What Am I Going to Do With Myself When I Die?

Book Description

A creative and thought-provoking look at funeralization in America, this unique book explores our society's system and the transition and life choices involved in the preparing for the end of life.

Customer Reviews:

Thought provoking analysis.......1998-11-12

I found the book to be high quality in both content and writing style. I found the title topic was dealt with candidly, in a way that anyone could understand but with a meaningful amount of depth. I appauld the author...

What Am I Going To Do With Myself When I Die?(Review): An article from: International Journal of Commerce and Management

Average customer rating:

What Am I Going To Do With Myself When I Die?(Review): An article from: International Journal of Commerce and Management
Matthew W. Mitchell
Manufacturer: International Academy of Business Disciplines and Eberly College of Business Inf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008JCK24
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from International Journal of Commerce and Management, published by International Academy of Business Disciplines and Eberly College of Business Information Technology on March 22, 2000. The length of the article is 1581 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: What Am I Going To Do With Myself When I Die?(Review)
Author: Matthew W. Mitchell
Publication: International Journal of Commerce and Management (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2000
Publisher: International Academy of Business Disciplines and Eberly College of Business Information Technology
Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Page: 107

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

The Dynamics of Military Revolution bridges a major gap in the emerging literature on revolutions in military affairs. It suggests that two very different phenomena have been at work over the past centuries: "military revolutions," which are driven by vast social and political changes, and "revolutions in military affairs," which military institutions have directed, although usually with great difficulty and ambiguous results. MacGregor Knox and Williamson Murray provide a conceptual framework and historical context for understanding the patterns of change, innovation, and adaptation that have marked war in the Western world since the fourteenth century--beginning with Edward III's revolution in medieval warfare, through the development of modern military institutions in seventeenth-century France, to the military impact of mass politics in the French Revolution, the cataclysmic military-industrial struggle of 1914-1918, and the German Blitzkrieg victories of 1940. Case studies and a conceptual overview offer an indispensible introduction to revolutionary military change,--which is as inevitable as it is difficult to predict. Macgregor Knox is the Stevenson Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the author of Common Destiny (Cambridge, 2000) and Hitler's Italian Allies (Cambridge, 2000). Knox and Murray are co-editors of Making of Strategy (Cambridge, 1996). Willamson Murray is Senior Fellow at the Institute for Defense Analysis. He is the co-editor of Military Innovation in the Interwar Period (Cambridge, 1996) and author of A War to Be Won (Harvard University Press, 2000).

Customer Reviews:

Technology alone just doesn't cut it...........2003-04-22

This book contains an awful lot of wisdom for such a slim volume (it clocks in at just under 200 pages).

The authors examine the natures of military revolutions and RMA (a very hot topic that has arguably produced more hot air than substance) and provide a number of case studies examining the issues and testing the authors' views through history.

The case studies are;

- The English in the 14th century
- 17th century France
- The French Revolution
- The American Civil War
- The Prussian RMA, 1840-1871
- The Battlefleet Revolution
- The First World War
- Blitzkrieg 1940

The various case studies are backed up by an extremely satisfying introduction and a thorough, well argued conclusion which fires one or two shots across the bows of those residents of the Pentagon who may be suffering from technology-centric tunnel vision. The authors (very distinguished bunch, it should be said) warn against the idea that Clausewitzian truths regarding such issues as friction can be discounted thanks to the wonders of technology and indeed make clear that they are as important as ever.

The various case studies work extremely well as concise stand-alone works on their various historical periods, even if RMA is not your hot topic. Especially good are the chapters on the English in the 14th century and on the Battlefleet Revolution (and the inner workings of the Imperial German Navy and the Royal Navy during this period).

This is a well written, interesting book which should annoy all the right people.

Concise overview of military revolutions.......2002-03-11

This book is the volume one should buy if he or she is searching for the best, consise overvue of the history and processes involved in the military innovations of the Western world.

The Heart of Asymmetric Advantage is NOT Technology.......2001-10-28

This is the only serious book I have been able to find that addresses revolutions in military affairs with useful case studies, a specific focus on whether asymmetric advantages do or do not result, and a very satisfactory executive conclusion. This book is strongly recommended for both military professionals, and the executive and congressional authorities who persist in sharing the fiction that technology is of itself an asymmetric advantage.

It merits emphasis that the author's first conclusion, spanning a diversity of case studies, is that technology may be a catalyst but it rarely drives a revolution in military affairs--concepts are revolutionary, it is ideas that break out of the box.

Their second conclusion is both counter-intuitive (but based on case studies) and in perfect alignment with Peter Drucker's conclusions on successful entrepreneurship: the best revolutions are incremental (evolutionary) and based on solutions to actual opponents and actual conditions, rather than hypothetical and delusional scenarios of what we think the future will bring us. In this the authors mesh well with Andrew Gordon's masterpiece on the rules of the game and Jutland: we may be best drawing down on our investments in peacetime, emphasizing the education of our future warfighters, and then be prepared for massive rapid agile investments in scaling up experimental initiatives as they prove successful in actual battle.

The book is noteworthy for its assault on fictional scenarios and its emphasis on realism in planning--especially valuable is the authors' staunch insistence that only honesty, open discussion among all ranks, and the wide dissemination of lessons learned, will lead to improvements.

Finally, the authors are in whole-hearted agreement with Colin Gray, author of Modern Strategy, in stating out-right that revolutions in military affairs are not a substitute for strategy as so often assumed by utopian planners, but merely an operational or tactical means.

This is a brilliant, carefully documented work that should scare the daylights out of every taxpayer--it is nothing short of an indictment of our entire current approach to military spending and organization. As the author's quaintly note in their understated way, in the last paragraph of the book, "the present trend is far from promising, as the American government and armed forces procure enormous arsenals only distantly related to specific strategic needs and operational and tactical employment concepts, while continu[ing], in the immortal words of Kiffin Rockwell, a pilot in the legendary First World War Lafayette Escadrille, to 'fly along, blissfully ignorant, hoping for the best.'"

Lest the above be greeted with some skepticism, let us note the 26 October 2001 award of $200 billion to Lockheed for the new Joint Strike Fighter calls into serious question whether the leadership in the Pentagon understands the real world--the real world conflicts of today--all 282 of them (counting 178 internal conflicts) will require the Joint Strike Fighter only 10% of the time--the other 90% of our challenges demand capabilities and insights the Pentagon is not only not capable of fielding, it simply refuses to consider them to be "real war." Omar Bin Laden beat the Pentagon on 11 September 2001, and he (and others who follow in his footsteps) will continue to do so until we find a military leadership that can lead a real-world revolution in military affairs.... rather than a continuing fantasy in which the military-industrial complex lives on regardless of how many homeland attacks we suffer.

Average customer rating:
The Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300-2050. (Net Assessment).(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Air & Space Power Journal
Anthony C. Cain
Manufacturer: U.S. Air Force
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008G7C2K
Release Date: 2005-07-30

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Air & Space Power Journal, published by U.S. Air Force on December 22, 2002. The length of the article is 1072 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300-2050. (Net Assessment).(Book Review) (book review)
Author: Anthony C. Cain
Publication: Air & Space Power Journal (Refereed)
Date: December 22, 2002
Publisher: U.S. Air Force
Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Page: 106(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

The Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300-2050

Average customer rating:

The Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300-2050
MacGregor and Murray, Williamson KNOX
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MYSK24

Book Description

In this fascinating book, Nobel Prize winner Pierre-Gilles de Gennes wittily captures the lives of personalities from both the academic and the industrial world in delightful bite-size stories. Most of the characters in this collection are like those in Aesop's fables, but in modern-day research settings. The book provides a critical account of aberrations (fortunately rare) of the scientific community. Many lessons can be drawn from the stories. For the young researcher, this book is like a telescope: for seeing other human beings beyond his or her laboratory. For the administrator, this book is like a microscope: for seeing inside the human beings huge and complex structures. However, like Aesop's fables, you would not offer the book as a gift to anyone other than a close and wise friend.

Petit Point is not a book to be devoured in a single sitting. It is one to be savored and reflected upon — it shows what the world may be like and what we ourselves may become. It is like a mirror — to be visited from time to time.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding.......2006-06-02

This is collection of very short vignettes, sketching with a somewhat acid pen the life and work of a few scientists, most of them physicists. It does not say whether these characters are real or make-believe, but a few of the portraits come quite close to well known people (so even though I live far, far away from the center of the universe, I think I can identify Benoit Mandelbrot, Brian Josephson and Bernd Matthias. And I am sure other readers can put names on many more chapters of these ``Enigma Variations'' of science.)

The text is wonderfully written, and the descriptions are surgically precise. There are a few heroes, a few scoundrels, and many great but flawed humans. The tale of their struggles and ploys is always told warmly and with respect. They reflect so well the fauna of laboratories and research centers that you can see in every page glimpses of men and women you have known, maybe even of yourself.

All in all, the text is so good and the characters so accurate, this book should be compulsory reading for all first-year graduate students in any branch of science.

Customer Reviews:

Hip, Hip, Hooray.......2007-09-13

Years ago I read 84 Charing Cross Road,as a Reader's Digest condensed book found in a flea market cheap...Later, loved the film with Anne Bancroft..then fairly recently saw there was a sequal... Hooray she got to England.. I enjoyed the adventure as much as she did..Lovely little book ~

wonderful sequel.......2007-05-21

for anyone who's read 84 charing cross road, this book is a delightful follow up to the original. you will come away loving helene hanff, and wishing you could have her as a friend.

The charming sequel to "84".......2005-12-01

For those readers panting to find out what happens to Helene after the publication of her wildly popular "84 Charing Cross Road", this book will satisfy you. HH's romp through London is rewarding, for those of us who are loyal fans know how desperatly she wanted to go there.

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street Lives On Today..Serendipity.......2004-04-11

A fabulous ending to over 20 years of letter writing. Penpals of sorts. A must read for anyone, but writers it can tear down any writers block you could possibly have. She is so articulate and real. I highly suggest this book!

A delightful journey.......2002-02-23

A nice sequel to "84, Charring Cross Road", this book details Hanff's travels, in diary form, when she makes her long-awaited trip to England.

It was lovely to read of travel in a kinder, gentler, more innocent time when one did not need to fear flying nor the strangers one might meet. And meet them she did! Hanff went to England knowing no one, with a few introductions, and spent time with so many people that it made my head spin. What a gal!

Product Description

The sequel to the bestyselling 84, Charing Cross Road

Average customer rating:

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street
Helene Hanff
Manufacturer: Morrow/Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Average customer rating:

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street
Helene Haniff
Manufacturer: J. B. Lippincott Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J2ONUW

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street (Classic Reprint Ser.)

Average customer rating:

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street (Classic Reprint Ser.)
Helene Hanff
Manufacturer: Lee Valley Tools, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1894572661

84 Charing Cross Road & The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street ( 2 in 1) HC/DJ

Average customer rating:

84 Charing Cross Road & The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street ( 2 in 1) HC/DJ
Helene Hanff
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GRQ9CU

84, Charing Cross Road and the Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

Average customer rating:

84, Charing Cross Road and the Duchess of Bloomsbury Street
Helene Hanff
Manufacturer: Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RMUA10

Average customer rating:

THE DUCHESS OF BLOOMSBURY STREET.
Helene. Hanff
Manufacturer: Deutsch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPZ53S

The Helene Hanff Omnibus Underfoot in Show Business, 84 Charing Cross Road, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, Apple of My Eye,

Average customer rating:

The Helene Hanff Omnibus Underfoot in Show Business, 84 Charing Cross Road, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, Apple of My Eye,
Hanff Helene
Manufacturer: Andre Deutsch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UDA6BK

Book Description

I writing three volumes on America's World War II training bases, Lou Thole has created a pleasant irony in that "forgotten fields" are no longer forgotten. Instead, they are brought to life again with vivid storytelling and imagery that meaningfully connects past and present. Lou's series provides an important look back at a rapidli vanishing but very important part of the Air Force story.

Customer Reviews:

WOW! Best look at WWII training programs I've ever seen!.......1999-11-06

If you're looking for an interesting and informative summary of WWII air training bases and the people who lived and worked there, this book is the one for you! I've read it cover to cover many times, and see something new each time. A must-read for all aviation buffs - and a bargain to boot! Buy this book!

Excellent look at World War II USAAF training bases.......1998-09-21

This book tells the story of the build up of the USAAF training program in the U.S. prior to and during WW II. Each chapter focuses on an airbase to tell part of that story. For example, the first chapter (Atterbury Army Air Field)tells how they built these "temporary" bases in about six months time. Other chpaters tell about basic flight training,(Coffeyville Army Air Field), B-17 pilot training,(Lockbourne Army Air Field), etc. Bases include, Freeman Field, Chanute Field, Smyrna Army Air Field, Ephrata Army Air Field, and Hendricks Field. In total 12 former training fields are detailed. To write the book, the author visited the fields, researched their history, and interviewed those who were there. The book has about 220 photos that show the fields activities,and the field as it was then and is now. The appendix lists the names and locations of about 700 Army Air Force installations in use in the U. S. during late 1943,early 1944. Not all installations are listed because the list would change each month.

A comprehensive account of an important part of WWII history.......1998-09-07

Forgotten Fields is an excellent comprehensive study of an often overlooked portion of American history. Few people realize how many now vacant airfields in the U.S. were once home to hundreds of thousands of men and women as they trained to serve our country. The book is written in a very accessable style - not filled with data, but rather it is intended to serve as a reference guide and ultimately as a tribute to the men and women who sacrificed so much for our country. The book is filled with pictures, both from the 1940's and today, giving the reader a sense of what a vast undertaking it was to build our air forces in WWII. The appendix of the book lists USAAF airfields and approximate locations. The number of airfields is astounding! This is a simply wonderful book for anyone interested in US history, particularly aviation history. It's amazing to realize that our victory in WWII was started in our very own backyards!

Book Description

This book examines the rise of religious extremism in Pakistan, and analyzes its connections to Pakistan Army's policies and the fluctuating U.S.-Pakistan relations. It includes profiles of leading Pakistani Jihadi groups with details of their origins, development, and capabilities based on interviews with Pakistani intelligence officials, and operators of the militant groups. The book contains new historical materials on Operation Gibraltar (1965 War with India), conspiracy behind General Zia-ul-Haq's plane crash in 1988, a botched military coup by fundamentalists in army in 1993-4 and lastly about how General Musharraf handled the volatile situation after the 9/11 attacks. Besides General Musharraf's detailed profile, the book evaluates the India-Pakistan relations vis-à-vis the Kashmir conflict, and Dr. A Q Khan's nuclear proliferation crisis. The book offers predictions for Pakistan's domestic and regional prospects.

Customer Reviews:

Very good book.......2006-03-04

Hassan Abbas has written this book in a interesting way such that it is fun to read. However, the intended audience of this book is mostly the American scholars/students as they will find this book somewhat along the lines of what they hear on TV but not too radical, however there are other realities which are not mentioned in this book which are extremely important. It does provide a good picture of politics in Pakistan but not the complete picture.

The book describes very clearly the threats, killings, rapes, abductions and lawless politicians but one finds no mention of the police. Army is shown as the interferer in every aspect of government. The real question is where is the law enforcement agency known as Police.
Hassan Abbas should write his next book on this subject and reader will realize what lead Pakistan to this point. As a Pakistani I can tell you that Pakistani police is one of the most corrupt and dangerous dept in the world. Simply put, if you need to have someone murdered, you contact the police and they'll do it for you, of course for a price. The Pakistani police is not only involved in corruption, but also other crimes such as smuggling of arms and ammunitions, narcotics, torture & rape cells, cover ups, kidnapping , you name the crime and Pakistani police is the leader in it. And most important of all the crimes against women are so common because the criminal can easily pay the police and get away.

I'd love to blame the army but its not army's job to enforce local law and order. Although a lot of blame goes to the army and the mullahs but the Pakistani police had an equal if not bigger hand in the plunder of the country and were the biggest protectors and collaborators of the local mullah's.

I would highly recommend this book.

Very relevant to what's happening today in South Asia/Pakistan.......2006-02-18

Very intriguing and bold work - exposes how religious bigots and fundamentalists have entrenched themselves in Pakistan. It doesn't spare anyone - Pakistan army and its intelligence, American foreign policy blunders, Indian intransigence and failure of Pakistan's political elite - a very balanced treatment. I read the book as a required text for a course on South Asia and conflict resolution and its best part is that its written in a story like fashion, so its actually fun to read the book.

Informative but slightly tilted.......2006-02-05

This novel is basically written as two different nonfictional thrillers in one. The first is the historical upbringing of a young nation and the events that led to the aggressions between Pakistan and India. In my opinion this part of the book is nicely written and is more of a historical outline rather than an opinionated article, even though the authors do put some witty comments explaining these past events. The second part of the novel is a little more opinionated, explaining the current drift of Pakistan with religious factors involved. This part of the book seems a bit one sided and doesn't put all the perspectives on the table. I have lived in Pakistan and the religious extremism is defiantly does not represent the majority of the country. This is a good reference book to read in order to understand the current situation with Pakistan and the American so called War on Terrorism but is defiantly not the only source on should use to understand such a deep topic.

Analyze Yourself.......2005-09-11

Surprise, Surprise: " Lal Krishna Advani, apologises for the destruction of the Babri mosque during a visit to Pakistan; Gohar Ayub Khan, son of Field Marshal Ayub Khan, pinches some of the headlines with the titillating claim that an Indian brigadier sold India's 1965 war plans.Who is this top spy? Mr Khan refuses to reveal the identity but strews the path with teasing hints. The spy is still alive." says MJ AKBAR, Editor, The Asian Age.

If you've found Mj's Byline (Surprise,Surprise)Interesting read on the facts of three surprises in the war of 1965, here is a book on Kashmir by MJ Akbar that you will find an interesting read on Kashmir History.

But, 'Here is an engaging book on terrorism's largest growing market:Pakistan'This books comes from Hassan Abbas, a Harvard fellow and former officer in President Pervez Musharraf's anti-corruption police force. He is also a PhD. candidate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. The book is rated at Amazon and stand Top 100 at Barnes and Nobles. Abbas examines the rise of religious extremism in Pakistan and analyzes its connections to Pakistan Army's policies and the fluctuating US-Pakistan relations. It includes profiles of leading Pakistani Jihadi groups and gives details of the conspiracy behind General Zia-ul-Haq's plane crash in 1988, a botched military coup by fundamentalists in army in 1993-94 and lastly about how General Musharraf handled the volatile situation after the 9/11 attacks.

Hassan Abbas exposes failure of 'Operation Gibraltor' and is a pure historical narrative about India and Pakistan. He has analyzed crisis in terms of capabilities of terrorist groups, impact of Musharraf's bold decisions to reform and policy prescriptions about how a constructive change is possible.
For those interested in India-Pak issue and Muslim states and society, the book is an additional read to MJ Akbar's books and bylines and derive to the factual understanding and knowing the History - the crosscurrents of history sweeping through the larger stage!

Intriguing and courageous.......2005-07-06

If you have to read just one book on Pakistan, this is it. Extremely well written and powerful - I have been teaching South Asian history for a decade but haven't come across a book on the country that is so clear in its perspective, so bold and most importantly written by someone who is not only a scholar but one who witnessed the scene firsthand. Its certainly a important contribution to the field.
I have just one suggestion and one criticism for the writer - he could have given more detailed profiles of the Islamic parties that Pakistan inherited in 1947. Secondly, the book requires a chronology of important political events of Pakistan for the Western readers. But despite these limitations, the book is head and shoulders above other contemporary works on the subject.

Book Description

This volume gives and excellent survey of our present knowledge of molecular processes in stellar and proto-stellar objects. It reviews molecular physics in stellar environments and is intended to bridge the gap between astrophysicists and chemists. The topics range from the theoretical to the computational and include observational data. Among the topics treated are questions of stellar evolution, the determination of physical properties and structures , and the chemical composition of stellar protospheres. Opacity is studied in the context of various types of stellar and proto-stellar objects.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books