5 comments about The Complete TurtleTrader: The Legend, the Lessons, the Results.

1. The book will be very interesting for readers who are new to trading literature and moderately interesting to those who have already read about trading, and trend trading in particular (I've read the author's magnum opus "Trend Following" and recommend it strongly).
   
   As to the guide motive of The Complete Turtle Trader I wasn't convinced that "The Turtle experiment proved that nurture trumps nature" as the author states repeatedly. Why?
   
   1/The Turtles were recruited not randomly but in a careful selection process. Clearly, they were perceived by R.Dennis as candidates having certain natural potential to become traders when nurtured/trained.
   
   2/Turtles didn't risk their own money which seems the number one obstacle to trading success - a psychological one, it is called fear, while all the Turtles had to fear was not following through on job description provided by R.Dennis and W. Eckhardt, helpful indeed, although still not an easy task. Why only a small minority of the original group remained successful traders, or traders at all, after the experiment was over(many turned school teachers we learn)? In my opinion the conclusive experiment started rather then ended when the group got disbanded.
   
   3/This point is less important than the earlier two - Turtles didn't develop their methods which is an intellectual challenge, in fact less formidable than the psychological challenge of trading, and also weren't faced with the question whether or not to adjust their methods when and if markets changed. As far as I know the 20 day breakout they applied with success during the time of the experiment doesn't work nearly as well as it did (famous L.Raschke, one of J.Schwager's Market Wizzards, has coined the name "Turtle Soup" for one of her trading setups - fading the 20-day breakout.
   
   In conclusion: narture alone can very often be insufficient to become and remain successful at trading.



2. It looks like ideas from this book still works. One of the interesting example of similar approach - Alexander Rezviakov in Russia, whose approach very similar to approach in this book. Even ideas like "...looking at the news for decision-making cues was the wrong thing to do.". Very interesting, that Alexander start his public lectures about a year before this book was published.
   
   Maybe Donchinan's channels are old-fashioned nowadays, but main idea - turn off TV, focus at the price, catch the trend, use stops and some other - is still is up to date.



3. Congrats - All the basics are right in front of the reader... The info in this books gives the serious reader a basic structure, and allows them to then build their own personalized methods around a time proven concept.
   
   Eastern Research & Trading
   Bill G. / Singapore



4. Good book. A lot of traders get caught up in the fundamental garbage, especially when they start out. Focusing on the noise just takes your attention off of what really matters - making money. I can't cant the number of times when a crop report comes out that supports my bias on the market, only to see the market move the opposite direction. The author did a great job of showing a simple system that performs over time. Too often we trade to feed our ego, not to make money. I don't know about you, but I just want to make money. The easiest way to do it is to follow the method that others are using to make cash. This book outlined the strategy and showed how others are doing it right now. It almost gives you the edge because you don't have to do the research on what everyone else is doing. This book straightens out the learning curve.



5. 
   Based on the title "The complete Turtle Trader" I was expecting more than a story describing the different participants, results and trading personalities. The book did not discuss the trading methodology in any details that can allow an average trader to duplicate. Most of the Rules were general in nature, for example "buying new breakouts" "being comfortable in shorting the market" "stop watching TV and base your trading on price action, i.e., open high low close". A more detailed description on risk control and money management is given but not much different than you find in other books.
   The last 40 or so pages are a compilation of trading results with the appendix.
   One interesting point is that Turtle Traders in most cases were not using their own money which takes out the emotion from trading and this could be the reason for their success. A feature that cannot be duplicated by someone trading their own money since emotions always tend to get in the way.
   Nevertheless it is an interesting read and for that reason the 4 star rating

5 comments about Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution.

1. Not a particularly easy read but well worth the effort. This book needs to be updated and revised for mass circulation with some degree of urgency. I have actually contacted two of its authors, indirectly, through their website at Rocky Mountain Institute and their associate has assured me that my concerns are being addressed. Apparently a new edition (same or different title?) is in the offing.



2. The seller was quick to respond to the order, and the book was shipped to me promptly. I would buy from this seller again.



3. I am about halfway through this now and I find the book very engaging and not difficult to read. I do agree that the current edition is dated.
   
   Kyoto costs too much? 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 is a pipe dream? This book will go a long way to persuading you that we will meet that target and more before 2050 and *make* money. The compelling question is - why aren't we further along in making the changes needed?



4. Although one might not completely agree with all of the ideas and concepts discussed in the book, it is a wonderful read for those who are both environmentally conscious and business world-savvy. As a treehugging bean-counter, I absolutely enjoyed "Natural Capitalism".



5. I read Paul Hawken's book "The Ecology of Commerce" first. It was so good I decided to read this one too. It's just as good.
   
   The name of the book describes what it is about very well. In a sense capitalism is unnatural because it is unsustainable. In contrast Natural Capitalism is when business interests work in concert with social interests and natural systems so that all three sustain each other.
   
   Natural Capitalism is easy to read and is essentially optimistic. It discusses broad strategies for sustainability as it relates to the activities of businesses and their products and services. It also gives many examples of how these strategies can be implemented so we can see Natural Capitalism in action.
   
   By and large this book is even more relevant now as when it was first published in 1999. I applaud the writers for saying some tough things that need to be said and for showing real, proven solutions instead of just talking about problems and theories. Very refreshing!

5 comments about The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times And Ideas Of The Great Economic Thinkers [7th Edition].

1. I do think this is a very informative book, but I think the author tries too hard. I have a decently large vocabulary, but there were still several words per chapter I needed a dictionary for. There are also a few passages where the author tried to get a little to linguistically creative, which is not really suit the nature of this piece.



2. I read this book for a Microeconomics class that I took with Dr. Gertmenian at Pepperdine in California back in the late 1980s.
   
   I enjoyed learning about this handful of powerful philosophers who helped shape economic theory. Some of their theories make good sense; other theories make no sense. There is some serious naïve thoughts about human nature.
   
   The most fascinating person to me was Adam Smith and his thoughts about the free markets system. I especially enjoyed learning about his "Invisible hand theory." It essentially says that selfish businessmen will be good for the economy because of an "Invisible hand." It is sort of like the Trickle down Theory where as businesses grow they have to buy more good and services, and employ more people. Even though greed may be the reason for business to grow, the economic impact is frequently positive.
   
   There are many interesting topics in the book. Just a few are: The Economic Revolution, The Visions of the Utopian Socialists, The Contradictions of Joseph Schumpeter and more. This is an excellent book to gain some insight into these early philosophers and their thoughts on economic thinking.
   
   The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking



3. Despite being really interested in getting a good overview of the various ideas and lifes of great economists and being highly motivated I have not managed to get past page 132 - it was such a boring read. It would be much more informative and quicker to print out and read the wikipedia pages of the economists mentioned.
   
   Furthermore the book does not discuss (in most cases not even mention) very influential economists like Friedman, van Mises and it also gives the wrong impression that the first person ever to think about economics was Adam Smith.



4. A decent review of economic philosophy as it changed across time. Not very much depth, but that's the point. This book is on the "List of Unrequired Reading" from UT-Austin, my undergraduate institution. I can't say it's well-written, but probably as easy to read as economics gets. As other reviewers have noted, you read about one period/economist and wish there was more substance given. However, if this were the case, the book would be 1000 pages. After each section, I found myself going to Wikipedia for more information. At the end of the day I learned quite a bit. I'd say this makes a good quick read that would be useful to those lacking a basic understanding of economics and/or the concept of free markets (some of my liberal friends come to mind here).
   
   For a better combination of educational (history) and entertaining reading, I'd suggest something by Daniel Boorstin like The Discoverers.



5. This was a required book for an econ class. The writing style is enjoyable, making it a book I might have read for pleasure.

5 comments about The Logic of Life: The Rational Economics of an Irrational World.

1. The principle of the book is not very alien that human have logical and irrational qualities but the to use economics principle to explain many social phenomena is indeed intriguing



2. Offers a slightly different perspective for understanding human behavior. I vastly prefer Harford's writing style to others in the genre. I don't care so much if we are labeled as rational or irrational, it seems to be a less relevant point to me. In fact, I would argue that the rational results he claims are inductive, not deductive, so they do not correspond with the logical thinking process that tends to accompany deductive reasoning. He doesn't claim that they do, it's just that there seems to be a silly argument out there about whether we are rational or not. I don't think it matters, as the means by which we come to a decision are varied.



3. The book is interesting and worthwhile to read, because it reveals studies and statistics (mostly by others) that illuminate why individuals and why society behave like they do. For example, it was surprising to learn how conclusive are the data supporting the idea that criminals actually are deterred by the severity of punishments specified by law. So we learn that criminals are more rational than many expert criminologists who argue for shorter jail sentences and condemn the irrationality of the death penalty.
   
   The book does not prove that people are mostly rational or that people are not mostly rational, but simply that if one is clever or lucky about finding data, one can pinpoint a reason behind any observed behavior. For example, the evidence is convincing that black people in the USA have a disadvantage getting jobs measured against whites of similar qualifications. The author concludes it is rational for blacks to give up on education or, at least, devalue it and to adopt the social norm that getting an education is "acting white".
   
   I disagree with how the author's uses the words, rational and logic. Just because there is a reason for a behavior does not mean the behavior is rational or logical. To take another example, short men and ugly men statistically have a great disadvantage gaining financial success. Men who are short or ugly men thus have a reason to abandon their personal efforts to compete with other mean, but it would not be rational or logical to do so.
   
   That people have reasons for what they do is no great insight, so the author overreached when he selected the title of the book. But it was still interesting to read of some totally unexpected reasons the world is like it is.



4. I enjoyed 'Freakanomics' & Harford's earlier book, 'The Undercover Economist'.
   
   This was an enjoyable read with topics including poker tournaments, divorce, workplace politics, neighbourhood effects, racism, geographic agglomeration, voting and long-term economic growth.
   
   I have some queries about the racism section though, and Harford's query "Why bother to get a degree or work experience if you are young, gifted, and black?". Bryan Caplan has looked at this and wrote:
   
   "I tested these claims using one of the world's best labor data sets, the NLSY. The results directly contradict Tim's self-fulfilling prophesy story. Blacks actually get a substantially larger return to education than non-blacks! The same goes for experience, though the result is not statistically significant. The real lesson of the data is that if you are young, gifted, and black, you should get a ton of education, because it has an exceptionally large pay-off."
   
   Also, I wonder if Harford considered Dr Satoshi Kanazawa's paper "The Myth of Racial Discrimination in Pay in the United States" (2005, Managerial and Decision Economics. 26: 285-294).
   
   Overall, an interesting addition to the growing number of 'pop economics' books on the market, but not quite up to the predecessors.



5. Swing from a branch on an irrational tree?
   Yes, I think you might, but should you?
   Ah, Now you see. You will and you will probably actually enjoy it. Truer words?
   
   PS: SUPPORT FEMALE AUTHORS:
   
   SARAH SHIKITAO-BROWN
   Tao Cycle Therapy: Natural Happiness via Self Directed Cure for Chronic Anxiety & Depression
   
   TRACY ANGLADA
   Intense Minds: Through the Eyes of Young People with Bipolar Disorder
   
   JILL BOLTE TAYLOR
   My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey

5 comments about Rethinking the Great Depression (American Ways Series).

1. Based on new theories, Smiley has re-examined and re-assessed the forces that led to and prolonged the Great Depression. In clear non-technical prose, he shows what happened and why.

   This short book (163 pages plus sources and index) is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 gives a brief overview of how the worldwide depression began and how it created a domino effect throughout Europe and the U.S. Nothing new here-- in fact, this is basic stuff any high schooler should know.

   Chapter 2 is a more detailed examination of the economic crisis and the forces which led to it. Smiley explains the situation in basic terms that anyone can understand, allowing us to see the tragedy unfolding step by step.

   Chapters 3 and 4 show how President Roosevelt (who had little knowledge or experience of economics) attempted to pull the country out of this deep economic slump. Though some programs were successful, some were not, and only serve to create a depression within a depression in the mid-30s.

   Chapter 5 examines the legacy of the governmental response, and how economic policies initiated during this period has affected this country for decades afterward, and how certain government programs still exist long after their usefulness has passed. An examination of post-war analysis shows how Keynesian economic theory and government studies have misinterpreted the factors which brought this country back to recovery. He also examines the question of whether such an event can happen again, concluding that-- based on subsequent economic downturns-- it probably won't, though it can happen again should future leaders ignore the warning signs and lessons of the past.

   A fascinating and rewarding book, even for those who have little or no knowledge of economics.




2. Smiley has done a fantastic job with this book. It is well organized and very easy to read. He makes a statement and then follows up with the data and information necessary to support that statement. The second chapter on the cause of the great depression is my favorite and after finishing the book I went through that chapter again to really drill the information in. This book should be required reading for all college students. I normally give books away after reading them but I won't be giving this one away.



3. This is a brief and relatively easy to read monetarist review of 'the great depression'. It is unclear to what the title calls 'rethinking' might refer. My guess is that the author is rethinking Keynes, but it might be FDR. Since the difference between Keynes and monetarists is subtle to all but Keynesians and monetarists, I wouldn't recommend this as a introduction to the subject, nor as a survey.
   
   The text presents a matter of fact narrative, starting in 1929 and ending with the war efforts of 1940. The author find the source of economic contractions (recessions and depressions) in monetary policy established on a country by country basis. These contractions were caused by a shrinking money supply which could be correlated to effort to maintain a fixed relationship between gold and the national currency. Unaware of the relationship between money supply and economic goals (full employment, growth, etc), both Hoover and FDR made the necessary economic correction prolonged and painful. According to the author, the misguided new deal programs started by FDR have taken on a life of their own. The problems posed by 'New Deal' government programs consumes most of the concluding remarks. To end the book, Smiley writes "What failed in the 1930s were governments, in their eagerness to direct activity to achieve political ends... Attempts to stop international financial markets from working through the gold standard brough on the depression. Government efforts to combat the depression ... made the depression much longer and more severe in the United States. Governemnt attempts to reshape American society ... helped create a depression with the depression.'
   
   Though one might think this come across as a polemic against FDR and what the author calls 'socialism', the author takes pains to show that everyone, including all the economists, misunderstood the 'depression'. Despite his confident narrative, the author doesn't exclude himself in this assessment. In a telling comment near the end of the book, Smiley states 'Still, our continued inability to develop econometric models that can accurately predict contractions means that we will not be free of them.' In other words, argues that no one knows what caused the depression. All he can do is point out the errors of various theories.



4. This book is simple, clear and accurate. I've turned to it over and over again and can't recommend it too highly. Smiley is especially good when he gets to the second half of the 1930s. I have one copy at the office, one copy at home and carry one around in my backpack when there's room. Also great: Jim Powell's "FDR's Folly," "The Great Depression" by Thomas E Hall and J David Ferguson, Allan Meltzer, and of course Friedman and Schwartz. Superb but hard to get: Lester V Chandler.



5. Considering the current economic environment, this book should be read by anyone who wants to understand the differences between what really happened during a very, very difficult time in history vs. the odious comparisons some have made to it in an attempt to describe our present crisis. I found this book by reading Amity Schlaes very good book, "The Forgotten Man." Her book drew some very interesting contrasts to Conrad Black's epic biography of FDR.
   
   Although an academic, Smiley writes so clearly and picks his themes so wisely that, like Amity's telling book, I now understand the Depression to have been unnecessarily prolonged by government intrusion and the unwise application of high taxes and tariffs.
   
   The book is brief enough and well researched so that I can hardly add more here other than to highly recommend it.

5 comments about Thinking Strategically: The Competitive Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life.

1. I was very impressed with this book. Rather than giving you strategies ala the Art of War, it gives you examples and then explains the abstract principles and methods for solving the case. I found this very useful because it allows you to understand the principles and methods so you can apply them to any situation you may have. I would describe this book as picking up where the Art of War, The 33 Strategies of War, and The Prince leave off. It provides a meta model for thinking strategically.



2. I wold buy again products from this seller because everything was as described and the price was good



3. I read Thinking Strategically many years ago, when I was trying to develop an understanding of Strategy applied into a daily business environment. The strength of this book is that it is providing a gentle introduction to a field that is quite complex. If will probably frustrate the readers that are either already familiar with Game Theory or highly mathematically minded. But, for the rest of us, it is both easy to grasp, highly practical and readily applicable. If you belong to the later group, a must read...



4. This book is more successful than most in not only presenting the mathematic theory behind the choices we make in our lives; but also presents the reader with living examples and homework with which to practice the theory you have just learned. These exercises can only benefit the reader, as all situations we face in life are negotiations of a sort.



5. What you can learn from this book can change your perception of the world around you. After reading this I really felt like I'd tapped into a resource of information (the field of game theory) that I should have been exposed to years ago.
   
   I won't use this as a business person or as a politician, but I feel it's important to see the tools these folks are using (believe me, they're using them!). As the title says already - "everyday life."
   
   When you realize that other people are using strategies even if they haven't read a book like this, then you can realize that life is more like a game than you realized, and that to make things work best for you and those in your life, you've got to use strategy!
   
   So, I would recommend this book as an essential tool for anyone who is old enough to understand it. Even though it's virtually free of complicated mathematics, some topics will be over the heads of some readers. But that's ok. The general idea of asking questions and realizing we all use strategies will naturally improve one's abilities.

5 comments about Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors.

1. I recommand south asian to refrain from ordering books through amazon because u will never receive the order.
   
   I placed order for this book in the beginning of November now more than a month still i didnt receive the book



2. As one of my University of Minnesota-Carlson School of Management professors once stated, "Every marketer must read at least one of Michael Porter's books." Once school was out that summer, I took my professor's advice, I read "Competitive Strategy" and continuously find myself referring back to it over and over again. It is a truly timeless wonder on competitive strategy. I recommend it as a must read by every b-school student, business owner, c-level executive, and marketing professional.



3. When I first read the book in spanish it was like a guide to follow. After 12 years of practice in business consulting. Re-reading it in English was enjoyable because, apart from its examples. My internal dialogue was bringing to my mind my own examples. Aditionally, it was fantactic to discover how much the corporations cited in the book has evolved after 28 years.



4. This is a great tool for people in the industry, graduate students, anyone wanting to climb the corporate ladder. Read it times over and you'll find interesting points, applicable to personal career as well as corporate strategy. Straight forwward analytical set of tools.



5. It is nice when you see a book that takes the word "strategy" seriously these days.
   
   Although written a while ago, the reader finds it talking about what we see today. Understood and applicable by both layman as well as specialists without over-simplification of the framework-based books we find today and without the complexity of others of larger than life strategists.
   
   Although written a while ago, we still see it being referenced everywhere, and deservedly so.
   
   It is a nice read.

5 comments about Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.

1. I purchased this book as a gift for my fiance. He really enjoyed and appreciated it. Now it's my turn to read it!



2. Freakonomics addresses many diverse topics. The thing that ties the book together is the interesting kind of questions it examines and the unique blend of intuition, logic, and statistical analysis it uses to answer these questions. This book is enjoyable to read and describes many rather nerdy concepts in easy-to-understand language.
   
   Of the twenty or so topics the book addresses, four were especially interesting to me: rigging of Sumo wrestling matches, cheating by public school teachers on their students' proficiency exams, the drop in U.S. crime rates in the 1990s, and family attributes that correspond to children's educational success. The first two analyses identified statistical anomalies in patterns of wrestling match outcomes and test answers that demonstrated probable corruption in the world of Sumo wrestling and cheating in the Chicago public school system. The third and fourth analyses were the most impressive in the book. Each considered about a dozen variables that might be related (causally or otherwise) to crime rates or educational success and used regression analyses to determine which ones were in fact related.
   
   The analysis of the drop in crime rates in the 1990s is probably Steven Levitt's best known and most controversial work. His analysis shows that four factors were likely responsible for the decrease in crime: harsher prison terms, increased hiring of police, the crash of the crack cocaine market, and the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion decision. Levitt concludes that the first three factors were responsible for approximately 33%, 10%, and 15%, respectively, of the decrease in crime. He does not attach a specific weight to the Roe v. Wade decision, but presumably it accounts for all or most of the remaining 42%. The factors that did not contribute to the decrease in crime included tougher gun laws, increased use of capital punishment, and innovative policing strategies (such as the oft-touted New York City strategy of going after petty crimes to signal that no crimes would be tolerated).
   
   The theory behind the Roe v. Wade contribution is that widespread abortion removed from the population many of the very people (unwanted children) most likely to commit crime when they became teenagers and young adults. This theory has disturbed many people of all political persuasions, apparently because it provides ammunition to both sides of the abortion debate. In addition, some economists have argued that Levitt's analysis has technical errors significant enough to invalidate his conclusions. I don't know whether Levitt has effectively responded to these economists. As for the political controversy, Levitt has basically stayed above the fray, stating that, "The numbers we're talking about, in terms of crime, are absolutely trivial when you compare it to the broader debate on abortion. ... So, my own view...is that our study shouldn't change anybody's opinion about whether abortion should be legal and easily available or not. It's really a study about crime, not abortion." (Source: Wikipedia.)
   
   The analysis of family attributes that correspond to children's educational success concludes that six factors are positively correlated with success: the parents are highly educated, the parents have high socioeconomic status, the mother was at least 30 years old at the time of her first child's birth, the parents speak English at home, the parents are involved in the PTA, and the child has many books at home. Surprisingly, several factors that conventional wisdom suggests are important to success seem to have little or no relationship to actual outcomes, including whether the child's family is intact, whether the child's mother works before the child enters kindergarten, whether the child's parents frequently read to him/her, and whether the child watches a lot of TV.
   
   For me, the biggest surprise in the list of non-correlated variables was the apparent unimportance of intact families. A great deal of social science research contradicts this finding. For example, boys who grow up in homes without fathers are more likely to drop out of school. They also have higher rates of substance abuse, arrest, and incarceration. It would be interesting to hear Levitt's critique of this research. I also wonder if there is a problem with Levitt's data. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study from which he draws his data tracks educational outcomes only through fifth grade. Perhaps the impacts that broken families have on children are more acute after fifth grade.
   
   Despite these fascinating analyses, I had a few disappointments with the book. For starters, some of the topics that it addressed seemed so unremarkable that I wondered how they made it into the book. Two of the conclusions presented were ones I had reached on my own, before reading the book. One was the conclusion that a real estate agent's incentives are not aligned with a house seller's incentives. (An agent maximizes his/her income by selling as many houses as possible, not by squeezing the last dollar out of a particular sale.) The other was the conclusion that the internet caused term life insurance premiums to fall (not to mention the prices of countless other goods and services).
   
   I also noticed a couple of instances of sloppy thinking. For example, the analysis of family attributes that correspond to children's educational success concluded with some wild generalizations, including: "it isn't so much a matter of what you do as a parent; it's who you are;" and "[child-rearing] technique looks to be highly overrated." The authors admit that they are over generalizing "a bit," but it's more like a giant leap. First, as the authors acknowledge, bad parenting matters a great deal, hence the theory that Roe v. Wade decreased crime rates. Second, parenting is about much more than successful educational outcomes; it is also about physical, emotional, behavioral, social, moral, spiritual, and character development. Third, the set of things that constitutes "what you do" and the set of things that constitutes "who you are" are not discrete sets; they intersect in a big way.
   
   Finally, I grew tired of the subtext that seems to run through this book, namely, that economics is some sort of master science that can explain and predict just about anything. The basic tools of the book -- curiosity, intuition, logic, thinking outside the box, and statistics -- are not peculiar to economics. Also, the book frequently ignores the uncertainties of statistical analysis. For example, there is no discussion of the level of significance of the many correlations that are described. Ironically, the book repeatedly issues warnings about trusting experts, for example, "The typical parenting expert, like experts in other fields, is prone to sound exceedingly sure of himself."
   
   But overall I enjoyed this book and found the topics it examined interesting.
   
   (Note: This review is based on the 2005 edition of Freakonomics.)



3. Everybody knows that economics is about measurement and money and things numerical; that's why most of us find it so damned dull.
   
   But as approached by offbeat economist and Freakonomics co-author Steven D. Levitt, economics is also "the study of incentives": what it takes to get us to do a certain thing--or to not do it, as the case may be. Which makes it human, and therefore fascinating.
   
   This is what I love about this delightful book by Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubner: that it comes at things sideways or upside-down or head-on, but never the usual way. I'm still not sold on some of the more radical hypotheses Leavitt coaxes from the data (the link between abortion and falling crime rates being the most widely reviled and quoted), but I'm 100% there on the importance of throwing the numbers against conventional wisdom to see what sticks. The numbers may not always tell the exact truth, but neither do they lie, making them extraordinarily useful in the exploding of myths.
   
   Levitt and Dubner tell fascinating stories about how to combat crappy teaching, bring down the Ku Klux Klan and what happens when you call your kids "Winner" and "Loser" (answer: not necessarily what you'd think on any count). But really, they've written a book celebrating the heart of truth: asking questions, and hacks to stay open to the real answers.
   
   As an interesting side note, the prospect of reading something that seemed like it would rock my world long and hard was too enticing to wait for a library copy to become available, but not enticing enough to get me to part with $26 of my hard-earned money. My break point? A 25¢/day rental from the Beverly Hills Public Library, and pushing the rest of my reading to the bottom of the pile. Some might call that cheap, but I'm betting Levitt would come at it sideways and say that I was already giving up time I'd committed to other reading to explore this book, and therefore it was of great value to me.
   
   And you know what? He'd be right.



4. No theme, no logic thread, but some truly original takes on how the world works, from the standpoint of a "rogue economist." Some topics, like how Roe v. Wade is the strongest explanatory variable for America's decrease in crime, just keep coming up, but still, there are lots of common-sense-defying revelations that keep it interesting. For instance, did you know that time spent reading to children does not correlate to improved test scores, but that the number of books in the house does? Did you know that crack-dealing inner-city gangs are run much like corporate America -- except they offer a slightly higher risk of fatality? Whether or not you agree with the authors' conclusions, these, and a slew more of such revelations, make for an entertaining and thought-provoking read indeed.



5. Economics and economists have the reputation of being dry, dusty old ideas and men with no more life to them than an Egyptian mummy on display in a museum. But Freakonomics brings fresh life to the subject and at the same time encourages its readers to think outside the box or break the mold of conventional thinking.
   
   A series of six hilarious chapters challenge our assumptions on everything from drug dealers to school teachers to parenting. Using statistics and new interpretations, the authors Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner help us view our world with altered eyes, recognizing that truisms and cliches are not necessarily reflections of reality. In today's world of crashing stock markets and neighborhoods full of foreclosed houses, its good to take a fresh look at economics and the long time assumptions we have all relied upon far too long.

5 comments about The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization.

1. This book provides a very good understanding of globilisation by integrating various issues and concepts with critical, illustrative and at times poignant examples. This helps appreciate what globilisation means currently and the historical summary helps explain how we got to where we are today. Consequently we are better able to forecast trends and determine meaningful business and social strategies that will enhance our lifestyles. It is an easy, informative and enjoyable read.



2. If you have a short attention span, then this book is not for you. I thought being a newspaper person would have made Friedman concise and to the point, but Friedman spends so much time talking about things that are not directly related to the point that I gave up on this book. I may have cheated myself (I thought the same of Ayn Rand but did make it through Atlas Shrugged which is one of my favorites.) but I don't have the time for his wanderings.



3. This is the first book I've read on the hot topic of globalization and I think it's fair to say I was disappointed, especially considering how popular this book is. What is most odd about this book is that it does not feel like it was written by a journalist at all: it rarely relies on facts or scenarios that actually happened. Much of the book contains dialogues (mostly among world leaders) that Friedman invented for literary effect. He also goes overboard on inventing his own terminology for the subject. But what is most annoying while reading the book is that while you would expect a book on globalization to be nuanced and subtle, Friedman comes off as arrogant and heavy-handed in his treatment of the subject. It occurred to me many times while reading the book that being a globetrotting journalist did not qualify Friedman to be the quasi-theorist that he thinks he is. Revealing, this book has aged very poorly, very quickly. Most of the companies he praises (Enron and Compaq for instance) have either gone completely defunct or been bought out by other companies. As if to further underscore his shallow understanding of the subject, his Golden Arches Theory was disproven soon after the publication of his book. Friedman is not without his insights but I imagine there must be much better books out there on the subject.



4. Had some good ideas but pretty heavy reading. Not for the short attention span person.



5. I read part of this book for a Globalization class I was taking, plus a few chapters from a different book "Globalization and Its Discontents" by Joseph Stiglitz. I initially liked what I read from Friedman. It seemed positive and interesting in comparison to Stiglitz (which focused on IMF economic policies and was VERY angry). However, upon reading the whole Stiglitz book and then going back to Friedman, I found Friedman to be poorly educated in economics and a waste of my time. It is indeed a cheerleader book for Globalization and has so many holes in it you can drive a car through.
   
   Friedman is a market fundamentalist with an agenda, which becomes very clear after reading a REAL book on economics. He embraces this "golden straightjacket" (or restrictions that globalization puts on an economy) as inevitable and advocates a rapid transition to free-market systems with abandonment of old systems. He also favors excessive deregulation of the economy and wants government to completely relinquish control. The success of this strategy isn't backed by any evidence. It's only Friedman's theory. For instance, he goes into great detail about the hardships that this golden straitjacket puts on government, the population and all the entrenched interests... but never proves with evidence that the countries that put it on are better off than countries that don't. The fact is, countries DON'T have to follow this golden straitjacket model. Southeast Asia in particular... with all the "crony" capitalism that Friedman complains lingered on for decades, was successful before the 1997 market crisis specifically because of this crony capitalism. They didn't follow the IMF, Wall Street, and the electronic herd who were all clamoring for them to immediately open up their markets and push down barriers and completely eliminate government interference in the economy. They kept those barriers up, built up their own businesses and industries, and when those industries were ready to compete in the global market, they slowly reduced trade barriers and integrated themselves into the global economy. This is the correct way to approach globalization, not the stupid way Friedman and the IMF and Wall Street lobbyists advocate (ensuring US companies dominate ALL competition in the developing world).
   
   I'll give another example of why Friedman is wrong. Look at Russia. Russia's transition from communism to capitalism was guided by the IMF and the US Treasury Department. It was one of the most radical transformations of an economy in the history of mankind and under Friedman's theory, it should have been an enormous success because "the quicker you adopt the golden straitjacket, the better". WRONG. They transitioned to free markets so quick that it was devoid of competition. There was no regulatory structure to compete fairly. Banks didn't operate well. Businesses were sold to well-connected, corrupt bureaucrats for next to nothing (who proceeded to strip the businesses of their assets and put most of the profits in foreign bank accounts). Corrupt government leaders shared in these profits at the expense of the state's wealth. The leaders further raided funds by taking out massive loans from international banks, the IMF and the US government at high interest rates and diverted much of the money into their bank accounts. Inflation ran wild for awhile and many people lost their life savings and retirement as a result. Exchange rates were kept artificially high which prevented exports. Crime and mafia control spread everywhere. People in abject poverty become commonplace (from ~2% of the population living under $2 a day under communism....... to after the market failure ~25% of the population under $2 a day and ~40% of the population under $4 a day. GDP per Capita went DOWN so people were poorer with capitalism than they were under communism). It was altogether complete chaos and an economic disaster.
   
   Compare this with China, who also moved from Communism to Capitalism but they started in the 70's and they did it much slower and much more carefully. Through protectionist barriers, they built up their own industries, significantly reduced poverty, became a major world economy and provided many of the amenities that first world economies have. While they aren't completely free-market yet, they are doing it very well and completely ignoring Thomas Friedman's "Golden Straitjacket".
   
   With that said, there are some good things about Thomas Friedman's book. First off, he explains a very popular... but failed... ideology very well. There is significant support for it in IMF, Wall Street and the Treasury Department and its important to understand. Secondly, he explains Capital Markets (or what he calls "short horned cattle") far better than my other book does. Capital Markets, or investment in currency, is a hard concept to understand and Friedman makes a very good effort at explaining it.

3 comments about The Real Price of Everything: Rediscovering the Six Classics of Economics.

1. Despite being an economics/finance geek, who is a fan of Michael Lewis' previous work, especially Moneyball, I was debating whether to buy this. I have already read The Wealth of Nations, which makes up half of this huge book. It is nice to have such a collection of great works together though, and although the vast majority of the writing is just old copyright expired material you can get on the Internet for free, Lewis' commentary does add to it. In addition to being an accomplished writer, the author does have a masters in economics from the London School of Economics, and does have a knowledge of and a passion for the subject. So on the whole this is really intended for people who have an academic interest in the subject, but at the very least you will have a really big book on your shelf to impress your friends.



2. This is a complicated book because of its length and
   technical verbiage in economics. The outline includes
   lengthy dissertations by 5 or more writers in foundational
   economic literature and reporting. These are:
   
   1776: The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
   
   1798: An Essay on the Principle of Population
   by Thomas Malthus
   
   1817: Principles of Political Economy and Taxation
   by David Ricardo
   
   1899: The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions by Thorstein Veblen
   
   1936: The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money
   by John Maynard Keynes
   
   There is an extensive development of macroeconomic theory
   dealing with the GNP, as well as the microeconomics pertinent
   to everything human beings do. The Wealth of Nations is the
   classic by Adam Smith. It espouses the theory that human
   beings are driven by self-interest & that they play a role
   in improving the market. The Mercantilists of the
   time believed that the wealth of a nation began with trade
   surpluses. The division of labor leads to greater improvement, dexterity, time saving and mechanization. These concepts
   permeate the modern patent laws around the world. The inherent
   difficulty in weighing metals leads to the utilization of coins
   and other money in the form of paper, bonds etc. Value is
   defined in terms of its use in exchange. The real price is
   a function of the toil involved in the manufacture or assembly
   of a product.
   
   Malthus believed that increasing the price of a stock
   necessarily increased the price of provisions.
   David Ricardo believed that population doubled every 25 years
   and that capital doubled in less than 25 years or it lagged behind. Therefore, wages increased because the demand for labor
   was greater than its supply. The value of a
   commodity was a function of the amount of labor expended in
   producing it. The quantity of labor with respect to commodity
   production is modified by the employment of machinery, fixed
   and durable capital.
   
   Thorstein Vebleu believed that wealth increments lead to a
   leisure class developing in structure and function.
   At some point, the leisure class matures and it becomes exempt
   from the idea of thrift and savings.
   
   Overall, the book explains many of the concepts behind money and
   wealth. The downside is the 1400 pages or so to accomplish this
   monumental task. This would be an excellent purchase for students
   of the economic sciences, government, politics, world history and
   news reporting. The $30 price tag is a solid value for the content contained within this massive text.



3. This book is the verbatim texts of several classics. That's sort of cool, but to be honest, reading 18th century prose is slow. Very, very slow...
   
   Michael Lewis adds some commentary. Unfortunately, that's only a few pages per book. What is there is generally quite good, but it is far too little. In particular, it would have been interesting to see comments on the actual texts, as opposed to general comments on the authors' lives.
   
   If you really want to read all the classics, it's convenient to have them all in one place. Otherwise, you should probably pass.