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This book of Huainanz is full of wisdom. It pretty simply to apply in all aspect of life & business world too. I am a student now, studying this chinese masters has help me reach a new level of understanding.

This book is more philosophical than some others of similar titles and natures are. It views leadership and strategy through the lens of Taoist thinking, and as such is more concerned with the spiritual and ethical development of a leader. The book is broken into four sections: State and Society; Warfare; Peace; and Wisdom. Each is linked to the other, and follows the previous topic. There is a lot of discussion on the health of a given society, and how both the heads of a society as well as the people within it reflect and affect its overall health. There is a lot of focus on the causes and effects of warfare, as well as the ethics of waging war properly.

This is a small book, one that you can keep in your pocket or briefcase, perfect in size for reading on the train into work or while sitting in a doctor's office. It's full of essays that will make you think, and perhaps re-evaluate how you deal with certain situations in your life. It is worth buying, no question about that.

Cleary brings us another brief, readable translation from the Taoist canon. This time, it's a compilation of extracts from the Huainan Tzu (or Huainanzi). Unlike other books, this has multiple authors, guest philosophers in the court of a king of the small Huainan nation. If there's any choppiness in this list of brief lessons, it's probably due to the book's mixed origin rather than Cleary's editing.

He chose to arrange the aphoristic anecdotes into four chapters, on State, Warfare, Peace, and Wisdom. These readings are much less direct than other authors on statecraft - Han Fei Tzu or Sun Tzu are clearer to a modern reader, and more immediately applicable. Like other Taoist authors, these convey the sense that proper following of The Way is the only goal. Within The Way all other things, including peace, prosperity, and victory, ensue with the inevitability of water flowing down hill.

Some of these teachings are clear enough, though, and applicable immediately in today's world. "In early spring, ... pregnant animals are not to be killed and birds' eggs are not to be taken." Natural and agricultural resources need to be managed properly in order to stay productive for the long term. It's a lesson that is too rarely remembered in modern policy-making, when resources must be stretched to feed so many more people. Elsewhere, the Huainan masters direct their invasion forces not to destroy resources or plunder the populace, in order to keep the majority's good will after a change of regime. They knew this over two thousand years ago, but we're still applying the lesson only poorly today.

This isn't in the first rank of Taoist writings, but it's a readable and worthwhile addition for anyone who wants to dig a bit deeper. It complements Sun Tzu and Mo Tzu as much as it does Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. It gives a little extra perspective on today's world, too.

//wiredweird

PS: This book's content also appears as one section of a larger collection, Cleary's "The Taoist Classics, Volume I."

i read on the subject of eastern philosophy and the book of leadership and strategy is one that encompasses a typical taoist thought. very informative, and makes more sense than most holy books. thomas cleary is on my list of authors

This little book is great on so many levels. It consists of, as the title would indicate, of questions concerning Business, Politics and Ethics. There are a total of 223 questions. The book is completely and absolutely nonjudgemental, as it gives no answers to the questions nor does it supply any opinions. This job is left up to you! The questions are well written and very plane it that they are, at first glance simple. Far from it. When you read one of the questions here, you will have almost an instant "gut" reaction, or instant answer, but, after giving it some thought, you will find you self thinking, "hey, this is not as easy as I thought." This is a wonderful book for group discussions, but beware, some of the questions could be discussed for days and days, answers would change and opinions swayed...it is just that type of book. I love to brouse through it, read a question, and then just think, asking myself questions about the questions asked. The issues addressed here are ones we face on a daily basis in our society and are not particularly addressed only to business and politics. Highly recommend this one!

Far too many of us wait until faced with an ethical dilemma before figuring out what our personal ethical stand is. This book, used correctly, provides the opportunity to flex your brain muscle and reflect on your ethical perspective before it becomes necessary.

I use it to challenge my site management team every morning with great effect.

The only criticism I would have is that some questions while provacative are not for the meek.

Great job Mr Stock

The original "Book of Questions" made a good conversation-starter and, in my opinion, inspirational tool for writing or journaling. "The Book of Questions: Love and Sex" is better for helping you to see your own relationship values and how they may be helping and harming you and your loved one, and it can also be used to help open up communication in a relationship if approached carefully. "The Book of Questions: Business, Politics and Ethics," on the other hand, is perhaps best for pushing you to explore your own moral values and how well you're living up to them.

What's most impressive about this is that very few of the questions seem to imply a "right" answer or try to push some sort of specific realization, and even those that do sort of come across that way don't have to be read in that way. Dr. Stock specifically says that he doesn't want to push an agenda--he merely wants to spur people to think more carefully about what it is they're doing and why.

The questions run the gamut from economic programs to health care, international policy to business. There are questions about hiring and firing employees, stealing from or betraying employers, tradeoffs in public programs and government spending, and so on. Many of the questions seem particularly relevant to today's political situations. While I wasn't as fond of the tradeoff questions in the "Love and Sex" book, I think that in this one they come across much better. Somehow they end up feeling less arbitrary and more like realistic quandaries.

Dr. Stock tries not to give us easy questions with easy answers, instead forcing us to truly think about the hard issues.

I have the screen saver version of this book, which is integrated with the original The Book of Questions for Windows computers. The graphics and sound effects are great and I get lots of people in the office asking me about it. It's a real head turner that engages people in conversation.

I am an avid fan of crime story related books, this one rates up there with the best of them. The authors ability to set up a crime, from the background, to the crime itself and then to the afterfall is fantastic. I enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it in a heartbeat.

While I'm not an avid reader of Boston crime narratives, I am a fan of this particular writer. His ability to capture the quotidian details of the city's d.a. office and make them compelling to me is a rare mark of intelligence and good writing.

In speaking to another reviewer's point, I don't believe the goal of this book was to present a biography of Ralph Martin. I also don't believe it does a disservice to the d.a.'s office of Boston. I believe, instead, that it sheds light on many of the most important cases and issues faced by the city's law enforcement officials. The writing manages to make the kind of grisly details we see on the nightly news interesting and informative without being pedantic.

I think the book rises to the top of its genre with a bullet, although I'm not sure that the distinction of bullets is really the point.

I've been waiting for a book from this author for years. His work in magazines and newspapers is unparalleled, and his writing leaps off the page. If you want a good read, just look for Sean Flynn's by-line. I highly recommend BOSTON DA. I can't wait for his next book.

I have lived in Boston all my life and this book gave me new insights and insider information on some of the most well publicized crimes in the city over the past 10 years.It reads like a thriller and reminds me somewhat of an Ann Rule book. Flynn does a good job in his characterization of Ralph Martin, a popular DA, and possible mayoral candidate in the future. Mr. Martin is a black Republican who has managed to thrive in a white, Democratic City. this is a must read for anybody interested in the psychological, sociological, political and criminal interactions in a major urban area.

This book, first published in the 1950's and re-issued in the 1980's, is making a comeback today because it continues to be relevant. It inspired the book Human Scale by Kirkpatrick Sale (see my review of the latter book) and is consistent with an entire literature on limits to growth, The Pathology of Power - A Challenge to Human Freedom and Safety(see my review of the book by that name by Norman Cousins), Manufacture of Evil: Ethics, Evolution, and the Industrial System and other more recent erudite works such as Philip Alott's The Health of Nations: Society and Law beyond the State

WIRED Magazine is rediscovering the fundamental truth that small is beautiful, and localized energy and agriculture are sustainable. Herman Daly's works on ecological economics, and the newly emerging work on performance economies where every product is evaluated not on its low-cost in cash, but its high cost in energy and water (one T-shirt consumes 4000 liters of water in the making).

This is a foundation reading. If you are interested in this and do not have the time or money for a full library, the Amazon reviews are now a literature in their own right. Simply bookmaking "see my other reviews" and exploring those ten a night, will keep one gainfully educated for the 180 days, and offer a Master's level appreciation for the complexities of reality and the insufficiency of our federal government that will frighten and stimulate.

I fully agree with the earlier reviewer. "Breakdown" is one of the seminal pieces of economic & political theory of the 20th century.

And perhaps one of the most prophetic. Originally published in 1957, Kohr draws a map of a "broken down" Europe -- that is, a Europe composed of much smaller units than the then-Great Powers -- that would be easier to unify. Much of that map, particularly in Eastern Europe, has come true. Many of the parts that aren't yet independent have growing independence movements. Still, even as these movements re-draw the map, Europe has indeed crept closer and closer to unification, just as Kohr predicted.

From the depths of the Cold War, this was an extraordinarily uncommon leap of analysis to make.

Recommended in the highest possible terms.

Kohr is trying to sell the masses on the idea that breaking up larger countries and forming a global federal government would be a good thing for all. In Europe he advocates breaking things up on the basis of ethnicity or language and that produces small, homogeneous states. In the USA a European-american ethnostate would be too powerful so he would unite non-whites in their own ethnostates and break up European-Americans into states with conflicting economic interests so that they will be easier to dominate. Above the ethnostates would be a world federal government run by elites.

Many layers of government would separate "citizens" from the global meta-government and that would help the rulers override objections to redistributing the wealth created by people of European ancestry and using it to buy the votes of the backward peoples of the world. If the world government didn't redistribute the wealth in this way Marxists would overthrow it. Probably an "economically dominant" minority (as described in "World on Fire" by Amy Chua) would allow a leader of the backward "colonized" peoples to come to power democratically and then bribe him for protection while he stays in power as a dictator (like Ferdinand Marcos, according to Chua). Marxists would favor Kohr's plan because it would produce a highly unstable world government that they could take over. "Economically dominant minorities" would favor it because it provides a pseudo-altruistic cover story for a bid for world power. They could manipulate such a government even more easily and safely than the existing democracies. Hard-core capitalists would favor Kohr's plan because it would create a global free market with no obstacles to the race to the bottom.

I think that both parties in USA favor massive immigration because they are controlled by economically dominant minorities, hard core capitalists and Marxists. When USA breaks up Kohr's plan will influence where the new borders are drawn.

Sometimes I think some intellectuals are trying to create a meta-religion to bolster a world federal government. Read "Explorations at the Edge of Time" by Richard Falk and decide for yourself.

Yussuf Kly has written a book, "A Popular Guide to Minority Rights," where he advocates non-territorial (portable) ethnic autonomy enforced by the United Nations. That would be just the ticket for an economically dominant minority that is dispersed across many countries. They could use this newly minted civil right to get protection from the global federal government when there is a backlash from the indigenous people. Few would argue that "group rights" are not a major factor in USA even though they have nothing to do with the individual rights of classical liberalism. We are moving closer to Kly's proposal all the time.

According to Amy Chua the ethnic Chinese make up 1% of the population of the Philippines and control 70% of the economy. The whole world could end up like that with an economically dominant minority ruling through a dictator drawn from one of the backward groups, like Ferdinand Marcos.

I would prefer a world of nearly homogeneous nation-states that are as economically independent as possible. Ethno-nationalism isn't evil. I think an ethnic bond is the best way, in the long run, to bridge class differences and avoid putting all humanity's eggs in one basket.

Kohr calls for peaceful dissolution of nation states into smaller independent entities which can network or confederate as they choose. His book is a bible of the radical decentralist movement and applauded by anarchists, libertarians, greens alike. It's a fascinating read and will make you realize how much you yearn to belong to a real community and not just be an anoymous cipher in a giant nation state. Quote from Kohr, to give you a flavor:          There seems to be only one cause behind all forms of social misery: bigness. Oversimplified as this may seem, we shall find the idea more easily acceptable if we consider that bigness, or oversize, is really much more than just a social problem. It appears to be the one and only problem permeating all creation.Whenever something is wrong, something is too big.  And if the body of a people becomes diseased with the fever of aggression, brutality, collectivism, or massive idiocy, it is not because it has fallen victim to bad leadership or mental derangement. It is because human beings, so charming as individuals or in small aggregations have been welded onto overconcentrated social units. That is when they begin to slide into uncontrollable catastrophe. For social problems, to paraphrase the population doctrine of Thomas Malthus, have the unfortunate tendency to grow at a geometric ratio with the growth of the organism of which they are part, while the ability of man to cope with them, if it can be extended at all, grows only at an arithmetic ratio. Which means that, if a society grows beyond its optimum size, its problems must eventually outrun the growth of those human faculties which are necessary for dealing with them.         Hence it is always bigness, and only bigness, which is the problem of existence. The problem is not to grow but to stop growing; the answer: not union but division.  

I am a Muslim and the Quran says that those who believe in the one God will eventually be in heaven but those who did not follow they way of Islam are possibly going to be in Hell for a time. I hope the soldiers in this book will be spared hellfire. As I read it, I was amazed that I never heard of it before. These soldiers and their refusal to participate have been hidden from the public. They were on a segment of 60 minutes, but you will not find that video anywhere on the Internet, including Youtube and their website. Go ahead and try to find it.

In their own words, they say that Israel was "built on militarism racism" and "Many Jews have lost their Jewish souls" and The judges who order houses to be demolished are "prostltutes to the legal system" and about terrorism, the soldier in ch7 says boldly "We have sown the seed's, grown them, and nurtured them." He later says with courage "I refuse to be a terrorist in my tribes name." I am sure this book is banned in Israel but I wish that all Americans could read it at least once. If it was hard for me to find it, then I know the majority of concerned Americans dont know it exists.

This book has catapultited me into a new level of consciousness!
I have been waiting for a book to educate me on this topic and not only have I been educated, but moved to look into activism on this issue. I am neither Jewish nor very knowledgeable in politics. This book is right to the point and I found myself totally engrossed. The men in this book are awesome and I am proud to walk the planet with them. They are educated, brave, compassionate and passionate. I hope that you not only read Breaking Ranks, but go to the website afterwards and become involved in some way.

Several courageous Israeli reservists who have refused to serve in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories captured by Israel in 1967 tell why they have chosen not to serve. They are part of a group of several hundred Israeli reservists who have said that they will serve within Israel's 1967 borders but that they will no longer fight beyond those borders to "dominate, expel, starve and humiliate an entire people." Many of these brave reservists spent time in Israeli prisons for their principled actions.
The reservists speak of the brutalization of the Palestinian people by the Israeli army, a brutalization which in turn brought about the anger of the Palestinian people toward them and toward Israeli Jews. They speak of the humiliation faced by both young and old Palestinians at the ever present checkpoints when young Israeli soldiers would torment Palestinians by tearing up their required identification papers, making them sit in the hot sun without shelter, sending them back home even when they had a permit to visit the doctor or go to school or occasionally beating them just for sport.
This book is a real eye opener for those who get their information about Israel and the occupation from the main stream corporate press. It serves to help readers understand more of the Israeli/Palestine conflict and it is also important because it shows that there is a segment of Israeli society that knows that the occupation is reprehensible and unconscionable. They have been there.

Thought provoking essays that explore the conscience and consciousness of each `refusenik's soul searching, and their journey to refusal. To date 550 IDF soldiers have either refused, or pledged to refuse serving in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. That is a huge number!

The stories these soldiers tell, will often give you a glimpse into both Israeli and Palestinian society, showing how people's perception are shaped, and mindsets nearly paralyzed by governments and leaders ( on both sides ) that have cultivated only fear and hate over the years, why it must end, and how.

The author throws out tough questions to them, challenging both their patriotic duty and moral convictions. I feel they answer with great clarity and conviction. All the men in this book are well educated, and articulate. All have served in the occupied territories at one point or another, and have either committed or witnessed first hand, lets call them brutalities. They all are deeply devoted to Israeli society and believe that "the best way to serve their society is not to perpetuate its injustices"

There are some stark warnings to heed in this book. Many times American dogma and mindset after 9-11 and the `War on Terror' is cited as an analogy to give reference to the phenomenon of jingoistic thinking taking place.

This book was written before the recent refusal of 27 Israeli pilots who refused to take part in targeted assassinations, claiming that they resulted in civilan deaths, and that "the black flag of illegality is waving."

Do not think for a moment that the decision to refuse came easily for these men. It did not. Many will tell you it took years to shake off the deeply entrenched mindset that has gripped Israeli society, and is always being fed by a media that is one sided, and a government that is short-sighted.

Whether you agree with these soldiers or not, every American should read this book, because by virtue of our American citizenship alone, makes all of us a part in this struggle, whether we want to be or not. The time is now to truly understand the issues as they exist today, and reevaluate what America's moral role ought to be.

Ambassador Palmer has provided the reader with a lucid, non-partisan therapeutic regime for an ailing world. War, terrorism, poverty, famine, torture, and other human rights abuses, by and large, result from the actions of about forty-five dictators who control roughly one third of the world's population. The removal of these tyrants through peaceful means and their replacement with responsible democratic governments is the most cogent approach to ending most of these abuses across the globe. Although the author strongly advocates the peaceful removal of tyrants where possible, he does acknowledge the need for military force in some instances. This is an important work and should become the cornerstone of US foreign policy for the next twenty-one years (or as long as it takes).

By turns brilliant argument and gritty guide, this book is an inspired field treatise on the Whys and Hows of replacing tyranny with democracy -- the sooner the better and, where possible, without violence.

We've seen a gush of books denouncing the current Bush administration etc, but Palmer's work stands out by making scores of PRACTICAL suggestions. His case studies range from Chile to the Philippines and make a lot of sense. For instance, his suggestions on handling the sensitive issue of Falun Gong in China are not only smart, they would also be a cinch to implement.

I highly recommend this educated and accessible read for matters that affect us all.

Edit of 21 Dec 07 to add links and new comment,

New Comment: In my view, this is the single most important work of the century with respect to American moral diplomacy. I note with concern that under Bush-Cheney "Failed States" have increased from 75 in 2005 to 177 in 2007. We've lost our mind, and our morals, as a Nation.

Ambassador Mark Palmer puts to rest all those generally unfair stereotypes of Foreign Service Officers as "cookie pushing" softies who fall in love with their host countries and blame America for any flaws in the bi-lateral relationship. With this book he provides an inspiring model for precisely what every Foreign Service Officer should aspire: to understand, to articulate, and then to implement very great goals that serve democracy and help extend the bounty of the American way of life--moral capitalism and shared wealth--to every corner of the world.

This is a detailed and practical book, not just visionary. It is useful and inspiring, not just a personal view. It is also a damning indictment of fifty years of US White House and Congressional politics, where in the name of anti-communism and cheap oil America--regardless of which party has been in power, has been willing to consort with the most despotic, ruthless, murderous regimes in the history of mankind. Still alive today and still very much "friends" of the U.S. Government are dictators that think nothing of murdering millions.

There has been some improvement, offset by an increase in partly free countries. From 69 countries not free at all in 1972 we now have 47. From 38 countries partly free in 1972 we now have 56, many of those remnants of the former Soviet Union. Free countries have nearly doubled from 43 to 89, but free and poor is quite a different thing from free and prosperous.

The level of detail and also of brevity in this book is quite satisfying. On the one hand, Ambassador Palmer provides ample and well-documented discussion of the state of the world, on the other he does not belabor the matter--his one to two-paragraph summative descriptions of each of the dictatorships is just enough, just right.

He distinguishes between Personalistic Dictatorships (20, now less Hussein in Iraq); Monarch Dictators (7, with Saudi Arabia being the first in class); Military Dictators (5, with US allies Sudan and Pakistan and 1 and 2 respectively); Communist Dictators (5); Dominant-Party Dictators (7); and lastly, Theocratic Dictators (1, Iran).

Ambassador Palmer makes several important points with this book, and I summarize them here: 1) conventional wisdom of the past has been flawed--we should not have sacrificed our ideals for convenience; 2) dictatorships produce inordinate amounts of collateral damage that threatens the West, from genocide and mass migrations to disease, famine, and crime; 3) there is a business case to be made for ending U.S. support for dictatorships, in that business can profit more from stable democratic regimes over the long-term; and lastly, 4) that the U.S. should sanction dictators, not their peoples, and we can begin by denying them and all their cronies visas for shopping expeditions in the US.

The book has an action agenda that is worthy, but much more important is the clear and present policy that Ambassador Palmer advocates, one that is consistent with American ideals as well as universal recognition of human rights. Ambassador Palmer's work, on the one hand, shows how hypocritical and unethical past Administrations have been--both Democratic and Republican--and on the other, he provides a clear basis for getting us back on track.

I agree with his proposition that we should have a new Undersecretary for Democracy, with two Assistant Secretaries, one responsible for voluntary democratic transitions, the other for dealing with recalcitrant dictators. Such an expansion of the Department of State would work well with a similar change in the Pentagon, with a new Undersecretary for Peacekeeping Operations and Complex Emergencies, my own idea.

This is a very fine book, and if it helps future Foreign Service Officers to understand that diplomacy is not just about "getting along" but about making very significant changes in the world at large, then Ambassador Palmer's work will be of lasting value to us all.

Also recommended, with reviews:
A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People
Blood Money: Wasted Billions, Lost Lives, and Corporate Greed in Iraq
The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project)
The Fifty-Year Wound: How America's Cold War Victory Has Shaped Our World
War Is a Racket: The Anti-War Classic by America's Most Decorated General, Two Other Anti=Interventionist Tracts, and Photographs from the Horror of It
The Paradox of American Power: Why the World's Only Superpower Can't Go It Alone
The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
The World Cafe: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter
Faith-Based Diplomacy: Trumping Realpolitik

Forthcoming on Amazon in February and also free at OSS.Net/CIB:
COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace, edited by Mark Tovey with a Foreword by Yochai Benkler and an Afterword by the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada. I have high hopes for all of us finally getting it right (Winston Churchill: "The Americans always do the right thing, they just try everything else first.") Now is our time to get it right. We can start by electing Senator Barack Obama as our forward-thinking always listening open-minded President.

This is a powerful exposition of the nonviolent steps the US can take to rid the world of tyrants and dictators by a man who has the experience to back it up. I predict it will make big waves.

I confess that I am a major afficionado of B. Traven. My politics have mellowed over the years but I enjoy Traven's political perspective. I believe B. Traven was an ararchist at heart. He attacked big government and big business as evil but saw the uncorrupted individual as nobel and good. In the rural Mexican Indian community he found, for himself, the most ideal form of government he had ever encountered. His Jungle Books were a tale of conflict between good and evil; peasant and capitalism. His book, The Bridge in the Jungle, is his ode to the Indian peasant community. He brings us into their midst throught his vagabond American who stumbles upon a small village at the time a tragedy is unfolding. A young boy has drowned and we witness their suffering and their coming together. We see the corruption of their society by misunderstood influences from the outside world. The example I remember best is the musician who, when asked to play something during the funeral march, comes up with "Yes We have no Bananas". Neither the musician nor anyone else except our American narrator comprehends the total inappropriateness of the song. All in all, a beautiful story of a disappearing society.

By chance I came upon Traven at the library when I noted that he had authored "Treasure of Sierra Madre," a film classic that I automatically associate with Hollywood's old Bogey.

Not knowing anything more than that I picked-up "The Bridge in the Jungle," and what I found most fascinating was finding a story that so honestly stripped away cultural biases and opened a window to another universe. It revealed the dignity of a community dealing with death of a young boy in an obscure jungle town in early nineteenth century Mexico, and it also provided a vivid account of a proud Aztec culture on the threshold of extinction.

I wish I could see more modern American writers, who, like Traven, would more readily examine how cultural biases skew our understanding and appreciation of the quiltwork of cultures that inhabit our amazing World.

This book was dedicated by Traven to the mothers of the world. It is a cold, crude and, at the same time, compasionate and tender view on a child's death and the terrible, extreme pain it produces on his mother. It also describes the quite particular, "uncontaminated" and honest reaction the event creates among a small Indian community in Chiapas. All this is told by Gales, the main character, an American adventurer that hardly tries to undertand what is actually going on and how he feels about it.

Although the plot is very simple, this novel has some passages of an extraordinary literary intensity. It is also full of irony and sometimes sarcasm too.

Well, it can be said The Bridge in the Jungle is a sad, tragic novel but it is beautifully written and that is what matters.

"The Bridge in the Jungle" is one of those strange books you don't know how to respond to at first. On one hand it's absolutely tragic and, on the other, it's filled with some of the funniest passages imaginable. More or less condensed into a twenty-four hour period, Traven describes how an Indian community bands together, sometimes with folly but often with strength, when a young boy disappears into the bush.

Throughout the story Traven gives an intimate account of peasant life in southern Mexico, nevering missing a detail of how the campesinos live, think and act. In fact the narrative is filled with so many astute observations that you feel, at times, Traven works better as an anthropologist than as a novelist.

But, unfortunately, some of these observations sound a little sentimental. It's the only work by Traven that seems to run in circles, at times even becoming boring. He praises the spiritualism of Indians one too many times and focusses on their diet rather than moving on with the plot.

He does, however, redeem himself with the character of Sleigh, an expat who's made the jungle his home. He's like a good-natured version of Kurtz -- wise, crazy, but harmless.

On top of all this, Traven makes his usual attacks against the oil industry and organized religion.

If you enjoyed any of his "jungle books," then gives this one a read.

Beautifully written a really excellent fact filled read. Well documented and a Must read for anyone interested in what is going on in our country. Excellent Excellent Exellent.

Mr. Lawrence represents the condition of our country boldy and courageously. He doesn't mince words or waste our time trying to analyze the Bush administration. He just states the facts, and the facts made me very angry. Anyone who wants to have a quick reference to all the bad this administration has done and begin to prepare for the upcoming elections, take a look.

I hate to admit it, but this book really illustrates the poor research and constant mistruths that come from my party. I was a Republican my whole life, but more importantly I'm a proud American. I find the election fraud and lies about the war the biggest offense on our freedoms and security. I am also now convinced that 9/11 would have never even happened if Al Gore had become president as he should have, the same goes for Iraq.
It is worth buying this book just to read about this alone. Some that read this review may question my loyalty to the GOP. The truth is I'm done with parties. They have all had their blunders. From now on it's about values and reality. I simply wish that everyone else would put the country first rather than loyalty to their party. This is an excellent book for everyone!

This book is a MUST read for anybody interested in the direction our country is going, and everyone should be interested. The reason I say that is because if you have children, your children will be affected by what is going on in the world today. The first way to change what is happening to our country is to have knowledge, and this book clearly offers you the knowledge you need to begin making a difference. I purchased the book because somebody recommended it to me,and I am glad they did because there were things I read in the book that I was not aware of. I think we should all be aware of how much the government plays a role in our daily lives. As a mother of two kids I worry what their future will be like if we don't have the knowledge to make the changes that need to be made today. Remember the saying "Knowledge is Power"! A great book, and a must read..

This is a short economic tract from the acclaimed Austrian economist known for his stern defense of free-markets. Mises' sharp verbal logic and analysis of the adverse affect that bureaucracy, socialism, and a bloated public sector has on the economy. This book is a classic. I recommend reading in tandem with his other classics like Human Action, Liberalism in the Classical Tradition, Socialism.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RIOGBMEF9HCGS Ludwig von Mises' stuff is worth reading twice and this book remains highly pertinent today.

Bureaucracy is the clearest and most concise version of the calculation critique of socialism. This books is vastly easier to read that the original 1920 article on socialist calculation. It is far shorter and more focused than Human Action. It is also much shorter than Socialism, an Economic and Sociological Analysis. Mises managed to achieve brevity without sacrificing much important content. Bureaucracy is probably his best written book.

There are many subtleties to this book, but the main points are straightforward. Mises contrasts profit management with bureaucratic management. To Mises Bureaucratic management is necessary as far as a few basic public services are concerned. However, the adoption of socialism would mean the extension of bureaucratic management to all areas of the economy. The problem with this is that bureaucracies are inflexible. Changing economic conditions require the adaptation of production. Entrepreneurs implement changes in production because they seek profit. Mises explains why bureaucrats would act irresponsibly- they are not checked by profit and loss accounting. Since public services lack a cash value as generated by markets the costs of increasing public services are unknown. Bureacratic managers would thus over expand their operations without realizing it. Such bureaucratic excesses must be limited by restrictive rules. Hence bureaucracies lack the flexibility of entrepreneurial capitalism.

Mises also considers psychological and political issues, but these points are not as well developed as his economic arguments. One could see this as a weakness, but those who want a more complete version of the von Mises critique of socialism can read his 1922 book- Socialism.

Bureaucracy is the shortest and surest path to understanding the merits of free markets and the dangers of socialism. I can think of no other book that contains so many important insights in so few pages. The closest contenders for this honor would be Menger's Principles, Buchanan's Cost and Choice, and Hayek's Road to Serfdom. Fortunately one can find accessibility and genius in some books, and Bureaucracy excels in both of these attributes.

Written by professor former Vienna Chamber of Commerce economist Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973), Bureaucracy is a classic economic treatise, first published in 1944, about how the efficient aspects of private ownership and control of public good production ultimately produces superior results compared to the mishmash of publically administrated plans laced with codes of "officialdom", government incompetence, unforeseen legal wranglings, graft, and other ills. "Bureaucracy in itself is neither good nor bad," Mises states; rather, bureaucracy is a valuable resource for managing certain spheres of human activity, such as policing and courts of law, yet ultimately a failure or even harmful when applied to private enterprise, simply because forced obedience to strict rules hobbles entrepreneurial managers' room to maneuver amid fluctuating market situations, and stifles their innovation in response to evolving consumer wants. "Under socialism... the beginner must please the already settled. They do not like too efficient newcomers. (Neither do old-established entrepreneurs like such men; but, under the supremacy of the consumers, they cannot prevent their competition.) In the bureaucratic machine of socialism the way toward promotion is not achievement but the favor of the superiors... The rising generation is at the mercy of the aged." As timely and insightful now as it was over half a century ago, Bureaucracy is highly recommended especially for college library and economic studies shelves.

For the starting cadaver dog handler this book is a must. I recommend it to all my students. It does an excellent job of detailing the scent imprinting training, establishing a readable alert and the advancement of training. Not only does it cover the handling and training of the dog but discusses in depth the handlers responsibilities and information useful to any agency wishing to deploy the cadaver dog. Excellent information in a basic readable form. Not much experience in scent work needed prior to implementing these techniques. A wealth of information.

The book was sent on time, and it cost less then other places that I looked at. Nice shape, and a great place to buy from. Kudo's!

This is an excellent book! Great for the civilian SAR Dog Handler or a person jutst doing research on the subject.

Tremendous resource book (especially for the Novice and/or Advanced SAR Dog Handler) for trouble shooting Handler/SAR Dog problems and maintaining a training program/profile.

Could also be utilized in conjunction with a qualified/competent instructor.

I found this handbook well written, organized and thorough. A must have for anyone interested or involved in this specialized field of cadaver dog handlers.