Average customer rating:
- The Mecca of Modern Art in France
- Excellent overview of the smaller artistic treasures
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Artists and Their Museums On the Riviera
Barbara F. Freed
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0810927616 |
Customer Reviews:
The Mecca of Modern Art in France.......2001-02-11
Barbara Freed takes us on a visit to the places along the Southeastern French coast from St. Tropez to Menton where now-celebrated artists have worked from the time of the pointillist Paul Signac onward. She also takes us to visit the very personal places where the likes of Renoir, Matisse, Chagall, Picasso and Cocteau lived and worked and where their work remains, often in such remarkably personal settings as their home, a museum dedicated to them, a chapel they decorated, and such.
Dr. Freed first came to know this corner of France in 1960, she writes, when her artist father and family spent a year in Vence (across the street from Henri Matisse). This book is a labor of love for her, and it shows.
Having lived in Nice for 3 years in the 1990s, we can attest to the quality of this book. It is a good guide to the artists and it is a good practical guide to visiting their marvelous museums along the Riviera, the Cote d'Azur. The price is modest. We recommend it.
Excellent overview of the smaller artistic treasures.......1998-08-11
I have visited some of the museums and locations mentioned in the book and Dr. Freed has managed to capture the essence and the feeling of the locales while, at the same time, provides an excellent insight into the artist and his time.
I thoroughly enjoyed the information and the descriptions. A larger format would have been a major enhancement but still I found it an excellent reference as well as a moving experience.
Book Description
This new book by one of the most distinguished scholars of his generation offers a compelling view of modern international law. Based upon his Hague Academy lectures, the author establishes a framework through which the legal reasoning and theories which inform modern international law can be
understood by students seeking an introduction to this large and complex area of law. He offers a critical analysis of the prescriptive norms and institutions of modern international law and argues that they have the capacity to advance, in practice, the abstract social values shared by the
community of States and persons.
Customer Reviews:
A primary source for international law studies.......1999-03-07
I received this book as a present from some friends of mine, since I like to read such books. I'm not a lawyer but a historian. As we already know, history can be studied after the laws that ruled peoples. I liked this book because of the clear way the author deals with a very difficult subject. As a historian I can't judge how Prof. Franck sees these problems.... but I can say the way he explains this difficult subject is extremely clear. This is definetly a manual whose qualities will last long. A true University text that's useful to everyone interested into international affairs. I hope sincerely that many Ministers for foreign affairs would like to read this extremely interesting work.
Book Description
Bargain Books are non-returnable.
The first and only comic book to receive the World Fantasy Award, The Sandman continues to break new ground in the comic book medium and beyond. Author Alisa Kwitney explores its beginnings and chronicles the comic's emergence as a unique and undeniable force in the literary world. Richly illustrated, this history shows how Gaiman and The Sandman's gifted artists, such as Dave McKean and Yoshitaka Amano, create a haunting (and haunted) main character who wields immense power. With illustrations never before published, behind-the-scenes stories, handwritten notes, and interviews with Gaiman himself, this volume is a true testament to the dream king and his creator.
Customer Reviews:
Nice return visit to an interesting world . . ........2007-08-19
From the fall of 1987 to the beginning of 1996, Neil Gaiman worked mostly on the "Sandman" series of comics, . . . which became trade book collections, and merchandise, and fannish websites, and spin-off books by other writers. Morpheus gave it all up in the end, but the readers haven't. One of the best spin-offs is this overview, or commentary, or summation, of the series, from the first issue to the last, by one of the assistant editors with whom Gaiman worked. She's gone on to other things, too, but she obviously can't leave the Endless behind any more than the paying readers can. It's nice to be able to revisit, all in one place, the wide range of artists who worked on the series and to read Gaiman's brief comments on the origins of certain story arcs and the interconnections between others, not all of which were intentional. And, as Kwitney says, if you've picked up this book without having read about the Sandman, . . . well, now's your chance.
Beautiful and Informative.......2004-05-04
Sandman: the King of Dreams is a wonderful coffetable-eque art book. However, it also contains many insights into the world of the Sandman and the creative process. Alisa Kwitney was a one time editor of the comic series and brings wonderful anecdotes about the writers, artists and characters that I have not heard anywhere else. This bok is clearly written with love for the world of The Sandman.
The art is also gorgeuos. images from the comics are replicated here in a wonderful format. also there are many images taken from other comics and trading cards and several that have been hiding in the editorial vault.
though this book is not as detailed as Hy Bender's wonderful ode to the series, and the two do cover the same ground on occasion, this is an excellent addition to anyones'sSandman library.
Great Art, but not enough meat to go with it.......2003-11-17
"The Sandman: King of Dreams" is a coffee-table sized tribute to the 10 story arcs that comprise Neil Gaiman's beloved Sandman series. A chapter is devoted to each story arc (or corresponding graphic novel, if you will) filled with full-page reproductions directly from the stores themselves. There are also a smattering of new artwork, behind-the-scenes tidbits, quotes and such.
I adore the Sandman series, and even find repeated enjoyment in "The Sandman Companion", but I was disappointed by this book. Why?
1st, there was not enough new art to keep me from getting bored. Yes, the pages look damn good reproduced here, but still pretty much look the same here as in the graphic novels.
2nd, there is too little text to go with the visuals, and what there is seems lacking ("The Sandman Companion", though visually less appealing than "King of Dreams", has about a 100x more info in it). For example, in the chapter covering the 2nd Sandman graphic novel - Doll's House, it alludes to original artist Mike Dringenberg not being able to keep up with the monthly pace. He apparently is replaced. Sounds interesting. So what happened? Was he fired? Did he step down honorably? Is this type of thing normal in a comic series? You won't find the answer here. Getting under the skin of the story - a forte of Mr. Gaiman, is frustratingly lacking here. It comes across as a superficial glossing over of the greatest comic book series ever.
What's left is great art you've mostly seen before, some interesting tidbits and insights, and a summary of stories you already know by heart. I'd recommend this for Sandman completists who especially love the artwork. For everyone else, try the "Sandman Companion" (its cheaper and better) or just pull out your reading copies one more time for another run through.
Book Description
Drawing upon some of the best comic book artwork from Sandman's 75 issues—including work by Dave McKean, Chris Bachalo, and Moebius, as well as Yoshitaka Amano's dramatic paintings—this calendar invites you into Neil Gaiman's world of the Dreaming.
Book Description
More than 500 conundrums, mind-benders, and mathematical teasers will help puzzle fans push their IQ levels to the maximum. Visualize this collection as a ladder into the stratosphere of intelligence: 20 levels of ascending difficulty each contain a variety of numerical and alphabetical questions that tease and stimulate the brain. Start from the beginning, with Level One, and work methodically through to the end. Think logically, rationally, and laterally when unraveling these, and watch for emerging patterns that make solving the later problems easier. Resist the temptation to look at the answers (all at the end), and when you're stumped, try to look at the puzzle from a different perspective--that's how to sharpen the wits and train the mind.
Customer Reviews:
Starts out challenging, becomes 22 times more so!.......2006-08-27
The book trains your brain to think logically. The same puzzles appear to show up in each chapter, but there is a new twist every time. And logic you've learned to apply to one type of puzzle can suddenly solve something completely different. You are encouraged not to look at the solutions when you are stuck, but rather to return to that puzzle later and look at it from a different point of view. Can you follow that rule? Sometimes I just have to peek at the answer!
These puzzles are fun, and some are truly amazing!
Love this book!.......2006-03-02
If you like puzzles, you will love this book! Just when you think you have a pattern solved, there is another possible solution! It exercises my brain! LOVE IT!
Amazon.com
"There's no such thing as a mature business," only a growth business, write leading business consultants Ram Charan and Noel M. Tichy. Every Business Is a Growth Business is a step-by-step manual for turning any company into an expanding company. The book is packed with real-world examples and key concepts for executives to get their businesses on an upward trajectory.
Charan and Tichy assert that growth requires sticking to two principles: "strategy from the outside in" and "changing the genetic code." The first means putting yourself in your customers' shoes and asking what are their needs and how are they changing. From this perspective, a company can redefine its market and come up with creative ways to expand demand. The second principle, changing the genetic code, means revamping the corporate culture so that a new mindset for growth can thrive. As anyone who has ever worked in a company knows, corporate culture is a hard thing to overhaul. The book gives concrete steps to make that happen; sometimes it requires whole new leadership.
Charan, who has been on the faculty of the Harvard Business School and Northwestern University, and Tichy, a professor at the University of Michigan Business School, speak from experience. They've advised companies such as Royal Dutch/Shell and Mercedes-Benz. One of their heroes is the late Roberto Goizueta of Coca-Cola. When Goizueta took over, the company was on cruise control. It dominated the U.S. soft- drink industry--a market that many experts believed was mature with nowhere to grow. Under conventional thinking, Coca-Cola was maxed out: it would do well just to defend each tenth of a percent of market share against archrival PepsiCo. But in the 1980s, Goizueta framed the question of market share in a different way. Goizueta got his top executives to see that globally, Coca-Cola accounted for less than 2 ounces of the 64 ounces of fluid that each of the world's 4.4 billion people drank on average every day. In one simple stroke, he redefined the market and opened vast new areas of opportunity for his company. Coca-Cola became an immensely successful growth company under his leadership. Similar stories about Compaq, Citibank, and other companies abound. Every Business Is a Growth Business is an inspiring and practical book for business leaders looking to grow their company. --Dan Ring
Amazon.com Audiobook Review
Everyone wants growth, coauthor Noel Tichy explains on this audiocassette, but how many businesses are truly geared toward that end? At a time when the business cycle demands growth--or businesses risk death--but when so many businesses have already grown beyond anyone's wildest expectations, it's hard for companies not to circle the wagons and protect what they've already gained. If you can get past Tichy's somewhat droning delivery and his excessive use of "think-out-of-the-box"-level clichés and buzzwords, you'll find the secrets to continual growth for your company. Or, if you're an investor, you'll get insights into why some companies keep growing while others stagnate, and thus learn new ways to choose the best companies to stake your retirement funds on. (Running time: three hours, two cassettes) --Lou Schuler
Book Description
What's the number one item on every company's agenda?
Profitable Growth.
Every Business Is a Growth Business is your one-stop guide to making profitable growth happen. It's a radical and refreshing source of ideas, inspiration, and common sense, all based on the unparalleled experience and access of Ram Charan and Noel Tichy.
Charan and Tichy have worked with some of the world's leading executives--people such as Jack Welch of GE, Eckhard Pfeiffer of Compaq, Larry Bossidy of Allied Signal, John Reed of Citigroup, Dick Brown of Cable & Wireless, Alex Trotman and Jacques Nasser of Ford, and the senior management of Coca-Cola--who have transformed their companies into profitable growth machines. Every Business Is a Growth Business is a distillation of what the authors and these unique leaders have learned about profitable growth:
If your business isn't growing sustainably and profitably, it's dying.
Any business can grow profitably. There is no such thing as a mature business.
A company grows because growth is in the corporate mindset, created by the company's leaders.
The mindset of growth starts at the top, but it must reach all the way to the bottom.
Sustainable growth is profitable and capital-efficient.
"Broadening your pond," changing your company's genetic code, developing a growth strategy from the outside in, and other unique ideas.
Every Business Is a Growth Business includes inside accounts of how GE Medical, Allied Signal, Compaq, Citibank, Reynolds and Reynolds, Praxair, and GE Capital developed profitable growth strategies. It includes "The Handbook for Growth," a highly practical guide that will be an immense help as you and your team develop your company's profitable growth strategy.
Customer Reviews:
Growing even the best businesses.......2007-04-06
The authors describe how great businesses redefine themselves and think from the outside in to expand and to conquer stagnation. There is a series of worksheets at the end which test the reader to see how you thing which was helpful.
Great Title,.. borrow from library instead.......2006-12-19
The title of this book caught my eye and I thought I would learn something profound. Quite frankly, there isn't really anything new here. The basic premise of the book is to understand customers needs or create needs and find a way to fulfill those needs in a profitable way. The book doesn't get into specifics but sites several examples of CEOs growing their respective companies. In general, those sources of growth were simply this..
1.Natural growth, where the market for what you make is strong and expanding
2.Gaining market share through low cost - high productivity growth, rapid cycle times, high asset turnover
3.Proprietary or patented technology
4.Highly-developed distribution channels that you've built over time
5.Opening new markets for your existing products - for example, globalization
6.Gaining power in the marketplace via acquisitions, alliances, vertical integration
7.Expanding your pond
8.Resegmenting your markets
9.Moving into adjacent segments
Ofcourse, the book goes into greater detail about each of the above, if you don't understand it in one sentence.
Main focus of book is to view your company from the outside in,..
1. How can I identify or create needs?
2. How can I meet them?
3. How fast can I meet them?
In essence, look at needs as the drivers of change
Pretty common sense stuff don't you think?
This is why I don't highly recommend this book. Its probably best to just borrow it from the library. You save money ;)
Every Leader should read this...then read again!.......2002-04-12
This is one of my favorite leadership books by two authors with whom I have a great deal of respect for their advice. The premise of the book it that by looking at the entire business landscape affecting your clients, there are larger opportunities in which to solve the client's CEO issues beyond the immediate customer orders. Written with real world examples, some of which were first hand consulting jobs by the authors, the examples are detailed and written so you can relate them to your own work.
I have applied these principles in my own professional work and find the concepts very useful in business growth development efforts. In almost every growth opportunity development session with employees, collegues and clients, the going in premise is that there is not enough budget or too limited a market, thus preventing us from pursuing a given opportunity. Applying the author's concepts to creating the expanded view of the opportunity almost always proves to incite a bigger picture for everyone.
The book may require better book bindings because I refer back to it so often that I will one day wear out the bindings!
Read and Expand the Pond! Highly Recommended.
A Good Read!.......2001-03-03
Ram Charan and Noel M. Tichy make the case that no company, even a very large corporation, should think of itself as a mature company or as part of a mature industry. If you look at the market broadly and take your customer's perspective, you will always find room for growth. First, look at your customers' changing needs and think of how your company can expand beyond its current market. Then, expand that approach throughout the company. The basic message may sound familiar, but Charan and Tichy bring a strong how-to approach to their directions for implementing it in your company. We at getAbstract.com appreciate the utility of their mix of examples, graphs, charts, and workbook, which should prove helpful to executives and company owners.
A well-written, very practical recipe for growth and change........1999-03-01
I found this book to be one of the best I have read on the topics of growth and change in some time. This book is devoid of the psychological "fluff" that permeates many other books in this genre. It reads like a practical recipe to be followed by those commited to growth and change. Not at all unlike Welch's annual letters to the shareholders of GE. Whereas the annual letters of others companies drone on and on about what was, surrounded by the fluff of what can be, Welch's letters read like a master plan for action, which can be understood and driven to all levels of the company.
The authors define "desirable" growth from the perspective of shareholders as capital efficient, profitable growth. They then describe a framework for "growing the pond you fish in". Next, they point out the necessity of changing the "genetic code" of the organization so that growth is pursued by leaders at all levels in the organization. They describe a framework for producing this change in the genetic code of the organization. This framework is primarily based on a "teachable point-of-view" developed by the leadership, and constantly reinforced and reiterated through various carefully designed "operating mechanisms". The teachable point-of-view consists of key business ideas, values, emotional energy, and "edge" (on tough calls).
I've read this book twice already, and may read it again. I've started to implement the methodology in my company...so far, so good.
Book Description
The top-ranked female poker player in the world reveals an insiderÂ's view of the World Series of Poker, a glimpse of her fascinating journey to the top, and keen analysis of winning hands
From the Introduction
I never set out to become a professional poker player.
I was schooled at St. PaulÂ's School, where my father taught English; Columbia University, where I majored in psychology and English literature, and the University of Pennsylvania, where, at twenty-six, I was nearing completion of a PhD in psycholinguistics.
The afternoon before I was scheduled to meet the academic committee for a job interview, I drove my Honda from Philadelphia to New York, to see my mother. She wanted to have a little pre-celebration for a future that was mine for the taking, an academic career that would ooze prominence and prosperity.
Once inside the apartment, suddenly, a dam burst. A simple tin trash can stood below my motherÂ's desk; I leaned over and hurled into it, again and again. The diagnosis? I was afraid to grow up.
ThatÂ's when I ran away. Without a word of explanation, I fled to Montana, to marry a man I had never dated. And then, when money got tight and I felt beaten down by life in a leaky shack with minimal hot water, I got into my Honda and drove fifty-one frontier miles to the Crystal Lounge, in Billings. I sat down at the poker table, among thick- fingered cowboys and boozing rednecks, slipped off my shoes, tucked my bare feet under my butt, and as the dealer tossed me an Ace-Queen, I knew I was home.
This is where my life begins.
Annie Duke takes readers deep into the World Series of Poker as she wins millions, becoming the only woman to ever win two major tournaments in one year.
Customer Reviews:
Stands Out From The Crowd.......2007-03-22
This is not one of the typical how-to hold'em books that have flooded the market. While there is a sizable amount of material focused on poker, it is not all hold'em either, it is really two great stories woven into one book.
The recounting of Annie's win of her WSOP bracelet in Omaha 8 is well told and interesting. There isn't too big a focus on hand-by-hand play. The tips she gives on this form of poker are great, too. This part of the book fueled my interest in expanding my poker prowess into this game.
The other story is Annie's bio. I was really intrigued to read about the roots she came from to the bracelet winning pro poker player she is today. And she includes the hard times in her life, too, which I found particularly poignant.
It is one of my favorite poker books, partly because it's not all poker, and one I'd recommend to anyone with a love of the game.
Who cares about her wasted life?.......2007-03-06
When Annie Duke dies, what are people going to say about her? "She had a messed up family life and neglected her four children, but she played a pretty good game of poker." Big deal. She's wasting her life, and this book is proof.
And the book is flawed. She describes a hand where she has a king-high strait, but claims to have an ace-high straight. Even amateur poker players like me immediately noticed that error. It's simply unacceptable in a book like this. The equivalent would be Michael Jordan mentioning the NBA's 35-second shot clock in his biography, when in reality it's a 24-second clock. It's laughable. When a professional poker player can't get the rules straight, I have to seriously doubt her credibility. Don't waste your time with this unless you want to be bored and become confused with the rules of poker.
Fun Read.......2007-02-09
Fun and entertaining read. This book is not a "How to Win" manual. Rather as the title suggests, a story on how Annie won. Fast and Easy read.
interesting but distant.......2007-02-06
Have you ever tried to tell a story to a friend or acquaintance, some personal epic filled with twists and turns, comedy and drama, thrills and chills and all sorts of gut clenching climaxes only to be met with a blank expression and a vaguely rhetorical "I guess you just had to have been there?" That was my reaction to this book.
It's an interesting insight to gambling culture and one woman's take on it, but after a while the two threads of the book (chapters alternate between her autobiography and her experiences at the World Series of Poker) begin to feel schizophrenic. Her history begins to read more and more like a recitation of rote facts while her descriptions of the hands she played in Vegas become more bombastic, which makes for an awkward reading experience. One chapter is a description of how she met this guy and they hung out and he moved back west and then she married him and followed him and so on while the next is a breathless explanation of how exciting it was when the three of clubs came up!
Given that this book is essentially focussed on her experiences in poker, this dichotomy is perfectly understandable, but towards the end of the book I was worn out by the constant yo-yoing of the narrative that I was simply relieved to be done with it.
Good read.......2006-11-25
A must-have for any poker fan. Annie Duke is one of the most visible figures in the game and this autobiography provides a great insight into her life told in her own words. She exposes almost every facet of her personality, from her continuing battle with anxiety to her unyielding drive to win. The only slight negative to this book is that she repeatedly builds herself up. She carries a tremendous chip on her shoulder. Annie also appears arrogant at times, which is one of the principal criticisms other poker players have of her. All told, however, this is yet another great poker book that belongs in the collection of a serious player.
Average customer rating:
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Round-Engine Racers: Bearcats and Corsairs (RaceplaneTech, Volume 2)
Nicholas A. Veronico
Manufacturer: Specialty Press
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1580070353 |
Book Description
Racing Bearcats and Corsairs examines two of the most competitive types of air racers flown at the Cleveland Air Races (1046-1949) and today's National Championship Air Races, held each year at Reno, Nevada. Bearcats, often modified with engines nearly twice their original horsepower, have dominated Reno beginning in the 1960s and have continued a winning tradition with Lyle Shelton's Rare Bear. Heavily modified Corsairs were the dominant aircraft in the post World War II races, and at Reno, the Super Corsair was the bent wing bird to beat. Racing Bearcats and Corsairs examines what it takes to field a sound engine racer. It details modifications which are made to the powerplants and airframes, and, based on interviews with the pilots and crew chiefs, provides a first-hand account of the fastest motor sport. For military and aviation enthusiasts:- Great photos and illustrations of Reno racing plane design and development - Fantastic racing history of the Bearcat and Corsair - First-hand stories and racing accounts from pilots, engineers and crew members - Includes details on engine and airframe modifications plus racing fuels.
Customer Reviews:
Good Detail of Topics Relating to International Politics.......2006-03-01
I had to purchase this book as a second book for a class I had taken. This book helped cover many of the topics I had to study and this book did a better job of describing several topics relating to nationalism, imperialism history of international politics, foreign policies, international law and organization and human factors in international politics. I would recommend this book to anyone who is trying to learn the basics or even get more indepth details on certain topics of international politics.
An interesting book indeed.......2003-12-22
An interesting book indeed, written by an excellent writer who took me in a journey through history beginning with the Peloponnesian war and passing through world war one and two and the cold war after that, and ending with the new world order.
The book starts with the two views of the anarchic politics ( Realism & Liberalism ) and a very wise explanation for both of them, and I liked the way the writer analyzed the two world wars and their reasons and I agree with him about the inevitability part as I believe that the war wasn't inevitable but I quote him by saying "Ironically the belief that war is inevitable played a major role in causing it", and also the part about ethics and morality is very interesting and I liked what the French diplomat said when he was asked about what's moral and his answer was "what's moral is whatever is good for France", and also the part about counterfactuals was very exciting.
I don't agree with the writer about some points concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict but the book as a whole is a very good one.
I agree with the "back to the future" theory in some points as all I see now is "the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accepts what they have to accept".
I'll quote him again to end my review by saying "Has global society made war socially and morally unthinkable? We have to hope so, because the next hegemonic war would probably be the last".
Excellent book :).......2003-12-08
The basis for "Understanding International Conflicts: An Introduction to Theory and History" is, as the author explains in the preface, a course on international conflicts in the modern world he taught for a long time in Harvard. Nye says that the aim of the book is "to introduce students to the complexities of international politics by giving them a good grounding in the traditional realist theory before turning to liberal and constructivist approaches that became more prominent after the Cold War". I believe he excels at doing exactly that...
I found the book very interesting, and full of examples taken from history that made the concepts easier to grasp. Moreover, it takes into account the three levels of causation: the individual, the state and the international system. It also includes suggested reading material, that allows the reader to delve deeper in those subjects she/he finds more interesting...
The book is very well organized. It was a foreword, a preface, 9 chapters and an index. Each chapter deals with a main theme, and some related topics. The themes of the chapters are:
chapter 1:"Is there an enduring logic of conflict in world politics?";
chapter 2: "Origins of the great 20th century conflicts";
chapter 3: "Balance of power and World War I";
chapter 4: "The failure of collective security and World War II";
chapter 5: "The Cold War";
chapter 6: "Intervention, institutions and regional and ethnic conflicts";
chapter 7: "Globalization and interdependence";
chapter 8: "The information revolution, transnational actors, and the diffusion of power";
chapter 9: "A new world order?".
All in all, I strongly recommend this book to those interested in international relations... I think the author was successful in doing what he set out to do: he didn't want to give all the answers, he merely tried to help the readers to look for them. In his own words: "provide our students with conceptual tools that will help them shape their own answers as the future unfolds".
On the whole, a keeper :) Enjoy it !!!
Superb, Post 9-11 Update, Excellent Adult Foundation.......2003-01-11
First, it is vital for prospective buyers to understand that the existing reviews are three years out of date--this is a five-star tutorial on international relations that has been most recently updated after 9-11. If I were to recommend only two books on international relations, for any adult including nominally sophisticated world travelers, this would be the first book; the second would be Shultz, Godson, & Quester's wonderful edited work, "Security Studies for the 21st Century."
I really want to stress the utility of this work to adults, including those like myself who earned a couple of graduate degrees in the last century (smile). I was surprised to find no mention of the author's stellar service as Chairman of the National Intelligence Council--not only has he had full access to everything that can be known by secret as well as non-secret means, but he has kept current, and this undergraduate and affordable paperback was a great way for me--despite the 400+ books I've read (most of them reviewed on Amazon.com) in the past four plus years--to come up to speed on the rigorous methodical scholarly understanding of both historical and current theories and practices in international relations. This book is worth anyone's time, no matter how experienced or educated.
Each chapter has a very satisfactory mix of figures, maps, chronologies, and photos--a special value is a block chart showing the causes for major wars or periods of conflict at the three levels of analysis--international system, national, and key individual personalities, and I found these quite original and helpful.
Excellent reference and orientation work. Took five hours to read, with annotation--this is not a mind-glazer, it's a mind-exerciser.
excellent intro book to International Affairs.......1999-11-11
One of the few textbooks I truly enjoyed, Nye's Understanding International Conflicts was a clear, easy-to-read, and yet insightful book. Its focus is on the three levels of influence on a state's behavior: the interstate system, intrastate politics, and individual. It is one of the few entry-level IA books to discuss the effect of personality on the actions of a state. Even in my graduate-level seminars and papers, I found it to be useful.
Book Description
International law governing the use of military force has been the subject of intense public debate. Under what conditions is it appropriate, or necessary, for a country to use force when diplomacy has failed? Michael Byers, a widely known world expert on international law, weighs these issues in War Law. Byers examines the history of armed conflict and international law through a series of case studies of past conflicts, ranging from the 1837 Caroline Incident to the abuse of detainees by U.S. forces at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Byers explores the legal controversies that surrounded the 1999 and 2001 interventions in Kosovo and Afghanistan and the 2003 war in Iraq; the development of international humanitarian law from the 1859 Battle of Solferino to the present; and the role of war crimes tribunals and the International Criminal Court. He also considers the unique influence of the United States in the evolution of this extremely controversial area of international law. War Law is neither a textbook nor a treatise, but a fascinating account of a highly controversial topic that is necessary reading for fans of military history and general readers alike.
Customer Reviews:
You wouldn't know this was skewed if you didn't already know your history.......2007-10-11
OK. First of all, this book BEGINS with the United Nations, the most recent and least binding source of "war law." To give you an idea of the inaccuracies of this book, paragraph one of Chapter One discusses the signing of the United Nations Charter "in the aftermath of Second World War" when in fact the United Nations alliance preceded the end of the war while signing the charter began in June of 1945... AFTER the defeat of Germany but BEFORE the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan ending the war. Despite what the author would have you think, the UN was very much a product of the World War, more specifically of the victorious Allies.
It is well into the book before it discusses the League of Nations and the uselessness of the international organization to prevent or even end war. Despite what the author would have you think, the UN's track record is almost as bad: for every war he discusses there are dozens that took place during the UN's watch and which the UN was either ineffective or was not a factor at all.
I will give credit to the author... it takes him several pages to get to the point where he begins to bash the Coalition effort in Iraq, or as he no doubt thinks of it "The U.S. Occupation." As an example of the illegal targeting of civilians by military forces he uses NOT the bombing of Rotterdam by Germany, NOT the Rape of Nanking, NOT the use of ballistic missiles during the Iran-Iraq War... no, he uses the example of Fallujah in 2004, when Marines went after terrorists AND TOOK FIRE WHILE DOING SO.
This book is all about bashing the United States. There is some discussion of the Hague and Geneva Conventions, almost nothing about the Law of Land Warfare which preceded it nor the basis in Western Civiliation for a code of conduct in war. That is because these will not push the agenda of the author.
very disappointing.
Useful study of the laws of war in relation to recent conflicts.......2006-05-23
In this book, Dr. Michael Byers, who holds a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia, looks at aspects of the international laws of war, particularly in relation to the US-British wars against Yugoslavia and Iraq. In Part 1, he examines the United Nations Security Council's role in matters of recourse to force. Part 2 reviews the claim of self-defence, Part 3 the notion of humanitarian intervention, and Part 4 the laws on the conduct of armed conflict and war crimes courts. An Epilogue discusses current US policies.
As the International Court of Justice stated in 1986 when it found the US state guilty of attacking Nicaragua, "instances of State conduct inconsistent with a given rule should generally be treated as breaches of that rule, not as indications of the recognition of a new rule." So Byers concludes, "The Kosovo war was neither consistent with international law nor effective in changing the law in favour of a right of unilateral humanitarian intervention."
Byers points out that Blair spoke of `community' when he tried to justify attacking Yugoslavia, but in fact his actions obeyed only "the international law of the crusaders and conquistadors - which, in essence, was no law at all." Byers sums up that there is no right to intervene in nations' internal affairs on humanitarian grounds: "pro-democratic intervention remains prohibited under international law."
Nor was the attack on Iraq legal. Byers contradicts those who argue that the UN retrospectively sanctioned the US-British attack on Iraq. "Resolution 1483 on Iraq, adopted in May 2003, was worded very tightly in order to leave little room for arguments that it provided retroactive authorization for the war. The same is true of Resolution 1511, adopted in October 2003 ..."
International law during armed conflict obliges armed forces to protect civilians and prisoners of war. Byers describes as war crimes the US assaults on the city of Fallujah, its refusal to do `body counts' (breaching Article 16 of the First Geneva Convention), and its torture and killings of POWs.
He argues that pre-emptive acts of war are illegal: Bush's `dangerously destabilizing doctrine of pre-emptive war' provokes wars and terrorism rather than preventing them. Byers cites the UN Secretary General's High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, which stated in December 2004, "in a world full of perceived potential threats, the risk to the global order and the norm of non-intervention on which it continues to be based is simply too great for the legality of unilateral preventive action, as distinct from collectively endorsed action, to be accepted."
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Bird World, Pre, Young_Readers (Young Readers' Nature Library)
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