Sachs Books

Filled with simple tables of statistics from before and after transition policies, this book is straightforward, very readable, very enjoyable and useful. Its is pretty short, but covers all the basics for an overview of the process and transformation during what what a very successful and very fast transition. Sachs is modest and cautious in his evaluation of progress-- and yet he had reason to be proud.

Contrast this with "Privatizing Russia" wherein the authors boast about the obvious success of their theories and policy proposals and yet leave the country rife with corruption. This book also covers the theories of privatization and transition a lot less, but instead presents the case of Poland, which can be used as an example. Sometimes one real successful case study is more useful than a lot of high sounding theory.

One important takeaway though, is that Poland had it easy in that it was a small socialized country in the midst of a pretty well functioning European marketplace. As soon as it opened its economy to international trade and foreign investment, competition was introduced to all the firms-- even as they were still nationalized. The benefits of the market were immediate in competition, inputs, prices, etc. Russia had to do without this immense benefit.

This is one of the best economic books I have ever read. Filled with concise arguments and figures, Sachs makes his case for the liberalization of the Polish economy. Never boring and a very good read, this book is an inside depth into Poland's free market reforms.

I just finished the audiobook for "Seeking Sanctuary", and had to drive around for an extra hour last night as I waited to find out what happened at the end! It was the audio equivalent of a gripping page turner. It's a bit slow in the beginning, but I had a long drive, and just kept listening. The novel builds splendidly with a slow sense of menace, and eventually I just couldn't wait for the end. Very nice character development, etc. I have started searching for more fyfield novels, and not just for the long car trips.

In my search for quality, lesser known crime and suspense writers, I came across this novel by Frances Fyfield. This novel is written in a sophisticated style and will satisty readers who enjoy suspense novels but are tired of the production line novels written by better known writers. This book will especially appeal to someone with knowledge of the Roman Catholic Church - its doctrine and impact on children raised in a highly religious household. The pace is quick, with tension throughout, and clever twists and turns. The ending has its surprises and leaves the reader with much to ponder. I will definitely read more of Ms. Fyfield's books

"Two Cakes Fit for a King" is a delightfully entertaining and informative little volume featuring ten Vietnamese folktales, each fascinating in its own way. Something about these deceptively simple stories vividly reveals the worldview and attitudes of the many anonymous people who passed them down from generation to generation by word of mouth while also in their own very particular idiom addressing universal concerns that speak to us all--hard work and self-reliance, love and heartbreak, loyalty and patriotism, filial respect and family solidarity, and so on, to say nothing of a healthy regard for the many forces of nature in all of their awesome and yet precariously capricious power.

The translations are straightforward and have a nice storytelling feel to them in an unpretentiously authentic manner. An introduction by Bui Hoai Mai (whose wonderfully if self-consciously folkish illustrations grace each tale) helpfully describes the characteristics and history of Vietnamese folklore in general and then gives a brief outline of each tale's background and context of ideas and ideals. The tone throughout is very clear and accessible, making this a great book for the interested generalist as well as for those who wish to leapfrog from this introduction onto more detailed and specific treatments of Vietnamese culture and/or folklore studies. It's a thin, short little book but sitting back with it makes for an afternoon well spent.

Included in this book are the following folk tales:
1. A Daughter's Love
2. The Anger of the Waters
3. The Golden Voice
4. Princess Lieu Hanh, Tea-Seller of Ngang Mountain
5. The Infant General of Phu Dong Village
6. Three Drops of Blood
7. The Toad Is the Uncle of the King of Heaven
8. Two Cakes Fit for a King
9. The Story of Watermelon Island
10. The Story of Thach Sanh

The authors are to be thanked for bringing to us ten folktales from Vietnam.

The stories dealt with love, betrayal, hope, but also disappointment. There were kings, lovely princesses, as well as smart commoners. Like in any folktale, the good guy ended up winning. The story about the "three drops of blood" does not seem to be genuinely Vietnamese though.

This is a good introductory book for readers who would like to understand a little more about the Vietnamese and their folklore.

I thought this story was well written. I can't wait for the next book to come out. If you like Red Wall or Harry Potter this is the book for you. I disagree with RolnPokk(the person who wrote the other review). I think the way the author combines human and animal characteristics is great. If gives the story an interesting take.

M.I. McAllister has created an entertaining anthropomorphic island world where squirrels, moles, otters and hedgehogs engage in a political power struggle in the tradition of epic adventures. The story is told mainly from the perspective of Urchin, an orphan squirrel chosen to serve a noble captain in the royal tower on Mistmantle Island. A malevolent adversary to Urchin's benefactor plots to take control of the island and subjugate the other animals. Quickly thrust into the struggle, the naive Urchin must help regain the island's freedom and redress a great injustice. Along the way he learns valuable lessons about loyalty, friendship and good vs. evil.

The book reads well, with a quick pace that will engage young readers, though children under 10 may miss some of the subtle political jostling. The main characters are fully developed, but supporting players' motivations often must be taken at face value. The author borrows heavily from Shakespeare's MacBeth and Julius Caesar, and thematic elements from other classic adventure stories are also evident.

One distraction for me was the way the author picks and chooses the human aspects of the animal society. The inhabitants of Mistmantle engage in a hodgepodge of animal and human behaviors, with no explained reason. For example, they gather nuts for food but also drink wine; they trade jewels for supplies with animals from neighboring islands, but there is no commerce within the island; fortunate animals live in the stone tower, but the others live in burrows or nests instead of houses. While these inconsistencies likely won't bother young readers, I sometimes found myself thinking about them.

Brad Sachs is a prominent child and family psychologist who brings a very special expertise to "When No One Understands: Letters To A Teenager On Life, Loss, And The Hard Road To Adulthood". This 144-page compendium of experienced based commentary and advice surveys and addresses commonly held concerns shared by teenagers and includes such topics as relationships, breakups, drugs and alcohol, parents, family dynamics, coping with loss, dealing with depression, and the necessity to put life events into a workable perspective. A gifted public speaker and workshop presenter, Sachs is also a talented writer who, as a psychologist and an author, is able to communicate with equal fluency to both teens and their parents, making "When No One Understands" highly recommended and thoroughly 'user friendly' reading and a welcome addition to community library collections and personal self-help reading lists.

Brad Sachs care of a 16 year old girl who attempts suicide, using letters instead of awkward and embarrassing face to face interviews, is moving and impressive, but more than this, it sets down a road map for the key thing adolescents need - to be respected, understood, and attended to without trying to change or shape them to our needs. While sensitive to her parents fears, he slowly supports "Amanda" while she finds her own feet and clarifies her own understanding of her life and her family. Its the simple act of caring, caring enough to not mould or pressure or burden this girl, that begins slowly to set her free. Any parent of an adolescent would benefit from reading this lucid and well written set of letters. We all need to give teenagers more support, more understanding, which is not the same as passive toleration, but rather a real wish to know them, and yet give them their right to be separate people. His view that adolescence is often a period of intense LOSS, rather than the glowing idea we paint on it of freedom and independence, is a revelation, and goes far in explaining why it is so difficult and painful.

Though its always tempting for a therapist to boast in writing about a successful "case", and perhaps there is some element of this in even publishing such a book, the benefits for the reader, or for the more hide-bound
traditionalists in counselling work, are great. I think this book deserves a very wide audience, and "Amanda"
and teenagers everywhere deserve our admiration for their brave journey to selfhood.

Steve Biddulph (Launceston Australia - father, psychologist and author of Raising Boys, and The Secret Life of Men.

For anyone who is searching for spiritual answers and fears death this book gives hope and comfort. I work in the health care field and see
people struggle with death and many are unable to peacefully let go when
that time arrives. I myself,hope that I am ready to go and hold no fear.

I recently lost a brother. A friend loaned our mother this book. The book didn't answer all my questions, but it did address a significant portion of them. I found her story captivating and comforting, and I intend to buy my own copy so I can highlight the most meaningful portions. The author describes heaven as a place so wonderful that she did not want to return to her body. If you're wondering where your deceased loved ones are now, I recommend reading this book.

Embraced by the LightI had originally seen,checked out and read this book from the Public Library many years ago! It was one of the Best Books, I had ever read then or since about out of body experiences and the peace that comes from experiencing what it is like to go towards that Beautiful,glorious light! What I was after in those days when I read that book was learning about how it had felt to go up to Heaven and that Wonderful Peace that everyone experiences that goes up to Heaven for a brief time. This book will also give Great Comfort to those who have lost loved ones and the questions they may have about it.

I found this book very enjoyable. Made you want not to fear death. This is the type of book you donot want to set down. Excellent reading

If you attack this book, you are not attacking Christianity. If you want to learn something about Christianity, stay away from this book - read the Bible instead. Eadie consistently denies the foundational ideas about Jesus and salvation found in the Bible and therefore cannot be seen as a representative of Christianity any more than a Buddhist monk would be.

Believe what you want about Jesus, but understand that Embraced By The Light is not talking about the same Jesus described in the Bible.

As of yet, Jeffery Deaver has yet to disappoint me. From Rune to Lincoln Rhyme, his protagonists are very solid people. And this outing featuring Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs is a treat.

A year since the events in The Bone Collector, Lincoln and Amelia are busy with their new partnership. Amelia collects the evidence and from his very own crime lab, together they analyze what she finds. And then Lon Sellito comes calling with a case near and dear to Lincoln's heart. A killer from his past, the Coffin Dancer, is killing again and Lincoln Rhyme is on the hunt. But the Dancer is slippery and it will take both Lincoln and Amelia's best try to catch him.

I absolutely love the Rhyme/Sachs books and this one is no exception. Highly recommended.

As usual Jeffery Deaver delivers fabulous, multiple plot lines in Coffin Dancer, a Lincoln Rhyme novel. From start to finish the suspense never ends while Deaver develops CSI style forensic action. Couldn't put it down!

The Coffin Dancer by Jeffery Deaver is another Lincoln Rhyme mystery with the same gang of regulars getting together to catch a notorious killer for hire, who is actually a serial killer who has parlayed his mental proclivities into his profession. Rhyme's cohorts add color and his assistant Amelia Sachs adds spice. The killer adds a whole new level to deception. Getting the job done is all that matters and targeting airplanes carrying vital organ transplants or planting bombs that gut buildings are simply means to meeting his end. The story has a lot of suspense but woven throughout are the little pieces of relationship histories that add dimension to the characters and the story itself. This is one of those books that's hard to put down, every time you think you'll finish this page and start doing the things you're supposed to be doing, you find you need to read just a little more to find out what's going to happen.

After reading the Rhyme series debut "The Bone Collector," I was shockingly amazed on how vivid Deaver has created the two main characters in this series. I was yet more amazed at how strong the relationship between them gets throughout the series. It now makes sense as to why a majority of Deaver's fan's question whether or not these two characters will ever get married.

Following "The Bone Collector," Jeffery Deaver continues the series with Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs. In this story, Lincoln teams up with Amelia again in the hunt for the Coffin Dancer, a ruthless hit man who continually changes his appearance after every murder he creates. With two witnesses about to testify against a multi-billionaire in another murder trial, the billionaire thus hires the Dancer to eliminate the witnesses. Aware that he has struck before, Rhyme stops at nothing to find this merciless madman. Throughout the investigation, the only clue that they have to go with is the killer's tattoo of the Grim Reaper waltzing with a woman. With time against their side, He and Sachs only have 48 hours before the Coffin Dancer strikes again.

Without a dout, I have to agree with People Magazine that Deaver is "the master of ticking-bomb suspense." I am in delightfully awed on how the author constantly keeps you guessing page after page.

I am absolutely shocked to read from fans that this book does not come up to par with "The Bone Collector." It is my belief that it all depends on the foundations for both books. "The Bone Collector" is well like of the myriad puzzles and clues throughout the story. "The Coffin Dancer," however, has a different mystery. In this one, you are aware of who the killer is (or should I say that he makes you think that way), but the real mystery that readers should ask themselves is what is the purpose for the Coffin Dancer resurfacing.

I didn't really care for THE COFFIN DANCER very much. Jeffrey Deaver is obviously a very intelligent author, but I didn't feel that much of an emotional connection to this book's storyline and its large cast of mostly stereotypical characters. For the most part, this was a rather colorless read, with a lot of action scenes and research on forensics, but not very much heart.

Further, most of the dialogue is quite stilted and the action scenes have a unbelievable, contrived quality. There's a bit of romance in this book, but the "love triangle" scenes struck me as forced and inauthentic. I would not recommend this novel to someone who cares deeply about good dialogue and characterization.

There are two very clever plot twists at the end of THE COFFIN DANCER, but they weren't enough to save the book for me. Clearly, I'm in the minority when it comes to Jeffrey Deaver's novels, since he obviously has a very large fan base. If you're never read Deaver before, I suggest reading THE BONE COLLECTOR, which is the first novel featuring his recurring character of Lincoln Rhyme.

"The Empty Chair," the title of Jeffery Deaver's third Lincoln Rhyme novel, pretty much says everything in the title. From each chapter of the book, it contains scenes to contain no suspense and derisive twists.

In chapter three of the series, Deaver brings back detective Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs, his two most well liked heroes from the previous novels ("The Bone Collector" and "The Coffin Dancer"). Recently commuting from his townhouse in New York, Rhyme now heads over North Carolina to undergo some high risk spinal cord surgery. Just when he and Amelia are about to settle in, the local authorities come in and acquire Rhyme to help them solve a case involving a murder, along with the disappearance of two teenage girls. The kidnapper is a sixteen year-old teenager dubbed the "Insect Boy," knicknamed for his disturbing obsession with bugs. Unfamiliar to his new surroundings, Rhyme is unsure of who to trust. Throughout the investigation, Rhyme begins to clash head to head to Amelia, who not just is his partner but also his one and only protegee.

Despite all of the flaws, I do have to admit that there are a few things that I enjoyed in the book. First off, I would like to give praise for Deaver's cleverly developed metaphor comparing a hornet's nest to Rhyme's distrust for the residents in this new town. And being a current reader in the series, I liked seeing how Amelia Sach's instinct on forensics is beginning to get more opinionated.

Now being a huge Lincoln Rhyme fan, I have enjoyed all of the other cases that he and Amelia have tackled. I must say that this particular one made me feel a little dissatisfied from the beginning. As mentioned before, title of this book says it all, from where it begins to where it finishes. I was annoyed at how the plot contained bunches of ludicrous twists, not to mention the myriad holes in the mystery. What bothered me the most about the book were all of the paper-thin characters throughout the plot. All of the junk contained in "The Empty Chair" made it very painful for me to finish it.

great series of mysteries, showing that a handicapped person, can lead a full and productive life, regardless of their disability, and contribute to society. I would recommend this series of books to anyone, who enjoys a good mystery full of suspense. You will enjoy this as well as others by Jeffery Deaver, a great author.

In this novel, Rhyme and Sachs are in North Carolina, as Lincoln Rhyme is about to go through a medical procedure, to help with his condition. However, Rhymes is met at the hospital, by the local sheriff (a cousin of one of Rhymes' friends), who asks for his help in tracking down a local troubled teenager, who it seems has murdered one man and kidnapped two young women.

I found this book an enjoyable read, from the start. As the cases progresses, you think it will be straight forward enough : examine evidence, catch kid, free women. But, then there is one twist followed by another, that throw you off track, and have you wondering who are the good characters, and who are the bad. It kept me very interested throughout.

The Empty Chair is another great "who done it" by Jeffery Deaver. It is a fast read, every time you are ready to put it down and get something done the story twists in such a way that you just have to go on with it. This is a book to start in the early afternoon, not the early evening unless you can get away with staying up all night. As usual for Deaver the book is filled with good guys and bad guys and the reader has to figure out who's who, and nobody is as good or as bad at the end of the book as they were at the beginning. The author is not stingy with his clues, but there are surprises until the last page. The tale weaves the motives of the characters into a memorable story with all the twists one expects from a Deaver mystery.

Empty Chair was a good read, not a great read, but a good read. I've read the majority of Deaver's novels and have found several to be great reads; this one unfortunately was not the best of his work.

Great concept, but the twist was a little forced and I actually didn't read the last 10 pages or so because of this.

Anyway, in comparison to the market, (seems really gripping thrillers are few and far between) I'd recommend it.

If you're required to read this book in high school, then kudos to your teacher for introducing you to George Eliot.

Having said that, when I was in high school, I wouldn't have appreciated George Eliot either. She was a master crafter of literature, choosing words thoughtfully and laying patiently the foundation of characters, observations, storylines to form a more perfect novel. In other words, to most high school readers of classic literature, her books can be boring.

But wait at least 10 years, pick up her works again, and find yourself pulled into stories that simultaneously take you back to provincial Victorian England while portraying the lives of characters who could be your friends, family, yourself.

Silas Marner is a wonderful precursor to Eliot's Middlemarch. The story focuses on the main title character, of course, following this sad little weaver from the time he was a respected member of his community to the moment he was cast out to his wandering and settling in sleepy Raveloe where he seeks to be left alone. Betrayed by his best friend and rejected by his fellow worshippers at Lantern Yard, Silas loses faith in God and people. He means to live the rest of his life in Raveloe, shielded from the God who failed him and from people who would only disappoint and hurt him.

He passes the next 15 or so years of his life, shunning society who responds to this odd-looking stranger by alienating him. Silas finds solace in weaving, weaving, weaving, accumulating gold for his work, and transferring his love to these gold pieces.

Silas' core is shaken again by a shocking event, and he is in danger of soon dying a broken man. He is restored when a little girl with golden curls toddles into his life. He comes to believe the gold he lost came back to him in this "golden-haired replacement." And from then, Silas is slowly drawn back to life, back to society, back to faith in God. The little orphan he saves and names Eppie ends up saving him.

Sounds like a simple almost sappy story, no? Under George Eliot's pen, it's a wonderful telling of faith (in God, in people, in life) lost and found because of unconditional love for a little child. But it's also much more than that. The story explores themes of alienation, societal rejection of otherness and being different, questions of where one fits in society and how that role is interdependent on one's participation in society as well as its acceptance of one on what terms, love of course as a restorative panacea, love between a father and his adopted daughter trumping all, and so many different aspects of life and its challenges and rewards.

All of these ideas are so expertly presented and turned over, my eyes were sometimes stopped dead in their tracks by a passage that I would then reread several times to appreciate the beauty of its truth and language. I'm about to date myself (I'm currently in my late 30s), but I just had to share one of the most memorable observations I'd read in a long time. It's about Godfrey Cass, a man who seems to have everything, except a child to call his own:

"Meanwhile, why could he not make up his mind to the absence of children from a hearth brightened by such a wife? Why did his mind fly uneasily to that void, as if it were the sole reason why life was not thoroughly joyous to him? I suppose it is the way with all men and women who reach middle age without the clear perception that life never *can* be thoroughly joyous: under the vague dulness of the grey hours, dissatisfaction seeks a definite object, and finds it in the privation of an untried good."

I don't think George Eliot is saying here that Godfrey is silly for wanting a child when he has everything else a man could possibly want. It is the idea of many men and women never being able to be truly happy and forever chasing some thing, which they find is lacking in their life at that time, because they're sure that thing will make them happy. This is the classic middle crisis, but it is universal in us all to desire what we can't have and to think our happiness depends on us getting it. It doesn't of course.

I say this book is a precursor to Middlemarch because we start to see in this novel George Eliot's beginning of writing novels with distinct townsfolk full of characters as memorable as the main characters -- folks that populate a village and are as recognizable as your kind neighbor, local bartender, neighborhood elder. I'm thoroughly entertained George Eliot's creations here: Mr. Macey, Dolly Winthrop, Squire Cass and his brood, Nancy and Priscilla and their respectable kin.

So why did I not give this 5 stars? Honestly, it was too short. Much time was spent on Silas and his life before finding Eppie, but not enough was flushed out in the story after. I loved the chapter when Eliot described how this old bachelor is suddenly befuddled by the two-year-old he's adopted and becoming a father to her. Where does he begin? And when Eppie turns 3 and mischievous, it's hilarious to follow Silas as he tries to discipline his precious...and can't. Those little nuggets are treasured by this newish mom. But it comes to an end too soon and Eppie is next seen as an 18-year-old girl about to embark on her new life.

The second part of the book feels hastily completed. Loose ends are tied up; difficult conversations improbably take place and are resolved in one day; Silas' journey to his old life at the former Lantern Yard and back home to Raveloe is rushed; and Eppie's story has its happy ending.

Had George Eliot wanted to keep writing to flesh out all these paltry scenes, I would have happily kept reading and delighted to have given this book a 5-star rating.

When I read, I tried instead of condemning Silas Marner, to see the book through his eyes. And as the book went on, I almost felt myself getting dimmer,more cut off from society. It was rather sad.

The book isn't the best representative of what life in 19th century England would have been like, but it is a very good picture of how uncultured people treat other people from other lands. It's only when misfortune falls upon that person, do they accept them.

I absolutely loved the fact that Silas found a "golden-haired replacement". That was the sweetest thing I've read in my life, how he instantly wanted to protect her and give her the best things in life. Godfrey seemed nice at first, but as the book uncovered his past, I started to like him less and less. He needed to act like a man, buck up and take control of his life, and not be constantly cowed by his father. I can understand due to the time period why he thought Eppie would come with him and Nancy, but still, the way he kept asking even after she said no the first time was rude.

The book was very uninteresting in the beginning. I had to force myself to read it. It was only after Dunsey stole Silas's money that it began to be interesting. Still, it was a sweet book and I liked it a lot.

This book is required reading for freshman in our high school. This version is very hard to read due to the Old English style of writing.

Silas Marner / 0-553-21229-X

Silas Marner always invariably compares in my mind to Dicken's Scrooge. In the height of his youth, healthy, happy, and in love, he is betrayed, cast down, and taught the 'lesson' that only the criminal and avaricious get ahead in life. Banished to a new town, he abandons all attempts to connect with the society around him and instead focuses on hoarding his wealth carefully, counting his money lovingly in the evenings. When the money simply disappears one day, stolen by a burglar, Silas is crushed. Only the arrival of an "angel" - a little orphan girl with golden curls on her head - saves him, and starts him down the long road to redemption. Given something to love, Silas flourishes and learns to join the society of people.

The local nobility, Cass, serves as a perfect counterpoint to Silas' lessons. Cass is rescued in one fell swoop from all his burdens - his inconvenient lower class wife dies suddenly clearing the way for his 'true love' and noble girlfriend, his illegitimate child is adopted by Silas, and his blackmailing brother disappears into the snow for good - and yet, Cass is doomed to a life of disappointment. His perfect upper class wife Nancy cannot bear children, and their perfect home is turned into a silent as the two simply age (they do not grow) and they find that they never really loved each other after all. When Cass realizes, too late, what a treasure his daughter would have been in his life, he finds himself rejected as the girl prefers her adoptive father to the natural one who would not claim her. And though the girl marries below her father's level of nobility, she marries a good man who loves and appreciates her, and her future seems much more rosy than that of her upper class 'parents'.

Silas Marner is a skillfully crafted novel to be enjoyed by readers with varied tastes. It was written by a woman, who found it necessary to use a man's name because of attitudes in England in the nineteenth century. It is built around problems that all of us face in our lives, such as, "How important is money?" As in all great novels, the characters change as the plot develops.

SILAS MARNER is a realistic novel because it portrays life in a real and believable fashion. The author, Mary Ann Evans, who used the pen name, George Eliot, pays careful attention to a few distinguishing details about here characters and settings.

For example, we can see Silas Marner, the central character of the novel, with his pale skin and undersized body. We know how he looks with his large, near-sighted, bulging eyes. We can see the important-looking village of Raveloe, which lives peacefully in opulent neglect.

When I was a teacher, I directed many high school sophomores to read SILAS MARNER. Most students dreaded reading the novel included in their literature textbooks. Once they met Silas and spent enough time with him to become acquainted with his unique personality, they became eager readers of this well-crafted classic.

It has some of the same qualities that made Pride and Prejudice (Vintage Classics) an endearing and enduring novel. In both works, the idyllic English countryside is an enjoyable escape from everyday life. There is romantic courtship in both, but the romance of SILAS MARNER is not the central theme; therefore it is not as compelling as that in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Since the readers are not required to become obsessed with yearning for romantic fulfillment, young guys who were in my class felt free to enjoy it. (Sixteen year old young men are still self-conscious about these matters.) Both books contain the same kind of satire buffered with compassion. In both novels we laugh with the local rural and village people. Because the language in SILAS MARNER is less complex, adolescent readers enjoy it more than they do PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.

When as a student I first read SILAS MARNER in high school and when I read it with my students, I considered the coincidences plot weaknesses. Life doesn't work that way, I thought. Now that I have experienced a life of incredible coincidences, I no longer find anything in the book unbelievable. Events caused by Silas Marner's catalepsy seemed unlikely, but now they represent no problem.

Theft with its resulting bitterness provides conflict with which the readers can identify. Earlier I found it difficult to believe that the lightning of theft could strike twice, but that part of the plot is one more realistic element now. Other twists and turns with their ironic mysteries are typical of human life as I have lived it.

All the parts of the novel that seemed to be a contrived fairy tale are now a vignette of life. Even if I could not believe it all, the book would still break my heart the way Forrest Gump does with its twists and turns of satirical accounts.

When I enjoyed SILAS MARNER in my twenties with thirty teenagers at a time, I did not notice the shaping of Silas' religious beliefs as much as I do now. I remember that the students and I were indignant about the way Silas was duped by the evil church members at Lantern Yard. Now I have compassion for them, especially William, as well as for Silas.

Mary Ann Evans showed the futility of idolatry. All my students understood the disaster of worshiping money. If I could return to my students, I would like to ask them what they thought of the villagers who seemed to rely on the habits of their church to bring them close to God. Could we discuss that in the 21st century? I feel sure we would discuss the addiction to narcotics as it is realistically portrayed.

SILAS MARNER is a great English novel not difficult to read, but rich in insights. It shows what is evil and what is good in human hearts.

If you are like me, you may often worry about the poor and the underprivileged across the world. You may wonder what it would take to help them achieve sustainable livelihoods which is the first step to ending poverty for them. You may even be wondering what role you could play in ending poverty in this world. Well, look no further because here is the book that is a must-read for anyone concerned about global poverty and how to overcome it - "The End of Poverty" by Dr. Jeffery Sachs. Dr. Sachs, one of the leading economists of our times makes this book comprehensible for everyone even if you are not an economist. And what is even more wonderful is that he backs up most of his claims with well-grounded research and reasoning.
The book mainly talks about overcoming extreme poverty. Dr. Sachs defines a person as extremely poor if he/she cannot meet basic needs required for survival. He says that the extremely poor "are chronically hungry, unable to access health care, lack the amenities of safe drinking water, and sanitation, cannot afford education for some or all of the children and perhaps lack rudimentary shelter [..] and basic articles of clothing such as shoes. Unlike moderate and relative poverty, extreme poverty occurs only in developing countries." And 93% of the world's extremely poor live in East Asia, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Of course, when a country grows economically, it has a direct effect on reducing the extremely poor in that country. But the reason, that many of the countries have not been able to achieve the expected economic growth, as many statistical studies have shown, is due to a multiplicity of factors including fertility rates, education levels, diseases, trade policies and even climate and proximity to markets, some of which are not under the control of the governments of these countries .
As part of the U.N initiated Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the developed countries committed to contributing 0.7 percent of GNP every year to help the developing countries eradicate extreme poverty by the year 2025 through investments that contribute to sustained economic growth. By presenting a thorough analysis, Dr. Sachs shows that this is adequate money to reach the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2025. So, you may now be wondering where is the problem.
As Dr. Sachs skillfully presents in the book, the problem lies in the fact that the developed world has not kept it's promise although they make it sound that they are doing their best. So, the book is dedicated to making the case to convince the developed world, as to why they should keep their promise, why helping the developing countries eradicate extreme poverty is not just the right thing to do morally but also why it would benefit the developed world in the long term much more than many of the current foreign policies that are on the table. In the process, Dr. Sachs takes institutions like IMF, WorldBank and even the US federal government head-on. He even answers many questions and criticisms about his ideas and theories. On the whole, he makes the book a very engrossing, intriguing and inspiring read. At the end of it, you may even walk away with ideas on how you could help combat global poverty.

What do Bono, and countless other celebrities have in common with the author? A: They've always wanted to be celebrities. What is different? A: The celebs actually think that the world can be rid of poverty and misery and vice.

Are you honestly going to tell me that one of the world's most influential economists ACTUALLY believes that poverty can be banished or even meaningfully reduced? Not a chance. Not with Africa's population growth rate. Sachs is selling panic again to promote himself and it's really beginning to grate my nerves.

The entire book is a formula to get people "involved" i.e.: spending money a happy percentage of which Sachs and others like him will collect. The truth is that despite all the self-important boo-hooing about how a child dies every 3 seconds in Africa, no one ever mentions that 12 were just born and 8 survived which is why the continent has a growth rate of 3% and will harbor 1.2 billion starving souls in next 23 years. People who, when China and India become as rich as Japan, will be happy to stitch together our soccer balls.

I read. A lot. That said, only half this book is worth the time and energy it took me to read it. The middle half, to be specific. The first few chapters are dedicated to Sachs detailing to us that, no, he's not an idiot writing about something he's had no experience with and that, yes, he can help to solve macroeconomic problems. The end chapters are all Sachs recapping what he said in the rest of the book with charts and graphs that start to become meaningless if you're not a economist or a student with a couple econ classes under your belt. The middle, in my opinion, is the only redeeming part of this book that mentions far too often big-names Sachs has met and important jobs he's held. The middle actually talks about his plan for ending extreme poverty by 2015 and how we can do it. The rest of the book is just padding. So read chapters 8 - 15 if you want to "read" the book. Donate money to an NGO if you want to do something towards ending poverty with your time.

the man who has brought destruction to the Russian economy through the "shock therapy" and preparing the ground for his zionist jewish friends in Russia to own all the key national assets, now goes on to tell us what to do with the rest of the world...his books should be prohibited

Jeffrey Sachs uses his broad knowledge to frame the context of a call for action to end extreme poverty in our generation. He demonstrates through detailed statistical comparisons the evolution of the widening gap of economic opportunity between the world's regions, and provides interesting narrative examples to support his conclusions.

Although the statistics sometimes are mind-numbing, Sachs does a good job of creating graphical representations in the form of world maps, which serve to educate the reader and demonstrate the often overlooked connections between health, education and economic development. He has "done his homework" in providing a wealth of historic perspectives on the problems we observe in today's economy.

Sachs uses his groundwork effectively as a springboard to inspire our thinking about how we can help create a better world by doing relatively simple things. Again, he uses the narrative to demonstrate how small amounts of money, medicine or appropriate technologies, delivered to the point of need, can make a huge difference in the outcomes for people living in or near extreme poverty.