Free-to-trade Books

I'd like to see this book be updated so that it addresses current conditions, as it is now quite dated. Many of the premises have not come to pass, although some have. The global economy is booming, but how is the U.S. economy really doing considering the savings rate in the U.S. was below 0 last year and the trade deficit is so large? Unemployment in the U.S. is down, but what is the nature of the jobs workers in the U.S. are doing now, in comparison to the nature of those jobs when the book was first written? What predictions have come to pass and which ones have not come to pass?

Whats wrong with Amazon how could they put review by this person - " John W. Runyan III "Too much time on my hands " in spotlight. It's clearly evident he is one of those people who have some small town mentality, come with a preconceived opinion which will never change and probably didnt read the book and wrote a review.

By the way talking of indian programmers, I am a development manager and work with lots of them. They are helping our economy in many ways. I seen that most americans do not go to school, do not have strong mathematical background, do not have strong analytical skills, this is where the indians are useful. Most of them I see have their Master's degree and often have strong engineering backgrounds. If you are a programmer you would know how useful these skills can be. In my experience americans are generally good with the quality-assurance, management level or business side of work. Leave the hard-core intense programming to the foreigners, they seem to do it better.

I have ready many books about globalization and its effects, but Alan Tonelson's "The Race to the Bottom: Why a Worldwide Worker Surplus and Uncontrolled Free Trade are Sinking American Living Standards" is the ONLY book to explain the truth behind globalization. If the US public understood just simple facts, like the difference between producer goods and consumer goods, it would be clear why the US has the most massive trade deficit in history; and the US public would demand that congress act to stop the fast track legislation given to the president. (This is being carried out now by Bush, but was negotiated under Clinton. In other words, both parties are complicit in the destruction of the US middle class.)

As Tonelson says, "Current globalization policies have plunged the great majority of U.S. workers into a great worldwide race to the bottom, into a no-win scramble for work and livelihoods with hundreds of millions of their already impoverished counterparts across the globe. In addition, by sapping the earnings power of U.S. consumers, who are almost single-handedly propping up the world economy despite their sagging earnings, continuing this race could all too easily bring the global financial house of cards tumbling down."

Tonelson doesn't merely make a statement like this, he proves it with expert economic analysis that he explains clearly to the lay public.

Read this book and act on it, before the U.S. middle-class is further eroded.

Tonelson has done an excellent job of empirically demonstrating the irreparable harm being done to the American industrial manufacturing sector, resulting from the pseudo-free trade argument that currently masquerades by the name of globalization.The entire globalization argument rests on an appeal to absolute advantage(for example,American firms should locate their factories and production facilities where labor costs are the lowest).Free trade is based on comparative advantage,not absolute advantage.American firms are free to locate production facilities in foreign countries as long as the output produced from these facilities is used to supply the foreign market.The output can't be shipped back to the home market without violating the basic rules of comparative advantage.Any requirement by a foreign country that ,in order for American firms to locate production facilities in that country,the American firms must hand over or share their technological breakthroughs,inventions,patents,or innovations involves a direct violation of the theory of trade between counties based on the existing comparative advantages that exist in both countries industries.Unfortunately,Tonelson does not spell this out clearly,although his discussions on pp.97-98 demonstate that the correct definition of comparatve advantage has been replaced by one that has no connection to the meaning of the term as used by Adam Smith or David Ricardo.I have deducted one star for this omission.

Kaleem 9984....LOL....THIS dudes a hypocrit! First of all...a foreigner (who's probably an Indian programmer) is not a impartial reviewer. I am a programmer and work with numerous foreigners...BTW they are not as talented as rumor has it. They frequently lie on their resumes to get into positions and...as evidenced by the exporation of NUMEROUS PROGRAMMING jobs back to India...they are not loyal to this country or any corporation that hired them on the H1b visa (a political bill that was fronted by american corporations). This book however...is right on target.

Kaleem should speak in terms of the substance of the book..and not of other reviewers who may differ from his opinion. I believe, as many americans, that we should no longer import items from other countries...we don't need them.

After routine basics, Chapter 3 reads like it was written for some other piece of software. Menu item "Catalog" doesn't exist on my version. Left me totally in the dark about this key feature of Writer. I'm still at a loss how to use the advanced features of the program. Very disappointed
Marty Cahill

It used to be that if you bought a new PC it came with useful software such as word processing and spreadsheet programs. Lately, the pernicious practice has arisen of bundling "trial versions" of Microsoft Office that expire in a few days if you don't pay to buy them. I would certainly prefer the old way, where you may not get the most powerful word processor around, but at least you get one you can USE without it suddenly going dead if you don't pay for it. I wouldn't even want to TRY it, and risk the possibility that I'd get used to the software. So when I recently bought a new notebook PC and found this stupid trial version, I quickly uninstalled it and went to get hold of word processing and spreadsheet software so I had the functionality on my machine.

To the rescue: [...], a software package that includes nearly all the functionality of Microsoft Office (certainly all the functionality that I needed!) and even a few things that Office doesn't do (like creating PDF files directly without a separate program like Adobe Acrobat!) I downloaded the software, and immediately had a package of Office-like software free.

The only problem was that it is not well documented. Searching through a help file when you're trying to figure out how to do something is NOT fun to me. So I wanted a book, at least on the word processor, Writer. (The spreadsheet program, Calc, is pretty intuitive to me, but then I'm not trying to do things as fancy with it as I want to do in Writer!) And this book seemed the one to go with.

It has proved useful to me; I'm not sorry I bought it. But it has at least two shortcomings: (1) It describes an old version of Writer, version 1.1 while 2.4 is the current version, and (2) it has a woefully inadequate index. The first is not the author's fault; I'm sure she wrote about the version that was current when she wrote the book, but it does mean that sometimes it describes some feature that does not operate as she describes it, and I'm left trying to figure out how to do what I want to. But the second certainly IS her fault; I simply cannot expect to find what I'm looking for in the index and I'm usually forced to go trying to guess what chapter is likely to have what I want, then flipping through the chapter to find out if she discusses the topic I want to look up.

On the plus side, only two days after getting the book, I've succeeded in doing several things I never could figure out how to do before I had the book, so it has clearly proved useful to me.

Even though the book emphasizes a version of OOo before the current one, this book will get you proficient on the basics of Writer enough to get you off and running. The majority of the basic tasks you will do with a word processor are covered. I would recommend some previous experience with word processors and GUIs in general, but its not completely necessary. For someone switching over from Word to Open Office Writer, this book would more than meet your needs.

Writer is very easy to learn, especially if you have already been using some other word formatting package. A lot of care went into the design of Writer. So that you don't have to be a technical person in order to quickly learn it.

Which largely obviates the need for this book. Most of the material should be obvious to readers. Plus, the book's CD is superfluous, so long as you have Internet access. If you need a version of Writer to install on your computer, try going to openoffice.org and getting the latest version.

I have used OpenOffice.org since before it was called OpenOffice.org and I was surprised at how much I learned when I read this book. Most of the sections stand alone, which means that you can read the sections that interest you at the moment.

This book is very readable and accessible to beginners, and it contains content that some advanced users do not know. If you want to learn how to use styles, for example, this book is amazing. I also learned how to use fields to count my figures and other items. I consider this book a must have.

Rarely we find a book like Andrew Ross's present a fair and balance view of US-China trade relationship. I think Andrew present China's side of arguement really well without demonizing the Chinese. Also, his analysis of US-China trade relationship is unusually sophisticated which is rare among American writers. Usually when it comes to issues regarding China, American authors do not try to understand where the Chinese stands. Not from Andrew Ross. Andrew understands the complexity of US-China relationship, instead of using the "we are right, the Chinese are moron" attitude.

I also like his analysis of relationship between Indians and Chinese. Unlike many other authors, he does not try to compare which side is better. Instead, he tells us the complexity of the relationships of the two.

The author obviously doesn't understand basic economics. He distinguishes between free trade, where the parties involved in cooperation find fairness, and fair trade, where elitists such as himself deem fairness for all. Of course, the only way elitists can dictate what they deem is to insert government intervention and take the "freedom" out of "free trade."

My suggestion to the author is to take Econ 101 before writing on economic issues.

Ross explores the origins, current state and possible directions of "outsourcing" focusing mostly on the Asian continent. The impact of the existing and emerging trends are presented without any political bias or apparent hidden agenda. That is perhaps most remarkably refreshing aspect of the book. A significant number of books on this topic are typically political and biased. For each "debatable" issue, Ross presents arguments from both sides and discusses them in the context of his personal interviews with workers. The chapter focusing on India-China relations and possibilities is perhaps the best written chapter in the book, and is the topic is treated in a fairly novel way. If you want an unbiased look on the impacts of outsourcing from a worker's perspective, this is a must-read. Ross uses a very simple, narrative style that makes the book engaging and easy-to-read. The book is pretty detailed and you can expect to spend some time reading it (a good thing!). The notes/citation section at the end of the book is comprehensive and useful for the more serious reader. A must read.

Ross correctly points out that China is the subject of many concerns - growth in military spending, environmental degradation, resource acquisition, and loss of jobs in the U.S. He then goes on to assert (correctly, in my opinion) that the most telling development is that the number of foreign-sponsored R&D centers in China has jumped from 200 to 600 between 2002 and 2004 - thus, China's impact will not be limited to low-end jobs, and can be expected to increase in impact.

Finally, Ross goes on to provide evidence that the insecurity created for American employees by Chinese workers is also imposed upon current Chinese workers via those further inland who have not yet acquired jobs - eg. underemployed farmers and those thrown out of work by rationalization of formerly government employers.

The bad news is that this pretty well sums up the book's 280+ pages. The good news is that having read this review, you no longer have any need to read it.

This book is critical of the dynamics of offshoring, but it is not just another anti-China polemic. Instead, the author undertook extensive research in China, interviewing both employees and their foreign employers, and carefully analyzed the thoughts and motivations of all parties.

He draws some fascinating conclusions that you won't find elsewhere:
- Even in China, India, and Taiwan, employers use the threat of offshoring to hold down wages and make employees work harder. Workers in different countries currently have no way to organize and counter this pressure.
- Many of the cultural sterotypes about Chinese workers are better explained as logical responses to the prevailing work environment and labor market.
- Chinese workers assume that their favorable circumstances are temporary, and that companies will soon move on to the next low-cost region.
- Taiwanese managers have a reputation for being too demanding on their Chinese employees.
- Taiwan is experiencing offshoring to China to a much greater extent than the US.

He also does a good job presenting many well-known criticisms of globalization:
- Free Trade is a gross misnomer, given the vast incentives that governments use to attract investment
- China's size means that its low labor and environmental standards can drag conditions down everywhere.
- Chinese nationalist sentiment is common. Everyone there is taught that economic and technological self-sufficiency are a necessary bulwark against foreign menace. China's explicit goal is to build its high-tech capabilities.
- Companies can now move offshore quickly, even when the move involves "knowlege transfer".

As someone who has suffered from and anxiety and panic attacks badly over several months this book that I ordered came as a huge relief when they dropped through the letterbox because not only the information and suggestions in them about ways to get over your attackes but more importatly in the 'Fight or Flight'response, to read about others suffering exactly the same
symptoms and thereby proving that sufferers were not 'losing their minds' as they were beginning to believe but that panic attacks are simply your mind giving the body false signals and thereby setting off a range of frightening physical reactions.
Handy explains in great detail the physical reasons for why we feel the way we do during an attack and a good portion of the book is given over to relaxation, visualization and meditation techniques to use not only during times of attacks but also as a preventative measure.
If you are suffering and finding answers hard to come by, get this book today, it is well written, informative and if nothing else it will give you the knowledge that you are not alone and that many millions throughout the world are going through this with you every day. This can be cured and this book is a very good start.

I was a sufferer of anxiety attacks. After reading shirley's book it taught me how to control myself physically and mentally when I have attacks. I also enlisted her over the counseling and have learned a great deal about panic and anxiety attacks and knowledge is have the battle. I can't put into words how thankful I am, I feel released from a long dark torment. Thanks Shirley.

All adults suffer from some level of anxiety that stems from their childhood and relationhips with parents. I lost both mine and was adopted, which resulted in a lifetime of anxiety disorder that crippled many good relationships.
Although this book addresses some of that, it tends to gloss over the importance of facing the truth about our parents, how we percieve their approval, and the devastating impact those emotions can have on our adult personality.
I recommend "Hiding From Love" by Townsend, if you find yourself withdrawing from others because of unexplained anxiety. That is a classic for revealing how childhood trauma (real or percieved) and disconnects from our parents can lead to defense behavior that becomes a trap in adulthood. If you are like me and struggled with panic when around others, please don't settle for a life removed from friends and the world - there is a reason why you feel panic in public situations, and it's rooted in your youth! Look deeper than this book, even if some of it's advice is useful (like exercise to help with anxiety - but nutrition?? c'mon, be real) !!

I got the book and read it hoping that I might be able to glean something I hadn't already tried, and found out I was already doing everything the book recommended, and have been for a long time and I STILL have a major panic disorder with severe panic attacks. I've been a perfectionist about diet and exercise and trying to practice positive thinking, and while they may help people who have nothing else going on in their lives but unexplained anxiety with some minor physical reactions, it didn't even begin to touch on the problems that I'm faced with, not just because of the severity of my physical reactions, but because of the complexity of the circumstances in my life. This is really for the people who can manage their panic on their own, without the help of a qualified therapist. If you have severe panic problems, I would recommend a qualified therapist over reading this book. And by qualified, I mean someone who specializes in panic attacks, because the average therapist (and I've been to too many of those) doesn't even begin to know how to manage someone with panic attacks. It takes someone who can be very gentle, and patient, and non-condemning to work with people who suffer from severe panic attack disorders.

I can't say enough great things about this book. I suffered from severe panic and anxiety through my sophomore year of college and just when I thought I would never get better I found this book and really began to feel a change within myself. This book is written in very clear, easy to understand, comforting language. Yet it is not condescending in any way. It offers practical, simple mind/body/soul solutions to overcoming panic attacks and anxiety.

Even after I began to get better I carried it around with me everywhere I went, almost like a little "good luck charm." It was that valuable to me!

I strongly recommend this book to anyone suffering from panic attacks or anxiety.

It's been awhile since I read this, so unfortunately my thoughts aren't fresh and I can't remember specifics. Nevertheless, heregoes: as an academic economist, I liked the book, found it interesting, and liked being walked through lots of interesting facts and data, on stuff like convergence of prices after increases in shipping technology, and on immigration to the new world. Yet, I also felt that the book had no really coherent theme, as material for the book was seemingly chosen out of the authors' published academic papers. As such, it seems like they completely punted on all the important questions about trade, tariffs, and industrial policy. Hajoon Chang writes books with the provocative thesis that no country has ever gotten rich on free trade, and that the protectionism allows countries not at the technological frontier to get there quicker, and, he says, mainstream economists don't believe in this for purely ideological reasons. What are Williamson & O'Rourke's view? As mainstream economists, they almost certainly do not agree with Hajoon Chang. Yet, they give no intellectual counterweight. They say little to nothing about it in the book, which can only lead one to the conclusion that they had not thought seriously about the most important topic falling within the rubric of "Globalization and History". That's a damning critique. (Although, it should be mentioned that O'Rourke has a more recent paper which concludes that countries with industrial tariffs grew faster (from 1870-1913), which is actually supportive of the Chang view...)

This book is not an easy read. Especially if you are not interested in economics and lack basic economics terminologies, you'll certainly have difficulties appreciating this book the way it should be. It is, however, an tremendously insightful story of the evolution and devolution of globalizm in the world in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It, in rigorous details, shows how an earlier period of globalization in the late 19th century was self-destructed by the very same forces that established it as a significant force in the global economic system. It reflects how easy it is to lose the benefits of economic globalism which we today often take for granted.

I am an economist working on globalization issues, interested in history and economic history. I found this book an excellent study that puts globalization discussion in historical (19th century) context, a period of large international capital flows and even larger human capital flows. Th study uses data on these mass movements in production factors to empirically test/uses the standard international trade Heckscher Olin model on income and factor price distribution in trade. It shows that these mass movements had indeed measurable effects on income distribution following some of the model predictions. Problems of globalization in economic terms are indeed linked to the income effects of several groups in the economy following the opening up to increasing trade, investment and migration flows. All too often these discussions are marred by lack of data and lack of historical awareness, and i found this study filling a real gap. It surely will be contested but i found the analysis interesting and well-written. Recommended!

I would agree that this is a very good book in terms of presenting what happened in the 19th century Atlantic economy. I do have one critical observation. The authors blame the collapse of globalization on the lobbying of particular industries; thus setting up the argument that general gains from trade were lost to special interests. This is in accord with their belief that globalization is a good thing. As an economist working on these issues for many years, with experience in government as well as academics and the private sector, I have to disagree. Clearly, governments need to rally constituents to support policies. Yet, from our own Alexander Hamilton to Germany's Otto von Bismarck, and a host of others, states had a strategic vision of what was in the national interest for which they sought support. This is the origin of the "iron and wheat" alliances that O'Rourke and Williamson credit with undoing "free trade" on the continent. This was a strategy of national economic development and strategic independence under which the major powers were able to successfully increase their economic growth rates. For evidence of this I would recommend Paul Bairoch's book Economics and World History (Univ. of Chicago, 1993). As the great economic thinker Joseph Schumpeter observed "the consistent support given by the American people to protectionist policies...is accounted for not by any love for or domination by big business, but by a fervant wish to build and keep a world of their own and to be rid of all the vicissitudes of the rest of the world." This is true of most people, most places---which is why the current fad of globalization will not last either.

The author explains how information technology affected organization of production, profit structure, and regional economic structure. I myself would not come up with a comparative analysis of these two cases, Swift (a meatpacking firm with railroad) and Dell (as you know), but he provides excellent data and develops arguments to grand theories.

His research style, writing, and theoretical argument should be a model for all economic historians.

Unfortunately, author takes enormous liberties in connecting two terribly disparate entities. As a result, the book looses its credibility very quickly.

By emphasizing the use of communication and transport technology by Swift and Dell, Fields' arguments illustrate the impact of innovation in logistics, not only in the creation, but also in the distribution of goods and its territorial consequences. Swift and Dell implemented a transformation in the way their products reached the customer and the territorial effect that this journey had, and not in the products themselves or in the demands of the market. Swift fresh beef was not all that different from the beef offered by other firms at the time, and Dell computers did not introduce radically different products that other companies were not also producing. What made those firms take full advantage of the communications revolution that they faced was their creative response and their adaptation to technological change, which translated into profound modifications in their internal organization, and external relationships with other companies and their logistics.

The author does a wonderful job of bringing together two firms that are seperated in time, space and industry and draws a rich tapestry of parallels between them. Strong recommendation for anyone interested in understanding how the Internet/E-commerce affects firms, firm strategy and industrial organization with an intriguing parallel from the 19th century. The author provides a convinving argument that firms do not simply react to market forces but actively attempt to shape the market (in the case of Swift and Dell successfully) to meet their needs for profit and control.

I just started reading, but so far I'm enjoying this very easy read.

I guess I was expecting someone a little different. Very slow read.

This book is a factual first hand account of Dr. Shaler's experience. The book contains detailed descriptions of the complete identification process from 911. I did enjoy learning about forensics. It also made me very proud to learn how the people in government handled this situation.
The book includes the feelings and emotions from the long term commitment to assist with the critical identification process.

Once again, stalwart Free Press comes through with another incredibly in-depth, in fact slightly overlong, inquiry into recent history. In fact, given the subtance of the investigation, and its current limbo, this isn't really history at all, but reather current events of the most pressing nature. Who was it said that reading such and such a book was like holding lightning in your hands? Reading this book is like reading human blood.

Dr. Shaler gives us a no hold barred accout of what it was like trying to deal with the innumerable scraps of human remains found at the site of the Weorld Trade Center disaster on September 11, 2001, in New York, and in the days, weeks and even months afterwards. Scientists and doctors, some who had never spoken to each other before, strangers, and some who were outright enemies, found themselves standing shoulder to shoulder trying to use forensics to fight back, fight against prejudice, fight against violence and terror and fight against the cloud of uncertainty by trying to match easch scrap, be it of brain or liver, with an actual human being believed to have died in the attacks.

He even describes the chill with which his team came to understand that, even among the morass of human material, some of these body parts were probably those of the hijackers as well.

It's not all high science either. Dr. Shaler has the vocabulary of an average New Yorker, and he is given to a descriptive obscenity when the drama of his story calls for it. '"Don't tell me we f--ked up the identification!" I said' is a typical comeback from him. But in general, the science is paramount and it helps us understand the complexity of the work involved. By and by the forensics scientists found themselves invited to the funerals of the vitims they had matched, through DNA or otherwise. The families were grateful. There must be a primitive urge to want to preserve the scraps of your own loved one's bodies, even miniscule ones, for there were funerals for mere fingers. Reminds me of the the way Catholic churches in my youth were erected around mere "relics" embedded in the tabernacles. Dr. Shaler's writing is simple and moving on such occasions, as though Hemingway had willed his genes to a top scientist and bureaucrat:

"We stood around the grave site and waited. Soon, the bagpipers began playing and there was a short ceremony. The sun was shining and it was warm. I felt like I belonged."

I found this an interesting but superficial account of British life in the Treaty Ports of China. So often Ms. Wood takes the reader on a provocative path, only to leave them wondering what happened. For example: where were all of the Anglo-Chinese children that no doubt were propagated during this time? Out of sight out of mind I guess?

The flavours and tastes of Empire are there to be tasted though, throw in little Somerset Maugham and you have some good escapist reading.

I would recommend this book if you're not looking for an indepth analysis of the 100 years (1843-1943) of treaty-port history. A light read, Wood does a good job in providing a splattering of social history, individual anecdotes, and then some macro-level historical framework. On the whole, its an interesting read.

This is an interesting book to read, and seems to a good job at conveying the lively, chaotic, and bustling life of ignorant Westerners in the treaty ports of China, like Shanghai, Port Amoy (now called Xiamen) and others. But while it is interesting to read, it suffers from one of the same faults that so many of the Westerners in that book had, it does not consult Chinese sources. Another minor annoyance to some younger China students like me is the way it is inconsistent about the systems of romanization it uses. Despite these flaws (which are comparatively minor) this is an interesting book to read.

"The Ordeal of Thomas Hutchinson," one of Bernard Bailyn's many histories that will forever keep him on the radar of scholars, is an excellent, if apologist account of one of 18th century Boston's most controversial loyalist leaders.

The work, which serves (very effectively) to vindicate the man of the demonization he suffered in life at the hands of Samuel and John Adams, James Otis and others, also fills in a hole often left vacant in histories of the revolution - that of the loyalist that loves America. Bailyn's portrait of Hutchinson is that of a shrewd and wise statesman that truly believes he is doing what is best for his country, and is thwarted continuously by men he feels to be of lesser intelligence or of self-serving objectives. For his goodness, if Bailyn is to be believed, Hutchinson is made to suffer through unimaginable slanders and libels, not to mention violence. Through it all, as well as through the ineptness of the British crown, which is revealed to him later in life, Hutchinson, in his way, is painted as a patriot, and it is a service to him and to students of history that Bailyn revealed him as such.

The one shortcoming of this book is its aim at scholars exclusively. Those with a casual interest in American Revolutionary history might feel lost in this book. And while that is certainly not a bad thing for those of us who are looking for a deeper look, it certainly limits the book's appeal to a broader audience.

I'll cheerfully agree with the reviewer below who claims that Bailyn's biography of Thomas Hutchinson, who was a fixture in Massachusetts politics for the last two decades of the colonial period and who was the loyalist governor of the province at the time of the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party, presupposes a general knowledge of American Revolutionary History and the acts of Parliament which figured so prominently in it. In fact, I'll go a step further and say that one's enjoyment of this book would be greatly enhanced by reading two of Bailyn's other works which provide the scholarly framework for Bailyn's argument in this book: THE IDEOLOGICAL ORIGINS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION and THE ORIGINS OF AMERICAN POLITICS. Bailyn's central argument in this book is that Hutchinson, the prototypical Loyalist, failed because he could never conceptually understand the ideological underpinnings of his opponents' thought. He was convinced that a small group of demogogues motivated by base self-interest had managed to convince the populace at large that the British government was plotting against them and their God-given rights when it was clear to Hutchinson that all notions of a perfidious British plot were absolutely ridiculous. Unfortunately, Hutchinson's analysis of the situation was severely flawed, and Hutchinson's failure to understand his opponents made him incapable of convincing them that they were in error.

Bailyn is the foremost living historian of the American Revolution, and this book is what one would expect from someone of Bailyn's stature. It's wonderfully researched and wonderfully written, and it truly is a joy to read. It's not the first book that one should read about the American Revolution, but it's certainly on the list.

I was assigned this book for AP U.S. History class and was excited to read a book that focused on the point of view of a loyalist during the pre-revolutionary era instead of the typical rebel point of view that we've studied in the past. I reccommend this book to anyone who likes alternative points of view on possibly controversial subjects. The only drawback, the reason I did not give it four or five stars, is that it gives a lot of facts from the era like specific act names. I don't deem these things important when trying to understand where a loyalist in this area is coming from.

As a person with a wheelchair-bound relative, I found it to be a very informative book. It was well written, easy to read, and I liked its conversational style. It was filled with details that only people who are actually in a wheelchair would know or appreciate. It is obvious that the author has based her writings on personal experience. I also thought that the diagrams and house floor plan were excellent.