Adam Books

I had heard from several astrologer teachers about Evangeline Adams.
So, I ordered the two books by this author about her. Foreseeing the Future was a very informative biography about the lady and how astrology was viewed back in "the days." The story covers her life and how she did her own thing back when that was unheard of. I know of many astrologers who would love to make $50 a half hour for their interpretive work. This is what Evangeline Adams made back in the beginning of the 20th century.
Another extremely interesting book about an astrologer is Hanussen by Mel Gordon. He was a contemporary but lived in Europe. Put the two stories together for a fascinating view on astrology in the late 19th century up until WWII.

Christino does a really good job with biography. Adams seemed particularly talented at creating an aura of glamour around herself. She put herself forth as the image of astounding insight which drew in the customers and fans. Her biographer does a very objective job of teasing out probable truths, and pointing out the little we know and the lot that we don't know about the real Evangeline Adams. Christino had a lot of judgment calls to make regarding her subject, and she seems to have used on-target perception one might expect of an author who is also astrologer herself.

Readers who enjoyed The Queen's Conjurer by Benjamin Wooley will most likely also enjoy this book.

There are precious few books which address the history of the occult in a sensible manner. Foreseeing the Future: Evangeline Adams and Astrology in America does it very well indeed. Though author Karen Christino is obviously sympathetic to her biographical subject, the early 20th century astrologer Evangeline Adams, she tries to be objective in assessing her life and work. I personally found this refreshing, as it allows the reader to make up his or her own mind. Do we believe that Adams was a terrific astrologer or someone who exaggerated her successes in order to impress the public? Did she really forecast World War II or the stock market crash of 1929? It's up to the reader to decide, since Christino documents the facts and examines Adams as a real person and not just a legend. We're given insight into what drove Adams to such an unusual profession in 1900, her troubles with the law and her unfulfilling marriage to a much younger man.

I especially enjoyed the sections describing the development of the occult in the U.S., including information on palmistry and spiritualism and Adams' relationship with the infamous magician Aleister Crowley. If you're intrigued by astrology, the occult or New Age topics and are tired of all the flaky, off-the-wall books out there, you will enjoy Foreseeing the Future. It brings a sometimes mysterious topic down to earth and tells a terrifically entertaining yarn at the same time. I loved it!

This an excellent book written by an attorney and business person. I have purchased other books on corporations but was vastly dissappointed. This one is excellent.

Highly recommended!

J.W. Dicks is a busisnessman with actual in the field experience and an attorney with the legal background.

While there are many books on how to incorporate, this one is written by a man who has/is in business, thinks like a businessman but also understands and knows the legal jargon.

I highly recommend this book along with the Small Business Legal Kit also by J.W. Dicks and Inc. Yourself by Judith H. McQuown.

Whether you are contmplating starting your own business or are already in one and need good, accurate information on how to incorporate, this book is a must read for. You will find all of the information you need and the necessary forms. Also recommend The Small Business Legal Kit by J.W.Dicks which is 450 pages of with a disk and easy to fill in the blanks forms. You can become your own lawyer.

Anybody who is interested in the intellectual landscape of left-wing cultural studies, yet had bitter time reading them, will find this book very accessible. Adam Roberts scholarly depicts how Hegelian-Marxism and Freudism (classic model) have evolved into Althusserian-Marxism and Lacanian-psychoanalysis. Within that context, Roberts kindly explains how Jameson has formalized his cultural theorem. In addition, structuralism and post-structuralism is well compared both philosophically and aesthecially. Readers will gain both intellectual trajectory of Jameson and historical claims of left-wing cultural scholars during post-modern era.

For those who have a hard time penetrating Jameson's notoriously difficult writing style (including myself), I highly recommend Adam Roberts' brief introduction to one of the most seminal Marxist critics of our time. This book does a nice job introducing difficult subjects such as Marxist theory and Lacanian psychoanalysis. Definitely worth my money.

I found this book tremendously helpful when attempting to trudge through Jameson's dense academic writing. This book not only sets out a chronological development of Jameson's arguments, but also provides many of his theoretical influences, from Marx to Lacan. In addition, difficult terms (such as "cognitive mapping" or "schizophrenia") and fellow critics (e.g. Habermas) are presented in an easily understood manner. Roberts' writing is clear, concise, and articulate, threading easily through many of Jameson's more difficult concepts. Highly recommended.

With so many twists and turns and surprises, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Well written so that you got to know the characters--liked them while trying to understand them.

This book allows the reader to share insights into a world many of us know little or nothing about. At the same time, this is a mystery that keeps one riveted to each page and I personally blame the author for my sleep deprivation in order to keep reading late into the night...

This is a good book. I read this book in two sittings and enjoyed every page of it. The story flows well and always leaves you guessing about what will happen next. At the end of some chapters I found myself thinking "I can't wait to see where this is going". Also, the ending is fantastic, what a suprise. This is one book I will put on my Holiday list to buy for my reading friends. A friend told me "you have to read this book". He and I are avid readers who are always looking for new authors. I am looking forward to Mr. Kamms next book.

To the author: I can't tell you how fantastic I think it is that all of your hard work on this book really paid off. To me, it wasn't merely a history book; it was an opportunity to stand beside the men you described and to watch them be who they are. I could see the wear and tear on their clothes and almost smell the baked-in odors of days and months without baths.

From Home Guards to Heroes is a thoroughly researched, creative, and engaging history of the 87th Pennsylvania Infantry and the primary location from which its members came, Adams and York Counties, Pennsylvania. (Reviewer's disclosure: my great-great-great uncle, Daniel P. Reigle, was a member of Company F of the 87th, leading to my personal interest in this unit.)

The foundation of this book is Brandt's extensive research: U.S. census records, nearly 2000 Compiled Military Service Records, and over 1000 pension files for 87th Pennsylvania members, in addition to those records for over 800 men from the Adams/York areas who enlisted in other units in 1861. This study yields descriptive data on the 87th and comparative data relative to men in other units on factors such as their professions, age, physical characteristics, age at death, life expectancy, American-born and foreign-born, and their personal worth in personal property and real estate at the time they enlisted. The data on 1861 enlistments (both 87th and other units) is presented with the 1860 Lincoln vote for each of the fifty-five townships and boroughs in the two counties.

The quantitative research is complemented by extensive use of newspapers, including not only major city newspapers, but the local newspapers in the Gettysburg, York, and Hanover, important for understanding the political landscape and personalities in the area. For example, in addition to the rich contemporary information yielded by those newspapers, this research also yielded the valuable recollections by Michael Heiman in the York Gazette in 1891-1892. Further, Brandt has made use of any available manuscript sources, such as the George Blotcher papers at the excellent library of the York County Historical Trust, the Thomas Crowl papers at the U.S. Army Military History Institute and Penn State University libraries, and other materials provided by 87th descendants. He uses this information to create "sketches" of each company in the 87th, and the primary officers who were instrumental in its formation and its four years of service. I have seen many of these names "on paper" in years of reading about the 87th, but I found Brandt's sketches to provide an entirely new level of perspective on the men themselves.

This is a "real people" approach to the regiment's people and history, and it does not hesitate to share information that is delicate or uncomplimentary. For example, in the unit's rush to organize, there was no attempt to make any pre-enlistment physical examination of the potential enlistees. Brandt presents data to show that this resulted in more than 11% of the 1861 enlistees leaving the service for illness or injury; by comparison, the 7th PA Reserves' Company H, recruited in the same area, conducted full physical exams and experienced less than half that level of attrition. At another level that paints a less-than-heroic picture of some of the 87th's men, the unit was chartered and recruited primarily to provide security on the important Northern Central Railroad between Harrisburg and Baltimore. Although this was critically important to the Union effort in the first year of the war, such duty was not expected to involve major combat, long marches, or significant hardships at great distances from home. As a result, there was significant consternation among some parts of the 87th when their mission changed to becoming a fighting unit in the Union Army. Brandt examines the subject of desertions in detail, both real and on paper only, especially those occurring in the aftermath of the 87th's loss of 293 men captured at 2nd Winchester during the prelude to Gettysburg in June 1863. Drawing on Ella Lonn's classic Desertion During the Civil War for perspective, he provides many details on the individual cases of some men who intended to desert and did so, but also includes cases that illustrate how men could be tagged as "deserters" unfairly due to cumbersome administrative processes,. Finally, the chapter on "South-Central Pennsylvania and Race" will undoubtedly leave readers with roots in the 87th's home territory with a better understanding of the complex views of the community on race, slavery, emancipation, and the meaning of citizenship, but also with some embarrassment in accepting in our 21st Century the opinions of our ancestors in the 19th Century. These are difficult subjects to tackle objectively and fairly, and I commend the author for doing so. It provides additional perspective for the 87th's solid performance as part of the VI Corps in 1864 and 1865.

A difficult choice for the author of any regimental history is how much detail to include on the battles in which the unit participated. Brandt made the choice to not attempt to relate in detail the battles at 2nd Winchester, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, 3rd Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek, the Petersburg Campaign including the Breakthrough on 2nd April 1865, and the Appomattox Campaign. He does include a more extensive analysis of Monocacy because of the 87th's pivotal role there in slowing down Early's advance on Washington D.C. This is clearly the right choice, in my opinion, because it enables Brandt to use the space of his book to focus on the 87th, while the reader interested in more depth on the 87th at the major battles can readily turn to other excellent studies.

This book will be of value to anyone studying the genealogy or local history of the York/Adams County area. However, I also believe this book to be of significant value to anyone interested in an indepth understanding and history of a Union infantry regiment. Although the 87th was, of course, a set of specific individuals and events, the themes, dynamics, and patterns likely have a high degree of similarity in other units. I will not only be re-reading this book more than once, but will use it as a valuable reference in my own Civil War genealogy and history research.

If you are looking for a Civil War story that is new and different this is the book for you. I was held captive from start to finish. Dennis Brandt tells, after 10 years of research, the story only he can tell. The story of the 87th Pennsylvania. It is a story about the lives of the boys from York and Adams county. Yes, Gettysburg is in Adams County but this is not another tired tale of that great story. It is instead about how the boys started their Army life rather dull, guarding railroads ect. as many battles raged on in other parts of the U.S.A. But our boys get taken captive, they escape, they die and in the end we ponder over whether The Grand Old Flag would still fly over those states south of Mason-Dixon if not for these HEROS.

In todays day and age... we need humor...
This little book my girlfriend & I found (...), and stood there looking at it from front to end!! We were literally on the floor of this store in heart wrenching, hilarious tears.... It is sooooo funny and cute... and I've been searching for this book ever since.. since I didn't purchase it that evening... I should of... Thank you Amazon.com.... you have de-stressed me... by having this book!!! It really is funny and basically it is an illustrated book...mostly just pictures of funny snowmen... sounds weird... but ya just gotta see it and I've got to have it to brighten these days!!

This little book made me laugh out loud. What a cleaver mind Mr. Scheff must have! Frosty Mugs, and his other book Ginger Snaps will make great holiday gifts. I am looking forward to more holidoodles from this illustrator.

Looking for a gift for someone who has everything? Well this is the one. Fun little cartoons which sometimes are even like a riddle for you to figure out but once you do you'll be laughing eggnog out your nose. B.O. Frosty, Frosty gets the Mumps and Larry Curly And Moeman (snowman with 3 stooges faces on each snowball) are some of my favorite but you have to see them to get the jokes. Also look for others in the series Like "Ginger Snaps"- Happy Hollidoodles

You will not find a better book than Future Savvy on how to cultivate a forecasting mindset. I teach futuring workshops for mid-career professionals. I have just adopted Future Savvy as a textbook for my graduate students. Why? Future Savvy is accessible. It contains a wealth of managerial wisdom about bias traps, perceptive frameworks, change drivers and change blockers. You may know your industry, but Future Savvy will help you think beyond the limits of trend extrapolation to analyze your changing macro context. It will teach you how to define a cone of uncertainty for your division or product line, and weigh the likelihood of alternatives disrupting your business. Finally, you will take away questions to ask any business or government forecast, to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Yes, you could find a more technical book on forecasting methods. You could get a more detailed book on short-term operational business forecasting. You could even buy a more entertaining book on erroneous predictions. But you will not find a better book to under gird both sense making and decision making in an organizational context. Unlike a lot of futurist fluff out there, this book delivers on its promise.

'Future Savvy; Identifying Trends to Make Better Decisions, Manage Uncertainty, & Profit from Change', by Adam Gordon;

While reviewing this book, my curious mind somehow retrogresses to the early eighties, which had given me my first exciting encounter with strategic management, more specifically, the domain of planning & forecasting.

I was then involved in corporate planning & research of a Malaysian conglomerate based in Singapore.

I recall my first introductory book, among a few others (including George Steiner's 'Strategic Planning'), to help me understand & appreciate the basics of horizontal scanning, was actually Francis Aguilar's 'Scanning the Business Environment'. It was in fact my excellent field guide for many years.

Since then, I had become very fascinated by the subject of planning & forecasting, venturing into new ancillary fields like futurology or future studies, trend tracking, even after I had left the corporate world in the early nineties.

I had even joined the World Future Society & other learned institutions to gain more access to available resources.

From that subsequent period onward, all the way right up to even today, as part of my own strategy consulting as well as personal development, I began to develop a deep interest in state-of-the-art stuff like anticipatory management & developing strategic foresight.

Over the ensuing years, I have amassed, read & digested a whole gamut of good books as well as interesting articles, including watching webcasts & listening to podcasts.

It has never dawn on me that all the books on exploring the future & intelligence gathering, which I have now acquired in my personal library, could be placed on a continuum, just for the purpose of seeing where all the books stand syntopically, until recently:

- at one end, I have acquired the books that pertain to the broader methodologies of "exploring the future & scanning the horizon", e.g. 'The Art of the Long View' (Peter Schwartz), 'Strategic Foresight: Standing in the Future' (Nick Marsh), 'Futuring: The Exploration of the Future' (Edward Cornish), 'Thinking about the Future' (Peter Bishop), & including the works of Alvin Toffler, John Naisbitt, James Canton, Kees van der Heijden, Edie Weiner & Arnold Brown, Richard Slaughter, Peter Drucker, Joel Arthur Barker, Jennifer James, Margot Cairnes, Chantell Ilbury & Clem Sunter, just to name a few;

- at the other end, I have acquired the books that pertain to the tools of "sculpting information into informed decisions, & in turn, shaping the latter into incisive actions, with the effective use of technology", e.g. 'Information Management for the Intelligent Organisation' (Chun Wei Choo), 'InfoThink' (Mary Park), 'Info-Sense' (Keith Devlin), 'The Warning Solution' (Kristan Wheaton), 'Inside Information' (DVL Smith), 'Hearing the Voice of the Market' (Vincent Barabba), & including the works of Benjamin Gilad, George Day, Paul Schoemaker, Bob Johansen, Alain Martin, Frederick Timmerman, Thomas Buckholtz, just to name a few;

Standing back, with 'Future Savvy' right in front of me, I somehow feel very strongly that the author, Adam Gordon, has done a great job of more or less plugging the imaginary gap between the two perceived extremes, & thus pulling & tugging the twain together, resulting in an offering with the best of both worlds, so to speak.

More signifcantly, the author has provided us with a deliberate & disciplined critical thinking routine for coping with a rapidly-changing world.

I have really enjoyed perusing 'Future Savvy', especially for its battery of critical tests to evaluate the validity - also, exercise quality control & ensure 'future-fit' (between our strategic initiatives & the world out there) - of information from the torrential myriad of sources, like newspapers, economic insights from TV stations, conference presentations, industry papers, etc.

For me, I have found my favourite chapters to be those towards the second half of the book, from chapter 7 to 11.

As a matter of fact, I reckon that the last chapter, Chapter 11, offering the well-thought 'forecast filtering' checklist, together with the preceding chapter, Chapter 10, covering many case examples of application, is actually worth the price of the entire book.

I also appreciate the author's many fine distinctions, e.g. future-aligning vs future-influencing forecasting, point forecasts vs multiple scenarios, the dynamics of system variables in a forecast, maintaining a wise balance between uncertainty/complexity & quantitative modeling, etc.

In a nut shell, the author has shown in great detail how to come up with realistic predictive statements, so as to dovetail or resonate in some way with our particular circumstances, fortuitous timing & even good fortune, which often play into eventual outcomes.

The book is almost written like a scholarly exposition, but the author, fortunately, doesn't bother the reader with historical facts & theoretical perspectives often found in forecasting books.

With succinctness & clarity, he goes straight into the jugular to help readers to identify the factors that most often derail the potentially good predictive process.

His principal premise is very clear from the start: "Forecasts are a crucial decision-making success resource . . . but these forecasts are often badly done or done with a purpose to influence the future (i.e. not to neutrally predict it.) . . ."

He argues that, as decision-makers, we "need to be able to judge how good a forecast is - so as to know how to or whether to factor it into our world view".

Also, again as decision makers, we "need to be able to critically judge which predictive statements are worth planning for & investing in".

To end this review, I must qualify that this book does not supercede or diminish the importance of all the other book resources I have highlighted earlier. Those mentioned books are worth pursuing on their own, especially if you are like me, always wanting to have a clearer view of the future.

To take a creative cue from creativity guru Michael Hewitt-Gleeson from Down Under, a BVS (better view of the situation) > (greater than; which is measured as a ten times by this author;) CVS (current view of the situation).

From my perspective, both as a consumer & a practitioner, Adam Gordon's 'Future Savvy' is definitely a highly useful & much-needed addition to the strategy repertoire of a 21st century manager.

[Incidentally, more information about Adam Gordon & his work can be found at his weblog on Amazon.

Also, very interestingly, he has acknowledged in his book that Peter Bishop, author of 'Thinking about the Future: Guidelines for Strategic Foresight', another wonderful book from my perspective, especially for its 115 superb guidelines, as his teacher & mentor for many years.]

Reviewed by Lee Say Keng, Knowledge Adventurer & Technology Explorer, November 2008

Adam Gordon explains how to "identify trends to make better decisions, manage uncertainty, and profit from change." To the extent possible, he presents the material in layman's terms so that it is accessible to those who have only recently begun a career in business as well as to C-level executives. It will hardly be an "easy read" for the former, to be sure, but he patiently explains the fundamentals (including nomenclature) of forecasting. The audience he has in mind includes decision makers in commercial, policy, and nonprofit sectors but also "ordinary people" in daily life; in fact, he hopes that his book will help almost everyone "to make better judgments about predictions they read and hear, so they can appropriately plan for an profit from the future." Given recent developments in the US economy and their implications and probable impact insofar as the global economy is concerned, the publication of this book is indeed timely.

As Gordon explains, he follows a middle course "between an uncritical reliance on prediction and overcynical dismissal of it" as he examines subjects that include the broad categories of forecasts, evaluation of the forecast information and data, forces "that drive and block change...and how forecasts deal with them," the role of value (or "utility") when determining the direction of and timing of future outcomes, potential problems with trend-based forecasting, issues related to complexity (e.g. the interconnectedness of all elements of the world, how the change of one can affect all others), themes that illuminate the uses and limitations of quantitative forecasting, and approaches to forecasting based on development of alternative futures and scenarios. In Chapter 10, Gordon provides illustrations of the processes of forecast filtering by apply it to sample forecasts that decision makers in business and policy areas might interact with in negotiating the future. "The aim is to demonstrate how examples of real-world foresight may be probed following the principles developed in previous chapters. Then in the next and final chapter, Gordon notes that forecasts "are an indispensable but highly patchy guide to the world of tomorrow" and, for that reason, offers a series of questions (with annotations) that should be asked of any forecast.

For me, some of the most valuable material is provided in Chapter 8. Gordon acknowledges that there is no perfect tool for approaching high complexity, high-uncertainty situations. However, systems dynamics "does tackle complex situations head-on and gives us some advantages in anticipating `archetypal' change situations, thus alerting us to forecast errors." He explains how systems are modeled, why reinforcing loops can be either "vicious" or "virtuous" cycles, why balancing loops are "the change dampers," how to chart multiple simultaneous causes and effects, why causal loops are nonpredictive, how to anticipate systemic effects on personal behavior, how to anticipate critical mass and "tipping points," how to anticipate forecasts designed to stimulate a virtuous cycle, how to anticipate S-curves and the limits of change, how to anticipate accelerations or delays, how to anticipate oscillations and pendulum swings, and how to question the "exponential change view." In fact, Gordon asserts that the exponential change view is invalid and why forecasts based on this view will overestimate change.

As I read the material in this chapter, I was reminded of a Hebrew aphorism that suggests that man plans and then God laughs. Gordon seems to agree, suggesting that any forecast is (at best) only a "best guess" at what could happen in "the world of tomorrow." Hence the importance of possessing sufficient and current information. Also the importance of rigorous and redundant verification so that the information is updated in a timely manner. And the importance of challenging all assumptions and premises. Gordon also points out that good forecasting "is as much about seeing what won't change in the future. Even in fast-moving situations, not everything will change. In fact, many human and social needs and aspirations are timeless." True, this is not an "easy read" but Gordon refuses to dumb-down the material and I appreciate that. Also, the fact that he is not infatuated (obsessed?) with any one system or methodology, although he obviously has his preferences and valid reasons for them.

Those who read this book and then wish to read more about the subject are urged to check out the "Further Reading" section. More a quibble than a complaint, I wish Gordon had provided some annotations with the sources he recommends or had at least identified those he believes would be of greatest interest and value to those such as I who have a significant knowledge gap to fill. That said, this book is a brilliant achievement for which I congratulate him.

This book convinced me to travel and made me want to see the world. You could connect with Ben, and his experiences make you laugh outloud. Definitely a must read for those who are travellers or those who have always wanted to travel.

So many funny stories that you wonder what can possibly happen next. This is great, especially if you're a guy and you want to know what not to do in a foreign country! Go buy it.

An excellent rollercoaster ride of a book, with more ups and downs than snakes and ladders! The book chronicles a young man's adventures as he travels the world looking for love and excitement, and by the time you reach the heart-breaking climax, you will either want to start again from the begining, or book the first flight to south america!

This book is great for tween and teen girls. It speaks to modern society's way of putting pressure on girls to be perfect all the time. You're Amazing makes a distinction between the "Supergirl" (the stressed-out girl who is afraid to fail and always trying to impress everybody) and the "Amazing Girl" (the girl who tries her best, stays confident, asks questions, and makes space for herself and her opinions in the world). It's a great read, and has lots of fill-in section where girls can journal about their own thoughts and experience, and create positive and affirming text messages to send to each other. Very empowering! -- Karen Macklin (author of "Indie Girl")

Society asks so much of its teenagers, so what is a teenager to do? "You're Amazing: A No-Pressure Guide to Being Your Best Self" is a guide aimed at teenage girls to better deal with the stress that is being a teenage girl. It tackles the problems with sound advice, touching on topics such as high school, balancing family, friends, and yourself, young romances, and so much more. "You're Amazing" is the perfect gift to any stressed out teenager.

I bought this book for my two daughters. It's smart, interesting and insightful. A wonderful tool to help girls navigate the sometimes overwhelming experience of simply growing up.

Bravo to these ladies for making co-habitation fun! All too often I get caught up in expectations - mostly from myself. This book taught me to laugh at it all and just have fun being with the guy who's sleeping next to me. That's all it really has to be after all - a good time. Thank you authoresses for a fantastic read!

I did enjoy reading this book and it is very helpful for someone who is unsure about how it is going to work out living with someone. It gives you live scenarios from real people's situations. I found that this book was greatly helpful in my decision to move in with my boyfriend. It made realize a few things as well. Something I suggest everyone read for one reason or another when considering moving in with her man.

What a great book for our generation! So many women choose co-habitation before marriage but we are limited in the advice we can seek. "The Good Girls Guide to Living in Sin: The New Rules for Moving In With Your Man" is filled with great advice to consider before taking the next step in your relationship. It is insightful, humorous, and filled with great advice. There are plenty of books to read once you decide to get married but this is the one for the "real" next step many of us take.