Foreign-market Books

Jim has provided a very solid introduction to a very complex topic - market (and FOREX) wave theory. A great book to get a firm foundation of what has gone on in Wave Theory - and to carry forward with ones own study and research.

Reading this book, with its thoroughly swing analysis of EUR/USD, gives you a clear statistical basis for the concepts presented by Elliott and others about swing count, retracements etc. etc.
A must to complete an Elliott study of the Forex market.
Useful the historical part about development of wave theory.
This is not a trading system, you won't find a specific technique to make real trades, but with other material is useful to make analysis.

Bickford gives summaries of various wave theories that have been proposed and used over the years. Most prominent is perhaps the Elliott Wave. Then there are the so-called multi-wave cycles. Much of the discussion is qualitative, which is probably all that is necessary for readers who wish to try out the models.

The weakness is in its pronounced lack of scrutiny. Perhaps the book is meant to be preaching to the choir. Where a reader is a priori assumed to believe that some of this stuff actually works. A more sceptical reader should be cautious. Each model has some plausibility. But what were the results of actually applying it in the marketplace? So beware, before putting any of your money down on these models, or indeed on the book itself.

This book is okay, but not much different than a lot of condensed dictionaries. I bought this hoping that it contained the actual phonetic spellings for the Portuguese words but instead it uses the phonetic symbols. This isn't much help unless you know all the meanings of the phonetic symbols which is like learning a new alphabet.

Not good for modern slang/vernacular. I preferred the Langensheidt dictionary, but mainly because it has a more durable plastic cover. Of course, this paperback is cheaper.

My family and I recently moved to Brazil, after receiving more than 8 months of intensive, full-time language training in the U.S. I ordered several different different dictionaries, and during our training (having to translate in both "directions"), and while living here in Brazil now, we found this dictionary to be the absolute best. Sure, it might not be a good source for slang, but I haven't been in a situation where I needed to use or look up slang words yet. In our day-to-day lives here in Brazil, with three children, and an extremely heavy business/entertainment agenda (where my husband and I can only communicate in Portuguese), this book has provided us with words we need that the others have not. The only negative thing I can say (sure, it could have every Portuguese word, but then I wouldn't be able to carry it around!!), is that the binding could be stronger (hence only 4 stars instead of 5). Both of our dictionaries, after a year and a half of heavy use, eventually ended up in halves. So, manufacturing this book so that it holds up to the constant usage would be my strongest recommendation to the publisher [while we haven't used the other dictionaries nearly as much, they too, have lost some pages, so it's not a problem with just this publisher]. Right now, I'm buying a couple more--I really do feel they're worth it.

I'm sorry to say that this Moliere play was dissapointing. Not only was it plain boring, yet it was very predictable. Moliere's sense of humor in this book let me down compared to other books such as L'AVARE and LES PRECIEUSES RIDICULES, which I highly recommend to read.

"L' école des femmes" is a very well-known comedy written by Molière (1622-1673) in 1662. At first sight, it appears to be the epitome of the classical comedy of mistakes. Despite that, this short play also deals with a topic that was highly controversial during Molière's life, women's education. The author of this book seamlessly incorporates that theme into the plot, making the reader reflect on it even without realizing he is doing that.

To start with, I would like to outline the plot of "L' école des femmes". It is simple, but shows that a play doesn't need to be too complicated in order to entertain. The main character is Arnolphe, an old man who having had lots of affairs with married women, distrust women in general. The strange thing is that in spite of that Arnolphe still wants to get married, provided (of course) that he can find a woman he can trust with his honour. After much pondering, he finds a seemingly perfect solution for his problem: to marry a woman without too much education, so she won't know how to deceive him ("Épouser une sotte est pour n'etre point sot"). According to Arnolphe, a dumb woman is a honest woman.

Having arrived to that conclusion, he decides to take a young orphan, Agnès, under his wing. Arnolphe educates Agnès according to his ideas: not too much studying, a lot of sewing and praying. The years go by, and Agnès grows into a beautiful but profoundly ignorant young woman. Arnolphe is ready to marry her, but something unexpected happens: a new character appears. That character is Horace, a young and handsome man who falls madly in love with Agnès and begins to court her, to Arnolphe's desperation and Agnès' happiness.

What will happen?. Well, you need to read "L' école des femmes" in order to know that. What I can tell you, though, is that I really enjoyed reading this play, notwithstanding the fact that there were some words that are no longer used in modern French. That made reading this play a little bit more difficult, although there was an abundance of footpages that explain the meaning of those words perfectly well, something that clarified my doubts. What is more, this edition includes a chronology of Molière's life, and several interesting studies regarding this play, something that helps to reader to understand "L' école des femmes", and the context in which it was written.

On the whole, I think that "L' école des femmes" is worth the time and effort of reading it. Molière wrote a perfectly good comedy, but he also took a stand regarding what kind of education should be given to women. He did that throughout the story, and also in a phrase said by one of the secondary characters, who says that "Une femme d'esprit peut trahir son devoir; mais il faut, pour le moins, qu'elle ose le vouloir; et la stupide au sien peut manquer d`ordinaire sans en avoir l`envie, et sans penser le faire". I completely agree with that, and I recommend this book as a play to enjoy, but also as a message to ponder...

Belen Alcat

I read this play for a French Lit. class and enjoyed Moliere's sense of humor. I laughed out loud as I watched everyone's plans go horribly awry. A great classic social commentary. It centers around one man's obsessive fear of cuckoldry (when a man's wife cheats on him), and the extremes to which he goes to avoid this. He practically emprisons a girl/young woman so that she can be raised properly and will make a faithful and obedient wife when she finally matures. The only problem for me was that it has a lot of references and vocabulary which are out of date and hard for a non-(native)French speaker to understand.

Wow, I usually like books that are very metaphorical and complex, but I found this book to be too over the top. I became lost in the babble. It put me to sleep. I was too tired to find the symbolism and critiques of society!

Whether you love or hate absurdist (ahem) writers, this play is one of the most exemplary editions of a very important phase in postmodern drama. The other reviewer gives no reason why he didn't like it other than he didn't understand it. Bad critic.

Ionesco promised to deliberately explore the post WW2 world by integrating the ABSURD (post-existentialist stream of thought) into the everyday life. He did it with such an ingenious way of portraying the lives of two bourgeouis couples who suffer the scandalous effects of WW2. By breaking all rules concerning grammar and the written way of expression as a means to justify the absurdity which lives inside of us and expressed orally with our "stream of consciousness". Pure genius on his writng skills, ionesco demonstrates just how far one can go just by simply observing the distortions of human relations when affected by dark historical moments...

This second edition has been greatly expanded with materials on the mechanics of the foreign exchange and options markets. The sections on the international monetary system have been updated, especially with respect to the European monetary system. New sections have been added on exotic currency options, specifically on barriers, average rate, basket and quantos options. There are two new chapters, one on currency option applications and another on currency overlay management.

The book is a fair overview of foreing exchange risk with lots of formulas. I couldn't find much on "advanced strategies for global corporations." For example, less than two pages are used to discuss zero-premium collar programs. It might be OK for new global investors but it's got very little for corporate treasurers.

This book is a good intro to FX risk. Plenty of real world examples serve to drive key points home. Good deal for those looking to learn the basics very quickly but also provides insight into more sophisticated theory.

I've been studying the Japanese language on my own for six years now. Of all the Japanese-English dictionaries I laid my hands on, this one has been the most helpful and the one I take anywhere.

This compact version of my favorite M/W Japanese Learner's Dictionary has every word listed explained sufficiently, and differences in usage are shown in the examples. As certain English words have different meanings depending on context, that context is also mentioned here as not to confuse with others. Words with same kana writing but different kanji are written in separate entries as well.

A quick reference for translating from English to Japanese is also included in the back, but since it's only the dictionary form, you'll have to conjugate it before using it.

Grammar notes, counting suffixes, era tables in Japanese history are also included.

You'll need a separate reference for kanji, by the way.

Like many students of Japanese I have several dictionaries, but this is the one I keep coming back to. It has numerous examples, usage notes, and cross references to synonyms and antonyms. Of all my dictionaries it has the highest hit rate when trying to find an unfamiliar word. It has good explainations of each particle, too. Just like it says on the cover, this is a Japanese to English dictionary with a short English to Japanese glossary in an appendix. Although the main entries are in roomaji, the main entries are also in kana/kanji and the examples are both in roomaji and kana/kanji. $6.95 well spent.

You have to be careful before buying this book. It only includes Japanese to English translation. If you are an novice English Speaking student trying to learn Japanese, this book is definitely not for you! If you are an Advanced student and only need an occasional glance you might think about it.

In slightly under 200 pages, The Offshore World contains an illuminating summary of the global "offshore" system, which comprises offshore banks, export processing zones (EPZs), international banking facilities (IBFs), offshore financial systems (OFCs) or tax havens, flags of convenience, the Euromarket. Note that if you want to do business with one of these entities, you will do better to head for London, Tokyo, Liechtenstein or New York than anywhere outside territorial waters. "Offshore" is a virtual space defined by its exemption from taxes, regulations and other annoying features of the nation-state.

Ronen Palan brings an outstanding depth of knowledge of his subject to this book. He traces the roots of the offshore system to the late 19th century, when the concept of sovereign states was developing in ways that often presented obstacles to international traders. The result today is a system of non-sovereign states that has grown in parallel to, and generally with the support of, nation-states. Most of that growth has occurred since the late 1960's, at the time of the profitability crisis and the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. Today an estimated $2 trillion per day passes through the offshore foreign exchange market and 20% of total private wealth is parked in tax havens. And those figures are growing.

Aside from the breath-taking sums that flow through a system outside tax or regulatory control, what are the political implications of offshore? Palen's thesis is that nation-states have lost control of the monetary system: The offshore tail is wagging the sovereign-state dog. Wealthy individuals and multinational corporations can simply pick up their financial assets and take them offshore if nation-states don't lower taxes and regulatory requirements to their dictates. And without sufficient funds democratic states are in no position to provide either their populations or offshore facilities with the services and security they expect. The paradox is that offshore has been an inevitable outgrowth of the division of the world into sovereign states.

Professor Palan sees the growth of offshore accelerating. Sooner, rather than later, its dark matter will dramatically impact our visible world in ways we cannot yet foresee. "Offshore can end only when either the state system has ended its long half-millennial journey or capitalism itself has been replaced by another system."

This book is primarily focused on why the offshore zones were created and what forces keep them alive and thriving. It gives you a very high level overview from a historical and political point of view.

It doesn't explain the mechanics of the offshore, doesn't tell you how they function internally and doesn't tell you what they can be used for by the most of the readers.

I'd name this book "History of the Offshore World", because it's really more a historical research and analysis.

The book provides a lot of interesting facts but it's pretty hard to read. The style and structure don't highlight major topics and sometimes it starts looking like a braindump. The format is typical for a history book (a lot of text quotes, no graphs or formulas). But for the book of this size (small!) you probably finish it before you get bored.

Also, if you are interested in how to offshore US jobs, how to start offshore project in India, how to save on your personal taxes etc - this book is pretty much useless, look for something else.

Overall, if you are curious about the offshore and looking for some entry point to get started, this book will help you. But if you need some knowledge about offshore for business, this book probably won't give you any practical skills.

I bought this book to learn about the past and present history of offshore--both legal and illegal. Instead I got a book on an opinion of capitalism and the nation-state that sounds decidedly reactionary, full of obscure neologisms (i.e. "Fordism" to mean mass production along the lines of Henry Ford)--in short, a term paper from a Marxist sociology class. The author is clearly biased against offshore but tries to sound balanced. I would not mind if he actually discussed offshore (i.e. the historian Eric Hobsbawm is communist but writes decent history books), but he does not--the book is largely about capitalism from a leftist perspective. It doesn't mention off-shore except in passing and by innuendo, along the lines of 'surely much of the money sent offshore must be from illegal activities'. OK. if you say so.

A sample exerpt: "So as capitalism 'recomposes' itself (reterritorializes) in front of our stunned eyes [WHY 'STUNNED'? THE AUTHOR DOES NOT EXPLAIN EXCEPT BY INFERENCE TO THE REST OF THE BOOK], by the most artificial means--i.e. through offshore and commercialized sovereignty and the numerical principle [IN A NUTSHELL THESE TWO PHRASES MEAN COUNTRIES SELLING CITIZENSHIP AND INVESTORS INVESTING BASED ON FINANCIAL FIGURES RATHER THAN PHYSICAL INSPECTION OF GOODS], we, the subjects, are in the position of both sovereign consumers/investors driving the new order [SHOULDN'T 'new order' BE CAPITALIZED?] and yet at the same time helpless observers, mere spectators of capitalism's grand journey." Whew! What depth. What rubbish.

I could deconstruct this passage in plain english, but the point is: what does this (and the rest of the book) have to do with "The Offshore World"? Nothing.

If you are interested in this kind of writing, and in the history of capitalism from a leftist perspective, there are far better books, such as anything by the famous French historian Fernand Braudel. I also recommend the author Ian O. Angell, who is outstanding, as a more right-leaning / free-market oriented author. If you are interested in theories of the state try Thomas Hobbes. But if you are interested in offshore avoid this author.

The definitive book on offshore remains to be written.

Poil de Carotte is very well written, though most Americans may not understand the thoughts of Renard!

...but the best thing I can say about this book is that it didn't take very long to read. I got a few genuine chuckles out of it, but for the most part I thought this was one of the most pointless books I have ever read, full of jokes that weren't funny and pathos that didn't inspire sympathy. I can see how this might have been groundbreaking 110 years ago, but to this 21st-century reader (and French literature aficionado) this book was about as appealing as the cruel treatment Poil de Carotte gets from his wretched family.

The book told the story of a poor boy in early 20th century France who had a terrible family life. His mother was a distant character and the boys father was complex and distracted by his politics. The story shocked me due to the raw nature of his family and the depression that a boy at his age could endure. It was definately and inspired reading for those intrested in French culture.

I used this immediately after Living Language's Ultimate Spanish (Basic-Intermediate), 1994, 1st edition. I bought the textbook without CDs. It was a useful sequel, with 20 dialogs and a grammar section. I would not recommend this as a stand-alone course book; it is intended as a follow up to the Basic course, and that is how it is best used.

Meant as a companion guide for the Living Language Audiocassette series, this coursebook also reasonably functions as a stand-alone text. The dialogues, though at times stilted, are good reviews of vocabulary, grammar, and both Latin American and Spanish idioms, while providing interesting cultural information. Excellent appendices (e.g. letter writing) and a brief list of verb conjugations make this well worth the price.

International finance expert Callum Henderson provides a detailed, well-researched, and highly readable account of China's current economic situation. The book focuses specifically on how economic, environmental, and social problems threaten China's historic economic reform programs. What happens in China affects investment, markets, and economic policies around the world - issues Henderson investigates thoroughly. We at getAbstract recommend this book to all business people with an interest in China's economic climate - and if you conduct business internationally, this means you!

I recently borrowed this book from a friend and was captivated by this book's theme. This book contains a lot of Chinese myths that tell stories with Chinese background, and has a very exciting point of view rather than the bland versions of some other books. I found it very exciting to see myths from other countries. A lot of young people will find this kind of topic too much to understand. Some story elements like the mood and themes were existant, but hardcore mythology fans will read this book like there's no tommorow.