START-UP NATION : REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

START UP NATION
THE STORY OF ISRAEL'S ECONOMIC MIRACLE
BY DAN SENOR AND SAUL SINGER

ABOUT THE BOOK:

START-UP NATION addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel-- a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources-- produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK? With the savvy of foreign policy insiders, Senor and Singer examine the lessons of the country's adversity-driven culture, which flattens hierarchy and elevates informality-- all backed up by government policies focused on innovation. In a world where economies as diverse as Ireland, Singapore and Dubai have tried to re-create the "Israel effect", there are entrepreneurial lessons well worth noting. As America reboots its own economy and can-do spirit, there's never been a better time to look at this remarkable and resilient nation for some impressive, surprising clues. Dan Senor, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, has been on the front lines of policy, politics, and business in the Middle East. As a senior foreign policy advisor to the U.S. Government , he was one of the longest-serving civilian officials in Iraq. He has also served in Qatar and studied in Israel. Senor's pieces are frequently published by The Wall Street Journal. Saul Singer is the editorial editor of The Jerusalem Post, for which he writes a weekly column, and the author of Confronting Jihad: Israel's Struggle and the World after 9/11. Follow @saulsinger

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Dan Senor, adjunct senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, has been involved in policy, politics, and business in the Middle East. As a senior foreign policy adviser to the U.S. government, he was one of the longest-serving civilian officials in Iraq, for which he was awarded the highest civilian honor by the Pentagon. He also served as a Pentagon adviser to Central Command in Qatar and as a foreign policy and communications adviser in the U.S. Senate. He has studied in Israel and at Harvard Business School and has traveled extensively throughout the Arab world. In his business career, he has invested in a number of Israeli and American start-ups, and today is with a New York-based global investment fund. Senor’s analytical pieces are frequently published by the Wall Street Journal; he has also written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Weekly Standard, and Time. Mr. Senor lives in New York City with his wife and two sons.

Saul Singer is a columnist and former editorial page editor at The Jerusalem Post. Historian Michael Oren called his book Confronting Jihad: Israel's Struggle and the World After 9/11. "...mandatory reading for anyone, layman or expert, interested in the Middle East." He has written for the Wall Street Journal, Commentary, Moment, the New Leader, bitterlemons.org (an Israeli/Palestinian e-zine), and the Washington Post's international blog, "PostGlobal". Before moving to Israel in 1994, he served as an adviser in the United States Congress to the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Banking Committees. Mr. Singer lives in Jerusalem with his wife and three daughters.

REVIEW:

The title of this book START-UP NATION is truly the story of Israel's economic miracle. However, it is no miracle but rather shrewd, sharp decisions and training and a spirit to make sure they do not appear weak to anyone else in the world. It is a fascinating book that I never thought I'd even open the cover but once I did, I didn't close it. Israel has come to be such a leader in high tech start-up companies that it is phenomenal. The book explains how this happens and what are the historical and cultural influences that lead so many Israelis to go after the job of being an entrepreneur and starting a company AND making it successful.

This is a country that embraces people who question authority---making them thinkers and resulting in doers! They have a risk seeking mentality and behavior that affords them a way to make something of themselves when in other places, it would not be possible.

The young people of Israel go straight into the military and THEN come back and go to college. These contacts they make in the military are valuable to social networking when they are in the real world later on. Unlike in America where returning soldiers are not looked upon as an advantage, these young people are. Their year in the military afford them leadership, management, and military skills that allow them to leave their university experience and at 25 years of age they are more than ready to lead and get high paying jobs in major companies. How a small country that is surrounded by enemies and cut off from major ports is leading the way economically and able to do so much commercially is truly a miracle.

In Israel we find the highest concentration of more global venture capital than anywhere else including twice that of the United States. While they are a country at war, they are still producing amazing economic successes. Their survivor mentality has a lot to do with this. One example talked about how during the Gulf War when they were being bombed and told to put on gas masks and stay home or in shelters, they instead put on the masks and went to work rather than show the rest of the economic leaders in the world that they were weak. All the economic leaders of the world, including the United States need to take a look at the exemplary leadership and commercial success from this tiny, at war nation. It is no miracle, it is genius, will, and hard work!

THE GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO VALERIE AND THE
HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, I HAVE
5 COPIES OF THIS AMAZING BOOK
TO GIVE AWAY. HERE IS WHAT YOU
NEED TO DO TO WIN A COPY!

RULES:

--U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: Comment on how you feel about what this book is saying about the economics

+1 MORE ENTRY: Blog or Tweet about this giveaway and leave link in your comment!

+1 MORE ENTRY: Follow on Google Connect (see left hand sidebar) or tell me how you do follow

+1 MORE ENTRY: If you subscribe through email now that I FINALLY have it installed for my readers to use, you may comment here for another entry.

PLEASE NOTE THE NICE COMMENT FROM AUTHOR SAUL SINGER WHERE HE SAID, "Thanks, Bingo, for posting our book!
If your readers want more info they can see us at
http://www.startupnationbook.com/ and
http://www.facebook.com/startupnationbook
or on twitter
@dansenor
@saulsinger
All the best,
Saul Singer (speaking for Dan, too!)
THANKS, SAUL...AND HOPE YOU ALL WILL CLICK ON SOME OF THEIR LINKS!

DEADLINE TO ENTER IS
6 PM, EST, DECEMBER 12