http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/37662 en-US Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:19:24 -0800 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 13675781 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:19:24 -0800
author: Gabriel García Márquez
name: Mathias
average rating: 3.23
book published: 1961
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 01/26/08
shelves: spanish-language
review:

]]> 13675733 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:18:51 -0800
author: Esmeralda Santiago
name: Mathias
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 01/26/08
shelves: spanish-language
review:

]]> 13675706 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:18:33 -0800
author: Julio Cortazar
name: Mathias
average rating: 4.46
book published: 1963
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 01/26/08
shelves: spanish-language
review:

]]> 13675625 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:17:23 -0800
author: Gabriel García Márquez
name: Mathias
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 01/26/08
shelves: spanish-language
review:

]]> 13675449 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:15:50 -0800
author: Lance Armstrong
name: Mathias
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 01/08
date added: 01/26/08
shelves: spanish-language
review:
Reading it again
]]> 13675108 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:12:02 -0800
author: Peter B. Levy
name: Mathias
average rating: 3.00
book published: 1994
rating: 3
read at: 07/98
date added: 01/26/08
shelves: labor
review:

]]> 13675097 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:11:33 -0800
author: Paul Avrich
name: Mathias
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1986
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 01/26/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 13675086 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:11:24 -0800
author: Dan Georgakas
name: Mathias
average rating: 4.49
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 01/26/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 13675045 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:11:00 -0800
author: Julius G. Getman
name: Mathias
average rating: 3.25
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 01/26/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 13674972 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:10:50 -0800
author: Paul Avrich
name: Mathias
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 11/90
date added: 01/26/08
shelves: anarchist-history
review:

]]> 13674186 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:00:05 -0800
author: Alan Greenspan
name: Mathias
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 12/07
date added: 01/26/08
shelves: economics
review:

]]> 13673910 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 18:56:30 -0800
author: Rupavilasa Dasa
name: Mathias
average rating: 5.00
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at: 01/08
date added: 01/26/08
shelves: religion
review:

]]> 13673446 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 18:55:18 -0800
]]>
author: Nori J. Muster
name: Mathias
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 01/08
date added: 01/26/08
shelves: religion
review:
I find books on the "Hare Krishna" movement to be insightful, especially when trying to understand the misfortunes that have plagued ISKCON since the departure of Prabhupada.


]]> 5560053 Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:44:25 -0700
author: Bruce Watson
name: Mathias
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 01/08
date added: 09/02/07
shelves: anarchist-history
review:

]]> 5560041 Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:43:56 -0700
author: Tom Slee
name: Mathias
average rating: 3.20
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 01/08
date added: 09/02/07
shelves: economics
review:

]]> 1902696 Sun, 02 Sep 2007 19:37:01 -0700
I don't have much to say about this book except that it was almost impossible to put down.]]>
author: Haruki Murakami
name: Mathias
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 06/07
date added: 09/02/07
shelves: bizarre
review:
I read this book on the plane trip from Newark to Tokyo. I'm not much a reader of fiction but I had heard good things about the author (plays with many philosophical concepts in his novels) and also wanted to get a taste of Japan prior to landing.

I don't have much to say about this book except that it was almost impossible to put down.
]]> 4238881 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:11:56 -0700
author: Jean Baudrillard
name: Mathias
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 08/07/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 4238753 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:11:17 -0700
author: Floyd Landis
name: Mathias
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 07/07
date added: 08/07/07
shelves: sports
review:
Insightful more for its portrayal of the evolution of a professional racer than for its explanation of why he tested positive for steroids.
]]> 1570259 Thu, 31 May 2007 16:16:54 -0700
author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
name: Mathias
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 01/08
date added: 05/31/07
shelves: economics
review:

]]> 1570241 Thu, 31 May 2007 16:16:19 -0700
author: Pope Benedict-XVI
name: Mathias
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 01/08
date added: 05/31/07
shelves: religion
review:

]]> 408353 Thu, 31 May 2007 16:15:15 -0700
Enron's collapse is a case study of what can go wrong in an economic system that lacks adequate checks and balances coupled with the increasing disempowerment of other important economic actors (labor unions etc). Unfortunately whatever lessons have been learned from Enron have yet to materialize into a meaningful change in business practices (I understand opponents of Sarbanes-Oxly may disagree). I attribute this to the voyeuristic nature of contemporary Western society where the collapse of Enron is viewed more as reality TV (Girls of Enron in Playboy etc) rather than an opportunity to reflect on business practices that threaten the health of the international economy.

Readers will also benefit by the simple explanations offered for complex financial schemes such as the monetization of assets, securitization etc.

One of my favorite paragraphs so far:

".."say you have a dog, but you need to create a duck on the financial statements. Fortunately, there are specific accounting rules for what constitutes a duck: yellow feet, white covering, orange beak. So you take the dog and paint its feet yellow and its fur white and you paste an orange plastic beak on its nose, and then you say to your accountants, 'This is a duck! Don't you agree that it's a duck?' And the accountants say, 'Yes, according to the rules, this is a duck.' Everybody knows that it's a dog, not a duck, but that doesn't matter, because you've met the rules for calling it a duck."]]>
author: Bethany McLean
name: Mathias
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 03/07
date added: 05/31/07
shelves: businessprofiles
review:
Another excellent work that provides insight into how financial incentive regimes (Regulations, Markets, Competitor Behavior)influence the actions of micro-players (CEO's, divisional managers, etc) in the business world.

Enron's collapse is a case study of what can go wrong in an economic system that lacks adequate checks and balances coupled with the increasing disempowerment of other important economic actors (labor unions etc). Unfortunately whatever lessons have been learned from Enron have yet to materialize into a meaningful change in business practices (I understand opponents of Sarbanes-Oxly may disagree). I attribute this to the voyeuristic nature of contemporary Western society where the collapse of Enron is viewed more as reality TV (Girls of Enron in Playboy etc) rather than an opportunity to reflect on business practices that threaten the health of the international economy.

Readers will also benefit by the simple explanations offered for complex financial schemes such as the monetization of assets, securitization etc.

One of my favorite paragraphs so far:

".."say you have a dog, but you need to create a duck on the financial statements. Fortunately, there are specific accounting rules for what constitutes a duck: yellow feet, white covering, orange beak. So you take the dog and paint its feet yellow and its fur white and you paste an orange plastic beak on its nose, and then you say to your accountants, 'This is a duck! Don't you agree that it's a duck?' And the accountants say, 'Yes, according to the rules, this is a duck.' Everybody knows that it's a dog, not a duck, but that doesn't matter, because you've met the rules for calling it a duck."
]]> 410895 Thu, 31 May 2007 16:14:46 -0700
author: Ayn Rand
name: Mathias
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1943
rating: 0
read at: 03/07
date added: 05/31/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 416646 Sat, 24 Mar 2007 21:19:40 -0700
author: Amir D. Aczel
name: Mathias
average rating: 2.64
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 03/24/07
shelves: mathematics
review:

]]> 416397 Sat, 24 Mar 2007 21:05:46 -0700
As an avid cyclist this book really gets to what I feel is the core of all endurance sports; competing against your 'self' rather than another person.

I read a review that mentioned there was not much substance to the book. I can see why some would say that. This is a book most will enjoy but it takes a certain psychological type to get the most out of Karnazes story.

If you have never pushed your body to the point where it violently rebels against you then you may not understand the underlying story being told.]]>
author: Karnazes Dean
name: Mathias
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 01/07
date added: 03/24/07
shelves: sports
review:
Finished this in one day. Simply put - a great read.

As an avid cyclist this book really gets to what I feel is the core of all endurance sports; competing against your 'self' rather than another person.

I read a review that mentioned there was not much substance to the book. I can see why some would say that. This is a book most will enjoy but it takes a certain psychological type to get the most out of Karnazes story.

If you have never pushed your body to the point where it violently rebels against you then you may not understand the underlying story being told.
]]> 409464 Sat, 24 Mar 2007 11:32:22 -0700
This is an extremely difficult text. I recall spending an entire week on just one paragraph. I still do not fully understand this work but will eventually have to revisit it to complete something I am writing on Free Will.]]>
author: Jean-Paul Sartre
name: Mathias
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 06/01
date added: 03/24/07
shelves: existentialism
review:
The only time I ever passed out in my life was during the reading of this book. I actually felt and heard my brain pop and awoke on the floor next to the couch.

This is an extremely difficult text. I recall spending an entire week on just one paragraph. I still do not fully understand this work but will eventually have to revisit it to complete something I am writing on Free Will.
]]> 409411 Sat, 24 Mar 2007 11:26:06 -0700
author: Mark Haddon
name: Mathias
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 03/24/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 409175 Sat, 24 Mar 2007 11:11:33 -0700
author: A. C. Prabhupada
name: Mathias
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 06/88
date added: 03/24/07
shelves: religion
review:

]]> 408373 Sat, 24 Mar 2007 10:14:17 -0700
author: Bryan Burrough
name: Mathias
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 01/07
date added: 03/24/07
shelves: businessprofiles
review:
This is a must read book for students of business or anyone curious about how the macro-incentives of the financial world are played out among the micro-actors in the business world.
]]>