Planning Books

This is a wonderful gift book. I have already given it to several friends who share my pleasure. Alice Miller, who is a psychotherapist, combines spirituality and love of the earth with humor and wisdom.

I have beeb a professional landscape and garden designer for over 30 years. And this author really gets it. It's difficult to mesh inspiration with good garden design. To be able to mix whimsy, classic beauty, and good garden design is not something many people can do. Her humour and wisdom come through on every page. She really understands the dynamic process of creation when it comes to establishing a sustainable garden. Her wit kept me intertained and felt like I grew through the read. I highly recommend this book

This book really tugs at the heartstrings. Dr. Miller has a unique writing style, combining poignant observations with a quirky but delightful sense of humor. I will be gifting several friends with their own copies - this is a book to enjoy more than once.

Dr. Miller depicts the process of personal and spiritual growth through her life experiences and vividly relates them to the birth and development of her woodland garden. She shares pivotal moments in her life with poignancy and humor and in a manner that transcends age or gender. She reminds us that as humans we all are finding our way along life's garden path. Yet, Dr. Miller succeeds in balancing the garden imagery by weaving into her narrative a broad, intellectual selection of quotations and excerpts from both English literature and many different religious texts. In so doing, Dr. Miller manages to avoid denominational bias and truly focuses on an inspiring view of how to navigate life's travails while maintaining an infectious optiminism and open-heartedness.

The author is right when she says you won't necessarily learn the ins and outs of gardening; however, her use of the garden as an approach to the seasons of life is marvelous. The candor and humor make the book an easy read. The content allows us to take a spiritual journey of celebrating our lives, a journey well worth taking. The poetry and writings used within the book are additional garden paths to travel and encourage the reader to delve into the works cited, especially the Bible.

This book is insightful in detailing the relationship between land use and transit services -- and views the relationship from several perpectives. Case study examples clarify the "transit first" and the "land use first" approaches to urban growth. The writing style is engaging and clear, accurate and helpful to understanding of the many factors involved in the transit/land use dichotomy.

I've been very pleased with this book for its analysis of a variety of different city types and its recognition that different cities require different types of transit to really make public transit viable there. From Copenhagen's trains connecting downtown to densely populated "fingers" of growth to Ottawa's busways and Curitaba's extremely innovative and economic system, this book provides enough real life examples to see how transit can be tailored to fit any city, and vice versa.

You can't say enough about this excellent survey of modern transit. Expect this book to inspire you!

I read this book a few years ago and it opened my eyes forever. Instead of moaning, "What will we do about all of these cars?" I have framed the question, "What the h. is wrong with the United States?" Prior to reading this book, I had only the faintest ideas about what democratic transit planning would look like on a large scale. The answer, Switzerland!

I was fascinated by the descriptions of actual, real life functioning public transportation in Singapore and Scandinavia. This Is REAL, People!

Unfortunately, after reading this book, I have developed the understanding that until we get things right with democracy, we will not get right with transit in the US. As long as our local governments are puppets of real estate developers, we will build our transportation infrastructure to suit their need to maximize profits, rather than the needs of the people who have to live in the cities for centuries to come.

Cervero does an excellent job presenting each case study and its lessons with regard to urban transportation. He studies cities from the United State, Europe, Asia, and Latin America which makes the book especially valuable. He introduces and explains different types and categories of urban transportation alternatives and their respective benefits and drawbacks. Excellent book, worth reading.

I have given this cook to many people. It has some incredible insight on leadership, especially the positive impact that African Americans can make in their communities.

This is one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. The further I read into it the more I was moved by the narrative, and the stories.

The book has very few statistics and is not heavy in technical detail. But whatever its perceived fault could be, it pales in comparison with the passion, power and truthfulness of its message.

Learn about the small, scattered and underresourced groups of men and women that are transforming the inner cities of America and the implication that this has for the social renewal of all of our socieity.

This book is inspiring, practical, and immensely moving. I believe it should be read by every person in United States who has even a bit of honesty to face the problems of our communities, even a little strength to care about others, and a desire to have their eyes opened to the powerful solutions that are available in very humble quarters!

The Triumphs of Joseph is simply one of the most important books to be written since the Civil Rights Movement. I teach diversity classes and I use Triumphs as a primary text to offset the constant presentation by black leaders (often self-proclaimed) and the media that African Americans are somehow deficient in ordinary resilience and social strategies and need the paternalistic help of governmental and private agencies. Why do so many people who are not disadvantaged feel free to define for the disadvantaged what their needs, wants, and goals are? Dr. Woodson is sure to offend those who are the vicarious victims and parasitic victimizers of the poor but the validity of his message cannot be denied. Coming from a disadvantaged background myself, I have lived some of the situations he describes yet today I hold a doctorate and teach at the college level. Dr. Woodson is definitely a winner with a winning plan. If you want to be a winner, stick with the winners.

Dr. Woodsen gives an eloquent and powerful case for the endurence and ingenuity of the individual human soul versus the shocking waste and disregard of people caused by government social programs. He is definetly not "politically correct" in his assessment of the stark failure of the "poverty industry" to stop the tide of death and despair. Dr. Woodsen offers an inspirational solution that really works and takes the reader along to meet the brave and ordinary people who make a difference.

Every black person in the United States ought to devote an evening or two to reading this book. It shows in a concise 100-plus pages that "Black History" includes the triumphs of self-sufficiency which were considered ordinary before the Civil Rights movement taught the race that "progress" meant handouts and lowered standards of evaluation. The inner cities are slowly rising out of the ashes, not through government charity but through residents working the system to change their own destinies, making their peace with an unfair past. No book says this better. Everyone -- buy this book and regain your hope.

This is an extremely informative and well-written book. Building wealth is vitally dependent on legally reducing your taxes by forming companies and properly structuring your income between earned income and passive income. The author covers the various forms of company entities such as general and limited partnerships, S Corps, C Corps, and LLCs. I've read several books about corporate entities and this is the first one I've found with practical, real-world examples that explain why an S Corp is better in one situation, while a C Corp is better in another, and an LLC is better in other circumstances. I came away believing (rightly or wrongly!) that I actually understand the differences now. The author then builds on that and explain how you can use multiple entities of different types to create a solid asset protection plan. He gives an excellent example of how a actively traded investment account can be structured as a limited partnership (with brokerage accounts held inside it) and whose general partner is a corporation. I've noticed this same structure when reading annual reports over the years, and now I understand why this structure reduces liability and has very significant tax advantages.

There is much more than what I've covered here. I highlighted text on almost every page in the book. My highlighting ratio is the predominant factor of how high I will rate a book. I will continue to pull this book off the shelf and refer back to it.

I was really taken by just how vulnerable many of us are to attacks by lawsuits and other events. Asset Protection showed me a world that I never knew existed a world where greedy lawyers (who should be disbarred in my opinion) sue for a living. Actually targeting companies and individuals not because they did something wrong but simply because their assets were easy to get at. Once that target is found then an "offense" is "created".

A lot of the concepts I have heard of before but this book broke them down and made them simple to understand. I have already begun to shape my assets in line with the models in this book by working with my Lawyer and my Accountant both of whom have since bought a copy of this book and have begun to use it to discuss options with their clients. The list of missed tax deductions alone is worth a hundred times the cost of this book and I can not recommend it highly enough.

Asset Protection 101 is a book that everyone should read. We all know about corporations, LLC's, Revocable Living Trusts etc and we all know about law suits and being sued - but this book puts it altogether in an easy to read format that anyone can understand. If you want to save money on your taxes, if you want to keep from losing everything in a lawsuit, if you want to be able to pass on your estate to your family, without probate and with the least amount of taxes - then Asset Protection 101 is a "must reading" for everyone.

I know a little about business entities since I own a small business. I was worried that this book would either be over my head, or too basic. I found that it did a fantastic job of covering the basics without seeming to talk down to me. I also got some great ideas and strategies to really increase my protection and dramatically cut my taxes. JJ Childers manages to make complex strategies digestible for those not versed in legal jargon, yet doesn't talk down to anyone with familiarity in the areas he covers. Since studying JJ's strategies, I find I can understand and speak with my CPA and attorney with more confidence and comprehension. I have also found that I can make better tax and legal decisions with my new knowledge and my tax and legal advisors were impressed with my understanding of the topics of asset protection, estate planning and tax reduction. Thanks, Mr. Childers!

The only thing The Donald supplies to this book is his powerful brand and two generic paragraphs for all this books in this series. There really is no thoughtful forward or anything to do with his insights. That being said, this is a pretty good beginners guide to the whys, whats, and hows of protecting your assets from the various income taxes, business taxes, estate taxes (the death tax), and lawsuits.

The author, J. J. Childers, is an attorney but writes clearly and simply enough for regular folks. The book's 17 chapters are presented in five parts. Part I covers the problem of excessive spending and a too passive approach to paying taxes. You can't build wealth that way. Childers shows you some basic principles on understanding the tax code and ways to use exemptions and deductions to keep more of your money. He also talks to you about the power of having your own business and the right structures to use to manage the risks involved.

Part II covers protecting yourself from lawsuits and carefully explains why this matters to you and matters more and more as your wealth grows. He presents you with some basic principles of using corporations to protect your assets and using multiple entities to match risk and assets rather than leaving all your assets in one pot vulnerable to a single catastrophic suit. Part III cover estates and death taxes. He introduces you to trusts and why they are essential to you and why a will simply does not provide you any protection from probate. Part IV shows you how to think like the wealth. Childers calls this the Mogul Mindset. He also takes you through the process of creating an asset protection team and what professional expertise you simply must have. As the author says, you may think you don't have enough wealth to worry about these things, but when you start adding it up, you can get surprised in a hurry. Don't let anyone simply take it from you because you failed to act.

Part V provides you with various resources such as a list of common deductions, which business structures provide various kinds of protection, a state by state guide to which assets you can protect during bankruptcy and a glossary of business and legal terms.

As with any 101 basic course, this is introductory and you will need to study more and dig deeper to master the topics in this field. But this can certainly get you started in the right direction.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

After the unforeseen events of September 11, 2001, we expected to see a flurry of books about how to protect yourself, your company, your assets, and your future. Security issues were already high on corporate and personal agendas; 9/11 just kicked them higher with a jolt. Security would now be considerably more pro-active than merely routinely defensive.

This book, one of the first to be rushed to the bookstores, was written by a woman with expertise on the internet-software, e-commerce, information management. Her research for this book, probably rapid, centered on those areas of familiarity, so the content is technologically heavy. This focus is understandable, acceptable, and worthwhile-and is where the reader will find the greatest value.

From the preface, "This book does more than identify the potential vulnerabilities" It givrs you specific strategies and technologies to lock down and free up valuable resources. Each chapter takes you through a problem that has arisen in this new, less secure world. It then suggests specific strategies and technologies based on interviews with the nation's leading experts . . . each chapter ends with a resource guide." The author promises to continue expanding her resource guide at her website. There's nothing there yet, but it's a nice extra if it happens.

Part I addresses how to keep employees safe, acknowledging that safe employees are more productive than those who continually look over their shoulders. The author suggests that we overcome travel fears with virtual meetings and training, sell through the internet, and use collaborative project management software to keep people connected. Is this new? No, but the emphasis on the applications is-reactively to 9/11. If we perceived the risk to be high and continuous, these technologies would get more use. It may be, until the economy picks up, that these alternatives will be employed as cost-savers.

Part 2 is entitled "What if Your Employees and Customers Are Afraid to Open the Mail?, an obvious response to the Anthrax scare. Gutzman instructs her readers about electronic direct and transactional mail, eBilling and ePayments systems. A number of companies have been sticking their toes into the water with these techniques; Gutzman uses 9/11 as an impetus to suggest we might to more in these areas-for security reasons.

Part 3 looks at how to protect your place of business and your data. For a lot of business operators, there are some intriguing ideas here. You'll learn about biometrics technology, network security, encryption, system security. There's a chapter on using ASPs and MSPs to decrease dependence on physical plant. Understanding that this book is written by an author with recognized expertise in these issues, expect to gain some interesting insights.

The book closes with an almost obligatory chapter on succession planning. Yes, we all know that succession planning is important, but it seems force-fit into this book. I'd recommend this book if you want to dig into the technological aspects of operating more safely and effectively in an uncertain world. The book will be a valuable reference and check-list for those already somewhat familiar with the topic, but I expect that all readers will pick up some new ideas regardless of their level of technological sophistication.

Alexis Gutzman has finally found a common sense approach and solutions to common (and not so common) problems.

These challenges face each and every one of us as business owners and for any business entity.

It makes you stop and think.... (and then think again.)

This is a manual for any corporate entity focused on many different levels of security forethought!

A Must Have!

While this book does include a fascinating chapter about biometrics, most of this book is about practical steps businesses can take to keep their employees safe and keep their businesses running.

What can companies do to offset the fact that their prospects aren't attending conferences as much? The chapter on Webcasting is the best collection of what you need to know to get started that I've seen anywhere. For a change, there's actually enough information to get started without any of it being biased toward any particular vendor.

How about cutting back on direct mail so that your customers don't worry about what's in the mail? The chapter on email marketing is a great primer that explains all the industry vocabulary and why you probably don't want to rent a commercial list (the way you would with direct mail).

In short, I don't think this book is for a systems administrator; it's for anyone in business who has to make decisions about how things get done. Another nice feature of the book is that it's a fast read, which I always appreciate when I'm reading business books.

I work across the street from the Sears Tower. Until Sept. 11th I never gave much thought to personal or business security while at work. I am not a "tech person" nor do I use computers for much more than the basics. But the title of this book was intruiging and given the location of my office and the information intensive nature of my job, I read Gutzman's book.

She has laid out the issues in a readable, practical manner with plenty of examples and excellent resources at the end of each chapter. No doubt some of the material was over my head and perhaps more suitable for a corporate security or HR person, but is is presented in a logical format and thoroughly covers the subject.

Over the past nine months I have heard much talk about increased security, and have seen security measures tighten up dramatically in my building and throughout downtown Chicago. Gutzman puts the entire enterprise into focus and perspective with this book.

I bought a copy for the office administrator. Well worth 200 pages of your time.

This is probably the best book on business security I've ever read. It's not a book on network security, although that's in there. Gutzman focuses on the three things that are most in jeopardy for businesses in the new "red alert" era we've entered: people, data, and the pipes that connect them.

She covers everything from reducing travel (duh, yes, but then she gives technologies to help accomplish the same goals) to reloating facilities, from server-level virus protection (duh, yes, after she points out how absurd desktop virus protection IS, and how it really only benefits the vendors) to expiring email, and email that can't be printed or forwarded by the recipient unless you give them permission ahead of time. How many times would *that* have saved you embarassment (memos leaked to the press) or competitive security (that employee who just left for your competitor)?

Gutzman also explains biometrics in a useful way with specific examples of which type of biometric would work there. Despite the fact that Gutzman comes from IT, the book starts with the business side of the argument.

In short, this book is a fast read that covers a lot of topics you're not likely to find all in one place. Best of all, every chapter has resources at the end to give you vendors, Web sites, and newsletters where you can go to learn more.

This is a book that every bank board member should read. Sure, any board member worth his/her salt will be familiar with Basel II and risk measures such as VaR, but how many think of Basel II as a cost or imposition, and VaR as just another piece of information? Mr Belmont's easy to follow approach should allow readers to examine the way in which they can differentiate their own institution by using the investment in regulatory risk management to create, rather than just protect,shareholder value.

Thankfully, Mr Belmont strikes a good balance between theory and reality, both in his explanantion of market behaviour and in the presentation of his arguments. This is a book that the "mathematically challenged" like me can still enjoy and benfit from.

Even without the incentives provided by the upcoming Basel 2 guidelines, this book is timely and convincingly puts forth the proposition that active risk management is in itself a valuable component in the creation of shareholder value. Returns on investment in more sophisticated tools for risk quantification will be enhanced when the information is not only used for performance measurement, but also for such shareholder value-added activities such as capital allocation and balance sheet structuring.

I recommend this book for all practitioners of risk management.

This book is a gem - very timely and well-thought out. David Belmont obviously has a lot of experience in this area, but also has put in a lot of thought-leadership into this book. He traces the Basel II accord to its roots in M&M economics, and convincingly argues why bank risk management is a critical function. He then traces a thread from risk management to capital management and shows why and how banks can make use of Basel implementations to achieve a high degree of control and positioning of their operations.
The only knock on this book is that I found several typos and simple editing errors - it is clear that deadlines won over editorial quality. Hopefully the next edition will be cleared up in this regard - nevertheless I highly recommend this book.

Belmont has done an exceptional job at communicating the importance and practical application of risk measures for today's business environment. The book offers the reader a thorough assessment of what banking executives face everyday and how best to manage these risk and regain the control necessary for any banking executive to grow its business without putting into jeopardy the best interest of its shareholders, which in no small measure is a testament to Belmont's clear understanding of the challenges faced by most executives and the demands they face in terms of managing near term performance goals with long term stability.

Given the dual pressures banks face from regulators and investors to address the challenges of Basle 2 and create shareholder value, this book is highly relevant and timely. It provides practical, concise and real world guidance to any senior bank executive seeking to add value in his institution by optimizing the usage of economic capital. Economic capital based performance measures are clearly presented and illustrated with real life examples. Additionally, anyone implementing Basle 2 must ask how this can be done and what value it creates for the organization. This book provides the answers.

The book quickly gives a real world context the value of risk management information to bank CEOs, CFOs, institutional security analysts, and investors. It then goes on to demonstrate theoretically and practically how risk management information can be used to address key strategic decisions faced by senior bank management.

Any risk manager, CFO, or CEO in a financial institution should find this book valuable if they seek to create shareholder value in their institution. Similarly, anyone seeking to rise to the executive suite must understand the issues addressed in this well written book.

This book was stunning, and much better than expected. Not only did I learn much more about Van Gogh than I could have learned anywhere else, but the quality of the artwork and photographs is outstanding. Details of Van Gogh's paintings are so fine that the brushwork is highly visible. The photos are so well composed, they could be used as practice for reproducing with oils. Photos include not only gardens and plants that Van Gogh knew and painted, but also gardens and designs for gardens that the author planted according to Van Gogh's ideas. All of Fell's books are great (I am getting quite a collection), but he really outdid himself with this one.

Photography and an artistic view of the garden by a true gardener. This is the path to paradise for anyone who wants escape from the urban jungle. Even if you can't own a garden, you can imagine your own secret garden with the influence of Vincent Van Gogh.

Derek Fell is a fine photographer and a fine writer about things horticultural. In VAN GOGH'S GARDENS he marries these talents and in doing so has produced a unique book that is bound to fascinate lovers of gardens, Van Gogh devotees, art collectors and museum visitors, and just about everyone who delights in understanding the motivations of artists when viewing their subjects.

Fell selects particular paintings by Van Gogh then shows the point of inspiration by photographing the areas visited by van Gogh in his lifetime. Yes, there are the ubiquitous sunflowers, comparing the flowers to the canvas versions of them. But there are also the trees that are part of van Gogh's legacy rarely mentioned. His twisted trunks and branches of olive trees side by side with Fell's gorgeous photographs of the particular types of olive trees that inspired the painter create an art course for the astute observer. His lilac bushes/trees that mesmerized the artist are shared as are the many plants the artist interpreted.

Balancing fine photography with excellent reproductions of canvases is an art in itself and Derek Fell has created not only a visual splendor but writes with the depth of a horticulturalist's knowledge that makes this beautiful volume all the more seductive. A very fine addition to the literature on van Gogh. Grady Harp, November 06

This lavish book of lush photographs has won Derek Fell another award - the Garden Globe Award for Best Photographer from the Garden Writers Association of America. Derek was one of only five individuals selected out of a field of more than 300 entries to receive a 2002 Garden Globe Award for work produced during 2001. This award could easily make Derek the winner of more awards from Garden Writers than any other garden communicator. The book was selected by a panel of garden communication experts - some Pulitzer Prize winners themselves -- who look for the best books, magazines, writers and photographers in the country. This book is more than a collection of beautiful photographs. Derek uses the painter's personal interpretations, color theory and painting techniques to inspire you to re-create van Gogh's breathtaking paintings in your own backyard. Derek even includes tips on creating the picture perfect van Gogh garden of your own, complete with a list of van Gogh's favorite plants. To view all the Garden Globe Awards...

This book is a great combination of learning about Van Gogh as an articulate gardener, nature lover, and color connoisseur as well as the artist as we already know him. It is a touching story told in a way that allows us to understand how Van Gogh used all these parts of his life and about the intensity with which he lived. His incredible appetite and curiosity about color combinations, the thought that went behind his choices of plants using color and texture as guide, and how he shared these experiences in letters to family. The pictures are gorgeous and yes, it has had an effect on the garden I am currently working on. How can one not be influenced by such genius. My thoughts on what goes into my garden & color perspective will forever be somewhat different, and made better, for having read this book. This book will give everyone who reads it a different way of looking at all gardens, plants, trees - and their selection of all these for their own garden.

If you are interested in the Consulting Industry....it doesn't get better than this! This is a great comprehensive guide to the various companies and their focus areas. Great jump start on finding where you belong in the world of consulting.

I found this guide to be immensely helpful in getting the real story - good, bad and ugly - about the consulting industry and the leading consulting firms. I would highly recommend reading this guide.

For individuals exploring consulting positions, this is a must read book. You will learn about corporate culture for the most prestigeous consulting forms in the US. Not all consulting is the same, nor are the firms that employ the top talent. Before you make a move, check the Vault Guide and you will know what to expect. Exellent reference, to the point and worth every penny.

I found this guide to be immensely helpful in getting the real story - good, bad and ugly - about the leading consulting firms. The book also has a fascinating new poll/ranking of the 50 most prestigious management consulting firms to work for. (As might be expected, the consultants surveyed rated McKinsey as the #1 most prestigious and BCG as #2). I would highly recommend reading this guide.

I don't normally write reviews, but I just got this book and had to write. The book has detailed insider accounts of life inside every major consulting firm, including its history, areas of specialization, and tips on the hiring and interviewing process. Highly recommended for job seekers and consultants alike.

What a great look at our nations wars from the political perspective. Pearlman's writing style and personality pull you in and give you the impression that you are getting a look behind the scenes of American history. This is an important piece of work for those that want to understand the why of many wartime decisions.

This profound study, worthy of an Einstein, a Kafka, or a Monica Lewinsky, is the most important thing that has happened to the evolution of the universe since the discovery of the Milky Way; I men the galaxy, not the candy bar. Everybody alive (and 90 percent of those dead) should buy at least five copies, every other week. Oh yes, if you have trouble sleeping, you might try reading this book, not just buying it.

This book is original, well written and well researched. It tells the story of how domestic political decisions have affected American war-making since the Revolution. It must be read by anyone who is interested in defense, politics or history. Engagingly written with eye-opening revelations on each page, this book is one of the few books on any subject which can truly be said to be indispensible.

From my review of this work published in the Naval War College Review, Spring 2000:

Warmaking-the pursuit of political objectives by military means- ineluctably involves trade-offs not only in determining appropriate goals but also in determining the means by which they may be best pursued. While recent military action in Kosovo highlights the truth of this statement, the struggle to achieve a coherent military policy is not simply a contemporary problem for this nation. In this work, Michael D. Pearlman, a historian and associate professor at the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College, traces this problem from the pre-Revolutionary colonial wars through to the present, providing a comprehensive survey not only of America's wars but of the continual push and pull between the practitioners of military art and the politicians who direct them. In doing so, Pearlman demonstrates the difficulties faced by a pluralistic democracy in obtaining a consensus on either the most effective means for fighting a war or on justifiable ends of the wars being fought. While pursuing an explanation of the sources of these difficulties, he also illuminates a warmaking goal that is perhaps peculiar to America-that of fighting in order to banish doubts that a democracy can win its wars.

The timeliness of this work can not be overlooked. It sheds light on the recent debates on the use of force in Kosovo, as well as on the general discussion about the effectiveness of the application of military power in the pursuit of limited political goals, by opening up new avenues of understanding into the formation and execution of military policy. Written in a highly readable style that eschews both political science jargon and "military-speak," this work is a valuable addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in seeing how strategy has been determined in the actual rather than the abstract/theoretical world. It is essential reading for those who would understand the why of military strategy as well as the what.

This is a splendid and original book. It examines the faultline between military strategy and political considerations. It is an engagingly written product of a superb and fairminded thinker and thorough researcher. No matter how much you have read about military history, you are guaranteed to learn many new things. I have two faults with it - both major, but localized: first, in his analysis of WWII, he does not discuss the allocation of resources enough. Joel Davidson showed how we ended the war with a larger Navy and a smaller Army than we should have had, largely because of FDR's Navy bias, Adm. King's aggressiveness and Gen. Marshall's willingness to back down, even when he was right. I would have liked to see Mr. Pearlman direct his considerable talents to this subject. The second failing is somewhat perplexing: the author's willingness to accept the argument of a handful of JFK partisans that JFK wanted to abandon South Vietnam after the 1964 election. The only sources for this canard are a handful of intensely loyal Kennedy insiders who made these claims only after the war had become unpopular. If there were any truth to these claims, they would have surfaced when these same people were in counsels of war with the reluctant hawk, Lyndon Johnson. I'm not saying that these people are liars exactly, but that they so wanted JFK to have done the popular thing, that they created these conversations in their subconscious and came to believe them as gospel. Recent studies suggest that JFK ordered the coup against Diem because Diem was talking to Ho Che Minh; surely JFK would have let that continue if he planned to pull out. At any rate, once he had had the CIA depose Diem and completely disrupt the established government of an ally, there was no way he could bail out. Forget getting Bobby elected, there were too many people committed to Vietnam and who were privy to the coup to let JFK pull such a stunt without facing an impeachment. Despite these two shortcomings, this is one of the best works of military history that I have ever read.

Gerard Koeppel has done a remarkable job of ferretng out material and documents which demonstrate how long it took, how much cash it took, how much politicking it took to get the simple compound H2O to complex NYC. I don't mean to be glib about this. As one reviewer has noted, Manhattan without fresh supplies of water would've been another unliveable coastal town.

Just like DeWitt Clinton's Erie Canal brought goods in and out of the city, the many visionaries (Burr[for politicial and banking reasons] and Colden [for practical reasons]) gave the city an enormous insurance policy for its future which is difficult to ignore.

This book is a compelling dedication to the people who saw the need for the reservoir system and made it a reality. Sometimes the book gets bogged down with details, but that's to be expected. What wasn't expected, by this reader, was the author's perserverance and dedication to this important matter, and for that he deserves the highest accolades.

Rocco Dormarunno, author of THE FIVE POINTS, and THE FIVE POINTS CONCLUDED, A Novel

In "Water for Gotham," Gerard Koeppel tells in a compelling way what could have been--ahem--a dry story. Its focus is on the civic history of a nascent metropolis thirsty for water, the self-interested politicians who used that thirst for their own ends, and the few dedicated visionaries who labored against man and nature to bring cold, clean water to Manhattan. Koeppel paints a vivid picture of life in New York from colonial days through the early-1800s, when the Croton Aqueduct was opened.

One of the few significant criticisms I have about the book is that while it frequently discusses structures, equipment, and emerging technologies, little effort is made to clearly explain and describe them. While the book is not meant to be a technical or engineering review, better explanations (as opposed to cursory descriptions) of some of the methods of construction (e.g., dams, the aqueduct) would have been appreciated.

A second criticism is that the book ends too abruptly with the arrival of water through the Croton Aqueduct, with only passing mention of later developments to the City's extensive water supply system. An additional chapter on how the other reservoirs in the system were created--sometimes through contentious legal battles and property condemnation--and the disposition of some of the original Croton structures, would have been welcome.

Notwithstanding these minor quibbles, the book is enjoyable, informative and enlightening. Recommended.

When we turn on the tap we take it for granted that pure and wholesome water is supposed to come out. For Americans in the early 1800's, the supply of fresh water to New York City was an achievement on the order of the moon landing in our era -- carrying a river for 40 miles through hills and valleys and across rivers to a desperate island city.

The amazing story of New York's water supply has long been known to historians, infrastructure buffs and residents of the Westchester villages through which the beautiful Old Croton Aqueduct still passes. Gerard Koeppel's new book, Water for Gotham: a History, makes this story accessible to all.

Unlike previous works on the subject, which have emphasized the engineering accomplishments of the Croton Aqueduct, this book explores New York City's social and political history with a liveliness and wit that make the turbulent decades following the American Revolution come to life. Experience the terror of cholera and great fires, the antics of scoundrels and demagogues, and the heights of idealism, dedication and genius that are all intertwined in this epic tale.

Mr. Koeppel's book is impressively researched and is a true contribution to our understanding of New York history. That a work of non-fiction is so lively and engrossing is another reminder that truth is stranger than fiction.

The book illustrates the folly of trusting our elected officials. How often did they use a public fear to enrich their own pockets? The sordid ancestory of the Chase Manahattan Bank is a case in point that Gerard Koepell, a person who I shared classrooms with when we were growing up, brings out particularly well. The point of history is for us to learn from our collective experiences and Gerard lays it all out for us. Gerard points out that at first no one knew about cholera and it's relationship to contaminated water. I had no idea that well into the 1800s people from New York had no running water or toilets and used the streets as their "trash" depositories. What else did the book teach me? Politicians in the past had no stomach for a long-term project or long-term thinking ... Politicians were/are corrupt and weak-minded and despite the huge legislative bodies, politicians are overwhelmed and the real laws and decisions are made by 1 or 2 people and everyone else is, at best, a yes-person. The status quo is often very comfortable. In old New York, beer was a relatively safe drink because of the brewing process (ie boiling) and New York had great economic incentive to keep people drinking beer instead of water. What are the present day unrecognized-evils? Air quality? I worry that the tremendous rise in urban asthma will eventually transform into an increased risk of lung cancer, even in the non-smokers. What interests are happy with the status quo of our air? Automobile manufacturers? Oil companies? The Advertising Industry? The Media? The Pharmaceutical Industry? Anyway the book is great food for thought. Gramatically some of the sentences, particularly in the early chapters are attention grabbing gems. And that is from someone who was hit with a tennis raquet by the author. Good work Gerard! END

It is about time that an in-depth book on the subject of New York's water supply was completed. The author has done a fabulous job of putting a highly readable work together that brings to life a period we rarely think about and a topic hardly considered in our hurried modern lives. Reality, however, is that New York without water would be just another coastal town. Those interested in a photographic history of the same topic should seek The Croton Dams and Aqueduct which will be publihsed by Arcadia Press in August of 2000.