International-market

On could say that this book is like hearing something straight from the horses mouth and that is definetly true for this book in question, i.e.,The Fire Inside: Firefighters Talk About Their Lives by Steve Delsohn. In this wonderful book we are given an opportunity to hear the stories straight from these brave sould whom put their lives on the line veryday to make life easier and safer for the rest of us. Highly Recommended.

This book is an uncensored snapshot of primarily paid firefighters and their jobs. The book is best for more mature audiences as the material discussed is sometime quite graphic and disturbing. Of course, this is a real strength of the book as readers disturbed by the contents are only then able to begin to understand the emotional stress of being a firefighter. The book has its 'high' points as well as firefighters recall the many successful and rewarding endeavors they face daily. As a business professional AND volunteer firefighter, I found this book to be the proverbial 'pat on the back' that we firefighters occasionally need. I do wish the book had more snip-its from volunteer firefighters.

One of the best books about firefighting by firefighters. Reading the stories of theses heros really brings their job into perspective.

Title: The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors: Recipes You Should Have Gotten from Your Grandmother, Morrow,William & Co

Author: Jeff Smith

From cover to cover, Jeff's new cookbook is a triumph of passion and expertise and, above all, the joy of food.

It's a treasure trove of information for those who enjoy cooking, who are interested in ethnic studies of the U. S., or who long for a deeper connection with their heritage. Smith shares with readers recipes of immigrants who are often overlooked--Basques, Ethiopians, Jamaicans, Latvians, Scottish, Saudi Arabians, and many more. Each chapter begins with an illustration of the people, a map, and a few pages of introduction, including history and food customs. The recipes are clearly written and easy to follow. Hints and equipment lists are thorough. A cookbook bibliography, immigrant history bibliography, source list for unusual ingredients, and an index complete the package. Celebrate America's melting pot with a cookbook that honors our diversity

This book is an excellent tool to sample cuisines from numerous cultures. Each of the recipes that I have tried are excellent. Also, there is a background of not only each culture, but often a background of each dish.

The book is not only a good cookbook, but also a fun and educational read.

If you can't get your kids interested in history or world events, or better yet if they are, this cookbook is just what you're looking for. No lesson about the world at large is complete until we connect with those we hear about. Food is the ultimate form of communication, and this book communicates brilliantly. Every listing of recipes from an ethinic group in this book includes a map of their place of origin, and details of what great events of history shaped them. They also give the dates of major surges of immigration to the US for each group. Help your family develop a hunger for history with this book. You won't regret anything but the pounds (this stuff is delicious!).

I've read all the reviews of Schmidt's efforts on matter of European Integration. And here's what I think. She is destined to embrace the English model and the English model, I'm convinced will embrace her. They will be as one. A European Union far more robust than anything concocted in Brussels. So I, for one, would like to celebrate that true union of politics and passion and hoist a glass to Schmidt and this English Model!

As I see it, the English model must be (and no doubt is, in Schmidt's extraordinary hands) smart, generous, and prone to displays of great good humor. The English model must display the kind of maganimous spirit that say, one brother-in-law might display to another brother-in-law if the latter brother-in-law were, say, a writer needing a place to stay in England.

I've read through the review string, and I must ask about the referenced English model. Please tell me more. I know of course of Schmidt's work on French models and German models and the energy she devoted to the models of Italy and America. Before I endorse this new effort, I think we should know more.

Dr DeRosa's book was entertaining, easy to read and packed with anecdotes and information. As an investment pro, his book gave me a greater insight into the often arcane political manipulations that eventually sow the seeds for economic instability. He pulls no punches when he states that central banks and governments themselves set themselves up to be the eventual "victims" of their own bad policies and instead of doing something different, they blame the speculator.
I like his information "boxes" that help the reader with the technical details of the book. Although I have long been a fan of single currency idea's, DeRosa's book has given me reason to pause. Well referenced and well researched.
The reviews by Dr Hanke and Dr Friedman can't hurt either.

"In Defense of Free Capital Markets is an impressive survey and analysis of the crises of the 1990s. Mr. DeRosa makes a strong case that official intervention has made matters worse, not better, and that in such instances it is far better to leave it to the invisible hand of the market than to the clumsy, visible hand of regulators."

--Milton Friedman Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution Nobel Economics Prize, 1976

Professor DeRosa offers up a generous helping of reality in evaluating the currency crises of the past dozen or so years. From the first world foibles of the Bank of Japan to the third world of currency pegs, the currency calamities of the late twentieth century are thoughtfully presented in a lean read.

While perhaps giving short shrift to the political constraints facing policy makers in times of crisis, Mr. DeRosa nevertheless does well describing the environments and pre-conditions which ultimately fostered our most recent international financial catastrophes.

In this, the age of fiat money, unsustainable currency policies are easy prey for the worlds biggest market. Anyone interested in a brief but informative history of recent currency debacles will truly enjoy this book.

The raw emotion and insight into emerging markets contained in this book clearly illustrates the importance and means of establishing long term global relationships, on an equal footing basis, combined with proven business tools for the development of long term profitable business within the world's emerging markets. An essential read for those serious in establishing long term profitable global business.

This book should be used a text for all MBA classes that look at international strategy. I really enjoyed the illustrations and examples.

It' s a very valuable work and push to think (or rethink)strategy and approach for doing business in emerging markets ; as the best travel guides , it treats the subject with insight and a lived knowledge: It is a very useful travel plan to develop business in emerging countries .

"Serpico" is a powerful piece of reporting by Peter Maas, one of the best true crime writers in America. Hard to believe that the events of this book occurred thrity-odd years ago. The tales of corruption in the New York City police department could have come from the headlines of any big city newspaper today. Maas's genius is how he puts you with his subject to the extent that you are not even aware that he's guiding you through the story. Anyone with an interest in law enforcement should read this book and take it for what it is, a warning against the temptations of the job. As such, it is far from comforting.

Peter Maas artistically tells a story of a man who always wanted to be a "good cop." Unfortunately, the dream is shattered when Frank Serpico confronts wide-spread corruption in the NYC Police Department. The famous Knapp Commission is a result of Serpico's complaints about corruption on the force.

Unfortunately, Peter Maas's story could be told about many large urban police departments. Make no mistake about it, corruption, bigotry, and racism are all a part of law enforcement. It was the case back in the 60's - 70's, and it is still the case today. Consequently, Peter Maas's story about "one good cop" fighting a sea of corruption is still relevant today.

The story drags at times. But, otherwise, it is quick reading. It is definitely a story that needs to be read. Hence, I recommend this book. Police corruption is still a current topic. But, more importantly, Serpico's story is one of hope. At least there is "one good cop" out there trying to make a difference. And, knowing this, has made a difference in the way I view law enforcement professionals. That is, they are not all bad.

Serpico! The name that brings chills to my bones. Serpico and Donnie Brasco are my two heroes in the world of criminal justice. Serpico's life mission is not just cleaning out the bad guys, but bad guys posing as good guys, COPS! And the way he risks his life in the process, simply tells a story of a moral beam behind the corruption of the so called blue wall of silence.

I read this book for my high tech tax class in law school, and unlike most of my required reading, this book was absolutely fabulous. It provides an introduction to a wide range of issues facing high tech business, ranging from lawsuits to taxation to R&D. I highly recommend this book to anyone starting out in high tech business, regardless of in what capacity.

Cliff Jernigan has played an active role in shaping the government policies that contributed to the success of the U.S. semiconductor industry - now America's largest manufacturing sector. In "Beyond High Tech Survival" Mr. Jernigan offers practical advice in a highly readable primer on finding the opportunities from, and avoiding the pitfalls of, industry-government interactions. This book is THE source of information on the public policy impacts on high tech manufacturing, marketing, R&D, and investments. It is a must read for anyone with a stake in industry-government relations -- which is everyone, from corporate executives to political science students, and from local planning commissioners to members of Congress.

Many companies, particularly in the high tech sector, don't appreciate how important government policy can be to their profits. These companies are frequently surprised when new government rules change the competitive landscape. Worse yet, they never realize they missed out on potential profits that could have been achieved by taking advantage of government programs that their taxes helped fund. Cliff Jernigan's book, Beyond High Tech Survival, sets out the risks and opportunities that can be achieved from government policies and programs. Ways to reduce taxes, take advantage of government incentives and open foreign markets, are just some of the possible opportunities assessed. Advice on avoiding pitfalls, such as piracy of intellectual property, legal problems from violating export control or sexual harassment laws, and frivolous security lawsuits, is clearly set out. Beyond High Tech Survival is an easy read and jargon free, and well indexed to help the busy executive find what is needed. Jernigan has had long experience in tax, trade and legal issues, and this practical book will be a good reference source for busy executives.

Though not quite up to the standard of Death of the Necromancer, The Wizard Hunters was actually a very good book. It had some plot twists that I was not expecting, but overall I think it could have done a slightly better job of keeping me on the edge of my seat. Still, I highly recommend it.

Martha Wells weaves a nicely complicated tapestry of mythology in The Wizard Hunters, the first installment of The Fall of Ile-Rien series. The book's very first sentence indicates exactly how unusual a fantasy epoch Wells writes: "It was nine o'clock at night and Tremaine was trying to find a way to kill herself that would bring in a verdict of natural causes in Court when someone banged on the door."

After hooking the reader's interest, Wells becomes an unrelenting story teller, blending the mythology of a modernistic culture with the mythology of a aborigine culture. In Tremaine Valiarde's possession is a mysterious sphere of unknown power. The sphere is a childhood toy given Tremaine by an uncle who turned out to be a wizard of enormous power.

A bizarre army of beings is besieging Tremaine's homeland. These beings-Gardier-control powerful airships that seemingly come from nowhere to attack Tremaine's homeland of Ile-Rien.

The sphere transports Tremaine and some friends to an island in another world. Coincidentally, the island is a base for the airships of the Gardier. Before Tremaine makes her accidental journey, two brothers from a nearby aborigine tribe journey to the island to see if an enemy sorcerer is still controlling the island. These two young men discover a hive of strange activity and what they initially believe are strange flying whales.

Wells writes an extremely good story that ranks with the likes of Modesitt, Hobb, Haydon, and Douglass. She weaves a colorful cast of characters, story, action, setting, and other elements into a powerful fantasy tale. Tremaine Valiarde is an unusual heroine and it will be interesting to see how she develops as a character throughout the rest of The Fall of Ile-Rien.

The first sentence of this book should grab just about anyone. Right off hand, you know this is a suicidal heroine, but you don't know why. You also get the idea that one of the characters might be an unidentified wizard, but you don't know that for sure. And it is very much to the author's credit that both questions are resolved by the end of the book in such a way that's true to the characters involved, rather than carrying them over to the next book.

Obviously, THE FALL OF ILE-RIEN trilogy will be concerned with revolution and social change in this land of magic and of wizards. The beginning book deals with the attack and conquest of this land by the Gardier, a mysterious enemy helped by their evil wizards. Tremaine Vallarde who lacks magical skills but possesses a sphere which has within it power to defeat the Gardier finds herself along with a female student wizard, a former guardian with wizardly powers, and a young security agent who's apparantly enamored of her transported to a strange world. The Gardier are using a base on this world as a gateway to Ile-Rien. The wizard hunters referred to in the book's titled belong to a race which knows only of the evil wizards who misuse their magic.

This alternate world's distrust of those who work magic along with the initial inability of the two races to speak a common language causes an uneasy alliance, and so the story and adventures go from there.

One of the good points of this story is the lack of romantic entanglements in spite of the fact that two of the five younger characters are comely women. The strong characterization of these characters makes it obvious that there'll be no fast blooming infatuations or love here, although I expect that will change in the middle book of the trilogy.

And so vivid characterization, deft plotting, underlying logic and unanswered questions make this a most enjoyable read with a quite satisfying ending, and yet a yearning to read more about Ile-rien. Highly recommended fantasy adventure.

WotF XIX is a compilation of excellent stories (with a few, notable exceptions) spanning the genre range from historical fiction through horror and fantasy to science fiction. Despite the ever-present copy-editing errors, this was a very good read.

I would put the stories in four categories of excellence (well, three of excellence and one of crap).

Group One: The best

Walking Rain - Ian Keane's tale of supernatural beings in present day America, reminiscent (but not derivative) of American Gods, is compelling. The writing is lush, the characterizations beautiful. Hands down the best of the best. I can't say enough about this story. The book is worth buying for this story alone.

Into The Gardens of Sweet Night - Algis Budrys weaves a fairy tale-like tapestry of words as a boy takes a fantastic journey into the sky looking for the fabled gardens. Sometimes the discussions on freedom get a bit thick, but still great.

Blood and Horses - Myke Cole brings us a story of military sf where rebels riding horses seek the oil that gives life, losing their own blood fighting against a technically far superior opponent.

Group Two: The very excellent (in no particular order)

From All the Work Which He Had Made - Michael Churchman's style is strikingly odd at first, but within a page he had made me a convert with this interesting tale about the development of a humanoid robot exploring the questions of his soul.

Dark Harvest - Geoffrey Girard brings us a story about what happens when you find your worst nightmare dying in a field, and it becomes a tourist attraction. Excellent writing, and a wonderful story.

Beautiful Singer - Steve Bein's story of a haunted sword is elegant in its way of presenting feudal Japanese culture and characters. Every word of this story echoes with the culture of the samurai. The only thing holding back this most savory of writing from the top slot was the way the ending rushed together (a common difficulty in short-story writing).

A Few Days North of Vienna - Brandon Butler takes us along as a band of thieves join up with a group of vampire hunters to eradicate those evil creatures. The plot is nothing new or innovative, but the writing is top notch, and that's more important anyway.

Group Three: The still excellent (still in no particular order)

A Ship That Bends - whatever Butler lacked in innovation, Luc Reid makes up for in spades with his characters who live on a flat world and must build a bending ship if they wish to sail to the other side without falling off. The ending is its great weakness, suddenly ending the story before it really reaches its climax. Fun world, great writing, but it just stops cold.

A Silky Touch to No Man - a weak ending is also the problem with Robert J. Defendi's exploration of life in the near future where virtual reality has become the only reality. For a murder mystery, it was painfully apparent "whodunit" from the very beginning. But the writing is strong and the world well conceived (almost scary, actually) which makes it fun anyway.

Gossamer - Ken Liu offers a scenario where Earth finally makes contact with an alien species, and has no idea if they can even communicate. Art seems to be the only thing the Gossamers are interested in, but what does that mean? Interesting twist on the first contact plot.

Numbers - Joel Best brings us a stark account of a world where mathematicians can do almost anything, including make animals and people. In this world one woman seeks to create the perfect mate, but learns that perfection (and creation) are about more than doing everything flawlessly.

Group Four: The stories that really don't belong

Trust Is A Child - Matthew Candelaria's overly long story of negotiations with aliens is really just a painful rehash of about a thousand other identical stories, offering no new slants or anything. That alone wouldn't make it so horrible, but the main character is painfully stupid, and the plot has a hole in it the size of a small star system (it has to do with her being stopped by Marine guards while the aliens can just cruise on by and enter her private quarters without explanation). Also, her solution to being stopped is just horrible (apparently the guard is even dumber than she is). Still, with a good edit and re-write, I think it could have been decent, so I wouldn't write off the author.

A Boy and His Bicycle - Carl Frederick offers a story about just that: a boy and his bike. They don't do anything interesting, or go anywhere fun, or give us any reason not to hope that they just crash into a bus and die. The only saving grace is that it's short and over quickly. And to think this story got first place that quarter...

Bury My Heart At the Garrick - Steve Savile takes the prize for plodding, pointlessness. This story of Houdini was confusing, but not in that good way where you want to know what's going on, more in the way where you just don't care and want to skip to the next story. I kept reading to see if it would get better (imagine a short story that took me a week to read!). It didn't.

I love short story anthologies and this is a book packed with good stories. from "Blade of the Bunny" to a thought provoking "The Price of Tea in China" every story is a must read. The tales are mixed with thoughtful tips and hints for new writers and the whole book makes a worthwhile text for anyone trying their hand at writing.

While I do not get a chance to read much science fiction, I decided to pick up this book mainly because I enjoy short stories. And I must say that this book surprised me. There are a number of well-written, very entertaining stories in this book. There is also a good amount of variety. As more than 12 authors contribute to this book, if you are not a fan of one story, you can move onto the next. There should be four stories in this book that will captivate you. From the quality of the prose and the structure of the stories, I was at first surprised to see that these are first time authors. Now realizing that these are contest winnners from L Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future contest, it makes more sense. My favorites include Oragami Cranes, Eating Drinking and Walking, Windseekers, and Rewind (for it's writing style).

We have heard much about the crisis of third world debt and what to do about it from liberal ("forgive the debt") and right-wing ("bankrupt the suckers") commentators. James Henry asks a more fundamental question, where did the money go? Why is there so little to show for the more than $2.7 trillion of debt, aid, and investment made available to the developing world since the 1970s? One answer is that it was not spent but stolen and wasted, maybe as little as one-third of it ending up on the ground. Much of the rest has gone to provide the political elites of recipient countries with retirement homes in pleasant places.

Henry, a lawyer and economist by training and an investigative journalist by avocation, has been working on this story since the late 1980s. He travelled to more than 50 countries in pursuit of it and his book contains original, first-hand accounts of decades of unscrupulous financial behavior in the Philippines, Brazil, Nicaragua, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Mexico.

What started off as an economist's enquiry into the paradox of third world debt has ended up as an indictment of the first world corporations that helped to create it. Henry tells how many of the world's leading banks and financial groups have, often with the complicity of their governments and supranational institutions, created and fuelled the new high-growth global markets for dirty debt, capital flight, money laundering, tax evasion, corruption, illicit weapons traffic, and other new transnational forms of dubious economic activity.

This is an essential book. Corruption is the scandal of third world debt. Attempts to relieve it must include the means to prevent its happening again.

For anyone wishing to get a clear and concise walk through the back-door dealings of International Banking, in specific what it has done to consistently derail and sabotage emerging financial markets, this is a must read.

The book hinges on true and methodical investigative journalism (sadly, a talent in these precarious times often more feared than revered), and its revelations take you far beyond whatever information has been garnered from the print media's attempts to unravel the blatant crime behind the Third World Debt Crisis.

Whether it be an account of what essentially killed the revolution in Nicaragua, the insane excesses of Imelda Marcos, or the twisted money trail leading to Sadam's WMDs, Mr. Henry will not disappoint in his efforts to reveal how we got ourselves into the Emerging Markets debacle, and what this has to say about the growing worldwide terrorism directed at the West.

I'm a Latin American scholar. Henry's well-written book manages to get below the surface, and deliver some amazing new revelations about Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, in particular. I was also interested to find out exactly where Paraguay's General Stroessner, the Phillipines' Marcos, Pakistan's Bhutto, Zaire's Mobutu, and quite a few other Third World thugs kept their foreign loot -- and not only in Switzerland! Not easy reading, but it will definitely change your perspective on the global economy....