An engrossing and personable look at real-life business decisions and the man behind them.
A memoir chronicles the life of an American man in business and beyond.
Pease was born in Spokane, Washington, in 1943. Despite some fears of nuclear annihilation during the Cold War, he recalls Spokane as a pleasant place. He went on to earn an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington before pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School. Harvard solidified his interest in making businesses work. Much of the book covers the nitty-gritty of things, such as trying to see a racquetball court company called Wallbangers through a difficult period. Later in the author’s career, he moved into venture capital, where he helped to fund potentially lucrative companies. As he explains of the venture capital world, “You have to be willing to explore industries and situations in which you have little experience, and you must quickly master what you need to know and do in each unique circumstance to be successful.” He also became interested in Russia. He eventually found his way to the board of the U.S. Russia Investment Fund. Between his personal life and business dealings, Pease traveled to Russia some 50 times. Drawing on this experience, he provides insights into the present-day situation in the country as well as some more general political and personal views. He outlines what it means to be a conservative. Though he is a gentile, he also discusses (and later delineates the points of) his published works on the success of Jewish people.
Pease’s memoir covers all these various topics in a no-nonsense manner. On the specifics of working with Russia, the author asserts: “We pursued ways of restoring significant American expertise about Russia because that kind of knowledge had declined precipitously after the end of the Cold War.” Though definitions are provided for many acronyms, it can be easy at times to get lost in the jargon, as with how “as part of the USAID ‘dual mandate’ for enterprise funds, the Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE) was established in 2002.” Yet it is the book’s willingness to dig into the details that gives it its appeal. Portions on business interactions are telling. For instance, one company’s attempt to use vintage rail cars to transport weekend skiers between San Jose, California, and Reno, Nevada, failed, thanks in part to a recession and a less-than-ideal snow season. The takeaways about what made some companies crumble while others prospered are not abstract theories. They are related by someone who was there. The same is true for the sections on business ideas, like the importance of entrepreneurs in the post-Soviet era. Pease is, after all, someone who has been interacting with Russian concerns for years. Some readers may not be interested in all of the success stories, such as the one about building an excellent home in California. Yet on the whole, readers get not just textbook management cases, but also a well-rounded picture of the business world.
An engrossing and personable look at real-life business decisions and the man behind them.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-943471-55-3
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Deucalion
Review Posted Online: June 6, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.
A carefully curated personal portrait.
First ladies’ roles have evolved significantly in recent decades. Their memoirs typically reflect a spectrum of ambition and interests, offering insights into their values and personal lives. Melania Trump, however, stands out as exceptionally private and elusive. Her ultra-lean account attempts to shed light on her public duties, initiatives, and causes as first lady, and it defends certain actions like her controversial “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” jacket. The statement was directed at the media, not the border situation, she claims. Yet the book provides scant detail about her personal orbit or day-to-day interactions. The memoir opens with her well-known Slovenian origin story, successful modeling career, and whirlwind romance with Donald Trump, culminating in their 2005 marriage, followed by a snapshot of Election Day 2016: “Each time we were together that day, I was impressed by his calm.…This man is remarkably confident under pressure.” Once in the White House, Melania Trump describes her functions and numerous public events at home and abroad, which she asserts were more accomplished than media representations suggested. However, she rarely shares any personal interactions beyond close family ties, notably her affection for her son, Barron, and her sister, Ines. And of course she lavishes praise on her husband. Minimal anecdotes about White House or cabinet staff are included, and she carefully defuses her rumored tensions with Trump’s adult children, blandly stating, “While we may share the same last name, each of us is distinct with our own aspirations and paths to follow.” Although Melania’s desire to support causes related to children’s and women’s welfare feels authentic, the overall tenor of her memoir seems aimed at painting a glimmering portrait of her husband and her role, likely with an eye toward the forthcoming election.
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781510782693
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
