The Self-Help Shelf
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/wbw/jun_18.htm#Self-Help
Awaken the Power Within
Albert Amao Soria
Tarcher/Perigee
c/o Penguin Group, USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014-3657
www.tarcherbooks.com
9780143132592, $16.00, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com
In "Awaken the Power Within: In Defense of Self-Help", sociologist Albert Amao analyzes the accuracy of self-help and positive-thinking claims in this groundbreaking exploration of what works, what doesn't, and why, substantially based upon his own life experience. Born in a poor Latin-American country into a very impoverished family with both parents practically illiterate, he was the oldest of five children and began working at six years of age, shining shoes and selling newspapers to help his family. Unable to finish high school, he nevertheless was able to acquire a diploma by going to night school, which then allowed him to be admitted at the San Marcos University in Lima to obtain a Ph.D. in sociology. All these things were possible in his view because when he was teenager he had access to New Thought" or positive-thinking philosophy. Contrary to the critics who blithely dismiss self-help methods, or the New Age gurus who sell it them as miracles, in the pages of "Awaken the Power Within, Amao writes with sobriety, scholarship, and draws on his personal experience to deftly explore the conditions under which self-help is authentic -- and successful. Accessibly written and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, "Awaken the Power Within" is an inspired and inspiring read from beginning to end. While unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Awaken the Power Within" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Tantor Audio, 9781977356659, $24.99, CD).
Albert Amao Soria
Tarcher/Perigee
c/o Penguin Group, USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014-3657
www.tarcherbooks.com
9780143132592, $16.00, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com
In "Awaken the Power Within: In Defense of Self-Help", sociologist Albert Amao analyzes the accuracy of self-help and positive-thinking claims in this groundbreaking exploration of what works, what doesn't, and why, substantially based upon his own life experience. Born in a poor Latin-American country into a very impoverished family with both parents practically illiterate, he was the oldest of five children and began working at six years of age, shining shoes and selling newspapers to help his family. Unable to finish high school, he nevertheless was able to acquire a diploma by going to night school, which then allowed him to be admitted at the San Marcos University in Lima to obtain a Ph.D. in sociology. All these things were possible in his view because when he was teenager he had access to New Thought" or positive-thinking philosophy. Contrary to the critics who blithely dismiss self-help methods, or the New Age gurus who sell it them as miracles, in the pages of "Awaken the Power Within, Amao writes with sobriety, scholarship, and draws on his personal experience to deftly explore the conditions under which self-help is authentic -- and successful. Accessibly written and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, "Awaken the Power Within" is an inspired and inspiring read from beginning to end. While unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Awaken the Power Within" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Tantor Audio, 9781977356659, $24.99, CD).
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