Asshole by Martin Kihn
Working on the basic tenet that jerks get ahead while the nice guy flounders and picks up the pieces, Martin Kihn has written “A$$hole: How I Got Rich & Happy by Not Giving a Damn About Anyone“.
Kihn catalogues his journey from doormat to alpha-male by way of a Manhattan therapist. The book ends with a moral: rich and successful doesn’t make you happy.
If you’re looking for The Dice Man for the noughties, look somewhere else. Kihn’s nastiness doesn’t stretch beyond not walking his neighbour’s dog, returning a CD without the receipt and thinking about sleeping with his boss.
That said, it’s an easy read: good for a train journey, and it’s enough to give a gentle shove to those of you (us?) who put up with bad food in a restaurant or get passed over for promotion without kicking up a fuss. Assertiveness awareness training in 250 pages.
Recruitment consultants: a lot of you won’t need this book(!)
