“The subject matter is ‘relatable,’ as my students like to say. Better still, though, is what you can learn about the craft of writing from this marvelous book. . . .”

A damnably readable, streamlined, yet deeply researched work. Skipping the ancestors and aftermath of conventional biography,

My father was a golden boy from a very small town. He won a very prestigious law scholarship to NYU Law School, and there in Greenwich Village, he met my mother, who was very young, fresh off the boat from Germany.

I myself am consummately middle class. We grew up in upper-middle-class suburbs in Oklahoma City, and thats very much the same ethos as what Richard Yates and John Cheever wrote about.

Above all this is the story of a touching young man who insisted on being something better than simply the smartest person in the room.

The funniest novel you’ve never read. . . . Afternoon Men is a revelation to sophisticated readers of every stripe, but especially to a certain kind of artist manqu on the brink of discovering that life is a more difficult business than he ever had reason to expect. . . .

But when a book comes out, it’s just hundreds of opinions and you have to learn to separate out the ones you want to listen to or figure out many you want to listen to.

I learned what my weaknesses were and I went out the next day to turn those weaknesses intro strengths.

I started in business over 25 years ago and have found a way to build on what I’ve learned through every partnership and opportunity.

By helping others, you will learn how to help yourselves.

Working with great people makes you great; you learn a lot and it also gives you the experience and confidence to move on with your own career.

The first songs I learned was ‘Crazy’ by Patsy Cline and ‘At Last’ by Etta James. I had been growing up with the Beatles, Pink Floyd, great bands.

Your greatest instrument is you, yourself, and the work of self-understanding is endless. I’m still learning.

I’ve learned what it feels like to lose, believe me. But I think, in the end, that is just going to make winning that much better.