BOOK REVIEWS
Title: The Byzantine Pineapple (Part 1) with Corporation X
Author: Bill Poje
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-9845-5512-0 Pages: 204 Genre: Business & Economic/General Reviewed by: Anthony Avina
Hugh Prather once said, “Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes.” In author Bill Poje’s novel The Byzantine Pineapple (Part 1) and Corporation X, readers are given an inside look into what exactly the “Byzantine Pineapple” is and why it’s important to incorporate change into the modern world order.
This book explores the concept of finding a way to adapt and grow with the changing population and world we live in. Referring to the laws and systems in which our society is governed as “Byzantine,” or outdated in nature. While the modern person is taxed by these outdated laws and regulations, the government officials reside within the metaphorical “pineapple” collecting and using that money while the average citizen is kept from enjoying the fruits of their labor by the outer shell or defenses of that “pineapple.”
The author does a marvelous job of outlining the concept of this Byzantine Pineapple, going into how the current political and economic system works against the average citizen, how neither the left nor the right of political parties are able to grasp the right way to achieve the basic functions of a society in today’s age, and how our current societal, economic and political systems add layers of byzantine laws that continue to divide our social classes and disrupt our society as a whole.
This novel is perfect for anyone who seeks to understand how our society has evolved to the chaotic point it has gotten to. It is also for anyone who enjoys economic, political or societal analyzing reads, as well as anyone who enjoys studying business as a whole. I enjoyed it because for years now I’ve shared the same sentiment, albeit on a broader scale. The current laws, at least in the United States, have always been outdated to me. As our society grows, technology gets more complex and people become more open minded and accepting of things that were considered “taboo” at one point or another, the laws of any given nation need to change or be rewritten to reflect those changes.
This is a must-read book, especially in our current turbulent times. The author’s background in economics and business make the concept of the book shine brightly, and the way the author lays out a comprehensive plan to get the four pillars of society (fair wage, housing for all citizens, healthcare coverage not insurance, and equality for all) makes it feel as if the average citizen can have hope for a brighter and more sustainable future. Even the second part of the text, which analyzes Corporation X (a global sales plan for the works of the author as books, movies and merchandise), was both entertaining and great to see strategically laid out for the reader to gain insight and a concept for how that business works. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy of The Byzantine Pineapple (Part 1) and Corporation X by Bill Poje today!
The Byzantine Pineapple (Part 1) with Corporation X
by Bill Poje
Xlibris
book review by Michael Radon
“Those inside the Byzantine pineapple gain, and those outside lose out. And whether morally right or wrong, it is all legal!”
Anybody fed up with modern society has heard or repeated the classic axioms about the rich getting richer, the middle class attacking the lower class for using their tax money to sustain themselves, and how the system is designed to protect special interests while turning a blind eye to the everyman. In this book, the author approaches these issues head-on, proposing the demolition of needs-based systems in favor of blanket coverage for all people, so that anybody who needs healthcare (not health insurance) or a place to call home is covered. Additionally, a direct formula to make a flat tax rate possible is included, replacing the labyrinthine tax laws and loopholes with a simple formula of addition that explains how every dollar and cent is allocated. The ideas might seem radical or drastic to some, but big problems take big solutions.
Obviously, a book like this on a topical political issue will inspire some and incense others, but all can agree that the author is capable of taking very convoluted processes and ideas and distilling them down into simple English with a little humor and plenty of patience. The second half of the book is a bit more personal and addresses the reader directly, providing a unique business plan and vision for a company to produce the author’s ideas into major motion pictures and provide the potential investor with the opportunity for financial gain. These two concepts might seem juxtaposed and disparate but intertwine naturally in order to get this book’s important message in the hands of the people. Full of references to pop culture and literature, the author states his vision for a better world clearly and gives readers hope for a potentially better tomorrow.
TITLE INFORMATION
THE BYZANTINE PINEAPPLE (PART 1) WITH CORPORATION X
Bill Poje
XlibrisUS (191 pp.)
ISBN: 978-1-984555-12-0; October 8, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Poje furnishes a sweeping critique of the current American systems of law, economics, and governance, and proposes an alternative.
According to Poje (Painless, 2008) the American “socioeconomic legal political system,” or SELP, is so thoroughly plagued by “inherent flaws” that it can’t be remedied by a series of targeted tweaks—it must be entirely replaced. At the heart of the problem is a gratuitously impenetrable complexity: The legal system is so “arcane” that no citizen understands it, and each citizen is necessarily involved in some illegal activity. Likewise, the tax system is similarly labyrinthine and seems chiefly designed to pit citizens against one another in a contest for resources. Finally, a burgeoning matrix of social welfare programs is doomed to fail to treat citizens equally, again inevitably stoking the flames of class conflict. Instead of a well-functioning society, Americans are subjected to a “Byzantine pineapple,” which the author attempts to explain this way: “Those who get the tax money are those inside the pineapple of government dole, while those outside the Byzantine pineapple get deterred by the outer defense mechanisms of the pineapple.” It’s never entirely clear what precisely he means by this demarcation—the principal point seems to be that such a system necessarily involves favoritism. The author proposes that the current tax system be replaced by a flat tax—he includes a macroeconomic formula to determine its specific nature—and an equal monthly stipend for all citizens. He recommends the termination of need-based government programs, though the government would pay all medical bills. Poje anticipates that a streamlined SELP, including a government hamstrung by tight spending limits, will produce ample tax revenue to cover the new costs. The author also outlines the establishment of a corporation to steward these changes, which includes the marketing plan for a movie that further educates Americans about the SELP he advocates. Poje’s critique is sensible if familiar—it’s hard to argue that the current tax regime isn’t monstrously bloated. However, his study offers hyper-general declaration in the absence of detailed analysis—a more rigorous empirical appraisal would have been more helpful than a
chapter on the way his “lifetime of accomplishment” justifies his expertise. Also, while he admits he has no background in film, he seems quixotically convinced his will be a big hit and “it will succeed where Ben-Hur failed.”
Overly broad declamation and triumphalism crowd out scrupulous analysis.
The Byzantine Pineapple (Part I) with Corporation X
Bill Poje
Xlibris, 191 pages, (paperback) $19.99, 9781984555137
(Reviewed: February, 2019)
Bill Poje’s The Byzantine Pineapple (Part I) with Corporation X is comprised of two disparate books: one political and the other about his book and film projects.
In the first (Byzantine Pineapple), Poje, who holds an MBA, outlines what he believes is wrong with America’s “socioeconomic legal political” system. He criticizes the norm of political administrations whose “first rule…is to keep power as long as possible,” the inequity of laws enriching “those at the top,” and a “Byzantine” layering of impossibly complex regulations. He also decries the “inherent flaws of needs-based social welfare programs” and the problems with a national budget based on assumptions concerning factors like the annual inflation rate. Among his solutions are a flat tax comprised of designated subrates to control funding for each government department and provide money for the health care and income of each citizen.
Poje purposely couches his problems and solutions in “simplistic” terms that “common people” will understand. Unfortunately, this approach leads to over-generalization. For instance, he states that U.S. laws have “basically made all citizens illegal,” a statement woefully lacking in the support necessary to make it believable.
In the second book (Corporation X), Poje describes his completed books and book and movie proposals and explains why potential investors should have confidence in them. In particular, he gives the business plan for Painless, an action/crime film, and seeks to demonstrate by his critiques of other films (Ben Hur, Sea of Trees, etc.) why he would be a successful writer and producer. These critiques, except for one, are aimed at future shareholders and are comprised, largely, of analyses of data obtained from websites like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb.
As such, Corporation X is unlikely to interest any but potential investors. Meanwhile, The Byzantine Pineapple would reinforce the ideas of like thinkers but needs far more documentation to interest most readers. Overall, it’s hard to imagine an appropriate audience for this work combining two wildly diverse topics.
The Byzantine Pineapple (Part 1) with Corporation X
Bill Poje
Xlibris (Oct 8, 2018)
Softcover $19.99 (204pp)
978-1-984555-13-7
The essays in The Byzantine Pineapple (Part 1) with Corporation X blaze their own path as they work to persuade others of their unique worldview.
Bill Poje’s idiosyncratic The Byzantine Pineapple (Part 1) with Corporation X presents outside-the-box ideas about politics and entertainment.
Divided into two treatises—one regarding federal government operations, particularly related to budgeting, and the other an argument for adapting Poje’s previous book into a movie that draws on the examples of recent, high-grossing films––the book advances a quirky point of view about institutions it sees as in need of radical innovation.
It’s a self-assured if off-kilter book that stakes out positions on federal borrowing, a flat tax, and Hollywood financing. The book’s two parts share a distinct perspective and common sensibility, if they otherwise don’t share a thematic connection. Little holds the pieces together beyond the narrator’s conviction that he knows better than the establishment.
Cynical and antiauthoritarian, the book challenges “lies” from institutions like the media, government, lobbyists, academics, and “unionists.” It depicts regular people as “asleep in the matrix” and subject to larger forces outside their control. The political section makes a case to independents that neither ideological side works and purports to apply a systems analysis approach to solve socioeconomic, legal, and political problems like hunger.
Both essays are peppered with pop culture allusions to movies like The Matrix, Blade, and Resident Evil, if these connections are sometimes scattershot. A rambling rumination on the remake of Ben-Hur cites a Wikipedia page, undermining the more general sense that this is a well-researched work. More authoritative references, including to Paul Krugman and the Wall Street Journal, are also included.
The essays run too long and come to include rambling ruminations on topics such as why particular movies did not resonate with modern audiences; the central arguments are returned to in a roundabout way that runs through repetitions and hypotheticals. The book is prone to self-promotion that stretches credulity. A “10-year, $6 billion sales plan” for adapting Poje’s novel to film is thorough and includes garish graphics; it ultimately seems better suited to a
pitch meeting than to a book intended for public consumption.
Florid prose makes use of odd figurative language, including with the central metaphor of how people are separated from institutions “by the outer defense mechanisms of the pineapple.” The book’s literary conceits contrast with its more businesslike passages. Its extensive itemizations call to mind PowerPoint presentations, and even through comprehensive breakdowns, its knowledge sometimes feels abstract.
The Byzantine Pineapple (Part 1) with Corporation X blazes its own path as it works to persuade others of its unique worldview.
JOSEPH S. PETE (March 27, 2019)