education-economics

I bought this book as a novice in the rental business hoping to find information that would get me started out on the right foot. I WAS QUITE DISAPPOINTED. I will not go as far as to say that this book is worthless; there are some useful tidbits of information that i found helpful, but there are other books out there that are so much better. I strongly suggest LANDLORDING, by Leigh Robinson (Ninth Edition or newer). It's available on amazon, of course.

On reading this book no matter how much I tried to focus I found myself wondering whether the content actually related to my own situation in the Uk.

I purchased the book looking for straightforward advice on being a landlord covering aspects such as legal implications, inventory advice etc. However from the information I read on site it was not clear that this was very much a book for those in the USA. Once I started reading it soon became apparent when it spoke of the different laws for different "states", forms with "zip codes" etc. Whilst the general information was useful I felt that I couldn't rely on any document or legal advice as this might not hold for the UK.

A good read but I felt that it should have been highlighted on the site that it was for the USA

As a landlord for over 30 years and teaching classes on the subject in two different schools, this is one book that I have found invaluable as a resource for wannabe and experienced landlords. Don't think you know it all no matter what you read, learn, experience... I'm still picking up tips and hints! Much of my curriculum was already covered in this book but still there was more to use and learning from each other is the way to go! Very happy to see this book on the market and in laymen's terms and with the prominent hints and smiles to make it easy reading.

If it were possible to rate this book with less than one star I would have done so. I purchased and read this book hoping for some insight which would help me prepare for my daughter's IEP. I wish I had spent the time reading this book organizing my closets or on some worthy endeavor as I feel that the time I spent reading was wasted. I found this book to oversimplify the necessary elements of an IEP and of the IDEA. For parents who have never been through an IEP, this will not give them much assistance. I much prefer the Wrightslaw publications, as they are much more thorough and better outline the children's rights.

I found this book was overrated and lumpy. I found more concise and useful information in WrightsLaw. This book talks about a non-existent world of school administrators, and impractical and misleading sunny little paragraphs about what to do, like they will actually work. The brief sojourn into methodology is glaringly misinformed, ignoring 40 years of Applied Behavioral Analysis, OT, Speech and other therapies with a dismissive paragraph about Lovaas Method vs. TEACCH. This book is long-winded other places where a tactful editor could have made it a lot easier to read and understand. The best part was the index of common phrases, the cute case examples about kids and the list of other books to read. Some of the copy came off as insulting too, like parents are slow-witted and need help in understanding everything, so speak slowly. Wished I'd spent the money on something else.

Buying this book was one of the best things I have done in a very long time for my son with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Dealing with the morons in our county school system is aggrevating under any circumstances. This time, however, I was armed with extremely valuable information. After reading it cover to cover and some sections twice, the "administrators" could not pull any punches or violate any of my son's rights. Thank you Beth Fouse for empowering me to be a better advocate for my little boy!

I'm serious. Do NOT buy this book. The positive reviews on this page must be for some other book. I just read this book (took me about 20 minutes). It is a skinny, flimsy, 'See Jane Run' book with no serious content. I have a very real problem - a hospital bill, and I wasn't insured. Hospitals price gouge the uninsured, especially if they are middle class. They expect higher payments from uninsured patients then they get from insured patients or patients with Medicare. I am busy educating myself on my bill with the help of friends who work in the medical industry. I thought this book would be useful in my education, it is not. It's just an additional waste of money. The font in this book must be 14 point (very large), and everything they have to say was either common sense, or simply not useful. I need industry-specific knowledge to better arm myself to fight/negotiate my real medical bill. This book did not offer that. With my level of medical knowledge (an average individual) plus a tiny bit of research, I could have written this book. I don't always write book reviews, but this book really steamed me because I felt simply publishing this book was an insult to everyone's intelligence. Don't buy it online - if you think you need this book, please walk into a book store and flip through it - you'll see instantly it's a waste of your time.

An "Insiders Guide to Understanding Your Hospital Bill" ought to be on your bookshelf if you sincerely want to reduce your hospital bill. You may not need it now, but odds are you or a family member will need it in the future. It's easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to use. The authors know their business. In fact, the title of the book IS their business. The easy-to-read, non-technical style makes the book work for anybody who wants to have some control over their own hospital costs. If I sold medical insurance, I'd see that every policyholder had a copy of this book. If I administered a hospital, I'd give one to every single patient who came there. At last somebody has given us a weapon with which we can fight high medical costs. It's terrific!

This book warns you to check your hospital bill because it often contains billing errors -- and, since most of us have to pay something (after the insurance pays), it's good to know where to look for the errors to save money! The book is filled with detailed examples and suggests you keep a diary of your hospital stay so you can compare your entries to the final bill. Some are human errors, but most are not -- and this book lists the common areas where hospitals overcharge. More importantly, Chapter 6 tells you how to go about getting the hospital to correct your bill. And, if you don't want to do it yourself (or are too ill to do it yourself), the authors will (for a small fee). Overall, this is an excellent "How to..." book that gives you the option of letting the authors help you... when was the last time you had an author use their expertise for you? Most "How to..." books tell you what to do, but leave you hanging when you get in trouble. Not these authors!

I didn't buy the book. I looked at some parts to verify a critique by others I read. I found this quote:

"So while saving may pave the road to riches for an individual, if the nation as a whole decides to save more, the result may be poverty for all!"

This thinking is flawed. After all, true savings means that we have put aside something we created (instead of consuming it) that someone can now use to sustain themselves while they create new products and jobs for those who were laid off from unprofitable businesses. Without these savings, we would not be able to survive to produce more. And if we don't, ourselves, produce more than we consume, then where will all the new businesses get their resources to run their new business (before it starts to produce anything).

As usual, these writers of mainstream economics don't seem able to follow through with a chain of events. It's as though when someone saves a dollar's worth of some product, it is always burried and lost to human kind. These authors would have us continue to consume everything around us without any regard for new production. Somehow this would result in less proverty.

Unless you are forced to buy this book for a course in Economics, you would be better off looking elsewhere. Better yet, find a better course in economics, unless you are only interested in working for some organization that feeds itself by spreading false economic theory.

I used this book as my first introduction to economics, and even many years after having read it I continue to use it as a source of reference to the most simple concepts of economics. It has the very best simple explanations of economic principles that I have ever seen. It is filled with interesting stories that bring these principles to the real world, showing a novice the potential power of these ideas. This is Economics 101 at its best.

I am teaching economics and have read the textbooks written by Stiglitz, Mankiw, Samuelson etc.,but I think this is the best.It not only explains the elements of economics in plain words,but also convey lots of incisive insights which we should keep in mind when we tackle economic problems. I found Baumol and Blinder very instructive as well as interesting.

The title said so. This is the guide for writing statement. Unlike other books, this book won't show the typical format. This book, however, shows the "real" statement of applicant who success. Many examples are interesting. Moreover, the guideline of recommend letter request is very good. It's not only for people who ask letter of recommendation, but also for the recommendation letter writter can see what they should said to thier students. I disagree with other reviewer that this book is not limited only Law, Business, and Medical school. It's true that the title said it and the examples are to Law, Business and Medical school. However, if you read it carefully, many examples and guidelines can be used in other school as well. This book is well written and organized. However, due to limited resource, example and guideline, this book is only in 3 stars.

I find the previous review disturbing. It is obviously the editor or author of the book giving themselves kudos.

I liked the book. It made me realize that the personal statement should not only be a self-marketting piece, but also be entertaining enough as to not get sorted into the circular file.

Every year, college students across the country prepare to enter the workforce or graduate school. One important part of this process is writing a personal statement that describes and applicant's goals, experiences, and future plans. Mark Alan Stewart is an expert on graduate level entrance exams. His book, Perfect Personal Statements, provides information and advice for college students seeking admission to graduate and professional schools.
Stewart's book is easy to read and understand. He answers the common questions like, "How will my essay be evaluated?" and "Should I discuss that glaring blemish in my past, or should I ignore it?" Stewart also provides students with minor details, like how to dress for an in-person interview. Finally, the advice from medical, law, and business school experts could prove to be helpful. The experts provide specific information about what they look for in an application. Each type of school has different standards and it is beneficial to know what admission offices across the country like to see.
College students applying to graduate schools tend to be very busy. They don't have time to read a long and confusing book. Mark Alan Stewart seems to have kept this in mind. He has packed a lot of information into only 114 pages. The book is also divided into sections that allow the reader to quickly find information on certain subjects. Stewart's book helps to simplify the application process and provides students with strategies to prevent them from feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.

I've used Barron's, Kaplan, Princeton Review & the ETS books, and I have to say that either Kaplan or Princeton Review are far more helpful. Not only was this Barron's book out of date (the tests aren't structured like the CATs are!), but it's explanations often lacked depth. In addition, either Kaplan or PR books give you far more helpful tips. In the Quant section of this Barron's, they don't even touch on Probability and Statistics, two areas now far more common since the tests have been getting harder (in response to the huge increase of people taking the GMATs). Get the ETS, Kaplan or PR for more up to date sample tests. This one isn't worth it.

I highly recommend this book simply because of the following:
1.I am not sure if the test drills are 100% those of the ETS, however, I can assure you that they are doable.
2.The author starts out with nice introduction in plain language of what the exam with example.
3.The ordering is excellent.
4.After you go in details of the exam, not extreme, but enough to get your started, you will get your first diagnostic exam and after the exam, there is something that is called the review that goes in great detail of all of your errors and how to improve better in the next 4 tests.
5.Not to mention that every test has detailed explanation of the answer choices.

I recommend it simply because it does what it suppose to. It is your job to sit down and work as hard as you can and you can buy the previous exams from ETS and work out on your weakness.
This is book is not for lazy people, but for those who want to get something back for their $18 and I highly recommend it and if you have both time and money, take a prep course at your school or surrounding areas, stay away from the top companies because they teach you drills and charge you a lot of money which, you can spend else where.
That is my honest review of what I think of the book and trust me, you cannot go wrong.
Best wishes,

Sean

As reference, I took the GMATs three times. My score went from 620 to 670 to 710. I believe that practice really helps and recommend the following GMAT books:

1) Kaplan GMAT 2003 (Book & CD-ROM for Windows)
2) Barron's How to Prepare for the GMAT with CD-ROM

The best part of this book is the six practice tests.
Over 800 problems for your to test your teeth on.

Good luck.

This book gives a lot of usefull information about a lot of MBA programs, but I found a lack of top ten U.S. schools. Some of them are missing, there is a huge gap between the best schools and those ranked below. (Some of them are ranked below #100).

I prefer this book than browsing the net because at a glance you can have interesting information of many, many MBA's and the information is well organized. GMAT means, ratio applications/accepted, strong subjects, deadlines, number or students, main features, % of student body, all the basic information to get to know what an MBA may you offer and wheter it's appealing depending on your targets.

The europen chapter is better than anyone. The U.S. chapter is not wide enough, but not bad.

If you are deciding to which MBA you should apply, this book will help you to shorten your starting list and focus on 10 to 12 MBA programs. Then which one to choose it's up to you

This series used to contain "raw comments" from students which I found very interesting. Now, Business Week is the only one that publishes them.

Interesting statistics, good summaries. But pretty duplicative of any other book, web site, WSJ, BW, etc.

Except for international. Very highly recommended if you're looking at international schools off the beaten path.

Getting long in the tooth.

This is a fantastic guide to MBA programs for non-geographically challenged Americans. The first part of the book discusses admission requirements, the objectives of an MBA and the results of a global survey with academics, students and alumni. The second part provides listings of over 100 schools, including the biggest and best in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

In addition, they have just launched a website alongside the print guide...

The book provides valuable insight into developing leadership qualities. However, the study guide seems to only confuse the issue and does a less than adequate job of helping apply the truths contained in the book. I would recommend that anyone interested in being a leader read the book, but avoid the study guide.

If you would like to find out the following answers,
Why Leadership?
What Leadership is all about¡KWho's a Leader? What does he deals with?
How to Become a Real Leader?
How a Leader thinks¡K.
How Leader manages his followers¡KHow can a Leader reach Higher level?
How to Continue the Leadership?

Then you need to read this book.
This book tell us what is PLAN AHEAD and how LEADER + VISION = RESULT
A Leader dedicated to Victory and Raising Players to their Potential
I think a leadership is an Art more than a science so I like this book!

This is a companion guide to the book "21 Irrefutable Laws" and is designed as such. When used in conjunction with the text and the accompanying tape series, the study guide can be invaluable to developing leadership.

This was an interesting book if one is new to the frugal lifestyle. I am more of an intermediate tightwad, so I was already doing most of these things and didn't learn much that was new, except the prayer aspect. I am a Christian and I think Yorkey's emphasis on prayer and scripture was comforting. That said, if you are looking for new ideas to your already frugal lifestyle, this is redundant. I am definitely planning on loaning this out to my spendthrift friends as an introduction to cutting back. Mike Yorkey has written a thought-provoking book for anyone who wants to examine their spending habits.

I think so often we old-timers in the frugality movement get so used to our frugal ways, we forget how "odd" and "weird" the choices we make can seem to others who are still caught up in the buy/spend/buy mentality. Yorkey's book offers an approach that won't shock any readers who may be new to the idea of living frugally ("What?!! You want me to NOT buy my kids designer jeans?? How SHOCKING!"). Of course, most people aren't that extreme, but I think this is a really good book for newbies to frugal living, or as a gift to give to your non-frugal friends who are starting to wonder how to cut back a little here and there without sacrificing their middle-class "sensibilities." Yorkey is a religious man (I believe he works for, or used to work for, Focus on the Family), so there is some emphasis on the spiritual aspect of living frugally. But I think most readers won't be too offended by his treatment of the topic (unless they're adamantly set against any passing mention of topics such as prayer, etc.). All in all, I found it a worthwhile book to read and I'm glad I have it on my shelf to lend to friends just starting down the path to a frugal life.

I found this book very helpful and use it as a reference often. I would recommend it to anyone needing practical advice on how to save money.

This book is a bit puzzling. Looking at the title, you feel that the book is a biography of John Sperling. Reading the subtitle, you would think he is going to focus on the University of Phoenix and the growth of the Apollo Group. After reading the book cover to cover, I am not sure what the author wanted me to take away from this.

Some parts of his life get rather detailed (like his childhood sickness and early schooling) and could be interesting. His tone makes me think of someone on a pulpit trying to get me to acknowledge his past. I would not question the effects of his past if he didn't fly through other parts of it (all the quick affairs/relationships/friendships) which he mentions. His son is part of his company, so I was puzzled to see that there was little mention of him.

Given the sections that Sperling highlights for us, am I supposed to be awed by the rough start and many love affairs? Am I to be astounded by his success because of this?

I personally liked the history of the University of Phoenix. He does go into great detail on the political and legal wrangling with the accrediting board. He touches on the help from some people, but will then mention later that the person no longer had the "fire" and was let go from the company. It sounds like the university is his quest and he will not let marriage or friendship get in the way.

In the last sections of the book, Sperling talks about other projects he is passionate about. How did he decide to cover these? The Kronos Group took me by surprise. I saw no mention of this in the book until the very end. I have the feeling that the publishers were trying to make the book longer, so they just added some other thoughts in there. It does make for a very coherent picture of Sperling.

I have listened to the author speak before and find him fascinating. Reading the book gives me a different picture of him altogether. Either way, I would recommend the book for readers wanting a background on the creation of the University of Phoenix. Even though this is by Sperling, I would not read this for a good understanding of him. I believe some objectivity would be necessary for that.

If you are in your forties and have not yet been wildly successful, take heart. John Sperling, once an unhappy 52 year old Cambridge-educated history professor with $26,000 in savings, grew into an enormously successful entrepreneur. Now in his early 80s, Sperling is a billionaire, and heads the Apollo Group, a holding company whose main component is the University of Phoenix (UoP). UoP is revolutionizing access to business education for working adults in N. America and abroad. Rebel With a Cause is Sperling's personal memoir of his long struggle against the educational establishment to found and develop the for-profit UoP, transforming American education in the process. Sperling's background differs from that of many successful entrepreneurs. Born in a backwoods log cabin, Sperling started as a socialist and successful union organizer. Throughout his changing roles, the opportunistic, energetic, and apparently indefatigable Sperling thrived on adversity that would make most give up. In stolid but personal writing, Sperling reveals the details of the endless conflicts and triumphs, up to and including his new fights with the establishment over the legalization of marijuana. Still iconoclastic and entrepreneurial in his ninth decade of life, Sperling is now developing innovative new ventures including the Kronos age management clinics, and Seaphire, a project for developing aquaculture. Good reading for anyone facing adversity as they pursue their vision of something both worthwhile and potentially profitable.

John Sperling's story of his upbringing, and of his evolution into the Ceo of the University of Phoenix, the largest university in America, for-profit or otherwise, is a fascinating tale of struggle and perseverence. The bright-line antagonist in this saga is found in the intransigence and utter meanness of the entrenched academic establishment in California. Kay Henderson, the reigning head of the California post-secondary system, seems sent from central casting in this seeming story of good versus evil, and Henderson is one evil guy. He keeps coming back, like Freddy in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" or Jason of Friday the 13th fame, to visit continuing indignities on Sperling's efforts to make a college education for the over-25 adult learner more affordable, accessible and accountable.

Sperling, who began his career at 53 years of age, is now a member of the Forbes 400-richest, and a true latecomer (and self-made man) to entreprenurial success,. Per usual, he exemplifies the adage that change only comes to an industry from the outside. And thus, he began on a shoe string and succeeded because academia, then and today, remains bloated with unnessessary costs while ignorant and unconcerned with the outcomes of its graduates.

While the Univ of Phoenix has grown mightily, students at traditional colleges are going broke on ever higher tuition rates and concommitantly increasing student loans while professors continue to jack up their annual salaries and benefits far beyond the annual CPI index increases. Of note is that such increases have closely paralleled the explosion in Title-IV government loan appropriations to the point where state governments and the U.S. Congress are jointly searching for new ways to control these out-of-control expenditures.

Sperling tells a story of life changing bifurcation's as good as any "cliff-hanging" tale of fiction. His narrow misses and perilous good fortunes culminate in a 30-year old company with a $12 billion dollar market-cap on NASDAQ and a growth rate surpassing that of almost any dot.com on the board. With no-debt and loads of cash Sperling's University of Phoenix is bringing the lie to the whiners who run establishmentarian academic institutions as they flail about attempting to defend their delusional and profligate ways.

The new models of for-profit, post-secondary education such as those exemplified by Phoenix look alike Grantham University, a 4-year degree granting, low cost provider, all-online, 50-year old engineering and business school, will continue to follow in Phoenix's footsteps as the for-profit crowd ratchets up the pressure on the hollow reasoning of indifferent and out-of-touch academics who continue in charge of our nations non-profit institutions of higher learning.

John Sperling is a hero to the working men and women of America and his story needs to be told near and far. Just as the sand pile of chaos theory begins to collapse when the slope becomes too steep, establishment academia has begun to feel the inevitable hand of self governing criticality in its non-linear system of business. Indeed, this phenomena can be found in all the cycles of history where continuing excess leads to collapse and renewal. Sperling is just the latest of magnificent catalysts to accelerate this process in this latest of instant cases.