The 21st-century business novel has arrived. “I’ve often wondered why there aren’t more strong works of fiction dealing with the business world,” mused New York Times reviewer Bryan Burrough in a recent column he wrote for, Off the Shelf. Steven C. Eisner heeds Burrough’s call as he shares the champagne victories and bitter-grape defeats of life in advertising, based in part on his own experiences, in his new novel THEMINEFIELDS (When Words Count Press, March 13, 2012).
Situated smack between the cigarette-and-martini days of Mad Men and the nihilism of House of Lies, Eisner paints a classic roman a clef in stinging detail. Protagonist Sam Spiegel is the Golden Boy with the New York business world at his feet when he is called home to Philadelphia just as he has begun to make his mark. His father, Holocaust survivor Harry Spiegel, is ailing and it’s with reservations that Sam takes on the challenge to grow his father’s firm, Spiegel Communications, into national prominence. The complex themes of the father-and-son relationship, like those found in the works of Chaim Potok and Mario Puzo, are brought vividly to life as Sam and Harry battle over the future of the family legacy.
Following Harry’s death, Sam and his wife and partner, Amy, are determined to create a firm as profitable as it is admired. They agree to hire a financial pit bull as their chief executive officer and an award-winning creative director who had trained under Sam’s own mentor. Before long, Sam realizes that this team of high-priced talent has their own agenda.
Sam’s swift ascent and eventual fall mirrors the events of the author’s life when his homegrown agency, Eisner Communications, fell into serious trouble just weeks after being named the most creative mid-sized advertising agency in America. “The field is precarious by nature – one day you’re up in the clouds and the next the same account can cause you to crash,” says Eisner.
Eisner reveals an insider’s knowledge of the world of advertising in the 1980s and ‘90s, including the Art of the Sell and the Baby Boomer philosophy of play now, pay later that foreshadowed our current economic woes. Sam must reach into his core and connect to his father’s wisdom on survival as he learns that some of his most bitter enemies lie within his own business – and family. Candid, colorful and tinged with humor, this is the business fiction readers have been waiting for.
About the Author
Before writing his novel and after learning the ropes of the ad business at Doyle Dane Bernbach, New York, Steve C. Eisner built and led Eisner Communications, a Baltimore-based advertising agency, for more than two decades, creating hundreds of effective ad and PR campaigns for leading corporations including Black & Decker, Marriot, McCormick Spices, US Airways, Lenox China, the Maryland Lottery, the Nature Conservancy, and the United Way. Eisner Communications won numerous industry awards including CLIOs, ADDYs, EFFIEs, and the O'Toole for creative excellence across its entire client roster. THE MINEFIELDS is Eisner s first novel.
My Take on the Book
If you are a fan of the era of the show Mad Men, then you will love this book. This book takes you into the Ad business and gives you a unique perspective that I have not seen in other novels like this. The characters within this book truly stands out and the narrator alone does a great job at weaving a web that you want to see unveiled. There is adventure, intrigue and suspense all rolled up into one novel and you will find that the book goes so fast, as you will not want to put it down (or at least I didn't). One of the strongest things in the book for me were the relationships and interrelation between the characters. These bonds definitely cause conflict in some situations, but overall, they make the story that much stronger! A great book that I know you will love!
All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
New to the Divadom or to Dad of Divas Reviews?
Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment