A very good book which gets only three stars because it glosses over MacFadden's career as a wrestler, and his days with wrestling's "Three Musketeers" of Missouri: John C. Meyer, George Baptiste, and himself. MacFadden did jump out of an airplane over the age of 80 though, which is pretty cool.

Incidentally, MacFadden inaccurately labels himself as america's "Father of Physical Culture," when that title actually went to William Muldoon, former graeco-roman champion wrestler, who died in 1933, and reigned as champion thru the 1880s.

If you're looking for a book about the life of Bernarr Macfadden, this one is my recommendation. It is extremely well-researched, comprehensive, and exceptionally well written. It is enjoyable to read. Ernst covers virtually all aspects of Macfadden's life from his birth to his death. Perhaps the author could be faulted because he did not focus on one area of his subject's multifaceted life, but I feel that as a biographer, the author gives just the right amount of attention to the various areas.

The book is written as a basic yet quite complete guide to all the different financing options available to a company. It is dated 1994 and is a little outdated, particularly in the sections describing venture capital and other types of start-up financing but the fundamentals are there.

As a professional working in corporate finance I found it very useful as a source of quick reference to some less common types of financing and as something I can recommend to my clients to prime them with some knowledge on a subject.

I think that owners and managers in existing companies with $1 million in revenue or more will find the book most useful. It will give them some idea about their options and a body of issues to consider when choosing a financing type or discussing the issue with an advisor.

If you are looking for a guide to start-up financing this book will give you some information but you can definitely find more comprehensive and up-to-date titles.

Finally, I personally expected that E&Y will add their own research to the general topics. However, the book offers little unique information - yet it does it in a well organized and written fashion.