Corporate-finance

I am a pretty serious Monopoly collector (over 300 games from 1935 on), and THOUGHT I knew the story fo America's favorite game (as told by the friendly folks at Parker Brothers). Then I read Ralph's book! Yow!

Greed! Fraud! Subterfuge! Revisionist History! It's all in here...

This book is not really about the game of Monopoly so much as Parker Brothers (and later on General Mills and Hasbro's) efforts to pull one over on the American public by creating their own false history and ownership of Monopoly, an American folk game.

Only recently has the PR machine of these huge companies turned around to acknowledge the truth behind the actual creation of Monopoly revealed in this book. It's been a long time coming and I suspect Ralph has something to do with it.

Not for collectors only, The Billion Dollar Monopoly (R) Swindle by Ralph Anspach is a book that anyone who has ever played (or even heard of) Monopoly should get.

Any fan of the Monopoly game or one of the many versions of the game available today will be intrigued by the origin of this fantastic game as told by Anspach through his investigations. The David vs. Goliath battle with the "Microsofts" of the Toy industry, the various owners of Parker Brothers through to Hasbro, Inc. (the current owners), shows how Monopoly is not just their game, but their mission statement and general business goal. Required reading for anyone who ever read The Monopoly Book or The Monopoly Companion.

This is a wonderful tale of Goliath from David's point of view -- you'll be amazed at what an American business will do to defend its false patent, and it would be downright unbelievable in fiction that a judge would do what a judge actually did -- but you have to believe it because it's there in the court records.

Written with self-effacing humor, this book is a fast and pleasurable read. Unfortunately there's quite a lot of misplaced punctuation (especially quotation marks) that distract from the flow -- but aside from that I find no flaws worth mentioning. Recommended to everyone who's ever played Monopoly (so you can find out what the game you've been playing is *really* about).

This book sucks,period.Too many typos and factual omissions,and the author doesnt seem to have much real knowledge of aviation in general.

Although mildly entertaining, this book suffers from poor writing, including many grammatical errors. Lynn has a habit of repeating himself in certain areas, then contradicting himself in other areas. My impression was that neither Lynn nor his editors actually read the finished product before publication.

The insight into the Boeing and Airbus management, and the characters that define their companies' histories, almost make this worth a read. This was tempered, however, with egregious factual errors that I was very disappointed with. The book seemed rushed- as if reporting the facts was less important than the idea of an industrial and geo-political war of two titans.

This work on Boeing (USA) and Airbus (Europe or what they call UE) competition is undeniably compelling. Unfortunately some faults about technical aspects make it a little bit incomplete. Anyway, once the book has caught the reader attention (forgiving the mistakes) it is hard to throw off its spell.

A precious facet is the historical reconstruction of political and economical process, describing the post war crises of aeronautical companies in Europe in the civil market. Emerging from the war, european countries were eager to start a new life. The aeronautical skill (grown during belligerent times) was put to work in leading program like the Comet, Caravelle, Trident, BAC 1-11, etc. . Unfortunately management and political control were so conservative that they were unable to drive the new technology evolution in full swing. So each european State basically never developed a sound industrial strategy (i.e. for shortsighted nationalistic interest). The nemesys of national designs and firms (as autonomous entities in the market) led to the pooling of energies called Airbus. This part of the book is quite organic and it is a clever description of cut-throat struggle with another arab phoenix like Boeing (the company emerging from internal US competition).

Many technical flaws appear from the narrative, two are important for the plot. First,Boeing 707 project was a masterpiece being the first design that made civil aeronautical "know-how" to grow fully (so far for DC-8 and Convair 880). Initially it was developed as a strategic tanker and, of course, research & development funding was available to boost the design during the cold war. Many advanced technologies were put to fruition from research centers (federal or private) and a "full steam ahead" was given to any study capable of making them affordable. Airbus never got the same opportunity. Second point, the airliners market is divided in segmets and even if new technologies are not enough cheap to change aicraft shapes, the quest for more efficient planes compels consolidated knowledge to mature completely. So 2engines Boeing 757 is the 727 replacement because they were designed to fulfill the same segment (according to lower unit cost per machine and equipment, in order to respect more restrictive regulations). To be more precise each segment is divided into specialized sectors; each manifacturer design a basic adaptable project for a segment, then engineers "customize" the plane for a particular requirements (just look at the Boeing 777, initially developed in "A" version, reveallingly dubbed "A" market, and in the "B" version or "B" market).

In the end lack of aviation expertise is quite limiting in this bold work, compromising a basically sound effort. Nevertheless this is an admirable attempt to reveal the insights of the most terrible struggle between two major corporate conglomerates in airliners industry.

I first read this book nearly two years ago as research for a novel I was writing. Recently, I turned to it once more to pick up a few terms and found myself reading chapter after chapter!

This non-fiction tale has enough twists and turns and drama to match any thriller on the market. An informative and engaging tale of a pharmaceutical start-up and the people involved. Joshua is interesting enough that the book could have been solely about him, but he isn't the only one. All of the players in this ego-driven mega-drama are interesting on many levels.

Who would I reccomend this book to? Anyone who likes a well-told story. A background in medicine is not needed, and neither is a knowledge of business practices. All you need to enjoy this book is a brain . . . and a night light because you'll be reading this book deep into the night.

Barry's Werth spent several years with the scientists and bio-venturers who formed Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The work paid off in an insightful and entertaining book. The Billion Dollar molecule is the holy grail of the researchers in today's pharmaceutical world, and this book shows how they go about attaining it. A remarkably easy book to read even if you don't know a protein from a Springsteen. The reader can find something valuable from all angles. Read it as a science book, a thriller, a business narrative, or a straight novel, you'll find delight here.

A thouroughly enjoyable read, Werth sheds light on the personaliteis and complexities of an amazing and multifaceted business. Throughout, the author uncovers the unseen deal-making, hand-wringing, and fist clenching that dominate the start of Vertex, a strucure-based paharmaceutical firm.

I particularly enjoyed the background on the Boger-Schreiber collaboration and rivalry, and the ensuing rivalry in Vertex's own labs. Further, following the last few years of Vertex's ups and downs via the Internet has been thoroughly enjoyable.

Werth's style is easliy read, and his obvious unhindered access to Vertex and its people make the story enjoyable, suspenseful, and dramatic.

This book is definitely not worth reading. The premise is misleading (it is hardly in-depth), writing is poor (I found numerous typographical errors), all views are strongly biased towards Gates, and none of the author's arguments are supported sufficiently.

If this book is called The Path to the Future, why does the author spend so much time talking about the past? The book contains boring histories that everyone already knows, plus a lot of filler and no actual insights. Don't waste your time.

This book is a great book. It is a condensed version of his life... Instead of reading too much into boring details you get the quick fast pace version in a great, easy to read novel. The author has obviously done great research of his subject. Do not listen to these other reviews which are obviously from people who hate Bill Gates. Below you will find my summary and analysis of this book:

Bill Gates is probably one of the smartest and most successful men of our time, maybe of all time. This book is the summary of Bill Gates' path to success and the history of how our society became dependant on computers and of course Microsoft. How did Bill Gates become the richest man ever know? What Challenges did he face? All is revealed about the man behind Microsoft, the company that changed how we live.

Bill Gates is a genius that is probably smarter than anyone you will ever know. Here is the story that will show you his inner workings. Interesting combinations of unique personality characteristics that this man has is what has made him the success he is and is explained to you in this story.

This book collects "gems" from dozens of executives, practically all in the venture capital or internet space. Each contributor talks about what they view is a key strategy or issue. The book comprises a little over 80 pages of easily read thoughts, some of them quite interesting. However, there is little cohesiveness to the collection of thoughts with adjacent sections jumping across diverse topics. Despite this shortcoming, I thought the booklet was worth the reasonable price.

When the United States Steel Corporation was formed in 1901 it was the world's largest industrial organization producing two-thirds of the steel used in building America's cities, and with a job roster of more than one million individuals over the course of the following century. Big Steel is the story of US Steel over ten decades and how, although it dominated the industry for decades, was still subject to market forces and unexpected handicaps. In Big Steel, author Kenneth Warren draws upon the USX archives to provide an informative, fascinating, highly commended "corporate biography" and along the way explores how labor relations affected company management and strategy, how and why US Steel gradually declined; and how drastic measures taken in the 1980s and 1990s lead to a reemergence of this quintessential American company into once again establishing itself as a leader in steel-making efficiency.

Wow! Too bad this book is out of stock. When I was in college, many of my colleagues read this. I wished I had before joining a Big Six firm. The book provides insight into the cultures, the mergers of Big Six firms, and the dynamics that goes on. A must read for those in Big Six, those considering working for the Big Six (now Big Five, I think) and those working with them.