Future Books

Only an experienced professional could have done such a great job describing the process it takes to become a flight attendant. I have had this book for 8 years and studied it to the limit. Now that I am 20 yrs old, I now have a chance to fulfill my childhood dreams. One thing though: she forgot to explain how to go about submitting that first letter to get you started. Great Book! If you have any little tips or pull with american airlines, please let me know.

I discovered the Institute for Integrative Nutrition a few months ago while at the site of one of their amazing graduates, Alex Jamieson.(wife of Morgan Spurlock, creator of the film "Supersize Me")
I live in California and it is my dream to one day attend the Institute. When I received my copy of "Case Histories", I devoured it within a couple of days, savoring the wonderful stories and diverse backgrounds of these amazing people! Buy this book! You will love it!

Susan Strange covers in this book the international economical and financial situation in the 1970s and 1980s.

basis (partially flawed)
For her, `mismanagement of money and credit was more dangerous than protection in trade policy.'
This is only true for the Western World, not for the Third World. Protection (and adding insult to injury, export subsidies) is a matter of life and death for Third World countries (with no adequate social protection system). Massive dumping (nearly for free) of agricultural products provoke there massive unemployment (W. Bello).

an era of non-decisions
In the 1970s and 1980s no country wanted or could take leadership in international financial affairs.
There was a refusal to device a standard process for the provision of credit and the handling of bad international debt, the permissiveness towards Eurodollar lending and the proliferation of speculative instruments (derivatives), the refusal to manage competition for export contracts or to install stable exchange rates.
Susan Strange points her finger at the US: `the US is more aware of the costs and difficulties of taking his responsibilities than of the rewards and benefits.'
The wild swings in currency exchange rates lead to the creation of the Euro, a big challenger of the dollar as world currency.

fall of the gold exchange rate, oil shock (author's analysis is flawed)
As W.Engdahl masterly explains in `A Century of Wars', the US government created the oil shock in order to counter the feared massive devaluation of the dollar after its unilateral repeal of the gold exchange standard.
Making the whole world pay a higher oil price in dollars, constituted a major support for the US currency. Moreover, the dollar surpluses amassed by the OPEC countries were transferred into US bank accounts providing a bulk of new working capital for them.

recommended policies
Susan Strange doesn't agree with the `determinists' that nothing can be done against wild business cycle swings. She is still a Keynesian, but at an international level, because individual governments don't have the clout anymore to impose efficient measures within their own borders in a world dominated by transnational corporations.
She wants a return towards greater stability and order, `at a time when the most secure of jobs are apt suddenly to vanish and still more people are made redundant.'
The trouble is that there is no international leadership, only special- and self-interests.

This analysis of the `no-policies' of the 1970s and 1980s is a must read for all historians and a very worthwhile read for laymen in order to understand the world we live in.

Too bad this book is out of print. It's a well-reasoned
classic treatment about Catholic schools.

The author avoids the smarmy dissent that infects most
recent writing on Catholic education. He is well-read
and clear in his writing, and he tells us where we've
been and where we're going in Catholic schools.

"Caught in the Crossfire" is a contemporary critique of the current political climate of the United States. Grossberg situates his argument in what seems to be the collective and growing dissatisfaction with our children, e.g. the "war" against kids. The first third of the text addresses how kids have been treated in the past three decades both literally and figuratively, with emphasis upon the latter. It is certainly no secret that children (especially teenagers) are misrepresented often in the media, leading to the demonization and criminalization of our youth. One need not search very far to find glorifying examples of this, take for instance the current status quo on rap music.

Nevertheless, Grossberg provides a compelling argument to the contrary, arguing that the current claims about the behavior of our kids are not only misleading, but also blatantly false. His claims are supported with rich data, including but not limited to media documents, government surveys and criminal data. Grossberg even goes so far as to purport that kids rather are very much like the generations that preceded them. Before reading this text one might be at odds with such a statement, as it seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, but wading through his presentation of the data one would be hard pressed to not only consider the statement very compelling, if not downright correct.

Much of the blame concerning the deterioration of kids is placed upon faltering parents, racism, capitalism, the current "family crisis", and of course the media. Grossberg addresses all of the aforementioned. Although the brunt of the blame does not rest squarely upon one or the other, the current rhetoric espoused by political factions on both the right and the left can be largely attributed to a compliant and complacent news media. Grossberg provides us with a plethora of factoids that refute current and widely held assumptions, beliefs, and myths about kids. For instance, a child is three to four times more likely to be struck by lightning than to be a victim of violence in school (p. 41). Nevertheless, he is quick to note that we cannot merely blame the media (as many do) but opt for a more sensible approach, one that would factor the media into the general equation concerning our understanding of kids.

Grossberg proceeds to connect the misrepresentation of the youth crisis to broader struggles and changes that have defined America (and modernity) for at least the past quarter century. The dialogue that follows contributes to a social commentary concerning politics in an entirely new and unique perspective. In the second third of the text Grossberg presents a stifling critique of politics, castigating both the right and the left (few scholars are capable of doing this well and with rigor). Perhaps some might criticize Grossberg for being too "in the middle" but this would simply be missing the point. Besides, he openly admits his preference for left politics (which makes his critique all the more damning), as he remarks that "[c]ritisim can be offered in a spirit of solidarity [and] I write from a desire to forge a more effective left politics" (page 160).

The final third of the book addresses what Grossberg calls the coming American modernity. Modernity is typically understood as a historical period characterized by 19th and 20th century world of science, nation-states, political democracy, capitalism, urbanization, mass literacy, mass media, mass culture, rationality and individualism. Grossberg divides American history into three centuries, each he argues characterized by their different realizations of modernity to discuss the creation and development of American democracy, capitalism, and politics. He argues, among other things, that we are in "the midst of the unsettling of one modernity and the emergence of another" (page 217). It is here Grossberg argues that a space is provided for a restructuring of politics, economics, and culture, whereby we can forge a move toward a more compromising political discourse; as the political climate has quickly deteriorated into an all out war between the right and left, characterized by the absence of rationality (a tenet of modernity) in contemporary political debates and commentary. This perspective is exemplified in the idea that campaigning is constant and ubiquitous, as the goal of politicians it seems is merely to stay in office.

So what do you ask does this have to do with our kids? "Kids' unique relation to time and history in the second modernity made them the most potent symbol of possibility and hope. Childhood and youth became the essence of imagination, the affirmation that there are always alternatives and that resistance to any one future is always possible. Kids remind us that we can always change directions" (page 308). The war against our kids then destroys the possibility of imagining change for the future and even perhaps destroys the possibility of a future. This text is a call for communication, an open dialogue, as "communication is the opening of possibility" (page 317). Communication then fosters the ability to transform our society to a more egalitarian and livable environment, one that would be suitable and enjoyable for the majority of people.

This book was extraordinary and is highly recommended. It was very thought provoking, stimulating, and very intellectually rewarding and will no doubt change the ways in which you approach politics and the social world.

Beautiful...a beautiful way to begin the new millennium as we reflect upon excerpts from our most fearless and patient leader.

A priest read a page at a mass during a homily and I was hooked on the idea to make this a daily devotional part of my prayers. These short insights into the human condition allow me to pray for us all.

This fascinating book places the evolution of organization into historic perspective with emphasis on technology. The author examines the past, present and future of organization, focusing on: primary accomplishments; member status in organization, (slave, employee); communication of knowledge; geographic dominance; and the structure of work. The book analyzes the shift from feudal to cybernetic, organic organizations. Barnatt concludes with a profile of the future organization. This is the second of the"Future Trilogy." The first book, "Cyber Business," focuses on technology. This is an engrossing and highly informative work which we strongly recommend! Reviewed by Gerry Stern, founder, Stern & Associates, author of Stern's Sourcefinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Stern's Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.

Dr. Grupe gives an historical perspective of directive-driven culture and explains:
Why Management by directive is insufficient for today's Technological environment
Why companies are currently paying wages for employees to utilize only a portion of their available mental capabilities
Essential keys for "unlocking" the creativity of frontline workers
Why the typical work environment does not share the company vision or allow emotional commitment on the part of the employee
How to develop & communicate the company vision
Importance of time-line expectations for cultural change

The Change includes 5 field tested Quality Cultural Change Training Modules allowing businesses to create an environment transforming employee attitudes & re-shaping behavior.

Anything that Kugler writes is brilliant, insightful, and well written. I've used many of his books in my classes and my students are usually blown away. Now if I can only get him to come lecture for my senior seminar...

This type of book is very important in California and many statesthese days in school teachers and administrators reexamine whatthey are doing and seeking where the education process has to improve. We cannot interpret well the present, nor percieve well the future unless we examine the past. Methods study is very relavent.