After The Death of A Salesman: Business Trips To Hell (Paperback)

by Roger Rapoport (Author)
Key Phrases: short subjects, large publishers, New York, Los Angeles, Barbara Cole (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The critical difference between After the Death of a Salesman and Rapoport's bestselling I Should Have Stayed Home: The Worst Trips of Great Writers is that here he is paraphrasing most of the stories, and as a result they lose any sense of original voice and immediacy. The author also includes his own essays on the state of business in America that, while interesting to businesspeople, might seem superfluous to the average traveler. An amusing exception is this excerpt from an ode to airline woe: "Board United flight to Frankfurt seconds before doors closed. I see that Andy is on board. He's from Chicago. Stress level drops. In the middle seat. It's ok. I made it. Andy's on the plane. Phew! Flight attendant finds me an aisle. Relieved, I go into the bathroom. Stretch, reach, bend. Laugh at my plight. Glasses fall from my head into toilet. Decision. Retrieve glasses. Return to my seat.... Land in Frankfurt.... Meet Stan & Tracy with the red mustache. They all have tickets to Riga. I don't. All my flights were canceled. And no luggage. No wonder it's called terminal...." --Jhana Bach

From Library Journal
In this entertaining volume, bookseller and publisher Rapoport combines stories of business-trip mishaps with his own reflections and recommendations about the publishing industry. Although the title implies a focus on travelers' anecdotes, Rapoport devotes about half the book to his thoughts on the publishing industry, bemoaning the practices of the large publishing houses and praising independent bookstores for helping to preserve literature. These sections provide valuable reading for anyone interested in the publishing industry. The travelers' anecdotes are told in a light, lively fashion. Rapoport gathered some of the material while on the road selling I Should Have Stayed Home: The Worst Trips of Great Writers (RDR Bks., 1994) and I've Been Gone Far Too Long: Scientists' Worst Trips (RDR Bks., 1995). Some of the mishaps are personal, including the theft of his rental car while on a sales trip. Other stories involve lost luggage, drunken pilots, angry cabbies, missed flights, food poisoning, and the cancellation of confirmed reservations, all on a grand scale that encourages as much laughter as sympathy with the unfortunate travelers. Recommended for larger public and academic libraries.?A.J. Sobczak, formerly with California State Univ., Northridge
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 201 pages
• Publisher: RDR Books; 1st edition (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571430628
• ISBN-13: 978-1571430625
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,312,515 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Moderately interesting travel woes plus book-industry rants., December 13, 1998

By A Customer

From the paperback edition's cover you would expect this to be an amusing look at other people's travel horrors. The stories are OK, but I have seen better collections of such. The book is leavened by a rather outdated set of observations on the state of the book industry. I'm surprised that a 1998 book gives almost no attention to internet book retailing.