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Precious few of us--and that includes Hall of Fame achievers like J. Paul Getty and Bill Gates--ever travel a straight line to the winner's circle. Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins, by Richard Farson and Ralph Keyes, builds on this basic assumption to suggest that some failures may not only be inevitable on our road to success, but might actually help us attain it. In earlier books, Farson (Management of the Absurd) and Keyes (Chancing It) wrote separately about risk taking and reexamining assumptions. Here, they jointly proclaim that in the age of Oprah it might truly be counterproductive to accept the traditional meaning of business yin and yang. "Relying on conventional, outmoded ideas about success and failure stands in the way of your ability to innovate, compete and stay ahead of the curve in a changing economy," they write. While slim, their book goes on to make a compelling case for "managing in the postfailure era" by supporting the type of traditionally discouraged behavior that resulted in breakthrough creativity over the years at firms like 3M, Monsanto, and Apple. Since crises, setbacks, and adversity help shape and advance our lives, the authors argue, why can't enlightened managers also turn them into forward movement in the workplace? Contrarian food for thought. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
Success in today's business economy demands nonstop innovation. But fancy buzzwords, facile lip service, and simplistic formulas are not the answer. Only an entirely new mindset -- a new attitude toward success and failure -- can transform managers' thinking, according to Richard Farson, author of the bestseller Management of the Absurd, and Ralph Keyes, author of the pathbreaking Chancing It: Why We Take Risks, in this provocative new work.
According to Farson and Keyes, the key to this new attitude lies in taking risks. In a rapidly changing economy, managers will confront at least as much failure as success. Does that mean they'll have failed? Only by their grandfathers' definition of failure. Both success and failure are steps toward achievement, say the authors. After all, Coca-Cola's renaissance grew directly out of its New Coke debacle, and severe financial distress forced IBM to completely reinvent itself.
Wise leaders accept their setbacks as necessary footsteps on the path toward success. They also know that the best way to fall behind in a shifting economy is to rely on what's worked in the past -- as when once-innovative companies like Xerox and Polaroid relied too heavily on formulas that had grown obsolete. By contrast, companies such as GE and 3M have remained vibrant by encouraging innovators, even when they suffered setbacks. In their stunning new book, Farson and Keyes call this enlightened approach "productive mistake-making." Rather than reward success and penalize failure, they propose that managers focus on what can be learned from both. Paradoxically, the authors argue, the less we chase success and flee from failure, the more likely we are to genuinely succeed.
Best of all, they have written a little jewel of a book, packed with fresh insights, blessedly brief, and to the point.
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"Success in today's business economy demands nonstop innovation. But fancy buzzwords, facile lip service, and simplistic formulas are not the answer. Only an entirely new mindset -- a new attitude toward success and failure -- can transform managers' thinking, according to Richard Farson, author of the bestseller Management of the Absurd, and Ralph Keyes, author of the pathbreaking Chancing It: Why We Take Risks, in this provocative new work. According to Farson and Keyes, the key to this new attitude lies in taking risks. In a rapidly changing economy, managers will confront at least as much failure as success. Does that mean they'll have failed? Only by their grandfathers' definition of failure. Both success and failure are steps toward achievement, say the authors. After all, Coca-Cola's renaissance grew directly out of its New Coke debacle, and severe financial distress forced IBM to completely reinvent itself. Wise leaders accept their setbacks as necessary footsteps on the path toward success. They also know that the best way to fall behind in a shifting economy is to rely on what's worked in the past -- as when once-innovative companies like Xerox and Polaroid relied too heavily on formulas that had grown obsolete. By contrast, companies such as GE and 3M have remained vibrant by encouraging innovators, even when they suffered setbacks. In their stunning new book, Farson and Keyes call this enlightened approach ""productive mistake-making."" Rather than reward success and penalize failure, they propose that managers focus on what can be learned from both. Paradoxically, the authors argue, the less we chase success and flee from failure, the more likely we are to genuinely succeed. Best of all, they have written a little jewel of a book, packed with fresh insights, blessedly brief, and to the point. "
Customer Reviews:
The Limits of the Concepts of Success and Failure.......2007-02-26
Making mistakes is a key part of succeeding at anything, the authors believe. Mistakes educate, and education leads to success. They tell the story of Thomas Watson's early loss of company resources at IBM, and his inital expectation that it would lead to his firing, so he offered to resign instead. "You must be kidding," he was told. "We've just invested $10 million in your education."
Those who play it safe can avoid making mistakes, but they do so at a cost of a lack of genuine achievement. To be genuinely supportive of risk-takers, a company must be tolerant of failures, the authors argue.
Just the education caused by failures often leads to success, so the hubris or overconfidence caused by success often leads to failures. Success and failure are not polar opposites, but rather merely separate parts of an integrated whole.
The important thing a person can do to focus on getting the job done in the best way possible, and not become paralyzed with fear as to whether his or her efforts will succeed or fail. Success and failure are beyond one's personal control, but the personal effort and focus and energy are not. The authors quote basketball great Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics as saying he was often so involved in the games he was playing that he didn't really care if he won or lost: the authors paradoxically argue that this is an attitude that is key to winning.
A lot of people who the world regards as successful do not see themselves that way, from Maria Shriver to J.P. Getty. A person who is successful in one area likely has failed in another. The key is to learn from one's mistakes, not repeat them, and stay in the game. Staying in the game is the great reward that motivates many successful people.
This is an extremely wise and humane book. It recognizes that any definition of success is limited in the number of people who can qualify as successful, and that the list of those who are successful at any one time is different from the list of those who are successful at any other time. It recognizes that a key steppingstone to success by any definition is the ability to learn and profit from failure.
This is an extremely useful book for people in the middle of corporate hierarchies. It is also valuable for those debating whether or not to take a given risk, and for those who have taken a risk that has failed. It is valuable for anyone who has to supervise others, or plan for the future, or try to make his or her organization more responsive to an ever-changing world.
Few books are more valuable than this one in coping with the ups and downs of business, or the ups and downs of life. Few people are so dazzingly brilliant or amazingly lucky that they go through life without being harmed by either success or failure. For all those aware of the danger points, this is a book that offers an exit strategy from them.
Uncommon Common Sense.......2007-02-11
Richard Farson and Ralph Keyes are unique thinkers whose refreshing insights and reflections on how we live our lives - what we bring to our workplaces and relationships -are paradoxically simple and complex. On page 129 they caution about "learning how not to be shattered by the humiliation of failure or unnerved by the stress of success," a running theme. They see the two, failure and success, as two sides of the same coin. The primary focus of The Innovation Paradox is on business but the lessons transcend management and leadership in the workplace. For example, you will be fascinated to read on page 45 that "it's unlikely our friendship will survive a friend's triumph." This slim 129 page book is one that you will dog ear and come back to time and again. You will find yourself alternately scratching your head (huh?), nodding in knowing agreement (aha!), and getting angry (agghh); and having a lot of fun along the way. I highly recommend this book that delivers uncomfortable truths, knowing wisdom and uncommon common sense.
Philosophical and inspirational! Quite zen!.......2006-10-23
Recently I had read three great books on mistakes:- "Will your next mistakes be fatal? by Robert Mittelstaedt", "Why Smart Executives Fail: And What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes? by Sydney Finkelstein", and "In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters by Merrill R. Chapman". To prevent myself from being too risk aversive (just kidding!) I dig into Amazon to get an antidote. Now I am writing a review of it.
Beyond expectation, positively, this book is highly philosophical or even zen. For e.g., on pg 10, "To cope with this economy dont flee from its complexity,; embrace it. In the world to come, we will repeatedly face fluid, ambiguous, even paradoxical, situations....Grow your business by destroying your business; to get big, think small; increase your share of markets by ignoring the concept of market share. We would add: Manage success and failure by not making clear distinctions between the two." And on pg 13, "We assume that success is the pinnacle, failure the pits. They're not. The real pinnacle is when we are so engaged in what we're doing that this distinction vanishes. Athletes call it being in the zone.....when faced with extreme challenges they entered a state of elevated concentration - one he called flow - in which time seemed to stand still, one moment blended into the next, and doing the right thing became almost effortless."
Certainly, the two quoted passages above are not representative of the whole book which gives plenty of good case studies (in particular 3M) and strategic suggestions. However, that sets the overall tone, which distinguishes it from the tons of "mistake" genre of books in the market. IMHO, this is a very good and interesting read for business and personal enhancement. Highly recommended!
Below please find some of my favorite passages for your reference:-
I've missed more than nine thousand shots in my career," admitted Michael Jordan. "I've lost almost three hundred games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." pg 32
The world belongs to those who dont let anxiety about screwing up keep them from moving forward. Those who are too afraid to make a mistake work for those who arent. Even harder than making our own mistakes is letting others make theirs. pg 34
One reason for the collapse of the Soviet Union was that its state controlled economy grew obsessively intolerant of mistakes.....The essence of a free market economy is constant correction based on continual consumer feedback in response to errors. pg 38
When it came to warfare, the samurai strived to achieve victory by becoming fully absorbed in a process that would lead them there, not by setting their sights on victory itself...Samurai swordsman Miyamoto Musashi called this "total absorption of purpose in a single telling bow." pg 119
Success comes from being awake, aware, and in tune with others. - Phil Jackson, NBA Coach pg 122
Fantastic!.......2005-12-21
This is the best business book I've ever read- and I've read tons already! It lets you completely re-imagine your attitude toward success, failures and LIFE. Very deep and wise.
Definately Worth Reading.......2004-12-06
I was first drawn to this book when I was writing a college research paper on the topic of "Success". This book is extremely intersting in that it documents exellent, real-world examples of how failure leads to success (as well as the paradox, how too much success can/will lead to failure).
I found this book to be a quick and easy read that caused me to question our societal norms and values in the subjects of success and failure.
On another note, I think that this book can be particularly useful to people who are perfectionists or who are stressed out about their need to succeed in whatever they are doing. This book helps to demonstrate that succeeding in everything is not always the route to being "successful" in the long run, and that playing it safe can end up costing you later on.
Thus, if you have any interest in the subjects of success/failure, economics, business, psycology or really any other topic...I would recommend this book. Definately glad I read it. Helped me to "succeed" in my paper about success.
Book Description
How has cultural diversity affected the business climate of the growing European Union? What are European institutions and enterprises doing to manage it? In 'EuroDiversity,' Dr. Simons gathers issue-centered perspectives on how Europe's entwined past, present, and future have made it the most strikingly diverse part of the world and what this means for doing business there. 'EuroDiversity' provides:
* Insights into Europe's cultural challenges of globalization, diversity dilemmas, and opportunities
* Case studies, best practices, and resources for finding the common ground and developing the competence needed to succeed
'EuroDiversity' addresses how cultural diversity affects the business climate of the growing European Union and describes what European institutions and successful organizations are doing to manage it. The book's multinational team of authors gives us issue-centered perspectives on how Europe's entwined past, present and future have made it the most strikingly diverse part of the world and what this means for doing business there. They address Europe's cultural challenges of globalization and provide abundant insights into diversity dilemmas and opportunities. They point to the best practices and resources that will assist both European enterprises and those actively present in or trading with Europe to find the cultural common ground and competence they need to succeed.
Contributors: Arjen Bos, Marie-Thérèse Claes, Ph.D., Elena A. A. Garcea, Ph.D., Nigel Holden, Ph.D., Michael Stuber
Diversity in Europe is not the same as diversity in North America. Here is a book that not only makes clear why imported diversity models often fail in Europe, but also identifies true European diversity issues and what to do about them.This is a book about the world's most culturally diverse area that explores how businesses must manage differences here to be successful in the global marketplace.The book's multinational team of authors show us concrete cases of big corporations handling diversity successfully.
Customer Reviews:
A Must Read.......2004-03-17
For some time now there has been a sea of confusion vis-a-vis the U.S. and European nations as to what is meant by cultural diversity. Discussions with trainers, a reading of the literature, and listening to different perspectives have amply demonstrated that the term cultural diversity has different meanings and different applications in the U.S. and also betwixt and between the variety of European nations. Our views of each other's definitions and treatments reflect a keen lack of accurate knowledge and understanding about one and other. And, while it is true that there have been a great number of books of varying degrees of quality written about diversity in the United States, little to nothing has appeared about European diversity.
Now, George Simons and his authors have brought a great deal of sense to the dilemmas of diversity and have made a successful attempt to clarify the air, explain the differences, and to provide positive comparative insights. This book is a first step but it is a very important step in awakening us to some of the fundamental issues of EuroDiversity . Additionally, he and the other authors place diversity in a broader scope.
In the Prologue Simons says:
Diversity is about globalization, organizational learning, and the
growing importance of knowledge management just as much as it is
about recruitment, equal opportunity, workforce demographics, and
social integration. It concerns the information technology that is almost
daily revolutionizing communication. It affects interactive networking and
transport. It is perhaps the critical issue in many mergers and acquisitions
- and often the least attended to. It is at the root of how organizations
transform themselves.
With this broad, and I believe perceptive, vision of diversity, Simons and his other authors have provided us with ten chapters that introduce some of the fundamentals of the diversity picture in Europe. Simons in the first chapter aptly entitled Patchwork: The Diversities of Europeans and Their Business Impact paints a picture of how diversity and diversity management in Europe focuses on their own objectives, philosophy, tools, and methodologies and how these may differ from the U.S. and other models.
The data in the next three chapters (The Legacy of the Past: How National and Regional Differences Continue to Effect Trade, Cooperation, Politics, and Relationships; Current Cultural Crises, Fears, Fantasies, and Foreseeable Futures; and Managing Diversity to Create Marketable Value Added from Difference ) represents the structure and responses from a questionnaire that was submitted to a select group of managers and professionals throughout Europe. The survey aimed at identifying the principle challenges that diversity faces in Europe, to recognize how these challenges affect business and organizations in Europe, and to help them report the best practices that have been developed in response to these challenges.
As we are learning in the United States, diversity impacts all aspects of corporate activities and in the next chapter, Europe Online: The "New" Economy and Virtual Collaboration from a Cultural Perspective, the impact and influence of technology has significant meaning for diversity concerns. Here the book looks at the future of European diversity in a wired world. It examines the changing nature of commerce, organizational learning, and expatriation and provides insight into some of the leading efforts and technologies.
More often than not diversity issues in the U.S. have focused on avoiding litigation, human resources development, and in more recent years enhancing the bottom line. Chapter six, Corporate Best Practice: What Some European Organizations Are Doing Well to Manage Culture and Diversity, offers us a much more inclusive picture as it presents an overall view of how diversity is thought of, acted upon and managed in some European countries. It also, very importantly, depicts the missing links in the corporate response to being and working in a diverse environment.
Getting to the nitty-gritty in chapter seven, The Cross-Cultural Transfer of Best Practices: Learning from European and American Experiences of Knowledge Management, the author looks at diversity from a different perspective from the historical role(s) it has had in the U.S. Here, we find an examination of knowledge management aspects of three European based global organizations which pays particular attention to how these companies look at the complex cross-cultural challenge of transferring knowledge, experience and values throughout their organizations worldwide. This chapter has particular value for American diversity professionals.
The succeeding chapter Sustainable Entrepreneurship in a Changing Europe: Pedagogy of Ethics for Corporate Organizations in Transformation, brings up the issue of "corporate citizenship" and social responsibility within our globalization efforts. These become essential ingredients of a framework for diversity in Europe, and hopefully elsewhere.
The penultimate chapter, Equal Opportunity for Women and Men in the European Union: The Case of E-Quality in Belgium, deals with gender relations in the European workplace and offers us a valuable case study.
Chapter ten, Who is the European? Prognosis and Recommendations, brings the whole book together. It looks at the difficult question of identity as an agenda for determining the both the social and the economic future of Europe and of the diversity initiatives that the present and future will require.
The book is indexed, has excellent chapter references, an extensive bibliography including Internet resources, and five appendices: Declaration on Cultural Diversity; Commission of the European Communities; Declaration on a European Policy for New Information Technologies; Survey of Diversity Challenges in the E.U. Region; and Benchmarking Initiative.
The book offers the American reader (and I dare say, many European readers) keen insights into the complexity of diversity issues in the E.U. It also offers all diversity professionals some major considerations in regard to the wired world and knowledge management in facing diversity issues. This is a first rate thought provoking work! It is a basic primer and should be required reading in national and international and global organizations!
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Just Weeds: History, Myths and Uses
Pamela Jones
Manufacturer: Chapters Pub Ltd
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1881527581 |
Book Description
In this collection of her provocative essays on Third World art and culture, award-winning filmmaker and theorist Trinh Minh-ha offers new challenges to Western regimes of knowledge.
Bringing to her subjects an acute sense of the many meanings of the marginal, Trinh examines Asian and African texts, the theories of Barthes, questions of spectatorship, the enigmas of art, and the perils of anthropology. In one essay, taking off from ideas raised earlier by Zora Neale Hurston, Trinh considers with astonishment the search by Western "experts" for the hidden values of a person or culture, a process of legitimized voyeurism that, she argues, ultimately equates psychological conflicts with depth, while inner experience is reduced to mere personal feeling.
When the Moon Waxes Red is an extended argument against reductive analyses, even those that appear politically adroit. Feminist struggle is heterogeneous. The multiply-hyphenated peoples of color are not simply placed in a duality between two cultural heritages; throughout, Trinh describes the predicament of having to live "a difference that has no name and too many names already." She argues for multicultural revision of knowledge so that a new politics can transform reality rather than merely ideologize it. By rewriting the always emerging, already distorted place of struggle, such work seeks to "beat the master at his own game."
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- Captures the personality of Ron Howard Beautifully
- Ron Howard-From Child Star to Innovative Director
- Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon...and Beyond
- Opie to Richie to the Moon
- Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon...and Beyond
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Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon...and Beyond
Beverly Gray
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Entertainers
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Movie Directors
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ASIN: 1558539700 |
Book Description
Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon… and Beyond, the first full-length biography of Ron Howard, takes an in-depth look at the Oklahoma boy who gained national fame as a child star, then grew up to be one of Hollywood's most admired directors. Although many show biz kids founder as they approach adulthood, Ron Howard had the advantage of brains, common sense, and two down-to-earth parents who kept him from having an inflated view of his own accomplishments. He also had a longstanding goal: to trade the glare of the spotlight for a quieter but equally creative life behind the camera. This biography tracks his career from 1960, when he debuted as six-year-old Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show through 2002, when he accepted his Academy Award
Customer Reviews:
Captures the personality of Ron Howard Beautifully.......2005-08-24
Beveryly Gray is truly a wonderful biographer. She captures the tone and warmth of Ron Howard throughout the book. Beverly also puts you "in the know" for the locales, such as Greenwich, Connecticut, where Ron Howard moved to partially shield his children from the "glamorous temptations of the film industry." This is a book for people who want to take a walk with Howard and really get to know what drives him. It's warm, friendly, and low-key, just like its subject. And a great read! Well done, Beverly! Oh, by the way, did I mention Beverly also teaches film at UCLA Extension. A wonderful, warm person in her own right.
Ron Howard-From Child Star to Innovative Director.......2003-12-26
One of the advantages of an "unauthorized" biography is that it should offer a more creative and exciting challenges to the biographer and a much greater illumination to the reader.
There is always the danger when a biography is authorized that a conflict of interest may arise and the truth may be compromised.
Beverly Gray's unauthorized biography Ron Howard From Mayberry to the Moon..and Beyond is a "putting the record straight" kind of a book, wherein some of the myths that have been prevalent in the press for so many years are explored and set aside.
Many of us have grown up with Ron Howard the child actor Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show, and then as Richie Cunningham of Happy Days.
Today, Ron Howard is a well known Hollywood film director and producer, who directed such films as: Through the Magic Pyramid, Night Shift, Cocoon, Willow, Parenthood, Backdraft, Far and Away, The Paper, Apollo 13, Ransom, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Academy award winner, A Beautiful Mind.
Gray practically begins her story from the cradle. Howard was born of parents, who themselves were actors, and at eighteen months he captured his first acting role as a crying baby, thanks to the efforts of his father.
Throughout his life, his parents, Rance and Jean Howard, played a tremendous role in shaping his life, and at the tender age of five years his father had imparted in him professionalism and basic acting techniques that have remained with him throughout his career.
As we read Howard's "unauthorized" biography, we are amazed at the extensive research that must have gone into the writing of this book, most of which was gleaned from Howard's interviews with the media over the years, as well as the author's interviews with many of his associates.
One advantage of writing Howard's biography in the prime of his life is that almost everyone is still around from his youth and his filmmaking career.
Practically no stone is left unturned, as we trudge along with the author from Howard's early childhood until his present day directing achievements.
We learn of his successes as well as his failures, and very often we are privy to some little known facts about him.
As an example, Howard was in awe by director George Lucas's talents and counter culture approach to filmmaking, as was in evidence in the film American Graffiti, where Howard had been asked to improvise scenes with other actors.
Movie buffs will surely appreciate the four appendices included at the end of the book that provide a timeline for the actor, filmography as an actor, filmography as a director and producer, and his major awards and honors.
One deficiency I found with the book, and one that is very prevalent in many biographies, is the creation of a narrative pattern that relies on the chronological tick of events; the day- by -day or year- by- year pattern should have been re-imagined. If the author had made Howard's story more innovative, it would have been more attractive to its readers.
Norm Goldman-Travel Writer and Editor Bookpleasures
Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon...and Beyond.......2003-11-12
I found Ms. Gray's study of Ron Howard to be a highly creative and attention-grabbing presentation of a man with a constantly developing and fascinating career and personality, ranging from his child-actor beginnings through his current reputation as a successful director in many genres. The book brought to life his early years in the Andy Griffith television series and "The Music Man." The author's treatment of his recent film, "A Beautiful Mind," is especially moving and insightful and tied together Howard's consistency and creative exploration in all of his work. His ever-present optimism, human decency, energetic habit of taking on new challenges, and loyal respect for others in his life and his work is presented in a very appreciative and in-depth way.
Opie to Richie to the Moon.......2003-07-25
Did you ever want to be Opie when you were a kid? I did. The thing about Opie was that even when he got into trouble, and he did get into trouble, everybody still liked him. Beverly Gray, in Ron Howard From Mayberry to the Moon, presents a good case that the same is true of Mr. Howard. Everybody in the motion picture business likes him, that is if you exclude a few pretentious critics (and even they probably like him, just not always his happy endings). Nice guys do NOT always finish last.
Howard did not cooperate with this biography because "he felt himself to be in midcareer and not ready to participate in a long range assessment of his accomplishment." OK, fair enough. Keep that in mind while you are reading, but do read it.
From Opie to Richie to director, this is a detailed portrait of a man whom everyone agrees is a real mensch and who is wildly successful. It is also fascinating, and adds to Howard's charm, to realize who loyal he is to his family and friends, yet how honestly he treats them when casting projects. Simply put, if he feels they are right for a part, they get it; if not, they don't. That takes quite a bit of respect and love - from the actor and the director.
Gray's extensive interviews bring out some interesting bits of trivia about Howard. Her prose flows nicely and her organization is excellent. Maybe in another forty years or so, she can write an update - next time with Ron Howard's input.
Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon...and Beyond.......2003-06-25
I read Beverly Gray's book on "Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon... and Beyond". I found it to be very easy to read, very entertaining and full of interesting stories about Ron. Ms. Gray was objective, diplomatic and kind, never to offend any party involved. I thoroughly enjoyed the book so much so that I finished reading it in one and a half day while sun bathing in Del Mar, California recently.
Book Description
Alone after his mother’s death, homeless in a Minnesota winter, young Gordon struggled to stay in school, working at menial jobs and riding streetcars all night to escape the cold. Refusing to succumb to despair, he instead transformed his anger at poverty and racism into a creative force and went on to break down one barrier after another. He was the first black photographer at Vogue and Life, and the first black screenwriter and director in Hollywood, at the helm of such projects as the award-winning Shaft. And his novel, The Learning Tree, has sold more than a quarter of a million copies.
Spanning the major events of five decades, Voices in the Mirror takes readers from Minnesota and Washington, D.C., to the glamour of Paris and the ghettos of Rio and Harlem. His intimate portrayals of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini; of the Muslim and African American icons Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad and Muhammad Ali; of the young militants of the civil rights and black power movements; and of the tragic experiences of the less famous, like the Brazilian youngster Flavio, combine to form an unforgettable story.
Gordon Parks’s life is a metaphor for the courageous vision and extraordinary resilience of the African American community, while also serving as a testament to the spirit and generosity that are its hallmarks.
Customer Reviews:
An Admirer.......2006-08-09
I'm surprised that this book has not gained more notarity. I am an admirer of Gordon Parks. His story is one of inspiration and challenge. An imperfect man who maximized his potential. Gordon Parks is an American Icon. Author, composer, photographer, and mentor his life is simply amazing. From being proclaimed dead at birth to succeeding at everything he touched; his life embodies hope and aspiration.
Look in the mirror.......2006-05-07
This book is full of life lessons and was told by a man who had plenty of experience to tell them. He speaks about his upbringing, which was humbling to say the least. He tells about the first camera he ever purchased. Not having much experience at all, he took some shots, and the rest was history from that standpoint. He was always humble, and just enjoyed doing the things he loved: photography, literature, and music. He made the most of his opportunities when he was given them. His undying love and support for the poor and the less fortunate is well-chronicled, and his loyalty to fellow Blacks at the harshest of times put him in very compromising situations, but he was always able to adapt, sympathize, and relate to his subjects, and it showed in all of his work. He never compromised his beliefs for personal gain, and he was widely respected for it. This book is a reminder to all who may give up on hoping, dreaming, and staying positive. It's a reminder that life is full of twists and turns, hills and mountains. If you stick it out, the sky's the limit. He is an inspiration to all.
Picturesque Testament.......2005-11-17
I enjoy reading about a person's life and IN VOICES IN THE MIRROR, the autobiography of Gordon Parks, I found his story interesting, edifying and at times inspirational. Mr. Parks was born into a life where the world made differences in people based on the color of their skin and not their character. However, instead of using their biases as a crutch to not succeed, he worked hard to make his dreams come to fruition.
Mr. Park's life spans many decades, wars and social climates in America. At age 15, he was homeless and living a depressing existence. He worked menial jobs to survive. He persevered and went from working on the railroad to being the first African-American photographer for Life and Vogue magazines. His life's adventures took him all over the world to cover some of the most politically disturbed countries, America's civil right's struggles, as well as Third World areas where poverty was rampant, all which were captured for posterity with his camera. He also composed a musical concerto, wrote books and penned poetry. His first novel, The Learning Tree was made into a motion picture, where he was the director and executive producer, which was an unknown anomaly during this period of time. Let's not forget he was the director of Shaft. His stories and pictures touched the hearts of many Americans, and during his life he received many accolades for what he enjoyed doing. So from the dirt roads of Kansas, Mr. Parks graduated from the school of hard knocks but lived a life that is and was so illustrious, fulfilling and awe-inspiring.
This autobiography presents itself as an honest rendition of Mr. Park's life. He tells his story eloquently and allows readers to feel the emotions he was experiencing in each particular time of his life. He tells readers how powerful a picture can be and the pictures interspersed throughout are a testament to this truth. Readers get a glimpse into his marriages, children and even grandchildren and he shows us he is fallible as well. I truly enjoyed every aspect of this autobiography from the private conversations with Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali; to showing the people in his hometown he indeed was successful, because his life is a history lesson. He made great strides for African-Americans, and no matter how angry and depressed with the situations he faced, he continued to move forward. When the final door shuts on his life, his legacy will always remain.
Reviewed by Cashana Seals
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers
AN ADVENTURE.......2001-02-19
Never before have I read a book with such honesty flowing off the pages. As Gordon Parks talks about his life from a young boy to a man you can feel everything he is going through. He doen't hide his feelings and lets you know how he felt at certain times in his life. When he talks about the hate he saw growing up and how he felt about white men, you can sence what it must have been like for him to challenge the odds and become one of the most powerful photographers of his time. Another thing that real made this book powerful was when he talked about his time as a Photo journalist for Time, having to tell people everything through the voice of a journalist and not an activist. He also makes the clear point that pictures speak louder than words. He remarks many times that he used his camera when others like red jackson used a gun. The camera is a powerful weapon in the right hands. If you have ever seen an of Gordon Parks's work or seen his movies, you will enjoy this book. It is a personal glimps in to the life of the man behind the camera.
Average customer rating:
- Another Great Apollo Book
|
The Apollo Adventure: The Making of the Apollo Space Program and the Movie Apollo 13
Jeffrey Kluger
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Movie Tie-Ins
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ASIN: 0671535420 |
Customer Reviews:
Another Great Apollo Book.......2004-05-02
After reading Apollo 13(Lost Moon) and seeing the movie I decided to read this book. While it is mostly about the early Apollo missions it also has information on the movie. This is a read for any die-hard Apollo fan. If you are looking for a Book on the Apollo Era this is not the book for you.
Customer Reviews:
'Absorbing but unvarnished look at a great Hollywood star'.......2003-10-29
Sheridan Morley's 'The Other Side Of The Moon' is an incredibly absorbing biography of Hollywood film great David Niven. Niven starred in over 80 motion pictures, but the charming, suave actor is revealed to be a hollow man deeply wracked with personal insecurities. David Niven won the 1959 Academy Award Oscar in a starring role for his magnificent performance in 'Separate Tables', yet he spent the rest of his career looking over his shoulder. Author Morley does extensive interviews with many of Niven's co-stars and former close friends that reveal something of the darker side of the star. A horrible turning point in Niven's life, was the death of his young British wife from injuries sustained at a Hollywood party, while playing 'hide and go seek' at the house of Tyrone Power! On the positive side, the writer highlights David Niven's heroic service in the British Army in World War 2, and his nearly lone defense of the long deceased Errol Flynn against charges of being a Nazi sympathizer.
Sheridan Morley's 'The Other Side of The Moon' is a terrific, page-turning look at the complex actor we knew and loved as David Niven, and is a must have book for movie buffs.
A fair and unbiased biography.......1999-02-05
Sheridan Morley's biography of David Niven is a more concise an indepth look at the British actor's life and career than that portrayed by Niven in his own autobiography "The Moons a balloon". As Morley points out Niven writes more about his Hollywood experiences then actually about himself, creating a narrative that delves superficially in terms to his own life story as to that of his famous friends. Morley is an equitable writer who provides a fair and detailed account of the man and actor who was always slightly bemused by his own success. Morley offers no nasty hidden skeletons in the Niven closet but does clarify those stories that the actor alluded to in his books, especially the affair he had with Merle Oberon and the traumatic mental breakdowns that plagued Vivian Leigh. An interesting biography of a truly charming man.
Book Description
Discoveries of chaotic, unpredictable behaviour in physical deterministic systems has brought about new analytic and experimental techniques in dynamics. The modern study of the new phenomena requires the analyst to become familiar with experiments (at least with numerical ones), since chaotic solutions cannot be written down, and it requires the experimenter to master the new concepts of the theory of nonlinear dynamical systems. This book is unique in that it presents both viewpoints: the viewpoint of the analyst and of the experimenter. In the first part F. Moon outlines the new experimental techniques which have emerged from the study of chaotic vibrations. These include Poincaré sections, fractial dimensions and Lapunov exponents. In the text by W. Szemplinska-Stupnicka the relation between the new chaotic phenomena and classical perturbation techniques is explored for the first time. In the third part G. Iooss presents methods of analysis for the calculations of bifurcations in nonlinear systems based on modern geometric mathematical concepts.
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