Customer Reviews

Standing in the Rain: Understanding, surviving and thriving in the worst financial storm since the Great Depression

5 star:		(10)
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Tom Powell has written the perfect book for the layperson who really wants to understand the genesis of the current financial crisis, the implications on your life and how to prosper in this tough time (my favorite part!). The book is an interesting and easy read as Tom has included many examples, analogies and relevant stories to educate the reader. As someone who never took an economics course, this book helped me to make sense of the current financial struggle. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for some sage advice about actions to take now to create a positive outcome for the future.

If you think reading a book about the current financial crisis must be boring and confusing you would be wrong about Standing In The Rain. I actually enjoyed reading this book. Not only that I understood it. Mr. Powell has a tremendous ability to take complex information and make it clear and easy to understand. It would be nice if text books were written in this manner. Beyond the factual information the author shines a light for each business owner and individual to clear a path, move forward and steer your way through this storm.

Let me be honest...I know Tom so not only am I "rating" his book, which is great, but I'm cluing you in to Tom. I think he might be one of the next important financial minds to follow and pay attention to. Standing In the Rain is just one example. Read it and see for yourself. Who cares about how we got here...it's about how we get out!

I've read several books on this topic, but this is the only book I've found analyzes how the financial crisis is likely to affect each State in the US. Understanding the crisis at a national level is fine, but what most people need to know is "How is this likely to affect me where I live?". This book first explains the financial crisis on a national level, but then goes into a State-by-State analysis. As someone who owns real estate in five States, this made the book much more useful to me.

Fantastic explaination and insight into what's happening in our current financial climate and how we ended up here. An absolute must-read for those who want to understand what's going on and who are interested in moving forward. His sense of humor and emphasis on solution are greatly appreciated when so many others are preaching only doom and gloom, and the resources he's included will help everyone, not just the already financially savvy, to get moving and capitalize on the resources we are still all so rich in....

Thomas Powell has a very unique perspective on what got us all in this mess. Ahhh... if we could turn back the clock and read this first. Some great insights on where it's going and what we need to be doing about it. As a business owner, its important that I pull my head out of the sand and plan accordingly. Highly recommended read.

Standing in the Rain is a book that must be read now within it's current time context. The information, while spot on and at times humorous, is certainly perishible as time will pull us out of this curent market. Mr. Powell is knowledgeable, obviously well read himself, a student of history, and somewhat predictive of the future. It is intersting to note his background is from the mortgage industry, one of the (but certainly not the singular) kingpins of the current economy debacle. A good read - a quick read - a timely read, but not cetain it will stand up as time moves us forward to yet other crises. Very enjoyable.

In his book, Standing in the Rain, author Tom Powell provides a good summary of what went wrong with our economy and offers some constructive suggestions of what investors and businesses should do in the midst or recession. I found his analysis on businss advertising very insightful. He reminds us that smart businesses should continue to spend money on advertising when revenues are down, as market share gains are made by those who get their message and branding out there in tough times. Highly recommended for those who want a fairly easy and lively read on a complex and depressing subject. Standing in the Rain: Understanding, surviving and thriving in the worst financial storm since the Great Depression

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I have been reading a number of financial-type books in the past 6 months and I have found many of them to be dry and lacking perspective. Powell's style of writing coupled with the research made for an insightful, informative read. One other thing I enjoyed about this book was its lack of jargon. The writing was clear and the perspective offered was different than many books I have recently read. I recommend this book for anyone interested in the current economic climate and how it relates to the past (and the future).

Tom Powell presents well-organized, compelling, and timely arguments about various facets of the current global challenges in the economy. This book delivers on its promise to "...raise awareness". As somebody who knows just enough about economic theory to get into trouble, or at least enough to hold a heated discussion, I can really see how Powell connects the dots between past economic challenges and the ones we currently face. This is a great book for anyone who wants to understand how the various players in the economy (homebuyers, lenders, hedge fund managers, Wall Street, rating agencies, and underwriters to name a few) contributed to the current state of the economy. Although this book can easily be understood by the layperson, it is an especially rewarding read to anyone with some interest in how economics collides with culture and globalization in a milieu of micro and macro economic forces. Powell is able to carefully craft his reasoning on causality without sounding biased and rather than leaving you with a morbid ending he weaves in a concluding point and message, "...to persuade you to continue to live your life despite the onslaught of financial news". An outstanding message. I highly recommend this book!