Book Description
The Princeton Review realizes that scoring high on the AP Economics Macro & Micro Exams is very different from earning straight A’s in school. We don’t try to teach you everything there is to know about economics–only the strategies and information you’ll need to get your highest score. In Cracking the AP Economics Macro & Micro Exams, we’ll teach you how to
·Use our preparation strategies and test-taking techniques to raise your score
·Focus on the topics most likely to appear on the test
·Test your knowledge with review questions for each economics topic covered
This book includes 2 full-length practice tests, one each for Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. All of our practice questions are just like those you’ll see on the actual exam, and we explain how to answer every question.
Customer Reviews:
good prep, could be more thorough.......2007-08-10
I bought this book because as far as test prep goes, Princeton Review, in general, works best for me. On the whole, this book did not disappoint. I was taking the micro class at school but wanted to also learn the macro material. I ended up getting a 5 on both tests, so if that's all you're looking for, this book will do the job. I did notice, however, that I felt much more confident coming out of the micro test than the macro, so obviously this book is not a complete substitute for taking the class.
The way they introduce certain concepts can be kind of abstract, especially if you've never taken econ before. It all depends on the way your brain works. Also, being pretty compact, it didn't cover some of the topics quite as thoroughly as I'd have liked, although evidently what I did learn was enough to get me a 5. Basically, for the average person this is a great way to help prepare for the AP, but if you're attacking the subject on your own with just this book, you'll have to work a little harder.
GREAT BOOK FOR REVIEW AND SELF-STUDY !!!!!!!!!!.......2007-08-06
I used this book with the Kaplan Book's Tests and got 5's on both my AP economics Exam and 7 on my IB Economics Exam. That's after taking IB Economics w. a remedial teacher. Hurray for Princeton which has exactly the information needed to succeed on the AP Macro/Micro exams. If you download the collegeboard guide, you will notice how Princeton chapters are modeled after the sections stated on the collegeboard guide. Perfect book. Kaplan was okay for the questions. Princeton was better for the knowledge. Study for two weeks before and aced. Hope everyone will do as well.
prttygood.......2007-05-23
i took the course online and because of the disorganization of it, i was not able to learn the sufficient info. this book helped quite a lot, although i think on certain areas it was a bit light on coverage. it could use additional practice questions and practice tests.
a comparative guide to the guides.......2007-05-16
I am familiar with, I think, every AP Micro- and Macroeconomics prep guide currently on the market, having worked extensively with all of them. The first three I list below are fairly interchangeable; I have no clear winner to announce if you're having trouble making a decision. But here are my comments in full:
Princeton Review: Cracking the AP
This is apparently the most popular title on the subject of preparing for the two AP economics exams, but I suspect this may be due to superior marketing on the publisher's part rather than anything else. The explanation section is a little elliptical to use for anything other than review. If you're trying to conquer the exam merely with a test guide, then this would be a bad choice for you. On the plus side, the difficulty of the practice questions herein resembles most convincingly that of those found on the actual AP exam: I've noticed other guides seem to be slightly too easy.
ISBN-13: 978-0375765353
Barron's AP 2005 (make sure you get the second edition)
I suppose this is probably the best one, but as I said, there's no clear leader. Its advantages are that the explanation sections (with the exception of the one on international trade and exchange) are the best and most readable. But there is only one practice exam. Worse, some of the things that I know are on the AP exam, such as the production function and the three-sectioned Keynesian supply curve, make no appearance in this book. I would probably buy this one in combination with the McGraw-Hill one to be really safe: focusing on the explanations from this one, but bracing yourself for the level of difficulty you see in the McGraw-Hill questions. Be sure to get the 2005 edition if you choose this one: the previous edition had a lot of errors. This one doesn't.
ISBN-13: 978-0764133619
McGraw-Hill: 5 Steps to a 5
A solid job. It has two practice exams, but I believe there are a handful of concepts covered by the AP exams that simply are not covered in its explanation sections. I suspect the level of difficulty is actually a couple of degrees above what you can expect on the real exam.
ISBN-13: 978-0071437127
Kaplan AP Microeconomics/Macroeconomics
On the plus side, I can say the Kaplan has a useful glossary at the end. But the questions simply aren't hard enough: they're not reflective of what you're going to see on the actual exam. In addition to this, there are definitely about 5 or 6 errors in the practice exam they give you.
ISBN-13: 978-1419550829
Cliff's Ron Pirayoff
Avoid this disaster. Written by a former teacher at Burbank High School, it's riddled with errors. Not typing errors: downright errors. The author's knowledge of economics was not equal to the task of writing such a guide: he is frequently dead wrong about things. Many of the questions have more than one correct answer, and some have none. I hope this thing will soon go out of print.
ISBN-13: 978-0764539992
Rudman's Questions and Answers to the AP Macroeconomics
A monstrosity. Privately published, evidently by some guy in his garage. This is not a joke: the thing is spiral bound, and the font suggests it was crafted by some old-fashioned typewriter. None of this means the book is bad though, although this book is bad nevertheless. It's almost unbelievable. Undoubtedly the worst book on this list. There is no explanations section; there are no free-response questions: there is nothing but practice multiple choice questions. But these are highly abstruse, riddled with errors, contain no explanations of the answers and, most inexcusably, decline to employ the kind of terminology and graphing models beloved by the makers of the actual AP Exam. In fact, there is not a single graph anywhere in the book. You probably think I'm kidding.
ISBN-13: 978-0837362069
Economics for Dummies
Despite the title, if you're going to try to ace the AP Macro and Micro exams with just one book, I would have to say this is the best choice I'm aware of. Not too hard, not too easy. Although it has no practice exercises, your understanding of all concepts covered -- and in the way the College Board likes them covered, and using their terminology -- will be most meaningfully strengthened by an extended acquaintance with this volume. My colleagues and I have been repeatedly astonished to see how well done it is; it contains all the graphs, charts, and equations that you'll need. And though the book doesn't make one mention of the AP exams, honesty compels me to list it here because I regard it as the most comprehensively helpful prep guide for these 2 tests. The only disadvantage I can think of is that you might feel less than kingly with this title under your arms. But are you interested in results, or what?
ISBN-13: 978-0764557262
(2.5 Stars) It is not the BEST but it is better than nothing........2006-07-30
I brought "Cracking the AP Economics Macro and Micro Exams, 2006-2007 Edition (College Test Prep)" to help me with my AP Macroeconomics AP test. I did not study for it and I scored a 1. I know that is MY fault BUT I used this book for the CLEP Macro and Micro economics exam.
NOTE: AP Macro and Micro vs. CLEP Macro and Micro exams are the same EXACT, EXCEPT there is no free response section. I checked and compared them. I would have used a CLEP guide BUT there are NONE available.
I scored a 60 in Micro and a 50 Macro. In CLEP a minumin score of 50 is needed to pass. With the Micro CLEP exam I used a textbook and the "Cracking the AP Economics" exam guide. BUT with the Macro CLEP exam I used this book ONLY. Compare and analysis.
Conclusion: Overall the book is okay but I would not use this book only unless I did not have the money to buy something better. I am surprised that this book has received positive reviews stating "this is the only book I used and I received a 5". The pratice test are good and they have detail explanations.
If you failed the AP exam for Macro and/or Micro check with your college about their CLEP Policy. If they accept CLEP DO IT. Try taking a CLEP exam. I did it and I have 6 credits in Economics and I do not have to take none of them when I go to college in Fall 2006.
Take one CLEP test at a time. Trust me. It will save you a lot of stress and even money also. I also took and passed the Spanish CLEP with a 58. 6 credits in Spanish!
Book Description
The Princeton Review realizes that acing the AP Economics Exam is very different from getting straight A’s in school. We don’t try to teach you everything there is to know about economics–only what you’ll need to score higher on the exam. There’s a big difference. In Cracking the AP Economics Macro & Micro Exams, we’ll teach you how to think like the test makers and
-Score higher by reviewing the economics concepts most likely to be tested
-Safeguard yourself against traps that can lower your score
-Crack the free-response questions by learning to make
graphs that work for you
-Perfect your skills with review questions in each chapter
This book includes 2 full-length practice tests, one each for the macroeconomics and microeconomics exams. All of our practice test questions are like the ones you’ll see on the actual exam, and we fully explain every answer.
Customer Reviews:
Best AP econ prep book.......2006-07-17
I used it when I was studying econ independently and I found this book to be very helpful in sumarizing all of the major concepts found on the ap macro & micro exams. Like one of the reviewers above, I also made notecards, which were very helpful.
I would however, recommend that you also buy an old edition of McConnel & Brue to go with the book as it expands on the basics. For example, the international section lacked depth as did the section on labor markets. The practice tests are very helpful and do a good job in mirroring the actual exams. Other books (like Barrons) have practice exams that are too easy.
Finally, I took the micro & micro exams this year (may 2006) & got a 5 on both tests.
Totally Amazing.......2005-08-14
This book is truly the same caliber as the Princeton Review's other test prep books. It shows everything you need to know for the AP Micro and Macro Economics tests and explains the concepts behind the economics. The knowledge gained from reading this book is equivalent to what any GOOD AP course can offer. Thanks (in large part) to this book, I got a 5 on both Macro and Micro Economics- something that hasn't been done at my school for many years. THANK YOU PRINCETON REVIEW!
Worthwhile.......2004-07-21
I agree completely with the reviewer above in that using this book alone almost guarantees a 3. I used it without the courses and got 4's on both the macro and micro exams. Write those note cards for small concepts and study past AP extended response questions! They are all basically the same, so study the graphs and you'll do well.
Everything you need to know, and nothing more........2004-02-18
We don't have economics at my school, but it's my intended college major.
Using THIS BOOK ALONE, I made note cards, went over them, and got a 4 on the Micro exam in my junior year. If I'd put in a little more effort, I'd have gotten a 5 (didn't begin studying until mid-April). I'm going to take the Macro this May.
There is a really clear review of all the concepts you need to know, presented exactly as they will appear on the test. It's concise, straightforward, and explicates the necessary graphs. For extra Free Reponse practice, check the AP website.
I'd strongly recommend it.
Book Description
The Princeton Review realizes that acing the AP Economics exam is very different from getting straight As in school. The Princeton Review doesn't try to teach students everything there is to know about economics--only the techniques they'll need to score higher on the exam. There’s a big difference. In
Cracking the AP Micro & Macro Economics, TPR will teach test takers how to think like the test makers and
• Score higher by reviewing the economics concepts most likely to be tested
• Safeguard against traps that can lower scores
• Crack the free-response questions by making graphs that work
• Perfect skills with review questions in each chapter
This book includes 2 full-length, simulated AP Macro & Micro Economics exams. All of The Princeton Review practice test questions are like the ones test takers will see on the actual exam, and every solution is fully explained.
Customer Reviews:
i found it useful- i took macro economics.......2004-05-20
this book was great and summarized concepts well- which you expect from any review book. clearly my teacher recommended princeton review. The only thing i dont like is how theres macro and micro mixed together and i wish there was just a separate book. But take your time with this book- dont use it the night before because you'll be really tired- especially if you're taking other APs.
Awesome review guide.......2004-01-07
This book salvaged me for AP Micro and Macro. I had a teacher who was teaching AP Econ for the first time, so I knew I needed a review guide. I picked up the Princeton Review, and it helped me get a 4 and a 5 (the 4 was due to labor markets---in my opinion, one of the hardest concepts of AP Micro).
Great book.......2003-12-06
I originally bought this book to prepare myself for the AP economics. I did not took AP exam though, because I ran out of time studying for other AP's.
So I ended up taking Econ class in college. Whenever my iffy textbook confuses me I read this book. It has been helping me tremendously! It is a great book with the essential Economics nailed in it.
Great for CLEP on Microeconomics.......2003-09-04
Scored a 70 or 99th percentile! Studied off and on for a month. Download the CLEP questions from the Collegeboard site and you are ready to go!!!!!
Great Book.......2003-07-02
I don't know if I'm just smart, but I picked up this book. Without preparing for my ap macro economics test, waiting for the last day before the test, and without taking the class, I used this book the last day, the night before the test, 16 hours prior to, and received an exam grade of 4. I ace'd the free response, and I pretty much ace'd the multiple choice except the material on money velocity, due to neglecting it myself thinking it was not important.
Book Description
Scoring high on the AP Economics Macro & Micro Exams is very different from earning straight A’s in school. We don’t try to teach you everything there is to know about economics—only the strategies and information you’ll need to get your highest score. In Cracking the AP Economics Macro & Micro Exams, we’ll teach you how to
·Use our preparation strategies and test-taking techniques to raise your score
·Focus on the topics most likely to appear on the test
·Test your knowledge with review questions for each economics topic covered
This book includes 2 full-length practice tests, one each for Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. All of our practice questions are just like those you’ll see on the actual exams, and we explain how to answer every question.
Cracking the AP Economics Macro & Micro Exams has been fully updated for the 2008 tests.
Book Description
With a skills-based approach, this text focuses on the social learning perspective, applying critical managerial tools and techniques. In each chapter, the learner is presented with a short discussion of relevant theory and concepts and then actively participates in the application of these concepts through experiential exercises, self-assessment tools, and case studies. Throughout the text are examples and interviews with practitioners, emphasizing to the learner the importance of the topic at hand.
Average customer rating:
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Photoassimilate Distribution Plants and Crops (Books in Soils, Plants, and the Environment)
Zamski
Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Flowers
| Plants
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Physiology
| Plants
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
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General
| Botany
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Physiology
| Botany
| Biological Sciences
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Soil Science
| Agricultural Sciences
| Science
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General
| Agricultural Sciences
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General
| Science
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General
| Agricultural Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
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Botany
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
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ASIN: 0824794400 |
Book Description
Adopting an interdisciplinary approach to the study of photoassimilate partitioning and source-sink relationhips, this work details the major aspects of source-sink physiology and metabolism, the integration of individual components and photoassimilate partitioning, and the whole plant source-sink relationships in 16 agriculturally important crops. The work examines in detail the components of carbon partitioning, such as ecology, photosynthesis, loading, transport and anatomy, and discusses the impact of genetic, environmental and agrotechnical factors on the parts of whole plant source-link physiology.
Average customer rating:
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Remembering Anna O.: A Century of Mystification
Borch-Jacobsen
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Philosophy
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Psychoanalysis
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Psychiatry
| Specialties
| Medicine
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Behavioral Psychology
| Behavioral Sciences
| Science
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General
| Psychiatry
| Internal Medicine
| Medicine
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
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Behavioral Psychology
| Behavioral Sciences
| Professional Science
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History of Ideas
| Historical Study
| History
| Subjects
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ASIN: 0415917778 |
Book Description
Remembering Anna O. offers a devastating examination of the very foundations of psychoanalytic theory and practice, which was born with the publication of Breuer and Freud's
Studies on Hysteria in 1895. In his opening essay, Breuer described the case of Anna O., a young woman afflicted with a severe hysteria whom he had cured of her symptoms by having her recount under hypnosis the traumatic events that precipitated her illness.
"Hysterics suffer from reminiscences," wrote Freud, and they heal when they remember these repressed or dissociated memories. "This discovery of Breuer's," Freud continued, "is still the foundation of psychoanalytic therapy." It is also the foundation of present-day "recovered memory therapy" and more generally, of our widespread belief in the healing and redemptive power of memory.
However this belief, Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen asserts, is based on a deceptive account of the founding case of psychoanalysis. Drawing on the most recent Freud scholarship and on documents long kept from public view, Borch-Jacobsen demonstrates that Anna O. (Bertha Pappenheim) was never cured by Breuer's "talking cure" and in their claims that this was the case, both Breuer and Freud knowingly falsified the historical record. Borch-Jacobsen points out the numerous inconsistencies in Breuer's account that suggests that Anna O.'s symptoms were simulated to meet Breuer's theoretical expectations and that her famed "reminiscences" were in fact fictitious memories induced by Breuer in the course of a hypnotic treatment.
Remembering Anna O. reads like a scholarly thriller and has already created a sensation in France. After having read Borch-Jacobsen's implacable demonstration of the facts, the reader will wonder what remains of this conceptual and institutional edifice that was built on the incredible "Story of Anna O."--and how so many people came to believe it.
Average customer rating:
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Behavioural Ecology of Siberian and European Roe Deer (Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour Series, 2)
A. Danilkin
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Mammals
| Animals
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Mammals
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
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General
| Ecology
| Biological Sciences
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General
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General
| Nature & Ecology
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Ecology
| Biological Sciences
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All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
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Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
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Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0412638800 |
Book Description
This book, the second in Chapman & Hall's Wildlife, Ecology and Behaviour Series, focuses on studies of both European and Siberian roe deer to provide an authoritative insight into the taxonomy, ecology, feeding patterns, social behaviour and population dynamics. It uses this information to tackle the fascinating question of what environmental factors underly ranging patterns and trigger migratory behaviour in some populations but not in others, adding new perspectives and depths to our understanding of general issues in behavioural ecology.
Book Description
At last, a book that actually teaches you how to inline skate. Whether you're a rank beginner or a skating pro, William Nealy's Inline! will educate and entertain you like no other how-to-manual you've ever read. Nealy uses hard earned crash-and-burn skating experience, 4th dimensional drawings, and his twisted sense of humor to give you the most comprehensive, easy to understand, and detailed book on skating ever written. Inline! will teach you everything you need to know to become a seasoned blader. Learn how to skate, from taking your first baby steps on blades to more advanced techniques such as getting air, descending stairs, expert turning techniques and more. Inline! also includes chapters on how skates work, skate maintenance, safety, and the all important selection of body armor. Finally, Inline! will teach you the many ways to stop, or safely fall, while you're climbing the learning curve. All of this in Nealy's hilarious, easy to understand cartoon style that makes learning fun.
Customer Reviews:
William Nealy's cartoon style makes In-Line skating fun........2007-10-04
This hilarious, way of teaching rollerblading makes skating fun. The cartoons are very explicit and cover every conceivable way of skating, safety, skate maintenance and techniques. Even though the language may be a little vulgar it is by all means a comprehensive and detailed way on learning and improving your In-line skating.
A good investment for a beginner.......2006-06-27
This book can't be read and understood at one sitting. If you do try to read at one sitting as beginner or low intermediate skater you will certainly miss many subtle points.
I have read this book about 4 times, nearly cover-to-cover as I needed to be reminded of different points or I didn't fully read the points indicated. Of course if I were a good skater I wouldn't be doing this. There are moves I still don't understand but that's ok as I am a long way from that level at the moment
The lack of photos instead of diagrams was disappointing, but now I think diagrams are better as, there are so many and the labeling is extensive.
This book wont makes you a great skater. You need an instructor for that, but as a guide it is excellent.
I would have preferred a more-structured layout in terms of points to remember and perhaps a greater depth of explanation of subtle points. Having said that I doubt you will go wrong buying this book given the audience it targets.
A Graphic Novel and Inline Primer.......2006-02-24
Sorry earlier reviewers, but I totally and unequivocally disagree that the handwriting makes this book hard to read. In my opinion, the handwriting makes it more fun and more flexible to read when the author wants to stress something textually. The whole book reads like a graphic novel and Nealy does a decent job drawing and explaining the basics of edges and glides, which I think are often illustrated poorly in other books. He also thoroughly explains and illustrates more advanced stops, turning, spins, backwards skating, and cooler, potentially-aggressive moves. There's also a cute, informative skate maintenance section at the back. Honestly, people, most skate books only cover the basics or do some overview of the skating world in general. I think this one's a winner - it goes over a great selection of topics. Based on the opening humor in the cartoons on pages roman numeral five and eleven, it is apparent that the book is not meant for innocent young minds to ponder. But give the author a break - plenty of books go over the basics in an easy-for-kids format. This one is for teens/adults who want to really know a lot of information about technique and don't just want to roll.
Contains Unnecessarily Vulgar Language.......2003-12-31
The book uses plenty of detailed sketches to provide all of the techniques you'll need to know, and then some. The content of the book is more than sufficient to enable someone to become a proficient inline skater, and is easily understandable. Unfortunately, the book is equally thorough in its use of profanity, making it unsuitable for my kids to see. A book about skating that is too profane for kids to see? Give me a break . . .
I need my glasses, oh wait progressives..........2003-09-11
Well I haven't got that far to say much 'bout the quality of the writing. But main issue is, DON'T buy the e-book version. It's a drawings and freehand writing based book and it was published in B5 paper size so when viewed in a computer screen, you'd be lucky if you got 75% of the page. Trust me. Skip this buy something else.
Book Description
The second level of a three-book series, Great Paragraphs introduces students to the process of paragraph writing and teaches them how to generate, develop, and organize their ideas. The variety of exercises include group and pair work as well as relevant study of reading skills, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization, providing comprehensive practice in writing process and development. Model sentences and paragraphs on a range of topics provide solid examples of paragraph organization and cohesion.
Each model paragraph includes brief pre- and post-reading questions that focus on features such as structure and rhetorical patterns. Sentence-level work helps students understand different lengths and types of construction and gives them practice combining shorter sentences into longer, cohesive ones. A final writing task in each unit asks students to practice paragraph writing in any rhetorical style on an assigned topic (throughout Part 1) or adhere to the mode featured in the unit (Part 2). Part 2 also features five additional writing assignments on a variety of topics.
- Writer's Notes present brief strategies that help students write effectively.
- Language Focus introduces grammar topics related to the type of writing practiced in the unit.
- Proofreading sections offer a variety of exercises that help students look for grammatical errors and correct their own compositions.
- Sequencing activities provide practice using writing devices that connect or act as a transition between words and phrases.
- Copying exercises ask students to practice paragraph form, helping them become familiar with the flow of sentences and transitional elements.
- Analyzing a Paragraph takes students through a series of questions that help them fully understand the different elements of a paragraph.
- Peer Editing Sheets use specific questions to guide students through their classmates' work and teach them how to constructively comment and offer suggestions for improvement.
Customer Reviews:
a smooth transition from paragraph to essay.......2006-06-16
This book is intended to be used in the classrooms where students need to start writing essays while they are finishing paragraph writing and beginning to try to write "standard" 5-paragraph college essays. The rhetorical modes of academic essay (definition, classification, argumentative etc) are not dealt with; instead, in the last chapter the reader will find an effective presentation on how paragraphs are used to compose an essay and their basic components such as the thesis statement and topic sentences. In the appendix, there are exercises on how to make longer sentences from shorter and repetitive sentences students need to avoid when they are writing college essays. This type of exercise is quite useful especially when students have difficulty in writing formal, academic sentences in their paragraphs. The language of the book is pedagogically suitable. As a EFL/ESL writing instructor, you do not need to explain or paraphrase the same thing in simpler language to help students understand better.
In the further editions of the book, if the publisher and the writer have a plan for this, there could be a section or a chapter on how to paraphrase ideas, statements effectively within the same paragraph or essay as part of the coherency and avoidance from repeating the similar phrases all the time.
I gave four stars because I would expect to find more sample paragraphs and a couple of more essays of various lengths and rhetorical modes although the book is limited to paragraphs and 5-paragraph essay.
Customer Reviews:
FEMINIST RE-TELLING OF A MISER'S LIFE.......2007-07-31
Hetty Green was known ,during her lifetime,as "the witch of Wall Street"and with good reason..She was among the most wealthy people of her time,and her cheapness made Ebeneezer Scrooge look like a spendthrift..At the least,Scrooge is redeemed at the end of"A Christmas Carol"while Green remained an incredible miser until the very moment that she died...
Hetty Green came from wealth,but wealth contaminated by 19th century Quaker austerity,a fatal comination in the case of this woman,inasmuchas her religion made a virtue out of being tight with a penny,and Ms.Green seemed unable,or unwilling to temper her miserliness with charity or even commonsense..Her cheapness cost her son his leg,amputated rather than saved because Hetty Green was too cheap to seek the sort of medical service her millions could afford,and instead opted for a charity hospital...Green would live in cheap boarding houses,eat day old bread and quibble over a penny while at the same time loaning millions to suchlike as the government of the city of New York,and always at rates that were just short of usery..
This book is sort of a celebration of Hetty Green as"America's first female tycoon"but feminists who wish to embrace Green as such will find little to look up to,unless of course thier other role model is Gordon Geeko,notorious for the 1980's slogan"Greed is Good",from the film"Wall Street"..But this is the way Charles Slack sees Ms.Green,as a sort of 19th century feminist icon..Yes,he does detail Hetty's miserliness,but at the same time he attempts to excuse it or,worse,to put a happy face on it by comparing it to the miserliness of the era's other MALE tycoons...At the least,however,Rockefeller,Drew,and the others she is compared with were responsible enough to know that it was necessary to part with some of the sheckels when one's child had a leg injury that was going gangerous...Not Hetty...Indeed,Mr Slack attempts to downplay most of Hetty's bad habits,bad judgements,unnecessary cheapness,and other personality shortcomings while making a big deal out of her single-minded efforts to aquire more and more and more money..Wanting to become rich is,of course,no crime(although given the way most of the rich become rich,and the way most of them behave afterwards,perhaps it should be!),but,at the least,some of the very wealthy make some effort at appearing to be interested in something other than the getting of money for its own sake...Not Hetty Green..No sir!Until the day that she died,Hetty Green's obsession was MORE !
World's Greatest Miser!.......2007-02-20
This book is about Hetty Green who became the wealthiest woman in America at the time of her death in 1916. Hetty is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the greatest miser who ever lived. Even though she possessed vast sums of money in the form of Real Estate and Stocks and Bonds she lived life like someone who didn't know where her next dollar was going to come from.
Her life as one the world's greatest investors unfolds from her childhood in the mid 1800's until the time of her death. There is some insight into how she invested her money and how she learned to invest as a child reading the financial news out loud to her father and grandfather whose eye sight was failing.
There are 16 chapters in this short book of only 226 pages. A lot of the book is spent on her relationships with relatives and her family. She had two children from a marriage that could be described as odd. Her son grew up and became a good businessman himself although he did not live his life as a miser. Neither one of her children had children of their own and the vast fortune that Hetty had accumulated and held onto so dear was eventually given away by her daughter through her Will upon her death.
It is an interesting story but at times it can be hard to read, the reason for only 3 stars. Her life in a way I would say was sad although if Hetty was asked about the way she lived she probably wouldn't have changed a thing.
A great read about an early female millionaire.......2006-07-05
Hetty Green lived in an era where the character of the American tycoon was emulated in the enormous mansions lining New York's Fifth Avenue. Hetty broke this mold in every way imaginable. Most importantly, by being the richest woman in America, she operated daily in an atmosphere dominated by men. Author Charles Slack provides a proper tribute to a woman mostly forgotten amongst the Vanderbilts, Morgans and Carnegies that came into prominence during her lifetime. Slack's treatment of Hetty's life is both fair and entertaining. At the time she was mostly known as miserly and mean-hearted but Slack offers a full-sided view of a complex woman who lived a very simple and unusual life for someone of her means.
Unlike most women of the time, Hetty Green learned the economic ropes by reading the financial papers to her father and grandfather, both in the whaling business. She later uses her inherited fortunes to make her mark on Wall Street. Slack's ability to focus on her character and not on the specifics of her business dealings makes this a highly pleasurable and manageable read. She was often unpredictable and spent most of her life living in small tenements as opposed to mansions. Her penny-pinching philosophy led to many a great Hetty story, most of which Slack dutifully collects and includes in his novel. Her death, portrayed in later chapters, leaves the impression that our world is missing one of the true great aristocrats of its time.
A good read.......2005-11-07
Slack has given us the first cut of a remarkable life.
How many biographies exist for John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Jay Gould and the others? This book opens up a whole new unexplored territory. Stack provides a platform for future biographers and their field is fertile.
Why was Hettie forgotten? Was it lack of self-memorialization in libraries and museums? Wrong gender? No progeny to carry the name/flame? No Newport mansion for tourists to visit?
What made her tick? The distant father? The need to succeed/prove? Protestant ethic? Loneliness?
What of Mr. Green, a man so adventurous in early life? How did he FEEL when his wife so publically demonstrated her financial independance (in Victorian America)? What did he do in the years following this.. and how did he relate to his children?
What of the son who honors his mother in public, leaves Texas to assist her, but marries Mable "Harlot" so soon after his mother's death.
Why has this not been a DocumDrama already?
Heir to a fortune to fortune maker........2005-10-17
Hetty Green was heir to a fortune but what she did with that inheritance is a significant example of capitalism run amok during the late 19th, early 20th centuries. She turned that modest inheritance into hundreds of millions of dollars. Had she been a man, in my opinion, she would have come to us--through the decades--as powerful a name as Morgan, Carnegie or Rockefeller. Instead, she is remembered, if she is remembered at all, as an eccentric old lady, at best, and a ruthless miser, at worst.
Thankfully, Charles Slack's HETTY, The Genius and Madness of America's First Female Tycoon offers us a look at the woman beneath the austere black dresses. At times ruthless, at times vindictive, Hetty Green could also be compassionate and sentimental. While she was not exactly an ideal wife or mother, her husband and children never villified her; in fact her children, in public at least, only said kind words for her (even though her son could have legitimately accused her of costing him his leg).
What ultimately comes across though is a strong, looming sense of loneliness. To me, she seemed isolated as a child, isolated as a young adult, and in later years, as isolated as her Aunt Sylvia. In the end, money couldn't buy her love. It couldn't even pay for a friend. Charles Slack, however, doesn't want you to think of this as some sort of penance. She was surrounded by what little family was left, and by his account, left this world peacefully. Mr. Slack actually makes it seem she preferred it that way. And I believe he's right. This was a fascinating biography of a woman who deserved one.
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