Ross-Stephen Books

Since I am a novice at pro se litigation, this book is very advanced for meI am confident that the text is excellent and I approach this like learning a foreign language- learn what words and phrases mean.

Now while this isn't a baseball book per se, I thought I'd take a look at it for two reasons -- it's the off-season and I have a bit more time on my hands, and it does provide a pretty engaging critique of the setup of Major League Baseball and how fans are adversely affected by its structure and policies, which are ultimately intended to protect and profit the owners.

The premise of the book is fairly simple - the major professional sports (MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL) are setup in such a way that encourages and rewards monopolistic behavior while ultimately hanging fans out to dry by limiting their choice while exploiting the relationship that fans have with their favorite sports teams.

To remedy this problem, Ross and Szymanski propose a two-pronged approach that would more or less turn the current American leagues upside down.

Using NASCAR and the international soccer leagues as examples, the authors propose that the leagues be reworked with a clear separation between league orgazniers and ownership while instilling a promotion and relegation system that rewards accomplishment and punishes failure.

The first piece would require each league to have a governing body that is completely separate from the teams and owners, similar to how NASCAR is structured. It would be their responsibility to maintain the health of the league, through marketing, broadcasting, competitive balance and opportunity, scheduling and playoff management, and so forth. There would be a person ultimately accountable for the well-being of the organization who would have both ultimate responsibility and ultimate jurisdiction.

The second piece would bring merit based participation into the fold - in other words, if you want to be a Major League team, you had better play like it, otherwise you'll be demoted to a minor league. This system is already in place in international soccer leagues, and the authors argue that it would work well in the United States as well, by providing the ultimate motivation for a team to succeed and invest in their players and coaches.

Certainly approaches to sport that, while not new in practice, would represent a major change in the way the major sports operate in the United States.

The authors argue that such a change would result would in a reduction in the power that owners have when it comes to corporate welfare. With an increase in teams and a reduction in the exclusivity of having a team that could compete at the Major League level, owners would be forced to shoulder more of the load themselves. No longer would be cries of "I'm moving this team to (fill in the blank) unless I get a new stadium paid for with tax dollars!" be tolerated because odds are that city would already have a team.

Ross and Szymanski reveal and highlight the leverage that professional sports teams have been allowed to have under the current setup, and that is where they find fans over the proverbial barrel. If you want to be a sports fan you have to play by their rules - and that means watching the teams the league has decided to put on TV, accepting blackouts of your favorite team's games unless certain conditions are met, tolerating and even encouraging teams not to get better by rewarding poor performance, and so on.

Before I started reading Fans of the World, Unite!, I was sincerely thinking this was going to be a rallying cry along the lines of "no new taxes!" or "bring the troops home!" -- something that would be able to be distilled down so much that it would fit on a button, or a 3'x5' picket sign and would be something that would be marched in front of stadia and arenas around the country.

Would it be a chronicle on injustices brought on fans by professional sports teams? Price-gouging, baiting and switching, hoodwinking? Would I be fired up after reading it and march down to my local teams' offices and demand change?

No.

Rather, the authors bring a much more academic approach; Ross is a Professor of Law at Penn State and Szymanski is the MBA Dean and Professor of Economics at London's City University. Both readily admit to writing the book from the ivory tower of academia - and while it's not written at a level unreadable to most folks, you will definitely be invited to think and analyze the problem at hand as the authors see it. Processing the book left me feeling like I had been involved in a trial, listening to the prosecution make its case. Given that it's Election Day and I've been listening to countless ads and reading propositions and ballot measures, this does fall in line with that in a certain way.

And while those ballot measures are interesting in their own way and I care about them on behalf of my civic duties, this was something that appealed to my recreational side.

At 184 pages of text, the authors keep their argument succinct, which keeps the book moving along and the reader engaged in the work. An interested reader could easily finish this in a day, while a more casual pace should allow this to be completed in a week or so.

The question that remains though, is: what now?

Assuming you read the book and agree with the changes the authors are calling for, how do we make that happen? Ross and Szymanski provide several scenarios in the final chapter, including one for fan revolt. While I could see them happening under the right conditions, I just don't see those right conditions among us. The NFL continues to basically print money and MLB is on an upward trend, even though attendance was flat from 2007 to 2008.

The old saying of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" certainly comes to mind when thinking about the situation. It doesn't mean it wouldn't or couldn't happen...I'm just thinking something will have to fall apart before it can be put back together in the way that the authors suggest. While we do live in a fast-paced society where things can happen fairly quickly, there are a lot of things that are too firmly rooted in place to make these changes feasible.

But that doesn't mean their ideas are bad. If anything, their ideas are very good and should be read by more and more fans across all sports. The authors readily admit that the fan-driven scenario is the most hopeful, with fans demanding a political course of action and involving their elected officials. So how do we make that happen?

Maybe the authors need to launch this campaign with the tools of change - buttons, bumper stickers, signs you can put in your window, t-shirts, and celebrity endorsements. Put someone in the spotlight - develop a website and make it easy to take fans from indecision to action. They've already explained the why, I wonder if Ross and Szymanski will follow up with the how?

Fans of the World, Unite might just be slightly ahead of its time, but it's a book that merits reading and consideration, and as I'm sure the authors would hope, action on the part of the reader.

Stephen Return Riggs (1812-1883) and his wife, Mary (1813-1869) are enormously significant figures in the history of the Dakota tribe. Originally published in 1880, "Mary and I: Forty Years with the Sioux," is an account of the trials and tribulations of the Riggs's long career as Christian missionaries in the wilds of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Riggs's greatest contribution to the Dakota people does not concern his missionary work; it is his preservation of the Dakota language. Riggs translated significant portions of the Bible into Dakota, collected and catalogued thousands of Dakota words, and helped create a written language for the Dakota people. "Mary and I" is divided into two parts-the first is a narrative account of forty years of missionary work with the Dakota Indians. The second section is a series of monographs discussing various people who worked within the missionary field. An account of a Riggs family reunion concludes the book.

"Mary and I," a title with a double meaning (referring to both Mary Riggs and Mary, the mother of Jesus) focuses mostly on Riggs's efforts to spread Christianity among native tribes. When Riggs first came to Minnesota in the 1830's, the only white people in the region were a few other missionaries and the soldiers at Fort Snelling. By the time Riggs retired from mission work, in the late 1870's, there existed a Dakota Presbytery spanning Minnesota, Nebraska, and present day South Dakota. These churches, staffed by Indian pastors, carried on the work of Riggs and others by continuing to gain converts and sending out their own missionaries to bring Christianity to Indian tribes in Canada.

Riggs spends much time in this book discussing his children. He eventually had eight of them, six of whom became missionaries in their own right. Several children continued their father's work with Indians while one went as far as China to bring Christianity to the native Chinese.

Riggs's book gives the reader a good idea of the difficulties inherent in spreading Christianity among people who have no conception of Christian doctrine. Riggs had to learn the language in order to preach to the Indians in terms they could understand. Many Indians did not want Christian ideas taught to the people, resulting in threats to Indians who attended church, the killing of mission cattle, and occasional vandalism to mission property. One thing history teaches is that such pesky things as uninterested natives do not put off Christian missionaries. With the patience of Job, these missionaries do not quit until they win the game. Riggs and his fellow missionaries won the game in this case, especially after the Dakota uprising of 1862, when Indians converted in droves during their stay in a military prison. Riggs sees this as a good thing, and maybe it is for a man who dedicated his life to spreading the gospel. For the Dakotas, converting to Christianity was a necessary survival technique after a disastrous military defeat at the hands of the American government. I am not trying to bash Christianity, but all too often (and it is apparent in this book) the "Good Book" extended to the Indians relied on the implied threat of violence and economic terrorism.

Alfred Riggs, one of Stephen's sons, provides an excellent account of how Christianity should work in reference to Native Americans. Alfred learned early in life that Indians were indolent, dirty heathens. Living among Indians who are not Christians, according to Alfred, inspires fear and disgust. Only through Christianity may this fear and disgust disappear. In Alfred's worldview (and it is a worldview he freely admits he inherited from his parents) the heathenism, wickedness, and darkness of the Indians strengthens Christianity because Christianity shines greatest when confronted by such darkness.

As bad as this sounds, missionaries worked hard to help Indians in everyday life. In one of the monographs at the end of the book, Stephen Riggs sings the praises of Thomas Williamson, one of the earliest Christian missionaries. Williamson used his medical skills to save many Indian lives, and also publicly stated he thought Indians were more honest than white people. The internal paradox within the missionary worldview is a difficult one incapable of resolution anytime soon (and certainly not solvable in this 1000 word essay!).

"Mary and I" is an essential read for those interested in frontier history, the missionary movement in America, or for those interested in discovering the truth about how the American government joined hands with Christian evangelizers to get what it wanted from the Indians. Some prior knowledge of the Dakota tribe is helpful before starting this book, but Riggs keeps his writing at a level where, for the most part, most people could follow along quite easily. "Mary and I" is an enjoyable (but at times disturbing) read.

Excelente trabajo de los editores Warren Almon,Patricia Kelley & Robert Moss acerca del gran divulgador cientifico Stephen Jay Gould en el cual se muestran en diversos ensayos y reflexiones la gran influencia que tuvo Gould en en campo de la biologia moderna;muy adecuado para quienes esten interesados en la evolución y todas sus implicancias en el mundo moderno.

My take on this text is a little different. I used it in my undergrad intro to corporate finance class, but I didn't find the book too difficult. In fact, I found it too easy. The examples given are all extremely simple and the practice problems are too easy to be good practice for exams. My professor's lecture notes were a far better overview of corporate finance. I think the book is good for looking up a term you've never heard of before, but it skims over everything so you'll never really master the material.

Another reviewer said he or she only covered five chapters. My experience was quite different, as my course covered chapters 1-18.

Interestingly, some of my classmates have taken Jaffe, one of the text's authors, for introductory corporate finance, and say he was a very dull professor who just pulled out examples from the text for his lectures.

this book wastes alot of pages just for margin. not an easy to read book. the whole semester, we only covered 5 chaps, alot of material is not useful for undergraduates.

I read a number of books in corporate finance and investments; this book is one of the best. It is more comprehensive than most other corporate finance books. It explains the concepts of finance in a rigorous, but very intuitive way. The explanations are much better than other books I have read. This book will definitely give the reader a solid background in the subject.

From the reviews posted here, it's clear we have 2 types of reviewers: disgruntled undergrads and pompous grad students (probably at the MBA level from the looks of it).

Let's be honest.

This is a challenging book.

If you are serious about finance, the book will reward you many times over. That I can pretty much guarantee.

If you are in finance as part of a cirriculum requirement, this book may become your nemesis.

This author finds the book to be comprehensive.

I used this book for my undergrad introductory corporate finance class and the structure of the book is just great. The early chapters does a superb job getting across the basics of finance (NPV, IRR), while the later ones give a general look at more complex issues such as dividend policy and corp fin for M&A.

This is a great finance book that makes learning easy. to get the most out of it you need a finance calculator like the hp bII. it shows how to use the calculator to find the answers to finance problems.

This is a great book. Very easy to read. Very easy to follow along with the examples given. Some of the practice problems take some extreme thought or extra lecture by the prof. to know how to do them. Other than that, this is an excellent book!

Amazon was great about refunding the cost. The seller never got the textbook to me and was not very good about getting feedback to me on what was happening with the textbook. I finally got an email confirming that it would not be to me in time for my midterm (order 5 weeks earlier)so I contacted Amazon to refund the full cost.

This book was a requirement for my finance course. By purchasing at Amazon I saved $50.

Essentials of Corporate Finance

I received the book. It was in really good condition and it arrived on time.

I have just begun using this textbook for a course. So far the text book is well laid out and proivdes good examples of problems in the book along with solutions throughout the chapters. This is one of the better textbooks that I have used during my masters program.

I ordered the book to prepare for a test, that could have helped me test out of one of my MBA classes. Unfortunately, going back for my MBA is unaffordable. I didn't need the book anymore because I wouldn't be able to afford classes.

Book, I assume the book is good and helpful.

I bought this book for my finance class. It's my first finance book, so it's difficult for me to judge whether it's a good finance book or not. Though I can say that the book is easy to read and the best part for me was that it provided a website with chapters presentations, exercises, and quizes, which really helped me to prepare for the tests. In general, I think that the authors did a good job to introduce finance to people who are not familiar with the subject.

The seller was a pain and the product was falsely advertised. The book displayed was totally different from the book shipped to me. Instead of the standard version, which was what I wanted, I got the indian version. Absolutely ridiculous. Also shipping took almost a month! I tried to get a refund on numerous occasions and the seller refused to reply. This was the most terrible experience I have had shopping online...scarred by this and may not order from Amazon again.

This is a great book which any Finance major student should read. Easy to read and easy to understand. Clear definitions and examples. I love the way they explain examples (step-by-step). Furthermore, the quality of paper is very good. I love it!!!

I'm going to have to say that this is one of my favorite books i have read in a while. It is full of adventure, mystery, and much more. I definitely give this a thumbs up. I recommend you read this amazing book. It is a wonderful read. Stepehn and Ross Lawhead did a fantastic job! WOOH HOO! :)

I read a few reviews that describe this little piece of propaganda as "alternate history." That is a sad, sad misnomer. This book is not alternate history, it is made up history. There is never any good explanation as to why "the ancient system of kings" survived into the modern day, or how come a giant jewish temple is smack in the middle of New York, or hey here's an easy one, WHO IN THE NAME OF GOD (no pun intended) FOUNDED ICON?

This whole book is like a xtian though exercise in how to yank Jeebus into the 21st century. Of course it fails miserably, I was first introduced to this holy acid trip when my lady's mother decided "hey Josh is a comic book fan, and an agnostic, this book will make him LOOOOOVE JASUS!"

Wrong this book its graphic novels and all other writing by this moron belong on a bonfire, preferably soon and with himself and his co-writer as fuel.

The story seems interesting, and it is. But it's not written well. The Lawheads were trying too hard to make Hunter into a hard-nosed agent and were explaining too much. Like when someone mentioned a terrorist organization they belonged too, they made it a point that Hunter filed that away in his mind so he'd remember it. Well, no duh he would! Also, there is really only one plot line - the one described above. There are no subplots at all! So, basically, it's like a comic book, but with no pictures.

And the names were sometimes groaners - instead of John the Baptist, it's "Washer John"; "Pilate" is the last name of the governor of New York; instead of Mary Magdalene it's "Maggie"; and Nicodemus is shortened to Nick. You get the idea .

I think the graphic novel is a better choice than the novel trilogy.

Stephen Lawhead hasn't really explored alternate history, at least not to this extent, and he has picked the greatest story ever told. The story of our lifetime. It is the one our salvation hinges on, the life and death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Other writers have tried to tell the story in modern terms, even having Christ alive today. Lawhead knows his scriptures and if one reads the novel without having a bible at hand they are making a mistake. I suspect some readers will think this is just another adventure/spy/mystery created to make Jesus (Joshua in this case) alive in the present time. Read the four Gospels. They are full of adventure, there are spies and secret police, calculating business and religious leaders, oppressive big governments, and there are mysteries. The old characters we read about as children are alive again in New York City including Joshua, Washer John, Maggie, Simon, Mary, Pilate, and others you will recognize. Told through the eyes of Hunter, an agent for Icon you have a first class tale and I await the next two with great enthusiasm. Then perhaps I may read the graphic novels, but for now I want to enjoy in my mind the images that Lawhead and son (I think Ross is his son) have planted of our Lord as they might happen today. I would recommend this book and the next two to non Christians. Lawhead's excellent Arthurian books and his fantasies have already led, I am sure, readers to Christ. May God bless this man and his co-author always.

This is one of the most poorly written books I've ever tried to read. The writing is pedantic at best. Frankly, I couldn't finish this piece of crap. The cover blurbs made it sound interesting, so I decided to try it. Wrong move on my part. There are too many well-written books around to waste your time with this thing.

I didn't know it was supposed to be a "christian" book until I read the reviews here. I couldn't force myself to read enough of it to find any christian propaganda. I can't believe any reviewer here can honestly think this is good writing. If you do, you really need to read some decent literature for a change, not just stuff mass-marketed to sheeple. WWJB - what would jesus buy. So sad.

Seller provided accurate description of product at a good pric. Shipment was fast so receiving the item was sooner than anticipated. Overall a great seller to work with. Would buy from seller again.

I cannot give you a review both items were returned do to a mishap on my professor's end. The item was returned about three weeks ago and I have not received a return as of to date.. Truthfully, I'm unhappy with your service and will tell other individuals not to purchase items from your company :( Still awaiting refund.

i only looked at the book once because the professor didnt require us to use the book for studying purposes. im sure it's a useful book, i just didnt get to use it.

This text book has been by far the worst text book for any class I have taken in my 4 years of college. The text is laid out in such a fashion that learning in nearly impossible. Normally I would enjoy a class like this, because I enjoy solving problems that are used in real life situations. I have not found this book to help me learn The Fundamentals of Corporate Finance at all.
For everyone who has to use this book for a class I hope that your professor is able to explain what you are supposed to be learning because this book will not help at all.

I really enjoyed using this text book. It is clearly written and the student CD really helped me learn the material.

1.0 out of 5 stars disappointed, December 12, 2008
By Elizabeth Zarek (San Rafael, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
The cover inspired me, I thought it was about "creative ways to live with less" (or what I understand by that: simplicity, autonomy,creative lifestyles...).
I didn't expect to bump into this kind of projects: very much made from architect plans, quite out of touch with the environment, square, angulous, steel, glass, almost nothing about renewable energies and green materials.
I loved Building Green by Clarke Snell, which develops a whole reflection on the impact of building, why make it small, how to make it beautiful and healthy. I guess I was looking for a book showing diferent projects in that line, example of people choosing to live happier with less, rather than somehow very conventional small houses, seen from the point of view of architects. I give the book away if you're interested!

This is a "must have" book for anyone who needs some inspiration and incentive for turning small spaces into fantastic living areas! Wow! Kodis's book offers a thorough look at creative and aesthetic solutions for all lifestyles. Complete with architectural renderings, floor plans, photographs, and excellent descriptions; the book appeals to a wide variety of tastes.
Although Blueprint Small is an effective tool for getting started on projects, it's also darn good coffee table reading! I've given it to several friends as a gift, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. It's a wonderful combination of entertainment and utility.
Kodis has a very clear and charming writing style that takes you eagerly from one chapter to the next . . . and has you wishing for more! She is professional and knowledgeable, but you don't have to be an architect to understand the book's content. It is truly a pleasure to read.
I highly, HIGHLY recommend it!

The small spaces in this book represent a spectrum of locations, budgets and individual style and taste, but all were chosen because they prove that scaling back doesn't have to become a sacrifice in comfort, spaciousness, or beauty." ~Michelle Kodis

Blueprint Small gives ideas for anyone interested in building or renovating a small home, office, or retreat space. It could be 240 or 2,400 square feet. I am almost jealous as I view page 14. How I wish for a private little space outside to escape for dinner or to sit in the sun. This is what I miss after selling our home. I need to find a new place with a private deck where my outdoor furniture can live happily. I love how the doors in this book open up to lovely patios and decks and how sunlight is streaming into the rooms making each house look so cozy and inviting.

Contents:

The Joys of California Living
A Cost-Efficient Caretaker Apartment
An Elegant Suburban Retreat
Tranquility Above the Crowds
Something Old, Something New
A Fresh Angle
Trailer Park Living with a Twist
A Neighborly Development
A Small Addition Makes a Big Difference
A Contemporary Slant on a Traditional House

One of the best ideas in this book is a room that functions as a bedroom and an office. Hey, that is my current situation. The designers put the bookshelves between the desk and the bed. That sounds like a great solution and the shelves were high enough that they actually look like a room divider.

As you are in bed, you can see items on the shelves (in cute boxes) on the back side of the bookshelves and on the office side it is filled with books. So this book gave me some design ideas for my current situation.

There are some basic blueprint designs and lots of fun full-color pictures showing what can be done with small spaces. The retreat idea with a swimming pool looks like a great writing location for a writer or could work as a studio for an artist. You would never know the trailer park home is a trailer. That is probably the most interesting house to study. If you have an interest in community gardens, there is section with a number of cottages all placed around a gardening area. The shelving in these cottages helped to save space and made the rooms look so cozy.

While this is not a detailed guide for building your own home, it will give you lots of ideas and some pictures to show an architect.

OK, I have to go reorganize my bedroom/office. This book gave me some great ideas.

~The Rebecca Review

I'd be lying if I said that most of the designs in "Blueprint Small" are my cup of tea (with the notable exception being the apartment in the Chicago highrise -- amazing!)... I'm more of a "white walls and clean, modern design" sort of person. However, this book does a very good job of showing a variety of innovative and imaginative designs, in a format that shows them from all sorts of angles. It also explains the reasons for decisions made by the architects and homeowners, which is something you don't often hear. Complaints that most people can't afford to do the things shown in this book are somewhat beside the point; if that were the case, "Architectural Digest" magazine wouldn't be as well known as it is. "Blueprint Small" exists in that same realm, where good design is appreciated for what it is. This book is a very good source for ideas for improving your own space; you don't have to hire an architect or an interior designer to appreciate what it has to offer.

Very few of the spaces shown incorporate the entire area the owners live in. Instead, some of these "small" spaces are 500-square-foot additions to much larger homes. It's not much of a challenge to make that work!

This is a hodge-podge of designs with little theme, and Kodis' writing is some of the clunkiest in the home design field. Try any Taunton book, instead, such as one of the books in Sarah Susanka's excellent Not-So-Big House series.