I heartily recommend Culture Shock! Ecuador, to anyone who is planning on visiting Ecuador. I have been to Ecuador several times, and I can tell you that this new publication is a valuable resource. Whether you are planning a short term visit to Ecuador, or have plans to live there for a while, this book will really help the uninitiated, to better understand the Ecuadorian culture and the Ecuadorian way of thinking. Nicholas Crowder includes information in his book, Culture Shock! Ecuador, that other travel books on Ecuador don't think to include. The book is chock full of information on how to navigate your way around in Ecuador. It suggests things to do and places to see. The author also provides information on reliable hotels and restaurants. There is even an extensive list of web sites, so you can surf to your hearts content and learn about other things of interest pertaining to Ecuador. The most valuable thing that can be gained from reading Culture Shock! Ecuador, is a better understanding of the people. The knowledge gained by reading this book can help the traveler avoid falling into the dreaded stereotype of "The Ugly American". It will help the traveler to avoid embarrassing situations caused by a lack of understanding and cultural differences. Nicholas Crowder's book, Culture Shock! Ecuador, presents a well rounded view of Ecuador. I really liked it!

This book is essential to all travelers going to Ecaudor for either business matters, to live, or for vacation/pleasure. My friend gave me this book before I left for my community service program in Ecuador this summer, and it helped me tremendously in to relating to the country and the people there. In his easy-to-read, almost conversational narration, Nicholas Crowder gave me some insight on manners (what is and is not appropiate to do: for example, usually it is not expected to meet a person until 45 minutes after the time said), social events (parties and what kinds of presents to bring), information on all the cultural traditions, festivities and national cuisine (what's really in that stew?) ... and so much more! Without this book, I would have been clueless. It also includes valuble guides to buying a house, dealing with business colleagues, and setting up bank accounts, etc for those who intend to move there. I recommend this book highly - it tells you the valuble information that other guide books don't mention at all. Don't go without it.

Design Synectics is a stand out browse and reference text for Art educators. I would also highly recommend this book to any creative person. It is like a service manual for the artist/ divergent thinker. Presenting individual visual and cognitive concepts in a schematic that is easy to read and fun to practice. While some of the action items in this book may seem a little too structured, individual educators will have little trouble in customizing the approaches to fit with their style. While many books written for Art teachers only give outdated product based ideas, Design Synectics gives insight into the thinking associated with visual literacy. This book is a true Art educator staple.

As an art educator, this is the book I turn to when my ideas have run out. It has some great starting points for stimulating thought--both in yourself and your students. It offers terrific visuals which suggest all sorts of ideas for starting interesting projects. Read the text and you realise it is even better than it looks--this book is all about how to think in new and creative ways. Any way you'd like to use it, this book is refreshing.

The CD is great, the dream analyses that I get from it are a marvel. . . . I'm sure the book is good too, but I never got I around to reading it. However, let me tell that buying the entire book, whether you're going to read it or not, is worth the price just for the CD if you interested in getting your dreams interpreted

I took a class from Dr. Heyneman, Psych of the Human Consciousness, and this book was our text. It is wonderfully written. This book is very easy to read and understand. It is so nice to have a textbook as fun as this one. The CD is just the icing on the cake! I would definitely recommend anyone interested in dreams to read this publication and enjoy just like I did!

This is a true scholarly work, exhaustively researched and written by a pre-eminent authority in the field, making it unfortunately very dull. Postgate is unquestionably a master, with a vast knowledge of his field. He leaves no stone unturned, and explores all the critical issues in Mesopotamian archaeology, complete with numerous citations from cuneiform texts. However, being a true academic, his writing is very dry and sometimes awkward, making it difficult to stay awake when reading. Postgate provides detailed information and insightful commentaries on all aspects of Mesopotamian life, making this a worthwhile read. One can't help but wonder however, if the Mesopotamians weren't somewhat more exciting than Postgate's writing makes them.

Postgate has written an extremely helpful volume for students of ancient Near Eastern history and culture. It is a scholarly work yet quite readable. His emphasis upon geographical and environmental factors is refreshing and fills a needed gap at this level. Brief citations from contemporanious texts provide helpful illustrations along the way. Always conservative in his own estimation, Postgate provides a variety of alternative solutions to problems and questions raised by the evidence. He does not hesitate, however, to challenge prevailing views where the evidence suggests an alternative like the central role of the temple vs. the palace in this ancient economic setting. The book opens with a historical survey and moves on to provide an understanding of early Mesopotamian society up to the Old Babylonian period. This is a very fine volume.

This is a useful book since it is clear, systematic and rigorous. It is biased because it leaves out certain arguments and are more critical of opposing arguments than arguments in favour of the welfare state. For instance, very few pages are devoted to discussing government failure and the information problems facing the government

Let me begin this review with the recommendation: this book is the ultimate resource for a clear, non-polemic analysis of the welfare state. If you really want to learn about the ins and outs of welfare and privatization - and I mean _really_ learn - this is the book you want. You could read any five other books about welfare economics, income inequity, and social policy without getting as thorough an examination as this book contains. If you want to learn about the ins and outs of privatization and the welfare state, what works and what doesn't (and why), look no further. I have never read, nor even heard of, a more thorough treatment - which is remarkable considering that this book is accessible to any intelligent reader with a bit of patience.

"The Economics of the Welfare State" is commonly used as a textbook for upper year undergraduate and introductory graduate courses in economics. This does not, however, mean that you actually need to have such an economic background to understand it. This 415 page text starts from the beginning, covering all of the economic theory and politucal background you need to understand the contents. In my opinion, it would help to have taken a course in introductory microeconomics before reading this book. That isn't strictly necessary, though, I just think it's helpful in order to understand such serious economic ideas without too much head-scratching. In fact, the book has simplified summaries of the theory chapters for "non-technical" readers, and suggestions of what you should read, depending on your interests, if you don't want to read the whole thing.

The author warns that you may have to take some stuff on faith if you skip the theory, but trust me, you can because it's rock solid.

Oh yes, and while this may be a book on economics, you won't find very many equations in it. And every single one of them can safely be skipped without really hurting the general reader's understanding of the book. This isn't an abstract work, either - Britain is used as the major case study, with many comparisons to other countries such as the US. Specific institutions and policies are described and evaluated, with direct application to real-world political debates. Every bit of theory in the book is directly applied to relevant, detailed examples. The author intends to educate, rather than to pursuade, so the issues are considered in light of multiple ideological perspectives. After describing the major views on the welfare state, all the way from libertarianism through to socialism, Barr points out the relevance of his major points to the perspectives of these various groups.

This is a good book for people interested in evaluating just about any political orientation. It uses clear, well-justified arguments to demonstrate that market failure in many important areas is unambiguous, and that government intervention may not only be superior in principle, but often is superior in the real world. It considers these issues from different perspectives, making it clear that concerns for economic efficiency and social equity may lead to different conclusions.

The author makes no bones about shooting down all unsubstantiated arguments, not just conservative ones. He clearly demolishes a lot of liberal and socialist arguments that some services should be provided by government - if the market really is more efficient at producing something that one wants to guarantee, the government should usually pay for it, not produce it. He considers many situations, such as housing, where the historical use of subsidy and regulation rather than outright income transfers appears to be economically inefficient and inequitable. Barr also explains how some policies designed to decrease inequality can actually increase it. He describes the university system in the UK as regressive, that is, promoting inequality. While it is paid for by all and free to all, in practice the rich are much more likely to actually attend university. Those wishing to promote social equality would do best to read these arguments, so that they can avoid supporting measures destined to backfire. He even demonstrates that some major political arguments have been over trivialities. He explains how the differences between "pay as you go" social insurance schemes and those funded by one's own previous contributions are actually not all that great, contrary to much of the debate about Social Security in the US.

This book is excellent in some respects, but lacking in others. The basic pedagogical method of using only Spanish with essentially no translation is not totally effective when used without a teacher. I am already proficent in another language, having been trained in one of the most famous systems in the world, and in my opinion certain explanations have to be delivered in the native tongue of the speaker in order to expedite progress. So that's my real criticism: more English was needed. However, the stories and grammatical lessons are excellent and there is a real sense of excitement as you read articles on genuinely interesting topics and find that you're understanding the Spanish! I do recommend this book, but suggest also that you check out "Repaso" (available on Amazon) and also "Spanish Now" (also available here).

What I like the MOST about this book is that it is only in Spanish. I've been teaching for 13 years, and I've noticed that when people struggle to find the meaning they retain better what has been learned. I've used other texts like Churros y Chocolate, Dos Mundos, Horizontes, Dímelo Tú... and nothing compares to the way Español en Español is written. Grammar points are nicely explained with lots of examples, and the author made sure his book was not only interesting, but fun. There isn't a single class in which people don't laugh about the examples or excercises that are given in those pages. So, let them struggle with the "only-Spanish" approach, and you'll see the progress that inevitably comes with it.

Not a bad collection of color F4U Korea photos, and general Corsair summary. Worth the $ to add to your library.

Well worth the price, and probably the best F4U book written to date. This book examines each model with stories from aces, test pilots, and others who flew the plane. Good coverage of the radar equipped night fighters, Corsairs in service in South America, in the movies, and RACERS! Too bad it wasn't put out in hardback.

Once again Mem Fox has captured an essential humancondition. Like so many of her previous picture books, Feathers andFools, lyrically pulls us into a story rich with meaning. We use this allegory in our Unit of Inquiry focusing on 20th Century Conflicts. Students are full of observations which they apply to history and to their personal lives. Perfect for use in IB-PYP schools. The beautiful illustrations by Nicholas Wilton successfully augment this tale of fear and new beginnings.

This book is great. I would recommend this book to everyone. In this book the swans and peacocks are enemies. This book is for all ages. The peackocks and swans had a fight, but some swans flew away. If you like great illustrations read Feathers And Fools by Mem Fox.
By: Lauren M.

A good range of essays from the poetic to the scientific - but all written with feeling. The topic of Gaia brings forth very powerful life changing thoughts about the word we live in. However, the last essays really go beyond the boundaries of the strict sientific mind. A highly recommended book.

I really enjoyed reading my roomate's copy of this book. All the essays revolve around the concept of as living world. The essays come at the topic from a variety of angles: spiritual, scientific, esoteric...

This is one of my new favorite books, that really helps explain the living world concept.

Nicholas K. Coch provide in this book a very clear and informative look at the causes and effects of the natural world around us. He gives explanations and provides charts in a format that is easily understandable to any person regardless of scientific background. Overall it is a very readable book and sheds new light on some of the most terrifying events nature can present to the human condition on Earth. Coch provides a very thorough treatment of geohazards going not only from the causes for most natural disasters, but covering ways to lessen the effects of the disasters on the way humans live.

This text book, used in Geology classes led by Dr. Nicholas Coch himself, offers an array of useful information that any future or current geologist can appreciate. The book contains a brief history of how our wonderful planet Earth came into existence and what makes it work. Basically, everything you need to know in life that is important can be found here. Real estate decisions, where to be when a natural disaster occurs, what causes these occurances, what to invest in, how we can prepare for the future, are just some examples of what can be gained. Instead of working against the Earth, we can work with the Earth if we only understood how it works.