Reviews (12)

The world doesn't always move in curves
This book is recommended, but with a caveat.Like most books about international relations written by social scientists who tend to simplify things for the sake of providing an over-arching structure, this one is to be read with a measure of skepticism.For a detailed review (or two), check out the recent debate in Slate.com between the journalists Bill Emmott and Fareed Zakaria, who are, respectively, an editor of The Economist and a columnist for Newsweek.(You can search within Slate by typing out their names and the title of the exchange: "Debating the J-Curve".)Here's two quotes from their exchanges.
Simplistic and Unoriginal
The main argument of the book is simple: as countries go from dictatorship to democracy things get worse before they get better. This has been a central argument of political science, and Mr. Bremmer neither acknowledges what others have said nor does he add much to them. All he book has to say comes in the first ten pages. After that it is snipets of histories of countries which do not add much.

Worth the Read
Whether you're an avid reader or professional investor, Ian Bremmer's book is worth your time. Ian's writing is organized, clear and concise. The book is written for the average reader; you do not need to be a policy wonk to understand his points. Whether you agree with his conclusions or not, Ian Bremmer's book provides an excellent basis for continuing debate regarding U.S. foreign policy.
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Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Government - Comparative    3. History & Theory - General    4. International Relations - General    5. Political Science    6. Political Theory    7. Political development    8. Political stability    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Politics/International Relations    11. World politics    12. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    13. Political Science / International Relations   

Subjects:  1. Business & Financial    2. Law    3. Legal Reference / Law Profession    4. Private Law    5. Public    6. Public Law    7. Torts    8. Business & Economics / General    9. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    10. Personal property law    11. Social law    12. Torts / delicts   

Reviews (3)

A beginning
My opinion on this book lies some where between the two already presented. The application of economics and game theory to this problem is most definitely original and is the greatest achievement of the book. It is a tribute to the authors that such a simple model that so ruthless applies Occam's razor can explain so much, however the work is flawed it simply does not reflect reality. The reasons behind democratisations are more complex than this model, as powerful as it is, can reflect. This book and the model developed within should be viewed as beginning which other works can develop and expand upon. I have no doubt that economists will continue to contibute to this field with more advanced and better models. For this reason alone political scientists and historians should not ignore this text, but rather accept it for what it is a new way of looking at an old problem.

Wielding Occam's Razor
Economists are turning their focus of inquiry to subjects that were once the exclusive preserve of their colleagues in other social sciences--history, sociology, and political science. The title of this book, "Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy," appears to have been deliberately, even provocatively, chosen for contrast with its famous predecessor, "Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy," by the sociologist Barrington Moore. It is as if the economists are saying, "You've had your go. It is now our turn."
Interesting but ...
This substantial work provides a useful review of the relevant literature,and outlines the simple but powerful idea that the political impact of different types of assets [land, labor or capital] and the costs of repression rather than democratization are key influences on the process of democratization or political repression.This approach has however already been spelt out more succinctly by Carles Boix.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Democracy    5. Democratization    6. Economic aspects    7. Economics - General    8. Equality    9. Government - Comparative    10. Political Ideologies - Democracy    11. Politics / Current Events    12. Public Policy - Economic Policy    13. Business & Economics / Economics / General    14. Economic history    15. Political economy    16. Political structures: democracy    17. Political structures: totalitarianism & dictatorship   

Editorial Review

"Hutus kill Tutsis, then Tutsis kill Hutus--if that's really all there is to it, then no wonder we can't be bothered with it," Philip Gourevitch writes, imagining the response of somebody in a country far from the ethnic strife and mass killings of Rwanda. But the situation is not so simple, and in this complex and wrenching book, he explains why the Rwandan genocide should not be written off as just another tribal dispute.Read more

Reviews (199)

Disappointed
I was disappointed by the tone of the first chapter.
Remarkable and Life-Changing
This book will change your worldview.Gourevitch makes you realize how much we marginalize Africa, and how we refuse to recognize unpleasant realities to avoid the responsibility for dealing with them.While his account includes a lot of horrible examples of inhumanity, there are also some splendidly inspiring examples of humanity, which make you believe that change is possible, and even ultimately inevitable.

What a horrific tale
A lot of books I've read down through the years, even books I have enjoyed, I have forgotten almost as soon as I finished them.
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Subjects:  1. Africa - General    2. Current Affairs    3. Ethnic relations    4. Genocide    5. Government - Comparative    6. International    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics and government    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Rwanda    11. Armed conflict   

Subjects:  1. Asia    2. Asia - General    3. Asia - History    4. Encyclopedias    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: American    8. History / United States / General    9. Humanities    10. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    11. Reference works    12. USA   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (9)

Russian Muckraking
This is a hard book to judge. In the first place, it's a collection of articles for what the author refers to as a newspaper, though the "New Gazette" appears to publish biweekly. This leads to some jarring articles next to one another: the first article denounces officials involved in the identification of the corpses of Russian soldiers killed in the first Chechen War 1994-6, and the second article, immediately following, denounces the first one as biased and reverses all of its statements. It's a bit strange.
Good overview
I have to disagree to some degree with those who say this is a *completely* biased piece.I also have suspicions that those who trash this work have not read it in it's entirety, if at all.Anna is certainly an advocate for the Chechen people, but she also attempts to show, albeit in small bits, the human side of Russian troops.Her writing is vivid, impassioned, but sometimes choppy.It can be difficult to read sometimes, but that may be the translation.I'm not sure how the September 11th attacks should obscure any opinions in favor of Chechen independence.Those views expressed appear to be shallow, with a blind, "follow the leader" approach.This shouldn't be an issue where you chant, "go team!"--Why not consider both sides?If you go to www.hrw.org there are plenty accounts of Russian abuse of Chechens, to be fair there is also abuse from Chechen fighters on civilians.This is a dirty war because it is corrupt on all sides.You can also find numerous other articles, not just from Politkovskaya, that echo the same problems with corruption, human rights abuses, etc.Steven Lee Myers of the New York Times is also a good source.Why is it so unfathomable that soldiers might commit abuses, be xenophobic, rape, etc.What about Elza Kungayeva's rapist?He was a high ranking colonel.Even though her rape was ommitted from her autopsy report and he was never actually convicted of rape, he still murdered her.Is that okay?Is that fair or right?Is that not terrorism at it's finest? To form a solid opinion you really need to consider all sides; you need to look at the root problems, it isn't a simple issue.---And it's obvious that it cannot be resolved through military measures alone.There really has to be some considerate discussion.(Putin has blasted that idea so I don't think it will happen.)And you cannot put blinders up and think that abuse is impossible, or even okay.It's too easy to reduce the Chechens to a nation of terrorists.

An Interesting Story yet Too Biased for Comfort
This book was somewhat of a disapointment. This is largely due to it's obviously biased viewpoints. However, what really bothered me was its lack of real information. The story was basically a compilation of dramatic stories all stressing how inhumane or heartless the Russian soldiers were and how ignorant westerners are, which would have been okay had that not been the only thing Politkovskaya said throughout the book.
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Subjects:  1. Chechnia (Russia)    2. Chechnëiìa    3. Civil War, 1994-    4. Current Affairs    5. Government - Comparative    6. History    7. History & Theory - General    8. Media Studies    9. Political    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Politkovskaia, Anna    13. Politkovskaëiìa, Anna    14. Press coverage    15. Russia (Federation)    16. Travel    17. Armed conflict    18. CHECHNIA (RUSSIA)_HISTORY_CIVIL WAR, 1994-    19. Chechnia    20. Chechnya    21. European history: postwar, from c 1945 -    22. History / General    23. History / Russia (pre- & post-Soviet Union)    24. Journeys    25. Other prose: from c 1900 -    26. Politkovskaya, Anna    27. c 1990 to c 2000   

Editorial Review

The winter holidays are usually a quiet time for news, but the December 2005 revelations of the Bush administration's extensive, off-the-books domestic spying program by Read more

Reviews (72)

Want to Know Who Knew What and When? Read This Book.
One of the few authoritative books on pre-Iraq war intelligence, Risen interviewed CIA agents and sources where possible.One of the surprises for Americans is that a group of Iraqi-Americans braved incarceration in Iraq to get information on WMD and the state of the Iraqi nuclear program BEFORE the war was launched.The courage and patriotism of these people could have saved many lives if the media had done their job.
Essential reading
As my country was involved in the invasion of Iraq and there are still Australian soldiers serving in Iraq, l approached this book hoping to learn more about why the USAgovernment intervened in Iraq and gain some insight into the function of USA government and politics. Here in OZ the government has been very deceptive and sneaky about why we are involved in a war thousands of miles from home and after reading this book l detect similar themes in the USA.
A must read if you care about your liberty
Risen's excellent book is essentially a series of lengthy newspaper stories (Risen, of course, writes for the NYT). No doubt some of the things he reports here will be expanded upon or revised. Indeed, the recent USA Today story on the NSA's large-scale data collection program is a follow-on to Risen's work. Risen paints an ugly picture of the way things work in Bush's administration; Cheney and Rumsfeld dominate, Rice gets pushed aside, Tenet was a lap dog, and Colin Powell was sadly irrelevant. It's difficult to tell whether Bush is the leader or just gets pushed along. The book details a number of distressing stories; take your pick: domestic phone-taps, ignoring contrary evidence on WMD in Iraq, kidnapping targets and flying them to secret prisons (euphemistically called 'extraordinary renditions') and more.
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Subjects:  1. (George Walker),    2. 1924-    3. 1946-    4. Bush, George W.    5. Bush, George,    6. Central Intelligence Agency    7. General    8. Government - Executive Branch    9. Intelligence Agencies    10. Political Freedom & Security - Intelligence    11. Political Science    12. Politics / Current Events    13. Politics/International Relations    14. U.S. President    15. United States - 21st Century    16. United States.    17. Political Science / Foreign Legal Systems   

Reviews (64)

Great for first year law students
Bought it for a friend who was a first year and it has helped him immensely in school.

Redundant for law school, possibly useful later
I considered buying this when I started law school.However, my school provides law students with free subscriptions to both Westlaw and Lexis online, and the entire school is set up with wireless internet.Therefore, the full version of Black's is easily available to me online any time I'm on campus.A laptop with wireless LAN is probably more important for college students these days than most paper references.
For what it's worth:
Don't take this book the wrong way. At the time of this review, it cost 29 dollars, a reasonable price when it comes to 1L book costs. It fits into a purse or backpack, if not a pocket. It will serve you well enough in Civpro or Torts in a pinch, until you can get to the Law Library and read a full size Blacks. Do NOT take this book to be an end all be all, it was never meant to be and people who gave this terrible reviews due to its lack of completeness are missing the point. This is a book for when you don't HAVE a full size Black's in front of you, which every 1L should. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Dictionaries & Terminology    3. Dictionaries - General    4. Law    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Reference    7. United States    8. English Law    9. Reference works   

Reviews (2)

Excelent book
A powerful and clear combination of theoretical and practical analysis of the regulatory work, with useful insights and tools to be used and developed.

re-thinking the role of government
Author Malcolm Sparrow suggests something so simple about the role of government that it's revolutionary -- agencies should be in the business of finding important problems and fixing them.Read more

Subjects:  1. Administrative procedure    2. Compliance    3. Government - U.S. Government    4. Industrial Policy    5. Political Science    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Public Affairs & Administration    9. Public Policy - Economic Policy    10. Trade Agreements    11. Trade regulation    12. United States    13. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    14. USA   

Reviews (2)

On conditions for democracy
Having read this book, I understand why Linz has gained international reputation. (As an example, he was made honorary doctor at The Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Oslo, Norway, 2000.) This book is written in an engaging way, with lots of interesting information. Its clear structure and quite simple language also makes it easy to read. Those believing that political science is "heavy, dry and dull" will probably change their minds if they read "Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation". Personally, I found the chapters on South America very enlightening. The book gives information about how citizens view "democracy" in the respective countries, and the challenges each country faces in terms of democratic transition and consolidation. I agree with the first reviewer that this book is a must-have for all interested in the countries in question or political science in general. (Having just finished my dissertation in political science, I've read my share of less interesting and poorly written works!)

A clear and concise presentation
This is the book for everyone looking for the ultimate answer to the questions regarding democratic transitions in the east as well as in the west. Although somewhat fuzzy and unclear in the theoretical outline it does offer some serious answers as well as questions on the democratization waves in former communist countries and dictatorships all over the planet. This is a must for all political scientists as well as those with inclination towards contemporary political subjects. This will be a standard opus on this subject. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Democracy    3. Europe, Southern    4. Government - Comparative    5. History    6. Political Ideologies - Democracy    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. South America    10. Constitution: government & the state    11. Eastern Europe    12. Political science & theory    13. Political structures: democracy    14. Southern Europe   

Reviews (2)

An easy read, but a bit out of date
I had to read this for a class and found it easy to read, but really out of date.Although revised in December of 2001, there is so much it left out in terms of changes in technology and 911 (and yes, these things do apply to Economics!) that I wonder how thoroughly it was updated. Best book on employment law out there!
This book makes a dry subject interesting and understandable. It is packed full of useful information. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business Law    3. Business/Economics    4. Labor & Employment    5. Labor And Employment Law    6. Labor laws and legislation    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. Personnel And Human Resources Management    9. United States    10. Business & Economics / Business Law    11. English law: employment & labour law   

Reviews (3)

did you read the footnotes?
Having never actually subjected the book to scrutiny, albeit rather an exageration, it comes as no little surprise that i discover both the writing style and the general cognitive processes of the authors, in addition to the lack of well-placed commas, to be, without equivocation n.1, the most obtuse, murky, singularly unreaable n.2 display of textual acrobatics i have ever, whether in or out of school n.3, had the distinct displeasure of having to plod through in one day - notwithstanding a few notable books i've also had to accept into my overstuffed head, lately.
Well . . .
Well, Judge Posner calls this (in its first edition) the greatest casebook, and surely it is that.

Hard class, horrible book
Federal Courts and Federal Jurisdiction is generally recognized as the hardest course in law school.After surviving the course myself, I can attest to this fact.Unfortunately, my course used this text which was useless in imparting an understanding of the material, and in fact did more to confuse my peers and me than anything else.Learning this material is already difficult enough, so it is extremely unhelpful when your text makes the subject even more mystifying.Read more

Subjects:  1. Cases    2. Courts    3. Government - Federal    4. Judicial power    5. Jurisdiction    6. Law    7. United States    8. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law   

Reviews (53)

As good as it gets
I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in March 2006 after having struggled for 19 years with its symptoms.At last I was put on the right medication, only to find out that lithium gives me severe headaches.So now I am taking depakote, and I read from this book all the time.This newer (second) edition has some important additions, so if you have the first edition, I highly recommend getting this one.I have often had mixed epidodes, and Dr. Mondimore does his best to explain this rare and poorly understood mood state.I could add a few things about it, having experienced them myself.He also does a good job of explaining bipolar disorder in children.I think I had it starting at age 7, which is rare but does happen.Information on children with bipolar disorder is hard to find, and when you do find it, it is usually not very helpful in its level of detail and explanation.I found the information on medications (including anti-psychotic medications, one of which I take) to be very helpful.This section has more information than the first edition had.Overall, I highly recommend this book even if you suffer from a more unusual manifestation of the disease, as do I.

Easy to read with lots of information
As a psychologist who has taught abnormal psychology at the college level for many years, I was impressed by the depth of coverage and the writing style of the author. The author explains in plain language what is known about the disorder and how to cope with it. It can be read by the professional and the non-professional alike. I purchased this book for a friend who has bipolar disorder and is not a professional. She loves the book.

A "Must Read" for Those with Family Members or Friends with bipolar mood disorder
Many books about bipolar disorder are either for psychiatrists or are just generally uninformative.This book is written by a psychiatrist, but for lay persons.Bipolar mood disorder is a disease.This book discusses symptoms, treatment, and how to recognize those with the disease.Case studies are illustrative and helpful.Highly recommended, particularly if your life is affected by someone who you think has bipolar mood disorder. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Affective disorders    2. Bipolar Disorder    3. General    4. Health & Fitness    5. Health/Fitness    6. Manic-depressive illness    7. Mood Disorders    8. Popular Works    9. Psychology    10. Psychopathology - Manic Depressive Illness    11. Political Science / Foreign Legal Systems    12. Social welfare & social services   

Subjects:  1. Business Law    2. Criminal Law - General    3. Criminal justice, Administrati    4. Criminal justice, Administration of    5. Criminology    6. Jurisprudence    7. Law    8. Legal Reference / Law Profession    9. Crime & criminology    10. English law: criminal law    11. Political Science / Law Enforcement   

Reviews (13)

An excellent reference
It is difficult to say whether the contentious atmosphere that currently exists regarding the legal opinions of the Supreme Court is greater than any other time in the history of the United States. There have been times, especially during the Civil War and World War I when the Supreme Court raised the ire of many a citizen. Some of the "activist" justices, as some of them are now called, could perhaps be designated as "activist light" if compared with some of the justices of the past. This book gives ample evidence for this comparison, but also gives information on a wide variety of legal issues that the Supreme Court has had to deal with throughout its history. It would probably not be read from cover to cover, but instead serves as a general reference for those readers who are not and do not intend to become legal scholars, but are curious as to the reasoning patterns deployed by the justices who sat on the Court. Readers who are approaching this subject for the first time will find many surprises about the Court, both in the opinions expressed by the judges and in their personal histories and backgrounds. It is fair to say that legal opinions are guided predominantly by the historical context in which they are put forth, and this claim seems to gain more substantiation as more articles in this book are read and studied.
Massive tome on the Supreme Court.
_The Oxford Companion to the United States Supreme Court of the United States_(Kermit Hall, ed.) is a massive tome containing a vast swath of information: cases, traditions, theories of constitutional interpretations, historical events, and biographies of all of the Supreme Court Justices.It has the same material (word for word) as Kermit Hall's _The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions_ but this is much more worthwhile reference work because it contains more contextual material than the cases themselves.This book is by no means exhaustive, but it provides a very informative overview of what the Supreme Court has been up to for the past two hundred years and the very different personalities serving on the body.

A worthy companion
As the nation prepares to welcome the seventeenth Chief Justice, this book is a wonderful guide to the processes of the least 'media-exposed' branch of the federal government and its highest institution, the Supreme Court.
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Subjects:  1. Courts - Supreme Court    2. Encyclopedias    3. Essays    4. Federal Jurisdiction    5. Government - Federal    6. Law    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. Reference    9. Supreme Court    10. United States    11. United States.    12. Comparative law    13. Constitutional & administrative law    14. Courts & procedure    15. Law / Reference    16. Law | Legal History    17. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    18. USA   

Reviews (5)

cool read
Let me take these reviews down a level.This is a fantastic book for anyone who is interested in how order arises in social situations.As other people have noted, its a great piece of academic literature, but its also just plain interesting.Overall Mr. Ellickson is more than a little anti-government in his assessment of the need for state intervention.However, there are plenty of everyday occurences of order that are not backed up by law that make this interesting.Think of the fact that when a funeral procession drives down a street everyone stops to let them pass, even if the traffic light is against them.This book looks at how these kinds of events are established and why they persist.Very cool, I highly recommend it.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors
Order Without Law studies why, and under what circumstances, people accept a body of rules when there is no written law establishing those rules, and occasionally when the written law contradicts those rules.To answer this question, Professor Robert Ellickson settled into a long and detailed field study of the attitudes of cattle ranchers in Shasta County, California.His primary focus was on the informal rules governing boundary fences; who pays to build, who pays to maintain, who accepts the risk of stray cattle, and so forth.While his geographical focus was narrow, it was impressively deep, involving dozens of personal interviews and detailed reviews of public records.Ellickson explains why he believes that two current theories, law-and-economics and law-and-society, are both inadequate. He creates his own useful taxonomy of rules, rule makers, and rule enforcers.He offers hypotheses to predict future situations when people will more likely accept unwritten rules.Designed for professionals who deal daily in human behavior, such as sociologists, anthropologists, and lawyers, Order Without Law remains accessible to the general reader.One part was difficult to follow: the extended analysis of the Prisoner's Dilemma and its variations.But overall Order Without Law is a valuable addition to law and the social sciences.

Society and Law book that explains order without law.
This book does not seek to explain the world in economic terms, but it does seek to explain it in sociological terms.Using the example of Shasta County cattle ranchers he has crafted an excellent book.It is scholarly, yet accessible.Read more

Subjects:  1. Dispute Arbitration    2. General    3. Law    4. Politics/International Relations    5. Sociology    6. Foundations of law    7. Law / General    8. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    9. Social Sciences    10. USA   

Reviews (2)

"Excellent start for novice or those interested in CSI"
Mark R. Hawthorne's "First Unit Responder," CRC Press 1999, ISBN 0-9493-002-1, is a 6 chapter 98-page guide book for uniformed officers working in the field who frequently are the first to arrive for a potential crime scene investigation(CSI). Rookies or veterans, Cops to firefighters to EMT's
As a law enforcement instructor at a police training facility, I found this book to be fantastic for the new recruits we train. As a retired police officer/Crime Scene Analyst, I also realized it would be great for some veteren officers and non-law enforcement personnel to review. Mark Hawthorne has kept the technical information on an easily understandable level. He has covered, in 90 pages, what would take hours