- ISBN13: 9781439109083
- Condition: USED – VERY GOOD
- Notes:
Product Description
“A Buccaneer-Scholar is anyone whose love of learning is not muzzled or shackled by any institution or authority; whose mind is driven to wander and find its own place in the world.”The volatility of the job market and the limitless opportunities afforded by the internet have forever changed people’s attitudes about schooling. In this world of rapid technological development, people are becoming successful, making money and finding personal satisfaction throu… More >>
#1 by P. Weaver on February 9, 2010 - 5:31 am
I’ve bought several books from Amazon and I have my Kindle full of great reads. This is the first time I have ever given a review on a book. Excellent. Its that simple.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by Amanda Enclade on February 9, 2010 - 8:28 am
Here is the proof that for some, self education far surpasses traditional school learning.
Read this and you will be blessed with Bach’s voice of passion, curiosity and innovation towards your own pursuits. Education is not a destination (diplomas, certifications, Phd’s) but a way of life.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by Pamela Jarmon-Wade on February 9, 2010 - 10:09 am
Secrets of a Buccaneer-Scholar by James Marcus Bach is a pretty good read. I read the title of this book and thought to myself, “What the heck is a Buccaneer-Scholar?” Well the author knew that question would be uppermost on the readers minds, so he provided the definition on page 9: “A buccaneer-scholar is anyone whose love of learning is not muzzled, yoked, or shackled by any institution or authority, whose mind is driven to wander and find its own voice and place in the world.”
The author dropped out of high school because he is a natural “out of the box” thinker who had teachers that feared getting out of the box. In his early twenties, he worked for Apple Computers and has been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal. Nine highlights of his career would be coveted by most MBA graduates…yet Mr. Bach did not get here the traditional way. That is why he can market himself as unique. And I must say the man really has his hustle on! As a scholarly individual and advocate for higher education, I was surprised that the author got me with this and I quote, “I’m a free thinker and a crafty, passionate learner, whose thoughts are not limited by someone else’s curriculum or philosophy.” (page 16).
The author could be deemed the great debater on what is the best route to a great education. The book is chock-full of many Bachisms that may be very helpful. I would even recommend this as a source for organizations and schools to provide to their people.
This book is by no means pell-melled together. It took a lot of time, dedication and energy to capture such info and I am sure the author realizes that it was worth the time. His story of how self-education and the pursuit of passion led to a successful life is a must read.
Reviewed by:
Pam Jarmon-Wade
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Richard Bach on February 9, 2010 - 10:39 am
No matter I think my son’s the single best-educated person I’ve ever met, no matter his book is written in fire, you won’t catch me saying that _Secrets of a Buccaneer-Scholar_ is going to change our political, economic, intellectual or educational landscape.
This book won’t change that landscape. What this book will do to that landscape is _terraform_ it, the way sciencefact a century from now terraforms barren planets into gardenplaces for new civilization.
Proof: Hold _Secrets_ over the supersaturated ocean we call our school system (which has dissolved every atom as much sulphur as it possibly can about teaching bright minds into dull conforming), then drop the book and jump back fast.
Drop it in the system or drop it on one individual and watch it or them or her or him flash-change… boredom galvanized into crystal wonder: _I don’t need a system! I can learn anything, become anyone I want to be!_
The alchemy that transmutes the paper and ink and electrons of _Secrets_ into pure oxygen, it transforms those anaerobic lifeforms we call dropouts and failures into all-of-a-sudden airbreathers. All us living dregs — ZAM! — there’s light in our eyes!
Kids and grown-ups, millions of us have been sentenced by our culture to death by despair: “Where’s your degree, Richard? You’ve got to have a job, Marilyn, or you’re living dead…you might as well die!”
Tomorrow’s society needs no drones to do jobs. It needs people with callings, kids and grownups with purpose and mission. Pass a lost dropout through the light of this book and nine-times-plus in ten she becomes a national treasure.
What are the implications, what happens when the cutting-torch of this book blows through the chains with which we’ve bound ourselves and our children, what happens when the iron falls away?
What if you had discovered this book when you were eight years old, surrounded by the instant library of a worldwide mind? _I don’t need a system! I can learn anything, become anyone I want to be!_
If that had happened, who would you be, today?
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by Patrick Walters on February 9, 2010 - 1:20 pm
James Bach, in his short 193 page book “Secrets of a Buccaneer-Scholar”, offers a firm indictment of formalized education and a revealing insight into the perspective of a true Software Tester. As he states rather late into the book, “…the more I learned about testing, the bigger the job became to me…As my view of the testing field expanded, I found that it touched upon many aspects of human experience.”
As a professional software test engineer for over 10 years, most of that at Microsoft, this book is as profound an explanation of testing and free-thinking as Tom Paine’s Common Sense is to the world of politics. Great software testers think like Mr. Bach does with regard to the craft, even if we have not shared his ideas on “institutionalized learning,” that he has rejected (Honestly, we didn’t know it could be done that way!) We all came to the field from other kinds of training, and his way of learning requires no more than Internet access and a library card — though lifelong learning should encourage you to buy books and bookshelves!
Get this book if you want to understand why testing requires a different kind of thinking or how to get a better education for yourself or a loved one!
Rating: 4 / 5