Wisconsin Books

Squires and O'Conner argue that the lending gap is narrowing in Milwaukee, WI. However, this is a slow process. The authors highlight that the narrowing of the lending gap has come about in response to advocacy at the local and national levels. Despite progress, efforts to improve access to capital in inner-cities are complicated by persistent opposition in policy circles and consolidation in the banking industry. If current trends continue, the outlook for inner cities is bleak, at best it may take in excess of 140 years for blacks and whites to have equal access to capital. However, Squires and O'Conner map out a course for improving the odds. In their chapters they indicate that the solution to the lending problem lies in a combination of: new lending products, mortgage counceling, affirmitive action hiring in banks, the location of more branches in inner city communities, and stronger CRA legislation.

From the back cover: Wayward shots not only ruin your scorecard but also play havoc with your mental state. This book pinpoints the major causes of hooking and slicing and gives you the knowledge to recognize and correct these destructive and frustrating faults yourself -- even in the middle of a competitive round. Fully illustrated.

This book is a masterwork of unbiased, apolitical analysis. These two ballers aren't math wonks, nor are they long-winded dinosaurs who talk and write themselves to death while contemplating every nuance of international relations. Rather, they examine real situaitons in the world with foolproof analytic techniques coupled with incisive analysis--a field of IR beginning to be referred to as "formal modeling" or "analytic politics."

If you want to examine the basic assumptions and predicates for much of the writing in IR over the last 25 years, especially (place prefix here)realist thought, then purchase or at the very least read this book. It begins by utilizing an apples v. oranges comparison of [realist/realpolitik thought] v. [analytic/formal modeling thought]. Once the reader realizes just how valid the evidence of the authors is, he becomes very hungry for new information and perspectives on the world of IR to fill the void created by the lack of validity of realism or almost any derivative of it.

The authors then explore just how complicated the world is, considering each rational actor in IR is also constrained by a myriad assortment of domestic concerns. By this time, the reader can become slightly skeptical because the analytic, overly logical environment he inhabits inside the book can be slightly intimidating due to its newness. Then, he turns to the appendices, where every single assertion of the authors is thoroughly buttressed by the rather simple math. If you have a GED, you can understand the vast majority of this math.

It is the reliance on logic and numbers on the part of the authors that validates their ideas. These aren't men with vague, pedantic thoughts that happen to be well-timed who wield their Rolodex to validate their perspective on IR. Rather, they assert their idea while completely reinforcing it with non-Stephen Hawking math. The only way you can disagree with the fundamental core of their argument is to assert that 2+2 does in fact not =4. If you are one of those people who says "Well..what can numbers do in the field of IR. They can't really prove anything, can they?", let Bruce and David show you the way.

At the conclusion of this rather cathartic (especially if the reader has read across the gamut of IR literature) experience, the reader is left with NO CHOICE but to admit that these gentlemen have hit the nail on the head. This school of thought hasn't completely turned IR on its head. Yet. It's not sexy. It's not flashy. (It is math, after all). But the operative words that apply to this text are: factual, proven, and applicable. Joe Nye & Co. are wrong and Bruce BDM is right. But don't believe Bruce. Just do the math.

This book is a very interesting comparative study of two relevant statesmen of the XVII century, Richelieu and Olivares, the former very [bad-]known through the eyes of The Three Musketeers by Hollywood with the cooperation of Alexandre Dumas, the latter ignored by most of the people, as it usually happens with those that lose a war. Apart from being very readable (I bought it on Sun-day and I have finished by Tuesday) and not very long, the contrast between Richelieu and Oli-vares is useful to avoid topics and myths based on the supposedly a-religious and modern per-formance of the French Cardinal versus the obsolete behaviour and ideas of the Count-Duke, or on the national character of France and/or Spain. In the case of Olivares, I have found that this book dedicates more pages to deal with the psychological and/or personal aspects than Elliot's "The Count-Duke of Olivares. The Statesman in an age of decline", who focuses more on poli-tics.

(Other books I would recommend to read on Spain: As a general overview, "A History of Spain" by Joseph Perez; and more focused on the XVI and/or XVII centuries: "The Spain of Philip II" by Joseph Perez; "Imperial Spain 1469-1716" and "The Count-Duke of Olivares. The Statesman in an age of decline" both of them also written by John Elliot; "Spain 1469-1714, A Society of Conflict", by Henry Kamen; and " Spain 1516-1598 : From Nation State to World Empire" and "The His-panic World in Crisis and Change, 1598-1700" both of them written by John Lynch).

Almost better than the book it discusses. Many essays by different authors, some hard, some easy. A must read if you liked "A Sand County Almanac".

The effective collaboration of freelance photographer and Wisconsin native Zane Williams and essayist Mark Lefebvre (Senior Director for the Medical School at the University of Wisconsin Foundation), Wisconsin is a coffee table book showcasing Williams' full-color visual imagery of the Badger State's natural, human, and architectural landscapes. This wonderful photographic compendium is superbly enhanced with the inclusion of Lefebvre's three informed and informative essays emphasis the state's land, history, and culture. Additionally, Wisconsin is enriched for the reader with interspersed passages from the writings of such established Wisconsin figures as August Derleth, George Vukelich, Owen J. Gromme, and Robert E. Gard. No community or academic library's "Wisconsin Studies" collection can be considered complete or comprehensive without the inclusion of Williams and Lefebvre's Wisconsin!

There are very few, if any, other books like this one. Regardless of your field of science or engineering, you will find extremely useful technical vocabulary here. One can take conventional Japanese classes for years and never come across even simple words like "equation" or "axis", all of which you will learn here. Written by PhD engineers, the book uses numerous written examples to put all the vocab into context.

European history, as I was taught it at school in Australia 25 years ago, was one in which Byzantium was written out. The standard historical text "Europe in Transition" by Ferguson stated:
"It is now recognised that the capture of Byzantine capital [by the Turks in 1453] did not alter the practical situation in any such drastic way. The Greek refugees came to Italy too late to do more than assist a classic revival already reaching its peak. As Voltaire remarked, the Greeks could teach the Italians nothing but Greek, and, one might add, even for that they were no longer essential." p. 407

Geanakoplos' book is indispensable in understanding the contribution of the Greeks to learning, both in their bringing manuscripts which would otherwise have been lost to Italy (& the west), and to helping the Italians understand the subtleties of Greek philosophy which had been corrupted by Arabist and mediaeval Catholic misunderstandings.

Geanakoplos explains it best in his own words:
"It was not until the Italian Renaissance that the complete range of Greek writings... came to the West... for the first time all the philosophical writings of Platonism, the remainder - much more than we realize - of Aristotle...Greek Stoicism and Epicurianism... the tragedians ... and the epic poems of Hesiod and especially Homer, as well as the great Greek historians... In rhetoric the entire Byzantine corpus was brought [to Italy]. p. 31

In his book "Leonardo da Vinci: flights of the mind" by Charles Nicholl we learn that Leonardo Da Vinci attended the lectures of John Argyropoulos. To understand who Argyropoulos was and his significance is impossible without Geanakoplos' book. Argyropoulos was the leading Byzantine expert on Greek philosophy and of Greek mechanical literature (eg the pseudo-Mechanica of Aristotle); the entire edifice of western engineering is based on the transmission of Greek manuscripts on engineering which entered Italy at this time.

It is only when it is realised that the Medici, and their sponsorship of the arts was a direct result of their encounter with the Greeks from Byzantium that the importance of this period is best appreciated. Again it is Argyropoulos who became friends with Cosimo de Medici. It was under Cosimo's patronage that Argyropoulos taught in Florence and it was Argyropoulos who Cosimo chose to be the tutor of his grandson Lorenzo de Medici, who has come to be known to us as "Lorenzo the Magnificent" and under whose reign the Renaissance bloomed in Florence.

It is only when it is realised that the Medici and their encouragement of intellect was founded on these Greek émigrés (Gemistos Plethon, Argyropoulos & others) that the contribution of Byzantine Greeks to the Italian Renaissance can ever be properly appreciated. The Greeks, rather than being irrelevant to the West were the foundation upon which was built the pursuit of knowledge which ended the closed mediaeval mindset of the west European dark ages that had prevailed until then.

"Consumers Guide To LTC" is an excellent resource for everyone involved with long term care. Clearly written, concise chapters provide relevent information about most issues in nursing homes. Nursing care, Dietary services, Social/Medical services, Nursing Assistant training- what to look for and watch out for. Great source of state to state contacts for filing complaints, looking up survey records of nursing homes is listed in back. The survey process is briefly described, OBRA regulations relating to resident rights are thouroughly reviewed and explained. Advanced directives are also written about. This book is a must read for anyone looking into placing a loved one into a nursing home; it is also a must read for staff who work within the walls of a long term care facilty (nursing home) I strongly recommend this book.

Biologist Jo Handelsman and sociologists Daniel Kleinman and Abby Kinchy gather scholars together in Controversies In Science & Technology From Maize To Menopause, considering such diverse topics as hormone replacement therapy, overuse of antibiotics, genetic modifications of crops, and agricultural issues. The result is an extensive set of scholarly discussions of scientific, health and technological issues not to be missed.