The Thief at the End of the World or Winning Every Day

The Thief at the End of the World: Rubber, Power, and the Seeds of Empire

Author: Joe Jackson

The story of one man's journey down the Amazon—and how it changed history

In 1876, a man named Henry Wickham smuggled seventy thousand rubber tree seeds out of the rainforests of Brazil and delivered them to Victorian England's most prestigious scientists at Kew Gardens. Those seeds, planted around the world in England's colonial outposts, gave rise to the great rubber boom of the early twentieth century—an explosion of entrepreneurial and scientific industry that would change the world. The story of how Wickham got his hands on those seeds—a sought-after prize for which many suffered and died—is the stuff of legend. In this utterly engaging account of obsession, greed, bravery, and betrayal, author and journalist Joe Jackson brings to life a classic Victorian fortune hunter and the empire that fueled, then abandoned, him.

In his single-minded pursuit of glory, Wickham faced deadly insects, poisonous snakes, horrific illnesses, and, ultimately, the neglect and contempt of the very government he wished to serve. His idealism and determination, as well as his outright thievery, perfectly encapsulate the essential nature of Great Britain's colonial adventure in South America. The Thief at the End of the World is a thrilling true story of reckless courage and ambition.

The Washington Post - Jonathan Yardley

Jackson has made a first-rate book out of Wickham's story. A freelance writer and former newspaper reporter who works out of Virginia Beach, he has done a heroic amount of research, made a coherent story out of a huge mass of material and identified the larger themes that give the story its resonance. His writing is lucid, occasionally vivid, and he brings to the enterprise a welcome sense of humor, as well as, when it is useful, a sense of the ridiculous. The Thief at the End of the World not merely is informative and instructive, it also is immensely entertaining, an attribute always to be welcomed.

New interesting book: Market Augmenting Government or Learning Team Skills

Winning Every Day: The Game Plan for Success

Author: Lou Holtz

"Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it."

-- Lou Holtz

Meet Lou Holtz, the motivational miracle worker who revitalized the Notre Dame football program by leading the legendary Fighting Irish to nine bowl games and a national championship. During his twenty-seven years as a head football coach, Holtz garnered a 216-95-7 career record. Each new assignment brought a different team with different players, but, invariably, the same result--success. How did he do it? By designing a game plan for his players that minimized obstacles while maximizing opportunities.

Now he wants to pass his game plan on to you. In Winning Every Day, you'll discover ten strategies that will drive you to the top of your professional and personal life. Coach Holtz will reveal how you can acquire the focus and commitment it takes to be a champion. It won't be easy; it takes sacrifice to be the best. But now you'll have a proven winner alongside you in the trenches. Winning Every Day demonstrates how you can elevate your performance while raising the standards of everyone around you. Follow Coach's strategies and winning becomes habitual. You will learn to welcome sacrifice as you dedicate yourself to excellence. He will show you how to clearly define your short-term and long-term goals, to develop an unwavering sense of purpose without compromising flexibility.

Through it all, Coach Holtz will help you discover the courage you need to live a life of unremitting triumph. You couldn't have a better guide. He will provide you with thestrategies he has shared with Fortune 500 companies, groups, and organizations. Voted the top motivational speaker two years running by a survey of speakers' bureaus, Coach is going to present you with all the Xs and Os, the basics of his game plan for success in life and business.

 

Publishers Weekly

After turning around the fortunes of college football programs at several universities, Holtz landed the top job in his profession in 1986 when he was named head coach at Notre Dame. His 1988 Notre Dame team won the college national championship (a story chronicled in his book, The Fighting Spirit), and Holtz posted winning seasons until he retired at the end of the 1996 campaign. During his coaching career, Holtz was known as an exceptional motivator, and he translated that skill from coaching to professional speaking after his retirement. In this book, Holtz outlines the principles that he believes helped him achieve success, such as a positive attitude, dealing with adversity, adapting to new situations and making a commitment to excellence. Holtz illustrates his points with numerous anecdotes drawn from his coaching days and also includes a fair number of jokes. In the end, however, what Holtz has produced is a work no better or worse than most other motivational business books. Improvement-minded Notre Dame fans are the ones most likely to be motivated to buy the ex-coach's efforts. (Aug.)

What People Are Saying

Carl Pohlad
Seldom do we experience the charisma and character of a dynamic personality such as Lou Holtz, the very successful former football coach of Notre Dame. Lou has left his distinctive mark of success everywhere he has coached. Winning Every Day is not just a catchy phrase, but with Coach Holtz, a way of life. (Carl Pohlad, President, Marquette Bancshares and owner of the Minnesota Twins)

Dan Quayle
"This is the book we've all hoped Lou Holtz would write. In these pages he shares the wisdom and experience of a lifetime. It's a great read, and sure to be a hit."

Steve Spurrier
"Coach Lou Holtz has written one of the best motivational books that I've ever read on how to be successful in whatever you do in life."

Peter Lowe
"Lou Holtz is a brilliant strategist, a first class motivator, and an inspiring role model. Winning Every Day coaches you through the hard won lessons of life that Coach Holtz has gleaned from a lifetime of learning. Using personal behind-the-scenes experiences, he shows you how to break through obstacles, capitalize on fleeting opportunities, and achieve success. There is no better mentor than Lou Holtz."

Sean McManus
The lessons contained in this book may start out having to do with sports but they apply to almost every aspect of life. The stories in this book are wonderfully entertaining, and the lessons are priceless. This is a book about winning, written by a man who is a true winner in every sense of the word.

Carl Pohlad
"Seldom do we experience the charisma and character of a dynamic personality such as Lou Holtz, the very successful former football coach of Notre Dame. Lou has left his distinctive mark of success everywhere he has coached. Winning Every Day is not just a catchy phrase, but with Coach Holtz, a way of life."

Barry Alvarez
"Lou has taken his wisdom and principles of winning on the gridiron and translated them successfully for implementation into daily life. He has also included his patented brand of humor throughout making this an informative as well as enjoyable read."

Senator Jesse Helms
"I've known Lou Holtz for a long time as a man of unflinching, unyielding character and integrity. It shows in this remarkable book."

Richard A. Rosenthal
"Lou Holtz has spent most of his adult life helping others achieve their full potential. He believes success depends not so much on an abundance of God given talent, it does on the passionate and intelligent application of the talent we have. Winning Every Day is the best of Lou Holtz.."

J. M. Haggar
"Lou Holtz has put into his book every element required for success in any endeavor. All who put into practice his ten elements for success will raise their level of performance significantly."

John W. ("Jay") Jordan
"Coach Holtz has a vast reservoir of knowledge and experience in the key elements of living a successful life. Using football as his primary vehicle, he provides a most inspiring and motivational treatise conveyed in a folksy and oftentimes humorous manner. Not only is Winning Every Day a very important book to read, but also a complete and utter joy."

Steve Spurrier
Coach Lou Holtz has written one of the best motivational books that I've ever read on how to be successful in whatever you do in life. -- Football Coach, University of Florida

Peter Lowe
Lou Holtz is a brilliant strategist, a first-class motivator, and an inspiring role model. Winning Every Day coaches you through the hard-won lessons of life that Coach Holtz has gleaned from a lifetime of learning. Using personal behind-the-scenes experiences he shows you how to break through obstacles, capitalize on fleeting opportunities, and achieve success. There is no better mentor than Lou Holtz.-- President and CEO of Peter Lowe International

More Hours in My Day or International Financial Management

More Hours in My Day: Proven Ways to Organize Your Home, Your Family, and Yourself

Author: Emilie Barnes

Home-management experts and authors Emilie Barnes and Sheri Torelli spruce up this classic by adding newly updated material and an eye-catching cover. For more than 25 years, Emilie and Sheri have conducted time-management seminars and taken the opportunity to listen to the thousands of attending women express their hearts' desires—to find more hours each day for what really matters most: family, home, and quality of life.

This book is their response. Here's a thorough collection of those time-tested answers to every woman's dilemma...

• Establish simple systems that save time and money and gain peace of mind
• Organize the home's problem areas—kitchen cupboards, crowded closets, home offices, and more
• Reclaim precious time for family and friends

Filled with inspiration, encouragement, and tried-and-true tips, this book is a must-have for every woman!

Table of Contents:

Our Stories
Emilie's Story-God Works Everything Out     7
Sheri's Story-How I Got Out of a Mess     19
Organization Basics
Me, Get Organized?     25
Women-The Heart of Homes     31
Family Mission Statements and Goals     37
Organized from the Inside Out     45
Your To-Do List     51
Daily Scheduling and Time Management     55
Effective Time Management     93
Wardrobe Organization     99
What to Do with All that Paper     107
Stress Relievers     113
Travel Safe, Travel Smart     119
Air Travel: The Perils of Packing     125
More Hours...and Home Organization
The Organization Test     131
Prayer Organization     137
Total Mess to Total Rest     149
Miracles in Minutes     163
Speed Cleaning     169
Using the Right Cleanser     177
Setting Up a Desk and Work Area     183
Record Keeping Made Simple     193
Kitchen Organization     199
Odds and Ends     217
Garage Organization     221
More Hours...and Resource Savers
Dollar Mistakes to Avoid     229
Investing MadeEasy     235
Bulk Buying-Saving Time and Money     241
Space Saving Ideas     243
Earth Saver Ideas     249
Water Saving Ideas     255
Technology-A Blessing and a Curse     259
Simple Ideas to Brighten Your Home for Sale     277
What to Look for Before You Buy a Home     281
More Hours...for Family and Friends
Developing Family Traditions     289
Team Effort Starts at Home     297
The Love Basket     307
Plan a Picnic     313
Creative Entertaining     323
More Hours...for Your Children
Children Need to Be Organized Too     331
Safety Tips for Schoolchildren     335
Resolutions for Good Parenting     339
Jobs Children Can Do     343
Children and Money     349
A Daily Plan     357
Notes     361

New interesting book: How Nations Grow Rich or South Western Accounting with Peachtree Complete 2005

International Financial Management (with World Map)

Author: Jeff Madura

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT strives to build on the foundation of corporate finance. Recognizing that multinational corporations continue to globally expand, this text first provides a background on the international environment and then focuses on the managerial aspects from a corporate perspective. This book gives you the tools to understand the international financial environment so that you can manage within it.

How to Make Millions with Your Ideas or Encore

How to Make Millions with Your Ideas: An Entrepreneur's Guide

Author: Dan S Kennedy

You've come up with a brilliant idea for a brand-new product or service you know could make you rich. Or maybe you currently own a business that pays the bills, and your dream is to become a fabulous millionairre. But how? How to Make Millions with Your Ideas has all the answers.

This book is packed with the true stories and proven advice of ordinary people who began with just an idea, a simple product, or a fledgling business and wound up with millions. It examines the methods and principles of dozens of successful entrepreneurs, including author Dan Kennedy's surefire, easy-to-follow Millionaire Maker Strategies. It helps you determine which of the three paths to success are best for you and guides you step-by-step down that path on your way to fortune. Discover:

• The 8 best ways to make a fortune from scratch
• How to turn a hobby into a million-dollar enterprise
• How to sell an existing business for millions
• The power of electronic media to help make you rich
• The "Million Dollar Rolodex" of contacts and information you can use to get on the road to wealth

Go to: Pilates Personal Trainer or Pilates Personal Trainer Powerhouse Abs Workout

Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life

Author: Marc Freedman

The movement of millions of sixty-somethings into a new phase in their working lives constitutes one of the most significant social trends in this country in nearly half a century. Encore describes the competing visions for work that are already lining up to capture the hearts and minds, and the time, of waves of baby boomers who are not content, or affluent enough, to spend their next twenty or thirty years on the golf course. Baby boomers are searching for a calling in the second half of life; they are moving beyond midlife yet refusing to phase out or fade away.

If the old dream of the Golden Years was the Freedom from Work, the dream of this new wave is the Freedom to Work—in new ways, on new terms, to new ends. As their numbers begin to swell, these individuals hold the potential not only to transform work in America, but to create a society that balances the joys and responsibilities of contribution across the generations—in other words, one that works better for everyone.

Mary Grace Flaherty - Library Journal

Freedman (founding CEO, Civic Ventures: Prime Time: How Baby Boomers Will Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America) has written a wonderful summary and guide for boomers entering their next phase of life. In his words, "We need to be liberated from artificial notions such as 'retirement age' and the oxymoronic concept 'working in retirement.' " With predictions that one in four U.S. residents will be over age 60 by the year 2030, his book serves as a wake-up call warning that we are using outdated models for viewing the pending surge of retirement-age workers. Rather than approaching retirement as a time for leisure, he argues, boomers should be using their knowledge and experience to pursue fulfilling second careers. Freedman effectively uses personal accounts of individuals who have successfully bridged careers to find rewarding and meaningful work in later life. He puts retirement into historical perspective and gives a thorough description of current demographics, concluding with a guide to finding your own particular encore career. This thoroughly readable book is highly recommended for academic and public libraries.

Table of Contents:

The Freedom to Work     1
Velma Simpson     27
Inventing the Golden Years     34
Robert Chambers     57
The Perfect Storm     67
Jacqueline Khan     89
A Fresh Map of Life     98
Ed Speedling     123
Contested Terrain     131
Sally Bingham     159
The Encore Society     166
Your Encore     201
Notes     223
Further Reading     239
Acknowledgments     243
Index     247

The New Solution Selling or Hot Commodities

The New Solution Selling: The Revolutionary Sales Process that is Changing the Way People Sell

Author: Keith M Eades

THE MARKET-PROVEN PRINCIPLES OF SOLUTION SELLING FOR TODAY'S HIGH-SPEED, HIGHER-PRESSURE SALES ENVIRONMENT

The long-awaited sequel to Solution Selling, one of history's most popular selling guides

Nearly 10 years ago, the influential bestseller Solution Selling literally rewrote the rules for selling big-ticket, long-cycle products. The New Solution Selling expands the classic text's cases, examples, and situations and sharpens its focus on streamlining the sales process to achieve greater success in fewer steps and a shorter time frame. Much in sales has changed in the past decade, and The New Solution Selling incorporates those changes into an integrated, tailored approach for improving both individual productivity and organizational return on investment. Written to enhance the results and careers of sales pros and managers in virtually any industry, this performance-focused book features:

• A completely revamped, updated sales philosophy,management system, and architecture
• Tools to increase the quality and velocity of sales pipeline opportunities
• Techniques that "Best of the Best" use to prospect for success

Solution Selling created new rules for one-to-one selling of hard-to-sell items. The New Solution Selling focuses on streamlining the proven Solution Selling process and quickly differentiating both oneself and one's products from the competition while decreasing the time spent between initial qualifying and a successful, profitable close.

Keith Eades is the founder, president, and CEO of Sales Performance International, one of today's foremost salesperformance organizations. Eades and his associates have trained more than 500,000 sales and sales management professionals--from client companies including Microsoft, IBM, AT&T, Bank of America, and more--on the principles and practices of Solution Selling. The author of a number of influential books on sales and sales performance, he is also an internationally renowned speaker and presenter.

Soundview Executive Book Summaries

A Revolutionary Sales Process for Any Business
According to Keith M. Eades, the founder and president of Sales Performance International and Solution Selling Inc., a solution is a mutually agreed-upon answer to a recognized problem that also provides some measurable improvement. Solution Selling is a sales process that involves direct contact with a buyer who expects the salesperson to understand and diagnose problems before they arrive. Buyers need salespeople who can provide them with solutions that are convincing and workable; The New Solution Selling offers salespeople a practical approach to selling that improves individual productivity and organizational return on investment, as well as customer satisfaction.

Streamline the Sales Process
According to Eades, front-line salespeople need to streamline the sales process by diagnosing the buyer's business issues, supplying mutually defined solutions to the customer's recognized problems, gaining access to key decision makers, and defining measurable and predictable milestones along the way. First, the salesperson understands the customer's challenges, then he or she provides intelligent, accessible and proven solutions to those challenges. Solution Selling is a sales process that consists of these components:

• It's a Philosophy. The customer is the focal point of the process. Helping customers solve their business problems and achieve positive, measurable results is the basis of all actions.
• It's a Map. Solution Selling provides a map of how to get from where you are to where you want to be by offering an end-to-end series of next steps to follow. This includes pre-call planning, creating interest, diagnosing the problem, vision processing, controlling the sale, closing the sale, and post-sale tracking.
• It's a Methodology. Solution Selling is a system of methods that includes tools, job aids, techniques, and procedures that help salespeople and sales teams navigate the selling steps that close more sales faster.
• It's a Sales Management System. Solution Selling provides management with a process to analyze pipelines, qualify opportunities, and coach skills, thus increasing productivity and predictability. It also results in a high-performance sales culture.

Eades explains that buyers want to do business with a salesperson who has a good understanding of their situation as well as a good working knowledge of the capabilities necessary to help them solve their problems. They want a consultant who can add value to their situations. According to Eades, salespeople must add value to a situation if they want to survive.

Identify and Quantify the Pain
The foundation of Solution Selling is based on several underlying principles, including:

• No pain, no change. Pain is the problem, which can be a critical business issue or a potential missed opportunity. When pain is admitted and the value of the resolution of the pain is quantified, buyers have a compelling reason to act.
• Pain flows throughout the entire organization. One person's problems link to other people within the same organization. In selling, it's important not only to identify and quantify the pain of the person you are talking to, but also to link that problem to others.
• Diagnose before you prescribe. This allows you to understand the customer's problems before you discuss the solution.
• The three levels of buyer need are latent pain, admitted pain, and vision of a solution. Be aware of this principle and adjust your sales approach accordingly.
• There are two types of opportunities: looking and not looking. Only 5 to 10 percent of buyers are committed to buy something. The rest, with latent pain, are where the greatest opportunities lie.
• Get there first, set the requirements, and make yourself "Column A." Increase your odds of selling by putting yourself in the most favored position of prospects by finding opportunities in latent pain, and bringing them to an active state of evaluation.
• You can't sell to someone who can't buy. Target and call on people as high up in the firm as possible.
• Buyers' concerns shift over time. Recognize where buyers are and align selling activities with what is important to them.
• Pain x Power x Vision x Value x Control = Sale. Each element of this formula should be monitored as part of the sales process.

Why We Like This Book
The New Solution Selling offers a clear guide to making the most of the Solution Selling concept introduced 10 years ago by Michael Bosworth. Keith Eades has made the concept even more understandable by streamlining the entire process and providing time-tested insights into its guiding principles. Copyright © 2004 Soundview Executive Book Summaries

Table of Contents:

	Foreword
	Preface
	Acknowledgments
Pt. 1	Solution Selling Concepts	1
Ch. 1	Solutions	3
Ch. 2	Principles	15
Ch. 3	Sales Process	29
Pt. 2	Creating New Opportunities	43
Ch. 4	Precall Planning and Research	45
Ch. 5	Stimulating Interest	67
Ch. 6	Defining Pain or Critical Business Issue	85
Ch. 7	Diagnose Before You Prescribe	101
Ch. 8	Creating Visions Biased to Your Solution	119
Pt. 3	Engaging in Active Opportunities	131
Ch. 9	Selling When You're Not First	133
Ch. 10	Vision Re-engineering	151
Pt. 4	Qualify, Control, Close	171
Ch. 11	Gaining Access to People with Power	173
Ch. 12	Controlling the Buying Process	187
Ch. 13	Closing: Reaching Final Agreement	207
Pt. 5	Managing the Process	225
Ch. 14	Getting Started with the Process	227
Ch. 15	Sales Management System: Managers Managing Pipelines and Salespeople	243
Ch. 16	Creating and Sustaining High-Performance Sales Cultures	265
App. A	Value Justification Example	277
App. B	Solution Selling: A Scalable Approach	287
	Afterword	293
	Index	295

Look this: The Faith of Barack Obama or Masters of Paradise

Hot Commodities: How Anyone Can Invest Profitably in the World's Best Market

Author: Jim Rogers

and/or stickers showing their discounted price. More about bargain books

The Brand Gap or House of Mondavi

The Brand Gap

Author: Marty Neumeier

The second edition features a 220-term brand glossary and a premium softcover binding.
THE BRAND GAP is the first book to present a unified theory of brand. Whereas most books on branding are weighted toward either a strategic or creative approach, this book shows how both ways of thinking can unite to produce a “charismatic brand”—a brand that customers feel is essential to their lives. In an entertaining two-hour read you’ll learn:
• a new definition of brand
• the five essential disciplines of brand-building
• how branding is changing the dynamics of competition
• the three most powerful questions to ask about any brand
• why collaboration is the key to brand-building
• how design determines a customer’s experience
• how to test brand concepts quickly and cheaply
• the importance of managing brands from the inside
FROM THE BACK COVER
Not since McLuhan’s THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE has a book compressed so many ideas into so few pages. Using the visual language of the boardroom, Neumeier presents the first unified theory of branding—a set of five disciplines to help companies bridge the gap between brand strategy and customer experience. Those with a grasp of branding will be inspired by the new perspectives they find here, and those who would like to understand it better will suddenly “get it.” This deceptively simple book offers everyone in the company access to “the most powerful business tool since the spreadsheet.”
“The surprise book of the year!” —John Moore, Fast Company
“The first book on brand that seems fresh and relevant.” —Ric Grefe, executive director of AIGA, the professional association for design
“A pleasure to read.”—David A. Aaker, author of BRAND PORTFOLIO STRATEGY and BUILDING STRONG BRANDS
“Cuts to the heart of what brand is all about.” —Susan Rockrise, worldwide brand director, Intel
“Read this book before your competitors do!” —Tom Kelley, general manager, IDEO
FROM THE INSIDE FLAPS
“A pleasure to read. THE BRAND GAP consistently provides deep, practical insights in a light, visual way. Discover the power of imagery and the role of research in building a heavy-duty brand—without the heavy-duty reading.” —David Aaker, author of BRAND LEADERSHIP and BUILDING STRONG BRANDS
“Finally, a book that cuts to the heart of what brand is all about—connecting the rational and the emotional, the theoretical and the practical, the logical and the magical to create a sustainable competitive advantage.” —Susan Rockrise, Worldwide Brand Director, Intel
In THE BRAND GAP, Neumeier reminds us that the ultimate moment of truth for all brands is the customer experience. Customer perceptions trump our own perceptions.” —Kurt Kuehn, senior VP of worldwide marketing and sales, UPS
“This is not just another book on brand. This is the ONLY book you’ll need to read in business, engineering, and design school.” —Clement Mok, design entrepreneur
“A well-managed brand is the lifeblood of any successful company—and Neumeier shows us exactly how to do it. Read this book before your competitors do!” —Tom Kelley, general manager of IDEO, co-author of THE ART OF INNOVATION
“THE BRAND GAP couldn’t be more timely. Just when we’re at our most skeptical about corporate motives, along comes a book that shows how to evaluate and develop a brand in a straightforward and honest manner.” —David Stuart, co-founder of The Partners, co-author of A SMILE IN THE MIND
“Must-reading for anyone who wants to understand how their business strategy will succeed or fail when put to the ultimate test: ‘Do customers perceive a difference that’s desirable?’” —Steve Harrington, director of strategy and operations, Hewlett-Packard
“The book slices like a hot knife through all the turgid, pseudo-academic nonsense that surrounds branding. It’s now on the course list for my graduate students, and new members of my team at Ogilvy get a copy with their training materials.” —Brian Collins, executive creative director, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide

Table of Contents:

Discipline 1	Differentiate
Discipline 2	Collaborate
Discipline 3	Innovate
Discipline 4	Validate
Discipline 5	Cultivate

Interesting book: The Price of Everything or From Reel to Deal

House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty

Author: Julia Flynn Siler

The New York Times bestseller, now in paperback: a scandal-plagued story of the immigrant family that built—and then lost—a global wine empire Set in California's lush Napa Valley and spanning four generations of a talented and visionary family, The House of Mondavi is a tale of genius, sibling rivalry, and betrayal. From 1906, when Italian immigrant Cesare Mondavi passed through Ellis Island, to the Robert Mondavi Corp.'s twenty-first-century battle over a billion-dollar fortune, award-winning journalist Julia Flynn Siler brings to life both the place and the people in this riveting family drama. A meticulously reported narrative based on more than five hundred hours of interviews, The House of Mondavi is a modern classic.

Barrons

Based on exhaustive research and interviews, each page is packed with facts and footnotes which, by dint of superb writing, manage to engage the reader and avoid the data brain-lock that would have plagued a less-talented journalist.

Eric Asimov

Call it Greek tragedy or Shakespearean drama, Biblical strife, Freudian acting out, or even soap opera. . . . Compelling. (Eric Asimov, The New York Times)

Wine Spectator - James Laube

Explores the Mondavis' bumpy journey in grand and fascinating detail. . . . Fluid and well-written.

BusinessWeek

A fascinating chronicle . . . a twisted tale filled with big egos, beautiful backdrops, and charismatic-yet-flawed characters who pull off towering feats and then throw them all away.

U.S. News & World Report

Epic

Seattle Post–Intelligencer

A first-rate job of creating a balanced view of this epic A merican drama. . . . T he book reads like a novel and her crisp style makes the book compelling regardless of whether the reader has an interest in wine. . . . It's a great summer read but it also belongs on the reference shelf of any wine library.

NPR Day to Day

A riveting story that is part soap opera, part Shakespearean family drama.

Deep Economy or Start Late Finish Rich

Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future

Author: Bill McKibben

“Masterfully crafted, deeply thoughtful and mind-expanding.”—Los Angeles Times In this powerful and provocative manifesto, Bill McKibben offers the biggest challenge in a generation to the prevailing view of our economy. Deep Economy makes the compelling case for moving beyond “growth” as the paramount economic ideal and pursuing prosperity in a more local direction, with regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, and even creating more of their own culture and entertainment. Our purchases need not be at odds with the things we truly value, McKibben argues, and the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own.

The New York Times - Lance Morrow

It would be unwise to dismiss McKibben's ideas as pipe dreams or Luddism. He makes his case on anecdotal, environmental, moral and, as it were, aesthetic grounds. An attentive, widely traveled writer and environmentalist, McKibben cites the success of local projects around the world, from a rabbit-raising academy in China to a Guatemalan cooperative that manufacturers farm machinery from old bicycles. He defends his "economics of neighborliness" against the charge that it is "sentimental, nostalgic, some Norman Rockwell old-town-green fantasy." In fact, he insists: "Given the trend lines for phenomena like global warming and oil supply, what's nostalgic and sentimental is to insist that we keep doing what we're doing now simply because it's familiar. The good life of the high-end American suburb is precisely what's doing us in." His alternative, an intelligent, socially responsible, nonideological localism—essentially a readjustment downward of material expectations and therefore of our "hyperindividualistic" economic metabolisms—"might better provide goods like time and security that we're short of." People, he thinks, are "overliberated…We need to once again depend on those around us for something real."

Publishers Weekly

Challenging the prevailing wisdom that the goal of economies should be unlimited growth, McKibben (The End of Nature) argues that the world doesn't have enough natural resources to sustain endless economic expansion. For example, if the Chinese owned cars in the same numbers as Americans, there would be 1.1 billion more vehicles on the road—untenable in a world that is rapidly running out of oil and clean air. Drawing the phrase "deep economy" from the expression "deep ecology," a term environmentalists use to signify new ways of thinking about the environment, he suggests we need to explore new economic ideas. Rather then promoting accelerated cycles of economic expansion—a mindset that has brought the world to the brink of environmental disaster—we should concentrate on creating localized economies: community-scale power systems instead of huge centralized power plants; cohousing communities instead of sprawling suburbs. He gives examples of promising ventures of this type, such as a community-supported farm in Vermont and a community biosphere reserve, or large national park–like area, in Himalayan India, but some of the ideas—local currencies as supplements to national money, for example—seem overly optimistic. Nevertheless, McKibben's proposals for new, less growth-centered ways of thinking about economics are intriguing, and offer hope that change is possible. (Mar. 20)

Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Forget growth, argues -McKibben; instead, we need to focus on local, sustainable prosperity. With a ten-city tour. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

To move forward, increasing equality and happiness, we need to turn the clock back: thinking locally rather than globally, buying from and selling to our neighbors to create true communities. McKibben (Wandering Home, 2005, etc.), who has worried about the fate of our planet since at least The End of Nature (1989), weighs in here on the pursuit of happiness. For too long, he observes, we have believed that more equals better and assumed that greater economic growth brings prosperity to all. Instead, he ably argues, growth has increased inequality and decreased human happiness. Americans have been consuming at an unconscionable rate, destroying their families and communities by working longer hours and patronizing huge corporations. Reporting from around the world-he offers examples from China, Bangladesh, India, Central America and elsewhere-McKibben revisits some topics close to his heart: global warming, the rapid depletion of fossil fuels, the growth of agribusinesses, the impending water crisis. He tells stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things to improve both the local economy and the overall quality of local life. Farmers' markets are growing around the country; merchants in a small Wyoming town are competing successfully with Wal-Mart (a corporation attacked throughout); a local Vermont radio station actually provides public services and serves the public interest. The author also tells his own stories, which are the gold in the alluvial gravel of all of his work. Here, he describes his recent determination to buy only from local farmers and to eat only foods that are in season. This is something we should all do, he avers; it not only improves the local economy butcreates greater community cohesion as well. McKibben tries to stay optimistic in his most quixotic work, but darkness presses at the edges of every page.

Interesting textbook: Blue Highways or Beneath the Neon

Start Late, Finish Rich: A No-Fail Plan for Achieving Financial Freedom at Any Age

Author: David Bach

David Bach has a plan to help you live and finish rich—no matter where you start

So you feel like you’ve started late?

You are not alone.

What if I told you that right now as you flip through this book, 70% of the people in the store with you are living paycheck to paycheck?

What if I told you that the man browsing the aisle to your left owes more than $8,000 in credit card debt? And the woman on your right has less than $1,000 in savings?

See? You’re really not alone.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people who’ve saved too little and borrowed too much will never catch up financially. Why? Because they don’t know how.

You can start late and finish rich—but you need a plan.

This book contains the plan. It’s inspiring, easy to follow, and is based on proven financial principles. Building a secure financial future for yourself isn’t something you can do overnight. It will take time and it will take work. But you can do it.

I know. I’ve helped millions of people get their financial lives together—and I can help you. Spend a few hours with me—and let me challenge you. Give me a chance to become your coach.

Just because you started late doesn’t mean you are doomed to an uncertain future. Whether you’re in your thirties, forties, fifties, or beyond, there is still time to turn things around. It’s never too late to live and finish rich. All it takes is the decision to start.


—David Bach

Is it too late for me to get rich?

Over and over, people share their fears with David Bach,America’s leading money coach and the number-one national best-selling author of The Automatic Millionaire. “If only I had started saving when I was younger!” they say. “Is there any hope for me?”

There IS hope, and help is here at last!

In Start Late, Finish Rich, David Bach takes the “Finish Rich” wisdom that has already helped millions of people and tailors it specifically to all of us who forgot to save, procrastinated, or got sidetracked by life’s unexpected challenges.

Whether you are in your thirties, forties, fifties, or even older, Bach shows that you really can start late and still live and finish rich – and you can get your plan in place fast. In a motivating, swift read you learn how to ramp up the road to financial security with the principles of spend less, save more, make more – and most important, LIVE MORE. And he gives you the time tested plan to do it.

The Start Late, Finish Rich promise is bold and clear:

Even if you are buried in debt – there is still hope.

You can get rich in real estate – by starting small.

Find your “Latte Factor” – and turbo charge it to save money you didn’t know you had.

You can start a business on the side – while you keep your old job and continue earning a paycheck.

You can spend less, save more and make more – and it doesn’t have to hurt.

David Bach gives you step-by-step instructions, worksheets, phone numbers and website addresses --everything you need to put your Start Late plan into place right away. And he shares the stories of ordinary Americans who have turned their lives around, at thirty, forty, fifty, even sixty years of age, and are now financially free. They did it, and now it’s your turn. With David Bach at your side, it’s never too late to change your financial destiny. It’s never too late to live your dreams. It’s never too late to be free.

Publishers Weekly

The seventh book in seven years of the Finish Rich series (two million in print) is aimed at older readers who have neglected their savings. It reads like an infomercial script, brassily positive and unrelentingly motivational. Anyone can finish rich, says Bach (Automatic Millionaire, etc.), if they are willing to "spend less, save more, and make more." The bulk of the book describes a variety of tactics and strategies (many covered in his previous books) for accomplishing these three tasks. Readers of financial help books will have heard many of Bach's ideas before, but he does deliver a lion's share of solid advice in an entertaining format, and, for good measure, he throws in an occasional counterintuitive gem, such as why paying off credit card debt can be "a huge mistake." He also anticipates and overcomes common objections ("dealing with debt doesn't mean putting the rest of your life on hold"), although anyone impolite enough to push back too hard is dismissed: "I have a term for negative people who seem to enjoy raining on other people's parades. I call them dream stealers,' and I try to avoid them." Agent, Jan Miller. (Jan. 4) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Start saving and stop spending-advice as familiar as Ben Franklin's "a penny saved is a penny earned." But best-selling author Bach (The Automatic Millionaire) makes it sound so much nattier when he coaches readers to calculate their double-latte factor-those little indulgences that, when curbed, can froth into huge savings down the road. Bach hammers home a number of well-worn yet worthy principles, like buying a home instead of renting, cutting expenses, asking for a raise, and paying off those pesky credit card debts, all the while saving, saving, saving. From offering advice on supplementing day jobs with pursuits like small home businesses or e-bay to analyzing how real estate, direct selling, and franchising can contribute to financial success, Bach's enthusiasm is infectious. And after all the practical advice, he does not neglect the more humane elements of financial planning-giving to worthy causes and living richly and fully. This book will be appreciated in public library business collections by the latte-sipping set, who will be glad to learn that it's never too late to take control of one's financial futures.-Carol J. Elsen, Univ. of Wisconsin Libs., Whitewater Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Table of Contents:

Introduction     1
It's Time to Get it
So You Started Late-Give Yourself a Break Already!     13
It's About Your Money, It's About Your Freedom     17
Spend Less
Find Your Double Latte Factor     29
How to Transform Your Debt into Wealth     49
Manipulate the Credit Card Companies-Legally     59
DOLP Your Debt Out of Existence     68
Beware of the "Nonprofit" Promise of Debt Counselors     77
Save More
Pay Yourself First...Faster!     87
Toss Out the Budget and Make It Automatic     99
Your Life Should Be Interesting-Your Investments Should Be Boring     114
Why Renters Stay Poor and Homeowners Get Rich     138
How to Buy a Home, Pay It Off Early-and Save {dollar}71,000     152
Make More
Who Says You Can't Make More?     163
A Four-Week Action Plan to Get a Raise     175
Becoming Your Own Boss-Without Quitting Your Day Job     190
Make More...on eBay     205
Make More...in Direct Selling     211
Make More...in Franchising     228
Get Rich Investing in Real Estate...on the Weekend     246
Get Rich in Real Estate: The Advanced Course     274
Give More, Live More
It's Never Too Late to GiveMore     295
Start Late, Live Rich!     308
You Started Late...But Your Kids Don't Have To     320
The Finish Rich Annual Survey     328
Acknowledgments     331
Index     335

Essays on the Great Depression or The Warren Buffett Way

Essays on the Great Depression

Author: Ben S Bernank

Few periods in history compare to the Great Depression. Stock market crashes, bread lines, bank runs, and wild currency speculation were worldwide phenomena--all occurring with war looming in the background. This period has provided economists with a marvelous laboratory for studying the links between economic policies and institutions and economic performance. Here, Ben Bernanke has gathered together his essays on why the Great Depression was so devastating.

This broad view shows us that while the Great Depression was an unparalleled disaster, some economies pulled up faster than others, and some made an opportunity out of it. By comparing and contrasting the economic strategies and statistics of the world's nations as they struggled to survive economically, the fundamental lessons of macroeconomics stand out in bold relief against a background of immense human suffering. The essays in this volume present a uniquely coherent view of the economic causes and worldwide propagation of the depression.

What People Are Saying

Randall Kroszner
This influential body of work is a significant contribution to our understanding the depth and persistence of the Great Depression.... This book will become a standard reference in the field of business cycle research.

Table of Contents:

Preface vii
PART ONE: OVERVIEW 3
1. The Macroeconomics of the Great Depression: A Comparative Approach 5
PART TWO: MONEY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS 39
2. Nonmonetary Effects of the Financial Crisis in the Propagation of the Great Depression 41
3. The Gold Standard, Deflation, and Financial Crisis in the Great Depression: An International Comparison - With Harold James 70
4. Deflation and Monetary Contraction in the Great Depressim An Analysis by Simple Ratios - With Ilian Mihov 108
PART THREE: LABOR MARKETS 161
5. The Cyclical Behavior of Industrial Labor Markets: A Comparison of the Prewar and Postwar Eras - With James L. Powell 163
6. Employment, Hours, and Earnings in the Depression: An Analysis of Eight Manufacturing Industries 206
7. Unemployment, Inflation, and Wages in the American Depression: Are There Lessons for Europe? - With Martin Parkinson 247
8. Procyclical Labor Productivity and Competing Theories of the Business Cycle: Some Evidence from Interwar U.S. Manufacturing Industries - With Martin Parkinson 255
9. Nominal Wage Stickiness and Aggregate Supply in the Great Depression - With Kevin Carey 276
Index 303

Book review: Guarding the Golden Door or Gods of Diyala

The Warren Buffett Way

Author: Robert G Hagstrom

Praise forTHE WARREN BUFFETT WAY First Edition

"Nobody has described what Buffett practices better than Hagstrom."

—Time

"Simply the most important new stock book. . . . If you think you know all about Warren Buffett, you have a lot to learn from this book."

—Forbes

"It's first rate. Buffett gets a lot of attention for what he preaches, but nobody has described what he practices better than Hagstrom. Here is the lowdown on every major stock he ever bought

and why he bought it. Fascinating."

—Fortune

"Almost anybody curious about the relationship between the behavior of economics, the performance of firms, and the ups and downs of the stock market will find something of interest here."

—The Economist

"The Warren Buffett Way is accessible to average readers because Mr. Hagstrom reduces the billionaire's techniques to some easily understandable tenets . . . the book demonstrates the rewards that can come down the road."

—The Dallas Morning News

Wall Street Journal

An extraordinarily useful account of the methods of an investor held by many to be the world's greatest.

Time - John Rothchild

It's first rate. Buffett gets a lot of attention for what he preaches, but nobody has described what he practices better than Hagstrom. Here is the lowdown on every major stock he ever bought and why he bought it. Fascinating. You could even try this at home.

Phil Fisher

In simple language this book tells the rules by which the most successful American stock investor of modern time got that way. It could be a godsend to the legion of unhappy investors who keep floundering because they ignore the basics of major investment success.

Martin S. Fridson

Warren Buffett is often characterized simply as a 'value investor' or a 'Ben Graham disciple.' Hagstrom fills in the rest of the story with some immensely practical pointers on prospering in the market.

Wall Street Journal

. . . an extraordinarily useful account of the methods of an investor held by many to be the world's greatest.

Charles D. Ellis

Warren Buffett is surely the Greatest Investor of this century—not so much because he built a great fortune within a free market as because he has shared his important thinking with us and has openly demonstrated the sagacity and courage so vital to success. Berkshire Hathaway has been my largest, longest investment. Warren has been my best teacher.

John C. Bogle

Robert Hagstrom presents an in-depth examination of Warren Buffett's strategies, and the 'how and why' behind his selection of each of the major securities that have contributed to his remarkable record of success. His 'homespun' wisdom and philosophy are also part of this comprehensive, interesting, and readable book.

Forbes - Kenneth L. Fisher

Simply the most important new stock book of the 1990s, to date. Buy it and read it.

Peter S. Lynch

The Warren Buffett Way outlines his career and presents examples of how his investment techniques and methods evolved and the important individuals in that process. It also details the key investment decisions that produced his unmatched record of performance.

Publishers Weekly

Starting with $10,000 in 1956 and today worth some $8.5 billion, with significant holdings in Coca-Cola, Capital Cities/ ABC and the Washington Post Company, Omaha, Nebr.-based Buffet is a major player on Wall Street. Financial consultant Hagstrom, who did not interview his subject but obtained permission to quote from his Berkshire Hathaway annual reports, here outlines Buffet's iconoclastic tenets for investing. Unlike many entrepreneurs who take over companies to sell them off in bits, Buffet buys and holds. He rejects the ``efficient market theory''; he doesn't worry about the stock market; and he buys a business, not a stock. He manages with a small staff, no computers and a ``hands off'' strategy. Learning his secrets here, now the rest of us can do a Buffet? Illustrations. Fortune Book Club dual main selection. (Nov.)

Library Journal

Hagstrom, a principal in a Philadelphia investment firm, describes the investment strategies and techniques used by Warren Buffett to realize enormous success as a professional investor. Aiming his analysis at the individual investor, Hagstrom reviews the influence of Buffett's mentors, Ben Graham and Philip Fisher, and illustrates Buffett's synthesis of their investment philosophies. Hagstrom provides case studies of Buffett's major investments, showing the qualities of the companies that had appeal. Buffett's investment philosophy espouses long-term investing, respect for good management, and recognition of the value of a business franchise. This insightful work is a worthwhile complement to Graham's classic writings, considered essential for new investors.-Joseph Barth, U.S. Military Acad. Lib., West Point, N.Y.

What People Are Saying

John Rothchild
It's first rate. Buffett gets a lot of attention for what he preaches, but nobody has described what he practices better than Hagstrom. Here is the lowdown on every major stock he ever bought and why he bought it. Fascinating. You could even try this at home. (John Rothchild, Financial columnist, Time magazine)

Kenneth L. Fisher
If you think you know all about Warren Buffett, you have a lot to learn from this book. I can't say enough good things about it, so I won't say much more than read it. (Kenneth L. Fisher, Forbes)

John C. Bogle
Robert Hagstrom presents an in-depth examination of Warren Buffett's strategies, and the 'how and why' behind his selection of each of the major securities that have contributed to his remarkable record of success. His 'homespun' wisdom and philosophy are also part of this comprehensive, interesting, and readable book. (John C. Bogle, Chairman, The Vanguard Group)

Peter S. Lynch
The Warren Buffett Way outlines his career and presents examples of how his investment techniques and methods evolved and the important individuals in that process. It also details the key investment decisions that produced his unmatched record of performance. (from the Foreword by Peter S. Lynch, Bestselling author, One Up on Wall Street and Beating the Street)