This book was an excellent insight into the President who never lost sight of the fact that he was nothing more than a common man. Refreshing attitudes that we do not seem to see in politicians today. In his own words, on many subjects, and shooting from the hip his words provide a greater understanding to what Harry Truman was made of. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to know more about Harry Truman or anyone who has an interest in U.S. history.

This collection of quotes, letters, and anecdotes gives the reader a comphrehensive overview of Truman's life as well as insight into the kind of man he truly was. This book allows the reader to feel connected to Truman in a way a biography can not.

This is a wonderful collection of quotes, letters, and anecdotes which together give the reader a quick view of Truman's life as well as a mental picture of the man from many different instances and viewpoints. This book, because of its clear depiction of Truman's character, makes the reader feel connected to Truman in a way that a biography perhaps does not.

This is just the book this aspiring writer needed to revolutionize the way I think about writing. I'm not alone in my fears and silly writing habits! If you think you might like to write but you're not sure how, why or whether, read this.

You don't have to have writer's block to be aware of your fear of writing. Fear can keep us from submitting our work, writing with any depth at all, being honest-even from being honest with ourselves. Ralph Keyes knows what he's talking about. He writes about fear with sensitivity, while he offers a variety of solutions. He knows that getting a book accepted and published only opens up a whole new variety of fears. Whether we are published or not, we can use our fears to deepen our writing by sharing our personal truths candidly with others, letting go of our need to be admired, approved of, or liked by friends and family. If we worry about what others will think, we will never do our best writing. Keyes helps us to be honest with ourselves so that we can be naked on the page. This was just the book I needed at this stage of my writing career. ~Joan Mazza, author of DREAM BACK YOUR LIFE and DREAMING YOUR REAL SELF

You are not alone. The author tells us that the difference between a person who wants to write and a person who actually writes is the willingness to face fear- and write anyway. In a warm writing style, Mr. Keyes teaches how to capitalize on anxiety instead of giving in to it. Fear takes many forms- fear of...rejection, criticism, ridicule, looking silly, failure, success. Writing is a lonely endeavor.The author includes remarks from accomplished writers and lets us know that fear, in all its forms, is common. My first book is scheduled for release next year and I am terrified nobody will buy it. After reading this book, I know I am not alone. Only 1% of the people who want to write ever write. If you want to be in this 1%, I recommend reading The Courage to Write.

This merry and practical book is written for anyone trying to manage a company, a career, a family or a life. It would be a mistake not to buy it. The authors show a rare ability to inspire, advise and teach while addressing their readers as adults who can make their own evaluations and draw their own conclusions. People are encouraged to looks at their own life stories to decide whether their apparent failures didn't bring unexpected blessings and whether their apparent successes were all they were made up to be.

The book is lively with stories of people like the Wright brothers, Steve Jobs, Winston Churchill, Charles Kettering and Harry Truman, who were, at least for a while, doing the wrong thing in the wrong place before their best contributions. Of course, it also describes the times in which IBM, Xerox, Railway Express and some Olympic athletes were behaving perfectly under perfect conditions and missed out on the real possibilities of their positions.

Of course one is in good hands reading a book by Richard Farson, author of Management of the Absurd and Ralph Keyes, author of Is There Life After High School? and Chancing It. Both have an eye for the really interesting story such as Bill Russell so caught up in playing basketball well with others playing at their highest level that he stops caring, for a time, about who wins or loses. They also have the ability to find images such as Samurai warrior and his complete absorption in the moment at hand which can add a touch of magic to the everyday predicaments in which the reader lives and works.

The mistakes honored in this book are not those of carelessness, laziness and inattention. On the contrary, it is people who care, who put in work independent of prospect of reward, and who pay such attention to what they are doing that they ignore their immediate benefit who are the heroes of this book. One puts down this book as a person more willing to go towards the important things of life than to live with the fantasy that we can live well without moving out of our area of comfort.

Where was this book when I started my career. Ralph Keyes & Richard Farson have created a path that needs to be followed. I remember begging for forgiveness on a regular basis waiting for the hatchet to fall. The insight and clairity of this book is inspiring. If you find yourself standing on the "razors edge" and you need that little push, pick up this book and devour it. You will ask yourself why you didn't jump years ago. A true "must read" for all managers and executives who want to survive in todays economy. You are your own worst enemy if you walk the path that is worn thin, find the alternative paths that makes you heart pound with energy and you will find excitement and true fulfillment. Ralph and Richard have given us that push.

As a professor of management I have searched for many years to find a book, that would be useful to my students and seminar participants, on how to innovate and be creative in organizations. Farson and Keyes have written a "handbook" on organizational innovation that instructs us not be afraid to take risks in our corporate lives and encourages us to do so to achieve effective outcomes.

The book is not only written for practicing managers. It is a welcome classroom supplement for professors of management, entreprenuership, and research and development who want to provide their students with real-world examples about risk-taking and innovation in organizations.