Beyond Defeat; A Review

This Blog is about one of my very favorite autobiographies “BEYOND DEFEAT-The Johnny Johnson Story.” This is the provocative autobiography of an American patriot who used the weapon of love to conquer hate and live...Beyond Defeat.  Dr. James E Johnson, who was known as “Johnny” was an African American  who joined the Marines during the 2^nd World War where he served 20 plus years and later was Assistant Secretary of the United States Navy.

Johnny fought discrimination with love and forgiveness and some of the stories he tells are so remarkable how that with love and forgiveness barriers were broken down.  Dr J as I often called him during the 20 years or so I had the privilege of knowing him believed that  discrimination was wrong and that the problem needed to be addressed with love—and he did so!

This is an excellent book to read and learn about how one man made a tremendous difference in the United States and around the world in helping to bring understanding and cooperation between people of different races and backgrounds.

In the introduction to this book, Chuck Colson wrote: “Johnny Johnson (is) a patriot, fiercely loyal to his country and his ideals, a remarkably gifted public servant, and a deeply committed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I hope as you travel through the pages of BEYOND DEFEAT you will meet the One who changed Johnny’s life and then mine. If you know Him already, sharing Johnny’s experiences can only bring you closer.”

This very inspirational book is currently out of print- however some stores may still have copies or you may be able to order copies from Amazon or other on line sources.   This book is well worth reading; it’s so good I have read and reread it numerous times.

Little Tyke; A Review

My first Blog posted on March 23 was about a book which was one of the first books I read after beginning my work in the book world.  This 2^nd book is about the first book I remember buying when I was about 6 or 7 years old.  The title of the book is “LITTLE TYKE”—the true story of the gentle lioness who won America’s heart, which was featured in motion pictures, television, and public appearances.

This is an amazing story about a lion cub that was rejected by her mother and Gorges H Westbeau, the curator of the Zoo, brought her home to be raised at he and his wife’s Hidden Valley Ranch.  The couple raised the cub on a vegetarian diet. She was also very gentle with people and animals which are characteristics you would not expect from a lion offspring.

The cub appeared on several television shows, including the Art Baker’s Hollywood show “YOU ASKED FOR IT,” where she appeared in 1955.

Public response to the program showed that she was one of the best liked performers to appear on the show that year.

The cover of the book shows the cub with a lamb, which is a foretaste of heaven and the new earth where all God’s creatures, animals and humans alike will live in peace with each other.

This fascinating book which was originally published in 1956 has been reprinted and is available for purchase at book stores. To order by phone call 1-800-765-6955

I purchased this book during camp meeting where a Book and Bible house was set up for selling books like this but that nearly never happened because I recall finding myself short of money to pay for the book! A doctor who was a friend of our family happened to be in the store and gave me the 25 cents that I needed to purchase the book.

That may seem like not much but it was a lot of money back then.

Indeed, so much so that my mother sternly instructed me when I got back to her that we did not let people give us money but she did not make me give the money back or to return the book to the store.

Little Tykes story is one that can inspire us to live peaceably together on this earth and also to look forward to the new heaven and the new earth where we will always all harmoniously live with each as the little cub did despite all odds.

Life Is Tremendous A Review

For some of you reading this you probably know or have met me before; for those who have not, my name is Paul. I have been in the book publishing industry for more than 45 years and recently retired only to ask myself, what next? Well, what next is starting this blog to share my love of books and knowledge gained in the book publishing industry all these decades.

As my maiden blog, I would like to share my thoughts on a book by Charlie "Tremendous" Jones titled "Life Is Tremendous" which is one of the earliest books I ever read but is still in print.

Charlie has since passed on but I am happy to have a copy of the book he autographed for me which is in part my inspiration to start this blog.

To quote Charlie, "Do you want to be productive, healthy and secure? Enthusiasm makes the difference!" This, in essence, is the theme in Charlie's book.

I love several things he says and another quote I would like to share from this book is; " You will be the same in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read." I highly recommend this very readable book by  Charlie "Tremendous" Jones.