The authors had a way of inflating what they're capable of writing. It reads just like any other so so old texts. Much of the academic discussions can be found in most other finance books. Beyond that, real business insight? Forget about it. You learn much more by watching evening news.

This book is outdated. The coverage was mostly corporate finance, not investment banking. In addition, I heard and confirmed that the materials covered in this book are close to 100 percent identical to another book by the same authors under slightly different title. A big disappointment.

This book is a good though outdated overview of the investment banking business. I would also strongly recommend instead or in addition
the Vault Career Guide to Investment Banking.... The Vault guide includes more
detailed overviews of all the departments and functions of an investment
bank including corporate finance, M&A, sales, trading, private client
services, credit, etc. If you are a job seeker in investment banking
also try the Vault Guide to Finance Interviews, which contains actual
investment banking finance interview questions and answers and which I
found to be enormously valuable in my Wall Street job search.

I had originally intended to buy "The Doula Book" (formerly Mothering the Mother), but found it to be outdated in both it's writing style and the audience it addressed (the 70's mother), despite the fact that it was recently updated. It begins with a description of a happy couple immagining a birth where they are the only two people present in which the baby is born easily and effortlessly at home. Though I was born at home and I actually know a couple that delivered their own baby, this kind of imagry is not what most couples in North America today have around birth. Most of the book tends to exclude mainstream North America--the people who need doulas most. Instead, I highly recommend "The Doula Advantage" by Rachel Gurevich. I found her book by accident while shopping for "The Doula Book." I couldn't put it down so I bought it, and then stayed up all night reading it cover to cover. It is concise, engaging, and written for a wide audience, which gets the message out: doulas are good for ALL types of labors from cesarean sections to nonmedicated homebirths and everything inbetween. (Not just "hippy" types--don't get me wrong, I'm one of them--wanting a natural birth, as seems to be suggested by The Doula Book). It discusses how a doula has been proven to dramatically decreese rates of c-sections, episiotomies, medications and other overly-used medical interventions, but also admits that sometimes these interventions are necessary, and explains how the Doula can provide support for this as well. She gives accounts of mothers, fathers, doulas and health providers to present a clear picture of what a doula can do for everyone involved in the prenatal, labor and postnatal experience. It is empowering to women and their partners without being overly philosophical or "corney" (to quote the author herself). It is an honest look at birth in the North American setting of today, that takes into account the history of birth in the US and Canada and is frank about the situation today in hospitals and out. I highly recommend this book instead of "The Doula Book" for expecting mothers and fathers, people considering becoming doulas (I am seriously considering it after reading this book), and anyone who wants a clear picture of what a doula is.

Three of the founders of Doulas of North America, Marshal and Phyllis Klaus and John Kennell, have written an update to their original book, Mothering the Mother. The new version has up to date information and facts and truly gives the essence of what a doula does.

With their love for laboring families and the doulas who help them, the authors make reading about doula research enjoyable. Their words of wisdom help families who are thinking of choosing a doula and also women who are thinking of becoming doulas. Required reading for all who are interested in doulas!

Baseball as metaphor for life, or life as a metaphor for baseball has been pretty well covered. Unfortunately most of the writers in this book are caught in some personal vortex that can work only for them and has little to offer the reader. This collection is mostly about everyday people involved with some aspect of baseball and the inference tends to be that the essence of the game somehow lies in the milllions who participate in some form at some level. But it's a ruse, used to justify or validate many of the authors' opinions and maybe cherised moments. Not much here of merit.

Though most of the stories don't bridge the gap from the teller's personal interest to valid story telling, there are two exceptional pieces that belong in any first rate short story anthology.

They are "The Warriors," by Sherman Alexie, and "What Pop Fly Gave His Daugher," by Lynda Berry. These are excellent works. They are powerful, moving, informative, wonderful stories that happen to include baseball. Sherman Alexie brings humor, the quixotic mine fields of emerging adolesence, core questions about pecking orders, and schooling on and off the reservation in an engaging, entertaining, and authentic manner.

Lynda Berry offers a story in the life of a girl/emerging woman as she finds a way to deal with a near intolerable family. We are are shown a glimpse of the confusion and agony of this girl, and her determination and reslience as she survives and comes to grips with her noncaring and self-centered father. It's an excellent and informative read. And yes, baseball gloves, even if they only cost $.59, can work magic.

The remaining seven selections are meanderings of minimal interest. They are dull, and in the same breath as extolling the life virtues of baseball they tend justify ugliness and/or reflect/validate a sad personal perspective.

In "God's Tourney," Robert Leo Heilman treats American Legion regional playoff baseball with the devout obsequiosness of a budding acolyte of the true religion. He gives us a lot about being good enough, the quirks of the game, the usual about how baseball makes better people of those who play it, and becomes positively reverent when describing the hallowed ground of the Roseburg field. Seemingly unaware of the contradiction, he then plays the reality card: the very non amateur baseball commercial concessions necessary for legion ball to survive are dismissed as just a part of big thing called life. The official car (Buick), and so on. No dealing with reality and the obvious: you can't make nice something that isn't. Instead of letting the obvious just lie there, the author tries to validate it and somwhow attach it to the glow of those beautiful 600 wooden seats.

In "From the Church of Baseball: Different Hymns," by Timothy Eagon we have the modern blow up of all the coaches and parents who never figured out the value of games for children. While he does profess to come to some sort of epiphany at the end, he can't get past his obsession, not passion, about the game and "life."

From some dark recess he rails about the pathetic nature of T-ball and coach-pitch, everybody-is-a-winner stuff that is peddled at the lower ages. His squad is made up of nine year olds. He continues about how reality comes early for these kids - his team, which includes his daughter - about the pain the kids felt when Griffey broke his wrist running down a deep drive, or Ayala's "closings." He tells us that these kids know grit, triumph, and agony, and rambles on in a debasing monolouge, ending with "self-esteem, schmelf-esteem."

9 year old girls (and boys) just don't agonize over these things, unless they are tactical survival techniques for life at at home. With any luck, children at this age are encoureaged to learn and discover, allowed to be kids. The grit and agony too many of them know are obscene expectations to be adults by the age of nine, to validate adults instead of being validated by them, and to be bludgeoned into equating a hollow concept of "being a winner" with being valued. A quick look at the courts and social services shows us what too many 9 year olds, and younger, know about the agony of despair and abuse. That's real. Ayala and Griffey are nice diversions.

It's the game that's the thing, it's the game that rich and rewarding, unlike all but two of this collection.

The book and its essays are charming. Through these words you can feel the writer's life experiences as viewed through some association with baseball. Baseball is not the topic of this book, it is the illustration used to bring to you a number of life experiences - some joyful, others emotional - all worth reading and experiencing. Sort of a "Baseball - Soup for the Soul"!

After reading the first three fables in this book my only thought is, thank God I bought if for the Olbinski illustrations.
Perhaps on a coffee table...... only set out after some wine, should these "fables" be read again.

There are only a few pages worth reading in this volume, and the editor who passed it up the first time ( around 1914) knew his business. She is at her most interesting when describing some of the minutae and customs of 19th century life. When she starts descibing people, places and events, she falls flat. Very superficial, very stereotyped.

Steephen Greeleaf's John Marshall Tanner private eye series is not quite as good as the best of the genre, though some of the stories are of high quality. "State's Evidence," is not among the better ones. The convoluted plot has Tanner spending time investigating a woman's disappearance in the sleazy Bay town of El Gordo on behalf of the local district attorney. The woman is a witness against the town's leading mob figure. The story has a good level of violence, and takes plenty of twists and turns, but unfortunately becomes a bit too complex for its own good. Tanner makes a good P.I. He's fearless, tough talking, lonely and just a touch cynical. He's just not given first rate material to work with during this particular outing. If you are new to the Tanner series, I'd recommend "Grave Erros," or "Past Tense" instead.

I will keep this short. Being a police officer with over twelve years of experience, having worked with U.S. Marshals, and having been assigned to a Federal Task Force, I can assure you there is more fiction than truth in this book. I read this garbage and immediately gave it away to a charitable organization as soon as I finished it. I wasted money on this one.

I liked this book, but am seeing from other reviews that a lot of it is made up. I have to say, I was wondering if some of it was made up when I read it. That he alone got Christopher Boyce to confess to robbing banks seemed a little too easy. Maybe he did. But, actually, I didn't even KNOW Christopher Boyce (the Falcon "spy" in the movie FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN) had escaped prison and robbed banks, so was interested in that section of the book for that. But I thought Pascucci was spot on when he states that Boyce didn't sell secrets to the Soviets for idealogical reasons, as he claimed, but because Boyce is a purely immoral sociopath. The one problem I really had with the book is Pascucci states so blithely how he would sign his own search warrants, without ever getting a judge's approval, so he was making all these illegal searches, but figures the ends justifies the means. Uh, the laws were written for a reason. That he so cavalierly forged search warrants--and he does it throughout the book--appalled me.

Mr. Pascucci makes you believe he is this unstoppable, law breaking, law enforcement officer. While I was down at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center at Glynco, Ga, I got to meet a couple of Senior Deputy U.S. Marshals who knew Mr. Pascussi. They basically told me that he was a slime ball and lied about alot of the book. If you want to read an interesting book read this one, but don't believe everything you read. Mr. Pascussi was arrested by the F.B.I for bribing elected officials and was embarrassed in front of a large gathering with Safir's(NYC Police Commissioner) approval. But, you have to do what you have to do, and Mr. Pascussi did. The U.S. Marshals Service will stab you in the back, so it is right for Mr. Pascussi to take a few stabs at them. Thanks to Chief Larry Parker(Eastern District of NY),Inspector Thomas Spillane(OIA),and Assistant Director Wayne"Duke" Smith.

I don't know what's more annoying about this book, the chirpy tone or the moronic advice. Not only are the tips all over the map, but they are just that--tips--with no help at all given to developing an overall philosophy or strategy. Loeb also completely ignores the emotional aspect of financial planning, leading to ridiculous advice like taking out a home equity loan to pay off credit card bills. Sure you can reduce your rate by doing that. But you're likely to run your cards up again. And now you've put your house at risk. Real smart move, Marshall.

I'm so grateful that I checked this book out of the library rather than spending good money on it. My advice: Almost any other basic personal finance book would serve you better than this one. A couple of good ones that deal with the emotional and the practical aspects of financial planning are Suze Orman's, Ruth Hayden's, and Jerrold Mundis'. Don't waste your time with this one.

The author suggests that you "look at this book as your . . . friendly, expert, immediately useful, personal trainer." Well, I agree that would be wonderful, and that's what financial advisors do. Like personal trainers, they start out by finding out all about you to diagnose where you need work, and then focus your attention on appropriate activities in those areas.

By contrast, this book focuses your attention in every possible direction, and probably overburdens you with detail in many areas where the benefits will be negligible for you.

Since the book does not focus you properly for your situation, you'll have to use the book differently than it is written to get full benefit from it. The advice is fine, just not organized to be the most helpful to you.

My suggestion is that you read the whole book first fairly quickly, making notes about how much financial benefit you think you will get from the more beneficial subjects, how much effort will be required to get that benefit, and your level of enthusiasm for pursuing that item.

Before going further, then think about other ways that you could increase your income. Add them to the list. The main content weakness in this book is that it emphasizes reducing risk with insurance, cutting costs and taxes, and increasing investment income. The book pays almost no attention to other ways to increase your income other than by adding a new skill and changing jobs.

Then count off about how many items look attractive to pursue, and pick the top 10 percent or so in value and attractiveness to you to start with. You will probably get 50 to 80 percent of the total benefit from Mr. Loeb's advice from these few items. Work on them first.

When you find that you have excess time to take on a new item, then add the next highest item for value and attractiveness.

At whatever point you've increased your income and cut your costs to be able to afford a fee-based financial planner to work with you, do so. Then in the process of working with that person, other high value opportunities will probably arise. The book advises you to do this also, but not until week 26. By then, most people will have stopped working on this enormously long list of things to check out, and you may never get around to getting that personalized advice.

Let me mention that Mr. Loeb is the former managing editor of Fortune and Money magazines, and did a terrific job at both places. He is very knowledgeable, thorough, and trustworthy. His advice is far more valuable for implementing what you need to do than many popular advisors like Ms. Orman.

He does not, however, pay any significant attention to the psychology of why people do the wrong things with their money. Most financial advisors tell me all their clients know what they "should" do, but don't do it anyway. I suggest that you also seek out books that consider that topic. "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" is a good basic book that most people can relate to. On cutting costs, reducing debt, and starting to invest, you will probably find "The Finance Doctor" easy to understand and apply.

My primary suggestion is that you take the goal-setting parts of this book the most seriously. But I would encourage you to expand that goal-setting to include all parts of your life. "Awaken the Giant Within" is a good resource for that purpose.

May you find peace of mind along with a fuller wallet . . . and the time to enjoy both!

This is a very comprehensive textbook of the subject. It deals with just about every aspect of the AIS realm. It is, however, a very dull book. There isn't much illustrating, no color, and absolutely no life beyond the black and white wasteland of its pages.

Everything you need is in here, but the book truly is boring as dirt. If you need it for a class, fine. But do not buy it if you just want something to read.

Loserama. Another selfish, cowardly baby-boomer writes a long, tedious attempt at justifying his cowardice. Historically inaccurate to boot. Loserama. Skip this turkey

I thouroughly enjoyed this book. I have read a great many of slams books and greatly enjoyed his writing style. I also am very familiar with the other people in the book Hackworth,Westmoreland,truscott,etc.thats why i was so interested in it but aside from that, it is a great story of an american family torn apart by Vietnam as many families were.Really enjoyed learning all the history of slam as well.