Book Description

Americans have always loved risktakers. Like the Icarus of ancient Greek lore, however, even the most talented entrepreneurs can overstep their bounds. All too often, the very qualities that make Icaran executives special-- self-confidence, visionary insight, and extreme competitiveness--spur them to take misguided and even illegal chances. The Icaran failure of an ordinary entrepreneur isn't headline news.But put Icarus in the corporate boardroom and, as David Skeel vividly demonstrates, the ripple effects can be profound. Ever since the first large-scale corporations emerged in the nineteenth century, their ability to tap huge amounts of capital and the sheer number of lives they affect has meant that their executives play for far greater stakes. Excessive and sometimes fraudulent risks, competition, and the increasing size and complexity of organizations: these three factors have been at the heart of every corporate breakdown from 1873, when financial genius Jay Cooke collapsed, to the corporate scandals of the early 21st century. Compounding the scandals is an ongoing cat-and-mouse game between regulators' efforts to police the three factors that lead to Icarus Effect failures and efforts by corporate America to evade this regulation in the name of efficiency and flexibility. These efforts to side-step oversight can rapidly spiral out of control, setting the stage for the devastating corporate failures that punctuate American business history.But there is also a silver lining to the stunning failures: the outrage they provoke galvanizes public opinion in favor of corporate reform. The most important American business regulation has always been enacted in response to a major breakdown in corporate America. Today's business environment poses unprecedented perils for the average American as for the first time ever, more than half of Americans now own stock. Identifying the problems of the past, Skeel offers a strikingly new diagnosis of the fundamental flaws in corporate America today, and of what can be done to fix them. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Excellent overview of the grocery industry
This book covers the current grocery industry from beginning to end. It's ideal for those just entering the business i.e. brand managers, promotion managers, etc. Major retailers, wholesalers are examined in detail. Descriptions concerning popular formats, distribution channels, promotion techniques....you name it....it's here. An excellent read.

An excellent overview of trends in the grocery industry.
This book is an outstanding resource for anyone involved in sales or marketing of grocery products. It begins with an overview of recent events that have shaped the grocery industry, and includes implications for future competition. The extensive section on consumer trends and behaviour is well-researched and easy-to-read. The list of reference resources (including research papers and news articles) is impressive.

A good introduction and survey of the world's largest market
As someone who has spent 30+ years living in the world that the authors describe, I found it a good outline of how the grocery business works - from a marketing point of view. The primary value of the book is in the breadth of its coverage, its readability and shortness. I have personally purchased at least a dozen copies to pass on as orientation material for my senior staff who may benefit from more of a big picture of the world they are working in, as well as specialized consultants for our firm that need to understand our milieu. None of these people would read the longer, more comprehensive tomes. So this book fills an urgent need for some of us practitioners.

Light weight
Barbara Kahn is a marketing professor at Wharton but I hear only because her husband Robert J. Meyer is also a chaired marketing professor in the same department. She wrote a "quantitative" dissertation for her PhD but Kahn actually is a touchy-feely behaviorist who works on variety-seeking behavior, a very trivial topic in marketing ignored by all serious researchers. She knows nothing about quantification by her own admission. She also says her dissertation was written entirely by her supervisor and not by her, my Wharton friends tell me. This background, or rather, the lack of any background, is reflected in her book. The book falls seriously short of its promise and reads like an alphabetical soup. Don't waste your money on this book when there are much better books available on amazon.com. Better still don't waste your time on this book. It's an IQ-reducer and will leave you dumber and more confused.

My review :)
Hi. I read some of the book when I took Professor Kahn's Mktg 101 class. (for those of you in the class, not much was on the test about this book). Anyway, although it was recommended for "Anyone who shops" I shop practically everyday and grew up shopping often at grocery stores, but did not find the book to be a good read. I consider myself relatively well educated in business related literature as I took the class during my senior year at Penn's Wharton school. There seemed to be too much academic information which distracted me from enjoying the book and getting a lot our of it. For people on Prof. Kahn's level of marketing expertise this book is likely to be very useful, but it is not as useful to undergrads in Marketing 101 or to the general population. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Both pervasive and ubiquitous, computerized systems are now an integral component of every corporate strategy in pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. However, when technology is combined with high-risk public safety projects or the production and control of life-saving medicines or devices, it is necessary to ensure that it is reliable, quality assured, and validated. The most comprehensive guide on computer validation currently available, containing more than 200 illustrations and more than 100 tables, Computer Systems Validation helps you see the big picture.The author reviews regulations and their development, organization responsibilities, validation life cycle based on GAMP4 Guide, strategic approaches to validation, electronic records and signatures, handling regulatory inspections, metrics, and opportunities for performance improvement. He presents practical examples and checklists throughout the book and explores the role of quality assurance and risk management as key components of pragmatic regulatory compliance. Covering methods that help you avoid duplicating effort among departments and business functions, the book demonstrates how you can use your investment in technology to improve business efficiency and gain the competitive edge. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Book, but Dang! Where's the rest of it?
Without a doubt, this has got to be one of the best, if not the best book on Arts and Crafts Tile I've seen, and I've got them all. Although dealing with California tile makers only, there's enough material here to fill two books - and in fact, that's what they did! I didn't realize that this is really Vol. I of II, the other covers the rest of the H's down to the Z's. And that's my only gripe - $82 if one buys both, AND now I have to wait 4-5 weeks for the 2nd part. But as a reference to companies and what they made, this book is outstanding. Can hardly wait - Note, the cost of this book has gone up from $41 to the present $59.59 - So, I'd suggest buying the second vol now, before that goes up also. Note II there are two DIFFERENT Books the first covers Tiles from A to half way through the H's, the Second volume covers the rest of the H's down to the Z's. Even though they have different ISBN's Amazon seems to be getting them mixed up, calling the first the "Hardcover" the second book the "updated" book. There are two books, get them both! The 2nd book just as good as the first! ... Read more

Book Description

Rather than solely concentrating on the technology of telecommunications, Carr and Snyder's The Management of Telecommunications: Business Solutions to Business Problems 2/e caters more to the needs of today's business students. Management Of Telecommunications is the ideal textbook for exposing students to all facets of being a telecommunications end-user. It stresses the importance of the managerial decision-making side of telecommunications by applying the use of an integrated continuing case to illustrate key concepts and show the decision process. This book will provide business students with the technical vocabulary, technical understanding, and decision-making ability necessary to be an effective business telecommunications manager.

Students using Carr and Snyder's book will lead the decision-making process by having an understanding of technology tradeoffs in relation to costs, marketing, customer service, and competition. Students will learn how telecommunications and telecommunications-intensive information systems, in particular, are part of the strategic, tactical, and operational decision processes of an organization. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A terrific book at any price!
This book has some fantastic material in it. I am now teaching college. Whenever I get a chance to recommend a book, I always recommend my students use this book. It has a phenomenal section about telecommunication laws that is outstanding for using in lectures. It reads well, and is very helpful!

If I had a choice, I would not read this book.
As a beginner in the telecommunications field I was expecting something more simple and understandable.It is full of boring and unnecessary paragraphs, especially the ones in the blue windows.The book is very chatty and verbose.It is wasting my time. I was assigned this book at DeVry for a freshman telecommunications management course.The professor agrees that the book is written in a very complicated language. Every time he quotes the book, he stops to say: "Now, Let's translate this to English". If it was my decision, I would not choose this book for my class.

Great Text
Having taken the course that this book is for, I quickly learned the basics of Telecommunications. The author's designed the layout of the text to be an easy entry to this vast technical field. Each chapter is introduced with a general "story", sometimes several stories, that explains in layman's terms the overall concept. Then the text explains the information on a more technical level. Some of the information presented IS outdated but all of it is relevant. The authors included this "outdated" information to show just what has been accomplished in the arena of Telecom. But they also introduce some of what is to come. A "Thumbs Up" to both of the authors for publishing a great text.

Great for Intro to Business Communications
I did not have much previous knowledge of telecommunications and their use in the business world. I feel that this text is an excellent introduction for any executive or student who has no prior experience with this topic. It is well written and flows very well. It is written in a manner than anyone can take it and gain a world of knowledge about the telecom industry.

Not at all very friendly!
The book drags, it explains nothing. Its out dated, and very poorly written. Absolutely the worst book I ever had to read. Have sleeping disorders try reading a few pages of this book, it is the perfect sedative. ... Read more

Book Description

Inside the Minds: The Sports Business is an authoritative, insider's perspective on the ins and outs of this dynamic industry and the strategic thinking behind leading an elite athletic workforce. Featuring senior management from the nation’s premier teams and leagues, this book provides a broad, yet comprehensive overview of the current shape and future state of professional sports. As they raise critical points around running a business under intense public scrutiny, these authorities offer practical and adaptable strategies for building a strong fan-base and profiting year after year. From revenue and salary management, to player acquisitions and negotiations, these leaders articulate the finer points of an industry driven by talent and fueled by the desire for success. The different niches represented and the breadth of perspectives presented enable readers to get inside some of the great strategic minds of today, as experts explore in detail, what it takes to build and sustain the organizations that win championships. ... Read more

Book Description

Home Business Breakthrough!

Here's what you will find in this highly detailed, step-by-step publishing manual:

—How to get started in this high-profit business with little or no cash up front.

—How to take advantage of the amazing profitability of niche-market, publishing

—How to gther the secret, inside information that you need about your competitors and the way they do business.

—How to know if your publication will make money before you spend a single cent.

—Niche markets: what they are and how to find them in your own backyard.

—How to start and publish a full-fledged community weekly newspaper.

—How to start and publish a modified weekly.

—You to start and publish your own niche-market tabloid

—How to start and publish free circulation shoppers’ guides and all-classified shoppers’ guides.

—How to sell your ads and manage your sales staff.

—How to find top salespeople who will wait to be paid until the money comes in.

—How to design advertising that really works.

—How to design your publication: tips that save money and time.

—How to circulate and distribute your publication: paid circulation or free?

—The big payday: how to sell your successful publication for big bucks.

—Appendix I: A Simple Sales Manual That Works.:

—Appendix II: A Library of Publishing Forms;

—Appendix III: A Glossary of Publishing and Printing Terms;

—Appendix IV: Sources and Contacts. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Truly lives up to its name
How To Publish Your Own Weekly Newspapers, Niche-Market Tabloids & Free Circulation Shoppers truly lives up to its name as Thomas Williams takes the aspiring publisher through a detailed instructional manual on every aspect of the publishing process from beginning to end. The hallmark of this superbly written and presented "how to" guide is the clarity of Williams' presentation for launching, maintaining, and prospering as a home-based, niche-oriented publisher from the creation of a business plan to the promotion and distribution of the publication. Anyone considering publishing any kind of newspaper, tabloid, or shopper should first begin by giving How To Publish Your Own Weekly Newspapers, Niche-Market Tabloids & Free Circulation Shoppers a very careful reading -- it can save enormous amounts of money, energy, and anxiety, as well as assuring success in a very competitive marketplace! ... Read more

Book Description

Offering a complete analysis of antitrust (or competition policy) issues, this study is enhanced by frequent references to antitrust cases and a few fully developed case studies.Although it can be used as an economics textbook in graduate or advanced undergraduate courses, the book is equally accessible to lawyers, practitioners, and readers interested in antitrust issues, but unfamiliar with modern economics. Technical explanations of material are relegated to separate "technical" sections that can be skipped without losing continuity. ... Read more

Book Description

Why do life-saving prescription drugs cost so much? Drug companies insist that prices reflect the millions they invest in research and development. In this gripping expose, Merrill Goozner contends that American taxpayers are in fact footing the bill twice: once by supporting government-funded research and again by paying astronomically high prices for prescription drugs. Goozner demonstrates that almost all the important new drugs of the past quarter-century actually originated from research at taxpayer-funded universities and at the National Institutes of Health. He reports that once the innovative work is over, the pharmaceutical industry often steps in to reap the profit.

Goozner shows how drug innovation is driven by dedicated scientists intent on finding cures for diseases, not by pharmaceutical firms whose bottom line often takes precedence over the advance of medicine. A university biochemist who spent twenty years searching for a single blood protein that later became the best-selling biotech drug in the world, a government employee who discovered the causes for dozens of crippling genetic disorders, and the Department of Energy-funded research that made the Human Genome Project possible--these engrossing accounts illustrate how medical breakthroughs actually take place.

The $800 Million Pill suggests ways that the government's role in testing new medicines could be expanded to eliminate the private sector waste driving up the cost of existing drugs. Pharmaceutical firms should be compelled to refocus their human and financial resources on true medical innovation, Goozner insists. This book is essential reading for everyone concerned about the politically charged topics of drug pricing, Medicare coverage, national health care, and the role of pharmaceutical companies in developing countries. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Definitely worth reading
I found this book fascinating, informative and thought-provoking. It examines how the current system for bringing new drugs to market works, what the short-comings of this system are, and how it could be improved to get more benefit from the money that tax-payers and users of health services (whether by paying directly for drugs or through insurance premiums)contribute.

Although this could have become a really dry exercise in economics or a political tirade agains drug companies, instead it contains a series of stories which track the development of some of the major "breakthrough" drugs in recent history. We are introduced to people who dedicated their lives to finding a cure for a single disease and read about the many set-backs and struggles that they had to go through to achieve this goal. The medical information that is explained in the course of these stories was, for me, one of the most interesting aspects of the book

Highly Recommended
There is so much BS coming out of the pharmaceutical industry these days that it's refreshing to read something that has the ring of truth to it. The author has done his homework.

Highly Recommended
This is a superbly researched and well written book explaining the scamming of America by Big Pharma. We have the only government in the world which allows this industry to price gouge the citizenry. Please read this book and tell your friends.

You can find out more about this issue at www.rxsanity.org ... Read more

Book Description

Designed to assist managers in companies of any size to understand the nature of project financing in the new European Community, enabling them to anticipate the requirements of project finance institutions. Coverage includes new sources of project finance, the changing criteria of large project financial organizations, the most popular financing techniques, cross-border projects, Russian privatization, emerging markets and the distribution of resources across the EC. Features numerous case studies of project finance. ... Read more

Reviews (57)

If only this were a bestseller...
There'd be alot less hell for animals out there. Until now, I'd read other horror stories about the treatment of livestock from the workers, and was disgusted thinking there are actually people out there with attitudes like that, but this book opened my eyes to how the workers are being mistreated and, unfortunately, take out their frustration on the farm animals. Another testament to how people use and abuse animals and there's hardly anyone noticing, Gail Eisnitz's "Slaughterhouse" is disturbing, but also educating and stimulating to make a move and take action to change laws and regulations in the U.S. meat industry. This book is an absolute MUST READ to anyone who eats meat or cares about animals or their own well-being from the meat they consume. A striking look into human greed, concience and ignorance towards anything other than us, I recommend "Slaughterhouse" to all.

Must Read Account of the Danger of Eating Meat
Here is a book so shocking and unbelievable I had to corroborate some of the extensive research for myself. I found myself shaking my head in disbelief on every page. While I was able to corroborate the statistics on disease and the "after hours" slaughter activity, the animal treatment issues were more difficult. In fact, when you search for "inhumane" on the USDA website, you'll get NO hits - a further testimony to Ms. Eisnitz story of the coverup and corruption that exists in the agency. The story exposes what is true in so many industries - collusion between businessmen and politicians for the benefit of the personal gain of a few at the expense of many people and in this case, animals as well. With all of the reasons not to eat animal products, this books clinches the case. Certainly, anyone who learns about the dangers of doing so from this book would have to reconsider their diet. And any parent would never let their children eat meat again.

Gail A. Eisnitz is a Modern Day Heroine
Gail A. Eisnitz is one of the bravest, brighest lights on this planet. I recently had the privilige of meeting and interviewing her and was immensely impressed and inspired by her unflinching dedication to tell the truth about what's taking place in America's slaughterhouses. For an update on Gail's work, please visit www.hfa.org, the website of the Humane Farming Organization.

I am a yoga teacher and I wish that all yoga teachers and their students would read this book. The great yoga masters through the ages urge us to consider all aspects of our lives and to revere all living things. Yoga addresses the ethical life through a whole range of practices that encourage us to live in harmony with nature, which includes how we treat animals.

The practice of yoga is rooted in the principle of "ahimsa" (non-violence). The great yoga masters teach that "The yogi believes that every creature has as much right to live as he has. He believes he is born to help others and he looks upon creation with the eyes of love." The yogi knows that his life is linked inextricably with other living things. A complete, holistic yoga practice encompasses a way of life that addresses the harm we inflict on animals.

If you love animals and want to do your share to ease their suffering, please read SLAUGHTERHOUSE and purchase extra copies for your friends. To me, Gail A. Eisnitz is a modern day heroine who embodies the qualities of a compassionate yogini. I applaud and support her work with all my heart and soul and cannot recommend her book too highly.

Suza Francina R.Y.T., author, The New Yoga for People Over 50 and Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause.
Former mayor, Ojai, California.

All To Real
In 1989, Gail Eisnitz recieved a letter from Timothy Walker, a well known whistleblower. His letter stated that he has first hand knowledge that a slaughterhouse (Kaplan Industries) was skinning live cattle. At first, she didn't know what to believe so she called the USDA. A USDA inspector called her back with the findings: no cattle were being skinned alive at Kaplan.
She decides to contact Walker by phone. When asked how he knew that Kaplan was skinning live cows, he stated that he was a USDA employee. He begins to tell Eisnitz a few more details.
In the US alone, over one hundred and one million pigs are slaughtered each year. Thirty seven million cattle and calves, more than four million horses, goats and sheep and over eight BILLION chickens and turkeys are killed.

Millions of chickens leaking yellow pus, stained green feces, contaminated by harmful bacteria and tumors are shipped for sale to customers.

At a Perdue plant, there is so much fecal contamination on the floor from chickens that it leaked into a workers boots and burned his feet so badly that his toenails had to be amputated. The company won't even allow workers to leave the line to go to the bathroom so they relieve themselves on the floor. Sometimes the chickens that are hung, fall to the floor that is covered with roaches, feces and blood. The chickens that fall aren't even washed off before being hung back up on the line. One worked said that he "saw flies on the chicken as it went down the line and maggots in boxes which contained bags that the chickens would be wrapped in." Occasionally, maggots were ground up with everything else and remained in the final product.

This is disturbing, and it should be. I hope that those who read this book will do something. Write to your senator or member of parliament, stop eating meat or even distribute this book among friends. Just do something. These are animals. They feel pain just like you do. Would you allow this to happen to a dog or cat? They why allow it to happen to farm animals.
This is a book that everyone needs to read. A lot of people believe or like to believe that their dinner arrived on their plate humanely. People need to know about wrongdoings like this. It's inhumane and it's wrong, plain and simple.

Literally - clean your plate!
Ms.Eisnitz has convinved me that the principals that drive successful businesses are at work in our food supply to nefarious ends. While driving down costs and improving productivity may be laudable in the production of wigets, in the killing and "cleaning" of our meats, these ends are set to produce an epidemic of deadly pathogens and diseased foods. The recent mad cow scare has hopefully produced the publicity this book and others of its ilk have long sought. The USDA has proven to be impotent and having cattlemen assoc. leaders overseeing production is insanity.A very insightful read. ... Read more

Book Description

Creative Industries Contracts between Art and Commerce Richard E. Caves This book explores the organization of creative industries, including the visual and performing arts, movies, theater, sound recordings, and book publishing. In each, artistic inputs are combined with other, "humdrum" inputs. But the deals that bring these inputs together are inherently problematic: artists have strong views; the muse whispers erratically; and consumer approval remains highly uncertain until all costs have been incurred. To assemble, distribute, and store creative products, business firms are organized, some employing creative personnel on long-term contracts, others dealing with them as outside contractors; agents emerge as intermediaries, negotiating contracts and matching creative talents with employers. Firms in creative industries are either small-scale pickers that concentrate on the selection and development of new creative talents or large-scale promoters that undertake the packaging and widespread distribution of established creative goods. In some activities, such as the performing arts, creative ventures facing high fixed costs turn to nonprofit firms.To explain the logic of these arrangements, the author draws on the analytical resources of industrial economics and the theory of contracts. He addresses the winner-take-all character of many creative activities that brings wealth and renown to some artists while dooming others to frustration; why the "option" form of contract is so prevalent; and why even savvy producers get sucked into making "ten-ton turkeys," such as Heaven's Gate. However different their superficial organization and aesthetic properties, whether high or low in cultural ranking, creative industries share the same underlying organizational logic. Richard E. Caves is Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University. June 61/8 x 91/4 480 pp. ... Read more

Book Description

From the bestselling author of F.I.A.S.C.O., a
riveting chronicle of the rise of dangerous
financial instruments and the growing crisis in American business
The still-unfolding financial story is terrifying. One by one, major corporations such as Enron, Global Crossing, and Worldcom are imploding all around us, prey to a greed-driven culture and dubious or illegal corporate finance and accounting. Our financial system has suddenly reached a perilous crossroads.
In a compelling and disturbing narrative, Frank Partnoy brings to bear all of his skills and experience as a securities attorney, financial analyst, law professor, and bestselling author to tell the story of the rise of the trading instruments and corporate financial structures that now imperil the economic health of the country. Starting in the mid-1980s with the introduction of the first proto-derivatives, and taking us through such high-profile disasters as Barings Bank and Long Term Capital Management, Partnoy traces a seamless progression to today's dangerous manipulations. He documents how each new level of financial risk and complexity obscured the sickness of the company in question, and required ever more ingenious deceptions. The story becomes more alarming with each passing day, but Partnoy offers a clear vision of how we can step back from the precipice.
... Read more

Reviews (16)

his first book was better
I am about halfway through this book, but so far I enjoyed Frank Partnoy's first book, "FIASCO: Blood in the Water on Wall Street", much better. FIASCO was mainly an auto-biographical account of Partnoy's career at Morgan Stanley. Writing about his own life afforded Partnoy the opportunity to be more anecdotal and humorous about his subject matter. In this book, his focus is on scandals that made the headlines, or even worse, were suppressed from greater public knowledge. (Enron, LTCM, Orange County, the Salomon Bros Treasury auction scandal, etc).

He recants these tales with tongue in cheek humor, and he translates finance-geek-speak into a language which people outside of the business can understand. However, in his Vernacular translation, he loses some of the wind of the real story. Maybe its because I am in the business, so no details need to be spared for my benefit, but I would have preferred reading more technical accounts.

At any rate, Partnoy is a crusader, out to teach the world about the dangers of financial products. Frankly, I think he goes to far in his ranting, and this book is merely a vehicle for him to advance his agenda of reform and regulation. Its true that some people have exploited the market for less than altruistic purposes, but the truth is that derivatives have been more beneficial than harmful to the global financial system. To tell the tale all of the evil in the financial markets without mentioning the good is misleading.

Get this book if you want to understand Wall Street antics
This book is an absolute must read if you want to understand Wall Street shenanigans. Partnoy has done a phenomenal job of demystifying the world of swaps, derivatives and other exotic financial instruments. Even better, he shows how investment banker antics have affected Main Street inhabitants including yourself. How did Orange County and so many other municipalities get so deeply in trouble? The author explains.

I have a Ph.D in business and many finance courses under my belt, but I never quite understood the systemic dangers of the 'financial innovation' that is sweeping our markets. Now that I have, I will sleep much less well at night.

Partnoy describes the evolution of exotic instruments and the characters involved in this evolution. How CS First Boston made securites of virtually any type of debt, Salomon pioneered the CMO and so on. He details the specific wrongdoings of companies like Enron, Global Crossing and WorldCom. He shows you the enabling role played by gatekeepers like accounting firms, law firms, analysts and credit rating agencies.

Even more important, he shows you exactly how the collusion happened and why. He gives you both an aerial view of the markets and a down-in-the-trenches description. I often wondered why, in efficient markets, participants voluntarily involved themselves in such convoluted transactions that had high costs in terms of record-keeping and fees. The answer, as Partnoy shows, is that virtually all of these arrangements permit some set of parties to subvert law or regulation or both. This is true domestically and internationally.

He graphically describes how lobbying keeps regulators at bay and the venality and ineffectuality of politicians. The chairperson of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, for example, exempted important parts of Enron's business from regulation and, just weeks later, joined Enron' board. There are many such stories that show exactly how self-serving our legislators and regulatory guardians are.

My quibbles are minor. While Partnoy is clear, his language is colorless. Perhaps his legal background has something to do with this. Given the strength of his material and the depth of his research, he could have made this book a popular bestseller if he had used more forceful colloquial expression.

Also, he does not talk at all about the role of technology in this evolving mess. Greedy, incredibly smart bankers have always been with us. What has permitted them to have this huge impact now is the ability of computers to churn massive amounts of data, pick out the faintest of patterns and keep records of incredibly complex transactions involving dozens of parties over vast stretches of time.

This said, this is the best book I have yet come across that explains how and why large scale financial malfeasance happens. And why it is hardly ever punished. You will understand why the perpetrators of Enron, Global Crossing, Adelphia, WorldCom, Sunbeam and so many others will walk and hold on to their vast gains. Start praying that there is justice beyond our courts.

Good advice and exiting facts
This book it's a very exiting journey since the late 80's until the issues of enron and worldcom, it covers step by step how financial innovation has been changing and is a good reference for anyone who likes true stories.

Partnoy is the man !!!
POSITIVE: In-dept overview of what happend in the last 15 years in "high finance". The authors knowledge on the topics can hardly be beaten. Author pretty harsh in critisicing Moodys, CDOs etc. Very interesting findings (e.g. trading profits at Enron, harsh treatment of Quattrone). The author provides some good solutions in the finance world at the end of the book.

NEGATIVE: Value creation, especially of derivatives, is not mentioned in the book. Thus, book rather critical. Book not as readable as FIASCO due to more difficult topics (and NOT authors fault).

Partnoy's still complaining.
Frank Partnoy, author of this book and the very silly 'FIASCO: Blood in the Water on Wall Street', implies an illustrious career structuring and selling complex derivatives. In actual fact he worked on Wall Street for just two years in total ' straight out of college. Instead of succeeding by staying the course, Partnoy made his millions by violating the Wall Street code of omerta and knocking out a sensationalist, mostly ignorant, account of the year or so he spent at Morgan Stanley. Infectious Greed is the follow-up, which purports to document the wreckage across the market since.

Having read FIASCO, which was valuable mostly for its unintended humour, I didn't expect much of Infectious Greed; I was rather looking forward to slating it, to be honest. It has the same air of maiden-aunt prurience as FIASCO but, almost despite himself, Partnoy's conclusions here aren't especially objectionable, and mostly undermine the tone of studied outrage he cultivates throughout the early part of the book.

The thesis of the book is that the financial markets have, of late, been corrupted by deceit and risk (hang on a minute: financial markets are *about* risk. Is it meaningful to say they can they be corrupted by it?). Yet at least half the book recounts events in the derivatives market which took place ten or more years ago, in the primordial soup of the derivatives market. If a week is a long time in politics, a decade is an aeon on Wall Street: in 2004, the exploits of Bankers Trust and CS First Boston in 1993 aren't exactly current. The nascent derivatives market is now a mature trillion dollar industry. I dare say Professor Partnoy wouldn't recognise it.

Partnoy's explanations of the transactions are, however, lucid: so much so that they undo his conclusions. At one point he describes in two paragraphs the 'whipsaw' risk of an 'Inverse IO' instrument. It's a very clear explanation, which completely undermines his concluding observation that 'it was unclear whether any mutual-fund mangers [the investors] understood all of this'. Here's the thing: to put not too fine a point on it, a professional fund manager who doesn't understand what can be lucidly explained in eight sentences, yet still invests in it, should be shot. So should his employer. And neither deserves the respect (for which, read, money) of the public. It might seem a harsh lesson, but it wouldn't take too many collapses to shake the mums and dads in Ohio out of their complacent stupor and shift their funds to a manager who was prepared to employ qualified managers and supervise them properly. The market has a way of teaching people valuable lessons that market regulation and government bail-outs really don't.

The funny thing is, Partnoy does continually stumble over this axiom, but doesn't recognise it. He quotes a Peat Marwick partner who derides ignorant fund managers thus: 'if you don't understand, you might as well place it all on red at Atlantic City or Las Vegas, because at least there you get free drinks.' Though Partnoy doesn't think so, the analogy is a good one: the very nature of Las Vegas (and Wall Street) ' its immense and lavish megaliths ' is the most graphic illustration of the fact that, unless you really know your onions, you are NOT going to end up a winner. The house is; which is why it can afford to build a full size Tomb of Tutankhamen in the middle of the hotel and charge only fifteen bucks a night for a room. Like Casinos, Wall Street trading desks have a motive ulterior to realising some poor schmuck's American dream; the object is to make ' not lose ' money, and this is exactly what they do and a statistically constant basis.

Partnoy repeatedly calls for regulation of the derivatives market without ever making a case for how this might be done or how it would prevent the losses he documents in the book: criminal statutes don't stop people committing murder, after all. All the regulation in the world won't stop fraudsters (if they're committing fraud, then by definition the regulations are already there, and they're breaking them). On the other hand, exploring the idiosyncrasies of rules *without* breaking them is the prerogative of every citizen, not just Wall Street banks. After all, regulatory arbitrage is only possible because of prescribed regulatory rules tend not to precisely reflect economic reality. If rules have irrational boundaries, then it is economically rational to exploit them.

Eventually, Partnoy acknowledges this. He cannot ultimately muster much venom for the perpetrators of the Enron debacle, and by the epilogue, where he sets out his recommendations (full marks to him for putting his money where is mouth is, by the way: it's one thing to criticise; quite another to suggest a solution) his proposals don't include regulation of the wholesale derivatives market ('some derivatives markets might appropriately have been left unregulated' he concedes) but simply equivalent accounting treatment with comparable financial instruments, and most of his fire is reserved not for Wall Street traders or greedy executives, but the rating agencies which operate under the umbrella of a government-sponsored oligopoly (only Moody's, Fitch and S&P are recognised for regulatory purposes). And you'll never guess what his solution is for dealing with the rating agencies: Without a hint of irony, he suggests they be deregulated!

By the final sentence of the book, it seems the most elementary elements of market theory may have finally slipped between bat and pad: Partnoy asks his readers whether they have taken any prudent steps to properly evaluate their investments before putting up any money: 'If you answered 'no,' you have one more person to blame in addition to the accountants, bankers, lawyers, credit raters, corporate executives, directors and regulators who failed to spot the various financial schemes of recent years. You.'

Not, in the final analysis, quite the damning indictment it cracked up to be, then.

Olly Buxton ... Read more

Book Description

"The Carlyle Group is a distressing example of the way Washington, DC works. The Iron Triangle gives you an insiders’ perspective on this ‘creature’ of the Beltway."
–Thomas Fitton, President, Judicial Watch, Inc.

from The Iron Triangle:

Dwight D. Eisenhower, upon leaving the office of president in 1961, warned future generations against the dangers of a "military-industrial complex," and the "grave implications" of the "conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry." The wisdom of these comments has clearly been lost in the forty years since Ike left office. And the first step towards turning things around is understanding how we got here. No single company can illustrate that progression better than the Carlyle Group, a business founded on a tax scheme in 1987 that has grown up to be what its own marketing literature once called "a vast interlocking global network." The company does business at the confluence of the war on terrorism and corporate responsibility. It is a world that few of us can even imagine, full of clandestine meetings, quid pro quo deals, bitter ironies, and petty jealousies. And the cast of characters includes some of the most famous and powerful men in the world. This is today’s America. This is the Carlyle Group. ... Read more

Reviews (37)

Insightful!
This book is worth reading, given that the Carlyle Group employs important former politicians (such as the first President Bush) and deals with politically sensitive companies. This history of the mammoth private equity firm with its fingers in many government pies reminds you that the right relationships and the right schools can compensate for professional ineptitude. And, if a fraction of author Dan Briody's implications about it are true, democracy is in serious trouble. But is even a fraction true? This clumsy compilation leaves you wondering. More original reporting and less exaggeration and bias would have helped Briody prove his conspiracy theories. Unfortunately, he does not display the requisite expertise about finance, law, politics or the arms trade. Indeed, given the innuendoes he delivers in breathless, clichéd prose, you could ask if the book just might include a stretcher or two. It is a suggestive stage whisper from outside the political theater's back door. We say you'll find this novelistic report intriguing, if you take it with a grain of salt.

Insightful!
This book is worth reading, given that the Carlyle Group employs important former politicians (such as the first President Bush) and deals with politically sensitive companies. This history of the mammoth private equity firm with its fingers in many government pies reminds you that the right relationships and the right schools can compensate for professional ineptitude. And, if a fraction of author Dan Briody's implications about it are true, democracy is in serious trouble. But is even a fraction true? This clumsy compilation leaves you wondering. More original reporting and less exaggeration and bias would have helped Briody prove his conspiracy theories. Unfortunately, he does not display the requisite expertise about finance, law, politics or the arms trade. Indeed, given the innuendoes he delivers in breathless, clichéd prose, you could ask if the book just might include a stretcher or two. It is a suggestive stage whisper from outside the political theater's back door. We say you'll find this novelistic report intriguing, if you take it with a grain of salt.

Useful recent history
"The Iron Triangle" is a piece of investigative journalism about the Carlyle Group. It isn't a business book, which should be obvious (though it wasn't to some reviewers). It isn't great literature, and it isn't conspiracy theory either, though it is hard to talk about the Carlyle Group without sounding a bit like a conspiracy theorist. (Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you). Those who were expecting something else are going to be disappointed, but if you want to know some more about the history of the Carlyle Group and its brand of access capitalism, it is definitely worth a quick read. It's not a weighty tome. If it doesn't make the hairs on your neck stand up at least a couple of times, you're not paying close enough attention! Except for a chapter in Unger's "House of Bush, House of Saud", I don't know of anywhere else you're going to find out much else about this influential and frankly scary company. Admittedly, Briody's writing style and tendency to come to extreme conclusions can wear a bit thin, but even with a skeptical attitude on the part of the reader, some knowledge is bound to be gained by reading this. Don't expect Shakespeare or a b-school case study and you won't be disappointed.

Bush and Bin Laden's good friends?
Say it aint so! But of course it is!

I Wrot And Imprtint Boock!
While I'm not as strong as Carri from New Jersey, and therefore couldn't tear this 210 page book in half, I was just as disgusted by it's shoddy presentation. I don't understand how any real publisher could allow a book with so many spelling, punctuation and grammer errors to leave the presses.

Beyond that, Mr. Briody's continuing search for conspiracies under every rock is wearing thin. The relationship between Dick Cheney and Halliburton stinks to high heaven, but all the hand-wringin about Carlyle, Skull & Bones, etc., is pretty far-fetched. ... Read more

Book Description

Security Supervision: Theory and Practice of Asset Protection, Second Edition has been completely updated to include 24 new chapters and five chapters revised from the 1995 edition. Written by 46 of the industry's leading security supervisors, authors, educators, and consultants, this volume is a complete source of training information for the aspiring security supervisor. It will improve knowledge about the diverse critical issues affecting today's security professional including personnel selection, quality control, and outsourcing. Security Supervision will guide the security professional to a complete mastery of leadership skills.



The International Foundation for Protection Officers (IFPO) was established as a non-profit organization in January 1988 for the purpose of facilitating the training and certification needs of protection officers and security supervisors from both the commercial and proprietary sectors. It has developed two comprehensive distance delivery styled courses; the Certified Protection Officer (CPO) program and the Certified Security Supervisor (CSS) program. Many corporations and institutions have adopted these programs and integrated them with their existing staff development process and training guidelines. The Foundation also publishes a quarterly newsletter, Protection News, with circulation to all IFPO members as well as candidates enrolled in either the CPO or CSS programs. This publication is designed to keep professionals current on trends within the security industry and is full of valuable information and commentary pertinent to the enhancement of life safety and property protection.

Completely updated with 24 new chapters
Enhances learning with various forms and quizzes at the end of chapters
Completion of the Security Supervisor Program is the initial step towards designation as a Certified Security Supervisor (CSS). ... Read more

Book Description

Global M & A activity continues at a blistering pace.However, a recent study of Fortune 500 executives found that postmerger integration issues­­such as culture clashes, style, ego, and change management­­are the most common pitfalls that can derail otherwise successful mergers or acquisitions. M & A Integration meets that trend head-on, providing a practical framework for integrating acquisitions while helping managers direct each step in the volatile postmerger integration process.

Reviews (2)

A helpful place to start with an important theme
Participating as a senior manager in my first large merger (Prudential/Wachovia), I found this book a helpful guide. It is a bit of a primer, so it will probably not appeal to old M&A hands; however, any MBA can tell you about discounted cash flow analysis, but few CEOs have mastered the art and science of integration, which is the focus of this book.

The glamor is in the deal making: late nights with the lawyers and bankers. But most (most!) mergers fail to yield their expected value because the unglamorous job of integration is largely ignored during the deal and often mishandled afterwards.

Schweiger's theme is that integration is paramount to ultimate success and it must begin at or before valuation and due diligence, and it must be integrally woven into every step and every process.

The book is readable, logically organized and helpful.

Clothing the Emperor
As David Schweiger is the first to admit, M&A activity often turns out to be a source of value only to shareholders in the acquired company. In other words, it is much easier to put a value on potential synergies, increased market share and cost-savings than it is to capture any of these items. This book, written with both pragmatic bottom-line sense as well as compassion for the millions of employees affected by M&As each year, offers an extremely practical guide to capturing that elusive value. M&A can be a bad case of the Emperor having no clothes - a strategy based upon benefits that simply won't ever materialise, something the individual memebers of the crowd may be able to see perfectly well but which they would never dare to admit. Here is an alternative to the cynicism that often accompanies M&A; following Schweiger's methodology might just end with the Emperor being more than halfway decent... There is also an excellent guide to personal survival in an uncertain corporate world. Every manager should have a copy. ... Read more