4 comments about James J Hill & Opening of Northwest (Borealis Books).

1. Judging from the other reviews here, I sometimes wondered if I was reading the same book. I didn't find the writing style breezy or particularily easy to read. The main problem with this book is the almost complete lack of what it says in the title "The Opening of the Northwest."
   
   I had expected to find a book that would cover in detail the design, building and construction of the Great Northern railroad and tell me about the towns along the route. The entire construction of the GN was covered in about six pages and practically next to nothing was said about the towns along the route. The only real 'opening of the NW' that was discussed was about the lumber trade and some mining, that was it.
   
   This book spends far too much time covering the business side of Hill's life in exhausting, boring and hard-to-follow detail. This should not be a business text about how to take over a railroad.
   
   I did find the relatively sparse coverage of Hill's personal life to be interesting and it's obvious he was a very shrewd businessman. But all told, I was very disappointed with this book, especially since I bought it after taking the Empire Builder and hoped to find out more about the route I had just travelled. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
   
   I do not recommend this book.



2. Very readable. I took it along on a recent trip on Amtrak's Empire Builder, while I didn't finish the book on this trip, too much to see, this is a perfect place to read it.
   
   I recommend it.



3. This is a very good, highly readable history of James J. Hill, his family and his numerous successful business adventures, and the Great Northern Railway in particular.



4. Of the four major biographies of James J. Hill, this one is the best and most detailed. If it has a fault, it is that it is too detailed for many readers. But for those interested in the financial history of the Great Northern Railway and the personal history of its builder, this is the classic.

   Martin had full access to the James J. Hill papers, now open to the public. Pyle's 1917 biography was also based on those papers, but Pyle was an employee of Hill's and tried to whitewash the truth, which actually made Hill look worse than he was. Holbrook's brief bio was based mainly on Pyle and rumor. Malone's 1996 book on Hill is to Martin's what Holbrook's was to Pyle's--a good intro but not as detailed as Martin's.

1 comments about From the Ground Up: It's Not Just Business!.

1. This is a must read book. Once I started it I could not put it down. Mr. Hoich has overcome adversity that would paralyze most mortal beings. Not only did he survive but he thrived and flourished beyond most people's wildest dreams. Mr. Hoich built an empire starting out with one lawn mower but his success delves well beyond the financial empire that he created. Best of all, Mr. Hoich gives back to his community and so many organizations in a multitude of ways and now through sharing his message for all. He seems to be a man that truly practices what he preaches which is indeed a rare quality in a greed inspired world.
   
   Mr. Hoich's common sense, easy to read message is applicable to the entire population, including but not limited to: teens, tycoons, corporations, housewives, those dealing with substance abuse recovery or loved ones dealing with the fall out of addictive behavior, college students and anyone wishing to be inspired with his profound message of hope.
   
   I cannot recomend this book highly enough and I only wish Mr. Hoich could get his message of hope and inspiration out to the world through the mass media.

3 comments about Sam Spiegel: The Incredible Life and Times of Hollywood's Most Iconoclastic Producer, the Miracle Worker Who Went from Penniless Refugee to Showbiz Legend, and Made Possible The African Queen, On the Waterfront, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and Lawrence of Arabia.

1. I have a deep interest for history, especially Hollywood history, and Sam Spiegel is a name that crops up all over the place and, until now, has really garnered very little attention in the way of biography relative to his peers. Natasha Fraser-Cassavoni had a personal relationship with Spiegel (he produced a film based on a play by her stepfather Harold Pinter) and is perhaps as qualified as anyone to write the life story of this great producer.

   The problem is, although his catalog of films can stand alongside that of anyone in the history of the industry, as a person he doesn't really have any particular standout characteristics that make you take any real interest in him beyond his work. Instead he seems to fit the bill as the stereotype of the Hollywood producer and maybe that alone is enough to make him interesting, but it doesn't come across. The best chapters focus on the films, not the man. There's no denying he was very good at what he did, but this book proved a supreme disappointment simply because I came away not knowing anything more than what I could have learned from a basic filmography. Three stars is a more than generous rating but I give it that because the films are worth the analysis.




2. I found this book difficult to read much less follow. I have a great interest in "old" Hollywood and have read many books on the subject. This book would be at the bottom of the list.



3. Astonishing mistake in the Editorial Review above. That Natasha Fraser could be called a "French journalist" boggles the mind, since her father was the British M.P. Hugh Fraser, her mother is Lady Antonia Fraser (herself daughter of the Earl and Countess of Longford), and her mother is married to Harold Pinter! Authors all.

   This woman comes from as distinguised a line of BRITISH authors as can be imagined.

5 comments about A House in Sicily.

1. Phelps' style doesn't seem quite right for a book about Sicily/Italy. It's a little to sparse and long winded for my taste, and I found myself forcing myself to finish the book.



2. We liked this book so much that, while on a cruise that stopped in Sicily, we arranged to go to the lovely town of Taormina and climbed all the way up to Casa Cuseni. It was wonderful to find it, although the view of Mt. Etna now includes views of apartments, hotels etc.
   
   Daphne Phelps wrote this book when she was 89, and only died last year at the age of 95. As far as I'm concerned, to be productive and lucid enough at that age to produce this engaging book earns her the right to express any opinion she likes. That's how she experienced it, and she describes it well.



3. Despite comments from some readers who obviously feel insulted in some way(which I can only describe as ignorant) I recommend this book to everyone, sicilians and others. As a Sicilian myself I can affirm that the picture ms Phelps paints of Sicily and the Sicilians is truthful, in every detail !! It was like that in the fifties, a lot of Sicilians were illiterate and peasants. The fact that ms Phelps writes this down does'nt mean she is arrogant or superior.In fact she describes the people she 's met during her life with much love.



4. Hey guys why beat up on poor Daphne. I give it 5 stars because she was truthful about how she saw things and people. It wasn't that bad, just a look at Sicilian life from a different generation. Her take on the characters around her was very interesting.



5. Antonina LiCastri-Boocock would like to respond to Salvatore, who in his review of A House in Sicily, refers to my review from a male perpective, and to leave the Machismo at home.
   Please note that I am a woman and my perspective was from a
   Sicilian woman, not that of a man.

   Thank you,

   Antonina LiCastri-Boocock

5 comments about The Cliff Walk: A Memoir of a Job Lost and a Life Found.

1. I so wanted to like this book. The blurb and cover promise a paean to craftsmanship--to the honest pleasures of creative manual labor, carefully and lovingly done. Perhaps the most misleading blurb reads: "The housebuilding section contains some of the best writing about work in American literature."
   
   First of all, the "housebuilding section" takes up the last 62 pages of this 265-page book, so praising that section is faint praise for the book as a whole. Second of all: "some of the best writing about work in American literature"--is this reviewer kidding? (Has he ever read any American literature?)
   
   Look, Snyder's a capable stylist (though nothing more). But he's also a dismal excuse for a human being. This is a problem for a memoirist: it's hard to like a memoir by an unlikable person.
   
   I tolerated Snyder's selfish, self-pitying ways ("Poor me, I lost my job") in the early part of the book because he mocks himself enough that I gave him the benefit of the doubt. "Hmm," I thought, "he seems like a complete asshat, but he also seems to know this--so surely he has a transformative epiphany later." In fact, Snyder has adopted a pose of self-mockery, but it's only a pose. By the book's end, he's the same selfish twit he was at the beginning, only he's a handyman and author rather than an English professor.
   
   Consider: In September 1993, Snyder had been unemployed for about four months, living off of his family's savings in a rented house in Maine. He had been told almost 18 months earlier (in March 1992) that the 1992-1993 school year would be his last as an English professor at Colgate. He applied for lots of teaching jobs but struck out. He didn't seriously try to find any other work and, after he finished teaching at Colgate in the spring of 1993, he spent most of his time feeling sorry for himself, lying to his family, drinking too much, and generally being useless.
   
   His wife, meanwhile, was keeping the family together and taking care of their four young children. By September, the family had $1700 in the bank, and Snyder still had no prospects (he spent his days--I kid you not--stealing golf balls with his son). Snyder had also been volunteering at a homeless shelter, reading Raymond Carver stories aloud to the men there. One of the residents had recently left his cancer-ridden wife to wander the streets depressed. Snyder "became obsessed" with this man and his family and learned "that the father had hit bottom when he was unable to take his family to Disney World. It was the only thing his wife asked for, a family trip to Disney World before she no longer had the strength for such a journey." [188]
   
   So Snyder, obsessed with this other family and heedless of his own, emptied his checking account and gave the money to a priest to give to the abandoned cancer-ridden wife so she could go to Disney World. And Snyder did this without saying a word to his wife.
   
   This is pretty bad: Snyder, to give himself a momentary self-congratulatory high, impoverishes his family behind the back of his wife (the only grown-up in the marriage). But it gets better.
   
   Snyder gets a job as a groundskeeper. Meanwhile, Snyder's wife, like any sensible person whose husband has thrown away the family's money on some masturbatory fantasy, applies for food stamps. The first time his wife goes shopping with them, something humiliating apparently happens, because their youngest daughter, Erin--who accompanied her mother to the store--has a weeping fit when they get home and tells Snyder, "You made us use those stupid tickets." [196]
   
   Snyder doesn't like the cheap groceries his wife brought back. So he invites his oldest daughter, Nell, to go shopping for "real food" so they can "throw a party or something." [196] (Because that's what you should do when your sensible wife got food stamps after you gave away your family's money without consulting her.) At the store, he buys shrimp. He gets a dirty look from a well-dressed couple behind him and, turning to the couple, says to Nell: "You know why this man is groaning? If we were buying boxes of macaroni and cheese with our food stamps it would be all right with him, but we're buying shrimp, and he's groaning about it because that's the kind of food he eats." [197] Nell must have appreciated this.
   
   Later that night, Snyder makes up a bedtime story for his kids. The story is about a poor woman, and at the end of the story, Erin (the daughter who cried about the food stamps) says, "So she had to use those food tickets then?" Snyder is dumbfounded ("I couldn't believe that she was still angry about this") but his wife steps in and says, "Yes. She used them and she held her head up anyway because she was doing the best that she could and she respected herself." [199]
   
   Good message, mom. But you can count on Snyder to undermine it. As soon as he gets his construction job, he comes home and conspicuously burns the family's food stamps in the fireplace, making sure that Erin is watching. Erin asks who bought them the food stamps. Snyder: "I told her that people who had jobs bought them. She wanted to know why. 'Because they're earning money, and it's only fair that they should help people who aren't earning money.'. . . I continued on awhile longer, trying to impress upon my daughter that the notion of a lucky person helping an unlucky person was the only thing that held civilization together." [206]
   
   Say what? Snyder burns the food stamps in front of his daughter to prove that he's a man, thereby validating his daughter's shame about relying on them (if they're not shameful, why burn them?) and undermining his wife's sensible and self-respecting message (people who use food stamps are doing the best they can and should respect themselves), and then Snyder tries to convince her that charity makes the world go round? Which message should Erin believe, the one Snyder sends by his actions or the one he puts into words?
   
   This last scene, and Snyder's narration of it, captures what I hate about this book: by his actions, Snyder shows us that he's selfish and self-absorbed; by his words, Snyder tries to persuade us that he's virtuous and self-aware. The worst part, of course, is that he has fooled himself (and, apparently, a lot of readers, most of whom review this book very highly).
   
   This book is available used for about a penny. It's not worth it.



2. This is about the hard-hitting reality of losing a job you love and not ever being able to get back into the field ever again no matter how hard you try. Overall the writing was well-done and it was interesting, but I was hoping to feel more enlightened about how to reconcile this type of life experience. However, the writer conveys the sense that part of his identity was lost with the teaching job, and though he did learn the benefits of a different kind of life, he still seemed broken in some ways at the end of the story. I was hoping the ending would be more uplifting. But overall, good writing and very interesting.



3. I just read this book while still mired in a job search going on three years. The emotional tailspin the author displays is heart-wrenching and familiar; the tone of the first 200 pages felt like reading my own journals. I did not identify with the author's deceptions and strange behaviors, however, such as lying to his wife or to an insurance company, or considering selling a new baby. But everyone has their own threshold for going haywire, and the point of this book is that Don Snyder got through it and learned something about life, work, and family.
   
   THE CLIFF WALK, beyond the author's personal journey, raises excellent questions about the "American Dream" and what it means in our modern age. It also looks at the meaning of work, and how we draw self-esteem -- even identity -- from what we do for pay. This is a courageous book, even if you don't always approve of how the author responds to his plight, and it offers a strong dose of perspective on what really matters.



4. This is the ultimate victory story...with a twist. Unlike most autobiographical profiles, this one doesn't stand tall and tell you how great it is to be great. The thing is, it doesn't wrap itself up neatly either; the ending doesn't suddenly justify everything that has happened along the way. It's a formula all it's own, one that carries you up and down through the vulnerable channels this man had to endure.
   What's so refreshing about this book is kind of what I liked about the movie "Fargo"--the realization that a good story is as much the cumulitive value of the bits and pieces as it is the linear value--of this happening, then this, then this. Moments like his talking to a stranger while chipping golf balls capture the true feeling, the mixed combination of killing time with his genuine fear of being unemployed for even one more day. It's a strange loneliness that we all feel from time to time, even when we're not truly alone. Again, most writers need to have scaled great mountains before they'll write a story where they hang themselves out like this. Don Snyder makes an exception. In today's world, most nonfiction books succeed based on what they emphasize, leave in, or leave out. Snyder tells it all--even the bits that aren't exactly flattering.
   And in the end, he shows his true grit: not with eagles or birdies, but simply by making the pars he's supposed to make. And don't let my analogies fool you: it's not about golf. It's just your typical combination of fear and pride and confusion that somehow lead us to where we are today. And it's that kind of simplicity that makes a book like this stand the test of time, whether it be now or 50 years down the road.



5. My husband and I both read this book a few years ago and agreed that it was one of the most profound memoirs we'd ever read. Snyder was born to write and we are blessed to have his thoughts recorded for posterity.

4 comments about Miracles Happen: The Life and Timeless Principles of the Founder of Mary Kay Inc..

1. This is a true story about how Mary Kay started her business, as well as how she lived her life. However, I could not do all that selling - I couldn't do any at all, but obviously it didn't bother her at all. It is inspiring and encouraging to know that she put God first, family second, and then career. It is also awesome to know that she treated her employees so good, that there is a long waiting list to work at her company headquarters, and that people can come there just to get away from it all.



2. Mary Kay Ash lived her philosophy of god first, family second, career third. I had the honor of meeting her as a Sales Director with Mary Kay and was priviledged to attend one of her leadership workshops at headquarters in Dallas, Texas. She was a brilliant leader. An inspiring teacher and most of all a woman who walked the talk. Her series of books when read closely reveals a business plan that is bold and forward thinking. It is simple in its application and most of all her plan is doable. I would advise women who want to become consultants with Mary Kay cosmetics to read all of her books. Listen carefully to the plan. Follow the plan, never ever giving up. She used to tell us that "its always too soon to quit!" Great book with great advice from a woman who made it to the top and beyond..........



3. This is a must have book!
   
   Mary Kay has it right - Faith, Family and Career! You can't go wrong with this philosophy. This book really helps put things in perspective.
   
   Highly recommend this book to everyone!



4. Mary Kay tells her story, from being a poor little girl with a mother who worked outside the home full-time and a sickly father to being a saleswoman who never felt appreciated by her male bosses. Learn the motivational story behind Mary Kay Cosmetics. This book completely expresses what a wonderful, amazing woman Mary Kay was. Very inspirational.

5 comments about Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood.

1. I just finished reading Jennifer Traig's incredibly engaging memoir. Who knew a book about a serious condition- OCD, more specifically srucpulosity- would be so entertaining, yet endearing? I was constantly reading parts of the books outloud to my husband, who was wondering why I was giggling.
   Traig is both a gifted and clever author as she gives us an inside peak into a world of extreme religion and cleanliness.
   The story was captivating, the writing wonderful, and yes, the devil is in the details. If you are considering buying this book, definitely buy it. Put a tissue on your head and read it!!



2. Is it wrong to fall over laughing when reading a book about a person with severe OCD? If so, I'm in some deep cosmic trouble, because this was hilarious.
   
   "Scenes" aptly describes the book because, as Traig herself makes clear, her battles with the disease were sporadic. Plus, the book has scattered through it various (also very funny) quizzes, proofs, sample SAT questions, and so forth that give insight into the OCD mind. Somehow, Traig helps us find humor in the horror of bloody, chapped hands, anorexia, and hair-pulling. It's almost a hat trick; I'm not sure how she did it.
   
   Traig and her family, as presented in the book, are immensely likable and weather the bizzare with good humor. There are colorful portraits of them as well as of Traig; no member of her immediate family is there as a mere prop to her own story, which is a real strength in the book, something that helps make it more substantial than many of the more "me-centric" memoirs.
   
   Religion plays a heavy part in this memoir, something that many readers may not expect, but it was the key piece of Traig's disorder. I personally found it fascinating to read about, as so many elements of Orthodox Judaism were unfamiliar to me, and, again, I thought it gave the book a good deal of substance. Some readers may be put off by this element of the unfamiliar, while others may find it intriguing (and it certainly makes this book stand out from any other OCD memoir). The book becomes not just a "book about a girl with OCD" but also a more profound look at a girl coming to terms with her identity and faith. And again-- to be able to make all of this side-splittingly funny reveals rare talent indeed!



3. Intrigued by the excellent art design on the cover of this book, I recently enjoyed stepping into the mind of author Traig as a young girl struggling with a mental disorder amongst other pains of growing up. She writes with a very sardonic tone, which suits the serious subject quite well, making it a fun read instead of a potentially dreary one. The only aspect that seemed slightly out of place was how she didn't really wrap the memoir up with any sense of finality. There was hardly any sense of the author in the present tense, aside from a few mentions of her religious life currently. Perhaps the intent was to create a snapshot of her as an adolescent, but it seems like an abrupt ending to the book regardless. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in reading a sharply written memoir.



4. Jennifer Traig uses a distinctive comic voice throughout this book that makes it very easy to read. The author describes the trials and tribulations of growing up with OCD, and her anecdotes are both poignant and funny. She provides a non-clinical point of view, describing the impact of OCD on her everyday life. I would recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more works by Traig.



5. I really liked this book. A good read about growing up, religion, family and OCD. I just saw that the author has another book, and I'm ordering that one right now! Good read!

5 comments about Genuine Authentic: The Real Life of Ralph Lauren.

1. I have now read all of Michael Gross' books and each has been a pleasure - all I can ask is, "What next?" All the hallmarks of Gross' style are here, incredibly readable, covering a wide range of topics in a comfortable manner and with a sweeping sense of the history of the subject. Gross is equally at home in the technical details of the garment business, the sociocultural aspects of growing up Jewish in the Bronx and the aesthetics of high fashion photography and his tone is never shrill or polemic. I would have liked to have known more about Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein but at 369 pages the book is already weighty, and I absolutely loved every page on Lauren's childhood. I could have used a bit less business writing. But this is my bias. Who knows maybe there is another Gross book about to spring upon us about Hilfiger, whom Lauren repeatedly mispronounced Hilfinger early on, a perfect example of Gross' eye for the exquisite detail. Gross is a master at his trade and this book is a gem.



2. I agree with other reviewers who complained that there were not enough pictures and that one could hardly avoid getting confused about all of the different names in Gross's book. It probably is not Gross's fault but to write about Lauren without plentiful photographs is a disservice to any reader. Gotta give it to Gross though. His report is thorough. He deserves 4 stars. His publisher deserves 2 stars.

   The book is well worth reading for the education it gives the reader about the clothing business and "designer" labels as well as the telling insights into RL himself. In short, RL has cashed in on the preppy WASP persona but, to this day, doesn't really "get it" himself. Upon being questioned about art in his "WASP" designed house, he cannot identify artists on his wall and brags that he just goes by "feel." Clearly, he doesn't understand that the way of life he imitates includes education and culture, neither of which he has to this very day.

   The book is also a wonderful education for the clothes buyer. You know those outlet bargains? I guess they are not, since a whole line goes straight from the factory to the outlet. Did you think that you were the only one who did not buy the $100 blouse at the department store? Looks like no one else buys much either. The money gets made from those pique shirts. Buyer beware.

   Another interesting aspect of RL's personality is his "over the top" out of proportion opinion of himself. He actually imagines that JFK, Jr. does not have as famous/interesting of a father as his own son. He hates to party with royalty or even the White House unless he is the star. Can you say Narcissist?




3. I agree with other reviewers who complained that there were not enough pictures and that one could hardly avoid getting confused about all of the different names in Gross's book. It probably is not Gross's fault but to write about Lauren without plentiful photographs is a disservice to any reader. Gotta give it to Gross though. His report is thorough. He deserves 4 stars. His publisher deserves 2 stars.

   The book is well worth reading for the education it gives the reader about the clothing business and "designer" labels as well as the telling insights into RL himself. In short, RL has cashed in on the preppy WASP persona but, to this day, doesn't really "get it" himself. Upon being questioned about art in his "WASP" designed house, he cannot identify artists on his wall and brags that he just goes by "feel." Clearly, he doesn't understand that the way of life he imitates includes education and culture, neither of which he has to this very day.

   The book is also a wonderful education for the clothes buyer. You know those outlet bargains? I guess they are not, since a whole line goes straight from the factory to the outlet. Did you think that you were the only one who did not buy the $100 blouse at the department store? Looks like no one else buys much either. The money gets made from those pique shirts. Buyer beware.




4. I wonder if "reader" who wrote the first review below works for Ralph Lauren. I bet so. What a personal attack on someone who has obviously worked hard to write a balanced, thorough and honest book. Which this is. Despite Lauren's flip-flopping, first asking for a biography with integrity, then refusing to cooperate when the writer tried to give him what he wanted--a story told in the hysterically funny and revealing author's note at the beginning of the book--Gross not only illuminates Ralph Lauren's business, but also his complex and fascinating character, his tremendous drive and entrepreneurial spirit and the whole world of fashion. He should be proud--not ashamed. And Lauren should count himself lucky that he got a biography of such a high caliber.



5. The book gives a fairly good overview of the major stages of Lauren's life and accomplishments. While the chronology is fairly informative, I feel that it focuses more heavily on the personal relationships in Lauren's life. The book falls short in its description of the creative process that Lauren uses and the source of his inspiration and his ability to reinvent itself. The discussion on the business and financial aspects of Lauren's success is fit more for a magazine article than a serouos biographical study -- don't look for any insights here either.

2 comments about George Soros: An Illustrated Biography of the World's Most Powerful Investor.

1. This book provides a short and simple overview of a legendary investor now more famous for his philanthropy than his investing.
   
   The biography covers the roots of Soros, from his humble start in Nazi dominated Europe. This drives his appreciation for Karl Popper's open society. After moving to the US, the book covers his rise to financial prominance as the man "who broke the pound." It concludes with his philanthropic views.
   
   The book should be taken for what it is - a great primer for a reader who wants an overview of the giant. It is not a complex biography, it is not a text on international investing, and it is not a detailed study of his philanthropy. That said, the book reaches it's humble goals in a very readable manner.



2. This book is a graphic depiction of the life of notorious speculator and political dilettante, George Soros. It describes how he rose from the depths of being a Nazi collaborator in Hungary during the Second World War, to breaking the Bank of England by relentlessly shorting the Pound Sterling and making a billion dollar profit in the process.
   
   The book also attempts to explain Soros' ridiculous investment philosophy, reflexivity, as detailed in his unreadable tome, "The Alchemy of Finance." This financial worldview begins with the premise that everyone's perception of the world is flawed and that our perceptions are affected by our actions in a reciprocal manner (so far, so good). Investment manias arise based upon incorrect perceptions of reality. When one notices that such a mania has developed, he or she should join the crowd, profiting upon the rally, and then take an opposite position when the futility of the trend's continuation becomes apparent. Soros claimed that he knew when to exit a trade because his back began hurting! However, if everyone's perceptions are flawed, our own perceptions are flawed too -- including those of Mr. Soros. How was Soros able to profit from this philosophy while suffering from the same flawed perceptions as eveyone else? Inside information! Soros was convicted of insider trading in France. Regardless of all the verbiage, insider trading must be entered into the calculus of Mr. Soros' real trading method.
   
   When Soros retired from the financial scene, he established the Soros Foundation to promote an international, open society and support many ultraliberal causes. However, the financial reporting of where and how the funds have been employed has been murky, at best. I suppose it's open society for all but the secretive Mr. Soros.
   
   This cartoon book is well done and makes for a quick, fun read about an irascible scoundrel -- our modern day Daniel Drew!

No comments about Mikimoto.