Economic Conditions Books - Page 3

The Lexus and the Olive Tree [Revised Edition]: Understanding Globalization

Thomas L. Friedman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 403 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A brilliant investigation of globalization, the most significant socioeconomic trend in the world today, and how it is affecting everything we do-economically, politically, and culturally-abroad and at home.

As foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman crisscrosses the globe talking with the world's economic and political leaders, and reporting, as only he can, on what he sees. Now he has used his years of experience as a reporter and columnist to produce a pithy, trenchant, riveting look at the worldwide market forces that are driving today's economies and how they are playing out both internationally and locally.

Globalization is the technologically driven expression of free-market capitalism, and as such is essentially an American creation. It has irrevocably changed the way business is done and has raised living standards throughout the world. But powerful local forces-of religion, race, ethnicity, and cultural identity-are in competition with technology for the hearts and minds of their societies. Finding the proper balance between the Lexus and the olive tree is the great game of globalization-and the ultimate theme of Friedman's challenging, provocative book, essential reading for all who care about how the world really works.

Chain of Blame: How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis

Paul Muolo, Mathew Padilla

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Furious after reading 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This book in great detail tells the tale of the subprime bottom feeders and their links to equally greedy and bottom feeders on Wall Street. It's easy to read, and you start to understand how these loans were made-- quickly and without much regard to whether people could actually repay them. I would have liked to see the "chain" completed, however. We don't hear much about the home buyers and what they did or what happened to them--were they all deadbeats, as some say, or hapless naifs? And, at the other end, what were regulators doing? Surely, they must have had some thoughts about what was going on. I know at the time that consumer groups were screaming their heads off, and a few state legislatures tried to pass better regulations--but they were pre-empted from implementing them by the Office of Thrift Supervision an the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Of course, if the authors had covered all that, their book would have been bigger than the phone book, and they would still be writing. All in all, though, I thought it was riveting.

Editorial Review:

In the summer of 2007, the subprime empire that Wall Street had built all came crashing down. On average, fifty lenders a month were going bust-and the people responsible for the crisis included not just unregulated loan brokers andcon artists, but also investment bankers and home loan institutions traditionally perceived as completely trustworthy.

Chain of Blame chronicles this incredible disaster, with a specific focus on the players who participated in such a fundamentally flawed fiasco. Authors Paul Muolo and Mathew Padilla, well-regarded journalists for National Mortgage News and the Orange County Register respectively, reveal the truth behind how this crisis occurred, what individuals and institutions-from lenders and brokers to some of the biggest investment banks in the world-were doing during this critical time, and who is ultimately responsible for what happened.

American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21stCentury

Kevin Phillips

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 192 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From America’s premier political analyst, an explosive examination of the axis of religion, politics, and borrowed money that threatens to destroy the nation

In his two most recent New York Times bestselling books, American Dynasty and Wealth and Democracy, Kevin Phillips established himself as a powerful critic of the political and economic forces that are ruling—and imperiling—the United States. Now, Phillips takes an uncompromising view of the political coalition, led by radical religion, that is driving America to the brink of disaster.

From Ancient Rome to the British Empire, Phillips demonstrates that every world-dominating power has been brought down by a related set of causes: a lethal combination of global over- reach, militant religion, resource problems, and ballooning debt. It is this same axis of ills that has come to define America’s political and economic identity in the past decade. Military miscalculations in the Middle East, the surge of fundamentalist religion, the staggering national debt, the costs of U.S. oil dependence—together these factors are undermining our nation’s security, solvency, and standing in the world. If left unchecked, the same forces will bring a debt- bloated, preachy, energy-starved America to its knees. With an eye on the past and a searing vision of the future, Phillips has written a book that no American can afford to ignore.

Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage

Daniel Esty, Andrew Winston

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the Publishers Weekly review:
"Two experts from Yale tackle the business wake-up-call du jour-environmental responsibility-from every angle in this thorough, earnest guidebook: pragmatically, passionately, financially and historically. Though "no company the authors know of is on a truly long-term sustainable course," Esty and Winston label the forward-thinking, green-friendly (or at least green-acquainted) companies WaveMakers and set out to assess honestly their path toward environmental responsibility, and its impact on a company's bottom line, customers, suppliers and reputation. Following the evolution of business attitudes toward environmental concerns, Esty and Winston offer a series of fascinating plays by corporations such as Wal-Mart, GE and Chiquita (Banana), the bad guys who made good, and the good guys-watchdogs and industry associations, mostly-working behind the scenes. A vast number of topics huddle beneath the umbrella of threats to the earth, and many get a thorough analysis here: from global warming to electronic waste "take-back" legislation to subsidizing sustainable seafood. For the responsible business leader, this volume provides plenty of (organic) food for thought. "

Creating a World without Poverty: How Social Business Can Transform Our Lives

Muhammad Yunus

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

High on rhetoric, short on action 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Professor Yunus' book pales in comparison to his Banker to the Poor - this current book is light on action and heavy on rhetoric. It does tell a story about how he was able to create a social enterprise - using his connections as a Nobel Prize winner and book author.

It does not give any type of action plan on how the typical person could arrange a social business or even more their company more toward a social function. I was disappointed as it was more a book of opinions and far-flung ideas about how to create institutions like social stock markets, etc., and little about how to actionably help the poor.

In all, an interesting book, but mostly due to Yunus' writing style and easy of telling stories. It contains some short history but not enough action. I highly prefer C.K. Prahalad's Fortune at the Bottom of The Pyramid for more direct guidance on how this has been done.

Editorial Review:

While free markets have swept the globe and brought positive change, nevertheless traditional capitalism cannot solve problems of inequality and poverty because of its view of people as one-dimensional beings concerned only with profit. In fact, human beings have many other drives and passions, including spiritual, social, and altruistic.

Welcome to the world of social business, where the creative vision of the entrepreneur is applied to today's most serious problems: feeding the poor, housing the homeless, healing the sick, and protecting the planet. Creating a World without Poverty tells the stories of some of the earliest examples of social businesses, including Yunus's own Grameen Bank. It reveals the next phase in an economic and social revolution that is already underway and in the worldwide effort to eliminate poverty by unleashing the productive energy of every human being.

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

Barbara Ehrenreich

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1083 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The New York Times bestseller, and one of the most talked about books of the year, Nickel and Dimed has already become a classic of undercover reportage.

Millions of Americans work for poverty-level wages, and one day Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that any job equals a better life. But how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 to $7 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon discovered that even the "lowliest" occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.

Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity -- a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate strategies for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor.

Empire of Debt: The Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis

William Bonner, Addison Wiggin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 118 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Who was surprised? 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I just finished the book in time to turn on the news that my bank, WaMu, has been seized and sold in one motion. Now the boys in Washington are telling us that they were caught by surprise and have to craft a solution that needs to be passed in days if not hours. President George "Chicken Little" Bush has appeared to tell us that we will face the fires of hell if we don't pass his (and his cronies) best guesses at a solution. Hmmm, WMDs anyone?

Bonner and Wiggin predicted the whole thing well in advance and since I don't subscribe to the divine revelation theory of economic analysis it is clear to me that the situation was clear to others as well. Evidently none of those people were at the SEC or in goverment until yesterday. Glad they could show up but I am seriously frightened by what they might do now that they are belly up to the bar.

We, as a people, have got to get educated and yesterday would have been a good day to start. This book is an example of the information that is available. It is up to us to begin to us it.

Bonner and Wiggin recommend gold but that is clearly indicated to be a strategy available to the less connected and less sophisticated investor. For the savvy folks who are in Martha Stewarts phone tree, they recommend investments in companys in contrast to stocks. The company performance is the criteria, not the stock and they require different approaches that are explained in the book. The basic difference is the amount of effort and the methodology for investment. Personally that phone tree looks pretty good to me...

Good luck everyone.

Editorial Review:

In Empire of Debt, maverick financial writers Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin provide you with the first in-depth look at how the American character has shifted to accommodate its new imperial role; how we have abandoned the private virtues of personal liberty, economic freedom, and fiscal restraint; and how the government has gained control of public life and the economy.

The New Economic Disorder: Strategies for Weathering Any Crisis While Keeping Your Finances Intact

Larry Bates

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Best expose on the "real" economy in years! 5 out of 5 stars.
34 of 38 people found this review helpful.

Dr. Bates really exposes the truth behind our currency and banking system and how it affects all of us in our daily lives. This is a must read for all trying to make heads or tails of the turmoil in our economy today. While it was written five years ago, the information and basic principles it uncovers are timeless and will be as true one hundred years from now as they are today. If you are concerened for your financial future or that of future generations, you will find solutions to the economic problems that we are facing today. For those who need to know what to do to protect their hard-earned assets, this is again, a must read.
I am impressed with this book and recommend that every household read a copy. It should be required reading for all business and economic majors.

I THANK GOD FOR THIS BOOK AND THE KNOWLEDGE HE GAVE L. BATES 5 out of 5 stars.
23 of 37 people found this review helpful.

THIS BOOK EXSPOSES FED.RESERVE,OUR GOVN'T,BANKS AND ETC. IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN THIS BOOK IS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE. SOME FOLKS MIGHT THINK THIS BOOK IS A JOKE BUT THEY ALSO THOUGHT NOAH WAS A JOKE ABOUT THE FLOOD. DO THE INVESTIGATION YOURSELF?

Editorial Review:

In this startling expose of the financial wipeout he believes is prophesied in the Bible, economist Larry Bates shows how you can get your finances in order for the coming troubled times.

Long Tail, The, Revised and Updated Edition: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More

Chris Anderson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good but a lot of it was from the blog 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The book was pretty informative however a lot of the information that was in it I found a duplication from what was posted on the author's blog. There is a lot of fuel for thought in deciding what kind of business or product to sell considering that there is a niche market for probably anything that anybody can think of. Recommended.

Editorial Review:

The New York Times bestseller that introduced the business world to a future that's already here--now in paperback with a new chapter about Long Tail Marketing and a new epilogue.

Winner of the Gerald Loeb Award for Best Business Book of the Year

In the most important business book since The Tipping Point, Chris Anderson shows how the future of commerce and culture isn't in hits, the high-volume head of a traditional demand curve, but in what used to be regarded as misses--the endlessly long tail of that same curve.

"It belongs on the shelf between The Tipping Point and Freakonomics."
--Reed Hastings, CEO, Netflix

"Anderson's insights . . . continue to influence Google's strategic thinking in a profound way."

--Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google

"Anyone who cares about media . . . must read this book."

--Rob Glaser, CEO, RealNetworks

The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good

William Easterly

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Total reviews: 53 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Easterly's usual rant 2 out of 5 stars.
9 of 12 people found this review helpful.

The main thing I do share with Easterly is his disdain for the rockers and the dreamers.

However, beyond that, the main theme of this book is a simple tautology--if it works according to whatever criteria he stipulates, it's a "Seeker," if it doesn't, it's a "Planner." And lo and behold, the Planners are the bad boys, because they never succeed. There is nary a recognition of the fact that if you want to "seek" to help the poor somewhere, there are always those pesky governments to deal with. Just one example: he argues that the amounts of money that have been spent on roads in developing countries have ultimately had little impact in many situations, because roads deteriorate. So he recommends that donors need to build maintenance into their programs. Alas, in many parts of the world road maintenance is a job for the local government (which he acknowledges by citing how he deals with a pothole in the States). Now is his recommendation tantamount to suggesting that donors build up local government in developing countries, run by -- what, contractors? Interesting concept.

The basic issue remains: the poor tend to be poor on a large scale largely because they live in countries with bad governments at all levels. The Seekers (sometimes known as do-gooders) can help provide bandaids, but lasting solutions depend on ratcheting up government performance in those countries. How to accomplish that? There are some answers to that, but don't turn to Easterly for guidance.

Editorial Review:

From one of the world’s best-known development economists—an excoriating attack on the tragic hubris of the West’s efforts to improve the lot of the so-called developing world

In his previous book, The Elusive Quest for Growth, William Easterly criticized the utter ineffectiveness of Western organizations to mitigate global poverty, and he was promptly fired by his then-employer, the World Bank. The White Man’s Burden is his widely anticipated counterpunch—a brilliant and blistering indictment of the West’s economic policies for the world’s poor. Sometimes angry, sometimes irreverent, but always clear-eyed and rigorous, Easterly argues that we in the West need to face our own history of ineptitude and draw the proper conclusions, especially at a time when the question of our ability to transplant Western institutions has become one of the most pressing issues we face.