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# | cover | title | author | isbn | isbn13 | asin | num pages | avg rating | num ratings | date pub | date pub (ed.) | rating | my rating | review | notes | recommender | comments | votes | read count | date started | date read |
date purchased | owned | purchase location | condition | format | ||
| 9781400063512
| 3.83
| 39,115
| 2007
| May 15, 2007
This is a book about the perils of real life randomness that don't fit within neat distributions such as the bell curve. The author explains his insig
This is a book about the perils of real life randomness that don't fit within neat distributions such as the bell curve. The author explains his insight in a wandering narrative spiced with enough personal autobiography, criticism of nobel laureates, and even fictional characters to hold the reader's interest. Through most of the book I was considering giving it 4 or 5 stars, but then toward the end of the book the author hurt his credibility by going overboard with his criticism of other economist. I think this book was rescued from obscurity by the coincidental quote included in a pre-publish review manuscript that appeared to predict the 911 attack. It included a quote of a French philosopher who said, " ... predicting something like that is like predicting when the World Trade Center will be hit by an airplane." (my paraphrased quote) The irony is that the point of the quote was that you can't predict things like that. Most reviewers took it as a prediction that came true. Thus the book became famous.
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| Jan 2008
Jan 17, 2008
| Hardcover
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| 9780143058441
| 3.85
| 1,881
| Mar 21, 2006
| Mar 21, 2006
Phillips' articulates the concerns of many Americans that are troubled by the current blending of American religion and democracy. He moves on to asse
Phillips' articulates the concerns of many Americans that are troubled by the current blending of American religion and democracy. He moves on to assess the dangers oil diplomacy and excessive national and household debt. This book was written before the current home mortgage crises, but it clearly predicts that the real estate boom spurred by the Federal Reserve cannot continue. That now appears to be an easy prediction to make. So why weren't the bankers smart enough to anticipate it? ...more | Notes are private!
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| Apr 2007
Jan 30, 2008
| Audiobook
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| 9780786168422
| 3.90
| 817
| 2006
| Sep 01, 2006
It you're a Bush supporter, you probably don't want to read this book. The rest of you will find confirmation in this book for what you've suspected a
It you're a Bush supporter, you probably don't want to read this book. The rest of you will find confirmation in this book for what you've suspected and feared all along. It fills in many of the details behind some of the news stories that we've been hearing over the past several years about the Iraq War. ...more | Notes are private!
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| Aug 2007
Jan 30, 2008
| Audio CD
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| 9781400134854
| 3.71
| 730
| 2007
| Aug 15, 2007
This book covers some of the same material that is contained in the book, The World Is Flat. However, this book zeros in on India (the elephant) and C
This book covers some of the same material that is contained in the book, The World Is Flat. However, this book zeros in on India (the elephant) and China (the dragon) in more detail. It also spends more time reviewing the future difficulties that will need to be faced. But overall the book has an optimistic tone. Toward the end of the book it makes the case that international trade is a bargain for the USA. The book explains that for every dollar that goes overseas, $1.94 of wealth is created, and all but 33 cents of which returns to the U.S. OK, so it may be a current bargain. But is this a stable situation for the future? Somehow it seems that the current situation where China loans money to the USA so that Americans can buy their manufactured products doesn't seem to be a relationship that will last forever.
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| Feb 2008
Jan 30, 2008
| Audio CD
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| 9781419390685
| 3.87
| 1,992
| 2001
| Mar 01, 2006
Inconvenient truth in expanded detail is an apt description for this book. The book format can include a lot more information than a movie so if you w
Inconvenient truth in expanded detail is an apt description for this book. The book format can include a lot more information than a movie so if you want to know more about global warming than what is in Al Gore's movie, this is a good place to start. The author is from Australia so that country gets more coverage than one would otherwise expect. Nevertheless, the subject of global warming is well covered. The book was first published in 2001 and updated in 2006 so it may becoming a bit dated in a quickly expanding subject area.
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| Apr 2008
Apr 24, 2008
| Audio CD
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| unknown
| 3.89
| 1,975
| Aug 28, 2000
| Oct 2003
This non-fiction story is more interesting than any fictional crime detective story. I feel compelled to be a bit more enthusiastic than usual about t
This non-fiction story is more interesting than any fictional crime detective story. I feel compelled to be a bit more enthusiastic than usual about this book to overcome the reaction of potential readers who are not interested in a story about price fixing at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). That may sound boring. Trust me, it's not! By the end of the book, you will learn that as of the year 2000 over a billion dollars in fines had been paid worldwide by various food and pharmaceutical companies as a result of the fall-out from this case. Thousands of normally law-abiding people had to be involved over many years for such wide spread price fixing to exist. It took one flawed cooperating witness to expose the crimes to law enforcement. When I use the word "flawed," this one was a doozy! As multiple layers of lies are peeled back in this story the reader can't help but wonder just how many more layers can there be? The story is told from the point of view of the FBI as they investigate the case. A small but interesting part of the story is the internal friction between the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors. In this case the FBI appears to be the good guys and the DOJ are a bunch of bumbling idiots. At one point the DOJ appears to be guilty of trying to obstruct justice in response to political pressure. It's too bad the author wasn't able to learn the behind-the-scenes reasons for their actions. It was probably a good example of the effect of the generous political contributions made by ADM. A runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize, The Informant is a mesmerizing piece of investigative reporting. The foreword to the book says that everything in the book is true including the lies. After finishing the book, I understand the reason for that statement. ...more | Notes are private!
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| May 2008
May 08, 2008
| unabridged audiotape
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| 9781427202956
| 3.82
| 148
| 2007
| Nov 27, 2007
Mr. Buchanan is known for his politically conservative views. He is something of a modern day Jeremiah proclaiming the coming cataclysmic end of the n
Mr. Buchanan is known for his politically conservative views. He is something of a modern day Jeremiah proclaiming the coming cataclysmic end of the nation. When his views conform with my own generally liberal beliefs, his clear articulation of problems meets with my approval. His scathing critic of the current administration's careless squandering of international goodwill following 911 with their overt display of hubris is very well written. His strident decrying of the "culture wars" is overdone in my opinion. He says that the invasion from Mexico as a bigger threat to the USA than anything happening in Afghanistan and Iraq. I generally agree that there are many problems facing our country. However, many of his proposed solutions are too draconian for my tastes. Nevertheless, the book was worth reading to learn what he has to say. Mr Buchanan has a lot of supporters and this book gives an insight into their views. ...more | Notes are private!
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| May 27, 2008
May 25, 2008
| Audio CD
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| 9781433201721
| 4.07
| 3,544
| 1998
| Aug 01, 2007
I respect Mr Feynman's intelligence and skill as a lecturer. His reputation makes me feel bad about giving this book only two stars. But this book isn
I respect Mr Feynman's intelligence and skill as a lecturer. His reputation makes me feel bad about giving this book only two stars. But this book isn't his best work. The three lectures in this book were given in 1963. It's interesting to speculate how his speech would be different if given today. In 1963 the lectures may have seemed more cutting edge. I was particularly interested in what he had to say about the relationship between religion and science. Well, he did a fine job describing the conflict between religion and science. Then he asked the question, "How can religion and science coexist without being a threat to each other?" His answer was, "I don't know." I suppose that shows he's smart enough to not wade into theology. But I was disappointed. One interesting thing he said is that there are some scientists who believe in God, but there aren't very many who have an image of God that matches that of their parents. Of course that's true many non-scientists too.
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| Aug 15, 2008
Aug 14, 2008
| Audio CD
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| 9781427204585
| 3.66
| 9,474
| Jan 01, 2008
| Sep 08, 2008
Hot, Flat and Crowded can be translated as climate change, globalization, and population growth. This book is a followup to the author's best-selling
Hot, Flat and Crowded can be translated as climate change, globalization, and population growth. This book is a followup to the author's best-selling The World Is Flat, a book about globalization of business. This book examines how globalization can continue in a way that doesn't doom the world due to climate change or population growth. It quickly explains that the problem with population isn't so much that there's too many people. But rather it is that in a flat world everyone aspires to gain access to an American level of consumption. The world simply doesn't have enough consumables to go around for the benefits of a flat world to spread to all of the world's population. One of the good things about Friedman's book is that he doesn't dwell, as say, Gore's movie did, on describing the problem. But rather he spends most of the book describing possible solutions. The overall effect of the book is that of being a cheerleader for the green movement. He sees a day when the whole world will be served by electricity from renewable sources. With low cost energy from renewable sources the whole world can have access to the benefits of a flattened world. His vision for the future world is one that allows humans to live comfortably and at the same time allows the environment and biodiversity found in nature to be protected. The book is long, and with so many words he's almost able to convince the reader that his vision for for the world's future is possible. I never cease to be amazed at Friedman's verbosity. The book is long and filled with numerous quotations from interviews with professors, experts, business leaders and activist from around the world. It reads much like a long newspaper feature article. He inserts his own terms into the narrative, such as "Energy-Climate Era." He keeps in touch with reality and trys to be practical in his suggestions for directions to take with future energy policies. Thus I think it's a book that business leaders can find to be acceptable reading. As least I hope so. After all, this is probably the most important issue of our time. ...more | Notes are private!
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| Oct 04, 2008
Sep 12, 2008
| Audio CD
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| 9781600243912
| 4.06
| 255,659
| Jan 01, 2008
| Nov 18, 2008
This book shows that the stories about self made rugged individualists who are so widely admired are not stories of singularly talented people who too
This book shows that the stories about self made rugged individualists who are so widely admired are not stories of singularly talented people who took advantage of opportunities. But rather they are stories of talented people who took advantage of singular opportunities. Furthermore, the ability and disposition to work hard is not so much a personal trait as it is a cultural legacy. The author tells numerous true stories of what appears to be shining examples of disadvantaged people who ended up being outstanding success stories. But then the author goes back through the same story and takes a look at where that person came from and shows that they benefited from a combination of a cultural background and set of unique opportunities and timing that allowed them to succeed. The point of the book is not to explain away success stories. But rather it is to learn from these stories, and use this information to help everyone be more productive and successful. The author shows several instances where proactive steps were able to ameliorate the effect of negative cultural legacies. I found this book to be one of the most interesting non-fiction books that I've ever listened to. Some critics of this book have pointed out that the author, Malcolm Gladwell, didn't adhere to strict protocols in his interpretation of data. My response is that this book is for popular consumption, not the academic community. I'm confident that plenty of proper research and analysis will be performed prior to the implementation of major improvements to schools based on Gladwell's recommendations. The following is a copy of the review of this book review taken from the Jaunary 6, 2011 PageADay Book Lover's Calendar: THAT SWEET SMELL Malcolm Gladwell makes sense of yet another aspect of our world in this pleasantly readable account of success and the qualities that lead to it. The question he poses is, Why do the Bill Gateses and Mozarts of the world succeed so brilliantly, while others of the same intelligence and talent end up leading lives of quiet desperation? Using his method of combining the latest academic studies with the most relevant and irresistible stories, Gladwell makes his case that the "outliers" beneft from advantages and opportunities that pass others up. A stimulating read, to say the least. OUTLIERS: THE STORY OF SUCCESS, by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown, 2008) ...more | Notes are private!
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| Dec 02, 2008
Nov 29, 2008
| Audio CD
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| 9780743576857
| 3.85
| 7,996
| Jan 01, 2008
| May 01, 2008
The book title suggests that perhaps it's predicting the demise of America. But instead the book is generally optimistic about the future and predicts
The book title suggests that perhaps it's predicting the demise of America. But instead the book is generally optimistic about the future and predicts that other nations will rise in importance relative to the U.S. However, America will continue to be a global player on the international scene. This book was published in May 2008 prior to the recent meltdown in the financial world. I found myself speculating about what the author would say differently if the book were written after the current flury of bailouts and the collapse of Lehman Brothers. On page 205 the author says, "New derivatives based on underlying instruments like stock or interst-rate payment are increasingly important ..." He goes on to say that the London financial exchanges sell more derivatives than the New York exchanges with the implication that this is an indication of the strength of the London markets. In think the author would want to word things a little differently today if he had a chance. But still it is my guess that the author would view current conditions as part of expected cycles in the world's economy. The book covers some of the same ground covered by Friedman's The World Is Flat. Both books spend considerable time discussing the rise of China and India on the world scene. Zakaria's writing is perhaps a bit more subduded and business like than Friedman's book (and perhaps less interesting to read as a result). I found the parts of the book that are critical of the United States to be the most interesting parts. The following is a quotation from the book I found interesting: "More people will graduate in the United States in 2006 with sports-exercise degrees than electrical-engineering degrees," says General Electric's CEO, Jeffrey Immelt. "So if we want to be the massage capital of the world, we're well on our way." The book maintains that the American educational sytem is better than many think. Worldwide testing always shows the students from Singapore with top scores in math and science. So Americans might conclude that our schools should be more like theirs. It is interesting to see from the following quotation from the book what the educational officials in Singapore think of the American educational system: "Tharman Shanmugaratnam, until recently Singapore's minister of education, explains the difference between his country's system and America's. "We both have meritocracies," Shanmugaratnam says. "Yours is a talent meritocracy, ours is an exam meritocracy. We know how to train people to take exams. You know how to use people's talents to the fullest. Both are important, but there are some parts of the intellect that we are not able to test well - like creativity, curiosity, a sense of adventure, ambition. Most of all, America has a culture of learning that challenges conventional wisdom, even if it means challenging authority. These are the areas where Singapore must learn from America."" ...more | Notes are private!
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| Dec 15, 2008
Dec 08, 2008
| Audio CD
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| 9780743583664
| 3.49
| 1,295
| Dec 01, 2008
| Dec 30, 2008
I was hoping that by reading about the folly of others I could be a bit wiser for the current financial crisis. But I still don't feel wise. This book
I was hoping that by reading about the folly of others I could be a bit wiser for the current financial crisis. But I still don't feel wise. This book does provide some relief for today's remorseful investor by telling stories of others who lost more. "Everything, in retrospect, is obvious. But if everything were obvious, authors of histories of financial folly would be rich . . ." It is incredible how naive and stupid some of the pre-panic articles are. But on the other hand, many of the post-panic articles are equally over the top in finding conspiracies where in reality only simple capitalistic greed is present. Is being greedy (or stupid) against the law? An example of pre-panic swagger is this quote by Dave Barry; "You don't have to take any risk, or work hard, or even have a central nervous system. That's how profitable real estate is!" This book was published November 17, 2008, and the current financial crisis has continued to play out since then. So the comments about the current sub-prime mortgage crisis probably will become quickly dated. Nevertheless, I found his predictions related to the current financial situation of interest. He says the coming recession will be longer and more persistent than any in recent memory. In absolute terms it won't be as bad as the 1930's depression because we're beginning from a higher starting point. However, in relative terms we may feel worse than those who lived through the 1930's. The reason is that our expectations are so high and our tolerance for discomfort so low that we'll cry like spoiled children. Perhaps this time it really is the end of the world as we know it. Of the five financial crises examined, the differences are so large that there are few morsels of wisdom that can be carried forward to avoid the next crisis. However, I will make this prediction; If you had the job in the past of flipping derivatives based on sub-prime mortgages, you'd better start looking for a new job flipping hamburgers because your old job isn't coming back. ...more | Notes are private!
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| Jan 06, 2009
Dec 28, 2008
| Audio CD
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| 9780446549547
| 3.52
| 429
| Jul 31, 2007
| Jul 15, 2009
Some day the $4 per gallon gas prices experienced in the summer of 2008 will be recalled as the good old days when gasoline was a bargain. In the long
Some day the $4 per gallon gas prices experienced in the summer of 2008 will be recalled as the good old days when gasoline was a bargain. In the long run, the author contends, the coming high prices for gasoline will be good for us. Our addiction to oil, Steiner's research says, has contributed to all manner of ills, among them pollution, long and stressful commutes, poor nutrition, and insufficient exercises. As world demand for oil grows and supply plateaus or shrinks, the price will climb inexorably to unprecedented levels. If Steiner is correct or even half-correct, then the direct hit to our collective wallets will become so pronounced that it will force most of us to change the way we live our lives and the way our country works. The good news is that we could eventually come out on the other side with numerous, significant societal improvements. The inevitable effects the author foresees include the evaporation of demand for houses in far-flung suburbs, trains supplanting planes as the dominant form of long-distance travel within the country, and the gradual disappearance of disposable plastic items. In that context, Steiner sees healthier lifestyles, improved environmental quality, and many other benefits large and small. The book takes time to describe some of the technologies that have (and don't have) a good potential to be of use in an economy where oil and its derivatives are expensive. It also speculates of which products and means of travel will be greatly diminished (hint: don't invest in airline stocks). The book is divided into chapters discussing changes that will take place at each step along the way; $6/ gallon, $8/gallon, $10/gallon, and so on to $20/gallon. Predicting the future is not an exact science, so not everything is going to necessarily happen as described in this book. But the author provides enough statistics and reasons to back up his forecasts to make them very believable. The author doesn't say much about how fast we will reach $20/gallon gas. One place he says we'll reach $10/gallon in ten years. So I suppose it follows that we can expect $20/gallon in twenty years. It is my own thought that the future will go in one of two directions. Either we will experience $20/gallon gasoline in the not too distant future, or we will have a depressed world economy. One thing we have learned from the past year's economic recession is that fuel purchases are greatly reduced when the economy crashes. That is part of the reason why current prices (late 2009) are less than $4/gallon. Viewed in this way, $20/gallon prices would be indicative of a vibrant world economy, which would be good news. ...more | Notes are private!
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| Dec 08, 2009
Oct 23, 2009
| Hardcover
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| 9780060889357
| 3.90
| 61,899
| Jan 01, 2009
| Oct 20, 2009
This is a book about decisions, incentives, unintended consequences and statistics showing how conventional wisdom isn't always wise. The examples giv
This is a book about decisions, incentives, unintended consequences and statistics showing how conventional wisdom isn't always wise. The examples given are varied and totally unrelated to each other. The conclusions are not fully documented and the generalizations provided do not recognize exceptions or alternative points of view. If you can get past these issues the book is a lot of fun to read. Reading this book is much the same as listening in on a bull session discussion between two clever comedians who know just enough information to be dangerous. The writing is spiced with puns and humor to keep the reader entertained. I suppose every reader has their own axe to grind or issue to praise from this book. I have too many axes to grind to mention here. However, there is one issue for which I praise the authors, which happens to the issue for which most people are criticizing them. That is their discussion of global warming. I agree with their assertion that efforts to achieve international agreements to limit releases of carbon dioxide require an impossible degree of cooperation to be humanly or politically feasible. The book also indicates that if, by some miracle, such agreements were achieved it would be too late to make any meaning contribution toward preventing global warming. Based on the above premise, the book suggests that the most effective way to reduce global warming is to use geo-engineering methods to directly address the amount of sun energy reaching the earth. The authors then discuss several optional approaches to achieving this goal. Their suggestions may sound a bit crazy. But changing human nature—which would be needed to voluntarily reduce use of fossil fuels—is just as farfetched as their suggestions. The use of fossil fuels will probably decrease in the future because of high prices brought about by limited supply. Unfortunately, this won't happen in time to prevent global warming. But as this book suggests, there are other options available which can provide time for the world's economy to transition to renewable energy sources. This type of transition will be pushed by true economic reality, not cap-and-trade rules. The following are some multiple choice test questions that cover some of the issues contained in this book. They provide an indication of the scattered variety of subjects discussed by this book. The questions are copied from Amazon.com. You'll need to go to the Amazon.com Page for this book to get the correct answers. Question 1: According to Superfreakonomics, what has been most helpful in improving the lives of women in rural India? A. The government ban on dowries and sex-selective abortions B. The spread of cable and satellite television C. Projects that pay women to not abort female babies D. Condoms made specially for the Indian market Question 2: Among Chicago street prostitutes, which night of the week is the most profitable? A. Saturday B. Monday C. Wednesday D. Friday Question 3: You land in an emergency room with a serious condition and your fate lies in the hands of the doctor you draw. Which characteristic doesn't seem to matter in terms of doctor skill? A. Attended a top-ranked medical school and served a residency at a prestigious hospital B. Is female C. Gets high ratings from peers D. Spends more money on treatment Question 4: Which cancer is chemotherapy more likely to be effective for? A. Lung cancer B. Melanoma C. Leukemia D. Pancreatic cancer Question 5: Half of the decline in deaths from heart disease is mainly attributable to: A. Inexpensive drugs B. Angioplasty C. Grafts D. Stents Question 6: True or False: Child car seats do a better job of protecting children over the age of 2 from auto fatalities than regular seat belts. Question 7: What's the best thing a person can do personally to cut greenhouse gas emissions? A. Drive a hybrid car B. Eat one less hamburger a week C. Buy all your food from local sources Question 8: Which is most effective at stopping the greenhouse effect? A. Public-awareness campaigns to discourage consumption B. Cap-and-trade agreements on carbon emissions C. Volcanic explosions D. Planting lots of trees Question 9: In the 19th century, one of the gravest threats of childbearing was puerperal fever, which was often fatal to mother and child. Its cause was finally determined to be: A. Tight bindings of petticoats early in the pregnancy B. Foul air in the delivery wards C. Doctors not taking sanitary precautions D. The mother rising too soon in the delivery room Question 10: Which of the following were not aftereffects of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks on September 11, 2001: A. The decrease in airline traffic slowed the spread of influenza. B. Thanks to extra police in Washington, D.C., crime fell in that city. C. The psychological effects of the attacks caused people to cut back on their consumption of alcohol, which led to a decrease in traffic accidents. D. The increase in border security was a boon to some California farmers, who, as Mexican and Canadian imports declined, sold so much marijuana that it became one of the states most valuable crops. The following is a review from the 2007 PageADay Book Lover's Calendar of an earlier version of Freakonomics which I've also read: Surprise Bestsellers The little idea that could. Dubner is a journalist who in 2003 wrote a New York Times Magazine profile of Levitt, a University of Chicago economist with unorthodox interests. That article became this bestseller, which then became a column in the magazine. What's so interesting about Freakonomics (besides the name)? Levitt creatively uses economic methods to explain different outcomes in such varied areas as cheating, crime, and parenting. Revolutionary reading. FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING, by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt (William Morrow, 2005) ...more | Notes are private!
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| Feb 14, 2010
Feb 09, 2010
| Audio CD
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| 9781593977290
| 3.40
| 3,476
| 2005
| Sep 07, 2005
Barbara Ehrenreich in this book explores the scary world of white collar unemployment and the "transition industry." That is a euphemism for the busin
Barbara Ehrenreich in this book explores the scary world of white collar unemployment and the "transition industry." That is a euphemism for the business of helping white collar job seekers. It's a world of job coaches, head hunters, job seminars, job seeker boot camps, job fairs, and Christian support groups for job seekers (some taking the opportunity to proselytize). She describes passing encounters with sham job offers that advertise "being your own boss" or "get rich quick." At one point she is offered a job where she is to work on a commission basis in sales for a large insurance company for no salary, no office space, and no benefits (and she is to provide her own computer and pay for books and training). She also views with a jaundiced eye some of the tools used by the "network and dream big" motivational gurus. In particular she takes a couple swipes at their use of personality tests under the pretense of helping to find the right job. This book is about people who did everything right and find that the American dream didn't work for them. They went to college, didn't get pregnant at a young age, and obtained the degrees and credentials that are supposed to provide a ticket to the middle class. Many of them at one time were progressing successfully in their careers when they were "downsized" (i.e. laid off). Ironically, the highly successful were sometimes the first to be let go because of their higher wages. Then they found that finding another job difficult, and sometimes impossible. Thus many are now joining the flow of the downwardly mobile. This book was written in 2005 prior to the latest world-wide economic downturn. Conditions described in this book can only have gotten worse since then. Many in this book were victims of the dot-com bubble (i.e. many I.T. types). Presumably now many would be victims of the real estate and finance collapse. Come to think of it, there are probably quite a few unemployed journalists too. The last chapter of the book zeros in on the nature of the problem as a whole. Everybody in the "transition industry" encourages positive thinking and being an enthusiastic participant in the expectations of corporate culture. Then in return, corporate culture gives zero loyalty to its workers. Many white collar workers in today's environment are simply stripped of their dignity. "...white-collar corporate workers lack....dignity. The white-collar corporate employee...must sell--not just his skill and hard work--but himself. ... His is a world of intrigue and ill-defined expectations, of manipulation and mind games, where self presentation--as in "personality" and "attitude"--regularly outweighs performance." The role of unions has been to protect workers. But unions are losing influence, and generally don't represent white collar professions. Some professions are protected by barriers that limit the number who may enter their profession (e.g. State licensing of medical doctors, nurses, accountants, engineers, teachers and lawyers). These barriers provide some protection from lesser trained completion. However, in the case of management, human relations, marketing, and PR, anyone with a college degree can present themselves as a potential practitioner. And with this openness comes a huge vulnerability for the veterans in the field. The book's cynical appraisal of the "transition industry" that feeds off the plight of the white collar unemployed fits well with my own negative views on the subject. It's obvious that job seekers need assistance, help and encouragement. Being charged fees for services of questionable value is the last thing needed. The book acknowledges that many job fairs, which are aimed primarily at blue collar employment, are usually provided at no cost. Barbara Ehrenreich is a good writer and is able to make this discouraging commentary of American life an interesting, and at times humorous, reading experience. I recommend this review of the book by Trevor. ...more | Notes are private!
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| Mar 29, 2010
| May 31, 2010
Mar 29, 2010
| Audio CD
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| 9781400165438
| 3.99
| 1,335
| Dec 14, 2009
| Jan 18, 2010
From time to time I like to read about the recent financial collapse in an effort to try to understand what happened. This book is written by an autho
From time to time I like to read about the recent financial collapse in an effort to try to understand what happened. This book is written by an author who normally writes novels, so he knows how to explain things very simply. In the early part of the book it was so simple that I thought it might insult my intelligence. But my mind got stretched soon enough. He used simple fictional examples to try to illustrate how each new financial instrument worked. I think I almost understand now what derivatives are, but don't ask me to explain it. When it's all over and we look back on what happened, it's a case where all the profits from the boom years went into private hands, and when things went bust it was public money (taxpayers) that cleaned up the mess. It's anything but fair. Looking to the future the author says that we will probably look back on the 20 years prior to the financial collapse as the golden years because our future economy will be weighted down paying off the rescue payments. Even if the resulting national debts are not paid off, the lingering burden of paying the interest costs will limit public spending in other areas. It's all a lesson in how financial incentives can lead intelligent people to do stupid things. When I say stupid, I'm thinking of the college educated math whizzes who calculated the odds of a nation-wide collapse in housing prices to be less than on in a billion (i.e. impossible). The problem was that their models were based on history that did not include a boom in subprime mortgages (i.e. a changed condition). The following quote from the book is a good illustration of why statistics are not good at predicting financial markets: "…how do we know that the normative distribution applies to events in financial markets? The way in which people move and jostle around a room might be plotted and mapped with statistical tools and shown to resemble something like a normative distribution—sometimes people are over here, somewhere in the middle. But shout "Fire!" and the movement of people in the room will look very different—it will feature a stampede toward the exits." Perhaps those math whizzes need to study more chaos theory. One interesting observation is that not a single bank in Canada has gone broke during the past couple years. The author suggests (presumably in jest) that they were spared because of their propensity of not act like their ultra free wheeling capitalistic neighbors to the south. Their desire to not be like us saved them from doing stupid stuff like us. So they owe us a big word of thanks for our being such a positive influence on them. Actually there is a rational explanation for the Canadians conservatism in banking. They had their own banking crisis about a decade ago, and they fixed it with stringent banking laws. The rest of the world in contrast moved into the direction of total deregulation. On the lighter side, here's my favorite quote from the book: "I'd like to think he would have enjoyed the old joke about accountants: "What's two plus two?" "What would you like it to be?" " The above quote is referring to the fact that Luca Pacioli, the first person to write (in the 15th Century) a book that laid out the method of double-entry bookkeeping was also a writer about magic, in the sense of conjuring. No doubt if he were living today he would have also written a book about mortgage backed derivatives. Speaking of big words, have you heard of the following words? --Collateralized Debt Obligations --Collateralized Debt Swaps --Synthetic Asset-Backed Security --Off-Shore Special-Purpose Entity This book does a good job at trying to explain what these words mean. Using tools such as these the big investment banks figured out ways to make money available for loans "risk free." Their system allowed them to keep loaning the same dollar hundreds of times over without any of the corresponding risk obligations showing up on their balance sheets. This led to an increase in the amounts of funds available to be loaned. With lots of new money to loan there was more money than good borrowers. Suddenly subprime loans to people who had previously been considered not credit worthy looked very appealing. The loan creator didn't care if it could be paid off because the mortgage was immediately sold to others. This in-flow of money to the housing market increased the completion among buyers, thus resulting in an artificial increase to the cost of houses. I think the core cause of the financial collapse can be summarized by the following three statements: 1. Risk was separated from the originator of the loan. 2. Investors and insurance companies who took on the risk were willing to believe statistical equations--based on historical data--that indicated the risk was virtually nonexistent. 3. When lots of money is suddenly being made by others, nobody wants to be left out. This book leaves me with this unanswered question. How can something so obviously crazy in hindsight not be recognized as such when it was happening? The following review is from PageADay's Book Lover's Calendar for 10/23/12: CURRENT AFFAIRS The New York Times calls it "angry enough to clear your sinuses," as well as "thoughtful, funny, and unpretentious." There have been many books explaining the real-estate and credit-market crashes and the resulting recession, but few are as witty and easy to swallow as I.O.U. British journalist John Lanchester gives us the big picture and synthesizes the data in a way that is pleasurable for insiders and financial amateurs alike. I.O.U.: WHY EVERYONE OWES EVERYONE AND NO ONE CAN PAY , by John Lanchester (Simon & Schuster, 2010) ...more | Notes are private!
| none
| Apr 06, 2010
| Apr 08, 2010
Apr 06, 2010
| Audio CD
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| 9781442300057
| 4.20
| 52,453
| Nov 2009
| Mar 15, 2010
This is the best description so far of the inside story about the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Reading this book is like riding a time machine back a co
This is the best description so far of the inside story about the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Reading this book is like riding a time machine back a couple years, walking into the Wall Street offices and asking them, "What in the world were you thinking?" The story is told from the view point of several investors who were betting against the sub-prime mortgage industry. But there were so few other people who saw it their way that they kept second guessing their position because they couldn't understand why so few other people agreed with them. It's apparent that the vast majority of "experts" were totally oblivious to impending doom. The book tells of one individual who visits numerous investment companies trying to get them to bet against the sub-prime mortgage industry, but almost nobody was willing to believe him. He even had a complete power point presentation explaining how buying credit default swaps (betting against sub-prime mortgages) was a virtual sure thing. Still, he convinced few people. The book also tells of the owner of an investment company that shorted the home mortgage business, and the investors in his company wanted their money back. They thought he was crazy to bet against house prices continuing to go up. He refused to give their money back because he was highly leveraged and would experience large losses if he gave their money back. So the investors sued him. In the midst of this rancor the housing market collapsed and suddenly their investments increased 70 fold. In other words, a million dollar investment was suddenly worth 70 million. His investors had gone from a position of asking for a big loss to a position of receiving a tremendous gain. After it was over, not one of his investors apologized, said thank you, or said "You were right and I was wrong." The narrative of the book is structured to build suspense in the mind of the reader even though we all know what happens in the end. Michael Lewis did a good job writing this book. In the end he sums up by speculating why so many smart people were so stupid. It can be blamed on incentives and shedding of risks. ...more | Notes are private!
| none
| not set
| May 2010
May 01, 2010
| Audiobook
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| 9780739333068
| 4.17
| 193
| 2006
| May 02, 2006
Using the Pentagon as a unifying focal point, this book explores the history of the cold war from a perspective that generally asserts that the world
Using the Pentagon as a unifying focal point, this book explores the history of the cold war from a perspective that generally asserts that the world was darn lucky to have survived its paranoia-fueled excesses. This book flies in the face of the common perception that since we survived the cold war it logically follows that all the decisions made along the way must have been the correct decisions. The author, Carroll, takes the position that there were numerous actions taken that made conditions much worse and dangerous than necessary. Among the points I found most interesting was the unintended consequences of certain actions taken. One example was how FDR's use of the term "unconditional surrender" probably prolonged and increased the death toll of World War II. Another is how the fervent anti-communist rhetoric within American domestic politics increased the fear within Russian circles of the United States. Another interesting point made by the book is how often anti-communist rhetoric was used as a cover for financial, parochial and political interests. And even politicians who perceived that the military-social-industrial complex was careening out of control, needed to go along with the fear mongering language in order to survive politically. An example is John Kennedy who is usually remembered today for stepping back from fear mongering with his Partial Test Ban Treaty. But it was Kennedy who won the 1960 presidental election partly by creating the "missile gap" issue. The missile gap turned out to be largely a matter of fearful perception rather than fact. A related irony is Kennedy's Defense Secretary, Robert McNamara, who's reputation today is largely tarnished by his involvement with the Vietnam War. But it was McNamara who imposed a rational system of administrative controls upon the Pentagon's "great white whale". "It was McNamara's first encounter with the great white whale of Pentagon culture, and he moved immediately to harpoon it, as if he were back at Ford, killing off the Edsel." The case can be made for crediting McNamara for the rescuing of civilian control of the military. I was appalled to learn about some of Nixon's most bazaar behavior. He tried to scare the Russian's into pressuring the North Vietnamese to reach a peace settlement by convincing the Soviets that he was truly crazy by recklessly ordering nuclear red alerts. It's interesting to note that the Soviets never made similar moves. To those who want to credit Reagan with winning the Cold War, the author says the following: "Against those who claim the Reagan military buildup caused the collapse of the soviet Union, post-Cold War evidence gathered from inside the former Soviet Union suggests that Reagan's early expansion of the Pentagon budget, together with the blatant threats of U.S. military exercises and aggressive reconnaissance overflights, bolstered the Soviet militants, delaying the thaw that came only when Gorbachev forced it." One can tell from the book's title that the author has a negative opinion of American Power. Consequently, I suspect the readers who decide to read this book consists mostly of the converted choir. I wish the author had been less flagrant in broadcasting his opinion, and instead tried explore the opposing sides of the hawks versus doves controversies. A more even handed approach may have increased the number of pro-military readers and exposed them to some of the facts contained in this book that show how dumb headed and wasteful the military mindset can be. Here's the trivia question of the day. Why was the building called the Pentagon constructed with five sides? One little factoid gleaned from this book is that the five-sided design was drawn up to accommodate the presence of access roads at a site just upriver in the District of Columbia. FDR vetoed that site so its location was moved to its present site in Virginia. The move was done in such a hurry that there was no time for a redesign, and the shape was retained. Just imagine what the building might have been called if it had been constructed in the more conventional four sided configuration. Here's the short review of this book that was on my PageADay Calendar: THE GENERALS IN THEIR LABYRINTH James Carroll tells the story of the Pentagon building from its groundbreaking on September 11, 1941, to the present day. He also tells the story of the institution that occupies it and its growth in power and influence over the nation it ostensibly serves. Finally, there is the story of a father, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and his son (the author of this book), who drift apart as they come to have differing views of the five-sided behemoth and the vast military-industrial complex it represents. HOUSE OF WAR: THE PENTAGON AND THE DISASTROUS RISE OF AMERICAN POWER, by James Carroll (Houghton Mifflin, 2006) ...more | Notes are private!
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| Dec 06, 2010
| Dec 09, 2010
Dec 06, 2010
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| 9781400145362
| 3.85
| 2,130
| Jan 01, 2010
| Jan 29, 2010
Now that I've read this book I have the dangerous idea that I understand economics. I learned about this book from this review by Travis. Therefore, b
Now that I've read this book I have the dangerous idea that I understand economics. I learned about this book from this review by Travis. Therefore, blame him for my new know-it-all melancholy demeanor caused by exposure to the "dismal science." The author makes many suggestions on how to change world economics to better serve human interests. The suggestions offered seem to be good ideas to me. But I'm convinced none of the author's suggestions will be enacted because the moneyed interests of the world, in addition to being "too big to fail," are too politically influential to allow changes that may diminish their incomes. Welcome to the new corporate welfare state. Financially stressful times are opportunities to make improvements. Many improvements were made to the banking system during the 1930s depression, but the author indicates that's not what has happened during the current crisis: "With the banking system at the brink of collapse in the fall of 2008, lending dried up and the government stepped in to bail out the banks. This was the perfect time to start thinking about developing a truly efficient financial system that directs capital to where it is needed and where it is most productive in an efficient way, one that helps households and corporations alike to manage risk and that provides the basis of a fast and low-cost payment system. Instead, two separate presidential administrations undertook a series of measures to help the financial system, with little thought of the kind of financial system the country should have when if finally emerges from the crisis." An irony that arises from the aggressive steps taken to prevent total financial collapse into a severe depression is that, by avoiding it, the public perception is lulled into thinking that things weren't so bad after all. And so now the members of congress who voted for TARP are now under attack for wasting so much money. Another variation on this are those who say the whole mess could have been avoided if the collapse of Lehman Brothers would have been prevented. Maybe so, but there's a political side to the question to consider. The following quotation sums it up: "A third view holds that Lehman's collapse actually saved the entire financial system: without it, it would have been difficult to galvanize the political support required to bail out the banks. (It was hard enough to do so after its collapse.)" In other words, sometimes a bit of hardship is required to concentrate the mind. The author of this book offers a lot of criticism on how things were done and suggests better approaches to the problems. He suggests that it would have been better to target small banks instead of big banks and home owners over bankers. He also says it would have been better to have more oversight on how the banks used money given to them by the government. I'm sure the author is correct, but I'm not convinced that his suggestions would have been administratively practical. Varied targeting and increased oversight would have required more time and increased government bureaucracy. (And we all know how popular government bureaucracy is.) Furthermore, the bankers and big investors would have complained so much that it would have become politically untenable. I think if both sides of the actions taken could be fully discussed and explored, I suspect what the Bush and Obama administrations did is about all that was possible. The author refers to it as muddling through. (Democracy and making sausage have a lot in common.) It hurts me to say the things in the above paragraph. I would have loved forcing all investment bankers to have their salaries reduced to minimum wage until all government money was paid back. (The concept of paying big bonuses for losing money drives me crazy.) The author provided the following comparison of CEOs in various countries: "In Japanese society, a CEO who was responsible for destroying his firm, forcing thousands of workers to be laid off, might commit harikari. In the United Kingdom, CEOs resigned when their firms failed. In the United States, they are fighting over the size of their bonuses." The author doesn't seem to have much respect for the conservative politicians who believe that tax cuts can fix all problems: "Unfortunately, especially in the United States, many shibboleths have inhibited figuring out the right role of the state. One common aphorism, a crib from Thomas Paine, asserts, 'The government that governs best is the government that governs least.' Conventional wisdom on the Republican campaign trail is that tax cuts can cure any economic ill -- the lower the tax rate, the higher the growth rate. Yet Sweden has one of the highest per capita incomes, and in broader measures of well-being ... it outranks the United States by a considerable margin." We may be witnessing the end of American triumphalism: "The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the end of communism as a viable idea. ... historians will mark the twenty years since 1989 as the short period of American triumphalism. September 15, 2008, the date that Lehman Brothers collapsed, may be to market fundamentalism (the notion that unfettered markets, all by themselves, can ensure economic prosperity and growth) what the fall of the Berlin Wall was to communism." ...more | Notes are private!
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| Mar 29, 2011
| Apr 07, 2011
Mar 29, 2011
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| 9781611200140
| unknown
| 3.86
| 1,166
| 2009
| Jan 11, 2011
This book takes the hot button issue of illegal immigration and examines it up close and personal, from every side including inside and out. The autho
This book takes the hot button issue of illegal immigration and examines it up close and personal, from every side including inside and out. The author describes the lives and experiences of four girls of Mexican heritage from high school through college; Two lack legal status, the other two have papers (i.e. legal and have path toward citizenship). The book also covers the surrounding political environment of 2005 through 2009 in Denver, Colorado when the illegal immigration issue exploded because of national political reasons and because of a local incident that involved the murder of a policeman by an undocumented Mexican. The author's husband was Mayor at the time, thus he was in the center of local politics which drew the author into the whirlwind of strong polarized feelings on both sides of the issue. The author pretty well sums up the book and the issue of immigration in the Preface: "Fortune handed me a messy braid of narratives, spliced together by bizarre connections. In the end, though, this is what immigration is like: inherently messy. The issue bleeds. And we are all implicated." The issue of immigration status was compounded for these four girls by their being poor and living in an unstable community. Only a third of the girls' high school senior class had attend that same school for three consecutive years. But these particular girls were obviously talented and did well in their high school advanced placement class. They all four were able to get full ride scholarships to college which was certainly an exceptional accomplishment considering their environment. Once in college they generally kept their immigration status a secret from their college friends and professors because they weren't certain who they could trust. This is unfortunate because it kept the girls from fully participating in class discussions about poverty and immigration issues. Most people would probably consider the author as leaning toward sympathy to the illegals because of the amount of time spent in the book telling the stories of the families that are suffering and divided by the border. She even takes a trip to Mexico to interview the mother of one of the girls. But the author gives attention to both sides of the issue and gives fair representation to the feelings of those who oppose illegal immigration. The author includes an interview with her husband's political opponent, Tom Tancredo, who is an advocate of getting rid of all illegal immigrants. She rode with him in his pickup through the community where he grew up. " What I wanted to understand was how someone could grow up on these streets and hold Tancredo's opinions. Why would Tancredo and I -- both of us from immigrant families -- have opposite emotional reactions to the idea of more people coming? Why was my fundamental response one of sympathy, while his appeared to be one of antipathy?" She followed Tancredo to Iowa to observe his 2008 campaign for the presidency on the Republican ticket. He was successful in pulling the issue of illegal immigration into the campaign. At one point during one of the debates he observed with some justification that, "All I've heard is people trying to out-Tancredo Tancredo!" Marisela and Yadira (who lack legal status) cannot: Qualify for in-state tuition in their home state of Colorado Their friends Clara and Elissa can do all of these things. Even the girls with legal status were threatened by the possibility of family members being deported because of the lack of legal status. "This was the essence of what it meant to be illegal: One lived with the possibility of salvation or despair close by, all the time. . . . We typically think of politics as something that occurs on a grand scale, but the more I watch politics unfold, the more I wondered why. Did the idea of a country -- an abstract concept, really -- truly matter more than the sum happiness of all the individuals living within its boundaries? No, I thought. People mattered more than governments. In fact, this country was founded on that very idea. ...more | Notes are private!
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| Oct 06, 2011
| Oct 11, 2011
Oct 06, 2011
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| 9780307739001
| 3.78
| 11,818
| 2011
| Mar 22, 2011
Before reading this book I believed that I and most other humans used our rational minds to make life's decisions. After reading this book I now know
Before reading this book I believed that I and most other humans used our rational minds to make life's decisions. After reading this book I now know that the subconscious mind is a raging monster and the rational mind is the midget hanging on for dear life who thinks that since his hands are on the reigns that everything is under control. The following is an example of how some of the most important parts of our lives depend on guidance from our subconscious minds with very little training or formal preparation: "Children are coached on how to jump through a thousand scholastic hoops. Yet by far the most important decisions they will make are about whom to marry and whom to befriend, what to love and what to despise, and how to control impulses. On these matters, they are almost entirely on their own. We are good at talking about material incentives, but bad about talking about emotions and intuitions. We are good at teaching technical skills, but when it comes to the most important things, like character, we have almost nothing to say." The objective of this book as stated by the author: 1. Synthesize the findings of research of the subconscious mind into one narrative. 2. Describe how this research influences the way we understand human nature. 3. Draw out the social, political, and moral implications of these findings. 4. Help counteract a bias in our culture to ignore the importance of the human subconscious mind. 5. Explore why experiments in improving the educational system almost always result in disappointing results. 6 Explore ways that integration of our true makeup could improved education. David Brooks uses his journalistic skills to organized this material into an interesting and easy-to-read format. He narrates the lives to two fictional characters and follows every step of their development (from pre-conception through to death) to illustrate the findings of research findings from the fields of psychology, sociology, physiology, economics, politics, and neuroscience. At first I thought the use of fictional characters to demonstrate the nonfiction facts was a bit hokey. But by the end of the book I emotionally identified with these fictional friends, and I was sad to see them grow old and die. The following are some miscellaneous quotations from the book that I found interesting: "People rarely revise their first impression, they just become more confident that they are right." "Subjects [were given] microsecond glimpses of the faces of competing politicians. … subjects could predict, 70 percent accuracy, who would win the election between the two candidates." "Sensitive early [childhood] care predicted competence at every subsequent age. … Attachment-security and caregiver-sensitivity rating were related to reading and math scores throughout the school years. Children with insecure or avoidance attachments were much more likely to develop behavior problems at school. Kids who had dominating, intrusive, and unpredictable caregivers at six months were much more likely to be inattentive and hyperactive by school age." "By observing quality of care at forty-two months … researchers could predict with 77 percent accuracy who would drop out of high school. Throwing in IQ and test-achievement data did not allow researchers to improve on that prediction's accuracy." "Attachment patterns in early childhood also helped predict the quality (though not the quantity) of other relationships later in life, especially romantic relationships." "A child born into a family making $90,000 has a 50 percent chance of graduation from college by age twenty-four. A child born into a family making $70,000, has a one-in-four chance. A child born into a family making $45,000 has a one-in-ten chance. A child born into a family making $30,000 has a one-in-seventeen chance." ...more | Notes are private!
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| Oct 19, 2011
| Oct 23, 2011
Oct 19, 2011
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| 9780812978100
| 3.81
| 353
| Jan 01, 2009
| Aug 24, 2010
The English language is a slippery chameleon; it won't stop changing. As with any human activity subject to change, there are the conservatives, the l
The English language is a slippery chameleon; it won't stop changing. As with any human activity subject to change, there are the conservatives, the liberals and the oblivious people. Into this fray the husband wife team of Patricia T. O'Conner and Stewart Kellerman have authored this book to make fun of the snobbish scholars who insist that English follow false rules. But they don't throw out all the rules. This book includes humorous quips and puns to keep the reader smiling. The authors seem to enjoy skewering many long held rules and misconceptions about the English language. They reveal why some of grammar's best-known "rules" aren't-and never were-rules at all. They explain how Brits and Yanks wound up speaking the same language so differently, and why British English isn't necessarily purer. And in some cases they suggest following some rules simply to avoid negative judgments of others. One of my pet causes regarding the language is to promote the acceptance of the use of the plural pronouns "they" to refer to technically singular words. This allows avoidance of the gender specific pronouns "he" and "she." The book agrees that for hundreds of years, people used "they", "them," or their to refer to people in general, whether one or more, male or female. They also admit that nobody seems to worry about the versatility of the word "you" which can be both singular or plural. Nevertheless, the authors are noticeably reluctant to accept the practice of using "they" for a singular pronoun as indicated in this quotation. "I'm not entirely satisfied with the alternative available, ..." On the other hand the authors promote the splitting of infinities with reckless abandon. On that subject I'm a bit on the reluctant side, mostly because I'm afraid of what people people will think of me. One thing I take from this book is that it's more important to be understood than to be correct. A good example of this is the difference between "inflamable" (combustable) and "unflamable (not combustable)." "Inflamable" is so widely misunderstood that caution warning signs can't use it. Another example is "disinterested" and "uninterested" (they're not synonyms). Problems seems to start when a word starts being overused. An example is "hopefully." This book indicates that it has been used as an adverbial sentence modifier since the 40s with no objections. But in recent years its use has exploded, and the grammarians are up in arms as a result. And so it goes, this book is filled with numerous discussions of language issues and figures of speech. It's an interesting read. Now that English has become the de-facto international language in a world where the number of non-native English speakers outnumber the native English speakers, it can be expected that even more frequent changes and variations will occur in the future. I expected it to be an exciting ride. Review from 2012 PageADay book lover's calendar: GRAMMAR SCHOOL A liberating and refreshing invitation to boldly split infinitives. And begin sentences with conjunctions. It was good enough for Shakespeare! Bold and witty, irreverent and highly convincing, Origins propounds above all the theory that "it's better to be understood than to be correct." ORIGINS OF THE SPECIOUS: MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, by Patricia T. O'Connor and Stewart Kellerman (Random House, 2009) ...more | Notes are private!
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| Dec 06, 2011
| Dec 21, 2011
Dec 06, 2011
| Paperback
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| 12
| 2010
| 2010
I listened to these lectures in the hope that I'd acquire some perspective on why some economies prosper and others don't. The size of the spread betw
I listened to these lectures in the hope that I'd acquire some perspective on why some economies prosper and others don't. The size of the spread between rich and poor countries, as with rich and poor individuals, is wider than it's ever been before. I want to support those measures which will, to the extent possible, relieve the suffering due to poverty throughout the world. I know enough about unintended consequences to know that solutions to these types of problems are not always obvious. These lectures maintain that no model of macro-economics (large scale) promoted by any particular "isms" of economic theory can insure economic growth. There are examples, both good and bad, that can prove just about any point encountered within economic arguments. However, there are some micro-economic (individual human level) models that reliably promote economic success. These models are based on the truth that, at the micro-economic level, incentives matter and people respond to incentives. However, people don't always respond to incentives in anticipated ways, and incentives are not simple things to create. So after listening to 24 lectures, am I any smarter about why economies rise or fall? Well, I don't feel all that smart. However, I take comfort in noticing that the professional economists seem to be totally incapable of anticipating future economic collapses. I couldn't help but notice that the bursting of the Japanese asset price bubble in 1991 took all the experts by surprise. Likewise the 1997 financial crisis experienced by the east Asia "tiger" economies apparently took everybody by surprise. And most recently there was the 2008 American recession. It seems that with all these examples to learn from that these sorts of problems could be anticipated and possibly prevented. I appreciated that the lecturer was willing to admit that economics is not a science, but it's sort of scientish. I presume that means that it is a field of endeavor that strives to appear to be scientific, but it's not really. ...more | Notes are private!
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| Feb 14, 2012
| Feb 19, 2012
Feb 14, 2012
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| 9781400119257
| 4.10
| 549
| Oct 25, 2010
| Nov 17, 2010
I've long been puzzled why many Americans seem to be more frightened by government provided health insurance than they are of private health insurance
I've long been puzzled why many Americans seem to be more frightened by government provided health insurance than they are of private health insurance companies. Even many of those who are currently covered by Medicare are alarmed at the prospect of "socialized medicine" that may result from implementation of a public option of health insurance. Do people really trust their insurance companies that much? This book partly explains why many people have unrealistic fears that cause them to support political positions that are contrary to their own best interests. This book reveals "... the techniques employed by practitioners of the dark arts of PR--from the use of 'third-party advocates' to the creation of front groups, from the staging of PR 'charm offensives' to the selective disclosure of information and misinformation--which influence people's thoughts and actions in ways that advertising cannot." The millions of dollars spent on public relations and spin controls over many years by the private insurers have created a reality distortion field that continues to pervade the American political scene. The author of this book, Wendell Potter, worked many years as a former VP of corporate communications at CIGNA and thus writes from a unique perspective as one who has a working knowledge of the tactics used by the masters of spin. These credentials make him the perfect mightmare for the health insurers. Mr. Potter describes his personal journey that led to an epiphany that he could no longer in good conscience continue to work for CIGNA. Quotation from page 2: The book provides a rundown on how the health insurance business has consolidated into fewer large nationwide companies and how their profit margins have increased along with their premium rates. It goes on to describe the ways in which the balance sheets are made to look good and the resulting inflation of executive bonuses. One statistic I found of special interest was the change that has occurred in the medical-loss ratio (MLR) which is the percentage of income that is actually paid to policy holders. In 1993 the average MLR was 95% and by 2007 it had dropped to 81%. Meanwhile the MLR for Medicare stayed at 97% over the same time period. So what's wrong with a public option? The author tells what it was like to write press releases in the face of insurance "horror stories" that he knew were pure spin and simply not the truth. After he quite his job the author describes the relief of being able to tell the truth. "Telling the truth is very cathartic. I highly recommend it." (pg.210) His play-by-play write ups of the Clinton and Obama attempts to pass meaningful health care legislation enable the reader to see what was occurring behind the scenes in the halls of corporate power and perhaps understand those events for the first time. The author was working against insurance reform during the Clinton administration and was working for reform during the Obama administration. He is thus able to tells of experiences on both sides of the issue. Toward the end of the book the author reviews the "fundamental tools of the spin business." The tobacco companies were early practitioners of the art of spin and manipulation of public opinion, and other types of business such as health insurance, petroleum, and coal mining have since learned the tricks of the trade. Regarding the future the book notes that with the decline in the number of newspapers, there are now more and better-paying jobs available in public relations than in journalism. We are thus facing a future where there will be more paid spinmeisters than professional news reporters. ...more | Notes are private!
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| Mar 06, 2012
| Mar 09, 2012
Mar 07, 2012
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| 9781427214751
| 3.74
| 1,025
| Aug 16, 2011
| Jan 03, 2012
Outrage apparently doesn't lead to reason. At least according to this author there was no reasoned response to the outrage that followed the 2008 econ
Outrage apparently doesn't lead to reason. At least according to this author there was no reasoned response to the outrage that followed the 2008 economic meltdown. This book reviews the political reactions to the sub-prime mortgage crisis from a liberal's point of view and finds plenty to criticize on both sides of the political spectrum. Everyone agrees that there's plenty cause for outrage at the way a small number of investment bankers nearly brought the world economy to its knees. A response based on reason would conclude that the three decade long shift toward removal of regulations over the financial industry was what led to a situation where mortgage derivatives could be manufactured with reckless abandon free of government regulations. It rationally follows that the prudent response to this would be to enact new government regulations to make sure that never happened again. Instead, both the political right and left responded with irrational actions and positions. The radical right insisted that the solution was to remove the federal government from all regulations and let the markets be free. And basically, that is what has happened. Democrats under Obama's leadership, instead of riding the wave of outrage in the spirit of FDR, decided to bail out the financial industry and allowed their corporate officers to continue doling out their usual bonuses. The author spends most of the book making snarky quips about the Tea Party, Glenn Beck (way too much Glenn Beck), Ayn Rand (Chapter 8 is a review of Atlas Shrugged from a liberal perspective), the Koch brothers, Ludwig von Mises, Freedomworks, Friedrich Hayed, and conservative bloggers. Reading the book is an experience similar to listening to seven straight hours of Jon Steward's "The Daily Show." It's entertaining for the politically liberal, but it probably doesn't deserved to be considered objective analysis. I don't appreciate snarky comments when they come from the right, and I feel a bit hypocritical when I enjoy hearing snarky comments from the left. The last chapter of the book is dedicated to the topic of listing everything that Obama and the Democrats did wrong. My main excuse for reading this book is that it has a catchy title, and the author is from Johnson County, Kansas (originally) but now lives in Washington D.C. He also put Kansas on the map by writing the book, What's the Matter with Kansas?" So I wish him well, and I recommend this to book those looking for political analysis from the political left. ...more | Notes are private!
| none
| Mar 07, 2012
| Mar 14, 2012
Mar 07, 2012
| Audio CD
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| 9781455160495
| unknown
| 3.99
| 28,138
| 2012
| Mar 29, 2012
Ever wonder why the world didn't do more to end the horrors of Stalin's gulags or Hitler's work camps? Someday our children (or perhaps grandchildren
Ever wonder why the world didn't do more to end the horrors of Stalin's gulags or Hitler's work camps? Someday our children (or perhaps grandchildren or great-grandchildren) will ask the same question about our world today. Why doesn't the world do more to end the horrible inhumanity imposed on people in the work camps of North Korea? And the political prison camps in North Korea have existed twice as long as Stalins Soviet gulags and twelve times as long as the Nazi concentration camps, and there's no end in site of the between 150,000 and 200,000 people who live in those camps. "Yet while Auschwitz existed for only three years, Camp 14 is a fifty-year-old Skinner box, an ongoing longitudinal experiment in repression and mind control in which guards breed prisoners whom they control, isolate, and pit against one another from birth."The existence of these camps can be verified by anyone with a computer and internet using Google Earth, and still there's limited awareness among the world's public of conditions in these camps. North Korea's belligerant reputation combined with nuclear weapons has prevented international pressure to be focused on their work camps. "When North Korea deigns to enter into international diplomacy, it has always succeeded in shoving human rights off any negotiating table. Crisis management, usually focused on nuclear weapons and missiles, has dominated American dealings with the North."It takes a pretty strong stomach to read this book. I could write a long list of horrible things described by this book, but I've decided to refrain from going there. You can read other reviews for that. The story is not a pretty one, and frankly leaves readers such as myself feeling helpless with the knowledge conveyed. I suggest that at the least, good citizens of the world owe it to the prisoners of North Korea to at least be informed about the existance of their conditions. Here's a link to my review of "Orphan Master's Son," a novel about life in North Korea. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... ...more | Notes are private!
| none
| May 23, 2012
| May 28, 2012
May 23, 2012
| Audiobook
| |||||||||||||||
| 9781427206886
| 4.01
| 1,566
| Aug 05, 2008
| Oct 14, 2008
This book takes a critical look at the USA's imperial self-perception of being the world's policeman. It's a role that cannot be sustained because of
This book takes a critical look at the USA's imperial self-perception of being the world's policeman. It's a role that cannot be sustained because of both economic and political reasons. It has led to a continuous state of war which will destroy the nation's moral integrity and eventually exhaust the economy. The book goes back to WWII to describe the expansion of America's international interests and involvement. It ends up tearing apart the unrealistic expectations of the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq. The book was published in 2008 and is thus becoming somewhat dated so I don't necessarily recommend the book at this time. However, I generally agree with the book's premise. I was hoping that this book would take a long view of history and compare American imperial interests with the historical fates of other nations that have had imperial ambitions in the past and tried to defend their interests beyond their capacity to do so. Another book that did this was Paul Kennedy's The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers (1987) that examined the reasons for the fall of previous European imperial powers (Habsburg Spain, Netherlands, France, Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia), and showed how the projection of their military power became prohibitively expensive and consequently their strength was weakened or eclipsed. Unfortunately, Kennedy's book is dated and somewhat discredited because he made some predictions that didn't come true. But I believe there are lessons to be learned from history about the limits of power, and all indications are that the lessons have not been learned. ...more | Notes are private!
| none
| May 25, 2012
| May 28, 2012
May 29, 2012
| Audio CD
| ||||||||||||||||
| 9781452638171
| 3.99
| 3,202
| Jun 04, 2011
| Jun 11, 2012
Joseph E. Stiglitz, a 2001 Nobel Prize winning economist, in this book targets numerous examples of economic activity/policy what lead to consequences
Joseph E. Stiglitz, a 2001 Nobel Prize winning economist, in this book targets numerous examples of economic activity/policy what lead to consequences incompatible with America's self image as the "land of opportunity." All through the book he points out needless inefficiencies that are embedded in our banking, tax and legal codes. And with each problem cited there's an existing interest group lobbying and making political contributions to assure that no changes are made to endanger these structural inefficiencies found throughout our economic system. The end result of the present situation is the United States has the largest and growing rich-poor gap among industrialized countries. According to Stiglitz this inequality brings stagnation and dormancy to our economy. It's interesting to note that the previous peak in American economic inequality came in the 1920s immediately before the Great Depression. The United States also provides the least equality of opportunity for economic advancement when compared to other wealthy industrialized countries (i.e. the percentage of people born into a low economic status that end up in a higher economic class.) This in the land that is supposedly the "land of opportunity." Stiglitz repeatedly criticizes the overblown American financial system and the "too big to fail" banks. The following quotation offers a concise description of the 2008 financial bailout of the large financial institutions: "Never before in the history of the planet had so many given so much to so few who were so rich without asking anything in return."It's interesting to note that the financial industry accounts for approximately half the wealth in the United States. It follows that the so called "real" economy lags far behind. In other words, half our wealth is found in paper and pixels. Aren't those the ingredients of a bubble? I was particularly pleased to find that Stiglitz noted something about the state of our economy that I had noticed myself before reading this book. It is the observation that we have a "demand" problem, not a "supply" problem. In other words, we could give all that tax breaks imaginable to the wealthy and no increase in business spending would result because there's no unfilled demand for goods and services that are currently unmet. The demand is not there because middle class wealth gains were eliminated by the 2008 recession while at the same time the wealth of the top economic tier has tripled since 1980. Ironically, American businesses currently have historically high cash balances. The principle incentive for businesses under the current conditions is to invest in automation, computers and robots to enable them to survive with fewer employees--thus insuring a jobless recovery from the recession. My review probably sounds pessimistic, but Stiglitz is surprisingly upbeat by proposing solutions. Do any of our lawmakers read books such as this? All I can do is to hope so. ...more | Notes are private!
| none
| Nov 10, 2012
| Nov 16, 2012
Nov 12, 2012
| Audio CD
| ||||||||||||||||
| 9781583333655
| 3.07
| 41
| 2010
| Mar 04, 2010
I'm on the leading edge of the "baby boom" which is now going to create a "retirement boom" in the coming years as time marches on. There's going to b
I'm on the leading edge of the "baby boom" which is now going to create a "retirement boom" in the coming years as time marches on. There's going to be a lot of talent and energy in this coming wave. Is it all going to be expended on the golf course and at the bingo parlor? I hope not. Thus it is interesting to read the short biographies in this book of thirteen men and women who later in life discovered a new calling, success or purpose. It was inspirational to see how these people's lives certainly didn't end with retirement. They provide a demonstration of how the skills of the "retired" can be repurposed to become positive contributors to the world in which we life. The subtitle of this book is more descriptive of the book's contents than the main title that makes it sound like a "self-help" book. If this book functions as a self help book it will be because of what the reader brings to the stories. The book is made up of thirteen short stories of people who didn't conclude that the game was over when they neared retirement age. Instead they started the second half of their lives doing exceptional things. Perhaps not everybody can be blessed with the health and energy needed to achieve great things. Nevertheless, there's plenty of room for all of us to consider our options and seek options that are opened up by the new circumstances of retirement. The value in reading these stories is in the general spirit shown by those who's stories are being told. The reader shouldn't expect to to find examples of activities to use as patterns for ones self. The stories tend to be unique to the circumstances and talents of these individuals. At least for me I found the stories interesting, but not recipes that I want to follow. I found the writing of good quality and the manner in which the stories are revealed to the reader well done. But it wasn't the sort of book with which I can closely identify. Thus let me explain what my star rating system means: Three Stars -- I liked it.I read this book to participate in a book discussion group organized by Next Chapter Kansas City which is an organization with the goal to provide individuals age 50+ opportunities for learning, employment and meaningful community engagement. It's an organization with which my wife is very much involved. ...more | Notes are private!
| none
| Nov 20, 2012
| Nov 27, 2012
Nov 20, 2012
| Hardcover
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| 9781906147877
| 4.04
| 45,895
| 1929
| Apr 30, 2012
This book is based on lectures given in 1928 by the author on the subject of women and literature. The author was already recognized at the time as a
This book is based on lectures given in 1928 by the author on the subject of women and literature. The author was already recognized at the time as a gifted and successful writer, and she was invited to speak to two women's colleges at Cambridge and share her experience and wisdom to the next generation of educated women. Today this book is widely regarded as a foundational text of feminist literary criticism. The lecture origins of the book ironically causes it to be Woolf's most readable book. Her novels generally weave through the psychological motives of her characters using stream-of-consciousness writing that is difficult for the casual reader to follow. This book is straight forward in comparison to her novels. However, her creativity pops up all through the lectures. I had the good fortune of discussing this book with a group of eighteen people at the January 25, 2013 meeting of the Great Books KC group. Many of the following items highlighted below were things that were brought to my attention through the collective wisdom of that group. 1. In Section 1 Virginia Woolf interrupts her train of thought by observing "a cat without a tail." I thought perhaps the author had included this as an example of the many types of interruptions one is exposed to when you don't have a room of your own. But a member of our discussion group pointed out that the missing tail was symbolic of the people missing due to The Great War (WWI). I've gone back and looked at the text, and she does indeed mention how things were different before the war. But her explanation of the differences are so elliptical--something about a humming noise in the conversations before the war. I think we're into endless layers of meaning here. 2. Early in Section 1 the author announces that she will be using character names of Mary Beton, Mary Seton, Mary Carmichael to help ferret out issues related to women's literature. I just assumed that these were three fictional names and nothing more. It is true that they are fictional names, however the lecture audience at the time would have recognized them as the names from a popular folk song called Four Marys (The song mentions these three names "and me" as the fourth Mary). Then another member of our discussion group said that song was on Joan Baez's first album. I haven't checked to see if that's true. Another member of the group suggested that today's male equivalent of three recognizable names would be Curly, Moe and Larry. 3. The most famous line from this book is "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." It sounds simplistic and materialistic. But it's true and symbolic of the many things about society, economics and life in general that can prevent genius from being recognized. Of course men need these things too, but the difference is that historically women have had less access to them. She goes on to make the point that of all the great poetical names of the last hundred years or so, all were either University men or wealthy except for Keats (and he died young). She concludes by saying, "... it is a sad thing to say: but, as a matter of hard fact, the theory that poetical genius bloweth where it listeth, and equally in poor and rich, holds little truth." 4. In Section three the author makes the case that if "Shakespeare had a wonderfully gifted sister, called Judith" that she would not have been allowed to use those talents. I agree, women through much of history had gotten a raw deal. (However, this Judith idea could be used by one those enterprising historians who want to make the case that Shakespeare didn't do the writing of his own works.) 5. The author uses the term "incandescent" as a necessary attribute for a writer. It's not a term I usually associate with writing so it caused me to reflect on its meaning. In Section 6 she says "the androgynous mind is resonant and porous; that it transmits emotion without impediment; that it is naturally creative, incandescent and undivided." I believe the term incandescent is used to describe the ability to communicate (i.e. shine out to others) that which is free of any shadows caused by impediments such as lack of financial security, lack of privacy and repressed anger. 6. I was fascinated by the fact that Virginia Woolf used Mary Carmichael to introduce the possibility that, "Sometimes women do like women."--something men apparently hadn't known about previously. In Virginia's critical appraisal of Mary Carmichael's writing she observes that "...she broke the sentence; now she has broken the sequence." I couldn't help but notice that her description of Mary Carmichael's writing has much in common with a description of Virginia Woolf's own writing in real life. (Mary Carmichael is a fictional person for those who have forgotten.) 7. Virginia Woolf says that Jane Austen was a better writer than Charlotte Bronte because her writing is free of anger. I'm not sure I am able to discern the difference myself. Furthermore, I thought writing from anger was a very motivational thing that might improve the writing. I guess Ms Woolf doesn't agree. 8. A famous quotation of Virginia Woolf's is "For most of history, Anonymous was a woman." The closest I could find to that in this book was, "Indeed, I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without singing them, was often a woman." I presume that Anon is short for Anonymous in this quotation. 9. Another quote from this book is, "Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size." I'm not sure how to interpret this quotation. It can be a comment on the vainness of men in seeing themselves as the protectors of women. Or it could be a comment on the propensity of some men to put down women in order to make themselves appear smarter and more important than they really are. Or it could be a comment about the sexual dynamics of being motivated to achieve great things in order to gain the favor of the opposite sex. Virginia says that if it weren't for this magical power of women that we might all still be living in the swamps. My General Comments: Some women who have experienced sexual discrimination can identify passionately with the message of this book. I don't feel that same emotion, but I certainly understand that through much of history women have not been treated fairly. It's interesting to note that this book was written in 1928, but the so called "women's liberation movement" occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. What happened in the years between? Progress on these issues isn't constant. The Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress in 1972 and ratified by 35 states (3 short of the required 38). There's no way it could get through Congress in today's political circumstances, and there wouldn't be 35 (or 38) states able to ratify it either. That could be construed to be negative progress. But I think progress toward gender equality continues to be made through other means. ...more | Notes are private!
| none
| Jan 18, 2013
| Jan 22, 2013
Jan 23, 2013
| Audio CD
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text:
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
City biker charged in 30-year-old killing
Co-accused pleads guilty to prison stabbing
ONE of Manitoba's most notorious bikers has been linked to a 30-year-old slaying at an Ontario prison while his co-accused pleaded guilty to the crime during his first court appearance Thursday.
Winnipeg police arrested Jeffrey David Peck, 50, as part of an extensive probe into a June 1982 attack inside Collin's Bay Institution in Kingston. A second man, 50-year-old Robert Simpson, who was in custody in Montreal, was arrested on the same charge and pleaded guilty Thursday, the Ottawa Citizen reported.
Peck -- a member of the Manitoba Hells Angels since 2002 -- and Simpson were both charged with first-degree murder, indicating the crime was planned.
Robert Frank Conroy, 19, who was attacked inside his cell block, was pronounced dead of massive trauma. At the time of the killing, the cell doors were open, meaning 400 inmates were free to move around.
Conroy's killing would remain unsolved until this week. In a news release Thursday, Ontario Provincial Police said a squad made up of investigators from the OPP, RCMP and the Kingston Police Service gathered enough evidence to finally lay charges. They were assisted by police in Winnipeg and Montreal.
Justice sources told the Free Press there were rumours for years that Peck may have been involved in the killing, but there was insufficient evidence to lay charges. Potential witnesses were reluctant to co-operate with investigators. Peck, who was 19 at the time, was in custody along with Conroy, after the two were involved in a drug-related attack in Kingston.
There are concerns within organized crime that a source, or sources, are working with police and may be spilling the beans on other unsolved crimes.
"There will be a lot of people wondering what else might be coming," a longtime gang affiliate told the Free Press Thursday on the condition of anonymity.
Simpson appeared in court Thursday, entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, said OPP Sgt. Kristine Rae.
Peck was flown from Winnipeg to Ontario on Thursday, in the custody of city police and OPP officers. He's expected to appear in court today.
Peck has made headlines throughout the years for various dealings with law enforcement. He last appeared in court in 2007 when he pleaded guilty to selling a kilogram of cocaine to an undercover agent as part of a police sting operation. He was sentenced to 71/2 years in prison.
"It was a classic double-cross," Crown attorney Chris Mainella told court at the time, indicating Peck's good friend, Franco Atanasovic, was the secret agent.
Atanasovic was paid US$525,000 plus expenses for tasks that included doing 18 separate drug deals, which led to the arrests of Peck and 12 other gang members and associates.
The one involving Peck went down in the parking lot of a Portage Avenue car wash in May 2005. Following earlier discussions outside a Winnipeg hockey arena and hardware store, Peck agreed to meet Atanasovic and swap a kilogram of cocaine for $35,000.
Peck is a former president of the now-defunct Los Brovos gang, which eventually morphed into the Hells Angels in 2000. He was released on parole in 2001 after serving two-thirds of a six-year sentence for running an illegal chop shop.
Following his release from prison, he accused police of harassing him when he was ticketed for having a noisy motorcycle -- then ticketed again for littering when he threw the notice on the ground.
He recently was paroled for his 2007 conviction and was living in the city with his wife.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 30, 2012 B1
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