This is an astute review on a book that goes against the grain by revealing the secrets of one wealthy man.

Emily Dickinson wrote: “fortune’s expensive smile is earned.” The book Nobody’s Fool: A Skeptic’s Guide to Prosperity is written by an author who has earned his “smile” and wants to help you earn yours. A.B. Jacobs’ advice makes up the book’s content. It derives from an advantageous career as investor and manager of real estate, stocks, bonds, and mortgage lending. The grit of the book is introduced when Jacobs presents ten ground rules. A fitting example is, “your ability to attain a goal depends upon your willingness to obtain that goal." The rule conveys the book’s logistics, while number ten reveals its theme: “the secret of success in virtually every endeavor is mastery of the details.”

What does this mean? To paraphrase, you will know how to produce outstanding opportunity by considering the world "a jigsaw puzzle" by which separate pieces merge to yield meaning. Later, the idea is recalled in an example of historical happenings unraveling future events – suitable, since readers will redesign their future by reading the book. What the reader learns is, a nation has a system. If one identifies its underlying, one will be able to work it in their favor until they acquire enough money to worry about how to give back the treasure instead of how to pay the season's oil expense.

So, for those of us still worrying about the oil expense, Jacobs provides a decipherable boldface section in each chapter. The section is titled, “To put it bluntly.” One blunt statement stands out: “Expect the insider to take advantage of a favorable position. You’d certainly do it, wouldn’t you?” With everyday lingo like this, what more could the reader ask for?

I’ll tell you: original poetry from the author himself, which caps each chapter. Poems are about "finer things.” “Things” include writing success, eternal security and fitness. Jacobs’ rhyming poetry discloses each chapter’s cautionary aspects. For instance, “The Smell of Success” tells a story about an author who writes books “jammed with useful facts” and is subsequently outshined by a later, personal and desperate attempt in the form of a “trashy expose, on Liz, and Di, and yes…O.J.” The author’s notions of widespread influence are indeed illuminated: a celebrity being used to advertise a product should call the product's credibility into question due to the lengths the market has gone to flaunt. In this case, the reader discovers credibility should be perceived in marketing terms and nothing more.

Mid book brings us to the subject of money through investment – bonds and the Individual Retirement Account proving most reliable. The author provides an example of a twenty-five year old who places $2,000 into her IRA each year till she is sixty-five. By using the IRA feature which allows account users to buy corporate bonds, her fund will grow to an amazing $257,754” at an annual return of 5 percent over the forty-year term! Tips are then presented to safeguard readers against changing interest rates.

Toward book’s end, there is a brilliant statement that sheds light on all mentioned thoughts: “Complexity, by its very nature, creates opportunities for creativeness.” The greatest wisdom of all emerges, which is this: get to the heart of an idea then see if it is something you’d like to pursue. A striking opportunity will soon present itself. A final jewel is Jacobs’ list, composed of ten basic subjects for study which include Basic Computer Operation, Basic Contract Law, Law of Trusts and Trustees, and review courses in basic studies like math and English, to name a few! The author suggests you don’t need to pay big for knowledge – you can study from home.

The book cannot be absorbed lightly. Its target reader is the economically upward individual, although any reader can benefit as long as they are pre-aware they'll need to forgo pleasure for higher purpose. The one avenue for escape lies in Jacobs’ poetry, and even this is candidly real.

He devotes a final portion of the book to helping the newly rich plant seeds of spiritual growth, using charitable examples such as organizing a scholastic fund and donating time teaching.

Overall, the book is composed of beneficial trinkets not soon to be forgotten as they are spoken profoundly from the lion’s mouth.

*Nobody's Fool: A Skeptic's Guide to Prosperity may be purchased at Tableau Publishing's website, located at http://www.tableaupublishing