Security Books

This book may be the most readable (for being a narrative) account of those challenging days when our great and elected President brought us back from the brink of nuclear war and possible annihilation as a nation, as a people, as a species.

Thus this thick book may further serve as a solid introduction to the primary sources of that time, from Tuesday, October 16th through Monday, October 29th, 1962, now 45 years ago. We must have a national celebration and commemoration of the President who kept us OUT of war and the world from bloodshed. Read this book to learn how and why.

Sheldon Stern is an academic professional historian who took early retirement to write this book as the EXComm tapes became declassified. He therefore places these tapes within their historical context, fully presenting their background, as well as providing a learned and helpful running commentary throughout his presentation of the transcript. He also provides a technical analysis of the transcript, including its reliability and validity, and the peer-review process by which it was developed. For instance he provides an interesting analysis of alternative interpretations of some points in the tape, and thereby the alternative political implications, and also reflects upon the technical quality of the recordings.

All in all, this is an excellent presentation of those courageous days in every aspect, and probably their best general presentation, comprehensive while accessible to the general reader. Certainly it will present a purpose for further study of other historical documents from that crucial period in which our President kept us out of war, which he termed the "final failure," and recalls to our hearts a time of great, serious, intent, decisive, moral, experienced, humane, elected, wise and intelligent leadership concerned for the safety and well-being of all people, sadly lacking since.

While reading Sheldon Stern's book, I felt as if I were having a conversation with him. Relating the facts of that event in a manner and detail that made this reader want to know what came next was a gift! Detailed, yes; comprehensive, yes; accurate, no doubt!

Stern has offered the most complete understanding of the Cuban missile crisis, and of Kennedy himself, in this the most intimate account of those October days, drawn directly from the taped deliberations. His reconstruction destroys the simplistic characterizations of JFK as a "cold warrior" and leaves the reader grateful for his handling of that showdown with the Soviets. I would consider this account more definitive than any other now available, or likely to be in the near future. This is essential reading.

This is the book, I'd wager, that everyone thought they were getting when they purchased "The Kennedy Tapes" (Zelikow and May, 1997 Harvard Press). After struggling through that seminal work, the need for a narrative form of this compelling side of the Missile Crisis was palpable...fortunately, retired JFK Library historian Sheldon Stern also saw the need and completed what was clearly a passionate "life's work" with "Averting the Final Failure". Stern takes years of study and scrutinization of the White House tapes that eavesdropped on the EXCOMM (Executive Committee of the National Security Council) as they advised and debated the day-to-day issues associated with the Crisis and turned a complex story into an amazingly lucid and cogent narrative that should become THE source for White House activities during the Crisis.

Newly declassified and available, Stern has added immensly to the growing amount of literature/transcripts of these profound tapes. The difference here is that Stern is clearly the one who has spent the most time and study on these tapes and, coupled with his surprisingly apt story-telling capability, has developed an authoritative work that defines the "who? what? where? when? and how?" of the Kennedy advisor "inner-workings". Time and again, Stern destroys myths and legends as his narrative describes each meeting and the theme that each one invoked. He interprets each discussion and adds his own attempt at tone and voice inflection to give not only the content of the discussion, but the "atmosphere" as well. The result is almost as good as hearing the tapes themselves...giving the true feel for what these "Best and Brightest" advisors went through.

The story of course has been told time and again...Soviet leader Nikita Khrushev surreptitiously installs nuclear capable missiles and the associated warheads in Communist ally Cuba and this subversion is discovered with American U2 spy plane photography. The subsequent actions taken by the U.S. government are fortunately recorded on a complex White House taping system by President John Kennedy, thus providing an invaluable insight into this provocative period in the Cold War. Unfortunately, these recordings leave much to be desired in terms of quality and many have attempted to transcibe them into a useful tool for historians. The "Kennedy Tapes" book attempted to publish the full transcriptions, but this work was so disjointed that it tended to confuse more than educate. Stern, having initially supported this effort by Zelikow and May, becomes more and more dismayed with the quality of this transcribing work and decides to offer his own interpretation of the tapes and the Crisis. Having spent many years analyzing them (long before they were declassified) he provides an amazing insight and scholarship, while clearing up many "unclear" voice transcriptions.

Taking all this information and recognizing that just another publication of transcripts would not be useful, he decides on a version that describes these actions on the tapes in narrative form. He clears up the collateral chatter and keeps a thematic focus on the narrative and comes up with a wonderfully clear and concise coverage of this event. More than just an interpretation of tapes, Stern also accompanies the narrative with a surprisingly readable summary of events and, happily, a destruction of many of the afore mentioned myths that have survived throughout the years. Well known Crisis stories such as Robert Kennedy's "hawkish" anti-Communist stance, the deception and negotiations of the agreement to extract nuclear missiles from Turkey as a trade for extraction of the missiles from Cuba and the continued iintransigence of Fidel Castro and the Cuban government are denounced here by Stern...offering a new and embellished perspective on the Crisis. Kenndy's "free-wheeling" meeting style is amazingly supported by the tapes and stand in stark contrast to the popular theme presented in such movies as "The Missiles of October" and "Thirteen Days"...an example being JFK's response to the shooting down of an American U2 spy plane at the height of the Crisis on October 27th...the movie version has JFK and the EXCOMM loudly debating retaliatory responses when in reality JFK's calm and measured response was: "...this is an escalation by them isn't it?" and the meeting went on.

"Averting the Final Failure" comes 42 years following the denouement of the Missile Crisis and thouroughly ties together all loose ends associated with White House activities during those heady 13 days. This is an important and monumental addition to the vast amount of literature available on the Crisis and should be considered the first reference used by historians for the White House perspective of the Crisis...I would overwhelmingly recommend this work to anyone interested in those activities in October, 1962.

History has two definitions: a chronological record of significant past events, and a story. Sheldon Stern's story of the Cuban Missile Crisis is history (both definitions) at its best. The scholarly, time-consuming, and meticulous research that went into this work abounds throughout its pages. The author's willingness to challenge earlier historical works on the translation of the crisis's audiotapes makes this book a must for any student of JFK, his administration, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Because of the comprehensive nature of history, a reader might conclude that this is just another dry historical work. Far from it - this book reads like a Robert Ludlum novel. The reader is caught in the tension as the missiles are first discovered, held as the conflict escalates to an almost unbearable crisis, and released as the resolution unfolds. But this was no political thriller, it was real life. Mr. Stern has taught us all a great lesson of history: that real people make real decisions, that these decisions have consequences both foreseen and unforeseen, and that there could have been other choices made with different outcomes. Our world would be a much different place if JFK had listened to his advisors. I believe this book will become the classic study for the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Averting the Final Failure is a must read.

A practical yet funny guide to the way things REALLY work in the "Alice in Wonderland" world of international banking.

"A Banker's Insight on International Trade" is an interesting learning aid for an international trader/banker wishing to learn from the known business mistakes of the others.

It is the best teaching aid for a trade (finance) trainer for making his classroom presentation interesting for listening and effective for learning.

Roy Becker has taken a subject that is rather dry and fact-based and, through his extensive experience and ability to "weave a tale", has created a book that is both very useful and surprisingly entertaining. The financial intricacies of international trade are extensive, but Mr. Becker summarizes the high points through his real life experiences.

A great read to prepare yourself for the issues you can face if you are considering trading your products internationally.

roy's book is an excellent read. He makes a dull subject fun. I also use excerpts from his book to assist in teaching my MBA students

If you have any thoughts whatsoever of getting involved in international trade - this book is a must read! Whether you are a first time exporter or have been in the business for some time, you will gain new insight into the realities of financing international trade. This is not a book filled with theory or dry language - these are real-life stories that illustrate all the unknowns and possible pitfalls of carrying out an international transaction. It covers everything from Letters of Credit to Incoterms to Sovereign Risk and more. It is fun to read and will give you a tremendous advantage when considering how to handle a particular international transaction. If you want to seriously consider your risks and be as fully prepared as possible when going into international trade, I highly reccomend this book to you.

I am a professor of finance at the University of Puerto Rico. Timothy's book was recommended to me by Professor Steve Mann at the University of South Carolina, where I obtained my Ph.D. in finance, as "simply the best book out there on option pricing." What I found when I assigned the book in my MBA class on Futures and Options is that the students all remarked at how incredibly understandable and thorough the book is even though it is clearly useful at the doctoral level as well. This is certainly what I would expect from an MIT Ph.D. where its nearly impossible to get accepted into the doctoral finance program and even harder to get out!

If you really want to understand option pricing get this book...there simply isn't anything else like it out there on the market!

I like the text because it gives many aspects of the Black-Scholes model that I have not found elsewhere. One may feel that Black-Scholes is an "old" model, but it is the genesis of option pricing and understanding its intuition is the key to understanding more complex models. In addition, the text is very readable, but I think even more satisfying if the reader already has some options background.

Tremendously valuable book for its selection and excellent treatment of many rarely addressed aspects of financial derivatives and the care with which intuition for these aspects is developed.

Financial mathematics exists at the intersection of many different fields, yielding many possible perspectives from which to teach and learn about this discipline. Many of these perspectives bog down in the rigor of their respective fields. Such approaches render it difficult to absorb and apply core concepts without spending a great deal of time in first learning topics such as advanced probability theory and stochastic calculus.

Dr. Crack's approach seems to be to develop the intuition as a framework for understanding further advanced study, should it be warranted by the reader. At the same time, he includes many aspects of the underlying science to help bridge the gap between the academic world and the world of trading.

For example, his derivation of the solution to the Black-Scholes equation and subsequent analysis of the components of the solution leaves the reader fully prepared to quickly and intelligently grasp the impact of changes in assumptions. This is in contrast to many treatments that seem to stop at the solution, leaving the reader feeling as though the Black-Scholes solution is simply a black-box with no intuitive connection to the real world.

Crack's two books, Basic Black-Scholes and Heard On The Street,
are masterpieces of condensed ,focused instruction for those who need to know. There is also an atmosphere of scintillating competence projected on the reader. Some of the anecdotes in Heard On The Street are hilarious; add to this the requirement that you must keep your wits about you at all times when reading
these primers and overall you get a feeling of a happy learning experience. Remarkable.

I was generally familiar with options pricing and read this book after the Hull's book on derivatives. I felt that this text definitely provided a lot of good intuition and different perspectives that I have not see anywhere else.

This text helped me systemize my knowledge of options and develop a more intuitive feel for their behavior. Definitely, a good addition to the classics on option pricing.

I like this book even better than the classics on growth investing: Peter Lynch's One Up on Wall Street, and Philip Fisher's Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits. The information is timeless but it's nice that it was written in 2006 and the examples are still nice and fresh.

THe book works just as readers and reviewers have said, e.g., USA Today, Equities magazine, and recently, Kiplinger's has said: "Particularly beneficial for an investor who is challenged to find and implement a specific stock-picking strategy that actually works".

Without realizing it, I've been practicing Mr. Kobrick's BASM principles successfully for years. It's exciting to see how he so clearly articulates his approach without being intimidating to a layperson. I've even begun using his BASM paradigm to explain to my children what "buy low and sell high" really means. This book is a standout!

I think this is a great book because it offers practical advice that the average investor can understand and use. There is no magic formula, no complex set of strategies, and no attempt at predicting the future.

Mr. Kobrick dispenses quality advice in what is normally a sea of crystal ball gazing.

A fascinating book that is equally useful to the individual investor and the professinoal. The book's system of focus on fundamentals [BASM and Seven Steps] is refreshing in these days of concensus investing and short term trading. The war stories about important companies are both entertaining and informative. The investment returns available from these well known companies challanges the investor to be both selective and patient. The book does a good job laying-out a way [BASM and Seven Steps] that is instructive to the individual and a great reminder for the professional. I read it twice and recommend that anyone interested in investing does the same. It will help you avoid many of the fads and mistakes being made today.

somebody told it like it is...The judicial system is not balanced and it never will be. Thanks judge for telling the truth!

I'm still reading this book. First time reading a book like this.This is one of the greatest. I recommend this book to be added to your library. It's gives truthful information of the legal system concerning the racism of blacks in the court system.

This book is an eye opener. It give you the truth behind the justice system from the perpective of a Sumpreme Court Judge who exposed the racism in the court system in New York. I never heard of Bruce Wright and happen I purchased this book. I have a lot of respect for the author.

somebody told it like it is...The judicial system is not balanced and it never will be. Thanks judge for telling the truth!

As a New Yorker, I remember Judge Bruce Wright well. He was dubbed: "Cut 'em loose Bruce", because he often released arrested citizens without their having to post bail money. Mr. Wright upheld the law that bail is not to be used as a punishment, but only as a guarantee that the accused party return to court to face the charges against he/she. This infuriated the "powers-that-be". The fact that Judge Wright is a Black man, and many of those who came before him were also Black people, swayed the media to portray his actions as racially motivated, as opposed to his acknowledgement of the law. His book superbly reflects the blatant inequitableness of the criminal justice system and how it is purposely designed to work against Blacks and other people of color. His personal experiences, as a sitting judge, lend great credence to his analogy and conclusions concerning the legal system. Wright fearlessly gives names and elaborates on instances wherein he witnessed and experienced bias in the system. This book is not written in "textbook" fashion, provides some humorous irony and is very informative. Add it to your library.

This is a fascinating first-hand account of the Holy Land as seen by the author-journalist. While much of the writing deals with the disappearance of Christians in the Holy Land and the causes of their emigration,the author presents a balanced view of the three Abrahamic faiths and the difficulties encountered in their living together in this country. Although written in 2000, the information presented is still current as the struggles continue. If anything, the situation is even worse now that when the book was written. The suthor interviewed many individuals as he traveled throughout the Holy Land, and I found their stories very interesting.

_The Body and the Blood_ by Charles M. Sennott is an excellent, important, and timely book, one of the best I have ever read on the modern Middle East. In this work he sought to do three things; one, tour the lands that Jesus visited as chronicled in the New Testament, describing what these locales are like today, two, report the problems of the indigenous Christians of the Middle East, and three, to discuss their role in the region.

The Christian presence in the lands Jesus lived in is unfortunately a diminishing one and Sennott was keen to document the historical, economic, political, and religious reasons for this ongoing exodus. In some ways the history of Christians in the Holy Land has always been one of emigration; nearly all of the apostles emigrated, fearing reprisals not only from Rome but also from such Jewish groups as the Sadducees. In the intervening centuries Christians have generally been a minority in the region, except perhaps during a brief period under the Byzantine Empire (in the fifth and sixth centuries).

While small, the Christian presence has endured until the 20th century, where particularly in the latter part of the century (and the early years so far of this century) it has been running the real risk of dying out completely in many areas. According to the census data kept by the Ottoman Empire, the Christian population in 1914 was 24% of what we could call today Israel/Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Turkey; today it is no more than 5%. In British ruled Palestine it was as much as 20% of the population (though some put the figure at 13%), while today in Israel/Palestine it is less than 2%. About 35% of the total Christian population of Israel/Palestine (about 60,000 out of 700,000 total) were among those refugees who fled the fighting in 1948 and were not permitted by Israel to return. The Coptic Church in Egypt - one of the oldest in Christendom, tracing its roots back to Saint Mark the Evangelist, said to have arrived in Egypt in A.D. 60 - is steadily declining as well. The Copts number in 2000 about 5 million, or 6% of Egypt's population of 70 million; in the early 1970s there were 4 million but a bigger percentage of the population at around 12%. In early 20th century Jordanian Christians were 13% of the population; in 2000 they are only 2%. Lebanon has gone from in 1932 a 51.2% Christian population to a 25% one today.

Why have Christians emigrated in such large numbers or otherwise declined as a percentage of the overall population? There are many factors and the author was quick to point out that the reasons for leaving were not always religious in nature. Generally Christian communities have a lower birthrate, while in many areas Muslims have soaring birthrates. In some areas there has been a steady rate of conversion to Islam, generally among young women and as a result of marriage to Muslims.

War has played a big factor in emigration, with in particular Palestinian Christians leaving in waves with each major Arab-Israeli conflict and many thousands of Maronite Christians leaving Lebanon in the fifteen years of civil war (from 1975 to 1990 850,000 Christians fled the country).

The Christians, whether Copts in Egypt, Palestinian Christians, or Maronite Christians in Lebanon, generally had higher levels of education and were wealthier and were therefore better able to move, had more to lose in regional conflicts (such as the many Israeli crackdowns on Palestinian travel and trade with Israel, economically crippling to many Christian-owned businesses), and had to face resentment and jealousy from less well-off Muslim neighbors. Further, they generally had much stronger ties to the West, with Western churches in Europe, North America, and Australia (along with already resident immigrant communities in those nations) often times actively encouraging their emigration. In addition, as more and more of a particularly Christian family immigrated to a particular locale, the pressure mounted on those that remained to join their relations overseas.

However, religion can and does play a role in Christian emigration, and the very fact that Christians are leaving only serves to exacerbate the situation in the Middle East. Christians in Palestine, Egypt, and Lebanon were an important secular and moderating influence in those areas. A minority, the Christians as leaders and as individuals did not emphasis religious differences or indeed religion at all, but instead often promoted unifying traits, whether bloodline among individual families or simply by being Arab. Their very existence and role in the economic and in particular the political life of the nations they inhabited served to promote a sense of pluralism and secular government, a factor working against (particularly in recent years) an increasing "climate of intolerance," whether radical Islamic (particularly in Lebanon with Hezbollah, Egypt, and among the Palestinians) or religiously Zionist. With Christian emigration pluralism and secular governments face an uncertain future.

The increasing role of radical, highly religious Islam has sundered many once mixed Christian-Muslim communities everywhere from Upper Egypt to the West Bank, with Christians futilely pointing out common ties and interests, pleas unheard by angry youths stirred up by radical Muslim clerics, their hatred whipped up against "infidels" and "Crusaders" despite the fact that the indigenous Christians had in general been in the region for millennia and that often tribes and families had both Christian and Muslim branches; suddenly a neighbor your knew all your life was "the enemy." Sometimes this growing divide was encouraged by Israel, whether accidentally by giving preferential treatment to the often better educated, wealthier, and less combative Christians or deliberately by seeking to fracture Palestinians in a divide and rule strategy among Christians and Muslims. Other times the Christians did this to themselves, as the Maronite Christians of Lebanon, eager and greedy to stay in power, would ally with one outside group after another (such as France or Israel) against Muslim factions in their own country.

This is one of the best books I have read about the Middle East. The set up of the book that follows Jesus' path 2000 years later and the fact that the author looks at the Christian life in these places makes the book so interesting. The writer defenitly has a great perspective because he is right in the middle of the events and talks to real people. He wasn't an outsider.
At the end I want to say that it was heratbreaking to read about the vanishing Christian population. I dont see a way to change the tide which makes it even more sad.
The book also gives good examples of the daily Paletinian life and how Israel make is impossible.
Great book if you are interested in the region.

An excellent book detailing the lives of Chrisitians within the Israeli/Arab world and how they are confront predjudice from both sides. Very well wriiten account of a very complex subject matter.

I picked up this book because of my interest in the subject. I am not so much interested in the religious aspects (although Jerusalem and it's basis in three faiths is always fascinating), as I was in how the conflict between the Arabs and Israelis has poisoned an entire region. After all Christianity was born in this area. As the author points out, many people don't understand how Christians can be challenged by the ongoing situation in the Middle East. The dwindling Christian population of Jerusalem is just one example. I had not really thought of this tertiary effect of the Arab-Israeli conflict because US news tends to be "very "go-go" with the hurly-burly of idiots parading around, making explosives of the real or imaginary, detonating them with the passion of their idiocy, and yet, ignoring the gentle, thoughtful people who are the true makers of society"
As the author points out, Christians and Jews alike lived in the region for a millenia without (largely) rancor. Today, with radical Muslim cleric and their talk of the Crusaders and Jews in the mosques, young radicalized and sometine hopeless Arabs believe the mind poison and feel rage even against their Arab neighbors who have a different religious background. The author also points out the growing radicalization of Orthodox Israelis combining nationalism and religion in a mirror of the Muslims around them. It is an explosive mix (pun intended). The fate of Lebanon with the Maronite Christian population dwindling is telling in of itself. Prior to 1975, many thought Lebanon to be the model of a cosmopolitan Arab state. It was once thought Lebanon would become the pathfinder for the recognition of Israel. This book makes clear just how much Lebanese society has changed.

The author discusses the takeover of the Bethelehem Church of the Manger (where Jesus was believed to have been born). This event was shocking because it seemed to indicate that the Arab-Israeli conflict had spilled over into Christianity's most revered spots.

The book is well-written. Like a book of another generation still worth reading (Thomas Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem) this book will give the reader a spot on report from the region regarding not just Christians in peril, but in the larger sense the current situation of the Middle East. To me the Christians in the book are the prism of innocence, if you will, who have no stake in the political battle and yet are overwhelemed by the entire scene of madness. From this prism, you are allowed to glimpse the Arab-Israeli conflict in all its madness.

It is too bad the author could not go to Iraq and visit with the Chaldean Christians who are being terroized by the unstable situation in Iraq. Generations ago, the Iraqi Jews were sacked, and now the Chaldeans are being run out as well.

If you have any interest in the Middle East, whether from the purely political perspective, or you have an interest in Christianity in a time of conflict, or you wish an interesting perspective of what is going on in the Middle East from a different and unique perspective, this is a good book to read. I won't say it is 'fair and balanced,' but in my book your job as reader is to decipher for yourself where you stand on issues as part of good critical reading.

All in all, worth reading.

The contemporary real estate market has left a wake of uncertainty in the minds of many investors. Though risk is inherent in any investment decision, the real estate market reflects real-world conditions as well as individual perception of market conditions.

The Complete Guide to Real Estate Options: What Smart Investors Need to Know - Explained Simply is a non-nonsense guide to a specific type of real estate transaction: the real estate lease option. As explained by Steven Fisher, the book's author, the lease option is a lower-risk approach. As contrasted against the real estate purchase option, the lease option requires less money and limits exposure to the risks associated with property ownership.

The Complete Guide offers strategies for researching, marketing and developing the necessary attributes to become a successful entrepreneurial investor. It also gives templates for sample letters and exercises that help build the skills required to build your own real estate business. The Complete Guide is a must for anyone interested in being successful in today's real estate market. It is a practical read as well as a handy reference for lease option investing. An added benefit: the publisher is donating a portion of their profits to the Humane Society, on behalf of the passing of their beloved office canine, Bear.

Having always wanted to make a fortune in property I've just bought my first house. But I wish I'd read this book before hand! It would have given me a tonne of knowledge about my options in property and I may have made a different decision.

What I liked most about the book was that it really did assume no prior knowledge - it even started with a whole bunch of guides on how to get motivated and set goals and prepare yourself, before you even make your first step. Plus including things like real estate market psychology takes it beyond boring old numbers and statistics!

"The Complete Guide to Real Estate Options: What Smart Investors need to Know - Explained Simply" by Steven D. Fisher is an astoundingly easy to read book. It provides step by step guidance to becoming a savvy real estate investor and especially in view of the Lease Option Strategy. This book has everything a consumer needs to know. Fisher covers both the advantages and the disadvantages of the Lease Option Strategy. The book also covers every aspect of what it takes to become a successful Real Estate Proprietor ranging from the importance of developing and maintaining the right attitude to becoming a wise and successful landlord.

Fisher teaches you how to effectively get started as a new investor and how to avoid legal drawbacks by following steps to comprehensively set goals as you manage your business and property. You will learn the importance of organization in every area of your life in relation to success; from managing your credit properly to organizing your office. You will even learn how to organize and apply a successful "action plan."

"The Complete Guide to Real Estate Options" teaches the real estate student how to build a rapport by using exercises that will help you to become a success in the real estate arena.

This book, chapter by chapter will inspire any up and coming investor and even a seasoned investor to acquire his or her goals more quickly and easily. If you're looking for a good book that will teach you the ins and outs about real estate investing, this is the book for you. I give this book two thumbs up and without doubt a 5-Star rating.

If you've been tempted to invest in real estate but the jargon, the paperwork and the cost seem a little scary, pick up a copy of Steven D. Fisher's handy book. This well-written volume offers a clear and concise picture of some of the basic tools you'll need to gain a foothold in the field. Whether your goal is to purchase just one investment property or create a massive portfolio, Fisher offers an understandable, common-sense approach to buying real estate.

He begins by explaining both the advantages and disadvantages of real estate lease options, a method that allows potential buyers to invest only a fraction of their funds in a property. The examples provided by the author allow beginners to visualize how the process works. One of his most valuable chapters offers readers the opportunity to create their own "action plan," which outlines all the goals they seek to accomplish. Planning is key, Fisher advises, along with a positive attitude and the willingness to learn more about changes in the real estate market. Don't overlook basics like knowing your financial limitations and credit rating before you attempt to invest.

But, Fisher does more than walk the reader to the front door of that new property. Once your purchase is complete, he takes you inside by explaining how to work with repairmen, how to find good tenants, and also provides an inside look at relevant matters such as taxes and maintaining your property. So, whether you're a newcomer to the field or someone who wants to brush up on investment techniques, let this clearly-written practical handbook be your guide.

One could well imagine Mr. Stephen Fisher, author of The Complete Guide to Real Estate Options What Smart Investors Need to Know - Explained Simply sitting down to write this book and applying many of the principles he's about to articulate to the production of the book itself.
Aided by quotes from a variety of well-known personalities (Mark Twain, Warren Buffett, Tiger Woods, et al), Mr. Fisher sets out an exhaustive, step-by-step plan for anyone who is now, or ever has considered real estate investment as the best way to make a living. He does so very meticulously and with a great deal of attention to detail. Chapter headings and indeed, much of the text could be applied to starting any kind of business, or, as noted, to writing a book about starting any kind of business: Attitude is Everything (Chapter 2), Getting Started (Chapter 4), Some Basic Principles (Chapter 5).
It is clear from reading carefully that Mr. Fisher has done his homework in the field of real estate options and in particular, believes that the `lease option' is the best way for investors to go. With over 25 years of experience in the fields of business writing and training and development, it should come as no surprise that he has crafted an excellent instruction book on the ins and outs of buying and selling real estate. He has included interactive options for the practical entrepreneur, like check lists, and blank forms that the reader can use to track his/her own progress, whether it be in evaluating a property, the neighborhood that it's in or the buyers who want to own it.
He uses clever acronyms to crystallize reader thinking about specific subject matter. In an early section about "setting goals," he suggests that the reader/entrepreneur utilize the "SMART" method of creating those goals - Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic and Time-Bound. Near the conclusion of his book, he recommends that those seriously interested in pursuing real estate investment "SWOT" themselves; in other words conduct an objective analysis of individual Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
His style is very casual, very confident and well within the grasp of an average reader. Fisher isn't speaking to experienced professionals here, although even the most seasoned of those could likely find a great deal of food for thought here as they continue their pursuit of real estate deals. He's talking to the person who's considering this particular career path and if it's one that interests you, you could do no better than to start with him and this book.
Take notes. There isn't a quiz later, but if you head out on the route he's plotted for you, you're going to want to look back and remember some of the specifics

Anne Firth Murray has created a marvelous and engaging text for anyone who is teaching about women's health, global health issues, or just the issue of how social change happens. I have used this book in my own women's health advocacy course at Suffolk University, and the students all loved it. They were especially inspired by the examples of how women across the world are working to improve their lives. --Judy Norsigian, Executive Director, Our Bodies Ourselves

As someone who has given lectures in the area of global health and women, I found this book a tremendous contribution to understanding how poverty and gender inequity contribute to the starting line of the anne firth murray's prologue- "being born female is dangerous to your health." She takes you through the cycles of life,--birth, childhood, adolescence, midlife and aging and walks you through all the preferential demographic imbalances and injustices that can occur to vulnerable women. I will use this book often as a reference and an assigned mandatory reading for my classes in global health. I hope to meet the author one day soon and thank her.
Michele Barry
Professor of Medicine and Global Health
Yale University

Occasionally a truly inspiring work comes along. Anne Firth Murray's, From Outrage to Courage, Women Taking Action for Health and Justice is such a book. In spite of the rigorously documented grim state of women's health worldwide, this comprehensive book offers hope that things are changing in powerful ways. Readers will be inspired to contribute to the positive change being achieved by the multitude of organizations profiled on nearly every page. These women are doing something about the injustice.

Tracing the stages of life we all go through from birth to aging, each chapter is a powerful juxtaposition of outrage provoking description of where we are today with examples of the courage to confront it. Anyone in public policy, private philanthropy, or in just being more human will find this book helpful. I highly recommend it.

"From Outrage to Courage" is a remarkable book that should be a must-read for all of us. Beautifully written and extremely well-researched, Anne Firth Murray takes you on a journey into the challenges and inequalities faced by women throughout our world. This book is filled with many important facts and figures, providing a specific context within which we can better understand the enormity of this situation. One of my favorite aspects of the book is the way in which Anne is able to weave in personal stories of women with whom she has met and spoken. These examples provide an identity and a face for the millions of women and girls living in oppressive, violent, and unequal situations.

It is impossible to read this book and not become emotionally invested. However, though much of the information is horrifying, the overall feel of "From Outrage to Courage" is that of hope and perseverance. Every chapter contains information about specific groups throughout the world that are working to combat the challenges discussed. You finish this book with the understanding that we can all do something to help, no matter how small or how large our gestures may seem.

I truly loved "From Outrage to Courage", and I will be sharing it with as many people as possible!

From Outrage to Courage: Women Taking Action for Health and Justice

Anne Firth Murray's lastest book, From Outrage to Courage, is a comprehensively researched work that examines critical issues of global health and justice concerning woman. The book reflects a lifetime of action and research by one of the world's leading activists in the area of health and women's rights, and is a clarion and inspriring call for action with its probative analysis and compelling presentation. I recommend this book highly.

I thought this was a well layed out book. It's broken into a section on the fundamentals of commercial real estate (understanding property types, data gathering, analyzing and evaluating property, commercial financing, etc) and the practical part (prospecting, doing a presentation and writing a contract).

There is a lot of good information, and this can make a great desk resource for looking back over terminology and comparing one property to another.

There has been no shortage in books on the topic for investors in commercial real estate, unfortunately, it does not seem as if many books have been written about the brokerage aspect of the business. I did a little research before I purchased this one, and have even read a couple that focus on the industry in general.
When I saw "The Fundamentals of Listing and Selling Commercial Real Estate' by Loren Keim, I ordered it immediately. I thought, "finally, a comprehensive resource that I can use to develop a base knowledge of the industry while I continue to learn and grow; this is fantastic!" I even read some of the passages online before I even purchased it, and was thoroughly impressed with its level of sophistication.
What sold me were the other reviews that I read before I ordered. They were all great, and the authors even shared some of the same problems that I had with regards to the other commercial real estate books. They had actually established a common ground with me.
Then I received it and began reading immediately. The level of detail is something I appreciated, but emphasizing every single type of retail opeations almost put me in a coma. Also, the quality of writing left much to be desired. I suddenly became suspicious about the rave reviews that I had read on this very website, and lo and behold, they were all written by people from Pennsylvania, the same area that the author is from. Pure coincidence? I doubt it, because all of the reviews were truly exaggerated.
I did provide three stars, just because of the pure limited availability of books on commercial real estate brokerage. So, if anyone is reading this and is an experienced commercial real estate broker with strong writing ability, there is absolutely an opportunity for you to enter this book niche!

I had been looking for a book that explained the technical aspects and the sales techniques of commercial real estate. This book combines them both. There is a lot of meat in this book instead of fluff. I highly recommend it!

Excellent book for a career in commercial real estate or investment real estate. Well written, lots of great examples, including explanations of 1031 exchanges, income analysis, site and property analysis, and more. Everything you need to be a success in the field of commercial real estate.

Whether you're a real estate agent selling commercial and investment property or an investor purchasing and selling commercial real estate, the field of Commercial Real Estate Sales and Investment Property Sales is very complex, with a language all its own.

Challenges in commercial real estate sales include mathematical projections, return calculations, zoning issues, legal issues, contract issues, environmental inspections, tax consequences and the entire minefield lately of commercial mortgages and loans.

In the "Fundamentals of Listing and Selling Commercial Real Estate", Loren Keim, the author, has made the complex understandable with an easy-to-read book. An excellent job, I give it 5 stars!

The role of the American army in the Pacific between the Spanish-American war and the Second World War is often forgotten. Most don't even know the American army ahd a role so far away from home. Indeed the army was small but the stakes were high. In the wake of the war with Spain in 1898 the U.S gained a number of small protectorates and colonies in the Phillipines and Samoa and elsewhere. Eventually this became part of a defense system, but it was not merely to defend against outsiders. The Army also had a role with the local people and creating institutions. Moreover it also had to fight insurgencies that took place in the Moro area of the Southern Phillipines where Muslim insurgents fought Americans. The insurgency goes on to this day. However at the time the likes of General Pershing were used to put down this uprising with the least possible loss in lives.

This fascinating and detailed book opens up a new history of the American army and its role in the Pacific.

Seth J. Frantzman

Linn notes that the big question of WWII is, "why, with almost four decades to prepare, these (US Army) military forces proved unable to defend the nation's Pacific possessions against Japan." The author notes that the traditional approach has been to focus on events in the short-term prior to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines, however his effort is to, "offer a somewhat longer perspective through a narrative history of the U.S. Army in Hawaii and the Philippines from 1902 to 1940....its task is not to delineate the road to Pearl Harbor, but to illuminate the numerous paths the army trod in its long search for a viable Pacific defense....For years it had foreseen both the threat and its own inability to ward it off." From a strategic perspective, this book does a good job of putting America's failure into context. It points out that although the surprise attack of 7 December 1941 was not detected, from a military capabilities standpoint there was little the Army could have done. Although I believe one needs to be careful with historical parallels, a student of strategy can see how political and economic considerations drive strategy. Indeed, a similar issue between today (2004) and then was the tension between what is required to hold ground when forces are deployed vs. the ability to deploy and sustain those same forces over a great deal of distance.

During the first forty years of the 20th Century the U.S. Army had the mission of protecting the Philippine and Hawaiian Islands from attack by the nation of Japan. Although Japan was not originally thought to be a threat, from the 1922 Naval Conference onward the army high command considered Japan as the only real threat in the Pacific. This book provides a unique and very good history of what came to be known and the U.S. Army of the Pacific.

The book provides a good deal of fascinating information on all aspects of the Pacific Army from the life of enlisted men to the strategic thinking that informed its planning. But perhaps the most interesting theme running through it is how the U.S. Army identified the Japanese threat to the U.S. Pacific Islands and sought to mitigate it.

Because of budget and manpower constraints imposed by congress, the U.S. Army in the period between the WWI and WWII was incapable of fighting any kind of war. Yet as this book shows that did not prevent the Army General Staff and the Department Staffs of the Philippines and Hawaii from developing often very well thought out strategies for the defense of the islands. In the case of the Philippines the Archipelago was first considered vital to U.S. interests in the Western Pacific and a keystone in U.S. strategy. Gradually this view changed and by the thirties, the Philippines were considered indefensible against Japan and a strategic liability. Army planners sought to minimize the U.S. military presence there. This same thinking made Hawaii and especially the Pearl Harbor naval base on Oahu the keystone of a defensive arc running from Alaska to Panama which was designed to protect the U.S. Pacific Frontier.

One thing that is clear from this book and that is that the Army General Staff and the Islands' Departmental Commands were quite accurate in their defining the potential threats posed by Japan and fairly realistic in planning defensive strategies against those threats. For example the army was only too aware that the elaborate harbor defense systems that defended Pearl Harbor and Manila Bay were obsolete almost from the day they were completed. Still army planners at both the General Staff and department level tried to develop effective defensive plans. The problem was, as this book states, that there was a tradition that developed early on that allowed department commands to override general staff planning and design their own defensive plans. Thus in 1941General Short of the Hawaiian Department defined the threat from Japan primarily in terms of sabotage while the General Staff correctly saw it as a threat from air attack.

Brian Linn believes that the American annexation of the Philippines damaged rather than helped the U.S. position in East Asia. Even before the outbreak of the Second World War, American military planners knew that the Philippines were extremely vulnerable to Japanese invasion but were relunctant to raise a native force that could also be a threat to the American Army. The security problems only became worse when before the attack on Pearl Harbor, MacArthur authorized the defence of the entire Philippines and not just the Bataan peninsular. As a result of America's fear of a native force to protect the Philippines and MacArthur's overly ambitious plans, the United State suffered a humiliating defeat to the Japanese in 1942. I would reccomend this book foy anyone who believes that a new American empire would enhance national security but has ignored the disasterous example of the American experience with the Philippines.

This is a splendid and pioneering study of the Army in the Pacific, a subject badly in need of more light that it has hitherto received. It brings the Pacific Army to life in a way that no one else had even attempted.

Like any book, however, it has its limitations, and as is usually true it is the ones that author was not aware of (at least at the time) and did not flag for our attention that we must take most care of. In this case the principal limitation lies in strategic view.

The Philippines, as the author makes clear, never had any intrinsic significance for the United States (or for the earlier colonial power, Spain, for that matter) -- no riches or resources to be reaped. The sole significance of the islands lay in their position. Initially, Americans had calculated (like the Spaniards before them) that possession of Manila would provide an important advantage in gaining the rewards of the rich China trade. Luzon and the rest of the islands simply came with the deal. Almost as soon as they had been seized, however, other events eroded Manila's importance in this role greatly. (Perhaps we should say "seeming importance," as there never were the prospects which had been envisioned in 1898.) Finding themselves in possession of a colony of little value, Americans not unnaturally felt reservations about spending large sums to garrison and defend it. Thus a purely nominal force was assigned to its defense, adequate only for internal security and the assertion of sovereignty. The oft-proclaimed "bastion" of the Philippines was in reality no more than a sentry post, bound to be overrun quickly in any serious assault. To invest in a real Philippine fortress or in mobile forces strong enough to quickly relieve it would involve an expense that few Americans could see as justified.

Distant events changed all that. By the late 1930s, of course, the propensity of Japan for aggressive military expansion was manifest, but that did not seem particularly threatening in itself, given that the economic resources of the country were so small relative to those of the U.S. But the outbreak of the European War in 1939, followed by the Nazi defeat of France and threat to Britain in 1940, heightened American security concerns vastly. Then in September, 1940, Japan joined the Axis Pact, making itself an ally of Germany. Japan had intended this to change American perceptions and it did that, but not in the way that had been hoped. Japan ceased to be a disagreeable nuisance in a distant place and instead clearly became a potential part of a serious threat, to be blocked if possible and crushed if necessary. Very suddenly, the importance of the Philippines' geographic position changed dramatically.

It is this transition that Prof. Linn misses in focusing on the local realities rather than the global strategic picture that dominated the awareness of Washington decision-makers in 1940-41. This broader reality is well presented in Waldo Heinrichs, "Pearl Harbor in a Global Context," in _Pearl Harbor Revisited_, edited by Robert W. Love, Jr. (London: Macmillan, 1995) (ISBN 0312095937), and in more extended fashion in the same author's _Threshold of War: Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Entry into World War II_, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988) (ISBN 0195061683). For the same issue from a different perspective see Gerhard L. Weinberg, "Global Conflict: The Interaction Between the European and Pacific Theaters of War in World War II," in _Germany, Hitler, and World War II: Essays in Modern German and World History_, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995) (ISBN 0521474078), or his book, _A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II_, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994) (ISBN 0521558794).

Beginning with the Japanese occupation of Vietnam in July of 1941, thereby making manifest their determination to continue down the road of active alliance with Hitler, the U.S. began to rush all available military power to the Philippines, reserving only that which was essential to the security of America itself. But years of penuriousness and neglect had left the cupboard largely bare, and re-armament was yet to produce major material results. So the Philippine defenders, like the exposed sentry, became casualties of the brutally inexorable logic of war. Brian Linn's book provides a major and largely-overlooked piece of this picture, but is somewhat weak on the overall context.

There are also other sources which the interested reader may wish to consult in order to get a fuller picture. These include John J. Stephan, _Hawaii Under the Rising Sun: Japan's Plans for Conquest After Pearl Harbor_, (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1984) (0824825500) and the article by Richard B. Meixsel, "Major General George Grunert, WPO-3, and the Philippine Army, 1940-1941," _Journal of Military History_, 59, No. 2 (Apr 1995): 303-24. Both offer insights not fully captured by Linn. In a more recent article, "Manuel L. Quezon, Douglas MacArthur, and the Significance of the Military Mission to the Philippine Commonwealth," _Pacific Historical Review_, 70, No. 2: 255-92, Meixsel introduces some new evidence regarding the events in the Philippines in the 1930s and uses it to call into question some of Linn's claims.

While I have focused on its limitations, I want to emphasize again that this is a very valuable and unique book, even taking them fully into account.