The Eastern European Economy in Context: Communism and the Transition (Eastern Europe Since 1945)

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Since 1989, the former communist countries of Eastern Europe have witnessed a profound and dramatic upheaval. The economic coherence of this region, formerly maintained through the adoption of the Soviet system of government, has fractured.

David Turnock examines the transition from Communist to free-market economies, both within and between the states of Eastern Europe. As well as containing an informative survey of the impact of Communism, The Eastern European Economy in Context provides: political profiles of individual countries; a clear study of the contrasts between northern and Balkan groups; summaries of regional variations in the transition process; an exploration of the new state structures and resources; discussion of political stability, inter-ethnic tensions; and progress in economic change.

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In 1995, in a marked reversal of progress in the march toward racial equity, the Board of Regents voted to end affirmative action at the University of California. One year later the electorate voted to do the same across the state of California. Silence at Boalt Hall is the thirty-year story of students, faculty, and administrators struggling with the politics of race in higher education at U.C. Berkeley's prestigious law school--one of the first institutions to implement affirmative action policies and one of the first to be forced to remove them. Andrea Guerrero is a member of the last class of students admitted to Boalt Hall under the affirmative action policies. Her informed and passionate journalistic account provides an insider's view into one of the most pivotal and controversial issues of our time: racial diversity in higher education.
Guerrero relates the stories of those who benefited from affirmative action and those who suffered from its removal. She shows how the "race-blind" admission policies at Boalt have been far from race-neutral and how the voices of underrepresented minority students have largely disappeared. A hushed silence--the silence of students, faculty, and administrators unwilling and unable to discuss the difficult issues of race--now hangs over Boalt and many institutions like it, Guerrero claims. As the legal and sociopolitical battles over affirmative action continue on a number of consequential fronts, this book provides a rich and engrossing perspective on many facets of this crucial question.

Customer Reviews:

Author undoes her own argument.......2003-02-25

Guerrero's book is self-effacing; she undoes her own argument.

Her thesis is a respect for a diversity of viewpoints is essential to the proper functioning of a law school, a university, and our society at large, and she argues that a certain mass of non-white students is necessary to foster that respect for a diversity of viewpoints. Sounds plausible.

How, then, does the author herself illustrate that respect for diversity she wishes us all to adopt?

Take the case of the then-dean of Boalt Hall, Herma Hill Kay, herself a pioneering woman in the legal profession who overcome discrination. When Dean Kay felt obliged to follow the law -- she was a dean of a school of law, after all -- forbidding use of race as a factor in admissions decisions, that made her, in Guerrero's view, a timid sell-out. Guerrero makes no effort whatsoever to understand, let alone respect, Dean Kay's position. Guerrero doesn't agree with Kay's position, and that is all the justification Guerrero needs to reduce Dean Kay to a caricature.

Likewise with the professors who favored a race-neutral focus on standard admissions criteria, either because they believe the government has no grounds for apportioning benefits on the basis of skin color, or because they believe that an elite graduate school should focus relentlessly on academic criteria. Guerrero portrays them as, at best, hopelessly outdated and complicit with racism, and, at worst, racist.

In short, if you disagree with Guerrero, you have a character flaw. That's the "new diversity" Guerrero embodies in her book. (Good luck to us all.)

Now, the fact that Guerrero's own intolerance undoes her argument does not negate the possibility that an increased diversity of racial backgrounds in any given institution generally will yield increased respect for others' opinions -- even if it does generate some Guerreroan attitudes as well. But there is strong reason to worry that this modern concept of "diversity" is generally marked by intolerance -- as in the case of Guerrero. To consider that important issue, visit the "Critical Mass" webiste of Erin O'Connor or read Peter Wood's new book.

In the end, then, Guerrero's book is a useful factual compendium, but displays an unintended irony that defeats her own argument.

Well written history of affimative action at Boalt.......2003-02-17

Guerrero provides both a well-written account of the rise and fall of affirmative action at Boalt Hall, and an articulate argument for the merits, especially in law school, of affirmative action. Her writing eschews ideological hyperbole and throughout remains grounded in the real issues affecting the greater population by a lack of diversity in law schools and the law community at large. Even those who disagree with affirmative action will find this book of interest for the readable account of, and insight into, the students of Boalt Hall who felt compelled to fight for their beliefs.

An Important Read!!.......2003-02-14

This book is thoroughly researched and compellingly argued. Guerrero takes a case study of the effects of affirmative action at Boalt Law School at the University of California at Berkeley, which was forced to abandon affirmative action several years ago. She concludes that the new policy has been a disaster for the educational quality of the school, which greatly benefits from the presence of a wide range of backgrounds and experiences among its students.

Guerrero was admitted in the last class at Boalt to use affirmative action before it was dismantled by Ward Connerly and the Board of Regents. The results were dismaying, as the diversity at Boalt plummeted to embarrassingly low levels. Although it has recovered somewhat through the efforts of the admissions staff, the white and Asian populations there now dominate the classes at the expense of African-Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans. This is greatly detrimental to the educational experience. How, for example, can Boalt adequately teach about the legal issues facing Native Americans when it has almost none in its student body to enrich the education of others?

This book is a particularly important read in light of the upcoming Supreme Court case on affirmative action at the University of Michigan. This book details what the negative impacts when affirmative action is abolished, even under the weak alternative offered by President Bush.

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This digital document is an article from Journal of Higher Education, published by Ohio State University Press on September 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1160 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: Andrea Guerrero, Silence at Boalt Hall: The Dismantling of Affirmative Action.(Book Review)
Author: Michael A. Olivas
Publication: Journal of Higher Education (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2004
Publisher: Ohio State University Press
Volume: 75 Issue: 5 Page: 599(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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Silence at Boalt Hall: the Dismantling of Affirmative Action.: An article from: California History

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Silence at Boalt Hall: the Dismantling of Affirmative Action.: An article from: California History
L.B. de Graaf
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000826IM4
Release Date: 2006-06-16

Book Description

This digital document is an article from California History, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2004. The length of the article is 576 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: Silence at Boalt Hall: the Dismantling of Affirmative Action.
Author: L.B. de Graaf
Publication: California History (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2004
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 82 Issue: 1 Page: 80(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

During the last century, the conservation of wildlife and the need to increase the production of animal agriculture, particularly in developing countries, have been in conflict at times, yet both have clear financial, biological, social, and even spiritual value for society. This volume addresses the problems of disease in both wildlife and domestic animals and the transmission of disease between the two populations. It examines ways in which we can conserve and manage animals in both sectors for optimal health and production, while preserving ecological communities. Diseases as diverse as tuberculosis, foot and mouth, and rinderpest are discussed. Global disease surveillance, the transmission of diseases between animals and people, and human dependence on healthy livestock and wildlife are also emphasized.

Table of Contents:Part I. The Importance of Disease in Wildlife and Domestic Livestock and the Relationship to Issues of Conservation and SustainabilityPart II. Approaches to Disease Control. A. Diagnostics: VirusesPart II. Approaches to Disease Control. A. Diagnostics: BacteriaPart II. Approaches to Disease Control. A. Diagnostics: ProtozoaPart II. Approaches to Disease Control. B. Vaccines, Immunology, and Genomics: VirusesPart II. Approaches to Disease Control. B. Vaccines, Immunology, and Genomics: BacteriaPart II. Approaches to Disease Control. B. Vaccines, Immunology, and Genomics: ProtozoaPart II. Approaches to Disease Control. B. Vaccines, Immunology, and Genomics: ArthropodsPart II. Approaches to Disease Control. C. Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Disease Management: VirusesPart II. Approaches to Disease Control. C. Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Disease Management: BacteriaPart II. Approaches to Disease Control. C. Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Disease Management: ProtozoaPart II. Approaches to Disease Control. C. Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Disease Management: Arthropod VectorsPart III. General

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The papers in this volume were presented in a two-day workshop on grain boundaries held at the University of Birmingham to mark both the opening of the new University Center for Electron Microscopy and the 70th birthday of Professor R. E. Smallman. The workshop demonstrated the wide-ranging importance of grain boundaries and interfaces in a variety of materials including structural metals and ceramics, magnetic and electronic materials. Sir Alan Cotrell contributed a paper on the electronic aspects of grain boundary strengths. A significant part of the first day was concerned with grain boundaries and interfaces in metals and alloys and included segregation in steels, nickel-based superalloys, oxidation embrittlement, stress corrosion cracking and creep, as well as a discussion on studying grain boundary composition by atom probe microanalysis. The second day was devoted to the role of grain boundaries and their importance in magnetic materials and thin film recording media, intermetallics, where boron segregation at grain boundaries is believed to improve ductility, and to ceramic oxides, where grain boundary composition and processing are related strongly to properties.

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This commentary on the discovery of the atom's constituents provides an historical account of key events in the physics of the twentieth century that led to the discoveries of the electron, proton and neutron. Steven Weinberg introduces the fundamentals of classical physics that played crucial roles in these discoveries. Connections are shown throughout the book between the historic discoveries of subatomic particles and contemporary research at the frontiers of physics, including the most current discoveries of new elementary particles. Steven Weinberg was Higgins Professor of Physics at Harvard before moving to The University of Texas at Austin, where he founded its Theory Group. At Texas he holds the Josey Regental Chair of Science and is a member of the Physics and Astronomy Departments. His research has spanned a broad range of topics in quantum field theory, elementary particle physics, and cosmology, and has been honored with numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in Physics, the National Medal of Science, the Heinemann Prize in Mathematical Physics, the Cresson Medal of the Franklin Institute, the Madison Medal of Princeton University, and the Oppenheimer Prize. In addition to the well-known treatise, Gravitation and Cosmololgy, he has written several books for general readers, including the prize-winning The First Three Minutes (now translated into 22 foreign languages), and most recently Dreams of a Final Theory (Pantheon Books, 1993). He has also written a textbook The Quantum Theory of Fields, Vol.I, Vol. II, and Vol. III (Cambridge).

Customer Reviews:

More what one would expect from a great man than a final theory.......2007-01-06

In this book we see the older Weinberg who still
thought in terms of mathematics and experiment
and not in terms of defending his theories
against an uncertain future.
This book I can give to the younger generation in conscience
and say : be wise and read this and learn.

Revealing.......2006-04-07

This book is a deviation from the author's usual books about complex cosmological issues. The Discovery of Subatomic Particles is accessible to anyone, an easy read revealing much about scientific method. It's more a history of how scientists and physicists with rather rudimentary tools devised innovative ways to probe and measure atomic particles with surprisingly accurate results. This book will be appreciated by the mechanically inclined. For the mathematically inclined, you will see in the appendices calculations developed in such a way that requires only a basic background in algebra to understand.

The author guides the reader through the history of processes that refined our understanding of the subatomic world. The subject matter is covered in a logical timeline progression and consistent format. Quantum theory is outside the scope of this book, but Niels Bohr is included in the history for using some of the discoveries to formulate his view of electron dynamics. The reader will gain a higher appreciation of how much can be measured and discovered using the basic tools and instruments available at a given level of scientific development.

Extensive appendices amount to a concise development of fundamental physics, itself creating much value owning this book. My favorite appendix has the author describing how much of Rutherford's formula for the scattering of alpha particles can be derived through simple dimensional analysis, continuing the historic application of basic tools to analyze, measure, and discover subatomic particles. The appendices give the technical details supporting much of the scientific development described so well in the main text. Steven Weinberg's book, The Discovery of Subatomic Particles, is an easy read that can be appreciated by anyone.

Good but short history.......2003-12-23

I wavered between four or five stars and finally gave the authors, a brilliant scientist, the benefit of the doubt. The book is actually a chronological review of the exploration of the atom. Starting with electricity and the discovery of the electron, we then go on to weighing the atoms to the discovery of the nucleus. A truly fascinating observation of Einstein's work notes that the "energy released by a moving body is larger than when at rest by an amount proportional to the square of its velocity"..e=mc2 was originally expresses as m=e/c2.

After the nucleus we descend further into all the subatomic particles. One must remember that although this book is a revised edition, the 1983 original version seems almost innocent in many of its assumptions. A LONG appendix is provided as much for explanation as for reference.

Customer Reviews:

Great literature, now where's Willehalm?.......2006-11-12

Around the middle of the 12th century, an author we know only as Thomas wrote a French version of the popular legend of the star-crossed lovers Tristan and Ysolt (usually known in English as Tristram and Yseult). Thomas may have been French or English. Most of his poem has been lost. A generation or two later (the dates for both authors are uncertain) a Strassburger named Gottfried wrote a German version of the story, using Thomas as his source. Gottfried died before completing the work. By extraordinary coincidence, the bulk of what remains of Thomas's work is the very part that Gottfried did not live to write. Thomas carries on exactly where Gottfried leaves off. The obvious thing therefore, is to translate Gottfried and Thomas in one volume, to give a complete narrative. That's what Hatto does, in his usual accurate, precise and elegant English, in this excellent Penguin Classics edition.

Hatto's editorial contributions, consisting of an Introduction and 7 Appendices, give as much information as most readers will require. One can sense the effort of will Hatto needed, to stop himself writing volumes more.

So how good a story is it? Well, it's a classic romance, from a time when sexual relations were being redefined, and which has provided inspiration for countless other romances since, most notably Romeo and Juliet. It does not read like a modern novel, for the very good reason that it isn't one. It is a medieval German poem translated into modern English prose, so much of the underlying social logic, and many of the aesthetics, will inevitably be lost to us. But it does contain some very memorable moments and it stands as an important milestone on the progress of western literature, and as an invaluable insight into European medieval culture.

One final point: Hatto tells us there are 4 great narrative poems in medieval German; Wolfram's Parzival, the Niebelungenlied, Gottfried's Tristan, and Wolfram's Willehalm. Well, now that I've read the first 3, all translated by Hatto and published by Penguin Classics, where's Willehalm? If Hatto never got around to translating it, cannot Penguin find someone worthy to follow in his foosteps?

Best Version of Tristan with extras and great Translation.......2006-03-06

While not many preople read Strassburgs "tristan" it has been around for 800 years for some reason. It must be because it is a good. The story itself has been told and retold in opera and whats present in this version is an embelishement of the english "Tristram" romance - much of which is lost. This version is translated by the great A T Hatto who was among the greatest scholars of Middle Ages Romances. Though originally translated in 1961 or a story first appearing in 1215 this book is suprisingly readable and far more engrossing than Parsival or some of the other Aurthurian romances.

But if you are reading this book I assume you are not reading this simply for enjoyment while waiting for Dan Brown's next Work. You are probably reading this in some sort of acedemic setting whether it be in univesity or your own pursuit. Here is where the book should be really useful. The introductrion which includes much of the orginal text and explains how the story developed into what makes up the body of the text. There are footnotes on nearly every other page and while I prefer more I wont say that they are necessary.

This is a great work for study of Middle Ages German literature. This work was written in the 13th Century which is the start of a great awakening of the spirit and the time that can be called the high middle ages. Beyond this this is also a great romance and a readable story. No matter on what level you choose to read this work it should be satisfying and be a work what you will want to reread.

- Ted Murena

A Classic Romance..........2003-11-17

First off this is not a romance in the modern sense of the word. This is a story that was written long ago and is considered one of the best romance stories of all time.

Tristan is a knight in King Arthur's court. But before this happens he finds love with the beautiful Isolde. This of course is not an easy path to happiness, and in fact this story does not have a happy ending. Both Tristan and Isolde are tied together because they take a love potion...Isolde is promised to Tristan's uncle King Mark and she goes to England (From Ireland) in order to keep the promise to marry him. She does but pines for her long lost love Tristan.

This was a very descriptive story and the prose is very romantic. The pagentry and vivid description of court life and conflicts will entertain you until the final pages. At the end of Gotfried there is another alternate ending for this story.

Tristan.......2000-07-06

Tristan is the perfect hero: intelligent, courageous, and incredibly handsome. But only one women, Isolde, is equally strong enough for him. The way that their lives amazingly fold to one another keeps the pace of the novel. I can't honestly say it is the greatest love story, but you will find a variety of excitement, including love. Plus, add in kings, queens, dragons, pirates, thieves, potions, jeously, passion, loyalty, revenge, and deception, you have an action-packed book. I couldn't stop reading the adventures.

A Complete Concordance to Gottfried Von Strassburg's Tristan

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A Complete Concordance to Gottfried Von Strassburg's Tristan
Clifton D. Hall
Manufacturer: Edwin Mellen Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0773492038

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Tristan
Gottfried ; A.T. Hatto [translator] Von Strassburg
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KTQNOS

Die Geschichte der Liebe von Tristan und Isolde.

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Die Geschichte der Liebe von Tristan und Isolde.
Gottfried von Straßburg , and Dieter Kühn
Manufacturer: Reclam, Ditzingen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 315004474X

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The Anatomy of Love
William T. H. Jackson
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Anatomy Of Love The Tristan of Gottfried von Strassburg

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The Anatomy Of Love The Tristan of Gottfried von Strassburg
W.T.H. Jackson
Manufacturer: Columbia U.P.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J12T2W

A Companion to Gottfried von Strassburg's Tristan (Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture)

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A Companion to Gottfried von Strassburg's Tristan (Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture)

Manufacturer: Camden House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1571132031

Book Description

The legend of Tristan and Isolde -- the archetypal narrative about the turbulent effects of all-consuming, passionate love -- achieved its most complete and profound rendering in the German poet Gottfried von Strassburg's verse romance Tristan (ca. 1200-1210). Along with his great literary rival Wolfram von Eschenbach and his versatile predecessor Hartmann von Aue, Gottfried is considered one of three greatest poets produced by medieval Germany, and over the centuries his Tristan has lost none of its ability to attract with the beauty of its poetry and to challenge -- if not provoke -- with its sympathetic depiction of adulterous love. The essays, written by a dozen leading Gottfried specialists in Europe and North America, provide definitive treatments of significant aspects of this most important and challenging high medieval version of the Tristan legend. They examine aspects of Gottfried's unparalleled narrative artistry; the important connections between Gottfried's Tristan and the socio-cultural situation in which it was composed; and the reception of Gottfried's challenging romance both by later poets in the Middle Ages and by nineteenth- and twentieth-century authors, composers, and artists -- particularly Richard Wagner. The volume also contains new interpretations of significant figures, episodes, and elements (Riwalin and Blanscheflur, Isolde of the White Hands, the Love Potion, the performance of love, the female figures) in Gottfried's revolutionary romance, which provocatively elevates a sexual, human love to a summum bonum. Will Hasty is Professor of German at the University of Florida. He is the editor of Companion to Wolfram's "Parzival," (Camden House, 1999).a href="http://www.camden-house.com/pdfs/gt.pdf">Click here to view the introduction/a> (PDF file 83KB)

Der "Tristan" Gottfrieds von Strassburg in der deutschen Literaturgeschichtsschreibung (1768-1985) (European university studies. Series I, German language and literature)

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Der "Tristan" Gottfrieds von Strassburg in der deutschen Literaturgeschichtsschreibung (1768-1985) (European university studies. Series I, German language and literature)
Waltraud Fritsch-Rossler
Manufacturer: P. Lang
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 3631404182

Gottfried Von Strassburg and the Medieval Tristan Legend (Publications of the Institute of Germanic Studies)

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Gottfried Von Strassburg and the Medieval Tristan Legend (Publications of the Institute of Germanic Studies)
Adrian Stevens , and Roy Wisbey
Manufacturer: Institute of Germanic Studies,University of London,School of Advanced Study
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0854571469

Book Description

This volume comprises selected papers from a Tristan symposium held at the Institute of Germanic Studies in London. The symposium was conceived by the organizers as an experiment in transatlantic dialogue and the papers represent the views of scholars from a variety of North American and British universities. The main focus of attention is Gottfried's Tristan. Familiar assumptions about the text are questioned and fresh perspectives are offered on many contentious issues: those disagreements which persist are themselves a reflection posed by Gottfried's masterpiece. In addition, new light is thrown on the treatment of the Tristan theme in medieval and modern times.Contributors are: MICHAEL CURSCHMANN, W.J. MCCANN, MARGARET BROWN, C. STEPHEN JAEGER, M.H. JONES, ADRIAN STEVENS, ARTHUR GROOS, THOMAS KERTH, MICHAEL BATTS, MARIANNE WYNN, JANET WHARTON, GEORGE GILLESPIE, JOAN M. FERRANTE, LESLIE SEIFFERT, SIDNEY M. JOHNSON, PETRUS W. TAX, AUGUST CLOSS, H.B. WILLSON, ROY WISBEY.

Gottfried Von Strassburg's Tristan: Journey Through the Realm of Eros (Studies in German Literature, Linguistics, and Culture)

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Gottfried Von Strassburg's Tristan: Journey Through the Realm of Eros (Studies in German Literature, Linguistics, and Culture)
Hugo Bekker
Manufacturer: Camden House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Despite its popularity very few scholars have been ambitious enough to attempt a total evaluation of Gottfried von Strassburg's Tristan. Here Professor Bekker has produced a volume which is bold in its execution, stimulating in its conclusions and impeccable in scholarship. It fills a gap in our knowledge about Tristan and promises to be the springboard for future research.

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