|  | Author: Gerald F. Davis
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $17.42
as of 11/23/2009 01:06 CST details
You Save: $12.53 (42%)
New (31) Used (10) from $16.08
Seller: Florida Panhandlers
Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 264548
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0199216614
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.0410973
EAN: 9780199216611
ASIN: 0199216614
Publication Date: June 15, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: brand new hard cover with dust sleeve as arrived from publisher - ships with tracking #
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 36-38 of 38
 Perversions of our "Portfolio Society" May 23, 2009
George Bailey (Cambridge, MA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Managed by the Market presents a fascinating analysis of why corporations are no longer at the center of the economy, having been supplanted by financial instruments that are traded on markets. How this happened is a multifaceted tale, full of interesting and compelling stories. The problems with mortgage securitization have unfortunately become well known over the past year, but less known are a number of trends that stem from the same underlying dynamic. I was surprised to learn how there are now markets for insurance contracts for the terminally ill and even performers like David Bowie can create bonds to monetize their future earnings. And even governments have been corrupted by this trend, becoming vendors of law to attract corporations (who would have ever guessed that the ship registry of the government of Liberia is actually headquartered in a strip mall in Virginia!).
This book provides some great examples of how finance has run amok in the global economy over the past few decades, resulting in profound (and usually deleterious) social changes. It would be very useful reading for anyone who wants to get a better handle on some of the deep and troubling reasons why we got into the economic crisis in the first place.
Smart, Informative, and Entertaining May 11, 2009
bensmomma (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
First, I will admit I know the author personally rather well, so I don't expect you to take my word at face value that the book is an important and interesting read. Use "look inside this book" to see if you agree with me.
What I *can* tell you is the book offers more than topical insights into the current financial predicament - it tackles a bigger issue than that - the detrimental way in which the metaphors of finance have taken over modern lives. Our friends and our kids are "social capital," our homes and neighborhoods are investments before they are places to raise those kids. Our government is no longer an institution whose job is to reflect our best political principles and values, but is itself something more like a corporation, outsourcing fundamental jobs like military protection and adapting state laws to increase the states "market share" of corporate headquarters.
It's not preachy but informative (did you know that more people work for Wal-Mart than work in the entire agricultural industry? Did you know you could buy a "share" in David Bowie's future work?), and fun....academics will need to read it, but people looking around for an "airport book"* will also find it worthwhile.
*(a business book that you can read next to your boss while waiting for a flight...looks serious but is in fact fun).
Excellent read May 11, 2009
The Book Bard
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is a terrific read. Very accessible to all, it charts the changes in US brought on by Wall street. It is dripping with anecdotes and humorous observations. I would strongly recommend it for anyone wanting to get a deeper understanding of our current predicament.
Showing reviews 36-38 of 38
|
|
|
