Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership Nixon to Clinton

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David Gergen is probably the only person to have served at high levels in both the Reagan and Clinton White Houses--not to mention his posts in the Nixon and Ford administrations. He's a consummate Washington insider, a man who appears regularly as a centrist political commentator on PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and works as editor at large for U.S. News & World Report. Eyewitness to Power, his first book, draws upon this unique experience. It's part memoir, part political history, part portrait of White House culture, but it's mostly a meditation on what it takes to be a great political leader. Gergen focuses on the four presidents he has known best--Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton--and offers pointed assessments of each. He calls Reagan "the best leader in the White House since Franklin Roosevelt," and says Clinton "is one of the smartest men ever elected president and has done some of the dumbest things." Gergen does not hesitate to offer harsh criticism: Nixon was hateful, Ford was overwhelmed by his predecessor's scandals, Reagan was often detached, and Clinton was not in control of his appetites. Yet there's a reflective admiration for each man.

What makes this volume rise above the mountain of books on leadership (usually written for executives) is its spot-on observations about the way Washington works, drawn from years of experience: "Republicans like hierarchy and order; they're not like Democrats, as I saw later on, who thrive on chaos and creativity"; the Nixon view of Watergate "was the same as the Victorians had of adultery: the sin was not in the doing of it but in getting caught"; "In most institutions, the power of a leader grows over time. A CEO, a university president, the head of a union, acquire stature through the quality of their long-term performance. The presidency is just the opposite: power tends to evaporate quickly."

Gergen concludes by describing the seven leadership qualities a great president must have: personal integrity, a sense of mission, the ability to persuade, the ability to work with other politicians, a strong start after inauguration, skilled advisers, and the ability to inspire. Those traits, of course, will serve people well from all walks of life--and Eyewitness to Power will appeal not just to readers interested in the presidency but to anyone occupying a position of responsibility (or interested in getting there). --John J. Miller

Book Description

Leadership: The Ultimate Guide

Few Americans have observed the ups and downs of presidential leadership more closely over the past thirty years -- from Nixon to Clinton and Watergate to Whitewater -- than David Gergen. A White House adviser to four presidents, both Republican and Democrat, he offers a vivid, behind-the-scenes account of their struggles to exercise power and draws from them key lessons for leaders of the future. Taking us inside the administrations of Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton, Gergen reflects on everything from why Nixon was the best global strategist among recent presidents to how the Bill-and-Hillary seesaw rocked the White House during Clinton's tenure as president.

Gergen argues that, as the twenty-first century begins, our success as a country will depend heavily upon the success of a new generation in power. Drawing upon his many experiences in the White House, he offers seven vital elements for future leaders. What they must have, he says, are inner mastery; a central, compelling purpose rooted in moral values; a capacity to persuade; skills in working within the system; a fast start; a strong, effective team; and a passion that inspires others to keep the flame alive.

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Fresh from the political wars, where he served as a White House adviser to Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton, a campaign aide to Bush, and a close-up reporter of Carter, David Gergen assesses the key leadership lessons they offer for coming presidents. None possessed sufficient qualities to achieve the greatness historians reserve for Washington, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt. A great leader must have seven core elements: personal character that inspires trust, a moral vision for the nation's future, the political skills of both a lion and a fox, a capacity to mobilize followers through the modern media, an ability to recover from defeat and face future crises, an ability to attract and listen to wise advisers, and a capacity to bequeath a workable legacy. Gergen has watched these chief executives deal with decision making, with conflicting advice, with their private lives, the task of defining and conveying their goals, and their success or failure at capturing the public's imagination. He nominates a team of all-stars from the past nine presidencies. From this smart and savvy book emerge lessons of leadership that stretch far beyond the White House to political and business suites everywhere.

Customer Reviews:

David Gergen Observes and Explains Presidential Leadership.......2007-08-02

David Gergen provides important insights into leadership. He was worked for several Presidents and has observed what creates successful leaders. He lists his observations by President and concludes the following: Leadership is something one finds internally, it is driven by a compelling goal, it is successful when it persuades others, it requires understanding how the involved process works and how goals may be attained, it often uses an atmosphere of assurance from the beginning, it involving choosing and considering advice form good advisors, and it is able to inspire followers to work toward the goals. These are only a foundation of principles which do not assure success yet should be a guide to expand upon.

The manner in which leadership is used does influence outcomes. A good knowledge of past experiences is valuable yet this knowledge must be used appropriately. The early periods of Presidencies often provide opportunities for achievement yet, simultaneously are also when some of the worst mistakes are made. David Gergen argues the Presidency requires someone who has an excellent knowledge of public affairs as well the proper temperament. He rates Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan as two of the best Presidential leaders.

The book provides many direct insights from someone who worked for Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He tells how Nixon was inspired by DeGaulle to rely upon both intellect and instinct, how Ford was a strong believer in the truth, how Reagan upped the ante in the arms race so the Soviet Union could no longer compete, and how Clinton understood history and established policy victories. This is a good book that uses first hand information and uses it to explain what leadership principles worked and which ones did not.

Some Great Lessons .......2007-06-29

This book has been an eye opener to the strengths of even the most despised Presidents. I learned a lot about the importance of bipartisanship in getting a President's initiatives passed. It also made me realize that the press will not give me the real image of the "Big Guy." Going into an election year we need to realize that all of the slander politics are not as important as learning about the candidates' thoughts and hopes for their and our future. Reading the candidates' autobiography or biography may be a great way to really get an understanding about a person who thinks they have what it takes to run the most powerful country in the world. Look forward to seeing reviews on a few books from our upcoming candidates.

Makes you wonder how great these men might have been.......2006-05-04

Politics is such a contact sport, with the opposing party trying to bring down the President. A house divided cannot stand, yet here in America we no longer rally around the President after the election. The losing party tries to destroy him.

I have always like Gergen and I appreciate his wisdom in this book. Even the most liberal Democrat will find much to admire about Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan if he reads this book with an open mind. Likewise, the most conservative Republican will find many positive traits about Bill Clinton, faults and all.

These men were not perfect and they all had their weaknesses, which their enemies ultimately used against them. But these men all had what it takes to make great Presidents. Sadly, Nixon was forced to resign, Clinton was impeached, and Reagan survived the Iran/Contra scandal.

Today in 2006, we hear that if the Democrats gain control in Congress, they might try to impeach the current President for his failings. Will we ever learn? Can a President ever serve an 8 year term without the threat of impeachment by the other side?

All men have faults and we will never have a President that is perfect. In "Eyewitness to Power" we learn that anyone who becomes President must have leadership skills to be able to rise to this high office. Maybe future leaders can learn from the mistakes of past Presidents. They better because in today's political climate, the other side will be waiting for any misstep.

Excellent Perspectives!.......2005-12-20

Gergen was advisor to four Presidents - Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. His book summarizes those experiences, and then concludes with leadership qualities a President must have.

Gergen started as a Nixon speechwriter. He observes that Nixon used his "out" years (between V.P. and President) for self-development - primarily studying history. Nixon valued a range of opinions, and included leading Democrat Daniel Moynihan as an advisor. Nixon was also generally regarded as having the best strategic view of foreign affairs, even after leaving office. While disliked by civil rights leaders, Nixon almost eliminated all-black schools in the South - dropped from 68% to 8%; also initiated the EPA and volunteer Army.

The bad side was that Nixon was paranoid; experiences with reporters, civil rights leaders, and university presidents scarred him, as well as prior campaign battles. Wiretaps led to dirty tricks, and then the "Plumbers" to investigate Daniel Ellsberg (Pentagon Papers), and finally his undoing - Watergate.

Gergen views Ford as the most decent of today's Presidents, and totally honest. Unfortunately, not being elected, he lacked a mandate. Ford's Nixon pardon hurt his ratings - would have been better if he had prepared people in advance instead of surprising them. His organizational style was a problem at first, with many people reporting directly to him - the result was to take up too much of his time, and several flip-flops as another side came to bear later. Dick Cheney eventually became Chief of Staff. Ford had to work through an inflation problem (dropped from 11 to 5.8% during his years).

Reagan was a "natural," according to Gergen. He pledged a 30% cut in tax rates, less social spending, more defense spending, less government regulations, and a balanced budget. Prior to Inaugeration, his staff studied the first 100 days of prior "freshly elected" Presidents to see what worked best. Fired air traffic controllers when they went on strike; being seen as a "strong President" was the major reason why voters chose him in the following election. Strong points included meeting with people (press, Congress), openness - after Iran-Contra opened document files rather than try cover-up. His "Star Wars" initiative is seen as showing Russia that it could no longer keep up with the U.S. on defense spending, and apparently led to its breakup.

The current President Bush has taken much from Reagan, including his "hero in the balcony" during State of the Union speeches, focusing on tax cuts, reducing social spending, and increasing defense spending, saluting military men, walking (marching) stiffly, calling the Soviets the "Evil Empire" (Bush changed this to "Axis of Evil), and always being dressed up while working.

Bush I wasted his popularity from Gulf War I, according to Gergen. He asked for nothing from Congress (and got it).

"Clinton was one of the smartest Presidents, and did some of the dumbest things" according to Gergen. He had the best knowledge of economic matters, and focused on bringing the deficit down and bringing NAFTA in. Unfortunately, he came into office without a mandate (Arkansas was the only State where he got more than 50% of the vote), and ran behind all but five House members. Much of his vote was simply "anti-Bush." Clinton wasted much transition time dallying in personnel selections (over-focused on diversity), and keeping Carter people out.

Hillary's refusal to turn over Whitewater documents to the press led to Ken Starr as Independent Counsel. Further, Bill vs. Hillary confused staff on other issues. Healthcare reform died because she did not work both liberals and conservatives, refused to compromise, tried to by-pass committees (sandwiched into Budget Bill), and went around the Secretary of Health.

Lessons for Presidents include have 1)a central, compelling purpose, 2)a capacity to persuade, 3)an ability to work within the system, 4)a quick start, and 5)strong, prudent advisors.

A View of Executive Leadership from the Catbird Seat.......2005-10-17

What I like most about Gergen's book, is not just that he worked with four different Presidents but that he has an objective view of each. Each had their strengths and certainly weaknesses but he is fair and objective regarding all four that he served. For example, Gergen has serious admiration for Nixon's strength in foreign policy, his work ethic and organization skills and drive but sadly, Gergen also recognizes that Nixon's personal traits and paranoia led to his self destruction. Ford he recognizes as a good man who tries to break away from the Nixon Chef of Staff model and be the center of the hub only to find himself overwhelmed and disorganized until he succeeds with a competent Chief who greatly assists Ford organizationally. Gergen notes that Ford's failings politically were his pardoning of Nixon too soon and in the wrong manner as well as his slow reaction to his famous Poland gaffe during the Carter debate. Gergen gives great marks for President Reagan due to his strong emotional intelligence and connection with regular folk. Probably due to his own field of communications, Gergen admires Reagan's strength of character beyond any of the other three presidents. In Clinton, Gergen saw an intelligent man who won the Presidency one term too soon. As Gergen sees it, Clinton is a highly intelligent man who really was unprepared to win on the first try, another four years of maturity was in order. Gergen recognizes Clinton's strong ability to communicate and act as a conservative but notes that Clinton's personal responsibility issues damaged his presidency. Gergen had a great perspective of men in power and at the end of the book, he summarizes what he sees as the necessary traits that a good leader must have. Now only if Gergen could go back in the White House one more time...

Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership : Nixon to Clinton

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Very Perceptive
best current event read in a long whle
David Gergen at his best!

Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership : Nixon to Clinton
David Gergen
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Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership Nixon to Clinton

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Very Perceptive.......2005-04-29

Listening to this tape was amazing. Gergen has a way of seeing the character of politicians, the good and the bad. I found his thoughts on Nixon, Ford, Clinton and Reagan very interesting, especially Reagan. By working side by side with Reagan, Gergen learned that real leadership is not just based on intelligence, but on a dream that comes "from within." Although Clinton had the most raw intelligence, Reagan rates higher because he used what he had a lot better. I agree with that. He also makes some interesting observation about Nixon and how he let power go to his head in the final months of his administration, even though he could be a "master of political strategy." After listening to Gergen talk, Jerry Ford sounds like perhaps the nicest president. I also found it interesting when he compared Nixon and Clinton, two immensely talented politicians who succumbed to their demons. It was also interesting when he talked about how Reagan was secure within himself and didn't have to prove anything to anyone, while Clinton was a bit insecure and tended to alienate his staff especially during times of high tension in the West Wing.

I also found it interesting to hear David talk about the leadership qualities he absorbed from the great men he worked for. Great leadership comes from within.

Gergen is truly brilliant, a very good writer and describer of the men who led a country he loves very much.

best current event read in a long whle.......2002-01-15

David is insightful, objective and clear in his articulation. This is an important book, both for its unique insight into the psychology of the Presidency but also how human nature plays a huge part in simply managing pressures of the office. For those interested in current history but consistently mistrustful of the spin control and bi-partisan nature of what the press feed to the public, this will be a gratifying read. Appropriate for students of management, pyschology and the role of the CEO.

David Gergen at his best!.......2001-03-07

What a clear, easy to comprehend recap of some of the most interesting and still challenging times in our recent past.

I would love to give to my friends as gifts, but it doesn't come in CD form only tapes. Will it be available in CDs in the near future?

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This digital document is an article from New Criterion, published by Foundation for Cultural Review on November 1, 2000. The length of the article is 1331 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton.(Review) (book review)
Author: Jonah Goldberg
Publication: New Criterion (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2000
Publisher: Foundation for Cultural Review
Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Page: 74

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Hanging on a String.......2007-03-10

"Hanging on a String" by Janette McCarthy is an exciting romance/mystery novel. I couldn't put it down! It left me desperate to discover the outcome. The murder of several employees at Jasmine Spain's law firm was shocking and left me starving for more! Janette McCarthy does a fantastic job of putting it all together to solve this mystery. A very satisfying read!

Hanging..........2007-02-10

Janette McCarthy's HANGING ON A STRING is more than the typical romance story; the romance is more of a backdrop to this fast-paced, well-written suspense. Jasmine Spain loves her job working at a law firm, but finds her life in jeopardy after a series of killings. The murder of her former boyfriend, who was disliked by many people, starts the chain of killings. Aside from the investigation, Jasmine has to deal with the expectations of her family and living up to their standards. This includes having a suitable man in the picture.

Marcus Claremont is the detective assigned to the case and while he isn't quite the well-to-do man Jasmine's mother has in mind, there is an attraction. He is a good man who works hard and lets this spill over into his interactions with Jasmine. She has feelings, but fights them as she tries to focus on the killings and the connection to her ex-boyfriends death. Marcus doesn't give up easily and turns out to be the one she turns to for help in staying a step ahead of the killer.

HANGING ON A STRING is an enjoyable read which will appeal to not only romance readers, but to those of mystery and suspense novels. Some may be disappointed that the romance is seemingly the backdrop of the story instead of at the forefront, but those who enjoy romantic suspense will be pleased. Janette McCarthy carries the suspense through to the end and did a wonderful job with the dialogue between Jasmine and Marcus. It was my favorite part of the book, followed closely behind by the suspense.

"This amazing story will literally have readers hanging on a string.".......2006-12-20

"Hanging On A String is a well written story that is definitely a page turner. This interesting novel is focused around a murder mystery at a prominent law firm."

"Jasmine Spain is a successful attorney at Bustamante & Johnson Law Firm. She becomes involved in the investigation of a murdered colleague, who happens to be an ex-boyfriend."

"Jasmine and Marcus Claremont, who is a police detective become attracted to each other as they work to solve this mystery."

"Meanwhile, several employees at the firm are murdered. Jasmine and Marcus try to determine if there is a connection to the first victim found dead."

"A career is destroyed, old crimes are revealed and revenge is sought."

"This amazing story will literally have readers hanging on a string."

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DON'T MISS THIS BOOK!
Surviving Multiple Near-death Experiences
Far more than 'just' the story of a struggle against disease

Hanging by a String
Marilyn Gibson
Manufacturer: Writers Club Press
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Inspirational memoir readers will love this fast-paced book about the woman who would be a violinist. Against all odds, she succeeded in beating death three times.

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Inspirational memoir readers will love this fast-paced book about the woman who would be a violinist. Against all odds, she succeeded in beating death three times.

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DON'T MISS THIS BOOK!.......2003-01-22

Wow! This is a life-changing, life-saving book that will help soooo many people! Marilyn's story of overcoming adversity in her courageous battle with lupus is a marvelous example for everyone. She exemplifies how we all can master the mind-body connection. The magic bullet for cure (any cure) exists within us, if we can only acknowledge the role of spirit in healing.

Marilyn's story will grip you from the very beginning. Her expertise in writing captures you through her entire book. It's as though you experience everything along with her--from the beginning to the end and back again. Her darkest nights of the soul embrace dialysis, kidney transplant, near death experiences, recovery, and new disease crises and finally cure through spiritual enlightenment, love and acceptance.

Here are some thought-provoking insights you won't want to miss:
. The most powerful healing force is Love.
. Each individual must take responsibility for his own healing.
. Self-hate, fear and guilt must be released for healing to happen.
. It is our destiny to heal ourselves.
. Our Love and creative works must be allowed to flow outward, unimpeded, or everything turns inward, and we create our own disease.

Don't miss the incredible healing message of this book!

Jean Krueger, Author of "WHY THE WEIGHT? DARE TO BE GREAT!" ISBN#: 0972208607

Surviving Multiple Near-death Experiences.......2001-04-16

"Hanging by a String" offers a poignant rollercoaster ride of human emotions with rare candor and sincerity. It is a true, intimate recollection of one brave woman's battle with a debilitating disease, lupus. Marilyn Gibson's superb book grabs the reader during the introduction and won't let go. From experiments with non-traditional healing methods to multiple near-death experiences, she offers a ringside seat to intimate, painful episodes few people have endured. Her lucid writing style pampers the reader with a thesis of medical, religious, and technical concepts that inform without imposing the rigors of jargon and esotericism.

Gibson believes much about life, including disease, is governed by a lack in our souls. Pain forces us to analyze our actions in quest of the source of our suffering. Diagnosed with lupus erythematosus, she went on a spiritual journey - seeking a cure for a disease that attacked her kidneys and almost took her life. She spent seventeen years trying to cure herself, becoming an expert in the nuances of this and other related diseases.

Viewing music as a transcendent force, this accomplished violinist believes a strong constitution is needed to heal as well as make good music. Physical and emotional stress exacerbates the affects of a disease, leading to a search of the fathomable recesses of her soul for clues that might have triggered it. In the process, she decides if medicine isn't the solution, she will seek answers from a higher power. Triumphantly, her beliefs and commitment move her closer to those answers that may save her life. Her description of the hospital sessions is compelling; the reader can almost feel the pain from the medical devices.

Continuing to perform professionally in spite of the disease, Gibson travels around the nation, as well as abroad - remaining one step ahead of the inevitable. She discovers yoga, becomes a vegetarian; embracing ideals from a new counterculture to open her mind to new healing possibilities. She becomes convinced that lupus can be held at bay if she maintains pure habits. Unlike her mother who suffers with rheumatoid arthritis and believes in doctors and healing through drugs, Marilyn's faith has always been suspect. As her mother becomes progressively more disabled, it reinforces Marilyn's skepticism.

In spite of her quest for solutions, Gibson is diagnosed with life-threatening hemolytic anemia. The prescribed drugs simply delay her destiny. As she lies on a cold table in the emergency room, she feels her life force slipping away: "Suddenly, I found myself in another dimension. A glowing golden tunnel appeared in front of me. Far, far into the tunnel, almost as if at its distant openings, stood a man dressed in a splendid robe. A luminous white light emanated from behind his magnificent form. With a small smile on his barely intelligible features, he beckoned to me gently. There was a transcendent peace about him, yet I sensed incredible power. . . . As I slipped into the tunnel, he pulled me back. . . . I had survived my near-death experience."

After a failed marriage, Gibson finally finds her life's mate. She and husband Tim form a polarity; they are opposites. His pragmatic nature brings her closer to the very world she had wanted to leave. In spite of this new happiness, lupus flare-ups threaten this new security. She soon faces death again when her hemoglobin level registers around four, 36 points below normal. A transfusion is the only thing that can save her life.

Throughout the book, Gibson introduces concepts which, under the circumstances, may be regarded as the actions of a desperate person clinging to life. However, her attitude and candor illustrate that these actions are motivated by strong, often unconventional, beliefs: "My familiarity with Zen Buddhism defied logical explanation. Although I had never studied it, somehow I `knew' the experience of satori. During an experience known as self-regression, I discovered I had been a Japanese man in another lifetime. Another such regression brought images of a former life as a silversmith in Colonial America . . . I knew that each past life was correct."

Gibson later encounters a death-threatening bout with spinal meningitis. Enveloped in an ice suit to control her skyrocketing temperature, she again is barely able to cling to the physical world. "Hallucinations crowded my vision as I floated through a pleasant, ethereal dimension. Returning to reality for a check on my body sent me back up to the stratosphere to escape my physical agony. Hours passed as I slipped in and out of consciousness. . . . As in my previous near-death experiences, it was more difficult to put on the mantle of physicality than to pull it off."

Throughout her ordeal, Gibson retains her innate love for music, and her profession as a concert violinist. "In particularly emotional times, music mingles with life like blood with tears. My violin was like a beautiful lover. I knew every inch of its dark brown varnish and sensual curves as well as I knew my own body. The sides reminded me of an Italian painting, or an ancient map, with snaking lines of age pointing to random destinations."

After spending excruciating, dehumanizing periods on dialysis machines, Gibson receives a gift of life - one that returns her life to normal. Robert, her 71-year-old father, donates one of his kidneys. Prior to the surgery, she makes a decision: "The mind will direct the body successfully if given a chance, but it must be guided to the correct results. My happy result hinges on unswerving faith."

She left the hospital eleven days after the transplant and has experienced no rejection problems. She resumed her music career, playing in such big shows as Shogun, Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon. She also founded and leads a group, the Herrick Trio.

Today, Marilyn Gibson lives a normal life. She resides in New Jersey with her husband Tim Malosh, two parrots, three finches, a shar-pei, a pekingese, and three cats.

Far more than 'just' the story of a struggle against disease.......2001-03-26

"Hanging by a String" is a many-faceted book which details the author's tumultuous life with lupus, from her first medical confirmation of the disease as a teenager through the several times that, were it not for fine doctors and her own spiritual strength and determination to live, the disease "should" have claimed her. I heartily recommend this well-written labor-of-love which Marilyn Gibson was uniquely qualified to pen.

The author makes bluntly clear at the beginning of the book that she does not believe health and disease to be mere circumstances of luck or genes, and is never timid or evasive about her belief in their spiritual and metaphysical origins, and thus in spiritual and metaphysical solutions. Indeed, lest there be any doubt in the reader's mind, the author makes her premise starkly clear in the first two sentences of the Introduction : "I believe that we choose what we need throughout life to address lack in our souls. This includes disease." This proclamation prepares the reader for often unexpected detours in a book that is far more than a history of one person's fight against a devastating and incurable disease.

While few people today would question the profound effect of state-of-mind in one's physical health, many readers (myself among them) will disagree with the extent to which the author attributes non-medical causes, cures, and indeed the very "reasons" for disease. Yet none of her premises were casually formed. In the course of decades of seeking answers to the origins and remedies for her disease, the author explores Buddhism and other transcendental disciplines, while never abandoning the Christianity with which she was raised. Without pre-judgment, every insight which is loving and beneficial is welcomed and assimilated. Not only her present life is scrutinized for clues to her disease, but also those of her parents and grandparents, and even of her own, previous lives.

Some readers may categorically dismiss such non-empirical observations as previous incarnations and spiritual explanations for disease. Even such a seemingly peripheral event as the manner in which she finds an apartment to share in New York City, is given an explanation which may seem mystical to some. I don't doubt her apartment story; yet even if I did, the straight-forward manner in which it is recounted would allow even the most ardent skeptic to accept it as her own history of herself, and to move forward from there. And although I, for one, did not accept as fact some historical paranormal phenomenon which Gibson cites, these details were nonetheless important in illustrating her literal and inner journey. She expresses her beliefs directly and clearly, without pre-judgment and without requiring the reader to concur.

Since the author is a concert violinist, along the way one gets a sense of the enormous love and passion that are prerequisites for any such monumental pursuit, all of which ultimately tie in to her central theme. She expresses beautifully the concept that for her to play the violin is as necessary as for her to breathe. Indeed, one gets a sense that the violin was part of her life-long cure. "My violin ... was like a beautiful lover. I knew every inch of its dark brown varnish and sensual curves as well as I knew my own body. The sides reminded me of an Italian painting, or an ancient map, with snaking lines of age pointing to random destinations."

In fact, in Gibson's book, as in her life, music assumes the role of a life energy unto itself. Readers, such as myself, for whom such a concept is utterly natural will find her story all the more accessible. Those who begin the book believing music to be the mere juxtaposition of aesthetically pleasing sounds will have that much more to learn from it. Just as music is, symbolically, a life unto itself, so is disease. In recounting several rhapsodic images dancing through her mind when near death and under debilitating drugs, the Disease symbolically takes on the guise of a demon, not merely a biological horror.

Perhaps the parts of the book which most affected me were the occasional unexpected phrases which succinctly convey our great fortune to be blessed with life and sharing this Earth. For example, one such jolting phrase comes when she is in the mountains of Aspen, too ill to truly partake of the miraculous splendor about her : "I felt like an alien who had beamed down into paradise." Equally jarring are the author's hospital recollections when near death, before a kidney transplant turned her life around : "In this distorted world, I lurked in the shadows. Here in the murky recesses of my new life underwater, everyone spoke without sound or meaning. The surface, where healthy people lived, was a place where my admission pass had just run out."

Ms. Gibson extols the Western medical tradition which repeatedly saved her life, while questioning whether it in itself may on another level contribute to disease. These opinions are never expressed as a lack of gratitude of Western medicine, but rather in an effort to improve it. And who else better equipped to compose such a chapter? The author struggled for decades against a hideous disease, and skimmed so close to death that the most subtle thought of acceptance on her part would have effected it. She has endured massive, risky surgery, experienced various hospitals and diverse medical systems, and suffered the excruciating, life-numbing side-effects of the medicines needed to cope with the disease. And all through it, she meticulously explored varied religions and philosophies, evaluating how they might benefit people's physical and spiritual health. Combine the author's rare combination of experiences, expertise, and spiritual quest with her obvious intellect and fine writing, and her book should command wide attention.

No book has better reminded me of our incomprehensible fortune of being alive on this wonderland we call Earth, and of the tragedy that any of us might squander it.

Tom Suarez

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Greatest Short Stories, Deliverance, the Outlaw, the Duel, the Hanging At La Piroche, the Gray Nun, the Fete At Coqueville, a Work of Art, the Bit of String, a Scandal in Bohemia, Love and Bread, the Suicide Club (Volume 4,)

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Thread, yarn, strings & things: String designs, wall hangings, decorative containers & more--
Rachael A Chambers
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Weekend chore a bright and booming business: Hanging holiday lights bringing lots of jingle.(Small Biz): An article from: San Diego Business Journal
Lisa Kovach
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Release Date: 2005-08-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from San Diego Business Journal, published by CBJ, L.P. on November 29, 2004. The length of the article is 760 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Weekend chore a bright and booming business: Hanging holiday lights bringing lots of jingle.(Small Biz)
Author: Lisa Kovach
Publication: San Diego Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 29, 2004
Publisher: CBJ, L.P.
Volume: 25 Issue: 48 Page: 6(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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