New Releases by Mike Wright

“Zeroes in on the interesting, irreverent, long-ignored tidbits that shape behavior in all conflicts and important periods of history.”—The Denver Post What made the founding fathers so great (or were they?). And don’t forget the founding mothers. We have intrigue and skullduggery with spies from Nathan Hale to Benedict Arnold, with enlightening stops on the distaff side of espionage for Patience Wright (no relation to our esteemed author), Lydia Darragh, and Ann Bates. “[Mike] Wright uncovers the gamut of the revolutionary era with a highly readable, breezy narrative style, and some of his speculations eloquently illustrate the ironies always present in grand historical movements. . . . This work will inform, amuse, and provide an interesting perspective on the Revolution.”—Booklist

Instant coffee was invented during the Civil War for use by Union troops, who hated it; holding races between lice was a popular pastime for both Johnny Reb and Billy Yank; 13% of the Confederate Army deserted during the conflict. These are three of the hundreds of bits of knowledge that Mike Wright makes available in his informative and entertaining What They Didn''t Teach You About the Civil War, which focuses on the lives and ways of ordinary soldiers and of those they left behind.

Packed with personal anecdotes and details you won’t find anywhere else, this is the secret history of World War II. “A fast-moving overview stuffed with interesting factoids and historical tidbits . . . Casual readers will find themselves carried along, and hardened military buffs will learn much that is new.”—Library Journal “It’s almost guaranteed to make you so interested in the subject you’ll want to learn . . . By including hundreds of interesting anecdotes and facts, [Mike] Wright not only piques our interest repeatedly, he also gives areal feel for the war era.”—Manchester Journal Inquirer “An excellent overview . . . [with] interesting chapters on spies, POWs, censorships, and the building of the atomic bomb . . . Wright’s style is accessible.”—The Post and Courier

Broad characteristics, behavior, and performancecontributions relating to experienced serial and portfolio entrepreneurs areanalyzed in comparison to novice entrepreneurs with no prior business ownershipexperience. Data consisted of 354 firms owned by novice (200 firms), serial (66firms), and portfolio (88 firms) entrepreneurs in Scotland. Results indicate no significant difference among the three groups withregard to the mode of acquisition of equity stake, number of equity partners,current age, location of business, main industrial activity of the business, orwhether the business was a family firm. Significant differences are noted inthe characteristics and behavior of the entrepreneurs with regard to theirbusiness ownership experience. Further analyses show that portfolio entrepreneurs are more likely to bemotivated by the generation of wealth and exhibit higher levels of growth intheir own businesses. Additionally, they exhibit more diverse experiences andhave more resources than serial or novice entrepreneurs. Serial entrepreneursare concerned with independence and autonomy and have exited more businessesthan portfolio entrepreneurs. Conversely, novice entrepreneurs look for secure incomes and are hesitant tolose their independence in pursuit of rapid business growth. It is evident thatexperienced entrepreneurs offer more wealth creation prospects and accumulateseveral entrepreneurial resources, both of which are fundamental for thesuccess of a firm. (NEE).

The structure of the book and the organisation of material within chapters are well thought out with the authors skilfully weaving empirical material from diverse sources into an easily readable holistic account of the university spin-off phenomenon. . . Many of the lessons learned and conclusions drawn from this work are applicable to academic entrepreneurs in whichever faculty or subject area they work. David Woollard, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research This timely book fills a gap in the knowledge market. . . The authors should be applauded for taking the time to write and share their knowledge with us. This book will be welcomed by practising researchers. . . It will also be welcomed by busy lecturers, policymakers, students and chief executive officers. Robert Smith, Entrepreneurship and Innovation This book advances our understanding of university spin-off creation and development in environments outside the high-tech clusters of the US. While there has been substantial university spin-off activity internationally in recent years, a number of major aspects are little understood. The authors argue that the nature of universities is changing as reduced public funding reflects a public debate on their role in society. An important aspect of this international phenomenon is an increased emphasis on the commercialization of university research and on academic entrepreneurship. These new ventures therefore involve the spinning-off of technology and knowledge generated by universities. The authors adopt a multi-level approach in their examination of university spin-offs. European case studies are specifically selected to reflect the diversity of the institutional environment. In particular, units of analysis involving universities, technology transfer offices, spin-off firms, finance providers and individual entrepreneurs and teams are extensively analysed in quantitative and qualitative studies. To conclude, policy implications for the future successful development of spin-offs are identified. This fascinating book will appeal to a wide-ranging audience including academics, policy makers, researchers and practitioners with an interest in academic entrepreneurship and university spin-offs, and, more generally, in business and management and entrepreneurship.

Using a sample of 236 UK companies that went from public to private (PTP) company status during 1997 to 2005 and a control sample of similar firms not going private, we study, with logistic regression methodology, the impact of bankruptcy risk measured by their default probability, estimated using stock market data and option pricing models, on the going private decision. We also examine value gains to existing shareholders of target companies of PTP transactions. Fama-French 3 factor event study approach is used to estimate the abnormal returns around the announcement period. We find that going private companies have significantly higher default probability. They also have fewer growth opportunities, lower stock market valuation, poorer operating performance and larger pre-PTP management holding. These companies are usually small in size, suffer stock market neglect and are undervalued. Weak corporate governance factors increase the chances of going private. We report a cumulative abnormal return (CAR) of 15% for a 7 day announcement period for firms subject to going private. These returns are higher for target firms faced with higher bankruptcy risk suggesting a strong turnaround motivation for the PTP deal. Private equity firms sponsoring PTPs generate higher shareholder value gains when they acquire firms with poorer growth record, higher risk of bankruptcy and larger free cash flow suggesting they are not deterred by the risk of financial distress but consider it a value creating opportunity. High bankruptcy risk at going private increases the chance the target will end up in receivership.

This is an excellent book. The conceptual framework and empirical results are presented in a most readable form. The reader is also provided with a comprehensive discussion of the results obtained. The book contains a wealth of information about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship, and provides numerous suggestions for future research. Economic Outlook and Business Review Despite a number of success stories presented in the media, not all habitual entrepreneurs (entrepreneurs who have owned at least two businesses) are consistently successful. This book is inspired by the apparent dearth of rigorous research to underpin or in some cases challenge the popular perception of habitual entrepreneurs. It seeks to address the gap in the literature by shedding light on the phenomenon of habitual entrepreneurship. Deniz Ucbasaran, Paul Westhead and Mike Wright use a combination of theory and empirical evidence to illustrate why it is so important for researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs and investors to distinguish between novice (i.e. first time) entrepreneurs and habitual entrepreneurs. Issues tackled include human capital characteristics, information search and opportunity identification behaviours, and the performance of different types of entrepreneurs. The book also highlights the heterogeneity of habitual entrepreneurs by drawing attention to serial and portfolio entrepreneurs. Developing a conceptual framework and an agenda for future research, Habitual Entrepreneurs will prove a significant reference tool for academics, students and researchers with an interest in entrepreneurship and SMEs. Its systematic analysis of the role of prior entrepreneurial experience in the venturing process will also be invaluable to practitioners such as policymakers, entrepreneurs and investors.

This paper investigates how far UK public to private transactions can be explained by financial distress costs or incentive realignment. We find that firms going private are more likely to be smaller, more diversified, younger and have lower Q ratios than firms remaining public. The results therefore offer limited support for both theories. We also find that private equity providers are more likely to be involved in the process if the firm going private is more diversified and has a higher Q ratio. This suggests that private equity providers are more interested in growth prospects than potential financial distress costs.

Wright tells the tragic yet inspiring story of his young wife''s battle with ALS, or Lou Gehrig''s Disease. Though she suffered greatly, she smiled to the end, and may have impacted more people in death than she did in life.

This paper reports the findings from a survey of the effects of management buyouts on human resource management (HRM). Buyouts resulted in increased employment, the adoption of new reward systems, and expanded employee involvement. These developments support the resource-based view that buyouts develop internal assets over agency theory predictions that managers will adopt a cost reduction approach. The type of buyout influences the subsequent development of HRM. Buyouts report more commitment-orientated employment policies where employees own shares, and where the buyout pursues a 'buy and build' corporate strategy and adopts a business strategy of enhancing customer service and developing markets.

It has widely been suggested that during the 1980s many diversified firms narrowed the scope of their activities by refocusing on core businesses, primarily through divestment activity. This study examines the impact of divestment on firm performance, using an unbalanced panel of 132 UK quoted companies over the period 1985 to 1993. The results suggest that divestment has a positive, significant and substantial effect in raising the profitability of the vendor company. We find limited support for the view that the benefit from divestment is greater for larger and/or more diversified firms and firms operating with weak governance arrangements.

This paper investigates the extent to which firms going private have different characteristics from other acquired firms. We find the firms going private have higher board shareholdings and higher institutional shareholdings. In addition, they have poorer growth prospects and experience more takeover speculation. However, there is no evidence that they have different internal governance structures, have higher free cash flow or spend different amounts on capital projects. It was also found that the premiums received by shareholders in firms going private were lower than those received by shareholders of other acquired firms. We also find novel evidence of private activity designed to ensure that a bid to take a firm private is successful. Overall the results offer stronger support for the financial incentive hypothesis rather than for the financial realignment hypothesis.

Richmond became the capital of the Confederacy when Virginia joined the Southern cause, marking the city as a prime target for the Union army. General McClellan was the first Union leader to lay siege to Richmond, and that was just the beginning. The attractive and genteel city of Richmond would be transformed into a refugee camp, a scene of riots, and a city-sized hospital before the war was over. Making use of diaries, letters, and newspaper accounts from the era, Wright brings readers face to face with the men and women who fought for the city, endured starvation, observed Lee''s defeats and Grant''s progress, and witnessed the Confederacy''s last days.

Wright breathes life into our nation''s history while spotlighting little-known events and "rest of the story" details from the decade of the ''60s. 24 photos.

A snappy, easy-reading history comprised mainly of the more obscure details relating to the people, places, names, and culture of the western frontier, from the first cowboy rustlers (which Wright notes were actually at the time of the American Revolution) to contemporary evidence that the Sundance Kid lived until 1957. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

An in-depth report and guide to the venture capital industry in Europe covering early stage investments, LBOs, MBOs and MBIs.