Newest Business and Finance Reviews
The Big Short by Michael Lewis
So. The subprime mortgage crisis, the worldwide financial crisis, people losing their jobs, their money, their houses, their security. Unregulated greed, that went on and on and on. And the people who caused it all got rich during and after, very few felt any sort of consequences, and millions of other people worldwide suffered greatly. Strip away all the intentionally confusing terminology and it all amounts to bets with unbelievable amounts of money. How did it all come about and how did it play out? Michael Lewis explains the mess as only he can. Just as his earlier excellent work Liar's Poker encapsulated the excesses of Wall Street in the 1980s, so does The Big Short perfectly tell the tale of Wall Street in the 2000s. In fact, given the extent of the current global clusterfuck, it makes the shocking Liar's Poker look positively mild by comparison. Full review...
The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking by Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschappeler
This little, black book with its gold lettering on the front cover is beautifully presented. Truly pocket-sized to make it easy to refer to at any time, any place. Divided into four neat sections dealing with the self and others (others in the main being say business partners, colleagues or like-minded people) these fifty working models are designed to give the individual both self-awareness and ammunition, if you like, in order to cope with various business/political and even social scenarios, for example. Full review...
Stamps of the World 2011 by Stanley Gibbons
In describing reference books the word bible has been used too frequently of late. Slim booklets on a particular subject have the word emblazoned on their cover, which makes it rather difficult when you encounter a book – or in this case a set of six books – which merits the word. Stanley Gibbons 'Stamps of the World 2011' is genuinely a bible – an essential tool for a dealer and the serious collector. It's now available in six soft-bound volumes and is rightfully the company's flagship publication. Full review...
Undercover Boss: Inside the TV Phenomenon That is Changing Bosses and Employees Everywhere by Stephen Lambert and Eli Holzman
I guess I have to admit to a certain weakness for a certain type of reality TV – it's a long time since I watched Big Brother and I've not been sucked into watching talent contests – but I do quite like programmes in which the participants swap places and/or step out of their normal lives to, allegedly, see how someone else lives. Full review...
Make it Happen: The Prince's Trust Guide to Starting Your Own Business by The Prince's Trust
Who hasn't dreamed of being able to work for themselves, be their own boss, and not have to worry about the drag of a 9 to 5 job? Of course, the reality of starting your own business is that there are rather a lot of things you need to consider before getting started, as my sister found out when she started selling her own handmade greetings cards. Thankfully, this book was on hand to help her get things going and she's found it a really invaluable tool. Full review...
How to be a Social Entrepreneur: Make Money and Change the World by Robert Ashton
This book is aimed at those individuals amongst us who want to make a difference. They may have an idea of what they want to achieve but not sure of how to take that vital first step. This is where this book comes in, says Ashton in his conversational style. He takes the reader by the hand and guides him/her through the business maze. And before we go any further, what, exactly do we mean by the perhaps woolly phrase of 'Social Entrepreneur'? Many think it means doling out charity of some description to vulnerable individuals. Not quite. It's all about helping people to help themselves - and in doing so, they in turn are helping their families by lifting them out of poverty, joblessness or even hopelessness. And I found that the inspirational elements of this book were uplifting. Full review...
The Management Myth: Debunking Modern Business Philosophy by Matthew Stewart
Stewart's book is subtitled "Debunking Modern Business Philosophy". It is a criticism (and I mean criticism not critique) of the management consultancy business since its inception to the close of the first decade of the 21st century.
Matthew Stewart is a former management consultant, so he should know what he's talking about.
On the other hand, by his own admission he made a more than reasonable profit out of management consulting, and he is now doing likewise out of showing what a sham it all is. Make of that what you will. Full review...
Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue Commonwealth & Empire Stamps 1840-1970 2011 by Hugh Jefferies
Over the years the 'Gibbons Commonwealth' catalogue has seen many changes. This is the second edition since Gibbons compacted its listings to cover the era of pounds, shillings and pence up to the end of 1970. (This is fair as the currency in Britain and various other territories goes, though Canada and her territories went decimal in the mid-nineteenth century). This boundary is extended in a few instances, such as the Barbuda British monarchs series, issued at regular intervals over an eighteen-month period spanning 1970-1, but by and large this is what we might call the sterling era catalogue. Full review...
The Right Thing: An Everyday Guide to Ethics in Business by Sally Bibb
Bibb wastes no time in highlighting key areas of the whole ethics debate. What, exactly, does the word mean ... and why should it matter to us anyway? She starts by informing the reader that ethics (which is a branch of philosophy) is usually the poor Cinderella. Overlooked in favour of the more glamorous areas ie: big, fat, profits for the business or businesses concerned. Bibb wants us to think more about the ethical side of things and perhaps less about the balance sheet. She gives an example most of us will be aware of. Two words. Fred Goodwin. Bibb comments that had he applied his moral compass in his leadership role, perhaps, just perhaps, the Royal Bank of Scotland may not have fallen so far from grace. I'm aware that many will now be foaming at the mouth at the mention of FG (myself included). Full review...
The Presentation Coach: Bare Knuckle Brilliance For Every Presenter by Graham Davies
With plaudits all over the covers like a rash; plaudits from well-known people such as Nick Robinson, Political Editor of the BBC, Daniel Finkelstein of the Times and Boris Johnston, current Mayor of London, this book's bar is set pretty high. Straight away and yes, I was asking the usual question - why another one of these seemingly endless 'how-to' manuals? My first impression is of no-nonsense, time is precious but also a little in-your-face, American style er, presentation of the book. But that's good. I like that. It's all the wishy-washy books in this genre and similar that I don't like. Full review...
How to Persuade and Influence People: Powerful Techniques to Get Your Own Way More Often by Philip Hesketh
Having just taken up a new management role in a completely new culture, on a completely new continent, I'm well aware that it will be my soft skills, not just my supposed technical expertise, that I'll be relying on for the first few months at least. Thanks to this book, I will be better prepared for the task. Full review...
Learning Accountancy: The Novel Way by Zarir Suntook
If you're planning on learning how to prepare accounts the traditional method has what almost amounts to an initiation ceremony. You're introduced to double entry book-keeping, which is the equivalent of being asked to learn HTML without ever having seen a web page. Some people do take to it like ducks to water – they're usually the people who think that Sudoku is ridiculously easy – but most people find that the concepts are difficult to grasp and this isn't helped by not really understanding why they need to master it. Zarir Suntook hasn't quite stood the methods of teaching on their heads but he's taken a more logical approach which is gentler on the brain. Full review...
Net Profit: How to Succeed in Digital Business by David Soskin
There's a misconception that digital business is just like the old bricks and mortar type, except that the digital fellahs escape a lot of the expense that real people have to pay and that if they learnt how to do thinwhich a traditional business is content with is almost certainly a danger signal in a digital business and unless you can take your idea and make quick decisions then the chances are that you are dead in the water. Life is very different out there on the internet. Full review...
You Never Give Me Your Money: The Battle for the Soul of the Beatles by Peter Doggett
When four young Liverpudlians got together to make music in the early 1960s, they can have had no idea of their future impact on the world around them. Likewise they would surely not have had an inkling of the extraordinary business minefield which their existence as a group would create, and which would leave the scars long after they had gone their separate ways, even after two of them had died. As at least one of them ruefully commented, they must have provided several lawyers' children with a very expensive education. Full review...
Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History by David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan
'Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead' sounds like a gimmick, doesn't it? Or, if not a gimmick, then the lessons that you learn when you see how it shouldn't be done. Over the past few years I've read quite a few marketing books and I've generally come away with the thought that they weren't aimed at a business like Bookbag and required far too much control. We're not that sort of people! We want to enjoy Bookbag and we want other people to do the same and we're definitely not in the business of trying to pull in every penny that we can. Full review...
The Jelly Effect: How to Make Your Communication Stick by Andy Bounds
This book has lots of glowing praise written all over the covers. Such lines as 'Andy Bounds taught me more about effective presenting than a lady who'd previously taught two US Presidents.' Unsurprisingly, my expectations were sky-high. But will the book deliver? I have to say at the outset that I didn't particularly take to the title (although original and presumably unforgettable). I found it detracted at first glance and didn't do the book any initial favours. And although it is explained in full I still felt it light and an Americanism too far. But that's just my personal opinion. That aside, I was keen to start reading, see what all the fuss was about ... Full review...
Selected: Why some people lead, why others follow, and why it matters by Mark van Vugt and Anjana Ahuja
Selected is based on the psychology of leadership. Some of us may ask the perfectly reasonable question 'Does it matter who leads and who follows?' Well, apparently it not only matters but it matters greatly. And the co-authors go to great lengths to tell us why. The useful prologue informs us that the whole area of leadership can be traced back in time, by no less than several million years. Vugt and Ahuja explain that the rather innocent (and even a bit airy-fairy to some) word 'leader' is evolved from various academic disciplines. Including the more obvious psychology, there is also biology and anthropology in the mix. Heady stuff. And yes, I did want to read on. Full review...
Great Britain Concise Stamp Catalogue 2010 by Stanley Gibbons
Stanley Gibbons Great Britain stamp catalogues come at basically three levels. At one end of the scale is Collect British Stamps, a concise listing which excludes variations in shade, perforation, phosphor banding, watermarks et al. At the other is the multi-volume specialized edition. This is the intermediate catalogue, which provides in one 354-page paperback the main variations of each issue. It also includes such extras as miniature sheets, special first day of issue postmarks, postage dues, booklets, and regional issues (Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, plus the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, the latter territories prior to postal independence in 1969 and 1973 respectively). Full review...
Style Guide by The Economist
I've always been fascinated by the use of the English language. I've loved the way that precise use of words can make meaning absolutely clear – or obscure it altogether. Some publications are a joy to read whilst others leave you with a frown. Generally The Economist comes into the first category and this is mainly down to the magazine's style guide – the rule book which guides writers towards clear writing. This is the tenth edition and whilst it might sound rather dry it's the bible for people wishing to communicate with precision and style – and who appreciate the book's gentle humour. Full review...
Reckless: The Rise and Fall of the City by Philip Augar
The City, 1997. Many major institutions are struggling in the City, with high profile scandals taking down Barings and severely damaging the reputation of Morgan Grenfell.
The City, 2007. Less than a fortnight before becoming Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, at the Mansion House Dinner, describes the current time as 'an era that history will record as the beginning of a new golden age.'
The City, 8th October, 2008. Author Philip Augar states 'even the most conservative observer would have to concede that 8 October 2008 amounted to a catastrophic failure of private-sector banking in the UK.' Full review...
Brand Society by Martin Kornberger
Brand Society is fundamentally not a business management book. This might come as some surprise given the title. Management books, at least the how to management books, tend to be simple and easy to follow. But, I suspect Kornberger would agree, that's what limits their use. They are over-simplified to the point of uselessness. Rather, Brand Society takes an holistic approach to the subject of the prevailing nature of brands in today's world (at least the Western world). He suggests that today's brands exist without a prevailing theory to understand them or make sense of them. So what Kornberger does, after first looking at how brands transform management and organizations, is present a brand-centred conceptual map for thinking about things like politics, ethics and aesthetics. Full review...
Collect Autographs: An Illustrated Guide to Collecting and Investing in Autographs by Fraser's Autographs
There must be many of us who have at one time had an autograph book or something of the kind as children and asked friends, relations or even celebrities to 'do something', written to celebrities in the hope of obtaining a personally signed picture, or even waited patiently at a stage door after a play or concert eagerly clutching a theatre programme, record or CD sleeve and pen in hand. Full review...
Harvard Business School Confidential: Secrets of Success by Emily Chan
Harvard Business School has an almost unrivalled reputation for schooling some of the greatest business leaders (and George W Bush!). Former graduate, Emily Chan, who went on to work for leading management consultancy Boston Consulting Group and who is now a director in a family direct investment business in Hong Kong, promises to offer the secrets she learnt there. Does she succeed? Full review...
Climb the Green Ladder: Make Your Company and Career More Sustainable by Amy V Fetzer and Shari Aaron
With the abject failure of the Denmark Climate Change Conference fresh in our minds, it is perhaps time to turn away from the politicians and look back toward what we can do.
The Conference may have finally got the likes of the USA, India and China to acknowledge that they have to join in if we are going to save the planet as a benevolent place for our species to live, but there is still too much posturing and not enough commitment.
Clearly our governments and 'leaders' are not going to do this for us; we have to do it for ourselves. Full review...
Why Women Mean Business by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox and Alison Maitland
Do you want to improve your business? Make more profits? You probably need to look at the sector which makes 80% of purchasing decisions, is the majority of the talent and represents 59% of graduates.
Women. Full review...
The World of Business: From Valuable Brands and Games Directors Play to Bail-Outs and Bad Boys by The Economist
For years I've been a great fan of The Economist's Pocket World in Figures series with all the unbiased statistics which the average person could want. I was just a little nervous when I opened The World of Business – just in case it was going to be a disappointment – but I needn't have worried. Full review...
Keep Walking - Leadership Learning in Action - A thrilling story of a polar adventure with powerful lessons in leadership and personal development by Dr Richard Hale and Alan Chambers MBE
One side of this book is completely alien to me. I have had no reason to believe in any of the action learning, self-actualisation etc, that people in business sometimes deem necessary. If pressed, I'd guess that if people needed so much in-work training they might just be the wrong person for the job. There's an anecdote here about a bright young thing fresh from business school, and faced with her first task at work, who panicked as she did not know which theory to apply. The theory of common sense, I'd have suggested. Full review...
Managing by Henry Mintzberg
Study after study has shown that managers work at an unrelenting pace
How true, though it always makes me wonder why, as a result, there's such a market for bulky management and leadership and general business books like this one. How does anyone who needs or wants to read one ever find the time to do so? This title actually has an answer to this, by providing two books in one, and it is such a simple yet effective solution that I have to start there. You can read this book in one of two ways. Option one is to read every word, chapter by chapter, cover to cover. If you have the time I would recommend this approach because the book is very readable, not too repetitive, and quite thought-provoking. Full review...
The Fall of the House of Credit by Alistair Milne
It now seems to be established as fact that so-called 'toxic assets' – mostly sub-prime mortgage investments in the USA were the cause of the current banking crisis, but Professor Alistair Milne of Cass Business School argues otherwise. It's his contention that many of these 'toxic assets' were (and still are) sound investments which will be repaid in full without any problems and even the defaults will not be a large proportion of the whole. He argues that it was the initial loss of confidence in these investment vehicles which began a downward spiral and resulted in the collapse of several Banks. Full review...
The Accidental Billionaires: Sex, Money, Betrayal and the Founding of Facebook by Ben Mezrich
As subtitles go, Sex, Money, Betrayal... is the sort you'd generally associate with works by Danielle Steel or Jackie Collins. But, with a website? And a supremely geeky (in its beginnings) website like Facebook? Surely not. And, yet, that's exactly the claim you find on the cover of this book, a work of faction that claims to tell the inside story of the founding of Facebook. Full review...
How to Write an Impressive CV and Cover Letter: A Comprehensive Guide for the UK Job Seeker by Tracey Whitmore
Back home in the UK after a stint abroad, and job hunting for the first time in years, this book is a rather timely addition to my shelves. Having spent the last year and a bit teaching English, I also like to think I know a little about grammar and general language use. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the author of this book, and while it's all very well advising readers that first impressions really do count, this carries less weight than it should when you notice the dubious grammar in the first line of the introduction, and in virtually every chapter which follows. Full review...
Daily Mail Tax Guide 2009/2010 by Jane Vass
It's well over a decade since I worked for what was then the Inland Revenue and is now Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, but there's one thing for certain – I am no fonder of filling in a Tax Return now than I was then. It's a tedious job and it's very easy to make a mistake (either in your favour or the Government's) which can cause problems. If you opt to take professional advice it can be expensive and doesn't come with any guarantees. At the other end of the scale, the Revenue will do their best to help for free – but they're not there to plan for you, and this can mean that valuable opportunities are missed. All is not lost though – Jane Vass has a reliable history of producing Tax Return Guides and this year's is no disappointment. Full review...
Dear Mr.Buffett: What an Investor Learns 1,269 Miles from Wall Street by Janet Tavakoli
My mind was drawn while reading this book towards the ongoing parliamentary expenses scandal. Of course claiming £80 for a trouser press isn't in the same league as some of the shenanigans which went on in the banking and financial sector but they do have at least one thing in common, one thing that is stressed by Warren Buffett to the managers of his successful businesses. It can be paraphrased as, when making a decision don't just consider whether it's legal or not, think about how it would look plastered on the front page of your local paper. That advice would have served MPs as well as some of the more dubious characters in the financial sector very well. Full review...
Work From Home by Judy Heminsley
Judy Heminsley has worked from home both as en employee and running her own businesses. She is now a professional advisor to homeworkers and Work From Home distils her experience into a practical guide for all who are considering work from home. Full review...
Glow: How You Can Radiate Energy, Innovation and Success by Lynda Gratton
Have you ever read a self-help book and found that simply reading the first chapter tells you all you need to know about any wisdom contained therein? Well, fortunately with Glow by Lynda Gratton – that's not the case. While its essential principles are neatly summarised in the first chapter, the remaining chapters, packed with pleasantly jargon-free examples, are well worth reading for anyone interested in improving their working life, forming empowering networks and thinking creatively. Full review...
How to Deal in Antiques by Fiona Shoop
There can be hardly anyone who hasn't at least considered making a few honest pennies by selling collectable goods of one kind or another. Making a full-time career out of it is a very different proposition, but from small acorns, large trees grow. Whether you just like the idea of dipping your toe in the water at the occasional car boot sale, or considering it as a serious business, you will find the answer to more or less everything you need to know in this newly revised fourth edition by a TV and antiques expert who has over 25 years of experience in the trade, as well as her own antiques business. Full review...
Eating the Big Fish: How Challenger Brands Can Compete Against Brand Leaders by Adam Morgan
Big brands are even bigger than we think: the power of Market Leaders gives them not only the security of the sheer volume of sales but also better returns on any marketing spend. In the current market, with the trust in brands waning and people less and less interested in advertising, smaller fish need to swim more energetically just to survive healthily. And yet many brands achieve rapid growth despite smaller size and resources. Full review...
Branding Only Works On Cattle by Jonathan Salem Baskin
Branding Only Works on Cattle starts big by ferociously rejecting the advertising-is-about-creating-brand-image view which apparently dominates current branding and marketing practice.
Baskin claims that modern branding campaigns are divorced from the realities of selling and that they confuse communicating ideas and (possibly) creating awareness of the brand name with achieving any real behaviour changes. Influencing what customers think is not enough as only behaviours lead to engagement and the ultimate behavioural goal of any marketing: selling stuff. Full review...
The Long and the Short of it: A Guide to Finance and Investment for Normally Intelligent People Who Aren't in the Industry by John Kay
Sometimes I wonder if authors set out to stop people reading their books, strange as this might seem. John Kay is an excellent example. He tells us that he expects his readers to be erudite and to be readers of popular science. They'll never knowingly have dealt with Goldman Sachs and will pay tax at the 40% rate. At the other end of the scale they'll not be bad credit risks and just to cut out anyone hoping for a quick buck, they'll not be tempted to make a living from Stock Market speculation. If you don't qualify on all points there's not even a hint of a pass mark which might allow you to sneak into the checkout queue. Full review...
Daily Mail Tax Guide 2008/2009 by Jane Vass
I doubt that there's anyone who genuinely looks forward to completing a Tax Return. Even as an ex-Inspector of Taxes I'll freely admit that the thought of it fills me with dread. It's tedious, but important that you don't get it wrong. So, what do you do? Professional assistance can be expensive and isn't necessarily entirely reliable. You can go along to your H M Revenue and Customs Enquiry Centre, but their function is to answer your queries rather than give advice about where you could minimise your tax bill. Going it alone is free, but you need to have comprehensive knowledge of taxation to be sure that you're paying the correct amount of tax. The Daily Mail Tax Guide 2008/2009 will give most people all the information that they need to ensure that they're getting it right. Full review...
