Social Science : Customs & Traditions

Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance. Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot, lucre, moolah, readies, the wherewithal: Call it what you like, it matters. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it’s the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, it’s the chains of labor. But in The Ascent of Money, Niall Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress. What’s more, he reveals financial history as the essential backstory behind all history. Through Ferguson’s expert lens familiar historical landmarks appear in a new and sharper financial focus. Suddenly, the civilization of the Renaissance looks very different: a boom in the market for art and architecture made possible when Italian bankers adopted Arabic mathematics. The rise of the Dutch republic is reinterpreted as the triumph of the world’s first modern bond market over insolvent Habsburg absolutism. And the origins of the French Revolution are traced back to a stock market bubble caused by a convicted Scot murderer. With the clarity and verve for which he is known, Ferguson elucidates key financial institutions and concepts by showing where they came from. What is money? What do banks do? What’s the difference between a stock and a bond? Why buy insurance or real estate? And what exactly does a hedge fund do?. This is history for the present. Ferguson travels to post-Katrina New Orleans to ask why the free market can’t provide adequate protection against catastrophe. He delves into the origins of the subprime mortgage crisis. Perhaps most important, The Ascent of Money documents how a new financial revolution is propelling the world’s biggest countries, India and China, from poverty to wealth in the space of a single generation—an economic transformation unprecedented in human history. Yet more...

Price: $29.95

This book introduces the basics of Chinese culture. You will discover how to initiate contact, what to expect in meetings, and how to behave there. You will learn the way the Chinese approach negotiations, discover how you can respond to them, and learn how to negotiate a successful conclusion. You will also find out how to socialize for success, how to cope with specific problems of living and working in China, and the best way to treat Chinese visitors to your organization. You are given practical advice throughout on business etiquette, and on how to fit into Chinese cultural expectations in order to achieve your goals. An appendix briefly explains Chinese history, and then considers recent economic, political, and social changes. If you fit any one of the following descriptions, this book will provide valuable help to you in your chosen field: - I am a business person and I am thinking of moving into the China market to buy or sell, or I already buy or sell in China, or I am contemplating investing in China. > br/> - I work for the government and I would like to know more about China, its business practices, and how to deal with the Chinese I meet. - I am a university professor and I teach a course about doing business in China, or the Chinese economy and society, or cross cultural management problems, or law and international negotiating practices. - I am a student and I am studying China, or taking courses about cross cultural management, or doing business in China, or international business studies, or negotiating abroad. For author bio and photo, reviews and a reading sample, go to bosonbooks.com more...

Price: $7.50

"An engaging polemic against the neat-police who hold so much sway over our lives." -The Wall Street Journal. Enthusiastically embraced by readers everywhere, this groundbreaking book is an antidote to the accepted wisdom that tight schedules, neatness, and consistency are the keys to success. With an astounding array of anecdotes and case studies of the useful role mess can play in business, parenting, cooking, the war on terrorism, hardware stores, and even the meteoric career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, coauthors Abrahamson and Freedman demonstrate that moderately messy systems use resources more efficiently, yield better solutions, and are harder to break than neat ones. From clutter to time sprawl to blurring of categories, A PERFECT MESS will forever change the way we think about disorder. "A compelling and comical tour of humanity's guilt-ridden love affair with accidents, messes, and randomness... Combine the world-is-not-as-it-seems mindset of Freakonomics with the delicious celebration of popular culture found in Everything Bad Is Good for You to get the cocktail-party-chatter-ready anecdotes of 'messiness leading to genius' in A PERFECT MESS." -Fast Company. more...

Price: $14.99

This book focuses on breaking the barriers between cultures. It offers suggestions and exercises to help business people and individuals improve their cross-cultural communication techniques. It is a must for business people working in a culturally diverse environment, for those traveling to other countries or those people simply interested in understanding other cultures. more...

Price: $12.45

After the Fire is the story of the poet Paul Zimmer’s journey from his boyhood in Canton, Ohio, and his days as a soldier during atomic tests in the Nevada desert, to his many years as a writer and publisher, and the rural tranquility of his present life. Zimmer juxtaposes timeless rustic subjects with flashbacks to key moments: his first and only boxing match, his return to the France of his ancestors, his painful departure from the publishing world after forty years. These stories are full of humor and pathos, but the real center of the book is the abiding beauty of the driftless hills, the silence and peace that is the source of and reward for Zimmer’s hard-won wisdom. more...

Price: $23.00