2 comments about Currency Wars: How Forged Money is the New Weapon of Mass Destruction.

1. It's no secret that everything these days is vulnerable to mass counterfeiting. This includes DVDs, handbags, pharmaceuticals and money. Currency Wars traces the history of the mass counterfeiting of money, which has been used as an instrument of war.
   
   The author of Currency Wars, John Cooley, is a renowned and celebrated journalist whose specialty is the Middle East. Cooley is one of the rare Western journalists with wide credibility in the Middle East and is famous for being friends with top leaders there.
   
   In his previous book, Unholy Wars published in June 2002, Cooley was ahead of the curve in his understanding of the important events of the day. Always sweeping and provocative, Cooley has now turned his attention to the possibility of counterfeit money being used by all sides in the current wars with devastating results.
   
   Currency Wars has many intriguing historical tales of belligerents forging the currency of their adversaries in order to win wars. The stories span many wars, including The American Revolutionary War, WWI and WWII. The author makes it clear that the weapon of counterfeit currency alone has never won a war, but that the practice is as old as currency itself.
   
   Don't confuse this book with another book by the same title, Currency Wars, by a Song Hongbing, a popular first-time author in China. Hongbing's book is a best-seller in China. A bona fide conspiracy book, he contends that the Rothschilds were behind a conspiracy to control money issuance that continues to the present day and that this threatens developing countries. Song's Currency Wars appeals to protectionist impulses there.
   
   If Cooley is correct, mass currency counterfeiting will become a major threat, if it isn't already, because it targets the enemy's economy so insideously without the perpetrator being exposed to hostile fire.



2. Warning! If you are looking for the best selling book in China called "currency wars" that has been mentioned in the FT and New York Times, then this is NOT what your looking for. That book has NOT yet been translated in English. Its very interesting how a book on the Chinese best selling list a year ago has yet to be published in English. Just as interesting is how 4 months after the Financial Times wrote an article about the book, this book comes out with the same name, almost as if to fool people into thinking this is the one causing all the hype. Is it far fetched to think the bankers control the publishing companies that chose not to publish a best seller in Asia? Or try and pawn this book off as the real thing, to deter people from reading what might hurt their imagine? The author you want is Song Hongbing.

1 comments about Money Meltdown.

1. First, the only reason I did not give this 5 stars is because I think the book could have been more concise. I don't fault Ms Shelton for this as much as I do her editor.
   
   That said, her points are well made. She starts off with the "Legacy of Bretton Woods". Then discusses (at length) both what conditions were like in many of the countries at the time as well as what went wrong and why Nixon finally removed this country from the modified gold standard of Bretton Woods (by the way, Paul Volker was heavily involved with this decision according to Shelton.) I for one appreciated the well documented, scholarly history lesson.
   
   The 4th chapter titled "Theory vs Reality" discusses 4 currency theories: dirty float, pegged rates, hard currency and private currency. She discusses strengths and weaknesses of all the systems.
   
   The book concludes with recommendations. She covers both what she thinks is the best monetary system and how to implement it. I won't tell you what she suggests. But I'll say this - the book was last updated in 1998, and given what has happened (I'm writing this in Nov. 2008) since that time, it's too bad the powers that be, didn't listen to this lady.

5 comments about Building Your Multi-Million Dollar Practice: 8 Success Strategies of Top Producing Advisors.

1. I work with financial advisors for a living and I have seen some that are successful and many that are not. This book will help any advisor who is struggling to take off, or any advisor looking to take their business to another level. The book is full of practical advice that you can use immediately. Don't kick yourself tomorrow for not buying this book today!



2. Katherine and Peter Vessenes have a unique perspective on how to build a top financial services practice today. With the current emphasis on efficiency in the workplace, the Vessenes take this to another level for financial professionals. The combination of practical and theoretical suggestions make this a must read for any financial professional who wants to supercharge their practice. This reader found the numerous stories of practitioners around the country of particular interest. It would be even more helpful if the authors would divulge who the stories referenced rather than using imaginary names. Despite this, the book was very well written with various sections authored by one or the other of the Vessenes. Their insight into the financial services industry is very refreshing.



3. This book was one I purchased only on the off chance that it would help build a practice as the title is a little sensational. However this book is helpful for all financial planning practices regardless of size and stage of development.



4. Write a book marketed towards struggling financial advisors which is just a commercial for your registered/trademarked strategies and coaching services. The authors should have given the book away rather than trying to disguise their services as a way to build a multi million dollar advisory business. Neither author has any experience as financial advisor. There are better books written by actual advisors in the business.



5. Not only has Building your Multi-Million-Dollar Practice offered fabulous advice to financial advisors (and if you follow the 8 Strategies, you should be successful), it also distills down for ANY small service business the things they need to do to stay in business. I often tell my clients to read this book and substitute in Small Business for Financial Advisor. Many of the tips offered in the book, like how to hire employees, how to let your customers know they are valued, and how to market your services are valuable to any small business.
   
   Even so, the perspective of this book is truly from knowledgeable authors who have vast experience working in and running a practice. I have read the book myself numerous times, have it all marked up, tabbed and more. I use this book as a Bible for running my management consulting practice, and I highly recommend it as excellent reading for any business trying to get their processes in place.

No comments about Coins and Other Currency: A Kid's Guide to Coin Collecting (Robbie Readers) (Robbie Readers).

5 comments about Financial Analysis with Microsoft Excel.

1. An excellent book that really shows you how powerful Excel can be. But, at the same time, it also teaches you about Finance using Excel. Very, very good. A regret: I would have liked more explanations, in general, on the financial concepts used in the book (especially in the last chapters).

   To Dr. Mayes: in your next book, the advanced one a reviewer speaks about, could you give more explanations in general on the financial concepts. Otherwise, keep using this great tool, Excel, or even Access 2000. I refer you to "Building Accounting Systems using Access 97" by James T. Perry, et al. I would think that you could use Access 2000 to apply financial analysis if Access is better suited than Excel, which I am not so sure; although Mr. Perry seems to give quite convincing arguments in favour of using Access instead of Excel.

   Thanks for your book that I really liked. I am now up-to-date with Excel and I am keen to learn more about Finance. Thanks to you :-)




2. I wanted to learn about principals of finance such as depreciation etc...this book is NOT for that. It assumes you know a good bit about finance, but have never heard of Excel...not a likely scenario.



3. This is an excellent self-study book. You learn MS Excel and Financial Analysis at the same time. You can learn (by doing) the construction of financial statements & cash budgets. For those interested in financial economics the book teaches about the Capital Asset Pricing model, Return On Equity, Net Present Value and the Cost of Capital. It even contains a section on forecasting which is invaluable to those looking to do rather than read about it. Best of all it shows you how to do this stuff with a readily available desktop application(excel). Furthermore, you learn not just how to input the authors formulas but how to build your own using the IF, AVERAGE, TREND functions etc. etc.
   The best thing about this book is that you don't just read dry definitions of finance and economic arcana, but practice it as you go along. This really helps to build your skills!



4. Should be "Introduction to Excel using Finance Examples" At an introductory level, the Excel coverage is OK. But the finance component is extremely shallow. The authors need to team up with someone who knows finance. Those who seriously want to learn what this text wanted to offer should try "Financial Modeling Using Excel and VBA" (Wiley Finance)
   by Chandan Sengupta.



5. This is the text for the FIN 4200 class taught by Dr. Mayes at Metro State College in Denver. When he wrote it he was frustrated with the lack of material available to teach under-grads what they needed to get employment in the business world or do more advanced work in grad school.
   
   Having survived Dr. Mayes' class I can say this book is an Excellent text for learning practical advanced spreadsheet techniques. It is NOT a replacement for a corporate finance text, and the chapters are actually laid out to parallel Brigham's Intermediate Financial Management text.
   
   Each chapter represents approximately one week's topic, and it is necessary to do the problems at the end of each chapter to develop the skill needed to achieve his purpose.

5 comments about The Money Men: Capitalism, Democracy, and the Hundred Years' War over the American Dollar (Enterprise).

1. Dr. Brands never disappoints. His research and witty style makes him a must-read in any topic on American history. Here, he's taken what some might consider a dry economics topic and turned it into a pleasurable experience that will help anyone understand this important current in the course of our country.



2. I found this book to be a bit of a challenge, since it takes the reader through the history of U.S. money from before the nation's establishment as a country independent from the crown of England, and the accompanying tax structure, all the way through the Federal Reserve days of Alan Greenspan. Yet what I learned about the men profiled in this book gave me a glimpse of their "inner workings" and how their business - and personal - biases have had an affect on the entire development of the U.S. An excellent read.



3. I was expecting to read a brief history of the US monetary system and, in particular, the contribution thereof by each of Brand's five "money men". Instead I got a series of disjoint, narrow biographies on five guys who helped shape American banking.
   
   To be sure, the book has its moments, for example, there is an interesting discussion about the way in which funds for the civil war were raised through war bonds -- but it is apparently left as an exercise to the reader to consider how this approached changed the US economy in any broader sense (other than that it helped the North win the war). There is no over-arching description of how each man contributed to the current system or how their work impacted the monetary system over time. Part of the problem - a few specific exceptions aside - is that Brand does not paint any broad strokes that would give the reader an idea about what the economic, monetary and political climate were like during the lives of each of the men. I was left wanting for more thorough discussion concerning the monetary and economic issues of the era.
   
   Perhaps there is a book that describes the continuous evolution of American banking, money and capital markets, but this one isn't it.



4. It is VERY difficult to make an interesting book on the history of central banking and money in the US, especially without a pet agenda ("Bring back the gold standard!" or "Outlaw Central Banks!"). The Money Men contains American history, Economic history and Banking history, linked together in the stories of Alexander Hamilton, JP Morgan, and the powerful bankers between them.
   
   Does is succeed in being a page-turner? Not really - it's best read in several sittings. Does it avoid partisanship? Depends on the wording... While largely unbalanced, "Capitalism vs. Deomcracy" paints a biased view of the participants. "Capital driven democracy versus Economic populist democracy" could be less biased words. But all that said, the book certainly beats other alternatives of US central banking histories....



5. I have long been a fan of HW Brands - In fact he is the author of two of my favorite works on US History ("The First American" and "The Age of Gold") However, what has consistently made Brands a favorite of lovers of American history is missing in "The Money Men" - that is his amazing attention to personal details. Typically, Brands is able to bring his subjects alive like no other. Unfortunately, "The Money Men" is a very brief glimpse at five loosely associated men... each is given between 30-50 pages.
   
   
   The result of Brands work is an overview of the formation of the banking industry in the United States. I would approach "The Money Men" as a way to decide if you would like to tackle one of the more complete books on the subject... such as Chernow's masterful books on JP Morgan, Rockefeller, and Alexander Hamilton (And I highly recommend each of them).
   
   A final note.... at the time of publishing this review the price of "The Money Men" is less than three dollars. This is an outstanding price - and definitely worthy of a place in your library at this price!

5 comments about The Eurodollar Futures and Options Handbook (Irwin Library of Investment & Finance.).

1. Having just finished reading the author's treatment of bond futures in the 'Treasury Bond Basis,' I was happy to see that Burghardt was updating some of his material from the early 1990s on Eurodollar futures. The 'Bond Basis' was an excellent and thorough analysis, and 'The Eurodollar Futures and Options Handbook' follows the same trend.

   He provides an excellent overview of the institutional details of Eurodollars and their uses. The book is at its strongest when dealing with issues of the convexity bias and also scores high by not neglecting important issues like the stub period. Perhaps my favorite chapter was on callable bonds and the extension/compression risk, which, while a little misplaced in a book on Eurodollars, still provided a very lucid explanation of the relevant issues.

   With regard to options, the author touches upon some of the interest strategic combinations using serial and mid-curve options, but I feel that he could've delved a bit deeper in this part of the book. It's the only area in which I felt the book was somewhat lacking.

   Having said all that, if you're looking to learn about Eurodollar futures, I can't imagine there's a better book out there. This is an excellent compilation of a number of Burghardt's research from the 1990s together with more recent updates. Even if Eurodollars are not your main area of expertise, this book will still help you to gain a more solid understanding of many of the pertinent topics in fixed income.




2. Having just finished reading the author's treatment of bond futures in the 'Treasury Bond Basis,' I was happy to see that Burghardt was updating some of his material from the early 1990s on Eurodollar futures. The 'Bond Basis' was an excellent and thorough analysis, and 'The Eurodollar Futures and Options Handbook' follows the same trend.

   He provides an excellent overview of the institutional details of Eurodollars and their uses. The book is at its strongest when dealing with issues of the convexity bias and also scores high by not neglecting important issues like the stub period. Perhaps my favorite chapter was on callable bonds and the extension/compression risk, which, while a little misplaced in a book on Eurodlllars, still provided a very lucid explanation of the relevant issues.

   With regard to options, the author touches upon some of the interest strategic combinations using serial and mid-curve options, but I feel that he could've delved a bit deeper in this part of the book. It's the only area in which I felt the book was somewhat lacking.

   Having said all that, if you're looking to learn about Eurodollar futures, I can't imagine there's a better book out there. This is an excellent compilation of a number of Burghardt's research from the 1990s together with more recent updates. Even if Eurodollars are not your main area of expertise, this book will still help you to gain a more solid understanding of many of the pertinent topics in fixed income.




3. Clearly the best book on Eurodollar futures and options. The book is a must for anyone involved in fixed income securities.



4. This is a very practical book with detailed examples to help reader with the basic concept and Eurodollar Futures and Options. Very useful for beginners in this field. The last half of the book is dealing with more advanced topic more suitable for fix incoming researchers.



5. Great book with very detailed examples on the relationship between different fixed income instruments. My only complaint (and it is a very minor one) is lack of problems at the end of each chapter to help solidify the concepts. Otherwise, an excellent book.

No comments about Basel II Implementation: A Guide to Developing and Validating a Compliant, Internal Risk Rating System.

5 comments about The Art of Money: The History and Design of Paper Currency from Around the World.

1. Clearly this book is not directed to specialists in the field of world paper money collecting, though many dealers, it seems, are happy just to have something glossy and well-produced to entice people into joining the hobby. Yes, the book is pretty, and yes, it is entertaining. Unfortunately, it ignores an important issue that is at the core of paper money: politics. Why do some paper money designs change while others remain the same? Why do some countries put their leaders' pictures on their money while others would never do such a thing (at least not until they are dead)? Why do pounds become dinars, cruzados become reals, etc.? The book leaves the reader with the impression that the designs on paper money are hardly more than a celebration of a country's cultural and technological accomplishments, but there is more than that...

   This is why the book ultimately falls short: By studying the art of money only as an end rather than as a means to an end, a vast -- and fascinating -- dimension of the story is lost. Hopefully there will be other books on the topic that go beyond this initial effort.




2. Make no mistake -- this is a very attractive book. Frankly, its Jeremy Stout's design and Joshua Dunn's photography that make this book worth buying. Full color images of hundreds of U.S. and foreign paper currencies delight the eye. The layout itself takes its inspiration from money, with security stripes and microprinting, and even page numbers look like currency serial numbers.

   The commentary, however, is another issue. While often containing valuable tidbits of the history of paper currency, especially in the section on the United States, "The Art of Money" suffers from failed attempts at humor and an often joyless condescending tone. In an entry on Queen Elizabeth II she's described as looking a little too much like "Prince Charles in drag." The portraits on the redesigned U.S. currencies are described as looking like characters on "South Park".

   For most readers, this is not helpful information. In addition, there are too many explanations of images that include the modifiers "must be", "could be", "it would seem so" and modern interpretations of allegorical scenes. Absent an expert's analysis or first-hand knowledge of the reasons behind the placement of images on currency, the author's speculations do not help the novice currency collector and are likely to annoy the professional.

   In the final analysis, its the photos of the currencies, and not the captions, that make this book an enjoyable "read." And, as a former articles editor for "Playboy", Mr. Standish might forgive readers if we pick up his book only to look at the pictures.




3. Probably not the venue to launch into a tirade against the stultified, diploma/stock certificate-like house design style of the American treasury. But when you see the variety, color, flare and adventuresome spirit of other countries' currency designs, it is enough to make you positively ill. This is an old complaint, of course. This books visuals make a totally convincing case for the plaintiffs, however.
   
   There WAS one brief shining moment when American money designers put something better, a real world-class moolah design, in our wallets. --See the gorgeous 3 bill "Educational" series of the 1890's or the Buffalo dollar from the first decade of the 20th Century (with, yes, a full body engraving of a buffalo in the usual bureaucrat spot on front, and two bonus spots on the left and right bearing likenesses of Lewis and Clark). After this frolicking fist full of dollars, American currency design "went corporate"; there hasn't been a really fun or cool bill in almost a century now.
   
   The US post office has dolled up their issues to the point people accuse them of tackiness or pandering to populist taste. This is how we can see that stamps are alive as a design vehicle. When everything is august and handsome and tasteful, it is precisely as dead as...well, as American money design.



4. If you are looking for something with a lot of images, that's what you need.
   Very nice and fine printed, but it has not so much to say.



5. I own a copy of this book and I must say that it makes for a good coffee table book. If you appriciate paper money for the different kinds of artwork, then this book is worth having in your library.

5 comments about The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession.

1. The Power of Gold was lent to me by a colleague at work, a fellow market analyst. He and I talk monetary policy on a fairly regular basis, so he thought I'd like to give this book a read. Indeed, he was correct.
   
   In brief, this is a book which tracks the use of gold from a monetary perspective through most of human civilization. If you're at all interested in history, then this book is definitely right up your alley. It takes a look at world events from a perspective that you won't find in many other sources. Primarily that means focusing on how gold was (or was not) the main focal point of money and trade. I personally didn't care for the author's occassional forays into discussions of the decor of various palaces and whatnot, but they weren't too distracting. Beyond that, it was a very well written book, and a pleasant read.
   
   The really interesting stuff from a my perspective as a trader and analyst, of course, is the latter part of the book where it gets to modern times. I personally found the whole discussion of the 20th century, which was probably the last third or more of the book, to be the most meaningful. The author really presents an excellent discussion of various perspectives and efforts related to different countries being on or off the gold standard and how that all played out in both domestic and global economies.
   
   One of the things which has come up in modern political, social, and economic discussions is the idea of going back on the gold standard. There have been some very prominent proponents. If you want to get an idea of what that might look like, how that might play out in the global trade and economic modern environment, you'll definitely want to give The Power of Gold a read. It will really have you thinking about the complexity of it all, and the implications.



2. Peter Bernstein's "The Power of Gold" is an interesting read. It begins with a series of anecdotes on the history of hold - from the Israelites to King Midas to Crassus to Pizarro and everything in between.
   
   Suddenly, the anecdotes stop and instead the reader faces down some pretty hard core history of the gold standard and the economics therein. The change in tone was startling. Eric Conger, the reader on the abridged audio cassette handles it in stride and does his best to keep the tone and material light.
   
   Bernstein sets gold up as a villain in the lives of men and men's quest for gold does not usually turn out the way they plan. Bernstein details the evolution and subsequent gold standard and in so doing, uses the images of the anecdotes told previously. One of the more powerful and useful images was that of the merchant who was on a ship when it began to sink. Carrying all of his gold, the merchant jumped overboard and promptly sank - which poses the question, did the merchant possess the gold or did the gold possess the merchant?
   
   Once the nations of the world were off the gold standard, the market fluctuated wildly. It reached its zenith when it peaked at $850 an ounce in 1980. When Bernstein published the audio edition in 2000, gold had promptly gone downhill precipitously with a price below $300 an ounce. Bernstein all but closes the door on gold pronouncing that its time in the monetary system come and gone and its uses as a hedge non-existant.
   
   But just before Bernstein hammers in the last nail of gold's coffin, he quotes economist Robert Mundell who stated that gold would make a comeback in the 21st century. Sure enough, on January 14, 2008 (or 3 days before this review), gold was trading at a record $914 an ounce showing that gold's use as an enduring hedge seems as durable as gold itself.



3. The older edition (Aug 30, 2000) has more pages (448 instead of 304) but costs more ($39.00). Comparing the table of contents between the 2 editions, it appears that the first 14 chapters and 207 pages are identical between the two editions but the new 2004 illustrated edition may have discarded or condensed some of the later chapters. The older 2000 edition is still available from Amazon if you look further down in search results for this title.



4. Recently, I have noticed a decline in the value of the dollar in the market and great increase of gold. Even the gold went over one thousand dollar at one point. Then, I came to thinking: what if we might be heading to some kind of economy collapse in our near future where our dollars in the banks will disappear overnight and we will be left penniless and head into a great debt without much a warning. Then, it would be likely that gold and silver might return to being as values/standards of money for survival purposes in the event of economy collapse. At least, that is my understanding of using gold.
   
   Before this year, I rarely take notice of gold and often thought of it as just piece of metal. And, I often wondered why gold would be such a big deal or why would gold became a driving motivation behind every nation's growth. Again, I thought, "they are pieces of metals, nothing more...geez, it sounds like everyone is obsessed with such illusion. Why do we even bother?" Then, I was recommended to this book by Peter Bernstein.
   
   "The Power of Gold: The History of Obsession" is very intriguing and easy to read, with only twenty chapters and roughly four hundred pages. It is certainly a book that I could not put down because it answered some of my questions on the subject, or at least to my understanding. I really liked reading about the histories of gold from the ancient times to present, including the stories of Lydian and Greek as well of Johann Sutter in the time of California gold rush. Also, it was interesting to acquire an understanding about the attitude of the people towards gold in the aftermath of The Black Death during the mid-fourteenth century.
   
   I most certainly agreed with the author when he said the following:
   "Those who believed that gold was a hedge against the uncertainties of life failed to understand that the pursuit of eternity is not to be satisfied by gold, or by anything else we choose to replace gold - dollars, euros, whatever. Gold and its surrogates make sense only as a means to an end: to beautify, to adorn, to exchange for what we need and really want." (p. 372)
   
   After reading this book, I have gained a better understanding about gold itself: how it was viewed, how it was and is being used, and why were/are people obsessed with gold. Gold may be a piece of metal, but it seems to serve mult-purposes.
   
   I am no economist or trader, but I found this book to be an enlightening read and very informative about the gold's nature, its history, and its relationship with humanity.



5. The Power of Gold is the best history book I have ever read. The book traces the history of gold as currency from 500 B.C. through the 20th Century. It is full of fascinating vingettes. Did you know that Sir Isaac Newton was the last of the magicians? An academic recluse until the age of 58 he emerged from his chrysilis to become head of the English mint and a social dandy. Did you know that salt was as valuable as gold in Africa; or that the camel was introduced into Africa to replace the oxen for hauling gold across the Sahara desert; or that the Saharan gold traders never saw each other, but engaged in "blind barter" to conceal the source of the gold from the Europeans? The chapters on the demise of the Gold Standard and the Great Deprtession are a must read for anyone wanting to understand our present fiscal crisis. Simply a Materpiece!