Review of You're Broke Because You Want to Be: How to Stop Getting By and Start Getting Ahead (Hardcover)

When is the last time you sat down and read a book cover-to-cover without stopping?That is just what I did the other day when I got home and found Larry Winget's book waiting for me from Amazon.In "You're Broke Because You Want To Be..." Larry Winget uses this in your face style of self-help coaching to let you know that there is a way out of this debt hole you are in.Given the current state of the economy, this book couldn't have come out at a better time.

Larry puts it on the line and basically says that all of us have the power to make our lives better and stop the financial bleeding if we want to -- and you know what he is right.He states, for example, to get off your rear end and stop watching television and take a class or learn something new to help advance your career which helps you earn more money.He's dead on in that regard -- I personally stopped watching the idiot box over 2 years ago and started taking night classes towards an MBA.It has helped me more than I could ever have imagined.

The problem with this book is that most people, just as Larry says, won't want to do what he tells you to.They don't want to give up their cable TV, they don't want to get a 2nd job to pay off the bills, they don't want to stop eating out every other day.They just want a magic bag of money to drop into their lives.Well wake up folks, it isn't going to happen.The theme of this book can best be describes as "It's All About You!" -- YOU have to sacrifice to get out of the hole and if you aren't willing to or don't want to make tough choices then save your money and don't buy the book and continue living in your financial nightmare.

After reading this book I got the extra "boost" I needed to continue working my 2nd job (my own small business) to help it grow even more.My goal is to be debt free by the beginning of 2009 and I know I can do it -- I got my shot of reality from reading this book.Now I'm ready to hunker down and make it happen!



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Review of Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life (Hardcover)

The seemingly insatiable Wall Street desire for more, combined with look-the-other-way regulators, has landed the U.S. in financial crisis.In Jack Bogle's latest book, Enough, you can read it thinking about the current pickle we find ourselves in and you will understand why it happened.Hedoes a great job of explaining why there has never been a better time to learn individually, and as a country, when enough is enough.

This book delves into the perfect storm of investing created by costs, speculation, and complexity.It examines the folly of a business paradigm that focuses on the short-term bottom line; where business conduct and management becomes all about the sale, no matter what the cost.

In life we often seem to define our success by the material possessions we have amassed.The "he who dies with the most stuff, wins" philosophy dictates that somehow this will make us a happier person.Jack Bogle puts such a philosophy in perspective by reminding us that being the richest person in the graveyard shouldn't be our goal.

Enough is engaging and thought-provoking, and offers practical insights that extend beyond investing and business into life itself Jack Bogle clearly could have been a billionaire had he founded Vanguard as a for-profit entity.I suspect he must have realized far earlier than I did that there is more meaning to life than the accumulation of money.

Personally, whatI can't get ENOUGH of are the insights from Jack Bogle.Simple and obvious though they may be, sometimes life gets too busy to see what is right in front of our faces.And what's right in front of our faces in Enough, is common sense.




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Review of BrandDigital: Simple Ways Top Brands Succeed in the Digital World (Hardcover)

At a time when recession promises another culling of the on-line business world, Brand Digital offers both a survival guide for brands at risk and a consolidation guide for strong brands seeking to exploit weaker competitors.

Grounded in interviews with over 100 industry leaders, this book provides valuable context for the shift we have seen from the internet as a transactional medium to its new role as a relationship medium.In many industries the internet is now the primary medium for interacting with customers.Adamson walks the reader through the many levels of customer relationships the digital world offers for your business and brand.His first piece of advice is the digital equivalent of "Get out of the office and into the field talking to customers" (my phrasing not his). Adamson gives sound practical examples of the many ways managers in various industries are using the internet to engage with and learn from their customers outside of the transaction process.

Adamson then walks the reader through techniques for how to take what they learn on-line from customers and use it to hone product or service strategy, surrounding information services, brand image, and marketing strategies.He explores how to process the stream of customer information and make the trade-offs required for a focused, clear product strategy and brand image.Finally, he gives practical advice on making customer learning and product/brand refinement a continuous, evolving process. Many concrete examples from various industries keep the theorizing limited and the simple, practical ideas front and center.

The only shortcoming is that one would normally expect more visual content (charts, pictures, etc.) in a book about the visually-intensive digital world.But this small shortcoming is outweighed by the exceptional content of this book.

Net/net, an extremely valuable read for those who want to emerge from the recession with deeper relationships and stronger brand images across many more customers.




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Review of Colossus: How the Corporation Changed America (Hardcover)

These writings consider the impact on American history and events of the rise of big business, using essays, poems, editorials and company histories to reveal that it's the corporation which has ultimately served as the agent of social change in this country. An intriguing collection of writings provides a different kind of economic and social history: one based on business events.



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Review of Trade Like a Pro: 15 High-Profit Trading Strategies (Wiley Trading) (Hardcover)

Reviewed by Darrell Jobman, Senior Analyst, TraderPlanet.com

What started out as a response to his anger related to investors losing money trading has now reached its sixth book, which expands and elaborates on material covered in the author's previous publications. Nine of the 15 risk-management strategies included in this book present new depth and details from his earlier book, Winning the Trading Game, and he has added six advanced strategies that can help a trader manage an increased level of risk.

Part I introduces readers to traits of retail and professional traders - both unsuccessful and successful - and some of the essentials of trading and the trading industry and serves as a good review. DraKoln stresses the importance of risk management - what you do when faced with the risk of losing your principal and profits - vs. money management and sets out the core components of a trade setup - entry price, loss price and profit price and whether you are trading with the trend or the countertrend.

Part II covers basic strategies, showing how the spot market is protected by the futures market and how options can protect both the spot and futures market, broken down into several sections dealing with the time frame for which each is best suited. Some strategies will be familiar to options traders, such as straddles or strangles, but DraKoln focuses on when to use them and what you hope to accomplish with your position, citing a number of examples and how they look on a chart.

DraKoln discusses using options as primary and secondary alternatives to stops and stop loss orders, working through several market scenarios, and he covers the use of option collars at several different stages of a trade. He also shows the advantages of synthetic options and covered options and deals with traditional spreading techniques as well as options front spreads and back spreads.

The more advanced strategies in Part III, DraKoln explains, have "some risk management components associated with them, but also provide more exposure to the unlimited risk aspect of selling options." Synthetic futures or selling naked options are more sophisticated strategies that should probably be reserved for more sophisticated traders, who may be able to capitalize on their margining advantages. DraKoln illustrates how to manipulate or combine those strategies to convert one position into another when necessary.

Mixed in with the options-related strategies is a section on inter-commodity spreads featuring seasonally-based trades, the soybean crush and energy crack spreads and trades based on ratios between related commodities such as silver and gold.

For serious traders who have a background in reading charts and are ready to begin converting their chart interpretation skills beyond just basic buy or sell into more advanced trading strategies, this book provides some valuable insights that can help make the transition from being a typical retail trader to a professional trader. With a very readable style and numerous chart illustrations, DraKoln explains how the strategies can be implemented in a wide range of markets from commodities to forex to single stock futures.



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Review of The Supply Mangement Handbook, 7th Ed (Hardcover)

It is a book to keep on the desk for the day by day consultation.



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Review of Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse (Hardcover)

Tom Woods has written a timely and timeless book - timely because it addresses the most pressing issue of our day, and timeless because he explains economic cycles and the nature of money in plain language.

It is curious that Congress is on the verge of passing an economic stimulus bill that is opposed by nearly two thirds of Americans.Mr. Woods provides the logic behind the intuition of this increasingly disenfranchised majority.Americans opposed to further government meddling should read this book to fully arm themselves with the knowledge necessary to win the debate.Well-intentioned Americans who support government intervention in the economy should read this book to understand the unintended consequences of their support.

Partisan readers beware:regardless of your political affiliation, you will discover that your party shares in the blame for the mess we're in.It is best to check your party affiliation at the door before you read this book.But read it!

The first chapter quickly identifies fractional reserve central banking as the main driver of the current and previous economic downturns.It's a long-overdue call to debate the necessity of our Federal Reserve system.

The second chapter addresses the housing bubble, and how the loudest voices on all sides of the debate are proposing solutions to the symptoms instead of recognizing the real problem.

The third chapter addresses the government's futile reactions to the financial and economic crisis in the last months of 2008.It's amazing to see such recent history covered so well in a book.

The forth chapter alone is well worth the price of the book.Mr. Woods explains in plain language that economic cycles are not natural phenomenon, but are caused by artificial manipulation of the money supply. The business cycle theory of Ludwig von Mises and F. A. Hayek is explained in a manner easily understood by the layman reader.

Chapter five covers myths of the Great Depression.Understanding this time in our history has never been so important as it appears we are on the verge of repeating the same mistakes.Mr. Woods gleans lessons by comparing previous market busts and subsequent government reactions to them.

Again, the sixth chapter alone is worth the price of the book.Mr. Woods explains the nature of money.It's hard to believe how something we use every day can be such a mystery to us.It's impossible to effectively engage in the debate about fractional reserve central banking without understanding the nature of money.We learn in this chapter how money is a creation of the free market and not a government invention.

The book ends with a chapter that instructs us on what courses of action (or inaction) that we should take in order to restore a lasting prosperity.It is vastly different than the choices being proposed by our government and the media.

Whether you are a liberal, conservative, or something else, I implore you to read this concise, well-reasoned book.In the most important debate in our lifetimes, this book represents a side that is ignored by the media.Ignore it at your peril.





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