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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A lively and interesting read from an unlikely source., 29 Dec 1998
By A Customer
Take a classic text on the art of politics, add a dash of recent political experience (the negative kind) and apply the whole lesson to modern business issues - voila! Lord McAlpine explains it all to you. And he doesn't do a bad job of it, ( I write as a former CEO of a NYSE listed company.)This book is not to be purchased as a text for the purpose of finding presciptive formulas to be applied to the daily problems facing the serious manager. The Harvard Business review purports to do a better job in that direction. Rather, find a comfortable chair, light the fire, pour a glass of sherry and enter the world of Lord McAlpine - in this case a curious and unique combination of British politics, international celebrities, worldwide business interests and family inheritances. In his book McAlpine finds great management insights in the works of Niccolo Machiavelli for application to modern business and draws all kinds of parallels to emphasize the similiarities. To this reader, not all the comparisons fit, but the author is an engaging writer and there is enough real life business and political experience in McAlpine's distinguished career to insure some sensible commentary with a bit of wit and humor. In a sense one learns more about McAlpine than Machiavelli. As luck would have it, he is an interesting fellow, too. At this price buy one for yourself and a colleague and enjoy a great inside joke together. Cheers!
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