As a business owner with young employees, I find Ms. Trunk's blog and book has helped me to empathize with the increasingly different work-ethic and attitudes of the people with whom I work and employ. The writing is very personal, which serves to animate and breathe life into what could otherwise be a drab subject. Although I don't always agree with the writer's advice, I do appreciate it as thought-provoking (riles me up sometimes!) and illuminating of the many points-of-view of the modern workforce.

The review below should be banished because it isn't a review of the book, it's a review of the reviews. It is totally unfair to give one star to a book you haven't read. Penelope Trunk's book has gotten great reviews because it's a great book, and she has great fans. You can go to her web site (penelopetrunk dot com)and read more reviews from newspapers, magazines, and others. You don't have to limit your decisions to what the Amazon reviewers say.
I have been reading Penelope's column for years, and am buying the book for everyone I know. I love her open writing style and her funny stories. I am not a corporate person but I have always been able to find wise words from her to apply to my own work and home life. You don't have to agree with everything she says to appreciate her, either. Look at her blog (blog dot penelopetrunk dot com) and you'll see that she welcomes discussion and even disagreement. It's all a big learning experience, and we get to go along for the ride. Open your mind!

After seeing Penelope Trunk's advice column on yahoo.com and finding out she has written a book, I came on Amazon.com to see some reviews about the book and was shocked to find out that the book was really that good (5 stars from everyone).

Looking further, I soon came to realize that 17 out of the 19 reviewers ONLY signed up with amazon.com to give a review on Mrs. Trunk book. They have not read anything else in the pass 30 years and had nothing to say on any other book BUT Mrs. Trunk. No wishlist, no other reviews but after reading the Brazen Careerist, the need compelled them so much that they had to turn on their computer, sign up with amazon.com, select a password and write a review FOR this book ONLY! C'mon the bible doesn't have 5 stars. Am I to believe that Mrs. Trunk's book is better than the bible?

I decided to remove this book out of my shopping cart until I get some REAL reviews and I suggest you do the same.

This is the career advice book I've been looking for ... written for my generation ... loaded with "unconventional" advice ... and relayed through Penelope's unique and sharp writing voice!

It was refreshing to hear what I've felt for a long time echoed in print ... that my generation values time versus the almighty dollar ... and that that is a worthy (and reasonable) aspiration.

I also found Chapter 5 on entrepreneurship to be essentially relevant and appropriate for what I'm going through right now with my career.

Rock on!

My favorite thing about this book is how funny it is. Oh yeah, and it gives a lot of inspiring career/life advice, too, none of which I would have ever bother to read had the writing style been less than incredibly amusing. Despite the fact that I usually hate listening to advice, I've been drawn to and even obsessed with Penelope Trunk's razor sharp and witty blog for a while now, and it's an amazing resource. But the book is great because it shapes all that information into a wonderful, digestable handbook. I've been a stuck Gen-Xer for a few too many years now, but this book has given validity to a lot of my experience and is helping me to have faith in my ideas about ways to move forward in both my work and personal life. I recommend it without any reservations to everyone--from people like me who have career stagnation, to successful happy people who might appreciate a very amusing take on the contemporary work scene. Excellent reading!!