Product Description

With the simple power and astonishing candor that made his 1988 autobiography, The Ragman's Son, a number one international bestseller, Kirk Douglas now shares his quest for spirituality and Jewish identity -- and his heroic fight to overcome crippling injuries and a devastating stroke.

On February 13, 1991, at the age of seventy-four, Kirk Douglas, star of such major motion-picture classics as Champion, Spartacus, and Paths of Glory, was in a helicopter crash, in which two people died and he himself sustained severe back injuries. As he lay in the hospital recovering, he kept wondering: Why had two younger men died while he, who had already lived his life fully, survived?

The question drove this son of a Russian-Jewish ragman to a search for his roots and on a long journey of self-discovery -- a quest not only for the meaning of life and his own relationship with God, but for his own identity as a Jew. Through the study of the Bible, Kirk Douglas found a new spirituality and purpose. His newfound faith deeply enriched his relationship with his own children and taught him -- a man who had always been famously demanding and impatient -- to listen to others and, above all, to hear his own inner voice.

Told with warmth, wit, much humor, and deep passion, Climbing the Mountain is inspirational in the very best sense of the word.Amazon.com Review
Born Issur Danielovich to a poor family in Amsterdam, NewYork, Kirk Douglas changed his name and identity, rocketing to fame asone of Hollywood's great macho actors. But in the 1990s, the eighthdecade of his life, Douglas was transformed by a number of tragicincidents that forced him to heed the voice of little Issur that stillresided within him. This frank, smoothly written autobiography, whichsomehow manages to be warmhearted, pompous, and moving all at the sametime, picks up where The Ragman's Son,Douglas's earlier memoir, left off. In Climbing the Mountainthe actor turned philosopher talks about the helicopter accident thatkilled two younger men while leaving him alive, the death of hisfriend Burt Lancaster, and the debilitating effects of a minorstroke. All of these incidents caused him to reevaluate his life, toacknowledge the voice and integrity of the Issur Danielovich he leftbehind, and to return to the Jewish faith. Climbing theMountain is the book of a real survivor, a man walking the path ofold age with dignity, thoughtfulness, and humor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

The finding of new meaning in life through 'return'
After the helicopter accident in which he nearly lost his life, and two younger men who had not fully lived theirs did, Kirk Douglas came to reflect more deeply on his past and its meaning. This led him to begin learning and studying about the Jewish religion that he had been born into. Through this return he found a deeper and renewed meaning to his life.
This work is the sequel and continuation of his first autobiographical work 'Ragman's Son'. It is not as event-filled but makes up for this with its sincere reflectiveness. Douglas is a person of many talents, one of the great screen actors of America, and a person of great courage and determination.
He provides in this work a vivid example of how new meaning in life can be found by 'return' to the religious tradition in which one has been born.

Great book, but repeats most of Ragman's Son
After reading Ragman's Son, I enthusiastically bought this book. The first few chapters are mind blowing.Then Douglas starts undergoing what psychologists call "Life Review" in his attempt to assess his life and find greater spiritual meaning.
It was great, but if you've read Ragman's Son, hardly any of it was new.I felt as if I was reading 80% of the first book.Still, its a good read, and Douglas writes of his quest to find his spiritual self in a manner that I think will appeal to people who do not have religion in their lives.I definetly reccomend this book if you consider religion or spirituality overrated, but also want to find a bigger meaning to your own life.
Don't let the word "spiritual" scare you away.Douglas doesn't get preachy, "holier than thou" or dogmatic.Most of his own life was spent without an attempt to understand his own religion or a spiritual understanding of the world around him, and he still has a practical outlook.
I chose to give this book 4 stars, but if you read Ragman's Son, the reptition could be a disappointment.

Wonderful book
I really enjoyed reading this autobiography.Kirk Douglas has had enough life and experience for his two autobiographies, and at the rate he is going, he'll have enough for a third!

Kirk is unafraid to let us into his weaknesses, his fears and desires.He doesn't let anything stop him.No stroke could steal his love of life away.His spirituality sustains him, and his sharing of it sustains us.

May he have long life.

INSPIRATIONAL!
Kirk Douglas has become a member of my family by the sensitivity of his writing. I feel as if I haveknown him the entire 46 years I have been on earth. I recommend this book to all those that are downcast and feel thatlife has not been fair to them.Mr.Douglas invites you into his heartand bears his soul. If you feel you are down in the valley, you surely willclimb the mountain to victory as you read every word he has to share.Reading this book brought a smileto my face, a tear in my eye and a songin my heart!!

Douglas inspires us to look again at the religion we left.
When he was fourteen, Kirk Douglas left the religion of his childhood.Or did he?In his later years he came to realize that his view of the religion of his childhood was childish. Paul's famous lines to theCorinthians comes to mind:"When I was a child I thought like achild, I spoke like a child, I reasoned like a child."

Many of usdismissed our religious roots without really understanding or appreciatingthem.Douglas moved through the decades without looking back on thatadolescent's decision to 'throw the baby out with the bathwater.'Seriousencounters with his health and a near-death experience forced him to lookagain, which he did.

He learned, as we all must, that one's truereligion, after all, is a function of experience. Early in life we thinkreligion is a set of beliefs which are handed to us and either accepted orrejected, with little or no middle ground.

With encouragement from arabbi, Douglas looked again at the old stories and to his surprise they hadtaken on new meaning and depth since his earlier reading.As JosephCampbell would say, he found himself in those old stories; he came torealize that the stories are not about other people who lived 'way backwhen,' but about him, or you and me when we see ourselves in thestories.

The story he tells is like a myth in which we can seeourselves--an adolescent who leaves his religion, a man who works at hiscareer, only to end up where he started, but to 'know the place for thefirst time,' as T. S. Eliot said. ... Read more

Product Description
He has been one of the brightest stars in Hollywood, a hard-charging actor whose intensity on the screen has been mirrored in his personal life. As Kirk Douglas has grown older - he turned ninety in December 2006 - he has become less impetuous and more reflective. In this poignant and inspiring new memoir, Douglas contemplates what life is all about, weighing current events from his present frame of mind while summoning the passions of his younger days.

Kirk Douglas is a born storyteller, and throughout Let's Face It he tells wonderful tales and shares favorite jokes and hard-won insights. In the book, he explores the mixed blessings of growing older and looks back at his childhood, his young adulthood, and his storied, glamorous, and colorful life and career in Hollywood. He tells delightful stories of the making of such films as Spartacus, Lust for Life, Champion, The Bad and the Beautiful, and many others. He includes anecdotes about his friends Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Lauren Bacall, Ronald Reagan, Ava Gardner, Henry Kissinger, Fred Astaire, Yul Brynner, John Wayne, and Johnny Cash. He reveals the secrets that have kept him and his wife, Anne, happily married for more than five decades, and talks fondly and movingly of times spent with his sons, Michael, Peter, Eric, and Joel, and his grandchildren.

Douglas's life has been filled with pain as well as joy. In Let's Face It, he writes frankly for the first time about the tragic death of his son Eric from a drug overdose at age forty-five. Douglas tells what it was like to recover from several near-death episodes, including a helicopter crash, a stroke, and a cardiac event. He writes of his sadness that many of his closest friends are no longer with us; the book includes many moving stories such as one about a regular poker game at Frank Sinatra's house at which he and Anne have been fixtures along with Gregory Peck, Jack Lemmon, and their wives. Though many of the players are gone, the game continues to this day.

In Let's Face It, Douglas reflects on how his Jewish faith has become more and more important to him over the years. He offers strong opinions on everything from anti-Semitism to corporate greed, from racism to Hurricane Katrina, and from the war in Iraq to the situation in Israel. He writes about the importance in his life of the need to improve education for all children and about how we need to care more about the world and less about ourselves.

A must-read for every fan, this engrossing memoir provides an indelible self-portrait of a great star - while sharing the wit and wisdom Kirk Douglas has accumulated over a lifetime. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

What a guy!
Great book. Made me laugh (a lot) and also come close to crying. Kirk Douglas is a very good writer.

Let's Face It: 90 years of living, loving, and learning
I first read "My Stroke of Luck",and loved it!I bought a copy for my sister-in-law who had a serious stroke, and she was delighted with it.Then I ordered this book "Let's Face It", written when Kirk Douglas was 90 (he is now 93).I found it very fascinating and inspirational.He has led an interesting life and has been an important witness(and participant) to many historical events.

Really Great Old Actor Learns Life Lessons
Kirk Douglas narrates how his life is enriched by having a stroke. He had been an athletic actor/producer in technicolor blockbusters (Spartacus, The Vikings) - - -and one day in his Seventies, he found he couldn't talk or walk. Fortunately, his wife took him to the hospital immediately - - and then began the frustrating exercises of rehabilitation. In the process, he returned to his religious and ethnic roots, started a new career in philanthropy, and learned to be laugh at being revered as Michael Douglas's father.

Great casual read
This is a surprisingly well written biography by an actor whom we thought was only a pretty face. He tells us some inside facts of his thoughts, his life and marriage and how he has grown and changed. The tittle says it all and then he fleshes it out. I'm giving this book to a lifelong friend who was a huge fan of Kirk Douglas 50-60 years ago.

a man you can love and respect
I could not put the book down ,I had to read it from cover to cover . He is a one of a kind person It shows how you will always go back to your roots ... Read more

Product Description
Born Issur Danielovitch Demsky, the son of an illiterate immigrant Russian-Jewish ragpicker and junkman, Kirk Douglas makes clear in this powerful, angry, and passionate book the ways in which his difficult childhood dominated his life as an actor, father, and man. 16 pages of photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

wonderful read but a bit disappointed...
It's a facinating tale of such a remarkable life story but was really dissapointed with the discription of the condition of the book. Discovered pages were missing and their were stains on a few of them. other then that EXCELLENT read, very prompt delvery!! :D

Ragman's Son
A great listen especially if your a fan of the golden days of hollywood.Having Kirk reading his own memoirs adds a nice touch to the incrediable story of the offspring of an immigrant who rose to become a legend of Hollywood. You'll find once you've heard these audio tapes they'll be so stirring you'll want to stand up and proudly proclaim "I'm Kirk Douglas".

Kirk Douglas biography
This is a gossipy kiss and tell autobiography of Kirk Douglas.You can see where his sons get their self confidence from.Great for a real Douglas fan.

VERY INTERESTING STORY AND A GOOD READ
I read very few "star" auto-biographies so have little to judge this one by.But I must say, I was impressed.The writing was good, the story seemed to be truthfully told and it held my interest. I have always enjoyed Kirk Douglas the actor and was pleased that I was able to enjoy Kirk Douglas the autobiographor. Mr. Douglas has certainly led an interesting life and has seemingly been able to keep his prespective on life.As I said, I am impressed and highly recommend this one.

Interesting Tale
This book tells the story of Kirk Douglas, from his humble beginnings in a small upstate New York town to his years in Hollywood.Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch Demsky, the son of illiterate Jewish immigrants.As a Jew, his father could not be hired in the mills or other up-and-coming enterprises in town, so the only work available to him was to go about in the street collecting old rags which he sold to paper mills.Much of this story focuses on the relationship between Issur and his father-Issur felt that his father never gave him recognition, support, or respect.All his life, he struggled in vain to get a single pat on the back from his father.In any case, Issur's life wasn't at all tragic.He showed talent for acting at an early age, managed to get a scholarship to attend college, and then went on to acting school.It was during summer service in a theatrical company that he chose his stage name Kirk Douglas, which he later took as his legal name.This book goes on to tell of Douglas' successes on the big screen and marriages and affairs.

In addition to the struggle for approval with his father, another recurring theme of the book is Douglas' battles with anti-Semitism.The book is no great literary classic, but it can be engaging, and does tell an interesting story for Douglas fans.The details of his early life as the son of poor Jewish immigrants are particularly interesting for the documentation they provide of this little-known chapter of American history. ... Read more

Product Description
My stroke taught me so much, and for all that it stole, it gave me even more. In the process of healing, my life has changed for the better. Now I want to share what I have learned.

In this vivid and very personal reflection upon his extraordinary life as an actor, author, and legend in his own time, Kirk Douglas offers a candid and heartfelt memoir of where it all went right in his life -- even after suffering a debilitating stroke. Revealing not only the incredible physical and emotional toll of his stroke but how it has changed his life for the better, Douglas shares the lessons that saved him and helped him to heal. Alongside his heartfelt advice and insight, he also recalls warm memories of some of the most famous figures of our time -- including Burt Lancaster, Michael J. Fox, and Gary Cooper -- as well as others who have soared to greatness in the face of adversity.

Customer Reviews (16)

The Greatest Miracle: A Changed Life
Who would have thought it? This is an autobiography by a fameous actor, who won more than one Lifetime Oscar, and a Jew, who didn't disclose his identity early on, but after a number of near-death experiences, not only returns to the God of his fathers, but commits to his second bar mitzvah. This in my book is a miracle!

Kirk Douglas' life turn-around not only chronicles his return to God, but his return to the stage, after suffering a debilitating stroke, leaving him void of speach. From near suicide to full recovery, this autobiography will pump courage into the discouraged to keep on pressing toward the goal.

In My Stroke of Luck, Douglas reveals that once he returned to the God of his fathers, he began to really care about others and, thereby, health and strength became his once more. An excellent testimony for all of us to heed.

Misleading.......
The book is about his journey of having a stroke. However, it is misleading as he is wealthy enough to have all the doctors, facilities, caregivers and medical assistance at his beckon call, right there in his own den.
Unlike those of us "common" people with limited insurance fighting just to get speech, trying to get a way to go to speech therapy, and fighting denials.Then daily/weekly chosing medication, co=pay over paying living expenses, food.
He truly has a stroke of luck in more ways than one.Does he even realize this?

Glad I read the book to know how the "real fighters" have to fight in this world,I do appreciate more what I have, but then I resent the fact he wrote some pennance of a book just because he survived astroke.I justwonder how tough he would have fared in the common man's world.
Maybe that is why God gave him more at his disposable because He knew Kirk could not survive a stroke without everything at his beckon call.
oh well, as if anyone is going to read this anyway.
All thru out this book I compared my brain injury to his stroke and it has been 3 years and I am still fighting insurance for therapy.....


thank you

He's Mellowed
A good story, but a short one (small pages, big print, double spacing).KD had a stroke at 80, and wrote about it three years afterward.He truly made a heroic effort to recover his speech, and went on to make two movies after his stroke.He animates his own life and that of others with humor and wrote this book particularly to inspire other stroke victims--he includes his own "Operator's Manual" of six rules at the end.He celebrated his second Bar Mitzvah at age 83 and is open in saying how the stroke helped the selfishness of his early years give way to a renewed and expanded spiritual foundation.He has a heart pacemaker, bad knees from a helicopter crash, and the sequelae of his stroke to deal with, so he talks frankly about his depression and preoccupation with death.But as his mother told him as she was dying, "Don't be afraid, it happens to everyone."

My Stroke Of Luck
Excellant book to help you understand what a stroke victim goes through. I would recommend this to everyone who has been touched by a stroke

My Stroke of Luck
I found this to be an easy read. I felt that Mike was speaking directly to the reader. ... Read more

Product Description
In this, his most satisfying novel so far, Kirk Douglas exhibits the brilliant versatility that he has showcased so vividly in his many decades as an actor. Here he tells the story of two ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances - circumstances that wait right around the corner for each one of us. Ellen, a small-town girl from upstate New York, is trying to make it as a modern woman in the big city. She is doing well in her career as the librarian of a large Brooklyn hospital, but her personal life is a mess. Her boyfriend, Richard, a world-renowned heart transplant specialist, is unfaithful. Her roommate has moved out leaving her with a mountain of unpaid bills. She is broke. Then she meets Ben at a screening of Last Tango in Paris. Ben, a fitness instructor, is twice her age, but he is a vigorous man able to challenge and out-perform men young enough to be his sons. A recent widower, Ben is frantically scrambling to find a temporary place to live, because his house in Flatbush has sold much faster than he expected. Ellen rents Ben a room, but what begins as friendly business relationship slowly turns into something more. Ben feels a surge of vitality in which passion knows no age and no limits. Ellen, full of life spirit, and mischief, seems his perfect match. Yet Ellen and Ben's startling and consuming affair faces a gulf even wider than the gap that separates May and December. Ellen's best friend is appalled, Ben's daughter, a psychologist, condemns their relationship as a Freudian nightmare. A terrible accident and then a mysterious death - which could be murder - threaten to doom their love. Soon, life's expectations shatter on the rocks of the unexpected. Roleschange in astonishing ways. Yet, ultimately, Ellen and Ben's love will prove stronger than reason - in a powerful finale than will haunt the reader long after he or she has closed the book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

TANGO, TANGO, TANGO!!!!
I read this book many years ago but I remember it very much.Aside from being written by a romatic lead star, Kirk Douglas, the love story he tells warms your heart.I was very surprised with the pain of the love story and what these two lovers had to go through.

It was sad that these two lovers had a very short time together before the end came.He was older than his love interest but she was seriously ill.They resolved their differences by going to the end together in Brooklyn.

As beautiful as it gets
This is a wonderful book full of passion and desire, of love and the unexpected. It's delightful to read, and you wouldn't be able to put it down once you started reading. You'll get to feel the writer's work, and you'll live the moments as though they were your own, wishing you can make them true at some point in your life.

A Beautiful Story
This is a beautiful story written by an excellent writer. It has mystery and romance between 2 people you wouldn't expect it from. The best he has written! ... Read more

Product Description
He's one of the best-known and best-loved actors around the globe - the dynamic star of classic films like Spartacus, Lonely Are the Brave, and Seven Days in May. In recent years, Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas has surprised and delighted the world with an entirely new career. Once more, here is Kirk Douglas - author. Now, the man behind the bestselling novel Dance with the Devil - hailed by the Chicago Tribune as "steamy", "bold", and "compelling" - has created The Gift, his most intriguing and gripping book to date. Summoning what the New York Times Book Review calls "the instincts of a natural storyteller", Douglas tells an enthralling tale of romance, passion, and suspense that sweeps the reader across two continents. Its protagonists are two unlikely lovers: Patricia Dennison, an orphaned American heiress, unsure about her future and her enormous fortune, a beautiful young woman surrounded by death; Miguel Cardiga, a rising star of the Portuguese bullring, whose meteoric ascent to fame is suddenly cut short by tragic injury. Patricia and Miguel are brought together by Ultimato, a magnificent gray stallion that unites them in an unexpected link of intimacy while, at the same time, they clash in frequently agonizing conflicts. As Patricia's right to her legacy is betrayed by those closest to her, as Miguel fights to reclaim his destiny as a bullfighter in the face of raging sexual jealousy - and murder - they both struggle toward a redeeming love that can defeat the darkest secrets the past can conceal. The Gift proves - again - that Kirk Douglas can entertain as wonderfully, as satisfyingly, on the printed page as he does on the motion-picture screen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

revieew of "The Ragman's Son" by Kirk Douglas
I really did enjoy reading this book. Mr. Douglas was very honest about his life, his foibles, and I was so glad he finally settled down with a good, loving wife.It was one of the more delightful autobiographies I have read lately.

Kirk Unbuttoned
Born in 1916, little Issur Danielovitch grew up in upstate New York, the poorest of the poor. Son of illiterate Russian/Jewish immigrants, taunted by the other children, Issur breaking past every barrier imaginable became the great Kirk Douglas. This is his life story from birth through 70 years of age(before the stroke).

As his life story unfolds in this well written account, you will feel like the tales of his climb out of poverty are being told to you by an old friend. Kirk doesn't hold back. He's as open about his misdeeds as he is with his fine accomplishments.
And he doesn't hesitate to name names either!

He talks about everything. From his troubled boyhood and distant relationship with his father, his dream of making it big on stage, his time spent in the service, his escapades, his loves and family, relationships with the rich and famous, his good-will tours around the world, and of course his films. It is nice that the films are discussed chronologically, and you will know exactly where he was physically and emotionally during the filming. Almost all the films are touched upon and some including "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral", "Lonely Are The Brave", "Lust For Life" and Spartacus", have whole chapters devoted to them. The directors, other cast members,and Hollywood in general, do not get away scott free either.

His writing is funny, poignant, inspirational and heartfelt. There are times when you may not even like the things he has done, and other times may get you thinking deeply or angered about life's circumstances. But you know that he's being about as honest as they come.

There are also many personal photos included of his family, fellow actors, and the good-will trips he made for the United States.

Closing the book after the last page, I was sad to be at the end. Kirk Douglas's words touched me as much as his work in film, and...made me feel not only proud, but lucky to be an American. I am looking foward to reading his other works as well.

"The Ragman's Son" is highly recommended for fans of Kirk, aspiring actors and writers(this is a great example for writing memoirs), and for those who loved to be touched or inspired by a good book.

Way To Go, Issur...Way To Go!
Enjoy....Laurie
... Read more

Product Description
This is an essential reference for describing, measuring and classifying the foliage of flowering plants. The presented system provides long-needed guidelines for characterizing the organization, shape, venation, and surface features of angiosperm leaves. In contrast to systems focusing on reproductive characters for identification, the emphasis is on macroscopic features of the leaf blade including leaf characters, venation, and tooth characters. The advantage of this system is that it allows for the classification of plants independently of their flowers, which is especially useful for fossil leaves (usually found in isolation) and tropical plants (whose flowering cycles are brief and irregular, and whose fruits and flowers may be difficult to access). An illustrated terminology including detailed definitions and annotated illustrations is the focus of the classification system, the aim of which is to provide a framework with comparative examples to allow both modern and fossil leaves to be described and classified consistently.Published in association with the New York Botanical Garden. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a film biography of Kirk Douglas' career, from "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" in 1946, including "Lust for Life", "Gunfight at the OK Corral", and "Spartacus", containing cast lists and synopses. The author has also written "A Wonderful Life: The Films and Career of James Stewart". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Awful!
This is easily the worst celebrity biography I have ever read.How this volume got published is beyond me.Not only is the author's narrative completely erroneous on major points, but it seems to me that someone, somewhere along the publishing line would have caught the errors.Didn't anyone edit this manuscript?
And if so, didn't that editor know anything about the subject (Kirk Douglas)?

I could on and on about the glaring errors you'll find here, but in the interest of space, let me focus on one.Munn writes at length about the story and filming of "Gunfight at the OK Corral," one of the numerous Kirk Douglas-Burt Lancaster collaborations.But throughout it all he is commenting on Kirk's role as Wyatt Earp and Burt's role as Doc Holliday.Even a person who slept through ninety percent of this fine Western film knows that Kirk played Holliday and Burt played Earp.I don't think this author even saw the film!

In short, a terrible, terrible book! ... Read more

Product Description

What makes a young person a hero? Is it standing up to a gigantic bully? Is it offering a thirsty stranger a drink of water? Or is it learning humility from your older brothers?

In five stories from the Bible and the Midrash, legendary actor and acclaimed author Kirk Douglas examines how the greatest biblical characters performed deeds of heroism even at young ages. You'll learn how little Abraham put his father's idol shop out of business; how Miriam saved her brother Moses from the pharaoh's death sentence; how Joseph overcame a bad case of self-importance to become a great leader; and how little David, the shepherd, slew the mighty giant Goliath.

In telling these timeless stories, Kirk Douglas remembers his own childhood in Amsterdam, New York, where he first heard these in Sunday school, and how they affected him throughout his childhood and his long career in Hollywood. The warmth and humor of his recollections will touch you as the stories of young heroes will inspire. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Young Heros of the Bible--Make the Bible come alive
Dedicated to all the grandchildren of the world, 82 year old Kirk Douglas shares his favorite Bible stories. In a kindly grandfatherly tone, he explains why each protagonist is a hero on a level that children will readily comprehend. He thinks through why Joseph's brothers hated him and how David's faith in God helped him overcome Goliath. Interspersed throughout are his childhood experiences, which today's students can relate to and which aid in the understanding of the memorably written text.

A fabulous book
The book "Young Heroes of the Bible" is a fabulous.When I want to pick up a book and read, this book falls into this category.I have already read the book twice, and I think I will read this book many more times.This book is a wonderful book with excellent explanation for whathappens in the bible.This book falls into the category of all other shortstories, pick up this book again and again category. ... Read more