Harley Hahn Newsletter #38

Harley Hahn Newsletter
===========================

  HARLEY HAHN NEWSLETTER
           #38

      July 16, 2004

===========================


"Being honest requires you to do what is right,
 even when no one else is looking."

 -- Harley Hahn


====================
Books Worth Reading?
====================

What qualities make books worth reading?

You would expect that, at the very least, a book
that is worth reading would be well-written (if it
is fiction) or well-researched (if it is non-fiction).
Interestingly enough, this is not always the case
and I have the examples to prove it.

First, there are four books by Srully Blotnick
(a business psychologist).  Blotnick's books are
uniformly wonderful, and yet they are based on...
well... who knows? Certainly not real research.

Second, there are the Black Widower mystery
stories, written by Isaac Asimov.  These stories
are terrible, probably the worst ones Asimov has
ever written, and yet they are still worth
reading.

How can this be?  Take a look at:

What is Harley Reading? (part of my guide to reading)

If you have never seen my guide to reading, you
might enjoy starting from the beginning:

Harley Hahn's Guide to Reading



==============
Martha Stewart
==============

For the 2004 Edition of "Harley Hahn's Internet
Yellow Pages", I wrote a number of essays
discussing famous people. One of the most
interesting essays deals with Martha Stewart, the
American homemaking diva who created a large media
empire, only to see it shrink as she was convicted
of serious criminal charges (conspiracy, making
false statements, and obstruction of justice).

Stewart was recently sentenced for her crimes, so
this is a good time to discuss her life: How could
someone so smart and so successful make such bad
decisions?

If you are a member of The Harley Hahn Experience,
you can access "Harley Hahn's Internet Yellow
Pages" for free.  If so, here is the link to the
appropriate section, where you can read about
Martha Stewart:

People: Famous and Interesting

The essay begins as follows:

"In her time, Martha Stewart (1941-) was the
epitome of the American Dream, an entrepreneur who
turned a flair for gracious living and an
insatiable appetite for perfection into a highly
successful career as a lifestyle expert: teaching
the arts of cooking, gardening, crafts and home
decoration, to millions of American women.
Stewart, however, was also the epitome of the
American Dream gone bad, demonstrating the immense
pride and separation from reality that inevitably
comes before a long, hard fall..."

In case you are not yet a member of The Harley
Hahn Experience, here is information on how you
can join.

Information about The Harley Hahn Experience

-- Harley Hahn