THE ADVERSITY ADVANTAGE

Lloyd James's soft, assured voice makes any challenge seem possible. The authors highlight the way adversity can be harnessed as a force to strengthen one's character and build on one's achievements. Using the seven tallest mountains of the world to illustrate their seven guiding principles, they offer some compelling exercises for self-actualization. James reads with an easy confidence that makes the work accessible in spite of the overuse of the mountain metaphor. A minor shortcoming of James's performance is his failure to differentiate the voices of the authors when sharing their first-person experiences. Weihenmayer is one of the few people in the world to have scaled the Seven Summits, a feat made even more noteworthy by the fact that he's blind. H.L.S. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 07]