Shortly before midday on June 1, 1933, a crisp and pleasant Thursday in Washington, a crowd began to gather around the timeworn steps of a narrow, stone-faced building near the intersection of E Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Soon, an auctioneer’s bell began clanging, and hundreds of restless spectators bumped elbows as they jostled for better vantage points.
In the Gospel of Getting Ahead, the shortest distance between two points (the bottom and the top) isn’t always a straight line. And if you pursue the labyrinthine path to success, it helps to have the ear of somebody who’s been there before — or, better yet, a guiding hand on your shoulder to breathe a little self-confidence into your soul and to warn you of possible wrong turns