![]() ![]() ![]() His story isn't especially fresh, but his voice is likable, resulting in a quality African-American/business memoir deserving a wider audience than its niche-market elements might suggest. Gardner is honest and thorough as he solidly depicts growing up black and male in late 20th-century urban America. Determination and resourcefulness brought father and son not merely to safety but to the top. ![]() Gardner's own weakness was women, and when one of them left him with a son, it led to a period of homelessness on the San Francisco streets. After a stint in the navy, he set his sights on a medical career, but a foray into sales led him to the stock and bond market. By his own account, Gardner was a good kid who got into trouble occasionally, but stayed on a steady, upward track. His violent, hateful stepfather refused to accept Gardner as a stepson and thwarted him at every turn. Born in 1954, he grew up like too many young blacks: poor and fatherless, with a mother strong on children and church, yet soft on men. Gardner chronicles his long, painful, ultimately rewarding journey from inner-city Milwaukee to the pinnacle of Wall Street. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |