Naomi Klein s The Shock Doctrine advances a truly unnerving argument: historically, while people were reeling from natural disasters, wars and economic upheavals, savvy politicians and industry leaders nefariously implemented policies that would never have passed during less muddled times. As Klein demonstrates, this reprehensible game of bait-and-switch isn t just some relic from the bad old days. It s alive and well in contemporary society, and coming soon to a disaster area near you. At the most chaotic juncture in Iraq civil war, a new law is unveiled that will allow Shell and BP to claim the country s vast oil reserves…, Immediately following September 11, the Bush Administration quietly outsources the running of the War on Terror to Halliburton and Blackwater…, After a tsunami wipes out the coasts of Southeast Asia, the pristine beaches are auctioned off to tourist resorts…, New Orleans residents, scattered from Hurricane Katrina, discover that their public hous...

#Wow - now all the pieces of the puzzle fit (2008-10-21) Probably the most important book of our times. I was already aware of many of the events written in the book, but did not realize to what extent they are all related. Clear and well-written. Everyone can understand this. Although some free-market ideologues may not like it, they cannot refute it - too many verified and confirmed FACTS. Klein has linked the policies of the last 30 years together. . . put the pieces of the puzzle together. Now it is up to us to do something about it, or watch while our countries ...

#Could it be... a novel and interesting thesis? (2008-09-15) I ve enjoyed Naomi Klein s writing ever since No Logo, but I must admit that I find that she can be hit and miss. In this book, she scores a straight-out hit. What I enjoy so thoroughly is that she manages to do so with a fascinating thesis: comparing the effects of electric shock on the human mind and body with the effects of disasters upon the collective social psyche, and how the unscrupulous attempt to use this vulnerability to their advantage. Indeed, in some cases, as Klein points out, the people doing the electros...

#The second colonial pillage and the essence of dehumanization (2008-08-31) Naomi Klein unveils in this hard-hitting book (naming names) extremely clearly the economic utopia and the shameful realities resulting from the neo-liberal policies of the Chicago School of Economics, also called `The Washington Consensus . WhatIts defenders claim that the free market is a perfect scientific system, in which individuals acting on their own self-interested desire, create the maximum benefit for all. But, as no country or city wanted to implement deliberately their policies, its powerful fundamen...

#Washington Consensus Exposed (2008-08-09) The shock therapy advocated by neoliberal conservatives in the US is well-documented in most academic circles but Naomi Klein expands the criticisms to a wider much more general audience in The Shock Doctrine. The book is long by most popular non-fiction standards and certainly she stretches her argument in a few cases to make her point, but overall the book is well-researched with the sections on Iraq and New Orleans being the most effective. The backlash against Milton Friedman and his Chicago School of Economics is perhaps the greatest whe...

#An uproarious wake up call! (2008-06-22) It s the economy, stupid. Do you have any idea of how much terror represents as a business?. Well, I didn t. After the economic e-bubble ended some years ago, the option at hand to push the economy was terror. . . In this latest, well documented N. Klein s book, beginning in Montreal with the CIA s mind experiments back in the 50 s, you ll be taken by the hand in tour from the University of Chicago campus to Buenos Aires, Santiago, La Paz, Caracas, New Orleans, New York, Beirut, Tel Aviv, etc. and to practically every place on Earth, that ...

Among the library of investment books promising no-fail strategies for riches, Benjamin Graham s classic, The Intelligent Investor, offers no guarantees or gimmicks but overflows with the wisdom at the core of all good portfolio management. The hallmark of Graham s philosophy is not profit maximization but loss minimization. In this respect, The Intelligent Investor is a book for true investors, not speculators or day traders. He provides, in a form suitable for the laymen, guidance in adoption and execution of an investment policy (1). This policy is inherently for the longer term and requires a commitment of effort. Where the speculator follows market trends, the investor uses discipline, research, and his analytical ability to make unpopular but sound investments in bargains relative to current asset value. Graham coaches the investor to develop a rational plan for buying stocks and bonds, and he argues that this plan must be a bulwark against emotional behavior that will always b...

#Invest In This Book, Invest In Yourself (2008-10-07) With more than one million copies sold and an endorsement on the cover by Warren Buffet, you know there has to be something to this book- and I think I know why. Simply because it is the first book ever to describe the emotional framework and analytical tools necessary for financial success for individual investors. Probably the single best book on investing written for the lay-public and the stock market bible since its first appearance in 1949, it s a great resource, although it s quite a thick book and filled with detail- and pr...

#A Fresh Look at an Investment Classic (2006-06-12) When it comes to the subject of investment, one cannot speak about it without mentioning the household name, Warren Buffett. After all, this is a man who had made himself the second richest man in the world solely by investing money in companies. It is through learning more about Buffett that lead me to Benjamin Graham and his investment classic, The Intelligent Investor. In this 2003 updated edition, supplementary commentaries and footnotes were added throughout the book by Jason Zweig, a senior writer at Money magazine. This upda...

#Note to ",A customer from New York, NY: (2005-11-08) Newsflash:The guy s dead - and has been for years. Not getting that ",big advance", you would begrudge him (unless there is a market in Heaven?)

#Classic book, but annoying commentaries (2004-06-30) I was deciding between getting this edition or the more expensive hardbound edition (which does not contain the Jason Zweig commentaries). I naturally thought, why not go for the cheaper one and get the commentary for free? After all, I could just ignore the commentary if it doesn t help. Bad bad choice. It was like choosing between a Beethoven CD and the same CD but with free shrieking commentary by a Damon Wayans movie character during and in between each symphony. Zweig s writing when inserted between Graham s is like th...

#one of, if not the best, equity investment book (2004-05-02) this is buffets bible for good reason. the book s central concept, the margin of safety, is reinforced time and again w/ supporting ratios and working examples, both from the 60-70s and from zweig s excellent supplements (an extremely valuable supplement to the original text, if for no other reason than to show that graham s teachings are timeless). while occasionally ratios will appear dated and no longer relevant (i. e. book value s importance has declined w/ the transition of the US eq mkt to increasing intellectual ca...

Five years ago, Jim Collins asked the question, Can a good company become a great company and if so, how? In Good to Great Collins, the author of Built to Last, concludes that it is possible, but finds there are no silver bullets. Collins and his team of researchers began their quest by sorting through a list of 1,435 companies, looking for those that made substantial improvements in their performance over time. They finally settled on 11--including Fannie Mae, Gillette, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo--and discovered common traits that challenged many of the conventional notions of corporate success. Making the transition from good to great doesn t require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of those rare and truly great companies was a corporate culture that rigorously found and promoted disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner. Peppered with dozens of stories and examples from the...

#A management classic for everyone (2008-03-30) Good to Great is a new and different research on the forces that drive change in all types of organizations. Written in textbook style, Jim Collins book aims to help the reader bring his organization from a good (read average) level of performance to a great one by presenting and analyzing the case of a dozen Forbes 500 companies that have achieved the deed. According to Good to Great, the first step in achieving greatness lies in the selection of a special, ``Level 5 , manager who will install a climate of passion, debate and performa...

#Read it (2006-11-25) Collins findings may shake up current perceptions of what it takes to make a company great. (The most crucial factor is to get the right people on the bus, charismatic leaders are a handicap, big change does not have to be wrenching, extreme, painful, you can t buy your way to greatness, people can t be motivated either by fear or by clever names or taglines for change programs. . . ) The results from a five-year study of 11 companies that have sustained substantial gains over the market for 15 years speak for themselves - eloquently.

#good guide but more ways to go (2006-07-15) Jim Collins gives some very good ideas on quality management and good performing companies. Good read. But there are also other ways to measure performance. For this, this book is not enough. One way is to see the overseas expansion quality for these companies. Many companies are doing great at home market, but they are less successful when they expand overseas. Why? Many, many reasons. Some rather interesting studies on global multinationals doing biz in China are given in this book: China s global reach: markets, multinationals, and...

#Great Books for Corporate Citizens (2006-03-30) This is an excellent book to give to young people, which I did, because it gives them a mechanism for looking at unanticipated change in their career lives. Very often, we need a roadmap to assist us in navigating the troubling waters of corporate and company life itself. . . something to stand separate and unique from our colleagues. We often don',t see the need for rain before the sun in order to see the flowers of spring. I highly recommend this book as a college graduation gift for the young person entering the work world -- an...

#Best Career Rejuvenation Books for Job Seekers & Changers (2006-03-17) Collins gives the reader and superb overview of the fundamental ",Good to Great", principles, and then supplants into areas specific to corporate organizations, such as how to creatively develop and review performance evaluation indicators without financials. Also, THE BLACK BOOK OF OUTSOURCING * by Brown & Wilson gave our company whole perspective on outsourcing and how to use it effectively without the whole predictable For-Profit corporate focus. Outsourcing can get your financially failing or strugglin...