The Gift of Fear - Gavin de Becker
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This is not just a book to change lives, this is a book to save lives, quite literally. I have three daughters and this is compulsory reading for all of them. I gave this book to one young lady, a journalist, and she swears it saved her life. De Becker is a security expert and he chillingly describes how we can all use our instincts to protect us from harm. Every female should read this book.
The Summing Up - W. Somerset Maugham
In 1976, from a revolving book stand at Brisbane Airport, I picked up the book that most changed my life. I was 21 years old. The Summing Up hooked me from the first word. It led to a lifetime love of the works of Somerset Maugham. I went on to read all of Maugham's works, many of them many times. Today, I proudly own the world's largest private collection of Maugham books, letters and manuscripts.
On the Good Life - Cicero
As a guide on how to live one's life, it's hard to go past Cicero. His essays on duties are profound and deeply moving. He said if we adopt ''more moral goodness as our guide'' in life, we'll know automatically what our duties should be. He wrote ''to be wise is the most desirable thing in all the world''. Erasmus once said that Cicero's essays on friendship and old age were so beautiful he wanted to kiss the pages.
Serpico - Peter Maas
The story of an honest cop in the corrupt New York Police Department of the 1960s gave me a tremendous respect for honest police officers the world over. Serpico's story made me acutely aware that there are degrees of corruption in many industries, not just in police forces. I admire those who speak out about corruption. I respect people who cannot be bought, whose lives are built on honour and justice.
Hell West and Crooked - Tom Cole
I have always loved the Australian bush. Reading this book made me fall in love with the Northern Territory outback. Tom Cole was a cattleman in the Territory in the 1930s, almost a real-life Crocodile Dundee character. What a great tale he tells. As soon as I finished his book, I wanted to go to the Territory and visit the places he had described. And I did exactly that.
Neil Jenman is a consumer advocate, cattle farmer and author of two best-selling books on real estate. His new book, Success Takes Character, is published by Simon & Schuster, $29.99.