Douglas Books

While this book would be leisure reading to only the most dedicated UN or FDR follower, it is one of the best books I could find for a report on the subject. The book is quite thorough and the different aspects the authors discussed gave me a greater understanding of the process. Many of the decisions made prior to the creation of the UN were delicate with the opposing desires of Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin. This book explains how Roosevelt contributed along with other factors that affected his moves including early influences from Wilson's League of Nations. Although this book would not be for everybody, it is a must read for those with a genuine intrest--or a school report--on this subject.

60 million people died in World War II. 18 million died in World War I. The financial costs were huge. Franklin Roosevelt was determined to prevent a third world war, and to foster stability and prosperity in the world. His plan worked, though the U.N. has not unfolded as he envisioned.

This insightful book examines the creation of the U.N. and today's issues. Below is an abbreviated review by H-Net I found on the Internet:
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Reviewed by Matthew S. Magda, Sacred Heart University.
Published by H-USA (December, 1997)
FDR and the Creation of the U.N.

The United Nations has received renewed attention since the end of the Cold War. In the early 1990s, especially following the success of the U.N.-authorized coalition against Iraq's military seizure of Kuwait, hopes rose among internationalists that the United Nations would now play its proper role as primary deterrent of international aggression. No longer fettered by the rivalry between the most powerful members of its Security Council, the United Nations could begin functioning as the guarantor of international peace and prosperity...

Currently, Americans are involved in both rational and emotionally-charged discussions about the future role of the United Nations and its potential impact on U.S. foreign policy... There are those who argue that a strong United Nations is essential because it will serve the long-term interests of the United States to have an institution with legitimate international credentials to turn to for help in settling conflicts and subduing threats to global stability. This latter view is shared by the authors of FDR and the Creation of the U.N.

In the Preface of their book, Townsend Hoopes and Douglas Brinkley tell readers that they hope to add needed historical perspective to the current debate on the future role of the United Nations. They believe that by doing so, they will remind Americans and others of the vital role played by Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United States in the creation of the United Nations. Finally, they seek to elevate understanding and discussion so that Americans would come to a more reasoned and consistent support for an institution which "embodies the highest hopes of mankind"

Hoopes and Brinkley explain how the failure of the League of Nations shaped the ideas of FDR and American policymakers... The absence of a strong League enabled aggressor states to pursue expansionist policies which eventually led to World War II. Therefore, FDR was determined that the mistakes of the past would be avoided. He wanted the United States to be a leader in the formation of a postwar international security organization.

... Hoopes and Brinkley believe that international peace depends on the formula first developed by FDR: a United Nations organization firmly backed by the United States. Such a formula worked well to deter aggression in Korea in the early 1950s and in the Persian Gulf in the 1990s.

FDR and the Creation of the U.N. is well written and its central idea persuasively argued. Readers will especially appreciate its tight organization with ample headings to identify topics or issues...

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The Final Voyage of the Sea Explorer by Douglas Boren is a book of fiction in motion that is threaded with descriptive and vivid reality. It is a story that only a master scuba diver could tell, and one that is aimed at young adult readers. Danger, adventure, and mystery lurk throughout the pages, but this is balanced by the delight of young, blossoming love, bonding friendships, and the feeling of independence that young adults enjoy when they are on vacation away from their parents.

And how did this scuba diving vacation in the Bahamas come about? Josh Alexander is given this vacation as a special graduation present-one set up by his father. His best friend Jimmy joins him in what they expect to be a fabulous seven-day vacation of scuba diving while aboard the Sea Explorer. However, the two young men quickly learn that diving in the ocean is quite different and much more dangerous than diving in the lakes of Kentucky back home.

Potential readers who are skeptical of curses and fortune tellers might possibly change their minds after reading this book. There is a scene where Josh and Jimmy tangle with a drug dealer who becomes infuriated when he fails to talk Jimmy into making a "buy" from him. He announces that he is putting a curse on these two Americans-promising that before three days pass, death will fall upon them. A fortune teller later predicts that the two young men will be facing dire circumstances, offering some advice that Josh comes to fully understand at the end of the voyage.

Is there any book written about deep sea diving that doesn't touch upon a buried treasure? Probably so . . . but readers won't be disappointed when reading about this treasure and the legend behind it. Josh and Jimmy briefly view the remains of a shipwreck that had occurred centuries earlier-a ship that supposedly carried a treasure of Spanish gold worth millions. When Josh discovers that this is the ship linked to an ancestor of his, he is stunned. But he doesn't have much time to think about this as he struggles for his life-everyone on the Sea Explorer faces a life and death situation. Some survive; others do not.

As an older adult, I found this story intriguing as it gave me a picture of ocean depths in vivid detail. The scenes described in the book are literally breathtaking. I can now understand my own son's passion for scuba diving. Though not a book of many pages, it is exciting, fast-paced and will continuously have readers wondering what is going to happen next.

It is often difficult for a writer to go back into time and portray the feelings of the younger generation . . . to understand them in the present, apart from his or her past. However in The Final Voyage of the Sea Explorer, this author, during seven days of a vacation, literally becomes Josh, the main character. The ending provides a perfect opportunity for a treasure hunt and a sequel to this adventure. If it is written, I believe readers will be eagerly awaiting the publication.

I had the unique opportunity to read Doug's latest before actual publication. Now 'The Final Voyage of the Sea Explorer' has been updated and published for all to enjoy.

Doug's latest novel is a thrilling journey into a world I knew little about going in. Doug paints a breathtaking landscape of the sea; her majestic beauty as well as her penchant for danger. As with his first novel, the civil war action/adventure 'BEYOND THE HORIZONS', The characters come alive on the page and his dialogue, as usual, is sharp and realistic.
I swear I could taste the salt water and feel the ocean's warm breezes in my hair! The man knows of what he writes! An exiting tale for readers of any age, 'Sea Explorer' should be on anyone's reading list who cannot quite bank that Bahamas vacation! They say 'write what you know', well obviously Doug Boren has done just that with this thrilling action/adventure!

A true adventure in the old-fashioned sense of the word.

Highly recommended!



Terry Vinson

Author of 'PASSPORT TO HELL'

This book, as with all the previous books in this series, provides an excellent overview of the Liabilities and Responsibilities faced by financial institution directors.

Now in its fifth edition, Financial Institution Director's Liabilities and Responsibilities is a must read for all new board members. New editions contain updated information concerning the impact of FIRREA and FDICIA. The author can be contacted in Toledo, OH.

Over the next few years, the community bank Board of Directors will be less of a Good Old Boy social club. Many of the CEOs we deal with are very serious about re-vitalizing their boards.

Given the competitive nature of the financial services sector, fresh thinking at the Board level is now seen as mandatory.

But if you are offered a Board seat at a community Bank, don't accept the assignment until you have read Dr. Douglas Austin's perceptive and readable analysis.

For example, did you know that you can be held PERSONALLY liable for losses resulting from fraud of officers, if ordinary care and attention would have prevented their actions?

Have I got your attention now?

Over 75,000 copies have been sold since 1984. The book is in its fourth edition.

Larry Stybel The Board of Directors' Resource Center Boston, MA

This book is a gem. It explains the fundamentals underlying FEM and also has examples of practical applications. The overall presentation is clear, easy to read, and rigorous. It is an excellent introduction to the topic that I find myself referring back to time and again.

I haven't found a better book out there to explore Finite Element. The author covers all important topics, spending time to get the necessary information and then moves on. Great for an introduction and as a reference.

To use the tag line of this production "Rejection has never been so hilarious!" is so true. No truer words are spoken

When Annabelle Gurwitch was fired from a Woody Allen Play, she gathered friend's & coworkers, and got essays of being fired. This collection is a laugh riot. If you have not seen this show performed or the DVD, this is a private audio for you and anyone who may be listening with you.

This CD also has former NPR columnist Tsing Loh's "The F that could" with bleeps . . . I wished there was an un-bleeped version, I want to hear it. You know even with all the BLEEPS, you will laugh, string and long, at this audio essay of censorship

There are a few weak stories in this CD, but they are short (THANK GOD) and does not take away from the magical night where to be FIRED is king!

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

Fired is a full cast audiobook of a nonfiction play - the true stories of over a dozen different actor's experiences of being fired, some from acting jobs, some from summer jobs they worked as a teenager, and some who worked jobs so horrible that getting fired would have been a relief. Each tale, told in the voice and words of the actor who experienced it, is a vivacious, witty, often darkly ironic look at the selfishness and foolishness of the working world in general and Hollywood's working world in particular. From Annabelle's crushing disappointment in having her idol Woody Allen "ruin my Woody Allen experience" by calling her "retarded" before dismissing her from his "uninspired, as critics would later say" production, to Sandra Tsing Loh's extremely unlikely salvation due to a Janet Jackson's naked breast on TV (Ms. Loh just happened to be fired for obscenity on the radio shortly before Jackson's infamous wardrobe malfunction), to Jim Turner's mind-numbing experience with a manager who would give endless speeches that were nothing but the same platitude over and over, Fired is the perfect way to forget one's own troubles by listening to (and laughing at) the troubles of others. Highly recommended.

A must publication for anyone planning on protecting his/her property from wildfires. Informative and inclusive, chock full with many helpful suggestions.

Doesn't matter where you live, everyone should read this and all would benifit. There is some wonderful information in this book and I highly recommend it to all. When will we start living in harmony with nature instead of living against it?! This book will help every community. Get it!

I read this book just two weeks before the American Mathematics Contests this year as a freshman. I had never heard of these contests, but reading this book gave me everything I need to know! With its help, I qualified for the AIME (though missed the USA math olympiad by 1 question!). If you are into math contests, trust me, this will significantly raise your score.

It's a great book, covering everything needed for the higher level AMC competitions.

Divers can attest that nothing replaces your next dive, EXCEPT being engulfed in a great novel about diving! However, diver or not, Eric Douglas's Flooding Hollywood page turner is a brilliant fiction that has the reader cheering on Mike Scott's latest adventure.

Flooding Hollywood reads like a major motion picture and provides an ideal break from the necessary surface intervals all divers must endure. However, this is pure entertainment whether you're a diver or not!...great stuff!

I bought a signed copy of this book in 1998, from Captain Akers-Douglas, who provided a very relaxed and comfortable Eurocypria flight from Paphos to Birmingham. The book is informative without being too technical. An excellent book, with good cartoon type pictures. It helped me to understand what really goes on before and during a flight. Captain Akers-Douglas is very entertaining both in print and personally, I would recommend this book to anyone who views flying as an insurmountable obstacle.

I have flown on 3 previous occasions, 6 times in all. The last time I was more nervous than ever, no logical reason for this, fear has no logic. Each flight was uneventful and safe but I am still terrified, so I decided to buy this book.
The author, a highly qualified pilot, explained everything that had concerned me about flying, the noises of the engines, the constant ding-dongs of the cabin, the reason why the plane takes off in the first place! Absolutely every fear I had is explained in this book! including absurd thoughts that go through your head!
You realise that the pilot doesn't just turn up and "turn the key of the aircraft" but that there are extensive checks and extensive preparation that goes on before you even leave home for the airport.
I am going on holiday in June 2002 and I am actually looking forward to the flight now, something I couldn't have dreamed of before I read this book. I urge anybody that is scared of flying to buy this book, because I felt it was worth every penny!
If you are a first time flyer and are nervous I also recomend this book, it explains an awful lot, answers questions, and is also very funny!

Remove the mystery from restaurant operations and understand how a professional kitchen succeeds and where it fails with THE FOOD SERVICE MANAGER'S GUIDE TO CREATIVE COST CUTTING, a guide to simple ways to save a food service operation from bleeding money. Thousands of practical insider techniques and tips come from successful professional operations around the world and cover all the basics. It's a tiny percentage which makes the difference between a profitable establishment and one out of business: it's good to have a practical step-by-step guide to reducing costs in food, beverage, operations and labor alike. A 'must' for any serious professional restaurant or cookbook collection.

I am not an accountant. Just thinking about the bookkeeping associated with profit planning and cost cutting intimidates me. The Food Service Manager's Guide To Cost directed me to accounting software and tools such as Tasty Profits and the National Restaurant Association's Chart of Accounts to keep my books in order. I thought Point of Sale systems were items of convenience and style. The book showed me that POS systems monitor inventory, staff performance and schedules, and even reports possible theft. Tricks of the Trade, testimonials from established restaurateurs, give a wealth of insight. The book reveals thousands of cost cutting secrets such as using a celebrated chef to design your menu, but not actually cook it. There are also must-see tips for decreasing profit-loss of theft and an inefficient staff. The book is humongous and every page of it is filled with applicable tips to improve your bottom line without sacrificing quality.