Comments on: Review: Never Eat Alone

By: DJ

DJ — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:44:15 +0000

I have read both of his books and while I found some use information in both of them I had a hard time with the man’s ego.

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:38:59 +0000

There’s a large contingent of “Rolodex Stuffers” who are nice, genuine folks. But they do it out of ignorance, ineptitude, and/or social awkwardness.

By: Jeff Schwandt

Jeff Schwandt — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:47:42 +0000

Great summary of the book. I doubt I’d ever buy the book or even look for it in a library (I’d need a card first) without reading your summary. I don’t have much time for reading, so your summary is really helpful. Back to Twitter to RT your post.

By: Mikey

Mikey — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:50:25 +0000

Thanks for a thorough and well-balanced review of the book. This convinced me of my genuine interest in the topic of connecting over networking. I look forward to reading this one!

By: Lise

Lise — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:57:40 +0000

Trent, I was wondering: do you find Ferrazzi’s style a little off-putting? I liked the ideas, in general, but there are places where it feels like he IS treating people as means, not ends, despite his protestations. One line that especially bothered me is when he talks about “bagging” (I think that’s the term he used) a dinner guest like Arianna Huffington.

It’s also striking that he talks about his failed romantic life so much. If his relationships with other people are so genuine, shouldn’t his techniques work for romantic relationships as well?

He is one of the people who makes me wonder if success requires treating people unfairly.

By: Ms Alex

Ms Alex — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:43:55 +0000

I reviewed this book in the last week but have to confess I just didn’t like the lifestyle suggested, seemed very mechanically cold.

By: antha

antha — Sun, 04 May 2008 21:07:08 +0000

I will no doubt seem strange to many people when i say that this is the first i have heard of Networking. I live life waiting….for destiny to arrive…I don’t like the idea of Networking although to be honest it seems more realistic than destiny. I live a pretty solitary life….maybe i have got it all wrong.

By: Gupts

Gupts — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:12:43 +0000

I am following your recommended books. Never eat alone is the first one that I am reading. Very impressive book. I love it and I am trying to implement it in my life. I have seen in real life how people have succeeded in their career and life by networking. I read lot on networking and wondered how to do that. This books answers my all questions on networking. Thanks once again for the great review

By: LollieMouse

LollieMouse — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 18:10:11 +0000

Havent read the book yet,but as an expert “networker” I know it is ALL about RELATIONSHIPS — everyone you meet and know and who helps you want to feel valued (as do we all!) and taking the extra moment to remember a birthday, or ask how the holidays went, remembering a granchild’s name — wow, you have a network you can’t live without, and personal joy from knowing so many awesome people!

By: Paola

Paola — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 22:01:44 +0000

I picked up this book because, being something of an introvert, I really, really love eating alone. I’m thinking of writing a spoof sequel: “Never Sleep Alone” – how about that?
See my review at http://livepaola.wordpress.com/2007/05/05/two-new-books-%e2%80%9cnever-eat-alone%e2%80%9d-and-%e2%80%9cthe-4-hour-workweek%e2%80%9d/

By: Will

Will — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 18:53:25 +0000

Trent – I had some time to come back and read more of your posts today and found this one. Really great review …. personal and informative. I like the way you write AND title your posts. It’s very easy at a glance to know if the topic interests me, and if it does, there always seems to be a well thought out and written post on the other end of the click through.

Thanks!

By: Reyhan

Reyhan — Thu, 24 May 2007 14:43:58 +0000

This review was helpful in and of itself; but I think I may still get the book to read into more of the tips on dinner parties and so on. I, too, get that “icky” feeling all over when I think about networking, but that’s because I tend to see it as exploitative. However, I find that whenever I network unintentionally, it has worked out well for me. I like when the connections are genuine and the interest is genuine. In those instances, I feel good about the connections I make and I feel good about helping others make connections. Otherwise, it’s a waste of my time and energy. You’re not gonna see me playing golf for the sake of networking any time soon…

By: Wallet Rehab - Ways to save money

Wallet Rehab - Ways to save money — Mon, 21 May 2007 14:39:38 +0000

I think people often make the mistake of seeing networking as a means to an end. But just having a large network of like-minded people can be satisfying in of itself.

By: ck_dex

ck_dex — Tue, 15 May 2007 14:23:03 +0000

I wouldn’t ever be tempted to buy this book, but I enjoyed your review. Just a few of comments from my experience:

* Rather than spread yourself all over the place trying to network with powerful people, choose one passion that you have and plug into volunteer orgs where you can meet people. For us, a background and strong interest in classical music has led us to board positions where we serve community interests with a broad range of leaders. But know that this can be very costly in time and money.

* The author’s points about offering up freebies and doing your homework (and “be interesting”) are very important. Take a minute to read someone’s bio on their work website. At the very least, it’s really important to read some good historical books or fiction because this is always the fallback topic at dinner parties, meetings, etc. Offering up the freebies has been useful when looking for work, too.

* No amount of networking can substitute for expertise, efficiency and competency. Strive for excellence in your field above all.

By: Vince

Vince — Tue, 15 May 2007 00:37:43 +0000

This is a great book. I read it cover to cover in one sitting. I think you did a great job of summarizing all the keep points, in fact I thought your review was so good, I linked this post on my own blog. Hope you don’t mind.

The chapter that I took most to heart, was Chapter 20 about pinging. I now do this constantly, and I have the cell phone bill to prove it.

All the best

By: Gal Josefsberg

Gal Josefsberg — Mon, 14 May 2007 16:53:34 +0000

Thanks for reviewing this book Trent. It’s been one of my favorites for a while now and it’s nice to see other people’s responses to it. When I first read it, it reminded me of an updated version of Dale Carnegie’s “how to make friends and influence people”.

By: jake

jake — Mon, 14 May 2007 15:59:27 +0000

Yup i just finished listening to the audio version of this book. Awesome book.

I have seen the value of networking many times. I can tell you so many people who graduated college and got a job they would never have gotten without the right connection. I mean some of thse people dont even deserve their job, yet because they know the right people they got it.

This book teaches you networking as awhole, and also individual relationships that garner longterm connections.

By: rhbee

rhbee — Mon, 14 May 2007 13:15:18 +0000

Your initial take on this book reminds me of that other term that gets so much negative response – Facilitator. Both terms work to describe what they mean and yet both arouse a distrust in us. I’ve recently been writing about partnerships and what I have found as I’ve tried to write out what I think about my own partnership seems to apply here. You can’t force these things. I look back and discover that I have been in a partnership for 14 years and yet we never signed an agreement, never said, “Hey, let’s form a partnership.” I believe a true network works just like that. Serendipity plays a great part also. I guess what I’m trying to say is that this might be, probably is, a great book but reading your review of it is enough for me. If I did more than that I’d probably find myself recommending it to my friends. And frankly, I’ve discovered the hard way that that is the quickest way to lose them.

By: john

john — Mon, 14 May 2007 12:59:19 +0000

I literally just finished this book this weekend, and thought it was excellent. I’m already starting to put to work the ideas in here and in “How to Win Friends and Influence People” with some good initial results.

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 14 May 2007 02:52:09 +0000

Thanks for the great review … I’ve had this one on my amazon wishlist for a few months now.