Taco Titan The Glen Bell Story

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Taco Titan The Glen Bell Story

Manufacturer: The Summit Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1929496109

Average customer rating:

Needs more business information but the only account we have

A great role model!

A tribute to tenacity

More than a business book

Well written and a great read

Taco Titan: The Glen Bell Story
Debra Lee Baldwin
Manufacturer: Bookworld Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Business | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Hospitality, Travel & Tourism | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Motivational | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Production & Operations | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Customer Reviews:

Needs more business information but the only account we have.......2006-12-21

Glen Bell was a man trying to make his way in the fast food industry and was having no luck until he decided to abandon the hamburger route and start making Taco's. The start of Taco Bell is riddled with California fast food lore and makes for a very interesting read. It is hard to find the birth of Mexican fast food in other books and this really is the best account that we have. It is very well written although it could have used a little less focus on the charity at the end of the book and a little more on future prospects. Again though it is the best we have and well worth reading if you are interested in the fast food industry.

A great role model!.......2003-04-08

When I was developing my business plan for my brokerage firm, I looked up various autobigraphies of others in the financial industry to get inside their head. One day I stumbled across this book. I was not convinced by the cover to read it, but I grabbed it anyway. Boy was I NOT disappointed!

From reading Glen Bell's story I discovered a lot of trivia about the taco business, like Glen Bell's invention of the taco ;)

But more importantly I took away five guiding points for my life and more importantly for my business.

1. Stay ultimately focused on your vision.
2. Keep expanding on your vision, as you grow so should it.
3. Don't be afraid to scream from the rooftops by promoting your business big.
4. Never let a little thing like money get in your way.
5. Those that can't see your vision, needn't be in your vision.

Great book for entrepreneurs who think they have it bad and can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, its there, Glen Bell proves it.

A tribute to tenacity.......2003-03-30

This was an inspiring read to me. Glen Bell like Wendy's founder Dave Thomas did not have an easy childhood. Both developed and appreciated the values of hard work at an early age and this book shows that nice guys do finish first. While it is a very light fast read unlike a book about someone like Dr. Linus Pauling. This book teaches one that if you have an idea you should pursue it relentlessly and deal with everyone fairly as Glen did. Glen Bell never started out to be the richest or most famous person in the fast food business but he made major contributions to the industy with his ideas and simple honest values. While I continue to eat at upscale mexican restaurants frequently I do confess to eating at Taco Bell on a weekly basis. Thank you Glen Bell!

More than a business book.......2003-01-06

This is much more than a book about a business. It's the story of a likeable man whose remarkable success parallels that of American capitalism during the 20th century.

The Bell behind Taco Bell is an outstanding role model. Like Horatio Alger's rags-to-riches novels, Glen Bell's life illustrates the virtues of honesty, diligence and perseverance.

This book has the potential to positively influence thousands of young people. It takes something they like and are familiar with, and shows why and how it all began. Taco Titan belongs in libraries across America, especially those frequented by high school and college students.

Unlike dry business books, Taco Titan puts the founder's life in the context of America's most challenging and prosperous century. We follow Bell from the Depression, through World War II, and his remarkable entrepreneurial achievements with Taco Bell, to his creative response to an enviable dilemma: What should a newly made multimillionaire do with all that money?

Taco Titan details every step Bell took, from initial concept to national franchising. We experience his decision making process, step-by-step, including the cloak-and-dagger details of the sale of Taco Bell to PepsiCo.

Bell's "Recipes for Success" would make a good Hippocratic Oath for managers and entrepreneurs. They're a basic blueprint for ethical business practices.

Taco Titan is entertaining even if you don't care about fast food or starting a business. It illustrates how the principles that made America great can be put into practice. But beyond that, it's fun and easy to read. You follow Bell into a different place and time, one less complex and more innocent, and once there, you don't want to leave.

Well written and a great read.......2002-12-31

Who knew? The founder of Taco Bell grew up in poverty, rode the rails during the Great Depression, and had dreams of founding his own theme park (which he eventually did, in Southern California - Bell Gardens.)

Bell could have been a celebrity, but he's on the shy side. He never went to college, but ended up wealthy beyond his wildest dreams.

Bell's Recipes for Success are the reason he succeeded, and would work for anyone. (For example: "It's tempting to blame circumstances for your problems, but it's a waste of time. Instead, reach inside yourself. You'll come up with ways to cope and take pride in meeting the challenge.")

It's refreshing to read about a CEO who refused to compromise his ethics or step on people on his way up. Even Bell's competitors -- including founders of Del Taco and Wienerschnitzel -- recommend this book.

Bell's biography details the founding of Taco Bell and the chain's early days, but it is NOT primarily a business book. If you want the nuts and bolts of building a fast-food business, read "Behind the Golden Arches" about McDonalds.

What "Taco Titan" IS, is a great read. It's the story of an ordinary guy who, against all odds, did extraordinary things. You're right there with Bell, back in the 1940s and '50s, watching him sweat his way through one seemingly insurmountable challenge right after another.

Memorable characters add depth and interest to Bell's story: The the first franchisee, who quit the LAPD because his store took off. Bell's first wife, who insisted Mexican food was a waste of time. An early partner who happened to be Bing Crosby's son. Even Mac and Dick McDonald make a cameo appearance.

But the best character is Bell himself, the former hobo who, after he sold Taco Bell, bought an antique railway (complete with several steam engines) and turned it into a family fun park.

Bell's biography is encouraging, inspiring and entertaining. It gives a fascinating behind-the-scenes tour of a little known slice of American culinary history.

And although "Taco Titan" is not a how-to book, it's a must-read for anyone starting out in business, because it's about what REALLY counts: a CEO's character, ethics and never-quit attitude.

Customer Reviews:

honest, interesting but uninspiring.......2000-07-06

If you're looking for the biography of a great man, a hero, this isn't it. But one of the good things that has come from a culture where anyone can publish a book is that you're almost certain to be able to hear both sides of any story. Barkley has been pilloried by the media for his antics; it is interesting as a fan of sport to read Barkley's account of events and his role in them.

Other than those details, the book's contents are not going to surprise you unless you're unaware of how poor black people grow up in the rural South. The requisite funny anecdotes are there, along with a pro's insights into the game of basketball. But if you're looking for a biography that will inspire you, look elsewhere.

Book Description

The dramatic and eloquent story of America's only blacklisted film. Director Herbert Biberman and his colleagues Michael Wilson and Paul Jarrico struggled for a dozen years to get their film shown in the U.S. Biberman's account of the making of Salt of the Earth and the lengthy battle to get the film seen was first published in 1965. The film is now regarded as an American classic--one of the first films to be added to the National Film Registry. This new edition, with an introduction by James Monaco, will be of interest not only to filmgoers but also to feminists, union organizers, and those interested in Latino issues because of its unique subject matter.

Book Description

A cult classic and a work of remarkable scholarship restored to print.

Ricky Jay is one of the world's great sleight-of-hand artists. He is also a most unusual and talented scholar, specializing in the bizarre, exotic, and fantastic side of the human species. The youngest magician to have appeared on television, Jay has become well known for his astonishing stage show as well as for his cameos in such movies as Glengarry Glen Ross and, most recently, Boogie Nights.

Jay's unparalleled collection of books, posters, photographs, programs, broadsides, and, most important, data about unjustifiably forgotten entertainers all over the world made this unique book possible. An investigation into the inspired world of sideshows, circuses, and singularly talented performers, Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women is history of the most unusual--and irresistible--sort.

Customer Reviews:

Step right up folks;see it for yourself!.......2007-06-29

A delightful book covering some of the most unique and entertaining acts presented over the years in Side Shows,Circuses,Stages,and famous Rooms in Europe and America.Although I remember going to Carnivals,Side Shows and the Circus since I was a kid in the late 40's and after.I also remember many great Magic and Illusion Shows over the years ,brought right into our home via Television.I always had a preference for the side act,oddities,daredevils,illusionists,etc., over the animal acts.Yes,I can still see the Monkey Woman,the King and Queen of the Midgets at home in their Castle in Montreal. Then there was the World's Smallest Horse,The Alligator Boy ,whose body was covered in scales,the man without arms who drew portraits with chalk using his feet, A Flea Circus where real fleas did all kinds of things,even pulling a tiny carriage, and on and on.
What surprised me most about this book is that many,even most of the people and acts covered were new to me.I guess this sort of stuff was more popular in the 18th,19th and early 20th Centuries and more so in Europe than America.I really haven't seen much in recent years. I guess Political Correctness and activist groups have had a major impact on these acts and people. The media is forever doing a story about mistreatment of animals in the Circus etc. Maybe the diversions this kind of entertainment gave us did us more good than realized.I know as kids we waited with anticipation for the Circus to come to town and particularly the Side Shows that accompanied them. I can tell you one thing,there was no need to drug up the kids on Ridlin,then,like you see today.
For my money,I would far prefer to watch an act like La Roche climbing the spiral tower while inside a sphere;than any Olympic event.To me ,shaving one hundredth of a second off some record I've seen hundreds of times is pure boredom.It seems that the most excitement is created with announcers debating calls by referees ,judges or as a last resort;who has failed a steroid test or broke some rule.
So, if you ever saw a good Side Show, saw some great feat of magic or illusion;this book will give you some wonderful memories of how entertaining this all was.It is jam packed with photographs and wonderful illustrations ;both in color and B&W. You may have to make a bit of an effort to find this book.It is out of print, but thanks to finding books on the Net now,It is available at a wide range of prices and some even signed by the author.It is a "must have" for anyone who loved this form of entertainment that may become a thing of the past.All we can hope for is a revival.

Eyebrow-Raising, Awe-Inspiring History of Peculiar Performance. .......2007-02-26

"Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women" is a tour of peculiar performance through the ages by modern master and scholar of the magic arts Ricky Jay. Each of the book's 17 chapters is dedicated to a different type of performer that awed audiences with his or her unusual skill or expert illusion. These are not all practitioners of misdirection or deception. Many are people who possessed very real unusual mental or physical talents. And some were not even human. There are scholarly pigs and horses, slight-of-hand artists, hypnotists, faith healers, poison resistors, and mind readers. Also featured are painters who happened to be limb-less, a blind and dumb musical prodigy, daredevil divers, mnemonic sensations, sword swallowers, musical farters, a man who could grow 6 inches at will, and more.

The book does not attempt to be comprehensive on its subjects. Ricky Jay limits himself to "pioneers or refiners of peculiar performance". The truly extraordinary and inventive, not their many imitators. So many famous and impressive performers are not included. Ricky Jay's writing is precise, fluid, and conveys his admiration and awe at these human oddities and pioneering showmen. Jay's occasional references to his own experiences when they are relevant add interest. There are black-and-white reproductions of posters, playbills, and other illustration throughout. In the center of the book are 16 pages of full-color poster reproductions. "Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women" is an education in eccentric performance and the unusual, determined individuals who have created it. And it's great fun.

Ricky Jay is having a lot of freaky fun.......2003-02-08

In Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women, Ricky Jay takes on the history of oddball performers: men who claimed to cram their entire bodies into quart jars, armless ladies who could paint miniatures holding a brush between their teeth, gentlemen whose specialty was to enter large ovens accompanied by raw meat and exit (unharmed) with fully-cooked steaks, as well as mind readers of all sorts and species (human, pig, and horse).

Organized into chapters by skill by oddball skill, Jay is sometimes able to document such performers back into the 1700s by tracking newspaper reports, handbills, etc., many of which are reproduced in color plates and black-and-white photographs.

Ricky Jay occupies an engaging hole in intellectual space between enthusiast and academic. He is comprehensive in the extreme, but his writing style is anecdotal and he does not go for any elaborate sociological explanation of why such performers exist or what they `mean' to society. He just wants you to have fun, and perhaps to freak you out just a wee bit.

The book is also very nicely designed; its large wide pages lie flat and there are loads of remarkable illustrations. Definitely worth a look!

Ricky Jay, Master Magician, Master Writer.......2002-12-12

As a magician and card wielder Ricky Jay is fascinating to watch as well as listen to. As a writer Mr. Jay also brings his own fascination at the work of others to play and writes a truly well-written, very interesting and enlightening book about the arcane world of many sometimes downright odd entertainers.

Thorough in his presentation of details Mr. Jay's book is well-researched and his appreciation and awe for these unique people makes us quite enthralled as we read page after page about performers such as Le Petomaine, with his unusual ability to produce sounds of musical quality from a most unusual source on his body.

Ricky Jay, besides being fascinating to watch, is also fascinating to read.

A treasure.......2002-06-27

This wonderful book profiles some of the most unusual entertainers of all times: calculating pigs and acrobatic horses, stone eaters, poison resisters, daredevils, and mind readers. The contents of this meticulously researched and lovingly presented book often boggle the mind, inducing, at times, a wonderment that is nearly stupefying. Profusely illustrated with contemporary broadsides, lithographs, and photographs, the book is also enlivened by JayÕs seemingly inexhaustible knowledge of each performerÕs antecedents, biography, and critical reception. Engrossing from start to finish, but particularly notable for JayÕs account of the controversial career and bizarre death of mind reader Washington Irving Bishop, whose story beggars imagination. Also not to be missed is the final chapter on Joseph Pujol, whose career as Le Ptomane was based on his ability to create music and sound effects with the least reputable of bodily orifices. A treasure

Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women, Unique, Eccentri and Amazing Entertainers : Stone Eaters, Mind Readers, Poison Resisters, Daredevils, Singing Mice ....

Average customer rating:

Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women, Unique, Eccentri and Amazing Entertainers : Stone Eaters, Mind Readers, Poison Resisters, Daredevils, Singing Mice ....
Ricky Jay
Manufacturer: NY : Warner Books (1987)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KHWCM2

Average customer rating:

Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women
Ricky jay
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JJT9O0

Average customer rating:

Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women
Ricky Jay
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus & Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LQERWA

Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women: Unique, Eccentric and Amazing Entertainers

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Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women: Unique, Eccentric and Amazing Entertainers
Ricky Jay
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LCW67M

Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women: Unique, Eccentric and Amazing Entertainers: Stone Eaters, Mind Readers, Poison Resisters, Daredevils, Singing Mice, etc., etc, etc., etc.

Average customer rating:

Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women: Unique, Eccentric and Amazing Entertainers: Stone Eaters, Mind Readers, Poison Resisters, Daredevils, Singing Mice, etc., etc, etc., etc.
Ricky Jay
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBELPM

Average customer rating:

Average customer rating:

This book is really GOOD.

Stand On Your Head

Amazing Book!

A great find!

This book is a must

Think on Your Feet: The Art of Thinking and Speaking Under Pressure (Spectrum Book)
Kenneth Wydro
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Communications | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Speech | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books
Public Speaking | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books
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Improvise This! How to Think on Your Feet So You Don't Fall on Your Face

Thinking on Your Feet: How to Communicate Under Pressure

ASIN: 0139178074

Book Description

Quotes from the book Think On Your Feet

"We author our own books, whether we know it or not."

"Within us lie the causes for what happens to us."

"More important than what happens to you or around you is what happens IN you."

"The pain that exists in many people stems from the conflict between what they really are -- expressive, sensitive, gregarious individuals -- and what they have been taught to be by their experience."

"You attract to you the kind of experience that you are thinking about consciously or subconsciously."

"We come to expect too little of ourselves."

"Nonresistance is a loving attitude towards others which recognizes that everyone who comes across our path is there for a reason -- to teach us something about ourselves and our talents."

"Nonresistance means that you raise your consciousness one notch higher."

Communication is the exchange of information, feelings and spirit."

Words communicate information. Attitude conveys feelings."

"By harboring your own personal "enemies list" -- consciously or subconsciously -- you keep yourself out of the flow of the creative process."

Customer Reviews:

This book is really GOOD........2007-07-03

I normally do not take the time to review the books I read. But when I saw this book reprinted for sale, I felt obliged to inform peolpe who are searching to speak up in public, expressing themselves naturally and enjoying it in the process, to urge them to read this book.
At some point in my search to speak out well I found this book. I never since needed any book nor any class. I hope the same to you.
Benny HEINZE, physician and lawyer.

Stand On Your Head.......2006-03-17

In a Monty Python parody of a children's TV show the host explains that, "To play a flute, you blow in one end and run your fingers down the side." In essence, that actually is exactly how to play the flute. "Think On Your Feet" by Ken Wydro suffers a bit from this same tendency to oversimplify the complex and hope nobody notices.

That said, TOYF is a cut above most self-help books of its ilk which appear to have been written by unjustifiably overconfident shoe salesmen with a knack for bundling the obvious into bite-sized, easily-digested nuggets designed to appear more insightful than they actually are. TOYF is not immune, it too is replete with such twaddle, my favorite is his oft-repeated, "Around every circle, a larger circle may be drawn." Equally stupid, and much cuter, is, "Life is for giving, forgiving yourself and others." Balancing this torrent of hackneyed tripe is a fair amount of actual content, much of which is very good.

His last chapter, in particular, offers a nice primer on the elements of effective communication. Wydro is also right on target in thinking that the key to effective presenting lies not in visual aids, rehearsed ad-libs, or meticulously crafted scripts, but in command of the material, passion for message, and desire to reach and benefit one's audience. He affirms that the secret to being a great communicator lies within an individual's personality. All true. But this is where the big cheat comes in.

Wydro has assembled a handful of shortcuts like his "background thought" technique and "write your own book" tactic. Though not without merit, these are quick fixes. Wydro's reasoning is sound and his sources are good, his insights into character and personal growth are lifted directly from Freudian analysis and the mechanics of 12-step recovery programs. However, the kind of personality changes produced by both these sources require years of fearless dedication and hard work. Wydro, like other self-help shoe salesmen, would have you believe you can bypass this work with a few parlor tricks. Caveat emptor. If you take the easy way, you might get kicked in the head.

Amazing Book!.......2003-10-25

Ken Wydro's "Think On Your Feet" will not only transform your speaking and conversation skills, but it will transform the way you think. Many public speaking help books will fill your mind with mechanical tips that everyone, I assume, should already be aware of...i.e., "put inflection into your voice to emphasize your point..." Duh!

Wydro takes a much more top-down, holistic approach to speaking which emphasizes the attainment of an inner stillness (i.e. states of relaxation / self-confidence) as the REAL first step in successful speaking. He not only emphasizes this but gives practical, no-nonsense advice on turning this "inner stillness" into a reality. In this way, Wydro's book is AWESOME, and succeeds where other books fall short.

While many books in this genre will mechanicize your speaking thought process, and, sadly, turn you into an even more self-conscious speaker, Wydro's techniques teach much more: that is, to speak naturally, spontaneously, and freely...

A great find!.......2002-03-21

I first read this book years ago when I began speaking at a Toastmasters group. At first, it helped me with my impromptu speaking. Later, it helped me to begin making small improvements in my daily actions (the slight edge technique). I was very disappointed it was out of print at the time and I couldn't buy a copy for my own library. Recently, a fellow Toastmaster member found it...and bought a copy for me. I was so grateful -- this is a book to read again and again.

I recommend it to all my clients...Deceptively valuable.

This book is a must.......1999-08-05

I stumbled across this book by accident and found that it short cut my self-discovery journey as it helped me to come to terms with some of my feelings and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, helped me to do something practical about these feelings.

I am desperate to get hold of a copy as the one I had originally was a library copy...

Average customer rating:
THINK ON YOUR FEET The Art of Thinking and Speaking under Pressure
Kenneth Wydro
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJ0P5M

Average customer rating:
Think on your feet: The art of thinking and speaking under pressure (A Spectrum book)
Kenneth Wydro
Manufacturer: Prentice-Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIUL1Q

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