Excellent primer on the craft of copywriting. I've read many, and this is up there. Along the way, in addition to his own insights, Bly offers useful edited highlights from some of the wisest names in the trade. Very valuable for anyone wanting to get into the business as a writer and for those, like myself, already doing it. Priceless for anyone whose job is to manage writers and sign off on copy. Should be required reading for all client-side marketing people and agency account execs, particularly for what Bly has to say about writing ads in a vacuum, the importance of knowing your audience as well as you know your product, and about writing ads for them, not for your own amusement. And an excellent reminder about the limits of 'creativity' in marketing. With reference to one of the other reviews of this book, it's not a blast from the past, it's true. You can't gainsay the proof of decades.