Kmg Main Hurdman Guide to Preparing Financial Reports

Book Description

The Negotiation Sourcebook, Second Edition focuses on the needs of active negotiators—those people asked daily to negotiate with vendors, government officials, and others. The articles cover a cross section of these negotiations and will help to fill in the gaps for those situations that your negotiators may have only limited experience in addressing. There are also a number of articles that provide a theoretical framework for the process, since more than technique is needed to be an effective negotiator. Because we do not negotiate in a vacuum but within the context of a relationship, each of these articles leans towards the problem-solving or collaborative approach. Unfortunately, not everyone readily accepts this model. Accordingly, there are several articles on how to deal with these individuals, as well. Reproducible Training Aids

Customer Reviews:

Great book for middle-high schoolers.......2000-05-03

This book is a fantastic book for kids. It Makes the complicated science of genetic engineering seem as clear as possible while giving examples of foods that would capture a teen's attention (such as potatoes that are scientifically engineered to absorb less oil when made into french fries.

High-Tech Harvest: a look at Genetically Engineered Foods

Average customer rating:

High-Tech Harvest: a look at Genetically Engineered Foods
Elizabeth L. Marshal
Manufacturer: Franklin Watts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000V93228

Book Description

In June of 1996, at the idyllic seaside resort of Guarujá, Brazil, a renowned group of researchers in space and astrophysical plasmas met to provide a forum on Advanced Topics on Astrophysical and Space Plasmas at a school consisting of some 60 students and teachers, mainly from Brazil and Argentina, but also from all the other parts of the globe. The purpose was to provide an update on the latest theories, observations, and simulations of space-astrophysical plasma phenomena. The topics covered included space plasma mechanisms for particle acceleration, nonthermal emission in cosmic plasma, magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in solar, interstellar, and other cosmic objects, magnetic field line reconnection and merging, the nonlinear and often chaotic structure of astrophysical plasmas, and the advances in high performance supercomputing resources to replicate the observed phenomena. The lectures were presented by Professor Mark Birkinshaw of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the University of Bristol; Dr Anthony Peratt, Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientific Advisor to the United States Department of Energy; Dr Dieter Biskamp of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching, Germany; Professor Donald Melrose, Director, Centre for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Sydney, Australia; Professor Abraham Chian of the National Institute for Space Research, Brazil; and Professor Nelson Fiedler-Ferrara of the University of São Paulo, Brazil. As summarized by Professor Reuven Opher, Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, University of São Paulo, the advanced or interested student of space and astrophysical plasmas will find reference to nearly all modern aspects in the field of Plasma Astrophysics and Cosmology in the presented lectures.

Customer Reviews:

An engaging, full-color guide for children of all ages.......2004-04-06

Activities For All Year Round by Angela Wilkes is an engaging, full-color guide for children of all ages, featuring fun and educational things to do that can be undertaken in various locations or seasons. From pondwatching for wildlife; to observing constellations in the night sky; to spotting and recognizing differnt types of trees; to baking potatoes; to collecting treasures on the beach, and more, Activities For All Year Round is an absorbing, highly recommended idea sourcebook that especially promotes learning more about and appreciating the bounty of nature.

Average customer rating:

Crafts for all seasons
Lorraine Bodger , and Delia Ephron
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00005VPWV

Crafts for All Seasons - Materials from Nature (Crafts for All Seasons)

Average customer rating:

Crafts for All Seasons - Materials from Nature (Crafts for All Seasons)
Victoria Seix
Manufacturer: Blackbirch Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book

Decorative Arts | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Crafts & Hobbies | Arts & Music | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1567114334

Book Description

In Materials from Nature, you'll learn how to:

String a bunch of peanuts together to make a nutty necklace
Glue dried leaves together to make a wonderful wreath
Tie seashells together for a jangly seashell curtain
Plus much much more!

Average customer rating:

Nature Crafts for All the Seasons
Amber Cook
Manufacturer: Sterling Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Decorative Arts | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0806986026

Average customer rating:

Excellent XC ski book

An excellent comprehensive primer on enjoying the snow via skis

Cross-Country Skiing: Building Skills For Fun And Fitness (Mountaineers Outdoor Expert)
Steve Hindman
Manufacturer: Mountaineers Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Cross-Country | Skiing | Winter Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Skiing | Winter Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books
Mountain Climbing | Mountaineering | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Essential Cross-Country Skier

Tao of Skiing : Aide Memoire for Cross-Country Skiing Aficionados (The Way to learn to Cross Country Ski)

Fundamentals of Cross Country Skiing Technique with High Velocity Skiing and Biathlon

Learn to Nordic Ski

Free-Heel Skiing: Telemark and Parallel Techniques for All Conditions (Mountaineers Outdoor Expert Series)

ASIN: 0898868629

Book Description

For the novice to intermediate cross-country skier: instruction by a former member of the PSIA National Nordic Demonstration Team

* Technique demonstrated with step-by-step photos

* Special learning activities reinforce instruction

* Sidebars for trouble-shooting common problems and matching technique to terrain and snow conditions

* Tips for helping kids fall in love with the sport

From the first time you step into your bindings to mastering the stride, the glide, and the skate: Steve Hindman has you covered. As a fully certified instructor, he's introduced hundreds of people to the sport; and also contributed to the last two instruction manuals on nordic skiing for the Professional Ski Instructors of America. Here he shares the same tips he uses on the snow to help you have more fun whether you're setting out for a city park, looking for family fun at a groomed ski area, or heading into the backcountry to set your own track.

This comprehensive guide covers equipment and accessories, waxing for grip and glide, training and conditioning, snow camping, route finding, and avalanche awareness. It will take you from how to fall (and how to get up again), through classic and skate skiing basics (including stance, poling principles, and downhill tactics), and up to more advanced variations of the sport.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent XC ski book.......2007-01-21

Steve Hindman's book is an outstanding introduction to Nordic skiing. He starts from scratch, describing the types of skis and bindings, and showing you how to get started for the first time. He then gradually progresses to the more advanced techniques of efficient and enjoyable cross country skiing. I have been Nordic skiing for 26 years without much instruction, and I learned a lot from the book. I highly recommend it.

An excellent comprehensive primer on enjoying the snow via skis.......2006-03-05

Aspiring skiers will love Cross-Country Skiing: Building Skills For Fun And Fitness: it joins others in Mountaineers' 'Outdoor Expert' series, providing a long-time PSIA instructor's techniques using step-by-step photos and learning activities to back instruction. Common problems receive sidebars of easily-accessed information, while technique is surveyed for different terrain and snow conditions. Cross-Cross-Country Skiing: Building Skills For Fun And Fitness: isn't just about technique, though: it includes games, health concerns, and tips on selecting skis and clothing. An excellent comprehensive primer on enjoying the snow via skis.

Average customer rating:

Cross-Country Skiing: Building Skills for Fun and Fitness
Steve Hindman
Manufacturer: Mountaineers Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Book Description

From the hill villages of northern Vietnam to the beach resorts in Thailand's south, whether you're driving or sitting at the back of a bus, with this indispensable Lonely Planet Road Atlas you're sure to be on track. Thoroughly checked by Lonely Planet authors, this Road Atlas is the perfect companion to your Lonely Planet Guide.

The Thailand, Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia Road Atlas also features:
Climate charts
Distance tables
Comprehensive index

Customer Reviews:

Worst Map of the Region.......2006-01-06

Claiming to be "the best, most up-to-date source of maps" for the region this is a book by Lonely Planet that holds nothing it promises. I used the Laos and the Thailand maps to bike from the Chinese border at Boten to Bangkok via Luang Namtha, Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Udon Thani and Korat. I found that not a single (!) information regarding distances was right. And they weren't off by a few kilometres but rather by 10 up to 25 km (Udomxai to Pak Mong). Further the maps, especially in Thailand, depict roads to be unpaved where according to local information (and Thai maps) they were paved since more than a few years. The topographic shading is sloppy at best, if not completely incorrect. The mistakes are far beyond the "things change fast" warning published in every Lonely Planet guidebook and signal a further deterioration of quality at Lonely Planet. I strongly advice against buying it, it's just a rip-off!

For the traveler that's NOT off the beaten track.......2001-05-18

For the traveler that intends to leave the beaten path, be aware that this atlas misses off hundreds of villages in between larger towns and cities. After spending four months in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos I found this atlas to be dead weight in my pack. However, Lonely Planet publishes an atlas for each individual country, which has more detailed secondary roads, natural features, and remote villages. Moreover, if you do not have the luxury of four months plus at your disposal and you are traveling in these fascinating countries in a rush, this atlas will more than likely meet your needs.

Lonely Planet Laos: A Travel Atlas (Lonely Planet Travel Atlas)

Average customer rating:

Lonely Planet Laos: A Travel Atlas (Lonely Planet Travel Atlas)
Joe Cummings
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Atlases | Atlases & Maps | Reference | Subjects | Books

Laos | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Southeast | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Lonely Planet | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books

Amazon.com

Angela Johnson, whose Toning the Sweep won the Coretta Scott King Award in 1994, once again proves her finesse at capturing the voices of youth and the struggles they face in the 12 poignant, exquisitely crafted short takes constituting Gone from Home. Teens especially will recognize and appreciate Johnson's subtle nods to their intelligence and depth. "It's funny when you see people with bald heads. Most of us think fashion. I guess at fourteen you shouldn't be thinking cancer and dying. Dying and cancer." In "Starr," a motherless girl bonds with her eccentric, lip-ring-sporting, bald baby sitter, and must learn how to cope when she loses her outrageous new mentor to a fatal disease. In "Barns," Walter, a teenage boy whose young cousin was killed in a drive-by shooting, now spends his time sketching and thinking about the silence of farm buildings ("monuments to a time that would never be again"). Although many of these lovely stories portray young people dealing with loss and abandonment, Johnson's characters are able to find a circle of peace amid the pressure and pain of urban life: "Five in the morning looks like the moon, like nowhere I've ever been. Even the streets look clean. It's so quiet... like the first snow before everybody walks on it and the cars drive through. Pure and soft." (Ages 12 and older) --Brangien Davis

Book Description

From two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Angela Johnson, here are 12 heartrending and uplifting stories exploring the notions of home and hope.

Customer Reviews:

Take time to savor the Short Takes.......2004-07-20

This book should be read like you eat a box of very expensive chocolates--very slowly, enjoying and savoring every morsel. Each of these stories packs a whollop of emotion and meaning. If you rush through them, you'll miss it. Let it sink in. Only a very skillful writer like Angela Johnson can say so much in so little space. It's been weeks since I read them, and I've read many books since then, but these stories haunt me, and I am glad. This book is intended for young adult readers, but many adults would do well to take the time to read this slim collection.

Jumping all over the Place!.......2002-03-02

A Review by Jake
This book's main characters are " Sweetness " , a girl in the book that is the main character , and a boy and also her mentor Walter. Her and Walter meet in school one day in the lunchroom of their school. Walter was eating his lunch all by himself , like he always does , while Sweetness approached him. They were a little scared of eachother at first but then they became best of friends.

Walter had a rough childhood which included his mother and father excluding him from them in a way that it really brought him down. His brother died at a young age in a drive-by shooting while Walter was at a young age also. He is emotionally scared from his death but over time he has become a better person because of it. He now spends his time continuing school while he is a underground artist on the side. The pictures that he draws are different than others artists work-he draws pictures of barns. Whenever he sees a barn that is obscure to him , he draws it. He had a reputation of drawing alot in his early years of school. He would draw pictures on the walls of the school in alot of places that he went. Because of this he obviously got in trouble. This is what attracted Sweetness to Walter. She knew that he was different than everone else so she made an effort to become friends with him. Throughout there years of friendship , Sweetness would meet Walter at the neighborhood park in which he would pick her up in his truck and they would go to a secluded area so they could spend time together and have picnics. Overtime , Sweetness and Walter friendship transformed into a relationship.

If I were to rate this book , I would probably rate it a 2. Why would I rate this book a 2? Because it is a very complicated book to understand and it never really hes a rising action. It never really stuck to one plot , it was always jumping all over the place which is very confusing. Because of this it was a very boring book and I would not recommend this book to anyone.

A Good Book!.......2000-06-18

I really enjoyed this book. It was funny and also a quickread. Although nothing absolutely phenomenal about it, it was verygood. It is an interesting collection of stories about twelve different people. The stories were not very varied and seemed somewhat similar. Howevever, they were still funny and imaginative. I really enjoyed this book and would reccomend it for a quick read.

Average customer rating:

Don't Miss Out!

Great for Business Leaders, too

Simply Strategic Stuff

Simply Strategic Stuff

More Admistrative than Strategic, but Still Very Good

Simply Strategic Stuff: Help for Leaders Drowning in the Details of Running a Church
Tim Stevens , and Tony Morgan
Manufacturer: Group Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Church Administration | Ministry & Church Leadership | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Simply Strategic Volunteers: Empowering People For Ministry

Simply Strategic Growth: Attracting a Crowd to Your Church

First Impressions: Creating Wow Experiences In Your Church

Seven Practices of Effective Ministry

Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication

ASIN: 0764426257

Book Description

Here are 99 topics church leaders need to know! Some say it's the little things that matter the most, but the little details are often what pastors dread the most. Easy-to-understand and humorous, Simply Strategic Stuff equips pastors to perform the administrative details of pastoring with ease, and enthusiasm. Pastors are encouraged to consider basic principles that will help them develop systems and structures for releasing growth, enabling churches to reach their communities and the world for Jesus Christ!

Customer Reviews:

Don't Miss Out!.......2007-02-24

Simply Strategic Stuff is by far one of the BEST books in church administration. Tim and Tony are the leaders in providing nuggets of Truth (with a capital "T"!) for church leaders to effectively run a church. How do I know? I am the lead pastor of The Pointe, a United Methodist Congregation, located in Albany, Georgia. Our church began weekly services in March 2006 and has grown in 11 months to an average of over 620 in weekly attendance. Managing a church that has grown so quickly has been a HUGE challenge, but utilizing the principles taught in this book have made all the difference. In fact, our staff is required to read 10 chapters (they are one to two pages each) each week and share how they will use one principle taught in this book in their area of ministry. A must read for every lead pastor and leadership team member. Don't miss out on an AWESOME book!

Great for Business Leaders, too.......2006-05-26

I've read hundreds of management books for my business consulting practice, but few have had the practical approach as this little book. The ideas are focused on churches, of course, but many of them apply to any organization. And not only are the ideas useful, the book is just plain fun to read. I kept telling my wife, "Here, you have to listen to this one!"

Simply Strategic Stuff.......2006-03-04

Very practical and helpful, I will pull it off my shelf often to review and glean insight. It is full of practical wisdom from practitioners who understand effective ministry. Highly recommended.

Simply Strategic Stuff.......2005-08-19

Great book! This is one of the most helpful books I have ever read on church administration.

More Admistrative than Strategic, but Still Very Good.......2005-07-23

When I hear the word "strategic" I think more of planning for future ministry. This book focuses on the administration of present ministry. The title issue aside, the content of this book is extremely helpful and practical for both lay and clergy leaders in the church. It can be read through from cover to cover, but its best use would be as a reference to consult in specific situations. The theology here is conservative, while the methodology is very progressive. I'm pleasantly surprised with this little volume!

Average customer rating:

Drowning in Stuff
Jill Eisen
Manufacturer: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC Audio)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

General | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Consumer Behavior | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0660178192

Book Description

Consumerism has been a defining feature of North American life for most of this century. But since the 1980's, the pressures to consume have intensified. Jill Eisen looks at why and explores the consequences for individuals and society.

Marketing Cool: Since the mid-1980's, corporations have been increasingly successful at defining what's cool for the teen and 20 something market. This episode examines the corporate encroachment in every aspect of youth culture, from fashion to music to political expression, and looks at the growing movement of resistance.

Targeting Children: Children are the fastest growing sector of the consumer market. They've been subjected to intense commercial pressure through television, film, the internet, and recently, even their schools. This episode is about the effect this is having on children, their culture and their families.

More is Not Always Better: Whatever the other critiques of consumerism, the most serious is the environment. The current path - more is better - is simply not sustainable. A look at the limits to the growth and alternative ways to think about wealth and well-being.

Produced at the state of the art recording studios of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Duration Approximately 4 Hours

Average customer rating:
FANTASTIC STORIES - Volume 26, Number 1 - February 1977: The Figurine; Judas Story; Miasmas - A Life Term; Red River Lies Drowning; The Stuff of Legends; Re-Entry; In Brightest Day In Brightest Night; Buried Silver
Ted (editor) (L. Sprague De Camp; Brian M. Stableford; William Nabors; C. L. Grant; Susan Doenim; Barry N. Malzberg; Steven Utley; Dennis More) White
Manufacturer: Ultimate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HP8LTU

Book Description

This classic work chronicles how New York, London, and Tokyo became command centers for the global economy and in the process underwent a series of massive and parallel changes. What distinguishes Sassen's theoretical framework is the emphasis on the formation of cross-border dynamics through which these cities and the growing number of other global cities begin to form strategic transnational networks. All the core data in this new edition have been updated, while the preface and epilogue discuss the relevant trends in globalization since the book originally came out in 1991.

Customer Reviews:

History was VERY unkind to this book...........2004-09-19

This is a sad book. History was very unkkind to this woman. Just when she thought she completed here masterpiece, a book that was supposed to ensure her tenure and fame and all the things that a sociologist may want, everything blew up in her face.

Her theory in the original version went like this; Why oh why are there huge concentration of functions in Tokyo, London, New York, when so much IT allows easier communication and remote office and all that? Why do these cities grow, when all the production and other functions gets shipped off to backwater countries?

Well, she said, IT allowed the separation of production and management/development. That's why managers remain in cities with their high pay, while actual sweat work goes to third world child labor under measly wages.

But why did the cities grow bigger? Well, because cities are the new production centers. Management and stuff requires a lot of legal services and accountants and other services etc that are much easily available in the cities. That's why all those management stuff accumulated in the city.

But aren't those activites just leeches to the actual job? They don't create any new value, do they? Aha, she says. But they do! Look at all those financial innovations, like hedge funds and derivatives and stuff! Look how much money they are making! They are not leeches, they are creating new values. You gotta throw away your old ideas about the economy! Only cities can produce that sort of new financial products, and that's why London, NY, Tokyo are growing!

There was another brownie point. Her theory went very well with shallow anti-globalism arguments. Managers stay in NY/London with high pays, while at the factories half way around the globe, workers suffer forever under low wage.

But exactly when the first edition came out, everything changed.

First was the collapse of the Japanese economy, that took down Tokyo with it. Her theory had nothing to prepare or explain this. What happened to the new production? What happened to all those financial innovation? Why didn't that work in Tokyo? In the book, Sassen tries to answer this using various ad-hoc excuses, but the more she does it, the less convincing the original proposition becomes. So it wasn't THAT important, after all? All those theories of yours were only subordinate to those other stuff that you never mentioned before?

And yes, what about those innovations? Collapse of LTCM and huge hedge funds etc. since the first edition made finance less glamorous. Arbitrage does increase some efficiency of the market, which does create some value. But they were not the major new "product" to sustain the world.

Her theory about the separation of production and management wasn't so hot afterall. Look at Asia, look at China! Concentration of production functions REQUIRED many management and design / development functions to go along with them. Also, the factories did make the workers richer, and as a result, much of Asia and China really became better off. There are dicrepancies, and differences in earnings, but its nothing like what Sassen had described.

It's amazing that NOTHING of here original theory remained. In this second version, she tries to pick up the pieces, but they are too completely destroyed to be picked up, and the effort is almost painful to read. I wonder why she even bothered with the second edition. It's not a book worth salvaging in 2001, and it's hardly worth reading, except as a sad but amusing look back at the strange ideas of the past.

A solid reference work.......2003-03-18

Sassen aims to - unpack the concept of "the city" (p. xviii) - as a unit of analysis in sociology and economics from a global perspective. The scope of this endeavor is quite staggering and she has to bring an number of different fields under the same conceptual umbrella in order to capture the elusive character of 'the city'. Her method is the painstaking analysis of a huge amount of data from a vast array of sources. This might seem unnecessary to some people who are more interested in bold visions of the future á la Manuel Castells or Antonio Negri. The thing about Castells or Negri though is that you need a leap of faith to interpret the world according to their views. Sassen is more boring to read but one can always rely on her providing the data leading up to her conclusions. This is crucial to anyone wanting to take a stab at the interdisciplinary phenomenon of the global city and use availible data for comparison. The thorough research foundation of the book makes it easy to link the issues to areas that otherwise would be quite far apart such as urban planning and service management. Personally I think the most important message is that place and location matters maybe even more nowadays than it used to when production and consumption was explicitly bound by the physical limitations of our world.

In all I think that this book is a must read for anyone even remotely interested i urban matters. It's a bit tough to get through though and the visual presentation of the data could have been better, hence rendering the book a four rather than a five star grade.

A must read in the globalization debate.......2002-02-13

In writing this review, I had to begin with one critical question: why on earth would I review a book already in print for almost four years? What better time than now, when anti-war advocates are seen in many eyes as un-American, to write about a book in which the author discusses the dangers of nationalism and xenophobia in the context of an ever-globalizing economy? In ten essays the doctor of sociology attempts to "expand the analytic terrain within which we need to understand the global economy in order to render visible what is now evicted" from our current picture of the global economy. She writes in such mouthfuls often, yet her textbook style of writing is a welcome break from the sensationalist and anecdotal approach most often utilized in accounts from the anti-globalization perspective.
If, in the last ten years, you have followed the globalization debate even just a little, then nothing I write here can spoil the book's ending for you. The ending is inconsequential, however, for it is this native Dutch woman's approach to the globalization topic that matters most. The book is not a story, and thus does not follow a traditional plot line, but it never tries to disguise itself as anything other than a categorical critique of international policy. Nor is the book a moral plea to human rights, an approach that seems an easy trap into which fall most writers with parallel paradigms to Sassen's. She takes an obvious stand against globalization of the economy, but instead of simply stating that globalization is bad, Sassen pulls the reader through 218 pages of hard earned facts and qualified theories about the dangers of globalization. Rather than dwell in idealisms, the University of Chicago professor acknowledges the simple observation that globalization is occurring, and rather than asking for an uncompromising end to globalization, she takes a card from the neoliberals' hand and offers concrete solutions to the globalization problem. While that seems like a rather unexciting prospect in itself, one has to remember that many opponents of globalization get sucked into the blame game mindset and offer few (if any) plausible-- or well backed-up-solutions (see the Global Exchange website if you do not believe me).
The remarkable quality of the book is its language. It is written under the assumptions of a human-rights advocate but with the deliberate, yet convincing style of an economist. Its academic quality will turn off a lot of people, but this book was never intended to be bedtime reading material. The normal arguments of the two sides of the issue often give the appearance of two runners in completely different races. Sassen, however, meets her opponents head on, and by using their lexicon and dry grammatical structures, she writes one of the most important books about globalization to this day. Indeed, if there is one real weak point to the book, it is her penchance for writing too dully for even academic writing. She falls occasionally into the trap of spending too much time telling the reader what she is going to say before she actually says it- but only occasionally, and her writing style is disciplined for the most part.
Globalization is inherently a complex issue. Sassen does the reader a great service by avoiding getting stuck on minor or irrelevant points about the issue. Perhaps she pulled a page from Wordsworth, for her attack on globalization is well organized to the point at which she seems to have recalled "in tranquility" the issues rather than descending into scare-mongering tactics. She gives the argument for which the globalization proponents have been asking, and she completely avoids forays into minor points that matter only to those whose heart strings it tugs.
As boring as the subject could be for anyone not passionate about globalization, Sassen grounds well the work by looking at globalization in several contexts. Though she seems at times to be dwelling on topics minor in comparison to the greater umbrella issue, she manages to examine all the major issues of globalization. After first explaining her paradigm in the introduction, Sassen looks at globalization through the window of immigration in the first three chapters. The chapters begin and end with statements about immigration, but the arguments within the envelope structure are based around the general issue of globalization. Splitting up the issue under the subheadings of immigration, feminism, and what she calls "space" helps to deliver her arguments in bite-sized portions without making her seem as if she is avoiding any issue. Indeed, she covers every main argument made by opponents of globalization, and she editorializes it further with her recommendations on immigration policy and her focus on feminism. At the risk of repeating myself, however, she brings up all her points carefully and avoids dropping her extensive knowledge on the reader like lead weights. One would hope that she would write in such an organized fashion, but in the globalization arguments, such structure is rare, unfortunately.
As to the original question: why review such an old book, the answer is becoming readily apparent. Though Sassen has written several books on globalization, including The Global City, a book written in 1991 but updated in 2001, this book encompasses all the major issues of globalization in one fell swoop, and it serves as an authoritative text on those issues. There may be more contemporary versions of Sassens arguments, but none serve as better tools in the argument against globalization, one of the most important fulcrum issues in the post September 11th world. As we continue to wage war against nations our president deems as "terrorist," the issue of globalization continues to be, perhaps, the most important dialogue for our nation. Whether we care to admit it or not, terrorism does not appear from thin air, and we must now ask the question of ourselves: what could America have possibly done to anger people enough to kill themselves in an attack on our nation? Sassen takes an honest look at how American and international policy is affecting marginalized countries and our own, and we would all do well to pay attention to what she is saying.

The Global City -Saskia Sassen.......2000-08-27

If you can understand this book you are obviously incapable of living in the real world. Sassen's dense, turgid writing style simply aims to bewilder the reader into unquestioningly accepting her doomsday view of socitey. Most depressing reading.

The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo.......2000-07-03

This book is a profound empirical assessment of the changes that have taken place in the world economy since the sixties and the emerging role of core cities therein. One of the more significant changes in the world economy has been, according to the author, that manufacturing activities have been spatially dispersed while at the same time production-related services such as finance, accounting, and management have been spatially centralized. It is this 'combination of spatial dispersion and global integration [that] has created a new strategic role' [p. 3] for such cities as New York, London, and Tokyo. They have become global cities, i.e., 'postindustrial production sites' for a variety of command functions that integrate the global economy in the post Bretton-Woods era. An immense volume of data is presented to substantiate the hypothesis that these three cities, diverse as their historical, cultural, political and economic settings are, have undergone similar transformations: their economic base has shifted from manufacturing to services, in particular to producer services (chs. 5,7); agglomeration economies in favour of these global cities induced the urban hierarchy to become more top-heavy in the U.S., Great Britain, and Japan, respectively (ch. 6); and their urban social structure is characterized by increasing income and employment polarization since there is complementary expansion of jobs at the top-level and in the informal economy (chs. 8,9). Quantitative indicators, almost by definition, do not suffice to vindicate such far-reaching conclusions. Some of them rely on a questionable notion of what is normal, e.g., the indicators of these cities' 'disproportionate share' in worldwide capitalization of equities, due to their stockmarkets, or the 'overrepresentation' of the financial industries' assets and income in these cities [pp. 171-179]. But what is normal about the value of equities and banks' assets being proportional to city size? Other indicators do not necessarily support the hypothesis forwarded. The conclusion that 'the salient difference' between the three global cities and other major cities 'is the extent of concentration of the producer services and finance' [p. 326] is undermined by the observation 'that the producer services as a whole have grown rapidly over the last decade and that they have grown more rapidly in the countries as a whole than in these cities' [p. 138]. The evidence thus suggests that the 'salient difference' may be a temporary phenomenon and can hardly serve to characterize global cities in general. However, these are minor objections against some empirical arguments in favour of the Global City hypothesis. The author, Professor of Urban Planning at Columbia University, provides much more qualitative and quantitative evidence to substantiate her case. It is the outcome of work for years, in collaboration with an impressive number of other reserachers and institutions. And apart from the attempt to empirical verification, there is also a theoretical framework which supports the Global City hypothesis. The study contributes to an emerging literature on' the social geography of advanced economies' [p. 251] in the classical tradition of political economy. It deviates from orthodox classical or Marxist theory in that the iron law of falling profits is modified by the notion of capitalist 'regimes' or 'models of growth' which are able to restore profit-generating opportunities on a global scale. Fordism has been the last fully articulated regime, charcterized by 'capital intensity, standardization of production, and suburbanization-led growth' [p. 331]. The present work on global cities thus amounts to search for the new 'form of economic growth' and its sustainability [p. 12], based on speculative finance, shift to a service economy, and inner city growth. Even if one does not share this theoretical background and the preoccupation with questions of how durable a particular phase of capitalism is, SASSEN's book proofs tiffs perspective to be a useful device to focus a study of rather complex issues. Moreover, there is abundance of material which should be of interest to the more orthodox-minded economist. Just to mention two examples: the paradox of financial market deregulation being motivated by the need of governments to finance ever larger deficits [pp. 88, 118]; or descriptions of processes in global labor markets [p. 31 ] and urban economics [p. 126] which extend COASE's logic of the firm, though not mentioned, to new fields of study. This is clearly an outstanding book, an authoritative study of the subject and yet stimulating reading for further theoretical and empirical research on major cities and the world economy.

Fragile Giants: New York, Tokyo, London and Paris in the Global Economy

Average customer rating:

Fragile Giants: New York, Tokyo, London and Paris in the Global Economy
Joh Mollenkopf
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Reference | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Urban & Land Use Planning | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Urban Planning & Development | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0415935202

Book Description

Structural Funds: Growth, Employment and the Environment is a book on the role of transfers designed for assisting sustainable development of less developed regions within the European Union. The book places special emphasis on the future path of the Greek economy and discusses likely outcomes -related directly to the impact of these transfers- in:

Growth and macroeconomic convergence
Employment in key sectors of the economy
Energy demand and its environmental aspect

The book uses macroeconomic modelling and modern applied econometric techniques to analyze these issues, thus offering a coherent methodological framework for their presentation. To this extent, Structural Funds: Growth, Employment and the Environment can serve to:

Academic researchers and economists in recipient countries who can gain a better understanding of how national authorities can best design and implement the strategic allocation and utilization of these funds to maximize the benefits for the domestic economy

Policymakers in the European Union by offering a sound and rigorously elaborated treatment which can be applied as an estimation and comparison tool for the effects of Structural Funds both at the national and the international level

Economists in Eastern European countries which are at the pre-accession stage and will be eligible for this type of transfers in the near future.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books