Customer Reviews

Letters from A Self-Made Merchant to His Son

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4 star:		(3)
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The PW reviewer got it wrong. This is a little-known gem, in its way as valuable as that never-outdated masterpiece, Edwin Lefevre's "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator". There are many people who've gone broke working for themselves or having given credit to others because they felt they had to, or who spent the fortune that they hadn't earned yet and never would, who could have used the advice in "Letters from...". It is very much not "the advice that young men always hear", especially now when Daddy can again buy them into the best schools, term papers are bought, credit is something to get as much of as possible and sloughing debt and emerging clean and bright in a new venture is just business. There is an attitude here that is quite foreign to the modern business-school-educated mind (but not to many successful in business), and a form of telling that has its own charm. If only for the swearing done then, and the realistic activities of the son who the letters are addressed to in the story that unfolds as it goes along, it's a fun read. But because the homilies are thickly spread throughout, it's the kind of read to not hog out on in one sitting.

I read the editorial review from "Publisher's Weekely" and had to respond to their narrow minded critique. I found this to be a very informative and entertaining book, and I found the advice as relative today as it was over 100 years ago. Just because more than a century has passed since the publication of this book, it doesn't mean that principles of right and wrong have changed as well. The examples are obviously dated, but the principles surely are not. I will pass this book on for my son to read in the next few years in the hopes he may learn from it.

I have been reading this book (an OLD copy!) once a year since I was a senior in high school, at the behest of my father who was one of the wisest persons I've ever known. The old man exhibits a rare understanding of human nature, and is able to pack more common sense into every square inch than too many of us gain in a lifetime. I have found it to be a great gift for high school or college graduates, for young people trying to find themselves, for some older folks still grappling with some basic issues. A great book for your personal library, and to share!

My grandfather gave me a 1905 printing of this book and told me that, in his opinion, this was the second best collection of wisdom he'd ever read, next to the Bible. After a reluctant reading, I agree wholeheartedly.

I can truly recommend this book.

When I think of the callow young man I was, and how I was ten years after that, and even later, when I was nearing the end of my career, I can see that the advice that comes out from this narrative is of the best.

I think that there are two critical skills that distinguish business leaders from their underlings: I'm not talking about general intelligence or powerful ability in math.

The key skills are a good communication ability, rapport with others, and a strong grounding in common sense, understanding other folks.

You have to be a good communicator, but most important of all, you have to suss out the other fellow, know what he wants and why he wants it, and act accordingly.

G W Lorimer would have made a wonderful negotiator, politician, diplomat even. This is what he focuses on. Every scene in this book is a set-piece where someone tries to take advantage of the man with the money - his competitors, his kids, his family, his peers. Lorimer sees them all off.

On a personal note, this book made such an impression on me in the 1970s that I kept alive the hope of reading it again. This I managed to do, in 2009.

You can't offer a better a testament than that. Read the book 40 years on and it's still relevant. I rest my case.

This book is good for the High School Graduate because the simple metaphors and stories make this book clear in a world full of obscur rules and references. I liked this book because it did speak in straight forward terms. An older audience may see this as a dribble of old advice, but to a younger man this is new wisdom.

This very old book, just reprinted, is simply the best book ever written on how to sell. Very enjoyable and very educational. Highly recommended.