Market-prices

The entire book is devoted to telling the story of only one day during the battle of Britain. August the 18th is the date of the highest actual losses for both sides (not the highest claimed losses as was the case on september 15th). This book is so well written I can recommend it to anyone with even the most passing interest in WWII. Alfred Price, has a definite talent for distilling military operational detail into everyday language, and the historical detail is presented in a thoroughly engrossing way. I have read many books written almost exclusively from the historian's point of view and have enjoyed them very much, but for me there's no substitute for hearing from the participants in their own words. From top brass to civilians, from airfeild personnel to aircrews on both sides, this book creates, at times, a minute by minute experience of that day's events. My only complaint (and it's a small one) is the overall pacing. The first couple of chapters or so necesarily set the stage. The next chapters deal effectively with the attacks, but as the chapters progress, the action, and therefore the suspense, steadily dwindles. But while the book is hitting its stride it is just about impossible to put down! Highly recommended.

As the title to this review says, this is one awesome read. I won't bore you with the stuff you can read in the blurb about this book, but I will tell you that Carrie and Linc are two of the smartest people I've read about in a long, long time. Smart enough to realize their attraction AND smart enough to do what's right in their hearts...and by this I don't mean their impending relationship. These two have scruples, and employ them appropriately. There aren't any 'too stupid to live' actions on either of their parts, and the decisions they make are right on the money.

Both realize their unwise attraction, and admit it, both to themselves and each other, and agree on a strictly 'work' relationship. Since this is a romance novel, we know THAT won't happen , but it's the ride Ms. Price takes us on to get to the happily-ever-after ending that makes this book memorable.

Ms. Price obviously knows her police work, and it shows in this well-crafted book. This one definitely goes on my keeper shelf, and I'm going to buy the first in this series today!

In Irrational Markets and the Illusion of Prosperity, author Don DeVitto makes a VERY COMPELLING argument why Americans are experiencing one of the greatest speculative eras in recorded history. DeVitto combines his extensive knowledge of historical periods of severe speculation, in particular the 1920s in America and the 1980s in Japan,with almost 20 years of working "on the front lines" with individual investors, to draw a very insightful, yet sobering picture.

DeVitto writes: "Investors are now looking back at the reality of the last decade rather than forward to the risks that lie ahead." He argues quite convincingly that "the deflationary risks in today's global economy are more pronounced than at any time since the 1930's."

DeVitto reveals that our passion for stocks, combined with an ever-increasing debt burden at both the individual and corporate level, have left our nation with little wiggle room should we experience a recession of any lasting duration. He argues that as the "wealth effect" begins to evaporate,the confidence or psychology of most investors will erode,and, as consumers, will quickly discover that both their capacity and desire to buy goods and services have diminished markedly.Given that consumers represent 2/3 of the economy, it doesn't take a nuclear scientist to figure out what can happen to corporate earnings, which, ultimately, are a stock's only lifeboat.

DeVitto writes in plain english and incorprates his graphs in a very user-friendly way, making the book accessible to all readers. Irrational Markets is a very smooth read, and at under 200 pages can be incorporated into even the busiest of schedules.

Despite the fact the NASDAQ is currently 50% off its highs reached in March of 2000, this book is no less timely. In fact, should some of the concerns raised by DeVitto become a reality, most Americans will be elated to return to their February 2001 account values.

DeVitto's book is A MUST READ for any equity investor, especially bullish investors like myself who have embraced technology stocks with the same passion a 16 year-old boy embraces his prom date. I'm confident readers will find this book well worth their time and the investment (the price of the book and a bottle of TUMS)as it will serve as a much needed yield sign through the frenetic intersection of Equity Street and Net Worth Avenue, Pamplona, USA.

An excellent review of how things went wrong in the 1987 Stock market crash in New Zealand - covering the fall from grace of many NZ 1980's iconic companies - the book tells the poignant story of how one error was compounded by government misdirection and how a chain reaction of of collapse occured throughout 1987-90. The final chapters are indicative of the impotency that Newland and his colleagues faced when betrayed by merciless bankers who were former friends.
What then, makes this story any better than other tales of the "glory days" in NZ? Mr Newland's courage should be noted - he has little hesitation in apportioning blame on himself where it is due - certainly he castigates himself in one area where he was "suckered" by a business opponent suffering from a terminal illness. Olly called off the hostile takeover, and the opponent staged a full recovery. Needless to say, Mr Newland did not let the same mistake happen again.
I personally found the final page to be a blueprint for modern business practices - and of economic intelligence - 4 simple tips that had Olly himself followed (in hindsight - few others did in the glory days of the 1980's), he and his kin would now be enjoying the wealth that they had so well accumulated pre-crash

I just secured the 14th Edition of Rosie's Secondary Market Price Guide for Enesco's Precious Moments Collection: ISBN 1-886812-07-1. This is such a wealth of information on markings, errors, values & just so much information that it is such an addition to valuing my collection and documentation of when it happened in the making of the special precious moments. I highly recommend this book to everyone. I have collected off and on since 1986 and they all have special meanings to me and this book helped me so much!

Clearly the monthly price guides put out by Beckett are the way to go if you are trying to keep up with the explosion of basketball cards that are being put out each year. But all they can really do is focus on the cards of the stars, which is true not only for LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony today but Wilt Chamberlain and Pete Maravich from the olden days. But if you are really trying to But if you are trying to put together a set of 1971-72 Topps, 1986-87 Fleer or 1992-93 Hoops, then you really need to have a list of all the cards so that you are ready when you head off to a card show or shop and have to deal with dealers who organize their cards by number or team or name of the players. "The Official Beckett Price Guide to Basketball Cards 2004, 13th edition" serves your organizational purposes perfectly. The prices in this guide may well be obsolete, although the farther you go back the more accurate they tend to be. But you really want this book for all the lists of all of the cards compiled by the good doctor and his associates.

You will find that at 6.92 x 4.18 the size of this volume is below what we would have called standard size for collectible card price guides. This is of prime importance for collectors who want a book that we can take to us with card shows. If not, then you can still use this guide to put together your want lists. I am in the process of finishing off a 1971-72 Topps set of basketball cards (about two dozen to go), so I do not need to know how many types of LeBron James cards came out this year. I need to know what cards I am missing without having to pick up the NBA and ABA Checklists for that year and then copying my own list. A book is a lot harder to lose that a list anyway and dealing with the triplet cards Topps put out in 1980-81 is too much of a pain any other way.

That is why the boxes to check off for each card are exactly what I need, whether it is the exalted card from that 1980-81 set where the three players were the rookie "cards" for Magic Johnson and Larry Bird but also Dr. J. This is the book that will tell you that if you are looking for the first basketball card ever produced then you need to track down the 1948 Bowman card of Ernie Calverley. There are about two dozen card companies covered in the 50,000 cards for which prices are provided, which means Topps, Fleer, Hopps, Bowman, Sky Box, Ultra, Upper Deck and all the wannabee companies.

As is always the case with the Beckett volumes, there are tips on how to buy, sell, and care for your cards. These are valuable whether you are in it for the fun or the economics. The prices are always the least important aspect of these books for the simple reasons that the prices are out of date by the time the book hits the stands, which is why Beckett publishes a magazine on basketball cards. However, while that will give you current prices it will not tell you who was card #40 in that 1972-73 Topps set (Bob Rule of the Philadelphia 76ers). For the younger fans the magazine will undoubtedly suffice, but for those of us who remember the red, white & blue ball of the A.B.A. and when players in the N.B.A. knew how to shoot the orange ball instead of just dunking it, this Beckett book will fulfill all of our needs.

Obviously you want to pick up Beckett's monthly price guides if you are trying to get a handle on what is being produced each year, because by the time you pick up "The Official Price Guide to Baseball Cards 2003" it probably obsolete because somebody is putting out new cards to take advantage of the hot new rookie or whatever. I use the Beckett guide to help me track down the cards for the older sets I am working on. I just finished my 1956 Topps set and am back working on 1953 and the high numbers for 1966 and 1967. This is the book that is going to tell you exactly what cards you are looking for and since most dealers organize their cards numerically it is probably going to help you in that regard as well. There is the additional practical value that the father back you go in history the more reliable the prices are going to be. Still, I think it is the checklist value of Beckett's price guide that is of more value than the prices, because dealers are probably going to go grab the latest issue anyway. But this will let you know all the extras, inserts, special sets and the like for Bowman, Diamond Stars, Donruss, Fleer, Goudey, Play Ball, Score, Sportsflics, Topps. Upper Deck and whatever other companies have sprung up in the last five minutes. This is the book I turn to when I want to put together my want list for the next card show or for checking out on line auctions. I also appreciate the tips regarding key aspects of collecting, such as grading cards, taking care of them, and other basics. This is a professional look at something that has long since become much more than a hobby (although I hear a voice from my past saying "It does not matter how much they are worth if you are not going to sell them..."). There might be less expensive baseball card price guides, but none of them can match the professionalism of this on, which clearly sets the standard for the field.

First off, I like the size of "The Official 2003 Price Guide to Basketball Cards," which at 6.88 x 4.21 is below what we would have called standard size for collectible card price guides. This is of prime importance for collectors such as myself who want a book that we can take to us with card shows. If not, then you can still use this guide to put together your want lists. I am in the process of finishing off a 1972-73 Topps set of basketball cars (five cards to go, all commons), and will be getting serious about the 1971-72 Topps set next. So I do not need to know how many types of Kobe Bryant cards came out this season or who has the first "official" LeBron James card, because I have a preference for tracking down the older cards, go to shops and shows to try and track down what I need, or searching on eBay. A big part of the fun is just finding what are you are looking for, and not by opening up pack after pack of cards to find the exalted specialty card du jour. The prices are really a secondary consideration to me, because what I want to know if whose name goes with which numbers because that means the difference between looking through a stack of commons or having to track down star cards, especially if you are trying to deal with those triplet cards Topps put out in 1980-81.

That is why the boxes to check off for each card are exactly what I need, whether it is the exalted card from that 1980-81 set where the three players were the rookie "cards" for Magic Johnson and Larry Bird but also Dr. J. This is the book that will tell you that if you are looking for the first basketball card ever produced then you need to track down the 1948 Bowman card of Ernie Calverley. There are about two dozen card companies covered in the 50,000 cards for which prices are provided, which means Topps, Fleer, Hopps, Bowman, Sky Box, Ultra, Upper Deck and all the wannabee companies. As is always the case with the Beckett volumes, there are tips on how to buy, sell, and care for your cards. These are valuable whether you are in it for the fun or the economics. The prices are always the least important aspect of these books for the simple reasons that the prices are out of date by the time the book hits the stands, which is why Beckett publishes a magazine on basketball cards. However, while that will give you current prices it will not tell you who was card #40 in that 1972-73 Topps set (Bob Rule of the Philadelphia 76ers). For the younger fans the magazine will undoubtedly suffice, but for those of us who remember the red, white & blue ball of the A.B.A. and when players in the N.B.A. knew how to shoot the orange ball instead of just dunking it, this Beckett book will fulfill all of our needs.

While not the best price guide I've ever seen, Heff and the gents do a fine job of setting prices to some of the most beautiful women of the 20th century...and beyond! I can't tell you how instrumental this was in finally allowing me to apraise my extensive collection of Men's Magazines. Thanks, Heff, and keep the presses rolling!!

If you are all interested in the intersections between transactions costs economics, rational expectations, information economics and bounded rationality, this book is an excellent and explicit unravelling of the mysteries of how these concepts are intertwined. An excellent mind.