Review by CharmedReader -- Burn Zones by Jorge P. Newbery

[CharmedReader]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Burn Zones" by Jorge P. Newbery.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Burn Zones: Playing Life’s Bad Hands is an autobiographical account by Jorge P. Newberry in which he reflects on risks he took to build his business in real estate investment and examines the successes and failures of certain projects. In Mr. Newberry’s view, his greatest failure was his investment in an apartment complex called “Woodland Meadows”. The failure affected Mr. Newberry so much so that this book focuses on the events that preceded the investment, occurred during his acquisition of Woodland Meadows, and followed his loss of the property. This includes a look at his entrepreneurial and customer service experience from when he began delivering papers at the age of 7, as well as the reactionary decisions he made based on certain weather-related events affecting the condition of Woodland Meadows, and the will it took for him to start a new successful venture after surviving the devastating loss of Woodland Meadows.

Mr. Newberry, a cyclist who competed in the 1988 Olympic Trials, defines “burn zones” as “the relatively short periods of extraordinary effort that separates winners and losers". Although he was referring to “burn zones” in cycling when making this statement, he shows that the risks he took and the decisions he implemented, both personally and professionally, could be considered “burn zones” as well. Burn Zones: Playing Life’s Bad Hands, then, is a fitting title for this book.

Since Mr. Newberry provides a candid analysis of his successfulness and failures, I believe anyone wanting to learn from his experiences as an entrepreneur would benefit most from reading this book. Present and future entrepreneurs, customer service representatives, and community leaders could be among this group of potential readers. Other readers, such as those who wish to be more socially aware of the world around them, may appreciate Mr. Newberry’s account of the Sunset Riots and his time with Occupy Cincinnati. It’s a study in how police in Los Angeles and Cincinnati have handled similar situations with different results, one more peaceful than the other. That being said, anyone not wanting to learn from experiences such as these may not appreciate the book as much.

I liked how examples of Mr. Newberry’s entrepreneurial spirit were given throughout the book such as when he bartered for his ice cream tricycle and when he used his ingenuity to provide a stage for bands to use, both at a young age. I also appreciated his attention to customer service both as a child delivering papers or running an ice cream tricycle and as an adult striving to build community spirit through his involvement with the TEACH program, (The Enrichment Association of Community Healing which was founded by John Gregory), at Woodland Meadows. It was also pleasing to read how he honors his family, especially since they have been supporting him through all his endeavors. Reading his personal account of the Sunset Riots, however, was disheartening since it appears the police started them when they should have been the ones to keep the peace.

I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars because while it is a good and relevant story, one that has been written well enough to understand, there were grammatical and formatting errors. The grammatical and formatting errors found were enough to hinder the flow of the story.

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Burn Zones
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