Social Sciences Books

I have seldom been so disappointed with a book, which was good enough to read all the way through. Much of the text has as much to do with near death experiences as the ribbon and wrapping paper have to do with the present inside. Much of the discussion is about (1) the author's training to become, a physician from M.D. through residency and Ph.D. with various job descriptions of the entailed steps, (2) experimental design for probing near death experience (rather than research findings!, more on this in a moment), and (3) the mostly futile quest for funding for this research. This book has been published prematurely. The first half, for instance, describes the author's attempt to design an experiment to test the validity of out-of-body experiences associated with cardiac arrest. He and a crew of friends hang from the hospital ceiling message boards whose messages can only be ascertained by a perceiver looking on from above, i.e., floating above the resuscitation attempt on that person's body. But the author reports in the book not one instance of these "messages" being viewed or, for that matter, not viewed! It is as if the first half of the book is a detailed description of an experiment being set up whose findings were completely inconclusive. What bothers me most is the hybridizing in approach to subject: joining the narrative techniques of fiction (i.e., the creating of suspense about the outcome of the experiment) with the prose techniques appropriate for a scientific article in a technical journal (i.e., dispassionate reporting of inconclusive results).

But, in fact, the book is overall an account of a weird set of circumstances of which the author himself appears unaware. He set out to design an experiment to probe near-death and particularly out-of-body experiences. The experiment came to naught, but a nurse unwittingly disclosed what was going on with the experiment to another nurse, and word of the experiment went the rumor mill of the hospital and eventually leaked to the press who persuaded the public relations person at the hospital to induce the author to interview. The resultant media coverage then triggered people who had had the experiences to write to the author. Their accounts are in fact the most interesting material in the book. He quotes them, and their prose is much more textured and nuanced than the dispassionate narrative voice of the text. So it was the experiment gone bad--i.e., its design was supposed to be kept from the hospital staff so that they could not affect or influence the accounts of would-be "out-of-bodiers"--that turned up the best evidence for or, at least, best probing of the near-death experience. The author seems unaware of the irony that the flaw in the experimental design led to the best material he has to report in this book. It is almost of if the author's consciousness has yet to grow into consonance with his material.

The subtitle is "A Groundbreaking Study into the Nature of Life and Death". The only study in the book is hardly groundbreaking because it yielded no useful results due to insufficient data. The author even admitted that. Then the author talks about another study involving out-of-body experiences, but can't do it because he has no funding, and that's where the research ends. The book is padded with anecdotal accounts of NDEs that the author received in the mail. That's hardly very scientific. There are terse rehashes of other scientists' work, but again it reads like a way to pad the book because the author has nothing new to add. In two different places, the concept of correlation was mentioned, and it was butchered both times. Don't waste your money if you're interested in science.

Have you ever wondered what it is like to die? Have you ever wondered about "near death experiences" or "out of body experiences"? Then this is book is for you.

Sam Parnia, MD, PhD in "What Happens When We Die" covers the history of near-death experiences (NDEs), the results of studies to date on NDEs, conventional and non-conventional theories on what causes NDEs, and implications for future research of NDEs, including his own on-going scientific study.

Near-death experiences are characterized by:
1. An experience of peace, well-being, and an absence of pain.
2. A sense of detachment from the physical body, progressing to and out-of-body experience.
3. Entering darkness, a tunnel experience with panoramic memory, and a predominately positive effect.
4. An experience of light that is bright, warm, and attractive
5. Entering the light; meeting persons or figures

At present, NDEs, and whether they are real of not, depends on the social group that is asked. If we question those people who have had an NDE, they mostly believe that it is real experience, whereas if a group of skeptics is asked, they will say they are not. We do know that a near-death experience has a profoundly religious impact on those who experience it, and many of them perform altruistic acts afterward.

Parnia concludes that at the very least, the dying process is a pleasant experience for the majority. He also concludes that the mind and consciousness may exist separately from the brain and also, during, and at least for some time, after death. This connection or lack thereof has significant implications for ethics, theology, and philosophy.

My father had a NDE several years before he died. I have had a deep interest in this subject ever since. "What Happens When We Die" integrates medicine, science, and first person stories to provide the best overview of the subject to date.

The beginning is fine since he was telling the NDE experiences of patients who had cardiac arrest. After he ran of out experiences to talk about, he basically focused on his attempt of his first research, which he didn't explain any further, then jumped into his struggles to raise funds for more advanced studies, repeating again and again the same thing about how people's NDE experience transformed them.

This has to be one of the most diappointing books I have read on this subject. Basically, it is a bunch of theories by other researchers that are tossed around in a disorganized fashion (peppered by some anecdotal accounts from people who have experienced NDE's, which was somewhat interesting.) There wasn't even a study completed due to lack of funding, so nothing was ever examined. Very misleading and really a waste of time.

This book makes an good and convincing case for the importance of environmental issues as they affect the well being of all societies developed and developing.

The book is centered around the collapse of past societies, although this is only one of four sections in the book. The first section concerns the environmental problems of Montana to give the reader a personal perspective of societies interaction with its environmental problems. The second section gives the book its title and Diamond goes into the collapse of several historical societies - the Maya, Easter Island, the Greenland Norse, and numerous other societies. One of Diamond's strengths is that he tries to end on a positive note and in the second section he examines historical societies that overcame environmental problems. The third section looks at modern societies facing environmental problems - Hati, Rwanda, Australia and others. Here the author looks at how the same problems that affected past societies are still relevant because they are affecting societies around us today. He also looks to strengthen the connection that he started in the first two sections between environmental problems and political problems. Diamond goes through great lengths to stress that he does not believe that one's fate is solely determined by the environment, but he makes a good case that a society cannot properly combat their political fate without understanding their environmental problems. The forth section is meant to make all of the lessons discussed in the previous chapters relevant to the readers of the book - mainly well-off, first world citizens. He looks at the obstacles to confronting environmental problems and how to best influence companies and societies.

Throughout the book I think Diamond makes a good effort to maintain a balance view and to legitimately understand and address the complaints that many people raise to environmentalist agendas. While I do not consider this to be an overarching book on the world's problems and how to solve them, it would be a good addition to the reading list of anyone who wants to understand the relationship of environmental and political problems and some steps that can be taken to solve them.

Not quite as good as his best-known book, "Guns, Germs and Steel", mostly because the first 50 pages are about Montana. Who cares about Montana? I barely even know where it is. But after that it gets wicked awesome. Unfortunately you can't really skip the Montana parts - too many concepts are introduced that you'll need later - but hey, it's Diamond; you can suck it up for 50 pages. Vikings come later. Vikings!

I have been following the many trends on ecology, politics, and economics for many years. I'll admit I'm a complete pessimist in regards to human nature. Yet Diamond's book gives me a bit of hope that the message of stewardship vs resource consumption may be considered in a systematic way. My hope derives (ironically) from the well-researched conclusion that without a change of course, our planet's ruling class will soon face political/economic unrest resulting from widespread starvation, disease, and death.

Diamond presents overwhelming evidence from the past and current state of affairs to support this idea, without sounding preachy. The bummer is that in the past, rulers insulated themselves from the unrest rather than addressing societal problems, until it was far too late. The dying masses eventually revolted and killed the rulers along with their neighbors. Perhaps through this book (and others like it), those in power today will absorb this lesson and try to avoid the grisly finale.

The scholarship of the book is excellent, as is the writing; later chapters are somewhat more speculative about the eventual impact of humans. Some of the later chapters have a bit of a redundant feel too, as if the author makes his point a few too many times. Yet this is easily the most thoughtful book I've read on a very important topic: what happens when a society becomes it's own worst enemy due to shortsighted policy and a relatively comfortable existence based primarily on depletion of natural resources and ignorance of waste.

I recommend this book more than any other I've read in several years; it is well written, scholarly, and compelling. Enough said. You owe it to yourself to read it, and then pass along the recommendation.

I was sorry to find underlining in the book. Underlining should be revealed as part of the condition of the book,

Jared Diamond has a gift for explaining complex phenomena to the average person in a way that is captivating and digestible. In this book, he tackles a topic (the collapse of societies) that is depressing to some and terrifying to others (I suppose it is infuriating to those who just want to be free to build a mine with no environmental protection). He manages to keep the reader's attention for over five hundred pages and leave us with hope for the future -- if we can learn the lessons of the past. He is well read and there is a lot of research behind the book. These are the chief positives. I read the book and was quite taken by it.

The negatives take a bit more time to appreciate. Although Diamond creates a fairly consistent picture that supports his five point framework, it seems that there are other versions of some of the stories (e.g., the fate of the Greenland Norse) that may not fit it so well. Also, if you abstract the five point framework you get something like this: there are five factors that lead to societal collapse (self inflicted environmental damage, climate change, the presence of hostile neighbors, the absence of trading partners and finally the efficacy of societies response to the previously mentioned four factors), not all apply in all cases and of course there are other factors (not featured) that sometimes apply. At that point one is tempted to ask, why is five a magic number? I believe the answer is because those are the factors that Diamond wants to talk about -- or because those are the five that the average person wants to hear about. They fit my agenda so I initially accepted them at face value. It was not until I was challenged to think of other factors that lead to societal collapse that the five point framework started to collapse for me (e.g., didn't Jared Diamond write a Pulitzer Prize winning book called " Guns, GERMS and Steel" that talks about the devastating effects that pestilence had on the indigenous cultures of the New World?) . If the five point framework has value, it is as a literary device, not a scientific theory. If taken seriously, it is the kind of framework that finds its way into orthodoxy and creates barriers for further investigation. To me this is a fairly big minus.

Some may say I analyze too much: I should just read and enjoy. But isn't that, after all, the point of scientific inquiry? Isn't that supposed to be the basis for such a book?

This book started out in the town of Ada where Ron Williamson was to be the next Mickey Mantle. He played all through his young career and became good enough to become a professional baseball player. He then left his small town to make his dreams come true and soon he signed with the Oakland A's. He returned to his hometown a couple of years later because he fell into the bad habits of alcohol and drug use. He couldn't maintain a job anymore and ended up moving back home with his mother.

In 1982, a waitress named Debbie Carter was murdered. The police were clueless of who the killer was, but they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. Then the two were charged with capital murder and were sentenced to the death penalty.

In my opinion, the truth about the criminal justice system in America will shock you.

John Grisham did a great job in writing his first non-fiction book. This story was a page turner from the beginning to the end.

I admire John Grisham for his work and depth here. It doesn't read like one of his thrillers, but it is gripping. I did find some areas a bit repetitive, but overall this is a fantastic narrative presentation of the facts, exactly how I like it in my favorite book type, true crime. I'm one of those softies who tends to really believe in innocent until proven guilty, and unlike Nancy Grace, I don't believe in circumstantial evidence for homicide cases. It'd be really interesting to get John Grisham (an ex defense lawyer, right?) and Nancy Grace (an ex prosecutor) together on a show. What a match that would be. The book feels long at times, but never bores, and I actually felt so sorry for the victims in this book. It was really interesting to see the photos of Ron Williamson before and after his ordeal. I was so captivated by this whole story, I actually went to the website of the prosecutor mentioned by the author in the book. It is interesting to see him defending himself. Please write more true crime, Mr. Grisham.

My first "true crime" book. And wow. I am really shocked that something like this can happen...that people this obviously innocent can be committed and even placed on death row. I suppose I'm a bit naive to the system but I'd like to believe that justice is better served.

If this was a fiction book, I'd have never believed this story.

I think I'll definitely try some more true crime books. This wasn't the most supremely written book I've ever seen, but it was good. It read well though the names got a bit confusing as there were a lot given without much "characterization" except for the main characters. I think it was an interesting subject, but it could have been presented a bit more clearly.

John Grisham writes good fiction books that I always read when travelling, fast paced interesting stories with plots twists that keep the pages turning. While some are better than others, I will pick up a book of his when I see his name on the cover. I did that with this book not realizing that it was not his non-fiction standard fare. It was a good purchase because true events make this book even more gripping.

Though it is a story that is often heard both in fiction and non-fiction works rlating to people who are innocent of crimes (trials, police investigations, and the rest), the fact that this is non-fiction makes it all the more powerful. It also brings to light things that we have all heard about regarding the justice system.

The book is full of details that are important to fully understand the subject and though not as quick/easy reading when compared to his fiction, including them to me just made the book more intriguing and worthwhile.

I am glad that I made a "mistake" and picked it up.

I've admired Grisham from the beginning, but this first non'fiction book of his raises his stature even higher in my estimation because he uses his talents to portray a gross miscarriage of justice. The fact that such an event can happen to an ordinary citizen is certainly chilling enough. But the aftermath is even more chilling as we see the attitude of the authorities after the innocence of two men was basically proven. Also chilling is how the citizens of the town reacted to the acquitta. This is a brutal look at law enforcement and the judicial process and certainly deserves being widely read.

This book is widely used for doctoral programs in social sciences. Overall, it's a well-written book, but the author uses the term "paradigm" for several different concepts. If you can find a good summary of this book, just go for that one.

I enjoy the reading. I have used Kuhn as a reference throughout grad school to justify my thoughts on leadership paradigm shifts. Kuhn's contribution had four positive elements: a) Mechanism of crisis: precipitation and resolution, b) Analogy of the historicity of science with evolution c) that science rewrites its own history, and d) psychology of paradigm shifts; that the paradigm is not completely defined by explicit prescription but also by a system of practices that are not fully articulated. In summary, Change is difficult. Human Beings resist change. However, the process has been set in motion long ago and we will continue to co-create our own experience. Kuhn (1996) states, "awareness is prerequisite to all acceptable changes of theory" (p. 67). It all begins in the mind of the person. What we perceive, whether normal or metanormal, conscious or unconscious, are subject to the limitations and distortions produced by our inherited and socially conditional nature.

Essential reading in understanding why the Enlightenment ideal of rationality is dead or at least doesn't count in ways that matter. In particular, Kuhn calls into question the idea of science as a rational enterprise, and since science is epistemologically privileged and thought to be the essence of rationality, to call into question the rationality of science is to call into question rationality itself. This is different, I submit, than the anti-rationality of the deconstructionists (e.g., Derrida), which seems to lack immediate real world consequences (aside form contributing to a sense of alienation in some). I find Hegel to be a precursor of Kuhn. Hegel attempted to describe how we come to believe what we believe, and Kuhn attempts to do this in the field of science, and, it should be added, with much more accessibly.

There are some who will find Kuhn lacking all coherence (sophisticated BS, as one person put it), and that is another way of saying "irrational". For those who associate irrationality with things like religious fundamentalism, irrationalism is a fearful thing. Yet, it is rationality itself that has been called into question by the events of the 20th century, beginning with the carnage of WWI. The answer is not more rationalism. Rationalism, the primacy of reason and the center of modernism, is itself a belief, and the crisis of modernity is the recognition that reason has no more claim to a privileged position than religion. The answer may be, as Rorty has pointed out, deciding what we want to believe without being forced to justify the basis of those beliefs: we believe because our beliefs support what we hold to be good things(neo-pragmatism) That may be a fearful thing for those who don't find complete correspondence between their beliefs and Rorty's privileged beliefs. What, though, it does show, is that irrationality is not sufficient grounds for being dismissive. In doing so one may be taking a stance on the wrong side of the arrow of history.

The arrow, though, is not that of the Whig theory of history, where things constantly improve driven by reason. Historians of this view (as well as much of popular culture) denigrate older views by degrading them to myth or religious belief status. This gives a privileged position to our own, contemporary beliefs and gives us a sense of comfort. Kuhn disturbs this comfortable view by showing, for example, that Ptolemaic astronomy gave plausible answers to questions of the day. So too, one could argue that the contemporary dismissive view of Scholastic philosophy is more the result of Enlightenment propaganda than of merit. At the least, Kuhn is a good (partial) antidote for contemporary smugness --- a challenge to bourgeois sentiment. Kuhn, though, is much more than a cultural caution; he is an important voice in the contemporary philosophical debate.

Who would like "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions"? Those who like ideas with profound consequences easily presented. Kuhn is a Nietzsche, and like Nietzsche is at the very least a fun read. He is much more if taken seriously.

I read SSR as part of preparation to begin work on a paper and received a very different dose of smart than I expected.

Kuhn has shown how meaningful, and I daresay fun, the prospect of a career as a researcher in any field could be. In this classic work he also guts a lot of intuitive thoughts on science, discovery, and broader knowledge itself - after a thorough reading you'll really see these processes almost totally redefined.

As a non-science major I found all the scientific antecedents to which he frequently and swiftly referred (i.e., Leyden jar, relativity, photoelectric effect) coupled with the dense, elevated writing quite difficult to get through. Still, with slow and focused reading, and a little bit of note taking, which I would suggest to anyone without a PhD, I feel like the main ideas are quite digestible.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is an important book, because it helped people view scientific progress in a new light, and introduced us to the important concept of paradigm shift. Unfortunately, however, the book is poorly written, with a dense and overly academic style, and quite frankly, is very, very, boring. Good concept, poor execution.

Reading this book I admit there are some valid points to the world of "Guyland", but Micheal Kimmel presents his arguments in a condescending, patronising "holier than thou" mindset which basically insults all the young men I have known. This book was written by a man who wanted to appeal to a female audience to satisfy there supposed sense of superiority over the opposite gender- namely women bashing men becuae we don't do what they want us to do all the time!

If Michael Kimmel doesn't like being a man, then why doesn't he get surgery to become a woman? That way he can bash men as much as he wants ( and ignore the shortcomings and problems of HER OWN Gender!!!)

I can;t wait for someone to write "Girlland" to highlight all the problems with the young females, but that wouldn't be politically correct now would it?

One of the two books I ordered had a wrecked cover. It was a book I was
donating to a library and unacceptable.

The employee who sent it should be talked to. HN

I purchased "Guyland" because of a wonderful review of it in the NY Times.
Despite its difficult and loaded content, the NY Time reviewer noted that it was a "good read."
And it is - like a can opener digging deeply into your brain and memory to elict your responses to "What is a man?" Being older, I am way out of touch with today's male world, but Kimmel unlocked several secrets of how men live today: single 35-year-olds living together and the lack of commitment in all of the Appatow comedy films and TV comedies; young boys who endlessly watch a video screen, no matter what it shows; young guy's many hours of "hanging out" and listening to the angry talk radio shows or playing video games, rather than connecting with humanity or facing the responsibility of what they should "be" when they grow up. I was not expecting so many topics - which end up all being pieces of today's "Guyland."
I cannot tell you how many conversations I have had since reading this book with my wife, my children, my male friends. There are those who have criticised the book but I am not certain what they were looking for. A definitive description of a "Man?" A dry and scholarly treatise on "How a man is different from a woman?" Those are "grey" areas already and are shifting and changing as I write this.
I had a wonderful time with the book and thank Mr. Kimmel from getting me away from my electronic addictions. And connecting with other people.

In Guyland, a professor of sociology examines the culture of (mostly) white males from high school to age thirty or so. This book's intended audience may have been parents of sons, but as a thirty-something female I found this book fascinating. Boys are physically developing into men faster than their grandparents, but emotionally they are developing much later: I know a number of young men about my age who still behave as though they are in college, and that is the type of guy that this book addresses.

Kimmel does spend some time sympathetically addressing the pressure that young men face, but the majority of chapters focus on undesirable behaviors (rape, binge drinking, hazing) and somewhat normal behaviors taken to testosterone driven extremes (consumerism, pornography, sports fandom.) Although many of the examples are from the media and certainly not representative of most guys, the author does make a convincing case that complicity only helps perpetuate such behaviors. These chapters were fascinating, particularly some of the candid quotations shared with the author. Unfortunately these were fewer than I would have liked.

The final two chapters, which focus on how young women's behavior contributes to the problems of Guyland and suggestions for reforming Guyland are the weakest. The former didn't seem to have a place in this book as there are already far more insightful books written about young women, and the latter had little in terms of concrete suggestions. Instead the author calls for parents and society to be supportive of young men so that they can develop boy scout like values... unfortunately this is easier said than done, and the type of parents and citizens that need to read this book certainly won't.

Despite its faults, this is worth reading if only because there are so few addressing this subject. Though intended for parents of boys, parents of young women would be wise to give this book to their daughters as well, especially if the daughter is planning to join a sorority!

Dr. Kimmel, in this book, provides a troubling but important analysis of what is happening with young men today. Read it if you care about the fate of men in this society.

I ordered this book on the 3rd of September, and it was shipped on the 5th, and I was told that it would take 3-15 days before the book came. Well, it's October 5th now, and I STILL do not have my book. I am not happy and I want my money back.

Fot those who seek helpful tips on improving communication skills and public speech preperation this book is for you. This book is full of great information and will help you to develope your own public speaking techniques.

This is a good textbook for anyone who wants an overview on the elements of speaking in public. The content is broad, but not too deep. It puts perspective on oration that I had not considered before. There is a lot of practical thinking woven into the chapters.

However, buyers beware! I bought the ring-bound edition, not understanding that I would have to provide my own 3-ring binder. It was a complete buyer error, but be advised to consider the binding of your textbook. Acquaint yourself with the various types of binding (i.e., spiral, ring, etc.) and identify your preferences.

Easy, step at a time intro to public speaking. Useful on its own, but more appropriate in a classroom environment than as a self-study book.

Everything was included but the code you need to log onto the Lucas website. Therefore you would still have to purchase the code for $15.00, so really it is not any less expensive than any other seller....

I got through the first few chapters of this before I passed the book on to the public library. Very amateurish and clumsy writing style. If I read one more sentence along the lines of "his eyes were dark and piercing" etc. This makes for very tedious reading.
Quite over-the-top and sophomoric. Not bad story-telling but she could use a good editor.

Que horror! Bella tiene que ser la heroina mas ridicula de la vida! Y Edward solo es una cara bonita, sin sustancia, sin mencionar que acosa a Bella y a ella ni le molesta!! Quisiera nunca haber leido este libro!

No estoy seguro de la razon que este libro logra demasiado. Es un buena cuenta pero nada espactular. Probablemente ha logrado tanto porque los jovenes les gustan las novelas sobre amor y quieren sentirselo atraves las personajes si no puedan a si mismas. Probablemente una buena novela para jovenes, pero no traslada bien para adultos.

Soy una adulta mayor y adoro las historias que me hagan soñar. Mi hija me regalo el primer volumen en ingles y es fantastica; pero la traduccion al español es muy pobre. Al parecer la persona encargada de ella, no encontro realmente el alma de la novela, duele ver que aquellos lectores de lengua hispana que no puedan leer en ingles,pierdan un 50% de lo esperado.

This woman cannot write. The story drags. Bella is so selfish and immature and the whole story follows her shallow thoughts and feelings. Ugh!

I read. A lot. That said, only half this book is worth the time and energy it took me to read it. The middle half, to be specific. The first few chapters are dedicated to Sachs detailing to us that, no, he's not an idiot writing about something he's had no experience with and that, yes, he can help to solve macroeconomic problems. The end chapters are all Sachs recapping what he said in the rest of the book with charts and graphs that start to become meaningless if you're not a economist or a student with a couple econ classes under your belt. The middle, in my opinion, is the only redeeming part of this book that mentions far too often big-names Sachs has met and important jobs he's held. The middle actually talks about his plan for ending extreme poverty by 2015 and how we can do it. The rest of the book is just padding. So read chapters 8 - 15 if you want to "read" the book. Donate money to an NGO if you want to do something towards ending poverty with your time.

You, being a smart person who is up on contemporary debates in economics and development and/or are a reader of Vanity Fair, probably already know all about Sachs and this book.

Sachs made his name giving "shock therapy" to various third world economies. He recommended they jack up interest rates, and pushed them towards neo-liberal free market structures. His career hit a bit of a bad patch when he was associated with the economic meltdown of the former Soviet Socialist Republic. This book is his recommendations for development in Africa.

Sach's ideas at base are pretty simple - Sub Saharan Africa needs lots and lots more aid. This aid should be put to use curing easily defeatable diseases and establishing local agrarian and, eventually, manufacturing economies. Oh, and right wing type who say that more aid won't fix the problem are wrong. That's about it.

I think Sach's has this all about half right. More aid is a good idea, but alone, and in the style he suggests, I doubt it will lead to an end to poverty. Paul Collier's more nuanced book The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It, which I just finished, and will review soon, gives a better battle plan for dealing with seriously troubled countries. Sach's plan is a little too throw-money-at-the-problem for me.

Still, this book is worth a read. If you're going to talk about world poverty now a days (and I tend to talk about world poverty a lot), you going to have to know what Sach is up to. He is by far the biggest name in the field. He may not always be right, but he's the player that you need to know about.

the man who has brought destruction to the Russian economy through the "shock therapy" and preparing the ground for his zionist jewish friends in Russia to own all the key national assets, now goes on to tell us what to do with the rest of the world...his books should be prohibited

Jeffrey Sachs uses his broad knowledge to frame the context of a call for action to end extreme poverty in our generation. He demonstrates through detailed statistical comparisons the evolution of the widening gap of economic opportunity between the world's regions, and provides interesting narrative examples to support his conclusions.

Although the statistics sometimes are mind-numbing, Sachs does a good job of creating graphical representations in the form of world maps, which serve to educate the reader and demonstrate the often overlooked connections between health, education and economic development. He has "done his homework" in providing a wealth of historic perspectives on the problems we observe in today's economy.

Sachs uses his groundwork effectively as a springboard to inspire our thinking about how we can help create a better world by doing relatively simple things. Again, he uses the narrative to demonstrate how small amounts of money, medicine or appropriate technologies, delivered to the point of need, can make a huge difference in the outcomes for people living in or near extreme poverty.

The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Out Time by Jeffery Sachs, is an optimistic, forceful argument for the economic potential of developing countries and the necessity of increased in aid from rich countries to realize it.

Jeffrey Sachs is an accomplished macro-economist, currently at Columbia University, who has experience helping poor countries get on track to development. While, often described as left-leaning, he makes strong cases in favor of free-trade, market forces, and the role of the private sector in achieving economic development. He does often tout his own success regarding recommendations for economic reforms that enhanced development in impoverished. However, given the overall pessimistic attitude that many have towards real, subtantial economic development in these difficult places, I am not so sure it was out of place.

While, I have a certain amount of skepticism towards Official Development Assistance, ODA, that Sachs makes a case for. His argument is compelling, especially in areas like health and education, that do not have a history of being served well by market forces alone. Even in infrastructure development, while rich countries now rely on significant private sector involvement, during their initial development stage, it was entirely a public endeavor.

In the end, I am more willing to accept Sachs' argument that ODA is an essential part of what poor countries need to achieve sustainable economic development. I am in entire agreement that promises we make as a nation need to be fulfilled, and not given lip service. The other option is to not make those kinds of promises, but the current situation is dishonorable with regard to the gap Sachs illuminates between the United States' promised aid and the United States' actual aid to developing countries. I do think we need to hear more about technological innovation and technology transfer, that Sachs seems to assume will happen if the proper economic conditions are established. I am not yet convinved of that. Also, I still believe that the devil will be in the details as far as ODA is concerned, and if not executed properly we could easily establish incentives for those participating on both sides of the divide that work against our real objectives.

And lastly, I should add, I found the foreword by Bono of U2 to be very thoughtful and eloquent on the subject. I was more suprised than I should have been, I suspect.

This book is great for those who really want to work hard and sculpt their body. It's great for beginners as well as those more advanced. His descriptions of the exercises are good, but it was lacking on the diet end of weight training. I would have liked to have seen more nutrition information.

Good book and workouts. My friends and workout partners like some of the workout ideas but we have had greater results (added firm muscles and lost weight)from the book: Weight Training Workouts and Diet Plan that Work by James Orvis

The workouts are quicker and planned out, you just follow them.

But would recommend New Rules for variety.

This book is awesome. Whole new perspective on weight training for women. You will not be bored with your work-outs any longer!

I bought this book when it first came out after reading about it in my local fitness club magazine. I recently finished the entire program and really enjoyed it. There's nothing to fear lifting weights, and by doing real weightlifting with heavy loads you will build muscle. Of course it's important to remember that diet is key and that's one reason that this book exists. The exercise routines themselves aren't tailored to women, because they are normal free weight exercise that any man or woman can do. However, women have to learn to eat more. So a significant part of the book is devoted to debunking myths about diet and explaining why women need to lift weights. This isn't a fat loss program, so if you're looking to lose a lot of weight it might not be the place where you want to start for that. When I started the program I didn't need to lose weight, but was interested in building muscle and strength. The result - I have the same body fat as in college but weigh 10 pounds more.

If you know anything about lifting weights, then this book is not for you. I've been lifting weights consistently and seriously for about 6 years now and the exercises in this book are not meant for an experienced weight lifter. There is nothing "new" or innovative about this book or the exercises in it. Are they good exercises? Yes. But they are traditional, basic, well known weight lifting exercises that are tried & true and have been around for a long long time. This book would be great for beginnings but experienced weight lifters looking for something truly new & innovative should not expect anything new & different in this book. You can find the same exact information by reading magazines like Oxygen, Fitness Rx, & Muscle & Fitness for Her.

About four years ago, I saw the pattern, people are going to wonder how to deal with the new generations entering the workforce. Articles were surfacing in just about every workplace communication newsletter. The volume in magazines and newspapers started to overwhelm me.

Some place along the line I heard about this book. It is a terrific basic understanding of the values/beliefs of the generations. This book helped me launch my career on "Intergenerational Communication in the Workplace." It gave me the basics -- which, I believe hold true today. It gave me a real understanding which I have been able to add on to as more and more articles and research continue to surface.

Great background for Veterans (Traditionalists), Baby Boomers, beginning of the X Generation entering the workforce. You'll need to supplement with later information on Generation X and Y -- Yet, feel this is a book that those of you who are interested in intergenerational communication need to have in your library."

Kathy Condon, Executive Coach, Speaker and Trainer and Author of the book: "It Doesn't Hurt to Ask: It's all about communication."

The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy I found the book too academic to be of any practical value. Although its thesis is interesting, its application seems forced, even sophomoric. Also, the authors seem to have an overenthusiastic regard for Hillary Clinton. The book is outdated and has less impact than the authors may have wanted. We have been through this "the sky is falling" scenario in may other ways, many times before. Its suggestions for surviving the crisis seem like material for fortune cookies or tabloid zodiac advice. Still worth reading-it has some merit, pointing out patterns and interesting ideas.The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy

This startlingly apt volume offers the best explanation I have encountered of how generations create history and history creates generations in a kind of chicken and egg dance through the centuries. It has always seemed a puzzle to me that definable generations exist, given that births are pretty randomly distributed through the months and years--and yet, of course, they do. The cycle described by Strauss and Howe makes clear sense.

However, this book is much more. It presents a vision of history as cyclical and in many ways predictable, bolstered by a look backward through American and English cycles over the past several centuries. The authors then looked forward and made very specific predictions about the coming decade--a period just ending as I write this review. (The book was published in 1997.)

A major event that would trigger reordering of the American psyche? Check. Increased divisivness? Check. Increased xenophobia? Check. An election by 2008 or 2012 at the latest that would bring major change in America's leadership? Can you say Obama? (The movement more than the man, in my view.)

If the authors' presience holds true we are in for some very rough sledding but with the strong possibility that we will emerge from this part of the cycle with a new vision, a new unity, a new pluralism and a new egalitarianism.

A stunning book.

I loved this book! If you hate history, this is not the book for you. Some parts of this book are slow and some parts of this book there is just too much history. I am concerned about now and today and the next twenty years. I believe in the core idea of the book. Page 6, "the next Fourth Turning is due to begin shortly after the new millennium." "Around the year 2005, a suddend spark will catalyze a Crisis mood." "Remnants of the old social order will disintegrate. Political and economic trust will implode" "Real hardship will beset the land, with severe distress that could involve question of class, race, nation and empire." "The very survival of the nation will feel at state." "sometime before the year 2025, America will pass through a great gate in history, commensurate with the American Revolution, Civil War, and twin emergencies of the Great Depression and WWII." "The risk of catastrophe will be very high." "The nation could erupt into insurrection or civil violence, crack up geographically, or succumb to authoritarian rule." I believe this. Just look at American and World History. It's a history of conflict and economic ups and downs. If you believe nothing bad will ever happen and the next 20,30 or 40 years will be just like the last 20,30 or 40 years and you will never have to suffer, then don't buy this book. On page 277, the author states "war against terrorists or foreign regimes equipped with weapons of mass destruction." How did the author know this in 1997? War aganist terror? Weapons of mass destruction? It's clear that President Bush read this book. The book is worth the price and time just for chapter 10 and 11. I enjoyed it very much. Regards, Keith Renick, Peachtree City, Ga.

This book will help you understand Current events. Thing seem crazy now, but not when it is put in context with this book.