Reviews (8)

Life changing book...
This book was given as a gift to me when I visited a small business for a market analysis project. It was the first time someone had presented the idea that a person can have a successful career not at the expense of pleasing God. While few would be called to Tam's same ministry, many people can be changed by the message in this book.

Anything but a lunatic
I feel sorry for the first reviewer. I will admit that I have not read the book, (I had to give stars to write this) but I have met Mr. Tam and heard him speak. I was inspired by him and I wish I had his courage. He is not a lunatic. He has proven that a person can be a Christian and be successful in business. His speech was riveting and I would expect the same from the book.

Worth a laugh
Stanley Tam used to (and maybe still does) give copies of this book away through his company (we used to order a lot of stuff from his, or should I say God's, company, U.S. Plastic Co.). The book is a lot of fun - basically the ramblings of a lunatic. When he would give these away for free it was always a lot fo fun to have free copies sent to friends. Check to see if you can still get a free copy before buying one.

Business and Church leaders take notice¿
This book challenges business leaders, as well as local church leaders to truly place God first. Too often, as business and ministry leaders, we tend to focus on our own personal agendas. This book shares the heart of a man who sincerely desires to place God first in every arena of his life. Mr. Tam's life is not broken into such divisions as business, personal and religious. His life illustrates a true integration of every aspect of being coming together under the Lordship of Christ. This book should be read by anyone who desires to live out the will of God in their life.

To the Christian businessman or woman...
I would recommend this book highly to those who are business owners and Christians. Mr. Tam sets forth a good example of one called, and if one heeds that call, what they can do as a servant of Christ, and as a businessman or woman. He deals with those issues common to business owners, faith, inspiration from God, stewardship to name a few. I am finishing reading a book on Anthony Rossi, and to this point, I would recommend this book over Rossi's life. Both served God, but I believe this would be more of an inspiration, and you would gather more wisdom from it. Personal opinion.... ... Read more

Book Description

A full century before Martha Stewart, Oprah, and Madonna became icons, generations before women swept through Wall Street, and decades before they even had the right to vote, there was Hetty Green, America's richest woman, who stood alone among the roguish giants of the Gilded Age as the first lady of capitalism and is remembered as the Witch of Wall Street.

At the time of her death in 1916, Hetty Green's personal fortune was estimated at $100 million ($1.6 billion today), and the financial empire she built on real estate and railroads rivaled that of Andrew Carnegie, Jay Gould, J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and some of the nation's biggest banks. Today, Hetty Green ranks near the top of America's list of greatest financiers, in company with Microsoft founder Bill Gates and billionaire-investor Warren Buffett. But in history books she has remained merely a footnote, a miser and an eccentric, whose character flaws and personal choices unjustly overshadowed her remarkable accomplishments on the fierce battlefield of American industry and commerce.

In Hetty, Charles Slack reexamines the life, work, and conflicted legacy of the exceptionally resourceful, ruthless, and inimitable woman who turned a comfortable inheritance into a fortune through instinct, courage, cunning, greed, and determination to succeed at a man's game on her own terms: from her childhood in the Quaker community of New Bedford, Massachusetts, where she learned about business by reading financial papers to her father, to the battle over her inheritance that was one of the most controversial legal cases of her time; from her collisions with railroad magnate Collis Huntington to her rescue of New York City from financial ruin.

Looking well beyond the lore and historical prejudices, Charles Slack presents a full portrait of a true American original, a female Citizen Kane who, having turned away from the conventions of her time, as a woman, a wife, a mother, and a mogul, led a life of a different sort, with occasionally tragic results, becoming both a hero and a victim of her era. Above all, it is a story of an uncompromising, larger-than-life, flawed woman who ruled a vast financial empire but was known, simply, as Hetty.

Amazon.com

Like 84, Charing Cross Road, Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern's charming bibliocentric memoir is as much about relationships as it is about books. Charing Cross chronicled the decades-long epistolary friendship between American book lover Helene Hanff and Frank Doel, the equally devoted British bookseller in the London shop from whom she bought many of her treasures. Rostenberg and Stern's book once again proves how a passion for great literature can make for fast friends. And in their case, these two octogenarians occupy the same geographical space, sharing both their professional and private lives.

In their introduction, Rostenberg and Stern write: "Several readers inferred ... that our relationship was a Lesbian one. This was a misconception. The 'deep, deep love' that existed and exists between us ... has no bearing upon sex." With that out of the way early on, the tworecount the stories of their lives in alternating sections. And oh, what lives they've had! From identifying some of Louisa May Alcott's previously anonymous early writings to traveling the world in search of rare volumes and pamphlets, they have done and seen it all. Successful antiquarian book dealers Rostenberg and Stern undoubtedly are, but as this memoir makes clear, their greatest accomplishment just might be that rarer commodity of friendship that lasts a lifetime. --Alix Wilber ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Old Books, Rare Friends are marvelous.
Given to me as a birthday present on a misty Northwest beach,the whimsical allure of these charmingly self-possessed women residingin one of the toughest cities in the world, drew me into its first pages even as the rest of my party sat around on logs, barbecuing fine local viands & feeding the camp dogs. From their student years, surviving the Depression & WWII; to studying & getting published through the exciting times of starting a company & their book-hunting jaunts to musty basements in faraway places this is a lively, lovely duet by two voices weaving a deeply evocative memoir...

Loving books and each other
For everyone loving books, history and detectives this book is a great pleasure to read. With great enthusiasm Leona & Madeleine write about their lives and the books which they bought and sold. It makes one jealous of times when rare books could still be found under piles of dust instead of being sold for fortunes. So stop reading the reviews and start reading this book now.

Unusual and delightful lives
Those who love books and the history of the written word have benefitted from these devoted "literary sleuths" who not only devoted themselves to located lost treasures, but who pioneered the rights of women in academe. A story of how devotede friends could pool their talents to rescue lost arts and discover the literary secrets of groundbreaking authors. A suprisingly exciting read.

An enchanting and thrilling saga
I didn't expect to be so enthralled by this fast moving and engrossing joint autobiography by original thinkers and literary sleuths/feminists who were drawn together by a devotion to literature, the printed word, and a thirst for adventure.

I expected to be interested, and was rewarded with a page turner that I was reluctant to put down. The dedication with which the authors pursued lost works of the printers' art, and unravelled conundrums of history make marvellous reading.

If you love literature, as I suspect most Amazon book customers do, than you'll enjoy this most unusual duo.

Half satisfying.
Although I envy these wonderful women and think it is great they were given an opportunity to tell there unique story, it was not balanced. Book dealing the over covered and their incredible friendship was just barely shared. The power of one "true" friend is something I would have enjoyed reading about. ... Read more

Book Description

Steve Wynn is the former owner of the Bellagio - Las Vegas's latest monument to conspicuous consumption whose hotel and casino contain over $300 million in fine art and $1.5 billion in Wall Street money. He's a mogul whose empire at one point included the Mirage, the Golden Nugget, and Treasure Island. But how did he gain and wield his tremendous power in Nevada? And why did a confidential Scotland Yard report prevent him from opening a casino in London? When this biography, written by a local reporter, was first released in 1995, Steve Wynn brought suit against its original publisher and forced him into bankruptcy. Now available in paperback, the inside story of the biggest phenomenon to roil Las Vegas since Hoover Dam gives readers an intimate glimpse at the real business that's conducted beyond the gaming tables. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

"Running Scared" is running on empty
This book reads like what it is -- a quick 300 pages cranked out by a Vegas journalist familiar with the subject, commissioned by a publisher with a rich history of wallowing in libel. The preface admits as much. The publisher proudly proclaims on the book jacket, "Steve Wynn has already sued the author of this book and its publisher twice...." Indeed, the book leaves you wondering if getting sued by Steve Wynn was the whole point of this book, and is the only notoriety this tabloid volume would ever have received.

The author does himself and the reader a great disservice with his vague source citations. The book lists a great many books, interviews, and court records, but unfortunately these sources are listed as a group at the end of the book and aren't footnoted throughout the text. This makes it impossible to discern the specific source for any of the claims in the book.

Most disappointingly, the book fails to give a satisfying biography of its subject. Most of the more fascinating business maneuvers in Wynn's career are sadly glossed over, leaving you with more questions than answers. How exactly did Wynn make so much money buying and selling a small lot on the corner of Caesar's? Exactly how did Wynn leverage control of the Golden Nugget? This book won't really tell you. All too often you'll have to be happy with the answer than Wynn "knew somebody".

I kept up hope for this book (having already read other damning customer reviews), but ultimately I found this book disappointing. It seemed unnecessarily condemning of Wynn -- if he's a crook, the facts should speak for themselves, and the author needn't pursue it so doggedly. This book seems only to prove that Wynn works in a business with a lot of shady peers, and that Wynn doesn't seem to mind it. What a surprise.

Inaccurate and biased
I have always had a fascination with Steve Wynn's hotels and was looking to learn more about him when I came across this book. However, after reading Mr. Smith's depictions of Steve Wynn, the only thing I know for sure is that Smith REALLY doesn't like Steve Wynn. He criticized his every move, looking only at the negative "hidden agendas" associated with things such as the Mirage Dolphins and the Bellagio Art Gallery that the rest of the world is grateful that Steve Wynn brought to us. He repeatedly tries to link Wynn to the mob, but can never make a convincing arguement. He only briefly touches on the building of the hotels, their success, and fails to mention how the Mirage, Treasure Island, and the Bellagio were innovators in three different generations of Vegas theme hotels. Despite the books 2001 copyright date, is now about 9 years out of date. It pre-dates the MGM-Mirage merger, and even cites the Fremont Street Experience as being "set to open in late 1995." A postscript to the paperback edition attempts to bring it up to date, but it feels rushed, with misspelled words and inaccurate details.

Smith seems to have about 100 pages of relevant information, and 254 pages of stories that are so loosely linked to Wynn that at times I forgot who I was reading about. Smith goes so far as to imply that the deterioration of the UNLV basketball program is due to Steve Wynn deciding that Jerry Tarkanian projected the wrong image for the university and that he had to go.

In addition to the anti-Wynn take on every story, Smith illustrates some stories with details that aren't even accurate. He implies that opening the Bellagio was a huge risk because of the increased competition for the "well-heeled gambler market" with the opening of the Venetian, Paris and Mandalay Bay in the ensuing years since the Mirage opening, implying that the market Wynn was seeking was already captured by these hotels. This seems to be a viable argument, until you realize that those three hotels opened AFTER the Bellagio's October 1998 opening.

Smith's writing is often biased. He frequently quotes his employer, the Las Vegas Review-Journal positively, and their rival newspaper, the Las Vegas Sun, negatively. Smith apparantly is not interested in providing an accurate portrayal of Wynn. Rather, he seems content try to pull every skeleton out of his closet, no matter how big of a stretch it is, to bring down Wynn's image. No wonder Wynn didn't want this book published.

If you are a Las Vegas history buff like me, there are a couple of interesting tidbits, but if you are looking for an accurate biography of Steve Wynn, this is not it.

Courage in the Face of Expensive Legal Bullying
Mr. Smith and his publisher are heroes of journalism for publishing the well-researched truth about someone who did everything he could to scare them into giving up.

Guilt By Association
A recent pleasure trip to Las Vegas turned into a business adventure. A walk down the strip suddenly became a research project to analyze the 'Vegas Experience'. In the midst of gathering artifacts, casual conversations with long-time locals (a construction traffic director and a security guard -- both over 15 year residents) revealed a theme central to their blue collar perspective of the city: a great respect for a man by the name of Steve Wynn.

Even his employees were faultlessly loyal to him. The curator of his art collection, a retired professor of art history, willingly suggested that Steve knew far more about art than even he.

These things I discovered all in less than 6 hours. I bought this book in the hopes of learning more about the man. Rare instances of Wynn-specific information could be found (only by skipping large chunks of irrelevant stories). This book smacks of irresponsible journalism.

It seems as if Mr. Smith became a journalist in Las Vegas because of a penchant for sensational stories. Akin to the phenomena of the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, this was the 2 degrees of Steve Wynn. John Smith took a number of sensational stories about events in Las Vegas and 'used' (also to be taken in a pejorative context) Steve Wynn as the thread to tie them together: guilt by association.

This was a thinly veiled attempt to write 'yet another' collection of mob stories (and other notable local mysterious events) while extorting Steve Wynn's name to secure new interest and sales.

I picture Mr. Smith being able to pull off a story portraying Mother Teresa as a devious opportunist. Mr. Smith's preposterous suppositions, called a book, might have been more appropriately titled: Running Scarred.

To find the story about Steve Wynn that I was looking for I may have to research and write it myself.

Relentless Slam Job of Steve Wynn
I read this book with an open mind - my only prior knowledge of Steve Wynn was that he was the guy that built the Mirage, Treasure Island and Bellagio - the Mirage having ushered in the new era of modern luxury casino hotels in Vegas, and the $1.6 billion dollar Bellagio having upped the ante.
That said, I can see why Steve Wynn fought so hard to prevent this book from being released. Wynn sued the the original publisher and apparently helped force it into bankruptcy.
Any reader of this book will likely come away believing that:
1) Wynn rubbed elbows with mob figures, and may have served as a front man in some of his early dealings, before he accrued enough juice on his own,
2) Wynn leveraged his money-making capacity into a large measure of control over the local and state government and judiciary,
3) Wynn is an egomaniac,
4) Wynn kicks puppies....
You get the idea. Although the book makes a fair attempt at biography, its real purpose is to be an expose'. After 350 pages, it has the effect of beating a dead horse.
Wynn may indeed be all of those things, and certainly some of the things he's accused of could result in the loss of his Gaming License - although it seems Nevada is far too invested in him to ever let that happen. I wish there was a more balanced, well-rounded account of Steve Wynn's story out there. ... Read more

Book Description

One of the major figures in American history, Andrew Carnegie was a ruthless businessman who made his fortune in the steel industry and ultimately gave most of it away.He used his wealth to ascend the world’s political stage, influencing the presidencies of Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt.In retirement, Carnegie became an avid promoter of world peace, only to be crushed emotionally by World War I.

In this compelling biography, Peter Krass reconstructs the complicated life of this titan who came to power in America’s Gilded Age.He transports the reader to Carnegie’s Pittsburgh, where hundreds of smoking furnaces belched smoke into the sky and the air was filled with acrid fumes . . . and mill workers worked seven-day weeks while Carnegie spent months traveling across Europe.

Carnegie explores the contradictions in the life of the man who rose from lowly bobbin boy to build the largest and most profitable steel company in the world.Krass examines how Carnegie became one of the greatest philanthropists ever known–and earned a notorious reputation that history has yet to fully reconcile with his remarkable accomplishments. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Keep an open mind, but read Peter Krass' "Carnegie".
I just finished Peter Krass' excellent biography, "Carnegie". Krass is a gifted story-teller, so his narrative style made this a coherent and engaging read despite the necessary 600+ pages. He painted the portrait of Andrew Carnegie as the complex character he was, the conflicting motivations, the loyalty to family, childhood friends, his native Scotland and his new home, the United States. But, Krass shows us the other side, the relentless pursuit of ever increasing wealth, the vindictive investor mercilessly crushing competitors, business partners and employees. There are so many layers to the man, which Krass methodically revelaed.

Carnegie (the man) was a pivotal character in many of the developments of the Gilded Age apart from iron and steel and Krass succeeds in detailing his role one story at a time, in roughly chronological order. Carnegie associated with so many figures of the day, the uninitiated reader is well advised to keep crib-notes on the other players since their roles recur in other acts of Carnegie's life.

That is not to say the book is perfect. It suffers at times from inconsistent editing - which to be fair is difficult to maintain across a tome of this length. There are occasional wanderings where your crib-notes may help the reader keep the story line going even where the editors let Krass down.

Krass' treats the central character (Carnegie)with appropriate diligence and deference, and devotes himself to showing how conflicted and multi-dimensional Andrew Carnegie was. Others are not given the same consideration, often shown as flat and lifeless (sterotypical robber-barons) compared to Carnegie. Pierpont Morgan is given such treatment. The one to suffer most is Henry Clay Frick who is portrayed as a cold-hearted business machine (Krass even calls him such). In fact, Krass seems to let Carnegie off the hook for the Homestead riots while villifying Frick - a popular view that does not reflect the complexity of Frick and certainly not the extreme intricacy of the relationship between these two Titans of the steel industry.

The best part of the narrative is not how Carnegie made his money but how he went about giving it away. This was philanthropy to be sure, but in Carnegie's case it was an act of moral redemption. Krass chronicals the lifelong growth of the man well past the simple accumulation of great riches to the point where Carnegie himself was left in awe of the money and the body of philanthropic work it accomplished.

Don't be put off by Krass' introductory words in which he explains his motive in writing by outlining his family's role as laborers and activists in Carnegie's mills. It is simply his confession, but does not overshadow the treatment of this great public figure. In fact, Krass ends up being understanding of Carnegie, his motivations, and his legacy.

On the whole this is an excellent read, informative for the average reader and history buff. A healthy skepticism is in order, but Peter Krass' biography succeeds in telling the story of a famous figure in clear, understandable - and very human terms.

Carnegie: the capitalist, philanthropist, peace-seeker
Peter Krass's biography, "Carnegie", is a terrific look at a man whose name most of us have known all of our lives, but whose life has remained something of a mystery. The name "Carnegie" evokes thoughts of money and power and in this mature biography, Krass has managed to give us a thorough look at Andrew Carnegie, from his hardscrabble boyhood days in Scotland, to his eventual rise to the top of the business world and to the monetary charity that marked his final years.

Not only does the author spend time writing about Carnegie's achievements but he is careful to include the emotional state of his subject. Carnegie could be petty and vicious one minute then caring and loving the next. How that affected his business as well as his personal life is what makes this book so engrossing.

While most of us know that Andrew Carnegie made his millions in the steel business, his knowledge of other businesses and how they intertwined with his own (especially the railroads) is fascinating. Through his gift-giving for the erection of hundreds of libraries around the world he made sure that Andrew Carnegie's name would be remembered for generations. No small ego here! It would seem that the author has given Carnegie a balanced look with the good side outweighing the bad in the final analysis.

What I gleaned from Peter Krass is a part of Andrew Carnegie about which I hadn't known...his efforts in the "peace movement" of his day. How firmly committed to the abolishment of war was Carnegie and his means to that end are cleary laid out in this biography. Carnegie's close working relationships and correspondence with every president from Cleveland to Wilson is offered by Krass, giving an added bonus to those of us who enjoy biographies of U.S. presidents, and it marks some of the lighter moments of the book as Krass relates how Carnegie liked to meddle in the affairs of state, often without invitation.

Through all of Andrew Carnegie's duplicity and vindictiveness toward his own workers and colleagues as he rose to the top, he more than made up for it in his philanthropic works later in life. Carnegie was that "rare breed" and Peter Krass has captured all of it.

Highly Recommended!
In more than 600 pages, author Peter Krass delivers an almost overwhelming volume of facts about Andrew Carnegie, who certainly merits detailed study. Much in his life and work remains relevant today. The book is marred by frequent editorial asides and judgments. However, a man emerges out of the mountain of facts who was unusually sensitive to the impact of new technologies and extraordinarily able to position himself to take advantage of them. Carnegie was a man of contrasts, ruthless, hypocritical, forceful and diffident, idealistic and amoral, driven to amass a fortune and philanthropic. We appreciate the effort behind this full scale biography of Carnegie, the first one offered for almost 30 years, and recommends getting to know this American icon.

A Giant Scot
This biography of Carnegie is not only a great read about a great Scot, it tells of a time of great accomplishment amid the upheaval of the industrial revolution in Pennsylvania in the middle of the 18th century. Carnegie's father was put out of work by the automation of the knitting machines and defeated utterly, while the young immigrant who started in the most menial of jobs, progressed rapidly by his genius for hard work and risk-taking into upper management of the Pennsylvania railroad.

Parlaying what is today called insider trading into a modest fortune, he grew it into a vast fortune in the steel industry. Often reviled as a "robber baron," he then gave it all away in a philanthropic orgy of building public libraries for worthy communities.

Krass's task is to humanize the giant, and he doesn't settle for a simple-minded caricature of the ruthless, money grubbing capitalist. He very successfully portrays the man as a whole, with all the attendant contradictions of any man, and follows the evidence where it leads, in the spirit of an honest biographer. While he doesn't gloss over the cruel and difficult struggles to get the most out of his workers for the least pay, Krass shows the other side of a loyal friend and faithful family man, with high ideals and aspirations for the betterment of mankind.

Krass has given us a well researched book, an exemplar of the best in biography, and is a captivating tale of a time when giants populated the world.

Great look at the time period
One of the best things about biographies is that you can get a good grasp of what was happening around the main person. This book is no different. If you're interested in the Industrial Revolution or if you are interested in the Robber Barons then this book would be well suited for you. I first read Howard Zinns, "People's History of the US". After that I didn't like people such as Carnegie. But I gave the book its chance and I was more than surprised by the dichotomy of Carnegie's character. ... Read more

Book Description

If your company’s goal is to become fast, responsive, and agile, more efficiency is not the answer--you need more slack.

Why is it that today’s superefficient organizations are ailing? Tom DeMarco, a leading management consultant to both Fortune 500 and up-and-coming companies, reveals a counterintuitive principle that explains why efficiency efforts can slow a company down.That principle is the value of slack, the degree of freedom in a company that allows it to change.Implementing slack could be as simple as adding an assistant to a department and letting high-priced talent spend less time at the photocopier and more time making key decisions, or it could mean designing workloads that allow people room to think, innovate, and reinvent themselves. It means embracing risk, eliminating fear, and knowing when to go slow. Slack allows for change, fosters creativity, promotes quality, and, above all, produces growth.

With an approach that works for new- and old-economy companies alike, this revolutionary handbook debunks commonly held assumptions about real-world management, and gives you and your company a brand-new model for achieving and maintaining true effectiveness. ... Read more

Reviews (28)

At least I know I'm not Alone!
I just finished reading Slack by Tom DeMarco, and it's not usual for me to agree with consultants. However, DeMarco hits the mark on a lot of points with me, particularly the issue of burnout. The book's major premise is that companies are so preoccupied with making themselves "lean" that they are overworking the middle management layer that is left to pick up the pieces. I think everyone knows that Wall Street loves the restructuring charges and the layoffs that come with it, but DeMarco illustrates effectively how overworking your "knowledge" base can actually decrease productivity in the long haul. Along with the overworking theme is the basic fact that middle management in an office environment is not like an employee in the factory - if you want to maximize the knowledge base, you need to provide enough support for them. Otherwise, without "slack", management is not able to institute change and a positive work environment. I would recommend this book for anyone who works 12 hour days, weekends and/or can't take a vacation because a day away from the office = two days of work when you get back. It is a quick read - the chapters are brief and it is tailored for those who only want the facts. And when your done, give this to your boss right before you ask for additional employees in your department.

An excellent challenge to Taylorism and its offspring
In Slack, I think writer Tom DeMarco delivers a simple and powerful message that bears repeating. The idea that we are actually increasing productivity by driving people in machine-like efficiency is an illusion. The fact is that when we do not give people "slack" in pre-selected areas of a workflow, we may find unplanned "slack" appearing in all the wrong places, at the wrong time and in larger quantities then what the planned "slack" would have been. I found DeMarco's challenge of the theories of Total Efficiency, Management by Objective and Internal Competition especially refreshing. I highly recommend this book especially to people who manage "knowledge workers."

A great idea...
If you've read _The Goal_ or similar TOC books about discrete manufacturing, you know the hypothesis that at a facility where each step is maximally efficient, the factory as a whole will be minimally efficient. This book makes a similar argument for knowledge organizations: an organization where each employee is 100% utilized will tend to be highly inefficient overall. It's a quick, easy read and gets you thinking, but it lacks enough hard data or case studies to make the needed case. From personal experience I'm convinced, and I plan to read _Peopleware_ next.

a nice light read that will make you think
This is certainly not the greatest management book ever written. It pales compared to stuff like "Good to Great" or even "Peopleware". Nothing is supported by data, and some of the stuff especially toward the back you've already heard a dozen times before. But it makes a fun, quick, read, and it will make you think. Check it out. It's worth investing a few hours of reading.

Can you give me some Slack!
Slack blows the doors off the myths of total efficiency by breaking down the many fallacies that efficiency experts have been trying to sell us for years. Slack is not a book that is trying to "sell" you anything; but a book that advises you "don't buy it"!

Downsizing, busyness, aggressive schedules, overtime, the culture of fear, and the obsession we have with process improvement are just a few of the total efficiency crazes that DeMarco addresses. He lays down a convincing foundation for busting these myths beginning in the first chapter. He explains that knowledge workers are not fungible resources, that is that they can not easily and freely exchange their work from a variety of tasks or projects, basically challenging the biggest myth out there, that of multi-tasking knowledge workers.

The book is not all doom and gloom, but provides solid strategies for any manager willing to set aside the current corporate trends and enter a brave, new world of Slack. I have a few managers I'd like to share this book with! ... Read more

Amazon.com

All three of Ron Chernow's books are lengthy and solidly researched, but his background as a journalist shows in his ability here to convey complex material in terms of vivid characters and a well-defined theme. As in his National Book Award-winning business history (The House of Morgan) and his comprehensive biography of John D. Rockefeller (Titan), in The Warburgs Chernow employs marvelously detailed material to trace a single overarching story: the riveting and ultimately tragic odyssey of German Jews. The Warburgs were Hamburg's preeminent banking family from the 18th century until Hitler's Third Reich forced them to hand over their business to Aryans in 1938. But they also boasted among their family members a celebrated art historian (Aby Warburg), a Nobel Prize-winning scientist (Otto Warburg), and the financial angel of the New York City Ballet (Edward Warburg). Two of the "Famous Five" brothers married American women at the turn of the 20th century and became honored members of the Wall Street establishment, so Chernow's lively narrative imparts important U.S. social and economic history as well. But don't let all those fancy credentials intimidate you: The Warburgs features enough flamboyant personalities and high-class gossip to make this as entertaining a read as the latest issue of People magazine. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Power, Wealth and a Jewish Dynasty
Ostensibly the study of a remarkable, wealthy dynasty, The Warburgs is a monumental history of Europe, the United States, Israel and even Africa. The author manages to faithfully document the lives of these international bankers, nobel prize winning scientists, explorers and philanthropists against some of the most haunting events in human history.

That the Warburg family loved their German homeland is indisputable. Even after WWII, some descendents could not resist returning to Hamburg, to see the old estates, to embrace old nannies, employees and to on one occassion, steal back a valuable vase that the Nazi's had appropriated elsewhere. They were passionate German citizens later of course spurned and victimized.

From Imperial and then Weimar Germany, the Warburgs were integral to achieving the ends of their leaders; Max Warburg worked tirelessly up until the very end, to secure a peaceful neutralization of Hitler's intention for the Jews. He was involved in assuring a Dutch purchase of Nyassaland in Northern Mozambique which ultimately played a significant role for Rommel's troops.

The family with connections to the Rothschilds, Loebs, Kuhns and others had solid foundations in the U.S. with one Warburg advising Theodore Roosevelt and later, of course, FDR. And logically, from this family where ambivalence toward Judaeism was an on-going theme, there were inevitable struggles and betrayals during the seeding and conceptualization of an Israeli sovereign state.

The book has many levels of interest- it involves a history of culture and the arts, of Jewish European exodus to the U.S and to Israel, it presents scenes of wealthy Jews celebrating with Christmas trees, of kids attending Anglican schools, and even flirtations with far left and deeply conservative politics.

The book is a meditation on the nature of wealth and being Jewish, the insoluble interactions of the two and the frequently unintentional social responsibilities carried within those elements.

History of jew bankers
In this 1993 National Book Award winner, Chernow presents a sweeping yet intimate historical saga of an extraordinary German-Jewish banking family whose roots go back to the 18th century. Richly documented by Warburg family archival and oral sources, the study captures both the glory and folly of this family of grandees, whose remarkable impact on the world of international finance, politics, culture, philanthropy, and Zionism continues to resonate. With delicious detail spiced by psychological ruminations and sensitivity, with penetrating insight conveyed by sometimes sparkling writing, Chernow focuses on the individual heroes of the Warburg clan--especially Mak, Felix, Paul, Fritz, Aby, Eric, James, and Sir Seigmund--and deftly portrays the meteoric rise of the dynasty, its fall under the Nazis, postwar rebirth, and the ultimately futile struggle of most Warburgs to maintain a Jewish identity. This is biography on an epic scale. General readers, undergraduates, and above.

A Fascinating Lesson of Courage and Triumph in Adversity
Ron Chernow narrates with panache the riveting tribulations of the Warburgs, a prominent Jewish banking dynasty emerging in Germany in the sixteenth century. The author does an outstanding job in switching back and forth between the Alsterufer Warburgs and the Mittelweg Warburgs, the two rivaling branches of the Warburgs. Ron Chernow indeed vividly recasts the numerous actors of that saga against the economic, political and social backdrop of their time. The author brilliantly helps his readers understand the painful dilemma that many German Jews, keener and keener on assimilation into Germany, faced especially under the Weimar Republic and then under Nazism. Ron Chernow also underlines how several Warburgs emigrating outside Germany had a positive influence on the unfolding of some key domestic and overseas events. Ironically, M.M. Warburg & Co., the German cradle of the banking dynasty that Nazism and then internal infighting almost torpedoed with success, is the only one to remain independent today. M.M. Warburg & Co. is Germany's second largest private bank. S.G. Warburg is now part of Union Bank of Switzerland while Warburg Pincus, successor of E.M. Warburg, belongs to Credit Suisse.

A candid insight
The history of the Warburg family is a amazingly tragic, hopeful and truimphant one. Ron Chernow describes the tight rope that Jews trod, at different stages of world issues, in a captive and sensitive manner. The author describes the begining of the banking dynasty and progresses through each genration leaving a unremovable image of each member. With a few exceptions, for every successful and optimistic father there is a unsure and detached son. For every mother who was a perfectionist and hardworking, there was a loyal, ambitious son. Not being Jewish, but understanding the feeling of not being fully assimilated in my own society, i personally appreciated this balancing act. However i believe that the issues of their religion and their trade, whilst very significant, play a complementary backdrop to which is essentially a superb insight into a diverse and ambitious family. One which, i think we can all relate to. I'd recommend it for all readers out there.

Learn history through real events in a family
The best way to learn & really "feel" history is to see it in familiar events, like the story of a family. Ron Chernow has achieved this feat with all 3 of the books I have read by him -- the Rockefeller book, the Morgan book and this book. This volume resonated with me more than the others since I am jewish, and since a number of my ancestors were assimilationist german jews (but never of the magnitude of the Warburgs!). The foolishness & the triumphs of this extended family would have made interesting reading even without the context of world events, but that's what makes the difference between a fair book and a great book. Chernow is particularly good at weaving in the world events without sounding ponderous or pedantic. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for THE MAVERICK AND HIS MACHINE

"Like all great biographers, Kevin Maney gives us an engaging story and so much more. His fascinating and definitive book about IBM’s founder is replete with amazing revelations and character lessons that resonate today. Among the gems: how a demanding curmudgeon managed to shape a collaborative corporate culture–and create a legacy that changed the world."
–Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Harvard Business School, bestselling author of Evolve!
and When Giants Learn to Dance

"The gripping story of sky-high ambition, iron willpower, huge bet-the-company gambles, humiliating failure, and unparalleled success–one of the best books ever written about the technology industry, about one of the most fascinating people in twentieth-century America."
–Marc Andreessen
Cofounder of Opsware, Inc. and Netscape

"The story of Watson and IBM is a compelling–and, at times, cautionary–tale of a determined, charismatic, flawed, and ultimately successful leader.Anyone interested in the story of business in America, the birth of high-tech, or simply the rags-to-riches tale of one determined businessman should read this book."
–Robert M. Menschel
Senior Director, Goldman Sachs
author of Markets, Mobs, and Mayhem

"In an action-packed story that reads like a novel, Kevin Maney paints a convincing portrait of a man who, having been a convicted criminal, redeemed himself and reshaped the American business landscape. The career of Thomas Watson, the effective founder of IBM, is not only fascinating, but offers many critical lessons on management and personal conduct that remain extremely poignant today."
–Peter Krass
author of Carnegie ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Nobody Tells it Better
OK, so I admit that absolutely nothing about this book drew my attention EXCEPT the name of the author, Kevin Maney. Any devotee of his columns in USA Today knows his ability to tell a story. Yes, I knew I should be intrested in the life of Tom Watson -- he was, after all, one of the first "celebrity CEOs," although the term hadn't been invented. But I never thought I would be so fascinated by a man and his story.

This is a must read for anyone who wants to get a sense of what real leadership is all about. Watson was leading before there were books on leadership and studies on communictation. He was managing corporate culture before there were words for it. He saw his company -- and his employees -- through transitions that go well beyond mainframe vs. PC. When his technologies were rendered obsolete, he simply invented new ones.

Anyone with aspirations to lead should read this book. It's so action-packed that you may forget it's a true story. But it is. And I can't wait to see the movie.

What an incredible story!
Ok, I admit to being a Maney fan. His trademark wit and wisdom about the tech industry are legendary.

While his wit twinkles throughout this book, it's his insight and ability to weave a fascinating tale that are truly on display here.

Watson, while no saint, deserves his legendary status. He created new ways of doing business during a time of great change and upheaval. While much of industry and finance were rife with hucksterism and scandal, Watson (ultimately) preached a focus on ethics, customers, quality, employees, and teamwork - all messages that resonate today. In an eerie way, we find ourselves living in similar tumultuous times that echo back to the early and defining Watson years. It makes this story even more riveting, and the lessons that it teaches truly relevant today.

This is clearly a serious piece of research masquerading as a 'can't put it down' bestseller.

Watson's story is a must read for every businessperson who aspires to greatness.

Highly Recommended!
This book seems to have been written primarily because the author learned about the existence of boxes of Thomas Watson's papers that had never been read by any biographer or journalist. In some cases, the author's access to these new materials does help fill in some minor gaps in the existing accounts of Watson's life. And cumulatively, they take some of the shine off the legend, impressing upon one how humdrum the daily life of even a business titan must be. This book is reasonably well written and packed with memorable anecdotes. While it doesn't offer stunning new insights, we commend it as a readable, accessible and balanced introduction to one of the greatest executives of the twentieth century.

The Story of a Leader
All great stories have a good guy and a bad guy. In this story, it's the same guy. Thomas Watson, Sr., by sheer force of personality, created IBM.

The best part of this book is the IBM songs at the end of every chapter. They are hillarious, but probably no more so than some of the silly cheers dot.coms used to pump up their employees.

But back to the story: Mr. Watson created the first tech growth company of the 20th century. Mr. Maney had unbelievable access to Mr. Watson's personal notes and correspondence as the primary resource to tell how he created IBM. Some of the details about meetings, drawn from the transcribed minutes, give an eerie "you are there" quality to the book. One feels almost as terrorized as the executives in those meetings.

In reading the book, one gets the clear message that Mr. Maney would have really liked to have met Mr. Watson. He truly admires his subject while at the same time showing warts and all. This is not a soft treatment of Mr. Watson. Yet, you can almost hear Mr. Maney saying between the lines, "I just wish I could have met that old S.O.B."

This book holds great detail but is an easy read. Mr. Maney's style covers the point without belaboring it. The book is often funny, sometimes sad but never disappointing.

A classic
If IBM and computers are synonymous, so are Watson and IBM. Whatever the criticisms and the controversies surrounding the 3 magical alphabets in blue, IBM is IBM. To build such a company from ground up, offering solutions to business and scientific computing and thereby acting as the catalyst for the process of economic progress during the most part of the twentieth century is by no means an ordinary feat. That was exactly the material Thomas Watson Sr was made of. Watson has done his job and done it well and now Kevin Maney completes the rest by bringing this story in a truly remarkable manner to our bookshelves.

It is difficult not to fall in love with Watson Sr and his beloved company even half way through the book. From his humble beginnings to the misfortune at NCR, for nearly forty years Watson Sr is just another story of struggles, ups and downs. But to him, life just begins at forty with his job at CTR and of course the birth of Tom Watson Jr. The birth of IBM and its growth under the paternalistic care of Watson Sr through depressions, wars, booms and uncertainties gets a lion's share of coverage in this book. Watson Sr took big business risks bordering on a propensity to gamble, pushing IBM into higher orbits. Luck is the word the author takes recourse to while describing these successes.

The next logical part of the book deals with the succession plan at IBM that is a story by itself. Father, Son and Co by Tom Jr is widely quoted in these pages. The father's affection for his sons Tom Jr and Dick, his struggle to reconcile their differences and the frequent fights with Tom Jr are very close to what Tom Jr himself has described in his book.

The chapters on transformation of IBM into the era of electronics under Tom Jr and the trust suit that had a severe personal impact on Watson Sr deserve commendation.

While reading the pages where the old man bids goodbye to IBM and to this world, I stood up in salute to this great man. ... Read more

Amazon.com

How many times has someone tried to console you by saying, "That's the way the cookie crumbles"? The message implies that whatever we were hoping for was destined to crumble and fall apart. "Well, that logic just doesn't hold water," claims Wally Amos, author of The Cookie Never Crumbles. "It totally slanders the nature of the cookie. When the cookie breaks apart, you don't lose that cookie, you get lots of little cookies." Amos excels at this sort of optimistic, kitchen-table wisdom, as evidenced by the success of his previous book, The Famous Amos Story, which tells the story of building his cookie empire. (Although it's probably safe to assume that cowriter Eden-Lee Murray has perfected the cozy style of writing.) Written in a cookbook format, the narrative often crumbles into clichés. In his opening chapter, "Essential Ingredients for Your Personal Pantry," he includes the "Basics," such as "Honesty, Integrity, Positive Loving Attitude...." Yet his "Recipe for Recovery" is a poignant observation on how to rebuild after disaster strikes. Like the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, this is a spiritually safe book--nondenominational, inoffensive, and full of tasty, inspirational morsels. There are even a few real cookie recipes, such as "Classic Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookies and "Courage Coconut Cookies." --Gail Hudson ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Extraordinary Vision from an Extraordinary Man!
The Cookie Never Crumbles is the manual on how to live an extraordinary, abundant, loving life. What flows from Wally's heart is nothing less than the secret ingredients of living. I keep this book nearby when I need to find my center in courage, joy, compassion and gratitude. I am so blessed to call Wally Amos my friend.

A Phenomenal Book To Uplift and Inspire!
This is a terrific book Wally! I'm moved by your passion and determination to see life at its best and not its worst.

This book will inspire people to look past their challenges and forge forth toward their future.Keep making those cookies for life no matter how many may crumble!

Philippe Matthews
CEO, EmpowerMag.com & HowYouMakeMillions.com

Bite Size Morsels--Still Delicious
I so enjoyed this book. I read spiritually and emotionally uplifting materials all the time. Some are sooooo heavy. And I must admit that sometimes I need the weight of the information, in the same way that I need and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. But Wally's book is pure dessert, just like his cookies. When I need a quick energy lift I return to his book. I not only found myself vicariously enjoying the honest and fun loving individual, Wally (Famous) Amos, but I felt that I met a soul mate...a lover of life and a believer in the positive powers of the universe.

I have to admit, he should have written the book sooner. He might have saved my marriage. When he speaks of the process and power of his determination and commitment to keeping his marriage in tact inspite of some "infractions" I realized the impact positive, powerful, decisive action can make.

I share excerpts of the book with my graduate students(educators who are stressed). I give them bite size pieces of positive energy at the beginning or ending of the class. That way they can begin the session or end it with a smile.

I do plan to try the recipe for his famous cookies for Christmas. I'll be glad to let you know if they turn out famously.

Just like A Bad Cookie
This book is just like a bad cookie. The material is stale, bland and crumbles to pieces when the reader searches for an in-depth understanding of the issues that are discussed. Wally is no doubt a good businessman and his cookies do mealt in your mouth, but this book mealts in your hand because it is so bad! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Long before Ted Turner and Steve Case, a flamboyant dreamer named William Crapo Durant was assembling innovative corporate empires that would rival any. After growing a Flint, Michigan, carriagemaker into one of the biggest players in a booming industry, Durant got caught up in the automotive frenzy sweeping the world and in 1908 established General Motors by acquiring a stable of existing carmakers (including Buick, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac) as well as parts companies and manufacturing plants. In The Deal Maker, experienced biographer Axel Madsen goes behind the scenes to detail also the financial setbacks that soon cost Durant control of GM, the partnership with Louis Chevrolet that led to formation of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company, his triumphant reestablishment at the top of GM (and second embarrassing fall from power), the formation and failure of his alternative automaker, Durant Motor, and, finally, the enormous stock-market victories he enjoyed before his complete financial destruction in the 1929 crash. The Durant that Madsen reveals is a business visionary truly worth getting to know, the "Great Gatsby of carmaking" who understood the big picture but lacked the personal patience and managerial skills necessary for long-term success. --Howard Rothman ... Read more

Reviews (2)

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

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

Book Description

The True Life Story and Time-Tested Strategies of the World’s Greatest Trader

"Excellent read! Captures the spirit and times of Jesse Livermore, legendary trader. The book tracks two major market crashes, love affairs, the shooting of Jesse Jr. by his mother, and two family suicides. . . . Never a dull moment." –Ace Greenberg, Chairman, Bear Stearns

"Terrific. I started reading it when we took off from Seoul’s Kimbo Airport on my way to Germany. By the time we reached Novosibirsk, Russia . . . I had finished it. I just couldn’t put it down! Not only is it a great lesson in investing and trading, it’s a fascinating psychological study of what makes a great speculator tick.The rise and fall of a great speculator as well as the rise and fall of his family is great reading. The fact that it is based on interviews with Livermore’s survivors and witnesses to the events makes it even more interesting. Great writing."–Mark Mobius, Managing Director, Templeton Asset Management

"As one of the most shrewd traders of all time, Jesse Livermore demonstrated how important discipline is when trading the market. Smitten . . . covers how Livermore created his rules . . . also reviews the lessons Livermore learned along the way to develop his strategies."–William J. O’Neil, Publisher, Investor’s Business Daily

"A stock market classic! Most entertaining and informative book on the market that I have had the privilege to read in the last twenty years. A must-read for students of the stock market–great even for those who have no knowledge of the market. Grabs you from the start and holds you enthralled from cover to cover. Great book!"–Dan Sullivan, Publisher, The Chartist, Fund Manager, and Investment Advisor

"After reading Smitten’s magnificent biography, two Japanese proverbs came to mind: ‘Fortune favors the bold’ and ‘Darkness lies one inch ahead.’ Smitten shows how fortune and darkness were integral parts of Livermore’s life . . . has the intrigue of a mystery novel and the lessons of a trading master. What more can one ask for?I eagerly recommend this book to anyone interested in history, the markets, and trading psychology."–Steve Nison, author of Japanese Candlestick Charting ... Read more

Reviews (12)

How to make, lose, make, lose, make, and lose vast fortunes.
While Livermore started out with nothing and died more or less bankrupt, his career in-between was genuinely meteoric. The man could turn a few thousand into a million within months, then lose it all in a couple of hours. Shows how much you can succeed (and fail) if you really put your mind to it.

This book is a worthy companion to Edwin Lefevre's barely-fictional biographical novel REMINISCENCES OF A STOCK OPERATOR. The first 180 pages or so of this one closely mirror the story in REMINISCENCES, giving real-life names to people and places, and disgorging more details on Livermore's non-trading life. It goes on from there to discuss his staggering 100-million dollar win during the Great Crash of 1929 (when so many other investors and traders opted for suicide to curtail their losses) and the steady, tragic disintegration of his family life and trading instincts that followed thereafter.

Smitten has produced an entertaining, briskly-moving account of the great trader's life that doesn't require any prior knowledge of the stock market or investing ("speculating" is a better word, as Livermore would put it). Also included are a few chapters on Livermore's trading theories culled from his 1940 book HOW TO TRADE IN STOCKS.

Trading Discipline and EQ
A very engaging real life story of one of the world greatest speculators : the great success of Market Trading (making 100 million during the Great Crash of 1929, while others committed suicides), and the tragedy of himself and family.

While maximum trading disicpline calls for emotionless and cold behavior to observe the unforlding patten and trend of the market, the EQ seems to suffers badly.

His success story in market trading is better appreciated when one has good grounding and experience in Technical Analysis TA(refer my internet tuition class on TA coaching, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/360qBC03/). It seems that Livermore's mind is equivalent to today computer with TA software of charts, patterns and trends, and having the highest disicpline in objectivity he turned thousand dollars into millions.

For those who want to be successful and skillful investors, read the book and follows some of his discipline, while maintain you EQ.

QuaSyLaTic, Andrew

http://www.360q.com

It's a biography, but also a great trading secrets book
People who don't understand TA, have no concept of what this excellently written book is saying. I derived over 12 pages of trading notes. Yes, it's an biography on JL who was a classic manic depressive and desperately needed to take Prozac. If he lived through this market crash, he would have been richer than Gates and Buffet put together, and a whole lot happier.
Read in to this book and you will derive the secret to market success.

Very poorly written
Sorry for giving only 1 star: although the life story Livermore has been communicated to the reader, this book has been just too poorly written. I have never read a book so poorly written. The author simply gather all the raw materials together with little organization, and NO literary kill whatsoever. Worse, apparently the author did not proof read his manuscript, nor did an editor. It would be desirable for the author to collaborate with a true writer in writing this book. It is a shame, and the author even claimed in the preface that he knows about Jessie Livermore than anyone else: too bad that someone who knows him more than anyone else can't write a biography of him of even average quality. Just a couple example to let you have a flavor of this book: after quoting in more than one places that Livermore's wife called him "Laurie", in a much later part the author suddenly thought it necessary to explain that this may be a nickname they used between them. In many a part of the book, there are passages that, after describing someone involved in Livermore's life's event, immediately adding: he/she later became such and such; or, years later he/she would do such and such.

Now regardless the writing of the book, it does give facts, so let's just struggle to read it through and get what we want, the life of Jessie Livermore. All I can say is this: I started with the desire to know about the stock market, I ended with a very sad feeling. What I've found is a very, very sad story; almost everyone involved had a tragic life, a number of them tragic deaths as well. Get psychologically prepared before you read it.

Read Reminiscences of a Stock Operator Instead
I have read "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" three times now. The more I read it, the more I get out of it.

My main problem with this book is that 3/4 of the content regurgitates the events of "Reminiscences" almost verbatim. The writers approach however is to retell this story through reconstructing dialogue between Jessie (the protagonist) and all the various characters met in Reminiscences. I found this approach extremely irritating - especially since I was familiar enough with the original Reminiscences text to detect where the author had "made up" segments of the conversation using "artistic license to capture the flavor of the original conversations" (authors own admission).

The other 1/4 deals with Jessies private life, which although I found interesting, was plagued by the same "conversation reconstruction" style.

If you have already read reminiscences, and are truly hungry to learn more about Jessies private life and selected exploits after 1923 - then buy this book. If you have not read reminiscences, read it instead - you will learn far more out of the original source. ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you've ever gone out to lunch with a coworker and suddenly found yourself witness to a savage stream of unflattering assessments of bosses, wicked gossip, and the-emperor-has-no-clothes analysis of your industry, you'll know what it's like to read High Stakes, No Prisoners. Ferguson, an MIT Ph.D., started up a company called Vermeer Technologies in 1994, a rough time for startups in Silicon Valley. The country was coming out of a recession, the stock market was stagnant, and the Internet wasn't yet taken seriously by those with money to invest. Vermeer had a software program called FrontPage that only someone who understood the coming power of the Net could appreciate. Even in Silicon Valley, few were so prescient.

Most of High Stakes is the story of Vermeer, from its startup to its sale to Microsoft. (Now bundled with Microsoft Office, FrontPage is used by more than 3 million people worldwide.) Along the way, Ferguson met the players in the Valley and formed strong opinions of them. He describes Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale as an egomaniac and technological dolt in way, way over his head. Oracle founder Larry Ellison is "severely warped." One of his best lines sums up Silicon Valley as a place where "one finds little evidence that the meek shall inherit the earth."

But this isn't just the technological equivalent of WWF trash-talking. Ferguson is very tough on himself, too, and details his own shortcomings as a person and a businessman. Mostly, it's a gloves-off account of how things really get done in high technology today, as refreshingly honest and acerbic an account as you'll ever read. --Lou Schuler ... Read more

Reviews (41)

An Authentic Silicon Valley Story
Mr. Ferguson's book is the only narration I have so far encountered (including Mr. Michael Lewis' THE NEW NEW THING, Mr. Po Bronson's THE NUDIST ON THE LATE SHIFT, and Mr. Randall E. Stross' EBOYS) that may actually represent what goes on in the entrepreneur world, and it does so in a straightforward tone with a whole lot of humor- and some cynicism- thrown in, making the book an enjoyable read.

What's amazing about this book is its age: although the book is from 1999, much of what Mr. Ferguson concludes about where the industry is headed has come true or is slowly being recognized by the mainstream line of thought (this is quite an accomplishment in case you do not understand the rarity of such occurrences). Mr. Ferguson actually understands the technology and business underlining his startup as well, and he isn't afraid to admit when his comprehension falls short. Ask any engineer- this personality attribute in leaders of the entrepreneur world is becoming increasingly uncommon, unfortunately.

If you're looking for a book that is written by someone who has been there and has also stood the test of time in terms of holding its conclusions intact, this is it for the late 90s era. If you're looking for a book by an outsider who doesn't seem to understand what's really going on and that romanticizes Silicon Valley or Route 128, look for something else. I especially recommend this book to anyone who is frustrated with the herd mentality in the tech world and would like to read something that has a refreshing independence to its views.

(Actually, on second thought, if you're looking for a book that humorously shoots itself in the foot with its free-wheeling conjectures and hasty exclamations prior to the stock market correction, check out those books I listed above).

High Stakes, No Prisoners : A Winner's Tale of Greed and Glo
Charles H. Ferguson has written an astonishing book, which operates on many levels. As Bob Metcalf, Ethernet inventor and founder of 3COM noted in his book jacket blurb, ".... Every would-be Silicon Valley entrepreneur should read this book." Amen.

With interest it is noted that Metcalf appears to be the only individual "brave enough" to contribute a book jacket blurb to this superb book. Hats off to Metcalf, and Ferguson, of course.

Mr. Ferguson exposes the dirty dancing that takes place between many Venture Capital firms and their prey - unsophisticated Entrepreneurs with good ideas. If you're writing a Business Plan ... or about to ... if you're intrigued by the New Economy ... if you want to understand what really happened to Netscape ... if you want to stand back in awe and understand how Microsoft does it ... BUY THIS BOOK, and read it before you do anything else.

Beyond merely brilliant, penetrating and scholarly analysis, Ferguson bravely exposes his deeper and darker nature, and by doing so allows the reader to believe ... certainly want to believe ... in the validity of the shocking material regarding sharp business practice. Ferguson is un-relenting in self-criticism. Beyond his self-reported arrogance, and without crocodile tears he strongly implies to the reader that his passion, arrogance, tenacity, whatever one wants to call it, is required for an Entrepreneur to succeed against sophisticated players. Yet, this reader became convinced that he cares deeply about people and society at large.

Finally, his PhD in Political Science from MIT, and obvious continuing deep interest and research in all matters relating to telecommunications comes through powerfully in the final chapter. He goes directly to the heart of a systemic US and International problem as no one has done before in print. Ferguson clearly and carefully documents the fact that the local telecommunications companies - telephone and cable -- are not only denying all of us the power of high bandwidth in the digital age, but, in so doing are literally damaging the overall economy.

Here again Mr. Ferguson names names, and shocking as it may be in terms of recent political events, Presidential candidate John McCain is shown to be a water carrier and clear beneficiary of the extraordinary, if not unprecedented Cartel that blocks all of us from having high bandwidth. Buy the book for this chapter alone - if you want your bandwidth.

Arguably, the only thing missing from Mr. Ferguson's extremely well written book is a copy of the Business Plan he wrote to raise the original VC funding for Vermeer Technologies. On the other hand, if you allow Charles to invest in your startup, he'll probably share that work. "Six Stars"

Ken Kappel ken@webglobal.com

Straight shooter who did it right
Charles Ferguson, an MIT PhD, was the founding CEO of Vermeer Technologies, a company that developed one of the first web design tools. Vermeer sold the company to Microsoft for a boatload of money and lived to tell the tale. It's a fasinating story of what its really like on the inside of a high-tech startup replete with politics, hard-ball negotiations and strange bedfellows. Ferguson may be arrogant, but he's smart and tells it like it is. Anyone thinking of building a startup should read this book.

Sometimes interesting narrative, but flawed analysis
Charles Ferguson is smart. Charles Ferguson knows he's smart. But Charles Ferguson thinks he's smarter and more important than he really is, and this makes this otherwise interesting book sometimes painful to read.

The chapters covering the formation through eventual acquisition of Vermeer Technologies are an interesting education in the ways of VCs and hi-tech startups in the mid 90's. However, the last three chapters of the book are pretty worthless. These contain Ferguson's analysis of the industry and predictions for the future, and suffer because of Ferguson's worldview that he and Vermeer were far more important to the industry than they actually were. Ferguson lacks an understanding of large IT operations, and it's unfortunately evident in these chapters.

Ferguson's pronounced hostility towards certain actors in his book - including former subordinates - also makes for uncomfortable reading. Some things should simply be kept private.

Buy the book if you want to learn about VCs and hi-tech startups early in the Internet era, and don't mind wading through Ferguson's ego eruptions. Otherwise, skip it.

insightful analysis of Microsoft v. Netscape plus bonuses
I met Charles once or twice in and around MIT (he was a grad student in political science; I was/am in the engineering school). So I can vouch for the other reviewers' comments that Charles isn't Mr. Smooth. Nor do I give the book 4 stars because he seems likely to displace Seamus Heaney as a poet. But you'll never see a clearer explanation of how hired-gun CEOs can run a company into the ground. The bigger and most interesting example of this phenomenon covered in the book is Netscape. In ancient times it was believed that you had to train people for 5 or 10 years before they could assume significant management responsibility within a company. Jack Welch started at GE in 1961. He became CEO 20 years later. Steve Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980. He became CEO 20 years later. Venture capitalists are big believers in the idea that any random company can be lead by any random people with impressive resumes. But it doesn't seem to work in the software products business and Charles Ferguson explains why not.

So it is true that the book could have been better written and better edited. But the ideas are worth the wade. ... Read more