History Books

The presentation is nice and the sites they chose are fairly cool or illustrative of each of the categories. However, the copy simply isn't very educational or interesting. The lessons (the do and don'ts) are often either completely obvious or just not relevant. It's as if the two guys had some cool sites they found online which they wanted to put on a book, but then they rushed to write some filler content. Lame.

One of the latest popular new books in the web-design community is Guidelines for Online Successby Ed. Rob Ford and Julius Wiedermann. Pretty heavily promote through design blogs like Cpluv.com and Reform Revolution to name two. The book has a promising title. As if all the secrets of successful web-design and online project management would be revealed to you by reading this book. The authors and co-writers of the book are big names in the web-and multimedia world. All the reason for me the buy a copy. From the looks of it this wasn't just a paper-bag but a nicely designed 'designers book'. With a cool strap on it an a fresh inspirational cover. For me this is a look and feel I can relate to when it come to a book created for visual, creative people. By the time my copy arrived I was even more pleasantly surprised. The pink flu-wed title on the cover looked even better in reality than it did on the picture at Amazone.com (this is where I could get the best deal money wise for this book). And the book was really a book, big, solid and in a nice format. The strap made it feel like a sketch dummy, again very appealing to people working in the creative industry. When I opened the book I found that the most important topics related to 'online success' where categorized through a tab system. Again very well done. And by flipping through the first pages I was very surprised by the nice and shinny heavy paper that was used. To put it all together. The layout and the materials used for this book a excellent. I love holding it, turning its pages and looking at it. For me as a visual person books do have to be more than just a badly designed paper-bag. And in a book like this, carefully designed I can find my way easily.

But there is one thing about any book that goes a step further the nice look and feel. A book needs to have some depth. The content needs to be just as appealing to me as a reader as the way it looks. Maybe even more appealing on second thought. And this is where this book is moving of the tracks. The contents of this book are not very outstanding our surprising. Don't get met wrong, even with a title like this I was not excepting to learn something from this book I did not already know. But the contents of this book are very poor in some ways. As I mentioned before I am, like most designers and directors a visual person. I like to look at pictures and don't like reading large portions of text. But in this book, visuals (mostly screenshots from websites) are too much leading. And the stories, tips, do's and dont's are in most cases wide open doors. While I was reading/looking through my copy I started realizing a couple of things. First, you need to know what a certain website is all about. How it looked on a computer-screen. How it felt using it before you can relate to it's magic looking at a screenshot of that same website in a book. For me I walked through over 90 percent of all the sites highlighted in this book in the last years. So I had a constant feeling of deja vu.
A real downer for me was the fact that most of the sites in this book are over a year old. I can understand why, production wise. But looking at the old Fantasy Interactive site was very disappointing. Again don't get me wrong the old Fi site was a great peace of work. But it is old. That company was ready for a new site, totally different from this one. And I believe they had a very good reason for it. And that reason was not just the fact that 'they' changed over the years.

I know that every once in while a book like is been released. I believe the first one I had was back in 2000. I couldn't find my copy of it on my bookshelf anymore. And I believe the reason for it is very clear. A book filled with screenshots and wise words is old before its days. And I was hoping Guidelines for Online Success would be different but it is not. On the other hand maybe it is just me, maybe I'm standing to close to the fire. Maybe I'm the nerd that was scanning all the famous web-design portals too many times a week in the last six years. Which could be the reason I'm not to surprised about the contents of this book. Maybe I'm not the audience this book is aiming at. But than who is?

I believe at this point in the web and multimedia history we are standing on the verge of a new period. And this books shows us what the pioneers of web-and multimedia design created in the past. And a lot of those projects are the foundation for where we are at right now. In that respect this is a great book. It is a historical peace which I love to look in to on a cloudy winter evening close to a burning fire place. Reminiscing about those days, the early days of web and internet creation. And I have to forget all about the prestigious title. On the other hand looking at the past can be very helpful if you are looking for (online)success in the future.

The Man
http://www.theman68.blogspot.com/

Like the author said in the book, this is not a for Dummies book. It is a book though that is needed more than phyically being skilled to create a site. It's one thing to know how to physically put together a website but its a nother thing to create a website that gets attention. This book is filled with expert advice from various web design gurus across the world.

And I must say that this book is one of the most well made books I own. The tabbed chapters are very interesting. Actually I am not that surprized because it come from Taschen.



Great book, you WILL learn a lot.

In my opinion authors are excessively self promoting themselves through the book, and suggestions are often useless and obvious - I was waiting for something more

Robert Ford, creator of the Favourite Website Awards (FWA) and companion website, has teamed with Julius Wiedermann, author of a series of Taschen books on notable websites, have teamed together in this work.

The content is basically FWA award-winning websites from 2000 to the present. There are over 200 websites identified with one to three image captures from the site, as well as the following information: agency, designed by, developed by, software, awards, and launched. This is the heart of the book.

The book is attractively designed and presented, and in itself is an excellent example of graphic print design. In terms of look, feel, and content, it is most like a coffee table book.

The table of contents is:
Interface & Design
Marketing & Communication
Technology & Programming
Technical Advice
Content/Content Management
E-Commerce

Websites are distributed among the chapters to illustrate chapter content. But, please do not come away with the understanding that these are dealt with in any particular depth, technical or otherwise. Instead, use the chapter introductions and Dos and Don'ts as a guide to current best practice. Much, however, is common sense, obvious, or well-known practice.

This is a designer's guide, and it does represent a wide variety of styles and nationalities.

But, it is also, almost exclusively, a guide to elaborate Flash sites usually with large corporate budgets behind them. According to my count -- 98% of the sites cited use Flash occasionally to exclusively for presenting content.

So, to an audience of high end Flash designers, the book will identify peers and their award-winning work.

So, is this of value to the humble web designer, working with Dreamweaver for small business websites? I'd say that it is.

This book is a visual delight. It brings together top creative talent with the new technology of the web and shows the result. It is a continually thought-provoking work for creative design. We all can benefit from that.

And, the future of the web is more interactivity. With Adobe Flex/Air and Microsoft Silverlight, the range of tools for a rich desktop experience expands. This book identifies the kinds of user interaction we will provide in future years.

I regarded the book as a story about risk, and how it evolved over time. I wonder how GS founders would view the AIG meltdown.

We all know last year profits at Goldman Sachs and the Big fat bonuses expected for its employees to receive. What is it that these guys do to obtain such level of profits?, well that was the reason to read this book. I never thought this book would be that interesting, the whole history of the Goldman and the Sachs, both jewish immigrants families, and the following consolidation of the firm along the years, its ups and downs, make this book an easy reading.

The idea for me was also to understand a little about investment banking and other concepts such as equity trading, long term capital management and others. To tell you the truth, I need further reading but the spark is there and I want to learn more of this subject. I cannot finish this review by saying that also in this book you learn some of the aspects of running this big firm and few lessons of experience by some of the best in this field like Sidney Weinberg and Robert Rubin, both pillars of a company that now may be called a culture of success.

I'm an I-Banker with a regional firm and do some business with Goldman. This is a very dry historical book but it is a subject with which I have knowledge and an interest. I enjoyed this book. For history buffs this is an excellent book giving background of a historical perspective of how this company was initially built on excellent commercial paper execution. Also, their troubles at the 1929 stock crash and the lingering effect on the firm are of interest. This book also does a great job describing the management personalities, what they did well and in some cases the problems they caused. Other significant events covered are the Penn railroad failure and the early 90 red ink from lack of control in proprietary trading.

This is/was an excellent firm to analyze as it struggled with its partnership structure before finally relenting to go public in 98. For finance buffs, this is a very worthwhile read.

This is the firm that learns. From its origins as a two person broker of IOUs in 1862 to its position today as the world's dominant player in trading, risk management and arbitrage, Goldman Sachs has managed the unthinkable in the world of finance: attaining mind-bending levels of profit growth over a century and a half while maintaining a mythical mystique based on a corporate culture of integrity, intelligence, and humility. It's an improbable feat at best. But after all probability is Goldman's business--measuring it, defying it, and reading into it things that others can't.

So what is the secret? How is it that one firm can attract the most brilliant minds in finance, force them into a quasi-military commitment of time and mental energy, and organize that brainpower into a unified profit machine? Many have conjectured, more have envied, but noone on the outside can provide any more than idle opinion.

Luckily for the readers of "Goldman Sachs: A Culture of Excellence", they have in author Lisa Endlich a docent of matchless qualifications. A former VP in foreign exchange at the firm, she provides an insider's view that's not a tell all. She's writes well, in a style that honors the Goldman ethos--thorough, absorbing, and critical in the academic sense. While examining the birth and development of each of Goldman's divisions starting with commercial paper, she offers up a rich education in the operations of i-banking and trading for anyone inclined to read in detail.

And for the rest of us, there's still plenty. Endlich starts from the premise that Goldman Sachs is all about its people, and she stays consistent throughout. From its inception as a family firm run by Marcus Goldman and his son-in-law Sam Sachs, through its early years as banker to the robber barons, the long reign of the Weinberg family, its reinvention as a trading power and the tenure of master trader Gus Levy and Uber banker John Whitehead, and on into the nineties and the ascendancy of Rubin, Friedman, Paulson, Corzine, and Blankfein, Endlich provides nuanced and sympathetic portraits of brilliant, complex men whose leadership skills are surpassed only by an ability to place personal ego second to the needs of the team.

And that, Endlich suggests, is the big secret. That's what makes Goldman so exclusive. The firm absorbs those with superior intelligence who subsume personal need to propel the greater glory of the collective. It's a major irony in one of the prime movers of capitalistic society, but its borne out empirically by the story Endlich tells.

Throughout its history Goldman has demonstrated time and again an insatiable institutional desire to win, and to accomplish that by embracing change. Goldman created the commercial paper market, and went on to become a pioneer in investment banking, risk arbitrage, and trading. All along Goldman, the whole organism, developed an intuitive feel for risk and a collaborative approach to deal making that helped it emerge on top time and again. And since its decision to go public, the action that Endlich builds her book around, its business model has only refined and improved.

There may be those in the know who believe that the ascendancy of hedge funds and the powerful private equity barons has rendered Goldman's model obsolete. There are others who take issue with aspects of the firm's trading philosophy. Only time will tell whether the naysayers views on the subject have merit. But Goldman has left armies of detractors in the dust for decades now. Bet against it at your own peril.

Any financial news reader is aware of the almost mythical status that surrounds this company, not to mention the money its employees can earn in a good year. And for Goldman Sachs every year is a good year. Well, almost... The company had a few bad years that almost wiped out the company. The book is a good account of the rise of this company from its birth as a small private enterprise until it became a large public investment bank.

Lisa Endlich is an ex-employee of Goldman Sachs, as a foreign exchange trader to be more precise. Lisa talks in positive terms about Goldman Sachs, almost humanising it. You could almost believe you are reading the story of a successful athlete that manages to become a champion after many, many defeats and difficulties.

Lisa went to great length to do a thorough research and combine stories about people and companies that contributed to the history of making of Goldman Sachs. The book starts with the story of a German Jewish emigrant that arrived in US in 1848, raised five children and had the courage 21 years later to open a brokerage business (called Marcus Goldman & Co. Several other personalities influenced strongly the evolution of this company. The leaders have legend status and they are almost like heads of state for Goldman Sachs. You will learn about founding families of Goldman and Sachs, then the extraordinary Weinberg dynasty, Stephen Friedman, Robert Rubin, Jon Corzine and finally Hank Paulson.

The author takes you in and out of the company, so you get to know the inside stories while other macro events occur outside the company. The reading has an almost intimate atmosphere and it makes you feel an insider (to a certain degree). The story telling is great, though some times I found a little bit frustrating the lack of detail in their chronology. I wish I had more facts about historical context. I also found that the stories and the presentation of the events where predominantly about the trading side of the business. From the history point of view, the investment banking business is much more telling than trading, and this part is rather missing or less represented in the book.

You also get a glimpse of the history of competition with other companies, the rise of globalisation and liberalisation of trade in Europe. Sadly, the story of China is missing (this is where Hank Paulson brought a major contribution) because when the book was written, China was not making the headlines.

The reading is enjoyable and instructive. If you want to understand Goldman Sachs and the making of one of the most successful investment bankers, this is a good source of background information.

its a very useful book for life drawing, detailed images on the bones and muscule.

As a teenager, I bought this book to help me draw people better. Learning body and head proportions is key to drawing more realistic-looking people, and this book can help you along. Peck's illustrations show you different ways to look at the human body, sometimes using blocks, spheres, and other objects to represent how a certain muscle group works or looks to help you better understand how it should be drawn. He covers everything from musculoskeletal structure to facial expressions, emotions, and photos of faces from around the world. And for those who like to warm up their skills by sketching people but have no model to use, there are several human model pictures towards the back of the book to help you out. Before I took college courses and had real models to work with, I used these photos to do my many quick pencil or charcoal sketches as a warm-up for drawing. Having this book before those courses definitely helped me draw better and faster than some of the others who were learning to draw people for the first time. I have referenced it several times since then when drawing or painting people to make sure I'm getting the right idea of the muscle structure. I have used other books for learning to draw people that was more step-by-step, but this book has a lot of different detail other books don't have.
And I was surprised to find out it was from the 50's when I looked it up here on Amazon, since it doesn't really appear that way at all.

I am an art student who wanted a guide to the human body. I could not be happier with "Atlas of Human Anatomy" because of the detailed illustrations combined with easy to grasp sketches. The written sections are not extremely long, and while they do delve into technical language that can be difficult, it is overall all well balanced with the illustrated elements. I find both sides important, and as a comprehensive resource on the human body for the artist, I highly recommend "Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist".
I can only say that it has helped me tremendously.

My professor/adviser of art advised me to get this.

It was great advice :D

This book surprised me. I already have several dozen books on art anatomy, but Peck's book has more. He goes into expressions, cultural and age distinctions, and locomotion. Is this the only book you'll need in studying anatomy, probably not. But each book you get on the subject, and study (NOT JUST COLLECT) will hone your visual memory until drawing the figure becomes second nature. Note: Study means putting time and effort on that drawing pad!!! Also, nothing beats drawing from life or imagination! These books are to supplement these areas.

For those without a Kindle this review will have little to offer except to say that this edition comes with a preface by Thomas Merton which for me was a welcome surprise. I usually don't bother with introductions.

Kindle users, I looked at every Kindle edition of this work and this is without question the best formatted version. The only drawback is the lack of titles for each "book" in the table of contents. Instead they are just numbered; I, II, III, IV, and so on. There are also hyperlinked "footnotes," which I did not notice in other editions.

I apologize to Kindle non-owners, but Amazon has not yet presented away to comment specifically on electronic editions, and many public domain books--classics--are not yet properly formatted for the Kindle (which despite a few hitches is a five star device).

This is not the most attractive edition of St. Augustine's monumental City of God but it is worth getting anyway for the introduction by Etienne Gilson. The translation is quite good and, though it is somewhat abridged, this doesn't pose too great a problem as Bourke has inserted into the text a brief description of the material that he cut out so you can go to an unabridged edition if you choose.

This is an apologetic text in defence of the Chritian faith. In this book, Augustine persuasively informed his audience (readers) regarding the history of creation from the fall of humanity to their redemption provided they recognized him as God of their lives. This is possible only as they abandon all forms of idolatries lest they experience a catatrosphe similar to what led to the fall of Rome. Augustine's concept of the two cities are in contrast to each other, viz, the city of God versus the city of Satan. The former is governed by God, and the later by the Devil that also governs the minds of many un-regenerated. Thus, Augustine appealed, in his 22 volumes that are now in a single volume, to join him "in rendering thanks to God" through this great work! Pastor Moses Oladele Taiwo, Ph.D. Professor of New Testament and Head of the Department of Urban Christian Ministry, New Life Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC 28203. Tel: (704) 334 6884 Ext.106.

It took me about five months of off-and-on reading to slog through City of God--it was time well-spent. Here is one of the rare 1000-page books that not only deserved its length, but could have been longer.

What astounded me about reading St. Augustine was how relevant he is, even after 1600 years. The vast majority of what he discusses throughout this monumental book still matters--only the particulars have changed. In his day, pagans blamed Christians for wars and the collapse of civilization. Rationalists and materialists denied the supernatural, insisting that all religions were the same, and mocked those that believed in it. And Christians themselves, under pressure and guilt from what seemed to be the entire known world, expressed doubts about their faith. Sound familiar? Only the particulars of all these situations have changed--in the broadstrokes, Christianity is still fighting many of the same battles in which Augustine saw combat.

This edition from Penguin Classics (I fully realize that Amazon will post this review on the Modern Library edition and other places that it doesn't belong) is very good. Henry Bettenson's translation is smooth, fast-moving, and heavily footnoted. While I found the footnotes very helpful--especially in the hundreds of places in which Augustine quotes from scripture and other authors, like Virgil and Plotinus--some of them struck me as unnecessary, particularly those criticizing Augustine's etymologies and those pointing out which gods or goddesses are or are not found outside Augustine's work. The most helpful notes were those describing puns or other untranslatable portions of the book.

Like I said, City of God is very heavy reading and a great deal of work to get through, but the reward should outweigh the time it takes to read the book.

Highly recommended.

I read this for a book group I was in, and was rather peeved at being forced to blow so much time on what is essentially useful only to the Classical historian or Scholasticism buff. Realistically, Augustine is just a particularly eloquent proponent of a religious argument we all get in Sunday School at age 10: The things of this world are transitory and passing, but the things of the next world are eternal and more valuable. You can almost hear the monotonous cadence. If what you want is to add to your already-considerable knowledge of the particulars of late Roman civilization, then this is the book for you. If you're in seminary and reading Aquinas, and you're thinking, "I'd certainly like to know more about his major intellectual influences," then this is the book for you. But if what you want is an increased familiarity with the major ideas of Western civilization, then do yourself a favor and go pick up a pair of textbooks: one on ancient history, the other on classical philosophy. Augustine of Hippo will get a few pages in each one, and that's honestly all he's worth. Plowing through the entirety of The City of God for simple philosophical or theological curiosity would be like reading the complete works of Louis Agassiz just to see what scientific racism was like. Both efforts would be fruitful, in one sense, but in another sense you'd have spent an awful lot of time learning about antiquated theories.

It is an amazing look at the cohesiveness of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Well-written, and scholarly, yet easy to read.

This book was recommended by Beth Moore in several of her Women's Bible
studies. It gives detailed information about Jewish celebrations which
lend a rich perspective to one's understanding of the Bible.

This book is one of my favorites, as far as learning more about customs of the people in the Old Testament. When you are done reading this book you will have more understanding of the people and of scripture. If you are a pastor or sunday school teacher or a homechurch, get this book.This is one book you will go back to a hundred times.

This book is foundational to the Christian faith and really should be soomething every pastor should be teaching on. It gives clear and Biblical descriptions of the feasts of the Lord, which is God's calendar, and why he set up the calendar and chose these particular feasts to be celebrated. It also explains awesome little details of Jewish customs at the time of Christ that make things like the Passover so interesting. You get to see how all the pieces of the puzzle come together. The best part is how it describes Jesus as the fulfillment of thress of the feasts and that those feasts that are yet unfulfilled will be completed in the future......very cool!

This book is one of my absolute favorites! Not only is the information within EXTREMELY well written, there are many photographs and the artwork is among the best I've ever seen.

There are overviews of the Spring Feasts and the Fall Feasts and an explanation of Jewish Time, broken down into the Jewish Day,Week and Month. There are chapters on The Feasts Of Leviticus 23 (the 7 feasts) as well as Additional Observances.

Each of the Feasts are covered in DETAIL, with wonderful illustrations, charts and artwork.

Even if you never read a word of this book (which would be a shame, because it is so very informative) you will be blown away by the artwork and the photography. There is a two page spread on The Passover Table which shows each item with an explanation, which is worth the price of the book alone!

Each Feast is covered with THE BIBLICAL OBSERVANCE and also the MODERN OBSERVANCE, and each ceremony is explained in interesting, never boring detail. The illustrations and photographs draw you in and you really start to "get it."

I am so thankful I purchased this book. It is one of my favorites and one which I refer to often. It is well worth the price and you won't regret your purchase.

My very brief review: Well written, engaging, humorous at times, inspiring, educational and most importantly a testament to those that put the safety and well being of their countrymen above their own.

A good read and a fascinating story, Cohen becomes a man in the IDF and makes it to a special unit. The story brought me back to my days in the IDF. Some details are a bit exaggerated for effect or inaccurate but it doesn't take from the quality of the story.

Aaron Cohen is the epitome of strength and courage. He's a man who wouldn't let anything stop him from achieving his goal; making aliyah to Israel and joining the toughest counterterrorism military units in the world. The reader gets an inside view of Israeli special forces training along with Israeli history, culture, and values. Cohen tells it like it is, very in-your-face. It was very hard to put down and an intense fast read. One of my favorite moments was when Cohen returned to the kibbutz and Gali greeted him in Hebrew and treated him like a fellow warrior. Very touching, inspirational, and fascinating story.

I got this book about 20 days ago and I just finished. If I can use one word to describe this book it will be "introspection". The author spends about 50% of his narrative on his Jewishness and his desire to be in touch with it entirely. A lot of the introspection is about his childhood and upbringing; moving to Israel; life in Israel; and his feelings/reactions to special operations in the IDF special forces (Duvdevan). The other 50% is very unrevealing in the way of military operations. Very little is conveyed in the way of tradecraft and what is revealed is very basic. He does provide a glimpse into IDF special mission units, but just a glimpse. Of course, he is protecting operational security and methods, but it leaves a lot to be desired of a book with such a title. It seems like the story glosses over missions and operations and then he abruptly ends the book with his exit from the Israeli Defense Forces. It then becomes a little preachy on the lack of American resolve post-9/11. Otherwise, a good book with something to be desired. I came away feeling like he could have written more.

I found this book to be very interesting. It takes you thru the life of an individual who leaves CA to return to Israel to become a special operator. It was interesting to read of the differences between American and Israeli training methods. Easy to read, well worth the money.

Actually read this a few months back but thought I'd pen this short review on the day Lehman brothers filed for Chapt 11, Merril Lynch bought for a bargain by BOA, and AIG "restructuring" (ie throwing everything it can overboard). But, I hear you cry, what does Enron have to do with merchant banks? Well if you read this excellent book, you'll find that by the end of its existence Enron was essentially a merchant bank. It traded risk (and made some handsome profits doing so). The original hard infrastructure (real things that make real money in real, steady time) based pipeline and energy distribution business having being stripped, sold or just neglected. It wasn't the byzantine, dishonest finest pyramids, that really led to the fall, although they greatly speeded it up. It was the out of control trading floors. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Making your core business the trading of risk, is, well, a risky business. Add to this a complete lack of any moral compass, plus the attitude that you are always smarter than the other guy and this is what you get in the end - a dime sale of your computers, carpets and inspiring front lobby art.

This is probably the best corporate bio of Enron you'll find, at least for now. Very readable, the pages turn quick and it never gets boring. Some of the technical accounting details were beyond me, but it wasn't difficult to understand the bottom line: These schemes were illicitly lining a few pockets with massive amounts of cash.

The amount of work that went into this account is mind boggling. I can't imagine the hours of conducting interviews and poring through complex legal and accounting documents to understand what happened over Enron's 15-20 years of existence.

However, as with most journalistic novels like this, you need to be careful to not be influenced by the slant of the prose. I wouldn't say that this account is neutral enough to be good for a "historical" perspective. It was written to sell first, inform second. There are countless statements throughout that could be construed as overly opinionated and even unfair to some of the players.

This is the story of Enron for the layman, not for an MBA student performing a case study on the company. If you're an interested layman like me, do yourself a favor and read it!

An interesting story of how a corporate belief in hiring intelligent people, or at least people who boast they are intelligent, leads to hubris and eventual ruin.

When everything finally collapses, no one is responsible and no one did anything wrong. A telling tail of how smart people can convince themselves of things better than they can convince the world.

What might Enron have done differently? The authors feel that Enron's use of "mark to market" accounting (booking the entire profits long term deal up front, based on a model of the future; the company is then supposed to adjust their revenues as time passes and the model is tested) was largely responsible for losses that Enron then hid.

The length, at 400 pages, is imposing but goes by quickly. However, the authors took the unusual step of listing all the players with their role, which really helps with getting all the names straight.

Very well researched account of the rise and downfall of Enron. It chronicles the start and the ultimate demise of this company, which never really had a great business model - (sorry Jeff Skilling). It is amazing that so many "smart" people did not understand basic business skills and the simple difference between economic and accounting gains. Jeff Skilling, a former McKinsey partner, should have stayed with the consulting firm where theory is safely differentiated from real world. Skillings' first mistake was not understanding his own limitations first and foremost. He breaks out a bottle of champagne to celebrate SEC's acceptance of a change in Enron's accounting system. Accounting does not create value - it does not appear that many Enron executives (especially Skillings who should have known better) understood this.

McLean and Elkind do a nice job presenting some of the schemes and scams that Enron executives used to make themselves look good to investors, analysts, bankers and the general public. There are some scams that I had a hard time following, but the reader will grasp the general idea behind them. In light of recent accounting scandals, this is an important book to read for any investors and the public in general. Unfortunately the book ends around summer of 2002 and we do not find out what happens to some of the key characters. My interest was sparked enough that I researched some of the more recent findings after reading the book. Despite its difficulty to read at times I highly recommend it.

When one reads 'The Smartest Guys In The Room' there is one question that keeps recurring. How did no-one at Enron foresee the company's grizzly demise. The folly of mark to market accounting was reason enoough to expect certain problems, but the endless treadmill that Enron placed itself on concerning the stock price made those problems an inevitability.

Although Elkind and Mclean portray the story well, they really don't have to do much with the material to make a fantastic story of the blistering story with which Enron rose and the calamitous pace at which it fell. The Enron tale is one of brash arrogance in almost every possible facet of a business, allied to a stubborn refusal to accept the economic reality even when it is staring you in the face. The real shame about the whole mess is that these were bright guys and this was potentially a great company. All they had to do was have a little common sense and regular business accumen and they could have been on to a real winner here.

I would ultimately say to everyone that has an interest in business or the financial markets, however slight, that this book is a thumping good read and is worth some money ouot of anyone's pocket.

Though the telling of the true personal story of the intersecting lives an Arab man and a Jewish woman, the complexities of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict come alive in a way that political/statistical books can never achieve. This is a story of real people - good people who are trying to make their way in a world that makes no sense to either of them. The author has managed to remain true to the story in an unbiased way leaving the reader to grapple with the controversial and convoluted issues. This book is a wonderful way to learn about the complexities of this small geographic area that affects the hearts and minds of millions of people on our planet. A must read for all those who care about peace and justice in our world.

Much of Sandy Tolan's book reads like a novel, and yet it is a true story. (The rest of the book reads like a well documented -- which it is -- history book.) I absolutely loved it! Tolan goes out of his way to be even-handed in terms of not favoring the Jewish or Palestinian 'side' of the issue. He just tells the story from both perspectives as it was told to him and according to his extensive research. It's a beautiful, informative, and very well written book. I highly recommend it.

yes, after 1948 there were many conflicts between jews and arabs, but what some reviewers here fail to highlight is the very critical timeline of the conflict: no arab ever had a problem with jews prior to 1948, prior to when israel took what was without any interpretation arab land and declared itself a country. did the reviewers even read what they wrote? the grouping of the arabs against the jews was nothing other than solidarity with their kinsmen for losing their land to a newly-, arbitrarily-created country. imagine if a group of muslims joined the significant muslim population in an american city, suddenly declared themselves a country, then cried about the injustice of "all the american states unifying against them"...ludicrous to expect otherwise. Of course this book doesn't portray EVERYTHING, but if it portrays the conflict somewhat favorably towards palestinians, it is because that's the way the facts played out. Some israelis think that an unbiased report means a neutral report, most are willing to accept some fault for starting the whole mess.

This book should be required reading for whoever becomes President, or anyone else who needs to understand what happened between Israel and Palestine. This is the fairest accounting that I have ever read.

This is a sublime work of art, made all the more so by its complete factual accuracy. Sure, Sandy picks and chooses the facts he'll present, as any historian does, but every thought, every moment, comes only from historical records and interviews. And perhaps it's this plain "just the facts, ma'am" approach that makes the story so much more filled with pathos and tragedy.

I know of no other book on this subject that so clearly shows the suffering on both sides of the aisle. Most books are either clearly Zionist or focus on al Nakba and the suffering of the Palestinian people. Sandy doesn't take the easy road. He presents the longing and angst- and hopes- of both peoples. He shows us the struggles and poverty of Dalia's family, and their rejoicing on finally finding a home. He shows us Bashir's family's delight in the land, and the horror of seeing it stripped from them. And he shows us the greater suffering of the Palestinians in the last 50 years, as more and more land, life, and dignity are stripped away.

Through this history we see the Principle of Violent Mimicry, where we become that which we hate, as first the Israelis model Nazi practices, and then the Palestinians learn from the Israelis that only violence and terrorism can solve their problems. We see a clash of cultures, with Dalia locked in European Cartesian paradigms of "I think therefore I am,", and Bashir birthed into a narrative of "I reside therefore I am." And through it all we wonder- can there be any hope for change, for peace, for justice? Sandy gives us some glimmer of hope of reconciliation, but it is clear that it is not an easy hope- for this is real life, and not a Saturday morning special. This is gritty historical narrative, and more than ever, after reading this book, I think our only path out of this morass is the one blazed by South Africa.

If you are looking for a book about peak oil and the associated economic problems don't buy this book. Its all about the standard conspiracy theories we have been hearing about for the last 40 years and is so poorly written, lengthy and disorganized that its not worth reading. Is there a rating less than 1 star?

With the referenced facts laid out in this book, there is NO DOUBT why no one was put under oath at the 911 hearings!!!

This is an incredibly disturbing book, but does dovetail
with issues that disturbed me before I read it. I agree
with others there are a lot of dots and not all are
well connected. Nevertheless, I don't want to rehash what others
have said, but make a few points.
The WTC was struck on 9-11. The Patriot Act, one individual
listed as the lead author, is over 340 pages, was passed
Oct 24. One and a half months later. How? How can something
complex be done in that time, especially with the confusion
and activity surrounding those events. I have wondered
if the Patriot Act wasn't already on the shelf waiting to
be pulled out.
The author points to the Daschle anthrax as being of CIA
origin. Interestingly, Richard Preston's "The Demon in the
Freezer" hints that this bioweapon was very sophistocated,
and may have fingerprints pointing to a USA origin.
On page 23 Ruppert refers to the need to reduce the world's
population by 4 billion (it may soon need to be 5 billion!)
To do this, bioweapons are needed. To spare infrastructure
and livestock, there aren't many candidates -- smallpox would
seem to be the most likely choice. And it seems that smallpox is
at large in unknown labs (again, see Preston's book). I am
an Inf Dz specialist and had the opportunity to study under
some of those who "eradicated" smallpox, and am somewhat familiar
with that story. One concern for anyone who opens that Pandora's
box is whether the vaccines will be effective to what may turn
out to be a bioengineered strain. On page 158, reference is
even made to a ethnospecific bioweapon.
In the end, I have more questions unanswered than answered. But
who could even invent this stuff?

Michael Ruppert's "Crossing The Rubicon" is nothing less than a masterpiece. It was the first book I read that put 9/11 and the anthrax letters in context. It's a long book, over 600 pages, and I did not intend to read it all, but each chapter left me hungry for more information. This is an investigative book that encompasses much more than 9/11. It explains the financial and oil crises the US is in and the geopolitical strategy the neo-cons have developed to keep all the big lies alive. It explains the war games and Dick Cheney's complicity. If you are an American and you CAN read, then this book is a MUST read. Understand the era in which you live and you will understand the crises in which most of us will die.

This book is the best explanation yet for why the executive level of government committed the 9-11 false flag operation. Being an engineer, the physics of 9-11 is what got me asking questions. But for most peope this will not be compelling for they lack physics training. So this book is a outstanding in the sense that it proves 9-11 was an inside job with everything other than physics. So this book can wake up more people to 9-11 truth than any other source in my opinion. And the book is written like a legal case. You could hand the book to a lawyer and put cheney in jail, if it wasnt for the corrupt legal imunity of government. Cant rate this one highly enough. 5 stars just doenst do it justice. It deserves ten.

Maybe I'm quibbling, but I feel like I should warn prospective buyers that the binding on the hardcover version of this book is totally insufficient for its size and length. I'm only 200 pages in (so my rating isn't wholly meaningful, but it's required in order to post a review), and the binding is cracking and the book feels as if it's ready to fall apart. The content is great so far, but the prospective buyer should be forewarned.

Even Amazon is confused about the numbering in the series. Timeline-wise, Confusion isn't volume 2; it's volume 4. Its characters' lives pick up right after the end of Odalisque, which followed King of the Vagabonds, which followed Quicksilver.
Having said that, the first three books were a good read, as was Cryptonomicon. I look forward to Confusion.
Confused yet?

So you've read the first, and you can't help noticing that many people quit on the Baroque trilogy at that point. Should you keep going?

I guess it depends. This is a trilogy that is after enormous ideas. Where a straight history would focus on finance or economics or science or math or transportation or politics or power or even the human heart as the driving force behind history, only a novelist could demonstrate dramatically how all of these forces are related and combined and intertwined.

Or, as Stephenson puts it in this second volume, "Because it made a good story, Bob supposed, and people could only make sense of complicated matters through stories."

Of the three volumes, this is the most narratively straightforward, and it covers virtually the entire planet, focusing mainly on Jack Shaftoe and Eliza. It has everything that makes Stephenson engaging-- some great action sequences, some hilarious bursts of comic scene and dialogue, and large and complex ideas worked out in many ways.

Stephenson remains a master of pacing, and nobody can come up with so many different ways to set scenes of conversation.

And if this trilogy is Lord of the Rings, Cryptonomicon is the Hobbit-- you owe it to yourself to dig out Crypto again for all the many many many ways in which it is linked to this trilogy. Much of what connects them is easily forgotten (I had, for instance, forgotten that the mountain named after Eliza in this trilogy is in fact the site of the data haven in Crypto).

This trilogy is genius writing, and if Stephenson has lapsed in any way, it's in requiring a bit more thinking while providing a bit less mindless spectacle. If Quicksilver didn't quite hook you, I still encourage you to keep reading!

Not as consistent as Quicksilver as I recall the latter. When it was good (as it often was) it was very good, otherwise it was just so so.

if you read the first book, Baroque Cycle, then the ending keeps you in suspense.
This book builds on top of it with each page an unpredictable turn of events.
I was flipping fifty pages per day. Thats how i know "The Confusion" have got my attention.
Warning: lots of exclaimation marks from beginning till the end. I was not confused, but shocked!
Kudos to Mr. Neal Stephenson.