The Almanac of American Employers 1998-99 (Almanac of American Employers)

Book Description

Fully updated for the job seeker and researcher. Includes salaries, benefits, corporate culture, special hiring/training programs, women and minorities in top posts, contact names. Profiles of The American Employers 500 Firms.

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20th Century Rosetta Stone for Unlocking Organizational Performance

A wonderful lesson on the soul of business; and life

A workplace reality check

Reads like a novel. Applications of a managment text.

How to make the time you spend at work worthwhile

A Journey into the Heroic Environment, Revised and Expanded: A Personal Guide for Creating a Work Environment Built on Shared Values
Robert Lebow
Manufacturer: Prima Lifestyles
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business Life | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Motivational | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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A Journey into the Heroic Environment: A Personal Guide for Creating Great Customer Transactions Using Eight Universal Shared Values

ASIN: 0761509046
Release Date: 1997-01-08

Book Description

"I loved this simple, powerful book. You can learn how to humanize your whole organization and turn everyone into a winner. Buy it!"—Harvey Mackay, author of Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive
Imagine what would happen in a work environment if people were given the freedom to act the way they really wanted to act—with courage, creativity, and independence from fear of criticism, or worse. Productivity, quality, job satisfaction, and company morale would all reach levels beyond expectation.
Is it possible for an individual to create such a work environment? By taking A Journey into the Heroic Environment, anyone from the company president down to a shop-floor employee can learn the principles and practices for creating just such a setting.
A Journey into the Heroic Environment chronicles the extraordinary trip taken by a young man caught in the rut of middle management. What began as just a train ride home from a job interview turned into an incredible learning experience when he shares a compartment with a mysterious older man who shows him the secret to job satisfaction. This stranger describes the concept of shared values and the Eight Principles of the Heroic Environment®. He shows this young man how universal respect, trust, and a genuine desire to attain a goal can unify an organization and make any job the perfect one.
In this fully revised and updated edition of the book that introduced shared values to the world of business, author Rob Lebow expands this business novelette to encompass many more aspects of business life. New topics include working through disputes and differences, balancing the four corporate personality types, and the basic law of business physics. At the end of this new edition, readers can take a quiz to help them determine if they work in a Heroic Environment®.
The lessons both the young man and the readers learn along the journey are designed to serve as a road map for creating a successful organization. By following the principles presented in this book, readers can effectively turn their current job into the job of their dreams.

Customer Reviews:

20th Century Rosetta Stone for Unlocking Organizational Performance.......2006-01-12

Living in what Alan Greenspan called an era of "infectious greed" with corporate titans facing serious jail time, Ex-WorldCom CEO, Bernard Ebbers, leading the way facing life behind bars, and sobering laws in place such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act making ethics and values increasingly important components in every organization, it would do well to learn how to help organizations create heroic environments based on higher standards of excellence. Mr. Rob Lebow, former Director of Corporate Communications for Microsoft, with over twenty years experience helping companies implement his Shared Values Process to create what he calls, a Freedom-Based Workplace, attempts to do just that for readers in his book, A Journey into the Heroic Environment.

Resurrecting an abandoned, `failed,' 1972 study, undertaken by graduate students from the social psychology department of a major United States university, with over 17 million survey responses from workers and managers in 40 countries and over 32 Standard Industrial Codes, that was not able to reveal any conclusive connection between job satisfaction and individual or organizational performance, Mr. Lebow's research team started their own investigation. Bringing a fresh perspective to the study, Lebow realized that the key to solving the mystery of overcoming cultural challenges to create exceptional levels of performance, was not going to be found in the hard numbers and statistics of the survey, but in the actual, literal comments of all the participants. Using this creative intelligence, Lebow indexed the most often addressed topics in all the discarded surveys by country. And the revelation was that all the surveys from the different countries mentioned the same subjects. This became the Lebow Company's 20th Century Rosetta Stone that finally cracked the code to the secrets of unlocking high performance that were embedded in the previously undecipherable 17 million worldwide surveys that the original research missed.

Under the scrutiny of this new lens, the Lebow research group discovered that it was Values, not job satisfaction issues, which resided at the core between performance and what managers and workers were really looking for. Lebow's research suggested that there were eight values that all people respected throughout the world regardless of race, religion, nationality, industry, gender, educational level, or organizational status. Furthermore, the Lebow research group concluded: "that these eight Shared Values...represent the major factors that contribute not only to job satisfaction and employee morale, but to an organization's performance, competitiveness, speed to change, innovation at every level, willingness to learn new things, and overall operational success. [That] this was the universal Cultural Return On Investment (ROI) linking people to performance." While the author does not mention exactly how he came to this revolutionary conclusion, he claims that the correlation between organizational performance and these Shared Values has been tested and validated with over 2,300 organizational sites. These universal Shared Values which Lebow calls The Eight Principles of the Heroic Environment ® are as follows:

1. Treat others with uncompromising truth.
2. Lavish trust on your associates.
3. Mentor unselfishly (and be open to mentoring from anyone).
4. Be receptive to new ideas, regardless of their origin.
5. Take personal risks for the organization's sake.
6. Give credit where it's due.
7. Do not touch dishonest dollars. (Be honest and ethical in all matters).
8. Put the interests of others before your own.

So that's the Big secret? Sounds like the everyday sage advice that a Corporate Yoda would give to his executive team of Jedi knights. Admittedly, this is something we all know and have heard before. They are timeless principles - psychic energy patterns memorialized in the collective unconscious - embedded in human experience itself. But how many of us actually practice these principles?

What makes this work significant is not the list of values which are bandied about at boardroom meetings and showcased on fancy plaques, but the Process ("acting Heroically is a process") that the Lebow research group has engineered in implementing these Shared Values company-wide through stories, examples, illustrations, charts, graphs, ways of communication, and sequential steps to follow. Lebow provides readers with practical tools they can use to actually practice these principles in transforming their corporate culture into a heroic environment.

So what does a `heroic environment' look like? Lebow gives us a model, a vision, to look forward to: "Imagine what would happen in a work environment if people were given the freedom to act the way they really wanted to act - with courage, creativity, and independence from fear of criticism, or worse. And when people are respected and appreciated, they want to contribute even more, to rise to their true potential. I call that kind of place - a place where people act heroically - a Heroic Environment."

I was skeptical at first with this rather rosy picture - feeling that employees given too much freedom would slack-off or go into their own little dream-world. But after finishing the book, I felt Lebow had pulled it off, in terms of providing tools that managers, employees, and consultants can use in transforming corporate culture for the better. After all, people don't get up in the morning wanting to fail; they want to feel significant - knowing they've done a job well-done.

One of the main tenets of the book is that the traditional corporate approach of solving problems from the top down is the kiss-of-death. Frontline workers need to be given autonomy, responsibility, and accountability to solve problems themselves, letting the customer's needs, rather than the company's policies, drive each transaction. To accomplish this, `only hire people you trust, but once you've hired them, trust them.' Management's role is simply to encourage people on the frontlines to experiment and explore new ideas on their own. The best way to manage is to let go and let great, not stepping in to fix problems or criticizing, but to examine the breakdown of the workflow and empowering frontline workers to make their own decisions and changes by providing them with the necessary resources.

According to Lebow, this is the only way to bring back respect to the phrase, "Made in America." He recounts how Toyota's plant workers average 50 changes every two and a half shifts, which would give most American managers a nosebleed. In America, Lebow states, fixing problems is management's job! In contrast, by empowering its frontline people to experiment, fix problems, and make continual proactive changes without fear of failure, Toyota is now financially worth more than Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler-Mercedes all put together. To put things in perspective, Lebow goes on to point out that it took Ford about nine months to make a change to their production line, while it only took Toyota three and one-half hours!

Overall, A Journey into the Heroic Environment, accomplishes its main purpose in serving as a guide to creating a Freedom-Based work environment built on Shared Values. This is not an academic book or scholarly read, nor is it a scientific journal. Use the information and The Personal Work Style Assessment (included in the book) to formulate your own hypotheses and come up with your own conclusions. The book itself, from start-to-finish, can be considered a case study in corporate transformation told in the form of a business story with a chance meeting between John, a disgruntled assistant plant manager of a telecommunications company, and Kip, a mysterious, senior executive mentor figure. The book is simple in its approach, but not simplistic; easy-to-read, but certainly not easy to implement. I highly recommend this book as a path to a rewarding journey that will open up the soul to a brave new heroic world.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER:

Sharif Khan (http://www.herosoul.com; sharif@herosoul.com) is a freelance writer, speaker, and coach. He is author of, Psychology of the Hero Soul, an inspirational book on awakening the hero within and developing people's leadership potential. Khan provides inspirational keynotes and leadership seminars to help people live heroically.

A wonderful lesson on the soul of business; and life.......2004-09-08

=Treat others with uncompromising truth.

=Lavish trust on your associates.

=Mentor unselfishly.

=Be receptive to new ideas, regardless of their origin.

=Take personal risks for the organization's sake.

=Give credit where credit is due.

=Do not touch dishonest dollars.

=Put the interest of others before your own.

Ron Lebow's highly underrated HEROIC ENVIRONMENT is a wonderful allegory that goes beyond both moralism and psychology to teach great lessons about character and true, lasting success in life. While reading his chapter on the four dominant personality traits, in fact, I found myself in a rather ironic way.

The hero is, of course, the central character/protagonist in this allegory. However, it was when I noticed an existential disagreement with the author's definition of a dissident--and how dissidents should be in essence dealt with in an organization--that I realized that my dominant personality trait is that of a Maverick. Ron Lebow (as his nom de plume character in the book Kip) describes the dissident as being "an integral part of almost every organization (page 90)." He then proceeds, however, to describe the aspects of the dissident's character and personality traits as being those that are essentially, and wholeheartedly, counterproductive to the growth and development of the organization. For him a dissident is more of, really, a codependent. While I don't know the actual etymology of the term, I do know that the word dissident comes out of the lexicon of politics, and has been historically tied to the intellectual structures of the revolutionary minded heroes that follow in their wake. Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, et. al. were very much the dissidents of King George III's colonists; Gandhi's Satyagraha--philosophy of non-violent resistance--was perhaps the most dissident theology of the modern era, influencing America's great 20th century dissident Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. With that kind of company (to say nothing of what's his name from the New Testament [smile]), it is obvious to me that when Lebow is being uncomplimentary he is not actually referring to a dissident but to a set of personality traits that are reflective of someone who exists somewhere between the dissident and his (badly used metaphor, considering the times we live in) terrorist. I would call them the wanna-be dissidents.

Like paparazzi or simple groupie narcissists are to actual movie stars, the disgruntled wanna-be dissidents, whose intuitions do pick up on the structural integrity failures of an organization but focus on it only in order to avoid looking at themselves, are always in the company of real dissidents. They use the dissident's unique set of insights, awareness and profound courage as a technique to cover up their own character failings that they'd rather not be confronted with. As far as the negative impact on an organization however-in terms of both morale and actual profits and structure, etc.-though the natural inclination would be to say the terrorist is the most destructive, with perhaps my definition of the wanna-be dissident coming next on the food chain, I would venture to say that the very philosophy of management that would cause superiors to quite easily mistake a wanna-be dissident for an actual dissident is by far more destructive than any individual. Because that philosophy and confused method of perspective is what would also cause a governing body to almost instantly confuse wanna-bes and actuals in ANY of the dominant personality traits carefully described. For example, the Hero (Jeckyll) can easily be confused with a Charlatan (Hyde), who may know how to look like a hero in an organization he has studied carefully for an undisclosed agenda. Indeed, the most repressive political regimes in the world have always been those whose governing bodies structure their security forces, propagandists and militaries to consistently go after what could otherwise be called wanna-be terrorists, as well as the actual terrorists, both away from and within their borders. Before you know it, more time and attention is given to the wanna be terrorists than the actual ones...and virtually anyone, even the hero and 9 to 5-er, can be labeled a wanna-be terrorist in the fearful climate that that produces...and usually is, while the pretender hero with charisma calls the shots. Hence, WWII Germany.

When such a fearful environment is created regarding organizations that have lost their way by those in power, you can usually bet on a few things: that a) they don't want to hear anyone tell them about it or why (what Mavericks do very well), b) they want people to create miracles within a dysfunctional paradigm that all but prevents miracles from occurring (overworking and exhausting the Heroes) and c) they are already ready to blame all of the hard working underlings for their bad executive decisions when crises occurs (why most 9 to 5-ers get downsized). The Dissident perspective, when this atmosphere has rolled in like storm clouds before a hurricane and people start worshipping false "economy" gods, is really the only one worth listening to.

The Dissident is the one in any organization who is fundamentally aware of the paradigm shift that has taken place for the worse in the organization, and also knows the one that needs to take place for its betterment--and how it should be implemented. And he/she usually figures this out sometimes as much as years before everyone else does. The true dissident, far from being an angry, jealous troublemaker, is the one who teaches the Maverick the new music; the music that he/she then plays for the hero to dance the new dance.

The dissident is the patron saint, or spiritual barometer, of the Maverick. Where the Hero of an organization may be the Heroic environment's heart, the dissident is its soul.

Ron LeBow perhaps purposely dropped the ball here, to create the Zen experience of figuring this out for yourself. Either way, HEROIC ENVIRONMENT as a whole is very refreshing and worth the half day it will take to read and soak in. Highly recommended.

A workplace reality check.......2003-09-08

An easy and non-threatening read, "Journey" outlines an approach to creating a work environment which is inspiring and built to last.

The book presents a fairly detailed model of the workplace, and some suggestions on how to transform the workplace into the Heroic variety. It should come as no great surprise that the book also recommends consulting services by the author.

I generally found the book envigorating, and came away from it with a renewed committment to a high level of personal integrity at work.

I read this book in about 4 hours, and it was worth that level of effort. I suspect that enacting the types of changes in the workplace this book describes would require quite a bit more effort.

Reads like a novel. Applications of a managment text........2000-09-24

This book is easy and fun read like one of Ken Blanchard's books.

Contains lot's of practical applications for businesses, organizations, and families living in the fast paced, changing enviroment of the 21st Century.

Although it can be read in 2-3 hours, you will probably want to re-read often.

Contains an excellent self-evaluation quiz at the end of the book.

How to make the time you spend at work worthwhile.......2000-08-10

This is a great book for anyone who's tired of office politics and petty bickering in the workplace. One of the positives about the book is that it assumes people want their work, and the time they spend at work, to mean something. The dialogue in the book is based around this optimistic foundation, and is refreshing reading for any individual or team working in today's business world. I recommend getting a copy for yourself, and talking your manager into buying one for each member of your workplace. The idea of shared values discussed in this quick read can strengthen the bonds between members of a workgroup, and make work an enjoyable experience rather than drudgery.

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Professional French Pastry volume 2

No regret

A complete howto on french pastry methodology

This series leaves very little to guesswork. Not for novices

Creams, Confections, and Finished Desserts (French Professional Pastry Series)
Roland Bilheux , and Alain Escoffier
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Desserts | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Pastry | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Professional | Professional Cooking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
French | European | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Cooking, Food & Wine | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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Doughs, Batters, and Meringues (French Professional Pastry Series)

French Professional Pastry Series : Decorations, Borders and Letters, Marzipan, Modern Desserts

Special and Decorative Breads: Traditional, Regional and Special Breads, Fancy Breads - Viennese Pasteries - Croissants, Brioches - Decorative Breads - Presentation Pieces

The Advanced Professional Pastry Chef

The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry, 4th Edition

ASIN: 0470244097

Book Description

The first two sections of Volume 2 are devoted to basic creams and basic confections, which, together with the basic doughs in Volume 1 provide a complete overview of the fundamental pastry recipes and techniques. The second section presents a variety of finished desserts that are based on the basic doughs, creams, and confections.

Customer Reviews:

Professional French Pastry volume 2.......2005-01-18

When it comes to professional caliber instructions and instructions for baking and pastry, this book is clearly top of the heap. It may be a little expensive, but it is easily the equivalent of at least a dozen other books on pastry with glossy, fancy photos and a big, famous name on the cover. If you are a professional who plans to advance your career, this book is a must have. Please note that this is volume 2 of the series; you are expected to go through the volumes in order, so this book assumes that you have already gone through and mastered volume 1.

This book has a lot to offer the professional. Note that the emphasis on this volume is production. It goes beyond the basics of volume 1 (sanitation, making batters, proper baking techniques, etc.), while fancy, sophisticated decorations are reserved for volumes 3 and 4. The mini lessons in this volume are more or less equivalent to the instructions I got at culinary school. The great value here is that there are many more subjects in this book than in any cooking school class. If there is something you wish to do but never did at school, the recipes in this book will give you enough detail to do it successfully the first time through.

Even for the home cook, there is much here of great value. Like cooking school, the lessons in this book are designed for cooks who may or may not have previous experience. If you are going to try something from this book, you must follow all the instructions to the letter, gather the necessary tools and ingredients, have patience, and expect to fail once or twice before you get the hang of it. Also, pay careful attention to the difficulty ratings to the recipes; the instructions make everything look easy, but this is misleading. If all you get out of this book is the proper method to make pastry cream and creme anglaise, a couple of candies, a decorated cake or two, a couple of tarts, and brioche, then this book is very worthwhile.

There are a few cautions, however. I found some format problems: pictures mis-labeled, the butter cream section is messed up, etc. The original copyright date is 1985, and first published in English in 2000; this means that the patisserie here is probably 3 decades old, and much of it very out of fashion. Also, note the title is "Professional French Pastry", and bears little relation to pastry as it is commonly served here in the US. It's primary value is that of a training manual, and not a guide to current, trendy pastry trends or tricks.

It has chapters on: basic creams, 2 chapters on secondary creams, confectionery, and finished pastries (pate a choux, cakes, tarts, puff pastry, and brioche presentation). The last section on finished pastries is by definition advanced, and occupies the second half of the book.

No regret.......2002-10-05

I have purchaced this book just because i like french pastries and like to try myself to make those wonderful pastries that we see in the vitrine. And i did not regret that.Now I am going to purchace the full series.After reading ,this book I can now prepare brioche,eclair,petit pain,cream cormet.Buy them I promise you will not regret at all.All my friend do not believe that i cook them myself.

A complete howto on french pastry methodology.......2002-02-14

This book stands out from most of my other cookbooks because it does not only focus on what to put into the things it describes, but how to do it, and what not to do. The latter is, for some reason, quite hard to find.

Don't expect a book for keeping on the table in the living room because of its pretty pictures, like the latest trend in cookbooks seems to mandate. This book is directed towards people who need to do something in the kitchen, and tries to tell them how in a relatively simple way.

A very nice book, although it is directed towards learning in a professional environment. You will also need volume 1 to get the full benefit of this book.

This series leaves very little to guesswork. Not for novices.......1999-04-12

An excellent and complete manual for French pastry. These classic techniques are taught to every French pastry apprentice. They are all basic instuctions but very detailed and can be built on very easily. Only caveat: the ingredients used are French and/or European and American equivalents aren't suggested. Only the language has been translated-but not the culture!

Doughs, Batters, and Meringues and Creams, Confections, and Finished Desserts and Petits Fours, Chocolate, Frozen Desserts, and Sugar Work and Decorations, ... Desserts (French Professional Pastry Series)

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Doughs, Batters, and Meringues and Creams, Confections, and Finished Desserts and Petits Fours, Chocolate, Frozen Desserts, and Sugar Work and Decorations, ... Desserts (French Professional Pastry Series)
Roland Bilheux , and Alain Escoffier
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0471321494

Book Description

A rich and comprehensive sourcebook, Pottery Analysis draws together diverse approaches to the study of pottery—archaeological, ethnographic, stylistic, functional, and physicochemical. Prudence M. Rice uses pottery as a starting point for insights into people and culture and examines in detail the methods for studying these fired clay vessels that have been used worldwide from prehistoric times to the present. Pottery Analysis is a classic in its field as well as an invaluable reference for all students of archaeology and ancient culture.

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This is really what I was looking for..........2007-04-11

A complete book on pottery technology. Very useful both for beginners and expert. It gives a useful and deep description on minseralogical, stilistic and archaeometric aspects of pottery and pottery making.

Classics.......2007-03-16

For me there are two kinds of classics. The first are the books that were printed more than 70 years ago, and are still a reference in the subject you use it. The second are the new books, less than 25 years of being edited, that are so good and so well written that any one who wants to investigate in a subject have to read them. Rice's book is the second kind. A book very well documented, written and thought. With out any doubt, if you want to deal with ceramic analyses in archaeology you have to read it.

Book Description

In the second half of the twentieth century, no one exerted more influence over Social Security than Robert Ball, who in 1947 wrote what became the key statement defining why social insurance, not welfare, should be America’s primary income maintenance program. This policy-oriented biography surveys the history of Social Security from 1950 to the present through the eyes of the public servant most crucial to its development. Drawing on exclusive access to Robert Ball’s papers and Ball’s own extensive oral memoir created for this project, Edward D. Berkowitz explains how Social Security came to be America’s most important social welfare program. Ball’s role in expanding coverage to more workers during the period between 1950 and 1972, as well as in supporting the indexing of benefits to the rate of inflation, directly affected the lives of senior citizens and the overall U. S. economy.
Berkowitz demonstrates how Robert Ball used the conservative means of social insurance toward the liberal end of expanding the welfare state. He considers octagenarian Robert Ball’s legacy in the face of the George W. Bush administration’s goal of replacing Social Security with private accounts.

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An Important Biography.......2006-03-26

This is a story of dedication and public entrepreneurship at its highest level. It's an essential book that should be read and studied by every student of America's social safety net.
Douglas Wilson

Insuring the Essentials: Bob Ball on Social Security

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Insuring the Essentials: Bob Ball on Social Security
Robert M. Ball
Manufacturer: Century Foundation Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Social Security | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0870784579

Book Description

Social Security, long a "third rail" in American politics, became a battleground during the 2000 presidential campaigns. The reform proposal advocated by many Republicans, if enacted, would transform Social Security from a social insurance program to one based on individual retirement accounts and would restructure the program's financing, with perhaps disastrous results. Before such drastic changes are considered for the nation's most popular and successful public program, it is important that the nation understands the purpose, nature, and history of Social Security. This collection of essays and commentaries, written over six decades of Robert M. Ball's close professional and personal involvement with Social Security and updated by the author for 2001, is intended to deepen the understanding among policymakers and general readers alike.

Straight Talk About Social Security: An Analysis of the Issues in the Current Debate (Century Foundation/Twentieth Century Fund Report)

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Straight Talk About Social Security: An Analysis of the Issues in the Current Debate (Century Foundation/Twentieth Century Fund Report)
Robert M. Ball , and Thomas N. Bethell
Manufacturer: Century Foundation Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Social Security | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

U.S. | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Federal Government | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0870784226

Book Description

Much of the public concern about the future of Social Security stems from widespread misinformation about the financing of the present system -- misinformation reported so often that it has become part of the conventional wisdom. More than anything else, this accounts for the growing lack of confidence in the system, particularly among younger Americans, and adds to the difficulty of developing a sensible policy to address the manageable impact of the baby boom generation's future retirement.

In this book, former commissioner of Social Security Robert M. Ball corrects an array of misunderstandings, analyzes the drawbacks of proposals to partially privatize the program, and provides his own ideas for reform. A straightforward analysis of the essential facts and figures concerning the program, economic projections, and the impact of various reform proposals, this book will help anyone who cares about one of the nation's most important policy debates to quickly understand why Social Security can be saved without radical overhaul.

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ROBERT BALL AND THE POLITICS OF SOCIAL SECURITY
Edward D. Berkowitz
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press Madison, WI
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IWZYPG

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Robert Ball and the Politics of Social Security
Edward D. Berkowitz
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORRVAG

Book Description

In 1913 Charlie Birger began his career as a bootlegger, supplying southern Illinois with whiskey and beer. He was charismatic, with an easygoing manner and a cavalier generosity that made him popular. The stuff of legend, he was part monster, part Robin Hood. In the early days, he would emerge from his restaurant/saloon in tiny Ledford in Saline County with a cigar box full of coins and throw handfuls in the air for the children. Echoing the consensus on Birger, an anonymous gang member called him "enigmatic," noting that "he had a wonderful quality, a heart of gold. There in Harrisburg sometimes he'd support twelve or fifteen families, buy coal, groceries. . . . [But] he had cold eyes, a killer's eyes. He would kill you for something somebody else would punch you in the nose for."

Drawing from the colorful cast of the living, the dead, and the soon-to-be-dead—a state shared by many associated with Birger and his enemies, the Shelton gang—DeNeal re-creates Prohibition-era southern Illinois. He depicts the fatal shootout between S. Glenn Young and Ora Thomas, the battle on the Herrin Masonic Temple lawn in which six were slain and the Ku Klux Klan crushed, and the wounding of Williamson County state's attorney Arlie O. Boswell. As the gang wars escalated and the roster of corpses lengthened, the gangsters embraced technology. The Sheltons bombed Birger's roadhouse, Shady Rest, from a single-engine airplane. Both Birger and the Sheltons used armored vehicles to intimidate their enemies, and the chatter of machine gun fire grew common.

The gang wars ended with massive arrests, trials, and convictions of gangsters who once had seemed invincible. Charlie Birger was convicted of the murder of West City mayor Joe Adams and sentenced to death. On April 19, 1928, he stood on the gallows looking down on the large crowd that had come to see him die. "It's a beautiful world," Birger said softly as he prepared to leave it.

Customer Reviews:

Southern Illinois' Very Own Gangster.......2004-12-04

I picked up the original edition of this book years ago. It seemed then to be the definitive biography of Charlie Birger but Gary DeNeal has seen fit to update it and expand it with new info. This is one of the best gangster biographies I've ever seen and the rural background adds to the fascination. The Birger-Shelton gang war, complete with machine guns, armored trucks, and aerial bombing, equalled the violence and color of Capone's Chicago. A well-written and researched work that brings to life the Prohibition era.

Local History can be Interesting.......2004-10-12

I purchased this book originally while doing family research in Southern Illinois. My family had for years heard stories of my grandfather and Charlie Birger. I wanted to see if any dates/events coincided and to my surprise and relief there were not very many. During the reading of the book, however, I found myself being drawn in and even beginning to become enchanted by Charlie Birger. Don't get me wrong - he was a very dangerous and troubled person - but the writing by Gary DeNeal really drew me in. The history lessons as well as the interesting look at the world of a small time (even though Birger thought he was big-time) gangster was quite interesting. One of the most interesting facets was his association with other local gangsters and the historical look at how East St. Louis, now suffering from urban decay, was once a thriving and beautiful city. This book was a lot of fun and Mr. DeNeal did his research quite well.

Good Clarification of the Topic.......2002-10-29

Growing up in southern Illinois, the stomping grounds of Charlie Birger, I always heard the stories of gangsters. For anyone who has lived in southern Illinois, it is hard to imagine gangsters, bootlegging, etc. going on in this rural part of the state. Being curious about what was fact and what was fiction regarding Birger, I found this book.

It is a really good read, covering all aspects of Birger, as well as some background information on southern Illinois and the Prohibition period there. It is especially interesting to read about areas you know really well, and soak in the history that took place there. I would recommend this book to anyone from the southern Illinois area.

Great Companion to Bloody Williamson.......2001-06-15

If Paul Angle's BLOODY WILLIAMSON got your attention, you might consider DeNeal's portrait of Birger and his violent life as a natural companion piece. His exhaustive examination of the gangster's persona and the spectacle of his death is well-written and enjoyable. For those not so interested in the particulars of Birger's life, this study offers a solid snapshot of southern Illinois culture during the years just before the Depression. Ballowe's smart, albeit brief, introduction is also nicely done.

Book Description

Over the centuries, mankind has slowly reduced the risks and hazards that even as recently as a century ago kept life expectancy to a mere 45 years. Our average lifespan has improved to 77 years by remarkable progress in public health and safety. But with this improvement has come a demand for greater efforts to improve both life expectancy and the quality of life. The first edition of this book, published in 1982, was a pioneer in the development of logical, yet simple, analytic tools for discussion of the risks which we all face. This new edition, revised, expanded, and illustrated in detail, should be of value both to professionals in the field and to those who wish to understand these vital issues.

Triple Bottom Line Risk Management: Enhancing Profit, Environmental Performance, and Community Benefits

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Triple Bottom Line Risk Management: Enhancing Profit, Environmental Performance, and Community Benefits
Adrian R. Bowden , Malcolm R. Lane , and Julia H. Martin
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 047141557X

Book Description

An innovative, new approach to risk assessment and management that will help you uncover countless opportunities for your company

If a business wants to be sustainable in the twenty-first century, it should focus on the continuous improvements and potential opportunities that risk management offers. Written by risk management experts, this book will provide you with the necessary tools and guidance for the successful management of business risk so you can improve your company's triple bottom line—the social, environmental, and financial accountability of your business. The authors introduce the RISQUE method, which was specifically developed to address a diverse range of events and issues. It offers a multifaceted approach, using a rational process, which will help you make informed, defensible risk management decisions. You'll gain a better understanding of the methodology, assumptions, advantages, and disadvantages of this approach. You'll also see how the method can be applied to specific areas within your business to reduce risk and increase opportunities. And you'll learn the necessary skills to implement a risk management process that will demonstrate commitment to triple bottom line management.

To enhance the material presented, numerous case studies are included that will help you understand how to:

Select and justify the best option for a project
Determine how much additional liability you'll gain through an acquisition
Account for nonquantifiable events
Understand how much your company needs to set aside for future liabilities
Discover which asset management strategy gives you the best return
Use loss of life as a measure of risk to public safety
Calculate and report contingent liability on your balance sheet
Develop an insurance strategy based on your profile of risk

Benefits Assessment: The State of the Art (Risk, Governance and Society)

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Benefits Assessment: The State of the Art (Risk, Governance and Society)

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9027720223

Decision Science and Social Risk Management: A Comparative Evaluation of Cost-Benefit Analysis, Decision Analysis, and other Formal Decision-Aiding Approaches (Risk, Governance and Society)

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Decision Science and Social Risk Management: A Comparative Evaluation of Cost-Benefit Analysis, Decision Analysis, and other Formal Decision-Aiding Approaches (Risk, Governance and Society)
M.W Merkhofer
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 9027722757

Efficiency in Environmental Regulation: A Benefit-Cost Analysis of Alternative Approaches (Studies in Risk and Uncertainty)

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Efficiency in Environmental Regulation: A Benefit-Cost Analysis of Alternative Approaches (Studies in Risk and Uncertainty)
Ralph A. Luken
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0792391179

Risk Analysis Guide to Insurance and Employee Benefits (Ama Management Briefing)

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Risk Analysis Guide to Insurance and Employee Benefits (Ama Management Briefing)
Anton E. Pfaffle
Manufacturer: Amacom Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Risk Benefit Analysis: The Microwave Case

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Risk Benefit Analysis: The Microwave Case
Nicholas H. Steneck
Manufacturer: San Francisco Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0911302441

Risk, Benefit Analysis in Water Resources Planning and Management

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a profesional researching book

Risk, Benefit Analysis in Water Resources Planning and Management
Yacov Haimes
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0306408848

Customer Reviews:

a profesional researching book.......2001-11-17

a very good book for researcher on water resources. I want to buy one, but the money ......

Risk-Benefit Analysis in Decisions Concerning Public Safety and Health (Csep Module Series in Applied Ethics)

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Risk-Benefit Analysis in Decisions Concerning Public Safety and Health (Csep Module Series in Applied Ethics)
IIT Staff
Manufacturer: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0840336004

Book Description

"The Times Tax Guide" is designed to provide you with all the information, complete with worked examples, to fill out your self-assessment tax form. In addition to this step-by-step guide to self-assessment, the book also features essential information on other personal finance areas, such as VAT, personal pensions, inheritance tax and capital gains tax. So, whether you are running your own business, working in the UK or abroad, retired or on a low income, married or single, employed or unemployed, "The Times Tax Guide" should be an essential reference book. This guide to your tax position is designed to help you complete your self-assessment tax form and to plan your tax affairs more efficiently.

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