Biography Books

I gave this book to my son-in-law for his birthday in 2001. He is a policeman locally and love the book so much. He had his wife to read the book because he says that every woman married to a policeman needs to read this book so they will understand what they go thru. Personally, I have the same condition that Richard Smith has which is Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. I think its great that Richard wrote this book because living with pain all the time isn't that easy, but Richard shows us that we can do anything even though we have a disability.

After becoming disabled with PTSD, I went in search for others who might understand and be able to offer me some insight. That's when I found and purchased Richard's book, from the moment it arrived in the mail, I couldn't put it down. One Stands Alone not only met, but it exceeded all of my expectaions. Reading Richard's book helped me to understand that I wasn't the only one in the world who had been over exposed to situations and scenes while doing my job. Richard, describes scenes which bare his sole and must have been very difficult, yet he keeps such a positive attitude. That alone gave me faith and understanding, it doesn't matter who you are, this is a great read written by a very talented writer.

One Stands Alone is a book that I can very much relate too. Having been a special education teacher, I was able to relate to many of the events and episodes that Richard went through as a police officer. It really made me think back to the days as a teacher and the students that I worked with and how this world "really is " . I also became injured and got RSD through my job as a teacher by being injured by a student and how the system did NOT protect me but rather wanted to cover up things. There was humor, danger and a lot of dedication on Richards part that I was able to relate to. I think that that anyone who reads this has a better incite into what a "real/ dedicated" police officer goes through on a day to day basis. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was not all bored with it. I learned much from it and everything was explained in terms that were easiliy understood. Watching "Cops" on television, is nothing compared to the life and dangers that are depicted in Richard's book. He tells it like it is.
Great Job Richard!!! I am just sorry that you had to end up with RSD!!!!

One Stands Alone is a spirited and honest account of a long, intense career in Law Enforcement. Richard A. Smith fearlessly describes his own learning process, his mistakes, accomplishments, and those of others in actual situations. He shows incredible respect for the needs of his readers, though respect was usually not what he received while on duty. Technical terms and situations are explained, often with humor, even at his own expense, in such a way that the author is never "talking down" to his audience.

The positive frame of mind that Richard maintains overall throughout the book is even more remarkable when you read about his harrowing and discouraging experiences and life-changing line-of-duty injuries. He shows that officers are not just uniforms with badges, but are real people who share all emotions and experiences of daily life with the rest of us.

I give a lot of credit to Richard for reliving incidents to give us a view of a very unbalanced and often frightening world that the police face daily on our behalf. I thank him for sharing such a great part of his life, and as importantly, for sacrificing so much of himself while "protecting and serving."

In the writing, Richard shares a number of nicknames he received throughout his career. With this book, he has earned yet another, that of "Master Storyteller." As I hear a siren or watch officers at work, I often reflect on things said in One Stands Alone. It is much easier now to understand that what appears to be happening is often very different from the actuality. I only hope that this book is the first of many from this gifted author.

Richard Smith lets us into his many years as a diligent
policeman,protecting the citizen's of Durham-Raleigh,N.C.
The long hours,working different shifts and seeing what
human's can do to one another. Especially, when they are
drunk or taking drugs.
After all the years, missing Holidays,common in police work,
Richard gets felled by serious health problems. Not a man to
complain, he likes his work and does it well. He starts to get
injuries that are work related.He has to take time off, for a
leg and wrist injury he sustained.
His Orthopedic Dr. did surgery on his leg tendons. It failed
to help so another Dr. a physiatritrist, diagnosed RSD.
Which means Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, a disease that can
be treated but not cured.Richard remained on disability and
had ten spinal blocks to help him.
He described his pain like a combination of arthritis, muscular
dystrophy, and cancer. It crippled you like the first two ilnesses and spread through your body with excrutiating pain like the last. This is the sufferers excellent description.
Having to relie on others tested his perserverance. He was sent to a caring psychologist, who worked with him and told him he had Post-traumatic Syndrome Disorder, common among police from their type of work.
After 18 years on the police force and obtaining an Advanced Law Enforcement Certification, the highest level to acheive in this field of police work in North Carolina. Richard could have retired peacefully. But he continues help others in various ways. He has suffered the result of a chronic illness, few of
the cops he worked with stop by, but he is tutoring children and say's "I'm Never Standing Alone".

I read this book and was so moved I wrote Robbie Rinser sometime in the 80s to tell him how moved I was, how much I was impacted by his book. Little did I know, that some months later, I would find him in my office...without going into the details, I was fortunate enough to work alongside him for several years. I got to pick his brain and ask him questions that I had wondered about when I read his book. He told me many details of his capture. One that I found especially inspirational. He was beaten unconscious one night, and awoke the next morning to open one battered eye..his face pressed against a crack in the wall. He said he felt a breath of fresh air through the crack and could see one blade of green, living grass...and that it inspired him. He returned to the floor each morning to look at that blade of grass; It gave him a reason to live, a reason for hope.
He told me many similar stories..all demonstrating his courage and dedication; and every time, he attributed his survival to two things: Faith in God and belief in his country.
A great book.

Even though this was written 35 years ago, the messages in this little book are extremely valid for today. Risners' thoughts about Family, God and Country need continual reemphasis. This is a great book for young men and women,particularily those serving in our military.I would also recommend it for other Vets who have served out country.

Well written book, heart breaking story. This man was a well respected Air Force officer. My husband served under him in Okinawa. We waited for years to see if he was still alive. This is the fourth copy of his book we have bought. People borrow it and "forget" to return it. Would recomend this to any one that reads. We need to find out what goes on in the life of the military family. What a great thing this man did for our freedom.

This book was originally written in 1973 and details the violations of the Geneva Convention by the North Vietnamese. Colonel Risner details how he first resisted the North Vietnamese and later signed statements after extreme torture. The North Vietnamese were very cruel to their captured POWs. It is a wonder why we didn't have protesters telling the world of the inhumane practices of the North Vietnamese government.

This is a nice read on how these American patriots resisted the efforts of the North Vietnamese to break their spirit. As Colonel Risner would say, you found God in prison and faith in the American system. It is amazing this man spent 7 and a half years with little food, lots of torture, and still maintained his faith in the American system. This is an inspirational read.

I had the privilege and honor of meeting and getting to know General Risner shortly after he was appointed as commander of
the 832nd Air Division at Cannon AFB, New Mexico, in 1973.
He was a humble and gracious gentleman of great dignity. I was
blessed to get to know him personally and to jointly procure a copy of the movie: In The Presence of Mine Enemies, for showing at the base chapel. On the day of my release from active duty I purchased his book and, it being a Saturday, visited him in his office, entering with his permission through his private entrance and he graciously signed the book for me with a personal message for future success. The book is a must read for anyone who considers themself an American, as all Americans should become aware of the sacrifices of people like General Risner in keeping us free. Sadly, I loaned the book to a friend
and never had it returned. But I will never forget General Risner's story, not the man himself. Knowing him was truly one of the best blessing I have experienced in my 54 years of life.
You must read this book!

My son very good at sports BMX,Soccer,Football He started playing Football 5 yrs ago pop warner He follows NCCA,NFL I told him about Walter Payton & how his stile of running was simular to yours. I bought the BOOK/DVD if he would watch it at the begging of the football this year. He didnt take his eyes off the T.V . He ended the year leading scorer & played in the div. champ. game & All- Stars. My opinion on Walter Payton Great Book, Great DVD, The Best Running Back.

Payton
EXCELLENT, a must have for all Walter fans. The book is very well written and I just loved it. He was an awesome man and a devoted father and husband. Well done Connie and family!

Great book and DVD. Highly recommended for Bears fans across the nation but most importantly, to any sports fanatic period! Walter Payton was and is the greatest sports player who ever lived! You will be inspired to do your best and never give up at whatever you do in life! A great unselfish man who did so much for others; inspiration for the world!
Walter Payton: A True and Genuine Role Model (34)

This book/dvd is a must own for any Walter Payton fan. The 1 hour dvd brings back alot of memories watching Walter bust through defenses. The book is well written and gives some insight into his background as well as his character. I paid $15 less at Amazon than what this package was going for on E-Bay. The best part is that my son got to watch the dvd and see what hard work is all about and where it can get you. He could'nt believe the way Payton could "fly" in to the end zone.

I actually knew Walter Payton. He was my neighbor. This book is a great tribute to him, without any doubt!! He WAS as classy as you may think, too. Still hard to believe he's gone.

If you are a true fan, then this book is a MUST own for your home.

Joseph Schumpeter was brilliant, magnetic, cultured, urbane, witty and engaging. He was superbly educated and he taught at the best universities. He was an accomplished scholar and prolific writer, a snappy dresser and bon vivant, elegant, charismatic and handsome. Colleagues revered him, students loved him and women adored him. His ambition: to become the best economist, horseman and lover in the world. He confessed that, sadly, he failed to meet his goal with horses. Schumpeter was one of the world's leading economists while he lived, and has become an iconic figure since his death. John Maynard Keynes is widely considered the doyen of economists. However, Schumpeter's ideas have more impact in our postmillennial era, which some economists have termed the "century of Schumpeter." Scholar Thomas K. McCraw paints a vivid portrait of this remarkable man, his economic theories and his far-reaching influence. getAbstract suggests that being familiar with Schumpeter is pivotal to understanding today's entrepreneurial economy. McCraw's book is a good place to get to know him.

I thoroughly enjoyed Prophet of Innovation as biography. I think it is the best biography I've read in twenty years.

I am not an economist, but I was first exposed to the ideas of Schumpeter in my one year general ed Economics course. This course was taught by one of only two conservative instructors in my whole college education and he was influenced by Schumpeter. (I did take economics in high school which was taught from the Keynesian model.)

That was in 1968, the year the New Deal-Cold War Liberal Democratic Party coalition was itself undergoing creative destruction. Of course, that year, the Vietnam War and the protests were the central focus. But, the Schumpeter seed had been planted in my mind and I began to see the relationships.

My Father, foolishly, as he admitted to me much later, had gotten his old job back after he left the army post World War II. He was entitled to it under the Selective Service Act of 1940. He thought he would be secure as rural passenger train depot agent. But, the railroad passenger service was about to get a creative destruction death blow. In 1954, the Boeing 707 made its maiden flight. In 1958, the Boeing 707 made its first flight for Pan Am. In 1959, he was out of a job. He was a member in good standing of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers, AFL-CIO, but that didn't matter. If you had no customers, then no business, no jobs, and no union. When the business traveler ditched the trains for the planes, that was the end of the railroad passenger service along with 110 jobs per train. (He floundered around for awhile and took a few community college classes and got a better job afterwards.)

Later, I encountered Schumpeter again in political sociology, one of my areas of study in graduate school. As the author notes, Schumpeter attacks Marx on the static nature of his theories of class structure.

For me, McCraw makes two very impressive points about Schumpeter the teacher and scholar. As Teacher, McCraw quotes his student, Paul Sweezy writing that Schumpeter never judged students and colleagues on their agreement with his views. Sweezy called it "the rarest of all qualities in a teacher." I would say its even rarer today.

As a scholar, he mostly stayed out of policy advocacy. He did not seek to found a Schumpeterian school. Many of his best students were Keynesians. It takes a great deal of courage, character, and humility to forego such ego feeding ventures. Perhaps his experience as Finance Minister in the rump Austrian socialist government post World War I cured him.

On a more somber note, it is really staggering the amount of personal tragedy this man suffered in his life. He lost his father at age four. World War I destroyed his country. He lost his mother, wife, and son all within one month. He lost one of his best graduate students at the University of Bonn, Clare Tisch, to the holocaust. He also lost his companion, driver, and caretaker, Mia Stockel to the holocaust along with her husband and sister. His third wife Elizabeth, who had rescued him from deep depression, got breast cancer in the last year of his life.

McCraw does a fine job of weaving Schumpeter's life and writings together into a great biography of Joseph Schumpeter and history of the first half of the Twentieth Century

I thought this to be a very dynamic book that is loaded with ideas that spring from an intellect that is honest. This is a quality that is all too rare in our times. His thought process as described by McCraw seems to me to be the envy of anyone that strives to get to the bottom or truth of something. Schumpeter is brutally honest with himself and that also is a very rare thing indeed! I'm not sure just what "truth" is but think he has come as close to it as any man can.


Brad Angell

This is a solid biography of the brilliant economist Joseph Schumpeter. A first rate biography should present the life, times, and significance of its subject clearly. McCraw is excellent on the life, but only good on the times and significance. Schumpeter is a very interesting figure. He had a varied and sometimes turbulent personal life. He is clearly one of the most important figures in 20th century economics. His great theme, the functioning of capitalist economies, is a central issue. With the return of a high degree of globalization over the 3 decades and the great dynamism of the business world, Schumpeter's emphasis on entrepeunership and business innovation is increasingly salient. McCraw draws on an extensive repository of Schumpeter's personal papers to produce an excellent reconstruction of Schumpeter's personal life and career. His discussions of Schumpeter's major works are very good. This book is generally written well. Schumpeter emerges as a complex but impressive and largely sympathetic figure. McCraw shows Schumpeter to be an interesting combination of brilliant intellectual and public showman. This had considerable benefits. Schumpeter was distinguished not only by his considerable scholarly contributions but also by his impressive teaching. He was apparently a brilliant lecturer and superb mentor. A remarkable fraction of the leading figures of post-WWI American economics were his former students. McCraw also does a nice job of portraying the important role of Schumpeter's third wife, the impressive Elizabeth Boody, who was a substantial economic scholar in her own right and who completed Schumpeter's last great, and posthumously published, book.

McGraw's account has, however, some limitations. Schumpeter was esssentially a career academic who lived a very intellectual life. While McCraw does well in discussing Schumpeter's work, he is not nearly as good on the intellectual background and other trends in economic thought. By the end of WWII, Schumpeter's work was being eclipsed by Keynesian economics. McCraw discusses this but not in enough detail to get a really good idea of the major issues. I get the sense that this was not just a question of Schumpeter versus Keynes but also that the direction of economics towards what is now macroeconomics was something that left Schumpeter somewhat isolated. Schumpeter himself may have inadvertantly encouraged this tendency. He was an advocate of the mathematization of economics, despite his own relatively non-mathematical work. But since the type of discontinuous phenomena in which he was most interested resisted mathematization, mathematical analysis developed to analyze more continuous phenomena in what I think became macroeconomics.

I'm not sure that McCraw does well on other dimensions of Schumpeter's historical background. McGraw describes Schumpeter's work in terms that suggest clearly an analogy with evolutionary processes (analogies which McGraw uses at times). The pre-WWI central Europe of Schumpeter's youth was the great period of social Darwinism. Did this have an influence? Similarly, Schumpeter's rather romantic, almost Nietzschean view of entrepeuners also seems to fit in with the intellectual life of the Fin de Siecle Europe of his youth. I'm surprised also that McGraw doesn't make much of the connection between the Austrian Empire's relative backwardness and the drift towards protectionism in the pre-WWI years. Surely these had some influence, especially given Schumpeter's interest in the dynamism of capitalism.

While McGraw is generally sympathetic to Schumpeter, he is hardly uncritical. He makes the good point that Schumpeter never really understood American democracy. At times, however, McGraw may be a bit too generous. Schumpeter's criticism of the German Social Democrats as preparing the way for an authoritarian society was unfair to the only consistently pro-democratic force in Germany. McGraw is also periodically inaccurate about general background. The signers of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, for example, would have been surprised to learn that the combat of WWI had little effect of national borders.

Moravian-born, Vienna-educated Professor Joseph Alois Schumpeter, who liked to say of his aspirations to be the world's greatest economist, horseman, and lover that only the second had given him problems, was a study in contrasts. He relished his fame as one of the interwar years' premier economic theorists yet modestly declined to mention his work in his Harvard classes or in his exhaustive book on the history of economic thought. (Citations to his work were inserted into that book by his wife after his death). An obsessively hard working, morose (indeed often depressed) writer in private, he affected a public image of carefree, cheerful ebullience. A notoriously easy grader to his students, he often gave himself low marks in his diary. A one-time banker, he relied upon the women in his life to balance his checkbook. He chronicled the evolution of the auto industry but never learned to drive. He admired mathematics but failed to employ them in his work. A harsh critic of the static, steady-state equilibrium thinking of the neoclassical marginal utility/marginal productivity school, he nevertheless declared one of its founders, the French neoclassical equilibrium theorist Leon Walras, the greatest economist of all time.

All his life Schumpeter championed capitalism yet was an expert on Marx, Marxist economics, and the entire socialist literature. A Marxist economist, Paul Sweezy, was among his closest Harvard friends. Schumpeter was a political conservative and anti-socialist who,notwithstanding, served as Finance Minister for a socialist government in post-World War I Austria. He lauded capitalism's superior performance while predicting the system's death from too much success. He preached creative destruction -- the incessant tearing down of old ways of doing things by the new -- as capitalism's inescapable iron law, yet was unprepared when his own work fell prey to it.

The 1990s saw the publication of at least three biographies of this complex, paradoxical figure. Now comes Thomas McCraw's definitive and elegantly written study to top them all. Drawing upon Schumpeter's diary, correspondence, early drafts, and published works, McCraw, a Pulitzer Prize winning emeritus professor of Business History at Harvard, paints a vivid picture of Schumpeter's life and times, his loves and achievements. Readers will choose their favorite parts of the book. Most enlightening to this reviewer is McCraw's survey of Schumpeter's scholarly contributions. Ironically, McCraw writes that he is "not concerned with Schumpeter's economic thinking, narrowly construed," but with his "life and his compulsive drive to understand capitalism." But that is a false dichotomy because Schumpeter's theories cannot be divorced from his attempts to come to grips with capitalism: each guided and shaped the other. In any case, McCraw provides a perceptive and accurate account of Schumpeter's academic greatest hits and misses.

Greatest Hits
Hits include first and foremost the path breaking and seminal Theory of Economic Development, published in 1911 when Schumpeter, then 28, was in what he called his scholar's "sacred third decade" of peak creativity. Other hits followed including the subtle and provocative Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, and the mighty History of Economic Analysis, which Schumpeter worked on throughout the whole decade of the 1940s, and which was edited and published by his third wife, Elizabeth, four years after his death in 1950.

Schumpeter pushed one idea all his life: that capitalism means growth and growth requires innovation. The book that put him on the map, The Theory of Economic Development, states for the first time his vision of capitalism as the economic system that delivers faster growth and higher living standards (especially of the middle and lower income classes) than any other system, albeit in a disruptive, jerky, anxiety-inducing fashion. Like a perpetual motion machine, capitalism generates its own momentum internally without the need of outside force. Even technological change, seen by some as an exogenous propellant, is treated by Schumpeter as a purely endogenous matter, the product of economically motivated human ingenuity.

Breaking from received wisdom, Schumpeter replaces the static equilibrium analysis of his neoclassical marginalist predecessors and contemporaries with a dynamic disequilibrium theory of cyclical growth. His key building blocks are profits, entrepreneurs, bank credit creation, and innovation. Profits (supplemented perhaps with a desire to create a business dynasty) motivate entrepreneurs, who, financed by bank credit, innovate new goods, new technologies, and new methods of management and organization. These innovations fuel growth and generate cycles.

Why cycles? Cycles arise with a backlog of pent-up potential innovations seeking to override the barriers of habit, custom, tradition, and entrenched positions blocking their realization. When the first successful entrepreneur overcomes the stubborn resistance of incumbent interests and eases the path for other entrepreneurs, the resulting bunching of innovations (not to be confused with mere inventions, which Schumpeter saw as occurring more or less continuously) boosts investment spending, which bids prices above costs and raises profit margins thereby triggering the upswing or prosperity phase of the cycle. The high profit margins then attract swarms of imitators and would-be competitors into the innovating industries. Output overexpands relative to the demand for it, prices fall to or below costs thus eliminating profit margins, and the downswing or recession phase begins. The recession continues, weeding out inefficient firms as it goes, until the economy absorbs the innovations and consolidates the attendant gains thus clearing the ground for a fresh burst of innovation.

If the upswing has been accompanied with speculative excesses nonessential to innovation, the downswing may overshoot the new post-innovation equilibrium. Then the cycle enters its depression phase where the excesses are expunged and the economy returns via a recovery phase to equilibrium. Schumpeter stressed that the latter two phases and the phenomena that generate them are unnecessary for cyclical growth and could be prevented by properly designed policy. It's not speculative bubbles but rather the discontinuous clustering of innovations in time plus their diffusion across and assimilation into the economy that produces real cycles of prosperity and recession.

Profits, entrepreneurs, bank credit, innovation - all are essential to the growth of per capita real income in Schumpeter's model. Remove any one and the growth process stops. Innovation, for instance, is abortive in the absence of bank credit creation necessary to effectuate it. Cash-strapped entrepreneurs cannot build their better mouse traps from thin air. They require real resource inputs and loans of newly created bank money to hire them away from alternative employments. In highlighting this observation, Schumpeter effectively abandoned the classical dichotomy notion that loan-created money is a mere sideshow, a neutral veil that together with metallic money determines the nominal, or absolute, price level while leaving real economic variables unaffected. Not so, said Schumpeter.For him, money and credit are integral to the process of real economic growth and so have real effects.

Schumpeter's most popular hit was his 1942 book Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. In it he coins the term "creative destruction" to denote capitalism's incessant killing off of the old by the new. The book contains his famous end-of-history prediction that capitalism's very successes, not its failures and contradictions as prophesied by Karl Marx, will produce social forces -- the routinization and depersonalization of innovation, the destruction of the image of the entrepreneur as romantic hero, the creation of a class of intellectuals hostile to capitalism -- which undermine the system and lead to its demise.

If capitalism cannot survive, can one rely upon its successor, socialism, to deliver the goods and amenities of life efficiently and fairly? Yes, said Schumpeter, who proceeded to provide the supporting argument. Many readers took him at his word, but not McCraw. He sees Schumpeter's "defense" of socialism as a devastating satire that mocks the system instead of bolstering it. Schumpeter, in other words, comes not to praise socialism, but to bury it. In the end, Schumpeter's case for socialism rests on extremely abstract theoretical conditions unlikely to be realized in practice. All of which creates a problem: if Schumpeter sought to show that socialism was a practical impossibility, then why did he predict its ultimate triumph over capitalism? One wishes that the real Schumpeter would please stand up.

As for democracy, Schumpeter viewed it as a political market in which politicians compete for the votes of the electorate just as producers compete for consumers' dollars in markets for goods and services. But Schumpeter, always skeptical of consumer rationality, believed that market power resides more with vote seekers than with the electorate, whose apathy, ignorance, and lack of foresight enable politicians to set the policy agenda and to manipulate voter preferences. Even so, he felt that capitalism, as long as it operates within a proper legal framework, is largely self-regulating and so requires little intervention. It thus constrains politicians' market power more than does socialism. McCraw fails to note that these ideas mark Schumpeter as a forerunner of the modern public choice school.

The last hit in the Schumpeter canon is his History of Economic Analysis, whose title expresses his contention that the rise of analytic techniques in economics is part of the economic growth process and must be studied as such. The History, in terms of its scholarship, breadth of coverage, richness of content, originality of interpretation, and wealth of resurrected valuable ideas, ranks with Jacob Viner's 1937 book Studies in the Theory of International Trade as the finest history of thought ever written. Scholars still mine it for ideas today. Among other things, it provides sparkling accounts of the quantity theory, the gold standard, Say's Law, the development of production and utility functions, and much more.

Greatest Misses
Apart from an unfinished book on money, Schumpeter's misses include his massive, two volume Business Cycles (1939), which he wrote entirely by himself with no research assistance. Seven years in the making, it emerged stillborn from the press. McCraw, however, values the book for its historical narrative of the vicissitudes of firms in five industries and three countries. But Schumpeter's contemporaries saw only the book's prolixity, discursiveness, and lack of focus. Most of all, they rejected its contrived, mechanistic analytical schema composed of three superimposed cycles -- the 50-year Kondratieffs, 9-year Juglars, and 4-year Kitchins, all named for their discoverers -- into which Schumpeter forced his data. As if these flaws weren't enough to sink Business Cycles, it had the bad luck, and bad timing, to appear when J. M. Keynes' celebrated General Theory was sweeping the field. Everybody talked about Keynes' book, few about Schumpeter's.

Schumpeter and Keynes
Schumpeter fumed when Keynes and Keynesian economics upstaged him in the 1930s and 1940s. Economists preferred Keynes's theory to Schumpeter's because it seemed to offer a better explanation of and remedy for the Great Depression, because it possessed greater policy relevance, and because it was more amenable to the mathematical modeling, econometric testing, and national income accounting techniques just beginning to come into vogue in the 30s.

Schumpeter should have foreseen this state of affairs. It was consistent with his doctrine of creative destruction in which new theories, like new goods and new technologies, displace the old in a never ending sequence. Here Keynes was the innovator whose analysis of capitalism rested on such novel concepts as the multiplier, marginal propensity to consume, marginal efficiency of capital, and liquidity preference function. Taken together, these Keynesian innovations were bound, according to the creative destruction doctrine, to have supplanted Schumpeter's old-fashioned theory.

Instead of accepting this outcome, Schumpeter reacted exactly as he had described entrenched interests doing when threatened by an innovation that disrupts their accustomed status quo: he put up stubborn resistance. His resistance, however, was motivated not so much by simple self interest, or desire to protect his own theory, as by his scientific judgment that Keynesian economics was fundamentally unsound.

Schumpeter accused Keynes of assessing capitalism on the basis of a short-run, depression-oriented model when only a long-run growth-oriented one would do. He scorned Keynes's claim that capitalistic economies tend to be perpetually underemployed and in need of massive government deficit spending to shore them up. He attacked the "secular stagnation" notion that capitalists face vanishing investment opportunities and slowing rates of technological progress when the opposite is true. He rejected the contention that income must be redistributed from the rich (who save too much) to the poor (who cannot afford to save) in order to boost consumption spending and aggregate demand. Nonsense, said Schumpeter. The insatiability of human wants ensures that income, regardless of who receives it, will be spent in one way or another.

McCraw does a fine job discussing Schumpeter's criticisms, all of which were valid, penetrating, and correct. He fails, however, to note that Schumpeter essentially attacked the wrong target. For it was not so much Keynes as his British and American disciples -- people like Joan Robinson; R. F. Kahn; Abba Lerner; Schumpeter's Harvard colleague Alvin Hansen; and others -- who were largely responsible for the doctrines, especially their extreme versions, that Schumpeter countered. But McCraw rightly points out that Schumpeter slipped when he opined that the Keynesian-style permanently mixed economy, or public sector-private sector partnership, was unsustainable and could not last. The private sector, Schumpeter reasoned, would become addicted to government expenditure stimulus and demand ever-increasing amounts. In this way, the public sector would expand relative to the private one and the economy would gravitate to socialism. Time has proved Schumpeter wrong. Private and public sectors have coexisted in a fairly stable ratio in most developed countries for the past sixty years.

Controversial Issues
Schumpeter held politically unpopular opinions in the 1930s when New Deal activism and populist anti-business sentiments were on the rise. He opposed President Roosevelt's New Deal reforms on the grounds that they hampered entrepreneurship and growth. For the same reason, he opposed Keynesian macro demand-management policies designed to tame the trade cycle. In his view, because growth is inherently cyclical, one flattens the cycle at the cost of eliminating growth. Other controversial opinions, all corollaries of his work on innovation and creative destruction, flowed from his pen.

Of income inequality he wrote that the gap between rich and poor is a prerequisite to and a relatively harmless byproduct of growth in a capitalistic system. The rich are necessary since it is they and not the poor who save and invest in the innovation-embodied capital formation that lifts the living standards of all. Moreover, high incomes provide both incentive and reward for the entrepreneurs who propel growth. No one need fear that an unequal distribution will condemn them to poverty. The Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto's notion of the "circulation of the elites" assures that. The ceaseless rise and fall of entrepreneurs into and out of the top income bracket means that it will be occupied over time by different people, many of them drawn from the ranks of the poor. The poor replace the rich and the rich the poor in never ending sequence.

In assuming a high degree of mobility across income groups, Schumpeter may have overlooked an education barrier. He failed to acknowledge that a superior education, increasingly a prerequisite to entrepreneurship and wealth in today's high tech world, is more affordable by the rich, enabling them and their offspring to stay on top.

Monopolistic firms and monopolistic profits hardly worried Schumpeter. He thought that monopolies, unless protected by government, are short lived, inherently self-destroying, and require no anti-trust legislation. Their high profits attract the very rivals and producers of substitute products that undercut them. For the same reason, he regarded anti-trust laws aimed at breaking up large, non-monopolistic firms as ill-advised. Not only are big firms often more efficient than small ones, but their research and development departments house teams of specialists functioning collectively -- and routinely -- as an entrepreneur who creates innovations that drive growth. Indeed, the very existence of R&D departments indicates that big firms realize they must continually innovate to stay alive.

Schumpeter's politically unpopular opinions continued into the wartime years of the 1940s. He distrusted Roosevelt, suspecting him of trying to establish a dictatorship. And he had mixed emotions about the Axis nations, Germany and Japan. He despised their military establishments, leaders, and advisors. But he admired the people and cultures of the two countries and feared that the United States would impose punitive reprisals at war's end. Most of all, he saw the United States' wartime ally, the Soviet Union, as its chief long-term foe, and thought that it would need Germany and Japan to serve as buffers against the communist nation. These views found little sympathy among Schumpeter's friends and associates in the ultra-patriotic environment of the early 1940s, a circumstance that caused him much unhappiness.

Schumpeter Today
The new improves upon and kills off the old. True enough. But what's new and what's old may lie in the eye of the beholder. Today's cutting-edge theorist and mathematical modeler may regard Schumpeter's analysis as older than old, a pre-Keynesian, pre-monetarist, pre-new classical/rational expectations relic. Accordingly, Schumpeter's name is stricken from required reading lists in many top graduate economic programs where theory is king. To businessmen, journalists, and historians seeking not abstract theory but rather practical understanding of global capitalism, however, his work is as fresh and insightful as the day he penned it. Journalists speak of a renaissance of Schumpeterian economics and of a reversal of his relative ranking with Keynes. Although McCraw does not say so, Schumpeter undoubtedly would be pleased, but hardly surprised, by the revival of his work. It fits his description of the zigzag path of doctrinal history in which sound economic ideas get lost or forgotten only to be rediscovered and restored to their proper place.

A Complaint
A great book deserves a great index, or at the very least an adequate one. McCraw's book has neither. Lacking comprehensiveness and precision, the index creates problems for readers searching for particular items in the text. It is inexcusable that the index fails to cover the 188 pages of endnotes containing valuable scholarly information and constituting a fourth of the book. One can fault the publisher, not the author, for this oversight. Luckily, it does little to mar McCraw's outstanding text. Elizabeth Schumpeter wrote that her husband "loved to read biographies." It's a sure bet that he would have enjoyed this one.

---Thomas M. Humphrey, reviewed for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's Region Focus magazine, Fall 2007.

Very interesting book with many information regarding old musicians. The CD inside is very pleasure with good quality sound.

Knowing the prices that Robert Crumb's work commands (try getting hold of a copy of his illustrated CD "That's What I Call Sweet Music" and you'll see what I mean), when I first saw this advertised I thought that the price must have been entered incorrectly, but no! Just imagine, a 240 page hardback book, illustrated in colour on high quality paper, with an accompanying 21-track CD, for less than you'd expect to pay for either on its own. The book (and CD), falls into three distinct parts, and three different techniques have been used to produce the illustrations.

I'm familiar with the jazz figures, and my comments therefore concentrate on that aspect. The first is that some of these choices are extremely idiosyncratic. Many (Beiderbecke, Armstrong, Morton) are almost obligatory, but scattered amongst them are some quite obscure figures, such as Junie C. Cobb, Roy Palmer, and Ikey Robinson. Fair enough, these are after all Mr. Crumb's heroes, but the accompanying commentary is far too brief and could with advantage have been expanded to fill the space available. Finally, whilst many of the portraits (all of which are based on photographs) are instantly recognisable a few have the look of caricature about them. All of which is to look a gift horse in the mouth, and I would disregard all of those reservations and buy it anyway if I hadn't done so already.

You really can't go wrong here...$13 or $14 for a book with wonderful artwork and brief history lessons and a companion CD with some truly timeless music.

Not a general fan of the genre, but I actually found the country music included on the CD to be the most interesting. But really every song is special.

A must have for any Crumb or roots music fan.

In 20/20 hindsight (or hindsound?) I bought the book intending to learn about music. Taken purely as an introduction to three genres of early American music, the book is a success. The pictures (and introduction to R. Crumb the artist) were a huge bonus. Wow! The CD with it completes the trifecta.

This is a fantastic introduction to multiple artistic elements - perhaps a few that will catch the reader/viewer/listener off guard. Enjoy!

Richard Nevins of Rounder Records first came up with the idea for Robert Crumb to illustrate a series of early Blues, Jazz, and Old Time Music and Bluegrass greats along the lines of the baseball cards of his childhood. Crumb went for the idea and produced what became three boxes of cards with illustrations taken from old photos on the front and write-ups about the players on the back (many of them by Nevins).

Now the famous fine arts publisher Abrams Books has designed and published a superb volume that includes the Crumb artwork as never before -- in brilliant color and on a larger scale than the cards -- along with expanded bios and a bonus CD that samples some of this great American roots music. Anyone interested in high-level cartoon art and this powerful expressive music will want to own this book.

Etta James has lived a wild life, and she lays it out unvarnished in Rage to Survive. Plenty of detail about what the music scene was like during her formative years, and she pulls no punches when discussing her bad habits and mistakes. Refreshingly straight forward and entertaining. I highly recommend reading this.

I, Tina; Don't Block the Blessings by Patti LaBelle, Bobby Womack, Pryor Convictions (Richard Pryor), Super Freak (Rick James) and The Etta James Story have been some of the most TELLING books that I have EVER had the pleasure of reading.

I personally prefer when an artist joins with their OWN writer and composes their OWN story, instead of waiting for someone else to do it, only to wind up in court desperately trying to refute the ill-refuted claims gathered by 2nd, 3rd and 4th-hand witnesses to something they heard told to their 3rd cousin twice removed.

I agree with Etta, your only TRUE judge in this ball of confusion is God, so why should you apologize to anyone else? Why not put it out there for everyone to finally snicker, whisper and gossip about, and then ultimately get over?

This book is only a grave reminder to everyone who has always looked to "Holly-WEIRD'S" version of a "hero", that perhaps it would be best to look a little closer to home.

Celebrities are only humans, too. Try looking up to the everyday, ordinary people that you see delivering your mail daily, pulling over drunk drivers, extinguishing fires, teaching your children, preaching to your families and saving your loved ones~~instead of people who can never vote (because they're felons), don't own property or their own vehicles, and are barely able to do a better job than YOU at child-rearing!

the book is great to read it came in very good condition not dirty or torn or bent.

With odds stacked against her in every direction - including personal resistance to success - Etta manages to not only survive, but thrive & inspire!
Stories of the early days of motown, touring, & musician swapping is exciting and nearly incestuous (so many huge names in music ran the same circuits, competing for musicians, songs, gigs & label attention).

The title of this book, Rage to Survive, is very well chosen, hinting is at does to the French phrase "rage de vivre," rage to live.

I grew up with Motown, Aretha, and Otis Redding, but never heard of Etta James until I was over 50! The singer I know only thanks to YouTube, but what I heard there was so talented it's almost scary: soul and blues, sure, but also country and jazz. I suspect that her drug addiction in the late 50s and early 60s led the publicity industry to shun her. (It was only starting in 1968 that one could do drugs and not get the silent treatment.) I know that this is an "as told to" book, but how many soul musicians have bothered to write any kind of memoir? This book deserves to become a classic of its kind.

Amy Weinhaus sounds fresh and interesting only because Etta James is so little known. Weinhaus's career may be over, and she probably won't live to see 30. James is 71. If I am right, Weinhaus will never have a child. James performs with her sons. Etta, you are one tough momma...

I was standing in a college bookstore and saw this title as the text for a class on Asian history. I typically have no interest in this genre but this book was riveting. The detail and genuine quality of the author's words are unique. One expects a POW who was tortured to seek out the torturer for revenge not forgiveness. This story has a beautiful, eternal message to the rest of us who hold grudges over much smaller offenses.

When I read this book 10 years ago, I couldn't understand what Lomax was talking about when he described how he was held down by Japanese soldiers, a cloth placed over his face, and water poured over him.

It's now very topical.

It's a very honest and informative personal story, as well

What an incredible book I was not able to put down. I am a big military history buff and found the early pacific theater defeats very disturbing especially the battles in and around Malaya.

The treatment of Mr. Lomax was not surprising as the Japanese were ruthless. Putting this experience into such a personal and riveting ordeal makes this book a must read. Eric Lomax puts personal vivid perspective on the years after his ordeal that is often left out of most military history accounts of battle, defeat and capture.

This book is very cathartic and brought tears to my eyes. Forgiveness is a more powerful emotion and triumphs over anger and revenge.

I read this book when it was first published about ten years ago and the moving experience has remained with me since I finished the final sentence. It is an incredibly vivid book that you will not be able to put down.
What Eric Lomax went through as a POW, and his eventual reconciliation with one of his torturers 50 years later displays a depth of humanity that is deeply moving.

i also read this when it first appeared, was deeply moved and presented it to my wife's father, a ww2 veteran. i write this review today because a man george bush proposed for attorney general is about to be approved while refusing to admit that waterboarding is torture.

as every reader of this book knows, this is precisely the torture that was used on the author eric lomax, which terrified and impacted him for his entire life, and made it so hard for him to forgive even the interrogator present during it.

several reviewers have said this book documents how brutal was the japanese treatment of prisoners, and i agree.. how can we allow ourselves to become the same as those wartime enemies we have characterized as monsters? god help us if we do not object..

Rarely have American President's set aside a lengthy paper trail of their thoughts on national issues, apart from the day to day strains of office, before they become President. The public is usually left to discern their thoughts and world views from a variety of sources, often indirectly from the candidate himself. Ronald Reagan though, from 1975 to 1979, gave over 1,000 short radio commentaries, usually around three minutes in length on a variety of topics, that give as clear an indication to what he thought and what he valued as could be expected for someone not in office.

This five CD set, of around a representative tenth of Reagan's more than 1,000 radio commentaries, represent a unique window onto what Reagan valued, and the situation, from his conservative point of view, of late 1970's America. Topics such as environmentalism, out of control government spending, onerous government regulation, religious oppression overseas and liberal thought in culture and faith are addressed with at times great seriousness, and even better genuine humor.

These audio commentaries by Reagan are occasionally interrupted by former Reagan aides and scholars who give historical context to the subjects Reagan addresses. Former aide Michael Deaver is clear that these radio commentaries were a principle way that Reagan wanted to stay public and active after his eight years as California Governor ended in 1975.

The overwhelming majority of these commentaries were written, researched and edited by Reagan himself. His previous experience with broadcasting and his ability with plain spoken English, that the American public saw on television throughout the 80's, comes over even more clear here. What is most remarkable is his sense of timing. There are a few commentaries that he obviously rushes through, usually when he is reading a letter; but most of them build up to a point and are succinct, even when he points to supporting material.

Yes, Reagan stood against communism, and that is a frequent topic of these radio spots. What most stands out though is his enthusiastic love and and admiration for America, its ideals and its people, spread over a vast continent, yearning to be independent and creative, were it not for liberalism in government and surrounding culture.

This CD set is a great primary resource to understanding Reagan, the late 1970's and what he wanted to accomplish in the 1980's, a time which was most definitely not inevitable from the years that Reagan speaks here. This CD set makes a great companion for car trips and other listening opportunities; and they would make especially great introductions to the time for those too young to remember today.

If you admire, respect, or just fondly remember Ronald Reagan you'll enjoy these CDs. Through the short radio commentaries you'll feel like you've gotten to know the real Reagan.

This product is simply amazing. Ronald Regan was one of the best Presidents this country has ever had. These recordings are amazing. Many of the issues that he addressed in his radio announcements are still relevant to today! Decades later!!!

This should silence the "nay sayers" about Regan's abilities and opinions. All these announcements were written by Regan himself between his term of Governor of CA and President. He clearly laid out his plan of defeating communism. It is amazing to hear how a "true" conservative thinks.

Each section is set up and reviewed so that you know the actual context in which Regan was speaking.

It was a true pleasure to hear Regan's views on Government, Freedom of Speech, and faith in the American people.

This series is a must for anyone who doesn't understand what it means to be a conservative. I just wish our current President (George W) would listen and practice Regan's example of what it means to be a conservative.

Ronald Regan knew how the world works, and the role the US Government should play in the lives not only US Citizens, but to the entire world.

I doesn't really matter if you're a dem or a rep, this is a voice that can speak to you if you're an american.

He was the greatest president of my lifetime.

First rate audio. First rate documentary. First rate ideas.

No matter what your political affiliation is, there is no denying Ronald Reagan was one of the greatest speakers and leaders of our time. The collection of audio commentaries by the 40th president of the United States is an everlasting testimomy to the personality and opinions which reached out and captivated a nation. After listening to his warm voice and sharp wit,it soon becomes apparent how he could almost effortlessly attract and win most people over with his words. The collection of commentaries contained in this CD, were recorded from his radio days prior to becoming president and provide insight into some of the issues and concerns of the American public during the 1970's. Its such a great collection, that his voice, thoughts and charisma remain with you long after listening to the CD.

Michael Troyan has a gift for biography. I hope he can collaborate with Turner Classic Movies to produce a video on the life of Greer Garson.
This book makes me wish I could have known Greer Garson. She loved and respected her mother, she loved her husband, she loved children and orphans and the disabled and disadvantaged. She loved her dogs, ranching in New Mexico, history, and she loved Texas...makes me love her even though I never met her. Good job, Mr. Troyan.

Michael Troyan has done a wonderful job of putting together an informative and enjoyable biography on a fascinating subject. In fact, I found the book so delightful as to find it to be one of the best biographies I've ever read.

While there is no doubt that the charming personality of Greer Garson herself that radiates throughout the book has helped in the formation of my favorable opinion, I give much-deserved kudos to Mr. Troyan for being able to present his subject to the audience in such a friendly manner. By that I mean that throughout the pages, I could feel the presence of Greer Garson, and after having finished the book, felt as if I had just finished reading a letter from a long-time friend.

The first half of the book, which deals with Greer's childhood, life in Britain as a stage actress, and the later move to Hollywood, is generally a smooth and easy read. The toll of the grinding studio system and the competition involved for the popular actresses of the time are keenly felt and one can get a very good idea of the kind of position the actress was in at the time. Eventually though, talent perseveres and success follows. Detailed and interesting accounts of each of Greer's films are available and are a joy to read.

The latter half of the book is a particularly refreshing read because of the relatively vast amount of information about Greer's later life outside of Hollywood. Personally, I had not previously been aware of her various activities and hobbies and learned a great deal more about Greer Garson than when I first started out. A sign of a good biography is new information, and this one certainly has its fair share.

Now, all other traits aside, the most notable accomplishment of this work is that it does not read as a stiff, dull and fact-driven thesis paper, which is a pitfall that so many biographies of this kind can fall into. Rather, it is an intimate yet respectfully distant portrait of a lovely human being who was also a remarkable artist in her own right.

This book on Greer Garson I highly recommend. It's very balances and tells of the good and bad times in her life about her career andher fmaily. Though i must admit I wished it had mentioned more about her interests and personal life off screem. But overall it's really well written and interesting book about alovely screen actress. Greer Garson really had class
and a wnderful grace about her in all of her films

Modern actors and actresses don't seem to have the charisma, style and elegance of yesteryear's stars. Maybe that's because most of today's actors are really nothing but pitiful celebrities striving to be what once was, when Hollywood was golden.

I long for yesterday when it comes to film stars: Betty Davis, Myrna Loy, Katherine Hepburn Ginger Rogers, and so many more. Oh, yes, and that includes Greer Garson. The beautiful and talented woman we thought was born in Ireland in 1908, was really born in London in 1904.

Author Michael Troyan delves into Greer Garson's life, as much as anyone could, given that she was an extremely private woman. He carries you through her intense desire to succeed as an actress, her `discovery' and career struggles to resist being typecast, all the way through her marriages, and to her death on April 5, 1996 at Dallas Presbyterian Hospital with Van Cliburn at her bedside.

I'd always thought of Ms. Garson as a brilliant actress who could get any part she wanted. I had no idea of her struggles with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. One of my favorite films is the record-breaking "Mrs. Miniver." I get chills thinking about her Academy Award-winning performance.

And while it felt a bit like voyeurism looking in on her life, I'm glad I visited it through Troyan's eyes. It was a satisfying trip. And the author did a marvelous job showing us a small part of the woman who was Greer Garson.

For a compelling look at one of the best actresses to ever grace the stage, big or small screen, read A Rose for Mrs. Miniver: The Life of Greer Garson.

Armchair Interviews says: This is a wonderful slice of our American film history.

An excellent read if you're into details. For me, the details got a little overwhelming, but I so much wanted to learn more about this actress that I admire greatly. Sadly, as the author himself stated, it was difficult to write a biography because Greer Garson was a very private person and did not give many interviews or express many personal opinions in public. However, he richly details her movies, her public service, and others' opinions of her (and a good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold). I have always enjoyed watching her many films and am tracking down as many of them as I can on DVD so this made for a fine addition to my collection of her work. I enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading and loves any of her many films.

As I read this book I could almost feel the track clicking below the engine, hear the chuffing of the engine as it labored to pull the cars, listen to the lonesome sound of the whistle as the engineer arrived at the crossing and feel the power as the fireman put the coal to the firebox and the engineer pulled the Johnson bar. All in all a great read and a book that anyone interested in the steam era would read with relish.

One of the most compelling railroad books I've read - the narrative is compelling because of Orr's consistent, insightful commitment to doing his job well and discovering the most efficient way to get his train over the road. Of course hardcore railfans will enjoy this book, but I think students of industrial history and those interested in the way people go about their jobs (a la Studs Terkel/working) will get something out of this book as well.

The detailed descriptions in "Set Up Running" will have you smelling coal smoke. Even though I have been a rail fan for all of my 65 years, was an NYC-PC employee, and I'm a native of Pennsylvania, I learned something new on nearly every page and thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Although "Set Up Running" deals almost exclusively with operations on a PRR branch line, ferroequinologists (students of the iron horse) everywhere will love this book. It has the unique quality of making you wish it would go on forever.

When I read a book or article about railroads it is easy to tell when the writer is over his head. Not here. This book is authentic.

The time covers a great period of growth of steam locomotive development. PRR classes from the old class R through the M1a are run and evaluated. Which one is the engineer's favorite? You might be surprised.

The book is a labor of love. It is human as well as technological. Here you find the enthusiasm of the young man, the confidence of the mature man, and the feelings of being squeezed out of the retiring man. As I finished the book I sat and thought about the family for a long time.

Set Up Running is simply the VERY BEST railroad related book which I have EVER read! If you don't have it GET IT! PERIOD! (PS: I have NO financial interest in this book or any organization/company which sells it). I'm doing YOU a favor by rating this book and advising YOU to get it!)

ceh