California Tales, From the Mountains to the Sea

Book Description

This vintage-style box, with leather tab closure, captures the essence of California with five enchanting stories on two CD's (also available as cassettes). Beautifully narrated by Emmy Award winning actor Laurel Lyle and other talented actors with original music by Ron Zecher to set the scene - the box also includes two books: THE NATURE OF CALIFORNIA, a comprehensive take-along guide to California's regions and natural history enriched with maps, drawings and photos: and GOLDEN STATE TRIVIA, a fact-filled quiz yourself book. CALIFORNIA TALES are sure to be a treasured part of many a family vacation, business trip, or simply from the comfort of your armchair.

Customer Reviews:

Sunset Magazine Finds A Great New Book About California!.......2000-02-08

This is a multimedia production, featuring two compact discs or cassette tapes meant to be played on your car audio system as you tour. The recordings tell five fictional tales-set in the Anza-Borrego Desert, Fort Bragg, Santa Cruz, the Sierra Nevada and the San Joaquin Valley-that make the charming acommpinaments to drives thruogh their respective regions. Along with the cassettes or CD's, the boxed set comes with Golden State Trivia and The Nature of California, a primer to california habitats.

An irresistible gem, a treasure for the whole family........1999-10-26

This box-book-audio package tempts everyone who comes into my home, child and adult alike, and in moments they're lost among the tales, the drawings by the author and the authentic knowledge of California's variety of landscape, flora and fauna. Especially enchanting is the lore of what the state was before populations grew and folk history was lost. The stories Phila Rogers tells on the tapes/Cds capture the texture and color of experiences unique to a lifetime spent in different parts of the state. All who read and hear the contents are struck by the wonderful detail and clarity. Best of all, the box is fun, the outside covered in a map of the state. Open the leather loop and you're inside what feels like a present. This magical box was put together with so much devotion and careful detail that it feels like a personal gift. And what a gift to give for Christmas or a birthday. I've never seen anything quite as unique, for all ages, for persons in the state or outside. I pick it up and re-read or listen again to the tapes and I can be swept into the atmosphere Phila Rogers writes about. I'm proud to have California Tales in my library. When people ask where they can buy a copy, I tell them Amazon.com!

A "must have" for the family road trip........1999-10-10

I was amazed at how complete this boxed set really was. The books are very informative and well illustrated. We popped in the CD on our way to the Sierra. I learned more about the natural and human history of California in that one trip than I had in all of my years in school.

Book Description

No matter what your budget or whether it's your first trip or fifteenth, Fodor's Gold Guides get you where you want to go. In this guide, updated every year, our experts who live in Germany give you the inside track showing you all the things to see and do -- from must-see sights to off-the-beaten-path adventures, from shopping to outdoor fun. Start with the color planning section to help you decide where to go, use your personal supply of Post-it? flags to mark your favorite listings, and consult the foldout map to stay on course. Fodor's Germany 2002 shows you hundreds of hotel and restaurant choices in all price ranges -- from budget-friendly B&Bs to luxury hotels, from casual eateries to the hottest new restaurants, complete with thorough reviews showing what makes each place special. The Smart Travel Tips A to Z section helps you take care of the nitty gritty with essential local contacts and great advice -- from how to take your mountain bike with you to what to do in an emergency. Plus, web links, maps, costs, and mix-and-match itineraries make planning a snap.

"The king of guidebooks." - Newsweek

Customer Reviews:

Offers more insightful info than the competition.......2002-02-08

Living in Germany and composing a loose travel book myself, I have seen quite a few in numerous languages, and for the more in-depth traveler who wants a bit more history and depth, this is the book to reach for. The only negative side is that it lacks the budget and student offerings that Lonely Planet gives, and is targeted at an older and richer audience.
But that also means you do not have to deal with the often superficial writing of other books on the market, namely Lonely Planet, that leave you still wondering what there is to offer in the place of your destination and sometimes are factually completely wrong when it comes to almost every nook and cranny of less explored East Germany.
But put against Lonely Planet, the information is much more accurate and reliable, and you can surely thank the editors for that.
The history is well described in each chapter, and the research as far as prices, map detail, and transportation routes is second to none. The best OVERALL English travel series on the market. The editors are really top class!

Amazon.com

What a treat: an honest-to-goodness play! Budding actors and drama coaches will enjoy this lighthearted story about the awkwardness and excitement of young love in a Mexican American community. Perhaps the word "enjoy" is an understatement ... I do believe that young actors will have a hard time not laughing along with the audience once the curtain goes up. Gary Soto, author and poet extraordinaire, breaks a leg with this fast-paced, delightful look at dating from both the male and female perspectives. The transcendent theme and its helpful glossary of Spanish words and phrases will give this play broad appeal. Bravo!

Book Description

Ninth grader Rudy has a date with eleventh grader Patricia. Now he has to come up with the money, the poise, and the conversation to carry it off. This one-act play, by turns heartwarming and heart-wrenching, follows Rudy from his desperate search for guidance through the hilarious date itself--all the way to its happy conclusion.

Includes a glossary of Spanish phrases.

Customer Reviews:

novio boy book review.......2006-05-20

I like Novio boy, it's alright. I like all the challenging,
Spanish words. They make the book more fun to read. This book has two main characters, Rudy and Patricia. They are best friends. One of the best parts of the book is when Uncle Juan sang one of his songs with a rap like beat it goes something like this:

Tort pushed Frijoles on my plate
Shouting "TAKE THIS TAKE THAT."
Frijoles, our piping brown brother,
Got mad and said, "meet you outside homie!
I'm gonna gas you up!

There is a little more but it too much to type. I liked the end of the book the begging was good to. I would recommend this book to another student, because it's a good book.

omg its a book.......2006-05-20

Alright my class has just finished this book it's pretty good. This book is about two main characters. One's a boy named Rudy and his in the ninth grade. The other's a girl in the eleventh grade. There are a lot of other characters in it like Rudy's mother and his best friend.

Ok now I'll tell you more about this book. The book is about this two high school kids going out to lunch together, and on the way to the day they go out it tells about the other people in the story and how the two people started going out. The book starts out with Rudy and his friend Alex talking about what he should say and ask about on his first date.

Last I'm going to tell you the things I liked and disliked about the book. First thing I liked was that it had my name in it, and the second thing was I learned some more Spanish. The one thing I disliked is that it was written like a play.

Flashback 06.......2006-05-20

This book started in a place called Southern California. It's about Rudy's parents, friends, and Patricia's parents and friends giving advice for their first date. Their parents and friends are giving them tips so they can be happy together. I liked this book because it relates to my life. It relates to my life because my parents and friends were giving me advice for my first date.

Book Review of Novio Boy.......2006-05-20

Novio Boy is a play written by special author Gary Soto. This story takes in Southern California, with two boys name Tito and Rudy. They both were trying to get girlfriend. Well one of them was trying to get a girlfriend that was two grades higher than him, is Tito. Rudy on the other hand trying to get a girlfriend too, but he's getting help from his friend, Rudy. Later in the book Rudy finally get his date like he wanted since he saw her face.

Novio book review.......2006-05-20

Novio boy takes place in Southern California and it is about two boys who are trying to get girlfriends one of them is trying to get a date with someone two grades higher then him. Rudy the one trying to get a date with Patricia but doesn't have the money to take her out. Sooner or later they start selling apples five for a dollar. Then later on after they sold the apples Rudy finally gets a date with Patricia at a hamburger restaurant called "Steaks, Steaks y Más Steaks.

If you asked me if I liked it the answer is yes because it was funny and acting is fun.

Average customer rating:

Novio Boy: A Play
Gary Soto
Manufacturer: Harcourt Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJS2V6

Book Description

Because yeasts are capable of growing in a wide range of foods, their metabolic activities can cause significant economic losses in the food industry. Handbook of Food Spoilage Yeasts is the first guide to tackle this important subject. This easy-to-understand book describes in detail the ecology and physiology of spoilage yeasts. It explores the influence of ecological factors on growth, metabolic activities, survival, and death of yeasts in food. It also provides techniques for enumeration and identification of commonly encountered yeasts. Building upon this foundation, Handbook of Food Spoilage Yeasts presents strategies for food preservation based on controlling or killing spoilage yeasts and highlights information useful for monitoring the effectiveness of processing and storage technologies. This book is of tremendous practical value for anyone working in the food industry or interested in the mycological dimension of food spoilage. Handbook of Food Spoilage Yeasts is a long-overdue, essential resource.

Customer Reviews:

Fundamental theories.......2003-03-16

Great book on the fundamental theories of arithmetic and geometry. Covers set theory, arithmetic, axiomatic theories, algebraic bases of geometry, bases of Euclidean geometry, Birkhoff's axiomatic system, geometrical transformations, the Erlangen program, and Bachmann's axiomatic system.

Heat Kernel and Quantum Gravity (Lecture Notes in Physics Monographs)

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Some of the best in mathematical physics!

Heat Kernel and Quantum Gravity (Lecture Notes in Physics Monographs)
Ivan G. Avramidi
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Gravity | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Mechanics | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Quantum Theory | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Relativity | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Waves & Wave Mechanics | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This book tackles quantum gravity via the so-called background field method and its effective action functional. The author presents an explicitly covariant and effective technique to calculate the de Witt coefficients and to analyze the Schwinger-de Wit asymptotic expansion of the effective action. He also investigates the ultraviolet behaviour of higher-derivative quantum gravity.
The book addresses theoretical physicists, graduate students as well as researchers, but should also be of interest to physicists working in mathematical or elementary particle physics.

Customer Reviews:

Some of the best in mathematical physics!.......2002-08-06

Spectral theory for the heat equation represents one of the
more exciting points of interaction between math and physics:
It also serves as a deep link, via spectral theory, between geometry(math), and quantum gravity(physics). While the subject has roots far back, this lovely book presents some of the more exciting developments in the past decade. One of the success stories in interdisciplinary theoretical science! It is well written, and will be a great source for grad students. This very nice book further points toward the research trends of the future. Moreover, the results presented in the book are timeless. The book will be of value also ten years from now. Being an acknowledged authority in the subject, this author is in a unique position to write a book on the central themes and theories in the subject.

Sacred Geometry Foundation Training, Essential Background Teachings and Practices

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Sacred Geometry Foundation Training, Essential Background Teachings and Practices
Robert Gilbert
Manufacturer: Vesica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000R95J64

Book Description

MacFarlane charts the emergence of sodomy in the stories and novels of Restoration and eighteenth-century England as a definable social act, not as a marker of an emerging proto-modern "homosexual" identity. From Faustina, the Tragedy of Niro to Sodom: or the Quintessence of Debauchery, he argues that the Sodomite symbolized a variety of economic and political conflicts and transgressions; at the same time it enabled the articulation of homoerotic desire as it was being condemned.

Customer Reviews:

Worthwhile addition to Eighteeenth-Century Studies.......2000-02-26

McFarlane's book is quite good on the topic it covers. It avoids essentializing or questing after gay identity in a politically-motivated way (although this too has led to worthwhile criticism), and remains skeptical and interested in the ways that the figure of the sodomite is constructed as a political and moral trope that captures many other "transgressions" beyond that it claims to name. Particularly relevant and enlightening are his readings of Smollet and Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure.

Review of The Sodomite in Fiction and Satire.(Book Review): An article from: Early Modern Literary Studies

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Review of The Sodomite in Fiction and Satire.(Book Review): An article from: Early Modern Literary Studies
Andrew P. Williams
Manufacturer: Matthew Steggle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Satire, General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Early Modern Literary Studies, published by Matthew Steggle on September 1, 2000. The length of the article is 971 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: Review of The Sodomite in Fiction and Satire.(Book Review)
Author: Andrew P. Williams
Publication: Early Modern Literary Studies (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 2000
Publisher: Matthew Steggle
Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Page: NA

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Young Maura Conlons dad is a secret agent. And Maura knows what that means: hunting down the Ten Most Wanted for J. Edgar Hoover, interviewing perps, and keeping track of all sorts of criminals, just like on TV. Desperate to infiltrate her fathers world, Maura decides to become an FBI girl-in-training, reading Nancy Drew mysteries, watching The FBI on television, and keeping a secret journal of her own. But it takes the birth of a Downs Syndrome baby and a family tragedy before she finds the courage to confront her dad. A tale of a father/daughter relationship, SHES ALL EYES is about family bonds, the trials that test them, and the triumphs that make them stronger.

Download Description

Young Maura Conlonís dad is a secret agent. And Maura knows what that means: chasing cars, jumping over buildings, handcuffing bad guys, just like on The FBI, her favorite TV show. But no matter how many times Maura asks her father about his work, he never says anything. So Maura decides to become an FBI girl-in-training. Balancing the rigors of Catholic school with reading the latest Nancy Drew mysteries, keeping track of license plates on the neighborhood cars, and jotting down observations in her special FBI girl notebook is a lot of work, but Maura is determined to infiltrate her dadís silent world. However, it will take the birth of a Downís syndrome baby and a family tragedy before she has the courage to confront him using real words instead of cryptic code. A heartwarming tale of a father/daughter relationship, FBI GIRL is about family bonds, the trials that test them, and the triumphs that make them stronger.

Customer Reviews:

Another FBI Girl.......2005-07-20

This is a great story! Being the daughter of an agent myself, I could relate. The author does a terrific story of bringing you back into time and seeing events occur through a child's eyes.
I stayed up to read this book in one night. I truly recommend this book.

Heartwarming Memoir of a 60s-era Childhood.......2005-04-17

"FBI Girl" is not about the FBI. Nor is it, really, about Maura Conlon-McIvor's father in his role as an FBI agent. It is, instead, a memoir of the childhold of an Irish-American girl attempting to understand her non-communicative, somewhat dysfunctional father, and loving and caring for her Down's Syndrome brother. This brother, Joey, and Maura's exceptionally warm mother, are the glue that holds this family together.

It is a testament to Maura's parents that when their severely-retarded son Joey was born, they did not put him into an institution, which would have been common in the mid-1960s. Maura herself is fiercely protective of Joey, and believes that anyone without a Down's syndrome child in the family is missing something. This is an attitude shared by her father, who believes that the developmentally disabled are really the smart ones and the so-called "normal" people are ignorant. When you read about some of the reactions of the Conlon's neighbors (which range from shock, to avoidance, to guilty stares, to embarrassment and, occasionally, caring and compassion), you don't doubt that this is true.

Maura has a bigger problem, however, communicating with her father who, in her eyes, speaks in some sort of code. Joe Conlon obviously loves his five children, and his love is demonstrated by doing things, rather than talking (whenever Conlon does not want to answer a question, he changes the subject entirely.) Maura believes, incorrectly, that Joe Conlon's job as an FBI special agent precludes him from talking about anything substantive. In fact, as Maura discovers, Conlon's behavior was nothing learned at Quantico or ordered by J. Edgar Hoover.

The story warmly evokes 1960s Los Angeles. Maura Conlon lived with with her parents, sister and three brothers in an unidentified suburb of Los Angeles (20 minutes from Disneyland and 40 minutes from Hollywood.) The name of the suburb doesn't matter -- whether it's Downey or Fullerton or Los Alamitos or West Covina or Azusa, or any one of the other suburbs that run into one another in this part of the world, the story would be the same. It is hilarious, however, to read about young Maura playing Nancy Drew, writing down license plate numbers and desperately looking for high intrigue in this bland world of tract homes.

What is also relevant is Maura's religious Catholic upbringing, which provides Maura with a strong faith, a strict way to live, and more than a few interesting stories. A less salutory aspect is that Maura grows up strictly differentiating between "Catholics" and "publics," believing, among other things, that public school kids put drugs in the mustard and ketchup bottles. This belief is proven false when Maura herself goes to public school, with the backing of her former teacher, a nun.

Above all, this is the story of a painfully shy, highly imaginative girl who finally finds her own voice. Maura Conlon-McIvor has a compelling story to tell, which is well worth reading. As a contemporary of the author, I enjoyed the 1960s references, which took me back to my youth. Yet Maura Conlon-McIvor's story is unique. I think it gives a greater understanding of living with and loving the disabled than anything I've read thus far. Although it is somewhat less satisfying in addressing the author's father, it is definitely a worthwhile read.

Growing up fifties-style in the seventies.......2004-11-03

FBI father, Catholic school nuns, big family, sixties-seventies, Downs-syndrome child...I expected yet another story of growing up stifled in the suburbs, with some illicit sex and scandal.

In fact, Conlon-McIver describes a remarkably functional family, bound together by an amazing generosity of spirit. Fascinated by her father's career and her Nancy Drew books, she remembers keeping a log that includes every neighbor's license plate. She wants her father to bring home stories of exciting crimes he solved.

Reviewers have focused Maura's father, Joe, who refused to talk about his work and in fact didn't talk much at all. However, linguist Deborah Tannen has written about the differences in male and female communication styles and John Gray reminds us that men are from Mars. Men just don't want to talk about "my day at work." Like Joe Conlon, they communicate through action.

Reading between the lines, Joe was trained as a lawyer. Although he carried a gun and badge, he probably worked in offices, pushing paper rather than chasing bad guys. He might have been assigned to white collar crime. Here's a clue: he came home regularly for supper nearly every day. So there probably weren't a whole lot of exciting stories to tell.

And we should note that he didn't brush off Maura's questions with ridicule: he just changed the subject. Once he even shared a "trick" of looking out the rear view mirror, probably acquired from another agent who was more active in actual criminal pursuit.

Joe took his kids out to play baseball on Saturday afternoons (another clue: bad guys don't work nine to five weekdays). He even built a ball field. He did chores around the house, apparently without complaint, everything from changing diapers to folding laundry and mowing lawns.

Most significantly, he didn't withdraw when his last child, Joey, was born with Down's syndrome. Joe not only remained a caring father, but also raised significant funds for a group home for other developmentally disabled children.

Maura's mother, a former beauty queen, never seems too tired or impatient to spend time with her five children. She's creative and playful, sensitive to Maura's need to attend public school rather than continue to an all-girls Catholic high school.

However, the mother's ideas seem more progressive than her cooking. The family dinner table seems more fifties than sixties. I have to admit I admired the way they managed to stay slim and healthy while eating endless servings of processed, high-carbohydrate food.

And the children seem remarkably unselfish, as they pitch in to care for Joey resisting stares and embarrassment. This family learned the joy of living with a developmentally disabled child in a time, place and social environment where those attitudes were hardly commonplace.

Even the nuns are remarkably benevolent; one fussy teacher who complains about Maura's E's in handwriting class, but she melts as she learns more about Maura.

Because the book focuses so intently on family, it's hard to get a sense of the role of friends in Maura's early life. She mentions being neglected by the popular girls but we don't get episodes of real meanness or of the close friendships young girls typically develop.

Now comes the challenge: How does Maura Conlon-McIver keep the pages turning while describing a happy childhood? She's not sticky or sentimental. She tells the story with crisp sentences, studded with original metaphors. Most importantly, Conlon-McIvor paces the story as if she were writing a novel, no easy task when writing a memoir.

Toward the end, she reports a tragedy that scars what should have been a happy climax to her grade school years. And she ends on a bittersweet note, growing aware of her talents but also her family's unspoken conflicts.

I once heard a psychologist speak about families on the basis of real research rather than myths. He claimed that families held together based on what they didn't say, rather than on openness. Perhaps it is the unrealistic expectation of free-flowing communication that harms families, rather than the actual silence. And maybe the Conlon household wasn't perfect, but I bet a lot of people would have gladly traded places with any member of that family.

touching and unforgettable.......2004-10-22

I found FBI Girl to be both touching and unforgettable. Conlon-McIvor's adeptness at describing the details of her youth will resonate with anyone who grew up in "suburbia" in the '60's and '70's. I felt like I was at the dinner table, in the FBI car and in the classroom along with young Maura as she navigated her way through her quiet childhood. Her book reminds us that sometimes the quietest amongst us have the most to say. How lucky for us that she found her "voice" and shares it with us through this loving memoir to her family. This story will stay with you for a long time.

Dysfunction personified.......2004-10-20

A poignant, often funny look at the efforts of a loving, wildly imaginative daughter trying to invent an acceptable personna for her uncommunicative father. An FBI agent with a gun in his dresser drawer and a car trunk littered with spent bullet casings, she decides his job is responsible for his excessively secretive nature. It takes years for her to understand even J. Edgar Hoover doesn't demand such unflinching secrecy about every aspect of his agents' private lives. A moving and well-written view of a complicated family.

Book Description

The War Diaries brings together -- in their own words -- the stories of men and women who have endured wartime life. By turns horrific and comic, the entries retain the candid intimacy that is the particular preserve of those who keep diaries. From Che Guevara, Virginia Woolf, and Davy Crockett to anonymous soldiers in the trenches, these poignant and intense missives capture the immediacy, horror, and pathos of wars that span the centuries. From this remarkable cross-section of contributors -- Josef Goebbels, Anais Nin, Florence Nightingale, Samuel Pepys, and Salam Pax to name just a few -- Irene and Alan Taylor bring unprecedented insight into what has been described as "the most exciting and dramatic thing in life" and "the universal perversion": war. This book is a unique gift for history enthusiasts everywhere.

The Bubble of American Supremacy: Correcting the Misuse of American Power
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The vision of the Left for America.

Soros continues to give us clues....

A critique on government's fundamentalism

A businessman's take on the neocons

What Money Can't Buy

The Bubble of American Supremacy: Correcting the Misuse of American Power
George Soros
Manufacturer: PublicAffairs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Public Policy | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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International Security | Freedom & Security | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Open Society: Reforming Global Capitalism

George Soros on Globalization

The Alchemy of Finance (Wiley Investment Classics)

Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve

ASIN: 1586482173

Amazon.com

Proving that exorbitant wealth and allegiance to the Republican Party do not necessarily go hand in hand, billionaire George Soros offers a sharp critique of the neoconservative philosophy that he sees guiding the George W. Bush administration. In The Bubble of American Supremacy, Soros warns that American efforts to be the ultimate global superpower will not only be unsuccessful but will make America and the world infinitely more unstable. Bush and company, he says, have callously used the events of September 11th for their own political gain and misled the world about the threat posed by Iraq. In previous American presidential elections, billionaires Steve Forbes and Ross Perot have tried to run for president themselves to address the country's problems, but Soros--while no less zealous about his convictions--sees his role a little differently. "I have made it my primary objective to persuade the American public to reject President Bush in the upcoming elections," he writes, "We have been deceived." The arguments he makes and the evidence he presents are interesting enough, although there really isn't anything here that hasn't been written in scores of other anti-Bush books released around the same time. What sets Soros's book apart from all the others is the recurring presence of Soros himself, frequently citing previous books he's written, speeches he's made, and highlights of his career. The pronoun "I" is never far away. Granted, it's been an interesting career; his financial success coupled with his passionate political convictions would make for a terrific memoir, but at times in this book Soros's ego gets almost comically in the way. Referring to his long-held support for open societies, he says this philosophy "could almost be called the Soros doctrine" only to renounce propriety over it a page later. Soros is a capable writer and a clear thinker, and he ably articulates his views. Readers interested in criticisms of Bush and company have several options but readers interested in George Soros will find plenty to satisfy them here. --John Moe

Book Description

The legendary investor and philanthropist issues a pointed, astute, and intensely critical analysis of the Bush administration's foreign policy.

Long known as "the world's only private citizen with a foreign policy," George Soros combines his razor-sharp sense of economic trends with his passionate advocacy for open societies and decency in world politics to come up with a workable, and severely critical, analysis of the Bush administration's overreaching, militaristic foreign policy.

Soros believes that this administration's plans abroad come from the same sort of "bubble" psychology that afflicted our markets in the late 90s. They have used a real fact, our overwhelming military supremacy, to create a deluded worldview, that might makes right and that "you're either with us or against us," in the same way that the recent boom used a real fact, the growth in technology, to lead to a delusion, the "new economy." .

Like the best of the books that have responded quickly to world events, The Bubble of American Supremacy, has a clear, intriguing, comprehensive thesis that makes necessary, and compelling, order of our seemingly disordered world.

Customer Reviews:

The vision of the Left for America........2007-10-16

Unless you delve into the depth of thinking in the ideas put forth by the Left and thus the Democratic Party;you may not know much about George Soros. Heck,most only know the names of a few prominent people on either side of the political spectrum.The people who run for office are picked for their ability to garnish voter support at Election time;but are not the real ideologists.
However; the real forces behind the candidates are those who are the ideologues who have the vision of where they would like to take the country on all issues from culture,monetary,politically,moral values,or any of the other issues the government ,whose role it is to serve the people,actually control.
George Soros is a huge influence on the Left in both ideology and financial support.The ideas influencing the left are put forth in as clear detail as possible in his book. The old adage of "Putting your money where your mouth is" couldn't apply more than to this man.
That he is a powerful force in the thinking and actions of the Left ;there is no doubt.
Much of his thinking is naturally very European,and although he is an American now,his background ,thinking and inspiration comes from Europe and he still sees the European thought process as superior to that of America and the Right,Concervative thinking of the Republican Party.His ideas are much further aligned with Europe,One world Government,Socialism,and other ideas than what has been the case of former greats in the Democratic Party such as Kennedy,Johnson,Truman Roosevelt,Stevenson,McGovern and even Carter and Clinton.
Soros is abundantly clear about what he thinks is wrong in the world and it is because of American Supremacy and that world affairs would be better administered with America taking its ideas from Europe and world bodies such as the United Nations;in other words these other forces are better able to direct the strength of America's success and power than America has done. Soros explains why it has been America and George W Bush that has been the force that kept Socialism from becoming the great promise for the world.

Soros continues to give us clues...........2007-07-03

...to many Americans George Soros is a bad guy with an Eastern European name that tried to buy John Kerry into the White House, a sad and mistaken impression developed by the same folks that bring us more Brittany and Paris when we really need to hear about affordable health care and a plan for Iraq.

Just as Mr. Soros has spent $500 Million a year for more than a decade trying to relieve suffering and increase opportunity any where in the world that needs it, he has also spent many hours writing a series of books that explain a clear way to look at future needs and the tools to develop the International Policies that will meet those needs.

I can't recommend this or any other of Mr. Soros efforts strongly enough, you'll never look at the world the same way again.

A critique on government's fundamentalism .......2006-09-16

In his last effort to dump George Bush, Soros resorts to his stern objectivity and economic savvy to expose the disastrous consequences of keeping a drug-rehabilitated and born-again Christian in the driver's seat of a superpower. Soros attributes to the latter traits, Bush's experience with the devil. Bush found his mission in 9/11 and the neocons found their man in Bush. That was crude social Darwinism achieved by military supremacy to ensure national survival and subjugate the rest of the world. The nation that is fittest militarily survives, others perish.

Hoping that Bush would lose the 2004 election, Soros described the Bush's doctrine as a bubble of supremacy that would soon burst. He likens military fundamentalism by market fundamentalism. Both tend to favor the interest of individual nations and disregard the collective welfare of whole body of nations. Thus, as the sole superpower, America is wasting its treasures and making its mistakes that caused far-from equilibrium world peace. Since there is no other nation stronger than America, America would only decline by virtue of its own mistakes. Those are plenty, thanks to Bush's doctrine.

Soros takes on Bush's proclamation to rally the world for the American cause and to take the war to the enemy. In an open society, people choose for themselves and do not need others to rally them. Thus, Bush's views of subjugating the world to his American causes are fundamentalist, not only militarily and economically, but also religiously. Secondly, the enemy has no address to wage war at. Soros brilliantly relies on the dictum of victim-perpetrator analogy to analyze many examples of international terrors. He concludes that America should have never overreacted to 9/11 in such manner that squandered opportunities for world peace. Terror was around since the beginning of history and would not disappear soon. It is even worse when nations turn terrorists and not realize it. He exemplifies that with our count of our deaths in Iraq while forgetting about the Iraqi deaths.

One of the craziest ideas, Soros discusses, is the MAD; mutual assured destruction, which calls for wide spread of nuclear weapons such that nations would be deterred by fear from mutual destruction. Similarly is the debate over the war on drug; whether to deal with addicts as sick or criminals? Whether illicit drugs made legal?

Soros outlines three scenarios for getting into the Iraq quagmire: Oil, Israel, and Imperial supremacy. Those are concealed under the façade of spreading democracy and ridding of weapons of mass destruction. He overlooks the personal influence of the rich Kuwaitis and Saudis dreaded Saddam's adventures.

To Soros' dismay, reason does not prevail in politics or in economics. His theory on reflexivity in economics, has a role in politics as well. Electorate has emotions that determine future leaders. Leaders have emotions that shape their decisions. Thus, world peace is as unpredictable as world market. The bust and boom, in economics, works well in politics. Yet, with all the criticism to Bush's policy in Iraq, history might credit Bush for his daring and charismatic risk in altering the course of a totalitarian regime. Getting Saddam into a prison cell would not be forgotten for generations and might even be correlated with biblical justice in the eyes of many Muslims. Major historical landmarks were made by radical leaders.

Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training

A businessman's take on the neocons.......2006-07-20

Critiques of the neoconservatives often come from liberals, journalists, environmentalists, and pacifists. This is one of the few from a dedicated businessman. Drawing upon the history of other once powerful nations such as the Soviet Union, Soros gives his opinion on how and why the US is powerful. He then explains why he thinks this nation is more powerful than it should be, or is taken to be. He describes how recent actions by the US is creating enemies and impoverishing other countries in the world. He then lays out a series of proposals that the US should implement to help the poorer countries in the world. Overall, this book's ideas are not new, though the author is. It is a short and easy read, and worth the time.

What Money Can't Buy.......2006-07-09

Soros would like an Open Society created by peaceful means, where people can read what they want, criticize what they want, and elect whomever they want. Sort of like a utopia for intellectuals. Of course, that's preferable to the stage managed elections and callous warfare state that currently squats in Washington DC. Soros also includes much that Iraq protesters and anti-globalists can agree with, about how Cheyney and Co. are bringing the gift of freedom to the many dead Iraqis and how they want to sit on top the global dog pile permanently. No need to go into Soros' reasons here. Other reviewers have already done so, and besides, lambasting the Bush gang now amounts to a not-very-small publisher's bonanza.

However, there are two important points somehow overlooked by the author in his 200 pages-- namely `class' and `empire'. Yes-- `class' in that old Karl Marx sense of economic grouping that recognizes you according to where you fit in on that great ladder of production; and `empire', in the time honored sense of yanking wealth out of weaker foreign peoples, so that someone's core of rich and powerful can get richer and, uh, powerfuller.

Thumb through those 200 pages of Soros' book, you'll find not a single mention of American empire. Plenty of mentions of the Soviet empire, but nary a one of America's free fire zone. Yet what can be more obvious than the existence of an American imperium. Sure, it goes by many self-serving aliases, most often the 'Free World', but the reality is 700 military bases straddling the globe and a history of interventions from Central America to Iraq that can no longer be blamed on the Soviets, nor on the expansionist designs of the neo-cons. It really is difficult to talk about creating Open Societies when confronting an empire with a history of closing them down as soon as they become too threatening. George Soros, meet Noam Chomsky.

Then there's `class'. Our guardians thought they buried that concept along with the old Soviet Union. But here it is again. Market fundamentalism means the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and what's left of the middle-class hangs on to home-owners equity. It's not just US workers going to the poorhouse, but Europeans too, swept away by the same tide of capital migration and dollar-a-day east Asians. Along with them goes the safety-net state, on which Soros apparently models his alternative to the current do-nothing state, which, by the way, liberals said had gone the way of Herbert Hoover. Hard to talk about Open Societies when the top 5 % of Americans own the majority of America's wealth and the bottom 40% owns 0.2% (Mark Weisbrot)-- while the disparities grow worse every day. The point is that the wealthy class smells blood and will not be compromised by some well-meaning uplift, no matter how far-sighted. Marx may have over-hyped the concept of class, but its power moves daily through the halls of government.

Of course, Soros condemns the naked effects of empire and class-- that's the point of his book, since the Bush gang does not bother masking the structural rule of the two. He's eager to deal with the effects, but makes no mention of their source inside the system. Instead, the author pretends that concern for national `sovereignty' is the only structural barrier to humane reform, spending pages agonizing over the difficulties. The bias is revealing. Unlike sovereignty, empire and class are generated not by some outside force, but by the internal workings of capital itself. Thus, Soros' insistence on private property maintains in his scheme the very impediments that will defeat it. How ironic -- but not surprising, considering that the author is one of the world's premier capitalists. Really, the only difference between his pipe dreams and yours and mine is the size of his bank book.

Bubble of American Supremacy: Correcting the Misuse of American Power

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Bubble of American Supremacy: Correcting the Misuse of American Power
George Sogos
Manufacturer: Allen & Unwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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