General-partnership

Some 80% of the Hebrew-Christian Bible consists of prophetic truth. By reading this book you would not think so.

The prophecies and Divine Eternal Promises relating to the People and the Land of Israel are plentiful, precise and explicit. The prophecies and Divine promises relating to the latter days/end times and where they appertain to the Church, the Jews & the nation of Israel are equally plentiful, precise and explicit.

Yet these elements of the Written Word are either misinterpreted or perhaps deliberately manipulated here in pursuit of an obvious agenda which is anti-Jew, anti-Israel and anti-Christian.

Yet again another book uses the 'Palestinian' as the tip of the spear in the war against the Jewish People/Nation. The terrible plight of the Palestinians suffering in the squalid condition of the refugee camps is used to 'point the finger' at Israel. It is ignored that the Arab world placed the Palestinians there to be used as just such a political and humanitarian weapon. It is also forgotten here that Israel has done more to relieve their plight than any single Arab nation. The context of Middle Eastern history in this work is incredibly selective, biased and inaccurate.

I feel incredibly sad at the mis-use of Scripture to promote such an obvious agenda as that portrayed in this work. The Jewish inheritance to the Land promised throughout Scripture beginning in Genesis and the prophecies relating to their regathering and the end times are ridiculed.

The viewpoints of Evangelical Christians supportive of Israel such as myself are not a matter of religious 'brainwashing' or indoctrination but are based on a solid Biblical foundation. Their basis is there for all to see in the writings of the Hebrew prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, Zephaniah, Joel etc., not to mention the many references within the New Testament itself. Jesus Christ Himself is quite explicit in His own words. How this book can treat these factual writings with such contempt is beyond me.

The book appears to promote a philosophy that the God of the Bible should forsake his Promises and His Word for the sake of what the book describes as 'tolerance'. A tolerance of sin and an agenda which sets itself directly against the God of Israel Himself. That the Eternal Divine Promises relating to Israel & the Jewish people should be usurped by the man made issue of the 'Palestinians'.

The Bible clearly declares that God loves each nation and each individual. However when a nation or individual turns it's back on God the Bible is also quite explicit about the consequences. The history of the nation of Israel is a clear illustration of this with their dispersion throughout the nations being just one case in mention. The Hebrew-Christian Bible is also extremely explicit about what faces those who deliberately come against the Jewish People/Nation, what the Bible calls the "apple of God's Eye". This book and the nations supported by this book have done just that.

Might I respectfully suggest that those who would support the ideology behind this book all read "Islam Revealed" by Anis Shorrosh, a Palestinian Christian. Mighty I also suggest that they read any of the works on the Mid-East, Jerusalem & the Palestinian/Israeli issue by the learned Christian author Randall Price. Most of all, might I humbly and earnestly suggest that they get down on their knees, remove their anti-Israeli blinkers, pray to Almighty God for wisdom & insight and then study the Holy Hebrew-Christian Scriptures themselves with an open heart, paying attention to the Divine Promises, the Hebrew Prophets & the Words of Jesus Christ Himself.

I am sorry but I cannot in any way recommend this book. Thank you.

D. Roberts review, below, convinced me to buy this book immediately

"The prophecies and Divine Eternal Promises relating to the People and the Land of Israel are plentiful, precise and explicit...The Jewish inheritance to the Land promised throughout Scripture beginning in Genesis and the prophecies relating to their regathering and the end times are ridiculed."

Absolutists like Roberts have been duped by the very end times false prophets that Jesus clearly warned his disciples to shun, the "ferocious wolves in sheep's clothing," revealed by their fruits.

Prescriptive prophets who presume to divine "precise and explicit" prophecies are the greatest threat to peace. Then again, that is not what they want.

Roberts' denunciation is a resounding endorsement.

While D. Roberts suggests that Wagner's excellent and vitally necessary book is merely anti-Israeli propaganda and a misinterpretation of Scripture, the reality is that D. Roberts is blinded by his own anti-Catholicism and insistence upon a fundamentalist reading of Scripture. Those who seek the spirit of the Word will immediately see the truth in Wagner's book.

This book should be read in conjunction with Fr. Elias Chacour's "Blood Brothers," a moving tale of one man's quest for true peace, reconcilation and brotherhood among all the children of Abraham.

This book examines transformation, growth and change through the story of the 3 Little Pigs. It suggest that we must make a radical shift to become one with our bad half in order to understand and overcome it.

The book introduces 2nd pig thinking (not really a change although it looks like it on the surface) as 2nd order change (example: a Presidential election).

It's an intriguing book worth a weekend read.

By using a familiar story, Charles Bates makes powerful tools easy to grasp. Pigs Eat Wolves engaged me to the point of rethinking significant decisions in my life and the assumptions on which they are based.

I can see a broader range of choices than prior to reading this book. It's easy to read and well worth the effort.

I loved this book. I couldn't imagine at first where Bates was going with this old, old story, but I was delighted with the new perspective and the underlying revelation that he brings out of this old tale. This is not a children's story. It is a completely new story to me, and has contributed to my person growth. I think he has skillfully reworked the metaphor of pig and wolf in a language that speaks to the inner self. It goes beyond the old moral of " work hard and you'll be rewarded in the end." According to Bates, whether you work hard or not, life still has some challenges for you, and understanding that will better prepare you to meet them. I think anyone who is consciously on the path to person growth will appreciate this story. It's short and can be read over a weekend. I hope that he will do the same with some of the other Mother Goose tales.

In retrospect, I should have expected this book to be as poorly written as it is. In the course of 300 pages, Professor Geisst attempts to provide the history of approximately 17 banking houses --- which translate into about 18 pages per house. (As a comparison -- Ron Chernow dedicated over 700 pages to the Morgan dynasty in his book. Imagine trying to condense that down into 18 pages). To call such treatments superficial is an understatement. Additionally, the book suffers from organizational flaws, particularly toward the beginning of the work. One even wonders if significant portions of The Last Partnerships were merely taken from Geisst's earlier work, Wall Street: A History, and shuffled around to create a new book.

I bought this book after I saw that Booklist named it one of the top ten business books of 2001. It divides each chapter into two parts, each dealing with two investment banking houses that were similar or closely related somehow.The result is excellent. The histories are clear, concise and full of color. Good anecdotes are put in boxes that complement the text. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in Wall Street.

This is a great piece of micro Wall Street history. The author looks at the financial district from street level, from the perspective of the Wall Street houses themselves.The stories range from good to fascinating and the asides in some chapters are great anecdotes. How the houses succeeded and why they ultimately dispapeared as partnerships is a great story and it is well told here. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in finance and history.

A pleasant enough read, except that the plot is riddled with improbabilities and unbelievable behavior by key characters.

Charlie Parker goes for a meal to a Mexican restaurant. Much to her surprise it is owned by Sharon Ortega, an old school chum. Sharon is worried because their business is not doing as well as it did when they first opened. She introduces Charlie to David Ruiz, her partner. Soon after, David is found dead, and the police presume that he has committed sucide. Sharon is in financial trouble and needs the insurance money to keep her restaurant open, so she enlists Charlie's help in proving that David did not die by his own hand. The more Charlie finds out, the more she suspects that David was murdered. She uncovers some shady financial dealings and finds several people who had a motive to murder David. When she gets too close to uncovering the identity of the murderer, Charlie's own life is threatened. This is another good read from the dependable Connie Shelton.

Halfway to a cozy,although not excactly Miss Marples, and it does have suspense and action. A great dog and a wonderfully sleazy accountant (he was my favorite character -the heroine is a CPA to compensate). Dialog always realistic but never crackles. Good on South-Western food. Best descriptions of office furniture since Chandler. I bought a bundle from Amazon's cheapo bargain list of authors I'd never read and this was the best. There are plot implausibilities.

I will begin by stating that I have a major problem with the book. Savas skews his own statistics in order to push readers into supporting the privatization of our nation's public sector. His book focuses entirely on the private sector's greater efficiency over the public sector without addressing many other important issues. If you want a very one sided book that is pro-privatization, then buy this one. If, however, you would like a book that seeks to enlighten readers with facts and allows them to make their own decision on the matter, then find another book.

Is awesome to see ideas outside the mainstream. Most people today like monarchy. Kings are obsolete. Let people do as they please and the inefficiency will be squirted free like bad zits. Rmoving the rules that govern is privatization. Privatizing education alone would lead to much smarter people. Let all the rules that restrain people from creating good go away. Watch life improve. think different. Think freedom of action from the rules of the king.

Being a real rebel is thinking different. Thats what this author does. Get rid of rules of the goverment. Let private owners decide. These ways of releasing people lead to hugely improved results. Awesome read. Media will want to burn this book. It explodes all collectivist works.

This book examines the intertwined politics of Saudi Arabia and the United States as Hart witnessed it during the late 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s during his missions to the Arabian Peninsula. The two states at this time are actively seeking to develop diplomatic relations with the other; the United States eager to create a friend of the oil-giant, and Saudi Arabia anxiously viewing the politically and economically powerful U.S. as a vital ally in its development in the unstable Middle Eastern region as a young and suddenly rich state. While Hart writes the book as a narrative, the account is more skewed than it initially seems as becomes apparent in the chapters discussing Yemen. Consequently, assessing the book's accuracy becomes difficult as the narrative is tainted not only with the diplomatic bias of an embassy official, but also by the partiality of an influential politician who is examining an issue without an equivalent understanding of the social and political systems of the involved parties. This review will explore that concept as applied specifically to Hart's discussion of Yemen-related issues.

The book is engaging and easy to read as a result of Hart's informal style. The prologue's account of his first invitation to visit the Saudi king and the incidents that occurred on his trip is a classic example of the style used throughout the book (pp.1-9). The opening pages of chapter one epitomize Hart's ability to both entertain the reader and educate even the most elementary student of Middle Eastern history. Expertise in the subject of Saudi politics is demonstrated not only by an in-depth portrayal of various Saudi individuals and Saudi society in general, but also by a careful and competent description of the local politics. The political intricacies of Saudi Arabia are explained with a smooth simplistic language that would otherwise bewilder the untrained reader. This provides a foundation upon which the explanations and theories to U.S.-Saudi relations are based.

Hart's detailed analysis of Saudi culture and the individuals he encounters, particularly King Faisal (p.247) is indicative of his awareness of the importance of culture in diplomatic relations. He even goes so far as to criticize Egyptian President Nasser for his lack of knowledge of Saudi society, and to hold that as a factor partly responsible for his failure to generate support among the Saudi public (p.159). In Hart's discussion of Yemen, which runs throughout a greater part of the book due to its relevance to Saudi, U.S. and Egyptian politics of the era, he fails to discuss the culture of that society. At most, the "backwardness" of the nation is referred to throughout chapter six, as well as the pre-revolution royalty's proud and unthankful demeanor towards American economic assistance.

The aftermath of the 1967 Revolution resulted in the installation of a new Republican government, the first of its kind in Yemeni history. It was during this time of revolution and its aftermath that the impact of the Yemeni issue on U.S.-Saudi politics was heightened as Egypt and Jordan aligned with the revolutionaries and the old royal family, respectively. Hart failed to expand on the political strategy of the revolutionaries and the impact that their success would consequently have on the politics of Yemen. The analysis of the culture of Saudis and the detailed mannerisms of various Saudi leaders demonstrated Hart's consciousness of the importance of being aware of the local culture and the personalities of the local leaders. In the sections where Yemen was discussed, however, this was blatantly ignored. This was particularly expected of him since he was Minister to Yemen from 1961-1962 (p. xv).

Further demonstration of Hart's lack of understanding of the regional culture is his continued reference to Saudis as "Arabs" while all other peoples of the region are named with respect to their country, i.e., Egyptians, Jordanians, Yemenis, etc. While the term "Arab" as Hart technically uses it is taken as a root of the word Saudi Arabia, the implications of this label far exceeds the meaning that Hart is attempting to confine to the people of Saudi Arabian citizenship (p. 157). Basic understanding of the regional mentality would cause any writer to hesitate to use such terms with the knowledge that reference to Saudis as the sole "Arabs" of the region would infuriate all people of other citizenship but similar descent.

While the politics of the Yemeni revolution, its aftermath and its impact on U.S. and Saudi politics were extensively addressed, they were always discussed from the perspectives of Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and Egypt. The tone of the argument is set so as to imply that without the use of Yemen as a pawn between the two Arab countries and the U.S., the Yemeni revolution was doomed to fail. Never are the aspirations of the revolution discussed, and neither are the implications of these goals ever addressed. The sheer number of pages that Hart has dedicated to the 1967 Revolution and its impact on Saudi-U.S. politics leaves the reader dissatisfied. It is ludicrous for the reader to leave enlightened of the Yemeni revolution from the all perspectives but the Yemeni one.

This book is easy to read, and even entertaining for those individuals who are particularly interested in the area. Hart attempts to demonstrate his expertise in the subject matter and gain the confidence of his reader with his meticulous depiction of the Saudi political aura of the time. It is indeed deceiving of him to discuss the Yemeni revolution of 1967 in such a manner that would imply that it would not have succeeded without the intervention of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and consequently, the United States. Only one familiar with the history of Yemen would recognize this as false and exceptionally biased. It is not the terribly written and blatantly biased accounts that are dangerous to those it slanders, it is the eloquent writing of books such as "Saudi Arabia and the United States: Birth of a Security Partnership" that are ultimately the most harmful.

Parker Hart was a career Foreign Service Officer who had a unique viewpoint on the history and strategic importance of Saudi Arabia as an ally of the United States. His knowledge of the people and customs of the Middle East, his command of Arabic, and his genuine interest in people of all countries made him the consumate diplomat. As US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the critical Yemen crisis, Hart was the on-the-ground negotiator who worked tirelessly to prevent the widening of a conflict with Egypt that could have resulted in a hot war between two important countries.

Hart's life was a true-life adventure in the style of Indiana Jones; but this book is scholarly and will be most interesting to serious students of diplomacy and modern Middle East history.

With more than 50 years of a close relationship with the country and its rulers, "PT" Hart was the real expert on the subject. He backed his memories with exhaustive research in State Department records. Not the history of ARAMCO buta diplomat's diplomat description of men and events in a country celebrating its centennial (by the lunar calendar) by the first vice consul in Dhahran in 1944 and Ambassador in the crisis years of the early 1960s.

Tad Crawford has written many useful books for working artists. This book primarily focuses on the state laws for all 50 states. It has some info on the nuts and bolts of gallery/artist interactions and good examples of sample contracts, but overall I was disappointed.

Most of the book focuses on reciting the state statutes. I would have liked more "juice" on navigating the minefield that can occur in artist/dealer relations. Of course, a contract should allow an artist to avoid such messes, but more examples of things going wrong even with contracts would have been useful. It is a good reference book if you are past the point of no return and need to know the legalities of your particular state so you can proceed accordingly. I found Tad Crawfords other books more useful.

I own a small gallery because I love art and artists, but I was not prepared for the variety of business and legal headaches that this field could produce. During yet another frantic call to my attorney, she recommended this book to me and life has been considerably calmer ever since.

Let's face it: art is a business and if you are an artist or a gallery owner, you can't afford to be without this information. I use this book to maintain records; I check paperwork against it before visiting my accountant; I use its sample forms and agreements every time I get the place ready for a new exhibit; and I follow this book's advice with every sale and display we make. This book should be required reading for everyone who has anything to do with art consignment...

Chip R. Bell and Heather Shea take a crack at a much overlooked business skill: partnering. While many management gurus espouse the growing importance of partnerships and alliances to modern business, advice on how to actually implement and manage these relationships is much harder to find. Dance Lessons uses simple, emotional language in mapping out guidelines for successful partnering. These guidelines tend more toward general, interpersonal relationships than specific business cases. In fact, much of the book’s content could be re-titled “How to Have a Successful Marriage” without changing so much as one word. Despite this lack of hard business focus, we...recommend this book on the strength of the intelligent exercises that the authors suggest for use in each stage of the partnering process. While Dance Lessons might be light on the numbers and factual examples that business readers have come to expect, the passion that the authors bring to the subject will leave you highly conscious of the critical, but often neglected, personal aspects of business partnerships.

The dance metaphor quickly engages the reader. Relating the different reasons, goals, and values in a partnering relationship to a tango, waltz, line dance, twist, or swing creates great images. The illustrations on style let the reader understand: Good scenarios for partnering Guidelines for being a great partner Partnership in the context of realtionships with suppliers & vendors, other departments, and blending cultures through a merger or acquistion. The applications for this book are for all businesses who interface with other businesses or departments to better serve their customers. Dance Lesson: Six Steps to Great Partnerships in Business and Life is revolutionary. The possibilities for expanding capabilities and opportunities through partnership are rich.

This book is a fairly general overview of running a company. It doesn't really delve into anything too difficult and a lot of its bulk (number of pages) is made up by repeating the same material (as forms) with minor variations. Clarity could be greatly improved if a single iteration of the form was given, and the areas that were subject to variations were so indicated. The way it's done you have to compare 4-8 variations to see what changes between them. Another serious failing is the lack of an index for the forms on the CD. They are simply labeled Doc1, Doc2, etc. You have to open each one to find out what they are. The book does not refer to them by the names on the CD, and there is no index in either the book or on the CD. This is a mediocre book, not bad, not great.

I find this book to be one of the best on the subject of LLC's. I myself invest in real estate and run everything through my LLC's. This book has pretty much all you need for running your company, every single form is incredibly useful. I personally do not use the Residential/Commerical lease forms because I use my own and each state and cities within the state have different rental regulations and laws. I strongly disagree with Mr. Bingham's review about the CD-Rom because in the book on pages 9-12 contain a list of the forms found on the CD-Rom and which form lable goes with which topic. An example of this is:

"Chapter 2: Business Start-Up Checklist"
Form 1: Business Start-Up Checklist (text form)"

The forms on the CD-Rom are in text and pdf format. I wonder if Mr. Bingham even opened the book because this is discussed at the beginning of the book with the "List of Forms-on-CD" section and throughout the rest of the book. I think this is a must have for those either considering forming a LLC for your business or running an existing one. This book is saving me a lot of time and effort and will do the same for you!

Steve Neal's historical biography "Harry and Ike" nearly fails right from the start by building on a premise that is non-existent: the 'close' relationship between Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. It's well known that Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower were never close working partners, even prior to the epic, decade-long feud that began during the 1952 election. It's a stretch to building a book on the premise of such a partnership and Neal does very little support his theory. Harry and Ike were two men who initially had great respect for each other and occasionally worked together on issues of common interest, but otherwise had little to do with one another. The failure to make a case otherwise should have torpedoed this book. What saves it, however, is that, even with the flawed premise, it is a fascinating historical record.

While Neal is unable support his premise, he does an excellent job and revealing the histories and backgrounds of these titans among men. He tracks their lives and developments independently until their disparate paths crossed during the last, mad days of World War II. From there, Neal uses the framework of this supposed friendship to provide informative and interesting accounts of history as it happened during that era. He covers moments like Truman offering to step aside and run as Eisenhower's Vice President in 1948 if Ike were to run as a Democrat (possibly the foundation of Neal's assertion of a 'close' relationship). He covers the major events like the hostile 1952 Presidential election, the beginning of the Korean War, and firing of General Douglas MacArthur. Neal uses these events to show the impact it had on each man and the reactions it prompted.

"Harry and Ike" serves as a good primer for studying the historical events of that time. It has the effect of making the reader want to probe deeper into those events. Reading this book led me to seek out and read the incredible Douglas MacArthur biography "American Caesar". Given that strong historical narrative of "Harry and Ike", Steve Neal should not be penalized too much for his flimsy premise. There's no doubting that it still serves as an effective historical record.

Hitler, Hitler & Stalin, FDR & Stalin, FDR & Truman among others.
Some with no connection. Obviously Naploeon didn't know Hitler. I'm kinder that most reviewers. But this was cooperation, not a partnership. The author strains for similarities. They were both poor boys growing up at the same time in mid-America 200 miles apart.
Childish & paranoid come to mind in decribing their relationship after Ike decides to run in 1952. Truman's problem was he idolized generals such as Pershing, Marshall, MacArthur & Eisenhower. He would have stepped aside for MacArthur or Ike if either had wanted to run as a Democrat in 1948. Then he became paranoid that Ike might take him up on it. Ike said he wouldn't run & Truman thought that meant forever. When Ike did run as a Republican to deny Robert Taft the nomination Truman felt betrayed, even though Ike was doing him a favor. He attacked Ike & his character viciously. Of course Ike responded in kind. There were other issues mostly personal. Their foreign policy was seamless from one administration to the next. They basically ignored each other until Kennedy's funeral when they had to sit next to each other. Good history of two great Americans leaders 1945-52 & slightly tarnishing their image after that.

Harry was wild about Ike, until Ike gave him hell, sending Harry on a crusade in Illinois. I have read a dozen or so books by and about Harry and Ike, none of which adequately explained the root causes of their falling out or their eventual reconciliation. This book fills that gap. Ike was politically naive, as Harry feared. I agree with the author that Ike would have been a better President if he had followed the advice of more of his friends, including HST, and less advice from his political handlers. This is an excellent book.