No comments about Piero Sraffa: His Life, Thought and Cultural Heritage (Routledge Studies in the History Ofeconomics).

5 comments about Executive Blues.

1. G. J. (Jerry) Meyer writes an outstanding memoir reagarding his experience seeking work in the modern America of right-sizing and layoffs. Mr. Meyer writes honest and straight-forward prose about corporate life and the tough job market faced by the increasing numbers of people as production gets more efficient and automated. I read this book right after reading Jeremy Rifken's 'The End of Work' (which discusses WHY so many people are un- or under-employed), there should be a Surgeon General's warning about doing this, the experience is nearly too intense. One can only hope that Mr. Meyer gets screwed in some other manner, so that he'll be motivated to write more. Truly an excellent book by a very skilled and compelling writer



2. Even if you are securely employed or living off a comfortable trust fund, this book is a superb read, painfully funny, sharp-witted, well written. Though I had never much sympathy for six- figure executives, Meyer's take on that world still engaged me to read the book in one sitting



3. I so enjoyed this book I devoured it in one sitting -- which surprised even me. I have not a thing in common with the author: I am not male, I'm nowhere near 50, I have never been a senior executive and I've never been fired. In fact, I'm a stay-at-home mother. But Meyer writes well. And if you've ever had to look for a job under any circumstances, you'll identify. Don't believe the reviewers who call Meyer bitter -- he's not, he's just very, very specific about the details of his humiliation. His book does raise real questions about employers today, but more to the point, it's a good read.



4. The corporate life is much like a chicken coop: the few chickens on the top of pecking order have friends and a full access to the feeder. Once a chicken slides down the pecking order, it is unlikely to regain its spot. At least, not at the age of 50 and not without strong connections.
   Jerry Meyer, an ex-senior executive at MacDonnell-Douglas, wrote a painfully frank story of a corporate chicken, who made it to the top of pecking order without connections or old money, and fell back to the bottom.
   It is a must-read for every executive wannabe. Maybe, the reader will think of Meyer's message and reconsider the career strategy: it is safer to be paid for what you DO than for what you ARE. A title is no substitute for skill, creativity and, most important, sense of self-worth.



5. I first read Mr. Meyer's book in the early 90s and was touched and amused by it. As the decade progressed, so did the number of layoffs I also encountered, and I never went through a layoff without thinking of his story. I can't tell you how many people I have referred to this book, and that's why I'm on this web site today - to send a link to yet another middle-aged worker who is feeling "Down and Out in Corporate America."
   
   It's a must-read for anyone who has been laid off and anyone who works in Human Resources. It stands the test of time!

4 comments about Henry Ford: A Hearthside Perspective.

1. I have just read a facinating book on Henry Ford. What makes this book unique is it's unusual social context, interpretative history, and experiential presentation. As Americans we have a picture of Henry Ford, his industrial accomplishments and short comings; however we have never been taught his social commitment to working people, his fellow workers, and communities.

   This book allows you to visualize a camping trip with Henry Ford, an ardent conservation and preservationist, John Burroughs, America's esteemed naturalist, Harvey Firestone, a rubber industry magnate, and Thomas Alva Edison, America's true genius inventor. A social time-line technique is used which allows the reader the opportunity to easily follow such events as Ford's committment to education from industrial trade schools to Tuskegee Institute.

   A unique facination of this work for this author-publisher was the perfect placement of text and corresponding photos. This layout allows for maximum visualization of the content. A family can read this work together and then choose to experience the working powerhouse on site at the Henry Ford Estate---Fair Lane, or visit the Upper Peninsula site of the Pequaming Mill and school on the shores of Lake Superior, or enjoy the Grand Ole Opry that Henry Ford helped establish.

   This is experiential learning at its best. A blueprint to interpretive history of many unknown facts and stories and musical verse about Henry Ford. Once you read this work, you will want to share your experience with many others. Awards and recognition for creative style and historical context will be forth coming!

   Karl W. Grube, Ph.D., Author-Publisher of gamesbygrube.com - Ann Arbor, Michigan




2. Wirling masterfully writes of a historic man whose life affected each of ours. Utilizing one of Ford's favorite places, the hearth, Wirling spins this industrialist's story around song and story recreating history in a simple, yet profound way.

   Ford is ever the energetic industrialist, yet his agriarian roots constantly play out. Wirling's style of writing this book fits so well this orientation of Mr. Ford. Delightful read which displays the many interests of this man who was so prominent in many disciplines besides the auto sector that so prominently bears his influence. Delightful work.




3. Donn Werling's book presents a different view of Henry Ford. This book presumes a working knowledge of Henry Ford and all of what he was about. It is a "thinking man's" perspective approach. Mr. Werling is the director of the Henry Ford Estate and takes his approach to Henry Ford as not just a job, but as a truly interested person. It is well worth the investment of your money in buying the book and of your time in reading it.
   Rich Jonas-Schererville, IN



4. Donn Werling writes about little-known aspects of Ford's life, especially his home life, so for "Fordophiles" the book is interesting. But it assumes a lot of knowledge about Ford, and often does not explain rather obscure references. The writing is inconsistent, sometimes rambling. If you are looking for a basic history of Ford's life, this is not the book for you. If you are an enthusiast who wants to know more interesting factoids, and are willing to wade through to find them, then get this book.

2 comments about Skyscraper Dreams: The Great Real Estate Dynasties of New York.

1. Never buy a building. That's the rule which allowed penniless refugee families to create the New York skyline over two centuries. People with more money than sense should read Schactman's excellent history of making and keeping family wealth. The obvious message is that land currently not in its "highest and best use" is the fundamental investment vehicle. REIT's are vivid proof that the Wall Street mentality does not comprehend the difference between real and financial assets. We will see a switch from absurd PE's to neglected urban locations . Re-print this important book!



2. Skyscraper Dreams
   
   The book Skyscraper Dreams; The Great Real Estate Dynasties of New York by Tom Shachtman covers the dreams and despair of the visionary real estate moguls that built and traded the skyscrapers of New York like Monopoly properties in the board game.
   
   The book visits most big name real estate operators starting with the nineteenth century's John Jacob Astor and the Roosevelts, Beekmans and Rockefellers to the Tishmans, Rudins and Roses who came to this country penniless. Then it moves into the flamboyant developer "Big Bill" Zeckendorph, who they say was the model for Donald Trump. Then there is the master of the real estate universe Harry Helmsley and the Kennedys, Tisches, LeFreks and many others dynasties that made and sometimes lost fortunes in the violent cycles of the New York real estate market.
   
   The concept that hit me the hardest and stayed with me was how Harry Helmsley danced through the decades while building an empire, counting on inflation to make his fortune. He would scoop up properties in tough recessionary markets and count on a turn around that he knew would inevitably come to lift prices and build fortunes. While many of the empire builders in this group stretched and overextended by taking on more projects than could be carried during a slowdown, Harry was slow and steady, over the course of several decades, constantly accumulating income producing properties and running a tight ship, always chipping away at expenses. Many of the names above ran into financial squeezes, even bankruptcy during a real estate slump, often to reinvent themselves, and make remarkable comebacks.
   
   The book gives you a refreshing insight into not only the actions of many real estate icons but the thoughts behind those actions. Sometimes cut thought competitiveness played in pushing architectural limits to add another 100 feet on a building so it's taller than a competitor; other times great compassion played in setting the tone for modern day philanthropy.
   
   It's always a boost to read about an immigrant who came to America on borrowed boat fare and rose through this countries capitalistic society to own some of New Yorks most prized possessions.
   
   I loved the book, it's about doers, people that made it happen!
   
   By Kevin Kingston author of, "A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate"
   
   (...)

1 comments about True Life Can Be Hard to Find: A Female Entrepreneur's Amazing Travels Around the World.

1. The photos are fabulous. I love the thrilling adventure and vicariously following the writer around the world from Fiji to South America. Easy to read and quite entertaining.

No comments about The New Missionaries: Memoirs of a Foreign Adviser in Less-Developed Countries (Harvard Studies in International Development).

5 comments about Zig: The Autobiography of Zig Ziglar.

1. If you ever need an inspirational help of great success in life then I would recommend Zig Ziglar. Ziglar is author of best-seller, 'I'll See You At The Top' and many other motivational books, has helped thousands improve their lives to achieve that success in every aspect of living. As you read his auto-biography you'll learn about his remarkable story how he beat the odds and applied it to the teachings of Jesus Christ. You will learn to take the next step in your plan and keep God's plan at the center of your plans just as Zig did. His approach is a down-home, wholesome manner with the business savvy of a wise, honest salesman. Most of what he learn of being successful and the importance of networking with honest and wise mentors. The first part of the book tells of his early life and the family that shaped his destiny. In his early adult years he was hard-working and used his knowledge to make money and there were times he made financial mistakes as a result of foolish decisions. This was a time God wasn't a part of his life where his life had no meaning or purpose. The last part of the book, is about his change in life when he reflected back on the moral values in his early childhood and his mother. He then gave his life to Christ. He then found his purpose as a public speaker. From then on instead of his self-centered ambition he gave it all to God. And Zig has been successful ever since. Like Norman Vincent Peale, Zig applied biblical principles to the goals he has with the plans God manifest in the center of his life. Zig's secret is never quit, have faith in God and a whole lotta love. He's a mentor you can trust with a solution. Wish there were more like Zig.



2. Zig's life was a great testament to what he teaches. He walks the walk. His life is in balance, and even through tragedy, still reached out to make a difference for all lives he touched through his motivational seminars. His character is outstanding, and his level of integrity speaks for itself.

   This book shows the good, the bad, and the ugly. Life has not always been rosy for Zig, but he is living proof that you can overcome anything. As he always says: "you can have anything you want if you just help enough people get what they want".

   This book shows that Zig has faults just like the rest of us, and he makes that really clear in this book. He is humble and in some cases ashamed of some of his past behavior. No sugar coating in this one. The fact that he is such a strong christian is also satisfying to those of us who are believers. He makes it very clear who gets the credit for all of the blessings in his life.

   This book is a great read, and will be hard to put down if you are a fan. True to form, it's humorous with only a hint sorrow in some parts. He really is an amazing person.




3. I was exposed to Zig's philosophy some years ago and have read See You at the Top more than once. His "Check up from the Neck up" and the need to prevent "Hardening of the Attitudes" and "Stinkin Thinkin" are well ingrained. This was an interesting read and learning about his background and history was very well laid out and informative.



4. Zig is a very humble man. He tells the story of his life in stages that are inspirational in that the mundane things in life are all part of the whole that we experience. The early years in his life are full of mishaps in his opinion, yet lead to a logical place that may not have existed otherwise.
   
   His story of his older daughter's (Suzan's) illness and death, and the reaction of some of his mentors and partners in understanding, is one of the most touching renditons I have ever read and it is beatifully preserved by his younger daughter (Julie - you kind of feel the hominess of the family in the reading of this book) who edits his writing.
   
   Also, "The Wall of Gratitude", and how each person on it influenced him is another unselfish display of how he has become who he is. It is as if these mentors of his should have their pictures hung in many more dens/offices throughout the country because of their influence to him that he has passed to so many others.
   
   I met Zig and felt his sincerety in his conversation with me that I hope to duplicate in all I do - that's how good the meeting was! I can see why God called him to do what he does. In his autobiography he states all of the facts (and faults) of his personal life unashamedly. I do not think I could have shared some of the things he shared; too personal, but, his humility is seemingly endless.
   
   I first saw Zig in a sports motivational video in high school in the seventies. I got a lot of motivation out of it. It has stuck with me for all of these years: yet I was amused and amazed me to read about the experiences he had around that time and to the time at the end of this book.
   
   Obviously this review has come three years after the last one, yet it should show how timeless this story is, and, like Zig's salvation, it truly is "better late than never."



5. This was the first book I've read by Zig Ziglar. This very charming book details his childhood in America's rural South in the midst of the Depression, his early adult years, and adulthood. I'll write about the book in reverse chronological order.
   
   I especially enjoyed the part about his early adulthood, where he writes honestly about the uncertainty he went through. His adulthood part was interesting as well, although he tended to compress the 40+ years a little too much. After chronicling his childhood so meticulously, the later parts of the book seem a bit lacking in detail.
   
   His writing about his early childhood was very entertaining, a little sentimental, and excessively moralizing. Zig had a lot of mentors and learned valuable lessons, but he tends to stretch them too thin and draw almost too many morals to them. That he learned a lot about character and whatnot is unsurprising (he is a motivational speaker, after all), but it gets somewhat boring, a contrast to his humorous and vivacious "See You at the Top!
   
   For this, I give Zig an "excellent rating", which corresponds to 4 out of 5 stars in my humble book.

2 comments about Remember the Catskills: Tales by a Recovering Hotelkeeper.

1. This book takes the reader back to the heyday of the Catskill resort era. The author attacks the cliches about the Catskills, providing her spin on this great era in the resort industry. What makes this book a truly fun read is the humor. This book brought me back to a place that was special to me.



2. ms. blumberg's book transported me back in time to a place that may have remained a hazy memory. her writing was so vivid tha i could half close my eyes and be back on that country road hitch-hiking (it was okay in the 40's} between hotels.

   laced with the humor of the time, the book is a grabber. i also found myself a little teary at times, not from sadness, but rather from sweet memories. however, i found my self reading more and more slowly as i approached the end. i really wanted more.

1 comments about Good Spirits.

1. This is a strange but informative book. Seagram and Universal's problems in Hollywood are well known but you would think everything is sweetness and light from reading this book. For instance praise is heaped upon the skills of Universal ceo Frank Biondi now departed and blamed (rightly) for many of the problems. That casts problems of the credibility of the rest of the book. In it Edgar Bronfman is portrayed as a good common sense businessman who has done wonders for Seagram. This is probably true but had he been a little more honest about the Universal problems then the rest of the book would have stood up a lot better. Well worth reading however for the insider insights it contains.

No comments about Enterprising Minnesotans: 150 Years of Business Pioneers.