Average customer rating:
- It was a good deal too
- Theoretical background for Operations Management - setting a new standard
- written with the heart of a teacher
- Exceptional enlightened and insightful!
- Excellent and valuable book
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Factory Physics Second Edition
Wallace Hopp , and
Mark Spearman
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Lean Thinking : Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, Revised and Updated
ASIN: 0256247951 |
Book Description
Comprehensive Introduction to Manufacturing Management text covering the behavior laws at work in factories. Examines operating policies and strategic objectives. Hopp presents the concepts of manufacturing processes and controls within a "physics" or "laws of nature" analogy--a novel approach. There is enough quantitative material for an engineer's course, as well as narrative that a management major can understand and apply.
Customer Reviews:
It was a good deal too.......2007-08-16
The Book was in Excellent shape. It was a good deal too
thank you
Theoretical background for Operations Management - setting a new standard.......2006-10-03
This book provides you with the fundamental insights of manufacturing and assembly. Even though I do not like statistics to much, the book is written in a understandable manner and provides the fundamental knowledge to understand what is going on in manufacturing. Based on this knowledge, the flaw of MRP-systems are even explained as well as the basics of JIT/Lean. The book provides mainly the hardfacts of this science and for practical people, reading first Quick-Response-Manufacturing (from Rajan Suri) might be the easier way for many of us and gives you the motivation to take a deeper look later on - as provided by Factory Physics.
Factory Physics describes not only how to describe a single workstation and the interactions between many of them, than as well the great importance of variability reduction in a production line and how to analyse it. CONWIP-lines, as a mix of push-pull, are a central key in this book and a simple way to analyse the performance of any system is provided by the book. This book, together with Quick-Response-Manufacturing (this book includes important softfactores as well) have changed drastically my way of operational thinking and given me a sense, which system to apply (QRM or JIT/Lean) and why. The insight can even be used for services as well. One central point is the utilisation of a workstation and the knowledge, that the more you reduce variability in arrivals and processing, the higher the utilisation can be - still achieving low lead times. You will find as well important and simple laws helping you out in the daily business (Little's law and queueing theory).
As for JIT/Lean, lead time reduction can use the same japanese tools:
- SMED: setup-time reduction (lot sizes for reduction in lead time and WIP)
- TPM: productive maintenance (higher machine availability and decrease of variability)
- ZQC: fool-proof quality inspection for Zero defects (against capacity lost and to decrease variability)
All the books mentionned above, have a big advantage over traditional SCM-books: they provide you with a framework how to trim a single chain-element of the supply-chain and therefore how to built the whole supply chain. The operational strategy should be derived from the overall company strategy and with this new insights you can tailor a unique production system that fits your company's goals - or even give you an advantage over your competition. Anyway, it will not make obsolet the importance of having a sound and consistant overall business strategy (for your markets) first!
Enjoy reading, Best Regards
written with the heart of a teacher.......2006-03-13
Though the two authors are consultants, they are foremost - teachers. What is useful, and kind to a degree, is they put an effort to explain the numbers as pragmatic as possible. That idea made this book very accessible. To the industrial engineers or those who are involved (and passionate) in operations or in understanding systems - next to the Industrial Engineering Handboook, this should be in our library.
Exceptional enlightened and insightful!.......2006-02-18
I found this book to be very insightful. It helps to explain many of my own observations in my factory. The authors did an excellent job of explaining the key concepts using only average use of mathematics and in simple layman's terms. The readers will only need basic mathematics/beginner calculus, and basic statistics. Reading it was like discovering new ideas to implement in the factory to quickly realize efficiencies and cost savings. It was one of the best books I have laid eyes on in a very long time.
I highly recommend this book for every mfg and production engineers working in assembly or automation-driven factory. This book is not applicable to chemical processing, thus may not bring significant values to chemical or petroleum engineers.
Excellent and valuable book.......2005-12-23
This is the best course textbook I have had so far over about ten industrial engineering courses (and I have had some very good textbooks and courses). The book basically describes how to analyze and improve manufacturing operations through examining key areas that include: variability and its sources, push and pull systems, and supply chain management.
The authors approach is to present ideas in a very clear and relevant way. What I particularly like is that they do a great job putting things into perspective in a style that is highly readable. While there is some math involved if one wants to delve into the details that are in side notes, a basic understanding of calculus is more than sufficient. The authors are clearly very bright and, more importantly, are able to communicate very effectively and with a sense of humor.
This book can definitely be read on a stand-alone basis outside of a school environment. Many of the central ideas are very valuable.
Amazon.com
In Natural Capitalism, three top strategists show how leading-edge companies are practicing "a new type of industrialism" that is more efficient and profitable while saving the environment and creating jobs. Paul Hawken and Amory and Hunter Lovins write that in the next century, cars will get 200 miles per gallon without compromising safety and power, manufacturers will relentlessly recycle their products, and the world's standard of living will jump without further damaging natural resources. "Is this the vision of a utopia? In fact, the changes described here could come about in the decades to come as the result of economic and technological trends already in place," the authors write.
They call their approach natural capitalism because it's based on the principle that business can be good for the environment. For instance, Interface of Atlanta doubled revenues and employment and tripled profits by creating an environmentally friendly system of recycling floor coverings for businesses. The authors also describe how the next generation of cars is closer than we might think. Manufacturers are already perfecting vehicles that are ultralight, aerodynamic, and fueled by hybrid gas-electric systems. If natural capitalism continues to blossom, so much money and resources will be saved that societies will be able to focus on issues such as housing, contend Hawken, author of a book and PBS series called Growing a Business, and the Lovinses, who cofounded and directed the Rocky Mountain Institute, an environmental think tank. The book is a fascinating and provocative read for public-policy makers, as well as environmentalists and capitalists alike. --Dan Ring
Book Description
In Natural Capitalism, three top strategists show how leading-edge companies are practicing "a new type of industrialism" that is more efficient and profitable while saving the environment and creating jobs. Paul Hawken and Amory and Hunter Lovins write that in the next century, cars will get 200 miles per gallon without compromising safety and power, manufacturers will relentlessly recycle their products, and the world's standard of living will jump without further damaging natural resources. "Is this the vision of a utopia?In fact, the changes described here could come about in the decades to come as the result of economic and technological trends already in place," the authors write.They call their approach natural capitalism because it's based on the principle that business can be good for the environment. For instance, Interface of Atlanta doubled revenues and employment and tripled profits by creating an environmentally friendly system of recycling floor coverings for businesses. The authors also describe how the next generation of cars is closer than we might think. Manufacturers are already perfecting vehicles that are ultralight, aerodynamic, and fueled by hybrid gas-electric systems. If natural capitalism continues to blossom, so much money and resources will be saved that societies will be able to focus on issues such as housing, contend Hawken, author of a book and PBS series called Growing a Business, and the Lovinses, who cofounded and directed the Rocky Mountain Institute, an environmental think tank. The book is a fascinating and provocative read for public-policy makers, as well as environmentalists and capitalists alike. --Dan Ring
Customer Reviews:
Great for Green Building..........2007-10-05
this is a great resource for anyone wanting to learn more about sustainable building practices and how they can affect your bottom line. I recommend it for architects, designers and developers alike.
Excellent environmental analysis, clear direction!.......2007-10-04
This book provides a wealth of environmental analysis, including well-considered advice for policymakers at every level (from federal down to county). Also there is solid information for residential/condominium owners. The section that describes and designs how low-end residential units can sell energy back to the grid and raise their standard of living was exceptionally well-written. I am still reading the rest of the book and have not stopped since I first picked it up.
Great solutions to in-depth problems.......2007-09-30
I've only read the first two chapters, but its very motivating. The authors creatively give solutions to the environmental problems of the world. They fully understand the problems at hand, analyze them completely and give valuable ideas for probably and realistic solutions.
A more complete view of the economy.......2007-09-19
This book shows how our current view of the environment is flawed. It brings us from viewing the environment as something too vast to be harmed, to understanding that technology has given humanity the ability to profoundly affect the environment. The book presents a good argument as to why we need to see nature as part of the economic cycle and factor its use into how we use and manage the earth's resources.
A better way of living.......2007-09-11
This book is a little old so some of the infomation is out dated, but the ideas are still radically new for many people. There is a lot to be take from this book on both the micro and macro models, all of which are about creating greater efficiancy in the markets, and lowering the cost to consumers, all the while creating new jobs and reducing pollution. The book tells people how to help reduce their energy costs through simple changes in everday living. It also goes into great detail about market failures, government failures, and the compounding problem of global warming. This book is about the facts no ideological stance, with the authors saying that fossil fuel use is not going to go away anytime soon, but fossil fuels are only one small part of the entire picture. You will not be bored while reading this book, and should be mad after learning how much more money we are spending on goods of lesser quality.
Book Description
The Industrial Revolution has sometimes been regarded as a catastrophe which desecrated the English landscape and brought social opporession and appalling physical hardship to the workers. In this book, however, it is presented as an important and beneficial mark of progress. In spite of destructive wars and a rapid growth of population, the material living standards of most of the British people improved, and the technical innovations not only brought economic rewards but also provoked greater intellectual ingenuity. Innovation is therefore seen by Ashton not just as an economic course but as a social and cultural process influenced by factors such as war and peace and the framework of law and institutions. Lucidly argued and authoritative, this bookplaces the phenomenon of the Industrial Revolution in a stimulating perpsective. A new Preface by Professor Pat Hudson outlines the results of recent research precipitated by Ashton's themes: the true causes of population growth in the eighteenth century, the nature of the supply of capital, and the new approaches to labour studies amongst others. This Preface places The Industrial Revolution in its contemporary context, and a new thoroughly updated bibliography means that fifty years on, Ashton's work can continue to be of value to modern readers.
Customer Reviews:
A solid, no-nonsense book about an important subject.......1999-10-12
First published in 1948, this book has gone through many editions, the latest, as we can see here, put out in 1998. I recently read the 1964 edition, picked up long ago at a booksale in Melbourne, Australia. Ashton's work is probably timeless. It is a down-to-earth, very well reasoned history of the various historical tendencies and phenomena that together are called "the industrial revolution". I cannot vouch for this volume being absolutely correct. The author does not have much time for those who dwell on the evils of industrialization, or who want to include class struggle in their analysis. Though I was not fully convinced of this, still I was willing to listen. Not being an expert in the field, I was looking for a decent explanation or summary of the whole process. I definitely got my money's worth in Ashton's book. It is well-written, without jargon and without presumption of vast historical knowledge on the part of the reader. It gives you an overview of such various fields as population growth, early forms of industry in England, the technical innovations, capital, banking, labor unions, conditions of workers, industrialists' clubs, and relation of agriculture to industry. Though I found the part about banks and interest rather rough going, it was entirely due to my own poor understanding of the field. My edition could have used a map. The shires, the rivers, and the many towns of England are not all imprinted firmly in the brains of North Americans. Other than that, I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their understanding of the Industrial Revolution.
simply delightful to read as well as a thorough resource.......1998-12-04
I can't believe I'm the first to write about this. I bought this a few years back while a graduate student in modern European history. My focus was primarily industrialization. This book is a joy. Ashton provides a thorough picture of the Revolution from several perspectives. He describes how events and developments built upon each other and how the innovators fed each others efforts. Most importantly, Ashton is a terrific writer. Other books on this and like topics can be as dry as the Sahara. Ashton is engaging and witty. This is not a book that requires a terrifically large committment. Even if you are not a student but simply interested in the topic, please read this.
Book Description
The remarkable new strategy to implement lean manufacturing and improve quality, cost, and delivery. Understand why traditional improvement strategies don't work, and why Kaizen Events are the ideal tool to achieve breakthrough results. How to grow your own internal Kaizen Event leaders even if you start with outside consultants. Review a checklist of preparatory steps you must take to lead your kaizen team to success. Understand the results your Kaizen Events should deliver, and how to set achievable breakthrough goals. How to chose team members for your Kaizen Events, and why asking for volunteers is not the best answer. How to teach your team to identify and eliminate non-value-added steps, and how doing so will improve your quality, productivity, and delivery. Learn what to do each day of the Kaizen Event, and how to stay on track. How to avoid a long list of lingering action items after your Kaizen Events. How to sustain the results attained during kaizen events over the long-term. Learn the similarities and differences among lean manufacturing, JIT, demand flow, and cellular manufacturing. Gain a solid understanding of pull scheduling, one-piece continuous flow, work cells, set-up reduction, preventive maintenance, kanban, 5S and standard work. Understand the limits of Kaizen Events and how to accelerate improvement after the first two years. How to use kaizen events to improve non-manufacturing areas like product development, receiving, MIS, and accounting. And more!
Customer Reviews:
Good Introduction to Kaizen Concept.......2006-05-24
The Kaizen Revolution is a good basic book on the implementation of the lean manufacturing process to improve quality and reduce cost as well as eliminating waste (muda) and inefficiency. The Kaizen method of continuous improvement is a Japanese management concept that focuses on gradual, incremental change. It is an improvement philosophy that assumes that every aspect in a production system needs to be constantly improved. The book explains how to prepare for Kaizen event, what happens during the event as well as the benefits of applying the concept to an organisation. Continuous improvement and lean manufacturing are modern management tools that show the benefits of gradual, incremental changes rather than radical changes.
The book is written in the form of a story where it tales the reader through the Kaizen concept. This makes the book easy to read, follow and understand. All the essential basics are covered which gives the reader a strong foundation about what the Toyota Production System or lean manufacturing entails.
This is good basic reading for people wishing to understand lean manufacturing concept. However, those seeking a deeper understanding of the subject need to consult other books such as "Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success by Masaaki Imai" or the "Kaizen Event Implementation Manual".
The Kaizen Revolution.......2005-04-29
Michael Regan writes his methodology of lean Kaizen methodology into a novel form. I have never really been fond of the novel approach to explaining business concepts. I feel like I just have to strip away the story and get to the facts. Which for some reason in my case becomes more more work for less results. But I can understand how that genre works for some.
Concepts that I found interesting
In value added versus non-value added tasks work is transformed. More precisely he uses the definition "A process step is value added if it causes a change in the physical state of the material in accordance to customer specifications" Waiting and moving are not transforming the work. Hence not value added in and of themselves.
The approach here is to make a value analysis
1) make a list of the process steps
2) determine value added and time elapsed
Note: Each process step is an opportunity to make mistakes and every step induces costs. Don't try to do things faster, instead try to eliminate process steps.
Regan also list the common ingredients to all similar lean methodologies
1) Just in time production
2) Continious one-piece flow (a product never stops moving until it is a finished product and there is no place for problems to hide)
3) Work cells
4) Reduction of Set Up Time
5) Preventative Maintenance
6) Kanban
7) Work place organization and cleanliness (also known as 5S, Sort, Straighten, Scrub, Schedule, Score ie Measure through visual management) Making it a daily ritual. Do not have material in your work place that you are not using and also have everything it is place.
8) Standard Work (Here the concept is about creating documentation so that a typical person in that role can pick it up and do that task. Fit on one side of one piece of paper.
9) Team of employess who think and take initiative
Another interesting concept is how underlying trust is important because we are asking people to transform their own job, a possibily to hopefully eliminate it.
In the appendix he includes a idea generating tips.
I especially appreciated
1) Give people a reason to think of improvement ideas
2) Supervisors stop reacting and solving problems rather lead
3) Problems are like elephants.... best to eat them one bite at a time.
5) Take time for reflection i.e. Lessons Learned
6) Have people cross trained.
Thanks for the listen. Happy Reading!
Supplemental reading.......2001-09-09
Great theory, but lacks applicability. Recommended reading for those contemplating using Kaizen in the workplace. Needs to be balanced out by reading a How-to-do-it book, such as the "Kaizen Event Implementation Manual", which does help you actually conduct a perfect Kaizen event.
Beginning Primer.......2001-08-10
This book is a fast read and a good introduction to Lean and the Kaizen Event. It covers all of the basics and enough detail to present a sound and solid beginning to anyone looking to understand Lean and Kaizen. If you are looking for solid meat beyond the basics, you need to go elsewhere. The book points you to other sources through out the text.
The Kaizen Revolution.......2001-05-15
Mr. Regan presents an easy read in novel form (ala "The Goal" by Elyahu Goldratt) giving the reader a sound introduction to the Toyota Production System (aka Lean Manufacturing). Anyone reading this book can gain a sound understanding of what steps to take, and why to take them, as you begin on the Lean journey. You'll close the back cover with an understanding of many "Lean Concepts" as well as a very sound introduction to the how and why's of preparing for and conducting a Kaizen event. The chapter summaries are very beneficial in helping you capture the nuggets of knowledge that you can easily overlook as you become engrossed in the story. Don't let this book be your only source of knowledge on TPS, but be sure to include it in your reading.
Book Description
Smart Mobs takes us on a journey around the world for a preview of the next techno-cultural shift. The coming wave, says Rheingold, is the result of super-efficient mobile communications-cellular phones, wireless-paging, and Internet-access devices-that will allow us to connect with anyone, anytime, anywhere.
Rheingold offers a penetrating perspective on the new convergence of pop culture, cutting-edge technology, and social activism. He also reminds us that the real impact of mobile communications will come not from the technology itself but from how people use it, resist it, and adapt to it.
Customer Reviews:
incohesive writing.......2006-01-20
This book suffers from incohesive writing and lacks a clear framework that covers the theme of smart mobs. The sequence of chapters does not provide a progressive build-up of a framework of any sort. Even more, the sequence inside each chapter does not carry the reader towards any defined theme. On one section the author describes teenagers in Finland sending text messages, then he jumps to his meeting with a company executive, then jumps to describing the mobile phone standards in Europe, etc.
The only common thread among sections in chapters and among the chapters is the smart mobs theme, obviously, but the author does not break down clearly this central theme into its parts. This makes for a very confusing and bothersome reading.
A whirlwind tour through the world next year........2005-10-09
Howard Rheingold has excellent credentials to write this book through his long involvement at Wired magazine. He blends an effervescent interest in smart new gadgetry (point your phone-cam at some foreign signwriting and have it translated into your own language) with a thirsty desire to understand what it means to our society. To hunt down the story he structures the narrative in a breathtaking first-person style that takes us from Shibuya Station in Tokyo to the wireless capital of the world, Helsinki, and then back across the Atlantic to Bell Laboratories - and beyond.
Clearly our society has been undergoing massive underlying change since the advent of the internet and mobile phones - but few writers have really grappled with the wider implications. If, as McLuhan said, the Medium is the Message then wireless technology provides a medium that totally re-engineers the way people can interact with their physical and social environment.
Rheingold calls on dramatic examples of how individuals, wireless and mobile, can outwit the top down forces of the establishment - for example in the World Trade protests at Seattle, and political protests in the Philippines. He uses these as a metaphor for how the top-down 20th Century style organisations, political, industrial or media are increasingly out of step in the mobile age. Rheingold looks to young urban people - urban tribes if you like - as a bellwether to tomorrow's society.
I loved this book. The writing is sharp, the insights deep and Rheingold's ability to take us into the labs of tomorrow a real treat. I strongly recommend it.
Smart Mobs. Smarter Marketers........2004-09-08
The cool thing about "Smart Mobs" is that it's really happening. People are behaving in "linked" ways that transcend the obvious demographic definitions of groups we typically think of as "behaving in unison." As technology and the infrastructure arriving with it enable increasingly extemporaneous networks between people, marketers are similarly challenged to reach outside of traditional mass channels. Howard Rheingold brings us a really nice set of actual examples--combined with his own unique insights--that provide the basis for next-generation communications strategies as what had been cohesive groups fragment into a foam of indivduals united (only) by this moments current interest and the task at hand. For marketers, it's a great read...and a big clue. Anyway, I liked it.
Remote Control To The World.......2004-04-08
How many of you recall that EF Hutton commercial that started off by saying, "When EF Hutton talks, people listen". The same thought can be applied to Howard Rheingold.
Rheingold is veteran technology watcher and well-publised futurist. He has identified yet another transformative technology. In 'Smart Mobs' he describes in vivid detail how large, geographically dispersed groups connected only by thin threads of communications techology, such as text messaging, e-mail, cell phones, two-way pagers, and web sites, can draw together in the blink of an eye, groups of people together for a collective cause.
From various parts of the world, Rheingold, has gathered stories about engineers and inventors of all sorts, working feverishly to create ever-smaller and more powerful devices that contribute to this new paradigm.
In this book,Rheingold points out examples of Smart Mobs such as the swarms of demonstrators who used mobile phones, Web sites, laptops and handheld computers to coordinate their protests against the World Trade Organization in November of 1999.
Rheingold shows a concern of smart mobs other than describing the weath of new communications technology that is available and coming. He is also concerned about the social, political, economic, environmental and even genetic consequences of the ever-expanding and more intrusive plethora of multidirectional communications technology.
This book is a must read.
Keen on Smart Mobs.......2004-04-07
As one who needed a basic primer on various areas of technology--past, present, and future--and their implications for the human being, I found "Smart Mobs" to be both helpful and conversational. Rheingold's journalistic style kept the topics easy to understand, interesting to read, and fairly light hearted in spite of some rather daunting conclusions that one could draw from his research. As well, those who want to delve further into the various topics discussed will find his endnotes quite helpful--annotated are works from a number of key figures who a) are making, or have made, breakthroughs in technology, or b) provided insightful critiques on those breakthroughs. I found that engaging in "Smart Mobs" opened the door to further research and understanding of this seemingly complex and very progressive area of study.
Book Description
Slavery helped finance the Industrial Revolution in England. Plantation owners, shipbuilders, and merchants connected with the slave trade accumulated vast fortunes that established banks and heavy industry in Europe and expanded the reach of capitalism worldwide.
Eric Williams advanced these powerful ideas in Capitalism and Slavery, published in 1944. Years ahead of its time, his profound critique became the foundation for studies of imperialism and economic development. Binding an economic view of history with strong moral argument, Williams's study of the role of slavery in financing the Industrial Revolution refuted traditional ideas of economic and moral progress and firmly established the centrality of the African slave trade in European economic development. He also showed that mature industrial capitalism in turn helped destroy the slave system. Establishing the exploitation of commercial capitalism and its link to racial attitudes, Williams employed a historicist vision that set the tone for future studies. In a new introduction, Colin Palmer assesses the lasting impact of Williams's groundbreaking work and analyzes the heated scholarly debates it generated when it first appeared.
Customer Reviews:
Capitalism and Slavery is definitely food for the brain........2006-08-19
This is a very, very excellent piece of work. I read and studied this book when I was a teenager in high school in Trinidad. At that time I was required to study the book as part of our Caribbean History syllabus. That was over 13 years ago. So as an adult I decided to purchase the book and appreciate the information. And boy this was the best decision I ever made. I recommend people of all races and backgrounds to read this book. As the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr. Eric Williams has left us with a gift.
Capitalism and Slavery.......2006-05-11
The basic theory underlying Eric Williams's Capitalism and Slavery is that slavery in the colonies, particularly the West Indies so far as this analysis is concerned, brought about capitalism, and thereby led to its own decline.
The first five chapters of the book explain the nature of British economics prior to the American Revolution. Synthesizing information rather than expressing his own view, Williams discusses triangular trade among England, the African coast, and the slave-holding colonies. In essence, England exported goods and ships, Africa exported slaves, and the colonies exported slave-produced raw materials.
American independence destroyed the mercantilist scheme of triangular trading. The ex-colonies now had no incentive to trade with the West Indies at their monopoly prices, instead turning to French islands for their sugar, at considerably lower prices. Consequently, British businessmen were no longer interested in giving economic protection to the West Indies because doing so without mainland North America would cost them money. One basic tenet of Adam Smith's capitalism is that business should be efficient and profitable, and monopolies simply were neither. The laissez-faire approach, or Smith's "invisible hand," meant eliminating monopolies and letting economics take its course.
During this time the Industrial Revolution also occurred, generating new machinery, most notably Watt's steam engine, and simplifying the extraction of raw materials. Ironworks were now much more efficient, for example, as was the process of turning wool into useable cloth. These advantages put Great Britain in a position to economically dominate the world. During this time also Spanish colonies in South America began breaking away from Spain, opening up vast regions for British trade. Similarly, Asia became a possibility for a wide variety of goods, most notably, in the scope of Williams' book, East Indian sugar. All these opportunities and Britain's economic superiority culminated in the end of monopolistic practices.
Slavery had precipitated these developments by generating fantastic wealth through triangular trading; without slavery, that trade scheme would not have existed. Once these developments came to pass, however, slavery proved itself largely pass?. Without the monopoly on West Indian sugar, slave trading became substantially less profitable. At the same time, when the American mainland split from Great Britain, suddenly Britain was no longer dependent on slavery for economic success, but instead could be a global distributor for goods. Furthermore, abolitionists in England gave cry to the crime of slavery, since they were no longer directly dependent on it, and eventually Britain banned the slave trade.
Williams's analysis is interesting and well worth reading. That said, his assertion that slavery declined is only partly true; it was alive and well in the southern United States. Furthermore, while Williams claims slavery brought about triangular trading, which in turn brought about the Industrial Revolution, one wonders if slavery simply expedited the arrival of the Industrial Revolution. Finally, he focuses to a significant extent on British humanitarianism in ending slavery; cynically, one must consider the relevance of slavery to those humanitarians, and how many there were after the Industrial Revolution.
A wonderful thesis withstanding the tests of time.......2006-03-21
I recently read this book for graduate school and highly recommend it. This book was written in 1940 and while critics have been able to pick at a few details within the book, noone has every successfully disproven his entire thesis - that the rise of industrial capitalism would not have been possible without the existence profits derived from slavery and the slave trade. Williams does a splended job of illustrating how slavery influenced all facets of the triangular trade, which in turn shaped Britian into an economic power. It also brings put the economic reasons for the abolitionist movement (namely, that abolitionists were motivated by free-trade, no necessarily compassion in their opposition to the slave trade).This is a must-have book for anyone interested in a strictly economic look at slavery, it's rise, fall and demise.
Misunderstanding of Islamic slavery.......2005-11-13
The last two reviewers who seemed to criticize Williams for not discussing other forms of slavery miss the point. Williams was not engaged in some sort of West bashing but attempted to explain the significance of slavery in the development of the Caribbean. Insofar as Islam is concerned, the reviewers once again miss the essential point. Rather than investigate what Islam actually says about slavery they go with a knee-jerk assumption. Here is what Kecia Ali has written about slavery in Islamic society:
"The Qur'an, which Muslims believe to have been revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century, makes numerous references to slaves and slavery (e.g., Q. 2.178; 16.75; 30.28). Like numerous passages in the Hebrew bible and the New Testament, the Qur'an assumes the permissibility of owning slaves, which was an established practice before its revelation. The Qur'an does not explicitly condemn slavery or attempt to abolish it. Nonetheless, it does provide a number of regulations designed to ameliorate the situation of slaves. It recommends freeing slaves, especially "believing" slaves (Q. 2.177). Manumission of a slave is required as expiation for certain misdeeds (Q. 4.92; 58.3) and another verse states that masters should allow slaves to purchase their own freedom (Q. 24.33).
The Qur'an also suggests certain means of integrating slaves, some of whom were enslaved after being captured in war, into the Muslim community. It allows slaves to marry (either other slaves or free persons; Q. 24.32; 2.221; 4.25) and prohibits owners from prostituting unwilling female slaves (Q. 24.33). Despite this protection against one form of sexual exploitation, female slaves do not have the right to grant or deny sexual access to themselves. Instead, the Qur'an permits men to have sexual access to "what their right hands possess," meaning female captives or slaves (Q. 23.5-6; 70.29-30). This was widely accepted and practiced among early Muslims; the Prophet Muhammad, for example, kept a slave-concubine (Mariya the Copt) who was given to him as a gift by the Roman governor of Alexandria.
Traditional Islamic law (fiqh) elaborates significantly on the Qur'anic material concerning slavery. The enslavement of war captives is regulated, along with the purchase and sale of slaves. While it is not permissible to enslave other Muslims, the jurists clarify that if a non-Muslim converts to Islam after enslavement, he or she remains a slave and may be lawfully purchased and sold like any other slave. (This rule closes a potential loophole allowing for slaves to gain their freedom by the simple fact of conversion.) The law also prescribes penalties for slave owners who maltreat or abuse their slaves; these penalties can include forced manumission of the slave without compensation to the owner.
Islamic law devotes special attention to regulating the practice of slave marriage and concubinage, in order to determine the paternity and/or ownership of children born to a female slave. A man cannot simultaneously own and be married to the same female slave. The male owner of a female slave can either marry her off to a different man, thus renouncing his own sexual access to her, or he may take her as his own concubine, using her sexually himself. Both situations have a specific effect on the status of any children she bears. When female slaves are married off, any children born from the marriage are slaves belonging to the mother's owner, though legal paternity is established for her husband. When a master takes his own female slave as a concubine, by contrast, any children she bears are free and legally the children of her owner, with the same status as any children born to him in a legal marriage to a free wife. The slave who bears her master's child becomes an umm walad (literally, mother of a child), gaining certain protections. Most importantly, she cannot be sold and she is automatically freed upon her master's death."
As for the Aztec, they had a system of slavery that also came with a bundle of rights, far different from the chattel slavery of the European variety.
Caribbean History.......2004-12-03
Although there may be complainants about Dr. Williams not addressing certain forms of slavery throughout history it has to be kept in mind that his thesis was about the hows and whys of African enslavement in the Caribbean. Williams firmly argues and details how today's culture of racism and capitalism was born.
This book is extremely well done and a great beginner for anyone interested in the topic of Caribbean history.
Customer Reviews:
Digital Cinema.......2007-08-06
I found myself thinking, "The stuff that is in this book is outdated." The cameras that he says are new were true for the time but not now.
This book did a great job of explaining to me, the history in cinematography. And again for me, if I was interested in history it would have been a decent book, hence the moose 3. However, I am new and getting into this field of digital cinema and I didn't find it as useful as I would have liked. I think this kind of stuff really is better learned on line and from websites and web blogs.
I read up on Mr. McKernan and apparently he is looked at in high regard for his quality and wealth of information. So that in it-self must make the book at least half good. I did enjoy learning some of the lingo. It was an easy to read and understand book. It was laid out in a fashion I could follow. It taught me things like interlacing and frame rate, camera choice (for its time), film is digital, small info about final cut, and a host of other things that will be helpful I am sure.
I believe the greatest piece of info in the book for me was chapter 10 on the indie films. This is more along the lines of what I was hoping to get in this book, but then again, it was only dedicated seven pages. So I got somewhat of an overview of independent film making. The book itself read as an overview, as each of the chapters were only allotted a mere 8-10 pages each. Not a lot of information can be conveyed to help someone learn if the first few pages of the eight are given to the history.
This is a history book for the class room of those pursuing digital cinema, not a book for someone interested in learning the hear and now of digital cinema, for that you need the internet.
Its appears to be the case in both book reviews that they are dated and the technology is far behind now. I will look more closely in my future obligation of book reviews, or perhaps I would lean to internet site reviews.
A comprehensive must-read for anyone in the movie biz today.......2005-10-15
In clear understandable style, with supporting interviews from industry pros, Brian has brought together the essential technological chops to understand the digital transformation that will soon impact almost every aspect of movie production and distribution. This is not a how-to guide, nor a product critique. It is a book that will jump start anyones move into a digital strategy. It also ties together historical context with the rapid evolution of HD and digital cinema while introducing readers to the companies and people making things happen. It is an excellent background to more arcane topics such as compression, color space and display technologies. It is a great prerequisite for more practical guides such as Scott Billups "Digital Moviemaking.
Thank you Mr. McKernan!
An excellent and informative book on digital cinema!.......2005-05-04
This book is excellent in describing the new revolution in digital cinema. I found it to be extremely helpful, descriptive, and informative. It is wonderfully worded and written with knowledge. I believe this book to be one of the best out there when it comes to this topic. A must-read for directors, producers, etc.
A Must Read for Digital MovieMakers!.......2005-04-27
This is a good introduction to all the big changes happening in moviemaking and movie projection.
Those changes all involve the move from film to digital that's allowing people who don't have millions of
dollars to make movies anyway with "prosumer" cameras-provided they know what they're doing and have
a good script.
I especially like Chapter Five, which explains all the latest digital cinema cameras-both the expensive ones and the ones indy filmmakers are using to break into the industry.
The book also has interviews with different filmmakers that gives a varied picture of how digital is enabling indys to make inexpensive movies while also enabling big studio filmmakers to make even more amazing big, expensive movies.
If you ever wanted to make a movie, now is the time. Anyone who's into filmmaking and digital media should read this book.
Book Description
The Antitrust Revolution: Economics, Competition, and Policy, 4/e, examines the critical role of economic analysis in recent antitrust case decisions and policy. The book consists of economic studies of twenty of the most significant antitrust cases of recent years, fourteen of them new to this edition and six updated from the third edition. These cases include alleged anticompetitive practices by Microsoft, Intel, and American Airlines; mergers-proposed or consummated-by AOL and TimeWarner, GE and Honeywell, MCI WorldCom and Sprint, and BP Amoco and ARCO; and other competitive issues such as bid rigging on school milk contracts, professional sports league practices, prescription drug pricing, and vertical restraints by manufacturers in regard to distributors. New overview essays precede the four sections of the book: Horizontal Structure, Horizontal Practices, Vertical and Related Market Issues, and Network Issues. Commissioned and edited by John E. Kwoka and Lawrence J. White, the case studies are written by prominent economists who participated in the proceedings. These economists were responsible for helping to formulate the economic issues, undertake the necessary economic research, and offer the economic arguments in court. As a result, they are uniquely qualified to describe and analyze the cases. Fully updated with the most current examples, this volume provides detailed and comprehensive insight into the central role that is now played and will continue to be played by economics and economists in the antitrust process. The Antitrust Revolution, 4/e, is ideal for undergraduate and graduate classes in industrial organization, government policy, and antitrust/regulation law and economics. It is also a useful reference book for lawyers and economists--both academics and practitioners--who are interested in the types of economic analyses that have been applied in recent antitrust cases. A companion website is now available at www.oup.com/antitrustrevolution. New to the fourth edition, the site features cases from the previous three editions.
Customer Reviews:
Predictable, Boring, and Subversive of Good Education.......2007-08-27
I recently read this book. It was, one might say, a long and hard slog. It is unfortunately in many places a standard assigned textbook. The book has three main defects. First, it is written in the most predictable, turgid, and jargon-filled academic-ese I've ever seen. Instead of saying something was important it had "ontological reality," knowledge became "epistemological units," etc. Sentences were long, with far too many modifiers, and otherwise filled with classic academic writing errata. Nearly everyone who contributed to this collection should attend serious writing workshops. I realize some of them are not capable of writing well, but it couldn't hurt. Second, the entire work assumes the conclusion. It is taken for granted that education is not chiefly about giving young people the tools to think critically, criticize and advocate for their own values, and otherwise become effective and self-guiding participants in a democracy. Instead, 100% of the authors assume that the society is basically corrupt and that social justice means, in effect, the advance of politically correct values: indifference to homosexuality, suspicion of merit, suspicion of the traditional family, and undermining the traditional power structure of the western world. And, secondly, 100% of the authors take for granted that education's job is to raise the consciousness of students in so doing. That is to say, it is assumed that there is one right answer to contentious social issues, that "consciousness raising" is the answer to the problems, that families and other authorities that disagree with this view are malevolent obstructionists, that if necessary these groups should be misled about wat will be pursued in the classroom (since they'd resist otherwise), and that education should essentially brainwash young and impressionable kids into compliant liberals before they've acquired effective critical thinking skills. Finally, the book does not grapple with developments in genetics and psychometrics that raise serious questions about the now increasingly discredited mantra that "parental socioeconomic status matters more than IQ/Test Scores, etc." Obviously, Hernnstein and Murray's "Bell Curve" is worth reading on this score, but also Arthur Jensen's "G Factor." Minority failure is a troubling part of the educational scene; unfortunately, the prescription offered here is the same old ineffective program of spending more, defining deviancy down, and passing the buck that remains onto mysterious "institutional racists."
Book Description
A $1.3 trillion industry, the US nonprofit sector is the world's seventh largest economy. From art museums and university hospitals to think tanks and church charities, over 1.5 million organizations of staggering diversity share the tax-exempt 501(c)(3) designation, if little else. Many social justice organizations have joined this world, often blunting political goals to satisfy government and foundation mandates. But even as funding shrinks and government surveillance rises, many activists often find it difficult to imagine movement-building outside the nonprofit model.
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded gathers original essays by radical activists from around the globe who are critically rethinking the long-term consequences of this investment. Together with educators and nonprofit staff they finally name the "nonprofit industrial complex" and ask hard questions: How did politics shape the birth of the nonprofit model? How does 501(c)(3) status allow the state to co-opt politi-cal movements? Activists or -careerists? How do we fund the movement outside this complex? Urgent and visionary,
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded is an unbeholden expose of the "nonprofit industrial complex" and its quietly devastating role in managing dissent.
Books:
- Financial Markets and Institutions (5th Edition) (Addison-Wesley Series in Finance)
- Financial Reporting and Analysis (3rd Edition)
- Financial Reporting and Analysis (3rd Edition)
- Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health (California Studies in Food and Culture)
- Foundations of International Macroeconomics
- Free to Choose: A Personal Statement
- Friends to the End: The True Value of Friendship
- Global Strategy (with World Map and InfoTrac )
- Globalization and Its Enemies
- Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics (Handbook of Computational Economics)
Books Index
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