Crisp: 50 One-Minute Tips to Better Communication, Revised Edition: A Wealth of Business Communication Ideas (Fifty-Minute Series Book)

Book Description

This course will teach you the critical skills to conduct and participate in effective meetings, revise and clarify your writing and speaking, and create and execute engaging presentations and teleconferences.

Customer Reviews:

Great tool for getting back to communication basics!.......1999-12-08

Book includes 17 one-minute tips to improve meetings. Includes tips for before, during and at the end of the meeting. Also includes 16 one-minute tips to improve business writing. There's also a section with tips to improve your presentations.

I was looking for some basic presentation items to include in a train-the-trainer session. But as I got to looking at some of the other tips, I realized that I could benefit from them, too.

The book has some excellent exercises. The one on 'Are You Paying Fines For Your Company Meetings?' is meant to heighten awareness about the cost of poorly run meetings. Another exercise provides a checklist of items to consider when calling a group meeting that could interfere with productivity. Those are just a few of the really good material covered by this well-done book.

Book Description

Largely exempt from regulation and shrouded in secrecy, "hedge funds" are one of the most controversial institutions in modern finance. Presenting a balanced view of the subject. De Brouwer explains their workings using case study material from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, from 1997 to 1998. He also considers the future of hedge funds, their role for institutional investors, as well as policy proposals to limit their destabilizing effects.

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Hedge funds are among the most innovative and controversial of financial market institutions. Largely exempt from regulation and shrouded in secrecy, they are credited as having improved efficiency and add liquidity to financial markets, but also having severely destabilised markets following the the Asian Financial Crisis and the near collapse of Long-Term Capital Management. De Brouwer presents a nuanced and balanced account to what is becoming an increasingly politicised and hysterical discussion of the subject. Part I explains the workings of hedge funds. Part II focuses on the activities of macro hedge funds and proprietary trading desks in East Asia in 1997 and 1998, with case study material from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Part III of the book looks at the future of hedge funds, their role for institutional investors, and policy proposals to limit their destabilising effects.

Book Description

This book, the expanded and completely revised text of the author's renowned 1993 dissertation, studies the logical aspects of legal reasoning, in order to provide philosophical foundations for legal applications of Artificial Intelligence. It respects that legal reasoning often takes place in a disputational setting, and observes that the law leaves ample room for disagreement, which means that lawyers reason under the possibility of exceptions and with contradictory legal sources, and cannot do without non-deductive reasoning forms, such as analogical reasoning. The study shows that, contrary to what is often said, these features do not escape a logical analysis if recent developments in logic and Artificial Intelligence on so-called non-monotonic reasoning and defeasible argumentation are used, and if logic is regarded as a tool in, rather than as, a model of legal argument.
This book is relevant for scholars in legal philosophy, artificial intelligence, logic and argumentation theory, and can also serve as a textbook for graduate courses in AI & Law, non-monotonic reasoning and legal argumentation.

Book Description

The various problems associated with anthropogenic nitrogen enrichment - acidification, climate change, eutrophication, ozone destruction - are common to most countries, and the transboundary nature of the problems requires international dialogue and agreed action to provide solutions. The edited papers in this volume represent the current thoughts of scientists at the leading edge of research into the nitrogen cycle. They were presented at the Third New Phytologist Symposium, held at the University of Lancaster in September 1997.

Book Description

Modeling and simulation were introduced to the earth sciences about four decades ago. Modeling has proven its worth and now it is an accepted procedure for analyzing and solving geological problems. The papers in this collection are focused on modeling sediment deposition and sedimentary sequences and have a decidedly practical flavor. Some of the leading simulation packages, such as CORRELATOR, SEDFLUX, SEDpak, SEDSIM, STRATA, and STRATSIM are applied to problems in hydrocarbon exploration, oil production, groundwater development, coal-bed appraisal, geothermics, and environmental diagnosis. All of these subjects fall under the broad heading of sedimentary basin analysis. The fifteen papers in this volume are written by internationally recognized experts from academia and industry. The contributions represent the status of geologic modeling and simulation at the start of the 21st century, and will give the reader an insight into current research problems and their possible solutions.

Geologic Modeling and Simulation: Sedimentary Systems. .: An article from: Geographical Analysis

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Geologic Modeling and Simulation: Sedimentary Systems. .: An article from: Geographical Analysis
W. Berry Lyons
Manufacturer: Ohio State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008FJNS2
Release Date: 2005-07-30

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Geographical Analysis, published by Ohio State University Press on October 1, 2002. The length of the article is 555 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: Geologic Modeling and Simulation: Sedimentary Systems. .
Author: W. Berry Lyons
Publication: Geographical Analysis (Refereed)
Date: October 1, 2002
Publisher: Ohio State University Press
Volume: 34 Issue: 4 Page: 376(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Geologic Modeling and Simulation: Sedimentary Systems

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Geologic Modeling and Simulation: Sedimentary Systems
Daniel Francis Merriam, Daviel Francis Merriam
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSBIGI

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A Wonderful and Different Kind of Book for Someone My Age.

Why are her feet outside? Well there's no need to bring them back in

very depressing....

a nice story

""Music is Just Poetry Without Words"

Lunch at the Piccadilly (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
Clyde Edgerton
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Raney Raney

Walking Across Egypt (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Where Trouble Sleeps (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

The Florabama Ladies' Auxiliary & Sewing Circle

The Floatplane Notebooks (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

ASIN: 0345476786
Release Date: 2004-09-21

Amazon.com

Respect for his elders, Southern charm, an ear for authentic dialogue, and a great sense of humor are Clyde Edgerton's trademarks. Lunch at the Piccadilly is no exception. Lil Olive, lively octogenarian, fetches up at the Rosehaven Convalescent Center after a bad fall, but she is not ready to pack it in. Instead, she befriends several of her peers, plans outings which she executes by stealing a car she insists is hers, and starts laying bets on whether or not Clara removes her glass eye at night.

The center of the novel is Lil's middle-aged, never married nephew Carl. It has fallen to him to look after the women in his family: first his mother, then his Aunt Sarah and now Aunt Lil. He is the soul of patience and kindness, looking after Lil's needs, visiting her frequently and taking the ladies to lunch. He befriends L. Ray Flowers, a firebrand preacher who, because of an injury, is temporarily marooned at the Center. Flowers has an idea: "We are about to pronounce the grand fact that nursing homes and churches all across this land must become interchangeable... We need not two institutions... We need one. And it shall be called Nurches of America, Chursing Homes of the United States." In addition to his grandiose idea, he writes music and encourages Carl to take up the bass guitar again. Carl starts writing lyrics for L. Ray's music and, for a short while, preaching and singing rock the porch at Rosehaven. Inevitably, time and the past catch up with Lil and L. Ray, but not before Carl has found a new creative outlet that gives him some purpose in life other than selling awnings.

Edgerton's Raney and Walking Across Egypt are better novels, with tighter plots and more fully realized characters, but Lunch at the Piccadilly is unmistakably Edgerton, and that's not bad. --Valerie Ryan

Book Description

Welcome to the Rosehaven Convalescence Center in beautiful Listre, North Carolina. Recuperating after a recent fall, Lil Olive sits on the front porch, chitchatting with and rocking right alongside the regulars. There’s tiny Maudie Lowe with her cane that seems too tall; Beatrice Satterwhite, whose fancy three-wheeled walker is a Cadillac among Chevrolets; Clara Cochran, who cusses as frequently as she takes a breath; and L. Ray Flowers, the freelance preacher who strums a mean guitar, and who reveals his dream of forming a national movement to unite churches and nursing homes (“Nurches of America”). Keeping a watchful eye on them all is Carl, Lil’s middle-age bachelor nephew with a heart of gold and the patience of a saint. But Lil is restless, eager to get back to her own apartment. She wants some adventure. And before long, tranquil Rosehaven is turned upside down. . . .

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful and Different Kind of Book for Someone My Age........2006-10-25

I can totally see this as a Hallmark film presentation, because all the qualities of their brand of entertainment are there. I used to visit my grandparents in nursing homes with my mother when I was younger, but the author of this book reminded me of everything I tried desperately to forget during those visits: the undeniable, inescapable truth that a lot of us soon come to know at some point in our lives. Clyde Edgerton paints a painful and very often whimsical verbal portrait of senior citizens and the many plights they are burdened with. Full of sometimes annoying characters (such as Reverend L. Ray) and lovable ones like sweet Aunt Lil and her loyal nephew Carl, this book will have you laughing, crying, and thinking all at once. It may also remind you of someone you know all too well in this bevy of colorfully delightful characters. This was my first Clyde Edgerton novel, and surely not my last. He made me see the retirement home set in a new and respectful light. :-)

Why are her feet outside? Well there's no need to bring them back in.......2005-10-18

Really I give it a 3 1/2

What I enjoyed about this novel were all the funny, quirky (many true)comments from Aunt Lil, Maudie, Mr. Flowers, Beatrice, and Clara. The tangents and the out of no where questions kept the topics (aging, nursing homes, and loss of independence and functions) from being too depressing. Some of my favorite moments was the initial driving scene (why are my feet outside?), stealing the car and wanting to buy a flag for Mr. Flower's movement, the escalator, William and Lee, and the crow tattos.

Altough at some points these comments/scenes crossed the humor side and sadded me b/c they showed readers instances of dementia. Like when Lil did not know who Carl was and when she insisted she was in a jail in South Carolina that looked exactly like her room at Rosehaven. Carl handled this situation so beautifully and sweetly. He never belittled her, always made time for her, and treated her with respect and kindness. At times Carl did feel burdened and felt guilty for thinking these thoughts, but the author and readers understand these are natural feelings.

What I did not like about this novel was there were too many loose ends and characters. I didn't really understand Mr. Flower's mysterious and criminal past, what was true, especially with Mr. Flowers and Darla as a young teenagers. And I didn't understand how eventually he was kicked out. I also did not understand what was the point of bringing up conversations with Carrie and Latricia. I saw some interactions with Carrie and the residents but not enough for me to care about her. Same with the physical therapist and Darla. I felt like these extra scenes distracted from the main part of the novel. I would have preferred it if the author had dropped these characters and focused more on the main group of characters in the novel.

What I found uplifting about this book is this strong desire for these women to live life. All wanted adventure. As soon as Carl let Aunt Lil drive in the initial scene, she said "Where's the exit?.....I've got to get on the highway." She didn't want to play it safe and just drive around the parking deck. That's boring and it leads nowhere. She wanted adventure. When the women and Mr. Flowers were talking on the porch about his movement, the women all wanted to know when they would be traveling. Aunt Lil pictured herself going on an adventure to the Everglades. What I found thought provoking was these women wanted this excitement and adventure but were physcially unable to go, yet characters like Carl and Annie could go on these adventures yet were too scared to try and led these unfulfilled lives.

very depressing...........2005-03-21

This book was my book club's selection for the month. It was one month I wished I would have skipped. Where the book is well-written, the story itself is very sad. There is a saying...."don't judge a book by its cover"...The cover is very misleading. The lives of the elderly women are far from quaint lunches and a wild joy ride. For someone with an elderly relative with declining health and who knows the toll that it has on caregivers, this was too much realism.

a nice story.......2004-12-13

Well... it was okay. It was a real *nice* story, and made me want to do what the protagonist did, which is go hang out in a nursing home, and only partly because of the good karma :)

The characters were interesting and I would have liked to learn more about *most* of them... but I often got confused about who was who. There could have been more detail.

There were some minor conflicts, which IMO didn't get resolved, and if this book is character- rather than plot-driven, the characters should really have been explored in more depth.

It made me laugh, but really didn't make me think.

""Music is Just Poetry Without Words".......2004-11-08

The title for my review epitomizes Edgerton's writing style and story in "Lunch at the Picadilly."

This is a story of the subtle relationships that emerge as we all go through the different stages of our life.

Edgerton once again manages to create inventive characters and throws them together for humor and thought provoking moments. There is a little mystery, a little love, a bit of saddness but most of all truth.

You don't have to be from the south to enjoy this novel (but it definitely helps)! This particular edition is great with question and answers from the author at the back and questions designed for book club reading.

I think you will find a little of yourself or someone you love when you pick up this book. A great short read. Perfect for lunchtime.

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Lunch At The Piccadilly
Clyde Edgerton
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RIZZTQ

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Lunch at the Piccadilly

Manufacturer: Algonquin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GSIHNS

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Lunch At the Piccadilly

Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 1402579594

Lunch At The Piccadilly (ballantine Readerandapos;s Circle)

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Lunch At The Piccadilly (ballantine Readerandapos;s Circle)
Clyde Edgerton
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVDO1W

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

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Tanks of the ancient world
Bronze Age War Chariots
Good specialized coverage, but not much new

Bronze Age War Chariots (New Vanguard)
Nic Fields
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Medieval | World | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1841769444
Release Date: 2006-01-31

Book Description

Chariots, the first mobile fighting vehicle, seem to have originated in Mesopotamia in the third millennium BC. The highly mobile two-wheeled war chariot, carrying a driver and an archer armed with a short composite bow, revolutionized military tactics after 1700 BC. This expensive weapon spread throughout the Middle East and is thought to have reached Egypt with the conquering Hyksos. It spread into Asia Minor, Greece, and was known in Northern Europe by 1500 BC. This book covers the evolution of the war chariot throughout the Bronze Age, detailing its design, development and combat history - in particular its fundamental involvement at the battle of Qadesh.

Customer Reviews:

Tanks of the ancient world .......2007-04-21

I agree with the other reviewers. It does deal only with a few different chariots, I would have preferred some different places. What we do know of these chariots is that their introduction was shattering so I would have liked much more detailed tactical studies of how they were used. We also know the the expense of keeping these chariots on society was huge. Yet in this book we have little of this too.

I can say the pictures and descriptions are adequate. All interesting but there is nothing here that is original or new.

Bronze Age War Chariots.......2007-04-02

The first Osprey title to examine exclusively chariots and their horses and passengers, this book focuses mostly on the three best-known chariot fighting Bronze Age civilizations-Ancient Egypt, the Hittites, and the Mycenaeans, though mention is also made of those of the Syrians and the Celts. The book examines the construction of the chariots, as well as the domestication of the horses and the training and tactics of man and beast alike. The text is accompanied by a worthy set of plates and a detailed commentary.

Good specialized coverage, but not much new.......2006-03-25

Author Nic Fields has covered the subject reasonably well and provides comfortable reading. There is discussion of the domestication and breed development of the horse, speeds of yoked horses, as well as the composite bow. The author has provided a good bibliography.

Brian Delf's plates are good, but not exceptional. The poses are well chosen and the proportions are excellent (compared to McBride's sometimes stocky figures.) However, the colors are not as lifelike as McBride's work and consequently the plates are not as crisp. Plates include Sumerian battlewagons, Egyptian chariots, Hittite chariots, and both box and rail types of Mycenaean chariots. The discussion of the progression of Mycenaean and Hittite chariots definitely adds value to this inexpensive work.

As with most Osprey works there are a few things that might have been covered more fully. One thing that could have been added is some sort of depiction of Mitanni or Canaanite chariotry of the period. Mitanni was the initial master of Bronze Age two-wheel chariotry and training.

While I recommend this book to those interested specifically in Bronze Age chariots, I should also note that much of the same information is available in several other Osprey works, though not all in the same place or to the same depth. For example, "The Mycenaeans" covers their chariotry well; while "New Kingdom Egypt" discusses Egyptian, Hittite, and Mitannian chariotry, and "Ancient Armies of the Middle East" has Egyptian chariots and Sumerian battlewagons. I guess the main complaint about the work is that I've read too many studies of the battle of Quadesh already, so I was hoping for even broader coverage of chariots in this.

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A masterly summary of modern Italian political history

Italy and its Monarchy
Denis Mack Smith
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
General | Italy | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
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Aristocrats in Bourgeois Italy: The Piedmontese Nobility, 18611930 (Cambridge Studies in Italian History and Culture)

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ASIN: 0300051328

Customer Reviews:

A masterly summary of modern Italian political history.......1998-10-30

This masterly, elegant account of who Italy's monarchs were and what they got up to (usually something not very edifying) demonstrates why Mack Smith is widely viewed as the leading authority on Italy writing in the English language. Post-unification Italy's development might well have been less turbulent, had it not been for the distressing tendency of successive kings to interfere in politics and indulge their taste for intrigue. Nurturing the tender plant of Italian democracy was usually the last thing on their minds. As in his other works, Mack Smith wastes little sympathy on the civilian politicians who were, if anything, even more culpable than their royal masters in contributing to Italy's failure to construct a stable, corruption-free democracy before the First World War. But his particular focus is the monarchy, from its crucial part in the wars of unification after 1860 to its inglorious association with Benito Mussolini's dictatorship in the inter-war years. After putting down Mack Smith's book - a gem of concise writing and lightly worn learning - one can only be glad that Italians eventually abolished the monarchy after the Second World War. Republicanism, though drenched in corruption and crime between 1946 and 1992, did at least do something to modernize public life in Italy.

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Italy & Its Monarchy

Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Federal Government | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Italy and Its Monarchy.
DENIS MACK: SMITH
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UD102O

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Italy and Its Monarchy
Denis Mack Smith
Manufacturer: Yale Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSADNW

Book Description

Enlightenment botany was replete with sexual symbolism -- to the extent that many botanical textbooks were widely considered pornographic. Carl Linnaeus's controversial new system for classifying plants based on their sexual characteristics, as well as his use of language resonating with erotic allusions, provoked intense public debate over the morality of botanical study. And the renowned Tahitian exploits of Joseph Banks -- whose trousers were reportedly stolen while he was inside the tent of Queen Oberea of Tahiti -- reinforced scandalous associations with the field. Yet Linnaeus and Banks became powerful political and scientific figures who were able to promote botanical exploration alongside the exploitation of territories, peoples, and natural resources. Sex, Botany, and Empire explores the entwined destinies of these two men and how their influence served both science and imperialism.

Patricia Fara reveals how Enlightenment botany, under the veil of rationality, manifested a drive to conquer, subdue, and deflower -- all in the name of British empire. Linnaeus trained his traveling disciples in a double mission -- to bring back specimens for the benefit of the Swedish economy and to spread the gospel of Linnaean taxonomy. Based in London at the hub of an international exchange and correspondence network, Banks ensured that Linnaeus's ideas became established throughout the world. As the president of the Royal Society for more than forty years, Banks revolutionized British science, and his innovations placed science at the heart of trade and politics. He made it a policy to collect and control resources not only for the sake of knowledge but also for the advancement of the empire. Although Linnaeus is often celebrated as modern botany's true founder, Banks has had a greater long-term impact. It was Banks who ensured that science and imperialism flourished together, and it was he who first forged the interdependent relationship between scientific inquiry and the state that endures to this day.

Customer Reviews:

Linnaeus' tercentenary.......2007-03-27

May 23rd will be the 300th anniversary of Carl Linnaeus' birth so I purchased this little book to become familiar with him and to honor his memory. However this book is more about Banks than Linnaeus, altho' Banks did much to promote Linnaeus' system of classification not only in England but thru-out the world. In some ways, Banks was to Linnaeus what Huxley was to Darwin and Bateson was to Mendel. Not only did Linnaeus and Banks promote science (and themselves), but they promoted their respective country's agricultural economy before the Industrial Revolution. Yet both men were largely forgotten soon after their deaths.

In large part the successful promotion of Linnaeus' system was due to his use of animal genitalia (in an uptight society) as an analogy to describe the reproductive organs of plants and as the basis for naming and classifying them. Add to that, Banks' well-known promiscuity while in Tahiti on Captain Cook's first voyage there (to record the Transit of Venus) and you have a sure-fire salacious combination (sex sells!).

Fara also describes how the English used scientific exploration as a cover for colonization which they justified in the belief that Europeans were a superior race and must help the other races. Both Linnaeus and Banks brought in non-native plants and tried to adapt them to their countries but Banks was far more successful. Indeed Banks had plants and animals transplanted from one colony to another fairly successfully.

So eventho' I bought the book for Linnaeus, the inclusion of Banks rounds out the story. While Wikipedia has more facts on Linnaeus it has less of the personal. I gave the book only four stars because Fara doesn't include an index, tho' Amazon's `Search Inside' feature provided an alternative.

Read this for a science project.......2006-04-17

Carl Linnaeus was responsible for revolutionizing the way modern science classifies and organizes all living organisms. His simple system based on the sexual characteristics of plants shocked society and inspired other scientists including Joseph Banks, whose voyages around the world to find and classify new organisms included an interesting array of sexual exploits with the natives he came across. In her novel, Patricia Fara presents a solid and well supported thesis on how botany contributed and was inexplicably tied into the imperialism of European society, most especially the British Empire.

This book is a quick read and not overly bogged down with the intricacies of scientific classification. It presents the story of Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Banks's enormous contributions to the beginnings of modern classification while discussing the political, social, and economic incentives behind their science. Patricia Fara has written several other books concerning Enlightenment era science and this book is a prime example of her ability and specialty in tying in the role of science as a part of society and government in the 18th and 19th centuries. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in biology or botany as well as anyone interested in the workings of early modern science and their place in the development of modern English society.

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