Book Description
Finally a biography on those titans of terror from the Golden Age of Horror Films: Lionel Atwill (Doctor X, Mystery of the Wax Museum), Colin Clive (Frankestein) and George Zucco (The Flying Serpent). Author Gregory Mank delves into the lives and careers of three of the actors who helped shape the modern horror film.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointed.......2004-01-30
As a big fan of almost any Universal Creature Movie, I looked forward to these biographies of three of the leading men of horror. Unfortunately it reads more like a filmography more than anything else. Very little is learned of the men themselves. There was so little information about Colin Clive that Mr. Mank resorted to claiming nightmares as he gathered information for this book. They sounded so contrived; made up for filler. I also bought his two volume set of the Women of Horror 1930's and 1940's and hope they are more informative.
Interesting lives of 3 very different actors.......1999-07-08
How different could 3 actors be? Lionel Atwill,a highly respected stage actor that made a specialty out of playing off-beat mad doctor roles and whom his friends called 'Pinky'. Colin Clive, another star of the stage who detested his horror movie roles and drank himself to death. George Zucco, an actor that worked on stage with Colin Clive, made a living acting in everything from Grade 'A' feature films to poverty row Grade 'Z' pictures. I knew something of the lives of Atwill and Clive, but the bio of Zucco was especially interesting. While Atwill was the host of 'adult' parties in his home, and Clive spiralled into an early alcohol-induced death, Zucco comes across as a gentleman. This book was most interesting, and not only taught me the differences in the three men, but also the one thing they had in common. All three were fine actors with backgrounds on the stage who(especially for Atwill and Zucco) always strived to give a good performance, no matter what the picture they were involved with.
Mank Brings Universal Horror Stars to Life in new Biography.......1999-07-07
I just finished reading Gregory William Mank's "Hollywood's Maddest Doctors," and I must hand it to Mr. Mank. He has done a fine job.
The three subjects of the volume-Lionel Atwill, Colin Clive, and George Zucco-were extraordinary stage-trained actors who became legendary players in the great Universal Studios' horror classics of the 1930's and early 1940's. Even more interesting is the fact that each man was far more interesting in real life than he was in the roles he played on stage and screen. Each in his own way was a tortured soul.
Atwill, the great matinee idol of the British and American stages of the 1920's, was a powerful character actor whose lead roles in such classics as "Dr. X" and "The Mystery of the Wax Museum" elevated him to the same pedestal as Karloff and Lugosi in the horror genre. However, in real life he was a self-destructive free spirit whose sexual escapades led to his downfall. Bitter in his last years, he died an outcast in an industry that was appalled at his unabashed sexual proclivities.
Colin Clive, whose masterful portrayal of Dr. Frankenstein ranks as one of the best pieces of acting in any genre, was a tormented soul who lacked self-confidence and took refuge in the bottle. He would die tragically at the age of 37 from kidney and liver failure, his talent only partially tapped.
Finally, there is the gentlemanly George Zucco who could play virtually any role with equal skill and grace, but who nevertheless was stereotyped in "mad doctor" roles to his everlasting chagrin. Zucco would die unfulfilled, wondering to the last how his career might have been different if only he had gotten more diverse dramatic and comedy roles.
Mank does a super job in bringing out the irony in each man's career-we remember them best for the mad, often tragic characters they portrayed on film. Yet it was in real life that these men played out their most genuinely tragic roles.
I highly recommend Mr. Mank's book to all true fans of these three unsing heroes of early horror films. Each was very talented and very troubled. To his credit, Mank does an excellent job in illuminating both the professional and personal components of their lives. A fine job.
Book Description
Anya is a physician in a small town in Indiana. She is now widowed as a result of a drunk driving accident three years ago. She is running her medical practice and taking care of her four children with the help of friends and family. Anya decides to go to Hollywood California to learn how to inject botox. As she is walking in the hotel lobby one day on her way to class, Anya makes eye contact with a gorgeous man (Gavin). Little does she know how her life will change with this chance meeting. Gavin is a famous movie star and the world's most eligible bachelor. While walking through the lobby where he is doing business at the Reagent Beverly Wilshire, he catches the eye of the most beautiful woman he has ever seen (Anya). He decides that he wants to get to know her and pursue her. He finds out quickly that she is very different from his other pursuits. For one thing she comes with four children and for another.she doesn't believe in premarital sex. Gavin, who is a 48 year old bachelor, decides to pursue a relationship making them Hollywood's Hottest Couple.
Customer Reviews:
Hollywood's hottest Couple.......2007-03-27
The book is easy to read. I read it in one afternoon and enjoyed it thoroughly. Would recommend it to my friends and family
Average customer rating:
|
Hollywood Doctors (Hollywood)
Manufacturer: Thomasson Grant & Howell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Biographies
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
| Actors & Actresses
| Directors
General
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
History & Criticism
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
| Beaches
| Business Travel
| Cruises
| Essays & Travelogues
| Food & Lodging
| Guidebooks
| Pictorial
| Reference
| Spas
| Tips
| Tourist Destinations & Museums
| Travel Writing
Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
| Dance
| General
| Reference
| Theater
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Foreign Languages
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1565660684 |
Average customer rating:
|
Ultimate Spider-man #54 (Hollywood: Part 1) May 2004
Brian Michael Bendis
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
General
| Comic Strips
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Marvel
| Publishers
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Spider-Man
| Characters
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000U2B2J6 |
Average customer rating:
|
Ultimate Spider-man #55 (Hollywood: Part 2) May 2004
Brian Michael Bendis
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
General
| Comic Strips
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Marvel
| Publishers
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Spider-Man
| Characters
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000U22U2O |
Average customer rating:
|
Ultimate Spider-man #57 (Hollywood: Part 4) June 2004
Brian Michael Bendis
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
General
| Comic Strips
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Marvel
| Publishers
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Spider-Man
| Characters
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000U2B0V6 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Los Angeles Business Journal, published by CBJ, L.P. on February 21, 2005. The length of the article is 599 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Doctor-turned-activist treated Yucca corridor.(Real Estate Awards--Hollywood's Close-Up)
Author: Aarthi Sivaraman
Publication:
Los Angeles Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 21, 2005
Publisher: CBJ, L.P.
Volume: 27
Issue: 8
Page: 30(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
An illustrated foray into the hidden truth about the use of psychoactive mushrooms to connect with the divine.
• Draws parallels between Vedic beliefs and Judeo-Christian sects, showing the existence of a mushroom cult that crossed cultural boundaries.
• Contends that the famed philosophers' stone of the alchemist was a metaphor for the mushroom.
• Confirms and extends Robert Gordon Wasson's hypothesis of the role of the fly agaric mushroom in generating religious visions.
Rejecting arguments that the elusive philosophers' stone of alchemy and the Hindu elixir of life were mere legend, Clark Heinrich provides a strong case that Amanita muscaria, the fly agaric mushroom, played this role in world religious history. Working under the assumption that this "magic mushroom" was the mysterious food and drink of the gods, Heinrich traces its use in Vedic and Puranic religion, illustrating how ancient cultures used the powerful psychedelic in esoteric rituals meant to bring them into direct contact with the divine. He then shows how the same mushroom symbols found in Hindu scriptures correspond perfectly to the symbols of ancient Judaism, Christianity, the Grail myths, and alchemy, arguing that miraculous stories as disparate as the burning bush of Moses and the raising of Lazarus from the dead can be easily explained by the use of this strange and powerful mushroom. While acknowledging the speculative nature of his work, Heinrich concludes that in many religious cultures and traditions the fly agaric mushroom--and in some cases ergot or psilocybin mushrooms--had a fundamental influence in teaching humans about the nature of God. His insightful book truly brings new light to the religious history of humanity.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent book .......2005-10-17
Clark Heinrich's book is excellent. Clark provides practical information on the Amanita muscaria mushroom, its natural history and practical uses as a psychoactive, and he provides a "speculative history" of the role of the mushroom in human history through analysis of works of art and literary narratives.
To the newcomer to this field, much is surprising. As one begins to explore the territory, some of what Clark asserts appears to be well-supported. Some of what he says may find more support as he and others pursue lines of inquiry he opens or extends. Some of it may just be wrong, and Heinrich admits he is fully aware of the risks of exploration.
We have today a few bits and pieces of solid information about people using Amanita muscaria as a psychoactive, often in a religious context, in scattered locations around the world. For example, we have reports from western observers of Amanita use by tribes in Siberia. In addition to describing how they used it, they also described some of the local lore of the mushroom, its "nicknames" and mythology. Scholars like Heinrich have found (or, some would say, have spun) a far-flung web of speculative associations between this mushroom lore known from a few localities and the mythologies of many cultures. While the analysis of the stories passed down the ages through oral and then written traditions has many perils, another thread in the web is the persistent reappearance of mushrooms, often disguised but sometimes obviously, in paintings and sculptures through the ages. These paintings often depict the events of stories where Heinrich and others find the symbolic connections between the known mushroom lore (Siberia, etc.) and the speculated upon lore within the warp and woof of the history of culture and civilization.
Here's an example of a series of connections, from mushroom natural history, to known lore, to speculation, to "seeing is believing": the mushroom first emerges as a white "egg" shape, then grows to maturity, the cap eventually inverting so that its margins are higher than its center. If one slices across the cap, the view explosed is like that of uplifted wings of a white bird. Birds and eggs are of course an association pair, and there are reports of users of the mushroom giving it bird nicknames. In addition to this appearance of wings, there is the association of the psychoactive mushroom with visionary flight. And so Heinrich and others suggest that where we see winged angels or descending doves in words or pictures in mythology, we may be seeing psychoactive mushroom referents.
It sounds like perhaps a stretch. But then we open another book co-authored by Heinrich, "The Apples of Apollo" and find photographs of ancient Greek vase paintings of the winged Gorgon Medusa (whose blood was medicinal), and of Hyakinthos riding to Paradise on the back of a swan, and quite clearly the depicted wings bear much more resemblance to sliced mushroom caps than to the pattern of feathers on bird wings, which the artists were fully capable of rendering, had that been their intention. It appears obvious that these vase painters were communicating to an initiated audience traditions into which they were themselves initiated. If the mapping of mushroom lore onto religious symbolism is simply a "confusion" created by drug-addled minds, it appears that this "confusion" has existed a long time and surfaces again and again where we have glimpses into esoteric traditions which may have been carried on continuously for thousands of years.
Heinrich is deeply indebted to R. Gordon Wasson, the father of ethnomycology, especially for Wasson's thesis that Amanita muscaria was the "Soma" of early Hindu religion. Heinrich contributes additional information to corroborate this thesis, and his chapters on the traditions the subcontinent are a strong part of the book. Here we also have mention of the Psilocybe species.
Speculation on the role of the mushroom in the semitic traditions that brought us Judaism and Christianity were introduced by John Allegro, a tenured professor who took "early retirement" in the wake of the controversy surrounding his "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross", which contained much far-flung speculation and a certain amount of mean-spirtedness toward both modern christians and drug users past and present. Heinrich reports on Allegro's theories and offers his own speculations on Adam, Eve, the serpent, the fruit, Moses, the visionary prophets and the New Testament. He devotes a chapter to the Gnostics, and another to the Holy Grail, a Christianized ancient Celtic legend.
It appears that Heinrich is the first person in recent history to speculate that the Amanita muscaria mushroom occupies a central role in the alchemical traditions pertaining to the Philosopher's Stone. He offers a tantalizing set of parallels between the mushroom and the "stone", and includes some illustrations from alchemical texts which are strongly suggestive of these connections. Alchemical symbolism is deliberately obscure, as the alchemists were sworn to secrecy. It was their habit to publish works regarding the stone which deliberately teased the non-initiate while entertaining the initiated ones. Alchemical traditions continued to be passed from masters to apprentices from the classical world through the medieval, into the 18th century.
Indeed, it appears that the 18th and 19th centuries mark a point of transition, as the alchemical tradition disappears. If it did indeed include a full and conscious knowledge of a tradition of the mushroom as the "Philosopher's Stone" and of its use, this is the last time we see it written about by them "in the know". Today we can only speculate and attempt to re-construct and rediscover. Heinrich's tips on mushroom use may be useful to those who would seek to rediscover the secret of the stone. Indeed, the fact that most people do not find Amanita investigations especially fruitful is one reason that speculations that this mushroom once played a huge role in human history meet with resistance. Part of the mushroom mystique is the possibility that some people of the past were more adept in mastering its use, in bringing to fruition its hidden potential.
Sexual imagery plays a role in Heinrich's speculations, and in the history of religion. The themes of unity underlying apparent multiplicity and oppositions and of creation from couplings are ancient and recurring in the human quest for meaning and in the stories that seem to have written themselves within us. The mushroom, with its columnar stem and wheel-like cap, appears to be a perfect metaphor for the creative process in which from unity dualities emerge and then join to bring about new creation. The psychoactive mushroom appears as flesh, but it releases spirit with us. Given the power of the mushroom metaphor, and the power of the mushroom, it is not surprising that Heinrich sees it "everywhere", and perhaps it is everywhere, even if not every person in history who ever painted or sculpted a winged messenger from heaven consciously intended to depict the visionary shroom. Heinrich stimulates us to see the mushroom everywhere and also to wonder how many of those who went before us have seen it thus. Perhaps more than a few of them.
Amanitas everywhere........2005-08-02
The author has been accused of seeing amanitas everywhere and since reading this short and enjoyable book ... so do I. The author admits that some of his links are a bit of a stretch and I would agree with this assertion. Overall the research is scholarly, well done, and a pleasure to read even if you don't agree with the theories. For the most part the theories make logical sense and could explain many events in the past. The book also backs up claims made by andria puharich in "The sacred mushroom key to the door of eternity" (
<---must read), Terence Mckenna's "Food of the gods" and John marco allegro's "The sacred mushroom and the cross". IMO A lot of the events are better explained by reading zecharia sitchin's earth chronicles (10 books on old sumerian texts) but heinrich's theories fill in the gaps. Where the book really shines is in exploring the alchemical, new testament and vedic references. Also check out the erowid website for supplemental information.
Sex, drugs, and Godhead!.......2004-06-16
Clark Heinrich is an exceedingly clever, authoritative writer, who keeps readers in thrall with his subject by colorful propositions and turns of phrase that tease and engage the intellect. In this speculative history, he demonstrates an astonishing erudition for religion, myth, art, and the cultural history and botanical details of the Amanita muscaria mushroom. In making his case, speculative as it is, he provides innumerable references to genitalia, sex acts, and various bodily processes and their by-products, which has a way of anchoring his often far-fetched-seeming ideas in the corporeal realm. He also piques interest when his tone turns irreverent, specifically in his treatment of the Judeo-Christian belief system he was born into, where he rightfully, if self-consciously blasphemously, points out that there is little if any reason for sentient beings to believe that the so-called miracles cited in the Bible were the work of supernatural forces. He offers a more concrete and perhaps more likely explanation for seminal religious phenomena: the ingestion of Amanita muscaria and the subsequent encryption of its inspirations in the literature, rituals, and symbols of religion and alchemy. I was blown away by the amount of thoughtful research that went into this insightful and entertaining work. To arrive at his conclusionns, controversial and speculative as they are, he would have had to spend many hours poring over and interpreting esoteric texts in varying translation, and then on the trial and error of attempting to fit the Amanita key to unlock their mysteries. While I came away fairly convinced that the Amanita mushroom likely played a role in the development of at least some religious creeds, I found some of the author's "proof" to be of the "you had to be there to really appreciate it" sort. The "evidence" is sometimes so visual or semantic and so multilayered, that it dosen't hit home with imeediacy. Several questions emerge. Does the Amanita have any role in the Islamic faith (a almost entirely overlooked in this volume)? If so, why wasn't it documented? If not, how and why would it have eluded the third of the three Abrahamic creeds? Why is it that in all the instances of Amanita cult around the world, the identification of the mushroom in question is disguised and not outrightly revealed? Why if even mainstream religions are allegedly built on visionary experiences prompted by the "plants of the Gods" is the identity of these plants not more plainly revealed, at least from some likely sources or at certain logical historical junctures? It's hard for me to believe entheogenically derived inspiration would be so rigorously relegated and obscured as "forbidden knowledge" over the milennia. The ambiguity of encryption leads to speculation that is bound to turn nutty and implausible even in the most capable hands. Still, by incisive analysis as well as persuasive insinuation, Heinrich's highly readable and scholarly work makes a strong case for the entheogenic underpinnings of religion. The narrative of his own personal experience with Amanita ingestion is hilarious, compelling, and numinously stirring -- so much so that I included an excerpt of it in my own book Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures published in the interim between the release of the original, British edition of Heinrich's book, Strange Fruit, and the expanded, American, edition, the one I'm reviewing here. This is a fun and brilliantly illustrated book. Enjoy!
shroomified.......2004-03-04
a well-researched (but fun-loving) exploration of the psychedelic underpinnings of religion. Vibrantly illustrated and effectively carrying the torch from greats such as R. Gordon Wasson, this one's a keeper.
Mushrooms, myth and magic.......2003-06-22
This beautifully illustrated investigation into the entheogenic use of psychoactive mushrooms, more specifically the fly agaric or Amanita Muscaria, draws parallels between religious literature and the psychedelic experience. The author looks at ancient cultures and certain symbols in the Hindu scriptures, Judaism, Christianity and Alchemy. He believes this Amanita mushroom was the soma of the ancient Vedic people according to his interpretation of certain passages from the Rig Veda. He discusses the work of entheogenic pioneer R Gordon Wasson and then discusses the following prophets of Israel in detail: Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah and Ezekiel. With the exception of Ezekiel's visions, I did not find his ideas convincing in this regard. He seems to find mushroom references everywhere! That includes the Song Of Songs, a book he claims is a song "in praise of the divine mushroom." Hmmm, I don't know. He also deals with the story of Jesus, the last supper, crucifixion etc. and here too, I think the author is stretching it a bit. The chapter on Gnosticism, the Dead Sea Scrolls, The Nag Hammadi scriptures, especially books like the Gospel of Truth, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, the Apocalypse of Adam and the Apocryphon of James is very engaging, thorough and quite insightful. He also covers the Grail Legend and claim the philosopher's stone was none other than the fly agaric mushroom. The author then describes his ingestion of the sacred mushroom over a period of 31 days, when he finally had a brilliant and transformational numinous experience on the last day, as an example of heaven. He also describes a bad trip when he became nauseous and had a deeply unpleasant experience. He concludes with the observation that the proper use of entheogens requires maturity, education, instruction and guidance plus a safe and protected setting. He is convinced that the informed use of these substances challenges any system of dogma or brainwashing and claims that the expanded consciousness is a genie that cannot be put back in the bottle. The final message of the book is that heaven is worth the trip. This book was great reading and although I think the author tries too hard to see a mushroom under every myth, he writes with style and offers many valuable insights. Plenty of figures, black and white illustrations and full colour photographs enliven the text and the book concludes with an index.
Average customer rating:
|
The Book of Handwoven Coverlets
Eliza Calvert Hall
Manufacturer: Dover Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Puzzles & Games
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Antiques & Collectibles
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Quilts & Quilting
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Textile Arts
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 048625688X |
Product Description
The Coverlet Book is a two-volume hardcover boxed set.
The Coverlet Book is over 1,100 pages long and contains over 1,000 photographs, over 2,000 drawdowns and over 300 diagrams. Helene Bress is also the author of: Inkle Weaving, The Macramé Book and The Weaving Book.
Book Description
Moving beyond the strategies that managers have employed to create shareholder value -- now the standard for business performance -- management experts James McTaggart, Peter Kontes, and Michael Mankins reveal their powerful new framework for the systematic, day-to-day management of shareholder value. The authors attack head-on the fundamental weaknesses in current management practices, namely, the stranglehold that budgeting has over strategic planning and the lack of imagination in management plans that prevents real changes and consequences. They provide a systematic approach to "value based management" that eliminates these weaknesses, offering proven strategies for managing large, complex companies to consistently produce superior results for stockholders.
Building on more than 16 years of consulting experience with many of the largest and best-known companies in North America, Europe, and Australia, the authors delineate the fundamental principles of value creation, as well as the primary obstacles. Starting with the principle that "cash flows drive value," McTaggart, Kontes, and Mankins show how to create a single governing objective that will enable managers to make decisions most likely to increase the company's competitive, organizational, and financial strength. Building on the objective of maximizing shareholder value, they outline the value based management framework that directly links a company's strategies and organization to its value in capital markets. Using real-world examples, they describe how to develop business and corporate strategies that substantially improve competitive position and increase market value, often within only two to five years. And as most large companies lack the internal processes necessary to manage for value on a sustained basis, the authors show managers how to build the five key processes that are institutional value drivers: governance, strategic planning, resource allocation, performance management, and top management compensation. Mastering these capabilities is fundamental to the ongoing, consistent creation of shareholder value over time.
All companies, the authors argue, inherently possess an enormous potential to create higher value for their shareholders. With hundreds of examples of companies that have successfully employed the beliefs, principles, and practices of value based management, this book shows general managers how to generate superior returns and realize their business's full value potential.
Customer Reviews:
Required Reading for Private Equity Investors.......2006-08-31
A description of the importance of defining and emphasizing "best practice" to efficiently direct the business activities of any size organization and explanations about disruptive technologies. A strong description of "the value based" approach to management.
The Bible.......2003-02-11
I consider this book the bible of all books on value creation and how to achieve it. It is eminently practical and should be on every financial practitioner's bookshelf. I also recommend reading it annually. It is a wonderful compliment to the other value-based managment books in the market which tend to go long on theory. They're also excellent; but this combines value-based managment and strategy superbly.
Good for understanding how to create shareholder value.......2001-01-12
Good ideas for day-to-day management to manage value as well as big ideas for strategy. There were interesting section on how budgeting strangles strategic planning and what to do with about it. I think this is a great book for executives managing large companies in mature industries. It shows how to focus on value creation at every level of the organization. It gave advice on how to take action and achieve results.
The Value Imperative is a WINNER!!.......1999-04-16
The Value Imperative offers a great framework for managing for value. This book should be read by all corporate executives. It starts with the fundamentals on how value is created and links value creation to business strategy. The authors vividly explain how business can create value by employing a number of different competitive strategies. The final part of the book pulls everything together and focuses on the role of the corporate center in managing various business units and allocating resources.
An excellent, down-to-earth guide for corporate managers.......1998-10-31
A lot of books have been published on value based management, or managing to maximize shareholder value, but this is the best I've seen on several counts. First, it emphasizes process throughout: taking the corporate manager from governing objective to the nitty-gritty of individual business units, and showing at each step how decisions should be made to produce the best possible return.
"Value Imperative" addresses some issues I haven't seen discussed sufficiently in other books of this genre: most specifically, how to produce top value when you're operating in a low-growth or no-growth industry, and precisely what sort of managerial compensation structure fits best into a VBM framework. In every case, the authors' prescriptions are logical and understandable. Most importantly, they encourage the reader to believe that their solutions and disciplines are doable - challenging, but achievable.
Some management books strangle on theory and mathematical analysis, but this one doesn't - another reason I liked it. The authors keep the math - solid and useful analytics - in the appendices, while, again, the main text emphasizes process at the human level. What one sees mainly by way of illustration are flow charts which help make the VBM approach clear.
Encouragingly, nothing they write here seems dated -- although it originally apeared in 1994, "Value Imperative's" lessons apply to companies facing a slower-growing economy (as we may be now)as well as those in a fast-growing environment.
This book would seem best for large companies in mature industries, rather than start-ups, although some of its lessons may be good for the latter as well. It contains a lot of good case study material, and should be especially useful to companies that are reevaluating their commitment to some lines of business, looking atpotential acquisitions or divestments, revamping their compensation policy, or considering pouring a lot of resources into aggressively growing a particular sector (it's especially critical of "patient money" and "economy of scale" arguments for growth).
Managers who want to read something about their practice that's solid, practical, and not faddish should take a look.
Books:
- Horror and Mystery Photoplay Editions and Magazine Fictionizations: The Catalog of a Collection
- Image as Artifact: The Historical Analysis of Film and Television
- Italian Neorealism: Rebuilding the Cinematic City (Short Cuts)
- Jane Austen on Screen (On Screen)
- Jeff Chandler: Film, Record, Radio, and Television Performances
- Leonardo DiCaprio: A MODERN DAY ROMEO (Laurel-Leaf Books)
- Letters and Diaries of Kathleen Ferrier
- Literature and Film: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Film Adaptation
- Lon Chaney: The Man Behind the Thousand Faces
- Lord of the Rings Instrumental Solos: Trumpet (Book & CD)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Pot That Juan Built
- Mark Twain: A Life
- Core Concepts of Accounting Information Systems, Ninth Edition
- CRM may soon deliver on its promise.
- Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition
- More Natural Cures Revealed: Previously Censored Brand Name Products That Cure Disease
- Jobs Around My Neighborhood/Oficios en mi vecindario
- Como Comprar y Contratar En El Estado
- Estimating Trade Elasticities
- Gorky Park
Dwight Frye's Last Laugh
Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection (Doctor X / The Return of Doctor X / Mad Love / The Devil Doll / Mark of the Vampire / The Mask of Fu Manchu)
Universal Horrors: The Studio's Classic Films, 1931-1946
Poverty Row Horrors!: Monogram, Prc and Republic Horror Films of the Forties (McFarland Classics)
The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi
