Customer Reviews:
Great Gift for Poker Lover.......2007-09-20
I got this for my husband and he hasn't stopped reading it. He will only pause to tell me something he thinks I might want to hear. 8-) I'm not a poker person, but with all the Poker on TV that I've seen (because of my husband) and listening to him endlessly talk about it, I think if these books have kept his attention the way they have, they must be good.
I don't know if that helps you but knowing my hubby, anything that pulls him away from playing poker must be good.
they look great, fun and easy to read.......2007-09-18
As I said, this set looks great on my "poker books shelf" :) But aside that, it's a great read. Even the black book with many interesting details about poker. Green book is well written but my favorite is the blue book. It was so valuable to me to have a free ride threw profesional's poker mind. Highly recommend it.
Good Easy Reading.......2007-09-06
Have read 1st two books, and took a 3rd & 5th in tournments, can't wait to finish last book!!
Great poker books!.......2007-07-24
I have read 15-20 poker booksa and these are among the best I have read in a long time. Phil's dedication to the game and his committment to keep learning is well communicated in an easy to read style. It keeps you entertained and makes you feel ready to be more aggressive with a better understanding of what winning poker is about.
EXCELLENT.......2007-05-07
EXCELLENT trio of books for novice to expert. Phil does a great job of explaining as well as challanging you to think. your game will definately improve after this book. Put it together with Dan Harringtons 3 books and you can't find a better poker combo period. 2 contrasting style of players but overall the same message. Just a great trio of books.
Book Description
One of the most charming and beloved of the surrealists, René Magritte took a light, witty paintbrush and created a world both familiar and not--but always recognizable in our dreams. His plays on semiotics, identity, the idea of woman, the possibilities inherent in objects, and the idea that everything was not necessarily what it seemed--or what it was supposed to be--are celebrated here in an exceptionally charming limited edition. The Blue Box is done up like a handsome book, complete with a leather-bound spine and a bas-relief frontispiece that plays the painting-of-a window-within-a-window trick. Inside is a stash of goodies, each arranged in a separate portfolio. The first contains three original etchings by Magritte, numbered and signed and stamped by the Magritte estate; next is a five-piece full-size reproduction on canvas of The Eternally Obvious, a woman split into as many parts; and last are eight reproductions each of the gouaches The Pig's Beer and Horse Preserve, printed on adhesive paper and meant to be stuck on to bottles just like the originals were. Also included is the hardback edition of Magritte, the catalogue for the Jeu de Paume exhibit (published by D.A.P. in spring 2003). Edited by Daniel Abadie.~Essays by Renilde Hammacher, Michel Butor, Patrick Roegiers, Jean Roudaut, Bernard Noël and Jean-Michel Goutier. Slipcased, 12 x 14.5 in./304 pgs / 291 color 70 BW0 duotone 12 3 B&W etchings, 5 canvas, 4 adhesive color prints~ Item D20365
Book Description
The Nineteen-Eighties; as we enter the Age of the Personal Computer, the newborn 'Internet' spreads across America, and the computer invasion enters our homes. Across the technological frontier, an incredible war begins between the criminals and their savvy opponents. A brilliant young programmer, a beautiful college student, and a mysterious hacker known only as 'The Doctor' join forces to combat an electronic threat fallen into the hands of a notorious computer outlaw. Respected computer journalist Charles 'Chick' Peters was an eyewitness as these unlikely heroes fought their hi-tech skirmishes across the nation's vunerable capital - and inside the world of the computer. Blue Box is the compelling true story of a secret computer project that could literally change the way you think.
Customer Reviews:
Read it While Listening to Flock of Seagulls.......2006-03-30
Though "Blue Box" doesn't qualify as one of my favorite "Doctor Who" novels, I must admit that it was quite fun to read. Kate Orman does a wonderful job of helping the reader visualize Colin Baker's sixth incarnation of the good Doctor. He was probably the cockiest of the past Doctors. He was definitely a brash character, and Orman has this nailed. Her development of Peri is very good as well.
The story plops the Doctor and Peri at the dawning of the Internet. It also lands the alien Eridani and a few of their toys in the early 80's as well. As usual, these toys may prove to be lethal to humanity unless the Doctor can somehow manage to stop them. Of course, the Eridani aren't the enemy here. That role is given to one Sarah Swan. She's a ruthless telephone/computer fanatic who prefers to battle her enemies through modern 80's communications and computers. She happens upon a couple of the Eridani's toys and becomes entranced by them. She just might destroy the world and not even know it.
The story rolls along at a brisk pace and while others have complained that the constant hacking and running gets a little dull, I found that Orman did a nice job of pacing these two aspects of the story very well. The ending could have been a tad better, but it suffices.
In short, if you enjoyed the Colin Baker years of "Doctor Who" and his companion, Peri, you're sure to enjoy this offering from Kate Orman.
Highly recommended.
A boring, pointless run around.......2004-07-15
A `Road movie' - a very boring `Road movie'.
The Doctor and companions attempt to hack a computer from one location, get caught, escape, move to a new location, attempt to hack a computer, get caught, escape, move to a new location, attempt to hack a computer, get caught, escape, move to a new location...... ad nauseum.
The whole book seemed to be stuck in `Doctor Who episode 3 land' - lots of padding and lots of runing up and down corridors. In fact this story felt like the characters were pointlessly running up and down corridors for the full 4 episodes. Bizarrely for a story which physically covered so much ground, Blue Box ultimately went no-where.
I can just picture the writer deciding that setting a novel in the early years of the internet would be a good idea, being unable to think of a plot, then going ahead and writing the book anyway.
From the outside Blue Box has all the mystery and allure of a fully-functional Tardis, but one peek inside reveals it's just a flat, hollow, BBC prop.
A sub-par effort from one of Who's best novelists.......2004-06-19
Kate Orman is one of the premiere Doctor Who writers today, along with Lance Parkin. When I pick up a book with her name on it, especially a Doctor Who book, I know it's going to be special. She can adapt her style to whatever story she wants to tell. However, she's always written for the "new" Doctor, never a Past Doctor. So when I heard that she was writing a Sixth Doctor book, I was intrigued. When I was finally able to get it, I snapped it up. Blue Box demonstrates once again that Orman has a way with characterization that makes the author-wannabe in me cry. She's captured the regulars almost to a T. The problem is that the book...well, it's a bit dull, actually.
No sooner do the Doctor and Peri land in Washington DC in 1981, then the Doctor just disappears. Peri searches for a while, and then goes to a hotel room to wait for him (thankfully, the Doctor has a seemingly infinite line of credit, something I'm very envious of). When the Doctor finally gets ahold of her, he asks her to track down Bob Salmon, a computer hacker who helped him out. Together with an intrepid computer reporter, the Doctor and friends are trying to track down pieces of a valuable artifact, an alien device that could spell the world's doom if it falls into the wrong hands, hands like those of Sarah Swan. Swan is the ultimate hacker, not caring about world domination, but instead craving the power that computers will have over everybody. To Swan, this will be the ultimate computer, and will allow her to do anything she wants. That's not something the Doctor can allow. Blue Box is the story of the history of computers and hacking, and what one woman almost did to bring it all under one thumb.
Techno-thrillers are all the rage right now, but most of them are on the cutting edge, with fancy gadgets and computer power that makes something the size of a fingernail be able to run the world's computers. Blue Box isn't like that, though. It's the dawn of the computer age and the Internet, when only 200 computers were on the Net. The Doctor and Salmon do their hacking on an Apple II, for goodness sake! Orman has all the lingo down pat, pointing out how bulky the computers are, how slow they were. One of the benefits of setting the book in the past is that you can have the characters make a lot of "predictions" and you get to choose how far off-base they are. Orman seems to have a blast with this, with Salmon talking about how one day people will be ordering pizza online, and how you can't have the general public on the Net or it will go completely down the tubes.
Orman's characterizations are wonderful, especially the Doctor and Peri's. Peri's having a crisis of conscience, wondering what her place with the Doctor really is. She's completely out of her element in this environment, not knowing anything about computers. It gets incredibly boring watching him hack away at the keyboard, and she jumps at any chance to actually do something. The book seems to take place right at the junction between the two television seasons that featured Peri, as they still bicker like a married couple but it's not as harsh as it was in their first season together. The second season seemed to have wiped most of it away, which was too abrupt a change. Here, they have their tiffs but you can see the underlying friendship beneath the whole thing.
There are two major problems with the book, though. The first is the dullness. There's only so much excitement to be had out of people talking to each other on computers, threatening each other on computers, and breaking into people's computers. Orman tries to put some action into it, and there is the usual exciting climax, but much of the book consists of somebody typing away at somebody else. This can be effecting in character studies or books about relationships, but in a Doctor Who book it just falls flat. Orman tries gamely with the characterizations, but I had to plow through the boring parts to get to the good ones.
One other major problem is something I have never seen from Orman before, and that's sloppiness. The book is told as if it's an expose by a journalist. Yet there are scenes that there is no way the narrator could have seen. Perhaps some of it is "fictionalized," but even if that's the case, there are some perspective changes that don't match the style. When Swan is cursing the reporter out in her mind on page 254, he keeps referring to himself in the third person. It was quite strange. Even worse then this, though, is the sloppiness as far as where people are in relation to the story. There's one sequence where the Doctor's supposed to be alone, and we know where Peri and Bob are (back at the reporter's apartment). Yet it then says "Behind the Doctor, Peri and Bob were wincing." While I can't place any other specific incidents of this, I did get that feeling a couple of other times as well. It's almost like she wasn't quite paying attention, or perhaps something changed and she forgot to go back and erase all of the tracks.
The characterizations are what bring this book up to the level that I'm putting it. If they weren't spot-on, this would easily be a 3-star book. Because of them, however, I'm bumping it up to four. It's still one of the weakest books I've seen from Orman, though. Here's hoping her next one will be up to her usual level.
David Roy
Wonderful trip down memory lane!.......2004-05-05
This is the second Doctor Who novel I've read that wasn't a novelization of the TV series, the first being "Strange England" by Simon Messingham. I'm not sure how or why, but so far I've found these Doctor Who novels to generate a suspense that other media-tie-ins like Star Trek or Buffy have never been able to give me. In all cases, the reader pretty much knows who will come out all right in the end (no pun intended there, by the way--despite my love of punmanship that's even bad for *me!*), but there's still a great deal of excitement and edge-of-the-seat thrills to be had.
This book is a real treat for two categories of people: a) people who grew up in the early-to-mid '80s, and b) people who used computers back then, particularly Apple II. There are all kinds of references in this book, even down to the unnamed cartoon-themed pizza parlor where we first see the Doctor and Peri. (Wonder if Chuck E Cheez bears any resemblance now to how it was back then?)
My one complaint about this book is that it almost seems to have been written for the *Fourth* Doctor and Peri. There are allusions made to the fact that the Doctor and Peri bicker constantly, but we never see much of it. Despite things that were said in the narrative, when I heard the Doctor's dialogue in my head, I kept hearing Peter Davisson's voice; the lines seemed like things that Doctor would have said. Still, I'm a fairly new babe in the world of the Doctor, so perhaps I've just not been exposed to enough of the Fifth Doctor. All I know is, he's generally my favorite and I just expected more sparks to fly between Peri and him.
Average customer rating:
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Amalia Amaki: Boxes, Buttons, And the Blues
Andrea D. Barnwell ,
Gloria Wade Gayles , and
Leslie King-Hammond
Manufacturer: National Museum of Women in the Arts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 African American
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Betye Saar: Extending the Frozen Moment
ASIN: 0295985410 |
Book Description
For more than three decades, Amalia Amaki has garnered critical acclaim for works that examine the beauty, music, experience, and contributions of African Americans. This volume brings together her photographs, quilts, souvenir fans, and mixed-media works. Incorporating fabric, beads, pearls, buttons, paint, glitter, and photographs with cultural symbols and visual puns, Amaki challenges and reconfigures American history in original and meaningful ways. Her artwork examines the breadth and overarching significance of heritage and American culture. This book focuses on the legacies of race and gender in the United States, contests one-dimensional ideas about black life, and debunks mainstream beliefs about African Americans.
"My Funny Valentine" focuses on Amaki's candy boxes - a group of seemingly edible mixed media works made of buttons - that serve as metaphors for African Americans and love, and how it has historically been overlooked, misunderstood, and undervalued. "Wild Women Don't Wear No Blues," focuses on Amaki's signature series of quilts and fans that emphasize her ongoing fascination with African American women who sing the blues. "Your Blues Ain't Like Mine" features Amaki's most reflective works to date, recent mixed-media works that call attention to the ways that black life has traditionally been commodified and transported.
Customer Reviews:
Not postcards...but greeting cards!.......2006-07-11
Don't let the reviews fool you.... I figured I was getting a paperback book with tear-out postcards in it...hence, the lower price. Instead, it's a box of the same images on greeting cards. They're nice if greeting cards are what you want...but if you want postcards skip the Yellow Art Box! (Edit: I notice this review has also been posted to the Blue Art Box product. But I did not order that and therefore cannot review it. These comments are for the the Yellow Art Box only.)
What a fabulous idea!.......2005-04-13
The art book to which this product is related, is really quite fantastic. A simple, accessible and dymystifying look at the art world and artistic styles and movements which gives glorious little representations of the works on offer and wise words which avoid art world snobbery.
This is a box of post cards based on the book which allows the images you loved in the book to be portable, artisticly usable and sharable. Use as for notelets, celebrations or to brighten up a dull room,Delightful!
Not a book, but a great gift--especially for yourself.......2000-07-17
These postcards come from Phaidon's amazing coffee table book "The Art Book." The reproductions are beautiful, and the cards of very tough quality stock. I use them as writing prompts in workshops, but they are also just beautiful as postcards or even for decoration. You will not be disappointed.
If you like The Art Book, you can share your pleasure.......2000-04-03
You know The Art Book. Everybody does it. Well: this is a selection of postcards from that book: you can send them to your friends, or just make little pretty gifts. Very nice.
Product Description
Box set of six trade paperbacks on stress in the workplace : 1) Blue-Collar Stress (ISBN 0-201-07688-8) 2) Preventing Work Stress (ISBN 0-201-4317-3) 3) Work Stress and Social Support (ISBN 0-201-03101-9) 4)Work Stress (ISBN 0-201-04592-3) 5) Management Stress (ISBN 0-201-05050-1) 6) Managing Stress (ISBN 0-201-08299-3)
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Adventures in Art with Blue (Paint Box Book)
Golden Books
Manufacturer: Golden Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0307299600
Release Date: 2002-08-06 |
Book Description
Kids will use crayons and paints to create their very own art show and solve Blue’s Clues!
Book Description
An acclaimed nature writer and environmentalist delivers an eloquent and provocative pro-hunting exploration of the primal impulse to hunt and its endangered value in modern society.
Customer Reviews:
The 22 Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness.......2006-11-04
This was a wonderful insiteful book. Easy to pick up and read and think about each law. Very comprehensive. Covered catagories that I would never considered as part of wellness.
Inspirational & Enlightening.......2005-03-25
Upon reading the first few paragraghs of this book, I knew it would be special. Anderson focuses on the holistic approach to living well. Laws such as being personally responsible for ourselves is especially relevent is these days where everyone claims to be a victim of something or another. The Law of Esprit: Realize that each day is a gift. The Law of Minimal Medical Invasiveness: You are the most important person on your medical team, not your doctor or anyone else. Take care of your health. The list goes on. Go ahead and buy this book; you will not be disappointed.
Laws you can actually live by.......2002-04-30
Greg Anderson's laws of wellness are not just words but actual laws you can live by. Each one can be applied to our own lives. I especially liked the the first law - the law of Esprit - the joy you feel is life! How true! I bought this book in 1998 and have read it several times. Yes, sometimes I need reminders on how I should be living. Excellent book.
I read this book four years ago or so...........2001-05-17
I don't even remember the details of why i liked this book so much, but I can tell you the way it made me feel. Maybe this was the first book that inspired me, or made me pick Psychology as my major. Maybe it was the fact it showed me that cancer survivors can live normal lives or it taught me about mind over matter.. it was such a long time ago but I know that I remembered this book---its like you see a good movie or read a book that makes you feel like you can acomplish anything! that's what this book did for me.
Laws to live by.......2001-01-21
The author has personally recovered from cancer ( near death - just30 days to live), by living the laws, he suggests others to live by. The key passage is in chapter 19 where he discusses how he discovered the law of forgiveness and applied it in his case. Similarly the law of unity is an important observation. We are body,mind and spirit. The book is easy to read. He uses no jargons. He also emphasises how these laws are connected to each other.
Customer Reviews:
To Guarendi, discipline = punishment only.......2007-09-06
This book was given to me, so I read through it and quickly realized it was not for my husband and I. Our personal philosophy is that discipline means "instruction" or "training," which doesn't necessarily have to be synonymous with "punishment." Only once in Guarendi's book did I see the word discipline used to mean "self-control;" the other times, the word was used as a synonym for punishment -- why not just say "punish" instead?
I was especially disturbed by his "rules for a fair fight" with regard to sibling squabbles. Basically, punish your kids for telling you about a problem (that's "tattling"), punish all kids involved in a squabble equally...unless they can keep their discord out of your hearing range, in which case you will ignore it. My parents used the same "technique" and my sister and I learned to fight, threaten and manipulate to "resolve" conflict. We also learned that starting a fight was a great way to "punish" each other (as long as we didn't mind getting some ourselves) since mom/dad would swoop in and mete out punishment to all. How are children supposed to learn how to reach resolution and compromise if their parents do not teach them?
For parents who take a primarily punitive approach to discipline, this book will give you confidence in your methods. For those who think teaching discipline means teaching (and modeling) self-control and who want to guide their children to respect others and resolve conflict by practicing making good choices, I'd recommend checking out Dr. Becky Bailey's Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline: The 7 Basic Skills for Turning Conflict into Cooperation.
Full of common sense.......2007-07-07
I became familiar with Dr. Guarendi through several mothering and homeschooling books....he's great. The aspect that struck me as most interesting is how many of the "experts" give us advice that actually produces the problems we wish to avoid! And he doesn't just say this....you get real-life experiences that just about anyone can relate to. I was nodding my head all the way through, realizing I had seen such things time and again in the past. As with his book "Discipline That Lasts a Lifetime", Dr. Guarendi shows that the only thing you really need in parenting is plain old common sense.
How to create harmony in your family.......2006-03-15
I purchased this book after watching Dr. Guarendi give an interview on EWTN. I realized that even though I am a fairly consistent parent, I could work at it a little more. Once I read the book, I was shocked and chagrined to discover I was less consistent than I thought, and the main reason we had so much discord with one of our children stemmed from my refusing to completely take authority. This author believes in parental authority exercised in love, and I have to tell you that his ideas worked for us. My "problem" child is still spirited, but she also listens to me now, and close family agree that she's more pleasant to be around and even happier. As the author predicted, at first we had to discipline constantly (and this wasn't spanking for those who are worried about that), but now that she knows we mean business, we discipline less often than before we read this book, and with better results. For us, this book has been a lifesaver, and compared to many of the cases from his practice that Dr. Guarendi shares, our problems were really mild! If you want to be a *more* loving parent who can discipline effectively and consistently and calmly, get this book, read it, and then implement the ideas.
Great Stuff!.......2005-01-05
I first learned about Dr. Ray from a friend who read this book. Since then, I have purchased every one of Dr. Ray's books and even downloaded his wonderful 13-part audio series from the EWTN web site (...)This book has helped me more in my parenting than any other that I have read, and I have read several. Dr. Ray gives you a no-nonsense approach based on his premise that the one thing parents of today need the most is confidence (at least the parents who are willing to read a book about parenting, that is). What makes this book stand out is that not only will it help you in rearing your child, it will also give you a new perspective when reading other parenting books.
Love it........2004-01-09
I love Dr Ray's common sense and sense of humor! Read it!
Book Description
Michael J. Mandel, chief economist of BUSINESSWEEK is the country's most passionate partisan for exuberant economic growth. In the mid-1990s, he was one of the first journalists to use the term "New Economy" to describe the fast-growing but volatile U.S. economy, supercharged by technology and finance. Mandel's understanding of the true underpinnings of the 1990s economy led to his prescient warning that the Internet bubble was about to burst, which he predicted in his book THE COMING INTERNET DEPRESSION.
Now Mandel is issuing another warning. Without exuberant, technology-driven growth, the U.S. economy will lack the firepower to solve its social problems. Without breakthrough innovations like the internal combustion engine or the Internet, the U.S. economy simply can't create enough jobs or wealth to provide for its citizenry.
Yet exuberant growth is stigmatized as immoral by some and bad public policy by others. And economists, surprisingly enough, are the biggest enemies of innovative, transformative growth. Mandel, a Ph.D. in economics himself, believes his colleagues in the dismal profession are a big part of the problem. Focusing on what he labels the single biggest failure in modern economics, Mandel blames NEW YORK TIMES columnist Paul Krugman, Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, and Greg Mankiw, President Bush's head of the Council of Economic Advisers, for misleading generations of students and slanting public policy against scientific innovation.
Lively, opinionated, and controversial, Mandel's thinking will serve as a rallying cry for the creation of a new political coalition dedicated to economic growth. He calls on Silicon Valley to take their case to Washington, and to shift the debate from arguing about trade and budget deficits to solutions, such as more support for research, start-ups, and workforce training. Mandel is sure to kick-start that debate.
Customer Reviews:
Some fine points, argued well. However, I think unrealistic in the upside.......2006-02-12
The author anticipates his naysayers. He is, after all, urging a kind of attitude towards rapid and continued growth that goes beyond current expectations, models, and infrastructure. He sees the boom and bubble of the nineties as a good thing and something more than something that burst from corruption and accounting malfeasance.
He comes up with an idea he calls a pulsating market. Mandel thinks we out to embrace the booms and their busts and thinks that the downside can be minimized while more of the upside can be captured on a permanent basis. He spends much of the book talking about areas for economic expansion that might provide opportunities for innovation and rapid economic growth. These include bio-medical, space, energy, telecom, and nanotechnology. I say, GOOD LUCK!
I cannot buy into the author's premise that the possibility of a new boom means that all we need to do is correct our attitude to make it so. The real world is not a sick Tinkerbell waiting for us to believe. Yes, there is a component of attitude and mass psychology. But there is more to the story than he really explains in the book. The railroads did speed the continental expansion, but a great many people lost a great deal of money (and a few made fortunes).
However, I do agree with him that government is used by those who benefit from the current infrastructure in order to suppress change and competition. Politicians and interested parities argue against innovation in the name of protecting jobs, keeping prices stable, and so forth. So, we could do more to promote growth by freeing the economy more. Yes, there would be more "creative destruction" to accompany the creative growth. But the artificial stability we have tried to enforce for decades only results in larger shocks and collapses. I prefer the more fluid and incremental (but more frequent) changes in a vibrant economy.
Mandel is not saying that his views would be unalloyed happiness for all. He is saying that more growth is achievable and much of what is holding us back is our low level of expectation and fear. While I don't agree with the picture he paints of the upside, I do agree with him that we should step forward with confidence and let things run more freely.
And I do agree with him that we need to make drastic changes in our educational establishment so the Education Bubble we have enjoyed for decades can continue to thrive (I don't really think it is a bubble, though). Our education establishment not only shows signs of decay, but of contributing negative effects to the economy. This cannot be allowed to stand, not matter the political power of those who want things to continue down the current deadly path.
Insightful critique of status quo economics.......2005-11-11
Agree with the thesis and conclusion or not, this book is a thought-provoking criticism of the modern state of economics. The argument is complete and well-formulated. Economists tend to suffer from a kind of 'group-think' phenomenon, where ideas aren't questioned to the same extent as they are in other fields. This book is a breath of fresh air to anyone weary of the everyday fallacies which plague economist's ideas about growth.
Irrational.......2005-10-14
The basic idea of this book is that to bring prosperity we should support increased spending on research, and not worry about the federal deficit. Mandel argues that economic growth comes from technological change, and that we should embrace that. There are many problems here. First, how should economic growth be defined and measured? Mandel admits this is a problem, but he never follows up. Mandel misses the fact that GDP (the usual measure for economic growth) is a statistic so inaccurate that concluding anything at all from its increases is nearly ridiculous. For example, GDP doesn't correct for costs of pollution or drawdown of natural resources. More accurate economic measures, such as the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) show that there has been almost no economic growth since the 1970s. So much for the great boom that technology has brought in the recent past, which Mandel makes so much of.
Mandel mentions several possible technologies as candidates for the Next Big Thing. In my opinion, Mandel wildly exaggerates the chances of success for these. I think that if our economy has reached the point where only a huge technological leap can save us, we're in trouble. We can't be certain that leap will come, or come when we need it. We'd be riding a tiger that we don't dare let go of.
Another problem Mandel misses is that due to widespread externalities, costs are not being transmitted correctly through the market. When we drive a car, we are not paying for the costs of climate change, or for the cost of building roads or parking lots. When we buy a computer, we're not paying for the hazardous waste its manufacture creates. Instead, those costs are being shoved off onto someone else. Externalities mean that the wrong technologies are being developed. If the externality problem isn't solved, new technologies are likely only to take the economy deeper into a hole.
What evidence is there that "economic growth" as Mandel describes it makes people happy or excited? Is the economic growth we're trying so hard to get really improving standards of living or making people better off? Most people I know are working a lot harder than their parents did, with less to show for it. Health care is stuck in a downward spiral of diminishing returns: vastly more money, health only slightly improved. The same could be said for many other parts of the economy.
As far as the deficit, I am just not convinced that it is unimportant. There are plenty of countries out there where fiscal irresponsibility has led to governmental collapse or civil war. Look at Argentina, for instance. I don't want that to happen here.
Mandel points out that economic growth would make it easier to do everything, from fighting poverty to saving Social Security. This is true, but it's like saying that a perpetual motion machine would solve our energy problems. It would, of course, except that it's impossible.
Mandel does have some good points. I agree that more support of research may be a good idea. However, we can't rely on it to save our civilization.
Mandel criticizes people like me as technophobic environmentalists. I'm not afraid of technology; but I see a lot of past technologies that haven't lived up to their billing. As far as I'm concerned, the technology that we really need to develop now is a more realistic economic science. America could be in the forefront of this.
Arguing for Faster Economic Growth through Innovation.......2004-08-05
This book makes a simple argument. First, economies need new technologies that are successful in order to grow more rapidly. Second, such more rapid growth benefits everyone if appropriate attention is paid to social and environmental risks of the new technology. Third, many people automatically oppose faster growth out of fear for the potential harm such growth can bring. Fourth, without a social consensus on seeking new technologies that can bring helpful innovations, there will be slower economic progress. Fifth, there seems to be enough potential for improvement in energy, nanotechnology, biotechnology, advanced forms of telecommunication (especially portable devices) and space, that one or more are likely to bear fruit if well pursued. Sixth, government needs to keep incentives in place to encourage investment in these ways and to create as large a Ph.D. workforce in advanced technologies as possible. Seventh, without such a focus, many college educated people will see their incomes either grow more slowly or decline in real terms.
There are some helpful sections in the book such as the evidence for the role that technological innovation seems to have played in the past. But most of the book seems to simply repeat the same argument in slightly different forms and from slightly different angles. As a result, I had a feeling like "Where's the beef?"
Economics is a poor platform to make this argument. Dr. Mandel tries to overcome that by pointing out the quality of life and "fun" aspects of faster technological growth. But in areas like medical research using biotechnology, he feels constrained to mostly look at the economic implications rather than the noneconomic benefits.
I also wondered how devoted people are in opposing technology. In the cases where opposition is strong (such as nuclear energy), the caution seems more than warranted. I felt like that part of the case was overstated.
He is also concerned that many more foreign students are getting technology Ph.D.'s in the United States. It's almost a protectionist sort of argument. U.S. based companies are full of Ph.D.'s who were born elsewhere, became educated here, and now live and work here.
I think he would have made better use of his time to write a magazine article with the evidence that he presents here. There isn't enough to justify a book based on his arguments.
But I like the book's title: Rational exuberance can be good for one and all.
I found the arguments unconvincing.......2004-06-06
This is a book where I agree with the main premise, but dislike many of the conclusions as well as the delivery. The main premise is that the periods of great technological change are times of great economic growth, which is something that is very hard to disagree with. From this, the author argues that all policies should favor the development of new technologies and takes a few shots at the people he thinks are opposed to such policies. Unfortunately, his arguments are shallow and unclear.
First and foremost, he neglects history. The onset of the industrial revolution was an era of great technological advancement and led to a dramatic increase in wealth. However, we cannot forget many of the consequences of this advancement. In England, it led to rapid loss of their forests and in the industrial regions, the air was so dirty from the smokestacks that people could barely see. I remember reading of an instance where a lengthy weather pattern that kept the pollution in an English city led to thousands of deaths. There is also a classic case in the United States where a river was so polluted that it actually caught fire. Therefore, some of those he classifies as enemies of growth are asking the very important questions that need to be asked concerning the consequences of technological improvements.
Mandel also derides those who preach against MASSIVE federal budget deficits. He quotes former secretary of commerce Peter Peterson, who said in 2003 "When such deficits are incurred in order to fund a rising transfer from young to old, they also constitute an injustice against further generations." Mandel's next sentence is "This is the language of morality, rather than economics. From this perspective, taking on debt is wrong because it reflects profligacy and wastefulness, and shows that the government is out of control." It is immoral to saddle the next generation with an enormous debt, so Mandel's statement is inappropriate in that area. I have listened to Pete Peterson argue against massive budget deficits for two decades and his point has always been in opposition to massive deficits that require large expenditures for interest payments and take capital away from the free markets, where it would be the most efficiently utilized.
Mandel then does a little bashing of former Senator William Proxmire, who regularly gave out Golden Fleece Awards for what he considered outrageous government spending. The classic example of the $600 toilet seat is mentioned. Mandel then states, "Unfortunately, this antiwaste, antidebt mind-set is inimical to innovation, which inevitably requires going down a lot of different dead-end roads before finding success. . . From the perspective of a deficit hawk, exuberant growth is intensely disturbing." This is simply not true, rapid economic growth does not disturb the deficit hawks, in fact they welcome it. What disturbs them is the unarguable fact that government spending is inherently wasteful. Mandel seems to believe that the only way new technologies develop is by throwing enormous amounts of money at them. The dot-com bubble and burst shows that this is nonsense. The Internet companies that survived the implosion were almost exclusively those that spent well within their means and were fairly conservative in their business plans. Also, many of the new technologies that are so highly praised in the book were developed on minimal budgets.
This book is little more than a collection of arguments in favor of massive federal budget deficits, cloaked in a nebulous mantra of "exuberant growth." I found very few of the arguments convincing, in many cases they deal with peoples beliefs taken out of context and inaccurately. To sum them up, his point is that if we are courageous enough to accept the right amount of debt, then enough new technologies will be developed to grow the economy into surplus. Mandel presents no conclusive evidence in support of this thesis, and extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I was also unimpressed with the subtitle of the book, as quite frankly he silences no one and while many people will raise legitimate concerns, few are really enemies of economic growth.
Product Description
* * * SET CONTAINS: (1) VHS VIDEO TAPE, (4) AUDIO CASSETTE TAPES & BOOK * * *
Average customer rating:
- Smack...I could have had a V-8!
- Blowing my mind
- WE ALL NEED TO KNOW THIS
- Must read!
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Better Off Than You Think: God's Astounding Opinion of You
Ralph Harris
Manufacturer: Evangel Publishing House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Self-Esteem
| Self-Help
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Christian Living
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
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| Books
General
| Theology
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
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| Books
General
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
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| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
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Inspirational
| Spirituality
| Religion & Spirituality
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ASIN: 1928915957 |
Product Description
Ralph Harris takes a refreshing look at God's opinion of you. He teaches you how to receive an accurate estimate of yourself from God instead of trying to drum up a healthy self-esteem in your own strength. Once you start believing the truth about yourself from God's perspective, your life will be transformed. It will free you to be truly alive and go forward with confidence and faith. Ralph shows you how you truly are much better off than you think.
Customer Reviews:
Smack...I could have had a V-8!.......2007-09-21
After walking the Christian road for some 40 years reading "Better Off Than You Think: God's Astounding Opinion of You" was like the current V-8 commercials. Smack: you've had life all this time! As I ponder what Ralph wrote and my walk with God I realize more each day how works oriented I am and how easy it is to become discouraged that I can NEVER measure up when all the time God gave me AND I HAVE Christ's Life which IS the measure I need. I have it all already! Accepted in God, clothed in His righteousness, Beloved of the Father...who me? I read it, think it but experiencing that kind of position on a day to day bases has often (more then I want to admit) eluded me. Now I have Ralph's words playing in my head to remind me of who I am and I am truly BETTER OFF THEN I THINK!
Blowing my mind.......2007-09-17
I am wiped out by this book. The exegesis is fabulous, the concepts are absolutely eye-popping. I am revolutionized by the teaching. The explanation of how the Spirit and the flesh war within us and our response to either influence is making my brain cells pop. It's so simple! It's so true! God's not mad at us! He isn't asking us to surrender or die or work until we're burnt out--He just wants us to act like His blood-bought, new creation children and make the choice of following the Spirit!
Plus--the author is humorous and the illustrations are just perfect. Don't miss this!
WE ALL NEED TO KNOW THIS.......2007-07-17
ENJOYABLE READING. LIFTED MY SPIRIT AS I READ ABOUT THE LORDS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE FOR ME JUST AS I AM. GOOD ADDITION TO MY LIBRARY. I WILL SHARE THIS BOOK! LIFE CAN BE DIFFICULT AND HARD ON US. IT WAS SO REFRESHING TO BE REMINDED THAT THE LORD LOVES ME RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW AND I DON'T HAVE TO
DO ANYTHING MORE THAN I AM DOING. HEY! I CAN DO THAT. :)Better Off Than You Think: God's Astounding Opinion of You
Must read!.......2007-06-20
Wow! This book is wonderful. It is a MUST read! The best book I've read in years.
Book Description
The story of everywoman's emotional and spiritual journey, helping her release stored up false hopes and preconceived notions by replacing them with the wonderful reality God is weaving into her life.
Every morning we face the day with a set of expectations about how things will or should be. Author Paula Rinehart says, "The oddest part about our mental images is that we don't know they are there until the video of our lives plays out in a different fashion." Offering a radical shift in perspective, Paula guides readers to a fresh discovery that the story of our lives may look vastly different than what we anticipated-but that it's a good thing.
Better Than My Dreams charts a course that enables a woman to jettison her old baggage and to discover that what God is creating might be better than she ever dreamed for herself, where fellowship with Christ, rather than fulfillment of dreams, is the real prize. This deeper awareness, that God knows what He's doing with our lives, allows us to truly let go and enjoy the trip as we learn to live, love, and embrace whatever comes.
Better Than My Dreams helps women:
- face their fear of disappointment
- deal with life's disturbing interruptions
- own their own stuff
- find the freedom to love difficult people
Book Description
A comforting message of hope to anyone who has ever wondered if she measures up
When we feel the need for encouragement, when we wonder about our worth or ability, we need a little reassuring note or whisper in the ear, "You are better than you think you are." This book offers that needed boost, acknowledging that we all face weighty responsibilities that seem overwhelming at times. We all have doubts and fears. Drawing on Christ's love for us, we can remove the dark clouds that challenge our confidence, even in adversity. Writes bestselling author Ardeth Kapp, "With the Lord's help we are always far, far better than we can be by ourselves.
Average customer rating:
- Best Book Written on Christ's Love
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The good news is better than you think
Robert J Wieland
Manufacturer: Glad Tidings Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
General
| Christian Living
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B0006QX2AI |
Customer Reviews:
Best Book Written on Christ's Love.......2001-09-30
If you want an untainted picture of God's love for you, this is the right book. In a time when the world is looking for absolute religion and the pure gospel message, Robert Wieland has the answer. Short, but effective...for anyone looking to "taste and see that the Lord is good," I recommend this book. Even if you're not, give it a try.
Books:
- Rainbow Bridge II: Link With the Soul - Purification (Rainbow Bridge Series)
- Return Engagement (Settling Accounts, Book 1)
- Roma Eterna
- Saturn's Race
- Sea Fighter
- Section 31: Abyss (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
- Shadows in the Water: A Starbuck Family Adventure, Book Two
- Slow River
- Social Mindscapes: An Invitation to Cognitive Sociology
- Some Will Not Die
Books Index
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