Found out about this a week before the release date. Though its not an original book, it is a collection of his New Yorker articles and such. Which i have read sporadically over the last year, but there have been a few i missed.
Now here's a book that i would describe as funny. Though can we call a collection of essays a book? Either way, I cracked up over a fictitious Q&A with someone's who Draft Value declined after he was caught pointing a gun at someone's head. And the fact New Yorkers will crack up at everything, that is except for no-name comedians.
Not too bad for a business book. Though the same concepts were repeated over and over again (hire great people, find the one thing your company can do great, stay focused on that one great thing), there were some good company profiles and stories to go along with it. I read most of it, skimming over the parts about Fannie Mae (since it was written in 2001 long before the Banking scandals of 2008-09) and Merck (don't agree with the line: "we are in this to make people healthy not make money", i say bullshit).
The man has done it all. I love how it meanders and wanders from decade to decade, story to story. Bringing up one person, leads him to remembering stories about 3 others. It just flows like one long conversation, a conversation that i wish i could have been apart of. But after reading this, feeling i have a better understanding of the Man in Black.
I have to remember for next time that any book described as "funny"... isn't really going to be funny at all. I've laughed out loud reading a few books in my life, but i don't even think those books were described as "funny". This was a quick easy read that i never really got into. I could've wrote something like this, as it basically describes my daily work life.
That was kind of mess... i'm not even sure what the book was about or even how it ended... did they find Manuel or not? Or was there ever a Manuel to begin with? You gotta spell it out for me sometimes... i like nice neat packages
Wow, that blew me away. Loved the story, the characters, the pacing, the different points of view from which the tale is told. I want to see what happens when they get back to the US, but that's what makes these types of books great, you gotta picture it on your own. In the end, i think they'll all be all right.
Lots of good stories in the first part of the book like how some company tried to consolidate funeral homes and another with doctor's offices. But as the 2nd half turned into lessons about running a business, i lost interest. Rather have heard a bunch of stories, instead of lessons. Stopped with like 50 pages to go.
Read like a screenplay to a possibly awesome movie. Loved the characters, the moving around in the story from one paragraph to the next, the splicing of the old life with the new life. And in the end it was about going back to the beginning... the very beginning.
Suing your own fans; failing to make a deal with Napster while it was in its infancy; bitching about Steve Jobs getting the best of them; forcing people to buy $18.99 CDs to listen to 2 songs; digital rights management; and it goes on and on. These music executives are the biggest bunch of backward blowhards any industry has ever seen. I've known most of these issues from techdirt but it was nice seeing it all in one place. Bunch of idiots.
It was an ode to wrestling and a kiss off at the same time. At parts he comes off like a whiner, and at other parts the whining is justified. Loved all the stories from the good days of wrestling, but the last 100 pages was just filled with too much tragedy. Here's to hoping Bret Hart finds some happiness. And i think this book helped him find it.
I have read most of the columns since 2005... i enjoyed the footnotes though as they added to the content. I liked the early year stuff about growing up and his family.
Not as funny as I thought it would be. Way too many facts thrown out for anything to stick. But i liked reading about the last half of the century, like i was reading about ancient history. And its funny how years skip on the recent timeline. Like nothing happened in 1993.
Interesting stuff. All about how successful people are not just successful because of who they are but because of where they are from and when. Liked the stories about the Canadian hockey team all being born in Jan, Feb, Mar and Bill Gates and the Beatles putting in 10,000 hours of practice before getting a chance to make it big. Now i want to look at myself and see what circumstances got me to where i am today...
Not too well written, felt like it skipped parts at some point... or it just assumed i knew certain things about the band already. But i do love the story of this band.. all the contradictions about what they stood for and who they were. Mick Jones being a dick to everybody. Strummer being a weirdo. I want to read more about Strummer himself though. Real interested in his character and what he's all about. Love how they're tied in with the Sex Pistols. Pretty good read.
Had trouble understanding it as i read it, but it began to come together towards the end. Look forward to reading the next two books in the Border Trilogy.
Blew through the book so fast. Lots of cool pics and stories about the pics. She was able to adapt to different situations as they came up, whether she was on location or in a studio. She never forced anyone to smile, just let things happen.
Makes me want to travel and go on mini-retirements. Always had a goal of ditching the 9-5 scene at some point. This gets me pointed in the right direction. Like the 80/20 rule, and i need to revisit for various online tools and links that could make more productive and save money.