Ben Carpenter began his career as a Commercial Lending Officer at the Bankers Trust Company. Two years later he joined Bankers Trust’s Primary Dealer selling U.S. Treasury bonds. After a brief stop at Morgan Stanley, Ben joined Greenwich Capital which, during his 22 year career there, became one of the most respected and profitable firms on Wall Street. At Greenwich Capital Ben was a salesman, trader, sales manager, Co-Chief Operating Officer, and Co- CEO. Currently Ben is the Vice Chairman of CRT Capital Group, a 300 person institutional broker-dealer located in Stamford, CT. His book “The Bigs: The Secrets Nobody Tells Students and Young Professionals About How to Find a Great Job, Do a Great Job, Be a Leader, Start a Business, Stay Out of Trouble, and Live A Happy Life” is an invaluable guide for all college students, young professionals, and anyone seeking the hard-earned wisdom of a man who has won and lost many battles while winning the war of personal fulfillment.

“The Bigs” begins with a Preface by the author where he explains how this book came about. One day he received an email from his daughter Avery, who had just gotten a job, asking him if it was okay to send an email to her new boss asking if she could start “a week from Monday.” After the panic subsided, he responded with a list of items Avery should consider following at her new job, and afterwards, his friend suggested that he write a book on the topic. After a series of health scares, he seriously gave it more thought because he felt his daughters “could benefit from my experience, knowledge and mistakes even if I wasn’t there to tell them.” The final project turned out to be a combination of a memoir, a how-to book, and a collection of stories he lived through, all meant to dispense advice. It is divided into two parts: Part One, “How to Survive, Thrive, and Have Fun in the Big Leagues,” – teaches readers how to think about the kinds of issues that they will encounter in the real world; and Part Two, “How to Choose, Get, and Do a Great Job” – teaches readers specifically how to accomplish these critically important tasks. Ben Carpenter uses the baseball analogy to get his points across. In baseball, “the bigs” is slang for the big leagues. When you become responsible for yourself, and you are being paid to do a job, you are in “the big leagues.”

For the most part, life consists of lessons learned along the way that help pave the road to happiness and success. These lessons are as varied as humans are, and it is always advantageous to read about other people’s experiences in the hopes of learning something new. Such is the case in “The Bigs,” an American story of one man’s journey through his life and career. He recounts the people he met, the experiences he had, the mistakes he made, and what he learned along the way. Readers will encounter a colorful cast of real-life characters which include Big Hank, Hoops, Sweater Girl, The Zombies, Mr. Nuts, The Cheese, Deep Throat, and The RAT. Their tales stories are followed by a “lessons learned” section. The only downside is that it has too many sports analogies and that might be a turn off for readers who are not into sports. Since the language is easy to understand, it is suitable for all ages, but mostly for young people just starting out on life. One chapter that stands out because it has general advice for any age, is Chapter 5: Living a Happy Life. It contains stories and advice such as: The Secret- happiness is in your hands, Creating a Happy Life– you must create your own happiness but it takes maturity, self-awareness, hard work, and intelligence, and Money and Happiness- be happy with what you have. For example, on The Rude Waiter: he stresses that he is unwilling to ever allow poor service to spoil his dinner. He may not return, but he will not allow a rude waiter or bad service ruin his evening. While the real world can be fun, it is sometimes an uphill battle, and any type of advice should be embraced. “The Bigs” is full of practical advice, amusing stories, and lessons that anyone can use in their daily lives. It is recommended for readers who are sports fans and open to a different perspective on life.

“Most young entrepreneurs make the mistake of asking themselves ‘What product or service do I want to sell?’ More often, the better question is, ‘What product or service do I want to buy that I can’t easily find?’

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.