My Book Reviews

ISBN : 0-393-048133 Verdict :  👍👍   👍👍 If like me you grew up during the internet period of the 90’s - a period when ridiculous money was made by a few, who had first mover advantages, taking advantage of new business models using the internet as the channel - you will love this book especially if you were a Netscape Browser user like me hence my 4 thumbs ! The author followed the billionare Jim Clarke for years , observing and capturing key bits of information i.e. the early world of Jim Clark the founder of Silicon Graphics, Netscape and Healtheon (all billion dollar companies) – he shares a lot but not the intricate details e.g. he mentions the Microsoft Monopoly case but doesn’t tell us about the outcomes . My favourite quote in the book is – “ a thousand people don’t build anything, if you need to build something really complicated really fast, you hire fifty of the smartest people you can find ” p77   This made me smile -   Clark had a...

ISBN : 978-1857151848 Verdict :  👍👍   My first review of 2020 💥 as I’ve been a bit preocupied completing  and getting my new book out. I picked this book up because I wanted to get a better understanding of    the Confucian way of thinking, which in part I did, but did struggle with this. The Analects    were written after Confucius died, when    his students put together records of things Confucius had told them, in essence this is the translation of notes, hence called the    Analects. This book requires some extra    thought especially with the footnotes to at the bottom of the page but it’s important to note ( p19 ) that “ Confucius describes himself as a transmitter , not an originator ”. The book is filled with some great quotes, however be prepared to read the first 71 pages from the Translator explaining some of his t his interpretations from the original notes. Some extracts be...

ISBN : 978-1509841103 Verdict :  👍👍   I read this book a year ago, so thought I would post my review on this blog, it presents an interesting view for those like me have consulted both for the UK Ministry of Justice & a CRC as mentioned on p327  If you work in the profession or are a student of Law then this book is worth a read as it describes how the UK Legal System is not perfect highlighting highlight its failures (structures, budgets & conducts) while providing a great insight into the workings of British Judicial System Below I have listed some highlights from the book; ·       There is no excuse for the amateur,  sausage-factory paradigm of justice and ‘that’ll do’ complacency that pervades 94percent of criminal cases…p56 ·       Politicians persuade voters that 1p off a pint of lager is a better investment than a working justice system    p326 ·   ...

ISBN 978-0-7858-3052-8  Verdict :   👍👍 👍 Originally this book was written in 1900 (revised in 1905 ) by the amazing Japanese Scholar / Public officer who had a deep appreciation of Western Civilisation through the times and had appreciation for the Classics allowing him to analyse and compare the teachings of the Japanese Bushido (Samurai) in a Feudal System with that of the European counterparts through history A nice short read ! I found this amazing book on my travels earlier this year – Originally I was attracted to this Hardback book  by its use of the Traditional Chinese Book Binding techniques – Just holding / reading this book gives one great pleasure ~ especially If like me you are interested in Physical Books that present  Lessons of Value – Then maybe you would want to buy a copy. When Nitobe talks of the Influence of Bushido he states “ What Japan was she owed to the samurai. They were not only the flower of the nation but its...

ISBN:  978-1-4711-8955-5 Verdict :   👍👍 You have to respect Scharwazman for what he has achieved in his long life, reinforcing to some extent the old saying that ‘ money makes money ’.This book is worth reading if you are working in finance and is quite a nice read. The book takes you down Stephen's memory lane and his life time of investing. It’s a short book and does lack clarity on the analysis, rules and logic applied on the business decisions. The book is about Stephen and the people he knows and boy does he ‘name drop’, throughout the book, to the extent it was getting boring reading another name popping up towards the end.  There are snippets on Blackstone’s Business Drivers/Methodology e.g.  Blackstone’s three tests  “It must have potential to be hugely rewarding for investors . It must add to Blackstone intellectual capital. And it must have a 10 in charge of it.”          p281  Be...

ISBN:  978-1-78504-218-8 Verdict :👍👍 I enjoyed reading this book with its elaboration of the concepts that centre around the D ominance, I nducement, S ubmission and A nalytics ability (DISA) system for  human  communication which the Author breaks into 4 Color Types ( Red , Yellow , Blue & Green ) and says that " behaviour.Its like a  recipe  - we need to understand all the ingredients before we bake the cake " p13 The book discusses the various  behavioural  traits of individuals which the author centers around a 4 square color model, with each color representing a specific trait and some behavioral patterns associated with the colors - here are some snippets; The Quote "Only Dead Fish Go with the Flow" to describe Reds is classical where Reds are quick thinkers and one on long before everyone else. Yellows can be amusing, creative and elevate the mood regardless of who they are with         p64 " ...

ISBN :  9781508524359 Verdict :    👍👍   👍   👍   This is one of those rare books I wish I had read a few decades ago, especialy as its only 99 pages long, I strongly recommend it be one you read if you haven't allready - it is both short and provides great wisdom ! Arkad the Chancellor and richest man in Babylon is asked by the King to teach his subjects about growing wealth and he sets out to teach them his  ‘The Seven Cures for a Lean Purse’, which are  Start Thy Purse to Fattening  Control Thy expenditures  Make Thy Gold Multiply Guard Thy Treasures from Loss Make Thy Dwelling a Profitable Investment  Insure a Future Income  Increase Thy Ability to Earn It would be wrong for me to spoil this classic s hort book for you by replaying some of the great quotes ands fundamental principles the most notable being “ A part of all you earn is yours to keep ”

ISBN : 978-1-5011-2402-0 Verdict :  👍👍   👍   👍   Seldom a business book comes along that one both enjoys and learns from, here we have one of those books.  Don’t be mislead by the title, it is more than just a cluster of great principles, it’s the foundations for an approach Ray adopted to build his amazing multi billion-dollar business with great  insights into how he grew it. The principles are summariesed in the middle of the book ( p272)  for the both Life and Work principles discussed in the book – my favorite two principles are ; Life: Principle 5.1 –  Learn How to Make Decisions Effectively –  Recognize  that 1)  The biggest threat to good decision making is harmful emotions, and 2) decision making is a two-step process (first learning then deciding).   p276      Work: Principle 4.4 –  Get and Stay in Sync – If its your meeting to run, manage the conversation.   p282...

ISBN :  978-0312611736 Verdict :  👍👍   👍   👍   What a great book, with some great tips and advice on spotting deception both personally and professionally. Suggesting to  synthesize clusters for clues then  contrast your instinct side by side against your subjects story etc etc... The book starts with a great opener i.e. “ deception is a cooperative act ” i.e. No one can lie to you without your approval p22 I have taken some snippets and listed below to give you a feel for the wisdom to be found in this book. A lie requires a context of truth.                                                                                 p 42   The first rule in deception detection is to watch the face         ...