The China Investor: Getting Rich with the Next Superpower

Book Description

Here’s an essential bit of reading for anyone interested in China and the tremendous opportunities that it will bring the early investor. Cesar Bacani has done a massive amount of research on the topic and has saved me countless hours of study. Definitely worth ready — Anric Blatt, Regional Director (Asia) Forsyth Partners

A Shrewdly observed and practical guide to the realities of investing in the Chinese equity market. It should be compulsory reading for all those planning to invest in what could ultimately become one of the world’s largest stock markets — Peter Temple, author of Magic Numbers and Hedge Funds: Courtesans of Capitalism

For anyone who wants to invest in the China market, and tap its tremendous growth potential, this book provides an excellent introduction. The author successfully combines the discussion of a technical subject with personal insights as well as interesting, sometimes amusing, anecdotes that make for a very good read — Winston Koh, Associate Professor of Economics, Singapore Management University

Finally, a book that pulls all the information together to start building a portfolio for the next big investment – China —Paul Leo, Managing Editor, Chartpoint

China Investor - Getting Rich With The Next Superpower
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China Investor - Getting Rich With The Next Superpower
Cesar Bacani
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RIY0QU

Improving Employee Performance Through Appraisal And Coaching
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Improving Employee Performance Through Appraisal And Coaching
Donald L. Kirkpatrick
Manufacturer: AMACOM/American Management Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Managerial Moment of Truth: The Essential Step in Helping People Improve Performance

ASIN: 0814408761

Book Description

Foreword by Dick Grote Moving beyond more traditional performance-review methods, this book gives readers the tools to build a genuinely proactive performance management program. Fully updated with all-new case studies from major companies, the second edition will help managers and HR professionals: * start a program designed to get maximum results * understand job segments and set performance standards * use coaching as an integral, ongoing driver of performance * streamline the appraisal process * prepare and conduct more effective appraisal interviews * establish improvement plans The book features valuable tools, including appraisal forms used by different organizations, that the reader can use and adapt as needed. New examples cover fields that have changed most dramatically in the last two decades, such as technology, customer service, and more.

Private Justice 2003 Supplement
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Private Justice 2003 Supplement
Katherine Van Wezel Stone
Manufacturer: Foundation Pr
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Binding: Paperback

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Private Justice: The Law of Alternativwe Dispute Resolution (University Casebook Series)

ASIN: 1587784971

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Complete guide to all winder mechanical arrangements and control stategies; Practical and theoretical know-how for predicting and avoiding roll defects; Quantitative techniques for measuring and improving roll quality; Accompanying CD-ROM provides computer models for many winding situations -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This new book, by two of the world's foremost experts, is the definitive guide to how winding machines work and how wound rolls are formed. It covers a wide array of machines in use across all web industries, including paper, film, foil, nonwovens, textiles, and more. It sets the standard for understanding and applying quality control in the field. Using hundreds of proven calculations, the book enables readers to understand and make the adjustments necessary to prevent roll defects and improve product quality. Dozens of examples and hands-on applications illustrate key techniques. Most of the book, especially the last section on measurement, is written in everyday language accessible to all responsible for machine operation and roll quality from engineers to shop floor managers.

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The Mechanics of Winding
David R. Roisum
Manufacturer: Tappi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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This reference book covers winding from introductory basics through advanced winding theory. Written as a practical, comprehensive guide, the book shows not only how to troubleshoot winding problems and would roll defects, but also why these problems occur.

The Mechanics of Web Handling (0101R273)

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The Mechanics of Web Handling (0101R273)
David R. Roisum
Manufacturer: Tappi Pr
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Binding: Paperback

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Critical Thinking in Converting: A Guide to Industrial Problem-Solving
Winding Machines: Mechanics and Measurement

ASIN: 089852346X

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This unique book covers many aspects of web handling for manufacturing, converting, and printing. The book is applicable to any web including paper, film, foil, nonwovens, and textiles. The Mechanics of Web Handling is designed for product, process, and maintenance engineers responsible for web machinery. Through this valuable text, readers will better understand how to design and operate machinery to avoid wrinkles, web breaks, registration, guiding, and other types of costly web problems.

The Spark of Life: Darwin and the Primeval Soup
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"Warm little pond" reprise

Good Overview of Scientific Origin of Life Hypotheses

The spark of life

Getting the Chemistry right

Excellent introductory text on abiogenesis

The Spark of Life: Darwin and the Primeval Soup
Christopher Wills , and Jeffrey Bada
Manufacturer: Basic Books
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0738204935

Amazon.com

Can you create life with just a taser and a bowl of soup? Most likely not, unless you give yourself a few hundred million years to experiment. Biologist Christopher Wills and marine chemist Jeffrey Bada show off the fruits of research looking for signs of life elsewhere and clues to the origin of terrestrial organisms in The Spark of Life. The writing is clear and every concept is explained well--Wills's reputation for translating scientific understanding into plain English is well-deserved, and Bada's insider status with NASA provides insight not found elsewhere. They examine the field of theories, from extraterrestrial origin to life spilling out of hydrothermal vents to deep-crust genesis, and find strengths and weaknesses in them all. Their own partisan stance has it that life began on the surface of our planet through Darwinian-like processes operating on primitive self-replicating chemicals. Though their arguments are fairly compelling, the jury is still out, and will probably remain out indefinitely; science often balks at providing explanations for unique events, preferring to stick to general principles. Still, we can see that the problem is valuable because the search for an answer turns up all sorts of unexpected scientific finds: RNA-catalyzed reactions, Martian environmental problems, and natural selection of nonliving chemicals all showed up amid these debates. While it won't settle the issues, we can be glad that The Spark of Life explains them so clearly and primes us for the research still to come. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

The definitive story-in all its fascinating detail-of the search for life's beginnings.

"A highly readable survey of the historical prelude to the study of the origins of life, as well as selected areas of current research, including the search for extraterrestrial life." -Nature

Where did we come from? Did life arise on earth or on some other planet? What did the earliest primitive organisms look like? Untangling a century of contentious debate, the authors explore current theories of the source of life-from Martian meteors to hydrothermal vents-and then present their own elegant scenario: Life arose not in the subterranean depths, as many believe, but on Earth's tumultuous surface, where a primitive form of natural selection spawned the first genetic material, perhaps in the form of a proto-virus. Knowing exactly how life began on Earth will not only teach us more about ourselves, it will bring us closer to finding life elsewhere.

Customer Reviews:

"Warm little pond" reprise.......2006-10-29

The issue of life's origins has long been troubling to scientists and lay observers alike. When Charles Darwin wrote to Joseph Hooker that life likely formed in "some warm little pond" from elemental chemicals, he set in motion years of study by countless researchers. The question hinged on what was necessary to initiate "the spark of life". Wills and Bada recount much of the work done to explain that obscure beginning. For them, the pivotal event is the famous Miller-Urey experiment of the 1950s. First hailed as a, perhaps "the", major breakthrough, it was challenged and suffered from more updated information. The authors revive the original concept, enlarging it to restore its validity. The means they use to achieve this is two-pronged: an investigation of life from "the bottom up" matched by another from "the top down".

Wills and Bada clearly wish to update the reading public in what has transpired in "origins of life" research since Stanley Miller zapped his own "little pond" in a sealed flask. They acknowledge the objections later researchers posed about Earth's early environment. They also confront the scenarios offered by Graham Cairns Smith and Gunter Wachtershauser. The former suggested organic compounds might "learn" replication from clay crystals, while the latter suggested the energy transfer methods associated with iron pyrites would support metabolic paths prior to the formation of cells. Wachtershauser's mechanism, they admit, works admirably in the environment of sea-floor vents, which were almost certainly present on the early Earth. Yet, attractive as both suggestions are, the authors find updated versions of the original Miller-Urey more convincing.

The issue is, of course, Darwin's evolution by natural selection. How early in life's beginnings could "selection" begin its winnowing process? Building up molecules that will ultimately establish life-sustaining forms is unsatisfactory. In order to function, selection must have replication and variation in place. The replication means sustained patterns of one form, while variation suggests many types of forms allowing selection to take place in a stable environment. That, insist the authors, means something like a gene must have been established reasonably early in life. Since a gene's task is the production of proteins which accelerate the process, there must have been a feedback loop system in action. For some, this structure suggests an early form of RNA, leading to what they call "the RNA world". The authors contend that RNA, even in simple form, is still too complex and fragile a molecule to have survived Earth's harsh conditions. Instead, they propose what they deem a "Peptide Nucleic Acid" or "PNA". Not suffering RNA's delicate nature, PNA in various forms could find havens in tidal pools, tenaciously bound to rocks and forming oily films as protection against desiccating sunlight. Thus Darwin's "warm little pond" finds vindication 150 years later, buttressed by Miller and Urey's experiment and better understanding of biochemical processes.

All this may sound like intimidating reading. It's far from that. The authors have gone to some effort to keep the language in this work clear and explicit. They build their case carefully, leaving the reader in no doubt of their intention and the significance of their points. They provide reasonably expressed counters to other proposals, carefully explaining the reasons for their own objections to earlier hypotheses. Beyond these considerations, they also discuss the possibilities of extra-terrestrial life, particularly that on Mars and satellites of the giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn. To enhance this discussion, a number of William Hartmann's paintings are included. They are lovely, but add little to the discussion. Other illustrative material is more cogent to the theme. One might also wish that the authors had found a synonym for "primeval soup". I lost count of the number of times it's used. The book is a worthwhile read, but isn't the final answer on the questions of life's origins. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Good Overview of Scientific Origin of Life Hypotheses.......2002-11-16

This is a good popular book on the current hypotheses of how the first complex molecules may have combined to form the fundamental structures of early replicating systems. After a good brief historical survey that shows some of the problems previous encountered, the authors examine a variety of possible scenarios as to how a "primordial" chemical soup could have given rise to more complex structures, metabolism, and genetic information containing molecules. The authors, both of whom are well known and respected known scientists have a writing style that is easy to read and the level of the material should be reasonably accessible to even high school level readers. A couple of minor errors that anyone could make on the first edition were corrected in the later editions.

The spark of life.......2001-11-07

This book starts out fine as to laying out the different scenarios for life's origins , but one has to read it cautiously because it is filled with the biases of the authors, occasionally lacking a balanced scientific perspective on the origins of life.

Getting the Chemistry right.......2000-11-30

I have noticed that some biologists have a kind of arrogance about chemistry. "I don't have to know the chemistry!" To a certain extent, it's true that in some branches of biology you can have a very productive career without ever really knowing the chemical details that underlie the biology you're working on. However, a poor grasp of chemistry can also lead you to fall on your face in an embarrassing way, and that's what happens at one point (at least!) in "Spark of Life."

Authors who get the chemistry right in writing about the origin of life can extend previous theories in interesting ways. Christian de Duve, the Nobel Prize winner who wrote "Vital Dust" does exactly that, presenting the idea that protein-based life preceded an RNA takeover. The current enthusiasm for an RNA world as the original form of life on Earth is mostly being promulgated by people who don't really understand how nucleotides behave. As I said before, this includes a lot of biologists. Robert Shapiro's books (he gets it right, too) explain clearly how totally unlikely it is to have rich concentrations of RNA nucleotides lying around in puddles waiting to combine into nascent RNA polymers. On the other hand, this is a very likely thing to happen in cells that are using ATP and other triphosphates for energy storage. There they are, it's easy to polymerize them.

Getting the chemistry right doesn't guarantee you'll get the theory right -- Michael Behe gets the chemistry right, as well. But getting the chemistry wrong can lead down the path of error. I think if Lynn Margulis really understood the difference between Diphytanyl ethers and fatty acid bilayers, she'd see that Archaea are wildly different from "regular" Eubacteria.

OK, so this is a review of "Spark of Life." What Wills and Bada did that made me lose all confidence in their knowledge of primordial soup is this. There are four "bases" used in RNA -- Uracil, =Cytosine=, Adenine, and Guanine. Any undergraduate taking Biochem or MolBio knows this. But Wills and Bada and their editors and readers apparently do not. Thus the statement on page 109:

"Another example is cytosine, an essential nucleobase of DNA. ... cytosine is unstable and decomposes quickly. It may not be a coincidence that RNA, which probably appeared before DNA, uses the more stable molecule uracil instead of cytosine."

Now, this isn't a typo, or a "word-o." There is nothing in the biochemistry of RNA that corresponds to the paragraph above. RNA uses both Uracil and Cytosine. Thymine is used in DNA rather than Uracil -- but the issue is not stability but information. Thymine has an extra methyl which allows it to be distinguished from the Uracil produced when Cytosine inevitably breaks down. So, I am supposed to learn about the primordial soup from people who can't remember what RNA is made of??

There are other irritations as well. The use of "Darwin" to personify selective processes is juvenile, precious, and off-putting. An example from page 112-3:

"organic molecules ... awaited the firm hand of Darwin, who would decide which of them would 'live' or 'die'."

I can't see who would enjoy this book. I read avidly about the origin of life but how can I believe Wills and Bada have any grip on this material given their chemical howler?? I am basically amazed at the positive reviews the book has received so far. I don't find it useful at all.

Excellent introductory text on abiogenesis.......2000-11-23

I read a lot of material on the origin of life. Having run across Jeffery Bada's writings in some books, as well as on his web page, in the peer-reviewed journal `Science', and in popular science journals such as `The Sciences', I regarded Bada as an honest scientist: one who presents an even-handed accounting of material and evidence. I have always found his fairness and willingness to express his skepticism to be quite refreshing, especially since the topic of the origin of life can have major philosophical and religious ramifications (many scientists present only the positive evidences, hide the conflicting evidences, and do their utmost to shove their materialistic philosophy down the reader's throats). Bada holds firmly to a purely-natural origin of life, but he does not allow his worldview to bias his work - he is true to scientific evidences foremost. I expected the same from him when I heard of his book. When I read "The Spark of Life", I was not disappointed. Bada - and apparently the lead author, Christopher Wills, as well - present the reader with an honest coverage of the details, along the lines of, "According to this theory, ..., but keep in mind that....". As another reviewer noted, the authors present the reader with both sides of the argument and allow the reader to come to his or her own conclusion: the authors do not insist on telling you what you must think. For their maintenance of integrity in what can be a rather volatile subject, I commend the authors and "award" them 5 stars.

But the praise does not end there. They provide an up-to-date, broad, introductory coverage of the OOL field. If you know nothing about it at all, you can sit down and read the book and understand almost every sentence, and when you have completed reading the book, you will be up to speed on almost all aspects. This is probably the best introductory book on the origin of life I have read to date. Again, worthy of 5 stars.

However, note that the book is at the introductory level. It is written in everyday language and does not delve into the confusing and overwhelming complexities of organic chemistry or molecular cell biology. Those who have already read "The Molecular Origins of Life: Assembling Pieces of the Puzzle" will not find anywhere near the level of detail in "The Spark of Life" as they did in "The Molecular Origins of Life": I would recommend this book to those readers only if they found the other book "over their heads", or too-narrowly focussed. But this does not detract from "The Spark of Life" at all. It was not aimed at the research scientist as the other book was.

Finally, I would like to briefly address an error the authors make. On page 109, they mistakenly mention cytosine instead of thymine. This would be a major blunder under normal circumstances, but it is absolutely trivial in the book. Why? Because the mistake is isolated: it affects only two sentences out of the entire book - no other sentence anywhere in the book is based on, or references, this oversight. While writing, an author's neurons apparently got crossed temporarily and wrote the wrong word: something the author obviously realized was wrong after the book went to press. This had to be an honest mistake - not a sign of ignorance. Again, it in no way detracts from the book's integrity.

Spark of Life, The : Darwin and the Primeval Soup
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Spark of Life, The : Darwin and the Primeval Soup
Christopher -- Bada, Jeffrey Wills
Manufacturer: Perseus Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O5XTKO

Up from the Ooze.(Review): An article from: American Scientist
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Up from the Ooze.(Review): An article from: American Scientist

Manufacturer: Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B0008HNBHY
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Spark of Life, The : Darwin and the Primeval Soup
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Spark of Life, The : Darwin and the Primeval Soup
Christopher -- Bada, Jeffrey Willis
Manufacturer: Perseus Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O63QME

The Spark of Life: Darwin and the Primeval Soup
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The Spark of Life: Darwin and the Primeval Soup
Christopher Wills
Manufacturer: Perseus Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N78Q8S

Coversations with Christos : A Humorous Guide to the Greek Psyche
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Coversations with Christos : A Humorous Guide to the Greek Psyche
Robert Bartholomen
Manufacturer: Seaburn Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1885778600

Book Description

You think of the Greeks as the custodians of modern civilization but Robert knows better, and explains why time is never the same when you read this book. This is an outlandishly funny guide to the Greek Psyche.

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One of the least-published campaigns of the Great War was that fought in East Africa by forces of colonial troops – British Empire, Belgian, Portuguese and German. Short of resources, many European, African and Indian soldiers recorded epics of endurance as they hunted the outnumbered but brilliantly led German colonial forces across a disease-ridden wilderness.
The achievements of Paul von Lettow Vorbeck – the last German commander in the field to lay down his arms – brought him fame and respect comparable to that won by Rommel in World War II. The events and the forces are described here in concise detail, and illustrated with rare photographs and striking colour artworks.

Customer Reviews:

A fine resource.......2007-08-18

This book is almost a necessity if you're studying World War One in Africa. As always, this format is limited but typically packed with information available nowhere else. I only wish there had been some black and white plates of some of the regimental badges and other insignia.

The First Desert Fox.......2006-11-11

Well-done book. I have not seen a bad Osprey book yet. This book outlines the uniforms, equipment and OOB's as well as the history of the Great War in East Africa. Paul Von-lettow Vorbeck was able to outsmart and outmarch the allies (Britain, Belgium and Portugal).

Good Order of Battle Data.......2003-02-08

Since the amazing resistance of the German colony in Tanganyika in the First World War is rarely covered in any kind of detail, Osprey's Men-at-Arms volume Armies in East Africa 1914-1918 is a welcome addition to the slim literature on that subject. While certainly not comprehensive, the author manages to pack a fair amount of data into less than fifty pages and is not distracted from his subject with trivia about collar piping or various types of footwear (a common flaw in the Men-at-Arms series). Instead, the author delivers a succinct summary of the campaign, with notes on equipment, organization, and uniforms. The best aspect of the volume is the considerable order of battle data provided on all combatants, included the usually neglected Belgian and Portuguese forces.

Armies in East Africa 1914-1918 is divided into short sections on the pre-war colonial forces in place (Germany, Britain, Belgium and Portugal), a campaign chronology, the campaign of 1914-1915, the 1916 Allied offensive, and then stalemate and pursuit in 1917. There are eight pages of color plates, covering the uniforms of all the combatant powers. The author also provides a surprisingly detailed bibliography, which readers may find quite useful.

The detail on Belgian and Portuguese forces provided is particularly welcome, since most sources virtually ignore non-Commonwealth participation in the war in East Africa. Portugal was unique in sending several large expeditionary forces from Europe to fight in East Africa, instead of relying on colonial troops as everyone else did. The author also details the rather self-inflated reputation of the South African troops, who initially disparaged the black German Askaris and even their Indian allies. Perhaps the only area that is slighted is the German ground unit formed from survivors from the cruiser Konigsberg, and the role of the cruiser's salvaged 4.7" guns (they are briefly mentioned and depicted in illustrations, but the fact that these naval troops performed poorly in bush warfare - not surprisingly - is not mentioned). Otherwise, Armies in East Africa 1914-1918 is a fine summary of one of the more unusual campaigns and adaptive commanders of the 20th Century.

Customer Reviews:

A Concise History of Society.......2005-09-27

This book is not a comprehensive history of all human societies of the world, past and present. Rather, it provides a guide, a framework for understanding how societies have functioned and do so today. Stavrianos divides human social history into those dominated by kinship (the past hundred thousand years or so up to 10,000 BP), tributary relations, and capitalism, which he subdivides into commercial, industrial, and high-tech. Though dated--it was published in 1987 on the eve of the Soviet collapse--it is a good primer for the development of the world-system and a baseline for tracing the developments since then.

I recommend it highly.

Useful linkage of past, present, and future........1997-12-13

Professor Stavrianos' useful scheme divides human societies into three phases: kinship societies, which prevailed until the agricultural revolution; tributary societies (or "civilizations"), and capitalist societies, which appeared around 1500 and dominate the world today. Through "lifeline" issues; ecology, gender relations, social relations, and war, the three society types are explored in detail and in relationship to each other and in linkage to our present and future.
The author's refreshingly clear and jargon-free writing brings to life the entire sweep of human history, and makes issues of vital interest accessible not only to the student of history but also the general reader. Highly recommended.

(The "score" rating is a feature of the page. This reviewer does not willingly "score" books.)

Water Quality in Warmwater Fish Ponds
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Water Quality in Warmwater Fish Ponds
Claude E. Boyd
Manufacturer: Auburn University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LH9CQU

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Water Quality in Warmwater Fish Ponds
Claude E. Boyd
Manufacturer: Univ of Alabama Pr (Tx)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0817300554

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Water Quality in Warmwater Fish Ponds

Manufacturer: Auburn University, Agricultural Experiment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000EGGQS

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