Consultants Books

Christine Durst and Michael Haaren did an excellent job of presenting the major points of what it takes to become a Virtual Assistant. Their approach was very practical and hands on; and yet, potential pitfalls were also listed and discussed. Overall, their advice was sound and realistic regarding what it takes to be successful in this field.

If anyone is seriously thinking about becoming a VA, then this book is a "must read"!

This is a wonderful book for the aspiring Virtual Assistant. The authors go into great detail on all aspects of running your own VA business, and their insight is timely and comprehensive. In particular, you'll enjoy the extensive chapter on marketing, which details various ways that a VA can capture the greatest share of the marketplace. I highly recommend this book as a must-read and a resource to reference throughout the start-up phase of your business.

90% of what this book covers appears in countless other books for small and home based businesses. And, I'm not so sure that the other 10% is really so revolutionary because the concept of working remotely has been around for several decades now. The authors outstanding accomplishment seems to be giving what they believe to be a revolutionary new job category a catchy name. Still, if you've been living on a distant planet, you may find their mention of the basic components, requirements and legalese of starting a business helpful.

I've found a lot of information over the last several months while browsing VA sites, even shelling out a few dollars for information I thought would be helpful. While some of it was ok, I still didn't feel ready to start a VA business based on what I had learned. Nor have I ever felt that paying $$$$ for certification and training was necessary for me.

I decided to buy "The 2-Second Commute" from Amazon. This book fills in ALL of the missing pieces and then some.

Don't spend a penny on anything else related to preparing to become a virtual assistant until after you buy and read this book. After you're done with it, you'll know exactly what you will need to do and/or learn to set up and launch a profitable VA practice that you'll enjoy. This book might just be the only training you need to get started.

Thanks to "The 2-Second Commute", I'll be launching my business before the end of this year. If I had read it earlier this year, I'd be in a profitable practice by now.

Highly recommended - worth much more than the $10.00 Amazon cost.

If you could only buy one book about owning your own VA business, I would highly recommend this one! As there are multiple books on the subject in the marketplace right now, I would still highly recommend this one. This is the ONLY book you will ever need - well, maybe one on accounting principles if you don't know any & have no money to hire an accountant! But this book tells you EVERYTHING you need to know, & the questions it asks (or asks you to ask yourself) & the skills assessment it has gets you THINKING about the actual undertaking of starting your own business. Even if you just read it cover to cover (which I also highly recommend) and never do anything else, you will forever think more concretely about owning a business. It's a true eye-opener.

I purchased the sandwich spreader and metal spatula. I paid twice what I would have paid anywhere else. They turned out to be junk. Both plastic handles separated from the metal parts within 9 months of the purchase.

I absolutely loved this book. Doris Christopher's ideas and humble beginnings are absolutely inspiring! She has built an amazing company and shares it for everyone to realize their own potential. Her basic no nonsense attitude towards life and her company are shared in this incredible story. I do not sell Pamperd Chef, but if I was not trying to build another direct sales business I know I would after reading this book!

I have been purchasing Pampered Chef products for over 16 years and my husband and I have always been huge fans. After many years of buying from someone else, I decided to give it a try and then so did my husband. . . yes, we are both consultants because we believe so much in the products.

I signed up as a consultant a few days after the book was released and read it in one night! After reading the book I was more of a fan than ever. The story is very inspiring to anyone who wants to take the leap of faith in themselves and try to start their own business.

Doris' vision of having a business to earn extra money and still have time to raise her family is very much alive today as it was 25 years ago. The book takes you through the 25 years of her dream from where she started the business in her basement with $3,000 to being the founder a of multi-million dollar company with thousands of women and men who work with The Pampered Chef as hobbyist, part- and full-time consultants.

A must read for anyone who wants to be inspired to start their own business.

An interview with the author and her daughter, who grew up in the culinary business, supplements The Pampered Chef, a story of Doris Christopher, a former teacher and home economist who returns to the work world with a vision of making cooking more convenient for families. Selling high-quality kitchen tools through demo groups and growing her business, The Pampered Chef, from a basement enterprise to a successful franchise. A story of personal success comes alive in audio.

In 1980 author Doris Christopher, former home economist and teacher, wanted to return to the workforce after raising her children: she began selling high-quality kitchen tools through cooking demonstrations and began her company, The Pampered Chef, from her basement. Twenty-five years later it's a corporation specializing in kitchen shows - and The Pampered Chef: The Story Of One Of America's Most Beloved Companies tells of how she became a culinary industry success. Insights on how the company expanded and handled its challenges provide entrepreneurs and cooks alike with much inspiration.

I admit that (1) I don't work alone; (2) I've never worked alone; and (3) I never thought that I ever would want to work alone. I'm a born "groupie" who has always been most comfortable immersed in a "team effort, melding my work with the works of others. Unfortunately, I was given this book by a friend who thought I deserved a "better life," and unfortunately a read it. Twice. I keep saying "unfortunately," because I have now been turned around,having been harshly bitten by the workalone bug. I want to go out and see what I can do on my own. I'm going to do it, and it's all the fault of this book. I'll let you know what happens...

This is the kind of book that gets you all charged up and roaring to get going. I am not at all certain that all current and potential solo workers possess the multi-directional energy and stick-to-it-iveness that obviously inhabits Dr. Felsher's inner self, but I do suspect that most of us, given the opportunity, should give "working-alone" a try. Success at this venture seems to be the very best kind of success one could wish for.

After finally obtaining and reading through a copy of "Working Alone," (which I understand is now out-of-print), I am convinced that the author has put together a not-so-minor classic that clearly deserved a wider readership than it received, (a view shared by several previous reviewers). I am not certain if the fault rests with a complacent/inactive publisher not eager to promote and publicize a book from an "unknown author," or a complacent/inactive author,ignorant of the wily ways of the book-publishing industry. Given Mr. Felsher's positive and aggressive nature espoused in the pages of the book, I suspect more the former than the latter. Whatever the reason, I certainly hope that he can be persuaded to devote some time to delivering a follow-on book -- perhaps even as an e-book. I, and several others, it would seem, eagerly await such a development.

i was impressed -- really impressed -- with this book. very important lessons on virtually every page. "telling it like it is" is little more than a cliche nowadays, but by heavens, that's exactly what this fellow consistently does. a pleasure to read, it must have also been a pleasure to write. i look forward to more of the same from him.

I am a consultant, working by myself (president and chief bottle-washer) out of my home in suburban Baltimore. I've heard good things about this book, but was unable to locate a copy until last week. I was finally able to get a (used) copy of Working Alone, and having read it and believed it thoroughly, it has earned an honored spot atop my desk, and will remain there indefinitely. This is a sure "must-read" for anybody out on his own. A lesson on every page (well, maybe not _every_ page, but close). Count me as a big fan...

As an E-Myth/Gerber fan, I consider Erick's work an "E-Myth for IT Services". It will get you thinking about your business as a business and it provides a roadmap to get where you need to go.

Making the transition from working in to working on your business is the most powerful thing you can do to put more money in your pocket. Do it now. Buy this book!

Managed services, delivering different types of unlimited amounts of IT support for a flat fee, has been revolutionizing the IT industry in the SMB space. The model is dramatically different than the typical break/fix or blocks of hours way of doing business- it requires a fundamental business, sales, and technical transformation.

Erick Simpson's IT company was an early adopter, quickly became hugely successful, and Erick continues to lead in the field by delivering some of the best educational materials out there on this subject. I personally own this book and his follow-up sales book and have attended some of his presentations- outstanding! Some may balk at the price, but compare it to your professional hourly rate, and you'll find that the time saved and money earned make it a no-brainer. His materials, particularly this book, directly helped me close many thousands of dollars of recurring business in 2007.

Insightful, intelligently written, engaging and motivational. Easily one of the best I've read in quite awhile. Well worth every penny of the investment required.

I've spent more than a decade covering the IT channel. This book should be required reading for any VAR looking to become an MSP. The author manages to cover key areas (particularly business, sales and marketing) that most tech-focused VARs overlook.

I am a business owner interested in the Managed Services market space. I have read so much about Managed services but have not found a step by step guide on how to implement the managed services business plan or sell those services to clients. What I needed were step by step guides on both the topics. I was introduced to Erick's books by another associate. This book and "The Best I.T. Sales & Marketing BOOK EVER!" by Erick were exactly what I was looking for. Erick is not just a subject matter expert in Managed Services but has practiced and implemented his teachings and recommendations. He explains several key concepts and best practices on Managed Services, Deliverables, Pricing, How to identify clients, sell, support and maintain the services and build a long term win-win relationship with the clients. The coverage on How to Hire and Train your sales staff is worth its weight in gold. Included along with these 2 books are several forms, analysis tools and documents which make the sales process a whole lot easier with predictable results. These are the bibles for my managed services business and I refer them frequently. If you are serious about building a profitable managed services business, you must have these books.

As a screenwriter, this is the 14th book I've read on the subject, and by far the best. Derek Rydall not only prepares you externally to be a script consultant, he prepares you internally as well; forcing you to peel back the layers of your own psyche, and examine your inner obstacles to your own success.
Derek is not afraid to share his failures along with his successes, to help you avoid making the same mistakes. Each chapter starts with a few appropriate and inspirational quotes that create the setting for the chapter, and inspire the reader. What can I say? If it's not in the book, you don't need it! Five stars for this book that helps you shoot for the moon.
-- Scotland Miles
Screenwriter and Author

Read and analyse your script from cover page, FADE IN to FADE OUT. Derek Rydall packs a lot of useful information in this well thought out, well written book. This is the meat and potatoes of the biz.
Do yourself a huge favor and read this book before you submit your next script. Chapter Two shows you how the studios see the difference between an amateur wannabee and a pro. Chapter Four brings in a wealth of good advice from well known experts like Linda Seger, Michael Hauge and David Freeman. David Freeman's sample scene analysis alone might make the difference between being kicked up the ladder or kicked out the door. You need every tool you can get your hands on to make your script a contender. Make this book part of your arsenal.
Whether you want to get your scripts in the door or want to be a script consultant this could be your blue prints to success.

Can anyone who has ever been to a movie not have looked at some of them and wondered how such trash got produced? No one would start out with the intend of making a bad movie. You have to wonder how a group of people, presumably experienced and not unintelligent have produced something like that.

This book is written by a script consultant who tells what it's like to review and consult on the movie that's about to be made. While we all think that we could do this work, here's what the work involves. Here's how to get started. The best advice that I think he gives is work with someone in the business to at least establish the contacts.

This is a business like any other. You need at least the understanding of who does what. It is unlikely that very many of the readers of the book will actually become successful at script consulting, but it is still interesting reading to see what is done. It's an interesting insight into the movie production business.

There are plenty of movies on the market which feature substandard writing - so bad that even an audience member might think they can do better, let alone an aspiring screenwriter. If you're a member of the latter group, I Could've Written A Better Movie Than That! How To Make Six Figures As A Script Consultant Even If You're Not A Screenwriter is for you. It tells how to use this sense of perfection to earn cash as a script consultant, and comes from author Rydall's years of experience in the industry. Chapters show how to analyze stories in any form, write coverage, repair scripts, negotiate contracts and more. Plenty of books tell how to write the script: few, except for this, tell how to make money repairing one.

I really liked this book and I believe that there aren't any others like this one. It talks about how you can start a highly lucrative business as a script consultant and a re-writer.

The only thing that makes me hesitant is the ease (or difficulty) in establishing credibility as a consultant if one hasn't written anything worth mentioning.

Other than that, this is an incredible book and I hope that not too many people read it because it's an INCREDIBLE business idea and I want to pursue it myself.

I found the book well laid out; it was easy to find solutions to problems. I like the small size; very easy to carry around. I recommend this series of books to anyone who is an admin.

WOW. So much for so little and in such a little compact book is amazing. Perfect for a newbie looking to get into Administration of windows 2000 servers or a seasoned MCSE that needs refresher.
Excellent book.

My library of tech books fills many shelves. Out all of those books, Microsoft Windows 2000 Administrator's Pocket Consultant is one of the most used. I highly recommend it as a desktop reference. I refer to it all the time and it is one of the rare tech books I read cover to cover as well.

This is the best Win2K Server book I have come across for daily administration. Stanek's writing style is actually enjoyable to read and easy to understand. He obviously knows the subject, and this book is like attending an expert training class. It's refreshing to read a book written for the real admins. I also used it to help prep for MCSE tests on Win2K.

I particularly bought the book because I needed additional training on Active Directory. It has also helped with our DNS and DHCP configuration. Finally I found a book that covers Win2K DNS in good detail and also details how it integrates with AD. After reading the book, I finally fixed our DNS and AD problems. Another highlight of the book for me was his covering disk configurations, roaming profiles and EFS. Lots of expert tips and insights. Again, the book's not an exhaustive reference on the subject but is a solid daily adminstration reference. I highly recommend this book as a primary tool to correctly learn how to admin a Win2K domain.

I have the first edition and got the second edition immediaetly. With the second edition, Stanek has done a great job! This book is well written, easy to follow and concise, yet packed with lot's of useful information and hints and tips for Windows 2000. I consider myself a fairly expert Windows admin, but still learned quite a lot from this book. Like other Windows books that Stanek has written, this one is excellent for either new admins or experienced admins. I whole heartedly recommend this book to everyone.

I recently bought 2 books on Staging, since I'm currently wondering wether to pursue it as a new career. Right off the bat, this book is very inspiring in it's voice and the writer's accomplishments. I'm barely into it, but it's already gotten me back to feeling excited about the possibilities. As opposed to the other staging book i'm about to review, and ended up returning.

The layout is like reading a term paper, but it's kind of nice reading on such a big format for a change. No color pictures to speak of, but if you're buying this, you're not looking for color ideas. Just tell me what the biz is all about, and what i could expect from giving it a go, is all i'm looking for.

I'm really enjoying the way that it's written as if the author is talking to you. It's much more entertaining, and it makes me feel like she's there for any questions, which she says she is!

So based on the 30+ pages or so i've read, this book is a definite for those looking for some insight into this growing business.

I began an interior design business a year and a half ago. I am specializing in window treatments. This book showed me how I can incorporate home staging and redesign into my current business. This book was wonderful in encouraging me to pursue home staging. I would suggest anyone looking to go into home staging to pick up a copy of this book.

I loved this book- it is very thorough and contained everything I needed AND more that I haven't even gotten to read yet- I am still implementing ideas from what I have read! Barbara is not trying to impress people with her credentials, she is trying to help them with her experience! If you are considering staging for a living- get this book!

I was blown away by how much there is in this book of genuine value -- it is unquestionably the best of the bunch and since I am also a trainer, I have purchased many books for my personal reference and library. I have to admit, I was sure amazed. I found many ideas and suggestions to add to my own training processes, which was an added bonus to me. If you can only buy one book, get this one. If you can buy more, only buy this one. Seriously. Only buy this one.

In a sea of books that deliver generalities, this book stands out as refreshingly filled with tips galore and the best useable, practical help of all. I was astonished at the openness of the author and her willingness to divulge literally everything one ought to know. Her checklist on the tasks a stager should consider when taking on a project was the most complete I've ever seen and goes on for pages. She gives you a list of questions to ask homeowners up front so you know in advance whether they are do-it-yourself types or not. I found this important so I'll know how to proceed in my presentations and calculating my pricing. Excellent.

Her advice on how to work with clients is well thought through and mirrors my own beliefs. I consider myself to be pretty savvy as a business person, but I found gems everywhere that gave me pause to think and reconsider what I was doing. The lists of questions for agents and owners, and pricing guidelines are worth the price of the book just by themselves. She also gives a pretty thorough list of tools you'll need on the job and a list of the kinds of furniture and props you might inventory if you want to stage empty properties.

There are books out there that never get to the really "good" stuff, but this one is filled from cover to cover with topic-specific practicality. I also enjoyed her occasional humor. I can imagine it's very difficult to write for beginners as well as experienced readers, but I thought she did a masterful job of explaining the basics while getting into the meatier details too. She kept me interested at every step.

Most books of this nature have no pictures to speak of, but this one has plenty. I appreciate the "on the spot" nature of them and that they are representative of all the varied types of homes and predicaments a stager will run across.

The "ready to use" forms at the back of the book are adapted to the industry, yet generic enough to be used by any one just as they are. And since the book is the same size as a sheet of paper, you don't have to make any adjustments or resize them in any way. I appreciate that the author obviously considered this when electing to do a large sized manual. More kudos to her for that as well.

Of all the books I've purchased on the subject, I found this one to be by far the best and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to start a staging business. It's clear the author is an expert and also a very generous person. On a different note, I also purchased her other book on redesign, and found it to be excellent as well.

Very good information. Gives the reader a step by step process of getting clients without insulting intelligence.

I own a small business and I am looking to find more clients. This book is a must have for anyone who wants to offer services to businesses. I have already found this book to informative, simple to understand, and it has given me new skills to market my business without all the expense. Although I haven't done this for 28 days, I already have some leads on new clients just by doing some of the steps mentioned. Any one who offers a service related business should read this book. Truly a lifesaver!
Thanks

This book demystified marketing for me. I read other marketing books, but could not then commit to one course of action. In plain language, C. J. Hayden helps you to pinpoint where to focus your energy. Then she helps you to develop a step-by-step plan based on your needs.

If you are looking for a book about how to write a great sales letter, this is not it. If you are looking for a way to develop a low-maintenance business development plan, buy this book. You can spend as little or as much time as you want on this program. She explains how to get the ball rolling, and reminds you that development can be an ongoing activity.

It's easy to get overwhelmed with business and self-help books because authors provide a wealth of suggestions and no clear path. This is where Hayden's book stands out. She breaks everything down from the six marketing strategies and setting up measurable goals to selecting ten doable activities.

The book also includes two worksheets that work with the program for easier reviewing and tracking progress. While you can follow the program alone, she recommends having support from someone other than family. It could be a coach or a colleague in the industry.

The organized and methodical program guides you through each step. Reading the how doesn't take long and the program begins mid-way through the book. The latter half of the book describes the activities you can do while following the 28-day program. So you won't get overwhelmed at the thought of "too many pages to read."

I worked on it as soon as I started reading the book. Having this guide took a lot of pressure off of me as I know exactly what to do once I'd put my plan together. Not many business books have urged me to take action and this one succeeded. I know that after a month of following this process, I'll see positive results.

While the book sounds simple, and it is — it takes work to make it happen. Instead of taking the long route and learning from trial-and-error, Hayden provides you with a direct route so you do the activities and don't worry about overdoing it.

Some people may not like strict rules. The book isn't like that. It's okay to adjust the plan so you do six or seven activities instead of ten. It helps you figure out where you're stuck in the marketing process and provides the tools for working past it. The book is over five years old and its contents are as relevant today as when it first came out. I can say with certainty that anyone who follows the plan will get great results.

Thesis: With this 28-day marketing program, you will locate, land, and keep new clients in greater numbers than you've probably ever dreamed possible. It includes steps that are easy to follow and practical for professionals and consultants.

Structure: A 28-day program described in ten chapters spread over three sections: The Setup, The System, and The Strategies.

Here are some sections I found especially valuable:

What Really Works? Effective Marketing Strategies (Ch. 1; pp. 5-21)
C.J. delivers a great lead-in that primes the reader with sound and specific information about what to consider. She speaks to the "hows" and "whys" behind marketing. Graphics such as the one on page nine ("Marketing strategies for the service business") make the material easily accessible to reader, helping break down any possible barriers of intimidation.

You're Ready...Let's Go! Putting the System into Action (Ch. 6; pp. 85-127)
This chapter leads the reader through the entire 28-day process with excellent details and tools (such as the worksheet on page 89) to help track progress. It's the culmination of the previous two chapters that discuss building your own system from a menu of tried-and-true marketing ingredients. C.J. tells you (1) what marketing ingredients to choose from, (2) how to choose what's best for your situation, and (3) specifically how to put the plan in action.

Following Up: When You Have Plenty of Numbers But You're Not Calling (Ch. 8, pp. 171-184)
This chapter is one of four in the third and final section: The Strategies. These four chapters help the reader focus on practical solutions for common problems encountered during the 28-day program and beyond. Chapter Eight focuses on breaking down barriers that cause inaction. It provides practical solutions to help the reader actually follow through on acquired leads.

Patrick Lencioni wrote this as a follow-up to his 2002 "fable," The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. It applies the earlier book's concepts, and suggests many exercises, approaches, examples and explanations you can use as you apply those ideas. If you found the first book useful, you'll want this one, though you can still get a lot of utility from it even if you haven't read the original. Lencioni recaps his concepts clearly here, including developing trust among team members and keeping teams focused on their goals. The result is broadly applicable. We believe that readers who want a basic introduction to improving team function will appreciate this book. That said, those looking for more complex or theoretical approaches, or for tools to deal with specific challenges, such as knowledge management among teams, may need a more advanced manual.

This field guide is execellent. It is practical and helpful. Improving teamwork is difficult, to say the least, especially for highly dysfunctional teams. Patrick Lencioni's book is essential to working through these challenges.

Teamwork really is the one sustainable advantage that a group or company can have. Patrick Lencioni has put together a prescriptive method of bringing a group of people together to form a team. He walks through a step by step approach of breaking down the levels of teamwork in a narrative format in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable which really builds the case for why you would want to follow this method. In this book, he all but builds your team for you. It'll be imperative that you can foster the right levels of communication and potentially have someone with you to help as you rebuild your team; however, this method does give critical insight into how groups of people become a team.

I'm not a big fan of management books because they tend to get long-winded, technical, and impractical. This book is none of the three.

I did not read the original book "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable" (240 pages), but with this field guide, you don't need to read it. The field guide is 180 pages of easy reading. It's not complicated, very practical, and you don't need to be a CEO to implement the concepts.

I was pleasantly surprised and would recommend this book to anyone who labors in futility on a fumbling team. It's worth your time.

This field guide is extremely useful for working with teams - from dysfunctional teams to those that are running smoothly. The exercises are practical and get to the heart of team dysfunctions.

I am a pastor who also works in the corporate world. I will use the ideas and exercises in this book with teams in the office and in the church.

I found the book in a $1 pr. book pile outside a strand in Manhattan. The theme of the book caught my attention so I bought it. Very good story, very well written and quite a good insight in the business of fabricating publicity. I think that everyone studying communication of some sort will have interest in reading it.

I picked this book up at an airport with a few hours to kill, 2 days later I was ready to throw in my business degree and switch to PR.

Daniel Price writes a captivating piece of fiction about a master of 'perception management', a guy so damn good at what he does, you'll never watch the news or read the papers the same way again.

Scott, the main character is both a master manipulator, and a down right nice, normal guy, when he is recruited to run damage control for a rising hip hop star, he hatches a plan so damn neferious it wouldn't suprise me to see it on CNN. from here the story just gets more and more exciting and twisted.

Price also presents a really strong FAQs section on his website answering a number of small questions and possible inconsistencies that arise during the book, as well as an excellent reading list.

if you interested in PR, media manipulation, hip hop, or even just want a great exciting, and none too heavy read I strongly reccomend you pick this up.

Daniel Price has written a very original, fun book about Public Relations work. The plot has many twists and characters strong enough to carry your interest. This book is a definite change from run-of-the-mill storylines. Readers will also learn quite a bit about how the public is misled by the media about almost every subject conceivable. This one is definitely worth your time!

I have mixed emotions about this book. As the author notes at the end, it was not a thin piece of reading and to get to the end you had to stick to it. Perhaps the going was hard after an absolutely hilarious beginning because of the subject nature of the story. In any event, it is a book that will give you pause for thought the next time some "big story" is brewing on CNN, Fox or MSNBC. It will make you wonder about what is real and what is contrived. It will make you more sceptical about what passes for entertainment these days and less likely to accept anything you see at face value. The main character in the book spends most of his time manipulating people and events, yet in the end he becomes a better person, not because of any concious effort on his behalf to do that, but because he he is open and receptive to the events that swirl around him.

Though a long time, avid reader, this is my first ever book review. I felt compelled to write it, as in my opinion none of the critiques I've read so far on Slick, while generally quite positive, seemed adequate in overall literary perspective.

In terms personal impact, I could only compare "Slick" with Joseph Heller's "Catch 22." I read this at 18, and it remains in my top ten. Not that the style or stories are similar; just that both authors grabbed me immediately, presenting hilariously perceptive parodies of life's irony. Probably the greatest commonality is the way both bring profound cultural hypocrisies into clear focus through humor. Vonnegut also comes to mind.

Price's chosen theme is the way our thinking is affected by master media manipulators, working mostly at the indirect behest of six or seven International uber-corporations. But instead of presenting a protagonist involved in the fight against such machinations-as Price is in real life-he gives us Scott Springer, one of the more talented and morally ambiguous mercenaries from the dark side. To Scott, his occupation is simply "perception management." "I've conspired with the gun people, schemed with the liquor people, toiled for tobacco, and moiled for Monsanto. I've pushed polluters and promoted porn. I've shilled for Shell and lied for Tide. I've helped a major pharmaceutical company sell a drug that does nothing by promoting a disease that does not exist. And that's just the old stuff on my resume. That was before I went freelance and really got creative."

Yet even with these insights into his profession, Scott felt that "..despite all my nefarious acknowledgements, I was actually a man who meant well." You won't believe how marvelously well this approach works in revealing the mindset of those who help shape ours, until you read "Slick."

Along the way on this great literary ride, you'll meet more memorable characters than can generally be fit into much longer works. He has a true gift for quickly fleshing out his cast. One great example is a black lawyer who looks dignified yet slightly comic. "Malcolm X by way of Urkel," is how Price relates his overall affect. Add to this ability the always engaging plot twists and recursive loops, funny yet insightful dialogue, and a strong message relayed through seeing events through the first-person vision of the villain/protagonist, and you have one of the best first novels in decades. The only two I can remember that came even close were "Big Trouble" by Dave Barry, and more on the mark message wise, "Radiance" by Carter Scholz. "Slick" is as funny as the former and as poignant as latter. I can't wait for Price's next book, or for the movie version of this one! The lead role is so dynamic, complex, and three-dimensional, I'm betting Hollywood's best will fight over it. If you happen to know Brad Pitt or John Malkovich, get them to read this book!