Bond Reviews

I am a senior majoring in finance at the Curtis L. Carlson School of Management, at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. I just got done taking a bond course called: Financial Markets and Interest Rates. For the class we used this text book. Although it is a well-rounded book on bonds, it is very hard to understand if you do not have other examples describing what is going on. My professor who holds an MBA had alternative notes on Microsoft PowerPoint made for us to supplement the hard to understand text. The examples do not fully give a clear idea of what is happening, especially to the beginner learning bonds. I would rate this book 2/5 stars and would look elsewhere for an easier type of book, perhaps a tutorial. This book is used at high level universities including mine and Princeton University. Fabozzi is not fooling around when displaying info on bonds.

A little too wordy, but as a management text, I guess its a prerequisite. It covers the gamut of fixed income securities, but only approaches the problems deterministically. The first thirteen chapters are "text" chapters, with the real math starting in chapter 14. However, the math used is elementary, and will not be of much help in the real world. For the fixed income math portion look into "Bond Pricing and Portfolio Analysis" by Olivier de La Grandville.

For a first course in bonds, and if the student has no prior background, this book will indeed be useful. But, for advanced students the book mentioned above should be more insightful.

If you think of this as an introductory book to the world of Bonds rather than a field manual for professionals you will find this to be a wonderful book. I find it to be engagingly written (yes, engaging!) with well-chosen examples. It is very nice to be able to read a book about Bonds and find it stimulating. It would have been easy to write a book that could act as a sleep-aid. Instead, this book provides learning objectives for each chapter and the prose is so inviting that I felt the book to be a page-turner.

The math used is not complicated and is chosen to help understanding rather than demonstrate the sophisticated math used in the actual world of bond trading. If you want that kind of material this isn't the book for you.

I don't know if there is a solutions manual available, but I couldn't find it. If there isn't, there should be. I have never had a college course that used the problems in the book for actual coursework and yet, no matter how simple the problems seem, it is nice for the student to be able to confirm that he or she has indeed found the right answer.

There are also many helpful footnotes that point to materials for further and deeper reading on the subjects introduced in this fine book.

If you're thinking of buying this book because of the wonderful illustrations Felicia contributed to the five Laura Joffe Numeroff books (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, etc.), then you'll be disappointed. The illustrations are small, dark, and lack the detail of her previous work and the story is just ok. Don't bother.

This wonderful little book is a year round favorite in our home. My son picks it almost every night. Shy children will especially relate to Roger! You won't need a picture to remember this future classic.

This a wonderful book. The illustrations are adorable and the storyline is perfect for a kid. I love it as much as my daughter does.

This book appears to be a hastily thrown together batch of expressions, very few of which strike me as regional. For example, do we need Mr. Bonds to tell us that "flustered" means frustrated, "fly off the handle" means to become angry, or to "follow" something is to understand it? Of the nine or ten entries on each page, no more than three of them are particularly southern, and even those are pretty durn obvious.

I bought this book when I was researching southern expressions, and found it less colorful than web pages available for free on the internet....

Southern Tongue is the perfect coffee table book for any true Southerner. I have recently moved away from the South, and miss it almost every day. This book brings a smile to my face every time I pick it up. It's not quite a dictionary in the literal sense, but it's definately a compilation of delightful and nostalgic "Southernisms." Just about every page has expressions I still use to this day and now can show my friends, "see I'm not the only one that talks this way!"
I can almost feel the warm breezes of home, and smell the bbq my Daddy prides himself on. Not to mention Mamma's chicken fried steak! MMM-MMM what a memory!
Thanks to Mr. Bonds for giving us this merry and light hearted view on the way we Southerners speak in such a delightful "down home" way. I enjoyed the heck out of it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a clue into the "Southern Tongue."

I would like to rebut a previous review of "Southern Tongue". I'm a born and bred Southern boy who's been away from home for quite some time. Buying this book was like getting a care package from Mom. It sparked a flood of memories and (like the publisher said) left me homesick, but happy. It reminded me of the crawfish boils we used to have in the summer and of how Daddy always had to have his grits on Saturday morning. It reminded me of things my Granny used to say when I was young. Things I had forgotten. The reviewer that I'm rebutting stated that there wasn't a hint of insight in this book as to anything Southern. I disagree and I AM a bonified Southerner (not a Californian like this other self-proclaimed expert.) In fact, I can't for the life of me, think of anything in my own Southern vocabulary that isn't in this book. Granted, many of the expressions in this book are in used elsewhere, but this was stated in the fore matter of the book (had you read it). I live in Alaska now, but I still use my "Southern Tongue" everyday, so of course the expressions exist outside the South. Also, in defense of "Southern Tongue", this is obviously a nostalgic, novelty, gift, "hit-home" with a Southerner type of book. Hell, I bought 5 to give to my kinfolk back home next Christmas. It's a little piece of the South that I am proud to have on my coffee table. If you want "etymology and regional analysis" you should probably go get a college education. This book, however, is as fun and light-hearted as the South and Southern people are, and if you don't get it then California is probably a good place for you to be. Like Lynyrd Skynyrd sang, "A Southern man don't need [you] around anyhow."

And to the author...thanks! I've been reading a few expressions each night, and always catch myself smiling. Now when my Alaskan friends wonder what I'm talking about, I show them your book, and they usually get a kick out of it too. Thanks again.

How can someone like this book? This book was painful to read. The main charecter, Lyn, was so flat I never belived she could have existed. When she was transported to another time she didn't seem to mind loosing her mother and friends at all. There are also some holes in the story like why do all the charecters accept her as Elisibeth? I had to read this book for a literature class and with so many other good books in the world, why we read this this one I will never know!

I found this to be a great novel, a little hard to get into, but once I got going found it pretty cool. What annoys me is that this book seems (to me) that there should be a sequel!

This story just draws you in. The book is a little slow at first, but I've read it several times and I really enjoy it. The historical accuracy is astounding. I like the way the author has Lyn react with situations she's not used to (ex.bathing). This is a good book that I really recommend.

This book covers an interesting life story and has great detail, but unfortunately much of that detail has nothing to do with Mr. Fleming's life, instead focusing on the bloodlines of every British person he ever met. A typical sentence would read "While at the party Ian met John Blankenship of Eddileshile, who would later become the Duke of Ipswitch and marry the Dutchess of Flem, whose mother, the Dame of Foppishnich, once had lunch with Sir Henry Handllberg" - and NONE of these people would have had anything to do with the story, the party, or Ian Flemming. It is as if a Flemming biography was inadvertantly been mixed with a "Complete Peerage of the Brittish Isles" and they went ahead and published it anyway. If you must, get the print version, so you can skim over the irrelevant stuff that pops up every other sentence - if you listen to the Audible audio version (like I did) you will find it had to follow and boring to boot.

In a fashion, Mr. Lycett's biography is as detailed as Carlos Baker's biography of Ernest Hemingway. Nearly every movement of Ian Fleming's adulthood is covered. What is revealed is not a pleasant personality. Ian Fleming was a selfish, egocentric fellow who was very much a rake and a cad, especially in the years before World War Two. Scion of a wealthy family, he was a true-to-life example of England's decadent ruling class as much as the Marchmont family was in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited.(Interestingly, Fleming's wife, Ann, was friends with Waugh though Waugh did not know Fleming very well when Brideshead was written). Lycett paints an unflattering portrait of this ruling class. The ruling circle which Fleming was part specialized in divorce, arrogance, selfishness, the lapping up of assorted luxuries. They lacked fidelity and self-discipline. It is also noteworthy that in the middle of the Depression, Fleming was so set in society that he seemed to be able to vacation at a whim and not lose his job. Fleming would have died a spoiled cad if not for the discipline of war, in which he served well as an intelligence officer. Egocentric as always, Fleming later claimed to have drawn up the blueprint for the American O.S.S., later known as the C.I.A.. During the war, Fleming fell in love with Jamaica. This love led eventually to Fleming's routine of writing a James Bond novel each winter at his place, Goldeneye, in Jamaica during his ordinarilly 2-3 month winter vacations. The James Bond pop phenomenon was slow to take off and by the time that it did, Ian Fleming's health was in severe decline due to years of a diet of cigarettes, large amounts of alcohol and greasy foods. The Bond novels will never be known as great literature but they are tersely written in fine, spare prose. The plots are usually ridiculous but, after all, they were to be fun books, not serious literature. Sadism is laced within many for Fleming was a sexual sadist. What is most fascinating about the biography is the chummy relationships within the British ruling class where Fleming would have the homosexual Noel Coward as his best man, rent Goldeneye to Prime Minister Eden after the Suez fiasco and Fleming's wife, Ann, would carry on an affair with Labor Party boss Hugh Gaitskill with Fleming's acceptance.

Lycett gives great insight into Fleming's character and also the world he lived and wrote in. Also, this book gives a great overview of World War II and the Cold War. I highly recommend this book to Bond fans and anyone else who enjoys reading about exciting persons, such as Fleming.

Watch out when an economist begins talking about law (or, like Posner, a lawyer talking about economics).

Another good book in this general line is Fenton Bailey's "Junk Bond Revolution". Very well written, probably by a ghostwriter.

A useful counterweight to conventional received wisdom, but, keep in mind, that experts are hired mouthpieces, and Alan Greenspan once testified on behalf of Charles Keating.

I bought this book, looking for a history of Drexel and Milken, and what they did, and what junk bonds were.

I found a defense of Drexel and Milken, and a rebuttal of the charges against them.

Most of the book is a description of their trials, and how they defended, and how the charges were 'put up' by attorney Guilani.

But, I think the book went too far in the last 100 pages. Having run out of things to say about Drexel and Milken, the author diverted his attention to the Savings & Loan scandal, and has the gall to defend Charles Keating, and then go on to defend other S&L 'criminals'. What this has to do with Milken or Drexel is beyond me, and thus only the first 2/3rds of the book lives up to its title.

Also, he never concretes the evidence that there is a conspiracy, only that a top guy in government (who is jealous of Drexel), and Ralph Guilani, (not to mention the government's policies) are against Drexel.

Payback - the conspiracy to destroy Michael Milken and his financial revolution is an outstanding book that changes your way of thinking about the american dream, the junk bond decade and I recommend it unconditionally to anyone who is willing to have a lot of conventional wisdom and preconceived ideas turned around.

The author starts with a strange question - is there something like too much wealth ? Is it embarassing to earn too much money in a short period of time. Is there something like if you are born like this you must utmost become that ?

This book is a story about a man who I believe was on the way to become the most important financial thinker in our 20th century, a man whou should be seen as a scholar more than as a businessman, in particular because he prooved what scholars before him erected as a hypothesis.

His crime: working unnormally long hours, thinking the impossible paths of financing, not considering the estalished rights of normal banks (which would after him cease to exist) and not bending over to the politicians who turned an industry, that should have been killed in the early 80s into a nightmare of dimensions never heard of before. Milken just helped to open ways to a new wave of shareholder- value-oriented management, and he helped to get the best result out of the S&L legislation, in principle just the way the politicians wanted it - only that they wanted to reverse everything after they had seen what had gone completely wrong,much too late at a much too high cost.

I admit I have always liked Mr Michael Milken, already in the late 80s, when he was convicted, beacause the accusations seemed not plausible. This book shows, that he was sentenced to 3 years in prison (not 10 as one so often reads) for a crime that n-o-b-o-d-y can commit, because it is not a crime. It was just an accusation and a judge who lost control over the PR-work of a selfish State attorney Ralph Guliani. I admit that since reading the book I also admire Mr Milken for his proof, what a man, his wife and chidren can endure.

Read this book just to show reverence to a great man of history who will never surrender, be it to unjustified accusations or to death in form of cancer, and to whom scholars in the next century will look as a magnificent thinker of the last century.

Dr. Rudolf C. King

Some great pictures, I won't deny, but particularly, my expectations were way beyond that what I could get from this book. Most of the pictures are in plain old B&W, instead of bein in living colors. The great majority don't even have a subtitle, therefore, we get a little lost sometimes. Besides, as this book was supposed to be something like a filming diary, it could depict much more behind-the-scenes stills, making of candids and so on, and even could show some text in it. I think if you only like to see pictures then the book will be ok, but if you're a die hard fan, searching for news about the filming of the picture, then this book will be the wrong choice. I think maybe to those photo admirers the book will be a disappointing, so, I wouldn't recommed it at all. I am quite disappointed myself!

This is really a very good book. Since I have been watching more of DIE ANOTHER DAY on DVD I have come to love this book. Strange in a way but its reminds me of a visual representation of the Ian Fleming novels. Very good item to have for collectors of James Bond.

Bond on Set: Fiiming Die Another Day is perhaps one of the most unique 007 books on the movie ever. When you open it up don't expect to see text. This book is filled over the top with behind the scenes pictures of the cast and crew. Greg Williams does an absolutely fantastic job of showing off the film. Pictures include Rosamund Pike in her fencing suit, Michael G. Wilson in his cameo, Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rick Yune, Toby Stephens and many more. From the forward by Michael G. Wilson to the end of hundreds of pictures, this book is a treasure to all Bond fans!

Juliet McKenna's latest installment focuses again on Ryshad. We have seen many sides of Ryshad now, from intriguing swordsman to clever slave. Here, we see Ryshad the servant. Returning to service with the D'Olbriots isn't easy for Ryshad, who has gotten used to making his own decisions. Nor is it easy to be separated from his beloved Livak.

The Elietimm must be taking time off from terrorizing the land, because we see little of them in this book. No, the villains of this book are closer to home - the Tor Bezaemar family, rivals of the D'Olbriots. Temar, the newly-awoken noble from Kellarin, is caught up in the intrigues between noble houses, all the while trying to catch up on what has happened during his long sleep. Ryshad assists Temar as best he can while still honoring his oath.

This book is not as interesting as previous books. The idylls of the rich and famous are not as fascinating as the jams Livak would get herself into. It does serve as an history of the Empire, and a tome to the complex social hierarchy of this land.

Sometimes both sorcery and artifice seemed just a little too convenient, devices to get our protagonists out of trouble or to tie up loose plot ends. I hope this trend doesn't continue, as I lauded the low-magic aspects of the first book.

I was relieved when I finished the book, after struggling to get through some of the duller moments. I usually give my favorite authors a few chances to redeem themselves, and the end of this book sets things up nicely for a better fifth installment.

First let me say, I *like* McKenna's books. Her writing is solid, her characters are engaging and complex and so is her world. Rather than the typical medieval milieu, she has set her stories in a world that resembles 17th c. Europe-- nice change. The only flaw is that while some of the good guys aren't terribly likeable, most of her bad guys tend to be Evil with a capital E. That's okay-- makes it more fun to see them fall. I'm looking to be entertained here.

With the fourth book in the series, we are back with Ryshad, the male half of her protagonist couple. I realized toward the end of the book that this one doesn't deal with the main villains, the Elietim, from her earlier books at all. The plot revolves totally around the machinations of an Imperial court. I think this may be why some people found it disappointing. I actually enjoyed it, however. The writing remained solid and the characters are likeable and sympthetic. And palace intrigue can be a lot of fun.

I gave this four stars because the enjoyment factor remains high. I wouldn't judge the whole series from this one particular book, however, since it did feel like a small departure. The protagonists are back together at the end of the book and heading overseas so I anticipate our old pals, the Elietim, will be back as well.

McKenna's fourth tale of Einarinn covers the same timeframe as The Gambler's Fortune, focusing on Ryshad Tathel's activities in Tormalin while lover Livak is off in the west. While retaining all the color and texture of earlier books, The Warrior's Bond offers some departures from the norm as well. For one thing, it does very little traveling, with most of its action set in the capital city of Toremal.

Ryshad's first-person narration isn't yet on a par with Livak's, but comes across well enough. He's been elevated from sworn man to chosen man by Messire D'Olbriot; one more step up to proven man will give him the wherewithal for the life he wants with Livak. His viewpoint alternates with two others in third-person. One belongs to wizard Casuel Devoir, still trying to advance his own fortunes and still as delightfully odious as ever. The other is from colonist Temar D'Alsennin, on his first mainland visit and having trouble adjusting to a changed world after his centuries-long sleep.

Temar and a fellow colonist plan to meet assorted nobles and present a case for assisting the colony. A third of the colony's members remain locked in limbo, with the ancient artifacts holding their consciousness yet to be recovered from among the noble Houses. Equally important, the colony's long-term survival depends on establishing mainland trade and other alliances. Though the Elietimm threat still looms, Ryshad and Casuel are temporarily reassigned by their respective masters to watch over Temar as he tries to navigate modern Empire life.

As usual in a McKenna story, things start to go wrong almost immediately. Temar's ship nearly founders right outside the harbor. His sample trade goods are plundered from their dockside warehouse. He's attacked by an unidentified assailant. Ryshad is set up for a warrior's challenge. Several noble Houses file suits to wrest all control of the colony away from D'Olbriot and from Temar himself. Are these incidents related? If so, who's behind them, and why? Ryshad struggles to get to the bottom of things, while at the same time serving the interests of both D'Olbriot and Temar, all of which only seems to get him deeper into trouble and further away from achieving his own goal.

Previous books have focused on the lives of common folk, or on wizards, foreigners, time-displaced colonists, or other unusual groups; here McKenna turns her writer's talents loose on the lives of the rich and noble. Readers get a good look at Tormalin nobility through the widely differing perspectives of Ryshad, Temar, and Casuel. Magic takes a backseat to political and social machinations. As one character tells Temar, "[i]t's a different kind of danger, but it's just as real for your colony." It's just as real for readers, too, and well-told, as always. McKenna's control over plotting errors remains phenomenal given the complexity of her stories; control over printing errors-like inappropriate question marks-is less than perfect, but who's going to sweat such picky stuff with fine tales like these?

This book is so sexy and I highly recommend it. The hero is so sexy and the heroine is soooo lucky! Check out the heroine's sister's story in the anthology Midnight Fantasies.

favorite scene with meg-
taylor telling meg that she doesn't want her to see jarett ever again.

favorite scene with jarett-
the first scene with taylor and jarett.

favorite scene with meg and jarett together-
meg and jarett's final scene together before they go their separate ways.

I enjoyed reading this book. I couldn't put it down.

This seems to be some mesh left in a drawer and published just to make some more money. The stories are to short and don't give any depth or real interest in Bond, compared to the normal novels.

This was my first James Bond book, and so I didn't know what to expect. This book is all in all good. "Octopussy" is a good story, but, since it is lacking James Bond for most of it, it doesn't have the pace of the others. "The Living Daylights" is by far the best, with a suspenseful climax and interesting descriptions of drab Berlin. "The Property of a Lady" is not very suspenseful, but it was still a very good read. I am definitely going to read another Fleming soon!

Octopussy is a very good short story collection, though "For Your Eyes Only" was better, if you ask me. As Fleming proved in "FYEO", he can make a good story with little help from 007. The title story also proves this. In it, Bond makes little more than a cameo appearance. The main character is the power-hungry Dexter Smythe. His is obsessed with his pet octopus, which ends up causing his deliciously ironic demise. "The Living Daylights" is also very good. I like the ending to the story, but you already know what's going to happen if you've seen the first fifteen minutes of the "Living Daylights" movie. The book loses a star for "The Property of a Lady", which is dull. I advise a reader to just skip it. Despite one disappointing story, I enjoyed this book very much.