Book Description
This book tells the story of credit cards around the world: why people use them, the effects on the economies of the nations where they prevail, why they are used so differently around the world, and what should be done to respond to the problems they cause. It includes a wealth of data from around the world, fascinating narratives about the differences from country to country, and penetrating analyses of policies that might stem misuse of cards.
Book Description
Charging Ahead foretells the world's next great energy transformation: the shift to clean, renewable energy sources. It shows how renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electric vehicles, when used together, can give us back a clean environment and create a healthy, sustainable economy. In chronicling this extraordinary technological revolution, John J. Berger provides a fascinating look at the new industries that will make it possible, and the trillion-dollar benefits Americans can enjoy by choosing pollution-free energy and transportation.
Customer Reviews:
Say Goodbye to Fossil Fuels.......2000-10-26
The writing style was clear and captivating, and the ideas were well supported by a wealth of research. Be sure you understand however that the book is focused on the business of renewable energy and less on the technology and policy aspects. Most of the book is comprised of case stories which follow businesses through their struggle to make renewable energy profitable and competitive with fossil fuels. You will get an intimate portrait of the ups and downs of businesses in the industry and the personalities behind them. Unfortunately, the minutia of each step along a business's road to success or failure can become less than interesting. The book was largely a history of business dealings in the industry and I was looking for something which gave more attention to the prospect of renewables in the future and how renewables can overcome the tiresome use of fossil fuels.
A informative look into renewable energies technology........1999-09-16
A very interesting book.If you are interested in solar,wind,biomass and other clean energy sources then this is the book for you.This book takes you from past to present with insights on the people who are making this field happen.It also tells you about their business strategies and practices.It also gives detailed information about where this particular technology is headed with respects to the dropping manufacturing costs and a host of other things.If you choose only one book on this subject,MAKE SURE IT IS THIS ONE!enjoy.
Average customer rating:
- Insight into why we are not all driving electric cars
- Charging Ahead is one for the top shelf
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Charging Ahead
Joe Sherman
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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ASIN: 0195094794 |
Book Description
Charging Ahead is a classic tale of perseverance against daunting odds in the pursuit of a personal dream--and an environmental revolution. You'd have to be a fool to market a consumer electric car, let alone challenge the big three auto makers with a little start up company. But MIT graduate James Worden, with his girlfriend and a handful of audacious engineers, did both and he's well on his way to success. In this marvelous narrative, business writer Joe Sherman vividly describes how Worden and his team built the world's most advanced EV (electric vehicle), the Sunrise. Combining insightful biography with the best of science and business writing, Sherman captures not only Worden's own gripping story, but also the technical challenge of designing an electric car in an age of anxiety over the environment. He depicts Worden's fascination with EVs from childhood (he built his award winning first electric car in high school), tracing it through his monomaniacal career at MIT, where he organized a student team that built EVs for races worldwide, to the founding of Solectria, a company committed to building a consumer electric car. Sherman shows how, despite all the obstacles, Solectria eventually lined up such strategic partners as the Pentagon on its way to producing the Sunrise a lightweight, all-composite, high tech commuter car. The Sunrise would triumph over rivals from the Big Three in the 7th American Tour de Sol, and later travel from Boston to New York on a single battery charge. Charging Ahead is an engaging story of James Worden's struggle to succeed with idealism, energy, and technological superiority against seemingly impossible odds.
Customer Reviews:
Insight into why we are not all driving electric cars.......2000-08-26
Joe Sherman has done justice to the fact that we can't always get what we need. He hot only tells the story of James Worden and MIT but delves into the picture of the world oil producers, and the big three, as partners in making things the way they are... for good or ill, is left up to you to determine. Thought prvoking and a fast read, it will leave you with a lot of questions to pursue if you dare, and asking why can't I buy one!
Charging Ahead is one for the top shelf.......2000-03-29
This book beautifly outline the trials and tribulations of one of the most advanced solar car companies. Serious information and humor are inter-twined to make this book quick reading and very informative.
Product Description
Shows how renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, & electric vehicles, when used together, can sustain a healthy economy & give us back a clean environment. Projects an inspiring yet realistic vision of this energy future & profiles the leading energy scientists, engineers, & entrepreneurs creating the solar, wind, geothermal, electric vehicle, & biomass ind. that will change our world. Appraises current policies that have kept us reliant on oil, coal, uranium, & gas resources that pollute the atmosphere, exhaust our economy, & will one day become too expensive. Captures the excitement of creating new industries & reveals the foot-dragging of the government & fossil-fuel giants
Product Description
This is a AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSONAFB OH report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A540383. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: The Federal Government implemented broad-based and tumultuous acquisition reform throughout the 1990s. Rapid changes affected almost every aspect of federal procurement law, policy, and practice. As agencies and procurement professionals continue implementation of the various changes imposed upon the procurement system by both the Congress and the President, a cumulative assessment of the reform era remains premature. Many acquisition reform initiatives still lack traction. However, at least one reform, responsible for dramatically altering the Government's purchasing behavior, merits prompt attention and examination. Surprisingly, this reform is unrelated to the Government's largest or most complex purchases of supplies, services, or construction. Rather, this government-wide behavioral sea change derives from a common-sense solution to an age-old problem: simplifying the acquisition process for Government's high volume of small-dollar buying. Throughout the last decade, primarily at the behest of Vice President Gore's Performance Review, the Government embraced a concerted effort to reform small-dollar purchasing by integrating the familiar plastic charge card into the procurement process. While this effort may seem too elementary to be declared revolutionary the government charge card, now better known as the government purchase card, has proven to be one of the most significant and far reaching acquisition reform initiatives of the 1990s. These convenient plastic cards, the ubiquitous tool of consumers around the globe, have revolutionized the way the U.S.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Rural Telecommunications, published by National Telephone Cooperative Association on January 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1422 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: Charging Ahead in a New Age of Uncertainty. (Federal Forum).
Author: Tom Wacker
Publication:
Rural Telecommunications (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2002
Publisher: National Telephone Cooperative Association
Volume: 21
Issue: 1
Page: 56(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Business Forum, published by California State University, Los Angeles on March 22, 1997. The length of the article is 1394 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.
From the supplier: Edison International launched Edison EV to promote and develop services for electric vehicles. Edison EV focuses on the development of public charging stations for electric vehicles. Businesses responded to Edison EV's efforts by hosting public charging stations. It has also entered a strategic alliance with Saturn automobile retailers to provide charging services for General Motor's EV and has secured an exclusive distribution agreement for the Delco inductive charger.
Citation Details
Title: Charging ahead with electric vehicles.
Author: Diane O. Wittenberg
Publication:
Business Forum (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1997
Publisher: California State University, Los Angeles
Volume: v22
Issue: n2-3
Page: p39(4)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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Charging ahead. (Kauai Electric rewires operations)(includes related article): An article from: Hawaii Business
Susan Hooper
Manufacturer: Hawaii Business Publishing Co.
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ASIN: B00091Y49S
Release Date: 2005-07-28 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Hawaii Business, published by Hawaii Business Publishing Co. on July 1, 1992. The length of the article is 3814 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: Charging ahead. (Kauai Electric rewires operations)(includes related article)
Author: Susan Hooper
Publication:
Hawaii Business (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 1992
Publisher: Hawaii Business Publishing Co.
Volume: v38
Issue: n1
Page: p63(7)
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Charging Ahead.: An article from: Trailer Boats
Jim Hendricks
Manufacturer: Ehlert Publishing Group
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ASIN: B0008HOTX4
Release Date: 2005-07-28 |
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This digital document is an article from Trailer Boats, published by Ehlert Publishing Group on February 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1295 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: Charging Ahead.
Author: Jim Hendricks
Publication:
Trailer Boats (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2001
Publisher: Ehlert Publishing Group
Volume: 31
Issue: 2
Page: 66
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Charging ahead: America's biggest new export--credit cards--could bring down the world economy.: An article from: Washington Monthly
Joshua Kurlantzick
Manufacturer: Washington Monthly Company
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ASIN: B0008DGAR6
Release Date: 2005-07-31 |
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This digital document is an article from Washington Monthly, published by Washington Monthly Company on May 1, 2003. The length of the article is 3579 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: Charging ahead: America's biggest new export--credit cards--could bring down the world economy.
Author: Joshua Kurlantzick
Publication:
Washington Monthly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2003
Publisher: Washington Monthly Company
Volume: 35
Issue: 5
Page: 27(5)
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The Bootsy Egan Letters (Mainstream Sport)
Colin Ward
Manufacturer: Mainstream Publishing
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ASIN: 1840181028 |
Amazon.com
Michael J. Wolf says that all businesses--even banks and supermarkets--will increasingly need to be entertaining to thrive. In The Entertainment Economy, Wolf, one of the media industry's top strategists, demonstrates how business is becoming synonymous with entertainment--a trend that is exploding because of the Internet. Although no substitute for quality, a company's "E-Factor" is critical in establishing brand and attracting fickle consumers, he writes. "We have come to expect that we will be entertained all the time," Wolf says. "Products and brands that deliver on this expectation are succeeding. Products that do not will disappear." Entertainment is becoming a big part of some industries you might not think of in this regard. For example, CNBC, a business-news cable station, is a hit because it treats the stock market like entertainment, Wolf writes. Tommy Hilfiger, a clothing retailer, became a "cool brand" by promoting rock stars and other celebrities. No merchant can escape the impact of entertainment--especially on the Internet. An online business must grab people or it will perish. When businesses stake out a position on the Web, they can't just provide online ordering. They must also feature compelling "entertainment content" to win customers. The author, a consultant for Viacom, Newscorp, and other media giants, sprinkles his book with inside stories about Ted Turner, Barry Diller, and Steven Spielberg. This book is for business owners, advertising pros, and people interested in a different take on what's driving the economy. --Dan Ring
Book Description
Every so often an author explains our culture in such a new and original way that from that day on we see the world around us in a new light. From Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan through Nicholas Negroponte's Being Digital. the books that have shown us the clearest vision of the future have been those that recognize the central role of mass media.
In
The Entertainment Economy, Michael J. Wolf, the industry's most in-demand strategist, demonstrates that media and entertainment have moved beyond culture to become the driving wheel of the global economy. From New York to New Delhi, from London to Lagos, from Singapore to Seattle, every business is locked in the same battle for consumer attention that movie producers and television programmers deal with on a daily basis. Consumer businesses just like entertainment businesses have to turn to content for the competitive edge. As adviser to companies like MTV, Paramount, Hearst, NBC, Universal, News Corporation, Bertelsmann and the NBA, Wolf is known by industry insiders as the moguls' secret weapon. In clear, brash prose, full of real-life examples, Wolf shows how tomorrow's successful business person will have to act like a mogul in a global economy defined by hits and blockbusters.
From MTV to Ford Motor Company, from Tommy Hilfiger to Martha Stewart, from Citibank to Amazon.com, from Stephen Spielberg to Richard Branson, Wolf shares the insights gained through his unique perspective as the founder of the world's largest media consulting practice, leaving no doubt that the watchwords for all consumer businesses in the 21st century are truly, "There's no business without show business." Written with equal degrees of business and pop culture savvy, The Entertainment Economy is a book for everyone.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Coming for your Young.......2002-10-06
This book is curious. The author has some true insight into the media industry, showing how pervasive and invasive it has become, yet unaware of anything disturbing in these trends. If you're an executive looking to stay a drone and turn your own children into entertainment slaves, dive right in. Your Nike commercials can only get better. ... look at this book and wonder why these things are happening, and what you can do to make it better. But don't forget it is happening, and these things can't be magically whisked away by living in the forest. For it will come for you eventually. Use this book to steer it in a kinder direction.
...
Unique and Compelling Perspectives.......2001-05-13
According to Michael J. Wolf, "Locally, globally, internationally, we are living in an entertainment economy." In fact, that is the title of his new book which consists of ten chapters which proceed from an introduction to the "entertainment zone" to a "view from tomorrow." In between, Wolf carefully examines a full-range of business situations in which entertainment plays an increasingly more important role. For example, he focuses on the fun-focused customer, the e-factor ("there's no business without show business"), the battle for attention, the struggle for world domination, the genesis of a phenomenon (ie whatever redefines "success"), what he calls "enteractivity", brand empires, and the role of sponsors.
Wolf observes that "Within its home turf....entertainment is in many parts of the world the fastest-growing sector of the economy. This is as true of developing countries as it is of mature ones. But of even wider impact is the way entertainment content has become a key differentiator in virtually every aspect of the broader consumer economy." Moreover, "...where America's entertainment economy goes, the rest of the world is not far behind." Although he does not state it explicitly, Wolf views "entertainment" from two quite separate perspectives: entertainment as a commodity (films, videos, radio and television, concerts, athletic events, etc.) and entertainment as a strategy (eg to create a sense of being "entertained"). As Wolf explains, not all commodities are inherently entertaining but it is possible to nourish the appeal of virtually all commodities by use of appropriate entertainment principles.
In this respect, Wolf seems to agree with Schmitt & Simonson, co-authors of Marketing Aesthetics. Consider Williams-Sonoma which attracts customers to its upscale stores with the aromas of fresh-baked bread and fresh-brewed coffee, produced on-site by appliances it sells. Schmitt & Simonson assert that marketing is most effective when it appeals to most (if not all) of the five senses. Wolf would no doubt confirm that the nature and extent of that appeal will usually determine the nature and extent of a consumer's sense of being "entertained."
Every retail merchandiser should ask, "Who buys what we sell? Which images will be most appealing? Window displays, posters, counter-top promotions? Which aromas will be most appealing? Gourmet coffee, popcorn, chestnuts roasting on an open fire? Which sounds will be most appealing? Bach, Hole, Dwight Yoakam, Celine Dion?"
Wolf characterizes Ted Turner, Michael Eisner, Sumner Redstone, and Rupert Murdoch as "the conquistadors of modern business." Why? Because they and their associates understand so well that entertainment (both as a commodity and as an influence) has an almost unlimited global audience. To Wolf's credit, everything he says is directly relevant to almost any organization, regardless of size of nature. If an organization does not understand The Entertainment Economy, it probably doesn't have much of a chance of survival. Those interested in this book are urged to consider, also, The Experience Economy and Experiential Marketing.
Highly Recommended!.......2001-03-22
Media and entertainment consultant Michael J. Wolf presents a pop-sociology look at how the entertainment industry is becoming a driving force in everyday life, from the news to consumer products and financial industries. He describes mega-deals that have created integrated entertainment giants spread through multiple media platforms. His book illustrates the newly competitive nature of entertainment as consumers find more choices than ever. He combines a summary of trends with many examples illustrating his major points. We at getAbstract recommend this thoughtful analysis, which is written in a lively style to have broad appeal not only to executives and managers, but also to the general public and to academics studying popular culture. And if you want to know why there are klieg lights at the supermarket and clowns in the department store, here's your answer.
I'll have to read it again, and again, and again.......2001-02-17
No wonder the author adores Orson Wells' Master CK. That is a movie that every time I see it, something new comes out of it. You will have the same impression with this book. Ease to read. Great companion. It explains how corporations have to get a E-strategy in order to win and at the end it gives a lecture that should be read by all Moguls in the industry (including Jack, Murdoch, Gates, etc) and MBA students. Long life for the entertainment consultants! They are not in business to innovate and create. They are here to tell the Top Decision Makers what other Top Decision Makers have done to survive and succeed.
Skip it.......2001-01-12
This book is not worth your time or money. "The Entertainment Economy" is a Fast Company article expanded to 300 pages. If you've been awake and breathing recently, you know that the entertainment component of almost anything is becoming increasingly important. Providing an experience, as opposed to simply a product is becoming more important. A hit movie can open the doors to sell complimentary merchandise, which may end up being more lucrative than the movie itself. OK, so why does it take 300 pages to explain this? It doesn't, just read the reviews people have written, and keep you eyes open when you go out in the world.
So much sizzle surrounding this book, from the glittery cover to Judy McGrath at MTV.."I laughed, I cried, I took notes" Come on, get real, a box of Kleenex would be a better investment! I've never given a book one star in the past, but trust me, this is all it deserves.
Customer Reviews:
Other Books.......2007-09-03
An early attempt at a role playing game with a science fiction setting, not really that good.
A radical departure for Gamma World.......2006-11-26
In 1986, TSR released this ambitious re-write of the Gamma World game. Where 1st and 2nd editions were loosely based on D&D, 3rd edition adapted the ACT Table from Marvel Super Heroes. This version introduced Mutated Plants as a character type, and organized equipment and weapons by tech level... and Wow! So much more equipment to drool over. More developed races, cryptic alliances, and background information in general. Following this set are 5 linked modules forming a campaign.
BOX CONTENTS:
* 21"x33" two-sided color mapsheet, containing three maps.
* 64-page Rule Book.
* 32-page Adventure Book.
* Reference Book.
* Game Master's Screen.
* Players Screen, with equipment charts and sample characters.
Wayne Gralian
Wayne's World of Books
Average customer rating:
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Gamma World Science Fantasy Role-Playing Game (1st edition boxed set)
James Ward
Manufacturer: TSR Hobbies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Customer Reviews:
Gamma World goes Marvel.......2003-12-24
In this the third edition of Gamma World, TSR tried going with the same mechanic as their Marvel RPG. The mechanic was basically d100 based. Having played the first edition of a while this turned me off a little, but what really turned me off about this edition was that it was unplayable because it was incomplete. Large chunks were missing. If you are planing on playing it, don't get this edition.
Customer Reviews:
Tufte Should Stick to What He Knows.......2007-08-22
I was first introduced to Tufte in Beautiful Evidence, which I stumbled upon in a B&N in Seattle on a business trip. I'm a software architect and developer; hence, I'm very familiar with the software world, particularly Microsoft technologies, which is where most of my development experience lies.
(I should say that I read this as part of the Beautiful Evidence book, which was good, but this part irritated me, so I'm glad it's separate here so I can review it separately.)
Certainly, Tufte has some good points about showing how PowerPoint can be limiting, and certainly PowerPoint has been abused. But that's no grounds to indict it as a useful tool, and in particular, 2007 gets a lot better in terms of empowering presenters to have more effective and visually interesting slides.
The point of PPT slides is simply to supplement a presentation by providing visual reinforcement of what is being said audibly. They shouldn't be used as a substitute for other means of communicating, which would include the possibility of a handout (interestingly enough, you can print out slides w/ space for notes to use as a handout, so it isn't an either-or option) or using some other software or even your hands to draw up and scan in visualizations that can't be done with PPT.
I think what bothered me more than anything was the ignorant indictment of the software industry as a whole. Tufte goes way out on a limb trying to extrapolate how we software creators must think based on the capabilities of PPT. There are plenty of other tools that provide other ways of visualizing information, and every year (or more often) we see advancements in tooling to help folks more effectively express data and ideas in digital format.
His rambling about the "hierarchical" structure of the corporate software world driving the development of software is simply ludicrous. More than any other industry, I'd say that software dev tends to be more open and more fluid in terms of both organization and methodology. We're a bunch of brainiacs, inventors, and artisans, and it comes naturally for us to try out new ideas and ways of doing even the most mundane of things.
So to sum up, as long as Tufte stays within his realm of expertise (which seems to be visualization of information/graphic design), he has a lot of quality ideas to offer. However, when he strays from that as he's done with his essay on PowerPoint, the value of his thoughts diminish exponentially. Stick with reading his other books that are in his area of expertise.
Tufte rails against PowerPoint (templates that is).......2007-06-26
This pdf is now part of the book Beautiful Evidence. Tufte goes after the bullet text methodology and templates that starve the audience for information. There is a lot that you may do with PowerPoint that can be effective forms of communication. Tufte shows what to avoid.
Funny and eye-opening, but very short.......2007-06-04
Very informative reading, and quite entertaining. For me, it's preaching to the converted, but it makes the point quite powerfully. The only downside is that it's a very thin pamphlet, not a real book. Get The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition for a larger and more satisfying dose.
Force feed this to your "management team".......2007-01-14
I have a friend whose ten-year-old daughter is required to give Powerpoint "reports" in class. Even before I read this pamphlet, the idea of the public schools positioning rhetoric as a Microsoft product struck me as revolting. After reading Tufte's brilliant and accurate dissection of how Powerpoint forces us into a kind of imitation of thinking, I am horrified.
I work on the fringe of the tech world, and I've had more than one boss demand that I reduce a coherent argument to bulletpoints "so it can be understood." Well, Powerpoint is to persuasion as comic books are to fiction -- the audience that demands it is simply entrenched in its own illiteracy. Tufte demonstrates persuasively that the Challenger disaster may have been caused -- yes, caused -- by the fact that the engineers discussed the project in the diction of "presentations." It's a large claim, and Tufte has the posthumous support of Richard Feynmann to back him up. Feynmann pointed to the facts that created the disaster; Tufte finds the core of bad thinking that let those facts control events.
If you use Powerpoint, you should read this pamphlet, also available as a chapter of Tufte's book, Beautiful Evidence. No tool should be allowed to control the nature of discourse the way Powerpoint does, and certainly no tool concieved, created, and used, with such willful lack of imagination and ignorance of the nature of communication.
Tufte has it right when it comes to the drawbacks of PowerPoint........2007-01-13
Edward Tufte gives a brief, excellent examination of how using Microsoft PowerPoint can easily lead to miscommunication and lazy thinking. The example of the infamous "Review of Test Data Indicates Conservatism for Tile Penetration" (Space Shuttle Columbia) slide alone makes this monograph worth purchasing.
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- Clara: Mrs. Henry Ford
- Commodore Vanderbilt
- Creating Learning Centered Classrooms: What Does Learning Theory Have to Say (J-B ASHE Higher Education Report Series (AEHE))
- Dances with Wolves (The Original Novel withan Afterword by the Author)
- Dear Donald, Dear Bennett: The Wartime Correspondence of Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer
- Dear Father, Dear Son: Correspondence of John D. Rockefeller and Jr.
- Edsel: The Story of Henry Ford's Forgotten Son [R-239]
- Flagler, Rockefeller Partner and Florida Baron (Florida Sand Dollar Book)
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- The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480-1620
- The Gods of Eden
- Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting
- Random Heterogeneous Materials
- Texas Quails: Ecology and Management
- Stanley and Kilcullen's Federal Income Tax Law, 1989 Edition
- Revisiting Workers' Compensation in Connecticut: Administrative Inventory
- Plants Toxic to the Skin
Developing And Managing a Successful Payment Cards Business
Paying with Plastic, 2nd Edition: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing
Fraud Prevention Techniques for Credit Card Fraud
Payment Systems And Other Financial Transactions: Cases, Materials, And Problems
Payment Technologies for E-Commerce
