License to Pawn

March 28, 2011
In this seedily entertaining memoir of low finance, the proprietor of the World Famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop and star of the History Channelâs Pawn Stars reports from the world of gonzo capitalism, Las Vegasâstyle. Harrison and coauthor Keown are cheerful and honest about the pawnshop biz: the 10% a month interest; the hard-nosed, deceptive bargaining to acquire treasures for a song; the eternal duel with scammers and thieves peddling fakes and stolen goods; the infamous night window where customers line up at 3 a.m. for cash to fuel their addictions. These operations generate a steady stream of only-in-Vegas stories; thereâs the trust funder who gambled away $3 million in 36 hours, the woman who offered her gold tooth for sale and asked for a pair of pliers to extract it, and "the juxtaposition of the nun and the hookersâletâs just say it was surreal." Harrisonâs self-mythologizingâ"I was a tenth-grade drop-out who read and studied more than most college students"âdrags a bit and his meta-saga of TV deal making undercuts the tone of seamy authenticity. Still, this tale of family entrepreneurship is full of intriguing details on the desperate things people do for money.

May 1, 2011

Host of the History Channel's Pawn Stars unsentimentally breaks down the curious world of buying and selling pre-owned merchandise.

Harrison's straight-shooting business style adapts well to the pages of a memoir brimming with stories of his 20-plus years at the family-run World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. Before dropping out of school in the 10th grade, the author recalls a San Diego childhood spent people-watching and reading, yet marred by debilitating grand mal seizures and "fatalistic" drug abuse that led to rehab at age 14. Since his father ("Old Man") was a gold dealer and his "new-era" mother dabbled in real estate, both livelihoods honed his interest in commercial commerce. When the family relocated to Las Vegas, the author was hooked. Trolling swap meets fed a need to unearth the "overlooked treasures" of estate sales, and once his father opened his dream pawn shop, Harrison and Keown dictate a continuous strand of stories about the customers pawning their frequently odd sale items at Harrison's "poor person's bank" (there's a 10 percent monthly interest rate). Desperation takes many forms. Twenty bucks can sell a pair of alligator cowboy boots or a Gucci bag, but more lucrative (and outlandish) sales feature a gold tooth (extracted on-site) or one of the shop's prized possessions: authentic Iwo Jima battle plans hand-drawn in color. Throughout his career, Harrison has balanced failed business endeavors (in-house gold refinement) with impeccable negotiation skills and eagle-eye appraisals that have prevented the acquisition of fake Confederate swords and Rolex watches. The author lives and breathes his subject matter, but his voice, too-often oscillating between a hard-nosed tradesman and a starry-eyed TV personality, lacks the immediacy of his on-camera persona. Fans of unorthodox trades will find his tales shocking yet tastefully delivered, yet lacking the punch of the visual medium.

A fascinating guided tour of what Harrison calls "the greatest business in the world."

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