No comments about Palace Car Prince: A Biography of George Mortimer Pullman.

1 comments about Merchant Adventurer: The Story of W.R. Grace (Latin American Silhouettes).

1. For many people, the name W.R. Grace is connected with lawsuits and legal nightmares. But, for a true look at the birth of this amazing enterprise, one should read "The Story of W.R.Grace". Apart from the civil actions that Grace has confronted in the past 50 years(which you will not read about in this book), the company and its fascinating founder, William R. Grace, hold a rich history and an incredible story of rags to riches.

   As a young Irish boy, W.R. Grace came to America with a dream of wealth and commerce tied with a honest and sound approach to business. At a time when America's industrial revolution was booming and business pratices were not as regulated as they are today, Grace came forward with a honest and upfront approach that would change the face of America Commerce and would launch Grace into the spotlight, good and bad, for years to come. A must read for anyone in business!

1 comments about The King of Clubs.

1. As a kid, Jay Bildstein had a dream. It wasn't stepping up to home plate at Yankee stadium, flying to the moon on an Apollo mission or winning an Academy Award. Jay Bildstein wanted to be a part of the glittering, exotic New York nightclub scene.
   
   El Morocco. The Copacabana. Studio 54. The Limelight. Au Bar. These were the places that fired Jay Bildstein's imagination. The King of Clubs is a spellbinding - sometimes chilling and sometimes humorous - account of his ten-year climb to the top of the nightlife industry, culminating with the opening of his brainchild - Scores, the first topless gentlemen's club in New York City.
   
   Giving up a lucrative career as an investment banker, Bldstein set out to make even more money. He would create a club where guys in one-thousand-dollar suits and Rolex watches could unwind after a hard day on Wall Street, be offered th finest liquor, the tastiest food, and the chance to ogle the most beautiful topless dancers in America as they strutted their stuff.
   
   The King of Clubs is also the story of those exceedingly gorgeous women. Women like Tyler and Alicia, the objects of so many men's fantasies whose own dreams often turned into nightmares.
   
   Here is a bold insider's look at a segment of the sex industry that prospers today even in the era of AIDS. Not only did Scores do millions of dollars in sales, it spawned dozens of imitatons across the country.
   
   Men will be titillated by the revelations and closeup look at the kinds of women glamorized in the pages of Playboy and Penthouse over the years. Women will be intrigued by the heart-rending chronicle of the women of Scores, women with brains, beauty, and the ability to make great sums of money yet never be able to find happiness.
   
   All will be touched by the effect the world of fantasy sex had on Bildstein and surprised by his eventual decision.
   --- from book's dustjacket

2 comments about Triumphant Capitalism: Henry Clay Frick and the Industrial Transformation of America (History/Business History).

1. Kenneth Warren managed to succeed where Samuel Schreiner seemed to fall flat. Henry Clay Frick was a man of many contradictions. Very insightful and well-written.



2. While this book is full of well researched information, the author seemed to forget that it also must be read and enjoyed. While the statistics included displayed knowledge on the part of the author, they made it extremely difficult to follow without reading each page over more than once. This book is a good source for further research, but not something to read casually.

1 comments about Conversations with Claude Levi-Strauss.

1. Didier Eribon's conversations with Claude Levi-Strauss, the father of Structural Anthropology and one of the leading intellectuals of 20th century France, are enlightening and occasionally entertaining. You get an immediate feel for Levi-Strauss's personality... and for his Gallic flair for words and ability to damn with faint praise. (His comment about how Sartre was a great mind... and proof that even great minds can talk nonsense ... comes to mind immediately).

   As an interviewer, Eribon has obviously done his homework: he is familiar not only with Levi-Strauss's work but with the various reactions to same, positive and negative. He is able to quote names and dates (at times much to Levi-Strauss's chagrin...) and is conversant both in the language of Structuralism and Anthropology. He also manages to elicit many gems from Levi-Strauss, including some discussions of his early interactions with various Surrealists.

   This is not an essential addition to a Levi-Strauss collection: if you want an introduction to his thought and work, you'd probably be better off reading his volumes on Mythology or his *Structural Anthropology.* If you already know something about the man ... or if you're interested in 20th century French intellectuals (and who isn't) ... you'll enjoy this book. I'd file this one under "nice to have" rather than "must have."

5 comments about It's a Long Way from Penny Apples.

1. The profits from this book are going to charity. That is probably the best thing about this bloated, self-serving exercisein ego-enrichment. Mister Cullen is a remarkable man and he wants you to know that in a desperate way. He could have saved everyone a lot of trouble and just given the money directly to the charities. Mr Cullen tells the reader that he is not a professional writer. That wasn't needed.



2. I picked up "A Long Way From Penny Apples" while traveling in Ireland in June, 2004, but didn't get a chance to read it until now. I started reading on Thanksgiving evening and couldn't put it down until I finished it today. The hardbound book spent 14 weeks on the UK bestseller Top Ten list, with 5 weeks at number two, so I don't understand the caustic reviews offered here on Amazon. Heavens, if the Brits, who usually distain anything coming out of Ireland, have overwhelmingly found this book to be excellent then surely this outstanding book merits readership in the U.S. too.
   
   Bill Cullen wrote the book as a tribute to his parents and grandmother, not as an ego booster for his own esteem. He was spurred on to write the book after reading Frank McCourt's words that there was, in effect, nothing more miserable than a poor Irish childhood. Cullen had a poor Irish childhood that he viewed as anything but miserable.
   
   Mr. Cullen grew up in the poorest tenements of Dublin with 12 siblings. His family was certainly bereft of even the most basic needs for food and decent shelter, but flush with wise and spirited discipline from his loving parents and maternal grandmother. It was the positive, uplifting attitude of his family that drove Mr. Cullen's ambitions to become the very wealthy man he is today. He's written a true rags-to-riches story, giving most of the credit not to himself, but to the upbringing his family provided. All of the proceeds of the book will go to a youth charity in Ireland, and in fact Bill has promised $1 million to the charity whether or not the book raises that much money. Not exactly the actions of the type of person pictured in the previous reviews.
   
   I certainly learned much from the depictions of a Dublin era long gone, but the optimistic tone of the book was most inspirational and left me with a smile on my face. My own grown children will receive copies of this book for Christmas this year, in memory of my Irish father and grandmother who would have bent their ear with the same wise teachings if they were still alive.



3. Somewhat stiffly written, the book offers insight into a closely knit Catholic family struggling against poverty in Ireland. The author's success in business is commendable and he gives credit here to those who helped him along the way.
   At times, it seems a bit too self-congratulatory, but worthwhile reading for anyone with Irish roots.
   His childhood memories are a bit more gripping than his adult years. I particularly enjoyed the story where he bought unsaleable plastic dolls and the family decorated them, making a good profit selling them on the street as Marilyn Monroe dolls.



4. If you knew Liam personally, you'd have a bit more insight into the personality that wrote this book. He tells a great story, and I'm certain that most of its true :-)
   
   I picked up a copy in Dublin last year at a book signing for his second book "Golden Apples." He even bought me a pint after the book signing. I know his family as well, and there are things in this book that give some intersting insight into the path behind them.
   
   Its written in a straight up no fluff no nonsense kind of way, and thats the way Liam is.
   
   Seosamh



5. If I wanted to read another depressing Irish Childhood story, I'd have re-read Angela's Ashes! (Not to diaparage Angela's Ashes in any way.) I completely enjoyed the story of Liam's family, his upbringing and the hard work necessary to survive in Ireland in those times. I especially enjoyed Mother Darcy. Whether she actually knew Aloyisius Hitler or not isn't the point, it's all in the storytelling.
   To compare Penny Apples to Angela's Ashes is the old "Apples to Oranges." (Sorry about the pun!) Appreciate the story on it's own merits.

No comments about Bearly Believable: My Part in the Paddington Bear Story.

5 comments about Disney's World: A Biography.

1. Walt Disney's name has become a household word. Wholesome entertainment and DisneyLand and Disney World come to mind. This book is a well rounded look at the man. Neither Saint nor Sinner this book sees Walt as a well rounded human being. Many pictures are included. Many celebrities were interviewed including Hayley Mills. The book seems to be well documented and is quite interesting..



2. This is a great biography of Walt Disney, and in many ways it is similar to Bob Thomas's biography "Disney: An American Original." Both books emphasize Walt's early Midwest childhood, his strict father and good-natured mother, and his experience in WWI in shaping the young man he became. The two biographies are different in their perceptions of Disney, and it could make a difference for you, dear reader, regarding which one you want to read first.

   I would describe Mosley's biography as "more realistic" than Thomas's, but I would say that Bob Thomas's was more inspiring to read. Mosley doesn't hesitate to describe Walt as an ill-tempered ringleader who suffered from emotional instability in his early adulthood, whereas Bob Thomas's portrays such behavior in a more favorable light and seems to grant that it is the stuff of genius. One very clear example: Mosley describes Walt's suicide attempt at 31 where Lillian Disney found her husband out cold with sleeping pills and booze, called a doctor, and had Walt's stomach pumped. In Bob Thomas's book, there is no mention of this incident whatsoever.

   Both books describe Disney as an inspiration to the people around him, but I think Mosley's goes more in-depth into Walt's character and describes more thoroughly some of the difficulties associated with working with him. What Mosley describes as "overbearing," Thomas would call "entrepreneurial." What Mosley would call "unstable," Bob Thomas would call "emotionally invigorating." The point is: the subject is the same; it's the perception of the subject that's different in the two biographies.

   I think both do a great service to the world in representing quite possibly the most influential voice in 20th century entertainment. It's a fascinating reading, and it will excite you to explore your own creativity. Walt Disney was a man that would risk everything to make people laugh, to entertain, to push the medium of film, cartoons, and theme parks to a level unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. He truly was an inspiration, and, of course, I hope this review is helpful to you!

   Stacey Cochran




3. The author either did very little research or just didn't care for the truth. He chose to present many rumours surrounding Walt Disney's name as facts. Mosley provides no source for his statements, other than to assert that Disney's "closest colleagues and advisers" were "confident" that Walt Disney "eventually became convinced of cryogenesis as a viable medical process and was persuaded that, even in 1966, it was possible for a human being to have himself brought back to life after death". In fact, these "close colleagues" of Disney's turned out to be a few employees on the periphery of the Disney organization who had never spoken to Walt about cryonics, and were merely repeating the same decades-old rumor for Mosley's benefit.



4. This book has a bit of a reputation is scholarly circles, an infamous one at that. This is due to the fact that many of the more sensational items have been exposed as inaccurate since its release by respected historians of our day such as John Canemaker, Paul Anderson, Disney family members, co-workers, and employees. Much of the true material in his book is in other books, but then he trots out some old negative rumors without citing their sources. Anonymous comments don't cut it in this type of book. No source documentation or supporting material is included to support his wild tale about cryogenics, an old red herring that has been proven false in recent times. He has a story about an attempted suicide that never occurred and he seems to tie it time-wise to the well documented nervous breakdown that Walt had at that age. Big difference.
   
   If you like books that bash famous people just for the sake of doing it, you may enjoy this. But for historic accuracy there are much more balanced biographies of Walt Disney available. I prefer to read a bio that is neither sugar-coated or harsh. This book is at one end of the spectrum, in my opinion using sensationalism to sell books. There are other books I would recommend in it's place. The Bob Thomas biography is considered by many to be the most accurate and complete available, and I highly recommend one of his other books, a bio of Roy Disney (Walt's business partner and brother). In Thomas's case he carefully documents and quotes all of his sources, who are reputable people that were there for the incident in question. Then he confirms that person's version with others and quotes them as well, in the normal journalistic process known as confirming and double checking. That is not too much to expect, but I didn't find it in the book for sale on this page.
   Some animators and studio employees have their own bio books that include some of their interactions with Walt Disney, like Shamus Culhane, Charles Show, Bill Peet, Ub Iwerks, or Harry Tytle. Roger Broggies son, Michael Broggie has a good book on Walt Disney's love for trains. These books take the time to include the interactions of identified people with Walt rather than some unnamed source. In these books I got the impression that Walt as a boss was a demanding perfectionist, a genius, but a human being. I can recommend a book about his personal philosophies he used in life in his own words, "Quotable Walt Disney", tracks over 30 years of his comments on just about everything. You can tell a lot about a person with their own words. Another book, "Remembering Walt: Memories of Walt Disney", with hundreds of direct quotes by people from all walks of life about their personal encounters with Walt. While the vast majority of the comments in that book were good memories, there are some bad ones too, but they were at least comments from people that were identified. In many ways your legacy in life is really in what people that knew you thought of you when you are gone and unable to defend yourself.
   I would also like to comment on this business of the author's negative criticism of Mr. Disney's relationship with his family, he was anything but a good family man, loving husband, and father . The comments in this book fly in the face of what Walt Disney's own daughters, his wife Lillian, brother Roy, and nephew Roy Jr. have all said about him. In all their characterizations he was a good family man, loving husband, and father. In summary, this book should be reclassified as fiction, but I don't recommend reading it to find out about the real man, Walt Disney.



5. I found "Disney's World: A Biography" very informative. New little known facts that I did not know. Leonard Mosley humanized Walt Disney, which isn't bad. Did not change my opinion of the great Walt Disney at all. His legacy will always be with us. A great man.

No comments about The Vital Few: The Entrepreneur and American Economic Progress (Galaxy Book).

3 comments about Invisible Giants: The Empires of Cleveland's Van Sweringen Brothers (Ohio).

1. I read a lot of books on train history. Once I started this one I could not put it down. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in railroad history during the glory days.



2. I grew up on the border of Cleveland Heights/Shaker Heights off Fairmount Blvd.A gradeschool classmate was Bernie Bernet. As a boy I rode my bicycle over to Shaker Blvd. to watch the Rapids go by. AtCWRU a colleague was Ian Haberman and my fellow members of NORM are Tolman and Wayne Hayes. I walked the East Cleveland Rapid line when it still stood empty. I was making notes for this history in about 1950. Except for the buying and selling of the various railroads, this book is a part of my life. I know every inch of it and except for a very few very tiny slips (in the maps mostly)it is a masterpiece. And the very book itself, without the contents, is a first class production.



3. After reading this very creditable biography I donated it to the local public library.
   
   I recall many rather cryptic remarks made by my grandmother years ago during Sunday trips to Cleveland about the Public Square and the Terminal Tower. She remembered the Mall project and other aspects of Cleveland that were obscure even in the fifties. These rather hazy recollections have now been re-examined inder the considerable light that Mr. Harwood has brought to the Van Sweringen brothers who were averse to publicity, even though they figured so much in the development of Cleveland in the 20th century. And their reach went far beyond that--these facts were not widely known. Excellent source.