BOOKWATCH
Quick-fixes
IN an age when motivational and self-help books are available a dime a dozen, here are two books that will get a second look from even the cynics. While The Present draws attention to itself because of its author — Spencer Johnson of the Who Moved My Cheese? fame — the other, The Go-Getter by Peter B. Kyne, dispels the general notion that motivational/self-help genre of publishing is a modern-day phenomenon as it was first published over eight decades ago. In fact, Kyne's original work is billed as a "classic" of its genre.
By a curious coincidence, both hit the stands round about the same time, wear the same colours as far as the jackets are concerned, and, of course, speak the same language, as do all books of this genre. While The Present is essentially a sequel-of-sorts to Johnson's 1984 book The Precious Present, Kyne's original work — dating back to 1921 — has been updated by recent-day "author of business bestsellers", Alan Axelrod, to make it relevant to today's working environment.
The "stories" through which the two authors offer their motivational nuggets are predictable and say nothing new. Distanced only by time, read together, these two quick spins show that however much the world may change, however complicated life may become, certain truths about life prevail. The writing is — has been — on the wall for all who care to read it. But, going by the sales such books generate, there are many who prefer these "quick-fixes" to discovering the truth themselves.
The Present, Spencer Johnson, Bantam Books, £5.99; The Go-Getter, Peter B. Kyne, Times Books, Rs. 125.
ANITA JOSHUA
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