Life Is So Good

Rating:
Summary: a remarkable story of a remarkable man
Review: This is the remarkable story of a remarkable man. Richard Glaubman is to be commended for his dedication to preserving some of our history through this project.

The one caveat the I would make is that the last forty pages or so probably could be condensed into five. The sense that I got is that the writer and others were trying to garner one more piece of wisdom that would make the whole thing five-star.

To me, the lessons and wisdom of this book were manifest throughout the entire narrative. We learn by example, and George Dawson has set an outstanding example of showing how the simplest virtues are the best.

I recommend this book very highly. Someone like George Dawson is like a rare and refreshing fruit, and we should all realize our fortune that our paths have intersected his in one way or another.

Rating:
Summary: superb enlighting
Review: GOD BLESS MR DAWSON FOR SHARING HIS LIFE WITH US ! I HAVE READ IT TWICE AND WILL READ IT AGAIN AND AGAIN. IF I HAD THE MONEY I WOULD MAKE SURE EVERYONE COULD HAVE A COPY. HIS GOOD HONEST LIFE AND HARD WORK WERE MORE THAN INCREDIBLE. HE STILL TODAY IS HAPPY WITH HIS LIFE AND FAMILY AND MATERIAL THINGS ARE NOT IMPORTANT TO HIM,AND HOW INCREDIBLE THAT ALL HIS CHILDREN TURNED OUT WITH GOOD EDUCATIONS AND HIGH MORALS..HE CAN TEACH ALOT TO US ALL OVER AMERICA. ALSO THIS IS ANOTHER GRAND PERSON WHO IN GOOD HEALTH AND SOUND BODY AND MIND HAVE IM SURE BAFFLED AMA...NO ALZHEIMERS HERE AND DID NOT READ TILL HIS LATE NINETYS..HIS PRIDE WITH NOT NEEDING A CANE AND ALL HIS TEETH HIS LIFE SAIDS ALOT YES LIFE IS GOOD....GREAT GREAT BOOK DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE I CAN SEND HIM REGULAR FAN MAIL...THANKS EVE DOwd [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring book for kids & adults struggling with literacy
Review: I completely disagree with the Kirkus Associates review of this wonderful book. I have read and sell this book at every bookfair I hold. I find it an insiring tale of a man who, while living through what many of us might call "hell", still manages to say that "life is so good." The fact that he actually learned to read and write and then writes a book in his late 90s is nothing but inspiring to the young and old people I daily come in contact with who are struggling with literacy problems. I love this book and love the book cover, especially the back cover where George Dawson is seen, in all his glorious old age, holding a school paper with a great big "A+" on it. That alone is worth the price of the book!!!

Rating:
Summary: A supreme lesson in dignity
Review: This book offers extraordinary lessons in human dignity, grace and compassion to readers of any race. Moreover, George Dawson's account of his life is full of history lessons that most of us never had access to in school. The never-ending assaults on the self-esteem of African-Americans, their endurance and grace, and most of all, their forgiveness, are epitomized in his story, as transcribed by Richard Glausman. Some reviewers may forget that this book was written from taped interviews, from stories that came to Mr. Dawson's mind during the necessarily limited number of hours that the author and ghostwriter had together. It was never intended to be a comprehensive document, I believe. In my opinion, the book deserves the highest possible rating for what it contains, not for what it does not.

Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: I absolutely loved this book. I read it in two days and it made me sob and laugh out loud. It's an intriguing perspective on the last century as told by someone who couldn't read until age 98. Mr. Dawson experienced injustice and hardship but never lost his positive and kind spirit - it's a great lesson. This book is a jewel and a great gift for Christmas. It should be required reading for high school students, in my opinion.

Mr. Dawson, I wish I could meet you. Your book should be in Oprah's book club. Thank goodness Mr. Glaubman thought your life was worth sharing.

Buy this book!!!!

Rating:
Summary: George Dawson has given us a great gift
Review: and I intend to let everyone know. I think everyone on my Holiday shopping list will be getting a copy of this book. It is funny, inspiring, wise.... I'm at a loss. I've read so so many books in my life and I have to say this is one of the greatest I've ever read. Thank you, George Dawson for being such a wonderful person and leading such a great life. Thank you once more for telling us about it. This gentleman is a model of how each of us should try to live in the face of adversity. There is something new to learn each day, even if you are 101.

Rating:
Summary: The one book to take on a desert island
Review: This IS the ultimate 'how to' book. How to work, how to 'get by', how to raise children, how to be a son, how to be a friend. In short - how to live. I never knew it could be so simple.

Rating:
Summary: WHAT A GOOD MAN
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed "life is so good" ... for a change it was a book that held it's own without having to embellish his story to try and make it a bestseller. An absolute pleasure to read ... a gorgeous man with very simple values.

Rating:
Summary: So Good
Review: George Dawson's book was hiding on the top shelf at my local bookstore. If the words "Life is so...." had not caught my attention I may have missed it, may not have stood on tippy-toes to read the rest of that sentence. May never have seen the photograph of that smiling face that barely makes it to the foot of the page and which intrigued me so. I'm so glad I pulled that book down for a closer look, otherwise I may have missed something quietly important in my life. George Dawson's life as retold in tandem with Richard Glaubman is simply put, in the real language of a man used to passing on the family history in an oral way. Mr. Dawson's life and times, spanning tree centuries, are meat enough, but it is the quiet revelation of the inner discipline required to survive such times, in a society ever busy writing rules to outlaw the colour of ones skin, that teaches the reader most. To survive with such grace and positivity and with the ability to celebrate the gift of an ordinary life is an example to us all. In our comfortable but so often unsatisfying lives I found this autobiography worth ten self help books in putting me back on track in regard to what is truly important in this life... which is so good.

Rating:
Summary: See history as life.
Review: I am a 47 year old white native East Texan. When I try to describe the effect segregation had on our part of the world I often find my self short on words. A list of facts (seperate fountains, schools, resrooms) seem strange but don't convey the damage done to both the black and white people of the region. When Mr Dawson tells about his trip to Mexico and his search for the colored water fountain there it hits you how much a part of life (like breathing) the segregation and prjudice was. Mr Dawson never blames those that mistreated him. He says they really didn't see him. How many people do we deal with every day that we really don't see? I really appreciate the memories this brings back of elderly people telling me stories about their life and how the history from books did not always relate to what they found important in their lives. You will enjoy this book-it will be a quickly read book that you will think and talk about for a long time.