The Pursuit of Happyness (Abridged)

By: Chris Gardner

Narrated by: Andre Blake

Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

The astounding yet true rags-to-riches saga of a homeless father who raised and cared for his son on the mean streets of San Francisco and went on to become a crown prince of Wall Street.

At the age of 20, Chris Gardner arrived in San Francisco to pursue a promising career in medicine. However, he surprised everyone and himself by setting his sights on the competitive world of high finance. Yet no sooner had he landed an entry-level position at a prestigious firm, Gardner found himself caught in a web of incredibly challenging circumstances that left him part of the city's working homeless with his toddler son. Motivated by the promise he made to himself as a fatherless child to never abandon his own children, the two spent almost a year moving from shelters, "HO-tels", and soup-lines.

Never giving in to despair, Gardner makes an astonishing transformation from being part of the city's invisible to being a powerful player in its financial district. Here is the story of a man who breaks his own family's cycle of men abandoning their children, a story that appeals to the very essence of the American Dream.

©2006 Chris Gardner (P)2006 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Gardner is honest and thorough as he solidly depicts growing up black and male in late 20th-century urban America." (Publishers Weekly)

Just get it. You won't be sorry!

What made the experience of listening to The Pursuit of Happyness (Abridged) the most enjoyable?

I felt like I was taking the journey with Chris

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Pursuit of Happyness (Abridged)?

After the theft of the stereo equipment. Did not see that coming!

Which character – as performed by Andre Blake – was your favorite?

The perspective of Chris

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

about once every 10 minutes of listening.

Any additional comments?

I was moved to tears multiple times throughout this audio-book. One of the top 2 books I've ever read / heard

Surprising

The movie was made from just a small portion of the book. I was disappointed in the differences from the movie and the real life story.

Hmmmm..

now to go on youtube to see what was true in the movie for sure.

You have to do what you have to do.

This story is for all dads and people who want to break cycles. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and roll your eyes to this amazing story.

Just what I needed…

I found myself in the middle of a personal storm and in need of encouragement. I’ve watched the film a handful of times, but I decided to take the actual story in. Christopher Gardner’s transparent account of his personal trials and overcoming them is both a blueprint and motivational.

Book Better

I enjoyed both the movie and the book, but the book gives an in-depth look of the author's childhood, which wasn't covered at all by the movie. It helped me see the context of how Chris got to where he was. How his birth mother had struggled with her relationships with men and the impact on Chris. His was not an easy childhood by many standards, but it was real and it was his and I enjoyed hearing how life growing up was for someone who had it very different from me.

It also, to my surprise, validated that the movie didn't use much literary license in telling the story. While some of the details may not have been accurate, (days he spent in jail, pay during his apprenticeship, etc.) the central core of the story in the movie was surprisingly true.

I recommend both highly. I first saw the movie and then read the book. And if you see the movie on DVD be sure to see the special features about how they made the movie. That was very good.

<note: seems you can't edit the title for the review once you've submitted it. I would have changed it to "A Good Pair.">

The Path

If you are on the path or just beginning or even have gotten where you need to be, there are lessons in this book that will help skips some stops along the way. I cried over his mother throughout the entirety of this book.

Motivational

The writing style is picture painting. There is a special kind of mood that is captured through telling this story. The book was enjoyable, more so than the movie.

Fantastic book!

Chris’s story is powerful and remarkable to be able to withstand a childhood like his.

Inspirational!

Is titled above, this is a very inspirational story. I had to read this book for class however I really feel that I really needed to read this book. It has some great tips on climbing the ladder in the career world and some inspirational stories that happened in his life . I would recommend this book for everybody to read.