As a kid I never really liked Lando.

Having watched The Empire Strikes Back at the age of eight I spent much of my pre-teen years thinking of Lando as duplicitous and conniving. It's doubtful if I would have used those exact words back in the early 80s, but the sentiment would have been in my answer.


Even after he made good with the Rebel Alliance and fought at the Battle of Endor, I never really felt he'd paid his dues for his part in handing Han over to Jabba the Hutt. Through all of the Expanded Universe books and comics there was always the expectation, in the back of my mind, that he'd show his true colours and pull a fast one on the Rebels.

"Why you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler!"

It takes one to know one Mr Calrissian.

Then along came Solo: A Star Wars Story and, love it or hate it, it added new depth to Lando's character. He was smart, he was slick and he was big-time sophisticated - but at the end of the movie he was still shown to be a bit of a slimo, and aside from a personal desire to see capes come back into fashion "Do I want to 'Be More Lando'?" was the question I found myself asking when I was offered this latest book by DK.

In undertaking the self-searching needed to determine the answer, I looked into what this motivational book's aim was and considered if it would benefit me. According to publishers DK, Be More Lando is a tongue-in-cheek self-help book that is self-help book is full of brilliant business and career advice for budding entrepreneurs and business novices.


Though I am not any kind of entrepreneur or businessman - budding, novice, or otherwise - the positivity of the book's description made me sit up and take note, and since I like a touch of subtle ribald humour I decided to dig deep into Lando's wardrobe to see what was hiding behind all his capes.

So exactly what scoundrel-approved business tips does one of the suavest businessmen in the galaxy have to share?

Broken down into five milestone chapters, the book covers off How To Get Started with sage advice on being yourself while demonstrating increased market worth, how to Perfect Your Business Persona by standing out from the crowd through using euphemisms and talking the talk, Networking your way to the top by selling yourself, being "that guy" and having a reputation that opens doors and checks around corners for you, Winning The Best Deal by understanding your competition, negotiating with strength and knowing when to hold/fold your cards and when to walk away/run, before the final section teaches Enjoying Your Success.


By the end of the book the message was clear - no matter what the hand that life deals you, make lemonade. And learn to come up with more sensible metaphors. The book is full of obvious advice, but in a world where we are swamped with ideals, opinions and non-stop communication sometimes form-fitting the subject in to a context that we understand helps to cut through the chatter.

Touted as the perfect gift for friends and colleagues - whether they are Star Wars fans or not - the book is an updated and selectively condensed version of How to Win Friends and Influence People, the grandfather of all self-help titles. Be More Lando is clearly a modernised and more pop-culturally accessible version that will appeal to today's audience, but to labour the comparison would be trite and insulting to Christian Blauvelt, who has put some work into this and the other three Be More books in the series.

Will I ever put any of the counsel contained within Be More Lando to use? If I ever start an eopie farm the answer will be a firm yes, but until then this slip of a book is likely to be nothing more than a colourful spine on my bookshelf, and until the reels of my life give me three cherries I'm happy to stay where I am.


That said if ever DK needs someone to write Be More Obi-Wan then I'm all in. You know how to reach me Simon.

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		Price : $9.99
		Pages : 64
		Pub Date : October 1, 2019
		Age Range : N/A
		Grade Level : N/A
		Format : Hardcover
		ISBN : 1465478981/978-1465478986