Reference Reviews

Lawrence Looks at Books

Personal Finance: A Guide to Money and Business, edited by Stephanie Schwartz Driver. 224p. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish, 2010. 978-0-7614-7909-3; 2009-9461. $99.90.

This guide to money and business introduces students to the financial issues that will most affect their lives. The scope includes household finance, personal employment, economic trends and entrepreneurship. Thus, the 48 expert-written entries cover budgets, credit cards and home mortgages as well as job hunting, inflation and contracts. From bankruptcy and business plans to unemployment and venture capital, each essay explains basic financial concepts and their impact on everyday life. Beyond the household, the issues affecting small business receive special attention with examinations of innovation, inventory, product development and pricing. Numerous sidebars, graphs, charts and photographs illustrate types of mortgages, interest yields, economies of scale, the value of the minimum wage and other related ideas. The information presented is based in part upon the multivolume Business and Industry (Marshall Cavendish, 2003) edited by William R. Childs, with examples and figures sometimes updated through the fall of 2008. Citations in each article direct students to current web resources for further research. A brief glossary defines more than 80 financial terms for the reader. While owners of Business and Industry will find most topics covered in the larger set, this more focused volume provides students with a manageable guide to personal fiscal responsibility. This title is recommended for high school and young adult collections.