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By Way of Luck
What's luck got to do with it? Everything, says author Jim Perkins.
Follow along as Jim shares his stories of how the son of Greek Macedonian immigrants came to serve in the U.S. Air Force, rub elbows with celebrities and corporate bigwigs, significantly influence the publishing and ecommerce industries, and initiate a program that led to the conservation of more than 30 million acres of public lands in the United States. His stories give a first-hand glimpse into the evolution of business and media in America.
The people Jim has met along his journey are as varied as his career and John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Irving Stone, Saul Alinsky, Helen Gurley Brown, Hugh Hefner, Julie Eisenhower and Haines Gaffner, to name a few. His stories give a first-hand glimpse into the evolution of business and media in America.
Jim is sure to entertain while providing insights into how people respond when caught up in extraordinary events. Here, he tells stories of actors and directors, writers, editors and publishers, of advertising agencies and television executives, of communications and financial conglomerates and of the people who run them, and how the decisions they made shaped the world we live in today.
His colorful memoir recounts the oddly circumstantial events in which Jim has played a central role. Sheer luck - much of it good, he says - put him at the center of the changes engulfing the media industry during the second half of the 20th and into the 21st century.
Luck provides those chances and choices that shape our lives. For better or worse, our response when opportunity comes our way defines our successes and failures. Accepting the challenge of difficult decisions and viewing them as opportunities is what makes up a storied and successful life.
Learn through the wit and wisdom of the author how chance may even be shaping the story of your own life every time you decide to take the path "less traveled by."
Praise for By Way of Luck
"Lucky? No way. Jim Perkins fascinating, delightfully crafted odyssey makes it clear, in fact, that it s his extraordinary imagination, creativity and vision, not to mention his mastery of the language, that can transform a tale of luck into an endlessly surprising and always engaging read." -Joe Mathewson, Journalism Teacher, Northwestern University; author, The Supreme Court and the The Indispensable Conflict
"While Jim Perkins credits his livelihood to good fortune...that isn't the whole story. A reader will learn from the stories he tells that when you're alert to life's possibilities; are willing to take risks; and are resilient when setbacks occur; success happens. An invigorating book. " -Jean A. Mansavage, Ph.D., historian, U.S. Air Force Historical Studies Office; author, Natural Defense .
"A bravura performance. By Way of Luck far surpasses most of the breed. Perkins is a natural story teller. His voice comes through in both the flow of the narrative and its peopling with characters vividly drawn. For the reader who knows the territory he covers, this is valuable stuff, with a significant lesson Namely, danger awaits any firm that stubbornly maintains its corporate culture in the face of change." -Donald S. Lamm, retired Chairman, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, W.W. Norton & Company, publishers
Follow along as Jim shares his stories of how the son of Greek Macedonian immigrants came to serve in the U.S. Air Force, rub elbows with celebrities and corporate bigwigs, significantly influence the publishing and ecommerce industries, and initiate a program that led to the conservation of more than 30 million acres of public lands in the United States. His stories give a first-hand glimpse into the evolution of business and media in America.
The people Jim has met along his journey are as varied as his career and John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Irving Stone, Saul Alinsky, Helen Gurley Brown, Hugh Hefner, Julie Eisenhower and Haines Gaffner, to name a few. His stories give a first-hand glimpse into the evolution of business and media in America.
Jim is sure to entertain while providing insights into how people respond when caught up in extraordinary events. Here, he tells stories of actors and directors, writers, editors and publishers, of advertising agencies and television executives, of communications and financial conglomerates and of the people who run them, and how the decisions they made shaped the world we live in today.
His colorful memoir recounts the oddly circumstantial events in which Jim has played a central role. Sheer luck - much of it good, he says - put him at the center of the changes engulfing the media industry during the second half of the 20th and into the 21st century.
Luck provides those chances and choices that shape our lives. For better or worse, our response when opportunity comes our way defines our successes and failures. Accepting the challenge of difficult decisions and viewing them as opportunities is what makes up a storied and successful life.
Learn through the wit and wisdom of the author how chance may even be shaping the story of your own life every time you decide to take the path "less traveled by."
Praise for By Way of Luck
"Lucky? No way. Jim Perkins fascinating, delightfully crafted odyssey makes it clear, in fact, that it s his extraordinary imagination, creativity and vision, not to mention his mastery of the language, that can transform a tale of luck into an endlessly surprising and always engaging read." -Joe Mathewson, Journalism Teacher, Northwestern University; author, The Supreme Court and the The Indispensable Conflict
"While Jim Perkins credits his livelihood to good fortune...that isn't the whole story. A reader will learn from the stories he tells that when you're alert to life's possibilities; are willing to take risks; and are resilient when setbacks occur; success happens. An invigorating book. " -Jean A. Mansavage, Ph.D., historian, U.S. Air Force Historical Studies Office; author, Natural Defense .
"A bravura performance. By Way of Luck far surpasses most of the breed. Perkins is a natural story teller. His voice comes through in both the flow of the narrative and its peopling with characters vividly drawn. For the reader who knows the territory he covers, this is valuable stuff, with a significant lesson Namely, danger awaits any firm that stubbornly maintains its corporate culture in the face of change." -Donald S. Lamm, retired Chairman, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, W.W. Norton & Company, publishers
353 pages, Hardcover
Published June 6, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 10, 2016
From the opening chapter, where celebrity movie star John Wayne invites the author out for drinks, this story reaches out and grips the reader. In a simple and straightforward way, the author reflects on his life, the choices he's made, and the incredible journey those decisions have taken him on.
Whether it was his off-handed remark that led to the conservation of 30 million acres of US public lands or his later pursuit of starting the Home Shopping Network, the impact of Jim's life on our society and culture is far-reaching.
While Jim is a client of mine, it's actually very rare for me to leave reviews on clients' books. However, this particular title has something for everyone, I believe. He has rubbed elbows with celebrities and corporate bigwigs, scoundrels and heroes. His military service and journalism/publishing careers each offer their own tales as well. Jim's conservation efforts and his uncanny ability to turn around floundering businesses draw in an even wider readership.
If any of these topics are of interest to you, you'll find this book incredibly difficult to put down. I highly recommend it!
May 20, 2016
It’s something of a marathon, but it’s a very good document of life in corporate America at the end of the 20th century as the writer whirls you along from job to job, from board meeting to board meeting, from state to state, and gives you a huge amount of information about the multitude of people he has worked with.
Jim Perkins seems to have led an action packed life where business is concerned, and has met all kinds of people. I’m not so sure that ‘Luck’ was the right title for the book, as he certainly seemed to have worked his butt off in all the dozens of posts he had – and many times luck didn’t seem to go his way.
He was clearly an engaging man with many friends, and this book is both an interesting document of its time and a testament to what one man’s energy and application can do.
Jim Perkins seems to have led an action packed life where business is concerned, and has met all kinds of people. I’m not so sure that ‘Luck’ was the right title for the book, as he certainly seemed to have worked his butt off in all the dozens of posts he had – and many times luck didn’t seem to go his way.
He was clearly an engaging man with many friends, and this book is both an interesting document of its time and a testament to what one man’s energy and application can do.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews