Review of Reconfigurement
Posted: 17 Oct 2022, 14:32
[Following is a volunteer review of "Reconfigurement" by E. Alan Fleischauer.]
Retrospectively, lemonade comes to mind as a metaphor of what E. Alan Fleischauer was able to achieve with Reconfigurement. A combination of lemons, famously bitter, and sugar, sweetness incarnate, giving us a drink beloved world over. Similarly, he coupled some really taxing subject matter with a really upbeat comedic story telling style to spawn a book that is both informative and entertaining.
In Reconfigurement, Mr. Fleischauer begins by showing us that increased American life expectancies, necessitating planning for more years of life post retirement as well as the current trend of more Americans reporting unhappiness in their occupations thus a need to sustainably switch careers, require what he terms as 'Reconfigurement'. He also mentions factors like the now less trustworthy retirement safety nets like Pensions and Social Security. With the tools he mentions throughout the book, Reconfigurement can take shape. Read on to find out.
Mr. Fleischauer has worn quite a number of hats that have given him experience in the subject matter of the book, from being a venture capitalist, merchant banker and financial advisor, a small business owner to a father and grandfather. Also, as a gentleman of a certain age, he has definitely given Reconfigurement a lot of thought. He is also a fiction author, which is an interesting prospect for lovers of this book.
Now let's get back to the book. I truly appreciated it, despite not being American. I felt Mr. Fleischauer really did a good balancing act with making it entertaining yet substantial, if I may. Many attributes stood out for me.
To begin with, the plentiful humour was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in this book. It was a really witty and smart book. Many jokes had me laughing out loud and thinking often, while the many "Dad jokes" as I called them, were endearingly annoying and I cracked a smile anyway, just like with a real life Uncle or Dad. I feel the more cynical readers may not appreciate them, but if they just bring their wide eyed innocent brain cells to the party, they will have a good time.
I also loved the wisdom from other cultures at the beginning. I found it really philosophical and it inspired me. The Afghan farmer story about always finding opportunities in problems was really good. The punchline of this story kept being repeated, which was like a wink to the reader, an inside joke shared between author and reader.
The actual subject matter itself was really thorough and unbiased and I felt it really covered the bases for the Americans looking to Reconfigure. It was quite hard on my foreign brain since I wasn't exactly a business studies star in school. However, I felt that it was a worthwhile read all through. Similarly, I feel that American readers like me will really pick up quite a lot of things to research further and apply to their own Reconfigurement journey.
However, on the suboptimal side, I have to admit that the more technical chapters lost me quite thoroughly. The author was also aware which was quite endearing, like a teacher who empathizes with his students while explaining a very difficult concept. However, I could tell it was really good content despite not necessarily getting it.
In a certain chapter, he covered Self assessment Internet and software tools to help one understand his strengths and thus most suitable career. I personally felt he shouldn't have told us his results which I felt lengthened the chapter.
Additionally, I felt that he shouldn't cite Wikipedia as a source. I felt he should go to the Wikipedia page references and quote the cited book or website if available. Similarly, I felt he shouldn't write URLs as the cited sources in the book. I felt he should mention the organization which owns and or runs the website to give the citations a more professional feel.
Another suboptimal aspect for me was the author lingering more on retirement and less on changing a career early in life, which I would really have loved as a young person. Still, that doesn't diminish the importance of Reconfigurement in the American setting.
That said, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. My incompatibility with the subject matter didn't diminish its importance, and the comedic sweetener was a real master stroke for me. I also found this book exceptionally well edited, which was quite lovely. I recommend this book to Americans looking to Reconfigure, but with less emotion and more strategic planning. I think people of all ages should give it a read since we are all headed that way. International audiences will also appreciate quite a number of lessons, the humour, and a peek into the American financial situation from this point of view.
******
Reconfigurement
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Retrospectively, lemonade comes to mind as a metaphor of what E. Alan Fleischauer was able to achieve with Reconfigurement. A combination of lemons, famously bitter, and sugar, sweetness incarnate, giving us a drink beloved world over. Similarly, he coupled some really taxing subject matter with a really upbeat comedic story telling style to spawn a book that is both informative and entertaining.
In Reconfigurement, Mr. Fleischauer begins by showing us that increased American life expectancies, necessitating planning for more years of life post retirement as well as the current trend of more Americans reporting unhappiness in their occupations thus a need to sustainably switch careers, require what he terms as 'Reconfigurement'. He also mentions factors like the now less trustworthy retirement safety nets like Pensions and Social Security. With the tools he mentions throughout the book, Reconfigurement can take shape. Read on to find out.
Mr. Fleischauer has worn quite a number of hats that have given him experience in the subject matter of the book, from being a venture capitalist, merchant banker and financial advisor, a small business owner to a father and grandfather. Also, as a gentleman of a certain age, he has definitely given Reconfigurement a lot of thought. He is also a fiction author, which is an interesting prospect for lovers of this book.
Now let's get back to the book. I truly appreciated it, despite not being American. I felt Mr. Fleischauer really did a good balancing act with making it entertaining yet substantial, if I may. Many attributes stood out for me.
To begin with, the plentiful humour was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in this book. It was a really witty and smart book. Many jokes had me laughing out loud and thinking often, while the many "Dad jokes" as I called them, were endearingly annoying and I cracked a smile anyway, just like with a real life Uncle or Dad. I feel the more cynical readers may not appreciate them, but if they just bring their wide eyed innocent brain cells to the party, they will have a good time.
I also loved the wisdom from other cultures at the beginning. I found it really philosophical and it inspired me. The Afghan farmer story about always finding opportunities in problems was really good. The punchline of this story kept being repeated, which was like a wink to the reader, an inside joke shared between author and reader.
The actual subject matter itself was really thorough and unbiased and I felt it really covered the bases for the Americans looking to Reconfigure. It was quite hard on my foreign brain since I wasn't exactly a business studies star in school. However, I felt that it was a worthwhile read all through. Similarly, I feel that American readers like me will really pick up quite a lot of things to research further and apply to their own Reconfigurement journey.
However, on the suboptimal side, I have to admit that the more technical chapters lost me quite thoroughly. The author was also aware which was quite endearing, like a teacher who empathizes with his students while explaining a very difficult concept. However, I could tell it was really good content despite not necessarily getting it.
In a certain chapter, he covered Self assessment Internet and software tools to help one understand his strengths and thus most suitable career. I personally felt he shouldn't have told us his results which I felt lengthened the chapter.
Additionally, I felt that he shouldn't cite Wikipedia as a source. I felt he should go to the Wikipedia page references and quote the cited book or website if available. Similarly, I felt he shouldn't write URLs as the cited sources in the book. I felt he should mention the organization which owns and or runs the website to give the citations a more professional feel.
Another suboptimal aspect for me was the author lingering more on retirement and less on changing a career early in life, which I would really have loved as a young person. Still, that doesn't diminish the importance of Reconfigurement in the American setting.
That said, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. My incompatibility with the subject matter didn't diminish its importance, and the comedic sweetener was a real master stroke for me. I also found this book exceptionally well edited, which was quite lovely. I recommend this book to Americans looking to Reconfigure, but with less emotion and more strategic planning. I think people of all ages should give it a read since we are all headed that way. International audiences will also appreciate quite a number of lessons, the humour, and a peek into the American financial situation from this point of view.
******
Reconfigurement
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon