Books about Passion from Amazon.com

Meet Fred.

In his powerful new book THE FRED FACTOR, motivational speaker Mark Sanborn recounts the true story of Fred, the mail carrier who passionately loves his job and who genuinely cares about the people he serves. Because of that, he is constantly going the extra mile handling the mail – and sometimes watching over the houses – of the people on his route, treating everyone he meets as a friend. Where others might see delivering mail as monotonous drudgery, Fred sees an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those he serves.

We’ve all encountered people like Fred in our lives. In THE FRED FACTOR, Mark Sanborn illuminates the simple steps each of us can take to transform our own lives from the ordinary – into the extraordinary. Sanborn, through stories about Fred and others like him, reveals the four basic principles that will help us bring fresh energy and creativity to our life and work: how to make a real difference everyday, how to become more successful by building strong relationships, how to create real value for others without spending a penny, and how to constantly reinvent yourself.

By following these principles, and by learning from and teaching other “Freds,” you, too, can excel in your career and make your life extraodinary. As Mark Sanborn makes clear, each of us has the potential be a Fred.THE FRED FACTOR shows you how.

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When Bob Anderson first published Stretching in 1980, the fitness movement was new to most Americans The term aerobics had just been coined in 1968, and few people outside bodybuilding circles had heard of Arnold Schwarzenegger yet.

Now, fitness is such old hat that it's even had a backlash or two. Lots of the original ideas have been called into question, including the preeminence of aerobic exercise. But flexibility is bigger than ever; Pilates and yoga are two of the fastest-growing fitness programs in the U.S. in the early 2000s. The type of stretching Anderson recommends--called "static," meaning you sit in one place and hold the stretch for a specified amount of time--isn't exactly trendy, but it remains the most accessible way for entry-level exercisers to improve their flexibility. (Or, perhaps more important, to keep from losing whatever flexibility they have as they get older.)

Those who already have the version of the book that's been put out by Shelter Publications since 1980 won't find a whole lot that's new in this 20th-anniversary version. Some of the simple drawings by Anderson's wife, Jean, have been updated to show athletes in sport-specific outfits doing stretching routines, and there are more routines than before. The new edition includes routines for children, stretches to do in front of the TV, and some exercises to do before and after gardening. Plus, the old staples remain--stretching routines for all muscle groups, and pre- and postplay sequences for common sports (football, baseball, basketball) and a few uncommon ones (equestrian, motocross, rodeo). He's also created routines for sports that barely existed in 1980, such as snowboarding, triathloning, and inline skating.

The constant in Stretching is ease of use. Anderson doesn't need a lot of complex explanations because the drawings are so easy to follow. He makes it clear that stretching should make you feel better, not worse, and that it's not a competition. Any little bit you can do is better than not doing anything. That's a timeless message, which is why his book has been such an valuable reference for the past 20 years. --Lou Schuler.
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This true story about the love between a spiritual mentor and his pupil has soared to the bestseller list for many reasons For starters: it reminds us of the affection and gratitude that many of us still feel for the significant mentors of our past. It also plays out a fantasy many of us have entertained: what would it be like to look those people up again, tell them how much they meant to us, maybe even resume the mentorship? Plus, we meet Morrie Schwartz--a one of a kind professor, whom the author describes as looking like a cross between a biblical prophet and Christmas elf. And finally we are privy to intimate moments of Morrie's final days as he lies dying from a terminal illness. Even on his deathbed, this twinkling-eyed mensch manages to teach us all about living robustly and fully. Kudos to author and acclaimed sports columnist Mitch Albom for telling this universally touching story with such grace and humility. --Gail Hudson.
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Most people slip by in life without a passion for God, spending their lives on trivial diversions, living for comfort and pleasure, and perhaps trying to avoid sin. This book will warn you not to get caught up in a life that counts for nothing. It will challenge you to live and die boasting in the cross of Christ and making the glory of God your singular passion. If you believe that to live is Christ and to die is gain, read this book, learn to live for Christ, and don't waste your life!.
Price: $6.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Imagine The Sopranos, with snakes! The Lizard King is a fascinating account of a father and son family business suspected of smuggling reptiles, and the federal agent who tried to take them down.


When Bryan Christy began to investigate the world of reptile smuggling, he had no idea what he would be in for. In the course of his research, he was bitten between the eyes by a blood python, chased by a mother alligator, and sprayed by a bird-eating tarantula. But perhaps more dangerous was coming face to face with Michael J. Van Nostrand, owner of Strictly Reptiles, a thriving family business in Hollywood, Florida. Van Nostrand imports as many as 300,000 iguanas each year (over half the total of America's most popular imported reptile), as well as hundreds of thousands of snakes, lizards, frogs, spiders, and scorpions.

Van Nostrand was suspected of being a reptile smuggler by Special Agent Chip Bepler of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who devoted years of his life in an obsessive quest to expose The Lizard King's cold-blooded crimes. How this cat-and-mouse game ended is engrossing and surprising..
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In the winter of 1926, when everybody everywhere sees nothing but good things ahead, Joe Trace, middle-aged door-to-door salesman of Cleopatra beauty products, shoots his teenage lover to death. At the funeral, Joe’s wife, Violet, attacks the girl’s corpse. This passionate, profound story of love and obsession brings us back and forth in time, as a narrative is assembled from the emotions, hopes, fears, and deep realities of black urban life..
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Oprah Book Club® Selection, December 1998: A funny thing happens to Novalee Nation on her way to Bakersfield, California. Her ne'er-do-well boyfriend, Willie Jack Pickens, abandons her in an Oklahoma Wal-Mart and takes off on his own, leaving her with just 10 dollars and the clothes on her back. Not that hard luck is anything new to Novalee, who is "seventeen, seven months pregnant, thirty-seven pounds overweight--and superstitious about sevens.... For most people, sevens were lucky. But not for her," Billie Letts writes. "She'd had a bad history with them, starting with her seventh birthday, the day Momma Nell ran away with a baseball umpire named Fred..."

Still, finding herself alone and penniless in Sequoyah, Oklahoma is enough to make even someone as inured to ill fortune as Novalee want to give up and die. Fortunately, the Wal-Mart parking lot is the Sequoyah equivalent of a town square, and within hours Novalee has met three people who will change her life: Sister Thelma Husband, a kindly eccentric; Benny Goodluck, a young Native American boy; and Moses Whitecotton, an elderly African American photographer. For the next two months, Novalee surreptitiously makes her home in the Wal-Mart, sleeping there at night, exploring the town by day. When she goes into labor and delivers her baby there, however, Novalee learns that sometimes it's not so bad to depend on the kindness of strangers--especially if one of them happens to be Sam Walton, the superchain's founder.

Where the Heart Is oddly mixes heart-warming vignettes and surprising, brutal violence. Novalee's story is juxtaposed with occasional chapters chronicling Willy Jack's downward spiral into prison, disappointment, and degradation. And even in Sequoyah, sudden storms, domestic violence, kidnapping, and deadly fires punctuate Novalee's progress from homeless, unwed teen mom to successful, happy member of the community. This is not a subtle book; there's never any doubt that our heroine will make a home for herself and her baby or that Willy Jack will get what he deserves for abandoning them. Still, Billie Letts has created several memorable characters, and there's always room for another novel that celebrates the life-affirming qualities of reading, the importance of education, and the power of love to change lives. --Alix Wilber.
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Winter Ashburn was once the toast of the ton, but now she skirts the margins of high society by stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Her latest mark is none other than Rory Jameson, the rake who dared mistake her for a lady of the evening. Winter has stolen from her fair share of scandalously handsome men in the past . . . so why does her heart beat faster as she approaches his door?

Rory Jameson is a rake, it's true. And he's caught many a thief while on secret missions for the Crown, but none has been this intriguing, this enticing. He will make Winter repay what she took so shamelessly . . . and melt her icy façade with the heat of his wicked touch. But her kiss sets his soul on fire—and now he will never be satisfied until he has made this alluring temptress his own.

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Elisabeth Elliot's story centers around one pivotal question: "Does God want everything?" Her emphatic answer--"Yes"--is what makes Passion and Purity the foremost Christian book on dating ever written. Based on stories, journal entries, and letters chronicling her own five-year courtship with Jim Elliot, she gives frank advice, scriptural directives, and compassionate examples of what it means to follow Christ in the midst of heartache and impatience. The perfect antidote for those who flounder in the thinking that "the Bible doesn't say anything about dating," Elliot's short chapters are filled with nuggets of wisdom that spell out exactly the opposite. "Until the will and the affections are brought under the authority of Christ, we have not begun to understand, let alone accept His lordship. The Cross, as it enters the love live, will reveal the heart's truth." Whether in a dating relationship, married, or pursuing a call to single life, readers will find Elliot's message challenging them to a true faith in a Christ who lovingly calls us to surrender all. --Courtenay Kehn.
Price: $5.79 [Notify me when price goes down.]