Exports Books

The Exiled, the second in the Anne trilogy, picks up after Anne's moved to Burgandy in voluntary exile from King Edward. She uses her cunning to begin trading as a merchant to the disgust of her neighbours however trouble soon ensues when she is almost murdered. Rumours begin that Queen Elisabeth, contaminated by jealousy is trying to orchestrate Anne's killing.

This novel probably wasn't as strong plot-wise as the first. I found there was a lot of filling in time with an overuse of witchcraft elements and too much head-jumping. The reader is constantly propelled into various secondary characters' points of view and left feeling a little befuddled. All this head-jumping and psychic visions also strips the plot of its mystery. After all, why read a book if you and the main character know what's going to happen every step of the way?

For me, the other major issue was the characterisation of the protagonist, Anne. She just seems to have no flaws. She is beautiful, determined, intelligent, well-educated, strong, invincible and psychic. It's all a little too much. I really wanted to see some more realistic human traits in her. It's not acceptable to constantly use the 'beauty as a curse' plot line.

The most frustrating aspect of all of this is that Posie Graeme-Evans has a wonderful way with words. Her phrases and descriptions are unique and quite beautiful. It is rare to come across an author these days that are as eloquent without alienating the reader. She really could have written a fantastic book. With a little more planning and better direction from her editor, these could have been amazing. She certainly has the talent for it.

[...]

This book is awful! How can comparisons be made to Phillipa Gregory - this book is not romantic, interesting, or even historical. At least Phillipa Gregory's writing is engaging. This book is not sexier, more romantic, or more interesting than anything Phillipa ever wrote. The whole series is awful as a matter of fact. The Innocent is lame. The Exiled is lamer. Wait for this book to be $.01 at a garage sale. This book is just another boring, pointless "bodice ripper". Jean Plaidy and Phillipa Gregory at their WORST wrote better than this.

I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK, IT IS 0NE OF A TRILOGY BY POSIE GRAEME-EVANS.
IF YOU ARE A HISTORICAL FICTION FAN OR LIKE JEAN PLAIDY I'M SURE YOU WILL
ENJOY IT TOO. THIS TRILOGY IS A VERY EASY READ AND ENJOYABLE I READ ALL THREE BOOKS WITHIN TWO WEEKS. LOVED IT !!!!

I couldn't wait to start this book! It wasn't as steamy as the first, but the plot thickened, and more details came to light and the storyline was fantastic. I was so dissapointed when I came to the end of the first book because I wanted to know what happened! This was a great find.

.....with a pinch of romance. In this sequel to The Innocent, Anne, fleeing from her dangerous love affair with the King, tries to establish herself as a merchant in a new country. The male merchant's don't take kindly to this upstart of a women presuming to do business as their equal. But Anne has other more deadly enemies to worry about...and a new even more precious secret to keep safe.

I enjoyed this sequel. Anne de Bohn is a character I don't get tired of reading about. It's got lots more suspense, adventure, and sub-plots than the first book. I'm glad there's a third book as there is unfinished business left here.

This book is a must for those traveling to China. Gives a detailed look at the history of the Chinese market. Is a great precursor to visiting ex-patriots

China, the fastest growing economy in recent years is in deep trouble according to this book. Starting with a historical perspective, the author goes on to explain that it has never been easy to make money in a market that otherwise appears so attractive due to its sheer size in terms of its population. Multinationals have made over optimistic estimates of the potential market size for various goods and services and sunk billions of dollars either in the hope of making a quick profit or with a view to stay invested before rivals can enter. In most cases, returns have proved elusive.

China is a land shrouded in mystery and secrecy but yet continues to entice entrepreneurs from around the globe. The mad rush to grab the proverbial pots of gold turns into a frenzy in the early 1990s. China becomes the main destination for the global leaders and captains of multinational companies. Having brought in their money, these investors soon find themselves trapped in a situation of no return. Those with deep pockets manage to survive while many others are not so fortunate. The asset inflation boom - stocks and real estate- also has its fair share of victims. Another area discussed in detail is the weakness of Chinese financial institutions and the proportion of non performing assets that account for nearly half of their lending particularly to state owned enterprises. While exports is a success story appreciated across the world, here again the author is quick to point out the low value addition and low share in global trade.

Page after page, the author misses no opportunity to criticise the Chinese bureaucracy, political system the authoritarian rule of the party depicting china as a land that is on the verge of a great economic meltdown where global corporations will have no escape route to retreat.

It is important to note that global companies have gone to do business in China and it is their love for money and not charity has been the motive. It is said that greed, optimism and herd mentality are the three drivers of capitalism . Need a better example ? Large multinationals, mostly from developed countries boast of employing the best talent from leading business schools who are experts in market research and financial accounting. When things go wrong, why blame it on China?. There is no evidence in the book that suggests that China has misused money from international institutions or indulged in unfair practices to swindle FDIs. Assuming that China overstated her domestic income and growth figures, the two main parameters that have attracted the foreign capital, it cannot be an excuse for not doing enough home work to verify these figures before investing huge amounts.

The book appears to be biased and incomplete in not giving due credit to the rapid progress and achievements of the world's most populous nation.

Can it really only be two years since Mr. Studwell wrote this oft-quoted book? Only two years since he bravely confronted and slayed the "myth" of a profitable domestic Chinese market?

Two years ago, we were told about a "long period of slow growth and stagnation" for the domestic Chinese economy. This experienced China-hand, claiming 8 years of personal experience and a wealth of economic insight, assured us that there would only be a few isolated cases of economic success. He mocked GM for its economic investment, and lumped them into the group of so many other misguided CEOs that falsely believed the Chinese could afford to buy anything the West had to sell!

As a previous reviewer pointed out with great self-satisfaction... GM would have to wait until 2025 to meet their target of one million in annual sales! That prediction certainly seems comical when we realize that GM will reach 600k in annual sales this year: 2004. GM, with its over-optimistic and poorly planned investment in China, made an eye-popping profit of $875 million with its Chinese partners from China in the year 2003. That's actually *more* than what GM earned in North America ($811 million for Canada, Mexico, and the US combined). We can only hope Joe Studwell will be contributing a sequel shortly explaining the lack of a consumer market in North America, as well.

Ah, how things have changed. Mr. Studwell wrote for the Financial Times this month (December 2004), and while his melody remains the same, he has certainly changed keys. We're now told that, "while" the Chinese economy is "certainly doing well" (surprising understatement from a man that wasn't shy with rhetorical bombasity a few years ago)... it's not doing *that* well.

How so? Well, it seems, the Chinese domestic market will "only" be returning $8 billion in profits to foreign investors this year... a pathetic sum that's "only" comparable to the returns found in... South Korea and Taiwan? For a man that didn't think much of China's economic prospects 2 years ago, he sure has placed it in hallowed grounds this time around.

Two years ago, Mr. Studwell had a 50/50 shot of getting it right with this book. He found anecdotes and statistics supporting his conclusions at the time, but he conveniently ignored the comparable evidence that just as surely contradicted his point. In a world of conflicting facts when informed experts were unsure about China's future prospects, he decided to trumpet his own truth to the world.

Well, he's been caught with his pants down: he was as wrong as you can possibly be.

Joe Studwell, a British freelance journalist who lived in and reported from China from 1991 until 1999, has written one of the best-informed insiders' books about the Chinese economy in the boom years of the 1990s that is on the market. The book is excellently researched, well documented (60 pages of notes accompany 300 pages of text) and profits from a wealth of experience gathered "on the ground."

The main thesis of the book is that many big Western companies substitute a blurry, optimistic picture of a vast potential market for a balanced view based on hard data. When it comes to China, wishful thinking replaces critical distance and realistic assessment.

One thing that "The China Dream" explains very clearly is the extent to which two economies in China exist parallel to each other. One is the old socialist economy that is protected from change and the market forces. The other is a vibrant, export -oriented economy of manufacturing plants that assemble goods under the management of mostly Taiwanese and Hong Kong companies. The latter is the poster child for China, but the former continues to gobble up the people's savings to churn out the products that the planners want to see. Stripped of the success story of the export-oriented manufacturing companies, China's economy looks like a disaster waiting to happen.

Studwell is not a China-basher. He admires the stamina and determination of the small entrepreneurs in China who manage to hold their ground against a rapacious bureaucracy, the lack of credit from state-owned banks and the dumping strategies of pampered state-owned enterprises.

Earlier reviewers have criticized "The China Dream" as biased and uninformed (no CEO interviews). Having worked in China for three years, my impression is that Joe Studwell has a very solid grasp of the economic and political realities in the People's Republic of China, and that there is no point in listening to the rosy projections of CEOs and foreign luminaries who were "toured about in government limousines and fed an endless diet of spurious statistics"(255).

In a nutshell: This book is absolutely recommended reading for anyone who wishes to work in China or just wants to know what to make of all the praise lavished on a socialist developing country.

As someone who has been in China for eight years I found Joe Studwell's book a breath of fresh air among the constant hype about this market. Some reviewers have challenged his account but I would strongly agree with his premise that while it is easy to be busy in China it is hard to make money. As Studwell points out, few foreign CEO's are able to pick up on this difference.

Some previous reviewers have claimed that Studwell has been proved wrong over the past two years since release of the book as the economy has continued to grow and one reviewer mentions GM as an example of how companies have exceeded their projected growth and revenue targets. Studwell's message was not an attack on the economy necessarily but an attack on the perception that there is easy money to be made in this boom. I would have to agree with his attack on those outside China, or with little knowledge of it, who fail to carry out basic due diligence.

Studwell's point is not based on confirming "the impending collapse of China" rather a recognition that despite the appearance of a first world economy this is still a developing market, with highly protectionist ideals, that requires business managers to apply realism and analysis to succeed. Don't leave your common sense and good business practice on the plane.

The move by Volkswagen in 2005 to cut back on investment and separate research showing that car production will be 5 times over capacity by 2015 seem to substantiate his message that yes there are winners but these are often short term!

This is the worst sort of "docu-tainment". Neither a historical romance nor history. Absolutely no documentation. To paraphrase the author: One searches in vain for a subject here. The author permits himself some outrageous rubbish like this: "Though it was only a fresco of the imagination springing from his work among a strangely mutant people..." What in the world does this mean? Then on the very next page we are forced to swallow this: "One searches Xavier's writings in vain for his take on Java's wild beauty, the miraculous dawns at sea, and the tinted skies of early evening, and can only conjecture..." Right, so your subject is silent about the stuff you want to rhapsodize on, but that doesn't stop you. The key word here is "conjecture". Of the 100 pages I managed to read before disgust set in, there is nothing here but conjecture.

The final absurdity was the five page rhapsody on Elizabethan London (which has of course nothing to do with the subject and is of a level of a poorly written travel guide). Worse yet, he refers to Chaucer as his authority for understanding this London. Chaucer wrote 200 years before this period! It was probably too much trouble to read any books by Elizabethan writers, so he took down the old Cliff Notes on Chaucer to save time.

Just before the Chaucer madness came a discussion of Mendes Pinto's "Travels" written "in the tradition of 'Don Quixote'." Cervantes's book was published 30 years after Pinto's.

An author with no sense of chronology has no place writing "conjectural" histories. All this is only made worse by the ineptly flowery prose that serves no purpose and gives even less pleasure.

I want my money back from the author.

The writing in this book was excruciating. The coherence of the story was utterly lost in a lead-footed presentation style that completely disregarded narrative. That's too bad, because one would think the subject would be a fascinating one.

Charles Corn's "The Scents of Eden" seeks to document the history of the spice trade, focusing on the control of a few key islands in the East Indies where the historically most valuable spices (notably cloves and nutmeg) originated. Corn's effort is a little spotty: I found him both interesting and readable in some places, and neither in many other places.

I think about 60% of this book presents interesting and relevant material, but the remaining 40% felt like filler to me. The portions of the book where Corn discusses the key spice-producing islands, their discovery and the imperialistic practices that controlled them, were generally very interesting, and read quickly and with satisfaction. Moreover, I found Corn's writing style generally pleasant to read, and appropriate (or at least acceptable) for "popular" history. The early chapters were among the better ones.

However, Corn doesn't seem to have enough material to make all 319 pages interesting, or perhaps the topic just isn't robust enough for that much book. Either way, I found many chapters off topic, and felt like I was suffering through a droning lecture. For example, Corn provides long descriptions of Amsterdam, London and Salem, none of which seemed more than peripherally relevant to me. More irritating was a rather gratuitous description of Dutch atrocities to both native inhabitants and other pesky Europeans (most notably, the English). While these seemed well documented (among the best documented material Corn presents), I thought he'd made his point adequately in earlier discussions of the topic, and this elaboration didn't seem to add anything to the book.

For my money, "The Scents of Eden" isn't polished enough to make for a serious academic work, and isn't interesting or consistent enough to be top shelf "popular" history. While it had its moments, I found myself struggling through mediocre material in the later parts. And the abundance of chapters that I found off-topic made me question the significance of the entire subject. If you're considering reading this, you may enjoy the book somewhat, but I'd recommend something by Tuchman or Gleeson well ahead of this book.

Nice, interesting historical read. This book filled in a lot of gaps in my historical knowledge. The book is a nicely interwoven tale of various personas involved in the spice trade as well as the macro-history of this trade.

My only complaint is that at times the book would give overly-flowery descriptions within the historical context. I understand that this is done to make the book more readable, it just over does it at times. Or it could be that I'm being overly-critical because I read Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel right before reading this (Diamond's book does an absolutely perfect job of walking the line between readability and scientific rigor).

Thus goes the old saying which aptly summarised the politics and economics of the renaissance spice trade. Charles Corn's splendid narrative of the spice trade seeks to explain the forces which inspired Western Europeans to commit acts of bravery and madness in pursuit of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and pepper. Provided you didn't get yourself either killed by the weird island Sultans of the various East Indies, or robbed by a rival merchant fleet, the spice trade offered profits well in excess of 1000%. The spice trade started with Portugal's efforts to win control of Malacca (in modern Malaysia); it continued with the establishment of the two rival East India Companies (Dutch and English respectively), who fought control of the Banda island group. (At that time, Banda had the world's monopoly on nutmeg, the King of Spices.) Corn has visited the Banda group (modern Indonesia) and as a result, his descriptions of these once-prized possessions has a sure sense of place. Also enjoyable are the later chapters dealing with the American intrusion into the spice trade, which, as Corn notes, was closely linked to the American slave trade. "Scents of Eden" complements another recent tale of pirate-capitalism, "The Power of Gold."

Ever hear the saying 'less is more'? Well Coyle hasn't. Take 100-150 pages out of this thing and you might have a winner. Unless your a completist for 80/90s techno, skip it.

I was disappointed in this book after reading Team Yankee (a five star read). The author writes from several viewpoints-Russian advisor, Russian commander,bad American commander, Libyan commander, different American soldiers. However it just doesn't work. Many of the characters were either not well developed or I just didn't care about them. It seemed like maybe the author was trying to do too much in one book.

I love Harold Coyles books. My favorite so far being Team Yankee. Bright Star, however, was rather slow in comparison to his other "Modern Warfare" books. I felt that there were not enough of those intense, realistic battle scenes that he's known for. The points of view from the different characters would have been more interesting, if there was more action to refer to. At times, I was only able to pick up where I left off of by referring to what stage the love relationship was at!!! Unfortunately, this book was easy to put down, and harder to pick up to resume reading. Don't let this book stop you from reading his other GREAT books, though!! He is otherwise, one of my favorite authors for techno thrillers !

Bright Star, Harold Coyle's third novel and second in a continuing series following the careers of various Army officers, is an intriguing and very human look at the lives of professional soldiers both on the home front and on the field of battle.

Set sometime before the fall of the Soviet Union and after the events of Sword Point, Bright Star once again features Scott Dixon, Hal Cerro, Nikolai Ilvanich and Fay Dixon (Scott's wife) and introduces television reporter Jan Fields, a rising star in a cable news network and former colleague of Fay's.

The novel starts on a somber note as Major (promotable) Dixon sits at his home computer writing a letter of resignation from the Army he has served and loved for years. The war in Iran has left an emotional scar, and his wife's hopes for a return to her journalism career after Scotty's expected after-20-year retirement have been put on hold by her husband's deployment to fight the Soviets in the Persian Gulf. The strains of the conflict -- nightmares of battles for Scott, the sudden upending of long-made plans for Fay -- create a vast emotional chasm between husband and wife.

But Dixon is a soldier to his very marrow, and although he is listless and even resigned to accept whatever backwater job he's offered by his superiors, Scotty tosses the letter of resignation away and waits for new orders to be cut, much to Fay's discontent.

And when a UH-60 helicopter carrying Lt. Col. William Dedinger is shot down in Sudan by a guerrilla team, Scott Dixon, Medal of Honor winner, is assigned to serve as the chief of staff of the 2nd U.S. Corps (Forward) in Cairo, Egypt. There, he's to assist in the expected prepositioning of Army equipment in that cautiously friendly Middle Eastern country, in addition to other, more classified tasks. It's a mostly desk-bound assignment, very much the opposite of the combat-geared armored task force command he declined around the same time he was contemplating leaving the Army.

Naturally, Scotty's new posting and promotion to light colonel don't do anything to help heal the growing rift with his wife, who is forced to cancel her acceptance of a job with CBS to accompany Scott to Cairo. And although she does get another job with her former college roommate and friend Jan Fields, the sojourn to Egypt will have unhappy consequences.

Meanwhile, the ambitions of Libyan Col. Nafissi will soon lead to another conflict that will once again pit the United States and the Soviet Union against each other as the superpowers go to the assistance of their client states -- Egypt and Libya. Soon the desert sands are littered with wrecked tanks and dead soldiers as fierce battles are waged on the air, land, sea....and the hearts of combat veterans such as Scotty Dixon and Capt. Hal Cerro.

Bright Star is a sequel of sorts to Sword Point. Here, the aftereffects of a US-Soviet war is explored two years after the shooting has stopped. The horrors of the war deeply affect both countries: in the US, a war hero becomes congressman and hopes that the mistakes in the last war won't affect Americans in the next one. In the USSR, veterans of that war are treated without respect (probably not unlike those who went through Afghanistan) even by other members of the military. The title Bright Star refers to the US-Egypt joint military exercise. A war between Egypt and Libya erupts when it is found out that Libya is behind an assassination attempt. Egypt attacks Libya in retaliation. The war snowballs and threaten to escalate into another war between USA and USSR. This book also puts the character Scott Dixon into a even more major character. We'll see that the horrors of the last war threaten to ruin his wife and kids. And suddenly another woman from the past enters into his life, news reporter Jan Fields.

I'm glad to see writer Harold Coyle become more comofortable with the characters he created. It's also neat to read additional tales and misadventures of the American and Soviet characters faced in the last US-Soviet war. If you've read Sword Point, you'll even appreciate some of the feelings and motivations of some of the characters in this book. This book also shows a fact: America cuts back its military after a major conflict.

However, Bright Star does suffer from a love affair that is too sappy for its own good and at some points just too convenient. The battles also lack the tension I felt in the previous book. Perhaps because America fighting the Russians again is rather old hat in this book. After all, the US president in the story is not afraid to attack Soviet airbase like he's not afraid to bomb Yugoslavia. It also appears there's not much to be expected of Egyptian attack on Libya.

Anyway, I'm happy I got the book with a painting of an M1 tank on its cover rather than the ugly foil cover you see at the top of this page.

Why did they use a picture of a WWI U boat to illustrate a story that takes place in WWII?How many of these anti-German hate novels can people read anyway?

I found this book for free and read it based upon the rating of 4 stars that Amazon.com readers had given it at the time. I'm sorry, but it's definitely not worth a 4. Even giving it a 3 is being generous. It's a decent book, but, given all of the other better things out there to read, this book isn't worth your time. The story has some interesting twists. But, for the main, it is contrived, lacks energy, has flat characters, and lousy dialogue.

Higgins has pretty much mastered this genre and has been known to "phone a few in, but COLD HARBOUR does a nice job within the confines of Higgins' rather straight forward style. Playing around with the typical conventions of cross channel warfare, identical twins(never a good idea), and a foray into LeCarre territory, a nice thriller emerges. The story does have its flaws with a rather obvious villain and a few too many twists to hold onto the realism that Higgins generally strives for but overall it works its way to its inevitable conclusion effectively. Other than the ridiculous cover on this paperback, as astutuely mentioned by another reviewer-a U-Boat which has nothing to do with this tales of an E-Boat and espionage, this one's a rather nice page turner and not bad for a quick thriller to fill in on the plane trip or at the beach.

...and that is precisely what I did with this book. The characters were laid out, then they subtley changed and then yet another twist altered your perception again. I was constantly flipping the pages, ready and as nervous as the characters themselves, to find out what would happen next.

Buy the book to save the cover. It display a German U-Boat. There's a partial photo of a submarine on the back page. And, each chapter is signaled with a small image of a submarine. So, it's about a submarine, right? Wrong. The only boat in the book is a German E-Boat. The cover designer didn't know the difference between a German U- and an E-boat! :-} One has to wonder how this got past the proof readers!! Meanwhile, the story is fair, but in places it leaves the reader saying, "Naw, that wouldn't happen."

The book was in good shape just as advertised, and I received it in a timely manner.

With the demographics changing in America, it's no longer just good enough to understand different cultures in our travels, but right here at home. As we continue to see more immigrants from all over the world coming to our country we must understand their customs and communication style to be effective business people and friends.

There is so much data stuffed into this book about so many cultures that its almost overwhelming! This is an impressive book covering many countries and most of the information is still current, despite the fact the last version was copywrited back in the 1990s.

I'd recommend this book for culture buffs as well as for general writers. A great source of ideas.

I am from Prague, Czech Republic, Europe.
In the books it says that our country lacks common things and that people will be grateful even for small gifts, such as ball-point pens etc since it is hard to get here.
I could not believe it when I have read it !
Did the author mix up Czech Republic with war-battered Cecnia or something ???
What a nonsence the statement in the book, even if it is from 1993 or whatever. You would look utterly ridiculous giving someone a pen. We actually have a subway, cars, shopping malls....its not like we live up in trees.
The author made CZ look like some third-world hunger stricken country. I do not trust him owith other countries since my country is so mis-judgingly described in the book.

The basis of this wonderful book is to show the customs, protocol and laws in societies that may be vastly different from the society in which you live.

The book is categorized according to country, and includes cartoon type illustrations of face gestures, hand and arm gestures, and what they mean. In some countries the same gesture has a completely different meaning, which anyone who uses a lot of body language would do well to learn.

The section on Graceful Gift Giving brings valuable insight so as not to insult anyone from different lands, as gift giving is viewed in different ways according to different cultures.

Whether you are going on a business trip, or are traveling for academics or adventure overseas, it is important to learn the customs of each country.

On a personal note, if you ever go to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, do NOT sit on the rock from which Mohammed Ascended (as I innocently did to pray for world peace) because you can be murdered or jailed for that alone - unless you happen to have a professor who is fluent in Arabic that saves you from harsh penalties, which I was fortunate enough to have. ASK about the Sacred sites in Sacred lands BEFORE you attempt to touch or sit on anything.

Do's and Taboos also provides commonly used terms spelled out phonetically from many lands, so that you can converse among the locals graciously.

Highly recommended for all international travelers.

Barbara Rose, Ph.D. author of Stop Being the String Along: A Relationship Guide to Being THE ONE and If God Was Like Man
Editor, inspire! magazine

Do�s and Taboos Around the World was written in the mid-eighties for American businessmen who regularly traveled abroad meeting foreign clients. I bought this book to help teach culture shock to my Japanese EFL students, and, by and large, I am quite pleased that I have it on my shelf. Even though there is a lot less information about women than men, and some information, such as gift giving, appears to be specifically for business people, there is enough general information about many different countries� cultures to make interesting reading. The chapter on body language and gestures appeared to be well researched, and my students were able to learn many things from teaching material that I made using the book as a reference. There may be some people who would read Do�s and Taboos and say that the author has distilled a nation�s people to a simple stereotype, and to a point I wouldn�t be able to disagree with that. However, if I ever found myself in the company of people whose culture I were ignorant of, it would be nice to be able to scan this book for do�s, taboos, likes and dislikes, and give myself a reasonable introduction on what I might be likely to encounter. This book is most useful for business travelers, but it is also useful for tourists and travelers, or anyone living in a culture other than their own.

If you like to read in one sitting, this book for you. The references to other articles left to desire. Maybe is just left of center all with a wing-nut californian guru seeking mentatlity. I am completely dishonest with my constellation statement.

I would stick with his other litterature.

Aside from the reflection that neoliberalism is another fundamentalist mouvement in western world, there is too much superficial general knowledge about the state of the planet.
I am even more deceived to see that this book is has a scale down approach of Modernity and self identity.

This book is by far too expensive for a one sitting, basic overlook of the state of the world.

Sociologist Anthony Giddens has recently made some notable contributions to political discussion. This books is based on his radio lectures from 1999 which do not have much to do with Gidden's academic conributions. Instead, this is a practical book aimed at general public interested in the current world affairs. In just 100 pages, compact size and absent of academic buzzwords, the book makes an easy and fast read.

The book has five themes: globalization, risk, tradition, family and democracy. Giddens handles them in turn like he would be playing with his favourite football. Shifts feet, moves forward and kicks when the goal is sure. His playing is readable indeed.

One can rise a couple of leading themes from the book. One is the idea of cosmopolitan tolerance. The other one is the doublesided meaning of risk. On the one hand, risk is what globalization has brought to our daily lives and society at large. On the other hand, risk enables the speed of evolution we are now facing in this global village.

In some parts of the book, one can be very impressed how Giddens summarizes in about three paragraphs what others have written in a 300+ pages of treatise. This is the case of e.g. Soros on global capitalism, Bernstein on the meaning of risk and Castells on information society. Though there are no accurate references - there simply couldn't be - Giddens provides in the end a fifteen page list of selected readings with a short comment on each. I found it very helpful way to put my understanding in a more larger context.

Giddens doesn't provide new arguments to the globalization theme. The arguments he does present are underdeveloped and could use much more solid backing up. I found myself confused many times by his circular arguments. The book ends awkwardly, the writing is choppy, and his stance is vague.

I realize that this book was created for the masses, but it insults intelligence and makes some sweeping generalizations and essentially promotes a Western imperialist tradition. Giddens admits to some of the criticism of globalization but he glosses over the horrors of ecological risk and global inequalities and touts the joys of democracy as being spread by globalization which results in "pure love" relationships. Somewhat of a stretch of the imagination and too much to cover in 83 little pages with big print. No references make it useless for an interested reader.

Overall, this book could use some updating. I think if I'd looked at the date of publication I might have thought twice about putting it on my wish list. It was published in 1997 - in other words, pre-9/11, and before it was common to use websites as resources. There are several chapters that are just plain common sense.

The climate towards Americans has changed world-wide, the risks have increased.... and this book lacks links to Internet sites for the resources and agencies listed as helpful.

It is, however, good for listing general customs and things to watch for in various countries. It isn't bad - it would just be a lot better if they did an updated version.

Interesting for young very unexperienced women.

This book was published awhile ago, and needs to be updated. I was particularly interested in the Middle East section, which this book called, "The Lands of Islam." The language was ethnocentric, with an orientalist attitude (see Edward Said for an explanation of orientalism). I do not recommend this for anyone interested in info for this region of the world; I have lived there and the information presented in this book is now incorrect, as the book is outdated.

"Do's and Taboos Around the World for Women in Business" is a highly interesting book, and one that is likely to prove useful for women who need to travel abroad for business reasons. Moreover, it is quite engaging, due to the fact that the authors combine practical advice with funny anecdotes about women working in international business.

I recommend you to read the whole book, if you can, because at least some of the tips it gives might help to you. On the other hand, if you are pressed for time, just read the parts that interest you more. The book is neatly divided into chapters according to subjects:

-Part one: Survival "over there" (it includes -> 1: Sex, dating, discrimination and harassment; 2: Know your product, know the culture; 3: Protocol for women; 4: Safety when traveling; 5:Healthy traveling; 6: Luggage and packing; chapters 1 to 6).
-Part two: Advice country by country (it analyzes some countries in particular, but most are grouped and studied by regions; chapters 7 to 22).
-Part three: Women in the world of work (it includes -> 23: Women in international business: past, present and future; 24: How I got my first job in international business; 25: Profiles of three successful women; chapters 23 to 25).
-Part four: The international assignment (it includes -> 26: To go or not to go; 27: Preparing for your life abroad; 28: Family matters; 29: On-the-job challenges; 30: Culture shock; 31: Repatriation and reverse culture shock; 32: Cross-cultural and language training; chapters 26 to 32).
-Part five: Help for the independent businesswoman who wishes to work abroad (it includes -> 33: Tips for the independent career search).
-Part six: Additional resources.

Personally, I found some chapters more practical than others, for instance I took great advantage of the tips on what to pack ("You don't need more clothes, more colors, more combinations. You need fewer things, carefully chosen"), but I guess that depends on what each of us needs more.

On the other hand, bear in mind that even though the advice that the writers give is right on the spot in most occasions, that is not always the case. For example, they point out that punctuality isn't overly important in Latin American countries, but I'm from Argentina and I can say that many think that arriving late is rude, so if you were to arrive late to a business meeting just to "follow local custom", you would be giving a bad impression.

Notwithstanding that, I can tell you that I really liked this book. I specially enjoyed the fact that the authors take into account that "international business tends to be uncomfortable for most North American managers -men as well as women. Many have yet to develop cross-cultural experience, skills, perspective, and confidence". Their recipe for success?. Well, according to them "You can allay your doubts by taking action. To overcome negative attitudes toward women in international business you must assume the initiative and thoroughly prepare yourself".

On the whole, I found this book very useful, and I believe that it can be valuable not only for women in international business but also to those who need to travel abroad with their families due to their spouses' job. "Do's and Taboos Around the World for Women in Business" isn't a perfect book, but it is a very good one, and the kind of book you will want to carry with you around the world.

Belen Alcat

I thought that this book while touching on many areas of do's and taboos was very basic in it's approach...perhaps even juvenile or youngsterish...While I was looking for actual do's and don't this book often offered situational issues...rarely stating DON"TS and offering multiple choices instead of stating the real Do's in many cases. Good for young adults and young persons going into new countries. Older people probably want a guide that states the facts like: In this country..cover your head in public at all times..instead of choice 1-go buy a head scarf.....2 tear a part off your dress and make one ...3 go scarfless...4 scream loudly I'm an American and don't need it.
I was really looking for more depth and coverage from a experienced traveled business person on exactly what to do. Still a starting point for a new business traveler.

I thought it was beautifully written with many vivid details, mainly. you felt emotions from the characters and felt drawn into the story. That was the greatest part.... when Anne was raped you felt her horror, the shock and the betrayal.. It actually made me tear up.

Now the bad.... I felt it dragged on and on in the middle, at times it was pointless and pretty dull. The ending was ok, not wonderful but soso, in all honesty this over-long book could've been much better if they removed 200pages... so I gave this book 3 stars. Not bad, not great, but readable.

This is truly my favorite novel. Much of my admiration for this novel is centered around the herione of the novel, Anne. A lonely motherless child that was sexually abused by her uncle becomes a smart but empty woman. We might not agree with all the choices she has made but we can't blame her either considering all that has happened to her. We eagerly await how her family will react to having her appear after 25 she ran away from home. And we are disappointed that they still deny her accusation. A truly inspiring novel for those who have been beaten yet survives nonetheless. I highly recommend this book.

Great read. Convincing characters, plausible plot, interesting setting, story moves right along. I had trouble putting it down.

Sleeping Beauty will be an alarming tale for those who have experienced the injustices faced by Anne and for those who fight to protect children. After forcing myself to go on, I was drawn into the story. Anger, sadness and excitment were only a few of the emotion I felt. I could not put it down. I feel relieved when the victim conquers his or her fears and Anne was allowed to do that?

However, I was disappointed that "good ole Uncle Vince" received to what amount to a on slap on the hand for his transgressions and slimmy Keith no doubt continues his escapades in Washington. Does Vince really have the guts to "get rid of him"? What happened to Dora? Wouldn't she be outraged about Josh & Anne, and go after Anne with a vengence? Shoudln't Rita apologize? I think this book calls for a sequel. It would be worth purchasing.

A survivor of child sexual abuse, Anne Garnett leaves home far behind at a young age and becomes a high-powered, beautiful -- yet romantically untouchable lawyer. Until love enters the ice princess's life, and her beloved grandfather dies. She finds she must go home and face faces of relatives she'd rather forget in her painful memories of incest. Anne's character is so real, as are the characters readers meet from her past and in the present. This is an example of a romance novel that dips into one of life's true horrors -- incest -- and doesn't romanticize it or try to make it any less pretty than it is.

The status of the book is alright, nothing to mention about that. About the shipping either, since it came all the way from oversea. This book gives just basic information and only usefull literature for the US, but still I estimate it's value as quite usefull especially for the first steps of your non profit org. Though it lacks of the connection between small, very local and nation wide operating n.p.o. First steps are wonderfully described, then nothing till you have your own board of directors and couple of departments under you. Therefore i can truely recommand this book of Hummel for beginners, for organisations in their childhood, because when you grow the rest will come anyway with your own experiences and a little help of this book's literature.

I found the book useful, particularly for larger foundation type organizations with a mainstream charitable mission. Not as useful for smaller charities that do not have a large board of directors or advocacy\education types of nonprofits. I felt I got my money's worth, but had to read between the lines a bit to apply the information to my particular organization.

This was an interesting little guide book written with nonprofit founders and executive directors in mind. The first edition was written back in 1980, and the current edition was written back in 1996. I think the time has come to put this book out to pasture - or write a new edition. The book just doesn't cut it in 2007. It really surprises me that Amazon still sells copies of it. The book is comprised of the following chapters:

1. Introduction
2. Startup checklist
3. The nonprofit Board
4. Organization bylaws
5. Legal issues
6. Mission, vision, and strategic goals
7. Financial intelligence
8. Bookkeeping
9. Raising funds (donations)
10. Staff and volunteers
11. Community relations
12. Resources that can help
13. Bibliography

Chapter 2 was a simple checklist of 37 items. I found many of the items to be pretty well thought out. In fact, I think the checklist is the high point of the book. However, it was deficient in my humble opinion. Small nonprofits are not all that different from small businesses. Both need to be conceptualized. Someone starting a small business needs to document a sound business model or profit model. And then a business plan must be written to explain how the person is going to create the business over a period of 3 months to a year. Instead of a business model nonprofits need an operations model. And instead of a business plan they need what is called a Financial and Operations Plan. Nowhere in the book's second chapter is there mention of the need for an Operations Model. Nor is there any mention of a Financial and Operations Plan. This is a serious flaw in the book.

Chapter 3 failed to mention that Board members should be wealthy and financially able and willing to make sizeable gifts to the organization. And it failed to properly highlight the duty of EVERY Board member regarding donating funds to their organizaton and soliciting funds from donors. This problem was made worse in Chapter 9 because there was no mention made of Board member duties regarding personal financial contributions and solicitation responsibilities. Furthermore, Chapter 9 on fundraising could have covered lots more material about fundraising and it didn't. There was way too much emphasis placed on grant fundraising and corporate donations, and not enough coverage on soliciting gifts from individuals.

Chapter 11 probably should have been entitled Marketing and Promotion instead of Community Relations. So much more could and should have been discussed that wasn't. Topics that come to mind are advertising, direct mail, public relations, and special events. It wouldn't be fair to add Internet and Web sites here since the book was written in 1996. So I won't.

Chapters 12 and 13 are out of date and pretty much worthless to a reader in 2007.

It is stated in this book that many nonprofits fail to reach their goals because they were not put together well in the first place. Many books fail to get high ratings because they are not put together well in the first place. Unfortunately that is the case with this book. 3 stars!

I thought this was a great book for introducing the basic steps involved in starting a non-profit organization. It clarified some simple issues for me. I have ZERO experience in starting a non-profit organization and wanted to get an idea of what it takes to do so, and this book was a great starting point, although you will clearly want to move on to more "meaty" books if you actually get your organization off the ground. After a few hours, I had solid drafts of my mission statement, articles of incorporation, and bylaws, and I knew what I needed to do next. It might be too simplistic for large organizations, but it was perfect for my itty bitty dream!

Talk about restating the obvious! The author reminds you that when you're about to hire somebody it would be a good idea to interview them rather than rely on their resume. Under the subtitle "goals" of the organization we are told that goals are the intended outcomes of what you intend to do. Gosh, that's a pithy insight! I should have known not to buy a book by an academic, as opposed to somebody who actually ran a non-profit in the real world!