Monarch to Mongolia
He credits almost none of it to himself. He credits a small group of people he calls The Ones, self-appointed mentors who saw something in him before he could see it, and who never once gave up on him.
and
numbered
100 copies. Only here.
The full-color hardcover, sold only by Kurt.
- Every photograph in the book, printed in full color
- Signed, numbered, and inscribed to you by name
- You will not find this edition on Amazon or in stores
Reservations close November 20, or when all 100 are spoken for.
Carlos Santana explained the importance of learning music, rather than simply searching for a sound. The kindness he showed that evening for a little boy left an indelible impression, seeing firsthand that the content of one’s character is not defined by wealth and fame.Monarch to Mongolia
Monarch to Mongolia is the true story of a boy born high in the Rocky Mountains who grew up in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, came of age in the painted deserts of Arizona, and sailed a 37-foot boat with his father across the North and South Pacific. He went on to open Hard Rock Cafes on five continents, in cities where he did not speak a word of the language. In Warsaw the opening date leaked before the building had heat, a line formed in the street, and a woman in a chinchilla coat he had never met walked in and saved the night.
And somewhere in the middle of it, eleven days in China and a woman named CiCi. He flew home, told his mother about her, and got four words back: Kurt, go get her. He proposed from the other side of the world, over the phone. It took two years to bring her home.
What The Ones taught him was not strategy. It was how to listen with empathy, how to stay patient, and how to compete hard without becoming someone you would not want to work for.
Every place he landed taught him the same thing above all else. People are far more alike than they are different. The same hopes, the same fears, the same five fingers and five toes. That is the thread running through all thirty-two chapters, from Monarch Mountain to a runway in Ulaanbaatar at thirty-four below.
It is a book full of laughter, music, heartbreak and adventure, and underneath all of it, a search for what it truly means to be human. It is for anyone who has stood at the edge of something they were not ready for and said yes anyway.
Choose your copy
Paperback
$26.95
Hardcover
$34.99
Kindle
$12.99
Pre-order on Amazon now
List prices. On sale November 20 wherever books are sold.
Thirty-two chapters. Here are eight.
Monarch Mountain
A boyhood in the shadow of a Colorado ski hill, and the father who spent a week teaching him to tell time.
The Phoenix Takes Flight
Arizona, twenty-five resumes, and every rejection letter coming back with the same word in it: endeavor.
Kava & Cannibals
Fiji, the Royal Suva Yacht Club, and a night at the helm he still calls the worst of his life.
Graveyard of the Pacific
Crossing the Columbia River bar, where the ocean decides whether you make it in.
The Phone Call
Eleven days in Guangzhou, sixteen time zones, and four words from his mother: “Kurt, go get her.”
Beggars & Bankers
The Hard Rock years. A necktie he should not have worn, a Thanksgiving spent scraping plates beside a stranger who turned out to be Rob Halford, and the night he stood up to a famous guest to protect three of his servers, because fame never outranked his values or the company’s.
Begging for a Miracle
Warsaw, zero degrees, no water or heat, a hundred people waiting outside, and a woman in a chinchilla coat who fixed all of it by eleven in the morning.
Genghis Lives
Ulaanbaatar, and a flight home surrounded by the Mongolian national wrestling team with the trophies going around the cabin.
Get the link on launch day
One email on November 20 with where to buy it. Nothing else.
Three stories from the book
The Ulaanbaatar flight, the Warsaw opening, and the phone call that started a marriage. Sent to your inbox now.
“A candid and adventurous memoir that spans from the peaks of the Colorado Rockies to the remote atolls of the Pacific. Beyond the adventures, it is a reflection on resilience, hope, and the capacity to find meaning and joy in the face of life’s obstacles and tragedies.”
Andrei Ionescu, Romania
Kurt J. Berry
Kurt J. Berry was born in the Colorado mountains, and his family left when he was eight. He grew up in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, came of age in Arizona, and sailed a 37-foot boat with his father across the North and South Pacific. Then came fifteen years with Hard Rock Cafe International. He joined in Phoenix in 1995, ran the downtown Phoenix cafe as General Manager from 2000, and in 2005 moved to the corporate office to lead worldwide new store openings. He wrote the opening manual Hard Rock used around the world, opened cafes on five continents, from Warsaw to Ulaanbaatar, and worked in more than twenty countries.
He founded English for Humanity, which taught free English to low-income youth.
He lives in Camas, Washington, with his wife CiCi, and speaks to hospitality teams, leadership groups and community audiences about leading across cultures.
Get in touch
For speaking engagements, media inquiries, and press. Everything below is free to download and use.
Press kit
Interview topics
- The Ones who saw it first, and how leaders spot talent before people see it in themselves
- Global leadership under pressure, from a chaotic Warsaw opening to Ulaanbaatar
- Fifty countries, one conclusion: people are far more alike than they are different
- Lessons from the open ocean, sailing the North and South Pacific with his father on a 37-foot boat
- The art of the pivot, from corporate life to memoir, philanthropy and community
Events
- November Author talk, Camas Public Library
- December Reading and signing at Bookish, Camas (date to confirm)
Short bio, free to copy
Kurt J. Berry spent fifteen years with Hard Rock Cafe International, opening cafes on five continents and working in more than twenty countries. He founded English for Humanity, a nonprofit that provided free English lessons, career guidance, and leadership training to low-income youth. He lives in Camas, Washington, with his wife, CiCi.
Media, speaking and events:
Jessica Denney, The Leadership Creative, jessica@theleadershipcreative.com, 503.320.9115
Author direct: Kurt J. Berry, kjb@monarchtomongolia.com