Like a mosaic, my book is composed of bits and pieces of memories dating back to the end of World War II. Its goal is to show what a balanced life looks like. From running my own neighborhood gang of "Little Rascals" to turning a journalism degree and a $500 investment into a family owned, multi-million dollar oil and gas producing company, my life has felt like a balancing act on a roller coaster. In this book, written as a septuagenarian sesquipedalian, I look back on my efforts to balance my family life as a husband, father and grandfather with my love of basketball, business, and writing.
Whether writing about his experiments in youthful, James Dean-inspired rebellion (“At the time I had no idea of what I was rebelling against”), lessons learned playing basketball or the specifics of his industry (“no one blinked at 18 percent interest rates when loans were needed to drill deep gas wells”), Dutcher proves an appealing, incisive narrator. His story takes him from Bartlesville to military service to executive suites and lobbying and the booming 1980s, though it’s clear, even on a Concord flight or opening his own company, that he never forgets where he’s from.
“My enthusiasm for work easily tripled as I realized I was my own boss and responsible for making my business work,” Dutcher writes, one of many truths that he hits on telling his story. This memoir offers much clear-eyed business advice, especially in the later chapters, as Dutcher guides readers through the negotiation and closing of major deals. Just as urgent, though, in this telling: playing basketball well into his later years, relishing life as it comes, and, as he tells a coach, knowing that “it’s about knowing who you are.” He does. Readers fascinated by the lives of American businessmen will find much here that’s engaging and illuminating.
Takeaway: An inviting account of a life well lived, in business and basketball.
Great for fans of: Stephen A. Schwartzman’s What It Takes, Bryan Burrough’s The Big Rich.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A-
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Dutcher strikes a skillful balance between the personal and the professional in this engrossing memoir. chronicling the journey of his extraordinary life. Dutcher deftly captures the feeling of being an eternally youthful, driven person who has no desire to let age come his way. On the surface, this is a memoir that chronicles the author's seventy-eight years of life. Yet it goes more deeply into examination of life in general, familial relationships, death, and loss while celebrating courage, determination, perserverance, drive, and positive attitude. A must read.
Bill Dutcher's engaging, inspiring memoir How Did I Do That? is a great example of a life lived to the fullest. The book is impressively intricate and thorough and contains notable historical information and a detailed account of the author's activities in school, business and games. Readers are carried along through a balanced mix of hilarious and exciting exploits, profound words of advice, and serious, thought-provoking issues. I applaud the author and his beautifully told story as it is one any reader who enjoys educative, entertaining, and elaborate memoirs would greatly appreciate. I, for one, do.
Candid, gripping, original, and occasionally funny ...
Fluidly written and brilliantly conceived, the book is as much a celebration of hard work, determination, strong will, and resilience as it is a poignant exploration of family, friendship, loss, grief, pain and mortality. Dutcher's prose is crisp, narrative flows smoothly, and his storytelling is entertaining. What is most impressive about Dutcher's journey is the way he faced the lows of his life, including financial setbacks, health scares, and loss of his loved ones. The book allows the reader to bear the courage and resilence of a man who knows how to live life to the fullest. A stunner.
