Social Sciences Books

thank you for selling this book. it made it to me in great time and is in excellent condition. thanks!

"Interviewing for Solutions" is wonderful. I would encourage anyone interested in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) to read this book. "Interviewing for Solutions" supplies the reader with a overview of SFBT, as well as demonstrating SFBT in action via examples of interviews with various clients. Regardless of the counseling orientation one takes when assisting clients, the book provides valuable tools for all! In addition to this book, I would highly suggest obtaining a few of the lecture tapes of Berg, de Shazer and etc from the Brief Family Therapy Center.

Although solution focused-brief therapy is considered a paradigm, this book could very well be used in any introductory, microskills class, and it should.

The authors put forth a paradigm that is easy to learn (yet technique is perfected with much experience),and it places focus on the client's "non-problem" life. This is important because what we tend to focus on tends to increase.

The authors present SF in a way that is very empowering to both the therapist and the client. For the therapist who is interested in genuinely helping people, this will work, but you cannot use this approach and have an ego-issue w/regard to being an "expert." Rightly, the client is the expert on his/her own life.

A first-class text, and a keeper!

In the year 2000, this book was my first acquaintance with the solution focused approach to helping people. I had heard from a collegue (who is also a management coach) about solution focused working and, although I thought it sounded promising, I remained a bit skeptical. However, from the very moment I started reading 'Interviewing for solutions' my attention was firmly captured. Two chapters later I was practically sold. The approach is very clearly explained and the many dialogues in the book are really excellent (especially those by Insoo Kim Berg). After reading this book I started reading and learning more and I began using solution focused working in my practise as a coach and consultant. With peasure and success.

Great strengths based approach to working with families and young people from vulnerable communities.

Here is an astonishing story in which two unlikely and oddly paired attorneys (read heroes) take on the United States government on behalf of a Yemeni citizen detained at Guantanamo. Neither Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift, the navy lawyer assigned to the case, nor Neal Katyal, the Georgetown law professor who volunteered to help, could have imagined where the case would take them nor what it would require of their careers, family, and personal well being. But the story of what they did, how they did it, what it took, who helped, and how it all came out is as amazing as it is important, resulting in one of the most significant legal decisions of the post 9/11 era, the Supreme Court's ruling on Hamdan Against Rumsfeld. Jonathan Mahler relates the tangled and extraordinarily complex sequence of events and legal maneuvers with such mastery of the material, you have to believe he had a degree in law was on hand for every conversation, discussion, and encounter. The Challenge is a gratifying David and Goliath story, but its real worth lies in the issues of justice and constitutionality which this case brings to the fore and which determine whether anyone will receive the justice presumably guaranteed by our constitution and international law.

Mr. Mahler has researched a griping courtroom drama in the tradition of "A Few Good Men" where the murder charges have been replaced by a constitutional crisis. Does terrorists have any rights under the Constitution or can they be have forever without a trial? The book could have used some tighter editing, but otherwise is quite readable and clear as to the legal issues and maneuverings. Following the case as it slowly makes it way to the Supreme Court, the author illustrates the lives of the lawyers involved and the costs that they paid to win a victory before the Roberts court to have a trial. As A coda, the newspapers reported this week that the defendent was acquitted of the serious charges and will be released in six months.

i was very much so surprised it came with the other book of core concepts and that i got both of them for that price thank u!...

I read this as an undergraduate while taking a course in medical ethics. I later went on to medical school, and I read a few other texts and many other sources for most of the same material. This book is by far the best of all of these that I've seen. It's almost perfect in the scope it covers and in its readability. It gives a good overview and raises intriguing questions in each section. It almost perfect. I can't recommend it enough. It is well worth a look.

Biomedical Ethics is a wonderful introduction to bioethical issues. The authors' styles of writing are (usually) easily understandable, and the inserted case studies make for interesting reading. More of a textbook than a "quickread".

This is an excellent overview of the myriad of issues that fall under the term "biomedical ethics". This was used as one of the texts for my health care ethics graduate course, and I could actually read this. Although Childress and Beauchamp may be considered the "standards" in the field, they are also when known for being very difficult to read (my prof warned us on day one that their "Introduction" would be very heady, and the warning rang true the moment I opened their book).

This book brings together writings from numerous excellent authors that are all very easy to digest, particularly in light of other "introductions" available. I enjoyed this book immensely. Not only did it help me greatly in my studies, it has also helped me greatly in navigating my own health care. Whether you are reading for academic pursuits, or are otherwise interested enough in the field to buy a book about it, I highly recommend THIS ONE!

It helped me a lot with my class, and though I recommend having both the book and the workbook, having just the workbook will help you learn a lot.

This book is used as a college textbook, and with good reason. It is a fascinating overview of the humanistic tradition. It should be required reading in high school.

Bought this for an independent study course, and found that it is an excellect book for self learning. The concepts are explained well and the topics are easy to follow making it so that a regular class to discuss the book is not necessary.

I thought this was a well laid out book. It was very informative and all the information was relevent. It was easy to read and to take information away from. Kudos to the author.

I was required to have this book for an Adolescent Psych class and it has been a great read. The book is laid out in an easy to read format. This is much better than the CD of the book which is confusing to use.

You have many ways to die in Grand Canyon: fall, jump, get pushed, clown around, drown, starve, thirst, or be in an airliner collision over that vast chasm. Ghighlieri and Myers, a wilderness river guide and a Grand Canyon physician, methodically, graphically, painstakingly document the known deaths by name, date, events leading up to and subsequent rescue and/or recovery efforts. A fascinating read, should be required for anyone planning a visit to such a beautiful and potentially fatal attraction.

Although it sounds a bit morbid, this book is a very good read. There is a good mix of entertaining anecdotes and statistical analysis. The authors delve into the root causes and chains of events that have led to the hundreds of deaths in the canyon and really drive home the point that people make the same mistakes over and over and over again. If you are thinking about hiking, backpacking, or rafting in the canyon, I highly reccomend reading this book first - it will help you make the right decisions about your time in the canyon.

Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon
Excellent service, great book, well laid out and very informative

I was at the grand canyon when I bought this book-I didnt want to buy it,but a stranger had told me about it,and not wanting to tell a lie in case I ran into this person again (which I did)I picked it up and glanced at the first few chapters-within minutes I was hooked-it is an unbelievable read - to even think about what some of those victims must have gone thru was terrifying-yet it is one of those books that once you start to read it,you can't stop!It made me respect mother nature even more and appreciate the safety rules and regulations the forest service puts up,no matter how trivial it may seem to be.

I have been to the Grand Canyon more than once. In fact, I bought this book from one of the stores in the park on the rim. I too, could not put it down. I have told numerous people about the book and recommended it to friends and associates and anyone visiting the canyon for the first time. This book is NOT fiction folks, it is the real deal. It absolutely amazes me some of the ways people have died here. EVERY conceivable way is mentioned. It , in a way seems morbid to some degree, kind of like reading detective magazines or something, like my Grandpa used to do. But once into the first few pages you realize, that it is not just about death , but about living too. People that have come to see the awe of the Grand Canyon and its life and their lives intermingling. What's unfortunate is the complete utter disregard some people have for what is so obvious. Granted, some of the deaths are COMPLETELY accidental, but some are beyond stupid. One that I will mention here is the park WORKER, who had a few drinks , decided to get up on the wall , and fell to their death. The episodes that also got me, are the people who take a bottle of water in the SUMMER in ARIZONA and think they can walk twenty miles of very rough country with no problem...well, many of them found out , or were able to look down from heaven and realize what a bad mistake they made. While shocking , this is also an instructional manual for anyone who goes. Moms, Dads, Kids...please think twice before posing for that picture with your back to the Canyon...and be EXTRA careful where you place your feet! GREAT READ.

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My university is using this book as a text as part of our study of Planning History. It is a very good read and is unlike a textbook. Outlines planning history from 1880 to 1980.

Walter Williams devotes his whole column this week to a positive review of John Lott's book:

By taking a couple of courses in economic theory, we could immunize ourselves from nonsense spouted by politicians and pundits, but in the meantime check out Professor John R. Lott's "Freedomnomics: Why the Free Market Works."

His first chapter is "Are You Being Ripped Off?" It addresses myths about predation where it's sometimes alleged that corporations will charge below-cost prices to bankrupt their rivals and then charge unconscionable prices. There's little or no evidence that corporations would choose predation as strategy; there are too many pitfalls. A major one is that in order to recoup losses from charging low prices to bankrupt rivals, the predator would later have to charge higher-than-normal prices. That would attract new rivals who might have purchased the bankrupt assets of the predator's prey and be able to undercut the predator's prices.

A far more successful means to monopoly wealth is for businesses to enlist the aid of congressmen to form a collusion. Classic examples are the dairy industry, which uses the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Federal Milk Marketing Orders to set statutory minimum prices, or the Gasoline Retailers Association using state law to do the same or the sugar industry using Congress to establish quotas on foreign sugar imports.

Professor Lott's chapter "Government as Nirvana" highlights examples of government predation. When the U.S. Postal Service raised the price of first-class mail in 1999, it reduced its price for domestic overnight express mail from $15 to $13.70, even though it was losing money at $15. The Postal Service was facing stiff competition from FedEx and UPS overnight services and wanted to keep its market share.

During the 1980s, private meteorology firms saw a chance to make money by selling television stations specialized forecasts that weren't provided by the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service started providing television stations the same services for free, thus driving private forecasting companies out of business.

Predation is observed in higher education. UCLA is both Lott's and my alma mater. It spends $40,000 per student but charges $6,522 tuition for in-state students. Such below-cost pricing gives public universities a significant competitive advantage over private universities. State universities have acquired many formerly private universities after driving, or threatening to drive, them out of business. Lott gives examples of George Mason University School of Law, University of Buffalo, University of Houston and University of Pittsburgh. In the case of University of Buffalo, the State University of New York reportedly threatened to open a public university across the street unless the University of Buffalo joined the state system.

The U.S. Department of Justice would go after a private business using similar predatory practices of intimidating its rivals and selling goods and services below cost. The U.S. Department of Commerce sanctions foreign companies accused of selling goods in the U.S. below cost with anti-dumping duties. If selling goods below cost is seen as unfair in the international arena, why is it not when it's done by government entities?

Lott's "Crime and Punishment" chapter has a lot of interesting tidbits. It starts off stating a fundamental principle of economics: the higher the cost of something, the less people will do of it. To demonstrate the generality of this principle, Lott says that when the number of referees were increased from two to three in the Atlantic Coast Basketball Conference, fouls fell by 34 percent; fouling became more costly. The American League has more hit batsmen than the National League, but the difference only appeared after 1973 when the American League removed its pitchers from the batting lineup in favor of designated hitters. Not being afraid of being hit themselves, American League pitchers threw more bean balls; bean balls became cheaper. The same principle applies to the U.S. crime rate that fell after the death penalty was reinstated, more prisons were built and concealed-weapon carry laws were enacted. The higher the cost of a crime, the less people will do of it.

[...]

When I first picked this book up, it was just because I liked John Lott. I did not realize that, in a way, it is is a response to Freakanomics. Freedomnomics is great! Lott makes some great points and has the data to back it up. It's not hard to read either. I finished it in a few days, and I'm normally a fairly slow reader.

I'm all for countering claptrap like "Freakonomics" and I'm sure it's of value that economists take on arcane social issues with arcane data from arcane studies, but one grows weary of seeing the world through the lens of economics, which after all does not, despite the beliefs of some economists, encompass all of life. This book, like so many of its genre, makes the eyes glaze over, as it hammers on the obvious. In contrast to Freakonomics, this book doesn't attempt to impress with cleverness, which is a virtue, but since when does economics become the science of how policemen are selected and assigned to beats? Please go back to monetary and fiscal policy and the virtues of free trade. No one who is not an economist is going to think like an economist or arrive at a framework of action that satisfies an economist. This fact is what gives rise to books like this one in which, despite claims to objectivity, the ideology of the author precedes any analytical approach.

Factual evidence and complete rational analysis is a welcome change to the liberal agenda of main stream media.

One thing I like about Prof. Lott is that he does not try and be funny. I've read other books by economists and they try to be cute or witty or funny, but jokes usually fall flat.
Prof. Lott sticks to the facts and draws conclusions, and I appreciate that.