 | title: How Starbucks Saved My Life (Paperback) paperback: 272 pages publisher: Gotham; Reprint Edition (Sep 2008) language: English ISBN: 978-1-592-40404-9 category/sub-cat: non-friction/autobiography |
first impression: heart warming & philosophical. i simply can put down this book!
i didn’t know about this man - i mean, who on earth is Michael Gates Gill? i have not heard or read reviews about this book before i picked it up from our local bookstore last week. as with life, often the least expected turns out to be a blessing, isn't it so? this book is management, life journey, self-improvement guide and philosophy lumped into one. i have read numerous real life stories i.e. biographies, but never have i read a book from someone who spoke about his ‘failures’. this book is different. it details the success and the lesson learn in a different perspective. this isn’t some rags-to-riches story. oh wait; maybe it is, but riches as in value of life, not so much of monetary or material aspects. before Michael ‘unintentionally’ joined starbucks as a working staff, and before he fallen from his grace, he was a high flying executive who commanded a six figures salary package in the advertising industry. then one day in his sixties, his world came crashing down when he was fired from his high paying job. out of job and almost broke, and with an estranged family relation didn’t make it any better. then by chance, he landed a job with starbucks, where he learns the renewed meaning of his life and what it means to be truly happy. this ain’t a story about how he became a high flying executive in the ad industry.
it’s an amazingly simple story that will touches our heart. it is an inspiring book on how one can get past one history and move on. Michael lamented a lot about his past. however he struggled and fought with his inner self to cope with his new found life, learn to respect diversity, respects the people that he works with and most importantly, realize the true meaning of his life. tt is not easy for a man in the sixties to pick it up again and gain the respect from the people around him in his new work environment. overall, i had a satisfying read and this book certainly is an inspirational book, a guide book of life. if you find you can’t move on after some setbacks, read how Michael did it.
 | title: the pursuit of happyness (paperback) paperback: 320 pages publisher: Amistad (Oct 2006) language: English ISBN-10: 0-06-074487-1 ISBN-13: 978-0-06-074487-8 category/sub-cat: non-friction/autobiography |
first impression: an autobiography that bares it all, conveyed through the author's own slang and amazingly simple. there are many rags-to-riches stories and this is one story that will capture the reader's heart. totally inspirational! for a moment i thought i was reading a self-improvement book!
the pursuit of happyness is probably one of the thinnest autobiography that i have came across besides the dalai lama's which i have read years ago. the book literally bring its reader through the life of chris gardner, the founder of the gardner rich & company - a multimillion-dollar brokeage firm. just like richard branson's autobiography, in this self-authored biography, the reader gets the most from the author's thought from the horses mouth. unlike, mao: the unknown story by jung chang & jon hilliday, which is more like assumptions based on assumed facts.
being a rather thin book, i certainly do not expect myself to read about details of what chris has went through and i am almost certain he could not recall every single detail even if he wanted to put it down. the author described his childhood vividly, so much so that i could almost felt what he had felt back then. you know, those dream-like moments of your childhood?
it is a book that give readers hope and inspires people. if you think your luck has juiced out in life, read about how a person's life can get and how that person can turn it around if he/she sets his/her mind to it. thoughout the book, i was almost lost and certain that i was reading a self-help book or some inspirational book. totally awesome!
 | title: mao: the unknown story (paperback) paperback: 971 pages publisher: Vintage (Jun 2006) language: English ISBN: 0-099-49924-X category/sub-cat: non-friction/biography-history |
first impression: a whole new perspective on the infamous dictator of the world biggest nation in mankind history, but not without a hint of biasness against mao. this book is more than just about mao tse tung, it is the history of communism, it is the history of modern China up till 1976, abeit a brief one.
i have read one dual biography of mao tse tung and deng xiao ping previously, called 'The New Emperors' by Harrison E. Salisbury (1993). While the Harrison's work was widely aclaimed, it did what a typical biography does - i.e. basically, chronicles a person's life through publicly available materials or information that the subject wants the author to convey in his or her book. i guess it was due to the fact that when Harrison's work were formulated, China wasn't all that open about their 'internal affairs', especially on their 'revered' leader. i wouldn't say 'MAO: The Unknown Story' is a better read or neither would i say it is an accurate read, but rather this book is a league on its own. the book gives the reader a whole new insight into the world of the famous dictator - a person who managed to unite the world biggest nation through false pretext, fear and anxiety. instead of an age by age detail chronicle of mao's life from what we already known, this book dig deep into the unknown through extensive interviews from the surviving people in and around mao's circle, and those whom are closely involved in the mao's political maneuver during his 29 years in power. the book dwells into what made the man ticked.
reading the book, is like walking through part of China's modern history. it takes reader through mao's political journey (i.e. scheming and ego-driven personal vendettas) and exposed the myth about what really happened then. granted, the book may 'sounded' a little too biased against mao. all blames such the extreme poverty and famine, was on him but then again, he has been dead for decades and only mao himself knew why he did what he has done (or did not?). the authors dwell into mao's inner most thought rather vividly, as though they were there before. personally, i thought it was rather unfair. therefore i thought it was more of an 'assumed thoughts' by the author(s). there is no deny that China had suffered through unstable political situations when the dynasty was overturned, plagued by corruptions, civil wars, sino-japan war, then civil again. it is also no deny that extreme poverty and famine had befell on China through the earlier time of the start of the modern China. but to say that it was the doing of one man, i will take it with a pinch of salt. i wasn't there to experience it, thus it is beyond my comprehension that one man could held such an influence and cult following during that era, therefore i could not say if this book really chronicles the true life of mao. however it does provide an interesting, fast pace reading that gives me an better understanding of this country.
all in all this book do provide an interesting perspective to an intriguing character and a good book on history of the becoming of a modern China.
| title: losing my virginity: the autobiography (paperback) paperback: 624 pages publisher: Virgin Books (Aug 2007) language: English ISBN: 978-0-7535-1300-2 category/sub-cat: non-friction/autobiography |
just completed (about a couple of months ago) richard branson's updated edition of the autobiography published by fittingly, the virgin books. i have this [deep-rooted] stereotyping of any biography - that is, the autobiography has to be always told in the perspective of another writer, writing about some prolific, or famous people. this is partly due to the fact that the past bio that i had read in the past were people of history or of sort. therefore its kinda of strange when i started off reading from the mouth of the people themselves, so to speak.
nevertheless, richard branson's autobiography is a highly entertaining book which unravels the mystery surrounding this high profile billionaire and adventurer. the earlier chapters were clear classic of most autobiographies, where branson detailed his beginning (i.e childhood and his first business plan) and how 'the student' has paved the way for the beginning of virgin brand, and from there on things began to move ever faster. i guess his success story wasn't meant to be told in a single book but reading through, the reader will know how fast things were going in his life, and together how strong his drive was - even for writing this autobiography.
on the better part of the book, branson dwelve more into the beginning of his virgin brand, the contributions by the different people he met along the way, his boat house and branson even bared it out about his love life. i say it is a honest and straight-to-the-point autobiography with no trail of hypocrisy in it. this book is not about branson, it is a book of inspirations, it is about branson's entrepreneurial spirit, his adventures and his tenacity to succeed. reading through, you might get all lost and thought you are reading a 500+ pages business guide book! in the book, branson also touched on the biggest 'saga' that plagued Virgin Atlantic with British Airway - which i read about it as a case study during my uni days. it is good to read in more details from branson's side of the story on what really happened and how Virgin Atlantic won hands down eventually.
i can't write or review much about this book, as i thought this book is truly amazing and it is the book that once you started, you will not want to put it down. it is totally 100% inspirational, provides a good know-sir-richard-branson book and let the reader share branson's exciting life. branson share his philosophy in business, relationships and life with the reader. it is really amazing! a must read for all would-be entrepreneur, businessman, executive and everyone else would are hungry for knowledge.
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