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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I've been meaning to see this movie, but I wanted to read the book first. I saw bits and pieces of the movie at work the other day, and people were just gushing about how great it was. I figured I should probably read the book before I end up seeing the movie on accident.
It's definitely more feel-goody than my usual tastes, but it has just been so talked about, that I'm glad I at least tried it. Certainly a very inspiring story about a man with a lot of motivation and will-power. I think this is probably particularly striking to people living in communities with a real lack of fathers. I work at an urban Best Buy, most of the staff coming from not the best neighborhoods, and they were all much more moved by this than I was. I was raised by a single dad (certainly in better circumstances than these), and so the idea of a man standing up and taking care of his kids isn't that unusual to me, it just seems like the right thing to do. But I understand that in many communities this is almost an unheard of exception to the rule, and that's what makes this book so touching for those people.
From the bits of the movie that I saw, I think I may enjoy the movie more than the book - unusual for me. We'll see.
It's definitely more feel-goody than my usual tastes, but it has just been so talked about, that I'm glad I at least tried it. Certainly a very inspiring story about a man with a lot of motivation and will-power. I think this is probably particularly striking to people living in communities with a real lack of fathers. I work at an urban Best Buy, most of the staff coming from not the best neighborhoods, and they were all much more moved by this than I was. I was raised by a single dad (certainly in better circumstances than these), and so the idea of a man standing up and taking care of his kids isn't that unusual to me, it just seems like the right thing to do. But I understand that in many communities this is almost an unheard of exception to the rule, and that's what makes this book so touching for those people.
From the bits of the movie that I saw, I think I may enjoy the movie more than the book - unusual for me. We'll see.
Easy read and maybe inspirational, but feels vaguely self-promoting in a way that makes it harder to connect.
Brilliant and inspirational.
I have seen the movie based on Chris's story but in glad I read the book as there is a big difference.
Chris's story is heartbreaking in places, and truly amazing in others.
A great example of the strength of character and determination.
I have seen the movie based on Chris's story but in glad I read the book as there is a big difference.
Chris's story is heartbreaking in places, and truly amazing in others.
A great example of the strength of character and determination.
I was uneasy going into this book. The movie made Gardner to be an American hero, moving up from homelessness into riches. The full story as Gardner tells it is much more grim. I won’t itemize Gardner’s list of crimes, but it’s enough to say, I think, that the movie omits or glosses over most of the shadier events of his life. And, no, as you might expect, even with a writer helping him, Gardner is not good at setting down the story of his life. I was left with the feeling that Gardner is just a man who wanted to become rich and did so. His greatest accomplishment was to do this without tossing aside his kids when it would have been easy to do so.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I loved the movie the first time I watched it with my mom, so I was excited to find this at Value Village! It’s a real-life rags-to-riches story of determination, persistence, and hope.
Chris Gardner, against all odds, worked his way up from being literally homeless to making millions as a stock broker; but his story is about a lot more than his relentless grind and salesman strategies. Growing up fatherless, he vowed that he would never leave his own children to the same fate, and he kept that promise to his young son throughout all the hardships he faced as a struggling single father.
Gardner has a way of writing that draws you into his memories as if you are experiencing them yourself — you see what he sees and feel what he feels, and you notice the things that were significant to him while all the other details fade into the background. He was lucky to have many people throughout his life as mentors who helped shape him, and he never misses an opportunity to acknowledge the impact they had on him, big or small.
Quick warning: his formative years were quite traumatic and he doesn’t gloss over anything. Mature language and subject matter.
As many of other people did, I wanted to read the book after seeing the movie. Not that I was extremely impressed, but I was really curious and usually the book offers a more detailed picture.
It took me a really long time to read the book, I didn't particulary liked the writing style and, to me, it seemed like the author wanted to impress, to show you what a great person he is.
There is a side of Chris Gardner that didn't exactly made me respect him as a person, and it definitely rubbed me the wrong way.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, not even to those who enjoyed the movie.
It took me a really long time to read the book, I didn't particulary liked the writing style and, to me, it seemed like the author wanted to impress, to show you what a great person he is.
There is a side of Chris Gardner that didn't exactly made me respect him as a person, and it definitely rubbed me the wrong way.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, not even to those who enjoyed the movie.