Sachs Books

I regarded the book as a story about risk, and how it evolved over time. I wonder how GS founders would view the AIG meltdown.

I really wasn't sure what to expect from this book judging by the sub title of this book; "The Culture of Success." I sort of went in expecting something about how Goldman Sachs' culture was superior to others in a very detailed manner. That's really not what this book was; this was basically a pretty broad overview of the Goldman Sachs history. In retrospect I think I preferred it to be the firm's history than what I had initially thought it was would be. It does discuss how important culture was to the firms development though, so that was in the book, but it was more of a historical perspective overall.

The author takes you back to the beginning on how the firm began by running promissory notes in the late 1800's in New York. I thought this was fascinating since I knew next to nothing about the firm before delving into this book. Maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much, it was a wealth of new information for me. I thought Lisa Endlich did an excellent job in bringing the reader through the history. She brought us through the firm's humble beginnings all the way to the firms IPO in the late 90's when it was considered one of the most dominant power houses in the financial world.

One of the parts that I found to be the most interesting was some of the family history concerning the Goldman's and the Sachs' during the great depression and moving into World War II. The Goldman in one of the top positions at that time was extremely proud of being a German Jew and longed to retire back to Germany. Unfortunately history would not make this a pleasant situation since shortly after he returned to Germany Adolf Hitler was named Der Fuhrer. I couldn't help but feel bad for the man since, from what Lisa reports, he embodied a lot of elements that Hitler would respect in a person. Pride for ones homeland being the primary factor for what is important to Hitler. This is made very clear to anyone who sits down and actually reads "Mein Kampf." Goldman had to return to the U.S. quite disillusioned with everything.

For those interested in the history of markets the book also covers the time frame when the American firms tried to enter into the European market and all the difficulty that came from that. In the 1980's there were multiple scandals with traders, some of which hit home to the firm. She brings us through all the agonizing hardships and gives a pretty interesting inside look into the leaders at the time. It was interesting to note that Goldman Sachs was usually one of the last firms to make any move it deemed risky, but would let other firms go in and make mistakes. However, this kind of an attitude would have to change over time as the markets became even more competitive. The book finally closes with the discussions about Goldman Sachs issuing its first IPO (Initial Public Offering). This was a huge thing for a firm that had lasted as long as just a partnership. You get an inside look into the board meetings and what was going through the partners' heads during this major event in the company's life.

There isn't as much focus on the technical financial workings of Goldman Sachs, a few figures are quoted here and there. I did find some of the history here interesting, especially about the creation of Block Trading and Hedge Funds. These are things that are used throughout the market place today. However, if you're looking for some deeper financial workings on Goldman Sachs this isn't the book you want to pick up.

I thought this was a great read by the time I finished. I found it incredibly fascinating to see this firm develop throughout the years and didn't realize the immense impact it had on the market place. Some of the language use is great because it tells some of the more humorous parts, such as in the 1980's how investment bankers/traders were the most hated people in the country, lower than lawyers! I thought some of these little anecdotes were brilliant to include because it gave a slightly lighter mood to a read that could have been overly dry. I'll admit that this isn't a book that most lay readers will pick up, only those of us who are in the economics, business or investment fields. Sure some lay people may enjoy it, but I can't ignore the fact it's for a fairly specialized audience. I definitely recommend this if you're interested in reading a broad overview of the firm and its history since its inception.

We all know last year profits at Goldman Sachs and the Big fat bonuses expected for its employees to receive. What is it that these guys do to obtain such level of profits?, well that was the reason to read this book. I never thought this book would be that interesting, the whole history of the Goldman and the Sachs, both jewish immigrants families, and the following consolidation of the firm along the years, its ups and downs, make this book an easy reading.

The idea for me was also to understand a little about investment banking and other concepts such as equity trading, long term capital management and others. To tell you the truth, I need further reading but the spark is there and I want to learn more of this subject. I cannot finish this review by saying that also in this book you learn some of the aspects of running this big firm and few lessons of experience by some of the best in this field like Sidney Weinberg and Robert Rubin, both pillars of a company that now may be called a culture of success.

This is the firm that learns. From its origins as a two person broker of IOUs in 1862 to its position today as the world's dominant player in trading, risk management and arbitrage, Goldman Sachs has managed the unthinkable in the world of finance: attaining mind-bending levels of profit growth over a century and a half while maintaining a mythical mystique based on a corporate culture of integrity, intelligence, and humility. It's an improbable feat at best. But after all probability is Goldman's business--measuring it, defying it, and reading into it things that others can't.

So what is the secret? How is it that one firm can attract the most brilliant minds in finance, force them into a quasi-military commitment of time and mental energy, and organize that brainpower into a unified profit machine? Many have conjectured, more have envied, but noone on the outside can provide any more than idle opinion.

Luckily for the readers of "Goldman Sachs: A Culture of Excellence", they have in author Lisa Endlich a docent of matchless qualifications. A former VP in foreign exchange at the firm, she provides an insider's view that's not a tell all. She's writes well, in a style that honors the Goldman ethos--thorough, absorbing, and critical in the academic sense. While examining the birth and development of each of Goldman's divisions starting with commercial paper, she offers up a rich education in the operations of i-banking and trading for anyone inclined to read in detail.

And for the rest of us, there's still plenty. Endlich starts from the premise that Goldman Sachs is all about its people, and she stays consistent throughout. From its inception as a family firm run by Marcus Goldman and his son-in-law Sam Sachs, through its early years as banker to the robber barons, the long reign of the Weinberg family, its reinvention as a trading power and the tenure of master trader Gus Levy and Uber banker John Whitehead, and on into the nineties and the ascendancy of Rubin, Friedman, Paulson, Corzine, and Blankfein, Endlich provides nuanced and sympathetic portraits of brilliant, complex men whose leadership skills are surpassed only by an ability to place personal ego second to the needs of the team.

And that, Endlich suggests, is the big secret. That's what makes Goldman so exclusive. The firm absorbs those with superior intelligence who subsume personal need to propel the greater glory of the collective. It's a major irony in one of the prime movers of capitalistic society, but its borne out empirically by the story Endlich tells.

Throughout its history Goldman has demonstrated time and again an insatiable institutional desire to win, and to accomplish that by embracing change. Goldman created the commercial paper market, and went on to become a pioneer in investment banking, risk arbitrage, and trading. All along Goldman, the whole organism, developed an intuitive feel for risk and a collaborative approach to deal making that helped it emerge on top time and again. And since its decision to go public, the action that Endlich builds her book around, its business model has only refined and improved.

There may be those in the know who believe that the ascendancy of hedge funds and the powerful private equity barons has rendered Goldman's model obsolete. There are others who take issue with aspects of the firm's trading philosophy. Only time will tell whether the naysayers views on the subject have merit. But Goldman has left armies of detractors in the dust for decades now. Bet against it at your own peril.

Any financial news reader is aware of the almost mythical status that surrounds this company, not to mention the money its employees can earn in a good year. And for Goldman Sachs every year is a good year. Well, almost... The company had a few bad years that almost wiped out the company. The book is a good account of the rise of this company from its birth as a small private enterprise until it became a large public investment bank.

Lisa Endlich is an ex-employee of Goldman Sachs, as a foreign exchange trader to be more precise. Lisa talks in positive terms about Goldman Sachs, almost humanising it. You could almost believe you are reading the story of a successful athlete that manages to become a champion after many, many defeats and difficulties.

Lisa went to great length to do a thorough research and combine stories about people and companies that contributed to the history of making of Goldman Sachs. The book starts with the story of a German Jewish emigrant that arrived in US in 1848, raised five children and had the courage 21 years later to open a brokerage business (called Marcus Goldman & Co. Several other personalities influenced strongly the evolution of this company. The leaders have legend status and they are almost like heads of state for Goldman Sachs. You will learn about founding families of Goldman and Sachs, then the extraordinary Weinberg dynasty, Stephen Friedman, Robert Rubin, Jon Corzine and finally Hank Paulson.

The author takes you in and out of the company, so you get to know the inside stories while other macro events occur outside the company. The reading has an almost intimate atmosphere and it makes you feel an insider (to a certain degree). The story telling is great, though some times I found a little bit frustrating the lack of detail in their chronology. I wish I had more facts about historical context. I also found that the stories and the presentation of the events where predominantly about the trading side of the business. From the history point of view, the investment banking business is much more telling than trading, and this part is rather missing or less represented in the book.

You also get a glimpse of the history of competition with other companies, the rise of globalisation and liberalisation of trade in Europe. Sadly, the story of China is missing (this is where Hank Paulson brought a major contribution) because when the book was written, China was not making the headlines.

The reading is enjoyable and instructive. If you want to understand Goldman Sachs and the making of one of the most successful investment bankers, this is a good source of background information.

~The Isles: A History~ is a history book about the British Isles. Surprise! The brilliantly colourful book-cover should have given that away. Anyway, Norman Davis gained acclaim for his books on continental Europe, including a book on Europe and the Poles. What this book lacks is execution. It takes a lot of turns... goes off on strange tangents, and you end up with a mishmash history. Some eras are very detailed and other eras are glossed over. It culminates in a current affairs overview of the twentieth-century that is full of superfluous trivialities. The end is really bad; the beginning redeems the book. But heck I couldn't have written it, so I cannot knock Davies too much. He is a good historian overall. The best parts are the sections on the ancient Celts in my humble opinion. To his credit, it seems difficult to organize such a book, when one treats Britain as an organic humus, that brewed a hodgepodge of mutt peoples like Angles, Britons, Saxons, and Scots into the amalgamation we know today as the British. Approaching a history book with a lens of national sentiment makes it a lot easier, right? But it is a difficult subject to tackle, on the other hand. Davies emerged as a reactionary to challenge the historiography that plagued British history, namely its imperial Anglo-centric nature which is no where better exemplified than David Hume's History of England.

Simply put, this is cool Britannia for Celto-philes and commoners! It's a history that was bound to happen after the House of Lords was abolished and Britain downsized its noble aristocracy descended from the French and Germans.

1100 pages of pain!

About 3 years ago I purchased two histories of Britain intent on reading them in concert to get a good compare and contrast. One was Simon Schama's three-volume History of Britain. The other was this one. I finished Schama's work in about a month and a half. I finished this one yesterday.

The idea that Davies' is doing a history of the "Isles" is nonsense. Ireland gets the shaft from him most of the work, not that I really cared since it would have just made the whole thing longer!

"The Isles" is dull and sloppily put together. At times it appears as if there was no proofreader, much less any editor. I would agree that this book is boring, but that would give boring books a bad name!

About two-thirds of the way through, I determined I was going to finish if for any other reason than to not consider the previous reading time a waste of effort. My advice is to pick up Schama's great work and leave this at the bookstore!

This volume just wasn't what I was looking for -- that is, an easily graspable story of the history of Britain and Ireland. Perhaps this says more about me than about the author's skill, but I chose this book for enjoyment rather than research, and found the work too dry to sustain my interest.
What I'd like to see is a history of the people of the Isles, their music, their entertainment, their religious beliefs, their daily lives and how they changed through history. 'The Isles' is hundreds of pages of arguing whether the Saxons should really be referred to as Saxons, what the pre-Celts might have called their island home (why bother?), and a drudging list of heads-of-state through the centuries. I'm no judge of Davies' accuracy, but I know a good read. This was painful for an average Joe.

It would be wrong to suppose that The Isles is "completely worthless as history simply because it is factually inaccurate."
That is what Davies has to say about Shakespeare's history plays on page 509 of the hard cover edition. The editing of this edition is appalling. James II is made out to be Charles II's son in appendix 30, page 1133, but he gets it right in the text.
Elizabeth Beaufort is Henry VII's mother in the text, on the other hand, this time he gets it right in appendix 26, page 1126-1127. She is the ONLY Beaufort mentioned in the whole 1058 pages of text and in appendix 19, page 1115 he has it terribly wrong, making Catherine Swynford Henry IV's mother. She would have had no time to make Beauforts.

Norman Davies is eminently readable. He is even a joy to read. He paints a very broad stroke. His point of view is reasonable. He is cogent. He marshalls his facts to make powerful arguments. His inconsistencies detract only a little after you get over the initial shock of finding them.

He makes a point of using names that he avers were current at the time of the action. Names tell something about the frame of mind of the users as well as about the named. It is curious, then that he consistently uses "Ireland" and "Irish" for the place and the people that we know by those names today, for that same place and the people who lived there in the centuries before the Vikings got there, when those terms came into general use (a fact he is careful to point out).

Like the bard, Davies "may be careless about event-based narrative but he is very interested in myths, legends and popular misconceptions."

Norman Davies tackles the history of the British Isles in a novel and refreshing way, for example using terminology for people and places that is linguistically and historically correct at every stage. However, unfortunately he is guilty of gratuitous and often totally unwarranted English-bashing.

I should state here that I, like Prof Norman Davies, am a Welshman. And I am rather embarrassed at his repeated cheap digs at the English; surely he must realise that they detract seriously from what would otherwise be a work of some gravitas. Has he ever paused to reflect why he as a Welshman enjoys the political and social freedom to lambast the English, while in France the Breton voice is not heard, and in Germany the Sorbs and Wends have all but disappeared? Does he not accept that the Celts should be grateful for the magnanamous sense of fairness, and the lack of bigotry displayed by our English neighbours?

The unfortunate truth for Norman Davies is, he is already out of date. The Anglocentric historians he complains about were mostly dead by the turn of the 20th Century; English historians (and politicians) nowadays are bending over backwards to display their pro-Celtic, multicultural colours. Isn't it odd that it takes a Welshman to point this out? You see, the English themselves are so confident of their own worth, that they really don't care what Norman Davies writes...

The Statement by Brian Moore is a little more than a pursuit thriller. I stress a little more because it genuinely transcends the "who's going to do it" genre, though overall it misses an opportunity to address some important and potentially fascinating ideas.

Pierre Brossard is the original, but not the only name of a politically right-wing Frenchman who worked with a wartime fascist militia in Vichy France. As part of his duties he was responsible for assisting the transport of Jews to Nazi concentration camps and at least once he organised killings, in particular a massacre of fourteen individuals. He was later tried and convicted, though years later a Presidential pardon meant that he was no longer a wanted man. Still one the run, however, he was convicted of a crime against humanity via a judgment and indeed a jurisdiction that not everyone in France either respected or recognised.

Pierre Brossard's rediscovery of his Roman Catholic faith provided him with something more than solace. Through confession he could secure effective pardon, both within his own and also his sympathisers' minds, where forgiveness was not needed. But also he secured effective support within the minds of sincere devotees of the faith, who often declared themselves more interested in a believer's soul than any debt to history or even the human race.

So, on the run for years, Brossard found haven in a series of religious houses where, in effect, he could come and go incognito, almost as he wished. Meanwhile cheques supplying his financial needs arrived regularly from both known and unknown donors, some connected to societies within the Church, societies that also sympathise with a more traditional form of the faith than that emanating from Rome. Brossard is pursued by the law, a faction of which wants to bring him to justice, whilst another wants to protect him. He is also hunted by an untraceable Jewish group that hires contract killers to do away with him. Paradoxically, the faction of the police that wants to bring him to justice also wants to arrest him to protect him from the assassins. And all this in just over two hundred pages.

And that, perhaps, is the problem. Though the book is well written, well set and constructed, the characters, including Brossard, never attain much more than cameo status. Several of the protagonists express strong opinions about race, culture and faith, but we are never presented with a probing analysis of their motives or identities. The role of the Church in supporting, or at least turning a blind eye towards fascism is mentioned, but not worked through. The schism represented by the Lefevre faction in 1980s France is mentioned, but its ideological foundation is glossed over. The existence of Masonic-type societies within the Church is mentioned, but quite who they are, what they want to achieve and how they operate is largely ignored. Even Brossard's own identity is effectively taken for granted, once we have been introduced to his racism, his anti-Semitism and his ruthlessness.

The Statement of the title refers to a typed sheet carried by Brossard's would-be assassins. It is their intention to pin it to their victim's corpse, thus claiming closure of the case of the wartime massacre of Jews in the village of Dombey.

The plot, as ever in a "who does what", eventually works its way out. I will, of course, not reveal the detail, because with The Statement that would remove the prime reason for reading the book. If some of the other themes the book touches upon had been worked through - even just a little - the book would have provided a more substantial, subtle and sophisticated experience and it would be an interesting read even if the reader knew all the plot. As it is, it fills a couple of hours in an enjoyable, mildly informative and mildly stimulating way.

When you read a book that seems predictable,you expect to be proved wrong by a credible surprise ending. Moore truly disappoints because there is no surprise. What you suspect will happen is exactly what happens. To worsen matters,the reader never sees the other guilty parties brought to justice. You learn about them early on, but they never appear in the context of the plot. Ugh!

One reviewer said that this would have been a better non-fiction work.I agree. He tells us much about collusion by the Church with the Vichy government during WWII. Moore didn't need to write a predictable novel to educate readers about this history

A guy is sheltered by the catholic church after killing 14 Jews during the WWII, moving from monastery to monastery for 40 years. Painted as a cold blooded killer, he is so devoid of stamina and life, his character reads like an empty bubble. After him are just as unsympathetic Jewish assassins bent on bringing justice... eye for an eye, by killing the monster. Only, I can't quite figure out whom to sympathize with. A killer is a killer. Boring, poorly written, another preacher story. Perhaps am skewed after reading a nonfiction story several weeks ago about Nazis rounding up whole blocks of poles and russians and shooting people on the spot. This one would have been more interesting as a non fiction account provided it was written based on solid research.

The protagonist of this novel is the bad guy. And the question that Moore asks (and answers at the very end): is it possible for him to find salvation? What I like about this book is that it explores the boundaries between human wickedness and repentance in the personality of Brossard, the French Nazi sympathizer responsible for the deaths of some Jews during the Second World War. Although some Catholics help Brossard, their motivations for doing so are well-explained. This book is generally but subtly sympathetic to Catholicism overall. Please note that this book does contain some graphic scenes and profanity.

'The Statement' is not a simple suspense novel. The reality of French war crime apologists is the backdrop of this sad tale. The book details the incredible post Second World War popular French policies of supporting and excusing French war criminals. The book follows one such murderer as he moves, in the 1980s, from one monastery to the next, avoiding capture with the help of church officials and right wing people, in and out of the government. This dark tale is more of an historical and moral tale than a cloak and dagger mystery. If you are interested in the subject, Susan Zuccotti's The Holocaust, the French, and the Jews, and Michael Marrus, and Robert O. Paxton's Vichy France and the Jews are great sources of what happened to the Jews when France became a vassal state of Nazi Germany.

If you are looking for the kind of clear good guy/bad guy, narrow escape, ultimate resolution, loose-ends-tied-up package you normally get from a book in the mystery genre, this one is going to require you to make some adaptations. A murder that first appears to be a simple "street crime" turns out to be something with much larger implications, linked to international scheming and power politics way beyond Commissario Brunetti's ability to handle -- and in refusing to drop it, as he is both ordered and threatened to do, he endangers people who trust him. I found this book both disturbing and wonderful.

Another reviewer has complained that Paola Brunetti's "ultra leftist" arguments have no place in this book. They are not ultra leftist -- they are somewhat liberal -- but even if they were, she is a character in a book, and interesting characters are people with values and social concerns they care about. The moral dilemmas raised for the Commissario are part of what makes this series so absorbing, IMHO.

Guido Brunetti is one of the most intriguing crime-solvers to capture my attention in years. He is filled with angst to rival Martha Grimes' Richard Jury. This one provoked a lot of thought about the treatment of Italy's version of illegal immigrants, had my mouth watering whenever he paused to eat fresh pasta with his wonderful family, and fleshed out the side characters a bit more.

I have mixed feelings about this book and I would have given it one star if it weren't because she touches a very important theme, although she does it in such a pathetic way that you are left with that 'Orwelian' feeling that things are just getting worse!

It didn't take more than 50 pages for me to begin to get impatient with this book. The plot unravels so slowly and, granted that Brunetti's bosses want it that way, Donna Leon wasted precious opportunities to keep the reader's interest. Her characters are dull, her descriptions of places and characters border on the cliche, in short, she does not make you grow fond of the characters. Brunetti's character is simply lame. There is absolutely nothing extraordinary about him. It almost seems that is wife would be more equipped for his job than he is. He seems insecure, shy and untalented. She introduces 'phantom' characters of sorts who don't bring much to the table. I read she is a famous and known writer because of her insight on Italian life and ways. However, her insight on Venice, apart from constant reference to various landmarks, is minimal. I kept on wondering, has this woman ever been there or did she just read about Venice on a guidebook? I cannot say this was a distinctively Italian mystery. Brunetti seems more like an American blue collar worker to me.

I have to say though that the way the plot unravels is different and surprising. Pity she didn't use it to her advantage. She could have touched on the intricacies of the plan, and in the end the reader is left with the notion of what happened but with a few questions unanswered...

Coming from a background of Agatha Christie mysteries, I don't consider this worth my time or that of a serious mystery reader. Brunetti, like Paris Hilton, is famous for having done nothing. He just makes a few calls and that's it. No insight. No "little gray cells". No brains whatsoever, pure speculation and "pulling of strings". I do understand not every murder can get solved, let alone given justice. However, her idea was grand but her execution pathetic. Folks, don't waste your time with this one.

I think this is one of the best that Leon has written. Maybe I'm somewhat influenced by a recent trip back to Venice and lots of encounters with the "vu cumpra" (mostly Senegales who sell fake Gucci, Prada etc.). But it was a good read with a fairly complex plot that managed to tie together the murder, the locale and the good Commissario with international themes of terrorism and systemic corruption.

Books full of psychology and verbal sparring rather than action benefit from being listened to rather than read. The professional reader (or author) is able to use timing, pace, and pauses to bring inaction to life and invite you deeper inside the mind of the narrator. I found that David Collaci's reading of Blood from a Stone upgraded this book from a four-star effort as a personal read into a five-star listening experience through the unabridged CD.

The main character in Blood from a Stone isn't Commissario Guido Brunetti, but rather the city of Venice. If you know and love Venice, you'll add one star to your experience with this book or CD by being reminded of your great experiences there.

The book is a near-literary-quality novel, even though portrayed in a police procedural format. Ms. Leon is much more interested in having your think about what it means to be a good human than in intriguing you with her mystery and exciting you with her plot. The book raises fundamental questions about our connections to every other person on the planet, our colleagues, friends, loved ones, and family members. Although the book will seem preachy at times about one view or another, Ms. Leon leaves plenty of room for you to draw your own conclusions. But you'll definitely find your sensitivity honed as you think about more dimensions of relations with others . . . and their consequences for you and others.

As the book opens, two assassins stalk and kill an illegal street vendor who is a black African. The police don't rush to the scene and don't find any helpful information to identify the man. Commissario Brunetti makes slow progress through a combination of Signorina Ellatra's computer and persuasive skills, his own snooping around, and Sgt. Vianello's willingness to provide loyal shoe leather and silence. A visit to the abode of the victim yields more clues, but no identity. The clues raise disturbing questions that don't belong in a police investigation.

Soon, Vice-Questore Patta is telling Brunetti that he should go through the motions and not find the killer. The pressure to ignore the killing grows. Brunetti plays along while pursuing a hidden investigation that features his trustworthy colleagues, friends, and family in off-the-record activities. Why is the fix in? Brunetti can only speculate until late in the story.

The book's conclusion leaves Brunetti with an interesting dilemma, one that you should think about as though it were your own before you find out what Brunetti does.

The strength of this book is in its superb portrayal of the ambivalent attitudes and relationships among the illegal African street vendors, the police, the vendors' customers, ordinary citizens, and the vendors' landlords. Ms. Leon does a wonderful job of getting across the full range of perspectives and experiences. Ultimately, she wants you to decide what the crimes are and who the criminals are in the illegal set-up from a moral rather than a judicial perspective.

If, however, you just want an intriguing and fast-paced mystery, you'll wonder what all of the side trips into philosophical questions are all about.

I didn't think the story was extra-ordinary but it was certainly a good story with a pretty good twist in the tale!

I'm not sure how it happened that I have never read Three Act Tragedy (sometimes known as Murder in Three Acts). I had assumed that this would be a re-read. But as I really did not remember the plot, I guess that this was either the first time that I have read it, or I read it so long ago as to no longer register.

As Poirots go, this is considered a minor example. The moustached detective plays a relatively small part, and the characters are perhaps not quite as strong as in other Christie classics.

There are still many interesting aspects to the novel. Christie's use of misdirection is masterful, and she actually allows us to dislike a number of her choices until everything becomes clear at the end. She seems to be saying some smart things about relationships, and Egg is a good example of the Christie female hero.

I read it while on vacation, and can heartily recommend that you do the same.

Hercule Poirot was actually NOT the star of this novel. What a shock! Who knew it was possible for someone to overshadow Poirot?? But Christie found a way. I enjoyed it immensely, but I would have liked a bit more Poirot. I also liked the way the murder was turned into a play by use of references throughout the book. Interesting plot twists too - and expert trickery of course.

I was happy to get this book from the library yesterday and was looking forward to another Hercule Poirot mystery.

Alas, he's seldom in the action, which I find disappointing, although I did like the book. Surprising ending which caught me off guard. I loved the last sentence. It would have been terrible if he'd gotten the poisoned drink!

Retired actor Sir Charles Cartwright throws a party and a clergyman dies. Accidental, perhaps? When nearly the same group of people meets again and another of their number dies in a very similar manner, an accident seems rather less likely. Sir Cartwright, an aged friend and a young starstruck woman set out to investigate the situation with a little help behind the scenes from Hercule Poirot.

Three Act Tragedy is in many ways a very typical Agatha Christie mystery. We are given a seemingly impossible murder and a limited group of potential murderers, each paradoxically suspicious and unlikely. Though not always unique in structuring her novels, Christie always changes things up enough to keep her fans interested. In this novel the theme of appearances provides a primary focus and a mild love story provides comic interludes. This book was, for me, no more than an average Christie novel with a characteristically twisted conclusion. It will certainly bring joy and bewilderment to fans of Christie, but is not among her finest.

The Expert on Everything - a novel

Big Brother meets Big Business in Edward David Gil's novel, "The Expert on Everything." Orwell was on the right track of course, but Edward Gil takes it a step further and into the 21st century. This techno thriller touches on the real threat of privacy no longer existing. The plot is smooth and interesting, showing a great deal of the truth of business development. Gil's style is of a different flavor and sticks out just enough to be memorable. Let's hope the premise never comes to be, and if it already does, I just don't want to know. Review by Heather Froeschl.
[...]

Zero Day Exploit calls our attention to an all too often under reported reality: We live in a high risk society where our digital infrastructure is extremely vulnerable to certain kinds of attacks.

I want to thank the author, Rob Shein, for producing a work of fiction that helps focus our attention on these contemporary risks, without being too shrill about them. This book I would recommend to my friends and clients alike as a nice change of pace to their usual reading choices.

Paul McCubbin,
Senior Consultant
Forsythe Solutions Group

This is a good book if you are involved in IT security. Although some of the plot is a bit too simplistic, overall it gives a good account of what could happen.

Defending against external Internet threats and attacks is a daunting task at best. When coupled with internal politics and Byzantine contracting rules, you may as well put a "kick me" sign on your back. Before the days we became dependent on computers and networking for everyday tasks, the risks were not as great. When terrorism is added to the formula, there has to be a recognition that the days of finger-pointing and excuses are no longer acceptable. In Zero-Day Exploit: Countdown to Darkness (339 Pages, Syngress Press, 2004, ISBN 1931836094), Rob Shein, David Litchfield, and Marcus Sachs present an account of one possible attack scenario.

Like most fiction, you will have to ask yourself if the scenario in the book is possible at all. But the answer you give yourself may not be adequate. After all, who else except for the Able Danger team thought 9/11 was a real possibility?

What makes this book different from others that I have read, the authors bring a real world perspective of Washington, DC politics and the challenges brought by the divide between employees and federal contractors, as well as what happens when people put their own career self-preservation above doing the right thing. Think this is not possible in today's environment? Think again. Having spent 12 years as a federal acquisition professional, I saw it every day, and I know what happens to people who buck the system.

The book does get bogged down early with its detailed narrative of a DefCon convention, and I am not sure that it adds much to the book. The authors do manage to put useful information within this section, but the overall section was so dry I almost closed the book a few times. But then it picked up steam and I could not put it down until I finished it. Given my background, it was very interesting to see what I had experienced first hand (and still do as an IT consultant and auditor), knowing full well the damage those interactions alone can cause.

The technical information presented is good, but not so deep that a nontechnical reader will get lost or bored (except perhaps for the DefCon section). As the story unfolds, the authors do a very good job showing how the emotion of a situation can lead to blaming the wrong person (in this case the programmer of the faulty software) instead of the circumstances that lead to the faults outside of his control (See my review of Secure Coding - Principles and Practices for more on this topic).

The book is not cheap and may be a bit pricey for the content, but that does not mean it is not worth reading.

Who Should Read This Book?

IT Audit professionals, bureaucrats, and programmers/developers will all gain benefit from reading this book. It is not really a good read for other people because they may take the wrong message from it.

Scorecard

Par on Long Par 4

This is my 3rd hacker novel (Steal the Network: Box and Contintent) and I consider it better than both of them. The story is enjoyable and has several chapters of excitement that make you want to turn the page into the wee hours of the morning. The plot as a whole is more fluid, which is something that was lacking with the StN books, I found.

Having said that, there were no less than 4 glaring typos that took the professionalism down several notches. The appendix, in fact, ends midsentence in my copy of the book. At another point earlier it says "to find more information ." and omits the web address that was expected to accompany it. That, along with the somewhat lackluster dialogue were distractions to an otherwise enjoyable novel. The writing towards the end seemed overly rushed (telling the solution was found to a particular problem, rather than explaining /how/ for the sake of time was out of character for this style of book).

Overall, an enjoyable read if you like to get further insight into how the White Hats work, but this isn't a NYT Best Seller.

There are a plethora of books on web site design, too many of which contain advanced techniques for experienced web designers. This one is perfect for the new developer, especially if he or she is developing a small e-commerce system for small or side business use.

The authors focus on the user experience and how to make your site visually and functionally appealing to those users. They start by giving a 30,000 foot view of your site and your brand. The assumption is that the reader is new to both site design and possibly new to marketing principles.

Key points about this book that I like include the way the authors anticipate some readers will be augmenting an existing small business with a web presence (or starting a strictly web-based business from scratch), and the way they show how to tackle barriers and deal with issues. While this book is about user experience and how to use technology to enhance it, it is also about real world factors, including human nature, effective selling, and customer care.

The technical aspects of this book - translating a user-centric approach into a web site - are sound from aesthetic and usability perspectives. Copious use of screenshots from real sites that are models of good design and success are used throughout this book to reinforce the advice given. The writing is clear throughout, and the authors are refreshingly flexible about design choices (unlike some books which are dogmatic on a number of issues).

If you are new to web development and want an introductory text that will not lose you in technical details or advanced design discussions this is a great starting point.

Flannel. Lot's of pages padded with Americentric screenshots amounting to not a lot of practical information. Possibly a misguided attempt to promote Sachs Insights (the authors' company) it fails to provide much in the way of concrete advice on web usability, testing methodologies or HCI.

Back to the User: Creating User-Focused Web Sites integrates Web design, navigation and content considerations with effective branding and marketing guidelines. By teaching those that create websites how to think like the people who use them, Back To The User enables web marketers and developers to create sites that people want, and which the can successfully use as on onsite consumer. 384 pp.

Like one reviewer noted, this book is probably best suited for a beginner or someone who wants a broad overview of user-centered design, but personally, I don't think this is a bad thing. Sure there are other books out there like this one, but it does a good job.
The methodology given is sound and as it is very general, it can be used on any project. It covers different aspects of a website such as the homepage, site navigation, downloading issues, search, graphics, and customer support.
The book is heavily e-commerce oriented (an obvious decision) so I had to glean what I could as I am working on a non-profit web portal. My only "complaint" is that the pictures in the book don't really correspond exactly with the text. But this could be viewed as a good thing because they're able to put in even more examples related but not identical to the topic being discussed.
If you already have a very general user-centered design book, I'd pass this one over unless you just love this sort of stuff the way I do. But if you want a good start this isn't a bad choice.

In real estate, the mantra for success is �location, location, location.� As the writers of this book emphasize so strongly and correctly, in web development it should be �user, user, user.� In many ways, the psychology of online users is different from those engaging in offline activity. People who will calmly and patiently wait in line to pay for their offline store purchases will abandon an online shopping cart if they are required to make even one more click than they feel is necessary. And yet, they demand the same quality of service that only time, effort and patient understanding can provide. Very few online viewers read through the print material, generally skipping from section to section, seeing only high points of the landscape.
It is possible to chart a successful course through this mine-laden realm of cyber selling, and the authors show you how. The solution is simple to state, but difficult to execute. To be successful, you are required to enter into a dynamic feedback loop with the users of your web site, using all high quality feedback to make the experience as clean, brief and complete as possible. Anything short of that and those short-tempered, impatient people with the money to spend will relieve the bulges in their wallets elsewhere. Creating and maintaining such loops is hard, and a great deal of paper in the book is used in explaining the rights and wrongs of how it is done.
I found myself nodding my head in agreement with many of the examples of bad web design cited in the book. As an experienced online shopper and examiner of web sites, I found myself reliving some of my experiences of frustration as I tried to find out more information about a product or company.
The authors have their act together when it comes to describing how to make web sites work for the individuals at both ends of the e-commerce wire. To succeed in business, it always comes back to creating and maintaining satisfied customers, and in this book you will find many of the techniques that will satisfy the demands of online shoppers. They are a different type of consumer who will not change to accommodate you, so you must change to accommodate them.

Know thy enemy. This is only part of a famous quote by Sun Tzu. It is often quoted and is quite appropriate when discussing Cyber Adversary Characterization: Auditing The Hacker Mind (Tom Parker, Eric Shaw, et al, Syngress Press, 2004, 356 Pages, ISBN 1931836116). But to truly appreciate this book, which includes an account of Kevin Mitnick's first hand description of one of his attacks, you need to think about the entire quote from The Art of War: "Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories."

The battle against hackers is not a single battle, but an on-going series of battles against an enemy that is often unseen and unknown. What the authors of this book attempt to do is offer a glimpse in the minds of hackers, what predisposes them to their behaviours, and an understanding of how this knowledge might be used to gain an advantage over this unseen enemy. To do so requires discussions of real events, psychology and modeling.

As such, this book is not for everyone, especially those who want an easy read. Psychological modeling is a difficult task to not only do, but to understand. The authors do their best in making this as easy as possible to understand, but I know I still had to re-read some sections multiple times. If you read this book, you will not walk away citing parts verbatim, but you will have a good desk reference to use when needed.

What is especially valuable in this book is the coverage of threats, both internal and external. The authors not only discuss this in terms and concepts, but offer methods to model and prioritize the threats. Have you ever thought about how myopic and narrow approaches can actually put you at greater risk?

Who Should Read This Book?

This is not a book for generalists. It really is for security specialists and students of security who want to get more than a superficial knowledge of the subject. Perhaps it might even be of interest to students of sociology and psychology. Tzu also said, "The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself." That is the reason this book is one for the library of .serious students of the topic. If you do not fit any of these categories, you might want to steer clear. If you don't, know what you are getting into.

Scorecard

Par on an Par 4

I'm not a statistician or a risk expert, so I mainly view this book in terms of illuminating possible areas of risk. It was interesting to see how a threat could be evaluated, but I spent most of my time reading the initial threats portion at the beginning of each chapter. These were interesting enough.

The text is a little uneven, which is most likely from the multiple authors. The graphics are poor quality. And the organization could use some work.

I would have liked to have been inspired to appreciate the characterization portions of the book, but I was not moved to do so.

This book attempts to discuss a topic of great interest to me. Since there are no other books in print that address this topic, I eagerly bought the book with great expectations. Unfortunatly I have been highly disappointed.

I highly recommend you avoid this book if you have an aversion to the gross butchering of the English language. I have found this book to be so far over the line of good writing that it is distracting. I haven't even been able to make it out of the second chapter! Sentence structures are unnecessarily complex and wordy. The text is replete with grammatical errors and misspellings. The author created terms to describe his concepts, yet the terms have other connotations, making it further difficult to understand. Parsing and understanding what the author is trying to say in certain passages is difficult at best. I'm sure if I had been in meetings with this author, I would know his language and intuitively understand what he means, but the new reader, devoid of that knowledge, is at a significant disadvantage. If this book had been properly edited, it would be about half its size. One has to ask what the publisher was thinking, or not.

This is most unfortunate. The threat of cyber attacks against national interests and critical infrastructure is very high. Having a book that proposes a systematic methodology to help identify and address those threats would be most useful.

Cyber Adversary Characterization is a topic which many of the books authors have been studying for a number of years. You will notice that the backgrounds of the authors differ significantly, something which was entirely intentional. The authors of Auditing the Hacker Mind and the members of the working group to which all authors of the book belong bring a vast amount of knowledge relating to threat analysis and risk mitigation to the table. This has allowed us to examine the semantics of the cyber adversary from multiple points of view; allowing us to identify the multiple elements which really contribute to explaining what the modern cyber adversary 'looks like' and why.

In addition to its more obvious audience of the information security community, Cyber Adversary Characterization: Auditing the Hacker Mind has been written for a wide audience - from Information Technology managers, to regular systems administrators. Perhaps you are responsible for budgeting for the security related outgoings of a department; can you honestly say that you are able to attribute every dollar to a real, characterized threat? Could you tell a senior manager where you think the threat might come from, the tools they might use and indeed, the precise assets that they might target?

Our aim is to allow you to look at your technological assets from a new perspective - that being the perspective of the cyber adversary them self. As a result, we hope you will attain the capability to make informed decisions regarding the way in which you can better protect your systems and justify any changes you make.

In addition to its use for the theoretical characterization of threats to key assets, we also believe that the theory we have developed proves to be of great use in the unfortunate cases where incidents have occurred. Through studying the way in which we have dissected the cyber adversary, we hope that you will be able to look at attack data in an objective manner, identifying such things as the skill level of the adversary involved, answering why the adversary initiated an attack against the target in the first place - and perhaps most importantly if the attack was a success, how to fend of the adversary if they return.

We hope you find this publication of use. We believe that the information contained within it is of great value; and really can help in bettering the way in which people look at protecting their business critical computer networks, from the cyber adversary of today and tomorrow.

An uneven book. The preface and last chapter are by far the best parts. Noted technology commentator Richard Thieme ("Islands in the Clickstream") gives the preface. A mere 4 pages. But very eloquent and lucid. A joy to read. The last chapter is a semi-ficticious narrative of how a hacker breaks into various computers. Unix and network experts will like the depth and ingenuity described. It can be very educational, even for experienced sysadmins.

But other chapters are poorly done. For example, Chapter 2 is on Theoretical Characterisation Metrics. It repeatedly uses various conditional probabilities, but with a wrong notation. For a probability of B given A, it uses p(B)/A. The standard notation is P(B|A). Used for decades in statistics course. First year undergraduate level.

Other chapters, presumably written by different people, do use the correct notation. But Chapter 3, on the Cyber Food Chain, has an even more disturbing flaw. It has tables of what it calls mean inhibitor values. Derived from sets of values with only 1 significant figure. But the means are given to 4 significant figures! At best, the means only have 2. What this author is doing is imputing a false accuracy of 2 extra significant figures, or 100 times greater than actuality. More strictly, it is probably close to 1000 times greater, because the mean is really no better than one significant figure.

So what? Well, given that the authors goof on such elementary steps, it should give you serious reservations about their more "sophisticated" operations, where they discuss various metrics.

Another thing. One chapter's title is mis-spelled on the top of every page in the chapter. Irritating. Makes one wonder about the proof reading.

This book is poorly written. It has misspelled words and incorrect grammar. He couldn't have interviewed many patients to get his information plus the majority of this book is about him being a 'life coach'. It is extremely small and no page is full of writing. I read this in less than 3 hours. Save yourself the $65.00 and surf the Internet. I found more and much better information on the web.

The chapter on "getting rid of surgery fear" is great. Knowing that someone else survived this surgery, gives me courage to face the surgery. (...)

I am so greatful that author took time to carefully document the details about surviving this surgery. Other than few typos I have nothing else to criticize about the book.

There are some spelling mistakes in the book but other than that this book completely removed my fear regarding this surgery & gave me courage to walk into the operating room. Sach Silva has himself been through this surgery & depicted all his experiences very carefully.

I was wondering about the cost as well. But here is the explanation of the high cost from Sach Silva's website.
"Isn't this eBook really expensive?
Compared to the fact that this is an eBook, sure. First of all "EVERY STAGE YOU ARE GOING THROUGH OR WILL GO, I HAVE BEEN THERE & IT'S DOCUMENTED IN THIS EBOOK". If you compare to the costs in time, energy, money spent in "wrong choices" and the information & east you will get, the opportunity to now purchase this information is a great bargain! I spend hundreds of hours in gathering this wealth of information. On an average you will spend anywhere between 100-150 hours to GATHER general information about this surgery. If you calculate the value of this time (100 X $10/per hour = $1000)! This is the time spend just to gather general information about the procedure. Also you will be spending a lot more EMOTIONAL ENERGY in worrying about the surgery and the recovery. The recovery after this surgery is challenging so even if you use just a few of the many tips I gave you in this book, it can make TREMENDOUS difference in the state of your mind. For much lesser value you are getting very important information. This is the only eBook of this kind and you will not find this information anywhere else. Secondly the size of readers is limited because not many people need this surgery so I can not sell millions of copies of this book even though the quality is great. So I have set the price point to compensate for my efforts. "

THIS IS AWFUL
I have never felt so cheated. I honestly thought this book would be a helpful tool in coping with an extremely difficult surgery. This book was written from a person with the mentality of an 11 year old and the writing capability of a 3rd grade student at best. There are more than 200 errors with regard to simple spelling and punctuation. The graphics and pictures are no better than what is supplied with a generic computer, and barely visible at that. He must have created this on his own at a Kinko's. The sentences are not even properly structured. This book is terrible and extremely expensive. It's not even worth $4 much less $64!!! What a rip off. This so-called 'author' is a cheat. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! No reputable supplier should ever promote or sell this horrible excuse for a book.

I was disappointed in this book. As a potential career changer into medicine, I had hoped to get some insights into Doctors lives and the ER. You won't get any of that here.

Expect some self-absorbed essays from Doctors that highlight their fears, anxieties, disappointments and successes in the ER. If you want to learn anything about medicine look elsewhere.

True dramas from the E.R., some funny, some sad, some horrifying. And these docs can write. Contributors include marquee names such as Ethan Canin, Sam Shem, Michael Palmer, Perri Klass, & Richard Selzer. Other, "less well known" contributors have been recognized by the Pushcart Prize, Pulitzer Prize, & Best American Short Stories Anthology. As a fan of the television show ER, my interest in the book was piqued by the flattering review in Kirkus Reviews. Interestingly, the editor is himself an emergency room resident training in a Chicago trauma center (just like the actors in the popular television show). If you enjoy the TV show, you'll love this collection.

Some twenty doctors offer stories of their times in their life when they served in the ER. Some quite touching; others brutal -- not just in the cases which presented themselves but also in the behavior of some of the doctors.One conclusion that I can't help to realize is that the "old boy's way" of completing ridiculous on-call hours is inhumane and should be changed and changed quickly. The impairment -- emotional and physical -- that many of these doctors suffered as a result of the length of their on-call hours caused some of them to treat patients abusively, perhaps even criminal. One doctor speaks of an uncooperative patient who needs stitches. Since he's tired and has no patience left, the doctor solved the contentious patient problem by threatening him and sewing his ears to the rails of the ER treatment bed while he proceeded to stitch the man's head.Interesting reading; provides a broad range of points of view -- professional -- speaking of their experience, challenges and downright blunders. Each story is very short and this is a great book to keep by the bedside to complete a bit at a time.Worth a look!

Good, readable, well-written book, but a bit disappointing given the title. Yes, these are ER doctors and they tell compelling, graphic, somber and touching tales. However, given the TV show ER, and cable productions involving trauma and emergency rooms, this book pales in comparison. On the positive side, we see these medical men and women as real, vulnerable humans with both strong and weak moments. If faced with buying the book, or going to the library and borrowing it, do the latter. Save your money for one of the other books on the subject.

Most of the stories in this book are good; a few are great and a few are boring. While it is not as compelling as "Believe It or Not! True Emergency Room Stories" or "Emergency: True Stories from the Nation's ERs", it is definitely a book that you won't regret buying.