The Innkeeper Tales is an enjoyable collection of true stories giving readers strategic advice for life and business success. John L. Herman Jr. has owned more than 20 businesses and being involved in selling 300 more. He is now owner of The Abacrombi, an award-winning bed and breakfast in trendy downtown Baltimore and is the basic setting for the book. On a cold day in March, heavy snow is falling; the blizzard-like conditions wreak havoc for public transportation stranding a courageous mix of guests.
As usual for the Inn, a hearty breakfast of fruit, cereal, homemade bread, meat and cheese is served. The feast and coffee is as delicious as the conversation about to take place throughout the day.
From one tale of a man buying an incredible sinking boat, to another selling off pieces of companies in the middle of catastrophic financial trouble, to owners selling furniture with sex, the stories shed brilliant light on some of the ethical boundaries we as a civilized people are challenged with each and every day. Some of the stories are nearly unbelievable, but hey, you couldn’t make this stuff up.
I found The Innkeeper Tales to be an insightful and entertaining collection of stories packed with triumph and failure, lending credence to cliché “aint life grand”. I enjoyed the laidback feeling of the bed and breakfast. It was as if I was really there on that cold snowy day enjoying a mug of hot coffee, great food and new friends. A wonderful piece of work that is funny at times and sad at others, this is about the lifecycle of triumph to failure, rebuilding, and back to triumph.







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