1 comments about The Naked Truth: Investing in the Stock Play of a Lifetime.

1. Mark Faulk's book "The Naked Truth" is excellent in many respects. Its success lies in juxtaposing three "stories". The first story is about the average investor, who, due to vast loopholes in the current system, continues to be taken advantage of by "naked short sellers' (i.e. brokers who serve the interests of hedge funds or off shore accounts) whereby millions (and sometimes billions) of shares of stock are "borrowed" but then never actually delivered. This causes the price of the stock to plummet (despite the demand for the stock---due to the artificial and limitless false supply) thereby bankrupting the company along with its investors. Although naked short selling in the penny stocks is illegal, this corruption is rampant allowing those who manipulate the market to make tens of millions of dollars at the expense of the innocent shareholder.
   Such curruption is seen in the case of CMKM diamonds (story #2) the "stockplay of a lifetime". CMKM diamonds which was supposed to create "a million millionaires" turned out to be one of the most elaborate stock scams in the history of the market involving a corrupt group of insiders who promoted the stock via sponsorship of race cars, giving stock dividends (which turned out to be worthless)to investors, creating exciting (albeit mendacious) press releases, giving false information to internet stock chat rooms and message boards all under the "watchful" eye of the SEC and the DTCC (the regulatory agencies set up to protect the investor) The promotion of CMKM diamonds eventuated in a shareholder base of FIFTY THOUSAND individuals who purchased over 700 BILLION shares of stock!!!
   Finally, the third story is seen through through the eyes of one shareholder, who like thousands of others was addicted to the CMKM chat boards and message boards to the point of sinking almost into bankruptcy by investing more and more into CMKM and by neglecting his business. The "Naked Truth" is a fascinating account of greed, corruption, deceit, manipulation on the one hand and untiring effort in spite of insurmountable odds on the part of a handful of investors who decided to take on the fight, to right the wrongs of the system and to attempt to return to the shareholders that which is rightfully theirs. In short, the "Naked Thruth" is a MUST READ!!

2 comments about Start & Run a Consulting Business (Start & Run ...) (Start & Run a).

1. This book is useless, I found it to mostly restate common knowledge. Personally I found nothing there that was new or even an interesting angle on a known truth. Bottom line: Invest your money elsewhere or save it altogehter. I wish I did.



2. Now in a fully updated seventh edition, "Start & Run A Consulting Business" by Douglas Gray is the perfect step-by-step instruction guide for setting up and operating a profitable consultation business. All of the relevant issues are addressed including self-assessment and skill level, identifying market opportunities, relevant governmental regulations and laws, selecting business and professional advisers, preparing a business plan, setting fees and billing clients, taking advantage of tax laws, avoiding professional liability and preventing losses, writing proposals, even how to effectively hire sub-consultants. Enhanced with an accompanying CD-ROM that includes samples and worksheets, "Start & Run A Consulting Business" is the ideal and thoroughly user-friendly 'how to' manual for anyone contemplating starting up their own consultation service.

5 comments about Microsoft Project Version 2002 Step by Step (Cpg-Step By Step).

1. I went through the book, cover to cover, word for word...doing all the examples whose files came from the included CD-ROM...never ran into any problems. Everything worked fine.
   I guess I felt like a soldier marching through all the features in a logical progression. The book tells you what to type in step by step...introduces you to all the features (there is a lot that you can do with project 2002 besides manage your own project...eg., you can consolidate projects so that you have a project plan that contains other project plans that you can view and edit...you can create a VBA (Visual Basic Appliation) macro to run and update your HTML project plan...you can learn about Earned Value Analysis, which gives you additional insight into how your project is progressing (maybe similar to the internal rate of return used in Financial analysis to give you a report card on how well your investment is doing)...
   I found the chapters were simple to step through and complete. The authors have a somewhat cut and dried tone that actually seems to suit the purpose at hand well, which is to drag you through all the features and details of project 2002 in a limited amount of space and time....And they do this in 369 pages (the chapters only, not the appendices) instead of over a 1000 pages as some books. So the book is for the beginner in Project, If you already have knowledge of project or read any other books on it, you'll want to find something more intermediate or advanced and this won't do it for you. I liked the book for keeping an even keel and not going off on any tangents...they had a goal to show you all the features and seem to accomplish that...Their treatment of many of the subjects in the book are elementary and you'll need to find other books eg., on VBA, to pursue it further.
   What it purports to do is give you a step by step introductory knowledge of project 2002 with real world examples. So what doesn't it do? What it doesn't do is commit to showing you how to apply project management which is really what you want to do....knowing all the features is nice but show me a coherent "way" to put it into action...I think I need to get another book to do that.



2. This book is designed to bring you up to speed on how to use the various features of Microsoft Project 2002, and it achieves that goal well.

   It contains a well written Appendix entitled "A Short Course in Project Management", and various "Project Management Focus" paragraphs throughout the book, but it is not really intended to teach you project management. For that, I suggest you read a project management text without a software focus, such as Project Management for Dummies by Stan Portny.

   Just as you would not expect a book on Microsoft Word to teach you how to write using good grammar, you should not expect this book on Microsoft Project to also teach you all you need to know about project management.

   I use this book to teach various Project 2002 courses, and I find it works well. However, a prerequiste for my classes is a project management theory class that uses only pen and paper. I have found this to be a powerful combination.




3. The Step-by-Step series on MS Project has been a staple for several years now. Don't expect a lot of advanced coverage, but the book is a solid starter book with clearly written instructions and a fairly engaging case-based set of exercises.

   Work through the exercises, though. It's a "hands-on" kind of book!




4. I spent 2 months on this book, and practised using the trial software that came with the book. Believe me - that was all I needed to get certified. I just needed one attempt! No retaking business at all. I am now Microsoft Office Specialist in Microsoft Project 2002! I did not spend on any other training or books. This book deserves 5 stars and nothing less. Thanks to the authors who did a splendid job.



5. In a word disappointing. Microsoft Project can seem like a bewildering collection of data, options, and interrelationships to the new student. Step-by-step provides some context by going through many of the tasks that you would actually execute if you were using the tool to produce and manage a project schedule. However, it does not leave reader prepared to produce and manage a real schedule of his/her own.

   There is no discussion of strategies for schedules e.g. should you consider effort-controlled tasks, if you don't what's the best way to update your schedule, if you do what's the best way to update your schedule??? There is little discussion of "task types" and the pivotal role they play, how those choices impact updating the schedule, resource leveling, and incongruous operations that the tool will allow you to perform without protest. Perhaps because the producer of the software wrote the book there is absolutely no mention of the tool's shortcomings and how they can be avoided.

   After reading this book the reader will be able to create a schedule, but will probably become bogged down in difficulty if they try to manage a project by maintaining that schedule.

   I used the book as part of my study for the Microsoft Office Specialist exam. I found that I needed to do a lot of supplemental study in order to pass the test.

1 comments about Rath & Strong's Integrated Lean Six Sigma Road Map: 2nd Edition.

1. The first of its kind to truly integrate Lean and Six Sigma under the DMAIC problem-solving methodology. This road map for Integrated Lean Six Sigma is ideal for both Manufacturing and Service industries and addresses all types of business processes whether they are transactional, office, service, or manufacturing.

No comments about TOGAF 2007 Edition (Incorporating 8.1.1) (English version).

1 comments about Environmental Management Quick and Easy: Creating an Effective ISO 14001 EMS in Half the Time.

1. I have never written any reviews, so why this one? It's that I was thrilled to read a book that stand true to its title `Environmental Management Quick and Easy'. Besides being a quick and easy read, the author does a wonderful job in explaining in very comprehensive terms every aspects of EMS. The book is organized into 3 Parts. Part 1 explains in details every section of the standards, Part II look after Design and Deployment and Part III wrap up EMS improvements. As a bonus the book accompanied CD-ROM contains tools, cheklist and template - Sample Audit Check List, Aspect Identification checklist, Environment Briefing survey, Environmental Bulletin, Excel Work Book, Project Plan, Management Review Agenda, Project Charter and Project Communication Plan - in brief all ingredients required to boost up your EMS implementation.
   
   If you happen to be part of the EMS team in your organisation like me, look no further, you have a clear winner here, go and grab it, the CD itself worth more than the price of the book. It deserves 6 stars.

3 comments about Make Money Trading: How to Build a Winning Trading Business with foreword by Toni Turner.

1. I am using this book as a reference quite a lot and it definitely has some good tips for newbies starting their own trading business. Highly recommended for pointing out all the things we take for granted (trading plan, money management etc) but never really follow until it is too late.



2. As a medium-level trader, I thought I would learn something from this book. I was very disappointed in that it is a collection of very basic concepts. Certainly not enough to make money trading. A more appropriate title, given its emphasis on risk management would have been "Lose less money trading".



3. I am a visual learner, and the illustrations/figures in the book are helpful in explaining key concepts. The book finally made evident to me the importance of understanding risk in trading. I've read over and over things like "keep your losses small, and let your runners win" but I never really understood why I could have a trading system that wins 80% of the time and still have a losing system. This book spells out the interrelatedness of profit targets, stop losses, percent profitable, average win and average loss. It provides a clear, systematic approach to system development that includes some of the realities of trading (like if it looks too good to be true on paper it most certainly will be in live trading). The book also provides several strategy examples that were really helpful to me.

No comments about The Next Big Investment Boom: Learn the Secrets of Investing from a Master and How to Profit from Commodities.

No comments about CPA Ready Comprehensive CPA Exam Review - 36th Edition 2007-2008: Financial Accounting & Reporting (CPA Comprehensive Exam Review Financial Accounting ... and Reporting, Business Enterprises).

1 comments about Recognition Strategies That Work.

1. All Managers should invest in this workbook. Recognition Strategies that work ==really do work! Ideas, tools, and exercises that help you get the most from your employees while retaining the best & brightest. This is a follow on to her fabulous book "Make their Day" providing managers with an easy read and action items to raise the level of performance with their team.