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This book is wonderful, even if you get it just to look at the pictures. I'm new to the world of vegan baking, and I bought this along with Isa's 2 other cookbooks. I like that they give you useful information along with the recipes. I've made 2 cupcakes so far, I wasnt blown away by either one, but I plan to try some of the more interesting ones in here. You do need a lot of ingredients that the average baker doesnt normally have on hand, but I'm slowly stocking up so I can take over the world with my cupcakes!

Every cupcake I have made from this book has been a big success. Well done...

I've had this book for awhile, but I feel it's time to finally review it. This cookbook is truly the perfect way to show family and friends that being vegan isn't a big deal--no really. I'm the only vegan in my family, but I can't wait to knock everyone's socks off at Christmas with these delicious recipes (I'm thinking blueberry lemon creme cake for the adults, and 'decorate-it-yourself' banana split cupcakes for the younguns). Please buy this book. I love exotic vegan cooking as much as the next person, but I don't have to funds to acquire the really weird ingredients. This book has those exotic ingredients, but also simple recipes with common ingredients. I'm hoping this book will propel me to official baker of the extended family, making each gathering a little less cruel!

I've been a vegan since 1989 (and a vegetarian since 1984) and didn't give much thought to baking or sweets because I didn't know how to get around dairy and especially eggs in baking. Cupcakes were the last thing I ever thought I would bake. The recipes are amazing and what I love the best is that the cupcakes don't fall apart. I baked 2 dozen cupcakes recently for my niece's birthday party and people couldn't believe that they were vegan.....

Highly, highly recommended!!!!

This book is amazing! Full of humor and great tips, not to mention wonderful recipes that turn out perfect every time. I am buying a copy for many of my friends and family for Christmas this year.

Item was shipped in a timely fashion and was as originally described. Great seller!

This book was suggested to me by the mother of a Marine. I was going to say ex-Marine but there is no such thing. She said it was as close to the real thing as you could get. Her son was in Iraq three times but I don't think he told her the real thing. This book is good and it has it's moments. Enough so that I wouldn't want to trade places with any of these American hero's. I haven't finished the book yet but it tracks with my worst imaginings of what Iraq must be like. God bless our armed forces!
John

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I read it on the Kindle. Life took a backseat while I read it.

Fallujah now I know better than I ever thought I'd know it.

I laughed, too. The description of the Iraqi soldiers dancing together a la Shakira is hilarious. The description of war is immediate and pressing it truly is as if the reader participates in the hell of combat, where human will often decides who wins and loses.

There's a scene reminiscent of the brutal "Saving Private Ryan" scene where the fighting literally become tooth, claw, and knife.

War truly is hell, and this book shows that soldiers die for each other out of love. Not for the big, noble causes, but to be there for his comrade.

This book is similar to Black Hawk Down and almost as good.

The only bone of contention I have is, as an English teacher, the spelling of "all right" not acceptable as "alright." It makes my skin crawl.

I hope Americans realize he tremendous sacrifices that soldiers and Marines have made in the Iraqi and Afghani campaigns. This book is so effective for being so evocative and as a labor of love. David Bellavia is so effective for writing from the heart, laying it all bare.

Great job, Sarge. Thanks for your service. Hoo-yah!

This is worth every minute of reading time. I read it through without stopping, it was so compelling and real. Thanks for the snapshot of that world, and for your service, Sargeant.

After trying to understand for years even a small fraction of what is actually going on in Iraq and what happened in Fallujah, this book is a blessing. Not only is a it a great account to the things we all must know before we turn on CNN for the guide to our lives, it's also a great story in general.. It will steal you heart, if you have one. It's very easy to read and holds your attention throughout the whole book without any long boring gaps. So for those of you with limited attention span (like me), reading it should not take long or pose any problems.

This book may also help you question and find out things about your own self. I hope it can do for many what it did for me. I felt more emotion that I have felt from any movie or book for many many years.

I would like to thank SSG David Bellavia for doing the incredible things that you did and writing to tell us about it without holding back what most people would never share. You are and all of the men and women you served with are now more than ever my heroes! God bless you!

This is a great book. I found it very easy to read. Mary speaks from personal experience and it's like have a close friend right there with you in the trenches. We've begun to implement her plan and I can already see a difference in our monthly expenses. It's not an instant fix, but then we didn't get in this financial hole in a day either. Steady progress without any steps backwards, that's our goal.

Thanks Mary for taking the time to share what you've learned with the rest of us. You're making a difference one family at a time!!!

Fantastic book! If everyone in the country read it and did what Mary recommends, this country would not be in the situation it is!

After reading this book and implementing Mary's plan, my husband and I were able to organize our credit and shorten our payments from 15 years down to 5! We are two years into it, and only have three more to go before we are debt free. I cannot express how great this book is. Mary addresses how to live without using credit, how to pay off the credit you do have, and how to make sure you don't need to fall back on credit in the future. She suggests in the book to use her website to plan your payments on current debt. It costs $20 to enroll, and I would highly reccomend it. It allows you to plug all your debt into the worksheet, and it tells you which bills to pay first, second, etc to get the debt payed off the fastest. Well worth the $20!

Everyone should read this book and follow her steps. This is a great way to get out of debt.

I first checked this out of the Library but after the third time decieded I needed my own copy. Positive and not degrading like some of the other budget cash only spokes persons.

The book came promptly and was in great condition, as described. I am really enjoying reading it. Thanks much!

This book was recommended to me by my doctor when I asked him some questions about nutrition. I quite enjoyed this book and most certainly feel it was worth my while. There's not much that's mind-blowing here, there's no easy or magic secret to good health, but it spells out proper nutrition clearly and concisely and does recommend some foods you may not know of or consider, like quinoa as an example. The book is based on years of research, and I have no doubt that anyone's health would improve by following the advice in Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy.

This book is exactly what I was looking for: scientific information related to nutrition and health. It is clear, easy to read, and provides practical ideas for implementation. I have already changed my diet and feel great. I've even lost weight without trying. I really appreciate a book that takes all the research that has been done and boils it down into a readable text. This book has done that better than I expected.

With so much news constant inundating all of us on the most recent nutrition fads it's often difficult to decide what the right choices are when it comes to eating.

This book is an excellent source of advice citing which studies make sense to pay attention to and what sorts of dietary changes we can all be making to improve our lives. I purchased 2 copies, one for myself, and one for my parents.

The quality of the books are excellent. I had a problem receiving the books, though. When tracking them I was told they were delivered, but I had never received them. I got connected with customer service through the website and they helped make things right by re-sending my order. These books came in the same time I should have received my other books. I feel confident that I can order through Amazon again and they will make sure that I am satisfied. Thank you, Amazon!

There is so much in this book that I can relate to, having started my own company around the same time in Silicon Valley (although in software). John and Kyle made the same mistakes that many entrepreneurs thankfully make - they followed their passion instead of their senses, and didn't buckle under the pressure and the unknown. One other valuable lesson from this book -- document your process. This is a great way to share your successes and your mistakes with others. I wish we had more stories like this when I was working on my MBA - something more than the dry, non-applicable case studies stuck in front of us. And John and Kyle also provided one other important gem: how to save a few bucks a month at the neighborhood gym. Thanks guys.

I was in a book store and I was attracted to the title and the cover color. I picked up the book and read the jacket and I was hooked. I hardly ever buy non-technical books -especially non-fiction. But I was hooked after reading the jacket so I bought the book and assiduously read and enjoyed it. Also I am a Wharton alumnus. I also took classes with Len Lodish.

Eric Ericsson

The book spells out tips for starting a business (use credit cards instead of banks) and the mistakes the authors made along the way (when do you enter the market). You can even contact them after reading and talk to them about your ideas. The encouraging aspect of the book is that while they are starting their business, they spoke to their classmates who were making $200,000 on wall street and working for the dot-coms, but John and Kyle were not discouraged. I am happy that they were able to take an idea like a computer mouse shaped like a gold club and turn it into THEIR company. Congrats guys!

The Mousedriver Chronicles is the story of 2 Wharton MBA's who take a business plan developed on their entrepreneurship course at Wharton and decide to make a go of it. In 1999 they turn away high paying jobs at investment banks and over funded dot.com startups to go it alone.

Their idea: to make and sell a computer mouse that looks like the head of a golf driver.

They fund the venture themselves, find a manufacturer in Hong Kong, move to San Francisco (to be part of all the start up vibe in The Bay area) and run the business from the kitchen of their rented flat.

Their story is brilliantly relayed as they grapple with manufacturing, marketing and distribution hassles. The single product focus of their new company, named Platinum Concepts Inc., makes for a wonderful entrepreneurial story with excellent lessons about what it takes to succeed as a self funded start up. The two founders quickly learn that they need more than the theoretical knowledge acquired on their MBA at Wharton; they need to be street wise. They experiment with different mechanisms to make things happen and end up categorizing their execution strategies as follows:
Plan A: Make use of their business school network and contacts
Plan B: Hit the streets and the shops to find a creative solution
Plan C: Work the Yellow Pages

More often than not, plan B and C worked far better than plan A.

One of the founders, John Lusk, began sharing their entrepreneurial adventure with friends and family via a monthly email called "The Insider". The Insider was a real, often humorous, sometimes highly insightful newsletter about their adventure. The insider subscriber list grew and grew. MBA lecturers began distributing The Insider as prescribed reading. In 2001 Inc. Magazine featured a cover story on the company and its two founders. The Inc. cover story entitled "An American Start-up" focuses on the impact of The Insider e-mail newsletter. The email newsletters were used as the foundation for the book published in 2001 entitled The "Mousedriver Chronicles".
The company has since been shut down but the Mousedriver website still serves as a portal for entrepreneurs and copies of The Insider newsletter can be found in PDF format on the website: www.mousedriver.com

MouseDriver is about two guys who graduate from Wharton with MBAs in 1999 (the heart of the internet boom) and start a business manufacturing and selling a computer mouse that looks like the head of a driver golf club, turning down high paying jobs at dotcoms, investment banks, consulting firms etc.

As a small business consultant (Transcendence Consulting, LLC tcllc.net) I can tell you right now that if you are looking to start a busines, buy this book TODAY. It is an amazing look at the entire process of starting a business, from the ability to jump head first, manage yourself during
the highs and lows, deal with self doubt and solve an endless supply of problems. It is an easy read that will take you no time at all to complete.

Bastiat is one of the greatest. This book is so short, so simple, and so devastatingly effective that it is truly an all-time classic. If you are not a socialist, you should master the simple arguments in this essay and keep them handy for discussions with your socialist friends. If you are a socialist, you should in all intellectual honesty read this book (it can be done in an hour or so) and see if you can answer Bastiat's objection to socialism: that anytime the law is used to organize anything other than justice, such as equality or prosperity, it necessarily and inescapably works against justice. His logic is ironclad and uncomplicated. It's a real shame this is no longer part of our cultural consciousness, since it means we are now embarked on a journey of massive, organized, government-supervised injustice. Read this book, give it to your family, give it to your friends, spread the message. You can also download it for free from the von Mises website.

'The Law' is the basis of all justice and the free market. While this is a presumptous statement, I will stand by it because Bastiat actually dissects all fallacies about Big-Government intervention in the lives and business of private citizens, all in the name of 'helping society'. He goes on to predict the evils that would later convulse worthy nations. His prognosis is as relevant today as it was in his day.
This book is also the first place where economics and politics are clearly put in their correct sequence; therefore it should be required reading for all politicians. More importantly, if a sufficient number of individuals in a country were to read this book, they'd throw out 90% of all laws and legislators.
It is a dangerous book.

I tend to hop between books I read, having 10 or more in progress at the same time. Therefore, when I hop back to "The Law" for my second reading, I still forget occasionally that this book was written 150 years ago. I will get it confused with books written in 2007 or 2008 (other than the slightly odd grammar), as it deals with the exact same issues which are plaguing our government today.

You will recognize very similar topics to today's government. Read about bailouts for large businesses which are in trouble, when the government should mind its own business. Read how politicians protect their power by calling people "isolationists" (though it is called "individualists" in the book) when they ask for less government interference in foreign affairs.

The thing I enjoyed the most was the crisp line which was drawn for where the government belongs. He says that people have the right to protect their liberty and property. The people also have the right to organize together as a group (IE: government) to more effectively protect their liberty and property. Therefore, "The Law" should be used only as a means to protect liberty and property. The forced liberation of any group's wealth (property) for the benefit of another group is completely against the true purpose of government/law.

Bastiat's Law is one of the most important documents you could ever read. It is the basis for the philosophy of liberty, and without adherence to these ideals liberty cannot last. This should be required reading in school, but once you read what this french philosopher had to say you may start to understand why those who tax us cannot afford to have too many people read this book.

While I agree with Bastiat entirely, the way that he has presented "the classic blueprint for a just society," is exactly why people who lean more towards socialist ideas scoff at those who are for capitalism, economic stability, and most importantly honoring the fundamentals of the need for law: to protect life, liberty, and property.

The first chapter started out wonderfully, articulately and simple. It was accessible and easy to understand and apply. I was excited as I hoped to share this with my husband to allow him to open up to my ideas on politics which are different from his (he's a democrat/socialist).

However, the rest of the book just seemed to be a rant that got more and more impassioned as it went along, which to me seemed to take away from the reader's ability to take what he was saying seriously. I was disappointed because even though I agreed with everything he said and thought his applications of his ideas were great, I felt sort of embarrassed about his inability to keep calm in expressing his ideas.

The book is sound, based on sound ideas and should appeal to any libertarian. I nodded a lot as I was reading it. "Yes!" I kept telling myself, "this is definitely true." Unfortunately the truth was told, in this case, in a way that I don't think would be very accessible to the people that Bastiat was intent on reaching. I think a democrat/socialist might mislabel it "too radical" when they really mean, "too impassioned."

It is for that reason, I'm sorry to say, I was unable to rate this any higher.

To 'stall' is human, to measure divine, is the key message from this book that highlights the tendency of us humans to resist change and thus accept less than perfection from our selves or our organizations. By naming `stalled' performance drivers - tradition holds you back, disbelief of new possibilities based on past experience stops you, misconception of actual facts, perceived unattractiveness of other options, poor communications, bureaucracy or just plain procrastination stalls things - the authors supply motivational materials so the reader will consider their eight-step process for 'stall-busting'.

1. Understand the importance of measuring performance
2. Choose an important process to measure
3. Find best practice for that process
4. Move beyond best practice
5. Imagine the world if perfection of the practice were possible
6. Act on this perfection now
7. Match people and rewards to induce perfection
8. Repeat steps 1 thru 7

As the authors say, most everyone talks about continuous improvement, but talk is not action. If it gets measured, it gets done, the saying goes. For the authors, if it gets measured, it gets improved. I should measure the time taken to read books and write reviews; well, maybe tomorrow.

Dennis DeWilde, author of
"The Performance Connection"

The 2000 Percent Solution is not merely a strategic business thinking book but something more. It is a book that can lead you to find your personal stalls and eliminate them so that free from them, it will be easier to discover and eliminate the organizational stalls. These steps are essential in the effort to apply the author's suggestions for obtaining the 2000 percent solution and finally achieve exponential business success. The book is very comprehensive, it contains sixteen chapters. In the 1-8 chapters the authors explain the various kinds of personal and organizational stalls and propose an effective busting method, while in the rest chapters, there are various techniques for achieving the 2000 percent solution. It a great book!

How fast? Lots of tools to retread wheels of enterprise to increase productivity are in The 2000% Solution. This is not a one read book, but a series of valuable clear disciplines to habituate. Thank God for humor- the spoon full of sugar.

Don Mitchell makes a point, illustration from a wide range of business vignettes threaded with the funny sides of life. The flow of information is linear to me, one point connecting to the next. Some business reads are jumpy and harder for me to follow. I became self employed in 1973, (not knowing the term!) by 1979 hired my first employee. When recognizing I was in `business' I joined the local Chamber of Commerce and began reading business books. Some helped me sleep, not this one!

The 2000% Solution is the first book that has given me a quantum leap thinking process, to think in big significant moves forward. Dr. Mitchell gives simple methods to `do' these processes. One action I took was to chart my actions by the hour for several days to review what I am doing and what actions move me forward. This uncomfortable process is powerful.

Most traditional reads are usually from one person's view of one business or industry. The 2000% Solution malleable big leap `thinking process' alone is worth the read. The value of real stories of real people in real company activities- well - that makes it real to me.

The best thing reading this is FUN- the humor! Some are deliberate jokes and cartoons strengthening points made- then there are the funny real stories happening in business. Many times I laughed out loud. Humor is the no-calorie whipped cream on this delight!

I found this book a great help and have read it several times. It defines in simple terms how to unstall your life and business. It sets out a plan to find and eliminate various types of obstacles or stalls that impede the success in your business or personal life. The book has helped me reorient and remove the obstacles that are a hindress to the exponential growth that is possible within any business. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a way to get out of a rut and start moving forward and upward again

I first read "The 2000 Percent Solution" as part of a course for a Rushmore University doctoral program. It sparked in me the desire and determination to get more "bang for the buck" from my efforts, and provided a clear 8-step guide for doing so.

The guide to creating 2000 Percent solutions essentially helps you to see differently, and acknowledge the reality of your personal and organisational biases. It helps you undertake a wider search than you normally would in the quest for a solution. And it doesn't leave you content with the best solution you may have found, but has you project into the future to "see" what the future best practice is likely to be, and then begin now to implement it.

Applying the authors' ideas to my personal circumstances helped free my mind (an ongoing, never ending process) of a number of personal stalls and led directly to the creation of a management training and consulting company. And in spite of limited capital, the momentum of my take-off amazes acquaintances.

I keep my copy of "The 2000 Percent Solution" in my office, within easy reach, because I intend to read it over and over, to create an upward spiral of exponential gains in my life and work.

The skill of creating 2000 Percent solutions is a valuable one. Combined with the ability to engage in continual business model innovation (as taught in "The Ultimate Competitive Advantage" by Mitchell and Coles), it will guarantee business success long into the future.

I am new to eating gluten-free and this book was given to me as a gift along with a few other books. This was by far the best book. The recipes are great. She also gives great information about how gluten-free cooking works in general so you can look at how to convert your own favorite recipes. I think this is a great first book for those who just started eating gluten-free.

Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise G. Roberts is a real treasure for celiacs. Gluten-free food, at best, can be boring and not very tasty, but this cookbook makes baking delightful. None of the recipes I've tried has failed and even my non-celiac friends and family can't believe that the cookies and cakes I've made are gluten free. This would make a terrific holiday gift for the celiac in your family.

This is a great cookbook. Everything I have made from this book is good, and the chocolate chip cookies are better than those with wheat flour. Definitely a must-have.

After several years of trying to adapt regular recipes to be gluten-free with varying results, it's so great to have a whole book full of tried and true recipes, often with instructions & ingredients I wouldn't think of. The gingerbread cake was a big hit at a recent dinner party with gluten-eating guests -- it was moist and springy with great flavor. no more dense squishy or falling-apart crumbly baked goods!

I give this book 5 stars because it's been great for me. I have guten sensitivity and for years I have not eaten pies, cakes, pizza, etc. This book has changed that because now I eat all of this frequently. When I first got the book I thought it would be hard to get her flour mixture from Authenic Foods. But it's EASY. Everything you need is cheap and easy to get. And, her recipes are easy! I make pie crusts and pizza crusts in a jiffy. I recommend a food processor or dough mixer on a stand.

The story of Wesley the Owl is a fantastic read for any animal lover, and especially avian lovers. The human/animal connection Stacey shares with Wesley, and the stories she tells of that connection are entertaining, enlightening and simply wonderful. A lot can be learned from this book about the human/animal connections that we all share with our animal friends. A must read!

I absolutely loved this book. Read it straight through in one night and can't get it out of my head. It's a beautiful story, beautifully written. And Stacey O'Brien is such an extraordinary person. It was a privilege to read about her and Wesley's life together. I think that anyone who loves animals will love this book, and hopefully it will convert some non-animal-lovers 'to the bright side' as well. It truly had me laughing and crying and in awe, all in one book.

Wesley the Owl is an awesome book that is full of adventure, humor, love, and detail between Stacy Obrien and her owl Wesley. I never knew that an owls life was so complex! Stacy throws so much detail into her book, that you actually feel like you are a part of their lives, and experience all the emotion that goes on between them. Stacy also provides excellent pictures of her life with Wesley, and shares every moment of it with the reader. The story of Stacy and her life with Wesley was so fascinating, and I fully enjoyed every minute of it! From start to finish I found it hard to put the book down! I lent it to my mother in law and she read it in 4 days! She truly felt that this was the best book she has ever read... and she is a regular book worm! The ending of this book brought tears to my eyes. I felt sort of sad when I was done reading this book. It felt as if I had lost contact with a wonderful relationship. I have never found a book that had so much offer! It was educational, emotional, humorous, fascinating, adventurous in a sense, and feeling like you were physically there and a part of their lives. Well done Stacy Obrien! I will truly treasure this book.

You will not find a better book on the love of animals this year, than Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl.

One of the fascinating things about "Wesley" is the transformation you see the author, Stacey O'Brien, going through -- from a very scientific, analytical mind to an awakening and acceptance of telepathy as a form of communication between humans and animals.

It's not that the book focuses on that, it's really a life story about her and wild owl, whom she named "Wesley." She adopted him at 4 days old when she was working at CalTech, and this is a story that she wrote as a way to release her grief after he died. He was 19 years old.

No matter how bizarre the circumstance of having a wild animal as a companion, and no matter that every once in a while in the book she uses verbiage that is far above my level of intelligence, (and I consider myself to be of moderately high intelligence) there is a commonality in her story that every parent of an animal can easily understand. The little proclivities our animals have, the snuggling, the cuddling, the getting angry when we leave for too long of a time, these are all things we can understand and relate to from our own experience with our pets. (I do agree with another reviewer that parents should read it first to screen out any material that might be upsetting to young children.)

But this really is a work of art. I am not a big reader of stories, but I could not put this book down. The side stories are fascinating. For instance, her father was good friends with a man she mentions -- the man who figured out it was the o-rings that blew up the Challenger. These are the people she associates with on a regular basis. The stories of some of the people she talks about at CalTech are fascinating, creepy, intriguing and more.

As an animal communicator, this is not a book I would recommend to teach people to become animal communicators, its a story that in a very unique way, from a very unique person, addresses animal communication as part of our relationship with our animal kids.

Easy to read, it's funny, it's fascinating, repelling at times, making you cringe and say "Eeeeewwwwww" out loud and by the end, will be hard to read through your tears.

I - can't - recommend - this - book - enough. Wesley the Owl. If you enjoy it even a fraction as much as I did, you will enjoy it, very much, indeed.

I know I'm going to get blasted for writing a negative review, but I just couldn't like this book. As an animal lover, as are most of the people who will read this book, I expected to like it, I wanted to like it. The story of the owl itself is ok, and the book is a quick, easy read.

The problem arose for me when, in the first few pages, the author remembers crying all day as a child when her mother flushed a spider down a toilet, using that to portray what an animal lover she is. But a few pages later, the adult biologist writes "there is a cultural pressure among biologists to withstand the extremely gross without reacting" and goes on to describe cleaning up rotten, maggot infested rats parts that the owls have dropped. Later on, she works desperately to save a hamster but is blase about microwaving mice. She jokes about rats that "must have been doing genetic experiments" because they were so large before she sliced them into "rat pucks".

Now of course I know that in the wild, mice, rats, and other such creatures are always in danger of being eaten. But I also know they also have the chance to get away. It is the author's seeming total lack of concern for the animals that are killed to keep her owl alive that concerns me. I could not read this story without feeling for the animals that have been compartmentalized in her mind as "food" and therefore not worth any compassion. This story just made me sad.

This is an outstanding book, both in scope and detail. I regret only that the book was not available years ago so that my generation of World War II and the crucial years thereafter could get a proper education about economics in general and our U.S. money system in particular. There are several ways to summarize the patient and courageous work which the author, Ellen Brown, devoted to this book. It could be called a history of money and associated politics from just before the establishment of the Bank of England until recent events in the U.S. and abroad. It could be called an elaboration of a moral fable about what is usually taken to be a story for children, namely the Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. It could be called a penetrating exposé of human greed on a vast scale involving the Federal Reserve and national (but privately owned) banks of other countries. It could be described in many other ways. I prefer however to view it as a successful quest for an international currency that could foster and sustain a democratic system that recycles interest or surplus in an ecological manner so as to preclude the tendency for wealth to accumulate on behalf of just a few people at the expense of everyone else.

The author provides an extensive glossary with definitions of key financial terms like bear raid, cartel, central bank, derivatives, Federal Reserve banks, fiat money, leveraging, money supply, moral hazard, Ponzi scheme, privatization, proprietary trading, reserve requirement, short sale, specie, structural adjustment, tight money, uptick rule and so forth. The bibliographic notes and reading list alone are worth many times the price of the book. Best of all is the final chapter which recaps the previously discussed features of money systems and from this reassembly proposes a 12-point platform for any political party (whatever it calls itself) with intent to genuinely resolve our present disaster. The platform is focused around this project: "Either repeal of the Federal Reserve Act as in violation of the Constitution, or amendment of the act to make the Federal Reserve a truly federal agency, administered by the U.S. Treasury."

I can hardly overstate my conviction that this is a must-read book for all Americans who still read books and who still care actively about the future of our beloved country.

In short, READ WEB OF DEBT. Sorry for the long-winded review but I love this topic and this book. Web of Debt is an excellent, clearly written, compelling, and eminently readable work. Author Ellen Hodgson Brown, who has plenty of personal experience seeing how the web of debt has destroyed the so-called Third World, presents us with a broad ranging discussion of monetary history and policy and how we got where we are today. In a gripping and engaging fashion, using The Wizard of Oz as the parable, and a blood-sucking spider as metaphor, with Rockefeller as current Master Spider, Brown has simplified a topic considered dry, confusing and until now, beyond human ken by most of us. I could not put this book down, and I have the bags under my eyes to prove it! Web of Debt almost reads like a novel because of the colorful characters and plots that make up the account. Interestingly, I never realized L. Frank Baum's masterpiece was really a populist economic and political parable. Each chapter, each story, each statistic is more jaw-dropping, more eye-popping than the last. At times I felt like I was developing some sort of palsy, constantly shaking my head. I knew some things about the Fed, fiat currency and the shady history and dealings of Wall Street, but this book put so much more into perspective for me, and provides the background from which we can understand and explore further the evolution and practices of the U.S. banking and finance system. This is a fascinating subject and I urge all of you to not only read this book, but anything on the subject, such as Zarlenga's The Lost Science of Money, which I have just ordered, and Shock Doctrine and Confessions of an Economic Hitman. Also, watch "America: Freedom to Fascism" and "Money Masters." Forewarned is forearmed. As Brown shares, this was once a topic that engaged Americans from all walks of life. Whole political parties once formed around the issue of monetary reform. Money touches us all, and you need to understand how it works, and more importantly, who CONTROLS it. Learn why the moneychangers have been reviled and exiled throughout history and how insidious, parasitic, and manipulative this sector of society, essentially a mafia, with the IRS as its "muscle," has become at the expense of common, uninformed people. We need to realize a few things; first, the Federal Reserve System is scamus ultimatus, b/c is it not Federal and there are little if no reserves. All money issued by the Fed is money that is loaned into existence, with the interest payable to a private banking cartel. Therefore there is never enough money in the system to pay the interest. It is known as the "impossible contract." The Federal Reserve Act was deceptively approved and signed by Woodrow Wilson in 1913. It illegally abdicates Congress's sole responsibility to coin and regulate the money supply to a private banking cartel owned by the largest member banks (and families) in the country and the world. It operates in secrecy, has never been thoroughly audited, answers to no one, and is owned by the richest of the rich, and that includes foreign investors! There is a very useful chart on who owns the Fed (a little outdated but enlightening nonetheless)[...]. Ellen Brown also recently posted an article here: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Banks/Who_Owns_Federal_Reserve%3F.html. Understand that there is, nor has there ever been such thing as a "free market," unless you want to argue for whom it is free. The boom and bust cycles the corporate owned media like to attribute to the ever mysterious "business cycle" are really orchestrated, perhaps loosely but nevertheless planned events designed to transfer massive amounts of wealth from a country's economy into the hands of the wealthiest 1% or less (who own 50% of all the wealth!); inflation is another method (read: tax) they use to accomplish the same feat. These gigantic institutional investment funds can destroy entire countries by blowing up their currency, or target an industry or corporation for takeover in a heartbeat by dumping stock and short-selling enormously leveraged positions. Ma and Pa Investor is mere flotsam and jetsam. Brown uses the analog of the dog with fleas. Guess who are the parasites? It's time to apply our Constitutional "Advantage." How interesting is it that each President that has tried to stand up to the Banking Cartel has been assassinated (i.e., Lincoln, Garfield, Kennedy)? Americans are always being counted among the most productive and hard working people on Earth. So why is it we are the most debt-ridden, suffering the largest income gaps, the most foreclosed on, the most bankrupt and taking the entire world with us, have the least savings, the worst education and health care system, and, thank you very much, are the most militaristic society in modern times? It can all, one way or another, be traced to the banking cartel's private issuance of our money supply and their kleptocratic system known as fractional reserve banking. If we expect to survive as a society, we must act now to take back the power of the coin, which is Congress' Constitutional mandate (Art. I, Section 8).

Brown has done America a huge service in adding clarity and timeliness to the much needed and current hot topic of our economic well-being. I'm not sure, but I think this book went to press about a year ago, and feels as fresh as if it was written last month because everything is happening as feared. The economy is sinking quickly into a black hole. The new administration is making no noise about true banking reform. In fact, the Fed appears to have controlled the discussion by having its own leadership joining the administration, such as the head of the NY Fed Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secty. Nice going, Obama, there's some change Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan can believe in! Give the junkies the keys to the medicine cabinet. They are just going to pump more debt upon us while saving their own skins. This time I think even they are scared that they may have slaughtered the goose and we're all going down the rathole together, but you know they will survive unless we change the rules. It seems clear that the banking elites would rather take us all down with them then relinquish their death grip on our world economy. We have some alternatives to debt money but we need a national currency backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Govt (people). As Glenda the Good Witch says to Dorothy, you've had the power all along, you just didn't know it. We have the power, and we can turn this thing around in short order if we a) hold Congress accountable, and b) make them phase out Federal Reserve DEBT dollars and replace them with good old Greenbacks. I agree with those that believe specie-backed currency is a blind alley which can only lead to further ruin. Gold is a commodity and can be easily manipulated. If payments are to be made in gold, what happens when we have to make our foreign obligations in gold, what happens when we run out of it? If interest is paid in gold, eventually the lender gets all the gold. Under the Greenback system, the government spends money into circulation, debt free. Interest is paid back into the Treasury, reducing the need for taxes. The argument that the government will just flood the economy with paper is as worthless as Fed notes. What has the FED been doing for 100 years? Leave Austrian economics to the Austrians. Ron Paul, while I respect him for some things, has it wrong. Most of his followers blindly accept this "sound money" gold backed currency concept without investigation. And laissez faire doesn't work; banks and capitalism need regulation, and a pen to play in (some of these bankers need a penitentiary!).

Anyway, read the book, it's great!

As another reviewer stated, this may be the most important book you will ever read. Ms. Hodgson, you are to be profoundly congratulated for pulling this information together into a readable form and I hope that your sales are rewarding you appropriately. I have done my best to get the word out and have purchased multiple copies as gifts to friends.

I will take my recommendation of this book even a step further and say that anyone who manages to get the information contained in this book into the mainstream dialogue, and force both politicians and big business/banking to explain how continuing business as usual is a viable blueprint for the future, deserves a Noble Prize in conjnction with Ms. Hodgson. Read this book, talk about it with friends, and recommend it to everyone. In my opinion, any chance at a sustainable future depends on it.

I never knew how money was made, but now it's crystal clear both how it's made and why we're never taught this in school. We've all been duped and this is undoubtedly the biggest crime in history - yes it is! Want to know how we can reclaim our freedom? Buy this book and study it, then share about it far and wide. May the farce be over soon and may we all live free from the shackles of debt.

I have read many books concerning the state of the US economy and this is the best. She expounds on positions touched on by Ron Paul, Bill Bonner and Edward Griffin so that you have a much better understanding of what they mean. Some books like this can be a chore to get through. I could barely put this down. You need to read this.