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

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.

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.

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 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.

Private equity has grown rapidly over the last three decades, yet largely remains poorly understood. 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.

“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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This case study examines the motivations and barriers to small firm internationalization. The entrepreneurs human and reputational capital, experience and knowledge are leveraged to address barriers. An e-business platform strategy is illustrated. At a secondary level, the case also demonstrates the challenges inherent in revitalizing family businesses over generations of ownership.