What readers think of In Pursuit of the Common Good, plus links to write your own review.

I have always like Paul Newman as an actor. I find I now like him better as a man. His unlikely catapult into the food market is told in this funny, heartwarming and captivating book. The real payoff is his donation of all profits to charity. I particularly found the letters from his "Hole in the Wall" campers poignant and heart-tugging. As a cancer survivor, it makes my day.

This book was a good read.

The story of the haphazard way that Newman and Hotchner got into the food business was interesting. It also shed some light on the pedestrian way that foods are manufactured in this country. (No wonder virtually every item on the shelf contains high-fructose corn syrup. Hey, it's cheap!)

But this is only half of the story. The real heart of the book is a discussion of the charities that are supported by the sales. There are heart wrenching stories of terminally ill children having the time of their lives at camp.

Sadly, the ideals shown by the book no longer seem to hold true.
There was an entire chapter about the fight to get real olive oil in the dressing, and the success they garnered when they stood firm. Well the other day I was in McDonalds and read the label on a Newman's own salad dressing, and guess what. The olive oil is gone, and now they use all of the cheap ingredients that the other folks use.

Well, it's still worth a read because it talks about the success of optimism and pigheadedness against industry standards and peer pressure. No matter how brief the success is.

-Rozzychan