4 comments about Gene Marcial's 7 Commandments of Stock Investing.

1. Reason to read this book-Gene Marcial's selections of stocks have outperformed both the DJIA and S+P every year for the past 10 years.
   GM



2. Gene has distilled his more than 3 decades of experience in the stock market into this wonderful book "7 commandments of stock investing". The advice he offers is practical and when put to use can get great returns for even an average investor. I have been following Gene Marcial's picks on Inside WallStreet column in Businessweek for almost 2 years now and his picks have consistently beaten the S&P500 and DJIA. Whether you are a novice to the stock market or a seasoned pro, the book has absolutely invaluable advice. Read this book and you won't be disappointed.



3. This book is very timely.
   
   Not only does it make reference to the credit crunch and its knock-on effects on -- for example -- housebuilders' share prices, but it also suggests how you might benefit from the present situation by buying into the distressed companies.
   
   Of course, you need to be careful here -- and the book does tell you to be sure of your research first.
   
   Tony Loton, author DON'T LOSE MONEY! (in the Stock Markets) and Financial Trading Patterns



4. The first and most important commandment is to buy
   what other investors do not want in the short term.
   So, buy low and buy cheap. For instance, Ford Motors
   sells for under $5. right now. For consumers who believe
   that the company will recover, an investment now could
   yield considerable benefits as the hybrid cars roll out
   in a few years.
   
   Generally, buy at the bottom while others panic.
   You'll have the whole upward part of the curve to make profit.
   
   As a rule, choose standout companies that buck the trend
   in downward markets. These stocks are out of phase with
   the current market. The investments go up while the rest
   of the market is tanking. Examples are Petsmart,
   Crowdgather, Carmax and many stocks in the commodity areas.
   
   Some investors like to set a target for a stock and sell
   when the target profit has been reached. This is a good
   short term strategy. Some stocks continue to go up so that
   a short term strategy can fail to exploit long term trends.
   
   Insiders buy to make money so watch what top managers buy.
   A review of SEC filings could produce some top performers
   over the long term. The book gives a number of stocks
   for investors to consider over the long term. i.e.
   o Apple Computer
   o Boeing
   o CVS
   o Genentech
   o Petrobas
   
   A significant market downturn can provide a much bigger
   upside or buying opportunity. Another good strategy is to
   buy stocks that consistently pay dividends. Take these
   dividends and reinvest to grow the portfolio by multiples
   over the long term.
   
   This book would be a good acquisition for new or intermediate
   level investors.

5 comments about The Clipper Ship Strategy: For Success in Your Career, Business, and Investments (An Uncle Eric Book).

1. In this excellent book Uncle Eric provides you with all of the facts about cones.What they are, how to find them, and how you can make a profit from them.

   Uncle eric shares many examples of cones through history especially the history of the clipper ship. Also included with each history overview is the summary of what those who found the cones did to profit from them. This i find to be an extreemely useful item within the book. Uncle eric does not only tell you what to do, he shows you actual instences in history when the cones were taken advantadge of.

   Along with uncle erics guide to finding cones he also has a description of what types of cones there are, and which ones to get into and which ones to stay out of.

   I find all of uncle erics advice to be extreemely useful in this book.

   sincerely Piffer H




2. I am very impressed at how Rick has made economics so easy to understand. I was very ignorant as to how economic policies effected me. After reading this book I am truly looking foward to learning more about our system. He also indirectly mentioned the company I work for in regards to a P&G (Protor & Gamble)issue. I can attest that he was on the money with his conclusion. I have long understood how much manipulation occurs within our political system. I just never thought that it effects our economic structure to the degree that it does!



3. I have to say that although I have been captivated by Mr. Maybury's books for some time, reading each one in order. I found this one interesting only about half the time. Wehn I got half way through it I lost interest. It seemed to be going over and over and over and over the same old stuff which could have been imparted in half the time and half the pages, and just plain got boring. It simply did not hold my interest like the first seven.

   After finishing it, I picked up the "Thousand Year War" a little apprehensively to see if Maybury had lost his flare after the success of his previous books, as so many do, sort of like movie sequals that never meet or match the standards of the original, and luckily found that it was back on track with interesting, coherent information taht once again had me wanting to finish it in one setting.

   Mr. Maybury needs to work The "Clipper Ship" over and could easily reduce it by half.

   Of course I enjoy his work and will order the two follow on books WWI and WWII to round out my collection. All in all, he has made me a little bit wiser with this series and I still recommend it (all of them) to anyone who wants to understand the competing "models" that exist in the world and what makes the world go round.

   Jim




4. This book may be alright for people who know little about economics and business or for kids who would like to start their own small business. Mr. Maybury's points are simple, and he repeats them so many times that I don't think anyone could possibly miss them.
   But there are a few things I must warn you about:
   
   First, Mr. Maybury implies that anyone who doesn't agree with him is either dumb or evil. Often he will drop a little line here or there that characterizes a certain group as bad. For example, he characterizes government officials as "Godzilla-like", corrupted, and malicious black-mailers. The problem is that he does not back up these claims with evidence, logic, or his personal experiences.
   
   Second, this book is fairly superficial. If you are really trying to apply his model in the real world or if you are trying to really understand the way the economy works or why the government does what it does, you will need to do a lot more research.
   
   Third, the book is lacking a bit on the application side. He gives wonderful solutions to some application problems, but only in the fields of doughnut sales and barber shops.
   
   And fourth, it's dreadfully boring. Read it when you are very much awake!
   
   These are my complaints, but the book has its merits as well. It is very easy to understand, as all of Richard Maybury's "Uncle Eric Series" are, and provides much material for discussion. Consider a family discussion about whether or not politicians have bad intentions, how the internet fits into Mr. Maybury's model, why Monetarists and Keynesians disagree with some of his ideas, and what the economy would look like if everyone used his strategy.
   
   Overall, I would say that if this book sparks your interest (before it puts you to sleep), that's wonderful, but don't let your research stop here. This book is not a complete guide in any way, although with that many words it could be.



5. This book is not a boring read for a factual book that makes you think. I don't like reading textbooks so the author does an amazing job.

4 comments about Surviving the Storm: Investment Strategies That Help You Maximize Profit and Control Risk During the Coming Economic Winter.

1. One of the best investment books in decades. For starters, the book was just published. Lunney wrote about the current mortgage problems months if not years in advance. It must be nice to have a crystal ball. Must read for anyone who wants to invest wisely.



2. Lunny's book is written sensibly and organized such that a novice investor or those who've never thought about their finances carefully can feel comfortable heading in a new direction. His idea of looking at ones entire "wealth" including investments, insurance, mortgage, etc. is practical and straight forward. Lunny explains his points in clear easy to read language. I bought the book for my husband and my son - both have learned a lot from it and are glad they have it!



3. Nice to read someone who takes a global view without predicting the end of postive personal investing.
   Offers insights into choices you can make now and for some years ahead.
   Refreshing to read after listening to the daily hype we're confronted with on TV and newsletters.
   Projects a potential scenario going forward without talking down to the reader.
   If he is right in some areas then well worth the price.
   Insightful,helpful charts,well outlined stratagies



4. I havent finished this book, but what I have read has not wasted my time one bit. New ways of seeing things. Ways to simplify getting to what's important. Skipped to the back and see where I can find exactly information I have been wanting to know. This is a very very good and useful book. Was afraid it would be about the same old boring retirement garbage.... not at all! Thank you James Lunney, with Larry too! What a surprise to find!

5 comments about The Chic Entrepreneur: Put Your Business in Higher Heels.

1. The Chic Entrepreneur: Put Your Business in Higher Heels
   
   As an aspiring entrepreneur who happens to be female, I was really looking forward to this book based on the other reviews because I wanted a woman's perspective on starting and growing a business. The Chic Entrepreneur was very uneven and at times had me shaking my head and saying "What?!"
   
   Elizabeth Gordon mixes big business case studies with small, mostly female owned small business examples to make her case in areas such as What Do Customers Really Want?, Attracting and Retaining the Best Employees, The Importance of Systematic Processes, and How to Plan and Measure Your Results. For me, the small business examples worked better as some of the big business analyses seemed like a stretch. For example, her commentary on crash dieting versus Weight Watchers as an explanation for the importance of processes just didn't make sense to me.
   
   This leads in to my other big problem with Gordon's book. I know she is trying to appeal to women, their interests, and what they know, but more often than not she comes off as condescending. Maybe it's just me being overly sensitive, but as an example: On page 109 in the sales and marketing chapter, Gordon says "getting customers is like flirting and keeping them is like marriage, only you are allowed to have as many customers as you can attract, without any pesky polygamy charges getting in the way." She goes on to discuss how you should "consummate the relationship" and seal the deal. Later she says: "Do you perpetually drop your prices in an act of desperation? Stop showing your panties and instead figure out a way to give the folks a better show with your clothes on."
   
   Just two examples (and I could go on), but these comments seemed inappropriate for a business book. And if they were made by a male author, readers would be outraged.
   
   My suggestion? Find a good entrepreneur/business book that isn't gender specific and go for it. I can guarantee that you'll get more out of it than this book.



2. I work with a lot of women business owners. And it's apparent to me that Elizabeth Gordon does as well. She's seeing the same issues that I am.
   
   I found the book very accessible. Another reviewer has stated that some of the comparisons are a bit outrageous. Well, they are. But the point is to have you sit up and take notice. Gordon does well at taking what is new (business knowledge) and marrying it to the world that most women understand -- relationships.
   
   Start with the last chapter. Give yourself the entrepreneurship test -- are you really ready to commit? Gordon says: "Women tend to be eager to commit to relationships, to marriage, to their families, and even to their best friends, but when it comes to committing to business, ironically, women are the ones who can't commit."
   
   Ouch! Yes, it sounds harsh. But I see it again and again. Given a choice between a $300 business education course and a $300 purse, far too many women choose the purse. Owning a business is work, and yet, at the same time it is the most exhilerating thing that you can do with your life, other than raising a family. Both have their own joys and pitfalls -- even more so if you are doing both.
   
   When you first learned to make your way in the world, you did some trial and error. (Try to walk, fall down, get up, try to walk, fall down...) But you also had someone there to hold your hand and help you get the concepts.
   
   Elizabeth Gordon has given you the concepts in manageable language and format. I recommend this book to any women thinking of starting a business, just started a business or hopelessly lost in business. Even if you don't fall into any of those categories, the book is a good read. You will probably pick up something that will lead you to explode your business in the next 12 months.



3. Nobody knows how to write a book about women entrepreneurs like Elizabeth W. Gordon. The Chic Entrepreneur: Put Your Business in Higher Heels tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
   
   Gordon impresses with this down-to-earth (and very chic) how-to guide for women entrepreneurs. From knowing your value to figuring out what customers really want and measuring your results, The Chic Entrepreneur is packed with enough vital information to help entrepreneurs run their business while avoiding costly mistakes.
   
   Most importantly, The Chic Entrepreneur is a fun and humorous read. Know that you are not picking up another textbook because Gordon provides us with humorous accounts of life in the business world. This is great book to add to your entrepreneur reference library.



4. Elizabeth Gordon and Leanna Adams really lay it all out on the table. Putting your business in higher heels is an efficient business strategy for any woman who wants to be a wildly successful business owner and strong woman. I think Ms. Gordon's book, website and blog is of ongoing relevance to all women who want to be strong and independent.



5. This is a great book! Good tips and ideas--I have had my own business for 10 years and still have learned a great deal. Would highly recommend--easy reading!

3 comments about Beyond Success: Building a Personal, Financial, and Philanthropic Legacy.

1. Finally a book that puts together all of the pieces of the world of what it means to invest and why we do it. Mr. Ottinger very carefully pieces together what is important about investing and building a legacy. He uses real life examples of people who have become successful not only with their wealth building but also in building a legacy in the philanthropy as well as family legacy. No matter how much wealth anyone has, the lessons that are inside of this book are relevant to all of us. It could almost be called, "The Habits of highly successful legacy builders"



2. 
   
   T
   
   his is the best and most interesting book ever written on this subject.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   This is the best,most complete and most interesting book ever written on this subject.It is'nt just for those who have acquired wealth,it is also for their children. Can't hardly wait for Mr.Ottingers next book on business or whatever he feels compelled to pass on to his new group of admirers.
   
   
   



3. It's a great book specially if you are looking for some reference in how to take care of your assets, cash flow, etc. when you have to think about legacy, it is funny for me because I was talking to my brothers in order to start building something together having in mind to build a legacy for our family and I found this book just exactly what I needed, includes some examples about families that have done it before and how to have a structure to make it happen, I highly recommend it. Great job by Mr. Randall J. Ottinger Congratulations!

5 comments about Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom (Zero Debt) (Zero Debt).

1. it may not be the best written book that I have read, but the basis of it is simple and easy to following. it gives you step by step ideas on ridding oneself of debt. the writer is successful in meeting the goals of this book



2. Great book with a lot of good tips. The book helped me stay focus.



3. The author paid off her debt by cashing in her $80,000 IRA and paid the rest off with her paycheck, interst and all. I don't have an $80k IRA or a Masters Degree or a job with a major tv network. If the system doesn't work for someone wealthy like her - then there really is something wrong! For the average middle class consumer though - who is maxed out on their credit cards - I find no relief in this book. Pretty much it says Just pay off your debt - double your payments even - find some way to make more money to do it. Why did she write a book? This doesn't tell me anything or help me in anyway.



4. I have never read a book that has been dead on with reality. If anyone and I mean anyone wants to get out of debt and become well off this book will guide you there. However you better be ready to put your part in it to. I have read this book a few times just so that I wont wonder off into a spenders like I have done in the past. Lynette has guided and kept me on the track to success. YOU WILL NOT REGRET PURCHASING THIS BOOK!!!!



5. Very good book. She has others - one geared toward college grads that I hear is good. Offers good practical advice, doesn't talk above you.

No comments about Lean Product and Process Development.

5 comments about The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money and Investing, Third Edition.

1. Most of the book is a great intro to money, stocks, bonds and mutual funds. But the last section, on Futures & Options, seems really rushed and lacks the clarity of the earlier sections (especially the material on options). For example, the authors do not define "calling" or "putting" options; and there is a blatant error on page 150 wherein a description of an option table is laughably out of sync with the table it is trying to describe.
   
   Overall, the book is very good -- just beware of the shortcomings of its last section.



2. I think this book did a great job in helping me understand the universe of money and investing beyong the scope of stock. I have been trading for 1 year and wanted to buy a small book that gave me a general education on the subject. Although much more can be written on each topic covered it is good for beginning to understand the whole picture.



3. A nice introduction to wall street if you were raised on Mars. For people who want to do investing for a living this is a waste of time



4. If you're a beginner, interested in investing, this is a very decent primer to start with. Buy it with Eric Tyson's Investing for Dummies, and you'll be fully set!



5. Although this isn't the largest book in the world, I really enjoyed reading it. I thought that I was pretty savvy as far as the way things worked, but this book definitely enlightened me. I also appreciated the pictures that made things clearer.

5 comments about Smart World: Breakthrough Creativity And the New Science of Ideas.

1. Do you think up innovative ideas all by yourself? Or does the world of ideas and theories think for you? Richard Ogle's Smart World suggests the latter: that you are a mere node in a network of developing thought and ideas and theories.
   
   Through examples ranging from cubism to Barbie to the architecture of Frank Gehry and with grounding in network science, Ogle proposes that geniuses don't think solely by or for themselves but rather find and activate links across divergent spaces of thought. Ogle identifies a number of laws at work in our smart world, from the law of tipping points to the law of hotspots to the law of integration and more.
   
   Ogle is saying more in his book than just "people work with other people to come up with innovative ideas." He explains how an underlying network of idea spaces and people gives rise to creative genius, in an emergent, bottom-up way. He has applied the new science of networks -- itself an example of the smart world in action -- to human creativity.
   
   The examples given in the book are quite detailed, perhaps too detailed for some readers. I could imagine a shorter, more accessible version of this book along the lines of The Tipping Point that might find more readers. But you shouldn't hesitate to buy it just because it's lengthy and at times complex. You can skim it first to get the main ideas, then reread the parts that fascinate you most later on.
   
   I was especially glad to see examples taken from beyond the realm of technology. Ogle makes his thesis more compelling by discussing creativity in art, architecture, education, and even toy marketing.
   
   If you are interested in the science of networks, you might also like Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age by Duncan Watts or Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi.



2. How do breakthrough ideas, products, services come to live? What is the real contribution of the so called `geniuses' to the process? How does our mind process information and reality in order to come up with novel ideas? This book presents, in an original and articulated fashion, possible intriguing answers to these and many other questions regarding the way we develop creativity and innovation. The author calls it `the new science of ideas' and step by step, through an entertaining narrative focusing on breakthroughs in several fields (some of them: the discovery of DNA, Picasso's cubism, microcomputers and the development of Apple, Gutemberg's development of large scale typeset printing), outlines a Model relevant to this `new science'. A Model very useful to frame, conceptualize and learn from the dynamics that developed such breakthroughs; it is also helpful to recognize and stimulate the development of novel ones. The structure of the Model is composed by three factors: Imagination, Intuition and Insight. The `proper interplay' of these three factors leads to breakthrough creativity. The book focuses on articulating both the nature and essence of such interplay. Let's unfold these dynamics by focusing on each component of the Model.
   
   Imagination
   
   First of all the author (Richard Ogle, an independent scholar, consultant and entrepreneur) introduces the concept of idea-space "an idea-space is a domain or world viewed from the perspective of the intelligence embedded in it". In other words an idea-space is a mix of concepts, rules, experiences and practices defining a certain kind of field and the way that such field works most effectively. For example any subject (math or literature) represents a specific idea-space. Depending on our profession we deal with simple or more complex idea-spaces on a daily basis. A key aspect that Ogle points out with his examples is the nature of the embedded intelligence within an idea-space: this form of intelligence does not simply depend on one person (one expert, one genius), it depends from the integration of several experiences and practices by several people. Ogle relates this observation to Andy Clark's concept of the `extended mind', in other words the realization that in our daily activities (as well as in the creative process) we utilize intelligence that it has become part of the knowledge available within the idea-space we are operating within, intelligence not direcly developed by us. The title of the book "Smart World" points out this very practical observation too often overlooked. Idea-spaces and the intelligence embedded within them make us smarter but at the same time also they potentially risk to blind us; to blind our full view of reality with its obstacles and its opportunities. As the author puts it: "Einstein observed, `The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them'. Clearly, Einstein grasped the paradoxical power of idea-spaces dense with accumulated intelligence to both empower and blind us". Within the Model, Imagination is what overrides the blind spots generated by an idea-space by linking idea-spaces that previously were unconnected and helping us to perceive and deal with reality in a novel way. This is the reason why we observe that a breakthrough is not caused by a sequential, linear sort of thinking but by a disconnected and disrupting one (shifting through and linking previously unconnected idea-spaces). In other words we talk about a creative leap of innovation vs an incremental one.
   
   Intuition
   
   This is the second key component to the Model. Intuition is relevant to the way we recognize patterns and relationships within a set of elements belonging to previously unconnected idea-spaces. The cases presented by Ogle clearly show that any real breakthrough depends upon the utilization of such pattern recognition in order to interconnect embedded intelligence from an idea-space to a different one. What works in an idea-space is going to work also in a different one if through imagination we are to connect them and through intuition we can identify similar internal dynamics among elements that can have a totally different nature: this potentially can generate a new idea-space in itself; Ogle writes: "Intuition is our navigational system for exploring novel idea-spaces".
   
   Insight
   
   This is sequentially the third key component to the Model. Ogle intruduces the concept: "Working together, intuition and imagination give rise to insight, the quintessential phenomenon of breakthrough creativity (...) imagination, guided by the pattern-recognizing powers of intuition, boldly jumps across intervening space to connect to whole new networks of meaning". Insight is what clearly manifests the breakthrough by shifting the networking process among idea-spaces from complexity to simplicity, from disorder to order. This way a new meaning is created and creativity takes shape into something novel that is quite understandable also from outside of the embedded intelligence that developed it. The author argues these dynamics are generated by a set of principles related to the networks science (in itself a quite novel idea-space developed in order to understand the nature of the close and remote interconnectedness among people, systems and ideas). As Ogle puts it: "Smart World claims that the right place to look for laws governing creative leaps is in network science, whose newly discovered principles drive the dynamics of the extended mind's component idea-spaces." The author draws from these principles to present a set of self-organizing laws fueling the shifts from simplicity to complexity and from disorder to order; specifically nine laws: 1) the law of tipping points, 2) the law of the fit get rich, 3) the law of the fit get fitter, 4) the law of spontaneous generation, 5) the law of navigation, 6) the law of hotspots, 7) the law of small worlds network, 8) the law of integration, 9) the law of minimal effort. The book articulates and exemplifies in detail the nature and flow of each law and these observations allow for the identification of a set of practical principles that according to Ogle we could all utilize in order to find our very own breakthrough. He writes: "Above all, trust your imaginative faculties as they surf embedded webs of intelligence near and far, and have the confidence that if your're up for the ride, the space of ideas, shaped by the laws of network dynamics, will do most of the hard thinking for you".
   
   I consider the thesis presented by "Smart World" timely, intriguing and stimulating. The book is an invitation and a roadmap to tap into the global potential to better understand and give meaning to the reality we face; the invitation comes with a set of tools that we can choose to put to work in order to improve our reality through a real, focused and resourceful imagination. Are we up for the challenge?



3. I have a lot of respect for Robert Morris' reviews, so read that one for a more positive spin on this book. I tend to have less patience than most might given my broad and eclectic reading habits.
   
   I bought the book for the title, which is crafty marketing, but the content does not deliver on the implied promise. The book loses one star for failing to integrate the ten books below (I could list 20 but Amazon limits us to 10) and for failing to credit the Tofflers, my most respected colleagues since they wrote about me in 1993 ("The Future of the Spy" in War and Anti-War: Making Sense of Today's Global Chaos. The Tofflers, not Kevin Kelly, are the ones who made "The Third Wave" a core concept for all of us.
   
   In addition to the Tofflers many works, including Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth, and Power at the Edge of the 21st Century, I was disappointed at the absence of reference to anything by Tielhard de Chardin ("noosphere") or any of the following:
   
   World brain
   Collective Intelligence: Mankind's Emerging World in Cyberspace
   The Electric Meme: A New Theory of How We Think
   Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century
   The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
   Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World
   Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution
   One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization
   
   See also "The New Craft of Intelligence: Personal, Public, & Political--Citizen's Action Handbook for Fighting Terrorism, Genocide, Disease, Toxic Bombs, & Corruption]] Available free in two forms online, as will be my next three edited works, one each in 2008 on Collective Intelligence, Peace Intelligence, and Commercial Intelligence.
   
   Chomsky, Lessig, many others could have been usefully probed by the author, as well as the literature on hackers and hacking, including Sherley Turkle's classic, "Computers and the Human Spirit." I am friends with Doug Englebart, far more important to the Internet than the email guy, and an elected member of the Silicon Valley Hackers, the follow on the the Home Brew group, and including Larry Page, Phil Zimmermann, and of course Lee Felsenstein and Rob Tow. So I confess, portions of this book struck me as both selective and misleading.
   
   Now, having provided the context that this author failed to explore, I will praise the book as a deep but dense work, one that synthesized some but not all, and creates some but not all, of the key concepts we need for charting the future.
   
   He could not have been expected to be familiar with two books that came out at the same time as his, "Group Genius" and "Five Minds," but among them all, I rate the first as the best, and the second as its equal with a different perspective. See my reviews. This book, if I had to do it over again, I would assign to someone else and have them do a two-page memorandum on its key points. It was not fun to read, but would make an excellent reference work for assigned reading at the college senior or first-year master's level.
   
   Were I doing the two-page memo, among the author's noteworthy contributions are the following:
   
   + Baffling problem
   + Break-through creativity
   + Extended mind
   + Cubism
   + Idea-spaces
   + Long bets
   + Communities of practice
   + Cultural blindness
   + Paradigms
   + Framing
   + Hubs (too much connectivity can be debilitating)
   
   On the latter, my prime laptop lost all power, one reason I have done so much reading over this break, and the outcome has left me a real believer in a concept I now call "digital fasting." Just as I try not to eat at all one day a week, I now see the value of rejecting the computer one day a week, at least.
   
   Not covered:
   + Heuristics
   + Ants
   + Bacteria
   
   Four I's (I really like this):
   01 Imagination
   02 Intuition
   03 Insight
   04 Intelligence
   
   Code of Creativity:
   01 Tipping points
   02 Fit get rich
   03 Fit get fitter
   04 Spontaneous generation
   05 Navigation
   06 Hotspots
   07 Small-world networks
   08 Integration
   09 Minimal effort
   
   I will buy and read "Fire in the Valley" on the author's recommendation.
   
   I would like very much to see the author produce this book in a second revised edition that relegates much of the content to distilled boxes or appendices, and provides the CEO with an easier to follow and absorb version such as are provided by Keither Sawyer ("Group Genius") and Howard Gardner ("Five Minds for the Future").



4. Very "out of the box", not much of a page-turner, but it does spark some interest. The narratives are somewhat intruiging.



5. This is a strange, wonderful and not always easy book. Richard Ogle tackles a slippery question about the mind: Where do truly creative leaps originate? Studies of creativity and innovation are multiplying, but Ogle's book does something rare. It demonstrates how networking creates something new by navigating shared spaces. Its style and content will make it challenging to many readers. Though Ogle has a knack for original, striking phrases, a simpler style would have served the innate complexity of the subject matter. That aside, we recommend this book to everyone who is interested in innovation, creativity and the propagation of ideas through culture. The parallels Ogle draws among plastic dolls, Romantic paintings, the discovery of DNA and the development of the personal computer are striking and entertaining, and his concepts about how creativity uses "idea-spaces" and networks are wildly intriguing.

5 comments about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Investing, 3rd Edition (Complete Idiot's Guide to).

1. After graduating college, I realized I should have taken classes on investing and money management. Working full time, I couldn't go back to school. My only option was to begin reading. I came across this book in the book store and decided to give it a try. Well, to say the least, I couldn't be any more thrilled about this book. I felt I actually took an entire college course on investing. The writing was clear and the equations and charts were well explained and very useful. I now have the knowledge and desire to reshape my financial future. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to change their life for the better.



2. I am a young professional starting out in the job market. This book has given me the tools to look at my financial decisions rationally. I now know I have a lot of control over my money and I have the tools to start investing for the future, whatever that may be!



3. In summary, this book is very beneficial. It has the textbook information without the textbook boredom. It simply has an object, side notes and a short summary at the end of each chapter. The chapters aren't very long and it's very easy to read. The whole book itself is divided in only 6 parts, and you'll guaranteed to know stocks A to Z by the end of the book. You'll also learn about allocations, assets, mutual bonds, cash flow and much more. I can't emphasize enough how resourceful this book is. I'm not saying it's the best book on investing since this is only my first investing book I've read but I'm sure it's rare to find a better book than this.



4. Have read only as far as page 18. Formula for Future Value of an Annuity on this page is wrong. Also, calculation of the sample FVA at bottom of this page makes no sense at all...doesn't even agree with the incorrect formula stated. If something this basic is in error, I seriously question whether one should trust this book.



5. I'm 24 years old and I wanted to read something easy and informative about investing. I used this book to help me while I set up my IRA account and I learned so much. This book covers all the basics and tells you things that you need to know before investing. If you know nothing about this stuff, check it out.