by David Ash ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 9, 2015
A forthright, inspirational account of a businessman’s spiritual struggles.
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A successful entrepreneur recounts his quest to find happiness and God in this debut book.
Tracing his career history, the author asserts that he was driven by a desire to rise above his inauspicious beginnings. Ash grew up on the rough streets of Montreal’s inner city and was an underachieving, shiftless student in his early days. But he showed entrepreneurial promise even then, aggressively selling newspaper subscriptions door to door at the green age of 12. Still, Ash recalls that he was emotionally beleaguered by the death of his father from diabetes, stymied by bankruptcy, and engulfed in recreational drug use. His early triumphs as an entrepreneur—he was a serial starter of new businesses—were modest. He decided that the road to contentment was paved with wealth and power. Gradually, he found both prosperity and a kind of spiritual awakening. He started a payday loan business that turned out to be spectacularly lucrative. He met his future wife, Lise, and was inspired not only to become a better businessman, but also a more moral human being. Eventually, Ash found solace and guidance in the Bible, which helped him to reconceive what success meant. “Today, I operate in God’s economy,” Ash writes. “I no longer measure my success in dollars and cents.” Following the loss of his mother, who suffered from mental illness, Ash devoted himself to helping the homeless. He established an innovative housing center for their treatment named The Vivian, after his mother. The author’s remembrances remain laudably candid; he pulls no punches in describing his shortcomings and challenges. This isn’t a now-familiar appropriation of Christian doctrine to validate the unrestrained accumulation of money as a divinely sanctioned mission. Ash expertly traces his path to realizing that materialism is misguided and that transcendent philanthropic aims justify the noble pursuit of entrepreneurial victories. Ash dispenses little practical business advice. Instead, this is a meditation on the deeper purposes of commerce, understood from the perspective of religious commitment.
A forthright, inspirational account of a businessman’s spiritual struggles.Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4602-7448-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Elijah Wald ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 25, 2015
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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
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