Pack your cutlass and blunderbuss--it's time to go a-pirating "The Invisible Hook" takes readers inside the wily world of late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century pirates. With swashbuckling irreverence and devilish wit, Peter Leeson uncovers the hidden economics behind pirates' notorious, entertaining, and sometimes downright shocking behavior. Why did pirates fly flags of Skull and Bones? Why did they create a "pirate code"? Were pirates really ferocious madmen? And what made them so successful? "The Invisible Hook" uses economics to examine these and other infamous aspects of piracy. Leeson argues that the pirate customs we know and love resulted from pirates responding rationally to prevailing economic conditions in the pursuit of profits."The Invisible Hook" looks at legendary pirate captains like Blackbeard, Black Bart Roberts, and Calico Jack Rackam, and shows how pirates' search for plunder led them to pioneer remarkable and forward-thinking practices. Pirates understood the advantages of consti

What happens when advances in technologg allow mang things to be produced for more or less nothing? And what happens when those things are then made available to us for free? In his groundbreaking new book, The Long Tail author Chris Anderson considers a brave new world where the old economic certainties are being undermined by a growing flood of free goods - newspapers, DVDs, T-shirts, phones, even holiday flights. He explains why this has become possible - why fast-evolvingtechnologies, particularly the Internet, have caused production and distribution costs in many sectors to plummet to levels unthinkable even a decade ago. He shows how the flexibility provided by the online world allows producers to trade ever more creatively, offering items for free to make real or perceived gains elsewhere. He pinpoints the winners and losers in the Free universe. And he demonstrates the wags in which, as an increasing number of things become available for free, our decisions to make use of them will be determined by tw

The study of the electronic structure of materials is at amomentous stage, with the emergence of computational methods andtheoretical approaches. Many properties of materials can now bedetermined directly from the fundamental equations for theelectrons, providing insights into critical problems in physics,chemistry, and materials science. This book provides a unifiedexposition of the basic theory and methods of electronic structure,together with instructive examples of practical computationalmethods and real-world applications. Appropriate for both graduatestudents and practising scientists, this book describes theapproach most widely used today, density functional theory, withemphasis upon understanding the ideas, practical methods andlimitations. Many references are provided to original papers,pertinent reviews, and widely available books. Included in eachchapter is a short list of the most relevant references and a setof exercises that reveal salient points and challenge thereader.

Writing in the June 1965 issue of theEconomic Journal, Harry G. Johnson begins with a sentence seemingly calibrated to the scale of the book he set himself to review: "The long-awaited monetary history of the United States by Friedman and Schwartz is in every sense of the term a monumental scholarly achievement--monumental in its sheer bulk, monumental in the definitiveness of its treatment of innumerable issues, large and small . . . monumental, above all, in the theoretical and statistical effort and ingenuity that have been brought to bear on the solution of complex and subtle economic issues." Friedman and Schwartz marshaled massive historical data and sharp analytics to support the claim that monetary policy--steady control of the money supply--matters profoundly in the management of the nation's economy, especially in navigating serious economic fluctuations. In their influential chapter 7, The Great Contraction--which Princeton published in 1965 as a separate paperback--they address the central e

MYOB Software for Dummies has been completely updated in line with the latest version of the software, and also covers the latest on electronic payments and GST. Featuring expert tips for running your small business and working your business software harder and smarter, this jargon-free guide explains everything you need to know about MYOB software.

What is the difference between choking and panicking?Why are there dozens of varieties of mustard but only one variety of ketchup?What call we learn from football players about how to hire teachers?What does hair dye teU US about the history ofthe twentieth century? In the past decade，Malcolm Gladwell has written three books that have radically changed how we understand our world and ourselves．Now he brings together,for the first time，the best of his writing from The New Yorker over the same period．

For the Third Edition, 2001 Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz joins forces with new co-author Carl Walsh, who brings both economic expertise and teaching savvy to the project. Together, Stiglitz and Walsh thoroughly integrate contemporary economics into the traditional curriculum. Informed by the broad range of research that earned Professor Stiglitz the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, the first edition of this text pioneered important topics relating to the economics of imperfect markets, which are today's standard in all principles texts. Only this text, however, gives those topics serious attention, with complete chapters on imperfect information in product markets, imperfections in labor markets, technological change, and environmental externalities, as well as a complete chapter on strategic behavior. 作者简介： Joseph E. Stiglitz is professor of economics, business, and international and public affairs at Columbia University. Known throughout the world for his groundbreaking research, J

'Truly eye-opening ...There is almost no situation that Harford cannot dissect with his sharp economist's tools ...economics has never been this cool' NEW STATESMAN If humans are so clever, why do we smoke and gamble, or take drugs, or fall in love? Is this really rational behaviour? And how come your idiot boss is so overpaid? In fact, the behaviour of even the unlikeliest of individuals - prostitutes, drug addicts, racists and revolutionaries - complies with economic logic, taking into account future costs and benefits, even if we don't quite realise it. We are rational beings after all.

The 2007–08 subprime financial crisis is the jumping-off pointfor Smick's (Johnson Smick International) examination of currentthreats to global prosperity. He explains that although thesubprime losses are small in the context of world financialmarkets, a lack of transparency has diminished investor confidence,dried up financial liquidity, and threatened the very foundationsof our world financial system. He says that the growth of globalfinancial markets has made it more difficult for central banks likethe U.S. Federal Reserve to intercede effectively in times ofcrisis. Smick compares the subprime crisis to past events like theUK's forced devaluation of the pound in 1992 and Japan's economicstagnation in the 1990s. He warns of pending dangers like anoverheating of the Chinese development juggernaut and the presentcalls for protectionism by U.S. politicians. He favors a globalfinancial system built on transparency and trust. Smick's role forsome 30 years as an economic adviser to central bankers andleg

Capital, one of Marx's major and most influential works, wasthe product of thirty years close study of the capitalist mode ofproduction in England, the most advanced industrial society of hisday. This new translation of Volume One, the only volume to becompleted and edited by Marx himself, avoids some of the mistakesthat have marred earlier versions and seeks to do justice to theliterary qualities of the work. The introduction is by ErnestMandel, author of Late Capitalism, one of the only comprehensiveattempts to develop the theoretical legacy of Capital. --This textrefers to the Paperback edition.

Use eye-popping visual tools to energize your people! Just as social networking has reclaimed the Internet for humaninteractivity and co-creation, the visual meetings movement isreclaiming creativity, productivity, and playful exchange forserious work in groups. Visual Meetings explains how anyone can implementpowerful visual tools, and how these tools are being used inSilicon Valley and elsewhere to facilitate both face-to-face andvirtual group work. This dynamic and richly illustrated resourcegives meeting leaders, presenters, and consultants a slew ofexciting tricks and tools, including Graphic recording, visual planning, story boarding, graphictemplates, idea mapping, etc. Creative ways to energize team building, sales presentations,staff meetings, strategy sessions, brainstorming, and more Getting beyond paper and whiteboards to engage new mediaplatforms Understanding emerging visual language for leading groups Unlocking formerly untapped creative resources for businesssuccess, Visual Mee

The knowledge, resources, and computing power of billions ofpeople are self-organizing into a massive new collective force.Interconnected and orchestrated through blogs, wikis, chat rooms,peer-to-peer networks, and personal broadcasting, the Web is beingreinvented to provide the first global platform for collaborationin history. Encouraging consumers, employees, suppliers, partnersand competitors alike to share information and ideas, masscollaboration marks a profound change in the way business isconducted and radically alters the future of corporatearchitecture, strategy and management. WIKINOMICS is the definitiveinvestigation into how small businesses can achieve success byusing a dynamic ecosystem of partners to co-create and peer-producevalue in this newly-emerging, networked economy.

Unfinished at the time of Marx'sdeath in 1883 and first published with a preface by FrederickEngels in 1894, the third volume of "Das Kapital" strove to combinethe theories and concepts of the two previous volumes in order toprove conclusively that capitalism is inherently unworkable as apermanent system for society. Here, Marx asserts controversiallythat - regardless of the efforts of individual capitalists, publicauthorities or even generous philanthropists - any market economyis inevitably doomed to endure a series of worsening, explosivecrises leading finally to complete collapse. But he also offers aninspirational and compelling prediction: that the end of capitalismwill culminate, ultimately, in the birth of a far greater form ofsociety.

Grasp the history, principles, theories, and terminology of economics with this updated bestsellerSince the initial publication of Economics For Dummies in 2005, the U.S. has endured a number of drastic changes and events that sent its economy into a tailspin. This newly revised edition presents updated material about the recent financial crisis and the steps taken to repair it.Packed with refreshed information and relevant new examples from today′s economy, it gives you a straightforward, easy–to–grasp understanding of how the economy functions–and how it influences personal finances.New information on deciphering consumer behaviorRefresh coverage of fiscal and monetary policiesA new chapter on health care policy and the financial crisisPresenting complex theories in simple terms and helping you decode the jargon, understand the equations, and debunk the common misconceptions, Economics For Dummies tackles the topic in terms you can understand.

The truth behind the causes and effects of America's economicdownturn. The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to the Financial Crisis explainsthe root causes and connects the events and issues with theproblems that have confronted Americans over the course of morethan a year, giving readers an unvarnished, unbiased, and in-depthanalysis of the factors that lead up to the crisis, the majorevents that defined it, and the decisions and ramifications thatresulted from it. ?Interest in the financial crisis continues to build with severalhigh- profile books and an HBO movie due out in 2010, as well asthe success of Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story ?Much of the financial crisis writing to date has been of thebreaking news variety-this book will be one of the first bookspublished after the smoke has cleared to offer a comprehensiveanalysis of what happened and how

An updated look at what Fischer Black's ideas on business cyclesand equilibrium mean todayThroughout his career, Fischer Blackdescribed a view of business fluctuations based on the idea that awell-developed economy will be continually in equilibrium. In theessays that constitute this book, which is one of only two booksBlack ever wrote, he explores this idea thoroughly and reaches somesurprising conclusions.With the newfound popularity of quantitativefinance and risk management, the work of Fischer Black has garneredmuch attention. "Business Cycles and Equilibrium"-with its theorythat economic and financial markets are in a continualequilibrium-is one of his books that still rings true today, giventhe current economic crisis. This "Updated Edition" clearlypresents Black's classic theory on business cycles and the conceptof equilibrium, and contains a new introduction by the person whoknows Black best: Perry Mehrling, author of "Fischer Black and theRevolutionary Idea of Finance" (Wiley). Mehrling goes inside

Business 2.0 magazine publishes an annual cover story called"The 101 Dumbest Moments in Business." Featuring 101 hilariousitems about the year’s most unbelievably stupid business blunders,it’s hugely popular with its more than half a million printsubscribers—and with the two million people who read it on the Webthis year. In The Dumbest Moments in Business History, the editorsof Business 2.0 have compiled the best of their first four annualissues plus great (or not so great, if you happen to beresponsible) moments from the past. From New Coke to the Edsel, from Rosie magazine to Burger King’s"Herb the Nerd," the book’s highlights include: ? a Romanian car plant whose workers banded together to eliminatethe company’s debt by donating sperm and giving the proceeds totheir employer ? the Heidelberg Electric Belt, a sort of low-voltage jockstrapsold in 1900 to cure impotence, kidney disorders, insomnia, andmany other complaints ? the time Beech-Nut sold "100% pure apple

The World Is Flat has helped millions of readers to see globalization in a new way. Now Friedman brings a fresh outlook to the crises of destabilizing climate change and rising competition for energy—both of which could poison our world if we do not act quickly and collectively. His argument speaks to all who are concerned about the state of the world in the global future. Friedman proposes that an ambitious national strategy— which he calls “Geo-Greenism”—is not only what we need to save the planet from overheating; it is what we need to make us all healthier, richer, more innovative, more productive, and more secure. As in The World Is Flat, he explains a new era—the Energy-Climate era—through an illuminating account of recent events. He sets out the clean-technology breakthroughs the world will need; he shows that the ET (Energy Technology) revolution will be both transformative and disruptive; and he explains why America must lead this revolution—with the first Green President and a Green

What have the invention of the wheel, Pompeii, the Wall StreetCrash, Harry Potter and the internet got in common? Why are allforecasters con-artists? What can Catherine the Great’s lovers tellus about probability? Why should you never run for a train or reada newspaper? This book is all about Black Swans: the random eventsthat underlie our lives, from bestsellers to world disasters. Theirimpact is huge; they’re impossible to predict; yet after theyhappen we always try to rationalize them. A rallying cry to ignorethe ‘experts’, The Black Swan shows us how to stop trying topredict everything – and take advantage of uncertainty.

Privatizing China: Inside china's Stock Markets goes behind the hype and the headlines to show the reality of China's stock markets. Understanding these markets and knowing how they need to develop is essential to the rising generation of foreign investors, fund managers, executives and regulators who only recently have been given access. It is the only book to provide a comprehensive analysis of how the market was established and how this history has shaped its current strengths and weaknesses. In this second edition of Privatizing China, the authors Carl Walter and Fraser Howie have completely revised and updated their account of the evolution of China's equity markets. As long-term market participants, the authors have added three new chapters that provide an insider's view of the political struggle over market reform, an in-depth look at the resulting 2005 G share reforms and a full treatment of the policies and market practice of the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor （QFll）channel.

Part economic primer, part fiscal and historical analysis, New Yorker and London Review of Books contributor John Lanchester offers his brilliantly witty, succinct overview of the current financial crisis. For most people, the reasons for the sudden collapse of our economy remain obscure. I.O.U. is the story of how we came to experience such a complete and devastating financial implosion, and how the decisions and actions of a select group of individuals had profound consequences for America, Europe, and the global economy overall. John Lanchester begins with "The ATM Moment," that seemingly magical proliferation of cheap credit that led to an explosion of lending, and then deftly outlines the global and local landscapes of banking and finance. Viewing the crisis through the lens of politics, culture, and contemporary history -- from the invention and widespread misuse of financial instruments to the culpability of subprime mortgages -- Lanchester draws perceptive conclusions on the limitations of financial

An expos? on the delusion, greed, and arrogance that led toAmerica's credit crisis The collapse of America's credit markets in 2008 is quitepossibly the biggest financial disaster in U.S. history. ConfidenceGame: How a Hedge Fund Manager Called Wall Street's Bluff is thestory of Bill Ackman's six-year campaign to warn that the $2.5trillion bond insurance business was a catastrophe waiting tohappen. Branded a fraud by the Wall Street Journal and New YorkTimes, and investigated by Eliot Spitzer and the Securities andExchange Commission, Ackman later made his investors more than $1billion when bond insurers kicked off the collapse of the creditmarkets. Unravels the story of the credit crisis through an engaging andhuman drama Draws on unprecedented access to one of Wall Street's best-knowninvestors Shows how excessive leverage, dangerous financial models, and ablind reliance on triple-A credit ratings sent Wall Streetcareening toward disaster Confidence Game is a real world "Empero