Classic Book Review II

The assignment was to find two best sellers published prior to 1975 and report a professional review and a reader's review and comment on the work's lasting relevance.

Book 2

Bettger, Frank. How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling. New York: Cornerstone Library, 1949.

Search Procedure
Once again, I may have taken a “slightly out of the norm” approach in my search. This was driven by my location and lack of print materials. Searching for an alternative source, I went to Google and searched for “Publishers Weekly Bestsellers Lists”, and found this website at the top of the results, http://www.caderbooks.com/bestintro.html. It displays PW bestsellers lists for the 20^th Century. I searched there by decade and located the business title reported here. Wanting to know more about this source, I looked for information about Cader Books, but I only found their website. Apparently, there are only 4 employees. Cader Books is a book producer located in Bronxville, NY. Each year in partnership with People Magazine, they produce a recap of the year, which includes the Publisher’s Weekly Bestsellers List of Hardcover Books. From that effort, they created and posted the webpage cited above. I cross checked the latest years, and it appears accurate and legitimate.

This selected book by Bettger was the #4 non-fiction best seller in 1950 on the Publisher’s Weekly year-end list.

Review Citation

The quoted review below can be found on Amazon’s product page for this book: http://www.amazon.com/Raised-Myself-Failure-Success-Selling/dp/067179437X/ref=dp_return_2?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books.

Highlights from Review

Dale Carnegie’s review is sort and to the point: “How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling will be helping salesmen, regardless of whether they are selling insurance, or shoes, or ships, or sealing wax, long after Frank Bettger has passed away.”

Relevance in 2010
Quite a few readers and Amazon patrons posted their reviews on the Amazon product page in strong support of the book’s relevance in 2010. Several of these reviews cited specific reasons from the book’s content as to why it is still relevant. I have not read the book. But, there is no doubt that developing solid sales skills is still necessary and relevant in today’s world. The reviewers all suggest that this book espouses principles and ideas that are universally applicable in any sales setting. That is difficult to do, but not unheard of or impossible. I’ll have to take their word for it and accept the book’s relevance.

Book 3

Keynes, John Maynard. The Economic Consequences of the Peace. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Howe, 1919.

Search Procedure
Once again, I may have taken a “slightly out of the norm” approach in my search. This was driven by my location and lack of print materials. Searching for an alternative source, I went to Google and searched for “Publishers Weekly Bestsellers Lists”, and found this website at the top of the results, http://www.caderbooks.com/bestintro.html. It displays PW bestsellers lists for the 20^th Century. I searched there by decade and located the business title reported here. Wanting to know more about this source, I looked for information about Cader Books, but I only found their website. Apparently, there are only 4 employees. Cader Books is a book producer located in Bronxville, NY. Each year in partnership with People Magazine, they produce a recap of the year, which includes the Publisher’s Weekly Bestsellers List of Hardcover Books. From that effort, they created and posted the webpage cited above. I cross checked the latest years, and it appears accurate and legitimate.

This selected book by Keynes was the #2 non-fiction best seller in 1920 on the Publisher’s Weekly year-end list.

Review Citation

The quoted review below can be found on Amazon’s product page for this book: http://www.amazon.com/economic-consequences-peace-Maynard-Keynes/dp/1171892551/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291352161&sr=1-1-spell

Highlights from Review

A modern reviewer, Paul A. Volcker, said, “The Economic Consequences of Peace marked the entrance into the world scene of the twentieth century’s most influential economist. It should be in the library of every serious student of world affairs.”

Relevance in 2010
Keynes, considered the father of macroeconomics, and the originator of a widely studied and followed school of economic thought called Keynesian Economics, is most assuredly relevant to us in 2010. The fact is that, in spite of falling out of favor in the 1980’s and 1990’s, Keynesian theories have returned to acceptance and even prominence in the late 2000’s. His insights and theories remain at the heart of political economic debate throughout the world. This book is an early contribution that brought John Maynard Keynes to the forefront of economic theory and debate and established his springboard into world prominence. I think that makes it rather relevant in today‘s world. (How could I argue with Paul Volcker?)

Classic Book Review

The assignment was to find two best sellers published prior to 1975 and report a professional review and a reader's review and comment on the work's lasting relevance.

Book 1

Drucker, Peter F. The Effective Executive. New York: HarperCollins, 1966.

Search Procedure
You asked for unique and creative methods for searching. I used a Google search to identify some sources that might help me identify some books. My search terms were “best business books of all time”, not knowing that there is a book that uses that phrase in the title. The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, What they say, Why they matter, and How they can help you was published in 2009 by Portfolio and was authored by Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten. The book’s contents are basically book reviews by these authors on each of the 100 books. The book is available at the library where I work, on Amazon.com and on Google Books. From Amazon, I was able to “look inside” and read some reviews and on the Google Books site, I was able to read the list of books in the table of contents, and some of the reviews. Drucker’s The Effective Executive is listed as one of the 100 Best Business Books of all time. While it may or may not have been on a “best sellers list”, I am satisfied enough by the fact that someone had the audacity to list it as one of the 100 best business books of all time, that I am going with it.

Review Citation
Book Review from Amazon.com is found here: http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Executive-Peter-F-Drucker/dp/0060516070

Highlights from Review

Here is a synthesis of several customer reviewers on the page cited above.

Peter Drucker begins this book by pointing out that there is no science of how to improve executive effectiveness, nor any naturally-occurring effective executives. The redeeming point of this problem is, he argues, that executive effectiveness can be learned.

The book’s basic principles focus the executive’s attention on some key skills. These include time management, addressing those things that make a difference rather than unimportant questions, building on one’s own strengths and those of the people in the organization, rather than trying to develop new strengths.

Drucker suggests that we also need to be systems thinkers, getting to the core of the issue first.

Some suggest the best section in the book has to do with executive decision-making, when to make a decision, about what, and what principles to apply. Drucker uses important and vivid historical examples to make his points which aids in remembering the principles presented.

Relevance in 2010
Effectiveness of executives is certainly still relevant. However, when I read this book a few years ago, I found it badly dated. Most of the author’s discussion focuses on skills that today, in my opinion, are learned at a very young age in our fast-paced society and frankly, I was a bit bored with the book and had to skim through some sections to finish it. So, while the skills are still relevant, I don’t find the presentation as useful as it could be for modern executives. I acknowledge, however, that others may find it exceptionally relevant even today. In fact, several reviewers on Amazon, suggested this is the book to read in order to learn how to increase personal effectiveness.