From the book shelf...... "Cleaning Up"

One of my other favorite hobbies is reading. I don't spend nearly enough time doing it but that is my fault. I could spend less time in front of the television which I have done and less time pounding on the keyboard which I haven't. Be that as it may, I try to manage at least one book a month and so far this year I am doing fine by that standard. My next goal will be one book a week but I haven't figured out how to get around that “work thing” in order to make that happen. From time to time I plan to write about what I'm currently reading here on the blog.

I recently read a book called “CLEANING UP” sub titled “One Man's Redemptive Journey Through The Seductive World Of Corporate Crime” by Barry Minkow. The book describes a young man who became a con artist at the tender age of sixteen years old after starting his own company. By the time he was twenty he had taken his company public and was a millionaire. At age twenty one, he was facing twenty-five years in prison and having to pay back twenty-six million dollars in restitution to his victims.

I found this book through an interview on talk radio and the author sounded interesting enough that I ordered it from Amazon as soon as I got home. Let me tell you that I was not disappointed. Some of this book reads like a fiction thriller making it all the more interesting knowing that it is a true story. Barry Minkow literally went from being in a prison cell one day to living quarters at Quantico Virginia FBI training center the next. There he helped train FBI agents to spot investment fraud scams and other financial skulduggery.

In addition to being the pastor of a church he is the co-founder of the Fraud Discovery Institute which has uncovered over a billion dollars worth of investment scams. He has also saved individuals millions of dollars by steering them away from putting their money in what would have amounted to a black hole never to be seen again.

Barry is a talented writer and gives you his complete story including some of the lowest points in his life. His personal life still took many down turns even after he found himself a great success at helping other people. He is a witness to how faith in God can bring people thorough extremely hard times and low points in their lives. This is an inspiring book that I heartily recommend. I'm sure you can find it at the Oakmont Library.

Cleaning Up by Barry Minkow ISBN 1-59555-004-6