The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America’s Energy Future: T. Boone Pickens

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Entertaining…both Adam Smith and Horatio Alger would find something to like in the rise of T. Boone Pickens.”
—Wall Street Journal

“The latest memoir from the Texas oilman…Pickens’ sauciness does entertain.”
—Time magazine

“Sassy…breezes along…salted with earthy aphorisms.”
—Bloomberg.com

“Self-deprecating and audacious…overall, it’s decidedly informative about the machinations of business.”
—Dallas Morning News

“A fascinating, eye-opening book by one of America’s greatest iconoclasts and entrepreneurs. Boone Pickens’ sense of daring and innovation has never been sharper. Readers will quickly realize that this billionaire’s extraordinary achievements are but a warm-up for what he is about to do now.”
—Steve Forbes, President and CEO, Forbes Inc., and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine

“Boone’s analysis of America’s energy situation is 100% on the money.  In easy and colorful language he tells us where we are going wrong and what we must do about it.  The country should listen to him — now!”
—Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway

“It is inspiring to see Boone Pickens tackling the big issues, daring himself to think bigger, putting forward wind, water and energy ideas that are nothing less than paradigm busters. This absorbing and illuminating book shows why Boone has been more successful than just about all his competitors, and, more crucially, why the problem of resource scarcity may not be as insoluble as some think.”
—Jeffrey Immelt, CEO, General Electric

“Boone Pickens was among the first to grasp that corporations can be marvelous catalysts for progress if individual investors are given a say …
–This text refers to the

Kindle Edition
edition.

Review
“Entertaining…both Adam Smith and Horatio Alger would find something to like in the rise of T. Boone Pickens.”
—Wall Street Journal

“The latest memoir from the Texas oilman…Pickens’ sauciness does entertain.”
—Time magazine

“Sassy…breezes along…salted with earthy aphorisms.”
—Bloomberg.com

“Self-deprecating and audacious…overall, it’s decidedly informative about the machinations of business.”
—Dallas Morning News

“A fascinating, eye-opening book by one of America’s greatest iconoclasts and entrepreneurs. Boone Pickens’ sense of daring and innovation has never been sharper. Readers will quickly realize that this billionaire’s extraordinary achievements are but a warm-up for what he is about to do now.”
—Steve Forbes, President and CEO, Forbes Inc., and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine

“Boone’s analysis of America’s energy situation is 100% on the money.  In easy and colorful language he tells us where we are going wrong and what we must do about it.  The country should listen to him — now!”
—Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway

“It is inspiring to see Boone Pickens tackling the big issues, daring himself to think bigger, putting forward wind, water and energy ideas that are nothing less than paradigm busters. This absorbing and illuminating book shows why Boone has been more successful than just about all his competitors, and, more crucially, why the problem of resource scarcity may not be as insoluble as some think.”
—Jeffrey Immelt, CEO, General Electric

“Boone Pickens was among the first to grasp that corporations can be marvelous catalysts for progress if individual investors are given a say in what their priorities should be.  Today, as humanity faces resource scarcity and dwindling supplies of cheap energy, the responsibility that has devolved to entrepreneurs, and the investors who back them, has never been more immense.  Yet, in recounting his own story of comeback after comeback and tackling some of history’s biggest oil, wind and water projects, Boone shows that sometimes all it takes is rejecting the ‘usual’ and striking out across virgin territory.  In that sense, Boone is a pioneer, and this is a pioneer’s story.  Even now, the man they call the Oracle of Oil is blazing new paths that may, indeed, lead us out of the predicament we find ourselves in.”
—Carl Icahn, Chairman, Icahn & Co., Inc.

Order The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America’s Energy Future: T. Boone Pickens form Amazon.

1,000 Dollars and an Idea: Entrepreneur to Billionaire: Sam Wyly

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Country boy makes good in this down-home tale of self-made multimillionaire Wyly. In his humble post-Depression Louisiana roots, Wyly learned his first business lessons from football strategy, his father’s tiny newspaper business and his mother’s bargaining skills. A lucky meeting propelled him to the University of Michigan’s Business School and his first corporate job at IBM, where he had to work fast to keep from succumbing to culture shock as he discovered there ain’t no Bubbas in Michigan. Energetic and restless, he soon left IBM for Honeywell and then created his own technology companies, rescuing failing businesses, founding Green Mountain Energy and devoting himself to environmentalism. Citing Sam Walton as a hero and Ross Perot as a personal friend, Wyly stresses the power and privilege of self-creation and speaks honestly about what he’s learned: that failure is crucial to achieving success, independent thought is imperative, luck serendipitous and power useless unless it is wielded for good. Though the message is a good one, the meandering storytelling and not well-known author might make this book a hard sell to a trade audience. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
A joy to read. Sam Wyly is a wonderful American character: a natural entrepreneur and builder with an outsized personality and humor to match his success. This book captures the magic of the American dream. — Walter Isaacson, CEO of the Aspen Institute and author of Einstein: His Life and Universe

Sam Wyly has been an extraordinary visionary for the long term….I highly recommend this exceptionally entertaining and inspiring book. — John Mackey, Founder, Whole Foods

Sam Wyly is an entrepreneurial genius who inspires both new business ideas and spiritual renewal. 1,000 Dollars and an Idea is a courageous tale of a creative and generous life. — The Rev. Canon Sally G. Bingham, President and Founder, The Regeneration Project

Sam’s book is an inspirational journey through the early years of online computing, the creation and growth of the software products industry, and the many and diverse achievements of one of the most important entrepreneurs of the 20th century. — Ross Perot

Spanning four decades and remarkably diverse industries, the career of Sam Wyly–a true original–shows what good ideas, strong will, and access to capital can accomplish. — Michael Milken, Chairman, The Milken Institute

Order 1,000 Dollars and an Idea: Entrepreneur to Billionaire: Sam Wyly form Amazon.

Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur: Sir Richard Branson

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

Sir Richard Branson is one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and his Virgin Group is one of the most recognised lifestyle brands, trusted and enjoyed by many millions of people.

Now, in his trademark charismatic and honest style, Richard shares the inside track on some of his greatest achievements over forty years in business as well as the lessons he has learned from his setbacks. In Business Stripped Bare, he discusses why he took on one of the world’s biggest superbrands, how he built Virgin Mobile USA into the fastest growing company in history to reach a billion dollars in revenue, faster than Microsoft, Google or Amazon.com, and how Richard is the only person in the world to have built seven billion dollar companies from scratch in seven completely different sectors.

Richard tells the story behind the launch of Virgin America, his new airline in the USA, how Virgin Galactic is set to initiate a new era of space tourism from a spaceport deep in the Mojave desert, and what he has learned about business from a diverse group of leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Jack Welch, Herb Kelleher, Steve Jobs and the founders of Google. He also shares his thoughts on the changing face of the global economy and how businesses worldwide need to work together to tackle environmental challenges and invest in the future of our world.

Combining invaluable advice with remarkable and candid inside stories, Business Stripped Bare is a dynamic, inspirational and truly original guide to success in business and in life. Whether you are an executive, an entrepreneur or just starting out in the business world, Richard strips down business to show how you can succeed and make a difference.

About the Author

Sir Richard Branson is a hugely successful international entrepreneur and is chairman of the Virgin Group. His autobiography, Losing My Virginity, and his second book, Screw It, Let’s Do It, have both been international bestsellers.

Order Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur: Sir Richard Branson form Amazon.

Double or Nothing: How Two Friends Risked It All to Buy One of Las Vegas’ Legendary Casinos: Tom Breitling, Cal Fussman

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In less than a decade, friends Tom Breitling (the conservative one) and Tim Poster (the risk taker) founded a successful Internet travel business and sold it for millions. Then in 2003, the pair bought the legendary and past-its-prime Golden Nugget casino for $215 million. Las Vegas has always been a magnet for anyone who wanted to take his life to a new place, Breitling explains. It embraced anyone who wanted to take a risk and wanted to make it better. His account of those heady, hardworking times features a doomed reality show; an arrogant, very lucky gambler dubbed Mr. Royalty; and appearances by the likes of Steve Wynn and Andre Agassi. It’s astounding, with such volatile circumstances and a Vegas backdrop, that Breitling’s book is so bland. His average-guy approach loses its flavor quickly as his narrative trades insight for clunky, oft-repeated metaphors in which the author compares himself to a point guard in basketball. What should be a story of two young guys trying to steer a risky business in America’s playground reads too often like a business seminar transcript with hint of a scandal. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“A great read, and a true rags to riches American success story…The narrative goes down smooth as a good scotch, with a rhythm that would have made Sinatra proud!” — Ben Mezrich, bestselling author of Bringing Down the House and Rigged

“Beyond all of the colorful stories in Double or Nothing, beyond the eye-opening success of two young American entrepreneurs, there is the most important story of all: a story about friendship and loyalty.” — Andre Agassi

“For whatever misguided reasons, Tom Breitling says he grew up wanting to be me. Instead, he wound up owning The Golden Nugget and making two deals each worth upwards of a hundred million dollars. Looks like he grew up to be A-Rod instead.” — Bob Costas

“There’s no shortage of nuggets in…Double or Nothing. Breitling reveals the tense times with his Golden Nugget partner, Tim Poster…,and the hardball deals…. Masterful writing and reporting by co-author Cal Fussman take the reader on the wild ride that made [Breitling and Poster] millionaires in their 30s.” — Norm Clarke, Las Vegas Review Journal

“Tom Breitling and Tim Poster are the ultimate American entrepreneurs. Tom has a great story to tell.” — Tony Bennett

“Tom Breitling’s inspiring and jealousy-inducing story of the entrepreneurial bravado that led him and a friend to own The Golden Nugget.” — Esquire

“[A] delightful and insightful travelogue…Breitling presents a tale of a remarkable friendship interwoven with indelible portraits of various players…. But the book is more than a series of memorable characters…It also provides details of gigantic transactions that make you a fly on the wall of boardrooms with legends.” — Las Vegas Sun

“[A] fantastical story…. The book is full of interesting tidbits…. But the big “aha!” in the book might be the realization that they sold out too soon. It will be interesting to see the next trick up Breitling and Poster’s sleeves.” — Associated Press

Order Double or Nothing: How Two Friends Risked It All to Buy One of Las Vegas’ Legendary Casinos: Tom Breitling, Cal Fussman form Amazon.

The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie: Andrew Carnegie, Cecelia Tichi

• Filed under: Business

Editorial Reviews

With Illustrations
–This text refers to the

Paperback
edition.

About the Author
Entrepreneur and philanthropist ANDREW CARNEGIE (1835-1919) was born in Scotland and emigrated to America as a teenager. His Carnegie Steel Company launched the steel industry in Pittsburgh, and after its sale to J.P. Morgan, he devoted his life to philanthropic causes. His charitable organizations built more than 2,500 public libraries around the world, and gave away more than $350 million during his lifetime.
–This text refers to the

Paperback
edition.

Order The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie: Andrew Carnegie, Cecelia Tichi form Amazon.

The PR Crisis Bible: How to Take Charge of the Media When All Hell Breaks Loose: Robin Cohn

• Filed under: Recommended

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Managing potentially damaging business news has become trickier in today’s fast-paced television and Internet news environment. Cohn, who runs her own public relations firm specializing in crisis management, offers solid advice on avoiding the PR sins that can sink a company. Among the most common mistakesAoften made by experienced executivesAare believing that disaster will never strike, shifting blame and responding “no comment” when confronted with a difficult question. Drawing on familiar news events to prove her points, Cohn shows how, for example, personal problems can become company problems. When chief executive Gary Wendt battled his wife in a bitter divorce, his employer, GE Capital, was scrutinized in the media. William Agee’s career at Bendix was hurt when his affair with associate Mary Cunningham was made public. In another telling example, she recounts how a well-known business reporter once stopped an executive in the hall to ask for directions to an office and, when the man quickly hurried away muttering that he had no comment, was spurred to dig for a story. While Cohn presents some useful pointers on sidestepping the “seven deadly sins” of PR crisis management, her book would have been stronger if she had expanded and systematized her recommendations instead of offering only brief nuggets of advice. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
There is something about the media (and, perhaps, the public) that enjoys the sight of a company or leader in disgrace or in disfavor. Such are the events that well-trained, well-seasoned public-relations practitioners feed on, including one Robin Cohn. To her credit, she does address the critical importance of planning a well-thought-out strategy before addressing a crisis. Yet all of her stories, even chapter titles, are intended for quick sound bites; the Motorola cell phone’s reputed link to cancer is one of dozens of anecdotes. A few helpful exercises here and there help readers focus on elements that can trigger or presage crises–corporate values, for one. Her advice, on the whole, is sound, but it’s difficult to figure out Cohn’s audience . . and her intentions. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Order The PR Crisis Bible: How to Take Charge of the Media When All Hell Breaks Loose: Robin Cohn form Amazon.

It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy: Michael Abrashoff

• Filed under: Recommended

Other than the sobering fact that real lives are regularly at stake, running a navy ship is a lot like running a business: leaders of both must get the most out of their crews to operate at peak efficiency and complete the tasks at hand. As commander of the highly acclaimed USS Benfold, Captain D. Michael Abrashoff irrefutably demonstrated how progressive management can succeed at sea; in It’s Your Ship, he translates his methods into an approach that can also be applied by land-bound captains of commerce and industry. Describing “the ideas and techniques that I used to win my sailors’ trust and, eventually, their enthusiastic commitment to our joint goal of making our ship the best in the fleet,” Abrashoff cites embarrassing failures along with subsequent triumphs to illuminate the keys to his accomplished 20-month tenure aboard the guided missile destroyer. His suggestions: lead by example; listen aggressively; communicate purpose and meaning; create a climate of trust; look for results, not salutes; take calculated risks; go beyond standard procedure; build up your people; generate unity; and improve your people’s quality of life. While hardly original on the surface, Abrashoff’s course should provide practical direction and inspiration for any leader hoping for similarly positive results in similarly rigid organizations. –Howard Rothman

“The most important thing a captain can do is to see the ship from the eyes of the crew.” This belief has successfully guided D. Michael Abrashoff, the captain of one of the U.S. Navy’s most modern and lethal warships. Abrashoff has revolutionized how to handle such challenging problems as excessive costs, low morale, sexual harassment, and constant turn-over. Business managers will benefit from Abrashoff’s guiding belief that focus should be on empowering your people rather than on chain of command. By shifting organizing principles from obedience to performance, managers will be rewarded with remarkable productivity. As Abrashoff explains, the more people enjoy the process, the better the results. Good leaders listen to the people under their command-and use their ideas to improve operating procedures.

Order It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy: Michael Abrashoff form Amazon.

Leadership the Hard Way: Why Leadership Can’t Be Taught - And How You Can Learn It Anyway (J-B Warren Bennis Series): Dov Frohman, Robert Howard

• Filed under: Recommended

Review
“…can truly facilitate the learning of leadership.” Public Net Friday 1 August 2008

Leadership the Hard Way presents a method of living and working that can truly facilitate the learning of leadership. Their method shows how to go against the current, fight conventional wisdom, and embrace the unexpected. It is about trusting oneself and valuing intuition, principles, and imagination as much as hard skills and analysis. Frohman combines his counterintuitive ideas with experiences from his own backgroundfrom escaping the Nazis as a child to becoming a leading innovator in the semiconductor industryto show how readers can build their own leadership abilities. A leaders values and personality, he ultimately reveals, are the only sure source of stability in a world of continuous change.

Order Leadership the Hard Way: Why Leadership Can’t Be Taught - And How You Can Learn It Anyway (J-B Warren Bennis Series): Dov Frohman, Robert Howard form Amazon.

Executive Economics: Ten Tools for Business Decision Makers: Shlomo Maital

• Filed under: Recommended

From Publishers Weekly
Maital (Economic Games People Play) here confronts a major problem with the discipline of economics: business managers are often skeptical about what the dismal science has to offer the “real world.” The author claims that economics can be of considerable value to managers if concepts are conveyed in understandable terms and in a way that is relevant to managers’ experiences and needs. In answer to two basic questions-”What is it worth? What do I give up to get it?”-Maital demonstrates how concepts of economics like costs, value, price, inefficiency, productivity, information and comparative advantage can be utilized by general managers if presented in plain English unhampered by convoluted mathematical models. His homilies-”Good executives create customers. Great ones create markets”-make sense. Illustrations.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Maital gives us a practical book that illustrates how the economic way of thinking and analyzing can be employed to help clarify business decisions. Although countless other texts at least attempt and often do accomplish that, Maital’s volume explains how to utilize modern economics as a decision-making science tool in a very simple way, that is, with little mathematics and academic jargon. The book explains 10 basic principles that organizations can use to understand costs and benefits and make appropriate decisions based on two straightforward questions: what is it worth? and what must be given up to get it? The 10 chapters make use of company examples and address such issues as cost, trade-offs, volume, competitive advantage, learning curves, risks, markets and demand, scale and scope, and break-even analysis. The final chapter discusses the necessity of “competing by cooperating” and summarizes the 10 tools. Executive Economics is written for the business executives who want to grasp the relationships between cost, price, and value and to see how to orchestrate these most basic concepts to enhance their company’s success. Advanced business students and academics should also find it worthwhile. Joseph Leonard

Order Executive Economics: Ten Tools for Business Decision Makers: Shlomo Maital form Amazon.

Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower: Cynthia Cooper

• Filed under: Recommended

From Publishers Weekly
In Cooper’s thorough and efficient narrative about the fantastic collapse of telecommunications giant WorldCom there are two distinct themes: her insider’s view of the corporation’s widespread wrongdoing and the life experiences that led Cooper to becoming a courageous whistleblower. Cooper, former vice president of WorldCom’s internal audit department, is most successful with the former. She brings us into the boardrooms, the backrooms and, somehow, into the heads of key players as some struggled with and others embraced the deceptions that would bring WorldCom down. Less engaging are Cooper’s autobiographical anecdotes, which offer everything from her high school math scores to clichéd advice from Mom and Dad (”when you are unkind, you can’t go back and change the hurt”). Other unnecessary personal details-like the fact that 12-year-old Cooper called her violin teachers first when she was moving away-and mundane meanderings about haircuts and gender differences take the reader off course. Too, many of these folksy anecdotes paint the author as a goody two-shoes. Cooper is better and trumps other WorldCom accounts with a perspective available only from a business-smart insider with a conscience.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“…provides insight into an incredible corporate saga contrasting the influence of greed and moral weakness with principle behavior. It is an inspirational story of courage and character under immense pressure. (Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance, July/August 2008)

“What Cooper experienced could be every internal auditor’s nightmare - uncovering a scandal of such great proportions that an auditor’s reputation, job security, and even personal safety is jeopardized. In my opinion, this book is a must-read not only for internal auditors, but also for anyone in the business environment. Cooper’s account of a scandal that shook the business world is an eye-opener and helps explain today’s regulatory and corporate environments.” (FSA Times, July 2008)

“…offers a detailed, intimate, and fascinating account of the WorldCom debacle in Extraordinary Circumstances. While most readers already know the outcome of the story, Cooper’s book is an absorbing and even suspenseful read.” (BizEd Magazine, May/June 2008)

“Ms. Cooper tells a compelling story that most of us can relate to regarding how internal audit is sometimes viewed within organizations when confronting difficult ethical dilemmas. I had a difficult time putting it down.” (Auditnet.org, May 2008)

“Extraordinary Circumstances details the struggle to get management to take internal audit seriously. The story of the investigation comes to life through Cynthia’s words. I found myself drawn into the story. Congratulations, Cynthia, on a successful first book. And many thanks for being willing to stand up to the truth and fight to expose the WorldCom fraud.” (bloggingstocks.com, 4/3/08)

“Cooper’s story is personal and interesting…it’s a cautionary tale for corporate executives. The book is an interesting story of how Cooper ended up as a major player in a very important business story.” (TexaxLawyer.com, 3/31/08)

“Extraordinary Circumstances is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of an accounting fraud. It tells the story of how that fraud was uncovered and of the ugly manipulation and deceit she encountered along the way.” (Bloomberg.com, 2/28/08)

“…blow-by-blow detail is what makes Cooper’s “Extraordinary Circumstances” well worth reading. Cooper’s willingness to reveal her innermost thoughts as she dug makes for gripping reading.” (BusinessWeek, February 25, 2008)

“…with the publication of her new book, Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of A Corporate Whistleblower, we finally get an inside account of what really happened at WorldCom. It’s a powerful tale. Cooper’s story has been partially told before, most notably in the Wall Street Journal and in a report prepared for WorldCom’s board of directors. But her adventures at WorldCom come to life in this first-person account.” (USA Today, February 15, 2008)

“Readers of Cooper’s book, Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower, will find it easy to identify with both the employees who manipulated the telecommunications giant’s financial statements and those who caught them.” (Reuters.com, February 7, 2008)

“…it’s a fascinating study of the quantum changes in character that accompany the accumulation of unimaginable wealth as well as an uncomfortable reminder of how, faced with an ethical fork in the road, just how easy it is for some to take a wrong turn.” (WebCPA.com, February 2008)

“This is a heroic, often exciting tale of a person who, in the course of doing her job, stumbles on a big lie and pushes on to get to the bottom of it.” (CFO.com; 1/25/08)

“This is a heroic, often exciting tale of a person who, in the course of doing her job, stumbles on a big lie and pushes on to get to the bottom of it.” (CFO.com; 1/25/08)

See all Editorial Reviews

order Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower: Cynthia Cooper form Amazon.