Kirjahaku

This book is fantasy, but more importantly it is very funny humor. Our hero, fifteen-year old Eddie Andrews, is an angry, bullied teenager, who struggles constantly with the vagaries of everyday life-family, friends, school, romance. Even living with himself is a struggle. And then along comes Murkles, a wizard with a sense of humor, and Eddie's life changes in ways he never imagined.

This book is fantasy, but more importantly it is very funny humor. Our hero, fifteen-year old Eddie Andrews, is an angry, bullied teenager, who struggles constantly with the vagaries of everyday life-family, friends, school, romance. Even living with himself is a struggle. And then along comes Murkles, a wizard with a sense of humor, and Eddie's life changes in ways he never imagined.

Number one is God. Number 2 is everyone else. Number 3 is you.Daniel said, "How about a prayer first?"Jerry got up, grabbed a blanket, sat down on the couch, and invited me to sit next to him. When prayer was over, I said to him, "Jerry, the thing that is causing you so many problems right now is that you're trying to be number one instead of number three. You want to be noticed, and behaving as you are now doing will get you noticed, but it won't be the attention you want. You want to be noticed with love, and you can only achieve your goal by being number three. It's the law of retaliation. The more love you can share with others, the more you'll receive, and in the end, you will receive much more than you have given.""Really?"I laughed. "Really. In basketball you don't even realize how generous you are; you are totally unselfish. You will pass up an open shot to give your teammates an opportunity from a better position. You don't even think about it; you just do it. Your teammates love and respect you for your thoughtfulness. You are the best shooter on the floor, and they will turn to you when the game is close, but you allow them-no you help them- to become a part of the glory. And even if a player misses an easy layup, you always go over and give him words of encouragement. You are number three on the court, and as a result you're number one in their hearts."

Number one is God. Number 2 is everyone else. Number 3 is you.Daniel said, "How about a prayer first?"Jerry got up, grabbed a blanket, sat down on the couch, and invited me to sit next to him. When prayer was over, I said to him, "Jerry, the thing that is causing you so many problems right now is that you're trying to be number one instead of number three. You want to be noticed, and behaving as you are now doing will get you noticed, but it won't be the attention you want. You want to be noticed with love, and you can only achieve your goal by being number three. It's the law of retaliation. The more love you can share with others, the more you'll receive, and in the end, you will receive much more than you have given.""Really?"I laughed. "Really. In basketball you don't even realize how generous you are; you are totally unselfish. You will pass up an open shot to give your teammates an opportunity from a better position. You don't even think about it; you just do it. Your teammates love and respect you for your thoughtfulness. You are the best shooter on the floor, and they will turn to you when the game is close, but you allow them-no you help them- to become a part of the glory. And even if a player misses an easy layup, you always go over and give him words of encouragement. You are number three on the court, and as a result you're number one in their hearts."

To fight a war you know you cannot win; to accept only the few, small victories along the way, because that is all you can get; to advance boldly into a future, when you have already seen what that devastated future will be; to put one more foot in front of the other, when you feel that you can't go on, and you do it because you believe you can save just one more person-then, my friend, you are a hero.So it is with our young protagonist, Daniel French, and his friends.It is the spring of 1929. The stock market hasn't crashed yet, but in the agrarian South a severe depression has been running rampant since the end of the Great War. In order to view this misery first-hand, Daniel and his friends visit with legendary financier and presidential advisor Bernard Baruch in South Carolina. In this Southern state alone, 647 banks have failed, farms have been foreclosed on, families have been evicted and displaced, and hope has vanished. After this revelatory visit, Daniel is prepared to describe to any audience what the future portends when the economy collapses.People listen to the twelve-year-old Daniel, but they don't want to hear the message. Why should they? The experts say the economy is sound. But Daniel persists, believing that if he convinces only one person every time he speaks, he is at least saving someone from potential financial disaster. Some mock him because of his age and stature. Others attack him verbally and even physically. He makes long-term enemies, and he's over-extended to the point of exhaustion. But when Harvard University invites him to speak, Daniel doesn't feel he can decline...though in addressing some of the greatest minds in America...he'll face his greatest challenges yet.

With the stock market collapse, Daniel's year-long quest to warn people about the imminent crash and its consequences has ended. He has been vindicated for the mockery and scorn that were heaped upon him, but he feels that he has failed because he...

With the stock market collapse, Daniel's year-long quest to warn people about the imminent crash and its consequences has ended. He has been vindicated for the mockery and scorn that were heaped upon him, but he feels that he has failed because he had not convinced more people to leave the market. There is little satisfaction in being right when people have lost their life savings and more. To visit the New York Stock Exchange where hundreds of men are standing silently in the streets, or sitting on the curbs crying, embarrassed, dejected, and dispirited brings Daniel only pain. He receives threatening letters and is physically attacked by those who believe that he has caused the market's collapse and their misfortune. Through his own strong-willed determination and the support of his family of friends, Daniel begins to make the transition from warning people to providing relief for those who have already or soon will become victims of the imminent depression. And yet, Professor Vogel is even more determined to discredit and destroy him.

The 1929 stock market crash has come and gone, and Daniel, much criticized and mocked for his predictions of that event, has been vindicated. Now he wants to go back to the carefree days of being a boy, but it's impossible. When his bank hires a black man as a guard, Daniel stands up against discrimination and bigoted opponents. He rescues and becomes the guardian of three homeless, abused teenagers. This is a story of human struggles at the onset of the Great Depression that will touch your emotions and challenge you to reconsider your perceptions of those conditions that still persist a century later....

The 1929 stock market crash has come and gone, and Daniel, much criticized and mocked for his predictions of that event, has been vindicated. Now he wants to go back to the carefree days of being a boy, but it's impossible. When his bank hires a black man as a guard, Daniel stands up against discrimination and bigoted opponents. He rescues and becomes the guardian of three homeless, abused teenagers. This is a story of human struggles at the onset of the Great Depression that will touch your emotions and challenge you to reconsider your perceptions of those conditions that still persist a century later.

If you have ever belonged to a family, or wished you did, or wished you didn't, you should read this book. Daniel: Family of the Lost is the story of people who were lost in the world in various ways, grew close, and became a family in actuality. How did this happen? Because a family is a compass that guides its members; sometimes well, sometimes poorly. At its best, the family supports and guides its members toward reaching their potential as individuals and as a family. At its worst, it abandons and even drives away its members; meet Kenneth, Jerry, and Chuck, who were homeless teenagers because of abuse and abandonment. This story complete with illustrative anecdotes, shows what people can accomplish and how. It is a story of potential....

If you have ever belonged to a family, or wished you did, or wished you didn't, you should read this book. Daniel: Family of the Lost is the story of people who were lost in the world in various ways, grew close, and became a family in actuality. How did this happen? Because a family is a compass that guides its members; sometimes well, sometimes poorly. At its best, the family supports and guides its members toward reaching their potential as individuals and as a family. At its worst, it abandons and even drives away its members; meet Kenneth, Jerry, and Chuck, who were homeless teenagers because of abuse and abandonment. This story complete with illustrative anecdotes, shows what people can accomplish and how. It is a story of potential....