Gossip: Ten Pathways to Eliminate It from Your Life and Transform Your Soul »

Lori Palatnik is an author and Jewish educator. She has been a guest on numerous radio and television talk shows, and hosted a Toronto television show called "The Jewish Journal." She lectures on the beauty and depth of Judaism throughout the United States and Israel, and has written articles on Jewish topics for The Jerusalem Report, Toronto Star and many other publications. Lori is the author of Friday Night and Beyond-The Shabbat Experience Step-by-Step and Remember My Soul. She now lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband, Rabbi Yaakov Palatnik, and her five children.

Bob Burg is a motivational speaker, consultant and author. He has spoken internationally to Fortune 500 companies, associations and individuals on topics related to business networking and positive persuasion. He has been featured on the national rally circuit, sharing the platform with legends such as Zig Ziglar, Larry King, Mark Victor Hansen, Willard Scott, Paul Harvey, and others. A frequent media guest, Bob's articles have been published in hundreds of professional and trade magazines. His books include Endless Referrals: Network Your Everyday Contacts into Sales and Winning Without Intimidation: How to Master the Art of Positive Persuasion.

Evil speech can destroy friendships, break up marriages and ruin businesses. Gossip-negative talk, put-downs, rumors, accusations-not only hurts the person being talked about, it also hurts the person speaking and the person listening. In short, gossip has a negative impact on everyone. Yet, despite these negative consequences, gossip has been around since the beginning of humankind and continues to be a popular but destructive pastime.

Throughout this timely and enjoyable book, readers will learn what the Bible and Jewish wisdom have to say regarding speech and how their teachings relate to our world today. Readers will also learn via real-life examples how to break the gossip habit and how to teach others to do the same. Gossip will help people develop skills to improve their lives by getting along better with others; mending old hurts and reclaiming lost relationship; keeping good relationships from going bad through hurtful words; and strengthening relationships they already have by speaking in a more encouraging and productive manner.

The purpose of this book is to extinguish the fire of evil speech and help us live in a gossip-free environment. The result? Positive interactions with the people around us, the healing of relationships and a more complete self.

Publishers Weekly

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that speech is power, a concept explored in Lori Palatnik and Bob Burg' s insightful little book Gossip: Ten Pathways to Eliminate It from Your Life and Transform Your Soul. The authors discuss the role of lashon hora (evil speech) in the Bible and in Jewish tradition, exploring the immediate and even the eternal consequences of negative gossip. The book is accessible and well-designed, with powerful pull-out quotes from sources as diverse as Maimonides and Henry Ward Beecher, all illustrating the destructive power of evil words. (Aug.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.