The Story of Obvious Adams, by Robert Updegraff

I have seven extra copies of Obvious Adams sitting on my desk right now – you may wonder why?

It all goes back to a fateful day when a mentor of mine (Gary Bencivenga) invited me to visit him at his home in Garden City, New York, and he gave me this book. He left a note in the book, saying:

It has been more than a decade since Gary wrote me this note.

To those who don't know him, Gary is just another person. But to those who know him, he is considered to be one of the greatest copywriters of all time. He performed more than $1 billion of scientific split run advertising tests in his career.

In addition to giving me some great advice in his living room that day, this book has benefited me greatly over the years.

I have made a point to re-read the book many times. In fact, I would revise Gary's exhortation and suggest the book can be read any time you are stuck in anything or unsure how to proceed, which can happen quite frequently.

In addition to reading the book frequently myself, I also give it out to others. I recently bought a dozen new copies and so far I gave away five. I usually give it to people that I meet in person as a small gift, but only if I think they will read it and benefit from it.

The book is a story and an experience, especially the first time you read it. I strongly recommend reading the printed, physical book.

I have seen at least one article on the internet saying that Obvious Adams is a cult classic and hard to find. I am not sure how true that is, but it certainly could be since the book is printed by a small family press.

The book is short, around 39 pages total. It can easily be read in a single sitting.

Rating: 5/5 highly recommend