Policy Books

The Good Corporate Citizen: A Practical Guide is a very detailed and complete handbook on corporate philanthropy for those corporations that that wish to make a meaningful contribution to the improvement of their communities, but it is extremely useful for individuals and family foundations that want to make a difference as well. Ms. Rubenstein has done an excellent job of raising the questions that donors must answer in this extremely complex area of philanthropy. And the book is just what the title says - it's an extremely practical guide with lots of examples and helpful detail.

Ames Sheldon, Director of Development, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota

What I appreciate about "The Good Corporate Citizen" is that it is an engaging blend of the very practical ("Why Conduct a Corporate Citizenship Program?" because among other things, customers "are likely to continue doing business with the company") as well as the ethical and near spiritual. In the latter category, eight steps on the ladder of charity are identified from the work of a medieval Jewish wiseman, Rabbi Maimonides. At the bottom level you can do charity with the zeal of Scrooge; at the top, you can help set up conditions such that people can avoid charity in the first place. Author Rubenstein deftly weaves modern-day parallels to all steps. The book is really a handbook in that it provides straightforward information on difficult subjects such as evaluating nonprofits on how they have made use of grants to providing a lot of useful sample forms on budgets, grant approval and "regret" letters as well as letters of agreement with recipient organizations and the basic elements of a corporate giving plan. Rubenstein also introduces new concepts, such as "social entrepreneurism" which is modestly revolutionizing approaches to making higher education more accessible to underprivileged groups in the US (www.collegesummit.org). She tantalizes with brief but insightful discussions on "quality of life" matters such as international and environmental philanthropy. One has a sense that she has much more to say on such subjects and, given the increasingly interdependence of the world in which we live, hopefully her next volume will treat these in greater depth.

At a time when corporate philanthropy is rapidly changing, Doris' guide is helpful in navigating your journey. She provides smart and insightful analysis for corporate decision-makers and fundraisers seeking support. The Good Corporate Citizen helps the business executive develop a practical plan for giving and helps the nonprofit executive better understand the motivations and needs of companies wanting to be engaged in the community they serve.

We bought this book for our financial investments advisory firm, to create a good citizenship program; but we found that the information it contains is equally useful for some of our clients who are considering starting private family foundations. The lessons offered for most policy areas can apply for either kind of business: for profit and non-profit.
J & B Papazian
E. Lansing, MI

Every executive and business owner should read this book! It's important for today's leaders to recognize the vital role that business plays not only in our community but how it's relationship with community affects the bottom line. This author's words have inspired me to start a giving program for my own business.

You have to read this book now! It is very informative and quite exciting, as more is happening in the world than at least I knew. It is also practical and inspiring action and change.

I opened Green fearing that it might be too simplistic or have an agenda. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is concise and addresses the key issues, from the local to the global level, but without unnecessary simplificaton or talking down to the reader. The Hoffmans spell out the governmental policy changes necessary to make going green palatable, and more important, profitable for private enterprise, so that the invisible hand can do its magical work. This is a must read for people of all ages who care about the planet and their place in it.

This book is well written by people with experience in the field. It provides a very comprehensive review of the three pillars of the energy crisis, conservation, development and utilization of existing energy forms, plus new technology with extensive advantages. I only wish I was forty years younger so I could make some contribution to the solution of our energy needs for the future.

This book does an excellent job of explaining developments and investment opportunities within the U.S. renewable energy sector in a way that is easy to understand and relate to. With energy emerging as a major 2008 presidential campaign issue, this book could bring someone with limited knowledge of renewable energy up to speed on all the major issues.

I am inspired by the illuminating and clear information that the Hoffman team has compiled, Green is a masterful book. It is informative and entertaining. I highly recommend Green, because we all have a place in the New Energy Revolution. An exceptional book

HEALING INVISIBLE WOUNDS: PATHS TO HOPE AND RECOVERY IN A VIOLENT WORLD could also have been featured in our Health section but is reviewed here for its wide-ranging interest beyond the usual health library audience. Richard Mollica has spent over thirty years treating victims of all kinds of trauma: hundreds of interviews, years of research, and his counseling expertise blend to produce a series of case histories with lessons on how people heal from devastating events. Any general-interest library will welcome its wisdom.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

All too rarely, it seems, the public is privileged to receive a book that is neither text nor tome, but rather gift. Richard Mollica's Healing Invisible Wounds is such a gift - a gift of hope for all who inhabit this violent world. One of the most widely accessible books I have read, Healing Invisible Wounds speaks to clinicians, policy makers, survivors and all who wish to live responsibly toward their neighbor in an increasingly global world. Having developed international recognition as a leading researcher/scientist in the field of psychiatry and trauma, Mollica departs from hard, empirical science and turns his attention toward the grace-filled trauma stories of which he has long been the recipient in his work with refugees, torture survivors, and victims of disaster. Such a shift is not easy - evidence-based research exerts an indomitable influence on the practice of healthcare. Yet, with this book, Mollica demonstrates his commitment to individuals - real people struggling with real pain yet capable of real healing. In this book, we do not find statistical evidence to support hypotheses about the mental health sequelae of violence; instead, what we find are stories of people - Somaly, Dr. Nakas and Liz - whose resilience, spirit and grace lead readers to a newfound understanding of "healing."

As a religious professional, I cannot recommend this book enough to clergy, congregations and individuals seeking to make an active, faith-based commitment to their communities. Resounding throughout Healing Invisible Wounds is Mollica's dedicated attention to the powerful force of spirituality, empathy and narrative in regards to healing. Were I to attempt to re-energize an adult faith study at my church, this is the book with which I would begin - inspiring, courageous, visionary and hopeful, Mollica's gift to us is one to be read, discussed and shared for years to come.

I dedicated more than my spare time in three days to read this wonderful and exiting book. I find it innovative, creative, entertaining, revealing, informative, interesting and moving. I consider, and hope, although I am not an expert in the field, that it might really result in becoming a bestseller.

Dr. Paul Farmer, the subject of "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder, describes Healing Invisible Wounds as "a welcome salve in a world of want and pain." I couldn't agree more. If you're exhausted from violence, war, and fear, look it square in the eye, and Mollica will show you the previously invisible resilience of the human mind and heart.

The book provides a courageous, inspiring, and radical message of the human capacity for self-healing. Mollica reveals the intricate relationship of humiliation, depression, and violence, providing deep insight both into international headlines and into our own lives. He describes the relationship of personal- and social-healing, illuminating and artfully deconstructing their systemic obstacles and showing a middle way.

Defying genre, and far from clinical in style, the book is a philosophical inquiry into the soul of man while providing skills rooted in scientific study for both understanding and recovering from trauma. The book is as applicable to the average person that is witness to ambient violence as to the survivor of extreme violence.

I've told everyone I know about it.

Drawing from a rich and powerful history of personal and clinical experience, Dr. Richard Mollica's Healing Invisible Wounds has compiled a moving book about the healing power of the human soul, taking the reader on a fantastic journey through the complex, but often unrecognized resilient attributes of individuals whom have endured horrific pain and tragedy.

This book is by no means, however, a "self-help", or even "self-healing" textbook. Rather, this book is radically unique insofar as it cannot truly be boxed in to any particular literary genre. It is at once deeply philosophical, gracefully painting an illustration of healing as a true art form, while simultaneously noting the value of concrete and pragmatic applications of the artistic healing principles covered throughout the book. Through employing a mix of clinical vignettes, personal observations and revelations, and new scientific findings made throughout a lifetime of learning, Dr. Mollica's Healing Invisible Wounds reads much like a crazy, philosophical adventure novel calling, awakening the reader to the hidden, subtle, yet ubiquitous nature of discovery and healing entwined in this mystery we call "the human experience".

This book is a profound and poetic new psychology of healing and recovery from not only extreme violence but the tragic events of everyday life. The well-cultivated insights Dr. Mollica shares with the reader should--almost must--be openly embraced, encouraged, and activated in ourselves and our loved ones as often as humanly possible.

This book is an extremely readable overview of strategic planning in healthcare today. The chapters build on each other very well, and leave the reader with an excellent picture of the whys and hows of development of strategic vision relative to the position and capabilities of the organization. The section on strategic intent is particularly useful. The tables and figures are useful, clear, and easy to understand. Each chapter ends with "Lessons Learned", a useful summary and reminder of the chapter contents. I recommend this book as both a primer and refresher for those interested in healthcare stategic planning.

It is clear when reading Health Care Strategy for Uncertain Times that the authors have significant experience in strategy development in the healthcare arena. The book clearly outlines a process for strategy development and points out common pitfalls along the way (e.g. mistaking data for information, focusing on experience rather than skills when choosing members of the strategy development team, etc.). Furthermore, the book describes useful tools for addressing uncertainty (i.e. decision-analysis, scenario planning and game theory) and provides a framework for determining when a specific tool will prove useful.

Perhaps what makes the book most valuable, however, is what it does not include. There are no claims of sure-fire solutions that are, unfortunately, so common in contemporary strategy literature. The authors correctly realize that cookie-cutter solutions offer no long term benefit to the reader (and most likely no short term benefit either). Rather the authors have created a guide to building a strategy development process that, once developed, will be applicable to any situation.

This book proposed a variety of tools that are incredibly helpful in moving a management team (and leadership team) along in thinking about the strategies that the organization is undertaking. It is also helpful in looking at the tacit strategies undertaken by not making decisive moves. The material proposes a broad range of ways to engage the strategic framework, given the market driven changes that befall the healthcare providers. Marion Jennings, Susie Krentz and the JRK team are impressive thought leaders that generously share their 'lessons learned' in this very useful book.

This is a book that is to the point and as I read, I kept thinking "A-ha" that makes sense. HEALTH CARE STRATEGY FOR UNCERTAIN TIMES is a must read for anyone interested in surviving and thriving in today's volatile health care market. The book's editor addresses the differences between data and information, the importance of external, internal and environmemtal assessments, the need for decision analysis along with financial planning that supports the organization's strategies and the importance of contigency planning? After reading this book, I felt energized as I began to realize, that there are tools and methods for moving an organization beyond planning and into decision making and implementation. The reality of decision making in uncertain times is that an inability to act will result in your organization not being able to obtain its full potential and achieve its mission. HEALTH CARE STRATEGY FOR UNCERTAIN TIMES can and will help decision-makers better understand the process of positioning health care organizations for success.

This book is an excellent resource for strategic planners looking for new approaches. The authors' experience comes through with numerous practical ideas for developing strategies that can be implemented effectively. When I read their examples, I felt like they were talking about my organization! I highly recommend this book.

I was interested in better understanding the complex issues regarding healthcare reform. This book fullfilled this role and provided me with a clear understanding of the overall healthcare economy. The author does an excellent job integrating published economic research into a thorough unbiased summary of healthcare economics. The book provides numerous references. I recommend this book to all. A prior understanding of basic microeconomics is desirable but not necessary for understanding this book.

This textbook is a wonderfully written introduction to health care economics. It takes complex issues and presents them in a somewhat simplified manner while not losing the quality of the information.

The coverage of this book is as comprehensive as there is no need to hold any similar book describing the health economics on the whole. The pollicy description is mainly US focused and less stress has been put on the international perspective. Nonetheless, Phelps' Health economics is for me the first to take into hand when preparing slights, talks or just looking for simple answer. Ales Tichopad (CEEOR - Central and Eastern Europe Outcomes Research)

Having spent almost 10 years teaching health economics, I've read and used quite a few of the texts books that are around. Phelps' "Health Economics" is quite simply the best I've read bar none.

Its coverage is as comprehensive as one would want in a book of this type covering the standard demand, supply and policy issues as well as looking at specific aspects of the health economy such as medical malpractice. It is written largely from a US perspective but is by no means insular.

What I found particularly commendable in this book was its style and structure. Many books cover much of the material that is covered here but none in a fashion that is as readable, articulate or clear. Appendices are used to deal with technical issues (and deal with them in a way most students with a basic knowledge of economics will actually work through) while examples are used to provide an intuition that is often absent from other texts.

I cannot recommend the book highly enough for teaching at an undergraduate level or non-specialist postgrad level. I also recommend it as a good read for those working in the area of health economics. Quite simply a cracking book.

I am completing my final semester in the Economics Department at the University of Rochester. Looking back over all of the books that I have read as an undergraduate student, this book ranks among the top three (including books from other disciplines). Dr. Phelps offers a balanced perspective on a broad selection of health-related issues. Furthermore, he constantly backs up his analysis with insightful studies and statistics. Regardless of the quality of your professor, after reading this book, you will feel knowledgeable (from an economic perspective and more) about the issues facing our health care system (and to a certain extent, even those of other countries).

Readers will find valuable information in The Healthy Skeptic. The research is thorough. The writing is reader-friendly.

I want to encourage a healthy lifestyle for my family, but it is difficult with all the changing data from the news media, web sites, etc. This is a good book to help you make informed decisions on a variety of health care issues. I suggest reading it to help you come to your own decisions about what is the best choice to make for your lifestyle.

This book has been passed around the family and we bought an extra copy for our local library. In these days of overblown health stories that offer too much, it's nice to have Robert Davis sane and smart advice keeping us readers anchored.

Finally a book that isn't afraid to take on the drug makers and public interest groups who (guess what?) don't always have our best interests at heart. From cholesterol drugs to sunscreen, this book will save you 10 times its cost by telling you what health info is really worth paying attention to--and what isn't. Smart, great read.

Robert Davis has given us a good wake up call here. He reminds us how easy it is to get complacent in our lifestyle, going from diet to diet, falling prey to the latest fad health tips. "The Healthy Skeptic" doles out a good dose of common sense, backed up by a book-full of reminders to check out the research behind what we think is good advice - those "health" claims may not be supported by anything more than the air it took the promoters to utter their words aloud. A good read!

No other book brings to life the work and struggles of new migrants in the United States. Ness sets the stage for the impending crisis that the labor movement will most certainly confront in the years to come. The book is eye-opening political-economy that points to new strategies and directions for the labor movement and the broader the working class. Striking is the absence of unions, labor institutions, and a party capable or willing to support the new realities of what is effectively the post-NLRA era.

This book is far and away the most important book on labor in many years. While it covers immigrant laborers in the U.S. the book can be applied to U.S. workers as well. The book counters the intuitive notion that migrant workers are too afraid to organize. In fact they are the most likely to organize! Then the book provides a road map for all labor organizing, both immigrant and U.S.-born workers. Of all the books I have read, this book provides the most theoretically sound approach to labor organizing and mobilization in a clear and concise manner. The book is accessible to any reader and, without hubris or jargon, explains in a clear way that it is workers who organize first. Power is consolidated for the workers by unions. But even without unions, the book shows us that workers are more willing to take risks and are much more militant than their unions. Written clearly, the book is the best book on immigrants for university students. In my class, I found that students were so enthusiastic that the book in fact sparked discussion without my intervention. Bravo to Ness.

This is one of the very few books that addresses the issue of worker organizing and the importance of migrant workers to the oranized labor movement. The AFL-CIO increasingly recognizes the need for immigrant workers as they form a larger part of the labor force in low-wage jobs amenable to organizing. Unions have a range of responses to this newfound worker militancy, from complacency to building power and support for workers otherwise left to their own. Unlike other books, Ness shows that migrant workers from similar backgrounds tend to have strong ties to their co-workers. In fact, these strong ties contributes to solidarity and the will to confront rapacious employers. Surely U.S. workers have much to learn from migrants whose bonds of solidarity are reinforced by common religious, national, language, and ethnic identities.
U.S. workers are no less militant if confronted with identifical circumstances as immigrants. However, the rise in contingent work contributes to fewer bonds of solidarity as native-born frequently move from job to job as they seek out individual gains--mostly without success.

The case studies in this book will be instructive to international unions in seeking out new strategies for organizing immigrant and native-born workers alike. This book is the most important contribution to the literature on labor organizing in recent memory, and provides the basis for understanding the labor struggles of the early 20th century when mobilized immigrant workers formed unions and were consolidated by the national unions. This book offers hope to all of us as the government seeks to marginalize immigrants through imposing draconian laws and weaken their legal status as workers.

Immigrants, Unions, and the New US Labor Market is the most timely and intelligent examination of the implicatoins of the expansion of global capitalism on international migration. The book provides real life evidence of the human spirit of solidarity among migrant workers. This stirring book offers a roadmap for unions and employers of the eternal struggle for dignity among an outcast population that now forms an important component of American labor. This penetrating book is indispensable to understand the plight of migrants and how social conditions and human experience shapes the actions of working people. I commend the author.

Professor Immanuel Ness brings a lot to the lectern in this story of spirited, but impoverished immigrant workers organizing in New York City. Ness is a professor of political science. He's written widely on cities. And his years as a union organizer give him instant street credibility.

All this experience and knowledge is effectively woven into his book, Immigrants, Unions and the New U.S. Labor market The title is accurate although Ness rarely strays far from the battles in New York's five boroughs. New York is a kind of testing ground. Immigrant workers in New York City make up more a than half the labor force. The low wages of these immigrants explain why New York County has the biggest spread between rich and poor in America -- It's in these organizing campaigns that the struggle to keep America from sliding back to the pay and conditions of the Gilded Age are being determined.

Ness focuses on three campaigns: Mexicans who work in Korean deli's, Pakistani limo drivers; and west African grocery store workers. With dozens of candid interviews, he takes us inside these immigrant communities, to hear the voices of New York's most silent workers.

Everyone knows that immigrants have it hard. But Ness forces us to see just what it means to be delivery man from Mali and be forced to live on $1.00 an hour - plus tips of course - while working for A&P's Food Emporium.

These workers are so exploited they aren't even permitted the status of workers. They're "independent contractors" "a fiction that allows employers the right to ignore the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) regulating minimum wage, maximum hours and safety conditions. The upshot is that the grocery baggers from Mali wind up making that $1.00 an hour - which is more than they would make in Mali but not as much as Americans made a century ago. .

Ness shows us how these immigrants nevertheless have been able to come together to demand dignity, rights and a few extra dollars - at great risk, despite threats of physical harm, deportation, and job loss. It's not exactly workers of the world unite. But a triumph of the resilience of traditional social bonds which somehow survive even in the Global City. Plus it turns out they can mobilize a lot of outside support - the Mexican workers in Korean deli's got help from State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer who obligating sued the employers for back pay; a formidable community campaign sprang up on the Lower East Side to support the workers when they went on strike; the Mexican Consul-general got involved, too.

Ness' most surprising finding is that American unions - the institution you might expect to be leading the charge on behalf of the most exploited workers - the established unions - are mostly missing in action or actively undermining the immigrant organizing campaigns. There are some splendid exceptions, like Ernesto Joffre the former Chilean miner, jailed for subversion under the Pinochet dictatorship who went into exile here in New York and became head of an exemplary garment workers local. But mostly organized labor is too busy patrolling its jurisdictional boundaries to give more than perfunctory help. Almost immediately after Joffre's untimely death, his parent union liquidated support for the organizing campaign. A shady longshore union located in New Jersey wound up with sweetheart contracts with several of the Korean deli's.

Ness' accomplishment is dual: anthropology of New York's newest immigrant communities and a political science of the city's unions. It adds up to the most valuable account yet of the astringent realities of immigrant organizing in America.

This country needs thinkers like Nader...all his books are great to read. Including this one!

Deeply intelligent, in breadth and depth, these articles by Mr. Nader, who has given everything for just causes over nearly half a century, make eloquent, and plain, what so many others believe and either can't, or won't, say.

I think most people's reaction to a 500 page book would be one of caution, myself included. It has nothing to do with the content, I just know it will take a while for me to get through that many pages.

That being said, this collection of Nader essays is a 500 page book, but it's been a joy reading it because of the organization of the book. Broken down into smaller chapters, the book is full of very short, but well-written essays usually no longer than two pages. It's very easy to read a few at a time, and then come back to the book later. I actually find myself reading this book faster than I would other books of the same length. Each piece is so short I usually end up telling myself, "I'll just read a few more." In the end, it makes the book easier to read.

As far as content goes, the book is great. I think if you're a genuinelly progressive person, you'll still like Nader even though the Democrats have tried to scapegoat him rather than admit their own problems as a party. This country needs people like Nader to remind us that we don't have to settle for what we have, that things can and should be better. This book sends that message loud and clear.

The October 23rd "review" pretty much sums up why John Kerry and his hysterical Anybody-But-Bush supporters were shellacked this week, while everything Ralph Nader said during the campaign was proved correct. Ignore the subject at hand, be hysterical and irrational, and wave empty slogans ("A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush" -- what does that mean? In Wyoming, where Kerry lost by over 20 points? In D.C., where Bush lost by over EIGHTY points? My vote would never have gone to Kerry under any circumstances....how was my vote for Nader a vote for Bush?)

Meanwhile, Ralph Nader continues on without a break and will now focus on the ridiculous ballot access laws in this country, as well as the subjects touched on in this book. What he "has done for us lately" is to start one new organization after another from 2000 to 2004, advocate on behalf of the District of Columbia's pathetic public library system - left to rot by the D.C. Democratic Party, which has done nothing for anybody in decades - and highlight solutions to other issues that are working right now in localities around the country. Read what he has to say in this book and climb on board. Roll up your sleeves and put up or shut up, Democrats.

A must read for anyone interested in how our government operates. There is a bit of repetition but a lot of good information and contacts for further research.

I don't even know where to begin as it relates to this book. One word would be excellent thought. It provides a clear, concise, well researched, informative (not bias or persuasive) view on Micheal Manley and Claude McKay's ideologies. I think all 'yardies' should read this book. It all honesty it has instilled a foundation for a deep sense of national pride that I didn't really have before. The book also gives an interesting blue print of Third World development and how these great products of our nation (Jamaica) got to the views that they did. It also provides some insight on what the developing world is afraid of- third world cooperation. The short of it, is that I loved the book. I could not put it down once I started reading it.

I found this book to be extremely engaging, WELL-RESEARCHED, creative and generally thought provoking. The author has taken a very original approach by comparing the written works of a Afro-Caribbean poet (who was instrumental in igniting the Harlem Renaissance) with those of Jamaica's most loved Prime Minister Michael Manley. He has compared their writings to extrapolate on their political views on globalization and its impact on peoples of the African Diaspora and the global South. The interspersing of poetic writings with declassified political documents is indeed avant-garde!! It makes the work into one that can be enjoyed by all.

I recommend it highly!!

Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (2/07)

"In-Dependence from Bondage" is a compilation of the world views of the well known Poet, Claude McKay, and the world renowned Afro-Caribbean Socialist, Michel Manley. Both men, although of different generations, are known for their dedication to social change as it relates to the exploitation of the peoples of African descent in the Western hemisphere. Claude McKay's poetry was one of the great forces in bringing about what is often called the Negro Literary Renaissance.

Over a period of nearly four centuries approximately 4,000,000 Africans were transported to North America and the Caribbean Islands as the results of slave trading. Scattered, dispersed, and separated from their family and culture, these peoples persevered to maintain their traditions, religion, language, and folklore. Lloyd McCarthy, in this book, focuses primarily on the Jamaican perspective; however, it is relevant to the social, political, and economic conditions everywhere. I found the poetry of Claude McKay thought-provoking and enlightening on the African Diaspora and the plight of these exploited peoples.

McCarthy successfully illustrates the impetus, impact and corrective tactics currently being considered which are central to combating white racism, classicism, and Western imperialism. McCarthy gives the reader a definitive compilation of the writings of Claude McKay and Michael Manley. He has analyzed their works using references from dozens of authors and their interpretations of the ideological clash and policy gaps in African Diaspora relations. His research is well documented with complete and thorough endnotes.

McCarthy also is an Afro-Jamaican, and instills the influence of his personal history and heritage in his writing. He reveals his own empathy for the peasants and the working-class outlook, and the political perspectives that McKay and Manley expressed.

This work is a major contribution to the study of African Diaspora as it relates to globalization, policy planning, and international relations with developing and impoverished nations. McCarthy also presents valuable insight into how literature, biographical narrative, and intellectual history are interconnected with politics. The book is a wake up call to the peoples and nations of the African Diaspora to find collective solutions to survive globalization.

"In-Dependence from Bondage" holds promise of becoming the guidebook or blueprint for the liberation movement and should be read by our Washington politicians as well as all New World Africans.

I recently read somewhere that 2% of the worlds richest population owns over half of the world's wealth. An article on ABC news stated that ""Wealth is heavily concentrated in North America, Europe and high-income Asia-Pacific countries. People in these countries collectively hold almost 90 percent of total world wealth." Yet, globalization is one the rise and is further touted as a means to economic empowerment. "In-Dependence from Bondage" looks at the unconstructive consequences that globalization brings to many in the African Diaspora and the world. This book illustrates how two Jamaican political figures prophetically viewed globalization's impact on developing nations during the 20th century and provides statistical analysis of how this global economic disparity has manifested itself in the quality of life of the peoples of developing nations. Mr. McCarthy defines globalization as the spread of American capitalism and provides extensive evidence as to how the throngs of capitalism (and its undercurrent of Elitism) affect impoverished nations for the benefit of a select few. Where there is a thesis, there must be an antithesis. This book represents a viable alternative view from which we all can learn. BRAVO!!!

"SURVIVAL. LIBERATION. STRUGGLE"! These are not merely fortuitous themes but the vital, mutual, connection in the theses on global capitalism and the crisis of imperialism found in the literary and political legacy of Claude McKay and Michael Manley.

*In-Dependence From Bondage* shows how the artist, McKay, and the politician, Manley, (both international political activists and writers) surveyed World-Development, over the last 500 years. They have observed how imperialist-globalization is still shutting down human liberty, producing backwardness and desperation for the majority of humanity worldwide,in the current epoch, especially in the African Diaspora.

The author demonstrates that both men were driven, like other great historical figures--true internationalists, and so moved (with their art and politics) upon the world-stage because they deeply cared about humanity, as we move in history.

As men, of the Americas, who have witnessed, participated in, and were closely acquainted with key historical figures and great events of the last century, they saw how imperialism and global capitalism have afflicted peoples in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

The author shows that McKay and Manley warned the Lumpen-bourgeoisie of the African Diaspora how a handful of international financial capitalists (through international agencies) were ravaging poor countries, with debt. Thus *In-Dependence From Bondage* points out that the debt burden of the African Diaspora along with that of the Global South is rising, rapidly, and is one explanation for the decline in overall human development since the end of the Cold War.

Unwise borrowing and investments in wrong projects by the lumpen-bourgeois, "Gate Keepers," of the African Diaspora, acting with and for the big predatory lenders in the imperialist countries is one explanation for the current debt burden.

*In-Dependence From Bondage* argues that the historical evidence, since 1948, is readily available to show that the disaster that is called capitalism was not warmly welcomed by the mass of people in the African Diaspora. It was forcibly imposed in many countries through military interventions, political assassinations and destabilization carried out by the agents of Capitalism and imperialism, under the false pretense of fighting "communism" in the Third World.

McCarthy believes that some of the loans, which are now the source of the debt burden in poor countries, may well have been granted to the lumpen-bourgeoisie (including the lumpen-Black-bourgeois), as reward money for their capitulation to imperialist globalization, during and after the Cold War.

According to McCarthy, under such circumstances, morally the devastated ravaged-poor of the African Diaspora should now resist. They must not repay "reward' loans." Let the greedy-opportunists pay! His argument for the case is that, under the warped system of Western political democracy, it is unlikely that the people, who are now being asked to repay such cruel loans, knew anything about the conditions of the agreements or when their corrupt elites entered into negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

*In-Dependence From Bondage* makes the point that, the nationalist elites collaborated with US based international loan sharks, the IMF and World Bank in usurping the democratic rights of the people in the process of borrowing. Thus, they have helped to tighten the noose of capitalist exploitation and imperialism around the neck of the African Diaspora's economy.

McCarthy reiterates that, both the World Bank and the IMF, predatory lenders, are instruments of imperialism for the big financial capitalist of the North. Any promise of a "debt relief" is not trustworthy because it is a "gift horse" that must be examined closely. The "benevolent" bearer of "debt reliefs are the wolves of capitalism making sure that the political environment in the black Diaspora remains welcoming to further exploitation. p.154

Although the work is a non-fiction on the subject, capitalism/imperialism, McCarthy makes the book light, lively and entertaining by presenting and interpreting some of McKay's rare poetry and fictional writings.

In contrast, he also examines Manley's relations with the infamous Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, but STRANGELY, he suggested that Kissinger may have been more empathetic to Michael Manley and Jamaica during the 1970s than they ever realized. Other elements in the US administration, advocating for the international bauxite giants, instead, were Manley's main antagonists.

With this said, in the worldviews of McKay and Manley, the survival and liberation of humanity and the African Diaspora, from under the heel of imperialist-globalization demands "STRUGGLE... CONTINUOUS STRUGGLE!" says McCarthy.

This interesting, fast moving, easy to read book of only 192 pages, should be read by students, artist, politicians and general readers with an interest in history, politics, literature, and the fate of humanity!

See also:

Life And Debt

This book gives all levels of teachers practical and ready to use ideas. Highly recommend this to all teachers involved with inclusion.

I am very impressed with this book. It has many useful tips for inclusion (it outlines a process for beginning inclusion) and has a variety of accommodations for different learners. Accommodations are helpfully organized by types of activities (reading, writing, math, general teaching strategies, tests, etc.), and most of the accommodations would also benefit non-disabled students. I also like the humerous cartoons and the quotations throughout the book. The reproducable forms at the back of the book are also very useful. As a new Special Education teacher I find it a great resource.

This wonderful book actually attempts to make inclusion teaching sane. I would not have made it through my stint as an inclusion teacher in a middle school without it. Unfortunately, I didn't find it until after Xmas; still it got me through the roughest part. General ed teachers hate inclusion without exception. They need this book, too, since they are for the most part out of the loop--that is, they know NADA about special ed kids. This book addresses that issue and so many other issues; it offers great ways to teach different subjects to these wonderful kids. Guess what!?! A lot of these teaching techniques worked well with regular kids, too.

When I was told my daughter would be in an inclusion class, I didn't know quite what that meant--and neither, it seemed, did the school. Her speech therapist slipped me a copy of this book and suggested I study up so I'd know what to look for and what to demand. As soon as I read it, I couldn't wait to get my own copy. Inclusion seems to be the wave of the future in special education, and a book like this one can help everyone--parents, educators, administrators--get on the same page. Next time, I'll be the one slipping it to somebody.

This book is one of the best that I have seen on inclusion. "450 Strategies for Success" gives a wealth of information on to how to actually put an inclusion program into place at a school. The book has real, practical strategies to put to use in your classroom. Also included are schedules that you can use to plan school days for your students. The tips for creating a positive environment to help every teacher help their students with special needs in the inclusion classroom are priceless. I'm ordering a copy for the teacher's lounge at my school!