Internet Empire : The Hidden Digital War
Sean F. Ennis
Modern economies are fundamentally different from those of the past five millennia. Professor Ennis shows how the transition to a digital economy creates wonderful innovation, but also has a dark side that needs our attention. The digital world has created a new, civilized type of war, one that does not involve armies or guns but instead features bankers, optical fiber, algorithms and Birkenstock-wearing geniuses. Where digital battles are fought for foreign territory, no one dies. But in these digital wars, private companies can take over and dominate foreign economic activity in ways that would be envied by Caesar and Napoleon. The author argues that the expansion of internet businesses has achieved the aims of war without its horrific consequences.
Governments are taking action; but it is too little and perhaps too late. Despite their best intentions, they do not take into account how we, the users, make decisions and they focus unduly on company size rather than company behavior. Government policies over history are replete with unintended consequences; digital regulation will be no different.
When businesses distort and restrain markets, government policy is not enough to fight back. If the problems come from individual behavior, so should the solutions.
Ennis shows that individual users of the internet all have a role to play in determining the future nature of our digital economies. Building on his provocative diagnosis, he suggests 15 ways we can take back control and, in so doing, transform the internet into a fairer and healthier place that can deliver freedom of choice. (See: www.TamingTheGiants.com)
The Nazarene Covenant
John Dial
After two millenia, the secret society known as the Nazarenes is reawakening. Their first act is the dramatic theft of the Shroud of Turin. The sudden loss of the cloth thought to have covered Jesus after his crucifixion wakes other forces. With the Vatican urgently seeking its return, the tireless efforts of Father Rosetti take him from northern Italy to a backwater US town and a kibbutz near the Dead Sea. He is only one step ahead of an assassin who is trying to disrupt the Nazarene Covenant. Will he succeed in time to unravel the mystery that could shake the world?
The Secrets of Service
Valérie Génique
The art of service is much more than what is addressed by customer service departments. It is a holistic view of how the customer perceives and experiences a product. The author transmits her secrets of on how to make a customer experience human, unforgettable and genuine. Building on her background of founding and running the highest rating lodging in France over five years, and prior work for large companies that had a traditional mass-produced concept of service, she unveils nuggets of wisdom. The method of service detailed here builds on the renowned French expertise in luxury service and design. She unveils a new approach to service as a state of mind of both staff and process, a concept that ultimately has broad application.