Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Louis Lesser (born June 15, 1916) is a real estate developer and businessman. He received frequent press coverage in the 1950s and 1960s for his ability to earn money and for his various business operations. Many of Lesser's development projects were large in scale or of historic significance, such as Barrington Plaza, the largest urban renewal project in the western United States under President John F. Kennedy. Barrington Plaza also served as a nuclear fallout shelter at the peak of the Cold War nuclear threat, with Lesser appointed to the Los Angeles County Civil Defense and Disaster Commission during the Kennedy Administration. Lesser's business operations were noted around the world for their diversity and quantity, with 250 companies and 150 partners by 1960. Some of Lesser's partners and associates were well known public figuresfor example, Lesser was the landlord and developer for many of Howard Hughes' properties. Lesser developed, owned, and leased many properties for the military industrial complex during the cold war, and developed, owned, and operated numerous large hotels, commercial and industrial properties, apartment complexes, and housing tracts, developing over 60,000 homes in his career. Lesser was named the Los Angeles City of Hope "Man of the Year" and received a commendation from the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors for business achievement and philanthropy in 1961. Lesser is a "real estate developer", not a "builder". Quoting Lesser in 1963, the New York Times wrote, Developing is the key word. We dont build ourselves, Mr. Lesser stresses. We buy the land, finance the deal, and then we have the best builders build under bond at a fixed cost. Lesser began his business career working as a door-to-door magazine salesman... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=25126736