Sign-In
Cart
Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America
Hardcover
MarketingPoverty & Social WorkTrue Crime
Publisher Price: $30.00
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN10: 0593443926
ISBN13: 9780593443927
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Published: May 6 2025
Pages: 368
Weight: 1.20
Height: 1.30 Width: 6.30 Depth: 9.30
Language: English
ISBN13: 9780593443927
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Published: May 6 2025
Pages: 368
Weight: 1.20
Height: 1.30 Width: 6.30 Depth: 9.30
Language: English
A gripping (The Washington Post) work of history and reportage that unveils the stranger-than-fiction world of multilevel marketing: a massive money-making scam and radical political conspiracy that has remade American society. Reads like a thriller . . . masterfully illuminates the tricks and sleights of hand that in multilevel marketing are simply the rules of doing business.--The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: THE WASHINGTON POST, NPR, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Companies like Amway, Mary Kay, and Herbalife advertise the world's greatest opportunity: the chance to be your own boss via an enigmatic business model called multilevel marketing, or MLM. They offer a world of pink Cadillacs, white-columned mansions, tropical vacations, and--most precious of all--financial freedom. If, that is, you're willing to shell out for expensive products and recruit everyone you know to buy them, and if they recruit everyone they know, too, thus creating the multiple levels of MLM. Overwhelming evidence suggests that most people lose money in multilevel marketing, and that many MLM companies are pyramid schemes. Yet the industry's origins, tied to right-wing ideologues like Ronald Reagan, have escaped public scrutiny. MLM has slithered in the wake of every economic crisis of the last century, from the Depression to the pandemic, ensnaring laid-off workers, stay-at-home moms, and teachers--anyone who has been left behind by rising inequality. In Little Bosses Everywhere, journalist Bridget Read tells the gripping story of multilevel marketing in full for the first time, winding from sunny postwar California, where a failed salesman started a vitamin business, through the devoutly religious suburbs of Michigan, where the industry built its political influence, to stadium-size conventions where today's top sellers preach to die-hard recruits. MLM has enriched powerful people, like the DeVos and Van Andel families, Warren Buffett, and President Donald Trump, all while eroding public institutions and the social safety net, then profiting from the chaos. Along the way, Read delves into the stories of those devastated by the majority-female industry: a veteran in Florida searching for healing; a young mom in Texas struggling to feed her children; a waitress scraping by in Brooklyn. A wild trip down an endless rabbit hole of greed and exploitation, Little Bosses Everywhere exposes multilevel marketing as American capitalism's stealthiest PR campaign, a cunning grift that has shaped nearly everything about how we live, and whose ultimate target is democracy itself.
Also in
Marketing
Dummies Guide to Starting Your Own Business: Essential Steps to Launching and Scaling a Successful Small Business Venture
Press, Essywrites
Paperback
$15.59
Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering
Gladwell, Malcolm
Paperback
From $12.99
Stupider People Have Done It: Marketing Truths, Career Moves, and Life Advice for Doers
Schwedelson, Jay
Hardcover
$24.70
Brought to You by: How Corporations Warped the Truth, Conned the Public, and Broke Democracy
Westervelt, Amy
Hardcover
$28.50
Predictable Revenue: Turn Your Business Into a Sales Machine with the $100 Million Best Practices of Salesforce.com
Ross, Aaron
Tyler, Marylou
Hardcover
$28.45
Ofertas de $100M: Cómo presentar ofertas tan buenas que la gente sienta que es estúpida si dice que no
Hormozi, Alex
Hardcover
$35.99
$100m Lost Chapters: Lost Treasures from $100M Offers, $100M Leads, and $100M Money Models
Hormozi, Alex
Hardcover
$35.99
Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers
Moore, Geoffrey A.
Paperback
$27.54
The AI Edge: Sales Strategies for Unleashing the Power of AI to Save Time, Sell More, and Crush the Competition
Blount, Jeb
Iannarino, Anthony
Hardcover
$28.50
Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life
Sutherland, Rory
Paperback
$18.99
Inside the Tornado: Strategies for Developing, Leveraging, and Surviving Hypergrowth Markets
Moore, Geoffrey A.
Paperback
$17.09
Odds Are It's Marketing: A Practical Guide to Spotting Trends, Building Strategy, and Driving Growth
Ling, Shanise
Paperback
$16.10
Prospectos de $100M: Cómo conseguir que los desconocidos quieran comprar lo que vendes
Hormozi, Alex
Paperback
$29.94
Clean Winners: Sustainability Strategy That Puts Customers First
Dalsace, Frederic
Challagalla, Goutam
Hardcover
$33.25
The Million-Dollar Financial Services Practice: A Proven System for Becoming a Top Producer
Mullen Jr, David J.
Paperback
$19.99
Cold Calling Sucks (And That's Why It Works): A Step-by-Step Guide to Calling Strangers in Sales
Farrokh, Armand
Cegelski, Nick
Paperback
$18.99
Predictable Revenue: Turn Your Business Into a Sales Machine with the $100 Million Best Practices of Salesforce.com
Ross, Aaron
Tyler, Marylou
Paperback
$17.05
El año de 12 semanas: Logra en 12 semanas lo que otros hacen en 12 meses
Lennington, Michael
Moran, Brian P.
Paperback
$17.95
Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering
Gladwell, Malcolm
Hardcover
From $12.99
Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive
Martin, Steve J.
Goldstein, Noah J.
Cialdini, Robert
Paperback
$18.99
The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, and Stand Out from the Crowd
Dib, Allan
Paperback
$18.95
2024 Ultimate Guide To E-commerce Growth: 7 Unexpected KPIs To Scale An E-commerce Shop To $10 Million Plus
Hammersley, Mark
Hammersley, Ian
Paperback
$34.20
How Brands Grow 2 Revised Edition: Including Emerging Markets, Services, Durables, B2B and Luxury Brands
Romaniuk, Jenni
Sharp, Bryon
Hardcover
$46.33
The Leader's Brain, Updated and Expanded: Unlock Peak Performance in Work and Life with Neuroscience
Platt, Michael
Paperback
$20.89
Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy it, Love it
Dunford, April
Paperback
$22.44
What Would Tequila Do?: The Playbook For Thriving Despite Corporate Bullshit. 52 Shots. No Filler.
Campher, Henk
Paperback
$18.99
Satisfaction: How Every Great Company Listens to the Voice of the Customer
Denove, Chris
Power, James
Paperback
$27.00
Sales Truth: Debunk the Myths. Apply Powerful Principles. Win More New Sales.
Weinberg, Mike
Paperback
$19.99
Get Clients Now! (Tm): A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants, and Coaches
Hayden, C.
Paperback
$22.99
Designing Brand Identity: A Comprehensive Guide to the World of Brands and Branding
Meyerson, Rob
Wheeler, Alina
Hardcover
$51.25
How to Write a Marketing Plan: Define Your Strategy, Plan Effectively and Reach Your Marketing Goals
Westwood, John
Paperback
$16.14
The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service Into a World-Class Brand
Ries, Laura
Ries, Al
Paperback
$18.99
Be a Sequoia, Not a Bonsai: The Seven Growth Secrets of the World's Most Successful Companies
Darveau-Garneau, Nicolas
Hardcover
$28.49
The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance That Awaits New Ideas
Nordgren, Loran
Schonthal, David
Hardcover
$27.55
Trust Is the Strategy: Building Your Law Firm's Brand With Integrity
Hargroder, Megan
Amarir, Molly
Paperback
$17.09
The AI Marketing Canvas, Second Edition: A Five-Step AI Plan for Marketers
Venkatesan, Rajkumar
Lecinski, Jim
Paperback
$26.60
Day Trading Attention: How to Actually Build Brand and Sales in the New Social Media World
Vaynerchuk, Gary
Hardcover
$38.00
Marketing 7.0: A Guide for Thinking Marketers in the Age of AI
Kartajaya, Hermawan
Setiawan, Iwan
Kotler, Philip
Hardcover
$28.50
Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping--Updated and Revised for the Internet, the Global Consumer, and Beyond
Underhill, Paco
Paperback
$19.94
The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your Brand
Walter, Ekaterina
Gioglio, Jessica
Paperback
$50.00
Haciendo que el Primer Círculo Funcione: La base para la duplicación en el mercadeo en red
Gage, Randy
Paperback
$15.00
High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results
Hunter Csp, Mark
Paperback
$19.99
One Million Followers, Updated Edition: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days
Kane, Brendan
Hardcover
$28.45
Sales EQ: How Ultra High Performers Leverage Sales-Specific Emotional Intelligence to Close the Complex Deal
Blount, Jeb
Hardcover
$28.50
The Best Attorney Never Wins: Why Great Lawyers Go Broke and Average Ones Build Empires
Perone, Angelo
Hardcover
$27.54
#1 Bestseller: How You Can Become A Bestselling Author In Only 30 Minutes A Day
Allen, Robert G.
Watson, Aaron
Merryman, Lyndsey
Paperback
$49.99
Blue Ocean Strategy, Enhanced Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant
Kim, W. Chan
Mauborgne, Renée
Hardcover
$30.40
$100M Offers Summary and Workbook: How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No
Hormozi, Alex
Hardcover
$35.99
Takeaways: Ideas, Strategies and Encouragement for the Nonprofit Public Relations Professional
Whitt, Marc C.
Hardcover
$33.24
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Marketing, Updated and Expanded (Featuring Marketing Myopia by Theodore Levitt)
Review, Harvard Business
Levitt, Theodore
Reichheld, Fred
Paperback
$25.60
When in Doubt, Make Applesauce! Core Habits of the Masterful Public Relations Professional
Whitt, Marc C.
Hardcover
$33.24
Stories That Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business
Hall, Kindra
Hardcover
$28.49
Storybrand 2.0 Edición Actualizada: Clarifica Tu Mensaje Y Los Clientes Escucharán
Miller, Donald
Paperback
$16.14
Smart Pricing: How Google, Priceline, and Leading Businesses Use Pricing Innovation for Profitabilit
Zhang, Z.
Raju, Jagmohan
Paperback
$42.74
The Multiply Method: Simple Systems for Building a Solid, Sustainable Network Marketing Team
Robbins, Sarah
Hardcover
$24.70
Get Found: The No-Fluff Guide to Ranking Higher and Becoming Your Customers' First Choice
Diamante, Matt
Paperback
$25.00
Cashvertising: How to Use More Than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone
Whitman, Drew Eric
Paperback
$17.05
The Luxury Strategy: Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands
Kapferer, Jean-Noël
Bastien, Vincent
Hardcover
$68.63
Focus: How to Plan Strategy and Improve Execution to Achieve Growth
Sridhar, Shrihari
Mittal, Vikas
Hardcover
$42.74
Obvious Adams (Special Edition): The Story of a Successful Businessman
Updegraff, Robert Rawls
Paperback
$10.74
Agent-Powered Growth: Deploy AI Agents That Build Your Marketing Pipeline 24/7
Sjouwerman, Stu
Hardcover
$28.50
No B.S. Guide to Making Them Believe: How John R. Brinkley Used His 21 Lost Marketing Secrets to Build a Notorious Medical Empire and Make Millions
Kessler, Chip
Kennedy, Dan S.
Paperback
$23.74
The Experience Economy, with a New Preface by the Authors: Competing for Customer Time, Attention, and Money
Pine II, B. Joseph
Gilmore, James H.
Hardcover
$33.25
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Exposed and Explained by the World's Two
Ries, Al
Trout, Jack
Paperback
$20.89
It's Not About You: Winning New Business In A Crowded Agency World
Boehler, Robin
Boehler, Stephen
Paperback
$19.00
How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients
Fox, Jeffrey J.
Hardcover
$23.75
The Best Story Wins: How to Leverage Hollywood Storytelling in Business and Beyond
Luhn, Matthew
Paperback
$18.00
AI-Powered Content Marketing and SEO: Impact, Risks, and Strategies for Brands
Halasz, Jenny
Seda, Catherine
Paperback
$33.24
Pick Up the Phone and Sell: How Proactive Calls to Customers and Prospects Can Double Your Sales
Goldfayn, Alex
Hardcover
$25.65
Wholesale MBA: How to Sell Consumer Goods to Distributors, Retailers, and Consumers
Olson, Jorge S.
Piancone, Sandro
Paperback
$19.97
Design Research Mastery: How to Lead Research That Builds Buy-In and Great Products
Fortier, Sara
Paperback
$33.24
No B.S. Marketing to the Affluent: No Holds Barred, Take No Prisoners, Guide to Getting Really Rich
Kennedy, Dan S.
Fischer, Martin J.
Paperback
$23.74
Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator (Large Print Edition)
Holiday, Ryan
Paperback
$19.00
Duct Tape Marketing Revised and Updated: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide
Jantsch, John
Paperback
$18.99
Story Business: Why Stories Rule the World and How They Can Reinvent Your Business
McMahon, Gavin
Paperback
$23.75
Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy it, Love it
Dunford, April
Hardcover
$29.94
How to Write an Exceptional Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Winning Investors, Lenders, and Success
Cheeks, Ashley
Paperback
$19.99
The Growth Dilemma: Managing Your Brand When Different Customers Want Different Things
Wilson, Annie
Hamilton, Ryan
Hardcover
$30.40
Get Together: How to Build a Community with Your People
Richardson, Bailey
Huynh, Kevin
Sotto, Kai Elmer
Hardcover
$21.85
$100m Lost Chapters: Lost Treasures from $100M Offers, $100M Leads, and $100M Money Models
Hormozi, Alex
Paperback
$29.94
Marketing Made Simple: A Step-By-Step Storybrand Guide for Any Business
Miller, Donald
Peterson, J. J.
Paperback
$21.84
Valuable and Visible: Redefining Personal Branding by Leading with Impact Over Image
Errecarte, Vanessa
Hardcover
$28.50
Exceptional Experiences: Five Luxury Levers to Elevate Every Aspect of Your Business
James, Neen
Hardcover
$28.45
The Visible Expert Revolution: How to Turn Ordinary Experts into Thought Leaders, Rainmakers and Industry Superstars
Feldman, Karl
Frederiksen, Lee
Harr, Elizabeth
Paperback
$18.00
Build Your Beverage Empire - Third Edition: Start Your New Beverage Business
Olson, Jorge S.
Paperback
$18.99
Sponsor Magnet: How to Attract, Price, & Execute Your Dream Brand Partnerships
Moore, Justin
Paperback
$14.24
The Youtube Formula: How Anyone Can Unlock the Algorithm to Drive Views, Build an Audience, and Grow Revenue
Eves, Derral
Hardcover
$25.65
The Power of Broke: How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger for Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage
John, Daymond
Paisner, Daniel
Paperback
$18.05
$100M Leads Summary & Workbook: How to Get Strangers To Want To Buy Your Stuff
Hormozi, Alex
Paperback
$29.94
Objections: The Ultimate Guide for Mastering the Art and Science of Getting Past No
Blount, Jeb
Hardcover
$27.55
The Pricing Roadmap: How to Design B2B SaaS Pricing Models That Your Customers Will Love
Lehrskov-Schmidt, Ulrik
Paperback
$16.14
The Youtube Formula: How Anyone Can Unlock the Algorithm to Drive Views, Build an Audience, and Grow Revenue
Eves, Derral
Hardcover
$28.50