Accounting, Accountants and Accountability: Poststructuralist Positions (Routledge Studies in Accounting)

Book Description

In the business world, recent years have seen a growing acknowledgement of the value of intangible assets rather than physical assets. This has precipitated a crisis in the accounting industry: the accounting representations relied upon for years can no longer be taken for granted.
In this book, Norman Macintosh argues that we now need to understand accounting in a different manner. Offering several different ways of looking at accounting and accountants, he draws upon the work of eminent thinkers such as Barthes, Baudrillard, Derrida, Foucault, Lyotard and Bahktin. In doing this, he develops insight into the nature of accounting, pioneering the introduction of contemporary poststructuralist ideas into accounting theory and practice.
With a wide range of examples and case studies, this new work will be essential reading for academic and professional accountants along with all those with an interest in the future of accounting.

Accounting, Accountants and Accountability: Poststructuralist Positions (Routledge Studies in Accounting)

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Accounting, Accountants and Accountability: Poststructuralist Positions (Routledge Studies in Accounting)
NORM MACINTOSH
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MU7HPY

The Enneagram for Managers: Nine Different Perspectives on Managing People
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Clearly written and thoroughly fascinating!

The Enneagram for Managers: Nine Different Perspectives on Managing People
Oscar David
Manufacturer: Writers Club Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Bringing Out the Best in Yourself at Work: How to Use the Enneagram System for Success

The 9 Ways of Working: How to Use the Enneagram to Discover Your Natural Strengths and Work More Effectively

Out of the Box: Coaching with the Enneagram

The Enneagram Field Guide: Notes on Using the Enneagram in Counseling, Therapy, and Personal Growth

Head Versus Heart--and Our Gut Reactions: The 21st Century Enneagram

ASIN: 0595195466

Book Description

Success greatly depends on the ability to understand the motivation behind our own behavior and that of others. This book presents a method of developing this ability. It has proved helpful to the hundreds of managers and professional people with whom the author has worked as a management consultant. In gaining better insight into human behavior, the achievement of success and satisfaction in our work and in life in general can acquire greater meaning. The enneagram is a proven personality typology that describes nine different personality types. The theory of the enneagram is that each person belongs to one of these nine types. Each type employs a specific strategy for success, which however also has its drawbacks. The enneagram is applied in a variety of ways in management, for instance in team-building, coaching, management development and organizational change. This book provides an introduction to the enneagram and its potential for application within the daily practice of managers and professionals. The first part of the book gives an overview of each individual type, showing how the enneagram works. In addition to a brief description of a type, there are also tips on how to deal with people of that type, and suggestions for the further personal development of the type in question. The second section contains answers to the most frequently asked questions about the enneagram, drawn from actual examples from international managers. This information covers questions concerning the theory behind the enneagram, possible applications in management, organizational culture in connection with the enneagram, commercial uses of the enneagram and how the enneagram can support personal growth and development. The book not only helps to provide insight into human behavior within organizations, it is above all an encouragement to all those who wish to gain deeper knowledge about themselves and about the motivation for human behavior.

Customer Reviews:

Clearly written and thoroughly fascinating!.......2001-09-14

This is really a great introduction to the enneagram for everyone, not just business people. One of the interesting things about the book is that it is an original - perhaps the first - Dutch publication on the subject, in which the author speaks from his experience of the enneagram in practice within a European context. The book begins with an introduction to the various types, and although my daily life takes place in a different environment, the language of the business world seems ideally suited to discussion of this subject, with its many points of view and consequences. The types seem to come to life through the description of their roles within offices and companies. The second section of the book satisfies an awakening curiosity by providing the answers to all sorts of questions about the enneagram, helping you to delve deeper into the subject. What I really appreciate about this book is how the author handles the material with. Quite a different story from recent lightweight publications that smack of superficiality, where the subject is presented as a kind of entertainment that goes little further than loosely pigeon-holing yourself - and others - as one type or another, based on certain kinds of behavior; interesting only until the next typology comes along. The fascination of the enneagram, on the contrary, lies in its focus on human motivating drives and its function as a wonderful tool for better understanding of ourselves. Not that you have to become deadly serious about it, and there is never any question of that in this book. It is written with genuine fascination for what is beneath the surface. And because the enneagram tells us such interesting things about ourselves and our nearest and dearest, that fascination is contagious. So there's a good chance that you'll find yourself attracted to some of the other books described in the descriptive bibliography at the end.

Book Description

* Reprint of the fourth English edition of De Jure Naturae et Gentium. In 1662 Samuel Pufendorf [1632-1694] was appointed to the first modern professorship in natural law (at the University of Heidelberg). In 1670 he became professor of natural law at the University of Lund in Sweden. First published in 1672, this is his principal work and a landmark in the history of natural and international law. It proposed a thorough system of private, public, and international law based on natural law. Beginning with a consideration of fundamental legal ideas and their various divisions, Pufendorf proceeded to a discussion of the validity of customs, the doctrines of necessity and innate human reason. The work is significant in part because it developed principles introduced by Grotius and Hobbes. Unlike Hobbes, Pufendorf argued that peace, not war, was the state of nature, and he proposed that international law was not restricted to Christendom.

Book Description

The text takes all of the features that have made Arny Explorations a top-selling textbook and applies them under a stars-first approach.

This new edition continues to offer the most complete technology/new media support package available. That technology/new media package includes: 6 NEW Interactives; PowerWeb (web-based research and interactive quizzing - very current); Online Learning Center (that allows instructors to take their course to the web if they choose); and a new CD-ROM that offers new and different text material/animations/links to even further enhance student comprehension.

Customer Reviews:

Explorations.......2006-03-28

This book is very detailed and the CD-Rom has excellent pictures. The only downfall is that the mathmatical functions are not detailed enough for me.

up to date introduction.......2005-07-19

A very solid, and up to date discussion of modern astronomy. Well suited for undergraduate astronomy majors taking a first course. You get a coherent formulation of our best understanding of galaxy formation on a cosmological scale. And also how first and second generation stars appear and evolve. Then, within a stellar system, how planets can condense out of gas.

Naturally, our solar system is well described. From both observations made on Earth and by satellites (especially the Hubble), and by US and Russian probes.

The CD will appeal to some of you. Arny has put considerable effort into it. But the main text stands well, even if the CD is missing.

Explorations: Stars, Galaxies, and Planets

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Explorations: Stars, Galaxies, and Planets
Thomas Arny
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Now one of the best selling Astronomy textbooks is available in a "stars-first" organization. The same great writing style, the same great pedagogical tools helping students through concepts as well as the same complete technology package is available (CD-ROM, Website, PowerWeb and NetTutor)!

Explorations: Stars, Galaxies, and Planets Updated (Explorations: Stars, Galaxies, and Planets, 2)

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Explorations: Stars, Galaxies, and Planets Updated (Explorations: Stars, Galaxies, and Planets, 2)
Thomas T Arny
Manufacturer: McGraw Hill Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000NND8YO

Online Learning Center Password Card to accompany Explorations: Stars, Galaxies and Planets (Update)

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Online Learning Center Password Card to accompany Explorations: Stars, Galaxies and Planets (Update)
Thomas T Arny
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

All experiments have been carefully revised for accuracy, safety, and cost as well as having been extensively tested. "Laboratory Safety Rules" and chemical disposal instructions optimize lab safety. This lab manual features 38+ experiments and includes a strong qualitative analysis section and several unique experiments including Chemical Reactions, Identification of Common Chemicals, and Free-radical Bromination of Organic Compounds. A useful reference for chemistry laboratories where qualitative analysis or descriptive chemistry plays a significant role.

Experiments in General Chemistry: Principles and Modern Applications

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Experiments in General Chemistry: Principles and Modern Applications
Thomas G. Greco, Lyman H. Rickard Weiss Gerald S.
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIMQTG

Children of the Ice Age: How a Global Catastrophe Allowed Humans to Evolve
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Silly Stanley

Interesting Ideas, Less-than-Compelling Style

It's an ill wind . . .

Superb Book On The Emergence Of Homo Erectus

Great hypothesis but could have been shorter.

Children of the Ice Age: How a Global Catastrophe Allowed Humans to Evolve
Steven M. Stanley
Manufacturer: Harmony
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Physical | Anthropology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Evolution | Anthropology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books
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Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth

A Brain for All Seasons: Human Evolution and Abrupt Climate Change

The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300-1850

ASIN: 0517588676
Release Date: 1996-04-09

Customer Reviews:

Silly Stanley.......2007-08-15

I liked the book. If I was 17 again, this book would have turned me into an anthropology major. Plus, I like people named Stanley. Great name, don't you think. "HEY, STANLEY!" "Oh, Stanley" "Stanley, can I speak with you a minute?" Has a nice ring to it. Anyway, I just wish he would have addressed why on earth don't people have fur? Most other mammals do, unless they spend a lot of time in the water. We do have a lot of hair on our heads. Maybe we evolved only partially in the water with just our heads stickn' out? Though men have fur on their faces. Figures, poor Lucy had to keep her face in the water looking for fish, Ricky jr. hanging on her hair while Big Ricky prostrates with our other male ansestors staying just out of reach of that nasty sabar tooth tiger. Some things never change! Who knows? Wish I did.

Interesting Ideas, Less-than-Compelling Style.......2005-09-17

It took me a while to slog through this book. Not being an expert in the field, I found myself a bit annoyed at the author's constant reminders of how revolutionary his thinking is. Maybe he is a gianty in his field, I have no idea. But continually being told so was a bit tedious.

Other than that, the thesis is very impressive. The idea that the emergence of the isthmus of Panama could provoke a series of events that resulted in the emergence of our direct anecstors is really staggering. Our species turns out to be fairly accidental, a sobering fact.

The different themes are organized backwards by the author, so that the most fundamental and shocking things come last. I don't think this strategy works too well. It may be more dramatic, but the overall coherence and unity of the book suffers. And the writing style is fairly mediocre. I would enjoy seeing a better writer tackle the same subjects.

All in all, I would hesitatingly recommeend.

It's an ill wind . . ........2004-02-19

In his innovative view of the course of human evolution, Stanley postulates that our species' ancestors essentially followed the course his mentor , Steve Gould proposed - a sudden appearance, followed by a long, stable period, then extinction. Using hominid fossils available at time of publication, he argues that "Lucy" - Australopithecus afarensis - represents a transition between tree-dwelling apes and ground-striding humans. He further contends she is a direct forebear of humans. What brought her and her kin to earth was the impact of global cooling instigated by the suture of North and South America through the Panamanian isthmus. This closure interrupted long-extant wind and ocean current patterns. A new, dry wind swept across Africa dehydrating the land and forests. With fewer trees, full-fledged ground dwelling offered a better option for survival.

Stanley accepts the recent revisionist view of Lucy - that her bipedalism was more opportunistic than her diet and lifestyle dictated. Her long arms suggest a heavy investment in the arboreal environment. Toes appear better suited to climbing than walking. He dismisses the Laetoli footprints as an aberration, unrepresentative of typical daily life. Stanley sees her commuting between scattered woodland and open grassland. The retreat of the forest presented an opportunity for a new species to emerge - Homo erectus. Erectus, of course, was the great wanderer who moved out of East Africa, beginning the great human migration to Asia. With erectus came the move to long-term child care, especially compared to other primates. Large brains meant difficult births. If a child was to survive, it required nurturing. The brain itself, Stanley further suggests, evolved by demanding greater resources.

Stanley's narrative is marred by incessant paeans to Stephen Gould's "evolution by jerks". Punctuated equilibrium has been essentially laid to rest as the fundamental mechanism of natural selection. It's not only disappointing to see Stanley flogging the concept with such ardour, but his reverse projection of the path of human evolution back through the history of life smacks of the worst kind of a priori reasoning. There simply isn't enough fossil evidence to warrant the direct link between Australopithecus and Homo sapiens. He spends an unreasonable amount of text arguing why bipedalism preceded large brains, with lengthy accounts of the physiology involved. This is old news, well covered in works by Johanson and others. Worse, it adds little to his thesis. While the basic theme is worth noting, Stanley could have covered the idea without wandering so far afield. A challenging but hardly definitive study. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Superb Book On The Emergence Of Homo Erectus.......2001-10-23

This book proposes an interesting hypothesis for the emergence of Homo Erectus approximately two and an half million years BP coupled with an explanation for the concomitant disappearance of Australpithecus well documented by an array of compelling evidence. I found it riveting.

Great hypothesis but could have been shorter........1999-07-24

Stanley obviously knows his stuff (and seems, at times, to be somewhat impressed with himself), but the book was too long for what he had to say. However, I did find his ideas interesting. I was especially intrigued by his assessment of the science of anthropology, and how it lags behind broader paleontological theory. Generally, the book was a good read, even though I felt compelled to skim some sections that seemed overly detailed.

Children of the Ice Age: How a Global Catastrophe Allowed Humans to Evolve

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Children of the Ice Age: How a Global Catastrophe Allowed Humans to Evolve
Steven M. Stanley
Manufacturer: Harmony Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O6KLFE

Book Description

For over half a century, Canadian-born John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908) has been among the most visible of public intellectuals. His articulate and controversial best-selling books---including The Affluent Society, Economics and the Public Purpose, and The New Industrial State---and his very partisan liberal Democrat political and public service activities secured a place for him among the rich and famous of his time.

He worked as an adviser to President John F. Kennedy, served as U.S. ambassador to India (1961?1963), and edited Fortune magazine during the mid-1940s. Among American economists of any era, he is rivaled only by Thorstein Veblen for the introduction of phrases that take on a life of their own in the literate idiom. Such Galbraithian phrases as "the conventional wisdom" and the "affluent society" have become familiar even beyond Galbraith's remarkably wide readership. No other economist of the twentieth century, excepting perhaps John Maynard Keynes, can claim so secure a place in the belles-lettres of the English-speaking world.

This collection of interviews documents the long career of an influential economist and political philosopher who has spent much of his professional life in the public eye. Many of the interviews are occasioned by publication of his books and contain their key themes such as the importance of Keynes, the need to include power in economic thinking, and the neglected priorities of aesthetics, poverty, and the environment in affluent America. The interviews also indicate Galbraith's wide-ranging public service and his frequent hobnobbing with the political and intellectual elite. Through the collection, which spans over four decades, Galbraith's erudition, wit, and impassioned liberalism shine through, making this volume an essential companion to his works.

Galbraith on marketing and the marketplace. (interview with John Kenneth Galbraith) (interview): An article from: Review of Business
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Galbraith on marketing and the marketplace. (interview with John Kenneth Galbraith) (interview): An article from: Review of Business
P. Everett Fergenson , and Laraine R. Fergenson
Manufacturer: St. John's University, College of Business Administration
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: B0008MGB26
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Review of Business, published by St. John's University, College of Business Administration on December 22, 1989. The length of the article is 3114 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: Galbraith on marketing and the marketplace. (interview with John Kenneth Galbraith) (interview)
Author: P. Everett Fergenson
Publication: Review of Business (Refereed)
Date: December 22, 1989
Publisher: St. John's University, College of Business Administration
Volume: v11 Issue: n3 Page: p29(5)

Article Type: interview

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An interview with professor John Kenneth Galbraith.(Interview) : An article from: Ivey Business Journal Online

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An interview with professor John Kenneth Galbraith.(Interview) : An article from: Ivey Business Journal Online
Stephen Bernhut
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Ivey Business Journal Online, published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2006. The length of the article is 5087 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: An interview with professor John Kenneth Galbraith.(Interview)
Author: Stephen Bernhut
Publication: Ivey Business Journal Online (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: 1(7)

Article Type: Interview

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Leader's edge: an interview with professor John Kenneth Galbraith.(Interview): An article from: Ivey Business Journal Online

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Leader's edge: an interview with professor John Kenneth Galbraith.(Interview): An article from: Ivey Business Journal Online
Stephen Bernhut
Manufacturer: University of Western Ontario
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Ivey Business Journal Online, published by University of Western Ontario on September 1, 2003. The length of the article is 5051 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: Leader's edge: an interview with professor John Kenneth Galbraith.(Interview)
Author: Stephen Bernhut
Publication: Ivey Business Journal Online (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 2003
Publisher: University of Western Ontario
Volume: 67 Issue: 7 Page: NA(10)

Article Type: Interview

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Unique perspective: economic trends in today's world: an interview with John Kenneth Galbraith.: An article from: Harvard International Review

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Unique perspective: economic trends in today's world: an interview with John Kenneth Galbraith.: An article from: Harvard International Review
Shirin Sinnar , and Valerie Jaffee
Manufacturer: Harvard International Relations Council, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Harvard International Review, published by Harvard International Relations Council, Inc. on March 22, 1996. The length of the article is 2619 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: Unique perspective: economic trends in today's world: an interview with John Kenneth Galbraith.
Author: Shirin Sinnar
Publication: Harvard International Review (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1996
Publisher: Harvard International Relations Council, Inc.
Volume: 18 Issue: 2 Page: 50-1,79-80

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Interviews With John Kenneth Galbraith (Conversations With Public Intellectuals Series)

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Interviews With John Kenneth Galbraith (Conversations With Public Intellectuals Series)
John Kenneth Galbraith; Editor-James Ronald Stanfield
Manufacturer: University Press of Mississippi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MC6C1M

Book Description

Fox, Fin, and Feather is the sporting memoir of one of the most amusing raconteurs in the outdoor field today. Hooker tells the stories of the seminal figures of foxhunting and other field sports with humor and reverence.

Customer Reviews:

Everyone will love this book.......2001-12-22

I am not a sportsman; I do not ride, hunt, fish, or shoot. However, I loved this book because the stories are universal; they illustrate life and human nature. I laughed and learned at the same time. Everyone will like this book, even if you do not engage in any of the sporting activities around which the stories take place. I also like the fact that you can start reading at any point in the book--you do not have to read the entire book in sequence, although you will want to read it again and again.

Fox, Fin & Feather: Tales from the Field (Derrydale Press Foxhunter's Library (Paperback))

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Fox, Fin & Feather: Tales from the Field (Derrydale Press Foxhunter's Library (Paperback))
Henry W. Hooker
Manufacturer: Derrydale Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General & Anthologies | Hunting & Fishing | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1564162028

Book Description

These reminiscences about Ronald Reagan from more than fifty of his friends and colleagues (and even political adversaries) include the thoughts of such dignitaries as Colin Powell, Margaret Thatcher, George Schultz, Brian Mulroney, Jack Kemp, and Mike Wallace. Recollections of Reagan is filled with anecdotes, both poignant and humorous, as well as fascinating bits of history, from Reagan's early days in film to his appointment as Governor of California, to his unsuccessful bid for the White House in 1976, to his two-term presidency.

Former Reagan associate Peter Hannaford has brought together these recollections from many of the people who have known Reagan, reported about him, or made his acquaintance through diplomacy or friendship. Their words portray Reagan as both a formidable world leader and a charming, unassuming man with a genuine sense of humor.

In the political arena, Reagan is praised for his decisiveness in fighting for freedom against communism around the globe and bringing an end to the cold war. On a personal level, he is described as a kind, decent man who always kept his word: He is characterized with words and phrases such as "quiet," "natural wit," "gentleman," "thoughtful," and "good storyteller." Perhaps one former colleague summed it up best when she said, "People who didn't agree with him always came away (with) something such as "I tried to dislike him, but I couldn't.'" Another noted Reagan's ability to defuse a situation with "that one friendly jibe." Then there is the time when, during his presidency, a pollster told him that his popularity was down. Reagan replied, "I'll just have to go out and get shot again."

There are not only entertaining characterizations of Reagan, but also brief biographies of the contributors at the start of each selection, offering a candid look at some of the movers and shakers of the twentieth century.

Recollections of Reagan captures all the distinctive qualities that have carved out Reagan's unique place in history. This book is a "must-have" for every admirer of Ronald Reagan.

Customer Reviews:

Remembering a great president and a wonderful human being.......2006-03-14

It has been said that every man is three men -- the man he is -- the man he thinks he is -- and the man others think he is. We may never know for sure what kind of man Ronald Reagan thought he was, but after reading this book you will be able to see him as did those who knew him, worked with him, and in some instances opposed him. And, if you can somehow put it all together, you might just catch a glimpse of the man Ronald Reagan really was.

The book relates many stories about Reagan, some as a politician, but most simply as a friend and as a private man. A few of the stories are well known, but most are based on personal recollections known only to the person telling the story. Some will make you laugh; others might bring a tear to your eye, but each one sheds a little more light on Ronald Reagan as a man and as a human being. So if you admire Ronald Reagan, you'll really enjoy this book. I do and I did. After reading it, I'm sure you'll admire and appreciate him more than ever.

Recollections Of Reagan: A Portrait Of Ronald Reagan

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Recollections Of Reagan: A Portrait Of Ronald Reagan
Edited By Peter Hannaford
Manufacturer: Books on Tape, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

General | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books
ASIN: 0736646264

Amazon.com

Don't expect to probe the mind of a woman whose life was ruined by heroin, because Ann Marlowe won't take you down that road. Instead, her provocatively structured memoir, How to Stop Time: Heroin from A To Z, follows the life of an upper-class addict who makes no apologies for the pictures she fails to paint.

Marlowe is the antithesis of the junkie stereotype. Throughout her seven-year addiction, she never shot up, never lived on the street, and never resorted to selling drugs or her body to sustain her habit. In short, she never bottomed out. As a result, readers with the preconception that all druggies end up on the dark side may put this book down and ask, "What's interesting about her addiction?" Ironically, it is precisely this absence of severity that makes Marlowe's memoir intriguing. The fact that her own game with heroin ends in a draw gives her an unusual perspective on the friends, lovers, and dealers whose luck ran out and who lost everything.

The memoir's alphabetically arranged entries read more like loosely connected essays than actual chapters, at times giving the book a slightly disjointed feel. She doles out the details of her addiction in bits and pieces, interjecting snippets of her youth, an acute look at the drug "problem" in the United States, and the gradual progression of her habit along the way. She describes her addiction as a method of slowing down time in an effort to impose order on her chaotic life, and a way of becoming vulnerable and daring all in one moment. Declaring it an act of free will, Marlowe speaks of a life with heroin as few have envisioned: one of restraint, consciousness, self-discipline, and very little guilt. --Melissa Asher

Book Description

The first book to examine the comforts of heroin in the context of our times. Brilliant, daring, and completely unique.

"Heroin," writes Ann Marlowe, "is a stand-in, a stopgap, a mask for what we believe is missing. Like the `objects' seen by Plato's man in a cave, dope is the shadow cast by cultural movements we can't see directly."

Cultural criticism masquerading as a heroin memoir masquerading as a dictionary, how to stop time looks at American society through the lens of heroin use. Weaving personal history (Marlowe used heroin for eight years) with aphorisms and analysis, Ann Marlowe is unsparing in her exploration of her, and society's, obsession with heroin addiction. There is no glamorization of "heroin chic," nothing about the irresistible power of the drug, no cliched scenes of degradation and ecstasy. There is much about craving the validation of danger, about suburban childhood, about the loss of a father to Parkinson's disease, about moving to the East Village, musicians' parties, being cool, and striving to remake yourself.

how to stop time is the first book to examine heroin in relation to our cynical, post-consumer society, and the first to explain the profound nostalgia that powers both addiction and our age. "That drive to return to the past," Ann Marlowe writes, "isn't an innocent one. It's about stopping your passage to the future. It is a symptom of the fear of death and the love of predictable experience." Moral but not pious, this book sheds new light not just on nostalgia but on digital culture, consumerism, and glamour. In the annals of addiction literature it will take its place beside William S. Burroughs's Junkie, Jim Carroll's Basketball Diaries, and Thomas De Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium Eater.

Customer Reviews:

How to Control from A to Z.......2006-12-14

For the most part, I liked this book very much. Unlike many of the other reviewers, I have never even touched heroin. Therefore, I give great weight to their comments.
I was fascinated to finally read a memoir by an addict who could get up every day, go to work, do some errands, etc.
But when I read more of the book, I realized that she could do this, because the author's problem is her need to control. She even tells us that she would experiment with the heroin, as to how often she would get high, as a way to control her heroin intake. It seems that only a very controlling person could keep a job, etc., and be a junkie.
In her book she reveals the reasons she needs to control. Perhaps she learned it from her 'perfectionist' father, and/or her mother who compulsively cleaned their kitchen, even though they hired a cleaning lady do this. She touches on this, and as with many extreme behaviors, deep down she couldn't do this constantly; turning to heroin was a relief, a way to 'let go'; the heroin controlled her, and allowed her to finally relax. It also helped her cope with her uneasyness with feelings. But, I wonder, did she ever deal with her real problems? Giving up heroin was only part of her healing. Unfortunately, I don't think she realizes that she has continued some extreme behaviors. She can't have a TV in her house; the only chairs she can have must be wooden folding chairs, etc. She explains that she does this because of her Dad's behavior when he was ill. Yet did she ever grieve for him, or feel true sadness? If she still doesn't allow feelings then she has not healed.
On another note, I disagree with the reviewers who commented that that they didn't like the parts of the book which didn't deal with heroin; I feel that many of these other parts actually revealed why she turned to heroin in the first place.
I also was rattled by the style of the book, in the beginning, but as I continued to read the book, I didn't even notice it. She is a fine writer, and she also makes some incredibly enlightened statements about our society, especially about consumerism.
Overall, I would recommend this book.

A misguided and irresponsible drug book.......2005-07-31

Marlowe is what we opiate addicts refer to as a Burning Man Chipper....someone who cautiously dabbles with the drug and then wears it as a badge of honor. It appears that she ingested just enough heroin over the years to feel some of the paltry effects of first or second time withdrawal. This, apparently, has given her license to expound endlessly on paper about her self-absorbed and very uninteresting life. Reading this book is not unlike attending the first couple of Burning Man festivals a decade ago (white art for white people (I should note that I am white)). If reading idealistically naive and flawed reasoning is what interests you, then skip to the astoundingly moronic "Need" section.

Marlowe's claim to a life of junkie strife is akin to an overweight chain smoker riding a bicycle to the corner store to buy a 5'th of cheap gin and then announcing to the world that she did what Lance Armstrong did with cycling/cancer.

I was a heroin addict for 6 years and I spent an additional 2.5 years in a
methadone program getting clean.

The only way we will beat addiction is through education and accurate information.
Marlowe's book is irresponsible and damaging.

Untrue.......2004-08-19

It may seem incredible, but this book actually gave me the encouragement needed to experiment with the drug. Heck, I didn't know you can sniff it. And, according to the author, it's not very dangerous. Quitting entails little more than the equivalent of a really bad case of the flu.

I tried it. It's not as she describes. Not at all. It's been a while since I read it, and I must admit, I remember very little about it. Which speaks more to its content than to my memory. Very little humanity, heart, all the good stuff we're looking for in books, art, and life. I actually do feel sorry for the author. In any event, readers she be aware that her portrayal of heroine use is quite inaccurate and misleading. I speak from experience.

Anticlimatic...unenlightening.......2004-03-09

Ann Marlowe is a cleaver writer who has *constructed*, rather than written a not so cleaver book on addiction. Or has she even done that? We see her addiction to the cool, more-hip-than-thou scene of the East Village, certainly a taste for the drug and descriptions of those whose lives were truly ruled by it, but little of her own heart. It may have been more fulfilling if she could have demonstrated how she lost it due to her own disconection, isolation and selfishness of her use, but I suspect she didn't have it in her to begin with.
Users can - and do! - recover. One doesn't even need to subscribe to the NA model of addiction to see that. She hints at the end that her realization that life was going on without her, and that desire to be a part of it lead her to stop heroin. While her take on personal responsibility for her use is admirable, her denial of any grip on her life past her use is questionable.

Author Takes Responsibility For Her Choice To Use.......2004-02-07

Not enough books have been written by financially successful, but not necessarily famous people that use or have used a "bad boy" drug like heroin or crystal methamphetimine. If you're looking for a "how drugs ruined my life and how I was saved by the 'just say no' crusade" or some such mumbo jumbo, do not read this book because you will be very disappointed. The author documents various periods from her life before, during, and after heroin, but not necessarily in that order. As a professional woman with a similar background as the author and an IV meth user myself, it was very refreshing to not encounter what I refer to as a "victum" mentality style of writing. What I mean is the author does not make excuses like "I had a bad childhood" or "I couldn't help myself, I was an addict," which is the bandwaagon trend in American society's portrayal of any illicit drug user these days. Instead, Marlowe describes her relationship with heroin as a choice, with no appologies, at different stages of her life, and throughout various circumstances. She includes her relationship with heroin and herself, heroin, her friends and herself, heroin, her lovers, and herself, as well as the heroin, career, and family triangles. Marlowe portrays a much more realistic view of the ups and downs of a middle class, daily user and entertains in the process, which is something Hollywood and mainstream American media rarely, if ever accomplish. Good read.

Average customer rating:

How to Stop Time - Heroin From A to Z
Ann Marlowe
Manufacturer: Virago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PPJUVK

Product Description

eaving personal history (Marlowe used Heroin for 7 years) with aphorisms and analysis, "How To Stop Time" looks at Society through the lens - sometimes clouded and sometimes magnified - of Heroin use.

Average customer rating:

How To Stop Time: Heroin From a To Z
Ann Marlowe
Manufacturer: Anchor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N78PK2

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