Customer Reviews

The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your Dreams

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A true inspirational and motivational book. Once I began reading, I found it difficult to put down. A true tribute to how determination, dedication, love, support and a positive attitude can help anyone achieve whatever dreams they desire. Derek Jeter's journey from a childhood dream to the steps and scarifices he took in accomplishing his goal is a life lesson for anyone, whether you're 9 or 99. An intimate look at his family, his thoughts, his fears, his struggles, his triumphs...I found myself laughing, crying and reflecting on my own life as I related his experiences to my own. This book teaches you about Derek Jeter, but mostly, it teaches you about life. A+++++

Derek Jeter is the superstar shortstop for the most well known sports franchise in the world and he reminds us of this on almost every other page. For some reason this does not come across as conceit. Jeter is a truly likeable individual and I think it is great that he has written a book that can serve as an inspiration for teens and young adults. So many of the sports stars out there today are horrific role models for today's youth. Jeter stands on his own as a respectful athlete who has not squandered his immense talent. That being said, while this book is a must read for any sports fan under the age of eighteen I do not believe that adults will feel the same way. I am a Yankee fan so I was able to find enjoyment from Jeter's stories about the great championship seasons of recent years. However, others will probably find the story telling a little too simplistic. If you are looking for a tell all book about his relationship with Maria Carey you will not find it here. If you are looking for a great gift to give to a young aspiring sports fan, this book is perfect.

I could not put this book down. Derek Jeter has become a role model for people of all ages. It's an honest look at his life and how he has become so successful. This book is a touching tribute to his parents and the wonderful job they have done. I would recommend this book to young people and their parents too. Enjoy it.

I bought this book for my son, who devoured it inside of a week. What I like most is the focus on enduring principles, like persistence toward a goal and daring to dream big. In an age when sports stars like Charles Barkley and John Rocker squander opportunities to use their stature to benefit the kids who admire them, Derek Jeter and Jack Curry have created a road map that any kid can follow, whether they want to be a baseball star like Jeter or the premier baseball writer in the business like Curry. My son and I read this book together and had some great discussions about my son's aspirations and how we can work together to help him achieve his dreams. This gets 5 stars from me and 5 from my son Casey.

Derek Jeter is young by most all standards. At 26 years old he has his whole life ahead of him, but the story he has lived so far is incredibly rich in inspiration. As an athlete in the dawning of the 21 st century the way he chooses to live his life in the spotlight is even more commendable considering the alternative routes he could have chosen to go down. Instead of a money hungry, media blasting, bitter ball player, Derek Jeter has become a man we all can admire because of the little boy with a dream that he was... someone we can all identify with. This story solidifies his standing as a great role model for young and old alike. In this book you will see Derek's childhood and his ongoing journey through this life he has imagined. You will find out how deeply his family has grounded him and how wonderful a job they did. This story is great if you want to be inspired by a truly wonderful young man!

That might have been a better title, because it reads a lot Stephen Covey of Franklin/Covey fame. Since reporters have been spoon-feeding us tales of his Jeter-ness since he was a rookie, Yankee fans probably will not learn much that they did not already know. It is nice to have it all in one place, though: the child proclamation that he would be the Yankee shortstop; the uncertain nights in Tampa as a teenage bonus-baby; the dates with Mariah. The story of how his parents and he jointly created the "goals" sheet for each coming year is perfectly retold, and the book includes a picture of the actual document created by Derek and his parents. However, this book is by no means a kiss-and-tell: in one vignette, an aging, unidentified utilityman infielder makes the young, minor-league Jeter pick up balls on the field. Jeter is bummed but compliant, but then the wise Gerald Williams tells his Jeter-ness that he should play it cool, because "that guy is gone" as soon as Derek is ready. A nice story, but come one, who was the villian? Velarde? Fernandez? I do not fault Mr. Jeter for his discretion, but the reader should know this is not Jim Bouton or Sparky Lyle material.

The bulk of the book is devoted to the self-improvement themes ("Set your goals high!", "Have a strong supporting cast!"). The positive message is encouraging, and I thus would recommend this book for middle school students and perhaps other people under 18. I'm older than that (see my reference to Jim Bouton), but since I subscribe to many, if not all, of Derek's theories, I enjoyed it as well. Those who are jaded can pass on this one.

Book review mod 1

Over the summer I read a few books. One of those books was The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your by Derek Jeter. I choose this book because I'm a Yankees fan and love Derek Jeter. This book is a great book for someone who needs a role model. Derek Jeter is an amazing role model he had strait A's growing up. In this book Derek Jeter tells you how he grew up and how hard it was for him and how he never stopped trying to get what he set his goals for. This book is wonderful it shows you how any body can do it. His dream his whole life was to play short stop baseball for the New York Yankees. This book is one of those books that will inspire a person to go out and try harder then every one and get what he set out for. That's how good this book is, your are into baseball and trying hardest any way. This book is written well and will show you how a person who really like really tries his hardest and never gives up and will do what ever he has to, just to get what he sets out for. If there was a rating for this book it would get a 10 out of 10 or 100 out of 100 or 5 stars. That's just my opinion. This book is just like I said be for just one of those books that just makes a person want to do something good in life or achieve a goal or something. In this book Derek Jeter said that he would write all of his goals down and check them of as he achieved them threw out the year. This book is wonderful inspiring and just an all around baseball lovers dream book, if I was to recommend this book to anyone it would defiantly be a YES! This book is one of my favorites and would hope it would be one of yours as well. =]


By Kevin Lunn

Jeter, Derek & Curry, Jack. The Life You Imagine. New York: Scholastic,
2000.279 pages.
This book would have to be the best book that I have read this year of all
the books that we had read. Being a sports fan, this book kept me
interested throughout the whole book. Even though I am a huge Los Angeles
Dodger fan I still have respect for other great teams and their players.
While reading this book I learned the other side of being a sports athlete.
I got to read of all the other famous and unique people they get to meet or
come in contact with. For example, Derek says "I had the time of my life
dating Mariah Carey." I even had the pleasure of finding out how Derek made
it to the major leagues. I was also able to find out Derek child-hood
oppression of one day becoming a major league baseball player. This book
would be great for anyone who is a sports fan. Even if you don't like
sports you will enjoy the many different stories they have to tell.

This book can teach you so much about life. Jeter was so hard-working and dedicated that I thought, why can't i be like that? It inspired me to chase my dreams and work hard

After reading the first couple of pages I knew right away that this book would be a good one. The reason Derek Jeter became so well known is because he started very young knowing what he was going to do in life. Throughout high school and college Derek Jeter was an outstanding athlete and student, but at times he did have those people that said that he couldn't do it and that he couldn't make it to the major leagues. This book would be recommended to those who look at Derek Jeter as an idol and also are athletes. Reading this book could change the way you look at Pro athletes and maybe even inspire you to do better.