New titles are added almost every day. The categories may vary significantly but the topics are always interesting and enlightening. No book is listed prior to its release.

CLICK ON TITLE TO ORDER

_____________________________________________________________________________

COMING in '08: Mitsubishi; Farmers and Merchants Bank (LA); Warner Brothers; Harvard Business School; Gucci, Bacardi, National Enquirer.

In the News

2007 Business Book of the Year (Financial Times Goldman Sachs)  

(Lazard LLC), William D. Cohan (2007). The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Freres & Co. (New York, NY: Doubleday, 752 p.). Six Years at Lazard Frères, Later Managing Director at JP Morgan Chase. Lazard Freres & Co.--History; Banks and banking--New York (State)--New York--History; Bankers--New York (State)--New York--Biography; Banks and banking--France--History; Bankers--France--Biography. Portrait of Wall Street through tumultuous history of this company - from its origins in 1848 in New Orleans, LA as a dry goods store through its dominant personalities (Andre Mayer, Felix Rohatyn, Michel David-Well, Steve Rattner, Bruce Wasserstein) and controversial 2005 initial public offering. Judges believed the book provided "the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues," in keeping with the goal of the award (30,000 pounds).

2007 Stock Market Returns - December 31, 2007 - Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 13,264.82, an annual increase of 6.43% (vs. 16.29% jump in 2006; 6.3% down from all-time high October 2007); S&P 500 index (companies with median market value of $12.8 billion) closed at 1468.36, an annual gain of 3.53%, up 10% excluding financial stocks (6.2% below record close on October 9, 2007; down 3.8% in fourth quarter, first for any fourth quarter in seven years; up 67% since 2002; first November/December decline since 1974); Russell 2000 closed at 766.03, down 2.8% in 2007 (first loss in five years, underperformed S&P 500 for first time since 1998); Nasdaq closed at 2652.28, up 9.81% for the year (down 7.2% from record high in October 2007); Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Index (companies with median market value of $589.6 million), broadest measure of U.S. shares, closed at 14,819.58 ($115 billion decrease in value of stocks); Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX), market's ``fear gauge'' (rises as stocks fall), closed at 22.50 (up 95% percent in 2007, biggest annual rise in its 18-year history).

=====================================================================================

Save Paul Revere's Mill & Barn (Revere Copper Products, Inc.) - 1801 - Revere put up $25,000 to found the nation's first copper-rolling mill on the banks of the Neponset River in Canton, MA. The mill (below) produced the copper for the hull of the U.S.S. Constitution and the dome of the Massachusetts State House. It is now in jeopardy. May 19, 2008 - Napleton Acquisitions LLC, Chicago-based developer, purchased the mill in 2007, submitted a demolition request for the mill and the nearby J. W. Revere barn - without any future plan for the property.

Save the Mill - http://revererollingmill.googlepages.com/home

(http://www.preservationnation.org/assets/photos-images/preservation-magazine/todays-news-items/2008/reveremillcanton.jpg)

Banking - July 19, 2008 - 52-week change in S & P 500 Financial stocks since autumn 1990: 1) absolute performance of S & P index of financial stocks in S & P 500 (excluding dividends); 2) how many percentage points financial index outperformed or underperformed full S & P 500; July 15. 2008 - worst 52 weeks ever (in absolute, relative terms) since S & P began calculating financial index (1989), down 53% (absolute) at low (previous record down 44% in fall 1990; subsequent 52 weeks, financials rose 58%); down 31% (relative) more than overall S & P 500 (two equivalent underperformances in 1990, March 2000; previously signaled buy opportunity).

______________________________________________________________________________________

Automotive. (Honda), Yozo Hasegawa; Translated by Anthony Kimm (2008). Clean Car Wars: How Honda and Toyota are Winning the Battle of the Eco-Friendly Autos. (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 200 p.). Senior Staff Writer (Nikkei Inc.). Honda Giken Ko¯gyo¯ Kabshiki Kisha--History; Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha--history; hybrid cars; auto design -- environmental technologies. How two biggest Japanese automakers are battling each other, and world, for supremacy of emerging market in green technologies; leaders, followers, different environmental technologies, strategies being pursued, which global auto makers are best positioned to survive, emerge atop zero-emissions, automotive world of 21st century; how Japanese auto makers, Toyota and Honda, have set bar early with hybrid cars, how their engineers and managers are looking to redefine company mandates to survive in world threatened by global warming, depletion of fossil fuels. New!!

Banking. (Kellner Mortgage Investments), Richard Bitner (2008). Confessions of a Sub Prime Lender: How Greed, Fraud &Ignorance Caused the Greatest Business Debacle in US History. (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 208 p.). Former President of Kellner Mortgage Investments (Dallas). Bitner, Richard; Kellner Mortgage Investments; subprime lending; Mortgage banks. How industry started out helping disadvantaged customers buy houses, lost its way; roles played, tactics used by borrowers, brokers, appraisers, rating agencies, investment banks in one of greatest business disasters in history; 1) why nearly three out of every four mortgages were misleading, fraudulent; 2) how unscrupulous brokers tricked lenders, gullible borrowers; 3) how brokers, lenders turned unqualified applicants into "qualified borrowers"; 4) why Wall Street, rating agencies are largely to blame for the collapse. New!!

Beverages. (Water), Elizabeth Royte (2008). Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale And Why We Bought It. (New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 256 p.). Bottled water industry--Social aspects; Bottled water--Social aspects. Commercialization of drinking water; second to soda, on verge of becoming most popular beverage in country; people, machines, economies, cultural trends that bring it from nature to supermarkets; Who owns our water? What happens when a bottled-water company stakes a claim on your town’s source? Should we have to pay for water? Is the stuff coming from the tap completely safe? And if so, how many chemicals are dumped in to make it potable? What’s the environmental footprint of making, transporting, and disposing of all those plastic bottles?  New!!

(Wine), Benjamin Wallace (2008). The Billionaire’s Vinegar: The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine. (New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 336 p.). Wine and wine making--Miscellanea. Most elaborate con since Hitler diaries; 1985 - 1787 bottle of Château Lafite Bordeaux (discovered in bricked-up Paris cellar, supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson, by pop-band manager turned wine collector Hardy Rodenstock, who had a knack for finding extremely old and exquisite wines) sold for $156,000 at Christie’s of London auction to member of Forbes family; rumors about bottle arose. Why wouldn’t Rodenstock reveal exact location where it had been found? Was it part of a smuggled Nazi hoard? Or did his reticence conceal an even darker secret? more than two decades for those questions to be answered; involved gallery of intriguing players (Michael Broadbent, British auctioneer, staked his reputation on record-setting sale; Serena Sutcliffe, Broadbent’s archrival, palate is covered by hefty insurance policy; Bill Koch, Florida tycoon bent on exposing truth about Rodenstock); history of wine, complete with vivid accounts of subterranean European laboratories where old vintages are dated, of Jefferson’s colorful, wine-soaked days in France. New!!

Chemicals. (IG Farben), Stephan H. Lindner; English translation by Helen Schoop (2008). Inside IG Farben: Hoechst During the Third Reich. (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 388 p.). Professor of Interdependence of Technological and Social Change (University of the Bundeswehr in Munich). Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie Aktiengesellschaft --History; Hoechst AG --History; World War, 1939-1945 --Atrocities; Chemical industry --Political aspects --Germany --History --20th century. 1925 - IG Farben formed; became synonymous with participation of German industry in most heinous crimes of Nazi regime; relationship between management, employees, Nazi party, its organizations; exclusion, persecution of employees, particularly Jewish employees; extent of Hoechst's involvement in exploitation of forced labor, active participation in human experiments in several concentration camps; motivations of those responsible for this conduct. New!!

Food. Richard Ellis (2008). Tuna: A Love Story. (New York, NY: Knopf, 352 p.). Bluefin tuna; Bluefin tuna fisheries; Endangered species. Tuna's history as item of catch (once scorned, ground up for oil, cat food), history of recreational, commercial tuna fishing; target of insatiable sushi market; canning process; "tuna ranches" (once on brink of bankruptcy, now multimillion-dollar enterprises); bluefin populations disappearing. Varieties of tuna: albacore, longtail, bigeye, blackfin, yellowfin, skipjack (not really tuna, chicken-of-the-sea that fills many light-meat tuna can), great, paradigmatic Atlantic northern bluefin (longest migrator of any fish species). New!!

Healthcare. (Maimonides Medical Center), Julie Salamon (2008). Hospital: Man Woman Birth Death Infinity, Plus Red Tape, Bad Behavior, Money, God, and Diversity on Steroids. (New York, NY: Penguin Press, 384 p.). Former culture writer for The New York Times, critic and reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Maimonides Medical Center--History; Maimonides Medical Center; Hospitals--New York (State)--New York--History; Hospitals, Urban--New York City--Personal Narratives; Cultural Diversity--New York City--Personal Narratives. One year tracking progress of cancer center, characters (doctors, patients, administrators, nurses, ambulance drivers, cooks, cleaning staff) who make hospital run; case study of concerns that arise in institutions that serve an increasingly multicultural American demographic; science and emotion of medical drama (doctors/patients relationships, financial, ethical, technological, sociological, cultural matters) grounded in financial realities of operating a huge, private institution that must adapt to specific needs of immigrant groups; "Hospitals have a lot in common with the movie business. You’ve got your talent, entrepreneurs, ambition, ego stroking, the business versus the creative part. The big difference is that in the hospital you don’t get second takes. Movies are make-believe. This is real life." New!!

Household Appliances. (Tupperware), Bob Kealing (2008). Tupperware, Unsealed: Brownie Wise, Earl Tupper, and the Home Party Pioneers. (Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 250 p.). Reporter (NBC's WESH-TV in Orlando, FL). Wise, Brownie; Tupper, Earl Silas; Tupperware Corporation --History; Tupperware Home Parties --History; Home parties (Marketing) --United States --History; Plastic container industry --United States --History; Plastic tableware --United States --History. Rise and fall of Brownie Wise, driving force behind making Tupperware household name, created Tupperware "home party" phenomenon in 1950s, first woman to appear on cover of Business Week (April 17, 1954); anointed by Tupper as company figurehead, marketing guru; her idea to market Tupperware exclusively through in-home sales, sparked cultural revolution in post World War II America; minimally educated, economically invisible housewives had opportunities for careers for first time; became cultlike, charismatic leader for Tupperware faithful; stalked by her alcoholic, abusive ex-husband, feared his appearing out of nowhere to cause shame, embarrassment; fired in 1958, height of her national celebrity, under mysterious circumstances, written out of Tupperware history, died in obscurity.

Manufacturing. "Factory" (www.spike.com/about-show/2728; Spike TV, Channel 30; Sunday, June 29 - 10 PM) - four guys who grew up together in  small town, drank a lot of beer, dreamt of one day making a name for themselves; all work in town's local factory. When not figuring out new ways to avoid doing their jobs, the guys are usually trying to appease their wives and girlfriends, without great success. Work-related accident creates a job opening; guys have to decide who should get the promotion, which unfortunately might require actual work. New!!

Publishing. (John Murray), Humphrey Carpenter (2008). The Seven Lives of John Murray: The Story of a Publishing Dynasty, 1768-2002. (London, UK: John Murray Publishers Ltd., 384 p.). Murray, John, 1737-1793; John Murray (Firm)--History--18th century; John Murray (Firm)--Catalogs; Publishers and publishing--Great Britain--Biography; Publishers and publishing--England--London--History--18th century; Book industries and trade--England--London--History--18th century. 1768 - former lieutenant  in the Royal Marines, from Edinburgh,  John McMurray, bought bookselling business in Fleet Street; dropped "Mc" in response to outbreak of Scottophobia; published Jane Austen, turbulent relations with Lord Byron, Charles Darwin, political literature, biographies, travel books (Isabella Bird, David Livingstone); Victorian-era fiction received short shrift (not for serious readers); produced royal and aristocratic memoirs; firm revived in 20th century by "Jock" Murray (took on best-selling Story of San Michele, put up his own money (100 shares in Bovril) to secure rights to publish Betjeman's Continual Dew, nudged Freya Stark into print, spotted potential in Parkinson's Law);  managed by seven generations of Murrays; oldest independent publisher in U.K;  2002 - acquired from John Murray VII by Hodder Headline publishers.

Regional. (Massachusetts - Gloucester), Mark Kurlansky (2008). The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Survival in Gloucester, America’s Oldest Fishing Port and Most Original Town. (New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 269 p.). Fisheries --Massachusetts --Gloucester --History --Anecdotes; Fishing ports --Massachusetts --Gloucester --History --Anecdotes; Gloucester (Mass.) --History --Anecdotes. Slowly disappearing way of life that has defined much of America’s coastlines for hundreds of years; contemporary tension between  traditional fishing trade, modern commerce. New!!

Utilities. Maury Klein (2008). The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity, and the Men Who Invented Modern America. (New York, NY: Bloomsbury Press, 560 p.). Professor Emeritus (University of Rhode Island). Inventions--United States--History; Inventors--United States--Biography; Force and energy--United States--History. "Power revolution" turned America from agrarian society into technological superpower in 19th century; dynamic, fiercely competitive inventors and entrepreneurs who made it happen - steam engine, the incandescent bulb, the electric motor; inventors (James Watt, Elihu Thomson, Nikola Tesla); entrepreneurs (George Westinghouse); businessmen (J.P. Morgan, Samuel Insull, Charles Coffin of General Electric); Thomas Edison, creative genius and business visionary. New!!

Wall Street - History. Steve Fraser (2008). Wall Street: America’s Dream Palace. (New Haven, NY: Yale University Press, 200 p.). Senior Lecturer (University of Pennsylvania), Co-Founder of the American Empire Project, Metropolitan Books. Capitalists and financiers--United States--Biography; Wall Street (New York, N.Y.)--History. America’s love-hate relationship with Wall Street (from Wall Street panic of 1792 to dot.com bubble-and-bust and Enron scandals); four iconic, recurring Wall Street types: 1) aristocrat, 2) confidence man, 3) hero, 4) immoralist;  how nation has wrestled, wrestles with fundamental questions of wealth and work, democracy and elitism, greed and salvation. New!!

Investing Advisors  (Greenlight Capital), David Einhorn; foreword by Joel Greenblatt (2008). Fooling Some of the People All of the Time: A Long, Short Story. (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 400 p.). Founder, Greenlight Capital. Allied Capital--Management--Evaluation; Allied Capital--Accounting--Evaluation; Small business investment companies--United States--Management--Evaluation. Events that followed 2002 speech about shorting Allied Capital (leader in private finance industry);  author spoke at charity investment conference, asked for best investment idea, told why Greenlight had sold short shares of Allied Capital (business in trouble, accounting corrupt); next day, Allied's shares couldn't open on NYSE (influx of sell orders); Allied attacked author, disseminated half-truths, outright lies; investigated author for stock manipulation; over next six years, SEC allowed Allied to make problem bigger, approved more than dozen additional stock offerings that raised over $1 billion from new investors; how Allied, investment community attacked to protect  company, its stock price; feckless regulators, compromised politicians, barricades erected by capital markets against exposing misconduct from important Wall Street customers. New!!

MANAGEMENT

Executives. Stanley Bing (2008). Executricks: Or How to Retire While You're Still Working. (New York, NY: Collins, 208 p.). Executive ability; Executives--Psychology. Retiring on the job - how to retire, still get paid, enjoy benefits of full-time member of corporate team; power players who have made their jobs into waking festival of indolence and fun, vast range of executricks they have developed over the years, based around several core concepts: 1) delegation, or get other people to do the stuff you don't want to, 2) absence, or the ability to get "work" done while not being physically on the scene, 3) abuse of status, 4) acting visionary when confused, 5) intense engagement (used only in crisis). New!!

BUSINESS HISTORY

Capitalists & Financiers. Joseph Nocera (2008). Good Guys and Bad Guys: Behind the Scenes with the Saints and Scoundrels of American Business (and everything in between). (New York, NY: Portfolio, 304 p.). Business Columnist (The New York Times). Businessmen--United States; Capitalists and financiers--United States; Executives--United States; Finance--United States; Journalism, Commercial--United States. Good guys, bad guys in business - not as they seem; surprisingly good qualities in classic villains (junk bond king Michael Milken, stock analyst Henry Blodget); some widely admired business celebrities (Steve Jobs) not quite good guys they appear to be; perspective on some of today’s biggest controversies (global warming, Apple’s iPhone, CEO compensation, tobacco industry, short sellers, more). New!!

Crises - Financial. (U.S. - 2008), Paul Muolo, Mathew Padilla (2008). Chain of Blame: How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis. (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 338 p.). Executive Editor (National Mortgage News); Business Reporter (Orange County Register). Mortgages --United States; Mortgage loans --United States; Financial crises --United States; Stock exchanges --United States. Subprime disaster - how crisis occurred, what individuals and institutions (lenders, brokers, some of biggest investment banks in world) were doing during during this critical time, who is ultimately responsible. New!!

(U.S. - 2008), Mark Zandi (2008). Financial Shock: A 360 Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How To Avoid the Next Financial Crisis. (Harlow, UK: Financial Times Prentice Hall, 288 p.). Chief Economist and co-founder of Moody’s Economy.com, Inc. Mortgage loans --United States; Secondary mortgage market --United Statesl Foreclosure --United States; Financial crises --United States; Consumer credit --United States. Causes of subprime disaster - from psychology of homeownership to Greenspan’s missteps; home "flippers",  real estate agents who cheered them; how Internet technology, access to global capital transformed mortgage industry;  irresponsible lenders drove out good ones; complex financial engineering enabled lenders to hide deepening risks, how global investors eagerly bought in, how flummoxed regulators failed to prevent disaster, despite crucial warning signs. New!!

Globalization & Free Trade. Harold L. Sirkin, James W. Hemerling, and Arindam K. Bhattacharya (2008). Globality: Competing with Everyone from Everywhere for Everything. (New York, NY: Business Plus, 304 p.). Senior Partner, Leads Boston Consulting Group Global Operations Practice; Senior Partner, Former Managing Director of BCG Greater China; BCG Partner in New Delhi. Competition, International; International trade; Globalization --Economic aspects. Study of more than 3,000 companies operating in emerging market economies: compete with U.S. head to head; how they came to power; what's necessary to compete against them; economic climate will change in unprecedented ways. New!!

Money - The History. Ed. William V. Harris (2008). The Monetary Systems of the Greeks and Romans. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 330 p.). Shepherd Professor of History (Columbia University). Money --Rome --History; Money --Greece --History; Rome --Economic conditions --30 B.C.-476 A.D; Greece --Economic conditions --To 146 B.C. Complexity of Greek and Roman monetary systems, how systems worked, how they did, did not resemble modern monetary system: why did people first start using coins? how did Greeks, Romans make payments, large or small? what does money mean in Greek tragedy? was Roman Empire an integrated economic system?  New!!

Scandals & Fraud. (Enron), Malcolm S. Salter (2008). Innovation Corrupted: The Origins and Legacy of Enron’s Collapse. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 525 p.). James J. Hill Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus (Harvard Business School). Enron Corp. --Corrupt practices; Enron Corp. --Management; Business ethics --United States. Insight into individual actions, organizational processes of Enron’s collapse; four important questions: 1) What management behavior, practices led Enron down path from truly innovative to fraudulent management? 2) How could Enron’s board of directors have failed to detect business, ethical, legal risks embedded in company’s aggressive financial strategies, accounting practices? 3) Why did Enron’s external watchdogs (securities analysts, credit-rating agencies, regulatory agencies) fail to bark? 4) What actions can prevent Enron-type breakdowns in future?; social pathologies, administrative failures that fostered company’s ethical drift, inhibited board of directors from exercising effective governance and control; practical recommendations for preventing future Enron-type disasters (board oversight, financial incentives for executives, maintenance of ethical discipline when operating in murky borderlands of law (where Enron’s senior executives lost their way). New!!

FICTION

______________________________________________________________________________________

ANNIVERSARIES - 2008