Customer Reviews:
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.......2007-07-01
A balanced, thoughtful, entertaining and useful look at some of God's major powerplayers over the past 100 years or so. Concerning the likes of Kuhlman, Wigglesworth and Branham, most writers either choose to vilify them or worship them. Author Roberts Liardon chooses a more accurate middle road that exemplifies a love for the truth combined with his own helpful Pentecostal insights.
This is a VERY interesting read that Spirit-filled Christians particularly will find both fascinating and useful. Useful because there is much to be learned from the successes and failures of these saints -- much that can be applied to our own lives.
An Excellant Buy.......2007-01-11
I Have two things to say about the purchase of this book: First, that it was delivered to my house in a timely fashion and in perfect condition. Secondly, the book itself is a wonderful look into God's hand on people's life in history. The Bible says that God created each and every one of us with a purpose. Sometimes, that purpose is to live a quiet life of ministry and love. Sometimes God uses us for extraordinary purposes. This book is an encouragement to all people that God can do anything, no matter who you are, if you put your trust in Him.
Straight-talkin,' water-walkin' men and women..........2007-01-09
Here they are. The 20th century legends of Christianity. One of them, Wigglesworth, has been the target of numerous writers. Why are we so fascinated with these people? Because they are heroes, every one. They had the courage to step out of the boat and walk on that H20. They were God's Generals!
Perfect people? No! They made mistakes. Some of them sank into the waters. But each and every one of them loved God and dared walk in the supernatural. Signs, miracles and wonders followed them wherever they went. They won multitudes to Christ, healed the masses and brought God's good news of deliverance to their generations. They were flawed, some had serious problems. But they didn't let that stop them. They were serving a mighty God!
If you want to get inside the minds and hearts of some heroes, read this book. Mark it up, highlight the key principles. Heed the warnings. And follow in the footsteps of these faith giants. Their successes inspired me to produce the Super Heart Living film series. And their walks will inspire YOU to do great things.
Want to know their SECRETS? How they were able to heal the sick, raise the dead and persuade thousands to follow Jesus Christ? It's all in the pages of this one powerful book. Right there for your learning. Dive into each chapter and listen to these great men and women whisper "Follow me as I follow Christ!"
You'll love Dowie's boldness in the heat of opposition. Wigglesworth's daring in the face of dreaded diseases. And McPherson's great love of the crowds and desire to entertain them with God's Word! God's Generals is moving, insightful and life-changing. I dare you to study these lives and develop their SUPER HEARTS!
A must read for those who are seeking God.......2006-07-06
This has been a truly awe insiring book to read. To see that God moves today as He did in the first century is so wonderful. It gives me strenght and courage to seek, with a renewed fire, the One who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. This book also shows that God is no respecter of persons when it comes to those He calls to work through. The author is very good at keeping an open mind about all the different things he researched.
Making clear that he was not judging anyone, he did stop a few times to interject Biblical truths so that we may understand why certain things happened as they did. In doing this I believe the author is showing the readers what patterns to be watchful for and what pitfalls to avoid while walking in their own calling.
It is also shown throughout the book that, no matter what your upbringing was or what your background is, God can use anyone who is willing to accapt their calling. It is also evident that if one who is willing to accept their call wants to finish the race strong it is their responsibility to maintain a balance in the spiritual, emotional, and physical being.
Great Book.......2005-12-09
Roberts Liardon is often apologetic for the great healers and Prophets. He is a great writer. He shows the ups and downs of the great men and women of God. I am not fond of his endnote style but his writing is wonderful.
And the people that he writes about are life changing. I recomend this book as it will help your faith level and help you understand that ministers are not perfect but that they are used of God.
Book Description
In 1896, a Norwegian immigrant and mother of eight children named Helga Estby was behind on taxes and the mortgage when she learned that a mysterious sponsor would pay $10,000 to a woman who walked across America.
Hoping to win the wager and save her family’s farm, Helga and her teenaged daughter Clara, armed with little more than a compass, red-pepper spray, a revolver, and Clara’s curling iron, set out on foot from Eastern Washington. Their route would pass through 14 states, but they were not allowed to carry more than five dollars each. As they visited Indian reservations, Western boomtowns, remote ranches and local civic leaders, they confronted snowstorms, hunger, thieves and mountain lions with equal aplomb.
Their treacherous and inspirational journey to New York challenged contemporary notions of femininity and captured the public imagination. But their trip had such devastating consequences that the Estby women's achievement was blanketed in silence until, nearly a century later, Linda Lawrence Hunt encountered their extraordinary story.
Customer Reviews:
Captivating read!.......2007-08-29
For anyone who loves to read and is interested in Women's history, this book is for you! Trust me; you will not be able to put the book down.
I found it in a little used bookshop and was afraid additional copies to share might be scarce. I'm pleased to find it is still available for purchase here on Amazon.
"...we expect the already great and famous to do great things, but we easily overlook the achievements of.......2007-05-27
the more humble among us."
Aptly sums up thirty-six year old Norwegian immigrant Helen Estby's 1886 walk with her eighteen year old daughter, Clara, 3500 miles across America. The trek was attempted for financial reasons, its completion with certain stipulations and within a seven-month time span would result in a $10,000 windfall for the cash strapped family. Unfortunately, due to negative feelings about the journey, during which Mrs. Estby left the care of her eight younger children in the hands of her husband, most of the information about it was not only not saved, but was intentionally destroyed by her descendants. Surmounting obstacles like difficult terrain, inclement weather, bad guys and a lack of money (the contract did not allow them to solicit donations) and the judgmental feelings of the many at the time who felt their behavior was in appropriate, the Estbys showed their detractors that they had the right stuff. The problem with the story, frankly, is a lack of firsthand information, which would have made its telling more personal and compelling: an okay story about a fantastic feat. Good companion reads: Tomboy Bride by Harriet Fish Backus, Grand Ambition by Lisa Michaels, In a Far Country by John Taliaferro and Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 by Stephen E. Ambrose.
Fabulous read - and perfect gift for a reader friend.......2007-05-07
I have purchased a dozen copies of Bold Spirit because I enjoyed this true, almost unbelievable, story so much, and have found that all recipients shared my enthusiasm. I'm grateful that someone unearthed Helga Estby's incredible tale - this book gives you quite an insight into a truly remarkable life that her scandalized family tried their best to bury.
We've Come a Long Way.......2007-04-10
BOLD SPIRIT: HELGA ESTBY'S FORGOTTEN WALK ACROSS VICTORIAN AMERICA is an unforgettable story of Helga and Clara Estby's trek from Spokane, Washington to New York. The book is an interesting biographical and historical narrative of the mother and daughter's trip because it is about ordinary people, and how their lives paralleled the historical past in terms of women's history, social and cultural history, and immigration history. Hunt stresses the restrained lives in which Helga and Clara lived, but emphasizes their desire to walk cross-country within the contiguous United States to raise funds to save their farm; a challenging and unusual feat during the late nineteenth century especially for women and the roles they lived.
The major argument about the book is that Hunt lacked enough primary documents in order to provide a complete account of the Estby's journey. However, the crux of the story involves women's suffrage, and the Estby's struggle for acceptance within a patriarchal society that looked down on women's progressive activity, especially Norwegian immigrant women who also experienced severity as well. Hunt successfully weaves a story and history about two women who lived during one of the most tumultuous periods in American history, which is closely connected to the family. With inspiration from a history essay written by eighth-grader Doug Bahr, grandson of Thelma Estby, and the remaining sole document of the Estby's trip, a scrapbook owned by Thelma, Helga's granddaughter, which reveals the remaining account of their trip from two newspaper articles from the Minnesota Times, Hunt was able to tell the Estby's story with the addition of research and a compilation of secondary sources. Despite the limited personal accounts from Helga and Clara, the articles reveal their adventure of scenic views of their trip, which consisted of the fading American frontier of pioneering days of the past and the somewhat fearful encounter of Native Americans amidst a transformed modern America constructed Union Pacific Railroad, and the beckoning cityscapes of Chicago and New York. Ironically, upon the completion of their journey, the women would face further personal hardships in terms of finding a way to return home and discovering the deaths of two family members.
BOLD SPIRIT is an insightful and visual narrative that shows the fabric of America. Linda Lawrence Hunt proves that a story that has been hidden for centuries as a result of familial strife that involved social and cultural norms that was expected during the nineteenth century, finally can be told. Thus Helga and Clara's history is a shared history that is worth reading and understanding.
Half a story.......2007-04-09
The author makes a valiant attempt to create an entire narrative out of a few shreds of fact. I was interested in Helga's story (though long passages of the book are tedious going), but in the end, I was hugely frustrated by the complete lack of information on the daughter who accompanied her step for step.
What, oh what, became of Clara? How can the author present as history an account that focuses on only one of the two persons involved? Did Clara marry? Did she have children and grandchildren? Did she ever speak or write of her epic walk? Was she shunned by the family, as her mother was? We simply don't know, after reading this book, and are left to wonder why there is no further information on Clara.
Ultimately, this book is a failed historical account of an intriguing personal adventure. Another reviewer suggested the story would have made a much better novel than nonfiction; considering the lack of primary information, I have to agree.
Customer Reviews:
Bold Sprit Book Review.......2006-05-01
Bold Spirit
By Linda Lawrence Hunt
Review by Hailey Johnston
Little did Linda Lawrence Hunt know how great of a task she was getting herself into when she read Doug Bahr's "Grandma walks from Coast to Coast" essay entered in the Washington State History Day Contest in 1984. Helga Estby, Doug's grandmother, was a Norwegian immigrant living in Spokane, Washington who was the mother of eight and wife of Ole Estby. During a particular difficult time in 1896, Helga received an offer of ten- thousand dollars if she and her daughter, Clara, would walk across America. In order to pay the mortgage on her home, not fall behind on taxes, and keep the family farm, Helga Estby took the challenge and began walking east.
By accepting the challenge, Helga and Clara had to go through uncharted land across America while earning their own money for food and shelter along the way and make it to New York by December thirteenth. In order get to New York, they had to endure all types of weather and terrains, and meet all types of people, friendly or unfriendly. To make a statement for women's rights, they also had to dress in " bicycle skirts", a skirt five to eight inches above the ground, according to the contract from the challenge. Also, during their journey, they had to get important figures' signatures. With all these requirements, Helga and Clara still thought they could make it to New York by December, however some people did not agree with their decision to go.
Since it was the Victorian Era in America in the late nineteenth century, the women's rights movement was just beginning. Ninety- five percent of women still worked in the home doing daily chores such as cleaning or taking care of children. Hunt does a good job showing how women's roles really were in the late nineteenth century. She illustrates how Helga was in charge of the children and home, while Ole went to work and made the money to provide for the family. However, Hunt emphasizes the surge of women's rights changing in the America, almost to a point where she loses the reader's interest. The idea of women walking across America in short skirts in the 1890's was a huge deal for women's rights and Hunt brilliantly uses Helga's walk to focus on the change of women's roles in society in the book. Walking across American shows the reader how people in different parts of America react to the idea of two women breaking out of the "Victorian Woman" stereotype , but perhaps Hunt could have narrowed the story down to important moments for women's rights instead of filling the novel full with words like " perhaps", "maybe", and "could have." By filling the story with unsure thoughts, the reader does not know what to believe and therefore loses interest. Hunt should have kept the facts and discarded the inaccurate ideas to keep the reader turning pages.
We know Hunt wants to make a point and tell Helga Estby's story but because she loses the reader, she does not give Helga's story justice. She should have shortened the novel and maybe realized that she did not have enough accurate information to write Helga's story. Helga's story defiantly needs to be told but, in order to justify Helga Estby's story, Linda Lawrence Hunt should have used the truthful information she found and made a book from that.
no 'Bold Spirit' to be found..........2006-04-26
Bold Spirit, written by Linda Hunt, is a biographical social commentary based on the life of a Norwegian immigrant mother of eight living in Spokane, Washington named Helga Etsby and her journey .This courageous woman walked with her teen daughter, Clara, across America in 1896 with nothing more than a revolver, $5, pepper spray and a curling iron.
This hush-hush story, concealed by the ashamed family, did not emerge from the past until Helga's great-great grandson won a contest after writing a paper he entitled "Grandma Walks from Coast to Coast". His support came from two article clippings and stories his family told him. Hunt being a resident of Spokane read the paper where the essay was posted and through this essay Hunt found out about this amazing woman's achievement while discovering her own interest in recreating this story. Thus, Bold Spirit exists.
So where does the title come in? A motif of feminine boldness exudes from this book, and Helga portrays this trait with ease. When she was little she found her motto for life in Sunday school after learning about Jonah and the whale. When Helga speaks up and says the story is impossible the teacher replies "Don't you know, Helga, that anything and everything is possible with God?" (81) With this positive mindset backing up her decisions she becomes a strong woman who pushes her physical limits while still being a loving mother. She shows no fear as she walks into the uncharted parts of the continent and even as she is harassed by wanderers she showed no panic and defends herself just as well as any man could. Helga, taking on the pioneer role of a "new woman", opened up many doors for women's rights by giving other women the encouragement they needed to become "new women" as well.
Hunt, throughout the story, drops tidbits of stories about strong women making a difference through the US, like Jane Addams' creation of the Hull House to help house poor immigrants, Wyoming becoming the first suffrage state allowing women to have jobs and vote and the establishing of the `Rational Dress Movement' allowing women to wear comfortable healthy clothes, in opposition to the current Victorian dress. I believe that Hunt did give homage to the theme of women's rights with factual support and through her writing Hunt is clearly biased to the women's rights issue.
The year that Helga attempted this feat is important because the Panic of 1893 put much of the US into economic depression. When Helga's family's future was threatened because they were unable to pay the mortgage on their family farm Helga took up a offer from a woman up east claiming she would pay $10,000 to the woman who could walk across the US unescorted and pay her way as she went along all in a time span of seven months. That $10,000 would enable Helga to save her farm and her family along with her children's education. This great feat attempted by a woman was not expected or respected in the Victorian Age. Women were supposed to be mature and make her husband as happy as possible as stated in a popular handbook for ladies, Godey's Ladies' Book. They were especially not meant to be independent of her husband and family, or be physically active because women's nervous system could not take such stress.
The end of the book isn't the typical "Disney story" ending but Helga's failure to get the $10,000 reward seems to be portrayed in a positive tone. Hunt gives the feeling that the act was more important than the end result. Yet, Helga's family didn't seem to think that Helga's trek was very respectable and therefore hid the story and shame away. After Helga's death, her daughter she left behind to take care of the family, harbored resentment towards her mother. This is what led her daughter to burn what was left of Helga's diary and the newspaper clippings to forget the painful past. As a result, this story was almost lost in time.
Hunt's writing is very lackluster and almost ruined the story because her writing was so lifeless. Bold Spirit is Hunt's first book, and it shows. I expected more from this book after learning that Hunt shares the same roots as Helga, both being from Spokane, and also finding that Hunt went on a trip to Norway and throughout America to gather this lost story. Personally, I think the author needs to add more color and life to her writing if nothing else. I will say that the title of the book is appropriate and catches the reader's attention. But, to those who choose to read this book beware; this story is more of a "candle in the wind" than a "bold spirit".
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Kliatt, published by Kliatt on March 1, 2005. The length of the article is 370 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Hunt, Linda Lawrence. Bold spirit; Helga Estby's forgotten walk across Victorian America.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Book Review)
Author: Edna Boardman
Publication:
Kliatt (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2005
Publisher: Kliatt
Volume: 39
Issue: 2
Page: 42(1)
Article Type: Brief Article, Young Adult Review, Book Review
Distributed by Thompson Gale
Book Description
American history has always been an irresistible source of inspiration for filmmakers, and today, for good or ill, most Americans'sense of the past likely comes more from Hollywood than from the works of historians. In important films such as The Birth of a Nation (1915), Roots (1977), Apocalypse Now (1979), and Saving Private Ryan (1998), how much is entertainment and how much is rooted in historical fact? In The Columbia Companion to American History on Film, more than seventy scholars consider the gap between history and Hollywood. They examine how filmmakers have presented and interpreted the most important events, topics, eras, and figures in the American past, often comparing the film versions of events with the interpretations of the best historians who have explored the topic.
Divided into eight broad categories -- Eras; Wars and Other Major Events; Notable People; Groups; Institutions and Movements; Places; Themes and Topics; and Myths and Heroes -- the volume features extensive cross-references, a filmography (of discussed and relevant films), notes, and a bibliography of selected historical works on each subject. The Columbia Companion to American History on Film is also an important resource for teachers, with extensive information for research or for course development appropriate for both high school and college students.
Though each essay reflects the unique body of film and print works covering the subject at hand, every essay addresses several fundamental questions:
• What are the key films on this topic?
• What sources did the filmmaker use, and how did the film deviate (or remain true to) its sources?
• How have film interpretations of a particular historical topic changed, and what sorts of factors -- technological, social, political, historiographical -- have affected their evolution?
• Have filmmakers altered the historical record with a view to enhancing drama or to enhance the "truth" of their putative message?
Customer Reviews:
Covers a huge range of subject........2007-04-01
Above all else the movies have to entertain. When they make movies about historical events, sometimes the movies are able to do an adequate, truthful story about what happened. At other times the story gets so 'Hollywooded' that any representation to the original event is purely coincidental. Sometimes there's a meeting point inbetween that you'd never guess.
Example: in 'The Flying Tigers,' there's a love story intermixed with the fighting. A nurse that was with them was asked if there was any truth to this at all. She replied, well, I was over there, there was this very good looking pilot. Why shouldn't there be relationships between young adults inbetween the fighting.
Another good example is the difference between the two 'Memphis Belle' movies. The 1944 documentary was dramatic as well as exciting. The 1990 version was so 'Hollywood' as to be silly.
This book breaks down American history into subject areas such as Eras, Wars, Notable People, Crime and the Mafia, Baseball, and many more. In each of these sections the book discusses the major films that apply.
Average customer rating:
- Indispensable Reference for Film and/or History Studies
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Hollywood As Historian: American Film in a Cultural Context
ASIN: 023111222X |
Book Description
American history has always been an irresistible source of inspiration for filmmakers, and today, for good or ill, most Americans'sense of the past likely comes more from Hollywood than from the works of historians. In important films such as The Birth of a Nation (1915), Roots (1977), Apocalypse Now (1979), and Saving Private Ryan (1998), how much is entertainment and how much is rooted in historical fact? In The Columbia Companion to American History on Film, more than seventy scholars consider the gap between history and Hollywood. They examine how filmmakers have presented and interpreted the most important events, topics, eras, and figures in the American past, often comparing the film versions of events with the interpretations of the best historians who have explored the topic.
Divided into eight broad categories -- Eras; Wars and Other Major Events; Notable People; Groups; Institutions and Movements; Places; Themes and Topics; and Myths and Heroes -- the volume features extensive cross-references, a filmography (of discussed and relevant films), notes, and a bibliography of selected historical works on each subject. The Columbia Companion to American History on Film is also an important resource for teachers, with extensive information for research or for course development appropriate for both high school and college students.
Though each essay reflects the unique body of film and print works covering the subject at hand, every essay addresses several fundamental questions:
• What are the key films on this topic?
• What sources did the filmmaker use, and how did the film deviate (or remain true to) its sources?
• How have film interpretations of a particular historical topic changed, and what sorts of factors -- technological, social, political, historiographical -- have affected their evolution?
• Have filmmakers altered the historical record with a view to enhancing drama or to enhance the "truth" of their putative message?
Customer Reviews:
Indispensable Reference for Film and/or History Studies.......2005-02-20
The purpose of this book is to supply a perspective on the following: how films belong to the eras in which they are made;
how films reflect the times as historical documents; how sponsors use motion pictures and television to influence history or our understanding of the past.
Close attention is devoted to the existing historical wisdom on a topic, drawing from the work of historians and other social scientists; the pertinent films on the subject are then tested in relation to the historiography of the time in which they were made as well as in relation to our understanding of the issues, today. All of this work is done without an axe to grind or a theory to vindicate.
This book should be near the desk of every history teacher from the high schools to universities. Because our understanding of the past is so intertwined with the media record, we need all the help we can get to untangle the facts from the fictions--or, at least to discern the differences in interpretations.
The book emerges from the work of a journal called "Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies," a publication which has been active since 1970 and is an affiliated society of the American Historical Association. The journal provides a continuing interest in these issues and should also be a resource at schools. Biennial meetings offer a great opportunity for teachers to experience the work of those committed to such studies. A compendium of such information is available at www.filmandhistory.org.
Book Description
In this fascinating biography of George Harrison, the incompar-able lead guitarist for The Beatles, Marc Shapiro presents a com-pell-ing account of the man who brought the band their lyrical playing style and the unforgettable songs that brought solace to a generation. The Beatles conjoined around the distinct music stylings of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and drummer Ringo Starr in 1962. Harrison's smooth, elegant slide guitar techni-que became the centerpiece of The Beatles' albums, and many of his hits, including 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps,' became classics within the band's repertoire. Complete with stunning photos and startling information about the life and loves of George Harrison, Behind Sad Eyes captures the dynamic musician in a reverent portrait of his life and career that will excite rock fans and Beatles devotees alike.
Customer Reviews:
Don't Bother Me.......2007-07-18
Evidently hashed together upon the death of George, to cash in on the uptick in interest, this short bio clipjob lacks interviews with anyone of any significance. It relies on a lot of speculation by the writer about what George "must have thought" etc etc. "It's a good bet that..." is one of his fave phrases. Still, this tells the extremely familiar story in telescoped form for anyone who doesn't already know it. I expected more.
I'm Speechless....it's really that bad!.......2007-07-17
Thank heavens I checked this book out of our library before I wasted my money. I probably could have written a better book about George Harrison. Even though the author admitted that no interviews were conducted by any remaining Beatles, it is my belief that if you write a biography about someone, you'd better darn well check your "facts" (and I use the word losely) before committing it to print, or just save it for the gossip rags! Example: Shapiro's account of George finding out about John Lennon's death; I got the feeling Shapiro wanted to make this sad incident more dramatic or mystical or something. Every other account I've ever read has said that George's wife Olivia received a phone call and had to break the news to George. Shapiro's account states that Harrison had a strange foreboding or some other such nonsense. Another example of "poetic license" was Shapiro's recounting of George and Olivia's meeting: Shapiro says that George is so paranoid about people's intentions that he has Olivia "checked out," in other words, INVESTIGATED. This is nonsense. Having spoken on the phone with Olivia, he was having her checked out (what does she look like?) by a friend, much like a smitten teenager. Olivia Harrison herself has retold their meeting in an interview, saying, "He was flirting!"
Besides the factual errors, I found editing errors, which is pretty awful for a legitimately published book: as I was reading I double-checked to see if this was a "vanity press" book! Yiiikes!
All of this aside, it is obvious that Shapiro really didn't have a feeling at all for George Harrison's personality, only the preconceived NOTION of it. By all other accounts, Harrison was a witty, multi-faceted man who packed a whole lot of living into his short life. If he was as dour and one-dimensional as Shapiro portrays him, there is no way he would have made as many friends from all over the world as he did, let alone be as loved by his them as he was. Shapiro should have interviewed them instead of concocting such a tale.
Did this man have an editor?.......2007-06-10
This is an extremely badly-written book. It abounds with errors in grammar, orthography (even when it comes to proper names, such as how George's second wife is twice referred to as "Olvia"), and punctuation. It also jumps around with the timeframe a few times; a nonlinear narrative can work wonderfully in a work of fiction, but not in a biography! Mr. Shapiro also gets George's age wrong a couple of times (such as stating that he became a father at 38, when he was actually 35) and seems to think that "Norwegian Wood" was on 'Revolver' (which he claims was released in 1965!). It's also news to me that John had a solo album called 'Primal Screams.'
Above all, this book just lacks depth in the extreme. George's years as a Beatle are run through at near-lightning speed, and though there is some more detail in the chapters about his solo years, that material too just never goes very deep. For example, a lot is made of George's belief in Krishna and Hinduism, yet this faith path is never really defined, even at a very basic level. Mr. Shapiro also doesn't have a lot of great things to say about his solo records, as though he only ever had a couple of albums worth anything. I failed to get any sense that Mr. Shapiro had any real passion for his subject. It reads more like a term paper from someone with very limited writing skills. I could have written a more interesting and detailed bio on George when I was in my first years of fandom in my early teens! It mostly reads like a brief career bio, failing to convey any real sense of who George was as a person, what made him tick, without an analysis of his life, personality, and career. I also wouldn't trust any book that lists, in the bibliography, the trashy so-called bios 'Dark Horse' by Geoffrey Giuliano and 'The Lives of John Lennon' by Albert Goldman. That's like admitting you got some of your 'information' from a tabloid! It just speaks volumes that he conducted exactly one interview, with musician Delaney Bramlett. Even the picture section wasn't nearly big enough. Only 11 photos?! And to top it off, the title is just bizarre, and Mr. Shapiro never even proves his supposed point, that George was a sad person. Oh yeah, and there isn't even an index.
My two-star rating is based only on the fact that this is a very quick read, isn't too boring, and does convey the basic facts (even if longtime fans have heard all of this stuff many, many times before and don't learn much of anything new). It also at least isn't sensationalistic or sleazy like the trash written by Goldman or Giuliano. The detailed discography is also a nice touch (though that too has problems with grammar, punctuation, and orthography). One can't help but wonder if this quicky bio was put out so soon after George's untimely passing to cash in on his death. If so, it certainly shows. It couldn't possibly have taken that long for this excuse of a bio to have been written. It gets a big thumbs-down from me, and I wouldn't recommend it to any of my fellow Beatlemaniacs. My second-favorite Beatle deserved a much more thorough and respectful biographical treatment of his life, and this sure wasn't it.
You find better quality at the National Enquirer.......2007-02-22
What a drag it was to read this shoddy & superficial book. I kept waiting for it to get better, but alas, I was cheated. Shame on me. At least I didn't spend any money on it as it was a public library book.
For a deep & thoughtful analysis of George's music, read "While My Guitar Gently Weeps:The Music Of George Harrison" by Simon Leng. Mr. Leng is a scholar who appreciates good music and artists of integrity, unlike so many hacks posing as journalists & authors these days.
Read _Here Comes the Sun_ by Joshua Greene instead........2006-10-11
This reads like a pretty pathetic rush job published in 2002 shortly after Harrison's death. _FAR_ better is the newer bio. of Harrison, _Here Comes the Sun_ which the author, Joshua Greene, took the deserved time to write. (See my review for that book, too.)
Greene is a former Hare Krishna devotee who actually spent a respectable amount of time in Harrison's presence. I doubt Shapiro can say this.
_Behind Sad Eyes_ contains mostly conjecture and unsubstantiated musings by Shapiro in which he has cherry-picked the (painfully few) Harrison quotes from a host of other sources. Also, Shapiro's style is much more of the _National Enquirer_ category--preoccupied with the salacious over the sustantive.
Oh yes, the copy editing is poor too -- obvious mispellings, dropped words, that sort of thing. Another sign of a rush job.
Average customer rating:
- Look what he did in a three year period!
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C.O.O.L. Chess
Paul Motwani
Manufacturer: B.T. Batsford
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0713479744 |
Book Description
C.O.O.L. Chess is the sequel to H.O.T. Chess, one of the most innovative chess manuals of the 1990s!
Grandmaster Motwani continues to explain his easy-to-use acronym-based approach to chess thinking, and shows how Creative Original Opening Lines can bring astonishing over-the-board successes.
The many brilliant games in this book include victories by Motwani against some of the world's best players, whom he has outwitted in the first stages of the game.
Customer Reviews:
Look what he did in a three year period!.......2002-03-28
I contend that Paul Motwani produced more great chess literature in a three year period (1997-2000) than any chess author in history (HOT Chess, COOL Chess, STAR Chess, Chess Under the Microscope and Most Instructive Games of the Young Grandmasters). His annotations are alive with enthusiasm and insight, are a tremendous combination of variations and text; in short, they have everything that great annotations should have. But he goegoes further than this, constantly posing challenges to the reader, drwaing comparisons to other positions, and generally inspiring the reader to tacked the difficult subject of chess. These are all great books, and C.O.O.L. Chess is as good as any of them. The emphasis is on exploring creative opening lines. He shows how people have succeeded with this idea of finding your own opening niche and creating something personal for your repertoire. Finding an opening repertoire has always been a battle for me, and Motwani has inspired me to try things I never thought I would try. For instance, the French Defense. I have always hated the French, but Motwani's chapter in this book on the French ("French Connection") will have all of its readers playing the French. I cannot say enough about his books. For those three years, he put out nearly 1000 densely packed pages of high intensity chess literature. He is like the Beatles at their peak. The difference is that he has been almost universally condemned by most chess reviewers. He is too original for them. For instance, Motwani occasionally mentions God in his writings. This really rankles chess traditionalists, who contend that chess should not contain any such personal references. But if you are open minded, and enjoy striking an doriginal chess literature, of a very intense and demanding style, I suggest you gobble up all these books by this genius, Paul Motwani.
Book Description
Executives, managers, and professionals all across America are praising Executive EQ and are putting the precepts of this book into action for raising emotional intelligence in their leadership and at all levels of their organizations.
Customer Reviews:
amazing book.......2007-01-05
a LOT of knowledge in this book. introspective, yet easy to read and hard to put down. can't say that about too many business books.
Essential reference on EQ for leaders - practical, inspiring.......2006-11-15
I just bought a new book to share with clients because my paperback is so dog-eared and marked up.
The book's Prologue is even worth revisiting, with the story of the Tibetan elder sharing his life story with the author, because it made him "real, not just a name...not just some stranger who climbed a mountain with you."
In the Introduction, the author encourages the reader to ask, "What have you been through in life? What got you here? What makes you worth knowing -- and trusting? What fires your creativity? What makes you real -- and valuable? The author links the answers to these questions (and countless other reflective questions) to how well one connects to others emotionally.
The book goes on to explore powerful components of EQ, including some of my favorites from the book:
* Emotional Honesty -- not just as a concept but as a felt sensation in the body and as a reflective practice in morning notes.
* Emotional Energy -- with calm states enhancing EQ, whil tense-energy and tense-tired states skew emotional intelligence. The author notes that most EQ theories ignore the energy-EQ connection altogether and at a big cost to applying EQ principles (as if emotions lived separately from the body!).
* Practical Intuition -- an interesting section on "unintentionally ambiguous behaviors, which next to abrasive/aggressive behaviors cause the most tension for folks, who assume the worst about incongruencies in others.
* Trust Radius -- simple exercise uses questions: "Am I one of the people you trust completely? If not, why not? And how specifically could I increase trustworthiness in your eyes? // Is this person inside my trust radius? If not, why not? etc.
* Influence without Authority -- defining influence as when you're up to what is "right and purposeful," the "necessary people and resources tend to be attracted to the cause" through resonance. When the speaker is "part of" or becomes "one with" the listener (vs. dehumanizing the enemy or opposition), influence emerges from alignment vs. authority or manipulation.
The biggest complaint? The type is very small and the pages are dense...not a fast read, but a great book with many sections worthy of revisiting!
Very academic but very insightful.......2006-11-05
Books about EQ seem to fall into three categories: (1) High level concepts about the topic with platitudes about how to develop it, (2) Dense academic research, and (3) Emotional outpourings from the author about their own experience. This book is clearly in category 2.
I have found this a helpful reference text and I review it from time to time to gather additional "nuggets" to share in presentations/workshops.
Outstanding.......2006-08-02
The book is extremely insightful and will add value for any reader - guaranteed!
A Book that Changed My Life.......2005-01-31
This should be a must-read for all people in their late 20's who are ready to take that next step into adulthood. This book taught me a lot about myself and showed me the experiences and problems I've had lately have been problems people and organizations have gone through for years. I learned to trust my intuition, go with my gut, understand my own feelings, and, most importantly, I now have a clear understanding of other people's feelings. Emotions and feelings drive the human spirit, not formulas and procedures. I had been trained that emotions were bad for decisions, but you can't make a decision without emotions. Above all else, this book shows to be successful in life, IQ is helpful, but EQ is the secret. THIS IS A MUST READ !!!!
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Pipeline & Gas Journal, published by Thomson Gale on August 1, 2007. The length of the article is 674 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Dwayne Cobbs defines changing role of GITA.(Q&A: Executive Profile)(dialogue with Dwayne E. Cobbs )(Interview)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication:
Pipeline & Gas Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 234
Issue: 8
Page: 112(1)
Article Type: Interview
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Tax Adviser, published by American Institute of CPA's on November 1, 2002. The length of the article is 4111 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: An overview of recent developments in employee benefits, including qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, welfare benefits and executive compensation.(part 1)
Author: Gary Q. Cvach
Publication:
The Tax Adviser (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2002
Publisher: American Institute of CPA's
Volume: 33
Issue: 11
Page: 720(5)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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Q: How do you deal with e-mail deluge?: An article from: Association Management
Manufacturer: American Society of Association Executives
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
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ASIN: B000AJQPRS
Release Date: 2006-07-14 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Association Management, published by American Society of Association Executives on April 1, 2005. The length of the article is 674 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Q: How do you deal with e-mail deluge?
Publication:
Association Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2005
Publisher: American Society of Association Executives
Volume: 57
Issue: 4
Page: 80(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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