You have enough ordinary in your life. Now step into Birch Bentley's world. Birch Bentley, Ex-Navy Seal, age 36, is the #3 man in a large multi-billion dollar insurance company located in NYC. He struggles to unseat two greedy insiders in an attempt to become President of the insurance company only to see a new, more powerful and cunning antagonist enter the picture. Birch also has to battle corrupt Russians, Chinese interests, the FBI, and fallout from his sexual indiscretions. I wrote the kind of book I like to read that is fast moving with short chapters and lots of dialogue. Most importantly, you'll identify character types you have met along your way and possibly a little bit of yourself in what some of the characters think, say, and do. That's the point of the book - to engage you with a compelling story that offers valuable takeaways while it entertains you. It reveals collisions that take place between people who put their own self-interests above everything else. Curiously, we sometimes learn more through fiction than we can through non-fiction. If you are in business, have a career, or deal with people, I believe this book will add to your "street smarts." Viewpoints on Birch Bentley and "Lies That Glitter" can be polarizing because some may see the content as glamorizing certain behavior. Birch Bentley isn't meant to be a hero, nor is he intended to be an antihero. He's an overachiever for sure, but still with his list of faults, which are numerous. The story is told through his eyes but all the characters have their own points to make about life. He's handsome, and smart enough to see right through the lies of everyone around him, but he's blind to the lies that he tells, including the lies he tells to himself. If you are a person who thinks a lot about your goals and career, you will be pulled in by the harsh realities, messages, and truths that can be learned from Birch Bentley's story. The characters expose something we should understand about our own behavior and those who we know and interact with. When we begin to discern that the face people show us is a mask; that what people are saying is not necessarily what they're thinking, we are finally prepared to deal with life as it is. The Birch Bentley series draw you into the veracity of our lives, revealing the lesson of human destruction that can result from the obsessive chase for sex, wealth, and power. The insights unmask the unspoken realities about the corporate and social culture in which we live. There is a school of thought that says that readers should be left to discover certain things themselves. I agree with that but I also believe a book can become more engaging once you realize that the author has purposely let everyone inside to see past the veneer. When you can see through much of what the characters say and do, which is intended, you are able to better appreciate the irony, satire, and parody. The reader is "in on it." Not that the characters aren't smart, interesting, deep, loaded with talent, have vision and leadership qualities - they are and they do. Not that the dialogue isn't fast, funny, entertaining, and snappy - I believe it is. But the cast of characters all proclaim altruism while lying, deceiving, and in the end acting in their own best interest. In real life, almost always, expediency and self-interest rule the day. Understanding how brilliant people brilliantly conceal is compelling reading and also a lesson it pays to stay mindful of. It makes you more street-wise and better prepares you for the complexities of modern day society. I believe by the end of the book you will be rooting for Birch to succeed despite his not being perfect. Best wishes, Walt Bernard Podgurski
About the Author: Walter Bernard (Podgurski) entered the insurance business after graduating from Miami University of Ohio where he was an All-American wrestler and later was voted into the Miami University Athletic Hall-Of-Fame. The great majority of his experience is in voluntary employee benefit plans and publishing. In 1997, Mr. Podgurski formed Insurance Broadcasting and the Workplace Benefits Association. In February 2011 Mr. Podgurski sold those assets to a major print publisher and event company. Mr. Podgurski and his wife now live part of the year near Cleveland, Ohio and part of the year in Saint Augustine, Florida.