Friday, May 18, 2012
Book Review "Best Business Writing 2012," published in Library Journal 5/15/12
Dean Starkman. The Best Business Writing 012. Columbia Univ. . ISBN 9780231160735. bus.
This first annual collection from Columbia University Press presents 31 of the best English-language writings on business , finance , and economics from magazines , newspapers , blogs , tape recordings , filmed interviews , radio shows , and even a movie. The editors , including Starkman (editor , Columbia Journalism Review) , believe that "ignorance about matters business and financial is no longer an option." They include a brief history of business writing , touching on Business Week in 1929 , Fortune in 1930 , and the Wall Street Journal in 1941 , and organize the articles in sections called "Bad Business , " "Financial Systems and Discontents , " "Over There" (e.g. , foreign countries) , "Politics and Money , " "The Big Picture" (e.g. , food , patents , law schools) , and "Corporate Stories." These exposés and critiques cover companies like Pfizer , Ikea , Countrywide Financial , and coal company Massey Energy; CEOs such as Bill Ford Jr. , Warren Buffett , and Steve Jobs; institutions including the SEC , FBI , and U.S. Department of the Treasury; and issues such as taxes , lobbying , etc.
VERDICT For business-interested readers , this book presents revealing , and sometimes shocking , investigations. The lack of an index is a flaw.—Joanne B. Conrad , Geneseo , NY
Book Review "Finance and the Good Society," published in Library Journal 5/15/12
Shiller , Robert J. Finance And The Good Society. Princeton Univ. . ISBN 9780691154886. econ.
Shiller (economics , Yale Univ. ; Irrational Exuberance) believes the recent "financial crisis was…due to fundamental structural shortcomings in our financial institutions." He analyzes the roles of all the players: CEOs , investment managers , bankers , mortgagors , traders , insurers , market designers and engineers , derivatives providers , lawyers , lobbyists , regulators , accountants , educators , public financiers , policymakers , trustees , and philanthropists. Shiller argues that we must still address the financial system's malfunctions and deeper sources of the problems , which have not been solved by new legislation or regulations , by increasing the public's understanding of the "principles underlying corporations" in order to align corporate interests with society's. It is this "democratization and humanization of finance" that will lead to the good society , one in which citizens feel that basic economic justice is assured.
VERDICT Extensively citing history , philosophy , psychology , neuroscience , and behavioral science , the book convincingly calls for better fiscal education and claims that greater knowledge will lessen resentment and inequality , improve comprehension , and facilitate "the good society." An excellent resource for readers interested in understanding and improving financial capitalism.—Joanne B. Conrad , Geneseo , NY
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Book Review, published Library Journal 2/15/12
Schlefer , Jonathan. The Assumptions Economists Make. Belknap: Harvard Univ. . ISBN 9780674052260. econ.
Magazine Section: Social Sciences
Schlefer (research associate , Harvard Business Sch.; Palace Politics: How the Ruling Party Brought Crisis to Mexico ) examines the "assumptions , models , and ideas of economists" to "shed light on today's economic questions." Not a history of economic thinkers , this is an examination of their prevailing assumptions , from Adam Smith to the present. Schlefer asserts that macroeconomic models failed to guide government policy before 2008 because economists got their neoclassical theory wrong , and he blames the economic troubles of 2008 and beyond on the instability of private financial markets. He disputes factors such as supply and demand , technology , and unionization as causes of the current recession , noting that many believed the "supply of better-educated workers increasing relative to lower-skilled workers would cause their pay premium to fall" when just the opposite happened. His analysis of these assumptions concludes with five recommendations for economists: to describe their beliefs transparently , to explain the structure of their models , to include critical factors affecting the models , to weigh conflicting models , and to explain what they do not know.
VERDICT This is not a book for the lay reader , although one of the more engaging chapters covers income inequality. Interesting but complex , it will be best understood by economists.—Joanne B. Conrad , Geneseo , NY
Library Journal , February 15 , 2012
Magazine Section: Social Sciences
Schlefer (research associate , Harvard Business Sch.; Palace Politics: How the Ruling Party Brought Crisis to Mexico ) examines the "assumptions , models , and ideas of economists" to "shed light on today's economic questions." Not a history of economic thinkers , this is an examination of their prevailing assumptions , from Adam Smith to the present. Schlefer asserts that macroeconomic models failed to guide government policy before 2008 because economists got their neoclassical theory wrong , and he blames the economic troubles of 2008 and beyond on the instability of private financial markets. He disputes factors such as supply and demand , technology , and unionization as causes of the current recession , noting that many believed the "supply of better-educated workers increasing relative to lower-skilled workers would cause their pay premium to fall" when just the opposite happened. His analysis of these assumptions concludes with five recommendations for economists: to describe their beliefs transparently , to explain the structure of their models , to include critical factors affecting the models , to weigh conflicting models , and to explain what they do not know.
VERDICT This is not a book for the lay reader , although one of the more engaging chapters covers income inequality. Interesting but complex , it will be best understood by economists.—Joanne B. Conrad , Geneseo , NY
Library Journal , February 15 , 2012
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Magazine Review, The Point, published 11/14/11 NewPages.com
The PointIssue 4
Spring 2011
Biannual
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
The Point is a sophisticated 187-paged Chicago-based literary magazine about contemporary life and culture. The Spring issue's most frequent theme is sports entertainment and rationale, although its five sections, "Letters from the Editors," "Essays," "Art," "Symposium," and "Reviews" include other topics. It's good that it is a biannual, as its many articles require, more often than not, erudite engagement, and certainly more than one sitting.
The "Letters from the Editors" consists of six pages of quotes about freedom by politicians, authors, musicians, philosophers, and economists, from Member of Congress Michele Bachmann to Milton Friedman, from Thoreau to Lenin, Kant, Sartre, et al.
The "Essays" cover such things as games, theology, hermeneutics, education, and digestion with articles such as "Did Drugs Kill Sports," "Pornography as a Way of Life," rap music, problems with authority, and "A Philosopher's Sickness."
The arts section, "Lifestyle," describes the "Wild Alps, a Photo Essay" by Nicolo Degiorges with twelve pages of color photos of the back-to-nature, sort of Native American, lifestyle of three families in the northern German-speaking region of Trentino-Alto Adige in Italy, who are practically self-sufficient, "estranged from industrial and technological development."
Part four's "Symposium," twenty-seven pages on soccer, cricket, basketball, American football, and healthy rivalry, explores athletic entertainment with much intellectual analysis, even an article about the ancient Greek/Athenian penchant for the sound body producing sound minds, ergo the necessity for physical education as opposed to a curricula of math, science, history, and literature. Physical competition provides more than physical fitness; it teaches participants about life. "Soccer and Schizophrenia," "The Sweatiest of the Liberal Arts," "March Madness," "Healthy Rivalry, and "Hail Mary Time" are the articles in "Symposium." "Hail Mary Time," about the 1906 football revolution, after eighteen players died and 159 were injured the year before, was particularly informative, but author Jonny Thakkar's main point was how plutocracy distorts society. One wonders, however, what the yearly injury rates have been since 1906.
"Reviews" include author/artist "Chris Ware's ANL #20," television's Sarah Palin's Alaska, the film Chicago Heights, and "Chicago's Political Theater," the latter reviewing the three stage plays Cherrywood, Detroit, and Frost/Nixon, respectively about "transform[ing] our bad present," “a fitting midterm report for the age of Obama, at a point where talk of hope has bleakly curdled," and a "delectable glimpse at the birth of politics of resentment whose echoes […] saturate our polity today."
The writers are erudite, often esoteric, and showcase their profound knowledge. The only articles that weren't so recondite were the "Wild Alps, a Photo Essay" and Jessica Weisberg's review of television's "Sarah Palin's Alaska."
Included is a separate and impressive list of "Resources," used by some of the authors and would probably be recognized only by scholars. These resources are not referenced as footnotes accompanying the articles, which is annoying, but then only the literati would recognize them anyway. Also missing is brief biographical information about the authors. Professors, artistes, and other intellectuals would like The Point.
[www.thepointmag.com]
Spring 2011
Biannual
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
The Point is a sophisticated 187-paged Chicago-based literary magazine about contemporary life and culture. The Spring issue's most frequent theme is sports entertainment and rationale, although its five sections, "Letters from the Editors," "Essays," "Art," "Symposium," and "Reviews" include other topics. It's good that it is a biannual, as its many articles require, more often than not, erudite engagement, and certainly more than one sitting.
The "Letters from the Editors" consists of six pages of quotes about freedom by politicians, authors, musicians, philosophers, and economists, from Member of Congress Michele Bachmann to Milton Friedman, from Thoreau to Lenin, Kant, Sartre, et al.
The "Essays" cover such things as games, theology, hermeneutics, education, and digestion with articles such as "Did Drugs Kill Sports," "Pornography as a Way of Life," rap music, problems with authority, and "A Philosopher's Sickness."
The arts section, "Lifestyle," describes the "Wild Alps, a Photo Essay" by Nicolo Degiorges with twelve pages of color photos of the back-to-nature, sort of Native American, lifestyle of three families in the northern German-speaking region of Trentino-Alto Adige in Italy, who are practically self-sufficient, "estranged from industrial and technological development."
Part four's "Symposium," twenty-seven pages on soccer, cricket, basketball, American football, and healthy rivalry, explores athletic entertainment with much intellectual analysis, even an article about the ancient Greek/Athenian penchant for the sound body producing sound minds, ergo the necessity for physical education as opposed to a curricula of math, science, history, and literature. Physical competition provides more than physical fitness; it teaches participants about life. "Soccer and Schizophrenia," "The Sweatiest of the Liberal Arts," "March Madness," "Healthy Rivalry, and "Hail Mary Time" are the articles in "Symposium." "Hail Mary Time," about the 1906 football revolution, after eighteen players died and 159 were injured the year before, was particularly informative, but author Jonny Thakkar's main point was how plutocracy distorts society. One wonders, however, what the yearly injury rates have been since 1906.
"Reviews" include author/artist "Chris Ware's ANL #20," television's Sarah Palin's Alaska, the film Chicago Heights, and "Chicago's Political Theater," the latter reviewing the three stage plays Cherrywood, Detroit, and Frost/Nixon, respectively about "transform[ing] our bad present," “a fitting midterm report for the age of Obama, at a point where talk of hope has bleakly curdled," and a "delectable glimpse at the birth of politics of resentment whose echoes […] saturate our polity today."
The writers are erudite, often esoteric, and showcase their profound knowledge. The only articles that weren't so recondite were the "Wild Alps, a Photo Essay" and Jessica Weisberg's review of television's "Sarah Palin's Alaska."
Included is a separate and impressive list of "Resources," used by some of the authors and would probably be recognized only by scholars. These resources are not referenced as footnotes accompanying the articles, which is annoying, but then only the literati would recognize them anyway. Also missing is brief biographical information about the authors. Professors, artistes, and other intellectuals would like The Point.
[www.thepointmag.com]
Magazine Review, In These Times, published 11/14/11 NewPages.com
In These TimesVolume 35 Number 5
May 2011
Monthly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
According to In These Times, all of our economic and social problems are caused by unethical or greedy corporations, wealthy Americans, and right-wing conservatives or politicians. How strange, therefore, could the standard of living for the majority of Americans be so much better than elsewhere in the world? Nevertheless, constant vigilance is always needed and In These Times, an independent and nonprofit newsmagazine, is "committed to political and economic democracy and opposed to the dominance of transnational corporations and the tyranny of marketplace values over human values," according to their Mission Statement.
This issue may be substantively atypical compared to other issues. Its content includes nine articles in their “War at Home" section, five under "Frontline" section, two under "Views" section, and six under the "Culture" section, as well as "Letters," the "Editorial" and several sidebars. This month's cover, a pathetic photo intro to the "War at Home" theme shows a Kenosha, Wisconsin, guidance counselor demonstrating at the state capital. The photo is a demoralized, negative, and defeated woman carrying a small American flag. Perhaps the visage of a victimized woman was meant to reinforce the "War at Home," but the negativity is off-putting and particularly demagogic if she's earning $101,738 salary and fringe, according to www.wisconsinopengov.org. A recent expose' showed 324 Wisconsin guidance counselors earning more than $100K. Poor victims, indeed.
Be that as it may, the magazine covers a plethora of issues: corporate tax cheats, foreclosures, anti-coal energy, Latin American relations, nuclear energy, Sharia law, Social Security, healthcare, NPR, Ohio's anti-choice law, Michigan's emergency managers, immigration, Wisconsin's collective bargaining, unnecessary Cesareans, Chilean issues about Allende and Pinochet, internships, David Brooks’ book The Social Animal, an interview with YA author Walter Dean Myers, an SEIU manifesto for taking the fight to the streets, and a fluff piece about generational lack of technological savvy—just about something for everyone.
Creditable recognition is provided to all their writers, which is laudable and informative. A couple letter writers bemoan the magazine's inclusion of a sidebar "tea party provocateur" by Jennifer Stefano, but credibility usually increases when both sides of issues are included. It does not detract from their mission, especially because sidebars are given very minimal space compared to all their more progressive articles.
The review of David Brooks’ book The Social Animal is rather negative, but the author Chris Lehmann's verbiage is colorful: "In the depths of the present crisis, Brooks—the author of two earlier impressionistic and deeply insular Baedekers of American consumer culture Bobos in Paradise and On Paradise Drive—has produced The Social Animal, a shambolic overview of research on the alleged neurobiological foundations of human success and failure, presented in the form of a didactic novel in the tradition of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile and Samuel Fielding's (sic) Clarissa." Very erudite.
All the well-written articles and writers evidence thoughtful progressive views worth reading by liberals and conservatives alike.
[www.inthesetimes.com/]
May 2011
Monthly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
According to In These Times, all of our economic and social problems are caused by unethical or greedy corporations, wealthy Americans, and right-wing conservatives or politicians. How strange, therefore, could the standard of living for the majority of Americans be so much better than elsewhere in the world? Nevertheless, constant vigilance is always needed and In These Times, an independent and nonprofit newsmagazine, is "committed to political and economic democracy and opposed to the dominance of transnational corporations and the tyranny of marketplace values over human values," according to their Mission Statement.
This issue may be substantively atypical compared to other issues. Its content includes nine articles in their “War at Home" section, five under "Frontline" section, two under "Views" section, and six under the "Culture" section, as well as "Letters," the "Editorial" and several sidebars. This month's cover, a pathetic photo intro to the "War at Home" theme shows a Kenosha, Wisconsin, guidance counselor demonstrating at the state capital. The photo is a demoralized, negative, and defeated woman carrying a small American flag. Perhaps the visage of a victimized woman was meant to reinforce the "War at Home," but the negativity is off-putting and particularly demagogic if she's earning $101,738 salary and fringe, according to www.wisconsinopengov.org. A recent expose' showed 324 Wisconsin guidance counselors earning more than $100K. Poor victims, indeed.
Be that as it may, the magazine covers a plethora of issues: corporate tax cheats, foreclosures, anti-coal energy, Latin American relations, nuclear energy, Sharia law, Social Security, healthcare, NPR, Ohio's anti-choice law, Michigan's emergency managers, immigration, Wisconsin's collective bargaining, unnecessary Cesareans, Chilean issues about Allende and Pinochet, internships, David Brooks’ book The Social Animal, an interview with YA author Walter Dean Myers, an SEIU manifesto for taking the fight to the streets, and a fluff piece about generational lack of technological savvy—just about something for everyone.
Creditable recognition is provided to all their writers, which is laudable and informative. A couple letter writers bemoan the magazine's inclusion of a sidebar "tea party provocateur" by Jennifer Stefano, but credibility usually increases when both sides of issues are included. It does not detract from their mission, especially because sidebars are given very minimal space compared to all their more progressive articles.
The review of David Brooks’ book The Social Animal is rather negative, but the author Chris Lehmann's verbiage is colorful: "In the depths of the present crisis, Brooks—the author of two earlier impressionistic and deeply insular Baedekers of American consumer culture Bobos in Paradise and On Paradise Drive—has produced The Social Animal, a shambolic overview of research on the alleged neurobiological foundations of human success and failure, presented in the form of a didactic novel in the tradition of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile and Samuel Fielding's (sic) Clarissa." Very erudite.
All the well-written articles and writers evidence thoughtful progressive views worth reading by liberals and conservatives alike.
[www.inthesetimes.com/]
Magazine Review, published 11/14/11, NewPages.com
Against the CurrentNumber 152
May/June 2011
Bimonthly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
"Published […] to promote dialogue among […] activists, organizers, and serious scholars of the left, Against the Current promotes "socialism […] of a revolutionary, working-class, multinational, multiracial, feminist, and anti-bureaucratic socialist movement." A lengthy letter from the Editors bemoans the "assault on public workers and their unions in one state after another" and states, "a new massive worker-led popular movement is the need of the hour" to save collective bargaining, Social Security, public broadcasting, planned parenthood, the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act (PPACA), public education, et al, from "the lying propaganda of the financial privateers and budget-slashing 'free-market' fundamentalists." These editors believe Republicans serve a single master—corporate capital, and that the Democrats serve two—corporate capital and labor, but will "succeed only by delivering benefits to their key voting base—labor, African Americans, others of color, and women."
Ten substantial articles about American Muslims; Egypt, Libya, & Arab uprisings; Wisconsin and Ohio anti-union activities, public education, Tennessee's Educators Association's struggles, and Michigan's Emergency Managers are enlightening and well-written.
A six-page essay about black feminist fighter Florynce Kennedy involved in feminist and black power controversies and organizing by Professor Sherie M. Randolph, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, is overwhelmingly detailed but summarizes Kennedy's "ultimate goal that organizations and activists focus on defeating…the real oppressor: the racist sexist genocidal establishment."
Five book reviews covering author Ralph Ellison, workers' revolts, Israel, Zionism, and LGBT issues are also included. All but the book about lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders, The Right to be Out by Stuart Biegel, reviewed by Eriku MC Ide are erudite, even esoteric, requiring at least two reads.
A “dialogue” about rebuilding the anti-war movement and two "memoria" for Wilebaldo Solano, a Spanish freedom fighter, and Chicago's artist/activist Margaret Burroughs round out this issue.
Against the Current seems much more scholarly than some other leftist alternative magazines. It often requires concentrated reading, even re-reading. Full credits are provided for all the contributors, which are helpful to readers. The book review by Detroit auto mechanic Jimmy Johnson of The Returns of Zionism by Gabriel Piterberg seemed particularly, but pleasurably, challenging.
[www.solidarity-us.org]
May/June 2011
Bimonthly
Review by Joanne B. Conrad
"Published […] to promote dialogue among […] activists, organizers, and serious scholars of the left, Against the Current promotes "socialism […] of a revolutionary, working-class, multinational, multiracial, feminist, and anti-bureaucratic socialist movement." A lengthy letter from the Editors bemoans the "assault on public workers and their unions in one state after another" and states, "a new massive worker-led popular movement is the need of the hour" to save collective bargaining, Social Security, public broadcasting, planned parenthood, the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act (PPACA), public education, et al, from "the lying propaganda of the financial privateers and budget-slashing 'free-market' fundamentalists." These editors believe Republicans serve a single master—corporate capital, and that the Democrats serve two—corporate capital and labor, but will "succeed only by delivering benefits to their key voting base—labor, African Americans, others of color, and women."
Ten substantial articles about American Muslims; Egypt, Libya, & Arab uprisings; Wisconsin and Ohio anti-union activities, public education, Tennessee's Educators Association's struggles, and Michigan's Emergency Managers are enlightening and well-written.
A six-page essay about black feminist fighter Florynce Kennedy involved in feminist and black power controversies and organizing by Professor Sherie M. Randolph, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, is overwhelmingly detailed but summarizes Kennedy's "ultimate goal that organizations and activists focus on defeating…the real oppressor: the racist sexist genocidal establishment."
Five book reviews covering author Ralph Ellison, workers' revolts, Israel, Zionism, and LGBT issues are also included. All but the book about lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders, The Right to be Out by Stuart Biegel, reviewed by Eriku MC Ide are erudite, even esoteric, requiring at least two reads.
A “dialogue” about rebuilding the anti-war movement and two "memoria" for Wilebaldo Solano, a Spanish freedom fighter, and Chicago's artist/activist Margaret Burroughs round out this issue.
Against the Current seems much more scholarly than some other leftist alternative magazines. It often requires concentrated reading, even re-reading. Full credits are provided for all the contributors, which are helpful to readers. The book review by Detroit auto mechanic Jimmy Johnson of The Returns of Zionism by Gabriel Piterberg seemed particularly, but pleasurably, challenging.
[www.solidarity-us.org]
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Book Review, Beyond our Means, published 10/15/11 by Library Journal
Garon, Sheldon. Beyond Our Means: Why America Spends While the World Saves. Princeton Univ. Nov. 2011. c.480p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780691135991. $29.95. ECON
While Garon’s (history, Princeton; Molding Japanese Minds: The State in Everyday Life) study is comprehensive (with hundreds of notes and a large bibliography), his subtitle is slightly misleading. He explains savings programs in Western Europe and Southeast Asia but not why America spends. Although the U.S. government has not promoted savings as much as other nations have, the 1910 U.S. savings rates surpassed those of all other countries except Germany—a trend that changed after World War II. Garon examines the past two centuries of world history to determine “how rival cultures of savings and debt came to be.” Savings campaigns, some intrusive or compulsory, utilized advocacy groups, propaganda, patriotism, innovative institutions, and government incentives. Rationales were not always that “growing economies required savings for capital formation” but also that savings campaigns discouraged revolts and minimized welfare costs. However, some countries with government safety nets still have high savings rates. Garon provides five suggestions for increased rate of savings: easier bank access, government encouragement, tax incentives, youth programs, and more financial inclusion. VERDICT This book will prove most informative for social policy gurus, bankers, politicians, and economically minded citizens.—Joanne B. Conrad, Geneseo, NY
While Garon’s (history, Princeton; Molding Japanese Minds: The State in Everyday Life) study is comprehensive (with hundreds of notes and a large bibliography), his subtitle is slightly misleading. He explains savings programs in Western Europe and Southeast Asia but not why America spends. Although the U.S. government has not promoted savings as much as other nations have, the 1910 U.S. savings rates surpassed those of all other countries except Germany—a trend that changed after World War II. Garon examines the past two centuries of world history to determine “how rival cultures of savings and debt came to be.” Savings campaigns, some intrusive or compulsory, utilized advocacy groups, propaganda, patriotism, innovative institutions, and government incentives. Rationales were not always that “growing economies required savings for capital formation” but also that savings campaigns discouraged revolts and minimized welfare costs. However, some countries with government safety nets still have high savings rates. Garon provides five suggestions for increased rate of savings: easier bank access, government encouragement, tax incentives, youth programs, and more financial inclusion. VERDICT This book will prove most informative for social policy gurus, bankers, politicians, and economically minded citizens.—Joanne B. Conrad, Geneseo, NY
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