Giving

How Each of Us Can Change the World

By: Bill Clinton

Narrated by: Bill Clinton

Here, from Bill Clinton, is a call to action. Giving is an inspiring look at how each of us can change the world. First, it reveals the extraordinary and innovative efforts now being made by companies and organizations—and by individuals—to solve problems and save lives both “down the street and around the world.” Then it urges us to seek out what each of us, “regardless of income, available time, age, and skills,” can do to help, to give people a chance to live out their dreams.

Bill Clinton shares his own experiences and those of other givers, representing a global flood tide of nongovernmental, nonprofit activity. These remarkable stories demonstrate that gifts of time, skills, things, and ideas are as important and effective as contributions of money. From Bill and Melinda Gates to a six-year-old California girl named McKenzie Steiner, who organized and supervised drives to clean up the beach in her community, Clinton introduces us to both well-known and unknown heroes of giving. Among them:

Dr. Paul Farmer, who grew up living in the family bus in a trailer park, vowed to devote his life to giving high-quality medical care to the poor and has built innovative public health-care clinics first in Haiti and then in Rwanda;
a New York couple, in Africa for a wedding, who visited several schools in Zimbabwe and were appalled by the absence of textbooks and school supplies. They founded their own organization to gather and ship materials to thirty-five schools. After three years, the percentage of seventh-graders who pass reading tests increased from 5 percent to 60 percent;'
Oseola McCarty, who after seventy-five years of eking out a living by washing and ironing, gave $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi to endow a scholarship fund for African-American students;
Andre Agassi, who has created a college preparatory academy in the Las Vegas neighborhood with the city’s highest percentage of at-risk kids. “Tennis was a stepping-stone for me,” says Agassi. “Changing a child’s life is what I always wanted to do”;
Heifer International, which gave twelve goats to a Ugandan village. Within a year, Beatrice Biira’s mother had earned enough money selling goat’s milk to pay Beatrice’s school fees and eventually to send all her children to school—and, as required, to pass on a baby goat to another family, thus multiplying the impact of the gift.

Clinton writes about men and women who traded in their corporate careers, and the fulfillment they now experience through giving. He writes about energy-efficient practices, about progressive companies going green, about promoting fair wages and decent working conditions around the world. He shows us how one of the most important ways of giving can be an effort to change, improve, or protect a government policy. He outlines what we as individuals can do, the steps we can take, how much we should consider giving, and why our giving is so important.

Bill Clinton’s own actions in his post-presidential years have had an enormous impact on the lives of millions. Through his foundation and his work in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, he has become an international spokesperson and model for the power of giving.

“We all have the capacity to do great things,” President Clinton says. “My hope is that the people and stories in this book will lift spirits, touch hearts, and demonstrate that citizen activism and service can be a powerful agent of change in the world.”©2007 William Jefferson Clinton; (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Disappointing

Let me say first that I am a great admirer of President Clinton. I voted for him (twice) and was saddened when he left office. As a narrator he is simply superb.

But there are two problems with the audiobook: First, the book's nature is more of a reference text than an inspiration. It's ultimate goal is to provide you ways to be philanthropic. Having the physical information in front of you is ultimately more useful than just an audio narration. Inspiration from this book may goad you to go out and buy the physical book itself as a reference text.

The second problem with the book is that some of the examples cited show a naivete surprising for a man such as Mr Clinton. For example: he continually cites the Bill and Linda Gates Foundation. Mr Gates built his wealth via predatory business practices that even today are being attacked in courts around the world. This is, essentially, blood money, and much akin to what Carnegie and Frick did 100 years ago when they built their empires and then relinquished them later in life. Reading about this was a true turn-off and it happened so early in the book that, to me, called into question a lot of what was written later.

Clinton's HOW TO BE A PART OF CREATING CHANGE

What Al Gore did for understanding Global Warming, he does for Giving.............Clinton had managed to present an inclusive guide to how anyone can create change in the world....If everyone stepped up to just one example- would we be a better world?

Well Worth Reading - Regardless of Affiliation

In my opinion, this book is a "must read" for everyone. We all (or the vast majority of us) go about our daily lives and we fail to give thought not only to how much need there is in the world, but even more so to all of the resources that are out there that make it so easy for us to be involved. While having lunch with a friend, I mentioned that I was reading this book. She said, "Oh, I would never even pick up a book written by Bill Clinton, and I can't believe you would." I spent the better part of the remainder of our time together touting this book and all of the good that could be done if everyone in America would read and make application of it. Regardless of your political affiliation, or the lack thereof, you can and will benefit from reading this book.
I was especially impressed with the idea of directly involving children, as Mr. Clinton describes that he and Hillary do with their nephews. My son has always witnessed me doing and giving, but now, even at the age of 21, we are going to change this concept. He is in college, so I am going to provide the resources, but he is going to research what charity/organization he will support, and then I've asked that he report to me on the good that is being done -- and on a regular basis. It is the same concept as "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime." Teach your children to give, and it may just become a way of life.
At times, especially in the last couple of chapters, the writer gets a little deep, but the positives of the books far outweigh the negatives.
Please take the time to read this book. Share it with others. Involve your children and your family in some of the wonderful opportunities for giving back that are set forth in this book.

Looking for Ways to Help?

If you are looking for ways to help - especially w/o giving money, then this is a great listen. Mr. Clinton gives insight into what others are doing and how we can jump on the bus and start helping out in our communities and in our world. I got some great ideas and I think others can benefit from listening to this one.

compelling pitch

First, nothing beats listening to a book that is written and read by Bill Clinton. Setting aside politics, he's simply a great narrator. More importantly, his message is one that let's you know that you can help improve the world. Clinton takes the listener through a wide range of examples that he has seen, that have helped make the world a better place. If you are wondering how you can make a difference, this book will help answer the question.