UNSTOPPABLE

Name: UNSTOPPABLE
Author: Betsy Craig
ISBN: 978-0-692-09524-9

A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS IN LIFE AND BUSINESS

by Betsy Craig ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 5, 2018

An autobiographical reflection that’s more consistently inspiring than informative.

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A CEO distills 10 spiritual principles that she says paved the way for her success.

Before founding a successful menu-labeling company called MenuTrinfo, debut author Craig weathered daunting personal challenges: She was raised by an alcoholic father and mentally ill mother, she says, and in her 20s, she struggled with addictions to drugs and alcohol. In 2005, at the age of 41, she was diagnosed with scleroderma, a debilitating autoimmune condition, and was given no more than 18 months to live. However, Craig persevered and began a successful business that developed a nutritional database for the food industry. This book—a combination of genuinely inspiring memoir and business-minded self-help manual—is largely focused on the 10 principles that guided Craig’s life and which she believes accounts for her accomplishments. For example, she discusses both the indispensability and limitations of passion, the importance of requesting help, and the chief virtues of courage, honesty, and persistence. An abiding theme is the notion that financial prosperity requires moral responsibility. The book’s instructional aspect seems intended for those who wish start a new business with limited experience; Craig is particularly informative when discussing low-cost alternatives to getting an MBA. Each chapter ends with a series of questions meant to provoke further contemplation, offering synoptic homework assignments of sorts. The author writes in charmingly informal prose style that’s consistently clear and accessible. The advice she offers is unfailingly sensible, but it’s also generally anodyne, with nothing that’s controversial or provocative; for example, here’s how she answers the question of why companies should act ethically: “just because it is the right thing.” No one would object to such a stance, of course, but it doesn’t make for a stirring read.

An autobiographical reflection that’s more consistently inspiring than informative.

Pub Date: June 5, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-692-09524-9

Page Count: 226

Publisher: BCGA, LLC

Review Posted Online: June 16, 2018

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.