"Laird offers an illuminating analysis of how exceptional achievers have combined individual talent with social assets in order to rise in society. The author, a historian at the University of Colorado at Denver, provides capsule biographies of such legendary successes as Franklin, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Bill Gates. ... Laird tracks the emergence of such concepts as the glass ceiling, mentoring, and networking to the efforts of women, beginning in the 1970s, to penetrate barriers. By the end of the 20th century such mechanisms were widely appreciated. Even as the activism that inspired them began to fade from memory, the words became commonplace."

Times Literary Supplement (May 12, 2006)

"How do successful people manage to glide, many with seeming inevitability, into the top ranks of whatever hierarchy they have decided to conquer? Is there altogether such a phenomenon as the 'self-made man,' upward mobility through sheer talent and hard work? ... We are all inevitably social beings, living within a social context, and can all therefore claim that we have enjoyed the help or endured the obstruction, perhaps active sabotage, of others all along our individual paths."

US Airways Magazine (June 2006)

"Meritocracy coexists and builds itself up along with connection-ocracy. And that's always been the case. ... Laird convincingly argues that behind every self-made man or woman is a network of people who helped them along. But the book isn't simply a history about pull; for in our contemporary economy, networks matter more than ever."

Choice Magazine (June 2006)

"Laird ... provides a comprehensive perspective and rich historical insight into the importance of social dynamics in achieving career success. ... She convincingly asserts that an individual's success depends on individual attributes ... coupled with social capital or 'pull.' ... The book demonstrates how 'pull' (i.e., creating synthetic social capital) can be used, in combination with individual attributes, to enhance the success of women, ethnic minorities, and others impacted by discrimination."

Strategy+Business.com (October 2006)

"In real life, those who are well connected and who look and act the same as those in power tend to get ahead. ... It's pull, or social networking, that brings executives through the glass ceiling; hence the importance of mentoring, sponsoring, networking, and connecting with role models in organizations. She adds that the vocabulary of social networking is useful precisely because it groups these other ideas into one conceptual whole. Those who are deemed 'different' in organizations need more connections and fair Gatekeepers. ... Networks can be difficult to see, but once you spot them, you'll never look at an organization chart—or think of 'culture'—the same way again."

Enterprise & Society (2006)

"Laird's far-ranging examination of social capital and business success is important because it systematically and explicitly discusses ... that business as politics is personal. Thereby, she further blurs the lines of inquiry between the personal and the institutional and the economic/political and the social/cultural aspects of American enterprise. ... This book is a must-read."

Business History (2007)

"Laird ... will make substantial waves with her highly readable appraisal of the social dynamics that navigate some Americans toward opportunity while steering others away. ... 'Pull' remains indispensable for business achievement. Formalized pull mechanisms can offer a boost, and new management techniques can promote 'others' through synthetic capital, but long-standing connections and connectability tend to remain operational. ... Pull should be on the reading list of all MBA degrees as a reminder, if not a warning, that favouritism and circles of cultural affinity do not necessarily provide the best managers and CEOs."

ColoradoBiz (January 2007)

"Laird sees possible damage, both to historically disadvantaged strivers—namely minorities and women—as well as to companies, in perpetuating the myth of self-made success. To do so minimizes the importance of connections and access to circles that can provide opportunity. ... Laird likes to examine history through the prism of business because it is such an embodiment of American life and is so often at the center of people's striving and motivation. She says that in her otherwise ironclad conclusion that it takes connections to mentoring to succeed in business, she has found two exceptions: One is gambling. The other is its more respectable first cousin, day-trading."

Business History Review (Spring 2007)

"Laird's historical perspective yields fresh insights into the history of American business practices and offers an original perspective on the challenges made by feminism and civil rights in the last decades of the twentieth century."

Technology & Culture (July 2007)

"In an engaging and masterful synthesis of scholarship from business history and social history, Laird reinterprets familiar histories to explore the myths and realities of the American road to 'success.' Gatekeepers, from mentors to human resources officers, include or exclude people from networks, and 'pull' is the 'positive discrimination' that permits some people through the gates. ... The most fundamental change in social capital and networks of opportunity ... arrived as a consequence of the social movements in the 1960s and 1970s. ... [Laird contributes] to the larger collective effort to decenter market economics as an explanatory force and instead to develop a much richer and textured understanding of our economic past, broadly conceived."