Average customer rating:
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Standard & Poor's Emerging Stock Markets Factbook 2002 (Emerging Stock Markets Factbook)
Manufacturer: Intl Finance Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
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| Agricultural
| Commercial Policy
| Comparative
| Consolidation & Merger
| Cooperatives
| Debt & Deficits
| Development & Growth
| Econometrics
| Economic Conditions
| Economic History
| Economic Policy & Development
| Exports & Imports
| Free Enterprise
| Inflation
| International
| Labor & Industrial Relations
| Macroeconomics
| Microeconomics
| Money & Monetary Policy
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| Privatization
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| Urban & Regional
General
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General
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General
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ASIN: 9992141123 |
Average customer rating:
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How to Form a Corporation in Minnesota (Legal Survival Guides)
D. M. Boulay , and
Mark Warda
Manufacturer: Sphinx Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Business Law
| Reference
| Business & Investing
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Legal Guides
| Small Business & Entrepreneurship
| Business & Investing
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New Business Enterprises
| Small Business & Entrepreneurship
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ASIN: 157248179X |
Average customer rating:
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How to Form a Simple Corporation in Minnesota (Take the law into your own hands)
D-M Boulay , and
Mark Warda
Manufacturer: Sphinx Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Business Law
| Reference
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
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Legal Guides
| Small Business & Entrepreneurship
| Business & Investing
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Franchising
| Business
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General
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ASIN: 1572480408 |
Book Description
A complete incorporation kit under one cover, the book contains a detailed blueprint with all forms and instructions necessary to incorporate a new or already existing business in Minnesota. This guide covers Minnesota profit corporations, Minnesota professional corporations, Minnesota not-for-profit corporations, Subchapter S corporations, and Delaware corporations. It explains in clear and simple language how to use the corporation as a tax shelter; how to limit personal liability through the corporate form; how to obtain tax-free dividends, receive tax-free medical services and health and life insurance benefits; and how to retire with maximum pension benefits. The Appendices include all needed Minnesota incorporation forms, gold leaf stock certificates, sample bylaws (not generic ones, but ones conforming to Minnesota law), and sample minutes for the initial organizational meetings of the directors and shareholders.
Customer Reviews:
I cried, of hapiness.......2007-08-12
Fish! is a beautiful true story. If you are not too happy about your job, it's a MUST. Sometimes we can't change our job, but we can change OURSELVES and the way we relate to it. Fish! is so inspirational, I hope they make it a movie some day soon-. thank you to the authors and the producers of audiocoleccion! great job!!
Gung Ho!-Type Book for Toxic Energy Waste Zones.......2004-09-17
It is not surprising that this book is a lot like Gung Ho! Oneof the coauthors is from the Ken Blanchard organization, and Blancharduses a film created by the other coauthors in his talks. The story is a fable built on a real fish business in Seattle, Pike Fish Place (usually referred to as "the world famous Pike Fish Place" in the book).
The fable is wonderful and if it were written in the Gung Ho! format, I would have given in 5 stars and wished to give it 6. I frankly liked it better than Gung Ho! for its central message. In fact, if you live in Seattle, assume I gave it a 6 because you won't have the problems with the book that I did.
The reason I graded the book down one star is that the structure doesn't quite work. The first problem is that there are a lot of references in the book to Pike Fish Place that probably make all kinds of sense to people who have been there or seen the film. I have had neither experience. I found some of the references quite confusing. Why do customers want to catch raw fish wearing their business clothes? Why do customers want to buy fish from a fish market where customers are encouraged to try to catch the fish, and the fish usually fall on the ground? Beats me, but the book talks a lot about this kind of example. I came away confused in a number of places. But I'll be sure to go by Pike Fish Place on my next trip to Seattle to figure out what the authors were trying to teach me.
The rest of the references are pretty clear, so you won't be confused all of the time. Perhaps you have a better imagination than I do.
The other structural problem in the book that caused me to grade it down is that the process described for implementing Fish! involved having the people involved visit Pike Fish Place.
Ignoring the structural problems, the story is as heart-warming a fable as you could hope for. It tugs at the heart strings in a way that the Blanchard fables don't do. That's why I would normally have wanted to give the book a 6 star rating.
One of the great strengths of the book is that it aspires to humanity in places where humanity is often partially shut out -- back offices, fish stores, and other places where most people would not want to work. The authors persuasively point out that life is what you make of it.
The book is clearly aimed at the supervisory and managerial level person, although it will be appreciated by those below and above those levels.
Fish! and have a ball!
Average customer rating:
- Great recipes -- beautiful illustrations -- delightful menus
- Delicious recipes and tasteful art found on every page!
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Crabtree & Evelyn Cookbook: A Book of Light Meals and Small Feasts
Crabtree & Evelyn (Firm)
Manufacturer: Stewart Tabori & Chang
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Baking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Reference
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Holidays
| Special Occasions
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0941434990 |
Customer Reviews:
Great recipes -- beautiful illustrations -- delightful menus.......1999-07-10
Hope that this book is reprinted -- we've had it for years and use the recipes in it frequently. It's nice sometimes to be able to open a cookbook and get an entire menu with all the items complimentary. The lamb and papaya skewers are perhaps the best -- ALWAYS a hit at parties! The Christmas menu is also a good one.
Delicious recipes and tasteful art found on every page!.......1999-06-05
This is such a nice cookbook. I have had it for years and years. Just reading through it makes me want to embrace all the lovely things that life has to offer and to give back as much as I can. By the way, Crabtree & Evelyn owners, I am so glad that one of your stores has recently opened near me. Thank you for the enduring quality of your products!
Average customer rating:
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2000 Census of Population and Housing, Massachusetts, Summary Population and Housing Characteristics
Manufacturer: Bureau of Census
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Statistics
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
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General
| Business & Investing
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Demography
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| Nonfiction
| Subjects
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Statistics
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| Nonfiction
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Southwest
| State & Local
| United States
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| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0160672112 |
Book Description
Official government publication published by the U.S. Department of Census provides official summary for social, economic and housing characteristics for Massachusetts. Includes statistical tables, maps and appendixes.
Book Description
Official government publication published by the U.S. Department of Census provides official summary for social, economic and housing characteristics for Massachusetts. Includes statistical tables, maps and appendixes.
Book Description
Before there was Sim-n Bol'var, there was Francisco de Miranda. He was among the most infamous men of his generation, loved or hated by all who knew him. Venezuelan General Francisco Gabriel de Miranda (1750-1816) participated in the major political event
Book Description
Squire's Legacy is a lovely story of a family that did not know the meaning of "defeat" and the still larger story of southern West Virginia communities that have been described often but rarely understood.
Missionaries, such as the late Jack Weller, have called them "yesterday's people," fundraisers seeking charity from outside the region have demeaned them as "our contemporary ancestors;" and, sociologists have called their folkways an "analgesic subculture" wedded to fatalistic ways. Refreshingly, "Appalachia," code for we're-poor-help-us, never appears on these pages.
In this shining tapestry of remembrances, facile generalization so common to much of the writing about the region gives way to a finely woven and warm description of living, loving, and toiling in the coal fields at the very nadir of the Depression. A son and daughter-in-law tell the story of "Squire," a coal miner paralyzed by a slate fall, and his family as they scratched a living from an environment that sapped the souls of all but the hardiest. Tempered by tough times, character emerges from these pages as rock-hard and lustrous as the coal they mined. The White's accomplish in 300 pages what William Bennett has not yet done in two tomes on the subject.
Customer Reviews:
A Family Story Told With Much Love.......2002-10-01
SQUIRE'S LEGACY is a story told with so much love of the author's family.It is a true story that any of us who have grown up in the mining communities of West Virginia in the 30's,40's and 50's can relate to in many ways. When I started reading this book,it touched my heart like no other. I read this book aloud to my husband. Being a native New Yorker, I knew he might not relate to the book as I did,and I wanted hime to know what my life was like growing up in southern West Virginia during that time. We were both held captive by this book,from beginning to end. We laughed together and cried together at their joys and their tragedies.In this book,the authors JAMES AND ELLIE WHITE have caught the very essence of what family is all about. Theirs is truly a love story told with much love and tenderness.
The Life and Struggles of Clifford Earl White.......2002-02-01
Many have tried to portray the lives of the coal camps and the trials the people endured. This one succeeds highly.
I was the young boy who lost his father in a coal mine accident and knew Clifford and Ethel very well. Jim shows a
keen and accurate memory on these events and Ellies "editing" and writing are superb. They are to be congratulated. It has been said that someone is not really dead until they are forgotten. Jim and Ellie have assured Clifford and Ethel will not be forgotten for many years.
Just Like Home!.......2001-12-28
My husband and I grew up in the same area as portrayed in this book. We felt the honesty, storytelling, and details of the lives mentioned were just like we remembered. We laughed, and cried and wished others would read and apply the values taught in this book. It reminded us of hard times, hard work, the love and lessons we grew up experiencing. We would recommend this book to any and all who long to be inspired.
A book for all seasons.......2001-12-19
True, it is written in Appalachia by Appalachians, but it is a universal book about love, tragedy, courage, and seeing blessing in life regardless of circumstance. Not only does the reader see the pure love of the parent for the child, you see the pure love of the child for the parent; a child who finds joy in a parent who could have seen little reason for it himself, but who chose from the deepest resources in his being to continue to live a life that rewarded him and all that he touched. A must read. And you will also enjoy that it is based in the Center of the Appalachians.
Wonderful Christmas gift.......2001-12-12
I grew up in this coal mining town. The tragic and heartwarming events described in Squire's Legacy are very accurate.
We did not have money or material things, but we had lots of care and love.
Growing up in this small mountainous town of West Virginia helped me become more caring and loving to my fellowman. Hopefully this book will help all who read it do the same.
When I started reading this book, I could not put it down. The characters are so fascinating and true to life. You can tell that they are real. The first time I read it, I was afraid that I had missed some important parts, so I read it once more.
The Whites did a wonderful job. I highly recommend this book to the young and the old. The young will be enthralled and the old will remember all those days "gone by". A wonderful Christmas Gift for all.
Lois Legg
Hayes Va
Customer Reviews:
Not to be confused with..........2007-07-15
This is a 1985 work describing a family/small-group conflict resolution method. It may be competent social work research, it may accurately describe authentic Hawaiian tradition; I'm not competent to assert or deny either. It is written fairly, however - the author is careful to describe her subject as "one style of ho'oponopono" (page 8), and to insert appropriate disclaimers, e.g., only two of the eight practioners interviewed were using the conflict resolution method "regularly" when she completed the book (page 101).
What hasn't been made clear in the book description or in recent reviews is that this conflict resolution method has very little in common with the fundamentally-individual methods described by Joe Vitale and Dr. Hew Len in their "Self-Identity Ho'oponopono". The two books agree with a general definition of the word "ho'oponopono", and then diverge in both philosophy and application.
Some readers will find this book more useful than Vitale/Hew Len's book; some may find this style of ho'opnonopono more useful than the "Self-Identity" style. No readers should find them to be the same style, however.
Four stars for those interested in family/small-group conflict resolution, four stars for those interested in another view of ho'oponopono, one star because the University of Hawaii Press and Amazon.com really should use the summary of the book on its back cover as an editorial review here.
Average: three.
Traditional Hawaiian problem solving techniques.......2007-01-10
Actually I haven't had a chance to read the book, I lent it to a friend who loves it so much she won't give it back. She teaches 4th grade and is using these techniques to incorporate Hawaiian culture to her students. She says the book it wonderful and I believer her.
Aloha
Alan
I Love You. .......2006-10-14
Joe Vitale sent me an email all about this amazing healing technique and it has helped tremendously! Thank you Joe and Dr. Len for sharing this with the world.
By the way, An audio recording was made using this technique, it's well worth downloading it!
[...]
Native Hawaiian Wisdom.......2003-07-04
Ho'oponopono ("to make right")is a universal "conflict resolution/healing" method from Hawaii. The book provides a systematic overview of this system with many practical examples. It is the classic text on the subject. It should be of interest to health providers, anthropologists, sociologists, etc. Have you ever wanted to understand how to improve your relationships with or for others? This book conceptually spells it out for you, but it is a specialized skill.
Average customer rating:
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Kyrgyzstan Tax Guide
USA International Business Publications
Manufacturer: International Business Publications, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Corporate
| Taxes
| Accounting
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Taxes
| Accounting
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
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Exports & Imports
| Economics
| Business & Investing
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General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
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General
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General
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General
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ASIN: 0739739743 |
Average customer rating:
- It DOES work!
- A Collaborative Workplace=Worker Ownership=Business Success
- Those who cant teach
- Great in concept; implausible in application
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Transforming the Way We Work: The Power of the Collaborative Workplace
Edward M. Marshall
Manufacturer: Amacom Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Workplace
| Organizational Behavior
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Management
| Management & Leadership
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
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| Books
Cultural
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ASIN: 0814402550 |
Customer Reviews:
It DOES work!.......2001-10-23
The reviewer that wrote: "This book isent even worthy for kindling. "Ed Marshel" Must know knothing about Management let alone 1st Grade grammer." should check his own grammer, not to mention spelling!
We DID implement Edward Marshall's principles and saw a dramatic improvement. Our productivity rose significantly and the employees were significantly happier. It CAN and DOES work. We've been practicing his approach for nearly 5 years and would never return to the old obsolete practices of yesterday. It is obvious that some can only criticize but are clueless as to the implementation of proven ideas! Read it! Practice it! Benefit from it!
A Collaborative Workplace=Worker Ownership=Business Success.......2000-07-04
In today's business environment, with outstanding information systems, and unlimited information available in which to make decisions-two things are critical-predicting the future and how to affect continuous change, through people, simultaneously. As Peter Drucker put it "The best way to predict the future is to create it." This book Marshall is an outstanding read. As identified in this book-70% of all our problems in business are people-related or culturally based-in my opinion-I don't believe you can separate the two. However, Marshall tells us our job is to engage that culture (people) so that its best values emerge and flourish. In order to accomplish these tasks "the collaborative environment must be established". Two of my favorite business leaders are Jack Welch and Sam Walton. They predicted their future by creating it-the company culture-feedback-focus on the vision-and betting their organizations future and success on allowing their employees to participate and take ownership of their key processes. A great read!
Those who cant teach.......2000-05-26
That is an understatement, This book is the worst excuse for book I have ever seen. This book isent even worthy for kindling. "Ed Marshel" Must know knothing about Management let alone 1st Grade grammer. My younger brother has written more decisive pices on doodle-paper
Great in concept; implausible in application.......1999-11-16
Ed Marshall takes off on the valuable insights of Deming and others, espousing that managers give more credence to and respect their staff. No one can argue with that. Unfortunately, the book goes overboard. While the concepts are indeed worthy, the book falls short in implementation. If you try to transform corporate culture a la Marshall, you'll spend all your time in committees and find it impossible to make the hard decisions that management alone must make. Having attempted to implement Marshall's doctrines, I found his approach unrealistic. This is great conceptual reading, but leave it on the bookshelf where it belongs. This book is a good example of the dictum: "those who can't teach."
Average customer rating:
- The Real U.S. Grant
- A masterful achievement
- A masterful achievement
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The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, Volume 20: November 1, 1869 - October 31, 1870 (U S Grant Papers)
Manufacturer: Southern Illinois University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Civil War
| United States
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
United States Civil War
| Military
| Leaders & Notable People
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Grant, Ulysses S.
| ( G )
| People, A-Z
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| Americas
| History
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| Books
General
| Civil War
| United States
| Americas
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General
| Colonial Period
| United States
| Americas
| History
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| Books
General
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0809319659 |
Book Description
Volume 20 is the first in this acclaimed series to cover the months when Ulysses S. Grant held no military commission. As president, however, Grant’s significance grew rather than diminished. His leadership and decisions touched directly or indirectly most people in the United States and many more around the globe.
Grant spoke sincerely when he said that "I have done all I could to advance the best interests of the citizens of our country, without regard to color, and I shall endeavor to do in the future what I have done in the past." He urged adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment and rejoiced in its ratification, expressing his belief that it was "the realization of the Declaration of Independence." Grant acknowledged that government had treated Indians badly in the past. In the short run, he recommitted his administration to the experiment of employing Quakers and humanitarians as Indian advisers and agents, trusting in eventual "great success." In the long run, however, Grant thought placing Indians on large reservations and encouraging them "to take their lands in severalty" and "to set up territorial governments for their own protection" the best course.
In foreign affairs, Grant became fixed on the annexation of Santo Domingo, gave this issue an inordinate degree of attention, and squandered political capital in confrontations with Congress. Senate foreign affairs committee chairman Charles Sumner emerged as the villain preventing Grant from achieving his desire, and Grant displayed his animosity toward the Massachusetts senator in private as well as in the very public removal of Sumner’s friend John L. Motley as minister to England. Developments such as growing tensions among European powers, Spanish-Cuban relations, and the Alabama Claims negotiations received relatively little attention. Grant, in fact, admitted shortly after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, "I had no idea that such an event was even threatening."
Customer Reviews:
The Real U.S. Grant.......2005-05-25
The twenty-six (and counting!) volumes comprising all the known extant writings of Ulysses Grant are indeed a remarkable example of published primary source material. While every volume contains much material that is admittedly of trivial importance to even the most rabid Grant scholar, each book in this series also contains fascinating nuggets of information not found anywhere else. Anyone with even a casual interest in USG is sure to discover something worth reading in every volume. In gathering together not only all of Grant's known correspondence, but relevant peripheral documents, the editors of this series are doing a truly Herculean job and deserve great commendation.
I have only a few quibbles with the series. The first involves something over which the editors had no control. I refer to the fact that, in the first few volumes (particularly Volume One,) Grant's descendants insisted that certain passages in Grant's letters to his fiancee-turned-wife Julia Dent that had been crossed out (either by Julia or other family members) not be published. This idiotic decision is not only extremely frustrating for the reader, but, ironically, damaging to Grant himself. By all accounts, the deleted passages contain nothing that could be considered detrimental to Grant's good name, but by leaving them out, these descendants unwittingly gave the impression that there was something to hide. Hopefully, in an "Appendix" volume at the end of the series, the editors will be sporting enough to include whatever deleted passages can be transcribed, and the series will at last be considered complete.
My other complaints about this series are more minor. While each volume contains copious, and frequently illuminating, footnotes, the editors occasionally fail to provide enough context. That is to say, a brief, undetailed letter of Grant's will frequently be followed by several pages of footnotes providing other letters and documents on the same subject, without giving much information explaining what, exactly, it all meant. The reader who is not already fully informed on the subject being addressed is sometimes left feeling confused about what exactly is being discussed, and what its relevance may have been.
Another drawback is, simply, the price. While these books are certainly handsomely--and obviously expensively--printed and bound, those of us who study history as a hobby rather than as a profession could wish for editions that were more cheaply done, and thus more affordable. Unless you are fortunate enough to have access to a good academic library, these extremely expensive (even when you buy second-hand) volumes are simply out-of-reach for many people. That's a great pity, because in these books is an "insider's view" of Grant that does not fully come across in any regular biography.
A masterful achievement.......2000-07-03
"The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant" is a project begun in 1962 for the purpose of publishing all the known letters written by Ulysses S. Grant. Volume one was published in 1967 and there are now twenty-four volumes in the series. People who follow Grant's career are aware of the inestimable value of this project. The Papers contain all known correspondence written by Grant and letters received by him. The editing of the series is unparalleled and the volumes represent primary source material at its apex.
Those who believe Grant was a "drunkard" or a "butcher" should read his own words, which show Grant's humor, pathos and unique personality. Masterfully edited by John Y. Simon, these volumes are a "must have" for anyone with an interest in U.S. Grant as a general, a politician and as a man
A masterful achievement.......2000-07-03
"The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant" is a project begun in 1962 for the purpose of publishing all the known letters written by Ulysses S. Grant. Volume one was published in 1967 and there are now twenty-four volumes in the series. People who follow Grant's career are aware of the inestimable value of this project. The Papers contain all known correspondence written by Grant and letters received by him. The editing of the series is unparalleled and the volumes represent primary source material at its apex.
Those who believe Grant was a "drunkard" or a "butcher" should read his own words, which show Grant's humor, pathos and unique personality. Masterfully edited by John Y. Simon, these volumes are a "must have" for anyone with an interest in U.S. Grant as a general, a politician and as a man
Average customer rating:
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Canadian Who's Who 2002 (Canadian Who's Who)
Manufacturer: University of Toronto Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Reference & Collections
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Memoirs
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
International
| Current Events
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
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Directories
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General
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General
| Foreign Languages
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ASIN: 0802049702 |
Average customer rating:
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Who's Who in Canadian Business 2002 (Who's Who in Canadian Business)
Manufacturer: University of Toronto Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Reference
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Directories
| Catalogs & Directories
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
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| Books
ASIN: 0802049796 |
Average customer rating:
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Oecd Economic Surveys: 2000/2001 Greece (O E C D Economic Surveys Greece)
Oecd
Manufacturer: Organization for Economic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Economic Conditions
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Economic Conditions
| International
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 9264190155 |
Customer Reviews:
A Loving Tribute By A Friend.......2007-07-31
This is a man's man book, a loving tribute by a fellow compatriot and boozer, to a larger-than-life figure whose talents, appetites, hurts, and generosity ran deep and wide. Written in 1985 and politically incorrect even by those standards, the book mostly consists of anecdotes, almost all involving booze, in which Gleason and his buddies -- like Sinatra, Berle, "Toots" Shore and others, play tricks on each other and manage to get some work in somehow -- including groundbreaking comedy. All I know is that coffee Jackie is drinking is 100 proof!
It's a light and fast read of a originator and comic legend whose story has yet to be truly told.
Full of interactions with the great one.......2004-03-19
This book is mainly about success in an era which shaped what American society is today: high in entertainment values and celebrity personalities. There is an appendix which offers a list of major accomplishments; Films, Major Television Shows, and Theater. The final entry, for the classic play "The Sly Fox" in 1978, reveals that "it almost rang down the final curtain. In Chicago, he suffered a heart attack onstage in the final act but, with a trooper's instinct, finished the play. He then underwent a triple bypass operation." (p. 208).
Published in 1985, HOW SWEET IT IS: THE JACKIE GLEASON STORY by James Bacon is an authorized biography in which the characters which Jackie Gleason played are as important as the people he met and the audiences who adored him. The Foreword by Jackie Gleason is addressed "Dear Jim, I have read the book . . ." and admits "Many are the times I have ended up wounded by a deep and ugly hangover after a day of wishful drinking." (p. xi). The Prologue admits that the author was barred from the set of a movie "The Toy" being filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1982 for being an evil companion responsible for getting Jackie Gleason drunk during production. As Bob Hope said, "An evil companion for Jackie Gleason? I don't believe it. He makes you look like an altar boy. I don't believe it." (p. xiv).
I was small when I was young, and Jackie Gleason was one of the heaviest people I ever saw on television. Most of the pictures in this book show him younger than I remember him. Henny Youngman was even younger than I remember him. Chapter 10 is called "Pow! Alice, Right on the Kisser!" In Chapter 11, even one of his writers, Leonard Stern, had trouble seeing him. "He was in Doctors Hospital, either losing weight or getting over a hangover. I went over there and the nurse told me the same thing--`Mr. Gleason is not well so he went home.' I know the story has been around but it actually happened." (p. 130).
Gleason hired Elvis for his summer replacement show. "Only there was a problem. He was so damn good on that first show that Tommy and Jimmy [Dorsey] got pissed off. They argued that they were supposed to be the stars, not Elvis. Tommy had been through this same thing with Sinatra. As a result, we only used Elvis a few times, not the six weeks I wanted." (p. 141). Soon Elvis had a movie contract signed with producer Hal Wallis, and was causing riots.
There is a picture of midget Billy Curtis holding at least five helium balloons and lots of string like a miniature statue of liberty in Los Angeles "before the Great Gleason Express took off for a ten-day trip cross-country in 1962." (3 pages before p. 109). I think he must have started hopping. "Billy was holding too many balloons, and suddenly, the little guy was rising off the ground. Gleason spotted little Reggie heading skyward and rushed out and grabbed him by the legs." (p. 159). Among the great moments of the trip: "the conductor yelled, `All aboard!' and the train chugged out of Union Station. To the crowd waiting outside on the platform, Jackie gave his famous `Awa-a-a-a-y We Go!' yell and `Traveling Music' kick." (p. 160).
The train trip cost his network $100,000, less than the house on the fairway of Inverrary Country Club at Lauderhill, Florida, given to him in 1973 to use his name for the Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic stop on the PGA tour. ` "Look at that beautiful golf course. Look at that blue sky with a few puffy clouds. Why would anybody want to work with a life like this?" Whether it was golf, diet, cosmetic surgery, or whatever, Gleason's weight dropped from its onetime high of 289 pounds in the CBS days to 205 pounds in the early and mid-seventies.' (p. 184). I never weighed as much as that big guy on TV, but it is rather shocking to read that he later weighed less than I do now. Many Americans now have a weight problem, and might even wish to have Gleason's dream house. "Instead of the twelve bars, it had one magnificent bar that would have done justice to the old Toots Shor's saloon. In fact, it was reminiscent of Toots' circular bar, now torn down. Jackie himself designed the barstools, from which it was impossible to fall off." (pp. 184-185).
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Tales Out of School: Contemporary Writers on Their Student Years
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
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ASIN: 080704217X |
Book Description
Sherman Alexie, David Sedaris, and fifteen other writers on their recent experiences in American classrooms
Tales Out of School is a luminous collection of diverse and passionate life stories—on-the-ground testimonies of sitting in an American classroom today. Sherman Alexie writes of the "sweet, almost innocent choices that Indian boys [are] forced to make" in school. Stuart Dybek tells his own story of highly instructive Catholic grade-school field trips to the county jail and the stockyards, and David Sedaris narrates a horribly funny account of life underground as a gay eighth grader.
These and other writers contribute original essays that tease out the powerful, flawed, wildly diverse experience of school in America. A book for teachers wanting to understand, parents needing to make decisions, and anyone who's sat in a classroom and can't ever forget it.
"Give this book an A+. . . . Unlike many books about American education, Tales Out of School avoids the temptation to pigeonhole our system. There are no rights or wrongs here. Only truths." —Vineyard Gazette
Customer Reviews:
Re-experiencing school.......2001-03-01
In her smart Introduction Dr. Susan Richards Shreve says, "I have had a half a century of an uneasy alliance with school." She tells about that alliance from a variety of angles, beginning with herself as "a bad student, a very bad student, and finally a good one." She's an English professor, a mother of four children, am impassioned advocate and an able observer and memoirist. Her son, Porter Shreve, has his great own story to tell - as the bedeviled (and bedeviling) 'scholarship kid' at the school that employed his dad.
There are 16 additional pieces in this somewhat uneven collection. All of the contributors are Americans; academics and/or professional writers. More than a few grew up poor and felt ostracized - and talk about that experience. The domestic debate regarding public versus private schools continues, with varying success, in several of these pieces. (Nina Revoyr, Francesca Delbanco, others). In some of the stories, memories are likely fresh because the writer is only a decade or so away from the actual experience. The remembered pain and turmoil of adolescence combines is here. Sherman Alexie's young life was under a long shadow: poverty, alcoholism, and an awful disconnect. Alexie's account - of Indian cruelty to Indians - is powerfully bitter. (He reports having asked a bulimic female classmate to "Give me your lunch if you're just going to throw up." ) Immigrant experience, feelings of being an outsider for other reasons - and the ever-present threat of bullying and ostracism are here, too. Learning disabilities, sex, death, vandalism, parents, good and bad teachers - all present. Class conflict and political tension, too. Teachers have enormous powers - to annoy and to hurt, but also to love and redeem. Michael Patrick MacDonald's "Fight the Power" offers an astonishing picture of violence in to-be-integrated South Boston that slyly compares it to Belfast. Jeff Richards' essay "LD" talks about family, learning disabilities, persistence and love - with honesty and passion. David Haynes writes, straightforwardly and well, about teaching - in the dark, really, at first, and by default. He says blithely but not flippantly that he had neglected to choose a profession, so he began to teach.
Class clown David Sedaris ("I Like Guys") does not fail to deliver - in one of the liveliest of the stories.
Definitely worth reading.
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