Amazon.com
The thesis of this provocative and potentially important book is the increasing threat of violence arising from renewed conflicts between countries and cultures that base their traditions on religious faith and dogma. This argument moves past the notion of ethnicity to examine the growing influence of a handful of major cultures--Western, Eastern Orthodox, Latin American, Islamic, Japanese, Chinese, Hindu, and African--in current struggles across the globe. Samuel P. Huntington, a political scientist at Harvard University and foreign policy aide to President Clinton, argues that policymakers should be mindful of this development when they interfere in other nations' affairs.
Book Description
Based on the author's seminal article in Foreign Affairs, Samuel P. Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order is a provocative and prescient analysis of the state of world politics after the fall of communism. In this incisive work, the renowned political scientist explains how "civilizations" have replaced nations and ideologies as the driving force in global politics today and offers a brilliant analysis of the current climate and future possibilities of our world's volatile political culture.
Customer Reviews:
Pure hate... Author wants to blame everything to muslims.......2007-07-11
It scares me to find out that educated (so called intellectuals) are writing this type of hate infested books that are aimed at nothing but inflaming more hate and voilence in the world. Author has a stubborn belief that all muslim cultures have speriority complex and they are there to destroy the western influence. He needs to wake up and understand that every culture even western or african or latin is sustaining because there are good things there to fullfill the needs of the people along with bad things that represent historical events/influence, economic or social problems etc. Author completely ignores the fact that one (Malaysia) out of all muslim countries are run by our appointed dictators with the exception of Iran and Syria who are kept in isolation so they have no reason to praise us have any dialog going. I would suggest that the author should cosider psychotherepy and need to start reading outside of his shell.
A Classic?.......2007-05-18
As a retired agronomist with a strong science background I tend to check out references that are commonly used. This book is very often quoted, not always favorably. If you have recently, like I, become interested in world politics and especially Islam this is definitely one of the texts you should read. From my weak politics and history background I found Dr. Huntington making a lot of interesting observations. I found the book very intriguing and educational. I really enjoyed his take on the Bosnian War.
Helps you to understand current global affairs.......2007-05-16
This book helps you to understand current global affairs. Although one might not agree with some of the author's theories.
Although this book is from the Western perspective, the author does not glorify the western civilization and has shown respect for other civilizations.
Clash of Cultures and Politico-Religious Hegemony.......2007-05-11
Huntington provoked worldwide outrage by this book, both from conservative westerners who thought he was too "nice" about Muslim extremists, and from non-conservatives who believed him to be arrogant and ethnocentric. My opinion is that both are correct: there is a clash between those using religious identities to promote political agendas, and those attempting to keep religion at the personal level and politics at the macro level of society. This book infuriated many non-readers because of its apparent linking of Islam with political terrorism. Careful readers understood that this was merely reporting of what "experts" said, and not a personal attack by Huntington on faithful adherents to Islam. Below are a few of my favorite quotes:
--"This awakening is comprehensive--it is not just about individual piety; it is not just intellectual or cultural, nor is it just political. It is all of these, a comprehensive reconstruction of society from top to bottom."
--One study of militant leaders of Egyptian Islamist groups found they had five major characteristics, which appear to be typical of Islamists in other countries. They were young, overwhelmingly in their twenties and thirties. Eighty percent were university students or university graduates. Over half came from elite colleges or from the intellectually most demanding fields of technical specialization such as medicine or engineering. Over 70 percent were from lower middle-class, "modest, but not poor backgrounds," and were the first generation in their family to get higher education. They spent their childhoods in small towns or rural areas but had become residents of large cities. While students and intellectuals formed the militant cadres and shock troops of Islamist movements, urban middle-class people made up the bulk of the active membership. In some degree these came from what are often termed "traditional" middle class groups: merchants, traders, small business proprietors, bazaaris.
--Islamist activists "probably include a disproportionately large number of the best-educated and most intelligent young people in their respective populations," including doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists, teachers, civil servants.
There is a clash today, and Huntington calls it rightly. There is violent conflict between those seeking political power through the power base of religious identities are opposed by those unwilling to give up values and ideals in their secular political system.
Already happening?.......2007-05-06
What exactly makes a 'civilization'? Why do tribal conflicts in Africa not spread too far outward? Why did the conflict in Yugoslavia prompt Orthodox Russia to support the Serbs, and Muslim Saudi Arabia, Iran and other Islamic states to support the Bosnians? Why couldn't the civil war in Lebanon be solved by dialogue? Why are Islam's borders so bloody? Even though Saddam Hussein was a vicious tyrant and killed many of his own fellow Muslims, why did so many in the Islamic world proclaim him a hero when the United States invaded Iraq? Will demographic decline in the West change the balance of economic and military power in the world? Is the West in severe decline and can it turn itself around?
If there is any book that can fit into the context of today's global political sphere and shed light on the questions above, it is this book. The book defines what a civilization consists of, and why some are incompatible with each other. World demographics are depicted and used to make predictions about the future balance of world powers. The buildup of non-Western armed forces is highlighted and used to show how the West could lose its military dominance, and what will the future hold with such a change in power. Will it be multiculturalism and tolerance, or will it end up being a giant Lebanon or Yugoslavia, and how could we prevent such a disaster if it were to occur?
Regardless of your political position on the book, I must say it is by far the most comprehensive one I have come across on this subject. Accurately and extensively researched and documented, this outstanding book may be the most important one explaining the conflicts of the 21st century.
Book Description
This classic topically organized anthology--replete with problem cases, illuminating introductory essays, and end of-chapter study questions--engages students in a variety of contemporary moral debates. Combining divergent viewpoints on a number of timely issues and an introduction to the major currents of thought in the history of Western ethics, White's CONTEMPORARY MORAL PROBLEMS, Eighth Edition provides students with a proven roadmap through the compelling and contentious arena of today's most pressing moral problems.
Book Description
She was the most outlandish, outrageous, in-your-face symbol of the age - and suddenly, shockingly, she was gone. In life her antics, adventures and behavior kept a nation riveted; in death she stunned a world gripped by the surprise and swiftness of her unexpected passing. The woman was, of course, Anna Nicole Smith. This is the story of the little girl from west of nowhere, born into a broken, dysfunctional, dirt-poor family, told by the one woman who knew her best - her sister. Her fierce resolve, pluck, luck and determination allowed her to claw her way to celebrity status, becoming a tabloid staple, and to reach the potential of unimaginable wealth. And then, in a moment, she was gone, not yet 40 years old. A Horatio Alger story with a bitter ending, TRAIN WRECK- The Life and Death of Anna Nicole Smith, is the definitive story of the rise and swift fall of one of the most compelling characters to blaze across the American sky.
Customer Reviews:
Uhhh what?.......2007-09-28
Luckily I didn't spend money on this book because it gave me a headache just trying to get through the first chapter. The writing is SO BAD. I can't believe she collaborated with someone and this is the best they could do. It jumps around so much and alot of the book has nothing to do with Anna at all. I figure the reason for that is Donna's writing what she knows and she DOESN'T KNOW ANNA. It's all old news and assumptions. I could have written all the "secrets" that are in this book. Most of the photos are of Donna's family which sure they're partially related, but these people don't know Anna.
If you *have* to read this book, do what I did, and go to the library.
grave-robbing at its best... .......2007-09-22
one word: trash. i bought this book because i felt, well, that no one could probably tell us the personality of this strong woman (and anyone who has gone through what anna nicole smith went through is definitely strong). i figured her sister would clue me in about the culture that brought this young woman to a tragic end. i must say, it is not there. this book would probably amount to "gossip" and nothing else. if you want to read everything you have already heard in the media, it is an okay read. if you are curious about anna nicole's life, this book won't offer you much.
Train Wreck.......2007-09-12
I thought this book was very interesting. I have never been a fan of Anna but found this book to be a good read.I now understand Anna a little better and see that she really had a very sad life. If you are a fan or not this is a good book.
Love you Anna!!!!.......2007-09-09
Good book, I ordered it the second it came out. Very nice cover and image, beautiful packaging. Donna Hogan is a decent writer. I think she might have been false on a few things but over all it was good and worthwhile for Die-hard Anna fans like myself. I LOVE ANNA NICOLE!!!!!!! Been her biggest fan since she came out. She is the most beautiful creature to have ever graced this planet and it is a shame she is gone. Rest is Peace Beautiful and keep the books comin!!!!!
"User-Loser".......2007-09-08
Donna Hogan is just exactly what Anna said she was a "user-loser". She is trying to get her 15 minutes by trashing her half sister who she obviously really knows nothing about. Everything she claims to know comes from the media. She is the epitome of "trailer trash" and too ignorant to realize it. She thinks that her own sleeping with married men and whoever else will have her makes her worldly and sofisticated and that her use of Anna's name to further her causes is ok, yet she trashes her half sister who doesn't appear to have done anything worse than she herself has done. I wish I hadn't purchased this book because I hate to think of her succeeding in making money from trashing her dead sister. She is disgusting.
Amazon.com
The Condition of Postmodernity is David Harvey's seminal history of our most equivocal of eras. What does postmodernism mean? Where did it come from? Harvey, a professor of geography and a key mover behind extending the scope and influence of the discipline of geography itself, does a thorough job here delineating the passage through to postmodernity and the economic, social, and political changes that underscored and accompanied it. As he clearly states, the rise in postmodernist cultural forms is related to a new intensity in what Harvey terms "time-space compression," but this new intensity is a qualitative rather than quantitative change in social organization, and it does not point to an era beyond capitalism as "the basic rules of capitalistic accumulation" remain unchanged. Unlike Fredric Jameson (whose equally rewarding Postmodernism stands as the twin pillar to Harvey's critique), who explicitly relies on Ernest Mandel's periodization of late capitalism, Harvey eschews a narrowly economic focus, the limits and contradictions of production that have led to the rise in the service sector, and takes a more multidisciplinary approach to his history. As comfortable discussing Manet as he is labor markets, Harvey is an excellent writer, and The Condition of Postmodernity is an exceptionally informative and enjoyable read. --Mark Thwaite, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
A great deal has been written on what has variously been described as the post-modern condition and on post-modern culture, architecture, art and society. In this new book, David Harvey seeks to determine what is meant by the term in its different contexts and to identify how accurate and useful it is as a description of contemporary experience. But the book is much more than this: in the course of his investigation the author provides a social and semantic history - from the Enlightenment to the present - of modernism and its expression in political and social ideas and movements, as well as in art, literature and architecture. He considers in particular how the meaning and perception of time and space themselves vary over time and space, and shows that this variance affects individual values and social processes of the most fundamental kind. This book will be widely welcomed, not only for its clear and critical account of the arguments surrounding the propositions of modernity and post-modernity, but as an incisive contribution to the history of ideas and their relation to social and political change.
Customer Reviews:
Good lord.......2005-09-16
Wow, this book is about as dense as the crust of the earth. It takes at least a few reads over to understand what the arguments are. While the arguments in this book are very well articulated, I found myself wanting to shoot myself in the face sometimes while reading this book. It can be really boring, but brings up some very interesting ideas of 80's culture and society.
Po-Mo Schmomo?.......2003-03-04
Ask ten academics about what to call our present fin-de-siecle epoch and you'll get ten different labels, but "postmodernism" seems always the default term. Although it's twelve years old, Harvey's book is the best I've read about the pluralistic fabric we daily inhabit. It's edifyingly reader-friendly (especially compared to some of the Franco-drunk rhetoricians out there trying to get a handle on our current world). In precise prose Harvey outlines the shift to our information-as-capital paradigm since the mid-sixties, and the causes of the growth of the temp sector and "just-in-time" production capabilities. Harvey traces the arrival of "flexible accumulation" to the collapse of Fordist production practices in the 1966-73 waves of recession, but covers far more than just economic factors--architecture, art, literature, cinema--without any self-conscious Neo-Marxist whistling-in-the-dark. In his project to articulate a new (meta?)narrative, Harvey's book will probably give post-structuralists a new constellation of ideas to obfuscate with hip terminology and dense prose...
Manuel Castell's "The Rise of the Network Society" is another good book along these lines.
Best overview of modern/postmodern condition I have found.......2002-08-22
This is a great overview of concepts that are, by definition, very fractured. Harvey clarifies and pulls together a number of seemingly disparate elements in a masterful manner. Though this book could work as a good introduction to these concepts, I think readers with some background in the major writers of modernism and postmodernism will get more out of it. Dogmatic postmodernists may be put off that Harvey has the "temerity" to suggest that postmodernism might be an extension of modernism or that he finds some good in modernism and some excesses in postmodern approaches but, they should get over themselves and realize that their insistence that "all meta-narratives are bad" is their own meta-narrative. Overall, Harvey manages to convincingly express his ideas while maintaining a remarkably evenhanded approach. I especially enjoy the fact that he avoids the postmodernist tendency to ignore the complexities of modernism and, thus create a postmodern meta-narrative about the modernist project.
Excellent overview of modernity and post-modernity.......2001-11-27
David Harvey's "Condition of Post-Modernity" provides excellent representational cases to show the differences between modernity and post-modernity. Although sometimes difficult to follow (I had problems with the chapter pertaining to architecture), Harvey uses enough examples (i.e., economics, art, cinema, etc.) to make sure one understands the differences between post-modernism and modernism. The economic chapter, "Fordism and Flexible Accumulation" is particulary good and shows the gradual transformation from a modernist to a post-modernist economy and society. I was disappointed, however, that Harvey didn't have a complete section focused towards the differences between modernist and post-modernist lit.
Excellent overview of modernity and post-modernity.......2001-11-27
David Harvey's "Condition of Post-Modernity" provides excellent representational cases to show the differences between modernity and post-modernity. Although sometimes difficult to follow (I had problems with the chapter pertaining to architecture), Harvey uses enough examples (i.e., economics, art, cinema, etc.) to make sure one understands the differences between post-modernism and modernism. The economic chapter, "Fordism and Flexible Accumulation" is particulary good and shows the gradual transformation from a moderninst to a post-modernist economy and society. I was disappointed, however, that Harvey didn't have a complete section focused towards the differences between modernist and post-modernist lit.
Product Description
NORTH SHORE LONG ISLAND: Country Houses, 1890 1950 covers 40 of the region s most noted homes, representing the breadth and variety of architectural design and the social and sporting life that characterized the North Shore in its golden age. Drawing on 15 years of extensive research and introducing dozens of never-before-published original photographs and social records, author Paul J. Mateyunas traces the stories of the grand estates and the people who built and occupied them. Each estate covered in the book was carefully chosen; many are written about in detail for the first time. Scarce source information, much of it provided by heirs of the original estate families, clarifies incomplete or misleading information offered by other books on the subject. Each estate is illustrated with both exterior and interior views of the residence, the outbuildings for service and sport, and lushly landscaped grounds that made Long Island famous.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful..........2007-04-15
Wow.
I grew up in Old Brookville and was drawn to this book. While I know some of the history, and remember bits of it from anecdotes and people and stories from my childhood, Mr. Mateyunas has done a compelling, well researched job of evoking a lost era of a magical time in American history. And even better, he has captured all of it in one beautiful book.
He has done a masterful job (and this from someone who writes for a living). I shall give this book as a gift and am proud to have it in my library.
"And so we beat on, boats against the current..." FSF
Best Gold Coast book.......2007-04-14
This book is absolutely amazing. It is by far the best book out there for this part of Long Island, in this particular time period. There are so many pictures that I've never been able to find anywhere else. My only complaint is that there wasn't enough information about the few houses in the back part of the book (one of them is my old house and I can't find any info about it anywhere!!). Finally someone has put all of the best info about the classic North Shore together in one place. Excellent work!
FASCINATING ARM CHAIR VISITS.......2007-04-09
Ever imagine what it might have been like to have dinner with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda, to attend one of the fabulous parties so vividly painted in his literature? Their time is often called the Gilded Age, and it truly must have been if the amazing homes featured in North Shore Long Island are examples of houses they frequented.
As most know, the North Shore of Long Island borders Long Island Sound and once boasted some 1,000 stately homes, more accurately mansions, earning that area the sobriquet Gold Coast. These were the homes of the rich and famous, the celebrated, and a gathering place for those who yearned to be a part of their storied existence.
In all probability, it is the setting for Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (1925) with its memorable descriptions of privileged lives. North Shore homes with their varied architecture, verdant gardens, pools, furniture and appointments once outshone any to be found elsewhere in America or in Europe.
Art historian Paul J. Mateyunas has selected 40 of these homes as the focus of "North Shore Long Island/Country Houses 1890 - 1950." He not only presents 350 duotones and floor plans in his beautiful volume but also traces the building of the homes and the lives of those who were in residence. All of this makes for a fascinating arm chair tour of another time in an unparalleled place.
Recommended.
- Gail Cooke
GOLD COAST.......2007-03-28
Acanthus Press rocks..and this is another great book from them..this book is fantastic. The North Shore of Long Island is the benchmark for high society living..the movie The Great Gatsby may have been filmed in Newport, but it was about the Gold Coast. This is the bastion of WASP high society of the turn of the century into the sixties. The book itself is perfect, scholarly text and crisp, vivid images. Highly recommended, you wont be disappointed.
Average customer rating:
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World Authors: 1900-1950, Four-Volume Set (Wilson Authors Series)
Manufacturer: H. W. Wilson
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ASIN: 0824208994 |
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In this groundbreaking book, Mary O'Hara-Devereaux -- an internationally renowned business forecaster -- shows how organizations can hone their competitive edge during these uncertain times. Using the metaphor of traveling through the badlands of the American West, Navigating the Badlands offers the principles, tools, transformative strategies, and essential understanding executives and business leaders need if they are to weather the rugged, global business landscape of the future. Throughout the book O'Hara-Devereaux reveals how business leaders can seize the opportunity to create new value from successful alliances, reach global markets, and find top talent.
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In this groundbreaking book, Mary O'Hara-Devereaux -- an internationally renowned business forecaster -- shows how organizations can hone their competitive edge during these uncertain times. Using the metaphor of traveling through the badlands of the American West, Navigating the Badlands offers the principles, tools, transformative strategies, and essential understanding executives and business leaders need if they are to weather the rugged, global business landscape of the future. Throughout the book O'Hara-Devereaux reveals how business leaders can seize the opportunity to create new value from successful alliances, reach global markets, and find top talent.
Customer Reviews:
Navigating the Badlands.......2007-01-17
I have tracked the global environment for over twelve years and have learned much more about this environment by reading Mary O'Hara-Devereaux's book. In my opinion, it's a must read for educators and business professionals.
Highly Recommended!.......2005-04-11
Every few hundred years, the Western world takes itself apart and puts itself together again. Peter Drucker observed that this process of dissolution and reconstitution occurs so decisively that, afterward, people who live in the new world cannot even imagine the world of their parents or grandparents. Author Mary O'Hara-Devereaux believes that we are about three-quarters through a 75-year period of such disruptive innovation. She calls the transition "the Badlands." Like the barren Dakota Badlands of the Old West, they are a painful trial that makes or breaks people, and either way leaves them with a new sense of identity. The author identifies several distinct transitional pains for which she prescribes an equal number of palliatives. Her analyses and prescriptions can be thought provoking, though they are seldom trail blazing. While the book may be more smoke than fire, we find that smoke signals can be useful for the long-range vistas in the Badlands. (And, by the way, the author includes a chapter on China that seems almost as parenthetical as this sentence, though interesting enough. In reality, China looks like the pivot point of Badlands transitions, and how it comes through may affect how your neighborhood comes through, as well.)
Average customer rating:
- Intriguing analysis of the forces shaping the future
- Thought-provoking, irresponsible, and sometimes comically incorrect. But fun.
- Good Cliff note summary of current events
- Interesting read
- Past, Present, Future, Global, Local
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Powerful Times: Rising to the Challenge of Our Uncertain World
Eamonn Kelly
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Customer Reviews:
Intriguing analysis of the forces shaping the future.......2006-12-18
Eamonn Kelly's predictions aren't as simple as those offered by some futurists, but that's because he's trying to be realistic about the complexity of "powerful times." And while Kelly's ideas aren't simple, they are clear. You can take any one of his predictions, such as the growing importance of water or the rise of consciousness about the sacred, and work through the implications for business and home life. In fact, Kelly explicitly asks readers to do so. His afterword poses a series of questions about how individuals and organizations are experiencing the changes he enumerates and invites readers to share their ideas within their organizations and on his Web site. Kelly emphasizes that humanity has just begun to feel the effects of many of the high-profile changes of recent decades, and that they haven't yet worked their way through the global economy. If the book has a weakness, it is that it's so focused on the United States. Kelly's treatment of Western ideals in general, and of U.S. military and political aims, seems to take America's self-image for granted. We recommend Kelly's book to policy wonks, executives involved in change management and, in general, anybody seriously planning for the future.
Thought-provoking, irresponsible, and sometimes comically incorrect. But fun. .......2006-10-13
Powerful Times has promise as you plow through the first handful of chapters. I've done quite a bit of future `ideating' mostly for product innovation to have concepts like `clarity vs craziness' - something we called, `synthesized sense-making' at work - and `technology acceleration vs pushback' - resonate with me. His arguments make sense and they feel like they're pointing to a powerful conclusion.
And then, something happens that makes you distrust everything you haven't researched yourself. For me, it was when that old bogie-man, "global warming", came out under the heading, `people and planet'.
I don't know if you have a poster of Al Gore in your dorm room or not, but when confronted with often-quoted-but-usually-disproved data points like polar ice melting (except where it's thickening), sea levels rising (plate tectonics, anyone?), and "NASA" saying the ten warmest years on record have all happened in the past twenty years (except for the entire decade of the 30's), I start to doubt everything else I've just read. (Take the time to read Sen. James Inhofe's speech on Capitol Hill from 9/25/06. He's the Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at the epw dot senate dot gov website - you'll have to hunt for it from there, as Amazon doesn't like reviewers to embed URL's. Most all of the current hype on global warming gets pretty clearly debunked here. And if that wasn't enough fun, pick up Michael Critchton's `State of Fear'. There's just too much hysteria against a backdrop of conflicting data and more conflicting politics to buy this hook, line and sinker).
After you fully defoliate the chapter on global warming, you are then faced with vignettes on how China is poised to offer the world advances in environmental conservation. Is it just me, or do you also recall hearing that a few hundred cities in China had air so bad you needed a catalytic converter just to breathe normally? Given China's record, it's hard to see anything done on an environmentally sustainable basis for its own sake.
So if I can't buy the stories on global warming or Chinese environmental stewardship, what am I to do with vignettes on the "African Renaissance" in scientific research? Frankly, I don't know whether there's any merit to this one or not, but his track record is getting a bit suspect at this point. (It's funny, I'm also reading Robert Young Pelton's `World's Most Dangerous Places', so the difference in perspective leads one to pause. I don't know about you, but my money at this point is on Pelton).
In "Prosperity and Decline", we're told that Brazil's "experiment in free trade" of violating patent laws on pharmaceuticals to provide AIDS drugs for free is a `vindicated' strategy because of lives saved and thus represents a bold new twist on free trade. Huh? I'm all for saving lives, but maybe the Brazilian government would pick up the tab next time? I take it that Hwa Wei's pirating Cisco software is excused because the domestic Chinese market now enjoys US-style router technology without all those pesky big invoices.
This is the second great red flag of the book - a huge disconnect in critical judgment. However, let's continue to suspend disbelief and plunge ahead with our story.
After two chapters that feel a bit out of place - governance and innovation - we get into three potential world scenarios, all of which are plausible in the author's view: "The New American Century", "Patchwork Powers", and "Emergence".
"The New American Century" assumes a greater American role in world affairs, with the ascendance of "American Values" on the global stage as the center piece. Free trade, democracy, the pursuit of happiness, individual freedom, etc., all presented against the sinister backdrop of American military might. You almost had us there.
"Patchwork Powers" operates under the assumption that the world always knew George W. Bush was up to no good, that the war on terror was illegal, and now "America has been put in its place". In other words, the Democratic National Committee platform. This scenario unfolds with regional powers - India, China, and China - taking a greater role, and Europe pretty much sinking beneath the waves. The superpower is dead. Long live the Junior Varsity.
"Emergence" illustrates the rise of the individual, flash-mobbing their way to political primacy, with nations crashing under their own bureaucratic hubris. Innovation sky-rockets for some reason, open source replaces intellectual property rights and terrorism runs amok. This is pretty close to hell, unless your vision of the future looks like "Blade Runner".
The number of not-very-subtle digs at the US and its president become a bit tedious. Sure, I'm biased -- I pay property taxes, travel internationally, and have a family, which makes me like things like stable currencies, the rule of law, economic growth. The irony, given the author's clear anti-American biases, is that "The New American Century" is the only optimistic scenario he presents. The reasonable idea that a "New American Century" with China beginning to take baby steps towards a leadership role, India being "open for business", and Middle East and Latin America (hopefully) finding their way towards real representative government and stable economic policy is not just possible, but hopefully our collective goal. The other scenarios all sound like a global retreat from where we are today - economically, politically, and socially.
The first half of the book gets four stars. The middle needed an editor. The last few get a two. I'll round up to a three.
Good Cliff note summary of current events .......2006-09-20
Airplane read. Book is current ... data based. Diverse news roundup with links to future implications. Can't recall any high concept take aways.
Buy it soon ... not much shelf life
Interesting read.......2006-09-06
Powerful Times is an examination of what the author presents as seven powerful dynamic tensions that will fundamentally reshape human life. What are these seven tensions? Some we are already seeing regularly in the news as the conflicts between the secular and the sacred. Others are also obvious like the tension between clarity and craziness. Still others become fascinating in the way the author develops them; like power and vulnerability, technology acceleration and pushback, intangible and physical economics, prosperity and decline, and people and planet. This is an in-depth exploration of the challenges and changes of governance and innovation. One of the more interesting ideas presented here are what the author sees as the three different scenarios for potential world orders that might evolve as a result of these tensions. This is a bold look at the forces molding our world as we know it and how they will change that world in the near future. Powerful Times is an interesting read and recommended to business and civic leaders at all levels.
Past, Present, Future, Global, Local.......2006-08-02
Author Eamon Kelly covers a lot of contemporary issues in "Power Times: Rising to the Challenges of our Uncertain World." Many current issues and circumstances are discussed: terrorism, technology governance, history, globalization, global warming, AIDS, oil dependence, and much more. Lots of stats and charts on a variety of topics that are different, but related to one another - and us.
At first this book takes us back in time. To the sixteenth century to Pandolfo Pretrucci, who had dialogues with Machiavelli. Soon after we travel to the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which ushered in a new national order that contains the basic model of what we have today: the nation-state. Author Kelly writes, "The importance of the nation-state has underpinned all subsequent centuries of European and world history. Certainly the nations-states are committed to achieving peace (not always successfully) and prosperity for their citizens....we have to think of the nation-state as the natural level and form of governance."
This is a worthy statement, as the entire concept of the recent nation-state has shaped our world so much. With this model comes the quest, organized greed and usurpation, and infinite conflict over territory and natural resources, the world over. A good move by Kelly to note the nation-state. No one else does anymore, save a history class on 17th Century Europe. This historical introduction is finished off with a massively profound quote from Pretucci: "The times are more powerful than our brains." (Huh?)
Chapters:
1. History Unleashed
2. Clarity and Craziness
3. Secular and Sacred
4. Power and Vulnerability
5. Technology Acceleration and Push Back
6. Intangible and Physical Economies
7. Prosperity and Decline
8. People and Planet
Section 2 - What if?: Changing for the Challenges Ahead.
Chapter 9. Governance
Chapter 10 Innovation
Section 3 - What's next? Scenarios of the Future
Chapter 11 Three Snapshots of the Future
Section 4 - So What?: Acting in an Era of Transformation
Chapter 12 Creating our New Future
Afterword: Using This Book in Your Life and Work.
My favorite sub-chapter: "Goggledygook and the Gorilla."
Many pithy quotes from famous folks are noted. One of my many favorites is, "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its coat on." --Winston Churchill.
One concept of many in this book is a sub-chapter called "Reinventing Capitalism." Kelly notes Peruvian Economist Hernando De Soto's point in his book "The Mystery of Capital." De Soto states that the West has evolved to have an invisible yet essential society of laws, expectations, entitlements, and relationships that support the ownership of property. These conditions make the current structure of capitalism possible." And, De Soto sates that even most Westerners who live in these societies don't even understand how this system works, nor know much about it. Therefore, when the IMF, World Bank, and other agencies attempt to place these Western systems on foreign societies that don't have the underlying bases for these systems to begin with, the result if often not successful nor the most optimum way. De Soto's work has gotten attention and even Bill Clinton has noted his work in contemporary economics.
Many things I found interesting are: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the number of nanotechnology patents which have increased exponentially in the last 5 years, Moore's Law: the number of transistors per square inch on an integrated circuit doubles every 18 months. And what is the most costly computer crime, of all computer crimes? Theft of Proprietary Info.
A wide variety of information here, and in the back of this book there is an open questionnaire, where you can answer some of the major questions on the topics presented and apply them to your own life, views, and work. Tons of things in this book that you can dabble into, and you can get further reading material from the citations.
Interesting was the "dilemmas for the world's only superpower." The dilemma in large part, has been caused by the world's only superpower. A check and balance is needed.
Great book.
Average customer rating:
- disappointing
- American Business Embraces Modernism
- Streamline meets Atomic on Main
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Shop America: Midcentury Storefront Design 1938-1950
Steven Heller
Manufacturer: Taschen
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ASIN: 3822842699 |
Book Description
Window shopping
In postwar America, everything pointed to a bright, shiny future. Sheer optimism and opulence informed everything from automobile design to architecture, infusing design with larger-than-life planes and curves. Storefront design of the era is particularly indicative of this phenomenon, incarnated here in an extensive collection of hand-illustrated shop window designs from 1938 to 1950. These spectacular, often grandiose plans for grocery stores, shoe shops, beauty salons, bakeries, and more are reminders of a time when stores were sacred shrines for the congregation of American shoppers--impressive and even slightly intimidating, just like the future itself. Collected for this unique book, the designs viewed in retrospect reveal the mindset of a unique period in history. In addition to an extensive selection of drawings are historical black and white photographs of actual shops built in a similar style. Shop America offers a rare look at mid-century commercial America as it pictured itself.
Customer Reviews:
disappointing.......2007-06-16
I was disappointed in this book. The best picture is the one on the cover. Inside, each selection is pretty much the same. "Style suggestion for a florist shop," "Style suggestion for a shoe store," etc. Has diagrams and font types, window measurements, etc. All tech stuff that's not really interesting to me. I would have returned it, but didn't want to mess with the shipping. Sigh.
American Business Embraces Modernism.......2007-04-29
In the midst of the Great Depression, American Business adopted an American form of modernism that heralded a new age of technology and progress. This period of design history is sometimes called, "Machine Age", "Streamline Modern" or "Midcentury Modern." This belief in the spirit of progress can be seen in almost all American design of this period.
"Shop America" adds to our understanding of the time by focusing on store front design. American glass companies produced beautifully illustrated catalogs that promoted the use of glass and modern building materials. These catalogs inspired architects and small business owners to create store fronts that embraced the progressive spirit of modernism.
When many of us think of the 1940's and 1950's, we think of a conformist age best understood by old television shows like Ozzie and Harriet and Father Knows Best. However, a book like "Shop America" also demonstrates that American business and consumers of the time were willing to adopt a bold modernist vision. Although the designs in these books are 50-60 years old, they are still very fresh and exciting.
This book was produced by the German Publisher, Taschen. Like all Taschen books it is a very good value. It is a large format book with very high production values. This book is a must purchase for all enthusiasts of the period as well as for contemporary architects and designers. Highly recommended.
Streamline meets Atomic on Main.......2007-03-18
Turn the pages of this fascinating book and you're window shopping on Main Street in the late forties, plenty of consumer goods are just a touch away thanks to large glass windows. The essence of the book is more than ninety ideas for storefronts created by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. Each has an artists rendering, sometimes a technical detail or floor plan and technical information about the glass used.
It is the exuberant artwork that makes the book come alive. They capture a mid-century of elegant shoppers seduced by Carrara glass and Aluminum. Virtually every store has an overall streamline design frequently mixing atomic motifs and the final individual touch is the name in a modern sans type or a casual script for a ladies retail unit. Strangely there is no actual reference to the Pittsburgh PGC or the artists though E A Lundberg has his signature on many of the illustrations.
This is a large book (handsomely designed and printed) that fortunately makes all the wonderful renderings large too. In the first few pages Steve Heller contributes an overview of storefront design illustrated with black and white photos of real stores in large American cities. Predictably few of them are as flamboyant as the concept artwork in the glass-makers sales material.
*** FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
Average customer rating:
- My first Corps novel, (and hopefully not my last)
- WARNING this is a 2-part set
- Greeeeaaaaaat !
- Not Great Literature but a Great Read
- A solid read for Griffin fans
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Under Fire
W. E. B. Griffin
Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
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ASIN: 0399147888
Release Date: 2002-01-14 |
Amazon.com
Having wrapped up World War II with 1999's In Danger's Path, bestselling military author W.E.B. Griffin now deploys his Marines in Korea with Under Fire, the ninth volume in his Corps series. Back are familiar characters from Griffin's previous Corps books--daredevil pilot Pick Pickering, his Scotch-sipping father, Brigadier General Fleming Pickering, Capt. Ken "Killer" McCoy, and Master Gunner Ernie Zimmerman--with historical figures including President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur making appearances as well. It's now 1950, and with Communist forces making their presence felt below the 38th Parallel, Griffin's plot centers on Gen. Pickering, now high up in the newly created CIA, and Ken McCoy as they work behind MacArthur's back to covertly pave the way for an invasion of North Korea.
Readers who crave nonstop battle action and excitement may find it hard to stick with Under Fire, as Griffin takes the time to detail the background leading up to one of America's least-remembered modern wars. Griffin writes for the true armed forces aficionado, filling his prose with realistic descriptions of procedure, gear, and materials, an alphabet's worth of acronyms, and an ex- soldier's ear for military dialogue. Look for more sharp, authentic writing in this series' next installment. --Benjamin Reese
Book Description
Griffin leaves WWII behind and thrusts his readers deep into the heart of the Korean War.
Customer Reviews:
My first Corps novel, (and hopefully not my last).......2007-03-17
This is the first time I've been exposed to Griffin's Corps novels. I listened to this one on tape, and I found it totally gripping! The characters are warm and very believable. Some are larger than life (ie: Major McCoy), but that's required in a novel of this type. One strong character is needed to carry the story along. I loved the inside look at one of the major battles of the Korean War (the attack on Inchon), and I liked the glimpse that we got of some real people, like General Douglas MacCarthur and President Harry Truman. I think Griffin has a really good understanding of the American Armed forces and the way that things are done there, and he tells a whopping good tale! I actually had shivers when I heard James Laughton describe the battle to take the two Korean islands that were required before the landing at Inchon could occur. And that's another thing - James Laughton does a wonderful job of reading this very exciting book. I truly enjoyed it, and am going to read or listen to other books in this series.
WARNING this is a 2-part set.......2006-08-21
WARNING! The Books-On-Tape unabridged version is a 2 part set, consisting of 18 (eighteen) cassettes in 2 (two) plastic cases. If a vendor does not specify all 18 cassettes, inquire before purchasing. Also, this is not "book 2" of anything, rather it is Book 9 of the Corps Series.
According to Amazon, reader reviews should not be used for such information, but Amazon ignores all corrections sent the way they specify for corrections.
Oh yes, this is a terrific book, and the audio version is superb.
Greeeeaaaaaat !.......2006-06-04
Don't miss reading it and "Retreat Hell". You can't miss the continuation of the story along with the excitement.
Not Great Literature but a Great Read.......2006-03-18
W.E.B. Griffin is not everyone's cup of tea, I enjoy him. This book like all of Griffin's books is a light fast good read. You know the characters and enjoy their further adventures.
If you read this book you should pick up "The Secrets of Inchon" mentioned in the author's notes. It is a truly amazing piece of first person writing.
A solid read for Griffin fans.......2005-11-12
W.E.B Griffin has carved out a niche in millitary fiction, as his large amount of book sales shows. He has perfected the blending of fictional and non-fictional characters in his various series of books. Under Fire continues his Corps series of books. Some of his major characters are back again, larger than life. These include Flem Pickering, called back into the colours, his Marine Aviator son,Pick Pickering and the former Marine raiders Ernest Zimmerman and most importantly, Major McCoy, now an intelligence specialist. Unfortunately some favourite characters are missing(Where is Jack Stecker?).
The novel starts shortly before the beginning of the Korean War with Flem Pickering , no longer a Marine General but a (very rich) businessman, who discovers on a visit to Japan that McCoy is about to be kicked out of the corps because he has written a report about North Korean millitary intentions that no one wants to see.
From this beginning the novel unfolds. We see what a shambles the beginning of the Korean War was with the U.S Army being given one of the greatest shocks in it's proud history, being pushed almost out of Korea together. The reader also sees the brilliance and madness of General MacArthur through Flem Pickerings eyes, who is fascianted and repelled by him in equal measure.
Flem Pickering also experiences some personal setbacks during the novel that make his plans to aid MacArthur in his role as CIA chief in Japan all the more difficult.
Along with some other readers I also feel slightly frustrated that the corps series has evolved into looking more at intelligence operations rather that the major campaigns of the Marine Corps. In doing so however Griffin has been able to shed light on events that are not so well known. He also probably surmised that many of these campaigns and the marines front line experences in World War Two and Korea have been already written about extensively in both fiction and non-fiction.
McCoy is still the central character of this series. In this novel he remains the pure Marine, absolutely committed to his task while still holding true to the virtues that the Marine Corps has taught him.
All in all it is a solid read for Griffin fans without quite rising to the heights of the earlier corps books or Griffins supreme achievement, The Brotherhood of War series.
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