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Title: The Right Words at the Right Time by Marlo Thomas ISBN: 0-7434-4650-X Publisher: Atria Books Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.75 (53 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Inspiration without sappiness
Comment: Marlo Thomas is one of the very few celebrities who actually has a college degree, and her smarts--both school smarts and just plain common sense--come winningly through in "The Right Words at the Right Time." Thomas explains in the introduction that something her father (comedian Danny Thomas) once said to her in the way of encouragement struck her with such force, and stayed with her for so many years, that she grew curious to see what types of epiphanies other folks had had.
What follows are wonderful stories from all manner of famous people--ranging from Jennifer Aniston to Bill Cosby to the Dalai Lama and practically everyone in between. They share with us, in casual, sounds-just-like-it's-them-talking style, the words which somehow strengthened or inspired them. Many of the stories are from childhood, but a surprising number of them took place in adulthood. Shaquille O'Neal relates how his mother once tartly told him he couldn't afford to wait to be good, because no one knows who will be here tomorrow and who won't. This simple observation stunned O'Neal and set him on the path to athletic stardom. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos shares a simultaneously painful and hilarious story about telling his grandmother she was shortening her life through cigarette-smoking--and also shares his grandfather's gentle, measured response to his smart-alecky treatment of his grandmother. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg shares a charming story from her early married life:
The morning of [my] wedding, I was upstairs, making last-minute adjustments, when Marty's mother put something in my hand and said, "I am going to give you some advice that will serve you well: in every good marriage, it pays sometimes to be a little deaf." She had placed in my hand a set of wax earplugs. I was puzzled. What was she trying to convey? I put her words in the back of my mind for a time, a rather short time as it turned out. When Marty and I were on our honeymoon, I began to appreciate the wisdom of her advice. The appreciation has grown enormously over the years. My mother-in-law meant simply this. Sometimes people say unkind or thoughtless things, and when they do, it's best to be a little hard of hearing--to tune out and not snap back in anger or impatience. In my forty-seven years of marriage, I have recalled that advice regularly . . . But the idea behind the words reaches far beyond family . . . I drew upon [her] words when I was told I was not welcome in certain places because I am Jewish or that I could not do certain work because I am a woman.
The book is filled with great stuff like this--most of it elemental advice, but advice which resonates because it is larger and more complex than it looks. It is advice which applies to more than one situation, making its meaning endlessly adaptable and malleable for the reader. There is much food for thought here, all of which could be used by a new graduate, or by anyone in need of some "right words" to lean on in a difficult time.
Rating: 5
Summary: this is a wonderful book
Comment: This book is for everyone who has felt discouraged, overwhelmed, embarassed, saddened and confused. The experiences of the contributors in this book are so diverse as our the contributors themselves. They are comprised of actors, CEOs of major companies, movie directors, talk show hosts, musicians, athletes, activists, journalists, artists and politicians. These are some of the stories, people, and words that stood out for me.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani who learned that life is a combination of great tragedy and great beauty from a woman who lost her father, husband, and son all in one year. He learned to celebrate the beauty and the positive things in life. Oprah Winfrey was inspired by the words of a producer who said just be yourself when she felt overwhelmed starting out as a talk show host years ago. Her main compettion was Phil Donahue who was the king of talk shows at the time. The same idea motivated Marlo Thomas when she was started out as an actress. Her legendary father advised her to run her own race. Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon.com learned an important lesson by listening to the words of his grandfather It is much harder to be nice than clever. I thought those words as like so many in this book to be profound. Actress Jennifer Aniston was inspired by a speech written by Marianne Williamson given by Nelson Mandella. The gist of the speech is that we all have a light or gift within us that we all need to share. Journalist Ted Koppel took the words of Roy Rogers to heart when he read that everyone is ignorant just on different subjects. Steven Spielberg was inspired by the words of a Davy Crockett movie The words Be sure you're right, then go ahead gave him the confidence to drop out of college and become a director.
Some of the most interesting insights come from people who are not as famous. Doris Kearns Goodwin, a historian who worked with President Johnson writing his memoir was inspired by the words of psychologist Erik Erikson that the richest lives attain an inner balance comprised of work, play and love. Erikson concluded that we should not sacrifice one need to pursue another. The contribution by Dr. David Ho is interesting to me because of what he does for a living. David Ho is the director of AIDS research and through his efforts with different drugs patients live longer and healthier lives. Patients focus on living and not dying because of him. I enjoyed the wisdom in the story of political advisor Mary Matalin who learned from her father that confidence is what separates successful people from unsuccessful ones. Confidence is created from 3 things being prepared, having experience, and never giving up. This is an idea I will never forget.
There are some cliches in this book, but they are interesting because of the people who were motivated by them achieved great things. Astronaunt Sally Ride was inspired by the words reach for the stars and became the first woman in space. Toni Morrison was motivated by the words anything worth doing is worth doing well. Morrison won the Nobel Prize for her novel Song of Solomon later in life. Designer Ralph Lauren was inspired by the music of Frank Sinatra and the song My Way.
The Right Words at the Right Time is an excellent book filled with pearls of wisdom. This book has wonderful insights about life, work, character and love.
Rating: 5
Summary: Who knew I would love this book?!
Comment: To the few reviewers of this book who gave it a negative rating:
what's wrong with you?! You CLEARLY missed this point of this gem of a publication.
I was browsing around the bookstore at the local mall just passing time while my eye glasses were being repaired. I was standing near the bestsellers section, when for no particular reason, this book's cover caught my eye. I picked up a copy, glanced at it, flipped the pages, then discarded it back on the shelf and thought, uhgg, one of those chicken-soup, pseudo-inspirational, publications; you know, a book version of a "chick flick"...ah, no thanks. Then, and maybe it was the fact that I noticed the NY Times bestseller band at the top, or maybe the sincerity of Marlo's expression -- I don't know -- but I picked it up, again flipped through the selections until I found a contributor I recognized: Matt Groening. I read his, the another, then got to Mel Brooks..BAM..I was hooked. I've got to admit, the old widsom you can't judge a book by it's cover took on a literal truth in this case. When I glanced at the back cover and saw that all of the royalties of the book go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, I was instantly sold and proceeded to register to buy it.
The idea for this book and it's ultimate objective are both obvious and genious. Bravo Marlo and Friends!
This isn't literature, no, it's light reading with most entires being 3 or 4 pages; the contributions are from a diverse collection of musicians, actors, activists, entertainers, doctors, CEOs, journalists, politicians, direcors, writers, politicians, artists, and other people who are well known because of the success they've attained.
But the entries from the likes of Sidney Portier, Jay Leno,
and Itzhak Perlman are golden nuggets; personal experiences
of pivitol points in these contributors lives and given up in the name of charity -- awesome!
There are lessons and wisdoms in this book you can bank on. To say this book is replete with inspiration and would be an understatement. Best of all, you can read an entry in like 2 minutes!
If you don't buy this book, it's your loss.
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Title: Naomi's Breakthrough Guide : 20 Choices to Transform Your Life by Naomi Judd ISBN: 0743236629 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
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Title: Free to Be You and Me by Marlo Thomas, Running Press ISBN: 0762413069 Publisher: Running Press Pub. Date: July, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Ten Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Went Out into the Real World by Maria Shriver ISBN: 0446526126 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 15 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Aristotle Would Have Liked Oprah - Lessons for Living and Other Philosophic Musings by Ethel Diamond ISBN: 1558747206 Publisher: Health Communications Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: When Words Matter Most : Thoughtful Words and Deeds to Express Just the Right Thing at Just the Right Time by Robyn Freedman Spizman ISBN: 0517704064 Publisher: Crown Pub. Date: 17 September, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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