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Biographies & Primers |
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The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future
written by T. Boone Pickens
Studio : Crown Business
by Crown Business
Release Date : 2008-09-02
Publisher : Crown Business
Released : 2008-09-02
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780307395771
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 4 reviews)
List Price : $26.95
Our Price : $16.45
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Product Description |
With a Plan for Reducing U.S. Oil Dependency
It’s never too late to top your personal best.
Now eighty years old, T. Boone Pickens is a legendary figure in the business world. Known as the “Oracle of Oil” because of his uncanny ability to predict the direction of fuel prices, he built Mesa Petroleum, one of the largest independent oil companies in the United States, from a $2,500 investment. In the 1980s, Pickens became a household name when he executed a series of unsolicited buyout bids for undervalued oil companies, in the process reinventing the notion of shareholders’ rights. Even his failures were successful in that they forced risk-averse managers to reconsider the way they did business.
When Pickens left Mesa at age sixty-eight after a spectacular downward spiral in the company’s profits, many counted him out. Indeed, what followed for him was a painful divorce, clinical depression, a temporary inability to predict the movement of energy prices, and the loss of 90 percent of his investing capital. But Pickens was far from out.
From that personal and professional nadir, Pickens staged one of the most impressive comebacks in the industry, turning his investment fund’s remaining $3 million into $8 billion in profit in just a few years. That made him, at age seventy-seven, the world’s second-highest-paid hedge fund manager. But he wasn’t done yet. Today, Pickens is making some of the world’s most colossal energy bets. If he has his way, most of America’s cars will eventually run on natural gas, and vast swaths of the nation’s prairie land will become places where wind can be harnessed for power generation. Currently no less bold than he was decades ago when he single-handedly transformed America’s oil industry, Pickens is staking billions on the conviction that he knows what’s coming. In this book, he spells out that future in detail, not only presenting a comprehensive plan for American energy independence but also providing a fascinating glimpse into key resources such as water—yet another area where he is putting billions on the line.
From a businessman who is extraordinarily humble yet is considered one of the world’s most visionary, The First Billion Is the Hardest is both a riveting account of a life spent pulling off improbable triumphs and a report back from the front of the global energy and natural-resource wars—of vital interest to anyone who has a stake in America’s future. |
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No Senior Moments for This Gentleman ! |
Having seen this gentleman on TV a lot in the last month or so, I was intrigued by his confident certainty that we could become energy independent quickly and easily. I kept wondering who in the world he was.
Reading his book, I now know that he is one of the most brilliant businessmen in our history. He has lived a jam-packed life full of business accomplishments, many of which have benefited all of us. At the age of 80, after much success and many personal heartaches, he's taking on our country's oil fiasco with a plan that I believe can work. Mr. Pickens' natural gas solution for cars seems like a brilliant way for us to become energy independent quickly, using our most abundant energy source.
I find this man to be one of the most inspiring and interesting Americans I have ever encountered. He has created success after success, and I trust the solutions he suggests for our country. This is an amazing book written by an inspiring American, whose life among other things, clearly demonstrates that chronological age is irrelevant. |
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Good advice for America. |
Which is the better businessman? First the guy that starts with nothing, makes a bundle, never loses any of his money and therefore doesn't have to do it twice, or the person who makes a bundle, loses it, and then does it all over again? I won't try to argue either point. This may be one for the philosophers. Regardless, T. Boone Pickens falls into the latter group.
I've been familiar with Mr. Pickens for years. As a teacher of economics and marketing, I saw him mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Business Week, etc. Anyone studying manufacturing/energy knows his story. However, in The First Billion is the Hardest we're introduced not only to Mr. Boones back story, but his vision for the future, at least as that vision relates to energy. I, for one, think T. Boone Pickens is dead on target and absolutely correct when he says we can't drill our way out of the current crisis. We have to think our way out of it. We certainly got into the current mess by not thinking. Follow the "Booneisms" and you'll win every time.
The signs have been obvious for more than 30 years. America's energy policy has been short sighted to say the least. I do think that there is a reason for us to drill and explore new fields even though I understand that as far as "energy" is concerned we need to look to other solutions as Mr. Pickens points out. We mustn't forget that a barrel of crude oil isn't simply used for fuel. Yes, we get gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel, diesel, etc. from crude oil. But a large percent of a barrel of crude oil (about 55%?) goes for other uses. Petroleum based products are used everywhere. You can't sign a check (ink and the plastic in the pen), put on underwear (elastic and synthetic fibers) eat a salad (chemical fertilizers), buy a pair of safety lens glasses, without giving a nod to OPEC. The fact of the matter is that even if no foreign oil went to energy uses we'd still be beholding to the Middle East. Our economy along with every other economy in the world relies on petroleum to create a huge spectrum of products.
Mr. Pickens' solutions for the energy situation we find ourselves in are absolutely part of the solution to those problems. However, we need to drill if we want anything approaching independence from our current petroleum masters.
Sorry for the editorial.
The First Billion is the Hardest is an entertaining read. It is easy to see why this dynamic, thoughtful, and insightful man has managed to survive the ups and downs of the American marketplace. He continues to be a leader at a time when most of his peers have retired to a rocking chair.
This is a must read for any American interested in solving the energy crisis.
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Motivating Story. You May Be Down But You're Never Out |
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Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R21MLQVOJGPV9P Don't Like to Read, Then Don't, Listen!: How to Turn Any Type of Text Into Audio Files That Can Be Read to You! (isbn 1438252455) |
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THE FUTURE IS NOW |
It is pleasing that Mr. Pickens has chosen to use some of his billions to pursue freedom from the grip of foreign oil. His book is to be praised for that objective.
It is however, disappointing that he chose to use his money in 2004 to help derail the presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry. His support of the "Swift Boat Veterans" campaign was an example of how small men with money, power, and influence can trade truth for lies and deception.
Pickens has offered a million dollars to anyone who could disprove even one claim of the "Swift Boat" clowns. That has been done by members of Senator Kerry's crew. Pickens, however, resuses to keep his promise and pay the million.
Interesting alcolades from the Fox channel's Bill O'Rielly about Sen. Kerry may be found in his appearance on 60 Minutes in 2004. He called him a "patriot."
Author of Mr. NewHeart (New Heart): Heart Attack to Transplant and Beyond
See my next book, "The Face of War" by Googling "David Hollar's Storefront." It is a memoir of my year in Vietnam as an infantry platoon leader. |
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