Only One Answer
You don’t have to know anything about marketing to understand the layout on the purple cover of Mr. Harrison’s first book, “Plutonomics: A Unified Theory of Wealth.” What leaps at you? Name one word that will compel you to purchase the book. Not “Plutonomics.” Too long, and its definition is somewhere out there in the netherland. That leaves only “Wealth,” which, of course, is the lifeblood of this fascinating read that comes specially equipped. This is truly designed for the contemporary reader. Mr. Harrison helpfully lists an all-purpose website (plutonomics.com) with four sub-compartments that should answer all of a reader’s conceivable questions. His transparent tendency to favor an epigrammatic writing style achieves at least two purposes. With an indiscernible nudge, Mr. Harrison’s writing style gets you through his welter of theories before you even break a sweat. His language is clearer than your car’s windshield when leaving the car wash. This may be seen as a magnificently shrewd ploy. Even when he seems a little esoteric, you will scratch your head with the hand that is not balancing the paperback book. You will scold yourself for not immediately understanding his intention. His accessible locution should immediately convince you that you comprehend everything Mr. Harrison posits in real time. “Ultimately, if one wishes to enjoy greater Wealth,” he writes, “one should seek to develop mastery of wealth.” If you and I are sitting beside each other, we may have contrary conceptions of exactly what constitutes “mastery.” Rhythmically paced, you can comfortably digest “Wealth” of an evening because it is cleverly arranged. All 77 chapters are apportioned one page apiece. For illumination purposes, in each case the facing page offers a classical quotation that serves as flashlight into what you have just absorbed.
For the Reader in a Hurry
Many years ago when I was a reporter at the very late Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, the newspaper was questionably promoted with the motto that it was designed for the reader on the go who didn’t have time to sit or to digest details. This was accurate enough because outside of the sports section, there was even less information than you find in weekly print newspapers. Coincidentally, Mr. Harrison’s innovatively designed book also is pitched to the busy reader. The difference is that he imparts a wealth of practical information about the factors and the nature of wealth. His intellectual saddlebags are bulging with intriguing theories as he helps you to understand the meaning of what you have. Asserting that wealth is second only to love among human obsessions, Mr. Harrison maintains there is one substantive difference. “Unlike love, which may forever remain magically unknowable, wealth seems to be a topic that would lend itself to analysis and, eventually, reduction to a practical manual. Wealth should be knowable — and known.”
Postscript
Occasionally when I meet a person for the first time, he or she is either strikingly dull or arrestingly compelling. I offer myself a litmus test. Could I drive across the country with this person if we were the only two in the car? Because he is unquenchably thirsty intellectually, and his sprinting mind constantly is spewing sparks, the answer is a strong yes for Mr. Harrison. The following observation may have the feel of contrasting Elmer Fudd with a Biblical personality, but it accents my point. When you pick up “Plutonomics: A Unified Theory of Wealth,” you may flash to the same feeling you experience when standing in line at your favorite grocery. Yielding to temptation, you will glance 8 or 9 times at the cover of the newest “People” magazine, swallowing every word on the cover and conjuring several images. Not your style but the information is so handy. This was my approach to Mr. Harrison’s “Plutonomics.” I am too far south of wealth or, as the author insists, “Wealth,” to trade in my readings on history and politics for theories on the true meanings, and value, of wealth — or Wealth. It isn’t “People.” It is respectable. And I kept coming back. Definitely worth your investment after it is published on Nov. 20. (See plutonomics.com.)
In the coming days, Mr. Harrison will explore his favorite theories for readers of thefrontpageonline.com.
