It certainly seems to matter. Why, after all, should Japan have been be rich while Taiwan was poor, if culture did not matter? Or Denmark been a nation of farmers while Holland held dominion over the trade routes of the world? And why, as is asked in one of the most frustratingly tentative essays in this very variable volume, do different immigrant groups to the United States have such very different careers? Of course, it is unfashionable to ask such questions lest someone believe that to say culture matters is to imply that race matters: ie that members of wealthy races are inherently superior to members of poor races. Perhaps that is why the most compelling essays in this book are by an African development economist and a Latin American journalist who exclaim impatiently that of course culture matters and insist that the thing their nations need is to discover the cultural components of economic success and import some. Even more refreshing is the essay by Ronald Inglehardt who brings - gasp - actual measurable data to this debate. Not that anything is quite settled. We are still left with the big questions, like: Why Europe? Why not China? and What was so special about eighteenth century England? On those questions, permit me to recommend two other new books. Nathan Pomeranz's THE GREAT DIVERGENCE, which bends over backwards to prove that China could equally well have given us the industrial revolution, but for a few chance occurances that have nothing to do with culture. And BULLOUGH'S POND by Diana Muir, which, in the course of discussing a number of other things, does lead one to wonder if there may have been something about those Calvinists after all.

This book is a very good compilation of article on the role of culture in development. The compilation includes articles by a large number of premier authors on the subject, including the editors, Michael Porter, David Landes, Jeffrey Sachs, Francis Fukuyama, among others.

The articles deal with many different topics, though the common theme is how culture affect the success of a certain aspect of society, such as health, education, institutions, justice, etc. It does focus on blaming certain cultures for lack of success, but rather it tries to understand the themes that allow certain cultures to outperform others. The lessons do not blame a culture, but rather suggests somewhat modest (and often drastic) change that is necessary to permit a well functioning capitalist economy to exist.

As an economist, I found this book extremely useful in demonstrating the "transaction costs" that a culture may impose on a country, hence reducing its opporutnities for growth. In economics, this is usually studied in theory, but this book provides lively examples of how this is truly the case. However, I do believe that this book would be useful for practitioners in other disciplines.

The main premise of this book is, as far as I can tell, obviously true: a group's cultural values can make a difference in that group's success, prosperity and competitiveness. Is it really controversial to claim that cultural features of Western Civ have contributed to its success? It seems clear to me, e.g., that values associated with scientific rationality contribute to progress in technology, medicine, etc., and while not everyone has to admit that these are desirable things, the majority of the world thinks that they are. I mean, we couldn't have discovered a polio vaccine without the scientific method, and the scientific method is a cultural practice, so to the extent that everyone can agree that a polio vaccine is "progress," then it seems impossible to claim that culture doesn't matter.

Critics, including one of the volume's contribuers (Shweder) often say "but there's no such thing as objective progress." And they are correct in a sense - but so what? If you're determined to think that the polio vaccine is an awful thing, then ultimately no one can prove that you shouldn't feel this way - you can believe what you want. But the point of this book is NOT to arrive at some universal consensus about how to define "progress." That would be a waste of time, not just because it would be impossible, but because the authors are already assuming that many people in the world already agree about what progress is. This book is simply about how people can apply knowledge in order to achieve their ideas of progress. The message is: "if you decide that vaccines are good things, here's what you have to do to in order to discover more of them."

It may be politically incorrect to say that culture matters, but it may also be true. And if it is true, the costs of denying this could be high. It's not just a matter of political posturing to deny that culture matters - the more disadvantaged countries deny this, the more they will fall behind and the more their people will suffer. And the more advantaged countries deny this, the more their own cultures (and advantages) will decay.

This is an important book because it admits that culture matters and it begins the task of adressing how and why it matters. This is no easy task - every group's culture is a tangled bundle of traits, some "adaptive," some non-adaptive, some relevant to progress, some irrelevant, some detrimental. Discovering which traits are important to success is not easy - it requires careful thought and analysis, and explicit hypothesis testing whenever possible (this book is short, unfortunately, on hypothesis-testing). But just because the task is daunting, difficult, and, as one contributer (Glazer) fears, politically "dangerous," that does not make it less crucial or unavoidable.

In "One True Love" (by Alice Holden) veterinarian Daniel Nealy is charmed by spinster Kate Hamilton. He helps her get a job as the governess of a weathly family. The poor spinster suddenly receives flattering attentions from her employer's handsome brother, Lord Percy. But gentle Daniel Nealy is also falling for her. Which man will come out on top? And whose intentions are honorable? This was a nice story, but I was disappointed by how the "other" guy turned out. For a good portion of the story, I really liked him. Why does one suitor always have to be a cad? 3 1/2 stars.

In "The Husband Hunt" (by Kate Huntington), Everard Montgomery's young brother comes home with a foreign bride, thereby jilting the fiance who has waited for him for years. Everard goes to meet Lady Linnea, now pennliess, to break the news about his brother's sudden marriage. Together, she and Everard go to London in search of another husband for the jilted Linnea. ...But perhaps Everard himself is the best candidate? This is a sweet story, filled with wit and romance. 4 stars.

In "Trusting Lady Lucy" (by Laura Paquet) Lady Lucinda is always making a fool of herself around playwright Stephen Charlton. First, he overhears her criticizing one of his plays. Then, he is witness to her not-so-delicate fall into a pond. Stephen finds himself thinking about Lucinda a lot--and he takes her criticism to heart. Perhaps she can help him write a better play? I didn't really enjoy this one. First of all, it was clogged with characters from Paquet's former novels--none of which I have read. I found it very distracting. Secondly, I didn't really like the heroine. I thought Lucinda was overly critical of Stephen. If someone made so many shameless suggestions about MY work, I wouldn't want to have anything to do with them. 1 1/2 stars (the extra half-star being for the sprinkling of wit)

Overall, a decent read. It's not my favorite anthology, and I probably won't remember any of the stories a year from now. Still, reading it was a pleasant pasttime.

This anthology was very enjoyable. Both Holden and Huntington deliver wonderful romantic stories, but it is Laura Paquet whose story really shines. As always, this author creates a thoroughly relatable heroine and a beta hero that's every bit as attractive as any alpha!

Elizabeth must be a very angry women. This is the sad impression I got on reading this book. I hope she experiences Peace before she dies. To the reader I would recommend "Why Forgive" by Johann Christoph Arnold

This book relates the history of the Bruderhof from the view of a child growing up. The author was raised as a member of this religious group, took her membership vows then left as a young adult. Bohlken-Zumpe is the granddaughter of founder Eberhard Arnold. My understanding of the Bruderhof, where I also grew up, was enhanced by reading this book. In relating her story, Bohlken-Zumpe does not flinch in revealing personal difficulties. This book along with other ex-bruderhof members books, should be permitted reading among the current membership to help them understand themselves,and their history. I recommend this book for anyone who has experienced belonging to a "cult-like" closed society or wants to understand similar situations. Thankyou for writing your story Elizabeth Bohlken-Zumpe.

This outstanding book presents the "other side", another viewpoint regarding the Bruderhof Movement (Arnoldleut Hutterians). It is a must read for all serious students of Hutterianism. It is certainly not the "party line", but it does present a point of view that needs to be looked at and considered by all students of Hutterianism and any potential recruits to Arnoldianism. Zumpe cannot be dismissed out-of-hand, that's for sure. There are hundreds of others who think just like she does. Their "side" needs to be heard. In the end, the Truth will win out.

Although this is a useful book, and one frequently cited in bibliographies, Lewis tends to focus on perpetuating a myth (the "Big Four" as robber barrons) rather than substantive biography. It's practically all we have on Charles Crocker and Mark Hopkins, but far better biographies of C P Huntington are available: David F. Myrick's The Great Pursuader is excellent, and so is Cerinda Evan's Collis Potter Huntington. All three of the published biographies of Leland Stanford are well done, especially Clark's. This is a marginally useful book, but far better biographies of Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins, and David Douty Colton need to be written. Lewis' remarks that Crocker in his later years was lethargic and obese are despicable given the Crocker's advanced state of complications from diabeties (which eventually killed him), especially considering that probably no other man in American history ever equalled his genius railroad construction. Buy it but beware its serious ethical shortcumings. -- these are my thoughts from one who has studied Southern Pacific history for nearly three decades.

This is a very detailed look at certain aspects of SF - specifically, its 'ideology', including the idea of genius, the (perceived) danger of women, and the genre's love for aliens, robots and monsters. The age of the stories ranges from the earliest SF to the 1960s, which limits the scope of the book somewhat since great changes have occurred in the genre since 1970.

The quality of the writing is far from inspiring, but the case it argues is sound and rather persuasive. Not essential for every SF fan, but certainly worth a look.

Gubernick has written a very concise biography of Huntingdon Hartford, the heir to the A&P fortune. A man who had it all and squandered it. The prose is lively and the story is interesting, but one wishes the author had spent more time getting us inside Hartford's head. The result is that we learn a great deal about WHAT he did, but very little about WHY he did it. Not a bad book to kill an afternoon with but nonetheless a book that falls short of its potential.

The story is very interseting. But the lessons learned by the author are really boring. I would only read this book if it was required reading for a class, as it was for me.

I've read worse text books than this, but this isn't exactly a page turner either.

It gives a good feeling for the group dynamics and associated politics of a highly traditioned sport (Yachting) being "invaded" by the concept of a women's team that could compete on the mens' level.

"Do they try to keep it 100% female (to make a point), or allow a man or two on the crew and increase their chances of winning?" Suddenly, roles and goals that were not clearly defined at the beginning of this adventure are causing stress and confusion.

Interesting, but not riveting...

If you revere books and are an avowed bibliophile, then Henry Huntington is someone to admire and respect. His book collection is one of the premiere collections in the world, especially his concentration of incunabula. Huntington's mammoth collection is stored in the incomparable Huntington Gardens in San Marino, California - one of the most lovely places on earth. The permanent exhibitions include a first edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and numerous Shakespearian folios. Huntington's massive collection of autographs is also on display.

The story of how Huntington amassed these priceless treasures is fascinating: the amount of zeal and money he poured into this endeavor makes for a world class story. Unfortunately, this book doesn't focus enough on this aspect of his life. The narrative becomes slow, plodding and ultimately tedious. One wishes that Thorpe would have concentrated more completely on Huntington's mania for book collecting, a passion to be envied for those of us not blessed with being multi-millionaires. Instead he veers off into areas not particularly interesting, though his history of early 20th century California is exceptional.

Huntington's story is not one full of scintillating orgies, nor was he a riveting personal character, like Hearst. But this book paints a rather dour, boring picture of one of the greatest American collectors.

This book starts off great--great photos, interesting text, etc. However, midway through, it stops being a book about Huntington Beach and becomes a series of advertisements for local merchants, much like one of those high-gloss books you'd find in a decent hotel room. I'm assuming it helped cover the cost of the book (or generate profits for the author) but the buyer should be warned--this book should have been more clearly labeled for what it is--a historic overview coupled with a hefty directory for local businesses in HB.

This book is out of date...It's great if you are a manager contemplating the purchase of HP Openview...but you can get that from HP for free!..It is pitiful if you are trying to implement Openview from a technical standpoint....save your money. I can't believe that there are no other books out there on implementing HP Openview...

you are defineately better off reading the HP manuals on OpenView. They should have titled this book a buyers guide to network management products.

This book is merely an overview of the suite of Openview products. It is NOT hands-on and has little more than one can expect from sales literature. I am not sure what purpose the book serves