New at the Library

The definitive new translation of Max Weber's classic work of social theory--arguably the most important book by the foremost social theorist of the twentieth century. Presenting a framework for understanding the relations among individual action, social action, economic action, and economic institutions. It also provides a classification of political forms based upon "systems of rule" and "rulership" that has shaped debate about the nature and role of charisma, tradition, legal authority, and bureaucracy. Keith Tribe's major new translation presents Economy and Society as it stood when Weber died in June 1920, with three complete chapters and a fragment of a fourth. This new edition will become the definitive translation of one of the few indisputably great intellectual works of the past 150 years.

Provides managers and executives with easy ways to add more gratitude to the every day work environment to help bolster moral, efficiency, and profitability. Workers want and need to know their work is appreciated. New research shows that gratitude boosts employee engagement, reduces turnover, and leads team members to express more gratitude to one another--strengthening team bonds. Gratitude is beneficial for those expressing it and is one of the most powerful variables in predicting a person's overall well-being--above money, health, and optimism. Showing gratitude isn't just about being nice, it's about being smart--really smart--and it's a skill that everyone can easily learn.

Reviewed: TLS 12 Feb. 2021 p. 12.
Description: Wendy Woloson considers seriously the detritus of everyday consumerist Western lives–a category that comprises objects that function as art, jokes, tools, embodiments of fantasies, cultural signifiers, status symbols, and much more; a.k.a. “crap.” She seeks to use these possessions to illuminate our society, culture, and economy. Why do we–as individuals and as a culture–have these things? Where do they come from, and why do we want them? In her words, this investigation “brings together material culture, consumer culture, behavioral economics, cultural economics, the histories of industrialization, capitalism and international trade, among other disciplines.” (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 14 Oct. 2019 p. 57.
Description: An accessible, compelling introduction to today’s major policy issues from columnist, best-selling author, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman. There is no better guide than Paul Krugman to basic economics, the ideas that animate much of our public policy. Likewise, there is no better foe of zombie economics, the misunderstandings that just won’t die. This delightful new book finds Krugman at his best, turning readers into intelligent consumers of the daily news with quick, vivid sketches of the key concepts behind taxes, health care, international trade, and more. (publ.)

Reviewed: NYT 4 Aug. 2019 p. SR3 (author op/ed.); NYT/BR 15 Oct. 2019 p. 14.
Description: Examines the income inequality and declining social mobility endured by today’s workers, along with the decades of worker power reductions and the increasing political and economic control of the wealthy. (publ.)

Beyond Piggy Banks is written for you: the loving, responsible and overworked parents of young children. It takes the stress and mystery out of finance, and focuses on the basic fundamentals elementary children should understand so they can make smart decisions as they grow. This usable, light hearted, real-world guide provides parents with the specific tools and step-by-step lessons needed to teach their child. The lessons provided are easy to teach and understand. The activities are quick, enjoyable and educational. Each concept starts with the basics, and builds upon them so your child has a full understanding of the topic.

An accessible guide to our digital infrastructure, explaining the basics of operating systems, networks, security, and other topics for the general reader. In Bits to Bitcoin, Mark Stuart Day offers an accessible guide to our digital infrastructure, explaining the basics of operating systems, networks, security, and related topics for the general reader.

Reviewed: NYT/BR 25 Aug. 2019 p. 17.
Description: A guide to investing basics by the author of Broke Millennial, for anyone who feels like they aren’t ready (or rich enough) to get into the market. Millennials want to learn how to start investing. The problem is that most have no idea where to begin. There’s a significant lack of information out there catering to the concerns of new millennial investors, such as: *Should I invest while paying down student loans? *How do I invest in a socially responsible way? *What about robo-advisors and apps–are any of them any good? *Where can I look online for investment advice? (publ.)

Reviewed: FA 98(2) Mar./Apr. 2019 p. 173.
Description: In the 1930s, battered and humbled by the Great Depression, the U.S. financial sector struck a grand bargain with the federal government. Bankers gained a safety net in exchange for certain curbs on their freedom: transparency rules, record-keeping and antifraud measures, and fiduciary responsibilities. Despite subsequent periodic changes in these regulations, the underlying bargain played a major role in preserving the stability of the financial markets as well as the larger economy. By the free-market era of the 1980s and 90s, however, Wall Street argued that rules embodied in New Deal-era regulations to protect consumers and ultimately taxpayers were no longer needed–and government agreed. This engaging history documents the country’s financial crises, focusing on those of the 1920s, the 1980s, and the 2000s, and reveals how the two more recent crises arose from the neglect of this fundamental bargain, and how taxpayers have been left with the bill. (publ.)

The SAGE Guide to Careers for Counseling and Clinical Practice offers valuable insights into a range of career options in clinical work through the contributions of 15 counselors. The text opens with a discussion of the various roles and functions of counselors and includes guidance on educational, licensing, and fieldwork considerations, while subsequent chapters offer practical information on job requirements, salaries, and day-to-day activities. Aspiring counselors and clinicians will gain not only a factual knowledge about career possibilities, but also a deeper understanding of what it actually means to engage in this type of work.

Rich Sheridan s Joy, Inc. told the story of how his tiny software company in Ann Arbor, Michigan achieved success and renown by embracing offbeat culture and human-centred values. In Chief Joy Officer, he turns his attention from culture to leadership, and draws on his experience running Menlo and consulting elsewhere to offer a wise, provocative guide on how anyone can build leadership capacity for joy within their own organization.

Originally published in 1970, this classic study has been recognized for its groundbreaking role in integrating economics and ethics, and for its influence in opening up new areas of research in social choice, including aggregative assessment. It has also had a large influence on international organizations, including the United Nations, notably in its work on human development. The book showed that the "impossibility theorems" in social choice theory--led by the pioneering work of Kenneth Arrow--do not negate the possibility of reasoned and democratic social choice.

As online distractions increasingly colonize our time, why has productivity become such a vital demonstration of personal and professional competence? When corporate profits are soaring but worker salaries remain stagnant, how does technology exacerbate the demand for ever greater productivity? In Counterproductive Melissa Gregg explores how productivity emerged as a way of thinking about job performance at the turn of the last century and why it remains prominent in the different work worlds of today.

Note: Library standing order.
Description: With cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin on the rise, many wonder if these digital currencies could be the exchange medium of the future, but what are cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology that facilitates them? Blockchain technology involves linking a series of digital records through cryptography without the use of a centralized server, which when applied to asset exchange creates cryptocurrencies. However, there are various concerns about the ability to regulate cryptocurrencies, their stability, and whether they can be applied on a global scale. This volume enables readers to better understand these new technologies and the controversies surrounding them. (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 13 Jan. 2020 p. 52.
Description: The story of a pharmacy in Kermit, West Virginia, that distributed 12 mil-lion opioid pain pills in three years to a town with a population of 382 people–and of one woman, desperate for justice, after losing her brother to overdose. Debbie Preece’s fight for accountability for her brother’s death took her well beyond the Sav-Rite Pharmacy in coal country, ultimately leading to three of the biggest drug wholesalers in the country. She was joined by a crusading lawyer and by local journalist, Eric Eyre, who uncovered a massive opioid pill-dumping scandal that shook the foundation of America’s largest drug companies–and won him a Pulitzer Prize. (publ.)

In DEEP WORK, author and professor Cal Newport flips the narrative on impact in a connected age. Instead of arguing distraction is bad, he instead celebrates the power of its opposite. Dividing this book into two parts, he first makes the case that in almost any profession, cultivating a deep work ethic will produce massive benefits. He then presents a rigorous training regimen, presented as a series of four "rules," for transforming your mind and habits to support this skill.

The fascinating untold story of digital cash and its creators--from experiments in the 1970s to the mania over Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies Bitcoin may appear to be a revolutionary form of digital cash without precedent or prehistory. In Digital Cash, Finn Brunton reveals how technological utopians and political radicals created experimental money to bring about their visions of the future: protecting privacy or bringing down governments, preparing for apocalypse or launching a civilization of innovation and abundance that would make its creators immortal. Along the way, Digital Cash explores the hard questions and challenges that these innovators faced Digital Cash is an engaging and accessible account of the strange origins and remarkable technologies behind today's cryptocurrency explosion.

Reviewed: NYT 25 Aug. 2019 p. SR9 (author op./ed.)
Description: Tells the story of the conservative economists espousing free market and deregulatory policies during the four decades between 1969 and 2008. Leading figures such as Milton Friedman, Arthur Laffer, Walter Oi, Alfred Kahn, and Thomas Schelling believed that government should stop trying to manage the economy, and that markets would deliver steady growth and ensure that all Americans shared in the benefits. But, Applelbaum argues, these policies failed to deliver on their promise of broad prosperity, and the singleminded embrace of markets has come at the expense of economic equality, the health of liberal democracy, and future generations. (publ.)

Description: Fair trade is intended to help producers in developing countries achieve better working and trading conditions while maintaining certain environmental standards. This is achieved through arrangements with distributors around the world. With the influx of fair trade goods on grocery store shelves and restaurant menus, one would assume an overall positive trend in trade conditions is occurring. However, numerous concerns continue to surround fair trade, as readers will learn. They will consider whether it benefits all developing countries and markets equally, and analyze the extent to which it is effective at protecting the environment. They will develop intelligent opinions on which conditions will make trade as fair as possible. (publ.)
Note: Library standing order.

Reviewed: FA 98(5) Sept./Oct. 2019 p. 226.
Description: Offers the first full-scale defense of pro-free-trade policies with developing countries at its center. Arvind Panagariya, a professor at Columbia University and former top economic advisor to the government of India, supplies a historically informed analysis of many longstanding but flawed arguments for protection. He starts with an insightful overview of the positive case for free trade, and then closely examines the various contentions of protectionists. One protectionist argument is that “infant” industries need time to grow and become competitive, and thus should be sheltered. Other arguments are that emerging markets are especially prone to coordination failures, they are in need of diversification of their production structures, and they suffer from market imperfections. The panoply of protectionist arguments, including those for import substitution industrialization, fails when subject to close logical and empirical scrutiny. (publ.)

In The Genius Habit, performance strategist Laura Garnett shows you how the path to finding long-lasting professional happiness starts with building the habit that makes extraordinary accomplishment all but guaranteed, as well as: The difference between passion and purpose and why one matters more than the other.

The advancement of transportation and communication technology has facilitated greater interaction between people throughout the world, a process known as globalization. Because of its various economic, social, cultural, and environmental implications, attitudes toward globalization are ambivalent. There are concerns about the exploitation of people and resources from less economically stable countries and the destruction of cultural traditions, but at the same time it has allowed the world to open up for people on an international scale. It is important to weigh the many costs and benefits of this complicated issue to form a reasoned response, which this book adeptly supports.

Reviewed: NYT 13 Oct. 2019 p. SR9 (op/ed.; referenced)
Description: 2019 Nobel prize-winning economists Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo show how economics, when done right, can help us solve the thorniest social and political problems of our day. From immigration to inequality, slowing growth to accelerating climate change, we have the resources to address the challenges we face but we are so often blinded by ideology. It builds on cutting-edge research in economics–and years of exploring the most effective solutions to alleviate extreme poverty–to make a persuasive case for an intelligent interventionism and a society built on compassion and respect. A much-needed antidote to polarized discourse, this book shines a light to help us appreciate and understand our precariously balanced world. (publ.)

Reviewed: Economist 14 Dec. 2019 p. 70 (cited)
Description: Why are cell-phone plans so much more expensive in the United States than in Europe? It seems a simple question. But the search for an answer took Thomas Philippon on an unexpected journey through some of the most complex and hotly debated issues in modern economics. Ultimately he reached his surprising conclusion: American markets, once a model for the world, are giving up on healthy competition. Sector after economic sector is more concentrated than it was twenty years ago, dominated by fewer and bigger players who lobby politicians aggressively to protect and expand their profit margins. Across the country, this drives up prices while driving down investment, productivity, growth, and wages, resulting in more inequality. Meanwhile, Europe–long dismissed for competitive sclerosis and weak antitrust–is beating America at its own game. Philippon, one of the world’s leading economists, did not expect these conclusions in the age of Silicon Valley start-ups and millennial millionaires. But the data from his cutting-edge research proved undeniable. In this compelling tale of economic detective work, we follow him as he works out the basic facts and consequences of industry concentration in the U.S. and Europe, shows how lobbying and campaign contributions have defanged anti-trust regulators, and considers what all this means for free trade, technology, and innovation. For the sake of ordinary Americans, he concludes, government needs to return to what it once did best: keeping the playing field level for competition. It’s time to make American markets great–and free–again. (publ.)

Growing Career Opportunities in the Marijuana Industry features information on more than twenty-five careers in the legal marijuana industry. You'll also learn about typical education paths, the traits you'll need to be a successful marijuana industry worker, salaries for marijuana industry workers, methods of exploring the career while in school, and much more.

Everyone needs to budget money and manage costs, whether for groceries and everyday purchases, rent or mortgage, education, retirement, or even a business. Like it or not, accounting infuses most everything in life. From credits, debits, and basic bookkeeping to getting the most out of tax deductions and from reading or creating a business' financial statement to better understanding accounting lingo. The Handy Accounting Answer Book can help anyone acquire the skills to start or run a business, plan for retirement, set money aside for a big purchase, establish everyday budgets, and improve their money management.

What do you want to be when you grow up? It's a familiar question we're all asked as kids. While seemingly harmless, the question has unintended consequences. It can make you feel like you need to choose one job, one passion, one thing to be about. Guess what? You don't. Having a lot of different interests, projects and curiosities doesn't make you a "jack-of-all-trades, master of none." Your endless curiosity doesn't mean you are broken or flaky. What you are is a multipotentialite: someone with many interests and creative pursuits. And that is actually your biggest strength. How to Be Everything helps you channel your diverse passions and skills to work for you. Based on her popular TED talk, "Why some of us don't have one true calling", Emilie Wapnick flips the script on conventional career advice. Instead of suggesting that you specialize, choose a niche or accumulate 10,000 hours of practice in a single area. How to Be Everything teaches you how to design a life, at any age and stage of your career, that allows you to be fully you, and find the kind of work you'll love.

NOW COMPLETELY UPDATED to reflect the changes in tax legislation, health insurance, and the new investment realities. In this "highly valuable resource" Quinn provides simple, straightforward solutions to the universal retirement dilemma--how to make your limited savings last for life--covering mortgages, social security, income investing, annuities, and more! Will you run out of money in your older age? That's the biggest worry for people newly retired or planning to retire. Fortunately, you don't have to plan in the dark. With the help of this book, you can turn those retirement funds into a "homemade" paycheck that will last for life.

An eminent psychologist explains why dissent should be cherished, not feared. We've decided by consensus that consensus is good. In In Defense of Troublemakers, psychologist Charlan Nemeth argues that this principle is completely wrong: left unchallenged, the majority opinion is often biased, unoriginal, or false. It leads planes and markets to crash, causes juries to convict innocent people, and can quite literally make people think blue is green. In the name of comity, we embrace stupidity. We can make better decisions by embracing dissent. Dissent forces us to question the status quo, consider more information, and engage in creative decision-making.

Classic companion to Karl Marx's most well-known work, Capital. An ideal modern introduction to one of the most important texts in political and economic thought today. The authors cover all central aspects of Marx's economics. They explain the structure of Marx's analysis and the meaning of the key categories in Capital, showing the internal coherence of Marx's approach, and their relevance today. Marx's method and terminology are explored in detail, with supporting examples. Discussing Capital's relevance today, the authors keep abstract theorising to a minimum. This readable introduction highlights the continuing relevance of Marx's ideas in the light of the problems of contemporary capitalism.

Learn how to protect and grow your wealth with this commonsense guide to investing You manage your own money. You understand the basics of investing and diversifying your portfolio. Now it's time to invest like a pro for greater profits-with investment expert David Stein, host of the popular weekly podcast, "Money for the Rest of Us." He's created a unique ten-question template that makes it easy for individual investors like you to: Invest more confidently Feel less overwhelmed Build a stronger portfolio Avoid costly mistakes Plan and save for retirement Despite what many people believe, you don't need to be an expert to be a successful investor.

Reviewed: LR Sept. 2018 p. 29.
Description: Once upon a time, if an official stole money, there wasn’t much he or she could do with it. They could buy a new car or build a nice house or give it to friends and family, but that was about it. If one kept stealing, the money would just pile up in his house until there were no rooms left to put it in, or it was eaten by mice. And then some bankers in London had a bright idea. Join the investigative journalist Oliver Bullough on a journey into Moneyland–the secret country of the lawless, stateless superrich. (publ.)

The never-before-told true account of the design and development of the first desktop computer by the world's most famous high-styled typewriter company, more than a decade before the arrival of the Osborne 1, the Apple 1, the first Intel microprocessor, and IBM's PC5150. Olivetti putting its own mainframe computer on the market with its desktop prototype, selling 40,000 units, including to NASA for its lunar landings. while on a train headed for Switzerland in 1960 for supposed meetings and then to Hartford, never arrived, dying suddenly of a heart attack at fifty-eight . . . how eighteen months later, his brilliant young engineer, who had assembled Olivetti's superb team of electronic engineers, was killed, as well, in a suspicious car crash, and how the Olivetti company and the P101 came to its insidious and shocking end.

Reviewed: NYT 4 Aug. 2019 p. SR3 (author op/ed.)
Description: Examines how current economic and social policies in the United States are adversely affecting the American worker and explains why the governing elites need to implement changes that increase wages and provide access to job training and social welfare programs. (publ.)

Reviewed: FA 98(5) Sept./Oct. 2019 p. 225.
Description: With the winds of trade war blowing as they have not done in decades, and left and right agreeing only on protectionism, a leading economist forcefully shows how a free and open economy is still the best way to advance the interests of working Americans. Clausing agrees that Americans, especially those with middle and lower incomes, face stark economic challenges. But these problems do not require us to retreat from the global economy. On the contrary, she shows, an open economy overwhelmingly helps. International trade makes countries richer, raises living standards, benefits consumers, and brings nations together. Global capital mobility helps both borrowers and lenders. International business improves efficiency and fosters innovation. And immigration remains one of America’s greatest strengths, as newcomers play an essential role in economic growth, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Closing the door to the benefits of an open economy would cause untold damage. Instead, Clausing outlines a progressive agenda to manage globalization more effectively, presenting strategies to equip workers for a modern economy, improve tax policy, and establish a better partnership between labor and the business community. (publ.)

Description: Examines how the growing use of self-service technology in the U.S. economy has contributed to Americans’ feelings of busyness and overwork by asking them to perform a variety of tasks in work-like settings for free. Focusing on the adoption of self-checkout lanes in the retail food industry, the book describes how self-service technology is changing the meaning of service in an economy where the boundaries between work and leisure are becoming increasingly blurred. Are big businesses simply being cheap and lazy, preferring to automate and outsource work to unpaid consumers instead of raising wages, or is self-service and its do-it-yourself ethos a response to consumers’ demands for faster, easier ways of buying goods and services? And what exactly are shoppers getting when they go through the self-checkout lane? Is it really faster than the cashier lane or just another illusory speed-up meant to distract them from the realization that they are performing unpaid work, unwitting participants in a new retail experiment whose roots can be traced back to the very invention of the modern super-market? And what about the effect on jobs; is this the end of the checkout line for cashiers and similar forms of work, or are such anxieties over automation overstated? (publ.)

Student loans. Medical bills. Mortgages. The national deficit. Debt touches so many parts of American life, from the individual citizen to the United States as a whole. A complex issue, debt can be alternately beneficial, such as when building credit, or it can do irreparable damage to a person's credit score, housing prospects, lifestyle, and more. The articles collected in this volume trace the issues that affect students, consumers, corporate entities, and the nation when it comes to addressing and managing debt. Media literacy questions and terms aid readers in assessing news coverage of the topic.

From the Reum brothers--former Goldman Sachs investment bankers, successful operators, and investors--comes Shortcut Your Startup, a practical playbook for both aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs, filled with unconventional yet accessible advice for maximizing your business venture.

Small Time Operator is one of the most popular business start-up guides ever. In clear, easy-to-understand language, the author covers: -Getting permits and licenses -How to finance a business -Creating and using a business plan -Choosing and protecting a business name -Deciding whether to incorporate -Establishing a complete bookkeeping system -Hiring employees -Federal, state, and local taxes -Buying a business or franchise -Dealing with--and avoiding--the IRS -Doing business on the Internet -Handling insurance, contracts, pricing, trademarks, and patents In this new edition, the book will feature a section on surviving the Global Information Grid or GIG economy. This book will give on-demand workers everything they need to know about being self-employed.

In workplaces around the world, meetings are where productivity and creativity go to die. Steven Rogelberg is the world's leading expert on how to fix them, and here he shares the best evidence on how we can stop wasting time and falling victim to group think. A recent estimate suggests that employees endure a staggering 55 million meetings a day in the United States. This tremendous time investment yields only modest returns. No organization made up of human beings is immune from the all-too-common meeting gripes: those that fail to engage, those that inadvertently encourage participants to tune out, and those that blatantly disregard participants' time. For those who lead and participate in meetings, Rogelberg provides immediate direction, guidance, and relief, offering a how-to guide to change your working life starting today.

The Talent Revolution exposes work-life longevity as the most influential driver transforming today's workplace--a competitive edge for organizations smart enough to capitalize on it. With clarity and specificity, it describes new models, debunks commonly held myths about older workers, demolishes justifications for traditional structures and attitudes, and builds the case for a reset that will help smart companies profit from their most valuable assets. You and your organization will discover how to: eliminate ageism in the workplace, optimize your workforce for maximum value, unlock untapped talent, extend the brand.

Reviewed: NYT 13 Oct. 2019 p. SR9 (op/ed.; referenced)
Description: Even as they became fabulously wealthy, the rich have seen their taxes collapse to levels last seen in the 1920s. Meanwhile, working-class Americans have been asked to pay more. This is a forensic investigation into this dramatic transformation. Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, economists who revolutionized the study of inequality, demonstrate how the super-rich pay a lower tax rate than everybody else. They dissect the deliberate choices and the sins of indecision that have fueled this trend: the gradual exemption of capital owners; the surge of a new tax-avoidance industry; and, most critically, tax competition between nations. It is not too late to change course. Instead of competition, we could choose cooperation, finding ways to create a tax regime that serves universal, democratic ends. (publ.)

Description: Americans are so used to using Uber today that the name of the innovative ride-sharing company has almost become a verb, as in “to Uber” some-where, and yet Uber has been around only since 2010. In less than a decade, Uber has disrupted the ride-hailing industry, from making it easier and more affordable to become an Uber driver than a cab driver to rating riders as well as drivers. As an early pioneer in using technology to create a new business model and new efficiencies, Uber is considered one of the most important case studies in the Sharing Economy. However, little in-depth information exists on this innovative company. This book traces Uber’s origin and evolution in the face of competitive pressures, discusses the company leadership and corporate culture, addresses such controversies as rider and driver safety and sexual harassment of female employees, and explores how the company is addressing these challenges. Students of business, entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in the development and exponential growth of the sharing economy will benefit from reading this book. (publ.)

What are economic depressions, and what causes them? Through this book, students will gain a general understanding of economic cycles and how depressions are not part of the normal ebb and flow. They will learn about what triggers these extreme economic downturns and how countries try to recover from them through the real-world example of the Great Depression. Readers will explore twenty-first century recessions in the United States, Greece, and Argentina, and learn how these crises did not become depressions.

This volume helps demonstrate the interconnectedness of international economies and cultures in the twenty-first century. Through discussions of economic, political, and cultural globalization, students will begin to understand the varied dimensions of global economies. This book presents twenty-first-century examples of globalization ranging from Apple's outsourced manufacturing to the ways in which countries that are a part of the United Nations work together to combat climate change. Students will also learn how, even though the term "globalization" is still relatively new, the concept itself dates all the way back to ancient trade routes.

Inflation is a complicated concept. Under ideal circumstances, an inflation rate of 2 or 3 percent can be good for the economy, as it helps boost businesses' profits. Unchecked, however, inflation can lead not only to financial hardships for individuals but to widespread economic downturns. Students will learn how inflation is affected by supply and demand, how it existed long before paper currency, how it can be regulated, and how a lack of regulation can affect the economy.

Readers will learn about recessions and how they are a part of the normal economic cycle: peak, recession, trough, and recovery. This narrative explores how inflation and the imbalance of supply and demand can cause an economic downturn. Through the twenty-first-century example of the Great Recession, students will learn what causes these periods of economic contraction, what leads to recovery, and how to avoid severe and prolonged periods of stagnancy, also known as economic depressions.

How can supply and demand cause a factory to close in one town or country and open in another? How do consumers drive what products are being made and at what prices goods are being sold? Students will find answers to these questions and more through this book that explains the law of supply and demand. Examples tether these concepts to the real world through discussions of topics like the effects of crop shortages and surpluses. Readers will have the opportunity to consider how the increase of oil prices decreases the demand for oil and causes consumers to look for alternative sources of energy. Students will gain an understanding of the local, national, and global implications of supply and demand.

A renegotiation of NAFTA and a trade war with China have kept tariffs and trade agreements in the news in the early twenty-first century. Tariffs, trade barriers, and the potential consequences of both are complex. This book presents a difficult subject in a straightforward and interesting manner. A discussion of the theory and history of tariffs and trade barriers puts the concept in context, while recent examples illuminate how they work in practice.

What are taxes and what are they used for? Through this book, students will gain a general understanding of the obligatory fees each person in a country is required to pay the government. The text explains the history of taxation as well as the different types of taxes and their effects. Additionally, students will learn how important taxation is to modern economies and how taxation levels can rise or fall depending on a nation's financial health.

Although the stock market has a major impact on the economy, many people do not fully understand it. Through this book, students will learn about stocks, the open market, and the dangers and benefits of investments. They will come to understand why individuals and businesses place their financial confidence in the market in hopes of further financial gains. Additionally, the dangers of taking these financial risks will be explored through the examples of the Great Depression and the Great Recession, where people lost large amounts of money on their investments. Ultimately, students will gain an understanding of how the stock market has such a substantial effect on the economy.

Unlocking High Performance shows you how to transform this process to get the best out of your workforce. It presents a new model for performance management based on the three components of planning, cultivation and accountability, and situates this process within the wider aims of promoting work as a healthy relationship between employer and employee rather than a restrictive contract to be complied with. Unlocking High Performance equips you with the tools needed to create clear expectations and goals, deliver feedback effectively, and to develop a culture of coaching rather than criticism.

Description: Putting tariffs on imported goods or setting other barriers to international trade can be tempting for politicians. They assume that many of their constituents believe that free trade is not fair trade and that other countries aren’t playing by the rules. This belief makes it easy for industry leaders to demand protection for their businesses and their workers–to “put America first.” But Americans should resist the siren calls of protectionism. In this highly relevant protectionism primer, Pierre Lemieux shows what can happen if they don’t. As the author demonstrates, trade between any two countries is fair for the same reasons as exchange between two individuals: it is to the benefit of both. Lemieux carefully refutes the arguments of those who would curtail Americans’ access to the benefits of international commerce–from the claim that we can boost economic growth by reducing imports to the belief that free trade leads to “shipping jobs overseas.” Yes, manufacturing jobs are declining in this country and have been since the 1950s. But, as Lemieux points out, that’s in large part because Americans are making more advanced products more efficiently–that’s our comparative advantage. And this is happening as less-developed countries are producing more labor-intensive, low-tech goods–that's their comparative advantage. All parties to a trade benefit. (publ.)

Reviewed: NYT 16 Feb. 2020 p. SR6 (author op/ed.); NYT/BR 8 Mar. 2020 p. 12.
Description: In 2017, twenty-five-year-old Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing the sexual harassment and retaliation she'd experienced as an entry-level engineer at Uber. The post went viral, leading not only to the ouster of Uber’s CEO and twenty other employees, but “starting a bonfire on creepy sexual behavior in Silicon Valley that . . . spread to Hollywood and en-gulfed Harvey Weinstein” (Maureen Dowd, The New York Times). When Susan decided to share her story, she was fully aware of the consequences most women faced for speaking out about harassment prior to the #MeToo era. But this courageous act was entirely consistent with Susan’s young life so far: a life characterized by extraordinary determination, a refusal to ac-cept things as they are, and the desire to do what is good and right. Grow-ing up in poverty in rural Arizona, she was denied a formal education–yet went on to obtain an Ivy League degree. When she was told, after discov-ering the pervasive culture of sexism, harassment, racism, and abuse at Uber, that she was the problem, she banded together with other women to try to make change. When that didn’t work, she went public. She could never have anticipated the lengths to which Uber would go in its efforts to intimidate and discredit her, the impact her words would have on Silicon Valley–and the world–or how they would set her on a course toward finally achieving her dreams. (publ.)

Reviewed: LRB 5 Dec. 2019 p. 23.
Description: Increasingly, employees are being falsely treated as “self-employed.” This phenomenon–the “gig economy”–is seen as the inevitable shape of things to come. Colin Crouch takes a step back and questions this logic. He shows how the idea of an employee–a stable status that involves a bundle of rights–has maintained a curious persistence. Examining the ways companies are attacking these rights, from proffering temporary work to involuntary part-time work to “gigging,” he reveals the paradoxes of the situation and argues that it should not and cannot continue. He goes on to propose reforms to reverse the perverse incentives that reward irresponsible employers and punish good ones, setting out an agenda for a realistic future of secure work. Crouch’s penetrating analysis will be of interest to everyone interested in the future of work, the welfare state and the gig economy. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Sept. 2019 vol. 57 no. 1) Recommended for community college collections
Description: Chronicles the triumph of what Courtwright calls “limbic capitalism,” the growing network of competitive businesses targeting the brain pathways responsible for feeling, motivation, and long-term memory. We see its success in Purdue Pharma’s pain pills, in McDonald’s engineered burgers, and in Tencent video games from China. All capitalize on the ancient quest to discover, cultivate, and refine new and habituating pleasures. The business of satisfying desire assumed a more sinister aspect with the rise of long-distance trade, plantation slavery, anonymous cities, large corporations, and sophisticated marketing. Multinational industries, often with the help of complicit governments and criminal organizations, have multi-plied and cheapened seductive forms of brain reward, from junk food to pornography. The internet has brought new addictions: in 2018, the World Health Organization added “gaming disorder” to its International Classification of Diseases. (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 25 June 2018 p. 29.
Description: In the first episode of her “Bad With Money” podcast, Gaby Dunn asked patrons at a coffee shop two questions: First, what’s your favorite sex position? Everyone was game to answer, even the barista. Then, she asked how much money was in their bank accounts. People were aghast. “That’s a very personal question,” they insisted. And therein lies the problem. Dunn argues that our inability to speak honestly about money is our #1 barrier to understanding it, leading us to feel alone, ashamed and anxious, which in turns makes us feel even more overwhelmed by it. In this book, she reveals the legitimate, systemic reasons behind our feeling of helplessness when it comes to personal finance, demystifying the many signposts on the road to getting our finances together, like how to choose an insurance plan or buy a car, sign up for a credit card or take out student loans. (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 25 June 2018 p. 32.
Description: A literary critic and a leading economist make the case that the humani-ties, especially the study of literature, offer economists ways to make their models more realistic, their predictions more accurate, and their policies more effective and just. Gary Saul Morson and Morton Schapiro trace the connection between Adam Smith’s great classic, The Wealth of Nations, and his less celebrated book on The Theory of Moral Sentiments, and con-tend that a few decades later Jane Austen invented her groundbreaking method of novelistic narration in order to give life to the empathy that Smith believed essential to humanity. Morson and Schapiro argue that Smith’s heirs include Austen, Anton Chekhov, and Leo Tolstoy as well as John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman. Economists need a richer appreciation of behavior, ethics, culture, and narrative–all of which the great writers teach better than anyone. The authors demonstrate the benefits of a freewheeling dialogue between economics and the humanities by addressing a wide range of problems drawn from the economics of higher education, the economics of the family, and the development of poor nations. They offer new insights about everything from the manipulation of college rankings to why some countries grow faster than others. At the same time, the book shows how looking at real-world problems can revitalize the study of literature itself.(publ.)

Description: Inequality has drastically increased in many countries around the globe over the past three decades. The widening gap between the very rich and everyone else is often portrayed as an unexpected outcome or as the tradeoff we must accept to achieve economic growth. In this book, three International Monetary Fund economists show that this increase in inequality has in fact been a political choice–and explain what policies we should choose instead to achieve a more inclusive economy. … The book also shows that inequality leads to weaker economic performance and proposes alternative policies capable of delivering more inclusive growth. In addition to improving access to health care and quality education, they call for redistribution from the rich to the poor and present evidence showing that redistribution does not hurt growth. Accessible to scholars across disciplines as well as to students and policy makers, this is a rigorous and empirically rich book that is crucial for a time when many fear a new Gild-ed Age. (publ.)

Reviewed: TLS 16 Nov. 2018 p. 7.
Description: This book offers an eye-opening and necessary reinterpretation of the personalities, decisions, and policies that dominated economic, political, and international events of the last tumultuous decade, and yet have been widely misunderstood or minimized in the wake of “recovery.” Despite initial attempts to downplay the crisis as a local incident, what happened on Wall Street beginning in 2008 was, in fact, a dramatic caesura of global significance that spiraled around the world, from the financial markets of the UK and Europe to the factories and dockyards of Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. As Tooze deftly proves, it forced a major rearrangment of global governance. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Jul. 2019 vol. 56 no. 11) Top 75 books recommended for community college libraries.
Description: The result of extensive international research with multinationals, governments and non-profits, this book explores the challenges organizations face when developing creative strategies to innovate and solve problems. Noting how many organizations have embraced “design thinking” as a fresh approach to a fundamental problem, author David Dunne explores in this book how this approach can be applied in practice. Design thinkers constantly run headlong into challenges in bureaucratic and hostile cultures. Through compelling examples and stories from the field, Dunne explains the challenges they face, how the best organizations, including Procter & Gamble and the Australian Tax Office, are dealing with these challenges and what lessons can be distilled from their experiences. Essential reading for anyone interested in how design works in the real world, Dunne challenges many of the wild claims that have been made for design thinking, while offering a way forward. (publ.)

Description: This book builds on the fundamental principles of the first edition. It expands on how to effectively navigate progress through strategy integration, effective stakeholder engagement and blending design-inspired practices with analytics to build a compelling business case for investment in value-creating efforts. Like the first edition, it includes valuable frameworks, inspiring stories and practical tools to drive growth and innovation in any type of organization. Clear principles for leading innovation draw from others’ experience to help make the most of enterprise talent and re-sources. New methodologies hone and build on the repertoire of tools in the first edition. New stories provide insights into how a variety of organizations have leveraged the principles and practices of Business Design. (publ.)

Review: PW 12 Nov. 2018 p. 54.
Description: As millions of baby boomers reach their golden years, the state of retirement in America is little short of a disaster. A third of Americans have no retirement savings at all. The real estate crash wiped out much of the home equity that millions were counting on to support themselves later in life. And the typical Social Security check covers less than 40 percent of preretirement wages–a number projected to drop to under 28 percent within two decades. Elder poverty, a problem we thought was solved by the New Deal, is poised for a resurgence. With dramatic statistics and vivid portraits, acclaimed sociologist Katherine S. Newman illuminates America’s abandonment of a social contract: the promise that decades of hard work would bring about a secure old age. The resulting crisis touches us all, cutting across class lines and generational divides. White-collar managers have seen pensions vanish; truckers have had their benefits cut in half; bankrupt cities like Detroit have walked away from their commitments to municipal workers. And for Generation X, the prospects are even worse, as benefit cutbacks have targeted younger workers in particular. (publ.)

Description: As of 2017, 69 percent of Americans were in favor of restricting carbon emissions from coal power plants out of concern for climate change and the state of the environment, but can we afford to make the change to cleaner energy sources? This volume looks at the various alter-native energy sources and their economic viability, exploring the debate about which path forward makes the most sense. Readers will gain a better understanding of the crossroads facing policymakers and the energy sector and be empowered to form their own opinions about how this urgent issue should be addressed. (publ.)
Note: Library Standing Order.

Reviewed: TLS 16 Nov. 2018 p. 9.
Description: Global finance is a system that works for the few and against the many. We need finance–but when finance grows too big it becomes a curse. The City of London is the single biggest drain on our resources; it sucks talent out of every sphere, it siphons wealth and hoovers up government time. Yet to be “competitive,” we’re told we must turn a blind eye to money-laundering and appease big business with tax cuts. We are told global finance is about wealth creation; the reality is wealth extraction. Tracing the curse back through economic history, Shaxson uncovers how we got to this point. He exposes offshore tax havens; the uncontrolled growth of monopolies; the myths around the Celtic Tiger and its low corporate tax rate; the bizarre industry of wealth management; the destructive horrors of private equity; and the sinister “Competitiveness Agenda.” (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 25 June 2018 p. 33.
Description: This book addresses the enormous divisions in American society–economic, cultural, and political–and what might be done to bridge them. Widening inequality and the loss of jobs to trade and technology has left a significant portion of the American workforce disenfranchised and skeptical of governments and corporations alike. And yet both have a role to play in improving the country for all. Sawhill argues for a policy agenda based on mainstream values, such as family, education, and work. While many have lost faith in government programs designed to help them, there are still trusted institutions on both the local and federal level that can deliver better job opportunities and higher wages to those who have been left behind. At the same time, the private sector needs to reexamine how it trains and rewards employees. This book provides a clear-headed and middle-way path to a better-functioning society in which personal responsibility is honored and inclusive capitalism and more broadly shared growth are once more the norm. (publ.)

Description: A call for action on one of the most talked about issues of our time: how skyrocketing rents and home values are pricing out the working and middle-class from urban America. Telling the stories of tenants, developers, politicians, homeowner groups, and housing activists from over a dozen cities impacted by the national housing crisis, this book criticizes cities for advancing policies that increase economic and racial inequality. Shaw also exposes how boomer homeowners restrict millennials’ access to housing in big cities, a generational divide that increasingly dominates city politics. Defying conventional wisdom, Shaw demonstrates that rising urban unaffordability and neighborhood gentrification are not inevitable. He offers proven measures for cities to preserve and expand their working- and middle-class populations and achieve more equitable and inclusive out-comes. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Jul. 2019 vol. 56 no. 11) Recommended for community college libraries.
Description: Hacker shows that the safety net was unraveling long before the late-2000s, as more and more economic risk shifted from the broad shoulders of government and business onto the fragile backs of American families. Whether the problem is risky jobs brought on by corporate re-structuring and the “gig economy” of contingent work, risky families created by the rising costs and instabilities of parenthood, risky retirement caused by the collapse of traditional guaranteed pensions, or risky health care fueled by skyrocketing costs and unstable coverage–Hacker shows what has changed and why, the ways in which ordinary Americans have been affected, and how we can fight back. Behind the risk shift, he con-tends, is the “Personal Responsibility Crusade” eagerly embraced by corporate leaders and conservative politicians who speak of an economic nirvana in which Americans are free to choose. But the result, Hacker reveals, has been very different: a harsh new world of economic insecurity in which far too many Americans are allowed to fall behind. (publ.)

Reviewed: Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 2018. xxii, 290 p.
Description: Best makes the case that government should create the institutional infra-structures needed to support these three core elements–the production system, business organization, and skill formation and their interconnections–rather than subsidize individual enterprises. The power of his alter-native framework is illustrated by case studies of transformative experiences previously regarded as economic “miracles”: America’s World War II industrial buildup, Germany’s postwar recovery, Greater Boston’s innovation system, Ireland’s tech-sector boom, and the rise of the Asian Tigers and China. (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 25 June 2018 p. 32.
Description: Economist Douglas McWilliams argues that inequality is largely driven not by a conspiracy of the rich, as Thomas Piketty suggests, but by technology and globalization tat have led to the paradox of rising inequality even as worldwide poverty drops. … He investigates how wealth is concentrated and why it persistently remains in the hands of very few. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Jan. 2019 vol. 56 no. 5) Highly recommended for community college libraries.
Description: Is Capitalism Working? is a highly relevant question today–not least to a generation coming of age in a world still experiencing aftershocks from the near-meltdown of the world economy in 2008. Economic theory can be complex, but Jacob Field’s well-structured and thought-provoking text lays out the debate in a clear, accessible and engaging manner. Infographics and timelines ensure that readers grasp the basic tenets, history and context of capitalism, without distracting from the compelling arguments. Jacob Field presents a measured conclusion that reviews the evidence on each side, allowing room for the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. (publ.)

Reviewed: LJ 1 Oct. 2018 p. 49.
Description: Why are women so often overlooked and underpaid? What are the real reasons men get raises more often than women? How can women ask for–and actually get–the money, the job, the recognition they deserve? Prompted by her own experience as cohost of Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski asked a wide range of successful women to share the critical les-sons they learned while moving up in their fields. Power players such as Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Harvard’s Victoria Budson, comedian Susie Essman, and many more shared their surprising personal stories. They spoke candidly about why women are paid less and the pitfalls women face–and play into. (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 25 June 2018 p. 30
Description: Takes readers on a 6-step journey to transform their financial life and set them up for lifelong success. Built for readers in their twenties and thirties, this book gives Millennials a proven playbook including why buying a home early may not be the wisest move and how automatic roboinvestors can save and make you more money than going through brokers. Certified Public Accountant Conor Richardson offers a helpful and elegantly designed program to tackle essential money matters. (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 10 Dec. 2018 p. 28.
Description: Digital technologies are disrupting organizations of every size and shape, leaving managers scrambling to find a technology fix that will help their organizations compete. This book offers managers and business leaders a guide for surviving digital disruptions–but it is not a book about technology. It is about the organizational changes required to harness the power of technology. The authors argue that digital disruption is primarily about people and that effective digital transformation involves changes to organizational dynamics and how work gets done. A focus only on selecting and implementing the right digital technologies is not likely to lead to success. The best way to respond to digital disruption is by changing the company culture to be more agile, risk tolerant, and experimental. (publ.)

Description: Great marketers don’t use consumers to solve their company’s problem; they use marketing to solve other people’s problems. They don’t just make noise; they make the world better. Truly powerful marketing is grounded in generosity, empathy, and emotional labor. Learn how to identify the smallest viable audience. Build trust and permission with your market. Adopt the narratives your fans already use. Find the guts to create and re-lease tension. And most of all, give people the tools and stories they can use to achieve their goals. It’s time to stop lying, spamming, and feeling guilty about your work. It’s time to stop confusing social media metrics with true connections. It’s time to stop wasting money on stolen attention that won’t pay off in the long run. It’s time to be seen by first learning how to see. (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 26 June 2017 p. 32; LR May 2018 p. 44; TLS 16 Nov. 2018 p. 7.
Description: Argues that American companies have for too long been valued according to the amount of wealth they capture for themselves rather than for the value they create for the economy. In fact, Pfizer, Amazon, and countless other companies that claim to drive innovation are actually hopelessly dependent on public money, spend their resources on boosting share prices and executive pay, and reap ever-expanding rewards without offering the market real value. Author Mariana Mazzucato is Professor in the Economics of Innovation & Public Value at University College London.

Reviewed: LR March 2019 p. 44 (referenced)
Description: When philosopher Adam Smith proclaimed that our actions are motivated by self-interest, he used the example of the baker and the butcher to lay the foundations for his “economic man.” He argued that they gave bread and meat for profit, not out of the goodness of their hearts. It’s an ironic point of view coming from a bachelor who lived with his mother for most of his life–a woman who cooked his dinner every night. Nevertheless, Smith’s economic man has dominated our understanding of modern-day capitalism. Such a viewpoint disregards the unpaid work of mothering, caring, cleaning, and cooking. Essentially, the father of modern economics has based our whole concept of capitalism on a system that ignores half of its participants. ... Marçal charts the myth of the economic man, from its origins at Adam Smith’s dinner table to its adaptation by the Chicago School to its disastrous role in the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 25 Feb. 2019 p. 75.
Description: Popular customer experience and marketing speaker David Avrin makes a compelling case for customer experience as a bankable differentiator in an era of vast marketplace choices. The book lays out the very visible reasons for the recent shift in customer mindset and expectation, illustrates the myriad ways that companies inadvertently drive customers and prospects to competitors, and offers a multitude of creative strategies and tactics to attract and retain new prospects. Popular customer experience and marketing speaker David Avrin makes a compelling case for customer experience as a bankable differentiator in an era of vast marketplace choices. The book lays out the very visible reasons for the recent shift in customer mindset and expectation, illustrates the myriad ways that companies inadvertently drive customers and prospects to competitors, and offers a multitude of creative strategies and tactics to attract and retain new prospects.

Reviewed: CHE 16 June 2017 (new books)
Description: Against labor highlights the amazingly successful efforts by employers to control workers while simultaneously shaping themselves into a new class. Ranging across a spectrum of understudied issues, essayists explore employer anti-labor strategies and offer incisive portraits of companies that aggressively opposed unionization. Other contributors examine the anti-labor movement against a backdrop of larger forces, such as the intersection of race and ethnicity with anti-labor activity, and anti-unionism in the context of neoliberalism. (publ.)

Reviewed: The Economist 2 Dec. 2017 p. 75
Description: For years, America has been plagued by slow economic growth and increasing inequality. Yet economists have long taught that there is a trade off between equity and efficiency–that is, between making a bigger pie and dividing it more fairly. That is why our current predicament is so puzzling: today, we are faced with both a stagnating economy and sky-high inequality. In The Captured Economy, Brink Lindsey and Steven M. Teles identify a common factor behind these twin ills: break-downs in democratic governance that allow wealthy special interests to capture the policy making process for their own benefit. (publ.)

Reviewed: WSJ 1 Aug 2017 p. A13
Description: Former top CEO Steve Clifford examines the reasons behind pay packages for corporate executives–and explains how this hurts all of us–and how we can stop it. Today, the pay gap between chief executive officers of major U.S. firms and their workers is higher than ever before–depending on the method of calculation, CEOs get paid between 300 and 700 times more than the average worker. Such outsized pay is a relatively recent phenomenon, but despite all the outrage, few detractors truly understand the numerous factors that have contributed to the dizzying up-ward spiral in CEO compensation. (publ.)

Reviewed: NPR 11 July 2017 (Fresh Air) “Is The Justice Department Shying Away From Prosecuting Corporations?”; 30 July 2017 (Book Review) “Corporate Bungling And Political Scandal Abound In Jesse Eisinger's New Book.”
Description: Why were no bankers put in prison after the financial crisis of 2008? Why do CEOs seem to commit wrongdoing with impunity? The problem goes beyond banks deemed “Too Big to Fail” to almost every large corporation in America–to pharmaceutical companies and auto manufacturers and beyond. The Chickenshit Club–an inside reference to prosecutors too scared of failure and too daunted by legal impediments to do their jobs–explains why. (publ.)

Holdings: Copy held by Calmar; call no. 338.52 Bau

Description: The first consumer credit bureaus appeared in the 1870s and quickly amassed huge archives of deeply personal information. Today, the three leading credit bureaus are among the most powerful institutions in modern life—yet we know almost nothing about them. Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion are multi-billion-dollar corporations that track our movements, spending behavior, and financial status. This data is used to predict our riskiness as borrowers and to judge our trustworthiness and value in a broad array of contexts, from insurance and marketing to employment and housing. (publ.)

Reviewed: LJ 1 Feb. 2018 p. 108
Description: Offers lessons and inspiration drawn from the experiences of dozens of influencers and entrepreneurs who rejected the predictable corporate path in favor of pursuing their dreams by building thriving businesses and extraordinary personal brands. (publ.)

Reviewed: NPR 5 July 2017 (“Fresh Air”) “The End Of Loyalty And The Decline Of Good Jobs In America.”
Description: In this book, Rick Wartzman chronicles the erosion of the relationship between American companies and their workers. Through the stories of four major employers–General Motors, General Electric, Kodak, and Coca-Cola–he shows how big businesses once took responsibility for providing their workers and retirees with an array of social benefits. At the height of the post-World War II economy, these companies also believed that worker pay needed to be kept high in order to preserve morale and keep the economy humming. Productivity boomed. But the corporate social contract didn’t last. By tracing the ups and downs of these four corporate icons over seventy years, Wartzman illustrates just how much has been lost: job security and steadily rising pay, guaranteed pensions, robust health benefits, and much more. (publ.)

Reviewed: FA 96(5) Sept./Oct. 2017 p. 183; Economist 3 June 2017 p. 76
Description: In mid-2015, Volkswagen proudly reached its goal of surpassing Toyota as the world's largest automaker. A few months later, the EPA disclosed that Volkswagen had installed software in 11 million cars that deceived emissions-testing mechanisms. By early 2017, VW had settled with American regulators and car owners for $20 billion, with additional lawsuits still looming. …Faster, Higher, Farther reveals how the succeed-at-all-costs mentality prevalent in modern boardrooms led to one of corporate history's farthest-reaching cases of fraud. (publ.)

Reviewed: TLS 14 July 2017 p. 9
Description: Vaughan and Fitch make it clear that the Libor affair was not just the result of the activities of a single individual who was intelligent enough to subvert the entire financial system. Rather, the banks themselves were complicit in providing the environment in which such activities could take place. (TLS)

Reviewed: FA 97(3) May/June 2018 p. 194; TLS 11 May 2018 p. 33.
Description: A provocative critique of the pieties and fallacies of our obsession with economic growth. We live in a society in which a priesthood of economists, wielding impenetrable mathematical formulas, set the frame-work for public debate. Ultimately, it is the perceived health of the economy which determines how much we can spend on our schools, highways, and defense; economists decide how much unemployment is acceptable and whether it is right to print money or bail out profligate banks. The backlash we are currently witnessing suggests that people are turning against the experts and their faulty understanding of our lives. Despite decades of steady economic growth, many citizens feel more pessimistic than ever, and are voting for candidates who voice undisguised contempt for the technocratic elite. (publ.)

Reviewed: LJ Dec. 2017 p. 29 (Best Books 2017)
Description: Nothing “goes viral.” Each blockbuster has a secret history of power, influence, dark broadcasters, and passionate cults that turn some new products into cultural phenomena. Atlantic Senior Editor Derek Thompson uses the tools of economics and psychology to reveal the secrets of what makes a hit a hit. (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 2 Oct. 2017 p. 30
Description: In the 1950s, manufacturing generated nearly 30 percent of U.S. income. Over the past fifty-five years, that share has gradually declined to less than 12 percent. At the same time, real estate, finance, and Wall Street trading have grown. While manufacturing's share of the U.S. economy shrinks, it expands in countries such as China and Germany that have a strong industrial policy. Meanwhile Americans are only vaguely aware of the many consequences of the loss of that industrial base, including a decline in their self-image as inventive, practical, and effective people. (publ.)

Reviewed: PW 26 June 2017 p. 33
Description: Compared to 25 years ago, today’s retail experience is a world apart. Almost anything can be ordered, delivered and picked up rapidly, often customized to personal preferences at no extra cost. The smartphone has created a world of limitless consumer expectation and logistical possibility. So how much further can it go? What will the retail experience look like in ten, twenty, or even fifty years–and how should companies, big and small, be preparing? Dart & Lewis address these and other questions in their new book. (publ.)

Note: Library standing order.

Reviewed: PW 26 Mar. 2018 p. 109.
Description: From the award-winning journalist and author comes this examination of 1) how and why major American institutions no longer serve us as they should, causing a deep rift between the vulnerable majority and the protected few, and 2) how some individuals and organizations are laying the foundation for real, lasting change. … By examining the people and forces behind the rise of big-money lobbying, legal and financial engineering, the demise of private-sector unions, and a hamstrung bureaucracy, Brill answers the question on everyone’s mind: How did we end up this way? Finally, he introduces us to those working quietly and effectively to repair the damages. (publ.)

Note: Library standing order.

Reviewed: FA 97(1) Jan./Feb. 2018 p. 153.
Description: There have been numerous books examining the 2008 financial crisis from either a U.S. or European perspective. Tamim Bayoumi is the first to explain how the Euro crisis and U.S. housing crash were, in fact, parasitically intertwined. Starting in the 1980s, Bayoumi outlines the cumulative policy errors that undermined the stability of both the European and U.S. financial sectors, highlighting the catalytic role played by European mega banks that exploited lax regulation to expand into the U.S. market and financed unsustainable bubbles on both continents. U.S. banks increasingly sold sub-par loans to under-regulated European and U.S. shadow banks and, when the bubbles burst, the losses whipsawed back to the core of the European banking system. “[Bayoumi] reminds readers that active participants in the financial system are typically playing with other people’s money. … he ends his book with an epigram: ‘Beware of bankers proffering improvements’.” (publ.)

Reviewed: FA 96(5) Sept./Oct. 2017 p. 175
Description: Nearly everyone agrees that public debt in many advanced economies is too high to be sustainable and must be addressed. There is little agreement, however, about when and how that addressing should be done—or even, in many cases, just how serious the debt problem is. … Too often, public debate about public debt is burdened by lies and myths. This book not only explains the basic facts about public debt but also aims to bring truth and reasoned nonpartisan analysis to the debate. (publ.) The author is the former director of the International Monetary Fund’s Fiscal Affairs Department.

Reviewed: LJ 15 Nov. 2017 p. 88
Description: CPA and financial advisor offers recommendations for personal finance planning. The author of a popular online planning site and app (“YNAB-bers”) offers rules and an expansion of the existing guide.

Reviewed: PW 28 Aug. 2017 p. 114
Description: Very few people actually understand how their credit score is determined. Worse yet, most don’t know how their score is used by all kinds of companies and banks to dictate financial terms that will strongly affect their daily lives. When consumers interact with the world of credit, they do so from a position of weakness. Founder and CEO of Regal Financial, a credit management firm, Anthony Davenport provides an accessible but detailed manual that lets readers take control of their credit score, and gain an insider’s knowledge of how to better navigate the most important financial decisions of their lives. (publ.)

Reviewed: CHE 14 July 2017 (new books);TLS 17 Nov. 2017 p. 3

Reviewed: NPR 13 Feb. 2017 Fresh Air ("Aisles Have Eyes Warns That Brick-And-Mortar Stores Are Watching You").

Holdings: Copy held by Calmar; call no. 338.52 Bau

Reviewed: CHE 7 Apr. 2017 (new books)

Reviewed: CHE 10 Mar. 2017 (new books)

Reviewed: FA 96(3) May/June 2017 p. 157; CHE 21 May 2017 (new books)

Reviewed: CHE 28 Apr. 2017 (new books)
Description: Finding a job used to be simple. You’d show up at an office and ask for an application. A friend would mention a job in their department. Or you’d see an ad in a newspaper and send in your cover letter. Maybe you’d call the company a week later to check in, but the basic approach was easy. And once you got a job, you would stay—often for decades. Now . . . well, it’s complicated.

Reviewed: NPR (31 Mar. 2017: "Empire Of Things Surveys How, What And Why We Consume"); NYRB 25 May 2017 p. 42

Reviewed: Economist 20 May 2017 p. 76; FA 96(6) Nov/Dec 2017 p. 155.

Reviewed: CHE 31 Mar. 2017 (new books)
Description: Drawing on the groundbreaking U.S. Financial Diaries project, which follows the lives of 235 low- and middle-income families as they navigate through a year, the authors challenge popular assumptions about how Americans earn, spend, borrow, and save — and they identify the true causes of distress and inequality for many working Americans.

Reviewed: CHE 5 May 2017 (new books)

Note: No previous editions at NICC.

Reviewed: NYT/BR 30 Apr. 2017 p. 19
Description: An inside look at the secretive world of elite philanthropists--and how they're quietly wielding ever more power to shape American life in ways both good and bad. (publ.)

Reviewed: NYT/BR 30 Apr. 2017 p. 11

Reviewed: CHE 14 Oct. 2016

Reviewed: NYRB 27 Oct. 2016 p. 33

Reviewed: Choice Jul 2017 vol. 54 no. 11 (Highly Recommend-ed; Top 75 Books Recommended for Community College Libraries)
Description: One of the great pleasures of staying in a hotel is spending time in a spotless, neat, and organized space that you don’t have to clean. That doesn’t, however, mean the work disappears when were not looking; someone else is doing it. … David Brody introduces us to those people: the housekeepers whose labor keeps the rooms clean and the guests happy. Through unprecedented access to staff at several hotels, Brody shows us just how much work goes on behind the scenes, and how much management goes out of its way to make sure that labor stays hidden. (publ.)

Reviewed: WSJ 19-20 Nov. 2016 p. C11

Reviewed: FA Mar./Apr. 2017 p. 169; Economist 22 Oct. 2017 p. 60.

Reviewed: CHE 7 Apr. 2017 (new books); TLS 20 Oct. 2017 p. 35.

Reviewed: WSJ 24 May 2017 p. A17; CHE 14 July 2017 (new books); Choice Nov 2017 vol. 55 no. 3 (Recommended for community college libraries)

Reviewed: NYT 23 April 2017 p. SR4 (author op/ed); TLS 17 Nov. 2017 p. 3.

Note: TLS book of the year (2016).

Description: Classic work in political philosophy, intellectual and cultural history, and economics. Originally published in 1944, it was seen as heretical for its passionate warning against the dangers of state control over the means of production. The author was a co-winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in economics in 1974 and was a pioneer in monetary theory and the principal proponent of libertarianism in the twentieth century.

Reviewed: Choice Dec 2016 vol. 54 no. 4 (Essential; Recommended for Community College Libraries)

Reviewed: Choice Jun 2016 vol. 53 no. 10 (Highly Recommended; Top 75 Books for Community Colleges; Outstanding Academic Title).

Description: Helps readers understand the foundations of and principles behind social media; manage and participate within online communities; and succeed in the changing field of modern public relations. (publ.)

Contents: How to lose an empire without really trying : British imperial policy in North America -- Establish, disestablish, repeat : the first and second banks of the United States -- The great hunger : famine in Ireland, 1846-1852 -- The Krauts will pay : German reparations after World War I -- Shackled with golden fetters : Britain's return to the gold standard, 1925-1931 -- Trading down : the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, 1930 -- Why didn't anyone pull the Andon cord? Japan's lost decade -- The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression : the subprime meltdown -- I'm ok. Euro not ok? -- What have we learned? Where do we go from here?