Insurance Redlining: Disinvestment, Reinvestment, and the Evolving Role of Financial Institutions

Book Description

The redlining debate, and this book, address discrimination in the homeowners' insurance market based on racial or ethnic characteristics of neighborhoods or individuals that are unrelated to risk. This book brings new evidence to bear on the issues that have framed almost 30 years of debate over insurance redlining--providing a framework for the development of public policy, private industry practice, and partnerships with community-based organizations that can facilitate insurance availability. Contents: Race, Politics, and the Law: Recurring Themes in the Insurance Redlining Debate, Gregory D. Squires; Availability and Affordability Problems in Urban Homeowners Insurance Markets, Robert W. Klein; Agent Location and the Availability of Homeowners Insurance, Jay D. Schultz; Documenting Discrimination by Homeowners Insurance Companies through Testing, Shanna L. Smith and Cathy Cloud; The Discriminatory Effects of Homeowners Insurance Underwriting Guidelines, D.J. Powers; Racial Justice and the Role of the Justice Department in Combating Insurance Redlining, Richard J. Ritter; Insurance Claims Distribution, Tom Baker and Karen McElrath; The Application of the Federal Fair Housing Act to Homeowners Insurance, Stephen Dane; NAACP v. American Family, William H. Lynch; What's Working: Insurance as a Link to Neighborhood Revitalization, George Knight; Model Regulation Clarifying Application of the Federal Fair Housing Act to Homeowners Insurance, Gregory D. Squires.

Insurance Redlining: Disinvestment, Reinvestment, and the Evolving Role of Financial Institutions. (book reviews): An article from: Journal of Economic Issues

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Insurance Redlining: Disinvestment, Reinvestment, and the Evolving Role of Financial Institutions. (book reviews): An article from: Journal of Economic Issues
Reynold F. Nesiba
Manufacturer: Association for Evolutionary Economics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00098BJEO
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Economic Issues, published by Association for Evolutionary Economics on September 1, 1998. The length of the article is 1479 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: Insurance Redlining: Disinvestment, Reinvestment, and the Evolving Role of Financial Institutions. (book reviews)
Author: Reynold F. Nesiba
Publication: Journal of Economic Issues (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 1998
Publisher: Association for Evolutionary Economics
Volume: v32 Issue: n3 Page: p901(4)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Financial sector liberalization can spur economic growth and development, but reforms to liberalize the financial sector can also entail risks if they are not properly designed and implemented. One of the central questions for countries reforming their financial systems is how to sequence the reforms so as to maximize the benefits of liberalization and contain its risks. This book attempts to answer this and related questions by drawing lessons from financial sector reforms in selected countries. In particular, the book surveys financial sector reforms in Indonesia, Thailand, and Korea between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s.

Book Description

This book describes and explains the extraordinary wave of popular protest that swept across the so-called Third World and the countries of the former socialist bloc during the period from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, in response to the mounting debt crisis and the austerity measures widely adopted as part of economic "reform" and "adjustment". During the development decades of the 1960s and 1970s, governments around the world borrowed heavily to finance economic and social development, only to succumb to the global debt crisis and general recession of the 1980s. The last 15-20 years have witnessed the increasing adoption of neo-liberal austerity measures, led by the stabilization and structural adjustment programs of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which have averted a crisis for international banks by shifting the burden to the urban poor in the less developed or 'emergent,' developing nations. Free Markets and Food Riots explores this general proposition in a cross-national study of the austerity protests, or the 'IMF Riots' that have affected so many debtor nations since the mid-1970s. The book argues that modern austerity protests, like the classical "bread riots" in eighteenth-century Europe are political acts aimed at injustice, but acts that are an integral part of the process of international economic and political restructuring. Modern food riots are most important for what they reveal about global economic transformation and its social, and political, consequences. Successive chapters provide a general framework (drawing on comparative and historical material) and then trace the cycle of uneven development, debt, neo-liberal reform, and protest in Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Additional chapters focus on the role of women in structural adjustment and protest politics and the features of seemingly anomalous cases that qualify the general argument.

Book Description

How to Grow a Young Music Lover is the ideal guide for parents who want to boost their children’s education through music; parents who want to aid in their children’s cognitive, motor, and creative development; parents who love music and want their children to do the same; and parents who wish they knew more about music and want their children to have advantages and instruction they did not. The book is an extraordinary resource for homeschooling parents who want an informative, accessible music curriculum and those want to support their children’s instruction in piano, violin, or other instruments. It is also greatly appreciated by grandparents and other caregivers who want to initiate kids into the world of music; early childhood and elementary educators interested in solid, practical ways to teach their classroom about music; and any reader interested in learning more about musical history, terms, and methods. The book will also be well received by fans of musician Charlie Peacock, who wrote the foreword for this new edition.

Customer Reviews:

Thank you for helping me steer clear!!!.......2006-04-21

Thank you reviewer number one for helping me steer clear from another scary religious book written by scary religious people! Here here to working on true spirituality! Come on people, in the end do you really think it will be about which god you worshiped (idolized)? What really matters is how you treat others and your attitude towards ... well everything. Vote Green, health care for all!! Now I just need to find a book that wont waist my time!

This book does just what it says.......2004-09-04

To the reader who complained about dogma, maybe you shouldn't buy a Christian book by a Christian author then. This book is just what it intends to be, a reference for Christian parents on opening up the world of music for their children. It is both practical and poetic. Worth reading.

Stop preaching your faith for a minute!.......2003-09-16

Let me say...I believe in God and try to live a spiritual life, but give me a break!

Had a difficult time getting through this one. Ms. Fuller spends WAY too much time going on about religion, faith and God and not nearly enough time on the idea of teaching kids about music which is why I picked up the book! If I wanted a book on spirituality, I would've gotten one! It seems that every turn, Fuller is finding some excuse to go on about her religious fervor.

Why do some Christians feel that they have to hit us over the head with their faith?

I was very disappointed at all the dogma I had to wade through to get to what the book was SUPPOSED to be about!

I would suggest that you try to find another book on this topic before trying this one.

How to Grow a Young Music Lover
Average customer rating:
How to Grow a Young Music Lover
Cheri Fuller
Manufacturer: Shaw
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S5LVRS

Product Description

helps the child discover and enjoy the world of music

Book Description

Media Sport Stars considers how masculinity and male identity are represented through images of sport and sport stars. From the pre-radio era to today's specialist TV channels, newspaper supplements and websites, Gary Whannel traces the growing cultural importance of sport and sportmen, showing how the very practices of sport are still bound up with the production of masculinities. Focusing on figures like Muhammad Ali and David Beckham, Whannel shows how growing media coverage has helped produce a sporting system, and examines how modern celebrity addresses the issues of race and nation, performance and identity, morality and violence.

Product Description

Ratings Analysis: The Theory and Practice of Audience Research provides a thorough and up-to-date presentation of the ratings industry and analysis processes. It serves as a practical guide for conducting audience research, offering readers the tools for becoming informed and discriminating consumers of audience information, from broadcasting to cable to the World Wide Web. In its third edition, this essential volume: illustrates applications of audience research in advertising, programming, financial analysis, and social policy; describes audience research data and summarizes the history of audience measurement, the research methods most often used, and the kinds of ratings research products currently available; and discusses the analysis of audience data by offering a framework within which to understand mass media audience and by focusing specifically to the analysis of ratings data. Appropriate for all readers needing an in-depth understanding of audience research, including people working in advertising, electronic media, and related industries, Ratings Analysis also has much to offer academics, critics, policy-makers, and students of mass media.

Customer Reviews:

A pleasant surprise.......2000-07-18

When I imagine a book that brings together statistics, research methodology, social science and modern history, I imagine an excellent antidote to insomnia. But surprisingly, not only did I stay awake through the entire book, I actually learned a few things.

The authors' history of commercial audience research was tight, offering a multitude of insights into where the ratings business might be headed in the Internet age. And the descriptions of research methodology was just right--enough to understand conceptually, without overdoing it.

Following closely on the heels of chapters about ratings used in programming and advertising, the chapter on ratings and financial analysis added almost no value. But the third section, Understanding Audience Behavior, offered some great discussions of specific measurements without burying the reader in too many details.

Overall, Ratings Analysis is the best book on the topic I've seen--a very thorough exploration of the subject without the passive, scholarly tone of too many textbooks.

An Interesting Read.......2000-05-31

I had to read this book for a broadcasting class and it was a treat. "Ratings Analysis" deals with the behind the scenes business of broadcasting. The authors do a good job of presenting the information in an intellectual manner without putting you to sleep. This is actually one "text book" that I have enjoyed reading. The layout of the book is easy to read and to comprehend. It is divided into three parts and from there, the information is broken down even further. Although the authors have tried to present their case in as easy terms as possible, they never sound unintelligent or underestimate their readers' intelligence. One gets the message and the point without feeling that they are being talked down to. The book includes the latest statistics on audience research and data, which is hard to come by in the ever-changing business of broadcasting. I recommend this book for anyone interested in broadcasting or in pop culture, for that matter.

The Backup Book: Disaster Recovery from Desktop to Data Center
Average customer rating:

Important information for backup...but recovery techniques no-so good.

Great coverage, a bit outdated, little Linux information.

Borrow and read, don't buy

A for Effort, C for Implementation

Still doesn't fully cover the topic of backup and recovery

The Backup Book: Disaster Recovery from Desktop to Data Center
Dorian Cougias , E. L. Heiberger , and Karsten Koop
Manufacturer: Schaser-Vartan Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Implementing Backup and Recovery: The Readiness Guide for the Enterprise

Disaster Recovery Planning: Strategies for Protecting Critical Information Assets

UNIX Backup and Recovery

Disaster Recovery Handbook, The: A Step-by-Step Plan to Ensure Business Continuity and Protect Vital Operations, Facilities, and Assets

Using SANs and NAS

ASIN: 0972903909

Book Description

Detailing what can go wrong in backup and recovery and how this applies to the various backup methods available, this book couples that information with recovery and business continuity tactics played out over the backdrop of various real-world scenarios. Covered is how freezes, corruption, and loss affects documents, equipment, and day-to-day business activities, and the cost of downtime and job re-creation is explained in a way that builds the best budget for availability, backup, and recovery. Protection and restoration of user data and from various locations and times is also covered, as well as how to keep a business running after a power failure, network failure, or other unforeseen event.

Download Description

Customer Reviews:

Important information for backup...but recovery techniques no-so good........2007-04-03

A big part of my job is to review these books for our professional clients. And I must admit that this is a good primer in that it clearly demonstrates pitfalls and techniques for backing up your data. We would also add that for important documents using a professionally managed data set like Writely or Gmail, is your best chance of not losing key documents. Simply because if Google looses your data, they have billions of dollars in deep pockets that they must protect. However if your backup plan fails, as they so often do, please consider using a professional data recovery firm, like aaa-datarecovery, if your data is mission critical, or if your data set is complex. RAID users beware that re-generating an array is most often the kiss of death for your data.

Talk to the professionals, its not cheap, but only you know how your business will be affected if your important data is lost forever.

[...]

Great coverage, a bit outdated, little Linux information........2007-02-07

This book covers lot of information about IT disaster prevention and a bit of risk assessment. Backups are only a subtopic of the book. The author tries hard to explain several interesting details about each topic, then explains how to prevent the problem using several applications of his choice. I usually find useless this later kind of information, as the applications I use may not be the same the author used; however I liked the examples in this book, because there are several applications I didn't even know existed.

Also note that this is a book for corporate solutions. However, most information can be used also at the home LAN, the SOHO or the small business.

The author usually uses a very informal and humorous tone; I find it nice, but I know some people will find it annoying.

I also liked the cost-sensitive vision of the author: he always suggest several options according to the available money for the job.

What I did not like is the lack of GNU / Linux coverage; the author always talk about Windows and Mac, sometimes says "Unix", but Linux is mostly absent from this book. Fortunately, people with Linux experience already know what tools to use, and will find this book useful for the "what to do" information, not for the "how to do".

If you buy this book, please take note that it was written several years ago. So, for example, the author says that a NAS solution can be expensive, but today you can buy a mini NAS server with journaled filesystem for less than 200 dollars (a perfect solution for a SOHO pr small company).

So, overall, I think this is a good intro book to disaster prevention and recovery, and it can help you to make a plan for your IT department.

Borrow and read, don't buy.......2006-07-26

This book attempts a broad coverage of every aspect of preventing data loss and server downtime in the enterprise. Is it successful? Perhaps....

Each chapter basically consists of three parts: relevant information (where the core information is), product reviews and manuals, and acknowledgements - with an overindulgence in "humour". At times, the book reads more like a collection of stories by other authors, with the acknowledged author as editor. There is also an abundance of white space in the book - the margins are very large.

It would appear (given these facts) that the author was trying to "bulk up" the book.

However.... there is excellent information in this book, and the book is worth reading. Ignore the humour when it misses (one paragraph was almost entirely humour!) - read selected product information when it is relevant - and it will be worth your time.

This book also helps you to consider, in detail, what could happen to your data and changes your thinking for the better. What good are backups if they have a virus on them? What happens if the building falls down onto all of your backups? What happens if all the backups contain the same corrupted file?

This is more of a book on Disaster Recovery and Prevention than backups per se; perhaps, in that way, the naming is unfortunate and misleading.

This book is worth a read - it's well worth your time, but not your money. Borrow it - read it - absorb it - and return it.

A for Effort, C for Implementation.......2006-01-01

This is a difficult book to rate. If you look at it compared to what else is out there on this subject, its 4 stars. However, if you rate it as to whether it achieved the goals it set for itself, I would rate it a 2 star book. The essential problem is the book can not figure out where to place its emphasis. I complete agree with R Earl "unixnut"'s review on this point. No one can expect to cover the breadth of this book's table of contents effectively. This is because no one author can know it all. That being said, professionals interested in backup should buy it in any case, just because there are so few titles in this area. For people who want more of a practical how to guide devoted to PC backup, check out How to Backup Your Windows Computer on DVD. Implementing Backup and Recovery is better for people interested in corporate backup.

Still doesn't fully cover the topic of backup and recovery.......2005-06-01

The book starts with an educative chapter of how disastrous various data losses can be, and how to calculate the costs of these losses. Then it analyzes ways of protection from different failures at various levels: documents, applications, OS, Storage, CPUs, network, power and building.

Throughout the book there are references to various products and services of different vendors. When the author recommends certain software, there are attempts to suit three operating systems: Windows, OS X and UNIX.

In the chapter about storage corruption, there is an interesting section about SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology). I personally use SMART to monitor temperature of my HDDs. But I've found an inaccuracy in the description of the differences between SCSII and IDE. The author claims that "OS just says to SCSII 'Give me a file', and SCSII delivers it, whereas with IDE the OS deals with fragmentation of files". This is incorrect. SCSII doesn't' work on file level, and OS deals with fragmentation at SCSII as well.

The information in this book corresponds year 2000 approximately, it mentions IDE size limit of 137GB and speed limit of 33 MBps (Ultra DMA Mode 2).

The drawback of this book is lack of coverage of collaboration tools like CVS or Subversion as very efficient backup tools. These tools are very easy to use at client side, although their server side is somewhat difficult to install.

The intended audience of the book is very broad, and the style is very simple so even a computer novice can understand this book.

Amazon.com

On July 26, 1945, the heavy cruiser Indianapolis steamed into port at the Pacific island of Tinian, carrying a cargo that would end World War II: the uranium that would be dropped on Hiroshima just three weeks later. Having delivered its load without incident, Indianapolis moved on toward the Philippines to join the great armada moving in on Japan. Though intelligence reports assured Captain Charles McVay that the route from Guam to Leyte was safe, there were Japanese submarines active in the area. On the night of July 29, having detected with sonar the clinking of dishes aboard the Indianapolis from a distance of more than a dozen miles, the submarine I-58 sank the American ship, killing nearly 900 sailors in the explosion and its terrible aftermath.

Captain McVay was quickly court-martialed for having failed to follow evasive maneuvers, "the first captain in the history of the U.S. Navy," Doug Stanton observes, "to be court-martialed subsequent to losing his ship in an act of war." Although the sailors under his command would insist that McVay had been scapegoated, and although I-58's commander testified before the court that "he would have sunk the Indianapolis no matter what course she was on," McVay was never able to clear his name. He committed suicide in 1968.

Stanton captures the drama of these events in his vigorous narrative, which augments and updates Richard Newcomb's Abandon Ship!. Stanton observes that although McVay was exonerated by an act of Congress in 2000, the conviction still stands in Navy records. Stanton's book makes a powerful case for why that conviction should be overturned, and why the captain and crew of the Indianapolis deserve honor. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed in the South Pacific by a Japanese submarine. An estimated three hundred men were killed upon impact; close to nine hundred sailors were cast into the Pacific Ocean, where they struggled to stay alive, battered by a savage sea and fighting off sharks, hypothermia, and dementia. By the time help arrived-nearly four days and nights later-all but 317 men had died. How did the navy fail to realize the Indianapolis was missing? Why was the cruiser traveling unescorted in enemy waters? And how did these 317 men manage to survive? Interweaving the stories of three survivors-the captain, the ship's doctor, and a young marine-journalist Doug Stanton has brought this astonishing human drama to life in a narrative that is at once immediate and timeless. The definitive account of this harrowing chapter of World War II history-already a bestseller in its hardcover and mass market editions-In Harm's Way is a classic tale of war, survival, and extraordinary courage.

Customer Reviews:

IN HARM'S WAY.......2007-10-09

My husband was given this book and after he read it I couldn't put it down, I was mesmerized by the book and the writing and all the things we haven't heard about this particular incident in World War II....I have now bought two more books to give as presents for Xmas and another three books will be purchased for my son in laws and son to keep and read and pass on to their friends. Don't miss reading this one....Doug Stanton gave me the chance to read and visualize every heartbreaking moment in the life of the men that served on the USS Indianapolis...Its not just for men, ladies just pick it up and see for yourself. Barb Frick

The Best book I Ever Read!!!.......2007-08-29

Hands down, this is the best book I have ever read. Not just military books, but of all books. Incredible story.

good study of human behavior in a disaster.......2007-08-29

I've heard about the Indianapolis for a long time (I guess from Quint's monologue in Jaws -- you can esily find it on you-tube). I read about Duncan Scott's late 90s episode to raise the attention of the Indianapolis before congress (Captain McVay was the only commanding officer who was court-martialed after losing his ship in an act of war).

The Indianapolis raised across the Pacific to deliver "Little Boy" to Tinaian Island before it was dropped on Hiroshima. Then it left to go to Leyte. This was a huge ship -- more than a thousand men. It was sunk by a Japanese sub -- but the Navy lost track of it (with all the ships arriving all over the world, orders were NOT to announce the arrival of a ship. But the corollary is people followed this order to NOT announce ships which DIDN'T arrive on time. Or tommorrow. Or tomorrow.

What happened after the sinking (the ship went down in minutes) was most of the crew was dumped into the ocean. And most succumbed to combination of drinking salt water (which kills you), exposure, drowning and sharks. I wasn't aware that life vests lost buoyancy after several days of use.

Another amazing thing is they got off a distress call, but the protocol was the receiver had to query the sender. There was no time for this. So the distress calls were ignored.

It was a comedy of errors for the way the Navy handled this. Since there was still a war going on, there was no news about this (I checked the archive of the NY Times -- much more about the court marshall than the event).

Since I read the book several weeks ago, there's been a number of mentions on TV of the indianapolis. Its a story you won't easily forget.

Finished it before husband did..........2007-08-12

I bought this book originally for my husbands birthday when it was first published. He was too busy to get to it so this summer I made him take it on vacation with us so he could read it. He started it and then told me some details about the book. My curiosity was immediately peaked so I stole the book and read the darn thing in a day and a half! I was mesmerized, shocked, angered and sad, sometimes all in the same chapter. And he STILL hasn't finished it! (Although his work schedule does slow things down abit, but still.) If this can happen back then, heaven only knows what may lie in wait now...

used for school.......2007-05-14

This went to my granddaughter for school and she was more than happy to get it in time for studies and it was in good shape.

Dreams of Iron and Steel: Seven Wonders of the Modern Age, from the Building of the London Sewers to the Panama Canal (P.S.)
Average customer rating:

Informative yet Captivating

A delightful read that reminds us that history is about people, not machines

Good Story Telling

Exceptional story telling of 7 great wonders by one of the best historians around

Dreams of Iron and Steel: Seven Wonders of the Modern Age, from the Building of the London Sewers to the Panama Canal (P.S.)
Deborah Cadbury
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Building of the Panama Canal in Historic Photographs

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ASIN: 000716307X
Release Date: 2005-01-04

Book Description

A world that had changed little from the Middle Ages was altered beyond recognition by the pioneering genius of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In Dreams of Iron and Steel, acclaimed historian Deborah Cadbury tells the heroic tale of the visionaries and ordinary workers who brought to life seven great wonders of the world that still have the power to awe and inspire us today. Fueled by Deborah Cadbury's characteristic scholarship and insight, this extraordinary chronicle re-creates the human odyssey of how our modern world was forged not only with rivets, grease, and steam but also with blood, sweat, and extreme imagination.

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Informative yet Captivating.......2007-07-20

Deborah Cadbury's Dreams of Iron and Steel is exceptionally well written, even for those with only a casual interest in its theme. I too picked up this book on a whim and was quite delighted with it. Each of the seven `modern wonders' is well researched and focuses on the colossal engineering and social challenge behind their creation along with a clear focus on the personality of their creators. Personally, I found the book to be both informative in its detail and inspirational in its character.

I would include this book with other well-written works of similar themes, such as Bill Bryson's `A Short History of Nearly Everything'. This book is a must-read for all who care to know where our global society came from.

A delightful read that reminds us that history is about people, not machines.......2007-05-15

I picked this book up on a whim, but I'm glad I did. The 'history' is presented in a light and easy-to-read way that makes this book fun. The stories of the individual "wonders" are presented as stand-alone chapters, so you can start with whichever one suits your fancy.

The book reminds us that history is really about people, not machines or structures. But the people who created those machines and structures tend to be fascinating. The ones detailed in this book were (almost without exception) highly-driven, obsessively focused individuals with lofty dreams they would nearly die to achieve.... and in some cases more-or-less did go that far.

If there's a downside to this book it's that the chronology of some of the events is occasionally hard to follow. The author seems to jump ahead to near the end of a project, then back the beginning. This isn't a deal breaker and once you get a handle on her style it's really not something that takes away from the fabulous (and true!) tales she tells.

On the 'worth noting' front is an extensive bibliography and a really interesting section called "P.S. Insights, Interviews and More..." You get a sort of behind-the-scenes look at the author and a bit of what went into the creation of the book. I would love to see more books include sections like this.

All-in-all a great read and highly recommended.

Good Story Telling.......2006-02-14

I bought this book because I thought the format and subject nature were most suitable for a long plane ride back to Japan: Seven Chapters on the engineering marvels of the modern world. Each different with its own challenges and particular history. The changing subject nature would keep me interested during the flight -- I was not dissapointed.

The storytelling here is first rate with a good introduction to the historical challenges and necessity of each project -- setting the story in its place as it were. Cadbury then spins anecdotes choosing what she wants and no doubt leaving out a lot of interesting and germane stuff... but it doesn't matter... the purpose of the book is to outline these great projects and, if one wants to, point one in the direction for more material related to such things as Brunel's "Great Eastern" or the Brooklyn Bridge, Hoover Dam or the Panama Canal.

The book has no pretensions to be a serious exposition of any of the projects. It is a good historical tale of each one of them with enough drama and description of the engineering difficulties and personalities to keep one's interest.

Serious Engineers may be expecting more... if so, you will need to look elsewhere. There are no sheer force equations, analysis of holding strength or geographic analysis of strata. But if there were I probably would not have bought this book.

It also fills a vital role in filling in some of our knowledge in these little known challenges that shaped our world so much... I hope I make as wise a choice of books for the next flight.

Exceptional story telling of 7 great wonders by one of the best historians around.......2005-09-28

If you haven't discovered Deborah Cadbury yet then she is one of the best and sharpest writers around. Her text is spare, her research impeccable, and her ability to draw out threads without resorting to tabloid sensationalism makes for satisfying reading. In this, her third book, Cadbury covers the seven wonders of the industrial world, putting the feats, their makers, and the events into context of the time and what they have meant in history.

This is the GREAT industrial revolution. The 7 wonders are The Great Eastern (the largest boat of its time a double hulled steel boat by Brunel), The Bell Rock Lighthouse, the Brooklyn Bridge, The London Sewers, The Transcontinental Railroad, The Panama Canal and the Hoover Dam.

What I love about Cadbury is that she has not only picked 7 extremely diverse items, (dams, lighthouses, sewers, railroads, bridges, canals, and boats) but she manages to put them into the context of the history of that particular engineering feat, but also in context to the events of their own time.

Her research takes her right into the buidling as well - for instance with the building of the Great Eastern she talks about the need for large numbers of young boys who were employed inside the boat, working in appalling hot and cramped conditions and juggling white hot rivets. There were dreadful accidents but a steady supply of labour meant that new workers were never a problem. The sheer volume of workers however never even made it into the day book though, they were never considered important enough.

She relates this sheer volume of workers back to all these structures. They were all built through the enormous supply of labour available.

This does not denigrate the sheer feats of engineering which these men needed to create these structures. No one thought the Great Eastern would be able to sail. The London Sewers were built in competition with the Underground in London, The Transcontinental Railroad needed to have all the items shipped around by sea via the Cape to get to the WEstern Side of America. As an aside I would really recommend reading Laura INgalls Wilder's book on the Banks of Silver Lake, if you are interested in the Transcontinental as Wilder's father worked for a time on the Railroad and she describes the working day in excellent detail including how they 'flattened' out the prairies by hand.

I cannot emphasise enough how great the detail is in the book - for instance, the work on the Brooklyn Bridge laying the foundations lays bare the horrendous circumstances in which men worked, in 80 degree heat at the bottom of the river. Explosions at the edge of the caissons often resulted in blow outs of compressed air which would send a 'fury of debris and water" in a column as much as 500 feet in the air.

I saw the television series on this book but was very disappointed. It was reenactments and it just didn't bring the depth of detail which is in this book.

This is one of the best reads this year. I would strongly recommend it to anyone. Deborah Cadbury's books are excellent and she is on my must buy list.

Fire from Ice: Searching for the Truth Behind the Cold Fusion Furor (Wiley Science Editions)
Average customer rating:

This Book Will be a Collectors Item

A must read!

Read this book!

An example of wishful ideation ?

Balanced treatment of a profound and overlooked discovery

Fire from Ice: Searching for the Truth Behind the Cold Fusion Furor (Wiley Science Editions)
Eugene J. Mallove
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Nuclear | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0471531391

Book Description

Offering the prospect of clean, safe, and unlimited energy, nuclear fusion has long been the shining hope for a world disastrously dependent on dwindling supplies of fossil fuels. Two generations of the brightest scientific minds and billions of dollars have been devoted to designing and building experimental reactors that mimic the unimaginably extreme temperatures and pressures needed to produce nuclear reactions akin to those that power the Sun and the stars.

Then, suddenly, in the spring of 1989, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann, research chemists at the University of Utah, made an announcement that rocked the scientific world and made front-page news for months to follow. Their claim to have achieved nuclear fusion in a simple tabletop experiment and at room temperature defied sacrosanct conventional physical theories. And the scientific establishment would not take that challenge of cold fusion lying down. Within hours, even as the press was proclaiming a possible new era of unlimited clean energy, cries of disbelief and accusations of scientific misconduct and even fraud were heard from within professional circles.

Researchers in laboratories around the world mobilized in an unprecedented effort to explain Pons and Fleischmanns experiments. A mountain of confusing, seemingly contradictory results began to pile up. Soon, leading scientific journals were regularly publishing cold fusion obituaries, and bitter editorials questioning the methods and motives of the cold fusion pioneers. Cold fusion was dead. . . or was it? Almost unnoticed, a steadfast group of hundreds of optimistic researchers around the world continues to search for a solution to the tantalizing cold fusion enigma.

In Fire from Ice, astronautical engineer and well-known author, Eugene Mallove, sheds a new and very different light on the cold fusion confusion. Based on personal interviews with many of the people involved, as well as his firsthand experiences in laboratories and scientific conferences, he offers a unique insiders view of that divisive controversy, while at the same time clearly explaining the relevant science and technology. And Dr. Mallove convincingly argues that cold fusion may yet prove to be real.

A story of scientific ambition and professional rivalry, political intrigue and hard science, Fire from Ice is the fascinating account of one of the most intense and momentous scientific controversies of all time.

Customer Reviews:

This Book Will be a Collectors Item.......2004-11-08

Eugene Mallove tragically lost his life earlier this year in a simple act of barbarism. So odd that a man who devoted his life to one of the most neglected and abstract fields of science in the late 20th Century would die in such a senseless manner. Luckily, Gene's lifes work will not be a waste, as Cold Fusion is finally starting to achieve the recognition it rightly deserves. It will be pinoneers like Dr. Mallove who will be remembered for keeping the Cold Fusion flame alive during some of its darkest moments. Buy and read this book, it's sure to be a collectors item soon, as Cold Fusion will soon emerge as a mainstream field of science and Dr. Mallove will be exonerated for persuing such a taboo field of science.

A must read!.......2004-05-26

I am a Coast to Coast AM listener. I would like to have everyone read his book. It is remarkable. I think that the leaders of the world should all have a copy! I would also like to send my deepest prayers to the family of this beloved author, Eugene Mallove. He and his work will be greatly missed. Blessings to his family and friends.

Read this book!.......2000-04-02

I thought this was a great book. If you want an intriguing book about the controversial energy source of the future you must read this book. It is an excellent read!

An example of wishful ideation ?.......1999-09-24

As far as style of thinking is concerned, Dr. Mallove is far closer to, e.g., creationists than to, e.g., Carl Sagan. He has let his intense messianic desire that cold fusion be a reality completely cloud his scientific judgement. The loony, physics-ignorant hordes of cold-fusion advocates include such worthies as a fellow in Australia who has sold kits of magnets and a ball-bearing which he has claimed will roll around a closed track forever with no visible means of propulsion. Dr. Mallove does not refute such garbage. In this reviewer's opinion he is either delusional or simply a con man on a par with Erich von Daniken or Whitley Strieber.

Balanced treatment of a profound and overlooked discovery.......1998-11-04

Mallove has produced a fine documentary of the early days of the cold fusion controversy, which has developed into an underground science. Ignorance of this discovery will be viewed with the kind of curiosity that causes us to wonder why the discovery of the 'cat's wisker' transistor in the 20's did not lead to any kind of serious research effort for several decades in a world that desperately needs clean energy.

Fire from Ice Searching for the Truth Behind the Cold Fusion Furor

Average customer rating:

Fire from Ice Searching for the Truth Behind the Cold Fusion Furor
Mallove Eugene F.
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UDJHN8

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of Regional Science, published by Canadian Journal of Regional Science on June 22, 2003. The length of the article is 8336 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: Les Parcs Naturels Regionaux Francais: un modele de gouvernance et de planification spatiale pour le milieu peri-urbain?(French Regional Natural Parks (RNP) and spatial planning in urbain areas)
Author: Louis Allie
Publication: Canadian Journal of Regional Science (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2003
Publisher: Canadian Journal of Regional Science
Volume: 26 Issue: 2-3 Page: 447(19)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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