Learn seven key business traits of successful immigrants from an Irishman who travelled to the United States as a 19-year-old with less than a hundred dollars in his pocket. This is the goal of this book.

The author believes that there are seven key elements that successful immigrants have in common that can, of course, be applied by anybody to their business. However, he claims, you need to leave your comfort zone to apply them and it is exactly these that helped him become quite rich and successful in the process.

Will it work for you? Who knows… nothing can ever be guaranteed but will this book be necessarily the spark that lights your ‘blue touch paper’ and propel you onwards and upwards? It is a difficult call, as whilst the book gave some interesting opinions, it just did not feel to be as incendiary as it claimed. Fortunately, it is not expensive, so even if it is evolutionary rather than revolutionary maybe you have not lost out and benefitted from something in any case.

The chapters are short you can pick it up and put it down at will. It is written in a clear, easy-to-follow manner and is reasonably free of hyperbole which is appreciated. It is far from being a ‘handbook to success’ and you need to read it sequentially and pull out what you need from a mix of the author’s stories, views and links.

It has the potential to be a useful book, although it might be a case of look before you buy to see if you can get on with the style and if you have a real need for its intelligence.

The Emigrant Edge, written by Brian Buffini and published by Howard Books. ISBN 9781501169274. YYY