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We suffer from the disease of melancholy, the sickness of self-hatred, the darkness of doubt. Yet, author Brennan Manning sees the place of our worst despair as a tangible starting point for the remedy: a ruthless trust in God. In his sequel to The Ragamuffin Gospel, Manning pries us loose from our shame, our mistakes, and our doubts and encourages us to let go and trust God--ruthlessly.
It's been 40 years since author Brennan Manning was "ambushed by God" and on the far side of despair himself. As a gutter-alcoholic who was completely broken, he found an unshakable trust in the love of Christ for him as he was then, not as he could be or is now.
Authenticity with God is critical in developing this trust relationship. In his own inimitable voice, Manning tells us, "Raw honesty with Jesus about our doubts and anxieties, our lust and laziness, our shabby prayer life and stale religiosity, our mixed motives and divided hearts, is the risk we take in the certainty of being acceptable and accepted. It is the full and mature expression of invincible trust." Over the years, this trust ripens into confidence and bears certain fruit, such as gratitude to God. But it's not always easy, he admits. "Ruthless trust is hanging tough in the dark nights, when we are plunged into desolation but know that absence of God is only apparent."
For author Brennan Manning--and for us, if we choose--ruthless trust is not just a concept, it's a way of life. As Manning observes, "Ill winds may blow, more character defects may surface, sickness may visit, and friends will surely die, but a stubborn irrefutable certainty persists that God is with us and loves us in our struggle to be faithful." Now, that's ruthless trust. You won't fail to be moved. --Cindy Crosby
Book Description
In his sequel to The Ragamuffin Gospel bestselling author Brennan Manning shows how true and radical trust in God can transform our lives
Customer Reviews:
Brennan Manning.......2007-03-11
While I like to read a great number of Christian authors, Brennan Manning is an author I like. I always go back to his work.
Great Book!.......2007-01-16
As always Brennan Manning has delivered another masterpiece. His books are to be read and studied for the wealth of material in them and Ruthless Trust is no exception. From the first pages until the very last the reader is challenged, in a very positive way, to examine their trust in the Lord. Brennan shows us how we, in this modern world, do not really trust God in the way that Jesus asks us to. He then goes on to demonstrate practical ways to achieve that level of trust. I would recommend this book to all unhesitatingly!
Goes Further.......2006-08-09
This book is a great follow up to Manning's best book: The Ragamuffin Gospel. This book picks up where that one left off and goes even further. So if you like his earlier work, then I recommend this book as well.
Also recommended: Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
Chapter 11.......2006-03-18
A great and easy to read book on trust and learning to live in the "now." I recommend it.
thought-provoking.......2006-03-09
This book is easy to read, and profound to dwell on. If you are searching for a deeper relationship with the Creator who made you, Brennan Manning is a gentle but uncompromising spiritual guide. I liked how he used anecdotes from his own experience to illustrate the things he has learned about God. I also liked his humble teaching style - it's a "We're all in this together" approach rather than lecturing or preachiness.
Book Description
Every spring, millions of Americans prepare to take part in one of the oddest, most obsessive, and most engrossing rituals in the sports pantheon: Rotisserie baseball, a fantasy game where armchair fans match wits by building their own teams. In 2004, Sam Walker, a sports columnist for the Wall Street Journal, decided to explore this phenomenon by talking his way into Tout Wars, a league reserved for the nation's top experts. The result is one of the most sheerly entertaining sports books in years and a matchless look into the heart and soul of our national pastime.
Customer Reviews:
Riveting.......2007-09-19
Held my attention from page one to the end. Well written, fascinating and inspiring. I loved it.
My only complaint is that the book drags a tad in the middle. It's probably a little long and I sensed the author was padding a bit, which was completely unnecessary. But it was a fun summer read.
My other favorite summer read, although barely related, was Cat's Cradle. Cat's Cradle
Must read for fantasy sports fans.......2007-09-06
What a great ride to go on... side by side with Sam Walker in pursuit of the elusive, but validating, title of fantasy champion. As a fantasy sports enthusiast it was easy to identify with all the particpants, charatcers, methodologies and most importantly experiences. The ups and downs, the good nights and bad, are all accurately on display and this is an excellent representation of what it is to play fantasy baseball. I only wish their had been a sequel! Hats off to a touch of history, a smattering of shared experience, and a ton of inside jokes and laughs...
Humor and History.......2007-08-12
I picked up this book because it was in the $6.99 bargain bin and it related to one of my interests, fantasy sports. It was worth far more than th5 $6.99 I spent. Sam Walker provided an everyman angle to the story and recounted his experiences turning into a fantasy sports junkie, something many of us can relate to. Every fantasy sports concept is explaining without confusing jargon and he provides a mildly interesting history of rotisserie baseball. All in all a great book at a great price.
The REAL Stuff.......2007-06-26
Whant some "Dirt" on some of the biggest names in the game? This is the book for you. Funny and thought provoking. The writer takes the time to go into a world that he only slightly familiar with and the results are just amazing as to where Fantacy: sports have gone. Get it, read it!!
The Tout Wars.......2007-04-10
This hilarious romp into the world of fantasy league baseball will keep fans laughing. It's pure entertainment for all new roto junkies!
Book Description
Equatorial Guinea is a tiny country roughly the size of the state of Maryland. Humid, jungle covered, and rife with unpleasant diseases, natives call it Devil Island. Its president in 2004, Obiang Nguema, had been accused of cannibalism, belief in witchcraft, mass murder, billion-dollar corruption, and general rule by terror. With so little to recommend it, why in March 2004 was Equatorial Guinea the target of a group of salty British, South African and Zimbabwean mercenaries, traveling on an American-registered ex-National Guard plane specially adapted for military purposes, that was originally flown to Africa by American pilots? The real motive lay deep below the ocean floor: oil.
In The Dogs of War, Frederick Forsyth effectively described an attempt by mercenaries to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea - in 1972. And the chain of events surrounding the night of March 7, 2004, is a rare case of life imitating art-or, at least, life imitating a 1970s thriller-in almost uncanny detail. With a cast of characters worthy of a remake of Wild Geese and a plot as mazy as it was unlikely, The Wonga Coup is a tale of venality, overarching vanity and greed whose example speaks to the problems of the entire African continent.
Customer Reviews:
Good story, Written Boringly........2007-07-01
It really is quite an interesting story. I just personally feel that it is a little slow and overly detail oriented - semi repetitive, slightly lacking. Once again, this is a great story, but I think that you would be able to find all the information you would find in this book on wikipedia. There aren't enough quirky facts given to make someone interested in this subject want to read this book. Download it offline, research the names on wikipedia. The End. Thank you and Good Evening!
Great read.......2007-05-25
Fascinating, humorous, and ultimately human and touching look into a world few of us ever see.
Ok, just up front, let's mention in bold type: being in prison in Africa really, really sucks. I think this book makes that abundantly clear.
Second: having a lot of excess time and money on your hands, and then being British or South African to top it off, and living in Africa also tends to create "mischief", apparently (especially if you have military experience and know other guys with military experience and time on their hands, plus wives who don't mind them going on some "reality adventuring" every 5 years).
I have been reading a few books about Africa recently (by the way, the "Zanzibar Chest" is totally amazing). Wong Coup is very good and I read it fast (2-3 days). It tells the story in an amusing and human way of mercenaries who tried to overthrow a small African country. On the one hand, a "fun" read, on the other hand, very harrowing. And yes, it does give us a picture into the human being, because it shows how people react under pressure (for instance, Simon Mann writing "we" from prison, not just about himself, but at least having some notion of being responsible for others, not just himself).
While the author does mock the men who tried the coup, at the same time, he does have a bit of sympathy I think for them. For instance, the statement by one of the South African mercenaries as to "would you try it again", was "Yes. Life is for living" sticks with me. Life is not for holding one's cards to one's chest, but for living out life. Let's face it, most of us sit at boring desk jobs until we retire, with no real risks involved, and no real great rewards either. These guys rolled the dice big-time and lost. I go home now to a Heineken and some reading, or a bar or movie. They spend their time in a hell-hole prison cell in Africa, made for one man, but that now houses 4, shackled and beaten and with food that would make us sick. Their life is terrible. They risked it and lost. At the same time, you do kind of have to admire their courage and sheer moxy for trying this. I am not saying it was ethical or morally desireable. The fact that the men did not keep the coup details private, and tried to just fly the guns in, is pretty much a joke, and the author portrays it as such. The coup itself was a joke, and the read is entertaining. These were men trying to live in the 21st century as if it were the time of Cecil Rhodes, in 1880s Africa. We can laugh at them, but let's face it, few if any of us will role the dice the way they do. I found it interesting to learn that there really are men like this out there. I was very interested in how the "world" works in Africa, of private armies, and dictators exchanging prisoners, mercenaries in their "mercenary frat house" (!), the wives, the media, etc, etc. It was fascinting because I knew so little about this world.
By the way, if you want to see one of the main characters (plotters) in the movie - Simon Mann (ex-SAS and British officer), rent or buy the Paul Greengrass DVD "Bloody Sunday". Mann plays Colonel Wilford. You can get a good idea of what Mann is like. (Mann has since lost weight, so he is heavier in the film than he is now. That "African Prison Diet" took the pounds off).
The Pups of War.......2007-03-21
This is a fun book about a group of aging white mercenaries who plotted to overthrow the dictator of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea. The conspiracy was hatched by one Simon Mann, a bored alumnus of Executive Outcomes, who had visions of getting rich from oil concessions and government contracts after the coup. Alas, Mann had trouble raising money and buying arms, and the out-of-work apartheid-era veterans he recruited as gunmen leaked like sieves (and couldn't hold their liquor). Inevitably, the plot came to the attention of South African intelligence, which arranged for Mann and his troublemakers to be arrested in Zimbabwe en route to Equatorial Guinea.
The author had access to insiders and confidential documents, and he writes knowingly about the seamy side of African business and politics. However, he has a weakness for conspiracy theories and seriously entertains rumors that the U.S. and Spain were behind Mann's plot. In fact, no government installed by white mercenaries could survive in today's Africa, and the U.S. knows that. Our government seems reasonably content with Equatorial Guinea's dictator, who locks up opposition politicians but enables U.S. oil companies to make mountains of money. Condie Rice has publicly called him a friend. Sometimes the truth, however banal, is sleazier than speculation.
Fantastical Story.......2007-02-18
This is a quite amazing story, told with wit and verve. The greed and arrogance of the coup plotters is matched only by their fecklessness and stupidity. Beyond the complexities of the botched plot, the book provides a fascinating portrayal of the political, economic and military dynamicss of contemporary Africa -- it is a thoroughly engrossing read. I read the book cover-to-cover on a long-haul flight between London and Singapore and can thoroughly recommend it to anyone with 13 hours on a 747, time will fly by!
Terrific story, poorly told. 2-3 stars.......2007-02-05
The Wonga Coup has all the ingredients of a sensational story - conspiracy, action, drama, celebrity names, glamorous lives and terrible misfortune - all true. However, the unfortunate part is that it is not only written in a dry, uninteresting way, but the language is awkward, disjointed, repetitive and sometimes lacking in maturity. Although well researched, one feels the author never really organized his copious notes but just copied them down - one thought does not necessarily follow smoothly on to another. It makes for laborious reading. Also, a book like this cries out for photographs. As the events described took place relatively recently, photographs must have been readily available and one can only wonder why the author did not bother to include them.
That said, it is an amazing tale. The plot was for a small, privately funded group of mercenaries to overtake a small rich country situated in the `armpit' of Africa. They would topple the leader and set up an exiled opponent in his place. For their efforts, they would have access to some of the considerable oil in that country.
The country in question was Equatorial Guinea and its president, Obiang Nguema is one of the most corrupt and tyrannical leaders in Africa, a continent that has produced many terrible despots over the years. While keeping his people pitifully poor and without health care, education or any real public services, he himself squirrels away hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bank accounts. In this he is aided by American oil companies and banks, who are basically prepared to do anything to keep him happy. Those under him live in constant fear of imprisonment, torture, rape, murder and even cannibalism.
In the group of plotters there were wealthy British financiers and aristocrats, technocrats, weapons dealers, adventurers, mercenaries and foot soldiers. But from the start, their plot was doomed through bad planning, betrayals and loose lips. Before the operation ever really got underway, they were arrested in Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea. Thereafter, they suffered unspeakable conditions and brutality in African jails while ludicrous charges were being trumped up against them, to be followed by trials in kangaroo courts.
Instead of the long slog I found the book to be, it should have been a truly gripping tale and could have been material for a good movie.
Book Description
The American toy business is massive, world dominating, cutthroat, exciting, and increasingly willing to sacrifice our kids in its frantic rush for profit. And yet, for all its rapaciousness, the industry is in the business of delighting and fascinating our children. Toys are one of the most emotive subjects in the world. We all remember our own toys; we care desperately about those we choose for our kids, knowing these objects help shape children's lives. They are also a constantly newsworthy item: every Christmas, which toys are hot -- and the scramble by parents to grab them before the stores are empty -- is front-page and TV bulletin news.
The Real Toy Story tells the tales of these toys and of the vast, world-dominating $22 billion American industry that creates them. The rewards for success are enormous: a top toy can earn billions -- H. Ty Warner shot into Forbes's World's Richest People list with his creation of Beanie Babies. The price of failure is just as huge -- the battlefield is littered with the corpses of once-successful toy companies whose multimillion-dollar gambles did not pay off.
It is a world of contrasts. The Real Toy Story looks at both sides: at Slinky, Elmo, Barbie, Transformers, and their creators, but also at the dark side of an industry that leads the way in cold-blooded marketing targeted at children. Parents will want to learn about how this seemingly benign industry exploits, sometimes surreptitiously, the many new media: cable television, the internet, CD-ROMs, sometimes even invading the playgrounds to peddle their wares to unsuspecting young people.
Perhaps more disturbingly, this hard-hitting book examines the vast gap between the cuddly image of toys and how almost all toys destined for America are actually produced in China under sweatshop conditions.
Today the toy industry is in the midst of rapid change. Tapping into the concern millions of adults have about the toys they choose for the children in their lives, this riveting exposé is essential reading for everyone who cares about kids.
Customer Reviews:
Expert exploration of the toy world.......2007-08-06
This is almost a fun book. It goes into the magic behind all the toys you've enjoyed personally or given to your kids or grandchildren. And, it will intrigue anybody who's ever wrangled with a Rubik's Cube, hugged a Gund Bear or become rich speculating in Mattel shares way back when Barbie was a girl. But, after the fun part, the book hits you in the gut. There's a nasty side to the toy business and author Eric Clark lays it out clearly as he describes child laborers who make toys in Third World sweat shops, particularly in China and Mexico. We recommend this book to anyone who buys toys for children, or to those who want to know about child labor and address its abuses. With its illuminating examination of invention, manufacture and retailing in the toy industry, this is a valuable resource.
Moo..........2007-08-04
Few things look as pretty when they are stripped down to the inner workings, and the toy industry is no exception. This book takes readers on a tour of the day-to-day processes behind the manufacture and marketing of the average toy, exposing some of the more gruesome aspects of the business. Although the writing itself is a little dry and the author makes his point over and over again, the subject matter is fascinating and ultimately worth the read. The information, covering everything from sweat shops to marketing products for two-year-olds, is matter of fact on one level, chilling on another. If you have ever felt like just another cash cow, or object to the idea of your children being milked, this is a book worth checking out.
Toy Story Not Playin' Around!.......2007-07-19
-Definitely an eye-opener. It took some time to get to the point of the book, but author Eric Clark finally sums it up well in his short "Afterword" section: "[At one time]... we could look with confidence to this industry to provide nurture along with pleasure. Not anymore. Now, it's major object is to maximize sales and profits." (-At the expense of kids? -we might ask here.)
Like books about inside corporate banking, trolling for big oil profits, or slashing costs in auto making, Clark reveals more than the reader could imagine there was to learn about the toy business...and it's a rather uninspiring picture. The author describes the involved inventors, CEOs, retailers, marketers, manufacturers, assembly workers, suppliers, governments [especially China], adult consumers...and, of course, the children who are played like a fine fiddle by the entire toy industry in an effort to help kids decide which toys to (have mom) buy...sometimes starting earlier than age 2!
It's a little bit of a depressing read actually, given the warm and fuzzy nature of the topic: "toys." The industry, we learn, is not as innocent and honorable as we might expect/like it to be. It's something like learning about making sausage...we like the end result but are not particularly compelled to want to know about what goes into its production. It's the same with the "Real Toy Story," as we are invited into the murky depths of getting toys out to the consumers -from drawing board to Kmart counter, and some of the process does seem unreal and unfortunate.
The author did a great job of building through some rather dull descriptives about the industry to get us to a riveting chapter about how youngsters (and toddlers and their parents) are often manipulated and mentally man-handled in the name of getting them to buy toys...and in-the-end, making sky-high profits for the handful of huge companies still in the business. It's an interesting book, not a magnetic read, guaranteed to have casual reader to company honcho finish with disbelief about how toys have come to be a cut-throat, heartless, cold, calculating billions-of-dollars business. Too, Clark does a good job of letting us peek into the troublesome goings-on in a sweatshop in China, where line-workers do their toy-making jobs for literally pennies a day.
If you only want to know "toys" as simple playthings, modestly designed to entertain and to occupy kids (and adults!) for hours on end, then don't read this book! On the other hand, if you want to go inside the complex psyche of toy company execs, toy designers, and toy marketing strategists, then read away. The reader will surely never again look at Lego and Star Wars toys, Etch-a-Sketch, Barbi, Monopoly (and the rest) in the same way. Four stars for an informative, useful effort.
Real Toy Story.......2007-02-20
I found this book both fascinating and intriguing....... I plan to give the book as gifts. This is a must read for anyone who buys toys! I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Book Description
This book was created for the 90 percent of small business owners who reportedly are dissatisfied with the results they get from local advertising. If followed, these rules, among them don’t ask your customer what brought them in, demand absolute accountability, and sell something more profitable than a low price, will broaden the customer base and enhance the bottom line. Specific growth objectives for advertising expenditures and the development of a system of absolute advertising accountability make this book distinctive. Business owners will learn to use advertising money wisely for maximum profitability.
Customer Reviews:
Horrible.......2007-02-24
Can i please get my time back! If you are completly disfunctional you may learn something from this book. If you are running on all fours your wasting your time and a few brain cells.
Don't bother.......2007-01-10
If you have any experience with marketing or have any common sense then you already know what's in this book.
Awesome all-around tips geared toward small business owners........2006-07-01
I read this book while working as a local magazine ad sales rep while in college, and it gave me insight on what small business owners really need in local advertising and what mistakes sales reps make when suggesting ad space or making decisions. I like how it blends advertising theory, copywriting tips, and branding with media buying, targeting, and measurement. All catering toward small-medium sized business owners. It's awesome, especially for an intro to local advertising.
Must have for business owners.......2006-06-30
If I would have had this book years ago, I could have saved thousands of dollars in wasted advertising. This book teaches you how to spend you dollars effectively to grow your business.
Good Advice.......2006-02-24
This book is well written and easy to read. I have read several books on marketing and advertising to help me promote my own small business. I found the tips and suggestions in this book to be very practical. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to promote their business.
Book Description
Snaps 4 is the latest in the snaps craze, a phenomenon that has sold over 300,000 copies of Snaps, Double Snaps, and Triple Snaps combined. Rooted in a tradition dating back to slavery and with its pulse on today's African-American comedy explosion, snapping is a ritualized form of comic insult that affirms the power of wits over fists. Bursting with snaps from celebrities such as Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, as well as insults from snapping fans nationwide, Snaps 4 is loaded with more than five hundred all-new, never-before-hurled hard-core disses.
Your brother is so dumb, he thinks Cheerios are doughnut seeds
Your girlfriend is so dumb, she thought foreplay was a skit
Your mother is so fat, she uses bacon for Band-Aids
Customer Reviews:
GREAT BOOK!!! I'm mentioned on page 162.......2001-05-02
I think this is a great book and am glad to part of the team of contributors for the 4th book in the "Snaps" series
One of the snaps I contributed is on page 12
Negative 5000 Stars.......2000-03-03
This book is so completely unfunny and uncreative that they should pay you to read the book! If I could give it a lower rating, I would.
This book is not good........1999-03-20
The snaps are uncreative and just plain unfunny
this book is the best I love it.......1998-11-15
This book is the best I loved it it ahd the freshest sanps I hav ever heard.
Book Description
This highly entertaining book (complete with hillarious and shocking cartoon illustrations that forever stamp your brain with these valuable lessons) describes in precise detail the sneaky mind control psychology anyone can use to get people to do their bidding. Of course, the focus of this book is on the Internet, so it's over-flowing with examples of ways you can use these ideas to turn your website into a busy cash register.
Customer Reviews:
gradeschool .......2007-08-17
Mark Joyner and his colleagues would never stand a chance at working for a premier marketing agency. I mean premier as in Fifth Avenue or those that handle the accounts of fortune 100 companies. Any executive at a top tier corporation would loose his job for accepting this `gurus' advice.
Now why does his book have so many positive reviews? Why is Mark Joyner a millionaire?(?) Respectively Mark Joyner knows something about marketing and the psychology of influence. But then isn't this true with any charlatan? Some people see glamour working on the fringes of society as hustlers. I find respect and dignity to be a much stronger capital than a hustled buck. So yes, using advice from this book will make you `possibly' give you influence but following these characters will cost you `power' in the end.
So what do I mean by `these' guy's? I've identified about a dozen `gurus' that preach the secrets of brainwashing or hypnotic marketing that rely on each other. You can find their reviews on this book somewhere in here, and they'll mention their own book. I have accidentally purchased a couple of these books.
This book along with those written by the other guru's have one thing in common. They regurgitate information from a respectable source. In this case the regurgitation
Is fourth class and perverse. I believe seventy five percent of it comes from a single source and the other twenty five percent is therefore completely meaningless. I say this because (Mr.) Joyner relies on the principals of a single scholar in the field of social psychology specifically exploring the principals of persuasion. There are so many more principals and cutting edge studies out there that Mr. Joyner's singular `academic' resource demonstrates how questionable of a expert he is.
Now to his credit he has applied these principals to his own success and shares them. What is effectively going on is the Internets version of a super hyped INFOMERCIAL. If you're a respectable business owner and you take the advice of Mr. Joyner and his inner circle you'll loose the respect of your clients eventually and then your personal dignity. If you do as Mr. Joyner has done, you may read the influence theories in a textbook on social psychology and simplify it, perverse it, then regurgitate it into a poor and incomplete marketing strategy and sell it at three hundred times it's worth in hype. You'll indorse Mark Joyner, he'll endorse you in return. You'll apply what you learn and get some poor needy people to (commit) to your insights, effectively forming a psuado business cult. As much as a genius you think you may be your not going to crack Wall Street and forget pulling the strings at capital hill because you'll have no power `hustler'.
I buy a lot of Marketing, business, and `academic' books on influence. It is inevitable that I buy a bad apple here and there. Mark Joyner has reduced himself beyond any `Gentleman' to sell you on his AUTHORITY as a former officer of this country.
Col.
Mark's Great Masterpeice..........2007-04-05
I have almost all of Mark's Books and this one I would
say is my most favorite of his collection. Understanding
the information inside of this book you will find power
to get people to do things you want them to do.
Use this for the good.
Matt Bacak
Author of Secrets of the Internet Millionaire Mind
and The Ultimate Lead Generation Plan
E-marketing success.......2005-04-14
A great read for anyone looking to start or fine tune their online marketing. A more detailed approach than some other online guides, their is sure to be some useful information for every online marketer.
Hate Him or Love Him, Mark Always Delivers..........2004-04-13
It is a well-known fact that Mark Joyner started in a corner of his living-room with $400 and a few years later sold the company he founded, Aesop, for $7,000,000; the guy is a true genius; I had the exceptional priviledge to talk with Mark for a few minutes at the "Marketing Event of the New Millenium" in Las Vegas, simply i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e
This book is a must have for any serious marketer who wants understand the underlying principles leading to higher levels of predictable and measureable success.
Dan Hamilton
Certified Guerrilla Marketer
Proudly Affiliated with Jay Conrad Levinson's
Guerrilla Marketing Association
Be Inspired and take your marketing to another level:
http://metamorphosis.0catch.com
excellent reading!!!.......2004-03-12
If you are serious about online businesses, read this book. It clearly states that you must control the mind of your visitor in order to get him to click again to your site, or buy your products, and it teaches you just that with well explained chapters and graphics.
Book Description
"PAYBACK'S A BITCH, JERRY."
The words scrawled crudely across Jerry Heller's bedroom mirror that afternoon meant the rap wars had suddenly escalated. In the battle of his life over the ragingly successful music label he had helped found, Ruthless Records, Heller had seen death threats, strong-arming, and beatings. Now the violence had come home when his enemies burglarized his house, jacked his Corvette, and left behind this sneering piece of graffito.
Heller didn't get mad; he got even. Ruthless tells the explosive story of Jerry Heller's alliance with Eric Wright, aka Eazy-E, one of the legends of rap music and a founding member of N.W.A., "the world's most dangerous band." As a longtime music industry superagent, Heller had the skill and insight necessary to guide N.W.A.'s cometlike rise to the top of the charts. Along the way there were raucous nationwide tours, out-of-control MTV pool parties, and X-rated business meetings. Heller held on through the brutal shocks and reversals of the Ruthless Records era, which saw the label being targeted by the FBI, and its principal artists locked in bitter conflict, until a final turnaround placed Ruthless at the top of the heap once more. Always in the middle of the whirlwind were Jerry and Eazy, an odd-couple pairing that represents one of the deepest and most appealing stories in American music.
You don't have to be an N.W.A. fan to love Ruthless. Heller turns the music industry inside out, exposing its strange logic and larger-than-life personalities. Ruthless provides keen insight into the popular music scene, with an unforgettable portrait of its rollicking excesses, life-churning drama, and multimillion-dollar highs.
Customer Reviews:
Jerry is out to settle the score........................2007-01-14
Jerry Heller aka Mr. Rourke is out to settle a few scores with Suge, Cube and Dre. The read is very laughable when he discredits Cube and Dre's gangsta reputations. My beef is with the way he claims Eazy E as a adopted son and protoge, then towards the end of the book, he discloses some very private information about Eazy's death. I found it disgusting for a person who claims to have had so much love for Eazy to do that.
A Very Choppy Read.......2006-12-31
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer recently printed a lengthy interview with Jerry Heller as a promo to a talk he gave at the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame & Museum on his career in the music industry and to discuss Ruthless: A Memoir.
The book gets off to a very choppy beginning, as Heller struts a tough-guy persona that is absolutely silly. He sounds as if he is a rookie pro wrestler trying to psyche himself up for his first match by looking in the mirror & yapping through a monologue that he hopefully will be able to use in the future to get his "bad-guy" character over with the fans.
The extensive chapters on how he met Eazy-E, the rise of West Coast rap, the struggles to get Ruthless Records operating - the racism on the street & in the corporate boardrooms - and the exploding feuds with The D.O.C., Ice Cube and Dr. Dre are interesting. The same can't be said on material covering the implosion of the group and the battles with Suge Knight/Death Row Records; the sections read like the coverage in any number of books/articles.
About one-third of the book covers his work in the music industry in the 1960s and 1970s & is more of a narrative of names, places and anecdotes on the famous, near famous and wannabes.
It is a quick read and is written in more of a conversational flow. Ruthless: A Memoir has about as many misses as hits, but - in the end - will hold your attention in parts & have you skimming other chapters pretty quickly.
A Very Compelling Read.......2006-09-20
I have to admit, that when I first heard that Jerry Heller was writing a book about the Ruthless Records History, I was a little suspicious that the book would have something of a tabloid-esque, payback tonality to it. After all, any of us who followed the Ruthless chronicles in its entirety, knows well the verbal beating that Jerry Heller took after the break-up of NWA. His flogging seemed inevitable since most of Urban America, if not the world, was deeply dissapointed when Ice Cube left the group. So it was easy to jump on the "Jerk Jerry" band wagon when Cube pointed the finger at him. Then Dre pointed the finger. I even remember hearing the word "Draconian" being used in regards to the contracts the group shared.
Finally, and after a decade, Jerry Heller stands up to tell his side of things. Despite my suspicion, I was impressed to discover that book isn't nearly as bitter as I had anticipated. "Memoir" is an accurate term used in the books sub-title, as there's an obvious emotional undercurrent about the friendship that existed between Eazy-E and Heller. This friendship, severed by Eazy's death, takes on a documentary voice as Heller takes it all the way to the beginning. First, he gives us a brief account of his own life before he met Eazy. His pre-Eazy story helps underscore just how improbable their "dynamic duo" alliance really was. It also gives you a glimpse of just how much Jerry Heller evolved from having been in Eazy's company for years. Every good story involves change and evolution from experience and introspection, and that's something of how Heller as a "character" in this Memoir presents himself.
But perhaps what is even more urgent than appreciating the bond between Heller and Eazy is someone FINALLY bringing to the immediate foreground the indisputable importance that was NWA and "Straight Outta Compton." Somewhere in the beginning of the book, Heller mentions how Chris Rock noted "Straight Outta Compton" as the single most important album of all time. I vividly remember when I encountered this same article in Rolling Stones, because I felt a sudden relief that finally someone of significant celebrity had finally taken the Torch that everybody has given "The Chronic" and handed it to the rightful pioneer project: Straight Outta Compton. Anybody who witnessed the advent of NWA and how it changed the entire social and political climate of America knows what I'm talking about.
After NWA controversy became fashionable. Everybody, including Tupac & The Geto Boys, sought out controversey either through more explicitly told ghetto stories, or just plain explicitness and then defended it with the "I'm just kicking reality" - a signature mantra of NWA. "The Chronic" was a great album, but it was really just a smoother sequel to what Dre had already started with "Straight Outta Compton," and "Eazy Duz it."
This book finally offers people like me 300+ pages of WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY and HOW descriptions of NWA.
Not to be missed are pages 98-100, where Heller gives a tell-all account of Eazy, Dre, Yella and Heller being harrassed by the police while hanging in front of THEIR recording studio during a break. Actually, let me correct myself. Heller stood on the sidelines and protested in awe as the police completely excused him from the routine pat-down administered to the other three. As a black man who has many white friends, I will be the first to say that whites often dismiss and refuse to believe that the police are that selective in singling out young black men. That's what made "F--- tha Police" such a potent and prophetic song. Heller's story serves to validate it.
The book does have a somewhat sour beginning, specifically when Jerry attempts to brand himself with the "N" word. A move that wasn't so much offensive as it was pretentious. Even if he is as anti-establishment as he claims, turning the "N" Word into a self-given fashion emblem is a temptation (and embarrassment) he should have avoided.
Another unfortunate part of this book, and I'm not sure if this is a reflection on the book or just the reported history of the author, is that you can't help but feel suspicious of how much of the story has been slightly twisted to simply un-do all that has been said in the past about Heller and Eazy. At times, you can sense the indulgence to over-romanticize an obvious "Father and Son" story, but hey, maybe it really was that way. And if not, I suppose all that matters is that it geuninely seemed that way to Heller.
Eitherway, if there is truly two-sides to every story, then here we have at last a little light shed on the alleged "darker side" that was the backbone of Ruthless Records. If nothing else, Heller is probably one of a small few who make up the short list entitled to tell Eazy's and the Ruthless story.
trip out Book.......2006-09-05
Jerry Heller&Eric 'Eazy E" Wright RIP flipped the whole script of Hip-Hop. forget what you know about Hip-Hop pre NWA Era Hip-Hop because Hip-Hop as we know it mirrors the NWA Era more than anything else. Jerry Heller is a interesting musical figure. Loved or Loathed he pulls no punches in this book. he sets the record straight about Ice Cube, Dr.Dre, Suge Knight&Other Musical Figures through his own eyes,ears&overall Opinion. once I started reading this book I couldn't put it down. my local Barnes&Noble accidentally put this book out a few days before it was suppose to reach the shelf,but it didn't phase me because I had time to read&I was just reading it. good feedback on the DOC, also Mechell'e the R&B singer who pre-dated alot of what Mary J.Bliege&other artists would do with bridinging the gap of R&B&Hip-Hop. also Heller was Marvin Gaye's Agent. very interesting storys on him&Marvin along with Heller&Elton John amongest other interesting tidbits in here. One of those Books that takes you back to a different era of the music business&when certain things that happen in Hip-Hop that made your jaws drop to the ground. it seems longer than it really is.
I loved this book.......2006-08-30
The book read like a novel which was interesting for a biography and surprisingly fun. It was not your basic "this is where I grew up; this is how great I am, this is what I'm doing now" biography. It was a look into two men's (Eazy-E and Jerry Heller) vision and the story of how they turned that vision into reality. It was almost inspiring to see how a 21 year old reputed dope dealer and a 40 year old Jewish man could team up to create one of the most powerful record labels ever and forever change the landscape of music. By far the best part of this book was how well they articulated the craziness that was omnipresent at Ruthless. Beat downs, guns, drugs, full blown war and kidnapping plots were everyday business for these thugs/businessmen/rappers.
Average customer rating:
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Ruthless Hedonism: The American Reception of Matisse
John O'Brian
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Criticism | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Fauvism | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Modern | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Matisse, Henri | ( M-O ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0226616266 |
Book Description
"Oh, do tell the American people that I am a normal man; that I am a devoted husband and father, that I have three fine children, that I go to the theatre." These words were spoken by Matisse just before the Armory Show in 1913—a pivotal moment, after which his work was seen in America as an example of what should be admired or deplored in modern art.
In this ambitious study, John O'Brian argues that Matisse's sober presentations of himself were calculated to fit with the social constraints and ideological demands of the times. Matisse's strategy included cooperating with museums, cultivating private collectors, playing off dealers one against another, and reassuring the media that, whatever his reputation as an avant-gardist, the conduct of his life was solidly bourgeois.
Moving from the late 1920s, when Matisse's output was shedding its outlaw reputation, to the early 1950s, when his work was canonized, O'Brian shows how the way Matisse's work was viewed changed as attention shifted away from the seductiveness of his subject matter to the seductiveness of his paint. The art's resolute rejection of political concerns, its deployment of decorative design for visual satisfaction, and its representations of pleasure encouraged American audiences, who in the 1930s deemed the art disreputable, to celebrate its gratifications by the early years of the Cold War.
This intriguing, wide-ranging investigation of Matisse's self-promotion, America's uneasy embrace of modernism, and America's consumer culture and politics provides a rich context to Clement Greenberg's words published in the Nation in 1947: "Matisse's cold hedonism and ruthless exclusion of everything but the concrete, immediate sensation will in the future, once we are away from the present Zeitgeist, be better understood as the most profound mood of the first half of the twentieth century."
Customer Reviews:
A stunning book.......1999-06-08
This book is a stunner in every way. The story of Matisse's siege on the US artworld is fascinating, full of great vignettes about MOMA, the Cohn sisters, Alfred Barr, Barnes, the American press. Equally impressive is the smart, whimsical design and the gorgeous color plates.
Download Description
"Ruthless Execution focuses on today's #1 business leadership challenge: managing adversity while preparing your company for a rebirth of success. Amir Hartman identifies the central ingredients that help companies get beyond the wall to thrive--and demonstrates exactly how to instill these ingredients in your organization.
You'll learn when and how to strategically recalibrate and balance performance and growth; new ways to promote accountability; how to use performance metrics without burying your people in trivia; and how to promote real discipline without creating bureaucracy. You'll also discover which critical capabilities are keys to performance breakthroughs.
Along the way, the author presents case studies of leading companies that have used these strategies to overcome stalled performance. Baxter, Novartis, Honeywell, IBM, Cisco, and more--all different, yet all unified by one common element: ruthless execution.
- What to do when you ""hit the wall""--Beyond ""rude awakenings"" to effective action--and new success
- Seeing the realities for what they are--Accurate, objective assessments of your enterprise and your marketplace
- Breaking through to new growth: three core strategies--Strategies based on productivity, talent management, and M & As
- Ruthless execution at work--Leadership, strategy, cost control, governance, and more
- Cisco: Surviving catastrophe and trying to come back stronger--Retaining market dominance through the dot.com/telecom collapse
- Mass layoffs and other sure-to-fail strategies--What doesn't work--and what to do instead
Using adversity to lay the groundwork for breakthrough success
- What to do when growth slows, innovation stalls, and times get tough
- Coping with rude awakenings: strategic recalibration and tactical excellence
- New insights from IBM, Cisco, Honeywell, GE, Novartis, Baxter, and beyond
- By Amir Hartman, author of the global business bestseller Net Ready
What happens when yesterday's growth strategies and business models stop working?
Most companies that ""hit the wall"" never get past it. But a rare few have discovered the secrets of recharging growth and innovation. Ruthless Execution shows how to apply the lessons they've learned to engineer your own resurgence.
It's about taking stock of where you really stand, choosing the best strategy for renewal, and executing on that strategy with unprecedented clarity and tenacity.
It's about leadership, values, and governance. It's about cost control, productivity, and priorities. Above all, it's about doing what great companies like IBM, Novartis, Baxter and Cisco have already done or are in the midst of doing again: getting beyond adversity to breakthrough success."
Customer Reviews:
Waste of money!.......2004-05-05
Ruthless Execution is a simplistic view of leadership 101 topics. If your company needs this to break through the wall, you have much deeper problems. It seems that Mr Hartman is trying to write to the uneducated or non-professional. Don't waste your money!
Practical and Insightful, a Must for Business Execs.......2004-02-18
Too often business books fall into one of two categories: 1) the kind that provides practical information but is lacking any kind of new insight, or, 2) the kind that's packed with new ideas but is painfully short on actionable info you can really put to use.
Ruthless Execution by Amir Hartman is that rarest of business books that delivers the best of both worlds: It's loaded with new ideas and fresh insights, yet throughout the author firmly grounds his working philosophy in practical tools and proven methodologies for getting the job done.
Let's face it: Even the best-managed companies hit a wall at some point. Ruthless Execution spells out a proven framework for swiftly analyzing your strategic options in a rigorous and thorough manner. As any veteran of the business world knows, strategic recalibration is a challenge that's easier said than done. This book explains how it's done.
Great stuff. Hugely helpful to any company that needs to take a good, hard analytical look at which initiatives they should nurture, and which they should kill in order to get back on track.
Are you Ruthless? A must read for all leaders!.......2004-02-02
Are you Ruthless? A must read for all business leaders!
This could not have come at a better time. Hartman clearly articulates the methods and strategies on how to recover after hitting performance walls. Ruthless Execution dives into this described methodology within each chapter developing itself into a comprehensive workplan for success.
As a former military officer, the major obstacles that I faced when entering the corporate world were the lack of focus, discipline and accountability within the corporate framework or organization. I applaud Hartman's approach to tackling these problems head on. As he states, leaders must be proactive, focused, disciplined and held personally accountable for all respective successes and/or failures.
These are just a few points that I will file into my business tool kit. Additional points to file will include Ruthless Execution Principles (leadership, governance, and critical capabilities), The Ruthless Execution Checklist, Case Studies and Interviews with some of the top business leaders (Jack Welch, John Chambers, and Lou Gerstner), and the Performance Portfolio Framework.
Special Note: For all military officers exiting the military, this is a must read.
Outstanding!
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...........2004-01-18
Ruthless Execution
Ignore this book's somewhat overheated title and concentrate on Hartman's core concepts which he develops with meticulous care. He suggests a number of strategies and tactics by which business leaders can respond effectively when they encounter what Hartman calls the "rude awakening that occurs when a company has enjoyed consistently high-level performance, but comes up against some new factor: a downward turn in the economy, a lack of product innovation, growth that occurs too rapidly, a missed market opportunity, or as is most often the case, ineffective execution." Hartman organizes his material within five Parts which consist of a total of 12 individual chapters: Managing Through Tough Times, Leadership: Dealing with Rude Awakenings, How to Play the Game, Breaking Through the Wall, and What It All Means. The focus of Hartman's book is on "business reversals and the need to shepherd business leaders through those reversals because, quite frankly, corporations are passing through a new, more complex, more worrying age. The long and short of it is that it's far more difficult to be a successful business leader today than ever before."
The statistics support Hartman's last observation. In 2001, for example, 257 public companies (with a total of $258 billion in assets) declared bankruptcy. In 2002, another 67 did so. Go back even further to the 43 companies which Peters and Waterman quite properly praised in In Search of Excellence (1982). Most no longer qualify according to the criteria by which they were selected...and several do not exist at all. Scary? You bet.
In Chapter 8, Hartman offers a "Ruthless Execution Checklist" which can be of substantial value to all organizations, regardless of size or nature:
1. Do you have a cost and working capital management program that is driven through the business?
[NOTE: For small companies, the more appropriate question is "Is there a sound reason for the expenditure of each hour and each dollar?"]
2. Do you have a proactive and disciplined approach to identifying and assessing potential acquisitions and divestitures?
[NOTE: For small companies, the more appropriate question is "What should you add to what you now offer? What should you eliminate?"]
3. Do you regularly assess whether the corporate center is adding distinctive value to each business unit?
[NOTE: For small companies, the more appropriate question is "Does everything you do add value to each customer relationship?"]
4. Do you effectively and swiftly manage out non-performers?
[NOTE: Extensive research indicates that, on average, each mishire costs 24 times her or his annual salary. Hire slowly but fire FAST.]
Most organizations now face serious challenges. Many of those organizations will not survive. For their decision-makers, what to do? To his credit, Hartman does not propose a series of specific (one size fits all) answers to that question. Rather, in the final chapter, he includes a "Ruthless Execution Index" with instructions as to how to use it. It remains for each reader to provide correct responses to the 54 statements which comprise the "Index." Once this exercise has been completed, the far greater challenge -- obviously -- is to take appropriate action. Hartman can assist with that process. I also recommend a careful reading of Bossidy and Charan's Execution, Hammer's The Agenda, Collins' Good to Great, and Kaplan and Norton's The Strategy-Focused Organization.
A must read for those who lead!.......2004-01-13
Hartman has an obvious grasp on what it takes for business leaders to succeed in today's marketplace. The book clearly defines what it takes to surmount obstacles, redefine culture, and regain focus.
Hartman has the ability to share success stories and give examples in a very succinct and poignant manner. The reader sees what great business leaders have done (in this economy) to gain success through leadership, governance, and managing talent. He very clearly defines how NOT to hit "the wall" and how to lead your orgnization to ascendance.
In today's economy executives are getting hit from every angle. This book explains in very plain english how and when to execute the right methodologies to obtain success within an organization. The stories in RUTHLESS EXECUTION are well written and offer both inspiration and direction.
Definitely a book to have if you are in a leadership position. As the President of an INC. 500 firm, I find the book extremely useful and inspirational.
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