Book Description
A rich, colorful history of California centering on the untold story of America 's biggest farmer, J.G. Boswell, who controls more than $1 billion worth of water rights and real estate in the heart of the state.
J.G. Boswell is the biggest farmer in America. Over the past fifty years he has built a secret empire while thumbing his nose at nature, politicians, labor unions and every journalist who ever tried to lift the veil on the ultimate "factory in the fields." Now eighty years old, with an almost pathological bent toward privacy, Boswell has spent the past few years confiding one of the great stories of the American West to Mark Arax and Rick Wartzman. The King of California is the previously untold account of how a Georgia slave-owning family migrated to California in the early 1920s, drained one of America 's biggest lakes in an act of incredible hubris and carved out the richest cotton empire in the world. Indeed, the sophistication of Boswell 's agricultural operation--from lab to field to gin--is unrivaled anywhere.
Much more than a business story, this is a sweeping social history that details the saga of cotton growers who were chased from the South by the boll weevil and brought their black farmhands to California. It is a gripping read with cameos by a cast of famous characters, from Cecil B. DeMille to Cesar Chavez.
Customer Reviews:
Great friggin book........2007-10-10
I'm not feeling real verbose so just let me say that this book illustrates so much more about US history than the mere subject of cotton suggests. The Boswell story is the American story of our moving further and further away from democratic, egalitarian principles in the pursuit of various notions of efficiency.
Great book. A great non-fiction companion piece would be "Wealth and Democracy" by Kevin Philips.
The king of California.......2006-11-04
This book is way too long and somewhat redundant and boring. The basic story is good, but the author takes too much time and too many pages to tell it.
History, Biography and Expose?.......2006-06-23
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in politics, agriculture, or water rights. It is a well-written and very readable.
It follows four generations of the Boswell family to trace how they assembled the largest industrial farm in the world. Along the way, the authors explore the history of the San Joaquin valley and those who came there to farm it, those who left and those who got left behind. For every group that made a fortune, there were many others who were disappointed. There are plenty of interesting stories of Washington and Sacramento politics, and stories of common people following dreams.
The book examines the effect of large scale farming on farm owners, on those who work the farms now and those who worked them in the past. It provides some good background on the politics of water rights and government involvement in farming, and on the involvement of agriculture in local, state and federal politics.
If you are interested in the politics and history of water in the western states, Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner is one of the best books I have read on any subject.
Overstuffed but Worth Reading.......2005-11-26
I grew up in Fresno, in the shadow of agribusiness. The story behind "King of California" is a fascinating and important one but I'm not sure this "biography" does it justice. I disliked the awkward mixture of history and journalism. Is this an expose, a biography or history? Its never really clear and the way the book is organized, around the four seasons, is particularly opaque. What does it mean to call a section, "winter?" when it is covering history spanning decades and contains interviews with living people? That said, the material is fascinating. From the role the Boswell's played in taming Tulare Lake, to the development of modern cotton farming, the politics of agriculture and the way big business in general got access and results in subsidies and favorable policy. Early on, Tulare Lake and by extension, the San Joaquin Valley in its pre-U.S. days is described with a vividness I've rarely read elsewhere. However, the description of the Boswell's roots in racism and its legacy in the Central Valley is definitely worth telling but I think it gets too little space here and competes with so many other subjects. Frankly, I'm surprised that this book has gotten the acclaim that it has. While its clearly well researched, the writing is spotty lucid in some places and sensationalized elsewhere. I think the book tries to cover far too many topics; Water politics, cotton farming, racism in California, family history, corporate intrigue, labor issues, flood control and company towns. Had it narrowed it focus to just water, cotton and corporate intrigue, I think it would have been a far more powerful book.
Surfaced and Harpooned.......2005-04-26
This far-reaching book is quite an accomplishment in biography and investigative journalism. Arax and Wartzman cover the history of the immense Boswell farming company of California, and the two guys named J.G. (the founding uncle and the current chairman, his nephew) who built the company into the largest cotton operation on Earth. Through cutthroat competitive instincts and political wheeling-and-dealing, the Boswells amassed tens of thousands of acres in California's Central Valley, and were instrumental in eliminating what was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, as the former Tulare Lake was transformed into a festering network of levees, canals, and cesspools dedicated to the mass production of cotton. Thus, the Boswells built the area's environment, culture, and economics for their own profitability.
The book also serves as a great exploration of the business of factory farming, detailing the racism and poverty experienced by Black and Mexican workers, as well as the shifty agricultural and hydrological politics of Big Ag in California - as the Boswells and their competitors/allies buy politicians, stack laws and regulations in their favor, and claim flood control as a reason to alter the natural course of rivers and to completely drain the vast Tulare Lake. Best of all, we see how big business really works out West, with the hypocrisy of so-called rugged outdoorsmen (actually pampered CEO's) who incessantly rail against government interference while also taking in millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies that are meant to help the little guy. This book is immensely informative but does often get tied up in unnecessary details, such as descriptions of petty political shenanigans in the construction of a nearby dam. But the motto of the Boswell clan has been that a whale can't be harpooned if it doesn't come to the surface (a legacy of silence and obfuscation), but Arax and Wartzman have deftly cracked into the wall of secrecy surrounding the Boswells and their often ill-gotten empire, [~doomsdayer520~]
Book Description
This digital document is an article from OnEarth, published by Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 463 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 King of California.(Book Review)
Author: Anthony Jaffe
Publication:
OnEarth (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
Volume: 25
Issue: 4
Page: 40(1)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
- Women of Texas
- Inspiring and Uplifting!
- EXTRAORDINARY BOOK!
- You go girl
- I'm going
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You Go Girl! Winning the Woman's Way
Kim Doren ,
Charlie Jones , and
Kristine Lilly
Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Women
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ASIN: 0740708562 |
Book Description
Girls' athletic participation in school and community sports programs is skyrocketing. Girls now comprise thirty-three percent of all high school athletes, representing a dramatic increase from four percent who participated in 1971, the year before the enactment of Title IX. You Go Girl! is a collection of first person insights, thoughts and stories from successful women in the world of sports. Athletes, coaches, and sports executives talk about their lives, their dreams, their frustrations and disappointments-as well as their victories and passions, practice habits and perspectives. Their stories will inspire, teach, motivate, encourage and challenge any reader-male or female. Among the women who have contributed their personal anecdotes and insights are: Mia Hamm (soccer); Gabrielle Reece (beach volleyball); Marion Jones (sprinter and long jumper); Kerri Strug (gymnastics); Chris Evert (tennis); Nancy Lopez (golf); Picabo Street (Olympic gold medal skier) and many others. Most of today's young women went through school after the 1972 passage of title IX: the same cannot be said of their mothers. This book provides a powerful opportunity to close that gap.
Customer Reviews:
Women of Texas.......2000-11-17
I just got my copy of You Go Girl in the mail. I am Mom who traveles in her van all over town to attend her kids sports activities, and this book has been with me all week. I liked the way Charlie and Kim told the personal stories along with professional truimphs. I think woman of all ages would enjoy reading this book. It has truly been a hit in our household.
Inspiring and Uplifting!.......2000-08-29
The book "You Go Girl" is a must have for female athletes of all ages. As you read through each chapter, the steps and obstacles of becoming a successful athlete are presented in the stories of women in the world of sports. The greatest part is you can pick up the book and begin reading any story! I am a teenager playing 3 sports in high school and can easily apply the lessons these women present into my daily routine. I have recommended this book to my friends and cannot wait to show my coaches!
EXTRAORDINARY BOOK!.......2000-07-18
These amazing women athletes all made the decision to set a goal, to have the right attitude, to have faith and determination, and to make sacrifices in order to reach their dreams/goals in life. This book is very uplifting and inspirational - full of wisdom, optimism, gratitude and joy. It is truly a gift that makes you feel so good after reading just a few pages. I had the opportunity to share some of the stories with my male friends and they enjoyed it as much as I did. My five star recommendation goes out to both Kim and Charlie. Thanks for being able to share all these inspirational stories with us!
You go girl.......2000-07-14
A must reading for females and males a like. I bought it for my 2 girls, ages 10 and 7 and started to read it before them. It is not just about sports but rather how we all should approach things in our life and situations that arise... I am making sure my 2 boys and wife also read it and I am recommendeing it to my students
I'm going.......2000-07-13
I flipped through this book at a local book store and was impressed with the life lessons Doren and Jones have presented in a wonderfully readable fashion. I gave "What makes winners win?" to my grandson, I'll give my grandaughter "You go girl" and hope they both read it!
Book Description
This digital document is an article from San Diego Business Journal, published by CBJ, L.P. on July 3, 2000. The length of the article is 852 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: On Being a Winner: Examples to Learn From.(Review) (book review)
Author: Ted Owen
Publication:
San Diego Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 3, 2000
Publisher: CBJ, L.P.
Volume: 21
Issue: 27
Page: 46
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
The expansion of the suburban environment is a fascinating cultural development. In fact, the United States is primarily a suburban nation, with far more Americans living in the suburbs than in either urban or rural areas. Why were suburbs created? How do we define them? Are they really the promised land of the American middle class? The concept of space and how we create it is an idea that is receiving a great deal of attention, but SuburbiaNation is the first book to look carefully at the suburban landscape through the lens of fiction and of film. Robert Beuka weaves together such classics as It's a Wonderful Life, The Stepford Wives, Rabbit, Run, The Great Gatsby, The Graduate, and House Party to discuss the utopian model of the suburb and its significance in American culture.
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Kingdom: The Far Reaches: The Official Strategy Guide (Prima's Secrets of the Games)
John Waters
Manufacturer: Prima Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Strategy Guides
| Games & Strategy Guides
| Computers & Internet
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Video Games
| Games & Strategy Guides
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Video & Electronic Games
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ASIN: 0761500839
Release Date: 1995-06-09 |
Book Description
In this collective wisdom, you will learn about hidden software features, times-saving tricks, and professional techniques for achieving better results.
Customer Reviews:
Bathroom reading.......2006-11-10
Yeah nice book, can't wait to get in the bathroom to read some more, 3D animation
is making a big red ring around my a _ _ , Empire of the Sun is starting I'll sit here and watch that too! It's cold in here, is that true about cold surfaces and what they do to your *&#%@^( ?
Most have for Serious LightWavers.......2006-07-05
The book, 1001 Tips & Tricks, has straightforward techniques approach to Learning Advanced LightWave Skills and Knowledge. I purchased Timothy Albee's Lightwave 3D, "Getting Started Guide" which came with my purchase of the program, LightWave from Newtek. The Book got me started back in 2005. (A general skills book covers a broad range of LightWave. But does not get too deep, which is good for beginners.)
I was very interested in and loved cartooning and character creation in 3D. So I purchased Jonny Gorden's "Cartoon Character Creation-Volume 2". If ya don't know and wanna learn Rigging right, get this book. Jonny be getting off with his techniques in this bad boy. Loved the book.
(Jonny's book covers A through Z in Rigging and Animation mostly plus overviews on general knowledge stuff as well. But since I already learned the basics with "Getting Started" I was able to get deep into Jonny's techniques.)
I was a professional Graphic Designer who wanted to move over to the 3D world, I desired to be a power-user at 3D animation. So I purchased Dan Alban's "LightWave [8]," extremely good learning tool. Dan's book got my doing just about anything I could imagine.
(In Depth book cover almost everything. Big pictures illustrations and nicely written make learn easier. Ya gotta get this one.)
But in some areas I was still creating very slowly. Like how to optimize a detailed and completed scene for a render farm, so that I could not only render, but also render scenes very fast. How to build a scene for a real movie that would render quicker than if I built it another way.
For example, I built a scene which took four months to render on a 4 node render farm of fast G5 with 2 gigs of Ram. I'm thinking that, I've got to be able to create the same scene, but in such as that it would render in say, two weeks. I wanted to learn the fastest power moves, since I work alone in my home studio. I do not have peers and co-worker to exchanged knowledge with
Then, I order this book, and it fit the bill. It helps to complete my learning needs and answered and reconfirmed, other books and technique that I pick up off of the Internet.
This is an excellent book it is a most get. Although I got it for advanced how tos; there is beginner level help here as well. A lot of the dudes and dudettes that I've learned from through downloading Internet QuickTime movies from the Newtek website and other places, these movies are excellent show and tell ways to learn. But with expressions and certain dynamic it is good to have it in a book form as well.
(Since there are so many experts contributing to this book, you get a really balanced guide to knowledge. If you are going to be a power-user, this book completes the other books and knowledge that I have accumulated. You got to it as well.) "1000 Tips and Tricks," book is worth every penny of the cost.
Fantastic but a bit redundant.......2005-07-28
The blurbs about this book are right. There are no other places I have found for the kind and quality of information contained in this book... at least for a non-super expert in Lightwave 3D.
Yet at the same time, there is much redundancy within the book itself (several tips are essentially identical) and with the reference manual provided by NewTek.
So there are really quite a few less than 1001 super neat and fantabulous tips and tricks here, but there are plenty enough to make the purchase a valuable addition to your reference library for LW8.
More is more.......2004-10-10
I'm one of the authors, so take that into account. Still, there are around thirty authors total so I'm at most 1/30th biased.
That being said, this is a real standout among LightWave books and one I'm proud to be part of. The strength is in the numbers - never before have you gotten such a wide and varied number of opinions in one place. Because there are so many different approachs to creating 3D art, this book is really a must own and it's a book you'll go back to again and again. I keep a copy on my desk, within easy reach and I pick it up for reference or for some quick reading during a render.
It also covers a wide variety of topics, from lighting to surfacing to LScripts. Not every tip is something I agree with, but that's the beauty of this book - there's just so much information here that you'll be finding new things to think about or to add to your work for years to come.
Should Be Bundled With the Lightwave CD.......2004-07-25
Without wasting time here...if you're a Lightwaver, you should get this book. Put the bills on hold, if necessary, and eat cereal for a week. :-) As a beginning - intermediate Lightwave user/student, I've bought and read most of the new Lightwave books, and this one is the most valuable, by far. Having this book lying beside your computer is like having 30+ Lightwave gurus at your elbow, whispering their secrets in your ear as you model, texture, and render. There's nothing out there like it...well, Killer Tips maybe but 1001 T & T has tons more information. If ever a book deserves a 5 star rating, this is it.
Amazon.com
"The man was stubborn," writes Calvin Trillin -- the second most stubborn member of the Trillin family -- to begin this memoir of his father. Although he had a strong vision of the sort of person he wanted his son to be, Abe Trillin's explicit advice about how to behave didn't go beyond "You might as well be a mensch." Somehow, though, his messages got through clearly, and Calvin's work is a credit to his father's vision.
Book Description
Calvin Trillin, the celebrated New Yorker writer, offers a rich and engaging biography of his father, as well as a literate and entertaining fanfare for the common (and decent, and hard-working) man.
Abe Trillin had the western Missouri accent of someone who had grown up in St. Joseph and the dreams of America of someone who had been born is Russia. In Kansas City, he was a grocer, at least until he swore off the grocery business. He was given to swearing off things—coffee, tobacco, alcohol, all neckties that were not yellow in color. Presumably he had also sworn off swearing, although he was a collector of curses, such as "May you have an injury that is not covered by workman's compensation." Although he had a strong vision of the sort of person he wanted his son to be, his explicit advice about how to behave didn't go beyond an almost lackadaisical "You might as well be a mensch." Somehow, though, Abe Trillin's messages got through clearly.
The author's unerring sense of the American character is everywhere apparent in this quietly powerful memoir.
Customer Reviews:
The Gift of Love and Continuity.......2007-01-13
Such is Calvin Trillin's caliber of work you don't realize how good he is, and he is really good. This book touched me deeply; Mr. Trillinsky was not an emotional man and given to the touchy feely sort of stuff so espoused these days, but he gave his son everything he would need to have a fulfilling life, one of the main components being a deep, abiding and unconditional love; how lucky Mr. Trillin was.
My father was an evil and stupid man who never learned from his mistakes and is now reaping the whirlwind; I believe Mr. Trillinsky would have I.D.'d him in five minutes flat, and would have had mercy on him, much more than I can manage now. If you are raising a child, or trying to figure out what in God's green earth happened to you during your childhood, read this book. Mr. Trillin's artistry is a delicious extra.
I have read "Remembering Denny" and it has seared a place in my mind since. It explained so much to me. This is another book that is going to go on my mental bookshelf, probably till the end of me.
Dull.......2006-10-19
This book was a disappointment to me. Although it is only a slight volume I found it to be heavy going and very uninteresting. Avoid.
It Rings a Bell.......2005-08-31
I don't know anyone in the Trillin family personnally, but I recognize them very well. I learned something I didn't know--that Jews landed some place other than Ellis Island. As a father myself, I appreciate what Abe did for his son. So did Calvin.
Affectionate and funny.......2004-07-13
Humorist, journalist, food maven, the author of numerous books and a writer for The New Yorker, Trillin brings his blend of self-deprecating humor and thoughtful observation to this affectionate memoir of his father.
Abram Trilinsky emigrated to St. Joseph, Missouri, from Russia at the age of two. When his wife hinted at a trip to Europe, his terse response was, "I've been." He was resolutely a mid-western American, a man who changed his name to Abe Trillin, and at the end of his life exhibitted the only prejudice his son ever observed - an impatience with "refugees," by which he meant people who clung to the language and customs of their country of origin.
He was a stubborn man, like most of his family, described by his wife as "Mules!" "I sometimes imagined my father as swearing off things just to keep in practice," his son observes.
He never swore although he collected colorful curses - "May you have an injury that's not covered by workman's compensation." His honesty was absolute - when a child turned 12 he paid full price at the movies even if he looked 9.
He was unassuming. When Calvin was in high school, his father opened a restaurant and took to wearing yellow ties. "He said something about how most people don't stand out from the crowd, and how it helped to have a sort of signature." This seemed embarrasing to his adolescent son. "What was so great about having someone say, 'Oh, yes, Abe Trillin - the guy with the yellow ties'?" But years later at Abe's funeral, he's touched by how many friends asked for a yellow tie as a remembrance.
His father was not a talker. One of his favorite jokes concerned a Jewish actor who finally gets a real part playing a Jewish father. The actor asks his father why he seems disappointed. " 'Of course I'm proud of you son,' " the father says, " 'But we were hoping you'd get a speaking part.' "
Calvin writes, "What strikes me as odd now is how much my father managed to get across without those heart-to-hearts that I've read about fathers and sons having." Without it being talked about, Calvin knew his father was ambitious for him. "It was a given in our family that my father was a grocer so that I wouldn't have to be."
One of their biggest arguments concerned Calvin's joining the Boy Scouts. He hated Boy Scouts but Abe regarded it as essential to American boyhood, a necessary step on the way to Yale, Trillin senior's university of choice, an idea he'd gotten from a novel read as a boy - Stover At Yale.
Calvin went to Yale. Yale launched him out of Kansas City, never to return (also as Abe expected). The grocer's son would never be a grocer.
In one (somewhat unrealistically) ingenuous chapter Trillin goes to a dinner of prominent writers and realizes that they all went to Ivy League schools as he did. Was there a connection? (Puleeeeze). "For the first time, I realized that my father's vision of how all of this was supposed to work out might not have been as simplistic as I had always assumed."
This slim volume is deeply captivating and affecting. His father emerges as a man of indomitable will, will so strong he imposed it simply by being. He was a man who could afford to be easy going and funny, all the while adhering to a plan of grand ambition which embraced cross country automobile trips to broaden the horizons of his children and simple pronouncements: "You might as well be a mensch." Much of the book's power lies in the author's recognition of himself as his father's ambition fulfilled - a successful American who does his best to "be a mensch," a real human being.
Another Good One from Trillin.......2001-07-06
The market is flooded these days with memoirs. This little book stands out from the pack. Trillin writes about his father with love, admiration and respect, as well as his famous wit. I recommend this book to any father's son.
Average customer rating:
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Messages from My Father
Lloyd Patterson
Manufacturer: Dorrance Publishing Co. Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
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| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
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General
| Religion & Spirituality
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ASIN: 0805969993 |
Book Description
Messages from My Father is a love story about the God of Pure Love Energy who loves His children of the earth and about His desire for them to come home to Him.
The author explains that coming home to Him is not done by dying and going to heaven, but by living in the "now" moment in your consciousness and by taking God as a partner in all things, at all times, and in all places. This God of Pure Love Energy is your Source and you are his offspring. He wants you to come home to Him in your thoughts. He is in all living things. He is the life force energy within you and surrounding you. See Him in your neighbor. When you love your neighbor as yourself, you thereby love Him. Don't you see?
It is important for you, the reader, to keep an open mind that what you have been taught is not consistent with the facts that the author tells us the Heavenly Father has revealed to him. God desires for you, His children of the earth, to come home to Him, dwelling not on the messenger He sent, but on the message of loving your neighbor as yourself and of receiving back that which you yourself have given out. The return energy is multiplied on its return to you and must return to you, for your frequency is designed for its return to you and no other.
Average customer rating:
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MESSAGES FROM MY FATHER
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HGUU8E |
Average customer rating:
- Excellent regimental review
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A History of the 31st Georgia Volunteer Infantry: This Most Bloody and Cruel Drama (Army of Northern Virginia Series, 8th V)
Gregory C. White
Manufacturer: Butternut & Blue
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
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General
| Civil War
| United States
| Americas
| History
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Confederacy
| Civil War
| United States
| Americas
| History
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Regimental Histories
| Civil War
| United States
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Georgia
| State & Local
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General
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ASIN: 0935523588 |
Customer Reviews:
Excellent regimental review.......1999-06-28
Ten years of research by the author is a fair guide to the amount of information contained in this book. The 31st Georgia, part of "Stonewall" Jackson's legendary foot cavalry saw action in almost every major battle in the eastern theatre. Mr White's research covers not just the battles, and the commanders of the 31st (most notably John Gordon) but also many personal details of the humble private. A fitting finale is a comprehensive roster of the regiment with as many details of each member as the author has been able to find - including in many places the date of death for those that survived. I really enjoyed all of this book - the author's research has led to a fine regimental history.
Book Description
The Jewish Radical Right is the first comprehensive analysis of Zionist Revisionist thought in the 1920s and 1930s, and of its ideological legacy in modern-day Israel. The Revisionists, under the leadership of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, offered a radical view of Jewish history and a revolutionary vision for its future. Using new archival material, Eran Kaplan examines the intellectual and cultural origins of the Zionist and Israeli Right, when Revisionism evolved into one of the most important movements in the Zionist camp. He presents revisionism as a form of integral nationalism, rooted in an ontological monism and intellectually related to the radical right-wing ideologies that flourished in the early twentieth century. Kaplan provocatively suggests that revisionism's legacies can be found both in the right-wing policies of Likud and in the heart of Post Zionism and its critique of mainstream (Labor) Zionism.
Published with support from the Koret Jewish Studies Program
Book Description
Americans have been conditioned to appreciate, cheer, and serve economic growth. Brian Czech argues that, while economic growth was a good thing for much of American history, somewhere along the way it turned bad, depleting resources, polluting the environment, and threatening posterity. Yet growth remains a top priority of the public and polity. In this revolutionary manifesto, Czech knocks economic growth off the pedestal of American ideology. Seeking nothing less than a fundamental change in public opinion, Czech makes a bold plea for castigating society's biggest spenders and sets the stage for the "steady state revolution."
Czech offers a sophisticated yet accessible critique of the principles of economic growth theory and the fallacious extension of these principles into the "pop economics" of Julian Simon and others. He points with hope to the new discipline of ecological economics, which prescribes the steady state economy as a sustainable alternative to economic growth.
Czech explores the psychological underpinnings of our consumer culture by synthesizing theories of Charles Darwin, Thorstein Veblen, and Abraham Maslow. Speaking to ordinary American citizens, he urges us to recognize conspicuous consumers for who they are--bad citizens who are liquidating our grandkids' future. Combining insights from economics, psychology, and ecology with a large dose of common sense, Czech drafts a blueprint for a more satisfying and sustainable society. His ideas reach deeply into our everyday lives as he asks us to re-examine our perspectives on everything from our shopping habits to romance.
From his perspective as a wildlife ecologist, Czech draws revealing parallels between the economy of nature and the human economy. His style is lively, easy to read, humorous, and bound to be controversial. Czech will provoke all of us to ask when we will stop the runaway train of economic growth. His book answers the question, "How do we do it?"
Customer Reviews:
Slow down that train.......2005-11-03
This book is an excellent introduction to the steady state economy. The idea of the steady state economy has been around for decades, but I think it may finally be gaining some traction (note the recent appearance of an article by ecological economist Herman Daly in Scientific American).
Czech is a lively writer. I especially liked the chapter giving responses to the cornucopian Julian Simon's arguments. Part of the problem I see with modern environmentalism is that it spends nearly all of its time preaching to the converted, with the result that evidence and arguments against truly wrongheaded ideas don't get properly developed. This book takes on the best arguments that the mainstream economists have to offer, and demolishes them. Bravo!
I appreciated Czech's suggestion to use the phrase "economic bloating" instead of economic growth. Words do count in this kind of high-stakes contest.
Czech's ideas about using social disapproval to influence the consumption habits of the top 1% of society (the liquidating class) are interesting. I like the fact that it puts the influence of women on public opinion front and center. Whether it will really work or not, I'm not sure, but it might be worth trying.
Czech talks about investment being bad because it will just waste more. I don't agree with this. I think the problem is that due to the enormous externalities in our economic system, resources are not being allocated correctly. This is what causes the waste, not investment as such. Investment in something that will provide long-lasting benefits or help in the conversion to a steady-state economy is GOOD, not bad. Czech also contrasts "bad" investment with "good" contributions to charity. I think he is correct that charity is more likely to benefit society, but this is not always true. Some charities engage in poorly-thought-out schemes that only encourage population growth beyond what an area can sustain. This helps no one in the long run.
This book does more harm than good.......2004-10-25
While the first part of the book provides compelling reasons for re-examining how we view economic policy, you can find all the same arguments better explained within the introduction of Herman Daly's excellent book Beyond Growth. Czech adds nothing to Daly in repeating him, and the second part of Czech's book is dangerous in its ignorance. Czech basically says that the more something costs, the more it wastes; and therefore the best thing to do to stop waste is to villify spending. He gives several extravagant examples of luxury by members of the upper classes as proof that they waste far more per capita than normal people and thus (psychological) class warfare (though he doesn't call it that) is the answer to our environmental problems.
There are SO many things wrong with this view. First, a $100 bottle of wine doesn't waste any more or less than a $6 bottle of wine, nor does more expensive organic produce cause more environmental damage than cheaper conventional produce (quite the opposite). Did Czech entirely miss Daly's explanation of the difference between quantity/growth and quality/development? Second, if the large estates that Czech chides the upper classes for saves trees and land from cookie-cutter suburban housing developments, I for one am all for them (i.e. the large estates). Third, villifying *anyone* as part of the ecological economics revolution is counter-productive, particularly in that blaming the rich for their waste ignores the hideous waste of the lower classes themselves. (So richer people have more boats, perhaps, but what classes are more likely to have a beat-up car that leaves trails of grey exhaust?) Taking personal responsibility for the greater good is key to reaching a solution -- not passing blame on others. If, for instance, ecological damage (in production, use, and disposal) is taken into account in pricing goods and services (with the proper funds going toward mitigation of the damages rather than general government coffers), then it doesn't matter WHO is doing the purchasing. Czech presents good arguments for fundamental economic reforms; but these arguments are better presented elsewhere, and Czech's proposed solutions are quite awful indeed.
Another important clue in uncovering the world we live in.......2004-05-03
Brian has really impressed with his thoughtful analysis of our economy from both an intellectual and spirtual viewpoint. Unfortunately, none of this can be easily proved, but that is the case with the most important things in our lives, all of which have a spirtual base (religion, our role in society, role in the family, etc.).
Brian has uncovered and clarified issues which have probably been rolling around in the back of many of our minds, for example the link between Darwinism, Maslow's heirarchy, and sexuality. (The real spirit of how things work is deeply embedded in our passions, sexuality, etc, and we must uncover these things to get to the root of all critical life issues). He also proposed a viewpoint of the role of the wealthy in our society, how their behavior impacts our economny and ecology, and how we all are capable of the same behavior if we had a few more dollars in our pocket, so perhaps a little better understanding of each other across "classes" is in order.
Brian only loosely alluded to the role of addiction in the behavior of the wealthy (e.g. if you have a hundred million dollars, why do you need more, what are you trying to prove, and aren't you in a position to exercize the most important human / spirtual values?). Perhaps a closer look at the role of addiction and prevalance of addictive behaviors and how they contribute to "success" and sustain destructive behaviors and ego based delusions at the expense of a more spirtual well roundedness would be in order.
Brian makes an excellent point about how a real solution requires a change in the mindset of the populace (very Jeffersonian) to be more aware and more involved in solving these problems, however he falls short with solid solutions. But then again, maybe there are no simple solutions. This book is about awareness, and it does a great job at it.
Part I by itself would have earned 5 stars.......2004-01-04
The first 106 pages of the book are well written and present a number of interesting notions about the dangers of our society's high regard for economic growth. Czech's arguments against the practicality of infinite growth (even though it may be theoretically possible according to neoclassical economists) are clear and well documented.
The underlying theme of the book is that neoclassical economists support a theory that the economy can sustain infinite growth, while the ecological economists claim that at some point, the growth will inevitably slow and then stop (more likely crash) because it is impossible in practicality to sustain growth forever. The book starts off with some interesting points about economic growth and sustainability in Part I, and then goes off the deep end in Part II as the author shares his proposed plan for achieving a 'steady-state economy.'
The plan in a nutshell: everyone should live very modestly, regardless of their income level, and whenever they notice someone else spending more money than they feel is necessary, they should immediately judge them and try to shame them into changing their ways. The goal is for society to become repulsed by conspicuous consumption to the extent that those in the financial top 1% of society are pressured to reform themselves and give their extra money away to those in need.
Although Part I is good enough to justify the purchase price, I would recommend skipping Part II in its entirety.
Rampant overspending begins with buying this book.......2003-11-19
I was drawn to this book after it was suggested as an alternative here at Amazon to a so-called "perpetual growth" tome (a book, by the way, that actually points to no such thing), but I've decided against buying Czech's book for fear of becoming an overspent American. Sorry, but I'm not contributing to the royalty check of Czech.
Books:
- THE LANDED GENTRY, PASSIONS AND PERSONALITIES INSIDE AMERICA'S PROPERTIED CLASS
- The Life and Legend of Jay Gould
- The Lil' Bow Wow Scrapbook
- The Man Who Tried to Buy the World: Jean-Marie Messier and Vivendi Universal
- The Merrill studies in The bridge (Charles E. Merrill program in American literature)
- The Mystery of B. Traven
- The Passions of Howard Hughes
- The Person Who Changed My Life: Prominent Americans Recall Their Mentors
- The Rescue of Captain Scott
- The Richest Girl in the World: Athina Onassis Roussel : The Onassis Family Legacy
Books Index
Books Home
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- Applied Numerical Methods with MATLAB for Engineers and Scientists
- Biology, Sixth Edition
- THE PINE BARRENS. A PRELIMINARY ECOLOGICAL INVENTORY.
- Andrew Carnegie: Robber Baron as American Hero
- Morphological studies of the Kallymeniaceae
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Edition
In My Father's Name
Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm
The Great Thirst: Californians and Water-A History, Revised Edition
Privileged Son: Otis Chandler and the Rise and Fall of the L.A. Times Dynasty
