From a lifetime of his own experience, and from scores of interviews and conversations with people from all walks of life and from all over the world, Robert M. Thompson has distilled what he considers the essential principles of wisdom and how to attain them. Concise and pithy, Wisdom, Apples & Black Roses is a guide to the most basic questions of how a human being should think and live. A salient feature of Thompson's presentation is the "anecdotes" he gives to illustrate and prove his points. These charming short stories add wit and color to his ideas and provide refreshment for his readers, and the sketch he offers of his own life grounds his thoughts in the reality of trials and tribulations we all share. About the Author Robert M. Thompson grew up on his grandfather's farm in North Carolina before earning a BS degree in biology from Methodist University, and serving three years in the US Army. He is married with two children and a granddaughter. His hobbies are traveling, reading (philosophy and American Literature), and puzzles. He gives talks and lectures to groups. Before retirement, Thompson's career included testing and treating industrial water in factories, hospitals, schools and colleges. He noticed how some people seemed to excel. He concluded the difference was wisdom. He began to do casual research using lifestyle-examples of those he considered were wise. He discovered these people had four characteristics: humility, awareness, courage, and contentment. Since Thompson could not find any good books on wisdom, he decided to write his own.