Reginald F. Lewis

I finally read Reginald Lewis biography after I met his biographer a few weeks ago. As a black woman who did her undergraduate work at an HBCU, I am disappointed that his story and accomplishments were not part of the curriculum. Now for the review: the book is well-written, thoroughly researched, and balanced in the treatment of Mr. Lewis' favorable and unfavorable attributes. That is what I like to see in biography (which incidentally is my favorite genre) - a complete picture of a flawed yet remarkable person. Mr. Walker accomplishes that with this work. As far as the subject, Mr. Lewis, is concerned, there is so much to admire and respect. He had the courage to go after what he wanted. True courageousness, not just reflexes that arise in a crisis, but the deliberate audacity to want big things, to plan how to obtain them and then to execute on his plans. I also admire the way he understood that formal education is just the beginning. School taught him how to think and how to research, but most of the knowledge he used to build his empire was self taught. He knew where the answers were, accessed the information, learned how the game was being played on the highest levels and then courageously grabbed his piece of the pie. It is for this reason that his biography should be among the books that supplement the theory in college textbooks.… (mehr)