Audiobook Books

I liked learning about his life and what he did for fun. This was an amazing book. It went well with me after reading The Black Swan. Similar stuff in a way. [...]

A wonderful biography of a unique, fascinating and enthralling person. The author brings freshness to this much-written subject by drawing on voluminous personal correspondence that remained sealed for 50 years following Einstein's death. The book is a remarkable achievement by being both highly readable and accessible, and providing scientifically sound explanations for the lay person of complex concepts of physics. As a history of science, of the early 20th century, and as a perspective on one of the most engaging and innovative personalities ever, this book is total education and refreshment. Especially moving is the fundamental thread of Einstein's personality as a lifelong quest for unifying principles, married to unsentimental devotion to reason, logic and a faith in the comprehensibility of the universe. (Good luck with that one.)

I had a mild interest in reading about Einstein, but frankly put off reading this biography for the simple reason that it seemed thicker than my interest. But what a wonderful read it is. Isaacson does a graceful job of keeping the pace moving, and an estimable job of explaining the science (to us non-scientists) without letting it bog down the story.
And, quite simply, Einstein is also a fascinating person to read about, especially his later life as an internationalist and world icon. Highly recommended.

Very interesting book. Easy to understand. A fascinating overview of WWI and WWII. Well-written, informative and enjoyable to read. Hard to put down.

Isaacson's biography comes in at 551 pages in the hardcover edition. Given the heft, if you want to hit a demographic of more general readers, you better offer more than just Einstein's contributions to science. Isaacson nails this higher standard by offering an Einstein who is an archetypical freethinker of Western Civilization in the twentieth century, providing the reader a personal glimpse into the technological, cultural, religious, and political movements that drove that century.

After quickly moving through Einstein's youth where Isaacson destroys many of the falsehoods regarding Einstein as a child supposedly not showing much promise; Isaacson then focuses much of the first part of the book on Einstein's development of the theory of general relativity and his development of relationships within the scientific community that allows him to work on a broad array of issues within theoretical physics, but also partnering with others on engineering projects as well. This part of the book will reward those primarily interested in better understanding the creation and progression of the theories in which Einstein contributed his expertise.

I would also recommend that readers monitor the online website sciencedailydotcom as they read this book. I was amazed at how many times news stories cropped up confirming some aspect of Einstein's arguments that Einstein was forced to infer or was weakly validated with evidence given the lack of modern day equipment. It's impressive to track what is mostly the validation of his arguments but also the occasional falsification with additional empirical evidence we are now collecting.

Isaacson explains the science so any high school student who passed physics can easily understand. For those that are not at that level, I still recommend reading the book since Isaacson serves it up in fairly small doses and concentrates much of it in the earlier part of the book, plus the explanations are simple enough anyone should understand some of the more major findings. This part of the book is a bit of dry read, but will serve the reader as a useful resource for future reference. I've probably got about 50 notations I marked on especially illuminating topics.

I found the last part of the book that focused on the non-scientific aspects of Einstein's life particularly interesting and well worth the investment in time given the size of the book. I'm not sure Isaacson consciously decided to make Einstein an archetypical freethinker of the twentieth century, but I've never read about a more worthy candidate to view the development of liberalism and its resultant benefits in the twentieth century with the possible exception of FDR. In fact, I would view FDR as the leader of the movement and Einstein as a perfect example legitimizing why we should strive for liberal democracies, especially given Einstein's fellow scientists' contributions to weaponry used against Germany, where most of these fellows resided prior to the rise of Nazism.

I was very impressed with how quickly Einstein was able to develop strong positions regarding his beliefs in politics, religion, and economics, starting in his early teens where he quickly realized the logical absurdities of organized religion. What has taken me decades to develop in regards to my core principles Einstein developed within a few short years as he takes on these topics. Besides being an especially prescient thinker about these issues, Isaacson's Einstein held positions that were often solidified well before such positions were popular. His positions were consistently predictive; where Einstein willingly discarded certain core beliefs if the evidence argued heavily against it - just like any good scientist does by constantly attempting to falsify their theories with the best opposing arguments.

A great example is how Einstein perceived the threat Nazism posed to Germany well before most people realized they were a threat to anyone, which caused Einstein to emigrate from Germany in the very early 1930's while many of his Jewish scientific colleagues stayed behind at that time, though many got out a few years after. By that time Einstein was a well-known pacifist, having been very outspoken about World War I, however when Germany started invading their neighbors and the war drums started pounding for a new world war, Einstein's fellow pacifists were shockingly disappointed that Einstein wisely discarded his pacifism and supported the free world using force against Germany, showing that Einstein was no blind ideologue even for his closely held beliefs.

Isaacson's freethinking Einstein doesn't just address the positive aspects employed by freethinking and secularism, but also the social risks that occur as traditional institutions like the sanctity of marriage and family if they are separated from the fear of ostracization by one's religious community - a non-factor for the secular Einstein. Isaacson's Einstein is an incredibly selfish husband and father to the point of effectively disowning a son though no fault of the son's.

Many of the sources used to report on Einstein's life were published for the first time in this book given the release of a huge cache of correspondence between Einstein and others that was owned by the family and never offered to previous biographers. Here we see a more humanized Einstein, even though his humanity always was evident during his life and subsequent biographies. There is also an almost comedic storyline regarding the ineptness of FBI surveillance against the perfectly harmless Einstein, with a kicker regarding Einstein's relationship with a spy that I won't elaborate on here since I view it as a spoiler. The spy story was never told in previous biographies given that a subject country just released its files on Einstein just prior to Isaacson starting this book.

Some of this new documentation also provides Isaacson the opportunity to effectively discredit a favorite meme going around in social conservative circles that Einstein was sympathetic to their beliefs in the existence of a creationist / intelligent designer providential God who fine-tuned the universe. Isaacson goes for the jugular and discredits any notion this falsehood is true. A certain creationist cretin named Ray Comfort, who is working with an ex-TV child actor, actually claims he is the next Einstein and this is getting a lot of traction with social conservatives. Given that social conservatives have been actively and massively involved in historical revisionism regarding Western Civilization and their role in it, Isaacson's focus on Einstein's religious beliefs was most welcomed by me to set the record straight to attempt to rebut this effort.

Isaacson dedicates a full chapter on Einstein's god after first explaining in another full chapter Einstein's perception of the Universe. Isaacson's reportage is nuanced and perfectly constructs and deconstructs many of Einstein's communications on these matters, some of which often appeared contradictory unless one understood how Einstein used certain terms and framed some of his perceptions regarding reality. For example, Einstein occasionally claimed to be religious, but his use of the term meant the challenge to obtain knowledge beyond what science knew regarding the underlying forces of the universe, and not blind faith in religious dogma that one could never know and therefore "God must of have done it".

As a summary, if one wants to better understand the twentieth century in terms of how we progressed from zero liberal democracies in 1900 to one hundred and twenty countries coupled with incredible progress in understanding the universe and leveraging that knowledge in technology leaps that is difficult to comprehend even looking backward; than Isaacson's Einstein provides the perfect archetype from which to view that progress at a more personal level. Einstein's approach to thinking and responding to societal issues will certainly now personally serve as a model for me on how to view civilization just like I was influenced by John Locke, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Crick & Watson, Gates, Jobs, Venter, and soon I hope, Obama. Therefore I am grateful this book was written and I invested the time to learn from it.

I have the hard copy of this book as well. It is a helpful book that just makes sense. The narator is kind of hard to listen to at times but the content is good. You may want to get the book as well so you can see the lay out and schedules better.

I used this material with our first son in 1994 and am using it again for our second son now in 2008. In fact, I am re-ordering it because I want any updates they may have added.

My clear recollection of my first son compared to neighbors' kids born around the same time was that he was calmer, collected, and infinitely more happy and well-adjusted.

If the reader is interested to further investigate the Ezzo's please see their site at gfi.org. The below is a quick blurb from a link at their site:

"Gary Ezzo holds a Master of Arts degree from Biola University, Talbot Theological Seminary and School of Theology and serves as the Executive Director of Growing Families International. Anne Marie Ezzo is a registered nurse, has co-authored On Becoming Birthwise, and Birth by Design, oversees the GEMS (Contact Mom) ministry and ministers alongside her husband. The Ezzo's have 2 married daughters, eight grandchildren."

I suspect that TulipGirl, one of the "reviewers" has her own ax to grind and has not revealed her own preferences, beliefs, associations, or whether on not she has had children of her own.

As for myself, I am a Christian, a father, an accounting manager, and am on the verge of completing my fourth degree. I want the best for my kids and that means I want what works. This stuff definitely works. Please feel free to contact me via this site if you would like.

Thanks,

Don

First, much of the medical, developmental, breastfeeding, and sleep information in Babywise is not accurate. A lot of opinions are presented as facts. Consequently, intelligent, loving parents are making decisions based on faulty information--faulty information that can lead to serious problems for baby. (See ezzo.info for details.)

Second, for some babies, the ideas in BW seem to "work." Their inate rhythm is in sync with the schedules promoted by Gary Ezzo. Their belly size can accomodate larger feedings less frequently. They "fit" with the sleep schedule okay. Perhaps some little ones fall into this category. The thing is, there are many babies who do NOT "fit" into the BW type of schedule, and a new mom just doesn't know whether her baby will or not. When people recommend Babywise, how often do you hear the caveat, "Well, some mothers don't make enough milk using this program and some babies end up with delayed growth or sleep disorders or attachment issues--so be careful, and I hope your baby "fits" into it well!"

And finally, c'mon be honest, have you EVER met someone who thought they didn't have common sense? Have you ever met a new mom who would say "oh, I can't be flexible or use common sense, so I better stay away from Babywise!" While each parent is fully responsible for her own actions and her own child, I put the onus of providing sound, researched, medically and developmentally accurate information on the author. And in this area, Gary Ezzo fails to measure up.




Just for clarity. . . I am not criticizing any mother who has used Babywise or discounting your love or common sense. I am criticizing an author and a method with a track record of poor results, even when used by loving, common-sensical parents.

For a commuter who is too tired to read once finally home, this was an excellent way to "read" this book. It was awesome.

I have always found Focus on the Family's Radio Theatre to be well done, and this production was no exception. The voices, direction, sound effects, all were well done. From what I remembered, the story follows the book pretty closely. The one issue I might have is that the voices tend to be soft while the sound effects are somewhat loud, so one minute we are turning up the volume to hear people talking, and the next turning it down so we don't suffer hearing damage. Other than that, our family has a lot of fun listening to this drama in the car. We didn't want to stop listening when we got home! It pulls you in just like the book.

The audio version reads like a bedtime story, although it soon gets into subjects that would probably bore 99% of children. However, this style along with the brevity, make it very easy for adults to listen to, say during long commutes in a car. HOWEVER, it is extremely inaccurate! Most Americans will be rather shocked to learn that Benjamin Franklin lead the American Revolution, that the North was the weaker of the warring parties in the Civil War, that we have a Parliament instead of a Congress, and that Wilson conned the Germans into accepting the Treaty of Versailles (although the reader apologizes for this last huge guffaw). There appear to be a similar magnitude of errors in the history of other countries, but I'm not as familiar with non-American history (why I got the book in the first place). While its good that this will keep you listening, its bad that you will be hearing many false statements.

We have listened to these Cds in our car for a week. My kids love them. They have learned lots of interesting facts. They want to learn more history too!

The narration is fabulous. It really serves the text. Now my son wants to read the book by himself.

Ralph Cosham performs a superb reading of E. H. Gombrich's world history for children. His gentle voice and respectful tone are a perfect match for E. H. Gombrich's splendid and charming retelling of history. Gombrich never forgets who his intended readers are--children and young adults--and how he must engage them and not leave them behind. At the same time, he never patronizes his readers. A lesser reader could have spoiled author's efforts by overlaying the wrong tone or sensibility--such as, history is meant to be endued, not enjoyed; the student should be left anxious and guilt ridden, never astounded and enthralled by the best story ever told.

This is the perfect spoken book for long rides in a car or for long walks. I love every minute of it and I will hunt down other reading by Cosham.

We've purchased the CD version, and every time we get in the car, the kids (ages 7 and 10) ask if they can hear more history. I can't imagine any parent not enjoying hearing those words! The book is highly focused on European history and the German experience, but it's all interesting. My son thought it was cool to know the background of the author and how he came to write the book before hearing the rest of it read; that gives perspective to certain things. Opinions definitely seep in, but I didn't find any of them bothersome. The main thing the CD collection is missing is any sort of index. A CD may end in the middle of a chapter. So, it is difficult to go back to particular points in history. It pretty much has to be listened to in order. An amazing story, however. Our history, beautifully read.

I purchased this product to freshen up on world history. It provides a brief history of the world (too brief in some places) and gives a great overview of the history of man kind.

I have bought Napoleon Hill's book some month ago. I have tried to read it, but for a non native English speaker it is pretty difficult, therefore I gave up. But when I found this audio book I thought to give it a try. I liked the audio book. I liked all the principles and I am thinking to give a try and test them. Some of them look a little bit strange for a European, but as long as a lots of people consider Napoleon Hill like the father of motivational literature, should be something behind. A great note is also the lecture of Earl Nighthingale and also the sound like an old radio show gives you the impression that old good thinking is still valid in these days.

This is a unique book, though written to help become financially independent, the principles may be used to help achieve anything you may want to have in life or want to become.
May start with the short CD (about 45 minutes) on this book read by Earl Nightingale, or 2 hour version read by Joe Slattery.

It is a simpler distilled version of the great book that has been around all of our lives. If you've read it, this is a great reminder of what you may have gotten out of the habit of doing. If you've never read Think and Grow Rich, it is a terrific introduction. Nothing fancy or new. A simple, to the point version of a classic self help book that rings as true today as it ever has. And that Earl Nightingale has a hell of a voice.

This is a good CD. I own it and have listened to it a few times. Earl Nightingale gives a clear summary of Think and Grow Rich. To me, Napoleon Hill is the greatest success author/speaker ever and Think and Grow Rich is the single greatest book I have ever read. However, a part of this particular CD feels like an advertisement and could have been skipped. Also, the editorial reviews and the narrator of this CD talk about 13 principles. This could sometimes be the cause of confusion. Hill organized 13 Steps Toward Riches (in Think and Grow Rich) and 17 Principles of Personal Achievement (in his courses and lectures), also referred to as 17 Keys to Success. This CD talks about the 13 Steps in T&GR.
I would recommend this CD to you only after you have heard the 9 CD set that contains twelve hours worth of live lectures in Napoleon Hill's own voice. The set is called Your Right To Be Rich and was recorded in 1954 in Chicago. In this, Napoleon Hill talks about each of his seventeen Principles of Personal Achievement. The set is amazingly inexpensive and well worth the investment in cost, time and effort.
If my review was helpful to you, I request you to select "Yes" so that the rating is improved and more readers will get to read it.

Agatha Christie is the "QUEEN" of mystery as far as I'm concerned . She ROCKS !!! Great stories . She is the BEST.

A wonderful way to enjoy an excellent book. Hugh Fraser is tops as narrator.

If you're looking for some great, "feel good" atypical mysteries go for it. If you're a classic Christie fan... you may want to give this a pass, but once you get the hang of the general direction, the stories are beautiful, most are well-crafted, some are a little contrived but still enjoyable. Good driving listening.

Agatha Christie's mystery THE LISTERDALE MYSTERY AND ELEVEN OTHER STORIES once again enjoys veteran Hugh Fraser's long-time audio experience bringing Christie's many mysteries to life. Here twelve very different mysteries range from a cottage murder to a missing emerald, with all Christie's patented talent for high drama packed into the short mystery format.

'Thai for Beginners' is probably your best option, if you want to learn Thai and you can't find a class (because, of course, interacting with a native speaker is always the best way to learn a language). The course is seriously flawed, however. The lessons are little more than lists of vocabulary. Though this works all right with an isolating language like Thai, where you don't need to learn inflexions, the all-important example sentences are short and few, and the exercises are worthless: little more than a revision of the word-lists. The one thing I wholeheartedly praise is the book's emphasis on the writing system, which, I admit, is very difficult but is essential for the beginner to master quickly. Many -- I dare say most -- other teach-yourself courses for Thai introduce the writing system far too late or ignore it completely, condemning the learner to tears and frustration.

While 'Thai for Beginners' certainly is not perfect, it will do to tide you over until you can find a live Thai class. Considering how parched for quality the selection of solo-learner Thai language books is, a class is probably your best bet.

This is a good textbook, I guess, if you have an instructor. By yourself even with the companion CD, it will not get far at all. If you want to check my work, buy it.

This is a great book for those wanting to learn to speak, read, and write the Thai language. I am Thai myself and never had a constant exposure to the language. This book and CD (sold seperately) helped me a lot to regain my culture. My grandmother is a full blood fluent Thai speaker. Even she though this book was great. The minute she opened it, she had a big grin stuck on her face. She read a few things out of it to me and seemed very satisfied with it. This is a must have to all those wanting to learn the language.

This is a very good Thai language book for beginners and it's very easy to use. It's not a perfect textbook. I have to use other books to teach Thai to my students, but this book is the best I found to start with. I got it in Thailand for 300 baht. The price is very reasonable. There are also many other titles written by the same author that can be used as supplementary learning materials. I especially enjoy her Speak like a Thai series.

This is a book for the person who is serious about learning thai and willing to put in the time to do so. This is not a quick phrase-book; it is a systematic way to learn the letters, sounds, and vocabulary. This is a tool that should be used with a spoken audio program (I like rosetta stone myself).

This appears to be the only textbook I have found (and I have searched through many), that actually gives you practice and quizzes for writing and making sure you remember what you've learned.

Consider this a workbook with explanations designed to build vocabulary and help navigate the Thai writing system with the help of a well explained transliteration system.

'The Shadow Rising' is the fourth book in Robert Jordan's 'Wheel of Time' series. It follows the adventures of Rand, Mat, Perrin and an ever growing number of secondary characters and plot threads. It's a good book, but I'm glad there are websites that give quick summaries of the books in the series, so I can quickly get up to speed on a particular plot thread that was last mentioned briefly two books ago. There is a lot going on and there is no way I would be able to keep it all straight without some kind of help. But with those resources to rely on these books are a lot of fun as you can see things hinted at by Jordan two books ago start to play out now, and you know that some things hinted at now will manifest a couple of books down the line.
Knowing that there are seven (soon to be eight?) more books to come is daunting, but let's face it- I've been sucked in and am in it for the long haul.

I've already loved the series in book form. The audio books bring it more to life for me.

The history continues as well as characters and plot development.

Rand finally accepted being the Dragon Reborn, Mat yet refuses to acknoledge that he is Ta'veren and Perrin take the full role to protect the Two Rivers people from, let's say, menances. All this with Aes Sedai and their hidden reasons, Seachan and Children of Light plotting and the Dark One and his minions in the shadows.

The story is wraping, the text is fluid and surelly at the end you'll want to read the next book of this saga (Fires of Heaven).

I liked it a lot and strongly recommend.

This is the point at which I became more involved and more replused by the Wheel of Time series. (Does Love-Hate sound familiar to anyone here? Anyone?). If you are reading this, you have either read this far, or have just finished and are seeing what other people thought. Either way, no plot spoilers needed.

The characters are separated into four groups as other revewers have discussed. The book gets more involved as Jordan decides to further develop his second line of characters. However, it starts to have a Sunday afternoon mini series feel.

Main things this book does well
1) Doesnt leave it to Rand to save everyone
2) Gives some of the other characters (Perrin, Nyaeneve, Elayne, Thom) room to breathe and develop
3) Has a better handle on the action sequences (not just 100 pages of Inns and smalltalk followed by 2 pages of action)
4) The dream sequence in Rhudean is pretty awesome
5) Nice return to the Two Rivers (Tolkien-feel) environment
6) Dramatic last 200 pages (first time I have been unable to put the book down since end of book 2)

Main things this book does poorly
1) Terrible opening 200 pages in Tear (esp the discussions between Elayne, Egwene and Rand)
2) Lot of stuff you never wanted to know about the Aiel
3) Moiraine's character role is getting weaker, as is Lan's, Mat's
4) Faile (although better than book 3)
5) Far too many redundant second layer characters
6) Poor English paragraphs more frequent
7) Blatant rip-off of various Dune book aspects (which I wouldn't mind in of itself, borrowing is perfectly acceptable in fantasy, but not taking a crisp concept for a people and watering it down to the point where we even get to know things about their society that we wouldn't even know-or care- about our own. There, Ive said it.)

When you get to the end of this book, its decision time. Many of the reviewers have said the first four books are the best. Some extend that to the first six. For me, there is still enough there for me to pick up book 5.

The Shadow Rising is one of my favorite books in the Wheel of Time series (the 5th book, The Fires of Heaven, is a close second favorite). Note: I am assuming the reader has read up to the third book, The Dragon Reborn.

In the last book, it ended with Rand being proclaimed the Dragon Reborn with the fall of the fortress, the Stone of Tear, in the city of Tear. Rand makes the decision to head into the Aiel Waste, to the city of Rhuidean (with Egwene and Mat tagging along, and of course, Moiraine), Perrin travels back home to the Two Rivers to help his village, Nynaeve and Elayne journey to the dangerous city of Tanchico to obtain an object that could be dangerous to Rand that the Black Ajah is after.

I felt The Shadow Rising was aptly named for this book, as the Dark One's forces (Darkfriends, the Black Ajah, and the Forsaken) are all working behind the scenes to further along the the DO's machinations in the world.

Again, I can't begin to express how amazed I am to see how Jordan foretold future plots and events from his beginning books into later books. Plot lines and events that get introduced here make sense in later books, and when I read this book the 1st time, I didn't catch it, but re-reading it I was able to see how certain events occurred to sow chaos and mistrust between the factions of the Light to prevent them from uniting. Each book has built on past books, but each new book in the series introduces more complexities and also intertwines with the overall story arc in the series.

There is a lot happening in this book, the main stories are told from the point of view of Rand, Perrin, Nynaeve & Egwene with a few from Mat. You learn more about the history of the Aiel, and I really enjoyed the glimpse of the past into the Age of Legends. It was always something I wondered about when I read the 3 books previous to this one, the wonders and amazing feats that were accomplished during the Age of Legends. It was quite interesting to read about, especially the parallels of certain objects in the Age of Legends with our own world (for instance, "jo-cars" being cars, "sho wings" airplanes, "hover flys" helicopters, and the description of "tall, silvery buildings" can be nothing but something similar to a skyscraper).

I also enjoyed how the Forsaken were given more page time in this book, and of course, getting more glimpses of Padin Fain who is still mad with his hatred for Rand and continues to cause trouble for him (sending the fanatical Whitecloaks to the Two Rivers).

If there were any annoyances I had, it was the character of Faile, Perrin's love interest. She got on my nerves with the way she tricked Perrin and tried to manipulate him into allowing her to travel with him back to his home, and she continues to be one of my least favorite characters in the series. I think her traits are something the other stubborn women characters also have, can get irritating to read as well, with their erroneous thinking that certain of the male characters needed guiding by them and were clueless without women.

This is something you see throughout the entire series, and I can understand how the women in this fictional world gained so much power over the men. It makes sense that women would gain the upper-hand, especially the female channelers (the Aes Sedai), as it was those of the male gender that broke the world and with no male channelers to balance out the power of the female channelers, you get a shift in power toward women. I think this thinking filtered down even into the general population, not just those who could channel, and so you get a world that views women as the dominant over men in many ways.

Oh well, I've gotten off-topic of my review of the book.LOL. This book is one of my favorites!

This book really made me think about what I say and do and how it not only effects others and my relationships but also my own emotional and mental health and well being. Recommend this book for anyone who is looking to further define themself.

Even if you don't get the book, try the experiment. Get their bracelet (or use a jelly bracelet, or one of your own) and put it on your wrist. Each time you catch yourself grumbling or complaining or criticizing something or someone, put the bracelet on the other wrist. In my first day, I must have changed it 7 times in the first hour. I was shocked, and intrigued...enough to try it for nearly a week before I gave up. That was a year ago, and I still think about that bracelet every week. And yes, I'm far less critical than I used to be. Now, I do neuroscientific research on meditation, spirituality, and optimism, and I think that this little gimmick is a gem. Why? Because every time you foster a critical thought, your brain releases a cascade of stress chemicals which eventually damages the very circuits that control anxiety and irritability. So a little exercise like this can have a profound effect on neural functioning, which is why Andrew Newberg, MD, and I talked about the Reverend Bowen's bracelet and his vision of a complaint-free society in our book, How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientist. Oh, and one more thing, which we thoroughly discuss in our book: every time you complain in public, your irritability-like a virus-is neurologically picked up by every person who hears your voice or sees your face. So by all means, train your brain to be optimistic and positive because (according to 30+ years of longitudinal research conducted by Duke University and the Mayo Clinic), it will literally add years to your life.

PS: Check out their website (acomplaintfreeworld.com) for tips for teaching children to become "complaint aware." Interestingly, a Missouri congressman was so impressed by the idea that he just introduced a bill into congress calling for a "Complaint-Free Wednesday," the day before Thanksgiving. I hope it passes....

I found this to be extremely difficult to follow but it's well worth it. I read the book and listened to the CD in my car. I enjoyed it so much, I ordered the bracelets and CD for work and hopefully we'll create a small group to meet weekly, listen to a chapter and discuss it along with our personal experiences.

The first thing to understand about A Complaint Free World is that Will Bowen is NOT saying to be a doormat! He explicitly says "Directing a comment to someone who can improve your situation is not complaining." He says "I am NOT advocating remaining silent when there is something that has happened which you need corrected." His assistant, Marcia, says "It is NOT about stuffing your emotions in and putting on a Pollyanna face."

What they are going on is Dr. Robin Kowalski's definition, which was used in a famous study on complaining. "Whether or not the particular statement reflects a complaint ... depends on whether the speaker is experiencing an internal dissatisfaction."

So it's important to know this up front. This book is ALL for speaking out, speaking up, making changes, seeking improvements. It is about doing those things in a way that keeps you healthy, and will best reach your goals.

So, with that being understood, what is this book about? Will Bowen was trying to inspire his church members to live more attentive lives. Many of them had financial difficulties. The financial planning books they had talked about how complaining did little good to help - that people had to face their problems head on, work out solutions, and then work through them with energy and focus.

Will liked this idea and thought he could help people with the complaining part at least. He ordered 500 purple wrist bands that said "spirit", passed them out, and asked everyone to try not complaining for 21 days. If you complained, you moved the wrist band to the other wrist and started counting again. The moving-the-band was key - it was a physical action, something that your brain began to pay attention to.

People thought this would be easy - and then discovered they had to move the band 20 times in one day! Will himself broke 3 bands with all the moving before he succeeded. The average person who tries this takes 4-8 MONTHS before they succeed. However, they improve as time goes - and they report being SO much happier by the end.

Why?

"You can best get what you desire by expressing what you WANT rather than complaining about the way things are." People actually made far more progress in their lives when they phrased their desires in a way that enticed action, instead of in a way that was negative. Listeners get defensive and hostile at criticism - but they feel drawn to help if you are going for a positive goal.

"You have a right to get what you deserve. To achieve this don't talk about or focus on the problem. Focus BEYOND the problem." This is echoed in many other books. What you focus on is what you tend to get. If you complain about being fat and unhappy, you'll probably stay fat and unhappy! If you talk about your goals to go walking more, and your desire to go walking, I bet people will cheer you on and offer to go walking with you.

As Earl Nightingale says, "We become what we think about".

They have distributed 6 million FREE bracelets already, so this is resonating with a lot of people.

Will lays out the four stages of achieving mastery of ANY subject, including non-complaining.

* Unconscious incompetence
* Conscious incompetence
* Conscious competence
* Unconscious competence

What this means is we start out trying a new thing without realizing just how hard it could be. That's fine, otherwise we might not even try smile So with complaining, we start out thinking "heck that's easy" and then realize just how much we DO complain. So we're now conscious of how much work is ahead of us. But then over time, we get much better at it with attention - and finally it is a normal healthy part of our lives and we do it naturally.

The Psychological Bulletin study on complaining found that many complain to get sympathy, attention, or to dodge out of doing something. They even found that doctors felt 2/3rds of all visits to them were based on something mental / emotional! For example, someone gets extremely stressed by work - and this drives up their blood pressure. Think of how much more healthy we could all be if we found a better way to deal with stress and issues!

Ben Franklin said "The best sermon is a good example." Will points out that you shouldn't complain about others complaining smile Don't try to change others. Just be yourself, and don't "feed" their complaining. You might find they change naturally when they don't have a complaining buddy!

Will emphasizes that this is NOT about being a passive doormat. Martin Luther King Jr had his dream. Rosa Parks took her seat and held it. They had a positive vision of the future, and they went for it. They achieved great things.

He reminds you to think about why you are complaining, if you do. Criticizing a place (like a cheap restaurant) if often a form of bragging about your more sophisticated tastes. Criticizing others is a way of saying you are better than they are. He says it is fine to "process" - to share your feelings. "I feel upset because of what was said." He says it is less healthy to deliberately bash others, "She is a stupid jerk for doing that."

Overall I found this a very well written book, with great examples, a healthy dose of humanity, and a wonderful message for us all. Will doesn't say this is easy. He doesn't even say this is for everyone. But I definitely agree that many of us complain at the drop of a hat, over things that are really not a big deal at all. All that stress affects our bodies and our health. If we were able to find the humor in life - and find positive action to fix the things we want to fix - our world would really be a much better place.

Highly recommended!

I saw this book lying around my office: probably it was a review copy. So I picked it up. It didn't take long to read (and it didn't take long to write either). So here's the deal. Order a "complaint free" bracelet from a website (address thoughtfully provided). Wear it on your wrist. Every time you complain, gossip or criticize, switch it to the other wrist. Result: in 4 to 8 months, you will reach the goal of not complaining about anything for 21 days straight. You will be HAPPY. You will be SECURE. You will know BLISS. You will be assured of salvation in the life hereafter.
This book is written by the lead pastor of a church in Kansas City, Missouri. It includes nuggets realy profound and hard-earned wisdom such as: "I finally looked at the word insecure. It's the opposite of secure." (page 79.) "I discovered that the word spirit comes from the Latin word spiritus (page 89). "If you will begin to call the people and events in your life by names that spur positive energy in yourself, you will find that they no longer bother you and in fact can be a real bonon for you." (page 104.) "To criticize means to find fault with someone or something."
Far be it from me to criticize! So by all means read this book. It's only 176 pages long. It won't take too much of your time. And once you've read it, you too will be able to "start enjoying the life you always wanted." It's that easy, isn't it?

Lynn makes the connection between just visualizing a "want" and getting into the feeling place of actually having it - powerful information once you really get it.

I read the book first,but I wanted to listin to the author also.Boy was I surprised at what I heard,this lady is very down to earth and tells her stories to where you can understand and apply them to your life very easly. She comes across very human and reachable, where her solutions and answers are not out there,they are easly applied. It's a shame she is no longer with us.

I loved this book for many reasons One being it deals with ones well being. Yes many people I have recommended this to and even given as gifts, have found it difficult to put these good feelings into practice. I feel it is or was difficult as it proves the authors point that we have been taught backwards. No one person is to blame as it has been handed down for eons. We are what we attract as we are all magnetic energy fields encased in a body called human. I agree there are no victims in this life, victimization , like death , is an illusion. What we think about, we bring about regardless if you understand it or not. If you look around you will see how people do indeed create their own reality positive or negative and you are not "doomed" unless you believe/feel that you are and even those feelings can be changed. The reason why so many people get themselves into such tough or disasterous situations is the fact that they do not pay attention to what they are attracting, therefore focusing on. I feel and now know, Miss Grabhorn was into the law of attraction, an invisable powerfully magnetic force that we command regardless if we are aware of it or not. Just think of the law of gravity. You cannot see it but it is in full force 24/7 as is the law of attraction. For those skeptical regarding this work I wish to close with: Just because you don't believe in something does not cancel its existance. As you are focusing on your skepticism you are bringing about more skepticism.

Lynn Grabhorn believes that the direction our lives are headed (for the better, or for the worse) is due to our emotional feelings, not our thoughts. I believe that's a very powerful, useful message that we all need to remember, especially when we're experiencing those dreaded "downward spirals" in life.
The fact is that many of us wait for something good to happen to us in order for us to feel good. But that's getting things backwards, and if you take this approach, you may be waiting for a long time. Actually, if you make yourself feel good first and just be happy,you'll increase the chance of good things happening in your life. Ok, easier said than done; but that's the main message of the book.
The problem is that the author doesn't provide a good, effective plan for changing the way you feel in an instant, or even over a longer period of time. In fact, to say that your "thoughts" are insignificant and it's "all about feelings" is misleading, because your thoughts determine your emotional feelings. The fact is, what you focus on determines how you feel emotionally. So you can change the way you feel in an instant, simply by changing your focus. You can also change the feeling of others around you by using the same strategy. For example, if you tell a joke to someone who is in a serious state and they laugh as a result, what has happened is that their emotional state has changed, because their focus has changed. Of course, even though this concept is simple, that doesn't mean it's always easy to use that strategy. But I've found that the more your use it(once you've become aware of it), the easier it becomes to use it effectively. Just change your focus to something that makes you feel good, and you WILL feel good.
So in sum, I gave this book only three stars, not only because the author downplays the importance of thoughts in determing our feelings, but also because I believe the book lacks a powerful, organized plan for changing one's emotional state, either in an instant, or over the long term. Fortunately, Anthony Robbins has a good plan for that in his book "Awaken the Giant Within".

This is a total waste of time and money. She takes a couple of simple, incorrect and unsupportable assumptions and just writes repetitive gibberish about them for an entire book. It goes nowhere. It does't work. It's a rip-off for anyone looking for meaningful answers. Don't buy.

R McCook