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This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women | 
 enlarge | Creators: Jay Allison, Dan Gediman
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
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Rating:  44 reviews
Sales Rank: 2878
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0805086587
Dewey Decimal Number: 170.44
EAN: 9780805086584
ASIN: 0805086587
Publication Date: August 21, 2007
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Product Description
“A welcome change from the sloganeering, political mudslinging and products of spin doctors.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer Based on the NPR series of the same name, This I Believe features eighty Americans—from the famous to the unknown—completing the thought that the book’s title begins. Each piece compels readers to rethink not only how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs but also the extent to which they share them with others. Featuring many renowned contributors—including Isabel Allende, Colin Powell, Gloria Steinem, William F. Buckley Jr., Penn Jillette, Bill Gates, and John Updike—the collection also contains essays by a Brooklyn lawyer; a part-time hospital clerk in Rehoboth, Massachusetts; a woman who sells yellow pages advertising in Fort Worth, Texas; and a man who serves on Rhode Island’s parole board. The result is a stirring and provocative trip inside the minds and hearts of a diverse group of people whose beliefs—and the incredibly varied ways in which they choose to express them—reveal the American spirit at its best.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 39 more reviews...
 maybe exactly what you need right now October 17, 2006
Victoria A. Griffith (Seattle, WA USA)
97 out of 99 found this review helpful
I've been working too much lately, getting into my car at night with my head still swimming about all the things that are going on at the office. I try not to get like this, but sometimes, especially at this time of year, it's hard not to. Someone sent me a copy of an interesting audiobook though and I wanted to share a bit about it with you. Listening to it in 15 minute snippets on the way to and from work these past few weeks has turned me around.
If you're a public radio junkie, the series it's based on is probably old news to you. It's called "This I Believe" and it's a compilation of essays from individuals writing about what they believe in. Very simple concept. The people who have written essays are young and old, famous and not, successful and not, religious and not. There are some from the 1950s, some from 2006. I'm finding that spending a few minutes on my drive to and from work every day where I stop thinking about what happened today or what needs to happen tomorrow does me good as a person. Some of them made me cry (probably more than I should admit) and some made me laugh. Some I fast-forward through b/c I've no interest in the topic - but with 80 distinct essays to listen to, you can fwd through quite a few and still have lots to listen to.
You might be one of those people who is going to think this is smarmy, a little too saccharin or otherwise not as clever as you'd like -- but you should at least listen to a couple of excerpts. You may be surprised by the range of this collection - there are essays on the belief in science and math and the written word; others about kindness and hope and family; some on pizza delivery drivers and good barbecue and feeding monkeys on your birthday. I'm tempted to point out a couple of my favorites but I won't - because I'm pretty sure the excerpts that speak most vividly to me will be different than the ones that touch you. You should give yourself a few minutes right now to sample one or two from the npr website. And then you should buy the audio or the print book. It's maybe exactly what you need right now.
 Reader's Digest level banality January 5, 2008
David M. Giltinan (San Francisco)
29 out of 33 found this review helpful
Clearly, I'm in the minority on this one. But this book just didn't work for me at all. It seems like such a promising concept, too - "based on the NPR series of the same name, 80 essayists - from the famous to the previously unknown - complete the thought that begins the book's title".
But the result is - despite being a bestseller - a dreadful book. If I had checked it out in a bookstore, rather than buying it here on Amazon, I might have figured it out from the back cover. Here are the four 'quotes from inside' that the publishers use as a teaser:
"I believe in the goodness of a free society. And I believe that the society can remain good only as long as we are willing to fight for it." Jackie Robinson.
"I believe in empathy." Azar Nafisi.
"I believe in the pursuit of happiness. Not its attainment, nor its final definition, but its pursuit." Andrew Sullivan.
"Be cool to the pizza delivery dude; it's good luck". Sarah Adams.
Well, yes. Am I supposed to argue with any of these noble sentiments? Hardly (though I might suggest a different justification for being cool to the pizza delivery dude than trying to generate future good karma). But it's precisely the completely unobjectionable, generally safe nature of the assorted beliefs expressed in the book that make it - and I may burn in hell for this - a major YAWN. If you crack open the book and can wade through some of the most mind-numbingly pompous prose imaginable, there are further nuggets to be gleaned:
Benjamin Carson believes that "there is no job more important than parenting".
William F. Buckley believes in God, but, being WFB, finds it necessary to express himself thusly: "This I believe: that it is intellectually easier to credit a divine intelligence than to submit dumbly to felicitous congeries about nature".
Jackie Lantry believes in the power of love to transform and heal.
Again, I'm not questioning the validity of these beliefs (what would give me the right?), but they end up being expressed in most cases with a kind of cliched banality that is available free in any Hallmark store. More charitably, in considering why this book ended up being such a disastrous collection of woolly-minded writing, almost never rising above hackneyed cliches and Reader's Digest level banality, I believe that the problem lies in the formulation of the question. It seems that asking people to come on the radio for three minutes to sum up the core beliefs of their lives is a poor mechanism to generate anything of interest. It's a trap, causing most respondents to founder in banal generalities.
The (very) few interesting contributors were smart enough to avoid the lure of the pompously abstract profundity, and rooted their answers in the specific. Here are the opening sentences of the three most interesting (OK, let's be honest, the only three truly interesting) essays:
'I consider myself a feminist, and I feel like a moron admitting it, but it's true: I believe in Barbie.'
'I believe in always going to the funeral. My father taught me that.'
'There is no such thing as too much barbecue'.
Let me be clear again - this review is in no way a critique of the expressed beliefs and opinions of the contributors. It is concerned only with the interest level and readability of their efforts. On those criteria, this book has to be considered a dreadful, soporific, failure.
Inspiration to examine your own belief system October 20, 2006
Deanna Joseph (California)
25 out of 26 found this review helpful
When I first received my copy of "This I Believe," I had no idea that it was actually from a popular 1950s radio show of the same name. Originally, "This I Believe" was hosted by Edward R. Murrow. It was aired throughout the United States and became so popular that two volumes of the essays were published and hit the Top-10 Bestseller's list for three years.
It was easy to become hooked as I read the first essay, and though some of the essays are 50 years old, they are still very relevent to what we are going through now as individuals and as a society.
The essays (of which there are 79) are 3-4 pages each and are essentially a brief outline of why the writer has a particular belief. The essays are personal stories which are written in a positive manner without being judgmental, preachy or obnoxious.
Some of the more well known writers include: William F. Buckley, Jr., Albert Einstein, Helen Keller, Bill Gates and Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller fame).
In the "Afterward" written by Dan Gediman, he explains the history of the famous radio show and how he was inspired to put together a book of some of the more famous essays from the show, while including some new essays from both famous and unknown writers of our day.
The appendix includes the original introduction of the radio show "This I Believe" by Edward R. Murrow, how to write your own "This I Believe" essay, and suggestions on how to use "This I Believe" in your own community. They also challenge you to write your own "This I Believe" essay and send it in to their website www.thisibelieve.org.
"This I Believe" is thoughtful, inspiring and thought provoking. It would provide invaluable insights and topics for those interested in public speaking or blogging. For teachers it can provide inspiration to help students find out their own belief systems.
Really an essay of the human heart, "This I Believe" challenges you to discover what your own belief system is. Do you know what you believe?
 good gift for contemplative people, better on radio December 22, 2006
T. Burket (Potomac, MD United States)
21 out of 22 found this review helpful
"This I Believe" can be approached as a quick read of a couple hours or a casual read with occasional stops to contemplate the latest essay. Even though the collection is an extract from a large number of contributions, there will be some you can skim right through, thinking, "yeah, whatever" or that it wasn't that interesting a thought. I admit I felt almost guilty for not giving some of the authors more than a moment's notice, considering the person was talking about a core belief with passion. My guess is that a typical reader will feel the same, only for a different group within the diverse set.
However, there are others that should prompt more serious thought. After all, the purpose of the essays is two-fold: give a window into what other people hold true, and also promote thinking about one's own values and beliefs. To me, it's less important to try to write my own essay than to ponder whether I agree with the author's belief, or how it might apply to me, or whether I recall family members or others with similar beliefs.
Even so, these are not long, deep essays, given the limit of a couple of minutes when spoken. The ones focused on religion, for example, are only a key thought or two, usually with a relevant example of their application or their origin. Others recall an important moment or two in one's life, perhaps where somebody else made a difference in the author's future. These are often the most personal and best essays.
I found "This I Believe" on NPR. The ones I recall from this book are fine as short essays, but they are even better on the radio. The amusing take on barbeque is an example: made to be spoken. Many others are really personal stories that read well, yet probably would be an even nicer CD for the car.
The mixture of famous people and "regular" (albeit articulate enough) people was absolutely necessary. Reprinting some from the 1950s was a good touch, showing that many beliefs hold true fifty years later, as you would expect. The new essay by a woman who also contributed fifty years ago was one of the highlights.
The book could maybe have used some "bad guys" or cynics to express their beliefs. The authors are good folks (please leave aside whether you think Bill Gates, Newt Gingrich, etc. are "good"), in that they describe positive beliefs and values, people who often want to make a positive contribution to the world. Maybe some meanies or troublemakers could have explained what beliefs made them tick, too.
The background on the original "This I Believe" from the 1950s complements the individual contributions and was very helpful. Jay Allison's introduction also nicely reviews the genesis of the NPR program and how the process unfolded.
A good read! October 15, 2006
armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota)
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
In 1951, National Pubic Radio began a program in which participants used a few hundred words to encapsulate their deepest-held beliefs. The program, though incredibly popular, lost funding after a couple of years, was discontinued, and then reborn in 2005.
Now, editors Jay Allison and Dan Gediman have compiled eighty of the essays from both the original set of broadcasts and the most recent ones. The result is a stunning compilation of the beliefs of courageous individuals.
Browsing through the table of contents, you will be struck immediately by the famous individuals that have submitted their essays. From Albert Einstein, Helen Keller, and Jackie Robinson to Bill Gates, Collin Powell and Isabel Allende, these popular figures become transparent and vulnerable as they reveal their most closely held beliefs. And yet, often it's the essays by the ordinary among us, the laborer, the abandoned, the teacher, the AIDS researcher, that will bring tears to your eyes and move your heart profoundly.
These essays are extremely readable due to their short length and the intimacy of the project. If you pick up this book, you may find yourself compelled to read on, fascinated by how differently (and similarly) we live.
Perhaps the greatest impact this book has on its reader is in its implicit invitation to create one's own "This I believe" statement. Reading others' reflections on life causes one to wonder, "How would I put my deepest beliefs into words?" Just having the chance to sit back and to wonder about this is extremely rewarding.
In the words of one essayist, a civil engineer, given this chance to reflect, we find that "we are more than the inhabitants of our cubicles, more than engineers or even parents, husbands, and wives...we are transformed and connected by the power and beauty of our creativity."
This I Believe is an outstanding book. In this day and age, we are constantly driven to go, go, go. Don't miss this opportunity to sit back and learn about what your fellow citizens believe and to think about what you hold to be most dear and true.
Armchair Interviews says: We all need our own "This I believe" statement in this trying world.
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