ET Books

If you think about economics, you need this Economist/Bloomberg Press publication or one very much like it.

For clarity on all matters of the public record--not just economics--nobody beat the ECONOMIST newspaper, a British 'news magazine' whose largest national readership is now in the USA.

When the style and content gurus at the ECONOMIST get around to publish a dictionary on the terms and nomenclature of the core competence, well, let's just say it's a little bit like watching the World Cup, the Super Bowl, or the World Series (apologies, cricket fans).

It doesn't get any better than this. I think you'd better buy one.

Buy it, thats the best advice I can give. This book can help anyone to better understand the field of economics and comprehend economics texts more easily.

This, the Fourth Edition of The Economist's handy publication, is not a dictionary in the ordinary sense of the term. There is no pronunciation guide and most of the entries are phrases, not single words, e.g., "circular flow of money," "durable goods," "Gibrat's law," "marginal utility," "theory of games," etc. The "definitions" are more like explanations, some of them quite elaborate. Nobel laureate economists are included as well as distinguished economists from the past. Distinguished contemporary economists who have not won the Nobel Prize in economics are not included. Thus Adam Smith makes it; Julian Simon does not, while Herbert Simon, who did win the prize, does.

Bayes' theorem is explained in some detail and such terms as "saddle point" and the "Lagrange multiplier," e.g., merit graphs and equations in their definitions, but other terms like the "Black Scholes formula" for derivatives is mentioned but not explained in detail. Obviously the editors Graham Bannock, Ron Baxter and Evan Davis, have their reasons for their hierarchies of ink expenditure. They call their approach "a micro-encyclopedic treatment with extensive cross referencing." The cross references are indicated with two types of grey arrows, one for "see" and another for "see also." Clearly one of their goals is to be as encyclopedic as reasonable without making the volume too large to fit into a briefcase or to be read in bed.

Although The Economist is British this publication is aimed at the entire English-speaking world, especially the large market in the United States where this book is published by the Bloomberg Press. Most of the entries betray no national bias, although there are some exceptions. For example in the entry for "balanced budget" it is mentioned that the "UK budget is often in deficit." The same could be said about the US budget, but the US budget is not mentioned. For the entry on "balance of payments" a table is presented with both the UK and the US balance of payments for the year 2001.

This book works well for students of economics (and might make a nice gift for someone who is majoring in economics) but why would the general reader want to own such a publication? The answer is that the "dismal science," as economics has been dubbed, is actually an arcane and technical social science, and so an encyclopedic dictionary is most helpful for anyone who follows the financial news. Incidentally the phrase "dismal science" (not an entry in this book!) comes from Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) who was referring to political economists whom he called, "Respectable Professors of the Dismal Science."

Dismal or otherwise, some knowledge of economics is essential for commerce in today's world of business. This book can serve as a reference, or, if you're like me, you can read it as an extension of the Econ 101 course you took in college.

This is a great book to have if you are a poet, writer, student, or just a word-lover. I used it for many of my college classes on often got comments on my word choice. It's full of great words and can really improve your vocabulary. There is even a key for pronunciation for those hard to say words!

Devlin's work is by far the most inclusive book of synonyms and antonyms I have ever seen. As a non-fiction writer, I find that it has become indispensible for my work.

Anyone who uses words may benefit from owning a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms, and this volume--pocket-sized and inexpensive--serves this duty as well or better than any other. I can't even begin to remember how long I have owned A DICTIONARY OF SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS by Joseph Devlin, but I can say that I keep it on my desk and consult it whenever I feel particularly bland, unimaginative, or stupid.

Jeremy W. Forstadt

Fanny Stevenson was a strong woman but deeply affected by the attitudes of her day. What a strength she had though. Love this book, any woman would appreicate her story, very well written.

This biography is, as the title implies, a romantic story. Fanny Stevenson 's drive for life took her from a comfortable Midwestern family life to Gold Rush San Francisco to Impressionist Paris to the South Pacific, with three colorful men, the most famous of whom was Robert Louis Stevenson. She was maligned for her fierce adventurousness in her own era; Alexandra LaPierre resurrects her story with admiration, and tells it well.

it is ashame that this book left store shelves so quickly and has become so hard to find. it is one of those rare gems of biography, seemlessly weaving facts and writings and the many stories of a life into a work with a novel-like quality. the work gracefully unfolds the tale of a powerful, courageous woman. fanny stevenson was a woman ahead of her time and she was of her time. she traveled alone across our continent and to europe at a time when women traveled with companions at the very least. she m

I totally agree with the reader from San Francisco. This book is GREAT! Delighted that I found it. I am "mid-sixties", feel great, and fighting "aging" every step of the way! This book has sooo many answers-----it covers skin care, make-up suggestions--even goes into skin care products. Then, continues into foods, exercise-- well it covers everything for me. It is so full of good information. It is a big book, and a pretty one. I just love it---can you tell? And highly recommend it! Thank you Josephine Fairley and Sarah Stacey!

No Need to go anywhere else! Comprehensive, magazine-style reading; it is full of critical information and reaches beyond the beauty industry by speaking with health and well being experts from around the globe. I give the set to girlfriends as gifts. Needless to say, they are anticipated presents!

A great book that my wife and I discovered at a Spa. Wonderfully informative and enjoyable to read. Even as a male, I found good-to-know information. We're sending it to my mid-sixties mother who is going to be absorbed with it.

With so many products claiming superiority out there, the book's best feature is the objective evaluation of branded cosmetics.

A great book for anyone interested in not just beauty, but total and optimum health. Have seen nothing like in the States.

I really enjoyed reading this book. This book is mainly about Galileo's theory of universe and the trial of Galileo which was caused by his conflict with the Catholic Church. This book also talks about Galileo's life briefly. I learned about theories that influenced Galileo's ideas and his opinion toward Copernicus's theory which stated that the all of the planets, including the earth, revolved around the sun.

This is a brief, well balanced account of the conflict between Galileo and the Church. It opens with an insightful look at the world view and astronomy of the late 1500's, including a detailed look at the role of Scripture in these views. This is followed with a thorough description of Galileo's life and how his conflict with the church unfolded. The final chapter is a fascinating overview of the relationships between faith, science and philosophy since Galileo's time. It's not overly difficult reading, though it deals with science, theology and philosophy. The book is a fair account, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of Galileo and some Church officials in how they approached the issues. It also critiques some long held cultural assumptions about the causes, events and meaning of this case (ex: Galileo was never tortured; some lower Church officials who disliked Galileo gave the Pope misleading reports, etc). Definitely worth reading!!

Langford is even-handed and doesn't withhold criticism of academia and the Catholic Church for its handling of Galileo and his books.

What I was taught by public school and the popular press:
The Catholic Church persecuted Galileo because he asserted the Earth revolved around the Sun, and was threatened with torture and death. Copernicus delayed publishing his theory for fear of persecution from the Church, finally publishing it on his deathbed in 1543.

What Langford convincingly shows from research into primary documents:
The Catholic Church was more receptive to the heliocentric theory than the universities. Pope Clement requested a hearing of Copernicus' theory in the Vatican gardens, and was "quite favorably impressed" with the theory. Copernicus was afraid of persecution from his peers, the universities, not the Catholic Church. His fears were well founded, as Galileo discovered years later. Galileo received the full weight of academic condemnation and ridicule for daring to buck the Ptolemic status quo. When professors realized peer pressure wouldn't silence Galileo, they turned to the Church for help. Fortunately, a good portion of the Church was behind Galileo. The head of one Jesuit college wrote to Galileo to say that his astronomers and mathematicians had confirmed his theory, but wanted more proof. Galileo's efforts were further encouraged by Pope Urban. His first trial resulted in being admonished not to teach it as fact, but was welcome to teach it as theory. Unfortunately, by the time of his second trial in 1633, he had managed to alienate his support, partly by insisting his theory be taught as fact. One of his proofs was tides--he believed they were cause by the Earth sloshing the oceans. He also insisted on circular orbits, and refused to consider Kepler's calculations on elliptical orbits, which would have corrected errors he and others found in his model. He was tried a second time for teaching the theory as fact, not for teaching the theory. He was never tortured or shown a dungeon. His house arrest consisted of a five-room apartment with a servant at his disposal, and was free to roam Rome while awaiting trial. After the trial, he was released. True he was threatened with imprisonment, but at his age, Langford asserts, both he and the court officials knew it would not be carried out; the sentence would have been mitigated.

In short, Galileo and Copernicus were treated by the academia in much the same way they treat new ideas today. For an explanation of why the geo-centric theory isn't Biblical in principle or origin, read Sampson's Six Modern Myths.

There are so many ways this and other Gaspard and Lisa books are a wonderful treat. What an original fresh way of telling a story, conveying the characters personality and sense of humor and adventure. You and your children will delight in finding the funny little details. You cannot go wrong with this or any of the other stories in this series.

I read to my son every day and go to the library once a week. Too many children's books today are crass and sarcastic. That's why I love the Gaspard and Lisa series. They are truly charming, with cute illustrations and delightful stories not necessarily designed to teach any lessons other than friends are great and adventures are fun.

Little Gaspard and Lisa, two adorable and endearing pups, are on their way to the Museum of Natural History, and they couldn't be more excited. They're going to see everything, butterflies, monkeys, tigers, elephants, skeletons, and best of all, extinct animals" ...Please try to stay out of trouble," their teacher reminds them, but trouble is their middle name, and though they don't mean to, Gaspard and Lisa turn this field trip into an unexpected, though amusing, misadventure..... Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben are back with another delightful and humorous Gaspard and Lisa adventure. Ms Gutman's simple and straightforward text will be easily devoured and enjoyed by emerging readers, and is complemented by Mr Hallensleben's gorgeous, lush, and expressive artwork. Both youngsters and adults will be charmed by this dynamic canine pair and their engaging and entertaining story. Perfect for little ones 3-6, Gaspard And Lisa At The Museum is the latest in this captivating series. Start at the beginning with Lisa's Airplane Trip and Gaspard On Vacation, and read them all

Great book with a map inside that you can tear out. I used this book exclusively for a CoC group I ran for a whole year long. I really appreciated the block to block set up with the various places of import and the mythos related possibilities. This is a great place to have players start from and explore.

First, let me say that this is a huge book. At 250 pages, you are really getting your money's worth. The town info is great, lots of useful characters, and the scenarios are excellent. I do have some complaints - the layout is more primitive than the other books, especially the neighborhood maps. On the other end of the scale, all the portraits are computer generated. First, it looks pretty hokey (maybe CGI was not as good back then?); second, the facial proportions are wrong for many of the people. This isn't a big deal for, say, Dunwich, but Arkham is somewhat repesctable and misproportioned faces just clashes with the attempted realism of CGI.

The standard layout of these books is to have a story by HPL featuring the town, to discuss town history, to break down the town into neighborhoods and show each one in detail, and then to have scenarios.

The opening story is "Dreams in the Witch House", which is probably the best available. I really like opening these books with a story by HPL - it is a reminder of how the whole thing got started. The neighborhoods take up a lot of space and describe a great many people, places, and things to meet in Arkham. I wish they would have spent some time talking about architecture in the town history section - I still don't know the difference between "gable" and "gambrel". Some real problems: street names are not clearly marked on the neighborhood maps, even when they are referred to. The combined map is not reprinted in the neighborhood section, nor is each neighborhood map shown as one piece; we only see fragments at a time. I think the Kingsport sourcebook does this best, so I assume that the layout people were still pefecting their craft at this early stage. As always, the town directory is helpful considering especially that there are so many entries that an index is needed to quickly find anything. All of the scenarios are great, although one ("the Hills Rise Wild") really would have been better in the Dunwich book, which was short on good scenarios.

Also included is a tear-out map of Arkham on very nice paper, and an issue of THE ARKHAM ADVERTISER, which also becomes a handout.

In all, this is a very informative sourcebook, with plenty of people, places, and things for investigators to explore. The only drawback, besides the poor maps, is that the spooky atmosphere was not convreyed very well. Reading the other sourcebooks, I definitely felt the atmosphere; Arkham didn't do that for me. It could have been better, but was still great.

The wonderful thing about roleplaying games are their endless possibilities for action- one can literally do anything within the framework of the rules; the only limit is the glass ceiling of your imagination. Though there IS the limitation put forth by the necessities of playing a particular module or campaign- if the game takes place in Canada, it is probably a good idea to go there and not to Somalia. With this book, all limitations are gone.

The homebase of H.P. Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu investigators is in all probability Arkham, perhaps being their place of employement or residence. With this new Sourcebook, H.P. Lovecraft's Arkham, we now have a literal blueprint of the town. Who lives where, what is the criminal underground like, what are the industries and buisnesses, public transporation, what do the govement and police consist of, etc. It literally creates an entire world for the player to exist in.

We have not even bothered to play any of the game scenarious at the back because just existing in the town and creating our own situations have been fascinating enough. For example, we had the investigators encounter and befriend an underground movement of Anarchist whom attempted to unionize the immigrant factory workers, wipe out the Arkham govement, simultanously blew up the three power stations in the town and the water tower, did battle with the national guard and took over!

There is literally endless possibilities for play. Think Grand Theft Auto times a thousand. The book is brilliant and besides having the original Call of Cthulhu sourcebook, I see this book as being absolutly essential. There are gangs and cults and underground movements and plenty of beasts and forbidden tomes and strange people and places to go and situations to become involved in, besides ones that the Storyteller creates herself. Included is also information on the Miskatonic University and its professors, campus, and library.

Also included is information pertaining to the surrounding area around Arkham for those Investigators brave enough to leave town, for, indeed, there is much that is truly monsterous writhing about the periphery.

Although I see this book as essential, if you dig it, there are other simular and exciting books for those wishing to expand your play world- there is H.P. Lovecraft's Kingsport, H.P. Lovecraft's Dunwich, and Escape From Innsmouth. Thus opening up the possibility to wander throughout four complete, though completly unique and hideously decadent, towns all within reach of each other. I can't wait for the release of the hardcover Miskatonic University sourcebook.

I have used the Harbrace College Handbook for 31 years. My first was the 5th Edition, which I keep on the top in one of my desk drawers. I used it throughout college. I bought this edition for my father, who gave me the first one, and seems to have lost his own copy (he's 86!). This edition is much thicker than the 5th one -- these books are not exactly "reading material," but a reference guide; so I haven't read it from cover to cover. This book comes with a computer CD to install the entire book on your computer.

I have been using it for years, also - and when I lose it, I feel as though I've lost my right arm! (Oh, OK, well maybe as though I've lost my purse or something!) In fact, this paragraph is probably filled with grammatical and style errors because I can't find my Harcourt Brace (that's what it used to be called)! :- )

Excellent reference if it is necessary to constantly bibliograph infomation off the internet and other electronic sources

A really fantastic resource for photos and illustrations of the buildings and men of the Maginot Line. One thing I really liked is that in the 2nd half of the book, which concentrates on the men and uniforms, you get not only some great black and white photos, but also color illustrations done using the particular black and white photos shown as a guide so you can see what the patches etc looked like in color instead of having to refer to a color chart showing the insignia (it's there too). After ordering volume 1 just a few weeks ago I'm in for the rest of the series.

I don't understand French but I bought this book for the pictures and the topic. I had the good fortune to have visited the Maginot Line near Longuyon and wanted a picture book as a souvenir. This book surpasses my expectations and the lavish presentation and format sets new standards on presenting a little known topic.

Excellent book which is well illustrated and presents an interesting view of the planning and construction of the ouvrages (forts) of the Maginot Line. The authors provide data along with the most comprehensive view yet of the troops that served in the Maginot Line in northeast France. Virtually every regiment, most of them RIF (Fortress Infantry Regiments) are included in the descriptions along with details on the uniforms and insigna worn. A knowledge of French is not really needed to enjoy this book, although a good dictionary might be useful. If you are reading this you can also use one of the many translation sites on the web to help you through the book. This is presently one of the best illustrated books available on the Maginot Line in the U.S. This is volume 1 of a 4 volume series. The second book will cover the the armament used and the third will deal with the short combat history of the Maginot Line. The final book will be devoted to the Little Maginot Line in the southeast on the Alpine front with Italy. Best of all, the price of this book is relatively modest considering its size and the number of illustrations (182 pages with from 1 to 4 illustrations or charts on almost every page).

My parents were WW2 era, my mom graduating high school in 1942 just in time to go off to war with my dad. Their journey is the story of another day (perhaps one I will write) but now that they are gone, we have the archaeological evidence of the world they lived in. Old shellac 78 rpm records, souvenirs bought dear by a soldier's wife, an E for excellence pin. My dad kept photos of warplanes by the dozens, in neatly arranged albums, old letters and postcards and sheet music and newspapers from VE and VJ day, now nearly dust after all these years.

But I can touch a match to a lamp that will illumine that all important era any time by opening and reading from this book. John Gunther writes with a prose style filled with some kind of inner courage that is rare in today's reportage. He goes for the throat and he finds it--traveling all forty eight states in the USA of 1947. Issues come up again and again, Home rule for DC, Interstate rail tariff, Lend Lease, racism, land reform, interstate highways, social security.

The USA that John Gunther describes is no more, but in many, possibly even most cases it is the seed and reason of the world we inhabit today. This is one of those books you read and reread and sit to wonder about the giants that built America. The Henry Kaisers and David Sarnoff, the Fiorello La Guardia and the Wendell Wilke, the shop steward and the NYC cab driver all have a place in his amalgam, and it all makes halcyon sense.

John Gunther does not fix the USA in amber like a dead insect, he opens a window into another era---once the reader has traveled in the other America found there, he will always find this one changed.

Pray for peace
Fight for freedom
persevere,

Merry Christmas, 2007

If you have not read John Gunther's "Inside U.S.A.", you are in for a real treat. It is like taking a journey across America where Gunther's sense of the present and knowledge of the local environments is hard to rival. Perhaps the most striking aspects of the 1947 tour is how much each State has changed.

Gunther's tour of post war America is a must read for anyone interested in US History or for that matter, their individual States. For me it was striking to see how much my native California has changed. In my case, it was a picture of what we have lost in the last 50 years.

I loved "Inside U.S.A" so much that I ended up getting "Inside Africa", "Inside Europe" and "Inside Asia". Gunther's work has no rivals.

John Gunther's INSIDE U.S.A. comes as close to time travel as we are likely to get, hurling us back to the America of 1947, as he explores, state by state, the people, politics, issues, passions and fads that make up our country. Written with great energy and insight, Gunther captures an America justly proud of its WWII success, still unsure of its role in the world, and populated by fascinating characters like Mayor LaGuardia of New York, Governor Saltonstall of Massachusetts and Boss Hague of Jersey City. Gunther describes regional characteristics that persist today. He captures aspects of America that are gone,l never to return (an "industrial" nation based on coal, iron ore and steel.) And he foresees issues that dog America to this day -- the "Negro problem" (actually, the "White problem.") He condemns the segregationist society he finds in America, so inconsistent with its lofty ideals. As you can tell, I loved this book. It's very hefty -- but every time you are about to put it down, Gunther comes up with another amazing fact or interesting sidelight that keeps you reading. All this said, Gunther does concentrate on the (a) historical, (b) political and (c) economic side of things. You won't find much here about the arts or science. But it is amazing a single individual could have compiled this much data and presented it so interestingly.