Economic Change and the National Question in Twentieth-Century Europe

Book Description

There can be no doubt about the enduring significance and the immense historical impact of the national question, yet its economic dimension has been little examined. This volume deals with the national question in the light of economic change in the twentieth-century, and contains twenty studies by a team of distinguished authors on nations and nationalities spanning Europe from Ireland to Russia and from Greece to Estonia. The volume will aid our understanding of the modern national question against the changing economic, social and political background.

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The authors in this collection of essays address the largely neglected but significant economic aspects of the national question in its historical context during the course of the twentieth century. There exists a large gap in our understanding of the historical relationship between the 'national question' and economic change. Above all, there is insufficient knowledge about the economic dimension of the historical experience with regard to the former multi-national states, such as the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia; and equally too little is known about the economic component of national tensions and conflicts in bilingual Belgium or Finland, or the multilingual Spain or Switzerland. At the same time as emphasis is placed on the complex relationships between the economy and society in individual European countries, questions of state, identity, language, religion and racism as instruments of economic furtherance are at the centre of the contributors' attention.

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The most controversial section of this ringing denunciation of corporate law is that on tort reform, which Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate and 1996 Green Party Presidential candidate, and Wesley J. Smith denounce as "tort deform" measures sure to further insulate corporations from the damage wrought by pollution and dangerous products. But Nader has never shied from controversy, and this series of case studies attacks confidential settlements in injury cases, state ethics boards, and links between high-power corporate lawyers and government officials with an equal measure of indignation and reformist zeal.

Book Description

The legal rights of Americans are threatened as never before. In No Contest, Ralph Nader and Wesley J. Smith reveal how power lawyers--Kenneth Starr perhaps the most notorious among them--misuse and manipulate the law at the expense of fairness and equity. Nader and Smith document how corporate lawyers

  File baseless lawsuits

  Use court secrecy to their unfair advantage

  Engage in billing fraud

Nader and Smith sound the warning that this system-wide abuse is eroding our basic legal rights, and propose a positive, commonsense vision of what should be done to reverse the corporate-inspired corruption of civil justice. Timely, incisive, and highly readable, this is a book for all citizens who believe that prompt access to justice is the backbone of democracy, and a precious right to be reclaimed.

Customer Reviews:

Essential for lawyers or anyone interested in justice.......2003-03-28

This is one of my favorite books I've read in recent years. It opens your eyes to the horrible tactics used by corporate lawyers to deny victims their full day in court. Also, Nader and Smith present bulletproof arguments against tort reform. You will learn a TON by reading this.

Required Reading for Law Students.......2001-06-12

As a law student, I have to say that this should be on every law students "must-read" list! Nader and Smith clearly describe the hardball ruthless tactics used by today's corporate lawyers. This is not the kind of stuff they teach you in law school!

It took real guts and courage to expose the unethical tactics used by too many lawyers today, and I'm grateful that they did so. Highly recommended.

THOSE SUE-HAPPY CORPORATIONS.......2000-07-03

Beware of the multinational corporations. Not only do they stick it to the taxpayers in forms of bailouts, tax "incentives", and other similar accounts recievable, they are quite willing to stick it to citizens in court and screw up the meaning of the word "due process" in America and the world. A sad commentary on our justice system but a MUST READ.

important.......1998-03-28

No Contest book by Ralph Nader and Wesley Smith.... In their book No Contest by Ralph Nader and Wesley J. Smith, the authors give a series of examples about law at the corporate level. Many of their examples deal with wronged individuals suing a corporation. Frequently the plaintiffs are frustrated by a series of delays, misrepresentations, intentional misunderstandings, and multiple appeals. The judges do not discipline the lawyers, at least not to any effective extent, and the judges do not throw out frivolous motions. The judges tend to side with big law firms and with clever lines of reasoning, and not with the plaintiff. The original plaintiff injury, such as a wrongful death due to negligent corporate behavior, is forgotten in the mire of lawyer activity, and the judges fail to consider the need for relief of the plaintiff, without further anguishing delay. The plaintiff is faced with interminable costs and tedious delays without relief. There is no doubt reform is needed. ................ For a remedy, authors Nader and Wesley suggest an Appleseed Foundation, formed of local community volunteer groups, together with some overseeing coordinating committees. They mention Harvard graduates as playing a prominent behind the scenes part in overseeing reform. .............. The problem with this approach is: first, volunteerism, presumably without pay, is insufficient motivation to overcome such entrenched and profitable bad habits. Second, it is not clear just what specific steps these groups should recommend, other than complain, and point out injustices of which many persons are already aware. . Third, there are already volunteer groups (I have a list of over 20) around the country who are angry with their treatment by the law and yet who have not been able to bring about a change in habits.

Critical look at corporate law and our legal system.......1997-02-11

A detailed and methodical look at corporate lawyer's corruption of our legal system. The book explains all relevant terms, cites numerous fascinating examples, and suggests ways that the public and the Bar can improve today's legal system without tipping the scales of justice toward those with the most money. An easy read

No Contest - Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America

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No Contest - Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America
Ralph and Smith, Wesley J. Nader
Manufacturer: New York: Random House, 1996
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NXI2SG

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No Contest, Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America
Ralph and Wesley J. Smith Nader
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J0LF3M

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No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America
Ralph, and Wesley J. Smith Nader
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J0K9VG

No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America. (book reviews): An article from: Trial

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No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America. (book reviews): An article from: Trial
Larry S. Stewart
Manufacturer: Association of Trial Lawyers of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Trial, published by Association of Trial Lawyers of America on January 1, 1997. The length of the article is 1062 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: No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America. (book reviews)
Author: Larry S. Stewart
Publication: Trial (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 1997
Publisher: Association of Trial Lawyers of America
Volume: 33 Issue: n1 Page: 72(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

CORPORATE LAWYERS AND THE PERVERSION OF JUSTICE IN AMERICA: NO CONTEST

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CORPORATE LAWYERS AND THE PERVERSION OF JUSTICE IN AMERICA: NO CONTEST
Ralph and Smith, Wesley J. Nader
Manufacturer: Random House New York
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IWV4GO

Book Description

The subject matter discussed in this report was originally published under the title of "Managing the Farm Supply Business." After several years of use by extension specialists as well as by college-level classroom instructors, it became clear that it could be effectively applied to other forms of agribusines as well. Hence, it has been revised and issued under its present, broader title.

The original report was based on an intensive study and assessment of management strengths and weaknesses in local farm supply operations. The results of this assessment revealed 23 areas of substantial management weakness, of which the 10 most critical were selected for particular consideration. These are the areas discussed here.

The material presented is designed primarily for use by teachers. The intention of this text is to provide a general framework to be used by the instructor according to the level of sophistication of his audience.

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Managing the agribusiness firm: Ten areas (Special report)
Robert A Willson
Manufacturer: University of Minnesota, Agricultural Extension Service
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007F48TW

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The theory of solutions of high polymers
A. R Miller
Manufacturer: Clarendon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General & Reference | Chemistry | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006ARXZO

Book Description

Beginning on the 18th of March, 1905,at approximately eight week intervals, the noted German physics journal Annalen der Physik received three hand-written manuscripts from a relatively unknown patent examiner in Bern. The patent examiner was the twenty-six year old Albert Einstein and the three papers would set the agenda for twentieth century physics. A fourth short paper was received by the journal on the 27th of September. It contained Einstein's derivation of the formula E=mc ². These papers with their many technological ramifications changed our lives in the twentieth century and beyond. While to a professional physicist the mathematics in these papers is quite straight forward, the ideas behind the mathematics are not. In fact, none of Einstein's contemporaries fully understood what he had done. The goal of this book is to make these ideas accessible to a general reader with no more mathematics than one learns in high school.

PRAISE FOR BOOK:

"With wonderfully chosen digressions and some sophisticated physics plus the minimum amount of math to support it, Jeremy Bernstein has produced a charming account of Einstein’s epoch-making papers of 1905. Here is surely the thinking person’s guide to Einstein’s ‘Miracle Year."

—Owen Gingerich, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Author, The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus

"Why are physicists celebrating the centenary of Einstein’s miracle year? In this gem of a book—and in simple words—Bernstein explains how young Albert, in that one year, set the foundation to a century of progress in physics."

—Sheldon L. Glashow, Winner of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics, Professor, Boston University

Customer Reviews:

Interesting Information Centering on Einstein's 1905 Papers.......2007-03-02

The author of this book is a gifted writer. His clarity of expression is significantly above average. In this book, he discusses both historical issues as well as very technical ones, all pertaining to Einstein's 1905 papers. The historical snippets, which include several mini-biographies of various scientists, make for extremely pleasant reading. On the other hand, regarding the technical discussions, we have what I perceive as a mixed bag: some of them are quite clear from beginning to end, while others, although they start off very clear, seem to be missing a few important details before their conclusions are suddenly presented. Consequently, readers who want to learn some of the technical details on special relativity, etc., while minimizing their likelihood of becoming confused, should look elsewhere; there are many excellent books at all levels on these topics. On the positive side, this book does have a lot of information that would not likely be included in, say, a textbook; thus, it would likely complement a more technical source very nicely. Unfortunately, the book contains many typographical errors that, in the long run, can become quite annoying. But overall, this is a pleasant read, although it can be heavy going at times. This book would likely appeal to science buffs who are more interested in science history than in complete, although popularized, scientific expositions of Einstein's 1905 papers.

Not for the mathematically challenged.......2006-06-30

The arguements are not as simple to follow as claimed.

Bernstein: Secrets of the Old One.......2006-05-20

I just read this book and very much enjoyed it. I am a theoretical physicist and last year gave several public lectures on Einstein's work of 1905. I wish I had had this book at hand then. It "suffers" the "Adam and Eve problem", as my sister and I used to denote my father's approach to answering our questions: Bernstein starts way at the beginning and gives a lot of physics background to the questions Einstein tackled. I believe this gives a much deeper and enjoyable understanding. I even learned some new things about Copernicus. The treatment of relativity is very lucid and I think at an excellent level for the general public. Bernstein uses some high-school math but nothing beyond using the Pythagorean theorem for the distance between two points. This enables him to capture the essence and also the profundity of Einstein's arguments. It is fair to say that without math one will always only scratch the surface. I was surprised to see how well Bernstein could explain the content of the relativity with so little math.

The only down side of the book is that there is a fair number of typos in the second half, which will hopefully be corrected in the second edition.

Events of 1905.(Secrets of the Old One: Einstein, 1905)(It's About Time: Understanding Einstein's Relativity)(Book review) : An article from: American Scientist

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Events of 1905.(Secrets of the Old One: Einstein, 1905)(It's About Time: Understanding Einstein's Relativity)(Book review) : An article from: American Scientist

Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Science & Technology | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books

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Ingeborg Bachmann's Telling Stories: Fairy-Tale Beginnings and Holocaust Endings (Studies in Austrian Literature, Culture, and Thought)
Kirsten A. Krick-Aigner
Manufacturer: Ariadne Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Fairy Tales | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1572410965

Book Description

Although it is usually assumed that Native Americans have lost their cultural identity through modernization, some peoples have proved otherwise. Brian Hosmer explores what happened when cultural identity and economic opportunity converged among two Native American communities that used community-based industries to both generate income and sustain their cultures. Comparing a lumber business run by the Menominees of Wisconsin and a salmon cannery established by British Columbian and Alaskan Tsimshian communities known as Metlakatla, Hosmer reveals how each tribe responded to market and political forces over fifty years.

Hosmer's innovative ethnohistory recounts how these Indians used the marketplace to maintain their distinctiveness to a far greater extent than those who became wage earners in the white man's world. Hosmer shows that, by selectively incorporating elements of American capitalism into their cultural lives, the Menominees and Metlakatlans came to view modernization less as a threat to their tribal life than as a means for maintaining their independence. These tribes embraced the same market accused of hastening the demise of native societies and became comparatively successful in American terms even as they both honored fundamental values and forged new cultural identities.

Over time, these peoples came to understand how the market worked, recognized that the broader economy operated according to market principles, and learned how to adjust to it. Hosmer reveals how their strategies of "purposeful modernization" brought relative economic independence and sometimes the respect and cooperation of local and federal governments, how it helped chart a middle course between unchecked individuality and a communal ethos that might stifle economic development, and how economic development and cultural values ultimately affected one another.

American Indians in the Marketplace is a story of adaptation that acknowledges the hardship and suffering common to most Indian-white contact while emphasizing the benefits of selective modernization accompanied by a constant re-invention of tradition. It questions the victim thesis of Native American history and shows that native peoples can meet the challenges of surviving in the larger world.

This book is part of the Development of Western Resources series.

Customer Reviews:

I rediscovered the 20th century with this book!.......2002-05-10

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book because it reflected political, economic and technological changes / revolutions that have occurred in the past century. At the end of the day I found myself consumed by the book and wanting to read beyond what my eyes would allow me to do (late night reading!)

The book, at 352 pages, is deceptively small since each page is not a 6.72 x 5.58 in dimension. However, I spent a good 12-14 hours reading the book to completion as the book doesn't present pictures and tables as "filler."

If you want to learn about the most recent century this is a good book for you to read. If you want to read some good history books predating the 20th century I highly recommend 2 of Isaac Asimov's books, Chronology of the World and Chronology of Science and Discovery.

Some of the events mentioned in this book, just for reference are:

* Hitler and Germany
* Mao and his revolutions in China
* Technological innovations such as air conditioning which have caused huge changes to population movements and building construction.
* The discovery of penicillin.
* The invention of plastic.
* McNamara & The Diner's club - the first credit card.
* Cuban Missile Crisis
* Martin Luther King
* Woodstock

Anyways, I enjoyed the book but nothing presented changed my paradigm or the way I look at the world so I give it 4 stars out of 5. The book was truly interesting for those who simply want to get a better grasp of what an amazing century it truly was. Think about this...The automobile, plane and highway system weren't around before this century. Just think about the implications that those 3 items have had on your life and business as we know it, on a country and global basis.

An Australian perspective!.......1999-01-16

What do Leo Hendrik Baekeland, Frank X McNamara and George Kennan have in common? Along with Hitler, Stalin and Mao they have been some of the most influential people of the twentieth century. Leo, Frank and George win mentions in this book, subtitled `200 Events That Shaped the World'. Another thing they have in common is their nationality. The twentieth century has been the American age, and it's hardly surprising that of the two hundred events chosen for this book two-thirds either happened in the United States or were influenced by Americans. Baekeland gets in because he invented modern plastic. An organic chemist who was trying to clean the gunk off his chemical equipment in 1909, he called his new material Bakelite, but the name didn't stick. McNamara introduced the credit card in 1950 when he established the Diner's Club - so called because he persuaded New York restaurants to participate in the scheme. Kennan was a diplomat who published an influential essay in 1947, proposing to `contain' Communism - the term was to become a description of US foreign policy for the next forty years. Few would argue these three events should rank high in a list of important events of the past hundred years. But there are other incidents that make it into this book, and this is what makes it an engaging and fun publication - arguing why the Battle of Stalingrad should have been included, for example, at the expense of `400,000 Gather for the Woodstock Festival in Upstate New York' in 1969. Even though only 1500 people died, the authors include the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. They recognise the profound effect it had - and continues to hold - on the world: "...many saw an immense cautionary tale in the loss of this proud ship...as if the impersonal forces of nature had conspired to deflate the technological arrogance of modern civilisation, declaring that the struggle between humankind and the elements had hardly been resolved..." More contentious is including the US Congress enacting the G.I. Bill in 1944. The authors argue it was vital in kicking off a postwar boom in housing, birthrate and prosperity in America, thus helping the country to become the biggest economy in the world. And what about Louis Armstrong recording `West End Blues' in 1928? It's asserted that jazz is this century's most significant form of popular musical expression, and America's foremost cultural gift to the world. As this book confirms, it has been America's century. But is the USA in decline? One can't help wondering after inspecting the contents of this book by decade. Since 1980 eight American events are listed, and none of them are heartening: the appearance of crack cocaine, an American pesticide plant in India causes widespread death, a huge bomb explodes in Oklahoma City. Even Desert Storm has turned out to be a dubious victory. Generally the content of the chapters is well-written and informative, and in places perceptive: discussing McNamara's credit card, the authors write: "...credit cards are the plastic keys to a vast economic system - but if the key admits the bearer into the system, it also admits the system into the cardholder's life...with each swipe of the plastic, the cardholder simultaneously exercises and relinquishes a certain amount of freedom." Australia receives a grand total of one mention in this book, and it's only by defualt: Raymond Dart, the anthropologist who discovered the fossil remains of Australopithecus, was originally born in Australia. We have had a miniscule amount of influence in shaping this century - which, when you consider concentration camps, terrorism and pollution of the earth, is no bad thing.

Book Description

This challenging and innovative book examines the processes involved in the birth and development of new scientific ideas. The author has searched for strategies used by scientists for producing new theories, both those that yield a range of plausible hypotheses and ones that aid in narrowing that range. She goes on to focus on the development of the theory of the gene as a case study in scientific creativity. Her discussion of modern genetics greatly demystifies the philosophy of science, and establishes a realistic framework for understanding how scientists actually go about their work. This compelling work will interest a broad range of readers, including biologists and geneticists, along with historians and philosophers of science.

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