Customer Reviews

Jump In!: Even If You Don't Know How to Swim

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let's get one thing straight: this book is not about Survivor, The Apprentice, The Contender, or any of the other shows that Burnett has produced. Sure, he does mention them - as they helped to build his career - but not from the same point of view as some other reviewers perhaps expected. Thus, don't expect to learn about the inter-cast relationships on such shows. You will be disappointed if you buy this book with that intention.

This is a book about taking chances and attaining greatness. Period. Burnett came to the U.S. in the early 80s with NOTHING. However, over the following twenty years, he would become a dominant force in television and alter its landscape dramatically - perhaps more so than anyone else has done in the past 100 or so years.

That is the point of this book: how he went from a virtual NOBODY to a SOMEBODY. It's not very heavy on the business side, though chances are that you will learn something new if you read it with that intent. What it IS full of is how he took chance after chance after chance. The title alone should tell you this.

I will say that he does praise his business partners, such as Martha Stewart, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Donald Trump, etc. But what did you expect? However, you shouldn't let that aspect of the book to keep you from getting his message: Jump In! : Even if you don't know how to swim!

Even the most skeptical critics can have a field day with a title like JUMP IN!, but Burnett surprisingly stands his ground with his storytelling translating naturally to print. After reading JUMP, Mark Burnett deserves to live this charmed life and has raised the bar of genuine merit for who in Hollywood is the most worthy of success. The man's got it all, done it all and if adventures define a man, then Burnett is a dictionary of character.
Throw in Trump, Stallone and Martha Stewart, well yeah, I'd write a book too.

I picked this up as a discount-price eBook, and thought it would be worth the risk, seeing as I'm an ardent fan of SURVIVOR and THE APPRENTICE.

Upfront, I have to say that I expected more from Mark Burnett.

There ARE things to be learned from his approach to doing business. He makes reference quite a lot to 'jumping in', which is a bit of a pun on his paratrooper background.

Problem is that many of his insights and thoughts about business are really just rehashed old bromides. I don't think there are any 'original' insights in this book.

His anecdotes are fascinating. When he drops the business posturing, he's great. Very entertaining, gripping, and educational. But ONLY in the stories he tells.

The biggest disappointment for me is that this book appears to be two things...

1. It's an advert for his dud show, THE CONTENDER, which he praises lavishly.

2. It's a way of blowing smoke up the bums of people he's in business with. He uses phrases like, 'the best [fill-in-the-blank] I've ever experienced'. And he uses them often. Specifically when it's to do with people he wants to make money from. Like Donald Trump and Martha Stuart.

It's a good, riveting read, if only for some of the behind-the-scenes stuff. But it's not uncensored. It's not hard-hitting. It's not the bare truth. It's glossy PR-speak.

Worth it if you can find a discount version somewhere.

Blue skies
love
Roy

I would have loved to hear more about the steps Mark took towards success. Reading about survivor for over half the book got rather dull, although the show is his bread & butter. Reading about his experiences coming over from the U.K. as a Para-trooper, ending up a Nanny, selling shirts in Venice Beach from a fence, to his first experiences before Making-It bigtime were very enjoyable.

If there would have been more detail on these things and a little less emphasis on every single survivor show then I wouldn't have been able to put it down.

If your a survivor nut (which I'm not) then this may just be the book your looking for. If your looking for a truly interesting bio on a power player within the entertainment industry I highly recommend checking out The Operator by Tom King which is all about David Geffen (The G in Dreamworks SKG movie studio, Geffen Records, etc...)

I really enjoyed this book! I'm a big fan of "The Apprentice" and always wanted to know more about Mark Burnett based on his success with different shows, so I started to read this book in the store and had to buy it! There are many interesting behind the scenes stories, but I found it inspiring for his life and negotiation advice. I vacation in L.A. for a few weeks each summer and I always joked about selling T-shirts on Venice Beach. Well, Mark successfully did it while I just joked about it. His confidence really helps him to jump in and makes things work. This book has given me good advice on how I should "jump in" more instead of over-analzying ideas. Another wonderful aspect of this book is the love of his parents and children that comes through. It's so good to hear someone talk about their great parents instead of hearing complaints. Mark really does love his family and I enjoyed reading about it. I started watching "the Contender" because of this book and I love it. I only watched the first season of "Survivor" but now that I enjoyed his book so much, I'm planning on watching it too. I highly recommend "Jumping In". It is a very enjoyable and inspiring book!! Don't over-analyze, jump in and buy it!!

I'm a big fan of anything inspiring. Mark Burnett is the father of reality TV. He is a man of vision, and unafraid to take "calculated risks"--something a lot of people would like to do, but are either afraid of failure, or procrastinate "jumping in". Though I didn't read his first book, I did scan through it briefly. This book is much more in depth. I do agree with other reviewers; the book does lack detail concerning his earlier life, and some of his failures (1st marriage eg.). All in all, this is a great book, written by someone who has accomplished a great deal in his life. Personally, I am bored to tears with 'Reality TV', but it has played a big part in television entertainment the last decade. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants more from life, and is willing to make the effort.

While few can argue Mark's rise to fame and fortune is anything but spectacular, but to believe that virtually every decision he's made in his life has turned out fantastically well is a bit hard to swallow. At every turn (which happens to be accompanied by the phrase..."I jumped in...") is another remarkable success.

If he showed a bit more vulnerability in his stories, it would have been more believable, insightful and inspirational.

I also could have done without excruciating detail of every season of survivor...it got a bit old.

Mark Burnett's ride to fame and fortune has been one of the more unlikely but spectacular success stories in television. As a tv producer myself, I must say that the book has important insights for anyone who wants to venture into television. While there are many biographies out there about TV personalities, what makes Mark Burnett's book worth reading and getting is simply (a) that he is current, (b) he has defined a new chapter in tv filmmaking, and (c) is still riding the wave.

I read the previous edition of Mark's book and I enjoyed it. This revised edition includes several more insights into how he's steered his media empire after Survivor and ends with a chapter on Martha Stewart - which was a flop in the ratings, but nonetheless reflects Burnett's business acumen.

This book will inspire and inform you - Survivor fans may want more dish behind the show, but those who want to understand how the show came about from the creator will appreciate this readable account.

Long before I read this book, I was an admirer of Mark Burnett's work. His critically acclaimed shows, The Apprentice and Survivor, have raised the bar and the rating expectations (along with the production budgets) for competition based reality tv shows. Mark's courageous and sometimes unbelievable journey from a nanny to a filthy rich producer is very inspiring, but it should not be mistaken for a blue print to achieving success as a television producer (which is the reason why I read it). The message in this book, which Mark delivers with palpable passion, is clear and often redundant: jump in - regardless of whether you have the education or the skill - and just do it! Your determination and focus will keep you afloat. That may be true for some, but an opportunity was wasted to provide insightful instruction and information on how to prevent from drowning in the deep and murky waters of Hollywood; information that some could use to swim to the shores of succcess.

A life like that can only be headed in one direction, and that's Hollywood. Burnett's unexpected milestones from being a paratrooper then of all things, a Beverly Hills nanny, then to exotic shooting locales and signing incredible deals that every producer dreams of, it's no wonder that Burnett found his niche in the entertainment industry. JUMP IN, though a too-good-to-be-true testament of Mark Burnett's mantras and success, it even has the biggest pessimist start believing in that inspire and motivational hoopla. This pessimist has officially "jumped in".