Why nations fail : the origins of power, prosperity and poverty

 by Daron Acemoglu Advancing a theory about why poor countries are poor, Acemoglu and Robinson, academics at MIT and Harvard, respectively, expound economic history an activity that repeatedly if surprisingly produces popular books, such as those by Jared Diamond, Niall Ferguson, Steve Levitt, and Charles Mann. Perhaps the reason for high interest in the dismal science lies in a desire for concise, credible explanations about the formidable complexities of economics. If so, Acemoglu and Robinson deliver. They hold that countries become impoverished by despotic government. Opponents of globalization, corporations, and finance find no support in their argument, which recounts economic events from the Roman Empire to Zimbabwe. For each polity under scrutiny, the authors categorize its political institutions as extractive or inclusive. Using Britain's Glorious Revolution of 1688 as an analytical touchstone, Acemoglu and Robinson maintain throughout that laws and customs that protect property pave the road to prosperity, while the caprices of autocracy put property at risk and ultimately stifle growth. With historical examples to keep the exposition moving, Acemoglu and Robinson should recruit general-interest readers curious about economic development. --Booklist (Check catalog)

Facebook marketing for dummies

 by John Haydon. Create a successful marketing campaign on Facebook with this updated guide With more than 600 million active users and more than 30 billion pieces of content shared each month, Facebook is an exciting platform with infinite marketing possibilities. This how-to guide breaks it all down for you and shows you ways to reach your customers with effective marketing strategies, tactics, and techniques on Facebook. Packed with new and updated content as well as real-world case studies that provide you with helpful frames of reference, Facebook Marketing For Dummies, 3rd Edition is an essential starting point for developing a successful marketing campaign on Facebook. Boasts new and updated content for developing a successful Facebook marketing campaign Addresses ways to use tools such as events, contests, and polls to promote your page Helps you understand the psychology of the Facebook user Explains how to integrate your Facebook marketing campaign with your other marketing campaigns using plug-ins and widgets Details ways to monitor, measure, and adjust your Facebook marketing campaigns Learn how to reach the Facebook audience you want for your campaign with Facebook Marketing For Dummies. --Summary (Check catalog)

For better or for work : a survival guide for entrepreneurs and their families

 by Meg Cadoux Hirschberg.  In a 2009 Kauffman Foundation survey of entrepreneurs, 69.9 percent of respondents said they were married when they started their first business and 59.7 percent had at least one child at launch time. All of them could have benefited from reading this book. Hirshberg (contributing editor & columnist, Inc.), wife of the president of the Stonyfield Farm yogurt company, reflects on her own experiences as spouse and parent, and gathers advice and key questions from entrepreneurial friends to guide a family through the many stages of a business's life. Her comparison to human development is apt: a new company is like a new child-another mouth to feed, and one with a large and worrisome appetite. And from divided attention to maintaining privacy (and even to illness and death), a family faces many of the same issues from both human and industrial offspring. VERDICT After gathering counsel from Hirshberg and her friends, entrepreneurs will have a better understanding of the effect of company ownership on their family. --Library Journal (Check catalog)

The AMA handbook of leadership

 by Marshall Goldsmith, John and Baldoni, and Sarah McArthur. The literature supporting the study of leadership is diverse and provides the conceptual framework required to understand this complex and critical field of knowledge. This literature often takes diverse paths, varying from the more applied to the more research-oriented presentations. Along with this diversity, the leadership literature ages quickly as new ideas, approaches, and insights emerge. The editors of this handbook have labored diligently to breathe new life into the literature on leadership, revitalizing it and providing an exciting new direction. Masterfully weaving the themes of 21st-century global leadership and strategies for developing and engaging people and facilitating change, the contributors, experts in the field of leadership, present an exciting discussion of the many facets of contemporary change and effective leadership, supported with case studies and up-to-date research. The currency of the literature presented is beyond striking. The value of the AMA Handbook is profound and far-reaching. For readers seeking new and exciting reading on leadership as well as for corporate executives charged with leading corporations to a positive and productive future, this volume is a must. It is seminal in content and a valuable addition to libraries everywhere. --Choice (Check Catalog)

How to start a home-based business

 by Herbert Holtje.  Everything you need to set yourself up as a home-based consultant, create a demand for your services, and make money. Learn how to develop a marketable idea, operate your home-based office, draft winning proposals, sell your services, get referrals, set fees, manage your finances and your time, and market yourself on the Internet. Introduction: 1,500 words Chapter 1: So You Want to Start a Consulting Business Chapter 2: Envisioning the business: possibilities, scope, size Chapter 3: What you need in your home office Chapter 4: Writing a business planChapter 5: Getting started Chapter 6: Financial planning Chapter 7: Financial managementChapter 8: Taxes and record keepingChapter 9: Legal and ethical issuesChapter 10: Marketing your businessChapter 11: The internet and e-commerceChapter 12: Business endgame: stay small, grow, or sellChapter 13: Training and certificationAppendix: Web Resources Organizations Trade Shows Educational Resources Other Useful Information. --Summary (Check Catalog)