Westerns Books

The book was accurately described, and only took a few days to get here. Very satisfied!

The book arrived in the condition they specified. I was buying used so I didn't expect anything perfect. The cover only had a few abrasions and only some of the pages were highlighted. They shipped it fast. I believe I got the book by the end of the week I ordered it.

I will never again order anything sent via "media mail". It must go around the world and back before it gets to you. There was also no confirmation on when the item shipped. I had to ask multiple times. It would be good if there was another shipping option. I would have happily paid more to get it in time for my class.

This textbook provides clear and precise instruction on the teaching of strategic management principles. It covers briefly a wide breadth of strategic management topics.

This book was purchased as a text for a four unit senior Global Strategic Management class. I have found the companion web site to be very helpful. The chapter powerpoints are located there along with case and financial analysis tutorials.

Graphs, tables and charts are use to help explain and summorize important topics.

The case studies are really, really current and of reasonable depth - I enjoyed reading them so much I actually considered keeping this book. In all, the author uses real world examples to convey the message; I couldn't think of a better way to teach the subject.

I ordered the text book Management by Richard Daft online from Amazon, for a class I was taking. I lost my tracking number and couldn't remember what form of shipping I had requested ... I used Amazon's customer service online and I received a response the very next day letting me know the date I could expect the book. The book arrive on the day it was promised. I will continue to use Amazon for future text orders.

In my opinion this is one of the best text books on management I read. I am using it extensively with undergraduate students for whom the English is a foreign language, and still they do not encounter any difficulties, either in understanding the text or the cases.
Arie Aviram Ph.D.

When I purchased the book online it said the book was in stock. However, once I placed the order the book was no longer in stock. I had projects and test due and I still did not have a book. The seller told me that I would not have the book till Sep 15th. And I ordered the book on Aug 25, and purchased express delivery. However, I did get my refund in a timely manner.

This book serves as a good introductory text to the interesting and vastly complex field of management. As with anything comprehensive, a single book cannot cover (in depth) all that needs to be covered and thus, some one who aims for detailed information on ERPs, supply-chain management, Porter's 5 Forces, Fredrick Taylor's early thoughts on scientific management, or Maslow's hierarchy of needs... will need to read the respective books to satisfy demand.

However, if you are looking for a general overview of the subject of management, Richard L. Daft's book is a great way to acquire that knowledge. Written in an entertaining and colourful manner, the book introduces most of the essential ideas of modern management & organizational theory playfully and with ease, providing a sound foundation on which further studies can be based and which will ultimately facilitate access to more complex materials.

In my eyes an excellent book for its intended target group: A recommended read for those new to the discipline of management.

I am finding this book very helpful. I love to learn new things about horses, and dealing with them, and anything that will help improve my relationship. And this book is giving me something new an positive on every page. Even after my 14 years of dealing with them!!!

I did not find this book helpful at all. Mr.Parelli is all over the place with his writing. There are no real instructions on how to train, just his philosophy. I did not find the book useful, it will be the first book to go in my garage sale pile. He's very "showy".

This book, along with the entire Parelli Levels DVD home-study, Savvy Club collateral, Liberty & Horse Behavior DVD Set, and the Success Series DVD, teach the philosophy of thinking like the horse, caring for your horse with leadership and love, and always keeping it natural.
Parelli, a prominant leader in Natural Horse-Man-Ship, horse psychology and behavior, teaches us how to understand how horses think and learn. It's nothing short of amazing.

Once you read this book, you'll want to learn more, and Pat & Linda Parelli provide many valuable resources to support you on your journey with your horse. Together they teach the 8 Principles of Natural Horsemanship, stressing that preparation, patience, love, language and leadership are all important keys to learning how to read, motivate and build trust with your horse - and most importantly, build and grow a bond with your equine partner.

Parelli teaches that since 99% of problems with horses are 'problem people' not 'problem horses' his book and their entire study program, is really a people-training guide. The Parelii's step-by-step program is easy to follow and will take you from "green" to savvy, helping you discover your potential, reveal your horse and treat your horse with dignity, compassion and understanding.

I've been on the Parelli Journey for nearly two years now, starting from "scratch" and knowing only that my love for my horse was the engine that would motivate me. I had no idea what I was getting into, but when I was introduced to the Parelli's Natural Horsemanship study, I was guided in a profound, logical, confident way - it was as if Pat and Linda were right there with me. Start with this book, open your mind and heart to new challenges with your horse, and you will discover a journey that fuels your equinne passion with knowledge, principles, communication, leadership, and a bond of trust and love. Thank you Pat and Linda.

I thought this book was excellent! I am a new horse owner and found it to be very helpful. Also, I am not into hurting my horse so reading about working with him naturally was right up my alley.

I love the parelli level system but this book is poorly organized and not very helpful. It is more about a philosphy and witty remarks than a method of training. Stick to the level DVDs.

This is an awesome book for birders with a lot of detail and illustrations on each type of bird. I would recommend it.

I think this is an excellant bird guide. I'd recommend it to anyone who is just starting out as a birder or is a lifetime lover of birds.

I purchased this book for my fiance's birthday, as we're new to the birdwatching world. It's aboslutely wonderful, and we'll use it for many years to come.

I bought this book for my little brother in California for his birthday. He has just started getting in to watching the different birds and trying to identifying them by there calls. He really loves this guide book. For any body woh getes in to bird watching, Sibley field guide is a must have...

I own every book on bird identification that I have been able to find for birds of the western United States. This is by far the one I use the most. I've purchased it for several of my birding friends, keep a copy at my home site and one in my truck. One of the points that makes Sibley's guide so useful is that there are no actual photographs of birds. He has drawings that give the "more common" colorations of each species. Photographs seldom yield such a wide spectrum of coloration. I use other bird guides because they have good information, but Sibley's guide is the one most easy to use, and the most practical for really knowing the bird you are identifying.

I liked the product I purchased. Used books saves me a lot of money. Thank you!

I purchased this book 'used' in 'good' condition and am very satisfied with my product. This book came with a CD, that is in GREAT shape and working order. The book was clean of marks, had no highlights and had all pages in-tact. I recieved my order with in a weeks time, which is faster than i expected. I pleased with my experience with Amazon, and found it easy and informitive to check on my order and in what transition point it was in.

This is the book that I needed for my class. I purchased it at Amazon $25 less than the school bookstore, no sales tax, free shipping and received it in 4 days!

Probably one of the worst text books I've ever used. If you don't have a GREAT teacher avoid any class using this book. It is very poorly written. Very confusing. Incorrect answers throughout. Answer key (which should be there to help you learn) is horrible. If you are new to payroll, try and find a different way to learn this material. There has to be something better out there.

Book very informative almost don't need the teacher. Received book in good order and on time no problems. This book is not a book that will be resold becauce the work is done in the book and the rule and laws are always changing. The instructor will not let you use the last book(2006).

This book presents the most recent research on many aspects of organizational behavior very clearly. Although it is targeted at students learning the material for the first time, people who have had more exposure to the subject could also benefit from reading sections of it.

Nice treatment of management. I learned a lot from this book.

I had to buy this book for a college management class. The material is painfully obvious. However, if you've lived you're entire life living in a dark, dank room eating Cheetos and watching MTV, then this book will be a watershed for you. If, on the otherhand, you are looking for some solid management theory, this book is not for you. If you have to buy this book for a course like I did, remember, you can always sell it to someone who hasn't read it yet.

The book is fairly comprehensive in terms of its scope. We are currently using the book at our Organizational Behavior class, and it's proved to be an excellent reference. The way it is structured (for the reader) makes in-depth reading or skimming through it (let's face it: this is the reality for most working MBA students!) equally effective. It has clearly distinguishable definitions on the margins, which can serve as a cue for the topic, along with the summaries at the end of every chapter. The intro and closing "cases" provided around the topic of the chapter are VERY insightful and on every other page or so, there are examples about the matter being discussed, which help with the understanding (I know that I, as an Engineer, appreciate examples to illustrate a point). Finally, the illustrations (graphs and charts) are one of the best things the book has! Remember that phrase that used to say "a picture is worth a thousand words"? Well, the authors epithomize it. The charts in the book do a great job at conveying entire pages of information at a time in a very efficient way. All in all, I like the book a lot, and it's been very helpful in complementing our in-class discussions about cases and topics of Organizational Behavior.

While I would agree that this book is of very high value, it seems to me that a lot of great topics were glossed over and didn't reach the depth of insight that I have come to know and love from Paramahansa Yogananda. My opinion is a bit biased, as I own and am currently reading his most elegant tome: "The Second Coming of Christ," which is quite detailed and has an abundance of depth to it. "The Yoga of Jesus" is of course a watered down version of "Second Coming" and is certainly well worth the time if you want a quick study, that is; "How Sri Yogananda Interprets Jesus - 101" kind of thing. It will definitely get you thinking, with quite a few "ah-ha!" moments. I strongly recommend you read "The Yoga of Jesus" before "Second Coming." A 4 star recommendation today!

there has been so much discussion in recent years on what Jesus really said and did, and even whether He really existed.
Paramahansa Yoganandas commentary sampler "The Yoga Of Jesus," from Self-Realization Fellowship Publishers LA USA really clarifies a lot in these matters.
This volume serves as a handy and welcomed introduction to the Masters larger and acclaimed work "the Second Coming of Christ;Resurrection the Christ Within You" from the same publisher in 2004.

This work will most likely answer in the most direct and inspiring way all the questions you had about Jesus life and teachings. It is truly inspiring and eye opening.

For those who need deprogramming [those still attached to the status quo] this volume will be a very effective starting point to renewed understanding of one of the worlds great prophets/gurus.

It will renew and advance your faith in the real Christ!

Great book written by a great man. It has renewed my perspective on Christ (original perspective was that of a Catholic who received First Communion in a French church in Rabbat Morocco, and later attended Catechism in Southern Spain as child). The author, Yogananda, really taps into the beauty and truths that I always suspected were the things that all religions had in common.

As an avid reader of Gnostic teachings, I found The Yoga of Jesus to be a breath of fresh air in understanding some of the deeper meanings found in the gospels that have been all but forgotten in modern interpretations. This is book is for all those looking for information to take them beyond believing to knowing, which is the literal meaning of the word "gnosis."

Rahasya Poe, Lotus Guide magazine (lotusguide.com)

The Yoga of Jesus from P. Yoganada is a must read book, specially for all the Christians of our time. It's a transforming reading, in which the teachings of Jesus are explained, from the message of the Gospels. I understood more the teachings of Jesus after 30 years of being Christian. I recommend this book to everyone.

If someone would like to know what Utilitarianism is, this is the book.
But if someone thinks to find in the Utilitarianism a moral standard to follow, this is just one of the books.
According to the Mill' theory, we should always act in a manner that will maximize overal happines and in this essay John Stuart Mill wrote which are the effects of each possible action we may perform.
The Speech on Capital Punishment tells one of this possible action.

The foundation of consequentialist ethical theory, John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism is a must read for anybody who wants to understand ethical theory. While we may debate what makes action right or wrong, Mill's take is one that must be acknowledged.

One of the Classical School economists explains and defends a system of ethics that counted among its adherents Ludwig von Mises, one of the great Austrian School economists and philosophers.
Utilitarianism, in John Stuart Mill's day and our own, periodically comes under attack from the spokesmen of organized religion. But Mill holds that his philosophy is completely compatible with religious morals. Mill even writes that the founder of Christianity was a utilitarian. Makes sense when we realize that one of the main features of the early Christians was jettisoning Judaism commandments that seem to have no obvious utility (usefulness). That attitude lead them to eventually discard the entire Torah.
Mill imbibed Utilitarianism from his father -- British East India Co. executive and writer James Mill -- and their friend Jeremy Bentham. The two tablets of Utilitarianism are pleasure (acquisition of) and pain (avoidance of). Reduced to one it is the "greatest happiness principle." Mill argues persuasively that these things are more hard-wired into humans than almost everything else. The pursuit of virtue, which some in organized religion see as being at odds with Utilitarianism, is actually a form of the pursuit of happiness for the virtue-seeker, those around him/her, and/or future generations. This adds to the "public good," which is at the peak of Mill's values pyramid.
Utilitarian concepts are all over America's founding documents, especially the Constitution. Interestingly, and ironically, Mill's essay was published at the time of the Constitution's greatest crisis -- the Civil War (1863). Mill makes no mention of the crisis or America's earlier successful marriage of Utilitarianism and federalism/limited government.
Mill's "public good" and the U.S. Constitution's "general welfare" clauses helped open the gates to big government, Ayn Rand and other individual rights advocates point out. Sad but true. Although his ideas contain seeds for the modern welfare state, Mill meant his public good to be best achieved by free-acting individuals getting little or no prompting from government.
How does the individualized commandment of "love thy neighbor as thyself" get turned into the collectivist Social Security Administration? Perhaps the psychiatric profession can explain it. I can't.

Many of the posted reviews refer to a different version of the text (i.e. Crisp vice Sher)

Sher's version is an inexpensive and accessible (good font size and binding) edition of this classic. It contains the 3 essays (unabridged) use to construct Utilitarianism as well as a speech given by Mill while serving as a British MP in 1868 on capital punishment. Readers should note that aside from a short introduction by George Sher, this edition does not contain any additional analysis. Readers looking for a more detailed discussion will need to look elsewhere. Judging from some of the other reviews it sounds as if Crisp's version may be worthwhile.

I read this book for a graduate Mill seminar in Philosophy. Recommended reading for anyone interested in philosophy, political science, and history.

John Stuart Mill, 1806-73, worked for the East India Co. helped run Colonial India from England. Minister of Parliament 1865-68 he served one term.

Mill develops a theory of morality in Utilitarianism. He argues against the group of people who think that morality is intuitive. Intuitionists think that God put morality in us, thus, morality is a priori. Moral rules or principles were programmed in us, we can see these rules, they are binding, however they do acknowledge that on a case by case basis we still need to use them to reason out the ultimate answer for a particular case.

Mill also believes that there are a set of moral principles that we ought to be thinking about. Intuitionists today think that case by case we can reason out what is right or wrong. However, they would be suspicious that of believing there were general moral principles. Intuitionists say it is not up to us to investigate what is right or wrong. Mill would disagree. Mill doesn't like Intuitionists theory because they can't prove their view; and they can't explain why "lying is wrong" as an example. In addition, they do not provide a list of these innate morals we are suppose to have, and they do not have a hierarchy for them to resolve the conflict between two morals when they arise.

Background on essay, written in 1861 came out in 3 magazine articles, pretty scanty which sometimes drives one crazy trying to deduce what Mill is saying. A lot of interpretation is necessary.

Chapter 2: The second paragraph is official statement of the theory.

"The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness."

Happiness=pleasure and freedom from pain. This makes him a Hedonist philosophically.


Higher Pleasures Doctrine- Jeremy Bentham says how valuable pleasure was based on 2 dimensions that we evaluate our experience of pleasure by, intensity and duration. Bentham says this determines quantity in pleasure. Bentham said this determined how much a given experience adds to a person's happiness.

Mill adds a third value to evaluate pleasure by and that's its quality, how good it is. Many don't understand Mill's idea that pleasure has value and quality. Most people think that Mill is really talking about quantity, or they don't believe one can be a hedonist, that pleasure is the only thing that has value, and yet think that there is something more to judging how valuable an experience is than the intensity and the duration of the pleasure it contains. So, they say that one of two things must be going on here. Of course, some people are sure it is one thing, and some are sure it is another. Either what Mill is talking about when you get right down to it is quantity in pleasure and different experiences, or all the different things he says about quality can be somehow resolved into quantity. So that really what is going on is that when Mill talks about a pleasure being of a higher quality that just means that there is a lot more pleasure there that the quantity is much greater. Or, Mill is giving up on hedonism at this point and he is admitting that some things are valuable aside from pleasure. So, when he says an experience like reading a good book or something like that is more valuable than an experience of some kind of animalistic pleasure, that really what he is saying is this experience is more valuable for reasons that go beyond the amount of pleasure involved. In addition to how much pleasure is involved there is also that maybe the experience is more beautiful or more noble or something like that and this gives it additional value. So something other than the amount of pleasure involved gives it additional value. Mill can be a consistent hedonist and he can consistently say that pleasure is the only thing that can have value and yet it is still the case that some pleasures are just more valuable than other pleasures.

I find it strange that a reviewer would post that "Capitalism is Wrong" while typing it on a computer and sending it across an Internet to a website that is built on the back of that "evil" word. Do you see the contradiction?

Those that actually read the book would have grasped the essential statement she made which was that she was not primarily an advocate of Capitalism, but of reason. Capitalism was just the natural conclusion.

In any case, the collection of essays presented here are an excellent example of historical evidence as well as philosophical reasoning behind the idea that Capitalism is the only moral political system in existence.

That may shock many potential buyers of the book, but Rand et al present a series of compelling arguments backed up with historical evidence that spans the nation's history to prove their point: Never, not once in America's history, did free enterprise capitalism ever cause ANY of the economic problems that have plagued this country. From the railroads, to the child labor laws, to antitrust regulations...all were caused by Government regulation and interference in the free market. It is a conclusion that one must read and study to believe.

Yes, she is abrasive and condescending. That is because she tells the truth. Here is Ayn Rand at her fiery, angry best. Her logic is impeccable although her style may irritate many readers. If you are angry about what's happening to America today, at least attempt to read her prescient message.

This book contains an excellent collection of essays on the political branch of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism and is appropriate for anyone seeking to obtain a deeper understanding of her political philosophy beyond reading her novels. A few of my favorite essays contained within include:

* What is Capitalism? -- Ayn Rand's delineation of Capitalism as a political system where individuals live according to the Trader Principle and have a minimal, but central government to prevent the initiation of physical force and fraud.

* Antitrust -- Alan Greenspan's excellent essay that attacks Antitrust legislation as subjective, harmful and immoral.

* Gold and Economic Freedom -- Alan Greenspan's essay on the need for objective currency. In particular, he suggests a return to a 100% gold standard.

* Patents and Copyrights -- Ayn Rand's views on the necessity and morality of intellectual property rights.

* Theory and Practice -- Ayn Rand's views on the invalidity of the "Mind-Body Dichotomy", which is also known as the "Theory-Practice Dichotomy" or the "Thought-Action Dichotomy".

* The Wreckage of the Consensus -- Ayn Rand's views on the debacle that was the war in Vietnam. In my opinion, reading this essay really suggests how she would view the current war in Iraq.

* Man's Rights -- in this essay, Ayn Rand discusses what individual rights are and where they come from. Specifically, she argues that rights come from the nature of man (not from divine origin, society or law) and what they mean in practice.

* The Nature of Government -- this essay contains Ayn Rand's view on government's as an agency of force, how the only proper purpose for a government is to safeguard the rights of men, how the only legitimate functions of government are those necessary to preserve individual rights (i.e., police force, army and a court system) and the necessity for a strong, central government to serve as a final arbiter on the use of retaliatory force. This last point is in stark contrast to various anarcho-capitalists such as David Friedman and Murray Rothbard.

Capitalism has a number of failings but perhaps the most basic one
is its theory of values. Capitalism acts as if there is a common
currency with which we can measure all that is valuable (money).
This value monism is incorrect. See "The non-existence of a utility
function and the structure of non-representable preference relations"
(Beardon, et al, J. of Math. Econ., vol. 37, pg 17-38, 2002) and refs.
therein. Capitalists simply get the math wrong. Money isn't everything.
Value pluralism is the correct axiology. There are things of value
that can not be bought and sold (thank god! like love and votes).
This failure of values within capitalism is why it is ultimately evil.
Rand is an apologist for evil, a tragic figure.

Ayn Rand, best known for her best selling fictional works outlining her own philosophy of Objectivism, presents a collection of thoughts on economics that provides one of the best explanations of laissez-faire capitalism available. Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal was my introduction to the Austrian economic school of thought and to this day, after considerable research on the subject, I cannot think of a better introduction.

Rand, in combination with Nathaniel Branden, Alan Greenspan, and Robert Hessen, provides an admirable compilation of thought portraying the very essence of laissez-faire capitalism. The book is based on the founding principals of America and an understanding that "America's abundance was not created by public sacrifices to the `common good', but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes."

If you resent the fact that your life is your own responsibility and no one else's, then you will not like this book. This will account for the less than perfect overall rating this book inevitably will acquire as there are many among the masses who just cannot accept that they might have to be accountable for their own decisions. Such thoughts clearly do not speak to the quality of the book, rather frustration with the ideals; an understandable and anticipated response to a book of this nature.

Anyone seeking to understand the logical and objective ideals of laissez faire capitalists will discover all they are searching for with this book and I highly recommended this to readers and critical thinkers of all views of economic thought.