COMPLETE & UTTER FAILURE

by Neil Steinberg

A cheery exploration of the many fascinating facets of failure includes all kinds of disasters, from the National Spelling Bee with 8,999,999 failures to corporate debacles like Reddi-Bacon, plus a humorous look at the author's own disappointments.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Business, Humor

258 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1994

About the author

Neil Steinberg is a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, where he has been on staff since 1987.

Reviews

[Fred]

excursions into human folly measured lovingly against the author's own. this is some subversive shit.

[Wenzel Roessler]

Not a bad book, worth reading. There are times when the authors commentary on his life growing up feels a bit self-serving. Other times, like in conjunction with climbing Mount Everest, it works extremely well.

[Rick]

A fun read

[Betsy]

The writing was funny at first, but quickly turned too snarky for me. I almost stopped reading, but I'm glad I didn't. Very interesting examples of failures, and the whys of what happened.

[Eucryphia]

This book is so ^%$#^%$ awesome in so many ways, and it seems to be out of print these days, which is inescusable. Covering topics from failed products and foods (the anatomically correct Jesus doll/toaster eggs), to the Mallory Irvine Everest expedition (tragic/doomed), and ultimately and gloriously: The National Spelling Bee (horrendous/funny as all hell). Any of my friends who have not read this need to immediately rectify that situation. That means you. Now. Chop chop.

[Lenny Husen]

This is a great book and I wish it were still in print. I am increasing my earlier rating from 4 to 5 stars because this book had such an impact on me. And I just loved the author, as a person. Wherever he is, I hope he is happy.

[Tom Conwell]

I read this in 1995 and laughed out loud multiple times. I wrote a letter to Neil Steinberg telling him how much I liked the book, and because the return address was mangled in the mail, he looked me up in the phone book and CALLED ME! I'm a fan forever.

[Dan]

This was an amusing read about a history of people that attempted and failed at things. Sadly, it's been quite a while since I finished it and have since forgotten much about the book.

[Laura]

If you are looking for new and inventive ways to muck things up, here's a book to get the creative bozocity flowing.

[Deidre Le Maistre]

Got through it but not my style