Category: business

  • When it all came tumbling down

    Paul O’Connor takes a look at one of the top-ranked books of 2025 – the story of the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression  that resulted – and finds it’s well worth the investment of your reading time (pun intended) (sorry, Paul). Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor 1929: INSIDE THE GREATEST CRASH IN…

  • To the moon and beyond

    Men walking on the moon was just a beginning. Here’s your chance to learn about today’s space race, as earthlings compete to colonize the moon, and maybe, someday, Mars. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor ROCKET DREAMS: MUSK, BEZOS AND THE INSIDE STORY OF THE NEW, TRILLION-DOLLAR SPACE RACE. By Christian Davenport. Crown Currency Publishing Co.…

  • Apple’s predicament, detailed

    Paul O’Connor has long been a fan of Apple computers and other products, but a book about how Apple is in thrall to China has given him much to consider. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor APPLE IN CHINA: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company. By Patrick McGee. Scribner. 448 pages. $32. Also in audiobook…

  • The common folks vs. Boss Hog – a horror story

    Paul O’Connor reviews what he calls a nonfiction legal thriller – and warns that reading it might be hazardous to your appetite. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor WASTELANDS: THE TRUE STORY OF FARM COUNTRY ON TRIAL. By Corban Addison.  Knopf. 464 pages, hardcover. $30. Also available from Random House Audio. Read by Rob Shapiro. 16 hours…

  • Saying the right things, doing the wrong

    Paul O’Connor takes a look at a sobering, thought-provoking book about a highly  influential global management and consulting company. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor WHEN MCKINSEY COMES TO TOWN: THE HIDDEN INFLUENCE OF THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL CONSULTING FIRM. By Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe. Doubleday. 386 pages. $29.75. Also available as an audiobook from…

  • Fighting back

    Tom Dillon put off reading this book for quite a while, but after he picked it up, he was glad he did. Reviewed by Tom Dillon FACTORY MAN. By Beth Macy. Little, Brown and Company, 2014. 451 pages. $28. You know that bricked-up abandoned factory down the street, the one you remember from the golden…

  • A jerk, but a fascinating one

    I’m pretty sure Paul O’Connor listened to this audio book about Steve Jobs on his iPhone. I edited this review on my Macbook. It’s interesting to learn more about a man who had such a major impact on our lives. Reviewed by Paul T. O’Connor BECOMING STEVE JOBS: THE EVOLUTION OF A RECKLESS UPSTART INTO…