Customer Reviews

In Pursuit of the Common Good: Twenty-Five Years of Improving the World, One Bottle of Salad Dressing at a Time

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"In Pursuit of the Common Good" (subtitled: Twenty Five Years of Improving the World, One Bottle of Salad Dressing at a Time) is a non-fiction work written by the late Paul Newman and Aaron E. Hotchner (American author, most known IMHO for his novels about Ernest Hemmingway).

This book is about the founding of "Newmans Own" natural foods, how it all started with Newman not being sure what to do with leftovers of his personal salad dressing made in a batch intended as holiday gifts for friends, and why they decided to give 100 percent of the profit from "Newmans Own" to charity.

I feel that the first few chapters would be interesting for anyone planning to start a small business, especially one selling food products. The challenges and pitfalls that they overcame are very interesting- I had no idea that a well-known movie star would have to go through all of this just to start a business. I was also surprised that Newman was very involved in the formula for the salad dressing, and other products such as the salsa and pasta sauces.

As an example, the first "Newmans Own" maranara sauce was based on a recipe Newman wrote on the back of a paper bag and went through no less than 10 "pre production" iterations before it met with PLN's approval to produce.

The methods used by Newman and Hotchner to gather public opinion about their products are noteworthy also. Newman's Own saved many thousands of dollars by not listening to the so called "marketing experts" and using their own methods (saving an estimated $1,320,000 in pre-production research).

It's worth noting that prior to Newman's Own, large food producers such as Kraft, etc. felt it was impossible to offer "all natural" foods with fresh ingredients for sale to the general public. In this way all of Newman's Own products were pioneers in the area of natural foods containing no chemical preservatives.

Newman at first balked at the idea of having his face on the product labels but was encouraged to do so by Ellen Posey (wife of broadcaster and former F1, Indy and sports car racer Sam Posey). Ellen was also responsible for the distinctive design of the Newman's Own product labels.

It is a light and humorous read, and like the Newmans Own products, the proceeds from sale of the book go to "Hole in the Wall Camps" for crippled and terminally ill children.

Each section of the book has a few pages of reprinted letters from people commenting about Newmans Own products. One letter is addressed to "Mr Redford"; Hopefully Paul took that with good humor.

There is a section in the back of the book with Paul Newman's favorite recipes, some of which were originally published in Good Housekeeping magazine, others were published in "The Hole in the Wall Gang Cookbook".

I recommend this book as it's a great story and extraoridanarily inspiring. It shows the good in human nature and greatly counteracts all of the negatives that are repeatedly showered on u sby the media. I have always admired Paul Newman and he has left a wonderful legacy.

I will be giving this book as Christmas presents.

It should be required reading for every CEO across the globe.

May you rest in peace... you were the originator of social capitalism by shifting the paradigm to one of good products/services, word of mouth marketing, and a corporation's focus on the social good. Hats off!

The hardback copy of this book is the same but has a different title,"Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good".

This was a fun book to read which both made me laugh and tear up. What Newman and Hotchner accomplished by just being themselves and making practical decisions is truly amazing. Their journey from making salad dressing to donating 200 million to charity illustrates that when people see a thing that makes sense in its goals and how it is run, they will pitch in both amazing amounts of money and time to help. What a wonderful creation the Hole in the Wall Gang Camps are. Paul Newman left a legacy of joy, and good eating.

I loved this book about a food business that thrived in spite of obstacle after obstacle, and in spite of the founders' stubborn refusal to do things the 'right' way. Very good illustration of the ideas that you should a) stick to your guns when it matters most, and b) giving back IS what matters most. I've always liked Paul Newman's movies (and food products) but now that I know how the business was built and what the profits are used for, I'm in awe and count him among my heroes.

This is a quick read, but if you admire a man who went spent a lot of time in the limelight yet not only remained right-sized but used it to become an amazing human being, you'll enjoy reading this. His voice is strong as is his friend's and co-writer's, and both are funny. His courage, humor, sense of fun and let's - just - try -this-for-the-heck-of-it attitude, his dedication when he trusted his instincts in the face of opposition really makes for a good role model. They both seem like wonderful human beings. We all have to go sometime, but kudos to you, Paul, for making your dance a fine one. I'm still buying your products and hope the kids' camps and sales volume keep going strong. Also, judging from the amount of time that doing all he did required, his wife Joanne must be quite a gal.

This is a very interesting book about Paul Newman & his Friend on how it all began with "One Bottle Of Salad Dressing At A Time" He writes with insight & humor in telling how his now mass-market company began as a lark. One bottle of salad dressing also led to the Hole In The Wall Camps for children with health issues. Mr. Newman was far & away more than a Blue eyed actor!! This book arrived looking like NEW!!

"Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." -- 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NKJV)


In Pursuit of the Common Good details the almost accidental development of the Newman's Own line of foods, its eventual success, and how the founders, Paul Newman and A.E. Hotchner, developed a new kind of charity to allow seriously ill children to attend summer camp. The book is filled with humor, good-hearted fun and a will to do good. Most people will find the overall effect to be heart-warming . . . except for the tendency to self-congratulation.

The book's is one part self-deprecating personal narrative, one part "advanced moving and shaking", one part "legend-making" tales, one part "I told you so" to the corporate "experts", one part funny stories from customers and one part business history mixed with two parts serious stories about young peoples' illnesses, three parts lessons about establishing a new charity, with a dash of recipes and cartoons for final humor. The mixture, while quite unusual, has a zestful freshness that leaves a taste for more.

If you are like me, you've never quite understood how Newman's Own came into existence and became a big success. I've tasted some of the products and find them to be of good quality. But there must be something more than that to it.

I was even more surprised to read in past news articles that all profits are distributed to charity annually. "Where in the world did the company get the working capital to stay in business?" was the question on my mind.

I also wondered how anyone would decide which charities to support and which to shun.

In Pursuit of the Common Good answered all those questions and more for me.

I was deeply moved by the tale of starting up and running the Hole in the Wall camps for seriously ill youngsters, and intend to tell others about this good work.

What intrigued me most about the book was that it showed that doing the right thing could be amazingly commonsensical. The products are good because Paul Newman would not be satisfied until he thought they were. The packaging copy and promotional activities are zany, and reflect the good humor of the authors . . . not some copywriter. Profits and cash flow are good because the authors paid attention to setting up their business model so the company would need very little capital. Making the profits go to charity allowed the authors to have fun with the business in a way they could not have done if they had been trying to line their own pockets. The psychic and emotional satisfaction of establishing the camps and helping other charities are probably worth much more than any money can buy.

I hope that other talented people, whether they are prominent or not, will consider how they could follow some parts of what the authors did with their business or their charity. I thank them both for sharing the story in this entertaining book.

this is a good read- i am a big paul newman fan so it was definitely a must for me and it was wonderful insight to his charity work