Biological Management of Soil Ecosystems for Sustainable Agriculture (World Soil Resources Reports,)

Product Description

Frontiers of Legal Knowledge examines contemporary issues in African jurisprudence on the business and economic law aspects of globalization and good governance. It sets out an interdisciplinary exposition of the law, providing an interface of business law, finance, management, economics, political economy, and development studies. This book attempts to permeate intellectual spheres that have not been explored in depth before. In essence, this is not a simple textbook on the introductory aspects of a particular field of law. By contrast, the book breaks new ground in the areas of business and economic law. A law-in-context approach is presented, giving added value to the respective fields of knowledge in the book. The editors have endeavored to bring together fresh and original contributions from leading African scholars on the respective subjects covered in the book, with each chapter written by an expert in the field. Mwenda and Ailola cover, among other things, development economics and development studies, and the nexus between these disciplines and business and economic law. The topics examined include the following: privatization law in Zambia; the U.S. African Growth Opportunity Act, as it applies to Zambia and other African countries; the legal framework for the African Trade Insurance Agency; international aspects of protecting intellectual property rights; land law and property rights in Zambia; aspects of trusts law in Zambia; the institutional framework for tax administration in Zambia and principles of tax law in that country; developments in labor law of international organizations and the applicability of such matters to Zambia; securities regulation both in Zambia and other countries; the legal framework for regulating foreign direct investment in Zambia; developments in company law and corporate finance law of Zambia and other countries; developments relating to the financial sector; and many other areas of jurisprudence in Africa. Scholars interested in studying international and comparative law, and the interface of law and the social sciences, will find this book a must read.

Amazon.com

In Whistle While You Work, Richard Leider and David Shapiro counter the clichéd query about what you want to be when you grow up with a more intriguing question: "What is your life's calling?" The authors define calling as "the inner urge to give our gifts away in service to something we are passionate about in an environment that is consistent with our values." Drawing upon psychologist James Hillman's metaphor of the acorn programmed to grow into an oak tree, Leider and Shapiro guide readers to discover their "core gifts" and the work they were born to do. Each chapter describes a conversation with a cabdriver in a different city to introduce a key idea about the process of heeding your life's calling. These lively conversations are followed by stories of individuals--from a Motorola executive to a building security guard--who have identified their calling. The stories are paired with bulls-eye exercises that allow readers to discover their calling. Tools include "calling cards" to identify core gifts, a "calling journal" and the "calendar/checkbook" exercise to align values with time management.

The book would have been strengthened with more narrative about the relationship between choosing a calling and maintaining a positive cash flow. Yet the clarity and conviction of its approach sets this book apart from other do-what-you-love career books. It is an eloquent and practical blueprint for being at home in the world by making a living with your uniqueness. --Barbara Mackoff

Book Description

Everyone has a calling with a unique purpose to fulfill in the world. Heeding it is about deliberately choosing a way of life and work consistent with individual gifts, passions, and values. Through powerful stories and a guided exploration of 52 possible callings, Whistle While You Work helps readers discover how to make a living doing what they were born to do. The authors provide a framework for embracing a very abstract subject in a systematic, practical, and fun way. And their Calling Cards "TM" help readers develop answers to profound life questions as they learn to "listen with the third ear" to cultivate a mode of searching that isn't limited to the merely tangible.

Customer Reviews:

what it does best.......2007-06-18

This book helped me put a Name Tag on my life's calling.
I also found out how often I am able to use it in my job (only 10% of the time).
Now I need to know what jobs I could get that would maximize my use of my gifts - so I will never have to 'work' another day.

There are 52 transcendant calling cards from which everyone can pick their gifts. There were not enough examples of how people use their callings appropriately. I would have at least wanted to see a list to match jobs to calling cards.

I highly recommend this book. I've been trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up for a long time. Now I finally am able to put a name to it.
I got the book from the library, I wouldn't recommend buying it.

Fluff That Makes You Feel Good.......2003-03-11

Books like this do everything in their power to get your drive going. And every time I read one (which isn't often), I do feel good about myself. But in the end, I'm back on Earth a few days later. OK, I am sounding pathetic, but the truth is, there isn't a whole lot of practical advice here, just motivational anecdotes. To be frank, there is nothing wrong with that. It just needs more to distinguish itself.

It starts out promising with the part about choosing the characteristics you most want in a job. However, it goes downhill with the straight out of "Touch By an Angel" cabbie stories that start every chapter. What I really did like about this book is that it makes you reevaluate the situation you are currently in to make the most of it. It doesn't preach dropping everything and chasing after your dream because not all of us are in a position to do so. Another thing I liked is that it keeps the message short (under 200 pages). There is no need for a book like this to be 300+ pages. All in all, it's a good starter book for those looking to make a career change.

To question your careeer, this is a must read.......2002-03-01

Get control of your career and your expectations of what career means in your life. This book does a great job of guiding you along as you question where you are in life and where you want to be. Redundant at times and interactive "take control books" usually don't appeal to me, but this one is an expection.

Davey is a great guy.......2001-12-18

Davey is a great guy. He rides his bike all over Seattle. He wears really cool glasses too. I'm honored to be mentioned in the book. Dave is a great writer and philosopher. Everyone should buy this book and give copies of it as gifts to their friends.

A Must Read To Make Better Life Choices!.......2001-11-24

A must read in making choices along your career journey to find your calling. Based on John Holland's Theory, this is a very useful book to help laypersons' to apply the Theory in a most practical and meaningful way to find their calling. Most importantly, the authors share not only their personal experiences but also include the experiences of a number of individuals. In career planning and strategizing, this is very helpful. It is having others share their experiences and this gives a better grasp of the issues so that career choices can be made wisely. This ultimately will lead you to what you are destined to do. A useful complementary reading to the perrenial favourite, What Colour Is Your Parachute. In fact, Richard Bolles' comment about the book is, "I love it"! Need I say more for endorsements?

Whistle While You Work: Heeding Your Life's Calling Audio

Average customer rating:

Whistle While You Work: Heeding Your Life's Calling Audio
Richard J. Leider
Manufacturer: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N7DRW8

Average customer rating:

Classic cooking made easy!

A true "cajun" cookbook!!

Excellent and True

Classic Cajun: Culture and Cooking
Lucy Henry Zaunbrecher
Manufacturer: Wimmer Cookbooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Plastic Comb

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Cajun & Creole | U.S. Regional | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
South | U.S. Regional | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Classic Cajun Deux

The Little Gumbo Book

Justin Wilson's Homegrown Louisiana Cookin'

Justin Wilson Looking Back: A Cajun Cookbook

Justin Wilson Number Two Cookbook: Cookin Cajun

ASIN: 096407480X

Customer Reviews:

Classic cooking made easy!.......2005-11-09

I have never tried cajun cooking but after watching Lucy's show I wanted too! I ordered her book, and every recipe I've tried is mouth watering delicious! My kids will now eat "greens" because they are absolutely to die for. Ingredients are few, directions simple, and every single recipe turns out perfect! Lucy's book has put excitement into our meals again. You must try her book to believe everday, ordinary food, can be so delicious!

A true "cajun" cookbook!!.......2002-04-27

This book is a treasure! I am from Southern Louisiana but now live in Colorado. I never really wanted to learn to cook when I was young, but now that I am older and a mom I want to pass on my heritage to my children. This book is very authentic. It is exactly like my mother cooks--with no weird ingredients. The recipes are fantastic and the commentary witty. It also has a glossary for those persons who don't understand some of the cajun terminology. This book was my "early" Mother's Day present. And, I couldn't be any happier.

Excellent and True.......2001-12-16

I have been cooking cajun foods for over 40 years and my mother before me. This book is so true to the authentic "French" cajun cooking found in homes in and around Lafayette, Louisiana that I sometimes am surprised at its accuracy. I watch Miss Lucy on PBS and this book follows her show. I just purchased two more books as gifts for my children and will give it to them as the truest representation of the preparation and enjoyment of "French" cajun cooking. On her show, her accent is alittle too corney but look beyond that and enjoy!!

Average customer rating:

Classic Cajun culture & cooking
Lucy Henry Zaunbrecher
Manufacturer: L. Zaunbrecher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006F4HZS

Average customer rating:
Jake Bernstein's Facts on Futures: Insights and Strategies for Winning in the Futures Market
Jake Bernstein
Manufacturer: Probus Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Public Finance | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Strategic Futures Trading: Contemporary Trading Systems to Maximize Profits

Market Masters: How Successful Traders Think, Trade and Invest* : *and How You Can Too!

New Facts on Futures: Insights & Strategies for Winning in the Futures Markets

The Compleat Day Trader: Trading Systems, Strategies, Timing Indicators and Analytical Methods

Short-Term Futures Trading: Systems, Strategies and Techniques for the Day-Trader

ASIN: 0917253442

Average customer rating:
Jake Bernstein's Facts on Futures: Winning in the Futures Markets
Jake Bernstein
Manufacturer: Probus Publishing Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Public Finance | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Futures | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1557380473

Average customer rating:
New Facts on Futures: Insights & Strategies for Winning in the Futures Markets
Jake Bernstein
Manufacturer: Probus Professional Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Futures | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Options | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Strategic Futures Trading: Contemporary Trading Systems to Maximize Profits

Short-Term Futures Trading: Systems, Strategies and Techniques for the Day-Trader

Jake Bernstein's Facts on Futures: Insights and Strategies for Winning in the Futures Market

The Compleat Day Trader: Trading Systems, Strategies, Timing Indicators and Analytical Methods

Hot Stock Market Strategies: 5 Secret Investment Tools That Work in a Bull or Bear Market

ASIN: 1557384223

Average customer rating:
Best Rated Mutual Funds
Consumer Guide editors
Manufacturer: Consumer Guide
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0451146344

Average customer rating:
Consumer guide best-rated bond investments (Consumer guide magazine investment series)
Lynn Orr Miller
Manufacturer: Publications International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00070ZS0U

Average customer rating:
Consumer guide best-rated mutual funds (Consumer guide magazine investment series)
Lynn Orr Miller
Manufacturer: Publications International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Mutual Funds | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007114YS

Average customer rating:

The best book I've ever read

Any one article worth far more than the cost of the book

average.

Read this book if your sales or profits are in decline

An assortment of articles

Harvard Business Review on Breakthrough Thinking
Teresa Amabile , Dorothy Leonard , Jeffrey Rayport , Elleen Morley , Andrew Silver , Wetlaufer Suzy , and Peter Ferdinand Drucker
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Decision-Making & Problem Solving | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Leadership | Harvard Business School Press | By Publisher | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Management | Harvard Business School Press | By Publisher | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Entrepreneurship | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Innovations | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Harvard Business Review on Decision Making

Harvard Business Review on Effective Communication (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series)

Harvard Business Review on Innovation

Harvard Business Review on Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (A Harvard Business Review Paperback)

Harvard Business Review on Motivating People (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series)

ASIN: 157851181X

Book Description

Leading Minds and Landmark Ideas In An Easily Accessible Format

From the preeminent thinkers whose work has defined an entire field to the rising stars who will redefine the way we think about business, The Harvard Business Review Paperback Series delivers the fundamental information today's professionals need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world.

Creativity and innovation are the keys to competitive advantage, and yet many organizations view inspiration as an elusive, unmanageable phenomenon. In fact, proven strategies for fostering and managing creativity do exist--the Harvard Business Review has published some of the best thinking on how to organize for innovation. Harvard Business Review on Breakthrough Thinking highlights leading ideas for incorporating the power of creativity into your strategic outlook. A Harvard Business Review Paperback.

Customer Reviews:

The best book I've ever read.......2005-07-18

This book has the most breakthrough thoughts per page of any book I've ever tabulated.

Any one article worth far more than the cost of the book.......2005-04-12

This is one in a series of several dozen volumes which comprise the "Harvard Business Review Paperback Series." Each offers direct, convenient, and inexpensive access to the best thinking on the given subject in articles originally published by the Harvard Business School Review. I strongly recommend all of the volumes in the series. The individual titles are listed at this Web site: www.hbsp.harvard.edu. The authors of various articles are among the world's most highly regarding experts on the given subject. Each volume has been carefully edited. Supplementary commentaries are also provided in most of the volumes, as is an "About the Contributors" section which usually includes suggestions of other sources which some readers may wish to explore. In this volume, the reader is provided with eight articles. Here is a selection of brief excerpts from the executive summaries with precede each of three:

"....managers need to understand that creativity has three parts: expertise, the ability to think flexibly and imaginatively, and motivation. Managers can influence the first two, but doing so is costly and slow. It would be far more effective to increase employees' intrinsic motivation....To that end, managers have five levers to pull: the amount of challenge they give employees, the degree of freedom they grant around process, the way they design work groups, the level of encouragement they give, and the nature of the organizational support." (Introducing Teresa M. Amabile's "How to Kill Creativity")

"Some innovations spring from a flash of genius [but] most result from a conscious, purposeful search for opportunities. For managers seeking innovation, engaging in disciplined work is more important than having an entrepreneurial personality....[According to Drucker, the major sources of opportunities include] unexpected occurrences, incongruities of various kinds, process needs, or changes in an industry or market,...demographic changes, changes in perception, or new knowledge." (Introducing Peter F. Drucker's "The Discipline of Innovation")

"[Having studied more than 30 of the largest international corporations, Kim and Mauborgne found that]....the difference between the high growth companies and their less successful competitors was in each group's assumptions about strategy....Managers of the high-growth companies followed what [Kim and Mauborgne] call the logic of value innovation....Many companies let competitors set the parameters of of their strategic thinking; value innovators do not use rivals as benchmarks. Rather than focus on the differences among customers, value innovators look for what customers value in common. Rather than view opportunities through the lens of existing assets and capabilities, value innovators ask, What if we start anew?" (Introducing W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne's "Value Innovation: The Strategic Logic of High Growth")

In the other five articles, Dorothy Leonard and Jeffrey F. Rayport explain how to spark innovation through what they call "empathetic design"; Leonard and Susaan Straus explain how to "put your company's whole brain to work"; Eileen Morley and Andrew Silver propose taking what they call "a film director's approach" to managing creativity; in a case study, Suzy Wetlaufer examines what is stifling creativity at CoolBurst, a fictitious Miami-based fruit juice company; and Richard K. Lester, Michael J. Piore, and Kamal M. Malek introduce their concept of "interpretative management," explaining what general managers can learn from design.

Granted, because several of these articles were published years ago, some of the material in this volume is understandably somewhat dated but the core concepts are solid and remain relevant to all organizations, regardless of size or nature. Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out others in the "Harvard Business Review Paperback Series." Also, Michael Michalko's Cracking Creativity, Doug Hall's Jump Start Your Business Brain, and Tom Kelley's The Art of Innovation as well as Barry J. Nalebuff and Ian Ayres's Why Not?

average........2004-08-21

Alot of the principals here to me at least seemed a bit trite. A lot of the principals presented are simple common sense dressed up in a business vocabulary. If you want results keep reading, if you want to WOW lesser managers w/ your corp. speak - this might be the book for you.

Read this book if your sales or profits are in decline.......2004-06-07

Creativity and innovation are the keys to competitive advantage in the knowledge economy and this book is a collection of eight HBR articles on how to organize for innovation. Many companies unintentionally crush employee's intrinsic motivation in pursuit of productivity, efficiency and control, but creativity requires expertise, motivation and the ability to think flexibly and imaginatively. Key factors are challenge, freedom, the design of the work group, encouragement, and organizational support but with careful planning it is possible to create an organization in which business imperatives are attended to and creativity flourishes. As innovation takes place through creative abrasion, care must be taken to prevent players with different worldviews and thinking styles having personal disputes. Managers often prefer like-thinking staff, neglecting a dynamic set of individuals whose counter culture thinking patterns are considered disruptive. A mix of right- and left-brain individuals is required to develop new approaches to the business.

There are many lessons to be learned from a film unit where talented people band together for a short time; success depends on getting the right personnel, enabling them to work well together, motivating them to peak performance, leading them to create on schedule, and handling the stresses that arise. The director's job is managing the different phases in a film's production - preproduction script development etc, the production phase of shooting, camera, lighting, sound crews etc., and post production of picture and sound editing etc., all under intense budget and time pressures. Many managers in business and industry follow the film directors' approach intuitively but it is rarer for a manager to relate to different people in different ways or to the same people in different ways at different times.

CoolBurst is a fictitious case study of a soft drinks company that had ruled the market but where revenues and profits had stagnated. The company's most creative employee had joined the largest competitor while many new companies were joining the competitive fray with each one coming from a different angle. The one remaining creative person, the marketing director, got a lot done but his work style of going to the movies during work hours did not fit the company culture and adversely affected others. He had warned everyone that past success was due to being in the right place at the right time and that the bubble would burst; CoolBurst had to create a new vision of the brand and innovate or evaporate. CoolBurst had to make itself a more welcoming, nurturing place for creative individuals, encourage employees to take more risks and change the culture of command, compartmentalization and control. Leadership that envisions, empowers and energizes is required. Five experts put forward their views of the best way out of the dilemma.

Peter Drucker points out that opportunities for innovation can be found in unexpected occurrences, incongruities, process needs, changes in an industry or market, demographics, changes in perception, and new knowledge. These seven sources overlap and the potential for innovation may lie in more than one area at a time. Innovation requires talent, ingenuity, knowledge, diligence, persistence, commitment and demands that managers look beyond established practices. Demographics and an education explosion clearly identified a forthcoming shortage of blue-collar workers but only the Japanese acted on it and stole a 10-year lead in robotics. Despite an unprecedented improvement in Americans' health, perceptions were different, creating a huge market for health care products and exercise equipment. Purposeful, systematic innovation is work rather than genius, beginning with the analysis of the source of new opportunities followed by field work to look, ask and listen, using both left and right sides of the brain.

The past two decades have seen a dramatic acceleration in the pace of change in the market place requiring companies to abandon old hierarchical models and managers to adapt to unstable and unpredictable markets in which it may be difficult to define the problem let alone engineer a solution. The analytical approach is giving way to the interpretive approach in companies like Levi Strauss and Chiron that have stayed at the top of an industry where the customer does not know what he wants or needs. What is fashionable emerges during conversations between designers, buyers, customers, manufacturers, and fashion writers. There is no beginning and no end; what is fashionable has no final answer and the answer keeps changing. Levi divides the market into age segments and assigns a designer to each segment. Each designer is encouraged to become immersed in that segment's culture by living the life of its members, shopping at their stores, eating in their restaurants, dancing in their clubs, listening to their radio stations, and reading their magazines - all in an effort to spot new trends. Interpretive management constantly questions the boundaries of the company's core competency and demands a whole new way of thinking about the work of the business executive.

Managers of less successful companies follow conventional strategic logic while managers of high growth companies follow what Kim and Mauborgne of INSEAD call the Logic of Value Innovation. Instead of battling competitors over shrinking cinema attendance in Belgium, Bert Claeys created Kinepolis in 1998 and made the competition irrelevant by offering a greatly improved experience. Neither an ordinary cinema nor a multiplex, Kinepolis is the world's first megaplex which won 50% of the Brussels market in its first year and expanded the market by about 40%. Today many Belgians refer not to a night at the movies but to an evening at Kinepolis. The five dimensions of Value Innovation Logic say that:
- an industry's conditions can be shaped and are not given
- competition is not the benchmark
- focus on what customers value
- what would we do if starting anew?
- think in terms of the total solution sought by the customer

Any manager who sees sales or profits stabilizing or going into decline would be wise to read this book.

An assortment of articles.......2003-02-08

This collection of HBR articles on creativity, organization and 'out-of-the-box' stuff is packaged as the HBR on Breakthrough Thinking. Hence, if you are in an exploratory mood to read up various viewpoints of organizational creativity then do pick up this book. But if, you are working in an organization, and what to know what to do to take it through the whole end-to-end innovation journey then this book is only an appetizer. You'll have to catch someone else to serve you the meal.
The book has articles like:
How to kill creativity: The list of no-nos to avoid getting stuck in a rut.

Putting your company's whole brain to work: Looking at the MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) of people working together.

An interesting article is "A film director's approach to managing creativity" which could have been very powerfully used. It ends up drawing lame parallels between a movie production and organizational projects and what the corporate world can learn from it.

The masterpiece is as usual, The Discipline of Innovation, by Peter Drucker, as he gives insights as to why some firms can innovate. He classifies them as firms that do process innovations, or capitalising on industry or market changes. OUtside, due to demographic , perception and knowledge changes.

Book Description

A complete guide to help ministers prepare tax returns and plan their financial future.

Customer Reviews:

You may want to look elsewhere.......2001-02-17

I have had my taxes done by a CPA for the last few years and she just retired. I've had a tough time finding someone else who could do minister's taxes so I decided to try it myself by buying two books; this one, and Zondervan's "Minister's Taxes & Financial Guide."

"Clergy Tax" is far superior in my opinion because it really does literally walk you through step-by-step on the all tax forms in a very simple yet thorough way.

Zondervan's book, on the other hand, is why I never did my taxes before -- it gives you theory, and answers some questions in the "Dummies" style, but doesn't ever touch down in the nitty-gritty world of tax forms and what goes where on which form.

Customer Reviews:

A very good book........2005-01-23

Makes me a lot more patient and decide many things better. This book is not too long. Try it.

Kudos from another former student.......2004-04-21

A very good book. Dr. Robbins does indeed write as well
as he speaks. This book would make a useful addition to your
"self-improvement" library. I highly recommend it.

Written for people from all walks of life.......2004-01-14

Decide & Conquer: Make Winning Decisions And Take Control Of Your Life by management and organizational behavior expert Stephen P. Robbins (Professor Emeritus, San Diego State University) is an absolute "must-read" self-help book written for people from all walks of life. Decide & Conquer focuses specifically upon factors that impede the human decision-making process -- whether choosing what stock to buy, which career to pursue, how to invest for retirement, who to date or marry, or virtually any other crucial life choice. Professor Robbins clearly delineates common obstacles to sound decision-making, including the failure to realize that making no choice is a choice in itself to keep the status quo, overconfidence, inability to recognize sunk costs, and more. Decide & Conquer is superbly organized and presented guide which is extensively researched with a wealth of keen insights drawn from modern human psychology.

A nice guy... A nice book..........2004-01-04

I took one of Dr. Robbins' management courses
at SDSU over a dozen years ago, and to this day
I'm still using the decision-making techniques
he presented, in my own life...

In person, at the podium, Dr. Robbins is warm,
bright and funny, and he gets his points across
with laser precision...

Happily, his writing style mirrors his speaking
style, and it makes for an enjoyable read...

I recommend this book to anyone who could use
an intelligent angel sitting on their shoulder...

Book Description

Did you know that your government is watching you? That it buys personal data from private contractors and foreign governments? That it collects this information to "predict" whether you might be a terrorist? That if you are singled out, no one may be able to help you? In light of the recent terrorist threats at U.K and U.S. airports, this book is a timely and provocative read about what governments should and should not be doing to protect us from further terrorist attacks. It is a crucial look at a little-examined aspect of the U.S.-led "war on terror"; the move toward the use of mass, globalized surveillance and a "preemptive" model of security, and its effects on democratic values and human rights around the world. "Maureen Webb pulls all the pieces together - special rendition, no fly lists, biometric surveillance, warrant-less wire taps, torture - to create a harrowing picture of post 9-11 state repression. This valuable guide makes clear how dramatically civil liberties have been attacked in recent years." Christian Parenti, author of "The Freedom: Shadows and Hallucinations in Occupied Iraq," "The Soft Cage," and "Lockdown America" "A thorough and terrifying compendium of the threats to democracy posed by the unquestioning use of technology. The book urges us not to stand by as governments seek to replace the rule of law with faulty databases searched by unproven computer algorithms. Maureen Webb portrays a frightening image of high-placed officials playing with their technological toys; meanwhile the real world - and its real insecurities - elude them." Ellen Ullman, author of "The Bug: A Novel" and "Close to the Machine" "Your government is spying on you, and it's going to get worse until we do something about it," is Maureen Webb's message in her brilliant, much needed new book. In measured, lucid detail, Webb presents a wide-ranging account of the emerging global network of surveillance that is infringing on the personal privacy and civil liberties of people in the United States and world wide. Focusing on U.S.-led initiatives in the aftermath of of 9/11, Webb's timely book describes how governments are spying on not only foreigners, but also their own citizens, and sharing the data with other countries and big corporations. She reminds us that we live in a political moment in which the world's primary advocate of democracy--the United States-- is engaging in indefinite detentions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and domestic spying. " -- Nadine Strossen, Executive Director, ACLU

Customer Reviews:

"Illusions Of Security" should be read by every American citizen regardless whether their political philosophies.......2007-06-09

"Illusions Of Security: Global Surveillance And Democracies In The Post-9/11 World" by human rights lawyer and activist Maureen Webb offers an eye-opening expose about the secret domestic spying programs that the Bush administration introduced with the passive acquiesce of a Republican controlled congress over the past six years. Even with congress under the limited control of the Democrats, the Bush government is still watching the American public, buying personal data from private contractors and foreign governments. The pretense is that the Bush administration collections this information in order to 'predict' who might be a terrorist. God help you if you are caught up in this web of internal security. Not since the "Watergate Papers" of a generation past has there been so critically important an expose published on what the American government is doing to the American citizenry. Simply put, if our nation is to remain a bastion of democracy, "Illusions Of Security" should be read by every American citizen regardless whether their political philosophies are liberal or progressive, conservative or libertarian, democrat or republican or independent.

Democracy at its best.......2007-02-13

Maureen Webb courageously steps forward to elevate our debate, expressing real concerns about the flipside of security. What are the downsides of enhanced security, what are we really giving up to achieve security, and how will this impact our future democracy are all questions Illusions of Security addresses.

This is the best book I've found so far, (and I've read numerous others), because it includes all the main points, gives better examples that are not so academic, and because Maureen Webb writes as a real person talking to us as a friend would - not like some professor who clearly knows more than us and wants us to know they know more than us.

Even though the subjects are complex ones, muddied further by politics, our own fear of terrorists, and politicians who we have become accustomed to just trusting, anyone interested in preserving democracy must face the discomfort of these subjects and at least hear the other side.

At a time when differing viewpoints have been labeled as treasonous and those suggesting them have been accused of "assisting the terrorists" Illusions of Security illustrates how debate is fundamental to democracy. Beginning with real life events carried out in the name of enhanced security, a reader does not need much imagination to perceive the hazard to real people that government secrecy brings. It also does not take much imagination to realize "it could have been me" that faced those threats.

Skillfully Maureen Webb takes us through her concerns, showing us the flipside of what we have been told we need for the sake of national security; Presidential secrecy and spying, preemption, global registration, etc. Illusions of Security does a great job of putting the complex ideas and issues of the other side of national security into simple terms we can all understand. Maureen Webb offers solid analogies throughout the text which make it easy to see how this is relevant to today and not something to be dismissed. I would highly recommend this book but encourage you to slow down when reading it, take the time to read and re-read if necessary, and discuss it with friends!

The Lost City of Barakus (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)

Average customer rating:

"Third Edition Rules, First Edition Feel"

The Lost City of Barakus (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)
Bill Webb , and Brian Snoddy
Manufacturer: Troll Lord Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1931275483

Book Description

Plunge into the forgotten city of Barakus where only the bold survive! Explore cavernous dungeons, intrigue with wary soldiers and battle horrors from the edge of time. Barakus is an Epic introductory location-based adventure for character levels 1-5, revised for the 3.5 system. This huge adventure provides months of gaming material. The book details a complete city, the wilderness surrounding it, and a huge, 5-level dungeon. Dozens of minor quests and puzzles are used to distract and entertain adventurers while the main storyline builds to a crescendo. This adventure and sourcebook contains over 30 highly detailed side quests that take place in the wilderness and city, and the dungeon itself contains over 200 numbered encounter areas. Players can attempt to stop the city beggars from being sold as slaves, face bandits in the wilderness, expose the corruption of a noble family, and destroy an ancient evil that caused the downfall of the lost civilization.

Customer Reviews:

"Third Edition Rules, First Edition Feel".......2004-09-18

Necromancer Games' tagline is "Third Edition Rules, First Edition Feel" and Barakus embodies it quite nicely. Combining a fully-developed metropolis, a massive dungeon and a number of side quests in and around both, with more than a dozen key NPCs, Kenower and Webb have delivered a product equal to some of the best WotC sourcebooks. It's both comprehensive enough to build an entire campaign around, and flexible enough to pick and choose elements to add to existing campaigns. Granted, some of the plotlines are rather generic, but that's forgiveable. What's not is its editing, or lack thereof, as the number of typos and spelling and grammatical errors is terrible! Despite that, it's worth the price of admission.

Patrons and Defenders: The Saints in the Italian City State (International Library of Historical Studies)

Average customer rating:

Patrons and Defenders: The Saints in the Italian City State (International Library of Historical Studies)
Diana Webb
Manufacturer: I. B. Tauris
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Medieval | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Church & State | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Angels | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 186064029X

Book Description

The cult of the saints played a vital role in the political life of Italian city states in the Middle Ages. The saints were a unifying force for a city, and brought prestige and power to its rulers, therefore the cult of the saints was bound up with the civic agenda, and worship was politically charged. Laymen - able men of affairs, orthodox and "kirchentreu", increasingly assumed responsibility for ensuring that "celestial guarantees" were obtained for a city's well-being, despite the traditionally powerful influence of the church.

This book is therefore not a hagiography, but an intensely political study of an age in which religious experience was seen as part of everyday life, and in which it seemed natural to medieval politicians to involve the saints in politics.

Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Timbuktu (Cities Through Time)

Average customer rating:

Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Timbuktu (Cities Through Time)
Larry Brooks , and Larry Brook
Manufacturer: Runestone Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

West Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Children's Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0822532158

Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Beijing (Cities Through Time)

Average customer rating:

Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Beijing (Cities Through Time)
Robert F. Baldwin
Manufacturer: Runestone Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Asia | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 082253214X

Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Mexico City (Cities Through Time)

Average customer rating:

Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Mexico City (Cities Through Time)
Steve Cory
Manufacturer: Runestone Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Daily Life in Ancient and Modern London (Cities Through Time)

Average customer rating:

Daily Life in Ancient and Modern London (Cities Through Time)
Betony Toht
Manufacturer: Runestone Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Europe | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

This is London (This is . . .)

ASIN: 0822532239

Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Jerusalem (Cities Through Time)

Average customer rating:

Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Jerusalem (Cities Through Time)
Diane Slavik
Manufacturer: Runestone Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Middle East | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0822532182

Average customer rating:

The City Square: A Historical Evolution
Michael Webb
Manufacturer: Whitney Library of Design
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Urban Planning & Development | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0823006360

New Stage for a City: Designing the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (Building Monograph Series)

Average customer rating:

New Stage for a City: Designing the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (Building Monograph Series)
Michael Webb
Manufacturer: Antique Collectors' Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Criticism | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Urban & Land Use Planning | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1875498915

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books