Social Sciences Books

As a former "Economic Hit Man", Perkins reveals the damage done to nations who do not yield to US demands for their resources. He shows how the usual pattern is to send in the "Jackals" (the CIA) to do the initial dirty work including assassinations, starting internal wars, and many other things. The EHMs then move in to privatise local institutions which are acquired by US interests, and set up massive loans which poor countries can never afford to repay. Among the examples given are Indonesia, Bolivia, Ecuador and, of course, Chile. The role of the World Bank and the IMF as USA-centred institutions is also discussed.
Most of the book reads like a thriller, and only moves to a slower pace when Perkins proposes solutions to reforming the practices of the American Empire. He is positive that the growing group of South American countries who are resisting the US 'invasions' may at least slow these insidious activities.

John Perkins, a former "economic hit man", revealed his emotional turmoil in Confessions of an Economic Hitman. He illustrated from an insider's perspective the evils of the modern-day empire building of corporations or "corporatocracy" in action. He lifted the veil on the military-industrial complex, which partners with Government in bewitching consumers with guile, corruption and big marketing budgets, whilst carrying out gross environmental and human rights abuses.

In this sequel, Perkins has a more mature view of the world. Gone is the continuous guilt and egotistical self-reflection, and in its place, is more depth, plenty of anecdotes, solutions for a better world, and many exciting world travels thrown in. Not only does it read like a spy novel at times, but also a travel book. Perkins is no journalist, and there is an opportunity here for a follow-up research piece on his vignettes. There are also times when unsubstantiated conspiracy theories run a bit far. His sources are not always vetted for quality. However, I believe Perkins' heart is in the right place and he should be forgiven for less than perfect journalism.

One major faux pas is in his discussion on the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war. He mentions that Israel launched an attack on Beirut, as if they were making afternoon tea, and faced international criticism. Perkins conceals the major facts of this war - that Hizbollah instigated it by kidnapping an Israeli soldier from sovereign Israel, and launched a missile attack on Haifa. This error of omission calls to question many of his other theories. I wonder what the book could have been if he had employed a fact-checker.

There is no doubt that corporate hegemony is casting a chilling shadow on our world, and the more aware people become, the more we can do. Whilst this is by no means, a 5-star book, it is redeemed by the solutions provided, and Perkins' open-minded approach. Everyone with an interest in why the world is in the situation it's in, why we're so dependent on oil, politics, economics, and the environment, will find this book worthwhile. I would recommend it to everyone interested in the future of humanity and the world we inhabit. This is a must-read for anyone wondering why so much of Asia, Africa and the Middle East hate America.

The US State Dept website's description of Perkins' previous book (Confessions of an Economic Hit Man) works here, as well: "an exciting, first-person, cloak-and-dagger tale that plays to popular images about alleged U.S. economic exploitation of Third World countries."

In an easy to read style, Perkins weaves his personal stories around generally established events from around the world that one can usually trace to sources other than Perkins. Although it certainly doesn't hurt to have such incidents brought to mind again, his inclusion of them end up leading the reader in a way that make his behind-the-scenes stories feel more plausible, seeming to simply fill in ground level details of US/corporate exploitation. Together it goes down more smoothly as narrative, a great format for popular consumption.

Yet, as other reviewers have already pointed out, the lack of verifiability really limits the book. The "secrets" Perkins is trying to reveal are, of course, based on personal or anonymous testimony. On the one hand, the circumstances he describes warrant such anonymity, and we should not dismiss singular personal testimony out of hand (especially when regarding such alleged clandestine incidents, where scattered personal testimony may be all there is). On the other hand, since readers' cannot cross-examine his evidence, many of his claims simply must remain unproven, which is unfortunate. Perkins' work would be a stronger contribution to informing the public if it could do so objectively.

At best, perhaps his stories (along with the more established incidents he mentions) should be kept in mind as what powerful corporations and countries are capable of, causing us to be all the more on our guard against corruption.

The Secret History of the American Empire by John Perkins author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.
P. 283; "The world is not in danger. We are. If we don't change our ways, Mother Nature will shake us off like so many fleas."
This fast moving book is packed with historical revelations and profound thoughts.
Read it!

Perkins once again tells it like it is. We are part of the problem. Our addiction to cheap clothing and exercise equipment (put together in tropical sweatshops by people living only marginally better than inmates of Nazi prison camps) fuels the system. We have to change, to live sustainable lifestyles. Read the book. Once you understand the problem, you will want to be part of the solution.

Truman Capote arguably invented true crime, and still dominates with this spectacular classic. He took years to finish this book, his last book, and it shows in the brilliant prose. This is among my favorite books of all time. I recommend to everyone.

This is a great read, a great novel, and a great edition. Capote's work, his illuminating approach to life, exemplified by the contrasts of the killers, the victims, and the hunters of the killers, is a great work of art.

The book reproduces the original 1965 edition and although the paper is not as heavy, it certainly beats the previous smaller Modern Library edition.

When will publishers learn that in order to compete with Brittany Spears, life, death, taxes, and childbirth, they need to give readers beautiful editions with real cloth covers and heavy cream paper, something to treasure. Not some cheap cardboard edition such as, say, my collected Ginsberg, which already is turning brown and edging out of the binding. I'd rather pay another dollar for a $50 book and get something that will stay intact.

I was a child when In Cold Blood was first published but remember the adults in my life talking about this controversial novel. After watching the two recent Truman Capote biopics (Capote and Infamous), I thought I should read it. I was surprised how much this 40+ year old book had to say about the anger, polarization and general lack of civility in today's society. A family is senselessly murdered in a small town in Kansas. Everyone in the town of 6,000 knew this family. After the murderers are apprehended, each minister in this community of 21 churches stood at his pulpit and spokeout AGAINST the capital punishment. Relatives of the slain family wrote a letter published in the local newspaper asking that prosecutors not pursue the death penalty. And when the murderers are returned to Kansas and are walked into the jail for booking, the audience who has gathered for this spectacle stands nearly silent. The town's citizens are relieved that it was strangers who commited this attrocity and they no longer have to eye their neighbors suspiciously. There is little talk of revenge or a sense of closure via the death penalty. What a fascinating view of our society on the cusp of the revolution of the 1960's and 1970's. READ THIS BOOK!

Now, I know this book is historically significant as one of the first "true crime" novels - a founder of the non-fiction novel genre - but that wasn't really important to me. I prefer to read things without historical context and judge how they hold up to modern standards. That said, I enjoyed the book a lot. This novel took an interesting twist from the usual crime story fare: the reader knows up front who was murdered and who did it. The only questions are "why" (and to some extent "what exactly happened"). Risky, I think, because it is tough to build suspense when the outcome is certain. But it worked well here for the most part.

The beginning was by far the slowest section of the book, with Capote taking his time setting up the scene and describing the family. I know he tried very hard to get us attached to the characters quickly - perhaps a little too hard? Things really started to pick up around Part 2 when Capote set into a detailed profile of the killers. This was interesting stuff! The organization was executed well, and I liked the shifts between character perspectives.

The third part blew me away. I won't say much about it, except that I would have cried if I hadn't been on a plane at the time. It was that moving. The last section was mostly just intellectually interesting. The book left quite a bit for me to think on. Unfortunately I don't want to share those thoughts here, because I'd be giving away story elements!

In the end, I think, Capote wanted to use his book as a commentary on the death penalty and American violence. For me, it didn't exactly succeed in either of those aspects. But what it did do was to provide a sound, well-researched and interesting psychological profile of two very different killers involved in the same crime. Yes, some parts dragged, and (I felt) the writing was at times flat, but all in all a worthy read.

A book that has stood the test of time. First released in 1965, it hasn't dated at all. A true account of the brutal slaying of four members of a rural Kansas family and the subsequent apprehension of the murderous duo. A fascinating, highly-engaging, harrowing, and moving tale of evil that lurks within the hearts of men.

The book proved to be highly controversial upon its release since it seemed to make a genuine effort not only to understand the social factors that help shape the making of a psychopath, but also to understand the points-of-view, however horrifying and disgusting as they maybe, of the perpetrators of the crime.

Though, this novel does not overtly give away the fact, but Truman Capote got deeply involved with the killers who had slain the Kansas family. In particular, he felt very strongly for Perry Smith, whom he thought had a very similar childhood as his own. Capote used to say that Perry and him lived in the same house as children, and the only reason their lives took different directions was the fact that Capote chose to exit that house from the front, while Perry chose the back door.

Tom Wolfe takes us through part of the acid-movement of the 60's with Ken Kesey (author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest") and company as they embark on their journey across America to popularize acid. Wolfe writes in a way that sort of makes you feel that you are on acid too. His writing style in this book is very unique and he has an incredible way of describing things which is one thing I really enjoyed. Now I can finally understand what many of those baby-boomers went through!

This is a benchmark of non fiction. From reading it, one can understand why. This book has an insane and inspiring stylistic prose, but that isn't to say it isn't flawed. I personally think it rambles a bit, repeats itself, but such is the nature of a hallucinogenic experience. This book is now over forty years old and still seems rather fresh. I can't think of a single non fiction article, or book for that matter I have read in my life time that is as wild as this one... maybe "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas", but that would be the only book comparable.( Ironically, Hunter S. Thompson did lend some notes to Tom Wolfe for this book, as stated in the end.)

Still, in the end, I do think this book has a bit of that "style over substance" thing. In the end, I'm not left with much besides the style. I read about a lot of hallucinogenic drug use, some of which was interesting( see "The Unspoken Thing" chapter) and some of it not. The story was funny at times, and it gave me quite a laugh. But I didn't experience many epiphanies while reading it.

But these people, these Pranksters, sure did have a funky zest for life that is rather infectious. You can certainly feel that much in the space of these pages. This is a fun read, but unless you are a fan of the time and place in which it takes place, it is probably best sticking to alternate and condensed texts on the subject.

There are storybooks, there are psychedelic books, and then there is The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, by Tom Wolfe. It is the true story of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters and their physical voyage across the United States, as well as their symbolic voyage through the universe. As much as this can be considered a book about drugs and hippies, it can more accurately be viewed as a spiritual journey that not only exemplifies a culture and a time period, but also an idyllic way of life. Read it. And read it again while taking notes. Then live it.

[..]

!!Freeeeeeaky!! (Almost)::::dated
So, Tom Wolfe tries to describe the Hip-Acid-Flower-Love groove. It is effective--SOMEWHAT--though his book blots up extra words and bloats up too many pages ("There is too much distance between the covers of this book.")
Kerouac was accused of typing--instead of writing--in creation of "On The Road". And since this is but a sequel to "On the Road". . .(Neal Cassady is really in this book!). . . Wolfe is guilty of. . .too much typing {[(and too much TyPeSeTTing here)]}. . .but he does write, too. . .effectively enough so I, think, I don't need to try LSD. Effectively enough, so I become nostolgic, at times, for that time of Haight-Ashbury, for that time of innocent experimentation, for that time of "braless breasts jiggling and cupcake bottoms wiggling" (that's Wolfe!). . .
. . .but enough after 200ish pages; I want to be out of Wonderland. . .out of the pudding. . .off the bus. . .

Very interesting account of the birth of the Hippie Movement in America (if not the world). When Wolfe's words are flowing it's awesome. But his jumbling up of styles, though intended to reflect what he was experiencing, more often than not, is boring and a bit pretentious. Specifically, when he attempts Kerouacian spontaneous prose, it largely comes off, for me anyways, as gimmicky. I wish he would have to stuck to a straight ahead style...I think the craziness and uniqueness of what he was witnessing would have still come through. Overall, though, worth the time spent reading it.

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.

The historical exegeses are largely superfluous and distract from the points of argumentation.

There are many elaborate dilations of the main propositions which do little more than meander towards the next one(s), as opposed to elucidating their logical-historical connection.

Foucault gives political manifesto content-length propositions that are reasonably insightful, in a basically historical-novelistic theory fiction format. "We are less Greek than we think." --Foucault is more anti-Enlightenment than he realizes and less "Nietzschean" so much as a paraphrastic derivative thinker than he would like to be.

The description of power relations does not necessarily reveal the ideology governing it. In fact, it does much to mythologize an omnipresent non-entity of whom we see and experience only its effects. One suspects there are only effects of power, of ideology; consequences which cannotn be telekeniticized by any localizable 'gaze' but follow materially from human actions.

15. He who does not know how to put his will into things at least puts a MEANING into them; that is, he believes there is a will in them already (principle of 'belief').
(Twilight of the Idols, "Maxims and Arrows" epigram 15)

As Foucault ought to have known, there is no meaning to power except in the feeling of its increase. The only gaze that is belongs to "the Other". In this sense, Foucault has articulated the narcissistic element of power. On the whole however, he identifies with it since he cannot dissociate power from its celebration: the carnival event of discipline and punish, the panoptical voyeurism of the carceral gaze. Naval gazing social theory par excellence (Knowledge is Power and Power is Ideology, therefore Ideology is Knowledge.) The gaze is a fiction unless the alleged 'observed' sees that he is being watched, there is no subject without the choice presented by the Other; the neurosis of the subject hypersensitive to the Other withstands the hermeneutical uncertainty with horror, inevitably directed at himself, --that there is nothing to see. Foucault's text makes ideology power's Echo, when it is really ideology that echoes Power. Ideology is the ignorance and absence of Power that would be the knowledge required to suspend ideology for authentic choices.

The Birth of the Prison is the death of the social, the death of the Other, the fettering of the individual himself to ideology. One must ask, "Where is ideology?" Foucault offers merely the dazed "everywhere and nowhere," as the gaze without eye, the predicate without subject, Donald Rumsfeld's "known unknowns" which are nothing at all. Discipline and Punish does not address the lexical of 'known knowns' because the language of oppression, of ideology requires a counter affirmation of Power. One assumes power or renounces it, and one must be doubly strong for the latter. Given the current state of events, its disavowal is a gesture into a void: one has no power to renounce if one is not the State itself. "Je suis le etat." Since it has been more difficult to define the "Je", the sovereign, one speaks of exploitation as a structural and institutional function. This impotent anthropomorphism of theory merely compounds the problem of ideology. Exploitation is an action committed man against man, and these actions must be identified with what systems enable these impingements on the sovereignty of other men.

"l'ecrasez l'infamie!"

Foucault does not crush the infamy. He does reveal its ankles slightly however this will not titillate, unless one does not already see the pudeurs of the clearly unclothed emperors of the various reigning ideologies. Ideology abhors clarity. Read Foucault, then forget Foucault.

By examining the rise of prison systems in Western culture, Foucault demonstrates the ways modern nation-states exert their power to dominate their citizens. This is a great book for anyone interested in power formations as well as continental theory.

What is whispered in secret may be shouted from the rooftops, but what is done in secret will be watched.

In Discipline and Punish Michel Foucault develops the idea of the transition of God's omniscience into the state's omniscience, and points to interesting nodes along the way: the invention of the table and the Panopticon being the most compelling and far-reaching.

Foucault's thesis of The Panopticon being a physical result of the Protestant conception of the community replacing the All-Seeing-Eye of God is itself the child of the thinking of Max Weber, Jeremy Bentham, Cardinal Richelieu and Jean Calvin. The results of the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism, searching for signs of grace in this life as signs of salvation in the next, brought focus to human efforts as primarily economic. The result of such an ethos was that everyone was watching everybody all the time, and this creates anxiety, and the ultimate result of anxiety is release and rebellion. Enter the Panopticon to isolate the rebellious and a method thought to encourage good behaviour: constant watching.

Combine this with Terry Guillam's film "Brazil" and you'll be permanently fearful. Smile like you mean it.

Other reviews have done a nice job of explaining the textual benefits of the book, so let me explain its practical benefit. I'll keep this short and sweet. This is an excellent text to trot out during a sociology or other social science class when you want to egomanically dominate the conversation for a bit. It provides such food for thought that you can really wax poetic on the power of punishment over the body and soul of the individual. I say this with all seriousness. So few people read philosophical texts that, if you enjoy doing so, it almost feels like an obligation to introduce these discussions in the classroom. This is not a light summer read by any stretch of the imagination, but if you enjoy the challenge of unpacking complex concepts, you'll enjoy this read.

This is one of Michel Foucault's most accessible books (though still pretty heavy going). If in Madness and Civilization, Foucault analyzed the birth of insane asylums and in The Birth of the Clinic the birth of the hospital, in Discipline and Punish, it's the turn of the prisons. The book starts with a gruesome description of the public drawing and quartering of failed regicide Damiens in 1757. Then he goes on to quote a benign prison system of the 1830s. What changed between the two dates? While other authors would consider the birth of modern imprisonment as a triumph of progressive ideals (in comparison with what went on before), Foucault saw this instead as one aspect of increasing social and political control. While greatly researched, one immediately asks itself what Foucault wanted? Did he care about any improvement in the social conditions of prisoners? Or did he believed we should do with prisons altogether? And in which case, what about dangerous criminals? I think Foucault never wanted to answer these questions. I think it's telling that towards the end of his life (after this book was written) Foucault was a fan of the repressive and theocratic regime of Khomeini in Iran. In this, he was similar to those communist intellectuals in the West who criticized failings in their own countries but overlook much worse abuses (and crimes) in the Soviet Union. Another quibble is that the book is so French-centric (with some analysis of developments in England): he takes the evolution of imprisonment in France as an indication of the whole world.

Nice discussion/analogy of the history of electric power generation and the future of computers. Not sure if we'll get to where the author claims, but the trend is there.

Maybe it's time to sell Microsoft stock?

The Big Switch started out as one of the most interesting books I've read in a while. In part one Carr presents a terrific analogy between electricity and the Internet as general purpose technologies. Unfortunately part two is just as dull as part one is compelling. Part one succeeds in my view because it's an effective historical analogy rich in comparisons and historical insight. In part two Carr highlights the many of the issues raised by the development of Internet as a utility (i.e., loss of privacy). I think what's missing is the lack of solutions or unique insight. The first six chapters are stellar; I'd skim the rest.

For those who know or care about the infrastructure undergirding our technology revolution, this is a must-read book. The thesis is simple: we're at a tipping point where "utility computing" will quickly replace in-house data centers. It sounds simple, but the implications are not. The first half of the book lays out and describes the revolution, sometimes in breathless terms. The second half is much darker, however, detailing projected consequences. The author points out that a number of popular websites these days have nearly zero staff--the content comes from users and the infrastructure is rented utility computing from the likes of Google and Amazon. This means that huge online businesses do not translate to employment. In the past, when industries, such as electrical utilities, have undergone major transformation, people lost jobs, but new jobs were available using different skills. The author has a gloomy outlook here: the lost jobs may not be replaced. I suspect the real outcome will be a bit better. People are inventive and new technologies (perhaps not electronic) will need people. Overall, a great book, but I do think the second half is rather darker than it needs to be.

I found this book interesting when it covered the time period from 1870's to current day (2008). When the author began to discuss possible futures, I thought he was unrealistic and pessimistic. I do not think his forcasts are grounded in any sort of a good understanding of technology and are not to useful.

Overall this book is worth reading but the author should have stopped at the current time; his future views really distract from the quality of the book.

As a computer software professional, I took extra interest in this book and did find it interesting and thought-provoking but not that realistic and a bit pessimistic about the future of the knowledge worker.

The first half of the book is a history lesson about electrification and the impact it had on societies and on individuals.

The basic thesis of the first half of the book is the creation of the electric grid accelerated the concentration of wealth in large businesses. With electric light and power, businesses could build bigger and more productive plants, boosting their output and gaining advantages of scale over smaller businesses. Further, as the big companies expanded, they hired huge numbers of both skilled and unskilled workers and paid them good wages.

Since start of the Industrial Revolution, mechanization had been steadily reducing the demand for talented craftsmen - their work had been taken over by machines that required little skill to operate - and electricity accelerated this trend.

Part Two is about what Carr calls the "World Wide Computer" - the Internet as we know it. The WWC will displace private systems as the preferred platform for computing and traditional IT departments will be significantly downsized Carr writes.

The arrival of a universal computing grid portended a different kind of economic realignment, the author writes. Rather than concentrating wealth in the hands of a small number of companies, it may be concentrate the wealth in the hands of a small number of individuals.

Carr sees the power moving from many companies now that provide software to few with Google obviously being the main player with their growing suite of applications including YouTube.

Some examples of companies with smaller IT departments are provided to show that as much manpower isn't required to run services that operate over the Internet.

I agree with a lot of the comments made in the reviews already posted re there isn't a clear parallel between cloud computing and the electricity grid but it made for interesting reading nonetheless.

If there is or isn't a parallel does not matter too much to me as I was interested in how the author saw computing and computing over the Internet would change businesses and individual computing going forward.

As far as some of Carr's predictions, software as a service and cloud computing are here now (on a small scale) and I don't hear of mass downsizing of IT departments. If anything, different skills will be required to connect the disparate systems and Services Oriented Architecture will play a role in this.

Overall, I found it to be an interesting read but I enjoy reading about history and especially about technology.

Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill. The number of positive reviews for this book is really truly suprising. I'll spare you my rant. Buy it on the cheap if you must read..either that, or I'll GIVE you my copy.

Enjoying the book thus far. Really gives practical information about what it is like to try to live on minimum wage.

I heard about this book through my reading teacher and a student a few months ago. Out of curiosity I decided to buy the book.
I really enjoyed it. I loved how it was written in a diary format and how the author was so real and blunt about everyone and everything she came in contact with.

Hopefully this book will wake up the country.

I agree with most people who read this book in saying that Barbara only gave us a glimpse into the world of minimum wage and trying to *live* on it. Skimmed the surface, so to speak. Even though, I enjoyed the book and thought it was well put together.

Was there a lot left out that should have been included, YES. Did that make this a horrible book, NO. But delving deeper would have made it a much better book and possibly more respected in the community.

We get to see Barb take on 3 minimum wage jobs in 3 towns in the US. Technically it was more jobs because most times she had to take a second job to live. We get to meet her co-workers, but not very indepth. She makes a strong case that I think we all know anyway, which is that it's impossible to live on minimum wage in this country and that often these jobs are the hardest working jobs you may ever hold...

Overall I'd recommend it. I'm sure there are some people, who like me, it might open your eyes a little wider and you might judge others less, or have more compassion/understanding for people in these situations. We read it in my book group and I thought it provided EXCELLENT discussion!

I have to admit, I grew up as person of privilege. I am from a large home in suburbia and drove a Mercedes SUV to high school every day. I was always taught to appreciate the things you have, and how lucky I am. Being born into wealth doesn't take talent, it takes luck. Even being born in the United States alone takes luck, you only had a 5% chance of being born here.

This book reaffirmed my core belief that while hard work and brains can get you places, the effect of the starting hand your dealt cannot be denied. I have to admit I am pretty embarassed to read some of these reviews that blame the poor for their lot in life. Just because hard work can lead to success in this country, doesn't mean it happens 100% of the time.

Here's a big lesson I learned: tip everyone. One dollar to you might mean almost nothing, but for the working poor it means a whole lot more. Treat employees with compassion and respect. A lot of the poor conditions Dr. Ehrenreich experiences is because people are too self-absorbed to think of others. For example, when she's working as a maid in Maine, dripping sweat and the woman whose house she is cleaning doesn't even offer a glass of water. Instead, she commands Dr. Ehrenreich to clean floors on her hands and knees.

I did find the book to be a bit preachy at times, but really the overarching lessons here I think transcend politics. It's about human decency and compassion for your fellow man. Much of where you end up in life depends on the hand your dealt with from the start. The hand your dealt is all luck. Out of 6 billion people, why did I get to be born to wealthy parents in a great school district while another person of equal intelligence and integrity does not?

Anyway, this book is a must read for people of privilege in my opinion because it forces you to take a step back, count your blessings, and become more generous to fellow men and women.

I was so looking forward to this last installment...what a letdown!

I adored the first two books, but this one, WTF? Seemed like she just "phoned it in" for lack of a better pharse.

Too much going on with secondary characters, I could give a rat's poopie about Madison, Jason and Warren...enough already! One more trip to Coalton and I was getting car sick.

Leander and Linda...AWOL! Two characters really needed!

The battle at Trinity, evacuate the town? That's where she lost me...too unbelieable, even for a fanatasy.

What a bummer way to end a super series!

This is a great book the two brfore this one were better but i still liked it.

I have read several magical fiction books including the Harry Potter series and out of all of them I believe this book blows them all away. I read the Warrior Heir in the 7th grade and read the Wizard Heir the moment it came out. Since then i have been anticipating the release of the final instalment to the series and finished it within a week. i strongly recomend this book for teenage readers and adult readers alike.

This was an awesome book in the "Heir" series. You can definitely read this book without reading the first two, but the series is best when read in sequential order. ENJOY!

This is an amazing book. The first two in the series are also amazing books. You get caught up in this completely different world. It's about wizards, seers, enchanters, sorcerrers, and warriors. The wizards are at war against each other because there are certain wizards who want to take over the wizard world and make all of the other magical people beneath them. but there is a certain group of wizards who are trying to stop this from happening. It's a great book. I suggest you read it.

We see so much on this idea of being, acting and feeling positive. The use of 'bucket' as a metaphor really works showing you how you put in and take out of your 'bucket'. Great book and similar to the Law of attraction. Read Living The Secret Everyday: My Secret Workbook that deals with positive thoughts that activate beliefs and then having the positive attitude attracting other positive experiences, people and things into your life.

This book gets you out of bed and into the world by telling you how to make a world you can want to live in now.

This is an interesting little book and easy to read. If you get anything from this book, it will be to share positive thoughts and comments with your co-workers, family and friends. The author emphasizes how a positive comment can encourage and motivate a person to be the best they can be, while a negative one can bring them down. I was left wishing I had practiced "bucket filling" earlier in my life, but going forward will take what I have learned and hopefully be a positive influence on the people in my life.

A quick read, this book provides a fairly straight-forward approach to improving our environments and interactions in work and in life. Using the metaphor of "the dipper and the bucket," the authors present their research-backed (and commonsense) theory that people do best in environments that fill---rather than drain---them. People who loved "Who Moved My Cheese?" and "The Secret" will likely eat up this book as well. Although the theory may at times be a bit too simplified and watered-down (sorry to rain on the positive parade), it provides a good reminder of what makes us tick---and what ticks us off.

HOW FULL IS YOUR BUCKET by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton explores the benefits of positive reinforcement in business, scholastic, marital and other settings. This is an easy read with sound information presented in ways that are applicable immediately. The work focuses on the premise that we each have our own bucket. Positive reinforcement, given or received, fills the bucket. Negative interaction, given or received, dips out of our bucket.

Good examples are given such as John Gottman's marital study of 700 engaged couples. Gottman concluded after just a 15 minute video of each couple's interaction, which couples marriages would end in divorce. His predictions, 10 years later, were over 90% accurate, clearly illustrating the necessity to fill buckets with praise, rather than drain them with nagging and negative interactions. Perhaps a good indication of our current 50% divorce rate.

I actually purchased the book on CD and it came with some additional web-based free content, which I have not yet looked at. I can only assume the book carries the same additional access. My one knock on this CD set is, even though it is unabridged, it is only about 3 hours total. More information in the form of case studies and implementation would have added greater value.

I believe this book would be helpful in many different situations, but would particularly recommend it for business leaders, married couples and parents.