by J. Paul Kingston ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 11, 2016
Dramatic testimony and useful guidance about the art and anguish of career management.
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
GET IT
A former bank vice president shares his corporate travails, his transition to self-employment, and general business advice in this debut memoir and self-help guide.
On a Monday in 1982, Kingston, a VP at an unnamed LA–based bank, was told that his current position had been eliminated. In this memoir, he details the crazy two years that followed: a “corporate hell” of temp assignments at the bank, during which, he says, a manager moved him into a supply closet and corrupt subsidiary execs warned him to turn a blind eye to their shenanigans. After he recovered from a heart attack, he went to the bank’s top officer and worked out an agreement to exit on his approaching 10-year anniversary, which vested him in the bank’s retirement plan. Kingston then went on to hold several other corporate positions, relocating to Atlanta, traveling internationally, and then returning to LA; he also taught college courses, published finance-related books, and earned CPA and tax certifications. It took him until 1995, at age 51, to fully launch his own financial practice (now based in San Diego) and live largely off its income. The author ends most chapters with summarized tips (such as “Be prepared for an ambush Monday”) and concludes with a final “Planning Your Escape” chapter and “Losing Your Job” appendix, which includes a list of signs of being a “corporate prisoner” (“Your job is your only option”). Kingston’s relatable, entertaining saga of being “caught in the middle of corporate politics, power struggles, management incompetence, and leadership deficiencies” will attract readers’ sympathy and interest. He offers several highly amusing, if sometimes wince-inducing, sequences, such as one in which he gets his performance review while sitting next to a diaper-changing mother on a plane (“If there ever was a good description of getting crapped on, that was it”). He doesn’t always overcome the challenges of combining advice and memoir, however; his end-of-chapter tips, for instance, occasionally undercut the momentum of the engaging narrative. Overall, though, Kingston’s insights are compelling and may be helpful to struggling workers everywhere.
Dramatic testimony and useful guidance about the art and anguish of career management.Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4834-4655-4
Page Count: 170
Publisher: Lulu
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Share your opinion of this book
by William Strunk & E.B. White ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 15, 1972
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
Share your opinion of this book
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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
Share your opinion of this book
More by E.T.A. Hoffmann
BOOK REVIEW
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson
BOOK REVIEW
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
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.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.