economics-times

This book exemplifies the Internet Bubble with a capital B: 95% marketing hype 5% substance. The author gloats about such practices as having the company's system admins optimize the email login services so that he could get his mail few seconds faster. No mention of how much that actually cost the company. Another interesting story, how while Breier was making a presentation to a brick and mortar company (read value oriented) he was criticized by an older manager as not having anything substantive to offer. Breier's explanation: some people just don't get it. P>This is one of the most irritating books I have ever read. The author never takes a break from selling or hyping you -- a perfect example of rich x-Stanford students selling internet hype in Silicon Valley, making millions doing it, and leaving average Joe holding the bag. It all sounds great until you actually start thinking about it. What is scary is how other CEO's had endorsed this book while beyond.com was trucking along; a lot of CEOs who must have a lot of eggs on their faces.

This book was written in and about the time before the dot-com's collapsed. I was hoping to get some real advice on running an internet enabled group, and was very dissapointed to find that this book is basically a day in the life of a work-a-holic .com CEO before his bubble burst.

This is not a book I could suggest is worth your time or money if you are looking to get real ideas and lesson learned for use in your own business or job. Some pre dot-bomb books have lasted the test of time in the couple years since...this one has not. "The Customer Revolution" is a good example of a pre dot-bomb tech/business book that is still worth reading or listening to. Go look at that, or the many other still relevent books. Move along...nothing to see here folks.

Wow, what a wonderful and insightful book from Mark Breier! Mark, Puts you in the executives hot seat in the decision making process of companies such as Amazon and Beyond.com go ahead Mark!

Millions of Americans have been forced to reflect on sad events and the horrific impact on hundreds of thousands of families as result of the Trade Center Attack. Layoffs, forced retirements, disabilities, deaths and financial crises are happening everywhere, and Edelman's book exploits these fears to very good purpose. Millions ought to read this book. It is full of sound advice and practical steps. No, it doesn't offer some stock market magic or clever way to manipulate your insurance or a real estate pyramid scheme. It fully delivers on the author's stated purpose, to deliver "Financial Security" with sound advice to persons that have had to reassess their own circumstances - or for that matter, for anyone that wishes to avoid financial peril. Any reviewer that does not assign this 5 stars is probably a self-styled stockpicking guru that was looking for a hot tip. There are no silver bullets in personal finance. Tough times warrants tough advice and this book fulfills its commitments. Banks, credit unions, brokerage firms and financial advisors would do well to buy copies for the benefit of their customers.

Hits the spot! Just what you need to regain confidence in your personal finances and in the American economy.

Anyone who has ever reached a notable level of financial success will tell you there is no single book in which you will discover the secret to wealth. The real secret to wealth (and many other things) can be summed up in two words -- "STOP PROCRASTINATING". A good book then will help motivate you towards your cause -- this book delivers in a BIG way.

At only 140 pages its a quick read, but packed with information to act on. Chapter 7 on "The Investment Strategy You Need Today" was invaluable. And the 8-point action plan on protecting your assets and preparing for emergencies (and the unknown) contains valuable notables for everyone.

It's no secret this book was written and published in record time, but as the author states in the intro -- "Nonetheless, the information you'll find in these pages will help you protect yourself and your family RIGHT NOW.", and I thank him for making the effort to belay my many questions and concerns (not to mention donating all his proceeds to Sept 11 victims). Viva!

I had the opportunity to buy another book by this author several years but now regretfully passed and watched by investments go down the drain as I followed advice from another financial author.

Edelmans book helped me to recoup those losses and get back on track. I have since added "The Truth About Money" and "Ordinary People Extraordinary Wealth." I also recommend "The Road to Wealth" and "The Laws of Money" by Suze Orman, another credible financial author.

Fogel and Engerman's "Time on the Cross" was used in one of my junior history classes. The professor had us read it, write a paper on it and then, after we handed in our papers, demolished the book in class. He assigned it entirely as an example of sloppy historical research and how something well written can be convincing even if its based on deeply flawed information.

Quite often Fogel and Engerman rely on a singal, somewhat questionable, example to support a sweeping generalization of the entire institution of slavery. Much of their work rests on a single source which they use time and time again to prop up a badly construted hypothesis. When this is coupled with a devotion to the idea of man as a rational economic actor you have something that is almost an apologia for the entire practice of slavery.

My suggestion is to read this book and read it well. Use a critical eye when they present information and pay attention to their sources. Use this book as a tool to help you discover the many avenues of failure in writing history. Do not, I beg of you, use it as a guide to the truth because there is precious little in here.

This book is a must read for any students of Economic History. Rather than using a traditional approach to history, the book uses a particularly mathematical approach to the economics of slavery. Its conclusions are based collected data. Some of the books conclusions may bother people. Such as the implications that explotation of slaves can be mitigated by the money they receive during the course of their life. It also offers evidence that certain henious practices such as breeding, and sexual relationships between master and slave, were not as wide-spread as is commonly believed. It also attacks the notion that any modern family problems, specifically the commonality single parent homes, can be attributed to the purposeful degredation of the family unit by slave holders. This book does not try to convince people that slavery was an acceptable economic system. I believe its intent was to make the readers better informed about slavery. I would hope that the reader realizes the true evil of slavery was not the conditions associated with it, but rather depriving others of their freedom for economic gain.

This is an excellent econometric study of the institution of Southern slavery, showing it to be relatively benign in the South (whereas in other countries it could be hideously oppressive). One book that would be interesting to read in conjunction with this is "The South Was Right!" by James Ronald Kennedy and Walter Donald Kennedy which also lays to rest the myth that the American Civil War was fought over the slavery issue,actually the pretext for war. The Kennedys suggest partly an economic motive in that the North wanted to retain the South as "milch cow" to be milked for tariffs. They imply an underlying battle between Northern Federalism and Southern States' Rights, and insist that the War should be called the War for Southern Independence.

Toby Unwin is so full of himself that its surprising he was able to find a publisher for this drivel. I see this book as his own sinister attempt to impose his egotistical ramblings on the Western World. After skimming the authors rant here on amazon.com, I made a quick commitment never to put a penny toward this or any other rag that he somehow manages to pass through a shyster publisher. Writing Rule #1 Mr Unwin, don't patronize your audience.

Almost everything in this book is blindingly obvious, naive or patronising to the point that it put my teeth on edge. The author seems entirely self-absorbed and bent on reminding us mere mortals of his marvellous achievements (on paper) and in making money from this book (in my admittedly not-very-absorbed read of which I have already come across 3 blatant instances of begging/threatening the reader to buy the book - sounding more like the threats from a cheesy chain letter).

(an example from the first chapter: )
"Note to reader: if you are standing in a bookshop still reading this, then go and buy it now. Do not be a deadbeat. Go to the register and part with some money. We are not giving you this infomation for free; plus you will need this book and its insights with you at all (italicised!) times to identify the various Flakes that pop up in your everyday life."

And while the author failed to make me feel like I wasn't merely a pawn in his latest get-rich-quick scheme, a quick flip to the back should definitely help you to feel like a valued fan: (NOT)
"Your Opinions:
Earlier on, I promised you a space all your own, where you could write down your own opinions. Please do not send them to me, because I really don't care. I do, however, keep my word. The following space is just for you, and it is all your own. Please take this time to "get it all out of your system." Whatever is burning you up, please write it down for your own benefit(s). Enjoy." Followed by a rectangle in case you could not find the space below.

I was extremely unimpressed with the content of this book; the formatting and style seem hurried and amateurish, and the spelling and grammar errors provide some light relief. However, if you feel that you can benefit from an entire bookful of the above, and feel that you need help in spotting your own flakes to the tune of the cost of this book, please don't let me be the one to waste your time.

Fantastic book. Although, if you yourself are a flake, prepare to be slapped around because your comeuppance is finally here; you're going to hate this book if you love wasting other peoples' time. Since implementing the practical advice in my business, I've able to greatly streamline my operation and manage my time more effectively. I found the section of contracts particularly interesting.

The basis of this book is great and the author has a terrific way with words but she loses the reader after about page 55, where she goes off into all sorts of liberal and unproven theories about modern family life. Her research was limited to one major American company and does not illuminate why there are so many problems in balancing work and family life.

This book was good for the first 40 pages but that's it. Hochschild gets across the interesting truth that some Americans work and don't spend time with their families because work is a reprieve from the stress of home and family life. This is really the crux of the book; the rest is mainly filler. Hochschild doesn't provide much more insight or scientific rigor and support to these observations. I agree with the above reviewer that the writing is quite poor: convoluted; however, I wouldn't even give the writing the compliment of being novel-like. The writing is trite and character placements a headache.

Summary:
The book is essentially a report of the findings of a 3-year qualitative study by the author, Arlie Hochschild, of a Fortune 500 company's 'family-friendly' practices. The author interviewed people in all tiers of the organization, conducted surveys, followed employees, and did participant observations to try to understand how the company's family-friendly policies were being implemented.

The result is The Time Bind. Though the company wants to give the impression that it is family-friendly, certain factors are working against the company actually living up to its policies. One is that for many of the managers at the company 'face time' or actually being at work is more important than actually doing anything at work. If your understanding of 'family-friendly' includes the possibility of working fewer hours, this is going to work against anyone that wants to participate in an hour reduction program.

Another thing that the author posits that is working against family friendliness is that companies are turning the work environment into a safe and comforting environment (though doing this actually covers up the temporariness inherent in companies) and in essence are replacing the home environment or turning the home environment into something more akin to what work environments have traditionally been seen as being (e.g. scheduling time for kids and spouses, running from one thing to the next, not being able to rest, etc.). The result is that many people actually want to spend more time at work then they do at home because they feel more relaxed at work then they do at home. (Read the book to understand this argument more fully.)

My Comments:
I think the book is great. Admittedly one could claim that the author is biased - perhaps she is a social democrat that hates capitalism and sees her efforts as a way of attacking capitalism. I guess that is a possibility. And it does lead to the one criticism I see in the book: Arlie Hochschild never openly states the perspective she brings to the table in exploring the ramifications of The Time Bind. At one point she does posit that children that are left home alone have a higher rate of drug and alcohol abuse than do kids that are not left home alone. So, I guess her bias does seep out through comments like that. But, for individuals that share her bias (which is probably most people), I think this book does a great job of illustrating that capitalism really does have some problems - one being the deemphasizing of the family and the focus on work instead. In this sense, I can't help but comment that perhaps Emile Durkheim, in claiming that the eventual dissolution of religious authority that lent solidarity to society would be replaced by the workplace, seems to find a home in The Time Bind.

Overall, the book is very well-written and engaging. The findings are presented using specific people and their stories which makes the book more like a morally laden collection of stories. But the scholarship does not appear to be influenced by the plight of the individuals. And, the author does not write this book at a scholarly level and fill it with sociological jargon. The book should be readable by anyone. I would highly recommend it.

Caveat:
There has been some follow up research done on Hocschild's theories about how the workplace has become more like home and vice versa. Most of the research says this isn't necessarily accurate. Though there could be some truth to this, the more likely cause of increased time spent working is due to managerial demands and more women working full time rather than people just wanting to be at work.

I had to buy this for a class, and otherwise I would not have bought it in a million years. It is nothing more than a clone of Born to Steal, which I also had to read and is much more interesting. Lauria originally didn't want to use his real name in telling this story, and there was a suit over it, which he lost. I don't know if this book would have been better if he had been able to lie about his own identity. There is very little in this book that has not been reported elsewhere, or has been told in a better and more interesting and comprehensive way in Born to Steal.
Some of the companies that he mentions do not exist in any reference book or on the Bloomberg of a company called "All-Man" that he dealt with at one time. There is a similar-sounding company that was being pushed by stock swindlers at the time. Why doesn't he just mention it? Similarly the names of a prominent short-seller and even some gangsters are changed, while other gangsters and companies get their real names used.
Would've been nice if he had said he was changing names. Guess this liar and scam artist--not to mention informant and rat--just can't stop lying and scamming.

this is a really good book. lauria has a great story to tell, david barry does a great job of telling it. a fascinating but chilling account about what really goes on behind closed wall street doors...

I really enjoyed this book and I thought the infamous ONE STAR REVIEWER might have been giving poor reviews to the wrong book. this is like the inside story 'behind the scenes' with a real life mobster. he shows you a whole different side to the story which makes you really think twice. i totally recomend this book. the writing is pretty good too. good work mr. lauria.

This book only covers the very basic information needed. And all of the info he gives you in this book is free on the internet. He hypes excellent results from his system but that is another purchase, a very expensive software purchase. It boils down to this...you are paying him for an advertisment to buy more of his product.

If this will be your first book on commodity trading, it's a fair introduction. However, if you've read anything before, then save your money and invest it in a real-time system.

Krieger has managed to pack into this book (he calls it a "guidebook" and I see why) everything from incredibly accurate day trading reversal techniques (using heretofore unexamined uses of WD Gann's genius), to detailed analysis of the amazing Keltner Channel, in which the price bars predictably move day after week after month (a true leading indicator). And this is just a tiny portion of the very practical and profitable technical analysis techniques thoroughly discussed throughout the book. It also goes into the most fascinating discussion of the natural forces which underlie the markets and how you can use them. It also details excellent money management and risk management methods, and has the most comprehensive overview of the entire business I have read. And it really does show how to trade as a business and not a gamble, which is of critical importance to our consistent success as traders. An entire chapter details how to best deal with news and government reports. The list goes on and on. It is, in a word, Practical. Although I think you have to be an actual trader to really appreciate just how good and useful this book is, it does start from a beginner's perspective. This book gets my highest recommendation. A brilliant work!

I'm not sure I found one worthwhile idea in this book.

I found this book to be an excellent overview of both value investing and what's going on in the market today. Value is the only strategy that has been working in recent years. More importantly, it has stood the test of time. That's probably why Buffett practices it. This book presents candid strategies from lots of long-time legends, including Martin Whitman, Bill Miller, Charles Royce, and David Dreman. But it also includes interviews with several younger value investors. It's full of valuable insights that every serious investor looking to make money in this market should read. I highly recommend it. You might also check out Kazanjian's other interview-based book "Wizards of Wall Street," which is also an insightful read.

While I'm an advocate of the value investing approach, this book is essential reading for all investors (even believers in growth). The author has put together a very eclectic group of outstanding investors. He presents them with excellent questions, and gets them to reveal in detail how they choose stocks. While I took several investment courses in college, I found the advice in this book to be more valuable than anything I learned in school. It's the kind of book you'll want to read, underline, and re-read many times throughout your investment life.

This is nothing more than a rehashing of some very old concepts cleverly disguised(or so the author thinks) in a bunch of vague terminology. As a book it lacks substance. As an ad for the author's consulting service it doesn't offer enough too make anyone, with any knowledge or experience in this area, want to hire them. But if you are easily impressed by high-sounding terms and promises of speed to market and lots of savings, etc...then this book and many others like it, is for you. If you're looking for a real solution for designing better products, faster - look elsewhere.

If you've ever wondered why some companies seem to be able to get products out the door reliably and others end up having constant battles between sales, marketing and engineering, this book will help clarify the situation. Not only is building great product on time and on schedule possible, it's a repeatable process. Even if you don't buy into the entire process of PACE (Product And Cycle-Time Excellence) you can still benefit from some of the concepts around a core team to encourage better communications at each stage of development.

In the last few years I must have read around 30 or more books on Product Development (OK!!! to keep track of what is going on is part of my job! :), from old authors from the 70Â's (Jones) to more recent books. In my opnion, "Setting Pace.." is very clear, very consistent, and provides a VERY good understanding of the nature of Product Develoment in industrial, manufacturing oriented businesses. Nevertheless, I donÂ't know whether or not this book is good for software development. From the reviews bellow, it appears not to be the case.

In any case, and if your business is not software, it is a MUST READ to any Manager or Director involved with the in NPD. Just donÂ't expect the book (or worse, external consultants) to do YOUR job of improving YOUR PD process for you. It doesnÂ't exist! Furthermore, one book does not bring all of the solutions. Look around. Read other books. Talk to people. Visit other companies. See how they are doing! Make your mind BEFORE engaging in a PD reengineering project.

Claudiano, Ph.D....

This is a really, really bad book full of fluff. A piece of junk full of NOTHING.

How disappointing! Having build robust e-commerce sites in 90 days or less myself, I was hoping to find insight into the process. Methods or procedures that could be leveraged effectively to improve success. Instead this book offered nothing of value. I read it in less than 2 hours and sold it immediately.... Definite Avoid rating.

I would recommend "Web Redesign : Workflow That Works"
by Kelly Goto, Emily Cotler...

90 Days to Launch delivers a process for the planning and implementation of eBusiness projects. These processes deliver a standard methodology that can be implemented across both complex and simple projects and is a worthwhile guide for anyone who is responsible for delivering eBusiness strategies.

The author supplements the book with an online directory of additional resources and materials that can be found at the book web site, 90daystolaunch.com