Brief, blunt, and buoyant; offers a refreshing jolt of inspiration.
Braithwaite, who describes himself as “a working-class guy who just wouldn’t give up on his dreams,” debuts with a neatly constructed miniguide touching on some of life’s larger issues.
With short chapters that incorporate salient quotes, anecdotes, and personal reflections, this handbook tackles such far-reaching topics as one’s own uniqueness, choosing to make change, the impact of luck, setting goals, and finding a mentor. None of the material is markedly different from the raft of other inspirational books; in fact, the author references some of these titles in his own book. Rather, this work is distinct because of Braithwaite’s down-to-earth, chatty style combined with his effervescent optimism. Perhaps it’s exaggeration to promise the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee is all that’s required to radically transform, but the author’s point is to quell any fears the reader may have about the scary subject of change. Braithwaite’s observations are smart and insightful, albeit often short on specifics. About originality, he writes, “The most artistic and open-minded people on the planet are our children before they start their formal education cycles. Once in school, our education systems strip away their differences and create a group of ‘normal’ children.” On self-worth: “Understand what your unique quality is and price yourself in the market based on the value that you believe your unique quality is worth.” The author outlines equally perceptive thoughts about resiliency, self-doubt, and one’s personal brand. Braithwaite’s counsel on mentoring is particularly poignant since he relates it to life rather than business. “If you’re missing reassurance and support,” writes the author, “find a mentor who will provide that.” He’s unapologetically bullish on grit and determination and has been inspired by people who faced challenges in their lives. His own life is a testament to overcoming such hardships as divorce, job loss, and homelessness.
Brief, blunt, and buoyant; offers a refreshing jolt of inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-77370-407-4
Page Count: 112
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
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
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