Wisdom From Giants
Contemporary Legends Give Students Advice

Short Description

100 of the world's most prominent achievers share their insights into personal happiness and offer teenagers advice on how to succeed in life. Includes heads of state, sports heroes, captains of industry, professors, politicians, scientists, writers, artists, and others.

Back Cover Blurb

Students often question how the knowledge, skills, and discipline acquired while in school could have any bearing on their futures. Parents may try to make this connection for them but it is not unusual for their words to be discounted. It is very rare, however, for the most successful achievers in the world to take the time to speak to young people about the importance of character development and the secrets to happiness and success in life. The "giants" included in this book have taken the time to reflect back on their school years, the successes and failures, and the handicaps they had to overcome on their way to the top. They have personally penned letters with advice specifically directed to teenagers. Students can now make the connection between the well-known individuals they often hear about and how their journeys to the top actually started while they were in school.

For instance, did you know that Walter Cronkite started his journalism career at his high school's newspaper? Or that Louis Gerstner, former Chairman and CEO of IBM, claims that success in school is directly related to success in the rest of your life. Were you aware that many astronauts were motivated toward a career path by reading science fiction books? Meg Whitman, billionaire and past President and CEO of eBay, says that reading books while in school was integral to expanding her horizons and encouraging her to dream about goals.

WISDOM FROM GIANTS was created for the benefit of high school students and their parents. Over a ten-year-period, Bell-Jeff staff researched and contacted hundreds of candidates to participate in this book. As a result, personally written letters and advice were received from foreign dignitaries, past presidents, sports heroes, famous artists, and some of the greatest thinkers, doers, and humanitarians in the world. We have included 100 of these letters in this edition, along with a portrait, a brief, insightful biography and each person's suggestion for a book that students should read.

WISDOM FROM GIANTS will not only entertain students and their parents but it will reinforce the simple concepts of hard work, discipline, and a healthy mind-set toward school and reading--the very traits that the most successful achievers in the world credit their successes to.