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The Collectibles by James Kaufman is one of those books that when you begin reading it, you do not want to put it down because you want to recognise how it ends. Even though it’s a novel, the scenes play out in the corporate boardroom each day. It’s often times commended that writers must write with regards to what they know. An attorney and former judge, Kaufman is the founder and CEO of The Kaufman Group where he helps companies international to meet challenges, and aid them to restructure and subsequently flourish. His noesis of business makes the scenes realistic and the characters believable. The book starts off with two scenes with the two key characters in their teens. Joe Hart who is orphaned is being raised by his aunt and uncle. He and his uncle – a mountain guide – are on a trip in the mountains for some male bonding, when Joe tells his uncle that he is average. His uncle doesn’t agree with Joe’s assessment of himself and reminds him that he won the All State Swimming Meet, received a heap of academic and athletic awards and has some colleges providing him scholarships, as well as being instrumental in saving Preston, another youth, from drowning. Joe’s uncle gives him a good deal of solid advice, “Do what the other fella can’t. Be what the other fella ain’t. And then help the other fella.” Joe ponders this counsel then goes to sleep with a promise to himself, “I may have to go through this world being intermediate – but I swear I’ll be not common along the way.” Meanwhile in another area in the country, Preston Wilson the guy who Joe prevented from drowning, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His parents sent him off to private school and he only sees them on major holidays. Preston is lonely and craves more time with his parents in particular his father, who doesn’t in truth want to spend much time with him except for when he forces him to go on a mountain tour. Preston talks to his mom who promises that she will talk to her husband bout spending more time with Preston. Preston decides to position himself so that he may eavesdrop and gets more than he bargained for. He hears his mom telling his dad that she loves him, but doesn’t respect him, and that she will no longer be financing anymore of his business deals which never deliver, and informs him that she will be filing for a divorce and he ought to move out. She likewise tells him that he is an abject failure. The father wants to recognise where he is supposed to stay, and the mother proposes that he could stay with one of women he cheated on her with. Preston is stunned and makes a promise to himself before he goes to sleep, “I’m going to be a bloody financial success no matter what. I will never be an abject failure.” The story jumps 30 years to present day where Joe who is now a distinguished and successful lawyer and former Navy Corporal, is at an event with his wife and soul mate when she is killed by a drive by shooter. He is devastated and not taking her death very well. On the other hand Preston’s house of cards comes falling down, and his lawyers are recommending that he files for bankruptcy. Preston refuses to take that counsel and asks Casey his Chief Financial Officer to find an individual who deals with difficult restructuring cases. Casey keeps on coming up with the name Joe Hart, who is the person of last resort that companies call on when they are in a genuinely tight spot. The problem is they can not find Joe and the clock is ticking. The bank is very close to calling in the loans to Preston’s company. As Casey relates what he found out, Preston realizes that he met Joe when his dad dragged him to the mountain for their trips. But he cannot recall where they employed to go. With outstanding effort, they discover that Joe has gone to the Adirondacks Mountain. With the aid of a guide who knows Joe, they find him in the mountains. The story in truth takes off from there. Joe is not impressed and doesn’t want to support Preston, but he overhears a speech amidst Preston and Casey, where Preston is scared to lose his wife Marcia because of the mess he has created. Joe has compassionateness and decides to undertake and aid Joe. When Joe asks Preston what he would miss most if he lost it all, he responds that he would miss the view from his office. Joe is still not impressed with Preston and the things he values, but he keeps on remembering the overheard conversation. He agrees to support Preston under three conditions and each condition is non-negotiable: 1) Preston has to tell him everything he wants to recognise and show him everything he wants to see, 2) He has to tell the sheer truth, and if he lies, the agreement becomes null, and 3) If he asks Preston to do something for him now or later, no matter what, he has to do it and that’s a dedication for life. The basi two conditions were a lot having little impact for Preston to agree to, but in the end he accorded to the third because desperate circumstances call for desperate actions. The attainments and experiences of Kaufman now come into play for the duration of the negotiation with the bank, after Joe has prepared a comprehensive restructuring plan. Joe is honest, ethical, acts with integrity and treats people fairly, where Preston behaves superior and oftentimes crosses the line, which gets him into trouble. As percentage of the invention process, Preston has to confess to his wife how bad things genuinely are and how he deceived her. She doesn’t take it very well and decides to take a trip to visit both her mother and college roommate. She has to get away from Preston to have a good deal of time to think and recover her lost self. The negotiation scenes are beautifully written, and you are transported to the boardroom, where your are a silent observer, and you get to comprehend the thought processes of the characters. You get to see Preston’s reputation manufacture as he becomes more human. The bank accepts the plan with some changes because Joe has convinced them that Preston is terrified of failure and will do what it takes to make it work. To convince them to receive his plan, he finds out from them under what circumstances they would receive the plan then he brings about those circumstances. One example is an crucial addition to Preston’s management team. The day comes when Preston has to deliver on his favour to Joe. Joe discovers that he is dying from an inoperable tumor and wants Preston to get to know a good deal of people, who Joe’s wife had always referred to as his collectibles. When Joe describes each person, all Preston may think of is that they are a bunch of losers. But Joe doesn’t see them that way, he sees the beauty and potential in each one. Preston has no choice but to agree because he gave his word, and now he is a dissimilar person, so it is very important for him to honor his word. Preston doesn’t know Joe is dying, he comes to his decision through his transformation. As he met each of Joe’s collectibles, he came upon that every one has something essential to offer. He is a changed man and he gets back his wife, and now treats her like a unfeigned partner. During Joe’s funeral, various persons talked in regards to the affect that Joe had on their lives. Preston was baffled because Joe had told him there were six collectibles, yet he named only five. He abruptly had an epiphany, he was Joe’s sixth collectible. Joe wanted Preston to get to know himself, the real person beneath the superficial one. The Collectibles is a story when it comes to love, loss, faulty doing and redemption. We are human, we all make mistakes, but the crucial thing is to learn from our faults and undertake to rectify them when possible. I commend The Collectibles by James J. Kaufman, and altho it’s a work of fiction, it’s also a fantasti business story which will instruct you systems and proficiencies that you may use in work and life. Most helpful customer reviews 115 of 119 people found the following review helpful. The author’s mother was a Polish Orthodox Jew who migrated to America at the age of two with her family during the early nineteen twenties. They ultimately settled down in Virginia, where she led an isolated and lonely life; shunned by whites because she was Jewish and shunned by blacks because she was white. She was raised in a predominantly black neighborhood, where her father, a despicable and harsh man who brutalized his handicapped wife, ran a local grocery store, where he priced gouged his black clientele. She left home and moved to New York when she was nineteen and never looked back. She met and married the author’s father, a black man, when mixed race marriages were still frowned upon by both whites and blacks. Still, she always felt more comfortable around blacks than around whites. When he died sixteen years later, she married another black man who nurtured her eight children by the author’s father and proceeded to give her four more children. The author tells of his childhood, of his family, and of the issue of race that ultimately colored his life while growing up in predominantly black neighborhoods, where his mother stood out like a sore thumb because of the color of her skin. It was always an issue his mother avoided discussing with him, as for her it was not an issue. It was not until the author wrote this book that his mother discussed the issue of race within the context of her own life. From this dialogue emerges a fascinating look at the issues of race, as well as religion, and how it impacts on an individual’s identity within our race conscious society. It is also a very personal story. While the author’s family was economically disadvantaged, his eccentric and independent mother always stressed education. She was a strict disciplinarian who brooked no nonsense from her twelve children. A convert to Christianity through her first husband, with whom she founded a Baptist church, she provided her children with the will to succeed. Consequently, all twelve eventually went to college and did her proud. The story of this unique family is told from two distinct, parallel perspectives: that of the author and that of his mother. While both are interesting, it is his mother’s story that dominates this beautifully written book, which is, indeed, a tribute to her. It is truly a story told from the heart, as the love that the author has for his mother is evident with every written word. 32 of 34 people found the following review helpful. The Color of Water is a black man’s tribute to his white Jewish mother. I really enjoyed hearing Ruth McBride Jordan’s amazing story. Through the telling of her life, we learn a great deal about the the author, James McBride, as well.
We read through Ruth’s story, feeling her anguish in hard times. We fight with her to put twelve children through college, and we lend our hearts out to her in hopes of easing her job of instilling proper values in her children. McBride did an excellent job of bringing the reader directly into this unforgettable story, allowing us to feel the emotion.
The book’s format was quite interesting as well, alternating chapters from the mother’s point of view to that of his. The Color of Water was just an all-around well written book, and a joy to read. Please read this powerful, uplifting memoir. You’ll enjoy it. 42 of 46 people found the following review helpful. This is not a portrait of a saint, either mother or son. But both can forgive the other, something that Ruth’s Jewish family cannot do. (That, by the way, should not be seen as representative of all Jews; indeed, the epilogue shows a moving scene in which James McBride gets in touch with his Jewish side in a very positive way. Many Jewish people are caring and understanding and not at all prejudice against blacks. Ruth’s family wasn’t among them.) Anyway, that these are not saints make the people more human, more believeable, more loveable. And by reading it, maybe we would become more accepting of families that don’t look like our own. (Though I have to confess, I might be a little worried if a family with 12 kids moved in next door, regardless of the racial makeup! |






