Book Description
"The wealth of historiographic resources, the command of relevant literature, the ethnographic research and prudent use of oral traditions give this work a high degree of . . . intellectual excitement. . . . a landmark in the field." --Warren d'Azevedo
Making use of archival and oral resources in this extensively researched book, Paula Girshick Ben-Amos questions to what extent art operates as political strategy. How do objects acquire political meaning? How does the use of art enhance and embody power and authority?
Customer Reviews:
BENIN, PORTRAIT OF AN ANCIENT KINGDOM.......2000-03-14
Letter to Paula Girshick Ben-Amos, author of "Art, Innovation, and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Benin." Your book, "Art Innovation, and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Benin", is superb. I'm not a reviewer so the much I can see is that you lead us, the reader, easy and firmly across the ancient history of a Kingdom with her obas, uzamas, ezomos, iyases, chiefs -- and give us a handy list of the obas from Ehengbuda to Akengbuda, and teach us how they were, through the art they left behind. You make ease to understand the Civil War and different behave of various obas and chiefs. As well their relation with the spiritual world. When you refer to Father Monteleone, and the cloths "made in five or, at the most, six months" on pg. 41, using Ryder, you touch in a subject that has connection with Brazil. In the book "A enxada e a lança", (The Hoe and the Spear), the Brazilian writer Alberto da Costa e Silva depicts a panel of Africa, before the Portuguese's arrival (he starts his book on Africa's prehistory), and refers (pg. 526)to Pano da Costa (Cloth from the Coast - Ijebu), largely exported from Benin to Brazil on the first half of Eighteenth Century. It seems, later on, when the slave traffic has ended, and commerce between Bahia (Brazil) and West Coast was very strong, industrialized Pano da Costa, produced in Brazil has turned itself into a largely disputed merchandise all over the Coast, including in Benin . And moreover, in your book you teach us how to see and comprehend the bronzes, plaques, heads, in metal, ivory, clay and wood. Is all absolutely perfect. If one want to have a spotless ideas, in 177 pages, about the Kingdom of Benin, in your book one will find it. So, I indeed have enjoyed your book.
José Luiz Pereira da Costa Brazil e-mail: dacostaq@cpovo.net
Book Description
-20 projects all small in size, but huge in creativity.
Customer Reviews:
a different view.......2005-10-12
I think the previous reviewer is a little harsh. I would call the quality of the projects "varied", which is to be expected when there are 20 different designers. I thought most were ho-hum, but a few quite nice, including the eyeglass case on the cover. I think "grade-school level" is an exaggeration--most of the projects are fairly simple, but some show interesting techniques and/or would be suitable for a beginning (adult) quilter, especially one who doesn't necessarily want to tackle a bed-size quilt. Also, instructions are clear and templates are provided--I've definitely seen "project" books that are a lot worse!
Disappointing.......2005-03-15
I did not find the projects included innovative nor inspiring and have returned the book for a refund. The items were simplistic on the order of grade school art-projects and certainly nothing I would want to decorate my home with.
Average customer rating:
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Weave It! Quilt It! Wear It!
Mary Anne Caplinger
Manufacturer: Martingale & Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Woven & Quilted
ASIN: 1564771423 |
Average customer rating:
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Squaredance Fundamentals
John W. Jones
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Square Dance Music And Calls
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The Complete Book of Square Dancing: And Round Dancing
ASIN: 1419659812
Release Date: 2007-03-09 |
Book Description
One of the greatest merits of this book is its logical continuity, which can be a tremendous aid to both the caller/teacher and the student, regardless of how it is used. Meticulously researched, the author has passionately sought to foster the smoothness and beauty of square dancing for the benefit of continuing generations of family, friends, and neighbors seeking membership in this great American tradition. He has successfully encouraged novices to pursue the exhilarating joy and camaradie of square dancing by ultra simplifying the instructions and graphics and presenting them on clean, uncluttered pages. The vital, rudimentary procedures and maneuvers are presented in an easily comprehensible and logical order of development. The new dancer is thereby prevented from feeling overwhelmed and thus discouraged, and more seasoned dancers finally learn why they do what they do, making it easier to progress to more advanced maneuvers. The author worked painstakingly with the graphic artist to execute a feat never attempted before in a square dance manual. Each dancer is smoothly raised to the pinnacle of understanding by viewing revolutionary illustrations which show THE PARTICIPANT'S POINT OF VIEW, not just the spectator's viewpoint. The dancers can, at a glance, glean from the illustrations, exactly what they need to be doing with their hands, feet, etc. Each dancer, regardless of prior experience, can effortlessly grasp the material and easily retain it. It's easy! And dancing is so much more fun when you don't have to struggle with interpreting the instructions!
Customer Reviews:
Squaredance Fundamentals.......2007-03-27
I never thought I would be able to remember and learn the steps necessary to be a square dancer. I have been to many square dance clubs with a vast variety of callers, I always felt (and acted) one step behind the rest of the participants. Then I got "Squaredance Fundamentals", I now have the confidence and the knowledge to feel for the first time that I'm not a burden to the group that I'm engaged with. I always thought that visual instruction guides (i.e. VHS, DVD, live instruction) would be superior to a book and that theory was correct until I got this book! The written style with the illustrations depicting the dancers perspective made everything so simple and I was able to understand what needed to be done in the privacy of my own home without being embarrassed in a group setting. If you or a loved one is looking for a Square dance instructional guide this is it. There may be tons of books out on the market, but there can only be one that's the best, it's "Squaredance Fundamentals."
Book Description
Noted authority shows even beginners how to make designer-quality quilted jackets, vests, blouses, suits, other items—at a fraction of boutique prices. Thorough coverage of equipment and materials, designs, fillers and battings, hand or machine quilting, much more. Over 190 photographs and illustrations plus 45 color plates. Instructions. Index. Bibliography.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent for the quilter who desires precise wearable info........1999-06-16
Precise and concise instruction for converting your talents as a quilter into wearable art. Construction, lining and tips/tricks well covered. A must for the beginning wearable artist or one who wants to brush up on technique.
Average customer rating:
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Good Housekeeping Needlework
Manufacturer: Hearst Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Pamphlet
ASIN: B000PGAPLS |
Product Description
Vintage instructions, knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, sewing, embroidery, shoes, clothing, quilts.
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Quilts to Wear
Virginia Avery
Manufacturer: Charles Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0713513500 |
Product Description
GREAT COLLECTION OF STANDARD QUILTS
Average customer rating:
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Quilts to Wear
Virginia Avery
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBRX2A |
Book Description
Not since the days of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the trailblazers of the Marvel Universe, had someone so perfectly captured the intense mood, cosmic style and classic sense of adventure of Marvel's first family of super-heroes. Writer/artist John Byrne launched the Fantastic Four into realms where few creators before had dared to go. Now, the collection of his classic run continues! Featuring a four-part epic deep within the Negative Zone - and the death of... Reed Richards?! Plus: Galactus devours the Skrull homeworld, and the Fantastic Four say goodbye to the Baxter Building! Guest-starring the Avengers! Collects Fantastic Four #251-257 and Annual #17, Avengers #233, and Thing #2.
Customer Reviews:
More F.F. hijinks courtesy of John Byrne.......2006-04-29
This third collection of Fantastic Four stories produced by John Byrne in the 80's is as fun and engaging as the first two volumes, and then some. Byrne does some interesting things here, including a multi-part epic set in the weird "negative zone", a kind of anti-matter alternate universe to our own. What's different from the F.F.'s past trips to the negative zone is that instead of featuring one story and one villain during the negative zone excursion, Byrne gives us a series of stand-alone stories, some longer and some shorter, that all just happen to be set in the negative zone. Though some of the negative zone stories had a better set up than ultimate pay off, they were all worth the time to read them.
Another fun aspect of this volume is the increased interaction between the F.F. and other Marvel Comics heroes. In fact, an entire issue of "The Avengers" is included, showing how other Marvel heroes help out when the villainous alien Annihilus escapes from the negative zone and threatens Earth. I also liked the inclusion of Fantastic Four Annual #17, which is essentially a nice long horror story- and a good one, too- set in a small town in upstate New York.
Finally, some big developments with past F.F. antagonists Galactus and the Skrulls round out the volume and point the way to some especially meaty developments in volume four! So, all in all, if you enjoyed the past volumes of John Byrne's F.F. stories, you shouldn't hesitate to pick this one up, too.
Reproduction values not entirely up to par..........2006-02-14
The stories and artwork in this volume are classic, but I find it disappointing that a substantial chunk of the book suffers from poor, muddy reproduction of the linework. This is not a minor point since (1) Byrne's artwork is detailed, and easily suffers from dropouts and blotchiness if it isn't reproduced carefully and (2) the original publication dates of these comics wasn't so long ago that there isn't any reason not to put out a top quality job. Fortunately, only a portion of the reprints in this edition suffer from this problem, and the other volumes in this series have crisp reproduction throughout (as of this writing, Volume 5 is the most recent volume to be published).
John Byrne Fires Up the F.F. Again.......2005-03-07
The Fantastic Four used to proclaim themselves "The World's Greatest Comic Mag(azine)" Well under Byrne's helm it could rightfully be said so.
The trick of revitatalizing a franchise is to know what to take, what to emulate, what to improve upon and what to leave behind. Byrne is going full steam ahead.
Byrne builds on the characters without forgetting their roots. He touches on the great FF epics while telling new stories. It looks like a combo of Stan and Jack with a litle Larry Niven style science fiction thrown in.
The book starts out with a trip into the Negative Zone. Along the way they encounter many a science fiction twist while all the time trouble is brewing in the Baxter Building that brings in no less than the Avengers (another series Byrne worked on).
This book includes the famous "widescreen" version that had to be read sideways (but alas the free tattoo inserts are not reprinted).
With Annihilus and Galactus as villians and a case that leads right back to the second fantastic four adventure way back in F.F. #2 how could you go wrong??
Average customer rating:
- The Accuracy is Incredible
- An excellent converation piece
- A Feast for the Soul
- Wonderful
- Hilarious
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The Museum of Bad Art: Art Too Bad to Be Ignored
Tom Stankowicz , and
Marie Jackson
Manufacturer: Andrews and McMeel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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The Gallery of Regrettable Food
ASIN: 0836221850 |
Amazon.com
"The Museum of Bad Art is the only institution in the world dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition, and celebration of bad art in all its forms. MOBA, as it affectionately known to its supporters, presented its first exhibition in April 1994. The response, naturally, was overwhelming."
So writes Jerry Reilly, Executive Director of MOBA, and they have succeeded (if that's the proper word) in collecting (if that's the right word) some of the worst art of the Western world, from thrift stores, dumpsters, and garage sales. I vividly recall the launching of the MOBA website, and eagerly awaited the day when I could own a coffee-table book containing the worst of this bad--even execrable--art. And that time has come: everyone who I have shown this book has laughed aloud repeatedly.
Our advice to the artists: keep your day jobs. But who knows? Perhaps these artists will someday be regaled as the unsung geniuses of the late 20th Century.
Customer Reviews:
The Accuracy is Incredible.......2006-01-10
I have not only read the book, and enjoyed it thoroughly, but my local watering hole has been blessed to have several pieces from the collection on loan. There is nothing like sipping a beer with a clown and monkey (with "bette davis eyes") looking over your shoulder. I have many art books, and often find myself disappointed with the reproductions, but there is no worry here. They are just as bad in the book as they are in person.
If you are in the Brooklyn, NY area... Stop into The Pioneer Lounge (Bar?) in Red Hook, Brooklyn to see a few select pieces. I don't know how long the MOBA exhibit will last, but it is really worth seeing.
An excellent converation piece.......2000-07-06
I visited the MOBA at its cinema basement location in Massachusetts, and was enchanted. I am so glad that this book came out to help make the collection visible to a larger audience. Like bad poetry (see "Pegasus Descending" by Waldrop), bad art at its best is unbelievably hilarious. Some bad art is merely bad, but the utter sincerity with which the works in this collection were painted accounts for much laughter. If by some chance you can't tell why the thing is so bad, there are helpful titles and captions by the authors to explain it to you. My favorite is one called "Pals," in which a sad clown with five o'clock shadow is comforted by a monkey that has "Bette Davis Eyes!"
A Feast for the Soul.......2000-01-12
The Museum of Bad Art is a long overdue book, and I was so happy to finally get a copy. This is the one art exhibit I would gladly pay to see in person.
Wonderful.......1999-12-20
This is incomparable bathroom reading of the highest order. Do not read in public as your laughter will undoubtedly mark you as insane.
Hilarious.......1999-05-30
One of the funniest books I've ever seen. All my friends loved it- I'm an high school art teacher, and after years of perusing tedious, high concept modern dreck, Tom and Marie's book is just what the doctor ordered.My colleagues and I agreed that we've all done at least one artwork that should be in MOBA! There are so many bad pieces here, it's hard to say which is the worst ( or is the best?) Encore!
Average customer rating:
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Marilyn Monroe: A Never-Ending Dream
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
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Monroe, Marilyn
| ( M )
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ASIN: 0312011482 |
Average customer rating:
- Nothing special
- Wonderful New Discovery !
- MARILYN: A NEVER ENDING DREAM
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Marilyn: A Never Ending Dream
Luijters
Manufacturer: Plexus Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Actors & Actresses
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Monroe, Marilyn
| ( M )
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ASIN: 0859651452
Release Date: 2000-05-28 |
Book Description
Marilyn Monroe, perhaps more than any other actress, captured the hearts and the imagination of people the world over and remains an icon for each new generation. This sumptously illustrated record of Marilyn features the star at all stages of her life, incorporating a wealth of interview material, gathered together to build a kaleidoscopic picture of her character. Her own words combined with a complete filmography, discography and bibliography, make this a fascinating record of an actress who probably generated more interest and affection than any star of her generation.
Customer Reviews:
Nothing special.......2002-10-07
Well, if you've bought other books about Marilyn as I do, this one won't add much to your collection. I prefer to choose a book with relatively unseen pictures of Marilyn since we've all seen so much of her, and this book certainly fails in this regard. I also don't like the presentation of this book, the quality of the paper is bad, and there are too many words surrounding the pictures, making the pages look rather crowded...
Wonderful New Discovery !.......2002-07-06
I received this book as a gift and was surprised to see many photos of Marilyn i had never seen before. That was some feat for the author considering i am a die-hard Marilyn fan. Like many others i am always looking for new things to discover about the screen legend. This book delivers and is a must have for any Marilyn Monroe fan!
MARILYN: A NEVER ENDING DREAM.......2001-05-22
I found this book unique in it's presentation, from photos to Marilyn speaking to the reader through narration. It contains many photos that have not been previously published by other books about her. It should be added to any Marilyn Monroe lover/afficinado's collection. A really beautiful book!
Book Description
NEVER THE SAME AGAIN details the often tragic, always extraordinary life of Jesse Sublett—punk musician, novelist, survivor. After an out-of-town gig in the summer of 1976, the 20-year-old singer-songwriter returned to his Austin, Texas, bungalow to discover his girlfriend's gruesomely murdered body. The police focused on Jesse as the prime suspect—but he wound up solving the case for them. Recovering from the devastating loss of his girlfriend, he immersed himself in creative endeavors, founding the legendary punk band the Skunks, and later moving to Los Angeles to write screenplays and crime novels. After contracting a rare form of throat cancer, Jesse moved back to Austin to begin the hardest fight of his life. Here, Jesse candidly narrates his novel-worthy true story, a testament to art's power to heal the deepest wounds. The autobiography of famed punk band member and crime novelist Jesse Sublett, covering his first love's tragic murder, his music career, and his struggle with cancer.
Customer Reviews:
A Heart Wrenching Book.......2006-07-18
I was privileged to hear Jesse Sublett speak at ConMisterio in Austin. The way he presented himself and talked about his book intrigued me. A great-grandmother, I've never been particularly fond of rock music, but I bought the book and read it on my airplane ride back to California.
Mr. Sublett pours his heart and soul out in this book. It gave me some insight into the make-up of a musician. The way he writes about his music and how it makes him feel is revealing, especially to someone like me who had no prior knowledge.
However, the meat of the story is how the murder of his girlfriend affects his whole life, and how that devastating event also changes him and eventually even influences his choices during his life-threatening illness.
Once I began reading, I couldn't stop. I highly recommend Never the Same Again.
Marilyn Meredith, the author of Wishing Makes It So and Wingbeat
Life Imprinted with Death.......2004-08-19
It's gotta be a wild hopscotch between playing first wave punk in the late 70s and turning into a detective novelist for the next two decades. Yet, like his idol James Ellroy, Jesse Sublett's own life was imprinted with death. Sublett's talent lies not just in the vivid depiction of a nascent music scene in Austin, Texas but his deft juxtaposition of it as a man living with a dark memory and what might have been a bleak future. With wry humor and insight, Never The Same Again is in a category of its own in the rock book pantheon, an autiography turned up to 11.
detective work.......2004-08-19
Aside from his music, Jesse Sublett is known for his pulp detective novels. Here he turns his gaze inward, and exercises his detection skills to unravel his past and come to terms with an event which has troubled his sleeping and waking since its occurence. One of the few memoirs that I have read which treats the author's younger self with neither condesencion nor contempt: it captures his innocence even in "rebellion", and the lovely part is, that although he faced both the brutal murder of a lover and a deadly disease, that innocence has survived and blossomed into a new life.
A COURAGEOUS BOOK!!.......2004-07-27
Although marketed as "A Rock 'N' Roll Gothic," this remarkable book deserves a much wider readership. Jesse Sublett's very literate story should be required reading for everyone over the age of sixteen.
His autobiographical story is a cautionary tale in which he visits the darker sides of his life head-on with incredible courage--traveling back to the one tragic event that was to shape his entire life. How he deals (and doesn't deal) with this tragedy is what makes this book a compelling read. It is a survivor's story written in an honest and candid style.
This is not an easy book! Reader's may be confronted with their own demons along the way but Jesse's ultimately hopeful and positive message shines through--leading the way!
Family, friends, music, creativity, tears, laughter, and ultimately understanding meld together to form a powerful mix in this very human story of one man's journey.
Note:
I was first introduced to Jesse at an evening signing event in our bookshop in Glendale, CA. Both my wife and I were impressed with this tall thin man from Texas with such an easy manner. I might not have investigated this book had it not been for Jesse's reading that evening. Thank you, Jesse! Keep writing!
Grab a pack of smokes and maybe a beer for this read.......2004-07-14
The best compliment I can give Mr. Sublett is that after the first third of the book, I had to put the book down, go smoke a cigarette and then didnt pick the book back up for about 3 weeks. The events of his life are gripping, entertaining, funny and sad. Jesse defianlty has a story to tell, but in the same way, his writing reminds us that we ALL have a story to tell. That good and bad things happen to everyone. I really liked his writing style. Certain phrases and ideas really stuck in my head - lines like "her eye's didnt see me" and the tape loop running over and over. These are both events that I could identitfy with in my own life. I too was involved in a murder trial in which I was there with body before the police came. I really dont talk much about it because I feel like no one I know has been in that position and Jesse's words summed it all up. It made me revisit my past.
Overall, I highly recommend this book - especially to those who actually live in Austin. Reading about all the clubs that are now long gone and reading the back stories on people who play everyweekend here in Austin was great. The idea of John Dee Graham at 17 is a trip. Also I think struggling austin musicains will also find this book to be inspiring and an eye opener to how success in the music biz goes; the reality of it.
I loved how this book ended but what I think would be even cooler is when Dashille is older, that he writes a book from his prospective starting off where this book ends. Now that would be cool. Congrats Mr. Sublett on a great book. Much love to Lois and the most handsome man. I now will pass it on...
Average customer rating:
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Humpback Cow and Calf (Carving Sea Life)
Robert L. Buyer
Manufacturer: Stackpole Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
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Fun with Paper & Wood, Stones & Knives
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ASIN: 0811724654 |
Book Description
Now available in paperback, with an all new Reader's guide, The New York Times and Business Week bestseller Co-opetition revolutionized the game of business. With over 40,000 copies sold and now in its 9th printing, Co-opetition is a business strategy that goes beyond the old rules of competition and cooperation to combine the advantages of both. Co-opetition is a pioneering, high profit means of leveraging business relationships.
Intel, Nintendo, American Express, NutraSweet, American Airlines, and dozens of other companies have been using the strategies of co-opetition to change the game of business to their benefit. Formulating strategies based on game theory, authors Brandenburger and Nalebuff created a book that's insightful and instructive for managers eager to move their companies into a new mind set.
Customer Reviews:
Decent, old ideas in new packaging.......2007-08-29
You'd be better off working through Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter, there's nothing in here that isn't in Porter's book. This books is a little easier to read for the casual reader however and does have more examples to explain the topics.
A classic, an introduction to negotiation and its links to game theory and business strategy.......2007-07-17
The book starts showing that business is not always the adversarial relationship that is usually presented in many strategy books. The authors contend that business is war and peace at the same time, hence the name: cooperation and competition contract to co-opetition.
The book develops further the well known five-forces analysis to create the value net, and show that a company is interested in the well-being of some of the other market participants -a typical example is the DVD player makers and the movie producers, the more records are on offer the more DVD players are available, which makes more interesting to keep publishing records. Game theory is introduced as the method to link competition and cooperation opening the second part of the book, which shows a structured method how to approach and improve your position in negotiations.
The method follows the acronym PARTS, which stands for:
-Players, who profits from taking part in a negotiation.
-Added-values, what are you and other players bringing to the negotiation.
-Rules, how can you improve contracts.
-Tactics, how perceptions influence the results and how you can change it.
-Scope, are there other issues or negotiations that can be linked to the negotiation.
Every point is well developed linking it to the points mentioned earlier, or the idea of the value net, and with plenty of examples from real life.
If you want to read a basic book on negotiation this is a great choice.
Insightfull.......2007-01-09
It is book to be re-readed and "worked" because it is thorough and with lots of ideas that transform in some way the way we should see competition and the interaction of a company with the market, its competitors, etc....
Its clear for all that the world is not so simple as us and the rest that compete with us but the authors books elaborate a framework for better understanding of the market complexity.
Enrique.
Not a book to skim through.......2006-10-20
I took Co-opetition with me to a coast-to-coast flight hoping to start practicing a fast reading method. Brad Feld explained on his blog how he succeeds to read 8(!) books a week: "(a) no TV, (b) no kids, (c) four to six hours a night of reading, and (d) the willingness / ability to skim when things are dull". So I thought to try the method with Co-opetition and to complete it on my way from Atlanta to Palo Alto. From all the requirements only the willingness/ability to skim wasn't provided upfront. After the first dozen of pages I understood that that's not a skim-through book.
Adam and Barry made a book sharing principles of strategy, tactics, and planning carrying away your attention by clear reasoning, crystal logic, plain English, and bright examples. The book can takes it place on one's shelf next to "Good to great", "Marketing warfare", and the books of Jeoffrey Moore but unlike the latter doesn't goo too far in the academic direction. Quite the contrary, it oozes real, top brand examples, spending 90% of the text describing the stories of failure and success and only 10% devoting to formulating principles and recapping the arguments.
The book consists of two parts: the game of business and the PARTS of strategy.
The first part (about 1/3 of the book) introduces the concept of the value net reminding in a certain way Porter's five forces. The authors present a square graph with the business placed in the crossing of the diagonals and customers/suppliers and competitors/complementers taking the opposite corners of the square. The book explains the theory of balanced forces and promotes principles and approaches symmetrically applicable to the corners of the net.
The war/piece preamble breaks the concept of known in advance friends and foes. Introducing multiple perspectives the authors claim that in the modern business world everything should be viewed through the prism of the net and simple definitions don't work anymore.
The PARTS (Players, Added value, Rules, Tactics, and Scope) are the components describing the game and depending on particular circumstances and targets the components have to be re-evaluated and re-mapped.
After introducing the concept the authors in the rest of the book religiously describe each of the components bringing tens of examples following and breaking the principles (and leading to success or failure correspondingly. Bright and bold marketing strategies of great companies leading to win-win situations with competitors, customers, suppliers, and complementers captivate you and don't let skim over. For every case of success the book brings a counter-example of failure as well cementing the principle and equally teaching and convincing the reader.
Among many other topics particular attention is devoted to such as how to manage negotiations, how to deal with perceptions, how to plan prices and avoid wars, how to establish and change rules, which tactics to apply, and how to analyze scopes.
Many new ideas flooded by almost detective business examples preclude me from skimming a paragraph in the book. A great pace with which the book expounding the matter, vivid examples, clear language, and strong (at times shocking) ideas make this book a solid must for everybody who deals with building, positioning, and rolling out products or services. Highly recommended!
co-opetition is fascinating, innovative and practical.......2006-08-09
I was lucky enough to read this book while being taught Game Theory & Business Strategy by Adam Brandenburger, who is unequivocally one of the best Professors I've had in B-school.
To the criticisms of this book that it does not include the theoretical aspects of game theory and modeling, that may be true, but the purpose is not necessarily theory but practical application. When I read this book, I was also in the process of reading and learning about specific game theory and actual games, so it tied together well. If that is what you are looking for, I recommend this approach.
In terms of what you will get: many "A-ha!" moments with regard to analyzing a competitive situation and how to take advantage of the opportunity available, including changing the game and learning who is really in a position of power.
A must read for anyone interested in learning how to leverage their position in the game of business strategy!
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