Buying-the

It is directed more towards the novice seller. Experienced sellers would most likely already know everything in this book. However, all buyers would benefit from reading this book because it would give them an idea of how a good seller should handle thier business.

It helped me as a seller on a very basic level - I didn't know where to begin. The book really helped me create my auctions. For example: what I should include in my listing, the best shipping methods, and how to get an ongoing inventory, etc.

I would recommend this for people like me who want to learn and sell online through auctions - although the language can be a little kitschy at times, it's helpful.

The book never addresses the fundamental causal issue in judging whether someone has been unduly influenced by a contribution. To wit: How can we tell if 1) a legislator has voted for X because he got money from a group supporting X or 2) if a group supporting X wisely give money to a legislator likely to support X? This may seem trivial, but it is the heart of the matter since the difference determines if a vote was due to conscience or corruption. Compounding the problem, Lewis seems to assume that for every problem, there is a solution in law or regulation that would fix it and anyone opposing that solution is corrupt. What if there are just going to be some dangerous things in life and it isn't the government's job to provide us with an idiot-proof, Nerf world in which to live?

In addition, the book is very politically one-sided in its choice of examples. That is, there are more than a dozen chapters on big corporations with lobbies concerned with environmental laws, FDA regulations, et cetera (and the cliche diatribes against the NRA). But there is no mention of left-leaning groups like AARP, the trial lawyers, trade unions, teachers, et cetera who wield plenty of influence on the Hill. I would never claim that plenty of big companies don't do their best to buy votes, but the focus on traditionally Democratic groups buying legislation is conspicuous in its absence.

On behalf of the book, I will say that *within* any particular arena, the author goes out of his way to point to suspicious activities by both Republicans and Democrats. And, rather than explicitly suggesting new campaign laws, he promotes voter vigilance. Of course the examples cited are very enticing (if inconclusive) and if they prompt people to pay more attention to Congressional goings-on then Lewis will have done everyone a service.

- Mike Brokowski

I bought his book and have found it to be a remarkable warehouse of information that serves to protect both everyone including the buyers, sellers and even the many real estate agents who in my opinion often lead unknowledged comsumers down the path of home purchase without a clue as to how to protect them from buying a home that could be riddled with defects.

I applaud this book and Barry Stone's continued efforts to place into the marketplace the most sound and sane advice I've read from any home inspection manual.

This is a book for those who, after years of slurping what all too often passes for 'coffee,' and what far too many establishments continue to pretend is 'coffee,' have been blessed by a coffee epiphany. It is for those, in other words, who have finally realized what a sensuous, ravishing, and complete experience a perfect cup of _real_ coffee is, and who would like to learn how to duplicate that experience at will in the comfort of their own home. Brewing up a cup of coffee may seem to most of us to be a relatively simple matter, but what we quickly learn from this book is that, far from being simple, selecting the right type, form, and state of coffee and correctly employing the methods that will produce that perfect cup demand real knowledge and skill; we learn, in short, that a true understanding of coffee opens up an area of connoisseurship every bit as big, or even bigger, than that of wine itself.

Davids' book is truly comprehensive. Besides giving us a fairly detailed history of coffee, from its origins in Arabia (or Ethiopia) through to its latest manifestation in the flavored espressos of the modern mall, the book includes chapters on Buying It, Tasting It, Roasting It, Grinding It, Brewing It, and Serving It. Detailed information is given on the special qualities and characteristics of all coffees of the many regions of the world which produce it (Guatemala; Honduras; Costa Rica; Jamaica; Puerto Rico; Haiti; Colombia; Peru; Brazil; Yemen; Ethiopia; Kenya; Uganda; India; Sumatra; Java; New Guinea; Hawaii, etc.), and on the merits and demerits of the many different methods of brewing and the best utensils for each of them (Open-Pot; French Press or Plunger; Drip Brewing (both with and without filters); Flip-Drip or Neapolitan Macchinetta; Pumping Percolator (now passe and the best way to ruin coffee); Filter-Drip, automatic and otherwise; Concentrate; Middle Eastern or Turkish; Soluble or Instant, etc.). There is also a very full discussion of espresso and just why it produces the ultimate cup.

If you are anything like me you'll quickly realize that you have been doing many things wrong and will be seized with the urge, not only to start using better coffee, but also to start brewing it properly. Although acquiring your very own roasting machine or espresso machine may be a little too ambitious for most of us, you may decide that bringing your coffee at least one stage closer to perfection by buying a grinder and grinding the beans yourself is probably a good idea. If you do so decide, Davids will inform you just why a manual is preferable to an electric grinder (it generates less of the heat that disperses the volatile substances that give flavor to coffee), and where you can buy a good grinder if one isn't locally available. His book, besides containing much else (coffee chemistry, maps, photographs, coffee glossary, etc.), concludes with a list of companies which sell a wide range of the best coffees and coffee paraphernalia and equipment.

There are few perfect pleasures in life. Davids is to be thanked for teaching us how not to spoil one of them.

The book could be improved by providing a few more photographs and by including a few more pieces of data for each plane (e.g., cruising range, ceiling, fuel consumption, Vmc, etc.). Another improvement would be to increase the information in the narratives for each type of plane, better describing flying quirks and typical problems for the purchasers (e.g., expensive ADs, commonly found damage, etc.); detailed narratives like those contained in the dated "Buying and owning your own airplane" by J. E. Ellis would be a benefit. With these few improvements, the book would be perfect.