This book is not about making money so much as about practical ways of looking at how to make money. In the opening pages, author Felix Dennis (self-made millionaire publisher of Maxim and a slew of other publications) bemoans the reaction to his previous title, How To Get Rich. It became a best-seller, he says, because people thought it was just about getting rich, whereas he was trying to look at it from a different angle.
So it is with 88 - The Brief Guide To The Getting Of Money. This collection of short chapters covers a range of practical advice - most of which anyone can agree with. Some of Dennis's views on the rights and wrongs of how to do business are subjective and could perhaps be questioned but, overall, he is spot on.
If you want to "get money", the hardest lesson to learn, according to Dennis, is you have to be a bit of a selfish git. Being humble and generous will let other selfish gits walk over you towards the money that could otherwise be yours. If there's an overriding lesson that Dennis seems to want to put across, it is that, while anyone can make lots of money, not everyone can; and that there is no formula to follow for all people - only those determined to do what's necessary will make money.
From a business point of view, Dennis offers sensible advice to entrepreneurs. For example, when you raise money to start your business, the more you spend on fancy desks and furniture, the less profit you make. The bite-sized format of Dennis's musings make this an easy book to open on any chapter for a quick read.
As to whether he's right, well he's got lots of money hasn't he?
