James Patterson is the world’s most prodigious author with over THREE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FIVE-MILLION-BOOKS-SOLD WORLDWIDE! I used to read his so-called “beach-reads” one after another… but a number of years ago… I will charitably say… I outgrew them and gave them up cold-turkey. But I tried some of his non-fiction work (such as “WALK IN MY COMBAT BOOTS” which totally consumed my emotions tied to my personal experience… my review of that book is still the highest rated review out of over 5,000 reviews posted!) and enjoyed them. So… based on those experiences I purchased this book.
Patterson’s life story is delivered to the reader… not in what I would call chapters… but what would be much more accurately described as “snippets”. The “snippets are approximately 1-4 pages in length. The dissertations are quick (as he said they would be… in a brief preamble by the author) and effectively hit the bull’s-eye of varied human emotions. Some make you laugh… some brings a mist to your eyes… some are simply educational on many fronts… some hit multiple targets.
From his early days in Newburgh, New York… he covers his childhood and unflinching descriptions… frailties… positives and negatives of his family… and Catholic School… and a burst of athletic pride over half-a-century later. And treating the reader like a friend or acquaintance… swears it’s true. Wanting your imaginary “wink-wink” acknowledgement of authenticity… before he spurts forward to the next biographical “snippet”. His almost lifelong love of writing… is pretty amazing… if you correctly clear your head of the accomplishments he’s world famous for now. The blind dedicated dream he kept alive while working totally unrelated jobs. It’s almost shocking what he accomplished in the “BIG-LEAGUE-MAD-MEN-ADVERTISING-WORLD-JUNGLE” at heavyweight ad agency J. Walter Thompson. While handling high pressure high dollar accounts such as Burger King (during the height of the “BURGER WARS”) and Ford Motor Company. Despite the stress and hours during those times… he had the self-imposed discipline… and an eye still on his ultimate dream of writing… and would write before work… during some skipped lunches… and in the middle of the night. The normal weak human frailty… that I admit I have at times and millions of other people have… though they may not admit it… is some form of jealousy… or believing it was “luck” when you view super-super-successful people like James Patterson… but that is no longer the case with me… because I now know he absolutely earned every ounce of success he has. He literally refused to ever let his lifelong dream die. And though ultra-successful in the game of true **MAD-MEN**… he refused to stop juggling his dream while he survived and flourished day to day!
Embedded within the biographical story telling are some great zinging intelligent one -liners. Such as when a mental patient at a mental hospital knocked himself unconscious by running full speed into protective glass… Patterson stated: “HE LEFT US FOR A MOMENT THERE, BLACKED OUT, MAYBE GONE TO HEAVEN FOR A SNEAK PREVIEW.” And sharing some inside industry acronyms regarding Ford: “FORD STOOD FOR “FOUND ON ROAD DEAD”… OR “FIX OR REPAIR DAILY.”
He can also make your heart ache when telling about one of the two great loves in his life Jane who died at thirty-nine years old from a brain tumor. As I am an extremely blessed nineteen-year brain tumor survivor… this powerful “snippet” didn’t hit me… it engulfed me.
Many times throughout this entertaining and educational book… Patterson utilizes the literary version of the way George Burns used to talk directly through the TV to the viewers with a wink of his eye… like it was you and him buddy! And that’s what the author does throughout. He also throws in some self-deprecating humor… and isn’t timid in hinting that you buy other products of his. Besides tidbits from the “Burger Wars”… and Ford frolics.. you’ll get an insider’s look at what it’s like to go on book tours… along with this bit of info former President Clinton told Jim when they toured together… “THE ATTENTION SPAN OF HUMANS IS EIGHT SECONDS… THE ATTENTION SPAN OF BUTTERFLIES IS NINE SECONDS.”
Well… I guess that’s why this book is written in short eight second snippets… I HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY FOR THIS BOOK… BUT THE AVERAGE BUTTERFLY DOESN’T!
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Flip to back Flip to front
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
| Price | New from | Used from |
|
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
$0.00
| Free with your Audible trial | |
|
Mass Market Paperback
"Please retry" |
—
| — | — |
|
Audio CD, CD, Unabridged
"Please retry" | $24.72 | $19.99 |
Great on Kindle
Great Experience. Great Value.
Putting our best book forward
Each Great on Kindle book offers a great reading experience, at a better value than print to keep your wallet happy.
Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip.
View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look.
Enjoy features only possible in digital – start reading right away, carry your library with you, adjust the font, create shareable notes and highlights, and more.
Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration.
Get the free Kindle app: 
Enjoy a great reading experience when you buy the Kindle edition of this book.
Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.
Frequently bought together
- +
- +
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Popular Highlights in this book
From what I’ve seen, the problem is folks who believe their view of the world is the right one, the only one, and everybody else’s is flat-out stupid.Highlighted by 128 Kindle readers- When I write, I pretend there’s someone sitting across from me—and I don’t want that person to get up until I’m finished with the story.Highlighted by 120 Kindle readers
- One thing that I’ve learned and taken to heart about writing books or even delivering a good speech is to tell stories. Story after story after story.Highlighted by 77 Kindle readers
From the brand
Read more from James Patterson
From the Publisher
Videos
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
Videos for this product
1:41
Click to play video
Review of James PAtterson by James Patterson/Worth a read?
Marie Dubuque
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Pages of book were not aligned. This to me looked like a reject instead of first release. By looks not worth almost 18 dollars. Hope the short stories are better than it looks Almost looks like a second hand book.third picture is the book I am reading now just provided for comparision.
Images in this review
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 8, 2022
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 3, 2023
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 6, 2023
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 22, 2022
Top reviews from other countries
S P HOLCROFT
Entertaining, snappy, conversational style you'd expect from JP
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 6, 2022Mandy White (mandylovestoread)
This is a must read for fans of the great man's books
Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on June 5, 2022
Dr. Tim Parker
The not-quite-a-bio bio is an interesting read
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on July 27, 2022
