Staff Book and Media Recommendations

The First Billion Is the Hardest

T. Boone Pickens

"Don't rush the monkey, and you'll see a better show." That’s the first of many "Booneisms" in this sanitized version of Pickens' rise from humble Holdenville, OK to Mesa Ranch, his 68,000 acre spread in the Texas panhandle. I'm not quite sure how to interpret the quote above, but it does sound like something a good ole boy billionaire would say, which is close to my reaction after finishing this book.

Pickens covers most of his business dealings, including the establishment of Mesa Petroleum, his sometimes hostile takeovers and rise to fame and fortune in the 80's, his downfall with Mesa in the 90's, followed by his comeback this decade as a spectacularly successful commodity trader, hedge fund manager and philanthropist.

In the back of this book, he touts his "Pickens Plan" as the best way to get our country weaned from foreign oil. I salute his conversion to using cleaner fuels and alternative energy sources, but it seems awfully late in coming given his lifelong involvement in the oil business. This is the man who contributed heavily to both Bush's and thinks Ronald Reagan was our greatest president. It's hard to take his conversion at face value. He has done many admirable things, however, and as he would say, "When you're hunting elephants, don’t get distracted chasing rabbits." ~Allan Goode

Reviewed April 2009