Related Subjects: Author Index Reviews Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Book reviews for "Bumsted,_John_Michael" sorted by average review score:

Cyberpunk: The Roleplaying Game of the Dark Future
Published in Paperback by R Talsorian Games (1990)
Authors: Michael Pondsmith, John Smith, Colin Fisk, and Derek Quintanar
Amazon base price: $22.00
Used price: $7.59
Collectible price: $5.00
Average review score:

Parts are Parts, Dead is Dead, Dead Guys are Parts !!!
My one line summary is my current group motto.I have been a GM in this game since the original 3 black books. I have ran this game for conventions and VIPs in the entertainment business. The 2020 book is the great basis of grim dark adventures to save humanity and the theory that in any society a person can make a differnce. This game is very flexible to have any type of person play a character and be able to anything. This game and the configuration and concept of this game brings one vital part of human mind out - IMAGNATION!!!! So my opinion is that everybody should play this game.

Cool Choomba Jack Into this if you dare !
I love this game it would have to be one of my favourite roleplay games I've played it alot, and each time just gets better and better . I do have 1 problem however; Our GM has moved to England and he took his books with him , I've been boosted into the hot seat . Now I have the origional source book but I cannot find the Chrome books any where . I have been told they are out of print and thought Imight find them here at Amazon .(no luck) HELP A STRUGGLING GM FROM OZ.

Best, best, best roleplaying game ever
I am 22 year old girl from northern Europe. I have played many games. I am GM of cyberpunk and i have found it's game system exciting, flexible and open. Cyberpunk it's self is facinated me many years. In early days in my life i read only science fiction books. I definetly want courage girls play roleplays, their insight is so different than mans.


Jonathan Taylor Thomas: Totally Jtt!: An Unauthorized Biography
Published in Paperback by Simon Pulse (1996)
Authors: Michael-Anne Johns and Nancy Krulik
Amazon base price: $3.99
Used price: $1.35
Collectible price: $24.00
Average review score:

An excellent in-depth biography!
Congratulations to Michael-Anne Johns! He has written a fantastic fun and fact-filled book on the life of Jonathan Taylor Thomas on and off-screen. Unlike some biographies, Johns uses more words than pictures, so you learn a lot more about what they're like, rather than what they look like. He has done a lot of research and included a nice review at the back of Thomas's favorites and quick facts. Every Jonathan Taylor Thomas lover should read this great book. Hopefully Johns will come up with a new JTT book to talk about Wild America and his new roles. Congrats again Johns

This book was just FANTASTIC!!!
It gave me lots of information on JTT.
I learned so much about him!
If only I was able to meet him!
:-)
Everyone should read it!

I loved the entire book!
I am a total JTT fan, and when I read this book, it really informed me evern more! I loved how it was so complete with stats, quotes, color pics, and everything from a-z! I couldn't put it down until I was done


Zac Attack!: Hanson's Little Brother
Published in Paperback by Scholastic (1998)
Authors: Tracey West and Michael-Ann Johns
Amazon base price: $3.99
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $1.45
Buy one from zShops for: $1.44
Average review score:

This book will satisfy your Zac Fact Needs!!
Well, all I have to say to fellow Hanson fans is; if you haven't read this already...you better go out and buy it as soon as you can (if your local bookstore hasn't run out of copies yet!!) It has great behind-the scenes photos, cool tid-bit facts, and anything you wanna know about Hanson's drummer boy!!! (Beware of a little false info here and there)

Zac fans, this is the book for you!!!
This book gave me tons of info on Zac. There were even 16 pages of great color pictures. It was the best Hanson book I ever read! READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!

~$**NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE IT!~$**
Hey there Hanson fans! This book is totally awesome! I love the pix in it! The info is also a little bit different too! There are 16, yes 16 pix inside!!!! Is that cool or what? This author is AWESOME for a unautherized writer!

~Soni

P.S. This book rocked!!!! It also had funny stories about Zac and his bros!


Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement
Published in Paperback by Harvest Books (1999)
Authors: John Lewis and Michael D'Orso
Amazon base price: $11.20
List price: $16.00 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $2.50
Collectible price: $8.00
Buy one from zShops for: $2.95
Average review score:

A page turner, and a stunning period in American history
John Lewis' book,Walking With The Wind,succinctly, inspiringly ,and powerfully tells the story of how we moved as a nation from two separate and unequal societies toward 'a more perfect union', John Lewis was the leader and visionary of that journey.,He prepares us for the battlefields and physically dangerous campaigns of the civil rights movement by vividly recounting growing up in a tiny rural Alabama community and experiencing the mores of life in the 1940's and 1950's. His upbringing shows us that the so called 'least of these', with intellect, faith,and determination can make this nation move mightly in the direction of achieving the 'beloved community'. He moves on to current times and has an insider's view of events and participants. I recommend this book to all who want to know American history from one who lived it.

Walking With the Wind is a soon-to-be American classic.
John Lewis chronicles his ascendancy from the backroads of Alabama to the hallowed halls of Congress - an experience which reads more like carefully contrived fiction than real life events. The struggles, the triumphs, the emotions, the meanings are all carefully woven to create a soon-to-be American classic literary canon, depicting the Civil Rights Era. Lewis, described as an American treasure, lives up to the title with his intimate details of the renown leaders of the movement and the not-so-well-known heroes, who fought tirelessly to end the social injustices of the segregated South. Twenty-first century textbook authors would be remiss, if not negligent, by not including the perspectives of Lewis' Walking with the Wind. Amazingly, Lewis remains humble, despite his successes. He is a role model, and more importantly, a 20th Century American hero. Walking with the Wind is a must-read for all.

The story of a true American hero
John Lewis was seemingly everywhere during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. From the Nashville Sit-Ins, to the Freedom Rides to the famous march from Selma and more. It is akin to someone having been at the Boston Tea Party, Lexington and Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. Not only was Lewis there but he was an active participant, one of the many brave souls who risked injury, even death to bring down segregation. Lewis knew all the key figures in the Movement, such as Dr. King, and was a leader himself. Today, of course, Lewis serves his country in the House of Representatives.
It's hard to go wrong with such a compelling story to tell and Lewis doesn't dissapoint. With the help of co-author Michael D'Orso, we learn not only of one person's participation in the Civil Rights' Movement, but gain insight into the Movement as a whole.
Lewis is vastly under appreciated by Americans today. Hopefully Waking With the Wind will help future generations appreciate John Lewis, an American hero.


Net Privacy: A Guide to Developing & Implementing an Ironclad Ebusiness Privacy Plan
Published in Digital by McGraw-Hill ()
Authors: Michael Erbschloe, Jason Thompson, and John R. Vacca
Amazon base price: $24.95
Average review score:

How to safeguard your e-business customers
The ubiquitous Internet is a double-edged sword. A major benefit is sharing information; a major detriment is the risk to customers of divulging private information. For e-businesses, therefore, privacy is a showstopper issue. This book was written to promote e-business success by helping organizations evaluate privacy needs, establish a privacy task force, use technologies to provide maximum protection, formulate privacy policies and procedures, implement and test privacy procedures, and monitor and modify privacy protection. This one's a winner--for companies that want to "win" at e-business.

A Great Book On Privacy Issues
In today's security conscious world, nothing is more important than the privacy of personal information being shared on the internet. Erbschloe and Vacca present a blueprint for developing net privacy starting with a 10 step privacy needs audit, developing the enterprise privacy plan and lastly the implementation of the plan. Full discussions of topics such as employee training about privacy issues, governmental and legal issues, monitoring the privacy plan once in place, security of laptops and telecommuting help the reader understand the scope of the problems and how to solve them. One issue, I had not thought about: privacy of shared customer data with vendors is instructive. Besides being an essential resource to businesses using the net, consumers should read this book to understand all the issues surrounding the safety of their personal information.

Net Privacy
Michael Erbschloe and John Vacca A Guide to Developing & Implementing an Ironclad ebusiness Privacy Plan McGraw-Hill 2001

This book is an essential reading for any company looking to ensure corporate privacy online. The authors, Erbschloe and Vacca, do an excellent job of providing a step-by-step guide to safeguarding customers' personal information and company secrets through the development of an enterprise privacy plan.

Erbschloe and Vacca, two of today's security thought leaders distinguish between privacy and security and the importance of understanding the differences at all levels of the organization.

Chapters two and three discuss privacy issues and sight specific cases that have occurred over the years. The chapters go on to point out how technology continues to change but the protection laws governing technology use are vague and difficult to interpret. The authors recommend seeking "on going legal counsel" for your business as the use of ebusiness continues to grow with an estimated 165 million users of the Internet in the U.S. in 2003.

Chapters 4 through 8 break down the steps necessary for developing and implementing enterprise privacy plan and incorporated these steps into four major phases.

Phase One:Organizing and research Phase Two:Conducting privacy -needs audit Phase Three:Developing polices and plans Phase Four:Implementing the plan

The authors do point out that the major challenge to any organization trying to implement an enterprise privacy plan is --working through the process of consensus building among departments and managers in the enterprise.

Moving on to the rest of the book, the chapters deal with managing, protecting, and measuring the success of your enterprise privacy plan. Checklists throughout these chapters list key areas and specific tasks that should not be overlooked. Long-term management challenges fall into modifying and evolving the enterprise privacy plan as privacy laws and policies change and as information technology solutions evolve.

All told, I think the book provides a great set of clear guidelines for ensuring a successful privacy plan; it's implementation and monitoring. Get your privacy planning efforts moving ahead by following this step-by-step format.


The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide
Published in Paperback by Microcosm Limited (1999)
Authors: Michael S. Paletta, Edward Kadunc, Scott W. Michael, John Goodman, and Michael D. Paletta
Amazon base price: $13.97
List price: $19.95 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $11.00
Buy one from zShops for: $12.98
Average review score:

Buy This One First!
Thinking of getting into the saltwater aquarium hobby? Do not buy anything until you have read this book cover to cover! You will be sorry if you don't. By applying the principles in this book, you will have much greater success at the venture. You will save a lot of money and spare the lives of many fish.

After you've read this one, buy The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner and give this great hobby a go. It's wonderful, and these two books will get you off to a great start.

He beat me to it!
... covers just about everything imaginable, and does so in such a clear & concise way that there is little point in my trying to cover it again.
I am truly impressed. This so-called beginner's book scarcely rates that category; this is the very sort of information that beginners REALLY need but oh-so rarely ever get until it is too late. Moreover, it is presented in a form that beginners can understand and digest with ease. Truly a gem, and destined to be a classic.
The checklists, the explanations which make the complex simple, the techniques, the wonderful illustrations, the tips & tricks, the lists of common mistakes to avoid, ( and which species to avoid ) and the truly useful advice make this book very complete. It's 140+ pages are chocked full of good information without a lot of "fluff"; it's truly "all-meat, no filler!"
If I had to recommend just ONE book for the beginning marine hobbyist, I think that this would be the one. I even recommend it highly to intermediate hobbyists. While it doesn't cover every single aspect of the marine hobby, ( not that any one book, or even any given dozen ever books could ) it aptly covers the most important things, and most importantly, it covers them in a way which will make it the most useful to it's target audience...

An Excellent Guide to Starting a Marine Aquarium
I had already looked at many marine aquarium books before I found this one. I already have a freshwater tank, but really had no idea how to go about setting up a saltwater tank. I mean, I didn't know anything!

This book misses nothing. Other books may start off well, but tend to get skimpy on the things you really need to know and then focus too much on things that, at the moment, you don't need to know, such as page after page on various species of fish. That's important, but not particulary helpful if you don't know what you are doing.

The first part of the book goes into tank selection & setup. It goes over among other things, protein skimmers, power filters, & powerheads along with the other more rudimentary stuff such as heater, thermometer, etc. It goes into instructions on how to correctly mix the salt water and put in the substrate.

After that, a considerable amount of time is spent discussing live rock, what it is, how to choose it, how to take care of it, where to place it in the tank, etc. It even gives sample layouts - very helpful! The last part regarding tank setup walks you step by step through setting up the tank and live rock. If you follow the checklists, you won't miss anything or do anything out of order.

The second half of the book is on selecting fish and taking care of them. In the section showing the various species of fish, it also tells what suitable tank mates could go with the fish. Lastly it goes into feeding and maintaining the tank along with a section on fish diseases and how to treat them.

If you are interested in starting a saltwater tank, then this is an excellent book to begin with.


Theophany : The Life and Death of a Girl Prophet
Published in Paperback by Erica House Book Publishers (1998)
Authors: Michael John Vines and Mike Vines
Amazon base price: $10.95
Used price: $5.75
Collectible price: $7.95
Average review score:

Spiritual Adventure
Super book! Theophany is an emotional and spiritual adventure. After reading a few pages, I loved Sarah and Josh. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. I couldn't stop reading, except to try to recover my emotions. The story is going along beautifully, and then Mr. Vines sends a jolt to your heart. He does this several times. The humor and evil he adds to the story complete the adventure. Sarah and Joshua will be with me forever. I'm reading it a second time, and finding even more in it. I'd recommend it to everyone. I am anxiously awaiting the next book.

A thrilling and compelling story with much to teach us.
If you think you have read all of the "angel lit" (surely a whole genre by now!) that you can handle, I beseech you to try one more. Michael Vines' THEOPHANY deserves to be read as the unique story it is, rather than as just one more take on angelic intervention into mortals' lives. THEOPHANY begins with a "one two" punch in the first paragraph that lets us glimpse that this story will deal in the unexpected and in wholly new ways. The story opens with a description of a beautiful, tranquil scene in the Rocky Mountains. . . a scene that the young heroine, Sarah, contemplates as being "a wonderfully perfect place to die." The tone of the book reads mostly as a sweet fable...belying the tragedies and acts of pure evil that unfold in its pages. Sarah, seemingly a most-typical American girl, has an imaginary playmate. . .except he's not. Imaginary, that is. Of course, this companion, Joshua, is the angel in question. But this tale is not an an ordinary tale of God's assistance to a human being through angels. THIS human has been chosen for something special; born to it, if you will. . .but, and here is where Vines' message begins to take shape, so have we all. Vines traces Sarah's mission from her childhood and early adolescence, through first love and its horrible consequences, through numerous miracles, and lessons learned and taught. As Sarah says, "I cannot teach what I do not know." Vines style eases us into situations, and then lets the situation itself do the teaching. He rarely pontificates, with or or two permissible exceptions. His three main characters--Sarah, Joshua and The Stranger--are each compelling in specific ways. Leading us into a decidedly NOT typical mystery/thriller involving collusion, conspiracy and corruption at levels only we in the late twentieth century could begin to find plausible, Vines weaves in the lessons which Sarah takes to the world. "Moderation even applies to those things spiritual." "Sometimes the answer is . . .no answer, and sometimes the answer is simply . . .no." Sarah learns these lessons and becomes the most loved and hated person in the world as she goes about trying to impart them to a world in need of them. This book is one of those in which the reader must, of necessity, become a character in the book and interpret its message through the perception of his or her own "character." I am fairly certain a great many people will focus on the feminist aspect of Sarah, a female, being chosen as the vessel through which God reveals Himself. And on the message of love which permeates the book. However, for myslef, the primary message is one which Sarah articulates quite clearly, leaving no room for doubt: "But the real essence of hell will be knowing what your potential was and never being able to achieve it." Michael Vines has, perhaps, not fully achieved his potential as a novelist; but with this first effort he is obviously well on his way.

Theophany is wonderful
Theophany is a charming and touching novel, with a lovable main character that we quickly grow to care about a great deal. The story is so engrossing, that its not especially apparent that you are being challenged to think. Its message of spirituality, love and sacrifice, seem very apt in the manic, sometimes rather cold seeming world we live in. As Sarah makes her journey, we journey with her and see the light in humanity that Michael Vines obviously does. Its universality and hope will appeal to anyone of faith, or indeed to anyone who has faith in the human heart. I recommend Theophany highly


John Redman's Essentials of the Golf Swing
Published in Paperback by Plume (1994)
Authors: John Redman, Michael E. Thomason, and Paul Azinger
Amazon base price: $10.50
List price: $15.00 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $3.99
Buy one from zShops for: $4.39
Average review score:

Thank You John Redman
I happened to catch about 10 minutes of Mr. Redman on the Golf Channel. Every word he spoke rang true. After reading his book I rediscovered many of the swing feels I had accidentally discovered during my first three months playing but could never consistantly replicate. Three years and many lessons involving "modern" swing theory later, I have come home. This is the simplest and least physically demanding swing out there and Mr. Redman explains it in a way that any duffer can understand and quickly implement. I also appreciate the fact that he steered me towards Percy Boomer's book. The only drawback is that I can't find a golf pro locally who teaches this method. Right now I don't feel like I need a pro. This book is like having a teaching pro on my bookshelf. BUY THIS BOOK. It will take a few weeks to "unlearn" all the modern crap you've learned, but you'll end up with a more consistant, powerful, and easily repeatable swing. I'd give it six stars if they'd let me.

A very easy way to hit a golf ball
I've played for over 15 years and read at least 15 golf books. I understand kinesiology and I thought I understood the golf swing until I read this book. Redman, along with one of my alltime favorite golfers, Paul Azinger, simply explains a much better way to hit a golf ball. His method produces a much better chance for a square club face at impact and also produces plenty of club head speed. When I relaized how easy the swing really is, I was amazed. I had tried to coordinate swinging arms with turning hips and rolling forearms and that's just too difficult for most people to accomplish. I also purchased "The Azinger Way" video tape and it's a nice compliment to the book because you can see how repeatable Paul's swing is with all clubs. Buy this book, learn the system, enjoy it, and never read another quick fix tip again. I don't know why more teachers don't use this model; it's much easier to teach and easier to learn! By the way, Azinger's putting tips in the book and video are also excellent.

THE ONLY GOLF LESSON YOU WILL EVER NEED!!!
IF I HAD RED THIS BOOK AND FOLLOWED IT 30 YEARS AGO,I CERTAINLY WOULD HAVE HAD A LOT MORE ENJOYMENT PLAYING GOLF.THE BASIC TECHNIQUE THAT JOHN REDMAN TEACHES IS SO SIMPLE,THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS REMEMBER IT WHEN YOU SWING THE GOLF CLUB.I HAVE DROPPED 12 STROKES OFF MY SCORE!!!!


Writing With Hitchcock: The Collaboration of Alfred Hitchcock and John Michael Hayes
Published in Paperback by Faber & Faber (2001)
Author: Steven DeRosa
Amazon base price: $10.50
List price: $15.00 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $2.55
Collectible price: $15.00
Buy one from zShops for: $9.85
Average review score:

Fair balanced presentation of Hitchcock-Hayes collaboration
When the auteur myth took root it managed to both change the stature of directors and displace a lot of talented writers. While there's no doubt that Hitchcock is still a giant in cinema, many of the books written about him tend to focus only on Hitch's contribution. DeRosa's book provides fair balance and recognizes writer Joh Michael Hayes' contribution to a fruitful collaboration. The four pictures that Hayes worked on (Rear Window, The Trouble With Harry, To Catch A Thief and the remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much)are all among Hitch's best work as a director. This isn't to suggest that Hitch didn't contribute to story ideas; he would frequently sketch out a general plot but writers like Hayes (or Ernest Lehman to name another strong Hitch collaborator) would be left along to write the script once the basic plot was discussed.

DeRosa knows his stuff and his research is exhaustive. I would have to liked to have seen more storyboard to script comparisons and comments from other writers and directors but that probably would have changed the scope of the book (and the focus). Without tarnishing Hitch's reputation, Writing With Hitchcock makes a strong case for the importance of Hayes contribution to Hitch's film.

After they had a falling out Hitch would frequently dismiss Hayes contributions to his films in print( such as in Truffaut's interview with Hitchcock. Hitch was generally pretty good about recognizing the importance of his collaborators)

Luckily that bitterness can't color the fine work of these well matched collaborators. This book along (with the inteviews Hayes granted for the DVD editions of their four films) finally puts it all into perspective. It also allows one to celebrate the great art and entertainment of Hitch and Hayes.

Chalk one up for the writers!
At last someone has challenged the myth that Hitchcock did everything himself. Not so. He had some very skilled writers whose talents helped make his films so memorable. One of those writers - perhaps the most important - was John Michael Hayes, whose screenplays for Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, Trouble with Harry and the remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much, had a tremendous impact on Hitchcock's films of the fifties, and on the way we view Hitchcock today.

In "Writing With Hitchcock", Steven DeRosa gives Hayes his long overdue credit. Hayes' contributions to each of the films are described in detail, as are the steps taken by the censors to reign things in - to protect audiences from the idea that Cary Grant and Grace Kelly would have premarital relations, or that Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day's boy was kidnapped, are just a couple of examples! Each film is gone over in detail from the writing phase to release, and the reader is given a chance to see the relationship between the writer and director blossom, and then die.

There are lots of anecdotes and a summarizing of both Hitchcock and Hayes' careers after they parted which is very illuminating, especially the potential sequel to Rear Window that Hayes worked on that would have been far more interesting than the Chris Reeve tv version. The final chapter is an analysis of each of the screenplays, and this was especially interesting to me as an aspiring screenwriter. Well worth the price of admission! I only wish it was in hardcover.

a must for any fan of Hitchcock
This book is about the successful teaming of Alfred Hitchcock and screenwriter John Michael Hayes. Hayes, a native New Englander, and recently a screenwriting professor at Dartmouth, wrote four films for Hitch, including Rear Window, To Catch a Thief and The Man Who Knew Too Much. They worked extraordinarily well together, Hitchcock bringing to the table his mastery of suspense and technique and Hayes his knack for sharp dialogue and strong characters. Predictably, ego, money and a battle for credit soon got in the way and ended their partnership. Steven DeRosa's research is impressive, and his style accessible, entertaining and informative.


Brand New : How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers' Trust from Wedgwood to Dell
Published in Hardcover by Harvard Business School Press (2001)
Author: Nancy F. Koehn
Amazon base price: $27.97
List price: $39.95 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $13.90
Buy one from zShops for: $24.75
Average review score:

Entrepreneurs Build Brands on Shoestrings in Changing Times!
I found this book hard to grade, but easy to read. Stories are the best way for people to learn, and this book has six interesting ones (about Josiah Wedgwood, H.J. Heinz, Marshall Field, Estee Lauder, Howard Schultz, and Michael Dell) describing entrepreneurs pulling themselves up by their bootstraps to create major brands. As a book of engaging business stories, this is a five star book. In terms of the insight you will get from these stories compared to the potential insight you should get, this is a three-star book. I compromised the two to come up with my grading.

If you want to learn about today's brand-building challenges, other books handle that subject much better. If you want to learn about how the Wedgwood, H.J. Heinz, Marshall Field, Estee Lauder, Starbucks, and Dell businesses got started, this is your book. The material is handled much like historical fiction (except the facts are meticulously gathered and documented), and you will find the going easy and pleasant.

If you like Horatio Alger stories, you will find those here as well. I suspect that exhausted entrepreneurs on long plane trips where their computer batteries have run out will find this book helpful in recharging their personal batteries. As Winston Churchill once said, "Never give up." That's the key lesson here. Through trial and error, these entrepreneurs kept trying until they found formulas that worked.

The choice of examples is a little flawed. Five are consumer branding examples and only one is a business example (Dell). Of the consumer branding examples, you will find that most are about selling to the higher income people. That gets a little repetitive.

The explanation of the examples is also incomplete. Considering that this is a business book, there is relatively little financial information other than annual sales and occasional asset turnover ratios. Qualitative example are helpful, but they are more helpful with more pinning down. For example, when you see the profit margins that Wedgwood had, that explains a lot about why the company could afford such lavish promotions. Without similar information on Heinz, you wonder why he was so successful in making sales but went bankrupt. Presumably, he had low margins.

The photographs and maps in the book are a plus, and I enjoyed them very much. The book was printed on such high quality paper (similar to that used for diplomas) that the images are on the same paper as the text. This permits the book to have many more illustrations than similar-sized business books.

The point about earning trust in the book is easily explained. At the time when these entrepreneurs were getting started, their largest competitors usually provided poor quality products, sometimes had inappropriate brand images, often failed to offer decent guarantees, and typically acted in self-serving ways. Earning trust isn't too hard if others are scoundrels or incompetent. Above all, these entrepreneurs stood for decent human values, and got that point across in one-to-one situations. I'm not sure that point comes out clearly enough, even though it is certainly present in each example.

Those who think the Internet age is unique will find the comparisons to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in England and the transportation improvements in the United States to be valuable contrasts. But each age brings its unique changes. Entrepreneurs should seek to grasp those changes, but also see what others have missed. I think that the Starbucks concept could have been successfully innovated in the late 1950s. It's just that no one did it then.

After you finish enjoying these stories, I suggest that you think about the values that your organization stands for. Are those values presented and delivered in ways that make your organization more trustworthy than any other? How else do you have to be superior in order to establish a burnished brand image?

Be serious about giving people the best you can possibly provide!

Building Trust by Being Dependable When Others Aren't
Stories are the way that we all learn best. Professor Koehn has provided six meticulously detailed ones about brand development by 18th and 19th century entrepreneurs (Josiah Wedgwood, H.J. Heinz, Marshall Field) as well as 20th century ones (Estee Lauder, Howard Schultz, and Michael Dell). Almost any reader will learn details new to her or him from these cases. Each example focuses on how important brands got started on a shoestring. The book has a major weakness in that the financial details of the six businesses are too sketchy to really help understand the economics of what the entrepreneurs did.

Wedgwood improved the quality of earthenware, and changed the way that the products were used by the wealthy and the aspiring. He courted the visible elites and royalty to inspire emulation by those who could afford the products.

H.J. Heinz offered quality and convenience at a time when most preserved food products were shoddy and women did most of their own preserving.

Marshall Field courted the carriage trade who could afford to pay top dollar for top quality goods and service.

Estee Lauder provided high quality cosmetics at more affordable prices.

Howard Schultz introduced most Americans to the latte, taking coffee from being a source of caffeine to a tasteful experience.

Michael Dell changed the business model for how corporations got their computing equipment, customizing for each one just-in-time.

Having been educated in both history and in business, it is clear that Professor Koehn comes at the problem more from the historical discipline than from the business one. As a result, the book will be most appealing to those who are interested in the origins of one or more of these brands, companies, or entrepreneurs. At this level, the book is five-star entertainment.

Business readers will find that relevant details are often missing. For example, Wedgwood staged very expensive exhibitions of his wares. You wonder how he could afford to do this, and finally learn near the end of the study that the company had enormous profit margins. H.J. Heinz is described as being very successful in a predecessor company, yet he goes bankrupt. Some information about his margins would probably have revealed that he had low margins. The information is not included. There are bits and pieces of ratios and annual revenue numbers, but the financial side of these examples is clearly underdeveloped. That's a shame, since they all built up important enterprises on a shoestring.

The choice of cases seems flawed from a business perspective. Five of the six are consumer products and services. Of the five, all appealed initially to high income people when good products and services were largely unavailable. Forming brands in such an environment is no great trick. Readers would have learned more about brand building from cases where the competition was fierce from people who were providing exactly the same choices.

As a result, from a business perspective, this is a three star book. I averaged the five and the three star ratings out to reach my four star conclusion.

After you read this book, you should think about how you decide which brands to trust, and how you go about establishing the trustworthiness of brands that you represent. What else is important before trust can be earned? In particular, pay attention to the significance of establishing improved business models (something that all six entrepreneurs had in common).

Make your brand stand alone in its desirability in the eyes of all who see it!

"Brand New"-- A fresh look at branding and entrepreneurship!
Brand New is a brilliantly written book about entrepreneurs, brands, consumers, business history, and socioeconomic change. The book explores these subjects through the examples of six entrepreneurs-Josiah Wedgwood, H. J. Heinz, Marshall Field, Estée Lauder, Howard Schultz of Starbucks, and Michael Dell-and the brands and companies they created during times of economic and social change: Wedgwood during the Industrial Revolution, Heinz and Field during the Transportation and Communication Revolution of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and Lauder, Schultz, and Dell in our time.

Koehn is a perceptive historian and biographer as well as an astute analyst of brand creation, entrepreneurship, and organization-building. She explains how the entrepreneurs in her book were able to understand the economic and social change of their times and anticipate and respond to demand-side shifts. This understanding, she argues convincingly, enabled these entrepreneurs to bring to market products that consumers needed and wanted and to create meaningful, lasting connections with consumers through their brands. Koehn also focuses on the importance of these entrepreneurs as organization builders who understood that their success depended on developing organizational capabilities that supported their products and brands. Her book is very well-researched throughout, and uses primary archival documents extensively in the historical chapters on Josiah Wedgwood, H. J. Heinz, and Marshall Field. Koehn also brings her entrepreneurs and the stories of how each built his or her company and brand to life with her talent as a biographer and historian.

The book's emphasis on drawing lessons from both past and present offers many valuable insights for those interested in coming to a better understanding of brand creation, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial management, and organization-building. Koehn's emphasis on the demand side of the economy and on entrepreneurs and companies making connections with consumers through the brand distinguishes her book as an important work of business scholarship on brands and entrepreneurship. A lively, interesting, and engaging read, Brand New is also valuable reading for anyone interested in business, economic, or social history or biography of business leaders. I highly recommend it!


Related Subjects: Author Index Reviews Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Reviews are from readers at Amazon.com. To add a review, follow the Amazon buy link above.