This is one of the most baffling and exciting... novels?... I've ever read. Sources are provided to convince us this is an academic work, yet the events described are truly too bizarre to be readily believed. 'Lovecraft's Book' is either a little-known (and incredible), story from the author's life; the astounding background to 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth' ; an extraordinary practical joke; or the most intricately-woven conspiracy tale since 'The X-Files' . Either way, it makes incredulous yet marvellously compelling reading.
If we think about understanding e-commerce, we soon realise that we have to examine the intersections among technology, economics, and behaviour. While there is no shortage of texts on the enabling technology, it changes so rapidly that any available textbook is likely to be obsolete. Several texts have recently been published that focus on the economics of networks, so that gap seems to be filled. That leaves us with online behaviour, an important niche that this book explores in an interesting way.
Strengths? After a mercifully brief introduction to technology, the text alternates between a demand and supply perspective - Chapter 3 (Web strategy: attracting and retaining visitors) leads us to an examination of the use of web technology to support marketing (Chapter 4), promotion and purchasing (5), and distribution (6). Service quality and pricing are briefly addressed (Chapters 7 and 8), and the book ends with a snappy little review of postmodernism in the context of e-commerce.
Weaknesses? The text is not likely to interest the wirehead audience, even though they really would benefit the most from a change in perspective. The legal issues are left to others, an unfortunate omission from both the business and social science perspective. It is very suitable as the main text for an undergraduate e-commerce survey course, and as a supplementary text for courses in social science, business, Communications, and Law.
List price: $16.95 (that's 30% off!)
List price: $28.00 (that's 30% off!)
George Marlin -- best known as the Conservative alternative to Giuliani and Dinkins in 1993 -- presents a fascinating chronicle of the unexpected rise of the Conservative movement in one of the nation's most avowedly liberal states. In the process, he provides an engaging -- albeit uni-dimensional -- history of New York politics over the past 40 years.
Marlin's book -- in concert with other political works on the period -- will help future generations to understand Conservatives' formidable electoral clout in the second half of the 20th Century, even in formerly liberal, urban bastions in the Northeast. A standout work in this genre is Samuel G. Freeman's "The Inheritance," published about six years ago (though regrettably out of print the last time I checked).
I did downgrade Marlin's book by one notch because of a higher-than-acceptable quotient of typographical errors, especially disappointing for a Christian Brothers-educated scholar. (Full disclosure: Marlin and I share a college alma mater.)