The Politics of High Tech Growth: Developmental Network States in the Global Economy (Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences)

Book Description

Driven by high tech foreign investment, the "Celtic Tiger" economy in the Republic of Ireland was one of the economic "success stories" of the 1990s. This book argues, however, that the state played a central role in developing the Celtic Tiger economy as well, and particularly, the increasingly important Irish high tech industry. Typically seen as an example of successful market-led globalization, high tech growth in Ireland has actually been promoted by a new form of state intervention in the economy--one that fosters local networks of support through decentralized state institutions drawing on extensive local, national and global resources.

Innovation and Growth in the Global Economy

Average customer rating:

a very useful synthesis of trade and growth theory

Innovation and Growth in the Global Economy
Gene M. Grossman , and Elhanan Helpman
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

ASIN: 0262570971

Book Description

Traditional growth theory emphasizes the incentives for capital accumulation rather than technological progress. Innovation is treated as an exogenous process or a by-product of investment in machinery and equipment. Grossman and Helpman develop a unique approach in which innovation is viewed as a deliberate outgrowth of investments in industrial research by forward-looking, profit-seeking agents.

Gene M. Grossman is Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University. Elhanan Helpman is Archie Sherman Professor of International Economic Relations at Tel Aviv University.

Customer Reviews:

a very useful synthesis of trade and growth theory.......2000-11-09

This volume is a very useful synthesis of trade and growth theory, pulling together a lot of related models and presenting them in a systematic manner with unified notation. One is struck at the end how much the results turn on traditional differences in factor usage intensities across industries, and as a consequence, how non-robust many the results are in a prescriptive sense.

Sustaining the Common Good: A Christian Perspective on the Global Economy

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Sustaining the Common Good: A Christian Perspective on the Global Economy
John B., Jr. Cobb
Manufacturer: The Pilgrim Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

International | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Sociology | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0829810102

Book Description

John B. Cobb, Jr., challenges economists' zealous faith in the great god of growth and proposes that policies engender sustainable development--where the economy serves the community, and not the other way around.

Egypt in the Global Economy: Strategic Choices for Savings, Investments, and Long-Term Growth (Middle East and North Africa Economic Series)

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Egypt in the Global Economy: Strategic Choices for Savings, Investments, and Long-Term Growth (Middle East and North Africa Economic Series)
Chang-Po Yang
Manufacturer: World Bank Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Development & Growth | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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

Economic Policy & Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Production & Operations | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

From Central State to Free Global Market Economy (NATO Science Partnership Sub-Series: 4:)

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From Central State to Free Global Market Economy (NATO Science Partnership Sub-Series: 4:)

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Policy & Current Events | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Development & Growth | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Policy & Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0792345207

Book Description

The exceptional impact of free market globalization on CIS countries and the use of innovation to counter the concomitant socioeconomic problems are profoundly and frankly analyzed and discussed from a variety of standpoints, both cultural and geographical. New possible solutions are presented and discussed, leading to a proposal for the development of a `common technological language'. Audience: A high level reference text for experts and organizations interested in economic problems and forecasting, which underscores the technological aspects and the cultural revolution needed for advanced, high quality manufacturing and service sectors. Of interest to experts in both technology and economics.

Growth and Competition in the New Global Economy : Development Centre Seminars

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Growth and Competition in the New Global Economy : Development Centre Seminars

Manufacturer: Development Centre of Organisation and Develo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Policy & Current Events | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Development & Growth | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Policy & Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9264169733

Book Description

The integration of the newly emerging economies (NEEs) into the global economy not only raises major challenges for OECD Member countries, which must adapt to new sources of competition, it also forces emerging economies to equip themselves with the policies and structures necessary to operate successfully in the global marketplace. That these challenges have still not been adequately taken up has been amply demonstrated by the financial crisis which struck Asian NEEs in mid 1997. Hence the need for more dialogue, on both the domestic and international levels, to reform policies and to avoid policy failures and crises in emerging economies, with ensuing impact on the industrialised countries.

This book moves in that direction by dealing with issues as varied and complementary as: the perspectives for an integrating world economy, the financing of economic reform, employment generation and poverty alleviation or the role of institutions in economic development. These themes are tackled in the light of the experience of Asian newly industrialised countries, namely Korea, China and India. This publication offers a stimulating, well-informed tour of the issues which policy makers will have to resolve if the integration of the NEEs into the world economy is to be facilitated.

Book Description

What are the forces behind the increasing globalization of economic life? How does globalization affect the functioning of national economies? What difficulties confront government policymakers in dealing with the global economy? These issues are addressed in this volume by leading specialists.

The contributors present a range of unique and varied perspectives from which they consider aspects of the increasing integration of economic life, exploring implications for the functioning of domestic markets in a rapidly changing global economy. The result is a collection of insights that provide a framework for understanding globalization as an economic phenomenon.

The determinants of national economic growth within this global context, and the way in which national governments and international organizations can best achieve growth and development without instability and widening inequality are also discussed.

Book Description

Recent institutional changes have seen the increasing dominance of globalization and neoliberalism in the world economy. As markets have been deregulated, privatization and unproductive government spending have been promoted. Yet the greater volatility of capitals, the emergence of many financial crises, a decline in trust, and environmental problems have cast doubt on the effectiveness of neoliberal globalization.

This book studies the impact of neoliberal globalization on growth and development in the world economy. It scrutinizes whether new social structures of accumulation or modes of regulation have emerged to promote long-term socioeconomic performance in the global economy during the early years of the 21st century. Special reference is given to the specific performance of neoliberal governance; transnational corporations; global institutions of money, trade and production; international relations of war and terrorism; financial institutions; and the family-community.

Growth, Debt, and Politics: Economic Adjustment and the Political Performance of Developing Countries (Political Economy of Global Interdependence)

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Growth, Debt, and Politics: Economic Adjustment and the Political Performance of Developing Countries (Political Economy of Global Interdependence)
Lewis W. Snider
Manufacturer: Westview Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Policy & Current Events | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Development & Growth | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Policy & Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Production & Operations | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

In this fascinating book, Lewis Snider convincingly argues that problems of structural adjustment arise not because the government is involved but because the way it intervenes is often counterproductive. In addition, he contends that political weakness, rather than misconceived policies or the inability of policymakers to see the consequences of their decisions, most often prevents leaders from successfully implementing economic reforms.

Mid-michigan First; a Capital Choice for Future Growth (Contemporary Image Series)

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Mid-michigan First; a Capital Choice for Future Growth (Contemporary Image Series)

Manufacturer: Contemporary Image, Haslett, MI
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000F9W7JI

Product Description

Oversize coffee table size book on Mid-Michigan. Fully Illustrated. State Government, Manufacturing and Industry, Transportation, Warehousing and Distribution, Land Development, Neighbors, Associations, Hospitals and Insurance, Future in a global economy, Partners in Progress.

Book Description

Offshore Rising presents a CEO-level perspective on the opportunities and threats inherent in offshore services to existing operating models. Beginning with a review of the characteristics of organizations that will alternately see them prosper or suffer in this new paradigm, it explores the spreading impact of compression of service deliver time, commoditization of service offerings and standardization of work processes among other areas that are occurring as globalized service practices become the norm. It offers suggestions on how to begin the journey offshore and ample reference points from IT services and IT-enabled services including call centers and business process outsourcing (BPO) as to the breadth, depth and speed at which the transition is occurring. Using concise, accessible language, Offshore Rising delivers a compelling perspective for business innovators seeking to understand how they can ride the wave of offshore services, avoid the undertow and possibly achieve market leadership with a globalized operating model.

Customer Reviews:

Science Facts, Fables & Good Old Time Stories.......2001-12-24

This book is a delightful combination of science facts, popular un-truths and common sense stories from old time wardens. Written with a real feel of hands-on Americana. Puts the irrational fear of these critters into perspective and gives us all a glimpse into past attitudes and how they compare with present fears. Truly an enjoyable read!

Naturalist.......2001-12-01

Rattlers & Snappers is not only a book about snakes and turtles, but also about conservation officers and their interactions with venomous reptiles in the mountains of north central Pennsylvania. An entire section is devoted to the art of snake handling and the ordeals of being bitten, as related by the first-hand experiences of retired conservation officer's Norm Erickson and Stan Hastings.
Turtle lovers will appreciate the section, Harvesting Snappers - From Swamp to Soup, where the author leads the reader through the backwaters of rivers, streams, and swamps in pursuit of the old mossback.
This book is a must-read for anyone with a love for the outdoors.

Excellent!!!.......2001-10-21

One of the best books I have ever read. Cool stories, excellent narration, very well written.
Definitely a most have for your collection.

Book Description

With the 15 Life, Earth, and Physical Science titles in the Glencoe series, you can select the specific topics you want to cover and customize your science curriculum any way you want.

Glencoe Science: From Bacteria to Plants Student Edition

Average customer rating:

Glencoe Science: From Bacteria to Plants Student Edition
McGraw-Hill Na
Manufacturer: Glencoe/Mcgraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OGZF28

Glencoe Science: From Bacteria To Plants, Student Edition (glencoe Science Series)

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Glencoe Science: From Bacteria To Plants, Student Edition (glencoe Science Series)
McGraw-Hill
Manufacturer: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OGZ3FW

Amazon.com

This richly illustrated photographic essay celebrates an ancient creature that is generally reviled, and it charts many possibilities for the future of alligators in the United States. Alligators are flourishing in many places, but in critical habitats such as the Everglades their numbers are declining dramatically as nesting grounds and watercourses are altered by development; in an accompanying essay, naturalist J. Whitfield Gibbons suggests that this pattern can be reversed so that alligators can once again be "one of the most picturesque features of our lakes, rivers, and bayous." This book is a real treat for 'gator lovers.

Book Description

"I ran as fast as I could toward the banana trees with the gator right behind me, gaining on me with every step. Her jaws popping together sounded like a door slamming. I reached the first banana tree just ahead of the gator and climbed right up it like it had stairs... I had climbed up about ten or twelve feet and I was slipping back down, so I made a desperate effort and managed to get my hands into the base of the leaves. Just as I thought I might be safe, the tree started falling over." -- LeRoy Overstreet, "Memories of Gator Hunts," from Alligators, Prehistoric Presence in the American Landscape

During the past nine years, photographer Martha Strawn has taken more than 40,000 photographs of the alligator--in freshwater marshes and swamps, lakes and ponds, rivers, bayous, brackish estuaries, and saltwater coastal marshes and backwaters, from Texas to North Carolina. Alligators, Prehistoric Presence in the American Landscape offers a selection of 151 of Strawn's photographs in a unique book that combines art, science, history, folklore, land ethics, and literature to tell the story of America's southern landscape and one of its most evocative creatures.

For at least 65 million years, the alligator has inhabited the North American continent. One of the few direct links to the age of the dinosaur, these ancient reptiles move gracefully through water but are relatively awkward on land (though they can charge aggressively if threatened). Strawn photographs these remarkable creatures along the white sands of the Florida landscape and the highways of Louisiana Cajun country, in citrus and avocado groves, and in developments throughout the suburban South. Here are the wetlands and deepwaters where alligators feed, bask in the sun, perform courtship dances, mate, nest, watch over their young--and, increasingly, encounter the human inhabitants of their ancient landscape.

Strawn covers such topics as mating and reproduction, hunting, loss of habitat, resource management, and the commercial meat and skin industries. Three personal essays bring home the relationship between alligators and humans: "Memories of Gator Hunts," by alligator hunter LeRoy Overstreet; "Living by the Wetlands," by Jane Gibson, a conservation anthropologist; and "Living with Alligators," by ecologist J. Whitfield Gibbons. These stories give voice to the people -- hunters, alligator farmers, meat and skin processors, scientists, and wildlife managers -- who spend their days and nights with this noble member of the order Crocodilia.

"When human beings and alligators live together in one habitat, each benefiting from the association, they are living in a state of mutuality. The benefits may be both physiological and behavioral. Establishing conditions that promote such relationships between two species can be of great value."--from Alligators, A Prehistoric Presence in the American Landscape

Customer Reviews:

Very poorly put together and disgusting book........2005-02-27

I saw this at a used bookstore for about $2 and figured I couldn't go wrong being a large hardcover and me a reptile lover, but it's not even worth that much. The book is basically three essays written by three different people that have pictures placed throughout that have nothing to do with the essay. There are also fact pages on various subjects throughout the book that are not at all relevant to what is going on in the essays and don't really make any sense with the overall feel.

I won't even bother with reviewing the first two essays and just put one word to describe them--GARBAGE and move on. The third essay is titled "Living with Alligators" and is the absolute highlight of this book. If this essay were in a book alone this would be a 5 star rating, but due to details described further in this review it was only enough to bump the overall rating to a 2 for me. This essay is about how stupid people move next door to a swamp and then get mad when alligators come out of the swamp and people immediately want them killed, even though they are the ones in the wrong. It also tells of how people must test their manhood by killing alligators for no apparent purpose. This essay is something that should be read by any reptile lover or conservationist, but I would recommend skipping the rest of the book, if you must buy it. It's only about 10 pages long so just read it in the bookstore if you have time.

In the beginning of the book it states that the author has taken over 40,000 pictures of alligators but in my opinion the pictures in this book are pretty poor. They aren't of good quality and many have problems that should have edited out, if she really has taken that many..different ones should have been chosen to say the least.

Lastly, I completely agree with the other reviewer that this book is absolutely disgusting. Out of all the pictures in the book that are of alligators, over 50% of them are dead. Heres a description of some of the pictures---there are alligators being cut open, ones with blood everywhere, ones shot in the head, some hanging on a rope dead, some in bloody buckets full of them, some being gutted, some missing their hides, random pieces of alligators such as a big box of eyeballs, etc. etc. If my description sounds bad just imagine looking at the pictures, it's like the aftermath of a war.

To put that "This book is a real treat for 'gator lovers." is one of the biggest jokes i've ever seen, that should be changed to gator hunters! With the exception of J. Whitfield Gibbons essay "Living with Alligators" this book is a complete waste of paper, and disgusting.

Some of this book sickened me.......2004-07-20

If you really like alligators, this is not the book for you. Portions of the book concern hunting alligators and processing them for meat. The accompanying photos for these sections sickened me.If I had any idea the book would include page after page of slaughtered alligators, I would never have bought it.

Alligators : Prehistoric Presence in the American Landscape (Creating the North American Landscape Ser.)

Average customer rating:

Alligators : Prehistoric Presence in the American Landscape (Creating the North American Landscape Ser.)
Martha A. Strawn
Manufacturer: Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MYIUEM

Average customer rating:

Buy This Book!!!

Outstanding

Learn to Surf?

Well written... for the beginner

for people who know zero about surfing

Learn to Surf
James MacLaren
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Water Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books
Surfing | Water Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Surfer's Start-Up: A Beginner's Guide to Surfing (Start-Up Sports Series)

Fit to Surf : The Surfer's Guide to Strength and Conditioning

Learning to Surf with Surfer Joe (Includes Part 1 & 2)

Longboarder's Start-Up: A Guide to Longboard Surfing (Start-Up Sports)

The Encyclopedia of Surfing

ASIN: 1558215689

Book Description

An introductory guide to surfing, body-boarding, and body-surfing

Customer Reviews:

Buy This Book!!!.......2003-07-22

Every beginning surfer should read this book. I picked it up and couldn't put it down. MacLaren takes you through every aspect of surfing with wit and humor. I read it cover to cover, then went out and bought a 9 foot longboard (as suggested) and hit the beach. Within the first hour in the water I was standing up and riding waves in, without shelling out alot of cash for lessons. You don't need lessons, all you need is THIS BOOK!!!

Outstanding.......2002-09-07

I am a newbie surfer and I found this book to be outstanding. It is a straight read. (That is, you can sit down and read to whole thing cover to cover in one setting without getting bogged down in jargon.) It covers everything you need to know to get started in the sport. It is full of good advice and good humor. If you want to get started with surfing, this very well could be the only book you'll ever need. (The rest you'll get from other surfers and magazines.) Buy it and read it before you hit the beach or buy any equipment.

Learn to Surf?.......2002-02-11

It just so happens that the person on the cover of this book is in fact riding a SKIMBOARD, not a surfboard. I just find it rather amusing that the cover of a surfing book displays a skimboarder and assumes it is a surfer. Alot of people don't know about wave-riding skimboarding, so I guess that explains it. But I do find it amusing.

Well written... for the beginner.......2002-01-02

This book is for the absolute beginner. It teaches you step by step how to get started if you are just beginning. It did provide some nice tips on proper paddling and positioning. Give it a quick read and just go out and do it. I didn't think all the beginning steps (jumping into white water, riding on your knees, etc.) were necessary. Just do what feels right. It's a good book for the right audience though.

for people who know zero about surfing.......2001-07-11

This book covers some areas well such as technique, and the dangers of surfing. But it left me with many questions, almost as if this were half a book. This book is for people who have never seen a surfboard in their life.

Average customer rating:

Learn to Surf: Intermediate Level
Academy of Surfing Instructors
Manufacturer: Academy of Surfing Instructors
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0975152319

Book Description

Where to find the surf breaks.
How to pick the best waves for surfing.
Which surfboard is best for the Intermediate surfer.
Which weather conditions are best for creating surf.
How to choose the right surfboard accessories for you.
What surf water clothing to wear at the intermediate level.
Easy ways to get out past the breaking waves.
The right way to paddle and ride safely around other surfers/swimmers.
5 steps to turning successfully on the wave.
How to identify the best take-off point.
How to perform surfing manoeuvres: cut-backs, re-entries
How to link surfing manoeuvres.
And much more ...

Average customer rating:

Learn to Surf for Beginners
Academy of Surfing Instructors
Manufacturer: Academy of Surfing Instructors
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0975152300

Book Description

Specially for beginners. Get the "inside" before you hit the waves. Full colour, step-by-step photos. Covers: waves, safety, getting through waves, equipment, clothing, paddling, standing, turning, dropping in rule. Everything you need to know to get you to your feet.

Average customer rating:

A Tropical Bear Learns to Surf
Lioyd Berady
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1597790036

Learn to 'surf the net,' independent adjusters told.: An article from: National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management

Average customer rating:

Learn to 'surf the net,' independent adjusters told.: An article from: National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management
Evelyn Gilbert
Manufacturer: The National Underwriter Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00093LYNK
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, published by The National Underwriter Company on June 5, 1995. The length of the article is 789 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.

From the supplier: Independent claims adjusters need to learn new technology, especially the Internet, to remain competitive according to speakers at the 1995 meeting of the National Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters. Several insurers want to improve the speed and efficiency of their customer services, which means that adjusters need to transmit reports via fax or email.

Citation Details
Title: Learn to 'surf the net,' independent adjusters told.
Author: Evelyn Gilbert
Publication: National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 5, 1995
Publisher: The National Underwriter Company
Issue: n23 Page: p52(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Average customer rating:

Learn to Surf the Internet Entry Level

Manufacturer: DiscoverWare Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Learn to Surf the Internet Professional Level

Average customer rating:

Learn to Surf the Internet Professional Level

Manufacturer: DiscoverWare Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Book Description

Making Sense of Japanese is the fruit of one foolhardy American's thirty-year struggle to learn and teach the Language of the Infinite. Previously known as Gone Fishin', this book has brought Jay Rubin more feedback than any of his literary translations or scholarly tomes, "even if," he says,
"you discount the hate mail from spin-casters and the stray gill-netter."

To convey his conviction that "the Japanese language is not vague," Rubin has dared to explain how some of the most challenging Japanese grammatical forms work in terms of everyday English. Reached recently at a recuperative center in the hills north of Kyoto, Rubin declared, "I'm still pretty sure
that Japanese is not vague. Or at least, it's not as vague as it used to be. Probably."

The notorious "subjectless sentence" of Japanese comes under close scrutiny in Part One. A sentence can't be a sentence without a subject, so even in cases where the subject seems to be lost or hiding, the author provides the tools to help you find it. Some attention is paid as well to the rest of
the sentence, known technically to grammarians as "the rest of the sentence."

Part Two tackles a number of expressions that have baffled students of Japanese over the decades, and concludes with Rubin's patented technique of analyzing upside-down Japanese sentences right-side up, which, he claims, is "far more restful" than the traditional way, inside-out.

"The scholar," according to the great Japanese novelist Soseki Natsume, is "one who specializes in making the comprehensible incomprehensible." Despite his best scholarly efforts, Rubin seems to have done just the opposite.

Previously published in the Power Japanese series under the same title and originally as Gone Fishin' in the same series.

Customer Reviews:

Good information and a good read.......2007-04-24

This book is exactly as advertised; complete, concise information about Japanese grammar. It really fills in the holes in my college Japanese textbook. The auther has a way with words, he had me laughing and remembering language structures I had been struggling with

Such an awesome book for third-years.......2007-04-01

I've been studying Japanese for three years now and I've been hitting real walls to my understanding. Jay Rubin is awesome! I had the worst trouble understanding giving and receiving verbs, but he explains them in a way that I can finally understand. The same goes for his section on causatives and passives.
If you are an intermediate Japanese student, BUY THIS BOOK!!! I was blown away.

Bloody marvellous!.......2006-09-15

[Pros]

Crystal clear explanations. Rubin knows what he's talking about, but he doesn't waste your time showing off to you that he's knowledgeable. Instead he spends it showing you the concept--giving lucid explanations of sticky ideas. Believe it: there is a subtle but significant difference between showing, and showing off. And there is subtle but significant difference between (wa) and (ga). For clarifying the wa/ga dichotomy alone, this book deserves your attention.

Guts. Rubin has a great attitude--Japanese is fun and understandable, and he is going to show you. He has the guts to go against the conventional wisdom of Japanese, to brush aside the stereotypical assumption of a vague language of a vague people who suppress their individuality. Japanese taken word for word in English seems indirect, but when understood by its own rules and values, you realize that it is in fact very precise and unambiguous; it is a language that says only what needs to be said to get the job done. Rubin will show you how and why.

[Cons]

Attitude to Kanji, use of romaji. Maybe he's just seen too many illiterate foreigners, but Rubin seems to be of the opinion that kanji are "hard". That's a four-letter word that a learner just starting out does not need to hear. In truth, kanji are as simple, logical and understandable as the grammar that Rubin so adroitly explains. And as for using romaji? Totally N.G. (no good). Every 5-year-old Japanese kid knows kana. So should every non-Japanese learner, regardless of age--everyone learning Japanese has at least the intellectual level of a 5-year-old? Right?

[Overall]

This book is warrants its title--it really is just what the textbooks don't tell you. Plus it's funny, concise and relatively cheap: everything that a typical textbook isn't. The beauty of this book, and books like this, is that they are designed to make you not need them any more. Ultimately, if you're learning Japanese, you're probably doing it so that one day soon, you can ride the bicycle that is Japanese, free of English resources like this book. Until that day, Rubin has written a great set of training wheels. A worthy addition to your library and definitely worth your precious dollars.

For more some fun reading material in and about Japanese, visit [...]

The only one that..........2006-03-24

I own numerous fantastic Japanese grammar reference volumes on Japanese (most of which are available through amazon.) All of them allude to the points that Rubin tackles in this deceivingly slender yet startlingly informative volume. Despite avid interest in grammar and having studied countless hours huddled over cup after cup of espresso, I had questions to which I could not seem to find adequate answers. That changed when I finally tracked down a copy of this book.

If it is credibility you're looking for, Jay Rubin has it: besides a position as a professor of Japanese at an ivy league, he is a famous translator whose works read like English rather than an attempt to superimpose foreign syntax upon each sentence. In other words, this is someone who is comfortable with Japanese and can explain it both as an expert and as one who at one time studied it in school (and struggled, as he explains briefly.)

As for content, the book is concise, funny (I laughed out loud a dozen times,) and incredibly helpful. The content is focused upon the greatest ills of English-speaking students of the Japanese language. The book begins with a fun introduction in which Rubin assaults the myth that Japanese is somehow vague or alien in comparison to other languages of the world. He begins by debunking the tale oft-perpetuated by well-meaning Japanese instructors. You know what I'm talking about: the subjectless sentence. In actuality, these are NOT subjectless anymore than an English sentence using a pronoun or demonstrative is subjectless. Rubin spends time warning the reader to re-evaluate his/her understanding of what it means to have a passive/intransitive verb versus one with an agent and helps to once and for all expell the confusion.

Next comes the reason I purchased the book: an explanation of WA versus GA. Certainly, one may go through years of study believing one's understanding of these particles is moving in the right direction, but Rubin separates them in a way this reviewer certainly has never been taught. Regardless of the mound of linguistic texts and the thousands of grammar drills that have turned my eyes bloodshot over the years, I have never found a single person/book/textbook that has been able to adequately explain which particle is grammatically correct given a specific linguistic environment.

The giving and receiving verbs, passives, causatives, causative-passives, multiple particles, and so on are all discussed in part one. Part two concerns specific problems, including TAME (its uses and distinction between the two), TUMORI (if you just said to yourself "that just means 'i intend...' I suggest checking out the book!), and so on.

It's an inexpensive title and it provides one with so much wonderful information. It's easily some of the best money I've ever spent on my education. I recommend it and could scarcely recommend it with more enthusiasm. I've purchased volumes heavier and much more expensive that have offered less in a half a thousand pages than this one does in far fewer.

Buy this book.......2005-09-28

Ahh, the wonderful world of particles. Especially wa and ga. If you were confused as I was with the use of these two, fear not for this book will save you. Somebody finally took the time to thoroughly explain these in a perfectly clear fashion, and gives you a whole chapter on them no less.
I am so glad I found this book, the title doesn't lie. Everything is explained in an interesting and sometimes humorous way, and focuses on the topics that most English speakers struggle with while learning Japanese. I highly recommend this book, it will pay for itself 100 times over.

Average customer rating:

Not only Fendi.

It is the best visionaire in this two years

Visionaire # 33 : Touch

Manufacturer: Visionaire Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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Visionaire #32:Where?

Visionaire #41: World

ASIN: 1888645202
Release Date: 2000-10-02

Amazon.com

Visionaire #33: Touch, a boxful of cardboard creatures dressed up in fur, feathers, velvet, and netting, is a marriage of paper dolls and Pat the Bunny for very sophisticated grownups. As with every edition of Visionaire, the quarterly publication of style and design, Touch is high-concept eye candy dedicated to a theme in limited, numbered editions of fewer than 3,500. This time out, Visionaire honors the 75th anniversary of the Italian designer and furrier Fendi. A heavy matte black cardboard package gives way to a large metal box of brushed gold, perforated with a grid of squares, a cold touch of industrial design that hints at the Fendi logo and yet somehow implies an animal carrying case with air holes. Slide off the lid, and there's the animal: Fendi's soft, supple, pony skin cache-col (yes, it can be worn) enfolded around a stack of unbound, heavy-stock pages, each depicting the creation of a leading designer and stamped or embossed with elaborate printing techniques. Several of the bodies wear Fendi, of course: spare and bright-colored geometric shapes on headless torsos. Other standouts include Yohji Yamamoto's black-robed figure on a shiny silver background clutching a bruise-colored faux fur muff and Dior's newspaper cutout of a lean female form in a feathery dress, stock reports running up her leg. Alexander McQueen's extraterrestrial archer in a yellow sandpaper top and paintbrush skirt strikes a witty note, as does Junya Watanabe's bemused skeleton that can be transformed into a snowman with tiny head and feet. You won't be able to keep your hands off.

Book Description

Edited by Stephen Gan.

Customer Reviews:

Not only Fendi........2000-12-13

Information correction. The 20 cards are not only from Fendi, they also contain Dior, Chanel, GUCCI, Prada...etc. You will like it very much.

It is the best visionaire in this two years.......2000-12-04

I started collecting visionaire two years ago, I think #33, Touch, is the best issue throughout these two years. (It is even better than LV #30). The brushed golden metal box is shiny and grand. There are 20 Fendi 2000/2001 fashion desigen collection image cards, every card is produced by different printing techniques, for instance, foil-stamping, sculpt-embossing, 3D...etc, It is creative and beautiful. A wearable pony skin scarf is used for packing the 20 cards in order to put them inside the golden metal box. This scarf is definitely the image of Fendi fashion style. Both scarf, golden box and image card are very match in colour and style. It is a perfect art design except it is a little bit expensive. (Actually, I really hope to cancel half star of the 5 I rated above because of the higher price) However, I still don't know how to wear the scarf. Anyway, if you like collecting beautiful creative design product and you can afford, buy it. I think you will like it because it is a full marks-5 star product.

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