Reviews (93)

A book that gives a good feel of the period.
Written in the context of the Cold War, the author emphasizes the need for free markets and an open society for a society to property function.It stresses the importance of the individual and the needs of the individual against the backdrop of an "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" era and the basic economic honesty of selfishness in general.There are several ideas in the book that probably need to be revisited (which is why you should read it) since they are becoming issues again in today's world.

Classic Liberalism at its best
An all-time favorite of mine, Capitalism & Freedom creates a framework of classic liberalism and argues forcefully in favor of free-markets and decentralization over the expansion of government involvement in economic and social affairs.Friedman builds his argument from the ground up by identifying coercion as the State's distinguishing feature over all other societal organizations.From the (classic) liberal's perspective, this aspect shapes the relationship between citizen and government, and strictly limits the appropriateness of State involvement in society, particularly with regard to well-intentioned programs and policy.
Outdated. Can better be understood as polemics with Galbraith
This book probably should not be treated as "capitalist manifesto" a la Marx but more like an attempt to present a position opposite to famous Galbraith "The Affluent Society" (1958). Reading the book without reading Galbraith first creates an impression of cheap advocacy of capitalism and unrestricted market almost in best libertarian (anarcho-capitalist) style. But as a polemic with Galbraith vision of post-capitalism (post-industrial society) the book looks like an interesting historical document.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Capitalism    5. Economic policy    6. Economics - General    7. Economics - Theory    8. Free Enterprise    9. Liberty    10. Political Ideologies - Democracy    11. State, The    12. United States    13. Business & Economics / Economics / Theory    14. Capitalist or free market economies    15. Economic theory & philosophy    16. Political economy   

Reviews (4)

Good book for undergrads
We used this book in our international finance class in univ of chicago. what i have is the 2nd edition but i have to admit this is a really comprehensive and clearly organized book, it is an ideal book for people who are interested in getting a general picture of money, banking and basic exchange rates. one drawback i can think of is the price.

About the MyEconLab attachment to this book
If you're an independent learner; that is, not enrolled as a student in a course at a school, OR IF YOU ARE, BUT THE INSTRUCTOR IS NOT PARTICIPATING (Using the MyEconLab software for course materials), and thus can't provide you with a COURSEID, a warning about the MyEconLab study aid attachment to this textbook; the instructions for registering to use MyEconLab are less than candid.
Wow, an Econ book that is actually easy to understand!
I'm on Chapter 4 of this book, and I'm surprised at how clear and concise the author is. The sections are broken up very well and provide side titles in case you ever need to flip back to a certain topic. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Banks & Banking    2. Banks and banking    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. Finance    7. Money    8. Economics    9. Teaching of a specific subject   

Reviews (57)

Just a Great Book - Every Investor Must Read
I guess what I find funny is that some of the other reviewers say this book does not help. Having read the book I am really quite taken aback.
Great Book for soon to be investors
When I first read this book, it really reinforced the concepts of investing.
Very nice
It is a book that you have to read if you want to know how a very succesful make it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business/Economics    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Investment trusts    5. Investments & Securities - General    6. Mutual funds    7. Stocks    8. United States    9. Business & Economics / Personal Finance / Investing    10. Personal finance   

Reviews (16)

Average book
This book is not rigorous at all. If you are looking for rigor, look elsewhere. The proofs are very weak, and the example trite.
Full of errors
This book has a lot of errors. Not only typos but math errors as well both in the text and the solutions manual. This is very frustrating. I'm switching to Casella's text.

My goto stats book
This has been my goto stats book since I bought it for a class in 2002.It's a clear introduction to mathematical statistics.I use it to try to understand some of the more advanced concepts that I'm learning now, but, unfortunately, it is just an introductory book.It does have a lot of information in it, so I still rely on it pretty heavily.
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Subjects:  1. Applied    2. Mathematical statistics    3. Mathematics    4. Probability & Statistics - General    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Statistics    7. Mathematics / Statistics    8. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (5)

Great book
Certainly the most interesting treatment of Microeconomics I've read.Like most American texts, it's about twice as long as it needs to be, but I never felt the urge to give up reading and just skim the pages.

OK
I felt that this book did not meet the "hype" that my professor created for this book.Both he and another professor at my school raved about how good it was, although both myself and more thank 12 other students (in a class of about 20) were disappointed. Excellent
An easier version of Mas-colell's microeconomic theory.Includes nice examples. Although Hal Varian's book is preferred in most undergraduate micro courses, this one is surely better. (maybe the best)Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economics - General    5. Economics - Microeconomics    6. Microeconomics    7. Business & Economics / Economics / General   

Reviews (20)

Book Contents
The "search inside this book" feature was not available when this review was posted. Hope it helps.
I'm also a dullard, like the other reviewers here...
I'm also a dullard like the other people reviewing the book onthis sight. I'm not Greek, so I've never seen a capital sigma or other squiggles - frankly I didn't know that these squiggles existed!! I was looking for a statistics book that described statistics in a wooly, general, hand waving sort of way, just the way that I b@##%&i! my boss in meetings when statistics arise. Unfortunatley, this was not the book for me to learn this technique from. I don't know - I might have to finish my study of arithmetic (including long division), and then algebra, and then squiggles before I try again with this book. If you're a dullard like me, then keep away from this book - on the other hand it's an excellent book on applied statistical methods.

Yipes!
I used this text in one class for a PhD program that is now complete.Oh Boy!This is probably a good text if you have a very solid mathematics background, but it is totally incomprehensible to a mathematics greenhorn.I spent hours and hours trying to decipher the mathematical codes and formulas.Some of the symbols were figures I didn't even know existed.
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Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Mathematics    3. Multivariate Analysis    4. Probability & Statistics - General    5. Probability & Statistics - Multivariate Analysis    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Statistics    8. Business & Economics / Statistics    9. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (11)

Absolutely Great!
Advanced Modeling is a fantastic book, and pretty easy to follow with relatively few coding errors.There are some books out there that have errors in the code that they use, which makes it difficult or someone to learn the techniques.Even for those without a solid background in VBA, this book can benefit you to start learning how to code properly.Anyone who is relatively proficient with Excel can definitely gain a new trick or two from reading this book.All you really need to start using this book is a basic understanding of finance concepts (e.g. portolio theory, capital budgeting, binomial options pricing, Black-Scholes, etc.).The techniques that are taught are also useful in other modeling exercises, and not necessarily just for finance-related topics.

A Cookbook for Financial Modellers
Yes, the book won't teach you CAPM, Black-Scholes, or much financial theory.But there is NO shortage of those books.There is a shortage of books with real-world Excel solutions to applying financial theory to data.I've had this book for a couple of years and have probably only used 10% of it, only because I don't have time, real business need, to do the rest.I sometimes take it to bed to read and dream of having the time to try out some of their other models.That's the only thing I can add to the other reviews here, the amount of love and passion for the subject put into this book.There's not one extra padded word or graphic in this book.Yes, if there was one book I'd have to take to a desert island with Excel and some financial data this would be it.

Not really satisfying
One of the main points of programming books is to help the reader understand the models being programmed.On this count, "Advanced modelling in finance using Excel and VBA" fails miserably.There is very little explanation of the financial concepts and models.Anyone hoping to learn finance from this book will be very disappointed.Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Applied    3. Business & Economics    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business/Economics    6. Economics - General    7. Finance    8. Financial Economics (General)    9. General    10. Mathematical Models In Economics    11. Mathematical models    12. Microsoft Excel (Computer file    13. Microsoft Excel (Computer file)    14. Microsoft Visual Basic for app    15. Microsoft Visual Basic for applications    16. Business & Economics / Finance    17. Excel    18. Investment & securities   

Editorial Review

In Read more

Reviews (67)

A very detailed analysis of sustainability
Just a couple comments and caveats to add not covered in the in-depth Spotlight Reviews.First, this book is absolutely loaded with stats and data and provides a more rigerous, academic treatment of working towards more sustainable way to grow businesses and communities.The fact that the references at the end go on for 55 pages attest to this level of detail!).Given that the authors are from one of the most prominent "think tanks" of eco-capitalism - The Rocky Mountain Institute - explains this level of detail and expertise.But, it really can come across as a "brain dump" where every fact the authors knew of are piled into the chapters (whose origins are earlier position papers). So, if you really need hard data and lots of factoids, this book is a top, well-researched and dependable reference.
Delivers its promise.
Full with advanced thinking and practical examples, this book really is a window (rather, a super-window) to the near future. It explains what is wrong with many systems: optimization of a component pessimizes the whole and gives advice for better available solutions. A must for everyone interested in economics and ecology. along with "Cradle to cradle", the best I have read so far.

Natural Capitalism - China's Future | America's ???
Just this morning I was watching Cashin' In on Fox News. One hot topic was how Oil / Energy prices not only affect gas prices, but ripple across the entire economy - creating potentially deadly inflation. The fact is, our oil addiction is 1) consuming non-renewable resources, and 2) polluting the air, water, and land all around us. This cannot continue for long without irreversible effects on the world.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economics - Theory    5. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    6. International - Economics    7. Public Policy - Economic Policy    8. Business & Economics / Economics / International   

Reviews (5)

Perfect for small projects!
Note: SPSS 13.0 for Windows Student Version cannot open data files containing more than 50 variables or 1,500 cases. Having said that, if you have less than 50 variables and 1,500 cases to deal with then this is the software for you. It came with a (brief) 227-page users guide that was pretty comprehensive all by itself. Order the SPSS 13.0 Guide to Data Analysis to go with it, and you have just about everything you need to fiddle with and learn the basics of statistical analysis.

Excellent for SPSS and statistics students
I have used this product in a research methods class and found it to perform quite well.While it may not have all the features of the full SPSS package it is more than adequate and does not require the student to pay the hefty fee of the full version.

Very disappointed
Beware - if you buy the student version it is not big enough to run the files necessary that you work on in class. Nowhere did it indicate on the Amazon site that it had limits of file size. Wouldn't one assume that if you are selling a "student" verson, that it will be able to run your school files?Don't buy it if you are a college student and need this software to complete your projects. I wasted $80 plus dollars. Didn't learn of its limitations until AFTER I loaded it, and when it wouldn't work found the limitation statement in the manual. Very disappointed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. Computer Programs    4. Interactive & Multimedia    5. Mathematical & Statistical Software    6. Probability & Statistics - General    7. Programming - Systems Analysis & Design    8. Software - Science    9. Statistical Methods In The Social Sciences    10. Statistics   

Reviews (3)

Stunningly excellent book on basic statistics.
I've taken various probability/statistics classes as an undergrad at VA Tech, and as a grad student at GMU and MIT. This book is without question the best I have seen - by a long shot. Further, it provides the only thorough and rigorous explanation for hypothesis testing I have ever seen.
Confusing, disjointed and too expensive in my opinion.
I teach Statistics for a living, and this book replaced the book by Wiers, a move that I have berated the folks that do our purchasing ever since. The other Stats lecturer felt the same, and we have ended up using old copies of the prior book.
You're spinnin' me...
Statistics is supposedly easy right...right!But who knew that a textbook would go to such lengths to make it harder!
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Subjects:  1. Commercial statistics    2. Economics    3. Mathematics    4. Probability & Statistics - General    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Social sciences    7. Statistical methods    8. Statistics    9. Business & Economics / Statistics    10. Mathematics and Science    11. Probability & statistics   

Editorial Review

"A spectre is haunting Europe," Karl Marx and Frederic Engels wrote in 1848, "the spectre of Communism." This new edition of Read more

Reviews (236)

Romanticism.
This book did not start it all, consider all the other communist publications of the time period. Also the artistic movement at the time, which was the romantic era. That has nothing to do with lovey duvey romance of today, and Karl Marx would have hated all the "dictators" that have enslaved so many people. If you cant see that obviously you havent read it, thats why it cannot work. Its too perfect of an overall view of people and the economy for equality. Romanticism.

PRESENT AT THE FOUNDATION OF MODERN COMMUNISM
If you are a revolutionary, a radical or merely a liberal activist you must come to terms with the theory outlined in the Communist Manifesto. Today's activists are obviously not the first political activists to face this challenge. Radicals, revolutionaries and liberals have had to come to terms with the Manifesto at least since 1848 when it was first published and that same necessity; perhaps surprisingly to some given the changes in the political landscape since then, is true today. Why surprisingly? On the face of it given the political situation today it would appear somewhat absurd to make such a claim about the necessity of coming to terms with the overriding need for the revolutionary overturn of the capitalist order outlined in the Manifesto. With the collapses of the Soviet Union and the Soviet-influenced Eastern European states about fifteen years ago, which were supposedly based on Marxist concepts, one would think that Marxism was a dead letter. But hear me out. Even the less far-sighted apologists for the international capitalist order are now worrying about the increasing gap between rich and poor, not only between the so-called first and third worlds but also within the imperialist metropolitican centers themselves. Nowhere is that more evident that in the United States where the gap has dramatically increased over the last thirty years. Thus, despite the carping of the `death of communism' theorists after the decisive capitulation of international Stalinism an objective criterion exists today to put the question of class struggle and of the validity of a materialist concept of history back on the front burner.
Hate Litterature
When I read this, I was not expecting to become a commie, but at least I was hoping for something more compelling than the pure hatred of people who have more than others and the racist concsipracy theories (especially re Jews) that the authors came up with.
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Subjects:  1. Communism    2. Economic Conditions    3. History & Theory - Radical Thought    4. Philosophy    5. Political    6. Political Ideologies - Communism & Socialism    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Fiction / Classics   

Reviews (34)

Outdated, bias, full with prejudice and lack of analysis
This book is one of the most bias and harmful books ever written on Latin America. The only reason for his success would be it was written in the midst of the Cold War, with the support of all the comunist propoganda. The book have no depth and lacks the most basic historical, economic and social analysis. Written by a bunch of second-rate writers, it hardly scratch the surface, limiting itself to play the victim's role some leaders like Hugo Chavez are trying to play today. There're many serious books out there to waste time with this one. If you're interested with the subject, maybe you should start with a history one, like "The two empires of América".

Trash-book.The bible of latino moron.
I tried to read this trash-book,here in Brazil, about twenty years ago.This book is so bad, that I never finished it.The author is a marxist and knowed faker, ridiculous and Fidel Castro's friend.
Excellent Source book, but needs to be complimented
This book must and has to be read in conjunction with
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economic Conditions    5. Economic History    6. General    7. Latin America    8. American history    9. Business & Economics / Economic Conditions    10. LATIN AMERICA_ECONOMIC CONDITIONS   

Reviews (3)

A Must Have for Every MBA
I'm in an executive MBA program and this text was extremely valuable.I highly recommend it.

In-depth coverage of the subject matter.
As an MBA student learning Economics, I found Dr. McKenzie's textbook and video modules to be an outstanding way to learn.The videos allowed me to conveniently review, pause, rewind and re-review specific points.The textbook was also very useful, and complemented the video modules well by providing in-depth coverage of the subject matter.
Exceptional and recommended
Professor McKenzie's book and lecture turned over a new leaf.His book is effective because he talks about scenarios (economical or non-economical) that the MBA reader can relate to.Who would have thought that microeconomics can be applied to the hiring process of a professor from 6 mile South Carolina to work at La Jolla, CA???? Anyhow, Professor McKenzie's course and text is exceptional and I recommend it to any economics enthusiast, MBA or non-MBA. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Management - General    5. Managerial economics    6. Microeconomics    7. Business & Economics / Management   

Reviews (11)

A must read if you are in economics
The works of Adam Smith are an essential part of universal culture, especially for economics. The introduction to the book places you at the time it was written, which makes it even more valuable.

Interesting read
This book is a modeling exercise about the components of a nation's wealth, whereby: Wealth of Nations = Land + Labour + Stock (ie Capital accumulated).This model serves as the foundation of the arguments in the entire book; and an excellent guide to analyze our modern market economies.Smith touches on various topics, ranging from market economics, history of colony establishments, state of opulence (briefly describing China in the 18th century), and of human nature and behavior in general.
Put on top of your reading list.
A classic... mandatory but pleasant reading if you are into Economics... not boring despite the size. Read with a pencil handy to highlight the too many good quotes. Get the Bantam Classics edition--cheap, small and unabridged (doesn't get much better than this). Mind boggling how good Adam Smith is. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economics    5. Economics - Theory    6. International - General    7. Business & Economics / General    8. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (18)

A good update but not 100% correct
I teach strategic management to undergraduates at an Australian university and have used the 2nd and 3rd editions of this book in the past three years to supplement the theory from our prescribed texts. It is heavy going in some places for the students but I like the book's rigour. The only criticism I have is that the 4th edition I just received has some minor errors. For example, pages 20-21 in the "Economic Profit versus Acccounting Profit" section has errors in the figures quoted for economic profit for McDonalds and Starbucks. I think this has occured because the 3rd edition figures have been carried over to the 4th edition without a proper proof-reading. Another minor mistake is that Table 10.2 (page 329) should read "Five-Forces Analysis of the Commercial Aciation Industry" and not "Five-Forces Analysis of the Chicago Hospital Market". Sorry to be pedantic but I guess these things can detract from the perceived quality of an otherwise top-quality text. Please note I will be buying your next edition in a couple of years. Cheers from "DownUnder Australia!"

great book
Actually, this book is used as a text book in Competitive Strategy courses at U. of Chicago. Kudos to Dr. Besanko for writing such an interesting well-grounded book. Kellogg may not appreciate his writing and use this book and his other book as textbook, however, here at U. of Chicago, we do.
A book that reasons the strategies
Many business books provide models of competition, innovation, etc. without adequately reasoning how the models were reached. Whereas they provide solutions to a problem - they do not provide the understanding of how the solution is reached. Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economic aspects    5. Economics - Microeconomics    6. Management - General    7. Managerial economics    8. Strategic Planning    9. Business & Economics / Microeconomics    10. Business strategy   

Reviews (10)

"Where did all the good ones go?"
Find a Parade, Jump in Front, Declare Yourself Grand Marshall
The "research" that the authors quote is their own but their "findings" are nothing more than information that has been reported ad nauseum in journal articles and news stories over the past several years.The book could have been condensed drastically without losing any of the points.Thelast 25% of the book is a "discussion guide" that may be more valuable than the guts of the book.
Thought provoking book.
Good analysis of the problem and some suggestions for solutions.Employers are going to have to use older workers or go without in the near term.Raises some real questions about the importance of "guest workers" to the continued success of our economy.The labor has to come from somewhere. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Human Resources & Personnel Management    5. Labor    6. Labor Force    7. Labor supply    8. Management - General    9. Manpower planning    10. Personnel And Human Resources Management    11. Personnel management    12. United States    13. Labour economics    14. Personnel & human resources management   

Reviews (5)

An Old Favorite Brought Up to Date
This book has two real aspects.
Very Good Economics Book.
I just finished a Managerial Economics MBA course that used this text.I found it to be very well written compared to textbooks I've read for other classes.I think it does a good job explaining supply and demand, intro to pricing, and intro to strategy and game theory.Examples are used to improve the reader's "economic" intuition.I talked to a friend who just finished a differnt MBA program who used this book.He recommended the book and especially liked the strategy segments and the prisoner's dilema.

overview only
It seems like a glorified table of contents.It tries to cover too much and absolutely no detailed in-depth explanations, and absolutely no rigorouse mathematical explinations.It's good only as an table of contents with some details.If you are interested in a specific topic, you are better off finding information on the web or go elsewhere.The cases are fun to read, and provide some insight into the real life problems.Recommend it for night time leisure reading, but not for seriouse students who wants to learn a solid fundation to the subject. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Ec