5 comments about The Pretender: How Martin Frankel Fooled the Financial World and Led the Feds on One of the Most Publicized Manhunts in History.

1. The reason I bought this book is because I met one of the principal Mississippi characters during my travels. He briefly alluded to the story and I wanted to find out more about it. The book served this purpose very well. It was a fascinating read.
   The Pretender: How Martin Frankel Fooled the Financial World and Led the Feds on One of the Most Publicized Manhunts in History



2. Well-researched, entertaining, well-written and an interesting story. However, I agree with Daniel Morrison's review in that the actual crime and effects on average people were not explained. You had to guess of that yourself, but it was generally obvious. It was one of the better books I've read and it was definitly worth the time and money.
   Cheers Ellen Pollock!



3. It is obvious that Pollock dedicated about two years of her life or more to research the details, and it shows. I was constantly amazed at the details that were uncovered and the collections of conversations.



4. How was this man not caught sooner? It shows how greed affects us all. The seemingly educated, powerful people that Frankel was able to take in with his house of cards was amazing.

   That he did most of the damage while still living at his parents house in Toledo, OH makes it even more amazing. Here is a man who was facinated with financial markets which he read about and studied for over 10,000 self confessed hours. He knew brokers and investors at all the major brokerage houses near his home. He was a "paper trader" and was more often than not correct. Yet he couldnt bring himself to pull the trigger and actually trade.

   The gist of the scheme was started when Frankel started a phony stock brokerage and used a ponzi scheme to lure investors. But he was too afraid to make trades for his customers. He then decided to use his ill-gotten cash to buy a bank and in the process of shopping for one he came accross a "pre-need buriel insurance" firm that was in play. You'll have to read the rest.

   I couldnt put this one down. Just when you think it cant get any more strange, it does.




5. WHAT AN ANNOYING SCREWHEAD. I keep trying to read this book and have given up. Frankel's lying is one thing, but good Lord, his inability to actually consumate a trade (or anything else, evidently) is BEYOND annoying and makes for frustrating reading. At 2 bucks for a used copy, it's overpriced.

4 comments about Outrageous Fortune: The Rise and Ruin of Conrad and Lady Black.

1. Conrad Black has written extensively in reply to his critics and eagerly awaits his day in court to reply to those have so grievously attacked him. He has sued Bower for libel and I would wait for the completion of that action before I leapt to the conclusion that Bower has told the truth in whole or in part.
   
   With regard to the shareholders of Hollinger, he increased their net wealth by about 2.3 billion dollars. If he would do that for me I certainly wouldn't begrudge him a party once in a while.



2. Conrad Black was originally a fairly decent man who lived fairly modestly by billionaire standards. Then, he was seduced by one Barbara Amiel who persuaded him to divorce his first wife and marry her in the bargain. Once married, the new Lady Black went about raising the couple's living standards to absurdly lavish heights.
   
   All this luxurious excess cost a ton of money. So, Black set about looting the publicly held company in which he held the controlling votes. He installed a compliant board of directors, slashed expenses and either fired or sued anyone who objected.
   
   However, all this corruption eventually attracted the attention of both investigative reporters and law enforcement. For all of Lord Black's power, he was ultimately unable to prevent his demise. He has been ousted from the ownership of his company and is on the verge of standing on criminal trial in his native Canada.
   
   This is an excellent book about how greed and avarice often leads to one's own demise.



3. Now that the levee has broken, you would have to go a long way to garner sympathy for a couple with the hubris of Conrad Black and Barbara Amiel, but in his splendidly vituperative "Outrageous Fortune", Tom Bower almost pulls it off. This is a real piece of work (though, as Bower might say, if the shoe fits...) and no effort has been made to present any sort of balance whatsoever: Even the title is snide: Not "Conrad and Barbara Black", nor "Lord and Lady Black", but "Conrad and *Lady* Black" - a snipe at her overweening delight at ennoblement, and perhaps a cute reference to Black's habit of referring to his wife (from well before his peerage) as "the Little Lady".
   
   Make no mistake, this is a rip-snorter of a read: I've been devouring pages, missing stops on the tube, walking into lamp-posts and zoning out of conference calls on its account: it is the Barbarians at the Gate of the new Millennium - tempered only by the fact that its characters seem transparently unleavened by the financial expertise, corporate understanding, commercial cunning, capitalist audacity and iron balls of the KKR crowd: these protagonists, as Bower paints them, are as self-absorbed, self-aggrandising and self-enriching as the best of them, whilst still being deluded and dim-witted schmucks.
   
   Which is rather suspect in itself. If you accept that view then it is truly remarkable that the Blacks lasted as long as they did at the top of the pile. Bower does not dispute that Conrad Black attracted - and retained for decades - some high-quality help: Lord Carrington proposed his ennoblement and Baroness Thatcher seconded it (despite Bower's assertion that she found Black "ordinary"); Henry Kissinger sat on Hollinger's board even until the endgame played out (as did Richard Perle and KKR founder Henry Kravis' wife). So either Conrad Black was an extraordinary con-artist, or Bower is not giving credit where it is due.
   
   Nor is much credence given to Conrad Black's intellect or Amiel's journalistic prowess: Bower would have you believe that Black simply has a large vocabulary, a photographic memory and a penchant for gormlessly reciting details of naval battles at dinner parties, and suddenly took a couple of months to dash off a rangy biography of Roosevelt, which did nothing but illustrate his own shoddy scholarship. Now I haven't read this book (and nor, at 1245 pages, am I planning to), but the critical reaction to it on this site - which I have a healthy respect for - has been almost unanimously positive. Again, you get the sense that credit might not have been given where due.
   
   Finally, the book is studded with of startling exchanges which are set out as direct quotations - in situations where it is difficult to believe that the remarks could have possibly been recorded nor word-for-word remembered: Amiel's off-the-cuff remarks during dinner parties and to household staff and Black's asides to his co-directors during meetings and on the telephone over a twenty five year period are faithfully reproduced as if from a stenographer's notebook. I can't help thinking Bower is talking a biographer's licence here - that's a polite way of saying he made these quotes up - perhaps on the basis of a vaguer recollection like "then Conrad said something rude" or some such thing.
   
   Tom Bower has certainly done some homework and tracks the financial shenanigans skilfully, and I doubt there will be much sympathy out there amongst the schadenfreude for the misfortune of an unpleasant couple who are in the process of getting what has been coming to them, but all the same this relentlessly brutal entry can't help but remind us that this celebrated president's biogrpaher isn't the one writing this part of the last century's history.
   
   Olly Buxton



4. Apparently only a miracle will stop Lord Black from missing his billionaire lifestyle from a prison cell. Tom Bower's account is gripping. The subjects of his attention, Lord and Lady Black, certainly are much more interesting that the average pair accused of siphoning millions from unsuspecting shareholders. Bower credibly builds the portrait of two people that feel that the law should not apply to the ostensibly rich. Notably, the intellectual pretenses of Lady Black are effectively drowned in the repeated demonstration that, as she said, her extravagance knew no bounds.
   
   Bower's examination of the various facets of Lord Black is solid. The multiple quotes from his subject denying at all times any wrongdoing, always in elegant terms, confirm the picture of a man that considered himself a mix of intellectual giant and paragon of rapacious capitalism at its best (or worst). Apparently those that were silly enough to entrust their money to him fully deserved the systematic pillage that Lord Black and his associates applied to the companies under their management. The record of how Lord Black used people with solid reputations to get seals of approval for his shenanigans should send shudders down the spines of those that think that seating at a Board of Directors is a good opportunity to get some money and a good lunch while, at most, giving a glimpse at the reports and requests from the company's management before signing their endorsement.
   
   The timing of Bower's work is superb considering that Lord Black will face trial soon. After finishing it, the reader is ready to follow the saga to what will most probably be a fitting conclusion.

1 comments about Bush Pilot With a Briefcase: The Incredible Story of Aviation Pioneer Grant McConachie.

1. This book is a tribute to the man who single-handedly shaped the face of Canadian avation, written by a long-time friend. Through a series of anecdotes depicting the adventures and misadventures of the former president of Canadian Pacific Airlines, Keith is able to paint a vivid picture of this charismatic, lovable man, while maintaining the legend that surrounds him. Well worth anyone's time; a great mixture of adventure and humour.

5 comments about John Maynard Keynes: Volume 2: The Economist as Savior, 1920-1937.

1. John Maynard Keynes apparently had a life full of brilliant ideas, and the evolution from one idea to another is a brilliant story. I'm not quite sure how I know this, because the second volume of Robert Skidelsky's Keynes biography doesn't really convey it. But I do know it, somehow.
   
   The main thing I've learned from this book is that I should go and read Keynes himself. Whenever Skidelsky quotes Keynes at any length, I breathe fresh air and I'm reminded that life can, indeed, be a wonderful place. For the remaining 95% of the book, I'm plodding through perfectly serviceable but unengaging prose. Skidelsky doesn't explain Keynes's economics well enough for intelligent non-specialists to really get the point. He explains Keynes's social life decently well, but one can consume only so much about country vacations and "Bloomsberries" before mentally consigning the lot of them to an eternity of bad food and cattiness.
   
   The jacket insists that Skidelsky has told an amazing love story, presumably the one between Keynes and Lydia Lopokova. I don't know quite which biography that reviewer was reading. Certainly not this one.
   
   I'm told there's a condensed version of the Keynes bio: one volume instead of three. That may be worth your time. It depends on what you want. The life of Keynes doesn't actually seem all that interesting on its own -- no more interesting than any other smart person's life, and substantially less interesting than Bertrand Russell's (with whose life Keynes's overlaps). As for the content of Keynes's ideas, those certainly are worth the time, but I just can't see that Skidelsky -- condensed or otherwise -- is the man to teach these to us.
   
   Probably the best route is to read Keynes's own Economic Consequences of the Peace, Tract on Monetary Reform, Essays in Persuasion, and General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. I'm told that Alvin Hansen's Guide To Keynes is how economists normally approach the General Theory, and my initial glance at Hansen's book suggests that it's a good start.
   
   If we believe Skidelsky, Keynes's Treatise on Money is overlong, impenetrable, and notationally confused. I trust bad writers to spot their kin, so I believe him on this score.



2. I highly recommend the second volume of Skidelsky's three volume study of the life of John Maynard Keynes for the general reader.The general reader will be rewarded with a 5 star performance.Skidelsky masterfully weaves an incredible amount of material about the private and public life of Keynes in a manner that will provide the nonspecialist,general reader with many hours of reading pleasure.Unfortunately,the same cannot be said for the specialist seeking a technical analysis and evaluation of Keynes's scientific contributions to philosophy,applied probability,applied statistics,decision science and economics.It is in this area that Skidelsky fumbles the ball just as it appeared that he was going to go all the way and score a touchdown.This is most likely due to the fact that he is a historian with little or no training in philosophy,mathematics,statistics,probability and economics.Let me catalog the technical problems .First,Skidelsky confuses the 12th-13th century debate between the nominalists and the realists(Platonists) with the realist versus idealist debate of the 19th-20th century between,among others,G.E.Moore and Bertrand Russell(the realists of the 20th century who would be supporting the nominalists in the 12th century),on the one hand and J.M.E.McTaggart and F.H.Bradley,on the other hand,who would be supporting,in general,the realists of the 12th century.(See Skidelsky's extremely confusing discussion on pp.74-77).Second,Skidelsky is completely confused about the nature and construction of Keynesian probabilities.Keynesian probabilities,in general,are intervals.They require the use of two numbers ,not one.The first number is called a lower bound.The second number is called an upper bound.Keynes's approximation method has absolutely nothing to do with ordinal rankings. In fact,the general case occurring among decision makers in the real world would be of overlapping intervals.Consider the following simple example.Let probability one be estimated by the interval[.4,.6].Let probability two be estimated by the interval[.5,.7].The probabilities have very specific numeric bounds,but they are ,in fact,nonrankable,noncomparable and nonadditive.It is not possible to say that one of the two probabilities is greater than,less than or equal to the other probability.Skidelsky has accepted at face value the extremely poor analysis of Keynes's TP done by F.Ramsey in two book reviews published in 1922 and 1926.Ramsey committed the fatal error of misinterpreting Keynes's chapter 3 terms in the TP,nonnumerical and nonmeasurable,as meaning that no numbers could in general be used to estimate the probability relation.Ramsey never read chapters 15 and 17 of the TP where Keynes made it clear that most probabilities could be represented as intervals.(The reader will find literally one dozen errors of omission or commission committed on pp.58-61 and 67-73 of Skidelsky with regard to the issue of the use of numbers in Keynes's logical theory of probability).Skidelsky ignores Keynes's creation of an index to measure the weight of the evidence,w,where w is defined on the unit interval[0,1]and measures the completeness of the relevant potential evidence available upon which to make an estimate of a probability.Skidelsky overlooks Keynes's conventional coefficient of risk and weight,c,that solves all of the paradoxes of subjective expected utility theory.Keynes was the first scholar in history to devise a decision rule incorporating nonlinear probabilities and weight of the evidence(later called ambiguity of the evidence by D.Ellsberg in 1961).Lastly,Skidelsky has overlooked the mathematical specification of Keynes's theory of effective demand that Keynes derived from his Y model of chapter 10 and from his D-Z model of chapters 3,20-21 of the General Theory in 1936.Let us define w to equal a constant money wage,p to equal the price level,w/p to equal the real wage,MPL to equal the marginal product of labor in the aggregate,MPC to equal the marginal propensity to spend on consumption goods, and MPI to equal the marginal propensity to spend on copital goods.Keynes then arrives at the following general result:w/p=MPL/(MPC+MPI).The classical and neoclassical(monetarism,rational expectations,real business cycle theory,etc.)theories are all special cases which require that MPC+MPI=1.Skidelsky's claim that Keynes did not provide a mathematical model of his theory of effective demand in the GT (see pp.537-542,especially p.540)is an error in magnitude equal to the errors made by Frank Ramsey about the meaning of the terms "nonnumerical" and"non measurable".The specialist will be disappointed with this volume of Skidelsky's biography of J.M.Keynes.



3. The second part of Prof. Skidelsky's magnificent biography of J.M. Keynes is nearly totally concentrated on economic issues. Keynes' personal life was perfectly settled after his marriage with a Russian ballerina. He continued to be in contact with the Bloomsbury group, which 'remained subversive by habit, but was anxious to retain their dividends and beauftiful houses'.
   In fact, this book centres on the question how Keynes came to write the 'General Theory' and its defense of governmental intervention (public investments) in the economic cycle in order to break the capitalistic slump. He proved that in a laisser-faire system an equilibrium could be formed at a far lesser level than 'natural' unemployment: 'There is work to do, there are men to do it. Why not bring them together!'
   We discover that Malthus was a real influential precursor with his proposition to prop up insufficient demand by public works and that Richard Kahn made a decisive contribution with his multiplyer effect.
   Prof. Skidelsky characterizes perfectly the 'General Theory' as a complex psychological drama with as main characters the life-denying rentier, the businessman and his fantasies and the victimized working class.
   Keynes' ultimate nightmare was a world were making money triumphed over making things, which is actually happening. Financial transactions are dwarfing the industrial ones and there are many more investment trusts than industrial companies in the US.
   The discussions after the publication of the 'General Theory' are fascinating. In fact, the debate is still red hot: inflation/deflation, the influence of the (inter)national banks, savings and (un)employment.
   This book is not an easy read. I recommend readers to (re)read some parts of the 'General Theory'. But this work is a fascinating tale about the (r)evolution of the ideas of the greatest economist of all times.
   I have only one minor remark: Ibsen is a Norwegian, not a Swede.



4. Keynes activities, both as an active participant of the economic life of his country and continent, and as an icon to the cultural life of his epoch and to his many friends and groups of interest, is impressive. To define him is an elusive task: philosopher?, economist?, historian?, linguist?. He was all this and much more, but he was above all a man of a very practical mind and, notwhidstanding his immense philosophical background, deeply attached to the theories of his contemporary G.E.Moore and others, he had the feeling of having a mission to accomplish, given the immense superiority his intellect had over the rest of the mortals.

   What was to become of Europe after the end of the First World War was foreseen by him in many essays and primarily in his book The Economic Consequences of the Peace. The task which lays ahead for him, and only him, was to warn politicians and thinkers of the impending dangers of the years to come, specially in regard to a lack of theoretical analisys to support the transition from the old economy (classicist in his jargon), which ended with the death of the great Alfred Marshall, and a new one, which he purpoted himself to establish and then save the world. And save the world he did!!! Keynes is one of this towering figures who had the opportunity to mingle himself with daily facts and change them for the better. Amid a lot of controversy and polemic regarding the originality of his ideas, he published his major opus in 1937, which was to be used against the vagaries of rampant unemployment and inflation. His General Theory of Interest , Employment and Money is a sort of tribute he pays to his father , Malthus and G.E.Moore.
   In the personnal side of his life, if this can be said of Keynes for his personal life was eminently devoted to cultural interests i many areas, the book portrays some important changes in his personal atitudes towards homosexuality (he abandoned) and his new life marrying the russian ballerina Ludmila.




5. A great book about a great man. The development of Keynes' thought is handled well, although some more discussion around possible sources of some of his ideas would have been welcome. Several books about his Bloomsbury freinds have emerged recently, and it is interesting to compare perceptions. I'm uncomfortable with Skidelsky's analysis of Keynesian theory which strikes me as too much of a shoe-horning of Keynes into a classical framework, but I'm hardly an expert. All in all a book to be savoured, and an essential item in one's library.

1 comments about Ted Turner Speaks: Insights from the World's Greatest Maverick (Speak Series).

1. The last review, sounds exactly like what Turner fought against, control freak zealots. He isn't mental, he is brilliant.
   
   In a media world where people like Rupert Murdock are put on a boat for a photo op, people like Ted Turner actually support the crew and stay onboard for the whole race, all 31,000 miles of it.
   
   Regardless of money my friends, that separates the men from the boys.
   
   Who would you want to be behind in the battle field?

2 comments about Expat Entrepreneur: How To Create and Maintain Your Own Portable Career Anywhere In The World.

1. The title of The Expat Entrepreneur, by Jo Parfitt, is slightly misleading. The book is in fact much more a motivating reading about how to become self-employed from home as an expat, doing what you are passionate about, and how to use your creativity in the development of new activities that can eventually bring money - all this based mostly on 23 interviews of expats who "have been there & done it".
   
   There are a few practical parts, like the assessment "Do you have what it takes?" and the resources that are classified by countries. Despite the assessment, the first part of the book is rather in the style of the American self-help books, something like "if you want it, you can do it". The 23 interviews of "expat entrepreneurs" are quite interesting and there are a few specific resources behind each of them, which can provide food for further thoughts and research.
   
   As I mentioned, the book is certainly about expats who became self-employed and it also motivates to do the same. But it cannot be considered a business book for budding entrepreneurs.
   
   Many of the examples that are provided in the 23 interviews belong to the areas that I wouldn't really call a business, like painting, although I am always happy to see artists making a good living. Among the more "business-like" examples, I saw one case of a company that I know well and that has been constantly operating on the verge of bankrupcy for many years, and another one of a person who runs among other things a translation agency, but has a website in French that is very miserably translated, which is not a surprise considering that the translations into French are done... by a Danish person. Therefore, a better selection of the examples would have been needed.
   
   I also regret that, although the book is written by a woman and its intended readers are expat spouses, i.e. mostly women, the examples that are provided are the typical traditional female occupations (teacher, artist, image consultant, women in various helping professions, etc.) as if we were still in the 50s. The very few examples that are more business oriented are the rather obvious ones that can provide a portable career for expats: relocation, web design and consultant.
   
   What about women who are freelance engineers? Or who have a PhD and work as independant researchers and consultants for international organizations? And what about the people in the biotechnology sector who come from the US or Asia, in order to create a company in Europe in one of the recently created biotech clusters? Or the young finance specialists from Asia who come to London or Geneva in order to create a company in the financial sector? Aren't these people expat entrepreneurs too?
   
   I also regret that, although the book is supposed to help budding expat entrepreneurs, such elementary words like a business plan or a marketing strategy are not even mentioned, although they are key elements of success for entrepreneurs of any kind. How to deal with bankers is also absent from the book, although, if we consider the missing examples that I mentioned before, it would even be appropriate here to mention examples of expat entrepreneurs who managed to get financing through business angels and venture capitalists.
   
   I also regret that the book doesn't make a clear distinction between the businesses that are created on a permanent local basis, like a bed-and-breakfast in France, by people who in fact are not expats, but immigrants probably for the rest of their life, and what I call the real "portable businesses", i.e. those that are run mostly through the Internet, indepently from the location of the business person, and which allow expat spouses in particular a huge flexibility.
   
   Therefore, this book is a good resource specifically for expat spouses who are just looking for ideas and need some encouragement in the form of examples from real life. But expatriates and expat spouses who really mean business will have to find the resources they need about how to create a small business in a foreign country somewhere else.



2. Reviewed by Stephanie Rollins for Reader Views (5/07)
   
   Jo Parfitt found herself traveling the world with her husband. This made it difficult to have a normal career. She felt like a tag-along wife. She wanted her own identity. She began her expat entrepreneur career. She used her writing skills to start her own business.
   
   "Expat Entrepreneur" came to me at a perfect time. My military husband thinks that we are going to have to move. Though that is part of the job, it really upsets me to leave all that I have established. In "Expat Entrepreneur," Parfitt explains that I need to see it as an adventure and an opportunity.
   
   Parfitt explained that it is an opportunity to start anew. She advised to establish what the reader is good at, what they have a passion for. Then, take that and start an expat career.
   
   She explains that not all people have the skills necessary to be an expat entrepreneur. She also informs the reader that there are different laws in different countries that put constraints on expats working. Also, many professions are not in demand in different countries. Many of the requirements for nursing, teaching, and etc... are different in other countries. Throughout the book, websites and other books are mentioned to guide the reader to the appropriate resources.
   
   Parfitt explains that a career no longer consists of a daily attempt to climb a corporate ladder. It is now an opportunity for adventure and enlightenment.
   
   Twenty-three expat entrepreneurs share their adventures in half the book. This was inspiring for me. They explained what it took to get started in their businesses. They told of their struggles. They share advice.
   
   Today's society is global. Many have spouses who have to travel internationally. Unless the tag-along spouse has a portable career, they will feel isolated. "Expat Entrepreneur" is a practical guide for tag-along spouses. It is hopeful and inspiring. I recommend "Expat Entrepreneur" for all tag-along spouses, especially military spouses. Read and be on your way to an exciting portable career.

2 comments about Wall Street People: True Stories of Today's Masters and Moguls.

1. I understoodd that it would be stupid to expect something close to the  "Market Wizard" standard from a 342 page book covering over 80 big names intriguing enough for 180 more books. However, I did expect a summary or two about the life, trading or investment methods of the people covered in the book. The passage devoted to Bernard Baruch is a rare exception to the above. A pity that it was mostly copy and paste from the work of other authors. Even worse, the content is not timely. For e.g., the article of Robertson was written nearly a decade before the Tiger Fund got drown in Russia. It would be much better if the author had written several volumes and covered more and timely of each guru.



2. Writing with James R. Vertin, author Charles D. Ellis presents brief profiles of 85 Wall Street leaders who contributed to the growth of the world's major financial marketplace. The authors divide these individuals - all men, which tells a tale right there - into four slightly arbitrary groups: masters of investing, movers and shakers, business builders, and wisemen and rascals. The collection is drawn from the other writers' pieces about these men, and includes occasional articles the featured financiers wrote themselves. Apart from a few brief notes about some patterns that the author observed, these excerpts from various sources stand alone, with no overarching theme or exposition. We [...] keenly feel the lack of a few analytical essays that might have pulled the collection together and integrated it thematically, but even so, this serves as a useful research tool and an interesting introduction to a unique confluence of powerful men.

5 comments about The Cat Who Killed Lilian Jackson Braun: A Parody.

1. Britney Spears Gets Breasts Stuck In Cement Outside Graumann's Chinese Theater.
   
   That is a newspaper headline, drawn to James Q's attention by one of his beloved Siamese cats choosing it as a target for urination, and thus drawing it to his attention as a clue in a murder mystery. This is a parody, right? The second paragraph of the book goes thus: "The veteran children's book writer with worldwide experience pulled a robe over his 6'2" fiftyish, heavy-set, graying-haired, mournful-eyed, and luxuriantly-mustached frame." Remind you of anything? The `Q' in this case stands for `Qafka', not `Quilleran'.
   
   Incidentally, the title of the book appears to be a pun, at least that's what I think it's supposed to be.
   
   When I started reading this book, I thought it was very funny. The copyright is 2003, but somehow the thought of Britney Spears getting her breasts stuck in cement outside of Graumann's Chinese Theater still seemed very up-to-date. However, the book is rather rasty, in general, and after about 20 pages, I stopped reading it. Then, late one night, when I had run out of everything else to read, I picked it up again, and I managed to plow my way to the end. It does actually have some interesting plot devices, and in parts, it really is almost a `page-turner'. The author manages to weave the `Maltese Falcon', and `The Honeymooners' into his plot, in a fairly clever way. However, he does seem to have a real addiction to bodily function jokes, possibly to excess.
   
   Overall, the author seems to use a kind of shotgun approach. If one gross joke is good, then more is better. Perhaps if he wrote `Subtlety' on a Post-It, and stuck it on his computer monitor, we might all benefit.
   
   To those who would hazard this book, I say: you may feel slightly soiled when you finish, but there are a few gems amongst the offal.



2. before reading this book (or at least trying to read it). Like another reviewer, I too thought it would be a fun parody, but I put this book down before finishing and will not be picking it up again. I'm not sure who the intended audience of this book is, but as a fan of Ms. Braun's cozy mysteries, I did not like the content or language in this book.



3. I couldn't get through the first chapter of this stupid book. What a waste of $$$!



4. This is a breathlessly funny and inventive novel. It takes all the conventions of mystery series books, with their beloved characters and their narrative caution, and it throws them into the wood chipper. It is a fearless comedy, willing to take on Philip Roth and The New York Times and Dashiel Hammett and send them into a whirlwind of musical comedy and raucous, sometimes explicit, sexual farce. The novel IS a farce, and either you've got a taste for that kind of anarchy or you don't. It's the literary equivalent of one of the Farrelly brothers movies. Or maybe the Smith brothers. Or maybe the Karamazov brothers. At any rate, it's a delight if you don't mind seeing literary icons reduced to slapstick cartoons!



5. The Cat Who.... Series have been my favorites. I was excited to read this parody. What a disappointment. The writing was very pedestrian and very unappealing. Using the "gutter language of the times" makes me think of a young person who is using words to shock his/her parents. I don't use that kind of language and really don't want to read it. My suggestion would be for the writer to invest in a good dictionary and find words that are acceptable to most people who read good or even great books. Just because it is a parody there is no need for base language. Cleverness is in the idea not the use of poor language.

5 comments about Mary Kay: You Can Have It All: Lifetime Wisdom from America's Foremost Woman Entrepreneur.

1. With the right priorities (God, Family, Business) you can have it all. Read how a successful business woman broke out of the accepted mold, built her own business and gives you the tools to build your own. I find it amazing that Mary Kay put forth this model over 45 years ago and some corporations are still looking for it. The advice and wisdom in this book will help you reach your goals, whether as an Independent Beauty Consultant or just starting your own business.



2. This book is all about how great Mary Kay thinks Mary Kay is. Though I was interested in learning more about the company (I even was a Mary Kay consultant for a little while), the self-proclamation factor proved too frustrating. I could not even finish the book!



3. What a great book, a great lady, who had a great business philosophy. A must read for anyone who wants to do their own thing.



4. I AM A MARY KAY CONSULTANT.I WAS A DEVOTED CUSTOMER FIRST.ONCE I WAS ON HER CUTTING EDGE COSMETICS, I DECIDED TO OFFER THE OPPORTUNITY TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS. THIS BOOK GIVES YOU ALL OF THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO MAKE IT IN ANY BUSINESS. SHE GIVES YOU INSPIRATION AND MINDSET YOU NEED TO MAKE ALL OF YOUR DREAMS A REALITY. IF YOU BELIEVE IT, YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT. I AM DOING THAT RIGHT NOW.REDUCING MY DEBT, INCREASING MY SELF ESTEEM AND SELF WORTH.DEFINATELY A MUST READ



5. Mary Kay Ash is truly an inspiration to all women. Not only does she succeed she lets you know that there will be obstacles to overcome, but you can and will succeed if you keep your priorities in order GOD,Family, and career and work hard. Nothing comes in life easy and through perservence and a dream and goal setting there is nothing you can't do. I LOVED IT!!!

5 comments about Lessons from the Legends of Wall Street : How Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Phil Fisher, T. Rowe Price, and John Templeton Can Help You Grow Rich.

1. This book has a refreshingly commonsense approach to investing. It contains a great deal of worthwhile advice and wisdom from some of the world's best investors. I am not an experienced investor, however I found it to be understandable and learned useful information from it. I would highly recommend it.



2. Nikki Ross has documented principal strategies and investing advice from the great Wall Street legends of our time. I have found the underlying principals of Buffet and his mentors as well as Price and Templeton to be very helpful. It is an easy to read enjoyable book. It may not be for day traders in general, but they could benefit from the list of questions asked by the masters before investing. I believe that had many investors read and applied this book prior to and during the recent crash, they might have saved a lot of money.

   Blake Conant




3. This book discusses on the techniques Warren Buffet (value/growth), Benjamin Graham (value), Phil Fisher (growth), T. Rowe Price (growth), and John Templeton (growth use or have used to make their fortunes.

   The book is divided into 6 parts on one each of these legends and another on how to combine the knowledge of these experts. The sections are organized in an interesting way first off you learn what some of the stocks the well known investor has bought and why they met their purchasing criteria. There is also a nice 3 steps to how you can use their methods in your investments, this in turn is organized by:

   1. Gathering information (this part it almost worthless in my opinion since it is very similar for each of the investors)

   2. Evaluate (this is the best part of each of the areas in the book, you learn the questions these masters would ask a company and themselves. It's very good.)

   3. Making decisions discusses how the masters decide when to buy and sell the stock.

   This book and "The Money Masters" by John Train are interesting reads if you enjoy learning about the careers and wisdom these masters are willing to share.

   I believe this book wouldn't be very useful for strict CAN SLIM investors or day traders but good for the buy and hold or long term growth and value investors it definitely shows you some of the possibilities.

   Reed Floren




4. This book is worthless. The true 'lessons' make up only a few pages of the book and these lessons are not detailed enough to make financially sound decisions. For example, a lesson such as "What is the PE Ratio?" is similar to what you would find in the book. OK, the PE ratio is 3. Is that good? Is that bad? How about 40? What is high? What is low? Do current interest rates effect PE ratio levels? What is an acceptable PE ratio for a growth stock? What is an acceptable PE ratio for a cyclical stock? You'll get no answers from this book.

   The best "lessons" section (though still unacceptable) came from John Templeton. But these were a direct quote from an interview Templeton gave the Christian Science Monitor. The author must have spent a few weeks writing this book.

   Most of the book is babble, reproduction of articles/reports, duplication of previous sections, and educational definitions for the newbie.

   My lesson to you is to take the money you were going spend on this book and go buy a U.S. Savings bond. You will be richer and wiser in the end.




5. ...- I bought the book BUT Nikki Ross gives a basic three-step approach to investing, that is repeated throughout the book. 1. Collect info, 2. Analyse info, 3. Make a decision. And that's about as complex as the book gets.

   Don't waste your money, unless you're after a very simplistic overview of investing. ALL OF THE FIVE STAR REVIEWS OVERRATE THIS BOOK - 1 Star (at best).

   ...

   If you're after real value on practical management implementation tools that link strategy & financial numbers then YOU HAVE TO INVEST IN "Performance Measurement & Control Systems for Implementing Strategy" by Robert Simons.