Fund-of-funds Books

Mutual funds offer beginners the best entry point into the investment world. But with thousands of funds available and fund managers competing aggressively for your money, how can an educated and sensible decision be made? This book is a key educational tool. Written in an organized and easy to understand format, all pertinent information is included. Readers will learn about the difference between load and no load funds, specialized funds, purchasing and cashing out shares and various tax implications, among many other topics. This should be required reading before making any investment in mutual funds.

Outstanding book to get the indepth details on every single one of Vanguard's Mutual Funds. I always use this book to thoroughly research Vanguard funds prior to purchasing. Book also includes the author's personal advice on which funds to buy, sell and hold. It details more than 100 of Vanguards Mutual Funds along with its current risks factors for each fund. Easy to read facts, figures and tables. Presents fund's present and past performance with expanded 10 year tables. Greatly helped me select wise and profitable funds for purchase.

The new monograph, 9/11 Unveiled by Enver Masud of The Wisdom Fund, is the best short summary of what most Americans and virtually all of the rest of the world consider to be the "9/11 mystery". In this factual account, Enver Masud avoids the popular focus on the accumulating wealth of merely circumstantial evidence that the official U.S. governmental account of 9/11 is incomplete.

Briefly he suggests possible alternative motivations for others than Muslim terrorists to attack the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Possible motivation, however, does not constitute proof of anything in a court of law. Therefore, Masud's monograph, "9/11 Unveiled," serves the cause of truth in media and accuracy in history only by marshalling the hard evidence that must be rebutted to stop conspiracy theories and popular paranoia about a hidden hand behind this first attack in two centuries on the American homeland.

The bulk of this "unveiling" consists of hard, scientific evidence that fuel-laden passenger planes could not have caused the collapse of the towers in New York. It also provides some peripheral evidence that a missile, and not a plane, struck the Pentagon, and that Flight 93 was taken out by a U.S. defensive missile over Pennsylvania and not by passengers' takeover of the cockpit.

From a lawyer's perspective, the principal weakness of the official government account of 9/11 is the failure of the U.S. government to
explain away evidence which complete transparency might easily rebut. Until a court of inquiry exposes the popular conspiracy theories as unjustified, the evil of 9/11 will continue to be exploited politically to feed Islamophobia. The most long-lasting victim might be religion itself, which can be exploited in the cause of terrorism, but is its only real cure as the source of peace, prosperity, and freedom through compassionate justice.

The ABCs Of Mutual Funds: Everything Your Consultant Really Doesn't Have Time To Explain is a thorough sourcebook for company securities written in plain terms for the lay reader. The ABCs of Mutual Funds explains precisely how mutual funds, contractual plans, hedge funds, exchange traded funds, folios, unit investment trusts, and variable annuities work, as well as the differences between full service and discount dealers, the legal obligations of stockbrokers, and much more. An absolute "must-read" for anyone new to the investment industry, in an era when so called "free" seminars are really just padded commercials with the objective of soliciting securities sales. Recommended investment guidelines and selection criteria ensure that The ABCs of Mutual Funds pays for itself, as its tips, tricks, and techniques for avoiding costly mistakes are worth their weight in green.

Many nonprofits need funding yet can't afford the expense of a full-time hired fundraiser, so The Accidental Fundraiser is an excellent guide for any on a budget. It covers the basics of setting goals, assigning fundraising duties, finding money, forming partnerships and more, offering up a practical, tested set of ideas for a multifaceted fundraiser project. Perfect for any collection catering to nonprofit and volunteer efforts, and for any general-interest lending collection.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Performance budgeting is more than the new buzz word in the development lexicon -- it is an evolving concept that is targeted directly at getting the biggest bang for your development buck. Its emergence on the development scene could not have come at a better time, when the world is scrambling to make up for lost time on the road to the Millennium Development Goals. PB is based on the assumption that presenting performance information alongside budget amounts will improve budget decision-making by focusing funding choices on programme results.

Development practitioners working in all areas have discovered that the best solutions to poverty are found through close consultation with those most affected, when the poor themselves are involved and empowered to plan what is most important to them, to participate in the resulting implementation and to be part of the resulting review process. That is why this book is targeted at both local authorities and those who intend to work with them. I found it a heavy read, but full of good information and practical advice. A must-read for anyone wanting to make a substantive and sustainable contribution to the cause of poverty alleviation in developing countries.

This book is a really good book.
I don't want to give the book away.
You got to read it in your spear time.

Experienced shared prepares the attentive heart. The Advancement President and the Academy is truly a shared experience, an opportunity to walk in the shoes of former and present-day college presidents. This book is as much an instructional guide as it is a spirited song about the resounding values, the significance, and the essence of leading today's academic institution. The Advancement President is more than just a collection of essays; it is a rich knowledge base reflecting those things that are tried and true about the office of the campus chief executive.

I started this book with the fancy idea that I wanted to become a college president. I finished this book with a sense that I had just completed an internship with America's friendliest and wisest college presidents. From the start I felt personally mentored while touring the hallways of higher education and the communities that they both affect and are affected by. This collection of essays reads like a personal dialogue between mentor and mentee, and even though each author addresses a different subject area, each essay is anchored in the uncovering of the work of the advancement president and how this experience better equips one to lead in other capacities.

The "advancement president" refers to the officer in higher education institutions who, in varying degrees, is responsible for cultivating constituency relationships, promoting a positive image, and fundraising to support institutional priorities and growth. (In most cases this is not the office of the college president, but a staff position in the service of the president.) While no one area of the advancement office is left unexplored in this book, one of the major themes throughout many of the essays is that of the primacy of interrelationships between the executive office and various constituencies.

It was the uncovering of these relationships - their function, importance, and their challenges - that I found most interesting and meaningful during the reading. The Advancement President and the Academy has much to say about interacting with publics such as governments, philanthropists, parents, students, faculty, media, civic leaders, corporations, alumni, staff, and one's own family. These constituencies all play a pivotal role in the day-to-day activities of the advancement president. One essayist pointed out that decisions regarding the many constituencies "must not be left to chance" or be treated "superficially." The vital job of the president, then, is to give thoughtful and adequate attention to these relations so that the parties become willing partners working to strengthen the school's value to the community and its ability to meet new challenges. Another essayist added to this point that "every constituency looks to the [president] for leadership." What a fresh revelation this was! It helped to understand the principle that leading from without is just as important as leading from within.

A portrait of this quality of leadership is detailed in the book. My traditional view of college presidents is of starchy talking heads, of men and women babbling about educational philosophies with their faces almost devoid of any human emotion. On the contrary, this reading reveals the human side of the chief executive. Good college presidents and advancement officers are people of warmth who work toward laudable goals that serve diverse needs. College presidents are not just salesmen of institutional vision, they are men and women who care enough to commit their lives to help others expand and fulfil their personal visions. They are a passionate people, generously devoted to the institution's values and the people that create them. These leaders possess highly developed personal strengths, not unlike those required in ministerial or social leadership. Michael Adams, President of the University of Georgia, discussed some traits that include "a love of people... a sense of personal integrity, supreme competence, an innate desire to give something back to society... a sense of humility... and the mind of a servant." Another college president showed us a glimpse of the integrity required of the executive officer when he wrote, " My signature on every letter or note was genuine..."

Considering this description of the executive officer along with the many practical insights shared about institutional advancement, some heavy implications are left for me to reflect on. The implications of this reading for my life and career primarily have to do with mapping my route to the executive office. After reflection I cannot help but to think that the wisest approach to the executive office is through the doors of the advancement office. The essays provide fantastic examples of men and women who have taken this same route. The president of John Hopkins University wrote, "No president can avoid full engagement in the work of institutional advancement... [or] long serve in office unless he or she raises support for the institution," and Elizabeth Lee wrote, "I think that many heads of schools would say that at least 50 percent of their time is spent on advancement... the best training I got for headship was working in a development office because it prepared me for so many of my day's activities." I take these statements as personal advice and wisdom for pursuing my goal of becoming a college president.

From my own perspective, the fruits of The Advancement President and the Academy and of every contributor's labors culminates in the personal challenge I feel to ready myself for my future in the executive seat. My newfound respect for the office and for those it serves helps me to recognize the many personal changes I must make during my season of preparation. As I work toward personal transformation to ready my being for this type of leadership, I will cling to The Advancement President and reflect on it regularly. I will continue to grapple with its truths, its wisdom, and the spirit of the profession portrayed in the stories shared by each of the contributors, for in my opinion, these are some of the best men and women our country can boast to have ever known. I sincerely thank them for their tutelage.

I reserve no commendation for this book. Mary Kay Murphy has collected the consummate companion for those such as myself who desire to engage with the principles of leadership in higher education and the accumulated knowledge of many experienced leaders. The contributing authors render to readers many pearls of great price as if they were personally mentoring their readers and for this great contribution we owe our gratitude. There are truly not enough stars to reward them in kind.

This book is an excellent insight to how tactics of major interest groups reacted to, benefited, or were derailed by the 1994 Republican take over of Congress. It is written extremely well with captivating stories, individualizing each interest group within its own chapter. A must-read for any Political Science major or government buff. Five stars!

James Bryce's "The American Commonwealth" is a basic text of American government and politics, one of three such texts, the others being Hamilton, Madison, and Jay The Federalist Papers (Signet Classics), and de Tocqueville Democracy In America (Complete). These three works, two by foreigners, form the groundwork of a basic understanding of the American system of government. Such an understanding is basic to good citizenship. The lack of such an understanding is sadly demonstrated every day by America's journalists, professors, politicians, and average citizens.

Reading Bryce's "Commonwealth" seems a formidable task at the beginning, since it is two volumes with a total of over 1600 pages. Yet once you begin, Lord Bryce's style is so natural, almost conversational, and the material so interesting to anyone with the slightest interest in American history and politics (and shouldn't that include every American citizen?), that it is actually a very easy book to read.

Bryce was Scottish, born in Belfast, Ireland. He became an attorney and a professor of law at Oxford, then a member of Parliament. He was Ambassador to the United States from 1907 to 1913, became a viscount in 1914. He was very well-traveled and well-known in the US, about as well-qualified as anyone could be to write a description of the American form of government. Because of his reputation as a friend of America he had an important influence on the US entry into World War One on the Allied side.

The first volume covers the national and state governments, the second volume covers the party system, public opinion, and various aspects of American political and social life. The first edition was published in 1888, and it was last revised in 1914. Over the years Bryce made many revisions as his observations and knowledge of America broadened and deepened.

Bryce explains exactly how American government works. A listing of some of the more significant chapters will give an idea of the subjects covered:

Chapter 3: The Origins of the Constitution
Chapter 8: Why Great Men are not Chosen President
Chapter 33: The Interpretation of the Constitution
Chapter 34: The Development of the Constitution by Usage
Chapter 53: Political Parties and Their History
Chapter 78: How Public Opinion Rules in America
Chapter 84: The Tyranny of the Majority
Chapter 85: The Fatalism of the Multitude

Of special interest are three appendices. The first is a review by Bryce of the predictions of Hamilton and de Tocqueville. The second is a review of "The American Commonwealth" written in 1889 by Woodrow Wilson when Wilson was a professor of political science at Weslyan University in Connecticut. The third is a review by Lord Acton.

Bryce believed that had the Constitution been put to a popular vote in 1787 it would never have passed. As it was, the only reason the Constitution gained popular support was because of the fear of foreign powers. As Bryce puts it, in the years following the Revolution and the collapse of the Articles of Confederation, Americans felt very vulnerable to foreign intervention:

"The fear of foreign interference, the sense of weakness, both at sea and on land, against the military monarchies of Europe, was constantly before the mind of American statesmen, and made them anxious to secure at all hazards a national government capable of raising an army and navy, and of speaking with authority on behalf of the new republic."

His comments on the relationship between the Constitution, the Supreme Court, and the American people are very timely.

Of the Presidency he says, "The president has developed a capacity for becoming, in moments of national peril, something like a Roman dictator."

His description of the development of the political parties is equally timely, and is the best I have ever read.

Some final quotations from Bryce:

"Someone has said that the American government and Constitution are based on the theology of Calvin and the philosophy of Hobbes. This at least is true, that there is a hearty Puritanism in the view of human nature which pervades the instrument of 1787. It is the work of men who believed in original sin, and were resolved to leave open for transgressors no door which they could possibly shut. Compare this spirit with the enthusiastic optimism of the Frenchmen of 1789. It is not merely a difference of race temperaments; it is a difference of fundamental ideas."

He ends on this pessimistic note, echoing Benjamin Franklin:

"To expect any form of words, however weightily conceived, with whatever sanctions enacted, permanently to restrain the passions and interests of men is to expect the impossible. Beyond a certain point, you cannot protect the people against themselves any more than you can, to use a familiar American expression, lift yourself from the ground by your own bootstraps."

Highly recommended in this authoritative and economical edition.