Reviews (1)

An excellent primer for anyone interested in the subject
This book is part of an excellent 5 book series dealing with democratization. In thisparticular tome, different perspectives are used to explain the transition fromauthoritarianism to democracy. Theimportance of internationalactors, bureaucracies, entrepreneurs, themilitary, and economic conditions areexamined to explain how transitionstake place. Although some perspectives arecounty specific, all of themcan be expanded to explain many cases around theworld. All of the authorsare experts in the field and the essays are highly readable. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authoritarianism    2. Case studies    3. Democracy    4. Government - Comparative    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Representative government and    8. Representative government and representation    9. International relations    10. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    11. Political ideologies   

Subjects:  1. 1945-    2. 1945-1989    3. Foreign relations    4. Foreign relations administrati    5. Foreign relations administration    6. Government - Comparative    7. International Relations - General    8. Political Science    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Politics and government    11. Politics/International Relations    12. United States    13. International relations    14. Political Science / General    15. USA   

Reviews (8)

Terrified and terrifying
Prof. Chandler gives us a remarkably deep analysis of Pol Pot's secret prison S-21, which within the autogenocide of the Cambodian people stands out as a haunting symbol. It reflected the unlimited paranoia of Angkar and its schizophrenic regime that 'was at once terrified and terrifying, omnipotent and continually under threat'. Disturbing
David Chandler has made extensive use of the archives of S-21, with photographs and "confessions" to show the absurd paranoia of the leaders in Democratic Kampuchea. An excellent book, with some aspects that put me off, though: blunt anticommunism, some assertions about Soviet, Chinese and Vietnamese leaders that are rather anecdotal than based on serious historic scholarship, and weird comparisons between the turturers at S-21 and psychoanalysts.

The Psychology of Horror
David Chandler's "Voices from S-21: Terror and History in Pol Pot's Secret Prison" is a good book for a novice like me. Chandler starts by framing the book around the S-21 institution and its configuration. Chandler then dedicates and entire portion to the memoirs of the purges; the allegation santebal leveled at prisoners; and the various approaches of "politics" and"torture." The book concludes with short commentary of the "why" of S-21. Chandler's "Voices from S-21" is effectively a detailed history of the inner workings of the Khmer Rouge's secret police. Known as "santebal", and working out of a prison complex called S-21, the Khmer Rouge killed, tortured and interrogated "enemies" of the Democratic Kampuchea (DK). Due to the secretive nature of the Khmer Rouge, S-21 was "the place where people went in but never came out" (p. 7) - and this is an important issue to consider. Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Asia - Southeast Asia    3. Cambodia    4. Genocide    5. Government - Comparative    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Political persecution    10. Political prisoners    11. Torture    12. Violence in Society    13. 20th century    14. Asian / Middle Eastern history: postwar, from c 1945 -    15. Central government    16. History / Asia    17. Political imprisonment   

Reviews (86)

Marxism: Dormant, but not dead
I can think of no other book, fiction or nonfiction, that has so captured the evil we faced from the Soviet Union. Orwell accomplished much with 1984 and Animal Farm, but here we have something much more valuable: genuine life experience. Solzhenitsyn doesn't just pen an autobiography with the Gulag Archipelago. He recounts, examines, and criticizes the entire Communist/Socialist/Marxist worldview, and the reality that came from the theory. The last century cannot be properly understood without reading this book. It is my belief that socialism will rise again - not in our lifetimes, but somewhere down the road when intellectuals agree that "Well, mistakes were made, but we're so much more advanced now." The movement will return under another name. This book is the cure.
Clarification
This is just to clarify that this is an Abridgement. I wish it had been more clear in the description that this edition was an abridgement and not the entire work. Fortunately, I Amazon refunded my money as I wish to read The Gulag in all its glory.

A sobering adjustment of perspective
I'm usually among the first in line to complain about the NSA, COINTELPRO, the modern surveillance-state, the PATRIOT ACT, etc.In spite of this (or, perhaps because of this) it is deeply insightful to read this first-hand account about life in a genuine police-state.Although ponderous and sometimes outright dull, The Gulag Archipelago is an important record of one of the darkest chapters of modern history.Without books like this, who will remember once all the survivors are gone? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Concentration camps    4. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    5. Government - Comparative    6. History - General History    7. Literary    8. Penology    9. Political prisoners    10. Prisons    11. Russian & Former Soviet Union    12. Soviet Union    13. Biography & Autobiography / Literary   

Editorial Review

Thanks to TV cop shows, most Americans can probably recite the Miranda warnings, but do they know when the warnings do--and do not--apply? Tort reformers cite the $2.7 million in punitive damages a jury awarded a little old lady in Albuquerque when the cup of coffee she had set between her legs spilled and scalded her. These crusaders against "excessive" damage awards do not usually note that the trial judge reduced the award to $480,000, or that the coffee was 20 degrees hotter than competitors' coffee.Read more

Reviews (24)

Law 101: Everything You Need to Know About the American Legal System
This is a great introduction to the different fields of law. This uses recent cases that show now only how the legal field works, but how it has run amuck.

Good so far
Before my first year classes started I had read most of the parts that were applicable.The reading definitely gave me some sort of foundation and framework for understanding all the information they throw at you in law school.Some of the reading is a little dry, but compared to some Marshall opinions you'll read for class, this book's a breeze.

Heavily academic in dry, concise, and reasonable format
For what it worth, the book is intended for classroom study. It is dry, dense, and concise with heavy emphasis on the history of law and its role in society. The author has relied on few anecdotes to demonstrate how the law is applicable to dispute resolution. Those linger along many chapters and require the reader to follow closely each anecdote in order to discern the applicability of the law.
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Subjects:  1. Law    2. Legal Reference / Law Profession    3. Legal System    4. Popular works    5. Reference    6. United States    7. Law / Reference    8. Law | General Academic    9. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    10. USA   

Reviews (2)

Premiere text not aging gracefully
As a security professional and attorney with more than 30 years of experience, I have used this text in my graduate courses on security case law and security management for more than eight years with more than 400 students at two universities. The clarity of the author's text and the case-based format makes it an ideal text. K-Mart Law (i.e. The Rentacop's Bible)
According to editor David A. Maxwell, the role of subsidized law enforcement is becoming increasingly supplanted by private security personnel (primarily as a result of municipal tax dollars spreading too thin, but also as a buffer to litigation from citizens injured and/or victimized on private property), and as a result, the criminal justice system will be forced to engineer new legal paradigms to control these corporate spaces, what with our "public" environments becoming increasingly privatized (shopping malls, apartment buildings, condominiums, retail outlets, hotels, bars, restaurants, casinos, health care institutions), a postmodern Main Street, fragmented and decentralized.What the industry needs (and what Maxwell provides) are a series of discourses that explore these new legal dangers and issues of accountability, providing a code of ethics for underpaid, underrespected "rentacops" who nevertheless find themselves bearing the brunt of municipal police functionality, badge-wearing "civilians" with limited arrest and investigatory powers.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. Cases    4. Civil Procedure    5. Industries - General    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Police, Private    8. Private Security    9. Private security services    10. United States    11. Business & Economics / Industries    12. English law: criminal law    13. Private, property, family law    14. Security services    15. USA   

Subjects:  1. Ancient Law    2. General    3. Government - Comparative    4. Interior Design - General    5. Law    6. Law, Hittite    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. Sources    9. Jurisprudence & General Issues    10. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    11. Literary studies: classical, early & medieval   

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Government - Comparative    3. History    4. Interior Design - General    5. Language Arts & Disciplines    6. Law    7. Law, Ancient    8. Library & Information Science    9. Middle East    10. Politics / Current Events   

Reviews (2)

as advertised
The book came in great condition at a great price.I recommend this vendor.

Iran is misclassified
The authors give an impressive critique of the political systems in several countries. The book has several parts. The first is the major democracies, with a chapter for each of the US, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and India. It is commendable that India is put into this group, as befits the world's largest democracy.
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Subjects:  1. Comparative government    2. General    3. Government - Comparative    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT   

Subjects:  1. Cross-cultural studies    2. Democracy    3. Government - Comparative    4. International Relations - General    5. Political Ideologies - Democracy    6. Political Science    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Medical / History    10. Political science & theory    11. Political structures: democracy   

Reviews (9)

Really good for those interested in assisted living needs
I needed information on how to finance, build and market senior housing.The information in this book on elderly and handicapped housing needs is really helpful to me.This is well done, and those of us not part of the industry can understand it.

An essential part of your long-term care management library.
Pearce has done an excellent job of writing a sentinel primer for managing long-term care communities.The details are all there.Of even greater importance, the details are presented within the context of critical principles that distinguish the excellent community from the average or mediocre.As a faculty member responsible for a number of long-term care management courses at two schools of public health, this is one of a very limited number of texts that I assign as "must reads" for my students.

A Detailed and Complete Guide on Senior Living Communities
I truly enjoyed "Senior Living Communities: Operations Management and Marketing for Assisted Living, Congregate, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities".It answered most of the questions that I had on developing a community for senior living. I feel a social calling to provide for the housing and care needs of the elderly. The Senior Care track was adopted as a part of the Masters of Real Estate degree that I am enrolled in. This book was used in one of my classes. What a blessing!As I began to read this book, I realized that most of the "concise details" in developing a community are all in there.I am so amazed to see such valuable information each time I turn the page. The author has addressed the obvious and the important things that often are forgotten. This book is like the bible of developing successful senior living communities. The knowledge gained by reading this book will definitely create the foundation for the development of a successful project. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Administration    2. Care    3. Congregate housing    4. Gerontology    5. Health Care Administration    6. Health Care Issues    7. Health Services For Older Adults    8. Life care communities    9. Management    10. Management - General    11. Marketing - General    12. Medical    13. Medical / Nursing    14. Older people    15. United States    16. Care of the elderly    17. Geriatric medicine    18. Management & management techniques    19. Political Science / Foreign Legal Systems    20. Public health & preventive medicine    21. USA   

Reviews (2)

AP Gov Students Thoughts
I am an 11th grader using this book in my AP Government class, and I have not been thourougly impressed with this book. It is incredibly dense and hard to follow. (It usually takes me over two hours to do a Chapters worth of notes.) The vocabulary words are rarely defined and usually lack contextual clues as well.
Taught by the Author
This text was used in the course of comparative politics I am currently taking with 2 of its authors. The book is quiet deep and is definitely not for use in teaching AP COMPARATIVE GOVT. Introduction is pretty long and boring. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Government - Comparative    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Political Science / General   

Subjects:  1. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    2. General    3. Government - Comparative    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Public Policy - General    8. Africa    9. Conservation of wildlife & habitats    10. Political Science / General    11. Political economy    12. Wildlife conservation--Government policy--Africa   

Subjects:  1. Asia - Korea    2. Government - Comparative    3. History - General History    4. International Relations - General    5. Korea (North)    6. Political Science    7. Politics and government    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Public Policy - Economic Policy    10. Asian studies    11. North Korea   

Editorial Review

This is the single best book available on the Taliban, the fundamentalist Islamic regime in Afghanistan responsible for harboring the terrorist Osama bin Laden. Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist who has spent most of his career reporting on the region--he has personally met and interviewed many of the Taliban's shadowy leaders. Read more

Reviews (134)

A mirror of world events
If you would like to understand what is happening in the Middle East, read what happened in Afghanistan much earlier.This book puts the current world conflict in perspective.Then,you should read "Jihad" by the same author.
Worth your money.
I just got done finishing this book.It is well-written and informative.There are alot of reviews praising this book, so I don't have to say much.I will just state that you can read books by so-called Taliban experts, or you can read it from areal expert.Ahmed Rashid is somebody who actually interviewed members of the Taliban, and observed the causes and effects of the Taliban takover, since he visited and stayed in Afghanistan for an extended period of time.
Absolute distraction
Whilst researching for a university assignment I came across this brilliant piece of distraction.
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Subjects:  1. 1973-    2. Afghanistan    3. Contemporary Politics - Middle East    4. Government - Comparative    5. History & Theory - Radical Thought    6. Islam - General    7. Islam and politics    8. Islam and state    9. Islamic Government    10. Islamic fundamentalism    11. Political    12. Political Science    13. Politics / Current Events    14. Politics and government    15. Politics/International Relations    16. Taliban    17. History / General    18. Current Affairs   

Reviews (5)

Warning "Diatribe" coming
This book would have been fine had it been published 20 years ago before the saturation of critical theory. Now it just feels like a wounded discourse from someone who went to grad school in the 60's.

Principles revisited
Ronald Dworkin is one of the most prominent law philosophers in the common law tradition. Known both in America and Britain for his strong democratic positions, baptized by Duncan Kennedy `orthodox centrism', Dworkin is an acid critic of the paradigms of the contemporaneous jurisprudence. Principles revisited
Ronald Dworkin is one of the most prominent law philosophers in the common law tradition. Known both in America and Britain for his strong democratic positions, baptized by Duncan Kennedy `orthodox centrism', Dworkin is an acid critic of the paradigms of the contemporaneous jurisprudence. Read more

Subjects:  1. Common law    2. General    3. History - General History    4. Jurisprudence    5. Law    6. Philosophy    7. Reference    8. Law / General    9. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    10. USA   

Subjects:  1. Comparative government    2. Constitutions    3. General    4. Political Science    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Separation of powers    8. Constitution: government & the state    9. Political Science / General    10. Political science & theory   

Reviews (2)

Fairly valuable for getting the big picture
As a first year law student, and with finals quickly approaching, I was desperate for a book that would help me make sense of it all. I found this book to be pretty helpful. It made me take a step back from what I was studying to get a good look at the overall picture, which is really important. Finals are still about two weeks away, but I'm feeling more confident now. Don't get me wrong... this book is in now way a substitute for test preparation, but it does help you understand why somethings are the way they are.

It is really fundamental
This book has helped lawyers from other countries to understand in a better and general way the American legal system.It has an overview of areas such as criminal law, torts, contracts, commercial law, immigration,labor, among others.I recommend this book as an introduction to the legalsystem for non lawyers or for foreign lawyers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Law    3. Legal System    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Reference    6. United States    7. Law / General    8. Law | Comparative Law and National Legal Systems    9. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    10. USA   

Reviews (1)

Decent
I thought this was a decent, easy-to-read book with great graphs to highlight the points made. My only suggestion is that some of the Hypothetical answers seemed choppy and I didn't grasp a full understanding of how some conclusion were reached (ex. the Independent running for president who couldn't get a certain length of time on t.v.) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Communication    2. Industries - Media & Communications Industries    3. Language    4. Language Arts & Disciplines    5. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    6. Mass Communication    7. Mass Media - General    8. Public    9. Public Law    10. Business & Economics / Industries / Media & Communications Industries    11. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    12. Media studies    13. Social law   

Reviews (3)

A Guaranteed 5
I am a high school senior who took AP Comparative Government last year.My course only lasted 3 months, so my teacher had a hard time cramming so much knowledge into our brains in such a short time span.Hence, I decided to do some outside reading (a first for me), so I bought this book.Ethel Wood's study guide is the most comprehensive book on comparative government.It is very easy to read and rather succint.The quizzes inbetween each chapter are fantastic, as are the two practice exams.I was able to skim the entire book in a couple of days (its not hard at all), and a few days before the exam I thoroughly read the entire book.Although some questions on the exam were not discussed in this study guide, I was able to pull off a 5.
Outstanding Book Containing Everything You Need to Know
I took the AP Comparative Government test, like most people, because it comes free with the US government test.About 2 weeks before the test, I broke down and realized that I needed to get a prep book from which to study, or I wasn't going to do well.This book arrived at my doorstep 9 days before the exam.With just a reasonable general knowledge of global affairs as my only prerequisite, I read this book cover to cover and got a 5 on the test without a hitch.The questions on the exam were so reminiscent of this book that it almost seemed as if they were written by the same author.After a thorough reading of this, I don't see how anyone could possibly score below a 4, and I find it highly unlikely that anyone would not get a 5.

I love this book!
I took the AP Comparative Gov test since it came "free" with the American government test without having taken the course. All I did in preparation for the test was read this study guide thoroughly four days in advance and amazingly, I scored a 5. I really liked the simple format of this book. It got to the point and made studying and reviewing relatively easy. I think that on the test, there were only two multiple choice questions with answers that the book did not deal with. I compared this book with the other comparative gov book available that my friend had and this one is far superior. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Government - Comparative    2. Political Science