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Trustee For A City: Ralph Lowell of Boston
Mark I. Gelfand
Manufacturer: Northeastern
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ASIN: 1555533698 |
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When Baseball Was Fun: A Baseball Memoir
Bobby Hoeft
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
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ASIN: 1401045154 |
Book Description
From the publishers of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World
"A Tourist's Best Friend!"
—Chicago Sun-Times
"Indispensable"
—The New York Times
The Top 5 Ways The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World(r) with Kids Can Help You Have the Perfect Trip:
- Comments and tips on Walt Disney World from surveys of more than 12,500 families
- Advice on how to prepare mentally, physically, and logistically for your ideal Walt Disney World vacation
- Information on which attractions frighten kids and why
- When to go, where to stay, and how to beat the crowds
- How to keep your family happy on vacation and how to return home rested and relaxed
Sample Rating
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Appeal by Age Pre-school Grade school
Teens Young adults Over 30 Seniors
What it is Disneyfied midway ride. Scope and scale Minor attraction. Fright potential A tame midway ride; a great favorite of most young children. Bottleneck rating 10. When to go Before 10 a.m. or after 9 p.m. Author's rating An attractive children's ride; .... Duration of ride 1.5 minutes. Average wait in line per 100 people ahead of you 20 minutes. Loading speed Slow.
Customer Reviews:
Make your Day!.......2007-05-11
The unofficial guide to Walt Disney World with Kids.
This guidebook is full of information, funny in tone yet a real tool for anyone who understands that planning is the most essential step when preparing to travel. When I started to read The unofficial guide to Walt Disney World with Kids, I felt overwhelmed by the density of the information because it was not immediately clear how to approach it. Clearly I was not going to read every single word. After all it IS a guide book. But to determine its value as a guide book meant not only that it be well researched and relatively timely; but also that its content be accessible for the enjoyment of a wide cross section of prospective readers who travel with kids--grandparents, single parents, blended families.
Notwithstanding fluctuations in Disney prices which could affect the accuracy of fees mentioned, the essential information compiled by the authors can withstand the test of time. They have done all the research and walked at least a mile in the reader's shoes: compiled websites, identified pertinent telephone numbers, reviewed budget, weighed housing options inside and outside DW, and considered babysitting options. They have even included a selection of dining options with commentary prepared by travelers others than the authors. All this while holding the reader's hand on a visit to each of the theme parks. Each park and even the characters inside the park are discussed with clip out touring plans included. I especially liked the discussion of age appropriateness as it relates to attractions, a concern for mixed age groups.
There's more than enough information for a huge variety of people to wrap their heads around. And not just those traveling with kids. I thought the funny images of Liliane, juxtaposed with Bob on a bicycle and the input from the teen (Idan) and tween (Ian) make this a book that all ages can use to prepare for a trip to Disney World. I mean, really, what`s not to like?
Moe than a travel book - a fun read.......2007-05-05
I have never had any desire to visit Disney World, until I read this book. In addition to the many choices you have for hotels and dining, I particularly found the "tips" to be very useful. As far as the prices - I never rely on published books: it has been my experience that prices are hardly ever the same no matter how "fresh" the book.
What I particularly liked about this book was the fact that you can engage a child to read through it with you, as you plan your trip. They can read the passages written by the kids in the book. This is a fun way to get your kids involved in planning the trip.
A great read even if you don't go to Disney World. Travel books should not be a step-by-step guide to what you should do on vacation. One should explore and decide what is appropriate on one's own. A travel book should be entertaining and kindle the desire to visit a place. This is just that kind of book!
Great book.......2007-05-01
I've used versions of this book every year for the past 5 years and it has proved invaluable. I have always found their information up to date and if it isn't it's because Disney is constantly changing their rules/hours/number of days to call in advance for reservations etc., etc., etc. It has definitely helped me find the best hotels, restaurants and things like tips on where to sit for parades and what time to get there (and if you've ever been to a parade at Disney, you know just how rough it can get).
As far as ride reviews, all kids are different as to how they react to rides. They also have a website you can subscribe to to get up to the minute info and it's cheaper than many other similar sites. As far as who writes the book, one review was so off base. They have many researchers, former Disney employees, they solicit opinions from the public. It is not just one woman and 2 kids as suggested, which of course would be ridiculous. I mean what publisher would put out a book like that?
Bottom line, a great book I've used for years and you can't beat the price.
Unreliable.......2007-04-25
Very thin about attractions, shows or other things of interest to kids and parents. More of a book about parenting methods and the authors thoughts about whether or not your family should go to Disney. According to its Introduction it's written by a woman who lives in New York City with opinions from a 16-year-old boy in New York, a 12-year-old boy from Tampa and a 8-year-old in North Carolina. Why these people would be qualified to write a book about Disney World it doesn't say. At first glance there seems to be good information in here, but whenever I knew about a particular thing I noticed this book doesn't know what it's talking about. For example, though my copy is the 5th edition, published 2007, I learned the hard way that the ticket prices quoted for the Cirque du Soliel show are two years out of date. Also the book says the resorts within walking distance of Epcot are "a long way away." We stayed at the Beach Club. It's right next door! Big parts of this book are simply lifted from the regular Unofficial Guide, The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2007 (Unofficial Guides).
A more reliable kid-focused book is Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids, by Kids 2007 (Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids By Kids).
A better book about Disney World is The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World.
Outdated, too many parenting tips, not enough park tips.......2007-03-29
I tried to read this book, but ended up returning it... I couldn't find a lot of good Disney information. It read more like a "Tips on Parenting your Child" rather than a "How to Enjoy Disney World with Kids" kind of book. In particular, the information about Cinderella's Royal Table is very outdated. They now open reservations 180 days before your scheduled visit (the book says 90) and the only open a percentage of them them. A large percentage, granted, but they hold some tables which they gradually release over time. It's no longer a Mad Telephone Dash at 7AM EST and several prayers to your chosen diety to get a table on your chosen day. This bad information was the last straw, and why I returned the book.
Customer Reviews:
Walt's World.......2002-03-05
Walt Disney lives.
No, I'm not talking about the urban legend about him being cryogenically sealed and stashed below the Pirates of the Caribbean exhibition. Nor is this some soft New Ageism about spirits inhabiting the celestial plane.
He's alive down on a plot of land outside of Orlando, Florida, a boom city that was a dumpy little crossroad when Walt began buying what became a 30,000-acre spread there is the late 1960s.
Walt's gone, but his vision and energy lives on, and once you start dipping into "Since the World Began," you'll see that the scope of his vision is nothing short of awesome.
There are many faces of Disney, the producer of family-friendly and highly profitable movies, the creator of family-friendly theme parks, but also a visionary who thought that, as one associate put it, "bad information was responsible for all the evil in the world." Who tried to change people's attitudes within the confines of an amusement park, the man whose idealism spawned the Epcot center, and under Michael Eisner, the Disney Institute, where education and learning are on a par with entertainment.
What the book won't tell you -- this is published by Hyperion, Disney's publishing arm, and written by Jeff Kurtti, a longtime Disney employee -- is just what hell Walt went through to realize his vision. You won't hear of Disney's fundamentalist upbringing, his retreat into fantasy to escape a brutal father and life in poverty, his endless hard work to make animated movies, his multiple nervous breakdowns. His brother Roy is idealized as the business brain behind Walt's success, but you won't hear that Roy constantly opposed Disney's ideas as a waste of money. When Kurtti writes that Disney founded the design firm Walt Disney Imagineering in 1952 "because he realized that he wouldn't be able to create Disneyland within the boundaries of the studio system," he doesn't mention that it was also because Roy and the Disney board refused to advance Walt the money to design Disneyland, fearing that it would be a failure.
There was plenty of reason for Roy to be worried, too. Disney's ideas constantly threw the company perilously close to bankruptcy, generally on the order of every 18 months, until Disney's deal with ABC in 1955 made him very wealthy and put the company on a firm financial footing. Walt Disney was an idealist and a visionary, and if it wasn't for his tenacity, the company would not be the worldwide giant it is today.
Even while ignoring those shadings, there is still plenty of story left to make "Since the World Began" an awe-inspiring overview of Walt Disney World. It's probably the single largest and most complex construction project this side of the space shuttle. Its statistics are jaw-dropping: 55 miles of canals and levees were built to control the water levels, nine acres of underground corridors thread through the park, housing sewer lines, pipes and cables, and a pneumatic system for hauling trash, 60,000 plants and 800 varieties of trees acquired, moved and transplanted to build the park, 100,000 pounds of linen had to be washed every day.
As befitting its creator, the theme park was ahead of its time in its use of innovative technology. WDW was also the first area to implement 911 service in Florida, the first commercial venture to use fiber optic cables, the first telephone system using underground cable instead of overhead wires.
But the park was also a reflection of Walt Disney's vision of a global coming together of different peoples and cultures, learning about each other and attempting to find and enjoy peace as a result. It's globalization with a human face, to borrow someone else's phrase, and even if it seems outdated or even impossible in this post-9/11 world, Walt's beliefs is a hopeful and sustaining vision, and as American as the culture from which it sprang.
The Ultimate Book for the Disney Fanatic!.......2001-04-30
Wow, wow, wow what a great book depicting the history of the number one vacation spot on the planet. I actually bought this book when it came out about 5 years ago. After reading it, I decided I'm going back to Dinsey World to celebrate its 25th birthday. Needless, to say it was a great trip. This is the book for all you wanting to know about Dinsey World History. For Dinseyland I would reccommend Disneyland: Inside Story, but getting on of those under... is a hard task.... What are you waiting for, buy this book! Get ready to experience the magic!
An in-depth look at Disney history.......2000-11-23
The author dives into the nuts and bolts of Disney history, including the formation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District and Disney's unique infrastructure. Yet the book isn't bogged down with technical, intricate details. Any Disney fan should enjoy reading about the Imagineering behind all four Florida parks' concepts, the hidden meanings of the names on Main Street's second floor windows, the transformation of Tomorrowland, ad infinitum. I received the book as a gift in 1996 and I've enjoyed reading through it several times.
Best book on Walt Disney World.......1999-09-12
This is a very good book on Walt Disney World. It is far superior to the 20th Anniversary Book "Walt Disney World 20 Magical Years". Although, many of the pictures are the same, there are alot more in Since the World Began.
In addition, this book provides much more information on the creation of the park. Still the best book on the creation of the Disney theme parks is "Disneyland: Inside Story" by Randy Bright. Since this is out of print, Walt Disney World 20 Magical Years is a good choice.
Best book on Walt Disney World.......1999-09-12
This is a very good book on Walt Disney World. It is far superior to the 20th Anniversary Book "Walt Disney World 20 Magical Years". Although, many of the pictures are the same, there are alot more in Since the World Began.
In addition, this book provides much more information on the creation of the park. Still the best book on the creation of the Disney theme parks is "Disneyland: Inside Story" by Randy Bright. Since this is out of print, Walt Disney World 20 Magical Years is a good choice.
Average customer rating:
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Tiffany Turtle Paper Doll (Dover Little Activity Books)
Judy M. Johnson
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0486266230 |
Book Description
One petite doll with eight outfits: pinafore, floor-length gown, lacy dress, five others.
Book Description
Ready to learn the visual effects secrets used at such leading-edge studios as Industrial Light + Magic and The Orphanage? Adobe After Effects 6.5 Studio Techniques inspires you to take your work to the next level with realworld examples and insider techniques. Get blockbuster results without the big budget as you delve deep into the essence of visual effects. This book goes beyond conventional step-by-step instruction, teaching you bread-and-butter effects that you can adapt and combine for countless projects.
• Real solutions from real professionals: Nobody does it better, and now they’ll show you how. Discover the keys to analyzing your shots from Stu Maschwitz, Visual Effects Supervisor for Star Wars, Episode One and Sin City. Unlock the mysteries of linear color space with Brendan Bolles, co-creator of the eLin plug-ins. Master fundamental effects techniques with Mark Christiansen, After Effects specialist for The Orphanage on The Day After Tomorrow.
• Compositing essentials: No matter how sophisticated the effect, they all start from the same building blocks. Find out what you’ve been missing about color and light matching, keying, motion tracking, rotoscoping, working with film, and more.
• Advanced techniques: Your goal should be effects so good that no one notices them. From sky replacement to explosions, from smoke to fire, learn to bring your shots to life and enhance scenes without anyone ever knowing what they’re seeing isn’t 100% real.
• Companion CD-ROM: Professional tools produce professional results. Demo versions of plug-ins from Andersson Technologies, Red Giant Software, Frischluft, and Trapcode will enhance your work. Stop relying on ready-made solutions and pre-built effects. Learn how to build up and customize your own effects with the tools at hand–you’ll be amazed at how much better the results look!
Customer Reviews:
Well written and insightful.......2007-03-21
I have only read half of the book so far but the author writes in a very straightforward manner that makes sense. He provides a high level of concepts then gives practical uses in AE. He also doesn't try to be funny or cute - which many authors of AE manuals attempt, but fail miserably and ultimately hurt the effectiveness of the material.
Exploring After Effects techniques.......2006-02-27
The Adobe After Effects Studio techniques book takes you in a tour to explore what is inside this magnificent program and how to use its capabilities in creating video effects.
The book focused on the video production techniques. The first section introduces the program and its working foundations. While the second section concerns with the effects composting, the third section talks about how to work with light, air, water, smoke, clouds and fire effects.
The book level is for intermediate/ advanced. So, you need to have a background about the After Effects to enjoy reading this book.
Exploring After Effects techniques.......2006-02-27
The Adobe After Effects Studio techniques book takes you in a tour to explore what is inside this magnificent program and how to use its capabilities in creating video effects.
The book focused on the video production techniques. The first section introduces the program and its working foundations. While the second section concerns with the effects composting, the third section talks about how to work with light, air, water, smoke, clouds and fire effects.
The book level is for intermediate/ advanced. So, you need to have a background about the After Effects to enjoy reading this book.
great way to learn compositing in general.......2006-01-02
This book is a great intoduction into the field of Digital Compositing in general. If you already know the basics of After Effects and want to learn how to see and handle live-action footage for visual effects, this is your ultimate guide. Mark Christiansen talks, of course, a lot about the After Effects application (e.g. how to optimize the interface and your personal workflow). But there are also chapters that cover more general topics like how to match a virtual 3D camera to a real film camera, the differences between lens blur and computer generated blur, how to see and recreate light and color situations in a shot, Greenscreen Keying, Rotoscoping, specifics about working with high dynamic range images like scanned film footage and so on. I've also read parts of the famous book "The Art and Science of Digital Compositing" by Ron Brinkman, which covers a lot of simmilar issues. While Brinkman goes into a lot more theoretical details but doesn't cover specific software solutions, Christiansen matches a perfect combination between general theorie and practical application. You learn how to see images - but also how to directly manipulate them in After Effects. But a lot of the knowledge that is shown in this book, could also be used when working with other compositing systems - so it's really worth reading if you already work with After Effects, even if you want to migrate to a different software one day.
Outstanding resource. Absolutely essential if you do VFX........2005-11-11
This book concentrates on using AE for movie-quality visual effects, as opposed to motion graphics, and as such it is currently unique (but hopefully not for long!). While the author assumes a working knowledge of AE (don't look to this book for a beginner's guide), if you know your way around, he shows you some outstanding tips and techniques for creating believable, "invisible" composites. I can't praise this book highly enough.
If you do mostly motion graphics, this book won't help you. But if you do (or want to do) seamless, realistic motion picture compositing, the advice and methods described in this book are absolutely essential. It has given me a whole new respect for AE, and I'm no newbie.
Absolutely, positively essential for any AE VFX library.
Book Description
Recent efforts to restore African expression to African history have characterized of much of postcolonial historical research and writing, but questions about the use of oral sources in the quest for truth continue to plague interpreters and interpretations of the African past. AFRICAN WORDS, AFRICAN VOICES shows African historians involved with and committed to developing unique methodologies for dealing with history on their own terms. For readers at all levels, these lively and provocative essays evoke the richness and relevance of oral sources for understanding a complex past.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Oral History Review, published by Oral History Association on December 22, 2004. The length of the article is 1263 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: African Words, African Voices: Critical Practices in Oral History.(Book Review)
Author: Christopher J. Lee
Publication:
The Oral History Review (Refereed)
Date: December 22, 2004
Publisher: Oral History Association
Volume: 31
Issue: 1
Page: 83(4)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
Beginning with the development of the compass, Ruling the Waves examines a series of technological revolutions that promised, in their time, to transform the world's politics and business. With Debora Spar's gifted storytelling, each chapter reads like an adventure tale as she recounts the histories of the printing press and maps; of the telegraph, radio, and satellite television; of software, encryption, and the advent of digital music. At each of these junctures Spar suggests that invention led to both a wave of commerce and of chaos.
Entrepreneurs such as Samuel Morse and Rupert Murdoch carved new markets from the emerging technology and proclaimed that the old rules no longer applied. And for a while, they were right. But eventually--and inevitably--even cowboys need rules: rules of property, rules of coordination, rules of competition. The erstwhile pioneers thus turn to government, lobbying for order and setting the stage for the next wave of discovery.
A fascinating history of business, Ruling the Waves is also an original, thought-provoking analysis of the parallels between past innovations and inventions and our own tumultuous times.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating look at emerging technologies, commerce, and government .......2005-07-01
_Ruling the Waves_ by Debora L. Spar is a fascinating book on the history of business and politics in the fields of emerging technologies, one I honestly feel everyone should read, as it is invaluable for the sense of context and perspective it provides.
Much has been made about how truly revolutionary the internet is, how that its very existence breaks all the old rules, that it is going to steer the world towards a new social order, perhaps even sever the link between the market and the state. Many prophets have proclaimed how the internet will create a realm where government has no force, where big business is powerless, and where many things - such as music - will essentially be free.
Spar readily acknowledges that the net is indeed radical and that it will produce many changes in society, politics, government, and business. However, she sought through this book to show that the emergence of the internet is not without precedent, that it is perhaps just another arc along technology's frontier. By comparing the changes brought about by the development of transoceanic commerce during the Age of Exploration and the arrival of the telegraph, radio, satellite television, and publicly available encryption technology with the rise (and possible fall) of Microsoft (looking at both the issue of operating systems and web browsers) and the advent of MP3 technology, Spar showed how the worlds of government and commerce have coped again and again with what were at the time paradigm-shattering revolutionary developments. The end of the dominance of big business and government has been predicted several times before and in each case the prophets were wrong. In truth, there were significant changes and for a time governments were more or less powerless in some instances thanks to a gap between technology and policy, but these gaps did not last for long. While new technologies can wound government, they never kill it, and the very pirates and pioneers who for a time gleefully predicted its demise (or at least its powerlessness over them and their new realm of business) have in the end craved the stability and order offered by government. In essence, once they staked their claim in a new technological frontier, they wanted someone to protect that stake.
Each of these revolutions followed a predictable pattern as Spar brilliantly showed, beginning the book with an overview of this pattern and then in the following chapters showing how this pattern was followed in each instance (and along the way providing some fascinating history and anecdotes). The first phase is that of innovation, the stage of "tinkerers and inventors," not a phase marked by much if any commerce. It is populated by people interested in technology for its own sake, a world of fellow enthusiasts. Often in this early stage the new technology and its adherents are either largely unknown to the public or not accorded much respect. When Samuel Morse first demonstrated the telegraph to Congress in 1838, many just laughed. Generally in this stage most if not everyone involved is unaware of any real commercial use for the new technology; when the radio first appeared it was seen as perhaps a useful adjunct to the telegraph, a way to communicate with ships at sea, not as a mass market for broadcasting music.
The second phase is populated by pioneers, individuals who have moved into the new technological frontier and have seen ways to make profits - often very large profits - from the new technology, carving new empires and entire new fields of commerce where previously none had existed, out of the reach of government and existing businesses. This phase is truly frontier-like; speed is essential, as many scramble to stake their claim, the individuals in question often being quite young (Marconi was 20 when he started marketing his radio in the UK while Marc Andreessen was 23 when he founded Netscape). Pirates exist of course too, drawn by the new wealth and near complete lack of rules. There is little to stop them as public policy simply has not caught up yet with the new frontier (such as when Rupert Murdoch started to broadcast satellite TV into the tightly controlled British market in the early 1980s).
The third phase is what she termed creative anarchy. This is the stage when the pioneers, those who are seeking to make a profit, start to demand rules. Property rights for instance are not an issue in the first phase, as many early inventors -such as with the telegraph or the internet - essentially distributed their breakthroughs for free. As the technology matures and early pioneers establish profitable enterprises in the new frontier, they seek protection from the chaos and pirates of the second phase. For instance while the relatively few users of radio in the 1910s could transmit signals to their heart's content as the radio waves seemed infinite and owned by none, by the 1920s established radio stations were keen to protect their stretch of the airwaves as what had once seemed infinite was now congested and crowded and early radio stations sought to keep from being drowned out by amateurs or competing stations. Before government stepped in this new market was in danger of grinding to a halt with the constant din of rival signals. Similar problems occur over issues of coordination; whose standard is going to prevail in terms of say operating systems, and with competition, as often a single dominant pioneer emerges and creates a virtual monopoly, solving some problems but creating others (as with Western Union, Marconi, and Microsoft).
The final phase is the establishment of rules, when government reenters the scene, nearly always at the urging of the dominant companies in a new field. The original rush away from government has come full circle as "the rebels return to the state," needing the state to secure their new wealth, to enforce issues of contracts, property rights, and provisions for standardization. Spar believed that the internet will reach this phase.
The history of network monopolies (real or otherwise).......2005-05-18
Spar tries to organize her thoughts with a 'staged' scheme for technological diffusion:
1. Inventor/pioneer creates the technology
2. Merchant salesmen popularize the technology
3. Pirates then fight to monopolize the business
4. Responsible citizens call in a government regulator.
These stages are established via a cartoonish detour into 16th century piracy. Captain Kidd, Blackbeard and the British crown serve as exemplars, but it doesn't work. For a much better review of the relationship between technology, pirates and government, see 'The Governors General'.
Fortunately, things pick-up when we get to the real subject matter: electronic networks. The story really starts with Morse and his version of telegraphy. At this point, Spar can turn to the matters that really interest her: communication network regulations. The subject matter is of great interest and makes for easy reading.
This isn't a technical history as much as legal history. Spar isn't very interested in technical infrastructure, 19th century job descriptions or the evolution of technology packaging. Her interest seems to be 'good regulation'. I initially expected a broad brush history of electronic networks, but Spar is fairly selective in subjects. We only focus on monopolies, generally first established via a patent or government grant. The first is the telegraph monopoly of Morse, and the second Marconi's radio telegraphy monopoly. Neither Morse nor Marconi established long term monopolies. Later, she turns to less convincing monopolies in satellite television, computer operating systems, and music.
I remain unconvinced her stages have any predictive value. As she warms to her drama about lawyers saving America from reckless young technophiles and profiteering businessmen, her pioneer/businessman/pirate/regulator scheme become something of a moral tale, and as such is both fascinating and banal.
Spar omits any serious discussion of how networking companies used their role as 'news' distributors to secure the election of governmental figures willing to protect the corporation's economic agenda. In particular, Spar fails to investigate the role of newspapers as consumers of network services and molder of public opinion. The emergence of positive feedback loops between newspapers, political parties and network corporations never gets any attention. For example, the dictators of the 30s: Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin get little attention, but relied heavily on radio to maintain political power. One might ask if they were pirates or regulators, but the question never comes up.
How the technology was won.......2003-10-01
Professor Debrora Spar's explanation of key factors in the creation, building, and usage of key technologies over the last millineum. Her chronology starts with the beginnings of global navigation (pre Columbus) and the corresponding mayhem that ensued over the years via profit making, profiteering and pirating - all of which are not only inner-related but have gray boundaries been them. The chronology brings us through the development of communication first by telegraphy, then radio, television, cryptography, computers (a la Microsoft's trials and tribulations), internet and finally to the continuing saga of MP3 music.
The book actually opens with the story of the Vatican's dismissal of a too-liberal French bishop Jacques Gaillot to the remote Sahara outpost of Partenia. Not to be silenced, Bishop Gaillot continues his ministry and in fact expands it, by bringing his case to the internet - Partenia has thus become his soap box to be read by many more people than he ever could have reached had he be allowed to remain in France and only speak to those he came in personal contact with. Thus it has been throughout history - the new technology and the messages they carry are unstoppable.
Interwoven in this scholarly yet entertaining book are the concepts of each technologies stages of chaos, anarchy, self-regulation, deal making and deal braking, piracy, monopoly, and attempts at government control. Interestingly, in most cases the founders and early pioneers end up with little more than historical recognition.
There is no simple solution, no way to predict the future; Spar suggests a number of stages and issues that seem to repeat. Interestingly while enjoying this book, I read a paragraph to my wife, slightly changing a few of the words and leaving off a few minor details that would have given away the time and the company. Halfway through, my wife blurted out, "Oh you're talking about Microsoft!". No, the paragraph was about Western Union, the telegraph company and the time was well before the beginning of the twentieth century!
If such history appeals to you or if you're interested in some clues of how technologies mature, this is an excellent book.
Great book.......2003-04-09
Ruling the Waves: Cycles of Discovery, Chaos, and Wealth from the Compass to the Interne by Debora L. Spar's is a interesting and exceptionally well-written description of the practices in which new technologies create innovative markets, which in turn urge demand for new policy, standards, and possession rights to govern them. Sketching on the work of financial historian Douglass North, Spar argues that with no rules business cannot flourish. Ruling the Waves shows the accounts the growth of a number of technologies that were innovative in their time from progresses in navigation and shipbuilding that made nautical journeys feasible in the fifteenth century, to telegraphy in the nineteenth century, to radio in the twentieth century, digital television and satellite, encryption technologies and the Internet, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Net browsers, and MP3 online music technology.
In telling these stories, the author puts newer technologies, like MP3 and the interne t, in historical perspective. Sailing voyages opened the unexplored surface of the high seas to market pirates and pioneers alike, but finally the great trading governments and companies were able to nearly abolish the curse of piracy by defining and banning the practices and impose these laws. Ruling the Waves disputes rules to classify foul and fair play, principles, and possession rights.
Spar depicts four stages in the expansion of new markets and technologies: commercialization, rules, innovation, creative and anarchy. Her example demonstrates how these stages have showed diverse innovations and in different industries, as well as the relationship between government and business in the creation of new companies. Spar talks about the problems of congestion, coordination, or monopoly that have occurred in some of these new corporations and explains how these problems were dealt with. In some cases, new regulations had to be fashioned for new markets, such as the government's licensing and portion of radio frequencies, while in other, old policies were practical to new innovations, such as the claim of United States antitrust law in United States v Microsoft.
The narratives themselves are fascinating, and Spar is a exceptionally good quality narrator. Her style is dynamic, clever, and handy throughout the book. Ruling the Waves is enjoyable, while making a intuitive, stylish, and persuasive argument about what happens when technology soar in advance of existing law and how policies often get shaped in new corporations because industry wants them. The book is extensive in range and covers a lot of accounts, but still offers quite in depth accounts of how the technologies and markets developed. Spar also centers on the character, innovators, pioneers, and pirates, and their particular tales, victories, and the unsuccessful from Samuel Morse, to Prince Henry of Portugal, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, and a number of others. Ruling the Waves is a fantastic book for a person interested in the growth new technologies, the roles of government and industry in influential new markets, the political history of technology.
Ruling the Waves.......2003-01-06
An excellent, well-researched account of the recurring patterns that accompany technological development. This book is short on lofty, meaningless predictions on the digital age and long on meaningful insight into the struggles between the commercial and government sectors that usually shape new technologies.
Book Description
For decades, Robert Ballard has pursued a dual career as a marine scientist and a pioneering discoverer, locating scores of wrecks all over the world, including the Titanic and the battleship Bismarck. In this lavishly illustrated chronicle, he uses his most exciting dives as starting points for an odyssey through time, tracing the evolution of ships and navigation from the first reed boats to the nuclear submarines of today.
Ballard tells of plunging 12,000 feet to the floor of the Atlantic and finding new life in the superheated water around active volcanoes on the Pacific Seabed. Readers join a team of technicians on the bridge of a research ship as they “fly” a state-of-the-art, unmanned submersible over the Titanic's ghostly hull.
But this book does much more than chronicle Ballard's unique experiencesãit provides an illuminating history of humankind's relationship with the ocean. Along with the giants of modern undersea exploration—Cousteau, Beebe, Piccard—he introduces the storied seamen of the past, form the ancient Phoenicians to such greats as Magellan, Columbus, and Cook.
Capturing the irresistible lure of the sea in lively text and 200 vivid illustrations, this is a fascinating book that combines stirring history with the excitement of discovery that Robert Ballard knows so well.
Customer Reviews:
Gifted scientist, explorer, popularizer all in one.......2002-07-14
I have known and admired Bob Ballard since his early years at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - and for good reason. Too many professional ocean scientists tut tut Ballard as a showman (the same was done more cuttingly to Capt. Jacques Yves Cousteau by French scientists). But Ballard's scientific achievements alone put him among the scientific elite had he never taken a step as a popularizer. Thank God he left the ivory tower and used his incredible gifts to utilize and innovate with ocean technology. Without him finding the Titanic, Bismarck, and PT 109 would have been unlikely for reasons of both cost and extreme logistic difficulty.
The recognition that no-oxygen, hydrogen sulfide deeps of the Black sea preserved many important ancient wrecks and hold untold insights for future study of the past opens up breathtaking future vistas. Ballard is an optimist and an idealist. His Jason project, bringing tens or even hundreds of thousands of school kids into ocean exploration is an island of healthy excitement into an otherwise discouraging educational world in the U.S.
Ballard can be interesting talking about rigging or paint cans. I don't know how he does it. He's an inspiration and role model, and deserves the Nation's highest civilian honor. I hope he achieves it while still vigorously at work creating more excitement and knowledge of our ocean realm!
Book Description
This digital document is an article from NotiSur - South American Political and Economic Affairs, published by Latin American Data Base/Latin American Institute on November 8, 2002. The length of the article is 858 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: CHILE: EFFORTS TO SLOW DESTRUCTION OF NATIVE FOREST TARGET U.S. CONSUMERS.
Publication:
NotiSur - South American Political and Economic Affairs (Newsletter)
Date: November 8, 2002
Publisher: Latin American Data Base/Latin American Institute
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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