Book Description

Bad debt and poor receivables management are the most common reasons small businesses fail.Some businesspeople make the mistake of thinking they have achieved success when getting an order. But, as many have discovered to their disappointment, that's only half the equation. The other half is getting the money in a timely manner. Credit and Collection Letters Ready to Go! makes letter writing faster, easier, more effective, and more productive.This comprehensive financial resource and relationship-building tool presents dozens of powerful letters you can customize to keep collection problems under control without alienating customers. In addition, it includes several sample forms and documents you can use to create sound credit policies and pick the best credit risks. This book includes

• Prudent guidelines for extending credit
• Samples and guidance for setting up an effective collection program
• Practical advice on how and when to use collection professionals
• Savvy insight on navigating the legal system
• Sound guidance for handling international credit and collection
• Handy credit applications, forms, and checklists

Reviews (1)

very helpful information
I read this book after starting my new job as a debt collector and it helped me to triple the amount i was collecting the month after I read it. I only read the areas that directly affected my specific job, so I can only speak for some of the book, but what i did read was well written and very informative. A definite for anyone collecting or dealing with credit collectors. ... Read more

Book Description

This is a straightforward, readable account, written with the minimum of jargon, of the central importance of money in the ordinary business of the life of different peoples throughout the ages. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

In the near future the UK will need to decide whether or not to join the euro. Yet few of us really understand the issues at stake. Will the Government lose control of the economy if we join or will we lose investment and weaken our international voice if we remain outside the euro? When, if ever, will the time be right to join?
In this clear, accessible guide, Paul Temperton, explains in a straightforward and totally impartial manner the pros and cons of the UK joining the euro. This book contains all the information necessary for the layperson to make up his or her own mind about an issue that will affect the lives of everybody living in the UK.
... Read more

Book Description

As a result of reengineering and downsizing, credit and collection departments are under tremendous pressure to produce more with less. This comprehensive guide shows credit managers and controllers how to automate their credit card and collection systems in order to increase efficiency as well as revenue. ... Read more

Book Description

The Theory of Monetary Institutions analyzes the often overlooked - but fundamental - questions about monetary policy regimes:How and why have monetary institutions evolved into their present forms?What are the leading arguments for and against government involvement in money and banking?What models do we have for explaining how monetary authorities choose to behave in a discretionary fiat money regime, and how well do they fit?What alternatives to the current regime are available, and how would they work?Using a history of thought approach, The Theory of Monetary Institutions begins with a logical evolutionary account of the development of market monetary institutions from barter to the inter-bank clearinghouse. It analyzes the behavior of a metallic money standard, the market forces regulating the quality of bank-issued money, and the "naturalness" of the various roles associated with central banking.The second section of the book scrutinizes the major welfare arguments used to justify government roles in the monetary and banking systems - such as Samuelson's "non-optimality of money-holding under laissez-faire" and Diamond and Dybvig's parable about the danger of bank runs - and identifies their strengths and weaknesses. The third section reviews the major positive theories for explaining central bank behavior in a discretionary fiat regime: the seigniorage motive, political business cycles and the trap of discretion. Concluding with a discussion of alternative regimes, the book examines monetary rules, private fiat money and a multi-commodity standard. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

this book is worth the price-
This is indeed an interesting book, the only topic really missing being the debate on competitive banking under 100% reserves versus fractional reserve free banking. Chapters on, among other topics, dynamic inconsistency, monetary rules and competitive supply of fiat-type money-with a lucid critique of the Klein-Hayek model-are absolutely excellent. The math is accessible although at a serious level.

A Great Comprehensive Book
A great book. It is very comprehensive and written in a simple way (regarding the complexity of the themes it deals with). The investigation is very objective, it uses sound theoretical analysis and different mathematical models (which he explains in relatively simple terms), contrasting them with the historical evidence and empirical data. It treats the history and development of money (from commodity money to fiat money), and monetary institutions, doing an exceptional analysis of the gold standard, its costs and benefits. It also analyzes the role of Central Bank's in money and banking, and uses various models used to try to explain the Central Bank's behavior, according to different goals that Central Banks may have. Finally, it discusses alternative monetary proposals from Friedman to Yeager, with its pros and cons. In conclusion, a great book to update and deepen your knowledge about money and banking. ... Read more

Book Description

Wherever there is money, there is money politics-a subject demanding ever greater attention at a time when monetary policies lead and the real economy follows. A principal defining characteristic of the contemporary global economy, Jonathan Kirshner contends, is the rise and preeminence of monetary phenomena—international financial crises, Central Bank Independence and inflation fighting, the creation of the euro, and monetary reform in emerging economies, to name only a few. Moreover, unlike most debates in political economy (such as those regarding trade policy), which are generally recognized as political, monetary phenomena and macroeconomic policies are typically represented as expressly apolitical. In Monetary Orders, a distinguished group of scholars explores the inescapable political origins of choices about money.The essays in Monetary Orders each address a specific issue or puzzle relating to money and its management. Their authors focus on markedly disparate cases but share a common observation: for most policy choices about money, market forces and economic logic can rule out certain options, but are indeterminate in explaining why one policy rather than another will be chosen.Ultimately, political factors are essential to explain fundamental and consequential choices about money.

Contributors: Rawi Abdelal, Harvard Business School Mark Blyth, Johns Hopkins University Michele Chang, Colgate University Francis Gavin, University of Texas, Austin Ilene Grabel, University of Denver William Grimes, Boston University Eric Helleiner, Trent University Jonathan Kirshner, Cornell University Hector Schamis, Cornell University David Stasavage, London School of Economics Hongying Wang, Syracuse University ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Service to the Profession
This book is excellent. It covers a wide variety of topics and areas of interest, including the theory about finance and development, econometric evidence, and institutional issues. It is a great service to the economic profession and to any one interested in what a growing financial system means to the developing world. Unfortunately, it does not cover the important topic of financial crisis, which is clearly relevant to the developing world today; but it offers a solid and broad look at the arguments and issues of financial development in tranquil circumstances.

centeral bank
99 ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Unique and perceptive explanation of Japan's long recession
Having heard about the publication of this book for some time, I was excited to see it available on Amazon. And the book did not disappoint!

Werner takes an unconventional view of the causes of the recession in Japan--at least to those of us who were educated in the US and taught that the lack of US style free market capitalism was the principal cause. He suggests very convincingly that the extraordinary Japanese stock market and real-estate bubble and subsequent long-term recession were in part caused and created by certain institutions and individuals, namely the Bank of Japan, and discusses the motives of the behavior of those institutions.

The book is a great read with clear and concise explanations of difficult concepts (economics, finance, banking, central banks and financial institutions, etc.) and extensive footnoting of research, quotes and facts (even many of the footnotes are a great read!). I'm sure many will find his claims controversial but any reader will have to admit the arguments are compelling.

Whether you agree with his premise or not (I happen to agree), this book is a great read for anybody interested in Japan, economics, policy making, or even just the stock market.

My professor
As a student of Richard Werner's while he was teaching at Sophia University in Tokyo, I more than once had my eyes opened on the reality of economics and towards the end of my class, the banking sector. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in banking, credit, and the truth about the Japanese economy.

Toto pulls back the curtain on OZ and his cronies!
In "Princes of the Yen", Mr. Werner successfully makes the case that Japan's central bankers are in control of the economy and hence the country. His arguments are backed up substantial research including personal interviews.

In addition, Mr. Werner sheds light on how Japan's economic war continued long after its military war ended (Chapters 2 & 3).

Last but not least, "Princes of the Yen" provides a historical look at the development of money, credit and banking (Chapters 4 & 5).

Understandably, most of the book is devoted to the princes of the yen, and while I enjoyed Mr. Werner's treatment of Japan's central bankers, I also found his historical overview of money, credit, banking and the history of Japan's war economy to be immensely enlightening. In fact, I am still pondering the idea that money is credit, and that credit can be created out of thin air.

I strongly recommend "Princes of the Yen" to those with an open mind who have an interest in banking, money, economics and history. Rest assured that Toto won't fail to amaze you.

A new perspective to the existing literature
This book offers us an alternative perspective to the rise and fall of the Japanese economy. Supported by extensive research, the author has successfully uncovered the reasons behind the Japanese economic growth. Credit creation accounts for at least 90% of the money supply in the market. An uncheck institution such as the Bank of Japan has control over the country¡¦s credit creation and allocation. It is without a doubt that the central bank plays a major part in any country¡¦s economy. This book has also revealed a very essential question of the necessity of the current central banking system. Who has the control over the central banks? Do we really need a central bank?

This book is an excellent reading for anyone who does not want to be conformed by the standard textbook explanation. In a way, this book is probably closer to the reality than most conventional economic readings.

Lucid and eye opening, a life changing book
I was a student of economics and until reading this book I was wondering why I ever entered the disipline in the first place; after I read Princes of the Yen I finally felt that someone had given me that reason.

Princes explains the rise and fall of the Japanese economic and political system and dares to explore areas that historians and economists alike have failed to address. While almost all the information I have read on the Japanese economy focuses on the miracle growth and the recent bubble collapse, Professor Richard Werner goes even further back to WWII to uncover the uniqueness of the Japanese economy. He argues convincingly, through statistics, extensive research and personal interviews, that a purposely-designed bank centered version of capitalism has driven the Japanese economic system, and that those who control the creation and allocation of credit, namely the central bank princes, have made the ultimate decisions in Japan's postwar economic history. Thus the current problems in Japan are exposed not in the confused and varied ways that most economists tend to talk about Japan but as part of the actual credit policies and publicly stated (yet little known) goals of Japan's central bank governors.

I loved Japan but couldn't make any sense out of Japanese economics. I am thankful to Professor Werner that I finally have a clear explaination as to what really happened, and a renewed desire to pursue economics as a discipline. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the second volume in a three-volume exposition of Martin Shubik's vision of "mathematical institutional economics"--a term he coined in 1959 to describe the theoretical underpinnings needed for the construction of an economic dynamics. The goal is to develop a process-oriented theory of money and financial institutions that reconciles micro- and macroeconomics, using as a prime tool the theory of games in strategic and extensive form. The approach involves a search for minimal financial institutions that appear as a logical, technological, and institutional necessity, as part of the "rules of the game." Money and financial institutions are assumed to be the basic elements of the network that transmits the sociopolitical imperatives to the economy.

Volume 1 deals with a one-period approach to economic exchange with money, debt, and bankruptcy. Volume 2 explores the new economic features that arise when we consider multi-period finite and infinite horizon economies. Volume 3 will consider the specific role of financial institutions and government, and formulate the economic financial control problem linking micro- and macroeconomics. ... Read more

Book Description

Global stock and bond markets rise and fall in response to naunces in speeches made by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan and other Fed officials. In fact, markets often vacillate immediately and dramatically in response to Greenspan's public remarks. The relationship bertween Fed monetary policy and security return patterns deserves serious examination, and receives it within these pages.

This book presents substantial evidence that an association exists between monetary conditions and returns to various asset classes. It goes on to show how, over the past four decades, investors had the opportunity to use monetary policy to significantly enhance their portfolio performances.

Designed to help readers better understand the importance of monetary policy in investment management, this book also explores topics such asHow one can gauge the monetary policy stance of the Federal ReserveWhat actions the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) take that affect monetary aggregatesHow many "tools" the Fed relies to carry out its objectives. ... Read more

Book Description

WHO SHOT GOLDILOCKS? How Alan Greenspan did in our jobs, savings and retirement plans By William D. Rutherford

The US economy experienced one of the productive and prosperous decades of its history in the 1990s. Led by the engines of technological advancement, a post-Cold War surplus of investment capital worldwide, and the growing importance and practice of international trade, the American economy took off on the longest unbroken expansion in its history. Remarkably, this growth was not so feverish as to create inflation, as production efficiency was at an all time high. It was also steady enough to avoid cool periods many expansions experience. Many economy watchers called it "the Goldilocks Economy," because it was not too hot and not too cool. It was just right, and the country prospered behind it.

Then, very quickly and with little warning, it ground to a devastating halt. Businesses were immobilized by the capital crunch caused by the falling stock market. The fallout was felt nationwide. Millions of hard-working Americans lost their jobs, homes, and savings. Many lost everything.

Across America, people asked the same question: What happened?

In WHO SHOT GOLDILOCKS?: (Crown Point Press, USA;$18.95), William D. Rutherford outlines in detail the economic and policy decisions that helped create the greatest generation of wealth in American history — and the incredible actions that ultimately destroyed it.WHO SHOT GOLDILOCKS? presents a clear-eyed view of the inner workings of the American economy, explains how policy decisions affecting millions are made, and shows how the people responsible for maintaining the course of the economy failed. It is necessary reading for anyone concerned about America’s place in the global economy now and in the future.

WHO SHOT GOLDILOCKS?
How Alan Greenspan did in our jobs, savings and retirement plans.
By William D. Rutherford
Published by Crown Point Press, USA
Publication Date: June 2004
Hardcover; 112 pages ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great airplane read for investors!
This book has answers for anyone who got crushed in the dot.com bust. An impassioned and efficient analysis of 20 years of American financial history. Of significant interest to anyone with money in the market or with concerns about the concentration of economic power in the Federal Reserve Bank.

A Thought Provoking Account of Alan Greenspan
This book is a great way to look at Alan Greenspan's effect on the federal reserve, stock markets, interest rates and inflation. It is well-written and easily accessible for someone wanting to learn about how these entities interact. The perspective on Alan Greenspan is interesting and left me wanting to learn more. It would also be helpful for anyone interested in learning about the stock market or bond market as Greenspan has had such a dramatic effect in both these areas. ... Read more

Book Description

"Like an underground stream which rarely comes to the surface but which nevertheless irrigates the countryside through which it flows, sterling runs through British history, from the Conquest up to the present day."

With this passage, Nicholas Mayhew begins his fascinating look at one of the worlds most storied, influential currencies. Sterling: The History of a Currency is both an absorbing account of the global impact of currency throughout the second millennium and an entertaining primer in financial history and theory.

Mayhew traces the path of sterling from its genesis around 1080, during the rule of William the Conqueror, through latter-day struggles to hold its own amidst the global retreat from precious metals standards and the still-developing Euro. Tales of laborers and merchants interweave with those of knights and kings to reveal the social fabric of European society in 1500. Passages from Adam Smiths 1776 classic The Wealth of Nations outline early but fundamental principles of banking. The dramatic increase in the early nineteenth-century supply of sterling, accompanied by its equally dramatic fall in value, is explored, and the evolution of money from silver and gold through paper, plastic, and electronic impulses is contrasted with social movements that have changed our need for, and relationship with, money.

"Sterling, like the English landscape, has evolved over the centuries, reflecting and sometimes leading to changes in the nations history, and also generating a sense of unchanging stability of fundamental importance to the national psyche."

The history of sterling is nothing less than the history of England and the world. Sterling tells that story with all the vividness and drama which its topic so richly deserves.

This profound book also travels far into the heart of mankinds physical and emotional relationship to currency. Whether you are a student of finance, history, psychology,or sociology, Sterling will leave you with a new appreciation for the central role a currency plays in the development of a nation—and the almost human qualities that currency often assumes as it ages, sometimes gracefully and sometimes fitfully, over the years and centuries.

Through the prism of one of the worlds venerated currencies . . . A fascinating portrait of world history

War . . . peace . . . prosperity . . . famine . . . throughout each of these historical phenomena, the common denominator is mankind—and money. Sterling: The History of a Currency traces the incredible history of England and the world over the past centuries through the ebb and flow of its chief currency, the pound sterling.

From the eleventh-century Domesday Book, with its surprisingly accurate accounting of the population and wealth of England, to the final days of the twentieth century, Sterling describes how England and its omnipresent standard of currency first ruled the globe, then struggled to find a place in an expanding, increasingly complex environment. Detailed photographs strikingly illustrate the lineage of English money over the past century while historical references, quotes, facts, and tales vividly portray the centuries-long partnership of England and sterling in the formation of a culture.

More than a simple recitation of economic facts and figures, Sterling represents a vibrant, lifelike portrait of the people and events that make up one of historys great nations—and the currency that was instrumental in its formation. As workers and farmers toiled to acquire it, merchants and landowners struggled to amass it, and kings and financiers conspired to control it, sterling wrote its own tale. It is a tale of money, power, and life itself, and one that bears scrutiny as we begin our new century. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Highly unorthodox economics
Wray disputes many accepted tenets of modern economics. Conventional theory holds that modern mediums of exchange, i.e. money, appeared because they were more efficient that transactions by barter. Wray suggests money gained value because governments wanted to levy taxes on the population and the public demanded money in order to fufill their tax obligations.

He also takes issue with the intellectual underpinnings of modern monetary and fiscal policy. Government spending is not depedent on the aggregate amount in taxes collected and bonds sold. Rather, the government prints and spends money to purchase necessary goods and services. Tax liability encourages the population to provide such goods and services. The selling of bonds (public debt) is for the purpose of draining excess hoarding of cash in the economy. But if Wray rejects the usually justifications for fiscal and monetary actions by government, the results are the same. Spending in excess of some limit can devalue the currency. Wray's central point, that government fiscal deficits are really the norm has some validity. Convential economists would suggest as long as the aggregate size of the debt is kept reasonable relative to the size of the economy, it follows that annual deficits are acceptable, although Wray's reverse view of cause and effect is unconvincing. It is also easy to see how this view of the world could lead to "free-lunch" thinking that we can spend all we want and tax very little. This same thinking has lead to numerous financial crises and defaults in the third world.

His views lead him to conclude government can eliminate unemployment by becoming the employer of last resort (ELR). He waves away any concern that there may not be enough useful demands for the labor to be provided. He cites New Deal era "workfare" programs as an example. However, workfare never presumed zero unemployment and it wouldn't be too much of leap for Wray's ELR program to become a reincarnation of the old welfare system with more recipients. Although he insists the participants be expected to work, once public policy established a gauranteed income stream to all, that same mindset can steadily rationalize away work requirements.

The biggest weakness to Wray's argument is why it hasn't been tried outside the US where governments are far more open to the type of agressive government economic management he proposes. His book was recommended by William Greider but apparently there aren't many others who subscribe to Wray's view of the world. ... Read more

Book Description

Cash. Loot. Scratch. Lucre. Bread. Coin. Scrip. Moolah. Green. We all think we know intuitively what money is, and what it can do for us. Tom Greco, director of the Community Information Resource Center, understands and explains money on an eye-popping, fundamental level. Moreover, he provides a roadmap on how to make alternatives to the "legal tender" work for individuals, communities, and local economies.

Money will set your mental gears spinning with fantastic ideas. This book explains the mysteries and realities of money in clear and accessible prose, and reveals the true workings, and alarming fragility, of our existing financial system. It also describes concrete and realistic actions that individuals, businesses, social service agencies, and governments can take to enhance productivity and purchasing power, to protect local economies from the ravages of globalization, and to strengthen the bonds of community. Money is a radical critique of our existing financial system, but also a practical and inspirational how-to manual for creating a vibrant and effective community currency system. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Knowledge can set you free
Make an estimate of the amount of time you have spent on preparing yourself to earn money, on getting it, and of taking care of it when you have it. Wouldn't it be worthwile to really understand what it is you are spending all this energy on?
Tom Greco has been doing some of that work for you, with integrity, passion and enormous dedication.
The time has come to shed some light on the mysterious workings of our money. Read why it is a losing game for most people, of why it is our master instead of our servant. More important still: what you can do to change it for yourself and for your own community.

a valuable book
This book is a fruit of the author's "warm heart and cool head." The value of this book is to demonstrate a theory and a method for democratizing the power to issue money. We can understand the necessity for local currencies in order to decrease the concentration of power in monetary and financial system.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT MONEY IS?
MONEY, by Thomas Greco, is one of those books that will cast a light on the shadows of economy as we've known it. But as it happens with every time light is cast, other shadowy areas emerge. The dark side of a system which we take for granted. If anyone suffers or has concerns about money, by reading this book it'll become clear that most people suffer and are concerned about something they didn't even know what it was. What IS money? Why do we suffer under it? What's the problem with money? Most of the world uses it today, though few realize that Legal Tender has legal implications, is part of a legal contract which we agree on even though we haven't even read the large print, much less the small print. By reading MONEY, both large and small print become clear and understandable. This is a book that is both easy to read and easy to understand, and what's perhaps most interesting, a book which will make us realize that our economic problems might not be our personal fault after all, but rather the fault of a system which was never quite right. Money is a technology with side effects. Poverty is a result of money for money functions under the rule of scarcity. If it's scarce, it's more valuable but if it's too scarce, its function as a 'tool of exchange' does not work properly anymore.
MONEY is the beginning of a long road we have ahead of us. A few aspects, especially at the end, might still be too close to our present paradigm about economy, but this should change as more people around the world experience different systems of Alternatives to Legal Tender and thus see their very lives changed for the better. MONEY is only one step -but perhaps the first step most of us need- in the path towards a more humane future.

Bringing Freedom To The World
If we're producing more than ever before in world history,
with technologies creating enough to feed the world, why do we keep getting deeper in debt? It doesn't take a genius to figure there's somethng rotten in Washington,DC.

But it's not the politicians(okay, maybe indirectly), It's not political platforms, and we're not going to change it with term limits or creating new political parties. And we're not going to change it by voting.

There's one way to bring back freedom in the USA and the world, and that's by creating an economic system that eliminates the present system based on debt and greed.

I'm not talking communism. I'm not talking socialism or Marxism or any ism. I'm talking about every citizen taking control of his own economic and social values by creating alternative currencies.

I met Tom Greco several years ago when I was editor of an economics discussion group. I helped him promote his first insightful book on money and debt, and I was impressed by Tom's quiet integrity and deep grasp of the monetary system. This latest book gives the nuts and bolts of economics and lays bare the whole deception set up by our Federal Reserve System. It is written simply and clearly so that you don't need a degree in economics to understand it. I don't have any special education in economics, but after an education from
people like Tom Greco, I was able to hold my own in any economics discussion and show the whole deceitful process for what it is.

You want to know all about economics without paying for an economics degree? Get Tom's book and start changing the world.

Re-empower Yourself and Your Community
"Debtors, as a group," says Thomas Greco, "are in an impossible situation of always owing more money than there is in existence. They are forced to compete with one another for scarce money, in a futile attempt to avoid defaulting on their debts."

How can this be? "Banks create money by making loans," but the money to pay interest is not created at the same time. This guarantees that some will always lose. Like musical chairs where there's one chair less each time around.

About ninety-five percent of existing money has been created as debt with interest due. Events today indicate an economic system on verge of collapse.

Ultimate solution to scarce money? Money was created by humans. It can be redesigned to benefit humanity. What action can you take now to ease economic stress? Create your own community exchange system to supplement official currency.

This book is empowering. Over half of it describes alternative currencies. It tells which systems have proven themselves and how to get them going. During the Great Depression, USA, "People learned to share what they had and to bypass the market and financial systems." They took matters into their own hands. They found ways to exchange goods and services. They helped put the country back on its feet.

I like Greco's compassion and integrity. "Imagine a world in which war and abuse are only dimly remembered, in which everyone has enough to live a dignified life, in which harmony among the species prevails and the rape of the earth has ceased...."

He helps us understand the basic problem: "Economics drives politics, and money is the central mechanism through which economic power is exerted in most of the world..." To change the world, we have to build "new structures that support and nurture rather than coerce and brutalize."

If you're tired of working two jobs and still not making ends meet; or you know people who've lost their jobs or old folks living in poverty; or your community needs a health clinic, READ THIS BOOK.

Re-empowering ourselves by establishing supplementary currencies is a first step to building the kind of world we want. Tom Greco can help you get started. His thirty years' expertise dealing with these questions is a treasured gift.

# # # ... Read more

Book Description

Jonathan Kirshner here examines how states can and have used international currency relationships and arrangements as instruments of coercive power for the advancement of state security. Kirshner lays the groundwork for the study of what he calls monetary power by providing a taxonomy of the forms that such power can take and of the conditions under which it can have effect. He then establishes the actual existence of monetary power by showing how the taxonomy is supported by the historical record, including cases from nations from all over the globe and throughout the twentieth century. He uncovers how monetary power is affected by different monetary regimes, the sources of its success and failure, and the factors that lead states to turn to its use.

Kirshner thus succeeds in developing a generalized framework for the analysis of an important yet neglected form of state power that is likely to be of increasing importance in the post-Cold War era. Although some distinguished scholars have touched on the issue of monetary power, there has been until now no standard text on the subject. Integrating security studies and international political economy, this book is a timely synthesis that will be important to the entire discipline of international relations. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Currency attack should not be overlooked in State's weaponry
The author chronicles the use of currency manipulation and foreign exchange attack to bring about a nation's broader political objectives. He describes the use, since the late 1800s, of a State's currency as an instrument of power - often hidden from commentators of the day - to achieve the political goals of that State. His analysis of the currency play behind the UK's attempt to gain control of the Suez Canal against the objectives of the US is particularly interesting. When addressing the nature of political power in today's econonically interdependent world, an insight into the silent role of currency power should not be overlooked. ... Read more

Book Description

o

By one of the world’s most widely-known business speakers and author of the bestselling Maximum Achievement (over 250,000 copies sold)
o Provides a wealth of practical advice anyone can use to become a self-made millionaire
o Over 2 million people have heard Brian Tracy speak and more than 1.5 million have purchased his audio and video programs The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires shows how anyone, no matter what their station in life at this moment, can become a millionaire. The advice in this booklet is based on Brian Tracy’s decades of careful analysis of the habits and practices of hundreds of self-made millionaires. According to Tracy, successful people are simply those who practice these 21 success secrets. This small, inexpensive book provides a step-by-step formula to become a millionaire—starting from wherever you are today. You’ll learn how to set goals, make plans, and organize yourself to get more of what you really want in life. Use these practical,proven strategies and ideas to move ahead faster than you ever thought possible! Easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to apply, The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires offers a straightforward, eye-opening, life-affirming approach to how the world really works. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Outstanding piece of work!
I bought the video version of this same title back in the 80's along with Psychology of Success by Brian Tracy. In a world of fast talking, self serving promoters, it is refreshing to use the work by a master like Brian Tracy. Brian Tracy may be a new name to many of you even though he is the #1 best selling author of training programs for Nightingale-Conant and has been conducting seminars and producing audio/video training programs since 1983.My income has grown by more than 10 times as a result of following Brians ideas. I highly recommend this book and the video by Tracy. Psychology of Success and Psychology of Achievement are must listen to audio programs.Maximum Achievement is a must read book as well. Brian is the best.

Very Abridged Version of a Library on Personal Success
This book will mainly be valuable to people who love to read books about personal success, and want to have one brief volume that reminds them of everything they have read on the subject.

For those who do not know much about achieving success, the lessons here are usually presented in such a simplified way (without explaining much about why they work) that the meaning will be elusive.

Also, these rules "maximize" the opportunity for those who are truly obsessed about success and/or money. If you are interested in love, happiness, relationships, or having a great family, I think this book will put you out of balance and cost you in those areas.

Mr. Tracy is a very admirable man, and someone from whom we can learn. He is a self-made millionaire. In his comments here, I got one new idea for why. He grew up in Pomona, California. Every person I knew of his age who grew up in that town became extremely eager to overcome their childhood poverty. You may not be so obsessed.

Two things, however, annoy me (as usual) about Mr. Tracy's book. First, he doesn't ever choose to credit anyone whose work he draws on in another book. A great deal of this material (almost verbatim) comes directly from Anthony Robbins' books and courses. Second, the book is often an advertisement for Mr. Tracy's many tapes, seminars, and other books. I get 90 pages-long advertising paperbacks in the mail all the time that are written much like this book. The main difference is that I don't have to pay for those. I think that this advertising is out of place in a book that people purchase.

I graded the book down two stars for these flaws.

The strength of this book is that it contains many brief exercises that will help you begin to develop more useful habits. I hope you will do them. If you do the exercises, you can virtually ignore the text, except for where you want a little insight into why you are doing the exercise.

Without the exercises, I would have graded the book down to two stars to reflect the overly minimal exposition in the 21 essays.

A fundamental weakness of the book is that the 21 rules here could have been boiled down into about 9 points. Many of the concepts overlap one another more than they differ.

Rather than give you the list of the 21, let me distill the book for you instead. It basically says: dream of something that excites you, do things that you enjoy that you are great at, establish goals in writing, keep focused on those goals, develop your skills (Covey's Sharpen the Saw) regularly every day, put the needs of others ahead of yourself, be a decent human being, connect with others, don't entirely ignore your health, work very hard, save some money and invest it, and take action as soon as possible!

You could read Benjamin Franklin and find the same points and have more fun. If you are a young person, that's exactly what I recommend that you do. Old Ben knew how to enjoy life along the way, and was one of the greatest Americans of all time. You will find yourself admiring him. Poor Richard's Almanac is often very pithy on these subjects, so you'll save reading time in the process. People will be more impressed if you quote Ban than Mr. Tracy.

After you finish reading and applying Mr. Tracy's exercises, ask yourself how you can organize your day to have time for all of these activities and whatever else is important in your life. I suggest that you use Life Strategies and the workbook that goes with it to put it all into perspective. Those exercises will help you accomplish these results as well.

Be sure to take care of your health, happiness, and peace before you start focusing too much on prosperity!

Useful despite it size.
I like this book and certainly learn a lot from it. I actually use what is mention in this book as a checklist (add some other "criteria" of my own which i think is important to me) to guide my everyday bahavior. Some particular "secret" mentioned did have very positive impact on me life.

Concise, simple, clear, positive and practical despite it size. A thin book. One only need to invest very little time to read, but the return is well-worth.

Eloquent and Practical
Long ago while growing up in Chicago, I read two books which have had a lasting impact on my personal and professional development: Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People and Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich. I make it a point to re-read both at least once a year; also Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. My guess (only a guess) is that these three books have also had a positive and lasting impact on Brian Tracy. Their influence is suggested in this book as are the Four Gospels and Saint Paul's various Letters in the New Testament.

However, we all realize that each of us must assume full responsibility for our successes and failures in life. The most valuable lessons we learn are from our own experiences, especially from failures. Tracy notes that "more than 90% of all financially successful people today started out broke or nearly broke. The average self-made millionaire has been bankrupt or nearly bankrupt 3.2 times." Hmmm. He chose self-made millionaires as the focal point of this book "because these people had demonstrated social qualities and behaviors that were observable and measurable." He offers 21 "success secrets," most of which are really not secrets. I would be very surprised if any one of them is unfamiliar to anyone who reads this book.

For me, this is the key point: No matter what we read and how carefully we read it, now matter how much wisdom is provided by what we read, NOTHING beneficial will result unless and until we embrace appropriate values, then make decisions and take appropriate actions which are guided and informed by those values.

Tracy insists that success is predictable. I presume to add, that the same is true of failure. "Your greatest responsibility is to dream big dreams, decide exactly what you want, make a plan to achieve it, practice the strategies in this book, take action every single day in the direction of your dreams and goals, and resolve [as Churchill urges] to never, never, never give up." Throughout his book, Tracy does indeed recommend specific strategies to follow and includes a series of Action Exercises to complete. In that event, "You become unstoppable and your success becomes inevitable."

Hill, Carnegie, Franklin, and countless others do indeed share the credit for whatever I may have achieved in my life thus far but only I am responsible for what remains of that life.

It is not enough to read and admire Tracy's book. As I have previously indicated, the challenge is to embrace appropriate values, then make decisions and take appropriate actions which are guided and informed by those values. The extent to which we respond to that challenge will determine whether or not we succeed or fail when pursuing whatever our dreams may be.

Inspiring
I like this book because it was short and to the point. I read it in an evening. ... Read more

Book Description

In many countries, monetary policy decisions are made by committees. In the United States, these decisions are made by the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which consists of the seven members of the Board of Governors and the presidents of the twelve district banks. This book examines the process by which the preferences of the FOMC's individual members are translated into collective policy choices. This focus on the aggregation of individual preferences into group decisions is unique and provides an important perspective on the evolution of monetary policy choices.

To study decision making by the FOMC, the authors have used both formal voting records and detailed transcripts and summaries of deliberations contained in the committee's Memoranda of Discussion and FOMC Transcripts. The latter sources have been used to construct data sets describing individual committee members' policy preferences for the 1970-1978 and 1987-1996 periods when the FOMC was chaired by Arthur Burns and Alan Greenspan, respectively. These data are used to estimate monetary policy reaction functions for individual Committee members and to explore the role of majoritarian pressures, pressures for consensus, and the power of the chairman in collective decision making. The rich anecdotal evidence found in the Memoranda of Discussion and FOMC Transcripts inspires the narrative approach taken in two chapters, on the influence of political pressure on FOMC deliberations and on the relevance of the time inconsistency problem for the rise of inflation in the 1970s. ... Read more