The Fritz Esker review: from "WHERE Y'AT" MAGAZINE, January 2005

"How to Burn Down the House is a rare book: a manual on how to commit petty crime. Specifically, it gives waiters and bartenders inside info on how to efficiently rip off their bosses.

Readers who have never worked in the service industry (perhaps even those who have) will be overwhelmed at the sheer volume and complexity of many of the schemes described. Scams range from waiters giving the same bill to multiple customers and pocketing the extra cash to more serious crimes such as smuggling cases of expensive liquer and/or seafood out of the restaurant and selling them for personal profit.

The detailed discriptions of the scams and what waiters should do if caught performing any of them makes for an interesting read. However, some of the book's appeal is dampened by its out-and-out celebration of theft. Indeed, individual readers' enjoyment of this book will depend greatly on his/her tolerance of a book whose primary purpose is to glorify and encourage larceny.

The book is brief (85 pages, including a table of contents, foreword, introduction, and epilogue) and can be easily read in one or two sittings. It is certainly never boring, and could possibly serve as a very helpful tool for any restaurant manager who feels he/she is being ripped off by employees."