Thursday, February 25, 2010

Book "A Dangerous Fortune" by Ken Follet

Ken Follet did a magnificent job with this novel showing on his characters many different aspects of human life, like manipulation, greedy, misery, deceiving, murder, political and amorous intrigues, etc., making the book a very entertaining reading.
The plot is set in the late 1800’s and starts with a tragic drowning of a student in an exclusive school named Windfield. A small circle of boys are directly or indirectly involved in the incident, and its aftermath initiates a history that will span three decades. The flow of individual personal fortunes and personalities are very well described and explored by the author and the reader will thoroughly enjoy it, not being able to put the book down till the end.
Main characters are Hugh Pilaster and Maisie Robinson, Joseph, Augusta and Edward Pilaster, Micky Miranda, Ben and Solly Greenbourne, Peter Middleton and Tonio Silva.
My Rate: 5 stars
Pages: 279

Link to buy the book:

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Book "Obstacles Welcome" by Ralph de la Vega

This book was published by By Thomas Nelson on 2009 and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through the Thomas Nelson Book Sneeze Program.
This is the life story of Ralph de la Vega, who, starting with nothing, built his American Dream with hard working and determination. He tell us how he came to America from Cuba and all his struggle in order to succeed in USA. Ralph teaches us the importance of having strong values. He also says which are the pillars of success. According to him, we should look for opportunities everywhere, as every experience is an opportunity to learn and to shine, but nothing comes without sacrifice. His pyramid of principles (Integrity, Credibility, Teamwork, Attitude, Excellence and Vision) is a set of values that are the base for his work. He also mention that you can learn how to be a leader.
I started reading this book thinking it would be a boring biography, but Ralph did a magnificent job on writing about his personal life and experience coming to USA at the age of 10 from Cuba and escalating all the steps to the top of his career as Chief Executive Officer of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. This is a very inspirational book showing that the American Dream can be achieved mostly by anyone who propose to work hard and with strong values. It really teaches you who to turn adversity to advantage in business and life.

Pages: 262
My Rate: 5 stars