Scratch Beginnings:

Written by Adam Shephard Scratch Beginnings documents his experiences living in America, (Charleston, South Carolina - city chosen out of a hat) with 25 bucks, the clothes on his back, and a gym bag containing a tarp and a sleeping bag. Points to learn from his journey:

1. Hard Work: it works.

2. Homeless Shelters: they stink (litererally).

3. Jobs: Make the manager see it's his a mistake not to hire you. "I'm awsome (in whatever area you really are good at), either you want me or you don't."

4. Clothing: check out Goodwill.

5. Stuff: Don't need it, don't buy it.

6. Furniture: You want it? Become a mover.

7. Housing: Should only cost 1/3 of your income.

Although the book is intriguing and informative, I can't give this a "go tell all your friends to read it" rating given the amount of profanity included in it. All I can say is the guy set a goal from being homeless to having an apartment, something like $2,500 in savings and a operable vehicle in one year, and he got it. The theme of the book is hard work will get you anywhere and that wrong choices, well, there your fault.

Do The Right Thing

I had sit in a car 30 minutes, stand in line 30 minutes - behind about 100 people, and pay around $14 for the book, but it was totally worth it. Actually, Mike Huckabee's new book Do The Right Thing was supposed to cost $24.95 (somehow it rang up as half price - I can't complain), but with his and his wife's signatures I figured it would work out. 

Since then I have read the entire book, even the appendixes, and am now trying to figure out if it's as true and good as it sounds. I will publish my findings here, which so far include that as far as taxation goes, Huckabee is as good, probably better, than any other candidate I have ever heard of. (In case your wondering if you heard something about this Governor raising taxes and not being a fiscal conservative you read this: Fiscally Flawed? -- A Rebuttal to the Club for Growth.)

Points from the book include:

• We either have Self-Government or we need Big Government.

• Libertarianism is bad, very, very bad. (Libertarianism in this instance is used to describe the idea that fixing the economy will fix everything else and that taxes, apparently all taxes, should be abolished.) 

• The Fair Tax is awesome!

•  Chuck Norris is great!

• Watch out for Huck, he isn't going anywhere. He won eight states with less than $65 million (I can't seem to find the exact number, I think it was $30 million - I know he got $11 million from online donations.) , fought opposition from religious and conservative leaders and the media (including Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh) and lived to tell the tale.  
  

This book is well rounded with great stories from the campaign to illustrate policy points and add some fun. I highly reccomend that you "Do The Right Thing" and buy this book!