Mark Twain was not only a legendary author and humorist; he was also a successful businessman in a variety of ventures. He founded his own publishing house where he made a killing of $2.5 million in todays dollars by publishing General Ulysses S. Grants memoirs. He was a venture capitalist who made significant investments in some 20 start-up firms and inventions. He was a Wall Street investor with a sizable stock portfolio. He was a pioneer in salesmanship, a brilliant public speaker, and a hard-nosed negotiator. He even set aside writing Huckleberry Finn to focus on his own inventions, which included a childrens game he patented in 1885 and a self-adhesive scrapbook that turned a profit. From this tremendous breadth of experience, Twain became a savvy businessman in his own right. This book will be a thorough look at Twain’s life as a successful man of business.
Book Details:
- Author: Peter Krass
- ISBN: 9780470117200
- Year Published: 2007
- Pages: 288
- BISAC: BUS000000, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS/General
About the Book and Topic:
Mark Twain was not only a legendary author and humorist; he was also a successful businessman in a variety of ventures. He founded his own publishing house where he made a killing of $2.5 million in todays dollars by publishing General Ulysses S. Grants memoirs. He was a venture capitalist who made significant investments in some 20 start-up firms and inventions. He was a Wall Street investor with a sizable stock portfolio. He was a pioneer in salesmanship, a brilliant public speaker, and a hard-nosed negotiator. He even set aside writing Huckleberry Finn to focus on his own inventions, which included a childrens game he patented in 1885 and a self-adhesive scrapbook that turned a profit. From this tremendous breadth of experience, Twain became a savvy businessman in his own right. This book will be a thorough look at Twain’s life as a successful man of business.
This book will follow Twains rollicking adventures through a dramatic narrative, which is organized chronologically. To highlight important points, pithy quotes and maxims headline each chapter. In addition, inserted between chapters throughout the book are brief mini-chapters, entitled Personal Habits ranging in length from 1-3 pages, that delve into the personal habits that aided his stunning success.
UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE OF FAMOUS WRITER: Not many people know about the very successful business life and ventures of Mark Twain. This book will fully illuminate this aspect of one of Americas most famous writers. AUTHOR HAS PROVEN TRACK RECORD: Peter Krass has met with success on previous biographies. His Wiley book, Carnegie has sold over 11,000 units and has been favorably reviewed in Barrons, The Economist, The London Times, just to name a few. EXCITING AND ENTERTAING STORY: From his very successful publishing house (which published Ulysses Grants memoir and made Twain $2.5 million in todays dollars) to his Wall Street investments and his venture capitalist endeavors, the story of Twains financial and business side is very engaging and entertaining.
About the Author
Peter Krass (Hanover, NH) is an accomplished and prolific author, editor, and researcher. He has written and edited 9 books, including Wiley titles Blood it made the bestseller’s list in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Denver; it was selected as one of the best biography/business books for 2002; and it was featured on C-Spans Booknotes. It was also reviewed widely in Barron’s, the Economist, the Washington Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Tribune-Review, the Dallas Morning News, the London Times, and The Scotsman, among many other newspapers and magazines. Barron’s cited the book as “the definitive Andrew Carnegie.”