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The book is a series of parables about money written in the 1920s by George Clason. They were written as individual essays of a few thousand words, but the theme throughout them is consistent -- save 10% of your money, give 10% away, use 10% to reduce your debt load, and live on the remaining 70%.
The stories in the book are entertaining; they are reminiscent of some of the parables in the Bible, such as the Prodigal Son or the story of the Workers in the Vineyard. I think this is intentional on the part of the author; certainly readers in the 1920s had an appreciation for "old fashioned stories with a moral" that people today seem to have lost. I enjoy the book greatly, though, and any thoughtful person who reads the book should find it interesting, especially if they are trying to get their finances in order.
I took the advice of acde1034@yahoo.com who recommended 'The Millionaire next Door" and "More Weath without Risk" and bought and have read both. Both of these books are in the same status as "The Richest Man in Bablyon" and should also be required reading by anyone who is serious about their financial future. I am now giving "Richest Man in Bablyon" as a accessory gift to a cash gift at weddings and graduations.
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But there was enough of the original charm from the first book to allow me to recommend this one. The spiritual and emotional center of the town is still the local Episcopalian minister, Father Tim Kavanagh (whose last name we finally learn at the end of this book!). His relationship with his next-door neighbor, Cynthia Coppersmith, is still going down the same road as in the first book - although there are a lot of bumps and potholes along the way - and his bond with the boy Dooley is only getting stronger.
Aside from Father Tim's pursuit of Cynthia (and vice-versa), it would be impossible to describe all the little episodes that make up this book. But there are some that stand out. The town's latest widow, Edith Mallory, shows a definite mercenary streak - she's in shameless pursuit of Father Tim and also wants to close down the local diner and replace it with a dress shop that's willing to pay double the current rent. Miss Sadie, the town millionaire, is literally pouring her millions into repairing her home, just so she can give her newfound niece the wedding of her (and Miss Sadie's) dreams. And a redhead comes to Father Tim's door claiming to be his cousin Meg from Sligo, Ireland.
I do wish Ms. Karon had gone more deeply into the "Cousin Meg" sequence, but I can live with what she gave me.
Overall this is a worthy sequel to a fascinating tale of small-town life.
Father Tim is beginning to lose his heart to his next-door neighbor, Cynthia, whose down to earth intelligence, coupled with her sincere enthusiasm, make him feel as if he has come home. The path to love is rocky, though, and planted with obstacles, including the ferocious widow Edith, who is determined to sink her claws permanently into Tim, through such methods as good cooking and deliberate entrapment.
Tim's struggles of the heart are interspersed with his continued adventures as pastor and citizen of Mitford, including the growing pains of his foster son Dooley, and the unexpected arrival and protracted stay of his reclusive Irish cousin.
Throughout the book, Karon sends a hopeful, uplifting message without becoming syrupy. She incorporates a decidedly realistic portrayal of the confusion and uncertainty of new love with a subtle but unmistakable moral message that will do more for Christianity than a hundred sermons.
This second installment is chock-full of happenings. We have recent widower, Edith Mallory, setting her eyes (and hands) on Father Tim; a mysterious Irish cousin who comes to stay in the rectory for questionable reasons; and we meet a new character, Buck Leeper, the hardened, unpleasant building supervisor hired to build Mitford's new nursing home. But the most important part of this book is Father Tim's growing feelings toward his neighbor, Cynthia, and his struggle to accept them, be happy, and let nature take its course. And naturally, Cynthia has a word or two to say about that!
I enjoyed A Light in the Window much better than the first one. I found myself reading this novel until the wee hours of the morning because I couldn't get enough of the characters or heartwarming storylines. No action, no plot twists, no shocking endings -- but I simply didn't care. Jan Karon has a way of telling a story that makes all those other page-turning qualities seem unimportant. Mitford is a home away from home, a fictitious account of REAL life, and a place where I will look forward to visiting in the books to come.
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The key to getting value out of this book is to use the checklist at the end of each chapter, applying each question to your own work. On the downside, SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS includes many author-written passages, none of which are very interesting to read. In most cases, I just skipped over them.
Still, there is a dearth of material out there on how to edit your own fiction, and SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS will help you put your manuscript into publishable form.
Renni Browne and Dave King also explain why self-editing, "is probably the only kind of editing your manuscript will ever get." Many publishing houses have eliminated the tedious step of editing a promising manuscript to bring it up to its full potential. If they like it coming in the door, the manuscript is published 'as is'!
I'm sorry, Renni and Dave. I had to use an exclamation point to end that last sentence. Your book explains why I've been struggling through so many bloated fantasy novels, lately. The editors who used to take a red pencil to them are now gone missing, probably in the interests of 'cost cutting'. And if there is anyone out there who still believes fantasy novels do get edited, read "Rhapsody: Child of Blood" by Elizabeth Haydon.
"Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" is not just for the unpublished. The authors take examples of bad dialogue mechanics or second-hand reporting right out of the classics and show us how to rectify them. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and P.D. James all take their lumps in this book, and once you've seen how Renni and Dave improve these authors' paragraphs, you will probably agree with them (I did). You also get to practice on "The Great Gatsby" yourself in one of the exercises that follows the chapter on "Dialogue Mechanics".
Each chapter except the last in "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" has a checklist that you can take to your own manuscript. I used all eleven of the checklists on mine, and all I can say is, thank God for the 'cut and paste feature' in word processors. This novel of mine originally started out on a typewriter, and I would have been forced to commit hara-kiri if I'd read this book before 'cut and paste' was invented.
Seriously, this is a most helpful book for would-be 'published' authors of fiction. I'll give it five stars for now, but I'm going to hack in to Amazon.com and up its rating to seventeen stars if I actually do get published. Right now, I've got a few more changes to make to my manuscript....
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I took a trip with a bunch of people I didn't know, a 10 day backpacking trip to an island in lake superior. Our guide was a 75 year-old man named Dave. Everyday, Dave read us a chapter from this book, and everyday my respect for him grew.
The day I got off the island I bought the book and began my ten month journey through the scrolls it contained. I've followed the instructions, reading each chapter for one month, several times. I've worn out several copies and given away several others.
This book profoundly changed my life. Not only am I extraordinarily successful in terms of "material" success, but I am happier than I ever imagined it was possible to be several years ago before I went on that island. Buy this book, follow it's instructions, and even if you are never the richest woman or man on earth, you will be among the happiest.
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The text is short and repetitive, perfect for a read-aloud. Feiffer's illustrations are expressive and leap off the page with abounding energy.
The book's only flaw is that of it's cover. It's bland and far less interesting than anything found inside. I guess that old saying holds true--don't judge a book by it's cover. This one's a winner!
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Orwell castigated Britain and France for not coming to the aid of the Socialist government, allowing Franco to gain the upper hand as the result of aid from Germany and Italy. Orwell also underwent a catharsis in this book, losing his respect for the Communists, as a result of Stalin's notorious policies. In the end, Orwell seemed angry at pretty much everyone for allowing Spain to fall into Fascist hands.
He maintained his respect for the anarchists, particularly the ex-pats who fought for the anarchists in the civil war. But, Orwell seemed to realize it was a losing battle. The anarchists were torn among themselves as they struggled for the heart and soul of the Spanish people. Orwell never got to Madrid, unlike Borkenau and Hemingway, so his account is limited to the fighting which occurred in Catalonia.
It's about the Spanish Civil War, which few of us still remember. More importantly, it's about human courage and idealism, and the struggle to make a better world.
Orwell's unblinking in his vision. He's scathing toward the Communist apparatchiks who'd rather maintain control of their sectors than win the war against Franco. But he's generous-spirited to all the ordinary volunteers who served on the Republican side--to people who sacrificed for a sense of justice and human dignity.
He also gives a glimpse of a world that might be possible--a world of human dignity and mutual aid. Later his vision got darker, even bitter. I read Animal Farm, for all its power, and don't see much hope. But Catalonia, without soft-pedaling any of the downside, embodies that hope in every page--in the portraits of human courage and aspiration. You read it and it makes you want to act.
Orwell couldn't have anticipated it, but his same Spanish soil later nurtured a wonderful workers coop called Mondragon. Started in darkest days of Franco by a Spanish priest who'd fought with the Republicans, it now employs 23,000 worker-owners, and has $4 billion of annual exports. So the dream Orwell glimpsed wasn't entirely a mirage after all.
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Anthology covers every (well, probably almost every) aspect of the Beatles' life and musical career. It starts as four seperate stories as every band member describes his childhood, then melds into the story of the band. All the interviews from the wonderful Anthology TV series are in the book, but so are many more. There are far more details - especially about the music itself, which was neglected in the series. While in the series some albums were hardly mentioned, in the book the Beatles refer to almost every song, telling a thing or two about its background. Also, more touchy subjects which were avoided in the series appear here - such as, the (phony) death of Paul McCartney, the (real) death of Stuart Sutcliffe, the unfortunate Hell's Angels incident and the terrible case of Charles Manson and his connection to the White Album. The photographs and documents shown in the book are facsinating as well.
And no, it's NOT too long. The only problem with the book is its weight, which makes it quite uncomfortable to read. Anthology is a superb book, which reminded me why I used to love the Beatles so much and got me to hear all their albums again - twice.
What "Anthology" does do is offer first-person viewpoints from the four men who sat in the eye of the storm called "Beatlemania" and present their often very different memories of the same events.
The book's release comes more than 30 years since the group's breakup. During that time, each band member embarked on varyingly successful solo careers, and also endured an unfathomable tragedy -- the 1980 shooting death of Lennon by a deranged fan. Despite the distance that time has provided from their days as the best band on the world, the living members say they will always be Beatles.
"It was a one-way love affair," says Harrison. "People gave us their love and their hysteria, but the Beatles lost their mental health."
Ringo Starr's thoughts are more poignant. It's "impossible to turn the page and say, I'm no longer a Beatle," he says. "To this day, and for everyone, that's all I am."
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I want to note that there are several editions of this great work and in deciding which to buy, be aware that each has a different translator. I feel Heffner's translation is slightly stilted but, he did such a wonderful job in editing this abridgement that it, nontheless, deserves 5 stars.
The translation flows very easily and is not distracting. De Tocqueville has a wonderful writing style that could pass today even though it was written long ago... so well readable and quotable that you get the picture of American life, morals, and an astute view of politics all rolled into one.
You get a view and meaning of American civilization, for America herself, and also for Europe. You can tell from reading. that this view is ever-present in De Tocqueville's mind as if he is a comparative sociologist. Yet reading this book you get the impression that De Tocqueville had generations of readers in mind.
As De Tocqueville noted, "It is not force alone, but rather good laws, which make a new govenment secure. After the battle comes the lawgiver. The one destroys; the other builds up. Each has its function." So true even for todays war. After you defeat your enemy you have to build up the infratructure just as Marshall and Truman both realized.
Reading this book you see the skillful eye of the author noticing and recording what he sees and he is impressed. I found this book to be of great import for the observations of America and hope that our educators use this book for teaching our children about the great country we live in.