Other articles by Richard Pachter:

Saturday Reader : 'Rethink' could benefit from rethinking by author Saturday Reader: Hard look at corporations sets out ways to rein in excessesSaturday Reader: How to forge business links in evolving social media Saturday Reader : 3 new books indicative of the times Saturday Reader: Some good advice on takin' care of businessSaturday Reader: Ways to genuinely connect with your customersSaturday Reader: 'Whuffie Factor' shows how social networking is good for businessSaturday Reader: Success will be measured by our ability to learn from the pastSaturday Reader: Guides to career building all stress online tools, relationshipsNo shortage of new books focusing on where we go from here

Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor

If Jorge Perez were not a successful Miami-based developer, I'd probably never open this book.

No knock on him, but most tomes professing "this is how I did it; this is how you can do it" are boring and loaded with self-righteous pontification, glad-handing, name-dropping and other effluvia.

Though reading Perez's book was initially a bit of a rough slog, I hung in there and survived. Actually, it wasn't that bad. (And it's probably worth mentioning that this is a review of the book, and not of the author, his reputation or accomplishments.)

Perez describes himself as a salesman, and he's likely a terrific talker, so the text seems as if it were dictated, then transcribed and edited. That's good and bad. Most of Perez's verbal idiosyncrasies and repetitions were probably excised, though several may remain, as the editing is a little loose. Regardless, once one adjusts to its rhythm, it's a breezy read.

As the book stands, it's hard to see a consistent thread or narrative spine, other than Perez's positive tone. Indeed, the author's enthusiasm for his profession and his role in it is palpable, and he obviously delights in offering an expansive review of his projects and the wisdom he gleaned from them.

I enjoyed reading about efforts to develop properties in areas that conventional wisdom had determined as being unworthy, like Miami's Little Havana, or unlikely, like that city's Brickell neighborhood. But I didn't see anything that was terribly revelatory or newsworthy.

Regarding the title: As a "blueprint," it's a bit like the prep for a rhinoceros stew recipe: "First, catch a rhino." Uh, right.

Though it may be possible, as Perez declares, for almost anyone to achieve what he has, in reality few can and fewer do.

As a set of principles, the text may ramble a bit, but the author is very consistent in his admonitions and exhortations for conducting business in an honest, ethical and upright manner.

He also advocates such smart things as striving to create a perception of value, establishing personal connections with vendors and business partners by leaving some money on the table, and preparing meticulously before making any offer.

For real-estate investors and professionals who track Perez's projects, this book will prove worthy of attention, and perhaps even inspire some annotation. But for those of us whose holdings consist of their family residences — in partnership with a bank — it may prove somewhat less riveting.