Enterprise

Capitalism and Commerce was properly selected as the BEST BOOK for Sept. by BUSINESS READER REVIEW. This fine statement of the moral and economic arguments for capitalism is aimed at the same audience and level as the world's number one free-market journal, IDEAS ON LIBERTY[formerly THE FREEMAN]. Younkins' book will make a great addition to college courses in Introduction to Business, Business and Society, Business Ethics, Capitalism and Its Critics, etc.

This excellent work makes the case that capitalism is the only moral social system because it protects a man's mind, his primary means of survival and flourishing. Younkins emphasizes that only a free society is compatible with the true nature of man and the world. This extremely readable and well organized book is about freedom and the type of society men require in order to engage in their own happiness-pursuing activities. CAPITALISM AND COMMERCE is a tolerant, nonparochial, and inclusive work that expounds fundamental principles that will be widely supported by readers from journals as diverse as REASON, THE CATO JOURNAL, NAVIGATOR, THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW, JOURNAL OF MARKETS AND MORALITY, IDEAS ON LIBERTY, JOURNAL OF LIBERTARIAN STUDIES, LIBERTY, THE FREE RADICAL, CRITICAL REVIEW, FREEDOM DAILY, HUMANE STUDIES REVIEW, MISES DAILY, IMPRIMIS, REGULATION, HOOVER DIGEST, and POLICY REVIEW. This book is a tour de force presentation of the moral and philosophical case for freedom!

Dr. Younkins exposes to the world the truth behind the current United States entitlement system. The easy to read chapters discuss each aspect of a capitilistic system in its purest form. Each chapter builds on each other allowing the reader to discover the mirage of free enterprise in this country.
This is a very good book and Ed has been able to lubricate the previously dry subject of economics. Any person who believes that Americans live under a free enterprise system should read this book. If you believe that you are entitled to some economic aid from the "Government," read this book.

Steiners sports team oriented approach to management is an awakening for those that get caught up in "Big Picture"
and ultimately end up forgeting all of the small blocking
and tackling details that make a business successful
in all economic environments. Are we putting our people in
a position to win? Do we have a plan and are we communicating the plan? Are we paying attention to our customer's need
no matter how small or large they are. The book entertains
with anecdotes from Athletes and Steiner. A refreshing,
insightful quick read that provides applicable insight
to any type of business.

Mr. Steiner came to our campus to discuss his book. We found him to be very personable, and decided to buy his book. We are given a lot of required reading, and it is refreshing to have a book that is appropriate towards our studies that can give us a real world outlook of the business world and what we can do to help us succeed upon our entry.

Mr. Steiner relays his own personal experiences, as well as those of athletes he has met, and puts them into a format that expresses in terms we can all understand of the various ethics and motivations one should have when working in the business world. They are insightful and appropriate.

By having the book break into side stories within each chapter of certain instances or occurances that relate to the chapter's discussion makes it even more enoyable to read.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to other students, and I am in the process of buying it and having it mailed to my high school buddy at another college. Thanks Amazon for making it easy.

I was lucky enough to read this book after the CEO of my company asked me to purchase it and write him up a quick synopis. It was a quick but powerful read and by the end of that same weekend my senses were ablaze with newly kindled hope and inspiration!

Brandon Steiner has a great sense of motivational ability, and unlike some who give advice with an heir of condescension, he has an amazing ability to strike a chord with the reader through highly assimilable, digestible prose and imagery. He presents a theme and then illustrates it anecdotally. In his line of business one can only imagine the stories you'd have after working so closely with such colorful clientele. At the end of each chapter there is a summary and a closing paragraph or two which ties all the subject matter together.

The book is divided into key principles: "Start with a road map; Find your niche; Wake up nervous!; Know your purpose; Go the extra mile; You never know; Get focused!; Nothing changes if nothing changes; It's not what happens, it's what you do with what happens; and finally, See success as a habit." I saw so many points therein which had immediate relevance to my life and my future goals.

I am very glad to have read "The Business Playbook" and strongly advocate to anyone who reads this to pick yourself up a copy. You'll be glad you did.

Michael G.
NY, NY

I read this book and watched the TV series around 1990. I credit Growing a Business, as much as anything I ever read or heard, for the success of my company today.

In 1992 a group of first-time entrepreneurs started a company together. Some of the group had a blueprint of how a company is supposed to start. Get capital. Build something. Launch it. Succeed. They had not read the book, or they had but did not believe it spoke to us.

Some of the group had a more organic idea, inspired in part by this book. Each company has its pace, its flow, its learning curve. The CEO is the clock, the pacer, the navigator. There is a constant calculator going on each decision, each day, extrapolating payoffs, comparing the costs and benefits. And there is a recognition of what we are going into business for and structuring the business to support those objectives.

For example, we wanted a great place for employees. Each employee would share the experience and benefits. The "Startup 101" types of books treat this topic as an add-on after you do all the important things. Hawken makes it primary. It is primary if you want a place for the best people to do their best work. Structure your company around the employee experience and all else falls into place - if that is the kind of company you want.

An important lesson from this book is serious initial capital for inexperienced entrepeneurs can be a mistake. Hawken describes this. So important. So easy to overlook.

Large amounts of startup capital allows you to outsource parts of a company you may not totally understand yet. It makes some mistakes very expensive. It dulls the creativity at times, the innovation to do more with less. It might encourage one to do things just because you see other companies doing them. It tempts you to make large steps, when it is critical in modern markets to learn to make many smaller steps.

And so on. This book may not fit every entrepreneur. It certainly does not provide all the information you need for growing a company. But for some of us it describes a pattern for growing a good company.

If you are thinking about starting a company, or are in the early stages of a startup, I recommend this book. It might change how you do things, and you might get more satisfaction from the adventure as a result.

A "humane" treatment of business. Hawken demostrates that business as practised by "corporate" America, where the interest of the shareholder is supreme, and where the employee is an"afterthought", is the reverse of what it should be. A farmer can't force his crop to grow too fast, or slow it's development: his crop has a speed that is just right. So with business: too much forced growth (with excess capital, for example) can be just as dangerous as too slow growth. This book should be read by anyone desiring serious longterm success

This perfect book was written by someone who really built a business - Smith & Hawken - from the ground up. As we all know, everyone crows on the failure of communism, but no one crows about the real failure of capitalism. It is a more slow dying weed than the communism, but it is a dying weed as well. Every business is different, the same way we are. By focusing on the inner business, Mr. Hawken helps anybody create an enterprise that is ideally suited to its owner. It is smart capitalism with a human face. He uses numerous examples to make his points, and talks about the practical as well as the philosophic. It is a must read for anyone who wants to go into business or desires to grow a business.

I passed the extremely difficult CCDA exam about a month ago, I used several books and practice exams to help in the study process, my wish is that I could have had this book before it all began than I sure I would have had an easier time with the exam.

In just over 560 pages, this book will help with the CCDA and CCDP exams. Broken down into 4 parts, each part building the previous section, Part 1 is the Identifying needs and goals by showing you how to set business goals, policies, politics, staffing and budgeting. Also you get information on creating networks maps, analyzing traffic and QOS.

Part 2 then moves to the logical network design talking about the Cisco hierarchical model, redundancy, load balancing, VLANs, IP addressing schemes and planning. Discussion of when to use classful vs. classless routing, bridging, switching and routing protocol choices as well as security finish out the section.

Part 3 is the actual physical network design which includes cabling, LAN and WAN technologies like Ethernet and token ring, PPP, ISDN and authentication techniques. Finally part 4 the very important testing, optimizing and documentation of the network, with tool, setting baselines, measuring bandwidth and creating and implementing a Cisco Network Design Document.

Overall if you are planning to take the CCDA exam, currently studying the for the exam or are in the job of designing the networks you might want to get a hold of this book and make life a little easier.

Top Down Network Design was one of the books I read in preparation for my CCDA. At that time I thought it a first rate book. I am now in the final stages of my CCIE preparation, and have included Top Down as part of my study materials. Even at my increased level of understanding, I continue to be impressed with this book. It is well written, clearly explained, and contains levels of detail and subtlety I missed when I first read it over a year ago.

Top Down Network Design is part of my Masters Class Reading List - must read books for people who want to master networking, as well as pass certification tests. By all means add this one to your library. I predict you will refer to it often during your studies and during your networking career.

ms oppenheimer has written a book that every networker should
read. she describes a concise method for analyzing and designing
internetworks.
admittedly she follows many of the tenets that comprise version 1
of the ccda (i haven't taken/looked at the newer version of the
test) - but there is a reason that cisco has helped to design
and support some of the largest and most complex networks in the
world...they follow a consistent, easily replicated, and scalable
model for networking.

network design is similar to putting a puzzle together - this
book simplifies that puzzle. if you are designing a network,
please read this. if you are managing someone who is designing
a network, please read this.

Ed Rogoff has written a must buy for those planning on starting or expanding their business. He takes you through a step-by-step plan from your initial idea to your grand opening. Examples, forms and common pitfalls are all covered in an easy to follow system. If you want to make your dream a reality, "Bankable Business Plans" will get you started.

Rogoff is simply ingenious. I have read many books over the years to guide me in business, but the clarity and detail he provides for business plans is quite brilliant. I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to write a business plan and raise money - it is the best 50 bucks I have ever spent!

A very readable, straightforward guide to business plans that really have the "right stuff". Not a formula or a cookie cutter but a comprehensive guide to all the issues that need to be thought out and developed for a bullet proof plan, right down to how to present the plan in person. The book is written clearly with a welcome touch of humor. As an investment banker /entrepreneur who has written, evaluated, critiqued and funded or rejected countless business plans over many years, this is by far the best and most helpful guide book I have come across. Also useful if you are reviewing business plans of others as to what was not addressed and also as a reality check on a business in which you might be involved as a director, officer, lender or creditor. I highly recommend Bankable Business Plans.

Unlike the previous reviewer, I whole heartedly endorse the book. Their is nothing easy about starting a business and the pressures it places on one's life from every possible perspective are unimaginable for anyone who has not laid awake at night wondering how they will make payroll. This book is not afraid to explore some of those areas and personally I think it is a must read for both experienced entrepreneurs and those considering starting a business.

I too attended the seminar in Kansas City and could not disagree more with the previous reviewer. Perhaps he/she was on a coffee or bathroom break and did not understand that many of Mr. Molz' comments were "tongue and cheek" and designed to elicit response from the audience. It is easy to second guess or criticize a decision from the confines of an audience (or behind a computer screen and keyboard). I applaud Mr. Molz for having the courage to share his personal pressures and previous failures as well as his successes. In my opinion, the book and the seminar should be on the "have to do list" of anyone starting or growing a business.

Last night I went to see Barry Moltz speak and promptly purchased the book. I'm already tearing through it and wanted to share my thoughts. As an entrepreneur who has shared a lot of Barry's experiences, I can say that he truly has an excellent grasp on his experiences, what they mean in the context of his life and the rollercoaster ride that is building a business. Barry is a dynamic individual that can describe business in a down-to-earth way that helps people in their decision to pursue their passions. I highly recommend buying this book - it is a refreshing change from the typical "MBA - X steps to success" books that litter the shelves.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It came to me at just the right time, while I was getting started with my own consulting firm. Mr. Moltz has the courage to provide enough personal and business anecdotes to give an aspiring entrepreneur the ability to double check their own "normalcy". Even though a business start-up is not what most family, friends and corporate-types would consider to be a good idea in this economic environment, Mr. Moltz shows you that the feelings of craziness during this process are "normal" for an entrepreneur. It's this gut-check, this ability to compare your experiences against the veterans, that keeps you going through the ups and downs of starting your own business.

The 1.st sentence of the preface says: "This book is intended as a reference rather than a tutorial". Well for an experienced Java programmer this is certainly true, but for a novice who has just grasped the fundamentals of the language and starts to write down his first lines of code this book is an excellent tutorial. Every class has a description and practically every method of every class has its example code where nearly every line is documented, with links to related methods. Looking into these examples one can quickly learn tips and tricks smoothing the learning curve a lot. The Chan's book is miles ahead, in my opinion, the unuseful example codes one can freely download from the Sun's internet pages, full of magic words comining from blue skyes not documented at all, where one has to figure out what any of them is useful for and where you are on your own. One more time: what I say is true for a novice; the senior Java programmer may feel at his ease with the API's documentation of the Sun's JDK.
My last warning: since in Java things change often this kind of books goes into obsolescence quicky. For instance: my copy is the 5th edition (October 2001) and it lacks completely the new Collections class framework.

As a beginning Java Programmer, I was looking for a reference for all the java packages. This book contains all objects which changed since the JDK 1.1. I continue to use it daily. The one dissapointment I had, was my own missunderstanding of the nature of the book. As the title implies this is a supplement, if you want a complete reference you must buy the vol 1 and 2 of the java reference. The index in this book will refer you to the other volumns for an object which did not change in 1.2. The organization is well thought out and the coding examples are helpful to me as a beginner. The completeness and index make this a superb reference manual.

If you could design your own Java reference series, what would you include? How about:

- An plain English explanation of each class and method.
- Sample code for every class and method.
- Intelligent organization that enables you to find a given class or method quickly.
- A comprehensive, well-organized index that thinks like you do.

This summarizes the content of this book and the other two in the series and explains why they are the three books I wouldn't dream of programming in Java without. (I've been a professional Java developer since 1996.) Buy the book and make your life easier.

When I first saw this book, my heart did not exactly skip a beat. Another book about (and worse, BY!) 2 American entrepreneurs selling computer mice? Haven't publishers had enough of all these human interest business stories that all share the same beginnings and endings?

I decided to give the book a go anyway since it was a gift from a friend. Surprisingly, I was unable to put it down. Even though I am an Asian doing my MBA in Europe, I believe the experiences of the authors hold true for all aspiring entrepreneurs.

And what experiences! I won't give the story away (go to mousedriver.com and look at their Insider newsletter for a summary of some of their tales),but DO consider this book to get an idea of what it means to passionately believe in a product, get that product to the market -- and how to deal with all the obstacles in the way while preserving your sanity and bank balances.

If, like me, you have thoughts about being an entrepreneur but are not sure of what to start being passionate about, read this book and "Just Drive It" ! The marketing slogan for the MouseDriver (that's what these guys are trying to sell, a mouse that is shaped like a golf club) is certainly effective shorthand for all those who have always THOUGHT about being their own boss but have have not dared to fall out of their 8 to 8 routines (Worry about the landing later:-)

MouseDriver Chronicles is a true, compelling story that deserves a wider audience. I now understand why my friend (who gave me the book) actually went on to help publish it. Happy AND educational endings, anyone?

Ok, so here's the deal. I currently manage about $20MM in retail business for a manufacturer, and have been contemplating whether to pursue an MBA (read Wharton) or start a company. This book provided a pretty no-pretense look at starting a product-based company. In many cases the author's MBA's weren't that valuable (their words, not mine). Ultimately, this book served to help demystify the process of starting a company. While not a "how-to" book, I can say that it has been one of the most beneficial books in providing 1) a realistic view of the start-up process, and 2) a realistic view on the benefit of an MBA in starting a company. My own personal conclusion is that industry experience seems to count for far more than an MBA (assuming, of course, and undergrad in Business Mgmt or business knowledge from experience).

Thanks, guys, for daring to share your victories, setbacks, and experiences with us in a transparent and unpretentious manner. I can't tell you how beneficial this book has been in my own decision to take the plunge.

The twenty bucks invested in this book may be the best start-up investment you can make. By the way, they really do reply if you email them. I received replies from both John & Kyle within a few days of asking for their input. God bless.

Having stumbled accross this book amidst the deluge that is my local book store, i soon realised that i had stumbled accross something very inspirational indeed. As a Business school graduate myself, i was entering this game with a somewhat over-confident approach to business startup! Boy oh boy has this read tought me a thing or three! I don't want to rabble on and on about how good the book is, but i would just like to add one thing. The experiences of John and Kyle (the entrepreneurs) have brought me back down to earth and have re-ignited my creative spark as i am now thinking of ways to avoid getting myself in the dificult situations they often found themselves in . Also of ways i could get in similar positive situations they found themselves in. Oh, just go and buy it, steal it, borrow it from your friend or find a way to get your hands on it-entrepreneurs you will not regret it!

I'm sorry but the reviews of this book seem too good to be true. Please someone criticize the book!

If you want to ignite your idea and launch it into a thriving business, read this book. Romanus Wolter gives you the steps and the confidence to turn your passion into reality. You don't need an MBA, but you do need "Kick Start Your Dream Business."

I love how he points out that you should not hesitate to tap the ideas and services of your friends, family and colleagues who are thrilled to help you get started. You just need to ask. You have many people by your side who will support you with your dream. You don't have to do it all by yourself.

Before reading "Kick Start Your Dream Business" I had been struggling with the challenge of bringing my new business idea to life. I found myself on a circuitous path of asking people for advice, bumping into walls, retracing my steps, constantly changing my strategies and basically wasting precious time. This book helped me focus my process with very practical advice, while Romanus Wolter's own obvious exuberance and energy filled me with a renewed joy and motivation for turning my dream business into a reality. I'm sure I'm not the first to say that I wish I could have read this book earlier. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is trying to sort through the how-to's of getting a dream business off the ground.

This is a great reference book, as well as a good source of technical business startup information. Not the sort of book for service companies, but if you are looking to start a software or hardware company, THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU! I know I will be reading this again and again.

Great stuff Baird!

As a member of a start-up company, this is one of a select few books that I have found to be truly useful. Baird's writing style is both clear and pithy resulting in a book that conveys the essential concepts with a minimum of inconsequential verbiage.

In a bold marketing experiment, Professional Publications, Inc., has made available online at eysu.org the entire contents of this all-new 2003 2nd Edition of "Engineering Your Start-up." Every page is searchable in PDF files.
Michael Baird (co-author)