1 comments about The Embedded Corporation: Corporate Governance and Employment Relations in Japan and the United States.

1. Unlike most of the rah-rah books published in the HR area, this book is based on real research in Japanese and American companies. I don't agree with all of it, but it is interesting, insightful, and original. I would urge all HR professionals, corporate or consultant, to have a look at this book and see what we can (still) learn from the Japanese.

No comments about Japan Between Asia and the West: Economic Power and Strategic Balance.

1 comments about The Black Death in Egypt and England: A Comparative Study.

1. Borsch's comparison is based on the different kinds of ownership of land in the two societies in the 14th century, the time when the Black Death struck Europe and the Middle East. "In contrast to their Egyptian counterparts, English landholders had a much more direct economic interest in the welfare and management of their estates." The basic reason for this was that the English landholders could pass their land on to their heirs. By contrast, the large majority of Egyptian landowners were "specialized warriors known as Malmuks" who could not pass their land on to their heirs; and even their ownership of it was tenuous in the factional conflicts and intrigues in Egypt at the time. Borsch finds the answer to his main question of why England managed to recover economically after the Black Death while Egypt did not in this difference in land ownership. A considerable proportion of each country's population, including those who worked the land, succumbed to the plague; which some historians have likened to a nuclear holocaust in the areas it afflicted. England's system of land ownership was the decisive factor in its economic recovery in the years after the Black Death. In order to keep their land productive and thus valuable, England's landowners were obliged to adapt to the new power the surviving workers had gained in the agrarian economy with the loss of so many to the disease. The Malmuks in Egypt, on the other hand, had scant incentive to make any adaptations to hold up the value of land they had only a precarious ownership of. Borsch draws out the economic, social, and to a lesser degree the historical effects of this fundamental difference between English and Egyptian landownership in the late medieval period. An assistant professor teaching Islamic and Middle Eastern history as well as history of the world and Western civilization, he has the right learning for this work.

5 comments about Brave New Wealthy World: Winning the Struggle for Global Prosperity (Financial Times (Prentice Hall)).

1. People who want to make high returns on their investments and retire rich will find a lot to like here. The poor countries aren't only going to do all the dirty work for the rich countries and make all the cheap manufactured stuff we buy in Wal-Mart. The poor countries are also going to solve our retirement crisis by giving us high rates of return on our savings. This book will make people mad who want the rich countries to quit dictating to the poor countries. People who think free trade does a lot of harm don't know the really ugly side of the story, but they'll get a good look at it if they read this book.



2. The U.S. has turned into a financial predator nation - borrowing billions every week from abroad and pissing the money away on imported luxuries, and borrowing more to pay for wars. Foreigners keep shoveling money into the U.S. and anyone who thinks they'll stop or thinks that the whole game will come to a sudden end should read this book. There's more going on than comes out in the newspapers. The really surprising message of this book is that everything could come out well - not only for the 300 million people that own financial assets, but also for the six billion that don't. I slammed this book down on the table a few times but after a few minutes I picked it up again.



3. This book outlines the working of the global financial system in a clear and concise manner. It helped me understand the global financial interconnections and provided a solid understanding of how First World nations view the rest of the world. However, I disagree with the basic principles laid out in this book. Until the wealthy first world stops sucking off the resources of the poorest nations, there will always be strife and war.



4. The conclusions drawn by the author are very logical and thorougly researched.
   **HOWEVER**
   The author's entire line of argument is faulted!
   He does not fully take into account the limited resources that the global economic system operates with.
   Prosperity, defined as ability to consume desired goods, can NOT be reached at the same level as that in Western countries- because there aren't enough goods to meet the consumption demands of the world's population at that level.
   It is very simple.



5. The argument hit me in stages. As I zipped through the stories, I found myself smiling, but then I started thinking more seriously about what this book was saying, and now I think it's cruel and triumphalist. This book may become a tool in the hands of people who want to neglect the poor and feel good about it.

No comments about Evidence Based Medicine: In its Place.

4 comments about Wall Street Capitalism: The Theory of the Bondholding Class.

1. If you want to try to understand what's going on in the financial markets, especially the role played by the Fed, then this is the book to read. Extremely stimulating, with interesting statistics to firm up the author's arguments.



2. This book explains why the health of the stock market is not equivalent to the health of the economy. The Wall Street bull has transferred enoumous amounts of wealth from the bottom 95% to the top 5% of the population. The result is an economy that is producing goods and services at a rate that is well below its capacity to produce, reducing the standard of living of all but those few who are winning the speculative Wall Street lottery. The book is written in an engaging style with plenty of data to back up the claims. A very important book for a very crucial time in the economic history of the US.



3. The past decade of financial euphoria has slowly built in the public's mind the myth of the "millionaire next door," and the belief that democratic redistribution, through capital markets accessible to all, existed. This book, owing to a thorough analysis of the US capital markets, definitely draws an accurate and realistic picture of who the real "winners" are. The answer is explosive and the statements fully backed up with data. If you want to have a better understanding of how the Fed, the government, and the markets have been creating this "dream come true," this book is definitely a must read.



4. This excellent, accessible, and extremely well documented integration of the economics, administrative infrastructure and politics of the economy is a must read. Canterbery clearly deflates current politically correct talking point that Dubyah's skewed tax cut is in any meaningful way related to "capital formation". With only 5% of the transactions in the stock and bond market attributable to the "primary" capital raising markets (i.e. IPOs and new treasury debt) the churning of the remaining 95% of the secondary market is the "overhead" that's necessary to achieve "efficient" pricing for capital. That's like a shop owner who has to sustain $95 in operating overhead to keep his store open in order to make $5 in sales.

   Witty, insightfully integrative and deadly accurate, this is a must read.

No comments about New Foundations of Cost-Benefit Analysis.

No comments about Fiscal Decentralization and the Challenge of Hard Budget Constraints.

No comments about Standard of Living: The Measure of the Middle Class in Modern America.

5 comments about Mao, Marx, and the Market: Capitalist Adventures in Russia and China.

1. An amazing tale. If you read no other book about the transformation of Russia and China to free-market economies, make it this one. Mao, Marx, and the Market is a true-to-life account that will entrall you from beginning to end. It is like no other published on the subject. Read it to gain an entirely fresh perspective on capitalist earthquakes that shook -- and continue to shake -- these two great nations.



2. This book is a true financial thriller. And it is as insightful as it is exciting. Highly recommended to all!



3. I'm a graduate student, earning my MBA at Stanford, and I just have one point to make: Dean LeBaron deserves all of our attention and respect. Here's a man who risked his (considerable) reputation to help transform the economies of Russia and China. And unlike the most folks these days (dare I mention Enron), he wasn't in it just for the money. LeBaron is a thoughtful, insightful, highly original analyst. Read this book and you will discover, as he writes, that "nothing is as contrary as reality." I can't wait for his next book.



4. This first-hand account of some of the most momentous events of the twentieth century is an extremely compelling read. The account is lucid and engaging, but it's the analysis that takes it over the top. It was a pleasure to read.



5. Dean LeBaron has crafted an insightful volume that is part travelogue, part cultural analysis, and part memoir. The resulting book will bring you up-close and personal with the forces that shaped the two great cultures of Russia and China. The text is adorned with vignettes, anecdotes, parables and humor that keep the read as entertaining as it is weighty. We from getAbstract strongly recommend this book to anyone looking to understand two countries that have greatly influenced the last century of human history and will play a central role in the next.