Rating: 
Summary: A day to read and worth your time
Review: 'Shameless Exploitation' is actually two books in one - you get the tale of how the 'Newman's Own' started as a germ of an idea in Paul Newman's garage. Newman was legendary back then for commandeering the kitchen of restaurants he would frequent and whipping together his own salad dressings. He and co-founder Hotchner make light of their lack of business knowledge, but it's worth noting that much of their success is based on their innate sense of what is right, for example their unwillingness to compromise on the freshness of their product.The latter third of the book details the duo's efforts in starting up the 'Hole in the Wall Gang' camps for sick children. The authors are passionate about this endeavour, as well they should be. It's outstanding work they're doing. Newman personally drives these projects, sometimes through the force and magnetism of his personality. In fact, that's the thing that stands out in the book - this is no 'slap the celebrity name on the bottle' exercise. These two gentlemen are intimately involved in all aspects of the business. There's a comparison in the book to other celebrity food bits good bad - Frank Sinatra's tomato sauce venture is one example. It ran aground in less then two years, an unmitigated disaster. The difference? Sinatra simply loaned out his name and looked to scoop up the profits. By contrast, Newman and Hotchner are in this thing heart and soul. Plus, the product is superlative. That's the only way to get repeat buyers. As of the book's printing, Newman's Own has donated over $137 million to charity. When they write Paul Newman's epitaph, that first paragraph is going to be a real stemwinder to capture the essence of the man.
Rating:
Summary: A day to read and worth your time
Review: 'Shameless Exploitation' is actually two books in one - you get the tale of how the 'Newman's Own' started as a germ of an idea in Paul Newman's garage. Newman was legendary back then for commandeering the kitchen of restaurants he would frequent and whipping together his own salad dressings. He and co-founder Hotchner make light of their lack of business knowledge, but it's worth noting that much of their success is based on their innate sense of what is right, for example their unwillingness to compromise on the freshness of their product. The latter third of the book details the duo's efforts in starting up the 'Hole in the Wall Gang' camps for sick children. The authors are passionate about this endeavour, as well they should be. It's outstanding work they're doing. Newman personally drives these projects, sometimes through the force and magnetism of his personality. In fact, that's the thing that stands out in the book - this is no 'slap the celebrity name on the bottle' exercise. These two gentlemen are intimately involved in all aspects of the business. There's a comparison in the book to other celebrity food bits good bad - Frank Sinatra's tomato sauce venture is one example. It ran aground in less then two years, an unmitigated disaster. The difference? Sinatra simply loaned out his name and looked to scoop up the profits. By contrast, Newman and Hotchner are in this thing heart and soul. Plus, the product is superlative. That's the only way to get repeat buyers. As of the book's printing, Newman's Own has donated over $137 million to charity. When they write Paul Newman's epitaph, that first paragraph is going to be a real stemwinder to capture the essence of the man.
Rating: 
Summary: even better than the salad dressing
Review: I was not sure I would like this book when I picked it up. The idea of a book about starting up a business is unappealing. But it has been delightful to read. I disagree with the person who found it smug. It is light, fun, very tongue in cheek. I have several friends who are planning to read it as well.
Rating:
Summary: An unabashed ad campaign
Review: I wasn't sure what to expect from a book so blatantly titled, but I was pleased to find a witty series of tales and misadventures in the world of odd business ventures. The origins of Newman's Own is told in a narrative style that one would expect to find dubbed over the Keystone Cops - sarcastic banter tinged with a nice mixture of self-deprecation and ego. The tone transitions when the development of the Hole in the Wall Gang endeavors are described, but the change of gears is necessary given the subject matter. Nevertheless, the reasons behind each decision for a project or donation are treated with the respect they are due. The bulk of this work is comical, but in its humor, the Newman/Hotch collaboration of projects is brought to the light of day. Advertising via the bookstore and library...shameless, yes, but with a conscience. I'll feel ever the more content with my personal decision to grab a product off the grocery shelf with that infamous blue-eyed mug on it.
Rating:
Summary: If you love Newmans Own...you've gotta read the book!
Review: I've been a Newman's Own product fan since the salad dressings first appeared on the shelves of Stew Leonard's many years ago and have been hooked ever since. From the tomato sauces to the popcorn, lemonade and everything in between. But what I wasn't aware of is exactly where all that money goes...what are the charities? Who does Mr. Newman and Mr. Hotchner support? In "Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good" you get a really good understanding of how nutty these two guys are, howe dedicated to their products and, most importantly, their compassion for the various charities they support including the "Hole in the Wall Camps" throughout the world as well as the school bus for the children of immigrant farm workers among others. The school bus, for example, was on it's last legs and their was absolutely no money to purchase a new one. Newman and company agreed to purchase a new one...with no strings attached...and, interestingly enough, a number of years later purchased another one when that one died. It's a funny, feel good, break the rules book that I couldn't put down...not to mention the fact on my next trip to Stew Leonard's I loaded my cart with Newman's salad dressing, pasta sauce, lemonade and popcorn. -Bill Sobel 12/7/03
Rating: 
Summary: Bravo to the charities but this is not a very good book
Review: It is wonderful that Newman and his "soulmate" Hotchner have given an extraordinary amount of money to charity. Unfortunately,
this book is made up of the usual adolescent drivel we can expect from Hotchner. He is a fifth rate scribbler who attaches himself to famous people and this has evidently worked for him.
I once saw a musical that Hotchner wrote the lyrics and book for. It was about men being victimized by divorce. The venom and hatred towards women in general and wives in particular was astounding. It was surreal. I felt as if I had stumbled into a real life Mel Brooks movie of "The Producers" where the audience gapes open mouthed at the stage with shock and disgust. This is the level of his "humor". I noticed that in this book he drops barely "inside" jokes and anecdotes about Newman's girlfriends -
Sophia Loren, Ellen Barkin etc. and some of them at a press conference which Newman's wife attended. This was truly creepy and smacked of some kind of weird hostility towards her. The terrific charity work Newman's Own produces deserves a better book.
Rating:
Summary: Humorous Account of New Dimensions for Philanthropy
Review: Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good details the almost accidental development of the Newman's Own line of foods, its eventual success, and how the founders, Paul Newman and A.E. Hotchner, developed a new kind of charity to allow seriously ill children to attend summer camp. The book is filled with humor, good-hearted fun and a will to do good. Most people will find the overall effect to be heart-warming . . . except for the tendency to self-congratulation. The book's is one part self-deprecating personal narrative, one part "advanced moving and shaking", one part "legend-making" tales, one part "I told you so" to the corporate "experts", one part funny stories from customers and one part business history mixed with two parts serious stories about young peoples' illnesses, three parts lessons about establishing a new charity, with a dash of recipes and cartoons for final humor. The mixture, while quite unusual, has a zestful freshness that leaves a taste for more. If you are like me, you've never quite understood how Newman's Own came into existence and became a big success. I've tasted some of the products and find them to be of good quality. But there must be something more than that to it. I was even more surprised to read in past news articles that all profits are distributed to charity annually. "Where in the world did the company get the working capital to stay in business?" was the question on my mind. I also wondered how anyone would decide which charities to support and which to shun. Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good answered all those questions and more for me. I was deeply moved by the tale of starting up and running the Hole in the Wall camps for seriously ill youngsters, and intend to tell others about this good work. What intrigued me most about the book was that it showed that doing the right thing could be amazingly commonsensical. The products are good because Paul Newman would not be satisfied until he thought they were. The packaging copy and promotional activities are zany, and reflect the good humor of the authors . . . not some copywriter. Profits and cash flow are good because the authors paid attention to setting up their business model so the company would need very little capital. Making the profits go to charity allowed the authors to have fun with the business in a way they could not have done if they had been trying to line their own pockets. The psychic and emotional satisfaction of establishing the camps and helping other charities are probably worth much more than any money can buy. I hope that other talented people, whether they are prominent or not, will consider how they could follow some parts of what the authors did with their business or their charity. I thank them both for sharing the story in this entertaining book.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good is an easy book to find fault with. That said, it's also one of the most enjoyable, heartwarming and inspiring books I've read in a while. What these two did is beyond impressive. In a world filled with so many self-serving scoundrels and so much depressing news it's really a pleasure to see what a couple of pals out to have a little fun managed to accomplish. Hooray for them!
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good is an easy book to find fault with. That said, it's also one of the most enjoyable, heartwarming and inspiring books I've read in a while. What these two did is beyond impressive. In a world filled with so many self-serving scoundrels and so much depressing news it's really a pleasure to see what a couple of pals out to have a little fun managed to accomplish. Hooray for them!
Rating:
Summary: A Hilariously Entertaining Story of Entrepreneurism
Review: The Newman's Own Company website opens with the phrase "It started Out As a Joke and Got Out of Control". This book - written by Newman's Own co-founders, the actor Paul Newman, and his business partner and fishing buddy, the writer A.E. Hotchner, tells the story of a company that began as a lark and became the first American company to be a successful company and philanthropic organization rolled into one. For anyone who thinks that Paul Newman putting his name on something is enough to sell it, the truth is that celebrity food products are notorious failures. Moreover, the food business is one of the toughest to break into. The big guys like Kraft spend over a million dollars to develop a single new product and millions more advertising it; the stores charge exorbitant fees to stock new products and the race for prime eye-level shelving space in grocery stores is like being at one of those soccer match stampedes where people end up being crushed beneath the masses. Undaunted, Paul and "Hotch" put $40,000 into their venture, furnish an office with Paul's pool furniture and persevere, figuring that if their salad dressing actually tastes good, people will buy it. It turns out to be a formula that works and which they replicate again and again as they develop a whole line of food products. Paul Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward have lived their long married life in Westport, Connecticut far from the Hollywood scene. He comes across in the book as an unpretentious, interesting and fun guy - a far cry from the usual self-important and bloated Hollywood ego. His equally unpretentious buddy A.E. Hotchner is the author of numerous plays, articles, movie scripts and books (including a book about another great buddy of his, Ernest Hemingway). These two share a wickedly funny sense of humor that runs throughout this very well written and readable book. The addition of some very amusing letters written to the company add to the fun. It's the story of a friendship, it's the story of a company, and it's the story of how corporate philanthropic giving can make a difference. It is also the most engaging story I've read about what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur.... a great product, vision, persistence, staying away from naysayers, ignoring conventional advice, creating innovative branding, packaging and marketing strategies and above all, maintaining a sense of humor.
A great read for just about anyone and a must read for anyone who wants to go into business for themselves!
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