Rating: 
Summary: Seeing Failure In A New Light -- Bright, Happy, Free
Review: As a community college English instructor, teaching adults who are often struggling with their perceived failures, I am utilizing Steve Young's book, Great Failures of the Extremely Successful, as a resource. Overwhelmed by low self-esteem and toiling under the shadow of past defeats, a student can find inspiration in Steve Young's book. Open it; it's a toolbox for better living. For anyone interested in finding the courage to change the things that can be changed, this book will serve as a guide. Supplement it in class with a novel such as, This Boy's Life, by Tobias Wolff or non-fiction such as Ruben Martinez' recently published book, Crossing Over, or Thinking in Pictures, by Temple Grandin.The only thing that Steve Young's book cannot fix are my car problems, which are numerous. Despite that, I relish Great Failues of the Extremely Successful. This book helps me see that I (a single mother of two, and the driver of an unlovely, little car with over 216,000 miles on it), am also an extremely successful person, in my own right. I can only offer one warning. If you are bent on being unwrinkled by life, or if you recently invested a lot of money in botox injections, read Great Failures of the Extremely Successful with caution. The laughter and tears in this volume will make smile-lines on your soul. Read it with delight!
Rating:
Summary: Don't expect to succeed without it!
Review: Failure is the stepping stone to success. I am inspired by seeing so many real-life examples collected here. How others have done it by finding and following a new fork in the road of life -- refusing to stop or go back. This isn't a one-time-read.
Rating:
Summary: Offering valuable life lessons
Review: Great Failures Of The Extremely Successful by Steve Young (a man who failed college four times; discharged from the army after three months; divorced; fired from 23 jobs in the summer of 1968; failed businessman; losing contestant on both "The Dating Game" and "The Gong Show"; dropped from four literary agencies; and the recipient of a "gazillion" book, television and film rejections) is a collection of unique anecdotes about the stumbling blocks many famous and wealthy people encountered on the way to success, ranging from basketball star Bill Walton, to humorist Steve Allen, to advocate Erin Brockovich. Offering valuable life lessons, and most of all, emphasizing the importance of getting back on the metaphorical horse after being thrown, Great Failures Of The Extremely Successful is an enjoyable, enlightening, motivating, and highly recommended addition to any self-help, self-improvement reading list or library reference collection.
Rating:
Summary: A must share book!
Review: Great inspirational stories!
A great book! Perfect for gift giving. It was fascinating to read about the personal challenges and failures that even the most successful people experience. I really enjoyed the quotes that appear on each page. They are perfect for adding to your desktop to inspire you throughout the day. Treat yourself and others to this book. You won't be disappointed. :)
Rating: 
Summary: Deceptive title but enjoyable
Review: Great stories of the (rich) and famous, most of whom overcame adversity. A collection of 62 autobiographies as told to Steve Young. The subjects are leaders in every field. This book is upbeat, fascinating and fun to read. I highly recommend this book. Dan Poynter, ParaPublishing.com.
Rating:
Summary: Success is not Final, Failure is Not Fatal
Review: Sir Winston Churchill once stated: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts." This adage is the constant theme running through the personal accounts of 60 contributors to a book entitled GREAT FAILURES OF THE EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL: MISTAKES, ADVERSITY, FAILURE AND OTHER STEPPINGSTONES TO SUCCESS authored by Steve Young. Young's narrators cover a broad spectrum of well-known as well as lesser-known personalities. Each recounts candidly their personal experiences where they were able to stand up to adversity. Young divides the book into ten chapters each of which is prefaced with a quotation. Within these chapters Young endeavours to situate the appropriate narrative that would most aptly suit the intent of the quotation. For example, the first chapter's theme is based upon the assertion of Albert Einstein: In the Middle of difficulty lies opportunity To illustrate the author presents Nanette Fabray's narrative as to how she overcame her hearing handicap. Chapter four's preface is a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: Men succeed when they realize that their failures are the preparations for their victories It is within this context where we learn how Tony Curtis did not permit anti-Semitism and his lack of a formal education stand in the way in preventing him from learning six languages, and becoming a painter, actor, writer and poet. Chapter seven's words of wisdom is a quote from Violeta Parra, Don't cry when the sun is gone, because the tears won't let you see the stars Here we learn about Sonny Hill who was a legend in the old professional Eastern Basketball League and one of the first African-American announcers for the National Basketball Association. How Hill overcame the ugliness of racism and how as he states "although it was hurtful, I found that this gave me the tools to deal with life. I learned something from those bad times by evaluating what was really happening." One of the shortcomings of this book is that it overwhelms the reader with too many contributors. The author has fallen into the trap of saturation. No doubt, he has done a great deal of research and some of the stories are worthy of recounting. However, would have not the book been more effective if the author had provided 30 well developed narratives rather than 60 bite size anecdotes? It is important that an author knows when to stop. Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures
Rating:
Summary: Success is not Final, Failure is Not Fatal
Review: Sir Winston Churchill once stated: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts." This adage is the constant theme running through the personal accounts of 60 contributors to a book entitled GREAT FAILURES OF THE EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL: MISTAKES, ADVERSITY, FAILURE AND OTHER STEPPINGSTONES TO SUCCESS authored by Steve Young. Young's narrators cover a broad spectrum of well-known as well as lesser-known personalities. Each recounts candidly their personal experiences where they were able to stand up to adversity. Young divides the book into ten chapters each of which is prefaced with a quotation. Within these chapters Young endeavours to situate the appropriate narrative that would most aptly suit the intent of the quotation. For example, the first chapter's theme is based upon the assertion of Albert Einstein: In the Middle of difficulty lies opportunity To illustrate the author presents Nanette Fabray's narrative as to how she overcame her hearing handicap. Chapter four's preface is a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: Men succeed when they realize that their failures are the preparations for their victories It is within this context where we learn how Tony Curtis did not permit anti-Semitism and his lack of a formal education stand in the way in preventing him from learning six languages, and becoming a painter, actor, writer and poet. Chapter seven's words of wisdom is a quote from Violeta Parra, Don't cry when the sun is gone, because the tears won't let you see the stars Here we learn about Sonny Hill who was a legend in the old professional Eastern Basketball League and one of the first African-American announcers for the National Basketball Association. How Hill overcame the ugliness of racism and how as he states "although it was hurtful, I found that this gave me the tools to deal with life. I learned something from those bad times by evaluating what was really happening." One of the shortcomings of this book is that it overwhelms the reader with too many contributors. The author has fallen into the trap of saturation. No doubt, he has done a great deal of research and some of the stories are worthy of recounting. However, would have not the book been more effective if the author had provided 30 well developed narratives rather than 60 bite size anecdotes? It is important that an author knows when to stop. Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures
Rating:
Summary: A Grandmother AND Librarian
Review: Talk about getting the message. It is almost as I've just received the magic pill for success, and who would have ever guessed it would be found smack dab in the middle of failure. I've now become this book's chief public relations person; for my students, my children, my grandchldren and most important, myself. Like all great messages, I wish I would have learned this one a long time before, but that won't stop me from passing it on. Thank you, Steve Young, for the gift. If you were my son I would kiss you.
Rating:
Summary: Great Failures of the Extremely Successful
Review: This is a realistic book that the "average Joe/Josephine" can relate to. After being turned off by many "new age" books whose philosophies seemed impossible to live up to, I read one chapter of this book and knew that the author, Steve Young, was a real person, someone just like me; not a fraud, not a guru, just a fellow human being who has amazingly turned failure into a "plus". I found that concept so odd, so creative, that I had to read on. For all you cynics out there, for all you content people, for absolulety anyone from anywhere who's experienced anything or everything, you'll finally read something fresh, something new.
Definitely an easy read for the thinking person! Loved it!
Rating:
Summary: An Inspiration
Review: This is an inspirational book about turning "I can't" into "I will." The philosophy of the book is that our mistakes are necessary for growth. We don't learn from being perfect; we learn from our failures. If we persevere, we can succeed.
It consists of sixty contributions from people (many in entertainment and sports) who have overcome adversity and achieved success. Some faced external adversity; others had handicaps they had to overcome. The contributors are impressively honest about their problems, such as bed-wetting, school failure, poor decisions, stuttering and alcoholism, and how they managed to overcome them.
On many pages there are inspirational quotes. There are also predictions of failure which history has proven shockingly wrong. Almost every invention that is now a fixture in our lives - radio, TV, telephone - was originally thought to be impossible or useless. Failure was even predicted for the Beatles!
The pieces read like the spoken word, not the written word. They are heartfelt and represent the wisdom of people who have struggled and persevered. They are truly inspirational.
| 
