J. R. Simplot: A Billion the Hard Way by Louie W. Attebery (25-Jan-2000) Hardcover

by Louie Attebery

This is the story of John Richard "Jack" Simplot-who dropped outof school at age 14 to parlay a few pigs into one of the largestprivately-held companies in America.Today public stock offerings for new "dot com" companies make their youngfounders rich (at least on paper) overnight. J. R. Simplot is one of thelast classic Horatio Alger success stories. He spent 75 years building hisempirethe hard way.The 90-year-old Simplot also is one of the few 20th century industrialiststo successfully make the transition to the high tech business world of thenew millennium.Dr. Louie Attebery uses hundreds of hours of research and interviews topaint a fascinating word portrait of this colorful, outspoken billionaire.About The AuthorDr. Louie W. Attebery is an authority on Americanfolklore. He is former chairman of the Department of English at The Collegeof Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho. He was a member of the first executive councilof the Western Literature Association. He has given numerous talks onAmerican and Western folklore and was folklife consultant for the 1974World's Fair in Spokane, Washington. He has written numerous articles forregional and national publications. Dr. Attebery is a former editor ofNorthwest Foklore and is a contributor to the Encyclopedia of AmericanFolklore. He has written several books, and edited Idaho to Headstones.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The great cream separator, brings to the top those whose struggles to get there are in harmony with the operations of the centrifuge"

"you start thinking about other planets...we've got to run the universe"

"... if we don't get it under one head you're gonna get two, and when you get two you're apt to be back fightin'"

On monopoly: "Those creatures that survive are those most fit to survive, and if nature's great cream separator brings to the top those creations that result from cooperation, their triumph is no less secure"

[Aaron Turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

What could have been a great story was bogged down with some really poor writing.

[Andy Gutwein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read about Simplot and his work the built his company; light on business details; easy read except for a handful of big words that weren't necessary

[Chrystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting to learn more about the man/company my grandpa and mom worked for over a combined 50 years. Grandpa was always so impressed with him. I didn't realize before reading the book how multi-faceted the JR Simplot company was. It was really inspiring to learn more about how a man started with nothing, worked hard - physically and creatively - and built a legacy. I was a bit surprised by his comments about one currency/government/language, though. And his beliefs regarding God.

[Natalie Hodson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to learn the history of how Idaho earned much of their state land (through the Carey Act) in 1984. The federal govt would cede as much as one million acres to any western state that would take on the responsibility of irrigating those acres. This increased the land quality and brought many farmers from the mid west to Idaho.

[Lara2758 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hardly a guide but evidently educational.