4.30

5

December 30, 2017

This isn't the book you expect.

I'll be honest, the reason for reading this book was part of my own personal research into the man himself. I mean many controversies have been raised concerning him...but after "The Greatest Showman" and a few preliminary research, contrasting and contradicting accounts on the man spurred an interest to dig deeper. I decided to include this book as part of that because you can learn much about a person from their own views on money. Based on the title alone, I was anticipating more of a 12-step kind of book to riches...or at the least, anecdotes from his museum/showman experiences (he is by far the Greatest Showman after...and I do mean that seriously). However, what I got was something much more valuable. Yes, everything is centered around the theme of monetary success and responsibility, but he stresses these things through integrity and charity. Even putting it so simply does not fully explain...but I'd rather leave it at that so you can discover it on your own. But let me simply add that this book isn't really about making money (though it is the theme that binds it). It's more about living life and finding real satisfaction through goodheartedness. He proves himself to be an extremely thoughtful man...which is part of what drew people to him and made him: "The Greatest Showman". In addition, the book is a short and quick read not being much more than 71 pages. He's also got a charmingly stylistic, but honest character to his writing, as well. I shall simply close with quote from the earlier part of this book: “My good woman, you will not get ahead in the world, if your vanity and envy thus take the lead. In this country, where we believe the majority ought to rule, we ignore that principle in regard to fashion, and let a handful of people, calling themselves the aristocracy, run up a false standard of perfection, and in endeavoring to rise to that standard, we constantly keep ourselves poor; all the time digging away for the sake of outside appearances.”

5

October 25, 2010

Short, sweet, and to the point

A lot of these books about getting rich (or at least getting richer) repeat the same ideas, over and over again.

1. Save part of your income and invest it.

2. Make the decision: do you actually want to BE rich, or do you just want to LOOK rich? If it's the former, do NOT buy that Mercedes-Benz; keep your old Honda for another ten years and put the car payments in the bank.

3. Do the job which best suits your abilities.

4. If you have something good to offer, tell people. Advertise.

5. Honesty and respect for the customer are always the best policies.

In American folklore, P. T. Barnum has become something of a legendary hoaxster --- and nothing could be farther from the truth. He provided genuine entertainment, and got rich doing it. In a way, he was the Walt Disney of his time. If you want to glimpse his real character, read this book. It's short, sweet, and to the point.

4

March 10, 2012

Why buy the new books that just repeat this one?

PT Barnum was a famous showman, but also a student of life and money.

He wrote this book long before Napoleon Hill wrote Think and Grow Rich, or before the many financial and self-help advice books of the past few decades.

Yet his advice is just as good.

Keep your expenses below your income -- but use good judgment to do so.

Avoid debt.

Don't keep up with the Jones.

Find a career that suits your talents.

Avoid tobacco and alcohol. He called tobacco "poisonous" many years before anyone connected it with lung cancer.

He starts out by saying it's easy to make money in America. Keeping it is the hardest part.

In this financial recession some will dispute the first assertion. We're no longer the frontier. Still, there's no arguing with the second. He advocates saving money and investing for income so you you're wealthier in the morning when you wake up than you were when you went to bed the night before.

5

January 20, 2017

FREE BUT INVALUABLE

I feel like ive leveled up 100x after reading this book. My life understanding is more finely tuned and his wisdom can now be applied to most any situations I might have that may arise in the future.

Basically it's a book covering common sense, but apparently common sense is not all too common and must be obtained either through personal experience or (fortunately) through others lol. A real diamond in the rough. Enjoyable to read and a good length (coming from someone who never read books until this month haha.)

4

August 10, 2014

PT BARNUM: one smart operater

PT Barnum delivers good, common sense advice for developing an operating foundation for any business, especially now. I can see now why PT was such a success in his day. He knew how pick good people he could trust and gave them the range for to operate. Obviously he was well read and informed. He knew the why of his business. He knew what he wanted, when he wanted it, and at what cost. He knew who he wanted for character, ability, and vision. He knew where his business had to be to succeed. Reading it is like listening to a well intentioned uncle. And think about this. his name is still well know even today.

1

February 7, 2011

Great book, bad version do not buy this

I ordered this book and there were extra portions of other books inside of it. The first was 5 pages of one of the new testament gospel's from the bible and following that was first chapter of a book not written By P.T. Barnum or any relation to him. This is a great book , but just don't order this version in case you don't want to get random parts of other titles printed inside of it.

5

January 19, 2018

Read this before modern times authors!

I was surprised to find a book written in the 19th Century could be such a page turner! I was expecting this to be "Humbug" but was pleasantly surprised. The information is essentially timeless and especially great for young Barnum fans wanting to read his work and learn the fundamentals for developing wealth as this is more through time instead of era specific. Reading this you'll consider the idea that some of the more modern times authors are using much of this same information repackaged. It also points to the roots of many of the "names" in society and the humble beginnings, and, that everyone should hone and perfect their own individual craft they have the greatest strength in doing as a vocation.

3

April 2, 2014

More of a Pamplet than a book.

The "book" is very thin and more like a pamphlet. It is very simple, to the point, and short. It is good if you are looking for basic information, but I was hoping for more of Barnum's money making wisdom. This is mostly basic knowledge, but I can see how some would find it helpful and a good start to money education. I feel like I have learned more about his money secrets from other books he has written about his curiosities than I did with this book due to more examples and strategies. But, for a couple of dollars, it was worth the read.

2

April 16, 2012

The Art of Money Getting - 150 YEARS AGO!!

How old is this book? 150 years? I wish, that as part of the book description, Amazon would include the "originally published" date. If I had known that, I would not have downloaded this book.

5

December 28, 2016

TIMELESS TRUTHS

Excellent read. The examples and illustrations used in the book are obviously dated, but the messages and truths that are conveyed are timeless. This book is filled with life-changing wisdom as it pertains to the art of building and maintaining wealth. It's refreshing to get a good dose of simple, yet profound instruction that's applicable in everyday life. Highly recommended to anyone: old or young, educated or uneducated, rich or poor...this is material everyone who makes or wants to make money needs to have.

5

November 5, 2019

Hilarious and useful

Such a great and useful book and a laugh riot. I think it should be required reading for high school. It’s easy to understand and helps with money management.

1

May 2, 2018

Unreliable edition

After a few chapters I found that that the text started sounding like a bad machine translation from another language. I bought another edition and compared. This edition has extraneous words, producing a bizarre effect. See the beginning of the chapter on avoiding debt.

1

February 8, 2018

One Star

NEVER MADE THIS PURCHASE!

1

July 29, 2015

One Star

Stupid

1

November 18, 2013

very outdated

It may have been a good book to learn and read about 30-40 years ago but not in todays world.

2

April 18, 2016

Meh, not a bad read

Seemed a little scatter brained. Some of the thoughts were hard to follow. However, having certain items highlighted helped see the main topics of different sections.

2

October 25, 2014

There are some printing mistakes.

There are some printing mistakes.

2

January 20, 2013

Too old, not so valuabe

Well, it's a really short book, but the ideas on it are old and too general, too broad. I wouldn't recommend you spending your time on it.

2

January 3, 2013

Wordy and sexist

There are a lot of quotes from wealthy people, but no other supporting evidence. The many references to men/man may alienate a female reader. I guess the material is mostly just dated.

3

August 15, 2019

Meh

It was OK. A lot of it common sense now, clearly a bit aged, but a few good nuggets or reminders along the way

3

May 15, 2018

Nothing new here.

Nothing new here. A lot that is mentioned is mentioned in a more modern way in numerous business books

3

November 8, 2017

Enjoyable quick read. Being honest and direct and work hard.

Reading the opinions where interesting and help full, some attitudes are pre war mentalities. But this does help to make you more courteous.

3

July 30, 2017

interesting thoughts and ideas, his autobiography is a bit more engaging.

interesting thoughts and ideas, his autobiography is a bit more engaging.

3

October 5, 2016

honor

annoying keeps popping out of my collection every time I buy a new book. Although it is good it still annoys me for it to pop out so many times.-honor

3

May 18, 2016

Three Stars

Could be more practical