Customer Reviews

Thick Face, Black Heart: Thriving and Succeeding in Everyday Life and Work Using the Ancient Wisdom of the East

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The concepts presented are mostly Taoist/Buddhist. I feel that it's worth going to the source (eg reading Tao Te Ching) rather than reading a commentary (ie this book) of a commentary (the Thick Black theory).

Anyway, the book has some notable problems:

- Lack of framework. Everything seems to be randomly bundled together.

- Poor english. Maybe this is why it sells well because people think that it's more authentic to Eastern philosophy.

However, the positives are:

- Excellent ideas, which of course are derived from Eastern philosophy.

- Some examples and application of the ideas which are useful in illustrating the principles.

Overall, it contains some interesting aggregation of various Eastern schools of thought with some examples. Unfortunately, the examples are sometimes lame and the book is too long considering what it has to say. Poor english and lack of framework would probably be the cause. I'd recommend reading other books directly o Eastern philosophy instead.

Granted, no single book will suit every taste. So it is not surprising that some readers criticize this one. It takes on a gargantuan task: seeking to explain something of the Asian way of thinking to Western folks. Yet with China soon to be the number 1 trading partner for MANY world nations, this is an explanation we all need.

Meanwhile, suffice it to say that, like another reader reviewer here, I also have read the book multiple times (and the two of us are clearly not alone in this)! Thick Face, Black Heart is a masterpiece of contradictions. Yes, it's a book for business people--yet it's deeply and satisfyingly philosophical. Yes, it's "theoretical"--yet it's filled with fascinating illustrative anecdotes, enlivened by the voice of a natural storyteller. Yes, it's serious, cerebral, and complex--yet it's a bona fide page-turner!

Even if you feel you've had enough of motivational books, you may want to give one last look at this one. It's a serious cut above.

Doni Tamblyn is author of Laugh and Learn: 95 Ways to Use Humor for More Effective Teaching and Training and The Big Book of Humorous Training Games (Big Book of Business Games Series)

Dear Amazon,

I have not received this book yet, please advice me accordingly. Purchased on 09/23/2011

Best regards,
Paul Chia

The book is a list of lists. Basically whatever the author had lying around was thrown in.

Some of the "ancient stories" which the author are uses are largely fabricated. The Liu Bang/Xiang Yu story in particular bears no relation to actual historical events beyond the names of the participants. A fictional story in support of the author's points masquerading as actual history.

Author has a bad tendency to wax lyrical.

The claim on the cover of "International Bestseller" is probably wishful thinking. Amazon sales rank is a better indicator of popularity than dubious unverifiable claims from publishers.

I just finished reading this book a few weeks ago. I think this book is really good and especially for busy people they can just read the summary points at the end of every chapter. I have only one thing to say this book really opens my eyes. I am starting to read Machiavelli's The Prince and I can say that Thick Face, Black Heart is the Asian version of The Prince.