A timely, authoritative portrait of a breakthrough company.
A business book offers an extended case study of the fitness phenomenon Peloton.
Miller tells this story utilizing an intriguing dual perspective—that of an academic with an interest in entrepreneurship as well as a self-described Peloton addict. After an amusing anecdote about how he was first introduced to a Peloton bike by his wife, the author gets down to business. He weaves together the tale of his own emerging enthusiasm for Peloton with an informed and thorough account of the company’s evolution. Even as Miller gets hooked on the Peloton system, he deftly relates the meteoric rise of the firm. Admittedly, it may seem difficult for the author to remain objective, so enamored is he of Peloton. But there is solid, substantive reportage here that should not be dismissed as merely a public relations ploy. On the contrary, Miller’s cleareyed observations of how and why Peloton has been so successful, particularly in growing a fanatical customer base, are salient and perceptive. In discussing Peloton’s trajectory, the author insightfully identifies attributes of the company’s business model that set it apart. One aspect he discusses is the clever combination of a piece of hardware (the bike and, later, other fitness equipment such as treadmills) with outstanding instruction. In fact, Peloton was originally unique in providing not just a stationary bike, but rich content for which users paid a monthly subscription fee. Miller rightly points out that the company effectively “merged two traditional models in the fitness space” with some modifications.
But Peloton went beyond that, developing “interactive, live instruction from some of the best instructors in the world. No one had tried this before.” This may well have been enough to distinguish Peloton, but the real differentiator, notes Miller, was community, which, he observes, “is unlike anything I have witnessed studying startups.” In fact, the community aspect of Peloton’s world is so unique that it pervades a number of chapters in the book. That is not a bad thing—Miller enthusiastically brings community to the forefront in discussing his own personal interaction with Peloton individuals and groups. He also profiles several “Pelo Celebrities”—not luminaries who do in fact use Peloton but rather “members who have become well known in the community.” The thumbnail sketches of these individuals, some of whom are social media stars, make for engaging reading. In addition to relating these personal anecdotes, the author is adept at assessing Peloton’s role in revolutionizing fitness specifically and business in general. But the content isn’t entirely positive; to his credit, Miller chronicles some of Peloton’s stumbles along the way, not the least of which include serious injuries and isolated deaths. Perhaps most intriguing is the author’s visionary thinking about the unlimited potential of Peloton’s future offerings. He believes Peloton “is on the path to fundamentally altering individual and societal approaches to health and well-being.” Still, serious challenges ahead cannot be minimized, as indicated recently in Peloton’s faltering profits, the resignation of its founder/CEO, and a round of layoffs.
A timely, authoritative portrait of a breakthrough company.Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-940858-97-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Ideapress Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.
An insider’s chronicle of a pivotal presidential campaign.
Several months into the mounting political upheaval of Donald Trump’s second term and following a wave of bestselling political exposés, most notably Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s Original Sin on Joe Biden’s health and late decision to step down, former Vice President Harris offers her own account of the consequential months surrounding Biden’s withdrawal and her swift campaign for the presidency. Structured as brief chapters with countdown headers from 107 days to Election Day, the book recounts the campaign’s daily rigors: vetting a running mate, navigating back-to-back rallies, preparing for the convention and the debate with Trump, and deflecting obstacles in the form of both Trump’s camp and Biden’s faltering team. Harris aims to set the record straight on issues that have remained hotly debated. While acknowledging Biden’s advancing decline, she also highlights his foreign-policy steadiness: “His years of experience in foreign policy clearly showed….He was always focused, always commander in chief in that room.” More blame is placed on his inner circle, especially Jill Biden, whom Harris faults for pushing him beyond his limits—“the people who knew him best, should have realized that any campaign was a bridge too far.” Throughout, she highlights her own qualifications and dismisses suggestions that an open contest might have better served the party: “If they thought I was down with a mini primary or some other half-baked procedure, I was quick to disabuse them.” Facing Trump’s increasingly unhinged behavior, Harris never openly doubts her ability to confront him. Yet she doesn’t fully persuade the reader that she had the capacity to counter his dominance, suggesting instead that her defeat stemmed from a lack of time—a theme underscored by the urgency of the book’s title. If not entirely sanguine about the future, she maintains a clear-eyed view of the damage already done: “Perhaps so much damage that we will have to re-create our government…something leaner, swifter, and much more efficient.”
A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781668211656
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorkerstaff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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