Credit-history Books

There is a photo of Barbara Eden in this book and info about Barbara Eden if you are a Barbara Eden Fan you would like this Book.

It does not matter if you are a banking proffessional or a finance layman this book is for you. It teaches everything most people would want to know about a credit union going from its origins in Germany, from a union of farmers, to the comercial institutions of today. The book tells the story in detail of why you should support credit unions and how and when they can save you money. I think that it's worth it to read some history and pay a $100 if you can lower your loan payments among others.

This is an amazing book, both because of the incredible amount of material and the way in which it is presented. Every television appearance every made by Miss Ball is painstakingly detailed and the text is rich with invaluable trivia. Lucy, Desi, Vivian, William etc. are all depicted as human beings--flaws and all. It's a one of a kind oral history of Lucy's career in TV. I bought it 7 or 8 years ago and still regard it as one of my favorite books. It is irreplaceable for Lucy/classic TV fans. A must for every fan of classic television. Thank you Geoffrey Mark Fidelman for all your hard work! Without sounding sappy, you have touched my life.

This is an excellent book for Lucille Ball fans & fans of "I Love Lucy". Excellent information on all her starring roles and appearances on TV.

I've enjoyed reading and re-reading Geoffrey's comments on every "I Love Lucy" episode each time I watch one of the reruns. He has certainly written the most complete book on Ms. Ball's TV career. I was fascinated by the remarks made by Lucy's co-stars, both living and deceased. Geoffrey's dedication to providing a wealth of information which is available here for the very first time is phenomenal. This book is a must read for anyone who loves and admires Lucille Ball and her multi-talents. I can't wait to read Geoffrey's next book about the life and career of the fabulous Ethel Merman, which is due out in November 2005.

This is one of the best books available on the "Lucy" phenomenon. The author exhaustively details her television appearances from the late 1940s until her death in 1989. Many original interviews were conducted with supporting actors, writers, directors, etc.

Not necessarily the *first* book for someone who doesn't know much about Lucy, but a prize for those who enjoy delving into the details.

Better, perhaps, than any biography ever written about the one and only Lucille Ball, this work details - and I mean DETAILS - every known possible TV moment America spent with the woman called "The First Lady of Comedy". Its author, Geoffery Mark Fidelman, has done a TREMENDOUS service to all of Lucy's fans, capturing every TV appearance in printed remembrance, and the exhaustive research he's done is apparent immediately. At times, it seems downright impossible to believe one man did it all! Unlike OTHER "Lucy" books, however, this is not a 'puff piece'; no no no...Mr Fidelman, and many of those quoted generously throughout the book, freely offer their opinions about Ball, her husbands, co-workers, shows, etc, and while this will no doubt offend those looking for a 'fluffier' or lighter read, it actually makes for a refreshingly well-rounded character profile of its subject and all those who worked with her through the many years. If Fidelman occasionally goes a bit overboard with comments regarding her appearance, let us not forget that Lucille Ball WAS a glamorous, beautiful, and, yes, even sexy and sexual woman, something which apparently bothered another user on this site, which makes this book even MORE essential as a character study: Lucille Ball comes across as a HUMAN BEING, a woman, mother, wife, movie and TV star, head of a company. For that alone, the book can be viewed as essential to Ball fans and fanatics, or those simply interested in classic TV or Hollywood celebrities of yore. Photographs are relatively limited so if you're seeking a more "coffee table" style book, there are certainly others out there, and they're fine enough. But for something that you - and even the casual fan - will actually READ, and come to find INDISPENSIBLE, look no further: you've found THE "Lucy" book!

I'm not very good at writing reviews. I bought this book but I didn't think it was very good.

This is Cindy de la Hoz's first book, and judging from this and her next two books (_Platinum Fox_ on Marilyn Monroe and _Lana_ on Lana Turner, written with Turner's daughter Cheryl Crane), de la Hoz is going to be a major writer on classic films in the years to come. I've got all three of her books and expect to keep buying them as long as she keeps on putting out work as good as this.

As with her next two books, _Lucy at the Movies_ is a substantial, high-quality hardback, with the accent on outstanding pictures in both color and B&W, many of them not previously published. De la Hoz begins with a good, concise biographical section and then goes on to the meat of the book, a film-by-film discussion of Lucy's movie career (again, accompanied by numerous first-rate photographs). De la Hoz carefully researched this book, with extensive endnotes and a long bibiliography.

I only own one book on Lucille Ball so far, but I'm glad it's this one!

This book is truly amazing. I am 47 and have been a huge fan of Lucille Ball since I was young. HERE'S LUCY was on prime time then, both other shows were in constant reruns and MAME was released - a huge treat. I have always loved the whole package that is Lucille Ball - not just Lucy - and this book glorifies exactly that.

Lucille Ball became a legend and a never equalled comedienne when she became Lucy on the infamous I LOVE LUCY. Of course this is her tour de force from herr entire career but many don't know that Lucy was around for decades before I LOVE LUCY with an expansive film career. She was considered the QUEEN OF THE B MOVIES. There was some true quality work here like LURED and the truly exceptional THE BIG STREET. She also made many films after becoming Lucy.

This book is not only a beautiful coffee table book which it indeed is. There are hundreds of amazing pictures both in black and white and color - candids plus pictures from the films. But this book is also a true encyclopedia of the film history of Lucille Ball. Every film she made from the beginning to MAME and even her final television movie STONE PILLOW are thoroughly researched. There is an in depth synopsis of each film, wonderful pictures and multiple critics reviews of each piece. It is priceless.

There is also a full biography and a detail of all the film shorts she did before she was in her first film ROMAN SCANDALS. So to sum it up - this book is the rare exception. It is a true beautiful coffee table book filled with beautiful pictures but it also provides the fully researched in depth film history of Lucille Ball which has never been tackled like this before.

For all you Lucy fans this book is a must and you will learn how much more there was to this multi-faceted artist. You will run out to get and watch all these films to discover the true Lucille Ball. But this book is not only for Lucy fans for Lucille Ball is one of the greatest artists ever and this book is her true film history. It is a must for any entertainment library as well.

But for all you true Lucy fans - rejoice!! You will devour the beautiful pictures and all the info on the film career of the glorious Lucille ball. Enjoy!

I gave my granddaughter who is an avid "Lucy fan" this book for Christmas and she loved it because it focused on Lucy's movie career.

This book is very well written and has wonderful pictures. The write up about Lucy gives even the biggest fans new insight into her life. It is a great way to find all the movies she was in.

If, lets imagine, the library of Management Literature would be destoyed tomorrow, there's three treasured books I hope will be preserved somewhere, safe and sound. This is one of them.

Dee Hock's book transmits an extraordinary passion for human growth, organisational transition and hope for a better future. Why are organisations increasingly unable to manage their affairs? Why are individuals increasingly in conflict with the organisations of which they are part? Why are society and the biosphere increasingly in disarray? The answers (please do not expect to receive simple ones) to these questions spring from a powerful vision of what makes us humans both passionate and creative. A vision that has inspired the creation of VISA.

Dee Hock has been recognised as one of the eight individuals who most changed the way people live in the previous quarter century. I really hope this book will have equal impact on how we manage our lives and businesses. Essential reading.

No, it would not, by the way, be usefull to hand you the two other titles I hope wouldn't be lost... Just read this one and enjoy!

Loved the subtitle on this book enough to pick it up blind and was not disappointed. Hock delves into leadership at a level that leaves you feeling invested in his -- VISA -- and reflective of yours.

I enjoyed this book. The author is a little exsintrict but that made it fun. It is the story of how Visa came to be and it teachs about how to harnes chaos.

Edit of 30 Dec 07 to add comment and links.

New comment: something big is happening, in both politics and business. Moral green open transparent memes are in overdrive. See links.

I read a lot, a solace and a life line out of the madness of today. I finished up my week-end with this most unusual gem, and it is with some emotion that I put it down and take the time to write this review.

In my lifetime, there have been fewer than four individuals able to understand me and manage me, and Dee Hock now joins that number, sight unseen. This is one of the *good guys*! If he and Bill Bradley and Jim Turner (Transpartisanship) can come together, we can remake the world.

The book benefits from a Foreword by Peter Senge, who notes that VISA as it emerged was a disruptive concept that threatened traditional powers. Senge also notes the importance of distinguishing between enabling technologies, such as the Internet, and what is enabled, such as democracy or equitable wealth creation and sharing. Finally, Senge observes that global complexity requires distributed democracy, to which I and the author would both be quick to add: "and moral capitalism."

The book is at root about the failure of all of our instititutions, and the need to find a third way between over-bearing centralization and anarchic decentralization. The author coins the word "chaordic" to deswcribe an even-handed and often-changing balance between the two.

Dee Hock is a philosopher-king, and I am reminded of "Voltaire's Bastards" and "Consilience" as I read his denouncement of the Western concept of separability and his own understanding that complexity is about never-ending and alway-changing relationships. In one example with the US Army, he explores how rules-based organizations waste 45-85% of the time and value of their employees. He specifically notes that human ingenuity is the ultimate resource and is abundant, but too often constrained if not crushed by schools, armies, corporations, and so on.

The author's morality shines forth as he describes non-monetary exchanges of value as the best possible foundation for what others call reciprocal altruism. At one point he observes that "leadership is not necessarily constructive, ethical, or open."

The entire book is about the creation of an organization in which participation is the primal element, agreement is dynamic, and trust and tolerance are the prevailing values. He states that organizational heaven is purpose, principle, and people. Purgotory is paper and procedure. Hell is rule & regulation.

He realizes early on that fraud and theft are major challenges, and that information is, as he quotes Gregory Bateson, "a difference that makes a difference."

I have a big note: this is a smart, ethical, practical, inspiring person--one of the good guys!

The author is deeply and empathetically aware of the discord between our industrial era understandings and perceptions, and the bio-cultural realities of the Earth and all its processes. He sees clearly what the "true cost" or natural capitalism literature seeks to teach.

A line jumps out, in which the author is lamenting that we have such a wealth of information, yet have drifted into "collective madness."

He clearly sees that our current form of predatory immoral "bandit" capitalism specializes at the socialization of cost and the capitalization of gain, which is fancy wording for looting the commons and stealing the profit. He also points out that we are putting the debt on to future generations.

He clearly describes the current form of corporations as inimical to the commons.

The book concludes strongly, lionizing the will to succeed when joined with the grace to compromise, placing VISA on a par with the Internet and LINUX as an organizational model for the future, and noting that growth comes from failure.

On page 284 he lists the following ten attributes from a living organization in Spain that represents the best of the chaordic model:

01 Open membership
02 Democratic organization
03 Worker sovereignty
04 Instrumental subordinate nature of capital
05 Participation in management
06 Wage solidarity
07 Cooperating between cooperatives
08 Social transformation
09 Universal nature
10 Education (he might have added, life-long, unconstrained, free of the prison-rote we now suffer, and teaching sharing as well as learning)

He ends with the story of his recall from his wanderings in the wilderness, to explore examples, models, the intellectual foundation, and organizations by which we might save the Planet and our species, to include the necessary means of mind-crafting for the future.

I actually had goose-bumps as I put this book down. I felt, very strongly, that I had been within the aura of a great leader, a gentle person, a world-class humanitarian, a capitalist Dalai Lama if you will (don't laugh--this author strikes me as quite amazingly special).

I cannot say enough about this book. It joins the very short list of books I have posted on moral leadership through open source intelligence, and it places Dee Hock up there with Buckminster Fuller, Margaret Wheatley, Robert Buckman, and a tiny handful of Senge's and Druckers.

I hope I meet him one day. Right now, he joins Bill Bradley as one of just two people I'd be willing to leave my mink-lined bunker to follow into battle. This book and this author's mind and clarity of communication have simply blown me away.

See the two images I have loaded here to illustrate concepts that I share with this author. You can see other images at Earth Intelligence Network, where you can also use the Amazon Base Page to get access to my 30 lists of books for each of the ten threats, twelve policies, and eight challengers. I am also creating Amazon discussion pages for each of these.

Related books:
The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism
The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World
Society's Breakthrough!: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People
A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks)
The Politics of Fortune: A New Agenda For Business Leaders
Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming

When I saw this new recommendation from Amazon, I was thrilled. I loved Birth of the Chaordic Age, and was eager to learn what new wisdom Dee has to share with us. I checked out the reviews and table of contents and was disappointed to see that One from Many ... is the same book under a new title. Too bad.

there was a very clever quote mentioned in the book by banker Stillman:

"Every American should reduce his talking by at least two-thirds. There is rarely any reason to talk."

Translated into 2007 prices, I would say the fraction should be upped to at least four fifths.

Verdict: not a bad little book if you can look past the author's anti-Americanism

Insightful as to American financial history PLUS a great, entertaining read. I disagree with a reviewer who said "the florid style is better suited to short articles." I found his current book of essays so-so. I found this book to be a real page turner and a lot of fun. Five stars for sure.

This is THE outstanding history of credit in the US since the Civil War. Grant is a great writer who knows both how to turn a phrase and to dig out and provide the interesting, and sometimes odd-ball fact that is perfect for illustrating his larger point. Grant makes clear that the 20th Century was the century of the democratization of credit and the socialization of risk.

Mr. Grant writes a book now 15 years old that could be redone with a new chapter of the subprime follies. Hardly necessary as he goes over the last 100+ years of similar booms and busts of which subprime is the latest flavor. Knowing that America has recovered from all those busts actually provides some optimism versus the press's gloominess. When it seems darkest means its time to buy. Looking forward to a revised edition in a few years. Mr. Grant is an old time American not an anti-American, he's on record as Cleveland being his favorite President, hardly an anti-American.
This book is well worth the time providing some perspective on today's headlines.

James Grant is the best writer of his generation on Wall Street today. Those looking for a romp or Wall Street Noir might be disappointed. But for a truly literate look at the world of debt, this book not only informs but entertains.
James Grant. Accept no substitutes.

Calder book is an appealing read. I must agree with other reviews that this is usually not a very interesting subject, finance and credit, but Calder presents it in an interesting matter that can be quite witty at times. The reader will see how Victorian money management ideas of the past were largely accepted passively by most but only actually followed by few. Credit has existed since before this countries foundation argues Calder and he details the progression of credit systems to present times.

I used Calder's book in one of my History courses and found it to be thorough, even-handed and timely. Calder's prose style is remarkably engaging; students had no trouble navigating the text and discerning the major points. It's a gripping read, but also tremendously informative as well. If you have time to read only one book on the development of consumerism and consumer values, this is it. In fact, I have read few books that I consider a better "window" on the shaping of modern American culture.

Calder covers what can be a dry subject in an interesting manner. He follows the history of consumer credit from the early 19th century up to the period of the New Deal. The book discusses the evolving attitudes toward credit and debt and the products that eventually revolutionized the system of consumer credit. It is well documented and illustrated. A surprisingly good read for what can be a boring subject.

Fascinating study of how peer groups and media influence consumer upscaling. Those who are middle class and more educated will tend to gravitate upwards in terms of external symbols of wealth and success. these are driven by consumer demands, corporate research on the spending habits of different demographics of people called "clusters", and images of what a normative lifestyle actually is. The more media we consume and the more we compare ourselves to our peer groups, the more we will tend to spend beyond our means. Also, we will tend not just to "keep up with the Joneses" but will try to differentiate ourselves from them at the same time. The richer you get, the more differentiated you desire to be from your peers. And since the same media are available to everyone, everyone participates in often harmful upscaling leading to debt and unsecure financial futures.

The solution is to downscale. Fascinating read and interesting prescriptive strategy to counter the influences with which we are bombarded that direct our spending habits and sources of personal and social value.

This book is certainly worth reading, particularly if you are just embarking on a voyage sparked by a little nagging feeling that perhaps we don't need all those shoes, shirts, suitcases, toys, etc. crowding up our houses, which maybe feel a little too sprawling, in an neighborhood that is a little too over-developed...This book is a great introduction to the rampant consumerism dominating American culture -- to our wealth and the waste it has spawned -- and gives you some great solutions to avoiding the downslide yourself, and mending those areas that may need mending, both personally and socially. The author could have taken out most of the middle of the book, in which she details the lives of some "downsizers" -- it is not terribly helpful unless your situation is nearly identical to one of those downsizers, and so I skipped it. Otherwise, this book is a quick read and well worth it.

I knew there was something wrong with society, but it took this book to help me identify what intensified this mad race for the almighty thing. I appreciated that she was able to include scientific data without interrupting the follow of the book. I also liked the voice in this book better then some of the down shifting memoirs I was looking at at the time. It was a great combo of readability and scientific backing.

This book was interesting but not as good as I was expecting. It seems like the book is just evidence to support the theories the other reviews have described (people who have more money just want more etc, etc). I wasn't even that impressed by the chapter about the "downshifters." These weren't people who decided they didn't want to be materialistic. They were people who lost theirs jobs or wanted to work less. It didn't make them want material things any less. I think it would also be more interesting if this book was written more recently. It was written in the late 90's. I wonder if the author would have touched on the effect of 9/11 on spending (how it was pushed as "patriotic" to spend) if it was written more recently. Overall, you could basically get the jist of this book by reading these reviews.

We have to buy something to learn that we're buying too much. In this case, a book. This paradox alone demonstrates the United States' deeply ingrained and all-encompassing consumerism. The book in question, by its mere existence in the marketplace, helps drive the point home. But doesn't such recursive amelioration prove that we're beyond help? Once again: we need to consume to learn how to consume less. It sounds like something straight out of Kafka or Lear. Zeno would be proud of us moderns. Of course, the proposition ignores alternatives such as borrowing the book. Still, somebody has to buy it, either a library or a friend. One typically has to own what one lends. Nonetheless, borrowing entails less consumption. And isn't that the point? To go further, if one person reads the book and imparts its contents to friends, colleagues, and relatives, those audiences don't really need to buy the book to learn from it. Vicarious learning is still learning. More important, they didn't need to consume to begin thinking about consuming less. Benefits of ownership can be dispersed. The paradox has weakened. We're not encased in perpetual consumer amber. There is a way out and Juliet Schor's "The Overspent American" builds a foundation for breaking our national consumption addiction.

Though now a decade old, the problems outlined in this book remain prevalent. Probably more prevalent given the economic crises plaguing today's economy. People don't seem to think before they buy. And the mythology of the consumable, now escalated to a divine mystery, encourages reckless spending. In the first four chapters, Schor goes a long way towards dissolving some of these myths. She looks at the workings of products on people's psyches. Advertising, wish fulfillment, keeping up with the real or imaginary Joneses, status seeking, or just plain addiction emerge as suspects. She introduces the notion, not new, of a "reference group." These can be friends, colleagues, neighbors, or even fictional characters. People tend to emulate, or want to emulate, the lifestyles of such groups. So they spend to "Keep up" or "fit in." The lower income non-profit employee socializing with lawyers or executives will experience this problem like a club to the head. Money will vaporize. The lesson: choose your reference groups wisely. But even something as innocuous as having children can increase spending. Parents can find themselves spending to keep their kids up with the Joneses kids. Vicious cycles emerge as can with gift giving between adults. Social pressure alone may lead to consumption. All of this can result in one's own identity becoming wrapped up products. We become what we buy.

It's all well and good to point out problems, and even the root of problems, but what can people do to solve them? In response, Schor goes beyond mere description. The book's remaining chapters discuss downshifting and habit breaking. "Downshifters" have rejected the consumer lifestyle. They try to get by with less to avoid the work-and-spend gerbil wheel of modern society. Schor profiles, based on personal interviews, people who have attempted voluntary and involuntary downshifting. Some were more successful than others. Nearly all came from affluence, which may sound circular, but Schor says in her introduction that her target audience is the upper-middle class. This group has disposable income and seems more prone to dangerous reckless spending, regardless of their educational levels. The profiles show that downshifting isn't for everyone and comes with risks. For those intimidated by such drastic lifestyle shifts, the final chapter lists nine principles to help cut down on consumption. Anyone can do these. An epilogue attempts to answer the question "Will consuming less wreck the economy?" Some of the arguments presented here seem tenuous and undeveloped; likely an entire book would be required to adequately address these issues.

A word of warning: "The Overspent American" may cause a life-changing shift in some readers. It makes ridiculous some of the habits we now take for granted. It undermines some of the rationalizations people present, to themselves and others, for excessive spending. Most of all, it points out that too much consumption is very much a bad thing from personal, societal, ecological, and economic perspectives. We haven't stepped off the dangerous road we were on when this book was published ten years ago. Some of the implications of this have arguably begun to emerge only today. This book retains its relevance in the face of our sagging economy bloating with people addicted to personal fulfillment through spending. If you can borrow this book, do so, but it nonetheless justifies its cover price.

This book is a disappointment. For the happy few it might be an interesting read, but for someone intereted in the general ramifications of the Greenspan era it is a huge dissappointment.
The book seems to be a blow-by-blow vendetta of the author against Alan Greenspan. And while the author clearly has an authority on the whole subject, he fails to engage his reader by not clarifying the details on why he rants againts Greenspan. Sometimes too much knowledge can be a hindrance.

The author attacks Alan Greenspan for setting interest rates too low and thus causing all out economic problems. Why did Greenspan do this? He did not see the bubbles (that he himself created) because he was blinded by the "concept of technological driven productivity miracles." The author repeats this idea many many times. But from reading the first five pages you might wonder if Mr. Fleckenstein is the best person to launch a bubble attack like this. On page 3 the author leads you to note 2 (page 189) where he writes: "Determining that a bubble exists is somewhat subjective, though not terribly difficult." A couple of pages later on page 5, the author admits: "I saw the stock market bubble building and concluded it would end in disaster -- about four years too soon!" Should Fleckenstein not have disqualified himself from documenting forecasting failures at the Fed at this point? Taking strong action to stop a bubble based on the author's forecast could have driven us into a deep recession. In these first pages Fleckenstein proves with personal experience the validity of Greenspan's statement on page 99: "I don't think we can know there's a bubble until after the fact. To assume we know it presupposes that we have the capacity to forecast a imminent decline in prices." On page 162 in a confusing paragraph Fleckenstein seems to agree with this by writing: "What would be correct to say is that one can't exactly know what action might be required to stop a bubble." This not say that Mr. Greenspan is blameless.
The author quotes his column from 1999 to judge Greenspan without the benefit of hindsight. In this column he writes that the increases in stock prices are "breathtaking" but never uses the word, bubble, before it burst. He uses the word, bubble, in column on September 17, 2001 after it is bust. Even I did better than that. In my book, "How to Invest in Condominiums" I use bubble twice and tell my readers how to to avoid them (I finished writing the book in 1999). Yet Fleckenstein is the one who has the nerve to attack the FOMC for not using the word often enough. This book is all about criticism with the benefit of hindsight. There are no lessons learned. We have to take it on faith that tighter money applied here and there would have been better. He does not attempt to demonstrate his forecasting ability and help Chairman Ben Bernanke by telling him how big the bursting real estate bubble is and when it will hit bottom, so that the Fed can set the "correct" rate. But no, on page 184 the author indicates that Ben Bernanke would make the same decisions as Greenspan. When we finally know how big and bad the real estate bubble was, say in 2013, Ben Bernanke (if he is still there) and the FOMC are sure to get flack from Fleckenstein for allowing the bubble to end so badly. The FOMC will be unaware of this incoming flack or wisely ignore it. This negative evaluvation (or well documented rant) deserves three stars for providing an insight into how difficult the task the FOMC has is and why in the long run the value of our paper money will always erode.

This is a truly invaluable book. Fleckenstein shows,beyond any doubt, that Alan Greenspan has been a disaster for the country and the economy. Even before becoming Fed chairman, Greenspan had demonstrated his incompetence (Read the beginning where Greenspan's predictions as one of President Ford's advisers would drastically miss the mark). Unfortunately, Greenspan would be confirmed as Fed chairman and begin a nearly twenty year career of gross mismanagement.

Fleckenstein quotes Greenspan repeatedly, demonstrating the Fed Chairman's inability to predict the stock market or housing bubble (or anything else for that matter). Greenspan comes off as completely incompetent in Greenspan's Bubbles. Perhaps some day the Federal Reserve will be abolished and the economy will not be subject to the whims of mediocre men like Greenspan and Bernanke. If that day comes, it will be because of thoughtful experts like this book's author. I also recommend Ron Paul's analysis of Greenspan in his recent book--Paul points out that Greenspan once supported sound money but changed his views as the lure of great power as a central planner seduced him.

Greenspan will be forever linked to the global financial meltdown of 2008. History will not be kind to the Bubble Boy.

In this fascinating book, financial journalist William Fleckenstein studies the record of Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006.

Between 1937 and 1987 there were no bubbles, but Greenspan helped to create two bubbles in ten years - in stocks and then in real estate - by holding interest rates too low, punishing savers. He helped to make the American people worse off by redistributing wealth to the rich, the bubbles' boosters and sponsors.

Greenspan viewed new technology expenses as assets. So he thought that productivity and profits were higher than they really were, that inflation was overstated and that stocks were understated. In 1998 firms spent $95 billion on computers. After Greenspan's `hedonic adjustment', this came out as $352 billion, adding 2% to US GDP.

Governments want to understate inflation and overstate growth, productivity and incomes. So now, most price rises seem to be way above the rate of inflation.

Greenspan's rate cut of 15 October 1998 triggered the stock market bubble. By 1999 the stock market was valued at 180% of US GDP. (In the last bubble, in 1929, it was 85% of GDP.) In 2000-01 this bubble burst - the new technology miracle proved to be a mirage. In 1992-99 there was zero productivity growth in 99% of the US economy, and growth only in 1%, computer hardware.

In 2001-03, housing `saved' the US economy from the aftershock of the stock bubble. De-regulation led to lower lending standards with more `creative' financial instruments, like the $500 trillion worth of derivatives, which Warren Buffett described as `financial instruments of mass destruction'.

So from 2003 to 2007 there was a real estate bubble, based on huge debts. Mortgage-equity withdrawals created half US GDP growth between 2001 and 2007. By 2006, household debt was 97% of GDP: mortgage debt was $13.3 trillion. Total US debt in 2007 was 325% of GDP.

This ocean of debts rested on a falling real estate market, a sinking economy and a weak currency. Where could the next economic rebound come from? Capitalism has destroyed production and destroyed the housing market: it is running out of options.

Dee Hock spend much time contemplating while being in nature, to which he felt strongly connected. Therefor it came as no surprise that he decided to organise his company, VISA International, following the structures of nature. The resulting enterprise showed flexibility and ingenuity, being able to rapidly respond to changing circumstances. The people it attracted grew a strong sense of responsibility and pride in their contributions. The interconnectedness and mutual trust laid a solid base for creativity and daring. Given the circumstances all were leaders at times and followers at others. A shared passion or spirit of relevance drove them further, growing VISA to a multi trillion business in the process. A beautiful example what can happen if we align ourselves with the forces of nature.

not much to say other than the service was prompt and the book arrived in excellent condition.

Dee Hock is a man with a rich history. He relates a large part of that personal history in Birth of the Chaordic Age even though, he claims, this is not a story about him, nor about VISA International, although both figure prominently in the tale. The book is not so much a story at all, but a passionate manifesto for the future of business and society as a whole. If almost anyone else had written a book of such grand - perhaps grandiose - pretensions, we would quickly dismiss them. But Hock is known as the founder and former CEO of VISA International. He explains that he founded the organization on "chaordic principles". This business now connects over 20,000 financial institutions, 14 million merchants, and 600 million consumers in 220 countries. That's a compelling argument for allowing the man to speak.

Hock's book is a masterfully written broadside against the dominance of today's command-and-control institutions. He is far from alone in the outlines of his historical perspective. According to this, over the last three centuries we have increasingly sought to structure society according to reductionism, specialization, more technology, more efficiency, more linear education and processes, and more hierarchical command and control. The goal has been to create an organization in which leaders can pull a lever and reliably produce a desired result.

Hock goes further than most who share this perspective when he talks of the "dominator organizations" that have ordered resources and people so as to produce large quantities of uniform goods. Instead of the expected results, claims Hock, what we have produced is "obscene maldistribution of wealth and power, a crumbling ecosphere, and collapsing societies." This apocalyptically gloomy view may be trendy, but has only a passing resemblance to reality. (For a brief alternative view, see "The Truth About the Environment", related to this review.) Readers need not share Hock's assessment of today in order to learn from, agree with, and help to implement his alternative vision of chaordic organizations - those that are simultaneously chaotic and orderly.

The positive vision expounded on in Birth of the Chaordic Age sees organizations of the future as being the embodiment of community, based on shared purpose calling to the higher aspirations of people. Hock puts this general description into more specific form by explaining how a chaordic organization is formed by attending to six elements in the proper order: Purpose, Principles, People, Concept, Structure and Practice.

Hock claims that VISA was formed according to this description - the unusual organization is owned by its member banks, which combine competition for customers with cooperation by honoring each other's transactions across borders and monetary systems. If this is true, then you may persist in reading the book for its vision, despite some annoying peccadilloes, such as Hock's talk of "Old Monkey Mind" (his rational thoughts).

I have two regrets after reading it. One that I can't give it more than 5 stars, and that I did not read it a long time ago. I read this book to learn more about Hock's views on complexity and organization, what he describes as a "chaordic system." While I met that purpose, I also discovered much more.

The personal narrative about failure and disappointment before Hock's leadership in the creation of VISA is something I needed to read years ago before I went through frustrating set-backs in my own career for related reasons.

What's more, Hock's understanding and recommendations for harnessing the power of complex systems is brilliant. If you could read only one book on leadership and complexity, I would strongly encourage this book to be it.

Part of what I find so amazing is that Hock is able to express a great deal of cutting edge philosophy and social science thinking as he tells a business story.

Read this book and share the ideas within with others!

This is a book that is fascinating and frustrating by turns. It's about one of the most fascinating and effective and least written-about business executives in the world, Dee Hock.

Hock is the founder and CEO Emeritus of Visa. Visa is an organizational form unlike anything anyone had ever seen or, for that matter since. It combined the efforts of organizations that were normally at each other's competitive throats. But that's not all.

In the process of getting Visa to work, Hock and the other folks that he worked with, also managed to create the payment system that is Visa. To realize how big an achievement this is, consider the fact that the check-clearing system in the Federal Reserve still does not work with a fraction of the efficiency of the Visa-approval and payment-clearing process.

I'd known about Dee Hock for years, and I was fascinated by him and by the process that must have gone into establishing, actually inventing, Visa. I snatched up this book when it came out hoping that it would contain the story of Hock and the Visa adventure. It did. That story is compelling and well written.

But there's more to this book than that story, and the "more" includes lots of bits of value and many bits of frustration.

Take the title. Birth of the what Age? "Chaordic." Try looking that up in the dictionary. It's not there. Do we need a brand-new word to describe what Hock is describing? Maybe, but I'm not sure.

I'm quite sure I don't need some of the other strange things that he does with language in the book. There is, for example, "Thee Ancient One." That turns out to be a tractor. Then there's "old monkey mind."

Old monkey mind is the term that Hock uses in several different ways throughout the book. Sometimes it's used to refer to logical, linear, left side of the brain. Sometimes it's used to refer to old thinking patterns. Sometimes it seems to be a kind of alter ego for Hock with whom he has conversations.

That kind of language is cute but it's more appropriate to a book of whimsy. Here it gets in the way of understanding. And there's a lot here to understand.

Whatever else Dee Hock is, he is certainly one of the most fascinating intellects that I've come across. He's clearly a man of principle. He's had an amazing life, starting from poverty, rising to heights of business where he created one of the great financial institutions in the history of the planet. Then he walked away from that achievement with less ongoing compensation than Jack Welch's apartment rentals. Hock's mind is supple and rich and dips into sources that span time and geography and cultures.

Hock's life and the story of Visa are fascinating, and it pulls us along, but there's real meat in his observations about organizations and how they work and how they ought to work. There are penetrating insights into the ways that organizations have an impact on the Planet, on the economy, and on individual lives. There are insights and observations about what it means to be human.

In the end, I think this is really two books. One book is a story that goes from start to finish. It's the story of Dee Hock. It's the story of Visa. It's a fascinating story, filled with lessons and examples. It's worth buying the book that's between the cover for.

Then there's the other book that is a collection of bits of observation and thought. They're not presented in a coherent way, just plopped down into the story in separate chapters throughout the book. This is a book with less organization and more random insights. It, too, is interesting and worth the price of the book.

In the end, you can get two books - both wonderful, for the price of one.