Exports Books

THIS IS THE WORSE CUSTOMER SERVICE I HAVE RECIEVED ON AMAZON. I ORDERED MY BOOK ON AUGUST THE 24TH AND I NEVER RECIEVED THE BOOK UP TILL TODAY THE SEPTEMBER 29. I GOT A RESPONSE SAYING THE BOOK WILL ARIVE LATEST BY SEPTEMBER 19 AND APPARENTLY, ABDULIN DID NOT EVEN BOTHER TO TAKE CARE OF THE TRANSACTION. HE TOOK MY MONEY AND WENT OUT OF THE STATES WITHOUT PROCESSING MY ORDER. I EAS EXPECTING THE BOOK AT THE STATED DATE NOT KNOWING HE DID NOT EVEN CARE ABOUT PROCESSING THE ORDER. HE NEVER RESPONDED TO MY FIRST EMAIL. LATER THE WIFE HAVE TO INFORM ME THE HUSBAND HAS TRAVELLED OUT OF THE COUNTRY AND SHE THINKS THE BOOK IS GIVEN TO SOMEONE ELSE. MY MONEY IS STILL NOT BACK AND I NEVER GOT THE BOOK. THIS IS MY WORST EXPERIENCE EVER AT AMAZON AND I PROMISE NEVER TO ORDER BOOK FROM ABDULIN AGAIN, NEVER IN MY LIFE.

As an instructor teaching an undergrad international economics, I used this textbook as designated reading for the class. There are several merits about this textbook: simplicity, tons of real-world examples, and plain description. Unfortunately, there are several disadvantages about this book that I can't stand:
1. Typos, there are many typos in this 9e. Some of them were even correctly printed on 8e.
2. Lack of econ models: I can see how difficult it is to write a realworld-oriented international econ textbook with more intuition and less intimidating math models. But what makes Economics different from other social science is the powerful models that give us insights and perspectives. Sometimes it is easier to understand the complicated international economics with some simple models. I don't think Carbaugh did a good job offering econ models at where we need most, especially in the balance of payment and government policies part. I can accept simple, intuitive explanation, but I cannot accept oversimplification.
3. Redundancy:
Carbaugh spend major part of the textbook talking about international trade but not enough on international finance. There are several topics in international trade that can be combined and some topics in international finance that can be elaborated more. But I think this is author's choice.

In conclusion, I think this is a good book if you want to have a general idea about international economics. But I won't recommend it for using in class simply becuase it raises more questions than it explains.

This seler is not reliable!!!! They charge you and make you wait for a long time, and then, they email you saying that they can't delivery the book!!!! There is a refund regarding the cash, but the time you waste with this transaction is worthless!!!!

I had Dr Carbaugh as a student at UW Eau Claire, and enjoyed the clarity of his lectures. His book is nearly as good. My (first) edition is still worth consulting when I have the opportunity to teach econ.

This book gave me a really deep understanding of international economics, markets and macroeconomics. However, material in this book requires knowledge of some economics basics

I honestly read this book with an open mind but found that Brown makes many mistakes usual for someone without an education in economics or another applicable business area. If you are someone with a background in economics, skip this book. It will not make much sense unless you are a socialist, communist, or have fallen for the usual "jobs shipped over seas" myth.

Brown,a Democrat and a liberal,has written a very good book on the severe deficiencies(for instance,the vast number of workers ,who obtain jobs in second and third world countries as a result of outsourcing and globalization, are paid incomes that are far too small to buy any American exports at all.The result is the creation of additional excess supply and decreases in the standard of living everywhere brought on by deficiencies in aggregate purchasing power)that exist as a result of globalization.The same deficiencies were noted by Ross Perot in three books written in 1992,by Pat Buchanan in 1998 in his "The Great Betrayal",and by Lou Dobbs in his recent "Exporting America:How Corporate Greed is Shipping American Jobs Overseas".All three are authentic conservatives who have broken with a Republican party establishment that has,since 1978, substituted the libertarian anarchist globalization arguments of Grover Norquist,Murray Rothbard,Milton Friedman,Ayn Rynd,Ludwig von Mises,Fredrich von Hayek,Arthur Laffer,and George Gilder for those of conservatives such as Adam Smith,David Ricardo,George Washington,Alexander Hamilton,Douglas MacArthur,Dwight D Eisenhower,and ,yes,Richard Nixon.Unfortunately,the title of the book was poorly chosen.There is a sound and valid free trade position that opposes the special interests of oligopolistic industries.A better title for the book would have been"Globalization is not Free Trade:The Myth of Globalization".Authentic free trade is based on comparative advantage,not the absolute advantage that is the foundation of the libertarian anarchist argument for globalization.Unfortunately,B does not deal with the fact that Smith and Ricardo would be opponents of globalization(Only Dobbs mentions this fact).Globalization is not free trade,as free trade is automatically defined within the context of the theory of comparative advantage.It is of vital importance that anyone concerned about the misrepresentation of the authentic free trade position read Part IV, chapter II,pp.420-440 of The Wealth of Nations.For instance,Smith is opposed to tariffs (and quotas)only if it is the case that the purpose of the tariff is purely protectionist(sought by a special interest group of oligopolistic manufacturers)in nature.Smith would support retaliatory tariffs against countries engaging in obvious protectionist behavior,such as violations of GATT,manipulation of international currency values and/or massive dumping,such as China,India,and Mexico, as long as there is some probability that the counter tariff"...will procure the repeal of the high duties or prohibitions complained of"(Smith,p.435,Modern Library edition).Only if there is no probability of getting the offending country to stop its behavior would Smith forgo retaliation.Finally,Smith is a moderate supporter of the revenue tariff,on balance. He imposed such tariffs when he became a customs official in Scotland.We can end this review by taking Jack Kemp as an example of a conservative who has been completely misled/confused by the substitution of the libertarian,athiest,anarchist arguments of the two von's,Mises and Hayek,for the moral,conservative,deist arguments of Adam Smith.Libertarian Anarchism has nothing to do with conservatism.These philosophies are completely opposed on political,social, and economic grounds.This was the case at the beginnings of our Republic.Washington,Hamilton,Madison,Jay,Franklin,and Adams are the conservatives.Mason,Randolph,Henry,and Paine are the libertarians.

Sherrod Brown has written in plain English an easy-to-understand explanation
of the myths that the American public has been spoon-fed on free trade by the usual suspects, those who profit by it,their lackeys and errand boys, and the editorial pages of the daily newspapers. Brown lays it all out in a book that is filled with common sense and clear-headed analysis.

If this book had as much evidence and proof as it does assertions and assumptions then it would be at least respectable. This book is similar to Jagdish Bhagwati's "In Defense of Globalization" simply because they both use little to no actual evidence and both make broad sweeping claims that fall well outside the realm of what they have attempted to prove (despite both books arguing against one another). For example "Myhts of Free Trade" has 8 chapters, each with a title that sums up the thrust of each chapter. However, Brown then goes into detail about how great his battles have been on capitol hill and fighting against the evils of the Bush administration, and Multinational corporations. But he offers few statistics, little data, but lots of out of context quotations. He will imply that a piece of legislation because "it hurts the steel industry" ,for example, without ever telling us how it hurts the steel industry or proving that it does in fact hurt the steel industry, or even showing us evidence that it could hurt the steel industry beyond implying that the U.S. steel industry faces "unfair" foreign steel manufacturing. In chapter 2 he tries to persuade the reader that free trade is not linked with the war on terrorism, a claim that I thought would be easy enough to prove, but he relies on simple assertions that it is not correlated, but no proof, then goes on to discussion authorization of fast track authority and the showdown between Democrats and Republicans.
Clearly Senator Brown has not written this book for mass consumption, but rather rather for his target audience, the Union workers, environmentalists, human rights audience and the rest of the anti-free trade crowd. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, But don't take this book too seriously, if you're looking for a good solid critique of free trade in the modern era, don't bother buying this book.

On the other hand if you want to buy a book that reinforces your opinion that republicans and free trade generally are bad (along with the corporations, WTO, IMF, World Bank) then by all means buy this book.

Personally, I find this book insufferable not only because of the lack of actual evidence, but also because all Senator Brown talks about is his time in congress and how much of a crusader he is for anti-free trade legislation and view points. After all who doesn't enjoy reading about the individual battles of the house of representatives from a democrat under a republican majority? I mean if he's a Senator he is clearly smart, and if he wrote a book he must know what he is talking about, so why should we question what he says?

Congressperson Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is another Yale alumni (think Bush, Kerry, Porter Goss,& Bob Woodward) with a degree in Russian Studies who is currently running against Republican Mike DeWine for DeWine's seat as U.S. Senator. DeWine, an unCatholic avid supporter of Adolf Bush and global Nazism, is facing a challenger whose support comes from Labor as well corporations. Brown's challenge is the most serious among the challengers from other parties - the Democrats, Libertarians and Greens - seeking to unseat the statist DeWine and retrieve Ohio from America's slide down the slippery slope to Nazi Germany.

This book was no doubt ghost-written by Brown's interns rather than his journalist wife Connie Schultz - it has no bibliography. It does have an index. But that's as far as it goes in trying to be a real book. It's more like a rant in the genre of Lou Dobbs, although like a Jehovah's Witness book, it will cite a source within the text minus the page number it came from: "The distinguished American economist John Kenneth Galbraith said about the 'Wealth of Nations', 'It is much celebrated by the ministry of the righteous right, few of whom have read it. Were they to do so - disapproval of the corporate form, approval of a wealth tax - they would be greatly shocked'". That's it. No page number. I could go to Galbraith's book, then where to look? I hope Galbraith's book has an index, then I could at least look up the pages on which Adam Smith is cited. Then perhaps I can find this quote and see what else Galbraith had to say on the topic.

That said, this book begins with a four and half-paged 'Introduction' followed by seven chapters titled 'Myth 1: Americans Believe in Free Trade', 'Myth 2: Free-Trade Agreements Are Necessary to Fight the War on [Freedom]', 'Myth 3: Free Trade Is an Extension of American Values Abroad', 'Myth 4: Free Trade Leaves Most People Better Off - In Rich and Poor Nations Alike', 'Myth 5: Free Trade Will Bring Democracy, Human Rights, and Freedom to Authoritarian Nations', 'Myth 6: The North American Free Trade Agreement Has Been a Success', and 'Myth 7: Free Trade Is a Great American Tradition'. Chapter eight is titled 'A Model for Fair Trade and a Call to Action'.

Brown is confused over the term "free trade". When corporatists use that term to describe their economic fascism, Brown uses that term too rather than "economic fascism". In fact, the two terms are dichotomies. But by ignoring the creation of the corporation by the State and its resulting status as offspring of the state - thereby just as inefficient and bureaucratic as its parent, Brown is telling only half the story. The problem is corporations AND its parent - the State.

As Adam Smith knew well - in a free market, there are no corporations; corporations are creations of the state - they are "artificial persons" that are granted Constitutional rights by its parent. The problem is NOT free trade, which is not practiced anywhere on this planet - but corporatism camouflaging itself under the false rhetoric of free trade. This state-generated problem is one I hope Brown will address as a Congressperson. This book should sit on one's shelf beside a copy of Paul H. Weaver's "The Suicidal Corporation". And I wish Brown good fortune in unseating the Nazi-American in his Senatorial race. But don't be the other side of the same coin.

This book is suspiciously loaded with one-sided story. This book emphasizes
north Korea as unpredictble and crazy while there is no mention
about US negotiating strategy, which I suspect is part of the problem.
I give a low mark just because there is not much opposing views or alternate
objective presentation. Judging from the authors, I can't but suspect
that book is not well balanced.

Chuck Downes has written exellent book. The history diplomatic contacts United States with North Korea was begin in 1951. Military Armistice Comissionn in Panmunjom was to 1993 only one channel diplomatic contacts. Chuck Downs described north korean diplomatic behaviour. Tis diplomacy on the brinkmanship. This continue now by Kim Chong-il. Spreading nuclear programme after withdrawal from nonproliferation regime. Book is detailed description events in history this contact. Murders axes from Panmujom accident , Pueblo warship case, Submarine commando strikers are only leading examles this activity. This book is needed for all diplomats, scholars , journalists try understand korean issue.

I read this book when it first came out. Anyone who did is unsurprised about the past several months' developments -- except by the fact that some in the free world still want to reward North Korea for doing what it is already obligated to do.

When you consider that Mr. Downs does not speak Korean, and has never spoken directly with North Koreans, either on a friendly basis nor in an adversarial sense across the bargaining table, all you are getting here is a second-hand rehash reflecting of the stand-off at Panmunjom. A serious mirror study of U.S. negotiating tactics there would not be too complimentary. This book is more about conservative U.S. opinion of the Clinton administration than anything else. Read Scot Snyder instead.

I would like to have either more on the actual negotiating or more on the history but the book seems to jump back and forwards between the two leaving me the reader a bit confused. So someone like myself who knows little about US and North Korea relations got little from this book.

Disappointingly it does not include that much about how other goverments (in particular South Korea) reacted and played in these talks.

However if you want to know about how the North Korean goverment have behaved with the US this is a very good book. I was stunned to read the sort of documents the US has had to sign in dealing with the North Koreans.

It shows the limitation that the US faces even in a region that it is the major power.

This is not the most interesting read in the world, but it contains good information. If you have an import business, this is a must have for your reference library.

This is like the dictionary not good reading but a must have when you need to look up a word. Only a fraction of the material will be about your specific situation or product. Most if not all this info is available at the customs service website but is good to have it in one place.

Wow! What a useful book it is! It is an essential reference that provides concise, accurate, and informative expertise especially on importing. If you are looking for a reliable resource about importing regulations and entry procedures, this is the one that you should consider!!!

It is not a user-friendly book, but it supplies a lot of guidelines fot the beginning importer. I recommend you to buy it, but supplement it with specific info on the article(s) you intend to import (food, clothing, machinery, etc.).

All of the information in this book is available through the US customs website. Don't waste your money.

Not at all written in a user friedly manner either, just lists all sorts of rules.

I greatly enjoy British mystery offerings, but this one was deadly dull. I have to be able to form some kind of interest in the characters no matter how good the plot, and this one had neither an interesting plot or lead characters I could relate to. Even unlikable characters e.g. Barbara Havers in the early George books can hold interest, but Diane Fry never has enough fill in info to make up for her totally unlikable self. Ben is better but his character remained just outside my grasp. I realized half way thru the book that I had read this author before several years ago ( Nine Virgins) and I hated that book too. I'll pay more attention to his name from now on.

Disappointing in the real sense of the word..i wasted my time reading such a book....defintely my last ever book by Mr. Booth.

I've been a pretty faithful Stephen Booth reader with his ups and downs and this book falls somewhere in the middle. He is one of the best at setting a scene and clearly describing the countryside, but his plots sometimes seem unnecessarily labyrinthine. Oddly enough, in The Dead Place, I had the killer spotted pretty early but it was so obvious that I figured I was wrong and spent nearly the rest of the book homing in on the wrong person. In that sense, the book really was a success because it was enough to make me not trust my instincts. I am getting a little tired of the tension between Fry and Cooper, though. Fry's acid tongue and negativity certainly have potential to adversely influence morale and Cooper seems to be stuck in a rut out of which he only finally emerges toward the end of the book.

On the plus side, the best part of this book is a detailed and completely believable portrait of the world of funeral homes and crematoria. I was absolutely fascinated by the description of a modern embalming, as well as the approach to "mending" and cosmetically enhancing corpses. It could have been sensational or gruesome, but it was presented quite scientifically and without drama.

A newspaper and magazine journalist for over 25 years, Stephen Booth was born in the English Pennine town of Burnley. He was brought up on the coast at Blackpool, where he began his career in journalism by editing his school magazine and wrote his first 'novel' at the age of 13.

Stephen gave up journalism in 2001 to write crime novels full time. He and his wife Lesley live in a former Georgian dower house near Retford, Nottinghamshire, in Robin Hood country.

Derbyshire police are in a quandary. Is the anonymous caller who taunts them with an imminent killing just a hoaxer getting kicks from the calls he makes or is he for real. He is certainly very graphic in his macabre calls with descriptions of both death and decomposition, but anyone could read about that in books. Maybe it is just someone's sick fantasy. Can they afford to take the chance.

After listening to the voice, so calm and controlled Detective Diane Fry is convinced that this is no sick, time waster, but a real killer and one who enjoys telling the police what he is going to do next. Challenging them to stop him before it happens.

This is a good read ... especially for those of us who like our mysteries British style and in a setting other than the usual city of London. Stephen Booth does a good job with characters and has the ability to be graphic without being ghoulish, entertaining and educational ... adding up to a satisfying experience when the book is finished.

"in Asia" is a bit limiting/misleading.
The book is a great read and thoroughly explains the concepts behind 360 Branding. It presents a clear vision of where branding has been, and how branding anywhere must evolve and expand right now for the future. The Asia aspect comes at the end of each chapter with a short 1-3 page application/case study of that chapter's material "in Asia." It basically says, "Hey, this stuff works. Look what happened in Asia."

Yes, your communications need to be "integrated." But this shows book shows what that concept will mean in the future.

I really enjoyed the book, and thought that it was a very easy to read, easy to understand book about branding in Asia. It's examples are entertaining and sometimes surprising, and what has been achieved in the Asian market is a good example of the future of world-wide branding. If anyone is even vaguely interested in branding, and not just in Asia, I recommend you read this book.

The book is a really easy reading and the best thing is about its understanding of Asians. The 360 degree branding concept is especially good at simulating readers to think about the unlimited possibilities of what a brand can do. Being an Asian, I am tired of reading books from Westeners who actually don't recognize the characteristics of people living here. This book, on the contrary, impresses me by discussing some interesting differences of Asians against Western people in the first chapter. The observations are deep and valid. And I truly believe that this understanding is crucial to every one working in the Asian branding industry.

This book is the literary equivalent of an Ikea coffee table: looks great on the surface, but underneath it's nothing but cheap filler.

Leave it to a group of advertising types to fill an entire book with marketing jargon, case studies and puffery that accomplishes nothing save prop up the ad agency the authors work for and fill each author's own lungs with air. This book is pure nonsense. Save your money.

The book's main premise: 360 degree branding. Translation: integrated communications. By the way, there is no secret to branding in Asia which the authors lead you to believe SEE TITLE. Integrated branding, applied correctly, in any part of the world works. It just so happens the authors' live and work in Asia and are trying to build business in that region.

If you are in marketing and don't understand that your company's website must have the same personality as its pr as its marcom as its advertising, you shouldn't be in marketing.

Save your money. Use your common sens.

This book is the literary equivalent of an Ikea coffee table: looks great on the surface, but underneath it's nothing but cheap filler.

Leave it to a group of advertising types to fill an entire book with marketing jargon, case studies and puffery that accomplishes nothing save prop up the ad agency the authors work for and fill each author's own lungs with air. This book is pure nonsense. Save your money.

The book's main premise: 360 degree branding. Translation: integrated communications. By the way, there is no secret to branding in Asia which the authors lead you to believe SEE TITLE. Integrated branding, applied correctly, in any part of the world works. It just so happens the authors' live and work in Asia and are trying to build business in that region.

If you are in marketing and don't understand that your company's website must have the same personality as its pr as its marcom as its advertising, you shouldn't be in marketing.

Save your money. Use your common sense.

Future Positive: A reason for Amazon to add a sixth star!

Future Positive does an outstanding job of summarizing the state of international development today, what brought us to this point, and a concrete roadmap for positive change in the future.

The author, Michael Edwards, hits the nail on the head again and again with insightful analysis of past events and creative, yet firmly rooted, stategies for the future.

I urge anyone that is interesting in the future of our world to read this book. It is what I call "International Development 101" for those seeking to understand the field. For those working in the field of International Development this is a must read.

I have made it required reading at our organization for all staff members and for every volunteer that goes to the field with our program.

Steven Rosenthal, Executive Director, Cross-Cultural Solutions steve@crossculturalsolutions.org

If good intentions were all that is required for an author, Michael Edwards would be a giant among policy writers. Unfortunately, having one's heart in the right place is not enough. Consider this passage on page 144:

"Does basketball player Michael Jordan have to earn 31,000 times more for advertising Nike sports shoes than the workers who produce them, despite the fact that should wages be doubled the cost of production would still fall below $1 a pair?... Inequalities [such as this] result from political decisions
about the distribution of gains arising from economic activity."

This statement betrays a profound ignorance of how markets work. Michael Jordan earns 31,000 times more than the factory workers, not as a result of any "political decision," but because there are apparently many people for whom $1.75 a day is preferable to unemployment or life in a poor rural village. On the other hand, there is only one Michael Jordan and Nike believes only an athlete of his caliber should represent its product. If Nike had to settle for a lesser player as spokesperson and sold fewer shoes as a result, at least some of the workers in the shoe factory would lose their jobs. So while it may seem frivolous or even outrageous that someone who throws a ball through a hoop earns thousands of times more than people who provide a basic necessity like shoes, the shoemakers themselves and those who care about their wellbeing should be happy Nike can afford to hire Michael Jordan.

This preachy litany of cliches, half-truths, and unsubstantiated assertions about evils of competition and laissez-faire is nothing more than warmed-over Fabian socialism. It didn't work in the 19th century. It won't work in the 21st either.

... Make no mistake, this is a rigorous treatment of the international cooperation debate, packed with detailed evidence that is all footnoted at the end. At times this makes for some heavy reading, but it is worth it, since the evidence and the argument all hang together to illumine what has gone wrong in the world since 1945 and what we can do about it. Yes, this does mean "re-balancing the competitive and co-operative rationalities that motivate each one of us" (from the Preface), but in the aftermath of September 11th you would have to be crazy not to understand the importance of global cooperation in addressing threats like terrorism, pollution and poverty. What Edwards shows, better to my mind than any other recent book I've read, is how the original ideals of "international community" after World War II were corrupted into a system of threats and bribes that can never be effective in eliciting real cooperation between countries. Some of his prescriptions for correcting this situation may sound idealistic, but better this than the emptiness and cynicism of much current political debate. Especially since September 11th, I do believe that the world is heading in the direction of a "Future Positive", and this book is a pretty good roadmap to help us along the way.

If good intentions were all that is required for an author, Michael Edwards would be a giant among policy writers. Unfortunately, having one's heart in the right place is not enough. Consider this passage on page 144:

"Does basketball player Michael Jordan have to earn 31,000 times more for advertising Nike sports shoes than the workers who produce them, despite the fact that should wages be doubled the cost of production would still fall below $1 a pair?... Inequalities [such as this] result from political decisions
about the distribution of gains arising from economic activity."

This statement betrays a profound ignorance of how markets work. Michael Jordan earns 31,000 times more than the factory workers, not as a result of any "political decision," but because there are apparently many people for whom $1.75 a day is preferable to unemployment or life in a poor rural village. On the other hand, there is only one Michael Jordan and Nike believes only an athlete of his caliber should represent its product. If Nike had to settle for a lesser player as spokesperson and sold fewer shoes as a result, at least some of the workers in the shoe factory would lose their jobs. So while it may seem frivolous or even outrageous that someone who throws a ball through a hoop earns thousands of times more than people who provide a basic necessity like shoes, the shoemakers themselves and those who care about their wellbeing should be happy Nike can afford to hire Michael Jordan.

This preachy litany of cliches, half-truths, and unsubstantiated assertions about evils of competition and laissez-faire is nothing more than warmed-over Fabian socialism. It didn't work in the 19th century. It won't work in the 21st either.

After over a decade of dealing with international co-operation in various capacities, in different locations and on many sides of the equation, this is the first time that I find a book that actually translates my experiences in a way that helps me deeply understand the reasons behind my successes and failures.

Would like to highly recomend this book to anyone who has lost faith in international co-operation, or who is looking for a compass to guide them through the complexities of such an art.

Insightful, inspiring, informed, committed, refreshing and very useful are some of the adjectives that come to me as I write this.

Happy reading

This book is well written and indicates that the author did lots of research and is really interested in our global society. Very well written and stories of CEO's are given in entertaining manner. Very helpful to business people interested in developing global contacts.

Alvy: "You're, like, New York Jewish Left-Wing Liberal Intellectual Central Park West Brandeis University ... the Socialist Summer Camps and the father with the Ben Shahn drawings, right? And you really, you know, strike-oriented kind of - uh, stop me before I make a complete imbecile of myself."

Allison: "No, that was wonderful. I love being reduced to a cultural stereotype."

[Annie Hall, 1977]

------------------------------

Everyone talks about globalization, but few do anything about it. As the world contracts, many once-arrogant executives find themselves humbled by their ignorance of the manners, modes, and mores of other nations and cultures. At the same time, accelerated communication has built self-confidence among those leaders who might once have aped the methods of Western business superpowers. Americans, British, French, and a host of the traditionally smug are discovering that they can't just talk at their counterparts to the east and south. They need to understand them, speak their language (figuratively and literally), and learn how to make the borderless economy work.

So argues Robert Rosen and his colleagues in Global Literacies. Using a 1,000-person survey, combined with interviews with 75 CEOs in 28 countries, the authors have developed a model of twenty behaviors and roles for the twenty-first century leader. These competencies - "Chaos Navigator", "authentic flexibility", "Respectful Modernizer", etc. - are here elucidated by example, using extended interview excerpts and admiring descriptions of leaders chosen as competency archetypes. It's a reasonable approach, particularly when complemented by capsule summaries of their leaders' countries and their cultures. If your knowledge of world history, geopolitics, and comparative religions is limited, and if you don't have a World Fact Book near at hand, then you'll find convenient answers in these reports.

But every reporter wants to write editorials, and it's in the oration and polemics that Global Literacies stumbles. As a business topic, literacy is not lite and racy, so the authors try to spice up their book with fortune-cookie truisms....

"Leaders are people, too."

Global Literacies is clearly the work of a motivational speaker, full of sound bites and fury. It also tends towards proof by sweeping assertion. Discussing China's $30 billion Ping An Insurance, for example, the authors state that "the secret of [its] success is its ability to keep one foot in traditional Chinese culture and one foot in the world, constantly learning and modernizing Chinese culture." This may be true, but how could it be proved? How does one measure "learning and modernizing" as a competitive advantage? Must great leaders always have strong cultural roots?

How you respond to Global Literacies will depend in part on where you stand in the classic argument of nature vs. nurture. By overemphasizing "national traits" that predetermine behavior, Rosen and his colleagues have fallen into the classic trap of cultural stereotyping. They argue for example that "we need to combine the egalitarian nature of the Dutch, the change orientation of Americans, the achievement orientation of the Overseas Chinese, and the humility of the Scandinavians." All Scandinavians? Aren't there any supercilious Swedes out there?...

Ultimately Global Literacies informs more than it persuades. Some segments are merely unfortunate; Douglas Ivester, held up as the epitome of communication and "urgent listening", has since been fired as CEO of Coca-Cola for a series of gaffes and mishandled controversies. And it is true that the interweaving of interviews and facts can be instructive, even enlightening. But eventually you begin to wonder whether these cultural depictions are portraits or cartoons. If you're going to travel around the world in 400 pages, be warned that travel may narrow the mind.

I happened upon this book and I'm so glad I did! It is a well-written, easy-reference global tool--- much more than just another business book for the shelf. The first-hand stories, study data and format makes it a keeper. Although the study was relatively small, it was globally broad and big enough, with its weighty contributors, to give any leader a good dose of global nourishment to help you forge your own new path. What I like about it most is the straightforward presentation that is free of gobbledegook, so common to many business books. Many leaders across geographies, industries and sectors are trying to find their bearings in the marketplaces, workplaces and communities of the world at this turbulant time of opportunity. This book not only provides stimulating information, but it helps one remember that the solutions we seek are not so complicated. No big surprises. Instead, these times just ask little more of us. Working across cultures and geographies ultimately means working with a new consciousness about others---learning from and thinking more about each other --- and realizing that it is by putting our differences to work that we will open the way for new levels of innovation and a world that benefits all. The book serves as a reminder of how much you already know as a leader that can now be applied to a new set of global problems---as well as, how much you need to learn. I plan to share it with my customers and fellow leaders of change. Thank you for this work!

This book fails on its ambitious agenda of surveying and mapping out the new landscape the authors refer to as "global literacies", and delivers little at the end.

Boasting a "landmark study of CEOs from 28 countries" on its cover, the book contains less than 10 survey questions from the study, all of which are freebies which offer no additional insight to the quest at hand. For example, one survey question asks, "do your cultural roots influence your thinking?" The question is so poorly designed from a research point of view, the answer doesn't really matter.

The rest of whatever study of CEOs the authors compiled was reduced to regurgitation of current buzz words, "understanding and valuing yourself", "engaging and challenging others", "focusing and mobilizing your organization", "valuing and leveraging cultural differences".

The remaining pages are filled with trivia-type facts on who's who around the world, such as a generic list of major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

At the end, you should expect to get out of this book what R.R. got out of his visiting 30 countries over a two-year period, traveling 250,000 miles, as he explained to the readers in the intro. That's nearly 350 miles of traveling a day, everyday of the year, and less than a month for every country. You tell me how much cultural immersion and interaction a person can experience out of it.

A close reading of this book reveals an impressive insight in the subject matter and an elegant and crisp style of presentation. I found the book informative, deftly written and useful. It is a must read book for any person wishing to come to some understanding on the gloal economy, for any person engaged in commerce, and for any person who is curious about global cultures.

A very useful book but readers might feel bored because of its volume and this being too scholarly a collection of dry essays. The title and the subject matter is well selected but it ought to have been short. The relevance of classical theories have already been questioned by some experts when they thought that America might not need a foreign policy. If the terms in international relations are dictatted solely by a super power then the relevance of enduring concepts definitely stands challenged.

Gautam Maitra
Author of 'Tracing the Eagle's Orbit: Illuminating Insights into Major US Foreign Policies Since Independence'.

Everything happened as they said it would.

To say that this book is somewhat impenetrable is a bit like saying space is slightly chilly. There certainly are foundational theories that need to be explored in IR, but this book approaches it in the most condescending and repellent way possible. If you enjoy overly-complex, and self-aggrandizing prose, definitely pick one up. If not, there are likely better sources for this material.

I got this book because it was required for my international politics class. It isn't terribly hard to read, and it isn't excruciatingly boring so all in all this isn't a bad book. I probably wouldn't buy it if I didn't need it for class, but it's a good book to go along with the class

A must read for any new-comer to the subject of international relations. Topics covered are varied and relevant. Very applicable to today's world.

A teenaged girl has to deal with herself, and the fact that her own people are living under an oppresive regime. She has to grow up to learn to care, and then put her talents to use in a military fashion to start to do something about it.

A lot of pain and suffering await this girl before she grows into a strong leader and a legend of the Highlands.

While this is written well in the typical Gemmell style, this is not up to Legend or any of his other classic novels. The first book in a duology with the sequel being The Hawk Eternal. This is actually an older work by Mr. Gemmell, having been published in the U.K. back in 1995. It covers a lot of familiar ground, so if you are a fan of Gemmell, there will be nothing extremely new for you aside from having a female as the lead character. The story involves the conquered highlands people, who resemble the ancient Scottish peoples and the conquerers who are vaguely Roman. The story has the usual fighting, a smattering of magic, prophecies and alternate worlds all thrown into 347 pages. The only real disappointment with the book is the final battle. I always love the great big battles of Gemmell's stories. This one however was wrapped up really quickly and it was not as enjoyable as others. On the plus side, Gemmell does turn Sigarni from an unlikebale character at the start of the book to one you can feel genuine compassion for by the end. I will pick up the second book to see how all the pieces fall into place. If you are new to Gemmell, don't start with this one.

I consider this book special within the library of David Gemmell novels. One thing (rather obviously) that makes it special is the fact that the main character is a woman. This is not to say that David Gemmell does not have strong, female characters in his other novels. He does. And plenty of them. However, Sigarni IS Ironhand's Daughter, she is not just a character that other heroes meet as part of their travels.
Sigarni, like most great Gemmell characters, is a flawed character. Initially, she can appear arrogant and rather uncaring. It is hard to develop any sympathy for her (that comes later). Strangley, some of the male characters about her are more easy to sympathise with, particularly her brave, loyal dwarf friend.
It is not until something life-changing and horrific happens that one is completely swept into Sigarni's world. These early pages of the novel remind me a lot of the first third of the movie Braveheart, not only because the people are highlanders, but also the arrogance of the overlords and the apparently insurmountable odds stacked agaisnt our champion. But it does not end there, that is only the beginning. Sigarni also has to battle the prejudices of her own people, and the darkness in her own heart in order to achieve the destiny she finds herself thrust towards.
There are some usual Gemmell plot tools in the book, including gates to other worlds, dimensional time travel, near-immortal wise-men, demon conjuring evil sorcerors, etc., but none of these are the main focus of the book and they only add to the complexity and enjoyability of the main storyline.
I don't want to ruin the book for anyone else, so I will leave my descriptions there.
Read this especially if the female characters in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time novels really, really irritate you. This will refresh you and give you an appreciation of truly strong, well-rounded female fantasy characters.

I have to admit, I did enjoy reading this book, but the constant eye injuries...well...seems that Gemmell's world could use an OSHA standard for eye protection. Eye riped out by hawk...eye slashed by sword...arrow in the eye...Ay Yi Yi.

I was disappointed in the ending...not in the deaths but in the battle discriptions. 300+ pages leading up to the big battle, and 5 pages of the actual fight. I've read details of barroom brawls with more detail.

Hey...if your looking for a fun little romping read to curl up and relax with...enjoy, just don't expect a classic.

Having read almost all of his most recent work, I turned to this novel for my Gemmell pleasure.

Unfortunately, Gemmell's usual flair and style for narration is scattershot in this piece and the cast of characters hold no real special appeal for me.

While there are good ideas in this book, there is a much better read in any of his other novels.