The Economist Pocket World in Figures 1998 (Economist)

Book Description

Essential facts about countries around the world—in one accessible resource

A perennial bestseller, The Economist Pocket World in Figures provides important statistical information on nations around the world. Now revised and expanded, it offers over 200 rankings by topic that include 171 countries, and presents up-to-date profiles of more than 60 major global economies. Covering everything from agriculture and health to marriage and crime, this authoritative reference tells you at a glance:

Where inflation is the lowest—and highest
Which countries have the fastest growing stock markets
What city has the highest quality of life
Who spends the most on education
Where people live longest and die youngest
Who are the heaviest drinkers or smokers
Who buys the most books, fiction and nonfiction
Who owns the most home computers
And much, much more . . .

Accurate and informative, The Economist Pocket World in Figures is an indispensable resource for those who need key facts and figures about the world today.

Customer Reviews:

Best Value for Global Figures.......2001-09-10

This is the best value for having global figures handy, and is one tenth the cost of the other great reference work, the Fitzroy Dearborn Book of World Rankings. Perhaps even more to the point, this book has something the other one does not: country by country data (although one could always go to the CIA World Factbook online for similar data as well as biographic listings). Having said that, it does not have the full range of detail that is offered by the other, such as domestic water shortages and energy consumption. This book has Internet and music charts--but none of the charts are comprehensive, generally listing top and bottom countries, not all countries. Bottom line: this is the best value for a portable book about global figures relevant to political economy.

A goldmine of usable and quotable information.......1999-01-12

An outstanding annual publication. I use this more frequently than any other book. For anyone engaged in work, trade, research or policy at other than the purely local level this is a goldmine of useful and quotable information.

Book Description

Basic business legislation, laws, export-import regulations affecting business, business climate and contacts

Download Description

Basic business legislation, laws, export-import regulations affecting business, business climate and contacts

Korea, North Business Law Handbook (World Business Law Handbook Library)

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Korea, North Business Law Handbook (World Business Law Handbook Library)
USA International Business Publications
Manufacturer: International Business Publications, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0739719866

Book Description

This law handbook contains information on basic business legislation, laws and regulatoins affecting export-import, business, foreign investments, property rights, taxation and banking. (Updated annually)

Korea, North: A Spy Guide (World Business Law Handbook Library)

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Korea, North: A Spy Guide (World Business Law Handbook Library)

Manufacturer: Intl Business Pubns USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0739785265

Book Description

Everything a successful "spy" must know on the country. Strategic and practical information on government, national security, army, foreign relations, economy, technology, mineral resources, as well as culture, history, traditions, government and business contacts and more...

Book Description

Motivation and Goal Setting delivers concise, how to information in a friendly, interactive format ideal for team or individual use. This book will help one clearly define their values, maintain flexibility by setting realistic goals, and stay motivated in the face of setbacks. With tools that can be immediately incorporated, goals will soon become realities.

Customer Reviews:

Generic Basics - Little Specific Help.......2006-05-01

Motivation and Goal-Setting by Jim Cario is a short book. Compared to many other motivation books on the market, you need to be prepared for only quick tips here. The book has about 100 pages of content - but of that, about half is taken up by redundant empty worksheets for you to fill in. Here's an example of a full page form. It has a grid. You descrie a situation you've seen as a team member or leader. You say what type of reinforcement should have been used, and what results should have been seen. It makes you do this 3 times. Surely an entire page didn't need to be devoted to this exercise. It's not just once - it is all through the entire book. You're paying for empty forms.

What's in the other half? There are apparently 8 steps to achieving success. These are Identity, Values, Goals, Action Plan, Motivation, Discipline, Flexibility and Outcome. The book goes over each step of course, to help you understand it. Each section has a brief area showing you how to determine this trait in yourself, and then gives an example of "Margo", and unhappy 27 yr old office worker.

Most of us know these basic things and were getting a book to help us do them more efficiently. Some of the chapters therefore seemed very light and unhelpful - but I suppose they had to be included for the sake of going from start to end and not just "jumping into the middle". However, the actual "meat" chapters were given the same light treatment. I can understand the "identity" chapter only getting a few pages - it's important to really understand what you want in life before you plot out how to get it. That's fairly clear. On the other hand, people are getting this book because they ARE having problems getting to their goal, so you would think the "action plan" chapter would be thick and meaty. Nope! It's got a few tips, and then skips right ahead. Were they trying to conserve paper? Keep their book under $x price point? It's hard to know. Surely if those were concerns, they could have handled the 800 giant forms differently. But I digress.

So, their entire 3 pages (using large print) of action plan description tells you: Make a list of goals, start now, record your progress. Do planning at every level in your organization, and commit the energy and time to do it. Then they restate that same information, and have Margo do it. There's no actual help on how to do these things, or how to do them well, or what pitfalls to avoid, or so on. I knew to make a list! I knew to prioritize it. I got this book for help in doing these tasks.

OK, on to motivation. Luckily, motivation gets a much more thorough treatment. The book should really have been called "Motivation Techniques". You get info on motivating yourself and motivating others. A key message of this area is that people respond to positive motivation, while negative motivation only makes things worse. The book says to give positive reinforcement quickly, with explicit praise for the action (not general praise). It says to give private feedback when it's negative, and to do it quickly and specifically. Then the book says to keep score - to show graphs and charts constantly of the progress.

Here's my issues. The generic instructions tell you what to do, but not how to do it - and some are so generically Pollyanna so as to be nearly impossible. Say you have someone who simply is always late. This book tells you to "catch him being early and praise him". It assumes he IS going to do the good trait someday. It gives many warnings about negative reinforcement, but no real suggestions on how to handle problems in real life. It emphasizes keeping score - but in many work environments, that causes HUGE problem with inter-personal competition and unhappiness. Many organizations do much better without constantly keeping score.

The book could be helpful for someone just starting out, who has never done any self evaluation of any kind and who needs the very basics on how to work with others. However, again, it should be titled to reflect that - "The Bare Basics of Motivating". With an actual subtitle of "how to set and achieve goals and inspire others", I expected much more actual content to help me do these things.

Powerful Message.......2002-08-15

Motivation and Goal Setting's strength lies not in the destination, but in the map. Chock-full of various strategies and tips on how to set the goal and then motivate yourself into attaining the goal, even when said goal seems more unattainable than ever. Well written and easy to follow, Cairo's book's ideas can be applied to all areas of life. It reminds me of Guerilla PR: Wired as both books deal with attaining your goals.

Insightful!.......2001-04-18

Motivation and Goal-Setting shows rather than tells. Instead of launching into long-winded sermons about discovering your "true" identity, author Jim Cairo poses a few simple questions that set the reader off on an interesting path of introspection. By forcing you to get involved with the book by answering these questions yourself, Cairo is using the principles that he writes about. The exercises he suggests will start building momentum that you can carry right over into your own personal goals. The book falters only in the sections on motivation and change, where Cairo lapses into generic sloganeering about learning from mistakes and embracing change. Regardless, we [...] recommend this book to anyone who feels that they could use a second wind, from a high-school student struggling to remain motivated, to a 55-year-old CEO looking for fresh challenges.

Goal setting leads to motivation.......2000-10-30

This book examines motivation strategies through goal setting. It teaches readers how to define their goals or help employees define what their goals are. I have found through reading this book that setting goals are important for many reasons. It helped me discover that organizations must establish goals to give employees top down a foundation to build their own goals. It is important for employees to develop their own goals and for managers to help direct,and define their goals to help with motivation. Goal setting leads to motivation which in turn leads to increased productivity. This book strives to help managers as well as individuals establish goals and goal setting procedures as well as tips and tools that are beneficial. It has already proven to be a very beneficial tool for me in my business.

Goal setting leads to motivation.......2000-10-30

Average customer rating:

Fun cookbook with very yummy recipes.

good, basic cookbook of Chinese recipes

the most accessible book on Chinese cusine

This book is a fabulous resource.

In the Chinese Kitchen With Shirley Fong-Torres
Shirley Fong-Torres
Manufacturer: Pacific View PR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Chinese | Asian | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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San Francisco, Chinatown: A Walking Tour

ASIN: 188189603X

Customer Reviews:

Fun cookbook with very yummy recipes........2007-05-23

I love cooking from this book. My son is an especially big fan of tofu and In the Chinese Kitchen provides some seriously tasty tofu recipes. We also love the potstickers and Tina's onion pancakes!

good, basic cookbook of Chinese recipes.......1998-11-20

The shelves, in stores and online, are weighed down by cookbooks, including those for Chinese cuisine. If you're looking for all the basics of Chinese food & cooking, plus a variety of interesting (but easy) recipes, all presented in a breezy, concise manner, look no further. The author was born into a Chinese restaurant family and has come full circle, teaching cooking classes and conducting highly-regarded tours of San Francisco's Chinatown. But that's another book...

the most accessible book on Chinese cusine.......1998-06-27

No other book on Chinese cuisine does such a good job of teaching the subject. This is the first book every Chinese chef, cook or wannabe should read.

This book is a fabulous resource........1998-06-23

Experienced chefs as well as those just venturing into the world of asian cooking will find this book helpful. Fong-Torres is a true expert and master chef.

Book Description

In this revised edition of his classic book, The Prudent Speculator, Al Frank discusses his investment philosophy and reveals precisely how he goes about picking stocks and managing a portfolio. In addition, he provides advice on an important, but often neglected, subject: the psychological aspects of investing. Franks rigorous, value based methods have proven themselves over and over again. Specific topics include: The four cardinal principles of investment; Identifying undervalued companies; Managingyour stock portfolio; The myths and magic of margin; The Tao of investing.

Customer Reviews:

Al Frank: The Philosopher Investor.......2005-09-21

The book is a breath of fresh air, providing a solid value-based strategy for investment togethr with a sound intellectual justification for it. In my more than thirty years of investing life encompassing a bevy of strategies and literally hundreds of books on investment, I have not come across a professionally trained philosopher writing about investment. Al Frank is that investor philosopher. If you want an intellectual challenge coupled with a proven strategy of investing in stocks, read this book. Think, profit and enjoy!

Not much meat.......2003-08-31

Basically this is typical value investing with a small cap bent, though he will buy value at any price. Chapter two covers this and the rest of the book will put you to sleep. He's long winded, add small type and over 350 pages... it was a struggle to finish.

Much of it could have been left out. 50 pages are a review and comments of past years portfolios. Another chapter is on his pet peeves, one on funds, one defending use margin and one on Tech analysis (he doesn't use it for individual issues, but he looks at a few general market indicators to guage risk and overbought levels in the market). Except for a chapter 9 analysis of Ford, there isn't much about selection besides chapter 2.

His returns were made using full margin. His best contibution it to say don't be too rigid on the numbers, be flexible. Usually stocks will be undervalued on a couple measures but not all of them. I'd recommend any other book on value investing.

al franks new prudent speculator.......2002-11-12

THE THESIS OF THIS BOOK IS THAT YOU BUY THE MARKETS WORST STOCKS AND HOLD THEM FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS HOPING THEY WILL COME BACK TO GLORY. hE BUYS STOCKS THAT HAVE LOW P/E'S LOW PRICE TO SALES AND LOW PRICE TO BOOK. USUALLY THESE STOCKS HAVE LOADS OF DEBT, TERRIBLE PRODUCTs OR ARE IN A TERRIBLE INDUSTRY. eXAMPLE STEEL
Most of the stocks he picks are terrible and will never make you any money and are the riskiest in the market.Example of stocks he tells you to buy in his newsletter kmart, wcom, conseco etc.
all bankrupt. Once in while he gets lucky and has a big winner. Don't count on this. If you want to lose big money read his book and follow his insane advice on the use of margin.

A must for every value investor........2002-03-24

Unlike some books, were authors write about great investors or skilled authors with little practical experience present their opinions, Al Frank is a great investor and a skilled author with lots of practical experience. Thus, the book is a pleasure to read, more comprehensive than most and presents conclusions drawn from decades of value investing in common stocks.

With a folksy, down to earth approach, the author goes over what's most important for a long term investor: Patience, Stock Selection, Diversification and Risk Management. Important financial ratios are also explained and the use of margin is reviewed in great detail. In fact, there are very few investment books which deal with margin as well as this one. This is probably because not many investment book authors have as much experience in this area as Al Frank. However, this is not a get rich quick book, but instead the presentation of a logical, long term seasoned strategy.

Average customer rating:
Al Frank's New Prudent Speculator: The Master of Value Investing Shows You How To Pick Winning Stocks, Revised Edition
Al Frank
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill 1995
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MCLXHA

Book Description

Many books which attempt to explain the intricacies of option trading leave the reader with glazed over eyes and a look of bewilderment. This new book by a veteran options trader is the rare exception.

It starts with the basics and goes through the most advanced strategies and trading techniques, and explains all the concepts relating to options in such clear, straightforward language that the reader will gain a thorough understanding of this complex subject.

Designed by the author for use in his options trading seminars, he has liberally illustrated each point with highly effective graphs and charts, which make each principle he is teaching crystal clear.

If you are new to options trading, or if you have struggled to understand this subject through other material, this book is an indispensable addition to your library.

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It's Your Option A Trader's Primer
Zelkin Marvin H.
Manufacturer: Trader's Press, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UF3EJE

Average customer rating:

A philosophical yet valuable and much-needed resource in troubled modern times

A philosophical yet valuable and much-needed resource in troubled modern times

This country needs a shot of ethics right now...

Shot in the Arm

Searching Under the Lamppost

In Search of Ethics: Conversations with Men and Women of Character
Len Marrella
Manufacturer: DC Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Ethics | Business Life | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Aging | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Ethics & Morality | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Accessories:

RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device

Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator (AED)

ASIN: 1932021116
Release Date: 2005-06-01

Book Description

American society seems to be in a constant state of recovery from a series of attacks on our social and economic morals and ethics. From the never-ending embarassment of the Clinton sex scandals to the fall of such personalities as Martha Stewart, it seems that there is a new challenge to character every day. Pick up a newspaper or listen to the evening news and you'll find something to stimulate discussion at the dinner table or around the boardroom table. Our educational system seems to be in disrepair and in need of bolstering. Lying, cheating, fraud, and deception seem to be growing exponentially in all parts of American life. Parents -- even the best and most committed -- find themselves confronted by forces outside the home that threaten the fiber that holds families together. As a nation we seem to have positions and points of view that are measurable and appear to reflect cohesiveness on many issues. However, ours is a society that has wrapped itself tightly in the shroud of political correctness -- sometimes so tightly that we appear to speak out of both sides our mouths. In the pst decade our actions surely have spoken louder than our words. This stimulating and inspirational book points out the quicksand that we all walk upon daily and illustrates his message with interviews and commentaries with some fascinating people who had to look moral and ethical challenges in the face and decide for themselves how they were going to handle their own "Ethics Gate." Each person interviewed represents all that is great and outstanding about the United States and Canada. While they come from divergent walks of life, they are -- each and every oone -- role models for each of us. Read inspiring interviews with Mike Krzyzewski (championship basketball coach, Duke University), Sue Myrick (U.S. House of Representatives), John Naber (U.S. Olympian), and CEOs, educators, religious and military leaders, volunteers, and ordinary citizens leading ethical lives. Added to this new edition are interviews with Charles Krulak, Vice Chairman of MBNA America Bank and Nancy Olivieri, MD, a Canadian physician who refused to turn a deaf ear on life-threatening drug testing on children and stood up for morality. It isn't always easy to make the right decison and take the right course. All of us can use a push in the right direction from time to time. The interviews and commentary in this book just might serve as an important step in finding and taking the positive direction.

Customer Reviews:

A philosophical yet valuable and much-needed resource in troubled modern times.......2005-10-12

Now in an updated second edition, In Search Of Ethics is an anthology of testimonials from businessmen and women who successfully balanced honor with the demands of earning a living, in an era when lying, cheating, and fraud seem to be at an all time high. Each interviewed subject was required to meet interviewer Len Marrella's stringent procedural process, and while they come from vastly diverse walks of life, each offers crucial insights to keeping one's balance amid greed and corruption. Chapters firmly address how to develop solutions to ethical problems, and means of instructing the next generation to keep to tenets of honesty and fairness. A philosophical yet valuable and much-needed resource in troubled modern times.

A philosophical yet valuable and much-needed resource in troubled modern times.......2005-10-12

This country needs a shot of ethics right now..........2004-04-22

It is obvious that our country is sorely in need of an "ethical time out." One doesn't have to look to far to see the scandals that are hitting out largest corporations, to see to what low levels our political campagins have stooped, and to view the politicized circus that the 9/11 Commission hearings have become. This book affirms one's belief that good people do exist in our society and they don't have to be famous to get our respect. We don't have to idolize movie, recording or sports stars -- nor direct our lives by theirs. There are sufficient heroes for our society to look up to -- and they are "us." Ethics and character are elements of a strong cultural backbone that our nation needs at this time more than it ever has. Reading this book can give you a perspective that you won't find on the front page of your daily newspaper or see on the evening news -- although that perspective should be there. Thanks for a great read!

Shot in the Arm.......2003-05-23

Prior to purchasing In Search of Ethics I read the reviews that appear on the Amazon.com site. I thought it interesting that one review was extremely negative and written with a critical tone of superiority and what also "appeared" to be contempt, yet ended with the phrase that it was "flawed, but still useful." That prompted me to wonder almost more about the reviewer than the book -- but I was able to snap myself back to reality. I've now finished the book (obviously an edition that lacked some of the physical flaws the reviewer had pointed out). My reaction is simple: why don't more people read this highly positive, encouraging, and respectfully written book? The people Len Marrella selected to be interviewed are an interesting mix of personalities (only some of whom I had heard of before reading the book). Their stories and comments did make me pause and think. It is obvious that Mr. Marrella isn't writing for think tank types -- but he is obviously writing for the educated ordinary person. Whether a parent, educator, manager, minister or rabbi, military leader, or coach, In Search of Ethics is a great read. I've heard that some high school ethics classes are using this book -- and to me that makes sense. A friend mentioned that she had seen it being used at a major corportion for which she consults. And a recent History Channel special on West Point featured the book (which is mandatory reading for incoming cadets). The fact that basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (Duke Blue Devils) -- one of the busiest people in sports -- felt comfortable enough to sit down with the author and give him an interview is a testament to Mr. Marrella's dedication to issues of character and ethics. Overall, while not a tome by Diogenes or some redefinition of "ethics" by the likes of Bill Clinton, In Search of Ethics is a book for our time. It is worthy of your time. It might even give you a shot in the arm (an affirming boost) and encourage you to keep living the ethical life you've no doubt already been leading.

Searching Under the Lamppost.......2002-08-18

Once upon a time, in the dark of night, a man lost a ring. A kindly woman went to help him find it. They sought the ring under a lamppost for a long time. Frustrated, the woman asked the man if he had, in fact, lost the ring under that lamppost. "Oh, no," said the man. "I lost it in that field over there." "Why aren't you looking there, then?" asked the exasperated woman. "Because there's no light there," responded the man. Len Marrella is, very clearly, a concerned citizen and a very decent man. But the book he's produced is disappointing and somewhat distressing. In conversations with a number of people, Mr. Marrella asks such questions as, "Would you march on Washington for a cause?" and "What makes you smile?" What he produces, finally, is a view of character which suggests that we are the architect of our character (5), that character is about deciding what's right and doing it (8), that the key lies in shared values (202), that conscience decides right from wrong (219), and that character "means having the courage of your convictions" (224). Along the way, Mr. Marrella tells exactly the wrong story about Peter Jennings (52); misunderstands a Shakespearean quotation (147); misspells the names of General Ridgway(181), of Heraclitus (190), of Francis Fukuyama (201), and of Kenneth Blanchard (201); confuses "tenet" with "tenant" (177); confuses "quote" with "quotation" (passim); isn't sure whether "ethics" and "media" are singular or plural; and doesn't know whether commas go inside or outside quotation marks. Much of this is a reflection upon the publisher, which ends the book by self-servingly appealing to readers to "call for a list of our authors/speakers/presenters/consultants." At least they did not say "editors." Mr. Marrella suggests that Army Values (173) can be used to solve numerous problems--his lamppost. But Army values were forced, as if by Procrustes, into the acronym LDRSHIP. The problem with the book is that there is so little concern with what lies in the "dark field" of objective morality, toward which, with Charles Colson's useful help, Mr. Marrella points (cf. pp. 228-229) but to which he never effectively goes (see, e.g., the encyclical "The Splendor of Truth," by Pope John Paul II). Conscience and character are NOT about doing what one THINKS is right; they are about doing what IS right. We do not self-appealingly DECIDE what is right; we DISCOVER what is right, by and through an informed conscience (Acts 24:16, Heb 13:18). Mr. Marrella offers repeated lists of bromides about morality; he seems not to understand that lists of core values or expressions of sentiment about doing good can be, and have been, used or abused by numerous tyrants. Communists and Nazis were, no doubt, sincere; and they had "shared values." It is all very well--and it IS important--to preach duty and honor and country, but it is not enough. For men and women of true character must ask the question of ends as well as of means. That Mr. Marrella would quote approvingly from Richard Rorty (75-76) indicates the confusion attending this very well-meaning but somewhat perplexed book. Ultimately character can and must be judged by the extent to which it conforms to just claims of Truth, and one's sense of worth comes from peace of soul (cf. Phil 4:7). This is a commendable effort by a very good man, but it fails because it's too breezy and too congested with undigested quotations. James Davison Hunter's book, "The Death of Character," is a key book about ethics and character unfortunately not even mentioned in Mr. Marrella's bibliography. Also very useful is Alfonso Gomez-Lobo's book "Morality and the Human Goods"; ch. 5 of Gomez-Lobo will prove very valuable to readers of Mr. Marrella's flawed, but still useful, volume.

Book Description

1927. This is the companion volume to George Washington: The Human Being and the Hero. This volume is about the next stage in George Washington's life and about his military reign and how it influenced his political life. Partial Contents: His Belated Glory; High Life at Williamsburg and Fredericksburg; Drift Toward Revolution; Washington Organizes a Boycott; Slow Awakening of Washington; Struggles to Build an Army; The Plot to Assassinate Him; He Faces the British Armada; Mount Vernon, Boston, New York, Westchester. Illustrations.

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