A fulsome life story of an evangelistic lecturer, a champion of Babbittry, and author of the prototypical self-helper, the late Professor Napoleon Hill, is offered by an interested party. Ritt is executive director, secretary, treasurer, and general factotum of the Napoleon Hill Foundation. With freelance writer Landers he presents, in tones of awe entirely unjustified by the facts provided, the tale of a self-made man. Hill, in case you didn't know, was the author of Think and Grow Rich! and other popular self-starters for the lumpen. It all began in 1908 when, as Hill often said, no less a personage than Andrew Carnegie challenged the young reporter to interview men of the Scottish captain of industry's ilk, discover the secrets of their successes, and report the results to an anxious world. This became Hill's mission over the years, through three marriages, financial Waterloo after Waterloo, and a generally feckless career. Stalwart Nap learned the way to wealth and general good times from the likes of Thomas A. Edison, Henry Ford, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and lots of other high achievers. (Unfortunately, the extensive records of his interviews were lost in a fire, he lamented.) Believing that the only limitations are self-imposed, he billed himself as an attorney-at-law, which he was not. He exaggerated his net worth and fibbed about his age. Over and over, in the sometimes purplish prose of his biographers, ``he mulled over his philosophy, his life's work, his greater purpose in being.'' The hokum finally paid off, particularly because of a symbiotic partnership with W. Clement Stone, the beau ideal of insurance salesmen. A puff piece for fans, on the brink of parody. (8 pages b&w photos, not seen).
Pub Date: July 10, 1995
ISBN: 0-525-94001-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1995
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
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
© Copyright 2025 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.
