A light, breezy record of one entrepreneur’s rise to fortune and the crazy ways of modern American business.
A gift-card entrepreneur recounts his rise, dispensing life lessons and business tips along the way.
Before he “revolutionized the gift card industry” Dinkin had a rough childhood growing up near Toronto, where anti-Semitic bullies tormented him. But, as he writes in this debut memoir, he’s thankful for the experience; his pent-up anger, he says, motivated him to try harder and eventually become a successful businessman. After he and his family moved to Coral Springs, Fla., he worked in unsatisfying sales jobs before forming his own company, SmartClixx, in the booming gift-card industry. Dinkin, like many successful entrepreneurs, offers plenty of advice, often emphatically (“Life Lesson #1: SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED A LUCKY BREAK!”; “Life Lesson #14: EVERY IDEA STARTS WITH A SPARK”). Although the tips aren’t particularly profound, they do offer readers a dollop of common sense—a scarce commodity in this or any age. Dinkin also shares his insights into the sales game, describing tactics like the “Ben Franklin” close, in which the salesman stresses positives over negatives, and the “reduce to the ridiculous” close, in which a product’s cost is divided over time. This primer on the ins and outs of the gift-card business includes examples of his company’s successes and failures, but its humor sets it apart; at one point, for example, a confused elderly woman calls the author to complain, thinking she’s somehow entitled to free gift cards, and Dinkin also includes his amusing interactions with a wacky, deceitful CEO with a Napoleonic complex. It’s clear in these pages that Dinkin believes he’s fulfilled his goal of success; for example, when he and his second wife drive behind a BMW with a bumper sticker saying “Life Is Good,” they chime in together, “But better for us!”
A light, breezy record of one entrepreneur’s rise to fortune and the crazy ways of modern American business.Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2013
ISBN: 978-0988775305
Page Count: 194
Publisher: Doodle Vision Productions
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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