Organizations Books

This book fills a significant gap in the historical record on philanthropy and the rise of civil society in the United States. Kathleen McCarthy's writing meets the highest standards of scholarship, in a very readable and enjoyable style that will appeal to a broad audience. It should be on the "must-read" list for all nonprofit researchers, practitioners, and students of philanthropy!

This is an important book. It offers a novel and compelling explanation of America's early democratic development that suggests a much greater role for the non-governmental sector than previous studies have suggested.

The author throws light on some neglected corners of American development, such as the role of non-governmental organizations run by blacks and women. After reading this book, no one will look on non-governmental efforts in quite the same way. Their energy and vision were essential not only in making America a more decent country but also, surprisingly, a much more prosperous one.

If you, as I, graduated from a Jesuit university (in my case, Fordham), you simply have to add this volume to your collection. I had the added incentive of living in Lake George, NY, and having cherished as my personal hero for many years Father Isaac Jogues, Jesuit missionary to the Algonquin and Iroquois and the first white man to see the body of water he named Lac du Saint Sacrement in 1646. Father Schroth is a solid writer who presents both a scholarly and well-balanced treatment of his subject matter, entirely unafraid to consider both the splendid triumphs and undoubted failings of the order in America. He does a particularly good job on the founding and early trials of the Jesuit institutions of higher learning. In sum, a fine read.

In his book "The American Jesuits: A History" Raymond Schroth recounts the long history of the Society of Jesus from its genesis as a small group of followers of a Spaniard named Ignatius Lopez of Loyola to the greatest teaching order this world has known. But unlike many previous works on Jesuits, Fr. Schroth extolls both the noble and ignoble facets of the order. From stories of men willing to be martyred "For the Greater Glory of God" to a disgraceful exclusion from the order of those of Jewish ancestry. An order consisting of men working in the service of others and men in pursuit of power, often concurrently.

Fr. Schroth is a master storyteller as well as a thorough historian. This book is well worth reading.

The concept of "anarchy" has enjoyed a privileged status in each of the two main schools of thought of IR, namely neorealism and neoliberalism -albeit in varying size and nature. I have always believed that this overemphasis on anarchy was unjustified and misleading. I think what is important is not the mere presence or absence of a governmental body at the international level, but rather whether any mechanism exists that functions against Waltz's assertion that "wars occur because there is nothing that prevents them" (1959, 232). In our modern global world, no state except the hegemon can get away with a "fait accompli" that will change regional of global balances of power. This simply means that every state except one has an "impediment" to behave like a "rogue" state. Thus, the absence of a material world government to punish the deviant states does not necessarily create an anarchic international environment, because the practical function of such a government is fulfilled to a large extent by the hierarchical nature of the international system. This is true for multipolar systems where there is a balance of power among major states as well. Throughout modern history, each state that sought a global hegemony found a community of others against her. Thus, balance of power has indeed been an ordering principle in international relations.

I found my inspiration as to the "order" in the international system in the writings of some British scholars. Contrary to the central place of anarchy in the North American theories of international relations, "international society" thinking and its resultant emphasis on "order" has been a tradition in post-war Britain. "The English School" argued that there is a persistent order in the international system alongside "anarchy" and that the preservation of a minimal order has been a common objective of the major members of the international system. Hedley Bull was one of the most influential scholars within the English School. In his The Anarchical Society he defines order in international system as "a pattern or activity that sustains the elementary or primary goals of the society of states," (p. 8). In further elaboration, he lists these goals as 1) the preservation of the system and society of states itself, 2) maintaining the sovereignty of states, 3) maintaining peace, and 4) sustaining the elementary goals of the individual, i.e. life, truth, and property (pp. 16-18). He argues that the maintenance of order is a common goal of states, because -whatever the further goals of states- the existence of a minimal order is a necessary condition to achieve these higher goals. Like individuals, states value order because they value "the greater predictability of human behavior" that comes as the consequence of conformity to the elementary or primary goals of states (p. 7).
According to Bull, "balance of power" is the primary and most effective instrument for the maintenance of international order. It is primary, because it provides the conditions in which other institutions of order (diplomacy, war, international law, and great power management) have been able to operate; it is the most effective, because by preventing the emergence of a hegemon, balance of power helps preserve the existent order.
Two of the instruments that Bull argues states use to preserve international order are particularly interesting. First, Bull directs our attention to the positive functions of war with respect to the maintenance of order. While in the traditional IR literature war is associated with conflict and disorder, Bull argues that war has widely been used by states (in particular the great powers) as a means of enforcing international law and preserving balance of power (p. 102). Thus, for Bull, war is a two-faceted phenomenon: a threat to be limited in most cases, but also an instrument to be used for order-related purposes in some cases. Second, he contends that great power politics contribute to the preservation of international order as well. Bull argues that great powers do so by preserving the general balance of power, avoiding major crisis among themselves, and respecting each other's "spheres of influences" (p. 200). In that respect, the English school warns us that the great power politics is not a wholly "tragic" story.
I think The Anarchical Society made two important contributions to our understanding of international politics. First, it persuasively argued that we are not living in an international "jungle". In Bull's (and my own) view, anarchy is an element of international structure, but neither the only nor the predominant one. States purposively try to limit the negative effects of anarchy by working together to preserve a minimal level of order in order to attain higher objectives. Second, Bull helped us realize that some crucial elements of international politics -war and great power politics-, which are generally associated with conflict, many times play positive roles in terms of the preservation of international order.
An important shortcoming in Bull's approach is that Bull remains quite when it comes to the "nature" of international order. The question of what causes the emergence of different international orders is outside the scope of The Anarchical Society. Actually, Bull admits this point when he says that "we are concerned only with what may be called the `statics' of international order and not with its `dynamics'," (19). Hence, Bull does not offer us a "theory" of international relations.

It was wonderful. I've never read something like that. I advise everyone to read it. Thank you.

Robert Cox is one of the most interesting contemporary writers in International Relations. His books always bring a brand new and fresh analysis. This collection of articals represents his great academic carrer and certainly points new directions to the study of the discipline. This book is highly recommended to all students of IR theory.

Robert Cox has done a brillant job of taking Political Economy to the next level in this collection of essays. Cox and Sinclair have culled together many of Cox's essays previously published in unaccessible journals. Each essay is prefixed by short bio stetch which very much sets the mood for what follows. Cox's uniqueness lies his open approach to the discipline. Whereas other political theorists have concentrated on the International Political Economy. Cox focuses upon the Global and the forces which go into the making of forms of production, state and world order. Any student interested in the dynamic historical interplay of these structures is well advised to pick up a copy of this book. Although, Cox is a Historical Materialist, he is a Gramscian thus allowing for a greater theoretical openness then some operating in the same paradigm. The essays are meaty and sometimes require reading and re-reading to get into the rthymn. Many are leading to or leading from his seminal book: Power, Production and World Order. Sadly, Cox does not write more.

I first bought this book about 15 years ago. It made a huge impression on me then when I didn't know much about uniforms, and it is still a great resource today now that I am a uniform collector. The painted images of soldiers of all the major armies of World War II are vivid and interesting. The text is informative and thorough. Of particular use are charts that detail rank insignia for all the various armies.

This is the DEFINITIVE reference book on the uniforms of WWII. Mollo carefully explains his terms and illustrates them in this handy, well-organized work. Individual illustrations of patches, epaulets and weapons are complemented by contemporary, hand-colored photographs of a wide variety of uniforms. Excellent!

International arms sales is one of the issues that I got into as a student of IR in the early 80s. I read Andrew Pierre's Global Politics of Arms Sales, which was so good that I almost pursued the issue as a career concern. I read Sampson's book at that time, and it was the perfect complement to the academic side of it: Sampson went to the places where catastrophe was brewing from arms sales run amok, evoking it in the vivid language of a real writer and with the eye of a first-rate reporter.

Sampson explains the economics, investigates the characters, and describes the environments they operate in. It is a true tour de force, as only the best journalists can accomplish.

However, the book is dated, as it was written in the latter part of the Cold War. With the US-Soviet rivalry, the dynamic was altogether different from today, when it was far more political to sell to your allies and potential clients. Now, it is pure economics on the selling side, while the buyers are more or less mercenary capitalist brutes.

Warmly recommended. But the interest is largely historical.

Hello!
I lve in New delhi , INDIA, I am an avid reader of books on defence , military history, great discoveries, technological innovations, construction, urban planning, architecture and geography. I work as a consultant.

I went through the amazon site and looked at the entire listing of books that iwanted to buy, i got the titles and authors. But could not decide which book is the latest one

there are name of the same book with slightly different titles, hence i am not able to decide whether it is the same book or they are differnt books altogteher, i mean do the contents vary from book to book with the same title

I am refeering to the books like

1 A The arms bazar from lebanon to Lockhhed
1 B The arms bazar - the companies, the dealers,the bribes, from vickers to Lockheed ( are the two books same)?? the price varies)

similarly

The Seven Sisters the world they made ??
The seven sisters the world they shaped ??

i would be thankful to any one who can help me clarify the above points

I would like to Buy the following three books ( Old ones)

The Arms Bazar

The Seven Sisters

The Money Lenders
all written by Anthony Sampsosn
I
I have read the first two books about ten years ago from the US Library in New delhi India, they donot have the copies any more.

I would like to buy them for my persosnal collection.

Is it safe to buy from amazon using a international master card, credit card. Please advise.

I donot want any one accross the internet (and the world) to have access to my card no. and misuse to make fake and fradulent charges to my card which in actual I have not undertaken/ purchased/ bought.

I shall only honour the legitimate purchase of books purchased by me only.

Thanks in anticipation of your help
Best regards,

Ananda Kishore Das

Telphone no 091 - 011 - 26973950 (Available bewteen: 10 AM - 5 PM IST)
( IST = GMT + 05.30 Hours)

This is a timeless book -- his course was excellent as well. It is just plain common sense and a great foundation.

The Art of Fund Raising tells you nothing about "turn key" operations in development, nothing about "mass mailings." Warner tells you, in his wonderfully simple and very eloquent writing that fund raising is about giving of yourself to help people find what is best for them. He explains that fund raising is the very essence of humanity, and its only money that gets in the way. Your job is to take Warner's work and interpret fund raising and use your own contacts and skills
for your clients. I refer a lot to the Do's and Don'ts section and especially enjoy his
often humorous, and very insightful "It happened to me, don't let it happen to you" section. 35+ years of experience and hundreds of satisfied students, readers and clients can't be wrong. Enjoy

This book reads quickly and is quite absorbing. It is amazing that the author could be so honest especially when it is written so close to the death of her parents. There are parts of this book that you will remember for a long time.

This book was so interesting I could not put it down. It was sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and so much of what the author went through reminded me of myself. Art of the Restless is beautifully written. Anyone would love this book.

This is an excellent study on board leadership and should be read by any person serving on a non-profit board.

If you are like me, you arrived with no idea of what to do the first time you sat on a nonprofit board. If that board was not well organized, you sat down on your second nonprofit board with about the same level of understanding.

Nonprofit organizations, especially smaller and newer ones, tend to be "amateur hour" operations. They usually have neither good governance nor good management. Unfortunately, they need both much more than most for profit and nonprofit organizations that do have them.

The nonprofit organizations that focus relentlessly on improving governance and management do far more good than those who do not. So these are important subjects. I doubt if you can have very good management without good governance first. Governance creates the organizational direction and the discipline that encourages good management. Unless someone is reviewing how you are doing, even the most talented manager will soon become lazy about learning from experience.

I recommend that anyone who is on a nonprofit board or is considering joining one should read this book. You will have a much more rewarding board experience if you do. You can also share this book with others on the board, and challenge them to work with you to make the needed changes. I certainly plan to do this with the board I sit on now.

By the way, chances are that your board will never quite get to this "gold standard" described here. But at least you will know what you are and are not doing, and can focus on the more important steps.

The book breaks the board's responsibility down into mission, responsibility for money, and for management.

Top priority is "establishing the mission and monitoring the organization's progress in achieving that mission." This may involve modifying the mission from time to time. This is very critical, because you either have a mission that gets volunteers and donors excited or you are dead in the water. Habitat for Humanity and the Girl Scouts have done this well.

The board next needs to create a "vision for the future of the organization and [develop] a plan for achieving that vision."

After that, the board needs to ensure "progress in serving the mission of the organization . . . [in meeting] the needs of clients" and in the effectiveness of programs.

The board also needs to be sure that the mission and programs are communicated "effectively with its various publics."

The money side all fits under being a "steward for organizational resources." The tasks include having a formal development plan, making an annual contribution to the organization, and participating in fund-raising activities. In addition, risks should be identified and ensured and insured against as best as one can.

In the area of management, the board has to select, support, evaluate, (and terminate, when necessary) the CEO. The board has to evaluate its own effectiveness at each meeting, as well.

If your board isn't willing to start working on this items, I suggest you consider looking for another board that is. Certainly, you may be in for a lot of heartache if you a join a board that is going to ignore these areas.

Create more good by having a more effective board!

Although several projects included in this text seem outdated in the 21st century, overall the organization of projects suggest a visionary way of thinking about art delivery in an age of online learning!

This book is particularly helpful when a student is impaired by a lack of creativity. Even with the assignments the prompts are vague enough to ensure that students create original artwork.

I recommend this book for any artist that feels out of ideas and any educator that needs to have lessons on demand for fast learners or uncreative students.