ARA Review by Cazorla of Burn Zones
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ARA Review by Cazorla of Burn Zones
From the cover picture, I expected this book to be about cycling. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was much more than just that.
It's a first person monologue recounting the life of Jorge P. Newbury. Jorge explaines that the title, 'Burn Zone,' refers to periods of extraordinary effort and there are many of these periods in Jorge's life.
Jorge is of mixed race with an Argentinian father and a British mother which caused him to be subjected to racial abuse in his native USA.
Jorge was extremely driven and ambitious. When most boys were playing football. Jorge was working and making money, from a paper round at the early age of seven to working as a busboy. At fourteen he'd made enough money to buy a cart from which he sold ice cream around the deprived, crime ridden streets where he lived. Despite opposition from his parents, Jorge left school at sixteen.
Like most teen-agers at that time Jorge loved Punk music and he started an organisation called, Youth Manifesto, setting up pop concerts, interviewing )0groups and recording and selling music cassettes. He was able to combine his love of Punk music with making a good income. He fell in love with the Punk scene but didn't do drugs. He had always felt like a misfit up until then but he identified with the Punk scene which gave him a sense of belonging for the first time. He was shocked by the police brutality he saw at Punk venues which led to his life-long anti-authoritarianism.
Jorge's family were very supportive and he was extremely close to his father. The only niggle was his father's insistence on calling him Jorgie rather than Jorge.
His family welcomed Jorge's new Punk friends who frequented their house much to the annoyance of the neighbors.
The next phase in Jorge's life was when he became a cycling champion. Like everything else he threw himself into his new career. Following his defeat in the Tour De Mexico, he decided he'd gone as far as he could and gave it up after a few years.
At the suggestion of an old friend, Jorge took up a career in finance. He bought up slum properties and made them successful. Although he made millions he wasn't in it just for the money. He gained the respect of local gangs and worked to improve the lives of tenants. His downfall came with the purchase of Woodland Meadows. He had endless disputes with authorities and just avoided prison time.
After loosing all his money he soon started up again.
The book is in two parts. There is Jorge's life story told with honesty and passion. No matter how many setbacks he suffered he always bounced back. His ability to motivate people and improve their lives was admirable. Though he made millions of dollars, he never lived an extravagant lifestyle and always identified with the underdog.
The other part of the book I found a bit technical. In these Passages Jorge goes into details of his struggles with local councils for grants and to comply with health and safety rules for his various projects. For someone like me who is not familiar with the workings of local authorities these passages were a bit doubting.
I'm giving the book 4 stars out of 5 because I found it an inspiration to read about a man with such determination to succeed and yet who didn't loose his humanitarianism.
The reason I am not giving the book five stars is that I found all the technical details of Jorge's planning applications for various projects took away from the excellent narrative of his life and his loving family.
***
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