Money Books

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Fiona MacLachlan(FM)has written an excellent summary and defense of Keynes's theory of liquidity preference contained in the General Theory(1936;GT).She clearly understands that it is the uncertainty(ambiguity) of the future course of events facing an individual investor that results in his decision to hold more(or less)liquid reserves in his portfolio (that earns little or no return) and not the risk of the future course of events.FM demonstrates that all of Keynes's critics inevitably return to a conceptualization that emphasizes risk(a known probability distribution with a particular and specific mean-variance(standard deviation))either explicitly or implicitly.FM argues convincingly that Tobin's classic exposition of"Liquidity Preference as Behavior toward Risk"is off the mark as far as being a representation of the generality of Keynes's theory of liquidity preference.It in fact is a special case of a much more general theory.Her book is very well written and deserves to be on the bookshelf of anypotential reader who has an interest in finding out what it was that Keynes was arguing in the GT.There are three areas where FM could have improved the technical exposition of Keynes's theory.She unfortunately(see pp.108-109) overlooks the clues in the Keynes-Townshend exchanges of 1937-1938 on the weight of the evidence variable,w,specified by Keynes mathematically in chapter 26 of the A Treatise on Probability(1921)as a measure of the completeness of the evidence upon which a decision maker will attempt to calculate probabilities that will be more or less reliable depending on the value of w.If w =1 and probability preferences are linear, so that there are no nonadditive probabilities(subadditive and/or superadditive),the theory of liquidity preference then simplifies to the analysis of Tobin and others.As w drops farther and farther from 1,the demand for liquidity will become larger and larger as the liquidity schedule shifts to the right,while the shift will reverse itself as w approaches 1.When w=1,the liquidity preference schedule will be a stable downward sloping function of the rate of interest alone.This refutes the claims of Kahn and Shackle who claimed that Keynes made a major error when he specified a clear functional relationship between the demand for money and the rate of interest that had no connection with thrift or productivity.This demonstrates that Kahn and Shackle had absolutely no understanding of the logical,epistemological,philosophical,mathematical or economic foundations of Keynes's theory of liquidity preference during their lifetimes.An alternative foundation for the theory of liquidity preference can also be based on the ambiguity analysis of Ellsberg and his rho variable,which measures the degree of confidence a decision maker has in his data,information,and knowledge.If rho =1,then you obtain results a la Tobin.If rho is less than 1,then you obtain all the results obtained when w<1.This means that Keynes's w and Ellsberg's rho are one to one onto and isomorphic to each other.w can be automatically substituted into Ellsberg's decision theoretic model to obtain results that are identical when you reverse course and substitute rho into Keynes's decision criteria, c,his conventional coefficient of weight and risk.As w or rho approach 0,as happened in post WWI Germany,the demand for liquidity approaches infinity.Secondly, she overlooks the fact that the uncertainty of the GT is an inverse function of w.Finally,she overlooks the fact that Keynes specifically stated ,in additional analysis on p.240 of the GT in chapter 17,a chapter which FM correctly emphasizes,that one must take both risk AND UNCERTAINTY/IGNORANCE into account by discounting marginal efficiency of capital return projections ,not only for time preference(chapter 11 of the GT)but including discounts for risk,uncertainty,and ignorance.

Author's presentation is lucid and scholarly. Looks at both Austrian, Keynes, and post-Keynesian literature including Davidson. Much discussion of interest rate as inter-temporal allocator of savings. An outstanding work.

This is a book about Keynes' theory of interest. Keynes made a remarkable contribution to economics by arguing that interest can be explained by the uncertainty of the future. Very broadly, Maclachlan argues that liquidity is desired because it provides one with a wide range of options in an uncertain world. The author also identifies two motives as being responsible for the preference for liquidity: the precautionary and the speculative motive. The precautionary motive enables one to cope with unforseen and suddent emergencies, while the speculative motive provides one with the means to "grasp" profitable opportunties when they arise or are discovered. The possession of wealth with little liquidity makes it difficult for individuals to exploit either motive successfully. From this it follows that a premium must be paid to those willing to surrender liquidity. Maclachlan discusses several reasons for this at great length. For example, individuals have a strong desire to be more rather than less certain about the purchasing power of their assets; there are transactions (and search) costs involved in exchange; and so on.

Maclachlan next tackles several objections and criticisms that have been made against Keynes' liquidity preference theory of interest. Most common is probably the bootstraps argument which says that it is circular to use the existing interest rate as a standard by which to measure the degree of preference for liquidity which in turn determines the interest rate. Maclachlan separates general from particular liquidity preference and concludes that a general preference for liquidity avoids the infamous "bootstrap argument."

The most important chapter, however, is the one on "intertemporal coordination." There she argues that savings and investment do not in any way coordinate interest rates because of the existence of easy credit policies. For example, it would seem that in an economy in which banks are able to create credit, the distinction between savings and investment becomes seriously distorted. In fact, one who decides to save all of his income will have no appreciable affect on the supply for lonable funds because that supply would be the same if he had chosen to spend all of it. He either deposits all of his income at which point the bank loans it all out (minus reserves), or he spends it all at some department store, at which point that department store deposits it and then their bank loans it all out (minus reserves). One's decision to save will not at all be different from one's decision to spend.

Nearly all economists rely on the market for loanable funds --- in fact, I do not see how the several popular business cycle theories (in particular the Austrian Business Cycle theory) could work without this model. But we must recognize the limitations of this model. Austrians concerned with market processes should immediately note the impossibility of a perfectly equilibrated market in loanable funds. Additionally, the existence of bank credit makes the distinction between savings and investment meaningless which, as a consequence, casts considerable doubt on the usefulness of the market for lonable funds model.

Now economists will respond to this argument by suggesting that firms do not typically hold "balances of bank liabilities at the same rate" as households do. Firms usually, as Fiona Maclachlan explains, enter "directly into the bond market" rather than deposit all of their money in a bank account. In this situation, then perhaps the argument could be made that they are "introducing a new supply of lonable funds". However, Machlachlan, using the liquidity preference theory of interest argues that:

"a great deal of the activity in the bond market has nothing to do with new saving and new investment. The marginal bond seller may not be a firm trying to raise new funds but rather a wealth-holder who wants to sell bonds so that he can invest in something else. Similarly, the marginal buyer may not be someone who has done any new saving but rather a wealth-holder who is cashing in another investment to buy the bond. The price of bonds is determined on the margin but this marginal trade does not appear in the lonable funds diagram" (page 144).

What I take away from this argument is that speculation will in all circumstances act to distort the real forces of savings and investment. Moreover, these speculative acts play a far greater role in determining the interest rate than do acts of saving and investment, whether it be conducted on a micro- or "aggregate level". This also gets back to Maclachlan's earlier chapter in stocks and flows. The debate on stocks vs. flows shows that exchange of existing assets plays a greater role than the production of new assets. So, new savings and borrowing is unimportant when compared to the activity that occurs between existing asset holders (the effects of the latter often overwhelm the effects of the former).

Maclachlan also explicitly attacks Hayek's Ricardo effect, a concept which plays a very important role in his Business Cycle theory. Basically, Maclachlan argues that while increases in consumer demand will lead typically to a fall in investment, decreases in consumer demand will NOT lead to an increase in investment.

This book is full of wonderful ideas for kids to make money. Kids have qualities just like we all do, why not have them make some money too? I highly recommend this book to all of you out there.

Ideas from walking dogs, to cleaning the house, to doing yard work!

I really loved this book. I thought it was awsome and I could make money even though I am only 12.

This book is not only great for kids, but also for the whole family, it's full of wonderful ideas and great advice, the chapter on "Financing your own business" was excellent.

I really think this is a great book. I have used it in many ways. I did not know that just because I am 12 I can't make some money. Thanks, Amy

Whether you are a left brained or a right brained, understanding the big picture in finances is a key to achieve big wealth. I am sort of a visual learner. I don't particularly like reading thick books with detailed info. It reminds me of those bookworms & CPAs with thick glasses :) I was always scared of accounting & finances until I found this book which makes all the boring financial stuff extremely interesting & easy!! I highly recommend this book.

From the first page to the last, this book not only offers to-the-point lucid descriptions but performs that task in an entertaining way.

This is the best book on personal finance I have ever seen. The books cuts out all the boring financial stuff and you are left with the 'gems' of what you really need to know to manage your money. It starts with the "big picture" and explains in terms everyone can understand. Highly reccomended for a graduation gift for high school or college or as a wedding gift. Wish I had known all this when I was younger. Even simplifies taxes. No household should be without it

This book explains complicated financial information in an easy-to-understand format. I use this book for my tax clients to help them understand issues involved with obtaining a mortgage, understanding mutual funds and investing, and how to save money for retirement. Even if you shy away from financial issues because they are boring, you'll love this book. It gives you the same information a long boring book gives you in simple, easy-to-understand examples you will relate to. You don't even have to read the entire book. It's like a finanical library, pick out the topic that interests you and read it to learn what you need to know in just a few minutes. I love the part on insurance, explains all the things no one ever taught me. The part on investing cleared up questions I've wondered about. My clients love it. If you are in business, it makes a nice thank you gift for clients. They are really impressed with the book.

LESS THAN A SHADOW is a carefully made story of the present day Middle East and the city of Istanbul. What seems to be a simple murder mystery that must be solved by Jason Ender, a State Department investigator, becomes the shadowy trail that leads to the Mafia and beyond. The death of one American reporter spreads like oil in water, coloring all the things it touches. In the end, only Ender stands between complete chaos and all the things he loves.

Less Than A Shadow is a suspenseful murder mystery by David Chacko. It begins with the murder of a prominent journalist in Istanbul and escalates into a drama involving the Turkish Mafia, a lethal hidden secret, and a terrible threat about to change the Middle East forever at a terrible blood price. An exciting novel that combines action with a labyrinth of motives and deadly perpetrators, Less Than A Shadow is very highly recommended reading for mystery/suspense enthusiasts and documents David Chacko as a gifted author who pays particular attention to background detail and character development making both his stories and his characters come alive in the "mind's eye" imagination of the reader.

LESS THAN A SHADOW is a great adventure that is well-written too. If you don't think that espionage is back, you'll find out when this one lures you into a dark world and takes you by the throat. The streets of Istanbul--the byways of a dead reporter's beat--are the ways that will lead you to know the people and places of a fascinating land.

LESS THAN A SHADOW

by David Chacko

When a high-living journalist, Al Rydell, turns up dead in Turkey, Jason Ender is dispatched by the American State Dept. to investigate the murder. Ender learns that Rydell had travelled to Turkey to interview a mullah for his book. But when Ender searches Rydell's apartment, the manuscript is gone. Ender then begins a dangerous escapade of investigation by pulling a string in a Turkish tapestry of drugs, terrorists, and political intrigue.

Ender follows his leads from the list of informants, thugs and suspicious characters that made up Rydell's nefarious associations - and the other kind, including Rydell's beautiful, high-paid companion. His equally beautiful artist-sister, Veronica, becomes Ender's lover and partner in solving Al's murder as they travel a maze of misdirection and mayhem. At the end of the trail, Ender fingers Rydell's murderer. Should he turn the killer over to authorities or is there another means of poetic justice?

LESS THAN A SHADOW is a classic, yet contemporary whodunit with a narrative so tight that it squeaks, dialogue so realistic you'll look around you to see who said what you just read, and a story line that will engage you from beginning to end. ***

Being in debt is a lonely place to be, and I finally found a simple step forward to a permanent solution, this book. There is a short one small page topic for each day. This keeps me in the solution of becoming financially solvent, each day. The topics are simple and reaffirming, along with suggestions that most people perhaps do without thinking, but for those that have gotten into debt, the topics are the ladder out of our problem. Previously I bought "How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt & Live Prosperously" by Jerrold Mundis but this did not change my spending behavior even though I read it cover to cover.

This book has become part of my morning ritual. I read the meditation for the day each morning. It helps me to quit debting one day at a time. I've made some real strides in my debting behavior and this book helps keep me on track. A must read for anyone struggling with debt. It'll make you feel better and give you the strength and hope to make it one more day without debting.

The road out of the land of debt can be a lonely one. You feel shame and guilt over your debts, not to mention fear and anxiety.
And you feel alone with your "secret." How can you hope to find your way out of this desolate place?

This pocket-sized daily guide can help. Karen Casanova's book contains dated, daily meditations which also offer practical suggestions for reducing your debt and your stress.

This one is not a complicated "money-management" book. Rather, it is a combination of spiritual/self-help manual that you can carry with you for daily shots of inspiration.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by debt, it seems to me that this book will be helpful to you.

Reviewer: Linda Painchaud

Daily meditations for those who swim through a stormy sea of debt encircled by sharks. The stress of debt is as fierce as any other addiction, affecting us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and even causing other addictive behaviors, all of which affects our relationships. In fact, we get so stressed about our debt that, for relief, we spend more. Debt is acquired a day at a time. Likewise, debt reduction and financial solvency are accomplished and maintained a day at a time. These meditations are a welcome adjunct to financial recovery programs or books.

This book presents an interesting concept, namely, living your life backwards. The author proposes that we begin with the end in mind. Where do you want to be at near the end of your life? With this ultimate goal in mind, you can work backwards and set your goals accordingly. The book outlines how to develop a life plan and work toward achieving your goal. Although there is some good information in this book, the primary focus seems to be on money and financial goals. This is an important topic, but not the primary focus in finding complete balance.

Deeply personal and very moving account. The author gives us a glimpse inside the heart and mind of a man who values life, love and family above everything else. This book provides the financial keys to help us prioritize and control spending and debt. The end result is a life where the really important things come first.

I found the book insightful, easy to read, built on solid financial principles and filled with godly wisdom. I highly recommend it.

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This is an informative and inspirational book, providing a comprehensive but easy-to-understand strategy for anyone to achieve success in life. I plan to use this book as a tool in our youth outreach program.

I really found this book to be both inspirational and instructional. More than just a great read about a high achieving entrepreneur, the author offers specific strategies that anyone can use to help achieve YOUR goals. I also liked the real life examples of individuals balancing family life, economic achievement and personal growth/development. I suggest anyone use this book to help transform your thinking about yourself and your true potential to achieve your goals.

Michele knows how to warm the heart and lift the soul. She's a master of relevancy and practicality, while being an inspiration. Her essays always make me reflect on my life and how I can live the life I really want. She's a gifted writer and coach.

Ever read something and find yourself (wine glass in hand), shouting YES, THAT IS EXACTLY IT! That's the experience I had when reading Michele Woodward's essays about the dilemmas we all face, the excuses we all hide behind, and the ways in which we try not to look at them until we have to. Luckily, if we're reading the book, we're also attempting to do something that works a bit better. The genius of these essays is that they sneakily apply effective coaching principles in a way that makes you feel like you've just heard the answer from a close girlfriend over dinner.

So you pick up this book because there is something you want to change or something that you want to make better or something that you want to do and you just don't seem to get it done. And you would prefer a quick fix. Or at least an easy one, right? Well, NOT. MTW isn't going to offer you the easy way out. She's going to ask you take a good hard look at yourself. But she'll also help you laugh at what you see and then figure out a way to get yourself moving. There aren't a lot of complicated answers here, but some realistic straight talk about this thing we call living. Remember this is a woman who once said she aspired to write a book called "Thin Thighs in This Life Time." . This one is even better.

I really loved reading Michele Woodward's new book. Her essays give wonderful and humorous prespective about what is really important in today's world. Written with lots of common sense each essay made me think and reflect about my own life. Not tiresome or preachy which some of this genre can be. The Way of Transition essay especially hit home, saying that is always a new beginning after a dark period in one's life. Just a delightful book!

Mix the warm folksy regionalism of Garrison Keillor with the blue collar sensibility of Jeff Foxworthy and the gleefull yet satirical crudeness of George Carlin along with the linguistic dexterity of Bill Bryson, add a touch of sheer juvenile head banger mentality and ex-jock machismo and chase it all down with several pitchers of cheap beer and you have Mike Magnuson's uniquely voiced memoir.

Depicting Mag's slow evolution from long-haired college drop-out ne'er do well to college graduate back to factory worker (Mr. Magnuson is currently a college professor), LUMMOX fills itself with painfully honest self-deprication, nimble attacks on pseudo-intellectualism and brilliant character studies. This is not a book for the politically correct or over-sensitive as it pulls no punches. Inviting equal parts laughter, tears and painfull introspection (there is far too much reader identification here), Magnuson captures a specific region (in this case the often frozen tundra of Wisconsin) and its inhabitants in a personal and captivating way.

A great find and well worth the time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and didn't want to put it down until it was finished. The book consists of a series of memorable episodes from the author's young adult life in Wisconsin. The author describes with considerable humor and painful honesty the life of an "average" man... although his exceptional intelligence gives away the fact that his is not your typical 80's-era slacker. I certainly knew some midwestern guys who were similar in their younger days to the title character, and the author has definitely nailed his descriptions and characterizations of the time and places. Personally, I would have liked to see a little bit more evidence of the main character's heart, but then again, this is a book about a "Lummox". I would recommend this book to anyone, male or female, who is looking for an easy-going, laugh-out-loud book.

Mike Magnuson's autobiography is an insightful read, not because Magnuson is some extraordinary figure, but because he is just like the rest of us; simply an ordinary guy trying to stumble his way through life, women and beer.

Lummox recounts Magnuson's various life lessons with an honest and forthcoming tone. Certainly funny, the book is also peppered with solemn moments as Magnuson takes his knocks and rolls with them.

It's defiantly a guy's book - in the same way that Chuck Palahniuk's books are... written with an unapologetic, realistic and sometimes sexist tone.

I highly recommend this book to any guys out there who are looking for realistic and intelligent male-centric literature.

I just got done reading the paperback version of this book and it's a hoot. Highly recommended. In short, it's a hilarious (and often melancholy) autobiography about the author who's a classic underachiever, drifting through life by drinking, (trying) to get laid and playing the drums. When that doesn't work out, he goes back to college and gets an english lit. degree. In the end, Magnuson finally finds his place in the world through self-acceptance and love. It's also a very pointed critique of those (your basic "politically correct" types) who engage in the very same stereotyping (this time - of the male lummox) that the lummox is so often accused of doing. Like Jim Goad's "Redneck Manifesto," the moral of the story may well be that stereotyping is inaccurate, and therefore dangerous, whether it comes from the left or the right.

And if that doesn't pique your interest in reading this book, then read it because, to use Magnuson's words, it "kicks bum!"

I would like to know if that book is going to be translate in french. Thank you.

This book is still remarkably very actual. It is a follow-up on Susan Strange's previous book `Casino Capitalism', which analyzed the financial situation in the 1970s and 1980s.

no international legislation
Susan Strange remarks astutely that there is still no international legislation to fight (and certainly not to solve) an eventual global financial crisis. More, she makes of the international bureaucracies (IMF, BIS, BIRD, OECD) cynically (not as profoundly as J. Stiglitz) a laughing stock.
Prophetically, she observes an explosion of the derivatives market, because banks have to take more and more risks to stay profitable.
For sure, the world needs sound international authorities. The nation States cannot `manage mad international money, yet its leaders are instinctively reluctant to entrust that job to unelected, unaccountable (and often arrogant and myopic) bureaucrats.'
Ultimately, the choice between Keynesianism and monetarism is a political one: `more equity and stability or maximization of wealth creation, quantity or quality of economic growth.'

Aid, drugs, tax havens
Aid for developing countries has minimal or no effect. As an example she cites Bangladesh: `after years of generous foreign grants the economic situation was worse than before. The political and social consequences had been highly corrupting.'
She pleaded for the legalization of drugs, but didn't understand that secret services use drugs money to finance illegal activities (Peter Dale Scott, Gary Webb).
Tax havens are not attacked, notwithstanding the fact that their only goal is `to minimize liability for corporate taxation and their use by heads of State to rob their own people.'

Crime pays
`Robber barons, pirates, thieves and confidence tricksters all ended up wanting to become pillars of society. They married their sons and daughters in the aristocracy. Three generations on and no one knew or cared about how they had got there.'

Susan Strange's book should have been a must read for all economists all over the world.
It is still essential literature for all those wanting to understand the world we live in.

Please me know if this book will be tranlsated into Korean, in a few year

The global economy, especially those aspects dealing with global finance, often appear to be intimidating in their complexity. Susan Strange decodes processes of finance and monetary policy and puts them in terms that just about anyone can understand. There is, in fact, nothing that complex about these processes at all. The metaphor of "casino capitalism" still holds...and they are playing with your money. One would do well to read this in combination with a book by George Soros. Comprehensive, but readable. A great book.

Pam White has an uncanny way of presenting her material that makes it fun, understandable, and approachable. I retired from a 25-year career in high tech and used Pam's book as a guide to launch a new career as a food writer. The book helped me think of markets, guided me in writing, and has led me to several freelance writing opportunities. If you want to be a food writer, there isn't any better way to get started!

Make Money as a Food Writer in Six Lessons
Within hours of recieving this book I had a link that has given me a regular column in a food magazine. What more could I ask for such a relatively small outlay? My first paycheck is on its way. Margaret Watson

Aside from possessing the above-mentioned qualities, this book is also incredibly encouraging and positive, while simultaneously maintaining a practical, realistic approach. I really enjoyed the writer's commitment to providing me with websites, exercises, things to watch out for and encouragement. The writing is very clear and concise, well-researched and exciting - yes, exciting! It has a motivational quality that makes me want to get out there and do it! I highly recommend this book to anyone even remotely considering writing about food!

As a long time reader of Food Writing, the ezine, (published by the book's author) I wanted to have this self-study course to help me on my way. There are six lessons, each with a different focus, and assignments that require some serious work. I am now a professional writer thanks to the lessons in this book. The book provides a road map to writing articles and reviews that sell. Besides the six lessons there is a load of information that all writers need. A bonus: several pages of magazines to sell my food writing to. Highly recommend.