4 comments about Minding the Store: A Memoir.

1. I guess it was my Business degree & marketing background I brought to the Architecture Masters program that made the Dean feel this might be my best contribution to the profession. Why else would he have presented me with this book upon defending my thesis project & graduating - was it really almost 30 years ago?
   
   Now #2 of 4 kids is graduating college in advertising and I can't resist getting her this insightful, revealing history of a magic retail legacy that began in our home town. In fact, my mother grew up in the Adolphus - the marketing ally of Neimans - why else the memorable Thanksgiving parades? So this book certainly has roots to love for marketing majors, Dallasites, those in the fine arts, fashion. But it is more - much more.
   
   The book teaches the rewards of quality, value and commitments to the good of the customer. It's not the mystique of the His & Hers fabulous Christmas catalogue gifts that make cash flow, its the quality of the $10 dresses. It's not the suit, it's the fitting; it's not the price, it's the value; it's not the steak, it's the sizzle. I hope the book passes on the value of ethics, its rewards, mystique and satisfaction, while proving the theory is all true and still alive & well today. Besides all that, it's a fun book to read.



2. This book, like "Quest for the Best" is an absolutely fascinating look into the world of high-end retailing. It should be in every business student's library.



3. I've read two books by S. Marcus - "Quest for the Best" and "Minding the Store". Both are fascinating.
   Without any doubt, Stanley Marcus is the most talented American retailer of the 20th century. You will find out from this lively narrative what made him the best - impeccable taste, discriminate merchandising, extensive knowledge of manufacturing, business vision, professional honesty and breadth of intellectual interests. If you aspire to be a specialty retailer, drop 99% of the books about selling, they will not show you a worthy real-life example of how to run a store that customers can not resist to visit. Marcus does not hold back any secrets how he did it.
   Read, laugh and get inspired.



4. A friendly and enjoyable tale of success in the retail business and how success was accomplished. Stanley Marcus recounts the growth of his family business and the stories of customer demands and customer service that created a hugely profitable and customer orientated retail empire.

   While customer service is the primary focus of the book, creating innovative and exclusive items for the very wealthy provides a glimpse into how the rich find ways to dispose of their money. Marcus was a master of imaginative packages.

   I bought 4 copies of the original edition and gave them away to people in sales. There is no better book for a young, or old, sales person to read.

5 comments about Wall Street Meat: My Narrow Escape from the Stock Market Grinder.

1. I loved this book. All investors and traders should read it and learn from it. But above all it is such an easy read. It tells the interesting story of Kesslers life in the stock analyst world and confirms what I always thought. They are not as smart as people think.



2. Andy Kessler wrote this book from a first-person narrative, and as a result, made the book very easy to read. I read it after reading Dan Reingold's" Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst" then Charles Gasparino's "Blood on the Street". Reingold clearly has "skin on the game" and his tendency to focus on the technical aspects of an analyst's job shows, while Gasparino gave a far better high-level perspective than Reingold. Andy, however, appeared to be able to stay independent of the bankers while at the same time being able to benefit from stepping away to becoming a successful VC. As such, while he is able to look at the implosion happening at Wall Street with great behind-the-scenes understanding of what's going on, and at the same time having intimate knowledge of some of the analysts with the biggest name, because he got out early and found something better, the tales appear to be more aloof than either of the other two books. Nevertheless, it is still an interesting read.



3. This is one fo the MBA's books that can actually shed some light on Wall Street. Think of it as counter-balancing the "shows" which the I-Bankers put on the US campuses.



4. This is an interesting story of a man who got caught up in the world of technology on Wall Street but managed not to get swept away by it. Kessler's story is fascinating-he was an electrical engineer who was hired on by a large Wall Street firm as an analyst when he didn't even know what an analyst was! He got into it mostly for the money, it seems, but did well as an analyst despite making calls that went against the consensus. In his early days (the mid 80's), and later at Morgan Stanley, he met some interesting figures who would play a large part in the tech bubble and blowup of the 90's. As an analyst he refused to compromise himself, and eventually quit Wall Street and started a hedge fund in California. Because of this he was able to avoid the bursting of the tech bubble and escape with his reputation intact (unlike many of his contemporaries). He also had great foresight in his hedge fund, and didn't suffer nearly as much as most people on Wall Street who were heavily invested in tech.
   
   Kessler's story is interesting and many of his anecdotes are entertaining. Where this book falls short, I think, is that it is less a cohesive memoir and more a string of anecdotes and exploits. Much of the book almost gives the impression that one is sitting at a bar listening to Kessler tell stories. That's all well and good, but more detail and a better plot flow would have made this book much better. There is a good deal of name dropping, which is to be expected I suppose, but I didn't find it excessive. Overall this is a decent light read-nothing groundbreaking or memorable here, but worth a casual look.



5. A really funny, close-in look at Wall Street in the dot-com era, told from the perspective of a man who was snatched away from a techie job. A Must Read book when you consider that a lot of the same market hype is back again. Never forget.

5 comments about Turnaround: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan.

1. 
   David Magee provides an interesting and compelling account of how Carlos Ghosn turned around Nissan. This was a remarkable turnaround which transformed a company which was collapsing, mired in debt and lacking direction and focus to one of the leading vehicles manufacturing firms in the world.
   
   Ghosn performed this outstanding turnaround by cutting Nissan's huge debt, drastically cutting costs, getting rid of non-performing assets, streamlining management and restoring the company's competitiveness.
   
   The book provides essential insights into the leadership and management style of Ghosn which provides important lessons to companies that may wish to effect an economic and financial turnaround of their organization. The author has detailed knowledge of Ghosn which he often quotes, making it possible to understand his personality. Part of the secret of Ghosn's success appears to be his cross-cultural management skills. He was born in Brazil, educated in France and was of Lebanese descent. Ghosn's track record is impressive. He turned around Michelin in the important Brazil market and spearheaded the successful merger of Michelin with Uniroyal-Goodrich. He did the same trick with Renault in France where he revitalized their sales, market share and profitability.
   
   Among the leadership skills that Ghosn used in his turnaround is the need to be a good listener, being transparent, be a good team player, and establish trust and respect
   
   This is an excellent book on Ghosn and his leadership style that is recommended to those who may wish to turn their organisations around or just wish to learn about developments in the auto-industry. His simple writing style makes it easily understandable to a wide audience.



2. If you would like to read about how a no nonsense guy took Nissan from being extinct to one of the top automotive companies in the world you need to read this book. It has many great lessons and principles that you can apply to your everyday life or job and turn your life around!



3. David Magee's book tells the very interesting story of how Nissan's fortunes were revived by "a fiery, intellectual, Brazilian-born, French educated man of Lebanese descent, Carlos Ghosn".
   Although Nissan was established in 1933, it had its heyday in the 1960s when products like its Z car took the American market by storm and its Datsun brand was a global brand leader. By the late 1990s, Nissan had lost its focus and direction. Whereas Honda and Toyota were both going from strength to strength, Nissan languished, its glory days seemingly gone forever. Faced with a mountain of debt, they allowed the French Renault company to buy what was effectively a controlling stake in the company.
   Renault dispatched Ghosn to Tokyo, where Ghosn performed what can only be described as miracles. He slashed Nissan's debt burden, he restored its cost competitiveness, he sold off non performing assets, he reorganized its finances and streamlined its management systems. Magee tells us that he even inspired the F-Marinos, the soccer team Nissan sponsor, to advance from languishing in 13th place in its league division to winning the competition, all in the space of a year.
   How could one relatively young man accomplish so much in such a short period of time? Magee attributes his massive successes to the homespun wisdom of Fr. Lagrovole, a Jesuit priest, who taught Ghosn at school in Lebanon! Lagrovole advised his young charge to listen before he speaks and to understand where everyone is coming from in cultural and other terms.
   Armed with this advice, Ghosn set out to take to the corporate world by storm. Before reviving Nissan's fortunes, he restored Michelin's profitability in its key Brazilian market. Having then organized the merger of Uniroyal -Goodrich and Michelin, he was head hunted by Renault and quickly revived their fortunes in Europe. Having solved their European problems, Ghosn was dispatched to Tokyo to reinvigorate the newly acquired Nissan company.
   Ghosn, in some ways, comes across as a comic book hero. And in fact, he was made the hero of a Japanese manga comic book, which he helped write and which Japanese salary men eagerly read in the hope of picking up some managerial tips from this remarkable man.
   Fr. Lagrovole's advice apart, they will find few tips in this book which tells us that Ghosn's forte seems to be at cross-cultural management and at paying attention to both the minutest detail and overall strategy. There are no worthwhile insights into the mind of this remarkable strategist. We hear, unsurprisingly, given his results, that he works very hard but likes to devote his weekends to his family but we get no inclination of why he is so brilliant and how we lesser mortals can learn from his successes and his failures, assuming, if we dare, that he has ever failed at anything.
   We are told that the Nissan revival has been a great success. But, as with his earlier successes, the synergies to Renault are not explained. We are not even told what Renault hoped to gain by taking over Nissan. Instead, we are told on pages 207/8 that "Ghosn stressed time and time again that he and others were at Nissan for the good of Nissan, not for the good of Renault."
   But it does not make sense that Renault should take over Nissan so that Nissan would benefit. Renault's management is supposed to work in the interests of Renault's shareholders, not Nissan's. We are told that Renault hopes the Nissan merger will boost Renault's sales in Indonesia. But, just as we are not told why Renault failed to merge with Volvo, so also are we not told why an unstable country like Indonesia stands at the center of Renault's projected synergy gains.
   Instead, Magee informs us that Nissan has gained so much from the Renault alliance that it might soon be strong enough to divorce itself from the French company entirely. If so, how did Ghosn's successes with Nissan benefit Renault and, Indonesia apart, has the Nissan merger strengthened Renault's position in the auto market against the formidable opposition of such titans as Toyota, Honda, Ford, General Motors, Daimler and Volkswagen?
   Instead of addressing those key managerial and strategic questions, Magee wastes too much time discussing such things as Mississippi's race riots in the 1960s. The result is a shallow book that does not do justice to the very important topics it purports to cover.



4. 
   Obviously this book has not been written by a specialist in management but it gives you some of the management tools that Carlos Ghosn and his team used to save Nissan. One of them is probably the use of cross functional teams (CFT). I bet that Carlos Ghosn is the new Jack Welch. Future will tell!



5. The story of how a foreigner rescued Nissan would make a great book, but this isn't it. The writing is pedestrian, but, worse, there's too much padding. Magee takes a handful of basic points about Ghosn's management technique, and repeats it throughout the book, providing little illumination about the specifics. Shorn of the repetition and generalities, you could take all the content and reduce it to maybe 25 pages.

5 comments about Being Martha: The Inside Story of Martha Stewart and Her Amazing Life.

1. I could not put this book down as the story-telling style is engaging and it introduces me to a woman who is so amazingly strong minded and driven. This book humanizes Martha Stewart as a person who has gone through heartbreaks, disappointments, letdowns and lots more just like the rest of us, yet her positive attitude and loyalty towards her beliefs remain unwavering. I enjoy this book tremendously as I can get to read a lot of "behind the scenes" stories.



2. First I must state I am not particularly a fan of Ms. Stewart. On the other hand, I really have absolutely nothing against her. I don't know her, and in all likelihood never will. I do know that she has received some pretty bad press and a lot of hack writers have made a bit of money taking cheap shots at her. That being said, I rather enjoyed this work. I see absolutely nothing wrong in a friend writing about a friend and saying nice things about the friend they are writing about. The author's style is a little too gushy for my taste i.e. "to die for" is not the way people I know describe cookies. On the other hand, the author's world is different than mine, and that is okay. I dare say the author never uses phrases such as "damn, this is good stuff" when describing cookies. I do admit to finding Ms. Stewart a fascinating individual, and while, as I said, I am not a particular fan, I do admire what she has accomplished. The author gives us yet another view of this woman's life, and that is always refreshing. Like her or not, she certainly has made an impact on our society. It is people such as her we should all know about. This is a fast read and you certainly will not be the worse for wear by reading it and might even enjoy it. Overall, recommend.



3. As some other reviewers have previously stated, this book was written by an old friend of Martha Stewart's which may be cause for wondering if things are not a bit tweaked. The author has this "goody two shoes" style of writing that can be annoying at times.
   
   However, the book reads very fast and is entertaining, though it may be a bit biased.
   
   The story of Martha's life makes for interesting reading any way you slice it (no pun intended!!). She has worked hard, so hard in fact that it is almost impossible to believe that any one individual could possess such stamina, energy and focus. I am always inspired by people who start with modest beginnings and build an empire.
   
   I also read the book Just Desserts by Jerry Openheimer, which is an unauthorized biography and paints an entirely different picture of Martha.
   
   Read this one with a grain of salt! (again, no pun intended!!)



4. I was so impressed to finally read writings about Martha that were neither sappy and artificial nor spiteful and mean spirited. Allen is a true friend to Martha the kind that sees her how she really is faults and all and obviously still respects her. I love that he doesn't immortalize her as some sort of goddess but yet you can sense that he has a great deal of respect and admiration for her. I have always been a huge fan of Martha especially after she was, in my opinion, held up a bit unfairly as an example of how the government was cracking down on big business. This book takes a true and accurate look at the women, wife, mother, friend and incredible business women that Martha is. She has a temper like most of us, she is moody just like most of us, she likes nice things just like most of us. The difference is that her every move is scrutinized in most cases negatively and out of context. Yet she handles it all with grace and dignity as best she can and strives more recently to open herself up and let us her fans in. I highly recommend this book to her fans as well as those who through negative press have decided they do not like her. Give it a chance it might change your mind. Thank you Allen for an excellent view into the true Martha. Thank you Martha for Being Martha.



5. I really enjoyed the book. It certainly gave me a new perspective on Martha. I mean I never paid much attention to Martha and her story. I just heard what other people had to say about her occasionally. It is unfortunate that people tend to be swayed by what they here on the gossip mill. What a great thing Mr. Allen did for Martha! I am really glad he wrote the book and I am really glad I read it. Martha certainly deserves respect and admiration.

5 comments about Born to Steal: When the Mafia Hit Wall Street.

1. I do most of my reading on the train commuting to and from work. This book did not give me that luxury because I was so into the story of how this kid became rich and invested for well known celebrities. I read it in three days because I kept wondering how and when this guy was going to get whacked by the mafia. The real life photos in the book make the stories more justifiable. Also, these pictures help keep the reliability of the book in tact.
   
   Business mostly draws my interest for reading material, so that was the reason I bought the book at an airport one day. If you like business success stories and real life mafia drama, then this book will knock you off your feet.



2. If you can imagine a book written that blended these two movies together, bada-bing, there's your book. There's your review.



3. It nevers ceases to amaze me that people could be so gullible as to send a check for a large sum of money because some guy with a great line of BS says he can make you rich and he represents an official sounding brokerage house. Wow.
   
   The story is very captivating. Reading about Louis spiral out of control, hooking up with organized crime "Guys", the drugs, the lies, the scamming. Pretty entertaining.
   
   This book really makes me wonder what all those regulatory agencies actually do. Its obvious they are not running around trying to protect the average consumer. Too bad, cause with people like Louis manning the phones, many people out there need protection.
   
   I found myself looking for excuses during the day to get back to reading this book. I really enjoyed it.



4. Mr. Weiss shows us how he has been able to capture his Pulitzer. The author "lets the hood tell his story" as one reviewer complains, but I would assert that this is a BIG asset to this book. Yes, we find out the "banality of evil" but that is beside the point.
   
   You may find yourself dealing with this part of society in one shape or another eventually and you may be surprised to find that the Mafia is NOT so dead as it is being assumed to be. Of course, if you really read between the lines of this book you realize that this is an example of Organized Crime ADAPTING. The penny stock industry (Yes. .it is an ongoing industry . . and NOT going the way of the buggy whip, if my FAX machine is any indication. . .filled as it is with unsolicited stock BS) was the place to be if you wanted to rub shoulders with mobsters in the 1990s. Weiss acts as narrator as the life story of Pasciuto unfolds.
   
   Some here have complained about the prose style. I found it very accessible. The story is an easy read and you are not supposed to wind up "compelled" by any character. They are almost all bad guys. This time, Weiss didn't complain about how incompetent the legal watch dogs must be to simply let this all unfold without being much hindrance, but if you think this stuff through fully, you would wind up wondering that. . .WHERE IS THE SEC??? . . .the NASD?
   
   Anyway, if you want to get a feel for the chop stock industry you should read this book. If you feel compelled to invest in those ULTRA LOW CAP stocks that you see in your fax machine or in unsolicited e-mails. . .you MUST read this book!
   
   Caveat Emptor!
   
   Chris Tune



5. A really fascinating, jarring look at a corner of Wall Street that I did not know existed. Takes you back to the days of the Roaring Nineties when the Internet bubble and IPO mania was driving stocks skyward. Working around the edges of the market were criminals in Armani suits like the subject of this book, Louis Pasciuto.
   
   Pasciuto was a sharp kid from the streets of Staten Island, and he was a cinch for the sharp talk of a hoodlum named Roy Ageloff, who ran the brokers at a crooked firm called Hanover Sterling. Pasciuto had a talent for ripping off investors, and he used that talent first at Hanover and then 17 other firms.
   
   Watching Pasciuto on his rise and then fall is a truly unbelievable experience. Amazing that as a teenager he was already running an entire crew of other young thieves.
   
   The book unveils the Mafia aspects of the book slowly and naturally, without sensationalizing. So we get realistic glimpses of what the Mafia has become in the later part of the 20th century. Through it all we get into the psyche of the Mafia gangsters, particularly the one who was principally shaking down Pasciuto, Charles Ricottone.
   
   By the end of the book you come away with a deep appreciation of two things:
   
   One is that the Mafia is definitely on its way out. I just finished reading Selwyn Raab's book Five Families, and that book, though also very good, failed to depict the Mafia's current state in quite as vivid a way as this one. Raab failed to adequately explore the personnel weaknesses that have decayed the Mafia. They become very obvious in reading Born to Steal. Obviously the people left in the Mob are low-level hoods without imagination or drive.
   
   Second, you get a real sense of how Wall Street operates. Even though the book concentrates on on the lower rungs of the Street, you get a good appreciation of the kind of money-grubbing nature of the people who run Wall Street generally.
   
   The epilogue, recounting what happened after the hardcover edition came out, is cynical and very funny.
   
   In all, a very strong and readable book.

5 comments about Two Lucky People: Memoirs.

1. Milton Friedman needs no introduction, so let me just talk about the book. In this book, you almost get a comprehensive account of the life of Milton and Rose. But this book is about so many other things. I cannot possibly cover everything that this book covers, so let me tell you about one part of the book that has helped me--it's the part where Milton talks about learning and teaching economics. I'm an undergraduate planning to major in economics and political science. (Milton Friedman actually got me interested in economics & politics through his book Free to Choose.) But when I first started taking economics courses, it was... a little bit dull, if I may say so. I didn't know how all these supply and demand curves were supposed to help me understand the world. But I've checked out this Memoirs from the library, and Milton is talking about his years as a student. He talks about the courses that he took at the University of Chicago, and especially "Economics 301: Price and Distribution Theory," which he took with Rose (that's when they first met), and which he taught at Chicago. When he took the course, he understood that "economic theory was a coherent set of tools, to be used with care and the utmost attention to logical rigor, but to be judged primarily by its usefulness in understanding and interpreting important economic events" (35). Just by reading this quote, I'm starting to understand what economics is about. So Milton Friedman got me into economics, made me passionate about it, and helped me make sense of it. Milton Friedman was so many things, but what a brilliant teacher he was.



2. This is a great book for anyone who is interested in Milton Friedman, economics, The University of Chicago, twentieth-century intellectual history, university politics, or rags-to-riches stories. Both authors have led very interesting lives and the tone throughout the book is upbeat and positive. This is one of the best and most-influential books I have ever read. Milton Friedman is one of the most clear-thinking, intelligent people of the twentieth-century and our country would be better off if more of his ideas on economics, education, and freedom were put into practice.



3. Milton Friedman is one the of tough guy who always support the free market idea.He is the first guy who builds the monetary school and also a good story teller.He does do a great job and I guess that is not just luck.



4. The memoirs extend from the Friedmans' early years to 1997. The earliest times are recounted in separate voices by Rose and Milton, each telling her or his own story seriatim. For the later years, their narrative voices are presented sometimes jointly and sometimes in tandem. This method adds a great deal to the readability and interest of their story. It allows the reader to get different impressions of the same people and places and brings out the (rare) disagreements between the two authors. It provides more information and presents a more vivid picture than is typically the case in memoirs by a single author....

   To read "Two Lucky People" is to get on intimate terms with a wholly delightful and wholly admirable couple. Here is a book to savor. Instructive and endlessly entertaining, it brings to life a whole era from the Great Depression to the present day.




5. More of a travelog than an interesting business book. I could not even finish it, which is very unusual for me.

5 comments about At Random: The Reminiscences of Bennett Cerf.

1. From his early days at Columbia, starting out with the Liveright Publishers in the 1920's, and buying into the Modern Library Classics, this is without doubt the best look at publishing I've ever read! The amusing story of how a special copy of Ulysses came across the Atlantic, and into the hands of US Customs is worth the price of the book! Add to that, hilarious yarns, like meeting with Gerturde Stein & her Sidekick Alice, featuring the hilarious promotion of their book so it could "compete" with the hot new book FOREVER AMBOR ,and its even hotter author K. Windor makes for some real fun. Mr. Cerf even wrote a short comment in some of Ms. Stein's books admitting he could not always figure out what they were about. A trip to London to meet Bernard Shaw is also good for some laughs. His comments on many other "Literati", including Saroyan, Faulkner, O' Hara, Ayn Rand,Wittaker Chambers, etc. plus general comments on the state of the world are all top. In short, a must read for anyone of all ages, even if you don't care too much about writing and publishing!



2. When I was a young girl, one of my favorite television shows was 'What's My Line' where the game participants had to guess from various hints what the person was representing. Along with Dorothy Kilgallen, I enjoyed most the witty, debanoir Bennett Cerf. I tried in vain to be on the show as at that time, I had "four mothers" instead of forefathers. But that was off-limits back then. In 1955, his autobiography 'The Life Of the Party' portrayed a humorist along the vein of Mark Twain. He loved to solve puzzles. He was master at humorous anecdotes, always at random: as apparently was his sense of thought.
   
   Here are a couple of examples from one of his "Bumper Crop" books"
   The learned but unwordly head of the department devoted to the study of comparative religions at Harvard invariably asked the same question on every final exam: "Who, in chronological order, were the Kings of Israel?" Students came to count on this procedure as a sacred institution and prepared accordingly. Only once did he vary from this practice, asking instead: "Who were the major prophets and who were the minor prophets?" The class members were at a loss and all but one left the question unanswered. This sole survivor scribbled furiously and deposited his paper with the air of a conqueror. "Far be it from me to distinguish between these revered gentlemen, but it occurred to me that you might like to have a chronological list of the Kings of Israel."
   
   Do you know why so many Hawaiian words sound and look alike to the uninitiated? There are only twelve letters in the Hawaiian alphabet. The vowels, (A, E, I, O, and U) and the consonants H, K, L, M, N, P, and W.
   
   He was a clever man and an educated man. It's too bad he never received his well-deserved 'Star" in Hollywood, but he was an Easterner (no doubt), and it probably is reserved for the game show hosts. He could have been one, and a good one at that!



3. The beauty of this book is that you get to know Bennett Cerf as the scholarly, brillant, and excellent businessman who met the most amazing and well known writers of the 20th century. The gentle questioner on What's My Line was the powerhouse of Random House.
   
   This is the book you keep if you want insights into the personalities of such greats as Sinclair Lewis, F Scott Fitzgerald, William Saroyan, James Joyce, William Faulkner, Dorothy Parker, and a hundred other writers.
   
   This is the book you keep when you want to remember a time when, in business deals, your word was all that was needed and great writing meant having something intelligent to say.



4. Bennett Cerf's legendary career had him founding, leading, then selling one of the world's pre-eminent publishing houses, writing best-selling anthology and humor collections, speaking live and appearing weekly on the "What's My Line?" quiz program. He assembled much of his oral history through transcribed interviews and journals for what would be his autobiography, which he planned to write before dying in 1971.

   His family, most notably son Christopher, assembled "At Random" from Cerf's exhaustive life chronicles. His family focused it, according to their introduction, "primarily about publishing and (Cerf's) pre-eminent role in it."

   The result is a fascinating story which assembles Cerf's life and career as businessman, newspaperman, TV celebrity and, finally, his role as husband, father, and friend (a lovingly remembered childhood, glimpses of his marriages and family, loving remembrances of friends and co-workers from George Gershwin to Moss Hart.)

   Cerf knew and published some of the 20th century's most well-known and beloved authors. "At Random" teems with anecdotes and personal remembrances of James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, Dorothy Parker, Sinclair Lewis (with some frank critique of his career), William Faulkner, and Ayn Rand. Cerf also crosses paths with legends like New York's Cardinal Spellman (who shares an unusual lunch date with author John O'Hara) Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, and General David Sarnoff who, at the book's conclusion, clashes with Cerf over a fraction in Random House's sale price to RCA.

   "At Random" has much to teach about publishing, its machinations and the egos and careers of its stars, the authors. But you come away wanting to know Bennett Cerf better: his political liberalism, hot temper, love of celebrity and of language. He hints at each in his narrative, only leading you to wish other quotes and remembrances could have been included in an addendum to this lovingly compiled book.. (Excerpts from some of his still popular pun collections may have helped.)

   "At Random" examines the life and legacy of a celebrity too rare amid an increasingly sordid and more coarse media landscape - an author and businessman who became a TV celebrity first, celebrating the brief period when books were as anticipated and celebrated as films and recorded music are today. It's essential for anyone appreciating 20th century classic literature and history, a love letter to its first star authors and, by proxy, the man who published them.




5. When all of us who are now officially Older Than Dirt were growing up back in the 1960's, we usually aspired to be one of three particular men of achievement. For those of us with an athletic bent, Mickey Mantle was the man of choice. For those adventurers and dreamers among us, John Glenn appeared to offer the perfect life. Finally, for us bookish sorts, Bennett Cerf, publisher of Random House, panelist on "What's My Line," author of some of the worst puns ever written, and all around man about town, was who we aspired to be. This book is in essence his memoirs, told in oral history format just a short time before his unexpected death in 1971. He describes in detail why he was able to grow Random House at such a rapid rate: in his day, the book business was a stuffy one, and no publisher worth his salt would dream of lowering himself to seek out new authors. Bennett, being young, foolish, and very intelligent, would travel to wherever these authors lived and impress them with his obvious wit and sincerity. The sheer number and weight of authors whose service he was able to acquire through these means was absolutely staggering: Eugene O'Neill, James Joyce, Robinson Jeffers, Gertrude Stein, and Bill Styron, to name a very few. Through his liberal editing policies, he was even able to publish authors whose ideas he completely disagreed with, such as Ayn Rand. Some, like playwright Moss Hart, became lifelong friends. Although New Yorkers have long thought of their city as the center of the universe, Bennett's long and storied career made many believe it was true. The reader will enjoy his chatty, breezy style time and again, as a reminder that at one time, in the world of books and publishing, one man truly made a difference.

5 comments about Citizen Hughes : The Power, the Money and the Madness.

1. In his blacked-out Desert Inn Las Vegas suite, with only Mormon aides under the strictest of rules. Eating only canned goods after the most precise label removed sterilization routines. And the continuous viewing of the movie "Ice Station Zebra" morning, noon and night. This is the unshaved, rarely bathed Howard Hughes in his final years. Las Vegas because of its heat; heat representing in his mind cleanliness and purity. My how the mighty have fallen! Should be a sequel to the film "The Aviator".



2. Howard Hughes is a tragic figure.
   
   This book exploits the desire of gossip-mongers to "get the inside scoop" on the private life of the celebrity Hughes.
   
   Nevertheless, I found the book highly credible and a great source of research information for more than just Hughes.



3. The movie was exceptionally good. As always the book is better. It really gives you a lot of insight into his life.



4. A startling glimpse inside the life of a disturbed Howard Hughs.
   The book does not outline a pretty picture of Hughs in his latter years. The corruption,the paranoia,the insanity,is quite compelling. The author however,does tend to repeat several things over and again in the book. Still, I found it a great read and a disturbing look into the life of Howard Hughs during his final years.



5. Shut away in a hotel room in Las Vegas, with the windows blacked out, and a TV and six aides as his only connection to the outside world, Howard Hughes rules the world, if only in his mind.
   
   During the late 1960's and early 1970's, Hughes, who hasn't been seen in public in almost ten years, lives the life of a total recluse, in a "germ free" prison he has built for himself. Naked, only bathing maybe once or twice a year, with hair down to his backside, beard down to his navel, eating maybe once a day at the most, and storing his urine in Mason jars, Hughes writes out memos to his Mormon aides detailing to them, among other things, how to "sterilize" canned fruit to be served to him, despite the fact that his hotel room hasn't been cleaned in years. He also schemes about his plans to make Vegas in his image, including ways to allow people from all over the world to phone in to bookies to place bets and win big.
   
   Howard Hughes, in his final years, lived only for self. He considered himself the perfect man, a megalomaniac who shoots up with enough drugs to kill a horse, and writes out his orders on legal pads instead of picking up a phone or showing up at board meetings in person.
   
   
   "The Dating Game"
   
   For example, as Hughes is poised to buy the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), the deal dies in less than thirty minutes, due to his racist tendencies (out of fear, not hatred). He tunes in to "The Dating Game", to see a black man have to choose a date between what Hughes thought was two black women and one "white" woman. The man chooses the "white" woman, who in fact is not white but is actually a very light skinned black woman. But it doesn't matter to Hughes: out of his bizarre fear, the deal is off.
   
   In conclusion...
   A wacky story of a genius who became so afraid of the world that he "tried" to control it through his TV and his henchmen.

No comments about Andy Grove: The Life and Times of an American Business Icon.

5 comments about Dark Side of Fortune: Triumph and Scandal in the Life of Oil Tycoon Edward L. Doheny.

1. Well written biography. Moves along with a smooth pace. Has the feel of an exciting novel rather than a history. Will be of interest to southern Californians and particularly Angelenos. Those who have seen the movie, "There Will Be Blood" will find this story worthwhile.



2. The book was very interesting and historical. The writer was excellent and easy to read and understand.



3. Good read, except for the fact that the author deliberately omitted the fact that Ned Doheny & Hugh Plunkett were gay. Ned Doheny probably was bisexual and he spent a lot of time with his buddy Hugh Plunkett. Certainly the Doheny family asked the author to downplay this issue in exchange for their co-operation with the book. Hugh was more than a "private secretary". I assume the author is straight; so she would not understand Ned's sexuality; Ned was spoiled rotten, an only child, and was given everything money could buy. It is a wonder Hollywood never made a film of this story; perhaps the Doheny family have something to do with this? In 1929, it was assumed that Ned and Hugh were lovers. Ms Davis has tried to change history? For a price? The public is not that stupid. Especially now with the scandals coming out of that seminary in Camarillo for pediphile priests that Estelle Doheny donated so many millions to. It is a wonder the Doheny family did not provide more photos as there are more at the USC library than Ms Davis was able to come up with in this book. The Beverly Hills Historical Society has a better collection of photos of Greystone; fully furnished in its heyday than you see in this book. Behind every great fortune there is a great crime. I expected to read something I had not heard before; but she is afraid to go there. Did Lucy Battson die with her secret? It was scandalous to be gay in those days, but not now. Maybe a gay author could have done the story justice. Her details about the oil fields are great; it is the social history that is lacking. We all know that the greatest export from Ireland is its people.......



4. This book is a fascinating look at the life and times of one Edward Doheny the onetime founder of Mexican Oil Company prior to the nationalization of reserves by the revolutionary PRI party in the early days of their power. The narrative follows the career of Mr. Doheny from his modest prospector days in the Wild West to the heights of his infamy during the Teapot Dome scandal.

   This is perhaps a timely book as well given the questions being raised at the time of this writing about corporate malfeasance and corruption in the U.S. (Enron). Teapot Dome was one of the biggest political scandals in the first half of the 20th century and involved the leasing of government/public lands in preserve areas for energy development. More than one person went to prison and wrongdoing was proven against multiple individuals in the matter.

   The book makes the case that Doheny was more or less guilty of poor judgment and being in the wrong place at the wrong time more or less. It is true of course that Doheny was found innocent on the charges and it is also true that despite this Teapot Dome is the matter for which he is best known (despite for instance being a contemporary and rival of John D. Rockefeller in the oil business). If in fact he was innocent of the charges then he paid a heavy price in terms of his health and the somewhat mysterious death of his son, which was either suicide or murder depending on who you ask and how you look at it.

   For those with an interest in the biographies of the early titans of U.S. industry this is a worthy read in that it does detail Mr. Doheny's rise to power as well as his fall from grace. He came from a modest background and did not make his fortune until after the age of 40 in a time before life expectations averaged 70+. He suffered through personal loses and setbacks and managed at the time of his death, despite the misfortunes, to bequeath a sizeable fortune to his heirs. This book may also be of particular interest in the study of Los Angelos in particular and California in general in that the Doheny's were prominent citizens who built some noteworthy structures in the city including religious and educational facilities.

   The author acknowledges that she had the cooperation and blessings of the descendants of Mr. Doheny and that a good body of original documentation was available for review and research. This provides an intimate look at the lives of the people in question but it also may cause the thesis to lean towards their views. The book does tend to exonerate Doheny in Teapot Dome and it does make a good argument that his involvement was not profitable and that the Navy Dept in fact sought him out because of rising fears of the Japanese Navy in the years leading up to WWII. It was a condition of Mr. Doheny's development of the area under lease to him that he build an extensive oil storage and supply facility for the Navy in the Hawaiian Isles out of his own pocket. This he did and subsequently was not reimbursed when the lease was negated despite having spent many millions in pre-WWII monies. It is also I believe true to state that it was Henry Sinclair who was the actual lease holder on the Teapot Dome acreage and that Doheny was leased an entirely separate parcel of public land. Sinclair along with Interior Secretary Albert Fall went to prison in the affair but Doheny was also tarred and feathered by the affair.
   Whether the delivery of $100,000 in cash by Doheny's son to Sec. Fall was in fact a personal loan much as one might expect between old prospecting buddies (which they were) is really a matter of conjecture. At any rate there was clearly the appearance of impropriety in the matter and both Doheny's son and the man accompanying him that night were involved in a murder/suicide after indictment but before trial. With the principle witness gone and little other corobative evidence Mr. Doheny's celebrity legal representation did get him acquitted although he was convicted in the court of public opinion.

   Personally I am inclined to believe a man of his stature might loan a friend the sum in question but I also would not be surprised if a quid pro quo were expected in return. You see there was any number of companies competing in secret for the government contracts and it is interesting that both men who won had either the appearance of impropriety or were outright convicted of bribery. Part of the reason Doheny was spared prison was in fact due to the death of his son and his earnest and teary eyed appearance on the witness stand where he looked the part of a grieving grandfatherly figure who had lost something money could not replace.
   It is an intriguing story and well written book, not terribly long or archaic for the casual reader. While it is a history book it is in fact also the story of an interesting chapter in American business and personality history.




5. Margaret Leslie Davis has done it again with another fine biography. Ms. Davis shows us the inner man of Edward L. Doheny, one of the richest and greatest Californians in history, virtually the John D. Rockefeller, Sr. of the West. Doheny was flat broke at the ripe age of 40 and yet within a few years he became one of the richest men in the country through his wild-cat oil discoveries in Los Angeles and Mexico. The break-up of Rockefeller's Standard Oil by the U.S. Supreme Court left Doheny an opening which he exploited adroitly. Most impressive is Ms. Davis's keen legal understanding and her scrupulous attention to noting her sources. In fact, the "notes" at the end of the book are arranged so that the top of the page refers the reader to the page number of the text thereby making it very easy to flip back and check the source. A small detail, perhaps, but much appreciated. Ms. Davis is a true scholar; her legal training shows itself especially when discussing the Tea Pot Dome scandal that ultimately tarnished Doheny's reputation. In short, Ms. Davis is becoming our finest historian on the West and particularly California.