- Reviewed in:
Publishers Weekly,
page
.
- Review Date:
2011-12-12
- Reviewer:
Staff
Business consultant Rosenbaum offers a starry-eyed toast to Bruce Halle, who emerged from an ordinary childhood to achieve tremendous success with his multibillion-dollar business, the 800-strong retail chain, Discount Tire Company. Rosenbaum (Selling Your Story to Wall Street) follows Halle’s humble beginnings in a middle-class Catholic family, his service in the Korean War, building a family, opening his first tire store, and creating his empire. Most important, says Rosenbaum, are Halle’s efforts to create opportunities for his thousands of employees and his determination to help them succeed. Rosenbaum’s fawning reaches uncomfortable heights as he waxes rhapsodic about “everyday hero” Halle’s leadership, values, and charitable giving. Though Halle is undoubtedly a pillar of his community and a fine man, the book smacks of a vanity project, lacking the narrative drive or timeliness to justify itself. Unfortunately, the adoring tone comes across as soppy rather than respectful. (Mar.)
