Book Report 5/12

Carson, Ben. Think Big. U.S.: Zondervan: 1984



I didn't pick this book, but I got it as a gift from my mother when I was having a hard time struggling with family problems and personal problems. It is a non-fiction autobiography of how Ben Carson back in the 60's rose from the poorest sections of Detroit and is now one of the most famous doctors in the world.



Ben Carson was born in Detroit and was born in the poorest neighborhoods and lived with his mother and brother, as his father left the family back when Ben was 2. He had done poorly in school till the 5th grade, where his mother made rules for him to read 2 books and give book reports each week and his mother would grade it albeit slowly as his mother was illiterate. He soon realizes that reading is fun and he achieves the top grades through middle school and high school and attends John Hopkins University and becomes one of the most famous neurosurgeons today.


Ben Carson's story is certainly an inspiring one, and it seems so far fetched it's ridiculous, but I think that though not everyone will be as great as he is, he talks about the qualities that he possess and its that he's never stopped believing in himself, he had self confidence and he valued and respected the people around him and always tried to do better, and I think that with help from his mother allowed him to change his own future.

I overall loved the book, and it was interesting to see how he interacted with the different people and environments he was in throughout his life time and it taught me that how you react to everything changes everything and defines who you are going to be in the world. I think that everyone can learn from Ben Carson''s story.

Reading Ben Carson's story, it reminds me of all those inspiring stories that I've read about famous heroes through history such as Martin Luther King, Ghandi, Frederick Douglass, etc, and I think that people like Ben Carsn set an example and give hope to people that were in a situation similar to his.

Ben Carson has written one other book titled "Gifted Hands" where it is a closer look at his life as a neruosurgeon rather than his childhood and how he came to be, and I hope to read it as soon as my sister finishes reading it.