If Elon Musk had been born in difficult circumstances and wrote an autobiography it would read like this. I can only assume Chris Gardner has done all of the things he claims he did. Honestly, I stopped halfway through the book. I saw the movie. ( )

this is a great example of those books that prove that just having a good story, or a story worth telling, is enough. there are a few good sentences here and there throughout, but in general it isn't well written and is missing just about everything that makes a book a good read. certainly i'm impressed by his work ethic and ability to do so many different things so well, including navigating homelessness with a toddler. but that alone doesn't make a good rags to riches story. he went through a lot, and i'm glad that he's successful and giving back, but that doesn't automatically make for a good book. ( )

I liked this book, but beware, the movie this book is not.

Mr. Gardner had a hard upbringing. He was in and out of foster care or living with relatives. When he did live with his biological mother, he had to endure a insanely emotionally and physically abusive step-father. My heart broke for him during those periods of his life.

Later in life, Mr. Gardner became homeless and a single father. This period was also heartbreaking, yet Mr. Gardner kept fighting. I think that's the ultimate message of this book - never give up. Gardner bettered himself through education and hardwork and overcame. Every story is different, but this is definitely a case study on rising from the ashes.

Luckily for Gardner, his mother instilled in him a fortitude to continue and wisdom to survive. This book may be an inspiration for other people going through similar experiences. If Mr. Gardner can make it, so can you.

I hear many reviewers complain about the coarseness of this book; they say the profanity and situations are too much to stomach (sigh). I disagree. Mr. Gardner's life was no "tip toe through the tulips". Occasionally, using profanity as a descriptor is the best way to convey mood and setting; It isn't a lack of intelligence; it isn't depraved; it's keeping it real. It's a way to relate. I do not think the book should be judged on how clean of a life Mr. Gardner had; It wasn't clean; it wasn't pretty.

Overall, I would recommend this book. It's an inspiration, and in these pages, Mr. Gardner just let's it go and always keeps it real. ( )

I would but would not recommend this book to a friend. This book talks about very detailed graphic things that some people can't imagine. It tells a sad but true story of Chris Garber and his life of how for many years himself and his young son were homeless. Now a millionaire for stockbroking, it tells his story. I had seen the movie the "The Pursuit of Happyness" with will smith and the story was so interesting I had decided to read the book my self to make it (seem) more real to me. Q5P4AHS/Cheyanne F.

I was uneasy going into this book. The movie made Gardner to be an American hero, moving up from homelessness into riches. The full story as Gardner tells it is much more grim. I won’t itemize Gardner’s list of crimes, but it’s enough to say, I think, that the movie omits or glosses over most of the shadier events of his life. And, no, as you might expect, even with a writer helping him, Gardner is not good at setting down the story of his life. I was left with the feeling that Gardner is just a man who wanted to become rich and did so. His greatest accomplishment was to do this without tossing aside his kids when it would have been easy to do so. ( )