He is just a journalist, after all. At least he recognizes that his abilities fall far short of accomplishing anything concrete on his own.

James

Pollack has a childhood dream. Pollack is the individualist, thinker, and seer. Goldstein is merely the technologist.

Pollack’s idea directs all effort. Goldstein is lucky to be part of the project; he is not as farseeing or dedicated as Pollack. Costs are not a problem, as Goldstein and others will be asked to contribute whatever is needed.

Goldstein shows that he has no vision when he directs some resources away to mountain climbing; he is delaying the future. If Goldstein would become serious and really apply himself, everything could be accomplished.

The utility of Pollack’s grand dream is not important. Accomplishing it is the quest, and everyone else must supply the pieces to achieve it. If the boat doesn’t perform well, it can be fixed up later.

People like Pollack build cork boats in their private lives, and build grand public schemes in their public lives. Reality must be made to conform, and lazy technologists must be made to perform.

He was shocked that I formed a bad opinion of Pollack. When I pointed out why I didn’t like the man, he claimed that I had misread the account. It wasn’t until I had him page through the book and look up the specific passages that set my teeth on edge that he agreed that, yes, Pollack acted like a complete jerk to his buddy.

My coworker had glossed over the parts where Pollack shabbily treated the one person making the greatest sacrifices in order to create help him realize his childhood dream. To my coworker, it was a heartwarming and uplifting account of a man who overcame grave obstacles in pursuit of a whimsical personal goal.

I couldn’t get past the parts where Pollack treated his greatest supporter like a lazy indentured servant. To me, the book is an account of a spoiled child in an adult’s body, throwing temper tantrums when others don’t jump to satisfy his useless demands.

James

It might be interesting to contact Goldstein and figure out what he though of the entire project. Pollack wrote a narcissistic story of which he was the visionary hero. The fact that he unselfconsciously reports such appalling behavior suggest that the real story might be even worse. (On the other hand, Pollack might interpret his abuse of his friends as signs of his artistic temperament. He might be proud of it.) Bringing the real story to light might be useful.

Of course, that would require you actually finishing the book.

Did you ask your friend what he thought of Pollack’s behavior and why?