Storm Cunningham has made his name as the real estate agent for the revitalize era. As CEO of the resolution fund, Storm has turned around the fortunes of many a decaying suburb. When the manufacturing industries of Youngstown moved overseas the area was left vacuous and soulless until its community based "revitalization via shrinkage" program, initiated in 2004 and due to be completed in 2010.  It is  initiatives like this, focusing on re-working "brown" land and revitalizing industrial suburbs that have earned Storm his reputation as champion of the restoration economy.The book walks us through some of the projects... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 10:20 PM 1 comment

Tags: business, economics, media, reviews

Wondering what rapper 50 cent is doing gracing the pages of this website? Well, as co-author of what is quickly becoming a business best seller, this book just couldn't be missed.                        Curtis James Jackson III is an American Rapper who has caused much controversy over his anti-social ways, his explicit album lyrics (Get Rich or Die Trying was his 2003 album shown above) and his public feuds. His drug dealing mother was shot when he was in his early teens leaving him to be brought  up by his grandparents.  Curtis... Full review »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 10:08 PM Comment

Tags: America, business, media, reviews

Cityboy is a brilliantly gritty account of life in London's financial heartland - The Square Mile. Author Geraint Anderson breaks the city's code of silence to uncover its dark and sorded secrets. With insider trading, drug taking, gambling and recklessness abound it is a wonder that any trading gets done. However, Geraint is proof that the dog-eat-dog culture of looking out for number one does yield results - he retired at only 35 years old after amassing a fortune. The book, which was originally an anonymous column in a city newspaper looks set to go to film in the near... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 11:40 PM Comment

Tags: business, economics, Keith Suter, media, reviews

In June Keith interviewed Dr Ian Pollard For the Australian Institute of Company Directors about his new book "Investing In Life". The interview is available to listed to via podcast by clicking here. Dr Pollard tells Keith that he was inspired to write this book after seeing a gap in the market for books that look at the business case for investing in ones self. He cites that there are many books out there teaching us how to develop our Emotional Intelligence, or negotiation skills and our networking ability but nothing that gives a holistic perspective on the returns that... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 2:29 PM Comment

Tags: business, economics, law, media, reviews

In an age when stories of impending doom with regards to the state of the environment are rampant it is great to read something more positive. Lester Brown has was named by the Washington Post as "One of the world's most influential thinkers" and has devoted his life to the global environmental movement. His most recent book, "Mobilizing To Save Civilization" reviews the health of the planet while discussing and offering up practical and positive steps towards a solution. This book champions the cause for education and empowerment (through health care) of the individual as a means to achieving environmental... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 11:18 PM Comment

Tags: charity, environment, media, reviews

This week marks the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II so what better time to review this book which looks at Japanese Intelligence gathering during the late 1930's and through the 1940's. The author Ken Kotani's Japanese origins along with his international education (MA in war studies from Kings College, London) allowed him to gain access to some of Japan's war veterans. Many veterans still live under a cloud of fear that the USA will conduct investigations into their signals intelligence and put them on trial. Kotani reviewed the methods and depth of intelligence gathering strategies used... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 9:58 AM Comment

Tags: Asia, media, reviews, security

Australia has had a quiet time on the international front over the last few decades due in part to the hub and spoke arrangement that put the USA in the driving seat of world affairs. However, that era is ending thanks partly to the rise in wealth across many of Asia's key players. While the rise of China and India provides plenty of scope for functional cooperation, there are many unresolved issues in the region that could cause conflict. Tangled Webs looks at Australia's future in a multi-lateral era where the USA is no longer the king pin and Asia... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 11:52 PM Comment

Tags: Asia, Australasia, media, reviews

Last night's New Zealand victory in the Bledisloe Cup is another reminder of how tiny New Zealand can still beat Australia. It is prickly relationship going back over two centuries. One of the best books on this subject is by Denis McLean The Prickly Pair: Making Nationalism in Australia and New Zealand (University of Otago Press, 2003). There are many more New Zealanders living in Australia than there are Aborigines. Over one tenth of all New Zealanders live in Australia. The average New Zealander here enjoys a higher standard of living than the average Australian: he or she is better... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 1:00 AM Comment

Tags: Australasia, reviews

Edmund Campion, Melbourne: David Lovell Publishing. 2009 This is one of the most inspiring books I have read for some time. Though I can imagine Ted Kennedy being unimpressed with my praise! He was not that kind of person! Father Ted Kennedy (1931 - 2005) was most well known for this parish work in Redfern, inner Sydney, home to one of the country's largest urban populations of Indigenous Peoples. It was poverty-stricken, rundown and neglected by the politicians - even though it is only literally walking distance from the State Parliament House and business district. It is a world away... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 10:01 PM Comment

Tags: Australasia, religion, reviews, sociology

War has never been for the faint hearted but back in the early 1800's many would have much rather died fighting than deal with the consequences of surviving a major trauma. It was during a protracted and bloody battle that Jean-Henri Dunant became so insensed at the blood-loss and tragedy of was that he felt compelled to act. His book "A Memory of Solferino" became his mouthpiece, gaining him access to many people of influence. Dunant went on to form international aid agency the Red Cross along with his business partner Gustave Moynier- a recipient of the boook! While this... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 11:46 PM 1 comment

Tags: charity, media, peace, reviews

Life is made up of many disasters that we should have seen coming. From slipping over on wet bathroom tiles and falling out of a tree to the Chernobyl disaster and the devastating flooding of New Orleans. However, why, when it seems so obvious that a problem is looming do we allow them to happen? This book pinpoints three of the key reasons for the occurrence of these predictable surprises. The first, cognitive failure where the authorities fail to understand the consequences of their inaction. Secondly is organizational failure where the stakeholders may very well understand the size of the... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 12:09 AM Comment

Tags: business, health, media, reviews

The financial news is still gloomy, with the Prime Minister foreshadowing difficult times ahead. I have been reading a very interesting book on personal finance: All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan (New York: Free Press, 2005). The authors are Professor Elizabeth Warren (Harvard Law School) and her daughter Amelia Warren Tyagi (a financial commentator based on the West Coast). Their approach to getting started is novel: no complicated lists, no spending diaries to monitor expenditure, no counting every cent. Instead, they have three broad categories: regular monthly bills, money to be spent "just for fun", and money for... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 6:26 PM Comment

Tags: economics, reviews

The largest loss of life ever sustained by the Australian media industry took place on October 16 1975 at the East Timor village of Balibo. Five journalists were killed by Indonesian troops. A sixth Australian journalist, who went looking for them, was later killed by Indonesian forces in the capital city Dili. The massacre has been back in the news with this week with the preview of the movie Balibo. All the governments that had citizens involved in the deaths have refused to reveal all that they know. It has been difficult to get to the bottom of it because... Full article »

Posted by: Webeditor at 11:23 PM Comment

Tags: Asia, Australasia, conflict, reviews, security

Rating:

• Currently 3.7

Former Goldman Sachs investment banker John Talbott shares with us the 86 biggest lies from wall street and sheds some light onto some of the possible causes of the current economic crisis. His book claims that the American economy was never as strong and robust as it was made out to be. That GDP growth over the past ten or so years has been mainly due to population growth and the fact that many spouses have now entered the workforce rather than through good management. He uncovers the truth that the powers moving America are from the corporate world rather... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 11:47 PM Comment

Tags: America, economics, media, reviews

In these turbulent financial times many have pondered on the true costs of capitalism. In his newly released book, Barbera takes a look at the human element of the global financial market delving into behavioral economics and uncovering the psychology that drives the cycle of boom and bust. The book talks about the three stages of the market cycle as defined by American Economist Minsky . 1) Hedge Finance - this typifies the early part of the cycle with the memory of recession fresh in investors minds. 2) The Speculative Finance phase which occurs after a few years of good... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 11:51 PM Comment

Tags: business, economics, media, reviews

In his latest book, Paul Collier analyses the impact of democracy on global stability. Paul, a Professor of Economics at the Oxford University analyses the problems faced by some of the world's poorest countries in their quest to play their part on the world stage. This book looks at the post cold war political landscape and surmises that the world has become a more dangerous place for many. As an economist Paul takes an analytical and fact laden approach to his writing concentrating on financial benchmarks and numerical facts preferring not to steer into the more theoretical and historical territory... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 1:05 AM Comment

Tags: conflict, economics, media, reviews

Regardless to whether you are selling a car, a tin of beans or a country branding is everything. Simon Anholt's short yet surprisingly comprehensive book looks at the extent that countries such as the USA and Great Britain have penetrated our subconscious and shaped our decision-making. Find out why British Airways had the upper hand over Russia's Aeroflot long before there was a plane to take off in. Discover how our trust of America stems from the playground and why China is struggling to make a small car that we can believe in. A well-written book that will change the... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 11:54 PM Comment

Tags: business, media, reviews

The Color of Truth looks at the role the Bundy brothers played in setting American foreign policy. McGeorge "Mac" Bundy held the role of United Nations Security Advisor to presidents John F.Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson and was best known internationally for his role in escalating the United States involvement in Vietnam. His brother William "Bill" Bundy was a member of the CIA as well as joining his brother in serving Kennedy and Johnson as foreign affairs advisor. Bill played a key part in the planning of the Vietnam war, a war that he had said "was a tragedy waiting to... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 11:28 PM Comment

Tags: America, media, reviews

How is it that some companies manage to steam on ahead of the pack while others can only muster up a crawl? Steven Spear investigates in this amazingly insightful book. He uses Toyota as one example of a "Rabbit" - a once humble manufacture of small, cost effective vehicles turned world leader, to analyse what one needs to stay ahead of the curve in today's manufacturing environment. Toyota practice Kaizen, a Japanese philosophy of continual improvement. Rather than look for the "big hitters" Toyota try to improve systems and processes bit by bit, day by day. Responsibility for change lies... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 11:32 PM 1 comment

Tags: business, media, reviews

Zhao Ziyang was Premier of the People's Republic of China between 1980 and 1987 before becoming General Secretary of the Communist Party until 1989. Zhao had been working to bring reform to China, to cut through bureaucracy and fight corruption. To open up trading opportunities between China and the outside world, to develop a market economy. However, it was his views over the handling of Tianamen Square that pushed the Chinese Government too far. Prisoner of the State documents Zhao's life both as part of the Communist Party and post May 1989 when he was placed under house arrest for... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 11:34 PM Comment

Tags: Asia, media, reviews