Larry Winget goes over to the dark side

I reviewed Larry Winget's last book here on the blog, and liked it. It was a short, simple motivational book that contained some straight talk. 

As of December 30th, Larry's newest book is out, and I'm not going to bother reading it. With a title like "People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It!", why would I want to?

This is the trend in financial books that I missed completely (much to my detriment as an author). Since when did readers get so masochistic? Why does everyone want to pay Larry Winget and Dave Ramsey to call them "stupid" and "idiots"? This isn't the playful "complete idiots guide to..." or "...for dummies" style of discourse, either. It's abusive.

I'm afraid I don't really have that in me. I have too much empathy for people who are suffering from financial setbacks to pile on and call them stupid. And I don't really have the ego it takes to declare that I know what makes everyone else an idiot. And unlike many other financial authors, I've never personally declared bankruptcy. Maybe that experience leaves you with a mean streak. 

What I know is this; it is possible to fight your way back from what seems like insurmountable debt. I've seen thousands of people do it. I've done what I can to help by offering encouragement, advice and education. I've talked to people who were contemplating suicide because they never thought they'd be able to knock out their debt. I managed to convince them that there was hope, that others had been in their situation and prevailed. I can't imagine how I could have mustered the nerve to call them idiots. 

Comments

[Larry Winget]

Thanks so much for the mention of my new book. Perhaps you really should have taken the time to read it before you reviewed it. You might have discovered that it is not a financial book at all. You might have discovered that all you did in this blog posting was prove me right as I covered this in the preface of the book. I predicted that bloggers would trash the book because of the title alone. I predicted that they would consider it negative and berate me and call me names without ever taking the time to read the book. You did that. The book is actually my most positive book. It only has one page about finances and the other 208 pages deal with other areas of life. Mostly it deals with the huge gap between what we SAY we want and what we DO about what we want. The subtitle is: The TEN Ways We Sabotage Ourselves And How To Overcome Them. I would have been happy to supply you with a review copy if you had expressed interest. Still would, which is MORE than fair in my opinion, if you would like to actually read the book before saying I have gone over to the dark side. I only have ONE side. That is the side of personal responsibility. Take some, read the book, and then give an honest review. All the best and I'm so glad you enjoyed You're Broke Because You Want To Be.

Larry Winget

[Larry Winget]

Jeff - all you have to do to receive a book so you can make an INFORMED comment about my book is to ask for one. Guess you didn't like my comment so you didn't post it. Again, before saying someone has a mean streak - or saying that my new book is even a financial book - shouldn't you read the book? I predicted that people would trash the book all because of the title in the preface of the book, but you would have needed to read it in order to know that. This is not a mean book. This is not even a financial book. This is a book that looks closely at the huge gap between what we SAY we want and what we end up with based on our actions. You probably won't post this comment either and that's fine - it is your blog just like I control the postings on my blog. But if you are going to play fair - then be responsible and review books you have read. The old adage "you can't judge a book by it's cover" is true. Read the book - if you hate it, then say so and say why. But to say it is a waste of time - to say it is about something it isn't - to comment about the author with no knowledge of the book, isn't fair and IS irresponsible. And as I said in my first comment about this blog, I don't have a dark side or a light side. I have ONE side. That side is called personal responsibility - why don't YOU come over to my side?

all the best

Larry Winget

[Jeff Michael]

Larry,
Sorry I didn't check the comments sooner. I'm too busy to get around to the blog more than once a week these days.

The things you say are fair enough; you ended up in the crosshairs of my comment when I was really making a larger point about the state of financial help books.

But consider this, if your book is positive and encouraging, why put that title on it? It puts off a reader like me, who might enjoy the book if I ever actually read it. And it leads me back to my initial question, which was "when did readers get so masochistic?" Why do people pick up a book that promises to call them stupid?

That's really what I was getting at. I don't think I said the book would be a waste of time to read; I simply said I was put off by the title and wouldn't bother to read it.

Anyway, I wouldn't want anyone to mistake this post for a review of the book, which it clearly isn't. I'm simply musing about the style of discourse in our field. You have to admit that a casual book shopper could easily think you'd gone over to the "dark side," even if that impression would be mistaken.