Synopses & Reviews
and#147;Whenever you have something intended as innocent fun for children, you can count on adults to turn it into an obsessive, grotesquely over-commercialized and#145;hobbyand#8217; with the same whimsy content as the Bataan Death March."
and#151;Humorist Dave Barry on Beanie Babies,and#160;The Miami Herald, 1998
There has never been a craze like Beanie Babies. The $5 beanbag animals with names like Seaweed the Otter and Gigi the Poodle drove millions of Americans into a greed-fueled frenzy as they chased the rarest Beanie Babies, whose values escalated weekly in the late 1990s.and#160;
A single Beanie Baby sold for $10,000, and on eBay the animals comprised 10 percent of all sales. Suburban moms stalked UPS trucks to get the latest models, a retired soap opera star lost his kidsand#8217; six-figure college funds investing in them, and a New Jersey father sold three million copies of a self-published price guide that predictedand#160;what each animal would be worth in ten years. More than any other consumer good in history, Beanie Babies were carried to the height of success by a collective belief that their values would always rise.
Just as strange as the mass hysteria was the man behind it. From the day he started in the toy industry, after dropping out of college, Ty Warner devoted all his energy to creating what he hoped would be the most perfect stuffed animals the world had ever seen. Sometimes called the and#147;Steve Jobs of plushand#8221; by his employees, heand#160;obsessed over every detail of every animal. He had no marketing budget and no connections, but he had something more valuableand#151;an intuitive grasp of human psychology that would make him the richest man in the history of toys.and#160;
Through first-ever interviews with former Ty Inc. employees, Warnerand#8217;s sister, and the two ex-girlfriends who were by his side as he achieved the American dream,and#160;The Great Beanie Baby Bubbleand#160;tells the inspiring yet tragic story of one of Americaand#8217;s most enigmatic self-made tycoons. Bestselling author Zac Bissonnette uncovers Warnerand#8217;s highly original approach to productand#160;development, sales, and marketing that enabled the acquisition of plush animals to activate the same endorphins chased by stock speculatorsand#160;and gamblers.
Starting with a few Beanie-crazed housewives on a cul-de-sac in Naperville, Illinois, Beanie Babies became the first viral craze of the Internet era. Bissonnette traces their rise from the beginning of the official websiteand#151;one of the first corporate websites to aggressivelyand#160;engage consumersand#151;to the day when and#147;rareand#8221; modelsand#160;became worthless as quickly as theyand#8217;d once been deemed priceless. He also explores the big questions: Why did grown men and women lose their minds over stuffed animals? Was it something unique about the last years of the American centuryand#151;or just the weirdest version of the irrational episodes that have happened periodically ever since the Dutch tulip mania of the 1630s?
The Great Beanie Baby Bubbleand#160;is a classic American story of people winning and losing vast fortunes chasing what one dealer remembers as and#147;the most spectacular dream ever sold.and#8221;
Review
"If the National Association for College Admissions Counseling had anticipated the dire consequences of one of the smartest teenagers in America encountering the ill-examined assumptions of their profession, they might have found some way to buy him off, maybe a full ride scholarship to Harvard. Too late. Bissonnette is 21 now, a senior at the University of Massachusetts. He has written the best and most troubling book ever about the college admissions process."
-Jay Mathews, The Washington Post
"Let Zac Bissonnette help you plan for college-where to go, what to study, and how to pay for it-and you will finish rich"
-David Bach #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Automatic Millionaire and Start Late, Finish Rich
"In the new economy, your college choice is critical. Zac Bissonnette's Debt- Free U is the one book you need to make this life-changing decision-- thoroughly researched, smart, and funny.
Review
and#8220;Equally heartwarming and heartbreaking, this accessible work will captivate.and#8221;
and#8212;Library Journal, Starred review
and#8220;Bissonnette (Debt-Free U) does a masterful job of tracing the rise and fall of the Beanie Baby phenomenon of the 1990s . . .and#160; This cautionary tale of elevated consumerism, with collectors fretting over what they didnand#8217;t have rather than taking pleasure in what they did, serves as a useful history lesson for today, told with wit and subtlety.and#8221;
and#8212;Publishers Weekly
and#8220;The spectacular story of the strangest speculative bubble there ever was and the man behind it. A must-read for anyone looking to understand how manias start and markets go insane."
and#8212;LIAQUAT AHAMED, Pulitzer Prizeand#8211;winningand#160;author of Lords of Finance
and#8220;Fascinating, strange, sad, funny, and entirely engrossing,and#160;The Great Beanie Baby Bubbleand#160;is a smart, engaging book thatand#8217;s as much about the odd saga of these plush toys as it is about the nature of obsession and desire.and#8221;
and#8212;SUSAN ORLEAN, author ofand#160;Rin Tin Tin
and#8220;In spare, elegant prose, Zac Bissonnette tells the riveting story of how Ty Warner ruthlessly built Beanie Babies into a mania as misguided and regrettable as the 1637 Dutch tulip craze and
mortgage-backed securities in 2008. You wonand#8217;t be able to put this book down.and#8221;
and#8212;WILLIAM D. COHAN, author ofand#160;Money and Power
and#8220;The amazing story of the time the world lost its mind over little beanbag critters named Punchers, Humphrey, and Wingless Quackers. Zac Bissonnette takes us on a journey into the secretive world of the man behind the mania, Ty Warner.and#8221;
and#8212;BILL DEDMAN, coauthor of the bestselling biographyand#160;Empty Mansions
Synopsis
A personal finance expert-and full-time college student-shows why everything you know about choosing and financing college is wrong.
College costs are rising at twice the rate of inflation-and much of that increase is being financed by parents looting retirement accounts and students burdening themselves with debt loads that will change the course of their financial lives.
It doesn't have to be that way. Armed with data, experience, and a stiff dose of rational analysis, Zac Bissonnette explains why so much of the wisdom about choosing and financing college is not only wrong but dangerous. In this original book, he explains why:
a The name on a diploma means less than you think it does
a Student loans will be the next great consumer crisis-and how to avoid it
a The myth of fit won't lead to a superior college experience
a Scholarships and financial aid won't alleviate spiraling college costs-and what will
With a fresh approach to selecting, maximizing, and paying for college, Bissonnette gives practical and often surprising advice on how to get a champagne education on a beer budget.
Synopsis
"I'm a 21 year old student at a large public university. What do I know? Maybe I'm just rationalizing the fact that I'm attending a so-so public college! You'd have to be out of your mind to take my word for anything! But what you should do is look at the data and draw your own conclusions. I will show you the results of some little-known studies that are likely to change the way you think about paying for college forever...I'll offer guidance and practical tips for ways to secure a better, more enjoyable, less stressful, and saner college experience for everyone involved. "A large portion of the advice in this book is hugely counterintuitive, but guess what? I'm living it. I'm not some ivory tower admissions guru spewing advice about how people should make one of the most important decisions of their lives, with no stake in the outcome." (from College on a Dime)
College costs are rising at twice the rate of inflation-and much of that increase is being financed by parents looting retirement accounts and students burdening themselves with debt loads that will change the course of their financial lives.
It doesn't have to be that way. Armed with data, experience, and a stiff dose of rational analysis Zac Bissonnette explains why so much of the "wisdom" about choosing and financing college is not only wrong but dangerous. In this book, he explains:
-Why the name on your child's diploma means less for his future than you think it does.
-Why student loans are the next great consumer crisis in America-and how to avoid it.
-Why the myth of "fit" won't lead your child to a superior college experience.
-Why scholarships and financial aid won't alleviate spiraling college costs-and what will.
With a fresh approach to selecting, maximizing, and paying for college, Bissonnette gives parents practical, and often surprising, advice on how to help their kids get a champagne education on a beer budget.
The do's and don'ts of college:
Do recognize that the amount your kids' friends' parents will be contributing to their educational expenses is likely far higher than it should be.
Don't let someone tell you that student loans are not that big of a deal. Yes, they're normal, but so is being broke.
Don't fall in love with a college or let your child fall in love with one. Every college is a combination of great professors and lousy ones, cool students and not-so-cool ones.
Most of all, do look at college as a rational investment, not some silly coming of age ritual where money is no object.
Synopsis
This book can save you more than $100,000.These days, most people assume you need to pay a boatload of money for a quality college education. As a result, students and their parents are willing to go into years of debt and potentially sabotage their entire financial futures just to get a fancy name on their diploma.
But Zac Bissonnette is walking proof that this assumption is not only false, but dangerous-a class con game designed to rip you off and doom your student to a post-graduation life of near poverty . From his unique double perspective-he's a personal finance expert (at Daily Finance) AND a current senior at the University of Massachusetts-Zac figured out how to get an outstanding education at a public college, without bankrupting his parents or taking on massive loans.
Armed with his personal knowledge, the latest data, and smart analysis, Zac takes on the sacred cows of the higher education establishment. He reveals why a lot of the conventional wisdom about choosing and financing college is not only wrong but hazardous to you and your child's financial future. You'll discover, for instance, that:
* Student loans are NOT a necessary evil. Ordinary middle class families can- and must-find ways to avoid them, even without scholarships.
* College "rankings" are useless-designed to sell magazines and generate hype. If you trust one of the major guides when picking a college, you face a potential financial disaster.
* The elite graduate programs accept lots of people with non-elite bachelors degrees. So do America's most selective employers. The name on a diploma ultimately won't help your child have a more successful career or earn more money.
Zac can prove every one of those bold assertions - and more. No matter what your current financial situation, he has a simple message for parents: "RELAX! Your kid will be able to get a champagne education on a beer budget!"
Synopsis
Good Advice From Bad People is a daringly original humor book based on real quotes from murderers, stock swindlers, and other ne'er-do-wells.
The world is full of people telling you how to live your life. Sometimes though, the advice-givers fall ever so slightly short themselves. For instance:
"The day you take complete responsibility for yourself, the day you stop making any excuse, that's the day you start to the top." - O.J. Simpson, 1975
"When you know what you are talking about, others will follow you, because it's safe to follow you." - Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld, 2006
"I think the most important thing is restore a sense of idealism and end the cynicism." - future Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, 2002
"It is easier to get into something than to get out of it." - Donald Rumsfeld, 1974
Bissonnette also includes risk management advice from the man who triggered the world's largest hedge fund collapse; a pair of #1 bestselling relationship experts who married each other and promptly divorced; and gay-prostitute-patronizing pastor Ted Haggard on how to build a marriage that will last a lifetime.
The result will keep you smiling while you glean all the wisdom you need to build the life you want... if only you can follow it better than the people who gave it.
Synopsis
A bestselling journalist delivers the never-before-told story of the plush animaland#160;craze that became the tulip mania of the 1990s
In the annals of consumer crazes, nothing compares to Beanieand#160;Babies. In just three years, collectors who saw the toys as aand#160;means of speculation made creator Ty Warner, an eccentricand#160;college dropout, a billionaireand#151;without advertising or big-boxand#160;distribution. Beanie Babies were ten percent of eBayand#8217;s sales inand#160;its early days, with an average selling price of $30and#151;six timesand#160;the retail price. At the peak of the bubble in 1999, Warner reportedand#160;a personal income of $662 millionand#151;more than Hasbroand#160;and Mattel combined.
The end of the craze was swift and devastating, withand#160;and#147;rareand#8221; Beanie Babies deemed worthless as quickly as theyand#8217;dand#160;once been deemed priceless.
Bissonnette draws on hundreds of interviews (includingand#160;a visit to a man who lives with his 40,000 Ty productsand#160;and an in-prison interview with a guy who killed a coworkerand#160;over a Beanie Baby debt) for the first book on the strangestand#160;speculative mania of all time.
Synopsis
Good Advice From Bad People is a daringly original humor book based on real quotes from murderers, stock swindlers, and other ne'er-do-wells.
The world is full of people telling you how to live your life. Sometimes though, the advice-givers fall ever so slightly short themselves. For instance:
"The day you take complete responsibility for yourself, the day you stop making any excuse, that's the day you start to the top." - O.J. Simpson, 1975
"When you know what you are talking about, others will follow you, because it's safe to follow you." - Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld, 2006
"I think the most important thing is restore a sense of idealism and end the cynicism." - future Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, 2002
"It is easier to get into something than to get out of it." - Donald Rumsfeld, 1974
Bissonnette also includes risk management advice from the man who triggered the world's largest hedge fund collapse; a pair of #1 bestselling relationship experts who married each other and promptly divorced; and gay-prostitute-patronizing pastor Ted Haggard on how to build a marriage that will last a lifetime.
The result will keep you smiling while you glean all the wisdom you need to build the life you want... if only you can follow it better than the people who gave it.
About the Author
Zac Bissonnette wrote two acclaimed bestsellers before his twenty-fourth birthday: Debt-Free U and How to Be Richer, Smarter, and Better-Looking Than Your Parents. He has also written for the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the Daily Beast, NYTimes.com, and Mental Floss, among others. A 2011 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, he is currently working on his fourth book. He lives in New York.