Richard Books

What's more fun than firefighters, trucks, lots of action, and absolutely anything produced by Richard Scarry?

The children in your circle will adore this fun book, that has absolutely everything to keep their attention through multiple, enjoyable reads!

You can't go wrong with this one!

First off, this is a Richard Scarry book, so your child is definitely going to love it. Plus it's about fire engines, so it's everything a busy little reader could want!

This book is wonderful for children. I think that all Richard Scarry books are great for children

This book is full of vehicles, real and imaginary, my son loves anything that goes! Mr. Frumble's many accidents always makes us both laugh. The action always makes him excited too. I'm not a good writer, all I can say is my son's first exclamation was from this book "oh dear". I've read it so many times now that he and I both have memorized it!

An entertaining account of Busytown's four firefighters. The firefighting pigs save the town from the dangers of fire (and in some cases from themselves). Filled with Scary's action-packed, humorous drawings. A very fun book.

Even for the excellent Parker series, this one is super great! The Parker character is cool and professional as always. This novel connects back to the heist in the novel Slayground, although you don't need to read it to appreciate this one. The spare, raw writing of this series was never better. It kept me up all night.

It took me 13 years to find this book and I can honestly say it was worth the wait. Those who have encountered Parker before do not need encouragement to read this, but for the first timer this book will open your mind to a totally different kind of hero, one you find yourself rooting for even though you find no common principles between you. Fairness, the ability to see an argument from another's view, willingness to compromise, to Parker these are foreign phrases. In this book a Mafia boss tries to make Parker understand that what he wants is simply not possible, indeed more than one person tries to make Parker see sense. But Parker is as unstoppable and inevitable as the juggernaut, if you attempt to interfere, at best, you can hope he'll ignore you, at worst, you'll make him mad. This book showed for the first time that Parker can get emotionally involved, which he had always resisted as it may have affected his judgement. The "new" side to Parker merely cemented his reputation as the toughest antihero in crime fiction. If you read this book you will read the rest of the series. In a lifetime of reading books this is the only series I continue to come back to. After writing this Stark could not "find the voice" for nearly twenty years. Thankfully this is not the last Parker, but if it had been I'm sure the author would have been justifiably proud to have ended on this high note.

When the mob holds his friend hostage, and they send him a finger , Parker goes after them with a fierce revenge. This is the best book of the parker series I have read to date.

What's common with most Parker novels (and let me say that this is the ONLY common thing about them), is the length, around 200 pages a pop. But for the 20th and final Parker adventure--until the aptly titled COMEBACK was published in 1995--Richard Stark has treated us with a fat 300 page epic called BUTCHER'S MOON. And what a treat it is! Parker, our favorite anti-hero, has once again teamed up with fellow professional thief, Grofield, to recover the stashed loot from a previous score. The loot is long gone, of course, and soon getting it back takes a back seat to getting revenge. Parker calls in all of his old friends--and I mean ALL of 'em, even retired thief Handy McKay jumps at the chance to join the party--because what Parker has planned is nothing short of a war, The Thieves vs. The Hoods, and when it's over an entire town will be cleaned out, a mob outfit will lay in ruins and Parker & Company will be stepping over the bodies.

I admit it: I love the Parker novels-- all of them (though the very new "Nobody Runs Forever" is distressingly focusless and my least favorite of the thirty-book series). "Butcher's Moon" is one of the best, though. It has everything we've come to expect from Richard Stark and his creation: terse, propulsive narration, utterly amoral behavior by our protagonist, unpredictable plotting, and brutal action.

The book is hard to find-- I have a copy in a box that I trip over every five years and read again, but I've never seen it in used bookstores in the last 20 years. When it pops up for sale, grab it. And in the meantime, read any and all of the other Starks/Parkers (and all the other Westlakes as well).

This book offers a great perspective on film acting. There are several chapters that address rather general info on acting, but what is really useful is dialectic in the middle. Written in play form, it goes over a newcomer's first day on the set and explains all the basics of shooting a scene, how to prepare, the names and jobs of everyone on a set, and set lingo. This book is extremely useful if you are planning on acting in film (whether it's a student film or the big leagues) and want to feel prepared for the experience. If you're a veteran or even have done several shoots, it probably won't be as useful to you, but it still provides a great, easy to understand breakdown. The repeated reference to set terms (i.e. craft services, 2nd AD, boom operator, director of photography) throughout the dialogue really drums in meaning instead of just being a glossary, though there is an extensive one in back in case you missed anything. This is a must read for newcomers to acting or filmmaking, for that matter.

I never really understood the film making process until I read this book. It is written with a real human spirit as he takes us through step-by-step. I felt as if I was on that shoot myself - nervous and anxious about everything that the character "Newcomer" was faced with and didn't understand. What a relief to have a book that finally explains all the terminology and gives specific advise on what to expect and how to meet the acting demands of working on a set. If you're in the Seattle area, you should check out his classes. He's a very gifted teacher as well.

Richard Brestoff discusses acting brilliantly and tells what we REALLY should know about acting in front of a camera and on a set/location for television/movie acting. This book was by far the most interesting, helpful, informative piece of literature about acting I've ever been so lucky to get my hands on! I only wish I could thank him personally.

Even as a non-actor, I found the comments and information in this book fascinating. It explains the duties of various film crew members, and details the steps involved in making a film. I'll never watch TV or movies the same again!

I have read all of Richard Brestoffs books. And taken many of his classes. By far, this was my preferred book that landed me a 3-day part on Melrose Place.

Dream your Dream, Buy this Book, and apply the techniques...

Thanks Richard! Matthew Lucas

This is a thourough urology review, meanwhile contains contraversial aspects in your front.

This is indeed the best urological textbook, or better to call it the bible of urology , I can not wait for the next edition

If you need to know urology, then you need this set of book. This edition is set up very well. The 4 books make it easier to look up info. It covers all the major topics in urology and is as up to date as any book can be.

This book is the most extensive single source of urologic information available. It covers all basic aspects of urology in a fairly complete manner. The main drawbacks are:
1)Reference authors quoted directly in text. This makes the book fairly diffcult to read in a fluid manner and adds extra length to the already lengthy text. Gillenwater is a much more readble text.
2)Some chapters need a better overall framework. The best example of this is the chapter on adrenal pathology which does not provide a very good thorough to the asymptomatic adrenal mass, by far the most common adrenal problem.
3)Often excessive discussion regarding all the studies for and against an issue. I feel that it would be better to state that an issue is unresolved and then list some appropriate ways of attacking the problem.
4)Certain chapters are written in the 1st person. The chapter on the technique of radical retropubic prostatectomy is a personal account and not a reference chapter. MAny innovations from other centers are missing making this chapter somewhat biased.

Overall an excellent and authoratative view or urology

Medicine is obviously a rapidly evolving field and most medical texts receive a periodic retooling. All revisions should be as thorough and meaningful as the Seventh edition of Campbell's. The text has been sucessfully expanded where appropriate and each section further honed. Figures are elegant, pertinent, and well rendered. The references are all encompassing and as current as one can expect in a volume such as this. If there are any hesitations about updating from the sixth edition (which was also a vast improvement from the fifth) I hope to assuage them, encourage the reader and congratulate the authors.

Alfred Durr, co-editor of the Neue Bach Ausgabe, shares his wealth of knowledge of this vastly varied and enormously rich repertoire in this large, expensive, but excellent book.

The first section of the book traces the development of the sacred cantata as a genre through 1750. Durr here defines important terms and places Bach's works in historical context.

The bulk of the text is a presentation of the cantatas in the order of the liturgical calendar. For each cantata Durr provides the text, its English translation, and the circumstances surrounding the piece's composition. He also offers analyses/descriptions which vary from half a page for some of the briefer, simpler works, to ten pages for works of particular depth (BWV 106 comes to mind).

This book is an invaluable resource to Bach scholars, singers, and conductors. Also consider Marvin Unger's book on Bach's Cantata Texts for an intertextual look at Bach as theologian.

BMN

...such as myself. Yes, yes, I know, it's bloomin' expensive for a paperback, but what a paperback! An essential companion to one of the greatest bodies of music ever written. Professor Dürr describes the cantatas in church year order, so first up is Advent cantata BWV61 "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" for the first Sunday in Advent. In addition to the church cantatas, you also get the secular cantatas and the Christmas Oratorio, not to mention detailed historical and musical descriptions. In short, a treasure trove of a book.

This is a dense and rewarding book for classical music fans as well as those interested in the German language. Worth the price.

Alfred Durr's The Cantatas of J.S. Bach is the "bible" for any conductor, artistic director, church musician or music performer and listener that is interested in performing or understanding Bach's canon. Hi give it my highest recomendation.

This is a very expensive, but wonderfully useful book. It gives the libretto to every single cantata plus information on the liturgical occasion for the cantata and a good, albeit brief discussion of the meaning of the piecel I quailed when I first bought it, because it is expensive. But it is my vade mecum. I use it constantly.

Great update on the information I had on how carbs are actually digested. The sample meals and recipes help to plan more interesting meals.

This book really hit home with me. I am now on the way to a new body after discovering I am a extreme carb addict. I think Amazon is a great web site for finding most anything.

Thanks,
Linda Adams

Low carb eating plans are not for everyone, but if you have had difficulty with other diets, including constant hunger and the feeling of deprivation or, falling off the no carb wagon too many times, then the advice in this book is worth every minute of your time.
If you want to stay on the low carb diet plan, it's important that you understand how it works with your body, what products are available to help you stay on course, & what to do when you hit a roadblock.
The authors have made low carb a lifestyle for themselves, their advice reflects their experiences.

Unless you are acquainted the Hellers previous books this one proves to be confusing. I find this book to be a waste of paper. I have read the majority of the Heller's books in the Carbohydrate Addict series and this is by far a waste of my reading time. The book needs more substance like that of The Carbohydrate Life Span. I hate it when diet book authors resort to crappy recipes and large print to cover the fact that they have nothing pertinent to say on the subject. I purchased this book with the anticipation that The 7-Day Low-Carb Recovery would offer more insight into the art of low carbing. Look away!! look away!!

As a fan of the Hellers' work, and just then experiencing a plateau in my weight loss progression, I was delighted to see this title. I found the ideas in it practical and workable, and they worked! My weight plateau is turning into a downslope again.

Although I like their recipes very much, I have one and a half caveats for these recipes as well as for those in their *No Cravings* cookbook: The recipes' prep times do not include time for the necessary dicing onions, mincing garlic, shredding cabbage, marinating, etc. but rather only the time needed once all that is done. Occasionally there are typos in the recipes also, but easy enough to figure out what the authors meant. I want to emphasize again that their recipes are just wonderfully tasty and filling, and that their system works for me.

Judge Posner examines the reasons for Cardozo's reputation and, more important, analyzes the rhetorical methods the judge used in creating some of the most renowned and cited decisions in American law. How and why he crafted the statement of the facts a certain way for one decision, a different way for another; how Cardozo used a lawyer's persuasive skills in reaching results he believed were warranted. Posner also examines the inconsistencies in Cardozo's thinking and opinion-writing. The book presents a portrait of a brilliant, prudent jurist and illuminates his professional shortcomings as well. May have little appeal for the non-lawyer, but for anyone interested in legal writing, the judicial process, and opinion-making, this is a terrific book.

If I recall his New Yorker profile accurately, Posner gets up at 4 a.m. every morning to maintain his extraordinary and excellent output as a public intellectual and judge of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. At 145 pages, this volume is perhaps Posner's shortest and--both because it is aimed at a general audience and resulted from a lecture series--one of his most readable. My sense, however, is that it would only appeal to those already steeped in the profession. Not even a law student would find instructive comparisons with Stone, Hand, Friendly, Prosser, or Schaeffer. For those in the profession, however, I recommend this book most highly. It is less valuable for its purported study in reputation than for its profound, if succinct, understanding of Cardozo the man and the insight it provides into the style and logic of some of his best known decisions, Palsgraf and MacPherson chief among them. Posner's original attempt at a quantitative understanding of reputation relies on Cardozo's relative frequency of citation in some Westlaw data bases over the years. It is pseudo-scientific, redolent of Posner's application of economics to an understanding of the law and, while interesting, not very meaningful. The book as a whole, however, is most gratifying.

This may be the classic book by Posner. Shorter than most his books--and less encyclopaedic--but also less maiandering. Cardozo: A Study in Reputation stays on track, while revealing a complex sensibility of jurisprudence by Posner and an astounding intuition by Cardozo. In this book we see two great legal minds at work: Cardozo's providing the interpretations that further social welfare and Posner's explaining why these interpretations are so desirable.

I 'd rate this book the one MUST READ book if you are thinking about law school. This is what law school is about: Struggling with how to promote social welfare by interpretation and rulemaking.

Judge Posner builds and presents a strong case in defense of Justice Cardozo's reputation as a leading American jurist. Apparently, sometime during the 1950s a revisionary movement emerged in American legal thought that eventually injured Benjamin N. Cardozo. His Hemmingwayesque opinions were criticized as pedestrian, and the logic behind his reasoning was attacked as paternalistic. Judge Posner's thesis (a top-notch dissertation) deflects the subjective defamation and focuses upon objective standards of judicial measurement. Employing the resources of an electronic legal database, he proves that the Cardozo opinions, particularly those written as a judge in NY's Ct. of Appeals, have been consistently cited with regularity. This original test demonstrates that Cardozo's influence on the common law is unrivaled by any jurist other than O W Holmes.

Attempting to create a new genre of social science, Judge Posner smoothly integrates the drives that formed Cardozo as a man with the strictures of the law that define a judge. Analysis of the opinions, along with the briefs of the arguments, show that he was a good judge because he was able to reach correct results even when the specific facts of cases seemed to predict a legal anamoly. That quality produced case law that remains hard to reconcile, and the result has been attacks on the decisions as inconsistent. Judge Posner recognizes those weaknesses, but rather than contorting his logic in reconciling them explains that a man's reputation is typically based on either his high points or his low ones. In Cardozo's case, his death after only six years on the US Supreme Court limited the high points to controversial cases, such as MacPherson and Hynes. Judge Posner speculates that had Cardozo, like Holmes, had a full career as a Supreme Court justice the subjective standard for measurement of his reputation would have shifted away from the decisions as a state judge.

Although those state court opinions continue to dominate Torts textbooks, Cardozo's critics have injured his reputation by suggesting that he was merely a flamboyant local judge. Judge Posner shows that their slurs have not reached the ears of leading jurists. However, the ordinary person is apt to adopt those reputationary revisions without actually reading Cardozo's opinions and relating them to the specific cases and the development of American common law. Thus, Judge Posner creates a bridge, somewhat like Justice Cardozo, between arcane legal studies and the conduct of the people that law governs.

I just started my law school teaching career by teaching Torts, and I was a bit baffled at Cardozo's fame. Judge Posner explains the extent to which Cardozo stood head and shoulders above other jurists in notoriety, speculates why this is so, shows why Cardozo's reputation as a Supreme Court justice is dimmer than his reputation as a state judge, and dissects Cardozo's opinions. I thought that his discussion of Cardozo's literary style was especially masterful, as was his explanation of Cardozo's advantages in obtaining a great reputation.

The only part of the book I found lacking was Posner's discussion of individual cases, which was a bit less exciting than the rest of the book. Before reading the book I was not convinced that the infarmous Palsgraf case deserved its notoriety-- and I still don't get the Palsgraf mystique that seems to entrance so many other law professors and lawyers.

Richard Rose is a complex human being who knows something that few people know. In this collection of short works (poems, essays and stories) he weaves an intriguing pattern of philosophy, conviction and experience that resonates within me. I was inspired by much of his poetry (e.g. "The Mirror" on p. 91 is particularly haunting and speaks of a profound experience of the Absolute), but the part of the book I found most interesting was part III, a more freehand set of writings on many different topics that really spoke to me. His collection of aphorisms at the end are penetrating to anyone paying attention. I find myself wondering more about this person and his life. Who is he? Why are these topics important to him? How does he know?

I recommend you check out this book, and let Richard Rose speak to you of what he knows.

This poet fathered me, yet I never have completely understood him. I respect his poetic genius, though oftentimes his works were bred from a very tormented place, trapped between Earth and Hell. Sadly, this brilliant man now resides in a nursing home. He suffers from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease. He will never know the impact he has had through these works penned by his hand.

This is spiritual poetry. The kind that you swear you can almost taste the spiritual revelation that inspired the author.

My review:

I've had to read books of poetry for class at school and it was painful at times, they were so bad.

Rose's poems are real. They are good. And his essays are like coming home to common sense.

I definitely recommend this book, especially to philosophic-minded people.

I had a Philistine's appreciation of poetry when I met Richard Rose more than twenty year ago. My mind preferred the logical side of life ("Nothing but the facts, Ma'am" Rose once quipped, quoting the detective on Dragnet, to tease me). I had always devoured books voraciously, preferring an eclectic mix of fiction, psychology, biography and, especially, autobiography -- perhaps trying to grasp a view of my own nature through the introvert's way of finding a mirror in his fellow man, that is indirectly, since people in the flesh are overwhelming to a true introvert. So, of all the books in the world, which one do you think I'd take with me if I were being exiled to a bookless Alba and could take just one book with me? You guessed it -- this small book containing mostly poetry. Why? Because Carillon rings my bell. Not the tinkly silver bells in my head but the big, brass gong. It rattles the drum in my solar plexus and vibrates my heart strings almost past the point of tolerance. Examples? I am the subject of "A Worm Beneath a Highway:" I was an earthworm yesterday, / And all my life I'd lived in clay / And did aspisre the light.... // I weep and laugh at the perception of life's time in "At Twenty-One:" ... Man knows not when he lives or if he lives. / There is no science nor an art that gives / A measurement of time. Man lives but one / Blind moment. I am old today, -- the sun / Reads only noon, yet still I know that dawn / Will come no more, -- it too is here. And drawn / To race in life's foul course I see the goal / Ahead, and all is present in my soul. // I pick up Love's message in "A Part of Thee:" Though you should seek me, or still never know / Me, I am with thee.... //

And there's more. For example, the prophecy of "The Book of Omen," the metaphorical progress of the seeker in "The Books of the Relative," the poetic summation of "The Way" in two pages of pure inspiration for the fortunate reader, and the perspective of the Absolute manifesting in the relative dimension described in "The Mirror." There's advice on honing the only tools we have to work with in the one-page "Intuition and Reason;" the arresting short story, based on a trip to Niagara Falls, told in "Tales of Love," maxims and aphorisms on The Nature of Man, The Great Compromise, Time, Doubt, Money and the Truth, Marriage, Trust, Discrimination, Commitment, Success, Detachment, and so much more. If you're looking for an antidote to life in "Flatland" and to the seemingly endless rationalization, procrastination and desire for distraction that plague our lives and keep us mired in tangential activity, this book will open your inner listening to the music of the spheres.

My son wore out two or three copies of this book, and I've given it as a baby gift a number of times. Now it's time to get a copy for my grandbaby-to-be! Was broken-hearted when it didn't appear to be in print. Please help parents out by bringing it back!

25 years ago my sons couldn't get enough of this book. I got so tired of reading it over and over. Skip to the next generation and one day my two granddaughters discovered it in a box of their dad's old favorites. They are 3 and 5 and just love it! Everytime they come over, the first thing they do is go dig it out for me to read. Honestly, I've taken to hiding it!

Like the previous review, our copy has been loved to death! It is unfortunate that this book appears to be out of print . . . I would love to get a brand new copy. Our boys have just worn our copy out. Would love to buy new copies to give as baby gifts for boys. Truth be told, I am so tired of reading this book again & again . . . but they adore it.

One of the best books ever! I had to actually put it away at times because my youngest wanted it read over and over....

I bought this book for my sons when they were little and they loved it page by page until (the book was worn out) I bought them a second copy. Since my children enjoyed the book so much I bought a copy of my grandsons. They are doing the same thing and in fact this is the second copy of I am getting for them. I am happy that they are interested in book. Two generations have now loved this bood to death. I consider this the best recomendation a book can recieve.

Everyone's keen to know the secrets of successful, fast-growing companies. In response, David S. Evans and Richard Schmalensee look at new ways to bring buyers and sellers together. Companies that act as catalysts combine opportunism, customer service and savvy pricing to create a profitable, flexible business model by assembling audiences, cutting costs or connecting other companies. The authors offer plenty of concrete examples of these strategic combinations - from Diners Club and American Express to Microsoft and Google. Perhaps the one weak point in their theory is that the borders between catalysts and noncatalysts are a bit fuzzy. (A supermarket isn't a catalyst, but a mall is.) We recommend this interesting, strategic analysis to managers seeking a thought-provoking look at how to create new, enticing and profitable links.

This book describes what it calls 'two-sided businesses', which to quote from the front jacket '... generate value by creating simultaneous and mutually beneficial relationships between the different groups of customers they serve'. The book opens with the example of Diners Club which creates value for the following two groups of customers:

1. Restaurants
2. Diners.

In this case, Diners Club allows diners to eat at many restaurants on credit without having to establish a credit relationship with each individual restaurant (assuming the restaurants are willing to offer them credit). The diners benefit from the credit they receive, and the restaurants benefit by getting more diners who spend more and by avoiding the hassle and expense of managing credit relationships with individual diners.

The book is easy to read (no jargon) and provides numerous and familiar examples. It may not astonish you with any earth-shattering insights (that's why I didn't give it five stars), but it will make you look at 'two-sided businesses' in a new way.

This book is a must-have if you are involved with or competing against 'two-sided businesses', and will probably be useful to anyone involved with business generally.

Catalyst Code provides a way of thinking for businesses that are double/multisided in nature. This book gives a framework for building, analyzing, understanding, governing and managing multisided businesses (i.e., businesses with two or more groups that need each other). Case studies from different industries are provided (e.g., eBay, Google, Credit cards, shopping malls, dating services, magazines, Craigslist, etc.), with each case shedding light on the various components of the framework.

Catalyst Code describes the hard work and constant calibration required to build and grow a catalyst. Entrepreneurs, executives, managers and investors can benefit from the insights this book brings into the forces and dynamics that shape successful catalysts.

I find the book particularly interesting for those of us who are in the process of building catalysts. It is readily applicable to the day-to-day challenges we face. The ability to capture such a complex topic in a simple, easy to read and easy to understand framework is invaluable.

Catalyst Code is an excellent reference for multi-sided, complex and volume based businesses.

Marwan Forzley

For the many who read Evans and Schmalensee's previous collaboration, Invisible Engines: How Software Platforms Drive Innovation and Transform Industries, Catalyst Code offers both some expected elements and some new angles. Like in Invisible Engines, Evans and Schmalensee continue to treat themes relating "multi-sided" or "platform" businesses. Multi-sided or platform companies -- relabeled "catalyst" companies in this book -- are those that build businesses based on complex intersections of interests among various constituencies of third parties (partners, suppliers, customers). However, in Catalyst Code, while Evans and Schmalensee continue to describe some platform companies that involve the selling of software, the main focus of the book expands beyond software platforms to the broader application of disruptive multi-sided business models in various market contexts.

Even though I really enjoyed the dedicated focus on software platforms in Invisible Engines, I think that Catalyst Code benefits from the shift in emphasis to the broader thinking involved in crafting, implementing and extending "catalyst" business strategies. In some ways, Catalyst Code is less descriptive and more prescriptive in tone than Invisible Engines; I think that it is also a more immediately practical work for those who might want to consider applying some "catalyst" strategies in their own businesses.

Still, in a strange way, I must say that Catalyst Code was, at least for me, a less satisfying book than Invisible Engines. And I think that this is a good thing. At the conclusion of Invisible Engines, I think that one is apt to get the feeling, "well said: case closed." It's a book with a carefully laid-out thesis and ample examples of software platform companies that fit the model hypothesis. Indeed, Invisible Engines feels like a comprehensive survey of a common, though perhaps not previously well-highlighted, business phenomenon within the software industry.

On the other hand, Catalyst Code left me strangely discomfited and full of the kind of questions that one wants to have after reading a good book on corporate strategy. Questions like: which present generation Internet-oriented companies are really better catalyst companies (i.e., Microsoft vs Google), and which might be in the future (MySpace vs Facebook, Yahoo vs Wikipedia, eBay vs a re-invigorated Apple)? And beyond these questions, one can't help but ponder others about how trust (brand), style (marketing), and the right choice of community participants (who is included or excluded) might ultimately impact the business success, reputation, or longevity of various catalyst players. Provocative stuff.

In an age when Microsoft is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to purchase a miniscule stake in Facebook, I think Catalyst Code serves as a great gloss to the nightly business news. Perhaps it is that immediate relevance that makes the book so thought provocative. I found it a fun read for a serious business book.

On a final note, Catalyst Code is a deceptively quick read (at least much quicker than Invisible Engines). I'm probably not the world's fastest reader, and I still managed to finish Catalyst Code over three or four good nights of reading. The prose is very crisp, something too often lacking in many other business books these days.

Companies like Google and eBay have business models that are touted as "revolutionary". But the same concepts allowed businesses like Diners Club and Sotheby's to change the business landscape many years ago. That "something" is explored in Catalyst Code: The Strategies Behind the World's Most Dynamic Companies by David S. Evans and Richard Schmalensee. Once I had the concept of a two-sided business explained to me, a lot of things started to click...

Contents:
What Is a Catalyst; Build a Catalyst Strategy; Identify the Catalyst Community; Establish a Pricing Structure; Focus on Profitability; Compete Strategically with Other Catalysts; Experiment and Evolve; Cracking the Catalyst Code; Additional Readings; Notes; Index; About the Authors

The catalyst spoken of in the book involves bringing together two groups of people who have complementary needs but no way to meet those needs without a common ground. For instance, Diners Club allowed customers to dine out now and pay later. Restaurants who took Diners Club knew they would attract cardholders and have a guarantee of payment. The trick was that Diners Club had to convince cardholders that there were enough outlets in which to use the card, while convincing outlets that there were enough customers to make it worth their time. The companies that can create and grow these catalysts stand to capture a large market following. A more modern example is eBay. They were the most successful at providing an electronic marketplace bringing together buyers and sellers without the confines of geography or quantity of product. By making the service free for buyers, eBay was able to attract potential customers for sellers. Sellers are willing to pay the transaction fees in order to get access to that buyer group. Evans and Schmalensee do an excellent job in examining this type of business model, and they open your eyes to a different way of looking at companies.

Once you understand the concept of two-sided businesses, it's tempting to start labeling *all* businesses as two-sided. For instance, stores are bringing together producers and customers. But there are market forces that come into play, and the authors do help you differentiate between traditional one-sided businesses and actual two-sided models. I also had a bit of trouble at first accepting software companies as two-sided businesses. But after some thought, I can see how a company like Microsoft would be a two-sided business with their Windows operating system. The platform provides a way for developers to build software that conforms to a agreed-upon standard, and for customers to buy software that will run on their computers. It also explains how a newer two-sided model (Linux) can threaten Microsoft and render their current advantage obsolete.

I enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it to anyone studying how businesses work. I'd also recommend it to anyone looking to replicate the success of stories like MySpace. You'll be able to avoid some common errors and increase your chances of succeeding.