Examining Soviet-American relations by studying the lives of the various ambassadors Roosevelt dispatched to Moscow is an especially clever device, and one that has not been used by anyone else. Dr. Dunn has done an excellent job: his writing style flows nicely and his research is first-rate. In addition to being highly informative, this book is simply good to read.

This book would be useful to anyone who seeks to understand the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States during the 1930s and 40s. It also helps illustrate how the Soviet Union worked and gives interesting insight into the personality of Stalin himself.

People who are particularly fond of Franklin Roosevelt might not like some of Dr. Dunn's conclusions, however. Be warned.

Marconi has made a valuable contribution to the on-going dialogue about marketing by explaining how to "build image and bottom line through socially responsible partnerships, programs, and events." Presumably he agrees with John Hill that PR is "truth well-told." The most effective marketing programs, those which create or increase demand, include PR initiatives. As we all know, there are negative connotations of PR because it is not always truthful even if well-told. Marconi notes that "there has been a dramatic increase in the allocation of funds from marketing budgets that provide some benefit to nonprofit organizations. The expenditure of these funds to serve the interests of both the company and the community has come to be known as [in italics] cause marketing." The one-year anniversary of 9/11 caused major corporations and their agencies to question whether or not to advertise on that tragic date. Their concern was that any advertising, however thoughtful and sensitive, could be perceived as self-serving. That is a legitimate concern. In Chapter 5, Marconi cites six examples of "self-serving and opportunistic" initiatives during a national period of sadness following 9/11. Here's one: "Morrell & Company announced in a full-page ad that it would hold a 'Grapes of Grief and Gratitude' benefit wine auction for families of the New York firefighters, police, and emergency response professionals." This is cause marketing at its worst.

Marconi also includes many examples of cause marketing at its best. That is to say, marketing which establishes contact with those who buy and use their products and services or support their issues and will feel better for doing so. "Cause marketing seeks to take the process even further when the marketer for a company (1) identifies a cause that the company can embrace and believe in, and (2) makes a connection with the constituent group that shares the company's dedication to that cause." What we have here, then, is a cohesive and comprehensive explanation of how to plan and then implement "cause marketing" at its best. Eminently worthwhile organizations receive at least some of the support they urgently need; those who provide that support, who demonstrate corporate social responsibility with active community involvement, generally "do well by doing good."

But here's a key point: Unless such support and involvement are -- and are perceived to be -- both appropriate and authentic (i.e. sincere), they invariably do irreparable damage to an organization's credibility. Marconi explains this point while examining a number of case studies of both effective and counter-productive cause marketing. All things considered, people generally prefer to do business with those with whom they share the same values and, better yet, with whom they share the same loyalties. It is obvious to his reader that Marconi cares deeply about corporate social responsibility and active community involvement. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that they should be primarily assumed by major corporations. Where I live, independent merchants generously support fundraising activities by local schools, athletic teams, and churches of all denominations. Their contributions are both monetary and non-monetary, donated because they want to be "good citizens," joining with others in the support of worthwhile causes. Of course, some of this "good will" results in additional business but that is not the merchants' motive.

In the final chapter of this book, Marconi reviews the rules, reasons, and rewards of cause marketing. They provide wise and practical guidance to any organization or individual either involved in "cause marketing" now or considering it. Once having read the book, I again reflected on the groundswell of responses to the tragedies which occurred on 9/11/01. Marconi suggests (and I agree) that principled cause marketing doesn't wait for "the next dark day" to fulfill itself. Rather, it should be an on-going process which responds to or creates opportunities to "make a difference," indeed to make a significant difference and for the better. Its ROI cannot easily be measured in terms of sales and profits. Those involved in cause marketing worthy of the name appreciate how important it is and know that its value to society is incalculable.

"Christology" is not just the study of Christ, but typically refers to beliefs of Jesus and to what extent he was divine. 'High Christology' being mostly divine and a 'low Christology' being mostly man. Despite what you have been taught in Sunday School the debate over who Jesus was and to what extent is he divine has gone on since the first century. Here Dunn compiles all the arguments for a variety of 'titles' attributed to Jesus and examines each one in detail. Rather than giving one particular theological point, he discusses the issues debated by the different scholars giving the reader a clear understanding on each of the titles. If you enjoy studying religion and christianity, this book is a must.

I love Stephen Dunn's work for many reasons, for his clear, direct prose and his honesty about all subject matters. Circus of Needs embodies these reasons to the best of Dunn's abilities.

In this collection of poetry, there is a sense of sadness that is comforting. Dunn points out that life is not perfect, that all is not well; he speaks for the everyday, common man and acknowledges the beauty in our world that slips by unnoticed too often. The standout poem is "Instead of You," in which Dunn explains that "from the start all I wanted to explain was how things go wrong, how the heart's an empty place until it is filled, and how the darkness in forever waiting for its chance." The point is that Dunn is writing for us, the readers; he extracts and dissects subject matter, wanting to breathe a new life into the normal while examining it closely, like a butterfly. Although "there's no way to keep the ugliness out, ever," Dunn writes in an effort to understand what we all ignore, so that he can "pull you from the wreckage and kiss your bruises, so black and gold."

Every poem in this collection, from the aching "Sister" to the comical "Belly Dancer at the Hotel Jerome" to the lovely predictability of "Introduction to the 20th Century" brings fantasy and pleasure to the real. Dunn spins our boring reality into something intangible and surreal; he allows us to see with new eyes what might have been, what could be still. Circus of Needs is not his best collection (Between Angels gets my vote), but it is certainly unique and beautiful in its own right. From a lesser poet, this collection might be a pinnacle; from Dunn, it allows the reader to glimpse the distance he has traveled in his abilites and the possibilities open to him in the future.

Mr. Wallace's studies of Philadelphia's colonial architectural legacy are a must for any self-respecting architect, preservationist, or metalsmith. This reprint is yet another credit to Dover's publishing effort.

This book should be read by every firefighter,fire officer,fire chiefs including the chief of department. Vince Dunn tells us how to command and control structure fires,wild fires,terrorist bomb explosion incidents and most other disasters and emergencies. Read it and learn! Vince Dunn is a 40 year veteran of the New York City Fire Department. He recently retired as a Deputy Chief in charge of division 3. Dunn commanded high rise fires, low rise fires, hazardous material incidents in midtown Manhattan. Deputy Chief Vincent Dunn is a well knowned lecturer.

Conservative Enviromentalism is not a hack job which merely dispels the whole enviromental movement out of hand. This book is written by conservationists, who believe fervently that there are better solutions to our ecological problems than passing federal regulation.

Conservative Enviromentalism properly offers solutions at the local level and believes that much of the problems found today should be cured in our neighborhoods and municipalities.

The real kicker about this book though, is their concept of the "Ledger," which use the basic double-entry accounting method to help quantify the costs and gains of environmental regulation.

This book is a truly remarkable work, which will have lasting impact in the ecological debate.

This book presents a good summary of the conservative tradition in America. It also contains several pages of bibliographical information roughly categorized by the evolutionary eras of conservative thought. While it approximately covers the time period discussed in Russell Kirk's "The Conservative Mind" and George Nash's "The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945," it obviously does not contain the detail found in those books. Nevertheless, it does provide the reader with an overview of American conservatism and concludes by listing numerous sources for further investigation.

This Book is about a king who lives in a castle. He has a baker called Adrian.The King always eats eggs. Adrian makes the king chicken eggs,goose eggs,duck eggs.Then he shouts More More More! The Next day he read in his Newspaper that a dodos egg was spotted on an island.So he told Adrian to prepare the boat.To get to The island.

This book takes a very practical guide to the real world development of a reasonably sophisticated Access 2.0 application. While the author assumes that the reader can create elementary tables and queries, the focus is on the complete development (largely through Access Basic) of one application that gives the reader an excellently balanced guide that covers issues without perhaps dwelling on the absolute completeness of other texts. This is not a reference book. It is a learning and doing book. Whilst Litwin, Getz et. al. (Access xx Developer's Handbook) may be the Access developers bible, Melissa Dunn's text is excellent for anyone wanting to "cut to the chase" of Access development and use other texts to perhaps supplement the issues that they might want to study further. Melissa's book is not for the absolute novice or someone that is uncomfortable with exploring the programmability of Access, but for everyone else this is a terrific way to learn how Access can work. ps. I would love to see an Access 95/97 version.