The New New Economy

Rating:
Summary: Getting old but still true
Review: Humor can be successful when it is applied to a situation where everyone's expectations can be turned upside down and inside out rapidly without straying too far from reality. The best joke is when you have already seen the punchline W A I T A M I N U T E , I ' M I N T H E W R O N G J O K E in bold face in the margin on page 162, inset into the last paragraph on the topic Global Capital that suggests "countries need only follow our rules to join in the New New Extravaganza." The joke with that punchline doesn't even start until this book attempts to explain a basic truism: Capital abhors a vacuum.

Since Freud did a lengthy intellectual analysis of wit and its relation to the unconscious, humor has gained acceptance as a vehicle for understanding unusual situations. The key thing about THE NEW NEW ECONOMY by Tim McEachern and Chris O'Brien is that it treats everything that is happening in modern society as anomalous from the point of view of the simple economic view that practically everyone ought to be able to go to work and do something with the understanding that people and companies usually get paid for whatever they do. One of the authors of this book, Chris O'Brien, is an attorney specializing in bankruptcy and taxation law, and he must be familiar with situations in which businesses are so far behind in making payments that everyone they owe might get only a fair share of whatever net worth is left at the end of the proceedings. One of the funny things about this book is how often it reminds the reader how much a law suit could spoil their whole day. I like the way that aspect of reality escalated in the story on pages 81 to 97. " . . . through a fluke of Pennsylvania law, . . . Sue us. . . . So sue me. . . . Anyway, most of them are suing now. . . . In any event, the whole matter has been placed in suit. . . . Now they have to remove millions of fruit bats, which my people tell me can't be done. In the end, you can only bend the laws of business so much: Caves mean bats. . . . The project is now the subject of countless lawsuits in the Florida and federal courts. . . . Well, it all lead to a zillion lawsuits, which are in the courts now. . . . Anyway, it's all part of some big lawsuit now."

Among the other topics covered are surprising footnotes, like

3. We also think that you will realize that this book will end the silly "no statues to critics" hang-up. (p. 7).

There must be some people who can still figure out what people could do in our society to make money, but reading this book does not explain how anything is accomplished by the ideas it emphasizes most, like a monkey with a stick working all day long with its attitude primed by the idea that it could be just five minutes until quitting time and a large quota of work for the day still needs to be completed. If you have a job, it might not be wise to mention this book at work, because someone might think you will ultimately get to the top of page 172 and react to what you read: "Hopeless. Get out before it gets worse. Pack up. Run."

Rating:
Summary: Amazed
Review: I am, in general, not overly fond of business parodies (remeber that lame 'cut the cheese' one?) but then I heard the authors on a radio interview in Fresno and they cracked me up. Enough to go buy the book.

And the book is even better. These two cover virtually every genre of business book written. Their history section is worth the price; Hayak as a poet, Lenin complaining about the revolution, these guys are GREAT!

I found the prose well written, the industry examples almost made me, dare I say this?, wet my pants.

I can whole heartedly recommend this book, you'll cry laughing.

Rating:
Summary: Amazed
Review: I am, in general, not overly fond of business parodies (remeber that lame 'cut the cheese' one?) but then I heard the authors on a radio interview in Fresno and they cracked me up. Enough to go buy the book.

And the book is even better. These two cover virtually every genre of business book written. Their history section is worth the price; Hayak as a poet, Lenin complaining about the revolution, these guys are GREAT!

I found the prose well written, the industry examples almost made me, dare I say this?, wet my pants.

I can whole heartedly recommend this book, you'll cry laughing.

Rating:
Summary: Surprises
Review: I experienced several surprises while reading this book. The first-a biggie-was that AMACOM, a revered and respected publisher of business books, would stoop to this level. Publication of this book may have begun as a joke, then accidentally slipped through the system.

My second surprise was that I read as far into the book as I did. I kept reading, hoping that each page turn would produce something of lasting value or some really good humor. I was almost consistently disappointed. I made it more than halfway through the book, then just gave up.

OK, the book is a satire. A satire of the good business books published by outfits like AMACOM. Agreed, some of the business books today do make readers shake their heads, wondering where the authors had theirs? The book is categorized as "humor/business," an interesting classification that I have not seen in bookstores. An oxymoron, to be sure.

The flow of the book is jerky and disconnected, like a bad comedian's attempt at a monologue. While there are some funny things in the book, I shook my head a lot more than I laughed. If written as a satire, this book could have been more effectively done.

The authors do begin with a disclaimer: "This book is satire, pure and simple. It is written in a superior, all-knowing tone, the persona of which the authors take on to further the satire and poke gentle fun at ourselves. The authors don't really think they know everything, or even much of anything, and they are both very nice guys. Everything in this book is a joke and should be taken as such."

I accept their disclaimer, but still feel like I endured far too much verbal slapstick. But, this is me. And you may have time for this kind of a read. I'm surprised I took as much time as I did, but reviewers should make that investment to be fair. I'm surprised I'm writing such a long review, but I feel you should be warned. You may agree that there are better places to spend [money] All that said, if you assume that AMACOM does monitor its quality and reputation, buy the book. But don't say I didn't warn you! Save this reading for your vacation.

Rating:
Summary: The Laughter Never Ends
Review: Let me start by noting that this book is not something I would have picked up just browsing at the bookstore. There're lots of satires out there about the business world that just rely on the same old cliches about the silliness of economists and the business world. But I heard the authors on a radio show, and they were really funny, so I figured it was worth a look. When I did so, frankly, I laughed so hard right there in the store that I figured I better go ahead and get a copy. I am sure that their jabs will offend someone, but for the rest of us, it's hilarious.

Rating:
Summary: Holy smokes. These guys are FUNNY.
Review: Let me start by noting that this book is not something I would have picked up just browsing at the bookstore. There're lots of satires out there about the business world that just rely on the same old cliches about the silliness of economists and the business world. But I heard the authors on a radio show, and they were really funny, so I figured it was worth a look. When I did so, frankly, I laughed so hard right there in the store that I figured I better go ahead and get a copy. I am sure that their jabs will offend someone, but for the rest of us, it's hilarious.

Rating:
Summary: The Laughter Never Ends
Review: This is without a doubt, the funniest, most clever and, ironically, on target business book I have ever read. Boy howdy! It's got everything: parodies, satire, spoofs, and monkeys with sticks. I laughed til I ... ummm, nevermind.

Rating:
Summary: The Secrets of Inner Loserhood and so much more...
Review: Yeah, it's true I blurbed it, but I liked this book anyway. I wasn't just saying that. Honest. Word. Trust me. When I opened the galleys, I was in a foul mood. Not amused in the least that I was going to have to say something that made it sound as if I'd actually read this thing. Then I started chuckling. Then I started belly laughing. Then I read the whole damn book. And I never read whole damn books. The New New Economy is impossible to describe except to say that these guys know precisely where the bodies are buried and aren't keeping any secrets. Smarter than you can believe and REALLY funny. Go ahead, click the little button...