The Wealth of Choices : How the New Economy Puts Power in Your Hands and Money in Your Pocket

Rating:
Summary: Economic History, Buying Guide, and Assumption Changer!
Review: "It's a great moment to be alive. Make the most of it."

The book's basic premise is that the economy has changed so much that you have to change your assumptions in order to prosper in terms of your health and money.

The first chapter, Not My Father's Economy, sets this up by sharing the advice his father always gave him and suggesting that these rules no longer apply.

The second chapter is a quiz that lets you test how well you have adapted to the new economic realities. The quiz is on the main points in the rest of the book, so if you do well in any part of that section, you can skip the material on that subject when you get to it later on. A strength of this structure is that it customizes the book for each reader, regardless of how savvy or out of it they are about the new economy.

Then, he shares hiw own experiences in how the new economy has changed for him in chapter 3. You will meet many famous and fascinating figures, such as the Gardner brothers of Motley Fool fame.

Chapters 4-12 are devoted to shopping, health care, education, work, how to spend your time and attention, investing, starting a business, retirement, and privacy (one per chapter). In these chapters, he gives you tips for each area, on-line sources you can access to keep up-to-date, and suggests key operating principles.

Here's a summary of his perspective on the economy: "Today, the basic market principles of competition and choice have swept into every aspect of American life." "The world has gotten smaller; competition has gotten more intense; choices have become more plentiful." "Globalization, deregulation, and digitalization are turning the entire world into a modern version of the Istanbul bazaar." " . . . The power balance, for the first time in the history of capitalism, has shifted in the consumer's favor." He has trouble defining the new economy, and does so with a series of negatives. It isn't very effective, but a definition probably isn't very important for achieving the book's purposes.

For those who like their economics in a qualitative form and in an abbreviated journalistic style, this book will be an excellent source of why the economy has and is changing.

For those who want to know how to get the best deal, this book is invaluable. While all of the other books about the Internet primarily focus on building a business or investing, this one shows how to use the Internet for everyday benefits for everyone. I am sure that many books will follow in this vein, but this is the first one I have seen done from this perspective. He also offers a web site where you can keep up-to-date on on-line sources.

But the real benefit is in helping you see where you may have stalled thinking about what you should be focusing on. The book is highly effective in showing you where to look and what questions to ask. For example, if 88 percent of mutual funds underperform the market averages, why do you own one that is not an index fund? I would give the book more than five stars if I could for this aspect.

The book's main weakness is that you cannot teach someone everything they need to know in each of the areas in a few pages. His reach exceeds his grasp in areas like investing, starting a business, privacy and retiring. Each subject area requires many books to fully understand. You should go find those books and study them. Don't take the advice here too literally.

I also thought that he misunderstands about education. He suggests going for the 'best' education, but seems to automatically equate that with 'brand name' education. Be a little more skeptical than that about the 'brand names' in education. Their product is not what it once was.

After you have read and absorbed the book's lessons, ask yourself how much of your time you really want to spend on making all of these new choices. Then decide which areas you will spend that time on. Even with the tips in this book, you will still find that you will have to ration your attention. I suggest you focus on health care, education, work (or business), and use whatever is left for shopping. But you should decide for yourself!

Rating:
Summary: Economic History, Buying Guide, and Assumption Changer!
Review: "It's a great moment to be alive. Make the most of it."

The book's basic premise is that the economy has changed so much that you have to change your assumptions in order to prosper in terms of your health and money.

The first chapter, Not My Father's Economy, sets this up by sharing the advice his father always gave him and suggesting that these rules no longer apply.

The second chapter is a quiz that lets you test how well you have adapted to the new economic realities. The quiz is on the main points in the rest of the book, so if you do well in any part of that section, you can skip the material on that subject when you get to it later on. A strength of this structure is that it customizes the book for each reader, regardless of how savvy or out of it they are about the new economy.

Then, he shares hiw own experiences in how the new economy has changed for him in chapter 3. You will meet many famous and fascinating figures, such as the Gardner brothers of Motley Fool fame.

Chapters 4-12 are devoted to shopping, health care, education, work, how to spend your time and attention, investing, starting a business, retirement, and privacy (one per chapter). In these chapters, he gives you tips for each area, on-line sources you can access to keep up-to-date, and suggests key operating principles.

Here's a summary of his perspective on the economy: "Today, the basic market principles of competition and choice have swept into every aspect of American life." "The world has gotten smaller; competition has gotten more intense; choices have become more plentiful." "Globalization, deregulation, and digitalization are turning the entire world into a modern version of the Istanbul bazaar." " . . . The power balance, for the first time in the history of capitalism, has shifted in the consumer's favor." He has trouble defining the new economy, and does so with a series of negatives. It isn't very effective, but a definition probably isn't very important for achieving the book's purposes.

For those who like their economics in a qualitative form and in an abbreviated journalistic style, this book will be an excellent source of why the economy has and is changing.

For those who want to know how to get the best deal, this book is invaluable. While all of the other books about the Internet primarily focus on building a business or investing, this one shows how to use the Internet for everyday benefits for everyone. I am sure that many books will follow in this vein, but this is the first one I have seen done from this perspective. He also offers a web site where you can keep up-to-date on on-line sources.

But the real benefit is in helping you see where you may have stalled thinking about what you should be focusing on. The book is highly effective in showing you where to look and what questions to ask. For example, if 88 percent of mutual funds underperform the market averages, why do you own one that is not an index fund? I would give the book more than five stars if I could for this aspect.

The book's main weakness is that you cannot teach someone everything they need to know in each of the areas in a few pages. His reach exceeds his grasp in areas like investing, starting a business, privacy and retiring. Each subject area requires many books to fully understand. You should go find those books and study them. Don't take the advice here too literally.

I also thought that he misunderstands about education. He suggests going for the 'best' education, but seems to automatically equate that with 'brand name' education. Be a little more skeptical than that about the 'brand names' in education. Their product is not what it once was.

After you have read and absorbed the book's lessons, ask yourself how much of your time you really want to spend on making all of these new choices. Then decide which areas you will spend that time on. Even with the tips in this book, you will still find that you will have to ration your attention. I suggest you focus on health care, education, work (or business), and use whatever is left for shopping. But you should decide for yourself!

Rating:
Summary: Insightful!
Review: Alan S. Murray's book delves into the well-worn themes of globalization and digitization, but manages to differentiate itself from the rest of the New Economy flotilla by offering up specific, practical suggestions on how consumers and business owners can cope. Many of Murray's major points have been presented more effectively in other books, such as Tom Friedman's The Lexus and the Olive Tree. That said, his advice on health care, education and career advancement in the New Economy is useful and easy to understand. So we at getAbstract recommend this book less for its broad overview of the Internet Economy and more for its common-sense wisdom for daily life in a dotcom world. (One caveat: as a result of the recent technology slump, some of Murray's analysis is already somewhat dated.)


Rating:
Summary: Our guru for the new world of economics
Review: As someone who already is fluent in the Internet but not flush with cash to invest in it, I approached this book with a measure of skepticism. Would Murray really be able to tell me anything that I could put to use? To my surprise and pleasure, the answer was a resounding yes. And - don't be scared by this - he also manages to deliver a gentle history of economic theory. Honestly, he's not a policy wonk (at least not here anyway!). Instead, he blends the history in so well with the rest of his message that you find yourself learning how the world's economy evolved almost without meaning to.

As interesting as that all is, though, Murray's book is most useful in telling the reader how he or she can benefit from the new economy. And it's not by investing in IPO's or AOL. Rather, he shows how the vast array of information available on the Internet has given power back to ordinary consumers (like me), who are trying to scrape up the cash to buy a digital camera or a car. This is more self-help than it is history and it's provided not just by Murray's personal experiences but by a range of colleagues at the Wall Street Journal and friends in both high and low places.

Murray's final line says, "It's a great time to be alive." His book shows you how to make it better.

Rating:
Summary: Finally. . . A Survival Guide for the New Economy
Review: great read! In the New Economy the old rules don't apply and Murray shows us how with his razor-sharp wit and penetrating charm... He is a true visionary and profound commentator in the Information Age.

Rating:
Summary: A Wealth of Choices But Not a Wealth of Information
Review: The Wealth of Choices is a very entertaining, highly readable introduction to how the internet will impact individual's lives. I would recommend this book if your have not read on this topic previously and would like to get your feet wet. The clear message that Murray delivers is that, for better or worse, your number of choices and responsibilities is going to explode in the future. He does this through numerous anecdotes in areas ranging from choosing your electricity supplier to choosing your hospital to choosing how to manage your retirement savings. Refreshingly, Murray notes not only the positive aspects of this increase in choices and responsibilities but also the downside (do you really want to spend a day figuring out who is lowest cost electricity provider?).

However, what this book does not provide is up-to-date practical advice for how to deal with the increase in choices. For example, the section on internet shopping is particularly dated, and fails to discuss tools such as price comparison shopping bots. Similarly, I would not base any financial decisions on the chapter on investing in the new economy. Much more thorough information on investing for the novice can be found in sources such as W.J. Bernstein's The Intelligent Asset Allocator, Siegel and Bernstein's Stocks for the Long Run, J. Bogle's Common Sense on Mutual Funds : New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor or even online.......... This is probably the biggest flaw in The Wealth of Choices-there is no major listing of additional references to get more detailed information on any of the topics.

In short, borrow The Wealth of Choices from the library, get some ideas, but spend your money on more thorough books for a reference that you will return to over and over.

Rating:
Summary: A Wealth of Choices But Not a Wealth of Information
Review: The Wealth of Choices is a very entertaining, highly readable introduction to how the internet will impact individual's lives. I would recommend this book if your have not read on this topic previously and would like to get your feet wet. The clear message that Murray delivers is that, for better or worse, your number of choices and responsibilities is going to explode in the future. He does this through numerous anecdotes in areas ranging from choosing your electricity supplier to choosing your hospital to choosing how to manage your retirement savings. Refreshingly, Murray notes not only the positive aspects of this increase in choices and responsibilities but also the downside (do you really want to spend a day figuring out who is lowest cost electricity provider?).

However, what this book does not provide is up-to-date practical advice for how to deal with the increase in choices. For example, the section on internet shopping is particularly dated, and fails to discuss tools such as price comparison shopping bots. Similarly, I would not base any financial decisions on the chapter on investing in the new economy. Much more thorough information on investing for the novice can be found in sources such as W.J. Bernstein's The Intelligent Asset Allocator, Siegel and Bernstein's Stocks for the Long Run, J. Bogle's Common Sense on Mutual Funds : New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor or even online.......... This is probably the biggest flaw in The Wealth of Choices-there is no major listing of additional references to get more detailed information on any of the topics.

In short, borrow The Wealth of Choices from the library, get some ideas, but spend your money on more thorough books for a reference that you will return to over and over.