The Dilbert Principle: A Cubicle's-Eye View of Bosses, Meetings, Management Fads & Other Workplace Afflictions
by Scott Adams
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (04 June, 1997)
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Editorial Review

You loved the comic strip; now read the business advice.

Or should that be anti-business advice?Scott Adams provides the hapless victim of re-engineering, rightsizing and Total Quality Management some strategies for fightingback, er, coping.Forced to work long hours, with no hope of a raise?Adams offers tips on maintaining parity in compensation.Along the way, Adams explains what ISO 9000really is and assesses the irresistibility of female engineers.

The breath-taking cynicism of the strip should prepare readers for the author's no-holds-barred attack on management fads, large organizations, pointless bureaucracy and sadistic rule-makers who glory in control of office supplies.Readers of the on-line Dilbert Newsletter are familiar with the kind of e-mail Adams receives from his readers -- and may even have sent a few of those missives themselves.Along with illustrative strips, e-mail messages provide excruciating examples of corporate behavior which compel the reader to agree with Adams when he insists that "People are idiots".

The final chapter offers a model for would-be successful businesses to follow:the OA5 model.It's introduced with little fanfare, no outrageous promises and just the right amount of self-deprecation. ... Read more

Reviews (85)

Dilbert for Dictator!
This book is an amusing look at modern business practices and what's wrong with them.Adams takes us through a short history of business in the 1990s, from down-sizing to right-sizing, from re-engineering to Total Quality Management.His descriptions, based on his own job titles and tasks, of how the business world has changed is quite revealing.In the not-so-long-ago good-old-days, people could easily get lost in the bureaucracy of a large company doing time wasting jobs that produced nothing of value for the company.As things got tighter, in poorly run companies, the rats who could swim did just that, leaving more and more work to be done by people who were, on average, less and less capable.And the least capable, as well all know, were promoted to management, where they wouldn't be in the way of real work.

In the last part of the book, Adams has a few suggestions as an engineer/cartoonist about ideal company management.He introduces the notion of the OA5 company, or Out At Five.He suggests that managers maximize efficiency by scheduling meetings only in the afternoons, and late in the afternoons, so that the meetings don't get in the way of real work.That way, the work gets done despite the meeting, so everyone can get out at 5, which keeps up morale and energy.Besides, if a meeting is scheduled for 4-5 and everyone wants to get Out At Five, then the interminable chatterers who hog the floor at meetings may keep their traps shut for once so that they too, can go home on time.Adams argues that the most important task for a manager is to make sure that everyone in the department is a team player, and that people who don't work well or get along well with others should be dismissed.That way, the others can get more work done and get Out At Five.I've never studied business management and I don't think Adams has formally either, but these ideas sure sound as good as anything else I've heard on the topic.In any case, we'll have to wait for the prototype to be built before we can see how the ideas actually work in practice.

Fabulously funny and sadly true....
Corporate America continues to undermine itself with bumbling tales of bad management and poor policy. As always, Adams pokes fun at the pompous with his true tales of corporate mayhem. A must read for the burnt out and the enraged in the business world

Another good Dilbert book
For sheer humor, the Dilbert books and strips are great.The way Scott Adams is able to illustrate the insanity of many common business practices in a few scenes or sentances is incredible.On the bright side, because there are so many stupid things being done commonly, almost everyone can relate to Dilbert.On the down side, there are so many stupid things being done commonly.

Relative to other Dilbert works, The Dilbert Principle is almost as good as Dogbert's Top Secret Management Handbook and considerably better than Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel. ... Read more

Isbn: 0887308589
Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Comics & Cartoons    3. Comics & Graphic Novels    4. Form - Essays    5. Humor    6. Management    7. Management - General    8. Miscellanea    9. Office politics    10. Personnel management    11. Topic - Business and Professional   

Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron
by Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (13 October, 2003)
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Editorial Review

Like its subject, The Smartest Guys in the Room is ambitious, grand in scope, and ruthless in its dealings. Unlike Enron, the Texas-based energy giant that has come to represent the post-millennium collapse of 1990s go-go corporate culture, it's also ultimately successful. Penned by Fortune scribes Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, the 400-page-plus chronicle of the scandal digs deep inside the numbers while, wisely, maintaining focus on the "smart guys" deep-frying the books. The likes of paternal but disengaged CEO Ken Lay (dubbed "Kenny Boy" by George W. Bush, one of many prominent public figures with whom he rubbed shoulders), cutthroat man-behind-the-curtain Jeff Skilling, and ethically blind numbers whiz Andy Fastow vividly come to life as they make a mockery of conventional accounting practices and grow increasingly arrogant and bind to their collective hubris. They're not a likable lot, and the writers find it difficult to suppress their astonishment and revulsion with the crew who rapidly went from golden boys and girls of the financial world to pariahs when the bill finally came due. The authors' unrepressed sarcasms are more than often unnecessarily given the scope of the outrage. Enron's leading lights were or a time celebrated for their ability to concoct nearly unfathomable business schemes to hide mounting shortfalls and keeping track on their machinations can be a chore, but, by sticking hard to the story behind the fall, McLean and Elkind have reported and written the definitive account of the Enron debacle. --Steven Stolder ... Read more

Reviews (50)

Updated version to include orange jumpsuits for subjects
The Enron scandal rightfully deserves plenty of attention, as the proportion of the scams is truly, truly astounding.

If you ever had 'faith' in corporate America, for whatever reason, this book will open your eyes wider.Very wide in scope, this is nevertheless a pretty complete account of what the heck happened down in Houston when some very ambitious, very intelligent and driven men got together and made billions through the institutionalization of pathological scheming.

Even if you don't have much knowledge of finance and the corporate world, this book is accessible in style and scope, and though it might send you to the Web or to a dictionary on finance to clarify what's what, it's an extremely important book.The impact of this scandal should not be underestimated, nor should anyone sit back and think this kind of thing can't happen again.

This follows Ken Lay from his beginnings, on to the creation of an entity called Enron, on to the entrance of brilliant but arrogant mastermind Jeff Skilling, on to the entrance of professional sleaze/accountant Andrew Fastow, on to the point where it all came crashing down and the house of cards could no longer stand, and then some.Since trials are still pending and the smoke will not be clearing for a while, no doubt an updated version can be expected in a few years.

This book is valuable for anyone who would like some insight into the complex world of finance, the energy business, organizational behavior and management, and frankly, anyone who is American and just might be concerned about massive, unaccountable corporate entities ripping you off while you sleep.

Recently made into a film, the book is full of details, and well put together.Even if you think the players are lowlifes, you might be impressed with the sheer level that the schemes were taken to.The cynicism and greed of businessmen run amok is literally a life-threatening force in the world.

Fascinating
An amazing real-life story with all the ingredients of a great fiction novel. One of the best business life books I've read.

An Interesting If Discouraging Tale
The story is very well written, and it kept me engaged - it was hard to put it down.The writing style is classic "Fortune Magazine," but I subscribe to that mag, and I really like and am used to the less formal approach.There were a few dense passages about accounting and finance, but most of the book is in plain English, and the story is accessible, even it you don't get all the details.If nothing else, it really brings home the lengths that some people will go to make money.What also makes the book a good read is when you realize these are real people who did this.Of course, the big guys made the most money, but it's discouraging that so many people helped to perpetuate the fraud that was Enron.If you have any interest in the Enron saga, you probably will like this book. ... Read more

Isbn: 1591840082
Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business History    4. Business failures    5. Business/Economics    6. Corporate    7. Corporate & Business History - General    8. Corrupt practices    9. Economic History    10. Energy industries    11. Energy industry    12. Enron Corp    13. History    14. Industries And Trades (Economic Aspects)    15. Investments & Securities - General    16. United States   

F.I.A.S.C.O.: The Inside Story of a Wall Street Trader
by Frank Partnoy
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 February, 1999)
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Reviews (32)

Awaken your senses
Call it what you want. "entertaining dirt disher" is one opinion.

Read this book and decide for yourself if it is bogus or fictional.

If you decide not, we have a huge problem staring down the throat of well known billion dollar losses. And ask: how could that happen?

How could it be that some guy could show the corelation between blow-ups and derivative trades.

Facinating read, totally in-your-face if you are in that business.

Even if you think this is all bullpucky, it is a great read by a very smart author.

Good, but at times confusing
This book has two parts.The first would be the stories of the interaction with eccentric Wall St. characters.I enjoyed this part, just like I liked similar parts in books about high finance.The other part, the explanation of how derivatives were created and rated, was interesting but frigging confusing!I felt as though I needed a Yale Law degree (like the author) to grasp the financial language.I also understood how investors could be duped by these investments, because even after reading this book from an insider who wanted me to understand, I have very little retention of the technical side of what I read.

Overall a good book and a good look into the derivatives craze.

Derivative Expose?
This book takes you back to the early 90s - when headlines were filled with news that under the stewardship of Bob Citron, Orange County announcedthat its pension fund had suffered a 1.6 billion loss.It is an expose on the marketing and sale of derivatives as well as a peek into the frat boy culture of wall street.The book was an entertaining and educational journey tracing the author's career at Morgan Stanley as a derivatives sales person.Its strongest aspect was boiling derivative-speak down to plain-speak.I also found refreshing the author's admission that very few people involved in the derivatives industry (including himself) really understand the risks of the products.The book almost reads as a farce for laypeople not employed in the financial services industry - but for the unease that lingers from the realization that nearly all of us invest in mutual funds that regularaly purchase these products.One weakness of the book is that one never learns why the author chose to work on wall street as a salesperson - rather than practicing law.Having this information would have provided a full circle narrative framework for the reader - when the book concludes with the author's return to the law. ... Read more

Isbn: 0140278796
Sales Rank: 10596
Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Investments & Securities - General   

When Genius Failed : The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management
by ROGER LOWENSTEIN
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (09 October, 2001)
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Editorial Review

On September 23, 1998, the boardroom of the New York Fed was a tense place. Around the table sat the heads of every major Wall Street bank, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, and representatives from numerous European banks, each of whom had been summoned to discuss a highly unusual prospect: rescuing what had, until then, been the envy of them all, the extraordinarily successful bond-trading firm of Long-Term Capital Management. Roger Lowenstein's When Genius Failed is the gripping story of the Fed's unprecedented move, the incredible heights reached by LTCM, and the firm's eventual dramatic demise.

Lowenstein, a financial journalist and author of Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist, examines the personalities, academic experts, and professional relationships at LTCM and uncovers the layers of numbers behind its roller-coaster ride with the precision of a skilled surgeon. The fund's enigmatic founder, John Meriwether, spent almost 20 years at Salomon Brothers, where he formed its renowned Arbitrage Group by hiring academia's top financial economists. Though Meriwether left Salomon under a cloud of the SEC's wrath, he leapt into his next venture with ease and enticed most of his former Salomon hires--and eventually even David Mullins, the former vice chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve--to join him in starting a hedge fund that would beat all hedge funds.

LTCM began trading in 1994, after completing a road show that, despite the Ph.D.-touting partners' lack of social skills and their disdainful condescension of potential investors who couldn't rise to their intellectual level, netted a whopping $1.25 billion. The fund would seek to earn a tiny spread on thousands of trades, "as if it were vacuuming nickels that others couldn't see," in the words of one of its Nobel laureate partners, Myron Scholes. And nickels it found. In its first two years, LTCM earned $1.6 billion, profits that exceeded 40 percent even after the partners' hefty cuts. By the spring of 1996, it was holding $140 billion in assets. But the end was soon in sight, and Lowenstein's detailed account of each successively worse month of 1998, culminating in a disastrous August and the partners' subsequent panicked moves, is riveting.

The arbitrageur's world is a complicated one, and it might have served Lowenstein well to slow down and explain in greater detail the complex terms of the more exotic species of investment flora that cram the book's pages. However, much of the intrigue of the Long-Term story lies in its dizzying pace (not to mention the dizzying amounts of money won and lost in the fund's short lifespan). Lowenstein's smooth, conversational but equally urgent tone carries it along well. The book is a compelling read for those who've always wondered what lay behind the Fed's controversial involvement with the LTCM hedge-fund debacle. --S. Ketchum ... Read more

Reviews (132)

Higly recommended
This is a great account of the facts surrounding the LTCM debacle. Very fun to read with lots of information. The author takes the journalistic standpoint, without running too much into technicalities such as bond spread and other finance stuff. One gets a sense that the PhD's where super smart, but only humans.
I really like R. Lowenstein writing style, his other book about Warren Buffet is also very well written and informative.

fast paced and entertaining
you realise that intelligence people let their greed and ego influence their decision-making ability and ruin a good thing by forgetting risk management and ignoring their own rules.
great read and required reading for all investors.

beware!
anyone who worries about the current explosion of hedge funds across the globe would do well to read this, or to re-read it, for it is an accurate foretelling of the problems to come. ... Read more

Isbn: 0375758259
Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economics - General    5. Economics - Theory    6. Finance    7. Free Enterprise    8. Investments & Securities - General    9. Business & Economics / General   

Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
by MichaelLewis
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 October, 1990)
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Reviews (156)

This Might Just Be Worth Your Time

I you're really into investment banking, or just bond mechanics, don't let the three star rating get you down.I study finance.I liked the book.

I wouldn't say that it is a good book so much as it is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in a) working on Wall Street (for historical perspective) or b) interested in bonds and, again, their history.

Three stars for the general population.For broker/banker/trader hopefulls, five stars.

Absolutely brilliant. A meaty, entertaining look at Wall St.
This is one of the finest books I've read in a while. The book kept me up many nights, knowing I'd regret it the next day, but unable to put it down. For a detailed, first-hand, insightful look at the madness and excitement at Wall Street's top bond trading firm in the 80s, this is the book to read. Even if you have only a tangential interest in the financial world, Liar's Poker will be worth your time. I read Monkey Business before this, and thought that highly entertaining. It pales in comparison to Liar's Poker, however. Highly recommended..it fully deserves its status as a classic.

A symbol of corporate gluttony
Michael Lewis launched his successful career as an author with his book Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street, which is both a youthful memoir and a journalistic look at the inner workings of Salomon Brothers, a Wall Street firm that grew fat trading bonds and then crashed and burned. The book takes place, roughly, between the years 1984 and 1987, and so I wasn't surprised that the book reminded me of the movie Wall Street - just replace Gordon Gecko with Salomon's head John Gutfreund. At the beginning of the book, Lewis has just been hired, quite unexpectedly, by Salomon, and he takes us through his trajectory at the company, from the cut-throat training process to his days as a bond trader in London. From this vantage point, Lewis was able to watch the company, emboldened by spectacular success in the 1980s, become a symbol of corporate gluttony. Along the way, Lewis profiles many of the company's outsized personalities. He also delves into the intricacies of the bond market in such a way that the arcane becomes pretty readable. The book is also filled with anecdotes about the conspicuous consumption of those times and the raucous, inelegant trading floor, filled with foul-mouthed traders who threw phones and insults and reveled in their gluttony. Lewis' revelation was that the company (and its competitors) made profits at the expense of its customers, and, while the period that Lewis chronicles is interesting in its own right, its impact is somewhat diminished by the many corporate scandals and Wall Street improprieties that have occurred since the book was first published. Against this backdrop, Liar's Poker is no longer an exceptional story that defined an era, it is merely another moment in the cycle of Wall Street corruption and ensuing retribution that continues today. ... Read more

Isbn: 0140143459
Sales Rank: 1214
Subjects:  1. (Michael M.)    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Bonds    5. Brokers    6. Business    7. Business / Economics / Finance    8. Business/Economics    9. Corporate & Business History - General    10. Investments & Securities - General    11. Investments & Securities - Stocks    12. Lewis, Michael    13. Salomon Brothers    14. United States    15. Business & Economics / General   

DEN OF THIEVES
by James B. Stewart
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 September, 1992)
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Reviews (58)

Best book on wallstreet
Okay so I do not read a lot of books other than business books. The is the best book I have read period. The picture scenes of the character are still vivid in my mind. The trail of the conspiracy was excellent.

P

Heavy going investigative journalism
I liked the first 100 pages or so of this book because it had a very engaging style when describing the circumstances and characters of the biggest insider trading scandal.However, as the book progressed, I found it more and more tedious and full of small details and names which were repeated over and over again.Apart from a few interesting and particular passages, this book is like a treatesie on the events as it develop a mammoth compendium of dates and other historical trivia.Ultimately, the book will be enjoyable for those who have a bent for long stories rather than for those who are looking for a good non-fiction story.

i got bored and confused
and i never made it past page three hundred.i like the pictures. ... Read more

Isbn: 067179227X
Sales Rank: 6875
Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Ethics    4. Business/Economics    5. Corrupt practices    6. General    7. Insider Trading    8. Insider trading in securities    9. Investment banking    10. Investments & Securities - General    11. Other Miscellaneous Crimes    12. Stock exchange    13. United States    14. Business & Economics / General   

The Informant: A True Story
by Kurt Eichenwald
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (03 July, 2001)
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Editorial Review

"The FBI was ready to take down America's most politically powerful corporation. But there was one thing they didn't count on."

So reads the cover of this high-powered true crime story, an accurate teaser to a bizarre financial scandal with more plot twists than a John Grisham novel. In 1992 the FBI stumbled upon Mark Whitacre, a top executive at the Archer Daniels Midland corporation who was willing to act as a government witness to a vast international price-fixing conspiracy. ADM, which advertises itself as "The Supermarket to the World," processes grains and other farm staples into oils, flours, and fibers for products that fill America's shelves, from Jell-O pudding to StarKist tuna. The company's chairman and chief executive, Dwayne Andreas, was so influential that he introduced Ronald Reagan to Mikhail Gorbachev, and it was his maneuvering that ensured that high fructose corn syrup would replace sugar in most foods (ever wondered why Coke and Pepsi don't taste quite like they used to?). There were two mottoes at ADM: "The competitors are our friends, and the customers are our enemies" and "We know when we're lying." And lie they did. With the help of Whitacre, the FBI made hundreds of tapes and videos of ADM executives making price-fixing deals with their corrivals from Japan, Korea, and Canada, all while drinking coffee and laughing about their crimes. The tapes should have cinched the case, but there was one problem: Their star witness was manipulative, deceitful, and unstable. Nothing was as it seemed, and the investigation into one of the most astounding white-collar crime cases in history had only just begun.

Kurt Eichenwald, an investigative reporter, covered the story for The New York Times and interviewed more than 100 participants in the case. He methodically records the six-year investigation, leaving no plot twist or tape transcript unexplored. While his primary focus is on deconstructing the disturbed Whitacre and revealing the malleability of truth, the portrait of ADM (and even the Justice Department) is damning enough to make anyone a cynic. --Lesley Reed ... Read more

Reviews (70)

BRILLIANT INDEED
Simply one of the greatest non-fiction writings ever. I absolutely tore through this book. Eichenwald puts you in the middle of the tension and chaos, as cliche as that may sound. How someone can do all that research and form it all into a book as brilliant as "The Informant" is beyond my wisdom. Immediate purchase, in my opinion, if you've yet to read it.

Reads Like A Fictional Thriller
I know what you're thinking:How good can a book about the antitrust laws really be?I mean, I've been an antitrust lawyer for over 10 years, and my mother still doesn't know what the antitrust laws really are.Sure, many people have heard the term "antitrust," mostly as it relates to Microsoft.But who really knows what it means?And why would the average person want to read about it?This isn't school, after all.

But this book isn't about the antitrust laws.It's a story about people breaking the law.There are good guys, and there are bad guys.THAT story everyone can relate to and understand.You don't need to know what the antitrust laws are to follow what's going on.And Eichenwald does an excellent job of avoiding too much discussion about the antitrust laws.

The book reads like a John Grisham novel as it follows the FBI through the maze of evidence.My wife, who doesn't follow the antitrust laws at all, found the story as engaging as I did.It'll suck you in from page 1, and I highly recommend the book if you enjoy fictional thrillers.My only criticism of the book is that it is about 100 pages too long.Towards the end, Eichenwald has a tendency to draw things out too far.But it's a small criticism for an otherwise wonderful book.

Comment on The Lamet Vov Review
I have not read the book and am commenting on The Lamet Vov's review.

The Lamet Vov criticizes this book.One of his claims is that there is no Interstate 36 in Illinois.Well there is a route 36 on my Rand McNalleys.

Seems like a small error to me.



... Read more

Isbn: 0767903277
Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Commercial crimes    3. Criminology    4. General    5. Informers    6. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    7. Other Miscellaneous Crimes    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. United States    11. Business & Economics / General   

A Civil Action
by JONATHAN HARR
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (27 August, 1996)
list price: $14.95 -- our price: $10.17
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Editorial Review

In America, when somebody does you wrong, you take 'em to court. W. R. Grace and Beatrice Foods had been dumping a cancer-causing industrial solvent into the water table of Woburn, Massachusetts, for years; in 1981, the families of eight leukemia victims sued. However, A Civil Action demonstrates powerfully that--even with the families' hotshot lawyers and the evidence on their side--justice is elusive, particularly when it involves malfeasance by megacorporations. Much of the legal infighting can cause the eyes to glaze. But the story is saved by great characters: the flawed, flamboyant Jan Schlichtmann and his group of bulldogs for the prosecution; Jerome Facher, the enigmatic lawyer for Beatrice, who proves to be more than a match; John J. Riley, the duplicitous, porcine tannery owner; and a host of others. It's impossible not to feel the drama of this methodical book, impossible not to grieve for the parents who lost children, and impossible not to share Schlichtmann's desperation as he runs out of money. A Civil Action reads like one long advertisement for a few well-placed Molotov cocktails. (But that wouldn't make for a very long book, now would it?) ... Read more

Reviews (309)

What really went on here?
A local man living in the Woburn area at the time Harr was writing this book began doind research at the Woburn library. Not long after,plainclothes often sinister looking men began appearing and looking over his shoulder at his microfilm research offering no explanation. Later a bizarre series of events unfolded in the man's life eventually leading to a series of internet postings in a desperate plea for help. These postings appeared to trigger an investigation into the man.

Why would basic research using publicly available resources trigger an investigation into a library patron?

Way drawn out and just doesn't flow..
I'm no literary critic, but this book just didn't do it for me.I'm somewhat amazed by all the acclaim it's received, but in no way did I consider it a thriller.The story is good, but the characters just never came to life and the facts and descriptions were just way bogging and boring-- and I can't help think it could have been much more readable despite the complicated facts.

Oh well.I breezed through Pelican Brief in a couple days.This one took me about 4 days... and I had to force myself to read it at times.

More to all this?
There is a man who wrote a book manuscript later rewritten as a movie script with actual names concealed about one year prior to this book about a handicapped,neglected and abused orphan living in Woburn in the same neighborhoods of the earliest childhood victims. The work was written with no knowledge of Harr or of this case. the movie script was forwarded to Hollywood. At the time the man had a "friend" living next town over and as far as the man knew neither the man forwarding the script knew the "friend" or vice-versa.
After Harr's book came out, the man came under heavy attackand the man was confused as to why. One day he talked with "friend" about his concerns,Harr's book and his own script and "friend" blurted out "Well, i'm not going to jail......" and changed the subject never offering an explanation.
Has a child who survived this been monitored all his life by individuals who feel threatened by the Woburn case? ... Read more

Isbn: 0679772677
Subjects:  1. 1936?-    2. Anderson, Anne,    3. Boston    4. Civil Procedure    5. Contamination    6. Drinking water    7. Groundwater    8. Law and legislation    9. Legal System    10. Massachusetts    11. Politics - Current Events    12. Pollution    13. Sociology    14. Torts    15. Trials (Toxic torts)    16. Trials, litigation, etc    17. W.R. Grace & Co    18. Woburn    19. Anderson, Anne    20. Current Events / Law    21. Schlichtmann, Jan    22. Reading Group Guide   

Toxic Sludge Is Good for You!: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry
by John Stauber, Sheldon Rampton
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 September, 1995)
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Editorial Review

Sure, many of us in this modern world are cynical. The most cynical may even suspect that the news is manipulated and massaged by sponsors, that corporations act in their best interests, that political campaigns are determined not by votes, but by bucks, and that we don't get "all the news that's fit to print" but instead, "all the news that gets the ink". But even the most media-savvy amongst you will be awed by the behind-the-scenes descriptions of the Public Relations industry in action so masterfully described in this book.If you want your eyes to be opened, open them upon the pages of this book. (But remember:there are some very important people counting on you, and they really would prefer that you didn't ever hear about this book, much less buy it.) ... Read more

Reviews (41)

The PR Industry Exposed!
Just who are Ketchum Inc., Burson-Marsteller, and Fleishman-Hillard? Most Americans have not a clue, but these megacorporations surely know all about you.

I'm sure nearly all middle-aged Americans and those in college andremember seeing the California Raisins on TV. But, I bet many of you didn't know that the claymation production was less about enteraining kids at home and more a heavily financed strategic operation to get us consuming excessively in reaction to an expose that revealed that raisins had high levels of food toxicity and contamination with pesticides.

Most of what we see in the news is sponsored, but not all of it is explicitly revealed as such. Often, "exclusive" undercover footage or an in-depth feature is really just a slick paid advertisment.

How many brands of beer or clothing do you know? Compare that to how many capitals of foreign countries you can name in fifeen seconds without looking at map. Now, ask yourself how did it get that way?

This book sheds light on the public relations industry. It takes a rather critical tone and shows us how this industry has firm control over the culture and knowledge of the world's citizens, especially those in America. It serves as a bit of disinformation to the propaganda effort led by those who want to "manufacture [your] consent".

If you want to know how propaganda works in the world today, I recommend you give it a read. It will tell you how psychological games are being used on the public this very day and what you can do to safe-guard yourself from the sometimes menacing effects of the media spin machine.

This book is phenomenal..
In addition to the fact that this book reads like a thriller, the content and specific examples that are used in this book are so eye opening that it might make you depressed or even nauseated.

Americans are flooded with a propaganda campaign so efficiant that it would make the NAZIs jealous. This book expalins in vivid detail the actual manipulation tactics that are used by the energy, pharmacuetical and tobbaco industries (among others) to blind us into submission and hypnotize us into believing their products are not only safe but are intimately tied to your youth and vitality.

An earlier post for this book made the comment that the authors shouldn't explain the actual manipulation strategies, but the dangerous PR firms allready know how to use them. The rest of us should know these strategies so we can recognize their tactics when we are confronted with them.
Highly recomended book.

These Guys Are Good, and Fighting the Good Fight!
Where oh where do I begin?Toxic Sludge... takes a jaded look at the public relations industry, and exposes more than a few objectionable practices perpetrated on behalf of (mostly) corporate America's pursuit of the Almighty Buck.

I say 'mostly' because, however distressing it may be to informed and intelligent citizenship, even the United States Government and more than a few foreign regimes solicit the services of these most nefarious snake oil salesmen.Let's face it, you really do not consume the services of PR firms in order to foster good relations with your customers, you go to them when you have done something bad, and you want it covered up, or at least 'spinned' in the 'right' direction.You solicit the help of PR flacks and keep them on juicy retainers in order to look good, and not to be good.When the doo-doo hits the fan, whose a corporate ne'er do well gonna call?The PR company, that's who.

Toxic Sludge... contains twelve chapters of absorbing reading.From countermeasures directed at censoring information thoroughly in the public domain, keeping books off the bookshelves and dissenting voices from being heard, to infiltrating shoe-string activist organizations, fomenting criminal insurgency and subverting (and ultimately perverting) any and all attempts to relay the facts, the authors provide example after example of very well-financed government and corporate interests actively frustrating (and quite often foiling) intelligent and inormed democratic participation in the political and economic process.As Mark Dowie, the author of the introduction says, in an environment rife with PR, facts can not survive, nor can the truth prevail.

Some of the strategies and tactics PR firms used with giddy abandon on often unsuspecting targets truly shocked me, for many tools and tricks from the PR Playbook share an eerie resemblance to CIA methods and operations.In fact, more than a few PR players and heavy hitters get their inspiration from millitary strategists such as von Clauswitz, and cross-fertilization between PR firms and the upper levels of government and corporate America impart a uniquely acidic aggressivity and practiced slickness to their campaigns against their opponents.Some of their more colorful operations reminded me of the FBI'suse, via its infamous COINTELPRO initiative, of agent provocateurs against student groups, anti-Vietnam war protestors and civil rights activists during the late sixties and early-mid-seventies.This unholy alliance between government, corporations and PR firms, combined with their incestuous linkages to the ad industry, make for one formidable and thorougly intimidating opponent.

The book contains a veritable smorgasbord of eminently quotable quotes and delightful (and very distressing) anecdotes.In this vein, my personal favorite is the story of how PT Barnum, of circus fame, got his start.He put on display an old, black slavewoman, and billed her as 'George Washington's childhood nursemaid', and get this- he claimed that she was one hundred and sixty years old.Barnum made certain that he got the woman in the news as often as he could, and it did not matter what the papers said, as long as his name was spelled right.Of course, Barnum made a killing, the woman died, an autopsy was performed for the benefit of more than a few skeptics, and gee whiz, it turned out that she could not have been more than eighty.

Barnum, of course, handled the situation like the PR pro he was.When the truth was finally revealed, he went public, and said he was shocked, truly shocked, at the way the woman had deceived him!

And that anecdote, in essence, describes the modus operandi of the PR professional.PR pros turn the truth inside out.While they greatly prefer subtlety, they will stoop to other, more brutish tactics in service of their cause.PR groups can obtain favorable coverage of their worldview, much like Barnum did, and can readily obtain the willing cooperation of government agencies, as well as current and former high ranking government officials and politicians to do their questionable bidding.

The PR firm has proven itself to be at times a sinister, vicious octopus with many tentacles in some of the most unlikely places.As such, it behooves any concerned citizen to read this book and take notice of this beast as he or she participates in the marketplace of ideas. ... Read more

Isbn: 1567510604
Subjects:  1. Corporations    2. Corrupt practices    3. General    4. Industrial publicity    5. Nature/Ecology    6. Politics - Current Events    7. Public Relations    8. United States   

Confessions of a Union Buster
by MARTY LEVITT, TERRY C. TOCZYNSKI
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (24 August, 1993)
list price: $25.00
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Reviews (12)

Extremely Interesting
This book is a fascinating account of not only union busting but a man's descent into greed.I couldn't put it down.

Tale of a True Mensch
In retrospect, this author is able to see what choices and decisions he had to make in his working life made on others; not a usual occurrence in the real world.

What Marty Levitt passes on to his readers is that even though he didn't feel the brunt of his decisions at the time, he realized the difference that he made on their lives later, when he was able to review and reflect on his own choices.

The tale of alcoholism is sad, but admirable in that he acknowledged it and was seeking a better life for the future.

Marty's decision was a good one, to share this story with the world.It is well written and well presented; an enlightening way to share his knowledge and experience about unions and union busting, as well as own personal weaknesses with the world in order to move on. I even enjoyed re-reading it after over five years.

Defeat your companies anti-union plan!
Marty is an extrordinary man who, not only through this book, is helping workers gain the right to better working conditions and benefits.

In Las Vegas we are organizing all the Wal-Mart's and Sam's Club's and recently my Sam's Club was the first one in quite some time to petition for an entire store election.

Marty volunteered his time to talk with us about what the company would do (which they did) and how to counter it.

His book is full of his exploits as a 'union buster' and the damage he created.For anyone who believes that their company is trying to 'educate' them about unions should first read this book.

Bottom line: If you want to know how far corporate America wants to restrict their employees rights under Federal law to have a Union, read this book. ... Read more

Isbn: 0517583305
Sales Rank: 195275
Subjects:  1. Business/Economics    2. Corporations    3. Corrupt practices    4. General    5. Labor Disputes    6. Labor unions    7. Organizing    8. Politics - Current Events    9. Union busting    10. United States    11. Business & Economics / General   

It's hard to think of a CEO that commands as much respect as Jack Welch. Under his leadership, General Electric reinvented itself several times over by integrating new and innovative practices into its many lines of business. In Jack: Straight from the Gut, Welch, with the help of Business Week journalist John Byrne, recounts his career and the style of management that helped to make GE one of the most successful companies of the last century. Beginning with Welch's childhood in Salem, Massachusetts, the book quickly progresses from his first job in GE's plastics division to his ambitious rise up the GE corporate ladder, which culminated in 1981. What comes across most in this autobiography is Welch's passion for business as well as his remarkable directness and intolerance of what he calls "superficial congeniality"--a dislike that would help earn him the nickname "Neutron Jack." In spite of its 496 pages, Jack: Straight from the Gut is a quick read that any student or manager would do well to consider. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards ... Read more

Features

• Abridged

Isbn: 1586211722
Subjects:  1. Audio - Business / Professional    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Biography    4. Business    5. Business & Economics    6. Chief executive officers    7. Entrepreneurship    8. Industrial management    9. Leadership    10. Management - General    11. United States    12. Business & Economics / Leadership   

Schlosser's investigation reaches its frightening peak in the meatpacking plants as he reveals the almost complete lack of federal oversight of a seemingly lawless industry. His searing portrayal of the industry is disturbingly similar to Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, written in 1906: nightmare working conditions, union busting, and unsanitary practices that introduce E. coli and other pathogens into restaurants, public schools, and homes. Almost as disturbing is his description of how the industry "both feeds and feeds off the young," insinuating itself into all aspects of children's lives, even the pages of their school books, while leaving them prone to obesity and disease. Fortunately, Schlosser offers some eminently practical remedies. "Eating in the United States should no longer be a form of high-risk behavior," he writes. Where to begin? Ask yourself, is the true cost of having it "your way" really worth it? --Lesley Reed ... Read more

Isbn: 0060938455
Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Convenience foods    4. Corporate & Business History - General    5. Fast food restaurants    6. Food Science    7. Food industry    8. Food industry and trade    9. Industries - General    10. Industries - Hospitality, Travel & Tourism    11. Popular Culture - General    12. Social History    13. Sociology    14. United States    15. Reading Group Guide