HOW TO MAKE A BUCK AND STILL BE A DECENT HUMAN BEING

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HOW TO MAKE A BUCK AND STILL BE A DECENT HUMAN BEING

Name: HOW TO MAKE A BUCK AND STILL BE A DECENT HUMAN BEING
Author: Richard C. Rose
ISBN: 0-88730-584-9

A WEEK WITH RICK ROSE AT DATAFLEX

by Richard C. Rose & Echo Montgomery Garrett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 1992

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Journalist Garrett's fly-on-the-wall appreciation of what goes on at Rose's Dataflex company, which for all the deference paid her nominal coauthor's charismatic management style affords some insights into how a mid-sized firm can be run for fun as well as profit. In 1984, the founder of New Jersey-based Dataflex (a reseller of computer equipment made by IBM and others) recruited Rose to rescue his foundering enterprise. By almost any standard, the designated savior engineered an impressive turnaround, making the service-oriented company one of the fastest-growing small businesses in the US. Not too surprisingly, then, Garrett (Money, Inc., etc.) focuses on how Rose contrives to keep Dataflex upwardly mobile through an offbeat combination of cajolery, corporate rituals, crack-of-dawn meetings, peer rankings, personal recognition, unexpected rewards, vision, and other techniques designed to foster togetherness. She does so by reporting and commenting on how Rose spent each day in a putatively typical workweek—an approach that yields a modestly suspenseful narrative and that also gives the 45-year-old CEO a chance to offer summary pronouncements at natural stopping points. On the downside, the text is rife with such sycophantic bushwa as: ``Rick Rose bolts out of the conference room like a shot. He strides quickly down the hallway leading to his office. His head is slightly ahead of his body as he walks, his jaw jutting forward. He rolls on the balls of his feet and bounces slightly—a study of motion and purpose.'' Nor do Rose's frequently pretentious pronouncements always hit their mark—e.g., ``Treat people as partners. The secret is to make sure they don't have the same skill set you do, because then you're just asking for conflict.'' Cavils apart: an informative behind-the-scenes briefing on what makes an inspirational leader and his competitive concern tick. (B&w photographs—16 pp.—not seen.)

Pub Date: Nov. 4, 1992

ISBN: 0-88730-584-9

Page Count: 288

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1992

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.