1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The Dirty-but-Legal Way to Riches, 2008-06-25
Let me preface this by saying I liked the book. It was an easy read and a great 'capsulation' of each generation of Mega Millionaire. It was a great 'primer' for who was famously popular in each era.
On the other hand, it appeared to me that the vast majority of the men capsuled in this book did it through ruthless agression and the abscence of Anti Trust laws.
Granted, many men in this book were subject to Anti Trust laws AFTER they made their millions, and adhering to these laws only made them wealthier...but it takes money to make money and their seed were already sewn.
I walked away from this book wondering if you had to be an obsessive to the point of crude and potentially unlike-able to make that level of income.
I would hate to give up the personality traits that I have grown to like (sense of humour, compassion, empathy) to be wealthy, and hate to think that these traits will deter me from becoming wealthy.
But my personal concerns aside, this was an enjoyable book with lots of easy-to-understand information.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The History of Human Liberation from Superstitions, 2002-10-17
Money & Power is a lively introductory look at how modern business grew and developed. This well-researched book outlines the history of industry, commerce and power. This summary of the History of Business portrays the figure of an Entrepreneur as a real Creator of the future. The greatest problem that business people faced in Christian Europe was that profit-making was considered sinful, because Jesus drove away money-changers from a temple (As you know, temples in the Middle East were used as banks before Christ, because it was the safest place to keep treasures.) And in Orthodox Russia the problem was absolutely the same, though Russian Orthodox monasteries were producing vodka and earning interest on borrowed money even in 14th century. This book is organized around 12 chapters. Each chapter highlights one person or event in business history. The book presents an inside view of the step-by-step history of business and its development over the years as history of liberation from ideological dogmata, superstition and prejudice. The story begins from the 12th century monk St. Godric. A final chapter on Bill Gates and Microsoft heralds the current age, in which "the road to riches is open to everyone." And everybody, who wants, must be rich. Now it is available for everyone. It is obvious today that entrepreneur is the most creative person making the most creative work in the world.
Sure, I especially enjoyed the sections on JP Morgan and Bill Gates. The book was recently translated into Russian.
Recommend this book!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Thoroughly Enjoyable, 2002-06-26
I found this a thoroughly enjoyable book. It is an easy read without being superficial. The writers focus mostly on American business--Morgan, Rockefeller, Ford and Gates--with emphasis on their money-making schemes & abilities. These are not "tell-all" biographical sketches. The writers never lose sight of their overall theme: money and power and how the two blend together. I would have liked more historical analysis (such is my bias). I found the chapter on Tulipmania fascinating (it is also the first time I have ever really understood Futures Trading). For anyone who finds economics and business an elusive mystery, this is an excellent starting point. (Also check out P.J. O'Rourke's Eat the Rich.)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Packed With Knowledge!, 2001-10-09
This volume, based on a PBS documentary, is as much about the unique characters who drove the evolution of business as it is about vast historic trends. Author Howard Means blends the color of a cinematic treatment with the rich context and detail of a comprehensive history. In so doing, he's accomplished the ultimate historian's goal: Presenting history in such a way that it is clearly relevant to modern-day life, and in this case, business. From biblical moneychangers to the miraculously large pool of Microsoft millionaires, Means traces the history of commerce from the perspective of power, asking who acquired it, how they amassed it, how they used it and what became of it? We [...] recommend his intense narrative to anyone in business, since business is about money, and money is, after all, power.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
20th century was forgotten by the author, 2001-10-04
"Money & Power" is an interesting book about the men that made significant contributions to the history of business since St. Godric. However, the 20th century is not accurately represented in the book. Basically, "Money & Power" forgot the contribution that japanese entrepreneurs like Eiji Toyoda (and his famous Toyota Production System) made to the industrial manufacturing. The book also superficially reviewed the computer technology/telecommunication revolution that has been modyfing the business world since the 70's (although there is a chapter dedicated to Bill Gates). eCommerce is not even mentioned in the book.