Agencies

Actually, I'd give it 3.5 stars. Excellent exposition and developement of material. However, there are quite a few typo's that would throw the reader with less math off the trail (and possibly some with good math). Good coverage of different types of cases, underlying math, real world appications and properties of solutions. Personally, I would have preferred all the rigorous material (including math proofs) in the one book rather than making statements and referring to seminal real options papers very often. Some credit is due here, however, as there are some proofs in appendices at the end of each chapter - I think these could have gone into a little more detail and depth - (I say this only because there isn't the vast library of books on this subject that exists for more mature disciplines - guess I was looking for a more comprehensive reference.) I have read Trigeorgis' other books so this was not an introduction. Liked the book, learnt a lot and am applying it to real life projects, however had to learn a fair bit on my own too.

This book gives you the latest update on what's going on in real options theory. Brilliant throughout, but its really too hard mathematically to be of much value for someone who's not a math-person. I found the chapter on the Antamina mine to be immensely interesting. It was originally used as a case study on options theory at Harvard and shows you how these academics went about valuing a peruvian mine. It's a very valuable chapter because it is focused on the practical side of real options theory. The chapter on "Rules of thumb for capital budgeting" didn't make much sense at all to me. The rest of the chapters are no easy read, but if you feel up to it mathematically, you're going to find this a very interesting book. If your not that much into mathematics, I think it's going to leave you rather frustrated. This book cannot have been meant as a guide for practitioners, it's more of a field day for academics, that's my impression at least.

OK, I admit the year has not ended yet, but that doesn't mean you mus not read this: now! This book is co-edited by Trigeorgis, one of the most proeminent author in the area. It deals with all the new developements on real options. It's objective is to give the researcher or student a key to enter the world of real options. Contributions are worldwide, mainly by people with a strong mathematical background. This makes it sometime difficult to understand for more management focused readers. However the book by the quality of the writting and the new ideas it brings, keeps you awake like a thriller. To be own by any person who want's to know about the future (nearly present) of corporate finance.

Dr. O'Callaghan forces his own unbalanced opinions upon the reader. Hopefully, anyone reading this book will also take the time to read information based upon facts and widely accepted viewpoints and theories, not just one person's beliefs. It would be nice to think that all problems children have could be resolved as simply as the author implies. Recent studies have shown otherwise. But, one could chose to ignore these facts and studies,as Dr. O'Callaghan does.

I have worked with J. Brien O'Callaghan and seen him implement his model in the CT. School Systems. His step by step accountability based approach are very helpful and have helped many students succeed. This model works best with oppositionally defiant and conduct disordered children. Brien's model has become a standard assessment tool as a school psychologist and family therapy intern to help families try to re-balance the levels of "control" and "protection" in their families.

O'Callaghan's book is well-written, well-informed, and persuasive. His structural approach has now been tried in several school based locations, including one recently featured in ACA's newsletter. This material is useful for school-based counselors, school teachers and administrators, and recipients of school referrals for counseling for troubled children.

This book did nothing for me, just bored me. This guy gives so called evidence, "yea right", not enough to get someone's attention. For someone who worked for the cia and wrote a book about extraterrestrial he better have more than what this book had to offer.Over all just a dull, stale book.

Commander Moore's book is a must read for those who would like an original viewpoint on the origins of UFOs. Not every one is convinced that UFOs are extraterrestials visiting the Earth in spaceships. However, alternative ideas have been mostly shouted down in the United States by the extraterrestrial lobby convinced that either the Space Brothers are here to save us, or that evil Reptoids are here to eat us.

Commander Moore based his ideas on years of studying UFOs(starting in the late 1940's), and the artifacts left behind after certain UFO sightings. Moore's ideas of "Islands in the sky" are very similar to those proposed by the late Charles Fort. Buy this book for a fascinating look at the early days of UFO research by the military and intelligence services.

CIA OPERATIVE OFFERS INFORMATION THAT I TRULY NOT OF THIS WORLD! I have read dozens of conspiracy and UFO related books. A lot of them are written by kooks -- but kooks with no real military or intelligence operations background. The author of this book, on the other hand has all kinds of impressive credentials. . . He starts out by discussing how a piece of a UFO that had been shot at over Washington DC had landed in his backyard in VA and how h had put in the office safe at a secure military facility -- and how it was stollen and this leads up to his belief that there are all sorts of negative thins associated with UFO beings. Commander Moore has this weird idea that invisibility UFO beings have invaded our world and live on space islands between here and the moon and are abducting woman for reproductive purposes and sucking our blood. Now you may think this all crazy -- but the book is very well documented (its almost 300 pages offer a heck of a lot of material) and very readable, with hundreds of select sources referenced. If you are all into this kind of subject matters this book is a MUST read!

The rare cover photo and sexy title are the best things about this book. It is a VERY dull read. There is nothing shocking here for any serious fans that would actually buy this book. To Summarize: No, there is no evidence that the mafia influenced Frank getting his breakthrough role in "From Here to Eternity," no, there is no evidence that Frank was a member of the communist party, yes, there is some evidence that Frank had some casual contact with members of organized crime (as has EVERY major Hollywood star), yes, Frank and Kennedy partied together. This book is more of an indictment of Hoover's heavy-handedness as head of the FBI. They just kept digging and digging on Frank, but really found virtually nothing. The biggest things they had on him was that he was arrested when he was 22 for having an affair with a married woman, that he initally told the draft board that he was in perfect health and later pointed out that he had a perforated eardrum (verified as true) and a neurosis about being in crowds (unlikely, but unverified as true or false), and that he fibbed about whether Chicago organized crime figure Sam Giancanna was at a show that Sinatra was also at in Atlantic City. BIG DEAL! The lack of dirt here proves what I always suspected, that Frank Sinatra was merely a vicitm of b.s. tabloids and a paranoid Cold-War government. The "Sinatra Files" reveal that Frank was actually a very stand-up guy and great American citizen.

This book is based on a very interesting premise, Frank Sinatra's FBI files. Unfortunately, it is difficult to convert all the information kept on Sinatra into a readable book. Thus, this book is not one you will sit down with on a Sunday afternoon and read. Its really more of a "browser" book. If you are looking for specific information (Frank's mob connections, relationship with JFK, etc.) then it is an excellent resource. Its by no means a biography.

I feel that the book is for serious Sinatraphiles like myself. If you have just a passing interest in Sinatra, I'd recommend a biography or something along the lines of "The Way You Wear Your Hat" by Bill Zehme. However, if you've devoured book after book on Sinatra and still want more, this will be a valuable addition to your library.

Who else but Frank Sinatra could be accused of being a communist and a mafioso at the same time?

"The Sinatra Files," edited by Tom and Phil Kuntz, is a treasure trove for those of us who are fascinated by the fact the FBI kept Sinatra under surveillance for almost five decades, but who were reluctant to sift through the 1275 pages of raw data available on the net since late 1998.

"The Sinatra Files" neatly collects the FBI data into an extremely readible text beginning in the 40's with an erroneous report that Sinatra paid $40,000 for his 4-F draft status, through the early 80's when he was successful in efforts to get his Nevada Gaming license renewed.

Does "The Sinatra Files" reveal anything new?

Sort of.

Sinatra told the draft board in addition to a punctured eardrum, he also had a fear of crowds and elevators....

In the early 50's when rumors spread through the FBI's halowed halls that Sinatra had Communist affiliations, Frank offered to go undercover to weed out subversives in Hollywood (Frank Sinatra as Herbert Philbrick? Give us a break!)

"The Sinatra Files" is worth reading not only for Sinatraphiles who are fascinated with the famous "dark side" of America's finest popular singer, but with the Cold War hysteria that gripped the nation for three decades.

This was a very disappointing book. The author may have been a fine CIA Operative, but an interesting author he is not. He was not into sharing much detail of "spook" type work. This was more a descriptive political analysis of the countries in which he was assigned and a moralistic soapbox against those agents (rightfully so) that turned into traitors. The book itself was almost void of any specific operations and their analysis.

This is a factual, no nonsense account of what it is really like to work for the CIA. There are no embellishments, no twisting of the truth for entertainment value. This is a true story of one of the "true men", who lived by the rules and who has a rich inventory of experiences from which to draw. This is a perceptive recounting of a life well-lived and the policies and actions - both good and bad - which have shaped our nation's premier intelligence agency.

People's reasons vary on why they pick up certain books to read. For me, I have always had an interest in working for the US intelligence community and have lately been looking for books such as this which give a clear view into what a 27 year career was like in the CIA. Doyle paints a picture of how he came to working the in the intel business at the time the agency was officially formed and takes us through the most significant exploits of his career abroad. I would highly recommend that anyone wanting to get a better idea of what life is like "in the shadows" pick up this book. See if you can actually put it down...

Regardless of one's views on the CIA, it becomes quickly apparent that Corn's account of Agency activities, most of them pre-dating Church Committee hearings, is an extremely biased one. This is like reading an extended editorial column from an avid critic. The research is certainly thorough, although his admittedly extensive use of anonymous sources throws even more doubt on how much of the book can be taken at face value. Because the narratives primarily critique specific decisions and operations, it is easy to forget that Corn has chosen Shackley as the primary character. He is never really established as such. Expect to spend lots of time reading about operations in SE Asia. I do not at all agree that this book is essential reading for those interested in the intelligence community. For a more entertaining account of the inner workings of the Directorate of Operations (DO) during roughly the same time period, take a look at "The Night Watch" by David Atlee Philips. To my knowledge, Corn has never worked for the CIA. Philips served in various capacities within the DO.

Although Ted Shackley was a line case officer, this book is placed within the paramilitary section because his entire career encompassed a series of wars where the CIA played a very tragic and unproductive role. As Shackley's deputy in Laos is quoted on page 163, speaking on Shakley's accomplishments in Laos, "We spent a lot of money and got a lot of people killed," Lair remembered, "and we didn't get much for it." For those seeking to understand the bureaucratization of the Directorate of Operations, both in the field and in Washington, this is essential reading.

Definitely a respectable book for those who are looking to practice limited buyer agency.

Those who are interested in functioning as true buyer agents would be better served by Ray Wilson's book, "Bought, Not Sold" though.

Wilson's book deals with putting client interests ahead of all others, including that of the licensee's own. Harlan and Lyons, while the first on the scene to mass popularize the concept of buyer agency, have done so more as a marketing method, than as a representation first model.

Harlan and Lyons's book is not threatening to the desire of traditional real estate agents to control and influence both sides of the transaction, which explains why they have had success in promoting their book on a wholesale basis.

With them, it's about what is best for the licensee, not the client.

Reviewed by Jay Reifert, Broker/Owner
Excel-Exclusive Buyer Agency

and Director of Operations for REAL-Reform
Real Estate Agency Law-Reform

Gail Lyons is the premier leader in making sense of buyer agency. Her practical approach is based on years of experience. She, with her partner Don Harlan have taught agency seminars nationwide and are respected as being without peer.

Steve Finney, Past President, PA Assoc. of Realtors

I cannot recommend this book because apparently it was written in an intellectual vacuum. The author, Robert M. Clark, implies that he has developed a new method of intelligence analysis which he calls the 'target centric approach.' This implication is at best misleading. The author provides an enormous amount of detailed information on how to apply the target centric concept to various types of intelligence problems. In the course of doing this, Clark does develop some original and useful ideas especially on predictive intelligence. Unfortunately, much of the book is a running demonstration of Clark's seeming willingness to ignore what has been going on in the intelligence analyst community for the last few years.

For as long as I can remember, some intelligence analysts, though admittedly not all, have used variations of the target centric approach to conduct their analysis. Target centric analysis has never been standardized in any systematic way, but it is now widely recognized as an important methodology. This is demonstrated by the widespread efforts to acquire or build information systems specifically to assist in various kinds of target centric analysis.

For example, the current interest by the intelligence community in such commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products as the Oracle line of relational data bases for the purpose of creating target knowledge bases. Such knowledge bases are not just repositories of information, but feature retrieval applications that perform the sort of 'network' and model building that Clark rather laborously proposes. Indeed one COTS system, an i2 Corporation development called 'Analyst Notebook' is virtually custom built for the kind of target centric analysis recommended by the book. Incidentally, 'Analyst Notebook' has proven very popular with various intelligence and law enforcement agencies all of whom appear to have already discovered the target centric approach.

The arcane subject of how to conduct intelligence analysis is vitally important to the U.S. Intelligence Community(IC). There is no doubt that current intelligence analysis in IC is badly flawed and could be vastly improved. It is a shame this book won't do much to help the situation.

Robert Clark author of Intelligence Analysis, has written an extremely comprehensive work on the discipline of intelligence analysis. -Intelligence Analysis is a must read for every analyst, whether you are new to the profession, a seasoned professional, or someone who really wants to understand the analysis field. Clark provides insight into the target-centric approach and provides many useful examples as well. This book will become the premier reference on intelligence techniques and analysis for every true analyst.

I found many of the agencies listed were out of date. This book does not differentiate between the legitimate agencies and the bogus agencies & schools that are simply out to rip you off! There is no rating system on the agencies listed. Looking for an alternative.

This Book is great for anyone who is looking to break into a Modeling or Acting Career. It's Like a Yellow Pages and a who's who all rolled into one. I like it because it has everything a new Model or Actor needs.

This (few facts/lots of fiction) spy genre by now is easily recognizable for what it is: CIA/FBI misdirection and disinformation.

It is mostly many titillating and salacious but isolated facts strung together seemingly leading to a climax but then abruptly fading-out to nowhere. A new strain begins in the middle of nowhere and leads to another nowhere. Then it switches back to the previous nowhere, etc. etc., ad infinitum.

The astute reader cannot be fooled by this lurching nonsense. That Ms. Lorenz was a fine soldier of fortune--female style--and was a CIA/FBI mercenary who somehow managed to survive through some very turbulent times is a detail that no one can deny. But in the end this is only a detail, not a story.

The 64 thousand dollar question is if she did all of the things this book claims she did, how she managed to do so and still lives to tell about it? Now that is a story, but this book does not tell us that story. It opts for B-rated movie excitement version of a few isolated facts strung together instead.

She was Castro's lover and managed an assasination try on him; and was in the cabal with Lee Harvey Oswald, Frank Sturgis, Jack Ruby and E. Howard Hunt that led to JFK's assasination, yet managed to escape complicity in both assasinations, and then lived to write a book that tells us nothing about any of this? And saddest of all, she does not even give us the benefit of her speculation?

Somewhere there is an interesting story to be told about Martita Lorenz's life that will have the ring of truth, but this CIA redacted meleodrama, masquerading as a cheap unbelievable love story is not it.

Too bad that Marita does not realize that over the years of her experiences and the writing of this book, America has grown up--even if she hasn't. She continues to live out her life through the 50s and 60s spy games in her head. That is about all one will get out of this poorly written teenage-level spy novel.

In a way this is very, very sad. There is probably a lot she could have told us about the events of the past that would have made a difference to American and German history. But, alas she and her co-writer opted instead for an immature potential B-rated movie script instead.

Why did they opt to do this? Did Marita indeed have something to hide? Does she need money? In the end was she a double/triple agent like her mother was? Did Castro turn her? Maybe she was indeed part of a Castro revenge attempt on JFK's life? Who knows? This supposedly innocent love story raises more questions than it answers.

The only fact worth retaining from the book was mentioned as an aside early on (page 5). It is that Joe Kennedy hated and wanted to get Myer Lansky out of Cuba if not wanted him killed right after the Cuban revolution. They were bootlegging competitors. This fact alone lends independent credibility and corroboration to Micheal Collins Piper's Final Judgement theory about Lansky and JFK's assasination (See on AMAZON.COM Michael Collins Piper, Final Judgement).

Other than that this book is an empty shell. Thank God we readers are no longer stupid enough to go for this kind of pablum.

Hoffentlich kann einer meine Sprache ich kann kaum Englisch. Wenn es jemand lesen kann, dann bitte ich um Hilfe ich suche dieses Buch seit 4 Jahren (evtl. auf Deutsch) und habe leider keinen Erfolg. Vielleicht kann mir jemand helfen Ted Schwarz oder Marita selber zu finden. Liane Simon aus Germany