Focuses on the "elite"
927273
The emphasis in this book by Allison Wolf is on women in "elite" positions.  The shows women in top executive positions are close to equal to men in like positions, but as you go down the ladder, the gap enlarges considerably.  The author does stray into unexpected territory at times, such as the lot of women in sex services.  However, the target seems to be basically the lady executive.  All in all, this is a valuable book for understanding the status of today's working woman and should be useful for all women, but especially young women choosing whether or not to pursue higher education.  Highly recommended for all.
3166261
I highly recommend this book. So often the focus is on our Presidents, yet we seldom get to meet
the dynamics behind them....their true bosses.
3736465
Interesting look at the character of a mix of affluent folks who vacation in the area and the less well to do who live there year around.
2380941
It was refreshing to hear a relatively young, successful entrepreneur, who is a billionaire, recognize that the building and sustainability of a democracy depend upon the opportunities and feeling of ownership of all interested citizens.  It is common among some groups in our country to promote the idea that we could all benefit from making the rich richer.  The authors make the case that building an affluent, educated bottom 99% would be a better approach to making the rich richer.  I was reminded of this book last night when I watched a DVD with a movie entitled "The One Percent," developed and directed by Jamie Johnson, one of the heirs of the founder of Johnson and Johnson.  Like True Patriot, that movie makes the case for economic social justice as a basis for national strength and financial growth.
3230406
Given a understanding of elite v common majority.  The power given to the few elite accompanied with a distant life style (out of Touch) is a danger to communities and country.  The elite whom rule are to distance to make an effective decision for for their constituents.  However, a hierarchical structure is necessary to motivate a decision or solution.
4081729
Jacques Attali has something to say, having been an advisor for ten years to President Mitterand, and has been as well a President of of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a bank he mentions in the text that was created for the specific purpose of shaping the future, and what he says is worth paying attention to, although the reward for the attention paid is Blade-Runner-like and dismaying.  He is a member of the elite, and he says that it is the elite that controls the world.  You may think your president and congressmen are the decision-makers, but they are not.

What the elite are interested in is making money now and for the far-off future.  What country, what people, and what ideas will help toward that end is largely the content of the book, except for some information at the end of the book detailing what kind of future humanity will inhabit.  The elite will need a center of power to achieve that goal and  while it has been the United States for some time, that position has weakened considerably largely through overwhelming, unprecedented debt.  (But wasn't it the elite who perpetrated the creation of debt and excessive spending in the first place?)  That center of power may well be Japan or the Pacific region in general or it may be Europe so long as the East and West can work together economically and efficiently.  Mr. Attali leaves the proposition open-ended as to where the final power center will be but asserts qualifiedly that there cannot ultimately be two or three power centers; there must be one and one only -- particularly since there is a need to have a single entity that performs global integration of all nation-states for law, health, money, and culture: a new world order.

In the future, there will be no family; we all will be nomads greedily seeking to fulfill our desires, including the desire to survive, but as well the desire to achieve our ambitions.  Thus, we all will have our own iPods or some future-oriented equivalent, our own miniaturized instruction modules, our own health checkers on miniaturized computers, and the like. The physician and the teacher will be a thing of the past, replaced by portable machines each nomad can purchase -- provided that nomad lives in or near a center of power.  For those who live on the periphery of a power center, their life and hopes will be considerably diminished, sad and poor.  Africa (except, perhaps, for South Africa) has no real place or chance in the 21st century, according to Mr. Attali.  The battles and conflicts in the Mideast will continue throughout the 21st century unless these smaller states can learn to join up with either Asia, Europe or America, an unlikely scenario at this point.

Although Mr. Attali doesn't say so explicitly, in depicting what the future will look like for generations of humans, he does assert that humanity will need a new religion which all mankind can harmoniously get behind and believe, and that new religion is what he calls "the sacred," or, more specifically, a respect for nature and an awareness of what carbon dioxide is doing to increase the temperature of the planet - or so the author claims.  Humanity will see itself following the new world order -- or it will perish.  Human beings will willing turn themselves into a product that can be sold like a can of beans through the marvels of genetic manipulation, cloning, and new copyright laws and there will be no difference between life and machine at all.

Mr. Attali is not without some heart for the future.  He does prat about justice, pluralism and democracy somewhat palpably in the book, as if the New World Order somehow still has "soft-spot" in its cold mercenary machinations for Classical Liberalism rather than for absolute Totalitarianism.  Thus, Mr. Attali has started a nonprofit  (read "tax-free") loan institution to "help" impoverished nations build "micro-entrepreneurs" because he knows that these nations and peoples, if they don't "get with it" -- and soon -- are going to be valueless fodder in the 21st century.
1924344
I enjoyed reading this book because it gave me a perspective about Putin that I was not aware of.  I realize the book only gives us the perspective that Putin wants us to see, but I think it is accurate for the most part. It does not, however, cover much of his life after he became president.  The internal and external criticism of Putin has taken place mostly after he became president.  It has been said that "power corrupts" and I think that applies to Putin as it does to most dictators.  They do whatever they think they must in order to protect their power and accomplish their ends.  Putin is a smart, clever man, and he has managed to quell the critics and maintain his popularity in spite of his poor management of the Russian economy.  One characteristic of Putin that is not set forth in this book is the ruthlessness by which he pursues goals that he thinks are in the best interest of Russia and himself.  Death and suffering mean nothing to him if they happen in pursuit of an important goal.  In addition, truth is also meaningless if it is inconvenient while pursuing a goal.  When reading this book, it is important to realize one is seeing only one side of a many sided man.
3709306
I enjoyed this book that is deep in details on the political intriques of the period that saw the rise of the Knights Templar and ultimately lead to their destruction.
However, I recommend this to only serious minded people in pursuit of knowledge on the templars.  This is heavy reading for the general 'wee guide to' knowledge seekers and will likely bore them.  But to the people wanting a better understanding of their order, the climate that saw them move from a religious order to one of the biggest bankers concerns in the Middle Ages that controlled Kings and Nations, this book delivers.
For those seeking more than the superficial, then this book is it.
2076761
I first read this book way back in 1967.  That edition was a best seller, and required reading in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.  Domhoff is not the only person who has written about the domination of America's elite, and how they work, play and intermarry, but his use of statistics buttresses his arguments.  Several readers said the book was hard to read.  Well, it's aimed at smart people who can understand subtlety and the use of statistics.  This isn't some hack screed from one of our nation's punditry outlets but an attempt (successful) to have a serious discussion about the issue.  A similar attempt has been made in this Princeton book.  http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9354310
4887017
Anderson Cooper's book is a great addition to this type of personal journalism. He has a unique perspective, coming from a very privileged background and choosing to leave the trappings of high society to others while he finds what is really important in life. I enjoyed the pieces about family and those about the many newsworthy places he has been. He is really breaking the mold of the 21st century celebrity journalist so that he represents something far more important than the perfect hairstyle. More power to him!
813083
I read this book not so much as an elite sports enthusiast but more as an every day person looking for an idea  bank or inspiration for enhancing my work and personal life. I stumbled upon the book after reading extracts in the NYTimes and Wired magazines. Unfortunately, the extracts turned out to be the most interesting pieces of the book - my favorite part was the use of analytics in sports. The rest of the book may have been well researched and well written but wasn't as interesting with wider application beyond the subject of elite sports. It's worth a read if you're curious about elite sports persons but not for anything more.
2989103
Some great insights into one of the world's most prestigious companies
3595180
Interesting book. I think many, maybe most, people profile. It starts in children where you begin "reading" parent's mood. Many people seem to keep an eye on their surroundings, in a mall, at a store, commuting. Driving several cars ahead to see what is happening, keeping a watch on what is going on behind or next to you. "Left of Bang" brings profiling into serious focus. Unfortunately it will take several readings to remember the refined approach and terminology the book offers. Since this is a text in USMC's Combat Hunter Program most readers could, probably, derive much more were we allowed into some similar course. It requires more than recreational/trivial reading. I don't know if I will force the time and field work to bring myself to the point of real day application. Hence four stars.
319097
I like brevity but this book may be too brief at about 85 pages, so it is basically a set of conclusions.  Nevertheless, it provides a lot of interesting information about what most people suspect: that the whole political-economic system is rigged and heading for a collapse.

Smith explains that today's economic problems are due to self-serving elites who chase worldwide profits through Globalization regardless of the consequences for the areas they leave or enter.  The mechanism is the worldwide mobility of capital to seek lower costs and higher profits.  The political-economic theory supporting this is neoliberalism, supported by both the Bush and Clinton Dynasties.

There is of course nothing new about elites serving themselves at the expense of everyone else.  It has been going on for thousands of years.  What is new is that today's elites have modern global technology, which accelerates the process.  People increasingly recognize this but they are not that familiar with how capital moves behind the scenes.

What people are most familiar with is the institutions that promote this status quo to the public.  These institutions include the news media, academia, and Hollywood.  The journalists, professors, and entertainers inhabiting these institutions get upper middle class pay, or higher in some instances, to support the neoliberal status quo and thus they take the front lines in defending it.  Politicians and government bureaucrats doing the same thing are a bit less vocal.

This book was written just before Trump was elected but the elite response to his victory shows how it operates.  The 2016 election was supposed to be between the Bush and Clinton Dynasties.  When the outsider Donald Trump entered the race, the three main propaganda elements (media, academia, Hollywood) went into a state of hysteria which has continued to this day.  He attacked the two main elements of the neoliberal status quo: open borders for more profits and welfare for the victims.

The teleological imperative (as Smith would say) for the neoliberal state in America is a small elite which owns most of the capital and thus most of the profits from this system.  After the well-paid propaganda elements get their take, the next level would the technicians (preferably from cheap foreign labor) who would manage the increasingly computer-automated economy.  There would still be a small lowly paid service sector to do those things computers cannot do.  But the fate of most of the population would be some form of welfare.

It used be that the Republican Party stood more for Wall Street but now both parties are equally indebted there.  The main difference seems to be that the Democrat Party has adopted the welfare state as its main constituency while the GOP sees it as a necessary evil to be limited whenever possible.  Meanwhile Hollywood and television try to keep the masses entertained with endless rubbish while the news media does the same with sensational news which is rapidly emulating the National Enquirer.

Above all, elections have become a form of entertainment meant to make voters feel they control things.  The country is already mostly run by nonelected officials such as government bureaucrats, federal judges, and Federal Reserve bureaucrats who control much of the economy.  But this is not enough, the elites cannot even stomach the pretense of any outsider controlling the diminished power of the White House, which is why the elite attacks on President Trump are non-stop.
1729210
The revelation in this book is that:  5-10 years after their misdeeds, the 'elite' are more than happy to reveal their wrongdoings in order to spite us. Kinda like saying "IN YOUR FACE!"  That is were the real damage occurs.

  You see... The conspiracy researchers are actually welcomed to dig up and investigate. They are actually left a trail to follow.  In the 'elites' mind, what good is planning and committing the PERFECT CRIME if you cant show it off.
  ...
647847
Focused too much on the top three elite universities in the U.S., this book dissects how their admissions policies and procedures developed and evolved from the late nineteenth century.  It's startling to read just how UN-elite their admissions policies were during that time -- they didn't feel they had the choice or duty to seek out the truly gifted, instead they focused on getting the sons of those already wealthy and powerful even if they were third-raters academically.  Only 10% of those at these colleges were intellectual, interested in studying, and those were viewed by the college administration as "grinds" not really useful to the colleges' goals of producing the social and power elite of the country.  These colleges were in-grown, taking their admissions people from their own alumni, thus perpetuating the system.  When Jews and other outsiders used the increasingly excellent public school system to become academically superior candidates to the sons of the WASP elite, an admissions system focused on legacies (sons of alums), athletics, and 'leadership potential' was developed to avoid admitting these hoi polloi that 'gentleman' wouldn't care to associate with.  It's interesting to me that these colleges never simply excluded these 'undesirables' per se, just made it extremely difficult for them to gain admission.  They excluded applicants from whole parts of the country, like those from public schools anywhere near NYC, instead, vigorously encouraging those from a handful of elite private schools (who seem to have excluded 'undesirables' for them).  Many of the people making these decisions seem not to have been particularly anti-semitic; they seem instead to have felt that admitting more than some percentage of Jews (~15%) would 'destroy' their college's ability to raise money and be where the 'right sort' would go.

The book tells its story very well, with massive documentation.  I would have liked more about how the Irish and Italians fared (they seem not to have faced very much organized discrimination?), and the sections late in the book on women, blacks and Asian-Americans were useful but not as thorough.  There were many fascinating and some horrifying characters and amazing stories about these colleges.  It was not stressed enough, I think, that there were other universities which did see their role as educating academically motivated students.  MIT, for example, was during this era all about educating the working-class and immigrants for useful technical and scientific careers.

Anybody who wants to understand how admission to the Ivy League and other elite colleges got the way it is, and how these three evolved at last into a bit more of  real universities rather than social clubs, would find this book fascinating.  It's also of interest to anyone interested in fathoming one aspect of antisemitism in the U.S. during this period.  It is long, even if the back notes are more or less ignored, but a fascinating read.
1901854
Right off the bat, the biggest value of the book is Goldberg's selection of target people.  Because it is unlikely that most readers will have heard of so many of the unfortunates he picks, we at least learn about some influential, but hidden persons and their current role in our society.  At least from the author's view.  By so learning about these lesser-knowns, it strongly encourages us to dig further.  Perhaps this is the author's aim, and if so, a very useful one.

In any case, it really is interesting to sit down and read about the 110 folks named in the book.  Most selections are quite short (1-1/2 to 2-1/2 pages each), and Goldberg's style is usually short and easy to take in.  This makes it thankfully easy to grasp his main points and complaints quickly, and mentally store them for maybe a little more research.  His comments on cerebral palsy vs. John Edwards is a good example.

I think most readers will get the main stated idea from the author, which is the importance of upgrading the virtues of civility, openness, and honesty in our society.  As he had said after Anna Nichole Smith's death (she was listed as #53 in the book), we should not be idolizing people who represent all the things that are "crummy" with our country.  The reader will almost certainly find persons in the book that he/she thinks should NOT be listed, but that's to be expected.  And there are enough conservatives (e.g., Judge Roy Moore) named to make the book agreeable to everyone.