Future Books

This book is an excellent present for graduating high school seniors and a must-have for college students. In plain English, Patrick Lyons provides essential tools for the management personal finances. The author now works in finance, but he draws on the mistakes that he made while he was in college.

I'm a freshman at UNCG, and I just finished reading this book after my mom bought it for me. Even though much of it is ahead of me such as maintaining credit, investing, and retirement savings plans, it's really not that far away. After reading a book like this I'm really interested in saving up money to begin my own investment ventures with the help of others in order to get an early start. This book was a great, quick read, full of lots of useful information. I appreciate a book like this.

Reviewed by Regan Windsor for Reader Views (9/06)

In our society of immediate gratification and "buy now, pay later" philosophies there could not be a better time for a book based on financial responsibility. With teens and young adults inundated with the pressure of keeping up with their friends and neighbors, the marketing tactics of low payment options, and a general lack of knowledge about the complexity of financial decisions, we are witnessing an insurmountable amount of debt. Add to this the impact of the vicious cycle of credit card debt, the importance of saving for retirement as well as emergencies that arise, and the many financial decision we are faced with on a daily basis and you can soon relate to the intense stress finances cause many people both young and old.

Patrick Lyons has done a fabulous job to summarize and enlighten readers on the many financial issues facing society today. His book provides a quick and simple lesson in budgeting, a comparison of banks and credit unions, the importance and implications of credit and identity theft, business and financial basics (including writing resumes and business plans), the tough choices surrounding renting vs. owning in regards to both homes and vehicles, and the importance of incorporating investing and retirement planning early in life.

"Map Your Financial Future" should be a textbook in high school and university courses as required reading!! With the ever-changing financial world it adds value for all ages with a comprehensive resources section listing websites and addresses for a variety of finance and job related organizations, descriptions of the latest scams, and an important section outlining how to protect oneself from the fast growing problem of identity theft. Patrick Lyons has managed to turn a complex and often overwhelming subject into an easy-to-read, comprehensive format for all to reference, learn, and enjoy!

Patrick Lyons could easily have titled his book, "Everything You Wanted to Know about Finances But..." Though that phrase might now be overused, it nevertheless would tell you what Map Your Financial Future: Starting the Right Path in Your Teens and Twenties provides for all individuals who are fortunate enough to have a copy of this book placed in their hands!

I have never seen a book on this subject as comprehensive and complete. The presentation of the material is outstanding. The topic has been both well researched and reviewed by appropriate leaders in respective fields of the financial world. And, yet, the author has succeeded in ensuring that all information is interesting, easy-to-use, educational, and of great benefit to not only young people but to those of us, like myself, who have always been just a little intimidated by the whole business of making money beyond a basic salary.

Lyons quite simply begins at the beginning! He highlights that it is in the teen years when individuals start to think much more about money--money for clothes, money for the prom, transportation, etc. At the same time, he begins to explain the consequences of money management, explaining that splurging on $200 jeans will quickly leave you short of cash for other essentials or emergencies.

Willingly sharing from experience, Lyons explains how he got caught in the credit card trap very early--in high school! Everyone sooner or later experiences that thrill of being able to place a small plastic card down on the counter and buy something that they really want. Too soon that thrill is gone if that high school student must face his adult life already in debt! Also included are warnings about companies that prey on individuals having financial problems--a sad but true fact of life! Samples of actual "scam" e-mails received serve to add factual and representative depth to issues under discussion.

It was here that I gave my first applause to the author. While there is a brief mention of parents in the book, there is absolutely no link between the financial concerns of young people to the financial concerns of their parents. Lyons quickly highlights through his words and guidance that it is our responsibility to learn and handle and fumble down our own financial path. When we truly come to believe and accept this philosophy is the time we will want to sit down and really study with Patrick Lyons.

Dividing his book into four parts, Lyons takes us through opening bank accounts, establishing our own personal budgets, and basically learning how to handle our own money. Next he provides information as to how we can judiciously use credit cards, sharing his own horror stories to ensure readers understand the many pitfalls. Our most important acquisitions in our lives--higher education, cars, our home, and furnishings--are explored as options. Do we rent, lease, or enter into a mortgage? What impact does our credit rating have on these purchases? What about college expenses?

Lyons takes the electronic approach in his book--Excellent! Computers are no longer in our futures; they are in the "now" and we must be prepared to handle our financial issues online. Not only does Lyons teach us how to do this, but he also provides many specific sites to which we can immediately go for further information or guidance, or to proceed to open our first online bank account!

Investments and Retirement? Yep, it's there! Facts and figures show teens how much they can save through a small regular allocation. Different options for types of retirement programs¾those through employers as well as those available on a personal basis¾are thoroughly covered. Oftentimes, retirement programs are mandatory, so inclusion of this material will help ensure young people are adequately prepared to consider options to plan now for their future.

I cannot think of one thing about my financial life that is NOT covered in Map Your Financial Future. The things I coulda, shoulda done in the past, I now know more about because of this book...Hey, my future in investments is still an important part of my life in my sixties...and Lyons has taught me the basics so that I can now consider options I was too afraid to risk in my past!

Geared toward the young, Map Your Financial Future can be picked up and used no matter what your age. The book is well categorized, has shortcuts to remember at the end of each chapter and for later refreshers, a list of resources, and a complete index for quick reference. In fact, there is so much covered in this book that a review cannot do it justice!

Tips for teens will encourage and guide those new to personal finance and are geared to ensure a positive reinforcement to effective financial decisions for the present and the future. This book is more than a Must-Read! Plan to buy this book for each of your children, grandchildren and other family members so that they will be able to make notes and prepare for their own, personal path to their financial future!

Map Your Financial Future: Starting The Right Path In Your Teens And Twenties by financial investment professional Patrick A. Lyons explains the developmental process of financial structure for young people concerned successful building and protecting their financial future. Addressing such important issues as the comprehensive constructs of developing a budget with room for fun; pumping up savings; mastering credit; avoiding bankruptcy and identity theft; catching onto scams; finding and pursuing dream jobs; launching a business; and eventual retirement, Financial Future provides an in-depth and practical perspective to achieving a life-long strategy for a productive and prosperous life. Financial Future is very highly recommended reading, especially for all young men and women searching for an informed and "user friendly" guide to financial stability and prosperity.

There are two great things to say about this book: First, Doug has done some truly unique research into the information processing capacity of previous civilizations. This is eye-opening in and of itself. But, second, Doug explains how these increases in information processing capacity lead to abrupt "phase changes" -- transitions in the fundamental structure of civilization. For example the transition from monarchy to democracy -- only possible with the printing press, and not before, or the scientific revolution, and the industrial revolution, again not possible before the invention of the printing press. He uses this to predict a "phase change" in the future as a result of the computer revolution -- that's why he says the invention computer is the beginning of (a new) civilization. He doesn't speculate much on what this future will look like, only saying the world after previous "phase changes" was impossible based on what came before, and this one should be no different. I give the book "4" stars because he goes off on quite a few pointless tangents -- his writing style improves noticably in his second book, "Phase Change". But even though Doug's books were not bestsellers, I belive everyone in the futurist community should read this book and "Phase Change" (which basically expands the chapters on the future of math and science into another whole book). I say futurists should read these books because futurists talk endlessly about Moore's Law and exponential change and exponential "progress" -- but "progress" does not occur as a smooth curve, exponential or otherwise. Instead, information processing capacity increases "in the background", but every so to cause an abrupt "phase change" to explode out of nowhere and utterly restructure society. Historians almost never mention the role of information technology in these revolutions. Doug's book is the first I've seen to zero in on this concept and convince you that it really happens. After reading Doug's book you will stop expecting the future to be a smooth extrapolation of the present (either linear or exponential, as promulgated by futurists such as Ray Kurzweil), and instead start thinking about what discontinuities/ruptures/surprises future "phase changes" might bring -- how civilization could be restructured into something unrecognizable from the world we live in today. I believe this is an important shift in perspective. Doug's thinking style is highly influenced by mathematics, so if you enjoy math and thinking in a logical, rigorous manner, you will enjoy Doug's books.

As a nonscientist who is deeply interested in how computers will advance our ability to lead productive, meaningful, and rewarding lives, I found this book to be very provocative and helpful. Instead of looking only at business or computer science, the author extends in many different directions to consider how computers could change the potential, fabric, and value of our lives. Not being knowledgeable in some of the fields, I found it helpful to have a tour guide who could explain what remains to be done in terms of problem solving and creating better mouse traps. While no one person can be expected to anticipate such an exciting and unpredictable future very well, the author does a great job of referring to many of my favorite works on how computer technology can transform the way we do things like education, entertainment, and so forth. Anyone who has ever enjoyed reading science fiction to help imagine what could come in the future will find this book rewarding. I found the work solid except with regard to population growth, where the author failed to put two and two together. The rise of education and income has a very depressing effect on the birth rate, so much so that demographers argue that the economically developed countries should have declining populations by the middle of next century. Eventually, this trend will spread more broadly to the rest of the world, and should be complete before the end of the next century. But I leave that for you to consider. I strongly urge you to read and enjoy this outstanding book. The excerpt that you can access by clicking on the excerpt button above on the left of this page on Amazon.com is well worth your time, and you will want to read the whole book after you have looked at that chapter. I thought that this exerpted chapter was the best multidisciplinary description of the implications of computers compared to past information explosions that I have seen. One of the strengths of this book is that it points to the untapped potential of computers rather than just focusing on what the best practices of the past have been. The woods are full of the later, and they are dated by the time they are published -- especially most of the Internet books. You have a real treat in front of you, which should inspire you to make more practical use of computers to advance what you care about.

To a majority of executives in organizations, Robertson offers a remarkably well-organized and well-written "briefing" on computer technologies which can help them to formulate appropriate strategies and tactics to compete more effectively. I do not damn with faint praise when pointing out that very little of the material in the book is new, earth-shaking, etc. But it is rock-solid. Robertson examines the evolution of language, the accumulation and evaluation of information enabled by language, modes of communication by which to share that information, and new technologies which create almost unlimited opportunities to communicate with almost anyone, anywhere, and at any time. My strong suggestion to those who purchase this book is that they read it in combination with Borgmann's Holding On to Reality and Pinker's The Language Instinct and How the Mind Works.

To live at the beginning of a new era is exciting; to do so and understand what is happening is a rare privilege. Douglas Robertson offers to share this privilege with us by presenting his vision of a world transformed by computers in the not-too-distant future. It is an upbeat peek at the future, devoid of the gloomy forecasts of some "future shock" science fiction adventures. As with all penetrating portrayals of the future, The New Renaissance is provocative and draws controversial conclusions. I often found myself arguing with the book -- and not always winning, as I read the elaboration of one of the book's more surprising assertions. For example, I could accept "synthespians" figuring importantly in future entertainment (p 157), but I could not believe they would be an acceptable replacement for athletes. Yet, what if the real competition were at a different level, and the synthespian athletes were used to provide visualization?

The author brings to this work the unusual combination of scientist-technologist and historian-philosopher. His future-world view is upliftingly optimistic about the triumph of the human spirit. By virtue of his education, Dr. Robertson is comfortable with a professional mathematical approach to problem solving. But he keeps this well in the background, using only high-school mathematics in the discussion, and even that quite sparingly. In an engaging and accessible style, he examines several aspects of the human enterprise and projects their restructure based on the emerging ability of ordinary people and specialists alike to access and manipulate vast amounts of information with ease. The restructuring he describes is deep and pervasive, yielding a world as different from ours as was the previous turn of the millennium. He uses historical precedent to motivate and justify his vision of the immensity of the changes he sees coming.

In the final chapter, Robertson rejects the notion put forth by others -- some quite prominent, whom he names -- that we will run out of frontiers. He puts the case in historical perspective and then makes a logical argument about a future in which humans have universal freedom from "tedious and mindless labor" and are able to spend their lives exploring the marvels of the universe, the arts, mathematics, and science. He calls this a minimal list; to it I would add philosophy, sports, adventure, and possibly new classes of activities not yet dreamt of in our transitional world. This portion alone of Robertson's vision of the future makes the book worth reading. For the totality of his projection, the book is an important experience for any open minded person.

A significant amount of the material in this fascinating new look at a historical-revolution-in-the-making was used in a course that Dr. Robertson and I taught to beginning, non-mathematical students here at the University of Colorado. It quickly became apparent that one of the students favorite parts of the course was the material upon which Dr. Robertson lectured, primarily because the students could clearly see his main points in their evaluations of the world around them. As the Director of the Colorado Center for Chaos & Complexity, I am certainly persueded that the advent of the computer may well mark a turning point in human history, the likes of which we have not seen before. As the invention of language and writing in ancient times heralded the onset of human culture, and in Bronowski's words, "the ascent of man", so too did the printing press allow the dissemination of information to a far wider audience than had then been possible. And now comes the computer, combining far more efficient communication, information archival and processing, together with perhaps the beginnings of true artificial intelligence. We can only begin to speculate at the impact these developments will have on future history -- surely they will be of major importance. I have personally recommended this book to a number of my colleagues and friends who are interested in the impact that computers are having on contemporary society.

Over-all, this is a very thorough review of the rules of retirement.

I am a believer in the passive index fund approach to investing as opposed to the actively managed approach.

Carlson advocates 3 levels of investments for the accumulation phase, and all 3 are based on an active versus passive management approach. The first level is his Core level and he recommends actively managed value stock funds.....or actively managed balanced funds (stocks and bonds) like Vanguard's Wellington. I think most investors would be better
served using a combination of Vanguard's Total Stock Market and Total Bond Market funds for this core portfolio. The ratio of stocks to bonds depends on the investor's risk tolerance, as well as their need to take risk. Using Vanguard's passively managed index funds versus Carlson's actively managed approach should result in higher returns to the investor because of the lower annual expenses of the index funds.

Carlson recommends large cap value funds because his theory is that in retirement....retirees can give up some returns in exchange for lower chances in the portfolio declining with value stocks. The Fama-French 3 factor study would suggest that large cap value stocks will outperform all large cap stocks....if history repeats itself in the future. If you believe that history will repeat itself, you could choose a Vanguard large cap value index fund instead of the Total Stock Market fund.

Carlson's other 2 levels of portfolios focus on trying to pick in advance, which asset classes are currently not over-valued.....or be really aggressive and take on high risks with private equity funds. These two strategies are high risk and I know of no long term data which supports this approach performing better than a simple index fund approach. I don't believe either of these 2 strategies is appropriate for most investors.

Bengen's and Bierwirth's studies back in 1994 were seminal events in financial planning in that they found 4% was the maximum SWR (Safe Withdrawal Rate). If the stock market experiences a prolonged drop early in a retirement period, SWR's higher than 4% will cause the retiree to exhaust his portfolio before this death.

In 1998, the Trinity Study also found the same basic results as Bengen and Bierwirth.....and recommended a maximum SWR of 4%.

I have read about some mechanical rules which suggest that you can withdraw more than 4% if you spend less money in years the stock market is down, and more money when it is up. Carlson suggests the Yale distribution rule....in which 30% of the annual distribution is based upon portfolio value. I had not heard of this specific rule before, and I will have to do some Monte Carlo analysis to determine its effectiveness.


I found the book easy to read.....and I agree with his recommendations except for the construction of his investment portfolios.

Are You Using the Right Rules to Plan Your Retirement?
Index Mutual Funds: How to Simplify Your Financial Life and Beat the Pro's
The Richest Man in Babylon
Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor
The Millionaire Next Door
The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
The Coffeehouse Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get On With Your Life
The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

As the author of a similar book entitled, "When Can I Tell My Boss, I Quit!," I offer Mr. Carlson the highest compliment: I used his book in the research for my book. He alerts the reader to impending problems facing the new retirees but also offers many solid and creative solutions. Mr. Carlson's book is well researched and thorough but easy to read. I've re-read it several times to answer questions I have.

I'm getting down to the specifics about my retirement plans, eg--how much do I need in investments, what do I need to do about health insurance, where should my investments be, which investments do I withdraw and when, can I reduce my income before I retire & still make it, etc. I've read several books and so far this is by far the best. It's extremely readable, very specific, covers the big questions well, and takes a common-sense approach. I have a great financial planner but I want to educate myself, too--and I'm recommending this book to my financial planner!

This book had more detail on taxes and its effect on planning consequences then I have seen in other books. It have useful information on retirement calculators, and health coverage. Overall this book was more usable to me than some others I have read. It's easy to read and understand. It enlightened me on some points that I had not thought of such as doing your homework on moving to a different location, living and renting in a location where you want to go. You might end up not wanting to move there.

If you only read one sentence,let me say this -- this book is a straightforward description of what anyone needs to think about when investing in the new environment, and it isn't a gimmick book with a quick answer.

This book is clear, solid, thorough and sensible on what faces investors today, whether you are in retirement or planning for retirement. The environment is different now -- we live longer, interest rates are lower, the stock market will see ups and downs, and most of us don't have adequate pension plans -- and Carlson clearly explains why the simple rules of thumb and simple strategies from the past just don't fit anymore. For example, he is persuasive in laying out why index investing is not appropriate for many investors. Also, he makes it clear you need to make your own retirement spending budget, not rely on rules of thumb. He also discusses the risk of "buy and hold" strategies. In short, the background to make your critical decisions -- whether about investing, what type of IRAs, annuities, or health care -- is all here.

A final note -- personally, I like the tone of this book. It's very clear and very informative, but it is not a gimmick book oversimplifying things, which is good, because investment and planning for retirement is a serious topic.

I actually enjoyed reading this book. The author gave several examples of less than lethal weaponry. I highly recommend this book.

Dynamic read by an obviously well read and very concerned former military officer. Deeply philosophical book where a controversial subject is approached with the language of a poet and outlook of a shaman. Morehouse addresses the military industrial complex in a manner far removed from conventional warriors--a must read.

A great book, although technically out of my league. I did enjoy the philosophical approach to the establishment of current global military and indistrial conditions, as well as the fictional introduction of the non-lethal weapons into the battlefield. It was a difficult subject, but the author did a great job of writing it so that all of us could follow the logic and the dream. If you want the world to change its waring ways then this book is a grand start.

I recently listened to the author lecture at a Carmel, California bookstore and was facinated by his intellect and wisdom which seemed to be without limits. To be perfectly honest, he didn't recommend this book himself. He jokingly referred to it as a "technological sleeper" wroght with historical analysis and theory. He even balked at the price. However, I was so intrigued by his manner that I couldn't help myself, I ordered it. It is highly philosophical, theoretical and analytical all in one work. I have no technical background, I'm an artist and school teacher, but I found the book easy to read. It is an inspiring work, especially since it was written by a man who once spent his life as a soldier. Buy this book and catch a hopefull glimpse into the future of conflict resolution, and then do what you can to help make what he says a reality.

After reading Psychic Warrior I felt as if David Morehouse was more then just an author - it was if he was one/all of us (since that bullet could have hit anyone)- and now I'm wanting very much to read "Nonlethal Weapons" because I believe this author has been given quite a gift! Yet at this price very few will ever be able to read it - and if there's anyone out there reading this I need to find a used copy so I can be one of the lucky ones to view Morehouse's thoughts & feelings.

I first bought this book when it initially came out and found it fascinating. I loaned my old book out too many times and had to replace it. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in their environment.

The simple but profound truths in this book opened a lot of eyes -- within the chemical industry and in the real world. Facing some of the strongest opposition, Dr. Colborn changed lives (and scientific approaches) with Stolen Future. Humanity owes her a debt of gratitude.

Perhaps EPA will start to require testing of chemicals for endocrine disruption. Regulations have only been delayed for a dozen years...

This book is an incredible read. I highly recommend it for anyone who is concerned about the environment and their own health. This book contains a lot of research, which contributes to its credibility, however it is far from your typical scientific book. It's a fascinating read for anyone, whether they have a background in biology or environmental science or not. I actually read it as part of an extra credit assignment for one of my college classes. My original intention was to skim the book and write a summary. I became so wrapped up in the book that I literally read it cover to cover - including the forward and the afterward. I later purchased my own copy. This book is both challenging and fascinating. Read it!

This book is a must read for all who are concerned about improving their own quality of life and that of our future generations, as well as preserving life in every facet. It is our responsibility to pass on this information in whatever capacity we are equipped to do so.

A great, easy to read arguement that we are creating our own demise to profit in the short term. Theo has had a daunting task and put together the pieces of scientific evidence into a timely work of art that questions the side effects of our daily practices. I'd love a sequeal for personal and corporate change that would, of course, only slow the possible outcomes of our daily lives and of those wonderous creatures which have no choice inhabiting and inheriting the tainted sphere with us.

A mantra of the U.S. Intelligence System is that `support to military operations' (SMO) is an essential mission. As is often the case, few within that system seem to have a very clear idea of SMO really means. This is one of the reasons that this book, "Peacekeeping Intelligence" is such a significant contribution to the study of intelligence.

Peacekeeping operations have become an increasingly important sub-set of military operations, especially for the U.S. Armed Forces, but also for most military establishments of the developed world. This remarkable book is anthology of articles written by some very thoughtful authors on how to construct an effective intelligence sub-system to support worldwide peacekeeping operations. Its sections on the UN and intelligence are especially relevant as the UN prepares to deploy 26,000 peacekeepers into Darfur Province, Sudan. The book draws heavily on recent peacekeeping operations in the Balkans, but clearly is primarily concerned with support for future operations. All the individual articles contain practical and effective concepts for providing intelligence support to peacekeeping operations. Mathew Aid has an especially interesting article on the methodology of producing peacekeeping intelligence.

Peacekeeping operations are difficult and often dangerous for the troops involved in them. But, intelligence support to these types of operations is equally demanding and must be carefully tailored to specific operations. Yet good intelligence support can save the lives of both troops and civilians and greatly increase the odds for the success of such operations. This book is an excellent guide for those wishing to build an effective intelligence infrastructure to support all peacekeeping operations.

One of the editors of this book is Robert D. Steele. Steele is an informed critic of the U.S. Intelligence System and has offered a number of realistic ideas to transform that system into a functioning intelligence producer. One Steele's concepts is to design intelligence around real threats and needs rather than blindly building intelligence programs then trying to find a need for them. He has repeatedly noted that there ought to be an intelligence sub-system for such missions as peacekeeping. This book goes a long way towards designing such a sub-system.

I already wrote a review on this exellent book. But there is more.
4th Generation Warfare is the future we now live for 14 years now.

(...)

It's astonishing to note that the military still think in symmetric warfare terms. That concept died when on 9th November 1989 "peace broke out". It's all about good Intelligence now, in more than one explanation of this word.
In the potential and possible areas of conflict (Middle East, Africa) you cannot find an army which can be compared with any sophisticated Western army.
So, if NATO goes in, wherever, the initial entry will last for outmost 5 days of Peace Enforcing and than it will turn into guerrilla tactics, hit and run action and terrorism. The best answer to that is good Intelligence.
Although many good books are written about these subjects (of which PKI I recommended in my earlier review) I like to suggest two very good books to you all.
"Military Intelligence blunders and cover-ups" from Colonel John Hughes-Wilson, ISBN: 1-84119-871-4. Especially read prefaces 11 and 12.
The other very good book I like to recommend is: "Dude, where's my country" from Micheal Moore, 2003.
Moore's book you have to read, especially when you belang to the conservative part of mankind.

Edit of 5 Apr 08 to point to first book in new Peace series.

Thanks to everyone that has ordered this book, which is published as a non-profit endeavor. The concluding leadership in peacekeeping digest which is structured as an intelligence cycle versus levels of warfare (strategic, operational, tactical, technical) matrix continues to be available at oss.net or by request to the US editor.

The third annual conference on peacekeeping intelligence by Sweden built from this book in December 2004, and the contributed papers were superb and moved the literature to a new level of detail, the operational level of detail. That book will be published in 2008 as "Peacekeeping Intelligence: The Way Ahead" co-edited by Col Jan-Inge Svensson of the Swedish Military Academy.

Six other titles are planned for 2008-2009, you can follow them (and read them free online although we do recommend the books as collector's items). Earth Intelligence Network has the details.

COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace
PEACE INTELLIGENCE: Assuring a Good Life for All
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE: From Moral Green to Golden Peace

Subject to change, 2009:
GIFT INTELLIGENCE: Optimizing & Orchestrating Global Charity
CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE: Faith, Ideology, & the Five Minds
GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE: EarthGame(tm) for All

The Swedes, with the explicit leadership of the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, are henceforth sponsoring a tactical peacekeeping intelligence course in March-April of each year that will be open to others--talk to your nearest Swedish defense attache. That course will lead to the third book in the series on "Peacekeeping Intelligence: Tactics for Success."

Readers of this book who wish to recommend or write contributions to the follow-on book are urged to communicate with the US editor via email, with a decision deadline of 1 November 2005.

This book, and your purchase of it, would never have been possible without Amazon.com. They have opened new paths for information sharing that will help bring peace and prosperity to the dark corners of the world, including New Orleans.

Consider the other books in the set, also free online:
On Intelligence: Spies and Secrecy in an Open World
The New Craft of Intelligence: Personal, Public, & Political--Citizen's Action Handbook for Fighting Terrorism, Genocide, Disease, Toxic Bombs, & Corruption
Information Operations: All Information, All Languages, All the Time
THE SMART NATION ACT: Public Intelligence in the Public Interest

All future books will be published by Earth Intelligence Network, a Virginia non-profit, and sold in limited editions via Amazon, while also free by the chapter at the EIN web site.

See the first book in the new peace series, also free online, Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace

Book review

This book was published following the Conference on Peacekeeping and Intelligence held on 15 and 16 November 2002 at the IDL (Instituut Defensie Leergangen) in The Hague on the initiative of NISA (Netherlands Intelligence Studies Association) and comprises 5 sections.

Section 1,2,3 : etc. see source text.

Until recently mentioning the UN and Intelligence in one sentence was almost taboo. Even today one of the largest problems for the UN are the conflicting interests of a large part of the 186 member states. This is clearly illustrated by Sir Robert Ramsbotham, who refers to a telling statement on page 281 of Peacekeeping Intelligence: Intelligence has been regarded as a dirty word in UN parlance. More and more, however, the UN have begun to realise that Intelligence is crucial.

The editors (Ben de Jong, Wies Platje and Rober David Steele) have successfully collected 13 contributions written by people experienced in both Intelligence and Peacekeeping operations and managed to compile a clear reference book.

In section I a case is made why a professional Intelligence Service should be implemented at the UN Headquarters.

Section II offers an overview of lesson learnt from an academic and historical perspective. Experiences from the past show the need for UN member states participating in a UN mission to share Intelligence. After all, UN units have to conduct operations in a complex theatre where criminal gangs, warlords and corrupt politicians rule.

In Section III four specialists go into the necessary shift in thinking about Intelligence with UN member states. A common policy is proposed which should lead to a UN training centre for UN Intelligence personnel as well as procedures which regulate the exchange of Intelligence among member states.

In Section IV eight renowned authors, from a variety of perspectives, go into the many challenges the UN and NATO are still facing in the field of Intelligence. Mainly focussing on the idea that there are no clear reasons why the UN should not support their peacekeeping missions by a professional Intelligence Service.

In the final section (Section V) a general overview is presented of a large number of references. In addition to this some extra interesting reading material is included. Especially the chapter comprising the Brahimi report presented to the UN Secretary General on 17 August 2000 is commendable as it focuses on the necessity of Intelligence at the UN on strategic, operational and tactical level.

The deficiencies and perversions of the present system (faxes on genocide in Rwanda ignored in 1994, countries participating in multi-national peace operations hampering each other, bureaucratic adversity, civilians and bluehelmets victimized for the sake of impartiality of the organisation) are made painfully plain in this book.

All in all, it is a useful and challenging book, particularly for politicians, the intelligence community and defence personnel.

In Peacekeeping Intelligence - emerging concepts for the future
(Ben de Jong, Wies Platje, Robert David Steele, eds.) OSS
International Press, Oakton

Va. 2003, an international group of authors brings together a usefull and insiders' study on a rare but highly relevant combination of security aspects. As a sovereign asset pur sang, intelligence is traditionally hardly considered as a viable tool for multinational security operations. Even the most legitimate among them, UN-mandated pko's (peacekeeping operations), suffer from poor coordination and cooperation among national services, insufficient intelligence input, and national-interest biased output. This volume case studies on Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia and many others, partly based on first hand experiences by field practitioners who served in the field or in the pko bureaucracies. The studies demonstrate the importance of solid intelligence in the first place (as in any other security effort) as well as the need for a much better, preferably much more autonomous intelligence organization at the multilateral cq. UN-level. Not a very popular theme in times unilateralism and US-scepsis on UN-led peacekeeping operations, the book offers a competent and convincing selection of studies converging to this conclusion. This volume is highly recommended as well as a classics reader, as it includes some of the most authoritative articles written in the past on this subject. The book is a welcome spin-off from an international expert conference held under the auspices of the NISA (Dutch Intelligence Studies Association) and the Dutch Ministry of Defence in Fall 2002.

Dr.Ko Colijn
Department of Public Policy Studies
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Defense Correspondent Vrij Nederland Amsterdam.

The second of the adventures of scruffy young merchant traveller Dane Thorsen. An expedition to another planet is also anything but routine, as the locals are hard to deal with, and the consequences of leaving, are worse.

Aliens and other problems lead the outside to believe that their ship is a disease carrier. This is not good as it might mean destruction.

"Plague Ship" (1956) is the second 'Solar Queen' adventure, and sequel to "Sargasso of Space." Norton's four-book series about the trader-crew of the Solar Queen ended in 1969 with "Postmarked the Stars" but beware! Lesser authors have butted into the series, presumably with Norton's permission since this remarkable Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and Nebula Grand Master just recently passed away on March 17, 2005 after a long and extremely fruitful career (her first novel was published in 1934, her latest fantasy in 2005).

One Solar Queen rip-off to avoid at all costs is "Redline: the Stars."

Norton's Solar Queen stories are told from the viewpoint of Dane Thorson, an apprentice-Cargo Master who is introduced in "Sargasso of Space," the first Solar Queen novel, as a "lanky, very young man in an ill-fitting Trader's tunic." Most of this author's heroes and heroines are young, uncertain of themselves, shy, with a tendency to trip over their own enthusiasms and load themselves up with guilt at the slightest opportunity. They are very likeable and their adventures are narrated in remarkably lean prose with just the right touch of description.

After ten years of schooling, orphan Dane Thorson is assigned via a computer analysis of his psychological profile--not to a safe berth on a sleek Company-run starship that his classmates were vying for--but to a battered tramp of a Free Trader. To say that the 'Solar Queen' "lacked a great many refinements and luxurious fittings which the Company ships boasted" was an understatement. But she was a tightly-run ship and what she lacked in refinement, she made up for in adventure. Dane soon settles in under Cargo Master Van Rycke and learns "to his dismay what large gaps unfortunately existed in his training."

Sometimes I just want to give Dane a big hug.

"Plague Ship" takes the crew of the 'Solar Queen' to Sargol, where the enigmatic feline natives seem very reluctant to trade away their fabulous scented gemstones. When Dane Thorson discovers an herb that the Salariki are willing to swap for their gems, he fears that his eagerness to make a trade breakthrough might have poisoned a native child. That becomes the least of his worries when the 'Solar Queen' blasts off from Sargol with invisible, undetectable stowaways that would brand the free traders anathema to all inhabited worlds.

In space, the more senior members of the Solar Queen's crew succumb to a strange plague that resembles sleeping sickness. Dane and his fellow-apprentices, with the assistance of Captain Jellico's Hoobat (a sort of blue parrot-lizard, or at least that's how I've always pictured it) discover the source of the plague: venomous hitch-hikers from Sargol. "It walked erect on two threads of legs...a bulging abdomen sheathed in the horny substance of a beetle's shell ended in a sharp point." It was only about a foot-and-a-half high and could change color like a chameleon.

The Hoobat kills and eats the first creature, and then the hunt is on for others of its kind.

Even with the source of the sleeping sickness discovered, the Solar Queen's young apprentices must still convince the rest of the galaxy that they are not a plague ship--and therefore eligible to be destroyed on sight without warning.

The Solar Queen novels are prime representatives of Norton's lean action-packed brand of story-telling (at least the ones she solo-authored.) If you haven't read them since you were a teen-ager, I urge you to try them again. For a few pleasant hours, you will be immersed in the adventures of a likeable, feisty band of free traders on exotic, carefully-drawn alien worlds.

"Plague Ship" (1956) is the second 'Solar Queen' adventure, and sequel to "Sargasso of Space." Norton's four-book series about the trader-crew of the Solar Queen ended in 1969 with "Postmarked the Stars" but beware! Lesser authors have butted into the series, presumably with Norton's permission since this remarkable Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and Nebula Grand Master just recently passed away on March 17, 2005 after a long and extremely fruitful career (her first novel was published in 1934, her latest fantasy in 2005).

One Solar Queen rip-off to avoid at all costs is "Redline: the Stars."

Norton's Solar Queen stories are told from the viewpoint of Dane Thorson, an apprentice-Cargo Master who is introduced in "Sargasso of Space," the first Solar Queen novel, as a "lanky, very young man in an ill-fitting Trader's tunic." Most of this author's heroes and heroines are young, uncertain of themselves, shy, with a tendency to trip over their own enthusiasms and load themselves up with guilt at the slightest opportunity. They are very likeable and their adventures are narrated in remarkably lean prose with just the right touch of description.

After ten years of schooling, orphan Dane Thorson is assigned via a computer analysis of his psychological profile--not to a safe berth on a sleek Company-run starship that his classmates were vying for--but to a battered tramp of a Free Trader. To say that the 'Solar Queen' "lacked a great many refinements and luxurious fittings which the Company ships boasted" was an understatement. But she was a tightly-run ship and what she lacked in refinement, she made up for in adventure. Dane soon settles in under Cargo Master Van Rycke and learns "to his dismay what large gaps unfortunately existed in his training."

Sometimes I just want to give Dane a big hug.

"Plague Ship" takes the crew of the 'Solar Queen' to Sargol, where the enigmatic feline natives seem very reluctant to trade away their fabulous scented gemstones. When Dane Thorson discovers an herb that the Salariki are willing to swap for their gems, he fears that his eagerness to make a trade breakthrough might have poisoned a native child. That becomes the least of his worries when the 'Solar Queen' blasts off from Sargol with invisible, undetectable stowaways that would brand the free traders anathema to all inhabited worlds.

In space, the more senior members of the Solar Queen's crew succumb to a strange plague that resembles sleeping sickness. Dane and his fellow-apprentices, with the assistance of Captain Jellico's Hoobat (a sort of blue parrot-lizard, or at least that's how I've always pictured it) discover the source of the plague: venomous hitch-hikers from Sargol. "It walked erect on two threads of legs...a bulging abdomen sheathed in the horny substance of a beetle's shell ended in a sharp point." It was only about a foot-and-a-half high and could change color like a chameleon.

The Hoobat kills and eats the first creature, and then the hunt is on for others of its kind.

Even with the source of the sleeping sickness discovered, the Solar Queen's young apprentices must still convince the rest of the galaxy that they are not a plague ship--and therefore eligible to be destroyed on sight without warning.

The Solar Queen novels are prime representatives of Norton's lean action-packed brand of story-telling (at least the ones she solo-authored.) If you haven't read them since you were a teen-ager, I urge you to try them again. For a few pleasant hours, you will be immersed in the adventures of a likeable, feisty band of free traders on exotic, carefully-drawn alien worlds.

"Plague Ship" (1956) was one the first science fiction novels I ever checked out of our local library (I can still close my eyes and see that one dinky little shelf, crammed with some of SFs' greatest juvenile authors: Norton; Heinlein; Del Rey; Nourse).

This book contains the second 'Solar Queen' adventure. Norton's four-book series about the trader-crew of the 'Solar Queen' ended in 1969 with "Postmarked the Stars" but beware! Lesser authors have butted into the series, presumably with Norton's permission since this remarkable Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and Nebula Grand Master just recently passed away after a long and extremely fruitful career (her first novel was published in 1934, her latest fantasy in 2005).

One 'Solar Queen' rip-off to avoid at all costs is "Redline: the Stars."

Norton's 'Solar Queen' stories are told from the viewpoint of Dane Thorson, an apprentice-Cargo Master who is introduced in "Sargasso of Space," the first 'Solar Queen' novel, as a "lanky, very young man in an ill-fitting Trader's tunic." Most of this author's heroes and heroines are young, uncertain of themselves, shy, with a tendency to trip over their own enthusiasms and load themselves up with guilt at the slightest opportunity. They are very likeable and their adventures are narrated in remarkably lean prose with just the right touch of description.

After ten years of schooling, orphan Dane Thorson is assigned via a computer analysis of his psychological profile--not to a safe berth on a sleek Company-run starship that his classmates were vying for--but to a battered tramp of a Free Trader. To say that the 'Solar Queen' "lacked a great many refinements and luxurious fittings which the Company ships boasted" was an understatement. But she was a tightly-run ship and what she lacked in refinement, she made up for in adventure. Dane soon settles in under Cargo Master Van Rycke and learns "to his dismay what large gaps unfortunately existed in his training."

Sometimes I just want to give Dane a big hug.

"Plague Ship" takes the crew of the 'Solar Queen' to Sargol, where the enigmatic feline natives seem very reluctant to trade away their fabulous scented gemstones. When Dane Thorson discovers an herb that the Salariki are willing to swap for their gems, he fears that his eagerness to make a trade breakthrough might have poisoned a native child.

That becomes the least of his worries when the 'Solar Queen' blasts off from Sargol with invisible, undetectable stowaways that would brand the free traders anathema to all inhabited worlds.

In space, the more senior members of the 'Solar Queen's' crew succumb to a strange plague that resembles sleeping sickness. Dane and his fellow-apprentices, with the assistance of Captain Jellico's Hoobat (a sort of blue parrot-lizard, or at least that's how I've always pictured it) discover the source of the plague: venomous hitch-hikers from Sargol. "It walked erect on two threads of legs...a bulging abdomen sheathed in the horny substance of a beetle's shell ended in a sharp point." It was only about a foot-and-a-half high and could change color like a chameleon.

The Hoobat kills and eats the first creature, and then the hunt is on for others of its kind.

Even with the source of the sleeping sickness discovered, the 'Solar Queen's' young apprentices must still convince the rest of the galaxy that they are not a plague ship--and therefore eligible to be destroyed on sight without warning.

The 'Solar Queen' novels are prime representatives of Norton's lean action-packed brand of story-telling (at least the ones she solo-authored.) If you haven't read them since you were a teen-ager, I urge you to try them again. For a few pleasant hours, you will be immersed in the adventures of a likeable, feisty band of free traders on exotic, carefully-drawn alien worlds.

"Plague Ship" (1956) is the second installment in Andre Norton's so-called Dane Thorson series, and is a direct continuation of the previous volume, "Sargasso of Space." (A reading of that earlier novel is highly recommended before going into this one.) "Plague Ship" does everything that a good sci-fi sequel should: It expands on the possibilities of the previous book, deepens the characters, increases the action and leaves us wanting still more. This time around, Thorson and his 11 shipmates on the galactic trader Solar Queen...
It's a very fast-moving and suspenseful tale, full of unusual detail and unexpected turns. There are several highlights that make the book really shine, such as the gorp hunt early in the story. (And when I say "gorp," I'm not talking about high-energy nut-and-raisin trail mix, but rather reptilian, crablike monsters!) This gorp hunt takes place at sunset on the reefs of an oily sea, and is a highly atmospheric and exciting segment. Other great sections include a raid on an asteroid's emergency station; a landing in the Big Burn... and the viewing of the mutant life-forms therein; and the battle... near the book's end, where our heroes make a desperate bid to make their plea for justice to the citizens of the solar system. Like I said, this is a slam-bang sequel, that will leave few readers unsatisfied.
That having been said, I need to also mention that there are a few inconsistencies in the book. At one point, Norton tells us that Dane has been in the trading service for a few months; somewhere else, she says that it has been a full year. Huh? And I feel that I must chastise Ace Books for the deplorable job with which this book has been put together. Now don't get me wrong: I LOVE these little Ace paperbacks from the 1950s, especially those 2-in-1 Ace doubles. But there are so many typos--not to mention punctuational and grammatical errors--in this book that the reading thereof is made a labor. Should we blame Norton or the publishers for a sentence such as this: "His hands, blundering within the metallic claws of the gloves, Dane buckled two safety belts about him." How could any copy editor or proofreader let such an egregious line such as this get through, when just the simple deletion of that first comma would have made all the difference?! Apparently, these little Ace books were never proofed or edited. They're wonderful volumes, with marvelously pulpy covers, but sadly, the contents were not given their due. But enough about Ace's carelessness. "Plague Ship," despite the occasional blunder, is still a marvelous entertainment, and I do highly recommend it.

Excellent book, it's helping me a lot with my Thesis at School.... I love it

"The River Runs Black" by Elizabeth C. Economy is an intelligent analysis of contemporary China and its burgeoning environmental crisis. This engaging book helps us understand how globalization is reshaping China and issues an urgent plea for international cooperation to help monitor and rectify an increasingly worrysome situation.

Ms. Economy tells us how China's environment has been steadily deteriorating over the past centuries due to wars, political power struggles and overpopulation. However, today's problems
are attributable to specific policy decisions by China's government that has favored rapid economic development through engagement with the international business community. Unfortunately, the particular kinds of economic development favored by China's rulers has led to myriad environmental problems including deforestation, desertification, and air and water pollution. The collusion of local government and business interests has made it difficult to obtain reliable data or to implement solutions where it is feared that plant shutdowns might
result in mass unemployment and social unrest, making difficult problems seem untractable.

Environmental consciousness in China has increased as the problems have become more visible and as the country has engaged with the world economy. Ms. Economy profiles some of the courageous and inspirational individuals who have struggled for conservation, urban renewal and grass-roots democracy such as Tang Xiyang, He Bochuan, Dai Qing and others. While environmentalists have achieved some successes (such as protecting endangered species of monkeys and antelopes), the author believes that the government's championing of highly destructive projects such as the Three Gorges Dam proves that much more needs to be done.

Ms. Economy recounts the experiences of the former Communist nations of Eastern Europe to gain insight into how China might resolve its environmental problems. The Chernobyl disaster catalyzed local environmental groups into pushing for political reforms that brought down the Communists in the USSR and elsewhere. Recognizing that China's Communist Party is a "patronage machine committed to rapid economic development" and devoid of any ideological purpose other than self-perpetuation, Ms. Economy believes that increasing democratization in China could easily undermine the country's single Party system. Of course, China's leaders are keenly aware of this threat and consequently have tightly circumscribed the activities of environmental organizations, but the author is hopeful that the contradictions between increasing environmental degradation and the lack of a meaningful democracy will eventually force China's political system to change.

In the last section, Ms. Economy speculates about the manner in which China may develop in the future. The author envisions three possible scenarios: China goes green; inertia sets in; and environmental meltdown. Ms. Economy thinks that the U.S. should take the lead in encouraging China to develop its regulatory system and implement green technologies so that the country can embark on an environmentally sustainable path. Indeed, the unpredictable consequences of a Chinese environmental meltdown should give the international community pause to consider how it might help China -- and by extension all of us -- to avoid a worse case scenario.

I highly recommend this superbly written book to everyone.

incredibly depressing and negative, leaves one with a sick feeling in the stomach. but its happening in China every day.

This is an astounding book, but very difficult to read. I still shake my head in disbelief.

Previous reviewers have said good things about this book, and I can only agree. It is notably superior to other recent books about the Chinese environment, which (though often scholarly) are long on polemics and short on comprehensive vision.
Dr. Economy focuses on politics and policies. These have been notoriously awful under Communism, but there is now a realization of the damage being done, and thus some hope. Dr. Economy is as optimistic as one could reasonably be. Incidentally, interested readers should also look up her very fine chapter in Kristen Day's worthy edited volume CHINA'S ENVIRONMENT AND THE CHALLENGE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.
I am not so optimistic. One reason is that my training is more in biology, and I am aware that the devastating damage China has done to its environment will not be clear for 50 to 100 years. It takes that long for pollution and environmental degradation to show themselves fully.
As Dr. Economy says, China wanted to be "first rich, then clean" (that's the literal Chinese; she actually phrases it more academically). They thought that the west had done this. No, the west started conservation and scientific management long ago. The United States' golden age of conservation was under Theodore Roosevelt, when the US was still poor and rural. The US and western Europe never allowed anything close to what China has done. There was much degradation, but reaction always came eventually. China, like all Communist-led countries, missed this lesson. Marx had spoken: production is all, and top-down control is the way to do it. This has led, everywhere, to dismal environmental records, though much good has come from distributing food, health care, housing, etc., more evenly (this may no longer be the case). It is now too late. The white-flag dolphin, once common and resilient, is extinct, the Three Gorges are dammed, and much else has gone beyond possibility of repair.
Dr. Economy does not draw as sharp a contrast as I would between traditional management and Communist excess. Traditional China had major Malthusian problems, but they were caused more by imperial policy than by environmental mismanagement at the riceroots level. The peasants and workers created a system based on harmony and balance. The system was full of problems, and never got as harmonious as we would now wish, but it worked; it kept hundreds of millions of people alive in spite of a premodern technology, and it managed the key resources--topsoil, water, forests, and so on--sustainably enough that there was quite a bit left by 1950. Recent books trashing the old system have titles significantly featuring elephants and tigers instead of people. Even if you prefer the charismatic megafauna, note that China had some elephants and a lot of tigers in 1950.
So a flawed, antiquated, underproductive, but still well-designed and eminently functional system was sacrificed, and the result has been a royal mess. Yields of food are way up, thanks to modern technology (some of it developed in China by the Communists--to their credit), but the future is cloudy indeed.
If you want the best account of what can be done and what is being done, look no further than this book.

Not an easy read, but one that many Americans probably should...it demonstrates well how our life styles here in the US increases demand for cheap consumer goods, resulting in corporations poisoning other parts of the planet to supply them quickly and without major expense to us.

Incredibly sickening injury to the planet is well documented and presented in a professional way, and the book is very readable.

Recommended for all of those who need a greater repetoire of evidence that we are rather quickly destroying the planet, and as a means of strengthening arguments against "globalization" and consumerism.

Definitely a must for teachers, and I cannot wait to put some of the ideas into practice!! With this easy read, Eric Hougan lets the reader understand exactly what teaching is all about!! I told all of my teacher friends about this book as they will not regret it!!

I am student teaching now and struggling a bit with classroom management. This book had good ideas that are relatively easy to implent. I am going to try some of these strategies in my class.

This book is a must have!! I always read reviews and consider what the reader says, well please believe me, When I say get the book. It is so simple to ready I couldn't believe the insight it gives and tips for Students, Pre-service teachers and Student teaching. I highlighted and tagged pages. I am very pleased!! Eric did an awesome job on creating a book for the "unknowns" A lot of websites and examples, book references. Again a very great book for Teachers to be, get it early.

This book gives great, practical advice for those just entering the profession or working toward a teaching degree. As a current teacher, I really like the strategies the author gives--they are realistic and seem easy to implement. I wish this book was around when I was entering the profession!

This book came in handy as a student teacher and when applying for teaching jobs. I appreciated the strategies on how to jump-start my student teaching on a positive note by creating relationships with my students and CT. Even though I have now completed my student teaching, I will continue to use many of the book's classroom management and discipline tips in my own classroom, such as the question & answer box and bellnote activity. I recommend this to any student teacher."

Sales 2.0: Improve Business Results Using Innovative Sales Practices and Technology

When you read "Sales 2.0" by Anneke Seley and Brent Holloway you will leap-frog 98% of your sales and sales management peers. Why? Because our business prospects and customers have changed how they buy - but we have NOT changed how we sell. And because there are new inexpensive technologies and new Sales 2.0 thinking that leverages these lower cost channels to increase relationship building and sales productivity.

"Sales 2.0" is not a