change Books

This sociology book is a good text for the general sociology student. I am new to this subject and find that this book explains the concepts well by using narration as well as your basic text book format. I find myself reading ahead because the chapters are interesting.

Another good thing about this book is that there aren't any colored pictures-- this makes the book less expensive! The student can also access the publishers website for additional information about the topic.

This is a good book for the general sociology student (or major!).

My first exposure to Norman Vincent Peale was his book, "The Power of Positive Thinking." I was very inspired by that book and was therefore anxious to read "Positive Imaging." I'm glad I did.

In this book, he talks in depth about imaging, which involves picturing an image of your goal in your mind and focusing on that image until it enters your subconscious mind and releases the energy needed to make the image a reality.

He provides a number of stories about people who have used the power of imaging and achieved their desired outcomes, including stories from his own life. I have tried this and it does work, if you stay with it!

This book was excellent. It helped see things differently and to remember to keep a positive attitude at all times.

Another tool to wipe away the negative thoughts which paralyze the masses. A great warrior like companion to anyone "imaging" the "awfuls" of life. Enjoy replacing those negative images in your mind. This book emphasizes the choices and habits of negative thinkers and offers insightful suggestions to turn it all around. Nice!

This is a well written, informative book. This book should be used as a guide for those interested in living a well rounded, grounded and spiritual life. I have recommended this book to others.

Pat Piccardo

Dr. Peale delivers a positive message about the power of thinking and imaging. He has taken the old truths about attracting what we think about and made it easy to digest for the general public. If one follows his simple but profound advice they will find a spiritual path that will lead to a more positive life. His advice is as sound today as was when he first wrote these words in this book.

I read this book when it first came out at least a decade ago but I find that there is much value going back to read it again from time to time. A true test of a good book is one that still rings true no matter how many years have passed. This book will rank right up there with other of his classic works.

Other that An Inconvenient Truth, not too much exists in the pop culture that describes global warming and its possible consequences in a way that is accessible for the general public to understand. More books need to "cross over" to increase public awareness and understanding about this pressing issue. This publication acts as bridge between the scientific community and concerned citizens who may just be interested in the topic. It is an easy read and is laid out in a straightforward manner. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for basic facts about climate change and what humans can do to change the course. However, it may not be captivating for those that are not interested in the topic to begin with.

David King is reported to have said that unless we stop manmade global warming, by 2100 the only habitable continent will be Antarctica. Need I say more?
This book seems to be full of alarmist claims about what might happen if we do nothing and dubious proposals about what we should do.
The thing is that the people of the World are not doing nothing about climate change and nor will they. But hopefully they will think of more creative solutions to the problem than the same old same old injunctions to reduce emissions drastically in the next 20 years that we hear from King and Walker. Such reductions would likely have dramatic negative consequences -- especially for the poor. So it is imperative that we start thinking about smarter solutions, such as reducing barriers to adaptation. If catastrophe is a real possibility, then maybe we should be looking more closely at geoengineering? Meanwhile, a smart approach to incentivising reducing carbon emissions would involve improving the incentives to R&D, while possibly introducing low level -- and revenue neutral -- carbon taxes.

to really understand the problem, and to really understand how one can make a difference and to really understand the forces at work that will prevent any solution this is an excellent primer. It reads in laymen terms so you don't get all boondoggled by the science. It lays out the facts clearly and concisely and examines all the alternate sources of energy and their drawbacks. The Kyoto protocol is examined and the USA's reasons for not ratifying it. A very detailed and interesting read. Maybe I'm just too cynical, maybe I don't have enough faith in mankind, maybe I'm just depressed about this whole global warming and the world we're leaving to our children but I think it might be better to get beyond the argument of global warming, is it? or is it not? are we responsible? or aren't we? maybe..we should move the questions to a higher plain, like what can we do to make sure mankind survives?

Far from being too alarmist, this book, like many others on this topic, does not go far enough in warning of the dangers of global warming. The problem appears to be that most authors are over-involved in particular areas of research, and have not seen the broadest view of the problem. Also, the available information is changing rapidly. I have done extensive research myself over the past six years, and had already concluded that the problem was more grave than generally known. My suspicions were confirmed when recent research by Russian Scientists found that the Methane Hydrates on the Arctic Ocean floor are already melting and releasing large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. This, coupled with the methane production of warming tundra and melting permafrost areas, creates a vastly greater danger of rapid climate change, since a conservative estimate is that these Methane Hydrates contain well over 500 billion tons of Methane, which is twenty times worse than CO2 as a "greenhouse" gas. Therefore, while this book is useful as another analysis urging action, new work needs to be done to demonstrate clearly to people such as the author of the previous review that the situation is truly urgent, and that calls for immediate action to cool the planet are anything but alarmist.

Gary Becker certainly has the credentials to bring economics to the masses, with a Nobel Prize in the field and positions at the economics powerhouse of the University of Chicago as well as the Hoover Institution, one of the world's most influential think tanks. Along with his wife Guity Nashat, Becker applies the concepts and principles of economics to a diverse range of issues in this volume, which is a collection of previously released columns.

The result is an informative look at how economics applies to a wider range of issues in our lives, above and beyond the strictly monetary. Becker was a forerunner in this area, applying economic theory to discrimination back when other economists were looking at nothing more than financial figures and projections. Becker's scope is expanded here and the issues range, as the subtitle puts it, from baseball to affirmative action and more.

Unlike some other reviewers, I do not think these essays are dated. Even if some of the specific issues have changed, the concepts remain the same and can be applied to present situations with little editing. Anyone who cannot do so has read only the words of the essays themselves without recognizing the deeper analysis involved.

The biggest problem with THE ECONOMICS OF LIFE is not that it is dated, but rather that it is truly, truly dull. I was attracted to the book because one of my favorite authors, Thomas Sowell, is also an economist who writes columns for a wider, non-academic audience. Certainly I did not expect a clone of Sowell. Yet Sowell has demonstrated that he can make the dismal science a bit less dismal to read. The same cannot be said of Becker, whose brilliance in the field is matched by the dryness with which he articulates it.

This book brings economic theories down to earth. The Beckers are excellent writers and the book is easy to read because it is broken down into short segments. The book would be great as supplementary reading for a principles of economics class.

This is a great read. Although outdated, it still carries lots of potent articles from the man who mastered bringing economics to the masses. Being a collection of short articles, it sometimes leaves you wishing that Becker had gone into more detail with his arguments, though.

Nobel Prize winner Gary Becker published this collection of articles in the mid1990s. Even if dated, the book is a high-quality and straightforward way to understand basic economics and apply economic theory and principles to daily life. Most of the articles are interesting, it is easy to read both in content and length, the writing is consistently fine and the analysis insightful. It also sparked the vast amount of more recent books of the same fashion like Harford's Undercover economist, Landsburg's Armchair economist, Friedman's Hidden order or Leavitt's Freakonomics. Recommended.

The Economics of Life is a good anthology of Becker's short policy papers over the years. As such, it is useful as a supplemental text for introductory microeconomics. Some might find this book dry reading, but it is quite entertaining compared to standard textbooks.

This book should reach a wider audience too. Now that Milton Friedman is gone, Becker is THE leading proponent of Chicago Rational Choice microeconomics. Those who want to understand policy issues should read this book because it is about the easiest way to get a feel for Chicago microeconomics. See also Hidden Order by David Friedman.

Given the controversial nature of this book it has drawn fire, and will continue to do so. While I freely admit that Chicago price theory has limits, it also has useful applications and relevance. Read The Economics of Life first, judge its merits later.

interesting characters, especially dad, Norm. You could feel Zack's pain and grief. I'd recommend this one to friends and read more by
Tropper.

This is one of the most entertaining, well-written, REAL books I've read in a long time. It's stayed with me and I'm recommending it to everyone I know...it gives great insight into the male mind.

I have read most of Trooper's published books and this is a pretty good read. Entertaining and fairly light, this is an interesting look at love, guilt, family, and the usual fare of Tropper's books-the 27-34 year old male looking for the right path. He has done it better in How to Talk to a Widower and with better descriptive phrases in the Book of Joe but this is still a solid book. Those who are fans of the Man/Boy books of Trooper will enjoy them. Those who have worked in corporate jobs, ala Office Space, will enjoy the send up of mid corporate level work. Honestly, I would liek to give the book 3 and a half stars rather than three. My only dislike was not looking deeper into the psychological depths of the main characters infatuation to see the healthiness of the relationship. Read it, though, and make up your own mind.

The heroes (perhaps "anti-heroes" is a better description) in Jonathan Tropper's novels have several things in common. They are guys who seem to have it all -- great job, stylish apartment and/or cars, loyal friends, etc. -- but lack something meaningful in their lives. What is it that they lack? They have no idea, all they know is that their lives feel incomplete. They are aspiring writers. They also have unrequited feelings for a girl-next-door type, a long-time friend or ex-girlfriend. That was the case with the heroes in Plan B and The Book of Joe, and it is also the case of Zachary King in Everything Changes. But to say that these novels are the same would be a mistake. Tropper has always captured me with his edgy stories and sharp narrative, and this effort is no exception. Zach has a high-paying, albeit unsatisfying job as a "middleman" at a large company. He lives rent-free in an enormous Manhattan apartment owned by his rich friend Jed, who does nothing but watch TV all day. He has a gorgeous fiancée, but is in love with Tamara, a young widow and mother. He has it all, or does he? A cancer scare and the reappearance of his deadbeat, Viagra-popping father force him to reevaluate his life in ways he had never thought possible. Rewards come in unexpected ways, forcing him to get himself out of the box and think of someone else's wellbeing for a change.

This is a great book. It is a big step ahead of The Book of Joe. The aforementioned novel is a great read, but there are areas in which you have to suspend disbelief quite a bit. Everything Changes feels more... real. The hero is much more sympathetic and his dilemmas have more depth. It shows that having financial success and a good romantic relationship don't make you happy in the grand scheme of things. Tropper's heroes are quite similar in voice and circumstances (taken from the author's life?), but they each has his own story to tell, and Zach tells his with a smart, witty and brutally honest tone that touches the reader. Well, it touched me, that's for sure! The secondary characters, especially Zach's father Norm and Zach's brother Matt, are well developed and realistic. The story development runs smoother in this novel than it did in the previous two. All in all, I recommend Everything Changes and I look forward to reading How to Talk to a Widower.

Jonathan Tropper was recommended to me by chance out of my following of other humorous authors. Tropper's ultra fast paced story telling reveals a new quirk and a new laugh seemingly at every page. Though I can not yet judge his collective works, Tropper's talents cause me to eagerly anticipate his other novels.

Zachary King has a gorgeous fiancee, a luxurious rent-free apartment, and a well paying job. Problems begin to arise when other women are more interesting to him than they should be and his job that would seem to be out of Kafka's imagination wears all too thin on him. In addition, traces of blood show up in his urine and his absentee Viagra-addicted father reenters is life. His father Norm actually seems to take Viagra as a maintenance drug which creates some interesting situations. Zach's brother Matt's peculiar choice of a hairpiece is also a highlight. I was only a little repulsed by the retarded brother jokes used when Zach's brother Pete makes an appearance. Tropper is too talented to attempt such cheap humor.

The portions of the story in which Zach's medical problems are being addressed are amusing enough to make this book worth purchasing. But as readers cringe their way through awkward situations, it is difficult not to be amused. While the book is humorous, one can empathize with Zach as he is torn between his fiancee with her seemingly disapproving family and the widow of his best friend. The humor complements a great story in "Everything Changes". As the runaway train of a story winds to its conclusion, not every twist can be anticipated.

In addition to being a textbook, this is a resource worth adding to your professional library.

This book was just what I needed for my class. It had all the info that I needed to help me succeed in the class.

Great book. Very helpful in my study of the school superintendency. Very practical and useful information.

For my research at this time, I only read the section on sugar. This section was filled with historical errors and biased, prejudiced language. Very few of his interpretations were orthodox. . He lumped all Arabs together as always having a low opinion of physical work. Furthermore, according to Hobhouse, they have all enjoyed making trade agreements, all the time. He cited Arabs as having been partly responsible for African race-based slave trade. This was not accurate; Europeans did not use intermediaries at this point in history. He further cited these same men of mixed "Arab-Negro" decent as having been solely responsible for the shift to only using African slaves. Although the validity of this was questioned, a statement of this nature needed citations, for which he provided none. He also used vivid descriptions that in context of everything else he said contributed to negative stereotypes, for example, that slaves were "pinned like a pig to await a buyer." In an effort to make the destruction of Africans more normal or acceptable, Hobhouse said that it should be remembered that white Europeans had short, nasty life spans, too. Even if this had some truth, he ignored the fact that Africans had absolutely no choice of coming to the Americas. To him only Europe and North America constituted the civilized world during the age of slavery. When discussing the declining Native populations and their relationship to involuntary labor, Hobhouse neglected to mention the New Laws of 1541. When discussing abolition efforts he cited the economic theory of mercantilism, not inhumanity, as having been the only reason slavery was abolished. Even here he ignored slave rebellions and slave resistance. What about the Haitian revolution? Furthermore, to him Maroons were only fierce Africans who caused trouble. Maroons had every reason to be rebellious. To Hobhouse, slaves only produced one-tenth of their value, thus not being economical. Hobhouse concluded by saying Cuba and other Latin American countries have been dependent on the world for their survival. He further stated these countries have never tried to be independent and that they have had an absence of respect for hard work and its reward of profits. What if Latin American countries have not wanted to buy into the European/North American concept of needing profits and money? I would stay away from this book.

Hobhouse is a must for anyone interested in history (particularly environmental history). He provides a new perspective to parts of history that we often don't question. However, reader beware - Hobhouse is an overt racist. Don't take everything he says at face value and be prepared to "toss off" the inflamatory remarks that are sprinkled throughout the book. While an important book, the chapters are poorly organized. Hobhouse attempts to tackle immense topics ("macrohistory") in limited space. He skips around and does not follow a linear format in making his arguments. Be prepared to step back and look at the big picture - he goes on many tangents that, while interesting, he fails to link directly back to his argument. Despite its faults, the book is well recommended - certainly provocative.

This book consists of a collection of historical essays about six plants: quinine, sugar, tea, cotton, the potato, and coca. For each plant, the author provides historical information about when it first began to be used (especially by Westerners), and how its use spread across the planet. Some of the information was quite interesting, particularly since the author is British and presents the material from a British point-of-view, emphasizing facts that may be less familiar to Americans. Unfortunately, no in-text citations are provided, but there is a short bibliography at the end of the book. The essays often spill over into topics that are, at best, only marginally related to the subject at hand, such as an overview of Japanese foreign trade in the tea chapter, or the role of corn whiskey in the economy of the Southern states in the early Nineteenth Century in the cotton chapter. Hobhouse has an interesting habit of giving his own meaning to words, such when he defines "Negro" as being a West African Black with sickle cell anemia, or "husbandry" as applying to plant breeding. He also uses the term "slavocracy" to refer to the political situation in the pre-Civil War South, presumably on analogy with "democracy" and "theocracy", but in those words, the first root identifies the rulers, not the ruled. This book may provide a light introduction to some of the topics covered, but I wouldn't rely on it for serious study of an academic nature.

I havn't read this book in a while but came across an editorial by Hobhouse recently and I thought I'd check to see if it's still in print. I recall some rather strange notions about our 'current' lack of fiber in our diet and the dire effect it may have, but in most areas where he dosn't range too far afield it's a good read. A reader above found the book racist but I don't recall anything like that. If you like Hobhouse try to dig up Edgar Andersons ' ' Plants Man and Life'. Not an inspired title but a very good book as well.

I havn't read this book in a while but came across an editorial by Hobhouse recently and I thought I'd check to see if it's still in print. I recall some rather strange notions about our 'current' lack of fiber in our diet and the dire effect it may have, but in most areas where he dosn't range too far afield it's a good read. A reader above found the book racist but I don't recall anything like that. If you like Hobhouse try to dig up Edgar Andersons ' ' Plants Man and Life'. Not an inspired title but a very good book as well.

Bob Doppelt is the first sustainability expert to describe the nuances and challenges of successfully implementing a systemic sustainability program. Where others have said that "you need to get the people in the organization involved," Doppelt goes deeper and tells us how to do this.

His comprehensive approach, systems thinking, and concrete examples give us previously unavailable insights about successfully implementing sustainability programs in organizations.

I especially appreciate that he includes economic, population, and social equity concerns and not just the technical aspects of protecting and improving the environment.

I have recommended this book to all my sustainability Ph.D. students.

While the concept of sustainability and sustainable development is still ethereal, Bob Doppelt has his finger at the pulse of our best thinking, practices and strategy for implementation. I resonate with his view that the process of achieving sustainability is messy and non-linear and people enter it from many directions. This book has informed my understanding and has helped structure a subject that has a moving target component to it. Bob Doppelt's work has credibility and substance for me.