Personal Finance

From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-Despite some overgeneralization, these appealing introductory titles effectively present basic information. World Trade mentions the environment and some of the arguments against free trade but slants the examples against them. This may appeal to some students but will definitely turn off those who know the real conditions in those maquiladora factories, where many workers are not paid enough to feed their families. To his credit, Burgess provides a good summary of trade in services and ideas, and explains just how hard it is to tell whether any particular automobile is "American." Economy provides an adequate overview, beginning with "The Land of Opportunity" and singing the praises of capitalism. O'Hara mentions some of the victims of the system, but he definitely sides with economic efficiency. Major omissions are the fact that the Asian economies that grew so fast in the 1980s did so with plenty of government intervention, so were not really products of "free enterprise." Globalization is defined only in terms of moving goods across borders, not in terms of the shifting of jobs to low-wage areas. Personal Finance does a nice job of outlining its topic at a level that students will easily understand. Unfortunately, in demonstrating compounding, it uses a highly unrealistic rate of interest: 100 percent. The book is not quite as engaging as Neale S. Godfrey's Ultimate Kids' Money Book (S & S, 1998), but fits very well into this series. All of the books have well-reproduced color photographs and are attractively designed.Jonathan Betz-Zall, City University Library, Everett, WA Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


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Gr 6-9-Despite some overgeneralization, these appealing introductory titles effectively present basic information. World Trade mentions the environment and some of the arguments against free trade but slants the examples against them. This may appeal to some students but will definitely turn off those who know the real conditions in those maquiladora factories, where many workers are not paid enough to feed their families. To his credit, Burgess provides a good summary of trade in services and ideas, and explains just how hard it is to tell whether any particular automobile is "American." Economy provides an adequate overview, beginning with "The Land of Opportunity" and singing the praises of capitalism. O'Hara mentions some of the victims of the system, but he definitely sides with economic efficiency. Major omissions are the fact that the Asian economies that grew so fast in the 1980s did so with plenty of government intervention, so were not really products of "free enterprise." Globalization is defined only in terms of moving goods across borders, not in terms of the shifting of jobs to low-wage areas. Personal Finance does a nice job of outlining its topic at a level that students will easily understand. Unfortunately, in demonstrating compounding, it uses a highly unrealistic rate of interest: 100 percent. The book is not quite as engaging as Neale S. Godfrey's Ultimate Kids' Money Book (S & S, 1998), but fits very well into this series. All of the books have well-reproduced color photographs and are attractively designed.-Jonathan Betz-Zall, City University Library, Everett, WA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.


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