I have been researching hoodoo and voodoo for the past two years, but none of the books I've come across compare to Spiritual Merchants. Not only is it honest, but it's simple...it reads almost like a conversation. I appreciate the oodles of images and merchants, especially since Long distinguishes between their races. Unfortunately, most of the web sites are defunct. I will treasure this book always!

What a great treat it's been to read Spiritual Merchants. Carolyn Long knew she was covering new ground, and it's obvious from the writing that she relished the field work. But what's at least as impressive is the depth of archival research. The preliminary history of Voodoo and hoodoo in the U.S. is really incomparable for its clarity and coherence. Carolyn Long should be congratulated for a terrifically written book--and UTP deserves the same for a beautifully produced book at a reasonable price. It's sure to be a standard for years to come.

This book is a compendium of articles published in the Sloan Management Review. For the money - you can't be wrong. The entire gamut covers almost all the topics you can encounter in EBusiness: CRM, innovation, supply-chain, etc. The articles by Christensen and MacCormack alone pays for the book. It's well focused on EBusiness and has considerably more content than similar books (article collections) from the Harvard Business Review.

This book contains one of the most forward-thinking collections of papers on e-business strategies that I've found between two covers. The material is based on work from MIT's Sloan School of Management and differs from most material coming from academia by being practical and reflecting what can be accomplished in the real world.

The book is divided into three topic areas: strategy, implementation and technology. The material in each section appears to have been carefully selected to provide the essentials. For example, each of the six papers under Strategy contain a distinct viewpoint of a distinct element of developing and implementing an e-business strategy. My favorite paper in this section is "Finding Sustainable Profitability in Electronic Commerce" by John M. de Figueiredo because it shows not only what needs to be done, but also what will not work. Each of the other sections follow this pattern - the papers are in touch with the harsh realities and challenges faced by businesses, not stuff cooked up in an ivory tower.

Although not stated as an objective by the authors (and editors), this book does a remarkable job of bridging the gap between business and IT. For the business side, the slant towards strategy and marketing in the e-business environment will provide a solid foundation about what it takes to establish an "e" presence, and how to effectively build trust and a brand image, develop customer loyalty and manage online processes. For the IT side this book provides insights about business challenges within the context of strategic and tactical requirements. This is especially useful information for those who are working as business systems analysts. Those IT professionals need to gain more than a cursory understanding of business requirements and translate them into technical solutions. Moreover, for those few IT departments do anticipate business needs, or are integrated into the business strategic planning process this book will provide many ideas about how technology can support business imperatives.

In addition to the excellent material in this book, you'll find a wealth of information on Erik Brynjolfsson's personal web page, which also has links to even more relevant material on pages at MIT Sloan School of Management and MIT's Center for eBusiness.

Excellent in-sight. A most enjoyable read.

Tangled Up In The Past was an excellent '1 hours read'. Authors showed great insight.

As a systems/software analyst, I find myself tending to read only technical publications. So, I make it a habit to periodically force myself to read in an area foreign to me. Thus, I picked up "Thriving in E-Chaos" - the very first book I have ever read related to business operation.

I wish I had read it long ago! Not because I am a businessman, but because it has given me real insight as to how my company, one of the "winners" mentioned in the book, makes it happen. Understanding that has transformed the way I handle my responsibilities within the organization. And that has transformed my annual bonus handsomely.

I am an attorney who counsels companies and this book is my new e-business bible! Anyone who is in or is thinking of getting into e-commerce must read this book. It is revolutionary and insightful! I recommend it to all my clients. This is the consumate text for those who want to make it in our slowing economy. A must have book!

The stated purpose of the authors in this book is to bring order to the variety of models that have appeared in the analysis of international trade policy in imperfectly competitive markets. Throughout the book they rely on partial equilibrium models. When there are cases in which general equilibrium effects alter conclusions, the authors point them out.

The three central issues that recur in this book are the effects of trade policy on market power, the strategic effect of trade policy on competition and the effect of trade policy on consumer choice.

The defining feature of imperfect competition is that firms do not take prices as given. As a result they do not regard the sole effect of selling another unit of output on their revenue as being the price of that unit; they have some conjecture about what effect selling more will have on the revenue they get from inframarginal sales. The end result is that price normally exceeds marginal cost.

The ratio of price to marginal cost is one measure of market power. A trade policy may alter the markup of price over marginal cost in ways that are benefitial or harmful to the country that initiates the policy.

This book shows that problems involving market power can be analyzed by focusing on perceived marginal revenue -- the increase in revenue that a firm expects to receive by producing one more unit, which is always less than the price (because of the effect on intramarginal sales) but may exceed the true marginal revenue that would prevail if the industry acted in concert.

An aspect of the new literature on trade policy under imperfect competition is the possibility that interventionist trade policies may have beneficial strategic effects. A strategic move is an action that is not profitable viewed in isolation but that alters the terms of subsequent competition to a firm's benefit. For instance, a firm may invest in excess capacity that it does nor intend to use, but whose presence deters potential competitors from entering the market. Government trade policies may serve the same kind of role.

Some questions that this book brings up in this regard are: How likely is it that a government will be able to have the information necessary to conduct a successful strategic policy? and Are there likely to be offsetting effects in the kind of industry to which the strategic trade argument might apply?

Making a commodity is costly, but if its price exceeds its marginal cost, then the resources used to produce it might not have an equally productive use elsewhere. In priciple, policies that induce consumers to purchase domestic goods whose price surpasses marginal cost may raise national income.

Protection can under some circumstances induce an increase in domestic production that actually lowers prices to consumers.

Arguments based on imperfect competition, external economies and factor market distortions have substantial empirical support and are the most powerful professionally respectable arguments against free trade.

In international trade policy analysis, distortions that could justify government intervention were superimposed on a theoretical structure whose logic was that of competitive equilibrium. In the new theory the imperfections are built into the structure from the get go.

The reasons for treating trade policy conclusions cautiously are: 1) Uncertainty, the effects of a given policy may depend crucially on the details of the market. 2) Domestic political economy, there are people eager to appropriate the result of new trade theories to support dubious causes. 3) International rivalry, a policy that benefits one country acting unilaterally may be harmful if everyone does it.

Since quantitative analyses seem to indicate that the gains from even optimal intervention are small, many economists have suggested that free trade remains a useful rule of thumb, even though it is rarely optimal in modern trade policies.

The book develops the arguments gradually, starting with market structures that exhibit one-sided market power and moving on to those that show two-sided market power. After providing background on trade policy in a competitive environment, the authors discuss import protection by a country with a domestic monopoly or oligopoly. Then they deal with import protection in an economy that faces a foreign monopoly or oligopoly, while domestic supply is nonexistant or competitive.

Later in the book strategic interactions come in to play beginning with an export-market scenario whereby domestic firms with monopoly power compete with foreign firms with monopoly power too. This is followed by an exploration of the role of strategic interactions in a domestic market in which domestic firms with market power compete with foreign firms with market power as well.

Trade policy in the presence of two-way trade, which may arise from monopolistic competition in differentiated products or for strategic reasons, is also examined in this volume. Finally, the authors review the recent literature that tries to quantify the effects of trade policy in noncompetitive environments. The new methodology and the numerical results are discussed.

There are four main areas in the analysis of trade policy under imperfect competition that deserve further investigation: 1) Models of market structure that make size distribution of firms endogenous. 2) Models of cooperative behavior to reflect some real-world activities of oligopolists. 3) Models with real dynamics in which trade policy can change the long-run rate of growth. 4) Quantification to confront the models with data so as to narrow down the possibilities.

In its time, this was a ground-breaking book. Hopefully, since its publication in 1989, economic researchers around the world could have taken note of the fields where deeper work was needed and made significant progress in constructing better models. By now, there should be already something in print that sums up the gains in the past decade, so it would be advisable to try to look up these updated books too.

This slim volume presents the normative theory of international trade under imperfect competition in a systematic manner. One cannot help but come away from it with a profound sense of caution about the advisablility of policies aimed at shifting rents. This ought to be required reading for all policymakers interested in "strategic trade theory." Unfortunately, it is not.

If you need to comply with SFAS 141 and 142, you will want to read this book. The authors understand these standards inside and out. The book's coverage is practical, thorough and written in easy to understand language (which is important because the changes outlined in SFAS 141 and 142 are far reaching and complex.) The best part of this book is that in addition to providing compliance guidance for SFAS 141 & 142, it also shows you how to apply the standards. This is key! I also found the book helpful on showing me how to identify and value intagible assests which is still a somewhatnew area for me.

This is timely and excellent coverage of SFAS 141 and 142. The authors' explanation are clear and complete. I would recommend this book to everyone involved in valuation.

Whether we choose to embrace technology, it is here to stay. Those who harness and leverage its capabilities will discover exciting new ways to conduct commerce. From entrepreneurial startups to the mega corporations, "Virtual Teams" explores not only how these emerging technologies will affect our daily activities but how our workplaces and social interactions will metamorphose. I highly recommend this book; Lipnack and Stamps are visionaries in field of networking. -- L. Alan Schuetz, President, DVMS, Inc.

"Virtual Teams" was a real treat for both my academic and consulting sensibilities. I have never seen such a thorough work on this topic. It is both fundamental and visionary at the same time.

In discourse with a fellow business consultant we bantered about the topic of Lipnack and Stamps latest book (of which I had received an advance copy). He said: "Unfortunately, Lipnack and Stamps(L&S) have been 10 years ahead of the curve with their understanding of the importance of networking."

"But," I replied, "With the book 'Virtual Teams' they offer the world-wide-race-to-the-Internet a well needed moment of reflection-during which they offer PURPOSE to connecting and give virtual teaming DEFINITION and DIRECTION." And the banter continued but we both agreed and got tingles as our chat echoed the truth of their statement:

"Communication technologies and computer networks-in particular the Internet-are underwriting this moment of pregnant potential." (p 240)

"You know," I concluded, "It's a good thing they (L&S) were ahead of their time-otherwise we would not have the language to discuss our 'interdependence' symptoms, to test our 'distributed business' hypothesis', and to realize how much responsibilty it is to be 'pregnant' with potential! Really! The capabilities and expectations we have to manage in these Internet days... how exciting, how dangerous! After all, 'net potential, without 'net performance is just predisposed waste, don't you agree?"

"Yeah, yeah Paula,--yadda, yadda, yadda; 'net, 'net, 'net...enough philosophy-so, should I read the book or not?"

"Go for it." I replied. "This book is not just an electronic blip about the latest fad of virtual teams- it is a study on careful communication, on planning and developing valuable distributed business relationships...a book to be savored and re-read over time."

(BTW --Mine is already all dog-eared and worn!)

Be prepared to THINK DEEP; when you read this book, SIP it SLOWLY and --ENJOY!

Chris Yeh is Mr. Kuegler's partner at his consulting firm.

I would question the objectivity of the previous review.

Please also place no credence in my rating of five stars, I have yet to receive my copy.

The web advertising and marketing is extremely confusing. Almost everything I've ever been told has been a lie. In sharp contrast, Kuegler's book tells hard truths, backed up with very specific examples. He focuses on companies and techniques that have flown below the mainstream radar screen, and delivers information that any marketer or entrepreneur can use.

Marc has a winner here. I stumbled across it in my local bookstore, and after flipping through a few pages, knew I had to buy it. The clarity of the message, the practicality of the presentation, and the true wisdom contained within make it a must read for anyone in the Internet or e-commerce field. Furthermore, any savvy business person can learn what they need to do to make better use of the Internet as a marketing, sales, customer service, and operational tool. It's NOT a book for the person who wants to read thousands of words delving into the deepest intricacies of business models, Internet user behavior, or complex financial models. It IS a book for the busy person who doesn't have time (or money) to figure out all of this stuff through trial and error, and who wants to capture the wisdom of others (Marc and the people he interviewed) in an efficient way. I wish I would have had it two years ago -- it would have saved me a lot of time figuring these things out myself.

One last note. I worked with some of the best thought-leaders while I was working with two Big-5 consulting firms, and I saw how the old Chinese proverb "To know, but not to do, is not yet to know" was truly accurate. They knew what they knew because of their experience. Because of his dead-on summary of these essentials, I didn't believe that a book of this quality could come from someone who was just a writer and has a few Internet businesses. I found through further research that Marc was formerly a partner at one of the leading web development and operation firms. I think he should include a few more lines in his too-brief bio to explain that. Even without that, the book speaks for itself.

The amount of great information contained in this book will take a lot of people by surprise. Those who have tried and failed in this business will get a lot of answers as to where they went wrong. For those looking to enter this business, the book will become their bible. The knowledge gained is actually saving me a great deal of time and MONEY.