Editorial Review

George Soros was once described as "the only private citizen [of the U.S.] who has his own foreign policy." In this penetrating biography, Michael Kaufman explores the multifaceted life of a man who instead describes himself as "a financial, philanthropic, and philosophical speculator."Read more

Reviews (17)

Soros the "marauding" billionaire
This should be the real title.How many people does George have to screw over before the world wakes up and realizes that this guy is just one big rat!

Slow Moving
Soros is an enigma, and you'd expect to know more about this man when you bought this book. Indeed, you would, this book gives you a clear history of this man, from his childhood to his vision to his philantrophic reasons.
A downright dismal book
This is about the worst biography I've ever read. The author doesn't really know more about Soros than all of us who have read Soros's own books. All the materials used by the book seem to be second-handed.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Business    6. Capitalists and financiers    7. Corporate & Business History - General    8. Corporate Philanthropy    9. Investments    10. Rich & Famous    11. Soros, George    12. Biography & Autobiography / Rich & Famous   

Editorial Review

In the town of Sunnyvale, in the heart of Silicon Valley, every day brings sunshine and progress, and everything is supposed to work out okay. Not surprisingly, this thoughtful and deeply affecting memoir tells the story of a family that falls apart (or rather "off the Norman Rockwell easel") in the midst of this fantasy. When Mrs. Goodell decides to get a divorce, she blasts off from Planet Marriage and hitches her future to the embryonic Apple Computer company. The other family members, however, quickly unravel. Jeff, the oldest son, quits his Apple job for the casinos of Lake Tahoe, fully believing he is "leaving behind a bunch of nerdy machine heads who were destined to live small, narrow lives empty of romance or mystery." His father, a landscape architect and a family man devastated by the divorce, finds himself becoming an anachronism in the Silicon Valley chip-and-code culture. And the sensitive youngest son, Jerry, plunges into drugs, alcohol, and sexual experimentation.Read more

Reviews (22)

modern American family tragedy
It sounds completely trite, but I could not put this book down. The true story of the author's family, this is a story that most middle-class Americans can relate to. It's a story of divorce, coming of age, confusion, madness and family bonds. It's heartbreakingly honest and a cautionary tale for how things can spiral out of control.

A pleasant surprise.
I didn't know anything about this story or author when I picked up this book; I just wanted to read it because I grew up in Sunnyvale (and still live in the Bay Area). I found that the story moves along quietly and rather gently while describing serious subject matter: a family is broken apart by divorce. Meanwhile, the vast promise of the Silicon Valley is the background. It was a very honest portrayal of life and troubles in this area, very authentic to me: my father was an immigrant, drawn to California and the Bay Area as the promised land, and he was very much like the men in this book, wanting success, to make something of himself, expecting the best from his children, pressuring them to succeed because how can you possibly fail when you live in an Eichler home in a place called Sunnyvale in the place that created the technological revolution? Like the author himself, I was not the least bit drawn to the computer industry, wanting instead to be artistic and creative. Therefore, I never belonging here. I've been trying to get out of this area for years; in the book, the lead character/author moves to New York. I never realized that those of us who grew up in Sunnyvale could have similar life experiences despite differences in ethnicity, family background, etc. Your hometown influences you and your family and every part of your life. How nice to read a book that illustrates this so effectively.

Vivid portrayal of the valley
I felt so connected to "the valley" while reading this book.I grew up in Sunnyvale and surrounding towns and knew exactly where the author was when he described the area.What for me seemed like "Anywhere, USA" became unique in my eyes for the first time.It has been an experience watching the area explode with change thoughout my life.Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Business    7. California - Local History    8. Family/Interpersonal Memoir    9. General    10. Goodell, Jeff    11. Social History    12. Social life and customs    13. Sunnyvale (Calif.)    14. United States - State & Local - General    15. Biography & Autobiography / Business    16. Business & Management    17. California    18. Computing and Information Technology    19. Goodall family    20. Authors, American   

Reviews (3)

And They Lived Happily Ever After
by Daniel Cabot, Martha's Vineyard Times. Ralph Graves Writes of Desire
OBJECTS OF DESIRE uses what seems at first an implausible premise--that an object can tell the story of love. But as Mr. Graves writes about his or his wife's desire for an object, the circumstances surrounding its acquisition, and their enjoyment of it, we are drawn in to an understanding of the dynamics of the couple's long and tightly woven marriage. An Ode to Love
By Cynthia Riggs, Vineayrd Gazette. At a time when more than half of all marriages end in divorce, it's heartening and more than a little reassuring to read this author's love letter to his wife of 45 years.Graves has written ten books, ranging from a novel about the Roman Empire to a murder mystery set on his beloved Martha's Vineyard.This is his most deeply felt and charmingly written book, as well as a portrait of the woman who has shared his life for so long. He tells much of their story through objects that have been important to them.Many of these are gifts.As he puts it, "Every present that is given in the course of a marriage makes a cumulative contribution to the marriage itself. Every gift must be personal."Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Business    5. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    6. General    7. Marriage    8. Humor / General   

Reviews (4)

A balanced biography of the man who was arguably the most influential American art critic of the twentieth century
Award-winning journalist and historian Alice Marquis presents Art Czar: The Rise and Fall of Clement Greenberg, a balanced biography of the man who was arguably the most influential American art critic of the twentieth century. Drawing from unpublished and previously unavailable documents, interviews, and archives, Art Czar portrays the tangled elements of Greenberg's life, including his relationship with family, friends, lovers, and rivals. Art Czar also reveals how Greenberg's tastes and gift for rhetoric spoke to the American art scene from 1940 to the 1980s. A painstakingly accurate evaluation of the nuances of Greenberg's lasting influence as surely as it is a chronicle of the events of his life.
We need a better biography
This is another biography letting us know what a thoroughly bad person Clement Greenberg was with little evaluation of what the man accomplished, how he accomplished it or why he is acknowledged as perhaps the greatest art critic who ever lived. Where Rubenfeld went after him with hammer and tongs, Marquis does it with innuendo, spin and an incessant stream of disparaging adjectival phrases. Every paragraph, every account, every anecdote is worked over to make him look cruel, thoughtless, short-sighted, careless, nasty, pathetic, dogmatic, passive, neurotic and on and on. She gets facts wrong, talks constantly about his "theories" (he was not a theorist), leaps into supposition and speculation at every opportunity, lards the text with quotes from bitter associates, and demonstrates in several places that she does not understand anything about art or the simple esthetic approach he used unwaveringly during his whole career.
Inclement
This book may be enjoyed by those deeply interested in modern art as practiced in New York in the 1940s through 60s. However, if you have only time to read one recent book on this era, buy Jed Perl's New Art City.
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Subjects:  1. 20th Century Art    2. Art Criticism    3. Artists, Architects, Photographers    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Business    8. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles   

Reviews (4)

I discovered the fate of my family from someone who saw it first hand
For many years my mother's family was presumed completely obliterated by the Holocaust until I found Dr. Zandman and his book. I was finally able to put fates with the faces of the people I knew only through aging photographs.
Incredible Holocaust Story
An ageless and inspiring story of determination, survival, and ultimately triumph.Zandman's story brings home minute details about being Jewish during this horrific period of time--right down to the mindset of most Jewish families in Poland.This book clearly illustrates how subtle, calculating, and conniving Hitler was as he, not all at once, but gradually moved the Jews from their homes, to the ghetto and finally the death camps. Inspiring
As a stock analyst, I've seen many CEO's and heard many success stories.This is a heartwarming story of dedication and triumph unlike that of any other business executive.Despite spending his youth in hiding from Nazis,Dr. Zandman manages toget a PhD., move to America and found a smallengineering company that ends up being one of the world's largest suppliersof electronics components. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1958-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Business    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust survivors    8. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    9. Jewish Holocaust Personal Narratives    10. Jews    11. Personal narratives    12. United States    13. Zandman, Felix,    14. Non-Classifiable    15. Zandman, Felix   

Reviews (6)

Very Interesting.
John Jacob Astor led the life most people do not even dare to dream about. He was a serial entrepreneur at a time when most of the world was composed of farmers. He was so successful at his businesses that when he died he controlled one-fifteenth of all personal wealth in the United States! Among many other things it is safe to say he was a very driven man. This book was good, at best
I bought this book to learn about Astor and how he made his fortunes.The book goes into almost too much depth in regards to the fortune made in fur trading and shipping.Out of the 25 chapters, 23 were discussing nearly every detail of Astor, his men, indians, and his competition in regards to trading and shipping.In chapter 23, the author finally gets to where he claims Astor made his largest fortune, real estate.Since that is where he made the bulk of his fortune, then why did the author only devote one chapter to this topic?Most people who buy this book will do so to learn how Astor made his fortune, that is not explained well enough.I have to give the author credit, though, he did uncover many details that the other Astor biographers failed to see.

Excellent history of fur trade, little of Real Estate.
Madsen takes the reader through an interesting account of the early fur trade and the opening of the American West. There areinteresting anecdotes from Astor's deaings with historical and political figures of the time. However, if you are looking for information on his later business dealings and the development of Astor into New York's largest property owner and landlord then you will be disappointed. Nine tenths of his book is devoted to the development of the American Fur Company and the travials of those who forged through the wild countryside on Astors behalf. There is nothing in this book about how he dealt with tenants, advertised properties, developed systems of management for properties, financing, leverage, nothing. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1763-1848    2. Astor, John Jacob,    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Business    8. Business History    9. Businesspeople    10. Historical - U.S.    11. Rich & Famous    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / Rich & Famous    14. Biography: general    15. Business & Management    16. Finance    17. USA   

Reviews (2)

It's a Wonderful Life
What an incredible family!This book is not a biography, nor is it a book about running a business.It is a look at the life of an extraordinary man, John Tigrett, and his business and personal dealings with people from Glenn Miller to Winston Churchill, from Jimmy Hoffa to Fred SmithIt is a success story filled with everything you would want in a novel. It is filled with stories of passionate lovers, great tragedies, and incredible successes.He was raised in a small town in Tennessee yet John played a part in changing the world in so many ways. Tales of fascinating people written by a friend
How did a toy maker from a town in West Tennessee become an international financier and the colleague of some of the world's most wealthy and powerful men?Read this fascinating book and find out!The stories of John Burton Tigrett's many friends are the stories of modern history: Churchill, Eisenhower, MacArthur, Howard Hughes, Jimmy Hoffa, Armand Hammer, Sir James Goldsmith, J. Paul Getty, Bunker Hunt, Brezhnev, Ross Perot, Ronald Reagan, Federal Express, the Hard Rock Cafe,and many more!This collection of vignettes and tales could also be sub-titled "A Life Well Spent."The reader sees not only well crafted word pictures of the many interesting people that Mr. Tigrett has known over the years, but also a picture of the author himself, as someone that YOU would wish to count among your friends. He appears as the type of man that you could call from a jail in some banana republic, knowing that he would move heaven and earth to get you out speedily! The!author of this most interesting book is the father of Isaac Tigrett, who founded the Hard Rock Cafes and House of Blues Restaurants. This reviewer knew the author when he (the reviewer) was a child, and was a friend of the author's late son, Hewitt. If you are interested in seeing the very human side of some of the movers and shakers of the post- World War II twentieth century, read this book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Business   

Reviews (20)

The best book about Warren Buffett (including his Berkshire days)
First, I want to mention two constructive feedback about this book. One is that this book is probably only suitable for Warren Buffett fanatics/fans. For general investors interested about Berkshire Hathaway or how Warren Buffett invest, this is probably not the best book to read (as it has so much more info. i.e. more than 1000 pages). Second is that I have read this book more than once and I still don't know how the book is organized (the chapters aren't following chronological order, alphabetical nor topical order), therefore it is quite confusing to read as you progress from one chapter to another. Only after you read enough chapter (or completed the book) then you can put it all in the big picture in your head (from Warren's childhood till his current Berkshire days). Nonetheless, kudos to Andrew Kilpatrick for putting this book together. Moreover, once you know the limitation, this book is easily considered the best book about Warren Buffett in my opinion.
Great collection of annecdotes
Warren Buffett, the American Icon, is captured beautifully in these 1500some pages. The book is a haphazard collection of notes, annecdotes, rumors and stories of the Oracle himself. It contains much of the traditional folk wisdom of the man, as well as much of the lore you probably haven't heard yet. At 1500 pages, there's something for everyone.
Kilpatrick needs an editor
If an editor took out all the repetitious, irrelevant waste from this book, it would only be 200 pages.There are much better books about Buffett and BRK, and the annual reports are fabulous, but this book is a waste of time.It is poorly written and badly organized.It is as if he had written 100 short newspaper articles, and strung them together into a book about himself and his own relationship with BRK.He is obviously a nice man, and I am sorry he has not written a better book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Business    5. Business/Economics    6. Capitalists and financiers    7. Investment Finance    8. Investments & Securities - General    9. Stockbrokers    10. United States    11. Biography: general    12. Investment & securities   

Reviews (3)

Not much for real content
You really wont learn much about leadership from this expensive tome.Its just a compilation of short sketches about people who are known for leadership.Nothing in depth at all.I regret having spent the money on this book.I should have looked it over more closely before buying it.

A Wealth of Leadership "Nuggets"
Is this an encyclopedia? Or a biographical dictionary? Or a history of leadership? Or an "A to Z guide to power"? Actually, it is all of the above. Axelrod organizes his material within 14 categories which range from Character Model to Visionary. The common denominators among the 158 different leaders' lives and careers are "significance of achievement and excellence of execution." Each individual entry is organized according to name of subject, with birth and death dates; the leadership category (or categories) to which he or she is assigned by Axelrod; leadership achievements (a bullet list); a concise life narrative; and leadership lessons revealed in the subject's life and career. For many of the entries, Axelrod also includes key leadership quotations, "In His Own Words" or "In Her Own Words." The 158 subjects are arranged in alphabetical order, from Abbas the Great (1571-1629) to Yang Chen (died 1604). For obvious reasons, Axelrod includes entries devoted to Alexander the Great, Winston Churchill, Elizabeth I, Mohandas Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon I, and George Washington. IMPORTANT LESSONS FROM THE LIVES OF GREAT LEADERS!
This is a monumental and absorbing collection of 200 brief profiles of the lives of great leaders, highlighting their achievements. More than just a collection biographies, the author has classified each leader into three or more key leadership type categories, such as innovator, motivator or strategist, listing them accordingly in a special index. Each profile is broken down into: 1) name, birth and death dates; 2) leadership categories; 3) achievements; 4) life profile, with emphasis on career; and 5) a bullet list of leadership lessons, plus a few quotations in some instances. The leaders chosen for this immense work are drawn from all areas of life-politics, military, religion-and range across the historical landscape, from Hammurabi and Julius Ceasar to Margaret Thatcher and Colin Powell. We at Stern's Management Review Online find this a gem of a book for anyone who seeks a greater understanding of the nature of successful leadership-or who enjoys gaining insights from the lives of those who have shaped history . ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Business    4. Business & Economics    5. Business/Economics    6. Historical - General    7. Leadership    8. Men    9. Women    10. World history    11. History / General    12. Management & management techniques    13. USA   

Reviews (1)

Bill Brosnan: A True Titan of Industry!
The evolution of the railroad business was forseen and then affected more by one man than by the entire rest of the industry. The life-story of Bill Brosnan is a compelling account of a man obsessed with ensuring the long term viability of railroads in general and the Southern Railroad in particular.Some readers may be discouraged from reading this book due to its length, but for those who do start it in earnest, learning of Brosnan's timely intiatives and inventions and observing his unique management style make this book hard to put down.The book's sub-title, "The Railroad's Mesiah" is well put and if you have any interest in 20th century railroading or just in business biographies, this book is full of surprises. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1903-1985    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Brosnan, Dennis William,    6. Business    7. History    8. Railroads    9. Railroads - General    10. Railroads - History    11. Transportation    12. United States    13. Brosnan, Dennis William    14. Railway transport industries    15. Trains & railways: general interest   

Reviews (2)

Arguing strenuously against the "war on drugs" mentality
The Survival Of The Coolest: An Addiction Memoir is the true story of one of the great-great grandsons of Charles Darwin, his addiction to heroin, near-death experiences, and eventual treatment and recovery. Arguing strenuously against the "war on drugs" mentality that pervades today, The Survival Of The Coolest tells of a life where drugs were an effect, not the cause of the author's severe problems. An invaluable, soul-baring personal testimony of descent and redemption, offering a real-world viewpoint of the problem of drug addiction from one who has been there firsthand.

Addiction tale with a positive outcome
As a Darwianian scholar, I'm always fascinated by anything Darwin, so I picked up this book. William Pryor, Darwin's great-great grandson grew up in a world of priveldge that few will ever comprehend. Yet he felt empty and his search for fulfilment and identity took him into the world of hardcore drug addiction at the height of the beatnik movement. He 'hung out' with some of the biggest names in rock and roll forever searching for the illusive answers. When he finally hit rock bottom, and opted for a 'clean' life he found at least a portion of the identity he had been seeking. His recovery has allowed him to build a successful business career as a renowned entrepreneur in Britain and gives him the right to discuss drug-addiction and recovery from a vantage point that few of us ever want to know. This book should be required reading by all those in the recovery field and anyone who was ever baffled by the illure of illicet drugs. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Business    4. Personal Memoirs    5. Self-Help    6. Substance Abuse & Addictions - General    7. Biography & Autobiography / Business    8. Biography: general    9. Coping with drug & alcohol abuse    10. Drug addiction & substance abuse   

Reviews (9)

Raises the Bar for biography
The book has a fascinating subject and is well written.It fully captures and holds your attention.The author is very deft in handling arguments or controversies Noyce was involved in, presenting facts without bias.The book is even-handed and intelligent.
Slanted and Incomplete
I've spent 30 plus years in this and related industries.As a partial introduction to IC's and their "market successful" agents, it is OK.As entertainment it is good, just don't forget you are being entertained!As a biography of Noyce it is only partial.That the rest of the story with Jack Kilby, Texas Instuments, and non-Noyce IC industry and players is missing makes it very bad history.That the patent fight history and the rules for patents, mainly that continuous work on ideas must be shown or it's "abandoned", are not covered makes it very much a dis-eduational offering. The big truth, stated deep in the book, that "Credit floats up.", almost makes the reading good, but not quite!

a vanished Silicon Valley
Berlin has performed an amazing amount of detailed research into Noyce's life. She takes us back to the years when the semiconductor industry was born, and shows us how Noyce helped make it flourish in Silicon Valley.
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Subjects:  1. 1927-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Business    7. Electronics engineers    8. History    9. Microprocessors    10. Noyce, Robert N.,    11. Santa Clara Valley (Santa Clara County, Calif.)    12. Scientists - General    13. Scientists - Inventors    14. United States    15. United States - State & Local - West    16. Biography & Autobiography / Science & Technology    17. Biography: general    18. Electronics engineering    19. History, Other | History of Technology    20. Information technology industries   

Reviews (1)

It's About Time
What an incredible story!What an incredible life!What an incredible contribution to society!What an incredible man!Certainly, Mr. Cullman can say he has "lived" his life and it's not over yet.This book is a must read for the up and coming entreprenuer, the social philanthropist and those sitting on thousands, millions and even billions they, nor their families or generations to come could ever spend.I salute Mr. Cullman for creating the path and not following a trail in his generosity, philosophy and business acumen. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1919-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Business    5. Business & Economics    6. Business And Society    7. Business/Economics    8. Businessmen    9. Cullman, Lewis B.,    10. Finance    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Philanthropists    13. Social Work    14. Social Work And Society    15. United States    16. Business & Economics / Finance    17. Finance & Accounting   

Reviews (4)

Skidelsky overlooks Keynes's mathematical contributions
I highly recommend the second volume of Skidelsky's three volume study of the life of John Maynard Keynes for the general reader.The general reader will be rewarded with a 5 star performance.Skidelsky masterfully weaves an incredible amount of material about the private and public life of Keynes in a manner that will provide thenonspecialist,general reader with many hours of reading pleasure.Unfortunately,the same cannot be said for the specialist seeking a technical analysis and evaluation of Keynes's scientific contributions to philosophy,applied probability,applied statistics,decision science and economics.It is in this area that Skidelsky fumbles the ball just as it appeared that he was going to go all the way and score a touchdown.This is most likely due to the fact that he is a historian with little or no training in philosophy,mathematics,statistics,probability and economics.Let me catalog the technical problems .First,Skidelsky confuses the 12th-13th century debate between the nominalists and the realists(Platonists) with the realist versus idealist debate of the 19th-20th centurybetween,among others,G.E.Mooreand Bertrand Russell(the realists of the 20th century who would be supporting the nominalists in the 12th century),on the one hand and J.M.E.McTaggart and F.H.Bradley,on the other hand,who would be supporting,in general,the realists of the 12th century.(See Skidelsky's extremely confusing discussion on pp.74-77).Second,Skidelsky is completely confused about the nature and construction of Keynesian probabilities.Keynesian probabilities,in general,are intervals.They require the use of two numbers ,not one.The first number is called a lower bound.The second number is called an upper bound.Keynes's approximation method has absolutely nothing to do with ordinal rankings. In fact,the general case occurring among decision makers in the real world would be of overlapping intervals.Consider the following simple example.Let probability one be estimated by the interval[.4,.6].Let probability two be estimated by the interval[.5,.7].The probabilities have very specific numeric bounds,but they are ,in fact,nonrankable,noncomparable and nonadditive.It is not possible to say that one of the two probabilities is greater than,less than or equal to the other probability.Skidelsky has accepted at face value the extremely poor analysis of Keynes's TP done by F.Ramsey in two book reviews published in 1922 and 1926.Ramsey committed the fatal error of misinterpreting Keynes's chapter 3 terms in the TP,nonnumerical and nonmeasurable,as meaning that no numbers could in general be used to estimate the probability relation.Ramsey never read chapters 15 and 17 of the TP where Keynes made it clear that most probabilities could be represented as intervals.(The reader will find literally one dozen errorsof omission or commission committed on pp.58-61 and 67-73 of Skidelsky with regard to the issue of the use of numbers in Keynes's logical theory of probability).Skidelsky ignores Keynes's creation of an index to measure the weight of the evidence,w,where w is defined on the unit interval[0,1]and measures the completeness of the relevant potential evidence available upon which to make an estimate of a probability.Skidelsky overlooks Keynes's conventional coefficient of risk and weight,c,that solves all of the paradoxes of subjective expected utility theory.Keynes was the first scholar in history to devise a decision rule incorporating nonlinear probabilities and weight of the evidence(later called ambiguity of the evidence by D.Ellsberg in 1961).Lastly,Skidelsky has overlooked the mathematical specification of Keynes's theory of effective demand that Keynes derived from his Y model of chapter 10and from his D-Z model of chapters 3,20-21 of the General Theory in 1936.Let us define w to equal a constant money wage,p to equal the price level,w/p to equal the real wage,MPL to equal the marginal product of labor in the aggregate,MPC to equal the marginal propensity to spend on consumption goods, and MPI to equal the marginal propensity to spend on copital goods.Keynes then arrives at the following general result:w/p=MPL/(MPC+MPI).The classical and neoclassical(monetarism,rational expectations,real business cycle theory,etc.)theories are all special cases which require that MPC+MPI=1.Skidelsky's claim that Keynes did not provide a mathematical model of his theory of effective demand in the GT (see pp.537-542,especially p.540)is an error in magnitude equal to the errors made by Frank Ramsey about the meaning of the terms "nonnumerical" and"non measurable".The specialist will be disappointed with this volume of Skidelsky's biography of J.M.Keynes.

Economics is a moral science
The second part of Prof. Skidelsky's magnificent biography of J.M. Keynes is nearly totally concentrated on economic issues. Keynes' personal life was perfectly settled after his marriage with a Russian ballerina. He continued to be in contact with the Bloomsbury group, which 'remained subversive by habit, but was anxious to retain their dividends and beauftiful houses'. Who was more keynesian them Keynes himself?
Keynes activities, both as an active participant of the economic life of his country andcontinent, and as an icon to the cultural life of his epoch and to his many friends and groups of interest, is impressive. To define him is an elusive task: philosopher?, economist?, historian?, linguist?. He was all this and much more, but he was above all a man of a very practical mind and, notwhidstanding his immense philosophical background, deeply attached to thetheories of his contemporary G.E.Moore and others, he had the feeling of having a mission to accomplish, given the immense superiority his intellect had over the rest of the mortals. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1883-1946    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Business    6. Economists    7. Great Britain    8. Keynes, John Maynard,    9. Keynesianism    10. Biography & Autobiography / General    11. Economics   

Reviews (1)

A biography of William Randolph Hearst!!!!
This is a good book! Well researched! Smoothly written! But after a while, just reading about Hearst's frantic life, his manic style of newspapering, got a little tiring... (or tiresome!) Still, if you're looking for an account of the man's early years, YOU COULD DEFINITELY DO WORSE!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1863-1951    2. 19th century    3. 20th century    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Business    8. Hearst, William Randolph,    9. Historical - U.S.    10. History    11. History Of Journalism    12. Journalism    13. Language Arts & Disciplines    14. Newspaper Management    15. Newspaper publishing    16. Publishers and publishing    17. United States    18. United States - 20th Century    19. Biography: general    20. Hearst, William Randolph    21. History / United States / 19th Century    22. History, American | Civil War & Reconstruction    23. Press & journalism    24. USA    25. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (14)

Entrepreneurship 101
Everything I ever needed to know about successful entrepreneurship I learned from SHAMELESS EXPLOITATION.1) It begins with a creative product, not in the search for a way to make money (sorry, Mr. Sinatra).2) It begins with a product that fills a hole in a market (in this case, salad dressing made with fresh ingredients, no additives, conspicuously absent from mainstream grocery store shelves back in 1980).3) Time-honored production and marketing methods can also be time-ragged and not right for your product.4) Ask questions of everyone you know. 5) Put out a little venture capital and don't overreach (these guys put out $40,000 and lived within those means).6) Don't compromise the integrity of your product, find ways to accommodate it.7) There are other ways to publicize the product other than expensive advertising. 8) A movie star's name means nothing; it's all in the product and the hard work that goes into it (sorry, Frank).9) You have to love and believe in your product. 10) You have to love the process of getting the product out there. 11) If you build it, they will come.
Wonderful & Inspiring--and not your average business book.
This book is a fun light read, about a foray into business by the seat of their pants. This is certainly a sucess story that flies in the face of Strategic Planning.
A day to read and worth your time
'Shameless Exploitation' is actually two books in one - you get the tale of how the 'Newman's Own' started as a germ of an idea in Paul Newman's garage.Newman was legendary back then for commandeering the kitchen of restaurants he would frequent and whipping together his own salad dressings.He and co-founder Hotchner make light of their lack of business knowledge, but it's worth noting that much of their success is based on their innate sense of what is right, for example their unwillingness to compromise on the freshness of their product.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Business    3. Business & Economics    4. Business And Society    5. Business/Economics    6. Camps for terminally ill child    7. Camps for terminally ill children    8. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    9. Human ecology    10. Industries - Hospitality, Travel & Tourism    11. Newman's Own (Firm)    12. Nonprofit Organizations & Charities    13. Social responsibility of busin    14. Social responsibility of business    15. Special Business Operations    16. United States    17. Business & Economics / General   

Reviews (6)

shoot me now
This has to be one of the most insipid tales yet told. It's promoted as "she didn't have to work - but she did".She did? When? Where? Look - don't promote an idea and then tell the story that completely contrasts it. This person has yet to understand what "work" is. This book is a story of a rich person who uses connections to get richer. Wow! - what a story! Boring
I had hoped to read a book about a woman who came from nothing and really made it all on her own. But that is not the case. Not sure why she would write such a book about nothing. She was born into a rich family, You would have to be in rich in those days and now to go to boarding schools, especially in switzerland and England. That is where she went to schools in her childhood and when she came to the u.s. and decided to make and design clothes, all she did was call a friend who makes clothing in another country and worked out a deal with him of what to make in her name.