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Rating: 
Summary: Book Summary
Review: After buying the rights from creator Charles Darrow, Parker Brothers introduced the board game Monopoly® in 1935. It soon became an American icon of capitalism in its most competitive form. Popular estimates claim that nearly 1 billion people have played the game. Ironically, the game flourished during a time when the Great Depression still held its sway on the American psyche. Author Alan Axelrod attributes this odd phenomenon to the cathartic affect the game had on people. Still, many attribute its success more to its ability to mirror real life. Monopoly as a metaphor for business serves as the impetuous for this book. Axelrod fills his book generously with quotes from leaders of industry. While the board game differs considerably from real life in some substantive areas, such as starting out on a level playing field, the game compensates for these few exceptions by creating a playing environment that relies more on skill and attitude. The author emphasizes this important lesson, "...our own fates are in large part decided by our actions and not completely by our starting points" (28). The book primarily aims to distill the practical lessons learned from playing the game, but at the same time teaches you many of the skills needed to become a better game player. The chief contribution Monopoly® makes to the business world is to expound the point that passing "GO" and collecting a $200 income will not win the game. A winning strategy necessitates aggressive play in analyzing, buying, selling, and trading properties. Axelrod believes that players must be bifocal, keeping an eye on both strategy and tactics, "To be sure, the business of business is making money, but it is also managing and manipulating money" (63). An important component in accumulating properties includes the willingness to leverage your buying power by taking on debt and mortgaging auxiliary properties. Player psychology also figures in prominently. By better understanding yourself and your opponents you can make better decisions. Successful deals require both players to feel that they gained something from the trade. When negotiating Axelrod reminds us what is most important to keep in mind, "The rookie salesman makes the mistake of selling price rather than value" (99). To improve your own playing build a healthy tolerance for taking calculated risks. Eliminate chance from the equation by "doing the math" and basing decisions on facts. Finally, the better players build on their investing and psychological advantages by exploiting market conditions, such as economic scarcity. The natural shortage of houses and hotels in the game teaches us that it pays to take advantage of market inefficiencies. This extends to finding deals by picking up properties at auction. Vigilance and preparation rule the day.
Rating:
Summary: Book Summary
Review: After buying the rights from creator Charles Darrow, Parker Brothers introduced the board game Monopoly® in 1935. It soon became an American icon of capitalism in its most competitive form. Popular estimates claim that nearly 1 billion people have played the game. Ironically, the game flourished during a time when the Great Depression still held its sway on the American psyche. Author Alan Axelrod attributes this odd phenomenon to the cathartic affect the game had on people. Still, many attribute its success more to its ability to mirror real life. Monopoly as a metaphor for business serves as the impetuous for this book. Axelrod fills his book generously with quotes from leaders of industry. While the board game differs considerably from real life in some substantive areas, such as starting out on a level playing field, the game compensates for these few exceptions by creating a playing environment that relies more on skill and attitude. The author emphasizes this important lesson, "...our own fates are in large part decided by our actions and not completely by our starting points" (28). The book primarily aims to distill the practical lessons learned from playing the game, but at the same time teaches you many of the skills needed to become a better game player. The chief contribution Monopoly® makes to the business world is to expound the point that passing "GO" and collecting a $200 income will not win the game. A winning strategy necessitates aggressive play in analyzing, buying, selling, and trading properties. Axelrod believes that players must be bifocal, keeping an eye on both strategy and tactics, "To be sure, the business of business is making money, but it is also managing and manipulating money" (63). An important component in accumulating properties includes the willingness to leverage your buying power by taking on debt and mortgaging auxiliary properties. Player psychology also figures in prominently. By better understanding yourself and your opponents you can make better decisions. Successful deals require both players to feel that they gained something from the trade. When negotiating Axelrod reminds us what is most important to keep in mind, "The rookie salesman makes the mistake of selling price rather than value" (99). To improve your own playing build a healthy tolerance for taking calculated risks. Eliminate chance from the equation by "doing the math" and basing decisions on facts. Finally, the better players build on their investing and psychological advantages by exploiting market conditions, such as economic scarcity. The natural shortage of houses and hotels in the game teaches us that it pays to take advantage of market inefficiencies. This extends to finding deals by picking up properties at auction. Vigilance and preparation rule the day.
Rating:
Summary: "Kill two birds with one stone"
Review: Half the books seems to be devoted on how to win at the board game, and the other half on how the game applies to real life. If you play the board game you will probably like that it kills two birds with one stone;" If not, you may be destracted occasionally. For example, one page show the odds of someone landing on a certain property.Other than that, the book was amusing, and contained enough practical advice that makes it worth the purchase price.
Rating: 
Summary: Monopoly as a Business Simulation
Review: In the "real world" it is quite difficult to accurately assess all of the conditions that lead to a venture's success or failure. There are myriad reasons why the information needed to do so is simply not available which range from disclosure restrictions for a continuing business to fear of suit by the principals of a failed business. As such, it is, as a rule, quite difficult to completely analyze the success or failure of a real enterprise - though many have tried. In Everything I Know About Business I Learned From Monopoly, Axelrod tries to impart business wisdom through a mechanism that can be completely analyzed, the game of Monopoly. As such, he provides insightful commentary on how the game and the "real world" are both similar and different. He illustrates, for example, how in business watching for industry or customer-base changes is similar to watching for the change of game phases in Monopoly, and how both are critical to the decisions that you make to ensure continued prosperity. Over all, the book is very specific on Monopoly-playing suggestions (mentioning the probabilities attached to rolling dice and landing on properties many times) and somewhat vague on the specifics of applying these principals in business. This is to be expected, though, as the book is clearly about analyzing the game and applying the lessons learned to the business world. Within that context, it does its job quite well. This book is basically a simulation and, like any simulation, its value is determined by the reader's ability to apply its lessons to reality. At the very least, you will get to read a variety of interesting quotations by industry-leaders; for the more attentive and imaginative readers, the game of Monopoly will provide a whole new mechanism for testing strategies for business in general.
Rating:
Summary: Monopoly as a Business Simulation
Review: In the "real world" it is quite difficult to accurately assess all of the conditions that lead to a venture's success or failure. There are myriad reasons why the information needed to do so is simply not available which range from disclosure restrictions for a continuing business to fear of suit by the principals of a failed business. As such, it is, as a rule, quite difficult to completely analyze the success or failure of a real enterprise - though many have tried. In Everything I Know About Business I Learned From Monopoly, Axelrod tries to impart business wisdom through a mechanism that can be completely analyzed, the game of Monopoly. As such, he provides insightful commentary on how the game and the "real world" are both similar and different. He illustrates, for example, how in business watching for industry or customer-base changes is similar to watching for the change of game phases in Monopoly, and how both are critical to the decisions that you make to ensure continued prosperity. Over all, the book is very specific on Monopoly-playing suggestions (mentioning the probabilities attached to rolling dice and landing on properties many times) and somewhat vague on the specifics of applying these principals in business. This is to be expected, though, as the book is clearly about analyzing the game and applying the lessons learned to the business world. Within that context, it does its job quite well. This book is basically a simulation and, like any simulation, its value is determined by the reader's ability to apply its lessons to reality. At the very least, you will get to read a variety of interesting quotations by industry-leaders; for the more attentive and imaginative readers, the game of Monopoly will provide a whole new mechanism for testing strategies for business in general.
Rating: 
Summary: An Editor's Nightmare
Review: The was a good book and easy to read, but I have never seen a published book with this many errors in it. They are on almost every page. Titles out of place, misspelled words, errors in punctution, etc. You name the error. This book has it. The content was fine (if a tad redundant), but the reader quickly gets annoyed. This book was rushed onto the shelf!!!
Rating:
Summary: Book Lacked Focus
Review: This book lacked a lot of focus in what it wanted to accomplish. Was it trying to give tips on how to win at Monopoly or trying to show how the game teaches lessons to be applied to real life? In both cases, it came up lacking. The tips it gave were rather common-sensical, the stories it shared didn't really give any insight into how the game applies to business, and to top it off, it didn't not give accurate rules to the game. For example, the book said that you couldn't collect rent while in jail, so you should always try to stay out of jail and in the game, just like in life. That's a nice maxim to live by, but you CAN collect rent while in jail and every good business person knows that there are times to be aggressive and times to be conservative. Overall, the book was very disappointing and I hope only to spare others from making the same mistake of wasting time reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Book Lacked Focus
Review: This book lacked a lot of focus in what it wanted to accomplish. Was it trying to give tips on how to win at Monopoly or trying to show how the game teaches lessons to be applied to real life? In both cases, it came up lacking. The tips it gave were rather common-sensical, the stories it shared didn't really give any insight into how the game applies to business, and to top it off, it didn't not give accurate rules to the game. For example, the book said that you couldn't collect rent while in jail, so you should always try to stay out of jail and in the game, just like in life. That's a nice maxim to live by, but you CAN collect rent while in jail and every good business person knows that there are times to be aggressive and times to be conservative. Overall, the book was very disappointing and I hope only to spare others from making the same mistake of wasting time reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Go Directly to GO! and read this book on your way.
Review: This book will make you want to start up a game of Monopoly, or if you're feeling a bit ambitious, you'll want to start up a new company. I guess that's part of the appeal of this book. If you love Monopoly, arguably the most popular board game in American history, then you'll enjoy this book. If you are a successful businessman, or have ever aspired to be an entreprenuer, then this is the book for you.
I admit it, I'm a Monopoly afficionado. For that reason, the cover of this book caught my eye. After reading only a couple pages, I knew I had to sit down and finish this book. The author uses basic strategies used in the board game Monopoly to relate to tried-and-true strategies used in the business world. He divides these strategies into separate lessons. There is a lot of information in here about the game of Monopoly that I for one did not know, including a brief history behind the making of the game, the odds of landing on certain properties, and various strategies that come into play during the course of the game.
The author pretty much covers everything there is to know about Monopoly. In that sense, it's a very broad subject and at times I did find myself wondering how this information relates to what the author really knows about business. That doesn't matter though. I really enjoy this book and I highly recommend it.
Some people would argue that the best part of this book is the various quotes and anecdotes from numerous business leaders, CEOs, and executives from around the world. These snippets of what makes business and the game of Monopoly similar are what make this book a worth-while read. My grading scale is a little tough. I do not give five stars to a book unless it's a classic.
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