Richardson Books

After reading this book and putting the teaching into action, I feel such relief when I sit down at my desk. I begin with an overload of papers and I know exactly how to organize them in minutes. Just one month ago, I would look at my desk and walk out of the room because I could not cope with all the "stuff". Now I look forward to that fact that I have a system that I can use to file quickly and to find what I need even faster. Her book can be read in less than a day and her system instruction can be put in place almost simultaneously. I wish I would have read it sooner!

This book by Prof. Richardson provides an unprecedented examination of the role held by African Americans in international law. The Origins of African American Interests in International Law is not only well written, it is well presented. Mixing compelling historical events with legal analysis and even fictional narrative recreation, the book reads quickly yet pragmatically as it tackles difficult concepts and raises novel interpretations.

This amazing book's application spreads far beyond the scope of African American related law. It is filled with lessons on life that exemplifies the long lasting impact created as an entire people struggle through oppression. The Origins of African American Interests in International Law is a must read for all those interested in the roots of freedom.

This book is a collection of articles on logical positivism. You should consider the authors and table of content if you finnd it interesting. Mainly for specialists on logical positivism.

While reading _Others: Volume III_ I had an insight: Viewing American history through a third-party lens tells the REAL story, for it showcases the dissenters and apostates along the way who objected to the bipartisan consensus that transformed America from republic to Empire. Darcy G. Richardson's series of books not only tell the history of underdog parties and independent political candidates, they tell the long-suppressed true story of American history that we don't learn in government-controlled public schools.

One cannot appreciate the evolution of minor-party politics without putting the parties' electoral struggles in the context of the day. Thus, the Democratic and Republican candidates of the 1912 and 1916 presidential elections, the period this volume covers, are intimately detailed as well. The big parties rarely offered the voters any real choice, and reading a mainstream history volume will leave you feeling that Americans were uniform in their consent to the dominant national policy -- but boy, would you be wrong: The voices on the left and "right" (both sides were vehemently pro-big government) were much more hostile and less polite than they are today.

One of the highlights of _Others: Volume III_ is its coverage of the presidential election of 1912 -- the most unique in our nation's history. After all, the sitting president, Republican William H. Taft, finished THIRD in the race, forcing the GOP to revert back to its original third-party status, if only for one election cycle. What a different place America was in 1912, as the "progressives" certainly had a stranglehold on the nation. There was little difference between Theodore Roosevelt -- the nominee of the new Progressive Party, technically a third party -- and Woodrow Wilson, the Democrat who was almost assured victory by Roosevelt's entry into the race. Taft, it seems, represented Old America. He was a throwback, though imperfect, to the age of Grover Cleveland; an electoral relic whose time had passed -- quite unfortunately, in my opinion.

And of course, there were more than three candidates of note in that race. Socialist Eugene V. Debs garnered nearly 6% of the popular vote, and led the Socialist Party to unprecedented success that year and the off-year that followed. Most people with an interest in politics are familiar with Debs, but there was also a fifth candidate that year -- Prohibitionist Eugene Chafin, who also tallied an impressive vote total.

The leading "third" parties of this era continued to be the short-lived Progressives -- who were sunk by the ego-maniacal Roosevelt in 1916 -- and the Socialists and Prohibitionists. All three are detailed extensively in this volume. The latter two parties had a great deal of success, particularly the Socialists, in electing mayors, city councilmen, etc. The Prohibitionists also (sort of) elected a governor in Florida.

Of course, the Prohibition Party was largely killed by its own success. With the passage of the 18th amendment banning alcohol, the party lost its key issue. The Socialists were largely done in by internecine strife, which this book intimately details in its final two chapters. The dispute between radicals (known as "militants") and moderates makes today's LP internal warfare seem like a tea party (no pun intended). Ultimately, the Socialist Party purged itself into virtually obsolescence, and the Communist Party and the Communist Labor Party were formed on the "left" of the SP.

For libertarians, this was a bleak era -- undoubtedly the bleakest in the nation's history. Not only were anti-war protesters jailed -- as another author has said, Woodrow Wilson makes George W. Bush look like a pro-bono lawyer for the ACLU -- but there were no real champions of liberty during a time when the lesser of several evils, from a libertarian perspective, may have actually been Debs's Socialist Party! There were plenty of courageous anti-war figures, including some in the GOP, who also championed ridiculous labor laws, welfare, centralism, and of course, the dreaded Prohibition. It's also interesting to see how closely linked left-progressivism was with the banning of alcohol, since this is seen as an extreme right-wing fixation now. At least a few Socialists briefly covered in this volume were also segregationists, as were many others on the "progressive" left. This, of course, is very "inconvenient" for today's leftists to admit.

_The Others: Volume III_ is now only the best of the series (so far), it is also the best book on the history of the era I've ever read. After reading Volume IV, I'm going to go back and read Volumes I and II again so I can give them more thorough reviews at Amazon. These are truly astonishing works of history, and every lover of third-party politics -- or simply American history -- should own them.

Having known nothing about this book I picked it up at the library based on the funny title. He explores the southern part of Spain; Grenada, the Canary Islands, ect. and writes about some of the lost culture and events that are little known and in danger of being overrun by modern growth (such as silbo, terrace jumping, calabazo, and canarian stick-fighting called garrote).Even while he went to a few of the places where others have been he seems to experience from a totally different perspective making you feel like you empathize from a unpresumptious perspective (instead of seeing the canary islands from a tourists view). His funny travels also take him to lesser-known villages where he takes part in recovering the practice of shepherding, festivals, and old traditions.

Patient Handbook To Medical Care: Your Personal Health Guide by J. L. Richardson (a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who has completed her residency training at Georgetown University) is a helpful, practical, "reader friendly" guide to a comprehensive understanding of what it is like to be a medical patient and how to get what you need to make competent medical decisions. Teaching readers on how to keep medical records and a medical diary as well as their importance in making good medical decisions, what to expect from a doctor visit to ensure valid and appropriate medical attention, information about medical tests and specialists, and even what to look for and/or require in a managed healthcare plan, Patient Handbook To Medical Care acts for properly aiding in becoming an informed patient. Patient Handbook To Medical Care is very highly recommended to everyone searching for an accessible, jargon free format with which to analyze their own health records and retain a positive doctor-patient relationship.

With poetic phrasing and mythic images of ancient times, Richardson spins a fantasy tale that might exist in any year. The Peacock's Stone is the story of a chance event that causes a ripple effect throughout a community. Shahumin, an eleven-year-old and deeply thoughtful girl, ventures outside her safe pocket of beliefs, only to return with answers that might shake her village to the core. Is this coincidence? If nothing in life is truly left to chance, then we position ourselves in space and time and reap the rewards of our actions. For Shahumin, it is a hard lesson to learn that many are not quite ready to witness the truth, but there is a reward for maintaining her faith, and by the end of her journey, this admirer of custom and story is crafting a lasting tale of her own.

Richardson has produced a masterly synthesis of Andean prehistory. The book is well-written, without jargon. Professional and layperson alike will find it a fascinating story and the source of many ideas to be tested in the coming decades. It is superbly illustrated with color maps and many photos, all in color except for old archival shots in B&W. Although some scholars might object to the overtly environmentalist perspective, this reviewer finds the approach convincing while providing coherence to the panoply of the Andean past. And all of this for under $20--for which the Smithsonian Institution should be roundly applauded

A really great practical handbook for smaller company owners who do not have the overhead support of large sales and marketing groups.
Following the steps outlined creates a road map that can be followed in order to produce results.
The book gives step by step methods and processes that are well defined and easily understood. There is also a great chapter with contributions by customers and other practioners that adds depth to understanding the dynamics of winning new business.
A great buy.

I can't think of a better pocket guide for sales people than this little book. It's "don't sell, help them buy" approach is not entirely new, but this is a concise, practical, easy to use presentation of techniques that work. And it has a great tag line: "Open the door. Close the deal." The five steps--"Connect," "Explore," "Leverage," "Resolve" and "Act" provide a clear organization of the material. There are brief explanations, examples of hypothetical applications and great review check sheets at the end of each chapter. My experience is that business people, and particularly those in sales, do not have the time or inclination to read many books. And when they do they want something that is easy to grasp, quickly, that will make a difference to their lives the next day. This book delivers.

I come to this with many years experience in sales training for small businesses and also large ones (owned by corporations such as W.R. Grace and Dow Chemical). "Perfect Selling" is directed to those already committed to doing it. That is often not the case with lawyers, accountants, business owners and even customer representatives. These people need a reorientation on the importance of sales (not only as a source of revenue, but also as a way to understand the needs of customers that help shape the products and services they offer). Without the proper attitude, I'm afraid this type of person feels hypocritical, as if selling were taking him or her away from their real job. Selling is everyone's job. And in that way I would like to have seen at least a page or two relating selling to marketing, advertising and public relations. I feel that success comes from a corporate sales culture, not merely individuals who assume that this is their task alone.

That's not a criticism of the book. It meets its objectives fully and focuses on areas that need most attention. Two things that I feel really valuable are: 1) the importance of doing background research on prospects from their web sites, 2) debriefing--either by self-assessment or with a partner--after a sales call. This book provides excellent points to check in order to do both. I might have brought up the distinction between "open" and "closed" questions before talking about objective questions, current situation questions, technical questions and future and personal needs questions. But that is minor. I love the terms "Constructing," "Prefacing" and "Drilling Down" and the advice to, "Resolve objections with your customers, not for them." Pages 153-154 offer a great, selling action-plan in a nutshell. If I were still active in sales, I'd tape that to my computer monitor, the front of my appointment calendar or to the sunvisor of my car. Like a great poem, it says everything.