In the many years that I’ve been reading for knowledge, there have been just too many books that I’ve deemed necessary to include in my collection worthy of my possession. Needless to say, serious bibliophiles will go to great lengths to collect, preserve and coddle books. I’m guilty of this, and recently did my bi-annual inventory of my libraries. I put that in plural because I have books scattered in several locations within the confines of family consent for housing. I’m sure there are some of you that share this type of analogy. More often than not though, there are books that you’ve acquired over the years that are precious as well as those that you’ve purchased and didn’t get a chance to read that are stashed in your perpetual TBR (to be read) pile. Then there are books that come to mind that you want to keep without compromise, or others that are dear to you for whatever reasons. In the midst of purging and determining what books that would be selected for donation, I came across one such book that caught my eye that adhere to all of the above. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason is no ordinary book, especially with the content and context of how it was written, and for the implied potentiality of the effect is has.
I want to take the time out to share with you why I feel that it IS a good book, and why you should read it too. As aspiring and veteran authors we all ascribe to the notion that to be published and to sell as many of our books possible is much more than a dream. If you’ve been writing as long as I have looking for means to an end for accomplished value, then reality is bigger than life. You will continue to write with renewed vigor and perseverance to match. What makes this book so fascinating to me is the fact that the information therein is timeless. The book was written in 1926 for crying out loud! And the information is STILL useful. I’ve asked myself countless times how this book could inform modern entrepreneurs about how, when, where, and how much to spend their money. Amazingly, it exudes useful financial advice via a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon. As you know, the Babylonians were astute and resourceful in becoming one of the greatest civilizations during their reign.
Simple lessons in financial and marketing wisdom allow the characters in the parables to understand how they can become masters of money, and how to work it. I’m sure we would want to be better than the last book we wrote, or how to run to the bank after acknowledging all of what is being given to us by Mr. Clason, albeit 82 years hence! You should furthermore read this book because there may be a need to keep your head much higher above the water line to guard against any recession that we could be facing; you may want to read the book too, because money matters are still the norm rather than the exception without having acquired the millions we dream of having.
