The Foreclosure Survival Guide: Keep Your House or Walk Away With Money in Your Pocket: Stephen Elias Attorney

• Filed under: Recommended

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Nolo’s just published The Foreclosure Survival Guide: Keep Your House or Walk Away with Money in Your Pocket by Steven Elias “discusses the most recent laws designed to help homeowners deal with the crisis and points them to resources (nonprofit housing counselors, government agencies and so on) that may help,” says Mary Randolph, Nolo’s senior vice president of editorial. Elias, a practicing attorney, former Nolo associate publisher and current president of the National Bankruptcy Law Project, advises that readers not panic. “Even if the lender does foreclose on the house, the process takes months at the least. You’re going to have time to evaluate your options and make smart choices.” –Publishers Weekly - October 20, 2008

Bankruptcy attorney Elias targets the estimated two million American homeowners who are currently in default on their mortgages. Elias explains how foreclosure works, what options there may be for keeping a home when in default, and what to do when that is not possible. He includes instruction on negotiating a workout with a lender as well as chapters on how to use bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure. Elias’s section on fighting foreclosure in the courts helps readers understand the circumstances in which they may be able to delay or stop a foreclosure action. The appendixes provide summaries of each state’s foreclosure laws, a glossary, and information on finding and working with lawyers and bankruptcy petition preparers. Straightforward and timely, this is recommended for most public libraries.-Joan Pedzich, Harris Beach PLLC, Rochester, NY –LIBRARY JOURNAL

Facing foreclosure? Know your options!

According to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, "the number of homeowners paying more than half their income on housing rocketed from 6.5 million in 2001 to 8.8 million in 2006… The number of homes entering foreclosure nearly doubled to 1.3 million in 2007 from about 660,000 in 2005."

If you’re having trouble making your mortgage payments or are already in jeopardy of foreclosure, The Foreclosure Survival Guide compassionately gives you the practical information you need, step by step.

An essential tool for anyone at risk of foreclosure, The Foreclosure Survival Guide provides key information about:

The Complete Guide to Offshore Money Havens, Revised and Updated 4th Edition: How to Make Millions, Protect Your Privacy, and Legally Avoid Taxes: Jerome Schneider

• Filed under: Recommended

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The book that you should consult to find the friendliest places for your money."
—STEPHEN MOORE, economic analyst, Washington, D.C.

"Written at a layman’s level. I understood it and enjoyed it very much."
—GENE YOUNT, North Carolina

"Excellent overview of offshore opportunities. It definitely makes one start to think about what exists outside of the United States."
—DAN GOLDFARB, Ohio (from Amazon.com)

"I cannot say enough about this book. I found it to be well written, informative, and up-to-date. Mr. Schneider comes across as sincere, forthright, and honest, with no BS."
—DAVID BERNSTEIN, New Jersey (from Amazon.com)

Discover the Personal Finance Secrets of the Super Rich
Is it possible to make multimillion-dollar profits outside the United States—without intrusion from the government? How can you protect your money and other assets from unfair lawsuits, greedy relatives, and even your spouse in the event of a divorce? The secret is to put your money to work where it will be secure and generate solid returns—in one of the world’s many safe and legal offshore money havens.
In this completely revised edition of the runaway bestseller, leading financial expert Jerome Schneider shows you how to use the same international business strategies and tactics that have earned billions for America’s most prestigious banks, corporations, and business people. He reveals various ways to enter the foreign markets, ranks the world’s top offshore money havens, offers tips on how to avoid the common pitfalls of international business, and tells dozens of stories about creative men and women who have easily and successfully invested abroad.
A wonderful starting place for anyone ready to take the most essential step in profit planning, The Complete Guide to Offshore Money Havens is a goldmine of information for investors who want to protect their assets and watch them grow.
"A serious contender for the best book on offshore banking I’ve ever read."
—Rep. Billy Tauzin, member of the U.S. Congress
"The book that you should consult to find the friendliest places for your money."
—Stephen Moore, economic analyst, Washington, D.C.
"Written at a layman’s level. I understood it and enjoyed it very much."
—Gene Yount, North Carolina
"Excellent overview of offshore opportunities. It definitely makes one start to think about what exists outside of the United States."
—Dan GoldFarb, Ohio (from Amazon.com)
"I cannot say enough about this book. I found it to be well written, informative, and up-to-date. Mr. Schneider comes across as sincere, forthright, and honest, with no BS."
—David Bernstein, New Jersey (from Amazon.com)

Order The Complete Guide to Offshore Money Havens, Revised and Updated 4th Edition: How to Make Millions, Protect Your Privacy, and Legally Avoid Taxes: Jerome Schneider form Amazon.

Financier: The Biography of André Meyer: A Story of Money, Power, and the Reshaping of American Business (Trailblazers): Cary Reich

• Filed under: Recommended

Editorial Reviews

Fortune magazine deemed him “the most important investment banker in the Western world.” A ferociously energetic, charming, and ruthless businessman, he had, by the age of forty, helped save the foundering auto giant Citroën, established France’s first consumer finance company, and been awarded the Legion of Honor. He was a trusted adviser of the Kennedys and an intimate of Lyndon Johnson, William Paley, and Katharine Graham. His numerous business accomplishments included the building or revitalizing of such corporate giants as Avis, Holiday Inns, Warner-Lambert, and Engelhard Minerals & Chemicals. One of the world’s savviest individual investors, he amassed a personal fortune of well over $200 million, yet to his dying day never gave up the search for the ultimate buck.

André Meyer, “The Picasso of Banking,” was all this—and much more. A man of seemingly endless contradictions, he was respected and admired by many, scorned and disliked by many others. In this riveting, classic biography, renowned author and National Book Award finalist Cary Reich skillfully captures the many facets of this colorful and complex figure, painting an illuminating and captivating portrait of an enigmatic icon who climbed his way from modest beginnings to become what David Rockefeller called “the most creative financial genius of our time in the investment banking world.”

Born in 1898 in Paris, André Benoit Mathieu Meyer was saddled with adult responsibilities early on, having to provide for his family when his father, an inveterate gambler, “left a vacuum at the head of the household.” After getting his professional start at a small Paris bank, he quickly caught the attention of the eminent private banking firm Lazard Fréres, whose prestigious ranks he joined in 1925. Within a year, Meyer was made partner.

With the advent of World War II, Meyer was forced into exile by the Nazi occupation. Resettling in the United States, he took over Lazard’s New York operation, building it into the most venturesome investment bank in America. During the 1940s and 1950s, when industry was thirsting for capital for its relentless growth, he financed anything and everything from Texas ranchland to New York City real-estate projects. In the sixties, when it became clear the big corporations could get bigger only by gobbling up other corporations, Meyer masterfully got the merger-and-acquisition ball rolling, and became the world’s most prolific marriage broker for countless corporate combinations.

Financier brilliantly captures Meyer’s financial wizardry, a phenomenal talent that was tempered only by the volatile tantrums, ruthlessness, and insatiable greed that went hand in hand with his genius. Unveiling the dueling sides of his complex personality, this absorbing account shows Meyer at his best—as a father figure for the likes of Felix Rohatyn, his most famous protégé, and for Jacqueline Onassis in the years after the assassination—and presents him at his worst—as a tortured and possessive father and a cruel, often vindictive boss.

Financier is a work that is as compelling, unforgettable, and monumental as its inimitable subject.

Railblazers Rediscovering the Pioneers of Business

Critical praise for Financier: The Biography of André Meyer

“A first-rate biography of an extraordinary man.” —Andrew Tobias

“A fascinating mix of financial history involving household names of the corporate scene, gossip at rarefied altitudes and big bucks. The focus is on people, mutual back-scratching, wheeling and dealing through the conglomerate jungle.” —The Wall Street Journal.

“This book is fun to read. Mr. Reich, while prudently avoiding heavy legal and accounting exegesis, has a talent for the clear explanation of essential technical detail.” —New York Times Book Review.

“Hard-edged and uncompromising . . . a lucid and well-researched account.” —The New Republic.

From the Publisher
A new edition of Cary Reich’s engaging biography of Andre Meyer. In this new edition of Financier, Cary Reich presents an illuminating portrait of this ferociously energetic, charming, and ruthless businessman who was a trusted advisor of the Kennedys and an intimate of William Paley and Katherine Graham. Reich goes into detail about Meyer’s immigration from Nazi-occupied France, his prowess on the Monopoly board of business, and some of Meyer’s lasting business legacies-now household names-including Avis and Holiday Inn.

Order Financier: The Biography of André Meyer: A Story of Money, Power, and the Reshaping of American Business (Trailblazers): Cary Reich form Amazon.

The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance: Ron Chernow

• Filed under: Recommended

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
J. P. Morgan Sr.’s close relationship with Teddy Roosevelt; his son Jack Morgan’s clientele of governments, finance ministers and central banks; and the Morgan realm’s split under New Deal legislation are examined in detail in this National Book Award winner. “Packed with revelations, Chernow’s mammoth history demystifies the inner workings of the secretive Morgan banking empire,” PW said . Photos . Author tour.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Chernow vividly portrays the influence that the Morgan banks have had on the history of the Western economy since the late 18th century. The epic story of the development of the American industrial experience is inextricably related to the history of the Morgan banks. Though this fascinating story is virtually the same as that told by Kathleen Bunk in Morgan Grenfell 1838-1988 ( LJ 12/89), Chernow adds color and personality with an emphasis on the 20th-century development of the bank. Working with recently discovered Morgan archives, he reveals institutional details long hidden by the protective secrecy of the family. This superb history will be an important book. BOMC, Fortune, and History Book Club featured alternates. –Joseph Barth, U.S. Military Acad. Lib., West Point, N.Y.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Order The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance: Ron Chernow form Amazon.

The Life and Legend of E. H. Harriman: Maury Klein

• Filed under: Recommended

From Publishers Weekly
“My time,” Edward Henry Harriman once said, “is worth a mule a minute.” It was a rare understatement. Known as “the Colossus of [Rail]Roads,” having transformed himself at age 50 from Wall Street banker to audacious transcontinental octopus, Harriman (1847-1909) spent his late years developing, acquiring, merging and modernizing railroads from the Union Pacific to the Burlington. With businesslike authority, Klein (a historian at the University of Rhode Island and author of The Life and Legend of Jay Gould) vividly tells the story of a man who rose from being a minister’s son with few prospects to an efficient, visionary entrepreneur. Klein makes a strong argument that, although not as well remembered as his peers, Harriman was in a league with financial titans Rockefeller and Carnegie; indeed, the author suggests, Harriman accomplished as much in a decade as they did in their entire careers. The book suffers from an overabundance of cliches, however, and lacks the clarity of a central organizing theme. Klein bogs down in the minutiae of banking and railroading, and yet it is difficult for readers to evaluate the size of Harriman’s fortune since Klein never translates the dollar values into today’s terms. Still, by the close of this sprawling epic tale–on the afternoon of Harriman’s burial when every train in the magnate’s dominion was momentarily stilled, bringing the nation to a near halt–Klein succeeds in persuading us that Harriman created an infrastructure with an important legacy. B&w photos. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Recent major biographies about various so-called Robber Barons, such as John D. Rockefeller and John Pierpont Morgan, while perhaps not completely revisionist, have certainly put their subjects in a more sympathetic light. Klein now accomplishes the same feat with his portrait of controversial railroad magnate Edward Henry Harriman. Harriman took over and revitalized a bankrupt Union Pacific Railroad Company starting in 1898, and ultimately acquired stakes in the Southern Pacific and the Baltimore & Ohio. His failed clash with James J. Hill over the Northern Pacific precipitated a major financial crisis in 1901, and Harriman stirred the bitter enmity of Theodore Roosevelt. Klein already similarly profiled the “life and legend” of Jay Gould in 1986, and he is a respected chronicler of railroad history and the Civil War. The only other major biography of Harriman was George Kennan’s two-volume work published in 1922. Klein begins with a prologue describing Kennan’s difficulties in completing that work. With access to Kennan’s papers and interviews, Klein masterfully recounts Harriman’s saga and proclaims his legacy. David Rouse

See all Editorial Reviews

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The Life and Legend of E. H. Harriman: Maury Klein

• Filed under: Recommended

From Publishers Weekly
“My time,” Edward Henry Harriman once said, “is worth a mule a minute.” It was a rare understatement. Known as “the Colossus of [Rail]Roads,” having transformed himself at age 50 from Wall Street banker to audacious transcontinental octopus, Harriman (1847-1909) spent his late years developing, acquiring, merging and modernizing railroads from the Union Pacific to the Burlington. With businesslike authority, Klein (a historian at the University of Rhode Island and author of The Life and Legend of Jay Gould) vividly tells the story of a man who rose from being a minister’s son with few prospects to an efficient, visionary entrepreneur. Klein makes a strong argument that, although not as well remembered as his peers, Harriman was in a league with financial titans Rockefeller and Carnegie; indeed, the author suggests, Harriman accomplished as much in a decade as they did in their entire careers. The book suffers from an overabundance of cliches, however, and lacks the clarity of a central organizing theme. Klein bogs down in the minutiae of banking and railroading, and yet it is difficult for readers to evaluate the size of Harriman’s fortune since Klein never translates the dollar values into today’s terms. Still, by the close of this sprawling epic tale–on the afternoon of Harriman’s burial when every train in the magnate’s dominion was momentarily stilled, bringing the nation to a near halt–Klein succeeds in persuading us that Harriman created an infrastructure with an important legacy. B&w photos. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Recent major biographies about various so-called Robber Barons, such as John D. Rockefeller and John Pierpont Morgan, while perhaps not completely revisionist, have certainly put their subjects in a more sympathetic light. Klein now accomplishes the same feat with his portrait of controversial railroad magnate Edward Henry Harriman. Harriman took over and revitalized a bankrupt Union Pacific Railroad Company starting in 1898, and ultimately acquired stakes in the Southern Pacific and the Baltimore & Ohio. His failed clash with James J. Hill over the Northern Pacific precipitated a major financial crisis in 1901, and Harriman stirred the bitter enmity of Theodore Roosevelt. Klein already similarly profiled the “life and legend” of Jay Gould in 1986, and he is a respected chronicler of railroad history and the Civil War. The only other major biography of Harriman was George Kennan’s two-volume work published in 1922. Klein begins with a prologue describing Kennan’s difficulties in completing that work. With access to Kennan’s papers and interviews, Klein masterfully recounts Harriman’s saga and proclaims his legacy. David Rouse

See all Editorial Reviews

order The Life and Legend of E. H. Harriman: Maury Klein now and save money!

The Life and Legend of E. H. Harriman: Maury Klein

• Filed under: Recommended

From Publishers Weekly
“My time,” Edward Henry Harriman once said, “is worth a mule a minute.” It was a rare understatement. Known as “the Colossus of [Rail]Roads,” having transformed himself at age 50 from Wall Street banker to audacious transcontinental octopus, Harriman (1847-1909) spent his late years developing, acquiring, merging and modernizing railroads from the Union Pacific to the Burlington. With businesslike authority, Klein (a historian at the University of Rhode Island and author of The Life and Legend of Jay Gould) vividly tells the story of a man who rose from being a minister’s son with few prospects to an efficient, visionary entrepreneur. Klein makes a strong argument that, although not as well remembered as his peers, Harriman was in a league with financial titans Rockefeller and Carnegie; indeed, the author suggests, Harriman accomplished as much in a decade as they did in their entire careers. The book suffers from an overabundance of cliches, however, and lacks the clarity of a central organizing theme. Klein bogs down in the minutiae of banking and railroading, and yet it is difficult for readers to evaluate the size of Harriman’s fortune since Klein never translates the dollar values into today’s terms. Still, by the close of this sprawling epic tale–on the afternoon of Harriman’s burial when every train in the magnate’s dominion was momentarily stilled, bringing the nation to a near halt–Klein succeeds in persuading us that Harriman created an infrastructure with an important legacy. B&w photos. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Recent major biographies about various so-called Robber Barons, such as John D. Rockefeller and John Pierpont Morgan, while perhaps not completely revisionist, have certainly put their subjects in a more sympathetic light. Klein now accomplishes the same feat with his portrait of controversial railroad magnate Edward Henry Harriman. Harriman took over and revitalized a bankrupt Union Pacific Railroad Company starting in 1898, and ultimately acquired stakes in the Southern Pacific and the Baltimore & Ohio. His failed clash with James J. Hill over the Northern Pacific precipitated a major financial crisis in 1901, and Harriman stirred the bitter enmity of Theodore Roosevelt. Klein already similarly profiled the “life and legend” of Jay Gould in 1986, and he is a respected chronicler of railroad history and the Civil War. The only other major biography of Harriman was George Kennan’s two-volume work published in 1922. Klein begins with a prologue describing Kennan’s difficulties in completing that work. With access to Kennan’s papers and interviews, Klein masterfully recounts Harriman’s saga and proclaims his legacy. David Rouse

See all Editorial Reviews

order The Life and Legend of E. H. Harriman: Maury Klein now and save money!

Big Deal: The Battle for Control of America’s Leading Corporations: Bruce Wasserstein

• Filed under: Recommended

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Nothing in business is more shrouded in secrecy and mystery than "doing the deal." The dealmakers themselves are usually flamboyant, the sums of money involved are vast, and the number of people who are affected by the deal are many. So it’s no wonder that the media loves to cover stories like the QVC/Viacom battle over Paramount or Worldcom’s recent takeover bids–deals like these can dominate headlines for days. Big Deal is about this high stakes game of corporate mergers and acquisitions. Author Bruce Wasserstein, himself a participant in many of these deals through his firm Wasserstein, Perella & Co., writes a highly readable and fascinating account that covers the history, personalities, and mechanics of mergers and acquisitions.

Wasserstein sees five waves of mergers beginning in the mid-1800s: the first wave involved the building of the railroad empires; the second in the 1920s saw a period of merger mania which was fueled in part by a frothy stock market and rapid industrial growth; the third wave happened during the "Go-Go Years" of the 1960s, which witnessed the rise of the conglomerate; the fourth occurred with the hostile takeovers of the 1980s, driven by names such as Icahn, Boesky, and Milken; and finally Wasserstein sees a fifth wave happening today. He attributes the current explosion of mergers and acquisitions to the need for companies to reposition themselves in today’s ever changing competitive environment.

Wasserstein peppers the book with thumbnail personality profiles of some of the big dealmakers including Barry Diller, Sumner Redstone, Carl Icahn, T. Boone Pickens, and Bernard Ebbers. He also considers the many techniques and strategies employed by the dealmakers–poison pills, proxy fights, and bear hugs. Trends such as globalization, deregulation, and profound technological change are causing mergers and acquisitions to happen more than ever, and Big Deal provides a good foundation for understanding why and how these deals happen. –Harry C. Edwards

The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, Suzanna Andrews
On the face of it, almost no one would be better positioned to explain the wild world of corporate takeovers. He knows the game, and he played it with relish…. Now, with 820 pages in which to tell his stories freely, Wasserstein has, remarkably, revealed nothing about his personal experiences on the front lines. The result is a book that is far duller than it has a right to be…. Wasserstein has not set out to tackle the question of how we are affected by the corporate game of mergers and acquisitions. His book seems, ultimately, to have been written for his clients. Not that they will read it. But it will look impressive on the coffee tables of their corporate suites.

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The House of Rothschild: Volume 2: The World’s Banker: 1849-1999: Niall Ferguson

• Filed under: Recommended

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Continuing the sweeping narrative that he began with The House of Rothschild: Money’s Prophets, 1798-1848, Oxford University historian Niall Ferguson conjures up a world in which widespread change and utter uncertainty held sway in the place of carefully ordered dynasties and universally observed mores. In the aftermath of the Napoleonic revolution, European Jews had been able to move within dominant societies somewhat more freely. Of no family was this more true than the Rothschilds, whose branches lived in Germany, France, Austria, and England, and whose vast financial empire enabled them to act as diplomats and power brokers throughout the world. Their influence was enormous. When Spain wanted to build a railroad, its ministers approached the House of Rothschild. When the Confederate States of America sought to be recognized by the states of Europe, it sought–unsuccessfully–the Rothschilds’ support. When Ferdinand de Lesseps broke ground for the Panama Canal and Cecil Rhodes broke ground for his vast diamond and gold mines in South Africa, Rothschild funds backed them.

Until the 1920s, Ferguson demonstrates, there was almost no economic, technological, or political development in Europe in which the House of Rothschild did not play some role. The rise of nationalist and national socialist movements and of official anti-Semitism, coupled with the rise in the Jazz Age of a new generation of Rothschilds that cared more for the good life than for the hard work of maintaining their holdings, led to a substantial decline in the family’s authority and wealth. But even today, as Ferguson writes in this richly detailed but eminently readable history, the Rothschilds figure in European finance, continuing a legacy that Ferguson’s two volumes trace from the Middle Ages to the new millennium. –Gregory McNamee
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Ferguson is not only publishing massive works of history at an astonishing rate; he is publishing well-written and controversial books. The Pity of War (Forecasts, Mar. caused a stir by arguing that Britain bore the brunt of the blame for WWI. The completion of his two-volume history of the Rothschild banking empire begins at a high point of wealth, power and civic involvement, with Benjamin Disraeli a close family friend and Lionel Rothschild playing a leading role in gaining Jews the right to sit in Parliament. The book ends with the post-WWII rebuilding of the Rothschilds into a far-flung “mini-multinational.” Drawing on thousands of letters from private Rothschild archives, Ferguson does a masterful job of showing how the Rothschild financial empire interacted with the governments of Europe. His account is peppered with countless refutations of previous interpretations and analyses. Yet the larger historical picture is often blurred as Ferguson furnishes blow-by-blow accounts of, for example, the French Rothschilds’ ultimately successful decades-long battle against the Cr?dit Mobilier. Readers will be left wanting more analysis of the larger sea change that consigned the Rothschild style of private banking to its current secondary status. And while he follows the senior partners in Britain and France (other houses, in Naples, Vienna and Frankfurt, either closed or simply receded from Ferguson’s view), Ferguson sticks to their public deeds and roles, rarely venturing into the personal or the psychological. Still, this history is teeming with soundly argued expositions on the role of a singularly important family. Illus., charts, tables, appendices. (Nov.) FYI: In November, Penguin will publish The House of Rothschild: Money’s Prophets 1798-1848 in paperback.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance: Ron Chernow

• Filed under: Recommended

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
J. P. Morgan Sr.’s close relationship with Teddy Roosevelt; his son Jack Morgan’s clientele of governments, finance ministers and central banks; and the Morgan realm’s split under New Deal legislation are examined in detail in this National Book Award winner. “Packed with revelations, Chernow’s mammoth history demystifies the inner workings of the secretive Morgan banking empire,” PW said . Photos . Author tour.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Chernow vividly portrays the influence that the Morgan banks have had on the history of the Western economy since the late 18th century. The epic story of the development of the American industrial experience is inextricably related to the history of the Morgan banks. Though this fascinating story is virtually the same as that told by Kathleen Bunk in Morgan Grenfell 1838-1988 ( LJ 12/89), Chernow adds color and personality with an emphasis on the 20th-century development of the bank. Working with recently discovered Morgan archives, he reveals institutional details long hidden by the protective secrecy of the family. This superb history will be an important book. BOMC, Fortune, and History Book Club featured alternates. –Joseph Barth, U.S. Military Acad. Lib., West Point, N.Y.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

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