5 comments about Trading Option Greeks: How Time, Volatility, and Other Pricing Factors Drive Profit.

1. This is an excellent book on a topic that a lot of traders, have no deep understanding. It explains the Greeks in a layman and a trader language, and provides a clear view how to trade and profit using the information, given by these indicators. I like the examples given, especially those on Delta Neutral Trading, which other books hardly mention. Of special interest, was the clear perspective of Market Makers, and how they view trading from their end. This helps a lot, us retail traders,to place our orders in a more efficient way, for faster execution. My congratulations on this book, which was long due.



2. When I bought this book, I was expecting really in-depth analysis of various Greeks and their effects on basic option positions as well as complex spreads. However, I was bit disappointed.
   
   If you have read any decent preliminary option trading books (Natenberg, McMillan et al) or if you have been trading option spreads for say 1+ year, this book would be useless. In aggregate there would be about 10-12 page material which may useful for such people. Last chapter on relationships between implied and realized volatility is OK.
   
   For some reason the author has morbid fear for graphs of positions and greeks. He ends up giving tables after tables to illustrate effect of various greeks on option position.
   
   If you are at a stage where you think I buy call option when I am bullish and I buy put option when I am bearish, this book will help you understand the effects of other equally important variables in pricing and trading, but then there are so many other which give this information in a better fashion in my opinion.



3. well written easy to understand for anyone who is interested in options
   Author provides with a logical way of looking at options.
   Book which every trader should have



4. Written with the clarity of a practioner with minimal math density though a little excessive use of tabular data (some charts would have been better). My introduction to options was in a very math dense way which leaves you comfortable with geometric brownian motion but unable to act when faced with real time quotes and a rapidly moving market.
   
   Overall a good effort and worth a read for anyone getting serious with trading options. Would highly recommend changing the font and line spacing to avoid eye fatigue in next editions.



5. A fantastic book to add to your library of options analysis. Not for beginners, but if you want to understand why option prices change, this is your book. If you want to understand the implications of various positions, this is your book. If you want to understand how to trade volatility, this is your book. The last part sold me on the book. I have become more confident after reading this book.

5 comments about China Shakes the World: A Titan's Rise and Troubled Future -- and the Challenge for America (Edition 001).

1. The book is not difficult and it is not complex, but it is dense in the sense it is packed with so much insight and value. I started out putting post-its on the pages I thought I would want to refer to again later, but had to stop when it became clear I was "post-itting" (if that is not a word, it certainly should be) just about every other page.
   
   This book is unsurpassed in analyzing China's impact on the world. Through real world examples, it captures just how different China is in its business conduct just how strange a trading partner China is, and how it resembles no other great power. Kynge beautifully weaves China's contradictions into a tapestry that allows us to understand it, as best as is possible.
   
   Though this book is in many ways a "big-think" book, it is nonetheless absolutely relevant to those doing business in or with China. It provides the best macroeconomic analysis of China I have yet seen and, by doing so, it provides invaluable knowledge of how to adjust/position your business to compete.



2. China Shakes the World is a well documented panorama of what China is moving to be in the near future. Yet the author writes in a spirit that is as entertaining in its irony as it is instructive. He uses statistics, particularly, that rock the reader, i.e., the number of young Chinese girls who commit suicide each day out of sheer hopelessness. (500+) Many of his figures demonstrate the impact of the sheer size of China's population, now more than 1.3 billion.
   I recommend China Shakes the World as a resource book to keep on hand, a program of events that is already unfolding whether we in the West like it or not.



3. Kynge recounts the rise of China as an economic and resource-sucking giant on the world scene in the last 20 years. The story, as usual with China and its 1.3 billion people, hinges on the massive markets and demand that even fractions of that enormity can generate.
   
   The good news is that the shift of manufacturing to China, with its extremely (and artificially, Kynge points out) low production costs, has resulted in a flood of cheaper goods in the US and Europe, and that China has been buying billions of US treasury notes which of kept mortgage rates low. The bad news is these trends may not be sustainable, that any manufacturing still outside of China may be completely sucked into the Eastern giant, and that world resource demand (oil, steel, water, environment as a resource) by the Chinese giant may suck the world dry and create massive price and allocation problems.
   
   Whether the reader is optimistic or pessimistic, in either case it is a troubled future, as the subtitle says, that awaits.



4. Good stories that give an understanding of what's been happening in China since the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989.



5. I picked this book up while doing quite a bit of reading on East Asia, and it's by far the best I chose. Telling the tale of China through experiences and interviews was a brilliant way to make a lot of information easily digestible. This book wasn't written to tell the scholarly what they already know, it was written so that those interested could begin to grasp this complicated country. After reading, be ready to convince yourself that you shouldn't buy a ticket over (unless you can afford it, then get out of here) because this book will likely do for you what it did for me, create the beginnings of understanding with an insatiable hunger for everything Chinese.

5 comments about The FX Bootcamp Guide to Strategic and Tactical Forex Trading (Wiley Trading).

1. Wayne really hits the mark with this book. It's a basic summary of the method he teaches at www.fxbootcamp.com. Not only does he cover the technical and fundamental aspects that a successful Forex trader needs to know, but he covers the other all important topics too, like risk analysis, trade plans & journals, trade reviews and having the right mindset to be a successful trader. All with no Fluff!
   
   I found Wayne's book really helped me trade according to MY rules, not the markets rules. This meant that when I trade, it's become a lot of fun again. Now I am trading in one night, profit wise, what I used to trade in one month.
   
   If you want to get a clear sense of what is in this book, have a look at his videos on FXStreet.com blogs called "2 Hour Video: Strategic & Tactical FOREX Trading". blogs.fxstreet.com/fxbootcamp/2008/03/12/2-hour-video-strategic-tactical-forex-trading
   
   I recommend this book to anyone who feels there is room to improve in their Forex trading, or is looking for a reliable, simple system to follow. The method outline in Wayne's book won't give you every pip in a market's movements, but it will provide you with a large portion of them, in a conservative manner.
   
   I also recommend this book to new FX Bootcampers, as it will help them come up to speed quickly, with the method Wayne teachers at FX Bootcamp.
   
   In response to Jeff Marsick's review (RE - Good But Poorly Edited), I agree that this book could have done with more editting. In regards to Wayne's MACD settings of 21, 55, 8, this is in fact correct. One of the things with Wayne's method is that he uses a slowed down MACD oscillator to guage MARKET speed (medium term price action) and a sped up Stochastics oscillator to measure PRICE momentum (short term price action). This is covered in the above mentioned webinar video at around 18 minutes into it.



2. If you are serious about being a successful trader you really ought to consider the small price of this book. Way smaller than any one single stupid trade you will do at some point in your trading career... and this book will help steer you away from that stupid trade.
   
   This book will teach you in a clear and concise way how to become a professional trader. How?
   
   This book is excellent at explaining some key aspects of Technical and Fundamental Analysis. But no - that's not the reason why you should buy this book. I mean there are plenty of other resources where you can learn this type of analysis... and being excellent at fundamental and technical analysis does not mean you will be a successful trader.
   
   There are some excellent explanations of how the Gold, Oil, bond and equity markets are all linked to the largest market of all.... Currencies.
   
   There are some plain simple answers as to why a price goes up up up and then stops dead at a particular level. Why the market falls just after you buy only to shoots up again just after you decide to take the loss.
   
   But what really stands out for me, in this book, is that it taught me how to run my trading account as a business. Understanding how much I should be trading at any given time. How to control my emotions by planning my trade well in advance and only executing if the market does what I planned it might do. If it doesn't then I do not trade. ...and this book also taught me how to examine my trades and find faults. Makes you think twice about putting on a trade if you know you are going to have to justify your actions in writing.
   
   The writer, Mr Wayne McDonell, explains what technical indicators he uses and why, what fundamental analysis he does and why. But what really makes him stand out as the real deal is that he invites you to view him live, once a month, for FREE on the internet where he puts his words into practice.
   
   Callahan



3. This book isn't bad, but there is nothing new here that can't be found for free on trading websites. There are no actual trading strategies, just a lot of basic information that is readily available elsewhere. However, there are plenty of advertisements for the author's website and products. There are also many in spelling and grammar, as noted in another review. In short, this book isn't bad but there are better books on forex out there.



4. One thing is sure: This book makes ME better trader.
   
   All important aspects of Forex trading are explained. Not bad for 229 page book. No pages filling material.
   
   I had problem with consistency in my trading, and this book teaches me how to get over that problem. I think that every trader, even experienced ones, can learn something from this book.
   
   It is not absolute beginner's book, but if you know the basic things about Forex - you will be fine.



5. I feel I can read it over and over and still find more insight. A lot of information displayed in such a clear manner. A must read for traders at every level!

5 comments about China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power.

1. This was an enjoyable read, great if you what a flavor of China but not if you want an in-depth reflection. A good travel diary. I liked it



2. Before and after my two trips to China, 1998 and 2000, I had read just about every relatively modern travel essay on China. Mark Salzman's "Iron and Silk" had always been my favorite. Unfortunately, it was written in 1982 and the China it described has changed over in many ways many times.
   
   I still love "Iron and Silk" but have looked and yearned for a more up to date travel essay that is more accurate regarding today's China. Until "China Road" I had never found it.
   
   I know a lot of people liked "Rivertown" but it just did not do it for me. The recent "American Shaolin" is a great read but unfortunately tells a story from the early 1990's. China has changed so much and so fast since the end of Mao and the modernization that started under Deng and continues as we speak.
   
   China Road nails it. This book gives you the most up to date look at China I have ever read. It is well written, the insights and commentary are fantastic, and most importantly it will give the reader a view of the China of now and not the China of 5 or 10 years ago...because the China of 1998 is not the China of 2008.
   
   I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in China or thinking of going there.



3. NPR reporter Robert Grifford travels the length of China overland meeting interesting people and seeing the sharp contrasts in this emerging power.
   
   From the ultra-modern skyscrapers of Shanghai to farms unchanged in centuries Grifford seeks out the state of modern China in each.
   
   Grifford's style is clear and patient, he explains the history and background of each destination and even a pronunciation guide for Chinese names. Both neophites and veteran China scholars will find things of interest.



4. Rob Gifford presents an insightful journey into the hearts of the hearts and minds of the Chinese citizens he interviews on his travels down Route 312. He also provides historical information on how China got where it is today, and his prediction on how the country will evolve in the future. His observations help outsiders understand the ever evolving mixture of loosening economical control with the maintenance of a communist political structure, and the risks it presents to China's future. Overall, an excellent and thought provoking book!



5. I read this book while teaching school in China Summer 2008. It was a very interesting depiction of the dichotomies in China today - on the one hand the official word and on the other the curiosity and interest of the people in everything western. It was a book that made me think a lot about what I was seeing and what my students were saying. Gifford very accurately and clearly points out the options that face China in the near future and manages to give what seemed to me an unbiased view of both sides of each option. Gifford travels to both known and little known places so it's a travelogue as well. The book is very well written and well worth reading if you have any interest in China at all. When I finished reading China Road, I passed it along to another teacher at the school who has travelled throughout China and has lived there as well. He could hardly put it down, he found it so interesting.

5 comments about Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country.

1. "Secrets of the Temple" is a book that discusses the interaction of the Federal Reserve and Government economic policy. This book is basically a detailed analysis of the Reagan administration and the Volcker chairmanship of the Reserve.
   Once again Mr. Greider teaches us how the "clock" works by taking us on an intimate tour through the internal mechanisms of the "clock". This is the hands on approach to learning. I like it. Mr. Greider takes us on a tour of the factory - from assembly to design and through sales and advertising.
   This book is nearly 800 pages long. It's a bargain. If I had any negative criticism it would be that it contains too much information. But that seems to be Mr. Greider's style - no one is going to accuse him of not "doing his homework". This book is not a "read"; it is a "study".



2. Tom Potts of Ottowa chose to review this book, and he erroneously comments that:
   "The Federal Reserve is a 100% privately owned corporation, carefully set up to appear as though it is an arm of government. It was created solely for the benefit of it's shareholders, a significant proportion of which are foreign. Greider could have mentioned this extremely important fact at the outset. Instead he deliberately helps perpetuate the myth that "The Fed" is public."
   That short paragraph is simply not correct. Please understand that as a libertarian, I have no reason nor any desire to favor the Fed. But, I do favor getting the facts straight, and, in just the snippet quoted above, Mr. Potts' has more than one or two facts incorrect.
   The 12 Federal Reserve banks, facially organized like a private corporation, do indeed issue shares of stock to "member banks." But owning such stock is NOT like owning stock in a private corporation. To start with, member banks have no choice - they must both "own stock" and they also must have reserves on deposit with the Federal Reserve Banks. Yet their "stock" can't be bought, sold or pledged as security and memeber banks get no interest for the funds must they must have held in reserve by their Federal Reserve bank. And, the dividends paid are limited to, at most 6%, which is supposedly partial compensation for the fact that no interest is paid on the amount the member banks are required to have on reserve. And, if you review the weekly statement or balance sheet the Fed issues, you'll see the "total capital" which, you might say represents the Fed's "profit." The Fed's excess capital is then paid over to the U.S. treasuery.
   So, to say that the Federal Reserve was created solely for the "benefit of is shareholders" misstates the situation.



3. The Wall Street collapse in October 1987 was an unusual event. This book explains the political struggles that led to this financial crisis and how the Federal Reserve controlled our economy. Since 1912 the activities of the Federal Reserve have generally been kept secret from the people by the policies of the corporate media. People can't judge or complain about things that are unknown to them. Greider said Paul Volcker, the Fed chairman, controlled our economy through the Reagan era with tight money and high interest rates. Does the Federal Reserve Act turn over Constitutional powers to a private bank so they enrich themselves and disadvantage the people? I think the answer is "Yes". These facts are mostly censored from the censored from the history taught in schools. Corporations have vast influence on the universities and colleges in this country.
   
   The income and payroll taxes withheld from your weekly paycheck do not go directly to the government. They are deposited in a Federal Reserve bank, and then loaned to the Federal government at interest. Every 3 months this money is turned over to the Federal government. The paper dollars (Federal Reserve Notes) are borrowed by the Federal government at interest. JFK ordered the issuance of Treasury Notes in 1963 to cut this cost of interest. After he was removed from office this policy was stopped. If this is all news to you, just where are you getting your information?
   
   Greider points out that 19th century Americans fully understood the politics of money (p.246). Modern Americans are more ignorant ("dumbing down"). The gold standard of the 1880s was a policy to extort money from the people who had to pay paper money debts with over-valued gold (p.247). The gold standard did not guarantee stable prices. Cycles of price inflation and deflation were part of world commerce, whether the currency was gold, silver, or copper (p.248). The current problems with an unstable money supply go back to Renaissance times (p.249). Capitalism requires instability. A period of inflation to stimulate growth and wealth followed by deflation to consolidate this created wealth (p.249). No popularly elected government can have a stable price system since that leads to economic stagnation (p.250). Usurious lending was a means to expropriate land from small farmers (p.251). Chapter 8 provides a history of America you won't learn about in school books.
   
   This 800 page book contains many other interesting facts and history in explaining the Federal Reserve. Since WW I the activities of the Fed were followed by the destruction of small and mid-size businesses. Around 1950 most small businesses in a town were locally owned and operated. Since then they are mostly chains of a large corporation or a franchised agent. Profits are taken by the few from the many. More people are wage-earners than owners of their own business.



4. An informative and entertaining book. It explains how the the Federal Reseve operates and control the money supply; but this information is mingled with the events of the the 1980's. My main motivation for reading this book was to acquire this knowledge. It was very interesting to learn what happened behind the scenes in the White House as it struggled with
   the 1980's recession. The book, however, gives too many examples of how
   people reacted, essentialy repeating the same message. This book could
   have been half as long without losing any of its value.



5. This book gives out no secrets - it is more of a fanzine. Don't waste your money. The Creature From Jeykl Island is better history and Web of Debt is better current events.

5 comments about Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age.

1. "Unequal Democracy" presents the results of a six-year exploration of the political causes and consequences of economic inequality in America. It was inspired by the substantial escalation of this inequality in recent years. Total income going to the top 0.1% of income earners has more than tripled, from 3.2% in the late 1950s to 10.9% in 2005; that going to the top 1% rose from 10.2% to 21.8%. Further, this widening is accelerating. Despite this trend, 80% believe that though you may start out poor, if you work hard you can make lots of money - more than any other developed nation. This belief undermines motivation for change.
   
   Bartels believes that the most significant domestic policy initiative of the past decade has been a massive government-engineered transfer of additional wealth from the lower and middle classes to the rich via substantial reduction in federal income taxes for the rich.
   
   Economists have found little evidence that large disparities promote growth, or that progressive tax rates retard growth by discouraging economic effort.
   
   Meanwhile, political campaigns have become dramatically more expensive, increasing the reliance of elected officials on those who can afford to help finance their re-election bids. At the same time, membership in labor groups, a previously countervailing force, has substantially declined.
   
   On average over the past half century, real incomes of middle-class families grew 2X under Democrats vs. Republicans, and working poor families grew 6X faster under Democrats - even after allowing for differences in economic circumstances.
   
   So why do those with lower incomes vote for Republicans? Bartels tells us that contrary to the theme of "What Happened to Kansas," moral values do not trump economics as a basis for lower-income voting behavior. Bartels offers evidence that the contradiction is explained by confusion generated by mixing "working class" (defined often as those w/o a college education) with lower-income. The working class has a lot of relatively high earners that are influenced by the moral values issues.
   
   Bartels then contends that Republican success in presidential races is due to voters' overemphasis on election-year economic growth, vs. the superior longer-term performance of Democratic presidents, but lesser achievement during the last year of their terms.
   
   Finally, its on to the estate ("death") tax. Actions to reduce and eliminate it during the early Bush II years represent about 15% of the impact of the overall tax reduction package. Bartels asserts that there is enormous misunderstanding about this tax regarding the wideness of its applicability. As a result, it is a wonder that it still exists.
   
   Bottom Line: "Unequal Democracy" presents a carefully documented set of conclusions about an important and timely topic; its only drawback is that sometimes the statistics get too deep.



2. The facts stand for themselves outside the realm of Partisan politics. Idealists hate facts. Fanatics hate facts. I Love facts. Whose ideas work the best is what I want. Most Americans would Love to make more money and do better each and every year. Who can argue against that except a suicidal maniac.



3. It's no coincidence that Larry Bartels is a political scientist -- not an economist. His book purports to show that American economic performance under Democratic administrations has been superior to performance under Republicans, across all income categories.
   
   Apparently, this chart has a lot of liberals very excited. Too bad that it is complete nonsense.
   
   Bartels grossly oversimplifiwa how economic policy actually impacts economic performance. The root of its problem lies in the inane assumption that the effect of policy on economic growth manifests itself with a one year lag. In other words, Bartels gives a political party credit for economic performance starting the year following it takes over the Presidency.
   
   Let's explore this assumption. A president comes into power. By the time his first budget goes into effect, it is already October of that year. Does anyone really think that that initial budget has any signifiant impact on economic performance of the following year? And that only the budget is responsible for that economic performance?
   
   Just to show the arbitrary nature (and impact) of the one year lag assumption, I ran growth numbers for a *two* year lag based on Bureau of Economic Analysis data, from 1945 to 2007. In that time period, average economic growth (for all income categories, to keep it simple) resulting under Democratic adminstrations was 2.02%. From Republican administrations, 2.08%.
   
   The other major assumption that the study ignores is that it is Congress, not the Presidency, that holds the power of the budget. Asking who controlled Congress and what those policies were has just as much (or more) bearing on economic outcomes as who was in the White House. Similarly, the Fed controls monetary policy, which potentially has a greater economic impact that fiscal policy. Who has appointed the Federal Reserve Chairman and its Board of Governors? Are they employing a conservative or liberal ideological approach to monetary policy?
   
   Additionally, Bartels' "analysis" just completely ignores history, again by making foolish assumptions about the data lag. For example, it's pretty widely accepted that the economic downturn and stagflation of the early 1970s was proximately caused by the financial demands of the Great Society and the Vietnam War, coupled with exogenous shocks to oil prices. Both the Great Society and America's deep involvement in Vietnam came courtesy of LBJ. So you can'tgive Nixon credit for bad economic performanceon his watch - the causes of rampant inflation and low growth at the time weren't his fault.
   
   In the final analysis, the success of economic policy of respective Democratic and Republican administrations must be evaluated based on their long term impact. This is very difficult to measure because there are so many dfferent factors at work -- fiscla policy, monetary policy, technological innovation and impact on productivity, population and demographic change, commodities avilability, trade, etc.
   
   Behind this complexity, however, the fact remains that basic economics tells us smaller government, lower taxes, and less wealth redistribution results in a larger pie for everyone. Nothing in the Bartels' "analysis" as should cause a rational observer to doubt that simple fact. If there's any doubt of this, compare the long term growth rates of the US versus Europe. Freer markets, smaller government, and lower taxes inevitably produce higher growth, lower unemployment, and lower inflation in the long run. If there's any doubt, here's a fact from a recent speech from the President of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet:
   
   "Since 1996, the annual growth rate for the euro area has averaged 2.1% per year compared to 3.3% in the US."
   
   The speech goes on to propose structural reforms in Europe to increase competition and promote innovation (including tax reform and labor market reform) -- the fundamentals of conservative economic doctrine.
   
   http://americangerontocracy.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/better-economic-growth-under-the-democrats/



4. A couple of things jumped out for me:
   
   "comparing average annual real pre-tax (1) income growth (%) for families at various points in the income distribution" from 1948-2005:
   
   -- First, everyone made more money under Democratic presidents, although the difference was small for the wealthiest (95th percentile).
   
   -- Under Republicans, the wealthy do a lot better (2.12% increase per year for the 95th percentile) than those with less (0.43% increase for the 20th percentile).
   
   -- Under Democrats the middle class, working class, and poor do a little better than the rich (2.38-2.64% increase compared to 2.12% for the 95th percentile).
   Because these are percent per year, they compound. Over time Democratic presidents have narrowed the income gap whilst making everyone wealthier. Republican presidents have significantly widened the income gap and even the wealthy make less than under Democrats.
   
   Bartels spends many pages showing that this is not a statistical fluke or the product of other factors. He also explains why each party's tax and fiscal policies lead to what we observe. This is a real effect of the party in power.
   
   [...]



5. In this study Princeton professor Larry Bartels makes the argument that lower- and middle-income groups consistently do better under Democratic administrations than under Republican. During the last sixty years (1948-present) the average annual growth of real GNP was 1.64 percent per capita under Republican presidents and 2.78 percent under Democratic presidents. He shows further that income inequality has gone sharply upward during Republican administrations and slightly downward during Democratic. Inequality has gone up significantly since 1980, years in which Republicans have won all but two presidential elections. He calls this the "new gilded age" because the top 1 percent now controls 20 percent of the wealth, a percentage not seen since the 1920's. Perhaps another sign that the economy is out of balance and heading for greater turbulence.
   
   Republican economists will argue that this is merely a statistical aberration. They claim that presidents have little influence over the economy, and other forces such as monetary policy, oil prices, and technology are more determinative. Republicans view the market as a force of nature, whereas Democrats see it as a political construct. Bartels, being a Democrat, makes a strong case for government intervention to achieve greater balance and greater income equality.
   
   Bartels shows that Democratic presidents have consistently produced their best results during their second year in office. This is because the spending programs put in place the first year usually produce their benfits the second. Not suprisingly income growth was virtually the same for both parties the first, third, and fourth years. The second year surge seems to have given Democrats the edge.
   
   The question that comes to mind is that if Democrats are producing higher income growth and greater equality why did Republicans win 5 of the last 7 presidential elections? Bartels' answer is that the benefits of the second year are no longer part of the voter's consideration by the time elections roll around. Also by the fourth year Republican presidential candidates are making populist election year promises that make them indistinguishable for Democratic candidates. (Which party now is not in favor of bailouts and stimulus packages?)
   
   Bartles makes an interseting argument. He argues that for those looking out for their economic interests it is not only important for Democrats to vote Democratic but Republicans - other than the top 1 percent - should also be voting Democratic. (Joe the Plumber included.) The upcoming presidential elections will probably prove Bartels theory correct.

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 Forex Patterns & Probabilities: Trading Strategies for Trending & Range-Bound Markets (Wiley Trading).

1. Book providing an overview of the forex market and some simple strategies. A book for beginners. If you have read other similar books, give this one a skip.



2. This book is a must read. I have read all of the other reviews on here but none of them really convey the tremendous quality and help that Ed Ponsi's book provides. I have finally become a successful professional trader, and I have to say that this book helped me more than anything else. Ed Ponsi gives strategies that make sense and very clear instructions for using them. All of the doubt has been removed from my trading, thanks to the objective rules based systems like the FXED Trend, which is my favorite. Not only that but the book is filled with little distinctions that may seem minor on the surface, but can mean the difference between defeat and success.
   
   Just as important as the great trading techniques are the explanations why they make so much sense. This book cuts through the nonsense, and if you understand what Ed is saying then you realize that much of the other stuff that is out there is pretty useless. Maybe obsolete is a better word, now that this book is out there the bar has been raised and hopefully the quality of other books in this genre will pick up the pace. Read this book!



3. What a great book on trading, by far the best I've read on Forex (and I've read most of them). The book begins with an overview of Forex, but doesn't get bogged down in minutiae - instead, the author lays out the groundwork and explains what he calls the "playing field" of Forex. Then, he shifts into high gear, blasting out one fully developed strategy after another. Entire chapters are devoted to individual strategies for ways to trade trending markets, and there is no filler or wasted time. Once he has taught us several strategies to take advantage of trending markets, then he teaches tactics for those times when the market is not trending - including my personal favorite, "The Boomerang", which is designed to fade moves at certain times of day. It's all incredibly clean and logical, and practical - this is stuff you can actually use! This book is absolutely brilliant and deserving of all the praise it receives.



4. This book is packed with lots of information for a new trader like me. I wish this was the first book I bought about forex trading.



5. Excellent book which everyone who is new to forex trading should read and backtest strategies discussed by the author.

5 comments about Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.

1. The most unsettling aspect of Barbara Ehrenreich's eye-opening foray into the world of the working poor is that the situation hasn't improved. In fact, it's gotten worse. The U.S. economy was booming in the late 1990s when she began her project, working anonymously in various minimum-wage jobs and reporting about the experience. Though she steps in and out of the lives of the minimum-wage workers who befriend her, she is a very powerful, effective advocate for them. In her book, she shows that living decently on about $7 an hour (still the minimum wage in most states) is impossible. However, Ehrenreich gives it a try in three cities, working as a waitress, housekeeper and Wal-Mart clerk. She reports from the front lines, where the working poor eat potato chips for dinner and sleep in fleabag motels, and she does the same. She finds that minimum-wage workers lead a dreary existence, toiling away in obscurity day after day with little hope, just getting by as long as they don't fall ill, need dental work or get in a car wreck. The terribly sad part is that many see no light at the end of the tunnel. getAbstract finds that Ehrenreich is a gifted writer with keen perceptions and a wry sense of humor. Her narrative flows effortlessly as she enlightens, educates and entertains. If only she had a magic wand.



2. I originally read this book when it was first published! I found it hard hitting, have quoted from it frequently and have recommended it to numerous indivduals.
   I feel her book does not go far enough, because; let us be honest, she knew she would "get out" of the circumstances. It was an experiment for her; and that kept her from sinking into despair. Total desperation, and fear that her children would never have full tummies. This is the plight of the working poor everywhere in America. To say it is not is to close ones eyes and live in ignorance.
   This book is best read without the snacks, without the liquid refreshment within arms reach. Let your stomach be a little empty, so you can permit your body to feel the book as well.



3. This book tells the reality for too many Americans, who don't qualify for the Bush/McCain tax cuts. Sad, and scary, reading.



4. There are no words that I could use to describe this woman's attitude that haven't already been sprinkled throughout Amazon reviews; whiny, preachy, arrogant, self-righteous, annoying...you get the point. She seems to be the worst kind of person: the kind that pretends to care about the plight of others in order to further her own career. I'd put her up there with Jesse and Reverend Al. Allow me to quote her actual words:
   
   "I originally sought what I assumed would be a relatively easy job in hotel housekeeping and found myself steered into waitressing, no doubt because of my ethnicity and English skills."
   
   "Unlike many low-wage workers, I have the further advantage of being white and a native English speaker."
   
   "I ruled out places like New York and L.A., for example, where the working class consists mainly of people of color and a white woman with unaccented English seeking entry-level jobs might only look desperate or weird."
   
   I'm sorry, is she white and privileged? I didn't happen to catch that part. Also, yeah, it would look desperate. That's what you get when you're actually poor. You know, desperate.
   
   She laces the book with many footnotes and statistics, which are actually interesting, but she clearly has no idea what to do when she becomes the statistic. This is the prime example of what happens when you study all the charts, and you see them all laid on in black and white, then try to actually claim them as your own life and look foolish. You know how many homeless people lived on the streets from `90-'95? Okay, good. They're going to shut your power off because you're late on the payments. What are you going to do with that statistic?
   
   "Ideally, at least if I were seeking to replicate the experience of a woman entering the workforce from welfare, I would have had a couple children in tow...In addition to being mobile and unencumbered, I am probably in a lot better health than most members of the long-term low-wage workforce. I had everything going for me."
   
   Wow. All that and a killer personality. You really do have everything. Way to go. You've successfully exploited and no doubt offended the people whose lives your book claims to showcase.
   
   In fairness, she is able to step outside of herself and note that "almost anyone could do what I did...In fact, millions of Americans do it everyday, with a lot less fanfare and dithering." Although, I can't help but feel like she decided to write a book about what it was like for her to be poor for a few months, instead of what it's like to actually be poor.
   
   All of the above quotes come from the first 10 pompous pages. I decided then that I did not care for this book, but made myself read until I couldn't take it anymore, which occurred on page 32. One of my favorite examples of her detachment is when she turns down a job that pays $7 an hour (in the mid-90s, mind you) because it "involves standing in one spot for eight hours a day."
   
   Here's another funny one: "About a third of a server's job is "side work" invisible to customers." I just think it's hilarious that she put the term "side work" in quotes like that, as if nobody had ever heard the term before.
   
   I am honestly offended by her ignorance of a subject she claims to have not only researched, but "lived". I know people who live this book. I live this book. I've never known anyone to turn down any job because they asked for a urine screen, unless they were going to undoubtedly fail. Actually, they'd take the test anyway, and cross their fingers. Not Barbara, though. It's beneath her. "If you want to stack Cheerios boxes or vacuum hotel rooms" she writes, "you have to be willing to squat down and pee in front of a health worker." This doesn't make any sense to her, stating that "$6 and a couple of dimes to start with are not enough, I decide, to compensate for this indignity."
   
   You know what's indignity? When they take your kids away because you can't feed them. That's indignity.
   
   I never made it to the second chapter, but the first few sentences of the opening paragraph are intriguing at the least:
   
   "I chose Maine for its whiteness." Very first words of the chapter. Believe me, it gets better: "This might not make Maine an ideal setting in which to hunker down for the long haul, but it made it the perfect place for a blue-eyed, English-speaking Caucasian to infiltrate the low-wage workforce, no questions asked."
   
   Caucasian? Who says that? This woman is very misguided. She did this "experiment" about ten years ago, but I think white people worked minimum wage jobs then, as they do now. Except in Maine, apparently.
   
   This is not a book about being poor. It is a book about a bored, middle-class woman who decides to go slumming, and she doesn't even follow her own rules that closely. She busts out her debit card when needed, she turns down jobs actual poor people would kill to have, and she does it all with the empathy and compassion of Adolf Hitler. There are people who think this book deserved its bestseller status. I'm not one of them. There are people who hail it as a classic, those who think that this woman has done the working-class a favor by writing this garbage. Those people are not working-class people. Those people are not my people.
   
   2 stars, simply because I had to keep reading in order to find out how she would insult me next.



5. Many of us have worked at jobs that barely paid the bills, and paid us much less than we considered we were worth. An increasing number of people live lives dependent on such jobs. How does one make it in a country where the rents, food costs, transportation costs and health care costs routinely outpace the rise of minimum wages? Barbara Ehrenreich tried an experiment - she took on the task of finding such jobs, one in cleaning, one in restaurant serving, and one in retail, to see if she could make it even for a month on such wages.
   
   Ehrenreich confesses to cheating - her transportation was always assured, she started with a comfortable sum, and really didn't have to worry about the longer-term issues of health care or saving for the unexpected. Still, the experiment was eye-opening. Despite the fact that the population served by places that cater to low-wage earners such as weekly residential hotels and food kitchens, it often costs more in time and money for people to take advantage of such things. The amount of time Ehrenreich spent trying to get free food amounted to a considerable sum, even if calculated at the minimum wage. Of course, this was also time that could not be spent in terms of education or job searching - how can one improve one's lot in life if basic survival needs take up so much time and energy?
   
   I work with people and teach in schools where people, even if they aren't living on absolute minimum wages, still exist in a state where an auto breakdown can make the difference between finishing the semester or not, or where a computer breakdown or inability to get to a free library computer can make the difference of getting through a degree program. Most low-wage earners are among the hardest working people in the country, as Ehrenreich discovers in her experiment, and many have family obligations on top of the job-and-a-half or two-job life (and, of course, many of those are single mothers). From big box stores to small businesses, the routine infringement of privacy and personal rights was intense, but something that apparently is treated as routine, both by those who invade and those invaded.
   
   Ehrenreich's book has been used as community reads and common reading projects at various schools and colleges. There are some critiques worth mentioning - Ehrenreich's politics are on the liberal side, and that turns off some readers (including, as it happens, many who fall in the low-wage category). Her message can be distorted to fit different political agendas, not always of her intention. The experiment also presents a few slices of life that are far from a statistical or scientific study; as an anecdotal piece, this is very fascinating, but one needs to look elsewhere for facts and figures. As Ehrenreich states, however, it is hard to calculate in this bracket - the official poverty levels bear little relationship to who really is or is not poor, and that can vary from one part of the country to another. Ehrenreich's experiment also doesn't fully capture the experience of much of the poor, who also tend to be minorities; a bit of this poked through as Ehrenreich found she was sometimes considered for certain roles and not others just because she was not a minority.
   
   On the whole, this is a fascinating book, well worth reading by those of us in the more comfortable classes to see just what many have to go through to survive in our generally affluent society.

5 comments about The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good.

1. Whilte the author has some important and sometimes hard-hitting points to make about foreign aid and its effectiveness (or lack thereof), it's obvious he still wants to get invited to the cool cocktail parties in New York. He correctly focuses on the aid community's penchant for big projects with no specific accountability vs. smaller, user-oriented ones. However, he seems obliged to maintain a veneer of "neutrality" by opposing military operations despite their proven success in cases like Japan and South Korea. He also over-uses statistics in questionable circumstances that make for heavy going and undermine his credibility. It's also a little pathetic that he has to make clear from little family vignettes that he is a vegetarian and imposes an artsy-fartsy lifestyle on his kids. Not a surprise that he's divorced. Still worth the read.



2. The main thing I do share with Easterly is his disdain for the rockers and the dreamers.
   
   However, beyond that, the main theme of this book is a simple tautology--if it works according to whatever criteria he stipulates, it's a "Seeker," if it doesn't, it's a "Planner." And lo and behold, the Planners are the bad boys, because they never succeed. There is nary a recognition of the fact that if you want to "seek" to help the poor somewhere, there are always those pesky governments to deal with. Just one example: he argues that the amounts of money that have been spent on roads in developing countries have ultimately had little impact in many situations, because roads deteriorate. So he recommends that donors need to build maintenance into their programs. Alas, in many parts of the world road maintenance is a job for the local government (which he acknowledges by citing how he deals with a pothole in the States). Now is his recommendation tantamount to suggesting that donors build up local government in developing countries, run by -- what, contractors? Interesting concept.
   
   The basic issue remains: the poor tend to be poor on a large scale largely because they live in countries with bad governments at all levels. The Seekers (sometimes known as do-gooders) can help provide bandaids, but lasting solutions depend on ratcheting up government performance in those countries. How to accomplish that? There are some answers to that, but don't turn to Easterly for guidance.



3. I highly reccommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the world as it is. Economic, political, and historic factors make the world we live in, with the sharp contrasts inside and inbetween countries. Easterly efficiently describes why such constrasts exist, and what can be done to reduce inequality, at several levels (e.g. national policies, political programs, local development). For anyone interested in social development, or just in knowing why some people don't have food in their tables everyday, three times a day.
   
   Make yourself conscious of the world you live in, and, even better, take action to modify reality.



4. Here, William Easterly lifts the veil of fog and proceeds to make a big dent in our collective ignorance about the "ways of global poverty" and in the process tells us what "not to do" in trying to surmount it. His trenchant critique gives a whole new meaning to the biblical philosophy: Give a man a fish and you feed him for one day, but teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," as well as to the well-worn adage that "the road to hell many times has been paved with good intentions."
   
   Always sharp, relevant, wise and delivered with the authority of a man who has "been there, done that, and bought the tee shirt," This is the testimony of a man who has wrestled in the trenches with the problem of global poverty and lost so many times that he has now figured out what he and everyone else have been doing wrong. He is like the "Archie Moore of Global Aid programs." And at least in principle Easterly now knows the score and what needs to be done to get global poverty right. His experience, his logic, his tenacity, the crispness but lightness of his writing, and his bravery in taking on the conventional wisdom (and all of its embedded sacred cows), convinces me that Easterly is the real deal; and that if he does not know what he is talking about then no one does.
   
   His story has the full ring of truth. It is one born both out of compassion and frustration. He is tactful, and gingerly tips around the currently reigning gurus and heroes of the global poverty fight, and here I mean such heroes as Jeffery Sachs, Gordon Brown and even Madonna and Bono. His story can be summarized somewhat as follows:
   
   While beautiful heartfelt and compassionate ideas coupled with a plan and money (so far the West has spent more than $2.3 trillion with minimal results), does indeed constitute a "valid" global poverty eradication program, it does not in fact constitute a "viable" one. And here is the twist: The difference between "valid" and "viable" is not just semantic or symbolic fluff, but the difference between success and failure. The presently used "so-called" valid formulas have been tried and have failed so often that they have long since passed the point of violating Einstein's maxim of how insanity is defined: "repeatedly trying the same old techniques and expecting a different result."
   
   The reason this formula may be "valid" but not "viable" is that unlike the distribution system that got nine million copies of JK Rowley's book "Harry Potter" into the hand of kids in less than a week, once the boxcars of food are dropped off in some godforsaken Third world desert, there is no well-oiled, well-motivated distribution system available to see that they then get to the needy. Most of those in need have no way of knowing that aid is available, and because of poor infrastructure, could not get to it even if they did.
   
   The incentive under such circumstances is for the lucky handful to use the "the White Man's" largesse either for the benefit of the immediately available and powerful few, or as a basis to begin the process of bureaucratization, which in the end amounts to the same thing. But Easterly knows as well as the rest of us, that even under the best of conditions, and even in the First World, bureaucracies exist only to siphon-off the resources to better perpetuate their own existence, and not to service their client, the poor, or to end poverty.
   
   It is the author's repeated and vivid analogies that drive home all of his key points. For instance, one of the reasons his "motivated middleman strategy" seems to work when bureaucracies do not, is that middlemen "gets paid" only after the end product is delivered to the recipient - whether that product is drugs, prostitution, Harry Potter Books, or poverty eradication. On the other hand, "poverty bureaucrats" (in the U.S. we call them poverty pimps) get paid "up front" for merely showing up on the job. There is no accountability or follow-up or even penalties for undelivered products, and thus they remain unmotivated to get the products out to the recipient. When this disincentive is coupled with local obstacles, such as lack of distribution infrastructure, ignorance or local politics, then it is easy to see why poverty aid has become a magnet for bureaucratic corruption and political machinations rather than for the eradication of poverty.
   
   According to the author, we allow our poverty fighting institutions (from the UN Relief agencies to ad hoc AIDs groups) to get caught-up in this bureaucratic trap by asking the wrong question: "What can foreign aid do for poverty?" -- rather than the proper one: "What can foreign aid do for poor people?" In his most colorful analogy, Easterly compares setting goals and sending money and food before this question is answered to sending a cow to the Kentucky Derby and expecting that by properly training and grooming it, it will compete successfully against thoroughbred racehorses. No matter how well the cow is groomed, trained or how many oats you feed it, the cow has no chance of winning. So too is true for poverty eradication programs that rely only on top-heavy bureaucracies. (Bureaucracies eat oats too, don't they?)
   
   What is the solution to Global Poverty?
   
   Easterly thinks that grandiose goals must first be tapered or given up altogether: Ending global poverty is not going to happen any time soon, if ever. And "having ending it" as an immediate goal is impractical and ultimately self-defeating.
   
   However, if we keep our ears and our aid close to the ground where micro-management is implicit and becomes "built in" rather than explicit, we can make a big dent in poverty by creating opportunities locally where none existed before. When we educate poor kids, especially girls, and otherwise use what people on the ground need and know, we are actually leveraging that knowledge into a force multiplier, that ripples horizontally across the landscapes of the poor, and trickles across rather than telescoping downward as is the case with bureaucratically driven models. In doing so, grassroots approaches have just the opposite effect of getting trapped in cycles of bureaucratic red tape: They tend to maximize the distribution and immediate utilization of scarce resources rather than minimizing and even working against them.
   
   But also implicit philosophy is being "tapped" in Easterly's reasoning. It is the same philosophy that has shown proven results and has been successfully exploited by notables such as the Noble Laureate Muhammad Yunus in his micro-lending programs in Bangladesh. It is a philosophy that is so often ignored that it has become a leitmotif of bureaucratized Aid Relief Programs: People on the ground often know better how they are best to be helped than bureaucrats in capital cities, or those with good intentions writing impersonal checks in far away lands.
   
   What people need is not the equivalent of America's Thanksgiving day handouts of old canned goods, but the dignity and connections that go with being able to create ones own opportunities. It seems that the biblical adage of give a man a fish and feed him for a day, or teach him how to fish and he will feed himself for a life time, works better in the world of global poverty than does Aid bureaucracies.
   
   A valuable addition to the discussions and literature of poverty eradication, and to a potential mid-course correction to those many failing efforts. Five Stars



5. Well researched and very well written critique of foreign development aid. Very useful in challenging the conventional wisdom of much strategic aid policy