5 comments about On the Line.

1. This is not your typical cookbook. It is Chef Eric Ripert's attempt to capture and immortalize the going-ons of the new york city michelin rated Le Benardine. While the latter half of the book is filled with recipes, seafood recipes which are very good. The bulk of the book is dedicated to interviews with the kitchen staff from the chef on down to the porter. Definitely aimed at the Food Network crowd, if you are a fan of hell's kitchen or top chef, you will enjoy this book.



2. I really enjoyed this "behind the scenes" look at how a successful restaurant is organized and run. As an economist, I am naturally interested in how firms are organized, how they actually are operated. On top of satisfying this desire, I cannot wait to try one or two of the recipes revealed herein.
   
   I must admit that I never dreamed that running a resaurant could be so complicated. Even with a friend who works as a chef in two successful NY City restaurants, I was surprised. Now I understand why she can't comp out and play at night!
   
   Great book, well written, and truly informative.



3. Eric Ripert is one of the most celebrated chefs in New York City. He's the man at the helm of New York's Le Bernadin, one of the city's most highly regarded restaurants, Le Bernadin. He hangs with the likes of Anthony Bourdain and his credentials certainly make him more than qualified to write a book about cooking and the restaurant business. This book is a beautiful love letter to the restaurant industry and specifically, Le Bernadin. We get to see how the kitchen is set up, how the tables are stationed, the 129 things that floor staff should never do, and the list goes on. You really get a feel for how this place works and it is quite impressive. In addition to the well written account of all thing Le Bernadin, you also get a nice selection of recipes from the fabled restaurant, though so many are a bit outside the realm of reality for those untrained as Chefs. A stunning, beautifully designed book that should prove interesting both to those in the industry and people that want to know more about it. Though Ripert's writing style isn't nearly as engaging as Anthony Bourdain's, this is definitely a very rewarding read even if it might seem like bit of a PR piece for Le Bernadin. As a huge bonus, the latter half of this book consists of many recipes from Le Bernadin's seafood heavy menu. The items sound fantastic, though sometimes a bit too challenging for the novice to attempt. A great book cover to cover.



4. This book is alright. not just recipes...which make it an interesting read. But i did find the recipes lacking...there r very few recipes....just about 10 - 12..and nothing for vegetarians at all...not the best find for me.



5. Have you ever wanted to shadow a chef for a day? Have you ever wondered exactly what goes on in the kitchen and what they keep on hand? Ever wonder in painful detail how a fine dinning restaurant is run?
   
   If you said yes to at least two of these questions, you will like this book. If you failed to answer yes to any of them, then move on to a different book.
   
   As a normal read for a food network/Hell's Kitchen fan, this was painfully boring and dull. I was looking for juicy stories about the staff, the customers and cooking. Instead I got what seems to be a record of how one restaurant is run--in such detail it seems like an employee manual or time capsule in case everyone quit and it needed to be re-created from scratch.
   
   So why did I give it 4 stars? Because it actually delivers what is tells you it will. My issues were more because of what I THOUGHT the book would be like and less with what it actually is. One of the Amazon "Tag Suggestions" is restaurant management--something I 100% agree this book with provide at least some background into--but for the normal consumer, look for something you will really enjoy more than this dry manual like book.

5 comments about Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns.

1. "Disrupting Class" is a very interesting read for people interested in improving education here in the U.S. Dr. Christensen argues that the main problem with traditional schools is that they cannot provide individualized instruction that best meets each student's needs. As a home educator, I couldn't agree with him more. He sees computer-based learning as a "disruptive innovation" that will solve the problem of how to provide this type of "student-centric" learning to the masses (since not everyone can homeschool or hire a tutor for their offspring).
   
   Dr. Christensen revisits the argument from his earlier book "The Innovator's Dilemma" that "disruptive innovations" don't initially compete directly against the current market leader's product but rather against nonconsumption. For example, in the '70's Digital had a very successful market for $200k minicomputers. Apple couldn't directly compete with DEC's minicomputers because their personal computers weren't good enough at the time to solve the problems that DEC's customers had. So Apple marketed its IIe PC as a relatively affordable toy for kids. Kids were nonconsumers so it didn't matter to them that the Apple wasn't as powerful as the existing DEC minicomputers. A few years down the road, however, improvements in PC technology rendered DEC's minicomputers obsolete.
   
   Dr. Christensen argues that the traditional government-run education system will in the near future be "disrupted" by the innovation of computer-based learning. At first, online learning will compete against nonconsumption by offering classes in subjects where there isn't enough demand in any given school to justify offering a traditional course (such as a very advanced math one or an unusual foreign language). But eventually, He believes that the technology will improve such that computer-based learning will render the traditional model of education obsolete.
   
   In "Disrupting Class", he postulates that demand for computer-based high school classes will follow an S-curve that will start to "flip" (significantly accelerate) in the year 2012. In the years between 2012 and 2018, Dr. Christensen projects that the share of online courses will grow from 5% to 50% of all high school courses. That timetable seems a bit ambitious to me personally, but I believe he's got the basic right idea about the growth in the demand for online classes.
   
   The main problem I had with "Disrupting Class" is with the way it is written. It reads like a management consultant's report filled with buzzwords and jargon (not surprisingly Dr. Christensen used to work for BCG). It would've been much better had someone else gone through the authors' draft and re-written it in plain English. I found it very tiresome to have to stop constantly to figure out what exactly the authors actually meant by all their convoluted gobbledygook. Throwing buzzwords and jargon into nearly every sentence doesn't make the authors look smarter, just much less coherent!
   
   The other thing I would've liked to have seen discussed in "Disrupting Class" is the question of whether or not it is good for children's brains for schooling to be mostly computer-based. Dr. Jane Healey wrote a very interesting book about a decade ago called "Failure to Connect" about some worrisome research findings on the negative impact of computer use on children. Has more recent research allayed or deepened those concerns? Before our society makes the shift predicted in "Disruptive Class", shouldn't we be examining this very important question?



2. Rocket Builders most influential author, Christensen, with his co authors has taken his theory of disruptive innovation and focused on the education sector. The authors do not lay blame but with Christensen's laser sharp analysis, peel back all the root causes of public perception and changing goal posts for education and what it has done to the institution over time. He then goes on to explain how classic disruption theory - which starts with non consumers and then slowly moves up the competency level as the incumbents are forced to retreat to higher value activities is already progressing in education. He predicts that by 2020, disruptive innovation will hit that 50% mark to turn the tables on other methods (monolithic education in this case) . They show how trying to bring the disruption inside present institutions can not succeed due to the constraints that are already in place. His statements ring true as we have seen the impact of disruption on public and private sector already.
   
   Since his team always does their homework, you are exposed to fascinating research on the impact of verbalization on new borns up to 3 years old. They explain how that is an academic headstart any parent can give their child now. He posits that early kindergarten (after 3 yrs old) and other high priced interventions are doomed to a limited success rate. As well he quickly exposes the paucity (weak techniques and theory) of real research in education since it all to often stops short of causality ( I can certainly testify to that) . Then he explains how computer based education methods are already changing and adapting to the needs of a student centric model. He illustrates how Howard Gardners multiple modes of learning could be accomodated in the disruptive model.
   
   Once again there is a second book within the book with copious research notes in every chapter. I am one of those professional educators who packed it in based on what I experienced as the overall futility of real change in education. Now this book has reawakened my interest in change in the education market - moving to a student centric model. If you have children or grandchildren - you need to buy and read this book. If you are in the e-learning market - it is required reading. Thank you McGraw Hill! I really liked it and it is as always an easy read with loads of detail if you want it.



3. I thought this book was an academic waste of time. Like sure when we use computers things are going to be disrutive, like in other industries. This book provides little in the way of what is being done well now, and the sub disruction. They use abstract examples from other industries where they sould be focused on education.



4. Christensen approaches improving the education system from the broad lens of innovation, rather than focusing solely on examining the school system itself. The result: a powerful perspective on how disruptive innovation outside the mainstream curriculum can ultimately transform the techniques and results of the public school system in general.
   
   Disrupting Class outlines a thorough argument for how to dramatically improve the U.S. educational system including:
   
   * The shortcomings of previous approaches to improving education, and therefore what needs to be different in the future
   
   * The importance of adapting teaching techniques to different learning styles (building on previous work Gardner and others); I can particularly relate to this as I have a family member with dyslexia who became an avid reader after receiving a different approach to reading instruction rather than the standard public school curriculum.
   
   * The potential for computers and more modularization of teaching to deliver individualized learning in the context of the school system; Christensen is quick to point out that more computers are not the solution, it is the way in which computers are used that are critical.
   
   * The barriers to change in the current system; Having studied numerous organizations within and outside the educational system, Christensen presents a valuable framework for how to drive change in organizations with different characteristics. The challenge is that the public school system has one of the most complicating set of features. Through understanding these factors, administrators and educators must employ different approaches to creating change which are outlined in the book.
   
   * The need for innovation in areas outside the mainstream elements of the educational system (the book draws on the principles from Christensen's previous work, The Innovator's Dilemma); He cites examples from outside and within the educational system and illustrates how "disruptive innovation" around the fringes can ultimately redefine the public school system as we know it today.
   
   In addition to having a compelling thesis, Disrupting Class is also an easy read. Christensen makes it come alive through weaving a narrative throughout the book of a public school principal struggling to make a greater difference in her students' development.
   
   While the book overall is excellent, there are two sections which could have been shortened without detracting from the overall story. The first is Chapter 6 which makes the case, largely based on the research of others, of the importance of learning in the first 36 months of development. While I found it compelling and causing me to wonder if I had done enough for my own children at that age, I did not find it added much to the overall thesis. Similarly, Chapter 7 discusses the need to change the research approach in the field of education improvement. While it may be useful to some educators as they evaluate options in the future, I found it less engaging than the other chapters.
   
   Overall, Disrupting Class is a must read for those interested in education from any perspective - parent, educator, administrator, politician or non-profit organization. As someone who is a parent and involved in a non-profit in the education arena, I find this book incredibly energizing - it has given me some ideas for innovations to test in the non-profit context alongside the public school system. I encourage you to read it and find ways to apply the lessons in your environment as well!



5. Clayton Christensen has gained fame in researching how disruptive technologies are best brought to market in the world of business. He applies the results of this research to hypothesize how education methods uniquely tailored to each student through the use of computer led education are likely to be adopted.
   
   The key observation that Professor Christensen makes is that each student has different intellegences, including linguistic, logical-methematical, spatial, kinesthetic, etc. The classroom, by being forced to standardize on a teaching method for a particular subject, cannot appropriately adapt the teaching of each subject to the learning and intelligence patterns of each student. Computer-based education can overcome the standardized approach, however. He argues that the adoption of computer-based education as a supplement to the teacher led classroom is not the likely path of successful adoption.
   
   The book is written for government officials, teachers, administrators, parents and entrepreneurs. It is probably most valuable to entrepreneurs who are exploring the market for user generated educational content.

5 comments about Trading in the Zone: Master the Market with Confidence, Discipline and a Winning Attitude.

1. By the very fact that you are looking into this book you likely already know the critical elements to successful trading include (among others):
   
   1. Defining and edge - technical / fundamental analysis - the fun stuff
   2. Money management - define the amount you will spend to determine if your edge is working and if not cut your losses early
   3. Record keeping - not just to help with taxes and to verify the broker's records, but to act as a journal to learn from your successes and failures to constantly improve your edge and state of mind
   4. State of mind - what is so fully presented in Trading in the Zone
   
   And of those elements listed above, it is easy to recognize that your state of mind is the one that is most often overlooked.
   
   What I loved about this book is that it stayed true to its intent and did not stray off the subject. What I didn't like is that because of the depth that he goes into, I sometime found myself wondering if this is a book for traders or for psych students. But overall what I got from this book far outweighs any negative and I highly recommend it.



2. A few times I thought about buying this book, but after reading the negative reviews I said I wouldn't buy it. I actually read alot of the reviews and wavered back and forth. Well I'm happy to say I bought and now have read this book and could not put it down. I have to say this book puts the whole trading process in a nutshell. I've taken expensive courses that still didn't help my trading ability. This book has successfully told me why and I now know what needs to be done. I recommend this book whole heartedly to any one who has traded and lost much money as it will and does explain why and what one needs to do to to change the whole losing process.



3. I've been trading for over a year with mixed success - wildly successful trades followed by crashing defeats and back again. This book helped me to finally understand why - inconsistency in my trading habits - and better yet, what to do about it. I recommend it for anyone, novice or expert, who wants to understand how the mind works and how our thoughts, beliefs and attitudes affect our success in trading and in life.



4. This is the best book on trading I've read so far. I definitely recommend this book to anyone with the goal to become a successful day trader, whether you're a novice or a seasoned trader.



5. Item arrived on time in better condition then I thought. Would order from this seller any time.

5 comments about ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income.

1. This is a great step by step guide about what it takes to make money in blogging. It's a slow process and this is reinforced throughout the text. No secret formulas but great instructions on how to succeed. It takes work folks - sad but true.
   Well written and an easy read. Recommended for internet marketers, writers and bloggers and anyone thinkning about starting a blog. Read this first.



2. Motivational, enjoyable and easy to read. This book provides a wide range of useful information for someone getting into blogging for the first time or for someone who has basic experience blogging and is now ready to take it to the next level.
   
   The sections on starting up your blog and creating quality content were very helpful and well written. Excellent guidance on structuring blog posts and other content.
   
   One area that seemed rather short on concrete detail was blog traffic and the impact of relative levels of traffic on the success of the blog, especially with regards to monetization.
   
   Some advertising systems require at minimum of 10,000 pageviews per day, some dramatically more, before allowing you to run their ads on your blog. Even Google's AdSense program is not without its challenges. Level setting on blog traffic for blog newbies with some real world examples would have been helpful.
   
   Overall, the authors did an excellent job and I would strongly recommend ProBlogger as a starting point to anyone new to blogging or looking to monetize an existing blog.



3. I am a huge fan of Darren's problog web site, and he is an excellent resource for people of all stages of blogging to use as a resource. The thing that sets him apart from many bloggers is that he tries everything he is talking about. You won't find as much hype as you would think you would from the title of the book, he has really tried all this stuff, and his parent holding company b5media also uses his ideas on how to make a better blog. Blogging is hard work, you have to learn to use words to tell a story, and yes you can over time build up your blogging skills and make a six figure income from it, people do it, and people have done it.
   
   The best section of the book is "creating something worthwhile", and that is the hardest part of being a blogger, how do you create value for an audience you might never meet? The worst section was the bit about buying and selling blogs, while it can be done, and has been done successfully, much like any other property you might buy, there are already a lot of speculators out there, and it might not be the best thing you can do with your money. Working for blog networks is also another way of making money and often can be very profitable (I write for a number of blog networks and profit from them). After blogging for five years myself, I still found the book overall full of interesting bits that I missed on his web site, and that alone made it worth the read.
   
   Rated five of five stars, it offers a realistic portrayal of the blogging industry, and might just be something that people will want to check out if this is a direction that they want to go in.



4. This is by far, the best book on this subject I have read. The authors give a lot of hands on information and guide the reader step by step through the process. A must read for the person who wants blog for money or their business!



5. Darren Rowse and Chris Garret draw upon their wealth of experience with blogs and give us this comprehensive blogging primer.
   
   While the book is mostly focused on making money from blogs, it starts from the beginning: by explaining what is a blog and how to set one up. This takes about three chapters (if you have already started a blog, you can just skim through those sections).
   
   Intermediate bloggers will enjoy the book more from chapter 4 on, when Darren and Chris talk about how and what to write (helpful to overcome the all-too-common "writer's block") and how to make money from your blog (both directly, like with advertising, and indirectly, as with partnerships, speaking engagements, etc).
   
   The last few chapters deal with a topic that was completely new to me: buying and selling blogs. Darren and Chris do a very good job at spelling out the caveats you must take into account when buying and selling blogs, to avoid scams and costly mistakes.
   
   The comprehensive nature of this book makes it difficult for the authors to go into much detail about any particular topic. The good news is that Darren's blog [...] is chock full of how-to articles that may give you the specific information that you won't find in the book.
   
   Overall, I found this book to be a very good blogging primer, one that I will keep in my bookshelf for future and constant reference.

5 comments about Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter.

1. In "Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter," Steve Dublanica chronicled his life working as a waiter in a high end restaurant. The author wrote about the challenges of being a waiter, with its irregular hours, inconsistent pay, and the difficulties of satisfying customers. This read like a memoir, and the author started the book by explaining how he became a professional waiter.
   
   It was a fascinating read for me as the author provided gossips and information from the front end of the restaurant, unlike Anthony Bourdain who provided the perspective of the kitchen staff. It was just interesting to learn about how the restaurant business work, and life from the waiter's perspective. The writing was clear and conversational, which makes this a quick and fun read. Highly recommended.



2. I was hoping for more of the inside story of the restaurant business, especially with Anthony Bordain's review of the book on the cover "a front of the house version of Kitchen Confidential." Waiter Rant is much more about this anonymous waiter and this specific restaurant and less about the business as a whole. Unlike Bordain, "The Waiter" really hasn't experienced restaurants other than The Bistro which limits his insight. The one positive this gives him is a perspective on the comings and goings of restaurant personnel.
   
   Still it's a good book and a quick, interesting read. I'm still waiting for something that can really compare to Kitchen Confidential though.



3. I read this immediately after Kitchen Confidential. If I was to give that book 4 or 5 stars, then all I can give this one is 2 (at most).
   I was expecting RANTING from a waiter about customers, cooks, GM's, and examples of funny, sad, thought-provoking, disgusting, loving, crushing, etc. episodes. They were there, but in between the lines. This book reads more like an intelligent, thoughtful memoir of a 38 year old man looking for definition who happens to be a waiter. It should be entitled Wax Poetic Waiter.
   Probably would recommend to skip this one. Nowhere as addictive as Kitchen Confidential.



4. I don't read blogs much. I feel like it's cheap voyeurism but I loved the waiter rant blog. I'd recommend reading the blog BEFORE you get the book. You really get to know the writer much better and you see how he grows as a person and improves his writing. I enjoyed the book, but if I hadn't read the blog I probably would have given the book three stars instead of four.



5. I've been a loyal reader of Waiter's blog for a long time now, and I'm a real fan of his work. As such, I was excited to read the book, and to contribute to someone who I feel has been producing really excellent content for years.
   
   That said, I was honestly disappointing. The book seemed to contain a lot more stories and confessions more suited for a therapist than readers. Sure, I care about this man, but I was hoping for entertainment and the occasional thought-provoking anecdote, the sort of thing I read on his blog. Instead, the book seems to be filled with soul-barring confessions and introspection.
   
   In short, I think Waiter missed the mark with what people want to read. I would have been just as happy to pay for a collection of the best stories from his blog instead.
   
   Therein may be the problem. Perhaps all the best work is already available for free, and with the editors calling for fresh stories Waiter was forced to start scraping the bottom of the barrel. Whatever the reason, the book simply doesn't measure up to the standards of the blog.
   
   So, my suggestion is to consider this less of a purchase and more of a donation. The free archives at the website are certainly worth more than the contents of the book, so I propose looking there for real content rather than having high hopes for what looks to me to be a mediocre collection of everything he never got around to posting about.

5 comments about Web Analytics: An Hour a Day.

1. I have used Web Side Story...moved to Omniture....also work with Google Analytics.....This book does a good job of getting away from the mountains of data, to provide a clear cut "THINK ABOUT WHAT THE ANALYTICS MEAN" on a business basis- definitely worth the time investment.



2. This book is amazing. If you think you knew everything or are in an analysis slump, just flip through this book and you'll find something new to analyze.



3. My only issue is that the book doesn't address how to use google analytics more. He gives a lot of suggestions, but there isn't enough guidance in actually how to use GA to pull the data he recommends.



4. Technologies evolve, but the PROCESS by which we should collect and analyze online data in order to gain solid, actionable insights will remain constant for the foreseeable future.
   
   I have been fortunate enough to work with some of the smartest online marketers in the business, and, to say the very least, most of these people -- especially those in the analytics community -- seem content to share their expertise in the most confusing and theoretical manner possible. But not Avinash Kaushik. And in "An Hour a Day," Avinash proves why he is the world's most trusted name in analytics: he brings us up to his level without unnecessary jargon, so we can actually understand how to do this stuff!
   
   Without question, this book is required reading for ANY online marketer, business owner, or anyone currently outsourcing their web analytics. (Warning: You may become better at this than the people you're paying to do it for you!)
   
   Have a website you're not properly tracking? You're not alone! Less than a third of e-commerce and B2B sites have sufficient web analytics tracking -- let alone a process by which to glean insight from it -- and it's not the technology's fault. The problem is that most people don't understand the VALUE and NECESSITY of web analytics. They don't realize it's the difference between sink or swim. For most organizations, web analytics is an afterthought; something pawned off to those with technical knowledge when it should really be understood by those who need to use this data to make serious business decisions. Well, folks, those days are over. If all you know about your site is how many page views, uniques, or (*yikes*) "hits" it's getting, you're in much worse shape than you currently realize, simply because you have no idea how much money and attention you're missing out on if you have no clear goals in mind or a system by which to quantify it.
   
   If you're not measuring it properly, how can you ever claim to have an online strategy that's working? How else will you know how successful your campaign is? How else will you know which elements to test and optimize?
   
   Whether you're a beginner or you know just enough about web analytics to be dangerous, you should absolutely buy this book today. The book pays for itself a hundred fold in the very first hour of the very first day.



5. This book is fantastic. Not only does it cover everything, but it does it in a simple way, an hour a day!
   
   I reckon once you have finished this book you will be a head of the majority.
   
   Must get for analytics.

5 comments about The Subprime Solution: How Today's Global Financial Crisis Happened, and What to Do about It.

1. For Prof. R.J. Shiller, the root of the subprime mortgage crisis in the US is a myth, the belief that real estate prices must strongly trend upward for demographic reasons.
   He proves that the price of real estate, to the contrary, is trending lower. What went up are the quality and the dimension of the average individual houses. But what about `land'? Didn't Mark Twain recommend strongly: `Go for land. They've stopped producing it.'? R.J. Shiller remarks cleverly that only 2,6 % of US land is used for urbanization.
   Another factor of the bubble was psychological: the human herd instinct. There was a social contagion of boom thinking.
   A third, more specific, factor was the deliberate governmental policy to promote home-ownership as much as possible. This should be good for the Party.
   
   When the real estate bubble burst, it disrupted immediately the credit markets. Aggressive mortgage lenders never worried about repayment risks. They repackaged the mortgages, got top ratings from the rating agencies and sold their packages to third parties all over the world.
   But even more importantly, the crisis damaged the `social fabric', the way of life of millions of families and also human relationships (through aggressive creditors). It created an atmosphere of distrust, of hoarding, with runs on banks; in one word, it gave rise to a psychological environment that could lead to a severe and long depression, which would hurt all citizens. Therefore, the subprime crisis must be solved.
   
   Prof. R.J. Shiller makes a distinction between the short term and the long term solution.
   In the short term, there should be a massive bail-out in order to prevent an escalation of the crisis and of the economic downturn.
   In the long term, the US government should create a basic social contract and protect every citizen against major misfortune. It should impose financial democracy through standardized full disclosure documents so that everybody should get better information about all the risks involved. Without affecting individual privacy, indicators should be created about the real value of real estate. Those should lead to a more efficient pricing of houses and to a stabilization of the market. Prof. R.J. Shiller did not only recommend these policies, but created an indicator himself.
   
   With an open and clear-sighted mind, Prof. Shiller wrote a small, but essential, book about a dramatic worldwide crisis, without losing the `human touch'. It is an essential read for all those interested in the future of mankind.



2. Trusting any Santa Claus of high finance in the midst of such massive failures of a bubble-prone financial system seems suicidal.
   
   Shiller ends on a characteristic utopian-ideologue note: "Imagine our society equipped with a well-established information infrastructure that reached out to all its members, derivative markets for both owner-occupied and commercial real estate, well developed retail products, like continuous-workout mortgages, home equity insurance, and livelihood insurance, that facilitate management for individuals; and default options that naturally lead people to use risk-management devices intelligently.
   
   "Our society could look forward to nothing less than more stable markets and, in turn, a more rational economy. We would eventually find ourselves forgetting that the kind of massive financial instability infecting our everyday lives is even a potential problem. Modern finance, applied democratically, can relegate these problems to history just as modern medicine, applied widely, has left us forgetting that epidemics of yellow fever and diphtheria ever raged among us."
   
   I say, just stick with reading the ever-more shocking revelations of a good newspaper. Common sense answers applied with determination is the crying need. But such an approach doesn't follow the play book of new economy thinking and ideology that has got us into so much trouble for over a decade. Shiller still swims with that current, follows that herd. In the face of the real facts unraveling day over day, Shiller comes across as snake oil, no matter how good-hearted and liberal-minded.
   
   Shiller's ideas appear innovative and gutsy, but he seems to have drank the cool-aide of high finance down to its dregs. His answers for our problems go deeper into that jungle with greater and greater trust demanded. Dr. Shiller, clean out the messy stables of your herd first--as Hercules had to do to prove himself--then your ideas may have relevance. As it is, you clearly are not facing up to the major challenges of your field--real-world failings that need to be addressed, hence your book functions more as a distracting red herring.



3. This book is light on new data(a couple of graphs) and heavy on theoretical solutions,many only peripherally related to the present crisis. There is no discussion of resource depletion. The idea of insuring home equity and life income underestimate the cost of administration and fraud. It is a quick easy read,a few interesting ideas such as teaching kids to think in inflation units.



4. Shiller blames the subprime crisis on the irrational exuberance that drove the 1990s stock bubble and the 2000-2007 housing bubble. Restoring confidence will require bailouts targeted at low-income victims of subprime deals. Longer-term solutions will require inhibiting the formation of bubbles and limit risk - better financial information, simplified legal contracts and regulations, home-equity insurance, income-linked home loans, and new measures to protect consumers against hidden inflationary effects.
   
   Mortgage originators, planning to sell off the mortgages to securitizers, stopped worrying about repayment risk, and sometimes enticed the naive, with poor credit histories, to borrow in the subprime market. High home prices generated a glut on the market and prices declined at an accelerating rate. Meanwhile, mortgage rates began to reset after initial "teaser" periods ended, and defaults surged.
   
   The lowest price homes have shown the greatest price increases (and subsequent falls), probably due to their linkage to subprime loans. Ratings agencies were not about to cut ratings on securitized mortgage products based on theories that the increases could not continue, that prices might fall.
   
   There's some good material in the "The Subprime Solution" - however, most of the pages are taken up in an obvious "explanation" of why everyone jumped on the bubble bandwagon.



5. This book has a depressing view of our current economic crisis. A good read for anyone that is too cheerful.
   
   The parallel he makes between the trust lost by promising everyone could own a home to the repartiation payments after WW I is a bit of a stretch.
   
   Good book though.

5 comments about The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly.

1. Great book to get started for beginners (and possibly for the beginner-mid level) for getting your feet wet.



2. Do you have a favorite business book that's streaked with highlights, scribbled with margin notes, has a broken spine, and dog-eared post-its? The New Rules of Marketing and PR, by David Meerman Scott, holds that honor on my business reference bookshelf. Subtitled How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing & Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly, this book seemed to shout at me from the shelf during one of my regular forays into Amazon's business section.
   
   As a B2B marketing professional, I try to keep up with communications trends, so I was already familiar with some of the information in Scott's book. I'd purchased it specifically for the news releases and blogging sections, but, goaded by the author's light and enthusiastic tone I found myself learning about new (to me) online activities to support B2B marketing efforts.
   
   New Rules gave me insight into some new tasks that have become SOP in my regular work at our Atlanta ad agency. As a result of the Buyer Personas section, we maintain and plan around the personas of our clients' customers as well as our own.
   
   Overall I enjoyed this book, and regularly peruse my highlighted and tabbed sections. Fortunately, David is understandable as well as enlightening. Just like his blog, www.webinknow.com, the book has a conversational, engaging writing style and is thoroughly worth the space on any business reference shelf.
   
   /mh



3. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time - and I read a lot -
   
   David is articulate, great information, very well organized in his thoughts and frankly should be considered an expert in this matter. If you haven't read this book - it is definitely worth every penny -



4. I buy everything this book is trying to tell me. My new technological religion.
   
   Be sure to read it more for the thinking behind it while keeping in mind that zillions of new examples of what he's talking about keep popping up in the media ether. This concept has a life of its own. That's its beauty.



5. Why, if I like the book, did I give it four stars? Simple. It was a bit disorganized. For example, there was material about using a blog in the front of the book and then, to read more, you had to go to the back of the book. I would have preferred all the information to be consecutive.
   
   But, the content and the information was absolutely invaluable. I am a professional ad person and I discovered some ideas that I implemented instantly. Moreover, I now recommend them to clients.
   
   Some of the material is pretty well known and easily available. But, there's a lot in here that is unique and that you're probably not aware of.
   
   I highly recommend the book to you.
   
   - Susanna K. Hutcheson

4 comments about The Only Guide to Alternative Investments You'll Ever Need: The Good, the Flawed, the Bad, and the Ugly.

1. This book is so well written and educational that I read it from cover to cover in only a few days. I found the arguments for the "good" investments well supported, and the explanation for the "flawed," "bad" and "ugly" convincing and supported by facts and research. I only wish that this book was available before I bought some of the bad and ugly investments in the past. As with Swedroe's other publications, he has again provided the average investor with valuable knowledge without any hype or noise.



2. As an investment advisor and co-host of a financial radio program I have read a voluminous amount of investment material from a host of authors over the years. Larry is clearly one of the best financial writers I have come across. This book illuminates the reader on a myriad of investment strategies that are rarely understood by most investors and financial professionals. His writing style is entertaining, informative and supported by solid empirical evidence. Summarizing a quote from Larry Swedroe, "there is a difference between information and knowledge, information is a fact or piece of data, knowledge is information that can be put into practical use to make better decisions". This book provides the reader with practical knowledge on less understood, alternative investments. I recommend this book to all investors and I would also recommend checking out Larry's other books.
   
   Kenneth R. Smith. CFP®, MS
   CEO Empirical Wealth Management LLC



3. With the stock market in turmoil, investors are looking for alternatives. Larry Swedroe's latest book with Jared Kizer suggests some alternatives that probably belong in our portfolios regardless of what the market decides to do.
   
   Larry Swedroe and Jared Kizer examine twenty different alternative investments, and arrive at six that may be keepers for your portfolio. They also point out those that should be avoided like the flu, regardless of how exciting the sales pitch is. Professionally and personally, I've always found that advice on what to avoid can often be more valuable than advice on what to buy.
   
   Swedroe and Kizer note the roles that real estate, TIPS, commodities, international stocks, fixed annuities, and stable-value funds can successfully play in our portfolios. If we buy them, they should be for the right reasons as performance-chasing occurs across all asset classes.
   
   Current market conditions make this book very timely as it does a great job of explaining how you can implement alternative investments into your portfolio now and in the future.



4. Absolutely terrific review of the various alternative asset classes. A great complement to books like the 4 Pillars by William Bernstein.

1 comments about Zagat 2009 New York City Restaurants (Zagatsurvey: New York City Restaurants).

1. The Zagat guide is as important as a map in New York City, where there is a restaurant in almost every storefront or building (and it includes a very nice map as well although I could not get it to tear out). The information is very accurate and up to date, although I did find there were some errors in credit card acceptance. The food quality and price ratings are very helpful. I usually look for around a 20 in food and a less than 40 in food, and figure that is a pretty good combination for me. Some of the great features are the organization by neighborhood, most popular, and highest ratings. I find the most popular more helpful than the highest ratings, because i cannot afford the highest ratings every night.