Understanding IRAs, 2E

Book Description

Understanding IRAs is an introductory training course on individual retirement accounts (IRAs) designed for continuing education for financial services professionals. It covers the various forms of IRAs available to investors, including Roth IRAs, traditional IRAs, education IRAs and medical savings accounts. It explains how savings vehicles can be used with employer sponsored retirement plans and medical savings accounts as part of an overall personal financial strategy, including both retirement and pre retirement savings.

The Roth IRA and expanded availability of traditional IRAs have sparked enormous interest by the investing public. This course gives the financial services professional what he or she needs to know to serve these investors.

What's New in the 2nd Edition: Material has been updated to reflect the changes made by the new distribution rules and the Tax Act of 2001, including updates to rules governing qualified plans, catch up contributions and simplification of required minimum distribution rules. These changes are extensive and reflected throughout the text. Additional information on SEPs, simple plans and educational and medical savings accounts has been added. And facts, figures, illustrations and examples have been updated.

If you are taking this course for CE, the CE exam will automatically be added to your basket when selecting CE credit. Certain states require that a proctor/monitor supervise the exam taking process.

Book Description

Now in its third incarnation, this widely acclaimed and popular text has again been fully updated and revised by the author. There is a bewildering array of models to explain the volatility of exchange rates since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in the early 1970s. It is therefore invaluable that Hans Visser is able to bring method to this `model madness' by grouping the various theories according to the time period for which their explanation is relevant, and further subdividing them according to their assumptions as to price flexibility and international financial asset substitutability.

A Guide to International Monetary Economics is a systematic overview of exchange rate theories, an analysis of exchange rate systems and a discussion of exchange rate policies including discussion of the obstacles that may confront policymakers while running any particular system. This third edition emphasizes recent developments such as the creation and expansion of the euro and the radical solution of dollarization. The book is a concise treatment of this complex field and does not encumber the reader with a surfeit of potentially distracting institutional details.

As with previous editions, the emphasis is on the economic reasoning behind the formulae while introducing students to the mathematics that will enable them to pursue further reading. This book is aimed at postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students in general and international economics and international finance, as well as business management scholars and researchers specialising in finance. Professional economists wishing to bring up to date their knowledge of the subject will also find much within this book of value to them.

Customer Reviews:

A scholarly and systematic overview of exchange rate theories.......2005-07-05

Now in a third edition emphasizing recent developments such as the creation of the euro and the radical concept of dollarisation, A Guide To International Monetary Economics: Exchange Rate Theories, Systems And Policies is a scholarly and systematic overview of exchange rate theories. Chapters discuss asset models, dependent-economy models, exchange-rate policy, monetary unions, and much more. Expertly researched and coherently articulated by international economics professor Hans Visser, A Guide To International Monetary Economics is a "must-have" for college library and economics reference shelves, as well as intermediate to advanced economic students and professional economics seeking to stay abreast of the latest changes in common understanding of economic theory.

Book Description

Originally published in 1868—when it was attacked as an “indecent book” authored by a “traitorous eavesdropper”—Behind the Scenes is the story of Elizabeth Keckley, who began her life as a slave and became a privileged witness to the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Keckley bought her freedom at the age of thirty-seven and set up a successful dressmaking business in Washington, D.C. She became modiste to Mary Todd Lincoln and in time her friend and confidante, a relationship that continued after Lincoln's assassination. In documenting that friendship—often using the First Lady's own letters—Behind the Scenes fuses the slave narrative with the political memoir. It remains extraordinary for its poignancy, candor, and historical perspective.

Customer Reviews:

Intimate recollections of the Lincoln White House.......2007-09-13

Although this volume comes from the memories of someone familiar with the Lincoln White House and who became a close friend of Mary Todd Lincoln, it must be read cautiously. For example, despite the book's basic authenticity I find its account of Stephen Douglas's love for young Mary Todd and her jilting of Lincoln implausible despite Keckley's claim that she got the story directly from Mary Todd Lincoln and Anson Henry (a close friend of Abraham and Mary, who was a matchmaker encouraging their romance). Possibly some errors might be attributed to one or more literary assistants who helped compile the book. If a reader needs to be certain a about a particular statement, comparison with other sources is wise. Still, the volume will be valuable to anyone interested in firsthand impressions of the Lincoln White House.

Friend and confidant to Mary Lincoln.......2007-03-22

I got this little book so that I could learn more about the Lincolns and their home life at the White House. It does an excellent job of telling the story of Elizabeth and Mary's friendship, which I wish could have continued, but alas, it didn't. I would recommend this book to all readers interested in US history, not matter what their age or gender, so that they can get an intimate view of the Lincoln's family life. Elizabeth was a strong and proud woman with a high moral and ethical character...if she were alive today, she would be swamped with interview requests and book deals!

Not What You'd Expect, But Read It As If You Lived 138 Years Ago.......2006-08-05

In 1868, three years after the War Between the States ended and Abraham Lincoln was murdered, Elizabeth Keckley sat down to write a partial history of her life as a slave and modiste (dressmaker) for Mary Todd Lincoln at the White House. If readers judge "Behind the Scenes" by the standards of modern biographies, they won't do the book justice.

"Lizzie" Keckley was a slave who insisted on buying her freedom, even after being offered it for nothing. In modern terms, she was an "Aunt Tom" for validating the notion that any human being can be bought and sold for a price. By her own standards, she was affirming her value to society. It's impossible to judge such a person in contemporary terms.

Lizzie's dressmaking skill attracted the attention of Mary Todd Lincoln in 1861. Mrs. Lincoln was quite addicted to clothes, and hired "Dear Lizzie" as her private modiste. Their association solidified into a deep friendship after the death in 1862 of Willie Lincoln (in the White House); Lizzie offered warmth and solicitude, badly needed by an erratic First Lady whose intemperate ways and harsh tongue had made her perhaps the most disliked person in Washington. The friendship persisted after Lincoln's assassination, when Lizzie aided Mrs. Lincoln in purging her monstrous debts (she owed $70,000 to department stores) by trying to sell off old dresses and jewelry.

"Behind the Scenes" ended the friendship. After its publication Mary Lincoln, her pride wounded, dropped "Dear Lizzie" and referred to Mrs. Keckley as "that colored historian."

For students of the assassination Mrs. Keckley's reminiscences are especially helpful. Several weeks after April 14, 1865, while Mrs. Lincoln was still in mourning inside the White House, Lizzie told her "the new messenger" (not identified by name in the book, unfortunately) was on watch, he being the same man who had abandoned his post outside Lincoln's box at Ford's Theater. Mrs. Lincoln excoriated the "new messenger" and accused him of complicity in the assassination. The messenger admitted his carelessness but denied complicity, insisting he had simply taken a seat where he could better watch the play.

Except for the ambiguous word "messenger," this account conforms precisely to the convential wisdom that prevailed until about 25 years ago, i.e. that John F. Parker, a Metropolitan Police officer assigned to White House duty, was responsible for guarding Lincoln's box on the night of the assassination, but left his post and allowed John Wilkes Booth clear entry (and how would Booth have known the coast would be clear?). Post-modern historians, possibly seizing on Keckley's use of "messenger" to describe Parker, contrived a theory that Parker's duties never included protecting Lincoln...which idea begs the obvious question, "Why would Mrs. Lincoln have been so angry at someone who wasn't responsible in the first place?" And, since Parker supposedly went on trial for negligence (the records were mysteriously destroyed), "Why would anyone have been put on trial for neglecting Lincoln at Ford's Theater if he had been only a White House functionary all along?"

One person's memior.......2005-04-26

This is a memior written by a woman who started life as a slave, then managed to buy her freedom, and later set up a successful living as a seamstress, eventually going to work for Mrs. Lincoln in the White House. As such, it is a bit rambling. There are two chapters about her early life as a slave, but the author knows that what is most interesting to the readers is her life in the white house, and so she skips ahead to that period, giving us her personal "insider account" of daily vignettes with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln. These vignettes include an eyewitness account of Lincoln's second inauguration address, the death of Willie Lincoln, and events immediately after Lincoln's assasination. The author then goes on to describe her post-white house associations with Mrs. Lincoln, who became a personal friend, as Mrs. Lincoln deals with post-presidency debts. The book continues with an in-depth account of how Mrs. Keckley assisted Mrs. Lincoln with attempting to sell her personal effects (dresses) to raise money. This must have been of great interest to readers when the book was first published in the 1860's, but has limited appeal to modern readers.

Overall, however, the book is a very interesting glimpse into the daily life of a slave, an independent businesswoman in the 1860's, of someone who worked in the white house during the civil war, and of someone in the close confidence of the Lincolns. It is well-written and engaging.

The Life Of A Slave.......2005-02-18

This is my least favorite book on the Lincolns. It's the story of Elizabeth Keckley, who was a slave. Elizabeth eventaully becomes Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker and friend. This is a lot more about slavery than the Lincolns.I don't mind reading about the subject. I just didn't think it was a very well-written book on Elizabeth's part.

Behind the scenes. By Elizabeth Keckley. Or, Thirty years a slave, and four years in the White House. (Michigan Historical Reprint)

Average customer rating:

Behind the scenes. By Elizabeth Keckley. Or, Thirty years a slave, and four years in the White House. (Michigan Historical Reprint)
Elizabeth Keckley
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1418114731

Behind the Scenes: Thirty Years a Slave & Four Years in the White House

Average customer rating:

Behind the Scenes: Thirty Years a Slave & Four Years in the White House
Elizabeth Keckley
Manufacturer: Reprint Services Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0781282276

Behind the scenes. By Elizabeth Keckley. Or, Thirty years a slave, and four years in the White House.

Average customer rating:

Behind the scenes. By Elizabeth Keckley. Or, Thirty years a slave, and four years in the White House.
Michigan Historical Reprint Series
Manufacturer: Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

United States | History | Historical Reproductions | Formats | Books
ASIN: 1425539718
Release Date: 2006-03-31

Product Description

This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University LibraryÕs preservation reformatting program.

Behind the Scenes: Formerly a Slave, but More Recently Modiste, and Friend to Mrs. Lincoln; Or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House (The Lakeside Classics)

Average customer rating:

Behind the Scenes: Formerly a Slave, but More Recently Modiste, and Friend to Mrs. Lincoln; Or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House (The Lakeside Classics)
Elizabeth Keckley
Manufacturer: R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 119918330X

Product Description

Formerly a slaveBorn into slavery, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (ca. 1824-1907) rose to a position of respect as a talented dressmaker to the political elite of Washington, D.C., and a confidante of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. In this unusual memoir, Keckley offers a rare, behind-the-scenes view of the formal and informal networks that African Americans established among themselves.

Not "Altogether" the "History of Myself": Autobiographical Impersonality in Elizabeth Keckley's "Behind the Scenes. Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years ... ATQ (The American Transcendental Quarterly)

Average customer rating:

Not "Altogether" the "History of Myself": Autobiographical Impersonality in Elizabeth Keckley's "Behind the Scenes. Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years ... ATQ (The American Transcendental Quarterly)
Michael Berthold
Manufacturer: University of Rhode Island
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from ATQ (The American Transcendental Quarterly), published by University of Rhode Island on June 1, 1999. The length of the article is 6689 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: The author argues that Elizabeth Keckley's "Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House" is a powerful example of autobiography written by former slaves. The article examines Keckley's treatment of her life as a slave and as a friend to Mrs. Abraham Lincoln.

Citation Details
Title: Not "Altogether" the "History of Myself": Autobiographical Impersonality in Elizabeth Keckley's "Behind the Scenes. Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House."(Critical Essay)
Author: Michael Berthold
Publication: ATQ (The American Transcendental Quarterly) (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 1999
Publisher: University of Rhode Island
Volume: 13 Issue: 2 Page: 105

Article Type: Critical Essay

Distributed by Thomson Gale

BEHIND THE SCENES, BY ELIZABETH KECKLEY FORMERLY A SLAVE, BUT MORE RECENTLY MODISTE, AND FRIEND TO MRS. LINCOLN, OR, THIRTY YEARS A SLAVE, AND FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Average customer rating:

BEHIND THE SCENES, BY ELIZABETH KECKLEY FORMERLY A SLAVE, BUT MORE RECENTLY MODISTE, AND FRIEND TO MRS. LINCOLN, OR, THIRTY YEARS A SLAVE, AND FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Elizabeth --- Foster, Frances Smith, editor Keckley
Manufacturer: The Lakeside Press - R R Donnelley and Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UCKCCE

Behind the Scenes, Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House

Average customer rating:

Behind the Scenes, Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House
Elizabeth Keckley
Manufacturer: Oxford Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KYVIYS

Average customer rating:

Behind the Scenes, Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House
Elizabeth Keckley
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKDJYA

Average customer rating:

Behind the Scenes, Or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House
Elizabeth Keckley
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OK7DFG

Customer Reviews:

A deeply felt memoir about putting together a life.......2003-12-13

When the Manhattan-transplanted narrator of Cynthia Yoder's "Crazy Quilt" visits her family in rural Pennsylvania, her Mennonite grandmother laughs at her leather granny boots, purchased at a Soho boutique. The boots look remarkably like the old-fashioned gear the grandmother wore in her youth and was relieved to be rid of. But both women are delighted that "the somber style has been resurrected into something playful and worldly." That kind of makeover is exactly what the narrator hopes to achieve in her own life. A preacher's kid, the daughter of a Mennonite minister, she has earlier renounced much of her heritage and religious upbringing, fleeing to the city to live a Bohemian life. There, she marries a sexy ex-Mennonite rebel, who puts on eye make-up to go out dancing, and exchanges earrings with her in their commitment ceremony. Together, the couple tastes the 20th century pop culture pleasures of drag queen parties, Wild Turkey, The Cure, and open-mike poetry readings. But the narrator finds the American trick of self-reinvention hard to pull off. She remains haunted by her sense that it's her "responsibility to change the world." Her life is stalled by depression; her marriage disintegrates. Seeking a viable way to move forward, she looks backward at the heritage she thought she'd thrown off. She returns to Pennsylvania, to interview her Mennonite grandparents for an oral history of her family -- in the process, conducting a rigorous self-examination of her identity, values and faith. Yoder's journaling and reflections on her life are effectively contrasted with a series of matter-of-fact diary entries made by her grandmother in the 1930s, a sort of Mennonite Day-Timer that offers up the day's labors to God. Any woman who's seeking to cobble together a new self from the contradictory standards held up by family, tradition, religion, 21st century pop culture and advertising, and our own yearning toward something richer and more rewarding, will relate to this deeply felt memoir. No matter what culture we come from, we're all quilters, working to stitch together a sense of wholeness out of the competing images and precepts we've been handed.

Customer Reviews:

Indian world, Indian ways.......2006-09-16

In 1919, anthropologist William Wildschut, living in Billings, Montana, at the time, befriended Crow Indian chief Two Leggings, who was living along the Bighorn River. Wildschut was interested in gathering Two Leggings's reminiscences. Bringing translators with him, Wildshut met with Two Leggings at his homestead over a lengthy period of time and wrote his memoirs down. The final 480-page manuscript was deposited in the archives of the Museum of the American Indian, where Peter Nabokov discovered it. Nabokov reworked Wildschut's manuscript somewhat, usually tightening up his expansive style, and this is the result.

The most striking thing about these reminiscences is how Two Leggings is not nearly as interested in Indian-white relations as he is with his raiding adventures against other tribes, especially against the Piegans. It seems his whole existence is centered on this activity. Almost equally important are his vision and dream quests; all important decisions are based on what are conjured in dreams and visions. Raiding enemy tribes, gathering coup, stealing horses - all these activities were primary to anyone wishing to be a great warrior chief. Possessing strong medicine that produced powerful visions was also important. Two Leggings relates his story up to about 1888 when the Crows were restricted to their reservation; he concludes, "Nothing happened after that. We just lived. There is nothing more to tell." His memoir is a fascinating one, and one that makes little acknowledgement of or concession to the white man's world.

Spiritual Power and Medicine.......2006-07-09

If you are interested in learning about spiritual power--sometimes referred to as medicine--amongst the plains Indians, then this book is for you. It discusses Two Leggings search for power through traditional vision quest and his inability to receive anything substantial. Ultimately, he receives something of value extended to him by his father-in-law. Also covered is what happens when a person makes a committment to spirit then dishonors that committment--the colapse and end of Sun Dance for the Crow people until it is returned years later through the Shoshone people.

A review of Two Leggings.......2000-01-05

This book was prepared by Nabokov from notes from interviews between the ethnographer and collector Wildschut and the aged Crow warrior Two Leggings. Those looking for a general account of plains Indian life in the mid to late 19th century may be disappointed. This book deals almost solely with Two Leggings spirtual pursuit of 'power' or 'medicine' to give him success in horse raids. And by extension status within his tribal society. The book highlights the significance of dreams to the Plains Indian and the impact they had on the real world. The book documents Two Leggings various attempts to acquire 'power' through fasting or vision quests and also gives accounts of numerous horse raids he made against his tribal enemies. The end of the days of freedom on the plains and the reservation period are largely ignored for, as far as Two Leggings was concerned, nothing of interest happened after the buffalo disappeared and horse raiding ended.

All in all an excellent book which reveals how the spritual world and warfare were so interwoven in the mind of the Plains Indian.

Average customer rating:
Two Leggings The Making Of A Crow Warrior
Nabokov
Manufacturer: THOMAS Y CROWELL COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HXR01C

Product Description

Based on a field manuscript prepared by William Wildschut for the Museum of the American Indian.

Average customer rating:

Two leggings: the making of a Crow warrior. Based on a field manuscript prepared by William Wildschut for the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation.
Peter. Nabokov
Manufacturer: NY, Crowell, c.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OUPHR2

Average customer rating:

Two Leggings - The Making of a Crow Warrior

Manufacturer: Bison
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H4Z0RC

Product Description

This is a rare piece of Americana - a first person account of the psychological, religious, and social life of a nineteenth century Indian. The dramatic recital is a real contribution to our native biography, history, and ethnology, and an important treatise in a fascinating but curiously neglected field. Peter nabokov has lived and worked on three American Indian reservations: Sioux Crow and Navajo. He is a research associate of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, and has published books on Indian history and religion.

Average customer rating:

Two Leggings: The Making of a Crow Warrior
Peter Nabokov
Manufacturer: Crowell/ Apollo Edition
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KTSNLE

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books