I really enjoyed the podcast, and was very much looking forward to the book. It was an interesting history of several MLM companies, contrasted with stories of those who were taken in by the MLM. I, however, just wanted a little bit *more*--I'm a sucker for corporate hubris downfall stories, and this book just didn't quite give me that satisfaction. However I did purchase it for our library, as I can see how it can provide a very important perspective.

I've been a big fan of Jane Marie and "The Dream" podcast series for years now. This book is a distillation of her research into MLMs, and Marie does a expert job of making it very readable. It's a quick read and very clearly in the author's voice. Highly recommend!

ARC from publisher via NetGalley but the opinions are my own.

*3.5
Overall, Selling the Dream is a great introduction to the history of MLMs but not a lot of new information was reveled. If you're looking for a quick read or audiobook to put on in the background, this one works perfectly.

Really interesting look at the history and background of MLMs. I loved the writing and definitely look forward to more by this author.

I had the privilege of reading an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

"Selling the Dream" delves into the world of MLMs. As a victim of one of these so-called "dream companies," I yearned for a book that would aid in my healing after many years of brainwashing. I enjoyed the detailed exploration of some of the business model's frontrunners and appreciated getting the 'real tea' from this perspective. The book's inclusion of numerous statistics about the MLM market was enlightening, and surprisingly, the author made even these facts engaging and enjoyable to learn. The only reason I didn't award the book 5 stars (despite it being 5-star material) is personal - I longed to hear about my old MLM from this viewpoint, and its absence left me feeling somewhat deflated. However, please take this rating with a grain of salt! Jane Marie couldn't possibly include every MLM company, or she'd still be writing the book!

This book provides a captivating, easy-to-read, in-depth exploration of a world that has shattered many people's dreams while promoting a "Dream the Dream" message. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝙎𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 12, 2024.

It really pains me to give this a negative review/rating, as I have been a big fan of Jane Marie's podcast, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢, and was so excited to read this book. I am hoping that some of the issues with the writing will be corrected in the final published copy, as that was by far my biggest issue while reading this.

As I stated, I have been a listener of Jane Marie's podcast, and have been a fan of her anti-mlm content for a while. I would describe 𝙎𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 as a companion piece to season one of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 podcast, as they honestly really cover a lot of the same topics. To be frank, I found the podcast much more engaging than this book, especially with the author's undercover experience with the mlm, LimeLife, that really doesn't get mentioned at all in the latter. This book was a bit info-dumpy for me, juxtaposed with a lot of colloquialisms that often didn't really jive with the points the author was trying to make. I found the writing to be very choppy and unrefined, which was surprising and frustrating to me while reading. I think if you have been around the anti-mlm space for any amount of time, there really is not much new information to be found here. If you are interested in learning more about this topic, I would suggest trying out Jane Marie's podcast first.

Jane's podcast The Dream finally opened my eyes to the harm that MLMs do to the average American, and got me to say goodbye to MLM pitches forever. I was so excited to read her book and it did not disappoint. I will admit that the first half of the book felt like a recap of her podcast, but I am more than thrilled that this information is getting out there! Will absolutely be recommending this book, not just because of the content, but because of the witty writing style.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

“The MLM world is a bizarre land where incentives can range from the opportunity to buy your own ticket to a conference to earning a new rank based solely on products you’ve purchased that now sit in your garage.”


Selling the Dream: The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans.
By Jane Marie

Release Date: March 12, 2024

QUICK SUMMARY 🖊️
Selling The Dream gives you in depth research and reporting of the MLMs that built the pyramids today.

FINAL THOUGHTS 💭
This was fun and a great book to trigger of MLM friends. Although if you’re familiar with the podcast some of this information is already in there just not as in depth as the book went.

I really enjoyed learning the history of MLMs, you don’t really think of it but my generation has been surrounded by them our entire lives, even if you or your family have never bought into them you know the names.

I think this is a good starting point for people who want to learn more about MLMs and why they’re not good. This book lays the ground work.

This was a great book and companion to Jane Marie's podcast that dives into the history of MLMs. I am excited to see what she comes out with next. The reporting and the researching for this book was very well done and interesting to learn about.

I was excited to read this book since I LOVED Jane's work on The Dream podcast.

There is a lot of great information in here regarding MLMs including their history in the United States, why they suck people in, and why they still exist. Corruption, scam artists, and grifters are everywhere.

I think this book could have included more of the social aspects and more real life examples of modern MLM culture. There was quite a bit on Tupperware and Amway but we see businesses like Monat, Beachbody, Rodan and Fields, etc. more in our everyday life now.

All in all, this was a great book to learn more about the history of MLMs and why they are not going anywhere anytime soon - unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

I love to learn more about MLMs and how they get away with what they do. It's wild! I think what made this book different is how it went into the background and origin of many different MLMs. I never realized how similarly these popular ones all started. I'd definitely recommend people read this so they can avoid being manipulated into one of these schemes!

I was a big fan of the first season of Jane Marie's "The Dream" podcast, so I knew I had to read her book on the same subject! If you, like me, are fascinated by the pervasiveness of MLMs despite all evidence that they are scams, this book takes you through it all. I really appreciated the history of how we got here and the early days MLMs that shaped it into what we see today. For me, seeing how integrated it all is in our political system was both really interesting and also horrifying. There are a few stories from people who joined MLMs, however, it did not feel like the primary focus. Jane Marie's voice is really distinct and comes through strongly in her writing (particularly with her little asides and joking remarks throughout). There were a couple of moments when that took me out of the flow, but generally I appreciated her humor and the personality she brings to the page.

One thing she does really well both in this book and in the podcast is that she doesn't look down on people who have joined MLMs. I think it's easy, especially when you have done as much research as she has and knows so much, to punch down on people who "fell for it" but she does a good job of instead focusing the predatory nature of MLMs and the systems they uphold.

This book was deeply researched and meticulously cited, and that's what takes it from a three star to a four star for me. Maybe I'm too deep in my interest in scams and cults and MLMs, but much of the content here was familiar to me, and I was hoping the book would provide something new. It's a very solid primer for anyone wanting to know the history of MLMs, but it's not juicy.

I mean, I was kind of biased to love this book already, because the podcast is one that I’ve recommended to at least ten different people over the years. But the transition to a book is fabulous - Marie’s writing is just so engaging, and I love her voice and her perspective. But it’s the combination of thorough journalistic research while never forgetting the human cost of these scams that makes this book so perfect and unforgettable. I’m going to have to make everyone I know read this, gosh.

(This is a review of a free advanced copy I was given in exchange for an honest review.)

Selling the Dream: The Billion Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans by Jane Marie is thought provoking, well researched book on the history of multi-level-marketing (MLM). Although this book is classified as a Biography & Memoir, I felt that a more accurate classification would be a History or Sociology book. Marie explains how MLMs originated in the US in the 19th century and how these organizations over time have become highly profitable to the owners while resulting in financial losses for the vast majority of those who join the organization as associates. Citing sociological research, Marie explains how MLMs target stay at home moms, especially those who are religious. I found the book to be fascinating and really appreciated that Marie weaves in her own personality and humor. In addition to the historic examples outlined, several recent case studies help to solidify the thesis of the book about the detriment of MLMs to nearly everyone involved other than the owners.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I've enjoyed Jane Marie's podcast The Dream, so I was excited to dive into her book. It was an informative and entertaining read. At times, it felt like it was trodding very familiar ground to the podcast, but there was a good amount of new content to hold my interest. My favorite sections were the histories of various MLMs and their founders--some of them had truly wild backstories! Her tone in the book did surprise me; it felt very reminiscent of the podcast, but not suited to nonfiction writing. There's a lot of snark and humor, which is enjoyable, but felt childish at times. There was just far more of it than there needed to be. I can make my own observations and snarky comments, thanks, Jane.

Toward the end, I started to lose interest a bit and it felt like we meandered for awhile and then suddenly hit the acknowledgements. All in all, this was a quick, light read that's worthwhile for anyone interested in MLMs.

3.75 rounded up to 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"Selling the Dream" by Jane Marie is a fascinating look at the origins and societal consequences of multi-level marketing schemes, or MLMs. If you've ever watched a documentary or listened to a podcast about this topic, you will enjoy this book. It looks at similar topics to Jane Marie's podcast "The Dream" and provides readers with a deep dive into MLMs and their effects on participants, social groups, and the American economy. I definitely recommend this book if you're curious about this topic.

I was interested in this book after listening to Jane Marie's podcast "The Dream". I think most people are fascinated by MLM and the scams they are. Unfortunately this book reads more like a college text then a breezy read. Each chapter is very long going into descriptive detail about the very early history of MLM. I was hoping it would be interviews with people affected by MLM not a history lesson.

I received this as a digital ARC.

I enjoyed two seasons of Jane Marie's podcast- and also enjoyed this book! Never gonna stop learning about how evil MLMs + bored white women can be.

Incredible book! I enjoyed the author's podcast but found this book exceptionally helpful in understanding the history of Multi-Level Marketing schemes and how they affect (mostly) women in America. Multi-level marketing schemes are not illegal, but they are costing millions of people money and time for promises that cannot be achieved. The author lays out the argument so well, informed by personal experience, historical research, corporate document analysis, and direct interviews; she's also very funny. Even though I was familiar with the content from her podcast, I found this book to be so clear and persuasively argued that it reignites my passion to reject MLMs! Strong recommendation!