The Four Hour Work Week, by Timothy Ferris

I actually listened to this audiobook twice. Although Mr. Ferris has some very revolutionary views on working and Lyfestyle Design, there are a lot of important nuggets scattered throughout for anyone who is even wondering about making money online.

Tim Ferris loves extreme living. He's a kick boxing champion, internationally competitive tango dancer, and runs his business from all over the world during his many mini-retirements. In today's global economy, with our modern mobile technology, and a free-wheeling imagination, there are few limits on what you can do. But first you must dare to do it.

In this book, Tim uses his own experiences, and those of his friends who are also members of The New Rich, to show you how to gradually free yourself from the static workplace so you can use your time more effectively for your own gain.

I give it 4 stars.

Basic Economics, by Thomas Sowell

This audiobook was obtained for free from Overdrive Audio, the media vendor used by the Alachua County Public Library. This audiobook is 18 hours and 31 minutes long, is in WMA format, and is read by Brian Emerson.

Although this was informative, interesting, and entertaining, it was also very long. I think Mr. Sowell's publishers should have turned this out a four books of a more digestible size. Each oe would have been a good advertisement for the rest of them. Therefore, they would have sold a lot more of them. But, as Mr. Sowell postulates, Economics is not about how to run a business or make money. To quote Lionel Robbins in his 1932 essay, it is, "the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses." Sowell uses a variation of this statement throughout the book.

In each section of the book, whether he is talking about labor, international banking, farming, or war management, Sowell has historical examples of the misallocation of scarce resources which have alternative uses. One of the early examples in his book is how the Japanese military ran out of qualified pilots during World War 2 because they did not recycle their experienced pilots as instructors. What was learned from fighting in Manchuria in the late 30s and in the Pacific in the early 40s was lost as they were eventually shot down. Meanwhile, American fighters were rotated back to instruct new pilots, and air war changed dramatically.

This was very enlightening, and a must for our politicians in Washington, as well as all of us who elect them. I give it 4 stars.

Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer

This audiobook was obtained from Overdrive Audio through the Alachua County Library website. It was 7 hours and 6 minutes long.

This book originally came out in 1996, but is now getting fresh attention because it has recently been made into a movie. It's the story of Chris McCandless, a 24 year old Emory University graduate who forsakes modern life to become a modern Henry David Thoreau. Without telling his family, who all believe he will be attending law school, he gives away his college fund, starts using an assumed name, and heads out west to live a life at loose ends. His travels take him to remote places, from Mexico to the Dakotas, and ultimately to the Alaskan wilderness. It is there, at life's extremities, and with no help in sight, that he comes to a miserable end.

Krakauer tells this story as only another person who enjoys extreme living can tell it. He helps you to get to know Chris McCandless by exhaustive research, including Chris' last written accounts and interviews with the people who were touched by him along the way, and through his own insight as a person who has been bewitched by the wilderness experience. You may come away admiring or pitying Chris McCandless, but you will not be able to forget him. I know that I want to see the movie when it comes out. I give this one 4 stars.

Crowdsourcing, by Jeff Howe and Kirby Heyborne

This audiobook came from Overdrive Audio via the Alachua County Library's website. It is in Windows Media Audio format, and it was 9 hours and 45 minutes long.

If you are interested in keeping your business alive and growing in the 21st Century, this thought-provoking book will help you come out of the economic Dark Ages.

Before hiring experts, look to the crowd. In today's global community, you can find out what will work and what will not by accessing niche groups who will not only tell you what they like, but help you build it as well. Collaborative effort is not just for your research team, and your team may not even be on your payroll. Enormously important projects with global scope and billions at stake are created by virtual communities of passionate enthusiasts in partnership with professionals. The Linux operating system, Wikipedia, and a host of smaller enterprises are examples of the amazing power of crowds. These crowds can now be assembled into working units on very technical projects by using the Internet, and even small companies do it.

If you already have a can-do attitude, this will take it up to another level and change your paradigm. I give this book 4 stars.

I still have a blog...

If you have been wondering where I have been for almost 4 months, it's like this: business took off and I hired 3 people. Now business is dragging the bottom (as it usually does in June-July) and I am really hustling to keep my guys doing something. What I am trying to say is that whether I am training people or selling new accounts, I have precious little time alone in the world of audio any more. It's been a big change, and I hope to figure out how I am going to reintegrate audiobooks into my life. I enjoy them too much to quit.

I will post a review soon, but it will take a real effort to do so. It is also the escalation of the political season, and I am a very busy political activist. So please hang in there!

Don Marsh

The Appeal, by John Grisham

This audiobook was obtained from Overdrive Audio, through the Alachua County Public Library. It was 12 hours and 33 minutes long, and was narrated by Michael Beck.

Typical John Grisham story of noble, financially challenged attorneys doing battle with a huge company represented by the legal armies from Hell. In spite of being predictable and uncommonly preachy, it is still a good read. Characters and dialog pop off the page as a good writer does his job. If you have time on your hands and nothing else to read, it's worth three stars. If you have other books waiting, downgrade it to two and try a new author.

Rise and Shine, by Anna Quindlen

This audiobook was obtained for free from Netlibrary.com. It was 10 hours and 49 minutes long, and was narrated by Carol Monda.

Meghan and Bridget Fitzmaurice lost their parents at an early age. Meghan grew up to be a world famous host of a morning news show, Rise and Shine, while Bridget grew up to an unmarried social worker who also helps keep Meghan's family grounded. The city of New York is also a major character in this book, providing the classist backdrop that is constantly making itself heard.

Meghan's life takes a turn downward when she inadvertently drops a 4 megaton expletive before her mike is turned off on the way to a commercial. She is temporarily suspended while the show's producers figure out what to do, and Meghan decides to go into hiding while she sorts out her life, including her failing marriage.

It's an easy read and it wasn't boring. But I had a hard time caring enough about the characters to really get into it. I felt like a was treading water, waiting for my next book. For that, it's only worth 2 stars.