Rating: 
Summary: The authors want YOU to live by THEIR values!!
Review: This book reminded me very much of "The Millionaire Next Door." In that book, the authors SEEM to say that we should all become incredibly penny-pinching misers so that we can become rich. At the end, however, THEY contradict themselves and, in essence, say something like "don't try this at home." The book at hand, however (probably because it was written by LAWYERS rather than economists), is not very perceptive AT ALL with regard to how its admonitions might be viewed by those with values that differ from the authors'. In particular, the authors SEEM to be saying that we should all have "Utility Functions" that are, as Economists would say, "linear with money." Not only is this false as an empirical statement, it leads the authors into (possibly unwitting) contradictions. At several points in the book, for example, the authors DO hint that one MIGHT choose a job, at least in part, on the basis of job satisfaction rather than salary. BUT, if the authors had really believed what they said in the FIRST PLACE, they would, instead, advocate ignoring the degree of satisfaction inherent in a job and judging each job SOLELY on the basis of salary. Indeed, I was left to wonder what they would say to someone who had to choose between being an employee with little to no job satisfaction but a very HIGH salary OR becoming, as they put it, a "yourself dot-com" with MUCH satisfaction but a MUCH lower salary. Indeed, the very fact that they advocate becoming a "dot com" small business at all can ONLY be seen as placing SOME value on satisfaction, especially given the rate at which small businesses FAIL in our economy. This is where we come to the similarity between the two books: in BOTH "The Millionaire Next Door" AND "Live Rich," the authors fail completely to understand that A) people have utility (value) for things (including "spiritual" things, like job satisfaction or education, per se) OTHER than money, AND that placing value on things other than money is ENTIRELY RATIONAL (in the sense in which this term is used in Micro-Economic Theory).All-in-all, a NOT very helpful book. NOT even worth the price or the time it took to discover why it is totally wrong-headed (which was about 2 days' worth of reading.
Rating: 
Summary: thought provoking
Review: This book's first couple of chapters is basically the meat of the book. Part II had some interesting points but not worth going through in depth. One person would be able to relate at most to a dozen points. I found the Salary Review information extremely interesting and pertinent.His advice is pretty cold-hearted but realistic in many ways, but I have to agree with another reviewer who said that if you're going to spend 50 hours a week doing work, you're going to need more than money to make it worthwhile. Some heart and satisfaction need to be part of the equation. More useful than the money advice is the Don't Grow, Change advice, meaning you should learn new skills whereever/whenever possible (and something I already strive to do) and avoid taking on responsibilities. However, you're going to have to establish roots somewhere, and that ultimately will require you to take more responsibility on the job. Becoming a mercenary also seems relevant advice. Overall, I found his advice rather good b/c I'm in the computer field and you have to adjust quickly or you're obsolete and job-hopping is not an uncommon practice in this field.
Rating: 
Summary: Not all that useful.
Review: Unfortunately, the author is spreading his area of expertise a little too thin this time around. The vast majority of the advice is far too general to be of any great use. Better stuff out there...
Rating:
Summary: Yes & No
Review: Very readable, good philosphy. PartII of the book is very weak on specifics on how to do all this entrepeneurial stuff, however. From experience I know it's not that easy. Not everyone, perhaps very few, are cut out to be "mercenaries" in the marketplace. If freedom is your goal, no one can run even ONE business without a lot of time spent! True, we're all ultimately self-employed, but it's going to take a long time for this to become a reality. Perhaps this book is a step, and only a step, in that direction.
Rating:
Summary: Change is Good! Challenges the Grey Flannel Suit Myth.
Review: What I want to emphasize in gaining from reading this book is the idea of "don't grow, change" "find a new market". The "Don't Grow, Change" ideas presented here redeems people who feel guilty for not creating a career--fulfilling or not--for themselves. What this does is to re-write that seemingly hard and fast rule that one must have a single fulfilling career that makes enough money over a course of a lifetime that sends the kids to college and build that dream retirement home. That is a myth. This book is written for people who have many ideas about starting several businesses and don't know where or how to begin. It's for people who want to take advantage of working for themselves using new tools in information and technology. It's for people who have been dumbed down and disempowered in the corporate marketplace for years who are just learning to be more proactive. Part II of this book alphabetizes the terms, tools and business (or life) plans to help create ways to make money so people can take charge of and live more meaningful lives. For other readers, Part II is too simplistic or not meaty enough. Some readers need more explanation of the alphabetized essays for general business acumen. But for people just beginning to break from the taboos of money and the guilt of having a non-career or a wasteful one, this book is a great place to start.
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