Book Description
In this powerful and provocative manifesto, Bill McKibben offers the biggest challenge in a generation to the prevailing view of our economy. For the first time in human history, he observes, more is no longer synonymous with better -- indeed, for many of us, they have become almost opposites. McKibben puts forward a new way to think about the things we buy, the food we eat, the energy we use, and the money that pays for it all. Our purchases, he says, need not be at odds with the things we truly value. McKibbens animating idea is that we need to move beyond growth as the paramount economic ideal and pursue prosperity in a more local direction, with cities, suburbs, and regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, and even creating more of their own culture and entertainment. He shows this concept blossoming around the world with striking results, from the burgeoning economies of India and China to the more mature societies of Europe and New England. For those who worry about environmental threats, he offers a route out of the worst of those problems; for those who wonder if there isnt something more to life than buying, he provides the insight to think about ones life as an individual and as a member of a larger community. McKibben offers a realistic, if challenging, scenario for a hopeful future. As he so eloquently shows, the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own.
Customer Reviews:
If You Care for the Earth.......2007-09-29
This book is a must for anyone who wants to make a change to save the earth. The author has insight and experience about how our present course of living will lead to the destruction of the world as we know it. It's real, but there is hope and Mr McKibben shares that hope with the reader.
Useful Inefficiencies.......2007-08-29
McKibben is one of our best modern thinkers on environmentalism and conservation, ever since debuting with his classic "The End of Nature" in 1989. In this new book he has largely tackled mainstream economic theory and how it has inflicted worldwide damage on the environment and on human communities. Standard development economics suffers from an unyielding focus on efficiencies and consumption, but this more often than not leads to widespread damage and unhappiness. Planners and politicians focus obsessively on per capita utility and efficiency, and vehemently disdain anything that may reduce efficiency for some individuals but may very well improve communities and the planet. McKibben's great contribution here is his coverage of new studies of human happiness. Especially in America, we have passed the point of gaining any more happiness from increased consumption of things, and we have become largely unhappy over the ensuing loss of community and nature. A new worldwide understanding of how economics really works has become imperative - more is no longer better.
McKibben has located many useful examples around the world of communities practicing new sustainable development strategies with demonstrated benefits for all involved. Unfortunately, the areas in which such great things are happening have particular political and economic conditions that make such experiments beneficial (including the American location McKibben covers most often - politically distinctive rural Vermont). The underlying flaw in this book is that McKibben must resort to pretty wishful idealism when applying these local success stories to the world economic system. A related problem is that the second half of the book, where the rubber should be meeting the road in realistically applying the local to the global, largely degenerates into repetitive descriptions of benefits in lieu of real prescriptions for change. However, McKibben definitely deserves credit for explaining in an accessible way all the tragic flaws of mainstream economic theory (see the books and articles he cites for the real lowdown), and it's about time us regular folks resisted the power players - for the benefit of ourselves and our larger community. [~doomsdayer520~]
Turbines and Prayer Wheels.......2007-08-06
This is a wonderful book that swings your emotions from despair to joy and back. I marveled over the story of the village of Gorasin in Bangladesh where the people said no to pesticides after living with their devastating effects and the village has become an organic oases. That is the theme of the book, communities with members from near or far working together to make lives better.
McKibben mentions Heifer International, one of my favorite organizations, and their impact on one man in China with the donation of 48 rabbits and lots of technical advice and the wave of change in his community because of his successful rabbit enterprise.
A group called Future Generations trained some villagers in Tibet and the villagers devised and installed a system that carried water "through a series of split-bamboo pipes, and then through a turbine that used the dynamo from a junked car. A hydrology expert could have helped them build a more efficient system, but all the locals knew how to repair this setup."".....(Also, the hydrology expert might not have thought to use the water pouring out of the turbine to spin a prayer wheel.)"
World community - helping local people meld the old and the new.
But, McKibben asserts, it is time for the haves of the world to share more than knowledge, it is time to cut back on what we use. "Most obviously, if the rich world began making less extreme demands on the planet, poor countries would have more physical margin to work with - a little slack. ...If we Americans can use less coal and gas and oil, we'll in effect free some of the atmosphere to absorb the carbon that the poor world must emit to meet basic needs."
There is so much more in this book to ponder and act on, put it high on your reading list.
Quite a scary future.......2007-07-23
Wow, makes me want to move to Vermont and become an organic farmer. I found this book to bring up some very good points about our current unsustainable economic situation. Over the past 300 years we have created an economic "machine" based on efficiency and production that will be very hard to change intentionally. McKibben offers some ideas on what the new New Deal will need to be if we want to continue a sustainable economy, which includes taking everything back to a local scale. Food, work, consumer goods need to develop inside the community where one lives. Less efficiency, more community and "neighborliness". It's a great idea. I just wonder if people will choose this before the collapse of our current system or try to figure something out after it's too late. I pesimistically think the latter.
Growing Smaller.......2007-07-11
The main premise of this book is that the local economy is the deeper economy. Thus the healthier and wealthier community. Bill McKibben hardly ever deals in the abstract, rather he is constantly giving examples and providing illustrations of how this type of economy gets practiced locally. He describes the little experiments of living locally . . . such as one winter how he canned all of his food ahead of time and only ate things within a local radius. His goal is to make a connection between the local community and the economy. He spends a good portion of his time sharing about the relationships he has formed in his quest to shop and consume on a local scale. Consequently, the value of relationships in driving and sustaining a healthy economy are focused on a lot. It's not some over-romanticized look back into the past and the way things used to be. Rather it's an imaginative redreaming of how one can exist both in urban and suburban settings at a local level, valuing relationships and health over fast and easy. The book is extremely insightful and a moderately easy read. And well worth it.
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
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History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
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Similar Items:
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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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History: Fiction or Science? Astronomical methods as applied to chronology. Ptolemy's Almagest. Chronology III
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They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies
ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Average customer rating:
- Schaeffer's Strategies Don't Work
- get your highlighter, you can find something of value
- Worst Newsletter Service
- Great Technical Analysis
- Super
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The Option Advisor: Wealth-Building Techniques Using Equity & Index Options (A Marketplace Book)
Bernie Schaeffer
Manufacturer: Wiley
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ASIN: 0471185396 |
Book Description
Acclaim for Bernie Schaeffer's expert approach to options trading.
"Bernie Schaeffer's penchant for contrary investing is terrific, and his market calls on that strategy have been excellent. He shows how to apply contrary thinking-and many other types of 'expectational analysis'-to option strategies. All option traders should enjoy reading this book." -Lawrence G. McMillan President, McMillan Analysis Corp. Author, Options as a Strategic Investment and McMillan on Options.
"A superb book that will benefit both stock and options investors. It blends technical analysis, fundamentals, investor psychology, and strategy to come up with an excellent approach to the markets. A good read for the investor seeking new trading ideas in today's fast moving markets." -Leo Fasciocco Stock Market Columnist, Investor's Business Daily.
"A breath of fresh air for options traders. Most options books are textbook in nature. Schaeffer cuts right to the chase and provides solid ideas on how to use options effectively for both conservative and trading-oriented investors. It's innovative and fresh. Get a copy." -Thomas J. Dorsey President, Dorsey Wright & Associates Author, Point & Figure Charting.
When nationally renowned options expert Bernie Schaeffer talks, everyone listens. A "Market Maven" on CNBC, a frequent guest on CNN, and a top-rated Timer Digest market timer for the past decade, he has also been a featured speaker at numerous investment conferences. His views on the stock market and the economy are regularly quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Barron's, and Investor's Business Daily. Thousands of subscribers eagerly await each issue of his Option Advisor newsletter, and when he distills his decades of knowledge and experience-as he does in this remarkable book-savvy investors everywhere pay close attention.
In The Option Advisor: Wealth-Building Strategies Using Equity and Index Options, Schaeffer offers his own carefully tested, prudent, and profitable strategies for trading options. He begins by dispelling outdated folklore and beliefs about the options world, and reveals instead how options can be used as an inexpensive, leveraged vehicle for profiting from the movement in an equity. With clarity and logic, he explains the basic principles of options trading, emphasizing, in particular, why options cannot be traded like stocks-a very common and potentially very costly mistake.
Schaeffer delves into the psychology of options trading, demonstrating how to distinguish between "high" and "low" expectation stocks, how to measure sentiment, and how to master the valued Contrary Opinion Theory for successful trading. He shares his wealth-building techniques for selecting the right stocks, assessing risk, managing your options portfolio, and, most important, for reading market timing indicators. What The Option Advisor boils down to is expert guidance on managing your money, while avoiding the most common errors of options trading.
In a detailed section on applications, Schaeffer gives you practical, hands-on advice on how to use a full array of real-world trading strategies, including quick trades, aggressive trading strategies, conservative approaches, portfolio protection, and the increasingly popular Long-term Equity AnticiPation Securities (LEAPS). With characteristic thoroughness, Schaeffer also offers invaluable information on selecting an options broker, opening an options trading account, and doing research on the Internet.
From the novice to the experienced investor, The Option Advisor offers a gold mine of information on how to achieve success in options trading.
Customer Reviews:
Schaeffer's Strategies Don't Work.......2007-07-03
As tracked by Mark Hulbert, following Schaeffer's Options Advisor newsletter's advice would have resulted in a compounded annual loss of 4.7% per year over a period of time when the market GAINED 12.7% per year. While his newsletter has not lost money in recent years it has trailed the S&P 500 over 1-, 3-, 5-, 10-, and 15-year time periods.
Is that kind of advice worth paying for and worth spending your time to read? I think not.
get your highlighter, you can find something of value.......2006-09-09
Mr. Schafer writes about several different option strategies. More importantly, he covers several tools you can use ranging from magazine covers to VIX. He also touches on the "Greeks" and money management. The first 130 pages covers the tools and basics of options and the second half of the book covers specific option strategies and more details on how to spot a trade.
There are many black and white charts throughout the book detailing the specific indicators and what they may look like when you want to buy or sell. The examples are clear and easy to understand. I had to read some paragraphs a couple of times to understand which I would expect when learning a new concept.
Each time I go through this book, I am reinforced of what I know and often pick up details I have missed in the past. There is a lot of good information in this book. Someone who wants to increase their knowledge regarding technical analysis and broaden their horizons can gain something from this book.
Worst Newsletter Service.......2005-06-04
The service is a sure way to loose money. I consider myself as a novice investor but I can do better on my own than following his advise. Talking to service rep is waste of your time and effort. The service rep will listen to you but do nothing.
The research company refuses to refund unused portion. What a nice TRAP. I wish I had read the reviews over here before I threw my hard earned money.
Great Technical Analysis.......2002-04-23
Only 50% of the book is about options. The other 50% concentrates on how to use technical analysis to find winning stocks. It is probably the best book for the beginner and intermediate trader. With the Technical analysis, it can be used for both stocks and options. It belongs on every trader's shelf. The reason it didn't get a "5 Star" is that he really doesn't go into closing a position if the trade is going the wrong way. I pretty much had to learn that on my own. I have read it cover-to-cover 3 times and certain chapters at least 6 times.
Super.......2001-10-29
This book is more than an option book. Actually it concentrates more on the technical analysis than options. It tells you what to look for in the charts, option volume and oprn interest, and then which option strategy to use. This is by far my favorite book on stocks and options.
Book Description
Starting with the publication of their seminal bestseller, Future Shock, Alvin and Heidi Toffler have given millions of readers new ways to think about personal life in today’s high-speed world with its constantly changing, seemingly random impacts on our businesses, governments, families and daily lives. Now, writing with the same rare grasp and clarity that made their earlier books classics, the Tofflers turn their attention to the revolution in wealth now sweeping the planet. And once again, they provide a penetrating, coherent way to make sense of the seemingly senseless.
Revolutionary Wealth is about how tomorrow’s wealth will be created, and who will get it and how. But twenty-first-century wealth, according to the Tofflers, is not just about money, and cannot be understood in terms of industrial-age economics. Thus they write here about everything from education and child rearing to Hollywood and China, from everyday truth and misconceptions to what they call our “third job”—the unnoticed work we do without pay for some of the biggest corporations in our country.
They show the hidden connections between extreme sports, chocolate chip cookies, Linux software and the “surplus complexity” in our lives as society wobbles back and forth between depressing decadence and a hopeful post-decadence.
In their earlier work, the Tofflers coined the word “prosumer” for people who consume what they themselves produce. In Revolutionary Wealth they expand the concept to reveal how many of our activities—whether parenting or volunteering, blogging, painting our house, improving our diet, organizing a neighborhood council or even “mashing” music—pump “free lunch” from the “hidden” non-money economy into the money economy that economists track. Prosuming, they forecast, is about to explode and compel radical changes in the way we measure, make and manipulate wealth.
Blazing with fresh ideas, Revolutionary Wealth provides readers with powerful new tools for thinking about—and preparing for—their future.
Customer Reviews:
But can you catch this wave?.......2007-05-21
Well for a generation that cut its teeth on Future Shock and The Third Wave there are few surprises in Tofflers' approach to the issues. They re-emphasize the impact of Wave Three (the Third Knowledge revolution) with more reference to the growth of Prosumser ( open source, You Tube, home schooling, NGOs) arising as much from the failure of second wave institutions ("industrial society" creations like manufacturing factories, schools and their attached stakeholders). The analysis if Europe and the EU is quite different. They believe that the EU is using too centralized a control and growth strategy that makes Europe less competitive and further into the Second (industrial ) Wave each passing year as the Third (knowledge) Wave continues to roll out. He points out the real fears that we should be aware of with China as it follows a dual wave strategy. India and the other Asian countries receive quite a review as well. Their analysis of the deep fundamentals of Time, space and knowledge is worthwhile as the impacts can be seen further along multiple directions. Simple to follow and readable as they use shorter chapters, but as a 447pp tome, this is good for long flights and/or your summer reading selection. They end up optimistic despite the pitfalls but a bit short on suggestions as to what are the business opportunities coming forward.
What a racket.......2007-05-13
How many variants on a theme are permitted before one says 'nuff? The Toeflers continue to thrive on gullibility. Who believes that each approaching decade will transform mankind's nature? Too many each decade, it appears.
Toffler Remains at the Cutting Edge of Future Thinking.......2007-04-10
As a former Air Force officer and current international business and technology consultant Toffler's Revolutionary Wealth rings true! The changes he foretells are spot-on, provocative. The Tofflers continue to outdo themselves. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about his or her future.
Frank Shines, The New Science of Success: How to Outsource Proof Your Job...
Interesting ideas, but poorly written and edited.......2007-04-09
Alvin Toffler's book "Revolutionary Wealth" expounds on many ideas quite popular in the press for the past few years, e.g. America's loss of manufacturing jobs and move into a service oriented economy, outsourcing, poor quality/obsolesence or American education, etc. However, he tends to drag on and on with ideas, and clearly lacked any kind of a roadmap or other organization skills. There also appears to have been poor to little editing, with ideas and concepts throw all over the book haphazardly, and too much time spent discussing mundane, trivial topics. At times the "book" comes out in a stream-of-consciousness, almost rant-like style.
For example, Toffler spends a lot of time discussing the concept of the "prosumer", i.e. all the work we do without pay, and especially work that used to be done by others, such as using an ATM instead of a teller. But this concept is introduced, discussed, and no logical conclusions were derviced from long discussions, other than to vaguely say that we'll do more "prosumer" work in the future (although with only 24 hours a day, I suppose there is a logical limit).
In the end, I can't say that I recommend this book because there is little original material in there, but if you're interested in current events and reading about some basic economic trends, you might like this.
An important overview and prediction.......2007-03-27
In Revolutionary Wealth the authors see the next great revolution of all times taking root right now. They compare our time to the time of the industrial revolution where life concepts have changed and a new society was born.
They show us the changes in etiquette & behaviour this new Hi-tech revolution is producing and are carrying it into the future.
The Toffers thoroughness and their easily understood language, bring us the deeper fundamentals underlining the changes which we are experiencing. They acknowledge the lack of cohesion in the developments taking place in the various part of society, which thus contribute to today's restlessness.
The Toffers point out all the difficulties our world has, and the prevailing pessimistic outlook. They once again compare our times to that of the industrial revolution and see the positive outcome, which they reckon, will "explode with surprises of all kinds" that will bring untold benefits to all mankind.
All in all, the book is full of information and food for thoughts and it is highly recommended.
Renate
Artist, poet & the author of
From the Promised Land to the Lucky Country
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
In As the Future Catches You, Juan Enriquez of the Harvard Business School attempts to capture the trajectory of technological progress and understand the forces shaping our social and economic futures. Enriquez argues that February 2, 2001--the date that anyone with Internet access could contemplate the entire human genome--is akin to 1492 and Columbus's discovery of America. Instead of a new continent however, Enriquez sees the alphabet of DNA (A, adenine; T, thymine; C, cytosine; and G, guanine) and predicts that it will be the "dominant language and economic driver of this century." While none of the ideas presented here are entirely new, As the Future Catches You stands out because of Enriquez's ability to view and connect trends--genomics in particular--in a way that just about anyone can understand. Eye-popping typography and graphics coupled with a compact and almost poetic writing style make this thought-provoking book one to savor. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards
Book Description
If you think the world has changed dramatically in the last five years, you haven’t seen anything yet.
You will never look at the world in the same way after reading As the Future Catches You. Juan Enriquez puts you face to face with unprecedented political, ethical, economic, and financial issues, dramatically demonstrating the cascading impact of the genetic, digital, and knowledge revolutions on all our lives.
Genetics will be the dominant language of this century. Those who can “speak it” will acquire direct and deliberate control over all forms of life. But most countries and individuals remain illiterate in what is rapidly becoming the greatest single driver of the global economy. The choice is simple: Either learn to surf new and powerful waves of change—or get crushed trying to stop them. The future is catching us all. Let it catch you with your eyes wide open.
Customer Reviews:
Plainly bad..........2007-09-18
I am actually amazed to realize that this book has received so many positive reviews. It is pitiable from start to end. You could perhaps excuse Henriquez' poor writting style if only the content of the book had been something to cheer for. However this is not the case. Unfortunately Henriquez' argument for how genomics will shape the future of all things, is substantiated by oversimplifications and misconceptions generated by an evident lack of scientific knowledge on the author's behalf, or alternatively, a deliberate attempt to impress the unaware reader with overambitious and melodramatic factoids.
... but let us just analyse some of the statements in say, for instance, the
"MOSQUITOES" section, right among the starting pages:
"Mosquitoes
are flying hypodermic needles.
They can infect you with malaria, dengue, and other
awful things" Well... up to here everything is sort of correct - except for the fact that mosquitoes are nothing like hypodermic needles, but that mosquito's feeding apparatus, for instance, is an extremely complicated structure, quite unlike a single syringe, but hey... what do I know? - ... still, let us excuse the imprecision and awful writing style and read a bit more:
"They do so by transferring a little bit of genetic code
through their saliva..." Really? How does that happen then? Because, during the twelve years I have been studying the genetics of tropical diseases, I never heard of a publication where this has been shown... I had the idea that it was the entire microorganism (virus, parasite, bacteria, etc...) that was inoculated and then caused an infection, but apparently it is just a portion of its genetic code... or he is referring to the mosquito's genes? Help me, I'm confused...
"Into your bloodstream..."
"Which then reprograms part of the way your cells operate... "
"By changing your genetic code ever so slightly..." Oooohhhh, I'm scared...
"In ways that can make you very sick." Now, that's what I call an engaging writing style...
Unfortunately, it goes on and on for over two hundred pages...
The Optimistic Jew.......2007-08-31
Ostensibly a pronouncement about the extraordinary impact that genetics is about to make on human civilization I found his comments and supporting data on knowledge societies versus commodity societies most enlightening. You live in a country without natural resources? LUCKY YOU! You have a much better chance to live in a democratic country with constitutional protections of individual rights. Countries devoid of natural wealth must invest in their human capital. In the knowledge economy this is more likely to create wealth. Small countries with few natural resources have the highest per capita median incomes in the world. If you live in a resource rich country you are more likely to be ruled by thugs or clowns who enrich themselves by enabling large companies with know-how and technology to extract the resource. They have no need to invest in their human capital. Poverty is the result. Enriquez marshals impressive data to support this claim. My optimism about the future possibilities of the Jewish people and Israel (in my own book "The Optimistic Jew") stems to great degree from Enriquez's book. His observation that now lone individuals and single zip codes can create greater wealth than entire countries enabled me to envisage Israel becoming the richest country in the world in per capita, median income by 2030.
Extraordinarily provocative!.......2007-03-08
This book will make you think...a "must read" to understand what is going on in our increasingly science-driven world.
Information a bit dated........2007-02-11
The information in this book is a bit dated.
The author mostly ignores the stocking market tech-bubble crash, simply referring to it as the "Nasdaq Adjustment". A great deal of companies and employees were "adjusted" out of existance.
Back to the Future.......2006-10-01
This book is a blend of intresting observations and speculation on various hot technologies (gnemoics in particular) and it's likely impact on people and countries. It is an intresting book and can be easily followed by anybody (even without any intrest or knowledge of the subject). The page layout (with large typeface and fonts) may seem condescending to some of the serious readers, but i think it works in this case, since the book isn't verbose and the author packs thought and info in small sentences, which provokes one to pause and reflect. For eg: sample this: "there used to be one way of getting pregnant.. Now there are more than Seventeen" OR " A seed is an instruument designed to execute a genetic program that transforms soil, water and sun into Wood, Flower.. Fruit"
You need not know anything about Gneomics, Computers, Biology sciences or the various other technologies which this books quotes, to enjoy this book. It's pretty sweeping in scope and you need not necessarily agree with all that the author says about his versiion of the future (i did not). But, one can certainly give full marks to the author for making serious sciences entertaining, by sharing his thoughts on how it is/may impacting our lives.
The challenge and pitfalls in speculating about the future is ironically seen here - This book was written in 2001 and as such the author makes a glowing reference to the AOL-Timewarner merger (which later turned out into a disaster!); India and China are lumped as "having few resources, capital and respect for entrepreneurs", whereas the outsourcing boom in the last five years has clearly proved this wrong.
Not everyone will agree with the author's touting of Gene food (btw, this is not a default food in Europe) or the 'small population' advantage. Patents is relatively a western phenomenon, so comparing the number of patents of US to China or India seems out of place. Couple of chapters venture into politics of why many countries broke apart in the last fifty years and the treatment of it may seen one-dimensional. Afterall, the things that defines a nation is something more complex than what the author seems to define.
There is lot of great Links/references in the Appendix of the book for anybody intrested in exploring further on this topics.
Irrespective of what one's throughts are on the opinions and coverage in this book, i think this is a book which gives value for the time and money spend. It is thought provoking.
I would recommend it to all.
Customer Reviews:
The Optimistic Jew.......2007-08-31
This final volume of Toffler's trilogy argues that the control of knowledge has become the principal means to create wealth and power. In a way, the book predicted the productivity explosion of the 90's and the birth of the knowledge economy even before the "invention" of the www. His arguments about the growing conflict between the flexibility required by the knowledge economy and the inherent inflexibility of bureaucratic structures were a natural continuation of his Third Wave vs. Second Wave mentality: "...all bureaucracies discourage out-of-frame thinking and the examination of root premises." This book, along with "The Third Wave", provides useful methodological metaphors for critically analyzing 21st century Jewish life and proposing alternative Jewish futures based on the opportunities of globalization. This is what I tried to do in my book "The Optimistic Jew: a Positive Vision for the Jewish People in the 21st Century".
Fifteen years later A different world. Toffler as the author of 'Future Shock'.......2005-12-07
Toffler is the man who gave the world ' future shock'. He is one of the principal popularizers in helping the broader public understand the social implications of scientific and technological changes. The pace is too fast, taught Toffler, for our bodies and minds to really keep up.
Having shocked the world with 'Future Shock' and tried to revolutionize our thinking with 'The Third Wave' Toffler here again makes an effort at coining an Age-Defining- Concept. However here as with 'The Third Wave' a whole bookful of intelligent insights are not enough to make a concept strike home. For all of us Toffler will be in the years to come , 'Mr. Future- Shock' and nothing else.
As for the Power shifts, I would simply point out Reality usually defies our predictions for it. Toffler's book did not have the 'Internet' it did not have the rise of Radical Fundamelist Islam. It did not have suicide bombers and a huge China and a growing India standing greedily at the Middle East petrol pump.
Even the greatest prophet mises a lot.
Great Book.......2005-04-24
This is a great book though i read it in 2005, 15 years after its publishing!!! A great futuristic reading
As good as it can get.......2004-10-18
Amazing insights .... coupled with relevant interlinking between the socio- eco - political environment ..... makes it an interesting reading. Did someone say its all about paradigm ? Guess YES.
Excellent Book.......2004-06-06
All of Toffler's books are amazing. I can't say enough good things about them. Those who do not like his books are clearly just those types who hate anything that becomes too popular. Someone should explane to them that just because something is well-liked doesn't mean it suddenly lacks value. Toffler has predicted so much that has become true. His great ability to use social science to show us the future is beyond impressive. Future Shock, The Third Wave, and Powershift. Read all three.
Amazon.com
Sometimes our parents plant weird ideas in our heads, such as "You shouldn't be selfish," when the subject of buying something nice arises. As an adult, that often translates into "I don't deserve to have money." Or maybe we feel so good about the money we make that we can't resist spending it on whatever catches our eye: a new pair of shoes, a titanium mountain bike, a leather love seat to go with the leather sofa we couldn't afford last month.
Financial planner Brooke Stephens has heard every excuse for not making, saving, and investing money; she also knows that no matter what attitude a person starts with, he or she can change it. So Wealth Happens starts with baby steps--tiny exercises to change your mind about money, and to increase your knowledge about what it can do. Then she shows the basics of investing, building wealth, protecting what you've built, and, finally, retiring on that wealth.
Sprinkled among the chunks of concrete advice are quotes and proverbs ("Save money and money will save you"), inspirational anecdotes (John D. Rockefeller built an incredible fortune while tithing 10 percent to his church), and real-life scenarios showing how a decent income can get gobbled up with foolish purchases and the resultant credit-card interest. Wealth Happens is about as beginner-friendly as personal-finance guides can possibly be. Because of that, it probably won't be very useful to the person who's already paying off credit-card balances each month and saving for retirement. But for the person who wonders how people who own homes got them, or how anyone can actually afford to retire at 65, this is the book to buy. --Lou Schuler
Book Description
Does a secure financial life seem to difficult to imagine let alone achieve? Does wealth strike you as an impossible dream? Whether you're living from paycheck to paycheck, or simply confused by the world of stocks, bonds, and brokers, it's never too late to change your situation. All you need is a little help.
By spending just ten to fifteen minutes a day with this immensely helpful book, you'll discover that financial security is just steps away. Filled with the wisdom and advice of a seasoned expert, this year-old program for success shows you how to:
- change your attitude and change your life
- break out of debt and control your spending
- choose investments and make your money grow
- protect your gains and prepare for a comfortable retirement
- give your children or grandchildren a secure start in life and much more!
Customer Reviews:
The Best Book of Finances I've Ever Read.......2006-05-10
This book truly changed my life. Ms. Stephen's down to earth, friend-to-friend approach spoke to me like no other financial advice book ever had. As everyone here has said, the daily devotional style makes it easy to digest and the quotes are truly inspirational. My thanks to Ms. Stephen's for this fabulous book.
Best of it's kind.......2003-09-05
Wonderful book for those who want to learn how to learn how to gain control of your money and invest.
Incredibly Informative..........2002-02-13
I recommend this book to anyone who needs to gain control of their finances and set up their future.
Easy to follow....straightforward....tons of great advice!
This book is wonderful.......2002-02-12
I feel that my review should be first! This book is great. Not only is it a daily financial devotional, but it is also a down-to-earth NIV financial bible. I bought this book on a clearance rack in Crown and never read it until last week(note, I bought the book a year ago!). However, buy it, read it, use it, and read it again......
excellent book and as easy to read as a novel.......2000-06-04
Like the other people who reviewed this book, I just love it. I first borrowed it from the library and then purchased it for myself. I like the way it is made up, in tiny steps and really easy to read and follow. It truly inspired me to take a new look at money and I found out that you can save money in more ways than I ever thought possible. I highly recommend it. It is well worth the price.
Book Description
Norton Garfinkle paints a disquieting picture of America today: a nation increasingly divided between economic winners and losers, a nation in which the middle-class American Dream seems more and more elusive. Recent government policies reflect a commitment to a new supply-side winner-take-all Gospel of Wealth. Garfinkle warns that this supply-side economic vision favors the privileged few over the majority of American citizens striving to better their economic condition.
Garfinkle employs historical insight and data-based economic analysis to demonstrate compellingly the sharp departure of the supply-side Gospel of Wealth from an American ideal that dates back to Abraham Lincoln—the vision of America as a society in which ordinary, hard-working individuals can get ahead and attain a middle-class living, and in which government plays an active role in expanding opportunities and ensuring against economic exploitation. Supply-side economic policies increase economic disparities and, Garfinkle insists, they fail on technical, factual, moral, and political grounds. He outlines a fresh economic vision, consonant with the great American tradition of ensuring strong economic growth, while preserving the middle-class American Dream.
Customer Reviews:
Very good, important book.......2007-03-03
I heard about this book from Bill Moyers, he mentioned it several times while speaking at the National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis. When I got back, I went to every single book store in Oklahoma City and none carried it, so I knew this must be a good, intellectual book. After finishing it, I must say indeed it is just that, full of good arguments and history and basically saying "..ok, you have to do this or theres going to be problems". It is very readable and I highly recommend Garfinkel's fine work.
Myth-Buster.......2007-02-23
I agree that this book was insightful and easy to read. More importantly, the information is thorough and paints an extremely cohesive picture of why current tax policy is wrong-headed. It is now almost a principle of faith that lower taxes on the highest earners bring increased investment and thus faster economic growth. There have been no definitive studies done that support this myth. This book debunks the "Gospel of Wealth" contention with real economic numbers and historical survey. Trickle-down theory has been exposed to the light of factual analysis as a benefit to the super-rich.
Bill Moyers, Senator Hillary Clinton and Alan Blinder loved this book too........2006-10-06
Bill Moyers said:
"The American Dream vs. The Gospel of Wealth: The Fight for a Productive Middle-Class Economy is the most important book I've read in years.
It is the clearest, most readable, most insightful, and most powerful account of how the Declaration of Independence and Lincoln's vision of government "of, by, and for the people" are being turned upside down. Garfinkle has sounded the one trumpet that just might wake us up -- if there is still time."
Senator Hillary Clinton said:
"We can choose to chart a wiser economic path by starting with the principles that have inspired Americans from the beginning: Sticking with fiscal discipline, rewarding hard work, investing in our people, and growing a strong middle class.
In The American Dream vs. The Gospel of Wealth, Norton Garfinkle addresses these important economic issues, issues that should be addressed at all levels of government and our society if we expect to maintain the American Dream for future generations."
Alan Blinder, the former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System said:
"This fascinating guided tour of America's past reminds us of the moral dimension of economic policy - which used to loom large, but which lately has been submerged. Garfinkle's book may help bring it back."
I think every other reader will agree with Bill Moyers, Senator Hillary Clinton and Alan Blinder and will enjoy this book as much as I did.
Product Description
Building Wealth with Managed Futures is an easy to understand guide to investing in Managed Futures. Written for both the average investor and industry professional; readers will learn how to analyze Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs), build a managed futures portfolio, identify realistic investment goals and risk tolerance levels, learn how to decode a CTA's disclosure document, diversify across trading systems and market segments, and learn how industry professionals use statistical analysis to rank Commodity Trading Advisors.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding book on long-term put strategy.......2007-01-02
In his book, Dennis Eisen describes exactly one way to trade options: Selling Puts, namely LEAPS (Long-term Equity Anticipation Securities). What makes this book so interesting to read is that Eisen starts with a general overview and then goes into a level of useful detail which I have not seen in any other book on options yet. He explains how options are taxed, how the margin requirement is calculated, and what actually happens when options are exercised/assigned. This knowledge you normally have to acquire in years of practice but Eisen just spreads it out in front of the reader. Despite the level of detail the book is easy to follow, and I finished it in two days.
What makes the author very likable is that he writes in the "I" form, i.e. he writes from his experience, and not with the claim to know the absolute truth.
The book is divided in three main parts: Part one covers the basics, part two takes a quantitative look at the risk and reward of an actual system, and how you can improve your odds, and part three lists formulas and computer codes. There is also a big appendix with over a hundred tables of put premiums calculated with the Black-Scholes-Formula. The book is rounded off by a bibliography and Eisen's favorite web sites (some of them are outdated).
The main reason why Eisen prefers long-term puts (and long-term meaning up to 30 months) is that they are less risky. Due to inflation and the fact that good companies increase their earnings over time thus driving their share price up, he feels that long-term options are less likely to be assigned. For this, he is willing to sacrifice quite some put premium as the following example shows: For an American Option (stock price = strike price, volatility 0.3, dividend rate 3%) the premium for a 15 months-put is $11.46 yet for the 30 months-put it is only $15.06. In other words, although the time is twice as long until expiration, the premium increases by only 31%. In proportion, the premium for a 6-months-put is even higher, at $7.71. This is because options lose most of their value in the last months before expiration.
Here I would deviate from the author's system, I would always prefer to sell two consecutive 15-months-puts for $22.92 or even five consecutive 6-months-puts for $38.53 rather than one 30-months-put for $15.06. By rolling them out and down I would try to prevent being assigned too many stocks.
Are there any downsides to this book? Not really. One thing I did not understand is how Eisen can put the premium which he earns into a cash market account at 6% interest rate. (This contributes an important part to the profitability of his system). In chapter 4 he explains how much margin is required: The whole put premium plus 10 or 20% of the underlying stock price. So how can he put the premium into a cash market account when he has to keep it as a margin? My online broker will give me less than 1% on my margin account.
And one thing I would be looking forward to: Since this book was written in 2000, it could use an update. Then Eisen could test his strategy with a longer history and real data (he had to calculate backdated data because LEAPS had only been existing for seven years at the time this book was written), and update some of the web sites and bibliographic data.
But altogether this is a great book, and it deserves five stars.
A very good book about options and specifically about LEAP puts.......2005-12-05
I really enjoyed reading this book. First, it's very condensed and well structured. The author gives a very good overview of stock options, then he explains his strategy (basically it's selling long term naked puts). Because in general selling naked options is considered to be risky, the author explains in details why his strategy is actually a low risk one. He includes the raw data he used, the programs and formulas and the results and their interpretation. The books is written from an individual investor point of view. What I really like about the book is that the author is not trying to avoid or downplay the areas of concerns. Actually he is doing exactly the opposite. He is trying to find and address the weakest points of his strategy and prove his points. Overall, it's a great book to learn about stock options, especially the LEAP puts strategy.
This is an important book.......2002-03-24
I trade equity options. I have read a lot of books about options. Basically, once you have read McMillan's book, none of the other option books have anything to add. Except this book.
This book shows some original thinking; it's not just the same old thing about bull spreads, etc. The book advocates more than just selling puts to get premium or to use as a method of buying stock at a discount. He explains how you can sell puts on solid companies and buy stock of other companies with the premium you brought in. He really got me thinking, and I have gone from his ideas to developing some of my own.
This book is well worth reading. Read it to get ideas on how to use puts for your own advantage. Learn something new.
Too Much Theory, Not Enough Real World!!.......2002-02-23
I picked this up ... at a book clearance sale, if you have to pay more pick another title. First of all the author says he sells puts (contracts agreeing to buy a stock or index at a set price until a specific date for which you receive a premium) to buy stocks in his investment account. There is not a single example in the book of a trade he executed this way. Instead he fills about 1/4 of the book with hypothetical computer runs assuming you had sold every LEAP contract over a multi year period. That is just a silly example for the individual investor. That is akin to comparing all of the insurance coverage written by Prudential with you writing a policy on your grandma.
Second he gives you numerous pages on how to calculate Volatility and Black-Scholes, etc. What is missed is that you want to be selling Puts and Calls when Volatility is High, and most option brokers do this calculation with a computer. As for Black-Sholes, the calculation is easy to find on the web, but any "advantage" that it may provide is used by insititutions who can rapidly scan the whole market and quickly correct any price imbalances. Unless you enjoy crunching financial formulas by hand, this section is filler at best.
Finally, his stock selection and risk control methods are questionable at best. Think Enron and realize that even "independent" reviewers like Morningstar and Value Line had it well rated up until the bitter end. If you dont already have a solid stock picking methodology, you should not start buy selling options. The notion that a reader should do anything other than sell an option that is 100% covered by CASH is the same as endorsing the methods that bankrupted many very large traders, banks and hedge-funds.
If you are looking for investment ideas Getting Started in Options may be a good place to START. Throw in Peter Lynch, Justin Mamis, and Andrew Tobias for good measure.
One idea explored throroughly.......2001-01-07
I saw this book in the book store, and spent some time there reading the first few chapters. I was so interested in his ideas, that I purchased the book. It's well-written and not at all dry, unlike some other investment books.
The author starts off by telling us how he had been able to amass a decent-sized portfolio over the years. He had a couple of hundred thousand dollars saved away, all invested in good long-term stock investments. He wished there was a way he could generate more income on-top of his already solid investments.
He started out by selling covered calls on some of his stock portfolio. That worked for a while, but he soon became frustrated that some of his best performing stocks were being called away, while he was left with a portfolio of poorly performing stocks. That is one of the down sides to covered call investing.
So he tried selling put options instead. Selling a put option is when you promise to purchase a stock at a specific price. In exchange for this promise you get paid a premium up front.
The author has found a lot of success picking solid companies, with sales and earnings growth, and selling put options one or two years out (LEAPs). Most of the LEAP puts he sells expires worthless, thus allowing him to keep the premium as profit, and sell some more long-term puts for more premium.
Most of the book deals with his back-testing data for this theory. He tests different quality stocks, different expiry dates, and different strikes. All in an effort to find the best overall results. In the end, some of his data suggests that selling long term puts at a strike price below the current price on the highest quality stocks has a 95% plus success rate.
If this type of theory interests you, I suggest getting this book and studying the theory and data for yourself.
Books:
- Effective Phrases For Performance Appraisals: A Guide to Successful Evaluations
- Essentials of Fire Fighting
- Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results
- Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results
- Flying Star Feng Shui
- FYI: For Your Improvement, A Guide for Development and Coaching (4th edition)
- Getting Started: Reculturing Schools to Become Professional Learning Communities
- Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance
- Handbook of Human Performance Technology, 3rd Edition
- High Five (A Stephanie Plum Novel)
Books Index
Books Home
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Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming
The End of Nature
Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole
Hope, Human and Wild: True Stories of Living Lightly on the Earth (World As Home, The)
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