A Theory of the Firm: Governance, Residual Claims, and Organizational Forms

Book Description

This collection examines the forces, both external and internal, that lead corporations to behave efficiently and to create wealth. Corporations vest control rights in shareholders, the author argues, because they are the constituency that bear business risk and therefore have the appropriate incentives to maximize corporate value. Assigning control to any other group would be tantamount to allowing that group to play poker with someone else's money, and would create inefficiencies. The implicit denial of this proposition is the fallacy of the so-called stakeholder theory of the corporation, which argues that corporations should be run in the interests of all stakeholders. This theory offers no account of how conflicts between different stakeholders are to be resolved, and gives managers no principle on which to base decisions, except to follow their own preferences.

In practice, shareholders delegate their control rights to a board of directors, who hire, fire, and set the compensation of the chief officers of the firm. However, because agents have different incentives than the principals they represent, they can destroy corporate value unless closely monitored. This happened in the 1960s and led to hostile takeovers in the market for corporate control in the 1970s and 1980s. The author argues that the takeover movement generated increases in corporate efficiency that exceeded $1.5 trillion and helped to lay the foundation for the great economic boom of the 1990s.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting & Ideological.......2007-10-01

The book is a collection of articles published at different times with different co-authors, but nonetheless forms a coherent whole. If you are interested in academic analysis of why business organizations are structured as they are, this is the book for you. But you may not agree with his viewpoint. Professor Jensen has a strong ideological bias, which occasionally leads him into error. For example, on page 27 he claims that bypassing "the inefficient work rules and high wages imposed by unions" will "increase efficiency and thereby contribute to excess capacity." Yet there is no reason to think lower wages will increase either efficiency or capacity. If anything, lower wages could reduce efficiency, as the best workers leave for better paying jobs. A more pervasive problem is his claim that corporations are best regarded as "a nexus...of...contracts among disparate individuals." His theory fits the tradition of Locke, etc., but disregards important noncontractual aspects of the corporation. The focus on contract cannot shed light on the corporation's relationships to government authorities, since such relationships are not based on any contract. The contractual view also ignores the corporation's role as the owner of property, such as a patent or a factory or timberland. Professor's Jensen's ideology, however, does not make him an apologist for the managerial class. A major theme of the book is the conflict of interest between managers and stockholders. Professor Jensen seems to be an honest scholar: his footnotes sometimes show that what he says in the text isn't the full story. An interesting book, sparkling with ideas--but read with skepticism.

The elegant theory of the firm.......2002-11-17

Elegant and well elaborated, Jensen presents the classic economic theory of the firm. The one shortcoming is that the activities of the firm in an international and social context are not touched on. I recommend this book with another that elaborates on the theory of the firm in social and political environments, such as Usha Haley's "Multinational Corporations in Political Environments".

A Modern Theory of the Firm?.......2001-08-23

This book is a collection of eight previously published papers by Prof. Michael Jensen (and co-authors) of the Harvard Business School in a stream of research dealing with agency theoretic formulations of the theory of the firm.

It is aimed specifically at research scholars in financial economics, strategic management, organizational theory, and public policy. Because it is a collection, the papers tend to vary in style and technicality from impassioned advocacy (chapter 3) to general narrative (chapter 2) to formal mathematical modeling (chapter 6). Deliberately little was done to reedit the papers for flow and while this tends to give the reader mental whiplash as he tries to adjust between chapters, it maintains the integrity of the original thoughts that went into the original papers. It makes a good first book for Ph.D. students and scholars new to the field needing a quick summary of a half-century of theoretical development; and because only they would have the tenacity to plow through the formal models.

The ideas in the book are not new to scholars familiar to the field, but they do represent the theoretical cutting edge, which attests to the robustness of Prof. Jensen's ideas (chapter four was first published in 1976) or to the more cynical - a lack of theoretical advancement. Because they are brought together in one place, the book neatly presents the historical development and theoretical arguments in a way that sorting through a bunch of papers cannot.

The main point the book makes is that one cannot build a complete theory of the firm, typically encountered in traditional production models, without special consideration for the governance mechanisms that ensure the efficient deployment of resources and distribution of wealth. For example, the book demonstrates the theoretical and practical importance of knowing the identity of the firm's owner. In classical theories of the firm, owners are merely suppliers of capital, homogenously risk averse and value maximizing. The book however makes an oft-missed point in today's heady arguments over shareholder wealth maximization and corporate responsibility that all parties to the contract called The Firm have different risk preferences. For example, institutional owners may even have conflicting risk preferences, which can result in control issues such as minority oppression that do not arise in classical theory-of-the-firm formulations.

The book early on dismisses the usefulness of traditional conceptions of the firm as pure production functions. Instead, it reconstructs a theory of the firm on a positive agency theory foundation, arguing that it is the contractual relationship between the suppliers and users of capital and talent that determine what, how and when production occurs. This framework brings together the following elements: a. The importance of capital structure, i.e., debt/equity mix and types, refuting Modigliani and Miller's (1958) irrelevance hypothesis, b. The importance of governance structure, making Jensen one of the earliest to emphasize the important role of outside directors in the boardroom, c. The role of transaction specific and specialized knowledge, elevating the theoretical significance of the knowledge worker, d. The importance of the residual claimant, centralizing the shareholder, and e. The existence and nature of agency costs, which Jensen notes are inevitable between parties with asymmetric information and different preference curves.

This theoretical model is elegantly simple and yet powerful enough to deal with such diverse organizational structures as the owner-operated firm to the widely held multi-unit public corporation. It is particularly suited to theoretical modeling such topics as top management compensation, self-governing contracts, mutual monitoring at the firm and individual levels of analyses, distribution of residuals, hierarchy, and corporate takeovers.

The book also makes a credible attempt to apply agency theory, without direct reference to sociological constructs, to different organizational forms such as mutuals, partnerships, labor-managed, cooperatives, owner operated, substantially controlled, and the widely held public corporation. Chapter six is particularly interesting in this regard because it attempts to applying the theoretical framework to labor managed organizations, most commonly seen in Communist political economies. The original paper's conclusion that such systems are doomed to failure presages the collapse of the Soviet state and the ensuing adjustments toward free market systems around the world.

The seminal works of agency cost economics collected.......2001-02-20

Michael Jensen is one of the founders of the agency cost economics branch of the New Institutional Economics. "A Theory of the Firm" collects eight articles by Jensen and various co-authors that, collectively, represent the seminal body of work in this field. (I wonder how his various co-authors felt about being left of the spine of this book?) While his contributions to agency cost theory are the work for which he is best known, Jensen also figures prominently in the intellectual history of the nexus of contracts theory of the firm, as several of the articles collected here demonstrate.

U.S. public corporations are characterized by a separation of ownership and control: the firm's nominal owners, the shareholders, exercise virtually no control over either day to day operations or long-term policy. Instead, control is vested in the hands of professional managers, who typically own only a small portion of the firm's shares. The separation of ownership and control characteristic of U.S. corporations has costs: "The separation of ownership from control produces a condition where the interests of owner and of ultimate manager may, and often do, diverge . . . ." (Berle and Means, 1932). Modern scholars refer to the consequences of these divergences as agency costs, following Jensen and Meckling (1976), which are conventionally defined as the sum of the monitoring and bonding costs, plus any residual loss, incurred to prevent shirking by agents. In turn, shirking is conventionally defined to include as any action by a member of a production team that diverges from the interests of the team as a whole. As such, shirking includes not only culpable cheating, but also negligence, oversight, incapacity, and even honest mistakes. In other words, shirking is simply the inevitable consequence of bounded rationality and opportunism within agency relationships. The classic Jensen & Meckling article is reprinted herein.

Although agency cost theory undeniably is critical to understanding the modern corporate form, too many agency cost theorists have narrowly focused on agency costs to the exclusion of other institutional considerations, which easily can distort one's understanding. Corporate managers operate within a pervasive web of accountability mechanisms that substitute for monitoring by residual claimants. Important constraints are provided by a variety of market forces. The capital and product markets, the internal and external employment markets, and the market for corporate control all constrain shirking by firm agents. In addition, the legal system evolved various adaptive responses to the ineffectiveness of shareholder monitoring, establishing alternative accountability structures to punish and deter wrongdoing by firm agents, such as the board of directors. An even more important consideration, however, is that agency costs are the inevitable consequence of vesting discretion in someone other than the residual claimant. We could substantially reduce, if not eliminate, agency costs by eliminating discretion; that we do not do so suggests that discretion has substantial virtues. A complete theory of the firm thus requires one to balance the virtues of discretion against the need to require that discretion be used responsibly. Neither discretion nor accountability can be ignored, because both promote values essential to the survival of business organizations. Unfortunately, they are ultimately antithetical: one cannot have more of one without also having less of the other - the power to hold to account is the power to decide. Managers cannot be made more accountable without undermining their discretionary authority. Establishing the proper mix of discretion and accountability thus emerges as the central corporate governance question.

Jensen recognizes this tension in several of the articles collected here, which in general are less lex-centric than those of many of his intellectual progeny. In other words, Jensen is less likely to believe that regulation is an appropriate solution to a given problem. Instead, his work focuses on market solutions to agency cost problems. The articles on takeovers and leveraged buyouts are good examples.

Given the many virtues of Jensen's work, why have I subtracted one star? Mostly because there is nothing new here. To be sure, it is useful to have all Jensen's major agency cost articles collected in a convenient forum. And this text can remind a new generation of scholars of Jensen's early work. Yet, newcomers and generalists may find the text heavy going in places, while us old-timers have already read all of these articles in their original publications.

Book Description

The contributors to this volume demonstrate the evolving ways in which impression management is conducted through the use of information technology. Whether consciously or unconsciously, individuals create and manage impressions of themselves when they use or interact with IT or in an IT environment. How? By managing the symbolism embedded in the technology. For example, technology is often the primary medium in interactions between a client and a work team, or virtual team, dedicated to servicing the needs of that client. The team itself may be geographically dispersed, lending a deeper layer to the management of impressions among members of the team via their use of technology, including e-mail, groupware, videoconferencing, and Intranet development. Researchers in the behavioral effects and consequences of information technology will find much of value here. This book is also of interest to information technology practitioners and professors alike who work with or study the broader organizational and individual signals, perceptions, and effects of IT-related decisions. Graduate students will find it appropriate as supplemental reading for courses on the organizational implications of IT, the behavioral effects of IT, the impact of IT on corporate strategy, and the impact of organizational design decisions.

Book Description

FROM THE INTRODUCTIONThe purpose of this text is to address one small but important and significant aspect (or process) of making man-made waste disposal more earth-friendly: biosolids composting. Since 1970, much progress has been made in sewage treatment technology. Corrective actions in treating domestic and industrial wastes have advanced to the point and have been underway for a long enough period now so that today one can visit most local lakes and streams and clearly see the lake or river bottom near a shallow shoreline. This, of course, is an example of an environmental improvement that can be readily seen. This visible improvement is also a "predictor" of what the future can hold for present and future generations who respect lakes and streams, and thus the environment. Recent improvements in the water quality of streams and lakes are only a small part of the progress that has been made. Improvements in wastewater technology have also worked to improve the quality of water we use; that is, the water we drink. This last statement may seem strange to some readers. How does wastewater treatment improve the quality of potable water when we do not receive our drinking water from wastewater treatment plant effluent? Effluent from wastewater treatment plants in not normally cross-connected with their municipality's drinking water supply. Many communities draw water from streams and rivers for use in domestic potable water supplies and these same streams and rivers serve as outfalls, normally upstream, for wastewater treatment plant effluent. Communities are growing. Populations within these burgeoning communities are also growing. Along with growth in community size and in population is a corresponding growth in the need for more potable water. Thus, the stream or river that provides the water supply and serves as the outfall for wastewater treatment plant effluent is put under increasing demand for its main product: potable water. Wastewater Biosolids to Compost covers EPA 503 regulations, testing procedures, advancements in odor control, marketing the product, and composting program economics.

Average customer rating:

Wastewater Biosolids to Compost
Frank R. Spellman
Manufacturer: CRC Pr I Llc 01/1//1996
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N5KBMO

Book Description

An unprecedented wealth of data is being generated by genome sequencing projects and other experimental efforts to determine the structure and function of biological molecules. The demands and opportunities for interpreting these data are expanding rapidly. Bioinformatics is the development and application of computer methods for management, analysis, interpretation, and prediction, as well as for the design of experiments. Machine learning approaches (e.g., neural networks, hidden Markov models, and belief networks) are ideally suited for areas where there is a lot of data but little theory, which is the situation in molecular biology. The goal in machine learning is to extract useful information from a body of data by building good probabilistic models--and to automate the process as much as possible.

In this book Pierre Baldi and Søren Brunak present the key machine learning approaches and apply them to the computational problems encountered in the analysis of biological data. The book is aimed both at biologists and biochemists who need to understand new data-driven algorithms and at those with a primary background in physics, mathematics, statistics, or computer science who need to know more about applications in molecular biology.

This new second edition contains expanded coverage of probabilistic graphical models and of the applications of neural networks, as well as a new chapter on microarrays and gene expression. The entire text has been extensively revised.

Customer Reviews:

Terrible.......2006-03-16

I'm a graduate student, reading a lot of bioinformatics materials. This is by far the worst text I've read on the subject. Poorly explained, poorly edited. Poor.

the worst book I have ever read.......2005-11-06

Just a collection of formulae, in an unclear way. Once we tried to use it in our seminar of bioinformatics, but after a few chapters we had to give it up for its bad writing. I could not find any reason to buy it or read it.

Could have been a great one........2003-12-14

This book is decidedly a mix: some very good information, combined with some very puzzling omissions and uneven editing.

First, the good. The description of stochastic context free grammars is the best I've seen. I don't know any other reference that even hint at how to use generative grammars to evaluate likelihoods. Once they caught my interest, though, the authors did not carry through with training and evaluation algorithms I could really use. I suspect that parts of the information are there, but I'll have to go back over their opaque notation again to work out just what they've given and just what's been left out.

This same pattern - an interesting introduction with missing or mysterious development - recurs throughout the book. The discussion on clustering and phylogeny goes the same way: a number of techniques are mentioned but not developed. The authors mention a tree drawing problem, not just building the tree's topology, but ordering the branches for the most informative rendering. Again, a critical topic and one that most authors miss - in the end, these authors miss it, too, by mentioning but not filling in the idea.

Their discussion of neural nets suffers badly from the authors' partial presentation. Evaluation of network output for a given input is relatively straightforward, and they present it in some detail. Training the net is the real problem, though, and is given less than a page.

Baldi and Brunak give more of the fundamentals than most authors. For example, they explain the maximum entropy principle well enough that I'll use it in lots of other areas. They give some coverage to topics of intermediate complexity, such as the forward and backward algorithms for HMM training. Finally, they fizzle out at the higher levels of complexity - the Baum-Welch algorithm could have followed from the forward and backward methods, but is left as a reference to another book.

There is some good here, especially in the fundamentals behind important techniques. The discussions I wanted - the more avanced topics, in forms I can use - are often weak, missing, or impenetrable. Just a bit more work, clearly within the authors' capability, would have made this a landmark reference.

An excellent book........2001-10-23

Very well written, clear, and self-contained. The authors provide a masterly treatment of machine learning methods (neural networks, hidden markov models, etc.) and their applications to fundamental problems in sequence analyis and biology. The book goes all the way from first principles to advanced research topics and should be valuable for both students and researchers. Second edition has many new topics, including DNA microarrays. Requires some concentration but mathematical details are summarized in the appendices. I strongly recommend it for anyone with an interest in bioinformatics and/or machine learning.

A very bad book. A colection of references w/o explanations.......2001-09-19

I just bought this book and am COMPLETEly disappointed with it.
Here is why. The book is badly written, hard to read and follow. Although it is said that this is a book is for " many readers", it is really for those who have already known all the algorithms. It is simply impossible to learn the algorithms from this book. The chapter on neural network is a few pages. It provieds a few equations for backpropagation. That is it! It is pretty much true for every thing else. Equations, hard to understand sentences, abbreviations with no explnantions, tons of citations everywhere. A book should strive to explain, and not to cite what other papers and go look there all the time. I suspect the few good reviews here are from the authors themselves.

I have a good programming background. I also read some papers on neural network and hidden markov models, This book is a lot worse than anything I have read in explaining the stuff. Very disappointed. Save your money and get something else.

Book Description

A moving narrative of the author's journey of awakening to herself through her deep experiences with animals. Tera Thomas weaves a fascinating story of communication with other species and our profound connection to all of life. Rich, magical, life affirming, and provocative, this book will take you deep into your own connection with all living beings.

Customer Reviews:

Very insightful, captivating book.......2005-06-30

If you are interested in spirituality, animals, and the connectedness of all living things - this is an extremely well written, superb book.

BANG!.......2004-12-01

Opening My Wings to Fly - What Animals Have Taught Me
Tera Thomas, 2001

"I have opened my heart and let this story flow onto the paper." - Tera Thomas

I know you have witnessed people that babies and animals just seem to be drawn to. Tera Thomas is one of those people. I like Tera Thomas because she represents so many of us who just knew that if we just asked with intention for our guide to be made physically manifest for us to see and hear, that - BANG -- the light would appear, the metaphysical body would be made manifest, and pearls of wisdom would flow straight into our waiting brains! She represents those of us who were getting up, going to work, and coming home to a confusing sense of emptiness at the end of each day. Opening My Wings to Fly is a series of short essays about the hard work and the subtle intricacies of Tera Thomas' journey toward communion and communication with physical and non-physical animal guides. Thomas offers us intimate glimpses of the learning curve she experienced as she discovered that it is not our brains but our hearts that are at one with all that is. Her story is a success story. She is living her dream as it unfolds before her in a small town in North Carolina far away from her roots in New York City.

Lucy Means Light is an essay regarding the transition of Thomas' beloved cat, Lucy. Thomas tells us how she had been so busy running around "doing" that she had failed to notice Lucy's "being." As Lucy finally commits the cat faux pas of urinating on herself, Thomas stops in her tracks and realizes that her beloved is frail and fragile. A trip to the veterinarian confirms that Lucy is terminally ill with leukemia. Lucy conveys upon Thomas the gift of communion for another seven weeks. She teaches Tera how to finally drop her guard and feel. She reminds her of the energy dynamic that nothing ever dies but rather simply transmutes. As Lucy teaches Thomas of the sacredness of transition, she also teaches her that death creates a vortex into which we can pour all that we desire to permanently release from our lives. As Thomas thinks about Lucy after her death, she looks up Lucy's name in a name book and discovers what she already knows in her heart - Lucy means bringer of light.

Lucy's transition story is only one of the essays in this gloriously well-written book that brought my own feelings welling up within me. Some of the stories brought me to the brink of tears and others had me laughing until I cried! When Thomas calls to the snakes to help her learn about them and guide her they begin showing up everywhere! Their sheds, their coils, their non-nonchalant observation greets Thomas' every move as she glories in her first North Carolina summer. I believe this may fall into the category of Be Careful What You Pray For! Opening My Wings to Fly is a must have for anyone interested in animal communication.
.

Inspirational and Intriguing.......2002-09-30

Tera's book captures both her journey and the message of interspecies communication in an easy to read, moving story. I didn't want to finish the book because I wanted there to be more to read, more to learn. My heart and mind felt such an expanse. Thanks Tera!

Opening My Wings To Fly: What Animals Have Taught Me.......2002-01-19

This wonderful book will change the way you look at life! In it, Tera Thomas takes us on a personal journey where we can learn for ourselves -- what animals have taught her.
Written with alot of openness, heart and humor, it is the story of her development as an animal communicator. It is filled with delightful stories of animals she has known, unforgettable characters who impart tremendous wisdom about the meaning of life and death, and the importance of acceptance. And, because of what these special beings (animals and Tera) share with the reader, I finished the book with a much greater acceptance of life -- and self -- than when I had first begun.
It is a very spiritual book, with much to be gleaned from within its pages.
You can't help but feel as if you have, if not flown, then certainly stretched your wings a bit. To be savored again and again.

Opening My WIngs to FlY: What Animals Have Taught Me".......2001-12-22

"Opening My Wings to Fly" is a magnificent book. Tera Thomas and her precious animal friends have created stories that are beautifully written, inspiring and moving. I learned so much from reading this book - not only about the wisdom and love of animals but also about how to live in a grateful and generous way. All the while, I was captivated by the stories - stories which moved me to tears, made me laugh out loud, and motivated me to open my own wings to fly. I am very grateful to Ms. Thomas for this gift of a book. It is a treasure.

Average customer rating:

Must Read

Indispensable

The Perfect Shot, North America: Shot Placement for North American Big Game
Craig Boddington
Manufacturer: Safari Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Hunting | Hunting & Fishing | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Mini Perfect Shot, North America: Whitetail, Mule Deer, Moose, Caribou, Pronghorn, and Elk

The Hunter's Guide to Accurate Shooting: How to Hit What You're Aiming at in Any Situation

Dangerous-Game Rifles

Fair Chase in North America

Field Dressing and Butchering Big Game: Step-by-Step Instructions, from Field to Table

ASIN: 1571572678

Book Description

This book shows actual in the field photographs that visually indicate where on the animal you must shoot to get that perfect shot.

Customer Reviews:

Must Read.......2007-01-16

For anybody who is presently hunting big game and all those who are thinking about it should make this book a must read. It really helps you to understand the anatomy of the animals you are hunting and prepares you to make more of your shots Kill Shots. Excellent reading.

Indispensable.......2004-11-05

If you are a hunter, you must have this book. Although not cheap, it is worth every penny. The graphics alone are worth the price of admission. Each chapter includes numerous photographs, including photographs of animals in the positions hunters are most likely to see them. Graphic overlays showing the skeletal structure and location of brain, heart and lungs are then shown, with dots showing correct shot placement. Understanding precisely where to place your shot, and most importantly, how point of aim changes depending on the angle at which you are viewing your quarry (for example, depending upon whether you are hunting from a tree stand or are level with the animal) is absolutely essential.

But this book doesn't end with fancy graphics. Each species is covered in detail, with discussions of how the animal is hunted, the best equipment for the hunt, and Boddington's personal experiences hunting that animal.

This book is an important reference work. It is also extremely readable for the pure enjoyment of General Boddington's stories. All hunters can learn from this book.

THE PERFECT SHOT, NORTH AMERICA - Shot Placement for North American Big Game

Average customer rating:

THE PERFECT SHOT, NORTH AMERICA - Shot Placement for North American Big Game
Boddington C. & O'Keefe L. (illustrator)
Manufacturer: Safari Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K802I2

Book Description

Take along the Rough Guide Thai Phrasebook and make some new foreign friends while on your trip. This thoroughly revised third edition has both A-Z English- Thai and A-Z Thai translations Â- perfect for quick word reference. Practice your pronunciation with the 16-pages of additional scenario material; available as downloadable audio files, the scenarios have been recorded by native Thai speakers and are compatible to either your computer or iPod. The guide includes a detailed grammar section and a helpful menu and drinks list reader Â- ideal when sampling the local cuisine. With this pocket-sized phrasebook in your backpack you are sure to have a good trip Â- tÃªe-o hÃ¢i sa-nÃ²ok nÃ¡!

Thai Phrasebook: A Rough Phrasebook (Phrase Book, Rough Guide)

Average customer rating:

Power in your pocket
Start Speaking Thai When You Get There
Best Thai language pocket/reference book plus great price
Geart!

Thai Phrasebook: A Rough Phrasebook (Phrase Book, Rough Guide)
Lexus
Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

English (All) | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

Linguistics | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1858281776

Customer Reviews:

Power in your pocket.......2001-09-18

I am about to travel to Thailand 5th time and I have found this book usefull in most everyday situations. Explanations of Thai speech and writing are good and easy to follow. English-Thai section is brilliant for its size and Thai-English is useful after getting basics strait. Translating Thai text to English is bit labour intensive.

Start Speaking Thai When You Get There.......2000-08-20

I am sent by my company to work in Bangkok for a year or maybe two. Bangkok is a wonderful place and the people are very hospitable. However, the most difficult thing is communication. Most Thais I meet on the streets can hardly speak any English. What I need is a book that is handy and can get me to speak basic Thai immediately. This is the book that I needed all along. You can only imagine how much I enjoy practicing Thai with Thais. My Thai has improved tremendously ever since I bought this book. I would say that if you are conscientious in studying this book, you will speak reasonable Thai within a month. This book is a must buy for all expatriates working in Thailand.

Best Thai language pocket/reference book plus great price.......1998-11-06

I lived in Thailand for six months and had no previous Thai language training. This is the book I found the most helpful. The first thing a beginner should do is study the pronunciation guide in the front of the book. Once you have that down you're set! You can use this book to look up a particular word or look up the key word in a common phrase, and chances are the phrase you want to say will be listed under that word. Very intuitive (for me anyway).

Geart!.......1998-10-14

This book is terrific!! It has English-thai, and Thai-english sections, and shows Thai with consistant rominazation, plus thai script.

Now, the best part of the book is the intro (before the dictionary begins) to Thai language. It gives all the basic rules (summed up nicer than many Thai language books!) Rules for different kinds of questions and everything. Even a section on profanity (so you'll know when people are upset:) ANd all examples give thai script, roman-thai (including tone marks), and english.

I highly recommend this book to anyone even remotely interesed in the Thai Languages. Besides, it's got a GREAT price :)

Book Description

Anyone who yearns for an older home - but is daunted by the prospect of owning one — will love this book. Through hundreds of inspiring photographs and engaging text, the author describes what gives traditional homes their enduring appeal. Versaci identifies Eight Pillars of Traditional Design that create a solid foundation for combining authentic, traditional design with livability to create homes that feel old yet live new. Featuring a vast array of new, old-house styles — from colonials to farmhouses — from all over the country, the houses illustrate the creative work of architects, builders, and craftsmen who are forging the movement toward building new homes that capture an old-home sensibility.

Customer Reviews:

back in time.......2007-07-14

This book was very interesting to look at. The pictures were great if you like old style homes. The title is deceiving. I was looking for a more modern looking style but this book is still a looker but if you're looking to modernize an old home, I would recommend Colonials: Design Ideas for Renovating, Remodeling, and Building New (Updating Classic America) by Matthew Schoenherr.

Pulled into the Pages.......2007-04-12

When you open this book expect not only to view, but become alive in the pages! This book is so full of true "old" techniques, patterns, shapes, forms, and use of the home.
Beautiful, quality pictures to make you feel as if you are right there in each room. Much to gather visually and use for your own home.

Nice but not what I expected........2007-03-23

It's a nice book if you are expecting a general overview of renovated houses,
one in each of several architectural types. I had expected more detail about renovating any style of old house.

Old fashioned style and house plans.......2007-02-18

Many of the photos are beautiful but I was a bit disapointed with this book. It is from the publishers of the Not So Big House books and I was hoping for modern house plans with older style details. Actually many of the house plans in this book look very dated to me with separate living and dining rooms and a difficult path to the kitchens. There also seemed to be more emphasis on the appearance of the outside of the houses than the interiors. This may be a good place to start if you are planning to build in a traditional style and floor plan but I prefer the Not So Big books.

Creating a New Old House-Traditional Architect Review.......2007-01-03

As an Architect, I have always had an appreciation of old buildings, and the creation of new ones that have the feeling that they have always been there. This book, by Russell Versaci has a wonderful composition of different homes, each encompassing this same ideology, but in different styles from around our great country. I think that this, pictorally, is a wonderful example of how one can make a new home feel as if it has always been a part of its place. But I must say, parts of the text are somewhat dry and repetitive...but other than that, I'd definitely buy this book.

Creating a New Old House: Yesterday's Character for Today's Home

Average customer rating:

Creating a New Old House: Yesterday's Character for Today's Home
Russell; Kvalsvik, Erik Versaci
Manufacturer: Taunton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KWDV5O

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books