4 comments about Air Castle of the South: WSM and the Making of Music City (Music in American Life).

1. This book is a fascinating, engaging read. It feels more like a great story than a history book, but is a really interesting insight into the beginnings of WSM, the early history of radio, country music, the Opry, the start of many a famous name in broadcasting, and Nashville itself. Thoroughly enjoyable, I would recommend this to every reader I know.



2. Havighurst has compiled a tremendous amount of information on this subject into a story which comes to life. I can't imagine any one writing a more definitive work on WSM and that era. He has succeeded, for this reader, into making WSM a living, breathing character unto itself within this story. I'm not even a huge country music fan but no matter, Havighurst's storytelling style and obvious passion for telling this story won me over early on. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. He made me feel as if I was right there in the early days of radio, watching and listening as all the early pioneers of the industry shaped the airwaves. Great read for anyone interested in how radio began and evolved and it's impact on not only country music but the world as well.



3. I believe Air Castle of the South is an important book, in that it goes far beyond the history of a musical genre. It sheds light on the mindset of those who first dabbled in a revolutionary new medium. The innocence, curiosity, and zeal of some of radio's brilliantly naive pioneers is painstakingly recorded, as is their evolution from enthusiastic hobbyists to full time broadcasters. But this accessible read is not just a nostalgic indulgence. It's full of insights for the era-changing times we are in now, where the Internet is opening new doors of opportunity for those willing to rethink the why, the what, and the how. As a performing artist who came up through the ranks playing on country music radio shows, including the Opry, Air Castle rekindled my affection for the charm and simplicity of those shows. As someone who grew up listening to a transistor radio in bed late at night with an earphone, it renewed my love of the medium of sound; where the absence of force-fed visual images allows one's imagination to create them in the theater of the mind. Thank you, Craig Havighurst, for this invaluable work. It is clearly a labor of love.



4. Just finished Craig Havighurst's magnificent history of WSM. It's a read that you hate to see come to an end.
   
   What a GREAT station WSM was in its golden age which extended into the TV era while other stations of its size threw in the towel and got rid of its live musicians and the stuff that made bigtime radio great.
   
   The book comes to a sad ending--the rash sacking of TNN and Opryland--and I kinda felt like I was finishing the final pages of "Gone With the Wind."
   
   Anybody with an interest in Bluegrass, Country, Nashville, big time radio, the Ryman and/or the roots of country music and broadcasting has to read this book.

5 comments about Leadership is an Art.

1. As CEO Coach, Poet and author of a leadership book that helps leaders learn how to unleash the genius of teams and corporations, I feel this book is a must read. Max is not talking about theories, he is sharing his real experiences from his successful leadership of an excellent company. If you want to learn how to be a leader, this book is core to your collection. I have learned much from this insightful book. Paul David Walker Unleashing Genius: Leading Yourself, Teams and Corporations



2. This book was purchased as a birthday (May) gift for a family member who has subordinates reporting to her. Shipment was prompt and book arrived timely and in excellent condition. I have seen others review of this book, saying it is a "must read" for anyone having people reporting to them. Since the birthday isn't until May, I won't know her reaction till after then.



3. I enjoyed the book. It was an easy read and the concept was one I believe all of Corporate America should embrace.



4. Not everything that is old is wise. But this book, written 20 years ago, is jam-packed with wisdom. Max DePree wrote in 1987 that the management team's job "is to provide an environment that allows momentum to gather."
   
   DePree's simple, but profound leadership primer has never been equaled. Read it and you'll marvel at the insights--like in his five-page chapter, "Pink Ice in the Urinal." Few CEOs before him and hardly anyone after him have so eloquently discussed the tendency of organizations to deteriorate like in the pink ice chapter. Even DePree's chapter titles are memorable: Theory Fastball, Tribal Storytelling, Some Thoughts for CEOs Who Build Buildings, and Why Should I Weep?
   
   DePree wrote that a financial analyst once asked him, "What is one of the most difficult things that you personally need to work on?" DePree's answer: "The interception of entropy."
   
   "One of the important things leaders need to learn is to recognize the signals of impending deterioration." He kept a list and observed that leaders, especially in large organizations, fail to see the signs of entropy, including: 1) a tendency toward superficiality; 2) no longer having time for celebration and ritual; 3) a growing feeling that rewards and goals are the same thing; 4) when people stop telling tribal stories or cannot understand them; and 5) when problem-makers outnumber problem-solvers. His list was longer--but you get the idea.
   
   The pink ice in the urinal? It was a team member's odd suggestion for dressing up the men's room for their VIP visitors. "Despite the good intentions behind this idea," DePree commented that the team member was signaling a clear deterioration in thinking and strategizing. The pink ice in the urinal would have little effect on the VIPs--so why bother? Focus on the strategic, not the cosmetic.



5. Max Depree has captured the essence of leadership in plain language. His clarity is unmatched in a world filled with leadership related noise. You will not enjoy the book if you are a moron. However, if thinking is something pleasurable for you, you will not be disappointed reading Leadership is an Art. I have shared this book with every person I have worked with who has leadership in their soul and a lifetime of learning in front of them.
   
   Pound for pound the best investment you will make in leadership education this or any year.

5 comments about Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America.

1. Certainly a good book to learn about the relation between two of America's great industrialists. Very easy reading.



2. Bought this for my son, graduating with an economics degree; gives an interesting perspective on past economic crises, the movers and the shakers who bear some resemblance to those calling the shots today. very readable and enjoyable as per my son.



3. The book is fairly well-written & is easy to read. As far as it goes, it is an accurate account of the often tumultuous relationship between Carnegie & Frick, focusing of course on the Homestead Strike.
   
   Standiford does a reasonably good job of fleshing out the personalities of the key actors in the drama. While hardly a definitive study of the period, this book would serve well as an introductory work into this particular subject.



4. I just returned from Pittsburgh when I found this book at a local bookstore. Interested in learning more about the Homestead lockout/strike of 1892, I purchased this book and was never disappointed. Very readable... and entertaining. The author has a gift for bringing to life people and events that surely could have been dull and boring. I thank every steel worker who ever worked at Homestead, for every ride at Kennywood Amusement Park and for every steel framed skyscraper/construction that exist in my own New York City home! I thank the author for revealing the 'war that goes on within us' that was exhibited in the personalities of Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick. Thank you.



5. Meet You in Hell is well-researched and well-written. I enjoyed it very much and have been recommending it to my patrons who like non-fiction.

5 comments about Adventures of a Bystander.

1. Whoever appreciates Peter Drucker als author of 39 books focusing predominantly on the various subjects of management should also read his "Adventures of a Bystander". This book is a very important key to Peter Drucker's development and personality. Add his two novels "The Temptation to Do Good" AND "The Last of all Possible Worlds" and you
   will discover Peter Drucker's qualities as excellent novelist. There you will find very important additions to his management thinking and practice in terms of profiles of psychological dynamics of people in action.



2. Drucker clearly explains how rampant inflation in post WW I Germany influenced the rise of the Nazi party and Hitler. This discussion should be required reading for every 14 year old child! I particularly liked his stories of Willem Paarboom, a sort of Dutch hedge-fund/investment manager who appeared to be a cross between a man and a raven. In his day, Herr Drucker was exposed to some truly elegant and unorthodox thinkers. He adds his own illuminating interpretations and is not afraid to engage in contrary thinking. (Especially when to do so is out of vogue) Read about Dr. Mordecai Johnson and his views on the "American Negro Problem" and you will never contemplate African slavery the same way again. I consider Drucker to be one of the brightest minds of the 20th century, and his genius is on full display here. Certainly, this is one of the most provocative and influential books that I have ever read!
   
   (Drucker particularly liked the "sqwoosh, sqwoosh" sound when jumping in puddles.)



3. Not really an autobiography, not quite a memoir, part biography, of the people he has known in his life, some famous, some not. And Drucker is still alive, now 95 years old. It was a dense, fact-filled book, but always fascinating. He is an amazingly prolific, gifted, engaging writer. And what he has to say about America and The American Dream in the last pages of the book is no less true today than it was in the late 70's when it was written. He writes of Sigmund Freud (things you haven't read before), Henry Luce, Alfred Sloan, John L. Lewis, and Buckminster Fuller among a host of other characters. A very rewarding, thought-provoking read. Highly recommended. Especially for those of us who want to read history by the people who lived it.



4. Drucker's most captivating book, Adventures of a Bystander, is a dynamic memoir of the singular Americans and Europeans of Drucker's life. They include Fritz Kraemer, the historian who "invented" Henry Kissinger; Reinhold Hensch, a newspaper editor so mediocre his only career path was to become the "monster" of the Third Reich; John L. Lewis, Marshall McLuhan, and the visionary early chiefs of General Motors. (Yes, General Motors.) Most importantly, you meet Peter Drucker, whose offhand insights into the world surrounding his characters make every page of this book reward rereading. ....



5. Instead of the usual self-focused auto-biography, Drucker introduces us to the people that have shaped him. Some are famous (Bucky Fuller, Marshal Mcluhan) some are not (his elementary school teacher). Some are good, some evil, but they are are worth meeting, especially through Drucker's eyes. A good read.

No comments about Bear-Trap: The Fall of Bear Stearns and the Panic of 2008.

5 comments about Commodore: The Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt.

1. My recommendation on this book is very nuanced. This book is very good in that it is an excellent collection of facts on "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt. More specifically, this is one of the few, greatly detailed books on the Commodore in existence. In this biography, you will read about Vanderbilt's ingenuity as a steamship captain, his defiant stance and eventual victory against the state-enforced steamboat monopoly of Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston, his prodigious success as a railroad magnate and his spirited offer to personally help, as a steamship captain, the Union army hunt down the USS Merrimack, an ironclad steam-propelled Confederate warship. The adventures of Cornelius Vanderbilt often reads better than fiction!
   
   Unfortunately, this book is often unpleasant to read because the author seems to relish bashing Cornelius Vanderbilt for many of his colorful but reprehensible personal attributes. Renehan really seems to go out of his way to gleefully remind the readers how Cornelius Vanderbilt was illiterate, how he displayed little command of the English language and how he seemed to ridicule and despise individuals who valued intellectual pursuits. To me, it almost seemed as if the author wanted to persuade the readers that despite Vanderbilt's immense business achievements, he cannot really be that great because he cannot spell properly.
   
   This schadenfreude towards Vanderbilt is further exemplified in how the author really seems to take great pleasure in reporting Vanderbilt getting swindled by Jay Gould during his struggle for control of the Erie Railroad. The author unsympathetically describes Vanderbilt as having to "lick his wounds" as if he is a pathetic, scalded dog who got what he deserved and not a great businessmen who was sold fraudulent stock certificates (as implies the allegation against Jay Gould).
   
   Not to leave any personal vice unexplored, this book also delves into Vanderbilt's unadmirable relationships with the many women in his life. In this book, you will learn about Vanderbilt's habitual womanizing with the most uncouth of women, his being cajoled by his girlfriends to bankroll the mass production of Marxist literature, his (eventually fatal) contraction of STDs and in the grand finale of all odious personal acts, his (presumably unjust) institutionalization of his wife allegedly to allow him to continue his illicit affairs. If the last part is even remotely true, then Vanderbilt has truly led a disgusting personal life.
   
   To be clear, I certainly do not think that the author should deny that Cornelius Vanderbilt did not live an admirable personal life. However, the only reason why Cornelius Vanderbilt is in history books is because of his achievements as a great industrialist. The relentless descriptions of Vanderbilt's illiteracy, his philandering, his boorishness and his other negative attributes is at best overemphasized, if not downright annoying and immature. I did not get this book because I wanted to read about what a horrible personal Cornelius Vanderbilt was; I read this book because I wanted to get a better understanding of his remarkable achievements as an industrialist.
   
   In summary, a good book on Cornelius Vanderbilt today is a scarce reason indeed. For this reason, I definitely recommend this book until something better comes along as it is a very good source of information on Vanderbilt's accomplishments as a businessman. However, be warned of the constant bashing of Vanderbilt for his hideous personal character contained within, as it really is irritating.



2. At his death in 1877, Cornelius Vanderbilt, the "Commodore", had amassed more money than any American. Edward J. Renahan's book is a brief examination of his personal and professional life. Vanderbilt was born on Staten Island, New York, to a poor family that had to sail if they were to escape from their relative isolation. From his earliest days, Vanderbilt provided reliable transpoprtation of people and freight for the lowest fees. Gradually, he acquired larger and more modern craft and expanded his activities around the Northeast, and then the Western hemisphere. He acquired his first railroad as a short connector between docks, but eventually came to control or own stock in many rail companies. What made Vanderbilt different from most people was his drive to keep expanding. Not only did he increase water routes, but he branched into steamships, then to railroads and finally to backroom stock manipulation. Most people would have curtailed their radical growth and been content to do one thing well, but Vanderbilt was comfortable with the constant thrill of new routes, better machines and continual competition. The competition was cutthroat and many big lines would have gladly smothered the hard-working Vanderbilt had he not moved into less developed, more profitable arenas. And, he had no compunctions about strangling his rivals whenever he could.
   
   Renehan's portrait of the Commodore is generally unfavorable. He was a wiley businessman and had practices that are now illegal. He treated his family badly- eg. had his wife committed when she refused to move to a new home. He also was intent on keeping his fortune together and left scraps to most of his children. (Only one son, Billy, won his approval as the mogul who would take his place.) The Commodore had a weakness for lower class harlots and paid for his wenching by dying miserably of syphilis. Perhaps most damning, is the fact that Vanderbilt gave away very little of his fortune. (Vanderbilt University somehow coaxed about $1 million from him, but noblesse oblige was not in his world view.
   
   Despite this, there are admirable traits that shine through. Vanderbilt had no family connections or inherited wealth to draw from. He was virtually illiterate and required secretaries to read and write his business transactions. He lacked polish and the drawing room manners so essential for acceptance in New York society. But, the Commodore didn't pretend to be what he was not. He did not waste his money fawning over European arts and pleasures; racing steeds and racy strumpets seem to have been his only extravagances. There seems to be a solid historical record of Vanderbilt's business dealings, but this biography lacks the family tales and back-room, old boy yarns that would give this book more human interest. (I don't know that this is the author's fault- maybe the Commodore was silent or humorless.) Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable study of one of the 19th century's most important men.



3. Cornelius Vanderbilt's life makes for anything but a dull story. It is a classic 19th century rags to riches story in which a farmer's cunning and pugnacious son forges a powerful shipping empire through any means at his disposal. The Commodore goes so far as to orchestrate a coup against an American puppet government in Nicaragua to push up the value of his stock. Renehan spins a fine yarn, but also dwells in tedious detail on the antitrust and state vs. federal government dynamic - i.e. his sections on Ogden and Gibbons - which are unnecessary and less relevant in a brief book about Vanderbilt.
   
   Overall, the book is informative and colored with choice anecdotes. During his slow syphilis induced demise, a septuagenarian Vanderbilt takes a pair of young sisters - one only in her twenties - as mistresses which he believes to have magnetic healing powers. Ultimately the two women go on to start the first female owned brokerage - relying on inside information provided by Vanderbilt's son in an effort to keep them away from his married father - the Commodore.



4. Tycoon "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt is an important figure in the history of American business. Author Edward J. Renehan Jr. set out to "put a face" on Vanderbilt's ambition, enterprise and mania for wealth, and he succeeded. You will get a solid understanding of the vast, rapid changes the U.S. experienced during Vanderbilt's life and his significant role in that change. His descendants, including his granddaughter, designer Gloria Vanderbilt, and her son, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, continue to be prominent. Though this interesting, reportorial biography could have focused more on the historic context and economic impact of this financial giant, and a bit less on his all-too-human failings, getAbstract finds that it deserves to be read by anyone who is interested in American history.



5. The Author has previously done marvelous work with the Jay Gould biography. In this case, while the book makes a good read, there is too much coverage of irrelevant material, such as the shipping wars in New York and New Jersey, at the time the Commodore was a mere employee, or the Vanderbilt Bronze, a statue now towering over Grand Central. I hope that in future editions, the author correct these imbalances, and puts more emphasis on Vanderbilt's incredible transition from Shipping to Railroading, which I am sure the author's considerable talent will allow. Despite these shortcomings, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK to anyone interested in business, or business history. Nitsan Ben-Horin, New York

5 comments about Godfather of the Kremlin: The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism.

1. This is a great book by a good author with a fantastic approach to the subject at hand.Even with all the warnings about some of the things being to good to be true ( or bad for that matter) the reality has surface just by watching the news about Russia.I like the fact that the author was able to track all the corrupt corporations in countries like Great Britain,Switzerland and USA.The author mentions names,dates and places with accuracy.Also i enjoyed his explanations and the political and economic ramifications that the corruption in Russia has brought.It is very sad to see how Boris Yeltsin drove Russia to the ground while pretending to be a good president.The Book shows how Yeltsin is as guilty as anyone in Russia of its problems.He was just a mummified puppet with a stupid smile.Anyone with interest in recient history of Russia should read this book.



2. I personally witnessed the outcomes of the corrupted rule of the culprits portrayed by late Paul Klebnikov.
   Many Russians believe that the truths revealed in this book were the cause of author's murder.



3. This book tells a powerful story that most Americans are, sadly, unfamiliar with. Mr. Klebnikov outlines in impressive detail the history of Russia during the very turbulent times of the 1990s. The development of gangster capitalism under the Yeltsin regime in an environment of political corruption was a tragic episode in Russian history and an example of an opportunity squandered. This book outlines the rise of the mafia in Russia in the post-glasnost time period and the links they had to the Chechens and to the political leaders of the time.
   
   While I sometimes became a bit lost in all the details and Russian names with which I was unfamiliar, the story came through well as Mr. Klebnikov built, step-by-step, a solid and well-documented case. This story is an important one for Americans who wish to better understand what happened during this time period and how it affected, and still affects, Russia. From political assassinations to presidential elections - the book tells a compelling and sadly disturbing story.
   
   Since I have several Russian friends, I felt I owed it to myself to become more familiar with recent Russian history. And this book did not let me down. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in understanding Russia better and I suspect it will in time become a classic for the detailed description it provides of this time period in Russian history.
   
   Highly recommended!



4. Everybody should read this book - it helps to put the entire Litvinenko killing in perspective ; the dead Russian spy worked for Berezovsky - given Berezovsky long criminal history it would not be surprising at all that he was directly involved in murdering his own employee as part of his long ongoing campaign to overthrow the democratically elected president Putin and thereby illegally regain control of all of Russia's natural resources including in particular Russia's oil and gas wealth.



5. Paul Klebnikov is a modern Russian hero. He was assasinated because he tried to show the world how corrupt Russia had become at the hands of the oligarchs. "The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism" is well written and organized. It follows not only the "rise" of Berezovsky but also illustrates how the majority of the Duma (Russian Congress) was in fact acting on behalf of the gangsters or were in fact gangsters themselves holding seats in the house.
   It is a reavealing look into the saddest chapter of Russian history. A must read for anyone interested in politics or modern history. It is a shame and loss to us all that Paul was killed. Who knows what other truths he could have recovered had he lived. It is also a shame that in our modern age of information, only a few speak the truth - and if they speak to loudly they are silenced, as was Paul. May he rest in peace.
   If you enjoyed this book, Paul also did an interview called "Theft of the century: Privatization and the looting of Russia." If you google it, you will find it on the net.

5 comments about Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle.

1. Out there is an army of white males taking or preparing for the LSAT, GMAT, GRE and applying to law schools and business schools. This is not exactly the road less travelled, but neither was the road to Rome, right?
   
   I could really relate to this book. OK it's fairly shabbily written - reads like it was put together over a couple of all-nighters - but, especially the stuff on office bishop bashing, it is honest in a way that is sometimes startling. Pick your poison - this is how it is.



2. Gives rather cynical, but realistic and funny inside view to the actual work in the great corporate finance houses.



3. Skip through the vulgarity and focus on the business details, which are interesting.
   
   A lot of reviewers gave a low rating, because they feel the authors complained too much about their high paying jobs. The idea of these reviewers seems to be 'of course you have to work hard and sacrifice to make a lot of money'. This misses the point, the authors of this book describe how i-banking associates and analysts (slaves), work hard and sacrifice in an almost totally non-productive way. It's make work that they do instead of real work, and it doesn't actually contribute any of the profit that makes up their 200k compensation. It's just some mindless ritual that ruins their personal lives.



4. The book is great and offers a simple, refreshing look at the insular world of investment banking. I learned a lot, and it was really an easy, fun read. Highly recommended!



5. It's not the kind of book that bores the reader but I gave it 2 stars only because it's just excessively cynical. What I mean is that the author sees the worst in everything and everybody and yet they have chosen this career after they had previously had the chance to work in investment banking. Why could that be if the this was all about money, status and showing off? Why? Not hard to guess.

5 comments about The Super Affiliate Handbook: How I Made $436,797 in One Year Selling Other People's Stuff Online.

1. I was trying to make sense of the Affiliate Marketing concept and it was very difficult to make sense of the tons of information available online on the topic.
   
   Rosalind takes you step by step and introduce new concepts on a clear and fun way. I read it from back to back and now use it as a reference book. If you want to learn what is Affiliate Marketting all about, this is the book.
   
   Another thing I really like is that the author invites you to action on every step with very specific instructions.



2. This was a great source of information. I am new to affiliate marketing and needed a product that could break it down for me in terms I could understand. This book did just that. I would definitely recommend to anyone who wants a good starting point for online marketing and affiliate sales.



3. Rosalind has built a solid foundation and is a successful affiliate marketer. However, reading this book probably won't help you follow her path. She covers so much ground. You won't know where to start.
   
   When she speaks, she's solid. She's a content affiliate. She writes her own content (in this case I would've enlisted help to organize and condense to make the content more useful). She gives great coaching and advice.
   
   She recently updated the book which was long overdue.
   
   If you're new and the tone is helpful and accessible but the sheer bulk of information could be overwhelming.



4. You're going to collapse!
   
   When you start reading this book, you won't be able to stop. And it's over 270 pages long! So unless you are a much faster reader than I am, you are going to fall over with exaustion before you can stop reading.
   
   Rosalind sells this book with the subtitle "How I made $436,797 in one year selling other people's stuff online" and I don't doubt it for a minute. The information she has included in this book is very detailed and there are so many ideas for how to get more traffic, better conversions, faster responses and so on that I just couldn't take it all in. I will be reading this book again after I've had some more time to try out the things I was able to take in.
   
   Peel back the cover and what do you see?
   
   There's a big focus on how to generate traffic to the products you are selling. After all, that's absolutely essential to selling anything. As a result, there is some duplicate content that you will find in other resources. For example, a lot of the content in Rosalind's book is also in John Reese's Traffic Secrets series which sells for about $1000 and I'll be reviewing soon, but the Super Affiliate Handbook is a whole lot cheaper and highly specific to affiliate programs. There is also some crossover into the AdWords world that Perry Marshall just plain Owns. But the focus is very strong on Affiliate Marketing and she does a good job of leaving the related topics like traffic generation and Pay Per Click advertising to the respective experts.
   
   Included in the guide are sections on "How to Research a Profitable Topic", "How to Find Merchants" , "How to Choose Products and Affiliate Programs" , "How to Plan and Build Websites That Sell" and some advice on writing good copy, providing quality content, maintaining credibility and staying organized in your business as it grows.
   
   In writing any review of a product or service, it's important to cover the up and down sides. But I'm honestly having a hard time coming up with anything negative to say about this handbook. She takes an honest approach to all of her marketing. Her business model revolves around adding value to the Internet in the form of real quality content, and not just cluttering it with junk. Overall she's a straight shooter with a very thorough guide on how to make a killing in affiliate marketing.
   
   Ok, I've scanned the book some more and come up with a few things to complain about -just for you.
   
   I'm really not that clueless.
   
   Initially, like most books, I skimmed over some big areas of this book. One of those areas was the "Setting Up Shop" chapter. She starts with "Basic Knowledge" and tells the us that we don't need HTML knowledge at the start and that it's good to learn Windows Macros like CTRL-C to make work faster. Then she says you need a computer and a Fast Internet Connection. Next we learn that we need a web browser. (This is getting too complicated for me. I should just get a refund for this book.)
   
   Ok, so she does give some nice links like where to get Firefox for those still stuck on IE and suggestions to use a router and where to get some good software like eudora and UltraEdit. But this chapter gives me the impression this book was written to be printed and sold to soccer moms at the school book sale. If you feel you already know how to use your computer and your Internet connection pretty well, I give you permission to skip this chapter too.
   
   Another thing I can say that's bad about this book is that most everything she recommends actually requires some significant work. Sure, there are some thing in there like using datafeeds from merchants to create your own website in less than an hour. But most of those things have lost a lot of effectiveness due exactly to how easy they are to do. Now everyone has a datafeed site. And it just sits there doing nothing because people would rather buy from the real store instead of your feed to it. The suggestions that she makes which actually return results will take some work.
   
   Stand back and watch the explosion. (Or hold the match with a big smile)
   
   This handbook was an important one for me to review early on. Affiliate Programs are the core of my marketing business, and a major force in Internet Marketing. And if you've been following the trends, one of the fastest growing segments of sales on the Internet have been in Information Products. In other words, people are buying more and more instantly deliverable information products online. They are beginning to trust eBooks and online courses. They are beginning to PREFER them over print because it's instant gratification. Even Amazon is running fast toward electronic delivery. And what's so great about this field is that the profits are very good. Electronic delivery has basically zero cost. And zero cost means low overhead.
   
   So, I'm not just going to leave this as a simple ho hum review. I'm going to TELL you that if you want to get into this area of marketing (and I think it's a darn good idea), you will save yourself a lot of wasted time, money and effort by getting this book as soon as you can. There might be some other books out there that will try to compete with this one, but they are going to have a tough time. Rosalind did an excellent job on this. I can't think of much that would improve on it. This is an example of something that will pay for itself many times over when you do what it says.
   
   People complain about the price. I agree, it's high. All "Get Rich Quick" guides worth anything are high priced. And yeah, you can find everything here for free on the net. But if your willing to spend some money buying an "expensive" book that will help you make a lot more money and feel that your time is more valuable than searching the net for the same information for free and having to sift and sort what actually works, then this book won't dissapoint.
   
   I don't get anything if you buy the book. The author doesn't even have a clue who I am. I just read it and loved it. Good Luck
   
   Buy it! (So much for my impartial review credibility ;-)



5. This book is very well written and as a newbie to affiliate marketing I found it easy and pleasant to read.
   
   Rosalind is definately a successful affiliate so that was a plus.
   
   What I found most useful is her advocation of keyword analysis BEFORE embarking on a particular niche as well as the use of marketing metrics to regularly measure what campaigns are working (and those that are not, of course).
   
   Buying this book will not make you a super affiliate -- but if you use it and take Rosalind's advice -- with the realistic expectation that it will take some work and time, then this is your book.
   
   Afterall, Rosalind has been doing this stuff since 1998...you've got to stick with it for it to pay off!
   
   lisa wilson
   www.ebook-utopia.com

5 comments about Maestro : Greenspan's Fed and the American Boom.

1. ~Maestro: Greenspan's Fed and the American Boom~ is a rosy bit of economic subterfuge heralding Greenspan as an economic saviour when in reality we're paying the price for the Federal Reserve's inflationary scheme throughout the 1990s. If the markets set interest rates, we wouldn't see the vicious cycles of boom and bust, the subprime mortgage crisis, and the housing bubble. But such subversion is always attendant to fractional-reserve banking. A wiser more honest Alan Greespan wrote an essay entitled 'Gold and Freedom' in the 1960s. Therein, he observed: "In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation... The financial policy of the welfare state requires that there be no way for the owners of wealth to protect themselves. This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists' tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding the statists' antagonism toward the gold standard." Greenspan intuitively knew this was still true when Rep. Ron Paul of Texas grilled him in hearings before the House Banking Committee.
   
   People can mock the alarmists and goldbugs, but the U.S. Dollar is poised to fall over a precipice of hyperinflation in the twenty-first century. For years, it has enjoyed prestige as the reserve currency of central banks and reserve currency for OPEC exchange, but it is steadily starting to unravel. Too much public sector indebtedness, a 10-trillion dollar debt, trillions in unfunded federal liabilities, and an aging workforce will all point to American economic decline. In the 1990s, almost 65-70% of U.S. Dollars in existence were in circulation abroad. There is no telling how much it is today. The results will be catastrophic if a shockwave hits, and those Dollars come back home in mass. It doesn't necessarily entail a 1929 crash, but it will likely result in economic stagnation where inflation surpasses real economic growth and/or near-double-digit unemployment.
   
   There is nothing special about Greenspan. He had wisdom to get out and find a fall guy in the new Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke. Bernanke will take the hit for his mistakes. Bernanke is afraid to do any needed correction, or surgery in the form of tightening monetary policy, and will continue to prime-pump the economy and foment an inflationary shockwave and economic stagnation. The cure for inflationary woes is always more inflation. It's a melancholy fate, and the market correction will be devastating. His career will be short-lived and he will be the scapegoat. John Keynes, hardly a model economist, was prescient nonetheless when he observed: "By a continuous process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. By this method, they not only confiscate, but they confiscate arbitrarily; and while the process impoverishes many, it actually enriches some....The process engages all of the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner that not one man in a million can diagnose."
   
   "The central bank is an institution of the most deadly hostility existing against the Principles and form of our Constitution. I am an Enemy to all banks discounting bills or notes for anything but Coin. If the American People allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the People of all their Property until their Children will wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered."
   --Thomas Jefferson



2. After reading this book I realized how fascinating a book can be when it is written by a washington insider like Woodword. Amazing book describes Greenspan, Fed, Whitehouse and the economics and politics behind it in the most lucid manner possible.
   
   Very true in nature expresses very candidly Chairman Greenspan's political manuevering and how Whitehouse makes a non political instituion political.
   
   Excellent and much more interesting to read compared to Mr. Greenspans own auto biography which in itself is a very good book.



3. The coziness of our nations politically elite always makes for interesting reading. While there are some interesting tidbits throughout, i.e. Alan Greenspans association with Ayn Rand; the familiar names of the politically entrenched and the precarious state of our nation's economic machinations, this book was a bit boring. With that said, there were two things I found fascinating about D.C. life. First, there is an extremely strong current of Ivy League uber-ambition in our nation's capital; along with an extraordinary confluence of academic uber-achievement (PhD's lawyers & double majored PhD's). Second, I didn't know Alan Greenspan, along with his longtime and classy arm-charm Andrea Mitchell, were such savvy political operatives on the so called D.C. cocktail circuit or what a critical role socializing played in the running of our country. Other than that, I was a bit disappointed with this effort.



4. Among collegiate literature which I have been exposed to, I have found Bob Woodward's Maestro to be one of the most informative and educational. With this simple and easy to understand narrative, I have been taken inside the doors of the Federal Reserve, and have been given a picture of how the FOMC truly operates. I feel more equipped to discuss and express opinion towards the operations of the Fed. Upon the completion of this book, I sat back with a sense of gratification, in my newly acquired, practical understanding of the U.S. economy. Woodward was able to portray Monetary Policy in a sense that really applied to my level of thinking.
   With an inside look at the decisions of Alan Greenspan and his role as chairman of the Federal Reserve, I was stuck with a sense of amazement watching this man operate mathematically and politically, still maintaining a sense of pure awareness and concern for the long-term affects of his resolutions. I would definitely recommend this book to any reader in search of a practical and realistic understanding of the economic engine which drives the U.S.



5. I read this book wanting to be better informed about how The Fed and Greenspan operate, and wound up being nicely informed and entertained. Understanding how banks, the White House and political appointments co-exist in the field of economics, I never thought I would ever use the phrase "hard-to-put-down" in connection with an economics/banking book but this one really did it for me. It is a genuine page turner and definitely Woodward's most underrated and under-discussed books. (No caller mentioned this work during his 3-hour C-Span interview a few months back.) Get your hands on a copy of this book and prepare for an interesting and enjoyable ride. My one complaint: I wish it were longer. Although this book answered all my "Fed" questions, I wished its time track would continue to the present, or perhaps delve a little deeper into the past. But this minor complaint notwithstanding, the book was an excellent and engaging read.