On a Roll: Or How a Kid from the Bronx Started with Hot Dogs and Wound Up Making a Fortune

Horatio Alger tales--whether about orphans who make good or CEOs such as Lee Iacocca who rise above it all--never go out of favor. If these memoirs have an Achilles heel, it's the tendency of their authors not to know when to stop talking--a tendency in force in this memoir. While Jonas, founder and CEO of International Discount Telecommunications (IDT), drops the occasional bit of wisdom for would-be entrepreneurs (get your product out early, don't worry whether it's perfect; try to replicate your idea outside your home market if you can), much more space is devoted to autobiographical details that frequently veer off on tangents. Jonas writes about everything from his high school dating experiences (poor) to his undergraduate education at Harvard (too liberal), and he drops opinions on every page. The author's most successful venture--on which he made over $100 million, he reports, on the day it went public in 1996--is an inexpensive way of making international phone calls, which he describes in detail. Readers won't fail to admire the author's drive, and some will enjoy his humorous approach if they're not irked by the padding. (Aug.)