Book Description
The 2003 International Fuel Gas Code® (IFGC®) addresses the design and installation of fuel gas systems and gas-fired appliances through requirements that emphasize performance. This is a comprehensive, excellent reference for code officials, engineers, architects, inspectors, plans examiners, contractors and anyone who needs a better understanding of these regulations. Prescriptive- and performance-based approaches to design are emphasized. The 2003 edition is fully compatible with all the International Codes published by the International Code Council (ICC).
Book Description
The 2006 International Mechanical Code®is designed to provide up-to-date mechanical code addressing the design and installation of mechanical systems that emphasize performance. It comprehensively regulates mechanical systems and equipment including HVAC, exhaust systems, chimneys and vents, ducts, appliances, boilers, water heaters, refrigerators, hydronic piping, and solar systems. The 2006 edition establishes minimum regulations for mechanical systems using prescriptive- and performance-related provisions.
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
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History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
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ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Book Description
In this important study, Abu-Lughod presents a groundbreaking reinterpretation of global economic evolution, arguing that the modern world economy had its roots not in the sixteenth century, as is widely supposed, but in the thirteenth century economy--a system far different from the European world system which emerged from it. Using the city as the working unit of analysis, Before European Hegemony provides a new paradigm for understanding the evolution of world systems by tracing the rise of a system that, at its peak in the opening decades of the 14th century, involved a vast region stretching between northwest Europe and China. Writing in a clear and lively style, Abu-Lughod explores the reasons for the eventual decay of this system and the rise of European hegemony.
Customer Reviews:
Eurasian interactions.......2005-12-09
A work drawing on deep scholarship providing welcome adjustment to views that overstate Europe's precocity and importance before 1500. Europe was a peripheral backwater prior to its export of the Eurasian disease pool to the Americas (and even for some time after). Abu-Lughod examines each major area of the Eurasian trading network in term, bringing out how much events in one area were affected by changes elsewhere (in particular, how much Europeans were responding to such changes).
I also found Abu-Lughod's scepticism about grand conceptual schemas and strong preference for considering the complex texture of reality engaging. She sets out a highly informative history of the creation of an interacting Eurasian economy under the period of Mongol domination and how changes among the various participating powers (particularly China) resulted in the interactions falling back to a lower level. She also argues a power vacuum was set up in the Indian Ocean that the Europeans (first the Portugese, then the Dutch and finally the British) were able to fill. That there was a "Fall of the East" prior to there being a "Rise of the West". She does a nice job of debunking "cultural" and "Confucian-isolationism" explanations for China's shift, placing the public policy considerations the Ming court was dealing with in a more plausible context.
My first quibble is with the title. This is about the Eurasian system, not a global one, a point the author herself concedes (p.37). It is a "world" system only in terms of the Old World/New World usage and, to be fair, she is responding to Immanuel Wallerstein's coinage of the term. The second is she suffers from the modern academic fetish for shudder quotes, though at least she is often prepared to explain in more detail why concepts are problematic, rather than simply engaging in the tedious knowing-virtue wink. The worst bit of the book, as so often is the way, is when she attempts to look forward. The talking down of the stability of the current world-system, and the situation of the US in particular, reads rather poorly for a book published in 1989 with clearly no sense whatsoever of the impending collapse of the Soviet empire.
But the book is very readable and extremely informative, the personality of the author engaging. An excellent way of coming to grips with how global history works.
Provocative.......2005-02-12
This book is approaching the status of a classic. While a work of history, the author is not a historian but rather a sociologist with an interest in the role of cities. Perhaps because she was a disciplinary outsider not specializing in a given historical period, as well as being used to comparative analysis, Abu-Lughod adopted a cross-cultural approach. The starting point for this book was the prevailing belief that a world economy was created by Europeans in the early modern period. More naive interpretations saw this as a logical development of European capitalism and that capitalism was unique to Europe. A major point of this book is that a world economic system, spanning all of Eurasia and including Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa existed prior to the early modern period. This world system was based on pre-existing regional trade networks in the Eastern Mediterrenean, the Indian Ocean, Central Asia, and China. Some of these linkages, like the famous Silk road across Central Asia and trade across the Indian Ocean, were ancient.
Abu-Lughod reconstructs a true world economy stretching from western Europe to China reaching its peak during the 13th and 14th centuries and then declining. She shows that Europe joined this system relatively late and was a smaller component of these large trade networks. The peak of this world system is associated with the Mongol conquest of Central Asia and China. Mongol successes are seen as simultaneously making trade across Central Asia, the northern axis of the world system, and trade through the Indian Ocean and south China, the southern axis, more efficient. This lead to a Eurasian boom. As a corollary, Abu-Lughod explores the richly capitalist nature of trade in the Muslim, Indian, and Chinese regions making up the world system. Some of the institutional innovations attributed to Medieval and Renaissance European merchants may have been borrowed from the Muslim world.
If the Mongols were the inadvertant architects of this system, they were also the inadvertant cause of its collapse. The key event is the Black Death, a Eurasian pandemic which probably originated in central Asia and was spread by Mongol armies and trade made possible by their states. The resulting depopulations and political instability, including the Ming expulsion of the Mongol from China, crippled the Medieval world system, though it left intact regional trade networks, particularly in Asia that the Europeans would join and come to dominate in the Early Modern period.
A final and more controversial point made by Abu-Lughod is that the success of Europeans in subsequently reconstructing and dominating, in an unprecedented way, the Eurasian trade system was the withdrawal of the Chinese state from interest in trade. Under the later Ming, the powerful Chinese navy was dissolved and trade through southern China ceased to be an important issue for the Chinese state. The subsequent power vacuum made European domination possible. This may not be entirely correct but is argued well.
This book has become the point of departure for much subsequent important work in world history. It is well written and has a nice bibliography.
A landmark of the "new" economic history.......2004-03-17
There are few books in the field of economic history that I'd say are both landmarks and enjoyable to read. Assuming the reader has a great interest in history, Before European Hegemony is certainly one of them.
Abu-Lughod's excellent world systems survey details the inter-connections between pre-modern economies and societies of the era. There is also the sense of continuity between these pre-modern economic relationships and the modern era.
Special mention should be made of the fact that Before European Hegemony was one of the first of a new wave of economic, historical and sociological studies that de-emphasized the eurocentric histories that came before them. Guilty of the same simplistic approaches the eurocentric histories were charged with, for example giving the only reason for the rise of the West as military might, much of what followed Before European Hegemony was, in a word, garbage. Not so, this groundbreaking study.
Well researched, well written and highly recommended.
Great book, but still one sided.......2003-02-23
Dr. Abu Lughod's book is a great work of scholarship and a much needed addition to the "New Histories" being written that show the history as it really happened.
Still, as Gunder Frank mentions in his review of this book, Abu Lughod misses one point in her survey. She sees the world economy as a disconnected series of events, and much like Wallerstein, maintains the idea that world after 1500 hundred was not connected to the one before that date. She treats the Mongol trade network as an isolated world-system, instead of a period in the world system.
This is a small flaw in the face of so many larger problems we have in current historiography. A great read, and I suggest you read it in conjunction with ReOrient, The Colonizers' Model of the World, and World System History.
Continuity in global connections -- the rest of the history.......2001-12-18
In much the same way that Eric Wolf shows the world before European conquest in his book titled Europe and the People Without History starting in 1400, Abu-Lughod begins before the European trade routes by ship. She traces the cross-continent trade routes of India, China and the Mediterranean. By looking back to these early systems of trade, Abu-Lughod shows how ideas, foods, language and people were transported between regions of the earth long before colonialism took hold. By looking at movements of people and ideas before Europe's world domination, Abu-Lughod is able to take a new look at the future - a perspective that does not seem as deterministic as other historic views. Europe was not necessarily "destined" to become the greatest region on the planet and it need not be in the future.
This new look at history provides a wider framework from which to understand the current era. While it is true that computer technology and the spread of the Internet has been facilitated predominately by English-speaking programmers and subsequently English-based programs, this might not be the wave of the future. Looking at how vast regions of the planet interacted centuries ago provides a better base from which to understand how they might interact in the future. The people from the same geo-political regions that Abu-Lughod describes in her book are now "commuting" or "traveling" and conversing via electronic media. How will the new instrument of communication change the way these people share time and space?
Customer Reviews:
So, True.......2006-10-26
In the last couple of years several books have been published focusing on the huge, largely untapped, and unfocused upon, regional/local markets of people in LDC nations. Focusing on the needs, preferences, and wants of the people in these markets pave the way for mutual benefits and stronger symbiotic relationships. Authors Vijay Mahajan and Kimini Banga continue this relevant discourse with "The 86 Percent Solution." Their focus on the 'local and regional' instead of a national market is important for knowledge and understanding. Instead of focusing on national borders, businesspeople are focusing on Shanghai, Mumbai, town X, or city Y, or region Z. Not the "Indian Market, Chinese Market," or "Russian market." The crux likes back to this fact: eighty-six percent of the people on planet Earth earn less than $10,000 USD per year.
Many points in this book are common sense. If you're doing business in an area, then of course you have to learn about local area, and a neighborhood's conditions, wants, and needs. There is focus on marketing here, which seems to mean: dump products down people's throats and profit from it at the same time. (I understand the necessity for mutual benefits.) But at times this book sounds like "How to do business in LDC regions for dummies." To be fair, the information in this book is needed by many that come to foreign countries with very little insight into "how things really work" at the local and cultural level. This includes not only market needs, but how to behave, be culturally sensitive, and understand local, cultural etiquette. I frequently witness first-hand MBA grads and experienced western business people come to a foreign country with immense business, product knowledge, and marketing expertise. And they fall flat on their faces because they didn't have the proper information, training, and exposure to culturally deal with the local people. Oft-times these people didn't consider this knowledge or awareness to be important.
With globalization and increasing WTO-country membership, this book and others will be increasingly important to those doing business overseas and having business relationships with customers, employees, fellow managers, and even strangers. Cultural awareness is often equally just as important as "business knowledge." Sometimes, it's more important.
A note by the authors on English as the International Language:
The authors claim that English may not be the International Business Language in the future. This assertion is completely false and without merit. The authors state that "If you want to work with 86 percent of the world, you need to speak the languages of the 86 percent."
Yes, business people need to learn foreign languages. True, it's important for foreigners to study and attempt to learn the local language of a region if they are going to do business and/or live somewhere for a period of time. It leads to more cultural understanding and less instances of mis-communication. But the demand for English is skyrocketing in China and many other countries of the world. The demand for learning other non-English languages will increase - but the demand to learn and use English will not decrease. It will continue to grow, and much faster than other languages.
The contention that students and future business people from all over the world will learn Mandarin, Arabic, and Hindi because the *number* of people who speak these languages is greater, is oversimplified and unrealistic.
Just ask the Chinese: "Do you want foreigners to learn Mandarin?" Or, is it better for Chinese people to learn English?
The Chinese want to learn English. They also benefit tremendously from foreigners *not* learning Chinese. Ask a Vietnamese, Russian, Korean, Japanese, American, or German if they want to spend over 7+ years studying intensive Mandarin?
Chinese and Arabic speakers who learn English can communicate and do business all over the world in all continents. Mandarin speakers can do business only in certain parts of China. Big difference.
Non-native English speakers currently outnumber native English speaker by 4 to 1, and this gap is increasing.
Kudos to Mahajan and Banga for this book and their work in this field, which is finally getting more attention. Attention that is just, and far over due.
A related point:
The recent Nobel Prize awarded to Mohammed Yunus and his Grameen Bank for his micro-loans provided directly to poor people living in rural areas who are otherwise considered "not bankable." Most banks focus on large public projects and require collateral and credit. These large projects often involve corruption and embezzlement. The percentage of borrowers who repay their loans under Yunus's micro-lending program is very high. It works.
This is an informative and helpful book.
Tactical/Neighborhood Implementation for Ethical Profit from the Poor.......2006-03-16
This book is best appreciated if you have first read C.K. Prahalad's "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid," William Grieder's "The Soul of Capitalism," and Stuart Hart's "Capitalism at the Crossroads." It is a tactical or foreign neighborhood (both in the Third World and in the immigrant sections of the First World) implementation manual for profiting from sales to the poor.
It makes many obvious points as well as many not so obvious points, and I will not list them here. This is a book that requires patience and careful reading. The author has brought forward a great deal of detail in a very easy to read way.
I will end with thought that the Wharton School's publishing arm has really catalyzed for me with these varied book. The five billion at the bottom of the pyramid are the last remaining super-power on this planet. The good news is that we can profit from enriching them. The bad news is that we still have morons in power that think we can keep them down by using guns. Newsflash: there are not enough guns on the planet to keep the five billion and their off-spring from over-running us. Capitalism, and the rapid nurturing of indigenous self-sustaining wealth that includes the rapid education of women (which leads to saner men, less disease, limited growth) is our only salvation.
This book is one of a handful that could be said to be truly revolutionary in terms of transforming the planet from one beset by poverty, to one inspired by entrepreneurship at the neighborhood level.
Very unique look into the biggest market for years to come........2006-01-17
The 86 Percent Solution : How to Succeed in the Biggest Market Opportunity of the Next 50 Years (Hardcover)
by Vijay Mahajan, Kamini Banga
ISBN: 0131489070
The authors provide a very unique look into the biggest market for years to come.
The book The 86 Percent Solution provides rich insights into the emerging markets where per capita incomes of individuals is as low as $300 but still provide tremendous scope for growth.
Developing markets offer the greatest potential for gains unheard of in the developed markets. To venture into these markets companies will have to (un)learn all that worked elsewhere. The things that worked in developed economies and the basic presumptions made will not work in most developing nations of today. The concept of consumer is king is a myth in these places, where in fact a consumer is a person with limited purchasing power, bargaining power and storage capacity.
What works for marketing Fast Moving Consumer Goods won't work for Consumer Durables or for Services. Even though developing markets seem risky as there is little or no credit risk monitoring at the dealer level besides the usual problems of lack of infrastructure there will always be a first mover advantage for companies willing to invest in infrastructure.
Products like water filtration systems for individual homes will find a ready market where potable drinking water is unheard of. In the rural markets even with the sweltering heat it is difficult to sell an air conditioner where uninterrupted power supply is neither available nor expected.
To sell in these markets region specific plans rather then country specific ones will need to be formulated and implemented, due to the fragmented nature of the markets having their own special needs.
Through various example the authors explain all that works and doesn't work and why.
This book is a must read for all those who wish to tap this market and also all those who always wondered why all their wining strategies which worked so well for them for so many years everywhere else, just don't work in these markets.
The coauthor Vijay Mahajan is a former dean of the Indian School of Business and holds the John P. Harbin Centennial Chair in Business at McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin.
The coauthor Kamini Banga is an independent marketing consultant and managing director of Dimensions Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.
Expert Guidance to Almost Unlimited Opportunities.......2006-01-05
With regard to the meaning and significance of the title, Mahajan and Banga explain that 86% of the world has a per capita gross national product (GNP) of less than $10,000 per year. So what? Not only do those markets represent the future of global commerce; "they also present rich opportunities for companies that have the imagination and creativity to envision [consumers within those markets]. But you won't recognize these opportunities through the lens of the developed world. You won't reach these consumers through the market strategies that work in the 14 percent markets. Developing markets have no smooth superhighways, no established consumer markets, no distribution networks, and, in many cases, no electricity. Developing markets are younger, behind in technology (but rapidly catching up), and inexperienced as consumers. These markets are very different. Yet with creative solutions tailored to their distinctive characteristics, ...you can realize the rich opportunities of these 86 percent markets."
Mahajan and Banga have carefully organized their material within eleven chapters which range from a rigorous analysis of "the lands of opportunity" to a "Conclusion" in which they explain why the markets in underdeveloping countries "not to be missed." More specifically, they discuss what they describe as a "complex tapestry" of convergent civilizations in which there really do seem to be almost unlimited opportunities to increase both the standard of living and quality of life for hundreds of millions of consumers. The challenge for those companies which attempt to market various goods and services in those markets is to understand their unique characteristics. To me, it seems at east as important to understand what they are not as it is to understand what they are...or can (and will) become.
Here are two brief excerpts and then a checklist which, I hope, indicate the scope and depth of Mahajan and Banga's analysis.
"There is no Chinese market. There is a market in Shanghai, or in a neighborhood in Shanghai. There is no Indian market. There is a market in Mumbai or Chennai, or in their local neighborhoods. Developing countries are a collection of fragmented local markets in a country that is gathered loosely under a single flag." (Page 77)
"Think English is the language to know for business? Maybe not for long. Consider that Mandarin Chinese has the largest number of speakers in the world -- a billion, including second-language speakers. This is followed by English, with about half as many speakers, and then Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, Bengali, and Russian. If you want to work with 86 percent of the world, you need to speak the languages of the 86 percent." (page 83)
Which strategies will be most effective when "taking the market to the people"? Mahajan and Banga suggest seven:
1. Position for the paanwalla (i.e. small shop)
2. Create multiple levels of distribution (e.g. Hindustan Lever's "Project Shakti" based a direct-to-home model involving self-help groups, each comprised of 10-15 underprivileged women)
3. Use distribution bubbles (i.e. carnivals, market days, and vans which come and go) to find customers where they are
4. Take the bank out of the branch (e.g. Citibank's use of vans and a network of 9,000 direct-selling agents, called "Citi Friends," who visit homes)
5. Develop on-the-ground insights (i.e. understand and adapt to local aND even neighborhood regulations and conditions)
6. Create distribution systems from scratch (e.g. a new distribution system, based on grassroots networks, which built a supply chain for a camel's milk dairy in Mauritania)
7. Use existing networks creatively (e.g. the "dabbawala system" in Mumbai, India, probably the world's most efficient lunch delivery system which collects 175,000 home-cooked meals from workers' homes and delivers them to their offices)
Thoughtfully, Mahajan and Banga provide a section at the end of each of the first ten chapters, "The 86 Percent Solution," which summarizes key points and facilitates subsequent review of them. Before concluding their brilliant book, Mahajan and Banga share these thoughts when explaining why numbers are on the side of the developing world: Population Equals Profits. "The transformation is just beginning. There will be hiccups along the way and further surprises over the next two decades as the next `Chinas' and `Indias' emerge. The only certainty is the the 86 percent markets are here to stay. These markets are young and growing. Even though they won't become developed tomorrow,,, they are the future. And the companies that can develop the right solutions to meet their needs will find a rich source of growth."
Who will derive the greatest benefit from Mahajan and Banga's book? In my opinion, they are decision makers in two different categories of companies: Those which now market or are about to market in underdeveloping countries, and, other companies which now do business with -- or plan to do business with -- those in the first category. I also think this book will be of substantial interest and value to public officials who are now actively involved with helping to support global commerce.
Congratulations to Mahajan and Banga on a brilliant achievement!
The markets are there, but the rules are vastly different..........2005-12-16
Business is obviously always on the lookout for growth opportunities. In the book The 86% Solution - How To Succeed In the Biggest Market Opportunity of the 21st Century by Vijay Mahajan and Kamini Banga, the argument is made (and quite effectively) that the largest new markets are in the developing countries... 86% of the world. However, the rules are significantly different in those markets...
Contents: The Lands of Opportunity; Don't Build a Car When You Need a Bullock Cart; Aim for the Ricochet Economy; Connect Brands to the Market; Think Young; Grow Big by Thinking Small; Bring Your Own Infrastructure; Look for the Leapfrog; Take the Market to the People; Develop with the Market; An Opportunity Not to Be Missed; Index
Many companies that have tried to move into these developing countries did so by following the same rules that worked in the richest 14% of the world. They more often than not failed miserably. The economies are different, the purchasing power is different, and the market plays by different rules based on culture. The authors do an excellent job in showing how a different approach to these markets are necessary in order to succeed. For instance, in "Grow Big by Thinking Small", they explain that developing country consumers are using to buying what they need when they need it, and only the amount they immediately need. They often don't have either the space to store bulk quantities nor the extra income to stockpile. Trying to sell laundry detergent for 100 loads will fail. Selling enough soap for one load for a few pennies will work. The margins are thin, but the volume is huge. Your company needs to figure out how to make it all work. In "Take the Market to the People", you'll learn that the concept of going to the nearest Wal-Mart is completely unknown. Your "store" may be a stall at a weekly market bazaar or a person cycling your wares from village to village. You better understand that and package/price accordingly. And what do you do when you're marketing electrical items in a country where power is normally unavailable for hours each day? That's your new reality...
For any business or entrepreneur looking to tap into the vastly underserved global markets, this book is required reading. Even if you're just moderately interested in business and markets, the information here is fascinating. What we consider normal, really isn't...
Book Description
The 2006 International Mechanical Code®is designed to provide up-to-date mechanical code addressing the design and installation of mechanical systems that emphasize performance. It comprehensively regulates mechanical systems and equipment including HVAC, exhaust systems, chimneys and vents, ducts, appliances, boilers, water heaters, refrigerators, hydronic piping, and solar systems. The 2006 edition establishes minimum regulations for mechanical systems using prescriptive- and performance-related provisions.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent practical tool........2001-04-28
This book is an excellent practical tool to gain understanding on how the Production Sharing Contracts/ Agreements of the international oil industry work and how the negotiations on PSA normally flow. Johnston does not concentrate on cultural aspects of a particular country, but rather on the mechanics of the PSA and its major issues. The topics that Johnston covers are "Petroleum Fiscal Systems," "Concessionary Systems," "Production Sharing Contracts," "Risk Service Contracts," "Threshold Field Size Analysis," "Global Market for Exploration Acreage," "Production Sharing Contract Outline" "Accounting Principles," and "Double Taxation." This introductory comprehensive overview of PSA concepts is written in a clear and understandable manner so that even a person without a background in accounting, taxation, and oil engineering is able to understand the author's explanations and conclusions. This source will be most helpful to consult if one is interested in learning or simply clarifying the concepts of exploration economics, oil taxation, contract/fiscal terms, and PSA negotiations in the international context.
Book Description
The unsung-and revealing-story of the Herculean effort to finish the dismantling that terrorism began
Unlike any other reporter, William Langewiesche has had unrestricted access to Ground Zero and the people involved in the cleanup. He has literally followed in the footsteps of engineers, "deconstruction" workers, firemen, and city officials as they tackle the mind-numbing task of bringing order to an instance of chaos unprecedented on our soil.
American Ground is a tour of the interlocking circles of this Dantesque world. With the "knowledge and passion as well as ...careful eloquence" for which his reportage is known (New York Times Book Review), Langewiesche anatomizes the physical details of the collapse and deconstruction, capturing in the process the contest of politics and personality that were its aftershock. At the center of the book is the team of engineers, many of them instrumental in building the towers, who now must collaborate in the sad task of disassembling them. Their responses are as dramatic and unpredictable as the shifting pile of rubble and the surrounding "slurry wall" that constantly threatens to collapse, potentially flooding a large part of underground Manhattan. They are also emotional and territorial, as firemen, police, widows, and officials attempt to claim the tragedy-and the difficult work of extracting the rubble and the thousands of dead buried there-as their own.
In all of these aspects-its vociferousness, spontaneity, ingenuity, and fundamental democracy-Langewiesche reveals the story of the deconstruction to be uniquely American, and harshly inspiring. He has constructed an account that will endure against the events of September 11, 2001 as John Hersey's Hiroshima stands in relation to August 1945.
Customer Reviews:
Just plain wrong.......2007-08-27
This book is inaccurate and just plain wrong. The author stated that an American Airlines flight attendant onboard doomed flight 11 called in to report the hijacking. That was the only correct fact he had. He goes on to say the flight attendant, Ms. Betty Ong, was speaking in "terrified tones, gasping for air". As we all heard a few years later when the tape of Ms. Ong final minutes were played at a congressional hearing, she was calm, composed, articulate and professional. Sadly, this rag was out for a few years before the truth came out. Mr. Langewiesche caused undue pain and heartache to Ms. Ong's family by his grossly inaccurate portrayal. Irresponsible and reprehensible "journalism". Shame on him.
one of the best 9/11 books.......2007-02-17
This is a beautifully written and utterly compelling book about the fall of the Twin Towers and their subsequent removal. Langewiesche captures the characters involved well, and he fills the book with fascinating details (like the guy who swims towards the towers when others are frantically catching ferries and boats to escape). A very fast read, this terrific work is part journalism and part history, and it's one of the best two or three books related to 9/11 that I've read.
American Ground.......2006-02-12
In this world, people become personally invested in the way their character is viewed; and as we all know very, very well, when they dislike certain things about the way they've been portrayed, a sense of "ownership of self" emerges to one degree or another: Sometimes they will simply disagree with a portrayal; sometimes they will savagely attack the source. Only in this book's afterword was I made aware that a controversy had erupted over Langewiesche's portrayal of various ongoing events which occurred in the aftermath of the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
I am tending to side with Langewiesche for two reasons: (a) His account is overwhelmingly *not* mean-spirited, but desirous of presenting a detached, reasonably objective chronology of events and characterization of various groups and individuals; (b) He attempts, at every turn, to draw positivity even from the basest of motives, by allowing those motives to characterize Americans ingeniously, and with as much respect as possible.
I wish more sources were like him. I know that I am not the only one tired of the media telling us who we "should" admire, "should" decry, "should" hold on pedestals, "should" hold in contempt, etc.; as a uniquely American product of the very country which seems to enjoy lauding its own attributes on an extremely selective basis, I would much prefer to do what *America itself* has taught me to do, and draw my own conclusions. When America ever decides to unite *for real* and throw away its myriad prejudices against various groups, then you can get back to me.
Langewiesche is a Hemingway of sorts, with a simple, eloquent and observant account of what he witnessed or what, he makes clear, he heard from sources he trusts. Because, by the purest and basest logic itself, human beings tend *not* to pick apart the accounts of those with whom they side in idealized terms, *I* tend to take many accounts I cannot verify for what they are worth in terms of their tone, ostensible objective, and cumulative sense of veracity.
I've long felt that something was being made of September 11 which tended to victimize the very people who should be receiving our empathy and compassion, such that the empathy and compassion themselves became "sticking points" which mired us in controversy, accusations and jingoism counterproductive to moving forward. It seemed, at times, that just *saying such things* prompted accusations of coldness or non-caring, or the resoundingly famous, "You just don't understand." No one has a monopoly on the World Trade Center tragedy or its effect on their individual lives; very ironically, any actions or reactions which claim as much *actually diminish the tragedy and its aftermath to caricature or meaninglessness*, since logic also dictates that as soon as any individual claims their tragedy was "greater," their unilateral stance automatically opens the door for their "opposition" *to make the very same claim of them*, and further, to claim the same coldness and lack of feeling for individual responses to a tragedy that all of America endured.
I applaud Langewiesche's narrative and effort, as a piece of work and as a whole.
National Enquirer-esque.......2006-01-23
This book has been completely discredited piece by piece.
wtclivinghistory.org
Honestly, I don't know how Langewiesche lives with himself.
Dissecting the Pile.......2005-11-17
The "pile" as is came to be known, was the rubble left behind by the collapse of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. A mess. A huge mess. The who's, what's, why's and hows are accurately discussed in this book about that mess--who took control of it, and what was done with it. A different look at Ground Zero and those who were thrust in charge of this unique operation. An insight at the interests of those who really had control of the "pile"--the firemen, the police, and Port Authority police. A fine addition to the real story of 9/11.
Book Description
The automotive industry ranks among the most significant business phenomena of the 20th century and remains vitally important today, accounting for almost 11% of the GDP of North America, Europe and Japan and one in nine jobs. Although its products have had a fundamental impact on modern society in economic and social terms, the industry has found it hard to adjust to contemporary conditions and is thus no longer esteemed in capital markets. Riven with internal contradictions that inhibit reform, it now faces a stark choice between years of strife or radical change. Highlighting the challenges and opportunities that exist for managers, legislators, financial institutions and potential industry entrants, this book is a wake-up call for those who work in the automotive industry. Most of all, it gives us all cause to reflect on the value of mobility, today and tomorrow. Graeme Maxton is director of AutoPolis, a firm that specializes in the structures and dynamics of the world automotive industry and helps clients position themselves for profitable growth. He is responsible for its activities in Asia and since 1992, has been closely affiliated with the Economist Newspaper Group and chairs all of The Economist's automotive industry conferences throughout the world. He writes for Business China, Business Asia, and various other Group publications, as well as for numerous newspapers throughout Europe and Asia. He is also a television, radio, and press commentator on the industry. Maxton and Wormald were co-authors of Driving Over a Cliff? Business Lessons from the World's Car Industry (Addison Wesley, 1994), which was nominated for the Financial Times Best Book about Business Award. John Wormald is a director and co-founder of Autopolis. He has worked in and for the automotive industry for over 25 years. He advises vehicle manufacturers, component suppliers, distribution and service companies, and financial and government institutions, with a particular emphasis on the downstream distribution and service sectors of the industry. He regularly lectures about the industry, speaks at industry conferences, writes for automotive and general publications, and is quoted and interviewed in the media. He is a co-author of Driving Over a Cliff?
Customer Reviews:
Lays out the woes of the modern auto industry, and gives possible solutions.......2007-02-10
In Time for a Model Change, two industry veterans tell why the modern auto industry is in such sad shape. As the globe warms and oil is burned up, we need innovative cars that push the envelope with new technologies, such as plug-in hybrids and electrics.
Yet the carmakers struggle to stay afloat, with no money to spend on such a drastic model change. And no strategic plan to follow even if they had the money. So instead of innovation, we get a steady proliferation of the same old models, with minor variations, all of the carmakers putting out their "me too" offerings that drive up expenses, drive down sale prices, and drive the carmakers out of business.
Time for a Model Change suggests a solution. Unbundle the production of cars. Let the carmakers build to their strengths. Italian carmakers, for example, should not try to compete with their own vertically integrated line of cars. Instead, focus on car bodies, doing the styling that they can do better than others. And so on.
Reflecting their connection with The Economist magazine, the authors of Time for a Model Change make their case thoughtfully and carefully. The many graphs, diagrams, and pictures (black and white only) throughout the book add a great deal to a reader's understanding of the industry. This book, though quite sophisticated in its analysis, will not be too difficult for the general reader.
My only complaint about the book, if I even call it that, is the feeling of doom and gloom that pervades it. Things are not that bad. But there is no question that the "industry of industries" will be changing, one way or another. As related technologies continue to improve, someone is going to figure out how to make money in this huge industry.
An Industry With a Difficult Future.......2005-02-04
This is an analysis of the world wide automobile industry by a pair of close observers who are outside the direct employment of the auto makers.
The auto industry is huge, it's been developing for a hundred. In addition there is a huge supplementary industry in the form of supplying oil, building highways, insuring, repairing, racing, and hundreds of other professions.
The problems forseen by the authors seem so obvious that you wonder why the automoile companies don't see it. Of course they probably do, but their senior management couldn't say anything that might affect their stock prices. If they did, they would get sued by everyone who lost money on their stock.
This is an excellent book on the automotive industry and in effect on our whole economy.
Book Description
The proliferation of regional trade agreements, including both free trade agreements and customs unions, over the past decade has provoked many new legal issues in WTO law, public international law, and an emerging law of regional trade agreements. The various Parts of this book chart this development from a number of perspectives. Part 1 introduces the economic and political underpinnings of regional trade agreements, their constitutional functions, and their role as a locus for integrating trade and human rights. Part 2 examines the WTO rules governing regional trade agreements, focusing on a number of areas in which regional trade agreements prove problematic, such as trade remedies, regulatory standards and rules of origin. Part 3 investigates areas in which regional trade agreements go beyond WTO rules, in areas such as intellectual property, investment, competition, services, sustainable development and mutual recognition, while Part 4 is devoted to the dispute settlement mechanisms of regional trade agreements, and includes illuminating case studies. Part 5 explores the interrelationship between regional trade agreements and the WTO system from the perspective of public international law, involving questions with significance beyond the trade community.
Books:
- A Basic Guide To Importing
- A Billion Bootstraps: Microcredit, Barefoot Banking, and The Business Solution for Ending Poverty
- A Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols
- A History of Britain : At the Edge of the World, 3500 B.C.-1603 A.D
- Adjustment Computations: Spatial Data Analysis
- Advanced Industrial Economics
- America's Financial Apocalypse: How to Profit from the Next Great Depression
- America's Financial Apocalypse: How to Profit from the Next Great Depression
- An Introduction to Web Design and Programming
- Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
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