Energy Statistics of Non-Oecd Countries 2000-2001: Statistiques De L'energie Des Pays Non-Membres

Customer Reviews:

Regarding Thomas Greco's Review.......2005-09-05

I believe that "The Lost Science of Money" is a very well written, serious, and thorough book. If you can't afford the cost based upon reviews then check it out of a library first, and judge for your self.

Please, note that Greco's review is by an author(Greco himself) who is sideways attempting to promote his own book ("Money") by pulling Down Zarlenga's book. Yes, Stephen Zarlenga does not delve deeply into alternative and community based currencies in these current times, but the basis for a solid understanding of monetary history and principles is fully accessible and clearly written, unlike Greco's exercise in muddling through without an outline.

Massive historical detail with a cogent message.......2004-11-18

This book provides a huge service to understanding one of the most central and powerful artifacts in human civilization: money. The brilliance of Zarlenga's treatment of this subject and what makes it stand out from others, is that while including massive historical detail and richness, he brings a cogent message about money that anyone (viz. the non-specialist) can walk away with. And it is, that money systems are designed by the intelligence of humans and established and empowered through a collective authority. Thus, the more all of society understands money and willingly participates in backing its authority, the greater the possibility that it will serve all people, and not private elites who may be tempted to structure its design in their favor. This single human innovation - money - has many alternative ways of being socially constructed and politically established as a means of exchange. Get the design right, and the quality of life for all people can be dramatically altered. The structural design of money will directly affect the degree to which individual market action will be morally and socially responsible. Getting the money system right can lead to the alignment of individual and collective action of people. This understanding that money is a human-specified tool (and not some mystical object that we all use but don't really know where it came from or how it works) is so important in birthing a new awareness around emergent economic and market behavior. To me, this kind of writing is a great examplar of how economics should be performed: taking a historical perspective to see what worked and what didn't work. The metaphysical clap-trap around money, as well as the professional economist's mathematical obfuscations are avoided. Seeing it for what it truly is - a designable artifact - is really the gift of this study. Highly recommended, and in my recent reading, complements Kevin Phillips', Wealth and Democracy.

If you only read one book about money this is the one........2004-11-13

Having read numerous books on the issues of money systems I can say without equivocation this is the best by far of any I have come across including many of the Austrian economics books and those by Rothbard. All of them have their perspectives but Zarlenga's work and conclusions are a synthesis from history, well documented, and ring true on deep gut level. He makes his case very well and there is no hype or misplaced emotion as there are in many works on the money issues. Taken as a history book alone I would give the book 5 stars. Too many people, including me, have been ignorant of the historical roots of money and Zarlenga helps us to learn the dramas, political games, and debasement of money systems through the ages. It is fascinating and shocking story. What is taking place in the world now, including the Federal Reserve and World Bank is a slight variation of the historical power struggles over the control of money that go back thousands of years. The most informative issues that come out of this work is the history of gold and silver as money and how they are fiat currencies just like any other proclaimed currency. The money powers, governments, and kings have at various times decreed gold to be money (fiat) as they stood to benefit from it. Yes, gold can't be created out of nothing but it is just as fiat as a dollar bill. As a defender of the gold standard I have to admit that my notions of the gold standard have been flipped upside down even though I have read many of the Mises Institutes books. I can't say that a commodity-based money may not be useful or that the connection between paper money and its basis in gold adds integrity to the system but I do believe now that the issues is not black and white, gold or paper money. What Zarlenga elegantly makes clear is that all money, short of direct barter of goods, has always been a creature of law, i.e. someone decrees it so. As such it is open to abuse and perversion. The book, Subtitled " The Mythology of Money, the Story of Power", does a great service in taking the mythology issues and presenting them in a factual and understandable way. What I like about this book is it is common sense, down to earth, expertly researched and presented in a way that avoids the curse of too much economics jargon and pseudo-science. Money is not particle physics and it is an issue that touches each and every one of us every day. Money has, and continues to shape culture and the direction of life. Leaving the control of money, which seems to me to function as a sort of cultural economic DNA, to a private and secretive group of world elites is a recipe for life out of balance on all levels. It invites exploitation and abuse and as history show there has been much of that concerning the control of money.

Regarding the comments from a prior reviewer of the book who was somewhat critical of the work I disagree with his comment that the book does not give specific solutions. I got the sense that the reviewer wanted economic equations and esoteric pogroms that he could espouse as a scientific look at money. Money, at its roots is no more scientific than sex. Sure, you can define sex with all the science in the world but the gist of it is personal and well known to all of us. People get heated up over the issue of sex and everyone has an opinion. Money is no exception and taking the understanding and control of money and wrapping it up in academic polemics is simply a way to convince us that we need accredited experts to help us. Try that with sex and see what happens. The kinds of solutions that are needed are social and political. Zarlengas effort was not to micro-manage the topic but to show us the lay of the land and give us the broader concepts and tools to regain the control of societies money. It belongs to all of us and is part and parcel to human life and commerce. Just as "We The People" are the foundation and source of the authority for our constitution, we should also be the foundation and final arbiter of our money system. There is little difference between a dictatorship of the societal political process or the societal money process. Concentrated in the hands of the few leads to perverse distortion and societal destruction.

In my 50 years or so of life I have only a handful of books that I think are must-reads and this is one of them. With three sons all out of college and in their twenties this is one of the books I am getting for each of them to read. It is that important. I give this book 5 stars. It is a tour de force of excellent research and common sense analysis.

The History of Money Redeemed.......2004-11-02

After a decade-plus of intensive research in the monetary arena, Stephen Zarlenga has authored a book titled "The Lost Science of Money." It is a truly monumental work that, I believe, reconstitutes the history of money, and the essence of its nature, in a way that does not, and might not ever, otherwise exist. It documents this crucial, but long neglected field of study, in a manner that does justice to the finest standards of scholarship, while at the same time rendering in a subject that in lesser hands might produce a tedious tome, a lively narrative that is accessible to the interested layman. It is a good read; a page-turner even. It paints a sensitive and intelligent historical panorama that transcends the gaudier narrations of wars, rulers and empires commonly proffered by more orthodox historians. To state that it constitutes an urgently needed service to the human race is more understatement than hype. It provides the intellectual basis for comprehending the monetary undercurrent that has shaped and driven civilization. It is simply not possible to realize who we are, how we got here, and the options for the future without an understanding of what is delineated in this epic work.

A good historical perspective but little science or solution.......2004-09-26

- A Book Review by Thomas H. Greco, Jr.
The Lost Science of Money: The Mythology of Money - the Story of Power by Stephen Zarlenga
(The American Monetary Institute, PO Box 601, Valatie, NY, 2002. Hardcover, 724 pages. ISBN 1-930748-03-5)

Zarlenga's book attempts to do two things, first, to describe the dimensions of the "money problem" by tracing its roots, not only in economics and finance, but also in ethics, religion, and politics; and second, to prescribe, in broad outline at least, a solution. In the first instance it is mostly successful, but in the second, it falls far short.

This massive treatise (more than 700 pages) recounts the history of money from early times, providing an interesting historical overview based on a wide variety of sources. It is a scholarly, well researched, and insightful account of the evolution of money, banking, and finance, in which the author argues that "a main arena of human struggle is over the monetary control of societies..," and shows how the money power has historically rivaled that of governments. All that is well and good; the story of money IS the story of power, and the author tells it well. It is, indeed unfortunate that few people today realize the important political implications that are inherent in the control over money and banking, or that such control has typically been in the hands of elite private interests. This well researched history goes a long way toward clearing away the fog that has enshrouded that bastion of privilege.

The title promises to tell us about "the lost science of money," but there is little in it that would qualify as scientific. The author's subtitle, "The Mythology of Money - The Story of Power," would have been far more appropriate as a title. While I can appreciate the author for the major contribution he has made to our understanding of the evolution of money, banking, and centralized power, I must also say that the conclusions he draws and his proposed reforms are less than helpful.

It is not until the very last chapter that we see anything of proposed solutions. That is just as well, for his reform proposals are ill considered and anything but original, directing us into another blind alley of centralized control.

In a mere 28 pages, he manages to dismiss every other approach to a solution which he has ever heard of, then propose that the money monopoly be reestablished under new management. He gives short shrift to the whole alternative exchange movement - mutual credit clearing associations, LETS, and community currencies, and, does not even mention the commercial "barter" industry, thus revealing that he has not yet educated himself about the essential nature of the exchange process, contemporary methods, and the possibilities offered by voluntary, popular, and private approaches.

His critique of the "free money" movement covers less than a single page. If Zarlenga has any knowledge at all of the free money and free banking theories, it is not apparent. Likewise, his critique of the local currency movement is similarly uninformed. Again, in less than a page he dismisses it as worse than irrelevant, seeing it as a distraction from the "real" work of reform (the centralist, government-oriented approach).

His approach is both reformist and centralist, and shows no appreciation for the role of scale in making the system dysfunctional in the first place. Nor does he offer any strategy for achieving the massive reform he proposes. Having described so carefully the corrupting effects that result from centralizing the money power, it is curious that the author asks us to accept it when under the control of politicians and bureaucrats. Does he not see that the political and financial elites are in cahoots, and indeed are the same people.

Well, no one volume can hope to be competent in addressing all aspects of a problem, so we should appreciate this book for what it is rather than condemn it for what it isn't. Despite it's shortcomings, this is an important book. In sum, it is an admirable contribution to our understanding of power dynamics in today's world, and the singular importance of the democratization of the monetary power to enabling lives of dignity, freedom, and fulfillment for all.
# # #

The Lost Science of Money The Mythology og Money- the Story of Power

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The Lost Science of Money The Mythology og Money- the Story of Power
Zarlenga Stephen A.
Manufacturer: American Monetary Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UDV3G2

Book Description

First published in 1990, A Taste of Quebec is the definitive guide to traditional and modern cooking in this distinctive region of Canada. Featuring specialties from each section of the province, where else could you find seven recipes for tourtiere, each with a different local variation? Or the secrets behind the traditional cod-based bouillabaisse of the Gaspe? Or the haute-cuisine twist of adding local sirop d'erable to a terrine in Trois Rivieres?

Now revised and updated, A Taste of Quebec, 2nd Edition, again brings you a balance of Quebec's culinary past and present. Featuring over 125 new recipes and traditional favourites, A Taste of Quebec, 2nd Edition, also: Highlights new up-and-coming chefsIntroduces local growers and producersGives inside information on the province's best restaurants and aubergesFeatures notes of architectural and historical interestAnd, provides typical regional menus for a genuine Quebecois feast

With photos illustrating the people, the food, and the land sprinkled throughout, more than ever Taste of Quebec is the all-in-one food lover's journey through la belle province.

Written by Quebec's respected culinary authority, Julian Armstrong, A Taste of Quebec, 2nd Edition, details the history, folklore details, and gastronomic stamp of each area of the province as explored during the author's 40 years in her adopted home. As she says, "[Quebec] is a beautiful land with a history both distinctive and fascinating; its people are generous in sharing tales of their family cooking. I hope readers who know Quebec will find old friends among the recipes, and those who visit the province will enjoy seeking out those dishes from its past and present as much as I have." In its breadth, depth, and love of the land, Taste of Quebec has no equal.

Customer Reviews:

highly recommended.......2006-10-09

I really enjoyed this book - it breaks the recipes down according to Quebec regions and is rich in history and the stories behind the recipes. It has everything from Eggs in Maple Syrup (!), various versions of Meat Pie (Tourtiere), various Sugar Pie recipes, and finally, to the famous Jo Louis cream filled cake that started the Jo Louis empire. Every French Canadian person I've ever showed the recipe book to has immediately wanted a copy of it. Highly recommended!

A Great Book!.......2002-10-01

I bought this book last March to recreate some favorite dishes for my French Canadian boyfriend here in Los Angeles. We have made several dishes together, and all were proclaimed a great success (by him, the expert taster!). It is an enjoyable book as well, dividing the culinary landscape into regions with intros etc. that made me more educated about Quebec regional cooking. I highly recommend this book.

A Taste of Quebec Is a Picture of French-Canadian Cuisine.......2000-06-17

French-Canadians and New England's Franco-Americans will be delighted with the presentation in this supberb cookbook because the recipes reflect the traditions of the French culture in North America. Pictures are beautiful and a history of each dish is provided.

Taste of Montreal: Tracking Down the Foods of the World

Average customer rating:

An invaluable addition to any food lover's library.

Taste of Montreal: Tracking Down the Foods of the World
Barry Lazar
Manufacturer: Vehicule Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Professional | Professional Cooking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Canada | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1550651757

Book Description

Garam masala, lemongrass, sausage subs, spruce beer, epazote, and truffles are among the foods served up in the ethnic neighborhood restaurants and strip malls featured in this culinary sampling of the food and cultures of Montreal. Information on spices and flavorings, descriptions of savory tastes, and historical background on the meaning and tradition of certain dishes accompany directions for the traveler or city resident on where to find these restaurants.

Customer Reviews:

An invaluable addition to any food lover's library........2004-01-21

Globe & Mail
Style Section (Toronto edition) - Page L9

REQUIRED READING
By Cecily Ross
Saturday, January 17, 2004

Taste of Montreal: Tracking Down the Foods of the World
By Barry Lazar (Véhicule Press, 270 pages, $13.95) ISBN: 1-55065-175-7

This compact guide to the culinary smorgasbord of Montreal is much more than a resource for residents of and visitors to Canada's second largest city. It is an invaluable addition to any food lover's library.

Montreal Gazette food writer Barry Lazar has compiled a fun and informative alphabetical listing of foods from around the world, all of which can be found on the streets of his native city. Beginning with anchovies and ending with zershk (dried red barberries used in Iran), each entry explains the provenance of the food, where it can be found in the city and an enticing recipe.

There are foods listed that I have never heard of and am determined to seek out in Toronto -- for instance, knafé, a large Armenian pancake made from semolina and smothered in sweet ricotta-like cheese. Or salicorne, a delicious briny plant grown in salt marshes that I've only encountered on the West Coast, where it is called samphire.

Book Description

Takes a multifaceted look at the major issues of interest rate risk management, including a controversial new tie-in to risk-based capital. This definitive text inlcudes a review of the major types of risk affecting financial institutions and the critical issues affecting financial institutions and the critical issues affecting risk-based capital, included the impact on asset-liability management.

Understanding & Managing Interest Rate Risks (Series in Mathematical Finance, V. 1)

Average customer rating:

The book is too short, 2nd edition coming?

Understanding & Managing Interest Rate Risks (Series in Mathematical Finance, V. 1)
Chen
Manufacturer: WORLD SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Public Finance | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Theory | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Bonds | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Futures | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 9810227515

Customer Reviews:

The book is too short, 2nd edition coming?.......1998-02-10

I like this book. It provides a good summary of a complete list of the term structure models. Best of all, it contains a consistent methodology for deriving interest rate derivatives. The forward measure technique is explained very well. However, symbols are not clear and later chapters are too "concise". I would like to see more numerical examples. Also, an inclusion of numerical methods should be helpful.

Understanding and managing interest rate risk

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Understanding and managing interest rate risk
William J McGuire
Manufacturer: Financial Managers Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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The Individual Investor's Guide to the Top Mutual Funds 2003 (Individual Investors Guide to the Top Mutual Funds)

Manufacturer: American Association of Individual Investors
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Mutual Funds | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1883328179

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The Individual Investor's Guide to the Top Mutual Funds 2003
The American Association of Individual Investors
Manufacturer: Amer Assn of Individual Investors
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SBZ5UG

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Intuition vs Analysis

A useful perspective on thought processes / decision making

Intuition at Work: Why Developing Your Gut Instincts Will Make You Better at What You Do
Gary Klein
Manufacturer: Currency
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Decision-Making & Problem Solving | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Intelligence | By Topic | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions

Trust Your Gut: How the Power of Intuition Can Grow Your Business

Intuition Workout: A Practical Guide to Discovering and Developing Your Inner Knowing

Managing the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity

Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious

ASIN: 0385502885
Release Date: 2002-12-24

Book Description

At times in our careers, we've all been aware of a "gut feeling" guiding our decisions. Too often, we dismiss these feelings as "hunches" and therefore untrustworthy. But renowned researcher Gary Klein reveals that, in fact, 90 percent of the critical decisions we make is based on our intuition. In his new book, INTUITION AT WORK, Klein shows that intuition, far from being an innate "sixth sense," is a learnable--and essential--skill.

Based on interviews with senior executives who make important judgments swiftly, as well as firefighters, emergency medical staff, soldiers, and others who often face decisions with immediate life-and-death implications, Klein demonstrates that the expertise to recognize patterns and other cues that enable us--intuitively--to make the right decisions--is a natural extension of experience.

Through a three-tiered process called the "Exceleration Program," Klein provides readers with the tools they need to build the intuitive skills that will help them make tough choices, spot potential problems, manage uncertainty, and size up situations quickly. Klein also shows how to communicate such decisions more effectively, coach others in the art of intuition, and recognize and defend against an overdependence on information technology.

The first book to demystify the role of intuition in decision making, INTUITION AT WORK is essential reading for those who wish to develop their intuition skills, wherever they are in the organizational hierarchy.

Customer Reviews:

Intuition vs Analysis.......2004-10-11

This is a great follow-up to Gary Klein's previous work "Sources of Power". Where "Sources" is more about how intuition is used and his theories about it, "Intuition at Work" is more a practical guide on how to apply the theory and its implications.

Gary tries to demystify "intuition" by stating his defintion of intuition as experience put into practice. Through this defintion, Gary tries to answer the question, how does one become expert in their craft/profession through their cumulative experience, and how do they apply that experience. He gives many examples of this.

Through out the book, Gary is driving the point that intuition is a developed sense through the honing of experience into recognizable patterns for future use. This pattern recognition capability differentiates the novice or journeyman from the truly expert; examples given are the experiences of the neonatal intensive care nurses (those who can sense a problem before other nurses or the measurement equipment, the experience of the marine NCO who can sense the order of battle from subtle signs that the team leader in the middle of the exercise is totally missing. The individual usually has no idea how he/she goes about pattern recognition, hence the mystical connotation of intuition.

Deeper in the book, he gives practical advise on how the individual can develop their own expertise, and how to structure training /development experiences to foster the growth of the intuitive decision making. There is also an excellent chapter on coaching.

Though he very much bashes the analytical approach, he keeps resorting back to it to prove certain points. There is an execellent chapter on the short comings on purely quantitative measures for management, and how they need to be integrated with knowledge of the process of the measures (where they come from, and their reliability). In 6 Sigma this is called Measure System Analysis (MSA, gauge R&R being a component of it).

From a 6 sigma perspective, I think this approach is entirely compatible (not withstanding the author's negative position on analytical decision making), but they are mutually support and not mutually exclusive. The basic idea on intuitive decision making is that there are times and situations that are either time dependant(heat of battle) or at a strategic level (data points in many directions) where data will fall short.

In the heat of battle is not the time for a 6 sigma design of experiments. However, the DOE (or other analysis) is very appropriate to expand the process knowledge and drive better future decisions based on sound current experience.

The author does cover training methods and allowing the student to make mistakes that expand their knowledge based and mental models. It is in providing sound mental models that I think the analytic will shine in providing correct mental models.

Since the author was focused on supporting the importance of the intuitive approach, there was little mention of the limitiations of the aproach. Experience in 6 Sigma teaches that the teams hunches often are proven wrong with the data. I suspect this is due to limitations of their mental models and the rigorousness in which the mental models are developed and tested. A good book that covers some of this is Peter Senge's "The Fifth Discipline".

A key issue that Senge writes about is that many times there are time delays from and action to true response. The time delay is not always apparent. The person then developes a mental model of an action and apparent response that is then flawed. I think this tends to, among other reasons, lead to crisis management/band-aid approach to fixing problems as opposd to true corrective action. How many times has a manager or supervisor "fixed" a problem, only to have it crop up a week, month, or 6 months later.

I highly recommend this book, especially for trainers, 6 sigma practioners, and managers.

A useful perspective on thought processes / decision making.......2003-12-05

In Innovation at Work, Gary Klein presents the interesting premise that intuition can be a learned skill rather than an innate trait that someone either does or does not have. Citing his work with the US Marine Corps, firefighters and certain business organizations, Klein lays out his theory that intuition is something to be valued, developed and leveraged. To push his thesis, he tends to beat up on analytics and metrics in decision making - so much so that people with a strong analytical bent (like me) might dismiss the thesis as rubbish. Keeping an open mind, however, makes one see that what Klein is really advocating is a blend of intuition and analytics. In fact, a number of the tools outlined by Klein to build up intuition are somewhat analytical in nature - in effect creating a situation where one can intuitively decide something today because of "pre-analysis" that had been done in the past. Although the concepts are presented more from an anecdotal perspective than from a rigorous scientific one, Klein is able to nonetheless put forth a concept that merits attention, if for no other reason that to gain a perspective on different management styles the one must deal with on a regular basis.

Book Description

TAX THE RUDE, NOT ME! is a uniquely clever new book that proposes the rude, selfish, greedy and annoying be taxed for their bad attitudes and bad behavior. Let's shift the tax burden to those who bust our chops, take advantage, or mistreat us. After all, we're subjected to misdeeds and ill manners on a daily basis - from bosses, relatives, HMOs, commuters, store clerks, co-workers, airlines, moviegoers, cabbies, waiters, neighbors, you name it. Let's slap them with taxes - it's the ultimate justice.

With tongue-in-cheek, TAX THE RUDE, NOT ME! is a well-crafted antidote to the rudeness and lack of civility around us. It pushes all the right buttons. And it's simply the best tax reform package ever proposed. Remember, if we tax the rude, the rest of us can be tax free! The 568 richly rewarding "tax classifications" are a direct hit, and tap into everyday frustrations we can all identify with. The book's humorous and insightful view of the world strikes sparks and offers much needed stress relief and tax relief! Happily, this trailblazer delivers comic relief, too.

Customer Reviews:

Hilarious, very clever collection of well-crafted observations........2000-06-06

Tax The Rude, Not Me! is an hilarious, very clever collection of well-crafted observations of 568 "tax classifications" that would justifiable serve as "pay back" for stress causative idiots, morons, rascals and jerks that abound all around us in modern life. For example there is the Friend for Life Tax: Non-profit organizations that penalize you for making a contribution; you know they'll sell your name to other groups, so you'll be targeted for more appeals, forever. And then there's The Check's in the Mail Tax: Sellout politicians who make you wait longer and longer to enjoy your "golden years" by pushing back the eligibility age for Social Security benefits, hoping you're long dead before you can finally collect. Taken seriously, Tax The Rude, Not Me! could offer a blueprint for balancing the budget and paying off the national debt by year's end!

Rude People Are Taxing!.......2000-04-19

This book is funny as hell! I found myself laughing out loud as I immediately identified with the annoying situations described in the book. I'm glad this stuff doesn't just happen to me! As an accountant, the title enticed me into buying it, but I think everyone can relate to it. It's a collection of gripes for which clever tax names are assigned. One of the features of this book is how it reads. You read the name of the "tax", you read the description, you identify with it, and then the name becomes hilarious.

Some of my favorite taxes were the Conga Line Tax, the Premature Evacuation Tax, and the BYOB tax. I even came up with a few taxes of my own! Many of these "taxes" also heightened my awareness of what goes on behind the scenes in restaurants, doctors offices, and supermarkets, to name a few. I would definitely recommend this book. I think it also makes a great gift idea.

Book Description

Companies are often their own worst enemies. Work is performed in disconnected functional and geographic silos, making it impossible to achieve end-to-end effectiveness. Optimal decision-making is impeded due to our overwhelming lack of quality information.

In Optimize Now (or else!), David Fisher identifies the source of many of these problems and attacks them at their core. He explores the critical importance of processes and information that represent both the root of the problems and the greatest opportunity for dramatic improvement. Fisher introduces new leadership in the Chief Process and Information Officer and in the Process and Information Department, and specifies how to position these roles for enterprise-wide success.

Fisher presents the Enterprise Optimization Framework, an innovative, metric-driven decision-making framework, to ensure decisions are no longer based on "gut feel" but rather on quantitative expected outcomes. He explores the do's and don'ts of outsourcing and information technology with specific guidance on how these resources can be utilized to advance end-to-end optimization.

It's time to put an end to corporate misery by following the path toward Enterprise Optimization, and avoiding the downward spiral to Enterprise Extinction. Survival is at stake. We must Optimize Now (or else!).

Customer Reviews:

Very Impressed.......2005-09-04

I was impressed with David Fisher's clarity of thought and ability to convey his ideas. You need not be an expert in the subject to read this book. I would recommend it to anybody interested in learning about enterprise optimization.

Framework to the Future.......2005-03-16

Clearly a must have for any organization transforming to meet the challenges of today. Written with pragmatics, this book is one that I reference often. If there are 5 books to get this year to help make your organization more agile - 'Optimize Now (or else!)' is one of them.

Fine-tuning insulation foams: thermal insulation has become 'eco-friendly,' but now the challenge is to optimize economics, processing, and performance.(Polyurethanes): ... An article from: Plastics Technology

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Fine-tuning insulation foams: thermal insulation has become 'eco-friendly,' but now the challenge is to optimize economics, processing, and performance.(Polyurethanes): ... An article from: Plastics Technology
Lilli Manolis Sherman
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Plastics Technology, published by Thomson Gale on December 1, 2006. The length of the article is 2367 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.

Citation Details
Title: Fine-tuning insulation foams: thermal insulation has become 'eco-friendly,' but now the challenge is to optimize economics, processing, and performance.(Polyurethanes)
Author: Lilli Manolis Sherman
Publication: Plastics Technology (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 52 Issue: 12 Page: 44(5)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Selective soldering--the future is now: optimize your through-hole soldering process down to the pin level.(On the Forefront): An article from: Circuits Assembly

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Selective soldering--the future is now: optimize your through-hole soldering process down to the pin level.(On the Forefront): An article from: Circuits Assembly
Phil Zarrow , and Bob Klenke
Manufacturer: UP Media Group, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008DVINW
Release Date: 2005-07-31

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Circuits Assembly, published by UP Media Group, Inc. on April 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1030 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.

Citation Details
Title: Selective soldering--the future is now: optimize your through-hole soldering process down to the pin level.(On the Forefront)
Author: Phil Zarrow
Publication: Circuits Assembly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2003
Publisher: UP Media Group, Inc.
Volume: 14 Issue: 4 Page: 16(2)

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You've optimized your process ... now optimize your organization.(ORGANIZATIONAL MODELING): An article from: Defense AT & L

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You've optimized your process ... now optimize your organization.(ORGANIZATIONAL MODELING): An article from: Defense AT & L
Joel J. Hagan , William G. Slack , John Dillard , and Roxanne Zolin
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Science & Technology | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000P0JBZ0
Release Date: 2007-03-29

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Defense AT & L, published by Thomson Gale on March 1, 2007. The length of the article is 2693 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.

Citation Details
Title: You've optimized your process ... now optimize your organization.(ORGANIZATIONAL MODELING)
Author: Joel J. Hagan
Publication: Defense AT & L (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Page: 16(5)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

This is the autobiographical love story of a Hungarian Jewish couple who survive World War II and Soviet dictatorship, and take flight to the West. Saved by his cooking skills, chutzpah, and charisma, not to mention divine intervention, Steve is eventually reunited with his pre-war love, Eva. As the Iron Curtain drops around Eastern Europe, the two escape to Austria and later move to Canada.

Homage to the Eighth District: Tales from Budapest

Average customer rating:

Intermittently involving and pedestrian

Homage to the Eighth District: Tales from Budapest
Giorgio Pressburger , and Nicola Pressburger
Manufacturer: Readers International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Italian | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 093052375X

Customer Reviews:

Intermittently involving and pedestrian.......2003-04-23

The stories in this brief volume read more like anecdotal reminiscences than fiction. Reminded me of the tone of Joyce's "Dubliners" in their attempt to combine the mundane with the transcendent. However, their often flat tone distances the reader from identifying with the characters. This may be due to translation, but for an English-language reader, the interest conveyed through these wartime vignettes of Budapest Jewry endures more than their literary merit. Tbe final story, however, nearly redeems the interrelated collection with its epiphany of an imagined revival of the district today.

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Love with Paprika, a Tale From Hungary

Manufacturer: Harper & Brothers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GM5FAM

Average customer rating:

Interesting recollections

Tales from Hungary
Agnes Vadas
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Holocaust | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Family & Childhood | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Hungary | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0759607788

Customer Reviews:

Interesting recollections.......2002-04-01

This short book packs a strong punch -- particularly in the first half as the author relates her memories of being a young Jewish girl in Budapest between 1941 and 1945. As the situation becomes more oppressive after the German occupation in 1944, each incident becomes progressively more vivid. This portion of the book culminates in the end of the German occupation and the beginning of the Soviet period of influence.

Unfortunately, the second half of the book slows down a bit as the author relates additional stories around her early professional career as a state-sponsored (by the Communist government) musician. The book feels oddly incomplete - ...

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Tales from Jokai (Short Story Index Reprint Series)
Maurus Jokai
Manufacturer: Ayer Co Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0836939468

Average customer rating:
Tales from the crescent moon
May Yonge McNeer
Manufacturer: Junior Literary Guild
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Fairy Tales | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000855MSM

Book Description

The material which formed the basis of these tales was collected from archives and other sources, one of which was various Hungarian authors. Contents: Legenda; Crimson Slippers; Magic Kaftan; Mysterious Mirage; Speaking Bird; Water Pipe; Prophecy of the Djinn; All Powerful Khan; Flower Drink; Foxy Gobe; Knight of the Madonna; Miniature; Stork Kalif; Talisman.

The Valiant Red Rooster: A Story from Hungary

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The Valiant Red Rooster: A Story from Hungary
Eric A. Kimmel
Manufacturer: Henry Holth & Co (J)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Magyar fairy tales from old Hungarian legends,

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Magyar fairy tales from old Hungarian legends,
Nándor Pogány
Manufacturer: E.P. Dutton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Fairy Tales | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000867DSI

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