Rating: 
Summary: Tried and true
Review: I read this book over a period of about 2 weeks, and during that time I had a chance to post for another job within my company. At first I was hesitant, but I reread the chapter "Be A Mercenary" and my attitude changed. The new job was for a little more money and that was good, but even better - it was a new experience. I applied for it, and a month later I was sitting at my new desk.That's basically the whole idea of this book, to diversify your job experiences so that you can demand a higher salary, which is the bottom line of most everyone's agenda. I took the "don't take more responsibilty, take on a new task" to heart and it worked. I am only 23 years old so I probably can't appreciate this book like someone who's been working for 30 years or so, but it is nice to see someone dissolve the old working fables like "Do what you love and the money will follow." I am sure I will recognize these lessons as invaluable as I get older. It's nice to know I started off my working career on the right foot. The first part of this book is its meat and potatoes, the part you should keep reading from time to time. The second part is just little pointers that really only need to be reviewed individually when that particular situation arises. I wish Part 1 was longer, that way it would have been less of a tease since it plays like an introduction to Part 2 rather than a whole different book, which it seems like to me. My main negative criticism with the book is the it tries to be a book both for entrepeneurs (yourself.com's) and regular workers (mercenary employees). Me being the latter I found this book to be reading away from me much of the time. Pollan tries combine the two throughout the book, but sometimes the result is clumsy. But as I mentioned before, the book is tried and true. I half-heartedly applied a single principal from it to my working life and my attempt was victorious. What really limited me to giving Live Rich a 3-star rating was how it led me to believe it was going to end up being much more than it was.
Rating:
Summary: Tried and true
Review: I read this book over a period of about 2 weeks, and during that time I had a chance to post for another job within my company. At first I was hesitant, but I reread the chapter "Be A Mercenary" and my attitude changed. The new job was for a little more money and that was good, but even better - it was a new experience. I applied for it, and a month later I was sitting at my new desk. That's basically the whole idea of this book, to diversify your job experiences so that you can demand a higher salary, which is the bottom line of most everyone's agenda. I took the "don't take more responsibilty, take on a new task" to heart and it worked. I am only 23 years old so I probably can't appreciate this book like someone who's been working for 30 years or so, but it is nice to see someone dissolve the old working fables like "Do what you love and the money will follow." I am sure I will recognize these lessons as invaluable as I get older. It's nice to know I started off my working career on the right foot. The first part of this book is its meat and potatoes, the part you should keep reading from time to time. The second part is just little pointers that really only need to be reviewed individually when that particular situation arises. I wish Part 1 was longer, that way it would have been less of a tease since it plays like an introduction to Part 2 rather than a whole different book, which it seems like to me. My main negative criticism with the book is the it tries to be a book both for entrepeneurs (yourself.com's) and regular workers (mercenary employees). Me being the latter I found this book to be reading away from me much of the time. Pollan tries combine the two throughout the book, but sometimes the result is clumsy. But as I mentioned before, the book is tried and true. I half-heartedly applied a single principal from it to my working life and my attempt was victorious. What really limited me to giving Live Rich a 3-star rating was how it led me to believe it was going to end up being much more than it was.
Rating: 
Summary: Save your money--nothing new here
Review: I started off encouraged reading this book, thinking Mr. Pollan had some good advice about balancing work/personal life. But mostly he's dead wrong. His personal philosophy is cynical, cold, and short-sighted. For example, his advice if "your daughter surprises you by coming home from college for the weekend and asks you to go to lunch" is to say no, since there is no socializing during business hours. Talk about "living poor." I wonder if his wife and children even speak to him.
Rating:
Summary: Prosaic; Unequivocal
Review: I think Pollan and Levine have definitely tried to differentiate themselves. Like many authors and writers trying to separate from the pack, the aforementioned authors seem to clearly overemphasize their differences and underemphasize their similarities to the current self-help/enlightenment zeitgeist. This book seems to be the antithesis of "Do what you love and the money will follow," and other books of the like. The authors implore us to "Make Money" and be free-agent employees. And if you are working according to their model, you shouldn't have time to chat with your wife (husband) or other ancillary parties. It's not that I don't agree with the authors on numerous points, I just feel that their idea of all work and then play is not realistic or the most productive. Bottom line, any cursory read of the work-curve literature, or a limited understanding of attention spans and our memory faculties, would reveal a different picture than what they try to paint. Witness the knowledge worker and their work environment for sustainable and creative growth. Another one of their major points is the idea of "Don't grow, change." In today's dynamic work environment, and real-time learning necessities, I think this is a valuable idea. I think the idea of NOT becoming occupationally and intellectually stagnant is a valuable goal. Part II of the book is an alphabetical examination (a page or so of writing) of ninety-one different topics related to earning money and entrepreneurship. As stated in my title for the review, the authors are quite direct in their opinions on the chosen topics (and throughout the book). This is not good or bad in its own right; it just comes across as somewhat know-it-all-ish and arrogant. Again, the authors are not coddling their readers, like many self-help books are purported to do. All in all, the book has some interesting points, and some good advice on employment contracts and other legal matters (Pollan has a law degree). My suggestion is to browse through the book at the library, and see if you want to pursue it further.
Rating:
Summary: Less than satisfying
Review: I was disappointed overall in the book's content. Though I did pull out an occational intersting bit of information, the book has a ring of arrogance to it which seems to be coming from the author's presummed knowledge in too many areas of life. I even found the fundamental concept at times to contradict other "lessons" he was trying to teach.
Rating: 
Summary: Packed with some great gems-
Review: I was struggling with my career enjoyment when I was recommended this audio book by a co-worker/aspiring entrepeneur. I loved it. Turned my attitude toward work and money around 180'. Ideas like- You're either an owner or a temp, work is for making money- home is for enjoyment, do what makes money and the love will follow- these ideas never occurred to me and now I can't remember not knowing them. I loved the book and have returned to buy used copies for my capitalist friends. Enjoy capitalism- make more money.
Rating:
Summary: Packed with some great gems-
Review: I was struggling with my career enjoyment when I was recommended this audio book by a co-worker/aspiring entrepeneur. I loved it. Turned my attitude toward work and money around 180'. Ideas like- You're either an owner or a temp, work is for making money- home is for enjoyment, do what makes money and the love will follow- these ideas never occurred to me and now I can't remember not knowing them. I loved the book and have returned to buy used copies for my capitalist friends. Enjoy capitalism- make more money.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought-provoking and assumption-challenging
Review: I've purchased and read both Live Rich and Die Broke and it was Stephen Pollan's advice - to quit a job in one's head - that prompted me to switch from daily news reporting to specialized newsletter publishing. OK, so the specialized publishing proved to be a little much for me to handle, but I'm still richer for the experience. I'm no longer with the newsletter company. My point here is that I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Pollan's idea that one shouldn't get too emotionally wrapped up in a job and that an occupation should be primarily for the purpose of earning money. Journalists like I once was are especially vulnerable to the mindset that money matters little. A common mantra we heard in J-school was "you're not going to get rich doing this.'' Being young and idealistic, we didn't care. So many of us settled for relatively low-paying reporting and editing jobs that demanded most of our waking hours. The lucky ones among us landed at better-paying unionized papers. We compensated by telling ourselves that our true rewards were of the pyschic variety, e.g., bylines, the satisfaction of seeing one's work in print the next day, and maybe exposing some official involved in wrongdoing. For me, all that was true until a daily paper laid me and eight others off three years ago to shore up the parent company's bottom line. It was like a slap in the face. I experienced an extended period of unemployment that financially devastated myself and my family. Even though I've worked at a couple of other papers since then, my heart no longer was really into reporting. I've spent my off-hours exploring ways of becoming a free agent/mercenary and of starting my own business. Bravo to Mr. Pollan and his partner Mr. Levine for their thought-provoking books, which validated my recent reassessments of work. I hope more people at least open their minds to the authors' ideas.
Rating:
Summary: Wisdom delivered with style - read the book!
Review: If you are going to work, and that's most of us, why not understand what's really going on? Why not understand the role of career in our lives? If you aren't happy at work, Live Rich can likely help a lot. If you once had a business and it failed, Live Rich will tell you why. If you want a business, Live Rich will tell you how - and this is where it's strongest. Here's a book for the real world: practical, brilliant and simple at the same time. Stephen Pollan's insight - which people line up to pay him for - is here just for the asking. It's the easiest, most effective course on business - a book that should make the folks at the Harvard Business School ashamed of what they charge and how long they take to teach. Gavin de Becker, author The Gift of Fear.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely the best possible book on the market
Review: It is the only book I am glad I read cover to cover. Very insightful and current. Those who don't think that it is good are definitely going to die broke and die stupid.
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