Despite widespread criticism of multinational companies, they have made an unparalleled contribution to the development of Eastern Europe over the last two decades. They have brought opportunities to the young, improved working conditions, saved communities from destitution, rehabilitated corrupt banking systems and laid a modern telecommunications network. Their exports have driven economic growth; their presence has boosted civil society. The impact has not always been positive, but their power and dynamism, if effectively harnessed, can help defeat poverty elsewhere too.

How the East Was Won: The Impact of Multinational Companies on Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union 1989-2004

Business & Money

Lewis, Charles Paul

Economics

Coptic

A novel set in the frenetic gold rush of post-communist Russia before its all-too brief taste of raw capitalism collapses in the great economic crash of 1998. The brilliant but volatile Godunev, a former Moscow kiosk worker, returns from New York and Miami hoping to make a quick fortune while the country's assets are still up for grabs. Using his hipster credentials to infiltrate Moscow's aspirational emerging super-rich "biznismen" scene, he gets caught up in machinations to privatize the Kremlin, and eventually finds himself out of his depths in a Russia of oligarchs, gangsters, models and prostitutes that is hurtling towards its own demise. But amidst the violence, callousness and audacity of the time, Gudonev also reflects many of his countrymen's sentiments: the passion of relationships; the extremities of life; a re-assertion of Russian culture; and a pervasive love-hate relationship with the US and the West.

White God Factor

History

Maheshwari, Vijai

Russia

Who deserves what they earn? Seldom has this question been more relevant than now, as senior executives grab outrageous salaries while the companies they manage go bankrupt, and British parliamentarians fiddle their expenses. From jargon-spouting consultants to the financial "whiz kids" undertaking risky deals, oversized pay packets are justified on the flimsiest of grounds - that the recipients possess extraordinary talent without which no company or organisation could prosper. But the evidence suggests otherwise. This book explodes the myth of "talent", and shows how the term has been deliberately misused and abused. Pay Check aims to win capitalism back for those who actually take the risks, and expose those who merely snatch the rewards. "This is a thoughtful, persuasive and well-written book. It is a timely and powerful contribution to the debate about the corrosive effects of the banking bonus culture. I commend Mr Bolchover's work to anyone who cares about the future of capitalism." - Luke Johnson, Financial Times columnist and Entrepreneur. "There is, in my view, no better writer on the modern workplace than David Bolchover. With this book he has done it again. He has asked one of the questions that really matter." - Daniel Finkelstein, The Times. "Pay Check is a bold and impassioned book, rich in wry humour, thoughtfully argued throughout...highly persuasive...the starting-point for a worthy and necessary discussion about the nature of "talent"." --The Economist"The answer and the solution (to excessive pay) lie in an excellent book by the business writer David Bolchover called Pay Check." Johann Hari, GQ Magazine / The Huffington Post "[Bolchover's] criticisms of the way top pay is handled crisply and with good use of data. Many of the hand grenades he throws hit their targets. He is withering about the clichéd term "talent", which is used to justify excessive pay." Financial Times / Los Angeles Times "a great little book" --Merryn Somerset Webb, Editor, MoneyWeek "A must read for anyone interested in the topic." --Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice, London Business School

Pay Check: Are Top Earners Really Worth It?

Bolchover, David

Business Culture

Writer and journalist Sarah Murray never gave much thought to what might ultimately happen to her remains. That was until her father died. Puzzled by the choice he made about the disposal of his "organic matter," she set off on a series of voyages to discover how death is celebrated and commemorated in different cultures. Making an Exit is Murray's exploration of the extraordinary creativity unleashed when we seek to dignify our dead. Along the way, she encounters everything from a Balinese royal cremation, Mexico's Day of the Dead celebrations, a Czech chandelier made from human bones, a weeping ceremony in Iran, and a village in the Philippines where the casketed dead are left hanging in caves. She even goes to Africa to commission he own Ghanaian coffin. Her accounts of these journeys are engaging, poignant, and funny. But this is also a very personal quest -for on her travels, Murray is seeking inspiration for her own eventual send-off.

Making An Exit

Murray, Sarah

Even amid the enduring financial crisis, sky-high salaries for top executives and bankers persist, further inflaming public anger. But nothing will change, argues David Bolchover, until we confront the root cause - a self-serving "talent myth" that justifies high pay on the ground that the recipients possess extraordinary abilities without which no company could hope to prosper. These claims are not only unfounded; they are also an abuse of free-market capitalism. Pay Check aims to win the system back for those who actually take the risks, and expose those who merely snatch the rewards.

Pay Check: Are Top Earners Really Worth It? (Updated Edition)

Talking to Strangers: The Adventures of a Life Insurance Salesman

"I became a life insurance salesman in London in May 1969, for the glamour, the fast cars, the groupies... the beautiful women who'd stop at nothing to buy life insurance. It's a very well-kept secret."Thus begins Peter Rosengard's extraordinary account of his life so far, and the endless adventures in which he made, lost and remade a fortune; founded London's famous Comedy Store, discovered and managed some of the greats in stand-up comedy; turned an unknown boy band into a chart-topping sensation; and from a cold call in a public phone box, sold the world's biggest ever life insurance policy, for $100m, for which he is still celebrated in the Guinness Book of Records.This is a book about "chutzpah", testament to a simple belief that "nothing's impossible". REVIEWS"Peter Rosengard is quite, quite mad- but is also brilliant and funny and can sell anything to anyone. As many of us know to our cost." -John Lloyd, TV producer.(QI, Blackadder, Not the Nine o Clock News)" If Peter Rosengard writes half as well as he talks this is a work of genius. If he writes half as fast as he talks you will have finished reading this before you started."-Howard Jacobson, Booker Prize winner."Few careers outside show business have encompassed such vivacity, such bravado, such adulation, such immodest rewards- in short such sexiness."- Richard Askwith. The Evening Standard: ES MAgazine"Peter was a key figure at the birth of what became known as Alternative Comedy. Because of that I am very grateful to him. Hence this quote, highly recommending a book I haven't read. But it means I don't have to buy a policy."-Ben EltonPeter's book is a marvellous rollercoaster tale of a life well lived. He delivers wisdom, jokes and empathy in equal measures. His experiences range from founding the Comedy Store, managing a chart topping pop group, to selling the world's biggest life policy for$100M -from a cold call. I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in business- or indeed life."-Luke Johnson, Chairman, Risk Capital Partners and FT columnist.

Biographies & Memoirs

Rosengard, Peter

Professionals & Academics

"I became a life insurance salesman in London in May 1969, for the glamour, the fast cars, the groupies... the beautiful women who'd stop at nothing to buy life insurance. It's a very well-kept secret." Thus begins Peter Rosengard's extraordinary account of his life so far, and the endless adventures in which he made, lost and remade a fortune; founded London's famous Comedy Store, discovered and managed some of the greats in stand-up comedy; turned an unknown boy band into a chart-topping sensation; and from a cold call in a public phone box, sold the world's biggest ever life insurance policy, for $100m, for which he is still celebrated in the Guinness Book of Records. This is a book about "chutzpah", testament to a simple belief that "nothing's impossible". REVIEWS "Peter Rosengard is quite, quite mad- but is also brilliant and funny and can sell anything to anyone. As many of us know to our cost." -John Lloyd, TV producer.(QI, Blackadder, Not the Nine o Clock News) " If Peter Rosengard writes half as well as he talks this is a work of genius. If he writes half as fast as he talks you will have finished reading this before you started." -Howard Jacobson, Booker Prize winner. "Few careers outside show business have encompassed such vivacity, such bravado, such adulation, such immodest rewards- in short such sexiness." - Richard Askwith. The Evening Standard :ES MAgazine "Peter was a key figure at the birth of what became known as Alternative Comedy. Because of that I am very grateful to him. Hence this quote, highly recommending a book I haven't read. But it means I don't have to buy a policy." -Ben Elton Peter's book is a marvellous rollercoaster tale of a life well lived. He delivers wisdom, jokes and empathy in equal measures. His experiences range from founding the Comedy Store, managing a chart topping pop group, to selling the world's biggest life policy for$100M -from a cold call. I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in business- or indeed life." -Luke Johnson, Chairman, Risk Capital Partners and FT columnist.

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Coptic publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Coptic

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Coptic publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

How the East Was Won: The Impact of Multinational Companies on Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union 1989-2004

White God Factor

Pay Check: Are Top Earners Really Worth It?

Making An Exit

Pay Check: Are Top Earners Really Worth It? (Updated Edition)

Talking to Strangers: The Adventures of a Life Insurance Salesman

Talking to Strangers: The Adventures of a Life Insurance Salesman