Ford Library

David, Greg. Modern New York : the life and economics of a city. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

Last month I went to New York City.   It had been 40 years since I had last visited there.  I found it to be much changed.

Business journalist and New York resident Greg David explains why.  In his new book, Modern New York, David chronicles the economic history of the financial capital of the world.  Beginning with New York’s fiscal crisis of the 1970s, when the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy, David weaves together the facts and stories about the companies and people who created modern New York.

David attributes the tough times in the early years to economic mismanagement, the increase in social programs, the effects of rent control and the increase in business and personal taxes brought on during the administrations of mayors John Lindsay and Abe Beame.  He attributes the good times in later years to the business-friendly administrations of mayors Ed Koch, Rudy Guiliani and Michael Bloomberg.

David admits that the four Wall Street crashes since the 1960’s resulted in more concentrated wealth, but he explains that greed has been good for New York.  Wall Streeters spent their income on housing, entertainment, dining and retail and the fortunes of the city improved overall.  Through the last 4 decades, most factory and shipyard jobs were lost, replaced by new positions in the exploding financial, tourism and technology sectors.

The financial sector has been the cause of New York’s boom and bust economy, but the city sidestepped the worst effects of the 2008 financial crisis as Washington bailed out the big banks and Wall Street firms.   David counts on the bankers, traders and financial executives to design more Wall Street innovations to send their own pay and bonuses soaring, which will increase tax revenues, create jobs in the trickle down economy, and save New York’s future, regardless of the harm it may cause elsewhere as other Americans lose their jobs and homes.  This book is recommended for people interested in economics, finance or New York City.

© Reviewer: Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.

Datamonitor 360 has changed its name to MarketLine Advantage. MarketLine Advantage and Datamonitor 360 will both remain available to users until July 31. After July 31, links to Datamonitor 360 will be removed from Duke Libraries catalog systems and web pages.

A change in database content is also pending. After August 31, 2012, Business Insights industry report content on MarketLine Advantage will no longer be available to academic customers.

For an end user, the design and functionality of the MarketLine Advantage web site is almost identical to that of Datamonitor 360.  But we encourage users to begin conducting their research now on the MarketLine Advantage site, linked from our Ford Library Databases page.

Links to MarketLine Advantage will also be available in Duke Libraries catalog system and other web pages during the 2nd week of July 2012.

A properly configured Fuqua Lifetime Email Address (LEA) is crucial to your continued access to library resources for Fuqua Alumni.

If you haven’t yet updated your Fuqua LEA, it will continue to forward email to your Duke student email account, which will expire approximately 9 months after graduation. This means that any database account information we send to your Fuqua LEA will “bounce” and not be delivered. Without a valid forwarding address for your Fuqua LEA, you won’t be able to successfully register for access to Library databases for Fuqua Alumni.

To update your Fuqua LEA, visit the Fuqua Alumni web site, and click the light gray “My Profile” link on the left. After logging in, you can update or change the target email for Fuqua LEA. More information on the Fuqua LEA is available on the Fuqua IT Support web site.

Don’t miss out on access to online Library resources for Fuqua Alumni. Update your Fuqua LEA today!

Cabane, Olivia Fox. The charisma myth : how anyone can master the art and science of personal magnetism. Portfolio/Penguin, 2012.

Years ago, I attended a 3-day retreat with 35 members of Fuqua’s administrative staff.  One attendee was a charismatic man, a young faculty member who had achieved a key position as Associate Dean at an early age.  He was influential and inspiring, powerful but approachable.  Midway through the retreat, I noticed that other administrative staff had picked up his manner of speech and his habit of touching his shirt when making a controversial point.

The Associate Dean probably developed charisma at an early age.  By adulthood, his behavior was instinctual.   But in The Charisma Myth, executive coach Olivia Fox Cabane explains that the techniques of personal magnetism can be learned by adults.  She outlines a simple set of qualities that underlie personal magnetism and she provides exercises and tools to guide readers into developing their own charisma.

Cabane breaks down charismatic behavior into three core elements: presence, power and warmth.  Since people express themselves both verbally and in body language, these attributes can be learned and communicated, but only through much practice and patience.   Cabane provides techniques and tools for readers to practice, including exercises to remove obstacles to presence, power and warmth, such as anxiety and self-doubt.  She then shows how to create the right mental state to emanate warmth and power, using visualization.

The Charisma Myth includes examples of people with different charismatic styles, such as Bill Clinton and Steve Jobs.  Throughout the book are stories of anonymous people who learned to fully express their personalities to enhance their work performance.  This practical book is an easy read and is recommended for anyone wanting to improve his/her communication style.

© Reviewer: Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.

Our latest titles are:

Sherlock, season 2
Something Ventured
Take Me Home
This Means War
True Blood, season 4
United
We Need to Talk About Kevin
The Woman in Black
The Yellow Wallpaper

This is advance notice that effective June 30, 2012, The Economist magazine will no longer be available in Duke Libraries subscription to the Factiva database.

However, the current full text of The Economist will continue to be available via the ABI/INFORM Complete database; and full text and full image of The Economist will continue to be available via the EIU database.

If you have any questions or concerns, email us at reference-librarians@fuqua.duke.edu.

Welcome to the Summer 2012 installment of Ford Library Director, Meg Trauner’s selections of five recent business books recommended to readers at the Fuqua School of Business.

Click the titles below for information on location and availability. Complete reviews, and audiobook versions are linked where they’re available.

The charisma myth : how anyone can master the art and science of personal magnetism by Olivia Fox Cabane
An executive coach provides practical tools developed for MIT and Harvard for influencing, persuading and inspiring others. Read the full review here.

Great by choice : uncertainty, chaos, and luck : why some thrive despite them all by Jim Collins and Morton T. Hansen
This sequel to Good to Great explores why some companies thrive under uncertainty and others do not.  Note: research ends in 2002. Also an audiobook.

Modern New York : the life and economics of a city By Greg David
The story of the business capital of the world, New York City, from the social programs of Mayor John Lindsey to the pro-business administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking by Susan Cain
American business culture overlooks the positive characteristics of introverts such as persistence, reflection, and sensitivity to others’ feelings. Also an audiobook.

Wine wars : the curse of the Blue Nun, the miracle of Two Buck Chuck, and the revenge of the Terroirists. By Mike Veseth
Economics professor/wine enthusiast explains the complicated world of wine, analyzing its past and predicting its future. Read the full review.

© Reviewer: Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.

Learning a language as a high school student, I thought I would never use it.  Who spoke Spanish in rural North Carolina in the 1970s?  Fast forward many years and you’ll find amazing little tiendas and taquerías selling everything from tortas to Tejano CDs.  Sure wish I’d paid closer attention to Senorita Black all those years ago.

So now on my bucket list?  Learn to speak Spanish.  Luckily the Duke Libraries now subscribe to a new language instruction resource called Byki Online.  With over 70 languages, from Afrikaans to Zulu, you’ll find blogs, flashcards, words-of-the-day, and many other tools to speed your conversational skills.

You can locate additional information here, and after signing up, start your new language adventure.

Veseth, Michael. Wine wars : the curse of the Blue Nun, the miracle of Two Buck Chuck, and the revenge of the Terroirists. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011.

When I buy wine at the grocery, I stare at 500 different choices on the “wine wall,” and often walk away without making any purchase at all.   According to economist and wine blogger Mike Veseth, there are more choices for wine than for any other product in the supermarket. In his insightful and amusing new book, Wine Wars, author Veseth explains the complicated world of wine, analyzing its past and predicting its future.

He begins with the wine wall.  Typically, the expensive wines are shelved at the top and the cheap wines at the bottom, as most wine consumers shop by price, usually within a narrow margin. Within the price strata, New World wines are organized by country, then by brand/grape/region.  Old World wines are organized by region, such as Bordeaux and Burgundy.  Wine is complicated, even at the supermarket, but Veseth, a university professor, clarifies the global wine business for the uninitiated.

As an economist, Veseth also teaches about forces that influence the production and consumption of wines, notably the markets of three top importing markets, the UK, Germany and the US.  The industry is changing under globalization, as corporations produce high volumes of inexpensive brand named wines for unsophisticated consumers who look for a consistent affordable product.  Giant wine producers take up much of the wine wall, and garner much of the restaurant business, making it harder for Old World producers to compete.  Gallo has several familiar brands at every price point (Turning Leaf, Barefoot Cellars, Redwood Creek etc) squeezing out small wineries in France and Italy.  Growers in Old World countries worry about the end of their small operations, and the unique quality and character of their wines, which reflect the local soil, climate, culture and traditions.  As consumers, wine enthusiasts worry about wine becoming a homogenous commodity.

Yet Veseth remains optimistic.  He predicts that in the future more clarity and simplicity will be injected into the wine markets, giving consumers more confidence,  and they in turn will buy more wine.  A consumer who begins by drinking Two Buck Chuck often graduates to more sophisticated tastes.  Globalization will bring more consumers with more choices for everyone.   This rich volume with peppery overtones is the perfect match for anyone wanting to know more about the business of wine.  Recommended.

© Reviewer: Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
All rights reserved.

Our latest titles are:

Underworld : Awakening
The Vow
Warehouse 13, season two
The Fields
The Front Line
Frozen Planet
Homeward Bound : the Incredible Journey
Homeward bound II : Lost in San Francisco
Miss Representation