Contours of Descent: U.S. Economic Fractures and the Landscape of Global Austerity

Contours of Descent: U.S. Economic Fractures and the Landscape of Global Austerity
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Settling Accounts

Not much new information or analysis

Forest and trees problem

An economics book extraordinary in its clarity; fascinating

Are we all neoliberals now? No!

Contours of Descent: U.S. Economic Fractures and the Landscape of Global Austerity
Robert Pollin
Manufacturer: Verso
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1844675343

Book Description

The highly respected text, now updated with a substantial postscript reflecting on recent conditions in the US and global economy.

The US economy faced the prospect of a serious recession even prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks. The afflictions that had deepened under both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush—wage stagnation, rising inequality, wildly inflated stock markets—sharpened further. The highly unstable conditions that Clinton handed Bush were hardly noticed amid the near-universal praise for the economic stewardship of Clinton and his supposed policy maestro, Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan.

Contours of Descent reveals how these variants of neo-liberal economics, which lavish favors on multinationals and capitalists while allowing living standards for ordinary people to fall, operate in the US and less developed countries, and explores policies for economic growth with increased equality.

Customer Reviews:

Settling Accounts.......2006-12-23

Clinton boosters have not been shy about touting the Arkansas playboy's economic record while in office. After all, didn't he balance the budget after years of stunning deficits. And didn't unemployment stats fall to near record lows, with negligible inflation, no less. Wasn't capital also included, with equity prices rising to record highs. Yeah, good times for everyone, courtesy our 42nd president. Maybe his zipper had occasional problems, but the economy didn't.

Anyone looking to get beyond the hype with a real take on those years should pick up Pollin's nifty little scorecard. Sure, it's filled with graphs and stats, but how else can the hype be debunked without them. They put the record in historical perspective, and what comes out is not nearly so impressive as what went in. If you feel that somehow you were no better off in 2000 than you were in 1993, don't feel alone. In fact, the Clinton yacht left most of us behind, as the big picture shows. One thing for sure, Pollin will not be on the DLC's list of 2007 must-read's.

Not much new information or analysis.......2006-05-13

Most leftists will be familiar with almost all of the information in Robert Pollin's book. From the rightist nature of Clinton's policies, to the fact that most people's standard of living didn't improve much in the 1990s, to the failure of neoliberalism in India, Argentina, and other nations.

Some bits are interesting. He refutes various circular explanations of why a large bubble developed in the 1990s and provides a good interpretation. The information on the farmer suicides in India will be new to most readers.

At the outset he outlines the "Marx Problem" the "Keynes Problem" and the "Polanyi Problem" but these concepts are hardly used throughout the book.

This book is only recommended for young leftists (or foreigners, since most of the book is on the U.S.) who have not yet learned much about the U.S. economy and international neoliberalism. To all others it will be redundant.

Forest and trees problem.......2006-05-03

Good book, well written, highly literate, worth the effort to wade through, just a few problems. The first is he ignores a series of fairly astute +170 year-old observations by Alexis de Tocqueville. Next, he misses the lessons of classical history.

When Tocqueville looks at the future of America he is troubled not by the macro-economic policies of the Clintons, but with the fundamental materialism of American life. The seeds of the current problems have always been there, since at least 1831. Tocqueville thinks greed is mostly good, he just thinks you have to have the sense (his control mechanism is religion) not to take it too far. This is actually what Pollin is writing about.

Next, the lessons of classical history would suggest that there is a perpetual tension in republics between democrats and oligarchs. Sadly, this will be dismissed by some as neo-Marxist. It isn't; Marx reported a phenomenon, he didn't create it.

What Tocqueville feared, and Marx observed, is best summed by Napoleon's observation that if you abolished the aristocracy of the nobility, you ended up recreating it in the houses of the upper-class. It would seem that we are there, except that somehow it is now unacceptable to talk in terms of class warfare (a prohibition that does not seem to be of much benefit to the non-aristocrats).

What Pollin is reporting is how the oligarchy has gone about extending its power in the modern era. Sadly, it usually takes a pretty severe crisis to reverse that trend. Some analysis of history (classical Athens, the Roman Republic) suggests that if you go far enough over the edge you can never make it back.

An economics book extraordinary in its clarity; fascinating.......2006-04-24

Pollin shows that the Clinton economic "boom" was a [...] The average price to earnings ratio was at an all time high from 1996-99. CEO salaries became increasingly based on stock performance as corporate profits became increasingly based on speculation in their own firm's stock. That the economy was increasingly based on shaky foundations, according to Pollin, was recognized privately in September 1996 by Alan Greenspan, who privately noted that he could slow down the speculative bonanza by raising the margin requirement-but he did not. The margin requirement is where investors are supposed to give their broker a certain amount of cash on reserve, relative to the riskiness of their investment.

In July 1997 in Congressional testimony, Greenspan explained that outstanding economic performance was due to "heightened sense of job insecurity and as a consequence, subdued wages." Subdued wage increases were holding down inflation even in a period of high unemployment. In 2001 dollars, Pollin observes the average, real hourly wage declined from $15.70 in 1973 to $13.27 in 1993. The average hourly wage shot back up to only $14.16 by 2000 (for the whole of the 1993-201 Clinton presidency the average hourly wage was $13.60 exactly as it was under Kennedy and Johnson, lower than the $13.91 of the Reagan-Bush 1 presidency, the $15.11 of Nixon-Ford, and the $15.03 of the Carter presidency). The official poverty rate in 2000 was 11.3. The poverty average for the Reagan-Bush I years was 14.0. Clinton, by 2000, under the Stock market casino induced prosperity, had gotten the poverty level back down to the level (11.3) where it was in 1974. This poverty reduction was very meager considering that from 1974-2000, America's GDP had grown by 70 percent, productivity grew by 61 percent and the stock market went up 603 percent. The richest one percent of income earners in the U.S. got the predominant share of this economic success. The CEO to worker pay ratio went from 113 to 1 in 1991 but was 449 to 1 by the time Clinton left office. Even the small poverty reduction under Clinton is probably undermined by the fact of the skyrocketing child care costs, caused by Clinton's elimination of subsidies to single mothers.

And of course the meager increases in wages and poverty decrease were funded by the stock market casino induced business expansion. When that expansion collapsed in late 2000, business were left with greatly underutilized plant and machinery, and a great deal of debt, something that all of Greenspan's interest rate lowering during the current president's first term could not resolve.
In the several years after NAFTA, Pollin notes companies held down worker pressure for wage increases by threatening to move production overseas. Some firms have even been forcing their workers to work overtime without pay. In an early 2002 article in Business Week which surveyed white collar employees, most complained that they were getting little of the increased gains in productivity, that they were having to take over the functions of their downsized colleagues and were desperate to get more secure jobs. Indeed, in Bush's first term, productivity growth took off. This seems to have been because fewer workers were spending more hours at work. In his afterward to the paperback edition, he quotes a May 10 2005 London Financial Times article which stated that while productivity growth had been at an average of 4.1 per year since 2001, wage and salary growth grew by only 1.5 percent....Pollin notes that the largely male percentage of the population which has stopped looking for work altogether is not counted in official unemployment figures. Thus the real unemployment rate currently might be about 7 percent.....

Neoliberalism is the cause of the increasing inequality in the Third World. In the latter, since 1980, economic growth has been reduced significantly in contrast to previous decades. Under IMF programs, countries increasingly were forced to eliminate subsidies to farmers and to the poor, to remove tariffs against foreign competition, to remove all restrictions on capital flows in and out of their country. This elimination of protection for small farmers has led to them increasingly trying to survive in sweatshop work. Pollin gives the case study of India where in the free market showcase of the province of Andreh Pradesh, there has been a mass suicide of poor farmers. These farmers have ruined their crop because there are no longer government agencies around to supervise their use of pesticides and fertilizers and the elimination of government subsides has necessitated that they turn to loan sharks who take all their money

In Argentina he notes, from 1950 to 1971, under the "import substitution" model where the government channels subsidies to stimulate domestic industries and imposes tariffs to protect domestic industries, the GDP on average grew 3.0. While from 1971 to 2001, Argentina subjecting itself to increasingly severe neoliberal imposition after the late 70's, the GDP grew by only 2.0. Argentina's poverty rate rose from 8 to 40 percent from 1978 to 1989. From 1981 to 1989, after expanding for decades, the country's supply of machinery and equipment fell by 35 percent. The elimination of controls on the inflow and outflow of capital caused major inflationary spikes and financial instability. Argentina has gotten out of its severe 2001 economic collapse by ignoring the key prescriptions of the IMF. Indeed, Pollin observes, the most successful economies in modern history have completely avoided the extreme free market policies pushed by the IMF. Asian economies like Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, quoted by Reagan as free market success stories in his 1985 inaugural , had massive government subsidized import substitution policies and restrictions on capital flows in and out of the country.

The increasing level of inequality in the world, Pollin writes, is greatly understated, by including Chinese economic statistics. In fact, China still has significant government involvement in its economy.

Pollin discusses sweatshops and whether they are actually cost-effective for firms.........

It would have been nice if the author devoted a section to the economic policies of the Reagan years.

Are we all neoliberals now? No!.......2005-02-08

Robert Pollin's 'Contours of Descent' has been a welcomed addition to the debate over the nature and course of recent American economic history and the policies that contributed in to the making of that history. Pollin provides a well-researched and -argued look at the economic policies of the Clinton and Bush administrations. 'Contours' treats both presidential administrations as instances of Reaganomics in action - that is, as political regimes beholden to the neoliberal consensus that began to form in Washington during Jimmy Carter's term and which the Reagan administration turned into programmatic focus of American economic policy. The New Deal Order might have ended with the Reagan administration, but there has not been a return to a 'golden age' defined by full employment and an equitably distributed abundance. Consequently, Reaganomics or neoliberalism has proven to be an austerity program for the majority in the United States and elsewhere. Clinton and Bush the Younger merely follow their master in this regard.

What is most useful in Pollin's analysis is the debunking work it performs. More specifically, Pollin makes it clear that Clintonomics differs from Bush the Younger's 'New Rapacity' mostly in degree but not in kind. The stock market bubble economy of the late 1990s merely obscured the class biases inherent in the administration's policies, biases which Clinton expressed by claiming that he would be an Eisenhower Republican.

Pollin's critical work won't prove to be overly useful to those implementing the neoliberal consensus at home and abroad. They will likely ignore it and will continue to greatly exploit whomever they can, whenever they can, notwithstanding the consequences produced by their policies and actions. On the other hand, his analysis should be very useful to those on the left who believe the Clinton wing of the Democratic Party has something to offer in economic matters. It does, of course: It offers a recipe for making the rich richer and the poor poorer! What it fails to offer is a strategic path leading to a full employment and high growth economy in the United States and elsewhere. Pollin sheds a much-needed light on the methods and consequences of neoliberalism. We can only hope that it aids sensible Americans as they make their way out of the Democratic Party.

Financial Crises and Recession in the Global Economy

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Financial Crises and Recession in the Global Economy
Roy E. Allen
Manufacturer: Edward Elgar Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1840646322

Book Description

This timely and authoritative book, now in paperback, explains the rise and fall of economies in Asia, Central America and Europe since 1980 and discusses these crises in the context of continuing economic globalization.

This updated and fully revised edition includes a detailed account of the Mexican crisis of 1994-95, the Japanese crisis which has worsened in the late 1990s and the Asian crisis which emerged in 1997. Professor Allen discusses the impact of new uses and forms of money, and new financial flows such as electronic monies and offshore financial markets. These processes explain how the US economy has benefited from 'money-mercantilism' at the expense of other regions of the world. The author then provides a thorough taxonomy of the common patterns of recent currency crises. He formalizes a 'new political economy of money' which goes further than the conventional literature in explaining these patterns.

Book Description

This volume focuses on privatization in transition countries, addressing issues ranging from corporate governance to the relationship between privatization and the emergence of markets. The contributors investigate both the theoretical groundwork of privatization and enterprise restructuring as well as recent empirical evidence.

HOME FARM COMPLETE FOOD SELF-SUFFICIENCY
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HOME FARM COMPLETE FOOD SELF-SUFFICIENCY
MICHAEL ALLABY
Manufacturer: READERS UNION
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SIAD38

Craniofacial Anthropometry: Practical Measurement of the Head and Face for Clinical, Surgical, and Research Use
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Craniofacial Anthropometry: Practical Measurement of the Head and Face for Clinical, Surgical, and Research Use
John C. Kolar , and Elizabeth M. Salter
Manufacturer: C.C. Thomas
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0398066175

Book Description

The transmembrane electrical potential is a critical aspect of the function of all living cells. In neurons, the dynamics of this potential are of particular importance as the basis for cell signaling. Neurodynamix simulates the dynamic properties of neurons at four levels of neuronal organization and makes the topic of bioelectricity more accessible and less intimidating to students. The modeling system provides a means for students to have access to neurophysiological methods and results by carrying out experiments. Such hands-on simulations deepen students' understanding of electrophysiological concepts and heighten their appreciation of the techniques used to study the electrical properties of cells. The models of Neurodynamix simulate physiological experiments and results dynamically; results are displayed as they are being generated by the models. Based on a highly accessible graphics interface, the computer models encourage active exploration of physiological properties through the manipulation of model parameters while the model experiments are in progress. Section I of the text provides overviews of electrical concepts, the properties of ion channels, resting and action potentials, synaptic interactions, and neuronal circuits. Each of these is followed by descriptions of modeling exercises to be carried out with the NeuroDynamix software. Exercises are designed to illustrate the concepts introduced in the text overviews. Section II provides brief descriptions of the six models incorporated into NeuroDynamix and includes glossaries for variables and parameters. Sections III and IV furnish detailed descriptions of mathematical equations for the models.

Neurodynamix: Computer Models for Neurophysiology/Book and Disk

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Neurodynamix: Computer Models for Neurophysiology/Book and Disk
W. Otto; Friesen, Jonathon A. Friesen
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OK61K4

Customer Reviews:

The best book about Bob Knight, period........2007-08-06

I've read pretty much every book about Robert M. Knight and must say that Steve Alford's book is the best. He is honest in his opinions and praises and criticizes his old coach when he feels necessary. Better than the widely hailed "Season on the Brink," after reading this book you'll see that there truly is a method to Knight's madness and that he is truly a great man.

Playing for knight: My six seasons with coach Knight.......2007-02-17

Steve Alford goes to Indiana University where he plays basketball for Coach Knight. He plays under Coach Knight for six years. During his six years with Coach Knight he has his ups and downs. An up is he wins a national title. A down is the war stories. The war stories are the strange ways Coach Knight gets you to understand his thinking. For instance he made two of the senior players plan how to get to the game. They had to bring all the equipment, get bus tickets, and make a starting lineup.

If you like books about basketball you should read this. One reason you should read this, is you can learn many valuable lessons. One is to try the hardest you possibly can in practice. My second reason is it's a tremendous read. I loved reading this book, because I love to play basketball. My final reason is if you play for Coach Knight in the near future you can learn what not to do, such as loafing around in a game. Which means: not hustling for loose balls, not rebounding, and not getting back on defense. These are the things that get you chewed out.

A man for Two histories.......2005-11-10

Unfortunately the media influences a lot of people to focus on the "perfectionist" Bob Knight.

That coach is the one who loses control when things don't go, in actuality, as he visualizes them in that steel trap he calls his mind.

History will, most probably, over-record those incidents he has exposed on television; and have been blown out of proportion in print. History will misplace the accomplishments of the greatest coach ever, as a coach and, most of all, as a behind the scenes parent. Not only a good father to his blood children but to those hundreds of "adopted children" who are his players, coaches and his coaches players.
The quiet coach has raised money for a myriad of purposes but has ALWAYS been there for his "kids". This is the coach that will leave a silent legacy that, not only has changed college basketball but has influenced, directly or indirectly, an untold number of our community leaders and teachers of our children.

Steve Alford is a perfect example of this. As is Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski), Dan Dakich, Jim Crews and (maybe) Mike Davis.

Alford teaches that hard work and a good attitiude, pays off.......2003-11-18

Indiana basketball legend Steve Alford, describes what it was like playing for the General, Bob Knight. Alford shows us in the book the genius of Bob Knight. He also talks about the temper tantrums, mind games, and manipulations he and his teammates had to go through while playing for the General. In the book, he describes some of the war stories about coach Knight. Alford, talks about the brilliance of the General and how he made him become a better player and person.
This book was very inspiring to me. Not only did I learn that Steve Alford is from my hometown, I learned many more things about his family and his relationship with his coach. In the book, Alford talks many times about how hard he had to work to achieve all of his goals in life. All of the countless hours he spent on the court and how they paid off. If you are looking for an inspiring and motivational book, this is an excellent choice. I think all younger kids that are basketball players should read this book. It may have many goods tips for them. "Playing for Knight", would definitely teach them, how hard work can get you to the top. They may also learn more about life's little lessons. Knight had the willingness to sacrifice victory just to teach his players a larger lesson about work, pride, and honor. If your are thinking of reading a book, this a great story to start with.

Pulls some punches.......2003-08-06

Alford admits that he cleaned up Knight's language in this book. Bob Knight was famous for swearing up and down the court and all around, sometimes even when the camera and microphone were on. Alford probably also had some selective memory since being a professional in basketball who would eventually go on to be a coach, he didn't need Bob Knight as an enemy. Alford and some other players admitted as much when Knight was fired from Indiana a few years ago that they weren't always as honest about what went on as maybe they could have been. But that's understandable.

If you buy into the idea that sports is another kind of warfare, then Knight's style made sense. Think Bryant and the Junction Boys here. Knight did coach military before Indiana, too. But this story is not really a book about Bobby Knight. There are bunch of those. It concentrates just on that time when Alford was there, in the 80s, probably when Knight's power and prestige were at their greatest. Despite his size (Alford is on the short side to be a basketball player) he had skill and determination, and apparently the obedience that Knight wanted in a player.

Alford's daydream at the end will never come true, at least not in the way he sees it. He saw Knight still being at Indiana, and no one would have ever thought he could be toppled from there. He thought despite the drawbacks it would still be an excellent opportunity for his son, and he wouldn't hesitate to recommend playing for Knight. It was an experience.

Book Description

Functional and fun, this course offers full pronunciation guides, grammar summaries, dialogues, cultural notes, vocabulary charts, and irregular verb tables. Ideal for complete language study from comprehension, to speaking and writing skills, to understanding the culture.

Customer Reviews:

Dedication will pay off.......2007-09-07

While the older version by Roderick MacKinnon may be better for all the fine points of grammar, this is the version you want for learning conversational Gaelic. The lessons build upon each other gradually, so you'll want to master each one before preceding. With dedication, you'll do just fine.

Some very good points, a few areas to work on........2007-07-12

One thing I very much appreciated about this course (though it is likely to be a point that turns off inexperienced and first-time language learners)is the way in which the book plunges straight into quite sophistocated language. The approach of providing "lexical chunks" rather than single words or endless grammar examples is, in my opinion very useful and very appropriate to such an idiomatic language as Gaelic.

On the down side, I have to agree with other reviewers that felt the pronunciation section of the book was severely lacking. A more detailed description of what to expect would enable learners, not only to better follow the CD, but also attempt to more accurately pronounce new vocab learned from reading independently outside the course. Way too much detective work is necessary to build up a picture of pronunciation rules from the CDs and a more comprehensive overview would really be immensely helpful- especially given how complex the pronunciation of Gaelic is!

Regarding the CD moreover, personally, I wish the speed of delivery were a little more natural- the stilted word-word-word delivery is a little annoying. It is possible to speak clearly yet naturally and I don't feel it is much help to get used to turtle-speed speech when normal spoken Gaelic is much faster. Clear speech is essential but overly slow speech is unnatural.

Finally, I really wish that the grammar index was more comprehensive so that it would be possible to refer to grammar as necessary without feeling bound by the course structure- it is, after all, a self-instruction course and I need something that will enable me to reach the language I need when I need it. On a related point, it would also be a great help to have an English-Gaelic glossary as well as the Gaelic-English one to avoid having to search through the units looking for forgotten vocabulary.

Overall, with some revision, this could really be a good course. I have enjoyed using it and it has been a great help but with some improvements it could be much better.

job well done.......2006-09-11

I bought this pack without high expectations but because it looked better than the alternatives.

Let me say at the outset that the book by itself is useless for teaching anybody Gaelic. I have yet to see any useful written material on Gaelic pronunciation, and this book does not even try. My guesses, even as an experienced linguist, were far off the mark. With the CD's however it is another matter - they are excellent, though the learning curve is steep at first and a few written tips of things to look out for would have been helpful.

Each unit contains (primarily) a dialogue, with key expressions collected at the end, a grammar section and a useful selection of exercises. All this material is professionally organized, and the level of the grammar explanations is probably about right for most learners - clear and thorough enough without any danger of overload. For the first half of the book there are also sections on Gaelic terms against their cultural background.

After working through about half of the book, I can say that I am pleased with the purchase, and feel that I am already getting the hang of this language far more quickly than I would have imagined. But don't forget the CD's.

The Tongue of the Gael..........2006-05-02

I think this set has aquired some negativity it does not deserve. For one, it never claimed to be teaching Irish, it's a matter of proper terminology - if you want to learn Irish, buy a book that says IRISH. Nor does it claim to be an on-the-go trainer; of course it's book dependent.

I highly recommend this, it is the most thorough course available for beginners. The other course mentioned hereabouts, "Colloquial Gaelic", does NOT do as good a job teaching the language, focusing on phrases rather than giving one a full understanding of the functions of Gaelic grammar, a must in order to learn this complicated language.

TY's kit does an excellent job teaching the really useful elements of speech. We learn conversational ballast rather than the mostly-ubiquitous "this is a book" lines too often taught. Lessons are given in managable chunks, and the background sections make for interesting reading. The edition does stand in need of a little revision, being unchanged for over a decade, and a little more audio material would be nice, but as a beginner's kit, it does its job well.

I've owned this kit for a number of years, making a little more progress each time I turn to it. Gaelic is best learned this way, along with a dictionary to browse through, and of course listening to much good Gaelic music (I recommend Runrig and Capercaillie).

very good.......2006-03-20

i really like this course because it's easy and the cds help with the pronounciation

Teach Yourself Gaelic Dictionary (Teach Yourself)

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Okay for a start but quickly exhausts its usefulness
Teaching yourself Gaelic
Teach Yourself Gaelic Dictionary
Absolutely essential for every student of Scottish Gaelic.

Teach Yourself Gaelic Dictionary (Teach Yourself)
Boyd Robertson , and Iain McDonald
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Teach Yourself Gaelic Complete Course Audiopack
Beginner's Gaelic (Hippocrene Beginners Language Series)
Colloquial Scottish Gaelic: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series)
Dic Scottish Gaelic English English Scottish Gaelic
Everyday Gaelic

ASIN: 0071426671

Book Description

Students of Gaelic at all levels will consider this bilingual dictionary a welcome addition to their reference bookshelf. New to the Teach Yourself dictionary series, this title provides the user with a comprehensive vocabulary for working Gaelic, the Celtic language of Scotland. With more than 30,000 words from Gaelic to English and from English to Gaelic contained within its covers, this handy resource offers extensive coverage in a portable package. In addition to vocabulary, special sections round out language learning with concise overviews of grammar and idiomatic usage.

Customer Reviews:

Okay for a start but quickly exhausts its usefulness.......2007-07-12

I am not, by any means, disappointed by this dictionary, as I bought it with the assumption that it would be just adequate for my needs. I very much needed a working Gaelic dictionary that was within a reasonable price-range and would serve my current (fairly elementary) level of Gaelic.

If my sole criterion were the number of headwords provided, I might actually be quite pleased with this dictionary- it covers quite a good range of vocabulary and functions well as a reading aid for intermediate texts. My biggest complaint however, is the lack of examples, guides to usage etc that would allow the user to: a) identify the correct translation of Gaelic lexis and b) correctly choose and be able to actively use the sought-after word in Gaelic. As it stands, there are just lists of translations with little or no indications of how to use the lexis presented in sentences nor any guide to the register, appropriacy etc.of items.

Of course, this is a beginner's dictionary- but in many ways that makes it all the more necessary to provide cues to assist the learner. I am a language teacher myself and know only too well the pitfalls of poor dictionary use and bad translations. Gaelic especially, is quite an idiomatic language and has a strong, structural orientation towards "lexical chunking". Boyd and Robertson's Teach Yourself Gaelic" textbook shows a high awareness of this aspect of the language- if only they'd applied the same diligence to this dictionary!

Teaching yourself Gaelic.......2007-03-14

It is a great book if you already know how to pronounce the words, but if you don't, I would not recommed this book. If you do, it's wonderful. Lots of gaelic names and places and simple phrases to say. Would be very helpful in Scotland or Ireland, even to just look up the word.

Teach Yourself Gaelic Dictionary.......2006-07-21

As a student of Celtic languages, I am the first to speak out against the Teach Yourself (TY) courses for Welsh, Irish, and Gaelic (Scottish). I have purchased all three of these courses, and I was disappointed to find them little more than glorifed "travel phrase" books with CD's.

If you are seriously wanting to learn one of these languages, you can save your time and money by purchasing something else...believe me, there are better courses out there. However, if reason you are learning these languages is you want some simple phrases and vocabulary for a trip or maybe some special event...then a TY course "might" be what you are looking for.

Now having said that...this is a positive review!!!

In fact, I feel that the TY dictionary might be one of the best Scottish Gaelic dictionaries on the market right now...and there are a lot out there.

I have a few of the most recently published dictionaries, and I can tell you that while they are nice to have...they were not designed for beginning students. It is easy to get lost, confused, and just plain upset with the mass volume of choices and examples given for the entries.

A student just starting out needs to be able to open a book, find the word in their language or the language they are learning, and have only a few options...

And that is exactly what TY has created...while the Amazon site says there are over 30,000 entries, the book itself only claims 24,000. However, that is more than enough for a beginner, and having gone through it...I know that the vocabulary is modern, numerous, and capable of covering any situation that even the most advanced speaker will find themselves in.

So while I may have a hard time giving a friend the TY Gaelic language learning course...I would have no hesitation in giving them the TY Gaelic Dictionary.

A dictionary can be your best friend or your worst enemey when you are learning a language. And TY has created a very friendly dictionary to help you.

Absolutely essential for every student of Scottish Gaelic........2005-10-21

This is the best two-way Scottish Gaelic dictionary on the market, and the first dictionary that every student of the language should buy. Excellent coverage of vocabulary, including modern coinages, and contemporary usage. The appendices (grammar reference, personal and place names) are useful, though they could have been laid out better.

Book Description

During his short but highly productive career, Joe Colombo (1930-1971) became one of the most inventive stars of Italian design. His work was consistently brilliant and always formally "right," displaying the ingenuity and technical finish that has made his name synonymous with the "sixties style" that became known worldwide.

This book documents in sketches, drawings, photographs, models, and prototypes all of Colombo's 51 production projects and contains a complete catalog of his works. Vittorio Fagone places Colombo in the European design context and Ignazio Valentini offers an intriguing portrait of this complex man.

Beginning his career as an architect and painter, Joe Colombo moved quickly into interiors and then into designing functional objects. His special talent was in producing spacesaving, compact designs at affordable prices for kitchens, wardrobes, and studios. Virtually all of the objects he created were designed for mass production and consumption.

Here are the series of "Colombo classics" produced during the 1960s the molded plastic Elda chair for Kartell, curved Perspex lamps for O-Luce, and placeware setting for Alitalia; the plastic storage trolley and minikitchen on castors which were among the first successful mobile units with many possible functions; and the later experiments with flexible living spaces and flexible seating that were designed to accommodate the complexities of the modern habitat.

Vittorio Fagone is an art historian and critic of contemporary art. He is on the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Milan and a Visiting Professor in the Art Department at New York University. Ignazia Favata Valentini is a professor of engineering at the University of Milan. She was Joe Colombo's assistant from 1968 until his death and now manages and owns the Joe Colombo studio and is curator of the Joe Colombo archive.

Joe Colombo and Italian Design of the Sixties

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Joe Colombo and Italian Design of the Sixties
Joe] Favata, Ignazia [Colombo
Manufacturer: MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KVQ7HO

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