. Read it because it is interesting and informative. Hang on to it because it is because you'll keep referring to it.
Book Description
When I Was White is the mesmerizing story of a black woman born to white parents during the most unforgiving years of official racism in South Africa. Sandra Laing was officially registered and raised as a white child. But when she was sent to a conservative boarding school, she was mercilessly persecuted because of her dark skin and frizzy hair-the results, her parents said, of a genetic throwback. In 1966, when Sandra was ten, the police removed her from school and she was reclassified as 'colored.' In a bitter court battle followed closely by the press, Sandra's parents fought, and lost. Then, as a teenager, Sandra eloped with a black man, and her parents disowned her. She struggled with poverty, illness, and the injustice of race laws. With the end of apartheid in 1994, Sandra vowed to find her mother. Her long, troubling search and their ultimate reunion forms the book's surprising and deeply moving conclusion. Drawing on a wealth of research, including extensive interviews with Sandra Laing, her family and friends, as well as access to previously sealed government files, Judith Stone has written a close-up, compelling account of a remarkable woman whose life stands as a tribute to the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit.
Customer Reviews:
A Translated Life.......2007-09-24
I want to commend Judith Stone for the phenomenal work she has done in discussing a number of difficult subjects: Sandra Laing herself, the history of South Africa, and the nature of memory, family, and the examined life. Clearly, Sandra's lack (repression) of memory, and her inability to articulate her feelings, left Stone with an enormous challenge. She works through this brilliantly by marshaling the journalistic reports from the time and later, interviewing people who know Sandra, and sensitively explaining and exploring Apartheid's tortured history. Stone uses her knowledge of studies of PTSD, false-memory syndrome, and other relevant fields in psychology to examine Sandra's individual and South Africa's collective forgetfulness/refusal to admit reality. All in all, Stone has done a stunningly professional and sensitive job in illuminating one person's life, the cruel and terrible absurdities of Apartheid South Africa, and, more broadly still, what it means to live in a world where an ideological rigidity based on lies and hypocrisy sucks the life out of everyone--oppressor or oppressed.
An emotionally charged, highly recommended pick........2007-08-04
When Sandra Laing was born in 1955 to a pro-apartheid Afrikaner couple in South Africa she was registered as a white child - but upon entering a white boarding school, was persecuted by students and teachers because of her brown skin. Her parents believed an interracial union back in their family history was to blame, but neighbors thought Mrs. Laing had committed adultery with a black man and the entire family was shunned. She was reclassified as 'coloured', her parents fought the South African courts to reverse the determination, then as a teen Sandra eloped - with a black man - and her parents disowned her. WHEN SHE WAS WHITE: THE TRUE STORY OF A FAMILY DIVIDED BY RACE crosses back and forth along discrimination lines and is riveting. Impossible to put down, it will enhance any general-interest lending library and is an emotionally charged, highly recommended pick.
History Is So Interesting.......2007-08-01
Histry is so interesting. It is the tie to learning about how things use to be. This book is full of history and tells us how the African people were treated long ago. The sad thing is that even today these people are still treated very different. My nieces who are black and white are beautiful, but experience racism everyday. The book can be difficult reading in some parts because it is history. So be patient and enjoy it. I experienced many feelings while reading it. Makes me want to go talk to my 95 year old grandma and just listen to all her stories.
Sisters speak.......2007-06-04
With great anticipation, i began to read a riviting life story. However, i couldn't get through the first two chapters because of the dry manner in which the book was written. It was an extremely difficult read. I never finished the book. I was very disappointed.
A story of a mixed-race girl in Apartheid South Africa.......2007-05-30
Sandra Laing was born in the wrong place at the wrong time. South Africa was in the midst of apartheid, and the little girl didn't fit in to the country's strict classifications of white, black and Coloured. Instead she baffled family and neighbors in Eastern Transvaal by sprouting kinky hair that shaped her dark complexion, much to the dismay of her ethnically Dutch, Afrikaner parents. Judith Stone writes the history of this troubled girl, from her first encounters with racism all the way to her middle-aged life in the present day.
Sandra's parents tried to turn a blind eye to their daughter's physical differences, but the white boarding school she attended would do no such thing. Parents and faculty were outraged that an obviously non-white student was being admitted to their school and mingling with their fair-skinned children. Apartheid was about separation and segregation, and Sandra was getting in the way of their long-established system. Her mother was accused of sleeping with a black man, and her father had to constantly defend his paternity. Admitting to some "color-mixing" in their ancestry was not acceptable in such a polarized climate, even though this had gone on unspoken in South Africa for decades.
When Sandra was finally escorted off the grounds of her school, she had no idea what she did wrong. Her father was launching his own private campaign to keep her white; Sandra didn't see things in color yet, and her mom and dad were determined to keep it that way. But she did see that her parents treated her differently from her brothers, and she did notice the disgustful looks of those who had been in charge of her care. She knew that something about her was just not right. At the hands of government officials, Sandra's official race changed from white to Coloured to white again. She realized that she must take her fate into her own hands, creating an identity for herself that no one would be able to take away from her.
WHEN SHE WAS WHITE isn't a traditional biography. It chronicles not only the life of the protagonist but also the struggle of those who tried to bring her life into the public eye. In this way, the book is both a story and a study in psychoanalysis, in sociology and in consumer culture. Sandra was a willing but confused eyewitness to her own history, and half the struggle of chronicling it has been in getting the story straight. Sandra doesn't see herself as a hero or a representation of the ills of apartheid. All she sees is the pain that she feels she caused her family, and her only wish is for their forgiveness --- not recognizing that they are the ones who have a lot to be forgiven for.
This book does much to present the contradictions of apartheid to those outside of South Africa. It also paints a strong picture of the landscape and individuals who made the country what it was. The expanse of the Transvaal countryside sharply contrasts with the polarized societies who lived there, and it is as if it were a beautiful cake on top of a precarious tower that was threatening to come crashing down at any second. Sandra represented some of the flaws of that cake, and she was therefore shunned by those who wanted to keep things as they were.
WHEN SHE WAS WHITE is the print edition of the movie "Skin," which is scheduled to appear in 2008. It is a story in its own right, though, and shouldn't be left on the shelf in anticipation of the film. Judith Stone speaks of both the cruelty and the perceived justification of apartheid, and no one is presented as a simple-minded individual. Bigotry runs deep in South Africa's history, but the focus of this book is in healing the wounds from the past and embracing this new, free country, where government-regulated racial caste systems no longer exist.
--- Reviewed by Shannon Luders-Manuel
Customer Reviews:
impossible to put down.......2007-09-08
i have read this book from cover to cover about 10 times and i always see something new. this book makes me want to get up and do art.
Gaining a new perspective.......2007-08-07
Great book , which I purchased after joining my first RR and then starting to hyperventilate. The variety of layouts in this book gave me a huge sense of relief , frankly. The art communicated to me much more strongly than words that I could trust my own instincts as these artists do. There are a lot of different approaches to the same themes in this book and they opened my eyes to new possibilities that I personally might not have seen without them.
Get your creative juices flowing.......2007-04-02
A wonderful book full of creative ideas. Not a "how to do" book but for those looking for fresh ideas this one will get your creative juices flowing.
awesome.......2007-02-04
This book is AWESOME!
For anyone with a hint of interest in any arts, crafts, card making, scrap bok or sketchbook hobbys... This is a MUST buy!
HIGHLY recomended.
inspiration.......2006-08-18
I found this book to be full of ideas and inspiration in design, color, how-tos. Well written and well designed. I wanted it to go on and on. Recomend it for any one who enjoys a good read and wants inspiration in expressng themselved creativly.
Customer Reviews:
i cried so many times..........2007-01-23
this is such an amazing book that really flips the perceived norms of race. so many things happened to this boy as he was growing up that it is a miracle that he was sane enough to write a coherent memoir. there were so many times that literally moved me to tears. i emphatically recommend this book, you won't regret it.
One of the best books I have ever read.......2006-12-27
Life on the Color Line should be required reading for every American, especially anyone who wants to put their life's problems in perspective.
This is the most moving book I have read in a long time and I read a lot! William's account of his childhood truly woke me up to how fortunate I am to have the life I have, despite losing my mother at age 20. No one should have to endure the painful struggles of racism, poverty, rejection, parental neglect and abandonment that Williams did, as well as a dysfunctional family to top it off. Whether Williams dated black girls or white ones, he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't.
Life on the Color Line contains many harrowing scenes. One that stood out for me was when William's white maternal grandmother refuses to pass along her daughter's messages to her children after she has left the family. She calls her own grandchildren "niggers" and refuses to let them live with her in a nice section of Muncie only a few minutes away from the black ghetto where they reside with a family friend Miss Dora.
One question that remains unanswered after reading this book is why William's mother only took her younger children with her when she left her husband. Why did she leave Gregory and Mike with their alcoholic father? It doesn't make sense that she would take some of her children to safety with her, but not all of them. The only explanation I can come up with is that Greg's mother figured her older boys were mature enough to fend for themselves. Towards the end of the book, their mother's inability to understand what kind of life she left her boys to leave left me wanting to throw rocks at her and give that woman a good beating.
I am in awe of the author's maturity, courage, and sheer will power that enabled him to overcome all these obstacles. His experiences put my own life in perspective.
I borrowed this book from the library, and now that I've reached the last page, I will definitely be buying it on Amazon!
To Read and Talk About.......2006-11-01
I learned about this book in an article in the Baton Rouge newspaper. LSU has assigned it as summer reading for many of their students and a group is working to get others in Baton Rouge to read it as well. At our church's partnership group with a local African-American church we decided to read it as a group project, and I'm glad we did. Williams' memoir tells the fascinating story of a young man who is born into the lower-middle class white world of suburban Virginia only to learn when he is about six years old that his father is the son of a mixed-race couple from Muncie, Indiana. Circumstances resulting from this news takes the boy, his father and his brother to Muncie where they live among their African-American (or colored as they were called in the 1950s) family. Billy's (or Greg) father Tony (or Buster) is an alcoholic, which makes life no less difficult as he's scorned by his white classmates and, with his white skin and Caucasian features, standing on shaky ground in his own colored community. A good-hearted woman named Dora raises the two boys as her own, as their birth mother spurns her now-black children. Dora's kindness and Greg's determination to do more than survive are inspiring.
In the flesh, the man is a wonder........2006-10-02
I had the unusual pleasure of hearing him speak at a public function when this book first came out. In fact, that's how I got my free copy. The story of this man's life is simply amazing. That came through in his honest and heart-felt reflection of the hardships he's had to overcome growing up. I've lived in San Francisco most of my life, attending public school with the normal cross section of the city's diverse ethnic crowd. I can say with a degree of certainty that I'm culturally aware of the African American experience. So it is with a bit of sadness that I regret not having met more people with Williams' ambition and determination when I was younger. To be fair, the circumstances in which his life unfolded would probably be hard to duplicate in this day and age, especially in San Francisco. But regardless, I truly believe young blacks of today, regardless of where they may live can draw inspiration from his story. We all still face a huge amount of inequality and injustice in our society today. With such polarization along political and religious lines in our national conscience as I'm writing this, it is critical to remember that race still matters. The other day, the biology department chair at my school presented a slide show of New Orleans where here Alma Mater was severely damaged by Katrina a year ago. She's a parasitologist with a Ph.D from Tulane University. The contrast between the French quarter/downtown and the poorer residential areas are striking. Those who've read Williams book would immediately draw parallels with the stark geographic division along racial lines of Muncie, Indiana - where Williams grew up. How many other cities in America are New Orleans waiting to happen? If something unthinkable should happen in Muncie today, how will the citizens of that city fare today? Will the impoverished blacks of Hunter's point/Bayview in my own city suffer the same fate as those of the lower 9th ward when the "Big One" strikes California? If more of my fellow black San Franciscans can aspire to be like Williams and strive to lift themselves and their community out of poverty and strife, we just might have a chance at doing better. One can hope.
GREAT READING FOR MANKIND.......2006-07-28
GOT TO MAKE THIS A SHORT REVIEW. STILL READING. CAN'T PUT IT DOWN!!!! ALSO READ "COLOR OF WATER" AND IT WAS GREAT READING!!! BACK TO WORK. CAN'T WAIT TO GET BACK TO "LIFE ON THE COLOR LINE".
I DON'T READ A BOOK MORE THAN ONCE BUT THESE ARE WORTH READING OVER AGAIN. I THINK THEY WOULD MAKE GREAT MOVIES!!!
Amazon.com
Kaffir Boy does for apartheid-era South Africa what Richard Wright's Black Boy did for the segregated American South. In stark prose, Mathabane describes his life growing up in a nonwhite ghetto outside Johannesburg--and how he escaped its horrors. Hard work and faith in education played key roles, and Mathabane eventually won a tennis scholarship to an American university. This is not, needless to say, an opportunity afforded to many of the poor blacks who make up most of South Africa's population. And yet Mathabane reveals their troubled world on these pages in a way that only someone who has lived this life can.
Book Description
The Classic Story of Life in Apartheid South Africa
Mark Mathabane was weaned on devastating poverty and schooled in the cruel streets of South Africa's most desperate ghetto, where bloody gang wars and midnight police raids were his rites of passage. Like every other child born in the hopelessness of apartheid, he learned to measure his life in days, not years. Yet Mark Mathabane, armed only with the courage of his family and a hard-won education, raised himself up from the squalor and humiliation to win a scholarship to an American university.
This extraordinary memoir of life under apartheid is a triumph of the human spirit over hatred and unspeakable degradation. For Mark Mathabane did what no physically and psychologically battered "Kaffir" from the rat-infested alleys of Alexandra was supposed to do -- he escaped to tell about it.
Customer Reviews:
A Must read.......2007-09-18
I picked up this book after watching the movie "Tsotsi". I was looking for a book about apartheid in South Africa and stumbled upon this one. And I am so glad I did. The author has done a great job in detailing his childhood and the struggle he and his family went through. Half-way through the book I found it extremely depressing and decided to stop. Later that night I realized that people have courage to actually go through and I can't even complete reading the book? People in Africa still go through horrifying experiences...Yes, it was a depressing read but a definite MUST. An absolute eye opener...
Excellent.......2007-07-19
A truly heartwrenching tale of what life was like growing up under the oppressive system of apartheid in South Africa. Great resource for history classrooms and an excellent read, Mathabane relates a story that was hard to put down.
unique look at apartheid.......2007-07-13
A very valuable, intimate inside look at apartheid direct from the eyes of a poor black boy, aged 6 to 18. Not a view point we in the west often get.
Kaffir Boy: The Balls in his court.......2007-01-29
Kerry O'Callaghan... Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane was truly an eye-opening novel. The author tells his story about being a young black boy in Apartheid, South Africa, and how they used to think, no matter what, dreams would never be successful for the blacks living there. Mark's father then got a new job, which led Mark to go to school, where he succeeded and started to play tennis. Kaffir boy was an amazing novel that led me to understand things that i had never known before. Hearing about the horrible circumstances that happen every day to Black people, even in their own country, where they should feel safe and at home, but in almost all cases, dont. I would reccomend this book, because I feel that people need to understand whats going on, or what did go on in the world that they live in.
Searching for an Escape of Apartheid.......2007-01-29
Honestly, when I chose this book, I thought it was going to be a "whatever" book, like any other autobiography. I expected that I would feel sympathy for reading his the experiences in his life of apartheid, but I ended up feeling so much more than that. The way that Mathabane describes his hardships of the beatings he beared and living in poverty was descriptive, real, and takes an effect on the reader. Mathabane's strength was definitely getting the reader to imagine that one was acutally watching the obstacles he dealt with. There weren't any weaknesses that I personally noticed. Although, in order for the reader to get the full effect of what he went through, Mathabane was graphic and vulgar in his writing. Certain scenes were very graphic which can be uncomfortable to read, but it's showing the reality of this world, how it's nowhere close to perfect. I am interested in reading other books that Mark Mathabane has written, especially after reading Kaffir Boy. This book was very inspiring and motivating. It really showed how if you focus yourself and become determined to achieve something, your chances are great. After reading this autobiography, I feel thankful for everything I have today and anyone who reads this should feel the same.
Book Description
So many people hate their jobs yet are afraid to leave because they don't know what else to do. Finally a book has come along that takes the mystery out of the job search process by showing readers what their natural gifts and talents are, and how this information leads them to the work they love to do.
Readers are introduced to the True Colors Personality System and taken on an inner journey to discover their unique strengths and how to use them in a rewarding career filled with self-expression, passion and success.
Follow Your True Colors to the Work You Love is so much more than just another career book about how to find a job. The author demonstrates how she dealt with self-esteem issues and reclaimed her own true self, discovering her life's work in the process. From her twenty-five years of experience as a career counselor, she shares stories of people she has helped to find the work they love.
Customer Reviews:
Everyone needs this book.......2007-07-13
This book is needed to be read before anyone plans to seek employment. It will guide you to understand yourself and what career you need to lead a fulfilling life. A must read for anyone at any level of employment.
Everyone should read this book!.......2006-08-21
This book is really helpful in figuring out your own personality type as well as other people's. It teaches you how to interact with other personality types and gives you an accurate description on what kind work you should be doing according to your personality. It not only helped me to figure out my dream profession, but also encouraged me to go for it!
If you work with kids, buy this book!.......2006-06-16
True colors will break your kids down into 4 main personalities and a combination of sub personalities. This book will teach you the weaknesses, strengths, wants, needs, etc. of each kid. After reading this book you will learn how to read kids and deal with their personality. Also, it will help you pick the right mate to date or marry and to pick the work that will make you happy. After two days of students in my class, I can tell the "orange" students in my class and my career advice to them is "Never take a job that is behind a desk or stuck in a room all day." Years later, students always tell me I was so right. So true colors does work! Buy it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A Colorful Pathway to Success.......2002-01-05
An exceptional work that is a delightful "read". In a very friendly yet literate style, Ms. Kalil lays an easy foundation for finding harmony with our career focus and personality. The included card set is an amazingly simple way to find your direction and learn about your "True Colors". The book is truly informative, and very helpful.
The Magic of Follow Your True Colors in Career Planning.......2001-06-04
My most recent college career planning class was instructed to purchase the book Follow Your True Colors to the Work You Love as well as the workbook. The students were given weekly homework reading assignments from the book. During class they completed individual and group exercises from the workbook. The book provided a framework for understanding the career planning process based on an individual's true color personality profile. The workbook provided an opportunity for the students to apply the principles learned from reading the book. In conjunction, the two books complimented one another and increased the students' understanding and application of the concepts.
During the course, several students approached me independently and commented on how much they enjoyed the readings and exercises they were assigned. Some individuals felt that the author was speaking directly to them and their circumstances. Other students were amazed by the author's uncanny ability to pinpoint their personality traits and characteristics.
However, I had no idea until I read the finals submitted by the students at the end of the class how universally these two books had impacted people. Even students who were initially skeptical about the usefullness of this class and its approach to career planning were quite pleased with the insight and information they had learned about themselves. Overall, students benefited greatly from reading and using these exercises for self discovery and understanding presented in the book and workbook Follow Your True Colors to the Work You Love. These two books will definetly be required reading for my future students!
Amazon.com
Willie Bosket was charming, magnetic, and brilliant. He was also the most cold-blooded criminal the New York State penal system had ever seen. By the time he was in his teens, he had committed over two hundred armed robberies and twenty-five stabbings. Fox Butterfield examines the heritage of violence that followed Bosket's family from their days in slavery in South Carolina to the present.
Book Description
Considered by many to be the most dangerous inmate in the history of the New York penal system, Willie Bosket is a brilliant, violent man who began his criminal career at age five. His slaying of two subway riders at fifteen led to the passage of the first law in the nation allowing teenagers to be tried as adults. Yet sadly, Willie is not an aberration within the Bosket family--but rather the latest in a long line of brutal, exceptionally intelligent malefactors who were driven by circumstances, racism, and a distinctly American craving for respect by any means necessary. In this groundbreaking work, award-winning journalist Fox Butterfield traces a troubled family's history back to the days of slavery in an attempt to get to the roots of the violence endemic in our society.
Customer Reviews:
GREAT BOOK!! - a reviewer.......2007-03-17
This book was indeed an eye-opener. I encourage all who are concerned about our society as a whole to study this book, and especially those who are in social services. Mr. Butterfield should be applauded for this work.
Great Book.......2006-11-07
I'm not A reader of books. I was refered this one and I can't stop referencing it in everyday conversations. This book is not only a great history lesson of Racial tensions but also a great look into the history of violence in our Black Youth....
Boring yet Interesting..........2006-06-12
At first glance I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this book. The story was non-fiction, which ultimately means that my mind immediately began thinking of Stephen Ambrose and his agonizing dry facts and boring narrative. While I could have easily set this book down and found a new book that looked more promising the title, "All God's Children," got my attention and caused me to pick it up. Upon reading this book half of my initial intuition was correct. The book was extremely boring but it was also incredibly fascinating.
If I could give a review based solely on the information represented in this book I would give it a new perfect score but it is a book so it also needs to hold the readers' attention. I had a horrible time trying to push my way through the book due to some incredibly slow chapters. For example, the first chapter, "Bloody Edgefield" gathers semi-useful information and then takes forever to explain the meaning behind it. Beginning in the first chapter it is necessary to involve the reader in the story and "All God's Children nearly put me to sleep."
Although I found this book to be boring the information and descriptions were excellent. The book traces the family tree of an incarcerated young man named Willie Bosket who has been named the most dangerous criminal alive. I found the story to be fascinating and through this book I could make conjectures as to whether Willie's nature was preconceived or if it was his environment.
Also, though the book was boring the writing was superb. Every description was vivid portraying Fox Butterfield's massive vocabulary. The writing made the reader feel as if he or she were interacting with the story instead of looking back on it two hundred years later. Due to the fact that it was boring I gave the book three stars but it is still a worthwhile read to those interested in the story of Willie Bosket.
Absolutly amazing.......2006-03-16
I was required to read this book for one of my college classes, and I'm so glad I did. The first part of the book starts out a little slow, but once you get into the lives of the family the book is about, it's hard to put down. It gives you the actual events that took place in the lives of this family. It really hit me hard. This book makes you realize the faults that existed, and still exist in the criminal system, and how easy it is for one person to continually slip through the cracks. I highly reccommend this book, it is one of the best I've ever read.
Why "honor" is a dangerous thing.......2005-04-29
This is an excellent book that should have received more attention.
Butterfield argues that the white Southern mentality of easily aggrieved honor has made its way through time and the descendants of slaves, transmuted into the similar hair-trigger ethos of inner-city streets.
The family he traces is from Edgefield, South Carolina. This was the home of Rep. Preston Brooks, who nearly beat abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner to death on the floor of the Senate. Butterfield shows that Southern society (of which Edgefield was an extreme example; (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3729/is_199901/ai_n8833731) measured "manhood" by the willingness to use violence in defense of one's "honor." "Honor" is defined as reputation, especially the reputation of being someone who cannot be insulted with impunity. Butterfield argues that even "field hands" or blacks of the lowest station learned to ape the white obsession with avenging "disrespect." Of course, they could only avenge "disrespect" among their "own kind." Northern ghettos are filled with black youths who murdered people for looking at them the wrong way or otherwise "disrespecting" them.
Another lesson blacks learned in the South was the low value of black life. Butterfield shows how it was rare for a black to be punished with any severity for killing another black. Many times a plantation owner could go to the jail and demand that the sheriff release a murderer so he could work in the field.
This book rings true. Compare it with books by Bertram Wyatt-Brown: Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South and The Shaping of Southern Culture: Honor, Grace, and War, 1760S-1890s. The South has been known as the land of hot tempers since the antebellum period. They are people who, to this day, are far more easlily insulted than Northerners.
In Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt (Paperback)
by Christine Leigh Heyrman, the author shows us how the Christian ideal (humility, willingness to admit to one's own sins or flaws, forgiveness of enemies) was the direct opposite of the Southern ideal of what a man (white) should be. Evangelical Christianity made a choice to accomodate the white male ideal rather than the Christian ideal.
It is relevant here to report an incident from another book, Blood and Treasure: Confederate Empire in the Southwest by Donald S. Frazier. In 1856, Philemon T. Herbert, a Democratic Congressman from Texas, shot and killed the Irish headwaiter at Willard's Hotel in Washington, D.C. for refusing to serve him breakfast after the posted time. This incident was widely publicized during that election year as evidence of Southern or proslavery contempt for all working people - white or otherwise. In the South itself, Herbert was hailed as a hero who acted exactly as a Southern gentleman should. He avenged an "insult" to his "honor" and put an "inferior" in his place. Add to this incident the even more infamous 1856 case of antislavery champion Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts being almost clubbed to death in the Senate chamber by South Carolina Congressman Preston S. Brooks (another matter of Southern "honor") and you can see how the North came to increasingly view the Southern "Slave Power" as fanatical and contemptuous of the rights of others - even "whites."
Book Description
This is the true story of America's first black dynasty. The years after the Civil War represented an astonishing moment of opportunity for African-Americans. The rush to build a racially democratic society from the ruins of slavery is never more evident than in the personal history of Blanche Kelso Bruce and his heirs.
Born a slave in 1841, Bruce became a local Mississippi sheriff, developed a growing Republican power base, amassed a real-estate fortune, and became the first black to serve a full Senate term. He married Josephine Willson, the daughter of a wealthy black Philadelphia doctor. Together they broke racial barriers as a socialite couple in 1880s Washington, D.C.
By befriending President Ulysses S. Grant, abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and a cadre of liberal black and white Republicans, Bruce spent six years in the U.S. Senate, then gained appointments under four presidents (Garfield, Arthur, Harrison, and McKinley), culminating with a top Treasury post, which placed his name on all U.S. currency.
During Reconstruction, the Bruce family entertained lavishly in their two Washington town houses and acquired an 800-acre plantation, homes in four states, and a fortune that allowed their son and grandchildren to attend Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University, beginning in 1896.
The Senator's legacy would continue with his son, Roscoe, who became both a protégé of Booker T. Washington and a superintendent of Washington, D.C.'s segregated schools. When the family moved to New York in the 1920s and formed an alliance with John D. Rockefeller Jr., the Bruces became an enviable force in Harlem society. Their public battle to get their grandson admitted into Harvard University's segregated dormitories elicited the support of people like W. E. B. Du Bois and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and broke brave new ground for blacks of their day.
But in the end, the Bruce dynasty's wealth and stature would disappear when the Senator's grandson landed in prison following a sensational trial and his Radcliffe-educated granddaughter married a black Hollywood actor who passed for white.
By drawing on Senate records, historic documents, and the personal letters of Senator Bruce, Josephine, their colleagues, friends, children, and grandchildren, author Lawrence Otis Graham weaves a riveting social history that spans 120 years. From Mississippi to Washington, D.C., to New York, The Senator and the Socialite provides a fascinating look into the history of race and class in America.
Customer Reviews:
Intrigue and Disappointment.......2007-09-29
Lawrence Otis Graham's "The Senator and the Socialite" is an important work. Graham does a wonderful job of detailing the great accomplishments of Black-Americans - much of which you would not ordinarily hear about and should be proud of. However, I am saddened to learn the descendants of such an important historical figure (Senator Blanche K. Bruce) are ashamed of their Black-American heritage and now live as white people.
The Senator and the Socialite.......2007-09-10
I thought this was a slow starting book,but I ended up really liking the book. I learned so much. Well worth reading.
Review of The Senator and The Socialite.......2007-09-02
This is a wonderful documentation of early Black history. I would reccomend all Blacks to read it . Our children especially should be made aware of this History. I have given it to some of my friends and they are glad to add this bit of history to their knowledge. We have been given so much misinformation that it is great to find some truth in books such as this
An amazing account of the black elite in turn of the century America.......2007-07-30
This book chronicles the lives of Blanche and Josephine Bruce and their descendants who were the creme de la creme of the black elite during their time. Blanche was the first black senator elected to full term and his wife a well known socialite. Their son and his descendants went on to go to the most prestigious schools in the country and would create their own legacy though not always a positive one. The book also explores how the black elite in DC wielded great power and prestige at a time when a majority of blacks couldn't even exercise the right to vote. It also explores how racism played a role in all aspects of life and that it wasn't just white on black but rich, elite, lighter skinned blacks against poor, dark skinned blacks. Despite the obstacles the Bruce family became the toast of Washington DC and were friends with personalities such as Booker T. Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, Frederick Douglass and many other celebrities of the time period. The meteoric rise of this once prestigious family unfortunately plummeted during the early twentieth century. A must read for those wanting to learn just how important the black elite was at this time in America's history.
the senator and the socialite: true story of first blk dynasty.......2007-03-10
this bk brought to life a part of blk history that i was unaware of. i did know that all blks were not slaves but i had no idea they were republicans (initially) and that quite a few were wealthy. it is great to know that during that period in amer. hist. ( perhaps the worst pd. ever) blk people were educated, rich, intelligent and socially accepted. i do regret to know, however that old money and being light skin and light enough to pass for white, runs hand in hand.
Book Description
Color management is one of the essential elements, yet major stumbling blocks in digital photography. The vast majority of digital photographers really wish they didn't have to be concerned with color management, yet the basic process of moving images from capture to print becomes impractical without it. And the more sophisticated the photography workflow becomes, the more important it is to manage colors from capture to print.
In this book, Brad Hinkel simplifies the language of color management. It is based on classes and workshops the author has given to hundreds of students of digital photography. His process for color management is intended to provide enough information to create a simple and effective system allowing the user to get on with photography - focus on creativity instead of technology. However, the fact that this book suggests a simple approach to color management does not mean it sacrifices quality and effectiveness. Simpler is usually better - if it works.
Customer Reviews:
Great basic overview of digital color management & printing on inkjet.......2007-10-03
My color experience is from being a long time film photographer. Digital color management principals were new to me before this book. Having completed it, I feel that I understand the fundamentals and have made some excellent color prints using Photoshop CS3 on my Intel MacMini printing to my HP B9180 archival printer. These prints are as good or slightly better than any I've made using traditional chemical color printing processes. If you want to make better prints on any inkjet printer, this is a great handbook!
Facing the Color Management Challenge.......2007-05-16
What you see is seldom what you get when you make the arduous journey from digital image file to hard copy. It's a royal pain in the ASCII.
Most of us pass off the color difference between what we see on our monitor and what we get in our prints with a shrug of the shoulders. It's just one of those vagaries of computing, right?
Generally, that's a healthy attitude for the casual computer user/digital photographer. There are enough hassles in life without looking for new ones. On the other hand, if you're trying to make a living in graphic arts/photography, color management looms large in your professional life.
Some days, when I'm working on several computers, each with it's own color quirks, it gets frustrating. The book nicely bridges the color management gap with thorough explanations of color space and how to calibrate and profile your monitor.
Obviously, a good monitor is going to be an important component of the management process. Hinckel covers the related subjects as well as making some specific recommendations. He also looks beyond the monitor and discusses a good work environment.
There are specific software packages like Monaco OPTIC and Monaco EZcolor that are more powerful than the color management programs that come with printers and photo/graphic editing software. There is a good explanation of how these work.
Hinkel explorers numerous printing option, tells how to test your system, and then he moves into Advanced Printing.
This book presents a comprehensive, easy-to-understand overview of color management. Hallelujah. This book may actually inspire all of us color-management-procrastinators to jump in and get this vital area of graphic arts under control.
A must read for any serious digital photographer.......2007-03-12
For years I struggled with how to deal with a simple problem of getting what I see on screen to be the same as what I print a photo lab. Color management shouldn't be such a difficult task though it usually is unless you know some preparation and steps you need to take. Most casual photographers don't give a thought, and photo ops do a pretty decent job producing printed photos that make us happy enough that we don't think color management is an issue. But if you're taking photos that include portraits, sunsets, landscapes or any situation where precise colors matter, you began thinking about color management.
Brad Hinkel does a superb job explaining the reasoning and science behind color spaces and how it applies to digital workflow color management. From the beginning to end this relatively short and concise book takes the reader through 10 important steps of not only understanding but how to accurately reproduce your intended photos in all their vibrant color glory. From choosing a good monitor to converting your colors to the right color space for the intended output, when you read this book you will approach managing your photos with a new expert eye.
Beginners might have a bit tougher time with the learning curve of understanding color management even with this well-written easy-to-read title, but an intermediate to advanced user would find it highly educational and a fast read. This one definitely falls in my highly recommended category.
Enthusiastically recommended for any Photoshop user interested in improving the quality of their digital color photographs........2007-03-04
Written by photographer, software designer and teacher Brad Hinkel, Color Management in Digital Photography: Ten Easy Steps to True Colors in Photoshop is a methodical, full-color guide to making the most of digital color photography using Photoshop software. Numerous computer screenshots illustrate the step-by-step instructions, and the straightforward text is written to be accessible to digital photography novices as well as seasoned digital photographers who are relatively unfamiliar with what Photoshop has to offer. Steps range from the most basic "Select a Color Space" (such as RGB or Adobe RGB) to "Profile Your Monitor" to "Advanced Printing" and "Adjusting Your Color for Printing". Enthusiastically recommended for any Photoshop user interested in improving the quality of their digital color photographs.
Great understanding to the relationship of image, monitor and printer!.......2007-01-17
One of the hardest parts of digital imaging for most people to understand is the relationship between the color that they see on the screen and the color that they see on their prints.
In Color Management In Digital Photography: Ten Easy Steps To True Colors In Photoshop Brad Hinkel shows us, in easy progressions, how to understand and use available color spaces to move from digital image, to screen image, to print image.
What I like best about Color Management In Digital Photography is that Hinkel breaks down the basics into easy to understand parts. In the chapter entitled "Select a Color Space", he defines what a color space is. He then shows how it relates between the digital image; the one your camera made, the image as it appears on the screen and the image as it appears on the printer.
This book can take you to that next level, especially if every time you time you try to understand the technical jargon of color space, sRGB and profiling you find yourself confused. If you are new to printing in a digital world or you are always having problems making your screen image and your print image match, then Color Management In Digital Photography is the perfect book for you
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- The Savage Detectives: A Novel
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- Toilet Training in Less Than A Day
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Checkmate (Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell)
- Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools
- Ugly As Sin: Why They Changed Our Churches from Sacred Places to Meeting Spaces and How We Can Change Them Back Again (Forthright Edition)
- Unconquered
- Upon a Midnight Clear : A Delightful Collection of Heartwarming Holiday Stories : The Teacher / Christmas Magic / Jolly Holly / If Only in My Dreams / White Out
Books Index
Books Home
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African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (Oprah's Book Club)
A Hand to Guide Me
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
A Piece of Cake: A Memoir
