Slightly heavy to read but good

The message is very good. Quality of text is not that great. I don't mean that there is lots of spelling mistakes or such but I felt the text was heavy. Time after time I almost started to sleep or think something completely else than the book. That is really a bummer. Excellent ideas but boring package.<br />

Excellent resource for online marketing

My business targets pre-start ups, new businesses and established businesses and I have found this book extremely helpful in its extensive detail about the ever-increasing opportunities for companies to promote themselves online. If you have a limited marketing budget this book will give you lots of ideas which can be implemented at a manageable cost. As a marketing strategist who always insists on goal setting and target audience definition as a starting point for any business or business project, I particularly liked Section III, which deals with establishing organisational goals and identifying buyer personae for products and/or services. An excellent resource which is very relevant to the modern world of online marketing.<br />

Brilliant and well written!

Jefferey Liker's well reasoned book explains the management principles that enable TOYOTA to outperform its piers - and explains why western managers pre-occupied with `management techniques' can't `go lean', without changing the culture of their organisation

This is a fantastic book...

This is a fantastic book. Let me say I'm a sceptic when it comes to the web: okay, I buy from amazon but I think second life is really dull and I only signed up 3 friends on facebook before I got bored. So when I was given this I thought it would just wind me up. It did the opposite. It explains what `open source' actually means, why it goes way beyond the geeks who support linux or play tedious computer games and could affect us all. It suggest answers to those obvious questions like `if everyone is sharing all their knowledge how is anyone going to make a living?' Charles is also really encouraging about the impact of the new technology on the developing world - I always thought the divide between the `information rich' and `information poor' was just going to widen. And the book is optimistic!!! Read it. It inspires.<br /><br /><br /><br />

A shift in your thought process

I remember my Grandad saying to me that he wasn't sure if prayer helps, but as it was easy to do and there was no reason not to do it, then he figured he might as well do it. That's my long winded way of saying that using the phrases found in this book may well change your life.Accepting responsibility for everything that occurs in your life is a very simple concept, but is not easy to get your mind around.I repeat the phrases at every chance I remember, mostly silently, and they have certainly made a difference.I had a very good month in my sales career,my relationships with my family, especially my teen-age son, improved, and I notice I am a lot calmer in situations that in the past would have seen me erupt.Proving that this is directly attributable to applying the teaching in the book, well that's another matter.All I know is that since I bought this book, apllied the lessons learned,my life has improved enormously.As Grandad said, he couldn't prove prayer worked, and he couldn't prove prayer didn't work, so there's no harm in doing it, and it's better to stack the odds in your favour.I think it sums up the lessons in this book perfectly.It can't hurt, and it just might be exactly what you are looking for.

A little retort

<br />To comment upon the review below:<br /><br />J.D.L. Bailey certainly seems to be an assertive character, which begs the question: why would this person bother to read such a text?<br /><br />Myself - I'm a maths teacher, so I avoid reading books on how to teach maths. Of course some sections in them would be, subjectively speaking, 'right' and other sections 'wrong'. I already know what works for me and my students, why pick fault with others' opinions?<br /><br />Bailey complains of an undertone (current?) of '"American-ness"' [sic], yet begins a sentence with 'Erm...HELLO', clearly displaying a colonial language influence. Fault is also picked with typos (a definite case of 'pot calling kettle') - I won't waste time pointing them all out, 'you will have so much fun discovering them for yourself'. Cringe-worthy arrogance.<br /><br />The final three paragraphs of speculative and seemingly drunken ranting display a more than obvious 'undertone' of anger (see the increasingly common use of capitalisation) that the reviewer themselves did not write such a book, and a frustration that the author should be making a living from something Bailey himself (herself?) desperately wishes they had the courage, skill and invention to do; the perennial weakness of the majority of critics.<br /><br />My opinion of the book? I haven't read it.<br /><br /><br />But I can spot an envious rant from a hundred yards.

Great to listen to in the car

Seeing as there are mostly reviews for the book here I thought I'd add one about the audiobook.<br /><br />The CD lasts about an hour and is read in a jovial interesting manner that sounds very professionally read by Templer himself.<br /><br />I've listened to the CD a few times now and it fits perfectly into my journey to+from work.<br /><br />I have flicked through the paperback version from a colleague, and this abridged version seems to distill the information as you may do making notes.<br /><br />For me the great thing about the audiobook is, inevitably I wouldn't remember half of the rules (at least!) having read the book, which is too cumbersome to read over periodically. however I find myself listening to the audiobook regularly to keep the rules (which as another reviewer has pointed out not really 'hard' rules).

GREAT!!!!

This book is spot one, it has some great tactics and it gives you the knowledge to give deal with a lot of situations. Its quite long but it was worth every penny! I am in media sales, this book has given me more ammo then anyone else in my office.

GET IT!

Quick read and a good double buy

At the time I only bought Bringing Down The House, that was a mistake, I should have got Breaking Vegas at the same time. I will go back and give the book another read (you can speed-read very quickly thanks to Mezrich's writing) since I watched the faction film"21" at the cinema last month. Anyone wanting the true story, this is the closest you'll get.

Really good book - you need a decent dollop of self awareness though

Good book. Requires a decent amount of 'soul searching'. Good book though, and talks you through all the elements you need to consider. Found it useful when used in conjunction with a completely different style of book (very much more practical)"How to Handle Your Recruitment Consultant". Basically meaning that once I had worked my through John Lees' book I was able to get Recruitment Consultants to do what I needed them to do. The two together worked really well.

Practical and to the point, this little gem is worth every penny !

This is an excellent introduction to studying law by a very experienced law tutor.<br />McBride taught at Oxford and was a fellow at All Souls before he moved to Cambridge. His advice is practical and to the point and would benefit any law student. This book would be particularly useful to someone who is studying at Oxford or Cambridge.<br /><br />Whether it be study techniques, law essay writing, surviving tutorials, making notes or relations with fellow law students, McBride has something useful to say about all of these issues.<br /><br />Miss a meal or two if you have to, but make sure that you scrape together the modest sum needed to buy this little treasure. You will buy many, many law textbooks during your career in law. But this modest and unassuming book will rank highly among the most useful of them all.<br /><br />Addendum:<br />It is over a year since I wrote this review.<br />I notice that this is one of the well thumbed books that my law student child at Oxford, brings home every vacation. My recommendation stands. If you are a law student in the UK,and more particularly at Oxford or Cambridge, buy this book. It will save you hours of anxiety.

Barbarians in the Accounting Department

This is a great book about a truly remarkable part of our economic history. I have a minor physical complaint I might as well get off my chest: In their desire to make sure readers get bang for buck (fear not: you do), the publishers have elected to set this book in miniscule type, meaning firstly that you may need reading glasses if not before then after reading it, and secondly that while this looks like a 400 page book, if it were ordinarily typeset it would have the heft of an MM Kaye novel.<br /><br />On the other hand, if over-length in a business book is the sort of thing that dissuades you, don't let it: this is one of the most riveting books on the history of finance you'll read, and it gets more and more addictive the further you go on.<br /><br />As a number of reviewers have noted, it is simply staggering that Enron can have ever got where it got to at all, let alone stayed there for the best part of a decade, with all the ostenisble checks and balances that sophisticated capital markets provide. Staggering. In checks and balances I don't mean regulators, who will always be the last ones to find out where market-based moral turpitude is concerned, but investors, stock analysts, brokers, lenders, rating agencies and fund managers: people who don't just earn huge remuneration, but stake their reputations on being sceptical in the face of unconvincing bluster.<br /><br />But as McLean and Elkind make clear in chapter after chapter, barely disguised and unconvinving bluster was, in large part, all Enron was. For all the"black box" accounting, it is simply inconceivable that Enron's true internal wiring could be kept anything like properly secret, since far too many people had to know about it. Internal and external to Enron there must have been junior lawyers, accountants, auditors, traders and marketers who all had to know what was going on, and people *do* talk: they gossip, they change jobs, they make inappropriate remarks. What's more, the existence (if not the detail) of many of the more toxic situations - the LJM Partnerships, the prepay contracts - were on the public record, so the burning question to my mind, which McLean and Elkind do not address, isn't so much how people could have been so greedy and deceitful (that's not hard to understand at all), but what sociological and psychological factors caused everyone else, collectively, to entirely suspend the critical faculties which they used to evaluate risks in the market. This is no idle query: accurately calibrating and understanding risk is the very key to making money on Wall Street: it's hardly an incidental oversight.<br /><br />Making a pejorative moral assessment of the acts of the Skillings and Lays with the benefit of hindsight is futile, self-serving, and actually unjust: our moral view of corporate behaviour *today* is conditioned and informed by the example of Enron; before Enron, our moral view was ipso facto different - if it hadn't been, Enron couldn't have happened.<br /><br />If we assume that, in the context of the markets,"moral consensus" is aimed at making sure people don't needlessly mislead, deceive or unfairly disadvantage each other, the far more interesting question is *how could the prevailing moral framework have failed so badly*? Why was it so inadequate at dealing with outcomes of actions we can now see (with the benefit of hindsight and our newly adjusted moral binoculars) are transparently odious?<br /><br />And that prompts a deeper question yet: what could it be about *our* prevailing economic mores which could allow a disaster on a similar scale to happen again?<br /><br />Had Elkind and MacLean ventured into that territory this would have been an outstanding book (it is still worth 5 stars in my view): as it was - and with an admirable absence of judgmental prurience - the writers stick to pure reportage, to the point where the epilogue ends rather abruptly without so much as a conclusion.<br /><br />But that's small beer: this is a fascinating, rewarding read.<br /><br />Olly Buxton

Real people with real lives....real writing

Like every second house in every second street, I aspire to be published. I bought this book, initially because the reviews hinted at it being a wring book for the non-committed writer. And it is. But it's also for the absolutely dedicated, fanatical writer too. So who wins?<br />Both parties as it turn out. This book delivers everything you'd want. A fun read, a hilarious read. A real book of realistic expectations. it doesn't promise to make you or me rich. It can't even promise break even. even alluding to permanent poverty and despair.<br />However, it does demonstrate the best way to destroy your liver and family life. So that's fine by me too. A large glass if you please. Oh, and a keyboard to go.... <br />

This book is a risk free investment of time and money

Traders, guns and money is an entertaining foray into the complex world of financial derivatives. Satyajit Das manages to take a topic, that has sent countless students to sleep in the lecture room, and make it engaging and yet informative at the same time.<br /><br />The real beauty of the book lies in the fact that the author has real world experience within the field he is writing about. Hence you do not just read about derivatives and the related formulas and theories. Instead you read real stories where derivatives were involved along with immeasurable amounts of arrogance, greed and money. This approach makes you feel like you a reading a Wilbur Smith book with all its excitement rather than a book on derivatives. Yet all this is achieved without dumbing down any of the anecdotes or watering down his language to fit a"target audience" while all the while never succumbing to peronal ego boosting. <br /><br />However, unlike many other authors that have tried a similar tact in regards to financial writing, Satyajit avoids the trap of getting lost amongst the stories. Throughout the whole book there is a clear and logical structure which is followed consistently. By the time any reader has finished reading this book, they will feel like an expert on derivatives who has been in the markets for decades. Though these decades of expertise are only gleaned in the short time it takes to read this book. <br /><br />Guns Trader and Money is easily the best book to open up the world of finance since Liar's poker was released almost two decades ago.<br /><br /><br />

Respect, respect,....respect!

Imagine you are at the airport and your flight got cancelled. What do you do? Probably wait (It's what I would do...). However, the author of this book chartered an aircraft, set up an airline there and then, advertising it on some pinboard, and flew every waiting passenger and himself (for free) out to the planned destination! <br />This book is not about"oh, look what I have done!" and not about making lots of money. This book is about achieving what YOU want, being persistent and living ones dreams! Richard Branson gives some straight forward advice and examples about life and business and even though you may think"well, it worked for you, but..." - doesn't matter, it's all relative! Overall this is a real feel-good book, an easy read and a great source of inspiration!

Great self awareness

Certainly a book that goes against the grain of what many people are told to do. First, Break All The Rules is a must read for those who want to take advantage of their natural strengths and talents rather than focus on the weaknesses that we all have. A must read to take the next step in personal improvement.<br /><br />Bill Chambers

essential reading

I'm two thirds way through this book and overall find it an inspiring read. The first section in particular summarises some of the issues in a very easy to understand style. I liked the section on psychology particularly - I think both grieving, shock and addiction models are useful to understanding the apparently irrational responses of people to climate change and peak oil.<br /><br />The rest of the book is harder to read - a lot of detail about how one should go about starting a transition initiative. Some of this stuff makes very important points about embedding the initiative into the community and I appreciate that it is derived from experience. At the same time I found it somewhat prescriptive, especially the directions for conducting meetings/workshops etc. This is a bit of a turn off - there are of course lots of ways of doing these things and I feel it would have been better just to refer to some resources or put these in appendices.<br /><br />We have to act on climate change and peak oil and I buy the resilient local economy model. There is lots of useful stuff in this book, maybe some of it just more detailed than necessary.

This really did help me with the test

I've just been accepted to start my training in Gloucestershire and I think this book helped me to pass the test. It only costs a tenner and it goes through all the different bits of the test and gives some advice on the application form. Really worth the cash.