2 out of 4 stars
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If you ever thought of writing a book that only covers your thoughts about life, how would the book turn out to be? Would your voice count on the issues that you decide to write down for others to read? I believe these are the questions that Tehron Jaqui Bush had when he wrote the book, From My Mind, From My Voice.
The book consists of 117 pages. It has many sections that the author has laid out in the table of contents so that the reader can easily navigate through the book. He focuses on the issues of religion, leadership, personal development, globalization, marriage, and politics. He has done thorough research about the issues that he addresses in the book.
I liked several things about the book. The author has used a broad view of the things that happen in everyday life. He does not focus on one issue, which would make the book somehow boring. For instance, on the theme of politics, he chooses to explore several aspects. They include the office of the President of the United States of America. He narrows it down to the election process with great insights about the popular vote and the electoral vote. He believes that the Electoral College does not represent the will of the people, and the popular vote should be the basic determinant of the winner of any election. He gives his honest opinion of the most influential presidents that the US has ever had. Barrack Obama seems to be the author’s favorite American president. The author also gives his thoughts about the first 100 days in office because they are very crucial in the politics of the US.
The author portrays several weaknesses in his writing. He does not include in-text citations of his sources. No matter how well researched the book is, the lack of proper in-text citations undermines the credibility of the book. Plagiarism is not allowed in any type of writing. The author has included both a reference list and a bibliography at the end of the book. It is wrong. A book can only have a single list of sources depending on the referencing style that the author uses. For instance, a reference list is used when an author uses the APA style of referencing. A bibliography is used when an author uses footnotes or endnotes for the in-text citations. I also noted that the book had many missing quotation marks. In addition, it has many grammatical errors. It could use the helpful hand of an editor.
At some point, I felt that the book is an assignment report from the author’s sociology class. There are several instances where the author indicates that he is part of a class. If the book is indeed a response to a given assignment, the author should let the reader know beforehand. I do not agree with some of the author’s thoughts in the book. For instance, he believes that an effective leader should own a business. This is not true. Owning a business is not a requirement for a great leader. There are many great leaders in the world, but not all of them are entrepreneurs. He also believes that ethnicity should be a major aspect in determining the effectiveness of a leader. He states that “My personal leadership starts with my ethnicity.” Any type of discrimination, either racial or otherwise, makes a bad leader.
I give the book 2 out of 4 stars. I believe it is fair enough since he has given his thoughts whether I agree with them or not. The grammatical errors and plagiarism need to be corrected to enhance the quality of the book. Assuming that the author corrects the several issues with the book, it would be a great read for someone who needs to know more about religion, politics of the USA, leadership, and global affairs from a Christian perspective.
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From My Mind From My Voice
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