KRASS, Peter 1965(?)-

PERSONAL: Born c. 1965; married Diana Mas; children: Pierson, Alex, Julia. Education: Attended Lafayette College, 1987, and Seton Hall University.

ADDRESSES: Home—Hanover, NH. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 111 River St., 5th Fl., Hoboken, NJ 07030. E-mail—peter@petekrass.com.

CAREER: Journalist and editor. Marketing manager for Dun & Bradstreet; script consultant for British Broadcasting Corporation; managing editor for "Best American Essays" series of books; lecturer.

WRITINGS:

Carnegie, Wiley (New York, NY), 2002.

Blood and Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel, an American Legend, Wiley (Hoboken, NJ), 2004.

Contributor of articles to numerous publications, including Investor's Business Daily and Across the Board.

EDITOR

The Book of Business Wisdom: Classic Writings by the Legends of Commerce and Industry, Wiley (New York, NY), 1997.

The Book of Leadership Wisdom: Classic Writings by Legendary Business Leaders, Wiley (New York, NY), 1998.

The Book of Investing Wisdom: Classic Writings by Great Stock-Pickers and Legends of Wall Street, Wiley (New York, NY), 1999.

Entrepreneurs' Wisdom, Wiley (New York, NY), 1999.

The Conference Board Challenge to Business: Industry Leaders Speak Their Minds, introduction by Richard E. Cavanagh, Wiley (New York, NY), 2000.

The Book of Management Wisdom: Classic Writings by Legendary Managers, Wiley (New York, NY), 2000.

The Little Book of Business Wisdom: Rules of Success from More than 50 Business Legends, Wiley (New York, NY), 2001.

ADAPTATIONS: The Book of Investing Wisdom has been made into an audiotape by Wiley Audio, 2000.

SIDELIGHTS: Trained in business, Peter Krass has gone on to edit a popular series of books compiling the wisdom of business leaders and to write several biographies, including books on steel baron Andrew Carnegie and whiskey distiller Jack Daniel. In his series of business books, Krass brings together business philosophies and concrete strategies as expounded by successful entrepreneurs and business leaders over the years. For example, in The Book of Investing Wisdom: Classic Writings by Great Stock-Pickers and Legends of Wall Street, Krass presents the thoughts of forty-six extremely successful investors, including Bernard Baruch and Warren Buffett. The book includes introductions to each selection and background on the investors. A Canadian Manager contributor noted that the book offers "readers a unique insight into how these professionals achieved financial success through intelligent investing."

Krass culls out the best business thoughts from fifty business legends for The Book of Business Wisdom: Classic Writings by the Legends of Commerce and Industry. With writings from Benjamin Franklin to Thomas Alva Edison to Sam Walton, Krass "includes incisive and revealing pieces," noted Luke Johnson in Management Today. Johnson went on to comment that, "all in all, The Book of Business Wisdom is a classic collection of brilliant business minds putting their tips on paper, and a must for all who have bold dreams of becoming successful and making money." In a review of The Book of Leadership Wisdom: Classic Writings by Legendary Business Leaders, USA Today reviewer Bruce Rosenstein called the writings of Walt Disney chairman and CEO Michael Eisner and ice cream entrepreneurs Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield as two especially "noteworthy selections."

The Book of Management Wisdom: Classic Writings by Legendary Managers includes fifty-three essays discussing such management topics as structure, meetings, and hiring and firing. Noting that the book "reads like a who's who of management gurus from the last two centuries," Computer Weekly contributor Paul Donovan wrote that Krass "provides an accessible round up of management thought." Krass is also the editor of The Conference Board Challenge to Business: Industry Leaders Speak Their Minds, which gathers advice on business issues from industry giants, investment gurus, and leading business executives.

Carnegie, Krass's first biography, delves into the life of Andrew Carnegie, who made a fortune in the Pittsburgh steel industry and later became a philanthropist who gave away approximately 350 million dollars, including funding for the creation of 2,811 libraries. Relying on various sources, including letters, diaries, and other writings by people who knew the Scottish immigrant, Krass details Carnegie's rise from the slums and delves into the important role Carnegie's philanthropic efforts played in his life and thought. Writing in American Libraries, Cathleen Bourdon pointed out that "Krass examines the whole man, warts and all."

Blood and Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel, an American Legend is Krass's biography of the famous whiskey distiller who founded one of the most successful whiskey manufacturing operations in the United States. Krass first provides readers with a look at the Daniel family lineage, which extends from Scotland and Ireland to Tennessee. He then chronicles the life of Jasper "Jack" Newton Daniel, who became interested in distilling alcohol after he was orphaned at age fifteen during the U.S. Civil War and discovered a whiskey still run by his new guardian. Daniel learned all he could about the process and eventually struck out on his own, battling tough competitors, prohibition crusaders, and corrupt government officials to establish the famous whiskey distilling company that produces one of the most recognized brands of whiskey in the world. In the process of telling Daniel's story, Krass also delves into the rampant political corruption of the day, the rise of the Klu Klux Klan, and life in small rural southern towns. Choice contributor S.D. Johnson called the book "a fascinating and entertaining glimpse of Lynchburg, Tennessee, and the colorful and folksy rural South." Writing in Publishers Weekly, a reviewer commented that Klass "often gets bogged down in historical minutiae." However, the reviewer went on to note, "witnessing the maturation of his [Daniels'] namesake company—not to mention the maturation of the U.S. as it confronts slavery, the Civil War and the temperance movement—is engrossing."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Libraries, December, 2002, Cathleen Bourdon, review of Carnegie, p. 72.

Booklist, November 1, 2000, Brad Hooper, review of The Little Book of Business Wisdom: Rules of Success from More than 50 Business Legends, p. 506.

Brandweek, November 15, 2004, Jim Edwards, "Proof of Jack Daniel's Tale Lost in the Haze of History: Writer Disputes Year of Founding, Gold Medal, and No. 7 Lineage," p. 15.

Canadian Manager, winter, 1999, review of The Book of Investing Wisdom: Classic Writings by Great Stock-Pickers and Legends of Wall Street, p. 30.

Choice, November, 2004, S.D. Johnson, review of Blood and Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel, an American Legend p. 504.

Computer Weekly, June 22, 2000, Paul Donovan, review of The Book of Management Wisdom, p. 79.

Economist, July 17, 1999, review of The Book of Investing Wisdom, p. 4.

Houston Business Journal, September 22, 2000, review of The Conference Board Challenge to Business: Industry Leaders Speak Their Minds, p. A25.

Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, October 27, 2002, Bob Trimble, review of Carnegie, p. 1.

Library Journal, March 15, 2003, Susan C. Awe, review of Carnegie, p. 62.

Management Today, October, 1999, Luke Johnson, review of The Book of Business Wisdom, p. 99.

Publishers Weekly, April 12, 2004, review of Blood and Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel, an American Legend p. 55.

Strategic Finance, December, 2000, Michael Castelluccio, review of The Little Book of Business Wisdom, p. 71.

USA Today, March 8, 1999, review of The Book of Leadership Wisdom, p. B10.

ONLINE

Lafayette College Web site, http://www.lafayette.edu/ (November 26, 2002), "Peter Krass '87 Featured on C-Span's 'Booknotes,' Speaking on Biography of Andrew Carnegie."

Peter Krass Home Page, http://www.peterkrass.com (December 15, 2004).