5 comments about Ben & Jerry's: The Inside Scoop: How Two Real Guys Built a Business with a Social Conscience and a Sense of Humor.

1. Although Ben & Jerry's: The Inside Scoop was a little long-winded at times, I thought it was a good easy-to-read book for non-business majors wanting to start a business. Lager's style of writing makes Ben & Jerry seem like two regular guys up the street who had a dream and went after it with all the gusto they could muster. The book would not serve as a business plan protocol necessarily, however, it does display the true entrepeneriual spirit needed in order to make a business successful. Lager does a wonderful job of showing how Ben & Jerry fed off of each other and when one door closed in their face, they found another way in through a different door or window -- exactly what has to be done if you are going to grow a successful business.

   Lager captured the realism of the trials and tribulations experienced by most individuals who begin their own business. I would recommend this book to anyone who was thinking of beginning his/her own business because it gives a look at the real side of starting your own business by making Ben & Jerry two real guys who simply wanted to start their own business so they did not have to work from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for someone else. By putting all the business jargon aside, I felt this was a worthwhile read for someone who needs the reassurance that anyone can start a business and this is how Ben & Jerry started theirs.




2. This was a really good book that shows "How Two Real Guys Built a Business With a Social Conscience and a Sense of Humor." This should be required reading for MBA's along with Hawkin's Growing a Business.



3. It's a chronicle of the intriguing journey of junior high friends who split the $5 cost of a home study course in making homemade ice cream and turn it into a $237 million company (1999 sales). Ben & Jerry's antics of giving away ice cream so they can 'get the ice cream into people's mouths so they will buy it,' take on some unusual situations. Free cones are offered to folks who register to vote, donate books to Head Start, or send postcards to elected officials for a variety of causes, and to celebrate at Fall Down Festivals with block long stilt walking races, music and other amusements. Solar-powered mobiles are used to transport the ice cream and a show on the road. They still sponsor customer appreciation day once a year when free cones are dipped all day.

   It's hard to resist a bowl or cone of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or Cherry Garcia as you read this humorous show and tell of two guys who really want (and do) make a difference. You'll be ready to book a snow shoe tour of the Vermont plant by the time you finish reading about these guys' mission. Their values-led business (in addition to having fun) is to produce the best ice cream from Vermont dairy products, to increase the value of the of the company for the stockholders and create career opportunities and financial rewards for employees, and to improve the quality of life for the community. (They donate 7.5% of pretax profits to Ben & Jerry's Foundation that supports a variety of causes that improve the quality of life for children.)

   I'm using this book as a project for an organizational communications course and enjoyed the reading (and eating) more than I ever expected. It was the most fun I've had doing homework!




4. I read this book at the suggestion of a business school professor. It was supposedly a great illustration of the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurs.

   I found that the book tried more to be humorous than to convey any business knowledge to the reader. Everything seemed to be an inside joke. Rather than producing a well thought-out account of a business experience, the book fell flat with dumb humor. I was very unimpressed with how the company was run, and I don't feel like I got much from the book.




5. A good recount of how the company got going, but the last few chapters dragged.

   There are things to learn about how Ben and Jerry developed their company:
   1)They are geniuses at this. They actually figured out mass production without knowing what they were doing, they figured out marketing from scratch, they encountered financing and survived.
   2)They had a near masochistic willingness to work. Boy did these guys work hard (it would kill me to do what they did, even if I had the will to do it).
   3)They could adapt incredibly.

   4) and finally: There are pitfalls and prices to trying to make social profits and business profits at the same time and to not planning your company to be as big as it already is.

   You can learn about businesses in their growth phase from this book. You can learn about making sure a company has sufficient controls in place for its size. You may be able to learn whether you have what it takes to be an entrepeneur.

   The first 3/4th of the book were fun to read but for some reason the last couple of chapters, when Ben and Jerry were playing less of a part in the business, were slow and boring (I don't exactly know why but I know they dragged).

No comments about Forgotten Cattle King (Centennial Series of the Association of Series, 19).

4 comments about Bill Gates: The Path to the Future.

1. If this book is called The Path to the Future, why does the author spend so much time talking about the past? The book contains boring histories that everyone already knows, plus a lot of filler and no actual insights. Don't waste your time.



2. This book is definitely not worth reading. The premise is misleading (it is hardly in-depth), writing is poor (I found numerous typographical errors), all views are strongly biased towards Gates, and none of the author's arguments are supported sufficiently.



3. This book is a great book. It is a condensed version of his life... Instead of reading too much into boring details you get the quick fast pace version in a great, easy to read novel. The author has obviously done great research of his subject. Do not listen to these other reviews which are obviously from people who hate Bill Gates. Below you will find my summary and analysis of this book:

   Bill Gates is probably one of the smartest and most successful men of our time, maybe of all time. This book is the summary of Bill Gates' path to success and the history of how our society became dependant on computers and of course Microsoft. How did Bill Gates become the richest man ever know? What Challenges did he face? All is revealed about the man behind Microsoft, the company that changed how we live.

   Bill Gates is a genius that is probably smarter than anyone you will ever know. Here is the story that will show you his inner workings. Interesting combinations of unique personality characteristics that this man has is what has made him the success he is and is explained to you in this story.




4. This book is a great book. It is a condensed version of his life... Instead of reading too much into boring details you get the quick fast pace version in a great, easy to read novel. The author has obviously done great research of his subject. Do not listen to these other reviews which are obviously from people who hate Bill Gates. Below you will find my summary and analysis of this book:

   Bill Gates is probably one of the smartest and most successful men of our time, maybe of all time. This book is the summary of Bill Gates' path to success and the history of how our society became dependant on computers and of course Microsoft. How did Bill Gates become the richest man ever know? What Challenges did he face? All is revealed about the man behind Microsoft, the company that changed how we live.

   Bill Gates is a genius that is probably smarter than anyone you will ever know. Here is the story that will show you his inner workings. Interesting combinations of unique personality characteristics that this man has is what has made him the success he is and is explained to you in this story.

1 comments about William Marshal, Knight-errant, Baron, and Regent of England (MART: The Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching).

1. I learned after reading the Painter biography of William Marshal that it has been largely superseded by David Crouch's (which I will be reading soon), but I believe it still has much to offer.
   
   For this work, first published in 1933, Painter draws heavily on the _Histoire de Guillaume le Marechal_, a contemporary chronicle written by an obvious Marshal partisan. Naturally, the Histoire's version on Marshal's life, the glowing but vague physical descriptions, the legendary exploits and such, is to be taken with a grain of salt. However, Painter's book is much more than a mere translation of the _Histoire_. While Marshal's early life is to some extent lost in the mists of time, significant objective information becomes available beginning with his association with the Plantagenets when he was in his early 20s. From this point on, this well-footnoted book references a variety of chronicles and administrative records, and references to the _Histoire_ grow fewer and farther between.
   
   Two aspects of Marshal's life make his life story especially edifying to the medievalist:
   
   First, it shows us what virtually every younger son who didn't go into holy orders wanted to be. Marshal epitomized the late twelfth-century knight, first distinguishing himself in battle and on the tournament field, then garnering the attention of a powerful patron, Eleanor of Aquitaine, which he then parlayed into a long and profitable royal association that included marriage to the wealthiest heiress in the realm. Late in life, he became the reluctant but highly effective regent of England. Even if the _Histoire_ sometimes is a bit too glowing in its praise, somewhat over the top in detailing his exploits, "reading between the lines" renders an only slightly duller portrait.
   
   Second, his long life and intimate association with English royalty means that his story is also a crash course in early Plantagenet history, beginning with latter part of Henry II's reign and then encompassing Richard I, John, and the first few years of the boy king Henry III. While Painter probably isn't entirely fair to John, with whom William fell out a couple of times, William's experiences with John are well-documented and can still be instructive.
   
   I found Painter's writing surprisingly readable, at least as much, and probably more so, than Georges Duby's. Painter was only slightly less enthusiastic about Marshal than the writer of the _Histoire_, never applying anything but the highest of motives to Marshal's actions. But he does a good job of justifying his positions; I always felt they were grounded in realism.

No comments about Hearing Grasshoppers Jump: The Story of Raymond Ackerman.

1 comments about Gustavo Cisneros: Un Empresario Global.

1. Mas que una Biografia, un excelente audiolibro de estrategia de negocios. Este audiolibro cuenta la vida de Gustavo Cisneros, y los comienzos de su conglomerado que fundo su padre. Ademas de contar su vida, cuenta detalles de grandes negocios incluyendo el cambio de marca de Pepsi a CocaCola en un fin de semana, como se creo Univision, etc. La narracion es excelente, altamente recomendado.

No comments about Henry Ford: The Wayward Capitalist.

5 comments about No Elbow Room.

1. Kenneth writes a detailed and fascinating read. What an experience. Having stayed in Japan myself for a while, I found No Elbow Room to confirm some things I had suspected about living in Japan. Great book!



2. Fun, Fun, Fun. A funny and informative documentary of first-hand experiences in Japan. A must if you are considering working for a few years for a company in Tokyo. Also a must if you want to get insight into the workings of a culture totally different from American and European cultures. The illustrations are hilarious. The book is precise with marvelous drawings. There are informative comments on improving the lot of women in Japan. Be prepared for a fun ride!



3. No Elbow Room is a quick and informative read into the Cultural mind set of Japanese relationships. It opens up for examination a world of contradicting correctness and sheds light on some of my own experiences in Japan. You will read it from cover to cover enjoying the wonderful illustrations and lighthearted humor.



4. Do you ever find yourself in a large bookstore overwhelmed by the sheer number of titles, and wonder how so many new ideas continue to emerge in such mass quantity? Well, this is one of those books that keep us returning to bookstores with faith in the fact that we will not always leave disappointed! This book is unique in its perspective on a subject I am interested in as a professor of international business (Zicklin School of Business; Baruch College, City University of New York) - cross cultural understanding. Written in a pen indicative of ample experience in Japan's corporate world, yet from an outside Western perspective, it reveals nuances of Japanese business culture that only an expatriate can easily discern. "No Elbow Room" is blunt to a pain yet carefully objective and fair in its exposé of little known tidbits of Japanese culture and business protocol outside of the Island nation itself. Yet while set in Japan, I found myself easily adapting lessons learned to virtually any cross-cultural setting, prompting me to list this book as required reading in my "Foreign Markets, Cultures, Regimes" class. This is a self-authored text, that no doubt a large publishing house will soon discover and market to the masses. The book is short (179 pages) and a quick yet informative read. I recommend it for not just international business scholars, but as an aid for sociology class discussions, gender-relations discussions, for anyone interested in international relations, and particularly for anyone wishing to travel to Japan, particularly from the West. And if you think you're well traveled and immune to culture shock, you must pick up this book!



5. I really enjoyed reading this book, it gives a good insight of the Japanese society from a foreigner's point of view, who lived and worked in Japan for several years.
   This only problem is that it's from the early 1990's and some things have changed since...

2 comments about Fritz Pollard: PIONEER IN RACIAL ADVANCEMENT (Sport and Society).

1. If you don't know Fritz Pollard you must read this book. It provides insight into him and the people closest to him. It raises your spirits and makes you want to accomplish great tasks. This is an A+++++++ book for any football fan.



2. Carroll pens a thorough and illuminating account of an early African-American icon that Americans of all colors gradually forgot, Fritz Pollard. Fritz Pollard was arguably the first modern age African American athletic star that used his athletic prowess to further his opportunities in other fields such as movies, booking, investments, and even tax consulting. He successfully, although not without difficulty, negotiated the hazards, pitfalls, challenges, and bias of a racially charged America to become as Carroll maintains, "a pioneer in interracial relations." (4) Carroll promotes and attributes this pioneer theme to Pollard throughout the biography. The author also accredits Pollard's successes and pioneering nature to Pollard's family background and childhood. Although not overly sympathetic, Carroll clearly contains high praise for Pollard and his accomplishments contending that Pollard "established more `firsts' for his race than perhaps any other African American in this century." (239) The author is careful to temper this praise with accounts of Pollard's bitterness towards perceived injustices and mistreatment due to racism and lack of attention Pollard thought he deserved. The result is a commendable biography of Fritz Pollard as an early race relations pioneer, athletic star, and sometimes-successful businessman deserving of far more attention and memories than Pollard currently garners.
   Efforts such as Carroll's help keep the memories of Pollard alive for those who have never heard of or fully grasped the achievements of Pollard. Carroll's assertion that Pollard was a pioneer in race relations, however, appears to fall flat in some respects. As Carroll points out, Pollard had to negotiate a subtle balance between asserting his race and accepting the tide of racism. Yet, it appears that Pollard endured more racism and contempt on the playing field rather than in business endeavors. Perhaps this was because most of Pollard's business activities were aimed at African Americans themselves, but it seems plausible that Pollard would face far more discrimination and racial injustices in the business arena than the sporting one. One must also question what Pollard really thought of his role in pioneering racial equality.
   Towards the end of the book, Carroll notes that Pollard displays bitterness in regards to the racial animosities delivered his way. Pollard's daughter, Leslie asserts that Pollard deeply cared about his race and the cause of civil rights. (239) Acknowledging that some of Pollard's efforts were behind closed doors and diminished because of a natural assumption that the black middle class emulated white society too much, Carroll's contention that Pollard was truly a pioneer in race relations seems weak. Perhaps it is only a case of the author failing to connect accurately his argument to his examples. Whether his deeds pioneered race relations or not, Pollard deserves remembering for all of the firsts and successes he indeed accomplished.

No comments about Henry's Lieutenants (Great Lakes Books).