Most Popular Books by Mike Wright

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

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.

There has been an explosion of interest in entrepreneurs in the popular media, as well as in business, policy, and education. But what do entrepreneurs do? What is entrepreneurship and why is it important? What is distinctive about entrepreneurs? And where do they come from? In this Very Short Introduction Paul Westhead and Mike Wright weave a pathway through the debates about entrepreneurship, providing a guide to the entrepreneurial process. They look at how the actions of entrepreneurs are shaped by the external environment and availability of resources, consider the types of organizations in which entrepreneurs can be found, and look at the diversity in their backgrounds, experience, and how they think and learn. Lastly, they consider the impact that entrepreneurs have on modern market economies and look at the future of entrepreneurship in our increasingly globalized world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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.

This book deals with risk capital provided for established firms outside the stock market, private equity, which has grown rapidly over the last three decades, yet is largely poorly understood. Although it has often been criticized in the public mind as being short termist and having adverse consequences for employment, in reality this is far from the case. Here, John Gilligan and Mike Wright dispel some of the biggest myths and misconceptions about private equity. The book provides a unique and authoritative source from a leading practitioner and academic for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers that explains in detail what private equity involves and reviews systematic evidence of what the impact of private equity has been. Written in a highly accessible style, the book takes the reader through what private equity means, the different actors involved, and issues concerning sourcing, checking out, valuing, and structuring deals. The various themes from the systematic academic evidence are highlighted in numerous summary vignettes placed alongside the text that discuss the practical aspects. The main part of the work concludes with an up-to-date discussion by the authors, informed commentators on the key issues in the lively debate about private equity. The book further contains summary tables of the academic research carried out over the past three decades across the private equity landscape including: the returns to investors, economic performance, impact on R&D and employees, and the longevity and life-cycle of private equity backed deals.

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.

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.

“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

The International Library of Management is a comprehensive core reference series comprised of the most significant and influential articles by the leading authorities in the management studies field. The collections of essays is both international and interdisciplinary in scope and provides and entry point for investigating the myriad of study within the discipline.

Many strategies fail not because they are improperly formulated but because they are poorly implemented. The Oxford Handbook of Strategy Implementation examines the crucial role of implementation in how business and managerial strategies produce returns. In this wide-ranging collection of essays, leading scholars address governance, resources, human capital, and accounting-based control systems, advancing our understanding of strategy implementation and identifying opportunities for future research on this important process.

Increasingly, entrepreneurship research recognizes a wide variety in entrepreneurial behaviour. One such difference is marked between experienced or habitual entrepreneurs and novices. This book, authored by established experts in the field, introduces and explores the habitual entrepreneur phenomenon. Building upon an international body of research, the authors analyse business behaviour to demonstrate how experience relates to the performance of new ventures. In employing a range of methodological techniques, the authors provide insight into how prior business ownership experience produces different outcomes when it comes to the key success factors associated with entrepreneurial ventures. With detailed coverage of finance, networking, opportunity discovery, and learning, the book is a uniquely comprehensive resource. This concise book is a complete research guide which provides an introduction for advanced students and researchers of entrepreneurship worldwide.

Within a practical business context of the changing, competitive climate, this book details the implications for marketing strategy. New chapters cover topics such as credit cards and customer care, while several relevant case studies have also been added. Combining analysis of principles, concepts and techniques with sound practical advice, ''Marketing Financial Services'' is ideal for students on degree and postgraduate courses, including Chartered Institute of Bankers. There is also a tutor resource pack to accompany the case studies in this textbook.

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

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.

This work presents the theory, development and characteristics of management buy-ins (MBIs), an important feature of corporate restructuring since the late 1980s.

There has been a substantial rise in the number of entrepreneurship courses and programs at colleges and universities. Despite the rapid rise of undergraduate entrepreneurship, there have been few academic studies of this phenomenon. Little is known about the antecedents and consequences of these activities. Student Start-Ups: The New Landscape of Academic Entrepreneurship is the first book of its kind on student entrepreneurship. It sets out to provide a structured approach to understanding the development of the phenomenon by synthesizing and offering the best available quantitative data and new case studies from a range of countries and universities. In doing so, they present the evolution of different models of student entrepreneurship with insights and implications for practice, policy and research.

The first book to provide a broad look at how Operational Research methods can be applied practically to the field of sports, with applications including timetabling, scheduling, and strategy.

Management buy-outs have become a permanent feature of international business. Despite the well-publicised problems with several recent large buy-outs, there can be little doubt that management buy-outs, buy-ins and leveraged buy-outs will continue. Increasing concern with performance has meant the possible re-evaluation of corporate structuring and restructuring as managers seek to improve their company''s competitiveness in an effort to exploit the new opportunities available for international business in the 1990s. There have been many practical guides To The subject but few have attempted the comprehensive analysis provided by this new book. it covers all the key issues concerning a management buy-out and will be of great value to business managers, lawyers, accountants and financiers, and anyone interested in buy-out research. Written by experts from the Centre of Management Buy-Out Research, The only centre of its kind in the world, it draws upon the most extensive database on buy-outs available.

Entrepreneurship is a hot topic, yet there is no agreed definition of entrepreneurship. There is even debate about whether entrepreneurship can be taught! This text and case study collection is designed to stimulate critical thinking and reflective learning relating to entrepreneurship. This book enables you to focus on the key issues that need to be considered with regard to new ventures and/or a business plan module, as well as courses on theory and policy relating to entrepreneurship and small businesses.

In Venture Capital Investors and Portfolio Firms venture capital firms are considered as investors in young growth-oriented companies. The authors focus on the later phases of the venture capital (VC) investment process. They therefore emphasize monitoring, value adding, and exiting activities. They also include a review of the literature on the outcome of venture capital investment activities. Research findings are drawn principally from refereed journal papers in entrepreneurship, finance, and management. The monograph is divided into six principal areas: 1.What venture capital firms do. 2.The impact of VCs on portfolio firms and other stakeholders. 3.The role of syndication. 4.The nature and timing of exit from VC investments. 5.The role of VCs in portfolio companies that undergo an initial public offering (IPO). 6.The returns from investing in VC. Venture Capital Investors and Portfolio Firms concludes with a detailed agenda for further research. To aid the reader who wishes to pursue particular papers in more detail, the authors provide a summary of the main papers in this literature in a set of tables where they identify the authors, publication date, the journal, the main research question, the theoretical perspective, data, and the principal findings.

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.

✓ If you want to stop overthinking, reduce anxiety, stress, and take back control of your mind, just read on The more you think, the more confusing it gets. The more confused you are, the more doubts, and insecurities of all kinds are generated. Overthinking immobilizes you, creates anxiety, stress, insomnia, and it nails you to your situation of dissatisfaction and frustration. At the same time, your mind wanders in search of a better life than the one you are living. But nothing happens; it is just a feeling of being completely overwhelmed; you feel overwhelmed by problems and difficulties. You are out of breath, you think you will never make it, and in the end, ultimately you get depressed. If you find yourself in this situation, take a breath and keep reading: a solution exists, you can put your mind under control! All you have to do is learn the right strategies to control it and turn it into a powerful ally. And that''s precisely what you''ll find in this guide: a step-by-step path to freeing your mind from overthinking and training yourself to control your thoughts! ✓ What to expect from this book: - Simple strategies to dominate your thoughts (you need to train a specific area of your brain) - Foolproof methods to immediately recognize overthinking, the sooner you realize it, the easier it will be to stop it. - Do you think you have a negative influence on your life? Here''s how to get rid of it - Mindfulness and Meditation Techniques to stop worrying, reduce stress, anxiety, and insomnia - Develop productive habits to achieve your goals concretely - The main cause of overthinking, and how to solve it immediately - The Powerful 15-minute routine for quick anxiety reduction - The emergency process of regaining control of your mind, even if you don''t think you can. - And much more... Nowadays, it is easy to be overwhelmed by so many worries... But the truth is that the sooner you start learning how to manage your mind, the sooner you will be able to regain control of your life without stress and other consequences that can become quite concerning. ★ Scroll up, click on "Buy Now with 1-Click", and Get Your Copy Now! ★

Fantasy Football Unleashed: 55 Tips, Tricks, & Ways to Win at Fantasy Football brings you the manifold wisdom of the #1 Fantasy Football Podcast in the country. Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright host The Fantasy Footballers Podcast and after more than half a decade dispensing award-winning fantasy football wisdom, they bring you this quick hitting, informative, and league-winning guide to taking the next step in your fantasy football league and becoming a year in and year out winner in 2020. The Fantasy Footballers have won 30+ industry and podcasting awards, including "Best Sports Podcast" from iHeartRadio. They''re the only fantasy football entity to finish in the top 10 in accuracy for three consecutive seasons, and are known for their holistic approach to fantasy football, witty banter, and one of the most dedicated followings in the industry. Fantasy Football is so much more than stats and analytics, it''s also about decision making. How do you dominate in YOUR league type, with YOUR leaguemates, each and every season. This book distills five-plus years of tips, tricks, and fantasy football advice into an easy to consume and easy to digest form. Dominate your league in 2020.

New open innovation initiatives, such as accelerators, living labs, social innovation labs and open labs, involve for-profit and not-for-profit actors working closely together to co-create both business value and societal impacts. However, there is a lack of theoretical underpinning to understand how and why co-creation by actors generate different types of social value in the concurrent pursuit of business and social value. Adopting an inductive case study approach, we find that different types of entrepreneurs who co-exploit co-identify opportunities for co-creation, generate potentially competing social and business values. We develop four propositions relating to how and why profit orientation and key resource contributions of entrepreneurs co-identifying an opportunity to co-create decide the nature of social value generated. We discuss avenues for future research and practical implications, underlying the importance of developing entrepreneurialism as ways to generate different social impacts through open innovation approaches, such as co-creation.