This bestselling book reveals the extraordinary life of Dr. Ben Carson--from inner-city kid to renowned neurosurgeon.

Dr. Ben Carson is known around the world for breakthroughs in neurosurgery that have brought hope where no hope existed. In Gifted Hands, he tells of his inspiring odyssey from his childhood in inner-city Detroit to his position as director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions at age thirty-three.

Filled with fascinating case histories, Gifted Hands will transplant you into the operating room to witness surgeries that made headlines around the world, and into the private mind of a compassionate, God-fearing physician who lives to help others. In 1987, Dr. Carson gained worldwide recognition for his part in the first successful separation of Siamese twins joined at the back of the head--an extremely complex and delicate operation that was five months of planning and twenty-two hours of actual surgery, involving a surgical plan that Carson helped initiate.

Gifted Hands reveals a man with humility, decency, compassion, courage, and sensitivity who serves as a role model for anyone who attempts the seemingly impossible.

This book is for you if your life is a series of shattered dreams. This book is for you if you have no dreams at all. It's for you if you've bought the lie that you'll never amount to anything. That's not true. Your life is BIG--far bigger than you've imagined. Inside these pages lie the keys to recognizing the full potential of your life. You won't necessarily become a millionaire (though you might), but you will attain a life that is rewarding, significant, and more fruitful than you ever thought possible.

The author of this book knows about hardship. Ben Carson grew up in inner-city Detroit. His mother was illiterate. His father had left the family. His grade-school classmates considered Ben stupid. He struggled with a violent temper. In every respect, Ben's harsh circumstances seemed only to point to a harsher future and a bad end.

But that's not what happened. By applying the principles in this book, Ben rose from his tough life to one of amazing accomplishments and international renown. He learned that he had potential, he learned how to unleash it, and he did. You can too. Put the principles in this book in motion. Things won't change overnight, but they will change. You can transform your life into one you'll love, bigger than you've ever dreamed.

Dr. Ben Carson is known as the originator of ground-breaking surgical procedures, a doctor who turns impossible hopes into joyous realities. He is also known as a compassionate humanitarian who reaches beyond corporate boardrooms to touch the lives of inner-city kids.

Where does this drive and focus come from? The Big Picture. A vision of something truly worth living for, something that calls forth the best of his amazing talents, energy, and focus.

In The Big Picture, Dr. Carson shares with you the philosophy that has shaped his life, causing him to rise from failure to far-reaching influence.

This book is not about HOW to succeed--it's about WHY to succeed. It's about broadening your perspectives. It's about finding a vision for your own life that can reframe your priorities, energize your efforts, and inspire you to change the world around you.

No risk, pay the cost. Know risk, reap the rewards. In our risk-avoidance culture, we place a high premium on safety. We insure our vacations. We check crash tests on cars. We extend the warranties on our appliances. But by insulating ourselves from the unknown--the risks of life--we miss the great adventure of living our lives to their full potential.

Ben Carson spent his childhood as an at-risk child on the streets of Detroit, and today he takes daily risks in performing complex surgeries on the brain and the spinal cord. Now, offering inspiring personal examples, Dr. Carson invites us to embrace risk in our own lives. From a man whose life dramatically portrays the connection between great risks and greater successes, here are insights that will help you dispel your fear of risk so you can dream big, aim high, move with confidence, and reap rewards you've never imagined.

By avoiding risk, are you also avoiding the full potential of your life?

The surgery was as risky as anything Dr. Ben Carson had seen. The Bijani sisters--conjoined twins--shared part of a skull, brain tissue, and crucial blood flow. One or both of them could die during the operation. But the women wanted separate lives. And they were willing to accept the risk to reach the goal, even against the advice of their doctors. . . . As a child on the dangerous streets of Detroit, and as a surgeon in operating theaters around the world, Dr. Ben Carson has learned all about risk--he faces it on a daily basis. Out of his perilous childhood, a world-class surgeon emerged precisely because of the risks Dr. Carson was willing to take.

In his compelling new book, he examines our safety-at-all-costs culture and the meaning of risk and security in our lives. In our 21st-century world, we insulate ourselves with safety. We insure everything from vacations to cell phones. We go on low-cholesterol diets and buy low-risk mutual funds. But in the end, everyone faces risk, like the Bijani twins did with their brave decision. Even if our choices are not so dramatic or the outcome so heartbreaking, what does it mean if we back away instead of move forward? Have we so muffled our hearts and minds that we fail to reach for all that life can offer us--and all that we can offer life?

Take the Risk guides the reader through an examination of risk, including:

• A short review of risk-taking in history.
• An assessment of the real costs and rewards of risk.
• Learning how to assess and accept risks.
• Understanding how risk reveals the purpose of your lives.

What is America becoming? Or, more importantly, what can she be if we reclaim a vision for the things that made her great in the first place?

In America the Beautiful, Dr. Ben Carson helps us learn from our past in order to chart a better course for our future. From his personal ascent from inner-city poverty to international medical and humanitarian acclaim, Carson shares experiential insights that help us understand:

• what is good about America
• where we have gone astray
• which fundamental beliefs have guided America from her founding into preeminence among nations

Written by a man who has experienced America's best and worst firsthand, America the Beautiful is at once alarming, convicting, and inspiring. You'll gain new perspectives on our nation's origins, our Judeo-Christian heritage, our educational system, capitalism versus socialism, our moral fabric, healthcare, and much more.

An incisive manifesto of the values that shaped America's past and must shape her future, America the Beautiful calls us all to use our God-given talents to improve our lives, our communities, our nation, and our world.

Manos prodigiosas por y acerca de Ben Carson, Doctor en Medicina, es el relato inspirador de un chiquillo de un barrio difícil, con bajas calificaciones y poca motivación, que a los treinta y tres años llegó a ser director de neurocirugía pediátrica del Hospital de la Universidad John Hopkins. Manos prodigiosas lo trasladará a la sala de operaciones para presenciar cirugías que aparecieron en los titulares por todo el mundo, y a la mente privada del médico compasivo y temeroso de Dios que vive para ayudar a otros. En 1987, el Dr. Carson obtuvo un reconocimiento mundial por su participación en la primera separación exitosa de siameses unidos por la parte trasera de su cabeza; una operación en extremo compleja y delicada que llevó cinco meses de planificación y veintidós horas de cirugía, incluyendo un plan quirúrgico que Carson ayudó a iniciar. Manos prodigiosas revela a un hombre humilde, decente, compasivo, valeroso y sensible que sirve como modelo ejemplar para los jóvenes (y todos los demás) que necesitan estímulo para intentar lo que parece imposible y sobresalir en lo que sea que intenten. El Dr. Carson también describe el papel clave que su madre, de gran inteligencia aunque relativamente sin mayor educación, desempeñó en su metamorfosis de un adolescente de gueto y sin motivación a uno de los neurocirujanos más respetados del mundo