5 comments about Mr. China: A Memoir.

1. Tim Clissold's Mr. China provides an excellent view of how business was done in China in the nineties, and how rapidly China was building out through that period. It also provides background on common business and negotiating strategies used by Chinese JV partners in the period before China joined the WTO (World Trade Organization) in 2001 at the Doha round.
   
   Tim provides one view of the deals, while Jack Perkowski's book, Managing the Dragon: How I'm Building a Billion-Dollar Business in China, provides a different perspective. Perkowski is the Wall Street investment banker mentioned in Mr. China.
   
   As someone who lives and works in China, I can attest to the truth of the many frustrations mentioned in the book. The trouble comes when westerners try to force change on the Chinese at a pace of the westerners' choosing. The change is picking up speed, but only because the change is coming from within the China, and not being forced by external pressure.
   
   Through it all, the author comes through as someone who although occasionally frustrated with his Chinese business associates, has a deep respect and affection for the Chinese people. This comes through in the final paragraph of the book:
   
   "If by writing this book I can make the Chinese people seem more human, less mysterious or threatening, just flawed and beautiful like us, then the troubles of the past ten years have been worthwhile."



2. Although he certainly never intended it as such (MR.CHINA is subtitled "A Memoir" and has a target audience of gung ho, wanna-get-rich-investing-in-China business types) this is probably the most accurate and the most devastating portrayal of authentic Chinese culture since Bo Yang's THE UGLY CHINAMAN. For those looking at becoming better aquainted with Chinese business culure, or more precisely: Chinese business ethics, here's a free starter lesson:
   
   There aren't any.
   
   Foreigners shouldn't take this personally. The Chinese have been cheating each other as a matter of course for centuries. What's more, they have been so poor and so oppressed for so long that they will go to nearly any extent in order to make their bundle and head for the hills. In Taipei, Taiwan, in which I live and in which there is a free press, there are an immoderate number of newspaper articles that mirror the anecdotes conveyed by Tim Clissord in what is a very enthralling book. Scheming, swindling, duplicity, and general dishonesty are deeply, deeply ingrained aspects of the national psyche in China. And so, when some hopelessly niave Westerner waltzes into town with a suitcase full of cash and a bunch lofty ideas concerning efficiency and profit sharing, then, well, if the stars didn't just align.
   
   "Nonsense," cries the next Mr. China (a sentiment echoed in some of these reviews) "I'm a trained lawyer." Fine, but you'll have to bribe the anti-corruption officials just to open up dialogue. "If I got suspicious of my Chinese partner, I'd have funds frozen." Great, if the bank manager (who might very well be your partner's cousin) hasn't emptied the vaults and flown to Hawaii. "My factory in Guangzhou is humming along just fine." For now, but are you sure the land title hasn't been transferred, or the managers haven't used your money to build an identical plant across town? "My business partner is a man of integrity." Read the book.
   
   There's a hitch to getting rich in China. Each and every one of the people you will have to deal with has the exact same idea.
   
   Troy Parfitt, author



3. Having just returned from a 3-week trip to China, reading Mr. China helped explain a lot about what I had seen. Now that I read all the problems with Chinese produced products, Mr. China explains even more about the mindset of both Chinese and westerners. We Americans seem to think everyone should think and function as we do. Mr. China illustrates how wrong that is.



4. I found this book a terrific glimpse of one man's experience investing in China. Tim Clissold spent several years traversing mainland China trying to get in on the ground floor with the entrepenuers driving China's economic boom. Along the way he encounters a fascinating cast of characters who are markedly different from those we are familiar with in the U.S. A real page-turner for anyone wanting a glimpse into what doing business in China is like.



5. The book is a moving firsthand account of a foreign investor set out to invest in mainland China during the 1990s, when China first started opening up its markets. Apparently the author Tim Clissold worked for Arthur Andersen Hong Kong, alongside an ex-Wall Street M&A professional identified only as Pat in the book, to invest in China roughly $400 million of private equity funds in the form of joint ventures.
   
   To fast-forward to the end of the memoir, 10 years after the author's team made investments in China, no one does joint ventures anymore. With the wrecks of failed joint ventures littered across China, Pat describes China as "the Vietnam War of American business." The author claims that, "all but the most innocent of newcomers had concluded that joint ventures were just too hard to be worth it."
   
   Speaking of hardship, the book in its essence is really a telling of the hardships the author encountered in fighting to salvage three particular joint ventures. In those three "war stories" the Chinese partners invariably cheat by siphoning out money to build factories for direct competition to the joint ventures. The tactics the partners employ are intrinsically Chinese, and ironically through these battles Clissold gains deep insight into Chinese culture.
   
   What is amazing about the author is the fact that he always manages to transcend the fights no matter how bitter they were fought. During the fights he holds his worthy opponents in reverence, as ancient Chinese generals must have done; after the battles he makes friends with them whenever possible.
   
   In the end Clissold conjectures that the Chinese will always remain Chinese regardless the pressure to conform to international conventions. In his own words: "I had been forced to dismantle entirely my assumptions about China and relearn all the basics, but many investors still appeared supremely confident that China would eventually view the world their way, that it would eventually 'see reason' and begin to conform to the familiar business school model. But as China continues to press ahead with opening up to the world at a speed that can be astounding, my hunch is that it will always retain an intense sense of its own place in world history. It remains more complex, more aware of its unique 'Chineseness' and in tune with its own past, and mush less conformist than can be imagined by visitors like Charlene Barshevsky, the US trade representative who described the World Telecoms Agreement as 'a triumph for the American way.' We'll see."
   
   The memoir is touted as a business book. Personally I think there is more to take from it when viewed as a cultural voyage to a country during treacherous times.

5 comments about iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business.

1. This is certainly the most positive and best book I've read about Steve Jobs - in particular with some other biographies being rather scathing. I didn't have high expectations for iCon though I was very pleasantly surprised to be learning many new things and gaining insights into many of the situations Job's has faced over the years.
   
   In a unique twist of fate, I found myself having dinner with one of the key figures in the book - in particular with regards to Apple, the creation of the Macintosh and the transition to Next Computer while I was reading this book. I was able to confirm with him many surprising things mentioned in this book and get even further insights into the events and situations.
   
   I'd highly recommend reading this book if you are interested in Apple, technology, or even just insights into one of the most fascinating personalities in business in the 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, today, and quite likely well into the future as Job's continues to redefine computing, music, entertainment, and telecommunications.



2. Young and Simon provide an in depth and seemingly unbiased thrashing and congratulatory depiction of what Steve Jobs has accomplished. There is a lot about Jobs covered in this book, and those with an interest in the man behind Apple, the I-pod, and Pixar will find this book fascinating.
   
   Among Steve Jobs accomplishments:
   Created the Apple II, making Apple the first computer giant
   Created the first windows platform with the Mac
   Created the mouse
   Funded Pixar against all logic becoming the largest animator in history
   Made more money selling a failed company than he did in the original Apple IPO
   Current largest stockholder in Disney, Pixar, and ABC
   Negotiated the first music store with the music industry in the wake of a long list of heavy failures by major companies to accomplish the same (and paving the way for countless since)
   Beat cancer
   Despite a long list of failures, is back on top
   Created 7 blockbuster movies in a row
   
   Among his failures:
   Pissed off enough co workers/employees to nearly fill a stadium.
   Blew a chance to develop the windows system for the PC - paving the way for Microsoft.
   Wasted more money on failed projects than any computer company in history.
   
   I had written a summary after I read the book that provides a full overview of the entire account. For those already interested in the book, I suggest reading the book instead of finishing my review. For those seeking a summarization of the content of the book, the rest of my review is for you.
   
   -----
   
   Steve was essentially the muscle early on behind his startup, where the other Steve (Steve "Woz" Wozniak) was the schematic genius. Jobs really couldn't build a schematic with the complexity that Woz could, but Woz could not convince, sell, market, raise money, or operate a business the way Jobs could. It was a perfect combination of skills. Early on they sold illegal boxes that permitted people to make free long distance calls. At that point, they realized there was money in developing their chips which up to that point had only been a hobby. They set out with no money to develop a computer, with Woz doing the designing and Jobs doing the business and sales. Jobs eventually sold 100 computers to a retail store, which when delivered would make them $25,000. They didn't get paid until they delivered, so Jobs negotiated to get all the supplies on credit using the agreement he had with the store as collateral. This was the start of Apple, and quite smart money management considering Jobs was still a teenager with long hippie hair and wore only jeans and t-shirts.
   
   Apple was selling a lot of basic kits, but nothing of any great magnitude. With Woz being the brains behind the design of the actual computers, Jobs then took it up a notch. He would go to computer fairs all the time and he began to recognize what people were becoming impressed with. Most of the buyers of computers were what he considered computer geeks who had tech knowledge, so they designed the Apple I to suit them. Jobs recognized that these guys liked to get into the circuitry and see what was going on, so he had Woz design all the wiring in very organized straight lines, as opposed to soldering wires haphazardly, which was common at the time. It was the right call, and they sold enough circuit boards to get the Apple name out there. Next they designed the Apple II, based on Jobs view of what it would take to get into homes. For the early 80's, the Apple II was such a hit that the company went public and Jobs was worth $300 million by age 24.
   
   At this point, Jobs could do no wrong. Things would change however. He was a visionary in one major way; he focused all his energy on what consumers wanted. This led to his products being known for their quality and design...something Apple is still known for to this day. The problem was that this often times took the focus away from budgeting, producing some fairly unrealistic costs. Apple eventually would put out products that were much better than anything out there but were not priced for the market they aimed at, thus becoming failures. This was evident in the next two huge leaps Apple made at Job's direction. He was so shrewd that he made a deal with Xerox to view what they were doing behind closed doors in exchange for some big discounts on services Apple was working on for Xerox (Xerox was also an investor/owner). What they discovered was a user interface that inspired Jobs to come up with what we now know today as windows and a mouse. This was revolutionary.
   
   Apple went ahead with a windows style computer...two of them. The first, the Lisa, was the beginning of problems with Jobs. He was a visionary, but he also was at times a complete disaster when dealing with people. He was so convinced that what he was working on was the future of computers (which in hindsight is interesting) and thus refused to accept anyone else's opinion about anything. This resulted in two revolutionary computers being developed, and two total flops. The LISA had a sales price of $10,000 and never sold. The Macintosh, the computer that is still revered as the most revolutionary breakthrough in computers, although a big seller, never sold what it needed to live up to its reputation as a smashing success. Essentially, the computer was viewed by the public as the best thing since sliced bread, but the cost prevented it from outselling more than IBM PC's. Job's had been spot on about what the computer meant to Apple and the computer industry, but as a result had totally blew the cost analysis of what it would take to become profitable. At this point, people in Apple disagreed so vehemently with him that the board was split about what to do to, and he was eventually voted out. This was the same board of course that was 100% against his view on using the Superbowl commercial Jobs liked to much to present the Mac, which is still the most famous SB commercial ever. Again, Jobs was right, but his total inability to give any focus to cost analysis or people skills got him ousted.
   
   Jobs then went on to start Next. At this point, his net worth was about $90 million (because Apple stock had dropped). He cashed out and used it to fund Next and eventually to buy Pixar, a failing computer company trying to sell computers for artistic design. Both companies were trying to create new computers, something Jobs did at Apple. For years he poured money into both companies, with neither ever developing any notable profit. Early on at Next, IBM approached him about using their operating system to run on IBM computers. They had been negotiating and were coming to an agreement, but Jobs was so difficult to deal with that it caused significant delays. Eventually, the exec at IBM that was interested in Next's system left the company, and IBM chose to look elsewhere. They went with Microsoft, and the rest of that story is history. This was an eye opener for Jobs, a lesson he would not easily forget.
   
   Jobs eventually was finally willing to admit temporary defeat, and that neither company was producing a computer that was going to challenge on the market. Although Next sold hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, this was nothing compared to what Apple and leading PC retailers were doing, so while considered a success to most, this was a failure for Jobs who was known as a revolutionary. Thus, Jobs stopped all computer sales in both companies and focused on software. This changed everything.
   
   With Next, the company was in the brink of bankruptcy when Jobs decided he would make an effort to sell the software to Apple (the software is what windows 95 was based on). When he went to Apple, he found them surprising receptive because the software was very good, and one of Job's biggest strengths was presentation. Jobs identified that Apple was interested and took the negotiation up a notch. He said that if Apple was interested in the software, they would best be served by gaining all the technology and staff of the whole company, essentially they should buy Next. They did, and paid nearly $1 billion which put half a billion in profit right into Job's pocket. This was remarkable considering the company didn't have enough revenue to support itself. In terms of sales, this was among the greatest of all time. But it worked out for Apple as well, because that software was the future of the industry.
   
   With Pixar, Jobs was putting up to a million a month into the company to keep it afloat. He was making so many cuts that the only thing left in the company was its division on animation with 3D graphics. Jobs eventually pressed Disney to do a movie for them, at Disney's cost. This was the beginning of what became the most profitable venture in Job's life. After creating Toy Story, they went on to develop seven blockbusters in a row, bringing the company public, and making Job's far richer than Apple or Next ever did. He was finally a billionaire. In addition, the seven straight blockbusters gained Pixar so much revenue that they became the biggest studio (based on revenue) in Hollywood history, bigger than Paramount, bigger than Lucasfilm, bigger than them all. The bigger they got, the harder Job's negotiated, and eventually they were more powerful than Disney in the animation department. Disney had no other choice left except to buy Pixar, making Jobs the current largest shareholder in all of Disney, Pixar, and ABC all at once. With that purchase, he became more powerful in the media industry than Ted Turner.
   
   Back at Apple, they were facing serious issues ever since the failure of the Mac. Nothing had worked out, and they decided to try giving Jobs another shot. They never looked back. He cut so many Apple projects that he made the company profitable in six months. However, they were no longer a dominant in the market, taking a huge backseat to other major players. Job's sold the Next software to Microsoft to get some profits back and Microsoft went on to use it to design Windows 95. Steve was so focused on quality though, that eventually Apple would regain its reputation. He focused on giving to schools, and got all the kids in the current generation using Macs...what would be a brilliant move for the future. Every school in California was given countless Macs and thus all the kids these days using are Macs...as are the teachers.
   
   The hand held market was taking off in the early 2000's and Job's had to decide what direction to go. He made an unprecedented move by totally discontinuing all Apple's interest in the hand help market. He said he just didn't see a future in it and decided he wanted to go in the direction of music applications. At this point, there were many companies in music that were announcing failures. The invention of Napster had upset the music community so badly that it was near impossible to create anything profitable. Jobs had a different idea. He assessed what the music industry wanted and decided it was a good point to begin negotiations. The music industry feared losing its ability to make residuals because of theft and duplication. They were proposing some of the most ridiculous software which had chased out weaker negotiators, but not Jobs. The music industry wanted features such as monthly subscriptions but no downloads, or, downloads but only onto a single computer, or, downloads that would expire meaning music you bought disappeared after a while. Essentially, the concept of a music store with this type of guidelines would be a ridiculous venture. Steve took the initiative and went to all the top producers and many major labels and bands and presented his case for being able to offer the store with downloads that would have protection, meaning they could not be copied on to other computers or shared, but could be downloaded onto a single music player. In addition, if there was an attempt to transfer the music, it would automatically delete all music on that computer (a feature long gone). This was what Jobs had to doin order for the music industry to agree, and the only way he could offer this was to develop his own software with all these protections. Counter to what is believed to be manipulative marketing strategy to sell his I-pods, this was the reason I-tunes was designed in the limiting manner.
   
   What would happen next changed the industry. Selling music for 99 cents each created billions for the industry, and the music industry eased up considerably as they saw internet sales as a viable way to sell their music and still make a lot of money on residuals. Essentially, Job's had negotiated so hard with so many restrictions that initially the success of I-tunes meant that the music industry would lessen their desire to have so many restrictions, setting the table for many other music stores with FAR less restrictions.
   
   The I-pod sold on its own merit. Jobs had a goal to make a player that was the easiest to use on the market. If you had to hit more than three buttons to reach any song, it would not be acceptable. He designed the pinwheel approach and the I-pod sold on its own accord, and became the bedrock of digital music. Job's was also brilliant in negotiating music legends to do their advertisements for free. He convinced them that the advertisements were just as much an endorsement for them as it was for Apple, so they agreed. .
   
   At this point, he has been spot on for many projects in a row. Surprisingly, it was Pixar that made Job's the most money, but his comeback at Apple making it one of the major players and viable competition for Microsoft's dominance may end up being the ultimate story.



3. This is a poorly written book. It is biassed toward Steve Jobs and tries to be sensational by exaggerating some events. There are sentences, which are very unfair to Mr. Jobs.
   
   One third of the book is about Disney Corp. !! Why should we read about the fight in Disney Management in so much detail? It could have been explained in few sentences.
   
   The second act of Steve Jobs is poorly written. The stories are taken from magazines. The book doesn't inform us about the new management team at Apple and their relations with Steve Jobs. I am disappointed.
   
   Therefore, don't waste your time and paper. There must be better books about the second act.



4. Great book...covers Jobs almost up to the iPhone. Hope they update it. Job's years at Pixar is one of the best parts of the book and shows how Job's is able to reshape one industry after another.



5. This book is about one of the amazing and and known technology leader in the Silicon valley. As a Cupertino resident I was lured to this audio-CD to learn more about Steve with all the traits he has. I find this book stopped only in the middle of his life covers from his childhood until circa 2005 missing one big product, the iPHONE. Also, the book does not provide much about Apple inside, the apple-way.

2 comments about Out of Nowhere: The Inside Story of How Nike Marketed the Culture of Running.

1. Hollister's account of NIKE's origins, trials and tribulations, successes and failures make terrific reading for anyone who favors and enjoys knowing the 'inside' story of a company that's more an icon than a business.



2. This was a great book about what made Nike, NIKE! The perspective that comes through and is shown through Mr. Hollisters account are spectacular. The most amazing thing I got from this book was what was happening on the inside of the most prestigous and inovative companies that has come along in the 20th Century. Great Read!

4 comments about McIlhenny's Gold: How a Louisiana Family Built the Tabasco Empire.

1. This is a classic business book, at 223 papes of text and it can be easly read on a coast to coast flight. The format is typical from founder to floundering decendents, in the case of Tobasco sauce the time span is a remarkable 140 years. This is obviously the history of a single product company whos trade marked name has come to define the industry.
   
   There are some tid bits of history here for example the founding of the company. As the official story goes that a Condfederate soldier named Friend Gleason befriended the Avery family with a handful of "Tobasco" seeds that where scattered into the garden before the Union army took over Avery Island during the Civil War and the pepper plants were the only thing that survived the "Yankee" looting and the sauce was developed by brother in law Edmund McLlhenny and a former slave who were considered to lame by the Avery's to do any thing but tend the plantations garden. Or was the concept "stolen" by the Averys and McIlhenny from a pre war sauce made by Maunsel White. The author seems to favor the story that it was Maunsels Whites product that became Tobasco sauce.
   
   The myth vs. truth goes on through the narrative and the author interweaves the business story. Some "facts" Tobasco is very profitable to the family (20-25% net margin, current sales $250 million), The produst heasn't substantially changes until the 1970's when off shore growning and production of the product started taking place. Since then couples with a declining talents of the family Tobasco seems to be at a crossroads.
   
   The options appear clear: 1. Sell the Tobasco trademark to a mega food company for big bucks, 2. Hire outside managers to revive the product or three keep plodding along as them have been for 140 years. The deciding factor is the over 200 decendents of the Avery McIlhennys families who have equal voting rights for the family ownwed stock.
   
   The author has his opinion and I won't give out here, you had to read the book.



2. Jeff Rothfeder's McIlhenney's Gold portrays the great American success story, yet with a lot of twists and turns only doing business off a small Louisiana island could produce. He begins at the beginning, with the McIlhenney's first bottle of sauce shortly after the Civil War, and brings the reader up to the present day when, it seems, the family, through its own paranoia and suspicion of outsiders, struggles to keep up with demand while fighting off stiff competition. The book is fairly written, yet with colorful enough characters and details, at times, to feel like you're reading a southern novel. I highly recommend the book, whether or not you drip Tabasco on your scrambled eggs.



3. very interesting book......but leaves me wanting more!
   
   Somewhat repetitive.....not the "full treatment" the McIlhenny Family deserves. There is a really great story surrounding Tabasco and the Family who created it....but this book, however, isn't it!



4. Never again will I be able to pick up that little bottle of Tabasco sauce and sprinkle a few drops on whatever I am eating, something I have done several times a week for a few decades now , without thinking of the amazing set of circumstances that came together to put that distinctive little bottle on my table. Sometimes the little diamond-shaped label on the front of the bottle, the one that still mentions Avery Island as being its home, would catch my eye and make me wonder how such a unique product could have been born in such an isolated place and how it managed to survive long enough to become a product recognized around the world. Jeffrey Rothfeder's new book, McIlhenny's Gold, provides the answers to all of my questions.
   
   Rothfeder tells the story of a remarkable family, one that literally rose from the ashes of the Civil War to create a hugely successful business based on the sale of a single food product, a business that is still well known some 140 years later. In his research of the McIlhenny family, Rothfeder found that much of what has come to be accepted about the family's history and the origin of Tabasco sauce is simply untrue. So many myths surround the family and its product, in fact, that even family members have found it difficult to separate fact from fiction.
   
   When Edmund McIlhenny, fifty years old at the end of the Civil War, and prior to the war a successful New Orleans banker, returned to Louisiana in 1865 he found that the Avery family he had married into was largely destitute. The family's rich sugar cane plantation was no more and the only thing of value still in family hands was Petit Anse, the little island that was later to be renamed Avery Island.
   
   Edmund McIlhenny was a businessman, not a farmer. As a pre-war banker, he learned to market himself personally to such a degree that he became the best known and most sought after financial man in New Orleans. His marketing skills, and his willingness to bend the truth when it made for a better story, have made it difficult to determine exactly when he became aware of the chili pepper from Mexico's Tabasco region and how he decided to make hot sauce the new family business. What is clear, however, is that he made the right decision and that he created a business that has served his family well for four generations.
   
   The McIlhenny product has been a high quality one from the beginning. The three-year chili paste aging process and the inability to use mechanized pickers to gather the delicate chili peppers requires that manufacturing costs, especially labor costs, be controlled as tightly as possible. That concern led to the near recreation of the plantation system on Avery Island, a company town so complete with free shelter, medical care, schools and churches that white employees had little reason to ever leave little Avery Island. McIlhenny Co. workers, almost guaranteed a job for life, became extremely loyal to the company that provided them with everything they needed. This system lasted until a few years ago and was key to the company's success.
   
   McIlhenny Co., still based on the sale of a single product, has become a $250 million per year business but it is facing difficult times because one of its previous strengths has turned into its greatest weakness. The company has always been run by a member of the McIlhenny family and for three generations the family was blessed to have a family member ready to take on the job and to do it adequately, if not always completely well. But, as almost always happens in a closely held family business, future generations do not always see things through the eyes of its founder. McIlhenny Co. is at a historical crossroads and its future will be determined by a generation of McIlhennys who may decide that it is time finally to sell the company to the highest bidder rather than make the effort to keep it the tightly controlled family business that it has been for more than 140 years.
   
   Jeffrey Rothfeder has written a well-researched history, complete with interviews of many McIlhenny family members and key employees, a history that tells the story of a fascinating family and business. McIlhenny Co. may not serve as a blueprint for future businesses, but it is hard to argue with what the company has achieved across parts of three centuries.

5 comments about The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy.

1. This is a fascinating book, especially for those outside the US who may, like me, be almost wholly unfamiliar with the period of history covered. Morris is excellent at making detail interesting and compulsive to read. The book weaves the lives four very different men into a coherent story. The way in which these "Robber Barons" presage the emerge of Mr Gates (at Microsoft), Mr Brin and Page (at Google) was a very important message for me. This was something I "knew", but could not support, or articulate clearly. Morris has done the job and I am now keen to read his other books.
   William Forbes (Bedford, England)



2. Alas, I should have listened to my fellow Amazoners.
   
   They tried to warn me that despite the misleading title there wasn't very much in this book about the tycoons themselves. Well, I ignored them and blew the full retail price at a local store. If you want to read in minute detail about how a variety of engineering and manufacturing problems which had plagued industry were finally solved by the great minds of the second half of the 19th century, this book is for you. If you want to read about Gould, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Hill, Stanford, and Morgan, check out Matthew Josephson's classic instead. There's very little about any of the tycoons here.
   
   The editors of this book should have insisted on another, more accurate, title.
   
   As for the book itself, it's a pedestrian-like plod through history. Some books you can't put down after picking them up. This is most definitely not one one of them. I find myself taking taking one or two week breaks in between chapters while I devour other books in two consecutive evenings.
   
   If you want to learn about the background in which the robber barons operated this may be the book for you. Just be forewarned that there's scant little about them between the covers.



3. This is a great book for looking at the economic history of the United States. It covers mostly the four mentioned in the title but what was really fantastic and what deserves that extra star is that it covers the economic developments on the side. It looks at how our economy outpace Europe and the shift to make America that extra superpower. WE also have a look at how our ability to move west gave us an added advantage and that we did not have to resort to colonies. While we exported much we still made tremendous gains in internal improvements. He also grasp how the development of the coronation as an institution led to the rise of clerical and accounting positions creating hundreds of service jobs. This book is incredibly well written and really holds your interest. It offered the best explanation of Gould's attempt to corner the gold market I have ever read. It is very well researched and makes references to the top economic historians out there. A must read for anyone who wants to understand how the United States developed economically



4. I picked up "The Tycoons" to read, in one place, a chatty summation of recent research about Rockefeller, Gould, Carnegie, and Morgan, but instead found myself pulled through a keyhole onto a vast landscape new to me: how America invented mass-market manufacturing. We were the first country to figure out how to make two rifles so exactly alike that their components could be mixed and matched on the battlefield. The Silicon Valley of this period was the Connecticut River, navigable down to New York with access, via the Erie Canal, to the midwest markets. This river was the site of all the key water-powered factories where early automation and assembly lines created the first mass-produced items for daily life. Besides famous tycoons, we meet the forgotten engineers and efficiency experts who invented modern manufacturing and then spread its gospel to Europe. Through this book you are present at the birth of American economic dynamism. A readable and fascinating survey.



5. Charles Morris's "The Tycoons" is a good summation of the Industrial Revolution but is almost certainly poorly sub-titled with "How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould and J.P. Morgan Invented the Supereconomy". The New York Times did a review on October 2, 2005 and Todd Buchholtz hit the nail on the head writing "The Tycoons is not a path-breaking work of scholarship, testing new hypotheses against freshly uncovered facts." In fact a good part of Morris's book has nothing to do with these four very important men of commerce influenced anything. Rather he does show what the principal drivers behind such an economic explosion were. His writings on the four are based upon good, but not really extensive, research. For instance, much of his writing on Morgan is attributable to the best seller by Ron Chernow, The House of Morgan. While this was certainly a terrific book, to have it as THE principal souce or one of your main topics, is to short change any serious effort at research.
   
   He manages to get a plug on the book by I.W. Brands of the University of Texas, one of our most well respected historians on the period. Perhaps Professor Brands saw something I did not. That said, it is a quick read and a rather fun one. A bit more organization would have gone a long way.

4 comments about The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and The Gospel of Wealth (Signet Classics).

1. Andrew Carnegie offers an intriguing look into his life story that chronicles his ancestry in Scotland to his journey from child to business tycoon in the US. Carnegie writes in a style applicable to the times, thus there is inevitably a period of acclimatization with the material; however, within a short period of familiarizing yourself with this style of English, you will find it hardly represents an encumbrance.
   
   Carnegie has a knack for being very productive with his abilities as well as often finding himself in the right place and time. Much of his success could be perceived as lucky; however, it will not take long for any reader to see that the effects of his always going the extra mile permitted Carnegie to stand out as a result of his own principles, hardly dependant on luck.
   
   Carnegie exemplifies what one hopes to find among great men; integrity, honesty, hard work, and a passion for profit. Carnegie's giant success is only matched by his good will to human kind. Carnegie explains his thoughts on why he felt the most immoral thing a man can do is to die rich, thus he spent his retirement giving as much of his wealth away as possible. The evidence of Carnegie's lasting name and historical significance provides ample reason to read this Carnegie autobiography. His candidness and honest approach make this book even better.



2. I read this book as a recommendation from the book "Success through a positive mental attitude" and it is a good read. It is a bit slow at first and its written in an older style of English. Once you pick up the style though the book becomes very interesting, I often read it before sales calls to motivate myself.



3. The autobiography gives a good (but sometimes slight) overview of Carnegie's rise from a bobbin boy to one of the richest men in the world. The autobiography doesn't tell you "this is how to become rich", but instead shows Carnegie's values and approach to the working world. The Gospel of Wealth is an interesting idea: the rich got rich by being the most talented and hard-working and deserve their wealth. Since the rich are the smartest and most talented of us, they should best decide how their money gets distributed so that it will best help all of mankind. If money was given to the poor, instead of put into public works and trusts, the poor would blow it because they don't know how to handle money. If they did, they'd be rich! I like this idea, but rarely, if ever do I see it practiced. The rich aren't always the most talented, intelligent, or hard-working people, rarely do they use their wealth for the public good (unless it's a tax write-off), and most of their money gets passed on to their children. I definitely recommend this book. Try these ideas out for yourself.



4. Andrew Carnegie played the game of life to perfection, which is how he ended up the richest man in the world. He had so much amazing wisdom. He made very wise choices starting from the earliest age up to the end of his life. Many people gain some wisdom as they grow older, but what's even more amazing about Andrew Carnegie is that he was wise even as a child and a teenager. Perhaps his parents and other elders taught him very well. It seems like Carnegie always made the best and wisest business decisions. The few times something went wrong, it wasn't his fault and it didn't set him back much. Lately I've been learning a lot about business, marketing, and success. I've gotten a lot of great advice about success. And when I read Carnegie's book, I got to see all these success principles in action. Carnegie's life is full of great examples of what you should do to be successful as a person and as a businessman.
   
   I've seen some claims that he was just another ruthless robber barron, but I think that is a very unfair depiction. I think he did a great job of leading the steel industry and making sure that it took advantage of the most advanced technology available at the time and did things on the most efficient and secure basis. He had a great ability to get along with people and I believe he did treat people very fairly. And by the time he died, he had given away 90% of his fortune to benefit the world through education, culture, etc. I think that is a large piece of evidence showing that he was a well-intentioned, good-hearted person.

5 comments about Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency.

1. Look around, do you notice how certain people get work done (and done well), hit deadlines and still have time to chat at the water cooler. These are the most valued people in any organisation. The 20% people out of the 20/70/10 rule, when given 'slack', over produce, everytime. This book explains how they can do this.
   
   Read this book, it will only take a few hours; which includes long pauses for "hmmm" and chin scratching moments. You'll be glad you did. Then implement what you've learned.



2. What's in your workplace?
   Efficiency or flexibility?
   Tom does a fine job reminding us of the difference.



3. I agree that this is simultaneously a great screed on the inanity of most corporate management, and also a powerful indictment of the tendency of IT management to just go along, accepting a premise that is false and on most projects, is life-threatening.
   
   I totally disagree with the one bad reviewer who claims the book is below the bar of even anecdotal, and boring. On the contrary, much of what is argued here is a logical, or purely rhetorical position, but that is the part that is the most refreshing! Whereas Peopleware may be more comprehensive, it is also less bold and rhetorically less daring. I love to see someone like DeMarco, who has proven all he needs to, instead of just churn out another episode in his established realm, provoke, argue, and show the amount of passion this book contains. Only someone who considers rhetoric sinful could find this book boring.
   
   That said, this book is also not from left field: it owes a lot to Lean, et al, on the biz and IT process side, and it is also of a piece with other writings like Mythical Man Month. Personally, I think the most important thing about this book is that it is original in its approach and size, etc.: computer science, folks, is not a science, and the fact that it has been controlled by science people all these years, is one of the reasons it has denied many of the hugely important aspects of its reality, e.g. psychology, sociology, etc. We desperately need more books like this that are broadly rhetorical, small, quick reads, that can penetrate into the more densely forested parts of the realm.



4. If you've read Peopleware, this book is the next logical step.
   You may get a sense of deja vu since this book reiterates and indirectly references Peopleware in places. However, even in these sections, Slack goes deeper. Peopleware tells you that certain things are bad, and Slack tells you exactly why it is bad and what you can do to avoid it.



5. Before I get harsh, I will say that there are definately some good points and ideas that you will go away with from this book. However, the author could have said it in fewer words, and clearer. If you're reading this, I'm sure you've read all the cliche mangerial types of books. This, to Tom's credit, is different than your average manager book, with a different perspective on the surviving the coporate world... but its also a stretch. Much of the points in the book are not only subjective, and not backed with real-life anecdotes and testimonials (there are few, but they are far between), but the analogies are weak, and the diagrams and graphs are subjective and border-line bogus (not constructed with real points of correlated data; they are more like guess-sketches). If you looking for a fresh, quick, to the point book that will keep your attention and that you can't put down, then this is not that book.

5 comments about An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund.

1. This book is awesome!!!! You will probably finish this book very quickly, because this book is very interesting and enticing.
   
   Tim has taught me so much in this book! Tim cuts the "bullship", and teaches you lessons you will never forget. I am only 15 and recently begun playing the stock market, and thanks to this book I have avoided many beginner mistakes.
   
   This book is truly amazing, I would recommend buying it for anyone even if they're not into finance! Tim has truly inspired me and he will inspire you too!
   
   -Liam



2. I did enjoy reading "An American Hedge Fund" since the author is well-known in the daytrader community for turning $12K into $1.65 million when he was still in college and the story of how he did it is certainly worth the read. Timothy Sykes comes across more like a normal daytrader, as opposed to a true Wall Street insider. This makes him easier to identify with. However, this also does make the book a little less interesting since much of it just describes various penny-stock trades he did and his rationale behind them, which gets repetitive after a while. When I picked up the book, I was hoping either for material that would help improve my own trading technique, or maybe just an interesting story, but the book comes up a little short on both fronts.



3. Tim's business model is simple - brutal honesty. His book, An American Hedge Fund, is just that, brutally honest. The finance industry is filled with corruption, manipulation, and arrogance of the highest degree. Tim's brutally honest story about his trading experiences (both good and bad), illustrates his character and supports his business model.
   
   An American Hedge Fund gives its readers the opportunity to ride Tim's stock-market-roller-coaster-ride where he takes $12,000 and turns into $2,000,000. That by itself is both inspiring and motivational, but the book adds another dimension which I found to be even more stimulating; Tim's introspective journey. The psychology behind trading stocks is truly fascinating and first-hand experience can be truly humbling. The life lessons Tim learns from trading stocks, which he openly shares in his book, apply to all areas of life, which the reader will either identify with or learn from.
   
   For someone who has never traded a stock in his life (me!), this book peaked my interest to learn the stock market. An American Hedge Fund will not teach you how to trade stocks or reveal secrets on how to become a millionaire. What An American Hedge Fund does give you is an honest story of how one person, Timothy Sykes, was able to defy the odds and achieve the American Dream.
   
   I've read An American Hedge Fund twice and I highly recommend this book if you have any interest in the stock market or if you're looking for an easy read that's entertaining and honest. An American Hedge Fund brings a spiritual enlightenment to finance, which is really cool.
   
   I`ve also ordered Tim's DVD (Pennystocking)and frequent his blog at [...]. I would recommend both as well. Tim's DVD is educational and his blog is honest. The short-selling strategy will only make a strong trader better and help a novice trader become successful in the markets.



4. Tim's book was an unexpectedly pleasurable read. Boy makes good, the "great American dream". Refreshing in the telling (and I must say, I agree with other reviewers, it does remind me of Reminiscences of a Stock Operator), it highlights the incredible euphoria and gut wrenching lows of penny stock trading. While not a trading manual, his downfall trade of Cygnus paints a quintessential story of a newer trader's education and downfall by letting emotions/ego take over and ignore the market facts. The fact is, the market doesn't care what you think. Get over it.
   
   Tim's book is also a great read for its take behind the hedge fund curtain and market manipulation. When you finish this book you should know that the odds are stacked against you at all times, particularly as a small investor. Penny stocking is a risky business. Tim's book is the appetizer. Buy his DVD for the whole enchilada.



5. The book starts of slow by introducing us to Tim's background and history of trading during high school.
   It picks up in the second half talking about Tim's hedge fund and his attempts to raise capital and establish credibility. His stories and anecdotes regarding some of his individual stock trades are refreshing.
   
   Worthwhile read for anyone who thinks raising money is easy and all it takes is performance.
   Based on real life experiences, Tim's book is an interesting story for anyone considering a career on Wall Street and wanting to start their own operation.

5 comments about King of the Club: Richard Grasso and the Survival of the New York Stock Exchange.

1. An interesting work that provides an inside picture of not only the NYSE, Wall Street but also some of the powerful people involved in high finance and corporate America. This book is particularly for you if you are looking for a detailed biography of Grasso. I was looking forward to reading about the pay controversies involving the 140 million retirement cash payout with a contested 48 million additional sum and the battle with Elliott Spitzer over, what was construed, as an excessive payment for a non-profit company. The interest in pay and Spitzer's involvement doesn't really take off until roughly 180 plus pages. However, the first half of the book covers well Grasso's rise from humble means and start with the NYSE, his involvement with the floor traders, his rise, his ability to recruit companies to the NYSE and his ability to promote the NYSE with the ringing of the bell each day with celebrity and his getting the NYSE up and running after 9-11. And there is some glitz about Grasso's high power associations, dinner at Rio's and his celebrity. The fall starts with the emergence of his pay package that grows with one of his strongest supporters on the compensation board with significant salary increases that are often deferred into a NYSE retirement account. Although hard to fathom, even after reading the book, it seems that many on the compensation board, although recognizing the value of Grasso, seem to lose focus on what he is getting paid until Grasso decides to cash out 140 million all at once. Changes on the NYSE board that impact Grasso included current Treasurer Secretary Henry Paulson, with Goldman Sachs at the time, who, according to the author, undermines Grasso's position with the NYSE exchange board through back channels with the intention of modernizing the NYSE from floor traders to a computerized system. In addition, the failure of a former political associate of Spitzer's who acts as chair of the compensation review committee had great difficulty to comprehending Grasso's pay package that leads to conflicts that catch many members of the board surprised. Many of the NYSE board are well known names that range from Mel Karmazin, a Grasso supporter, to former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, who allegedly supported Grasso initially but turned against him. The book really takes an interesting turn when Grasso's pay goes public and his rare failure in public relations goes into over drive when he also tries to get a pal on the NYSE board after the individual had just been publicly run through by Spitzer. Also heating up the book is the coverage of the interim NYSE chairman's John Reed's loose cannon statements that irk the recently departed Grasso into fighting back full bore (amazing how supposedly smart people can say the wrong things publicly.) My only misgivings is that I wish there was more detail about the Spitzer v. Grasso fight over Grasso's pay that is only addressed in the final stages of the book and very lightly. However, by the end of the book, the NYSE moves from floor trading to a more modern computerized method of doing business during the chairman tenure of John Thain, formerly of Goldman & Sachs and an associate of Paulson's.



2. I'm not sure who was the first person to make that statement, but after reading Gasparino's book it certainly rings true. I've always been a Grasso fan after seeing him shrug off being called "the little bald-headed crook" on the Imus program. Imus of course makes his living insulting (usually) important people, some of whom don't take it kindly... Grasso (and the NYSE) were also big contributors to the Imus Ranch for Kids with Cancer -- a great cause.
   
   On the other hand, I never could understand how the specialists (whose existence Grasso defended against powerful critics like Fidelity and Goldman Sachs) could actually add value to what is basically an auction. Ebay, for example, seems to work fine by automatically managing its marketplace, and as a private investor I can't tell the difference between an NYSE transaction or a NASDAQ one except on the NASDAQ I can view "level 2 quotes" (an explanation of which is outside the scope of this review).
   
   But Grasso deserves credit for building (and, after 9/11 rebuilding) the NYSE. And you can certainly make a case for some kind of human interface after seeing what happened during the '87 crash.
   
   Charlie Gasparino has an informal but precise writing style. It's as if you're having a beer with him after a hard day trading, and he lightens things up relating tales like Maria Bartiromo (from the floor of the exchange on live CNBC TV) being nearly run over (and then cussed-out) by an NYSE trader in hurry. After questioning 17 of the "animals", the culprit was identified, fined, and had a black mark on his "permanent record". Of course having a glamorous anchor mingling with "real" traders on live TV was at least one area where the hated NASDAQ could never compete...
   
   Now that the NYSE is nearly all electronic like the NASDAQ, and most of the specialists and traders are out of a job, a long chapter in the US stock market history is at a close. A bigger threat to both may be the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, which is causing overseas corporations to question the value of listing on ANY US exchange.
   
   After reading the book, I'm still a big Grasso fan and think if the titans running Goldman, Bear, etc. were worth their (much bigger) paychecks then the "little guy" certainly deserved his...



3. Interesting and informative read about one of the bigger scandals on Wall street in recent years, that of Richard Grasso's huge retirement package. Executive pay is something most of us can easily get riled up about, and the book seems to do a good job giving us both sides of the story so we avoid seeing it as a black and white issue. In the end the issue may not be the pay itself, but the chain of events and lack of oversight that lead up to it. What interested me more than the executive pay issue itself was getting some insight into the power-plays and politics involved on Wall Street, which even today must be playing itself out with the collapse of Bear Stearns and the Spitzer scandal making the most recent headlines.
   
   The book also sheds some light on the internal workings at the NYSE, although I think it could've gone into much more depth about issues dealing with shady behavior by NYSE specialists, and other ways the system seems to be screwing the small investors.There are mentions of front-running, inter-positioning, manipulation, big fines paid by the specialists, quotes such as specialists having a "license to steal".. but in the end, I'm left wondering what became of all this. How much money did they "steal" from the 401K's? Did I somehow get screwed when I bought/sold a NYSE stock? One thread in the book also dealt with the particularly persistent CEO of AIG trying to get the specialist to give more support to the stock. Perhaps this is the advantage a company receives by being listed on the NYSE, but as a normal investor, the idea of the specialist giving artificial support to a stock based on the CEO's wishes is a scary one if not outright illegal.
   
   All-in-all an enjoyable read for anyone interested in learning more about what really happens on Wall Street.



4. Gasparino proves himself to be one of the most tuned in reporters of Wall Street in this fascinating gossipy book about the rise and self inflicted fall of Dick Grasso as the head of the New York Stock Exchange. Gasparino obviously has done a lot of digging; replete with inside stories, quotes from most of the participants, and leaks, they all paint a vivid landscape of the machinations of the Street and the politics of New York City. What is remarkable is the long term brilliance of some and the myopia of others as the institution of the Exchange is changed by Grasso's fall. The Aesopian tale of the scorpion and the frog comes to mind in the interplay of Spitzer and Grasso. Once allies, they boarded the raft together until the existing pay package scandal was exacerbated by John Reed and his investigation. One can all but imagine Grasso asking, "why me?" To which the now disgraced scorpion responds "it is in my nature." How true that all seems in the aftermath of Spitzer's fall into the mire of call girl scandal.



5. A few years ago, when I first heard of Mr. Grasso's salary I recoiled in shock. The presentation of the "facts" by the press led me like the pied piper to this inevitable reaction. Simply stated, I believe I reacted in the way that the news media wanted me to; in a sense I was programmed by the coverage to react the way I did. In retrospect, there may have been some balanced reporting out there at the time; I did not read everything or even a great deal about the case. It seemed so open and shut.
   
   I purchased this book, not so much because it was about the NYSE and Mr. Grasso, but because I admire the author. Now, I admire the author even more and I have, at last, been exposed to a balanced account of the "Grasso story." Although I doubt that Mr. Gasparino intended it, I have come to the conclusion that Mr. Grasso's pay was what his peers thought it should be. Mr. Grasso's detractors say that he stacked the compensation committee and the board with his allies.
   
   All of us who work for institutions have their pay determined by others. Furthermore, some of us, including me, have cultivated those who determine their pay and have received above average salary advancement on a consistent basis, often because of this cultivation. Besides schmoozing those who set our pay, most of us try to excel at our jobs and thus repay the organization for our compensation. In Mr. Grasso's case there is so much objective evidence that he executed extraordinarily as an employee of the NYSE, at all position levels, that I find it difficult to rationalize the attacks made on him.
   
   Bad "optics" is used to explain the awkwardness of Mr. Grasso's salary package at the time of its revelation to the public at large. Having been the victim of negative "optics" about my own salary level, I understand what this meant for Mr. Grasso. In his case, as in mine, people thought they could gain personally by making attacks on the level of compensation. There is no point complaining about the unfairness of this process, e.g. standards being applied selectively by a person to justify an attack on another person. Where "politics" intervenes, and it often does, fairness flees.
   
   Mr. Gasparino's book reveals much about the "politics" of the stock marketplace and how the objectives of various players conflict with one another in this highly competitive world. The oft heard complaint that Mr. Grasso was the chief regulator of the NYSE members and therefore should not have received such a high salary, becuase regulators are never paid very much, smells bad or, at best is simply naive. It is true that ONE of Mr. Grasso's MANY responsibilities was that of a regulator but his primary function was to promote the welfare of the NYSE and its member organizations. This he did superbly and, for what it's worth, I have the impression that he was not such a bad regulator given all of the conflicts of interest that are inherent in any system of what is euphemistically called "self regulation."
   
   Perhaps, I should say that I know none of the players in this story. In fact, I have never been inside the NYSE building and have never had any connection with the financial industry other than as small stock holder. After reading the book, I am kind of glad that I've had no connection. Furthermore, as much as I now admire Mr. Grasso because of this book, I would not want to ever have reported to him. His relentless obsession with the NYSE and his successful job execution make him a "larger than life" figure in the history of the exchange and the exchange, if it has not already done so, should prominently display his portrait with accolades or even a statue with an appropriate positive inscription on its base. His obsession would also have made him an unbearable boss for me, at least that is what my decades of direct experience of bosses leads me to believe.
   
   Mr. Gasparino's book certainly opened my eyes. I believe that anyone whose mind is not already closed on the subject could learn something new about the "life and times of Mr. Grasso at the NYSE," by reading this book. Regardless, for the outsider, this book reveals a great deal about the NYSE and its inner workings. Congratulations Mr. Gasparino on a fine and balanced piece of financial reporting!

5 comments about iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It.

1. Growing up a Mac nerd I have to say this book is a must read! I found it fascinating and I have to respect the kind of person that Steve Wozniak is. Highly recommend this book.



2. Total pile of hog..
   
   They Say history is written by the winners... Unfortunately the wrong guys won..
   
   Wanna know the truth?
   
   Then Read "On the Edge: the spectacular rise and fall of commodore"
   
   Read that then see if you think "Woz" really invented the whole thing..
   
   On the edge is an awsome book that dosnt treat its readers like a bunch of idiots and gives a balanced account; finally giveing credit to the forgotten heros of the era..



3. I had fun reading "iWoz" as it was both educational and entertaining.
   
   A must-read for all apple lovers.
   
   It tells you the story of the man behind it all...



4. Wozniak gives us a book written for the juvenile mind but marketed to adults, recalling the glory days of his youth and telling us almost nothing about Apple after it grew beyond a home-based business. The presentation is avuncular, excessively colloquial, clownish and shallow. It is fundamentally an incoherent and dishonest book.



5. It's Woz, how can you go wrong? I really enjoyed this book, although I would have enjoyed it a little more if Woz told more up-to-date stories. I know he has a ton, and I was really hoping to learn much more about Woz TODAY. Still, if you want to read about one of the most important people in Computer history, this is a good start.