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Rating: 
Summary: Insight
Review: Great to read a Marketing book written by one of the most "Hub" personalities, the author Stan Stalnaker himself. You instantly feel that he, if any, has a real living experience and insight into this new and growing consumer segment, by him described as people living the "Hub Life - a never-ending quest for experience". Good inspiration for marketers and others interested in the consumer lifestyle area.
Rating: 
Summary: one to watch
Review: I enjoyed this book a lot - Stan Stalnaker has written a great profile of some of the most influential yet difficult-to-reach consumers on the planet. His pace and style are good and chatty - with plenty of anecdotes and real-life examples.
While it rather runs out of steam towards the end, it is (as far as I know) the first and only book to examine this interesting and growing group of people - a group that Stalnaker neither over-romaticises nor patronises.When I read the blurb I thought that maybe Stalnaker had just rediscoverd cultural imerialism - but his knowledge and understanding soon convinced me that it really is is much more complex than that. These people are the conduits of cool, they know more than anyone about what is happening around the planet in terms lifestyle and fashion. If I have one criticism it is that he skips over the less glamourous side of this culture - drugs and alcoholism are not mentioned very much nor are the rootless sometimes lonely aspects of being a foreigner in a strange city. He doen't do much to investigate the parallel group of younger, less well educated "Hub Culturists" from Eastern Europe as well as Latin America and Asia that work in service industries in the "Hub Cities" while learning languages and developing international work skills and outlook - they too are very much world citizens and I suspect just as influential in their own way as the North Americans and Western Europeans mostly covered in the book. I'll be looking out for his next book. Stan is a good thinker, an entertaining writer and certainly "one to watch".
Rating:
Summary: Hub elites and globalization
Review: I found this book very useful in understanding the role a special kind of transnational elite is playing in early 21st century globalization. As shallow and superficial as their lives may seem, these young globetrotters are in fact important players in quietly, in the shadows, building a new planetary civilization and monoculture.
I give this book 4 stars instead of 5 only because I would have liked to have seen a more detailed and impartial sociological treatment. Stalnaker is clearly writing for a marketing audience, probably as a hub player himself, rather than for a more general readership. This is currently the only such book I am aware of that deals with the hub elite, but I hope more studies (with a few more pages) follow this work.
Interesting for students of globalization, this is also a useful book for people considering going expatriate, and developing an overseas life and work strategy.
Rating:
Summary: Finger on the Pulse of Hub Culture
Review: Most books which attempt to define a culture for marketing purposed tend to hit the bookstores after that culture is passé and a new one is already in the making. This is not the case with Stan's book. He has his finger on the pulse when it comes to the current hub culture which is still developing and finding its feet. His insights into the city life and people of this generation will enlighten you and provide you with the tools you need for marketing today. If you aren't interested in marketing, just get the book anyway as it makes for a great read, simply for entertainment value.
Rating:
Summary: Finger on the Pulse of Hub Culture
Review: Most books which attempt to define a culture for marketing purposed tend to hit the bookstores after that culture is passé and a new one is already in the making. This is not the case with Stan's book. He has his finger on the pulse when it comes to the current hub culture which is still developing and finding its feet. His insights into the city life and people of this generation will enlighten you and provide you with the tools you need for marketing today. If you aren't interested in marketing, just get the book anyway as it makes for a great read, simply for entertainment value.
Rating:
Summary: Step into the World of Stan Stalnaker
Review: Step into the world of Stan Stalnaker, where worlds collide, fashion speaks, and the pace is fast. A great view in to the world of ultra modern and super cool. A thoroughly enjoyable book for anyone who wants to taste life through the eyes of the trendy urban dweller.
Rating:
Summary: An opinion from the design world
Review: This book is easy to read and gives funny insight into the marketing world. It helped me understand how the world is changing and how I am a part of that. How hub.
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