1 comments about Gus Wortham: Portrait of a Leader.

1. Fran Dressman introduces us to an amazing man, and to his enormous contributions to the great city of Houston, Texas. She brings him to life for the rest of us, a man of the highest integrity and ability. Myself, a life-long Houstonian, I have always taken the Wortham name for granted, simply a name on a fountain or a building or such. Having just finished reading this book, I will now see the name Wortham in the clear light it deserves. Skim the chapters that deal with the nitty gritty of managing American General Insurance, but pay close attention to the rest of this book which describes the relationships and contributions in the 20th century by great Houstonians like Mr. Gus Wortham.

No comments about The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising.

1 comments about James Watt.

1. Andrew Carnegie was one of the major figures in American history, who made his fortune in steel (giving most of it away for libraries) and wrote this biography three years before he died in 1919. Watt invented the improved steam engine that revolutionized the world. I can't think of any other biography written by such a great man, about such a great man, possibly excepting the Gospel of Mark.

   Carnegie's description of Watt's life is reverent almost to the point of unseemly hero-worship, but is laced with some most interesting insights into his own psyche and personal history. Watt, according to this account, was a giant to his contemporaries, not only for his technological accomplishments, but also because of his sweet and loyal disposition. I'm sure that Carnegie saw parallels there too. Although the language that Carnegie uses can seem archaic at times, the book is quite enjoyable: inspiring, even.

   His description of Watt's inventions and the technical insights required to achieve them are lucidly explained in the book, and it is clear that Carnegie was no mere business tycoon. Even his explanation of latent heat is clear and insightful, and a delight to read. When he describes the business relationship between Watt and his partner Boulton, one learns something about the goodness in them both, unqualified and complete.

5 comments about Madam: Chronicles of a Nevada Cathouse.

1. One minute you're crying. The next you're angry. The next you're rolling on the floor with laughter. This is a wonderful book... hard to put down... and one that makes you long for more when you finish the final chapter. And to the ladies at Sheri's Ranch and the other brothels in Nevada I say: Hold your heads high and walk with pride. I, personally, would consider it an honor to know any of you.



2. A wonderful, insightful collection of stories that create a vivid portrait of who legal prostitutes really are and why they do what they do. The beautifully-written stories dispel the misunderstanding of these women promulgated by the media. Want the truth? Read "MADAM: Chronicles of a Nevada Cathouse." Compelling!



3. If you have ever been curious about legal prostitution read this book. I felt as I was on the inside looking in as I read the stories of the girls, the good times , the bad times, but always the "family" times. A definate read.



4. My 84 year-old mother has been anti-prostitution from the time she found out "the disgusting things" prostitues do. She wouldn't allow the term spoken in her presence even in terms of a social problem.

   After I read this book, I literally forced my mother to read it by thrusting the book into her hands and nagging at her constantly until she read it to make me stop annoying her. She devoured it cover to cover, then said "I've been wrong all these years. I didn't have the right to judge these women without knowing anything about them."

   This book is a revelation. Congratulations to the author and to the thousands of people enlightened and moved by this marvelously executed work.




5. but she is someone I would like to meet. If you want to know what it is like to work in a brothel, this is the book for you. You get an honest and even handed look at the girls (to include their persnalities and motivations), the Johns, the job, and the business of legal prostitution. It was a good and entertaining read to boot. The only thing wrong with it, was it was too short!

4 comments about My Life at AOL.

1. This book is a lively read--a brisk account of the energetic, imaginative and bright young people at the birth of AOL. It's enlivened by Ms. Wilkinson's breezy and engaging "voice." She mangages to give a sense of the atmosphere in the offices of the growing company with descriptions of brainstorming sessions illustrated with lots of colorful quotes. She presents well-thought out examples of the Internet as a powerful double-edged sword. While acknowledging its potentially negative aspects, she makes a strong case for it as a positive and highly beneficial tool. Being technologically challenged, I esepcially enjoyed the Appendix--A Cyber-Lingo Glossary:How To Speak AOL and the list of "smilies" and "emoticons," those wacky little lighthearted symbols that are shorthand ways of expressing emotions.



2. I worked with Julia at AOL and she offers tales from a perspective I guarantee you haven't read anywhere else.

   Kara Swisher's "AOL.COM" told the story from the executive level. Julia's "My Life At AOL" tells it from the perspective of the regular employees who made the service run on a day to day basis. It's a look at things that happened when AOL was a wacky little company; very different from today's media behemoth.




3. This book is great for anyone interested in finding out about how it feels to work at a small iffy start-up company. The author lets us climb on for the rollercoaster as the company goes through the initial ups and downs, on its way to becoming the largest internet provider in the world. It's filled with interesting facts and spiced up with enough personal accounts to make the reader feel like a real insider. Bravo!



4. As both a former and current CEO of Internet startups, I found numerous lessons learned and gems of perspective from Julia Wilkinson's My Life at AOL. Given her position in the trenches, and not in the board room, her story adds a refreshing perspective often lacking in other books by companies' founders and executives (e.g., like one of my favorites, Burn Rate).
   
   I actively refer this book to several friends who have recently started Web 2.0 companies and who are experiencing the same issues Julia covers regarding starting and harnessing an online community. Personally, I have been able to apply similar lessons to my company and to several conversations where insight to the future comes from understanding the roots of the past pioneers such as AOL, especially from the perspective from the trenches.
   
   Do you know what AOL's first vision was and why it failed? Julia covers that, among other topics, with pre-AOL interviews of the early, early days...

3 comments about I'm Not the BOSS, I Just Work Here.

1. Rich or not Mr. Jonas presents his life as a simple philosophy stressing that our true self is the supreme truth utilizing biblical priciples as a bedrock saving humanity from itself. Humanity can change by creating compassion and better human beings based on the ultmate goodness of God and Man.

   Self realization based on ones ideas and understanding of God as the supreme teacher who rules over the universe leads to a meaningful life whereby God loves us all..

   Keep on cleaning the mirror Mr. Jonas, your lucid down to earth style symbolizes the harmony with oneself and with others..your universal yearning based on good works and employing others can indeed only be actualized in a free society such as the USA a lesson to be learned in these murderous times..




2. A succesful business tycoon with a penchant for philosophy reveals in entertaining and readable prose how the wisdom of the past can be harnessed to meet todays challenges. Bravo and five stars for a masterpiece.



3. I'm sure that some people will find inspiration in what Mr. Jonas writes. However, the sad reality is that the business practices of IDT leave much to be desired and in no way reflect Mr. Jonas' supposed commitment to a Torah way of life. His company is rife with nepotism, engages in borderline business practices with it's suppliers and customers and treats employees shabbily (if not outright illegaly). This can easily be verified by many former employees, customers and suppliers from the earliest days of IDT's founding up until the present. Maybe this book is type of attempt at assuaging a guilty conscience, but those in the know can read between the lines.

No comments about Harry Winston (Universe of Fashion).

5 comments about Money and Power: The History of Business.

1. "Money & Power" is an interesting book about the men that made significant contributions to the history of business since St. Godric. However, the 20th century is not accurately represented in the book. Basically, "Money & Power" forgot the contribution that japanese entrepreneurs like Eiji Toyoda (and his famous Toyota Production System) made to the industrial manufacturing. The book also superficially reviewed the computer technology/telecommunication revolution that has been modyfing the business world since the 70's (although there is a chapter dedicated to Bill Gates). eCommerce is not even mentioned in the book.



2. This volume, based on a PBS documentary, is as much about the unique characters who drove the evolution of business as it is about vast historic trends. Author Howard Means blends the color of a cinematic treatment with the rich context and detail of a comprehensive history. In so doing, he's accomplished the ultimate historian's goal: Presenting history in such a way that it is clearly relevant to modern-day life, and in this case, business. From biblical moneychangers to the miraculously large pool of Microsoft millionaires, Means traces the history of commerce from the perspective of power, asking who acquired it, how they amassed it, how they used it and what became of it? We [...] recommend his intense narrative to anyone in business, since business is about money, and money is, after all, power.



3. I found this a thoroughly enjoyable book. It is an easy read without being superficial. The writers focus mostly on American business--Morgan, Rockefeller, Ford and Gates--with emphasis on their money-making schemes & abilities. These are not "tell-all" biographical sketches. The writers never lose sight of their overall theme: money and power and how the two blend together. I would have liked more historical analysis (such is my bias). I found the chapter on Tulipmania fascinating (it is also the first time I have ever really understood Futures Trading). For anyone who finds economics and business an elusive mystery, this is an excellent starting point. (Also check out P.J. O'Rourke's Eat the Rich.)



4. Money & Power is a lively introductory look at how modern business grew and developed. This well-researched book outlines the history of industry, commerce and power. This summary of the History of Business portrays the figure of an Entrepreneur as a real Creator of the future. The greatest problem that business people faced in Christian Europe was that profit-making was considered sinful, because Jesus drove away money-changers from a temple (As you know, temples in the Middle East were used as banks before Christ, because it was the safest place to keep treasures.) And in Orthodox Russia the problem was absolutely the same, though Russian Orthodox monasteries were producing vodka and earning interest on borrowed money even in 14th century.

   This book is organized around 12 chapters. Each chapter highlights one person or event in business history. The book presents an inside view of the step-by-step history of business and its development over the years as history of liberation from ideological dogmata, superstition and prejudice. The story begins from the 12th century monk St. Godric. A final chapter on Bill Gates and Microsoft heralds the current age, in which "the road to riches is open to everyone." And everybody, who wants, must be rich. Now it is available for everyone. It is obvious today that entrepreneur is the most creative person making the most creative work in the world.

   Sure, I especially enjoyed the sections on JP Morgan and Bill Gates. The book was recently translated into Russian.

   Recommend this book!




5. Let me preface this by saying I liked the book. It was an easy read and a great 'capsulation' of each generation of Mega Millionaire. It was a great 'primer' for who was famously popular in each era.
   
   On the other hand, it appeared to me that the vast majority of the men capsuled in this book did it through ruthless agression and the abscence of Anti Trust laws.
   
   Granted, many men in this book were subject to Anti Trust laws AFTER they made their millions, and adhering to these laws only made them wealthier...but it takes money to make money and their seed were already sewn.
   
   I walked away from this book wondering if you had to be an obsessive to the point of crude and potentially unlike-able to make that level of income.
   
   I would hate to give up the personality traits that I have grown to like (sense of humour, compassion, empathy) to be wealthy, and hate to think that these traits will deter me from becoming wealthy.
   
   But my personal concerns aside, this was an enjoyable book with lots of easy-to-understand information.

No comments about E. W. Scripps and the Business of Newspapers (History of Communication).

5 comments about At Any Cost: Jack Welch, General Electric, and the Pursuit of Profit.

1. How many times can an author complain about layoffs? While this book had a large amount of good information, and while I'd tend to agree with much of it, it became far to preachy by the end of the book.



2. The author seemed to have a lack of understanding of both economics and capitalism. His attitude is that because GE did things a certian way in the past that GE is morally obligated to continue these practices into the future. He talks about the "human cost" of layoffs but doesn't consider that this is how capitalism works. From the destruction of failure comes the renewal that keeps our economy vibrant and growing. If you want to hear slams against Jack Welch and the sins of GE then you won't be disappointed. If your looking to expand your knowledge and understanding of business in general and GE in particular then don't waste your time.



3. GE has a dark side that doesn't always make it onto the pages of Fortune or Jack Welch's self-serving autobiography. This book covers it.



4. Business is designed to make profit. If people don't like that they can go live in the People Republic of China and see how it is to live in a society without our form of capitalizm. Everyday I get amazed at peoples stupidity and reading this just futhers my opinion. Stupid liberals who just don't understand the business way.



5. Let's be honest; other CEOs from Chainsaw Al to Carly Fiorina have tried to emulate Jack Welch. Their massive layoffs have caused untold misery and they've taken home gigantic paychecks while accomplishing nothing.
   
   But Jack Welch got in early, when companies were still fat and wasteful. So some of what he did was necessary. And hey, he did turn GE around.
   
   In the end I am not as troubled by what Welch did as the fact that people worship him for doing it. I just don't understand why being ruthless is considered a virtue. Guess I'm not CEO material.