I had mixed feelings about reading this book. I had already read Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich a few years ago, and liked it. The mixed feelings I had were a result of some of the early passages in the book and the overall format of the book. Dennis Kimbro, essentially, was chosen by Napoleon Hill's people to promote the concepts in Hill's original "Think and Grow Rich" to a Black audience. (There is also a version out there geared towards a Latino audience.) I can appreciate the premise of wanting to reach these audiences specifically, and build on any concepts toward these audiences that one could say are not specifically addressed in the original. I also see the profitability of re-releasing similar information geared toward special interest groups, which I think the purpose of this book is more of the latter.
When I read Napoleon Hill's original, as a Black woman, I always take note of the things that are not made with my voice or perspective in mind. However, I still think Hill's original is one of the better self-improvement books that I've read. I also saw many of the concepts to be pretty universal. In this version of the book that caters to the Black audience, I still feel that, as a Black woman, this book is lacking. It is written from the perspective of a man, and I know that it's impossible for a book to cover every single possible premise. However, early on, Kimbro can seem a bit preachy, and there is a hint of "black respectability" undertones. For example, Kimbro, alluding to the phrase "Black Power," states that "it implies dominance or retaliation for oppression." I, of course, don't agree with that premise, but keep in mind the funders of this book (i.e. Napoleon Hill's Foundation). There are examples of success stories from both men and women, which is appreciated, and I think the majority, if not all examples, in this one are of Black people.
Yet, there was another issue with the formatting of the book, that I don't quite recall to be as much of an annoyance from Hill's original, Think and Grow Rich. Hill's original seems more in-depth about himself and a few other example of other perceivably "great men." Yet, early on, in Kimbro's version, I felt there was a constant repetition of very brief anecdotes that take the format of the following: Here is a person who faced adversity. Said person was determined in life, and went down in history as very successful.
The anecdotes are too brief to really ascertain applicable information of how the person REALLY became successful, and there certainly could've been less of them. In other words, the same info could've been more impactful by going more in-depth with less examples rather than the many shallow examples that are quite easy to forget because of their similarities.
I did find more value toward the end of the book, where I feel it gets closer to its predecessor in tone. It shifts from the anecdotes to universal concepts of the power of the mind, divine intelligence, and having a burning desire to succeed. If you have to read one of the two, read the original, this one is double the fluff and half the meat. Not to say to say that there isn't value here. I read both, but just prefer the original.