Rating: 
Summary: I learned so much.
Review: The author, ex-secretary of labor, is a very intelligent person with extrodinary experiences. This book is centered around the personal and social problems that are emerging with the New Economy, but as the author reasoned on, the book expended into many other areas of the economy and social life too. Robert explained in very simple terms many conflicts and social schemes that are troubling families and communities, he analysid thoroghly the causes and predicted the futures influences of these conflicts. Most of these problems we face daily, but never fully understood, or even realized. It address real-life problems, explain them, relate them together in a grander social scale, and always at the end of each chapter correlate it back to his main topic. It was a very clear reading that everybody can understand, and his many personal stories and national stastics makes the writing convincing. I bought the book on Amazon's suggestions, and am very happy with it. I was very surprised by the book, for I thought it would be a book of solutions for problems, but it turned out to be a book of history, of causes of these problems. But that was not a disappointment as I was impressed by each chapter as I went on. His theories are not completely new, but the way he named these theories and explained them is refreshing. I learned a huge amount of unexpected knowledges, and believe you would be impressed by the book too. Robert B. Reichs has done a good job. The Bad Things: It's an excellent book, but is not likely to change anything much, for solutions aren't the focus, I guess you can say it has a big head, but a small tail. And he repeats stuff sometimes, though mostly for the purpose for a clear understanding.
Rating:
Summary: Prisoners of Our Choices
Review: The question is simple. Most Americans are better off today than were their predecessors a generation ago. Technology is faster. Deals are better. Services are more convenient. Opportunities are more available. So why are our personal lives harder? The question may be simple, but the answers are not, unless you have the perspective and analytical skill to step back and take a look at the true root causes. Or, lacking the time and talent, you could outsource the explication by reading the work of an author, sociologist, economist, or policy specialist - maybe even all four at once. While you're at it, you should look for a writer who knows how to be interesting and intelligent at the same time. And since you're a discerning buyer, why not turn to a former Secretary of Labor? Sure, it's a tall order, but in an age of choices, why settle? Articulate, rational, and entertaining, Robert Reich's The Future of Success stands out, both for the brevity of its title and the deftness of its analysis. Reich both toils and spins as he examines a range of interweaving trends. * Easier switching by buyers means more frenzy and rivalry among sellers. In other words, the more competition benefits us as consumers, the more stress it puts upon us as producers. * Faster change means less predictability - predictability of products, workload, and employment. * More pay and rewards for those with insight and creativity means more disparity of earnings for those doing routine jobs. * Increasing opportunities for work and pay among women means increasing pressure for women to work, both to be fulfilled and to afford the newly possible lifestyles. The end result? Richer people, poorer lives. So elegantly does Reich marshal both fact and argument that his analysis seems inescapable. And there's the rub. Logic this inexorable and Vulcanic too rarely allows for alternative, non-economic variables. Reich does pause occasionally for a passing nod to cultural factors, but the nods are brief and almost grudging. He recognizes for example that women do often find inherent satisfaction in working, yet he prefers to emphasize the sacrifice, guilt, and financial trade-offs they experience. Financial security is unpredictable, therefore more women work, therefore more women are wrenched by the stretches of family and Mammon. QED. Nonetheless, The Future of Success remains an illuminating and even seductive piece of work. As a business book it's astounding, as economic history riveting. Even if you find an argument narrow, you'll still be tempted to accept it as unquestionable truth. And in an age of harder and more complicated lives, the truth will set you free.
Rating:
Summary: Prisoners of Our Choices
Review: The question is simple. Most Americans are better off today than were their predecessors a generation ago. Technology is faster. Deals are better. Services are more convenient. Opportunities are more available. So why are our personal lives harder? The question may be simple, but the answers are not, unless you have the perspective and analytical skill to step back and take a look at the true root causes. Or, lacking the time and talent, you could outsource the explication by reading the work of an author, sociologist, economist, or policy specialist - maybe even all four at once. While you're at it, you should look for a writer who knows how to be interesting and intelligent at the same time. And since you're a discerning buyer, why not turn to a former Secretary of Labor? Sure, it's a tall order, but in an age of choices, why settle? Articulate, rational, and entertaining, Robert Reich's The Future of Success stands out, both for the brevity of its title and the deftness of its analysis. Reich both toils and spins as he examines a range of interweaving trends. * Easier switching by buyers means more frenzy and rivalry among sellers. In other words, the more competition benefits us as consumers, the more stress it puts upon us as producers. * Faster change means less predictability - predictability of products, workload, and employment. * More pay and rewards for those with insight and creativity means more disparity of earnings for those doing routine jobs. * Increasing opportunities for work and pay among women means increasing pressure for women to work, both to be fulfilled and to afford the newly possible lifestyles. The end result? Richer people, poorer lives. So elegantly does Reich marshal both fact and argument that his analysis seems inescapable. And there's the rub. Logic this inexorable and Vulcanic too rarely allows for alternative, non-economic variables. Reich does pause occasionally for a passing nod to cultural factors, but the nods are brief and almost grudging. He recognizes for example that women do often find inherent satisfaction in working, yet he prefers to emphasize the sacrifice, guilt, and financial trade-offs they experience. Financial security is unpredictable, therefore more women work, therefore more women are wrenched by the stretches of family and Mammon. QED. Nonetheless, The Future of Success remains an illuminating and even seductive piece of work. As a business book it's astounding, as economic history riveting. Even if you find an argument narrow, you'll still be tempted to accept it as unquestionable truth. And in an age of harder and more complicated lives, the truth will set you free.
Rating:
Summary: Helpful and Insightful
Review: This book can help many gain insight. As the New Economy changes our work, attitudes, and corporate culture we should attempt to fit into it as best we can. Americans get less sleep today, and are working longer hours hours than ever. Massive Suburban sprawl adds more minutes to our already lengthy commutes. Reich speaks from his experience. Is there more to life? Reich doesn't preach, he just notes that there should be more to our lives than running at break-neck speeds, myopically climbing the loose rungs of corporate ladders. We live in the most prosperous nation on Earth. It's too bad that we don't live like it. Very helpful and insightful book.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for anyone wants to know where she stands
Review: This book covers the history in such a way that makes it clear where we stand today and why we had to be this way. The materials or the stories are not new on their own, but this book pieces them together in such a clear and coherent manner that you will suddenly see the obvious pattern that you had missed without the author's pointing out. The future won't look any brighter or more stable after you read this book. Actually, he will convince you to the contrary. But the book assures you that such stablity and predictability are rather new and short lived phenomena in human history (only 150 years out of millions of years), not some basic human right as some of us are foolish enough to believe and demand. This book convincingly shows you these facts (among many others) 1. You do not have any different values, prospects or expectations in life than your parents' (or any prior) generation. You are just dutifully reacting to the environment, just as your parents did. You just happened to have a different environment. 2. For those who lament the injustice and disparity of the economic conditions in this world, consider this fact first. Corporate greed is not at fault. YOU are the cause of it all. I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for anyone wants to know where she stands
Review: This book covers the history in such a way that makes it clear where we stand today and why we had to be this way. The materials or the stories are not new on their own, but this book pieces them together in such a clear and coherent manner that you will suddenly see the obvious pattern that you had missed without the author's pointing out. The future won't look any brighter or more stable after you read this book. Actually, he will convince you to the contrary. But the book assures you that such stablity and predictability are rather new and short lived phenomena in human history (only 150 years out of millions of years), not some basic human right as some of us are foolish enough to believe and demand. This book convincingly shows you these facts (among many others) 1. You do not have any different values, prospects or expectations in life than your parents' (or any prior) generation. You are just dutifully reacting to the environment, just as your parents did. You just happened to have a different environment. 2. For those who lament the injustice and disparity of the economic conditions in this world, consider this fact first. Corporate greed is not at fault. YOU are the cause of it all. I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks.
Rating: 
Summary: Not good to the last page...good 'till the last few pages
Review: This book is a very interesting read if taken with a grain of salt and an understanding of the point of view. It's filled with facts and figures and really made me think about situations and issues in our society as they relate to the changing role of work and the disparity between the economic classes. The chapter on women entering the workforce was very interesting as well. The major fault in this is the skew with which it was written. Robert Reich worked in the Clinton administration and it shows. The facts and figures, while impressive, rarely present the whole truth, or both sides of the issue. His writing style is clear and generally entertaining, but he overstates almost everything and beats all of the topics to death. This book could have been written in about 2/3 the size by simply condensing the ideas. The closing chapter of the book makes a sudden shift from pseudo-factual and not-too-opinion based to promoting a 100% left-ist, almost communist, tax and spend, entitlement-supporting government economic style. He recommends a new tax and new bureaucracy in order to fix every problem, under the guise of "a small tax on X will hardly be noticed in comparison to the benefits". All that said, I cannot not recommend this book. It was cheap, educational, and thought provoking. Hopefully, for the sake of myself and my children, no one will base a government economic system on the content of this book.
Rating:
Summary: read this
Review: This book is an easy read but it's packed with ideas! Any creative worker---or knowledge worker---should read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A New Yorker Article in Hardcover
Review: This book reads like a good New Yorker article: it is timely, well-written, and intelligent. It describes in anecdotal fashion how the new technology (computers, e-mail, the internet, cell phones, etc.) has commercialized, accelerated, and essentially dehumanized our lives. Reich's own response was to resign as Secretary of Labor and return to family and academia. For the rest of us he has tacked on two chapters at the end of the book, suggesting how government might yet improve our lot. These suggestions are not tied to any of his earlier specifics, and they are so insubstantial as to recall other Clinton initiatives which never took root or have simply been forgotten. Maybe it was too soon for Reich to undertake a more serious, systematic, and statistical examination of the problems which he has described or to explain why he, as Secretary of Labor, could not do more about them. But then Reich is a tenured professor--he could well have waited to publish without any fear of perishing.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book with a slant towards a college crowd
Review: This is one of few books that show in a clear, concise, and convincing way the human costs involved in the New Economy. Other, more optimistic books, such as Kevin Kelly's New Rules for the New Economy, see the increasing rate of churn (creation and destruction of jobs and businesses) as beneficial to the economy at large, and it certainly is, but they overlook the implications for individuals: being constantly worried about losing a job, being forced to sell oneself at every opportunity, working long hours while work is available to make up for future unemployment, uncertainty about how the bills will get paid next month, etc. On the other hand, like many intellectual works with a bent on theory, a drawback of this book is that it's much longer on criticism than it is on solutions, and the author is much better at the former than the latter. The sweeping income and capital tax hikes that he proposes would never make it through Congress, Republican or Democrat, and even if they did, they wouln't prosper on a worldwide scale. Developing countries would face devastating capital flights at the slightest attempt to raise taxes on investments, and this inability to have uniform worker protection policies would discourage any nation to try to implement them on their own if they want to remain competitive. In spite of this limitation this is an excellent work that will raise consciousness on a previously overlooked issue, stimulate debate, and eventually lead others to more practical, workable solutions.
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