No comments about The Liberty Seekers An American Saga: A History of Howard Hughes' Family and Fortune Book I.

No comments about Carnegie: The Richest Man in the World.

5 comments about The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made: The Life and Times of A. C. Gilbert, the Man Who Saved Christmas.

1. This book is being hawked to book club types who read widely if not deeply, but it seems to have missed its intended audience. The first clue is it has two subtitles. The second appears when you crack the cover. Watson seems to have reprised the successful writing style of his other books. What results is neither fish nor fowl.
   
   The few black and white pictures will have toy collectors salivating for more. Any serious? afficianados will be put off with Watson's frequent recourse to pop psychology and his continual penchant to restate the obvious. What this book makes you want is a full scale, photo-drenched guide to the A.C. Gilbert toy company and especially erector sets.
   
   Erector sets also have a long, speckled history, being bought at one point by Meccano, the British equivalent, and recently reissued by various companies who apparently just bought the name. As with Johnny Lighting, Aurora Models and Lionel Trains, Erector longs for some toy lover to bring back the real thing: kits that build various structures and vehicles and especially robots, not those currently in vogue with nostalgic adults (but ignored by creative kids) that only construct one rickety model.
   
   That said, this book does a great job of recreating the possible environment of A.C. Gilbert's company and how he lived and breathed toys. As one subtitle suggests, he ought to be every toy lovers' hero for the way he saved Christmas in 1918 from a proposal that would force parents to buy war bonds rather than toys for their kids. Rather than appearing in circulating libraries and book clubs, this book needs to be redone with far more graphics and toy pics and aimed at toy collectors who would discover in A.C. Gilbert a mentor and hero.



2. Although I was born too late for the Erector set boom, I, for the most part, enjoyed this biography on toy magnate A.C. Gilbert. Part man, part boy, part inventor, part showman and all business, this gave good insight into the man behind the legendary toys. Again, I'm a little out of the loop as far as Gilbert's toys go, but I'm willing to wager that this would be much more enjoyable for somebody who grew up with Erectormania.



3. This book should be required reading for industrial designers, toy designers and anyone else involved in design, marketing or production of consumer goods. This is a very important look into market forces, consumer behavior and the importance of placing the consumer first amd foremeost in your product design.

   The book may be a biography, but is also a textbook for every enlightened designer and marketer. I will make this required reading for the Industrial design grad student I am mentoring.

   Add to the fact that the author's style is at times hilarious, sometimes matter of fact, and the bottom of page 208 and page 209 will bring tears of joy and pride to your eyes.

   Well written, entertaining and incredibly informative.




4. A.C. Gilbert wore many hats: athlete, magician, and self-made millionaire - but he made his money by creating the Erector set toy back in 1913, making an invention which changed how boys played. The Man Who Changed How Boys And Toys Were Made isn't just a biography of an inventor; it examines how toys help avert or discharge childhood violence, how high-tech toys may serve a different purpose, and differences between how both sexes play.



5. Bruce Watson takes the reader from AC Gilbert's childhood to his days at Paradise. He explains how this industrial legend developed and advertised his "Toys for Boys". And Mr. Watson explains the reasons why Gilbert's toys were not as popular for the 60"s child. A good read.

5 comments about First A Dream.

1. I got the reference to this book from one of Warren Buffett's letters to the shareholders. Warren Buffett got a copy of this book from the interns at his company, and he got interested with the company and management, then bought Clayton Homes.
   
   This book is Jim Clayton's life story from being a sharecropper's son to banker, philanthropist. First few chapters about his childhood and school are boring, and you might get interested starting from his used car dealer business. And then all the chapters about his life as an entrepreneur, evolution of this cars and home businesses. The story ends with Clayton Homes being bought by Berkshire Hathaway and his banking acquisitions and philanthropic activities. This book is good read for anyone with business mind or entrepreneurship qualities.



2. I was inspired to buy this book after hearing Jim Clayton speak at a conference to Mobile Home Investors. I was encouraged by his talk of integrity in the workplace with employees and customers. However, in the book I was saddened by the fact that he was divorced TWICE because of both his wives being neglected. He explained in the book that if a Clayton Home customer had a problem they would do whatever it takes to make them a happy customer. I guess that does not apply to his personal life. I realize that he could have omitted the divorce details from his book and to his credit he did not say anything negative about his ex-wives except that the divorces were expensive.
   
   I give this book 3 stars because I believe a business owner could learn alot from Jim Clayton but we all need to make sure our wives and children are held in higher esteem than our careers.



3. This was a good book for anyone to read. A true story of the "American Dream."



4. First a Dream, by Jim Clayton
   
   
   Any book that would make Warren Buffett spend billions to buy a company after reading it needs to be read ASAP. As soon as I heard that Warren bought Clayton Homes after reading about how Jim Clayton built and ran the company I bought and read the book without delay. I have a long list of books that both Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger mentioned and recommend on my blog: www.bloglines.com/blog/KevinKingston
   
   This book made a huge impression on me, in fact I ordered it for several friends and business associates to read. It really gives you the insight and motivation to build and grow a company. There are many parts of the book that I made copies of and keep in my scrap book, such as Jim's mission statement and his company's growth history. Jim Clayton is refreshingly honest about his business successes as well as his blunders. He openly talks about bankruptcies and investigations which many would have avoided.
   
   As with many of the books I have reviewed both on Amazon and on my blog you read about and experience what it take to be a winner in business, what kind of attitude you need and how optimism plays such an important part in any business success. One might think that fate and fortune were just waiting for Clayton to come along and take them by the hand, but you can see from this book the tremendous drive, motivation, will to succeed, optimism and foresight that went into his increasable career. If you really contemplate what it take to shake off a bankruptcy after giving a business everything you have and get right back in the game and do it all over again, it's very encouraging for anyone that has had a few tough times in business.
   
   By Kevin Kingston, author of: A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate
   
   
   My Blog:
   http://www.bloglines.com/blog/KevinKingston



5. Jim Clayton's story is an inspiration to us all. My good friend and mentor gave me this book, which proves that hard work pays off. Many lessons can be learned from Clayton who, like other great men, worked hard, worked smart, and overcame hardships to become a success in his business and in life. Clayton's story is the quintessential `American Dream' chronicle that follows a man from his humble beginnings on a cotton farm to becoming one of the most successful businessmen in America. I recommend this book to anyone who is striving to make a dream a reality--Clayton's story is just the inspiration you need.

2 comments about The Cattle King: A Dramatized Biography.

1. I found this to be a fasinating book about the success of Henery Miller in the American West.



2. The life of Henry Miller really derves the talents of someone like Robert Caro, since it can be seen as the basis for a broader history of the American West in the 19th century. Miller himself was self-made, a dynamic, visionary, and fantastically successful land and cattle baron. He also seems to have been welll-liked by the men he hired, and (at least for a land baron) by his neighbors. The story as told by Treadwell is factual enough, but devoid of personal and cultural detail. Miller's business papers are mostly in the collection of the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley, raw data awaiting the talentrs of a more skilled biographer. An out-of-print but fairly easy to find book written by one of Miller's foremen, "California Gringos", is also informative

No comments about Adding Value: The Joseph M. Bryan Story from Poverty to Philanthropy.

1 comments about Jean Monnet: The First Statesman of Interdependence.

1. 
   The book consists of two parts, part one describes how the European Union developed with a supranational dimension and the role of Monnet in its establishment. It becomes very clear that without the supranational dimension the Union would never have been established and World War III would already have taken place. This first part reads like a novel. In the second part, "The Legacy" the ideas and methods are described that Jean Monnet used to achieve a successful European Union. This review concentrates on the second part.
   It is only possible to present to few of the ideas and methods. The title of the book is interesting, " The First Statesman of Interdependence". Interdependence refers to the fact that significant change in the actions of government can only be achieved by understanding the interdependency between, the prime minister, the other ministers, the bureaucracies of the ministers, the political parties, businessmen, the financial and business community and sometimes trade unions, not of one country but of several countries. Developing a solution requires the participation of these organisations. Monnet describes many different organisation structures for this purpose. All projects had a direct line to the president or prime minister. Monnet always saw to it that a single ministry never took over responsibility as rhat was the "kiss of death" for his type of project. Yet, he recognised that unless you brought the ministries and their bureaucracies along you would fail too.
   Another key factor was the choice of the core team working directly with him. He spent a lot of his time finding the right members of the core team and did not hesitate to reject recommendations of the prime minister and of other ministers.
   One of the methods Monnet used repeatedly was the "balance sheet". The balance sheet was a summary of all the resources material and immaterial necessary to solve a problem. These balance sheets were prepared involving all the persons with power and influence on implementing a solution. The "balance sheet" has the advantage that all organisations involved have to share information. The cabinet can only make an informed decision about priorities and an action plan based on a complete and holistic picture.
   Another important concept was the need of having a powerful central "actionable" idea that appeared self-evident and obvious when presented to persons in power. Monnet spent weeks in talk-shops with a group of extremely bright and argumentative people saying nothing and only listening in the first phase, inserting a few words in the second phase, and directing the discussion in the third and final phase. The formulation of an idea could easily require 30 drafts before presentation. Monnet went never to a meeting without having a draft of what he was proposing in front of him.
   One of the ideas he pursued was that war in Europe could only be avoided by creating a European organisation to which nations operationally delegated a part of their authority. This European organisation has as a consequence a supranational dimension. This led to the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1952 with Jean Monnet at its head. That organisation was the pioneering organisation that led to the European Economic Community or EEC (called Common Market in the UK) in 1956, leading to the European Union (EU) in 1993. I interviewed Jean Monnet in 1954 as a student, very inspiring!
   Monnet believed that the cause of war is that governments pursue policies that they believe are in the national interest without considering the interests of other governments. He considered that people are born with strong egocentric tendencies that lead to nationalistic behaviour of governments. This problem can therefore only be solved by creating an institution that can reconcile conflicts between nations, with sufficient power delegated to it for making decisions that the "sovereign" nations involved accept. Emmanuel Kant was the first one to forcefully formulate this truth in his essay "Perpetual Peace" (1891). This book presents a clear picture how incredibly difficult it is to get nations to delegate some of their authority to an independent supranational organisation.
   The view in Buddhism of human nature is less pessimistic. Buddhists believe that people are born with egocentric and altruistic tendencies and that the ego-centred tendencies can be mastered by training the mind. As a matter of interest, interdependence is also a central concept in Buddhism.
   This book is of great interest to people working in politics, government and for interested NGOs and management consultants. It is also of interest to businessmen that want to understand how a government functions and/or that are looking for ideas for making radical changes in the character of their companies.

2 comments about The Patron: A Life of Salman Schocken, 1877-1959.

1. I have read a number of reviews of this book all of which praise Anthony David for his detailed study of the life of Zalman Schocken.
   David paints the portrait of a remarkable Renaissance figure, an innovative empire- building businessman , a great patron of the Arts, a humanist, Zionist builder of cultural life in the land of Israel.
   Schocken was born in Posen in Prussia, but built a business empire throughout Germany. His department- stores were forerunners of today's Malls. He combined in them a sense of the aesthetic ( Bauhaus architect Eric Mendlesohn was his designer) with a real understanding of the customers' needs.
   He also was an autodidact a lover of German and Jewish culture. The shock of his life came with the coming of the Nazis to power, and from then on he shifted most of his activities to Jewish cultural work. He also to a degree recreated a bit of the business empire he had in Germany, in then Palestine and the United States. 'Schocken Books' is one of his cultural monuments. He was the patron of Buber,Scholem, Elsa Lasker-Schuler, and most notably Agnon. Schoken had an eye for talent and an ability to support and sustain it.
   One of his major moves was his purchase of the newspaper 'Haaretz' as wedding gift for his son. This would become the Israeli equivalent of the NY Times.
   Schocken was also a great patron of the Hebrew University.
   Schocken contributed much to the building of Hebrew culture in the land of Israel, and Jewish culture throughout the world.
   A highly recommended work.



2. This is a professionally-written biography of the late German-Jewish philanthroper Zalman Schocken. I learned many things from this biography that I hadn't known about his life: that he was actually from Prussian-controlled Poland and thus, was not a "blue blood" German Jew, about his innovations in commerce which lead to the massive successes of his department store chain, and his relationship with other German-Jewish figures in the Zionist movement such as Gershom Scholem, Hannah Arendt, and S.Y. Agnon. I learned that Agnon kept his right-wing and very anti-Arab attitudes out of his books because his 40-year patron, Zalman Schocken, told him to do it. I learned that Schocken Books published a whole line of Jewish-subject-related books in Germany after the Nazis came to power, even exploiting their sepearation laws to be a "Jewish publisher."
   
   Up until the Nazis come to power, Schocken appears to be a man of talent and relevancy, both in the realm of business and also in the realm of Jewish cultural revival. The last 25 years of his life are portrayed as those of a man who has had the cultural and business orientation ripped away from him by Adolf Hiter and in relying on his previously-used models of success and meaning,falling into irrelevance.
   
   The author has worked hard to understand all of the angles of Schocken's life: as a businessman, as a successful autodidact and lover of literature and philosophy, as a philathroper, and even a bit about his personal life and his relationship with his family. The author has also mastered the intellectural and political background in which Schocken's life occurs, both in Germany and then in Jewish-Palestine, which eventually became Israel.
   
   Zalman Schocken was certainally a character and personality of an exceptional and excentric order and this books comprehensively explores all aspects of his life, his business endeavors, his social visions, his philonthropic endeavors, his ideas about culture, Judaism, and his relationships with other people.

No comments about Good Guys Finish First: Reflections Of A CEO And How To Start A De Novo Community Bank.

5 comments about Profiles of Genius: Thirteen Creative Men Who Changed the World.

1. Great book insightful the only book i think is better is another one of his books! So far i have 4 the best of which is Profiles of Power & Success.



2. This book has a deceptive title that suggests that it is objectively focusing on the concept of genius. I think that if you were to ask the average person to start naming the smartest people in the world, you would end up with names like Einstein and Mozart, Michelangelo and Bobby Fischer. Even given that Landrum was going for people who have displayed genius in the last forty years, I'm sure that there are people who rate higher on an IQ test than the thirteen men Landrum has chosen.
   
   And so, this book is much more a measure and study of what goes into business success than it is a blueprint for genius. By identifying thirteen men and thirteen characteristics that can be emulated for financial gain, Landrum is giving business advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, and I wish that the title of the book reflected that.
   
   Aside from that, I'm not sure that the book does a good job of identifying thirteen separate personality traits that drive success. For one thing, many of the traits seem to overlap or even seem somewhat synonymous. The personality traits of being competitive, driven, and passionate are extremely similar, if not identical. For another thing, all of the personality traits are described in glowing, positive terms. Where are the traits of ruthlessness, greed, and insecurity that also drive some of the market forces that drive success?
   
   I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, and I realize that this book can serve the valuable function of inspiring those who undertake the very difficult job of being an entrepreneur. I started and ran my own business for seven years, and realize that there is some sound business advice in this book that can help someone to make their own dreams come true.
   
   But I don't want anyone to think that this book is something that it's not. It's not a book about genius, nor is it a scientifically sound piece of research. I'd recommend it to business owners or inventors, but not to those who are truly interested in the nature of the human mind.



3. Maybe I'm biased for being a Ted Turner fan ... but this book will make you cry with inspiration and hope!



4. This excellent book fills a need for biographies of entrepreneurs who have shaped the modern world. The chapters pack a lot of useful information with a clear focus on what is important. They cover childhood and education as well as adult business life. The personality theories used help to relate the stories to the professional literature, but do not detract from the richness of the descriptions. These portraits will be useful to anyone thinking of life as an entrepreneur as well as to parents and educators dealing with creative youth.



5. This is a good overview of how and why people create. Lots of good and varied case studies.