Book Description
Now in a more affordable format for students, this stimulating hands-on course in creative thinking gets right down to specific design problems and offers viable solutions to them.
Nineteen challenging assignments and over one thousand pieces of solution art executed by the authors' students are presented. Each visual problem shows the actual assignment sheet given to the students and includes an analysis of the problem's underlying intent, addressing principles such as framal reference, negative-positive relationships, cropping techniques, and other important issues.
Customer Reviews:
Richard Wilde and Visual Literacy.......2007-10-01
As a sophomore advertising student in Richard's "Visual Literacy" class at SVA, I learned to see the hidden beauty of... just about everything. The assignments included were both artistically and intellectually stimulating; one project that I don't believe is included in the book was "Point of View," in which he asks you to show one object from six different perspectives (not from different views, more from say... a mouse's perspective, your mother's perspective, the perspective of a giant). It was the perfect blend of creating and thinking, both outside of the box. Buy this book. Use this book. It is great for creative block, and more fun than kindergarten!
The book is great.......2007-09-03
but the shipping sucked!!!
The delivery time was great.
However, you guys sent it to the billing address... not the delivery address. So I was late on an assignment for class.
Wonderful Book.......2007-08-23
I bought this book to help me teach a graphic design course to high school students and found that it's visual problems were very useful and interesting. It approaches visual communication and literacy from a direction I have not seen before. The students were really forced to think and be creative, and the other art teachers took notice. I would also recommend this to those not interested in graphic design because the principles in the book can be applied in other media as well.
Novel idea but flawed by its limited content.......2006-01-13
Before buying this book you have to realise this is merely an exercise book. The amount of explanation or theory is extremely limited. And neither they elaborate on the student examples they chose for their book. Nor do they explain why some solutions might be better than others. The exercises itself could be more challenging, they really seem to be aimed at first year students. You will have to buy at least a book on graphic design principles/theory to put the exercises in this book into the right context. Nothing wrong with that, but they 'forgot' to mention all that on the back cover, so to speak.
It's a nice idea, but its execution is flawed and way too limited to be the stroke of genious that some reviewers want you to believe.
2D Foundations Great Asignments.......2005-10-03
This book is full of amazing and interesting projects and examples of student work, a must have for any design teacher.
Book Description
Produce the kind of images that would otherwise demand a professional photographer or darkroom—or both. Through a series of tutorial projects, author Julie Adair King shows readers how to light shots, choose the right camera settings, use camera accessories and photographic software, and much more. You’ll learn step-by-step to use your existing digital camera for professional results. Set up a home studio, create a 360-degree panoramic image, learn low light and action photography, work in black and white, and adopt many other professional techniques.
Customer Reviews:
Has so much potential.......2007-05-21
This book does have great information! There is no doubt about that. If you are a beginnner to digital, this would not be a bad book to start with.
With that said, I wish the book had been set up better. It is all black and white which doesn't work well when you are trying to see the difference between various settings. In the middle of the book is a colored section with the example photos in full color, but flipping to that all the time is a true pain in the bum!
I did return this book back to Amazon due to my disappointment.
For THE BEST book on producing high quality images, I would recommend Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.
Great book for review and tips.......2007-04-13
It's a great book for people just getting into Digital Photography or switching from film to digital. She explains things very well. I like that she gives her own real life examples and tips on how the pros do it. She also gives you ways to save on equipment.
This book allowed me to review things that I learned and have forgotten and at the same time gave me new ideas.
SO, SO.......2006-04-09
It sits on my shelf more than I read it David Busch books are way better than this one.
Good General Text.......2006-03-11
Like so many authors, this one tries to cover every aspect of the subject. In so doing, she tends to give subjects I am especially interested in short shrift. But, it is the finest book I have seen on this emerging subject of digital photography. I was not disappointed.
What a great book!.......2006-03-07
Julie is the author of Digital Photography for Dummies, and she really knows her stuff. If you're beyond the dummy stage and want to learn more, this is the place to start.
Book Description
Marketing experts predict that by 2009, nearly 90% of all cell phones will contain a camera, as manufacturers race to create cheaper, easier-to-use models with more sophisticated cameras, more pixels, flash units and even multiple lenses. Already revolutionizing audiovisual communication, it's a trend that will only grow more explosively—and who better than National Geographic to create a how-to book aimed directly at the millions who carry a camera phone everywhere and want to make the most of it?
Created by two top professionals, this generously illustrated nuts-and-bolts guide is the first of its kind to treat these units as genuine cameras instead of novelties, and the only one to include a full-color photo-essay demonstrating the full capabilities of the latest camera phones. In five easy-to-read chapters, the book explains how to choose good equipment; take better pictures; and store, print and send the best images. Readers will find practical tips on preventing or repairing water damage, protecting easily-scratched lenses inside pockets and purses, and retrieving accidentally-erased images. They'll also learn to access the events, advice, and opportunities of the burgeoning camera phone community, from film festivals to news organizations, moblogs, and more.
Featuring the technical savvy of CNet.com's Aimee Baldridge and the creative skill of National Geographic photographer Robert Clark, a camera phone pioneer, this compact yet comprehensive reference combines up-to-the-minute expertise with superb examples, at an inexpensive price that makes it a perfect gift book—or an ideal impulse buy.
Customer Reviews:
Not really worth it........2007-09-21
Very short book with little actual advice on how to shoot good cell phone pictures. Most of the information is available for free online. Not worth the money.
Power packed with information........2007-09-21
Dont be deceived by the size of this book. It is information packed and written in a concise brief manner that makes it an easy afternoon read. Almost everything you ever need to know about how to fully exploit your camera phone is in this book. It contains lots of URLs to websites that will enhance your photo taking. This is by far the best book I have read. Reading the book is fast. But researching the websites and trying out the new things will take a life time.
Book Delivers.......2007-09-08
Originally saw this book in Wired . It showed me how to get the most out of my camera phone, and got me to look into a higher res camera phone. If I could, I'd give it 4.5 stars, It fails to get 5 stars because it's a bit on the short side.
Customer Reviews:
Androgenized artists can't carry a "toon".......2002-08-26
The "Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year" series has been around for at least 30 years now.
I know this because I actually remember the 1972 and 1973 editions. The differences between those editions and this one show how far the art of political satire has declined and how far the Matriarchy has progressed.
We're never told what standard is used to rate a particular cartoon as among the "best" of the year, and it's fairly safe to say that it's purely based on the subjective preference of the editor, Charles Brooks. And this much has to be said for him - he includes cartoons from a number of perspectives but leaves out left-wing heavy hitters such as Conrad, Trudeau, and the recently deceased Herblock (did they hit him in the head with a shovel to make sure?). This is important for balance, simply because there are no right-wing heavy hitters among political cartoonists to even the score.
For the most part, the cartoons included in all collections have been from relatively obscure contributors - both left and right. This is all to the good.
But this year's edition was just a lot of pap. For one thing, Gary Condit had been the big story before September 11. Where are the Condit cartoons?
Of course, the biggest story in 2001 turned out to be the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. So the "best" cartoons mostly repeat conventional sentiment - what a tragedy, but we're strong and united now so we'll get the bastards, blah blah blah.
How many cartoons were drawn which showed the Statue of Liberty, Uncle Sam, and the American Eagle alternatively weeping, praying, retaliating etc. etc.? What a self-replicating show of pompous victimologistic self-assuming virtue!
Incisive masculine wit is disappearing from the modern political cartoon, and cartoons that are supposed to make you EMOTE without THINKING have become the rule.
Get a load of the contribution from Richard Wallmeyer of the Long Beach Press Telegram about "anti-bully" legislation. In the penultimate panel, one kid suggests that people just live by the Golden Rule instead of passing a law and in the last panel, his friend responds by reminding him that religion isn't allowed in public schools.
That's it. No wit; no nuance; no attempt to make the reader THINK about what the cartoonist is trying to say. No symbolism even. Wallmeyer tells you straight out what you should believe.
And Jeff Parker's post-September 11 contribution from Florida Today showing two Floridians wearing "I Love NY" paraphernalia and agreeing between themselves that "We are all New Yorkers now".
No biting masculine wit, no nuance, no intellect, no symbolism. And suck a lozenge, Jeff Parker. All of the terrorists attacks in the world won't turn the average New Yorker into a human being, any more than the 1989 earthquake could do so for the average San Franciscan. Parker is just engaging in cheap sentiment masquerading as patriotism.
The decline in quality of political cartoons stems from the fact that as women continue to make war on men and as the Matriarchy's grip becomes more crushing, male cartoonists have become softer and more effeminate (this is happening in other settings too, obviously).
And more women have become political cartoonists. There's an Ann Telnaes cartoon in which Joseph Lieberman's statement at Notre Dame that public morality should be based on faith is juxtaposed against a picture of Moslem women wearing veils.
Even assuming that it's BAD for women to hide their features, is it really accurate to suppose that a faith-based public morality would require an imposition of the burqua? No more than it would require baptism or a kosher diet but in a feminized world, the reader is not supposed to think but to emote, emote, emote.
Of course, as anyone who has seen her recurring appearances on C-SPAN knows, as a political cartoonist, Ann Telnaes is one hot babe whose face definitely should NOT be covered. But her cartoons would only be improved by the camouflage that a veil would provide. They are hardly worthy of inclusion among the country's "best".
And the feminization of the American political cartoon isn't just limited to matters of style.
Resistance to the Matriarchy has become unthinkable. In the 1973 edition, there is an entire section devoted to "Women's Lib", most of the contributions deliciously skewering the feminazis.
In one uproarious example, a man is standing at the altar looking apprehensive while hooked in his arm is his "bride", a man in drag. The preacher performing the "marriage" ceremony asks the "groom", "Do you, John, promise to love, honor and obey the Equal Rights Amendment?"
Go try to find a cartoon like that today! We've come a long way from when Thomas Nast cartoons afflicted and ultimately defeated party bosses such as Bill Tweed. Today's feminist bosses have no reason to moan, "Stop them damned pictures!" The people drawing them come from the same New Class that their masters do.
So where gender issues are concerned, the drawing board cult members bow their collective heads in deference to the "women are strong and good; men are weak and bad and deserving of punishment" party line. The 2002 edition shows an androgenized Statue of Liberty punching a Taliban member in the face in a display of women's "rights" (get it? She`ll throw her "left" at him next).
The Evil Rights Amendment might not have been enacted, but feminism has still become the official state religion of both left and right. As such, it stifles masculine energy, independence, and creativity. These can only return when and if a younger generation of males rebels against the imposition of public morality in the name of this particular faith.
Until then, the quality of written protest, in the form of political animation, can be expected to continuously decline. But I wonder what the 2032 edition of "Best Editorial Cartoons" will look like.
Focuses on concerns over terrorism and political actions.......2002-06-05
Leading editorial cartoonists are presented in a volume which focuses on concerns over terrorism and political actions. Best Editorial Cartoons Of The Year, 2002 Edition packs in popular black and white editorials that reflect the major concerns of the Year 2001: any that wants a record of events and opinions will find Best Editorial Cartoons Of The Year, 2002 Edition intriguing and fun.
Customer Reviews:
Too much competition ..........2001-08-16
The two central events pictured in the editorial cartoons of 2000 were the presidential campaign and the Florida ballot count. Both were so ... cartoon-like affairs that they didn't really need any mare drawings. So (because of the competition) the inspiration was not so great, but still in this book one finds the best that could be drawn ...
From the cartoonists point of view a golden age ended with Bill Clinton's second term. What a ... cartoon!
Book Description
Who could have guessed that the Queen of Perpetual Perfection was headed for a fall? Connor and Downey, the wise guys who brought the civilized world Is Martha Stuart Living?, naturally. Long before Martha Stewart's ImClone troubles made the front pages, the humor duo had started spoofing it up in anticipation of her own previously-announced-but-now-postponed autobiography, Marth, Really and Truly. Now, in Martha, Really and Cruelly, the best-selling humorists deliver their own version of events leading up to the scandal. "Ours is exactly like hers" quips Connor. "Okay, maybe not exactly, but pretty darn ... well not even close, I guess. Never mind." From opening chapters on "Ancestors" and "Infancy," cunning, greed, and treachery stalk this faux autobiography. Written in "Martha's" voice, the book reveals early incidents of unethical playing-house tactics, questionable Kool-Aid stand practices, highly suspect home ec grades, and devious dating strategies. And that's before she's out of her teens! If anyone can take uncannily accurate aim at the Dominatrix of Domesticity, it's the errant Irishmen. Their breakout national best-seller Is Martha Stewart Living? was followed by the best-selling Martha Stuart's Better Than You At Entertaining and Martha Stuart's Excruciatingly Perfect Weddings. Together, the parodies have sold more than 1.2 million copies to date and continue to sell year after yet. According to the authors, their latest effort is "the fourth in the Martha parody trilogy." As for Martha's likely reaction to the new work? "It's a bad thing." no doubt. In the past, she has complained about Connor and Downey's relentless attention to her details. "When is it going to stop?" she whined to one television interviewer. "Not anytime in the foreseeable future," replies Connor, the smaller half of the comedy team, who has a beef of his own. "What really burns my creme brulee," he gripes, "is that every time we write a parody, she comes out with another book." Lauded by Publisher's Weekly for their hilarious parodies, Connor and Downey fill their latest effort with hilarious black-and-white and color photographs from Martha's "family" album. It all adds up to a scandalously successful package that will have strong potential as both a front and backlist winner.
Average customer rating:
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Je suis un imposteur
Patrice Leconte
Manufacturer: Flammarion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
 Performing Arts
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General
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French
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ASIN: 2080676849 |
Average customer rating:
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Patrice Leconte (French Film Directors)
Lisa Downing
Manufacturer: Manchester University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Direction & Production
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
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General
| Movies
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History & Criticism
| Movies
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General
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ASIN: 0719064244
Release Date: 2005-04-14 |
Book Description
Lisa Downing's comprehensive study of the films of Patrice Leconte traces lines of continuity and revision through a body of apparently disparate films whose "messages" often appear both contradictory and controversial. Pursuing a close reading of the recurrent themes, styles, intertexts and techniques which structure Leconte's filmmaking, Downing re-evaluates Leconte's status as an enigmatic artist offering complex and paradoxical commentary on contemporary questions of sexuality, ethics and identity. This book is the first full-length critical work in English on Leconte's cinema. It provides essential reading for both enthusiasts of French cinema and for those fascinated by the relationship between popular culture and theory.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from National Catholic Reporter, published by Thomson Gale on August 31, 2007. The length of the article is 1075 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: Beat the summer doldrums: 'The Simpsons Movie' and 'My Best Friend' provide plenty of laughs.(MOVIES)(Movie review)
Author: Joseph Cunneen
Publication:
National Catholic Reporter (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 31, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 43
Issue: 35
Page: 16(1)
Article Type: Movie review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA) on March 4, 2001. The length of the article is 1311 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: La viuda de Saint-Pierre.(TT: The Widow of Saint-Pierre.)(Reseña)
Publication:
Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 4, 2001
Publisher: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
Page: 70
Article Type: Reseña
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Clinical Psychiatry News, published by International Medical News Group on October 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1720 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: Lovesick: the quirky romances of Patrice Leconte.(REEL LIFE)(Intimate Strangers)(Movie Review)
Author: Roland Atkinson
Publication:
Clinical Psychiatry News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2004
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 32
Issue: 10
Page: 11(1)
Article Type: Movie Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Cineaste, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2007. The length of the article is 6090 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: Making friends the hard way: an interview with Patrice Leconte.(Interview)
Author: Cynthia Lucia
Publication:
Cineaste (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 32
Issue: 4
Page: 6(6)
Article Type: Interview
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Siempre!, published by Edicional Siempre on May 1, 1997. The length of the article is 551 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: Ridículo.(TT: Ridicule)
Author: Mario Saavedra
Publication:
Siempre! (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 1997
Publisher: Edicional Siempre
Volume: v43
Issue: n2289
Page: p77(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Cineaste, published by Cineaste Publishers, Inc. on September 22, 2004. The length of the article is 6347 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: Suggestive intimacies: an interview with Patrice Leconte.(Interview)
Author: Cynthia Lucia
Publication:
Cineaste (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2004
Publisher: Cineaste Publishers, Inc.
Volume: 29
Issue: 4
Page: 8(6)
Article Type: Interview
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from National Catholic Reporter, published by National Catholic Reporter on May 16, 2003. The length of the article is 1527 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: Underdog stories: spirited humor livens films about the down-and-out. (Movies).(The Man Without a Past)(Movie Review) (movie review)
Author: Joseph Cunneen
Publication:
National Catholic Reporter (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 16, 2003
Publisher: National Catholic Reporter
Volume: 39
Issue: 28
Page: 16(1)
Article Type: Movie Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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Brecht-Weill Song Album: for Voice and Piano
Manufacturer: Universal Edition
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Classical
| Musical Genres
| Music
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Blues
| Musical Genres
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Songbooks
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ASIN: 3702421297 |
Book Description
10 songs, including: Alabama Song * Bilbao Song * Moritat * Seerauberjenny * and more.
Book Description
Clear instructions for 101 tricks and problems, many based on important math principles. Calculations have been concealed; tricks are carefully streamlined for quick understanding and flawless performance. Master such number phenomena as Lightning Calculations, Giant Memory, Magic Squares, nearly 100 more.
Customer Reviews:
Look smart! - Required reading for math teachers........2007-08-30
This book is a fabulous value for the money. One of the magic square stunts can be mastered in about an hour and will make people think your a genious.
If you work with kids in any capacity, the tricks in this book are a wonderful way to bring math to life for them.
Gotta have it!.......1999-05-11
If you see a book written by Karl Fulves on magic that has the words Self-Working in the title then buy it. There is a wealth of knowledge in each of these books. -Diamond Jim Tyler
Book Description
Getting Started in annuities
One of the most popular retirement investment options, annuities are also among the most difficult to comprehend. This handy volume provides an in-depth, easy-to-understand look at these complex instruments, revealing exactly what they are, how they work, and what advantages they have over other investment vehicles. Along with performance tables, sample portfolios, and a helpful Q & A section, you'll find up-to-date details on tax law changes, as well as complete information on:
Customer Reviews:
An acceptable primer on annuities.......2007-04-29
I wanted to do some research on variable annuities, and I was surprised to find very few books on the subject.
I found Williamson's writing style acceptable, but not really enjoyable to read.
I found this book informative, with some attention to the pros and cons of annuities, but with some major issues.
When I first read the author's example of two investors (one invests $1M in a variable annuity and the other invests $1M in a regular stock mutual fund), my gut said something was wrong with his math. On page 65, he runs through these 2 cases and pronounces the variable annuity man the big winner over the regular mutual fund investor....$11M to $6.829 after 24 years.
The author mentions a 15% pretax rate of return and an average 12% return. From what I can tell he didn't use either number in his calculations.
My analysis of his example goes like this....
For the ordinary mutual fund investor to end up with $6.829M after taxes in 24 years, this gives an after tax return of 8.334% (using compound interest formula of FV = PV x (1+i)^n). This 8.334% after tax return equates to a pre-tax return of 12.5% if the investor is in the 33% marginal tax bracket. Note that my calculated return of 12.5% doesn't match the author's 12% or 15% numbers at all.
The variable annuity man invests $1M at a pre-tax rate of 12.5% for 24 years which gives $16.891M. The variable annuity man nets $11.26M after being taxed at a 33% marginal tax rate.
My first complaint is that the author used the wrong inputs for his model. My second complaint is that this example portrays an inaccurate picture of variable annuities. The author assumes 0% expense ratios for both the annuity investor and regular mutual fund investor. He points out correctly elsewhere in his book the average expense ratio of variable annuities is about 2.0%, yet he chose 0% expense rate for variable annuities. The average mutual fund expense ratio is about 1.38% with index funds from Vanguard at only 0.18% expense ratio. My third complaint is the author correctly applied an ordinary income tax rate of 33% to the variable annuity, but incorrectly applied the same 33% to the mutual fund investor. In 2007, the long term capital gains rate is only 15% and not 33%.
If we redo the author's example using a 2% expense ratio for the variable annuity man, a 0% expense ratio for the mutual fund investor (he uses Vanguard's stock index fund with 0.18% expense ratio), and a 15% capital gains rate to the regular mutual fund investor.....then the story reverses. The regular mutual fund man wins with $11.28M after taxes compared to the variable annuity man's 7.32M!
I was also very disappointed to see the author did not promote single payment immediate annuities as important tools in retirement portfolios. Many studies have been done which show that immediate annuities are advantageous to investors because they help prevent investors from outliving their money. The reason for missing this advantage of immediate annuities may be the book publication date of 1999. A lot of the key research papers on using immediate annuities in retirement portfolios did not start until around 2001 (Milevsky's papers).
I did know that most states guarantee annuities in the event the insurance company declares bankruptcy. I thought the limit was $100,000 per insurance company, but the author says 80% or $100,000....whatever is less......of the annuity is paid by the state. This state insurance guarantee only applies to fixed annuities because your money is mixed with other people's money. In variable annuities, your money is kept separate and you own the underlying investments within the annuity.
I found some of the author's logic a little ironic, or perverse, depending on how you look at it. Many studies (e.g. Dalbar) have found that investors only achieve a fraction of the stock markets return.......due to switching mutual funds in an attempt to chase the winners. The author contends that an investor would be better off in a variable annuity indexed to the S&P 500 or Wilshire 5000 because they will be assured of getting at least the general stock market return. I found this an odd way to promote the use of stock index funds.
One thing you realize reading this book is how complex variable annuities are. They are also laden with fees of all types. Uneducated investors have no chance of ever understanding or being capable of comparing variable annuities.
The general idea of variable annuities is that their tax free compounding advantage out-weighs their disadvantages of lower returns (2.0% compared to 1.38% expense ratios) and lower after-tax returns (33% marginal rate for annuities, 15% long term capital gains) when compared to taxable mutual funds.
In today's relatively low tax world, with high variable annuity expense ratios, I'm hard pressed to see where variable annuities make economic sense compared to conventional stock and bond mutual funds.
Over-all an acceptable primer on annuities.
I would suggest companion books to supplement this book including:
Should Immediate Annuities be a Tool in Your Retirement Planning Toolbox?
Who Wins the Variable Annuity Versus Mutual Fund Battle?
The Richest Man in Babylon
Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor
The Millionaire Next Door
The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
Index Mutual Funds: How to Simplify Your Financial Life and Beat the Pro's
The Coffeehouse Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get On With Your Life
The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing.
Well informed discussing the pros and cons of annuities.......2007-01-02
This was a very well written book covering everything a novice would want to know about investing in annuities. However, I would have liked to see a direct comparison of an employer sponsored 401k to a variable annuity. Overall, I would not invest in an annuity due to the complex rules and regulations coupled with their ongoing high fees. I would rather put my money into a Roth IRA, Traditional IRA and/or 401K.
getting started in annuities.......2005-10-10
I was looking more for a annuity selling system. Please refer books in this area. Thank you.
Frank X. Netter
A little helpful, but very poorly written.......2005-08-26
If what the author says is true, I despair of ever really learning about annuities. He claims that, as of the writing of this book, there have been four books on annuities, and he's written three of them. Ugh.
First, the positive, because there's almost always something positive. The green ink they used for the print is very easy on the eyes. And I did manage to learn a little about the very confusing world of annuities.
But that's about it for the positive. The book was not very clearly written or organized. Some sections didn't seem to pertain to the chapter title. The examples were mostly un-helpful. So to make up for his lack of clarity, the author resorted to repetition, which only made matters worse.
The other thing that bothered me was how gung-ho the author was about annuities. I almost felt like I was reading a sales pitch rather than an educational book.
Maybe annuities really are so confusing that no one can make them clear. If that's the case, then maybe this author shouldn't have even bothered. (He probably shouldn't have bothered regardless, because he's hopeless as a writer.) You might get something from this book, but I'd advise against actually buying it.
Incorrect Information - PLEASE NOTE.......2000-02-19
Gordon Williamson states that you can receive a FREE copy of Lipper Inc.'s Variable Insurance Products Performance Analysis Survey. That is not accurate. As this guide is expensive to produce and Lipper distibutes it on a paid subscription basis, it is impossible to make free copies available to readers of this book.
Book Description
Designed as a tool for the bank investment sales representative to communicate with customers, The Bank Customer's Guide to Safe & Smart Investing is the perfect resource to help build and strengthen relationships with bank customers. This guide promotes the use of bank-based retail investment sales programs as well as builds the credibility of the trustworthy, knowledgeable, professional providers of investments and financial advice. It is designed for banks to educate customers on the basics of investing. This valuable guide offers bank customers: A step-by-step program to determine personal saving and investing needs; easy-to-understand descriptions of investment products, with emphasis on packaged products; help on how to use investments with the assistance, of their bank representative, and how and where to combine them with FDIC-insured bank accounts; basic investment strategies, such as asset allocation, and how to work with their investment representatve to structure their investment and savings portfolio.
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Books Index
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