Book Description
The author of the million-copy-selling 1001 Ways series shows how to get ahead by fulfilling every employers ultimate expectation. This book contains a clear message: Every boss wants an effective worker to do what most needs to be done without having to be asked. Simple? Perhaps. Easy? Not on your life. But thanks to Bob Nelson, employers and employees everywhere will be empowered by this vital message, and in the process achieve their goals and create a mutually rewarding experience. As brief, to the point, and inspiring as his previous best-selling titles, Nelsons commonsense advice can be applied to any situation, from the mailroom to the boardroom, and is illustrated with a wide array of examples and anecdotes from real life. Helping readers tap into their own intelligence, resourcefulness, and pride, Nelson demonstrates how acts of initiative both big and small can make an enormous difference in the way an employee is viewedand rewardedby his or her boss; he also shows how the effects of those actions benefit the entire organization. Its a perfect first day on the job book; a useful resource for any HR department; and a worthwhile investment for anyone who wants to learn more and go farther in a job, in a career, and in life.
Download Description
Bob Nelson maps out a specific and easy-to-follow strategy for fulfilling what he calls "the Ultimate Expectation" at every workplace: that people will use their best judgment to figure out what needs to be done and then do it without having to be told. Brief, to the point, and inspiring, Nelson's advice can be applied to any situation, from the mailroom to the boardroom and is illustrated with anecdotes from everyday life.
Customer Reviews:
The smart take on initiative .......2007-09-17
Corporate employees must contend with downsizing, scarce jobs and scarcer benefits. In today's virtual corporations, a handful of employees do the work that many people used to do. To survive, make yourself an irreplaceable employee. That's the short, sweet, familiar point (and the only message, given the book's brevity) that Bob Nelson conveys in this simple but clear manual for long-term employment survival. Take the initiative, assume responsibility, know your job better than anybody else and fulfill your supervisor's expectations - even the unspoken ones. Become indispensable: it's here in a nutshell. We find that Nelson provides valuable tips on being a proactive employee and, for fun, illustrates them with some bright little stories.
Initiative + Timing = Promotion.......2003-07-18
This is a very easy to read book full of examples of how people were able to make headway on the corporate ladder by showing initiative, waiting until the timing was right, and even disobeying superiors.
Through a string of specific examples from which generalized ideas are formed, this book explains how you can be an empowered employee with a driving force that will not only bring you job satisfaction, but can help you turn even a doldrum job into an opportunity for success.
The ideas, such as "be a person that makes things happen" can apply to any job, you just have to think about how it can apply to you.
Pro-active thinking!.......2003-02-03
Bob Nelson has assembled a quick reading book on popular business concepts and situations facing a regular employee. He offers suggestions on becoming more pro-active than re-active to situations that arise through out many different careers. Nelson also gives examples of true story scenarios in which a person took a chance or challenged an idea and was later promoted for it. He talks about successes and also failures in careers in which people either sat on the sidelines or got in the game. This book most can probably read in a day as it is under 100 pages and reads very fast. It has quick chapters and a lot of useful insight.
Not so thrilled.......2002-05-17
I was a bit disappointed after reading the book because I thought the author was giving 'general advice' rather than 'specific tips'. I would rather recommend 'The Administrative Assistant' (Crisp Publications)
Encouraging a good employee to be a great employee.......2002-01-23
Bob Nelson doesn't pull any punches, and he says what every employer has always wanted to say, but couldn't quite find the right words. I am purchasing a copy of this book for each of my departments. It will be required reading for all employees. It drives me crazy when an employee is asked to do something and the first thing out of his/her mouth is, "but I don't know how." Fine, you don't know how, but you are an intelligent human being whom I hired, and you can learn. I love the person who doesn't have a clue, but takes on the task, thinks things through, asks questions, and gets the job done. Stagnation is boring, and it's not long before it starts to stink. This books gives employees great ideas to keep from being anything but stagnate. If they work for me, they know actions speak louder than words, and the right actions will take them places. Employers, be sure to read the book. As a companion, read "First, Break All the Rules" by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D. With these books, you will have the tools to make your organization soar.
Book Description
Strange theories about Jesus seem to ooze from our culture with increasing regularity. Ben Witherington, one of the top Jesus scholars, will have none of it. There were no secret Gnostic teachings in the first century. With leading scholars and popular purveyors of bad history in his crosshairs, Witherington reveals what we can—and cannot—claim to know about the real Jesus. The Bible, not outside sources, is still the most trustworthy historical record we have today.
Utilizing a fresh "personality profile" approach, Witherington highlights core Christian claims by investigating the major figures in Jesus's inner circle of followers: Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Thomas, Peter, James the brother of Jesus, Paul, and the mysterious "beloved disciple." In each chapter Witherington satisfies our curiosities and answers the full range of questions about these key figures and what each of them can teach us about the historical Jesus. What Have They Done with Jesus? is a vigorous defense of traditional Christianity that offers a compelling portrait of Jesus's core message according to those who knew him best.
Customer Reviews:
Tackling the revisionist theories on Christ.......2007-08-02
Regardless of where you stand, Ben Witherington III is considered by biblical scholars to be a heavyweight contender. The title to this book sounded interesting to me, so I decided to check it out. In this book Witherington overviews the people in Jesus' live, including the disciples, the women, and Paul. I found the overview refreshing, as most of the information is not new, but it helped remind me of keeping things in historical perspective. Witherington believes that we ought to consider the earliest documents first and foremost while taking the gnostic gospels and later additions with a grain of salt. So many scholars who we see on the Easter television shows don't have that same perspective, and so we end up getting some fascinating theories that just don't have any basis in fact. Yet how many viewers walk away from the DaVinci Code-type information and doubt the historicity of the Christian church? It has to be confusing for the typical lay audience.
I found several things most fascinating. First, I had never heard Lazarus as a possibility for the disciple whom Jesus loved. This theory hit me for a loop. I'm not sure he fully convinced me, but I'm going to have to consider it more than I did before I knew it was even a valid theory. I also had never thought much about Joanna being Junia. That was interesting to me as well. In addition, I appreciate the fact that Witherington changed his mind about phileo/agape Peter/Jesus dialogue in John 21. Sometimes we get so hung up on our beliefs that it's hard to change, so I guess it was refreshing to hear that this scholar was willing to say, "Hey, I changed my mind." May I be as open-minded.
The book is profitable and so I recommend it for those searching for the historical Jesus.
Taking on the revisionists.......2007-07-17
Common to the Christological revisionists are claims that there are lost or suppressed Christianities, and that there is a radical discontinuity between who Jesus really was and how he was represented by his early - and later - followers. What much of this amounts to is an attempt to rewrite history, to undermine the reliability of the New Testament, and to recreate Jesus in the image of liberal scholarship.
Thus we need once again to determine just who Jesus really was, and what in fact was his message. And the best way to do that, argues New Testament scholar Ben Witherington, it to get back to the inner circle of Jesus. Those who were closest to him or knew him best are our most reliable guides to what he believed and what the early faith was all about. This book provides a close look at this so-called inner circle. It carefully examines those from Jesus' own physical family: Mary, James and Jude; as well as Peter, the Beloved Disciple, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Paul.
Taken together, their testimonies help us understand who Jesus was, and what his core message was. A close examination of these individuals reveals that they all agree to a common understanding of the man and his mission.
Witherington argues that no wide wedge can be driven between these close associates and their take on Jesus, and that of Jesus himself. Consider James, the brother of Jesus, and the first leader of the post-Easter Jesus movement. The contents of the epistle that bears his name are remarkably similar to that of the most basic teachings of Jesus.
For example, one can find over two dozen close similarities between what is found in his epistle and what is recorded in the Sermon on the Mount. This demonstrates, in part, that James is quite familiar with the sayings of Jesus in some form. Says Witheringtom, "the letter of James is deeply indebted to the Jesus tradition".
And the oft-heard contentions that James and Paul are fundamentally at odds, or that Paul has radically reinterpreted Jesus, are far from the truth. There are admittedly differences of emphasis between Paul - the missionary to the Gentiles - and James - who ministered to Jewish believers - but their basic message is the same, centred on a high view of Christ and his saving work.
And Paul's theology flows out of the life and teaching of Jesus. He is no inventor of new theologies, but a faithful witness to the Jesus story. His message is fully in accord with the others of the Jesus circle. Any differences among them, suggests Witherington, are primarily ecclesiological in nature, not Christological.
The inner circle stands in complete continuity with Jesus and his message. And the message they spread was quite congruous. Says Witherington, "the earliest Christian leaders were remarkably similar in their beliefs about the divinity of Jesus, the way of salvation, and basic ethics".
The idea that they, or others, have somehow misrepresented Jesus or departed from his words and teachings is simply without any firm evidence, argues Witherington. Indeed, the idea that there were competing Christianities during the first century is simply incorrect. The kind of Gnostic gospels and alternative Christianities that many modern liberal theologians seek to argue for simply were not in existence during the time of the very early church, but instead begin to appear in the second to the fourth centuries.
"It is pointless to talk about `lost Christianities' if we are talking about the apostolic age," says Witherington, "because there were no forms of Christianity like later Gnosticism already extant in the first century." Indeed, "as far as we know there were no forms of earliest Christianity that did not worship Jesus as crucified and risen Lord".
The earliest leaders of the Jesus movement shared a very high Christology, and a common understanding of the basic Christian message. Indeed, all the New Testament documents "can be traced back directly or indirectly to the inner circle of Jesus," and all 27 New Testament documents present a messianic picture of Jesus.
Asks Witherington, who should we most heavily rely upon: The inner circle of Jesus or later Gnostic writings? The inner circle had "more than enough living contact with the historical Jesus to remember who Jesus was, what his teaching was like, and what claims (implicit or explicit) he made of a messianic nature".
Concludes Witherington, "There is no nonmessianic Jesus to be found at the bottom of the well of history".
It is imperative that the new Christological revisionism is challenged historically and biblically. That Witherington does here to great effect.
Good - wonderfully takes you through the lives of those closest to Jesus and His Life through their eyes........2007-05-31
Ben makes an excellent case for the historicity of the NT and for the person, life and work of Jesus of Nazareth! In most cases his research is superb, and he arrives at his deductions and conclusions carefully and brilliantly. After reading this book, there can be no question in anyone's mind about the historicity of the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus. And books like the Da Vinci code and Gnostic philosophies simply do not stand.
In his attempt to show how impossible it was for these first eye-witnesses to concoct the Resurrection and spread the Christian faith however, I think Ben takes certain leaps which may not entirely be warranted. For instance, he does not satisfactorily address the issues of Mary the mother of Jesus perpetual virginity and the rival claims that Jesus' brothers were really Joseph's former sons or his cousins. I also do not think it is possible to conclude that Mary the mother of Jesus was assertive or did not believe He was the Messiah from the one passage we have in Mark Ch. 3 . Lastly, while Ben makes an excellent case for the authorship of the 4th Gospel, that may be exactly what it is, a hypothesis.
That said, the book itself is wonderful reading and anyone who is confused about the nature of the early church or what the first Christians believed would greatly benefit from reading it. When it comes to NT times, culture, history and the person of Christ, the book is first-class. For those interested in even better reading, I would recommend "Simply Christian" and "Challenge of Jesus" by N.T. Wright.
very readable for the layperson and for the seminarian.......2007-05-16
Witherington's book is an excellent scholarly work which he obviously has researched and put a lot of thought into. He clearly explains his views, and provides very rational arguments for why he holds the views he does. I had a hard time putting it down.
I think this book would be an excellent read for skeptics and non-Christians simply because of Witherington's convincing style and expertise on the subject with which he writes.
A fine addition .......2007-02-04
There are many strange theories about Jesus, but they don't come from Ben Witherington II, a professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary and the author of over thirty books on the subject. His title probes what is known and what cannot be known about the Jesus presented in the Bible, dispelling myths, using a 'personality profile' to illustrate basic Christian claims, and drawing important connections between key historical figures and the Jesus image. It's a fine addition to both general-interest Christian libraries and the holdings of more advanced, college-level seminary readers alike.
Average customer rating:
- Dense, but a Good Introduction
- Best Collection of Lenin's Writings & Thoughts,Both Logical and Illogical
- This is not casual armchair reading.
- Lenin at his best
- You can't always get what you want!
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Essential Works of Lenin: "What Is to Be Done?" and Other Writings
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
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The Revolution Betrayed
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The Communist Manifesto (Penguin Classics)
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History and Class Consciousness
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Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-Tung
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The State And Revolution
ASIN: 0486253333 |
Book Description
Four most significant works, also including "The Development of Capitalism in Russia," "Imperialism, the Highest State of Capitalism," and "The State and Revolution."
Customer Reviews:
Dense, but a Good Introduction.......2007-08-11
The Essential Works of Lenin does provide a remarkably concise introduction to Lenin's thought. It will not be easy for the novice reader, so a perusal of The Communist Manifesto, or other introductory writings will be important to get a firm grasp on Lenin's Marxist views. The final 90 page chapter "The State and Revolution" may be the most accessible and intelligible of Lenin's views; much of the earlier portions of this 364 page book deal with Lenin's critique of other socialists who have deviated from true Marxism (this is the most difficult part to read, because it assumes a knowledge of his historical context). The book then, is a good one, but introductory exposure to Marxist thought will help. It does provide a valuable, concise biography of Lenin in the introduction.
That aside, let us turn to a critique of Lenin's thought. Lenin was a very intelligent critic of capitalism, with many penetrating insights into the function and abuses of a capitalist economy. It is not that Marxism was based on a complete illusion, but that it was based on a partially-true, compelling illusion that perhaps makes it so seductive, and so dangerous. I dissent, for example, in thinking that only the "dictatorship of the proletariat" can supplant the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, and that somehow a freer, fuller democracy will result from a worker-managed society in which the state will subsequently "wither away." History demonstrated that instead of withering away, the Communists party only solidified its tyranny over the masses, and substituted one dictatorship for another. That Lenin or Marx possessed a real historical "science" of political-economy I think has been disproved. While claiming not to be a utopian, it is difficult to see how some of Lenin's claims are anything but - in terms of the transformation of human beings by the abolition of class antagonisms. People remain people, inherently biased, often selfish, not concurring, and striving to realize two very difficult things: a society with the greatest possible freedom and equality for all.
Do not be mistaken, however. Just because Lenin (as Marx) made serious errors in their theory, does not excuse the student of ethics, politics, or religion from treating these writings of Lenin with the serious academic study they deserve. Lenin may have been wrong about much, but right about a great deal too. Understanding his thought will be important for any student of history and politics.
That said, this book does very little to comment on religion. Famous for their antipathy towards religion, choose another book if you are interested in their ideas about religion. This book does do very well on Lenin's political-economic theory. Lenin also draws quite considerably on Engels, considering him and Marx to be the only true interpreters (beside himself) of the doctrine.
A final note - the book also does not mention Adam Smith - it is just assumed that capitalist theory is wrong, and Lenin spends much of its time battling the "false" or "opportunist" Marxists (Bernstein, Kautsky, the anarchists). See Marx or perhaps another volume on Lenin for a more direct confrontation of Smith and classical economists.
Best Collection of Lenin's Writings & Thoughts,Both Logical and Illogical.......2007-05-19
This is probably the best book on the personal writings and political blueprints of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.The main problem that Leninism ran into, was that an oligarchy of the communists can became as insenitive and remote from the laboring masses, as a czarist monarchy had been before. Lenin felt the peasants did not have the savvy intellectual prowess to keep the socialist-labour movement going forward.And also that the peasants would be prone towards nostalgia for the czar and his church beliefs.Regicide did little to stop the peasants human need for a spiritual superman figure and Joesf Stalin fit the bill.Many remaining WW2 Soviet veterans carry a picture of 'Uncle Joe' with them.The world war and later the cold war,gave stalwart leaders a reason to justify a 'closed-market system'. Yet this lead to another problem with Leninism.The idea of laboring for the sake of labor,regardless of real economic-market/social value.In America,Richard Nixon tried 'fixed-prices and price-caps' on some large domestic products,which only lead to a worsening of the economy with even higher inflation rates. Ronald Reagan also had the strange idea of 'Supply-side economics',which was correctly lampooned by George Bush Sr. as 'VooDoo Economics'.The faulty idea that a large supply produced would induce a large demand for the product.For example, if the government produced a hefty supply of 'reusable solar-powered flashlights(with modest capacitance)',would there then be a hefty demand for them in the dark fall-winter months and also in the light spring-summer months?If disposable batteries became scarce,because of strict local/state/federal environmental laws imposed,then demand for 'solar-powered flashlights'would increase to meet market-demand. The need and value of the product is driven by market-demand.-Lenin ,who was an admirer and distorter of the scientific ideas of Charles Darwin,did not understand that people are fickle humans .Whose tastes and values are subject to ready change.Regardless,of what laws and penalities the bureaucrats impose upon them.-Interesting book concerning socialist economic theory.
This is not casual armchair reading........2007-03-15
Beware! This is not a Lenin quote book, which is what I was hoping to get. Nor is it a comprehensive selection of selected and essential passages, which would have been better. It is, however, a small book containing four of Lenin's key essays. So although you get the complete essays, the overall selection is too small. His views on life, duty, religion being a drug addiction, the vanguard, and so forth are not here. Lenin, who was prodigiously prolific on the level of Voltaire, deserves better. Consequently, this small sample does not do him justice.
The four essays are "Development of Capitalism in Russia" "What is to be done?" "The State and Revolution," and "Imperialism, the highest stage of Capitalism." I found this last one fascinating, considering the critique by Thomas Sowell in "The Quest for Cosmic Justice," page 121ff.
The essays are both technical and polemic, and therefore boring. So if you are neither economist nor historian, much less a wannabe Che Guevara, then you may want to pass on this book. This is not casual armchair reading.
Lenin at his best.......2006-06-30
This book, along with "The Revolution Betrayed" by Trotsky is the best repudiation yet of the Big Lie of the 20th Century that Stalinism equals Socialism. Stalin was one of socialism's great ENEMIES of the 20th century and proved it time and time again (first with the liquidation of 90% of all the original Bolshevik revolutionaries -- Imagine someone claming to uphold the ideas of the American Revolution and killing off Jefferson, Madison, Washington, Adams, etc. Then with opposing the revolution in country after country, Spain, China, Indonesia, Italy, Greece, etc. Orwell's Homage to Catalonia is another good testament to this)
Anyway back to Lenin: His writings helped transformed Marxism into a truly international philosophy, one that urged the liberation of ALL people all over the world, not just the ones in the 'advanced' capitalist nation. Lenin brought political involvement into the mix as being MANDATORY for any revolutionary; previously many socialists had been content with simply 'waiting' for the right moment to make a revolution. Lenin made it clear that this was unacceptable and direct, constant political involvement and education was essential for any legitimate social revolution.
As to the last reviewer: I am sorry, but your attempt at "humor" (or more precisely, lack thereof) did not impress me. It was moronic to say the least and if I wanted a bunch of lame "one-liners" by a wannabe cyber-comedian I merely have to type in the words: "conservative intelligence.
In any event, it is very telling that pitiful attempts at humor are the only "response" the reactionaries can give to this giant of a revolutionary figure. Lenin is well worth your time.
You can't always get what you want!.......2006-04-21
And way back in the bad old days before the Bolshevik Revolution, you couldn't even get what you needed. Or more to the point: if you weren't the Czar or Czarina, or any of his or her umpteen-bazillion inbred buck-toothed relatives, and weren't hooked up with royal favorites (did someone say Rasputin?)---well, just put to bed any thoughts of getting shoelaces for your galoshes.
Or for that matter, galoshes. Or anything, really. I mean, let's think of it this way: around 1916, there were *bread* shortages in Moscow. Think about that for a minute: bread shortages. People were rioting for a loaf of crummy, dimply, worm-eaten Russian bread.
There were long lines for everything; total tyranny and oppression; you couldn't say anything against the Czar, or you would get exiled to Siberia.
So along came Lenin, who broke a few eggs and made an omelette, and---voila!---Russia went all revolutionary. End result:
1) There were long lines, and shortages. No shoelaces, no galoshes.
2) Total friggin' tyranny, *again*. You couldn't say anything against the Secretary General of the Glorious Politburo, or you would get exiled to Russia.
3) At least somebody had the decency to do away with Rasputin.
Any way you stack it, though, Comrade Vladimir was onto something big: at the very least, he was way ahead of his time with the shaved head and goatee thing, you gotta admit it. If Lenin were alive today, he would give Moby a run for his money. And then, at the least, he would take the money and re-distribute it to the People.
The real genius of Lenin is that he was the ultimate in niche marketing. Go figure: around about the 19th century, a bunch of smelly, constantly drunk, terminally unemployed guys, headed up by Hegel, Marx, and Engels, wrote reams---huge filing cabinets full of stuff---on how nasty and horrible society was. How unfair, how inhumane, how increasingly terrible and blood-hungry the Cavern-Mawed Beast of the Industrial Revolution had become.
And back then, they really did have a point: 'strikes' broken up by firebombs and gunfire, a 'living wage' paid out in company scrip, which you could spend in the company store for a book of matches, and of course, no dimply, lumpy, worm-eaten bread. Oh, and children getting snatched into the grinding gears of stinking, dirty, smoke-belching factories.
Problem was, nobody cared what these guys thought. They were smelly, and hairy, and had bad teeth, and were probably crazy.
And that might have been the end of that, had it not been for the spike-helmeted Prussian militarists to the west in Germany. Germany was, at the time, in really deep sh*t: enmired in a two-front war of sheer, bloody attrition, the Kaiser needed something that would take the Czar out of the war.
So the German invented Lenin! And because every shiny new product needs a major rollout, they booked him on a train and sent him East!
So drink deeply of our buddy Vladimir Ilyitch, and see what he had that you don't---and frankly, what Karl Marx, with his bushy ugly beard and nasty temper, did not: he was a marketer, baby! He was in SALES! Lenin's chief accomplishment is not his writing (Lenin's writing make cereal box contents read like Hemingway) it was the way he hooked it all up, got the message to the masses, spread the virus!
Let's face it: without "What is to be Done", a night-train to Moscow set up by German agents, and cuddly-bald Lenin, the Czar and his fat, pampered descendants would still be kicking it large in St. Petersburg and yachting off Yalta.
Lenin proved that you don't have to have David Hasselhoff hair to rock the world! And best of all the story of Lenin---never mind "What is to be Done", which talks a good game about the Labor Theory of Value and a Classless Society in which everybody goes in at 10, leaves at 12 for 'noonsies', and takes the rest of the week off---is pure crapola---best of all, Lenin was a custom-designed Capitalist roll-out, a total marketing triumph! Hundreds of millions of Soviet Comrades can't be wrong!
Workers of the World, unite! And grow a goatee, too: you never know, you might get to run a glorious Peoples' Republic too, someday---and get some bread, shoelaces, and galoshes.
JSG
Product Description
The Mises Institute is pleased to present this very beautiful hardbound edition of Rothbard's most famous monetary essay--the one that has influenced two generations of economists, investors, and business professionals. The Mises Institute has united this book with its natural complement: a detailed reform proposal for a 100 percent gold dollar. The Case for a 100 Percent Gold Dollar was written a decade before the last vestiges of the gold standard were abolished. His unique plan for making the dollar sound again still holds up. Some people have said: Rothbard tells us what is wrong with money but not what to do about it. Well, by adding this essay, the problem and the answer are united in a comprehensive whole. After presenting the basics of money and banking theory, he traces the decline of the dollar from the 18th century to the present, and provides lucid critiques of central banking, New Deal monetary policy, Nixonian fiat money, and fixed exchange rates. He also provides a blueprint for a return to a 100 percent reserve gold standard. The book made huge theoretical advances. He was the first to prove that the government, and only the government, can destroy money on a mass scale, and he showed exactly how they go about this dirty deed. But just as importantly, it is beautifully written. He tells a thrilling story because he loves the subject so much. The passion that Murray feels for the topic comes through in the prose and transfers to the reader. Readers become excited about the subject, and tell others. Students tell professors. Some, like the great Ron Paul of Texas, have even run for political office after having read it. Rothbard shows precisely how banks create money out of thin air and how the central bank, backed by government power, allows them to get away with it. He shows how exchange rates and interest rates would work in a true free market. When it comes to describing the end of the gold standard, he is not content to describe the big trends. He names names and ferrets out all the interest groups involved. Since Rothbard's death, scholars have worked to assess his legacy, and many of them agree that this little book is one of his most important. Though it has sometimes been inauspiciously packaged and is surprisingly short, its argument took huge strides toward explaining that it is impossible to understand public affairs in our time without understanding money and its destruction.
Customer Reviews:
What is Money?.......2007-09-24
If more poeple knew of, and understood what this book is about; there would be no need for it to exist. This book should be a text book in every High School. This is the best explanation of what money is that I have ever read.
Puts it all into perspective.......2007-03-24
I recommend this book to everyone I know. Rothbard has a way of making the whole concept of money so simple, from how money comes about, to the creation of banks, to the Federal Reserve. I read this book online a few years ago and have just ordered my own copy, because this is one of those books that you have to share with friends and family.
What more can one say?.......2007-02-17
Other reviewers have already said all that needs to be said, so it is hard to add to the observations that the man had insight into what works in economics - not just theory but fact - and writes in a style that does not intimidate or overwhelm those who are novices.
There is probably nothing in this book that will be new to those who are already familiar with the issues of paper currency versus hard currency, but even those persons will be rewarded with an easy to read overview of the subject and will be have an excellent tool for introducing the subject to friends and relatives.
What is Fiat Currency?.......2007-01-09
Murray Rothbard excels in What Has Government Done To Our Money. It is concise and easy to read yet powerful in its comprehensive coverage of money from its origins until modern times. Rothbard makes a compelling case for the gold standard by presenting the economic issues in terms that we can all understand.
Top of the Line Analysis and Conclusions!!!.......2006-07-07
Murray N. Rothbard is now recognised as one of the foremost economists of the last century, and rightly so. Not only does he write in a clear concise manner, but he takes what could be an unintelligible subject and explains it in terms everyone can grasp.
In this beautiful hardbound book Rothbard gives us an exceptionally clear, detailed description of what money is and how it has come to be manipulated by governments and central bankers into almost worthless inflationary fiat paper currency.
He explains how gold became the most respected and trustworthy currency of choice, how this developed into the gold standard when our paper money was actually backed by a real asset; gold, and then how our governments and particularly their central bankers then manipulated the situation until all we were left with was no gold standard and only fiat paper currency of no "real" value because it no longer had the backing of gold. He then explains very clearly how this situation has led us to where we are now; inflation and the rapidly diminishing purchasing power of the paper money we hold (over the last 30 years the real value of $1 has dropped to around 4 cents!!!!!), unnecessary asset bubbles and the prospect of either hyperinflation or the greatest depression the world has ever seen arriving in the very near future!
Mr. Rothbard then rightly argues for a return to the gold standard because of it's inherent automatic adjustment mechanisms due to the scarcity of gold in the ground and the finite quantity already above ground. More importantly he advocates a 100% reserves gold standard which would put an end to fractional reserve banking and thus the ruinous credit creation/oversupply of money by our central bankers and thus an end to rampant inflation as we know it! This would also force our governments to be more accountable to their electorate in that any government allowing an unbalanced economy would face long recessions as the gold standard auto adjustment mechanisms brought it back into equilibrium; henceforth governments would be wise to provide an environment that favoured slow steady growth for their country with minimal boom bust cycles.
Furthermore Mr. Rothbard adequately counters the criticisms of his conclusions & recommendations in detail.
I think most of us that bother to look further than our noses and not live with our head in the sand now realise the United States financial position(in particular) is untenable in the long term and there is going to be a very painful outcome either slowly creeping through the financial world in a dollar crisis OR precipitated by a large financial event, like the probable implosion of huge OTC derivatives positions. Either way this will herald the end of the world's latest foray into fiat paper currency; it will fail as it must and as fiat currencies always have in the past.
When that happens, HOPEFULLY we will return to a 100% gold standard where our paper money, gold grams or whatever are 100% backed by gold; the only true currency, and sanity can once again return to the finances of our world!
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to EVERYONE in the hope that more of the populations of the world can become educated to what we have been "sold" by our governments with these worthless paper currencies we now all hold in the hope that there can be a groundswell of opinion and an overwhelming chorus to return to sanity and a 100% gold standard! We deserve it!!!
Book Description
From the moment Celeste Dawson was born, her big sister, Katrina, had it in for her. And as much as Celeste yearned for Katrina's love, the sibling rivalry only got worse. For Celeste, the ultimate betrayal came when she was seventeen, and Katrina seduced her boyfriend. That was the day Celeste gave up trying for any kind of friendship with her sister. Now the two are grown, married, and leading separate lives. Until tragedy strikes.
When her husband is found murdered in a seedy motel room in a very compromising position, Celeste is devastated. Rather than comfort her, Katrina is more than happy to suggest that Celeste wasn't properly "taking care of" her man. But the tables soon turn as Katrina's husband falls into a coma from an illness no one knew he had. And that's not the only surprise. A second wife soon comes out of the woodwork, looking to stake her claim. Oblivous as ever, Celeste's parents want her to help Katrina fight back—even as she's looking for her own husband's killer.
Blindsided as she is by grief, Celeste can't help wondering: now that she and Katrina are finally on the same side of pain—will blood finally become thicker than a history of jealousy and deceit?
Customer Reviews:
Interesting.......2007-05-21
This is one of those books that will appeal to only certain readers. I can't say that this is the best book I have read all year and to be honest I wouldn't put it in my top ten. However, it will keep you guessing and you won't believe the ending. If you are interested in reading something that will pull you away from your everyday life, this is the book for you.
Very Good Book.......2007-03-16
It held my interest. I read it because I did not see the play. I want to read the rest of her books. Very well written.
Very good book.......2007-03-01
This book was well written and full of drama. The author did a good job revealing the fact that just because you're family doesn't mean there will be love. This was truly a dysfunctional family. This book kept my interest from beginning to end. Very well written.
Way too much drama!.......2007-02-14
I didn't like this book at all. There was so much going on that it was hard to keep track of it all. The dialogue between the characters at times was just unbelievable and took so many different tangents I didn't know what I was supposed to be reading. The language used was very, very, strong and explicit and it was way too much for me. I read all of the reviews and I was so excited about reading it, but I think everyone needs to find their own preferences and stick to them.
When Darkness Falls.......2007-01-20
Gloria Mallette's latest novel focuses on a subject that's nearly as old as time itself - sibling rivalry. Since they were children, to say sisters Celeste and Katrina didn't get along is an understatement. Katrina hated her little sister with a passion. Whenever she could do something to upset Celeste she did. Although the sisters' always had problems, it was Katrina's decision to sleep with Celeste's boyfriend that was the final nail in the coffin of their relationship.
Adulthood found both sisters married with children and living separate lives, most times not seeing each other for years at a time, if that often. Their parents have always tried to overlook the girls' rocky relationship, not comprehending its seriousness. They did not realize that because one of their children intensely despised the other, it would lead to a series of events that would tear apart an already distant family.
When Celeste's husband is found murdered in a hotel room among evidence of infidelity, Katrina pays her a visit. Even in the midst of tragedy Katrina can not hide her malicious intent and that call ended just as all the others did, in a hail of spiteful words. Upon returning home Katrina is presented with her own problems. Her husband has died suddenly and left her to settle his affairs which include a secret family and `special' friend.
At her parent's insistence, Celeste is forced to help Katrina sort through her issues, even as her own husband's death is still an unsolved mystery. Not for a second does Celeste think her sister will have some sort of revelation and accept her help with open arms, but she does hope for some sort of civil communication. And she actually gets it. What she doesn't get is why her oldest niece expresses a hatred that exceeds Katrina's by far.
Gloria Mallette has once again put together a story that satisfies the most avid reader's appetite. The characters were interesting and made me want to read more about them. The plot was entertaining and the conclusion satisfying. All in all...a great story.
Englishruler
ARC Bookc Club Inc.
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Amazon.com
Nikolai Chernyshevsky's great novel, originally published in 1863, transformed Russian views of the peasantry in much the same way that Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin changed American perceptions of slavery. In its pages, a group of idealistic Russian intellectuals go back to the land, easing the lot of the peasants with scientific methods of farming and liberating the serfs from hardship. The intellectuals' socialist vision offers the promise of a world that subsequent events did not bear out, and it is fascinating to consider in the light of historical reality. Fyodor Dostoyevsky gave Chernyshevsky's tale, full of sermonizing and idealism, a darkly pessimistic twist in his masterpiece The Possessed.
Customer Reviews:
what is to be done with this horrible novel?.......2007-03-27
the only good thing about this book is that it exposes the crackpot logic of the russian radicals. chernyshevsky is an abysmally bad writer. and even though he admits it in the preface, he still somehow thinks that his sheer intellectual brilliance will redeem him. it doesn't. this book is important only in that it was extraordinarily influential (a source of inspiration for both stalin and lenin - the latter which deemed chernyshevsky his favorite writer, while calling dostoevsky a "superlatively bad" one - ha!).
anyhow, his analysis of cooperative unions is not entirely without merit, nor are his reflections on women's rights. but insisting your best friend take your wife as a lover? rakhmetov as the "extraordinary man," who eats 5 lbs of beef in one sitting and sleeps on a bed of nails? unconvincing and stupid. his narrative technique is so obnoxious (oh, my perspicacious reader!) and he interjects too often to "add" insight to the story that he himself is creating. also, no matter how much of a hard determinist you are, becoming an apologist for "wickedness" by ascribing it to one's environment is simply absurd.
classic .......2006-11-18
Nikolai Chernyshevsky was a genius in his own right. If you are going to read this book for its `novella' qualities - don't. But if you are looking to explore the explosion of social thought in the late nineteenth century Russia, then "What needs to be done?" is perhaps the best work on the revolutionary changes in society at the time. Vera Pavlovna (the main character) stands for everything Russia was going through at the time and everything it aspired to be. It is said that Lenin called his own "What is to be done" after Chernyshevsky's work.
Historically important book.......2004-05-30
This has been called "the worst novel ever written", but it's far from that. Older translations might be partly responsible for that reputation; this new translation is very readable. An excellent introduction is provided, as well as helpful footnotes throughout. The book is blatantly didactic, art in the service of ideas, and you have to be awfully good to make literature that way -- Chernychevsky freely admits that he's not that good. But his plot is actually pretty clever, and the book goes rather quickly. If you want to understand what Dostoevsky's Underground Man was railing about, read this first. The didactic sections are interesting for what they say about the hopes of the 1860s radicals, hopes that we can easily recognize today as fantasies. (Vera's 4th dream is particularly poignant.) Hindsight is a wonderful thing for feeling superior and dealing out the 'told-you-so's'. But the naive faith and doomed optimism of the author is extremely touching. Only 35, he wrote this book from prison, and he could have had no confidence that it would ever see the light of day; yet there is no hint of despair anywhere in it. He was subsequently destroyed by Siberia, and nothing turned out the way he had hoped.
The radicals of his day were not wrong to seek fundamental change in the oppressive and autocratic system under which they lived. They were not alone in being enthralled by the ideas of Robert Owen, and their goal of seeking earthly salvation through reason and the reform of institutions does not make them clowns and fools. Their moral critique of Russian society was valid; their solutions turned out not to be. Not being omniscient, they did not foresee the ways that the flaws in their ideas would be seized upon, utilized, and magnified by men who were power-mad and malevolent, and what Russia's future would thereby turn out to be. They were far from alone in that, also. To flog idealists like Chernyshevksy with the horrors that were perpetrated by others a half-century or more later, is very easy to do. It is also unfair, mean-spirited, and foolish.
The only reason to read this book is masochism.......2003-11-04
If you like watching cripples drag their mangled bodies along with fetid, termite ridden crutches, then you'll like Chernyshevsky's prose. The movements are comparable at least; Chernyshevsky jerks and stumbles his way through his prose (and tenses!) extricating himself from each new scene with a terrific, almost audible squelch of effort. Frankly, I started it because I was fascinated that any one author could enrage Turgenev, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Nabokov to such a point that they all wrote pieces condemning him. I finished it because American television has gifted me with a sadistic sense of voyeurism; it was too terrible not to finish.
I am disgusted by those who brush off Chernyshevsky's lack of talent as relatively unimportant; that crass philistinism echoes Chernyshevsky's assertions that his novel, however lacking in grace, was better than any other book because it was true. The book is not "true"; it's a nauseating, simplistic, and disturbing illustration of socialist thought, with fascist implications. Aesthetics are never secondary in a novel. To all of you pompous college students: Keep your lumbering social agendas and moral mediocrities away from the creative sphere. Go write indignant letters to the editor or self-righteous editorials, just keep away from art.
Not artistically great, but strangely compelling.......2000-09-01
"What is to be done?" is the novel in which noted leftist critic Nikolai Chernyshevsky outlined his vision of a future of economic cooperation and women's rights. Though it is remembered more for its political message than its literary merit, a few words about its plot seem in order. We meet the main character, Vera Pavlovna, as she is about to be betrothed to a man who, though there's nothing especially terrible about him, she does not at all love. She meets the enlightened Dmitri Lopukhov and they fall in love, so, much to her parents' chagrin, they run off together and get married. After a few years of marriage, the odd behavior of Dmitri's close friend Alexander Kirsanov reveals to Dmitri that Alexander loves Vera, and Dmitri correctly suspects that the feeling is mutual, and that although Vera cares for Dmitri very much and appreciates all he has done for her, her passion for him was a youthful indiscretion. Ever sympathetic to his wife's interests, Dmitri contrives to get out of the lovers' way, and Vera and Alexander are happily married for pretty much all of the second half of the novel. Meanwhile, Vera has founded a highly successful sewing union, and Chernyshevsky uses this to preach the value of worker ownership of businesses and also to illustrate women's potential for industry outside the home.
Chernyshevsky admits at a number of points in the work that he wasn't born to be a novelist, and it shows--especially annoying were his inability to stay in the same verb tense and his periodic silly asides to "the sapient reader." Still, I was pleasantly surprised at how gripping I found the work; I was ever anxious to find out what was going to happen to the characters next (partly because their rather unorthodox views on marriage and other matters, especially given the time period, were bound to keep me guessing), and that made the fairly long novel go by a bit more enjoyably than I expected. Some of Chernyshevsky's views, and especially his prophecies for the future, seem a bit naive nowadays (though in my edition, translated in 1886, the translators gleefully note that Chernyshevsky predicted the invention of the electric light), but given when he was writing (1863), it's easier to see how he might fall into some of the traps that he did, and in fact the novel offers a very interesting look at Russian socialist thought in its relatively early years. All in all, though the novel's not great, it's better than it's generally given credit for, and if you're interested in the history of leftist thought or Russian literature, it's a worthwhile read.
Book Description
Global poverty, Paul Collier points out, is actually falling quite rapidly for about eighty percent of the world. The real crisis lies in a group of about 50 failing states, the bottom billion, whose problems defy traditional approaches to alleviating poverty. In The Bottom Billion, Collier contends that these fifty failed states pose the central challenge of the developing world in the twenty-first century. The book shines a much needed light on this group of small nations, largely unnoticed by the industrialized West, that are dropping further and further behind the majority of the world's people, often falling into an absolute decline in living standards. A struggle rages within each of these nation between reformers and corrupt leaders--and the corrupt are winning. Collier analyzes the causes of failure, pointing to a set of traps that snare these countries, including civil war, a dependence on the extraction and export of natural resources, and bad governance. Standard solutions do not work against these traps, he writes; aid is often ineffective, and globalization can actually make matters worse, driving development to more stable nations. What the bottom billion need, Collier argues, is a bold new plan supported by the Group of Eight industrialized nations. If failed states are ever to be helped, the G8 will have to adopt preferential trade policies, new laws against corruption, and new international charters, and even conduct carefully calibrated military interventions. As former director of research for the World Bank and current Director of the Center for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University, Paul Collier has spent a lifetime working to end global poverty. In The Bottom Billion, he offers real hope for solving one of the great humanitarian crises facing the world today.
Customer Reviews:
Way better than The End of Poverty.......2007-10-09
This is a well-written, if quick, reading on poverty which avoids the ideological bents of development writing. Read it.
A must-read for scholars and practitioners of economic development.......2007-10-05
Collier analyzes the key reasons for the lack of development of 58 countries he classified as being at the bottom of the pyramid. The analysis focuses in the poorest African countries, and a few others from Latin America and Asia (he named Africa +). In order to avoid any self-fulfilling prophecy, the list of the countries is not presented, but several countries are explicitly used as case studies.
Based on thorough research and recent findings, the book analyzes four development traps these countries might face: the conflict trap (civil war, coups), the natural resources trap (resources curse), the trap of being landlocked with bad neighbors, and the trap of bad governance in a small country. The last chapter presents specific recommendations aimed for the G8 countries to take action. This book is highly recommended for scholars and practitioners of economic development, as well as for anyone with genuine interest in eradicating poverty.
It's worth mentioning that there is a new book from Collier and Stiglitz entirely devoted to one of these traps: "Escaping the Resource Curse (Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia: Challenges in Development and Globalization)". Finally, notice that the title uses a clever wording following up of the "famous" book "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits", which is actually NOT a book on development, as its author claims, though is a good reference for Business Schools on how to successfully do business with the poor.
Excellent Overview of Complex Issues.......2007-10-05
I found Paul Collier's work to be extremely informative regarding the all-to-common political and economic "traps" challenging the poorest countries (primarily located in Africa), which prevent them from escaping their misery. Africa is an area often overlooked by academics since it's much easier to write about the "other" developing countries (e.g., the "BRIC") since they are easier to live in, study in, and gather data. Paul Collier has dedicated much of his life to researching Africa's woes and it shows here in spades. Perhaps most revealing to me, however, is that the lessons he's learned and his prescriptions for the Bottom Billion can be applied just as easily to other developing countries also, and I am certain that technicians will (at least I hope so). The fact is that there are about 5 billion people living in developing countries that could use Paul Collier's wisdom and practical solutions for their problems --- most of which are not unique to their particular circumstance. With the exception of a country's geographic location, perhaps all other poor conditions under which these countries find themselves trapped can be improved by focusing on one thing: selfless human behavior --- otherwise known as COMPASSION.
Leaving out IMF/CIA/CEO/WTO and military harm........2007-09-16
I was glad that Collier addressed issues like "capital flight," and how damaging it can be. I think the Tobin Tax on currency trade across borders would be helpful. Also, simply allowing countries to protect themselves from the disruption of unregulated private investments will keep local economies strong. While many people may be "poor" in the sense that they don't make much money each year, many of the "poor" have access to a decent livlihood through small farms, local fishing economies, owning small stores, and other indigenous economies. When private investment and transnational firms enter a country, sometimes bribing local officials to get free access, small farmers often end up being dislocated, small stores are wiped out by the new Wal-Mart, and giant factory trawlers end up sucking the marine life out of the once fertile seas. Venezuela has created a regulation that keeps factory trawlers away from their shores Chavez, Venezuela And The New Latin America: An Interview With Hugo Chavez. Towns all over the world have been resisting Wal-Marts WALMART-HIGH COST OF LOW PRICE (DVD/FF/FR-SP-SUB). And there are struggles around the world against trade agreements that benefit shareholders at the expense of labor, the environment, consumer groups and other stakeholders in society The Selling of "Free Trade": NAFTA, Washington, and the Subversion of American Democracy.
Collier talks about the corruption of some governments of poor nations, but he doesn't talk a lot about the corruption of some governments of rich nations. For example, the U.S. government has shifted hundreds of billions of dollars into the hands of the upper classes via a variety of measures, like sweet government contracts and tax breaks, and creating the money-grab that is the war on Iraq Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers. Moreover, oftentimes when a poor country elects a person who isn't corrupt, then the rich nations demonize them and work to overthrow them, such as Mossadegh in Iran, Arbenz in Guatemala, Allende in Chile, and most recently - the 2002 coup attempt in Venezuela Bush Versus Chávez: Washingtons War on Venezuela.
Other corrupting and destructive elements of the rich nations include the actions of what are called "economic hit men," who go into countries and bribe officials into taking out huge loans that impoverish nations, and that divert their wealth away from social spending and towards banks in New York City in the form of debt service Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. These loans often end up being a subsidy for transnational mining, logging, and hydroelectric projects which displace countless people and harm their health as they are forced into the world's growing mega-slums Planet of Slums.
There are many other deficiencies of "The Bottom Billion." Collier doesn't mention the role of the CIA in fomenting civil wars, and how that benefits some business interests. Former CIA agent John Stockwell has written about his experiences in purposely dividing people in Angola so they could be more easily exploited The Praetorian Guard : The US Role In The New World Order. Additionally, there is a lot of money being made in a range of disasters, whether it's Blackwater doing population control after Katrina or Halliburton cashing in on war The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.
For an overview of the problems of unrestrained corporate power, the award-winning documentary The Corporation is not to be missed.
"As we view the achievements of aggregated capital, we discover the existence of trusts, combinations, and monopolies, while the citizen is struggling far in the rear or is trampled to death beneath an iron heel.
Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people's masters." - President Grover Cleveland, 12/31/1888 Address to Congress
A must read for development practitioners and those who care about the developing world poor.......2007-09-15
For development professionals and those who care deeply about making aid work more effectively, this is an absolute must read. It confirms the need for agencies to focus on the long - run and to recognize and intervene quickly to take advantage of changing political landscapes. For those of us who have seen aid fail some many times, it provides us with a sound reminder that good program design is only part of the solution. We also need to change the mindsets of our own policy makers within the World Bank and the other large donors who are the decision makers on where aid flows. This book is extremely well - written and well supported with data. It is no doubt the best book I've read in the development aid genre.
Average customer rating:
- Heartfelt warmth, wisdom, and love
|
Look What Love Has Done: Five-Minute Messages to Lift Your Spirit
Joseph Walker
Manufacturer: Shadow Mountain
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Self-Help
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Motivational
| Self-Help
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Inspirational
| Spirituality
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1590387104
Release Date: 2007-02-01 |
Product Description
Everyone has days when things just don't go as planned and life's burdens feel heavier than usual. With more than fifty uplifting true stories, readers will feel embraced by the Spirit and encouraged to be prayerful, forgiving, and appreciative.
Customer Reviews:
Heartfelt warmth, wisdom, and love.......2007-04-07
Columnist Joseph Walker presents Look What Love Has Done: Five-Minute Messages to Lift Your Spirit is a collection of vignettes sure to refresh, reawaken, and engage one's spiritual side. Each writing is only a couple pages long, but touches upon heartfelt warmth, wisdom, and love. A delightful collection to learn from and cherish, whether one reads and reflects upon a few messages at a time or all at once. For example, "Some of us forget that forgiveness and accountability are not mutually exclusive and being sorry - and being forgiven - doesn't free us from the consequences of the choices we make. We can be sorry, forgiven, and accountable. Even if our mistake is big and everyone knows about it."
Product Description
Basement waterproofing as a business has been around since the 1930's. Not a lot of new thinking has been applied until recently. Almost every other type of home improvement area or appliance that you use today has been modernized, changed and improved. Now it's time for basement waterproofing to come of age.
Customer Reviews:
Don't Waste Your Money........2007-07-15
This book is nothing more than an advertisement for a Basement Waterproofing Company in Conneticut and their Waterproofing System. This Book should be called "Dry Basement Science: What to Have Done... And Why? Then Call Us To Do It For You!"
Some good info - albeit a full advertisement to sift through.......2007-03-08
This book is full of great information. It is however a lengthy and biased sales pitch. It really appears more like a sales tool that one of the Mr. Janesky's (the author) salesmen would leave behind if working for his company. Example of bias: in the discussion of drainage tile: he mentions that a tile made with filter fabric will clog and puts a picture of an automotive air filter next to it. The fact is that the tile pictured has no known failures worldwide in more than twenty years availability on the market. Unfortunately, rather than citing the professional and recognized organizations of his peers in the basement industry he chooses to take the slant of a stand alone expert citing that his products are patented. He then mentions "a beware of others" in the business he is in and then goes on in a rather slanderous tone regarding them. This leaves one wondering why he didn't just put the name of his company on the front of the book as he did inside. The Title leads one to believe it is a learning tool rather than a sales tool. Most any reader would see through this. "MY IDEA OF BASEMENT SCIENCE" might be more fitting.
If you are looking to purchase this book as a matter of fact with scientific backing and credibility do not waste your money. There are many other books available without the mention of their service and products. If however you would like to purchase it in lieu of a sales visit to your home, it works, and with no obligation to buy his "system".
Dry Basement in Minnesota..........2007-01-10
This is a must read for anyone with a wet basement. This book educates you on everything you need to know about waterproofing your basement, forever...
I recommend reading this book before meeting with anyone who thinks they know how to waterproof a basement. In many cases, after reading the book, you will be smarter than the person you have to come and look at your basement.
After reading this book (I recommend reading it twice - it's an easy read) you will know every question you need to ask yourself, your family, and potential contractors.
I read this book, met with potential contractors, then selected the local/regional dealer for Complete Basement Systems. I went from having a very damp - and wet basement when it rained - to a basement that is completely dry, doesn't smell like mold or mildew, has no more spiders, and is guaranteed for the life of my house.
Before getting this system, I worried about not being able to ever sell my house, now, my house is worth at least $10-20K more.
Sincerely, Dry Basement in MN.
Brilliant!.......2006-11-18
This book was an excellent investment. After years and years of endless water problems in my basement, I was finally ready to figure out what was causing these issues and what the heck I could do about it. I decided to check this book out. It was an easy read and written in plain terms. I actually understood what they were talking about! This book has it all and helped me to finally get the job done right. I highly recommend it!
Very Informative.......2006-11-14
The book was extremely helpful in preparing me with the proper questions to ask the basement waterproofing contractors who came out to give estimates on my basement.
The book goes into explaining the science behind how air moves through a house, and its effect on home energy and air quality, especially as it pertains to allergies with mold and dust mites.
Books:
- Prometheus Bound (Greek Tragedy in New Translations)
- Proust, Marcel Remembrance Things Past(boxed
- Questions For My Father: Finding The Man Behind Your Dad
- Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History
- Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Workbook for Men: Seven Questions to Ask Beforeand AfterYou Marry
- Shield of Thunder (Troy Trilogy, Book 2)
- Sketches of Etruscan Places and Other Italian Essays (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
- Stories and Early Novels: Pulp Stories / The Big Sleep / Farewell, My Lovely / The High Window (Library of America)
- Sunne in Splendour
- Thank God I Had a Gun: True Accounts of Self-Defense
Books Index
Books Home
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