7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE SET IS SUPERB ! IT'S A TRUE GIFT !, October 15, 2005
This review is from: 7 Motivational Greats Audiobooks W. As a Man Thinketh, Acres of Diamonds, the Majesty of Calmness Etc (Audio CD)
THEY NEED MORE THAN 5 STARS FOR THIS ONE !
The content of these audiobooks is superb, the music and effects in them are right on, and most of the narration is also very good: although some of it is unusual. There are 4 full-length audiobooks and 3 short ones.
I had heard of As a Man Thinketh and decided to get it. I saw this package that included Acres of Diamonds and 5 others and figured for only a couple of $ more than just As a Man Thinketh if any one of the additional titles was good I couldn't lose.
SHORT REVIEW I like them all very much but, I also have played most of these titles for my friends and every one liked them and most wanted to borrow them or asked where I bought them. I think that tells you all you really need to know, but if you want the details read on.
THE BIG REVIEW
What an awesome surprise THIS SET WAS MUCH MORE THAN I EXPECTED.I COULD NOT STOP LISTENING TO THESE. I PLAYED THEM ALL STRAIGHT THROUGH.
I listened to As a Man Thinketh first. It was all it is supposed to be. Then I listened to As a Man Thinketh 2, then Acres of Diamonds. Every one kept getting better crescendoing in The Majesty of Calmness which is incredible and much needed in our world. The surprise is as good as As a Man Thinketh was most of the others are better and you don't hear much about them. I suggest listening to As a Man Thinketh first. It lays the foundation for the others.
All of the titles are very good and fit together well as a set.
As a Man Thinketh stresses how thought leads to action and how to turn those actions into concrete changes in your life. It is narrated very serenely with classical music. It puts you at ease and into a very receptive and retentive state for the information.
They set also has a modernized version of As a Man Thinketh ( As a Man Thinketh 2 ) that I enjoyed a lot also. It was quite a contrast from the classical, relaxed, and serious original As a Man Thinketh. These two audiobooks cover the basics of changing your mind and life to succeed.
They both cover pretty much the same material - but As a Man Thinketh 2 goes more in-depth and summarizes the information making it simpler and more idiot proof. The description says that As a Man Thinketh 2 is more comprehensible and actable than the original. I think that is true, but it is not as simple and relaxing as the original. The newer one is more detailed. It is also may be better suited for those who are younger, and those who enjoy humor, but not for very serious people without humor. As a Man Thinketh 2 is not as poetic and as meditative as the original. It, unlike the original version, includes women equally in it which I appreciated.
Also the narrator is very energetic, humorous, and there are different characters in it. The music is new age compared to classical for the original. So if you enjoy being entertained while you learn this one is for you. One of my friends, a mother of 3 teenagers, who bought a set for her kids to listen to said that the As a Man Thinketh 2 was better than the original. Her kids understood it and liked the faster pace. Apparently the older more formal English, classical music, and more poetic and relaxed tone of the original was not as good for them.
Personally, I like lively audiobooks like As a Man Thinketh 2, and there are not many of them done like this. The information on audiobooks is usually good but some of them put you to sleep. NONE OF THESE AUDIOBOOKS ARE BORING OR PUT YOU TO SLEEP ESPECIALLY THIS ONE., but some might think it to be too much at times.
If you want straightforward, monotone, relaxing audiobook reading As a Man Thinketh 2 is not for you, but I really think overall it is better than the original version. It is easier to understand, more modern, clearer, and more detailed. Although both versions of the As a Man Thinketh are good.
I suggest if you want a more peaceful and meditative experience listen to the original.
If you want humor, energy, and lightness, go with the As a Man Thinketh 2 or better yet use and enjoy them both as I did. Between the two the powerful ideas of James Allen are very clear.
I next listened to Acres of Diamonds by Russell Conwell. This audiobook mostly talks about taking action here and now where you are. It covers basic but often overlooked common sense truths about succeeding in your working relationships and in business. Things that made me tap my head and think what an idiot I was to not realize that. I think it is the best audiobook of all of them for business and success. It gives you specific things to do that anyone can do any where and at any time.
The narrator is pretty balanced on Acres of Diamonds being straightforward and entertaining with some humor in it but not as much as in the As a Man Thinketh 2. The music was a kind of gospel style.
The short feature on the disk tells the story of Mr. Conwell and his work and how Acres of Diamonds made many people and towns successful
Having never heard about The Majesty of Calmness and thinking the title to be probably boring I did not expect much. I WAS VERY WRONG. This turned out to be the one I enjoyed the most. I LOVE EVERY ASPECT OF THIS AUDIOBOOK AND PLAY AND REPLAY IT CONSTANTLY. The material is absolutely incredible and every word of it is true and useful.
The author William George Jordan lived about 100 years ago and wrote some other books (including one other that the same company has on their "Transformational Greats" that I also bought (The Kingship of Self-Control and several other James Allen Audiobooks and a Zen book) and found incredible also (but that is a future review).
The music of the Majesty of Calmness is a kind of new age. IT IS SO INSPRING AND YET CALMING AT THE SAME TIME (how can that be?) I listen to it to go to sleep, or relax, sometimes on Sundays, when I'm having a tough day, and when I need strength and inspiration.
The narrator on this one is perfect. Every audiobook in the set comes across very different- kind of matching the tone of the author. This one is very calming and inspiring SIMPLY SUPERB !
The three short titles included "When a Man Comes to Himself" by Woodrow Wilson (yes President Wilson) which is good (but not incredible). It mostly advocates finding and serving others - kind of socialist in tone. I found it interesting not only for the content but unexpectedly to get into the mindset of a politician which you can pickup between the lines.
Another title, my favorite of the shorts, was The Sayings of Confucius which was a really slick audiobook. I kind of got a snap shot of Confucius' time (about 2500 years ago) and a overview of his philosophy and sayings. This was short, sweet, and VERY INTERSTING.
The last short audiobook was The Work of Russell Conwell which, although not greatly entertaining, was very valuable in proving the concepts of Acres of Diamonds in practice.
THIS IS WELL PUT TOGETHER SET AND I AGREE THEY ARE MOTIVATIONAL GREATS.
After listening to this set I feel that audiobooks are much better than reading for titles like these (inspirational and motivational). This is especially true for sets like this that you will want to listen to again and again just pop them in when you have time. The narrator comes across like a trusted friend, not stiff and formal, and the music and sound effects really put you in the mood.
The things that I was not thrilled with in the set are that all the CDs are packed in one case. I would have preferred an individual one for each. Also the titling on the faces of the CD are pretty bland, but when you consider the price of the whole set you really can't complain.
GET THIS SET. YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
VERY GOOD, DIFFERENT, IMAGINATIVE - but can take some getting used to, December 18, 2005
This review is from: 7 Motivational Greats Audiobooks W. As a Man Thinketh, Acres of Diamonds, the Majesty of Calmness Etc (Audio CD)
Ha, Ha, Ha some of these are very funny. I almost split my sides. I really enjoyed them. It's the first audiobook that I got a lot out of and really enjoyed it at the same time.
I have never written a review before, but these audiobooks are so outstanding that I really want to let people know about them and share them.
I think most people buy audiobooks for information.
To date all the audiobooks that I have bought have been straightforward so much so that
they sometimes become monotonous and boring. Even if the material is good when it keeps droning on its like my little niece playing her 1 piano note song with my retreat from the area ( turning the CD off ) or the accompanying headache following shortly thereafter.
Some of these audiobooks are very different: they are not only informative, but entertaining as well. Every audio book is narrated differently.
The As a Man Thinketh and Majesty of Calmness are pretty calm and straightforward with nice music breaks and little intensity peaks to clarify the important points.
All in all these two are mostly conventional and I do not think anyone can fault either of these for the material, narration style, music, etc. They are both quite good in themselves. I especially liked the Majesty of Calmness and use it regularly now.
The Acres of Diamonds and As a Man Thinketh 2 are much more entertaining and not always straightforward.
The Acres of Diamonds has little stories in it. The stories are of an Arab diamond seeker and an Arab guide, a professor of mineralogy who thinks he's smart, 49 ers (gold rush seekers), and others. When they come to the stories the narrator makes a character, and sometimes does it for the audience members that Dr. Conwell speaks about. I found it to be very cute and enjoyed them. This book was originally a lecture (not a book) so it makes perfect sense to make the audiobook the way they did. When most people tell stories they usually speak a little differently or emulate the people they are talking about. Dr. Conwell was a Baptist preacher and they use Gospel music in it. I found myself getting up and swinging to the music every so often. With this audiobook I got the information, entertainment, and a little exercise.
The As a Man Thinketh 2 annoyed me for a bit. If I had stopped it there I might have given it a bad review. It seemed silly, and loud, but I stuck it out because the information was good. By the end of it the audiobook I not only I liked it, but now realize that this company has taken audiobooks to another level.
When I now listen to other audiobooks they seem very flat, plain, and boring just words being "mouthed" by a "professional," monotonous, usually calm and stuffy narrator.
If anyone does not like these audiobooks I think it may be because some people simply dislike the obnoxious professor (or perhaps they are PhD's themselves of the type in audiobook and it hits too close to home) and judge the audiobooks poorly for that before they really give them all a chance. Not realizing the obnoxious professor is making a point at a deeper level than mere words. I believe the obnoxious character is actually illustrating some of the points in the material in a clever way.
That audiobook is not only informational, it's funny, and entertaining, but it is at first challenging and very different. It has a variety of characters including a stuffy, egomaniac professor, a "woman" who sounds "sexy" an example of "vice" not virtue,
a happy go lucky East Indian Professor "Dr. Swami Vivipunda", an Aussie (sounds like the Crocodile Hunter - I loved his enthusiasm - it made me feel like a happy kid again - so innocent), Tex and others.
These audiobooks use style, tone, and context, and types of characters that you sometimes come across in real life to make the material even stronger and more potent - they don't "mouth" them. If they were simply mouthed you could not laugh so hard or be so aggravated at times. The As a Man Thinketh challenges you. If you take the emotional response and listen to the material you will have a powerful "lesson." that is easy to remember. It did for me, I have become much more humble and recognized some less than ideal traits in myself thanks to the arrogant professor, and I now eat less and am more in control of myself thanks to "Melinda Melendez" the vice like character. I got the point.
I mostly agree with the other reviewers who liked them.
If you are uptight, take offense easily, don't have much humor, are very "logical" or a professor, or do not like ethnic people you may not enjoy two of these audiobooks but,
I suggest you buy this set and try them all anyway. Even if you hate the style that they use on the Acres of Diamonds and As a Man Thinketh 2 you will still have two very good audiobooks As a Man Thinketh and The Majesty of Calmness that are pretty normal and well worth the price of the set by themselves. If you find that you have acquired a taste for the other two wilder audiobooks then you will have a complete set for different needs, moods and times. You may find that the "weird" stuff grows on you. I would recommend these to my mother, my niece, and my friends. I believe in them, and they did make a difference in my life as my waist, and now humbler dealings with people prove to me.
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