IYRS|MoY Book Club

The second meeting of the IYRS/MoY book club will take place on Thursday, April 26th at 7pm. The book being discussed is: A Full Cup: Sir Thomas Lipton's Extraordinary Life and His Quest for the America's Cup. This is an absorbing biography of a remarkable man who’s ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful quest for the America’s Cup endeared him to people around the world. It is a story of a man with an innate ability to connect with people and how he turned that talent into one of the greatest business empires ever built.

In his review for The Wall Street Journal, G. Bruce Knecht describes the book as “captivating”. He goes on to say “Sir Thomas Lipton, who died in 1931, created the first chain of grocery stores as well as the enduring tea that still carries his name, but he is remembered most for his epic pursuit of the Cup. Even though all five of his campaigns were unsuccessful, they did much to turn him into the world's first businessman-celebrity—a showman-entrepreneur something like Donald Trump, although Lipton's appeal was far greater....Lipton's quest for sailing's greatest prize did not begin until he was 50, and Michael D'Antonio does not get around to describing it until near the middle of his captivating book, "A Full Cup." That is as it should be. The book's most compelling passages explore the origins of Lipton's genius as a marketer, not just of products but also of himself.

Our first book club gathering was a great success, with thanks to Peter Nichols the author of A Voyage for Madmen, who appeared via Skype to discuss his book and answer questions. For our next gathering we have once again arranged to have the author Michael D’Antonio join us for a discussion of this wonderful book and the fascinating Sir Thomas Lipton.

The book club gathering will convene in the IYRS/MoY Library on the 4th floor of the Aquidneck Mill building on Thursday, April 26th at 7:00pm. Please RSVP to Jay Picotte at jpicotte@moy.org as space is very limited.