Use What You've Got

October 6, 2003
It's hard not to share in Corcoran's delight as the New York City real estate giant tells her uplifting—and particularly American—success story. A product of Small Town, USA, Corcoran brings not only her smarts, but all those years of watching Mom manage a family of 10 kids, when she moves to the big city. Although young Corcoran suffers some set backs—after the stock market crash of 1987, she was forced to sell her home and move into an illegal walk-up with "the biggest cockroach in New York City"—the former D student manages to build her own empire, the Corcoran group, and find her prince as well. Corcoran reads at a leisurely pace, relishing every detail of each reminiscence. Her narrative cuts back and forth between her progress in the Big Apple and her memories of Mom and the kitchen. The intimacy of her telling will have listeners holding their breath through the scary parts and celebrating along with Corcoran as she overcomes each difficulty. Occasionally, the wealth of details and Corcoran's play-acting of the various characters grows tedious, but on the whole, her reading is as generous as her advice. Based on the Portfolio hardcover (Forecasts, Dec. 2, 2002).

December 2, 2002
A well-known figure in the world of New York real estate as founder of the Corcoran Group, Corcoran has fashioned a funny handbook for professional sales savvy—targeted at women—that works. Equal parts business primer, Oprah-spirited coming-of-age memoir and sneaky PR brochure for herself, the book, which proceeds chronologically along the life of Corcoran's real estate agency, from its birth to its sale, is organized around 25 life lessons (e.g., "If you don't have big breasts, put ribbons on your pigtails"; "You've got to bully a bully"; "Never be ashamed of who you are"). She explains these snappily worded lessons by drawing on various crises from her company's history and bits from her childhood. Corcoran grew up with her parents and nine brothers and sisters on one floor of a house in Edgewater, N.J., and had a vision all along ("When I started my business," she writes, "I saw myself as the 'Queen of New York Real Estate' "). She opened the first Corcoran Group office in 1978, and ever since then has perfected the art of marketing herself, hiring the right people and motivating her staff; the organization now brings in over $2 billion in annual revenue. With the noticeably skilled help of career technical writer Littlefield, Corcoran has produced a likable and worthwhile book, an honorable contribution with heart. (Feb. 10)Forecast:Corcoran is a big name in New York real estate, and with her recognizable face on the cover and
Financial Times advertising, the book could sell strongly in Gotham.