Trends, Waves, Windows & Bubbles by Kenneth J. Thurber is a business and finance book that gives readers an insight into how the business world works while also teaching readers the skills they need in order to spot a trend, ride a wave, take the opportunity when a window opens, and how to be prepared for the bubble’s burst. As anticipated by the title, the book is divided in four parts focusing on each term, and then each part has ten subsequent chapters that follow the same structure. Some of the topics are: the definition of the term, the importance of timing, problems that might occur, the decline and the reinvention of the trend, with similar content for the wave, window, and bubble, followed by an epilogue that summarises the contents of the book.

Trends, Waves, Windows & Bubbles is enjoyable to read, jargon free, and clearly written. Even though the obvious target would seem to be people in business, investors, inventors, and people that are considering starting a business, anyone can benefit from reading this book as it explains some of the most known trends from today, from social media to the use of phone apps and computer programmes. The book is packed with examples from the technological world, making it easy to understand and giving an insight into how the top businesses that we all know actually succeeded and managed to stay afloat despite the economic challenges in recent years. Overall, it is an informative book that can be consulted every time one needs, not just people in business but anyone who wants to enrich their knowledge in what it can be seen as popular culture.

Trends Waves Windows & Bubbles is a very informative book outlining the evolution of products and their resulting sales quota. Products are essentially the end result of ideas. For example, an inventor would have conceptualized the need for a word processor. In years to come, another inventor tried to match this and came up with a much smaller and cheaper version – the personal computer. Mr. Thurber further revealed that trends are in fact extensions of creative ideas. Trends can be positive or detrimental to businesses in terms of sales. Mr. Thurber also explained that as opportunities develop for products to be launched, these opportunities or windows represent this new phase. One example of this is that an investor might see the need to pump some money into the production of a particular product. However, sometimes many products that are similar can create a surplus on the market. This in turn can lead to a loss of income or demand for a product. According to Mr. Thurber, this resembles a bubble that has burst.

Mr. Thurber has done a good job in describing the business of supply and demand. His analogy to water and sea imagery is very effective in getting his point across. I also like the darker background of a few of the chapters. This encourages you to continue reading. The references to well known businesses like Google and IBM are well placed. This, along with the insertion of graphs showing the demand for particular products, makes the book more relevant to the reader. If the reader is up to date with current trends, this book is a very interesting read. I am impressed with the amount of research that Mr. Thurber has done. The photographs of the CPT 8000 series machine and the 1965 data processing plant really portray how far technology has advanced. It is unbelievable that nowadays a tablet is so light when compared to the CPT 8000 machine! Trends Waves Windows & Bubbles is not for everyone. It is geared towards readers who seek knowledge about things that are technologically oriented.

What are trends, waves, windows, and bubbles, and how exactly are they going to help you change your life? Well, that is the exact question that Kenneth J. Thurber answers. This is the third book in his series, geared towards understanding technology, finance, and business. How do ideas turn into products which turn into profit? How can you understand the process in a way which can help you capitalize on the trends, waves, windows, etc and use them to your advantage in order to get ahead?

Trends, Wave, Windows, and Bubbles is a very helpful book which takes a hard look at how to get technology from the research lab into products that we see and use every day. Though not for the faint of heart, or the average leisurely reader, this book is not that hard to understand if you are interested in the subject. In this book, we are looking more closely at how to identify waves. It would definitely help if you have a working understanding of what Thurber is teaching, and it will most certainly benefit you to read his other two books beforehand. I liked how you could really envision yourself being able to spot a wave that has been created by others, and utilize your discovery to maximize on your profit. This is for those readers who clearly understand the finance and business industries. The structure of the book was great and very helpful to me, the novice entrepreneur. One part of the book was set up for each issue, and then Thurber would thoroughly dissect each issue from the top down in order to reveal the hidden ideas for growth and prosperity.

Reviewed by Kathryn Bennett for Readers' Favorite

Trends, Waves, Windows & Bubbles by Kenneth J. Thurber, PhD., examines technology and how it moves from the research lab into products that we can use in our everyday lives. It is the third book in a series, the first two being, Big Wave Surfing and Do Not Invent Buggy Whips. The book examines how some can make waves in technology and others do not and how profit can be garnered from finding a wave. This was a very interesting read for me that took technology and the technology business and explained it.

When I first picked up the book, I expected to read a lot of terms and processes that I couldn’t understand because I am not in the technology field. However, that was not the case. Kenneth J. Thurber has created a style in his writing that explains the complex content of his subject matter in terms that are easy to understand, but are still relevant to the topic. I was very interested in finding out how you can spot trends and the effect that bubbles have on overall business practices. I have heard the term 'bubble' for a long time, but didn’t really know what it meant until now. Whether you are actually in the industry and want to learn how to spot trends better, or are more like me and are curious and thinking of maybe getting your feet wet in the fields, this is a must-read. It explains the process and shows you how to accurately get in on the technology waves that change our lives.