Body for Life–12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength by Bill Phillips and Michael D’Orse

I doubt that I’ve ever read a book that was more a complete advertisement than this one, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good. I believe that this book represents one of the simplest and most complete programs for physical development on the market. Bill Phillips is the onetime owner of EAS Supplements. In addition to this book, for years he has published popular workout magazines touting his EAS program and “Body for Life Challenge.”

The challenge is simple–12 weeks to follow the Body for Life program and turn your body into a magnificent specimen of physical beauty. The photos accompanying the book indicate that the program works. Not only do people as old as 60 develop washboard abs, but women turn into models and even the wheelchair bound shed pounds of fat and gain muscle.

Body for Life details specific workout routines and specific eating plans that are actually very reasonable. One of the greatest benefits is the 1 day a week “cheat” day–where you get to break from the diet and eat whatever you want in order to keep your body from going into “fast” mode. Phillips/D’Orso cover all the latest fads, supplements and vitamins, too.  The workout program consists of alternate days of aerobic and weight training. One wonderful aspect is that the aerobic plan is only 20 minutes and the weight training plan is only 45 minutes. Phillips argues against spending all day in a gym–his point being that doing such would doom most people to failure. So armed with a paper and pen to track your progress, you hit the gym with a goal and purpose and 20-45 minutes later, you’re done.Twelve weeks later, you’re magnificent.

Along the way you’ll be encouraged to purchase tons of EAS products. The products work, but it makes the program more expensive than using alternative whole foods. However, the convenience offered by the supplments often make it easier to stay on track–for instance, eating a shake three times a day is a lot simpler than figuring out three meals to prepare. And using appetite suppressants helps keep you on track as well. It is strongly recommended that you check with your doctor before starting on Body for Life.

What are the drawbacks?  Well, Phillips does recommend waking by 6am and exercising first thing in the morning. He also suggest you eat every 3 hours–roughly six times a day. Finally, in order to do the exercises Body for Life suggests, you will need either a full weight gym membership, or a full weight set at your home or office. This is not a program that works with body weight or floor exercises alone. This book is written for the thousands of people who have gym memberships but can’t afford a personal trainer or have no idea what to do in a gym besides the tredmill. If you have access to a gym or weight set, give the Body for Life program a try. If not, you may want to steer clear as there will be little of the program you could follow without weights. *****(Five Stars)

“I Followed My Bliss to Bankruptcy—What I Wish I Knew Before I Moved to Hollywood” by T.R. Locke

T.R. Locke presents a vulnerable and humorous honesty that is rare. With all the talk these days that following one’s bliss is the key to happiness, Locke takes and spins the concept on its head revealing how there’s more to getting to that happiness than many expect. Yet, he manages to do that while holding fast to the idea that following that bliss is still the key to a fulfilling life.

The book is divided in three parts. The first is autobiographical. Locke takes a couple chapters to detail how the events of his life lead him to having dreams of becoming a Hollywood screenwriter. His success in other fields did little to quell a sense of pointlessness in his life. He decided to take a chance on his dreams. Once in Hollywood, success seemed to come fairly easily. But what appeared to be an open door turned out to be the entrance to a series of mazes that wound round for years. During that time, Locke learned the lessons he calls “WIKs” for things as he puts it, “I Wish I Knew.”

It is in these WIKs that Locke’s humor shines brightest. Right from start WIK #1 declares, “The Competition is a Mother~#$&%!” The insight Locke offers in this chapter is that the world has amazingly talented people populating it and many of the best migrate to Hollywood. Though humorous in its presentation, the insight is poignant and compelling when he compares doing a scene in a movie with Mark Wahlberg to stepping on a basketball with LeBron James. His point is that seekers of dreams in Hollywood had better bring their “A” games and take the work very seriously.

Throughout the rest of these WIKs, the author shares his hilarious and painful experiences with outrageous movie producers and agents. He details the joy of acceptance and pain of rejection of his screenplays, his experiences auditioning, acting, and meeting stars. He even shares one encounter with the president of Brad Pitt’s production company that finally pushed him over the edge and into a pit of despair that almost ruined his marriage. The fact that Locke manages to teach deep, helpful truths on this emotional roller coaster while at times being laugh-out-loud funny is a testament to his skill as a writer.

Locke reserves the final section of this book for interviews with some of Hollywood’s elite. Interestingly, he chooses not to reveal the celebrity’s names in order to gain a more honest insight into their struggle. Hats off to Locke as it would have doubtlessly been more financially and commercially advantageous to himself to fill this book with these celebrities’ names. If there is a flaw, it’s that inquiring minds want to know. However, despite that slight disappointment, the omission seems to achieve the author’s goal—a raw type of honesty from obvious insiders who have had to overcome numerous obstacles on their way to successful careers. The information they share is startlingly more honest than other celebrity interviews I’ve read.

Locke concludes that, despite disappointments and even bankruptcy, the pursuit of dreams is still the key to a satisfying life. This book should be required reading for every performing arts program in the country. Readers will save untold dollars, pains and frustrations by standing on these experts’ shoulders.  It is required reading for anyone looking to learn more about Hollywood before they go (or before they give up on their dreams and leave Hollywood). For those with no Hollywood aspirations, this book satisfies on a literary level and reminds us that dreams of any kind are worth the struggle.

* * * * * (Five Stars)

“The Tipping Point ” by Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell does a decent job of explaining what is behind trends–from Hushpuppies in the Village in New York to the rise and decrease of Crime in the same city, Gladwell argues that what we often believe causes a trend may not be the real reason. The real reason often lies in decisions made by a handful of “Mavens,” “Connectors,” and “Salesmen” whose natural efforts create the right environment for trends to grow.

The point of such a book is obviously to spur discussion among marketers as to the best methods for selling products. The book works in creating a sense of wonder at the complexities of human relationships. For instance, Hushpuppy shoes worn by a group of kids in the Village of New York specifically because they weren’t trendy  (so that those kids may appear different, or rebellious– thus making them cool) caused the shoes to become “cool” and the trend towards everyone wearing the shoes to develop, leading to an explosion in the sale of Hushpuppies.

One can’t help but think of the analogy of a butterfly flapping his wings in the forest, which results in a hurricane elsewhere. The links that must happen to cause that effect are remarkable. So too is the idea that any of these “trends” could be predictable. In essence, if you can figure out who the cool people are and get them to work for you–thus selling out their coolness–you could easily manufacture trends ad-nauseum. But does it work that way?  Whether it does or not, Gladwell weaves a fascinating tapestry that is well worth reading. **** Four Stars.

I’d Rather We’d Got Casinos and Other Black Thoughts by Larry Wilmore

Dissappointed wouldn’t be too hard a word to use in describing my feelings about this book. Larry Wilmore is one of my favorite TV personalities. I’ve always admired his role as The Daily Show’s Senior Black Correspondent. And the fact that he is the emmy-winning creator of the Bernie Mac Show is a testament to his wit and humor. But in this new book, Larry mixes used premises with tired punchlines to create a book that I could swear I’ve read before–only it was funnier then. If there’s a single original joke in this book, it’s escaped me. I halfway expected him resurrect Dick Gregory’s “sandwich” verses “sammich” debate from his “Bible Tales” back in the seventies.

Daily Show host Jon Stewart was being kind when he wrote for the cover, “Without a doubt the finest book of humor ever written by a guy standing behind me right now.” It is exactly the best thing that can be said about this book. But I’ll try one more, The title is clever and the jacket is well designed. I might also offer Mr. Wilmore takes a nice photo.

This is what the book feels like: It feels like he didn’t have his heart in it. I don’t know what else to say. It feels like the publishing company was pressuring him to write something and/or he needed the money, so he wrote. Something. Or rewrote. “Jesus is black because…” I really expected more–especially for $24.

Even if the book lacked wit or originality, I would hope that it would at least offer some type of insight into the social zietgist. Nah. Nada. Larry sounds like he wants to be a black Republican, but he lacks the arrogant conviction. He wants to be funny, but he lacks the “ha.” I have this sense he doesn’t want to be here. And I suggest you oblige him. **(Two Stars)

The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging

Aha! Just what we need, right? I guess so. That is one thing that fame can bring you–the right to comment on whatever you want. Who would know better than Huffington Post? Not many. Here is a book by the number one blog on the Internet about blogging.

The book offers insights into blogging from how to get started to how to participate in the blogosphere. But don’t let the cover fool you–it showcases famous celebrities from entertainment and politics as contributors to the book. Those contributions amount to little more than short blurbs–the equivalent of a comment on a blog in some cases. That was slightly irritating. I am a huge fan of Larry David. When I saw his name on the cover, I thought I was in for delightful distraction. But Larry David’s contribution to this book is merely six shorts lines–as is Al Franken’s.  Bill Maher’s  is thirteen and Steve Martin’s is eight. Only Steve Martin’s name was not included on the cover as “Also Featuring.”  So there’s a little hype here.

There are no real blogging secrets revealed in this book. Everything about blogging in it could be gleaned from any blog site (WordPress, etc) on the web. In fact, the success of The Huffington Post is most completely related to the Rolodex and relationships of Arianna Huffington–both decidedly non-tech and non-duplicatable. So Huff Posts greatest secrets–such as how to get Barack Obama to blog on your site–remain locked away in Arianna’s Brentwood manse.

What the book does very well is discuss the power of blogging by discussing the evolution of Huffington Post in some detail. It gives a fairly decent argument for the citizen journalist and suggest that anyone can do it. I don’t know if that’s sage advice or not, but if everyone follows the rules laid down herein, the blogosphere will be a much more coherent place. Overall,  it does make a good reference book. ****(Four Stars)

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell again unleashes a book that, if it does nothing else, makes you think about a subject you might have never thought to think about. Although Gladwell uses the term “thin slicing” to describe the phenomenon of knowing something without knowing it, it would seem the word “intuition” might be more common–or “hunch.”

Gladwell argues that there is a way to know deeper truth about a thing from an instant glance sometimes than to fully analyze it. In one example concerning a statue purchased by the Getty Museum in Los Angeles for $10M, scientists and archaeologists studied the statue thoroughly to verify its authenticity.  The museum made the purchase, then another expert on these particular statues took one look and determined it was a fake. Other experts followed.  Later it was indeed proven to be a fake. It was aged artificially using milk of all things.  When asked how they determined it was fake, the experts sited negative feelings, hunches, something too perfect, etc. Gladwell uses instance after instance of such feelings to illumine the human mind’s capacity to make snap judgments that are truer than those developed after long consideration.

Problem one Gladwell addresses: prejudice. The snap judgments that are the backbone of racism and injustice in much of our world. He uses the fatal police shooting of Amadou Diallo in New York as an example of such “thin slice” thinking gone awry. Gladwell does a decent job of warning against the possibility of misusing these more base mental powers.

Problem two, however, Gladwell misses. He says nothing to us at all about how to perfect these abilities or train them or how to determine if they can be trusted at all. Rather he simply illumines that they exist and that we humans use them all the time. Well, isn’t that wonderfully trivial?    “Humans have this ability to know without knowing. Here are examples…”

“And?”

“And… nothing. I just thought you should know.”  That’s the feeling I’m left with at the end of the book. Perhaps because he writes for the New Yorker, Gladwell is used to such open ended topics as great fodder for dinner conversations. Perhaps these stories are written for the day you land on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” Or perhaps Gladwell just wants to make us think–or maybe not think so much–as it could be that he is arguing for less thought and more knowing without thinking.  I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Usually jumping to conclusions before you know something is negative. Blink is basically an argument that sometimes people jump to conclusions and they are right. No doubt everyone thinks they’re right at the time they jump. If Gladwell isn’t going to help us train this capacity, we might do better to keep thinking first.  ***(Three Stars)