Read All About It... "He begins the opening page with a description of the complete collapse of his real estate empire...and then it gets REALLY interesting! ... Should be required reading for anyone in the brokerage, financing, development or management of commercial real estate." That's Michael Kuras with Sperry Van Ness in Norcross, GA, writing about Zeckendorf, William Zeckendorf's autobiography.

And many more readers responded to the Dispatch Real Estate's (Short) Attention Span (Jun 29) with book suggestions. Daniel Mermel also recommends Zeckendorf and several other New York City real estate reads: High Rise by Jerry Adler, Maverick Real Estate Investing by Steve Bergsman, Skyscraper by Karl Sabbagh and Skyscraper Dreams by Tom Shachtman.

John Bibeau with Coldwell Banker Commercial's Inland Empire (Los Angeles) office recommends The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert Caro and Rivers in the Desert: William Mulholland & the Inventing of Los Angeles by Margaret Leslie Davis, which is "essential to anyone who wants to understand the development of Southern California."

Both Tom Rohde with NAI/Rohde, Ottmers & Siegel in San Antonio and Jim Collins, with Shorenstein in San Francisco recommend the classic book on negotiating, Winning Through Intimidation by Robert J. Ringer.

Steven Norris, an appraiser in Pasadena and Bob Potter both mentioned books with "invisible" in the title. Norris recommends What Clients Love and Selling the Invisible by marketing guru Harry Beckwith. My friend Potter recommends (full disclosure) his own book Winning in the Invisible Market: A Guide to Selling Professional Services in Turbulent Times.

--Peter Pike