Being Dead is Bad for Business: A Memoir

by Stanley A. Weiss

Overview

"Rumbustious, warm and disarmingly candid … This is an astonishing life, recounted with humor and wit."
—The Wall Street Journal

Most of us spend our lives talking ourselves out of things. But what could you accomplish if you never held yourself back?

What if, despite your fears, you went for broke every time? You might live a life as extraordinary as the one Stanley Weiss has lived for nearly a century.

A skinny Jewish kid from Philadelphia training to fight and likely die in the U.S. invasion of Japan in 1945, Stanley Weiss came home to the death of his loving but weak father, who left his mother penniless. Inspired by a Humphrey Bogart movie, Weiss moved to a foreign country to hunt for treasure—where Rule Number One was ”Don’t Die.” Along the way, his zest for living has taken him from the company of legendary artists and poets in Mexico, to writers and beatniks in 1960s San Francisco and Hollywood; from drunken nights with a notorious spy to friendships with three of the men who played James Bond; from glamorous parties in Gstaad and Phuket to power politics in London and Washington, DC. For those who believe the world is shaped by ordinary people who push themselves to do extraordinary things, Stanley Weiss’s story will inspire and surprise while reminding us all that being dead is bad for business—and being boring is bad for life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633310124
Publisher:	Disruption Books
Publication date:	02/01/2017
Edition description:	None
Pages:	496
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Stanley A. Weiss was the Founding Chairman of Business Executives for National Security and former chairman of the mining, refractories, chemicals and mineral processing company, American Premier, Inc. He has written widely on public policy matters. His work has appeared in HuffPost, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Washington Times. His first book, Manganese: The Other Uses, is the definitive work on the non-metallurgical uses of manganese. He passed away in 2021.

Table of Contents

Preface: The Atomic Bomb Saved My Life ix

Introduction: A Sunny Town for Shady People 1

1 The Argument 11

2 Lessons from Queen Street 19

3 The Chance 29

4 Enlisted 35

5 Learning the Advantages of Partnership 49

6 First Love 55

7 Imagine Sisyphus Happy 65

8 The Spy Who Taught Me 73

9 Catching the Bug in Mexico 82

10 Getting Screwed, Getting Serious 85

11 Manganeso Mexicano 93

12 Montaña de Manganeso 100

13 Frank Senkowsky 108

14 The Angel of Independence 115

15 Falling in Love with the Poppers 123

16 The Mysteries of Marriage 133

17 Hans and My Grinding Mill 142

18 Hans and Gretl 150

19 New Partners, New Opportunities 159

20 Ah, San Francisco 172

21 At Odds 189

22 Destroyed 201

23 Ramparts 209

24 Chicago's Fierce Dogs 222

25 Everything Changes 229

26 The Pentagon Papers and Project Harvest Moon 234

27 Moving to London 238

28 Adrift 244

29 Wild and Crazy in New Hollywood 255

30 My Gstaad 265

31 Gaining Traction 277

32 Turning Fifty 285

33 The Citizens Party 290

34 Seeing What Wasn't There 309

35 Being Dead Is Bad for Business 315

36 Finding My Voice 323

37 Counselor 330

38 There's Something About Charley 338

39 Coming of Age 351

40 Crossing a Ravine on a Rope 361

41 Growing Our Footprint Across the World 372

42 Looking in the Mirror 389

43 Bleeding on the Keyboard 404

44 Finding Gold After All 419

Epilogue: Seventy Years to a Better Vocabulary 428

Acknowledgments 434

About the Author 436

Editorial Reviews

"Rumbustious, warm and disarmingly candid … This is an astonishing life, recounted with humor and wit."
—The Wall Street Journal

"Well written with great storytelling, the book is funny, poignant, and almost breathlessly candid about Weiss's own shortcomings. A rich, compelling read about a self-made man."
—Lesley Stahl, correspondent for 60 Minutes and bestselling author of Becoming Grandma


"A great read about a great life! Stanley Weiss's reflections are sonderfully introspective, refreshingly candid, remarkably self-effacing, and hugely fascinating."
—General David Petraeus, former Director of the CIA and the commander of coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan

"Just like the film characters he reveres, Stanley Weiss brings us a story of charm, courage, and adventure—and he tells it all with his trademark wit and insight. It is a masterful book."
—Lord Carrington, Foreign Secretary to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the last living member of Winston Churchill's cabinet


"Weiss recounts his life with vigor and possesses the easy narrative skills of a seasoned raconteur. The depth and width of his experiences over the course of the last half-century ensures that the book glitters with anecdotal diamonds."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Wow. After reading his memoir, I now see that I previously knew less than 5 percent of Stanley Weiss. He is a multifaceted, peripatetic, well-read, energetic, broadly connected, multi-movied bon vivant and more. Awesome."
—Josh S. Weston, former CEO and Honorary Chairman of Automatic Data Processing Inc.

"Being Dead Is Bad for Business is an engrossing read. It offers a clear-eyed, engaging look at one serial entrepreneur's journey from a driven, starry-eyed youth to an international business executive and philanthropist."
—Foreword Clarion Reviews

From the Publisher

"Wonderfully introspective, refreshingly candid, remarkably self-effacing, and hugely fascinating."
—General David Petraeus, former Commander of the surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIA

General David Petraeus

"Rumbustious, warm and disarmingly candid … This is an astonishing life, recounted with humor and wit."
—The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal

Not surprisingly, very touching, quite moving, and true. . . . it’s very good.

longtime columnist for The Spectator and publisher Taki Theodoracopulos

Just like the film characters he reveres, Stanley Weiss brings us a story of charm, courage, and adventure—and he tells it all with his trademark wit and insight. It is a masterful book.

foreign secretary to Prime Minister Margaret Thatc Lord Carrington

After reading his memoir, I now see that I previously knew less than 5 percent of Stanley Weiss. He is a multi-faceted, peripatetic, well-read, energetic, broadly connected, multi-movied bon vivant and more. Awesome.

honorary chairman of ADP Josh S. Weston

A great read about a great life! Stanley Weiss’s reflections are wonderfully introspective, refreshingly candid, remarkably self-effacing, and hugely fascinating—as well as repeatedly informed by his ultimate insight, that dying is bad for business.

former director of the CIA and commander of coalit General (Ret) David Petraeus

Stanley Weiss’s memoir is three books in one: It’s a businessman’s story of striking it rich (literally, since he was a treasure hunter); a history of the second half of the twentieth century; and an MRI of the author’s character development. Well written with great storytelling, the book is funny, poignant, and almost breathlessly candid about Weiss’s own shortcomings. A rich, compelling read about a self-made man.

correspondent for 60 Minutes and bestselling autho Lesley Stahl

Being Dead Is Bad for Business is an engrossing read. It offers a clear-eyed, engaging look at one serial entrepreneur’s journey from a driven, starry-eyed youth to an international business executive and philanthropist.

Foreword Clarion Reviews