You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
I'm really interested in MLMs in general so I was hyped to get this book. It's definitely got all you need to know about MLMs and more. I ordered this and was ready to read it cover to cover in a few days and give it a glowing review. Unfortunately, I think it's more of a 3.5 for poor editing, meandering prose, and disorienting organization. But I'll give my guy a break for being The Man on anti-MLM truth-telling and activism and probably not having the money or time for better editing
I'm going to note the most compelling sections here because if you're interested in MLMs too, you're gonna want to read this book. If you're only kind of interested or not sure what an MLM really is, please listen to The Dream(!!!) https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-dream and this bonus episode of Michael and Us where Luke Savage interviews the author of Ponzinomics himself https://pca.st/episode/e4719e99-23ad-489d-b212-0cb507d14e60
I would recommend that Lularoe show as well but I saw the first episode and wasn't feeling inspired to push onward due to the reality TV heavily cut up and narrativized docuseries style (like, if I see any more stock footage of suburban white children playing in the front lawn in a documentary I'm going to scream. Don't have five cuts throughout a single person's statement. Do something different.)
Definitely read:
pg. 54-62 on the game-changing sales tactics used to sell cemetery plots esp. at Forest Lawn, relates to the sales background of two of the MLM founding fathers and is really interesting anyway
pg. 68 helpful graph showing the "double a penny for 30 days" trick and relates to the absurdity of the MLM down-line "you just need five recruits! surely you know five people who would like to make some extra money?"
pg. 78-86 background on ponzi schemes, banking, Madoff, the Canada pigeon scheme
pg. 104-115 definition of an MLM
pg. 129-138 1979 FTC decision that Amway's rules make it non-deceptive (they're just selling hope!) and a legitimate business model.
pg. 169-175 lying with statistics and how a common bogus stat is cited all over credible and popular news media, tacitly legitimizing the business model
pg. 224-256 shows just how deep the MLM money runs in politicians pocket. Earlier content illuminates the direct complicity of Reagan and Amway and other Republicans, but come on, are you surprised? You probably could have already guessed that they're all running in the same sick circles and throwing money at each other. But don't think that the Dems are here to save you! They're fully complicit as well. I really said "WOW" aloud at the Kamala Harris bit
pg. 283-292 cultism and MLM
I'm going to note the most compelling sections here because if you're interested in MLMs too, you're gonna want to read this book. If you're only kind of interested or not sure what an MLM really is, please listen to The Dream(!!!) https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-dream and this bonus episode of Michael and Us where Luke Savage interviews the author of Ponzinomics himself https://pca.st/episode/e4719e99-23ad-489d-b212-0cb507d14e60
I would recommend that Lularoe show as well but I saw the first episode and wasn't feeling inspired to push onward due to the reality TV heavily cut up and narrativized docuseries style (like, if I see any more stock footage of suburban white children playing in the front lawn in a documentary I'm going to scream. Don't have five cuts throughout a single person's statement. Do something different.)
Definitely read:
pg. 54-62 on the game-changing sales tactics used to sell cemetery plots esp. at Forest Lawn, relates to the sales background of two of the MLM founding fathers and is really interesting anyway
pg. 68 helpful graph showing the "double a penny for 30 days" trick and relates to the absurdity of the MLM down-line "you just need five recruits! surely you know five people who would like to make some extra money?"
pg. 78-86 background on ponzi schemes, banking, Madoff, the Canada pigeon scheme
pg. 104-115 definition of an MLM
pg. 129-138 1979 FTC decision that Amway's rules make it non-deceptive (they're just selling hope!) and a legitimate business model.
pg. 169-175 lying with statistics and how a common bogus stat is cited all over credible and popular news media, tacitly legitimizing the business model
pg. 224-256 shows just how deep the MLM money runs in politicians pocket. Earlier content illuminates the direct complicity of Reagan and Amway and other Republicans, but come on, are you surprised? You probably could have already guessed that they're all running in the same sick circles and throwing money at each other. But don't think that the Dems are here to save you! They're fully complicit as well. I really said "WOW" aloud at the Kamala Harris bit
pg. 283-292 cultism and MLM
This is the #1 book I would recommend to those looking for resources in this realm.
I started keeping up with r/anti-MLM probably around 2016-17. Seeing how awareness has taken off about them in the time since is great! I've reviewed a couple other books about this in some capacity as well as an MLM themed domestic thriller that I absolutely loved.
I think there's still much more coverage of this issue in video/documentary and podcast formats, and the depth of the work in all these varies.
Most recently, I reviewed the book Hey, Hun from a former MLM participant. While that was interesting as an inside look at the scam, a lot of it was more memoir/personal drama and I wouldn't it consider it an important resource like I would this book.
Ponzinomics. It doesn't have the sleek cover design (no offense to whoever picked it, but it could really stand replacing the odd 16th century art. I have no idea what it is supposed to depict.) or an ounce of the marketing push that Hey Hun enjoyed. Frankly, it is kind of riddled with typos and makes a few small errors like mixing up who was in which recent election cycle.
But it seems to have nailed what matters here.
I was pulled in by the bizarre story of Carl Rehnborg and Nutrilite. I really, really want a dark comedy biopic about this guy. I would buy tickets to that in a heartbeat.
I'm also intrigued, since numerous other works I've read in this arena peg the earliest MLMs as being usually Avon or some soap company I can't recall the name of right now. I'm sure slightly different distinctions were used, but I've never heard this insane tale before in all the many hours of listening, watching, and reading about pyramid schemes.
I was kept in by the appalling corruption and pyramid scheme protections I learned about not just from Republicans, but most Democrats as well. Most of us know about that scum Betsy and her stolen fortune she got from Amway, but I did NOT know about the revolving door administrators appointed during the Obama administration. It's still clear which party is all about these scams (spoiler, it is republicans) but it was infuriating and disheartening to learn how deep the payoffs go on both sides of the aisle.
I'm also glad to see that the author took time to cover the cult aspect of MLMs. Granted, it's usually touched on whenever these are covered; it's hard to leave on the table if you're trying to write or produce an interesting piece. But, more seriously, it's probably the most terrifying thing about them.
A side note, I appreciate that the author included a lot of seemingly random or obscure texts that spoke to him in some way about this. Is the novel Elmer Gantry by Upton Sinclair probably a crucial reference for a book about pyramid schemes? No. But, I'd never heard about it, I do think it's relevant, and I just checked out the audiobook from my local library. These small personal influences can do a lot to remind you a real person with a real life was the one typing up what you're reading, and it can lead to the most interesting new discoveries for the reader.
I started keeping up with r/anti-MLM probably around 2016-17. Seeing how awareness has taken off about them in the time since is great! I've reviewed a couple other books about this in some capacity as well as an MLM themed domestic thriller that I absolutely loved.
I think there's still much more coverage of this issue in video/documentary and podcast formats, and the depth of the work in all these varies.
Most recently, I reviewed the book Hey, Hun from a former MLM participant. While that was interesting as an inside look at the scam, a lot of it was more memoir/personal drama and I wouldn't it consider it an important resource like I would this book.
Ponzinomics. It doesn't have the sleek cover design (no offense to whoever picked it, but it could really stand replacing the odd 16th century art. I have no idea what it is supposed to depict.) or an ounce of the marketing push that Hey Hun enjoyed. Frankly, it is kind of riddled with typos and makes a few small errors like mixing up who was in which recent election cycle.
But it seems to have nailed what matters here.
I was pulled in by the bizarre story of Carl Rehnborg and Nutrilite. I really, really want a dark comedy biopic about this guy. I would buy tickets to that in a heartbeat.
I'm also intrigued, since numerous other works I've read in this arena peg the earliest MLMs as being usually Avon or some soap company I can't recall the name of right now. I'm sure slightly different distinctions were used, but I've never heard this insane tale before in all the many hours of listening, watching, and reading about pyramid schemes.
I was kept in by the appalling corruption and pyramid scheme protections I learned about not just from Republicans, but most Democrats as well. Most of us know about that scum Betsy and her stolen fortune she got from Amway, but I did NOT know about the revolving door administrators appointed during the Obama administration. It's still clear which party is all about these scams (spoiler, it is republicans) but it was infuriating and disheartening to learn how deep the payoffs go on both sides of the aisle.
I'm also glad to see that the author took time to cover the cult aspect of MLMs. Granted, it's usually touched on whenever these are covered; it's hard to leave on the table if you're trying to write or produce an interesting piece. But, more seriously, it's probably the most terrifying thing about them.
A side note, I appreciate that the author included a lot of seemingly random or obscure texts that spoke to him in some way about this. Is the novel Elmer Gantry by Upton Sinclair probably a crucial reference for a book about pyramid schemes? No. But, I'd never heard about it, I do think it's relevant, and I just checked out the audiobook from my local library. These small personal influences can do a lot to remind you a real person with a real life was the one typing up what you're reading, and it can lead to the most interesting new discoveries for the reader.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5 rounded up. I would not recommend this book as an introductory text; if you're looking for an introduction to the hazards of multilevel marketing schemes, start with the segment on Last Week Tonight or the first season of The Dream podcast. I would also not recommend reading this straight through. This book was dry as dust and needed an editor to save FitzPatrick from his tangents. I am actively interested in the subject and I found this book dry. Even though it's very clear that FitzPatrick is an expert on the financial implications of multilevel marketing schemes running rampant, it's as equally clear that he doesn't necessarily understand the communication skills required to alert the public to the scammy nature of multilevel marketing schemes (he takes a couple seemingly uncalled for shots at journalists as a class, which comes off very badly because I heard about his work FROM JOURNALISM). tldr: at least 200 level, not casual reading
informative
medium-paced
Very informative, but jumps around a lot between setting up a timeline of events and anecdotes. While I learned a lot, I think it would've been easier to follow if the book wasn't constantly switching between the 80s and the 50s/60s, and also if the full story of the connection between Nutrilite and Amway was finished. The book has a bad habit of assuming that the reader already has a lot of background information, taking a kind of "as you know" tone on the rise of Herbalife, which makes it hard to recommend to people who are not already familiar with how deeply rooted these scams are in American culture. While it works as a great reference point for how MLMs are tied to American politics and have always been pyramid schemes, I think it needed a few more rounds of editing to finish the picture it was painting.
This was an excellent history of MLM and really emphasizes how inherently insidious it is. I did not know the history of the first MLM-disguised-pyramid-schemes or how deeply ingrained resistance to cracking down on it is in our political system. What I disliked about this book was it was poorly organized. It talked in circles and rambled a lot. The whole beginning of Nutrilite and eventual emergence of Amway is never fully explained. We get a lot of history of Rehnborg and a repeated statement that Nutrilite sales recruiters eventually spun off the concept to Amway but the actual history of how that happened is never provided. Overall Ponzinomics is super informative but probably could have benefited from a few more rounds of editing.