No comments about Howard Hughes - From Wealth to Madness (Biography).

No comments about A.P. Giannini and the Bank of America (Oklahoma Western Biographies).

4 comments about Warren Buffett:: Master of the Market.

1. This book does not reveal anything new about WEB



2. I have read every book regarding Warren Buffett and in my opinion this one is by far the worst. I would urge readers to spend their money on other Buffett books. Any of the other ones would be better than this one.

   This one simply regurgitates everything already written about the man and it's not even done with originality.




3. I am just getting into Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway stock. If you are looking for a quick easy read on the history of Warren Buffett and his company, this book would fill that need. This book covered the Buffett history and explained how the "Baby Berkshires" came about. I am sure there are other books that go into more detail, but this book will be a good book to start with.



4. Review: At first glance, one would think that this is primarily a book on how to invest using the principles of Warren Buffett. Very much the contrary, this book is actually a narration of the life of Warren, from his days as a child (where he worked part-time as a paper boy) up to describing all his major acquisitions. Sixteen chapters of the book are devoted to this; the remaining one chapter of the book summarises the nine principles of investing.
   
   It is interesting to read about how Warren grows up and his major investment successes. The final chapter would also serve as a very good checklist:
   
   1) Know the numbers and what they mean.
   2) Invest in products you understand.
   3) Read widely to value prospects.
   4) Always maintain a margin of safety.
   5) Become a fanatic about investments.
   6) Avoid buying "popular" stocks.
   7) The secret of compound interest.
   8) Know when to invest.
   9) Never run with the street pack.
   
   Certainly, when deciding what stock to purchase, each and every stock should be torn apart and analysed just as one would do when buying/starting any business. And what others feel that a particular stock is worth should not affect our own evaluation of the business prospects. It is the presence of such mismatch in pricing that allows investors like Warren to achieve their extraordinary returns.
   
   Recommendations: This book would be suitable for people who know a little of Warren Buffett and would like to know more about him without going into too much details. For die-hard fans that had already read his annual newsletters to his Berkshire shareholders, they probably wouldn't learn anything new here.

2 comments about The Miller Beer Barons: The Frederick Miller Family and Its Brewery.

1. The Miller Beer Barons: The Frederick J. Miller Family And Its Brewery is the true and fascinating story of the Miller family, which started and ran the Miller Brewing Company for over one hundred years. Stretching from late 1800's Germany, when Mr. Miller brewed his first beer, to 1970, when Harry G. John Jr.'s sale of Miller stock was the end of the family's involvement with the company, The Miller Beer Barons is a trans-generational tour of wealth, power, and their sometimes rocky transitions. An inset section of black-and-white photographic plates nicely rounds out this exhaustively researched, meticulously detailed, highly recommended family biography.



2. I went to High School with the author in Milwaukee- just blocks from the Miller Brewery; played on the same football team. Later I spent 13 years as an employee of the Miller Brewing Company. (After Tim John's family had sold to Philip Morris).
   
   Tim has to be congratulated for both the scholarly handling of the subject and his candor about what has to be a deeply emotional subject.
   
   I know that Tim John really cares for the people at Miller Brewing today. Even with no direct ties to the brewery he wanted to know how the workers at Miller were treated during my tenure. He is entitled to take pride in the incredible heritage his family left.
   
   This book is quite refreshingly different from most self praising beer stories. Tim John writes frankly and well about a family business, a city and its neighborhoods, and the sometimes crazy world of beer. It's like that first good lager on a warm summer day!
   
   I hope to catch up with Tim in Milwaukee sometime; perhaps at the 2007 150th Anniversary celebration of Marquette University High School. Maybe he'll buy me a beer!
   
   If you want a real and honest history get this book.

2 comments about The Goodyear Story: An Inventor's Obsession and the Struggle for a Rubber Monopoly.

1. Korman hits a home run with his portrait of the inventor Charles Goodyear and his self-destructive mania surrounding finding a way to make rubber a useful industrial product. The craziness continues when Goodyear claims the credit for the invention (and the royalties) as his own.

   The book is a time-traveling glimpse into industrial revolutionary America and England and the swirling energy surrounding the changes happening at the time.

   A must for ambitious business people and basement tinkerers!




2. The Goodyear Story: An Inventor's Obsession And The Struggle For A Rubber Monopoly by Richard Korman (Senior Editor, Engineering News-Record, McGraw-Hill) is the amazing and informative biography of Charles Goodyear, the man who in the 1830's began his efforts to create rubber -- a material, in his belief, which would forever alter the world and the course of human civilization. His dream cost so much that his family lived in poverty and he suffered in debtor's prison. Yet his dream was not only to make rubber, but also to reap the wealth of controlling its creation and distribution; when others tried to lay claim to the manufacture of his miracle, only a lawsuit as argued by the famous Daniel Webster could settle the dispute once and for all. The Goodyear Story is a fascinating, true-life tale of science, business, and the striving of human nature against great odds and adverse circumstances.

No comments about Henry Flagler: Visionary of the Gilded Age.

1 comments about Juran: A Lifetime of Influence.

1. In 1947 America, what did "Made in Japan" mean? Today, Americans feel exactly the opposite about this phrase, due in no small part to the lifetime of influence of the work of Joseph Moses Juran, one of the world's seminal leaders in the quality movement. Born in 1904, Juran's extraordinary intensity (he's still at it) and his brilliant prescience about quality have established world renown respect for his quality consulting, teaching, and especially his writing. Author Butman depends heavily on Juran's extensive personal involvement in this first and only authorized biography that understandably shies away from a more critical analysis of Juran's impact in business. Butman describes numerous details of Juran's life, including his early life of dire poverty in Romania, the family's trek across the world to live in a tar-paper shack in Minneapolis, Minnesota, his early odd jobs from age nine to sixteen, his academic proficiency and expertise in chess, his college degree in electrical engineering (the first in his family history), and his career years with Western Electric in the famed Hawthorne plant. Juran was employed there during the time of the now famous Hawthorne studies, as was W.E.Deming, although the two never actually met while with the company. Juran's surprisingly frank acknowledgment of his lack of managerial skills and his comments on the fascinating experience working with immediate post World War II Japan (he first travelled there in 1954) establish a personal connection with this self confessed abrasive quality leader who means so much to countless quality professionals throughout the world. Juran's works abound (to quality professionals, his massive 2,000 page "Quality Control Handbook" is sacrosanct) and are considered fundamental references for anyone interested in better understanding the meaning of quality and how best to integrate these principles in any organization. At age 92, Juran now devotes his time to writing a three volume autobiography that should further fill in the details of this extraordinary life. This is a fascinating story essential for all quality professionals. For more information on Juran, check out this site: http://www.juran.com/juran/bio/bio _jmj.html.

No comments about The Essence Of Provence: The Story Of L'Occitane.

5 comments about The Millionairess Across the Street: Women: Lessons to Change Your Thinking and Achieve Wealth and Success.

1. Ms. Flores teaches women (and men!) to think outside their usual conventions and to change their feelings about money. She gives strong examples for those of us who learn visually. Additionally, the thinking and writing exercises are excellent.



2. I found this book to be very real. Nitty -Gritty advice and common sense approach. Though I've read enough books and didn't expect much new, i found this to be one of the best books I've found and have recommended it to many friends - both men and women. For anyone of either gender who is 'coming from behind', who hasn't been graced with the unquestioned belief in their rightful place among the population of the successful, this book is an eyeopener.



3. You've got to read this book if you are a woman! Jennifer and Bettina teach women that we should start looking at our earnings like a man does his. How come we give our money away? Don't negotiate the deal for bigger bucks? After this book, I took their advice to heart and managed to secure $4,000 more dollars in a work deal. I've made more in a few months than I made last year because the book taught me how to look at success and work and money. I've also learned to ask for what I want! This book changed my life. It's also a quick, easy and inspirational read. Keep your copy in your briefcase. That's where I keep mine.



4. I highly recommend this book for all women interested in creating success in all aspects of their lives.



5. What I Liked: First, let me say that I love this book conceptually - the basic ideas here needed to be said! Women can get rich in their own business, and marrying a millionaire is not the only way to become a millionaires (certainly not the most satisfying either.) I believe that most women in America would gain a lot even from the most basic lessons in the 23 chapters of this book. Thinking BIG, taking yourself seriously, stop squandering your money, leaving the past behind, build a high profile for success and not giving it all away for free (something women often do with their time and money for loved ones) are principles every woman should take to heart, as they have the hardest time with them. All too often our "feminine ideals" hold us back from being successful in business. While it's okay for a man to reach for the biggest piece of the pie, a woman will make sure everyone else eats before she does - even if she cooked the meal! I believe that as women it's time to start treating ourselves like what we are truly worth, instead of the last in line. "Caviar not cornflakes!" is a motto I learned from this book that I'll always carry with me.

   What Needed Improvement: I believe this book was written too quickly in response to the huge success of "The Millionaire Next Door" and the authors did not do nearly enough research on female, self-made millionaires. Instead of writing in depth about the great business women and leaders of history and present day, they often chose the well-known stories of successful men who rose to the top - in a book about female millionaires! Did we really need to hear the story of Starbucks CEO, Bill Gates or the author of the "Chicken Soup For The Soul" books one more time? The authors make it even worse by justifying/apologizing for their use of male examples wherever they are used. "You need all the positive role models you can get ... regardless of gender..." they say, with the unspoken "because we couldn't find enough female ones!" at the end.

   Surely the personal stories of amazing business women such as Oprah, Madonna, Elizabeth II and Martha Steward would have been more appropriate - but the authors glaze over them, only going into as much detail as a single paragraph will allow. I wanted to know these women's secrets, their strategies... for instance Oprahs few lines in the book could be summed up as "Oprah grew up very poor, and overcame a teenage pregnancy to become one of the richest women in America. So you see even successful women overcome great obstacles." But how exactly did Oprah become one of the richest women in America? What did she do in her rise to the top? Did the authors interview her? Did they share any of her personal insights? No, they just repeated what everyone already knows about her life. Disappointing. Elizabeth II was not even mentioned in the book, though there was a chapter on women and money in history. Most of the examples given in the chapter were depressing! Now there is a great book out on the market called "Elizabeth CEO" detailing her incredible leadership and business skills. That book was written by a man ... and here two women claiming to be experts on millionairesses apparently have not even heard of her.

   I really feel that enough work did not go into the writing of this book... whatever successful women the authors personally knew about were used as examples over and over (Lillian Vernon and Mary Kay) and yet so many obvious and great examples of women's skill with money were absent. In fact, any detailed examples and strategies straight from real female millionaires were absent. The authors claimed that they interviewed hundreds of female millionaires before they wrote this book, and asked them among other things "What do you think holds most women back from success?" Yet they never said what they heard from their interviews. There were no excerpts from interviews what-so-ever which I would have found very interesting. The authors also justify / apologize in the first chapter for not being millionaires themselves but writing this book, which kills their credibility immediately.

   Next time a book about millionaire women is written, I would like to see the following stories included. Ani DiFranco went from being a waitress to learning guitar because she liked to write her own songs... she then created her own record label, and with a unique brand of feminist folk-punk songs sold millions of albums. She refused to sign on with any male-owned big record labels despite the money they threw at her when she was successful. To this day she owns and operates her label, making $10 per cd sold whereas other artists make only $1. This alone landed her on the cover of Forbes magazine. Madonna worked at Dunkin' Donuts in New York with dreams of stardom. With no apologizes and no regrets she climbed her way to the top, becoming the most successful female artist ever, having sold over 150 million records. She is well known for her business and marketing savvy, and runs an empire of music production through her own label Maverick Records. Alexandra Nechita, a child protégé painter, sold $1,000,000 worth of art before her 16th birthday. Elizabeth II inherited a weak and distressed England, which by the end of her 44 year reign had become the most powerful and rich country in the world. She refused to take a husband because she would not share her power with a man, and became known as "the virgin queen." Look into any area of life... whether it be historic leaders, entertainment, big business, publishing, medicine, science, education, etc and you will find successful female millionaires.

   (...)

5 comments about Learning to Love Africa: My Journey from Africa to Harvard Business School and Back.

1. As I read this book I couldn't help but notice how similar Monique's tale is to the story of Africa. She weaves us through a maze of emotions as we feel her joy, hope, determination only to be suddenly brought to earth with frustration, anger, desparation.
   
   For anyone ever been to Africa rarely has a book come along that so perfectly captures the daily difficulties of survival in Africa. Though tongue-in-cheek Monique certainly understands clearly the difficulties facing that part of the world and I would hazard we'll be hearing more from her on this subject.
   
   Oh by the way did I mention that she became a World Class marathon runner in her spare time?



2. As someone who grew up overseas much like Monique, i deeply admire how she chose to use her acquired skills and network to give back to a continent in dire need of what rare individuals like her have to offer.
   
   The book is enjoyable to read and deeply inspiring to anyone interested in contributing to third world development.



3. Maddy writes a warm, but penitrating review of the life of her family, as well as the nation of Liberia.
   
   She gives great insight into the exploitation of Africa by the west. She makes recommendations that companies and individuals should heed as they work in this great continent.
   
   Her writing style is easy to read, and very to the point.



4. REVIEW BY IAN MOUNT
   www.ghanaweb.com: Business News of Monday, 1 October 2001
   
   The Last Place to Start a Company
   Monique Maddy tried and failed to launch a telephone service in Africa. She's moving on. Africa isn't.
   
   Three short years ago, Monique Maddy was boasting that her company was going to "change people's lives" and "revolutionize things." Adesemi, the wireless pay-phone company she founded in 1993, had raised $37 million dollars, built a network in Tanzania, and moved into Ghana, and was planning to expand its service to the Ivory Coast. Maddy was the new face of African business. A Wall Street Journal article in September 1998 even proclaimed, "If the disenfranchised of Africa ever join the global economy, it won't be diplomats, politicians, or church people leading the way. It will be entrepreneurs like Monique Maddy."
   
   It hasn't turned out that way. Maddy walked away from her company in disgust in the fall of '99. Her story is a familiar one, full of the government corruption that has become an African clichi, but the 39-year-old Maddy doesn't blame her company's demise on the bribery requests or Kafkaesque red tape. For the Liberian native, who's writing a book about third-world entrepreneurship to be published by HarperCollins next year, the real reason for Adesemi's failure and Africa's continental mire can be traced to the international development agencies that are designed to help the region. "Africa is worse off today -- in many countries -- than it was at independence, even though billions and billions have been spent," says Maddy, who herself served for five years as a United Nations Development Program officer. "As long as you have these kinds of institutions, you won't have any change."
   
   Take Maddy's experience getting a pay-phone license. In mid-1995, a year after the Tanzanian national phone company granted Adesemi the license (and Adesemi had spent $1.5 million on its network), the phone company president said that it was no good because Adesemi's pay phones were wireless. Only after an acquaintance at the Harvard Business School, her alma mater, put her in touch with World Bank president James Wolfensohn did the matter get settled. The World Bank pushed the government just so far, however. The phone company insisted on charging Adesemi inflated rates to use its infrastructure. "When we asked the World Bank to do something about the rates, they said they couldn't tell the government what to do -- but they could lend them millions of dollars," says Maddy, referring to a $75 million interest-free loan the World Bank made to the national phone company. "They had a conflict of interest," she says.
   
   Still, Adesemi kept at it, eventually building its network up to 600 pay phones and a pager service with 5,000 customers. The sell was easy, Maddy says, because Adesemi's phones actually functioned (the street nickname for the system was "the phones that work," she says).
   
   When an Adesemi backer, CDC Capital Partners, refused to invest more money for the company's expansion into what Maddy argued were more profitable markets -- it wanted to see profitability in Tanzania first, despite the stacked odds -- she finally gave up. Maddy, who now lives in Boston, hasn't been to Tanzania since; her investors are selling off the network.
   
   Not surprisingly, Maddy says her book will call for a radical departure from a system based on an international aid bureaucracy. "You basically have bureaucrats trying to develop countries," she says. "How many bureaucrats started Microsoft?"
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Source: Ian Mount



5. This is a fantastic book, though it's more of a global history lesson than a lesson in entrepreneurship. Monique Maddy covers the history of Liberia in depth and in less depth the history of several other African countries. She talks about economic development and the failures of the UN, IFC and World Bank. She is clearly an advocate for economic development via private investment. Her perspective is shaped by growing up in an exemplary company town. It was part of a mining project in Liberia sponsored by a joint venture named LAMCO. The project had a social development component that both supported the mining company by developing employees, and supported the citizens by developing them. The book is significantly a biography of Maddy herself and how she came to start her venture. That core of the book is surrounded by chapters that describe her efforts to start a pan-African telecommunications company- Adesemi - and its ultimate demise.