A slim book with an encouraging take on failure that might have benefited from the inclusion of more actionable advice.
Failure is not defeat but a key step on the road to success and happiness, according to this self-help work.
Debut author Bankoski aims to empower people to make better decisions. Her model, which she calls the “Choice Cycle,” is drawn from the business world, but she argues that the same principles companies use to manage resources can also “influence many of our life decisions and to guide behavior to improve our lives.” Everyone draws on what resources are available to them, including money, relationships, and time, when making decisions. Bankoski breaks the decision process down into five stages: “pause,” “learn,” “act,” “correct,” “control,” and “confess.” After one’s resources are depleted without success, one must admit failure and begin the process again, she says. But although failure is seen by most as something to avoid, Bankoski views it as a key part of the Choice Cycle and a necessary prerequisite to joy, which comes when one finally recognizes “that there are new opportunities for success.” The author’s effort to redefine failure in a positive light, while not unique, may cheer readers who become discouraged when things don’t work out in their lives. In her introduction, she frames her book as a general self-help guide for people looking to improve their lives, but at times, it reads more like a resource for managers and business owners, as when the author points out that “Organizations function best when the vision, mission, and values are written to be clear to all, shared and understood.” The illustrations, while helpful in visualizing the different parts of the Choice Cycle, also look very much like a PowerPoint presentation. More concrete examples of people achieving “joy after failure” would have been welcome as well. However, Bankoski hits her stride in the final chapter, when she makes an impassioned call for people to band together to change old habits and end old prejudices.
A slim book with an encouraging take on failure that might have benefited from the inclusion of more actionable advice.Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-973637-00-4
Page Count: 67
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An erudite and artful, though frustratingly restrained, look at Old Testament stories.
The Book of Genesis as imagined by a veteran voice of underground comics.
R. Crumb’s pass at the opening chapters of the Bible isn’t nearly the act of heresy the comic artist’s reputation might suggest. In fact, the creator of Fritz the Cat and Mr. Natural is fastidiously respectful. Crumb took pains to preserve every word of Genesis—drawing from numerous source texts, but mainly Robert Alter’s translation, The Five Books of Moses (2004)—and he clearly did his homework on the clothing, shelter and landscapes that surrounded Noah, Abraham and Isaac. This dedication to faithful representation makes the book, as Crumb writes in his introduction, a “straight illustration job, with no intention to ridicule or make visual jokes.” But his efforts are in their own way irreverent, and Crumb feels no particular need to deify even the most divine characters. God Himself is not much taller than Adam and Eve, and instead of omnisciently imparting orders and judgment He stands beside them in Eden, speaking to them directly. Jacob wrestles not with an angel, as is so often depicted in paintings, but with a man who looks not much different from himself. The women are uniformly Crumbian, voluptuous Earth goddesses who are both sexualized and strong-willed. (The endnotes offer a close study of the kinds of power women wielded in Genesis.) The downside of fitting all the text in is that many pages are packed tight with small panels, and too rarely—as with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah—does Crumb expand his lens and treat signature events dramatically. Even the Flood is fairly restrained, though the exodus of the animals from the Ark is beautifully detailed. The author’s respect for Genesis is admirable, but it may leave readers wishing he had taken a few more chances with his interpretation, as when he draws the serpent in the Garden of Eden as a provocative half-man/half-lizard. On the whole, though, the book is largely a tribute to Crumb’s immense talents as a draftsman and stubborn adherence to the script.
An erudite and artful, though frustratingly restrained, look at Old Testament stories.Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-393-06102-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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