Westerns Books

The book was bought as a gift. I looked at it and I do not know if I would purchase a copy for myself. Some of the ingredience might be difficult to obtain if you do not live near the coast. The recipies seemed advanced.

I was eager to purchase this book after tasting the best "Roasted Rosemary Potatoes" I have ever eaten in my life at a friends house. I am a simple cook, but love good food. This book is beautifully written, and does not intimidate me. I feel as if I can make every recipe and make it successful because Judy Rodgers will walk you through each step. I have not tried a recipe yet, but will soon. I am just enjoying reading it right now. You really want to savour this book as you read it.

zuni is my favorite san francisco restaurant. i bought this book for the chicken recipe, the restaurant signature dish; it works perfectly and satisfies a life long goal of making a perfect roast chicken. have only glanced at other recipes.

I have not eaten at the restaurant, and I have no special culinary skills outside of being a good home cook. In fact, I can rarely follow a recipe.

This book is a really fun read, and inspirational. Some rather mundane foods, like stale bread/onions/greens/cheese come together in a most divine way, with lots of variations possible and suggested. It's called a Panade.

The big revolution here is salting meat and waiting for the herbs to seep in for a couple of days - a dry brine. Genius, and totally effective.

I think the recipes are easier than they look. I am not put off by a three page description because once you read it, it is your own. Not intricate technique, just great ideas!

As my cookbook collection continues to grow, this book remains one of my favorites. It is a well written classy book that I personally admire. It is definately a book for foodies and not a quick reference for some quick dinner ideas.

The recipes are very obviously real and tested and if one wishes to acheive the best results do not try to take shortcuts. As far as finding certain ingredients, there is a wealth of resources availible online and virtualy any ingredient that you can imagine can be found if you look.

I have used this book as an ethics instructor for six years. The book is useful in identifying the multiple influences upon our lives for how we make ethical decisions. Our religious perspectives and understanding of behavioral sciences find residence in our lives, whether we are aware or not. It is through these we are formed and make decisions. Stevenson and Haberman present overviews of Taoism, Hinduism, and Judaism, as well as behavorial sciences and philosophy by examining these theories' underlying philosophies and intellectual difficulties. While Judaism and Christianity are not separated by chapter [but combined into one], and Islam is not given a full discussion, the book is useful for understanding the complexity of global interaction and how we can relate to the millions of people who hold religious or philosophical premises unlike our own.

I teach an introductory-level philosophy course at a university, and this is my main text. Whereas most intro-level books are divided by topic (epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, etc.), this one is helpful in that is organized by chapters that specifically deal with each theory of human nature. So when you read about Plato, for example, you will get a wealth of background material as well getting to see the implications of each theory for epistemology, ethics, etc. I think that this is a much more natural way for students to grasp the material.

The first two chapters are by David Habberman (which were added to later editions of the book) and deal with Eastern theories of human nature (Confucianism and Upanishadic Hinduism). I realize that these chapters were placed first to maintain somewhat of a chronological order, but the only downside is that they don't seem to 'grip' the students in the same way the other chapters do considering they have had far less of an effect on Western culture and thought. They are certainly valuable and students need to interact with them, but you may wish to start with 'the Bible' or 'Plato' and revisit the beginning chapters later.

Some readers may also complain about Stevenson's treatment of the Bible. He seems to raise some unusual objections to the judeo-Christian viewpoint, while leaving out some of the more conventional ones (For example, at one point he states: "Paul and other Christian writers are obviously influenced by Old Testament ideas of sacrifice, but not many theologians are now prepared to interpret Christ's 'saving work' as a propitiatory sacrifice..." Is this supposed to be a surprise?). He could have easily brought up popular topics like the problem of evil or free will and predestination instead.

If you plan on using this in the classroom, I would recommend supplementing it with other reading, considering how (understandably)brief
each treatment is. Each chapter does include suggestions for further reading, which is nice.

All in all, this is one of the better introductions to philosophy and the history thought in general.

Quality book. Received in a timely manner.

Socrates postulated that only the examined life was worth living. His great inspiring idea was that we can come to know the right way to live if we use our reason properly, and inquire in an open-minded, nondogmatic way.

In this spirit, "Ten Theories of Human Nature" does not restrict its inquiry to five major thinkers of the Western Tradition (Plato, Kant, Marx, Freud and Sartre), but includes three ancient religious traditions (Confucianism, Hinduism, and Christianity) as well as two scientific thinkers (Skinner and Lorenz).

Each of the ten theories is examined under four aspects:

(1) what is its theory about the world?

(2) what is its theory of the nature of human beings?

(3) what is its diagnosis of what is wrong with us?

(4) how can we put it right?

The result is a concise, well-balanced textbook with useful suggestions for further reading. It shows how the focus of each theory on different aspects of human existence branches out into elaborate (sometimes, arcane) systems of thought. It also illustrates how the dominance of very comprehensive theories, especially religious ones, is replaced in time by more scientific, narrow theories which increase our knowledge about human behavior in very particular, small aspects but tend to lose sight of larger, "non-scientific" issues.

While the authors claim at the beginning of their book to present "rival" theories, the book is actually open-minded about the contributions of each theory to the understanding of the human condition: they are adding up, rather than canceling out.

Meeting the ideas of Sartre, Skinner and Lorenz in the context of the book was an interesting experience for me. Surprisingly, I found that Sartre's ideas about freedom and choice could well form the philosophical basis of the main-stream American self-help book - a thought that any self-respecting French intellectual would definitely hate.

I like the way the author analyzes the religions and thoughts that have influenced the course of world history. It doesn't compare one against the other so the reader is allowed to view the theory in a vacuum. I only wished that the author wrote a chapter on the importance of why we need to engage in such an endeavor that would set the trajectory of our lives. Great book!!!

Scottish history has always been vague to me, but Herman mixes history, biography, philosophy and much more into a great read. I was amazed at how events in the 1700s affect events today...like gun control. He overstates his case, but any professor that doesn't exude enthusiasm for his subject would be considered dull these days.

You may see how the ecclesiastical and civil trials of Scotland generated the people and their methods for all fields of endeavor in Western Society.

Herman's How the Scots Invented the Modern World is enjoyable and emphasizes the great Enlightenment vision that tried to understand human nature.

This is not a review, however, but a comment on two problems with the text that were not "fixed" in the paperback edition.
1) Harriet Martineau was not the wife of John Stuart Mill; his wife was also named Harriet but Martineau was a minor but important writer on her own.
2) Jonathan Edwards was preceded by Aaron Burr, Sr. as president of Harvard, not followed by him. Indeed, the chaos in the family from the deaths of his parents and of his gtandfather as well were a part of the first years of the more famous Aaron Burr's life.

I'm not a historian; I can see how these could easily happen. Nonetheless, much as I am enjoying the book, slips like these (kept into later editions) indicate Herman would profit from more fact-checking and a sharper editor.

Very good book, reads a bit like a college textbook. I learned quite a bit.

This is a detailed look at the role the Scots have played in the developement of the modern world in the 18th and 19th Centuries from the highlands of their own country to the distant corners of the New World and Asia.

The title's statement about how they 'Created Our World & Everything In It' led me to figure that this book would be strongly biased, but I bought it anyway and found that it is not; the author was deliberately exaggerating and presents a relatively balanced view of Scottish history. There are few strong anti-English sentiments in this book, and none of the 'Braveheart'-style stereotype that this period in Scottish history (the Jacobite Rebellions) is prone to attracting. More than anything it is about the Scottish Enlightenment, the cultural centers that arose at Edinburgh and especially Glasglow following the '45, and the individual Scots that strongly influenced modern politics, finances, religion, and philosophy.

Overall, I liked this book (though it was a tad bit dry) and found it much more fair and balanced than most other titles on this topic.

I bought this book for a non-credit Financial Planning class at Florida State. I didn't stick with the class, but I'm keeping the book. It seems to cover just about everything anyone except a financial professional could ever need to know about the financial planning process. If there's a downside to the book, it's that it reads like a textbook; HOWEVER, that's what it is. AND, being a GOOD textbook, the writing is clear and understandable.

Anyone who would order this book should know that I received an e-mail today (February 24) from the instructor of the intro class at Florida State, making reference to a ninth edition. The instructor did not specifically mention this book by name. However, since [Amazon.com] is showing the eighth edition as of February 24, it may be safe to assume that this is the book the instructor was referring to.

I had to purchase this book for a university course I once took (several editions earlier). This book is a great resource for taking you through the personal financial planning process. This book may seem a bit intimidating but if you want personal financial success, it is worth going through the book. It will take you step by step on how to achieve your financial success. This is the best textbook I have ever purchased.

Landes provides an interesting and credible explanation of the differences in income/capita (now about 400:1, about 5:1 250 years ago) between the richest and poorest nations. En route, Landes also provides a useful perspective on today's globalization debate.

Most of the differential is attributable to cultural values. Some, however, is geographical. If one marks off a belt a couple thousand miles in width circling the earth at the equator, one finds within it no developed countries. Year-round heat encourages proliferation of disease and parasites. Poor soils and extreme dry areas are added problems, as well as the debilitating heat's effect on workers.

From about 750-1100, Islamic science and technology far surpassed those in Europe - then something went wrong and science became denounced as heresy by religious zealots. Similarly, state control allowed Chinese innovations to fall into disuse. China's flotillas far surpassed Europe's. The biggest ships were about 400' long and 160' wide (Columbus' Santa Maria was about 85' long), and the fleet totaled 317 vessels and 28,000 men. Then new leadership brought an emphasis on agriculture and all ocean-going ships were destroyed in 1525.

Europe enjoyed a monopoly on corrective lenses for 3-400 years, beginning in the 1300s, more than doubling the availability of skilled craftsmen and allowing the further development of microscopes and telescopes around 1600.

Cotton from India proved capable of multiple washings (vs. wool), thereby transforming standards of cleanliness and health.

"Easy money" (eg. gold from Spanish colonies, Holland's discovery of North Sea natural gas) makes for a lazy economy that fails to develop the talents of its people.

The Protestant Reformation gave a big boost to literacy, and spawned dissents that are at the heart of scientific endeavor. Data show a much greater percentage of scientists from Protestant vs. Catholic backgrounds. Unfortunately, after Luther, cleanliness became a particular cause for suspicion of heresy, and smuggling non-approved books led to the death penalty. Thus, the fate of Catholic southern Europe was sealed for 300-some years. Sicily also suffered from intolerance and superstition of Jews, forced them out, and imposed a backwardness in trade on itself.

Landes then goes on to ask "Why did the Industrial Revolution occur in England?" Protestants were persecuted and expelled from France. Weavers from the southern Netherlands sought refuge in England and brought trade secrets with them, while Jews from Spanish persecutions brought networks of trade connections. England also had a much better system of roads, along with an emphasis on transport speed and time in general. Meanwhile, France was undergoing the upheaval of the French Revolution, India's craftsmen avoided using iron and steel (had made no progress in scientific knowledge for centuries), while Russia was hobbled by serfdom's tying peasants to the land to do forced labor. China and Japan had walled themselves off from the rest of the world - in fact, China lost many of its early innovations through disuse.

Another problem for Russia was that serfdom left so much wealth in the hands of the nobility that overall consumer demand was limited. Russia's poor industry was only able to produce inferior rifles, resulting in enormous losses in the Crimean War (1854-56), the war with Japan (1904-05), and WWI. Finally, the Baltic states remained poor because they were tangled in an endless struggle for freedom.

Regardless, once started, the Industrial Revolution proved difficult to copy because division of labor complicated industrial espionage. Across the Atlantic, scarcity of labor in the early U.S. led to high wages and a push for innovation. Thus, European devices were copied and imported, and skilled European craftsmen encouraged to move to high American wages. (Side Note: By the time of the Civil War, firearms production in the North vs. Confederacy was 32:1 due to the South's emphasis on agriculture.)

The Spanish in South America kept Protestants and Jews out; independence came not because of the settlers' strength, rather Spain's weakness. Spain also brought a macho society attitude that adulthood brought males complete independence and idleness; South American immigrants were also less educated than those in North America and the immense landownings lent themselves to simple ranching enterprises. (American immigrants created a squatters' rights culture, with small landownings and a high motivation for self-sufficiency.)

China and Japan both resisted foreigners; the latter persecuted Christians and their converts after being told these groups were part of Spain's control mechanism. Following a period of anti-foreigners, Japan committed to learning from and copying the U.S. and Europe. (The Chinese did also, but much, much later.)

Muslims (Ottoman Empire) cut themselves off from the mainstream of knowledge via banning the printing press - had a problem with a printed Koran. Another major limiter was their diminishment of women. (The Japanese did also, but to a much more limited extent - eg. girls were well educated, they worked until married, and continued to work afterwards if their income was needed.)

The Japanese realized they lost WWII because of greater U.S. industrial output. Landed attributes this to their support for a large, exporting auto industry - American occupiers saw no need for such an industry (comparative disadvantage). Japan's auto producing disadvantages (small market, lag in technology) were turned into advantages through the Toyota Production System.

Landes points out that today's comparative advantage rationality can easily become tomorrow's mistake. His example is Germany - the British economist John Bowring lamented that the foolish Germans wanted to make iron and steel instead of sticking to wheat and rye and buying their manufactures from Britain. Had they heeded him, they would have pleased the economists and ended up a lot poorer. Similarly, the Japanese.

Bottom Line: The most successful cures for poverty come from within. Educated, eyes-open optimism pays; pessimism only offers the empty consolation of being right. Gains from trade are unequal. Some activities are more lucrative and productive than others.

A good and informative read, more so, the second time around. Landes, raises many excellent points for debate between socio-economics and cultural influences of peoples and their leaders, more ofter imposed upon them, as opposed to chosen to lead.

The book chosen for an economics class just finished at Lund University, Lunds, Sweden. As, a retired American ex-patriot with a background in international finance, still interested in learning, this book is highly recommended for anyone seeking to gain a better understanding on the question "how did we get to where we are?" And divides the world's peoples into three catagories: those that spend billions yearly on losing weight; those that eat to live; and, those who don't know where their next meal is coming from! That our wealth (the West) is dependent on others less fortunate. What they can't make, they will take! That wealth is, in and of itself, a magnet for exporting of commodities or products, but when all else fails or is denied -- people (migration) will be the end product that swamps the west.

We'd better wake-up and understand our need to declare World War III, not nation on nation, region on region, or religion against another religion, but a unified "War on Poverty" led by the west.

Landes is the man, and this book pretty much sums it up. His primary thesis, that when humans are given the freedom to be innovative and pursue their own interest, is familiar from Adam Smith, but Landes does it better, it's a convincing argument. Culture is the determining factor in the success and failure of nations, not chance, not geography, not even resources, and Landes makes it obvious, it seems.

I had already read Guns, Germs and Steel so was braced for a lot of redundant concepts in "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations" by Professor Landes. 500+ pages later though, this is the clear winner on the subject. More reasonable and deeper in the theories, backed by many examples, interspersed with an easy reading of summarized histories that allow the reader to put it all together.

My recommendation to anyone out to read this book would be to take a "beginners' mindset," understand the hypotheses, and feel free to subsequently cross-reference on the historical data points if left unconvinced by some. All the nonsense propaganda that we are fed with in the early years of our lives makes this task that much more challenging, but that much more important as well.

I found this book very interesting but a little directionless. His basic premise that culture not geography (or evil Europeans) is a large factor in where a country stands today. Notice I said large factor not the only factor which his detractors claim he says. As to my complaint on the writing, I enjoyed all the information but I feel it could have been funnelled toward his basic point better it was a little scattershot. Most of the 10 or so detractors I read either used falsehoods or distortions for their complaints. The point about the chopsticks was a tiny point but true! Why do parents teach babies dexterity exercises with those toys. And to the guy who claimed that Landes said all Asians are frugal you must have read a different. He did say that throughout Asia Chinese are the middle class managers. Anyone who goes to that part of the world knows this to be true. One final point He did show the flaws in European (especially the Iberean Peninsula) thinking but horror of horrors when you are evaluating numerous cultures for 1 issue- economic- 1 is going to come out on top and say it loud and say it proud WESTERN CIV. provides the best overall life for human beings

This book is brand new and never been used! It is a great buy and is at a great price.

Let's put it this way, I really don't enjoy accounting anyway, but this book took my dislike to a whole new level. Poorly written with examples that aren't really useful mingle with problems that throw in unexpected variables with no explanation on how to solve the problem. Irritating, ponderous, and unwieldy I can assure you that once you use this, you will be completely confused.

I don't recommend reading this book as a night time reader - it is too scary! Unlike most books that use statistics to justify their point, Mr. Steyn presents numbers from various nations and demographic subsets that are revealing for the future of Western Europe and America. When in brief conversations on airplanes, airports, restaurants, etc. (all anecdotal) the stories are backed up by real people's real experiences. Don't believe what the media tell you, backup your arguments with the facts. I would recommend a companion book to read by Thomas Sowell, Advanced Economics - Thinking Beyond Stage one.

Mark Steyn is witty, snarky, rarely acidic, and always entertaining to read. However, America Alone is not entertainment. It's quite disturbing. From his description of Europe's swift demographic decline to his predictions of the rise of EUrabia due to the influx of Muslims to replace the dying cultures, he paints a pretty bleak picture of the future. Francis Fukuyama's "End of History" where liberal-democratic welfare states would be the Future of the World doesn't look like it's going to pan out as predicted.

As Steyn notes near the end, the book isn't about Islam, or the decline of the West, or terrorism, or any of the simple, trite soundbites that have been attributed to it. It's an argument for WILL, for the West to grow a spine, to reacquire our civilizational confidence. Lord Kenneth Clark in his BBC series "Civilization: A Personal View" said (and I paraphrase) that one of the most important feature of a civilization, if not the most, was confidence. Confidence that it will still be around next year, that it is worthwhile planting crops now, so they could be harvested next season. Confidence that soldiers won't suddenly appear on the horizon and destroy your farm. Confidence that an apple seed planted in your backyard will provide fruit for your grandchildren. That if you paint a fresco, the wall its on will still be standing in a century. That if you write a book, the language you use will still be understood half a millennia in the future. And that if you hauled stone for the great cathedral which had been building since before your father was born, and which your baby son might live to see completed if, the good Lord willing, he lived to be an old man; your efforts would be valued by subsequent generations stretching forward toward some unimaginably distant futurity. And above all, the self-confidence that you are part of something grander than yourself, something with roots in the past, and a glorious future of achievement ahead of it.

When the Romans lost that self confidence, when they began doubting their own purpose, they began to die.

Europe is, as Steyn illustrates, dying now from the lack of confidence, leaving only the U.S. to stand against an ideology that wants all the world to live under its crushing weight.

It's a book everyone should read.

I purchased two additional copies of the book to give to friends. It is a very timely, well-written book. Get one before it's banned! Canada is trying to prevent it's sale there. It is enlightening and frightening at the same time. Regardless of where you stand on the issues, this book will get a reaction from you.

It's a time of change, take time to review Mark Steyn's perspective.

Mr. Steyn shows the thinking and tactics of how the Islamists plan on taking over and asserting power. Europe is dying and the English-speaking world, mainly the U.S., is the only thing preventing Islamist victory. The statistics are staggering and scary as hell.

This is a very frightening book . All the more so in that the author has easy accress to guns , which he champions throughout the book . This book will appeal to anybody who belongs to a local militia who think that the Federal Government , Canada , Europe , 1.5 Billion Muslims and basically anybody who is not a paranoid hate filled American sterotype are out to destroy their freedoms .
It is so far to the right that it just dumps reason and goes with everybody is against us , so lets kill them . Solve the problem of insurgents crossing into Iraq from Syria by planting bombs in Syria there by teaching them a lesson .
What is really frightening is that a lot of the hate is ' read between the lines ' . I don't think its a sinister ploy , but the only way he can get the book published without it becoming a hate crime .

The price of the book was a very good price compared to other places I've looked.

Fiero has done a wonderful job surveying history, making it enjoyable and interesting to almost any reader. With pictures of artwork and architecture, Fiero's text is enchanced, allowing the reading to gain a broader view into history from the enlightenment to modern times. As with many history books, the writer's presuppitions are reflected in their writing. Fiero follows this trend, allowing her feministic presupptions to interpret history. While this is not so evident in volumes 4 and 5, in volume 6 (a review of modern times), this view is highly stated. This series (including the first 3 volumes) is a wonderful review of history, allowing the reader to see into various cultures throughout history.

This book was in excellent shape and it was here at my door very fast.

This is one of the books worth keeping and not selling back becuase it is so filled with helpful information that you can use for all of your future career moves.

The book is in very good condition. The shipping and handling was unbelievable fast. Way to go!

It was a great deal on the textbook but I had to change the shipping options 3 times to get the book on time. Initial deliery was 6 weeks later and I had to move it up to 2nd day to get it within 2 weeks.

I found the material to be well-organized, clear, and thorough. The graphics and exercises further served to reinforce the material. The textbook though should have embedded additional examples that pertained to calculations (e.g. penalty calculations). Overall, the textbook is a strong choice to educate the readers in the methodologies and legal underpinnings of federal tax research and the workings of the Internal Revenue Service. Instructors can gear the material for students of varying aptitudes.