Review/Giveaway: The Butterfly Effect

A WINNING READINGS GIVEAWAY!

Title: The Butterfly Effect:  How Your Life Matters
Author: Andy Andrews
Genre: Self-help/Motivational

How to enter: Leave a comment on THIS post right here! If you're a subscriber or a follower, leave a second comment for a second entry.

Entry deadline: September 25, 2010

Restrictions: Open internationally!

That's right, enter right here for this giveaway.  This is my review copy, so it has been gently read (but not in the bathroom - I promise!).

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Publisher:  Thomas Nelson
Physical Description: 112-page hardcover
List Price: $14.95
ISBN: 9781404187801
For More Info: http://www.andyandrews.com/

Synopsis:

The decisions you make and the way you treat others have more impact than you may ever realize.


Speaker and New York Times best-selling author Andy Andrews shares a compelling and powerful story about a decision one man made over a hundred years ago, and the ripple effect it’s had on us individually, and nationwide, today. It’s a story that will inspire courage and wisdom in the decisions we make, as well as affect the way we treat others through our lifetime. Andrews speaks over 100 times a year, and The Butterfly Effect is his #1 most requested story.

About the Author:

Andy Andrews, hailed by a New York Times writer as someone who has quietly become "one of the most influential people in America,” is a best-selling novelist and in-demand corporate speaker for the world’s largest organizations. The Traveler’s Gift, a featured book selection of ABC’s Good Morning America, has been translated into nearly twenty languages and was on the New York Times bestseller list for seventeen weeks.


Andy has spoken at the request of four different United States presidents and toured military bases around the world, being called upon by the Department of Defense to speak to the troops. Arguably, there is no single person on the planet better at weaving subtle yet life-changing lessons into riveting tales of adventure and intrigue—both on paper and on stage.

What I Liked:  I've loved Andy Andrews' practical motivational style ever since I read The Noticer.  This is more of the good stuff, only in a different package.  It's a coffee-table type book, though short enough that I'd call it a "bathroom book," since it can be skimmed through in a reasonably short amount of time.  Full of beautiful illustrations and graphic design that complement the message, this makes a great gift.
 
In this book, Andrews uses real-life history to bring home his point that every little thing we do matters, and that we can change the world.  I love the history lessons - these are stories I wasn't terribly familiar with - and I very much love the main message.
 
What I Didn't Like:  Nothing!
 
I did find the examples used rather interesting. If you're anti-GMO, you might even be shocked! Perhaps Andrews could have come up with some less politically/emotionally-charged heroes. However, I've lived in third-world countries myself and even written a post or two about my irritation with Americans' hype over the type of plastics used for water when the big worry should be over just getting water to those dying of thirst, etc. So I kind of appreciated Andrews' examples! (I like Norman Borlaug's quote about his critics: "If they lived just one month amid the misery of the developing world, as I have for fifty years, they'd be crying out for tractors and fertilizer and irrigation canals and be outraged that fashionable elitists back home were trying to deny them these things.")
 
This book is definitely a fitting tribute to Norman Borlaug, who passed away a year ago last September 12th at the age of 95.
 
Thanks to Thomas Nelson and the BookSneeze program for the review copy of this book.

Posted by Jane from Mozi Esmé