Secrets of a Buccaneer-Scholar

Book excerpt: Like so many young people, James Bach, the son of the famous author Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull) struggled in school. While he excelled in subjects that interested him, he barely passed the courses that didn't. By the time he was sixteen he had dropped out. He taught himself computer programming and software design and started working as a manager at Apple Computers only four years later - and he never looked back. With The Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar, James shows us how he developed his own education on his own terms, how that unorthodox education brought him success, and how the reader can do it too. In his uniquely pithy and anecdotal style James uses the metaphor of a buccaneer to describe anyone whose love of learning and pursuit of knowledge is not bound by institutions or authorities. James outlines the eleven elements of his self-education method and shows how every reader - simply investing time and passion into educating themselves about the things that really interest them - can develop a method for acquiring knowledge and expertise that fits their temperaments and showcases their unique abilities and skills. Particularly well-suited for an audience grappling with the challenges posed by the internet, but also appropriate for parents looking to help and school their children or employees hoping to jumpstart their careers, The Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar is a groundbreaking and uplifting work that empowers and inspires its readers.