Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot. Call it what you like, it matters now more than ever. In "The Ascent of Money", Niall Ferguson shows that finance is the foundation of all human progress and the lifeblood of history. From the cash injection that funded the Italian Renaissance to the stock market bubble that sparked the French Revolution, from the bonds that fueled Britain's war effort to the Wall Street Crash and today's meltdown, this is the story of boom and bust as it's never been told before. Whether you're scraping by or rolling in it, there's no better time to understand the ascent of money.

From the bestselling, prize-winning author of THE LAST TYCOONSand HOUSE OF CARDS, a revelatory history of Goldman Sachs, the mostdominant, feared, and controversial investment bank in theworld For much of its storied 142-year history, Goldman Sachs hasprojected an image of being better than its competitors--smarter,more collegial, more ethical, and far more profitable. Thefirm--buttressed by the most aggressive and sophisticated p.r.machine in the financial industry--often boasts of "The GoldmanWay," a business model predicated on hiring the most talentedpeople, indoctrinating them in a corporate culture where partnersstifle their egos for the greater good, and honoring the "14Principles," the first of which is "Our clients' interests alwayscome first." But there is another way of viewing Goldman--a secretivemoney-making machine that has straddled the line betweenconflict-of-interest and legitimate deal-making for decades; a firmthat has exerted undue influence over government since the ear

In the summer of 2003, the New York Times Magazine sent Stephen J. Dubner, an author and journalist, to write a profile of Steven D. Levitt, a heralded young economist at the University of Chicago. Levitt was not remotely interested in the things that interest most economists. More... Instead, he studied the riddles of everyday lifefrom cheating to crime to child-rearingand his conclusions turned the conventional wisdom on its head. For instance, he argued that one of the main causes of the crime drop of the 1990s was the legalization of abortion twenty years earlier. (Unwanted children have a greater likelihood of becoming criminals; with so many unwanted children being aborted in the 1970s, the pool of potential criminals had significantly shrunk by the 1990s.) The Times article yielded an unprecedented response, a deluge of interest from thousands of curious, inspired, and occasionally distraught readers. Levitt and Dubner collaborated on a book that gives full play to Levitts most compelling ideas.

How can your name affect how well you do in life? What do estateagents and the Ku Klux Klan have in common? Why do drug dealerslive with their mothers? The answer: Freakonomics. It’s at theheart of everything we do and the things that affect us daily: fromsex to crime, parenting to politics, fat to cheating, fear totraffic jams. And we can use it to get to the heart of what’sreally happening under the surface of everyday life. This cultbestseller will show you how, by unravelling your life’s secretcodes, you can discover a totally new way of seeing the world.

An essential guide to doing business in Central and SouthAmerica, complete with communication and etiquette tips. This is the essential guide to business etiquette and customs foranyone doing business in Latin America. It features everything thereader needs to know-from getting an appointment to securing acontract. Doing business in Latin America can pose unique,substantial challenges to a non-native, and this book demystifiesthe entire process. From the two-hour "business lunch," at which nobusiness is ever discussed, to handing out business cards the rightway, Diran covers every crucial nuance. He also addresses: ? How things move at a much slower pace than most Americanbusiness processes and deals ? How family truly comes before business, even if it meansskipping an important meeting to take care of a loved one ? The importance of connections and mutual Acquaintances ? How to work with translators and bilingual assistants to getthe job done ? Proper dress, body la

A storm is coming, a turbulent new era in which the planet's supply of oil will be overtaken by demand. Fuel prices will soar and inflation will skyrocket-but with this guide, two leading financial strategists show you how to weather the worst of it, and even capture impressive returns. With the help of the author's 'all season' Oil Indicator, you'll learn how to choose the right investments for any market environment, as you discover; why oil and natural gas stocks should be core holdings in every investor's portfolio, why a cautious buy-and-hold strategy is a sure monet loser, why conventional 'safe' stocks are really the riskiest, why gold may be on the verge of a historic bull run, how the global oil wars make defense stocks a premium buy, where to find the best bets in the field of alternative energy, how to profit from real estate without actually owning any.

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．

The book is... timely, and if it will irritate some of theexperts it will also help bring some neglected issues and theoriesinto public focus. This ... has always been Mrs. Jacobs' mostnotable taient and her most constructive contribution.

Galbraith's classic on the "economics of abundance" is, in thewords of the New York Times, "a compelling challenge toconventional thought." With customary clarity, eloquence, andhumor, Galbraith cuts to the heart of what economic security means(and doesn't mean) in today's world and lays bare the hazards ofindividual and societal complacence about economic inequity. While"affluent society" and "conventional wisdom" (first used in thisbook) have entered the vernacular, the message of the book has notbeen so widely embraced--reason enough to rediscover The AffluentSociety.

Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" was the first comprehensivetreatment of political economy. Originally delivered in the form oflectures at Glasgow, the book's publication in 1776 co-incided withAmerica's Declaration of Independence. These volumes includeSmith's assessment of the mercantile system, his advocacy of thefreedom of commerce and industry, and his famous prophecy that"America will be one of the foremost nations of the world".

Why trying to be the best … competing like crazy … makes youmediocre Every few years a book—through a combination of the author’sunique voice, storytelling ability, wit, and insight—simply breaksthe mold. Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods is one example. RichardFeynman’s “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” is another. Now comes Youngme Moon’s Different, a book for “people who don’tread business books.” Actually, it’s more like a personalconversation with a friend who has thought deeply about how theworld works … and who gets you to see that world in a completelynew light. If there is one strain of conventional wisdom pervading everycompany in every industry, it’s the absolute importance of“competing like crazy.” Youngme Moon’s message is simply “Get offthis treadmill that’s taking you nowhere. Going tit for tat andadding features, augmentations, and gimmicks to beat thecompetition has the perverse result of making you lik

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

"Economics is haunted by more fallacies than any other studyknown to man." -- Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lesson(1946) Every day economic claims are used by the media or inconversation to support social and political positions. Those onthe left tend to distrust economists, seeing them as friends of theright. There is something to this, since professional economistsare almost all keen supporters of the free market. Yet whilefactions on the right naturally embrace economists, they also tendto overestimate the effect of their support on free-marketpolicies. The result is widespread confusion. In fact, virtuallyall commonly held beliefs about economics--whether espoused bypolitical activists, politicians, journalists or taxpayers--arejust plain wrong. Professor Joseph Heath wants to raise our economic literacyand empower us with new ideas. In Economics WithoutIllusions , he draws on everyday examples to skewer the sixfavourite economic fallacies of the right, followed by impaling thesix

Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in coommon? Why do drug dealers still live with their mums? How much do parents really matter? These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life - from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing - and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book:Freakonomics 作者简介 Steveb D. Levitt teaches economics at the University of Chicago. He recently received the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded every two years to the best American economist under forty. Stephen J. Dubner lives in N

Translated into more than twenty languages and named one ofthe best business books of the year by reviewers around the world, Wikinomics has become essential reading for business peopleeverywhere. It explains how mass collaboration is happening notjust at Web sites like Wikipedia and YouTube, but at traditionalcompanies that have embraced technology to breathe new life intotheir enterprises. This national bestseller reveals the nuances that drivewikinomics, and share fascinating stories of how masses of people(both paid and volunteer) are now creating TV news stories,sequencing the human gnome, remixing their favorite music,designing software, finding cures for diseases, editing schooltexts, inventing new cosmetics, and even buildingmotorcycles.

Friedman makes clear once and for all that no one is immunefrom monetary economics-that is, from the effects of its theory andits practices. He demonstrates through historical events themischief that can result from misunderstanding the monetary system.Index.