A passionate defense of ambition and a challenge to those who misunderstand or misuse it.
A debut spiritual treatise focuses on the nature of ambition.
Ambition has been labeled a conspicuous evil in modern times, a source of corruption and overreach, a sin to be fought rather than a virtue to be embraced. In his book, Timbo argues that this is a fundamental misreading of a key element of the human psyche. “Ambition is not the problem,” he writes. “The problem lies in the nature or character of the individuals who use that good thing within them solely to achieve their carnal goals; gun violence, prostitution, corruption in government and business, deception, adultery, and more.” In addition to this personal perversion of the qualities of ambition, the author identifies another significant danger: mediocrity. He characterizes this as an addiction, no different to the personality than snake venom to the body, and it’s in this context that Timbo writes that mediocrity is the ultimate thwarting of ambition. The author urges his readers to defeat this weakness and climb out of their own personal pit in order to achieve greatness, which they may not be able to see but that is calling to them all the same (“Life has a way of sometimes helping us get a taste of our destiny”). An appealing narrative of motivational encouragement emerges from this broader discussion of ambition and mediocrity. Timbo sees his readers’ ambitions as the key to their success at overcoming challenges: “If your original situation is a mess or dysfunctional, you were not born into it to be it. You were born into it to change it.” The crucial questions at the heart of the author’s short, energetic manifesto are disarmingly simple: What is your character? Armed with ambition, will you succumb to the many evils Timbo explains, or will you use it to overcome mediocrity and reach your full potential? Readers who have felt the pull of ambition and perhaps distrusted it should find some intriguing reading here.
A passionate defense of ambition and a challenge to those who misunderstand or misuse it.Pub Date: June 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5255-2407-3
Page Count: 180
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
