The First Billion Is the Hardest (Abridged): Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future Audiobook

" Interesting read. Pickens has made a lot of money during his life. He also lost a lot betting on natural gas in the 80s and 90s. He will finish way up after incredible gains buying oil futures during the oil price run up. He has good ideas to make our country less reliant on Middle East oil. "

" This book was intriguing for about the first 4 chapters, and his energy plan does hold merit. However, the book quickly became a disorganized mess of events, almost a stream of consciousness from the Boone. (And at his age, that is not a good thing) He tells bizarre stories about how he exercises and how he hired his secretary which seems to have no place in the book, and adds no real substance. As he drones on about being the best in just about everything, the book becomes more and more disjointed. My final thought and I painfully made myself finish this mess was, "if this guy can become a billionaire, so can anyone..." Save your time and money. If this guy didn't have money, NO ONE would read this book. "

" Pickens is a great example of someone who was able to start over again many times in his life and in each case maintained the enthusiasm and vigor to succeed again. There are valuable lessons in the book about how important regular communication and coordination is (by 9am Pickens has coordinate 3 times with his team), and how useful sport is to keeping a person balanced and productive. "

" Interesting story of the life and experiences of T. Boone Pickens. The biggest strengths of the book come in the last few chapters in which he discusses recent large ventures in water and wind energy and lays out his plan for a dramatic change in U.S. Energy policy. Though his energy plan is self-serving in that it would shift dependence in the transportation sector from oil to natural gas, an energy source in which his companies are heavily invested, it would benefit the U.S. by shifting demand from foreign, hostile sources to domestic, friendly ones. He claims that the U.S. could divert $1 trillion currently being sent overseas annually to oil producing countries to domestic natural gas producers, which in turn could help revitalize the US economy. In addition, creating a wind energy corridor in the Plains states to supplant electricity production previously provided by natural gas could reinvigorate the economies of rural areas. "

" read five chapters and flip to the back and read the last two. you won't miss much and you'll cut out a lot of redundancy and highly confident self-promotional filler. good book, if you aren't put off by his hubris, but could benefit from a heavy handed editor. "

" A very good book. T Boone Pickens is an amazing person. Practical and unpretentious, I'm a big fan of a lot of his ideas. Just another example of an idea person who we should put in charge to solve some of our largest problems. "

" Think he either wrote this himself or should have paid more for a better ghost writer. Interesting story but not a masterpiece of writing. "

" Okay we get it - migrate to natural gas because you own a lot and oh yeah, T. Boone Pickens thinks he is the best investor ever. His humility aside it's a good read about the forces of power in the energy sourcing industry. "

" There are some interesting stories and laws to live by, but there more details about take overs than I really wanted to read about. Pickens is a smart man who isn't afraid of work or risk--1st step in amassing a fortune according to me. "

" Inspiring what a 70 year old can do. "

" Good read although self serving. Some insight into the Oil sector and Renewable energy. "

" a very quick and enlightening read, entertaining as well. no muss, no fuss. boone is a straight shooter. "

" I got interested in Boone Pickens when he was advertising his energy plan last year. This will never be a classic but it is interesting reading by a charismatic wheeler-dealer. "

" I really enjoyed this autobiography. I especially liked reading his energy plan for America. "

" Good quick read that focused a lot on the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil and why they should probably stop sending Trillions of dollars there each year where there are alternatives. "

" very good book. he tells his story without sounding arrogant and his ideas about energy and this country are right on the money. he should be in charge of our country's energy program. "

" Worth reading if you're interested in alternative oil, particularly the last chapter. We're making the rest of the world wealthy by purchasing foreign oil. He has alternatives, natural gas (of course he owns quite a bit), wind, nuclear etc. "

" Well, this book kind of sucks. I appreciate the guy for what he's done, but he babbles on about how great he is and how much money he's given away for far too long. Would have much preferred someone else's analysis of his life and fortunes. "

" Poorly organized, self-indulgent memoir. "

" Think he either wrote this himself or should have paid more for a better ghost writer. Interesting story but not a masterpiece of writing. "

" A very good book. T Boone Pickens is an amazing person. Practical and unpretentious, I'm a big fan of a lot of his ideas. Just another example of an idea person who we should put in charge to solve some of our largest problems. "

" Well, this book kind of sucks. I appreciate the guy for what he's done, but he babbles on about how great he is and how much money he's given away for far too long. Would have much preferred someone else's analysis of his life and fortunes. "

" I got interested in Boone Pickens when he was advertising his energy plan last year. This will never be a classic but it is interesting reading by a charismatic wheeler-dealer. "

" Parts of this read quickly and parts drug on a little...loved the Booneisms! "

" Not a huge fan of his philosophy on life. He's good at what he does, but I got the feeling that money is his first priority in life. I'm not sure I believe all the doom and gloom. "

" I really enjoyed this autobiography. I especially liked reading his energy plan for America. "

" Inspiring what a 70 year old can do. "

" very good book. he tells his story without sounding arrogant and his ideas about energy and this country are right on the money. he should be in charge of our country's energy program. "