Amazon reviews reveal more than you think

I recently picked up The Narrow Road: A Brief Guide to the Getting of Money by Felix Dennis [Amazon affiliate link] on the recommendation of someone who understands that the road to success is indeed a narrow one.

And, because the Amazon reviews were awesome.

No, really, two of the five customer reviews, plus the blurb from Publisher’s Weekly, called the book out for being a rehash of Dennis’ previous book, How to Get Rich. Now, in my mind, this new version is 80 pages shorter, so it’s already winning, but the payoff really didn’t arrive until I read the forward, which apparently the negative reviewers didn’t.

As Dennis writes:

How to Get Rich was designed as an anti-self-help manual, written to dissuade the majority of readers from making the attempt to acquire real wealth. My book then, partially failed in its purpose. Too many critics and readers found it “inspirational.” … a palliative is in order. The Narrow Road is the result… these pages offer a brief guide for those determined to attempt the getting of money and willing to shoulder the consequences. Should you not be so resolved, I suggest you discard The Narrow Road and choose one of the hundreds of other books written (often by charlatans) especially for you.

In short, people who didn’t get the message the first time got even more confused on the second go, which I think is the best example of the concept of The Narrow Road that I can find.  It’s a lonely path, not commonly travelled, and people who are on it, regardless of their final destination, are bound to get many more “aha” moments than the readers who are just looking for business porn to distract them from their workday.

I enjoyed it, and not just because it was a quick read (frankly, if the author had tried to take up more of my time I’d suspect he didn’t really get what he was trying to put across as a guide for entrepreneurs.)  I suspect it’s the kind of book where certain sections will mean more to me after further experiences happen.

Closing with a quote that stuck with me on the first pass: “The happy-go-lucky may call it an obsession. So what? I doubt you will meet many happy-go-lucky souls on the narrow road.”