Review of Modeling Risk: Applying Monte Carlo Simulation, Real Options Analysis, Forecasting, and Optimization Techniques (Wiley Finance) (Hardcover)

I found the discussion on nonparametric simulation, though brief, to be very helpful.The book also inspired me to use Excel's Solver in ways I had not considered before.

Beyond that, I was disappointed.The book is poorly edited and lacks a coherent structure.Once in a while, entire strings of paragraphs are repeated in two different parts of the book.More serious, however, is the fact that the book is largely an advertisement for the author's proprietary software.

If you are looking for a few techniques that you can apply in an Excel environment, you will find a few nuggets here and there.However, you will mostly be skimming through the 600 pages of rambling discussion.



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Review of The Citi Commonsense Money Guide for Real People (Hardcover)

The book is well organized into three sections that deal with major issues in our financial lives.For those who find themselves in financial difficulty, the first section deals with practical solutions to problems from cash flow to debt management, offering very specific "commonsense considerations" imbedded in each chapter.The second section entitled "Basic Training" gives insight into many issues from budgeting to investing.Finally, the third section titled "Curveballs" considers those unique events in life that can derail any financial plan if not carefully managed.Events like budgeting between jobs, managing divorce, handling finances in blended families, death of a spouse and identity theft are some of the topics explored.The book is an interesting read because many real life stories are included throughout the book.We can all relate to the emotional issues represented in these personal stories and better understand how they can complicate our lives and work against our best financial interests.This book helps to cut through those complications and provide very specific action-oriented solutions.



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Review of Sales Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (11/09)

At first sight of this book I held my breath because of the 708 pages; however, once I started getting into the "meat" of the contents, I realized the value of every page. The authors are upfront in the beginning of the book by stating:If you study this book, master its principles, and apply what you've learned, you will find yourself at the very top of the selling profession...."And, I can't disagree with them.As I explored "Sales Encyclopedia," I realized this is not something I could skim through to get the full effect, but it is a book to read, read again, and implement as I go along in the second reading.

Interestingly enough, Chapin et al start off with distinguishing the difference between success and failure in selling. The reader, and prospective top salesperson, needs to be aware of this difference and the components of each.What one may think is success another may think of it as a failure.However, the authors make it very clear in setting apart the top salespeople from the mediocre and poor ones. But, they also make it very clear on how the mediocre and poor ones become top ones. The first chapter delves right into having a positive attitude - enthusiasm, drive, competitiveness, and confidence.If one doesn't have these characteristics there is no point continuing with a career as a top salesperson or any further in this book.

But, it's not only about attitude.According to the authors, a dedicated salesperson using the techniques set out in "Sales Encyclopedia" will systematically create a navigational structure to not only take themselves, but the company they own or work for far beyond any competitor.

Well written, well defined, and certainly well presented, "Sales Encyclopedia" is a book that can be used for all sales training seminars in companies, as well as mandatory reading for all inspiring salespeople, regardless of industry. Seasoned salespeople will also find confirmation of what they know already, but they will also find inspiration to make changes and look at their career with different eyes. Success only comes with the will to achieve it.Sales success comes with knowing the how and "Sales Encyclopedia" teaches the how.





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Review of The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century (Hardcover)

This is a brilliant piece of work, indeed so compelling that after glancing at it over morning coffee I set aside a work day and simply read the book.I take away one star because there is no index, no bibliography, and the author is very poor about crediting his sources.On page 163, for example, his observations about 300 Chinese cities being water-stressed, and about the Aral Sea disappearing, appear to have come directly from Marq de Villier's superb book on Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource but without attribution.This should have been footnoted.

Having said that, I consider the book itself, despite its run-on Op-Ed character, to be a tour de force that is very logically put forward.Indeed, although I have seen allusions elsewhere, this is the first place that I have seen such a thorough denunciation of how cheap oil underlies everything else including suburbia and Wal-Mart cf. Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.I am also quite impressed by the author's logical discourse on how communities have sacrificed their future coherence and sustainability for the sake of a few dollars savings on Wal-Mart products.

There is a great deal in the book that is covered more ably and in more detail by the other 600+ books I have reviewed at Amazon, and indeed, replicates much of what I write about in The New Craft of Intelligence: Personal, Public, & Political--Citizen's Action Handbook for Fighting Terrorism, Genocide, Disease, Toxic Bombs, & Corruption but, I have to say, with a different twist that I admire very much.

I find the author's exploration of how cheap fuel led to wasted water, helping create cities and mega-agricultural endeavors that reduced our water at the same time that we consumed centuries worth of unrenewable fossil fuel, quite alarming.

I sum the book up on page 180 by writing in the bottom margin: "Fuel Drop + Climate Change + Disease + Water Drop = Great Depression."

I disagree with those that consider the book excessively alarmist, and agree with those that find fault with the author's documentation.An index and an annotated bibliography would have doubled the value of this book.The author is clearly well read, logical, and articulate--an unkind person would say that he has also been lazy in not substantiating his arguments with what intelligence readers value most: an index and a good bibliography that respects the contributions of others to the argument.

The author in passing makes a good argument against our current educational system, and I for one believe that we need to get back to a system of life-long education accompanied by early apprenticeship and real-world employment and grounding for our young people.What passes for education today is actually child care, and the smartest young people, like my teen-ager, consider it to be nothing more than a prison.

On balance, a solid 4, a solid buy, and worth its weight in gold if you act on his advice and begin planning an exit strategy from those places likely to run out of water, fuel, and transport options in the next 20 years.



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Review of Technical Analysis: Power Tools for Active Investors (Hardcover)

For novices interested in technical analysis, there is so much material here it might seem overwhelming.But believe me, the effort at exploration is worth it.I've been successfully applying Appel's work since 1984, and this all-encompassing treatise was like looking over his shoulder, soaking in his 30 years of wisdom on the markets.

I was especially interested in the section on the relative strength comparing the performance of the NYSE to the NASDAQ.This area of the book alone is worth the price of admission.

Professionals in the field are likely to be familiar with most concepts in the book. But over the years, I've found many misapply the use of MACD, an excellent indicator Appel invented which has become a staple in technical analysis.All would be advised to read how Appel uses his own invention.

There's something for everyone in this book, novice and professional alike.Few have contributed more to technical studies and money management than Gerald Appel.Don't just put this on your bookshelf--read it, use it and learn from it.It will make you a better investor and trader.



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Review of The Streetsmart Guide to Overlooked Stocks : A Guide to Investing in the Best Overlooked Stocks for Superior Returns [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

Too many times, mutual fund managers, brokers, and financial advisors recommend only the large-cap stocks which are widely known by the investment community. The author states that investors can benefit from holding overlooked stocks because they provide better potential returns. Good overlooked companies are well-managed firms in the earlier stages of a corporate life cycle compared to large capitalization companies. These smaller companies usually have the ability to react more quickly to customer needs and market changes because they have flatter management organizations. In addition, they usually have more insider ownership, thus aligning management's interests with shareholders. Finally, they are not as closely followed by Wall Street.

This book teaches readers how to find and evaluate these small treasures. I highly recommend this book to investors.

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market



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Review of MEGACHANGE: How Today's Leading Companies Have Transformed Their Workforces (Hardcover)

The title of this book could have been "putting people into the heart of the organizational change equation." In its well written pages, the author shows how to engage, liberate and develop an organizations's humanpotential.

MegaChange describes a process of transformation based onassumptions of human capability, rather than limitations. The approachfocuses on people (below the top) and assumes that they have valid input,can be trusted, and can play a vital role in the change process. Key themesare: greater emphasis on human values, goals, capabilties, and efficacy;placing people at the center of strategy, structure and systems;approaching change from a top-down-bottom-up sequence of developmentactivities, involving two parallel, synergistic efforts: (1)strategy-driven, organization-wide transition in systems and structures and(2) a transformation in culture, beginning with the workforce.

The mainbody of the book is devoted to explaining this change process. This workprovides an excellent perspective on the nature of organizational changeand presents an approach to change that, based on my own consultingexperience in this area,should be read-and given thoughtfulconsideration-by top executives. Highly recommended. Reviewed by GerryStern, founder, Stern & Associates, author of Stern's Sourcefinder: TheMaster Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources,Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Stern's Compensation and BenefitsSourceFinder.



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