tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49393335823757825432024-02-19T06:51:00.897+00:00Factual BooksReview of nonfiction booksFactual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-86413118465278167842014-03-11T10:37:00.002+00:002014-03-11T10:37:54.423+00:001913 The Eve of WarThis is a relatively brief book that looks at the causes of The First
World War. It does not contain any new research and there is not much
that is new in it.<br />
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<br />
The author's thesis is broadly that
all of the world powers were preparing for war from the 1900s onwards.
The military leaders of all the great powers were building plans for
war, and that this lead to an environment in which was inevitable.
Meanwhile many working class people were effected by nationalist,
patriotism and social Darwinism which acted to encourage the belief that
foreigners were an "other" to be feared or defeated.<br />
<br />
The
principle thesis is that leaders allowed the war to happen, or at least
were too weak to stop it. There was little communication at the top and
no attempt to defuse the situation, and the author argues this means
that the leaders were guilty by omission of starting the war. <br />
<br />
A
key problem for me is this book feels to much like an essay rather than
a book. It is very brief and contains little real insight. It is a nice
primer, but I felt a bit disappointed. As we approach the 100 year
anniversary there is going to be a lot of information around this
period. Two key questions are whether the war was justified and who
bears the blame for starting the war. The author clearly argues the
leaders of all the Great Powers were responsible. But I don't think
there is enough evidence presented to convince me.<br />
<br />
I personally preferred <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Pity-War-Niall-Ferguson-ebook/dp/B00936RWO4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1394533587&sr=1-1&keywords=pity+of+war" target="_blank">The Pity of War by Niall Ferguso</a>n, which argues that Britain bears much of the responsibility for war <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Forgotten-Victory-First-World-Realities/dp/0747264600/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394533706&sr=1-6&keywords=gary+sheffield" target="_blank">The Forgotten Victory by Gary Sheffield</a> which lays the blame with German militarism. These books just feel more meaty to me. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01876491414363659988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-60817492027512938742014-02-25T11:50:00.000+00:002014-02-25T11:50:28.260+00:00I Am The Secret Footballer: Lifting the Lid on the Beautiful Game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I Am The Secret Footballer supposedly lift the lid on the life of a premiership footballer. It is anonymous and so is supposed to offer better insight into the world than ghost written autobiographies.<br />
<br />
The main character is not someone it is easy to sympathise with as he is a wealthy and rather arrogant figure. He seems to regard himself as on a different intellectual level from other footballers, managers, referees and everyone else connected with football. He is a bit depressive and seems rather ungrateful for the fact his talent has permitted him to earn fantastic wealth, to travel the world and live a life as an idol for many.<br />
<br />
The book seems filled with references to birds, booze and money. It all seems a little bit shallow really. I found the book to be a fairly dull read to be honest. You could summarise it by saying footballers are largely drinkers and womanisers who are quite thick, but not as thick as some managers and journalists. <br />
<br />
I am not sure there is much in the way of scandal to really make this all that salacious. I don't know it it really needs to be all that secretive. It is not up there with Roy Keane's explosive book from yesteryear. Perhaps part of the fun is trying to figure out who the author is. Unfortunately a bit of googling reveals he is no-one really famous outside of football. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01876491414363659988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-29579027769550852712014-02-09T21:18:00.000+00:002014-02-09T21:18:13.739+00:00Slavery by Another Name: The re-enslavement of black americans from the civil war to World War Two<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Slavery is topical at the moment with the release of 12 Years as a Slave.<br />
<br />
It was not an area I knew much about, and I assumed the end of the civil war marked the end of slavery.
This book highlights that far from being an end to slavery the institutions of the Deep South merely changed to allow a white elite to continue their exploitation of blacks. The principle way this was done was to allow states to implement forced labour as a punishment for various crimes. The crimes were minor; vagrancy, etc and the punishments disproportionately were aimed at blacks.<br />
<br />
The victis of these crimes were tried in kangeroo courts without much just of getting a fair trial. Once sentenced they were either forced to pay a fine or be submitted to forced labour. Once this had happened they were then rented out to private companies and individuals. If they tried to escape or got sick the cost of dealing with this was added to their term. The slave owners transformed into people who leased slaves from the state. However as the economy moved from cotton picking to mining the conditions actually grew worse over time. There was little to stop the workers being poorly treated.<br />
<br />
The system also offered financial incentives to those who arrested blacks or tried them. The result was the legal system acted as a corrupt way of recruiting labour. <br />
<br />
In addition there were various "Jim Crow" laws which segregated education and leisure, as well as disinfranchising black voters. These were became more onerous over time, to prevent black people from gaining political power.<br />
<br />
This book analyses some of the failures of whites to address the issues of continued slavery. The Federal government was too weak and was unwilling to get involved in the issue. This was due in part to an unwillingness to get involved in states affairs, but also residual racism among the political classes.<br />
<br />
The Civil Rights movement is not covered in this book, the book seems to concentrate mostly on the first generation after the Civil War(ie mostly before and around 1900). The book claims it deals with events up until the Second World War, but in practise this deals only with the second half briefly and it might have been better to have a second volume. There is little to explain why the Civil Right movement emerged beyond the fact the Second World War changed attitudes of blacks and whites. In practise I am sure it was more complex.<br />
<br />
It is an interesting and horrific study of how people can treat each other in a country that was supposed to be the most advanced in the world and up until relatively recently. I found it hard to put down and I learnt something at the end of it. I think this is a book that deserved to be read.<br />
<br />Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-56141916111588400842013-11-04T14:52:00.000+00:002013-11-04T14:52:06.120+00:00World of Arthur<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B9D2NS4/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B00B9D2NS4&linkCode=as2&tag=factualblogge-21"><img border="0" src="http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00B9D2NS4&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=factualblogge-21" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=factualblogge-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B00B9D2NS4" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> King Arthur is a popular source of myth and legend. This book looks to investigate the truth behind the legend. The overall conclusion is not that surprising, that he probably did not exist as there is no contemporary evidence that he did.<br />
<br />
I found this conclusion to be fairly unsurprising, Great Britain has no written documents from the era and so the evidence is drawn from myths written hundreds of years latter. The "sources" we have are largely works of fictions that were not written for an audience look for a historic truth, but more a way of reinterupting the past based on their values. The lack of primary sources is a major issues from within Britain is a major issie, as is the lack of any mention from European sources of a Great British King. Moreover there is a lack of monuments or coinage with King Arthur. There is basically a lack of any evidence for a real King Arthur.<br />
<br />
<br />
I found this book a bit dull as it contained nothing on King Arthur that really surprised me. The tone of the book is very much a rebuttal of arguments for the existence of King Arthur. The problem is that if you arrive at it with an awareness that King Arthur is not real then you probably find the book convincing, but unsurprising.<br />
<br />
The book is strongest when it looks at how the Saxon, Jutes and Angles may have arrived in Britain. There were not waves of invaders that pounded the Roman-Celtic peoples back into the sea, but instead it was a more gradual process of migration with the accommodations and alliances forming between those already occupying the land. <br />
<br />
A big problem with this book is the author seems to adopt a slightly aggressive tone. It is also rather academic in tone and so is not an easy read. This would be more forgiveable if there were more interesting insights, but I felt that I did not really learn a great deal from the book.
Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01876491414363659988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-27465962870131677802013-10-15T14:36:00.001+01:002013-10-15T14:36:31.203+01:00The Millionaire Next Door So you want to get rich and become a millionaire? Perhaps this book will tell you how.<br />
<br />
The approach taken has been to sample or survey a lot of millionaires and ask them about their lifestyles and wealth levels. The book majors a lot on a frugal lifestyle, and that millionaires are surprisingly hidden from view(and hence may be living next door).<br />
<br />
It is filled with anecdotes about how much they spend on items like clothes, holidays, cars, etc the data is all from the USA and seems to be drawn from the 1980s and 1990s. But there is a problem in that the sample may not be unbiased and you have to assume that they are reporting the truth. The millionaires tend to be blue-collar workers who have established their own business that have done rather well. They have generally saved hard and reinvested this money over decades.<br />
<br />
The problem is that this might not be the best way forwards for a young potential millionaire. For every millionaire dry-cleaner there are probably tens of very poor dry-cleaners. Much depends on luck as to when and where a business is established. Careers that require higher education; teachers, accountants, lawyers, doctors may not have so many very high wealth individuals but will have fewer with none. To be fair the book does mention this, but the focus is on very wealthy rather than very comfortable people.<br />
<br />
There is something too the idea that controlling spending is a key to wealth. It is always fascinating that many high earners seem to end up bankrupt or poor. It might say something about me that this is a book that I would prefer to read(How to Blow a Million in Five Years!) I guess that it is because they spend up to their income, and this income then disappears.<br />
<br />
For me this book felt quite dated with the fairly obvious advise that you need to earn a lot and spend little if you want to be wealthy. It is better than a get rich quick kind of book, it is more of a get rich slowly affair really. As a read it felt quite dull with pages of statistics that didn't translate well into British 2013 prices and a quite US centric feel. Perhaps because in the UK we don't really believe that anyone can rich in quite the same way. The takeaway is that you should <b>look to spend less than you earn</b> makes sense. <br />
<br />
Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01876491414363659988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-84142190386790477352013-10-10T14:19:00.000+01:002013-10-15T14:36:48.557+01:00Jilted Generation<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jilted-Generation-Britain-Bankrupted-ebook/dp/B00C2SYOX2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381408842&sr=8-1&keywords=jilted+generation" target="_blank">Jilted Generation</a> is a book that argues that the young people today are a jilted generation. They have three problems compared to their parents<br />
<ul>
<li>House prices have risen and it now takes much <a href="http://www.home-prices.co.uk/2013/07/generation-rent.html" target="_blank">longer to be able to save for a deposit</a></li>
<li>Wages have not increase much over the past few years and jobs are less stable</li>
<li>University education is no longer free and the costs have moved from comparable to credit card debt(a few hundred or thousand) to mortgage level debt(tens of thousands)</li>
<li>Government debts that will need to be repaid </li>
</ul>
This book does contain some facts and figures but mostly it is a sort of glorified political pamphlet, albeit a well written one. It reminds me very much of Chav by Owen Wilson, although the Jilted Generation are perhaps more middle class as they aspire to homes and degrees.<br />
<br />
The root cause is the most powerful generations are older. They tend to have accumulated more wealth and are more likely to vote and be in positions of power. This leads to a tendency for institutions to encourage outcomes that benefit the older generations. For example pensions rise whilst working age benefits and university support are cut as pensions are a powerful lobby. Likewise high house prices benefit older home owners as the expense of less powerful younger, renters.<br />
<br />
There is undoubtedly truth in all of this, although I suspect that every
generation has had its challenges(fighting the world wars was probably
no picnic). The previous generation had less chance of going to university - it may have been cheaper but fewer people went for example. Government debt has risen but the cost of servicing the debt payments has fallen as interest rates have collapsed(much has been inflated away). And whilst jobs are less stable people have more choice in terms of careers options than their parents faced.<br />
<br />
I enjoyed this book as it is well-written with great style. The actual economic analysis is not so strong, and the authors fail to really address how they would deal with the problems they raise. They are probably aiming at shifting the terms of political debate so inter-generation rights are considered. <br />
<br />
There is a similiar book by <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Pinch-boomers-childrens-ebook/dp/B004BA5492/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1381409401&sr=1-1&keywords=david+willetts" target="_blank">David Willett's called The Pinch</a>, which looks at Baby Boomers and how they have advantages over their children's generation. David Willetts is a conservative rather than a radical and so it<span id="goog_862036592"></span><span id="goog_862036593"></span> is a more right wing critique of the same problem, the relationship between generations. I think the two books can probably be read together. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01876491414363659988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-24029790053525276822013-07-31T21:12:00.000+01:002013-07-31T21:12:29.427+01:00Particle At The End of The Universe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Particle at the end of the Universe aims to explain the Higgs Boson and how it has been discovered.<br />
<br />
I have read this book once, but feel that it is a book that requires more than one reading. It is not an easy book, although it is also an introductory book and does explain all concepts. There is no requirement to have a degree in science, or even much understanding of mathematics.<br />
<br />
I think the problem is that the world of particle physics is complex and confusing. It is very different from our normal view of the world and it seems harder to rely on the sort of analogies that are common in cosmology. A Big Bang seems easier to visualise than virtual particles.<br />
<br />
The book details the sheer difficulty in particle physics, and that several decades passed between the Higg Boson being postulated(by lots of people not just Higgs) and discovery. Billions of euros and vast amount of data have had to be gathered. The author leaves it up to the reader to determine if this is a good use of resources, and indeed argues it is a pure search for truth rather than relying on the usual arguments for spin off benefits.<br />
<br />
I did take away some things from this book. It offers an introduction to the Standard Model of particle physics. The standard model looks like:-<br />
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The photons make the electormagnetic force. The Z and W Bosons are the weak force and Gluons are the strong force. Not shown is a graviton which is responsible for gravity.<br />
<br />
Quarks make up the nucleus of atoms. Leptons are not subject to the strong force and are most important in electrons which give atoms their chemical properties.<br />
<br />
The Higgs Boson is important because it explains why some of the particles have mass. It seems this is not the source of mass in the universe, as this is caused by other interactions within atoms(as energy is mass and the energy of particles reacting leads to mass). The other role is breaking symmetry, but I must confess on first reading of this book I do not really understand this.<br />
<br />
I liked this book a lot, it is readable and has advanced my understanding of a complex area. I am left wondering if there are other introductory books on particle physics that might allow me to approach it from another angle and so develop a further understanding. Or perhaps Brian Cox will do a television series.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01876491414363659988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-29865875880318328512013-07-29T11:30:00.000+01:002013-07-30T10:34:50.229+01:00From Eternity to Here by Sean CarrollThis book looks at time; why time seems to flow in one direction? Why can we not remember the future?<br />
<br />
This is a more complex puzzle than it appears as the laws of physics are all reversable, they all work if you run them backwards - provided you make certain other changes. For example you could reverse time with the earth rotating around the sun, but you would need to also reverse the direction and angular momentum.<br />
<br />
The author explains how the tendency of entropy to increase differentiates the future from the past. The future is more "chaotic". He does this by explaining statistical mechanics in a reality easy to explain way.<br />
<br />
After this he asks why the Big Bang, the start of the universe, was such an ordered state and how we found ourselves to be here. The short answer is nobody knows so there is much speculation and he dips into quantum physics, black holes, whether we could build a time machine and multiple universes. The book becomes more speculative as it goes on.<br />
<br />
The author ends with a model that involves our universe being a sort of bubble universe that broke away, it emerged as a flux in a larger empty space with just periodic fluctations(something called a De Sitter space which is basically empty space with just virtual particles popping in and out of existence). I read a similiar theory in Roger Penroses Cycles of Time, but I found that book far harder to read.<br />
<br />
This is a good book, especially the first half. The author avoids the use of mathematics to describe his theories and so is forced to use analogies in the Stephen Hawkins style. I am sure this means leaving out some of the depth as analogies are rarely perfect. But most of us lack the ability to perform the mathematics, so this is probably a wise step especially when it comes to book sales. I found the second half grew a little more speculative, but it is a book I have read on more than one occasion. It seems a bit more advanced than other books that endless recount twin astronauts travelling at different speeds. And the range of material is quite vast. <br />
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<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01876491414363659988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-43285666148659950122013-07-23T22:06:00.001+01:002013-07-23T22:06:31.204+01:00Stocks for the Long Run<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Stocks for the Long Run is Jeremy Siegel's analysis of the USA's stock market. His thesis is that the stock market is the best place to park your money if you are investing over the long term.<br />
<br />
The book argues that the stock market is efficient, meaning it is not easy(or possible) for an investor to pick the right individual shares or to move in and out of the market. The normal investor is best simply buying and holding, or investing in low cost index funds.<br />
<br />
The evidence is largely based on the US stock market. Adopting the Japanese, Russian, Chinese or German stock exchanges would have lead to a less rosy outcome for shares. Most of the data is based on the 20th century which was a happy time for the USA.<br />
<br />
The author tackles some of the simple market strategies and shows that in general these things may work for a while(Sell in May and go away) the effects do not persist. He also looks at the workings of options markets. The key message hammered in and over is to buy some shares and hold them.<br />
<br />
The key take away is that stocks <b>have been the best investment for the past couple of centuries</b> if you are investing over a 40-year timescale. The problem is this may not continue into the future and not everyone can invest over such a long timescale. Many people buy lower risk assets such as bonds because they have shorter investment horizons or are psychologically unable to cope with stock market fluctuations.<br />
<br />
Overall this is a good book with an optimistic message. The data sample is a bit limited, and it could be read with other more pessimistic books(<a href="http://factualbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/monkeywithapin.html" target="_blank">Moneywithapin</a> for example). The messages are not exactly dissimiliar, but they look at it from a different perspective. <a href="http://factualbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/monkeywithapin.html" target="_blank">Moneywithapin</a> sees lower returns, but these are driven by mistake investors make(trade too much and paying fees that are too high). Siegel's data assumes no costs and that individuals are not trading too much. Both individuals recommend costs are held very low and recommend low cost trackers.<br />
<br />
This is an enjoyable and well written book, but I can't help but feel the author has selected data to suit his hypothesis. And it has often been misinterrupted to suggest stocks must always go up or that stocks are less risky the longer they are held - both are false. Despite these reservations this book is a modern classic.<br />
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<br />Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-76228569557021764542013-07-22T21:18:00.000+01:002013-07-23T21:18:17.780+01:00Kindle Paperwhite Convert: Review<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-nsUsfGm5j6Dpv1ZRjGaFsM-mrEyXFtP9VNZtfl8rM__BE4zNHsNbJhA6S1K7C4Fisi8ES2O1Br9GyRnnHVE_YfNPOdlpJaziILjJKocWKjPMUhd82aosaYTYrHFN3LIJ9H0RZPbyY5G/s1600/180px-Amazon_Kindle_-_Wikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-nsUsfGm5j6Dpv1ZRjGaFsM-mrEyXFtP9VNZtfl8rM__BE4zNHsNbJhA6S1K7C4Fisi8ES2O1Br9GyRnnHVE_YfNPOdlpJaziILjJKocWKjPMUhd82aosaYTYrHFN3LIJ9H0RZPbyY5G/s200/180px-Amazon_Kindle_-_Wikipedia.jpg" width="136" /></a>For a long time I was a fan of paperbooks. I always liked the idea of ebook readers, but I always felt it was a bit unfair that the books cost as much as tradition paperback books. The earlier version of the Kindle always looked a bit clunky. It almost looked like something transplanted from the 1980s into 21st century. It was also a lot more expensive than the new models. It was released as recently as 2007, which I find a little surprising as it is quite an obvious idea.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEEN9doDtCdgbJQKuFIqtTGTWOxPTpXsI78WhS9TtmREz1jV23_QPG1f7hQJ9fo7DFFNSD3H63hcSChyphenhyphen_TnxZ1wqTn7W69XKIVt256bG6wtVT6qHNJd5qdP2NLskyhxhj6zF0nvMZ-XTcf/s1600/Kindle_Paperwhite_WiFi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEEN9doDtCdgbJQKuFIqtTGTWOxPTpXsI78WhS9TtmREz1jV23_QPG1f7hQJ9fo7DFFNSD3H63hcSChyphenhyphen_TnxZ1wqTn7W69XKIVt256bG6wtVT6qHNJd5qdP2NLskyhxhj6zF0nvMZ-XTcf/s1600/Kindle_Paperwhite_WiFi.jpg" /></a><br />
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I must admit I am now converted and am the proud owner of the <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007OZO03M/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B007OZO03M&linkCode=as2&tag=factualblogge-21">Kindle Paperwhite, 6" High Resolution Display with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi</a><img src="http://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=factualblogge-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B007OZO03M" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />. It is still not quite as stylish as the lastest mobile phone or Apple gadget. The size of the boarder is slightly large compared to the screen, but it does look pretty slick and although it is bigger than a mobile phone it fits nicely in one hand.<br />
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The benefits are :<br />
<ul>
<li>It is lighter and easier to carry around than a book.</li>
<li>You can obvious carry hundreds of books with you. </li>
<li>You can start to thin out your huge bookcases(we have more books than bookshelves) </li>
<li>The battery hardly ever seems to need charging. </li>
<li>The best factor is <b>the screen is easy on the eyes</b>, really easy. You can read books on a tablet, but the Kindle is much nicer. </li>
<li>You can easily sync it with Amazon's huge ebook library. </li>
</ul>
It is basically the iPod of ebook readers. There are other e-readers out there, but they are not really any cheaper and ultimately amazon has the biggest selection of books so there is no real need to go elsewhere.<br />
I guess there are a few negatives: <br />
<ul>
<li>The backlight used is a bit uneven. It is sort of blotchy, this does not really affect readability but it does look slightly odd.</li>
<li>I don't find the store that easy to use. I tend to end up buying books on my mobile phone and then reading them on the kindle. I think it is because the Kindle's built in store does not have recommendations. But also the summary does not show prices.</li>
<li>Finally it is annoying that eBooks are not cheaper than paperbooks. This is not unique to Amazon, and it is partly because the UK Government charge VAT on eBooks but not physical books.</li>
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I have no idea how long the Kindles will be around. They remind me a bit of the iPod, when it first came out I carried it around with me. But improvements in the technology of phones have rendered them almost obsolete. I am sure the same fate awaits Kindles, but at the moment they have an edge over tablets - most due to readability. They are also more robust.<br />
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Thanks to <a href="http://www.kneadwhine.co.uk/">www.kneadwhine.co.uk</a> for buying one for me.Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-8803976200789641062013-07-20T21:19:00.000+01:002013-07-23T21:26:13.247+01:00All Hell Let Loose by Max Hastings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqw625qv75Dgo1JhHLWptWITPYZODVzSBd0yg6RgB9qN58Ib_5vLBO8WeNXT02Fxi7DD4iPgjpDjAIbaiJ2r51O7fPJqxnhD0aNNHbv0R4Pcb3y5iMpm7YhW3X5M7VuucakCO443CgZT8z/s1600/Hell.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqw625qv75Dgo1JhHLWptWITPYZODVzSBd0yg6RgB9qN58Ib_5vLBO8WeNXT02Fxi7DD4iPgjpDjAIbaiJ2r51O7fPJqxnhD0aNNHbv0R4Pcb3y5iMpm7YhW3X5M7VuucakCO443CgZT8z/s1600/Hell.jpeg" /></a></div>
There are tens of thousands of books about the second world war and perhaps there is not much new to say. <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005E8A17A/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B005E8A17A&linkCode=as2&tag=factualblogge-21">All Hell Let Loose: The World at War 1939-1945</a><img src="http://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=factualblogge-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B005E8A17A" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> does not set out to be provide any new analysis, instead it is about the experience of individuals caught up in the war.<br />
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The scale of horror incurred in Poland, Russia and Germany is horrific, with large portions of their populations dying. Many of the rest faced rape, violence and constant fear. It is pessimistic in that heroism and nationalism are not heavily featured. Even those that fight are seen as doing so because to not do so is to risk being shot by their own commanding officers. Perhaps some of those fighting it did enjoy the experience, but this book portrays it as overwhelmingly a wretched experience.<br />
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The overarching theme is that the Germans fought far better than everyone else on a man for man basis, but strategically they made terrible errors. They found themselves outmatched by the huge combined military power of Russia, the USA and the UK. Biting off more than they could chew they were always going to choke to death. But they put up a hell of a fight.<br />
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Most of the fighting was done in the East and this does nothing to hide the fact that Russia paid a heavy blood price for victory. Probably the USA and the UK could have done more, but overall they were happy to let Russians do the dying. They most preferred smaller actions for public relations purposes in relatively unimportant theaters of Africa, Greece and latter Italy. Even the bombing of German cities did little to win the war, but made good PR. The boots on the German ground were Russia ones and they were drenched in blood.<br />
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I must confess I was unaware of the f<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943" target="_blank">amine in West Bengal</a> in which between 1-3 million Indians died, whilst ships were transporting food to the UK. The famine had complex causes, but we could and perhaps ought to have done more.<br />
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The war is now fading into the past as few people are still alive who can remember it. Like many people I never really asked much about it and regret that. This book does not do a bad job of giving voice to the dead victims of that war.<br />
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I enjoyed this book, although apart form the famine in West Bengal I am not sure I learnt much. Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-51547713142985516812013-07-15T09:11:00.000+01:002013-07-23T09:59:42.622+01:00Soccernomics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87-pz-wpx7rXL55_dQmJQgwnMWSJwnWUX-5p1M5qyvwoRXKjX8wbag-ivfo8C06ydh7pOSUaLUfpwVU6N4ogfhm_ekJ1GBW4blldQqE-nRmQmFF9jErNfcN2Jc17YZ8tQBnm5O0gbRCaI/s1600/soccer.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87-pz-wpx7rXL55_dQmJQgwnMWSJwnWUX-5p1M5qyvwoRXKjX8wbag-ivfo8C06ydh7pOSUaLUfpwVU6N4ogfhm_ekJ1GBW4blldQqE-nRmQmFF9jErNfcN2Jc17YZ8tQBnm5O0gbRCaI/s1600/soccer.jpeg" /></a></div>
Soccernomics aims to provide a degree of numerical analysis to soccer. I have heard is stated that each equation added to a book reduces the readership by a half. This book avoids that issue by being quite anecdotal and not digging into or explaining the statistics too deeply. <br />
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There are some interesting take-aways: <br />
1. Fans are a more fluid group than people believe. There is a high degree of churn as people move, or get bored with the game or have families. <br />
2. The market for players is effient and paying more for players will generally lead to better results. They do not use transfer fees as they are often non-disclosed. <br />
3. Managers have a small impact on the overall performance of a team. They are little more than figure heads and spokespeople. The authors to have a lot of good to say about Wegner and Clough though. <br />
4. The impact of 2 and 3 means clubs cannot select players on the basis of race without incurring a penalty. With regard to managers they can. <br />
5. Football is not really big business. Even the largest Manchester Unite/Chelsea teams are barely, if at all profitable and their turnover is tiny compared to the largest firms on the stock exchange. The teams at the bottom of the Premier League are closer to a single Supermarket store in terms of turnover. <br />
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The book then drifts into some analysis of why England perform poorly on the world stage. They develop a model using income per head, population and football experience. This seems to indicate that England have slightly overperformed(they don't prove this factors are causal or identify exactly how good at predicting these variables are). They then speculate that the future belongs to large country that are open to new footballing ideas. <br />
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This book is rather like Moneyball which looks at baseball. But baseball is probably an easier game to analyse as there are fewer situations. And football is already heavily analysed via Opta, this book fails to really deep dive into the data and feels quite superficial. It is quite easy to read. I enjoyed it, but felt the best chapter were around the business of football and fandom rather than football itself.Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-1412714464957407612013-07-01T14:53:00.000+01:002013-07-23T10:00:04.219+01:00Nothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4TnVXupnc87k3_VcN39-y_LuAx7pf1xB-oTlC77CFE5cMficUq7Sv3L1kzTfs6XaabhoYk0BXavVd7BdXCERedhAtG5lXaedwXsiJD-0ZqmnO4a4eelAvoiUCc_H-6uloE_6QgLozcX4V/s1600/Korea.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4TnVXupnc87k3_VcN39-y_LuAx7pf1xB-oTlC77CFE5cMficUq7Sv3L1kzTfs6XaabhoYk0BXavVd7BdXCERedhAtG5lXaedwXsiJD-0ZqmnO4a4eelAvoiUCc_H-6uloE_6QgLozcX4V/s1600/Korea.jpeg" /></a></div>
This book gives biographical account of the lives of five defectors from North Korea. It is ethnographical and does not contain much in the way of facts and figures regarding the regime. It is necessarily a biased viewpoint as there have only been a very small number of defectors and so it is hard to be sure that those profiled are necessarily representative of the people who have remained.<br />
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The book does show how the regime began to collapse after the end of communism in Eastern Europe and it is from this point that the standard of living in North Korea began to plummet. By the mid 1990s the economic system almost completely collapsed and the country began to endure widespread famine. The individuals in the book find themselves foraging for weeds to cook or engaging in petty theft to survive. The collapse of the economic system sees their skills (doctors and teachers) being no longer used as schools close and medicines run out. That seems to be a common theme as people’s skill remain unused, factors are scrapped, cinemas and hospital close. All that seems to work are the military and secret police. And the result is a huge loss of life (perhaps 10% of the population) and waste of potential.<br />
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The system manages to keep going as the people are starved of information about the outside world, and many seem to believe it is a paradise. Moreover Korea’s pre-communist culture is heavily tied in with families and those who betray the regime stain the family name, ensuring their children and grandchildren are punished. This means that defections are rare, and the huge informal spying network acts to ensure no-one criticise the leadership. It feels very much like George Orwell’s 1984.<br />
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The sheer level of terror means that the book is unable to speculate on whether everyone really believes in the regime or if they are just pretending. It seems even those who do defect, at the risk of imprisonment to death, still have some hope that North Korea really is a lie and the outside world is much worse.<br />
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It seems to be written from a female point of view. Males are assigned workgroups and jobs, these are often no longer paying and so are relatively worthless unless they are used to accept bribes. However women are allowed to engage in small scale enterprises - cooking, selling or prostitution, forging activities and as wives to those across the border in China. This means women have more opportunities for very limited self advancement and are better able to escape.<br />
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The book seems to have few positive notes to it, although it does seem that mobile phones are starting to penetrate into North Korea and radio and television can also project into the country. However it does not make any projects when and if the regime will collapse. It seems the famines of the 1990s are gone as food aid has poured into the country.
Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-26298627233501406522012-06-08T20:51:00.002+01:002013-07-22T21:31:41.103+01:00Back from the Brink: 1,000 Days at Number 11<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijX67HIki6njXV2SN83dX41N6SnDd4CZLlQtKQGDNMvZZnr70X7HjVjmyp8KmC0PtVK66wwDU39E8rRUwMpHB0wJUCB8txL75os1U0fNF1BWfuIXCd-6XPG3r8PbD-XZH-dDQ-vKKND61a/s1600/Darling.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijX67HIki6njXV2SN83dX41N6SnDd4CZLlQtKQGDNMvZZnr70X7HjVjmyp8KmC0PtVK66wwDU39E8rRUwMpHB0wJUCB8txL75os1U0fNF1BWfuIXCd-6XPG3r8PbD-XZH-dDQ-vKKND61a/s1600/Darling.jpeg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This book is Alistair Darling's tales of his time as Chancellor of the Exchequer. I have read quite a few books on the characters in New Labour.<br /><br /><br />Darling had a reputation as a safe pair of hands, and I suspect that relatively few people would have remember the roles he had prior to becoming Chancellor, and the book does not really cover this period. It starts when he was appointed after Gordon Brown became Prime Minister. He seems himself as being a mere stop-gap whilst Gordon Brown manoeuvred Ed Balls into the post. Darling face quite a lot of challenges to stay in the post.<br /><br /><br />Darling is critical several key characters:-<br /><br /><br />Governor of the Bank of England who he regarded as out of touch and behind the curve. He was more concerned about fighting inflation and was wary about bailing out banks as they would be encourage to continue their risky lending<br /><br />Bankers - their excessive risk taking caused the banking collapse. He seems to regard the banks as blind to the risk that they were taking, and the fact that the whole banking system was interlinked so they would all sink or swim together. He is also morally against the high levels of pay they received.<br /><br />Gordon Brown - a man who he believed underestimated the size of the crisis until rather too late, although he ultimately gives him credit for creating the international consensus to recapitalise banks.<br /><br /><br />Darling starts the book at the beginning of the collapse and so can take little responsibility for a recession that had already started. But it seems that there are few places in the book whilst he admits that he made mistakes. The timescale of the book means New Labour's Iraq war is not discussed.<br /><br /><br />The book is quite critical of Gordon Brown's leadership, but Darling did little about it at the time. He did not take part in any of the plots to remove Gordon Brown, but equally did not quite give him 100% support. Like many in the cabinet they rather seemed to hope someone else would weld the dagger, but it never happened. The result of many of these plots was it allowed Darling to remain as Chancellor while Ed Balls had to wait on the sidelines, unable to step in as Darling could not be pushed aside.<br /><br /><br />I guess the one thing that is interesting is that beyond an interest in "fairness" and the idea that governments can help people in their lives he does not seem especially ideological. Darling is perhaps a Blairite in the Brown/Blair divide. Yet he rarely seemed to disagree on policy and it was often more around presentation of the facts. The overall impression is that the debates within New Labour were largely all around personality rather than politics. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-77801362908160692592012-05-24T11:46:00.001+01:002013-07-23T10:00:28.754+01:00The Master Switch by Tim Wu<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4939333582375782543" name="_MailAutoSig"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Master Switch is a history of media and information empires. It looks at Telephone, Radio, Television, Cable Television and Cinema largely from a US perspecitve.</span></span></a></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _MailAutoSig;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The book’s conclusion is that each industry has started out chaotically with many different companies employing rival standards and establishing their own network. However eventually a large company or small group of large companies has arisen to dominate each industry. These larger companies often offers lower prices, higher quality services or universal service which attracts consumers. However the result of this is the formation of monopolies which ultimately inhibit the creative process. The dominate monopolist will use a variety of methods to inhibit anything that threatens their position such as patients, buying rivals, pricing to remove competitors or surpressing innovations that threaten their core market(an example is AT&T discovering but surpressing the Answerphone). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _MailAutoSig;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The monopolisation matters as the result is that a small group have control of the “master switch” that determines the flow of information. The trends the author highlights are then applied to the new internet technologies and the relate to the patient wars that are currently being thought in the mobile phone/internet arena.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _MailAutoSig;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The author argues that there is a cycle effect as new technologies emerge which disrupt the existing industries or regulators break them up. A new cycle of consolidation then commences. The book draws on the ideas of Schumpter’s “Creative Distruction”, arguing that the collapse of old monopoly spurs innovation.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _MailAutoSig;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I enjoyed the history of film making which has become increasingly high risk, so failures can bring down film studies. Films have increasingly adopted strategies to mitigate that risk,</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _MailAutoSig;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vertical integration – buying cinemas in order to guarantee a market for films. Regulators have broken up the older Hollywood studio system and forced the studios to sell of their cinemas. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: _MailAutoSig;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sequels and remakes, this gaurantees a market for fans of previous versions and reduces the risk of developing new intellectual property</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _MailAutoSig;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Films also have a longer product lifecycle, with revenue from sales of DVDs, to television and video game ties ins. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _MailAutoSig;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Merchandising, especially for children’s films or comics.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _MailAutoSig;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Establishment of smaller studios owned by larger studios that develop low cost, high risk films. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _MailAutoSig;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally some studies are owned by large conglomerates who can stand the risk of large losses. </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A possible flaw in the book is assuming that the Master Switch is as possibly going to matter as much in the internet age. It is fair easier for media owners to censor television, radio or film that YouTube. YouTube and Facebook offer close to zero cost of content creation and distribution, resulting in too much content for any Master Swith owner to moderate. The only way it could be done would be to limit the form in which people can publish their information, but it seems hard to see how that can be “closed down” without user migrating elsewhere. </span></span></div>
Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-55062926516849189352012-05-22T16:24:00.000+01:002013-07-22T21:36:33.926+01:00The Social Animal by David Brooks<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_dNaNXIEQA14ZFoYvacY8JKVn-Q5Z_IQjn8B3qUKtjd4wzMI51di4HrbyyUD_1Q3FRqMqdiAh-NHGaWOX86_WgVQlnxN64OjLvtTFY4OYMOzEKuw7uQJcMsc_lnYeVhlwailQpw2stgU/s1600/social.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_dNaNXIEQA14ZFoYvacY8JKVn-Q5Z_IQjn8B3qUKtjd4wzMI51di4HrbyyUD_1Q3FRqMqdiAh-NHGaWOX86_WgVQlnxN64OjLvtTFY4OYMOzEKuw7uQJcMsc_lnYeVhlwailQpw2stgU/s1600/social.jpeg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The main thesis of the book is that a lot of our actions are driven by our subconscious and the author claims that he will provide some insight into the latest research from a variety of areas such as Neuroscience and Psychology.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In terms of structure the book follows to imaginary people, Harold and Erika, following them from Harold’s birth to his death. Oddly the events always take place in the 21<sup>st</sup> century, which gives it a rather unusual feel. The characters are bright and generally lead successful upper middle class lives. Despite the title neither<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>character seem to lead especially social lives. Harold’s influences are his parents and a teacher. Erika is influenced more by a people she meets as she strives to climb the corporate greasy pole. Friends and family of the characters do not feature.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The author believes that:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The unconscious mind is far more important in our decisions than we realize. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Emotions are bound up in reason and motivate and influence even our most rational thought processes</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That we are learn from institution and relationships and these have a profound impact on us</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The book therefore argues against the model of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>human beings that are seen to be rational decision makers as in simple economic models. It aims to replace older models of human behavior with deeper, more subtle modesl. However the book suffers as the science is rather weak. There is nothing especially original, and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there are better books on aspects of behavioural economics, evolutionary economics and psychology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The author attempts to bring lots of themes together, but it all lacks rigour. There probably is a gap in the market for a book that analyses how people make decisions and the science behind it, but this book falls somewhat short. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A big problem for me is that the main characters are rather dull and the stories of their lives are not especially compelling. If this were a novel it would be a rather tedious one. They don’t really help to draw out his key insights, rather they seem to pad out the word count. The continual setting of the book in the present day makes it hard to suspend disbelief. Finally the characters are not really embodied in any culture or social group and seem to live successful middle class lives, largely on the basis of the fact they are quite intelligent and make good decisions. </span></div>
Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-18078685207738795292012-05-05T18:34:00.004+01:002013-07-23T22:09:34.853+01:00Monkeywithapin<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy-8-nkFY3ROXSXvAhvllQvs9nZ3Do11qEYBIBvDVymW-aNJkZG3GrPu883Ss_IrJ2TnmVl9Gm7ParTUfM9OpFKo7xsoxduZqOp0-SNrU27aPq8tFnv_88MZoGHms-21rKrwMhyDJsM1Vk/s1600/money.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy-8-nkFY3ROXSXvAhvllQvs9nZ3Do11qEYBIBvDVymW-aNJkZG3GrPu883Ss_IrJ2TnmVl9Gm7ParTUfM9OpFKo7xsoxduZqOp0-SNrU27aPq8tFnv_88MZoGHms-21rKrwMhyDJsM1Vk/s320/money.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I found this book for <a href="http://monkeywithapin.com/download-the-book/">free on the web</a>
via the excellent <a href="http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/" target="_blank">Moneysavingexpert</a> website.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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This book broadly argues that whilst
stock market investing promises high returns – either via funds or
directly the truth is that in reality the returns for the normal
investor have been disappointing. There are a few reasons for this: -</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<ol>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Fees</b> – individual investors have
to pay an array of fees. These include bid/offer spreads, stamp
duty, professional fees for brokers and advisors, dealing costs,
etc. It is not easy to assertain these costs as they are not really
clearly disclosed.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Psychological Costs</b> –
individuals make mistakes on when they trade often being sucked into
rising markets and selling when the pain of falling markets is too
low.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Surviorship Bias</b>- this is a direct
cost, but more the reported returns of stock exchanges to include
only the winners. Because the losers dissappear they are not
included in the average returns(as the data can only include shares
that exist at the beginning and end of a period being considered). A
similar argument applies to funds as poorly performing funds are
closed.</div>
</li>
</ol>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The author believes these costs will
total about 6% per year, the costs being broadly similar whether an
individual invests in funds or individual shares. The funds seem to
be based on “actively managed funds” rather than passive funds
which track an index, these in theory offer lower costs.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The author reconsiders another form of
investing which is simply to use money held in cash accounts such as
building society rates. He believes that the returns from equities
are usually based on money market rates rather than the rates
available to high street savers. The savers rates are often loss
leaders and often exceed money market rates by a significant margin.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For those who wish to invest in shares
the advise is to drive costs as low as possible and avoid the urge to
churn a portfolio too often. The author also seems to advise that
investors ought to have some sort of strategy and stick to it. These
ventures into the territory of looking at charts and trying to spot
trends, the author only seems to consider this anecdotally and it is
a weak part of the book in my opinion. I don't believe there is much
evidence that this kind of analysis works.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The final section of the book looks
briefly at the future of the industry where the author sees the
investment industry entering a period of disintermediation –
predicting a decline in IFAs, fund managers and an era of lower
costs. </div>
Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-44620062503409702542012-05-04T18:37:00.002+01:002013-07-23T21:29:26.094+01:00Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_NXGGklEipRYzONhOcuPUTXMnGJqoDN9pxmnrVuGmjYOQ6Lmax666WhPWjABeWIXYoUpTRGPesi0PesWvZAc9JXIWig8kTBUVeSw4XmbCQQffOMGUy9ycTnkLtzB-q-9HM-BuhAkomHYN/s1600/snoop.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAnqQycsTM8jsnSMwLROOXajU7HcrTg3I5kLpW2O59VIcqG0YsNSBm2Ds3lxXntzIB1qvnRSIBRlqjLRR5aXXoAmF0k89eSF5inQjDB5r0_MyD5d6wBR4HQeHGvBMZT0yW3bnOdLbJgCt/s1600/snoop.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAnqQycsTM8jsnSMwLROOXajU7HcrTg3I5kLpW2O59VIcqG0YsNSBm2Ds3lxXntzIB1qvnRSIBRlqjLRR5aXXoAmF0k89eSF5inQjDB5r0_MyD5d6wBR4HQeHGvBMZT0yW3bnOdLbJgCt/s1600/snoop.jpeg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">An
interesting idea for a book. It claims we can deduce much about a
person from their living or working space.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The
book starts by detailing the big five traits of psychology</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Openness - </b>how
willing you are to experience new
things</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Conscientiousness - </b>organisation</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Extraversion - </b>outgoingness</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Agreeableness - </b>how
much you like other people</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Neuroticism - </b>worrying</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The
book goes on to argue that you can read clues about these traits from
people’s living space. However mostly it is on merely two of these
traits. If a person is open they are likely to have a wide range of
books and if a person is very tidy then they are likely to be
conscientious.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In
many ways the book seems to argue that snooping might not be so
useful. In general people tend to underestimate context(except with
regard to themselves), and the book argues it is hard to deduce much
from a few cues. For example, a messy person can tidy up or certain
items can belong to other people or company policy might change the
way a person’s desk is set up, etc. And things such as music tastes
or drinking tastes are less important than we imagine.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The
big problem with this book is that it obvious that conscientious
organised people are likely to have organised personal spaces and
open people are likely to have interesting reading material. This
book counsels against making big deductive jumps, but that rather
limits the scope of snooping. Snooping can be quite good at
determining gender and the attractiveness of people (by the
photographs of their partners).</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The
book is quite long as the author goes into various anecdotes about
experiment he has done with college students. It is actually quite
interesting, although I found myself a bit disappointed at the end of
the book to discover that there aren’t really a set of rules that
turn us into super snoopers and that in practice it is not such a
good way to find out about people. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I
enjoyed this book, but it is a bit of a guilt pleasure kind of book
than on that will change lives or offers much in the way of deep
insight.</span></span></span>
</div>
Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-51416350264662985002012-04-28T21:51:00.002+01:002013-07-23T21:30:51.413+01:00The Political Brain The Role Of Emotion In Deciding The Fate Of The Nation<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi38EhVqSnqT6RO1MpQUt-KXV8-I3m-QOL3otAZXP6esYk_nPHIJIbDqkp7g5JqfA7VpXAAP_0aCJc0yfHzZ0z39hxyZBTMankUKDLM-YQmFk8SwtqUoME2bsx5D_2QHI1Xmu7_dfZpI82w/s1600/brain.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi38EhVqSnqT6RO1MpQUt-KXV8-I3m-QOL3otAZXP6esYk_nPHIJIbDqkp7g5JqfA7VpXAAP_0aCJc0yfHzZ0z39hxyZBTMankUKDLM-YQmFk8SwtqUoME2bsx5D_2QHI1Xmu7_dfZpI82w/s1600/brain.jpeg" /></a></div>
This book looks at how people vote and
what determines who they vote for. It is written by a Democrat, and
so looks at how the Democrats can beat the Republicans.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The central thesis of this book is that
people determine how they vote based on emotions rather than cold,
logical thinking. The candidates that do well need to tell stories
that inspire people and link in with the candidates beliefs. To win
elections to some extent requires a triumph of substance over form.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The book outlines this central thesis
and then uses examples of how Republicans have already done this in
debates and illustrates how a Democrat should respond, by creating
hypothetical responses. The author regards the Democrats as being too
considered with policies that generally bore or do not connect with
an electorate. While the Republicans have stronger narratives that
appeal to the people. Republicans are also more prepared to fight
dirty, and this makes them appear stronger. An example is John
Kerry’s unwillingness to fight when George Bush's criticism of his
Kerry's war record. In theory as a decorated veteran this ought to
have been a clear win for Kerry, but instead Kerry tried to rise
above it and so appeared to have something to hide or to be weak.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The impression is that Democrats need
to be nastier, the author does not have a problem with negative
campaigns, especially if they are retaliatory. This is in part
because not to respond does not raise a candidate up so much as make
them seem weak and unable to respond.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Much is made of the way Republicans
have hijacked language. An example would be a term such as "tax
relief" which seems to have a positive impression, the fact
these are often limited to a few executives is ignored. The Democrats
need to have simple narratives that are clearly described in every
day language and using stories that connect with electorates lives.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This book is interesting and highlights
the ideas that much of how we vote is based on how we feel about a
candidate rather than a rational analysis of their points. The book
is very US centric, and the same doesn't apply in other countries, as
many issues such as abortion and gun control are not so contested. </div>
Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-86497921243637023992012-04-24T20:50:00.000+01:002013-07-24T22:26:40.076+01:00Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvvTBT6Otu91qfc9K0e__q4dO95b5_MIsYTQzTV6srrE_RoUqscKgYLbamkbmZNOHkbPbfAWfGnzo7VR72xFP0Zy0Nid3M7OWFTTgWUaRGT8iG1PYBg-Lx-hCR0OhsiasR-X9t8am1pwV/s1600/outliers.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvvTBT6Otu91qfc9K0e__q4dO95b5_MIsYTQzTV6srrE_RoUqscKgYLbamkbmZNOHkbPbfAWfGnzo7VR72xFP0Zy0Nid3M7OWFTTgWUaRGT8iG1PYBg-Lx-hCR0OhsiasR-X9t8am1pwV/s1600/outliers.jpeg" height="200" width="162" /></a></div>
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This book is a study of genius and what makes some people very high achievers.</div>
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The author's conclusion is that genius
is that genius is not something iniate, an intelligence or gift that
a person is born with. Rather it is something that is developed. High
achievers often seem to have first mover advantages getting an
initial lead that means they build more experience and are that
little bit better than those that just miss out. So it is not so much
that genius are unique as born in the right place at the right time.
He invokes a 10,000 hour rule which is a rule of thumb which states
that you are likely to be expert at anything if you devote that much
time to it. Often the number of spaces at the top(or in the team or
industry or group) are limited. Those who are the first to get 10,000
hours of football in, or hockey, or computer programming will become
the elite. Those who get their second will never be able to catch up.
This explains why many of the founders of the large computer
companies are the same age(they got the 10,000 in first), why
footballers tend to have birthdays clustered around certain
months(those in certain months get picked for the most game and why
the Beatles dominated pop music(they got thousands of hours playing
in Germany and Liverpool).
</div>
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There is an interesting chapter which
looks at the history of air crashes and how different societies lead
to different interactions between pilot and co-pilot. Cultures where
subordinates are able to criticise their superiors have better safety
records as co-pilots are actually able to overrule their pilots. The
point is presumably the culture is a key driver in human activity. I
found this rather fascinating, although it almost seemed like it
could be built into another book.</div>
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A criticism of the book is that often I
do not feel the author actually proves his point. It is still
plausible that some geniuses have some innate advantage. He seems to
pick a few anecdotes that do back up his argument. But on the other
hand it seems his books are often designed to encourage you to think
about things in a slightly different way. I suspect that even the
author is not discounting natural intelligence or an individual’s
hard work, but arguing that environment is important too.</div>
Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-51584661883278823852012-04-21T22:27:00.000+01:002012-04-21T22:27:17.172+01:00The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History by Peter Heather<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This book analyses the last century of
the Western Roman empire. The fundamental thesis is that it was not
the direct influence of the Huns or internal divisions in the Roman
empire that lead to the collapse of the empire.</div>
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</div>
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Instead the impact of Rome on the
border regions lead to those societies becoming more sophisticated
and politically unified. In the first and second century the Roman
empire was vastly richer than the less civilised Germanic world.
Indeed the beyond the edge of the empire was territory it was not
economically viable to conquer(being far removed from the
Mediterranean trade routes). The Germanic tribes were politically
divided into many small groups. This individual small groups were
unable to trouble the Roman empire, except by low level raiding. The
Germanic armies were not professional soldier and lacked iron
weapons, armour and training. This allowed the Romans to often win
battles even when outnumbered by more than five to one.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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The centuries that followed saw the gap
between the Roman world and Germanic world narrowing. Trade and
warfare between the two saw the Germanic world becoming more advance.
The Germans gradually acquired more weapons and armour through trade
and acting as mercenaries within the Roman empire. Meanwhile the
various tribes fought to get closer to the Roman border which was a
source of wealth. This saw a gradual consolidation into larger
political groups.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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The Romans were unable to simply
address the threat presented by the Germanic tribes as they faced a
rising empire to the East(Persia). They struggled throughout the
period to defend their borders and to raise their tax rates to a high
enough level to pay for an enlarged military. However they did manage
to contain the Persian threat, although they were not able to defeat
Persia decisively.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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Germanic tribes from the start of the
fifth century crossed the border and settled in Roman territory,
initially some were accepted to assist in battling other groups. War
with Persia distracted Rome from the issue. Eventually the sheer
number of non-Roman within the empire lead to revolts and breakaway
kingdoms that reduced the Roman tax base and so size of the
professional army. This made it harder and harder to fight back and
reunite the empire. The empire unravelled surprisingly quickly as
North Africa, Spain and France fell became separate kingdoms.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The role of the Huns was indirect in
that there rise forced the Germanic tribes into the Roman empire to
escape their advance. But the Huns were numerically too small to
destroy the Roman empire, and ultimately lacked the political
organisation to survive and so did not establish a successor state to
the Roman empire. Instead the Western world of the dark ages was then
dominated by the political confederations of Goths, Alans, etc that
began to cross the border in the 5th century. </div>Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-1158083063127942342012-04-19T10:44:00.000+01:002013-07-24T22:29:38.971+01:00Triumph Of The City<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFOJ9zjfiFG9j8AgUHCy7Bn9hxNCa62AudzJWc56AXw9IDo0lARo4j_u-gytay2kdrTyzMEw0BioUzPyokMPHVdmrTbFrRyV6I9vHUYrpoACKNcb5Cz1y2FJPaRWNB__djkhAc5gvWkHTG/s1600/city.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFOJ9zjfiFG9j8AgUHCy7Bn9hxNCa62AudzJWc56AXw9IDo0lARo4j_u-gytay2kdrTyzMEw0BioUzPyokMPHVdmrTbFrRyV6I9vHUYrpoACKNcb5Cz1y2FJPaRWNB__djkhAc5gvWkHTG/s1600/city.jpeg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0330458078/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=factualblogge-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0330458078">Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Made us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier and Happier</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=factualblogge-21&l=as2&o=2&a=0330458078" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
argues the case for cities. The major advantages of cities are that:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">1. </span><span lang="EN-GB">Cities allow intelligent people to congregate within a relatively small geographic area. Because lots of different skills can be found within cities there is a tendency for knowledge cross pollination.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">2. </span><span lang="EN-GB">Cities allow economies of scale in entertainment facilities (theatres, museums, restaurants, etc). This allows them to offer rewards to their citizens.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">3. </span><span lang="EN-GB">Cities are environmentally friendly as a major source of environmental damage is transportation and space usage. Cities can build upwards and use less space and transportation can better be managed on foot or via public transport.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">The author provides some evidence that cities dwellers are more prosperous and that higher rates are associated with higher national incomes. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">This book does consider that cities sometimes decline, either as a result of environmental shift or government policies. The cities of the USA have shifted over time. This was due initially to the movements associated with the opening of land to the west and changes in the size of boats which required larger harbours. The rustbelt of the USA is due to cities that were overly focused on single industries that have subsequently declined, such as the automobile industry or steel. The author recommends that rather than try to fight the decline with grand public works such cities should have a managed decline with empty buildings being demolished, and funds should follow people rather than buildings.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">The book is largely free-market in approach, although it does see a role for government that goes slightly beyond getting out of the way of business. It is argued that governments ought to provide a decent infrastructure and public goods, as things like sanitation can only really be dealt with on a large scale. In general the tone of the book is that governments ought to focus on doing a few things well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">The book then looks at “suburbanisation” which is the trend for large sprawling cities that are common in the South of the USA. These are car based, decentralised cities built on cheap land. The appeal of these cities is their lower cost relative to the more centralised, older cities. They also offer better education and more space which makes them more appealing to young families. The book does not regard this as a positive trend as it increases environmental damage from transport (and also air conditioning required as these new cities are in very hot regions). The blame for this is placed on planning regulations which prevent older cities from building up in skyscrapers and force inner city land values high.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">The book ends up asking if the cities in China and India end up as sprawling cities with the related environmental damage of being car powered, or if they will be skyscraper based and rely on lifts and public transport. </span></span></div>
Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-85343714052387619992012-04-16T21:05:00.000+01:002012-04-16T21:05:18.443+01:00Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003YCOR9Q/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=factualblogge-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B003YCOR9Q">Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=factualblogge-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B003YCOR9Q" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> is written by the head of Yale endowment fund.<br />
<br />
Like “<a href="http://factualbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/smarter-investingsimpler-decisions-for.html">Smarter Investing</a>” this is no “get rich quick” guide to investment book, it differs from that book in that it is focused on USA rather than the UK. The book similarly advocates investors hold a diversified portfolio - generally preferring government bonds, property and stock market trackers. Investors are advised to avoid the high fees associated with the active investment fund management industry.
Where the book is strongest is in examining agent-principle issues. This occurs when the investors aims differ from the managers of the asset or their owner.<br />
<br />
<b>Developed World Shares</b> - The management are supposed to be operating for the benefit of shareholders and are often remunerated to increase the returns to shareholders.<br />
<b>Government Bonds (Gilts)</b> - Generally government lend to their own citizens and so are broadly neutral. In developing countries most Gilts are held domestically and in a democracy default is very unlikely.<br />
<b>Company Bonds</b> – Interest payments on bonds are a cost for companies and so they will seek to minimise them. There is a downside risk of default and complex contractual arrangements that can allow bond issues to buy back Bonds if interest rates fall, but unlike shares the potential upside is limited. This leads him to prefer Gilts.<br />
<b>Property</b> - Investments in commercial real estate which have a predictable revenue stream (like bonds) and a residual value at the end of the lease. This makes them operate a bit like a cross between Bonds and Shares.<br />
<b>Developing World Shares</b> – These offer potentially returns are higher, but political factors may limit potential for shareholder as returns are diverted to workers, governments or managements.<br />
<br />
He recommends avoiding asset classes where the cost of information are too high for private investors – such as high yield bonds(junk bonds), private equity, hedge funds and asset backed securities. These do tend to form part of his professional portfolio, but he has more resources to evaluate these asset classes than a private investor. A problem with this is that much of his returns are generated from these assets as the high barriers to entry presumably offer the potential for higher profits.<br />
<br />
The book argues that professional advisors suffer from a severe agent-principle issue. These professionals as agents seek to maximise their fees. The structures of the industry mean there is often little incentive for these to be aligned with the interest of investors. The result is complex and overly large fee structures (“Where are the Customers’ Yachts?” as another book asks).<br />
<br />
The writing feels like it is written by an academic economist and the issues are considered rigorously. What it does not do is offer much in the way of example portfolios or concrete advice for the UK investor. Instead it is more a call to be careful on costs and consider how the interest of the person issuing or managing an asset is aligned with the interest of investors.<br />
<br />
The author also guest lectures on the Yale finance lectures with Robert Shiller, this is available from iTunesU.Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-19639746594093100452012-04-15T00:36:00.000+01:002013-07-23T21:34:40.096+01:00Brown at 10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvr9x6gMAa0e-GfRIzze9CaPTSB7rD6AeBZHApC48T4S0u4VCvB0GFqmMnijGoEoMd_9SbHORZHjKD6g7lK6e848u_BUnpdZTmc_xzWCaJYJnQdZ2_7H86KwuiJvjQSk-qoNUaoTrl4hN/s1600/brown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvr9x6gMAa0e-GfRIzze9CaPTSB7rD6AeBZHApC48T4S0u4VCvB0GFqmMnijGoEoMd_9SbHORZHjKD6g7lK6e848u_BUnpdZTmc_xzWCaJYJnQdZ2_7H86KwuiJvjQSk-qoNUaoTrl4hN/s200/brown.jpeg" width="126" /></a></div>
This book looks at the premiership of Gordon Brown, a man who seems to have gone down as one of the least successful prime ministers in recent history.<br />
<br />
The book portrays Gordon Brown as almost a Shakespearian tragic figure. The man who waited years to be Prime Minister and yet when he achieved that goal he rather failed and did not seem to enjoy it.
He failed to live up to his own high standards for several reasons;<br />
1. He surrounded himself with schemers who plotted and back-stabbed to get him to number ten and was unable to ditch them when he was there. This meant he had a lot of divisions festering within the Labour party.<br />
2. After planned for so long to get into Number 10, once he was there he did not really have much of an idea what to do and lacked a clear vision for domestic policies. His policies were little different to Blair's.<br />
3. He was a poor organiser and weak at man management. This meant it was hard to develop ideas from others within his government. Policies that were adopted were often poorly implemented.<br />
4. He was also poor at communicating with the public, he compared poorly with Tony Blair in this regard and had difficulty connecting with the electorate.<br />
<br />
The strength of Gordon Brown seemed to be that he was an intelligent, hard working and decent individual and he seemed to do best in a time of crisis.<br />
1. He was well good in a crisis. He seemed able to focus on the issue, determine the best course of action and get things done. In many ways he seemed to enjoy crisis, frequently rushing to the COBRA crisis room to take personal command.<br />
2. On the international stage he seemed to do much better with a vision of fighting poverty, a deep commitment to globalisation and a determination to deal with the financial crisis. The banking crisis was the area in which he was able to lead the world and act far more decisively than the confused administration in the USA.<br />
3. He was skilled political operator who managed to survive the challenges from within his party. The Labour Party went into the election united and ultimately prevented an outright Conservative victory.<br />
<br />
The book ends with Gordon Brown heading off into the sunset to do more on the international stage in areas such as development. The book portrays him in a balanced, if not slightly positive light.
I found this book has a lot of research behind it, but this can make it feel a bit unstructured. It is also a bit long.Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939333582375782543.post-56660415423092743192012-04-14T08:47:00.001+01:002012-04-14T08:47:34.265+01:00Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning by George Monbiot<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0141026626/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=factualblogge-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0141026626">Heat: How We Can Stop the Planet Burning</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=factualblogge-21&l=as2&o=2&a=0141026626" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />
is a book on the challenges of global warming. The book rapidly assumes that;
1. Global warming is happening
2. It is a result of mankind usage of consumption
3. Pricing of carbon is insufficient and an immoral way of deal with the issue.
The book jumps onto the idea of cutting emissions by a massive 90% and doing so as soon as possible. Each chapter then deals with the ways in which this can be done. At no stage is there an assumption that technology will ride to the rescue. Instead the solutions are generally economic or political, based on technologies we have now.
The chapters deal with areas such as travel, heating, a couple of industries and power generation. Each solution is proposed and then well examined. An interesting solution is a ring of coaches around the M25 that could run from service stations every couple of minutes. Other examples are for supermarkets to be switched to warehouses from which goods are delivered(this saves on refrigeration, lighting, heating, lower transport costs, etc). In general the author is able to propose solutions although he derides many of the more commonly offered one(micro-wind generation and bio-fuels are criticised heavily).
This book is heavy going, there are lots of statistics and evidence to back up the arguments and it is well researched. The author is clearly left of centre and has no time for arguments that market mechanisms can correct environmental issues. Overall the message seems positive as he believes we can continue our lifestyle and cut greenhouse gases, the only really unsolvable problem is flight, the era of international flying is over.
I enjoyed this book but found David MacKay <a href="http://www.withouthotair.com/">“Sustainable Energy – without the hot air to be more readable”</a>. This book is available for free on line at the authors website, the two books are similar in approach and complement one another. David MacKay is a physicists and doesn't assume global warming, but looks at how we will generate and use energy without carbon based fuels. Whereas Heat is written by a political activist and tend to consider sociological factors more. I think the two can be read together.Factual_bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07431968785097094109noreply@blogger.com0