Books
- Walls
- The Devil's Game
- Whikatak Island
- Death at Shell Bluff
- St. Maarten
- Wife Found Slain
- The Foretelling
- Christmas Eve
- Where's the Beef?: The Mad Cow Disease Conspiracy
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Average customer rating:
- Amazing Story of Human Resilience
- INSPIRATIONAL!
- Interesting author, interesting story.. a must read
- Unbelievable!
- Entertaining, enjoyable, amusing, charming...
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The Glass Castle: A Memoir
Jeannette Walls
Manufacturer: Scribner
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ASIN: 074324754X |
Amazon.com
Jeannette Walls's father always called her "Mountain Goat" and there's perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls's childrearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, the youngsters (Walls, her brother and two sisters) were left largely to their own devices. But while Rex and Rose Mary firmly believed children learned best from their own mistakes, they themselves never seemed to do so, repeating the same disastrous patterns that eventually landed them on the streets. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls' removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover. --Brangien Davis
Book Description
The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.
The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.
The Glass Castle is truly astonishing -- a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar, but loyal, family. Jeannette Walls has a story to tell, and tells it brilliantly, without an ounce of self-pity.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing Story of Human Resilience.......2007-06-29
As a parent and grandparent, one always worries they are doing the right thing, providing the right thing, having a good enough home, and being a good parent (grandparent). I will worry a lot less after reading this book. The story is often hard to read just because of all the horrible things the children go through, but it is also a story of a child's ability to surviveand even thrive. I work with children and I will never look at a child in "poor" conditions again the same. EXCELLENT book to read.
INSPIRATIONAL!.......2007-06-22
If you're looking for a survival success story, this is the book to read. It's welll-written, engaging and honest. I highly recommend it. Pamela D. Blair, Author The Next Fifty Years: A Guide for Women at Mid-Life And Beyond
Interesting author, interesting story.. a must read.......2007-06-21
I love this book. There is much debate about it actually being a memoir, or a kind of fictionalized pseudo-biography, but either way I love the way Jeanette Walls tells a story (be it true, false or otherwise embellished) - highly recommend!
Unbelievable!.......2007-06-20
I couldn't put this book down- it was a very quick read. Jeannette's experiences are unbelievable and her ability to always overcome is unending. I'm so amazed that she retains her love for her parents after all she goes through. Great book.
Entertaining, enjoyable, amusing, charming... .......2007-06-18
I loved this book. Sometimes with a dysfunctional family relationship that is so atypical, it is hard to relate. On the contrary, this story was so noteworthy, I couldn't help but to re-tell it to my husband and children.
Even if the life story is embellished, who cares! It was that entertaining.
Average customer rating:
- Poignant and profound
- Excellent book
- A read to get you thinking
- Vivid Memoir
- Simply Wonderful!
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The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers
Harry Bernstein
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0345495802
Release Date: 2007-03-20 |
Book Description
“There are places that I have never forgotten. A little cobbled street in a smoky mill town in the North of England has haunted me for the greater part of my life. It was inevitable that I should write about it and the people who lived on both sides of its ‘Invisible Wall.’ ”
The narrow street where Harry Bernstein grew up, in a small English mill town, was seemingly unremarkable. It was identical to countless other streets in countless other working-class neighborhoods of the early 1900s, except for the “invisible wall” that ran down its center, dividing Jewish families on one side from Christian families on the other. Only a few feet of cobblestones separated Jews from Gentiles, but socially, it they were miles apart.
On the eve of World War I, Harry’s family struggles to make ends meet. His father earns little money at the Jewish tailoring shop and brings home even less, preferring to spend his wages drinking and gambling. Harry’s mother, devoted to her children and fiercely resilient, survives on her dreams: new shoes that might secure Harry’s admission to a fancy school; that her daughter might marry the local rabbi; that the entire family might one day be whisked off to the paradise of America.
Then Harry’s older sister, Lily, does the unthinkable: She falls in love with Arthur, a Christian boy from across the street.
When Harry unwittingly discovers their secret affair, he must choose between the morals he’s been taught all his life, his loyalty to his selfless mother, and what he knows to be true in his own heart.
A wonderfully charming memoir written when the author was ninety-three, The Invisible Wall vibrantly brings to life an all-but-forgotten time and place. It is a moving tale of working-class life, and of the boundaries that can be overcome by love.
Customer Reviews:
Poignant and profound.......2007-06-26
An absolutely wonderful book written by a 93 year old author who captures the very essence of anti-semitism in pre-World War I England through his own childhood experiences. The last chapter is so descriptive and poignant...really tugs at the heartstrings. I hope Mr. Bernstein continues to share his gift of the written word.
Excellent book.......2007-05-28
Wonderfully written. This book surprised me because of its unpredictability. I couldn't put it down. Mr. Bernstein's story is beautiful, it's a wonder why he waited so long to share it.
A read to get you thinking.......2007-05-25
My six member book club read this last month, and all of us, including our most critical member, found this book very enjoyable and enlightening. The inclusion of dialog easily puts the reader in the time period. The tone and style of the author encourage empathy and understanding of both populations on either side of the invisible wall. The author conveys his and his sibling's emotions in the gentlest of ways while the reader easily grasps that at the time they were much more. While not quite a page turner, my attention never lagged and I would have willingly read more. I would have appreciated more wisdom on the overall subject such as was found in Arthur's letter to Lily.
Vivid Memoir.......2007-05-25
Harry Bernstein writes in a descriptive manner that makes all the characters seem to be living right in front of the reader's eyes. The story is so interesting that I could not put the book down until I finished. It was hard to believe that a man at ninety years of age could remember so much detail and emotion back to his early childhood. The book was well worth reading. I look forward to Mr. Bernstein's next book.
Simply Wonderful!.......2007-05-25
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was moved by the characters, who came brilliantly alive. It was fascinating, and heartbreaking and uplifting! It really gives you a glimpse of life as it was. It was almost impossible to put down. I rated this book 5 stars, but I would have rated it 105 stars if they would have let me.
Average customer rating:
- A classic that should be on the bookself of every investor
- Well-written, has the right caveats
- Excellent!
- Stop messing with it !!!!
- Pearls among the swines
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A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
Burton G. Malkiel
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
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Binding: Hardcover
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- The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need
- Stocks for the Long Run : The Definitive Guide to Financial Market Returns and Long-Term Investment Strategies
ASIN: 0393062457 |
Book Description
The million-copy bestseller, revised and updated with new investment strategies for retirement and the most current research into behavioral finance.
Updated with a new chapter that draws on behavioral finance, the field that studies the psychology of investment decisions, here is the best-selling, authoritative, and gimmick-free guide to investing. Burton Malkiel evaluates the full range of investment opportunities, from stocks, bonds, and money markets to real estate investment trusts and insurance, home ownership, and tangible assets such as gold and collectibles. This edition includes new strategies for rearranging your portfolio for retirement, along with the book's classic life-cycle guide to investing, which matches the needs of investors in any age bracket. A Random Walk Down Wall Street long ago established itself as a must-read, the first book to purchase before starting a portfolio. So whether you want to brief yourself on the ways of the market before talking to a broker or follow Malkiel's easy steps to managing your own portfolio, this book remains the best investing guide money can buy.
Customer Reviews:
A classic that should be on the bookself of every investor.......2007-06-28
This is the updated and expanded 9th edition of a classic investment book that everyone should read once. Although the topics visited are rather extensive, Dr. Malkiel has a very fluid writing style and reading is easy.
Dr. Malkiel believes in a weak form of efficient market hypothesis in that although there might be inefficiencies at times, consistently finding and taking advantage of these are rather difficult after expenses and taxes even for professional money managers and many fail and ruin their investment in the pursuit of beating the market on the long term. Dr. Malkiel suggested investing in broad market (i.e. index fund) in the first edition before first "retail" index fund became available from Vanguard.
The book begins with a brief review of two valuation models: firm foundation valuation and castles in the air valuation. The next couple of chapters are about market manias and bubbles from ancient times to most recent dot com bubble and points to valuation changes and irrational investor behavior. I think every investor could take home something from this review. Those that do not know the history is bound to make the same costly mistakes.
Dr. Malkiel than examines technical analysis and fundemental analysis and market timing strategies and their shortcomings. He associates the technical analysis to astrology and how different securities analyts/researchers using the same fundemental anaysis end up with completely different valuations.
The new chapter on behavioral finance is a must read review of irrational investor behavior and show how investors could be their own worst enemy.
Rest of the book is a useful review of how an investor could construct a reliable portfolio considering risk, diversification and investment products such as individual stocks, mutual funds etc. Several model asset allocations are also available. While I found this section useful, for an investor looking for more specific guidance on portfolio construction, I would like to point to another book, The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio (Hardcover), for futher reading.
Other investment books I recommend:
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (Hardcover)
Capital Ideas: The Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street (Paperback)
Well-written, has the right caveats.......2007-06-26
This classic has been updated. Malkiel writes in a clear manner. The life-cycle chapter is particularly well done. This book is worth the purchase price, to say the least.
Excellent!.......2007-06-09
Perhaps, one of the best available classic books for investors which cuts through whole of financial Jargon and would ensure the reader understands the subtleties of the subject.
Stop messing with it !!!!.......2007-05-24
A diversified portfolio of solid stocks kept for the long run. I wish that had been my strategy last year when I moved my entire portfolio into more volatile investments approximately two days before the market took a huge dump. A Random Walk will finally allow you to relax with your investments knowing that you have a strategy that always wins in the long run.
Pearls among the swines.......2007-05-14
The book is a classic and it's main point about the investment value of index funds is superb. And a must know. However the 5 'rules' for 'a rational investor' are very mediocre and mostly plain wrong. For instance rule #2 'a rational investor should be willing to pay a higher price for a share, other things being equal, the larger the proportion of a company's earnings that is paid out in cash dividends' is a common mistake. First paying out dividend historically carried (and in some countries still carries) a tax disadvantage. Second if a company is able to reinvest its free cash-flow in business opportunities providing high returns on investment (at least somewhat above the cost of capital) it is better if the company does not pay a dividend. For the reasoning behind this read Warren Buffett and to see teh truth of it look at the share performance of Berkshire Hathaway (a company that does not pay out a dividend since Warren still thinks he can invest cash at higher returns then the cost of capital).
Then later we get a lot of cicular reasoning. To prove that professionals are no better then the market in general it is argued that as a group they do not outperform the market. Now the problem with that reasoning is that although the professinals do not own all the shares they do 90% of the trading (p.52). So they are the market (or 90% of it). They are the average! So of course the average cannot beat the average. We don't need any reasoning nor any random walk or any other theory to see that. The average will simply never do better then average and including fees for the professionals must necessarily do worse then low-cost index funds. Wether the market is efficient or not, this is always true.
Malkiel misses that point completely and just loves hanging the professionals out to dry. At the same time he also forgets to mention most of the time (except om p.161) that professional portfolio managers/analysts are not hired to outperform the market but to provide the backing behind marketing claims that they will try very hard to do so. Most are hired to sell mutual funds or keep clients, not to help them outperform.
All in all he makes some excellent points but for the uninformed reader it is very hard to distinguish between truth and nonsense in this book.
Average customer rating:
- It really isn't that good
- Good book to have
- Larry Wall is a genius.
- The Essential Perl Book
- Not my style of learning
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Programming Perl (3rd Edition)
Larry Wall , Tom Christiansen , and Jon Orwant
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
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ASIN: 0596000278 |
Amazon.com
Larry Wall wrote Perl and he wrote Programming Perl. Better yet, he writes amusingly and well--all of which comes across in this latest edition of the definitive guide to the language.
Like Topsy, Perl just grew, and as a result the need for a third edition came about. It's now over 1,000 pages, which it needs to be, as it performs several different duties. First, it's an introduction to the Perl language for those who are new to programming; also, it's a guide for those who are coming from other languages; and, finally, it's a Perl language reference.
Among Larry Wall's other pursuits is being a linguist, and it's perhaps for this reason that Perl is a peculiarly flexible language with many routes to achieving the same ends, as the authors ably demonstrate. It's also extensible in several ways, designed to work with many other languages. Also, as it's largely interpreted, programs written in Perl tend to run unmodified on a variety of platforms--although platform-specific Perl modules and programming practices are also discussed.
A major strength of Programming Perl is the way subject areas are approached from several directions. This constant shift of viewpoint eliminates blind spots in the reader's understanding and provides a pleasing echo of the way Perl itself can take many routes from here to there.
Because the Perl community is both knowledgeable and active, the language covers much more ground here than in the previous edition. Even if you have both previous editions, you'll want this latest version--if only for the new jokes. --Steve Patient, amazon.co.uk
Book Description
Perl is a powerful programming language that has grown in popularity since it first appeared in 1988. The first edition of this book, Programming Perl, hit the shelves in 1990, and was quickly adopted as the undisputed bible of the language. Since then, Perl has grown with the times, and so has this book. Programming Perl is not just a book about Perl. It is also a unique introduction to the language and its culture, as one might expect only from its authors. Larry Wall is the inventor of Perl, and provides a unique perspective on the evolution of Perl and its future direction. Tom Christiansen was one of the first champions of the language, and lives and breathes the complexities of Perl internals as few other mortals do. Jon Orwant is the editor of The Perl Journal, which has brought together the Perl community as a common forum for new developments in Perl. Any Perl book can show the syntax of Perl's functions, but only this one is a comprehensive guide to all the nooks and crannies of the language. Any Perl book can explain typeglobs, pseudohashes, and closures, but only this one shows how they really work. Any Perl book can say that my is faster than local, but only this one explains why. Any Perl book can have a title, but only this book is affectionately known by all Perl programmers as "The Camel." This third edition of Programming Perl has been expanded to cover version 5.6 of this maturing language. New topics include threading, the compiler, Unicode, and other new features that have been added since the previous edition.
Customer Reviews:
It really isn't that good.......2007-05-14
The book is written by the creators of Perl, but the truth is that the book is not nearly as good as it's cracked up to be. It suffers from the "fish describing water" syndrome, where the authors find it hard to know what to talk about and what not to talk about.
The book definitely is useful, but it's not as useful as a book written by more skillful technical writers would have been. It's very "ivory towers" and it badly needs more simple example scripts rather than "head in the clouds" discussions.
Unfortunately a lot of people who want to be "macho" about computers will say that this book is much easier to understand and useable than it really is - they'd probably tell you about how wonderful the emperor's new clothes are too.
It's not a bad book, and it's definitely useful, but I'd recommend borrowing a copy of this book to have a good look at it before buying it.
Good book to have.......2007-02-20
I haven't actually used this book in some time, but never got the last copy back from the person who borrowed it off my bookshelf. When it did see use, it was mostly to quickly look up things in the back.
Larry Wall is a genius........2006-11-17
Larry Wall (the father of Perl) is a genius. This book is essential for anyone who loves PERL. You might also want to consider "PERL: Essential Programs for Your Survival at Work" by Larry L. Smith.
The Essential Perl Book.......2006-08-23
This book is _the_ book to get when you want to get serious about Perl.
If you want to simply get to know Perl and write a few scripts, get "Learning Perl" and that'll teach you what you need to know, plus a few interesting tips here and there that you wouldn't catch yourself.
When you want to actually program in Perl and do the serious work, it's worth it to have access to this book. All the idiosyncrasies are given and you will develop a very indepth understanding of Perl... and once you have that, you can get a huge load done with Perl.
Not my style of learning.......2006-07-30
The book is well edited and has obviously evloved since its first edition to meet the needs of its readers, based on their feedback.
Unfortunately, it teaches you things inside out (and to be fair, the authors do actually tell you this about two chapters in).
They briefly mention/cite concepts in the early chapters which they then don't delve into until later chapters (e.g. they discuss symbol references early on, in regard to operators available in the language, without any introduction as to what a symbol reference is -- and I was left pretty confused sat 30k feet in the sky. I had to hop around the book to find out what was going on).
I am someone that likes to know what's going on every step of the way, where plausible, but I find it very difficult not to stop when I encounter a situation like this and hit Google to work out what they're referring to.
If you like a more methodical approach to learning a new language, try Learning Perl by Schwart et al.
Having said that, everything they do decide to drill down into is well described and becomes absorbed into your memory a lot quicker than most other texts.
Average customer rating:
- Interesting but not exceptional
- A good recount of some heady times...
- Awesme!!
- Memory lane stroll through Wall Street
- fun, quick read on the roaring 80s, but not too deep (and it wasn't)
|
Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
Michael Lewis
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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ASIN: 0140143459 |
Customer Reviews:
Interesting but not exceptional.......2007-06-27
It provides a good picture of the Wall Street during the 80's but it is sometimes tiring when describing the personality of some characters.
A good recount of some heady times..........2007-06-19
This was a story which had to be told. And it had to be told from the inside. It couldn't have been done any other way, and Michael Lewis does a fairly god job of it.
The book essentially tells the story of the rise and fall from wealth (and grace) of Salomon Brothers, and in particular, their mortgage trading group. Those times were clearly heady ones, with the creation and destruction of ridiculous amounts of wealth - from thin air. (It's a more common phenomenon now given the increasing sizes and reaches of the global financial markets, but this probably represented the earliest of the really big cycles.) Lewis takes us deep into that world, giving us a view from a prime seat in the middle of the best action of those times - at Salomon Brothers. In doing so, he is able to create a fairly strong feel for that world, with all its extravagances and idiosyncrasies, while simultaneously providing a fair amount of objective narrative on the internal and external events. His fleshing out of the characters in the book is well done too, which allows the reader a fair level of involvement and empathy with the events. Another strength of the book is that Lewis never gets too technical, and is able to explain fairly complicated markets in terms simple enough for most people to understand.
On the flip side, I have to caution you that at the end of the day, Lewis might have been a good banker, but he's not a great writer. The book could have been taken to a different level altogether in the hands of a better writer, and much of the strength of this book is eventually derived from the story. That said, overall, I still think Lewis has done a very credible job, and the book is a very worthwhile read for everybody, not just bankers.
Awesme!!.......2007-06-19
Great book!! Gives great inside into what trading, and sales really was like at the peak of the 80s. Really great book if you find Wall Street or any-related interesting. Highly Recommended!!
Memory lane stroll through Wall Street.......2007-06-18
I spent years in the hallowed and occasionally corrupt halls of Wall Street. This is a fascinating tale by Michael Lewis covering investment banking in the 1980's. It's with great irony that many are looking back to this pages and seeing the accurate predictions of the looming S&L disaster. Michael Lewis came of age successfully trading bonds for Solomon Brothers, and he gives you a nice insider's view from the trenches. If you've ever wondered what it's like to experience the excitement, pressure, greed and fear emotions from the pits, the big boy pits that is, this is a good book to read.
fun, quick read on the roaring 80s, but not too deep (and it wasn't).......2007-06-13
If you even wondered what people do and what knd of people there are in those big buildings on Wall Street, this is your book. You see, from an insider's ironic detachment, how clueless these people were, how little they understood what they were doing with the incredible amounts of money seeking to make more money. Not only do they care little about what they are doing for their shareholders, but they make bad mistakes that ruins lives. The excesses - like huge buckets of guacamole for snacks or unbelievable arrogance - are sickening after a while.
Lewis writes extremely well, truly a unique voice. While I felt a bit disappointed pnce I finished the book as I gained little understanding of the protagonists' motivation and reflcetions (assuming they had any), the descriptions of what it was like are very interesting.
Recommended.
Average customer rating:
- banksy the man
- Great coffe table book
- Never mind the bollocks - here's Banksy
- wall and piece
- great present!
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Wall and Piece
Banksy
Manufacturer: Random House UK
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Binding: Hardcover
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- Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall
ASIN: 1844137864
Release Date: 2005-12-27 |
Book Description
Graffiti artist Banksy decorates streets, walls, bridges and zoos of towns and cities throughout the world. His identity remains unknown but his work is witty, subversive and prolific. And now, he’s put together the best of his work in a fully illustrated colour volume.
Customer Reviews:
banksy the man.......2007-06-15
this is a must have 4 any art fan if u r a hip hop fan streetart or just good poking fun at people and getting them to think then buy buy buy if you like war dont like to laugh and have no eye for art then stay away
Great coffe table book.......2007-05-21
The artwork is amazing, the setting and message with each of his pieces are really powerful and deep. You really have to see it to believe it, once you do, you will even gain an interest of what graffiti artists are really trying to tell the viewer.
Never mind the bollocks - here's Banksy.......2007-05-11
In a time when most works of art consist of either inconsequential pseudo-intellectual "abstractions" or fatuous entertainment, it can be a great relief to stumble upon something like Banksy's paintings/writings on the wall. And here we have a nice compilation by this growingly famous pseudo-anonymous artist for all those who do not plan to bother travelling to London, Barcelona, San Francisco, Palestine or whatever other hellish place that has been blessed with his striking graffiti creations.
Incidentally, the Oxford Dictionary defines graffiti as: "drawings or writing on a wall, etc. in a public place. They are usually rude, humorous or political." Banksy's work, of course, is all three simultaneously. Perhaps that's one of the elements distinguishing him from other (half)underground artists (or just assertive kids) trying to get their message through by painting public buildings without official permission.
For better or for worse, Banksy's art is loaded with meanings - and they're not that difficult to figure out, either. No wonder that no self-respecting "modern art" museum showed much interest in him - at least until he made himself noticed by blatantly breaking the rules. Don't we all love a non-conformist!
In many ways, Banksy represents the good old punk ethos at its best: he is an exemplary practitioner of Do-It-Yourself techniques (up to his famous pranks of sneaking his works into big international museums); his themes are often (if not always) anti-authoritarian; his art is oozing with cynicism and (self-)mockery. Even the leitmotiv of the (nasty, snide, irredeemable) RAT as a reverse mirror of mainstream values, empty promises and not-so-subtle state disciplinary measures is reminiscent of the height of punk insubordination. Those were the days!
Still, as we all know, Punk is Dead. Anarchy didn't even come close to becoming more than a cute slogan. The "System" hasn't collapsed (yet). But that doesn't mean one should stop kicking and screaming, does it?
Fortunately, Banksy isn't just a "retro" artist - quite the opposite, he manages to reflect his own time and culture in a unique and very convincing way. Which is a hell of an achievement, considering how quickly any defiance is turned into a (boring) spectacle these days, with cheap t-shirts and mugs thrown into the bargain.
Whether in his mockery of paranoia-inducing surveillance cameras, ever-present police officers, soldiers and impressive arsenal (of the peaceful West) - or his caricatures of a commercial culture incorporating everything from revolutionary anti-capitalist icons to flesh-coloured Christs that glow in the dark, - Banksy twists symbols and turns meanings upside down to shed a light on the contradictions lying beneath a stifling pile of stupefying nonsense and outright lies. Plus he's funny about it. What else could you wish for?
Although there are lots of pictures of Banksy's art on the internet, this book offers two advantages: 1) it's much nicer and more comfortable to look at the (many) printed pictures; and 2) the artist has added some interesting personal thoughts/experiences which only contribute to his image of a smart, somewhat riotous but also admirably understated RAT. And a wise self-promoter.
wall and piece.......2007-05-10
probably the best artist of the era.. one look at his artwork got me hooked and changed the way i view graffiti.. and this book is an awesome collection of all his work, i hope theres another in the works...
and youll love all of his personal input..
great present!.......2007-05-08
i bought this book for my boyfriend for his b'day as he had wanted it for awhile. he got loads of other presents but the book was his favorite. not only is it a cool book full of great graffiti pics but it also has great little reads too. i love it too!
Average customer rating:
- Interactive & More
- lost in translation
- Useful in the real world
- An elementary approach to a college class
- Excellent book, easy to follow DVD!
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Practical Business Math Procedures w/ DVD, Business Math Handbook, and Wall Street Journal insert
Jeffrey Slater
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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- Understanding Business, 7e
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- Schaum's Outline of Mathematical Methods for Business and Economics
ASIN: 0073133086 |
Book Description
Practical Business Math Procedures is a comprehensive introduction to the concepts and applications of mathematics to personal and commercial business problems. The text uses basic arithmetic and problem solving techniques and illustrates their use in retailing, interest and loans, banking, payroll, taxes, investments, insurance, and a variety of other business situations. The text is well known for the motivating integration of interesting real world examples and photos from the Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger’s, and many other business journals. PBMP’s is the most popular and widely used book for this course and is carefully written and developed to support students with little math experience with practice quizzes, thousands of exercises, color coded procedures and diagrams, supporting tutorial videos on DVD, and the highest standards of reliability and cleanliness.
Customer Reviews:
Interactive & More.......2007-02-23
This book is more of what I think a "text" book should be for learning. It has nice colorful graphics [drawn, photocopied, and photographed] to arouse one's interest and learning. There are "real" companies given as factual examples and links to explore. The Teachers editon would be the best [it not only gives all the answers to the problems, but shows the step by step formulas to use]. I also found that by going to the book companies online resorces, you can download and print PowerPoint slides to help guide you through some of the more complex areas.
lost in translation.......2007-01-13
I used this book in a business math class and I found it to be confusing and hard to follow. I have a good grasp on business concepts and this book left me feeling more confused after my class than when I began. The approach to this class certainly is not one I would reccomend for college level (for any level for that matter).
Useful in the real world.......2006-05-23
I used the 7th edition in the business math class I took. The class was listed under the BUS designation, and was not intended for those above the 096 level in math. I took it at a community college as part of a certificate program. The first 4 chapters were review and the balance was the class. The chapters were well written and the practice problems useful. There are many problems for each chapter.
I use the formulas and concepts in my work. I am co manager of a grocery store. I use the things I learned each and every day.
Many people do not have a good grounding in math. Business math classes are designed to build a foundation and give skills that can be used right away.
An elementary approach to a college class.......2006-04-14
I am teaching a business math class and was issued this text book by the college. While reviewing the book I found it to be more confusing than helpful. I found the majority of the ideas presented in the book to be of common knowledge. Rather than presenting the concepts in the book in an analytical manner, the author uses a personal narrative to convey the ideas. The author introduces new concepts with successive chapters, but does not explain how these concepts are derived. The author explains concepts at face value, rather than explaining how the concepts come about and how to apply them to other situations outside of the ideal situation. The first 6 chapters or so, out of a total of 22, are a review of basic math skills starting with addition and subtraction of whole numbers and continue to basic uses of percents. In addition to those 6 chapters, more of the successive chapters become redundant and are not presented in a logical order. Integrated into the text are numerous amounts of extraneous articles that are meant to reinforce the underlying point, but instead simply add bulk and distraction to the text.
I found that the concepts of the book are poorly presented and are not explained thoroughly. I would STRONGLY recommend not using this book, especially for a college level business class. A person with little to no everyday business experience would find this book to be very simple. In my opinion this book is primarily geared to a 9th grade level education in a public school system and not a college level class.
Excellent book, easy to follow DVD!.......2006-01-26
What can I saw but this is an awesome book. I never did get past chapter one though because I found out that my previous grade was enough to meet a requirement so I figured why take it again? (Got a D+ originally, with a different book).
Average customer rating:
- first stop
- The Complete Trading for a Living
- Timeless classic reference
- Great book
- Bookreader
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The Complete Trading for a Living: The Legendary Approach to Trading with the Companion Study Guide
Alexander Elder
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
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- High Probability trading
ASIN: 0470040947 |
Book Description
Trading for a Living with Companion Study Guide (Specially Priced Leather Bound Edition)
The bestselling trading book of all time, Dr. Alexander Elder's Trading for a Living is now bound with the companion Study Guide in a handsome leather edition no trader should be without.
Focusing on the three critical areas of Mind, Method, and Money, Dr. Elder helps professionals master new approaches to trading stocks, currencies, futures, and options. A clear understanding of the three M's will help you discipline your Mind, master the best Methods for trading the markets, and manage Money in your trading accounts so that no string of losses can kick you out of the game.
Dr. Elder's revolutionary Trading for a Living has won international acclaim and helped hundreds of thousands of traders bring their skills to new levels. The accompanying Study Guide for Trading for a Living adds more than 200 questions, charts, and assessments that pinpoint the reader's strengths and weaknesses as a trader, and helps measure improvement and growth.
Now these two books are available together in one beautifully bound volume, worthy of a place of honor in every trader's library.
Sold separately, Trading for a Living and the Study Guide retail for $120. Add them both to your business library at this special low price in this deluxe edition, available only to Amazon.com customers for a limited time.
Customer Reviews:
first stop.......2007-05-19
if you are entering the financial market. this is the first book you need!!! learning and understanding this books knowledge, i am sure will be fundimental too your success. having the study guide with it only enhances its worth.a must have starting point.
The Complete Trading for a Living.......2007-05-15
Fast moving. Investigates the critical concepts of trading. Explains clearly the more difficult transactions in a "easy-to-follow" concise manner. Would recommend it for any serious trader.
Timeless classic reference.......2007-05-12
Don't think I need to add anything to the consensus. If your intent is to trade for a living, then you must have this tome as a reference.
Great book.......2007-02-21
I found "Trading for a Living" very interesting. Good trading lessons. All people who start trading must read Mr. Elder.
Bookreader.......2007-02-21
Great book. Well organized. Great buy. Dr. Elder's work is excellent and a great asset to traders.
Average customer rating:
- Awesome, funny, and useful
- Absolutely hilarious
- Worth reading before and after entering the trade
- Worth your time reading if you want to get an idea about I-banking
- Great book!
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Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle
John Rolfe , and Peter Troob
Manufacturer: Business Plus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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- Goldman Sachs : The Culture of Success
ASIN: 0446676950 |
Book Description
Meet John and Peter, two young business school graduates about to become frustrated foot soldiers for the world of high finance. 20 hour days, inflated salaries, senseless prospects, outlandish characters and strip club lap dances make escaping with their sanity sound like the best deal of all.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome, funny, and useful.......2007-06-19
I finished this book the second time I picked it up because it is absolutely hilarious. A great book, with very funny moments. Also this book gives a great insight into the kind of activities bankers do at the associate level. Great book!!
Absolutely hilarious.......2007-04-15
I work at an investment bank but I'm not a banker. I just bought this book on a friends recommendation and I must say this read is hilarious. I read it during my commute to work and the other day I just could not stop laughing in the bus. I had tears in my eyes. I had to put the book down before someone noticed and thought I was crazy.
Worth reading before and after entering the trade.......2007-04-14
A fun and easy read, not quite to the expectations i had when ordering. I'm an investment banker myself and although on another continent, I read many familiar things.
While all it is written probably is (was) true, the perspective is of course very negative, there's little in the book of the things that make investment banking rewarding, and I'm not only talking about money. I'm talking of the satisfaction of getting a deal done and fitting all the pieces of the puzzle .
I believe it is still possible to get a nice investment banking career without being a monkey 15h/day, but of course, you might make less money out of it.
I liked a paragraph very much "we realized that the compensation levels and the perks weren't in place because being an associate in investment banking was a great job. They were in place because the job sucked."
I wonder what I have thought if I read this book before working as an analyst and associate in Investment Banking. Probably I wouldn't believe half the things here (including first year's associate paycheck of $200k) and I'd still yearn for a place in the industry.
But it casts a shaddow on the value and use of an MBA, a collateral victim in the book. Is the main purpose of an MBA to give you a open door to Investment Banking and management consulting? If so, is very dissapointing, there are cheaper and less time consuming ways of doing that.
Worth your time reading if you want to get an idea about I-banking.......2007-03-10
Most of the other reviews hit all the bases when describing this book - somewhat exaggerated, but I'd say about 70% true. Of course experience varies across companies and office locations, but for someone outside looking in, Monkey Business is definitely worth a read. The volatility in debauchery/work, coupled with the casual language in which this book is written, makes it an easy & entertaining read.
Great book!.......2007-02-25
Hilarious take on the lives of investment banking associates. However, as someone in the industry, do not let this book turn you off of an investment banking career. Though hours are still killer, it is my experience that the environment has gotten a lot better
Average customer rating:
- Very disappointed, very
- Excellent book for the beginning amateur investor
- A must-have in your investment library
- Exellent
- Tiny Tiny
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One Up On Wall Street : How To Use What You Already Know To Make Money In The Market
Peter Lynch , and John Rothchild
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0743200403 |
Book Description
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLING BOOK THAT EVERY INVESTOR SHOULD OWN
Peter Lynch is America's number-one money manager. His mantra: Average investors can become experts in their own field and can pick winning stocks as effectively as Wall Street professionals by doing just a little research.
Now, in a new introduction written specifically for this edition of One Up on Wall Street, Lynch gives his take on the incredible rise of Internet stocks, as well as a list of twenty winning companies of high-tech '90s. That many of these winners are low-tech supports his thesis that amateur investors can continue to reap exceptional rewards from mundane, easy-to-understand companies they encounter in their daily lives.
Investment opportunities abound for the layperson, Lynch says. By simply observing business developments and taking notice of your immediate world -- from the mall to the workplace -- you can discover potentially successful companies before professional analysts do. This jump on the experts is what produces "tenbaggers," the stocks that appreciate tenfold or more and turn an average stock portfolio into a star performer.
The former star manager of Fidelity's multibillion-dollar Magellan Fund, Lynch reveals how he achieved his spectacular record. Writing with John Rothchild, Lynch offers easy-to-follow directions for sorting out the long shots from the no shots by reviewing a company's financial statements and by identifying which numbers really count. He explains how to stalk tenbaggers and lays out the guidelines for investing in cyclical, turnaround, and fast-growing companies.
Lynch promises that if you ignore the ups and downs of the market and the endless speculation about interest rates, in the long term (anywhere from five to fifteen years) your portfolio will reward you. This advice has proved to be timeless and has made One Up on Wall Street a number-one bestseller. And now this classic is as valuable in the new millennium as ever.
Customer Reviews:
Very disappointed, very.......2007-06-09
the description was misleading, it's not a book, it's an excerpt in tiny, tiny pages. Very disappointed.
Excellent book for the beginning amateur investor.......2007-05-23
Lynch does a great job introducing the world of stock investing. He writes in a very easy-to-read manner using lots of examples, and he always uses an encouraging and comforting tone, reassuring the reader that the reader as an amateur also has a spot in the investing world.
The book is split into 3 basic sections - preparing to invest, picking winners, and the long-term view. The first part goes over why you should invest, why amateurs can have an edge over professionals, and some other basic concepts. The second portion covers how to actually find good companies and how to analyze them to make sure they're worth investing into. The last section wraps things up by talking about basic stock portfolio management and the importance of a long-term mindset.
The book uses a lot of historical examples. Sometimes it feels like Lynch is showing off his experience and success, but the man has a fantastic Wall Street record - definitely something to brag about. He is also unafraid to talk about his mistakes, which is admirable and enlightening.
While some of the specifics Lynch discusses (what's a "good" P/E of certain companies compared to the growth rate, for example) may be somewhat out of date, the general concepts in this book hold very true today. I recommend this book highly to anyone looking to invest in stocks - there are some great lessons to take away. The two that really stuck in my mind are:
1. Amateur investors are not at a loss compared to professionals. In fact, amateurs are not constrained by many things that professionals may be bound to, such as fund restrictions, job security, etc. Amateurs can also spot potential future winners way before Wall Street can.
2. Take your time to do the homework on a company before you buy its stock AND before you sell it. Make sure you can give a good 2-minute summary of why you want to buy a certain stock. Keep in mind - if there's any doubt, check in later. For example, you never want to buy a fast grower before it proves it can expand.
Note that this book is only about stocks and how to find the "right" stocks. It covers bonds briefly (to convince the reader that stocks are a much better long-term investment), and it also has a very short chapter on futures, options, and shorting stock. However, Lynch quickly dismisses these three as overly risky speculative investment vehicles that don't contribute to the business world (i.e. money in the futures/options markets is not used by companies to expand operations - it just changes hands depending on who won the "bet"). Don't expect to learn much about these types of investment, as Lynch clearly dislikes them.
In conclusion, if you are thinking about stock market investing or even if you already own stock, read this book. It's a quick and easy read, and you will, without doubt, get something useful out of it.
Pros:
+ easy and relatively quick read
+ encourages the amateur investor to not be intimidated by professionals
+ Lynch presents his time-proven strategies in a very coherent manner, with lots of examples of things he did right AND things he did wrong
+ lots of useful advice that still holds true today
Cons:
- quick dismissal of stock shorting, options, and futures
A must-have in your investment library.......2007-05-14
I always recommend this book whenever someone ask me how to start investing in the stock market. Peter Lynch is obviously a very smart man but what impressed me the most was his writing style and sense of humor. This book was easy to read while being knowledgable at the same time.
Exellent.......2007-04-21
Best book I have ever read about the market.
Great starting point if someone wants to buy stocks...the problem is that...he is " Peter Lynch " no way you will ever have the kind of results he got, see, you, I and HIM can look at the very same thing, but HE got the skills to analyze it and make the best judgment, we do not.
My point is that without fooling yourself and thinking you can make a fortune in the market you can still do better than most if you understand and apply his investment strategy
- g
Tiny Tiny.......2007-04-04
This book is tiny and gets you on the course of investing but in terms of material its pretty bad. It's like a summary of the real book. Be careful before you buy it if you're looking for the non-miniature edition.
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