Book Description
This primers tells the "have-nots" how they can organize to achieve real political power for the practice of true democracy.
Customer Reviews:
Farting as social protest..........2007-06-23
They don't make 'em like Saul Alinsky anymore. (The only left-wing public intellectuals alive today that could even be mentioned in the same breath are Zinn and Chomsky...and they ain't gonna be around much longer.) Saul was one of those hyper-literate, socially-conscious Hebrews, coming straight out of the Jewish liberal tradition that made a unique impact on the political/class struggle of the 20th century. (Now the Jews have joined the establishment, and the historical accident of an intellectually capable oppressed minority will, in a generation or two, no longer exist.)
His treatise on pragmatic social change is a delight to read (even for a reactionary right-winger like myself), though it is somewhat dated, and the predictions oftentimes wrong. Despite his errors, and predictive ineptitude, this book is the work of a keen intellect, a man committed to what he thought was right, and an invaluable insight into the mind of a thinking leftist.
Alinsky has read his Marx, and the Hegelian/Marxist dialectic is a continuing theme in the book, as is the middle class's supposed alienation, but he is no commie. He criticizes Soviet Russia, and extols democracy as the only means by which revolution is to be achieved. He believes in probability, not causality, and is fiercely opposed to individualism. ("We are our brother's keeper," "Individuality is primitive stupidity.") I find the latter quote ironic, since, recalling Anthropology 101, the more primitive tribes display the most communitarian spirit...but Alinsky never says he is infallible.
His rules on means and ends are brilliant, as is his dissection of how protest is to be effective. He is particularly scornful of protest tactics (still used today by the anti-war movement...ineffectually) that achieve no concrete results, and only alienate the middle-class power base.
He considers that right actions are always done for wrong reasons, and adduces Abraham Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus, disobeying a directive from the Supreme Court, and illegal use of military commissions to try civilians (sound familiar?), in order to win the Civil War.
He analyzes Gandhi as a pragmatist, not as some living moral saint, and provides a revisionist account of his tactics of non-violence. (He neglects to mention that Gandhi was a klismaphiliac.)
Alinsky stresses change, and dynamism, the stagnation of consistency, and how your friends today can be your enemies tomorrow. (The Left has forgotten this lesson, to their rhetorical disadvantage.)
The one place where Alinsky seriously goes off the rails is the chapter on using stock proxies to combat corporate practices. I've been to shareholders' meetings, and seen the "progressive" proposals by church groups, PETA, the Sierra Club, etc., voted on...and routinely defeated by margins of 99.7%. Alinsky lets his idealism trump his pragmatic common sense when he claims that people--middle-class people--will sacrifice dividends for "social justice."
Notwithstanding that, however, this book is still very worthwhile for all to study...partly as an historical artifact, partly for the Man to understand how to effectively stymie the lumpen-proletariat, and partly for the Left to understand why not to replicate the mistakes that Alinsky identified and warned against. (Although the Left would be advised to devise completely new tactics altogether...marching, picketing, and chanting are, as Alinsky would say, "trite.")
Rules For Radicals.......2007-03-12
I liked the book and wanted to compare some of the ideas to those that I have used to fight for Motorcycle Rights.
I have not finished it yet but would suggest those interested in rights movements do Read It.
ROGUE
Motorcycle Hall Of Fame Member
A useful tool for change.......2006-11-03
Although reading this book was a class assignment, I am certain that I will use it throughout my life as a professional and as a community member, desiring to make change in my own community. It is a very useful tool or guide that can be applied to a variety of situations -- from national political policies to PTA organizing. Don't let the title of the book scare you away, you do not need to consider yourself a radical to make change.
There are things I don't like, but some things I liked very much!.......2005-09-13
"RULES FOR RADICALS" by Saul Alinsky.
As some readers observe, it was Alinsky's "rules" as adopted by political conservatives which turned tables on the political left. I review "Rules" from a philosophical standpoint and a rational approach to truth criteria.
One of the more telling passages comes early, in the PROLOGUE:
*In a world where everything is so interrelated that one feels helpless to know where or how to grab hold and act, defeat sets in; for years there have been people who've found society too overwhelming and have withdrawn, concentrated on 'doing-their-own-thing'. Generally we have put them into mental hopitals and diagnosed them as schizophrenics.* -Saul Alinsky, PROLOGUE, p. xix
I am much in agreement with Alinsky's description of the schizoid split that takes place in the minds and hearts of many. Alinsky does not make the complete and logical connection between political activism and sanity and mental health. Alinsky can only imply it. Political activists, as we may observe them day to day, seldom display such an evolved commitment to principle or reason, nor do they demonstrate PEACE, but likely as not, rage and discontentment. At their worst, they exhibit the flawed chararacter who prefers to change the world, never him or herself.
The very problem that Alinsky identifies is the off-spring of a very popular epidemic of moral relativism, rooted in a psychological SCRIPT based upon pain-avoidance and selfish attitudes and a turning away from all-things-uncomfortable-in-life, and all responsibility for wrongs in the world. i.e. the schizoid split, which simply says, "I'm accountable only for credit for saving the world; I'm not accountable if its only a big, dirty clean-up job! It is directly related to the same SITUATIONAL ETHICS embodied in humanist and liberal views of society, an attitude of spiting authority and refusing to be held to any identifiable moral standard, whatsoever.
Alinsky does acquaint us with some fundamental moral dilemmas, especially regarding the definition of POWER. He leaves the reader with a sense of clarity. I do not believe activists generally reflect the rationalist tendency with which Alinsky confronts elements of our political life.
Moreover, the striking issue which Alinsky seems to avoid is the realm in which individuals become personally responsible for their lives; that precise point in which the individual acknowledges that life itself is larger than a part, and that all problems are not the government's making, nor is government action necessarily the solution.
I keep in mind that Alinsky was an agnostic. (He has passed on). Unfortunately, when someone adopts moral and ethical positions, far removed from notions of a higher power, he is simply 'playing God'; and that is where the MORAL RELATIVISM issue enters the scene. Philosophically, when any of us identifies RIGHT & WRONG, there ought to be both ACCOUNTABILITY & CONSISTENCY; social activists frequently fail to identify on a permanent basis, what constitutes everyday standards of RIGHT & WRONG, and Alinsky essentially advocates endless and on-going situational ethics and moral relativism; but his ideas, as TOOLS, are free for everyone to employ. There's the rub!
Alinsky does raise some fundamental philosophical issues, but certainly not all. His greatest fault in my opinion, is that he leaves these issues incomplete. It was fair for him to hold his materialistic view of property, society, activism etc. even if those are a limited view; but was it fair for him to avoid fundamental philosophical conflicts between science & religion & philosophy? Alinsky is TUNNEL-VISIONED in this regard, because solutions to human problems are not inherently, POLITICAL solutions. That's where the RULES ends in an incomplete viewing of human problems. Many human problems have spiritual solutions; but RULES is good as a starting outline of human ethical problems between opposing forces, so far as Alinsky is willing to examine public life. I give Alinsky his due.
Was Alinsky willing to define MAN, except as a physical animal, devoid of soul, destined to be in eternal conflict with public institutions of power? Alinsky fails, and leaves us a model of life as individuals in perpetual battle with the Nation, the Corporation, or the City Fathers (or Mothers!). He cannot prove that simply because we are fighting a fight, that our discontentment shall turn to contentment.
Who will benefit from reading Alinsky's Rules for HOW-TO-FIGHT-THE-GOOD-FIGHT? There are groups from all parts of the social spectrum that fight foolishly. I see them sabotage their own efforts all the time. Here's an example:
#1 The RIGHT-TO-LIFE organization opposes abortion; but instead of simply fighting that specific fight, they squander their energies in fighting Right-To-Assisted Suicide. Their focus is too broad to be effective. R.T.L fights in all directions at once, with the result they become depressed and confused. In fact, if they narrowed their focus and pursued the single battle they could win, ABORTION, the rest of the issues they oppose just might topple to their satisfaction.
#2 RIGHT-TO-LIFE Operates arrogantly, and by this I mean that they use an absolutist slogan, "ABORTION IS ALWAYS WRONG!"
I'm sorry, but it is perennially true that exceptions make the rule. Were RTL less absolutist, less inclined to 'play GOD' and more inclined to serve GOD, their cause would appeal to a wider base of reasonable and common sensical people...everyday people. We often say, NEVER SAY NEVER, and we might also say, ALWAYS AVOID SAYING ALWAYS. It makes one appear arrogant, imperious, and unreasonable.
#3 RTL presents the issue, "personally". They present it to the general public at their rallies as a "personal" issue. Their speakers sob and grieve, and so does their audience, to the point that to be motivated on the issue of ABORTION, it would appear that one must first feel misery and spread misery to everyone else. They have failed to present their issue in a POSITIVE manner, as a common human problem that requires thoughtful consideration. Hey! Nobody wants to feel miserable. Who needs it?
#4 RTL employs the "CULTURE-OF-DEATH" slogan to describe the FIFTY-MILLION-PLUS babies murdered by abortion in the U.S. alone since 1967. "Culture-of-Death" is backing the opposition into a corner and insisting on beating him to death where he stands. That's odd, because most religious people would agree that rather than "condemning" the culture, religion would most likely teach men to help "show" their brother the way out of darkness, rather than merely naming the ditch that he dwells in for the sake of "shaming" him. RTL might replace that negative slogan with CULTURE-OF-LIFE celebrations to endorse family and single parents who commit to nurture and protect life.
I believe Alinsky is a wonderful focal point for philosopical questions, but he does not address all the issues in full. He is not afraid of conflict, and was willing to lead where and when he was invited as an organizer; but was Alinsky willing to address fundamental issues which go to the very core of human conflict? Not really, as much as I admire the man, I find he is limited by an incomplete view of MAN, the citizen. Man was not a SOUL by Alinsky's estimation. Therefore, Alinsky sees men accountable to their fellow man, but does not see Man accountable to GOD or spiritual principle. Perhaps Alinsky's shortsightedness was that it limits our very life to an eternal conflict on the basis of HAVES & HAVE NOTS.
The flawed assumption in Alinsky's writing in this philosophical sense, is that his moral, ethical, and philosophical views of individual activism, are based upon an undeclared religious assumption of UNITY amongst people. Alinsky worked toward unification, but without identifying the WHAT it is, that truly unifies all mankind. The same exception is made throughout liberal movements today. There is an inherent affirmation of UNITY throughout liberal philosophy, but denial as to what constitutes UNITY. This gross error becomes equally pronounced in a philosopical scrutiny of Alinsky.
Credit Alinsky with an honest viewing of Mahatma Ghandi, whose ideas are largely misreprented and misunderstood in popular culture. Gandi was hardly a saint, and he certainly was not free of considerations of violence to achieve Indian independence. He was a pragmatist in every sense. Alinsky focuses on this aspect of Ghandi's personality.
'Rules for Radicals' is valuable for its truths, and for its flaws. Alinsky was a brilliant and courageous man, though not a hero by any stretch. Alinsky was a man keenly aware that he was a power broker, and who casually avoided the deeper implications of his ideological foundations. The fire which drove him to an evangelical fervor as a political organizer is worthy of study. There is something in his book for everyone, but I will not fail to point out that some activists (and I have used RIGHT-TO-LIFE as an example here) draw their ideological motivations from such a narrow and restrictive set of paramaters [scripture and religious sentiments in this case] that they are sometimes counterproductive, halting, and doomed to an ineffectiveness. For this, I, for one, am terribly sorry, and very saddened.
If you have never observed "peace" or "justice" activsts engage in spiteful back-stabbing, and gossip in the struggle for a paid, $5.00/per hour activist job, you might blindly believe that such people are often SAINTLY, or PEACEFUL, and above others. I assure you, they are as self-serving as the rest of us. Alinsky is very human, and not the epitome of human virtue; and the difficulty with activism is that activists will cloak themselves in self-righteous virtue, absent the logical and rational justifications that support such a sense of righteousness. Alinsky would have us believe that CHANGE is what we must force upon the world outside of ourselves. Sadly, it is a truth that we cannot have any kind of peace, until we begin to force change inside ourselves first.
I found "Rules for Radicals" to be an excellent jumping-off-point in the process of clarifying what I believe. It is better as an outline of issues to be discussed; but I was deeply moved by the book.
Who really knew Sol Alinsky?.......2005-08-09
Soon I will celebrate my 84th birthday; I'm originally from NYC and lived in the West Bronx where I saw and heard Sol Alinsky speak at building cooperatives and other organizational events on various occasions. Sol Alinsky was NOT a Marxist and those who attribute this to him never saw or heard him when he was a young and very alive human being. He was an honest, sincere American patriot.
He lived in a shameful period of our history when Capitalism was at its worst; not too many years after the tragic, horrific Triangle fire which burned a large number of seamstresses to death in a dress factory. Since the truism that "history repeats itself" is occurring at this very moment, if I believed in reincarnation, I would search for Alinsky's return. Capitalism has returned to the days of old and there are very few companies which are good to their workers.
Alinsky was the workers' knight in shining armor with a tongue that was greater and stronger than that of Sir Lancelot. If Hillary or any one else from that period learned anything from him, they were very fortunate for he was that unique voice of decency which appears all to infrequently.
For all those honest, good Americans who are appallled with the lies and deceptions of our present day leaders, this is a book which should be read to help, guide and invigorate you in the never-ending battle against religious fanaticism and ultra right-wing reactionary views. When a group argues for the teachings of the BIBLE as to Creation, we are in very deep trouble and the cultural switch has slipped into reverse.
No one wants to acknowledge that the so-called Bible was NOT written by God but by men and it does NOT represent the WORD OF GOD. I strongly urge one and all to read Saul Alinsky.
Amazon.com
Establishment scions rarely speak so loudly. In this scathing critique of George W. Bush's administration, former Clinton senior aide Sidney Blumenthal lets loose. Despite his long service in government and journalism, often as a relatively quiet behind-the-scenes player, Blumenthal with this book reveals himself unleashed. Whether the topic is intelligence gathering, the Iraq war, the Middle East peace process (or lack thereof), or other topics, Blumenthal doesn't waver. His tone is unrestrained, his dismay palpable, as he catalogs the history of what he terms the Bush administration's "radicalism."
The work consists of an introductory 23-page essay, a compilation of articles that Blumenthal originally authored for Slate.com and British newspaper The Guardian between 2003 and 2006, and finally a short epilogue. Taken together, the writings paint a damning picture of a befuddled, lazy, incompetent, and at times deliberately malevolent administration. No figure in the Bush White House escapes. As Blumenthal summarizes in one passage: "The president aggressive and manipulated, ignorant of his own policies and their consequences, negligent; the secretary of state [Powell] proud, instinctively subordinate, constantly in retreat; the vice president [Cheney] a Cardinal Richelieu, the conniving head of a neoconservative cabal, the power behind the throne; the national security adviser [Rice] seemingly open, even vulnerable, posing as the honest broker, but deceitful and derelict, an underhanded lightweight." In different contexts, with different storylines, these essential portraits come through on almost all of the book's 403 pages.
Blumenthal's former position in the White House and his numerous connections throughout Washington show in telling ways. He quotes from a variety of private sources - for example, contacts within the CIA and NSC on intelligence matters, different levels of military hierarchy on the Abu Ghraib scandal, and national party leaders on domestic political skirmishes - to enrich his perspectives. Among his more explosive revelations are the military's discontent with the Bush team's strong-handed policies, for instance - one essay titled "The American Military Coup of 2012" stretches readers' imaginations and prompts serious reflection about where events in Iraq may lead.
The inherent design of this book - with dozens of short, to-the-point essays - compensates for Blumenthal's one weakness as a writer, which is his occasional tendency towards long-windedness and overly complex prose. Whereas his previous book, The Clinton Years, veered at times towards long and tiring monologue, the pace of this one is livelier and readable. In both its sharp tone and pragmatic readability, it represents a strikingly atypical offering from the normally genteel Princeton University Press.
As the body of serious analysis on Bush's administration builds, Blumenthal's work will take its place alongside other journalistic-type memoirs as credible first drafts of history. Where Paul O'Neill's The Price of Loyalty lacerates the Bush administration's decision-making from the Republican side, and with a focus on fiscal policy, and Richard Clarke's Against All Enemies provides a centrist critique around national security, Blumenthal's book offers a view from the respectable political left with both bark and bite on a number of Bush's policies. It's a perspective worth heeding.--Peter Han
A Note from Author Sidney Blumenthal
"My newly published book, How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime, is a first draft of the history of the Bush presidency in and an analysis of its unprecedented radicalism. The fifth anniversary of 9/11 illustrated in many ways how Bush has exploited the trauma to pursue his radical agendas. The public was supposed to remember the event as the occasion of the president's heroism. Not only are we to forget "My Pet Goat" but also Bush's dismissal of the Aug. 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief, "Bin Laden Determined To Strike In United States." We are encouraged to recall the iconic pose of Bush on the rubble of the World Trade Center, bullhorn in hand, arm wrapped around a fireman, but not the giddy president in airman's uniform striding on the deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln to stand before a sign proclaiming, "Mission Accomplished." Photo credit: Ralph Alswang
Book Description
In a series of columns and essays that renowned journalist and former presidential adviser Sidney Blumenthal wrote in the three years following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a unifying theme began to emerge: that Bush, billed by himself and by many others as a conservative, is in fact a radical--more radical than any president in American history. In How Bush Rules, Blumenthal provides a trenchant and vivid account of the progression of Bush's radical style--from his reliance on one-party rule and his unwillingness to allow internal debate to his elevation of the power of the vice president.
Taking readers through pivotal events such as the hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the rise of the foreign-policy neoconservatives, Abu Ghraib, the war on science, the Jack Abramoff scandal, and the catastrophic mishandling of Hurricane Katrina, the book tracks a consistent policy that calls for the president to have complete authority over independent federal agencies and to remain unbound by congressional oversight or even the law.
In an incisive and powerful introduction, Blumenthal argues that these radical actions are not haphazard, but deliberately intended to fundamentally change the presidency and the government. He shows not only the historical precedents for radical governing, but also how Bush has taken his methods to unique extremes. With its penetrating account of a critical new era in American leadership, How Bush Rules is a devastating appraisal of the Bush presidency.
Customer Reviews:
Concise Gems.......2007-09-06
I will agree with the other reviewers that the author doesn't look at Cheney as deeply as he might. And, yes, the book is a collection of short columns--but that's one of the things I like about it. I've been able to share many of them with friends who, after reading them, have gotten angry and interested enough to start reading some of the books that go into depth on the Bush regime. I also want to mention that Mr. Steele's review misnames Greg Palast as Greg Pabst. Though I find Palast's style of writing rather juvenile in tone too often, he is a great investigative reporter.
Concise and Level-Headed.......2007-09-01
Blumenthal's "How Bush Rules" (an introduction and epilogue, surrounding a series of short essays between the post 9/11 period and the 2006 election) provides a concise and level-headed summary of the Bush years. Its easy reading provides a valuable antidote to the "boiled frog syndrome" in which many of us have become accustomed to Bush's new interpretation of American democracy.
Blumenthal begins by telling us that no one predicted how radical a president Bush '43 would be. His support of Arab-Americans in a debate with Gore seemed to suggest continuation of non-partisan Arab-Israel peace efforts (it was instrumental in winning an overwhelming share of the Muslim vote, about 90,000 of which were in Florida), he touted a record of bipartisan cooperation in Texas - stressing he'd be "a uniter, not a divider," and promised that he would be "humble" in foreign policy. Even the battle for Florida (setting loose a mob of mostly Republican staff members from Congress flown down to intimidate the Miami-Dade Board of Supervisors form counting votes there) was seen as a minor aberration.
However, immediately on assuming office Bush began to undo bipartisan traditions - we withdrew from efforts to persuade North Korea's leadership to control and limit its nuclear weapons, rejected the Kyoto Protocol, withdrew form negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, reversed his promise to reduce CO2 from power plants, pushed a large tax cut through that redistributed income and drained the Clinton surplus, limited stem cell research, and antagonized the Russians with aggressive Star Wars pursuit and an intent to withdraw from prior treaties.
By 9/10/01, Bush's approval rating was the lowest of any president at that point. Rove then went on to strategize demonizing Democrats over false issues of national security (eg. unionizing of TSA staff), while Bush moved to concentrate power in the Executive Branch, asserting that he had complete authority over federal agencies. Secret prisons were established, the Geneva Conventions ignored and described as "quaint" (Gonzalez), spying authorized without the required warrants, false and misleading information regarding Iraq and Saddam used to stampede public opinion, and the doctrine of preemptive attack launched. Government scientists were muzzled to muffle global warming concerns, and the opinions of others misstated; stem cell research (even when drawn from umbilical cords) also was targeted, this time to benefit Bush's religious-right base. Critics outside the (eg. Joseph Wilson) were smeared (eg. anti-Semitic, or worse), and media executives were leaned on to provide "more objective" coverage.
Bush hoped to undo the New Deal, beginning with Social Security, after the '04 election using his newfound "political capital." However, the effort failed to even garner a single congressional hearing, and his descent began. Katrina and the leveling of New Orleans exposed administration incompetence, and people began to wonder aloud about other major Bush actions/non-actions.
Bottom Line: Bush contends that being reviled is proof of his righteousness, comparing himself with Truman and Churchill during their down times. Closer to the truth, however, is Blumenthal's observation that Bush's legacy is an American democracy in crisis.
Sad, but true.......2007-01-22
This is a shocking look into just how this administration goes about business. The more you read, the more you can key in on specific things that are reported in the news or that is said in Bush's speaches. This is a commentary on the sad state of current politics - we need to take these things seriously and get our government back to the checks and balances that our Constitution provided. To continue the way things are going, will be the effective dismantling of our Constitutional guarantees and protections
another attempt to tell the truth.......2006-12-31
No one in the Bush administration will read this book. Most of the readers will already know what is included - I did, without even opening the cover. It is a quick read, and very little speculation, but it would be too painful for President Bush to admit, ever that he was and is totally incompetent, inept and without a single doubt the worst President in our history and the damage he and his henchmen have done will take decades to repair. The saddest part is that they just don't seem to care about the mistakes they continue to make. They refuse advice from wiser, more intelligent public servants, and never will. Books like this are frustrating to read because you know going in that those who should read it and learn from it won't, and neither will their blind supporters.
Chapters Short Enough Bush Could Almost Read this Book.......2006-12-16
I'm giving Sidney Blumenthal's new compendium of political essays and columns a qualified 4 stars. The writing is good, the target well-chosen, the barbs well-aimed. My problem with 'How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime' is that it is simply a collection of short columns (generally 2-3 pages) that Blumenthal wrote while commenting on the Bush Administration between November 2003 and April 2006 in Salon and the Guardian of London. Two or three pages is just not long enough to develop the facts or ideas that I look for in a book. The benefit, and some may find it to be a big plus, is that you can pick it up and read a 'chapter' in just a few spare moments. 'How Bush Rules' amounts to a diary of the past three years of lies, incompetence, religous extremism, destruction of civil liberties, and a breathtaking concentration of power in the Whtie House.
The chapter-length introduction, however, raises my rating of the book by a full 'star'. It is nothing less than a concise and convincing indictment of Bush's rule. Congress could use it as an outline for a bill of impeachment.
Recommended.
Amazon.com
So-called radical marketers stand out from the corporate crowd because they view the marketplace much differently from their more traditional peers. Not coincidentally, marketing consultant Sam Hill and business journalist Glenn Rifkin argue that the most advanced of these unorthodox companies--represented by diverse business ventures like Virgin Atlantic Airways, Iams pet food, Snap-on tools, and Samuel Adams beer--also tend to be wildly successful. In Radical Marketing, Hill and Rifkin examine these businesses and a half-dozen others with an eye toward the practices leading to their prosperity that could be adapted elsewhere. Some choices may raise eyebrows, such as the National Basketball Association (which lost half its 1998 to 1999 season to a contentious labor dispute) and the Grateful Dead rock band (long criticized for glorifying recreational drug use), but all nonetheless support the authors' hypotheses and reveal through detailed profiles and careful analyses precisely what their experiences offer other firms. Thankfully the authors end by explaining how such practices can be used also by mature companies in less freewheeling fields. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
How did the Grateful Dead use its fanatical following to build a $100 millionbrand that still thrives today? How did upstart Boston Beer Company--makers of Sam Adams--prevail over rival Anheuser-Busch without an advertising budget? And how did lams create the premium pet food market and leap from $16 million to $600 million in sales in just fifteen years, while charging twice the price of competitor Ralston-Purina? The answer: radical marketing.
In this fresh, provocative book, Sam Hill and Glenn Rifkin identify the mar-keting strategies that have enabled ten innovative companies to emerge asindustry leaders. What do these organizations have in common? Each is intune emotionally with its customer base, allowing them to glean superior marketing insight without spending millions of dollars. Each is more focused on the big picture--growth and expansion--rather than short-term profits. And,despite their current success, each started out with little more than a passion for their product. Engrossing, informative, and invaluable, Radical Marketing demonstrates how any company, large or small, can achieve unprecedented success through inventive and revolutionary tactics.
Customer Reviews:
Not as Radical as they'd like to lhink.......2003-01-24
Divided into two parts - the first defining "radical" as an approach to marketing, and the second a series of ten case studies analyzing companies that 'got radical' - this book os an interesting analysis of traditional vs. new marketing. Defining traditional marketing as big, complex, aimed at the center of a mass market, separated from the consumer, and formulaic, the authors assert that newer more radical marketing methods are paying bigger dividends than old traditional advertising.
Citing organizations such as Snap-on Tools, Harvard Biz School, Boston Beer Company, Virgin Atlantic Airways, and the NBA, the authors build a solid case for anew breed of marketers with more intuition and vision than marketing education. The case studies are insightful and always entertaining. In fact, the chapter on Harley Davison's recovery from near bankruptcy in 1985 to $1.8 billion revenue and record profits in 1997 might just be worth the price of the book. Similarly, Jerry Garcia fans will love the well argued discussion of the Grateful Dead as radical marketers.
The books main weakness is its lack of concrete `next steps' for the aspiring radical marketer. It also has little to offer (outside of the case studies) for the already radical. If you read just one marketing book a year - skip this one. But, if you enjoy well-researched and entertaining case studies, `Radical Marketing' is definitely worth a look.
Marketing = Advertising = consumes huge amount of money ?.......2002-03-26
It is always said that Marketing always consumes huge amount of money. It is because most of the marketer used the traditional marketing strategies, such as advertising, which need large amount of money.
However, after you read this book, you will disagree with the above statement. It is because you will find that there are lots of other marketing strategies which are also very useful but do not cost so much money. This book gave you lots of ideas and examples about ¡§radical marketing¡¨ which would help you to build relationship with customers through different kind of strategies.
And I particularly agree with one of the rules mentioned by the author. That is the marketer should go out the office and interactive with the customers. Since customer is one of the most important ¡§assets¡¨ for the company. And the customers nowadays change rapidly. So it is very important for the marketer to interactive with the customers so as to understand the customer need or any changes of the customer needs. And actually, I think that this concept should not be only applied to ¡§radical marketing¡¨. Instead, all marketers should pay attention to this point and consider taking action.
Shorter will be better.......2001-10-27
Actually, it is quite interesting and attractive that author use ten successful companies as an example to promote radical marketing. And we can learn that to run a business successfully, it is not only spend a lot of money on advertising, but also keep a good relationship with the customers and provide a good quality product. As most of the company just promote its products and company on advertising, I think it is a good way for others company to follow.
However, although there are ten case studies, after reading half, I¡¦m not really want to continue as all of the cases are similar. These ten companies stay at a similar situation, just face a difficulty and then using similar tactics that is radical marketing to tackle the problem. Therefore, it will be better if the author come up the points in fewer cases.
Shorter will be better.......2001-10-21
Actually, it is quite interesting and attractive that author use ten successful companies as an example to promote radical marketing. And we can learn that to run a business successfully, it is not only spend a lot of money on advertising, but also keep a good relationship with the customers and provide a good quality product. As most of the company just promote its products and company on advertising, I think it is a good way for others company to follow.
However, although there are ten case studies, after reading half, I¡¦m not really want to continue as all of the cases are similar. These ten companies stay at a similar situation, just face a difficulty and then using similar tactics that is radical marketing to tackle the problem. Therefore, it will be better if the author come up the points in fewer cases.
helped me get business.......2001-02-08
This book really helped us to position our agency (The Ad Store Amsterdam) against other agencies. Since we not only read this book but also used it (we even positioned ourselves as being a Radical Marketing Agency), our work improved and our client list grew beyond expectations. In short: this is a great book!
Amazon.com
There's hype and then there's the Internet. The widespread emergence of the World Wide Web and the idea of a network economy have set new records for excess in overheated marketing campaigns, breathless newspaper and magazine articles, and topsy-turvy financial markets. From his perch as founding editor of Wired magazine, Kevin Kelly has long been one of the new economy's chief hypesters. In New Rules for the New Economy, Kelly tries to encapsulate the characteristics of this emerging economic order by laying out 10 rules for how the wired world operates. The result is a dizzying, sometimes confusing, but always thought-provoking look at the behavior of networks and their effect on our economic lives. At the root of this network revolution is communication. As Kelly writes:
Communication is the foundation of society, of our culture, of our humanity, of our own individual identity, and of all economic systems. This is why networks are such a big deal. Communication is so close to culture and society itself that the effects of technologizing it are beyond the scale of a mere industrial-sector cycle. Communication, and its ally computers, is a special case in economic history. Not because it happens to be the fashionable leading business sector of our day, but because its cultural, technological, and conceptual impacts reverberate at the root of our lives.
Kelly's genius lies in synthesizing large amounts of information in unique and interesting ways. His ability to turn a phrase is reflected in the names he gives to his 10 rules, and it makes this book a pleasure to read. Some, for example, are: "Embrace the Swarm: The Power of Decentralization" (Rule 1); "No Harmony, All Flux: Seeking Sustainable Disequilibrium" (Rule 8); and "Let Go at the Top: After Success, Devolution" (Rule 6). A few of his ideas have a kind of Teflon quality that makes them elusive and difficult to evaluate. But that's OK. Like other prognosticators of the future--Alvin Toffler and John Naisbitt come to mind--Kelly's job is to imagine a new world. Far from hype, New Rules for the New Economy is required reading for anyone pondering business in the not-too-distant future. --Harry C. Edwards
Book Description
The old rules are broken. The current revolution in business requires nothing less than a new set of rules. Succinct and memorable, New Rules is the survival kit for the new economy. Kelly's manifesto in Wired brought rave reviews from business gurus such as Tom Peters, and praise from think tanks and business strategists from all over the world. New Rules will wake up the business world. Forget supply and demand. Forget computers. Today, communication, not computation, drives change. We are rushing into a world where connectivity is everything, and where old business know-how means nothing. In this new order, success flows primarily from understanding networks, and networks have their own rules. In New Rules, Kelly presents ten fundamental principles of the connected economy that invert the traditional wisdom of the industrial world. New Rules explains why these powerful laws are already hardwired into the new economy, and how they play out in all kinds of business--both low and high tech--all over the world. More than just a profound overview of new economic principles, New Rules prescribes many clear and specific strategies for success in the network economy. New Rules answers the perplexing questions all workers, from CEOs to middle managers, are asking themselves: What's happened? Why aren't the usual business strategies working anymore? New Rules is a spirited and mold-breaking book that follows the footsteps of futuristic best-sellers such as Megatrends, The Year 2000, and FutureShock. It is a hands-on, cutting edge tool for everyone worried about the future, and especially helpful for anyone curious about where the economy is going. The moral of New Rules is clear: Those who play by the new rules will prosper; those who ignore them will not.
Customer Reviews:
too many words too much bulloney.......2006-03-10
.
either you like this book or you dont
i dont --
it exceeded my BS tolerance level
imho too much of this is a total crock full of words
if this were condensed to a magazine article it might be worth slogging through
i wonder - was this once a magazine article that got put on steroids to pump it up to fill a book?
read it at the library if you must
dont buy it
.
Pursue opportunities and new opportunites arise, maximize opportunites for others verses solving problems........2006-03-06
Networks provide easy and constant communication and thereby speed up experience through the network. Once the network is established, it propagates explosive growth with relatively little added genius. The power of the network is abundance; the more plentiful things become, the more valuable they become; and copies are cheap. The value of the invention, company, or technology increases exponentially, as the number of systems it participates with increases linearly. The more opportunities that are taken, the faster new opportunities arise; technology produces potential opportunities; taking opportunities is more important than solving problems, so pursue opportunities; there will be more gain by producing opportunities than by optimizing existing ones; a network breeds opportunities; and bit by bit the network will overtake every atom we deal with. In a world of ubiquitous connections, where everything is connected, poverty will be the person not connected too the network because they will miss the opportunity to establish commerce relationships of value and trade. Therefore, relationships are more important than technical quality. Seek the best innovations with the high performance and the widest basis.
The world's best experts on your product or service will not work for your company. These fanatical experts are external and can be thought of as hobby tribes. They are informed, connected, and very smart customers. Companies need user groups, almost as much as users need them. As customers get smarter, the locus of expertise shifts toward affiliates and home-brewed groups. The net trends to dismantle authority and shift its allegiance to peer groups, so the new economy begins with technology and ends with trust. There is no faster way to learn than through feedback by a league of connected customers.
Swarm theory.......2006-03-05
The new economy is a global economy favoring intangible things: ideas, information, and relationships and is intensely interlinked. Today, the new information based sector occupies over 15% of the total US economy. In the postindustrial society, communication has become the economy and the cultural, technological, and conceptual impacts reverberate at the roots of our lives. The financial sector has reshaped the economy; the financial sector ownership involves only a small number of people; the financial innovations include: mortgages, insurance, venture funding, stocks, checks, credit cards, and mutual funds; the financial sector has given rise to corporations, market capitalism, the industrial age, and has influenced how all business has been done. Since communication is the economy, the net is the future. The net has accelerated in usage due to the increase in silicon chips and fiber optic data transmission; the net is weaving lives, minds, and artifacts into a global scale network; the result is the swarm of information, reticulating the surface of the planet; the new economy will increasing obey the logic of the networks and understanding the network will be the key to understanding how the economy works. In 1997, there were 6 billion non-computer chips and by 2005 the predicted usage was at 10 billion.
The network represents connectivity. We are connection everything to everything. The network values the dumb power of bits in the swarm; the connectivity and usage of the dumb bits or parts in the swarm yield smart results; and we don't need advanced Artificial Intelligence to make an intelligent system. The network is a link of distributed, bottom up, data bits; it lets things communicate among themselves and takes a decentralized approach for communication, for example, manufacturing robots scheduling their own work based on incoming requests, as they bid on work dependant on their capability. The swarm aim is superior performance in a turbulent environment. Consider the power of the "Wisdom of the crowds". In one case sample, 5,000 attendees, at a computer graphics conference were give individual access to a simulator and the task on how too land a plane. The attendee had novice knowledge about how to land the plane. The jet responded to the average decisions of the swarm. The group landed the jet with almost no direction. In another case example, the group was given the task to navigate a submarine and go look for buried treasure. The group could not initiate any movement until leadership from a loud speaker was given to "go right". The leadership unlocked the paralysis of the swarm and the direction facilitated action.
Technology success is measured on how invisible it becomes to the end user and how effective it becomes to the long term strategy in developing products and services that can't be ignored. The power of the network increases in value n power 2 where n is the number of members. Therefore, networks need to increase their critical mass of members to become effective. Innovation attracts members. Innovation is more important than price; price is the derivative of innovation; monopolies push up price and decrease quality and create a dangerous singular source of innovation; and the network destroys monopolies through collective innovation, such as, open source.
mini version of Out of Control.......2005-03-31
Offers 10 rules for organizations to follow to benefit from the emerging Economy. The book is really just a condensed version of Kelly's earlier book, Out of Control.
Not revolutionary, BUT..........2002-12-30
I tend to give a book **** stars when it should be read and ***** when it must be read. This book remains a good read even after the dot-com implosion. Perhaps even a better read afterward since the hype and frenzy are long since gone and the work can better live and die on its own.
Kevin Kelly, as founding editor of Wired magazine, has long been one of the new economy's chief advocates. In New Rules for the New Economy, Kelly tries to encapsulate the characteristics of this emerging economic order by laying out 10 rules for how the wired world operates. It is very well thought out and well written. A superb synthesis of new economy thinking. Right or wrong, it does a phenomenal job of putting forth the premises and substantive arguments that make the new economy such a provocative topic. Kelly manages to do this while maintaining a fluid and natural story telling style. Here is a representative sample excerpt:
"Communication is the foundation of society, of our culture, of our humanity, of our own individual identity, and of all economic systems. This is why networks are such a big deal. Communication is so close to culture and society itself that the effects of technologizing it are beyond the scale of a mere industrial-sector cycle. Communication, and its ally computers, is a special case in economic history. Not because it happens to be the fashionable leading business sector of our day, but because its cultural, technological, and conceptual impacts reverberate at the root of our lives."
This book both informs and, more importantly, inspires. Its powerful message has no doubt launched careers and changed lives. It will remain an important read for many, many years to come.
Kevin, like all good pioneers, has taken more than his fair share of "arrows in the back", but don't be mis-led by the naysayers, this one is the real deal.
Book Description
As the Internet diffuses across the globe, many have come to believe that the technology poses an insurmountable threat to authoritarian rule. Grounded in the Internet's early libertarian culture and predicated on anecdotes pulled from diverse political climates, this conventional wisdom has informed the views of policy makers, business leaders, and media pundits alike. Yet few studies have sought to systematically analyze the exact ways in which Internet use may lay the basis for political change.
In Open Networks, Closed Regimes, the authors take a comprehensive look at how a broad range of societal and political actors in eight authoritarian and semi-authoritarian countries employ the Internet. Based on methodical assessment of evidence from these cases—China, Cuba, Singapore, Vietnam, Burma, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt—the study contends that the Internet is not necessarily a threat to authoritarian regimes.
Customer Reviews:
a disturbing possibility.......2004-10-21
This was an important book for me because it made me realize that national governments can separate economic freedom from political freedom and that national governments could encourage the former while also discouraging the latter. The book looks at the use of the internet in and by eight semi-authoritarian and authoritarian nations. One conclusion that can be reached is that such governments can be adept in their use of the Internet. A more complete review of the book can be found on the Resource Center for Cyberspace Studies web page for book reviews.
Good Book, Difficult Read.......2003-04-05
If you are interested in this subject, it is certainly a book that you want to read. It provides an excellent analysis of the situation. In the `90's the irrational exuberance of the economic potential of the Internet created the dot-com bubble. There is also an inflated perception on what the Internet means socially, a condition that still exists. This book is a pin that pops that bubble.
One warning, this book is not a page-turner. At times the way in which the authors deliver the information is somewhat dry. This made the book difficult to read at times. This is not to suggest a fault, you just need to be prepared for what you are about to read.
If you are looking for a fun filled read, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a book that delivers factual information and insights on the implications of the Internet on closed regimes, then this should definitely be part of your library.
Book Description
A major feature of the rise of Islamism in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and parts of the West is the current rapid growth of a starkly repressive version of shari'a, Islamic law. In this book, noted human rights activists and scholars trace the growth of such law in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Nigeria, Malaysia, and Indonesia; document its threat to the status of women, religious freedom, and democracy itself; and suggest how the rest of the world should respond. Published in cooperation with Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom.
Customer Reviews:
what about Christian fundamentalism in the US?.......2006-07-16
I love that thousand of infidels bit ... it rings a bell of something called the crusades..... it is difficult to exercise something other than cognitive conservatism for some ... with new plethora of legislative changes we are looking to lose our freedoms right here as well to Christian fundamentalism..... a very superficial book, but for those who enjoy wrangling... here here
poor title for a great book.......2005-11-18
I don't know why the author agreed to the title of this book because it is not a compendium of "radical" rules, it is a collection of Islam in its purist form. Having spent many years in countries where Islam is the real law, as opposed to the Western notions of a separation of "church" and state, this is a very well done exposition of what anyone who believes in the freedoms taken for granted in Western societies has to contend with where Islam is in control. bin Laden and his followers are not "extremists". They are not "fundamentalists". They are trying to get Islam back to the "good old days" of the 7th century. The Koran is not just another religious text that is subject to debate and discussion. It is the FINAL authority. Period. For those who cite passages of the Old Testament as examples of religious extremism, they do not understand that this "ultimate" word is the last, undisputed, and undisputable set of rules for mankind. Any dissent is a death sentence. If you don't think so, go to Saudi Arabia and try to debate the issue. Of course if you are a non Muslim, you can't go to Mecca or Medina. Sort of like not being allowed into the Vatican if you aren't a practicing Catholic.
The book does a good job of showing the world as bin Laden and his followers are killing thousands of "infidels" to get to, but we will have to learn the hard way, after many more 9/11's, as to what this means.
Sharia Shari'a Laws in Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, S.A., etc........2005-09-12
From the 2005 paper-back jacket (226 pgs): "A significant consequence of the rise of Islamism in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and other regions of the world is the rapid growth of a starkly repressive version of Islamic shari'a law, often fueled by funds and support from Saudi Arabia. Despite its importance, this worldwide growth of extreme shari'a is under-documented and little understood. Through a detailed comparative analysis of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Nigeria, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the contributors to this timely book document its terrible effects on human rights -- especially the status of women and religious freedom -- of Muslims as well as religious minorities, and of democracy itself. This book also makes a compelling argument that such laws are a direct threat to the Western interest of advancing democracy and human rights. Democratic nations and international human rights groups lack any meaningful policy for dealing with the spread of extreme shari'a." This book "concludes with policy recommendations for the United States regarding specific countries confronting extreme shari'a. Contributors are: M. Barends: teaches law at the University of Leiden; H.F. Bella: was the director of the Sudan Human Rights Organization in Cairo; Mehrangis Kar: Iranian lawyer (Amnesty International names her a 'human rights hero' in 2002); P. Marshall: senior fellow at Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom; P.G. Riddell: professor of the Center for Islamic Studies at the London School of Theology, Brunel University; S. Schwartz: journalist; Nina Shea: former vice-chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; R.J. Woolsey: former director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Provides specificly identified (numbered) Shari'a laws in seven major Muslim countries. Written in a scholarly, well-researched manner; not in a "Bible thumper's" style so commonly seen from some religious institutions.
Average customer rating:
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The Dirty Half Dozen: Six Radical Rules to Make Relationships Last
William Nagler , and
Anne Androff
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Interpersonal Relations
| Relationships
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Marriage
| Relationships
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Self-Help
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0446394084 |
Book Description
Everyone wants to have a nurturing, happy, working union with a spouse or loved one--but time after time, it can fail, fall flat, or not live up to expectations. Now, after surveying more than 30 years of psychiatric literature and submitting more than 1,000 relationship studies to computer analysis, a renowned psychiatrist offers a provocative new theory for successful, long-lasting love.
Download Description
Say goodbye to conventional wisdom and say hello to The Dirty Half Dozen--a fresh, iconoclastic set of rules as seen on Donahue and in Self magazine and demonstrated to improve relationships dramatically. Based on thirty years of psychiatric literature, including over 1,000 studies on relationships, as well as the author's own personal relationship experience, this book shows how satisfying, long-term relationships are not about abstract concepts like romance, honesty, or intimacy. They are about something far more simple. Learn the value of the little white lie, the destructive potential of the "petty" differences, the myth of the perfect relationship, the care and feeding of the happy, lasting relationship within tension free-surroundings and other secrets that every couple needs to know.
Book Description
The aggressiveness of activism is intensifying. While the threat of terrorism is no where near as great in the United States as it is in other parts of the world, direct activist action against individuals and their families is becoming a routine tactical choice.
These threats are intensifying because decreasing public and media interest frustrates current activist causes. That means the tactics selected by activists today must create ever larger disruptions to gain the necessary leverage of fear and embarrassment that attracts media attention and potentially builds groups of activist followers.
This monograph focuses on learning how to successfully cope with activist intrusion threats by reducing or eliminating the news media component, which in turn reduces a target's attractiveness; and ways to outsmart and outmaneuver activists, thus denying them the psychological, ceremonial, ritualistic, and public attention successes they need to achieve their objectives.
Customer Reviews:
Author's comment.......2002-07-06
When an activist makes the typical emotional, non-specific, generalized, negative attack against someone else's ideas, you know those ideas probably contain something of great value. That's been the reaction of hundreds who have read, learned from, and used this monograph.
Jim Lukaszewski
This is not a book.......2002-03-23
This is not a book, rather it is a poorly done article that has the apperance of a simple cut and paste 8.5 page advertisement for the Lukaszewski Group.
This purchase was a mistake and I'll be returning it.
I am an activist and this "thing" is basically full of stale worthless information.
Product Description
This is a NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA MODELING VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS AND SIMULATION report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A681514. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: Increased operational costs and reductions in force size are two of the major factors driving the need for improved computer simulations within the military community. Human performance models are used in various aspects of simulation, including the control of computer-generated forces, as tactical decision aides, in intelligent tutoring systems, and in new system design. This research compares two categories of human performance models: multi-agent systems and rule-based architectures. Each model has its own strengths and weaknesses and is best suited for certain applications. Complex military simulations need human performance models that take advantage of the strengths of more than one type of model. This study compares the implementation and performance of these two models, and demonstrates the need for hybrid systems that employ the best aspects of each for a given situation. The thesis is organized as follows: Chapter II discusses the background of naturalistic decision making and provides overviews of the following computational cognitive architectures: Adaptive Control of Thought-Rational (ACT-R); Soar; COGnition as a NEtwork of Tasks (COGNET); Java Expert System Shell (JESS); Operator Model ARchitecture (OMAR); Micro Saint; Neural Networks; and Agent-Based Systems. In Chapter III, the two models are applied to the decision making problems of the Officer of the Deck onboard a submarine as he maneuvers the vessel to carry out the assigned mission.
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- Steal This Book!: Million Dollar Sales Letters You Can Legally Steal to Suck in Cash Like a Vacuum on
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- Teaching in America (4th Edition)
- Ten Lessons to Transform Your Marriage: America's Love Lab Experts Share Their Strategies for Strengthening Your Relationship
Books Index
Books Home
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Reveille for Radicals
Building Communities From The Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets
The Activist's Handbook: A Primer Updated Edition with a New Preface
Organizing for Social Change: Midwest Academy : Manual for Activists
Roots for Radicals: Organizing for Power, Action, and Justice
