Book Description
If you are an art lover— novice or connoisseur— The Art Lover's Almanac is your easy-to-use guide to the world of art history, famous paintings, art terminology, folk art, great museums, art collecting, and more. You'll want to keep the Almanac handy to browse in your spare moments, to use as a comprehensive reference book, to look up interesting facts, and to enhance your appreciation of the world of art.
The Art Lover's Almanac is divided into eleven chapters that include lists of information, suggestions, little-known facts, definitions, illustrations, and quotations.
ABOUT ART offers information about Fakes and Forgeries . . . Great Art Thefts . . . Auction Knowledge . . . 25 Great Art Magazines
ART HISTORY AND APPRECIATION includes topics such as Art and Culture 35,000 B.C. to Present . . . The Aesthetics of Art . . . Well-Known Women Artists . . . Contemporary Paintings
ART FROM MANY CULTURES presents a wide range of information including Greek Historical Periods . . . 50 Major African-American Artists . . . Crafts Created Throughout Mexico . . . Islamic Art
NAÏVE, FOLK, AND OUTSIDER ART contains facts about Universal Folk Art and Crafts . . . Famous Folk Art Environments . . . Major Arts and Crafts Festivals . . . National Heritage Fellows of America
APPLIED DESIGN AND FINE CRAFTS includes a broad range of topics such as 100 Design Icons of the Twentieth Century . . . Museums Emphasizing Glass Collections . . .Textile and Fiber Arts . . . Master Craftspersons of the Twentieth Century
MUSEUMS TO VISIT AROUND THE WORLD presents suggestions and information about How to Visit a Museum . . . Historic American Homes Open as Museums . . . American Museum Towns . . . Major Museums of the World
PRINTS AND DRAWINGS includes a wealth of information on Looking at Prints . . . Drawing Terms . . . Artists Noted for Their Drawings . . . Collecting Prints
PAINTINGS AND PAINTERS features Terms Used in Decorative Painting Techniques . . . Great Themes in Painting . . . Old Masters . . . Timeline: Discoveries in Pigment
SCULPTURE provides facts about Famous Sculptures . . . Earthworks, Past and Present . . . Looking at Sculpture . . . Public Art100 Sculptures
ARCHITECTURE includes information on Frank Lloyd Wright Places You Can Visit . . . Great Places of Worship . . . Spaces for Living . . . American Covered Bridges
PHOTOGRAPHY contains facts about What Makes a Photo a Masterpiece? . . . Types of Photography . . . 75 Master Photographers . . . Digital Artists
Book Description
Jewelry as an art form in Mughal India has probably never been surpassed by any other civilization in the history of the world. This full-color presentation of its fabulously varied achievements, with over 300 specially taken photographs, accompanies the major international exhibition of the same title. The pieces range from rings, necklaces, and other body ornaments to astonishingly detailed jeweled work on objects as diverse as boxes, flasks, bowls, and daggers. They are presented and analyzed here in themes ranging from creative variations in stone settings, precious-metal inlay in hardstones, and minutely detailed relief decoration in hammered metals to engraved gold-backed jewels, enameling, gold-embellished steel, relief-carved ornament, and inscribed royal gemstones. The result is a visual feast of almost unbelievable richness, gathered together in this book for the first time. Over 300 color illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Treasury of the World.......2002-10-16
If you can't see this exhibit, this catalog is the next best thing. The photographs in this book glow almost as brilliantly as do the Mughal items in the exhibit at Houston's Museum of Fine Art. The only, more amazing exhibit that I've seen was at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Like at Topkapi, this Mughal exhibit features the dazzling glitter of thousands of gemstones set in gold, overwhelming me to the point of gaping at each item. I spent so much time studying the items themselves that I took scant notice of the exhibit's cards. This book provides the leisure to study the story behind the artistry. Little wonder that metal and gemstone workers were prized by Mughal rulers who enjoyed lavish gift exchanges. My friend took a look through the catalog and made a beeline to Houston to see the exhibit for herself. I'm sure that this catalog will inspire you, as well.
Average customer rating:
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Lending Opportunities in Real Estate: A High Profit Strategy for Every Investor
James Allen
Manufacturer: Tab Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
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| Business & Investing
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Public Finance
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General
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ASIN: 0830618198 |
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The De Palma Cut: The Films of America's Most Controversial Director
Laurent Bouzereau
Manufacturer: Dembner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Direction & Production
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ASIN: 0942637046 |
Book Description
BradyGames Star Fox Adventures Official Strategy Guide provides expert strategy to help gamers restore peace on Dinosaur Planet. The 3-D maps pinpoint key items and upgrades, while expert strategy for finding all four missing SpellStones will make saving the planet a feasible task. Detailed explanations on how to beat even the most difficult Krazoa tests, plus puzzle solutions for all brainteasers, including the most complex ones like the Electric Floor. Tips for finding every secret, enabling players to discover the locations of all the Cheat Wells, as well as the identity of the Krazoa Spirit!
Customer Reviews:
A good guide, still some missing info though.........2006-03-16
I strive to finish a game and THEN buy the guide. This guide has pretty much everything you need to know. One major thing it's missing is strategy for the "final battle".
I didn't need that much help with this game, but I'm sure this guide could help someone.
Not Quite Good Enough From Fox.......2005-03-31
Strategy guides have always seemed to have a interesting effect to help people with video games. Nevertheless, third-party companies that make those guides for video games don't actually make them very well at all. For Star Fox Adventures, it has been one of the most surprising video games ever developed for the Nintendo Gamecube. However, the strategy guide Brady Games developed does have a lot of problems. The maps and details are really not detailed enough and quite misleading on certain courses. Another problem is that it doesn't display how to defeat the Star Fox menace, Andross. For so many, they are just better off passing this guide up, for the real deal by Nintendo.
Overall: D-
Another Good guide.......2003-07-22
I liked this guide. It was clear and concise as most guides should be. I like the screens and how much time they spent getting you used to the game was an extra treat. They didn't jump right into the walkthrough which I was glad for. Also, the walkthrough was much more clearly organized and easy to read as compared to the other guides (I really didn't like the Nintendo Power guide for this game...).
The maps are okay but not every map is 3-D like they say. This is absolutely no problem for me, but others might find it to be a problem. I liked that they took the actual map from the game. It made it much easier to navigate and find my way through the various worlds.
I can't imagine much of anything wrong with this guide. All the puzzle solutions were there, secrets were mentioned, just about everything I'd expect from a strategy guide. Much better than some of the others out there. I think what went a little under explained were some of the Arwing Missions. But again, not much of a problem (there really isn't any "strategy" to getting through the Arwing missions).
Overall, and easy to use guide that got me through the entire game with few problems. Making this an essential Star Fox guide to have. Not bad at all.
A useful guide..........2003-02-27
I didn't get mine until I was 86% finished with the Game.
I really used it for the rest. It really saved me alot of internet time by looking at online guidebooks.Now I've beaten the final boss.
Book Description
Swing trading is gaining popularity as a powerful method to increase returns—and potentially lower risks—by profiting from short-term price moves. The Master Swing Trader explains how traders can use technical analysis, charting, and market sentiment to make trades that hold through price fluctuations and noise with wider stops. This complete, practical guide to making profitable short-term trades—based on the author’s popular “Mastering the Trade” online course—uses dozens of charts and graphs to illustrate proven swing trading concepts and strategies. Experienced day, position, and online traders will benefit immediately from: - The 7 Bells – unique tools to uncover promising short-term prospects - Techniques to profit from low-risk short sales - The 4 repeating cycles for perfectly timed trades
Download Description
The Master Swing Trader explains how traders can use technical analysis, charting, and market sentiment to make trades that hold through price fluctuations and noise with wider stops.
Customer Reviews:
A good, if hard to read, trading book.......2007-07-28
I felt the need to post a review because it seems to me most reviewers think the only options for rating a product are 1 a 5. To preface: I'm a college student who has recently been looking into technical analysis. This book was recommended to me by a friend. I don't claim to be an expert in trading.
First of all, I have to agree, this book is incredibly hard to read. The author comes off as an over-verbose pretentious individual.
Difficulty aside, this book gives you an incredible wealth of information on trading. I couldn't disagree more with a past reviewer who claims that this book is marketed as a "Get rich quick". I feel this book is quite the opposite. It gives you a very practical overview of many of the popular indicators and TA techniques(as opposed to say, the introductory explanation as offered in Murphy's) as well as lots of general tips to aspiring swing traders. It then goes on to outline some very thoroughly defined trading systems and all the knowledge needed to execute them.
This book is long and to be honest, painfully boring sometimes. However if you are looking to increase your knowledge of trading, I feel this is a book that should definitely be considered. Look elsewhere if you want a quick weekend read.
No substance.......2007-04-18
There are some good principles in the book, but its way to easy to get lost in all of the repetition and blandness. The section on fibonocci retracements was useful and seems to work well for me in practice; however, I didn't get much else from the book.
One of the Best.......2006-11-12
I had read a lot of reviews over this book before deciding to purchase it. The reviews--more than any trading book out there, at the time--pretty much had the vote split between people who absolutely hated it and those who absolutely loved it. The deciding factor that lead to my purchase was the author (a professional trader of many years) of another book who spoke highly of "The Master Swing Trader"'s author, and the work he had done in writing this piece.
This is not a fluff book to hook you into trading. This book is geared towards those few individuals out there who wish to make trading a profession, rather than a passing fancy. I read a large number of those fluff books during my decision to become a professional day trader. I wish I had picked up this book first, because it goes into all the techniques I now use today in order to be successful. Not only does this book discuss the various trading techniques and their set-ups, along with all so important exit strategies, but more importantly it discusses why price moves in certain directions, why it jumps forth, why it breaks down--basically, it offers rare insights into the psyche of the trading crowd that is the market (all those traders out there who are competing against you).
The writing style has been berated as too 'text-book' in presentation, but I beg to differ. It flows with an elegant prose that distinguishes the author not only as a true trader, but also as a true writer who can hook those who wish to relate to the generously offered insights. Only those who have been through the grueling battles in actual trading scenarios and who hunger to know why things went right or why they went wrong, will appreciate this work and set it up on their bookshelf next to the other trading classics.
If you are used to simplistic writing such as can be found on any dimestore bookshelf, with the likes of Stephen King, this elevated work may certainly be beyond your grasp. If, however, you can digest proper grammer and get past poetic prose, this book will open a window rarely seen before. It is probably one of the best all around trading books ever written.
Good luck to those aspiring traders who hunger to understand market sentiment.
WOW...just wow.......2006-11-09
What a horrible book. The writing style of the author is horrendous! Impossible to follow or even comprehend what he is trying to teach. All the information in this book is readily available online. Save your money and buy "Mastering the trade" by Scott instead.
Solid Technical Trading Book.......2006-09-24
First, I agree that the author needs to learn how to write properly. Some of his thoughts are all over the place, and need some work. His editor must have been a complete moron. Nevertheless, after going through the material, I felt the book had some good trading ideas to offer, if your familiar with technical analysis. The seven bells are a useful place to start looking for trading setups, and are the most valuable part of this book. With that said, John Carter's Mastering The Trade is much, much better if you had to only buy one book. If the author edits his writing a little bit better, stops trying to be like Shakespeare (go write fiction if you want to do this big guy), his book would be much improved. It would also be useful to see some stats on how his 7 bells do in actual trading. He sometimes makes comments like an 65-80% of the time it will work... well I could tell you the Tooth Fairy is real, too, but show me some evidence!
Book Description
Brazen, incisive, and outrageous as ever, Hunter S. Thompson is back with another astonishing volume of his private correspondence, the highly anticipated follow-up to The Proud Highway. When that first book of letters appeared in 1997, Time pronounced it "deliriously entertaining"; Rolling Stone called it "brilliant beyond description"; and The New York Times celebrated its "wicked humor and bracing political conviction."
Spanning the years between 1968 and 1976, these never-before-published letters show Thompson building his legend: running for sheriff in Aspen, Colorado; creating the seminal road book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; twisting political reporting to new heights for Rolling Stone; and making sense of it all in the landmark Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. To read Thompson's dispatches from these years -- addressed to the author's friends, enemies, editors, and creditors, and such notables as Jimmy Carter, Tom Wolfe, and Kurt Vonnegut -- is to read a raw, revolutionary eyewitness account of one of the most exciting and pivotal eras in American history.
Customer Reviews:
Loathing Hunter S Thompson's Hypocrisy.......2007-07-13
This is my second attempt at writing a review about that ATAVISTIC GIBBERISH called fear and loathing in america.I guess the review GESTAPO didn't like my totally honest review of HST's schizophrenic prose, in my first review(to their credit) i did say some things about HST that would make even DR.Gonzo, go GONZO, LOL!!!
The MOST DISGUSTING part of this book is on page 199-200 when he offers his writing services for the kennedy's inre: to Mary jo kopechne's SO-CALLED ACCIDENTAL DEATH :-((( Can anyone be more pathetic than that???
I could go on and on about this ATAVISTIC GIBBERISH but my LOATHING will undoubtedly draw more attention from the review gestapo.
Don't get me wrong, there are some funny letters from HST and guest, but the DISGUSTING OUTWAY THE HUMOR by 10 to 1 :-(((
Hopefully this review will see the light of day, i truely believe it needs to be read, there's been enough GIBBERISH from his syncophantic minions.
Into the Belly of the Beast.......2007-05-31
The second installment in HST's selected letters, Fear & Loathing in America has proved to be a fascinating read. Beginning in the 1950's, HST keep carbon copies of all his letters for filing purposes in the belief that one day he would be a famous writer and his correspondence would be published. Like so many other Thompson predictions, this one proved true. The range and scope of the letters contained in this volume is simply amazing. HST had contacts and correspondence across almost every section of American society from Jimmy Carter, Pat Buchan, Gorge McGovern, and Walter Mondale at one end of the spectrum to Ken Kesey, Tom Wolfe, Jann Wenner, and Oscar Acosta at the other end.
The time period covered by these letters have proven to be a crucial period in modern history and nobody should be without a view from HST's side of things. From the 68' Democratic National Convention to the 75' American withdrawal from Vietnam, the Mint 400 in Vegas to his own personal bid to run for Sheriff of Pitkin County (Aspen) on the Mescaline ticket, HST was there and more often than not part of the action. In this regards his letters read like a quasi-autobiography, tracing the twists and turns of his life throughout this turbulent period of American history. For the creator of Gonzo Journalism, this was his defining period.
It is certainly preferable to start with the first volume HST's published letter, if for nothing else it provides a better context for this volume. I have to confess that I enjoyed vol. 2 more than the first, so I guess it really depends on what you are after. I found myself laughing out loud at numerous occasions while at other times rather stunned at the insight and predictive nature of some of the correspondence, specifically the politically orientated ones. Of course there are other times when HST degenerates into pure gibberish, but all the parts add up to give a composite picture of that unique and individual whole we have come to know as Hunter. So read this book when you get the chance or anything else by HST for that matter. For me he is the best US writer of the last 50 years and I do not say that lightly.
Whining for Dollars.......2007-05-04
If Volume I of the trilogy is "Rebel with a Cause (Writing)," then Volume II (this volume) is "Whining for Dollars." If you are new to Hunter S. Thompson, start with Volume 1 -- it will give you a much better feeling of who this man was, especially with regard to the risks he was willing to take to tell a good story. If you are interested in politics of the 1960's and early 1970's, and want to read about all his problems with getting paid, this is the volume for you. Having said all that, HST was truly incredible: in 1968 HST recognized Bob Dylan as the icon of the 60s; HST was everywhere -- from the Matrix, the womb of The Jefferson Airplane in San Francisco, to Saigon in April 1975, during the evacuation; and as a political junkie, HST could see the impeachment of Richard Nixon coming long before it did, as well as the eventual fall of South Vietnam. The first volume is much wilder, and even more sentimental; by Volume II, HST is starting to settle down.
Crazy Energy. Laugh Out Loud Funny.......2006-01-21
Ordinarily, I wouldn't think letters would be that interesting. But Thomson's style and sense of humor are so outrageous, I find myself laughing out loud every few pages or so.
But it's much more than humor. The letters overlap the period of Martin Luther King's Assassination, Robert F. Kennedy's Assassination, the Democratic National Convention of 1968 (which he attended), etc.
I was struck at how he tried to convince his younger brother to stay in college for at least another semester, because by then, we would probably be out of Vietnam. It was apparent to him at the time that we would leave. And yet...Saigon didn't fall until April 1975.
He also has a particular revulsion for Nixon, who has always been a fascinating figure for me. And of course,there are letters to his fans. He clearly has fear and loathing for some of them. His letters to and about them are hillarious.
A great read.
HST was IT.......2005-10-12
This is the middle, and probably the most interesting of the gozno letter trilogy. It is an absolutely must read for any Thonpson fan, or aspiring writer, for that matter. For the casual reader, if you're going to read one of the three volumes, this is it. Thompson's voice is so gripping, even an expense report can be laugh-out-loud funny. He was truely a literary giant.
Book Description
Robert Cowley and the editors of Military History Quarterly present a fascinating anthology of World War II essays from some of the world's most eminent historians.
"A collection of riveting essays about World War II-often asking militarily, 'What if?'" (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
"Absorbing. A must read. Cowley... has chosen judiciously, taking us to Africa, Asia, Guadalcanal and other WWII hot spots. [A] combination of solid writing and star power." (Publishers Weekly)
"Useful for the military scholar and captivating to the general reader, Cowley's collection is likely to stand among the best histories of the year...Eyewitness memoirs...lend a participatory air of authority to the proceedings. These essays will revive the drama and sense of desperation that marked WWII for a new generation of readers." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Several of the dozens of episodes examined here have never been written up before. Chronicled and assessed by several dozen top-rank contemporary military historians, unusual or seldom noticed aspects of the war come to light. A suite of surprises awaits even the most knowledgeable reader of the war's history." (Booklist )
"Can easily be read for enjoyment." (Library Journal)
Customer Reviews:
Lots of interesting stories.......2007-03-10
I've read a lot about WWII - this CD audio book had some obscure tales that I had never heard of. Interesting material, well-produced.
Collection of articles from MHQ on WW2.......2004-09-22
This is a collection of articles by various mostly eminent historians covering most of the critical events of World War II. It includes articles by Caleb Carr (the novelist who wrote The Alienist), William Manchester (biographer of Churchill and MacArthur), Antony Beevor (author of books on Stalingrad and Berlin), and Theodore F. Cook (specialist in Japan during WW2). The articles consist of everything from studies of battles to biographies of the major combatants.
This book is better a bit than Cowley's volume on the Civil War. He does ruin some of the articles by cribbing his introductions from the actual articles that he's introducing. The authors themselves, however, are just about as stellar as they can get in the current round of historians, including Manchester, who's now retired, and Carr, who's stopped writing military history in favor of novels. The other misgiving I have is that this isn't a complete history of the war. The reader must have a reasonable knowledge of the war before s/he begins reading the book, to understand all the nuances and points that are made by the various authors.
I liked this collection, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in military history or World War II.
Essays by Today's Foremost World War II Authors.......2003-09-08
This book offers a fine collection of essays written by today's foremost authorities on the second world war. Authors such as Stephen Ambrose, John Keegan, and Dan Kurzman have contributed to this fine book. The layout of the book is excellent. Instead of having individual chapters, the editors have put the essays into chronological order, so the reader doesn't necessarily have to read the book in sequential order. Rather, the reader has the freedom to skip to the parts of the book that they find the most interesting if they so choose.
Each essay gives a unique insight into a specific area of the war. Some of my favorites included "Diary of a Tail Gunner", told by a B-17 tail gunner who survived twenty six missons over Nazi territory. I also enjoyed "The Other Pearl Harbor", which discussed MacArthur's failures in the Phillipines after the Pearl Harbor attack. There is something for everyone in this book, regardless if you enjoy reading about the European or Pacific theaters.
This is a good book and gives a fine overview of the entire war as well as some lesser-known encounters.
Illuminating Collection Of Essays On World War Two!.......2003-07-24
What a wonderful gift editor Robert Crowley has given us with this treasure trove of individual essays from individual contributors in this spellbinding book covering a number of different aspects and experiences during World War Two! As one of the authors, the late popular historian Stephan Ambrose has shown us with many of his own works, the history of the Second World War was such a massive and variegated plethora of anecdotes, campaigns and experiences that it is nearly impossible to exhaust the steady stream of captivating stories that spring from its loins like bouncing babies, fully formed, into the waiting reader's lap. This is a particularly attractive package of essays, perfect for people who want something relatively short, as each individual offering within is, something one can read on a plane flight in its entirety and then pick up later without trying to remember the context or story thread where he had left off. And each of the stories makes for fascinating reading indeed.
The list of authors included is both impressive and eclectic, ranging from Ambrose, who weighs in with the taut and stirring tale of a platoon of paratroopers attempting to take and control a bridge key to the initial thrust of the first few hours of the Normandy landing, to Caleb Carr, better known for his success as a novelist ("The Alienist") but quite an eminent historian as well, to William Manchester to John Keegan to Antony Beever to Stanley Weintraub to David M. Glantz. And this is only some of the luminary historically prominent authors gathered together in what can only be described as a bravura collection of stories and perspectives on the total war effort, ranging in topics from the island hopping effort in the South Pacific to the desperate hours of the first few hours leading up to the Battle of the Bulge in the French Ardennes in December of 1944.
Despite my own wide reading of similar historical sources over the last thirty years, I found several of the articles quite illuminating and educational, as with Caleb Car's treatment of life on the ground as the invasion of Poland proceeds in September, 1939 in the precipitating event that quickly served to trigger the advent of the Second World War as such. Similarly, articles by Charles Berges, Sir David Fraser, and Carlo D'Este proved both fascinating and edifying in illuminating aspects of the war only poorly understood and studied in the existing literature.
This monograph especailly serves the interested private scholars like me who wants to know more about various different aspects and perspectives of the war that are not adequately or fully treated elsewhere, and used in conjunction with marvelous other resources such as Gerhard Weinberg's masterful "A World At Arms", Richard Spector's terrific ""Eagle Against The Sun", and William Shirer's eye-witness testimony in "The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich", gives us a much richer and more comprehensive understanding of the signal historical event of the 20th century. Enjoy!
Great Book - Highly Recommended.......2003-02-06
This collection of essays is nothing less than superb.
Average customer rating:
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Perspectives on World War II
Manufacturer: Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
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| History
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ASIN: B000MQKU7K |
Amazon.com
Charles Murray first got famous for his book Losing Ground's argument that welfare programs actually hamper the progress of poor people. Then he got even more famous for saying (along with his co-author Richard Herrnstein) in The Bell Curve that genetically-based IQ deficits also hamper their progress. This little book is worth the read because we get to see what he thinks the government should really do about all this: not much. On the plus side, Murray is a very clear writer. So we get, for instance, a nicely drawn discussion of the nature of public goods. But although this book is offered in the spirit of the Revolutionary pamphleteers, when it gets down to cases, Murray comes across as a man who's lost his common sense. For example, he claims that if all businesses were allowed to opt out of the current government regulatory scheme, provided that they display prominent signs saying UNREGULATED, "just about every small business will want to be unregulated. ... No more building inspectors, elevator inspectors, or restaurant inspectors. Owners of unregulated small businesses will have to answer to no one but their customers." He doesn't seem to notice that those customers will be running at top speed away from those clearly marked buildings, elevators, and restaurants.
Book Description
"In the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the American Founders created a society based on the belief that human happiness is intimately connected with personal freedom and responsibility. A few people, of whom I am one, think that the Founders' insights are as true today as they were two centuries ago. We believe that human happiness requires freedom, and freedom requires limited government. Limited government means a very small one, shorn of almost all of the apparatus we have come to take for granted during the last sixty years.
Most people are baffled by such views. Don't we realize that this is post-industrial America, not Jefferson's agrarian society? This book tries to explain how we can believe the less government, the better. It contains no footnotes. It has no tables and but a single graph. My purpose is to explain a way of looking at the world." --Charles Murray, from the Introduction
The twin pillars of the nation created by America's Founders were strict limits on the power of central government and strict protections of individual rights. Now, at the close of the twentieth century, that state is gone--and Charles Murray wants to bring it back. In What It Means to Be a Libertarian, he offers a radical blueprint for overhauling our dysfunctional government and replacing it with a system that fosters human happiness because it safeguards human freedom.
Most Americans, Murray argues, have reluctantly come to accept that a sprawling, costly, and intrusive government is an inevitable part of modern life. What It Means to Be a Libertarian encourages each of us to liberate ourselves from ingrained ideas of what government is and consider instead what it ought to be. Imagine, for example, a federal government that is not just smaller, but small, with an executive branch reduced to the White House and trimmed-down departments of state, defense, justice, and environmental protection. Imagine a federal code stripped of all but a handful of regulations and a Congress so limited in power that it spends only a few months of each year in session. Imagine a society in which the government's role is once again to prevent people from initiating the use of force, leaving them otherwise free, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, "to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement."
In this very personal book, Charles Murray paints a vivid portrait of life in a genuinely free society. He explains why limited government would lead to greater individual fulfillment, more vital communities, and a richer culture. He shows why such a society would have stronger families, fewer poor people, and would care for the less fortunate far better than does the society we havenow.
Writing in the tradition of the Revolutionary pamphleteers, Charles Murray has crafted a brilliant treatise that presents a clear, workable alternative to our
current government. Without footnotes, in plain language, What It Means to Be a Libertarian returns to the truths our Founders held to be self-evident
and applies them, justly and compassionately, to this country's most urgent social and political problems.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic, clearly written book!.......2007-04-10
Charles Murray eloquently explains the reasoning and ideals of Libertarians in a straight-forward, no-nonsense fashion. Easily the best book I've read this year.
Murray The Part-Time Monster Shrinker .......2006-05-30
What it Means to Be a Libertarian is a clear, concise and compelling account of Murray's brand of libertarianism. Murray fluidly moves from point to point, covering the broad range of social and political topics that concern libertarians.
Murray makes particularly good use of his "trendline test" to argue that government interventions are almost always ineffective. His claim is that we can spend a lot of money on government programs to solve what ails us (with respect to crime, poverty, health care, safety, education, etc.) but when you compare trends before government intervention and after intervention, there is usually no positive change. We are wasting our resources. Worse, by intervening, government agencies strip communities and citizens of important functions. Since, "to live a satisfying life, you have to spend a goodly portion of your waking hours doing important things," the pernicious effect of government "help" is incalculable. Murray shows heightened sensitivity to the actual places people live. "When the government stripped neighborhoods of functions, the consequences were most devastating where the geographic neighborhood was most important." 167
Murray separates himself from the strictest libertarians by allowing for legislation in matters where the public good is at stake and the transactions costs of solving problems through common law prohibit tort solutions. For example, "zoning rules provide a way for collections of people to shape the future of their neighborhood and are based on the consensual agreement of the people already living there." "The smaller the municipality, the more likely that the services have consensual support. The larger the municipality, the more likely that they are political arrangements for taking from one set of citizens to benefit another." Murray makes a convincing case for appropriately scaled government under local control of the people.
If Murray's principle is the greater the power, and the further removed the power is from local control, the more objectionable the power is, then it is fair to ask whether this principle applies to all powers that are great and removed from local control, or whether this principle is to apply only to government. Murray asserts that "over time, political and social freedom invariably correspond to the degree of economic freedom that people have retained." Is local control less important if the power is organized in the form of a corporation as opposed to a government?
In our current version of what passes for a "free market" with the putative benefit of unrestrained economic competition between individuals, Wal-Mart, because it enjoys the legal status of a person, is considered the theoretical equal of Bob the local appliance store owner. And if Bob happens to lose in the retail competition because he can't order 50,000 coffee-makers at a crack from a factory 12, 000 miles away, and receive a deep discount for being such an important customer, well, at least Bob was "free" to compete. Right? (Kunstler, The Long Emergency). Bob might expect Charles (Murray), a lover of freedom and defender of the locals against the imposition of remote power, to say something about his plight. Murray, however, gives no indication he is interested in shrinking the monster unless the monster is a government.
Murray gives a couple clues as to why this is the case. "The reality of daily life [Murray says] is that, by and large, the things the government does tend to be ugly, rude, slovenly - and not to work. Things that private organizations do tend to be attractive, courteous, tidy - and to work. That is the way America really is." This is the first clue - corporations (power and location not otherwise specified) come out on the happy side of the attractive / ugly split. The second clue is Murray's working hypothesis with respect to the psychology of human beings. "Libertarians assume that, absent physical coercion, everyone's mind is under his own control." And, "if I cannot use force, everything I get has to be given voluntarily."
With rose colored glasses and a simple psychology, Murray is able to decry the evils of governmental regulation while oblivious to the impact of mega-corporate bullies on the environment and local communities across the country. The attractive products courteously delivered from mega-corporations that have no real stake in any particular local community come with costs that are hidden only from those who do not want to see. And if Murray really thinks that a mega-corporation is powerless to shape his world against his interest and will merely because the mega-corporation does not wield police-power, then he is enjoying quite a fantasy.
I recommend What it Means to be a Libertarian. If Murray had applied his principle of local control to corporate as well as governmental power, he would have written a five star book. He stops short so he gets four stars.
Excellent introduction to Libertarian Thought.......2006-05-10
Murray gives a wonderful introduction to the way a Libertarian looks at and thinks about the issues in modern American life. He also gives many recommendations as to how to make American government better and what an ideal Libertarian government might look like. He even describes how he believes this revolution might come about, and almost predicts that it's closer than we might think. Great read for anyone who is a Libertarian or wants to know more about how Libertarians think... and it's a GREAT book to read if you're a liberal, conservative, or a statist, especially.
Excellent Introduction to Libertarian Thought.......2006-05-01
This is the best single book introduction to libertarian thought. It is better in this regard than the Boaz book in that it is shorter and more personal/philosophical (although the Boaz book is more rigorously argued and comprehensive). Murray gives general principles first and then goes on to make concrete suggestions for improving and limiting the government. At a time when "big government conservatives" are running (and ruining) the country, this sets out a coherent alternative for all those who still believe in the Enlightenment principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility.
Compelling Vision of Libertarianism.......2006-02-07
This book would be more accurately titled 'One Man's Argument for Libertarianism,' as Murray's particular brand of libertarianism is not necessarily that shared by either the Libertarian Party or the average libertarian. Nonetheless, the book makes a very good case for his brand of libertarianism and at least lays out the basics of what libertarianism is and is not.
The book presents libertarianism is two parts: descriptive and prescriptive, with the prescriptions building naturally from the description. Murray lays out his views on the proper role of government in society in the descriptive part of the book, providing a reasonably coherent explanation of how the basic theory of libertarianism applies in specific cases.
The second part of the book is where things get particularly interesting, as Murray starts prescribing how the government should be reshaped to form a libertarian government. He lays out an ambitious agenda and does a remarkably good job of defending it given his space limitations. His arguments for paring away a sizable chunk of the regulatory state will not be accepted by many readers, but his arguments are cogent and reasonable. As he notes in the text, there is no way to be certain that his prescriptions would result in better economic health for the nation. On the other hand, there's also no way to demonstrate that government regulation has provided more than a marginal benefit to the public (and certainly no way to demonstrate its benefits have outweighed its costs). It is unlikely Murray's arguments will win over many converts, as political affiliation is a very difficult thing for people to change, but most who dismiss his arguments will do so from emotion rather than logic.
Murray's writing is crisp and clean, making the already small book a very pleasant read. While the reader will not truly understand what it means to be a libertarian in this small volume, he will certainly understand the basics of the philosophy and how it can be applied to some of the political problems we face today. Well worth a look for anyone curious about libertarians and libertarianism.
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What It Means to Be a Libertarian (Au)
Manufacturer: Random House Audio
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Binding: Audio Cassette
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ASIN: 055347815X
Release Date: 1996-12-01 |
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What it means to be a libertarian
Charles Murray
Manufacturer: Center of the American Experiment
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The Black Eagle: A Study : Verreaux's Eagle in Southern Africa
Valerie Gargett
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