Rating: 
Summary: Two Men, A Bottle Of Dressing, And A Dream
Review: This is really several books between one set of covers. The entertaining, highly readable opening segment is the story of two men who didn't just break the rules to achieve business success: they took the rule book, set it on fire, and threw away the ashes. Anyone who has purchased "Newman's Own" products has probably noticed the label notation that all profits from the enterprise go to charity. But have you ever wondered how it all began? "Newman's Own" wasn't the product of blinding insight or grand design. The story opens in December, 1980, as actor Paul Newman and his neighbor and friend, writer A.E. Hotchner, are hard at work in Newman's barn bottling up a small batch of the salad dressing Newman had created. What had started as a gift for neighbors and friends evolved in a couple of years into a thriving enterprise. We learn how they rejected the advice of the supposed experts in the areas of marketing, production and distribution and forged ahead based on a combination of gut instinct and sometimes blind luck. As one Newman's Own product after another was added--pasta sauce, popcorn, lemonade--the growth of the enterprise steadily continued, much to the surprise and delight of the founders. For this allowed them to soar far higher with their philanthropic dreams than even they had envisioned. The tone of adventuresome good humor recedes in the second major section of the book. Although Newman and Hotchner had been, and continue to be supportive of established charities, both felt the need to do something more--and so the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for children with life-threatening illnesses was born. The initial camp soon became a model for others around the country and the world. The plight of these children is exceptionally moving and sad--but the story of the camps is one of hope, love, and affirmation of life. There are several appendices, including a selection of letters from buyers of "Newman's Own." (Several of these are also quoted in the text. My favorite was from the woman who thought the products were great, and had also heard that Mr. Newman had been in films. She wanted to know what these films were and if any were available on home video.) There are also letters from children and parents about the Hole in the Wall Camp experience, plus some prize winning recipes from a contest "Newman's Own" co-sponsored with Good Housekeeping Magazine.
An entertaining and inspiring story.
Rating: 
Summary: The Paul Newman Story
Review: This is the story of Paul Newman, aka the hustler, the sting, butch cassidy, cool hand luke and superman (almost). He is an Oscar winning actor, car racing champion, philanthropist (215 million dollars and still counting), successful businessman and an alien (I heard this recently through a psst..psst network). Read the book. It will expand your horizons. Anything is possible.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful and entertaining
Review: What a delightful book, telling all about the inception of the "Newman's Own" brand of foods, which started as a joke and became more successful than its founders ever imagined! The cover says that it is a lesson in business mis-management -- or something to that effect --and that is such a good way to put it. They did everything wrong: concocting the recipes; marketing the products; having a makeshift office (furnished with Newman's pool furniture, including an umbrella); finding people to make and distribute the products. It makes for a great tale, and the best part is that they have made TONS of money from it and charities have been the sole beneficiaries of their largesse. From $1 million the first year to $140 million in a recent year, the profits keep getting spent on doing good for others. Newman's pickiness about his products have made them very desirable and have helped attracted followers who are very loyal to the name. I knew about the charities funded by the company, but not much about the "Hole in the Wall Gang" camps that now are in operation all over the U.S. and beyond. What a wonderful gift Newman and Hotchner have given to these sick children. This is an easy-reading book that entertains and makes one grateful that people like this are around.
Rating: 
Summary: charity case
Review: Yuk! This over-blown string of apochryphal-sounding anecdotes about the Newman's Own empire is the literaray equivalent of Newman's notorious movie bomb "The Silver Chalice." If you ever thought you liked Paul Newman on the screen, do yourself a favor and skip this unfunny account of how he and his equally smug and self-satisfied beer-drinking buddy pal A.E. Hoetchner made the world safe for salad scarfers. What might have made a quirky magazine article has been stretched to the point of tedium, padded with phony-sounding letters from customers, comic strips featuring celebrity dressing gags with, of course, the renegade food manufacturers thumbing their nose at the establishment at every turn. Lettuce hope that any profits this vanity project generates are donated to charity, too--meager though they'll probably be.
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