2 comments about The Cattle King: A Dramatized Biography.

1. 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



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

5 comments about The Vineyard: The Pleasures and Perils of Creating an American Family Winery.

1. If you loved "Little House on the Prairie" you'll love this true modern pioneer saga set in (of all places) Eastern Long Island, New York. You don't even have to be a wine enthusiast to enjoy the book, although Louisa Hargraves' descriptions of tasting may make convert you.
   While telling her 30 year history of growing French varietal grapes (which people said couldn't be done), the author allows us to experience the grit behind the glamour in all its (pardon me) juicy details.
   As in all successful memoirs, we get a chance to live someone else's life, imagine what it would be like to follow our dream as singlemindedly as she did, and rejoice when dreams come true. We also get to see the price that is exacted. Because Louisa Hargrave keeps us by her side, I stayed up until 2 AM to finish the book. I put it down feeling touched, informed, and inspired.



2. A fascinating account of how a highly educated couple from a suburban background became successful "farming" pioneers growing grapes and making wine on Eastern Long Island. This was not sit-on-the veranda farming. The author makes reference to stories of the American frontier, and certainly that is apt, as the dedication and endurance of these pioneers was extraordinary. Their hard personal work in the fields was the equal of the pioneers, and they also had to deal with modern government. All in all, very intriguing and very well written, with enough human detail to make the people come to life.



3. Alex and Louisa Hargrave went against conventional wisdom when they decided to plant vinifera grapes on Long Island. As you might expect, it was a bumpy adventure in horticultural history, complete with weeds, hurricanes and an incredible amount of work, bringing the couple to the brink of financial ruin. But by the time it was over, they'd proven that grapes could grow (even flourish) on Long Island - and the chronicle of their exploits is charming and lively.



4. My parents chose to own and run a small vineyard. As a contemporary of the author, it is easy for me to empathize with the problems of building a vineyard from scratch. That may best explain why I picked up this book.

   The author and her husband are of a blue blood vintage. Family money allowed them to embark on this experiment, quite the dilettantes at the start. Hargrave and her tall husband had tried other ventures or career options, including an organ (and I don?t mean Wurlitzer) cookbook. My stomach is still turning at the thought. Nothing seemed to click. The two were peripatetic students, travelers, house sitters, Ivy leaguers, quasi trust fund babies, with colorful roots of their own. Louisa Thomas is the grand daughter of five-time Socialist candidate for president of the United States, Norman Thomas.

   One thing they learned from their stab at cooking organs was that the wine allowed the unpalatable food to go down a whole lot better. Inspired in part by this finding, along with a desire to forego hard liquor, husband and wife made a go of starting a vineyard on Long Island. Only this time the process was very serious, engaging and almost enslaving. They mastered the delicate, detailed process of acquiring the right vines, grafting, plucking, fermenting, storing and marketing the wine. They produced great wine; they earned (or at least somehow garnered) great publicity. They hired a lot of people with diverse, difficult and demanding backgrounds. Husband and wife divided the tasks as best they could, each to his or her apparent comparative advantage, she the hands on technician, he the business officer. Along the way, unintentionally it seems, they transformed themselves from soul mates to business partners.

   Raised on a ?grape farm? myself, where my family lived twenty years, her story is spot on ? the planting and pruning, dealing with fungus and pesticides, curbing the weeds, managing the harvest, living with weather that both killed and enhanced the crop ? and evoked long dormant memories and, in some cases, wounds. Grapes are much less romantic when they go into jelly, but also a whole lot easier, especially if you don?t make the final product yourself. The Hargraves immersed themselves in the task. They learned fast, worked hard, and seemed to prosper, even if at times it was by the skin of their grapes. My initial skepticism turned to admiration but, having lived some of their life, never envy.

   The saddest part of an otherwise noble accomplishment is the fact that the husband and wife efforts apparently killed their marriage. It is not very clear why. As the sole author, the wife is a bit coy on this. It may have been fruitful to read the husband?s side of the full story, not just the demise of a good, working partnership. This is a very human, humane story.




5. Nice read. This book will be inspiring to those who are contemplating getting into the winery business, and will be interesting to those who just enjoy wine.

4 comments about Carl Crow, a Tough Old China Hand: The Life, Times, and Adventures of an American in Shanghai.

1. Carl Crow was a unique individual in a unique time and place -- early 20th century Shanghai. His best-selling book, 400 Million Customers, published more that 70 years ago, is remarkable in part for great writing, but more importantly for insights into business in China, insights that still resonate in 2007, and likely will for decades to come, for these insights are not about transient political or economic trends, but about the Chinese as they truly are.
   
   With his biography of Crow, Paul French (author, director of one of China's most respected research houses, Access Asia, and a tough old China hand himself), gives us a great look at his fellow author's life and times, but also at Crow's Shanghai. French spent years researching in Shanghai (his own residence), other parts of Asia and the USA to bring us this insightful work.
   
   With China in such obvious ascent, we of the West owe ourselves and the coming generations a better understanding of the country and its history. Reading Crow's own book, and French's biography of him, is a great step toward such understanding. I strongly recommend both.



2. There are many books on the market about Shanghai. However, Mr. French's book is your best choice for seeing how Shanghai's past is prelude to the present. Carl Crow lived during an era when Shanghai embraced a cosmpolitan culture that is strongly reminiscent of the city today. His writings about life and business custom made him the Shanghai counterpart of Peking's compelling and gifted foreign-born writers, like George Kates and John Blofeld. We owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. French for rescuing Carl Crow from obscurity and bringing him back to the attention of those of us whose lives and work take us to this great city by the sea. Highly recommended.



3. I enjoyed the book because Carl Crow did live an interesting life (journalism, marketing and hobnobbing with China's elite), in an interesting place (Shanghai) at an interesting time (pre World War 2).
   
   That said, I have a few complaints. It is obvious that the author was working with very incomplete archival material, as the book has a "distance" from the subject that if he had talked to many people who had known Carl Crow should not be present. I felt like I was reading a summary of other reports, rather than a book that made Carl Crow really come alive. It is unfortunate that no one wrote a good biography before he died or shortly thereafter.
   
   Secondly, I think the editing was terrible. Numerous times throughout the book, I read something and I said "Didn't I just read that?", and there it was - a similiar fact or statement in the paragraph above. No excuse for that kind of thing...
   
   By far the best part of the book for me was when Japan invaded and the recently evacuated Carl Crow decided to go back to China, via the Burma Road, to report on the resistance and drum up support for China in America. This had the makings of engrossing book right there but unfortunately it was only one chapter of this effort.



4. A book on the varied career of an American businessman/author in China during the first half of the last century. Carl Crow is still worth reading about today both as an early example of Western commercial influence and involvement in the Middle Kingdom and because of his observations on the scrambled internal politics that ultimately led to war with Japan and later the Communist takeover. (Anyone who knew Chaig Kai-Shek, Zhou En-lai, the Soong sisters, and Owen Latttimore is worth some time.)
   
   I think the author (and/or his editor) might have spent more time polishing this text's prose to remove some small but noticeable style errors. At the same time, I think Mr. French exhibits in his book a very keen understanding of the complex politics that confronted China between the two world wars. He does not lapse into giving us just the story of Mr. Crow. This is really a social and political history of a great city and nation during turbulent times.

2 comments about Crossing the Road to Entrepreneurship.

1. It is rare to find a book where the author shares his journey to success in such a personal and honest manner. I found Bert's account of the challenges and triumphs that make a successful entrepreneur to be inspiring. I wish I had read it earlier in my entreprenuerial career.



2. This book was inspirational on so many levels. First, it is a great tribute to Mrs. Wolstein, who was Mr. Wolstein's partner at home and at work. This is itself a tribute to marriage and stability and family that few businesspeople talk about (or seem to take seriously). Second, it is a reminder of the value of work--to keep plugging away at things and keep looking up . . . eventually you will get there. Third, its a reminder that luck matters--but luck combined with skills and attitude matter the most. Wolstein got lucky by being a developer at a particular time in the suburbanization of America--but he had the smarts and the experience to make that moment work. Finally, it is a story of leadership. Wolstein didn't do it all himself. But he chose those who worked with him over many years to accomplish the great things he did. He knew how to get their best, and he knew when to part ways. He led by example and there are a great many people out there working in his footsteps.

5 comments about King of Capital: Sandy Weill and the Making of Citigroup.

1. I've just started reading this book and it is most certainly a good buy. The businesswoman in me loves Weill's ability to recognize value where others fail to see it (don't all the great ones have this unique characteristic?); the future wife in me admires his dedication, love and adoration of his spouse, a true confidante and partner in every sense of the word. I really enjoy reading about powerful men who are not afraid of telling the world how much of an intellectual and mental impact their wives are. More later....



2. I liked the way Stone and Brewster broke the book into small, interesting chapters. It made for an easy read. I felt like I had a good sense of Weill's character and business style by the end of the book. The only criticism I would make is that the book seemed like an "authorized" biography in that it was overly flattering of Weill at times - like commending him for his restraint in only having three large mansions. Also, like all biographies written during the person life, there needs to be more chapters for events that take place after the book stops. In spite of that, I recommend the book to anyone who likes good biographies of business leaders.



3. I love and admire sandy weill.i purchased this book to learn more about the man and his deal making prowess.although this book was well research,its presentation was what turned me off.i have never read a book so disjointed and dull.it doesnt follow the conventional chronological sequence that most biographies does but skips back and forth from one event to another i.e 60's-to-the-80's-to-the-70's-to 60's again...this goes on and on and on.this can be very very very frustrating.Also i dont think the authors did a good job in capturing the readers since the paragraphs come and go in that fasion throughout the entire book!
   
   All who follow sandy weill's career knows his excellent ex-protege, jamie dimon.I would loved to learn more on Mr Dimon (curently President and COO of J.P Morgan Chase & Co) and i hope there will be a book on him in the future.
   
   All in all, sandy weill is one hell of a guy who has done tremendous things in the financial sector.but if you really want to read a book which is more entertaining (or way better) than this book,then you should read "Tearing Down the Walls:How Sandy Weill fought his way to the top of the financial world...and then nearly lost it all" by Monica Langley.The book by monica langley is way way better and enjoyable.You'll also learn more about Jamie Dimon!!
   
   In conclusion,dont buy this book but the one by Monica Langley.....



4. This book has a particular appeal for two reasons: 1) Citigroup is the world's largest financial institution 2) it describes in some detail, the conflict between two storied CEO's - John Reed and Sandy Weill. Coming from the school of thought that says analyzing great business leaders may lead to my own success, I considered this book a must.
   
   As you should already know, Sandy Weill is the current the CEO of Citigroup and formerly the CEO of Travelers. His peer at Citibank was John Reed, who was subsequently ousted. The conflict between the two is in itself an interesting story. The book contrasts the two, by suggesting Weill is bottom-line-focused while Reed was a long range thinker focused on the future of the industry and implications of technology.
   
   There were a handful of interesting side stories, such as a Sandy's wife's psychiatrist using information gleaned from her treatment sessions to trade stock ahead of Citigroup activities. Others include Sandy's experiences at previous employers as he climbed the corporate ladder.
   
   In short, the book is entertaining. However, there are no amazing themes or profound ideas the reader can repurpose elsewhere.



5. Citigroup is an amazing blend of financial services that has developed over the years into a fascinating company. This is the story of how it all came together from hard work to merges and acquisitions. The companies growth is truly amazing and this is one of the great stories in modern finance. For those who want to get a sense of where investment and banking is headed in the future this is a great starting point. It is written in plain enough language that you do not have to be a finance expert to understand it. If you are a finance expert you will see the possibilities that are occurring and understand what the ramifications of each move were on the industry as a whole. Very well written and just a great book in general.

4 comments about The Guggenheims: A Family History.

1. Most family biographies are hard to read and even harder to follow, as the generations begin to amass, narrative thrust seems to take a vacation. So it is with great pleasure that I can report THE GUGGENHEIMS by Irwin Unger and Debi Unger "good to the last drop." The authors begin with a panoply of anti-Semitism in Europe and make it clear just how limited career prospects were for Jews of the second millennium, when they were forbidden all but the very lousiest jobs, and the jobs most guaranteed to annoy their Christian "brethren" (such as collecting rents and taxes). Unike the other great Jewish families of "Our Crowd," the Guggenheims made their money primarily from mining, in the farawy and exotic paradise of Chile (mostly in copper, and silver and lead as well). By the turn of the century (1900) they were well on their way towards their legend.
   
   The biography has sweep and a certain falling grandeur, but I liked best the authors' marvelous pen portraits of the many younger Guggenheims. I liked finding out that Gladys Guggenheim wrote two cookbooks and was named "nutrition commissioner" of New York by Thomas Dewey in 1934. There's the shocking battle between the sisters Hazel and Peggy, over who could score with the most men sexually--when each got up to a thousand, the numbers started to blur. I bet! And then the terrible story of Hazel's 1928 rooftop tragedy. She had taken her two little toddlers, Ben and Terrence, up to an unlikely section of her apartment's roof garden, and somehow the two tykes tumbled off t their deaths. She was suspected as being some kind of Alice Crimmins-type Medea, but the family turned up a window cleaner nearby who claimed to have witnessed the whole thing and said Hazel was innocent and had indeed tried to save the kids!
   
   Who remembers now that Harry Guggenheim, the bigwig of the third generation of Guggenheims, once owned Dark Star, the horse that beat Native Dancer to the 1953 Kentucky Derby? Harry and his wife, Alicia Patterson, started NEWSDAY, the Long Island paper, and he seemed to share her with the Democratic also-ran Adlai Stevenson with whom she fell quite desperately in love.
   
   The Ungers also tell the story of Diane, Harry's daughter, who sought escape from hr family in an unlikely place, the postwar "folk music boom" that led her to Ireland, of all places, where she began an intrigue with young Liam Clancy, then a teen and not yet famous for sparking the Clancy Brothers + Tommy Makem. Diane changed her name and began recording her own folk music, which made me curious to hear what she did with her career. She seems to have been kind of a Peggy Seeger, and just as adventurous.
   
   The last half of the book brings forward Solomon, whose legacy was the Guggenheim museum, and Peggy, the art dealer who married Max Ernst, discovered Jackson Pollock, and invented "Art Of This Century." In each case, the Ungers surpass all previois biographical treatments of their very complicated subjects. Peggy in particular comes to life, not as a freak or a groupie, but as a woman with a particular historical and aesthetic mission which she graciously fulfilled. Good for them. I expect this book will do quite well, and may restore some of the tarnished luster of the Guggenheim name. In any case you'll be reading it all night long trying to get to the end before morning.



2. I can think of several reasons to read this fascinating story of an iconic American dynasty. A reader might want to know why the name Guggenheim is on a number of important art museums around the world and want to know how they got there. Another might know about the glory days of the seven brothers when they ruled copper mining and smelting. Another might know about the flamboyant Peggy Guggenheim and want to get more context for her life. Then there is Harry Guggenheim and his participation in and support of early aviation (he actually participated in air combat in BOTH world wars), his support of Robert Goddard's early rocketry research, and his friendship with Charles Lindbergh.
   
   Personally, I am fascinated by multi-generational family stories. How was the success that founded the dynasty achieved? How is the next generation formed to continue that success? Because business changes, the family will have to adapt. Can they continue the success? How do they hold things together or why does it fall apart? Splits within the family are inevitable simply because people will want to establish their own lives apart from somebody else's path.
   
   This book has a huge cast of characters because there were so many people coming in and out of this family. There is a great deal of divorce, faithlessness in the marriages that do occur, a shocking amount of suicide, and proof that money, fame, hedonistic sex, and intoxicants do not lead to happiness. This book does tell the story of certain members of the clan more fully. The story of the seven sons of Meyer Guggenheim (who founded the dynasty a $5,000 dollar investment in a mine in Colorado) is quite fascinating.
   
   One of the sons, Ben, went down with the Titanic. The strongest son and the one who became the head of the family after Meyer was Daniel. However, another brother became a United States Senator, and all of them made their contributions to the family dynasty. Even so, the youngest brother, William, did split with the family and that has had repercussions to the present day.
   
   Solomon lived the longest of the seven brothers and it is his name on the spiraled Frank Lloyd Wright museum in New York. The story of how that museum came to be is itself reason to read this book. What a strange cast of characters brought that loved and derided institution into being.
   
   The second generation was ruled by Harry Guggenheim, younger son of Daniel. He led an amazing life, however unsuccessful in marriage. He was an early pilot in WWI and created a private foundation that accomplished a great deal to make commercial aviation safe and reliable (if not profitable). One of his friends was Charles Lindbergh and through Lindbergh's advocacy, he funded Robert Goddard's early work in experimental rocketry. He raised thoroughbreds and his horse, Dark Star, won the 1953 Kentucky Derby. Through his third wife he founded Newsday and ended up running that for many years and sold it at a huge gain. You will find his life very interesting and its pains awfully sad.
   
   Of course, the most famous of the Guggenheims nowadays is the art collector and flamboyant socialite, Peggy Guggenheim. The book recounts her life and struggles. Her demons were many and it ends up being a sad story. Even her art collection, her life's triumph, is surrounded with a pathetic air because of the way her obsession with it walled her off from so much else in life.
   
   There is so much more that this story has to offer that I will simply urge you to take the time to read about these lives and what happens to people, both ordinary and extraordinary people, when they find themselves in possession of a dream of great wealth. It seems that too often they end possessed by the money and it ends up doing them as much personal harm as it does anybody any good.
   
   Of course, being miserable without money is fairly easy to accomplish as well. By the fourth and fifth generation most of the family has settled into comfortable lives in the various reaches of the middle class. Many do not have much personal connection to the Guggenheim story and that is also a very interesting story that this book tells.
   
   Fine job, and recommended to everyone interested in business, American social history, and dynastic families as well as those personally interested in the Guggenheims.



3. This biography was very thorough in the way it captured the mining, nitrate explorations of the Guggenheims. But it lost steam when it focused on more present-day Guggenheims and their work in making Twentieth Century Art especially in America of great importance. It seemed to lack a soul and a family tree chart. If it had a soul, it would have given the reader a chance to feel empathy with a Guggenheim and if it included a chart, it would have helped the reader keep track of each offspring. Overall, it shed light on a family that helped to enrich America.



4. initially i thought this was a poorly written book, too conversational, ungrammatical at times, reciting what twigs and leaves on the gugenheim family tree did or are doing in a linear, list-making sort of way.
   
   but after a while, the book really grew on me and i became comfortable with the writers' colloquial style and found the book interesting, especially in telling the story of the building of the gugenheim fortune in copper, tin and other metals, and then the story of how, after that business went caput and the fortune with it, certain gugenheims, mainly solomon and peggy, became giants in the world of 20th century modern art, enabling the gugenheim name to live on forever.
   
   the first part of this book tells how a german jewish immigrant, isadore gugenheim, and his seven sons built a fortune in copper and tin out west and in south america. the gugenheim's jewishness and way of dealing with it is a fascinating topic that recurs throughout the book, evoking stephen birmingham's "our crowd" and irving howe's "world of our fathers."
   
   the gugenheims alternately embraced and denied their judaism, and their struggle with their own identity and the identity that gentile society imposed on them is a running commentary and reflection on the decrease in antisemitism over the decades in this country, as schools or clubs that excluded earlier generations of gugenheims eagerly admitted their descendants to where their jewishness became virtually a non-issue.
   
   the gugenheims encountered less antisemitism than many similarly situated jewish families of the early to mid 20th century, partly because they picked their spots and tried to "pass" and sometimes succeeded and avoided potentially difficult situations, or maintained their jewishness and made it a point to befriend gentiles and assimilate and get along, which made for a smoother ride in business and socially for the family.
   
   the middle part of the book tells how harry gugenheim, the most dynamic of founding father isadore's descendants, became a major figure, from the 1920's to the 60's, in trying to preserve the family fortune and good name, and a pioneer in american aviation and friend of charles lindbergh (ironic in light of lindy's favorable feelings for nazi germany, which harry glossed over) and rocketeer robert goddard, whom harry helped fund. but for harry's money and the influx of german rocket scientists after the war, our space program would not have gotten "off the ground."
   
   harry was astute not only in the family metallurgy business but also the newspaper business, cofounding newsday with his second wife, alicia patterson, and as a sportsman, a horseman and yachtsman, with a hunting plantation in south carolina and baronial estate on long island that is now a museum.
   
   harry was the most superior person of the whole gugenheim clan and one of the tragedies of the family is that it did not produce his like again -- and he was painfully aware of that as he got older and saw the family in decline and tried unsuccessfully to pass his mantle of leadership onto one or another of his heirs or even recruited surrogates such as bill moyers.
   
   the book also tells the cautionary tale of the decline of the gugenheim fortune due to bad business decisions and less able successor family members in key positions, and finally, no gugenheims willing or able to take over and lead the family business or steward its fortune, much to harry gugenheim's chagrin. the authors tell this in a way that evokes the old saying of "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations" -- although with the gugenheims, it took more like five generations to go from their aristocratic heights back down to the upper middle class...
   
   the last part of the book tells of the family's foray into the arts, mainly painting, and particularly of solomon gugenheim, who wisely built the famous frank lloyd wright-designed museum in midtown manhattan, and the eccentric peggy, an expatriate who lived in venice, hobnobbed with the lost generation, collected empty booze bottles and lovers, married dadaist max ernst -- and astutely put together perhaps the finest private collection of modern art ever assembled.
   
   the book wraps up reciting in laundry-list fashion the names and stories of current gugenheim heirs, some of whom are eking out livings in out-of-the-way places, not at all carrying on in the classic manner of descendents of robber barons or industrial titans or patrons of the arts, much less even still carrying the name of gugenheim. when one compares the gugenheims with the rockefellers or vanderbilts, their wealth has come and gone. but their name -- now associated with the arts -- remains, and that, in the end, has proven to be their lasting legacy.
   
   by the time i was done with this book, i felt i had learned all i needed to know about not only the gugenheims, but in a broader sense, also about how family fortunes are made and lost and how families handle fame and fortune -- or don't -- and how all of this happened iduring the last century and a half, against the backdrop of all that was going on, here and abroad.
   
   that was the real achievement of this book, and what made me think in the end that it was worth the read. i recommend it, along with the biographies of rockefeller and morgan by ron chernow and jean strouse, and edmund morris's two-part biography of teddy roosevelt, to gain a complete picture of what this era and this family was like.

5 comments about The Authentic Adam Smith: His Life and Ideas (Enterprise).

1. This is a relatively short (145 pages of text) introduction to the life and thought of Adam Smith. I found it to be an extremely worthwhile read. I have recently become aware that the trend toward shorter books, far from resulting in "dumbed down" works, has produced some very insightful discussions--Ted White's recent short book on Justice Holmes being one example. This fine effort, by the author of the definitive analysis of Edinburgh during the Scotish Enlightenment, is further proof of this development. The author skillfully melds a biography of Smith's life with a concise examination of some of his major theories and ideas. He principally focuses upon the "Theory of Moral Sentiments" and (of course) "The Wealth of Nations," but he touches upon a number of other Smith writings and theories along the way. Quite a lot of useful information is packed into this brief study, and the notes reflect the author's thorough command of the pertinent material. One of the author's goals is to correct what he considers to be some fundamental misinterpretations of Smith's ideas, the "invisibile hand" being a prime example. There is some very interesting discussion of Smith's close relationship with David Hume, and various other figures from the Scottish Enlightenment also make appearances as well. Compact yet expansive in scope makes this fine book very unique, and a worthy addition to the literature on Smith and the Scottish the Enlightenment.



2. There is no good substitute for reading Adam Smith's own beautiful prose. But if you don't have the time or the inclination to do so, I would recommend The Authentic Adam Smith. Buchan summarizes Smith's life and ideas. Of special note is his ability to convey Smith's humanity. I have a few minor quibbles about emphasis, but overall the book is accurate, readable and concise. Not many books of this type can make a similar claim.



3. 
   
   
   One idea stands above all others in this brief but revealing biography of the genius who invented modern economics, and that is the need to treat others as you want to be treated.
   
   Unlike modern Bible thumpers, typified by noisy ideologues who denigrate everyone who does not agree with their selfish and narrow visions, Smith was the product of an era when everything was subject to doubt, challenge, questions and new ideas. There was no status in the status quo; this was the time of intellectual ferment and democratic uprisings that eventually produced the American Revolution and the modern concept of personal freedom. Buchan provides a concise summary of Smith's 'Wealth of Nations', which offers an understanding that is quite different from today's sound-bite daffynitions.
   
   It wasn't merely church dogma that was overthrown. Science had shown the Earth was not the center of the universe. In commerce, from antiquity to the Middle Ages, luxury had been condemned as a mortal threat to body and soul which sapped the courage of men and the chastity of women. Suddenly, luxury was respectable and desirable.
   
   Early in his life, Smith had taught moral philosophy to young men studying for the Presbyterian clergy. He told his students that, in Buchan's words, "alone of all animals on this globe, man ascribes values to qualities such as colour, rarity and shape that give no superior advantage in supplying the wants of nature. Bodily needs can be easily satisfied but desires, in Smith's beautiful phrase, 'seem to be altogether endless'."
   
   His teaching wasn't based on old truths, revealed wisdom, ancient Bible verses or modern born-again faith. Instead, as Buchan writes, Smith was not examining the truth or not of any particular scentific discovery, but the sentiments that give rise to it. One of these is humanity's spontaneous love of order.
   
   Smith's belief in humanity's spontaneous love of order prompted him to look for the basics of the brand new economic conditions; in today's terms, he was looking for the "natural laws" which govern mankind. A vast range of ideas was floating about; the genius of Smith was to identify and compile those which would form the basis of a new freer economy.
   
   Although his reputation has been hijacked by opportunists who have not read, understand or sympathize with his ideas; Buchan shows Smith was vastly more humane than the crass and utterly selfish greed of the neocons. Smith was always uneasy about a society that is forever gaping at the rich and fortunate at the expense of the wise and the kind. "Greed is good" is not one of Smith's principles.
   
   Buchan has done much the same in this book; selecting judiciously from the vast range of ideas, opinions and influences that inspired Smith. England and France were intellectual cauldrons for new ideas; but, these two old societies also had powerful incumbent Establishments that crushed many reforms. Only the United States, which didn't yet have an incumbent conservative elite, gave full free reign to the profound revolution in attitudes which created the modern "consumer society".
   
   Smith defined the most profound intellectual revolution in material values, as opposed to spiritual, since the dawn of agriculture. Buchan does a superb job of explaining Smith. Every reader of this book will be reassured that the 'Golden Rule' is not the rule of greed or the rule of gold. There is more to life, and society, than greed.



4. Whenever there is an attempt by an author to explain to us lay people what the "true" thinking of a great thinker was, there has to arise a certain amount of skepticism. We have seen too many people attempt to dilute a strong message in order to please those who don't want anything close to an absolute. Such is the case here.
   
   Adam Smith's strong intellectual support for capitalism (versus any kind of central planning) has been a thorn in some sides. Trying to take additional writings of Smith in order to dilute his message seems to be the order of the day for James Buchan's new book on Smith. Capitalism is the most efficient economic system in the world which has proven itself over and over again (East Germany-West Germany, South Korea-North Korea) yet there are the those who will never give up trying to discredit it.
   
   Unfortunately, we are bound to see more of these attacks on capitalism as the left goes further astray trying once again to convince us to all have the same salary with no effort.



5. The subtitle says it all. "The Authentic Adam Smith" is a short biography that includes a brief treatment of his ideas. Buchan does a pretty good job of introducing readers who know Adam Smith solely as the author of "The Wealth of Nations" (WN) to his other magnum opus - "The Theory of Moral Sentiments" (TMS). Moreover, Buchan points out many things that can be easily found in WN, but that are almost forgotten because economists - people through whom most of the public gets to know about Adam Smith - rarely if ever read WN. These include Smith's emphasis on the negative effects of the division of labour and the need for compulsory public education to counteract it, his support for progressive taxation and his nuanced views on trade. Buchan also describes all three instances in which Smith uses the phrase "invisible hand" and all three cases are not quite what economists describe. Besides TMS and WN, Smith's lesser works and unfulfilled ambitions are discussed, too.
   
   The more descriptive parts that deal with biographic facts are also very interesting. Among other things, the book covers Smith's encounters with the French Physiocrats (Quesnay, Turgot) and Voltaire, his close relationships with his mother and David Hume, his poor Oxford experience, his devotion to education, and his ironic appointment as a Commissioner of Customs. The reader gets a good glimpse of the context in which Smith's ideas originated.
   
   All in all, this is a pretty good book. Its main weakness (which is also a strength of sorts) is length. Although brevity makes it easier for the narrative to remain fresh, depth is sacrificed. Smith's views on finance are a case in point: Buchan mentions Smith favored certain restrictions but a more conclusive elaboration (especially with regard to speculation) would have been so much better. The same applies to trade: the author mentions that Smith "was no doctrinaire free trader". There is an argument out there that Smith supported the "infant industry" exception. However, Buchan does not provide a conclusive enough discussion. This is important precisely because these details dispel the most popular misconceptions about Adam Smith.
   
   Regardless, "The Authentic Adam Smith" is a great read. If you are looking for a fairly nuanced and interesting though brief treatment of Adam Smith, this is probably as good as it gets.

1 comments about Confessions of a Dead Man.

1. "Confessions of a Dead Man" is a must read for those who enjoy fiction based reality books! The authors are able to bring you into the mindset of the New England Mafia, their world, their thoughts, their code of life. The book is so intriguing you will find yourself wondering if the book is fiction or not! Exploring the sub culture of the mafia culture in the 1970's from New York to New England, Piscione and Pepler have not only penned a book about the ways of the mafia, they have also penned a book about the ways of mankind.

3 comments about An Autobiography (Trailblazers).

1. If, like me, you read, re-read and enjoyed "Ogilvy On Advertising" and thought the man's autobiography would be similarly interesting, think again.

   "David Ogilvy, An Autobiography", is a self-centred stinker.

   As you might expect, its words are sufficiently well-crafted to allow easy and rapid reading. What sets this apart from Ogilvy's advertising writing is its egotism.

   Some of it is outright - rabbiting on about all manner of subjects as if eager disciples were at hand to treasure every word (which perhaps, in the sixties, they were). Even worse though, is his quoting of both himself ("and then I said the most extraordinary thing") and others in search of yet another way to bury himself in praise.

   In parts, the book is reminiscent of a cocktail party bore retelling episodes in which he was the chief comedic hero.

   Name-dropping abounds to the point of tedium, and this is made worse by the fact that a present day reader will never have heard of most of the names.

   For a reader interested in advertising, the book is disappointingly light on this part of Ogilvy's life. He seems to have made the mistake of thinking that, just because we admire/admired his work, we will also find every other aspect of his existence (most boringly his bloody Chateau) fascinating.

   Perhaps the whole work is epitomised by its last chapter - a series of lists of the author's favourite plants, recipes, words (OK, we'll let that one go) and, in a final orgy of name dropping, friends. Mostly famous, of course. Who CARES what David Ogilvy's favourite plants are?!

   Avoid this book. There are better ways to spend an afternoon.




2. Not your typical autobiography. It's really a memoir because it is less structured than an autobiography. Ogilvy is an asymmetrical thinker who likes being obnoxious. I liked it because he does not disappoint; he does it his way. I was not bored by it.



3. Shame... Shame...

   A self confessed Ogilvy fan has finally found out that this Scotsman can be egotistic as hell!

   Ogilvy on Advertising was indeed a great book but this book... would take you to a completing different direction. The book was simply a self-satisfying, trumpet blowing bio and Ogilvy would just not let it go. The book was also like the man was trying to kiss his own rear-end.

   But... Ogilvy is known to be a proud man and you can't blame him. The man built one of the most famous ad-houses and wrote two great bibles (Confession... & Ogilvy on Advertising)!

   So, what do I think of this book? I think the book was written during the time when Ogilvy regret his baby is with WPP (I may be wrong as the book may have been written prior to that event) and the book's sole purpose was to reinforce his achievement to the world.

   Read it if you have the time but make sure you got it from the local library.

5 comments about A Dash of Daring: Carmel Snow and Her Life In Fashion, Art, and Letters.

1. I have bought many copies of this book to give to friends. I think it is a very special. It is a fascinating story, beautifully told. It is not just for those interested in fashion. It is a masterpiece of biography.



2. This beautifully produced and perceptive biography of Carmel Snow, arguably the greatest fashion editor who ever lived, is a sheer delight to read. The author focuses our gaze on both the biographical subject and the milieu in which Snow lived and worked. Penelope Rowland's impressive research and extensive interviews, combined with her sure touch as a storyteller, have yielded an engaging and compelling story.



3. When you crack open a 500 page book, it better be good. This biography of Harper's Bazaar fashion editor Carmel Snow is everything a heavy tome should be: entertaining, insightful, and thouroughly researched. The writing style is a perfect match for the subject matter: Penelope Rowlands' prose is as sharply defined as a couture garment, and, as a result, reading her book is the next best thing to actually owning a Dior original.
   
   But the most rewarding part of the book is the revelation that elegance is all about gutsiness. In fact, if you look objectively at the clothes women wore back then (the book is rife with photographic documents) all those proper little wool suits and belted silk dresses look quite frumpy in restrospect. But what poise those girls had! Where did their get their attitude? Reading A Dash of Daring is a lesson in real coolness.



4. Carmel Snow is an extraordinary subject and Ms. Rolands did a marvelous job in recementing her legendary status in the fashion industry. The research she did for this book is outstanding but her writing skills could be more polished at times. I feel that the size of the book could be trimmed down a little bit, perhaps they should split it into two books, one biography and one coffee table book of photographs and illustrations. Ms. Rolands' view are also very biased throughout the book. She tried to discredit all Carmel Snow's competitors and critics in order to show Snow's greatness. It's unnecessary as Snow's work certainly speaks for itself and her contribution to the fashion industry is unquestionable. I highly recommend this book for fashion historians and fashion students.



5. A very good biography of one of the legendary fashion editors of the 20th century. After reading 'Always in Vogue' by Edna Woolman Chase, her former boss, editor of Vogue and Bettina Ballard's own fashion biography this completes the picture of fashion in the 20th century. I enjoyed it, especially after seeing 'The Devil wears Prada' a couple of months ago. Having been in involved in Fashion as a designer and as a lecturer in design and creative cut for over 50 years it was also a trip down memory lane.
   Stuart Aitken