1 comments about Googies, Coffee Shop to the Stars Vol. 1.

1. Steve Hayes serves up a deluxe memoir in two volumes with "Googies: Coffeeshop to the Stars" (Bear Manor Media, $24.95). Arriving in Hollywood in 1949 with dreams of becoming a movie star, young Ivan Hayes embarked upon an odyssey of self discovery and adventure that no screenwriter could have dreamed up.
   
   This remarkable memoir is loaded with anecdotes, none of which I'll repeat here because I hope you'll support this author and purchase both volumes. Suffice it to say, in these pages you'll encounter Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Alan Ladd, Lana Turner, Ernest Hemingway and even Aldous Huxley among many others.
   For a decade Steve supported himself as an actor, manager of the Googies coffeeshop adjacent to Schwab's Pharmacy, and by taking jobs as they were offered. Along the way he met and often befriended many of Hollywood's popular stars. His insight into these personalities goes against the grain of what you'll normally encounter in books where the allure relates directly to the geek fan base salivating for more celebrity gossip. What Steve Hayes has accomplished is the creation of a memoir lacking in egotism and animosity. What I appreciate is this man's honesty when talking about his successes and failures, and his unabashed look back at an era he knew was ending even as he experienced it. There is an underlying tone of sadness, but without being maudlin. I was particularly taken by his sensitivity when talking about his marriages, girlfriends and friendship with the stars he encountered. For example, his view on Clark Gable is right on, and ultimately heartbreaking. Ditto with Flynn, Ladd and others.
   
   He devotes ample space to Errol Flynn, a man that Hayes admits remains his idol, but he avoids the idolatry as well as the gossip. No truer portrait of Flynn has hitherto been published. Here is Flynn the writer, the caring father, the raging alcoholic, the talented actor, the man's man who took care of his friends while sometimes also letting them down. First hand accurate accounts have always been scarce and that's what makes "Googies: Coffeeshop to the Stars" such a valuable resource for fans and scholars alike. Steve Hayes wrote it down the way it happened and the result is a smorgasbord of insight, layered with a generous portion of compassion. That's a rare and delectable combination.
   
   Steve Hayes has a big heart that complements his talent - he's a successful novelist and screenwriter - and forgive the cliché, but I couldn't put his book down. He was there at the tail end of a Golden Era, sparkling with talent, sex appeal, hard work, humorous escapades, tragic loss and epic voyages, but it's no mistake that section three of volume two is titled "The Decline of Camelot."
   
   The book is prefaced by a short but fascinating piece titled "I Remember Googies" by John Saxon. "Googies: Coffeeshop to the Stars" offers an authentic look back at a bygone era and we can be thankful the author is such a splendid raconteur. Kudos to Steve Hayes for taking the time to pen such a heartfelt and fascinating memoir.

5 comments about Citizen Coors: A Grand Family Saga of Business, Politics, and Beer.

1. An eye opener to how a bunch of wealthy disfunctional sad people shaped and strengthened the conservative right. Well written, comprehensive, engaging.



2. The saga of the Coors family has all the makings of a great movie. It tells a great story that involves: politics (Reagan), labor tensions, sex scandals, suicides and ecology. Ultimately it shows both the triumphs and pitfalls of stubbornly committing to only doing things the way you see fit.
   
   I grew up in Colorado and knew a lot about the company, but still found this informative. Believe it or not, we used to go to the Coors Brewery for school field trips and I had some frends whose father's worked there in the late 70s. The labor discussions brought back memories.
   
   This book is objectively written and reads more like a novel. I find the labor issues very interesting with both the ugly side of both management and union tactics presented. However, it paints a more negative view of organized labor and the lengths they will go when a comapany does not want to 'play ball'.



3. I loved this book. Very neat in learning the family history of the Coors, their role in politics and how all this was reflected in their family brewery business. I would recommend this book to my family and friends.



4. That you can walk into just about any convenience store in America today and find Coors Light on the shelf should be considered one of the great miracles of modern business.

   Founded in 1876 by Prussian immigrant Adolph Coors, the Coors Brewing Company prospered in its early years by focusing its full attention on making consistently great beer. A century later, Coors' business practices made it look as if were hopelessly stuck in the nineteenth century. Led then by the two staunchly conservative grandsons of Adolph (Bill and Joe), Coors did it's best to pretty much piss off everyone who had ever had anything to do with the company. The brothers were determined, at all costs, to run Coors the way they saw fit. This meant getting rid of the unions (through strong-armed
   and often illegal tactics); shunning the concept of marketing (believing that Coors, because of it's strict adherence to quality, sold itself); completely ignoring modern business practices (no accountants, no legal department, no debt); alienating their network of distributors and retailers with idiosyncratic rules for handling Coors products; aggravating customers with nearly impossible-to-open beer cans; and, in the case of Joe Coors, spreading extremely conservative ideological venom wherever he went.

   Joe Coors used profits from the brewery to establish the Heritage Foundation (the right-wing's answer to the Brookings Institution), and through this jackboot organization, pretty much got Ronald Regan elected President in 1980. Joe's politics, along with Coors treatment of its employees, minorities, women, gays, and the unions, led to one of the most successful, and still on going, consumer product boycotts in American history.

   Citizen Coors tells the whole story from the beginning. It reads like a novel. That I have any sympathy for the Coors family, at all, is a testament to the careful writing of the author, Dan Baum. Coors, at times, is presented to the reader as the misunderstood protagonist; with the media, unions, and leftist groups out to destroy Coors for no good reason. And hindsight about the reality of modern marketing almost makes your heart pull for Coors as you read about every marketing misstep they took throughout the 1960's and 70's. By the early 80's, it would have been hard to find a company the size of Coors that was more poorly managed. Coors would more than likely have capitulated had Joe Coors' son, Peter, not learned to stand up to his father and to accept the reality in which Coors found itself in. Peter, though, was plagued with self-doubt about his own abilities as a leader, but to his credit, was smart enough to look outside the Coors cocoon for answers. In the end, the family had to acquiesce it's near-totalitarian control of the company to the slick marketers it had always loathed.

   This is a remarkable book about family, the evolution of American business, and the failures of the labor movement coupled with the rise of conservatism in this country. Dan Baum has done his research. I question how he would be privy to a century's worth of private conversations between Coors' family members (as they did not cooperate very much with the author). But, I'm willing to suspend disbelief in favor of the overall story. If you're into history, politics, and enjoy a good beer now and again, you'll love Citizen Coors.




5. Even tho' this is a business book, I found it hard to put down. The author writes in such a way as told hold you spellbound to see what the next gaff the Coors family will make. I found that while Coors made a superb beer, they were clueless to the realities of contemperary marketing, and image building. They were lucky to survive. The book made me want to get an update on the brewers current status! Very enjoyable!!

3 comments about Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett, 2006 Literary Edition.

1. First, I want to mention two constructive feedback about this book. One is that this book is probably only suitable for Warren Buffett fanatics/fans. For general investors interested about Berkshire Hathaway or how Warren Buffett invest, this is probably not the best book to read (as it has so much more info. i.e. more than 1000 pages). Second is that I have read this book more than once and I still don't know how the book is organized (the chapters aren't following chronological order, alphabetical nor topical order), therefore it is quite confusing to read as you progress from one chapter to another. Only after you read enough chapter (or completed the book) then you can put it all in the big picture in your head (from Warren's childhood till his current Berkshire days). Nonetheless, kudos to Andrew Kilpatrick for putting this book together. Moreover, once you know the limitation, this book is easily considered the best book about Warren Buffett in my opinion.
   
   Now about the content of the book. You will learn a lot about Warren Buffett and his life, and not only investing topic (investing decisions that he made throughout his career) but his life principles, family, and business in general as well. You will learn about his first job delivering papers when he was 13 (he filed income tax and deducted the bike as business cost), and how he build his first business (pinball machine business), created Buffett partnership, break it up (liquidate), acquire berkshire mills, creating Berkshire Hathaway as investment vehicle, and many other great investment decision/story that he made (Geico, See's Candies, Dairy Queen, General Re, Coca Cola, Salomon, Washington Post, Gillette etc)
   
   Buffett concrete rules for investing are:
   1. Never lose money
   2. Never forget rule #1
   
   I know it's easier said (what he say above about to never lose money) than done based on my 10 years of invesitng experience , but then again I'm no Warren Buffett.
   
   In my opinion, here are the 5 strategy/skills that Warren Buffett uses (Mr. Buffett, please correct me if I'm wrong):
   1. Intrinsic Value
   2. Margin of Safety
   3. Temperament (discipline and understanding Mr.Market)
   4. Circle of Competence (knowing what your circle of competence)
   5. Common Sense (which I think is the most important factor and encapsulate everything about Warren Buffett.)
   
   You will learn that Warren is very good with numbers (calculating in his head) and memorizing so many facts and numbers. You will also learn that Warren is a man with a very good sense of humor.
   
   There are so many things/chapters that I like on this book. Let me try to mention two of my favorite sections.
   
   One is when Warren need to make a decision who would run Salomon ($150B institution with 8000 employees) within 2 days during their first crisis. There are 12 top-level managers that he interviewed. "This was the most important hire of my life", said Warren to the Columbia business students. The chapter explain his thought process of this candidate selection in detail. Warren mentioned that the good news (for the students and the candidate) is that he didn't ask what their grades were (laughter). Warren also said, "Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. and if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you. if you think about it, it's true, if you hire somebody without integrity, you want them to be dumb and lazy" (laughter). And he conclude the topic with this statement which I think is very powerful: "Pick the kind of person to work for you that you want to marry your son or daughter. You won't go wrong". By the way, he picked Deryck Maughan by the way for his integrity.
   
   Another chapter that I really like is how Warren put the audience (of more than 2000 people) through Business School in an electrifying two minutes (The chapter about "Generics"). See how Warren answer the question of "Will developments in the generic brand area hurt coca-cola?" which is a very important questions. I'll try not to spill too much and take the joy of reading this chapter yourself but he basically explains in a nutshell (with all the details and numbers) how business and competition works (and using several other example like Gilette, Marlboro, Sam Cola etc) and how he convinced the audience (and me as a reader) that coca cola is considered immune to generics. He explains how one can save $500 for smoking generic brand (vs Marlboro) which is a lot of money. While a man will probably will only save $11 per year by not using Gilette Sensor and probably leave band-aids on his face and an uncomfotable experience for opting for generics/lower quality blades. And for coca cola, the net profit margin is only 1 cents per serving (can) while a lot of the ingredients cost (such as the aluminium close to 6 cents a can, sugar 1.3 ounce per can or 1.75 cents etc) the same regardless for coke or other cola company.
   
   I'll stop here before it's getting too long. In summary, If you are a Warren Buffett fans, then this book is for you. If you are uncertain, you can get other books first (potentially less thick book), like "Warren Buffet Way" or maybe "Buffettology", and if you like them (Warren) or want to know more about Warren then get this book. I personally don't like it in the beginning but as time goes by (and after I re-read the book/chapters), I changed my mind, this book is a masterpiece.
   
   As a Berkshire shareholder, I want to encourage all berkshire shareholders (and potential/future shareholders) to read this book to know more about the person in charge of your berkshire investment. I also want to encourage all shareholders to go to the annual shareholder meeting while Mr. Buffett is still in charge.
   
   Last but not least, if I have to sum this book up in a word or two, I would use the word "WISDOM" to describe this book, though I have a strong feeling that Warren will disagree with me and think that the more suitable phrase is "COMMON SENSE"



2. The average American reads about 2 books averaging 200 pages per year. This books comes in at 1682 pages, so this could be the only book you need to buy for the next 4 years (assuming you read 400 pages per year). That, in my opinion, is a great value and a great way to simplify your life. Make one decision now instead of having to make many over the next four years. Hopefully Kilpatrick's next book will be 2000 pages, which would be a 5-year book. Some may argue that Kilpatrick could have made his points in 1500 pages or even 1400 pages, but bottom line is giving readers value. For the same price that most 1400 page books carry, Kilpatrick gives you 1682 pages.
   
   I would recommend this for any serious consumer of pages, but would caution that people who are frail or have back problems should not attempt to handle the book on their own. When attempting to pick it up, remember to always lift with your legs, not your back, to avoid injury.
   
   I'm not sure what "Literary Edition" means, except that it's intellectual and scholarly and long and important and not for illiterates.



3. Once again, this book comes out with more repetitious chapters. This book can be a resource for some new material, but it is not to be read straight through. Self-publishing has its downside, and this book demonstrates that. Kirkpatrick is a nice old newspaperman, and he has written several scores of short articles and collected them into his idea of a book. It must pay very well, emotionally if not monetarily, becuse he keeps doing it, but it does not serve anyone who values their time.

No comments about Rigged CD: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the World of Oil, from Wall Street to Dubai.

1 comments about Kennett: The Short, Colorful Life Of A California Copper Town And Its Founding Family.

1. Unfortunately, this is one of those books that very few people will buy because it's about a place that almost no one has heard of. Kennett was a town that is now underneath a few hundred feet of water in Lake Shasta. The book is well-written and includes much historical detail not only about the physical town, but about those who lived there too. At the end of the book, I felt sad that so much history was lost when the waters rose, probably because of the author's effective use of human stories throughout the book. Currently there is talk of raising the dam even further, which would not only flood out businesses and houses around the current shoreline of the lake, but also destroy what little is left of the former town of Kennett. I hope that an alternative can be found.

No comments about Lots of Lehmans: The Family of Mayer Lehman of Lehman Brothers.

4 comments about Hacker Cracker: A Journey from the Mean Streets of Brooklyn to the Frontiers of Cyberspace.

1. Hacker Cracker is a technological thriller for all us geeks, hackers, and security students/professionals in the world. Ejovi details his rise from a dangerous neighborhood where drugs, murder, and gangs ran rampent tothe discovery of a whole new world where it didn`t matter what color you were, only how smart you were. At times I felt as though I was reading parts of my past, the beauty of the baud, discovering warez chatrooms on AOL, and doing things to explore and find more out about this world of cyberspace. Definitly a great read for anyone who has seen the underside of the computer world.



2. The first part of the book deals entirely with the authors plight of growing up in a very rough area of town and the struggles that he faces with on a day to day basis. Apart from the first 4 or 5 pages, which contained a fast moving account of what happens when a rogue Chief Technology Officer gets sacked, for the first 71 pages I was wondering whether a differnet book had been slipped inside the jacket of hacker cracker as there was no mention of computers at all. The story was still pretty interesting though. Eventually he gets round to his first experience with computers and his encounters with hacking and the addictiveness of it all. Eventually the story ends up with a moving account of being at the site of the twin towers on 9/11 and a very touching part about a strange whistling noise (which I won't explain as it is a bit of a spoiler). An easy read and not really the usual hacker biography type book. I think this is partly due to the fact that the author is assuming his readers are not technical as some of the explanations (IRC for example) are very basic and some are almost "media stereotypical assumptions" of what really goes on.
   As the theme of the book is the struggle to overcome and make life a lot better for his family, the target audience for this book is increased beyond the geek and I think even my mother would like this book!



3. Ejovi Nuwere is from Bedford Stuyvesant a neighborhood in brooklyn he comes from somewhat of a brokenhome doesnot really know his father and has a mother who does just about anything in the world for her children but she is a drug addict and has Aids he lives with his grandmother uncle and brother and numerous others that hang out at his grandmothers apartment were something is always going on.

   He faces the struggles most other intercity kids face with the gangs,drugs poverty and violence but he seems to pick up on the fact that the gangs and drugs are a losing way to go.In one part of the book while he attend a school for the performing arts he ends up joining a gang just for his own protection but it seem a somewhat differant type of gang besides the violence they where teaching the members. While in school he had a few brushes with some basic IBM computer but when he hooked up with the principal and asst. principal who had apple mac he started to develop a real interest in computer and this interest was fed by the uncle who also lived with who had a computer and would let Ejovi many 10-14 hour days on.
   Along with another computer hacker he had met in school they begin getting into hacker chat rooms and learning and developing their skills and trying to make a name as is the thing to do in the hacker community.With his knowledge and desire to succede he ends starting to get jobs while still a teenager and as time goes on decides that full time may not be the way to go one thing for sure it does not pay the bills
   Alot of the computer hacking involves stolen credit cards and manufactured cards one story when Ejovi couldnot stand it and decided to buy his own computer with a stolen number and has the computer delivered to a run down building nextdoor and the FBI ends up coming was pretty funny story.

   This is a pretty good book about somebody having the drive and desire to succcede even living in tough and living through tough conditions and making it along the way he also takes up a form of kung fu.It was a little difficult at times understanding some of the computer stuff for a novice like me but there are definitions in the back of the book and he describes thing pretty good.




4. This is an amazing story of a young man who goes from nothing to something, using technology. After reading this I was inspired to do something with my life!

   If you like hacking, if you like feel good stories, if you like excitement, this book has all of that!

No comments about Journal of a West India Proprietor (Oxford World's Classics).

5 comments about God in the Pits: Confessions of a Commodities Trader.

1. This isn't much about trading or Christianity. More about this guy's somewhat unusual life story. A nice little read but it won't rock your world. What I found interesting was the unresolved issue of what happened to the people who lived before the time of Christ, when Ritchie was raised to believe that salvation only comes through Christ. This is a perplexing question for a Christian who believes this--it certainly says something about the nature of God as such or the belief structure which holds this as a tenet.



2. A very engrossing, candid, and well written work by a man who has commanded credibility and respect from his own achievements as a commodities trader. This is about his life's journey, of which many people will find a great amount of common ground especially in the formative years. The reader will find it difficult to lay this one down as Mr. Ritchie describes one experience after another from his early years in Texas, moving with his family to Aghganistan, then moving to the Oregon coast to complete high school. Also a lot of interesting trader stories from the Chicago commodities business. What is most striking about this book is not so much the content, but the writer's stark honesty and humility as he addresses the numerous life issues all of us have encountered, but seldom talk about. Evidently he made a lot of right decisions. This, coming from a very successful trader who could just as well have taken the money and ran. This is a book every MAN (and woman) should have on his desk. When you realize who this man is and what he has to say, you might even shed some tears. Much thought-provoking stuff here from a guy you will inevitably admire and respect.



3. There are about 20 pages having anything to do with trading. The rest of the book was about his experiences with his Christian faith. What's funny is that for all his searching, he basically concludes that one has to invent Christianity for themselves, so it's not even a good book FOR a religious Christian to read. His brief account of his experiences getting started trading were good, but, after a day or so of flipping through this book I threw it on the floor where it stays until I got over wasting my money on this.



4. I read this book with Great fascination because I know the Family.
   
   My wife's brother was in business with Mark & Joe Ritchie in the beginning, but left to pursue a PhD in Linguistics at Univ. of Chicago. Joe was best man at Wes's wedding. My wife lived on the third floor of Joe & Sharon's house for a year before we were married.
   
   I absolutely loved this book, all the struggles as kids of missionaries, Mark's struggle with his personal theology, vs. the evangelical community's magic words, "Jesus Christ Personal Savior" stories about the Ethical failures in "the Business", and finally finding peace and purpose with wealth.
   
   Now that I have a favorite son just out of college/Econ School & entering the business, I would like to get another copy and co-re-read it with him.
   
   There are alot of valuable life lessons in this book.
   
   
   So I have a special interest another copy, Contact me if you have one.



5. To give you an accurate idea of the book, I would like to quote from the last page of it: "The story would tell how twenty years had shown me that Christianity was true, that it worked for me, and could work for anyone else willing to try it." That's it. For those who want to read something like Pit Bull, Baruch: My own story, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator type of stuff, you will be absolutely disappointed. However, if you want to read some spiritual stuff, this is it.
   
   p.s. As usual, I would do some copy and paste of messages I like the most for your reference. (Though it's not easy for this book)
   
   You will be amazed at how much common sense you'll have to drop in order to understand this business. pg 8
   
   There is an important lesson to be learned from the silver debacle of 1979. The lesson is old, simple and taught by every kindergartenteacher: Share with others. It applies to stocks and commodities as much as it does to crayons and toys. pg 24
   
   It is a world of make believe, where money grows on trees, dreams become reality, a Disneyland for adults. Almost everyone I meet wants to know how they can get into the business and make a fortune. When I discourage them from doing so, they only become more convinced, thinking that I am just trying to preserve a greater portion of the pot of gold for myself. Little do they know that the gold is not held by a few as a result of their ability to keep others away. It is held by a few because the others find consistent ways to lose. And the futures industry is a most convenient place for the public to lose their money. pg 181

2 comments about The Deal Maker: How William C. Durant Made General Motors.

1. This is another good book on my hero Mr. William C. Durant the creator of GM. Mr. Durant defiantly affected the early automobile history more than any other one man ever. He was the worlds largest cart maker back in Flint Mi. & went on to save Buick from certain bankruptcy. Also creating GM with Buick as the cornerstone car & then adding Olds, Cadillac & Oakland (the forerunner to Pontiac) & many others that didn't pan out. He also started Chevrolet with his famous Buick race car driver Louis Chevrolet. Some other good reads are The Dream Maker 1979 by Bernard Weisberger and Billy Durant by Lawrence Gustin 1973. ... Sincerely Lance Haynes President Durant Motors Automobile Club



2. It's a story of a vibrant, fast acting dreamer named William Durant who had his start making horse carriages in Flint, Michigan with his partner Dort. He being the salesman, then pre-sold orders for their carriages at a fair, contracted the work out, then worked in a frenzy to fulfill all those orders. It wasn't long until those working on the carriages understood what Durant and Dort were doing, and wanted their own piece of the pie. With a little luck, they managed to survive intense start up competition the first few fragile years, then, in 1908, Durant alone established General Motors through the strategic acquisition (and even more luck) of several existing auto manufacturers (including Buick, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac). He also actively pursued vertical and horizontal integration into the manufacturing process by acquiring rubber plantations, etc. at the closest level to the source. It's fascinating to listen to the "who" behind the names of today's leading auto lines (ie. Louie "Chevrolet" - was a race car driver), etc. and to imagine that Henry Ford and William Durant considered a viable merger that would have completely changed history! From a financial standpoint now, it's easy to see Durant's forecast for financial ruin. It was his tremendous speed and passion which he acted, but often lacked methodical planning or prudence. His pursuit of being "big" and acquiring at least one new company every month, led to a repeated pattern of over-extension and debt feeding his ego; which eventually ruined him, not once, but three times. He then became involved with Dupont, Morgan and the other "high powered" names of history in an effort to re-build his own auto "empire" with a different name - each failed. Each time, his persistence kept him going - and that's truly admirable. He never gave up after each failure! It's inspiring to read (or listen to if you get lucky and find an audio version.)