Categories
Nonfiction Self-Help

Thinking for a Change by John C. Maxwell

thinking for a Change

“At the heart of John C. Maxwell’s brilliant and inspiring book is a simple premise: To do well in life, we must think well. But can we actually learn new mental habits? THINKING FOR A CHANGE answers that with a resounding “yes” – and shows how changing your thinking can indeed change your life. Drawing on the words and deeds of many of the world’s greatest leaders and using interactive quizzes, this empowering book helps you assess your thinking style, guides you to new ones and step by step teaches you the secrets of: Big-Picture Thinking, Focused Thinking, Creative Thinking     and Shared Thinking”.

Thinking for a change.- I am quite convinced that the ability to organise thoughts and the information we possess is one of the keys to effective leadership. John Maxwell clearly excels at this ongoing task. He is also a great advocate of each person making quality thinking time for themselves. That is a subject I run across again and again these days. It’s always difficult to set aside time for prayer, reflection and thinking , but John Maxwell’s book is a great encouragement to do so. Again and again he inspires the reader to effective thinking and the development of ideas. That dimension of leadership is not often stressed as much as it needs to be. John Maxwell has done us a real favour.

Categories
Business and Technology Politics Professional Science

The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

The World is Flat

“In his brilliant new book Thomas L.Friedman demystifies this brave new world for readers, allowing them to make sense of the often bewildering global scene unfolding before their eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex foriegn policy and economic issues, Friedman explainshow the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century; what it means to countries companies, communities and individuals; and how governments and societies can, and must, adapt. The World Is Flat is a timely and essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists.”

This is the book everyone is talking about. I heard people mention it and read about it in interviews several times before I finally ordered a copy. I was not disappointed even though it’s long and sometimes gets a little bit detailed. Nevertheless the overall themes of the book are far sighted and will provide a grid through which we will see the world for many years to come. I find myself using the phase “The earth is flat” again and again to describe our current international environment, especially when it comes to communications and information technology. The book is not primarily about technology but about the way our world is changing. I think it is a “must read” for people who are trying to understand the way the world is changing and why.

Categories
Nonfiction

The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly – Jean-Dominique Bauby

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

“On 8 December 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby, a 42 year old father of two and editor-in-chief of Elle magazine in Paris, sufferd a massive stroke and slipped into a coma. When he regained consciousness three weeks later, he was paralysed, speechless and only able to move one muscle: his left eyelid. Yet his mind remained active and alert as ever. By signalling with his eyelid he ‘dictated’ this book, blinking to indicate each individual letter as an alphabet was repeatedly read to him. Trapped inside his own body, his dispatches are poignant and often wryly humorous. He tells us about his new life in a hospital overlooking the English Channel, the flights of fancy that sustain him, the meals he can only eat in his imagination. And he describes with special care his feelings for his two young children.”

This book is unforgettable. It’s so unbelievable how the author managed to dictate this book by moving only one eyelid that he could have written a description of his hospital ceiling and it would have been remarkable. What he does manage to write leaves you with such a sense of loss that he didn’t live to write more. His book is like a series of essays, recording his current feelings and observations and remembered experiences. The prose is unbearably real, heartbreakingly beautiful.Read more reviews on amazon

Categories
Christian Postmodernism Teaching

A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren

A New Kind of Christian

“A New Kind of Christian’s conversation between a pastor and his daughter’s high school science teacher reveals that wisdom for life’s most pressing spiritual questions can come from the most unlikely sources. This stirring fable captures a new spirit of Christianity – where personal, daily interaction with God is more important then institutional structires, where faith is more about a way of life than a system of belief, where being authentically good is more important than being doctrinally “right”, and where one’s direction is more important than one’s present location. Brian McLaren’s delightful account offers a wise and wondrous approach for revitalizing Christian spiritual life and Christian congregations”

What Brian McLaren offers in A New Kind of Christian, for me, is a breath of fresh air into an often very stale environment of the Christian church and viewpoint today. This book tackles everything from looking at how our worldview taints what we see to so “fundamentals” of the Christian faith and where they come from. A New Kind of Christian challenged me to really look at where my views about certain issues came from – and what the Jesus approach to them would be. A book well worth the read!!Read more reviews on amazon