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The seemingly impossible Zen task--writing a book about nothing--has a loophole: people have been chatting, learning, and even fighting about nothing for millennia. Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea, by noted science writer Charles Seife, starts with the story of a modern battleship stopped dead in the water by a loose zero, then rewinds back to several hundred years BCE. Some empty-headed genius improved the traditional Eastern counting methods immeasurably by adding zero as a placeholder, which allowed the genesis of our still-used decimal system. It's all been uphill from there, but Seife is enthusiastic about his subject; his synthesis of math, history, and anthropology seduces the reader into a new fascination with the most troubling number.
Why did the Church reject the use of zero? How did mystics of all stripes get bent out of shape over it? Is it true that science as we know it depends on this mysterious round digit? Zero opens up these questions and lets us explore the answers and their ramifications for our oh-so-modern lives. Seife has fun with his format, too, starting with chapter 0 and finishing with an appendix titled "Make Your Own Wormhole Time Machine." (Warning: don't get your hopes up too much.) There are enough graphs and equations to scare off serious numerophobes, but the real story is in the interactions between artists, scientists, mathematicians, religious and political leaders, and the rest of us--it seems we really do have nothing in common. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
Charles Seife traces the origins and colorful history of the number zero from Aristotle to superstring theory by way of Pythagoras, the Kabbalists, and Einstein. Weaving together ancient dramas and state-of-the-art science, Zero is a concise tour of a universe of ideas bound up in the simple notion of nothingness.
Customer Reviews:
Zero and infinity.......2007-08-07
Babylonians invented it, Indians worshipped it, Greeks abhorred it. Zero has been a problematic number for a long time. European mathematicians followed Greek footsteps, until they finally realized how important thing zero was for advanced mathematics.
Seife presents us the history of zero and its sister concept infinity, not only in mathematics, but also in physics and quantum mechanics. Zero is an entertaining book, if a bit light. For quick popular science entertainment purposes it's a good choice. (Review based on the Finnish translation.)
A facinating read.......2007-06-05
The first part of this book walks through all the history and philosophy of the concept of zero (and infinity) of the past few thousand years, explaining who did what, when, where, and most importantly, why. The later chapters are devoted to delving in to the more technical aspects of zero (and infinity).
The history is simple, not dry, and a suitable read for anyone. The later chapters require some math background. Although the author explains a lot of the math, you appreciate it better if you have a higher than normal math education.
Heresy within Numerology.......2007-04-24
Heresy within Numerology
"Zero" falls into a very narrow category of books that can be considered a work of art. From the cover, to the interesting last name of the author (near to that of Cypher), to the chapter titles to the way that each consecutive chapter integrates with their predecessors. Do not be fooled by the deceptive size of this book, as the thoughts it inspires may fill the notebooks and empty the ink from pens you keep nearby.
The book centers on the twins--Zero and Infinity. These two heretics are abhorred by nature, yet have been sirens to many of the greatest minds this world has ever known. Our story begins with the chapter "Null and Void," when the implosive power of Zero disables the USS Yorktown. Once the book has opened with such a display of power, it immediately travels backwards in time to when mortals first discovered these two forces, then follows a trail of those lunatics and bodies that dared seek the twins.
Even the non-numerically oriented should find inspiration and insight buried between the lines and diagrams of this book. The admixture of mathematics, physics and philosophy--even alchemy--leaves open this book's audience to varied membership.
My son loved it.......2007-03-20
He's a math dude, age 12. LOVED the book. He also liked the Story of PI.
One of a kind.......2007-03-18
Very enlightening, I couldn't put it down. People who love numbers will enjoy the numerical calculations. The ones who don't will easily understand. And when you finish reading it you will feel like you actually have learned something from it. Zero is not just another book!
It should be required reading in schools.
Book Description
Copy This!, Paul Orfalea's inspiring, personal story of turning lemons into lemonade, may be the most unusual business memoir ever published.
Paul Orfalea struggles mightily to read, to write, and to sit still through a business meeting. So what's the problem? By working with the obstacles life dealt him—he calls his dyslexia and ADHD "learning opportunities"—he grew a 100-square-foot copy shop named Kinko's into a $1.5 billion-a-year company that
Fortune named one of the best places in America to work.
This is the story of a boy who flunked out of second grade—a boy who was fired by a gas station for writing illegible receipts. But it's also the story of a boy who learned from the world directly, who was brave enough to fail, who knew he had to rely on other people. A boy who developed empathy, a particular gift of his dyslexia that gave Orfalea the crucial insight into what makes Kinko's work. When Paul Orfalea first looked out on the worried, hopeful faces of his customers, he knew that he was in the problem-solving business—at four cents a page. Kinko's doesn't so much handle paper as it handles dreams.
Paul Orfalea really did do it his way. With humor, wisdom, and compassion, he shares his invaluable experiences and unorthodox business lessons with the millions of those who are just a little bit "different," and who wonder if there's a place for them in the world. There is: at the top.
Customer Reviews:
"Our primary objective is to take care of our customer...".......2007-08-18
BUT...
"...you can't take care of your customers unless you take care of your people." (- Paul Orfalea)
"Copy This!" is a book that illustrates the enduring idealism and sincerity of Paul Orfalea. Orfalea's enthusiasm is infectious. His optimism and energy vibrate through the narrative as he explains how his values were challenged over the years by various partnerships, a corporate reorganization and the eventual decision to leave the company he built and guided for over 30 years.
Those of us who lived the "Kinko's experience" can vouch for the effectiveness of Paul's leadership and his approach to team management.
Long ago, I took a job at my local Kinko's working the overnight shift as a machine operator. On my first day of work, my branch manager handed me a wallet-sized, white plastic card with something called "The Kinko's Philosophy" printed on one side. Up to that point in my life, working for a company was all about punching a clock and biding your time until you could punch it again and get on with your real life. I assumed this card, talking about things like "The coworkers are the foundation of our success" and "we trust and care for one another" were just marketing lip service by some faceless corporate human resource office.
But my manager took time with me, said that he wanted me to keep the card with me explaining, "We really believe in these things here. I can't force anyone to be anything more than a clock-puncher, but we can do everything we can to support how you want to work out your days with this company. Your only real job here is to take care of the customer."
Over the next several years I moved up in the company and dealt with dozens of coworkers. I worked with and for the kind of employees you've encountered of heard about who contribute to a miserable experience as well as those who stopped everything to solve your emergency and save the day for you. Paul's philosophy (his "commitment to communication") made it easier to manage the daily operation of a store of 15-20 people on three non-stop, busy shifts
As Paul pointed out on more than one occasion, each coworker -- regardless of their aspirations, ambition or approach to the job -- deserved to be treated with respect and gratitude ...because their performance was the only true measure of my own success. Discipline was to be bundled with coaching and retraining. Even in an "at-will" employment environment, Paul was dedicated to making sure we did all we could to help every coworker succeed.
Understanding and providing for your customer requires understanding your employees and their own needs. While they carry out the necessary tasks to get the job done, your job as a manager is to make that job fun, safe and efficient. The challenge of the organization is to create an environment where managers can do their job. In the case of Kinko's, that meant great opportunities for advancement, solid training programs, profit sharing and excellent wages. Many of those values (and benefits) changed with Paul's departure, but there are still hundreds if not thousands of team members who maintain that positive, supportive attitude toward their most valuable resource on the sales floor.
Most businesses treat their employees (human assets, labor force, whatever form they take) like a herd of sheep to be managed as though they have neither the skill nor experience to contribute to the business process. This book explains how each member of your working team is not just a salary on a P&L chart, but the REASON your operation is successful. It explains that you can have your heart firmly invested in taking care of your customers, but if you don't have the drive to take care of your own PEOPLE, you will be hard-pressed to achieve that goal consistently or at all.
Small business owners, department heads, and CEOs could learn much from Paul's dedication to his team members and perhaps begin to understand that their own success isn't tied to a few lines on a spreadsheet and the demands of a board of MBAs, it begins and ends with the people who run the cash registers, take care of the daily operation and make it possible for executives to spend time pondering "bigger picture" issues for their organization.
Copy THIS? Caveat that! .......2007-07-29
Paul Orfalea is the type of boss we call a "Crazy-Maker." Type triple-A. In your face. A new idea every minute. Little or no boundaries between personal time and work time. I suspect he was an exhausting (if occasionally) exhilarating boss to have.
This business autobiography offers a revealing portrait of an unlikely business tycoon. Orfalea overcame dyslexia to found Kinko's, which he grew into a multi-billion dollar business before selling it off. It is now an American icon.
The section on how games - especially poker, Monopoly and Risk - are better predictors of business success than grades is interesting.
Otherwise, Orfalea at times seems to make it all about Me. Me. Me. See me the generous philanthropist! See me creatively teaching business classes to students at UC Santa Barbara! See me lament what the new corporate suits have done to Kinko's. Of course, he has multi-millions to assuage his pain. Dude - when you sell it off, you relinquish that right to call all the shots!
Orfalea took a quirky, albeit courageous, path to his fortune. Whether many others can "copy this" as a template for success is debatable. Like him or love him, the Kinko's founder has written an engaging autobiography.
Interesting Read.......2007-04-24
I found this book to hold my interest. It provides an intriguing and inspirational view inside the start-up of a business, as well as honest, personal revelations.
He's an excellent reader (of people, that is).......2007-03-25
Orfalea opened his first copy shop while still a student in college. Over the next 30 years, he built the world's premier copyshop business, then cashed out for $1.5 billion. Not a bad run, especially for a kid who was so dyslexic that he was virtually illiterate.
He says he got the idea for the business while working on a term paper with a team of fellow college students. He was unable to contribute any research or writing skills to the team, so he offered to do the photocopying. The lines at the school's photocopier were so long that he realized that there was money to be made in copying. In short order he scouted a location, borrowed $5K from his father, and launched his business.
He makes the point that, as a functionally illiterate person, he was extremely dependent on other people. He argues that this forced him from a very early age to assess people accurately and find ways to make use of them. As a youngster, this meant choosing someone to sit next to whose work he could copy. As an adult, it meant choosing people who could help him run his business.
He says that straight-A students tend not to develop the ability to read people the way a dyslexic can. He says further that straight-A students tend to do what's safe and what's asked of them, whereas a dyslexic tends to be highly creative in getting things done or at least convincing authorities that things have been done.
In short, he feels that his dyslexia was a critical ingredient in his success.
This gives him an interesting perspective on school. He feels that no assignment is so valuable as to be worth extinguishing a student's spark of self-confidence and excitement about learning. He points out that, in school, most students are made to feel like failures in something. By contrast, in adulthood we are allowed to specialize. If math explodes in our heads, we can seek work that requires little or no math. Students aren't so lucky, and some of them are so handicapped that their spirits are entirely crushed by the experience of going through school.
The Orfalea family had a long tradition of entrepreneurship, and Paul grew up believing that one should earn one's way through life by the sweat of one's brow only long enough to accumulate some savings and then, by investing wisely, gradually transition to a point where one's way is financed entirely by rent and dividends.
Today Orfalea teaches at the University of California and one of the questions he asks his students is, "What's more important: good grades or saving money?" The correct answer is saving money.
He's an excellent reader (of people, that is).......2007-01-26
This is a spectacular book.
Orfalea opened his first copy shop while still a student in college. Over the next 30 years, he built the world's premier copyshop business, then cashed out for $1.5 billion. Not a bad run, especially for a kid who was so dyslexic that he was virtually illiterate.
He says he got the idea for the business while working on a term paper with a team of fellow college students. He was unable to contribute any research or writing skills to the team, so he offered to do the photocopying. The lines at the school's photocopier were so long that he realized that there was money to be made in copying. In short order he scouted a location, borrowed $5K from his father, and launched his business.
He makes the point that, as a functionally illiterate person, he was extremely dependent on other people. He argues that this forced him from a very early age to assess people accurately and find ways to make use of them. As a youngster, this meant choosing someone to sit next to whose work he could copy. As an adult, it meant choosing people who could help him run his business.
He says that straight-A students tend not to develop the ability to read people the way a dyslexic can. He says further that straight-A students tend to do what's safe and what's asked of them, whereas a dyslexic tends to be highly creative in getting things done or at least convincing authorities that things have been done.
In short, he feels that his dyslexia was a critical ingredient in his success.
This gives him an interesting perspective on school. He feels that no assignment is so valuable as to be worth extinguishing a student's spark of self-confidence and excitement about learing. He points out that, in school, most students are made to feel like failures in something. By contrast, in adulthood we are allowed to specialize. If math explodes in our heads, we can seek work that requires little or no math. Students aren't so lucky, and some of them are so handicapped that their spirits are entirely crushed by the experience of going through school.
The Orfalea family had a long tradition of entrepreneurship, and Paul grew up believing that one should earn one's way through life by the sweat of one's brow only long enough to accumulate some savings and then, by investing wisely, gradually transition to a point where one's way is financed entirely by rent and dividends.
Today Orfalea teaches at the University of California and one of the questions he asks his students is, "What's more important: good grades or saving money?" The answer is saving money.
He's quite a guy. You'll enjoy reading about his success.
Average customer rating:
- gandhi as a philosopher
- Inspirational
- Very well organized, and informative
- EXTRAORDINARY COLLECTION OF GANDHI'S WRITINGS FROM VINTAGE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS SERIES
- No better time to get your Ahimsa and Satyagraha
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The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas
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ASIN: 1400030501
Release Date: 2002-11-12 |
Book Description
Mohandas K. Gandhi, called Mahatma (“great soul”), was the father of modern India, but his influence has spread well beyond the subcontinent and is as important today as it was in the first part of the twentieth century and during this nation’s own civil rights movement. Taken from Gandhi’s writings throughout his life,
The Essential Gandhi introduces us to his thoughts on politics, spirituality, poverty, suffering, love, non-violence, civil disobedience, and his own life. The pieces collected here, with explanatory head notes by Gandhi biographer Louis Fischer, offer the clearest, most thorough portrait of one of the greatest spiritual leaders the world has known.
“Gandhi was inevitable. If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. . . . We may ignore him at our own risk.” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
With a new Preface drawn from the writings of Eknath Easwaran
In the annals of spirituality certain books stand out both for their historical importance and for their continued relevance. The Vintage Spiritual Classics series offers the greatest of these works in authoritative new editions, with specially commissioned essays by noted contemporary commentators. Filled with eloquence and fresh insight, encouragement and solace, Vintage Spiritual Classics are incomparable resources for all readers who seek a more substantive understanding of mankind's relation to the divine.
Customer Reviews:
gandhi as a philosopher.......2007-04-12
The format of this book is a little unusual, it's basically an abridged version of Gandhi's writings, supplimented with editorial comments which set the scene for when and where his statements are coming from. If you're not entirely familiar with Gandhi's life or some of the basic aspects of Indian culture at the time, these editorial comments are very helpful. For example, just before some statements about Gandhi's use of the Gita (around page 160) the editor gives a brief summary of the what the Gita is.
Moving on from the basic format, I found this book very enlightening, and not in the way that other reviewers seem to have. I doubt very much that I'm in a position to change anyone's opinion on him, but I ask that if you buy this book, look closely at the ways in which Gandhi supports his claims. Oftentimes he makes grand statements and then leaves them in the air, unsupported. This is not in an of itself a bad thing, as sometimes the truth value of a statement is obvious to the casual observer, but then again sometimes it is not.
Gandhi was certainly a great leader, but I think it's stretching to call him a great philosopher. His ideas were not new, even if the grand-scale application of them was. He seeks truth but seems largely unconcerned with methodology, which undermines the grand statements he makes.
If you do read this book critically, it may help to keep in mind persuasive techniques, even beginner things like appealing to authority. Watch for strange analogies, as in page 168's equating atoms to people and Love to hydrogen/ionic/covalent bonds.
It probably seems a little weird to hear someone object to the methodology of someone like Gandhi, but these days we have to be aware of the methods by which the people around us seem convincing, whether we like what they're saying or not.
Inspirational.......2007-01-10
This is a wonderful book about Gandhi's whole life, his personal growth, relationships and tells how Tolstoy's "What I Believe" influenced the man that he became. A inpiring story that proves that peace is the way.
Very well organized, and informative.......2006-12-29
I really liked the way everything is laid out in this book, allowing you to read Gandhi's own words coupled with an explanation of events that was driving him.
EXTRAORDINARY COLLECTION OF GANDHI'S WRITINGS FROM VINTAGE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS SERIES.......2006-11-14
but why not get the originals instead, avaiable here cheaply on amazon.
This book draws from a number of original sources, including "My Experiments with Truth", etc., and you may choose to skip these excerpts and get the full writings. The more in this case the better.
Yet please take a moment to view the back cover using amazon's remarkable "Search Inside" feature, to read the quote about Gandhi's inevitability written by our nation's greatest Christian preacher, the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., slain for doing and preaching non-violence, including opposing profitable warmongering and warmaking that only killed and wounded his and other peoples of color. King learned much about Christianity from Gandhi, and we can do no less. Lucky if we do as well.
Again, please search the mighty amazon for all of Gandhi's orignal works and read them in their entirety,and not only these excerpts collected originally long ago. (In fact one chapter heading, not quoting Gandhi, refers to Negros, a term which fell out of use some forty years ago).
I in particular now study with gratitude his Tous les hommes sont freres, whose topics are tellingly urgent today. His Way to God is also very very helpful and consoling.
But if you need a fine introductory text, begin here if you promise not to rest here. Vintage Spiritual Classics series are a decent popular source, but not the deep river that runs nearby. It is a division of Random House here recycling and reprinting old works still in the catalogue in new wineskins.
Go to the originals! These are the leaders and voices we most sorely need today: Dr. King and Gandhi. Or just read the Reverend Father John Dear, SJ, and you'll get the idea if not the Spirit. Or better yet, get Father Dear's collection of Gandhi's writings instead, from Orbis Books' Modern Spiritual Masters series entitled, Mohandas Gandhi: Essential Writings.
No better time to get your Ahimsa and Satyagraha.......2006-06-27
This is a book that should- and will- profoundly affect you. On the one hand its wonderful and inspiring. But I find myself instead feeling heart-broken. Mournful. I grieve for an alternate reality where our leaders have either the education, curiosity, wisdom, or courage to embrace the lessons of great people such as Gandhi. It's not exactly esoteric stuff. Everyone knows the name Gandhi and has at least some sense of where he stands historically. Even for the non-readers, there was the movie. It was a big deal.
Gandhi's true transformation occurred when he realized that violence is demeaning not just to victims but to the perpetrators. It is an intoxicating release of sadistic impulses. Impulses that are addicting and toxic. I was reading this book and think about the state of the world, and found myself thinking the tired cliché: give peace a chance. It feels so trite, a well-worn sixties throw-back. But it also a courageous sentiment. Peace takes courage and creativity, and it isn't as quick and easy as violence in the short-term, but it is more than just a dream. Peace is a bold assertion.
What kinds of things crossed my mind when I was reading this book? When John Kerry returned from Vietnam and testified about atrocities being committed by both sides, he was vilified by the right wing, portrayed as a traitor. But it was an act of courage. He obviously wasn't saying we should stop the war because American soldiers are bad people. He was showing how violence leads to more violence, how the violence of an unjust war corrupted the souls of good young Americans who were drawn into warfare. Violence leads to violence, but most importantly the converse is also true. Non-violence is just as contagious. We see peace leading to peace on all levels, from the macro international level all the way down to individual relationships. Another example that crossed my mind is the all-to-recent transformation in the culture of inpatient psychiatry. In the past, restraining people was considered a good treatment option because it quickly stopped dangerous behavior and gave staff a sense of control and safety. But now, the attitude has changed. Restraints are no longer seen as a treatment option but instead as a treatment failure, a last ditch resort for extreme cases only. And the results? People are actually safer. Violent patient behavior eventually goes down when staff thinks creatively of non-traumatic solutions. Those are some of the things that crossed my mind as I read this book.
Something else I like about Gandhi, as reflected in his writings: Whether or not you believe he was born destined for greatness has to do with your spiritual bent, but either way, he accomplished what he accomplished as a political leader and philosopher through the hard work of personal journey and spiritual exploration. He was an anglophile when he was young, buying into the classism of the oppressors. When he became radicalized after witnessing the cruelty and the glee with which the British soldiers repressed rebellion, the pendulum at first swung all the way the other way. He became a separatist, not unlike Malcolm X prior to his spiritual transformation. In fact, Gandhi was almost a middle-aged man before coming up with the magnanimous observation that violence degrades all involved, victims and perpetrators alike. That was a surprise to me actually, that Gandhi rejected separatism at an older age than Malcolm X did.
So read Gandhi. Read, share your books, talk about what it stirs up. Dream of a better way. And find a way to act on your dreams. And read John Stuart Mill, Emma Goldman, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Edward Said, Chomsky... Agree, disagree, but read with an open mind.
Sorry for all the chatter. Thank you for listening, bye bye.
Book Description
This is the first comprehensive biography in half a century of John Locke - “a man of versatile mind, fitted for whatever you shall undertake”, as one of his many good friends very aptly described him. Against an exciting historical background of the English Civil War, religious intolerance and bigotry, anti-Government struggles and plots, and the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Roger Woolhouse interweaves the events of Locke's rather varied life with detailed expositions of his developing ideas in medicine, theory of knowledge, philosophy of science, political philosophy, philosophy of religion, and economics. Chronologically systematic in its coverage, this volume offers an account and explanation of Locke's ideas and their reception, while entering at large into the details of his private life of intimate friendships and warm companionship, and of the increasingly visible public life into which, despite himself, he was drawn - Oxford tutor, associate of Shaftesbury, dutiful civil servant. Based on broad research and many years' study of Locke's philosophy, this will be the authoritative biography for years to come of this truly versatile man whose long-standing desire was for quiet residence in his Oxford college engaged in the study and practise of medicine and natural philosophy, yet who, after years in political exile, finally became an over-worked but influential public servant and who is seen now as one of the most significant early modern philosophers. Roger Woolhouse is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of York. He is the author of many journal articles and books on early modern philosophy, including The Empiricists, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and, with R.Francks, Leibniz's “New System”.
Customer Reviews:
Well Balanced.......2007-09-01
This is a fascinating biography of the great Locke. It is well balanced in details of both the life and movements of Locke, as well as providing some concise discussion on his various works.
I was left the thought as to just how Locke's works may have developed if he, like all in his age, did not have the threat of religious politics breathing down his neck. I tend to believe he would have been a lot closer to Hume if he had both lived in Hume's age and had Hume courage ( and lack of political ambition!)
A great biography that almost demands to be finished in one sitting.
Book Description
Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance explores Fischer Black’s intellectual journey from Harvard to the offices of ADL, from the University of Chicago to MIT, and then to Goldman Sachs. Years of research and interviews with Black’s business and academic associates, as well as family and friends, are distilled into a scholarly yet personal story of the formation and development of the extraordinary mind and unique character of this unassuming renegade. This poignant book tells the story of one man’s intellectual adventure at the very center of modern finance. It is a story about the birth of quantitative finance and financial engineering. It is also the story about the continuing human quest to defeat the "dark forces of time and ignorance," as John Maynard Keynes famously put it.
Download Description
This vignette-based business biography captures the essence of an extraordinary man and a giant in the world of finance. After years of research and cooperation from nearly all of Black's associates, family members, and friends, author Mehrling explains the ground-breaking impact Fischer Black had on money, finance, and the world markets. You'll follow Black from his undergraduate studies in physics, mathematics, and computer programming to one of the most elite of firms on Wall Street, where he developed quantitative models that are still widely used today. Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance demystifies this genius and provides an engaging look at a man whose life's work encapsulates modern financial theory. Order your copy today.
Customer Reviews:
A Loner who drove Financial Change.......2007-07-15
Revolutions spring from unlikely sources.
Fischer Black was an unlikely revolutionary. He thought like no one else. While teaching, his colleagues attacked problems with formulas and models. Fischer Black did not. He opted to explore them from as many different angles as he could conceive. Once solved, he generated a formula. Solving problems this way, Black found he avoided formula-dictated thinking ruts.
His teaching style was bizarre. He got bored teaching regurgitated knowledge. In his view regular lectures were a waste of time. He developed an engaging teaching style by asking 50 open-ended questions. Combined with his insistence that students learn the language of finance, this interaction gave air to brilliant minds. Black cherry-picked great ideas. His students loved the vibrant seminars.
Fischer Black became famous for what he cared less about: the Black-Scholes option model. Options were just a passing interest. He cared more about Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) developed by Jack Traynor. He sought to apply it to economics.
He failed to leave a legacy in traditional economics. Fischer Black had degrees in physics and mathematics but no formal training in economics. In academia, he became recognized as forward-thinking in finance, but out of his depth in economics.
Robert Rubin, then the managing partner of Goldman Sachs, said it best when he sold his partners on the idea of hiring the academic Black.
"We will learn from Fischer," he is quoted by the author as saying, "and he will learn from us."
Fischer was egoless. He took rebuttals in stride. Open to change, he was an unapologetic believer in free markets. His unorthodox style sparked a revolution in the business of finance. His innovative thinking drove finance to the forefront of the science of economics.
Perry Mehrling has written a brilliant biography about a brilliant man.
A Guidebook to Thinking Outside of the Proverbial Box..........2006-07-28
Fischer Black's life and somewhat rebellious style of thinking are taken under the lens in Fischer Black and The Revolutionary Idea of Finance. Clearly written for those interested in economics and finance, the author illuminates the personalities, relationships and debates that drove Fischer Black toward his famous contribution to options theory. It interestingly highlights the important role Fischer Black's understanding of Jack Treynor's Capital Asset Pricing Model played in shaping his views of the investment universe and in developing the Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model.
Why not 5/5? While the author only indirectly points to Fischer Black's controversial insights and revolutionary attitude as a potential cause, we are left to speculate about the reason why he was not awarded the Nobel Prize. It would have made the story line more interesting to see this unfortunate outcome addressed.
A Masterful Biography.......2006-07-27
Fischer Black was not only a revolutionary thinker, he was an eccentrically original human being. Professor Mehrling's biography is a clear, concise account of the development of modern finance, and also a richly detailed portait of a complex man.
Outstanding scholarship wrapped in a 'John Nash-like' story.......2006-04-25
The author has done a very good job on two fronts. One, he has dissected a complex area of corporate finance and made it readable to someone with a decent grasp of business. Considering the complexity of CAPM, and how far it stretched conventional wisdom, that alone would be good for 4 stars. However, Fischer Black was an extraordinary person, moving between academia and the practice of devising new financial instruments for Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs with an aplomb few could match.
If you enjoyed this book, then I heartily recommend Peter Bernstein's Capital Ideas as well.
Black used as a vehicle for a broader theory.......2006-02-03
This is a study of the recent history of finance economics, disguised as a biography. Not that there's anything wrong with that....
The revolutionary idea that Perry Mehrling has chiefly in mind in the title of this book is the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). Mr. Mehrling argues in a nutshell that for Fischer Black, the options formula that would make him famous and that would win two collaborators a Nobel Prize in economics in 1997 was but one application of this model.
A key theme of the book is that at least two "revolutions" have contended for mastery in the worlds of finance and economics, and that for a time in the 1960s the two revolutions, CAPM on the one hand and the efficient-markets hypothesis (EMH) on the other, appeared to be but two arrows in the same quiver. Only over time did it become clear that a choice might be required. Black opted for sticking with CAPM and reasoning from there, and Mehrlig approves of this choice, contending that Black was ahead of his time and that economics today is still struggling to catch up with some of the other inferences he drew from CAPM, in business cycle theory in particular.
Book Description
Charles Darwin remains the subject of continuing energetic debate in the fields of philosophy, history of science, biology and history of ideas. This volume offers a collection of newly commissioned essays from experts in their fields, and will provide a student readership with an accessible guide through Darwin's thought.
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The naturalist and geologist Charles Darwin (1809-82) ranks as one of the most influential scientific thinkers of all time. In the nineteenth century his ideas about the history and diversity of life - including the evolutionary origin of humankind - contributed to major changes in the sciences, philosophy, social thought and religious belief. This volume provides the reader with clear, lively and balanced introductions to the most recent scholarship on Darwin and his intellectual legacies. A distinguished team of contributors examines Darwin's main scientific ideas and their development; Darwin's science in the context of its times; the influence of Darwinian thought in recent philosophical, social and religious debate; and the importance of Darwinian thought for the future of naturalist philosophy. New readers will find this the most convenient and accessible guide to Darwin currently available. Advanced students and specialists will find a conspectus of recent developments in the interpretation of Darwin.
Customer Reviews:
A must for your definitive collection of CD.......2007-10-01
If you're studying or researching Charles Darwin (CD), this is a must. It's enjoyable for all who ponder in these most crucial days. It also sheds light on aspects of CD's life that you can't get other places.
Book Description
From bold, evocative nudes to starkly beautiful still lifes, Imogen Cunningham's pioneering work has garnered worldwide acclaim. One of the first women to make her living as a photographer, Cunningham consistently experimented with a wide range of techniques during her remarkable career. Ideas without End offers the first complete retrospective of 100 of her photographs -- the majority of which have never been published -- from her earliest efforts at the turn of the century to the many now-famous images. A biographical essay by Richard Lorenz, a chronology of Cunningham's life and work, and a bibliography are also included in this superb collection, at once a beautiful portfolio and an enduring tribute to a gifted and compelling artist.
Customer Reviews:
Imogen without End--.......2005-11-25
I can remember shedding some tears when Ms. Cunningham died. She was a hero of mine in the 70's when I was in college studying photography. This is a good overview of her work. Ms. Cunningham was never the greatest photographer of her generation, or any other. However, some of her photography is great. No, what made Ms. Cunningham great was the amazing length of her career and her willingness, until nearly the end of her life, to extend herself and experiment with new things. How many photographers have basically petered out when they have achieved some fame, to spend decades just printing their old work? Not Imogen--she indeed spoke with some bitterness near the end of her life about the unrecognized years in her career. She was unique, particularly for today--a woman who practiced environmental portraiture, going to people's homes and businesses to photograph them. She lived a lifestyle close to penury, yet her life can serve as an illustration to all of us exactly how little having money means to full and rich life. For me growing up, she showed how the love of photography can be separated from the preciousness of 'fine art'--all the while creating fine art. I'd recommend as a companion to this book, the volume "Portrait of Imogen", long out of print. It was compiled by Judy Dater, herself a fine photographer. It is a book of interviews with Imogen's contemporaries and a great insight into this complicated personality. In the end, and particularly after nearly thirty years since her death, Ms. Cunningham still earns notice as one of photography's greatest personalities.
An adventure.......2000-08-14
Ideas Without End provides a great introduction to Imogen Cunningham's work. It includes a short biography, but focuses mainly on the plethora of beautiful pictures, showing a wide selection of them. Cunningham's photos are the kind that draw you into them, and bring you to the realization that a flower is so much more than just a flower, that there is more to a body than just nudity, and that everyday items possess a beauty of their own. The format is a bit unhandy, but the contents more than make up for that. In short, the book is an experience not to be missed.
Book Description
Although René Descartes' (1596-1650) is best remembered today for writing "I think, therefore, I am," his unique contribution to the history of ideas was his effort to construct a philosophy that would be sympathetic to the new sciences that emerged in the seventeenth century. In four major publications, he fashioned a philosophical system that accommodated the needs of these new sciences, thereby earning the unrelenting hostility of both Catholic and Calvinist theologians, who relied on the scholastic philosophy that Descartes hoped to replace. His contemporaries claimed that his proofs of God's existence, in the Meditations, were so unsuccessful that he must have been a cryptic atheist, and that his discussion of skepticism served merely to fan the flames of libertinism. Although Descartes died in Stockholm in obscurity, he soon became one of the most famous philosophers of the seventeenth century, a status that he continues to enjoy today. This English-language biography addresses the complete range of Descartes' interests in theology, philosophy, and the sciences, and traces his intellectual development throughout his entire career. Desmond M. Clarke is Professor of Philosophy at University College Cork, Ireland, where he previously served as Dean of Arts and Vice-President. He is author of a number of books on Descartes and the seventeenth century, including Descartes' Philosophy of Science (1982), Occult Powers & Hypotheses (1989) and Descartes' Theory of Mind (1993). He has translated two selections of Descartes' writings and has also translated La Forge's Treatise on the Human Mind (1997) and Poulain de la Barre's The Equality of the Sexes.
Customer Reviews:
An exhaustively in-depth accounting of the life of mathematician, theologian, and philosopher Rene Descartes.......2006-04-05
Philosophy professor Desmond Clarke presents Descartes: A Biography, an exhaustively in-depth accounting of the life of mathematician, theologian, and philosopher Rene Descartes. Obscure during his life, yet famous after his death, Descartes was a crucial contributor to the Scientific Revolution, and even tried to prove the existence of God, though his contemporaries considered those attempts questionable at best. He is immortalized today in the name of the Cartesian coordinate system, and the transformation of thought he helped usher has left repercussions up to the modern day. Descartes: A Biography examines both Descartes' personal life and his great discoveries and achievements, and is highly recommended for library and biography shelves.
Certain to Become the Standard Descartes Biography.......2006-03-18
Let's make this short but sweet: Over the last few years there has been a spate of Descartes biographies, none of them satisfying. But now Cambridge U. Press has come out with what I feel will be the standard biography of Descartes, and it had better be, inasmuch as it's over 500 pages. Clarke's biography differs from the others in that he takes the full range of Descartes' interests into account (theology, philosophy and the science) as he traces Descartes' intellectual development and his ultimate role as midwife to the Scientific Revolution, a role he `inherited' from Kepler and Galileo and one which he expanded into a search for a theory that would link theology, science and philosophy. A recluse who spent much of his life in Holland and kept in touch with the intellectual currents of his day mainly by correspondence, Descartes was a fascinating character ands Clarke does an excellent job straddling the line between Descartes the man and Descartes the thinker.
In addition, the book is quite well-written; a worthy addition to the Cambridge U. Press series of Philosophical Biographies. (Previous subjects include Spinoza, Hobbes, Hegel, Kant and Kierkegaard.) While demonstrating his mastery of his subject, Clarke does an excellent job of explaining Descartes' philosophy and intellectual interests without boring his readers, a trick more scholarly authors should learn.
Average customer rating:
- Ben Franklin's Fooling Around
- A Very Brave Man
- Excellent book to keep interest!
- A Fun Book to Stimulate Interest in History
- If You Like Action Read This Book
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What's The Big Idea, Ben Franklin? (Paperstar)
Jean Fritz
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ASIN: 0698113721 |
Customer Reviews:
Ben Franklin's Fooling Around.......2006-01-12
Benjamin Franklin fooled around a lot. It wasn't because he was lazy; he had a strong curiosity to find out things, and he did. But once he knew something, he didn't fool around. He knew he didn't want to work for his brother, so he left. He knew England was wrong to tax the colonies the way they did, so he told them so. He knew how to invent things that others needed, so he did. This was Ben Frankilin. Read of the little and big events in his life.
A Very Brave Man.......2005-12-13
Ben Frinklin was very smart,brave,and curious. He thought of inventions and did many experiments. He was brave because he did dangerous experiments. He was curious about different inventions, that is why he did all his experiments.
Excellent book to keep interest!.......2003-02-18
I was so impressed with the descriptive wording of this book. I'm not a normal biography reader, but this worked perfectly for my 3rd graders. It held there interest, made them laugh, and actually taught them something! A great read for all ages.
A Fun Book to Stimulate Interest in History.......2002-01-31
This is a fun book that shopuld help your youngster develop an interest in American History. It is easy to read an has great illustratiions. You will not be disappointed with this purchase.
If You Like Action Read This Book.......2000-12-13
This is a good book because it has good facts about Ben Franklin. This has a varity of experiments in it. But the greatest one of all is where Ben tries to see if lightning is electricty. Ben makes history in this book. This book is written by Mrs. Jean Fritz. I hope you enjoy this book.
Book Description
Thomas Edison, one of the world's greatest inventors, is introduced in this fascinating activity book. Children will learn how Edison ushered in an astounding age of invention with his unique way of looking at things and refusal to be satisfied with only one solution to a problem. This book helps inspire kids to be inventors and scientists, as well as persevere with their own ideas. Activities allow children to try Edison's experiments themselves, with activities such as making a puppet dance using static electricity, manufacturing a switch for electric current, constructing a telegraph machine, manipulating sound waves, building an electrical circuit to test for conductors and insulators, making a zoetrope, and testing a dandelion for latex. In addition to his inventions and experiments, the book explores Edison's life outside of science, including his relationship with inventor Nikola Tesla, his rivalry with George Westinghouse, and his friendship with Henry Ford. A time line, glossary, and lists of supply sources, places to visit, and websites for further exploration complement this activity book.
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful resource for science-minded kids (and their parents!).......2006-04-06
Laurie Carlson has done it again! Well known for her history, science and activity books for kids, Carlson has now applied her significant energies to creating a resource for parents, teachers and children to learn more about Thomas Edison's life, times and inventions in an engaging, hands-on manner.
Like her entire catalog of kids' educational activity books, Thomas Edison for Kids provides ample context for the experiments and projects so that children may gain a full understanding of what it is that they're doing and why. Along the way, discussions of Edison's methods, perserverance, constant pursuit of knowledge model an enthusiasm for general scientific discovery not often seen by the young (or any of us, really). Additional historical context is provided by abundant archival photos and examinations of Edison's relationships with his peers, friends and rivals of the time - Tesla and Ford among them.
The activities cover a range of interests and abilities, from constructing an eletrical circuit to testing botanicals. Adults will want to read the directions thoroughly before sitting down with impatient little ones - diagrams for experiments are rather basic for those of us somewhat removed from our science class years. That said, they are usually easy to set-up and generally don't require too much in the way of specialized equipment.
One of the best features of the book is a comprehensive resource list of ideas for field trips and outings, websites, and sources for supplies needed for activities. Along with the time line and glossary they will help parents and teachers satisfy the curiosity about Edison that this book raises in their little scientists.
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