Customer Reviews

This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Once in a while an idea comes along that's so simple, so pure, as to demand: why hasn't anyone done this before?

Accomplished freelance producer Jay Allison, of Falmouth, Massachusetts, struck upon reviving an mouldy-but-goldy: assemble articulate people to speak plainly, from the heart, about their deepest convictions.

This is no mean feat speaking from an age of irony, where the best are cowed into silence by the masses of twitch-and-click "comments" that infect our public airwaves and media. To stand before the public in open and naked invocation of the tenets and values nearest and dearest to our hearts is to invite the slings and arrows of a public reared on blithe and thoughtless commentary.

These speakers--celebrities and no-bodies, the ordinary and the extraordinary--toss caution to the wind and speak plainly, clearly. You won't find yourself in agreement with every speaker's values, but you will admire their candor and their willingness to stand in the harsh light. Who's here? The list goes on: Alice of Alice's Restaurant on the value of making it up as you go along; Frank Miller on the value of patriotism; Yasir Billoo on being raised an American; Sgt. Ernesto Haibi on belief in one another and mankind. These voices bear witness to the best we can be. The back of the CD slipcase says this collection belongs to the "Inspiration" section. This is the first time I've ever been un-apologetic about owning such an earnest, inspirational collection in my library.

If you are a fan of the Story Corps project, you'll find a spiritual consonance here. Both projects seek to recover the art of the story and the spoken word.

Would you like to believe? These are the voices of your family. These are the voices of your neighbors. It doesn't get much better than this. I recommend this highly.

Well, anything with NPR on it is usually good as far as I'm concerned, but this is just an amazing collection. I remember a few months back listening to some of these on the radio and being so impressed. I heard mostly the pieces that had been written by noted individuals, but I was impressed with NPR for opening the doors to the average person to share. I think this kind of nationa/world wide group involvement in co-creating something is a product of our current technological age - such as the My Space and You Tube sort of things.

But this collection of CDs is just so impressive. I was astounded to see that there are 5 CDs in the set, and there are many "just average folks" on here. I especially like the first piece on CD #3 about a young woman who is a waitress in a Texas diner. She selflessly helps out a customer and is later rewarded with the knowledge that her simple act may have radically changed someone's life. Her main idea is that you can create peace through one simple act of kindness.

I am on the road almost every weekend, so these have become a staple part of my listening while driving, and when my spouse or friends come along, these CD play an important part of our conversation. I have also started playing one selection a day for my students to discuss in class, and I love the fact that the pieces are short and lend themselves to great conversation. Many, if not all, of the items have topics simple enough to even upper elementary children to listen to and understand, so these could be great family conversation starters.

I just can't say enough good things about this positive and remarkable product, and I look forward to the next set.

This is a terrific collection (5 CD's worth!) of short essays previously played on the NPR series, This I Believe is based on a series that was originally on Edward R. Murrow's radio program. It let individuals explain some of their personal beliefs and philosophies.

It's a diverse collection of 75 essays from people you might know, students, workers, CEO's and waitresses to others who are famous, Robert Fulghum, Tony Hawk and Craig, who started Craig's list!

Most of them are read by the author, which really helps to personalize each essay. Some will make you laugh, some will make you cry, but they will all give you something to think about. Wonderful and highly recommended!

In 1951 Edward R. Murrow wrote: "What truths can a human being afford to furnish the cluttered nervous room of his mind with, when he has no real idea how long a lease he has on the future?" Murrow's original series, "This I Believe," and this follow up series by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman seeks to answer this compelling question, with resounding success.

I obtained this little set, with the hope of entertaining and diverting myself with a few feel-good moments during my long walks with my iPod. I walk eight miles a day, fifty-six miles a week, month in and month out, and listen to a lot of books. I sought entertainment and came away with something much more rare--edification and enlightenment!

A few random thoughts on this collection:

1. This set contains personal essays from seventy-five writers, each of 500 words or less and answering the question, "what do I believe?" While the collection itself is compelling and very moving, it seeks a much deeper objective--to influence the listener to write his or her own essay.

2. I love the fact that each essay is in the writer's own voice, not the voice of some professional reader in a recording studio. There is something about the tone, timbre, accent and cadence of each writer which adds power and conviction to each essay. It is as if the voice itself can steal unawares into the heart, surprising the listener with insights and emotions which go beyond the mere words.

3. I also love the fact that these essays represent people of all walks of life--the famous and the unknown--the eloquent and the homespun.

This is a really neat idea. The editors compiled a vast collection (thousands if I understand correctly) of personal essays about beliefs that shaped the lives of individuals, and recorded the best of them for NPR. The best of those are on this disc.

It's a great idea. Some of these are fascinating, inspiring, and wonderful. Others are insipid and self-centered. To be truly fair, the editors warn the listener in advance that different people will like (or dislike) different cuts. They are honest and they are correct. This package is a testament to the power of the spoken word, the power of narrative itself.

It also is a showcase for the problems of such a format.

A major problem is that there is no real index for this production. There is a list of names of contributors, broken down disc by disc, but nothing more. That makes this a tedious production. While it is easy to listen to this for a few minutes every day, taking several hours to listen to the entirety of the production becomes dull.

The contributors are widely varied, and they deserve to be heard, but the format in which this material is presented works against preserving and highlighting the individuality of the presenters and the uniqueness of their stories.

I listened to these 75 "This I believe" opinions in my car as I made various trips around town over 5 days. 15-20 of the presentations were very good. Most of the remaining ones were better than hearing the songs on the radio one more time, but they were not impressive. I'm glad I bought these CD's, but I did not enjoy them as much as a good movie.

"This I Believe II" is the second offering based upon the NPR Radio series, which in turn is based on the original series by the late Edward R. Murrow. There are 75 "essays" from both famous people and everyday people, many of the latter caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Offered in their own voices, these oral essays provide a glimpse into the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual core of men and women, whose experiences and relationships have shaped them to the persons they are today.

The common theme running throughout the 5-CD collection is the uniqueness of the individual soul. There are celebrities, craftsmen, poets, scholars, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, and children of all ages. There are achievers, addicts, persons in pain and suffering, those who have learned from their mistakes and those who continue to struggle with their demons.

These voices remind us of the diversity of the human heart and the gift of human relationship. THIS I BELIEVE is a worthy companion on any journey.

This is the second NPR issue of "This I Believe". I've been listening to NPR's "Most E-mailed Stories" podcasts for a couple of years now and every Monday they include a "This I Believe" essay. I've always felt that generally speaking the stuff NPR puts out is of exceptional quality and this CD demonstrates that. You're not going to like every essay on this CD but I do think every essay will get you thinking/philosophizing about yourself and life predicaments that you have faced or are likely to face.

Another bravo to NPR.

I am a solid fan of NPR radio (they are associated with the production of this compilation), and for years I've enjoyed hearing the 3-4 minute spots similar to the essays in these CDs, as part of their daily programming. So I thought I would enjoy these CDs, but I found that too much of a good thing is indeed too much. The essays are basically back-to-back with a short introduction to the next speaker in between, and this creates run-on that can be mind-numbing after a while.

Whereas the essays are certainly inspiring and interesting, I believe that a slightly longer and more definite break between each would be a better format. This would allow the listener to more fully absorb what was just heard without the editor's next intro and the following speaker interrupting that process. Maybe more music cues? Also somewhat confusing was when the editor commented on the previous speaker, and then went right into the intro for the next speaker -- there was a lag a few times for me in knowing which speaker he was talking about.

I gave the compilation 4 stars simply because of the format -- I would give the content a strong 5 stars.

I have enjoyed listening to the series, "This I Believe" by NPR for several years now. I have always found it very interesting and thought provoking, so I was very excited to receive the CD compilation of essays.

Although very enjoyable, I quickly realized that this was a difficult format. After a very long and unnecessary introduction, (anyone who would buy the CD would already be familiar with the series) the essays come in rapid fire succession. There is no time to absorb what one person says before the next essay comes. You must be quick to stop the CD player if you want time to mull over what you just heard. I think that is why the radio series is so enjoyable. You have plenty of time to think about and absorb what the person has said.

Having said that, the quality and content of the recordings are obviously good as expected. It's just best taken in "small doses".

Also, you can visit the website, /www.thisibelieve.org/ and read many other essays, or write your own and submit it!