Kick Up Some Dust: Lessons on Thinking Big, Giving Back, and Doing It Yourself

A candid, rollicking business memoir from the Home Depot cofounder, filled with personal stories, savvy business advice, and timeless lessons for a life well lived

"A classic Cinderella story of the American dream fulfilled, told with humor and honesty." — GARY SINISE

"An extraordinary story. ... [Tells] Marcus's version of the American dream, from tenement to boardroom, homespun into lessons for readers wanting to make it in business or philanthropy." — Financial Times

The start of Home Depot sounds like the beginning of a bad joke: Two Jews and an Italian decide to build a new kind of hardware store... In 1978, Bernie Marcus's livelihood depended on just such a scenario. Having been fired at the age of forty-nine, he teamed up with Arthur Blank and Ken Langone on a bold new endeavor. Their first day in business was so disastrous that the next morning, Marcus's wife wouldn't let him shave because she didn't want a razor in his hands. But the last laugh would be theirs, as the business partners grew Home Depot into the world's largest home improvement retailer, empowering millions of Americans to "do it yourself."

"Doing it yourself" has been the theme of Bernie Marcus's entire life. By the time he was fifteen, he had held more than a dozen jobs, joined a gang, and worked as a hypnotist in the Catskills. The son of a cabinetmaker and garment worker who survived the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, Bernie overcame a hardscrabble upbringing to author one of the best entrepreneurial stories in American history. Today, Home Depot employs 500,000 associates at 2,300 stores and is one of the most recognized and admired companies in the world.

The same energy that made Home Depot successful has helped Bernie give away more than $2 billion and pioneer a new model for philanthropy, transforming millions of lives. There is no single, winning formula for trying to make the world a better place, but this powerful book shares what he's learned—that the skills needed to build a Fortune 500 company are the same ones that can help cure cancer, treat veterans with PTSD, and transform autism treatment. And it doesn't take a fortune to make a big difference in your community.

Kick Up Some Dust will inspire you to dream, build, and give—and, maybe, change the world.

In this candid memoir, Bernie Marcus shares the secrets that built an empire:

• Startup Lessons: From a disastrous first day that had his wife hiding the razors to the simple joke—Two Jews and an Italian decide to build a new kind of hardware store—that started a retail revolution.
• The American Dream: Learn how the son of a cabinetmaker and a garment worker who survived the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire authored one of the greatest entrepreneurial stories in American history.
• A Do-It-Yourself Philosophy: Discover how the same grit that took Bernie from joining a gang and working as a hypnotist in the Catskills became the cultural backbone of a Fortune 500 company.
• Philanthropic Vision: Find out how the skills used to build a global retailer can be used to cure cancer, support veterans, and transform communities by giving away more than $2 billion.

BERNIE MARCUS co-founded Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, and served as its inaugural CEO and as its chairman until his retirement in 2002. Over the last several decades, he has redirected his entrepreneurial spirit toward hundreds of charitable endeavors to solve big problems. He has given away more than $2 billion and is a signatory of the Giving Pledge.