Book Description

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy takes the reader on a fascinating, around-the-world journey to reveal the economic and political lessons from the life story of a simple t-shirt. Over five years, business professor Pietra Rivoli traveled from a Texas cotton field to a Chinese factory to a used clothing market in Africa, to investigate compelling questions about the politics, economics, ethics, and history of modern business and globalization. Using the story of the t-shirt to illustrate the major issues of the globalization debate, this uniquely entertaining business book offers a surprising, enlightening, and balanced look at one of the major topics of our time. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Thoroughly enjoyable and unique
A unique and well-written book of international economics for anyone. No hard edges or hard opinions cloud this book's ingenious premise. From someone who has read many books on business and econ, this one is not only feel good but brilliant. Enjoy!

great book on globalization
An entertaining and insightful read on how the global economy really works for people. the author tackles the serious issues about globalization by exploring the life of her t-shirt, but she also is a great writer who can take the complex and make it both understanding and entertaining. bravo!

A Historical Tour of Industry Issues
I'm from the apparel industry - not fiber, yarn, textile or retail which in the US are separate industries - but apparel, the cutting and sewing and shipping of clothing. Ironically, a week before reading this book, I was given a passionate and amazing talk by an executive from one of the non-apparel companies profiled in this book. When he was done, I told him his business plan, which he detailed, could not have been written by an academic or a consultant, but only by a warrior in the supply chain. Well, this book could not have been written by a warrior, but only by an academic. In its description of the travels of a shirt, it bears close resemblance to a similar story written several years back in the NYTimes magazine. Having said that, this book rocks. Its great. Its a tutorial of how the apparel industry chases the low cost needle from country to country. And it is extremely current. I learned a lot about cotton, yarn, textiles, trade, lobbying, England - but nothing new about apparel, per se. So to me, everyone will learn something new from this book. It is unfortunate the author did not interview Kevin Burke of the American Apparel and Footwear Association. She seems to imply that the AAMA just disappeared. It did not. Kevin is a key player in the "Alphabet Army" the author describes as centered in Washington. Still, as I read the book, I learned the history of one of the members of our organization (www.aapnetwork.net), a highly successful cotton organization called PCCA. And I saw many names of people I knew first hand. There is so much history to the apparel supply chain I simply did not know - and now I understand it much better. As for my own bias of the divergent sides one takes on trade, I found myself leaning side to side like an old hill billy watching wrestling on TV as I squirmed in response to one sides rhetoric and the others B.S. Its well written. I like to think I'm a good industry writer, but I could not have done what Dr. Rivoli has achieved. Its a great yarn, maybe a little too heavy on the sweatshop, dogma and labor aspects of the issue, but then again, its written by an academic. I'm still waiting after 15 years of touring apparel factories all around the world to find an actual sweatshop. The only one I've ever seen was on a PBS documentary shot in New York of a horrifying factory there. Apparel chases the low cost needle. As Wal-Mart told me personally last decade, "when a US apparel contractor can make a dozen golf shirts at the same quality and price as we're getting from Cambodia, we'll buy them". Apparel chases the low cost needle. China is the world's apparel plant floor. Wal-Mart is the world's retail floor. Reality rules, and it is so inevitable it hurts. Are there any questions?

Rags become Riches.
An entertaining read on global economics -- instructive economic history that delves into economic theories. The author shares her insights as cotton is cultivated in Texas, woven in China, sold in Florida, and eventually winds up in vendors' stalls in Tanzania, with numerous other stops in between.The T-shirt's journey demonstrates a need for full or better access to markets as the moving force of capitalism, and encourages further discussion on the political methods used (or to be used) to achieve that access. ... Read more

Book Description

The management and regulatory environment of commercial banks has seen rapid change in recent years.This modern introduction to commercial bank management is the most current in the market and reflects changes during the last year that competing books do not.Excellent and complete coverage focuses on bank management problems now and in the 21st Century in a way that helps students apply financial concepts to a variety of credit, investment, and funding decisions. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

TEDIOUS, REPETITIVE, BUY NYQUILL INSTEAD!!
This is likely the worst textbook I have come accross in my finance career. The writing is extremely dry and the authors do not make an effort to summarize anything. They love narrating long concepts and mixing it with dull examples that make you completely lost. The concepts in each chapter are repeated twice for absolutely no reason. This sucker will make you fall asleep as fast as NyQuill - without the good relaxing feeling.

Got exactly what I wanted!
Great Service, prompt shipment, the book was in excellent condition!

This book motivated my carreer as a banker
Professor Koch's book is excellent. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in banking. The book is great to read if you don't know much about the industry or if you are an expert. I studied with Professor Koch at USC at the undergrad level and decided to go into banking thanks to his class and book. The book covers liquidity management, credit management, capital management, asset and liability management (focus on interest rate risk management), balance sheet analysis and other interestig topics. I've worked in several areas of commercial banks in Ecuador, namely credit, treasury, asset and liability management and finance. The book has always come in handy. I've also used it to teach at the University level down here.
It is especially interesting how every chapter is related in some way to the ALCO (Asset and Liability Management Commitee).
The cases are also very interesting. In Ecuador we recently had a liquidity crunch in the banking system. I was very much surprised to find an anylisis of a case very similar to what was happening down here in the book. The case was on the Contintental Illinois bank failure.
In other words, I think this book is a must for anyone interested in the industry.

Revised Opinion - AVOID
This is an update of a prior review I wrote of this book, I changed my mind. I hadn't read the entire book but had been impressed with what I had read. The book does cover many aspects of commercial banking including regulations, capital and liquidity management, things of most interst to me as an analyst. However, a significant problem is that many of the examples used appear to be incorrect. For instance, the text often does not match the accompanying exhibits or tables. Perhaps the book was not edited well during an update to a new edition, and either the text or the exhibit/table was updated but not both (ie, in numerous cases they disagree). Whatever the reason, the numerous typographical errors made the book difficult to read, especially in a "self-study" situation. I'm looking elsewhere for a better guide.

great book- seeking more like it in banking/other industries
I am an investment adviser seeking comprehensive texts on various industries. I am only on Chapter 3 but so far this book is a great read. I am learning a lot about banking regulation and how to analyze banks. If anyone has any suggestions for similar authoritative books covering such industries as insurance, real estate, or banking, please write to me at erichplace@yahoo.com ... Read more

Book Description

No doubt about it: The newest diversity issue in the workplace is age diversity. Many organizations have finally figured out how to recruit young talent only to watch them drive down a collision course with seasoned employees over issues like work ethic, respect for authority, dress code and every work arrangement imaginable. And they're not sure what to do about it. The fact is, generational conflicts are not merely a matter of young versus old. They mirror critical business issues every organization faces as it transitions from the workplace of the past to that of the future. Managing the Generation Mix will help you place your multi-generational team on the course to collaboration. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Answers to Key Issues
This book is an easy read providing answers to the many difficult questions surrounding Generation Y. Mr. Tulgan identifies important characteristics, and management techniques for dealing with Generation Y employees. Perhaps the best tools are the "real-life" practices he outlines to deal with the fouteen characteristics of the new workforce. I highly recommend this work for any manager with young employees.

Help with Gen Y-ers
As a Boomer in charge of a bunch of entry-level Yers, a lot of what Martin and Tulgan had to say about this generation really hit the target. I find my Yers incredibly impatient about getting training and having more responsibility. It seems like they all expect to go from college grad to CEO in their first year! On top of it all, I have several that are pains in the neck about all kinds of things--pay, dress code, scheduling, you name it, they want to change it. I bought this book to see if I could find a way to rein my Yers into our work culture. Martin and Tulgan showed me that I was thinking about all these things as problems, when they're really solutions. In the book, they give fourteen ways of being a better Gen Y manager, along with tons of ideas on how to achieve each one. Some of the ideas are better for me in my position in my company than others, but there's something there for everyone at every level in every company.

A great resource for managers and leaders
This is one of the best management/leadership best practices books I have personally read. It gives great insight into the next generation of industry leadership in simple enough terms for anyone to understand it and APPLY it quickly.

As a leadership practitioner, generational diversity and management, although discussed quite frequently is still and up and coming subject.

I work with college and high school aged students on a daily basis and the generational assumptions this book presents ring true to the majority of the students we work with and the best practices have helped us gain substantial improvement in quality and quantity of work from our younger employees.

In a day when leadership is the buzz word and everyone has a philosophy, Martin and Tulgan give us a great, applicable right now strategy to utilize in helping the next generation accomplish great things for our future.

A field guide for managers to understand younger workers
I have recommended this book (with rave reviews) to dozens of older managers who want to do a better job of managing young talent. Like it or not, the latest "generation", commonly called "Y", (and yes, most sources have varying dates for each cohort)had a very different experience growing up and comes into the workplace with different expectations and demands than previous groups of workers. This viewpoint can cause really damaging misconceptions as to the cause of certain behaviors. I have heard first hand a number of managers refer to young workers as lazy, spoiled, hyper-active, etc. Hyper-active? Gen Y tends to be great at multi-tasking, particularly with technology. Lazy? Most of my students have stated that they won't work the long hours of their parents - family and free time is more important. Demanding? Yes, they want constant feedback on their performance and want constant challenges. And they want to be paid for their performance. This can all drive a manager nuts.

What is helpful about this book is that it provides SIMPLE tips and tools to help manage younger workers better. Are there more exhaustive models and frameworks? Yes. Does the typical manager have time to read them and have most HR departments provided this training? Sadly, too often no.

This is a book you will actually read and use. A great book to start thinking about being a better manager of any generation of workers.

Please read this book - skeptically
Most of what is written about the Generational Personality and its impact in the workplace is just no good. It fills this purpose: it entertains Human Resource managers who are made anxious by more relevant diversity concerns and provides a niche for a new group of consultants and writers. These books are also usually written in an extravagant style, claiming that there are immutable differences between generations and that "dealing with these differences" is a vital diversity concern. A roster of books along these lines includes "Generations at Work" by Ron Zemke, Claire Raines and Bob Filipczak; "When Generations Collide" by Lynne C. Lancaster, and David Stillman; and (slightly better) "Bridging the Boomer Xer Gap" by Hank Karp, Connie Fuller and Danilo Sirias. To this list, we must add "Managing Generation Y" by Carolyn A. Martin, Ph.D. and Bruce Tulgan.

Martin and Tulgan follow the typical approach: They define a generation as the people born between two selected years. Then they describe a few events occurring in the years that those people were coming of age. From this, they concoct a generational personality that they say describes this age cohort and which will describe them throughout life. Audiences and Human Resource practitioners usually miss the signficance of the last seven words in the proceeding sentence. It is possible to have a useful discussion about the differing needs of younger versus older workers. Martin and Tulgan and their colleagues are selling something considerably more radical: a notion that a distinct generational personality is formed that can characterize millions of Americans born between two selected years and that this personality will stick with them throughout life. Thus, some group of Americans will, in general, be cynical until they die, whereas another group will have the dominant trait of optimism throughout life. Of course, in so doing, they have indulged the very modern workplace practice of dividing people into more and more groups.

Martin and Tulgan are writing about what they call Generation Y, limited to those Americans born between 1978 and 1984. One reality that undermines any objective basis for a generational personality is that definitions between the experts vary. For Martin and Tulgan, Generation Y is birth years 1978 - 84; for Lancaster and Stillman it is 1981 - 1999 and for Zemke et al it is 1980 - 2000. The years picked to describe a generation are arbitrary and lead to idiosyncratic results. So, Martin and Tulgan feel free to describe a six-year "generation"; other theorists such as Lancaster and Stillman, in one case identify a 45-year generation.

Here is a short list of what is wrong with this book

1. Setting up phony arguments

Martin and Tulgan begin by criticizing those who would label Generation Y as "lazy, self-interested, kids constantly at risk, for drugs, sex and violence." There is no identification of who these narrow thinkers are other than a reference to the mainstream media. Does it really represent any kind of consolidated opinion or are the authors just pretending outrage as a prelude to creating their own stereotypes?

2. Extravagant language.

This, too, is common to the genre. Whereas Zemke describes the 1980's as a time when "the layoff craze struck like a radioactive lizard in downtown Tokyo" and Lancaster writes of that time as one in which "children mysteriously disappeared from neighborhoods and showed up frighteningly at the breakfast table on milk cartons", Martin and Tulgan have their own excesses. They speak of Generation Y growing up in a " 'war' (that) was fought on native soil. Their 'enemy' appeared in their homes, in their neighborhoods, on their playgrounds: in adults who sought to abuse them; in schoolmates who might suddenly shoot them." They insultingly aver that in the light of these experiences, Generation Y didn't need a Second World War or a Viet Nam to feel terrified. I guess Martin and Tulgan would understand a twenty year-old telling an eighty year old in 2002, "O.K., I didn't have to go fight Germany, Italy and Japan, but do you realize that just two states over from me there was a school shooting my sophomore year?" (Note to my Human Resource colleagues: I know these people can be entertaining speakers at our conferences, but do we really want to be associated with this nonsense?)

3. Ignorance of the normal life cycle

Martin and Tulgan don't seem to realize that the characteristics of the young that they identify may be a feature not of having been born between two arbitrarily selected years, but just a matter of being young. Most of the trends they cite are not compared with how young people may have been twenty or forty years ago. If they looked, they might find some similarities. On page 4, they describe the young as optimistic. Fine, but according to Gallup, in 1968, eighteen to twenty-four year olds were more optimistic, at least about the country's future, than their counterparts were in 2000. The authors quote David Gergen to the effect that today's young people could make this country an immensely better place. Archibald Cox said similar platitudes about young people over thirty years ago.

The notion of a generational personality is an entertaining distraction. In the end, it does a disservice to those companies that spend time and resources on it. ... Read more

Book Description

For the next generation of players and downloaders, a provocative scenario from a music industry think tank. From the Music Research Institute at Berklee College of Music comes a manifesto for the ongoing music revolution. Today, the record companies may be hurting but the music-making business is booming, using non-traditional digital methods and distribution models. This book explains why we got where we are and where we are heading. For the iPod, downloading market, this book will explain new ways of discovering music, new ways of acquiring it and how technology trends will make music "flow like water," benefiting the people who love music and make music. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Future Of Music
I would reccommend this book to anyone who is thinking of going into the industry. Speaking from a vocalist's perspective, alot of the time we forget the other important aspects of the ever changing music industry in our effors to remain artistic and undiluted, forgetting that they all work hand in hand. This book I feel has enlightened me with sound judgement and speculation. It has also inspired me to formulate a strategy on how i plan to fit in. I now feel as though I have valuable and priceless knowledge on every aspect of that which i love and desire to suceed in-
Music.

Not much new here.
If you've been following the industry there is not much new here. About 3 - 4 chapters were interesting to me. And it's not a thick book. Mostly facts. Their speculation on the future is probably not all accurate. For example I think they are missing the boat on subscription services which I believe will not be very large or influential. However their speculation that merchandise that is peripheral to music will be larger profit center is probably accurate. Good book for a naive but aspiring young musicians.

Book is really not about music but merchandising.

Positive perspective might prove to be perfect...
Through my own enlightenment I decided a while back to stop downloading albums from the Internet for free. I now use iTunes online music store, or I go to an actually CD retailer and buy my favorite music. While this is a breakthrough in my life, I'm afraid others might not ever come to grips with the reality of illegal online downloading. This has bothered me for sometime now but I never really thought anyone would do anything about it, because of computer hackers and software developers always a step ahead of the good guys. The Future of Music has shown me that there IS hope. This new plan to make music like running water, or a utility, is a great idea. The idea is that users will pay a monthly bill just like their water, electricity or cable. The book also dives into the new markets of cell phone ring tones, Internet radio, and the use of music in video games. The author's can clearly see the direction the industry is headed, and they're ideas are a great start to what might turn into a musical revolution. This is a great book for anyone looking to get a head start on the competition, or just want to look through the crystal ball and into the future.

A compelling manifesto
By declaring their book a manifesto, the authors of this excellent book make their bias and intentions clear. While the arguments for their vision are compelling, this is not a ride for the sceptic.

The book is a comprehensive exploration of a number of key areas of the music industry and a powerful argument for change in the recording industry. When they drift into philosophy towards the end the results are a little lacklustre, but the industry-focussed content is well put together and very useful for anyone wanting to picture how music might work in a decade's time.

Expertly Cogent And Still Layman Accessible
Written with a smoothly flowing cadence this tome engages both the expert and layman reader and offers a survey of the digital music landscape from both a 30,000-foot-view *and* on a rubber-meets-the-road level.This book provocative, interesting and on appropriate occasions humorous.The writer's occasional biting statements are more cheeky than sarcastic as the authors' genuine adoration of music and the business of music is evident.This book can be appreciated by the casual reader, industry members, fans of technology and students of sociology, economics, history and even observers of the human condition.Although the book is about the impending world of music the book, like the subject it covers, is really describing future cycles of patterns springing from places deeply encoded in human nature.A philosophical discussion, this volume is also an industry handbook.I highly recommend this book to anyone interested any aspect of music, or most aspects of technology, philosophy, economics, social behavior, law or history. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Let's get one thing straight: Carl Hiaasen doesn't like the Walt Disney Company. Whenever the giant entertainment conglomerate stumbles, as it did with its proposed Civil War theme park in Virginia, Hiaasen cheers. When a rhinoceros mysteriously dies at Disney's new theme park, Animal Kingdom, Hiaasen secretly hopes for the worst, because, as he writes, "no scandal is so delectable as a Disney scandal."

A native of Florida, author of such thrillers as Lucky You and Strip Tease, and a journalist for the Miami Herald, Hiaasen comes by his dislike for Disney honestly. He has witnessed the relentless success of the Disney machine firsthand with the development of Disney World and other properties around Orlando. In Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World, Hiaasen paints a witty and sarcastic portrait in this nonfiction account of a company who can control the press, manipulate local governments, and because it's Disney, get away with it. Team Rodent is a quick, entertaining read that even the most loyal Disney shareholder (except maybe Michael Eisner) will find enlightening and amusing. --Harry C. Edwards ... Read more

Reviews (81)

Dependable Kingdoms
After a lifetime in Florida, Hiaasen has come to detest what Disney stands for, the great homogenizing force regressing all consumers to the mean. He truly delights in each Rodent mis-step, especially when financial loss, great public relations embarassment, and dead animals are involved.

While this book can be read in a few hours, as it appears to be nothing more than recycled newspaper columns with some extra meat tossed in, there is something entertaining here. I am not familiar with Hiassen's other writing, but here he is genuinely amusing and original, especially when Disney Chairman Michael Eisner becomes his target. Hiassen has thought through in detail how Disney succeeds, especially in ensuring good press coverage by sponsoring junkets for small town newspaper writers. Hiassen attends one and attempts to pay retail for all services and fails despite his most earnest efforts. I would have liked to see more information on the methods Walt Disney employed to surreptiously purchase land and create an autonomous political entity, but that is short-changed here, other than to show that the resulting security force is out of control. The book was published in 1998 and now appears slightly dated, as the lustre appears to be off the Disney marketing juggernaut in the last few years. In an update, Hiassen could add mis-steps with Disney Stores and films to his gleeful telling of failures in residential real estate and Virginia civil war parks.

Hiaasen Attacks Apple Pie
First of all I must admit that if I heard that Carl Hiaasen had edited the Dubuque, Iowa telephone book, I would rush out and buy it. I enjoy him because I love his humor, and because I share his environmental concerns. As a retired senior executive of a large corporation, I also have no illusions about the goals of business. We need gadflies, and Carl's buzzing about can only bring issues to the surface to be thought about and discussed. Disagree with him you may, but I see nothing wrong in presenting facts about the power and plasticity of the Disney world. Many folks want their big brother provided sanitized entertainment, and will evidently brook no criticism of the source of their pleasure. For myself I am interested to find out how yet another big business manipulates local governments and the press. It's fascinating to read how devoted fans will pay 25 to 40% more for a home because its built by Mickey and his friends, while disregarding the fact that the same guys built substandard housing in Miami. The way people are mesmerized by the fantastic plastic world of Disney sometimes scares me. Its like some dystopic future world from a science fiction novel.

I will agree that $8.95 is a lot to pay for 83 pages, but it sure is good quality Hiaasen.

Nice work, Carl!
This is a book that was begging to be written. Just because a company has a family-friendly, good citizen image, doeasn't make it so. I am highly amused by the negative reviews, especially since they so emphatically proclaim "I DON'T WORK FOR DISNEY, BUT..." But what? But it's OK to commit corporate crime? It's OK to rape the environment under the banner of a children's character? It's not OK to write about it? These Disney-drones (for who but an employee would feel the need to proclaim they didn't?)tow the company line, even against such condemning evidence.

Tongue in cheek fun, just now it ain't fiction
This book is just a collection of articles clubbed together as chapters (like kick-ass) with Disney the center focus. Not as entertaining as his fiction, but for as somebody who's read all of those and who loves his writing style, this is a great crutch to get you through to his next publication date.

Hiaasen's writing isn't so much an attack on Disney, as it is a satire of our own foibles. If he attacks anything in this book, it's the American "sweep it under the rug and don't talk about it" philosophy of complacency. Let's face it, Disney is a world where sex doesn't exist and appearances mean everything. Hiaasen just wants people to look under that rug and get back to reality.

lack of research
this book was flawed from the trashy movie covers
to the insane clown posse this man clearly did not
do his research.
I mean draw the wash. mon.
then tell me what it looks like to a perv
and the insane clown posse had a large number of fans
before ever going to h-wood records.

tho entertaining this book lacks hardcore facts. ... Read more

Book Description

The rapid growth of electronic commerce, along with changes in information, computing, and communications, is having a profound effect on the United States economy. President Clinton recently directed the National Economic Council, in consultation with executive branch agencies, to analyze the economic implications of the Internet and electronic commerce domestically and internationally, and to consider new types of data collection and research that could be undertaken by public and private organizations.

This book contains work presented at a conference held by executive branch agencies in May 1999 at the Department of Commerce. The goals of the conference were to assess current research on the digital economy, to engage the private sector in developing the research that informs investment and policy decisions, and to promote better understanding of the growth and socioeconomic implications of information technology and electronic commerce. Aspects of the digital economy addressed include macroeconomic assessment, organizational change, small business, access, market structure and competition, and employment and the workforce. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

To truly understand the information age, read this book!
I'm a voracious reader of books and articles about recent developments in information technology (IT). This book is the first I've found to present the latest research in economics, business, and public policy related to IT, and to do so in a way that is accurate, comprehensive, readable, and engaging. The editors deserve kudos for their choice of articles and for enforcing the analytical rigor so often lacking in consulting reports and popular articles in this field. I heartily recommend this book!

Some great stuff in here!
Some of the chapters in this book have priceless material, e.g. the Chapter on "Understanding Digital Markets" by Smith, Bailey and Brynjolfsson and the review of technology's role in growing income inequality by Katz.

We need more research like this.

The Definitive Guide
This book is an essential antidote to all the fluff out there written by pundits and consultants. The books consists of 14 chapters written by experts in the field reporting original research on how the digital economy really works and how it is transforming business.

Anyone interested in seriously understanding the "new" economy needs to read this book. ... Read more

Book Description

This guide covers everything from calls and puts to collars and rolling up, over, or out. It takes the mystery out of options contracts, explains the language of options trading, and lays out some popular options strategies that may suit various portfolios and market forecasts. If you're curious about options, this guide provides the answers to your questions. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (33)

Absolutely Fabulous - a MUST HAVE!
This book is by far the best handbook written about running a gift basket business. I've owned a gift basket business for one year and was looking for new marketing ideas, so I purchased several gift basket business books from Amazon.

This book stood out from the rest because it includes TONS of marketing ideas and tells you who to contact at various types of businesses/potential markets. I am really impressed! The ideas in this book really work and have encouraged me to get even more organized and focused in my marketing.

If you are interested in learning more about my gift basket company, go to www.BasketAct.com.

I strongly suggest this book for any and all gift basket makers, whether they've been in the business for years or are just starting out.

Not a book for beginners.
Anyone looking for the creative side of gift baskets will be as disappointed by this book , as I am. After viewing this lady and her wonderful baskets on a craft show, I did not expect such a dry book. Before one can get to make a basket, we are shown an entire business plan, in which we hire couriers, attorneys, extra employees; etc. The one creative chapter contains line drawings only. There are lists of resources ideas. I may be able to refer to this book later after perfecting my craft, but for now I need visuals!

Best "How to" book for starting a gift-basket business
I purchased the third edition of this book and it is everything it promised to be! I purchased several other "how to" start a gift-basket business books and this is by far the most comprehensive instruction book. Frazier assumes her readership base is educated and has considered all of the common sense factors regarding the start-up phase of a gift basket business. The appendix lists several valuable sources such as trade shows, magazines, and wholesale product suppliers.

I also read Prentice Hall's "Start Your Own Gift Basket Business" . . . this was a complete waste of money. Best bet is Frazier's book along with her "Gift Basket Design Book".

-Roxanne Ocampo

Good Business Information
Anyone will tell you that starting a business is a lot of preparation before getting into the acutal running of the company. This book focuses on that important fact. Any business that deals with a product to a customer should have insurance. Some people may choose this business because they think that it is inexpensive and easy to sell your product, and yes it can be that if you work hard at it but the business information presented in this book is what will help save you from yourself and lack of knowledge about running a business.

While it may seem improbable that someone could sue you for food poisoning because a product you sold them made them sick, it becomes very real when you are about to lose your house and all your possessions because you were not insured. Small business insurance is probably the most important thing that someone should have if they are a sole propiertorship. This may not be good news to someone who is looking to start a business on a limited budget but it a necessity. I was impressed with all the business information that was included in this book because a lot of home based business books skip over that section and instead focus on the product. If you have the idea than you already have the product, the rest is implementation.

Get this book if you have ideas but not aware of how to run a business.

Awesome Book
This book is really great! It is such an easy read and it really takes you step by step on how to start in this business. I began reading it not to long ago, and I can't wait to start my business. ... Read more

Book Description

This is not a cookbook.
It’s a cook’s book!

· Hunting for truffle oil?
· Have a recipe you’d love to try if only you knew where tobuy masa harina or garam masala?
· Been meaning to get those knives sharpened?
· Want to visit the exotic markets of Korea or Vietnamwithout getting on an airplane?
· Interested in tasting the flavor of fresh turmeric, ordaring a sniff of the infamous durian?

It’s all right under your nose if you know where to look. A Cook’s Guide to Chicago takes you on a tasty romp through gourmet shops, ethnic supermarkets, chef’s equipment stores, and much more. Follow author Marilyn Pocius as she divulges the shortcuts to finding what you need and introduces you to new worlds of flavor that are waiting just outside your door.

Pocius shares the culinary expertise she acquired in chef school and through years of footwork around the city searching for the perfect ingredients and supplies. Each section includes store listings, cooking tips, and "Top 10 ingredients" lists to give readers a jump start on turning their kitchens into workshops of worldly cuisine. And don’t fret, there are recipes, too.

Where to find everything you need, and lots of things you didn’t know you did! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The Joy of Grocery Shopping
As a frequent visitor to Chicago, I love to take advantage of a big city's resources. I found "A Cook's Guide to Chicago" to be an invaluable culinary guidebook. Written in a humorous and easy to read style, the book demystifies those strange foods I can't identify, and lists stores that carry the exotic foods I love but can't find in my own neighborhood. Better yet, the author offers tips and recipes that feature them. With this book, I'm armed with a resource that enables me to search out foods I didn't even know existed!

Each chapter is filled with interesting facts that make identifying and locating groceries and cooking utensils fun.
(The description of South Water Market made me want to shop there just to see the area.) The book's layout makes it simple to use, and it is thoroughly indexed. The graphic design is a visual treat.

But the best part about this book, for me, is not the facts, but the feeling it gave me while reading it. I fell in love with food and spices and cooking all over again. Suddenly, just going down the same aisle at my usual supermaket to make the same predictable meal just didn't cut it. With these newly defined foods and locations of ethnic grocery stores, I was ready for a culinary adventure. The author's skill in writing, her sense of humor and love of food all combine to portray cooking as a sensual and exotic world. "The Cook's Guide" is the perfect companion to explore that world - I highly recommend it.

A foodie's guide to my heart .
I was delighted to have come across this book. While I'm not much of a cook, I like to think that I could be. This book makes it sound easy and, more importantly, FUN. I recommend it to anyone interested in eating, shopping, or cooking or for an "off the beaten track" cultural/culinary tour of our great city of Chicago. Hats off to the author; she probably weighs a ton by now but it must have been an interesting journey. (Great cover, too!)

A Great Resource for Cooks, or those who would like to be.
As a resident of Chicago, I am grateful to the author for writing this book. Now, I know where to have my knives sharpened, buy fresh ginger, and find the best teas. ... Read more

Book Description

The methods of discrete choice analysis and their applications in the modelling of transportation systems constitute a comparatively new field that has largely evolved over the past 15 years. Since its inception, however, the field has developed rapidly, and this is the first text and reference work to cover the material systematically, bringing together the scattered and often inaccessible results for graduate students and professionals.

Discrete Choice Analysis presents these results in such a way that they are fully accessible to the range of students and professionals who are involved in modelling demand and consumer behavior in general or specifically in transportation - whether from the point of view of the design of transit systems, urban and transport economics, public policy, operations research, or systems management and planning.

The introductory chapter presents the background of discrete choice analysis and context of transportation demand forecasting. Subsequent chapters cover, among other topics, the theories of individual choice behavior, binary and multinomial choice models, aggregate forecasting techniques, estimation methods, tests used in the process of model development, sampling theory, the nested-logit model, and systems of models.

Moshe Ben-Akiva and Steven R. Lerman are both faculty members of the Civil Engineering Department at MIT and affiliated with its Center for Transportation Studies. Discrete Choice Analysis is ninth in the MIT Press Series in Transportation Studies, edited by Marvin Manheim. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An overall good book that needs some update and expansion.
Two knowledgable authors gave in-depth treatments on the subject of DCM. The math is fairly easy to follow in most places. The biggest strength is a nice combination of theoretical and practical issues. The readers however should be benefitted from a new edition, which should include, among other things, extended exposures on ordered responses and grouped/aggregated data analyses with DCM. An introduction to the existing software and relevant issues should also be a plus.

Excellent treatment of transportation travel demand
This book is intended for serious graduate students who wish to learn demand analysis. This book is used as a text for the demand analysis course at MIT for 1st/2nd year grad students. Rigorous statistical and econometric background is a must preparation for this book. Includes very crisp and elegant proofs and dicussion. Impressive methodological treatment for demand analysis. Although all examples are drawn from the Transportation field, the content can easily be implemented for Marketing Science and other fields. ... Read more

Book Description

"Pendergrast has served up a rich blend of anecdote, character study, market analysis, and social history...everything you ought to know about coffee is here."
-New York Times

The first comprehensive business and social history of coffee, which describes how coffee has dominated and molded the economies, politics, and social structures of entire countries. Pendergrast's scrupulously researched and lively anecdotal history provides a window through which to view broader themes of modern-day media and marketing, the rise of mass production, colonialism, women's issues, and international commodity schemes. ... Read more

Reviews (35)

Not a "caffe latte" history
If you are looking for something light that offers some tips for tasters or a cultural history on some of the exotic places that coffee is grown, or even an appropriate book for your coffee table, I suggest you look elsewhere. This book is none of that. This book is pretty narrow in focus and limits itself to discussions on the history of coffee growing and the business end of the industry. Topics covered include trading, marketing and distribution, consumption patterns, the emergence of cafe's and big coffeehouses, and the social, environmental, and political issues in both the producing and consuming nations. As with so many recently published books this one suffers from a pop-culture sounding title which is deliberately eye-catching, but misleading with its grandiose claim. These titles work best with popular science books about arcane subjects that changed the world set in stories about eccentric heroes and villains. I enjoy those books but this is a different book. This serious work is more referrence book than story. Don't get me wrong though. UNCOMMON GROUNDS: THE HISTORY OF COFFEE AND HOW IT TRANSFORMED OUR WORLD is too well written and has enough anecdotes to provide the "latte" for what could otherwise have been simply a dark and thick text-book.

One of the issues that Pendergrast focuses on is the stark social contrasts between where coffee is grown and the markets where it is consumed. As we read on it becomes very apparent that for Pendergrast, researching this book was part moral lesson. He pays special attention to issues of economic justice and makes us see some of coffee's story in this light. He says coffee "laborers earn an average of $3 a day. Most live in abject poverty without plumbing, electricity, medical care, or nutritious foods". After shipping and processing the product arrives here at market where "cosmopolitan consumers routinely pay half a day's Third World wages for a good cup of coffee." Along these same lines Pendergrast talks about a movement in the speciality coffee sector towards the idea of "fair trade" coffee which seeks - in the slogan of one of the companies - to offer "Not Just A Cup, But A Just Cup". Equal Exchange in the US and Max Havelaar Quality Mark coffee in Europe are the best known groups that say we should consider human rights issues when choosing a brand.

Equally as interesting is the topic of "bird-friendly coffee". Basically it involves a long standing debate over the merits of "shade coffee" (grown under a canopy of trees and thus bird-friendly) or "sun coffee" which is grown on open and exposed slopes. As happens with most things, the discussion ends up as a political argument with opponents of the ecological approach labelling it politically correct coffee. Perhaps that's true, or maybe as others have suggested, it's a brilliant marketing strategy for selling speciality coffee. Pendergrast doesn't say what he thinks but his presentation of a few facts gives us a hint. "Of the fifty-four million Americans who consider themselves birders, twenty-four million actually travelled in 1991 to observe their avian friends. In the process, they spent $2.5 billion - and who knows how much of that went for strong predawn coffee?"

Want to know about coffee prices? Prendergast explains. "One thing I have learned through my coffee research: One consumer's poison is another's nectar." In other words it's all relative and price is very subjective. "Then there's the psychological factor. The rarer the bean the more expensive and desirable. Hence, Hawaiian Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain command premium prices, even though most coffee experts consider them bland in comparison to Guatemalan Antigua or Kenya AA." Of course price is a function of supply and demand and no discussion of coffee could end without referrence to the US. We are the largest market and the home of the biggest coffeehouses (Starbucks of course). The Finns however beat us cups down when it comes to per capita consumption.

I've lived in both Kenya and Jamaica and have had my fair share of their coffee and am a birder myself. The books coverage of those topics was therefore of particular interest to me. Whatever your tastes and interests and whether or not you even drink coffee, there's much to learn and even more to enjoy in this fascinating look at our favorite brew.

Like Instant Coffee - Dry and Flavorless
The subtitle of this book is: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed Our World. I thought I was getting into a book about the role of coffee in the waves and trends of world history.

However, Prendergast almost entirely ignores the rest of the world (while repeatedly remarking how Europeans drink more coffee than Americans) and writes, instead a literature review of coffee industry publications, going into tedious detail of the advertising wars between coffee companies in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Occasionally, the author finds himself remarking about how coffee consumption in the industrialized world helped institutionalize atrocious poverty in coffee-growing countries, but then eschews considered analysis in order to get back to the oh-so-enthralling decades-long battle between Maxwell House and Hills Brothers for market share.

Prendergast repeatedly refers to how Americans' taste for coffee is, objectively, poor - one feels he does this as compensation for what he knows is a weak narrative.

If you are looking for a book which considers the 'world' as 95% America and chapters full of quotes from fin de siecle coffee advertisements, you've found the right one. If you are looking for a careful anaylsis of how coffee has changed the world, you'll need to keep looking.

Decent book
This book is about coffee. Obvious, right?

Yet, it is also about the larger world out there. Our kind author isn't just using coffee as a metaphor, but instead uses Coffee as the proverbial "tip of the iceberg" as a way to talk about larger historical, political and social issues in a way that is palatable to the average reader. Coffee has had a major impact on the United States, from our very beginnings in the Boston Tea Party to our present day position in the land of 24-hour a day television, which of course really means 24 hours a day of advertising.

How has this affected our place in the world? Americans drink a lot of coffee to get a quick pick me up. And that mood enhancing aspect is also included in similar products... those similar products include Cola, Tea, and all sorts of tricked out street drugs designed to make us feel better about who or what we are. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing really isn't important to the discussion at this level, just that we are aware of it.

Coffee has also affected our political dealing with the rest of the world, be it our weird love-hate relationship with South and Central America as a source of coffee, and more currently various illegal drugs. If we weren't buying it they wouldn't be selling it to us. It has also entered into all kinds of health topics and considerations.

Coffee has had a major social and political impact on the Untied States. We use it, and similar products and drugs for various reasons. We threaten political and military consequenences to those who have provided us those things. The "pick me up" aspect makes possible a longer workday for workers in modern society... and this can have productivity increases for companies and people. The advertising methods, those in many ways were invented to "push" coffee are everywhere in our social framework.

And we haven't gotten to coffee's health affects. Is coffee good for you? A simple question that doctors is still trying to properly answer. It has some kind of health impact on our people, but what and how and why are still, in many ways, to be answered.

There is a lot to be said, and my rambling review gives an idea of the many topics this most excellent book covers.

But most importantly, the author tells one how to brew a good cup of coffee.

Slooooooow but informative
Everything you ever wanted to know about coffee. Most of the book makes for very slow reading, but the information is interesting and well worth the price.

A fun read.
This informative book is truly a joy to read, and any coffee drinker (serious coffee drinker, anyways) would benefit from this work. It offers an enlightening insight into the incredible coffee economy and outlines the disproportionate balance of profit that is a result from this inconspicuous plant. Not focused simply on the drink itself, Pendergrast writes of those this commodity impacts. Look for more than amusing tales of the coffee world and trite chapters on how to best brew the beans; this book is for those who are seriously interested in their favorite drink or who are curious about the history of a world commodity that has shaped both our economic and natural environment. ... Read more

Book Description

Of all the terrorist movements since World War II that had any realistic potential to form a national government, only one was decisively defeated on the battleground of ideas.Sendero Luminoso, the Shining Path, arose in Peru in 1980. It was distinguished by both the radicalism of its Maoist ideology and the viciousness of its tactics.An American diplomat, Bernard Aronson, called the Shining Path the most murderous guerilla group ever to operate in the Western Hemisphere and compared them to the Khmer Rouge.At one point this group commanded eighty thousand followers--two-thirds the size of Great Britain's standing army--and was the single largest political organization in the country.

The task of making the Shining Path politically irrelevant was accomplished primarily by ideological means.Hernando de Soto offered an alternative vision of Peru's poor. Rather than see them as the proletariat, he showed that they were in fact budding entrepreneurs whose greatest desire was not to bring down the market economy but to join it. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Excellent Analysis of History, Politics, and Reality
Unlike most political theorists, de Soto has actually gone out and dug up evidence for his work. He starts with an excellent history of Peru, and shuns the concept that those who operate outside the law are necessarily criminals. Indeed, when his Institute for Liberty and Democracty attempted to _follow_ the law to set up a small business, they found out that it was literally impossible!

This book makes many excellent arguments for the removal of many layers of government, and shows the predictable results when government attempts to fix itself with more government.

De Soto as a modern day Adam Smith?
In many ways, I am disappointed that I read this book after reading de Soto's other book, "The Mystery Of Capital". Both this and his other book largely contain the same ideas, but "The Other Path" focuses more intently on de Soto's experiences in Peru rather attempting to answer a very broad question. Because "The Other Path" focuses on squarely on Peru, it can more completely chronicle how his ideas have been used to better the lot of poor Peruvians, and have contributed to the defeat of Sendero Luminoso.

I would have preferred it if the book did not purport to be a general answer to terrorism. While his ideas are very applicable with respect to Maoist revolutionaries attempting to (in theory) uplift the poor, they seem less relevant to "non-economic" terrorists, such as certain rich scions of Saudi families that fly airplanes into buildings, for example. But that is a minor point.

A Devastating Critique of Centrally Planned Economies
The original version of this book was written in the mid-80's to offer the people and government of Peru specific suggestions to combat Sendero Luminoso by making it possible for ordinary people to have a productive and meaningful participation in the nation's economy. This new printing includes a preface written in 2002 that provides the context and history for non-Peruvian readers and gives some analysis of the successes of the suggested reforms under the Fujimori government.

The first part of the book is a detailed analysis of three sectors of the Peruvian economy: housing, transport, and trade (small manufacturing and retail primarily). In each of these, De Soto demonstrates how the barriers raised by regulation and legal process from both right and left wing governments in Peru have forced the majority of persons participating to do so in informal/illegal ways. The result is that formal activity bears the brunt of taxation and informals have little protection in terms of property rights, contractual instruments, and so on. The net result is that everyone is impoverished. This section of the book can be tough reading because of the amount of detail, but its necessary in order to understand the importance of the second half.

The second half suggests that the Peruvian situation is really the reemergence of mercantilism, not a market economy. De Soto then provides some suggestions to peacefully transitiont to a market economy, and convincing warnings that failure to do so will almost certainly result in a violent transition.

The points that De Soto makes are increasingly significant to non-Peruvians as societies like America have increasingly centralised economies. Ironically, the cover includes blurbs from both Presidents Bush and Clinton. One suspects that netiher of them actually read the book.

Agreed -- would have been better first
I agree that this book would have been more interesting if read before Mystery, but now the mystery is gone.

This is good stuff just the same.

Lots of good points that are useful in a classroom.

Really worth 4.5 Stars
I enjoyed this book but was spoiled because I first read "The Mystery of Capital" and then this. This book's stats are somewhat outdated because so much has happened in the last 15-20 years, which takes away from the crispness of the argument, but the argument is still apparent and sound. Although I agree that eliminating government red tape to let more people become a part of the economic system and therefore become plugged into the benefits of the system (eg, a legal work address for customers to reach you at, legal recognition so to advertise, etc.) and thereby allow government to collect more taxes so to (hopefully) put more money toward fighting social problems; I hope de Soto agrees that the economic answer to terroism is not the only answer. Stregthening the economic infrastructure is a strong part of the answer, but much more is also needed for some people to not desire to kill other people, and that may be something which can never be had. Although I would say "The Mystery of Capital" is a must read, this is nonetheless a great supplement to "The Mystery of Capital". ... Read more

Book Description

"At a time when ecommerce hype too often obscures the real issues faced by managers, Westland and Clark deliver a rare combination of rigor and relevance. University students and thoughtful managers will benefit from their insights, analysis and examples." -- Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson, Co-Director of the MIT Center for eBusiness

Over the past two decades, businesses in virtually every sector of the world economy have benefited from the technologies of electronic commerce--the automation of commercial transactions using computer and communications technologies. Electronic commerce has spurred far-reaching changes in business, on multiple fronts, using many technologies. This book provides a deep, practical understanding of these technologies and their use in e-commerce. Unlike other books on e-commerce, it does not concentrate solely on the Internet. Instead, it suggests that the Internet is only a bridge technology--attractive because of its low cost and global reach, but unattractive because of its slow speed and poor user interface.

Each of the twelve chapters contains an overview of a current theory or practice followed by one or more business case studies. A combination of academic theory and case studies provides a comprehensive picture of how businesspeople use computers to revolutionize the selling and delivery of their products and services. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides readers with a firm foundation in the principles and techniques of real-world merchandising mathematics and shows them how to apply these fundamentals to solving specific, everyday retail merchandising problems. Throughout, clear, concise explanations of concepts are followed by step-by-step example problems, practice problems using realistic industry figures, and selected answers. Includes suggestions for working some problems on a computer spreadsheet. Features a review of basic mathematics, decimals, percents, fractions, and highlighted formulas.Basic Merchandising Mathematics. Profitability. Cost of Merchandise Sold. Markup as a Merchandising Tool. Retail Pricing for Profit. Inventory Valuation. The Collar Merchandise Plan. Dollar Open-to-Buy. Performance Measures.For Retail Executives and Buyers in training and Small Storeowners. ... Read more

Book Description

No industry has been affected more permanently and positively by the Internet than public relations. Winning PR in the Wired World brings everyone from the CEO to the director of marketing up to cyberspeed by teaching them everything they need to know about PR in the new digital economy. Readers will learn how to implement communications guru Don Middleberg¿s four fast ¿rules¿ to successful PR: 1) Speed Wins, 2) Everyone Is Now an Entrepreneur, 3) The World Ends Every 120 Days, and 4) Buzz Is Everything. Middleberg then breaks his rules down in detail and expands on them, offering his keen insight into the marketplace of today and tomorrow. Winning PR in the Wired World analyzes how traditional PR has changed¿discussing what¿s new, what works, and what doesn¿t¿and provides insight and advice on how to make offline and online PR work together for effective campaigns. This groundbreaking guide takes a practical look at powerhouse companies that have implemented effective PR campaigns on the Web, including Amazon.com, Britannica.com, Victoria¿s Secret, Nike, and CDNow. Don Middleberg is the chairman and CEO of Middleberg Euro, the fastest-growing public relations agency in the country for the past two years, with offices in New York, San Francisco, and Boston. A leader in public relations and marketing, Middleberg is widely considered to be among the elite communications professionals in digital public relations. A noted author and lecturer, he is coauthor of the groundbreaking Middleberg/Ross Media in Cyberspace Study. Middleberg is regularly called upon for commentary by numberous magazines and newspapers and has appeared on CNBC, C/Net, CNN, and National Public Radio. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

The Brave New World of Communications
The whole world of advertising, marketing, public relations is in a chaotic state. Old rules just don't apply. Lines, hard cut in the corporate and consumer landscape are blurring and for the first time in a century we find ourselves scrambling to define who we are and what we do.

I run a firm that provides tactical creative services to the corporate world. Don Middleberg's book makes one thing clear: This is a new millenium for any communications business. Any company that hopes to be heard above the din needs to understand the concepts illustrated in this book.

"Winning PR in the Wired World" sounds a bell... a wake up call.
Agile, smart, awake and aware companies can ride the wave or be left behind. Get this book.

If there was useful info, I couldn't find it under the hype
The most shameful part of public relations writing is the tendency to sacrifice quality for quantity ... to write something far too long about a very simple key message. (Ask any editor who has been approached by a feature-story-bearing Account Executive). Alas, in this respect Don Middleberg hasn't progressed beyond the low-tech hacks of yesteryear.

I had high hopes for this book, which by all rights should have been the defining text of this era. What I found was a moderate amount of useful information totally obscured by repetitive slush. Some variation of "Companies today need to rethink their strategies to compete in the new economy" appeared on nearly every page. I wish Don had summarized the results of his research in a pamphlet.

Adding insult to injury, the text seemed time and time again to have been doctored at the last minute to cope with the dot-com crash. These PR strategies are not for the Wired World we are now entering, but for the short-lived Net Bubble.

Strong and Engaging
Middleberg's work is about using the Internet to achieve the communication goal of an organization. He hardly stands alone in writing about this area. The real trick to success lays in the techniques discussed and how applicable they are. While they're quite useful, I found Michael Levine's Guerrilla PR: Wired to be more effective.

That said, Middleberg's work has plenty of useful ideas. Given his reputation, though, I expected far more. It's a good book, but it fell a bit short of my expectations.

Letdown ... big letdown
I purchased this book because of Don Middleberg's good reputation in the PR field. Put simply, it would be an understatement to say that this book is terrible. Three main reasons for my drawing this conclusion: 1. outdated anecdotes and examples to illustrate ideas, 2. the thrust of the book (i.e., what value you get out of it when finished) is bland and generic at best, and 3. poor writing. Middleberg is definitely a successful PR professional but this book is a stinker for certain - and a big waste of money.

Outstanding
Don Middleberg has a winning book here. Having done internet pr and developed web sites, he has put into words many of the techinques learned from on-the-job training. Now as a college professor teaching communications, this is a must read for the students as it gives them a background on how the internet has changed the communications landscape. ... Read more

Book Description

This book addresses topics in human resource management from an international, cross-cultural perspective. The collection of cases and readings has been carefully selected from prominent authors and researchers to challenge students and help them fully explore human resource issues in a global context. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not a book to retain for future guidance
The book provides case studies reflecting various complexities in internation HR field, however most examples are not recent enough to guide students with newer ideas associated with HR. This book is definately not for keeps. ... Read more

Book Description

Depending on one's point of view, multinational enterprises are either the heroes or the villains of the globalized economy. Governments compete fiercely for foreign direct investment by such companies, but complain when firms go global and move their activities elsewhere. Multinationals are seen by some as threats to national identities and wealth and are accused of riding roughshod over national laws and of exploiting cheap labor. However, the debate on these companies and foreign direct investment is rarely grounded on sound economic arguments.

This book brings clarity to the debate. With the contribution of other leading experts, Giorgio Barba Navaretti and Anthony Venables assess the determinants of multinationals' actions, investigating why their activity has expanded so rapidly, and why some countries have seen more such activity than others. They analyze their effects on countries that are recipients of inward investments, and on those countries that see multinational firms moving jobs abroad. The arguments are made using modern advances in economic a