The Origins of CRASH is the latest one which I've finished. Mind Blowing. I wonder how much research Roger must have done to produce such a masterpiece. The whole book is about the Stock Market crash of Spring 2000 in US. Those of us vaguly familiar with the crash treat it synonymous to the bursting of the dot com bubble, but as I read this book, I understood a lot about what went into building the premises where this market frenzy existed, and the cause of fallout. It deals with the likes of Enron and Worldcom, along with the foray of accounting firms into the lucrative consulting business, the use of Special Purpose vehicles the role of media in shaping public sentiment to make people invest in equities...An eye opener.
Awesome. I read this book, and then I couldn't watch the news channels or read through Newspapers and magazines for around a week. It is just so overwhelming to find out that 2 people control practically every piece of news that we recieve. The book chronicles the rise and clash between two media moghuls: TED TURNER and RUPERT MURDOCH. Just gives an insight how much politics and maniac competition is involved in the media industry. I bet the makers of James Bond must have thought of their villian Carver from Tomorrow never dies from these two gentlemen. And within a couple of days of finishing the book, Rupert Murdoch successfully completed his bid for the Wall Street journal; another brick in the wall.
I've always been a brand Enthusiast, and have read a LOT about branding and related stuff. Brands excite me. And here, Patrick Hanlon reveals the most engaging piece on branding I've come across in my life. His Primal code: The Seven Characteristics a brand must have to become a super brand is mind blowing. And, the book is a wealth of information hitherto absent on branding in 20th century.
Aahh... Harry Potter. What can I say. I am a massive fan of Harry Potter... hats off to JKR to give such an ending which managed to satisfy fans and critics alike...I dont recall such a marketing Blitz for a product, barring perhaps iPhone. The book broke the selling records of harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (which incidently had broken the record of Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix). What was truly remarkable was that despite the immense scrutiny for the clues in previous 6 books, JKR managed to give us an ending worthy of the grandeur of the series. Bravo...And thank you for nor killing Harry, for finally revealing Snape was good and not bringing Dumbledore back to life.
Google. Isn't it fascinating? How has Google become this Mega Brand without spending a single penny on advertising? How the hell does Google make so much money, by merely the clicks of users on sponsored adds? How did google surpass others like askjeeves to become what it has become today? Why was Google so late in listing on the markets? These and much more questions are answered by David Vise, in a very no-nonsense way. It has amazing inside stories, like The Burning man, The story of Google's Chef, how the SEC objected to Google's official letter before the IPO because it used the first names of all key executives, The Do no Evil part of its policy... Bingo !!!
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