No comments about Hearing Grasshoppers Jump: The Story of Raymond Ackerman.

5 comments about From Lifeguard to Sun King: The Man Behind the Banana Boat Success Story.

1. Robert Bell lets us into his world from his modest beginnings to successfully building up the Banana Boat brand as a result of lots of hard work, creativity, commitment, determination, discipline, perseverence, and a brilliant business mind. A truly inspirational story for all whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur or not! This story is particularly unique in that the style in which it is written has a very human element to it, very personable, as if Robert Bell was sitting directly across from you sharing his remarkable story. This motivational book will make you believe that anything is possible and not be afraid to dream big because those who do and follow their true passion in life can well be on their way to achieving the American Dream just as Robert Bell did. A must read for anyone thinking about starting their own business . . . you will not be disappointed!



2. Great Book on Entreprenuership from someone who has actually started, built, run, and sold large businesses. Alot of people write about business success who have never actually 'done' anything...Mr. Bell is a true acheiver who has repeatedly succeeded in different businesses. Anyone can learn from this book. It is also an easy and entertaining read. Thank you, Bob Bell, for writing this book...it's generous of you to share your experience and wisdom.



3. 'From Lifeguard to Sun King' is a must read for anyone desiring sage business advice in their quest for the American Dream. Robert Bell's creation of Banana Boat, relaunch of Sea & Ski, development of Sun Pill and ongoing commitment to overall Sun Health make him one of America's most formidable entrepreneurs. You'll find yourself cheering Robert on as he finds a way to bridle all his youthful, deviant energy into the great success story that he is today. The itemized success principles at the end of the book are an added bonus to an already engaging & important business guide. I look forward to the Sun King's next important contribution to society, as I know it's inevitable.



4. Bell is really on of the country's more interesting entrepreneurs and he shares his insights not only from the head but the heart. The information I found most useful was how he made the connections he needed to keep pushing his "Banana Boat" products ideas forward. Nice job. Recommended for anyone in business.



5. Robert Bell has been a friend to me for a few years now. He is a great leader who knows how to make things happen in business. I was very eager to read his book and learn the details of how he did it! For Bob it was hard work and much discipline/dedication. He is a superb example for anyone to follow who craves for bigger and better things in life! A must read!!
   
   -Anna Kubit
   Konsultar Corporation

No comments about Harry Winston (Universe of Fashion).

3 comments about The Whitney Women and the Museum They Made: A Family Memoir.

1. "The Whitney Women and the Museum They Made" pays tribute to Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who founded the museum through sheer force of will and social power, and Flora Whitney Miller, her daughter, who gave us the enduring legacy through charm and persuasion. It is mostly, however, a memoir about the author, Flora Miller Biddle who is Flora Miller's daughter and Gertrude's granddaughter. This is disappointing because Gertrude and Flora (mère) are fascinating people. Flora (fille) is decidedly bourgeois by comparison.

   In the preface, Mrs. Biddle reminds us "...this memoir does what all memoirs do; it tells only part of the story. Don't memoirs allow writers to keep from revealing all they know?" The sad truth is a reader can learn much more about Gertrude by reading "Little Gloria, Happy at Last". Mrs. Biddle admits she barely knew her grandmother, but surely this doesn't mean there is little to know or tell about her.

   The Whitney was a family institution. Gertrude built it and dared New York to defy her taste in art. Flora (mère) had the grace, the connections, and the remnants of the inheritance to ensure its place in history. They may have been rich and from one of the most socially important families in New York, but this is an astonishing accomplishment for that time. Women simply didn't do these things. Oddly enough, the book takes this achievement for granted.

   Mrs. Biddle has seen - not steered - the museum through its most difficult times, albeit in a role less grand than her mother's and grandmother's. At the same time, Flora, like Flora (mere), has not lost focus of Gertrude's mission to serve the living American artist; not simply be a repository for early to mid twentieth century American art. We are all richer for this achievement.

   It is quite an insight into a museum I have visited since I was a child. Who would have though how disorganized it was? How desperate at times! It is a tribute to the author and her family that they had the vision to recognize the Whitney could not survive as a family institution.

   The relationship the author has had with so many of the artists is awe-inspiring. It is a gift so great she doesn't seem to realize it and these characters, which should fascinate, seem cardboard. The book is a strange combination of chronography and reminiscence; its structure is hard to follow. The author is constantly lamenting that her family is no longer fabulously wealthy (for the museum's sake, of course) which is tiresome. Mrs. Biddle makes quite a show of her rebellion against her parents' society lives and her strive towards `normalcy'. Sadly, this does not seem to have made her happy.

   I love the museum and learned much of the concealed history of an old friend. This got me through the book. If you're genuinely interested in the Whitney Museum of American Art you should read it. If you're looking for the story of four generations of women, for the drive and energy it took them to build and maintain this remarkable institution you may be disappointed.




2. While I certainly enjoyed the Vanderbilt and Whitney family backgrounds, I found nothing worth noting in this book regarding the early days of the Whitney Museum. I purchased the book because I am writing a research paper on the founding of the Whitney Museum. Alas, the book focuses much on the fate of the Museum after Gertrude Whitney's death. There is very little detail or specifics concerning her role in the Museum, nor that of the main catalyst, Julianna Force.

   I will say that the book is a good, juicy look into the aristocratic Vanderbilt family, but that's about it.

   There is focus on later years, but very few details concerning the early days of the Museum.

   I'll shelve it for now and save it for a rainy day!




3. Although I like this book for what it is, it isn't exactly what I expected it to be when I bought it. I expected the book to give much more insight into the actual creation of the Museum by Gertrude, but for the most part that aspect is just gleemed over. Also, as another reviewer has pointed out, the contributions of Julianna Force are barely even mentioned in the book. If you didn't know better, you'd think Julianna did next to nothing the whole time she worked there, which is more than a little untrue.

   However, it must be noted that Ms. Biddle says first and foremost that her book is a "memoir," and as such certain factual omissions might be expected. Consequently, the book is filled from nearly beginning to end with quite a bit of gossip that those interested in the Vanderbilt or Whitney families or in museum politics will find terribly interesting.

   What I got most from the book though is the wonderful sense of supreme devotion that Flora Whitney Miller must have had to the Museum and to her mother Gertrude's memory. This was illustrated time and time again when Flora donated more of her money and capital to keep the Museum functioning in a way that befitted her mother's name. As other members of the Whitney family have shown in recent times, a single painting of the calibur that Flora Miller sold for the Museum's sake could have set her heirs up for life, had she chosen not to sell it and had passed it on.

   The book also seems to give insight into the recent controversies at the Whitney involving the display of Hans Haacke's controversial art display, with different members of the Whitney family taking different sides. After reading this book, it's obvious that certain ill feelings by some members of the family for others go back many, many years.

   In summary, if you like gossip, then this book is for you. If not, there are other books about the Whitneys that might be of more interest to you.

No comments about Wealth and Wisdom: The Way to Wealth and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: Two Timeless American Classics That Still Speak to Us Today.

5 comments about Daughter of the Yellow River.

1. Albeit it started well and gave some insight into an average family's life in China under the Gang of Four, it quickly derailed and became self-adulatory, patronizing and boring. I could not stand her own praise of her smartness, insights about life and prettiness. What's up with all those self portraits of her in different cities? As another reviewer suggested a visit to a shrink might help. To summarize, ended up being a waste of time; Don't waste your money on this book.



2. No pay no gain? No, no pain no gain. For this generation (born 1970's even 1980's) how to chase dream, complete dream, could find some clues from "Daughter of the Yellow River". For western, through Diana Lu' story to know her growing background and understand china.



3. 
   
   The book just grabbed me ...
   
   Being a fan of Eastern Phylosophies and Worlds, thsi was just my best ride. China from a point of view that is heartmoving. A distinctive culture, on stage for the world.
   
   Reading this book feels like Diana Lu is telling it live to you. It's not and easy ride since it might change the way you experience a couple of things in your life. Escpcially if your are western like me.
   
   Enjoyment and understanding of global human life at large.
   
   Incredible! Must Read! Delicate prose.



4. Buy this book--if you want to read a bizarre, narcissistic revenge fantasy. Otherwise, save your money.



5. I met the author at an entrepreneurship conference in San Francisco and found the meeting interesting enough to order the book. I found the book to be a mixture of biography, history, and motivational parables. While the biography was perhaps a bit too long, it provided a stage for discussing three very important issues. The first was the potentially destructive impact of dogmatic national policies (The Chinese Cultural Revolution) on a family at the very personal level. The second theme presented the difficulties inherent in and evolution of the relationship between Asia-born parents and their westernized children. The final theme presented the riskiness of small businesses doing business with big companies in China.

No comments about Master of the Big Board: The Life, Times & Businesses of Jack Massey.

1 comments about Peggy Guggenheim: A Collector's Album.

1. Peggy Guggenheim was a privileged and independent woman who was in the absolute middle of the international art transformation from Surrealism in pre-WWII Europe to the Abstract Expressionism of post WWII New York.
   She had many astute friends and her own independent view of art collecting. Never-the-less she's a hard person to love or idolize, due to the many personality quirks she loudly exhibited. Her insecurities about her looks compelled her to sleep with anyone she could, as validation that she was not that unattractive. Her art philanthropy was cancelled by her public regrets later, that she gifted so much art she never felt would be THAT valuable.
   Still, this is an inside look into the Grand Dame on the Grand Canal in Venice that is a fairly balanced view.
   The cover photo of Peggy is not a good choice for a first-time reader: Peggy often put on exagerated sunglasses when someone tried to photograph her, to hide her discomfort about the prospect. A better choice would have been a photo of her when she had let her guard down.

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

1. 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.



2. 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.

5 comments about Bad Boy Ballmer: The Man Who Rules Microsoft.

1. Fredric Alan Maxwell is loud and proud. I would have discarded the book early in the reading, if it had not been for exuberate descriptions and storys of Steve Ballmer. Maxwell seems to hate capitalism. I'm a strong believer in capitalism, so his scarcastic remarks really annoyed me. Rather than letting the reader analyze the facts about Microsoft, he interjected stupid idols, such as, calling Microsoft the "beast". Its like he wants the reader to believe, Microsoft is the gangster who rapes, pillages, and destroys the community. Maxwell does not seem to be high tech expert, he can barely talk intelligently about subjects like Java, dot.net, and Server technology.
   Think about it, Microsoft has made Corporate America richer because of its products. Microsoft wealth is simply a product of supply and demand. Customer continue to demand their products. Most of the VB and MFC programmers I know have migrated to developing in C# , ASP.net, and VB.Net. Dot.net was a great strategic move by MS. Win 95 was a hugh success and pattern to follow for emerging hardware introductions. Win 95 made the leap from 16 bit apps to 32 bit apps. The 32 bit apps were cool, so I dished out the money and receive value for several years using win 95. I've never regretted my investment in MS products.

   Maxwell wants badly to denounce Microsoft incredible wealth machinery by claiming MS pulled a fast one. Maxwell points out the battle turned from the Justice Department to the political election. MS would reverse political democratic tradition by supporting Republican George Bush Junior and hope his administration would not agressively pursue the anti-trust charges. $2 million in soft money to the Republican party. Ballmer would yell "Who op!" three times seeing a possible escape from Judge Jackson. Bush would reveal, he was on the side of big business, just what Microsoft wanted to hear.

   At the turn of the century, 2000, Ballmer became the MS CEO, fourth richest man in the world, and characterized himself by screaming "I love this company!". I found Ballmers biography from childhood to adult: interesting, geekish, exhuberate, and brilliant. Ballmer would meet Gates at the Currier house. Gates would leave Harvard claiming they had nothing more to teach him. Gates and Paul Allen purchased existing code for 75k and created Basic. Ballmer graduates Harvard and goes to work for P&G. Later, Ballmer's excellence in math and ambition would take him to Stanford. In the meantime, Gates would be under pressure to build an OS compatible for the IBM PC Junior. Prior to graduation Ballmer would leave Stanford and help Microsoft manage the amazing feat.

   Ballmer is a interesting person to follow. I found his story inspiring.




2. Very poorly written, frequently goes off on irrelevant tangents, clearly biased against Ballmer, MS and Bill Gates, and full of factual errors. His attempts to describe technology are laughable.



3. "Ballmer is vast. Ballmer contains multitudes." This observation in the introduction to Bad Boy Ballmer leads respected investigative journalist Fredric Alan Maxwell to conclude his unauthorized biography/expose of Microsoft head honcho Steven Anthony Ballmer, and truth be told, Microsoft itself, with "Steve Ballmer can remind you of many people." This seems to be his prevailing message along with "Microsoft is bad!"
   
   Granted, Microsoft's misdeeds have been made public and their ruthless corporate strategies painstakingly if not gleefully reported by the media. A lot like Martha. But few companies have created such wealth or had more lasting influence on our lives, and thus Ballmer, who is Microsoft, deserves attention.
   
   While "Monkey Boy" Ballmer, as portrayed by Maxwell, is passionless (he's committed to cancer research and was devastated over the deaths of his beloved parents, Fred and Bea), he self-contradicts, like Walt Whitman, and is a chameleon. Perhaps this is why Maxwell concludes by saying, anticlimactically, "Steve Ballmer can remind you of many people."
   
   In this intricate as the integrated circuit biography, there are nuggets of gold underneath, such as the ironic twist that Fred Ballmer helped prosecute the Nuremburg trials under Microsoft antitrust case judge Thomas Penfield Jackson. Michigan and Seattle history, as well as Jewish identity (Ballmer is Jewish) and its contribution to Ballmer's psychology give the book that touch of individuality that a portrait of one of the highest-paid American employees, and one of its most controversial companies, deserves.



4. This book is a complete disappointment. The author has an interesting subject but provides little authentic insight on Steve Ballmer and instead fills the pages with irrelevant material and personal observations. As an example, in one chapter he lists the voting statistics for the 2000 presidential election, spends 4 pages describing a conference that he attended (that had nothing to do with Microsoft) and reports on an interview with the manager of the Seattle Sunglass Hut. He also makes a number of obvious mistakes, for example he describes Microsoft's Internet Explorer as a "search engine", so it is hard to trust the facts that he does present. The author's style is easy and engaging, and at first glance the book looks interesting, but unfortunately under that veneer there is little of real substance.



5. When I read about the author's problems with his Steve Jobs biography, I picked up a copy of this to see if he was legit. He is. I read the book straight through, and think I got a wide picture of both Microsoft and Steve Ballmer. I find that I like Ballmer, even after reading about all his miscues. I'm giving this to a few tech friends as office gifts.