Social Sciences Books

Very nice selection of texts, helpful biographical info about authors - everything that a textbook needs.
The only downside is the price, but it's worth the money.

I find it helpful as a Spanish language learner that they define a number of the words that are not used in Spanish today. I wish I was more interested in hispanic literatura but so far I find most of the stories boring. I use this book in my required spanish lit class, so I had to buy it! Maybe by the end of the semester I find it more enlightening!

I used this book in a class at the University of NC. I actually liked the book & the class. It gives a nice overview of different literary periods and literature written during each one. It contains poesia, drama and narrativas.

This is an extremely helpful book for those who start studying literary analysis in Spanish as well as for very green literary scholars. The introduction to the special terms is easy to follow and the english equivalents are in their right places and don't distract you. Go ahead, you'll love using it in your Spanish or literary analysis class!

Aproximaciones is a wonderful tool for the student learning about Spanish literature. The selections are well analyzed by the author and the biographies provide an overview of the cultures and perspectives of the different time periods. The chronological order of the readings makes it easy to understand the different stages of the Spanish literature and the various literary movements affecting the arts, the philosophy, and society of medieval to modern times.

Betty Friedan's 1962 classic on feminism, based on her own interviews as well as research by others, like: Sigmund Freud (who she generally disagrees with), Margaret Mead, Dr. Alfred Kinsey, and Henry Maslow, provides insight into the status of American women of that era. Those who chose housewifery over higher education are especially maligned, less so are those who became educated and then obtained an MRS. According to Friedan, most women of that time felt unfulfilled living the life of a hausfrau. Each chapter covers a different aspect of the "feminine mystique" aka "mystique," phrases used interchangeably and occurring about 200 times in the book. "The problem that has no name" seems to be that American women were kept from growing to their full capacities due to the expectations of others. The author provides alternately what seems like reasonable, reliable information on women, for example, the attitude of many men (and probably some women) that they needn't bother becoming educated because they will become wives and mothers anyway, as well as contentions and conclusions (sometimes based on others' research) that are excessively inflammatory or just plain wrong. Among them, the comparison of housewife wannabes with concentration camp victims, (p 423) `...the women...who grow up wanting to be "just a housewife," are in as much danger as the millions who walked to their own death in the concentration camps...' and that mothers are at least partially to blame for schizophrenia, (p 414) `As for the causes, the authorities felt that they "must examine the personality of the mother, who is the medium through which the primitive infant transforms himself into a socialized human being."' This sort of heavy-handedness is a major turnoff of the book. Ms. Friedan, founder of the National Organization for Women, fit the role of educated unsatisfied housewife that she wrote of so extensively (and had some pretty unconventional political views). In the epilogue she tells about her divorce (in 1969) after which she felt "less lonely than any time in her life."

As a college-educated mom, I too cringe every time I write "housewife" on the line marked "Occupation," but thankfully, gone are the days when women chose not to bother with college because being a wife and mother was so important. Hopefully, women who choose to have children and can afford to do so will make the choice that is best for their children (tougher than any paying job I've ever had). The Feminine Mystique was a landmark book in the 1960s, and contains information that is both timeless and timely, spot on and off the mark. I found some of the historical information and research particularly interesting, but her personal interviews with women generally awful. Those who loved this book will likely also enjoy: The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, Servants of the Map by Andrea Barrett, and Runaway by Alice Munro.

I am a 23 yr. old woman reading a book that was written in 1963 for and about women. I thought this book would help me learn more about women's history, but it was a huge eye-opener and a complete inspiration. The chapters in this book still describe me as a young American woman almost 40 yrs. later. Every woman and man should read this book. It has completely opened my eyes.

I have long avoided reading this book, since I knew that Ms Friedan had a low opinion of housewives, and being one myself, I didn't think reading this book would do me any good. However, I finally took the plunge, and found it even worse than I had imagined.

Ms Friedan's loathing for the housewife is so venemous that it took me quite aback. Housewives, she reckoned, are mentally arrested, infantile women, afraid to engage in the 'real world' of work (it goes without saying that the workplace is more 'real' than the home, at any rate in Ms Friedan's estimation).

Her theory was that any woman who spent her life as a housewife was wasting her time, only in paid work could a woman really find fulfillment. And not just any paid work either. She doesn't have a kind word to say for the men who work at jobs which are not exciting, fulfilling, and challenging either. The housewife is no more making a significant contribution to society, she tells us, than is the man imagines he has built a car because he tightens the bolts on the assembly line. It doesn't seem to occur to Ms Friedan that we can't all be brain surgeons, college professors, and high court judges. Someone's got to tighten the bolts.

Ms Friedan believed that the rash of divorces in America at the time she was writing the book (early 60s) were caused by men being sick of supporting their useless wives. However, since nowadays most wives work, and since the rate of divorce has not noticeably decreased, I can't help feeling that perhaps the zombie-like housewife is not ENTIRELY to blame for this situation. She thought housewives were to blame for child-battering and homosexuality as well. Neither of those things have noticeably decreased since women gave up being housewives.

Even women who are not housewives are not necessarily safe from Ms Friedan's icy disapproval. She launches an attack on Shirley Jackson and Jean Kerr, both of whom wrote sublimely funny books about raising their children. Ms Friedan seems to be annoyed that even a career woman might think that her children are worth writing about.

But then I'm only a dumb housewife, what would I know?

Betty Friedan is known for her work in feminism, this book is well written. All modern women should read this book for a point of reference. Good read, a good reference book to own.

Let me start off by saying that this book got an additional star from me because I completely agree with the point of this book: That if woman doesn't stand up and provide themselves with an identity and use themselves to their whole potential, they will become incomplete and nothing. This is mainly summed up in the chapter: A New Life Plan for Women. I recommend this book simply on this chapter. It is inspiring, positive, and relevant for women to read, even to this day. However, the rest of this book was hard for me to get through. In reference to the title of my review, I am young and perhaps I can't relate to some of the issues Ms. Friedan has brought up because of the women's movement of the '60's and '70's which has provided me with more opportunity, as a woman, to make life and career choices for myself without pressure or guilt. I am glad that I don't have the restrictions that women had back then and I am so grateful that there were women out there that knew our potential and were not willing to compromise it. But asides from possibly not liking the material because I found it hard to relate to, I did find that Ms.Friedan used alot of subject matter that is at best, subjective (for instance, the chapter Mistaken Choice was absurdly biased-- she makes references that the men in the military that were rejected for service due to mental issues usually came from homes that had doting overly loving mothers, that juvenile deliquency was non-existent in the homes of mothers who worked, that Russian children were more stable and adjusted than American children because their mothers worked or had interests outside the home etc, and that she even goes to imply that over loving a child is more traumatic for the child than raising them in a household where whippings and beatings are frequent possibilties.) There are other scattered observations that she made that I found hard to swallow as well, such as part of the chapter The Sexual Sell which implies that business caters to the homemakers because they do all the buying, and that mothers with careers or serious interests outside the home do not have the time to take to buy from business. I find it hard to believe that big business couldn't capitalize on the working mom. I can't believe that a working mom wouldn't be interested in an appliance that could cut her time to get chores done back then as well as today. That part of the chapter made no sense to me. Basically, I felt that Ms. Friedan used a lot of subjective facts, scare tactics (mother and housewife bashing), and propaganda that was unnecessary, at best, to get to her more inspiring point. I felt that all that "material" detracted from the point of the book, but I am glad I made it all the way through to get to the "New Plan." That's where the "heart of the artichoke" lies. But to those of you who feel that the point of the book is, "women who are unhappy with their lives are this way because they don't have a job" are missing the point. While although it is evident that she found her calling through her career and those around her (upper middle class women with privilege) did the same, her point is for women to challenge themselves and demand more than what is offered. Don't settle for less.

The book is beautiful and I love how the content is presented. Now, if only I could check my procrastination and do my work, I might enjoy the associated class as much...

The online book material is only accessible for a year after online registration, but the online chapers can be downloaded as PDF files...if you're buying the book from someone, make sure you get chapters 22 and 23 from them!!

Everyone should read this book.Find who is getting a free lunch and most are only getting table scraps!

This book is probably best read in small portions, as the average person will become incensed at the greed that takes from the less and gives to the more. Fortunately, each chapter covers a specific rip off of the taxpayer, and is not too long. It might raise the blood pressure of the average person to read too many chapters at one time.

Yes, the wealthy and connected have rigged the system to flow the riches to themselves.

If there is one theme to the book, it is the Adam Smith's advice that government should not favor one endeavor over another is deaf to the people that continually use Adam Smith as the reason for government getting out of the way. It is not free enterprise when government takes one side, which is what the wealthy and well connected have the government do.

A good companion is Hostile Takeover by David Sirota (available on Amazon Kindle).Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government--And How We Take It Back

His prior book, Perfectly Legal, is a good primer, although a bit dated as to how the wealthy avoid taxes. In Free Lunch, it is how the wealthy get subsidies. Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich--and Cheat Everybody Else

An excellent, well-documented and readable investigation and analysis of how the whole system of American government, at Federal, State and Local levels, has been used for the past 30 years or so to tax the poor and the middle class in order to enrich the already wealthy. If you think this sounds like the system in France in 1788, you are absolutely right. If you are not angry already, you need to read this book. If you are angry already, you still need to read this book in order to confirm all your worst suspicions. There is something rotten in the States of America, and if the infection of our body politic is not dealt with soon, it will turn to gangrene and kill democracy completely.

A very informative and straight-ahead book revealing, anecdote by real-life anecdote, how, during the Bush/Clinton/Bush administrations, our public commons -- in other words, our tax dollars -- increasingly have been routinely commandeered by a tiny and superrich elite for their own exhorbitant profit. In the form of public subsidies for private developers and retailers, such as Cabelas and Wal-Mart, and through privatization of our utility companies starting with Enron's massive rip-off of our public commons, Johnston shows how the wolves (greedy privateers) have not only gained entrance into the henhouse of our national treasury but, through intensive lobbying efforts, are exercising too much control over our elected officials today, basically funding the rewriting of our national laws to ensure their own dominant position and ongoing aggregation of riches.

The book makes sense of a lot of things that were not adding up to me when looking around our current landscape -- like why my electric bill has skyrocketed in the last couple of years (thank you, Kenny Lay), or what kind of business "sense" was behind that monstrous box store of Cabelas on Rte. 78 in Hamburg, PA. Or even why oil and gas prices are going through the roof right now. It's not supply and demand at all, it's sleight of hand and basic greed and power-grabbing. Johnston shows how the scales of supply and demand no longer balance the markets, as the PR mavens would like us to believe. When private companies are subsidized with public funds, Adam Smith-type free market competition proves but a chimera, a smokescreen behind which privateers hide, avidly sucking our economy dry and bankrupting our society. Read the book.

Very well written book. It's very sad, especially since you read it and don't have any power to do anything about it, but it's very well written.

Today I've found in my mail the Study Guide for Benett & Hess's Criminal Investigation. It was a shock! It is the first time in my life I see an empty book. It seems a copybook. The text too, is very poor of information. Is completely useless. It was un error to buy it. I was convinced to buy a textbook. This was an error of mine, probability because the reviews of the workbook are mixed with those of the textbook and the average is calculated using all of them (I hope this happened by error). Pay attention. By the way, I've found an use for the mine: I've put it under the short leg of the shelf in my attic. Who said that it is an useless book.

more of a high school book but works for me, buy it used!

What a useless study guide. All this does is reprint the chapter summary and removes a few words and asks you to fill in the blanks. Do not, repeat, NOT, waste your money on this.
What a cheap ripoff by the publisher.

I used this textbook in a Bachelor Degree level course called Criminal Investigation. It is easy to read and understand...you practically teach the material to yourself. I highly recommend it for college level courses. Very comprehensible and up to date text!

I bought this book, and it was the textbook, not a study guide, the last reviewer was fooled!

This might be a good "primer" for those interested in a quick survey/overview of lots of topics. For those with some experience, it probably won't seem insightful -- or even useful. I've already given my copy away. It just doesn't add knowledge, or anything else, that will make a practicing visual artist's work better or help her/him evolve it.

This is a great book. I am thoroughly enjoying reading it. Its easy reading helps when studying for a test.

Lester's text offers the most comprehensive overview of visual communication I have come across. His preferred framework is clearly semiotic, but he offers a fair treatment of other theories as well. Section one covers the biological functions of seeing, including the role of the brain, the retina and the eye. He favors the active version of visual processing over the passive version.

Section two covers what we see which can be summarized with four basic visual perception cues; color, form, depth and movement. Lester discusses how the brain divides and sorts visual messages and explains that how we see helps to explain why we see. Also in section two he introduces the theories of visual communication which he divides into two subdivisions, sensual and perceptual. Sensual theories are based on the physical senses and boil down to the idea that direct or mediated images are composed of light and little else. A visual sensation is a stimulus from the outside that activates nerve cells within your sense organs. These produce raw data and include such theories as gestalt, constructivism and ecological. Gestalt theories conclude that perception is a result of a combination of sensations, and not individual sensual elements (p 52). According to Gestalt laws, there are five factors that identify whether objects in a visual field can be recognized as being in the foreground (positive space) or background (negative space); symmetry, convexity, meaning, area, orientation and attention to visual forms that make up pictures (p 56). Perceptual theories are concerned with the meaning that humans associate with the images they see. In other words these theories have to do with what is done in the brain after combining all the information from your sensual organs. Lester categorizes semiotic and cognitive theories as the perceptual theories (p 67-68). Semiology is a complex system of analysis and the author's overview is quite helpful. Cognitive theories postulate that visual perception is a function of meanings that we associate with objects through learned behavior or intelligent assumptions. Key theorists are Irving Biederman who determined that only 36 geons (geometric ions) are needed to make all objects, Richard Gregory, and Carolyn bloomer who suggests that perception is not stable, rather activities such as habituation, dissonance, projection, expectation, memory selectivity, culture and words can affect visual perception.

In section three, Lester covers visual ethics; visual persuasion in advertising, PR and journalism, and pictorial stereotyping. Section four offers six perspectives for analyzing any image; personal, historical, technical, ethical, cultural and critical, using all of these perspectives he goes on to analyze examples of typography (chapter 8), graphic design (chapter 9), informational graphics (chapter 10), cartoons (chapter 11), photography (chapter 12), motion pictures (chapter 13), television/video (chapter 14), computers (chapter 15), and interactive media (chapter 16). Lester's perspective choices for visual analysis are somewhat unique to him, although there are similarities within or across categories to other perspectives for example his technical analysis is similar to a compositional analysis one might see described in an art history text. This book is an excellent jumping off point for further research into the emerging visual communication field.

This book was a eye opening experience that allows you to appreciate something most of us take for granted -- SIGHT. It encourages you to look beyond the physicality of sight and to become acutely aware of the images you see from day-to-day.

Dr. Lester has performed a service for myself and anyone else who reads this book. It drives you to absorb more of the world that we "see" everyday.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in graphical design, imagery, or to those who want a deeped appreciation for the power that images play in our lives!

I am sorry I bought this book. It was written by a college professor for students, readers that have no choice but to buy the book, and it reads that way. The author does not use his own vision and voice to criticize and to explain criticism but instead relies on a survey of methods used by critics. The writing was wooden, and the book had an overwhelming emphasis on staged, "arty" photographs. I could not bring myself to finish this book and have given it to my local library for their book sale.

When I reviewed the third edition of this book several years ago, I didn't rate it highly, but I thought that perhaps the fourth edition might be a better book, and it is.

Despite its subtitle, which might lead you to believe it is about understanding pictures, the bulk of this book is directed at formal criticism of photographs. After an introductory chapter on the nature of criticism, Barrett suggests a process for criticizing photographs that includes description, interpretation and judgment. The author also suggests a classification scheme for photographs which he believes could be useful in forming judgments, although I found it no better then many other taxonomies and at times difficult to apply to many photographs. Throughout he mentions many schools of analysis, like formalism and feminism and shows how these schools might influence criticism. He then launches a foray into photographic critical theory which is concise but accurate and which deals with such questions as the truth and morality of photography. He finally talks about the act of writing criticism and also about critiquing photographs.

Barrett illustrates his points with many helpful examples of written criticism. Most of the examples deal with pictures of the modern or post-modern school, but the information is transferable to other kinds of photography. The book is illustrated with both color plates and black and white plates, although the black and white plates are spread throughout the book, which leads to a lot of page flipping. It would be nice if the next edition included a page number when these plates are referred to.

The subtitle, "An Introduction to Understanding Images" might lead one to expect that there would be some insights into how and why photographs work but I became aware that Barrett presumed his audience would have some prior knowledge of this. Thus while he spoke of the importance of a photographer's technique in understanding a photo, there was no mention of how technique might be used to convey a photographer's vision. In the earlier edition, I found this a serious weakness, but it now seems clear that the author expects that this kind of information will come from somewhere else. On the other hand, the careful reader will derive some idea of what to look for in a photograph by reading the many examples.

No one wanting to come to an understanding of how to read a photograph from a single volume will learn to do so from this book. In fact, no one volume is likely to do that, although a book like "The Photographer's Eye" by John Szarkowski would be a good place to start. On the other hand, for the individual who knows something about the nature of photography, or within the context of a larger course of study, this is a good book to begin to learn how to write photographic criticism.

This book was require for my college level digital photography course, but I felt that it did not do an adequate job of explaining the concepts it covers. The book is dull and merely lists other photographs as examples (they are not included in the text).

this book is probably going to be one of the required books for photography in college but it's not a horrible book. not the most exciting, but definitely has enough to get one started with critical thinking about photography and such.

Includes miles of intellectual blather. Fits well into sexually charged point of view of photography. Uses most horrific and grotesk as examples. On page 33 in third edition author mentions head decapitation as one photographer's "external" influences. Uses sexual pictures as examples. Generally a politically correct lightly negative type discourse on photography. I feel sorry for the students subjected to this pulp.

or anything even close and along with Whitaker's Dancing with the Family, this is a brilliantly written book. More than any other book on working with families and learning about the dynamics of our own, this book has by far stayed with me the very most and left the deepest imprint and the most valuable learning. Its a book to read again and again and I am truly grateful that Napier took the time to write this book. I wish it was required reading for all us human beanies.

Napier's self-reflections as well as his piecing together a fascinating case study makes this book an inspiring, if a little dated, read for those considering or heading into family and marriage therapy.

This book was recommended to me by a psychologist as a new way to look at how we each develop in a system (in particular family relationships), and that system must be taken into account. It did just that. Through the story of a family in crisis, alternated with chapters of description and consideration of why the crisis develops, the reader is invited to understand how we can view their issues as part of a whole. For me some of the more important points included:

* How we behave and what we feel is greatly influenced by the family we are in and the dynamics of that family. For example, a daughter in the family "is elected" to become a problem because the parents need something to draw their attention away from the problems of their marriage.
* How we behave and what we feel actually can start way before we're born in grandparents and great-grandparents family dynamics.
* That communication and agreements can happen within the family even without the knowledge it's happened.
* Not to underestimate the need in healthy family dynamics for conflict.
* That healthy dynamics require honest communication of emotions we are feeling.
* Exercise of our respective authorities (parents for instance having more experience than kids so show it) are needed in healthy families.
* many more things
I did find some of the descriptions of behavior felt dated such as Freud framing more of the discussion than I currently hear in the field (both for his contributions and failures)and I believe we'd currently put different emphasis on some theories. For this I dropped a star off the rating. Nevertheless it opened my eyes to a wider understanding of myself and the dynamics of intimate human relationships around me, that become part of who I am.

I first read this gem many years ago, long before I became a therapist myself. What an eye opener! Even reading the first Chapter (it's all of 11 pages) is enough to get you thinking in a fresh way about family problems. It certainly worked that way for me.

The book really is about Carl Whitaker, M.D. Augustus Napier was his understudy. Whitaker worked within the idea of family-as-a-system without limiting himself too much with theory. This allowed his methods to evolve as he treated more and more families. And it allowed a book like this to be written: lucid because it makes so much sense, dramatic because so much happens in the family whose treatment it describes, hopeful because it shows how much impact family therapy can have.

It wasn't that he didn't know theory. It's that as person he was intuitive, following his gut time and again, and eventually coming out with some guidelines for other family therapists, such as: -The therapist doesn't control the content of a family session, but she or he does control who will be there (this is dramatically dealt with in the first few chapters), -The therapist can cause change by stirring things up and getting family members to look at problems freshly, and -The therapist's job is to re-vision the problem as a communication that is somehow functional.

Typical is Whitaker's view that often the "identified patient" in the family is a stand-in for some other problem that the family cannot face without the help of a therapist.

Since this great book was written family therapy went through a boom time, was very popular. Then it became integrated into what is often called multi-modal therapy, in which family members sometimes come in individually, sometimes in small groups (ie the parents one time, the children another), sometimes as a whole. Still, it is necessary to understand family systems in order to work this way.

People looking into therapy will find this a great explanation of family issues that otherwise may seem baffling. It might also be a motivator to treatment.

Therapists trained individually will find this a fine introduction to working with families. They will also benefit from reading other luminaries in this field.

Awesome book about family therapy. Am studying for Masters in Family Therapy so this is perfect vicarious way to look behind the scenes (inside the therapists heads) as they enter disjointed world of the subject family. They share what they are feeling, thinking and why they do what they do. An excellent example of whatworking with a co-counselor is supposed to be like. Dynamics of all the Relationships exposed in easy to follow honest terms.

As a non-economist there were many things about our current economic situation that are not explained in the press with any level of clarity. Talbert not only explains the current state of the economy but how we arrived at this point and how the Obama plan will return us to prosperity. Talbert offers an honest assessment of the Obama plan, including criticisms and insights for the return of our economy to health. He also identifies the consequences of not making dramatic changes now.

I couldn't put it down! Obamanomics is full of fascinating stories about economy and public policy, while always building the big picture. John Talbott helped me to see how cooperation and compassion, on all levels, are entirely logical, and even self-serving. Just a few people on this planet possess such refinement of intellect and heart; fortunately for us, Talbott also possesses the requisite eloquence to share these qualities with his readers.

I met John Talbott at a book signing in Chicago and found him to be thoughtful, knowledgeable, and concerned. He has proven that he understands important global trends by his correct, courageous, and early calls on our current financial crisis. In Obamanomics, he is presenting not only a cogent ananlysis of Barack Obama's programs, but in doing so, he is explaining how our society works---the economics--great overview, the politics--how we can exert influence, our culture--how we think and act, and important problems--healthcare, global warming.

I don't usually say read this, but you must READ THIS to learn about yourself and your options, and how to help others better.

Please don't get thrown off with an impression of a three star rating. This book has its strong points - it has clear and crisp prose, the section on home ownership is great (not surprising given the author's reputation), he avoids getting bogged down in statistics, and he goes to painful lengths explaining a few areas where he disagrees with what Obama presents in his speeches. Unfortunately, as a complete volume, I walked away with the impression that this is a summary of Obama's policy views, with a little bit of the author's opinion sprinkled in. Starting every chapter with an excerpt of an Obama speech is good propaganda, but lacks policy analysis depth. With a title of Obamanomics, I was hoping for a better explanation of why bottom-up economics is better than trickle-down, but instead I bought 200 pages of policy summary, a lot I could have gotten free off a website. Perhaps in this election year, this book will convince some swing voters who want a brief summary of how Obama will possibly be different, but explanations of why he will be different are lacking.

"Obamanomics" presents some of the approaches an Obama administration would employ to lower the debt, close the gap between the rich and poor, and lessen the enormous influence corporations have on U.S. and global society in general The Corporation. There is a tendency among supporters of plutocracy to ridicule those who criticize corporations, but it's a critique that's even more necessary now than it was when Teddy Roosevelt was trust-busting, and when Thomas Jefferson was saying, "I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
Obama does not accept money from lobbyists, which is a stark contrast to John McCain who welcomes lobbyists into his "straight-talk" bus McCain: The Myth of a Maverick.

Talbott points out that an Obama administration would be friendlier toward the working class, which has suffered tremendously under the Bush administration Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class - And What We Can Do about It (BK Currents (Paperback)). As people are pressured to work more hours while losing benefits, CEOs and the investor class walk off with wheel barrows full of money. To add insult to injury, a lot of the wealthy's so-called "earnings" come about through taxpayer investment in research and development, tax credits, government purchases, and countless other forms of socialism for the rich Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill).

An Obama administration will face all sorts of obstacles to creating real change. Our plutocracy is deeply entrenched and ruthless The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. Nevertheless, this book shows that there is a movement developing that is bigger than Obama and is doing its own work to advance causes like worker rights A Country That Works: Getting America Back on Track, Fair Trade Fair Trade for All: How Trade Can Promote Development, and sustainability Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage. Even if the right-wing rigs this election (see books like "How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative" and DVDs such as "Hacking Democracy"), concerned people will continue the paradigm shift that is reflected in the Obama phenomenon and in journals like Yes!. Whether it will grow large enough and quickly enough is hard to say, but it's fun to watch its development and to find ways to make our own contributions Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, and Courage in a World Gone Mad.

The first book arrived damaged and I returned it the same day. Amazon immediately shipped another book at no charge without waiting to receive the damaged one. Exceptional service!