Outliers: a book review

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(This is an excerpt of the book review I wrote for our managerial communication subject last semester)

Written by Malcolm Gladwell (author of Tipping Point and Blink), Outliers book narrates the inspiring stories of some of the world billionaires we have known, their fascinating saga to extraordinary success and how ordinary people should learn lessons from the circumstances of their lives. The book presents how the influence of the environment, upbringing and generation contribute massively to the fate of an individual.

Outliers, according to the author, refer to the unusual or remarkable circumstances of the lives of the people “where normal rules did not apply…it refers to men and women "who do things that are out of the ordinary”, people who have been given---and lucky enough to be surrounded---by opportunities, people who make good use of their passion, skills and talent in order to achieve what they are aiming in life.

The book introduces the readers to the remarkable circumstances that impelled Silicon Valley titans and Bill Gates to fame and immense wealth. Silicon Valley titans include the late Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems (the company that devised java programming now part of Oracle corporation), William Hewlitt and David Packard, founders of HP. They operated their business empires around the region called "Silicon Valley" (its actual location is in the Southern part of the San Francisco Bay area) where world billionaires had traditionally built their enormous wealth. Silicon Valley was named after the "Silicon chip" because most of the world's high tech businesses are found in this region. Practically, the region earned that name because it was here that the social roots of the information technology revolution had started in 1970s. Aside from Jobs, Hewlitt/Packard and Joy, other high tech titans who had established their companies there are Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook and Lawrence Ellison (currently, the 6th richest man in the world), founder of Oracle.

The opportunities given to them were vast, they did not rise to greatness because of their intellect alone, but they did it through spending time honing their skills, acquiring experience, possessing a unique enthusiasm to work harder on their goals, passionate enough to pursue what they wanted in life plus the influence they got from the environment they belonged. Success and achievement therefore have something to do with the environment we currently lived, understanding the trend and needs of the generation we presently belong and having the passion to do the things we love doing. For instance, the fate of computer geniuses like Bill Gates, Bill Joy (the original author of vi text editor), Steve Jobs, and Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft), and their talents were intensified with the kind of environment they were born---1950s, and when they were approaching their adulthood life, computer revolution was also unfolding, thus, having enormous opportunity to explore the skill and talent they already have.

In a world where society plays a major part in every person’s survival, success sometimes depends on what is necessary in the environment, society therefore influences the way we perceive life and the way we live and strive. For instance the tech wizards: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckeberg, both college drop-out but founded companies that would later left astonishing marks in the people's consciousness through out human history due to its world-changing concepts and innovations, all because these world billionaires had seized the opportunities their generation had given (Jobs and Gates for computer revolution and Zuckerberg for Social Networking revolution).

Gladwell pointed out the influence that we must remember through the 10,000 house-rule, based on a study conducted by Anders Ericsson, here, the author emphasized “vastness and magnitude do not simply happen, it requires huge time and opportunity to achieve what we are looking”. The 10,000 house-rule refers to the time, period and circumstances that individual must endure in order to gain enough experience into the field they would be joining. Success sometimes depends not only on our roots, culture and influences alone but on how time would help us improve and develop our skills and talents, thus, more than 10,000 hours of spending on what we love doing will help a lot.

The book also emphasized that even if we’ve got all the talent and intellect in this world, without having given an opportunity to explore what we already have, without the support of the society we are living and without taking any initiative or without enough passion and hardwork, we will end up nothing, take for example the case of Chris Langan, who touted to be the smartest person in the world today and believed to have an IQ more than that of Albert Einstein, but life and circumstances deprived him with the kind of opportunities that would bring him to where he should be, so he ended up nothing.

Gladwell also illustrated how IQ and success are interrelated, but it doesn’t mean that people who have higher IQ are smarter than those who have an average IQ level. This concept also leads to the belief that not all college graduates are smarter than those who did not earn a diploma, remember that most of the world billionaires and computer geniuses like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg did not even finish college.

The true-to-life stories presented in Outliers book are immensely wonderful. It provides thought-provoking lessons and realizations that there’s an interconnection between culture, environment, success, joy and achievement in our fate. It’s not merely destiny or bad luck that undermines our chances to be successful or live in comfort, sometimes it is the product of effort, passion and opportunity. There are important connections of the decade and generation we were born and raised, the trend of that generation, the social position of our family and our roots, the relationships between intellect and perseverance, success and triumph, opportunities and chances and our determination and enthusiasm to pursue a certain goal. It is very difficult indeed to build a certain goal away from what the present world is asking.

People’s mindset has something to do with success too, if we are too focus on failures and weaknesses, if we refused to move on with our lives after misfortunes, like that of Chris Langan, chances are, fate would never cooperate to the kind of life we always wanted. We should constantly look around for opportunities and explore different possibilities of maximizing its advantages. It is also a must to discover  the needs of the present world  so that we can fit our life’s goal on it.

In order for us to become “Outliers”, we should do extraordinary things beyond imagination or beyond expectations, we should think differently because the world is changing, like Steve Jobs, we should try to  be "crazy" enough to think that what we can do can drastically change the world or the environment we are living, we should try to be visionaries in our own right. We may not be the next Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates or Warren Buffet or Bill Joy, but at least we can significantly contribute or influence on what our surrounding should be looked like in the next ten years.

Life itself is no magic. There are times that we are very passionate in doing things we suppose to do or things we believe could bring us to greatness but sometimes circumstances refused to cooperate, but having a burning passion to try again and avoid those things that won’t work would surely bring us to where we should be no matter how long it takes. Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs were world's greatest examples that embodied the spirit of this old adage: "failure, more than success, is the beginning of wisdom and greatness". Our fate, depends on ourselves how we view life and how we would spend every hour working on that dream. Then and only then, we would become "Outliers".

Outliers available at Amazon.com at a lower price!Just click the image above to see the details

This book is a must-read, the text and thoughts were presented in a simplest form. You don't need to scratch your head or scramble to look for a dictionary to understand the complicated words. The author is brilliant enough to write a book that can be easily understood by everyone, the great lessons presented were amazing, very comprehensible since the people mentioned and their stories were popular. This is one of the best motivational books in the market today. Read it for yourself.

Panti Experience

This is a book, in case you will wonder..hehehe

While looking for books published by the Summit Media (because I want to check the format of their short stories as I am planning to send a query for my short stories collection) at the national bookstore, my attention was caught by one intriguing book in the "HUMOR" section, with a very amusing title.

 So I picked one. The book has a naughty title "Panti Experience" with four girly undies clipped in the nylon (hahaha!), so I thought maybe this book talks about naughty stuff especially those delicate "personal belongings" of girls...haha! little did I know the surname of the author is indeed--Panti...Jay Panti....ngorkkk!

I was super amused with this very intriguing book that I  started reading the introduction...and my God!A tiny chuckle came out from my mouth...yaaaay! So I flipped several pages and gosh, I could not control myself from laughing so I decided to buy one to continue reading at home.

The moment I arrived in my bedroom, I ripped the cellophane right away and started reading the content and while still at the introduction my laughter started tearing the stillness of the environment of my bedroom. My God!This book is very hilarious with lots of humor, anecdotes, little "green" topics and the author's unique ability to create a typical Filipino naughtiness.hehehe!

In case you are wondering why this book is super hilarious, well, the author presented the topic in a very simple approach, about life, about romance, about adventure and misadventure and other "pambobola" thing--Filipino style. This book has a very simple format which everybody can relate. Ideal for young adults who love "pakwela" effect.

A unique book to make us laugh and be amused and momentarily forget other concerns. For people who want to get out temporarily from clutters in life and just want to relax and laugh and hang around. This book is for you.

And to give you an overview, here are some of the highlights.

Page 9: A Short Survey about my High School Life
"Umpisahan ko muna ang book na ito sa pagsagot sa isang napakawalang kwentang survey na di ko alam kung sino ang gumawa...Dahil sa wala na akong magawa sa Friendster(hahaha of course we know this SN site is now..dead) ay nakatuwaan kong sagutin ang isa sa mga surveys dun na ewan ko ba kung bakit pinagtiyagaan ko din naman sagutin"

"Inaaway mo ba yung guard sa gate?..Lage ka bang nale-late?Active ka ba sa klase?Mababa ba IQ mo?Hina-harass mo ba ang mga teachers mo?Gumagawa ka ba ng assignments o copy lang?"

Page 22 "Ahemmm...more on Melanie"
"So eto na ang inaabangan na mga kwentong ewan ko, hehehe!"

Page 44 Ahemmm...si Tina na naman...
"Eto ang kwentong ikakagulat ng lahat, kumbaga sa pelikula eh parang ito yung nagulat ka na lang at namatay yung bida sa ending..parang Panday...Darna..lahat merong pagbabalik..at ito na nga..."

I finished reading the book in less than 40 minutes...hahaha!Well for a change and to have a breather from the rigid routine and other serious books in my collection.

You will be intrigued more with the content of this book when you read the cover "warning: this book does not make sense"...lol!

But trust me, you will end up rolling in laughter while reading this book..hehehehe!

The Smart Quiz

This is a unique quiz book for all ages!

What makes this book different from other available quiz books in the market is the platform itself.

When I started writing the format of this book some years back (two years exactly), I was thinking of making it more like a reference book. So I carefully selected each category based on its relevance and usefulness to proper learning. I always thought that people would be more satisfied if they will be presented a clear answer key.

The answer to each question is accompanied with detailed explanation and vivid description which, hopefully, can provide additional knowledge/learning  to the readers. I was attempting an ambitious purpose of treating this quiz book more like a reference material  so I made sure the presentation of the answers will be explained in details.

This book is divided into nine interesting categories:

Beauty and Fashion
         Twenty questions about some fashion icons, controversies on beauty pageants, celebrities and
         glamorous personalities. You will know here who was the fashion icon dubbed by Coco Chanel as "the master  
         of  us all" and the Miss Universe winner dismissively called by Donald Trump (American billionaire and owner of Miss Universe organization since 1996) as an "eating machine"

Famous Wars
         Here, the questions vary from the Hundred Years of War, War of the Roses, World War I and II and
         the Thirty Years war. When was the famous defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte occurred? The
         war which made Florence Nightingale an international icon and the last soldier to be killed during
         World War I just one minute before the ceasefire was announced and why he was killed.
      
European Queen Consorts
        Instead of preparing the questions in a traditional ask-it format, I prepared each question
        in a first-person form so that the readers could feel like they are directly talking to the Queen Consort.
        For example "I am the eldest daughter of a Greek monarch, I married a Spanish Prince who was 
        not born to be a King, but when the monarchy restored, his father unexpectedly gave way in
        favour of him making me a Queen Consort in 1975, who am I?"

General Information
        This category features different topics from disease, food, US Presidents, politicians, world billionaires  
        and many more. Here, you will know the reason why US potential presidentiable, Edward Kennedy,
        youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy, was embroiled in a scandal that ruined his reputation.
        And the French specialty "Beurre Blanc".

Geography and Landmarks
        This is one of the most exciting sections of this book because I prepared the questions in a tour-guide
        format, as if you are taking or participating in an actual world tour, like this one "We then take a scenic drive to a  German speaking town of Switzerland, here we have a chance to visit the Lion Monument and Chapel Bridge along its beautiful lake, then shop for watches and chocolates before taking a cable car to go to Mount Pilatus for a spectacular Alpine view. Which Swiss city is this?

Literature
        Famous poets, classic books, movie quotes and personal stories of famous writers are included here.
        You will find here the book of Jane Austen which seemed like a duplicate of her real life. And the story
        of Dracula, was he real or simply a fiction?

Monarchy

       Important informations on monarchy around the world plus a controversy on Cleopatra's marriages. The

       King who united Spain, and the only monarch in the world which also served as his country's Prime

       Minister.

Religion 
       Trivia on some important chapters in the Holy Bible, the Catholic faith and other Christian
       denominations, Hinduism and Islam and the full official titles of the Roman Pontiff.

Science and Technology
       This section talks about the private lives of some famous scientists, discoveries and inventions and the
       controversial excommunication and house arrest of Galileo Galili. The former job of Albert Einstein and
       why Michael Faraday was not knighted by a British monarch.

You will discover more unique trivia inside the book. You can now place your order HERE

The Other Queen

Written by Philippa Gregory, The Other Queen is a historical fiction book about the doomed Scottish Queen, Mary and her life under house arrest in various castles in England at the instigation of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, who viewed Mary as dangerous and a real threat to her throne.

For amusement and entertainment, this book had served its purpose but for someone like me who is into historical research about European royalty, this book sounds a bit absurd and puzzling. I don't know, maybe the trouble lays on the way it was written and presented.

Miss Gregory presented the book based on each principal character's point of view, so it often jumped from one thought/situation to another, unable to distinguish who is telling the truth and where the story should be picked up. What I did not like about this book is the way it ended. I was expecting the whole thing to be centered hugely on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, after all it is where this book was told but I was surprised when the most important aspect of history on how the Queen was tried, sentenced and beheaded were deliberately excluded and only narrated the circumstances where George Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsburry, who was the custodian of the Scottish Queen for 19 years, silently wept as the sword slash the neck of Queen Mary. It was simple as that with no further twist.

The Other Queen centered on Bess of Hardwick and her husband, George Talbot and their financial and emotional struggle they experienced while accommodating the house arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots. The book also tries to present a theory that William Cecil, one of the Kingdom's influential advisers, was actually a formidable spy whose main responsibility in life was to protect the reign of Queen Elizabeth I at the expense of other people's freedom. I am not sure exactly if it is part of history or merely fiction, but the book tries to describe Mary as a disgusting human being whose immorality and excesses in life had cost her life and her throne.

The book is slightly disappointing and after reading the whole story, I am still left wondering what really happen to the Queen's trial and the significant events leading to her beheading. Nevertheless, it gave me some idea why the Spanish Armada was defeated.

Take the Risk

Written by Dr. Benjamin Carson, world’s most renowned pediatric neurosurgeon from the prestigious John Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

I read this book in 2009 when my former boss recommended this (and let me borrowed the book) as one of the greatest books he ever read. So I was a little bit curious. I read it in just two days because I couldn't put it down! The content is so inspiring, I could feel the thudding of my heart as if bursting with awe and admiration to the author.

This book relates the true-to-life story how Dr. Carson winded up the battle of insecurities and inferiority deep within him while growing up in a society dominated with "white superiority", he eventually emerged triumphant, armed with his unique intellect and determination to succeed, and became one of the most successful medical practitioners in the world in the field of neurosurgery.

This book offers great lessons in life, that amidst poverty people still has the right to dream big things in life. Dr Carson shared here how his illiterate mother raised him and his brother in a very decent way despite the cruel circumstances of their lives. His mother taught him to discard disappointment and discouragement for him to reach what he wanted in life. He  had numerous sharing here, including the bullying of the people in his surroundings just because he is black and poor.

I learned one of the best lessons he shared, that we should never be afraid to take risk because it is part of the package of success. In his part, he used it as an opportunity to grow, improve himself and discover the wonders of living a beautiful life. As a neurosurgeon, Dr. Carson is not a stranger to death, he had seen it almost everyday, and taking risk to save one’s life is his best option to change the face of death on the operation table. In his life’s career, Dr. Carson already performed the most daring procedures in medical history just to save many hopeless cases. He pioneered the operation of separating congenital twins and fatal seizure attacks.

Dr. Carson was part of the medical team who daringly performed the most dangerous medical procedure in world history---the separation of adult congenital twins, the Bejani twins from Iran. He agreed to be a part on the medical term because the twins, were determined to be separated even if it costs their lives both. The operation, which lasted for 52 hours, was conducted in Singapore and was broadcasted worldwide in 2003. Unfortunately, the two did not come out alive because of massive blood loss but they were successfully separated at the time of their death. Dr. Carson said he was extremely devastated with the result and revealed “it was the kind of pain I would never want to experience again”. After reading the book, I was struck with so much sadness too and kept flipping the pages where the highlight of the operation was explained by Dr. Carson.

This book will teach us how to take a bold risk in order to discover what’s beyond life and fear. I love this book so much that I read it four times before returning it to my boss.

Dr. Ben Carson was awarded by US President George W. Bush in 2008 with Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest accolade of heroism a US president can bestow to a civilian who made an extraordinary contribution in a certain field of specialization.

The White Queen

Written by Philippa Gregory, the author of “The Other Boleyn Girl”

This book centers on the colorful life of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of a cavalry officer who died during the battle of St. Albans at the height of War of the Roses fought by the Houses of Lancaster and York. He left behind two sons, Thomas and Richard who would suffer a terrible fate under the reign of King Richard III.

Elizabeth was a daughter of an English nobleman who sided with the Lancastrian group during War of the Roses, when the Lancastrian King, the mad Henry VI, was imprisoned and murdered and his wife, Queen Margaret, fled to France, The Woodvilles switched loyalty to Yorks to prevent imprisonment. The leader of the Yorks, 22-yeard-old Edward, immediately crowned as King Edward IV. Elizabeth was described in the book as extremely beautiful and attractive, having descended to one of the noted white goddesses of beauty, Melusina, no surprising, she would soon attract the attention of the young King, breaking the unwritten rule of royal traditions of marrying a foreign Princess to form a political alliance.

She eventually married the King secretly which shocked the Kingdom, Edward's courtiers, especially Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick was infuriated with this breaking of tradition that soon he left the royal court and sided with the Lancasters. For many centuries, the life story of this English Queen Consort, had been the subject of intense scrutiny and research that many historians presented different theories on how she came into prominence at the expense of the Kingdom. Some portrayed her as heroine, others believed she was a villain and a traitor. This book however did not answer any of these doubts and me too find this book slightly disappointing, nevertheless it satisfies my curiosity who was really Elizabeth Woodville.

In medieval time when royalty strictly choose a Queen Consort who is virgin and unblemished, Elizabeth was far from that category. As a non-princess and a widow, she was hardly an appropriate choice to be the wife of a King, all the courtiers, relatives and family of Edward IV despised her. It was clear that soon the plot to eliminate her was inevitable, but the King was so besotted that he did everything he could to protect her.

The Queen, however, suffered a terrible fate after her husband’s death. The treachery of her brother-in-law, Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, made her life intolerable. Because her son, who ascended as King Edward V, was still a minor, the Kingdom was under the regency of the Duke of Gloucester, but his ruthless and selfish character made him turned the table against the Dowager Queen and her family. He ordered the execution of Elizabeth’s brother and sons and persuaded the parliament to declare her marriage to the deceased King null and void, making her children all illegitimate therefore not eligible to succeed. So he ascended the throne as King Richard III and had his nephews, Edward V and his brother, Prince Henry, the Duke of York, imprisoned in the gloomy Tower of London, they were the famous “Princes of the Tower”. The Princes simply “vanished” and presumed dead, Queen Elizabeth and her daughter, Princess Elizabeth, were held prisoners.

I am quite familiar with the history of the British monarchy and was very shocked when Gregory fictionalized the ending of this book. The finale revealed that Prince Henry escaped the cruelty of Richard III. When the King summoned the Prince to be brought to the Tower of London to accompany his brother, Edward V, Queen Elizabeth revealed she had switch him for a young boy and made Richard believed it was Henry, she then sent Henry to France to live secretly and was taken care of by the family she supported. When Richard died in the Battle of Bosworth and the Lancastrian leader became Henry VII, the first of the Tudor monarchs, she sent an aide to France to get back Prince Henry.

But in British history, Prince Henry actually accompanied his brother in the Tower of London and both were killed to eliminate them in the line of succession.

Anyway, this book is only a fiction.

So why the author called her “The White Queen?” It is due to her legendary beauty and of having a water goddess figure as ancestor.

Anne Frank, the Diary of a Young Girl

By now, almost everyone knows the story of Anne Frank, the girl who gave the world a perfect view, through her diary, how's life under the horror of Nazi’s rule.

This book allows us to go back to the gripping period of the notoriety of Hitler and his evil plan to wipe all the Jews in Europe during World War II.

For people who did not know Anne Frank, here’s a little background of her life:

"She was a Jewish girl born at Frankfurt, Germany. She had an older sister, Margot, her father was a rich businessman but in the mid thirties, when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, all was not well in the country’s surroundings, he slowly implemented his anti-Jewish decree. Anne’s father did not wait for further warnings, he quickly brought his family out of Germany and settled in The Netherlands. But the country was invaded in 1940 and Hitler’s decree was fully implemented, soon deportation of Jewish had begun. Elsewhere in the continent, thousands of Jewish had brought to different extermination camps and gassed in multitude.

Otto Frank and his family decided to go into hiding, he was helped by his Dutch loyal friends and business associates and had chosen the back of the warehouse of their business office as a hiding place which later called “the annexe”. They were eight in the hiding place, Otto Frank, his wife, his two daughters (Anne and Margot), one dentist, Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan and their son. It was in this place where Anne started writing her diary. For more than a year, this group remained in the building, their Dutch friends would bring foods and other personal necessities to keep them secure and comfortable. But in August 1944, they were betrayed to Gestapo (Nazi’s secret police) by one informer and were immediately brought to the camp. On the following morning of their arrest, the group was among the last batch of Jews to be carried by a windowless train to Germany, men and women were separated on the flank. Otto Frank and the Vaan Dans (except Mrs. Vaan Dan) where brought to Poland.

According to the account of one witness who survived the holocaust, Mrs. Frank died five months later but none of her children knew of her death as they were transferred to another extermination camp in Belsen, Germany. Margot died in January 1945 but Anne was not informed of her death she just sensed it on the last week of February when she did not see her sister anymore, by this time she was very ill, few weeks later, she died, exactly two months before the Allied forces liberated Germany. Mr. Van Daan and the Dentist were gassed but Otto Frank survived to be liberated by the advancing troops of the Allies in Poland. Mr. Frank returned to The Netherlands after the war, there, his Dutch friends presented the diary of Anne which they discovered at the warehouse after the Gestapo abandoned the place".

Anne’s diary ended on the night before they were betrayed to the Gestapo, his father intended it to be kept as a memorial for his family, but one college professor urged him to publish it as a stirring account of the suffering of the Jews during the war.

What I love about this book is how Anne described her environment in such a fascinating way despite the sad circumstances, she said we must always look on the brighter side of life, that we are lucky having seen the sunlight each morning, she also said that "despite of everything I still believe people are good at heart". While hiding, she narrated each day how they struggled and endured the terrible condition in the warehouse's attic where they lived like animals.

This book reflects the excitement of Anne for a wonderful life after the war and her hope to see the world in peace again. Though it did not happen, Anne was successful in relaying her voice to every corner of the world through this diary. With an introduction from former US first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, Anne Frank, the diary of a young girl, is one of the most emotional accounts of World War II I ever read.

The Battle of Britain

Written by Matthew Parker, British historian and researcher.

I always adored world history and wars, there's something in it that I find fascinating maybe because I am curious about many things in life including the historical accounts.

This book was sent to me by my friend, Engr. Earlie Doriman, months ago.

This book retells one of the most compelling stories about the terror of World War II, it centers on the significant events that happened between July to October 1940 when Hitler ordered invasion of Britain, through the Operation Sea Lion, after the fall of France.

Belgium surrendered, France was already defeated, the United States was not keen to enter the war and Hitler was on the height of his conquest, everybody believed Great Britain would never sustain the war and would be forced to make peace with Germany, but the inspiring voice of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the courageous spirits of the Royal Air Force pilots and the fantastic skills of the Royal Navy officers, made all those fears disappeared. 

This book tells how Great Britain gave Hitler his first taste of defeat when the operation sea lion, a military tactic devised by the German forces aimed to bring England to its knees and surrender, was not fully carried out.

While reading, I could feel the chilling of my nerves underneath imagining the horror and shock the war brought to the lives of the people. I was impressed with the bravery and endurance of the Royal AirForce pilots, despite less training and combat preparation, they overcome the hurdle of defeating the more experienced and well-trained enemies in the airfield. But I was also saddened with the fate of those dedicated pilots who died fighting the enemies.

I was stunned how circumstances, like weather and skills of the royal navy officers, helped the retreating  British Expeditionary Forces (as France was on the brink of defeat) walking on foot--in the famous operation dynamo, leaving their weapons and equipments in France---to reach Dunkirk beach where they would be carried by the British royal navy war ships back to England.

Both emotional and convulsive, this book contains the real testimonies of the Royal AirForce pilots who survived the terror of war and how they hang on their lives while abandoning their badly damaged aircrafts on air. This book recounts how tactics, leadership and determination to win had saved Britain from Nazi invasion. Such an interesting account of war involving British forces courage and valor.

Confessions of an Impatient Bride

Written by Rissa Singson-Kawpeng with foreword from Bo Sanchez, this book is a compilation of Rissa’s column in Kerygma magazine “Just Breathe”.

This book is a warm testimony of how God designed each destiny carefully. While “waiting” seemed to be the most distressing word to hear when you are over 30 years old, it is an excellent opportunity to ponder hard on fate why God allowed it to happen, understanding thoroughly our mission and purpose in life better.

Each chapter is drizzled with sharp humor and wit of the author to convey clearly the message of God that everything comes with a single purpose. She described the agony of waiting in a fascinating way that one can truly realize why God let us “wait” for so long. Through this book, single ladies will know God's  miracle in presenting His "special gift". God never abandon anyone. And through this book, we've got to believe that somewhere in this world, God prepares a special gift for us and we don’t need to seek it everywhere, it will just come when the time calls it perfect.

This book had helped me realized that rushing into anything in life is always a bad idea and never actually help in the long run. God listens to every prayer we uttered, that He is a loving God who never ignore those who believe in the power of prayers. The author herself waited for more than one decade before God finally showed His special “gift”. This is an inspiring book to all single ladies who seemed impatient to find “the one”.