5 comments about An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood.

1. Neal Gabler explores the fascinating question of how Hollywood was created primarily by a remarkable group of men who fit into a remarkably small demographic: European Jewish immigrants, most of them poor, most of them from Manhattan's lower east side, none of them practicing Jews, most of them from families with weak father figures. But together they moved to an almost completely protestant city and created the most successful form of popular entertainment in America, presenting an idealized version of American life for a nation in a constant for new national myths. The most fascinating thing about the book is the gap between the mythical world that they were presenting and their own backgrounds. For Louis B. Mayer, Andy Hardy's America was for him the real America, an America where there were strong nuclear families headed by strong fathers, doting neo-Victorian mothers, and obedient, respectful children. Economically most people were Middle Class, the tenor distinctively Middle American, and almost always Christian. Gabler argues that for most of these men, what they provided was not America as it existed, but the America that they wanted to be a part of.
   
   Almost all of the major studios were founded by men who more or less fit Gabler's description. There are a number of major and minor characters in Gabler's story, the most prominent being Adolph Zukor, who was instrumental in creating Paramount; Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal; William Fox of Fox Pictures, which later merged with Twentieth Century; Louis B. Mayer, who built MGM into Hollywood's largest studio; Harry and Jack Warner of Warner Brothers; and the belligerent Harry Cohn of Columbia. There are in addition a number of crucial supporting characters, none more important than the legendary Irving Thalberg (I knew very slightly Thalberg's son, also Irving, an academic philosopher who spent his career in Chicago and who quietly funded liberal political causes--he paid for the Chicago Seven's legal bills at their trial--while quietly pursuing his university career), the inspiration for F. Scott Fitzgerald's last novel THE LAST TYCOON. We also meet the Schenck brothers, Nicholas and Joseph, the Rabbi of Hollywood Edgar F. Magnin, theater chain owner Marcus Loew, and an uncountable number of smaller figures.
   
   One of the most striking aspects of the biography is how utterly these men suppressed their Jewish backgrounds in their films. Although THE JAZZ SINGER is the story of the son of a Jewish son rejecting the culture of his cantor father (Gabler points out that the son's story was also the story of the moguls), the vast majority of movies produced by Hollywood in the twenties, thirties, and forties contained no identifiably Jewish characters. Although an astonishing number of the people producing the movies were Jewish, it was as if they felt compelled to completely erase Jews from their idealization of American life. The was more than mere assimilationist aspirations; it was as if they were trying to expunge the weak fathers of their youths, the poverty they knew growing up, and become a part of a nation that largely rejected them. For two or three decades, at least, they could maintain this myth, but in the forties and the HUAC committee of the U.S. House of Representatives they found their fiefdom increasingly under attack for the industry's supposed inculcation of un-American (i.e., Communist) values. Many of their attackers persisted in the fascist depiction of Communism as an essentially Jewish cast of thought (in Hitler's writings there is no clear distinction between Jews and Communists, and at least one part of his motivation in attacking Russia was to attack what he weirdly considered a Jewish nation).
   
   This is not a perfect book. For one thing, the scope is simply too large for any one book to undertake. And inevitably there are either serious omissions or details that don't quite tell the whole story. For instance, Gabler attempts to characterize the more plebian tendencies at Warner's by mentioning that one of their stars was Rin Tin Tin, which seems to hint at how far down the ladder they were in the Hollywood pecking order, but failing to note that for most of his life Rin Tin Tin was the number one box office star in Hollywood. Also, there is amazingly little discussion of the many Jewish performers in Hollywood. Some are mentioned in passing (such as Groucho Marx, noting his famous reply to the attempt by the Jewish country club Hillcrest to recruit new members following the stock market crash, that he wouldn't want to be a member of a club that would accept someone like him as a member), and Edward G. Robinson gets a few mentions, but for the most part actors are ignored. This is overwhelmingly a book about the top brass. And one can take issue with some minor depictions, such as the long discussion of the nature of Universal in the thirties, but no mention of the man who is most responsible for the visual look of those films and the director of all their major achievements, James Whale. The implication is that the distinctive look of Universal films was not determined by the former art director Whale. But this is all nitpicking.
   
   I do have to take strong issue with one of the current featured reviews that criticizes the book because he believes that the American depicted in the movies was very much the America he knew in the forties and fifties. First, the book deals mainly with America in the twenties and thirties, a bit less with the forties, and the fifties almost not at all, so the time framework of his criticism is off. Second, how can anyone argue that the movies were not an idealization if one knows any American history at all? Certainly the poverty that my parents and grandparents knew growing up in Arkansas during those decades was almost completely ignored, THE GRAPES OF WRATH aside (and the subject of that film were very much my people). Any informed demographic study of the period will show that the depiction of women in the films was wildly out of kilter with the actual lives of women, many of whom had to take jobs even in the thirties, forties, and fifties to enable families to make it financially (the fifties is the only decade in American history of which the so-called traditional American family is even somewhat true). And Hollywood films of the period are notorious today for their depiction of race relations. Anyone stating that the Hollywood film in any conceivable sense depicted America as it really existed beggars credulity.
   
   I strongly recommend this book to anyone either interested in the history of the movie industry or how immigrants sought to integrate themselves in their new nation. The book contains a wealth of information and I can't imagine anyone know coming away from it not merely entertained but better informed.



2. Not that it was bad but I was disappointed in this book. The subjects that interested me the most, the majority of movies made then portraying characters that represented how the Jews viewed themselves in American society, the schisms between the more established Jews who had immigrated from Germany and the ones from eastern European countries, the muscling in and manipulation of Hollywood by Jewish political groups like the ADL and AJC, and the gradual evolution of Hollywood into a tool of global social engineering, were barely touched on. If you are more interested in personality profiles of the early Hollywood movie moguls then this book is right up your alley though.



3. I was shocked to have someone point out that there's 300 million people in the US population of which 79% are Christian. The law of averages does not support that 2.5% of the US population that are Jewish being so prevalent in the media. Or does it? This book suggest a reason for the Jewish at the forefront. Also there are equally talented Christian actors who would like leading roles over and over again too. So ask yourself where are the Christians???
   
   Now if you look at who's who at the box office right now it gives credence to this book.
   
   Who's who in movies? IRONMAN: Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow (both Jewish). THE INCREDIBLE HULK cameo Robert Downey Jr. SEX IN THE CITY (movie): Starring Sarah Jessica Parker (Jewish). She is the wife of Mathew Broderick (he is Jewish). INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL: Harrison Ford (Jewish). YOU DON'T MESS WITH ZOHAN: Adam Sandler (Jewish). TROPIC THUNDER: Starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. (again, all Jewish). Amazing, take a bow!
   
   Further, what do Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. ALL HAVE IN COMMON?
   
   Hint: They are blood brothers with Adam Sandler, Larry King, Jerry Seinfeld & Jon Stewart for example.
   
   Give up? They ARE ALL JEWISH... Who knew? I didn't. Simply AMAZING...
   
   [..]



4. Gabler is a uniquely erudite cultural critic. This is the third book I have read by him and I am deeply impressed with the unusual breadth of his coverage. In this case, he writes about the founding fathers of Hollywood, the dictatorial dreamers and shapers of its golden age (to the late 1940s}. In his telling, they are all Eastern European Jews, striving to become part of the American dream and at the same time providing many of the images that entered the American psyche. They all started with the penny arcades at the beginning of the century, and built empires in which they exercised total control of content and creation.
   
   This book is less about the economics of the studio system - cartels that manufactured films on lots, virtually owned the "talent" via long-term contracts, dominated the distribution of their films, and controlled many of the theatres that played them - than about the culture and ethos they were trying to create in their dictatorial domains. The era passed with the Supreme Court trust-busting ruling, political attacks during the McCarthy era, and the rise of independent talent in actors, producers, and writer-directors.
   
   As Gabler sees it, these founders were fairly secular Jews, who wanted to fit into the American ideal of pseudo-aristocratic entrepreneurs (from poverty). This was the source of their maudlin, sentimental style and crude american ideals, each studio with its own peculiar character. I must admit, I find this angle of analysis, with all the objections one can make for its subjectivity, quite fascinating and given their power to shape things, dead on the mark.
   
   Gabler tells the story in the form of serial biographies. It is a wonderful flowing narrative, superlatively written and with a genuine depth of historical understanding. Indeed, while I think this early book is somewhat weaker than his later books, Disney and Life" the Movie, I will read any book that this critic writes.
   
   Warmly recommended. This is not my usual domain of interest, so the reading is often hard going for me, but I have learned an immense amount from this critic, who is a real intellectual.



5. very thorough, obejective look at the founding of the motion picture industry in america. there is a lot of minutiae, so be prepared to focus. at the end of the day you'll be happy you did.

No comments about 3G Evolution, Second Edition: HSPA and LTE for Mobile Broadband.

5 comments about The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet.

1. The author, Daniel J. Solove, was kind enough to send me an advance copy of this book; it scored a KnowProSE.com 10/10:
   
   "With actual real world examples gleaned from the internet and put in the limelight, the author seems to leave no stone unturned in a quest for answers. Many people will have heard of some of the examples but few will have looked at them in such a circumspect a manner - and even fewer will have done so with a legal background.
   
   Most of my time spent reading this book was spent nodding - I knew about 70% of the stories, but then I've been around a while and have been following the Internet closely- more so than most people on the internet. Still, in most instances the author was able to show me at least one new side to it. This seemed a job which makes the Herculean quest of cleaning the stables seem simple - there is no river to divert here, but there is most certainly a lot of manure. Perhaps the book is the start of the river's diversion. Cyber-bullying, Internet Vigilantism, libel, defamation... mountains are easily grown from molehills in cyberspace.
   
   The book is very easy to read, it flows and takes on a life of its own. I could not put it down; even knowing some of the stories did not deter my interest. After much contemplation, I have decided to give the book a KnowProSE.com 10/10 score. Only one other book has been given that status, and both books have received this status because they were interesting books that were well written and important, and do one other thing in particular: they will stand the test of time. Daniel J. Solove is rapidly becoming to privacy what Lawrence Lessig is to copyright and the public domain.
   
   If you are reading this review, you need to read this book. Who knows? My next blog entry might be about you. Of all the people who need to read this book, I think bloggers are the ones who need to read it the most: being aware of the consequences of what one writes is important in an age when everyone can write, but not everyone considers the consequences to others. Would that we all understood this better."



2. Once I started The Future of Reputation, I could not put it down. The book brings alive how online gossip, social networking sites, and blogs increasingly define who we are and how were are perceived in today's Information Age. The stories it tells are, at once, laugh-out-loud funny and terrifying. We see the lives of others distorted by vengeful ex-lovers and mocked by teachers. Online commentators shine light on bad behavior to shame people. Our reputations are out of our control.
   
   What I loved about this book is that it asks us to rethink assumptions about how we define ourselves in an age where search engines tell our story to future employers and old high-school classmates. The book helped me appreciate that online shaming plays a new and perhaps important role in shaping behavior but also has serious costs. It offers thoughtful suggestions for what we can do about these problems without sacrificing so much of what is liberating about our online interactions. This is a must read for anyone who is interested in living a full and informed life in the Internet age.



3. Prof. Solove's latest book is a great follow up to The Digital Person (which I also recommend). What I have enjoyed about his writings is his ability to communicate not only to attorneys like myself, but also to a non-lawyer audience. His focus on Internet privacy impacts all of us, and as anyone who follows the news knows, the explosive growth of Cyberspace places a greater burden on the individual and on the legal community to bolster protections and to guard against invasions of privacy. Solove's work explains the terrain of this new digital era in a way that is informative, engrossing, and relevant. I'm looking forward to his future scholarship in this field.



4. Solove's book doesn't provide answers, rather it provides situations that help you ask the right questions.
   
   As an extra bonus it is extremely well written and an enjoyable read.



5. This book addresses an incredibly important topic - and is well written to boot. The danger of reputations ruined by carelessness, or by deliberate ill will, should be understood. In fact, this book should be mandatory for human resources personnel and any search committee that uses the Internet to check on a potential employee.
   
   Hopefully Solove will follow up soon with another book. Sites such as Topix, provide a frightening forum for people who are less than ethical. Although Topix provides an alternative format for news, there is no oversight for accuracy or even truth. If Orson Welles had had access to the Internet, perhaps we would all have learned a valuable lesson about questioning and independent thinking. Since Welles is no longer with us, at least we have Daniel Solove to encourage us to question timely issues.

5 comments about Lighting for Digital Video & Television, Second Edition.

1. Lighting for Digital Video & Television introduces the basics of lighting for film and video in a very concise and lucid manner. The information published here will serve the filmmaker with very little or no budget as well as those with professional budgets. The author presents both relevant theory and practical advice. The single best book I have purchased on the subject of lighting for video.



2. This book changed my perspective of lighting being a beginner and it gave me so much insight and the buzz words to work with the pros... Truly enjoyed it and refer to it often! (NO I am not the author)hehe I just really liked it. It rocks!!



3. Overall, I think this book is very easy to read. The author starts with the basic elements of lighting and builds on that foundation. I am using it with a lighting for video class that I am enrolled in, but would be very helpful by itself. The pictures really help to guide the process and set up your lighting scenerios properly.



4. This is an amazing book. The guy is a true pro and explains everything you need to know to get takes that look professional on the first try.
   
   The book is really well written and organized. I blows by while you learn all the hows and whys of lighting video.
   
   I recomend this to anyone who feels that they are not at the professional level with lighting yet. It will change your life.



5. I got this book out of the library to read as a preparation for doing lighting on a low-budget movie I'm planning. Long story short, I devoured the book, then had to renew it so I could read it again and again.
   
   People with big expensive lights will love the clear use of big expensive lighting equipment.
   
   People who know nothing about lighting (like I did before I got this book) and have no money (like me) will love the low-budget chapter, and specifically the "spit and gaffer's tape" (author's words) list of equipment for those of us without deep pockets.

4 comments about Systems Engineering Principles and Practice.

1. I have just completed the JHU program in Systems Engineering. This book is the foundation for the curriculum and is a very readable, solid overview of Systems Engineering. All phases of the system life-cycle are introduced and tied together to truly illustrate the process. The book focuses on processes, the tools used will change, but good Systems Engineering will stay the same. The process to derive good requirements that are able to be implemented and tested are the same regardless of technology or field.



2. Useful in many of my process definition tasks. Essential text for any System Engineer.



3. This book is a great text for those interested in learning or expanding your knowledge of systems engineering. Well presented with sound explanations on the concepts. My company has multiple copies in use. Highly recommended.



4. Excellent book on Systems Engineering covering Development, Post-Development (Production, Operation and Support), Systems Engineering Management, Software Systems Engineering and Decision Tools on the same book.
   
   I believe it is coherent with its goal: "help students learn how to think like systems engineers".
   
   It is easy to read and has exercises at the end of each chapter.
   
   I recommend it for both students and practitioners.

5 comments about Fundamentals of Photonics (Wiley Series in Pure and Applied Optics).

1. If you could only have one general photonics book - this is the one to have. It must have been a 'labor of love' to write - and it is truly outstanding in its comprehensiveness and clarity.
   
   I use it constantly - wouldn't be without it.



2. I found out about this book when I was looking for some materials on Photonics Switching and Computing. These topics and All-Optical Switches and Bistable Optical Switches, Optical Interconnections are covered in Chapter 21
   But Chapter 22 containing Fiber-Optic Communication is very brief and for more detail one needs to go look for Kaiser's book.
   All in all this book tries to encompass all the components in PHOTONICS and in doing so lacks the depth in some topics. But the good thing is that the references and journal publications are listed at the end of each chapter.



3. If you are in the field of optics or biomedical optics, there are three to four books which would be the most essential to own. The is one of them. This book is comprehensive, dealing with all the most critical areas in field, yet easy to read. It is either outstanding in understanding the most basic concepts, yet a phenomenal reference on the derivations of relationships whose origin is left to the imagination in most textbooks. This is a must buy.



4. The book arrived in great condition, but I bought it new. This is a great text for Senior students with an EE or Elctro-Optics background. It would also be a great text for first year Master's students. The book tries to do a bit of everything and is a great reference for anyone interested in optics to the professional optical/electrical engineer.



5. Beautifully written. Very clear.
   Second edition has gorgeous color illustrations.
   Extremely comprehensive and covers all important facets of photonics:
   lasers, nonlinear and classical optics, photons/atoms, electromagnetic theory, fiber optics, and tons more.
   But most importantly, it explains things in plain old English so you can understand the concepts, then walks you through the math.
   Typically considered an undergrad book but I think it has plenty of material suitable for grad level learning in this field and is better written than many grad-level books out there. If you want to learn about lasers, optics, fiber optics, etc. this is a good addition to the library.

2 comments about Repeater Directory Pocket 2008/2009 (Arrl Repeater Directory) (Arrl Repeater Directory).

1. Same old directory, but a bit bigger. I prefer the smaller book of the past, but appreciate the larger type in this one. For me, a thicker book of smaller size would fill both needs.



2. The ARRL repeater directory is accurate, but the march of technology makes hard-copy directories like this increasingly archaic, though they're still handy to have in the car. In addition to the myriad of repeater directories published online by the various frequency coordination groups (which will be most up-to-date and accurate), there is directory software available that can be used in conjunction with radio programming software to maintain customized radio memory lists - handy when traveling. The best directory software is ARRL's TravelPlus, which can be found here: TravelPlus for Repeaters: Ver. 12.0. (This version was current at time of this review - please check to see if a more recent version has been published.)

5 comments about Modern Digital and Analog Communication Systems (The Oxford Series in Electrical and Computer Engineering).

1. EXCELLENT:
   =========
   This is an amazing book with many sections that are gems! Shannon's theorem is explained so beautifully in such detail that I have never seen anything like it. The chapters on Optimum signal detection and error correction codes are so beautifully written and easy to follow that I want to congratulate the author. The section on how to calculate the power spectral density of different line codes like bipolar, split phase, and polar was the easiest to read yet very detailed.
   
   BAD:
   ========
   However the book is scattered. The same material sometimes is covered in multiple chapters in bits and pieces. Partially this is because the author wants to first introduce some of the concepts without discussing probability and later covers them again after studying probability. But, this still can't explain why things are so scattered. The new chapters added in the third edition covering some of the new applications are not written well. The contribution by a guest author to one of the chapters was horrible!
   
   What will make this book excellent is to get rid of the guest author and some of the new material, clean up the presentation of the fundamentals and present in a more unified matter.
   
   This book is a good relief from reading Proakis. I have read many advanced books which were easy to read. The reason Proakis was hard to read wasn't because the subject was advanced but simply it wasn't written well.
   
   p.s. My second edition was read so often that the glued pages started falling out. I bought the third edition and once again the glued pages fell out! I don't know if it is because this is one of the books I most frequently use or just the binding should be improved.



2. The nice thing about this textbook is that it provides the needed background in probability and random processes. The first nine chapters discuss in detail how digital and analog communication systems work. Chapter 1 is an introduction to communications systems, and signal analysis is covered in chapters 2 and 3. Here the student is encouraged to see a signal as a vector and to think of the Fourier spectrum as a way of representing a signal in terms of its vector components. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss amplitude and then angular modulation. In the digital age many might feel that modulation should be deemphasized. However, modulation is a basic tool of signal processing and its understanding is therefore still necessary. Chapter 6 deals with sampling, pulse code modulation, and delta modulation. Chapter 7 discusses the transmission of digital data while chapters 8 and 9 discuss emerging digital technologies in communications as they were considered cutting edge in 1998. Chapters 10 and 11 are the promised chapters on probability and random processes, sufficient to the point of understanding what is covered in this book. Chapters 12 and 13 discuss the behavior of communication systems in the presence of noise. Optimum signal detection is the subject of chapter 14, and information theory is introduced in chapter 15. Error control coding is the subject of the final chapter of the book.
   
   The best features of this book are its visual style with plenty of diagrams and also its numerous worked out numerical examples. The mathematics is as complex as necessary to explain concepts, but the author doesn't lose sight of the forest for the trees in this aspect of the book. Exercises include not only traditional numerical type problems but computer exercises as well. Although there are entire books written on what this book covers in chapters, particularly in the last half of the book when the author is surveying topics rather than laying foundations, this is a good first book to read even on these advanced topics as far as getting the big picture and seeing how these topics tie into the design of communication systems. Highly recommended.



3. My only concern about this book is that I have discovered it too late, after graduating in electronic engineering! Really, many explanations that Prof. Lathi gives about Shannon, Nyquist, and the exchange of bandwidth for SNR, both intuitive and rigorous, would have helped me very much at that time.
   
   I really recommend this book for several reasons:
   1) Clarity
   2) examples
   3) Historical background for the development of analog and digital communications.
   
   I hope Lathi will write many other books like this one: I've never found any explanation better than his. He makes you love the subject.



4. I read this book for 2 of my semesters in my undergrad. In the beginning I didn't like the book much but today all that what I got from this book is helping me back in my Grad studies. One of the finest. Much better than many around.



5. This is a great book for building the foundations of communication theory. Serves great as an introductory text on analog and digital communications. Concepts are explained very well.

5 comments about Bloomberg by Bloomberg.

1. This book serves as a close-up case study of market disruption by a new entrant. In the early 1980s, Bloomberg's company, Bloomberg LLP, was a nobody, attempting to crack the financial news wire market, a mature business dominated by Reuters and Dow Jones.
   
   Bloomberg had three big advantages (plus a strong confidence in his own gut instincts) that fit with the theory of market disruption that has emerged since:
   1. He knew the customers and their evolving needs better than anyone because he had been a Wall Street trader for years;
   2. He was bold enough to focus on what was not good enough for customers (collecting, manipulating, and processing financial data);
   3. He recognized where the business had already been commoditized (earnings headlines and stock or bond quotes) and applied little innovation there;
   
   Also a good inspirational biography. Like a great business, Bloomberg has reinvented himself several times, from Harvard student to trader to entrepreneur, to media exec, to politician.



2. My confidence in Mike Bloomberg's courage, judgment, and self-discipline is confirmed. This update to my review posted last August is written a day after he decided finally not to run for president. The decision, which I am sure was an extremely difficult one for him, confirms my view that he has the capacity to be a truly great man in American history.
   
   Bloomberg has stated publicly that there are many ways to exert a positive influence on society without holding high political office. The degree to which humankind is at a crossroads manifests itself more clearly with each passing day. Unlike most of us though Bloomberg has the resources to make a significant difference. May he use those resources with the greatest wisdom and insight. And may he indeed surround himself with men like Kurzweil, Diamond, and Davies.
   
   With the admission that my concern about his ego appears to be unfounded, here is my review as originally published...
   
   First, I apologize for the length of this review. I would not write at such length if I did not think the subject was of very great importance. I hope you may find the review useful.
   
   Normally I do not review books of this genre but Michael Bloomberg, with his wealth, ambition, street smarts, and interest in political change, has appeared at a tipping point in the history of this country. He has no qualms about entering the political arena and with his vast fortune he could profoundly influence the course of our nation and ultimately that of the world. The question is, will he act wisely and with deep insight or will he use his wealth and influence in a well meaning but ultimately destructive manner?
   
   Mike Bloomberg may be short in stature but if he gets it right he will be remembered as a towering, perhaps even heroic, figure in American history. If he gets it wrong though, all the fame and goodwill he has built up over the years will be lost forever. After reading this book I conclude that the capacity for great deeds is certainly there. The question is, will his ego get in the way?
   
   Bloomberg by Bloomberg is a remarkable autobiography, as much for what it reveals about Mike Bloomberg the man and how he thinks as for the interesting and often amusing stories he tells about his rise from obscurity to fame and riches.
   
   Bloomberg's success stems from seeing a niche in the world of high finance and filling it. He had a technically inclined mind (degree in electrical engineering), got an MBA from Harvard, and became a star Wall Street securities trader, or as he honestly describes it, a salesman. He had the immense good luck to be fired from Salomon Brothers and turned his $10 million severance into a $5 billion financial information empire.
   
   In short he was at exactly the right place at exactly the right time with exactly the right skills and hard driving personality. He saw an opportunity to offer a unique and valuable service, used his brain, worked 12-hour days, six days a week for years, and lived the rags to riches American dream. But ultimately he was lucky.
   
   What distinguishes Bloomberg from so many other self made men is that he is willingly acknowledges that luck played a large part in his success in life just as it does for each of us. This is but one example of the kind of honesty that pervades the book and one of the reasons I admire the man even though I disagree with him of a number of important public policy issues.
   
   Actions not only speak louder than words, they inspire and motivate with far greater power. Bloomberg is not your stereotypical billionaire. He leads by example.
   
   He was one of the youngest Eagle scouts in history. He used National Defense loans to pay his tuition at Johns Hopkins but when he was rejected for military service because of flat feet he didn't just say thanks for the pass from Vietnam and let it go at that. He tried to get his congressman and others to exert political influence to have the rejection overturned and his status changed to 1A, in those days a sure ticket to the jungles of Southeast Asia. He failed at the effort and never served but that one incident of trying to fulfill a commitment to duty speaks volumes about the man and stands in such glaring contrast to some others currently on the national political stage.
   
   Bloomberg before he became mayor of New York drew the same salary as his lowest paid employee ($19,000 in 1998) and the rest of his remuneration came from his holdings in Bloomberg LP. When the company does well he and all of his employees share in the profits. If it does poorly everyone takes a pay cut. (Why does this sound like the way we were taught that capitalism is supposed to work?)
   
   One of the nation's most generous philanthropists, Bloomberg approaches his stewardship to the community with the same energy and enthusiasm as he does to his business. And he is not shy in admitting he likes approval and being in the limelight. All of which gives him, for all his brashness and self promotion, an endearing humanness.
   
   But if you are going to enter the national political arena during a time of great turmoil and danger, you had better know what you are doing and you better be prepared for the law of unintended consequences. If ever there was a time when this nation needed decisive but wise leadership this is it.
   
   Bloomberg with typical bluntness admits "stubborn isn't a word I would use to describe myself; pigheaded is more appropriate." (p. 251). But he can also listen and after repeated prodding, eventually get the message. "One of us is stupid, and it's not him" he recalls when a budding entrepreneur, after four tries, finally convinced him to expand into broadcasting. (p. 115).
   
   The most disappointing aspect of the book is Bloomberg's conventional thinking about a host of issues from the economy to education. Like most `futurologists' he extrapolates the present into future. The computers will be more powerful, the distribution systems will be faster. You'll be able to select just what you want and filter out the rest, etc. etc. This is not very deep stuff.
   
   Yes, Bloomberg has made some major improvements in New York City schools. It's wonderful that more kids are graduating and math scores are up. Bloomberg with his 'take command' management style deserves much of the credit. But what good is it to go to college, study an lot of advanced math and physics to get a degree in computer science when Bill Gates wants to import thousands of computer scientists from India and pay them a faction of what similarly trained Americans would cost? It's the same story in field after field.
   
   The problems facing this society go far deeper than simply bad management. They are in fact rooted in the very way contemporary technological society is organized. There are no doubt solutions but these would require changes far more sweeping than most elites are willing to admit.
   
   Confronting them honestly would provoke a firestorm from vested interests, including powerful universities and think tanks who with arrogance and pomposity cling to outdated paradigms, and - with a handful of exceptions such as Lou Dobbs - the intellectual light weights who populate the media and parrot their pabulum. Bloomberg talks about thinking outside the box but at least the ideas in the book seem to indicate a pretty small box.
   
   The mayor's solution to illegal guns in New York City: hire private detectives to hunt down gun stores in the South who sell to New York criminals, then sue them. He even got the U.S. Council of Mayors to sign on although some of them have since backed away after getting an earful from their constituents. Well intentioned but a totally futile approach in a country with 100-200 million firearms in civilian hands and 50,000 licensed gun dealers.
   
   It turns out that less than one percent of the stores account for 40% of the guns used in crime in this country. Spend a lot of time, money and effort to shut down a handful of bad apples and the criminals will just go down the street to others. Plus, this kind of tactic raises a huge red flag in the minds of millions of potential supporters in Middle America who might otherwise be tempted to vote for him. Are there smarter solutions? Sure. Just contact the cities with low crime rates and find out how they tackle the problem.
   
   This kind of short sighted, ill advised action lends credence to the belief that however brilliant a businessman and however well meaning he may be, Bloomberg appears more likely to sow havoc in 2008 than to bring unity, purpose, and direction to our nation. It is not a question of intelligence but of insight, two very different qualities.
   
   Over the years I have worked for a number of men like Mike Bloomberg. In almost every case they have been excellent problem solvers and opportunists on the mundane level but hardly a one of them would qualify as a really deep strategic thinker. The key indicator is with whom do you surround yourself, very smart 'technicians' or the likes of Ray Kurzweil, Jared Diamond, and Paul Davies?
   
   Funding an independent third party while not running as a candidate himself could have a profound and positive impact but it would demand the ultimate in personal self discipline and self sacrifice for a man with Bloomberg's ego. It would be the greatest challenge of his life.
   
   Mike Bloomberg is a smart man with a good heart. I for one believe he's up to that challenge.



3. I'm a huge Mike Bloomberg fan, and really enjoyed the autobiographical parts of this novel and the story of his company's genesis. The generic computer stuff I could have done without, also the story didn't really flow and was a bit choppy. Overall a good, quick easy read. But I definitely could've used some more Bloomberg, Mike that is.
   
   Unfortunately there is surprisingly very little written about this great man.



4. I bought this book on 1 January when news first came out of the University of Oklahoma "bipartisan" gathering, but I did not have a chance to read it until this week. I went to Oklahoma, only to see this good man embarrassed by a truly rotten press conference that invited mockery. My three page trip report is at Earth Intelligence Network.
   
   I'm going to summarize what I learned from this book,and then conclude with an observation on how Bloomberg could go to the next level while simultaneously cleaning up our government and educating the 5 billion poor free, one cell call at a time.
   
   There is absolutely nothing in this book that is conceited or self-serving. This is straight talk from a hard worker, an Eagle Scout at a very young age, an ethical businessman, an inspired information entrepreneur. This is an honest worthy book I wish I had noticed sooner.
   
   The author lived in a one-room studio apartment for his first 10 years, working 12 hours a day as a matter of routine, not counting his early morning jogging, where he says he gets his most creative thoughts.
   
   It certainly helped that he had a $10M termination payment from his first job, but this book positively lights up around the combination of open workspace, open mind, how to create a company on the fly, fully integrating customer views, ignorning banks and other pyramidal consultants. The author discovered the "power of us" a quarter century before Business Week did its cover story on this topuc, 21 June 2005.
   
   What I was not expecting, and what made the book riveting for me, is the complete well-paced coverage of how the author realized he could monetize financial data, then information about the people behind the data, and then information on the politics behind the people.
   
   A few of my fly-leaf notes:
   
   + Build from scratch, don't buy over-priced companies or capabilities.
   
   + Trust me, or go out the door.
   
   + Do'ers with fires in their belly make for a great team
   
   + Pioneered compact low-cost workstations with English buttons
   
   + Excelled at rapid prototyping where good intention was better than any business plan
   
   + Really superb overview of how numbers can lie, how dangerous an automated numbers game can become
   
   + Outsiders do what's asked; insiders do what's needed.
   
   + Superb vision for the future of the hand-held cell phone as the single device, he knew this long before Eric Schmidt came along to help Google.
   
   + Corrects my long-standing mis=hearing of Marhsall McCluhan's book title, The Medium is the Massage (not Message, that was a separate quote)
   
   + Really excellent stories aabout how hard Bloomberg had to fight to be accredited both in Washington DC and in Tokyo as a legitimate news organization
   
   + "Ignorance and arrogance are a deadly combination." I wish he had realized Oklahoma would be a dead end--bi-partisan is code for keeping the two-party spoils system. Transpartisan is where its at, visit Reuniting America, 110 million strong and growing. See the definitive book on the death of the two parties, Running On Empty: How The Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It.
   
   + I agree with his view that computers should not be allowed in the classroom throughout elementary school.
   
   + Throughout the book, it is clear the author knows what I learned from Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, both personally and through his book, Miles to Go: A Personal History of Social Policy, Change is Hard. Specificially, big change takes 25 years (I am in year 18 of reforming secret intelligence and creating public intelligence, he is now in year 1 of reforming democracy and saving the Republic as well as moral capitalism).
   
   + The chapter on Management 101 is decent, sensible, and worthy of study.
   
   + I've spent hard time trying to do digital innovation, and the details in this book just blew me away as I followed the innovations the author led back in the 1980's when CIA tasked me with creating a "smart desktop" for clandestine operations. Had I known then about this man, I would have gone to his doorv and offered to help him put CIA out of business. There is still time.
   
   I put the book down with both a feeling of pain--the Oklahoma debaacle should never have happened--and hope. This author embodies three big ideas: moral informed capitalism, honest informed self-governance, and educational reform.
   
   I have three ideas I offer to anyone who can reach the author, I do not believe the book I created for him (Democracy 2008, see it at Earth Intelligence Network) was delivered to him by his staff, one reason he got humiliated in Oklahoma.
   
   Idea #1: Fund a global "True Cost" project within the Natural Capital Institute's rapidly growing World Index of Social and Environmental Responsibility (WISER). Get Paul Hawkins in to energize everyone, and become the Moody's for true cost information (e.g. designer T-shirts with 4000 gallons of water, water bottles whose plastic required more water to make than is contained in the bottle, etc). This will change markets within 2-3 years, especially since ScanBack would allow Bloomberg to deliver this information to end-users via their cell phone at the point of sale.
   
   Idea #2: Forget about running for President. It's a lousy job. BE the virtual president, forming a Transpartisan Sunshine Cabinet (Senators Nunn and Graham should be respectively Defense and Intelligence), and leveraging True Majority and Reuniting America to lead a national conversation firmly grounded in a balanced budget, on how to orchestrate $1 trillion a year in planning giving to eradicate the ten high level threats by harmonizing the twelve policies, while also creating the EarthGame to help the eight demographic challengers avoid our mistakes.
   
   Idea #3: Examine Telelanguage.com and figure out how to register and put online 100 million volunteers who can use Skype, Telelanaguage, and their Internet connection to teach the 5 billion poor in any one of 183 languages, one cell phone call at a time.
   
   The above will sound self-promoting, it is not. I have labored with 23 other co-founders to do Mike Bloomberg's staff work for the next decade, and if someone can get him to carefully consider these ideas, I give them to him freely. I don't need a job, but I do need a planet my three boys can grow up in, and I believe that if Mike Bloomberg stops trying to leverage political has-beens (with a few exceptions), and instead creates an architecture that can deliver public intelligence in the public interest, he will achieve his grand vision, faster, better, cheaper.
   
   Thank you, those whom Dick Cheney has inspired into reading my non-fiction reviews. I never, ever, expected to be of service to the Nation in quite this way. If my reviews help us restore the Republic, of, by, and for the people, working with moral capitalists and leaders like this author and John Bogle (The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism then the author's unbridaled optemism could be warranted.
   
   See also:
   The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
   Society's Breakthrough!: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People
   A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
   All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies, and the Politics of Dignity (BK Currents)
   One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization
   THE SMART NATION ACT: Public Intelligence in the Public Interest



5. This is the book that motivated me to finally take my GMAT and apply to b-school. I find the Bloomberg story to be uplifting, from his darkest days of being out of a job to his shoestring budget method of value creation, I highly recommend this book if you are struggling with management or motivation issues. Plus, let's face it, the guy is brilliant. Bloomberg lays a foundation in this book for the reader to put the him/herself into a mindset conducive to success.

5 comments about Control Systems Engineering.

1. Norman Nise has done a great job with this book.This book is a first hand guide for beginners who have absolutely no knowledge of Control Systems and its purposes. The book with its details of each methodology & its purposes gives an indepth view of the subject. This is excellent tool for beginners (for understanding the fundamentals) and gradually upgrading to a better level by able to design systems. The Skill Assessment Exercises are able to bring out the key techniques to solve any problem. A must buy for all people interested in Control Systems Engineering and looking for a book where fundamentals can be cleared.



2. As a student in control systems engineering, I found this text to be very valuable (I had the 3rd Edition then). As an engineer, I found it to be my everyday reference. A few years back, I jumped ship from the engineering field and have obtained a PhD in another field of science and to my surprise, I still reference this text today. Great Text!! Dorf and Bishop is not bad but Nise takes first place.



3. Very complimentary to the main text if you are actually trying to learn and have the time and energy to go over more examples.



4. This textbook is an extremely comfortable read. It covers a lot of material, including fundamentals of state space and digital control. Its clarity and excellent writing ensures that the reader is never sidetracked trying to resolve what's being conveyed. The introductory chapter alone reveals the quality of this text.
   
   The organization, including the two comprehensive case studies, is perfect throughout the book. The prerequiste is nothing more than a full course on electric circuits (ideally). This book is probably my favourite one among my fifty plus engineering textbooks.



5. The book is very good, but you feel cheated because the access to the web site is just for some time.
   When you buy the book, you buy also the right to access the site whenever you like. Not in this case.