Life of the Party Book Review. The story of Tupperware

Do you use Tupperware?

Probably a version of it since there are so many options available now for plastic storage containers.

When I saw this book, I immediately reached for it because it is about a women in the 1940s trying to start a career doing something new. One of my favorite eras and anything about a person with determination, against all odds, becoming successful is inspiring!

A little about the book…

Summary:

The incredible story of Brownie Wise, the Southern single mother—and postwar #Girlboss—who built, and lost, a Tupperware home-party empire

Before Mary Kay, Martha Stewart, and Joy Mangano, there was Brownie Wise, the charismatic Tupperware executive who converted postwar optimism into a record-breaking sales engine powered by American housewives. In Life of the Party, Bob Kealing offers the definitive portrait of Wise, a plucky businesswoman who divorced her alcoholic husband, started her own successful business, and eventually caught the eye of Tupperware inventor, Earl Tupper, whose plastic containers were collecting dust on store shelves.

The Tupperware Party that Wise popularized, a master-class in the soft sell, drove Tupperware’s sales to soaring heights. It also gave minimally educated and economically invisible postwar women, including some African-American women, an acceptable outlet for making their own money for their families—and for being rewarded for their efforts. With the people skills of Dale Carnegie, the looks of Doris Day, and the magnetism of Eva Peron, Wise was as popular among her many devoted followers as she was among the press, and she become the first woman to appear on the cover of BusinessWeek in 1954. Then, at the height of her success, Wise’s ascent ended as quickly as it began. Earl Tupper fired her under mysterious circumstances, wrote her out of Tupperware’s success story, and left her with a pittance. He walked away with a fortune and she disappeared—until now.

My Review:

The main character, Brownie Wise, was very inspiring. She was single mother who no longer had a job when World War II ended. She started selling things door to door. In fact, she wanted to not only sell things, but be the best she could be. She took classes, studied, and practiced the best methods to be a successful salesman.

I loved her gumption and determination! She annoyed some people, but didn’t care. She knew what she was doing and kept on.

Something I found even more interesting, was watching their huge empire crumble beneath them. They kept wanting more and more, eventually losing the things they gained.

I thought this book was a really neat story of a lady you probably don’t know about. It was very thorough with background stories to each character. Some parts were a little dry, but it was a true story.

Definitely worth reading if you enjoy non-fiction and enjoy that era! I love learning new things about people who shaped our country, and Tupperware definitely made a huge impact to our society.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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What are you reading right now? I am getting ready to start my winter reading list (here is last years), so I would love to hear your current loves!

“I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.”

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