Rich Dad's Conspiracy of the Rich

Starred review from December 21, 2009
Like many other business books on the market, Kiyosaki's latest explains the origins of the economic crisis and how best to weather the storm and restore financial standing. But its clarity, hands-on approach, and practical tips make it far superior and user-friendly than its competitors. By offering bonus PDF charts and graphs, Kiyosaki allows listeners to go one step beyond the average audio book. Mallow gives a solid reading that conveys the material in an accessible, user-friendly manner stripped of theatrics to highlight the sound advice. Mallow's tone—serious but accessible, informative and never preachy—yields a sober and sincere performance that does the material justice. A Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, Sept. 21).

August 31, 2009
In the latest installment of Kiyosaki's Rich Dad series, he opts for an innovative approach with largely diminished returns: struggling with a way to inform average citizens on the current economic crisis, and how to rise above it, Kiyosaki decided to write a book in online installments, seeking the questions and comments of his readers (which are peppered throughout this print version). Though an undeniably effective technique for help readers identify with the material, more professional input would have produced a volume buoyed by more of Kiosaki's lucid explanation, and less bogged down with repetition, poor pacing and a rigid view of government policies. Regurgitating dogma from previous books without fleshing them out, it seems Kiyosaki is less interested in creating a new volume than in teasing his old volumes. Kiyosaki's fans will doubtless buy this and may enjoy it, but readers new to the Rich Dad series will feel obligated to buy his other books for a proper understanding-something of a "conspiracy of the rich" in itself.