I Can Get It For You Wholesale (2015) - Plot & Excerpts
Unjustly NeglectedFormat:Kindle EditionWell maybe not "neglected". People who have read pre-war Depression-era American fiction know this book. Heck, Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald knew this book. People who treasure "New York business noir" movies and plays, and the books they're based on, from "Sweet Smell of Success" to "Man in the Grey Flannel Suit" to Rod Serling's "Patterns", to John O'Hara's "From the Terrace", know the dramatized version of this book.So, maybe the caption of this book review should be "Books That Still Resonate". Because even though this book is set in New York's garment district in the 1930's, its lessons, insights, humor and dramatic power can easily make the jump to Silicon Valley. Just change street-hustler-businessman-salesman to "entrepreneur" and you're almost there. This book made a strong impression on me when I read it as a young man in the 1950's; its message fits the Facebook generation just as well.Harry Bogen, unscrupulous heal, conniver, back stabber and almost gleefully unethical shark, is a man for our times. In 1937 the garment district was a powerful engine behind New York city's prosperity. Today the juice has switched to Wall Street, but the players remain remarkably close to type. You can read this as a nostalgia piece I guess, but I suggest that it is as pertinent to today as the morning headlines.There is a reason why this book has survived while others like it have languished and drifted out of memory. The writing is sharp; dialogue is crisp and loaded with meaning and color. Harry Bogen may be the villain, but as the central character his energy and lust for power and success jumps off the page and drives the narrative. Because the characters and themes are authentic and because the tale is timeless, this book is important, relevant and valuable. It is good to have it available again.Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
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