Book Description
This all new third edition is most comprehensive yet easy to use guidebook ever written for Maui. Hawai'i resident and best selling author, Andrew Doughty, actually hikes all the trails, rides the boats, scuba dives the reefs, dines in the restaurants, reviews all the resorts, snorkels the coastline, explores the hidden waterfalls and shares all the secrets that he finds. Everything is reviewed anonymously. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes Maui so exciting.
Book Description
The finest guidebook ever written for Kauai. This brand new sixth edition has more useful information, the most up to date maps and scores of hidden gems listed nowhere else. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes the Garden Island so special.
Maps include beach access to even the most remote beaches, mile markers so you always know where you are, hiking trails and numerous details in an easy to follow format.
Symbols quickly identify recommended sights and companies. This book shows you which companies really are the best…and which to avoid.
Special expanded sections on Activities, Hiking and Adventures.
Clear, concise directions to get to those hard to find places.
Web site with links to every business, last minute updates, events calendar and more. Plus Web pages that expand on all accommodation reviews with aerial photos of all the resorts (so you'll know if oceanfront really means oceanfront).
Written by Kauai residents who know the island.
Frank, honest opinions from anonymous reviews—No advertisements.
They've covered it all—from the top of Wai`ale`ale to the sparkling underwater reefs. This is the best investment you can make for your trip to Kauai. Whether you are a first time visitor, or a long time kama`aina, you will find out more about the Garden Island from this book than from any other source.
Customer Reviews:
So-So.......2007-10-07
I went to Kauai for the first time in September. Of course, purchased this book before we went. There are definitely pros and cons to this book. It was definitely helpful while touring around Kauai, very informative about the area and things to see on the Island so for that I was very grateful to have it while on vacation.
On the other hand, I disagreed with a lot of their opinions (specifically the horsback riding company that they loved so much and a few of their restaurant choices). I thought they gave out their "Onos" a little too freely (for example, they gave an Ono to the Wrangler Steakhouse, which was not good at all - I don't think a place with that much fat in their steak sandwich deserves on "Ono".) My husband and I are "food snobs" when it comes to vacation so if you are anything like us, you would probably agree that some of the "favorite" restaurants in this book are not so good.
All in all though, I would suggest getting this book if you are going to use it as a guide to what to see and where to go as far as the sights are concerned. It did have a lot of good, useful information on the differents areas of Kauai.
Great Guide Book. Fun to know what to expect before you go!.......2007-10-01
This book is a great guide to a place you are excited to visit. It has great ideas and was sincere with their comments.
Probably one of the best I have come across and was recommended by a local from Hawaii!
A MUST HAVE BEFORE YOUR KAUAI TRIP.......2007-09-30
This book is a 'must have' on your trip before going to Kauai. We used the Maui Guidebook on our trip to Maui and now that we are preparing for Kauai, knew we had to get the Kauai version. It tells you everything from what to take, to what to see, to where to stay, to where to eat... it has it all. I am quite jealous as the author now LIVES there, but maybe someday.
Don't visit Kauai without it!.......2007-09-28
We just returned from Kauai and this book was right on the money with it's recommendations and warnings. This is a perfect example of how a guidebook should be written. It's honest, unbiased, and written with a causal but comprehensive style. I would recommend however that you either take along a GPS or rent one with your rental car. We took ours along and I'm glad we did. I can't imagine how we would have found some of the best spots on the island without it. There aren't many roads, but the roads that are there are not particularly well marked, plus they're difficult to pronounce for a first time visitor. For the new comer to Kauai the guidebook is up to date and told us just about everything we needed to know. We were told that some of the locals would like to find the author and bury him in the sand for some of his reviews, but judging by our experience it may be better for those who didn't impress to just try a little harder. From shave ice to resturants the food reviews were spot on. For the best tours, attractions, and places not to miss the advice was perfect. Get this book, a good GPS, and you'll love this heaven-on-earth place known as Kauai. Mahalo!
The Ultimate KauaiGuidebook.......2007-09-23
This is a great book for anyone visiting this Hawaiian island. The author has one for each Hawaiian Island and they are great for finding the best and worst of everything.
Book Description
This all new fourth edition is the most comprehensive yet easy to use guidebook ever written for the Big Island. Best selling author, Andrew Doughty, unlocks the secrets of an island so big and diverse that many visitors never realize all that it has to offer. Hawaii The Big Island Revealed has more up to date information, the most useful maps and scores of hidden gems listed nowhere else. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes the Big Island so exciting.
39 specially created maps include clear, concise directions to even the most remote beaches and other hard to find places, mile markers (so you always know where you are), hiking trails and numerous details in an easy to follow format.
Discover deserted black sand beaches, secluded freshwater lava pools (some volcanically heated), pristine rain forests, lava tubes, hidden waterfalls and the most dramatic part of the erupting volcano. Read fascinating stories and legends from all around the island.
Symbols quickly identify recommended sights and companies. Find out which companies really are the best…and which to avoid. Frank, honest opinions from anonymous reviews—No advertisements.
Special expanded sections on Beaches, Hiking and Adventures.
Web site with links to every business, last minute updates and more. Plus Web pages that expand on all accommodation reviews with aerial photos of all the resorts (so you'll know if oceanfront really means oceanfront).
Only book ever banned at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Visitor Center for being "too honest" and "revealing too much."
"Hawaii The Big Island Revealed" covers it all—from the snow-covered top of Mauna Kea, to the sparkling underwater reefs. This is the best investment you can make for your Big Island trip. Whether you are a first time visitor, or a long time kama`aina, you will find out more about the Big Island from this book than from any other source. Discover the island of your dreams with "Hawaii The Big Island Revealed".
Customer Reviews:
Hawaii The Big Island Revealed.......2007-10-09
This was a very informative book helping to plan our vacation to Hawaii. It helped us to decide where to go and what to avoid. Thanks!
So accurate, so entertaining.......2007-10-05
Reading the book itself was like experiencing everything the author had while researching it, the writing is candid, humorous, insightful. It made our three day (I know, short) trip to the Big Island a great success. Except for one thing: the winds that the author describes as being strong in the afternoon on the Kohala coast are actually strong in the morning, but (according to our hotel) only in the summer (around September). If you spend such a short time on the island, this book is totally worth it. I just wish we had been considered "locals" like him, because in the low season (September), Hawaiians just aren't as friendly. There were hardly any tourists (weather is less predictable, it's past the main travel season in both US and Asia) and the locals appeared to be enjoying their time away from the crowds. But that's our experience, and don't let it stop you from buying this guide.
Welcome to Lava Land.......2007-10-04
This book enriched my trip to the Big Island of Hawaii immeasurably. Its recommendations of things to do, places to eat, and its guide to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park made the trip a sure thing.
Looks great!.......2007-09-28
I haven't had a chance to put this book to use yet but it has been invaluable in planning so much so that we are not going to purchase any additional overall guide books for Hawaii. The big features of this book versus other guide books are great maps and numerous color photos. It is also fun to read. I was surprised to find restaurant and comprehensive lodging info included, particularly if you refer to their website for more info. They even have links to the properties' websites.
The only drawback is the lack of detail on each of the hiking trails. Lots of description but the basic information such as length of the trail is often left out. It also seems the authors really want you to go to the out of the way trails. Many take all day or multiple days to do. Perhaps they are all like that on the Big Island and on Kauai (the other book in this series I've purchased.)
Great guidebook.......2007-09-22
I found this guide to be very accurate and complete. I liked the way things were grouped with basics in one section followed by detailed descriptions (including mile markers) starting from one point and working their way around the island, then a separate section for beaches, activities, hikes and adventures. The writer's comments are very funny which made for easy, enjoyable reading too. The maps were very accurate and easy to read as well. I would have been lost with out this book!
Book Description
The most comprehensive yet easy-to-use guidebook series to Hawaii brings you the second edition of Oahu Revealed. Written by the author of the best-selling guides, Maui Revealed, Hawaii The Big Island Revealed and The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook. He actually hikes all the trails, rides the boats, scuba dives the reefs, dines in the restaurants, reviews all the resorts, snorkels the coastline, explores the hidden waterfalls and shares all the secrets that he finds. Everything is reviewed anonymously. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes Oahu so exciting.
Customer Reviews:
Best Book on the Islands.......2007-10-08
I have been to Oahu several times prior to obtaining this book. I found it to be most helpful, giving you all the places to visit. The description of the beaches, hikes, attractions, etc. is very accurate. This is an excellent book to plan a vacation to your island paradise trip.
Not my favorite of Doughty's books.......2007-09-07
We purchased this book because we were quite pleased with the Kauai and Maui books, but weren't as impressed with this book. This may be because our Oahu trip was our first to Hawaii with children, and these books aren't especially tailored to a family vacation. More descriptions of family-friendly events, more restaurant and hotel reviews and less really-off-the-beaten-path sites would have been preferred for our family vacation. However, if you are looking for a book that tells you more about the hidden Oahu, this is probably for you. As with the other books, the author is candid and fair.
A MUST for any Oahu vacation.......2007-08-21
By far, one of the best travel series I've read- I wish Wizard publications covered the entire world with their practical, tell-it-like-it-is approach to getting the most out of your time in the islands. The pictures were on par with the DK Eyewitness Guides (my favorite series until I stumbled upon this one!) and the maps were detailed and easy to follow. In addition to the fantastic reviews and recommendations in the book, the website provides additional information that is worth checking out, and that's entirely free! I would insist that any Hawaii traveler consider this Wizard Guide as an essential travel companion.
Outstanding Resource.......2007-08-07
Oahu Revealed was an excellent source of info for our vacation. We saved a lot of money and avoided some hassles based on the help from this book.
Highly recommended!
the most valuable thing I bought for our honeymoon.......2007-08-06
Torn and worn out now, this book has all your typical travel advice, really good maps too. However, the in-depth commentary on the sites and activities were excellent!!....Things I did not find in the other two books I purchased. I would reccommend this book to anyone. -Ken
Book Description
At last in paperback in one complete volume, here are the five classic novels from Douglas Adams’s beloved Hitchiker series.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space.
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Facing annihilation at the hands of warmongers is a curious time to crave tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his comrades as they hurtle across the galaxy in a desperate search for a place to eat.
Life, the Universe and Everything
The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky– so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals can avert Armageddon: mild-mannered Arthur Dent and his stalwart crew.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Back on Earth, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription conspires to thrust him back to reality. So to speak.
Mostly Harmless
Just when Arthur Dent makes the terrible mistake of starting to enjoy life, all hell breaks loose. Can he save the Earth from total obliteration? Can he save the Guide from a hostile alien takeover? Can he save his daughter from herself?
Customer Reviews:
Now this is a deal you CANT afford to miss!.......2007-07-07
Cynical, utterly hilarious, and full of funny, unique, and loveable characters, this is a series you won't want to skip out on, even if your like me and you don't like sci-fi.
That was the thing that kept me from allowing myself to experience the wonders of the first book when I first picked it up. I kept telling myself, this is a sci-fi book, its going to bore me. But it is much more than just a sci-fi book. It is THE most hilarious series I have ever read. Douglas Adams' sense of droll wit and cynicism are astounding, and have allowed me to experience many merry evenings sitting and laughing at these books. (You might also want to check out his excellent Dirk Gently Novels).
The story line may seem simply and boring-which it is definetly not-, but its the happenings, the wonderful narration, and the characters that truly bring this book to life and beyond being just a sci-fi book.
Also included in this selection are some hilarious introductions by the author, and a little biography about him from Neil Gaman, who cowrote Good Omens with one of my other favorite authors Terry Pratchett and wrote American Gods. And while they're probably not totally exclusive to this collection, they are well worth the read, especially the introduction by Douglas Adams.
My favorite summer read of all time.......2007-06-17
One august weekend I hit the back yard armed with this book and a gin and tonic. Over the next few weekends I finished the book, several of the drinks and my neighbors probably came to think I was insane. I've never laughed that loud or that much at any other book. And no I would not chalk it up to the G and T's (I only had a few over the duration of the book) I still think back on that summer with great fondness. Adams is painfully funny, insanely original, and one heck of a fine writer. It's Monty Python meets Doctor Who. Yes there are plenty of people who hate this book or just don't get it. But for those of us who do get it, it's the sort of book that takes on a highly loved place of honor in our library. I would strongly suggest you give it a shot. Grab your towel, a tasty and AGE APPROPRIATE beverage, and head for the back yard or the beach. I guarentee you'll either become one of us, or someone who's deeply confused by one of us.
Summer reading.......2007-06-12
If you are looking for a summer reading book that will not challenge you too much but give you some mindless fun, this is for you. Definitely not highbrow literature, but a fun literary dessert. This includes all 5 books of the "trilogy", so you can keep going for a long time. Recommended for the beach, airport, airplane, train, car.... Witty and fun.
Love or Hate!.......2007-03-13
This is the sort of book you will either love or hate.
I believe there are three sorts of people who could love this book: the cynical, the skeptic, or the novelist.
This book is cynical about absolutely everything from tea to immortality. The way it gripes about everything on such a completely down-to-earth common place level understanding, it is rather uplift.
The skeptic is all through the book, if you can't have you religion mocked a little bit, don't buy it.
There are a mind-numbing number of jokes on actually writing mechanics in this book. You probably won't even notice that they are jokes unless you have actually spent a lot of time trying to write particularly novels.
If you're in these categories you will love this book.
If you aren't, you're probably going to hate it.
That's I warned you.
Thanks For The Fish.......2007-02-14
The HitchHiker is 20th century satire, probably at its best, which is an implicit condemnation of all other competitors to that title. Adams has a few quotes in these books that rank right up there with the best of them. I particularly liked his description of humankind as - ape descended life forms (who) are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea. We humans are prone to be so distracted by novel and neat ideas that we never quite get around to assigning them a value that really reflects their place in the wider scheme of things. This is Adams at his best.
The problem with the Hitchiker is that its message is delivered through farce and farce wears extremely thin after about an hour. After two hours all hope of entertainment is lost and all that remains is gold-mining, sifting through endless grains of sand, in the hopes of finding another nugget that makes the whole enterprise worth while.
Adam's primary message is that the universe is absurd, having no sense or purpose to it at all. He cannot quite break away from his humanist roots and there is within his writing, a certain nostalgic longing for the days when truth and virtue actually meant something to people. But Adams is way too far gone to ever grant his characters any real contact with virtue and truth. The one character who comes closest is probably Trillian, the woman who left earth before it was destroyed in search of ... something. Even here, we see Adams lampooning the idea of virtue as a guide to wisdom. Virtue is too easily mislead to be a strength. It's not a bad point. But it is tiresome to have it endlessly repeated through pie-in-the-face slapstick, even if it is imaginatively done.
There is power in the argument that the world is absurd. But it is the power that lives in the world of impressions, not the world of realism. A fellow called "The Preacher" wrote about that 3500 years ago in a book called Ecclesiastes. He makes the same point a lot more clearly and, quite frankly, with far more zeal.
Live life, enjoy what you get out of it, take pleasure in doing the work God has given you to do and contentment is possible.
But thanks for all the fish anyway
Average customer rating:
- The most easy to use, comprehensive course available
- Mormon and Pyschic based program
- Innovation Meets Shoddy Production Values
|
Power-Glide Spanish Ultimate Adventure Course Year 1
Robert W. Blair
Manufacturer: Power Glide
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Spanish
| Instruction
| Foreign Languages
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Educación
| No-Ficción
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
| Canada y México
| Colegio y Universidad
| Consejería
| Curricula
| Educación Especial
| Educación de Adultos y Educación Continua
| Escuela Primaria
| Escuela Secundaria
| Europa y Euroasia
| General
| Habilidades para el Estudio
| Lectura
| Método de Instrucción
| Participación de Los Padres
| Pedagogía
| Politica
| Referencia
| Teoría Educativa
| Transición y Jardin Infantil
ASIN: 1582042004 |
Book Description
Created for learners 7th grade through adult, the Power-Glide Ultimate Spanish Course leads the pack in independent study Spanish training. This course includes a wide variety of learning methods and activities, keeping every kind of learner motivated and having fun. Our unique methodology also utilizes the same techniques as natural native language acquisition. Learners finish the course with a remarkable ability to not only read and understand the language, but actually communicate. This course includes the course workbook, an academic guide with additional instruction and testing tools, audio CD's and a set of CD ROM's. Because Power-Glide is accredited, learners can also receive High School credit for completion of certain requirements.
Customer Reviews:
The most easy to use, comprehensive course available.......2006-12-27
The most easy to use, comprehensive course available
Go from beginning to advanced levels in one course
Speak the language, not just pass the test
Puzzles, games stories, and music
Activities for all types of learners
No boring rote memorization
You-are-there adventures
Memory aids
Diglot weaves
This course really works. I've wanted to learn a foreign language for a while, and I'm glad I found this. The first lesson starts out:
"It's just before dawn. You and your companion are intelligence officers assigned to parachute onto Isla de Providencia, a tiny island in the western Caribbean. It has been seized by invaders from an unknown place of origin. Your mission is to discover why this tiny island was singled out for capture. What is there on the island that is of such value? A submarine is to pick you up in ten days at midnight at the north point of the island."
The people on the island speak Spanish. As you continue you meet people who help you to learn the language. You do Puzzles, games stories, and music etc. etc. And then it reads "The adventure continues" and tells you what happens next. For example the invaders are searching the area so you are told to go into a basement to hide and are given a note that says:
"Hidden on esta isla is a treasure of great value, one that may give wealth and fame. The invaders seek this treasure to steal it. The invaders do not know the location to this treasure. Since knowledge of its location is closely tied to and understanding of the Spanish language and culture, chances art that they will not fid it. Hidden in this room is una mapa that will help you in your search for the treasure. To learn the location lf el mapa, complete the puzzle that begins on the next page."
After you finish then "The adventure continues"
Mormon and Pyschic based program.......2005-10-19
I was shocked to find out that this program is filled with Mormon theology. It is based on such theories as Suggestology, which is listed under Pychic studies in Amazon search. This is just not a program that I think any child or adult should expose themselves to.
Here is a list of the other theories this method is based on and where the information can be found:
Suggestopedy by Loranov
Total Physical Response by Asher
Silent Way by Gattengo
Comprehension Approach by Krashen
*As described in Dr. Blair's book Innovative Approaches to Language Teaching.
Innovation Meets Shoddy Production Values.......2004-04-09
Dr. Blair has gone out of his way to discover and invent unconventional methods for language learning. His Power-Glide course is a rich collection of fresh ideas, some of which should be suitable to any person's learning style.
The set comes with a thick course manual, slim academic guide, 9 audio CDs and one computer CD. The course consists of 160 or so lesson segments that build upon each other and get progressively harder.
Lesson 1 gets off to a good start, opening an adventure in which you are a secret agent sneaking into a strange island to solve a mystery. The language learning is woven into the story, but the story soon degenerates into a series of lame excuses for you to do an endless series of drills and exercises.
My biggest complaint about the product is the poor quality of the voice talent. Dr. Blair often seems to think we'd rather listen to his obvious American accent than to a native Spanish speaker. I'll avoid the temptation to make fun of the other voice actors (most of whom suspiciously have the same last name as the course creator). I'll go as far as saying the voices on the CDs quickly degenerate from (unintentionally) comical to unbearable.
They obviously saved some money by not bringing in professional voices, and the result is a shoddy, unprofessional-sounding package.
Power-Glide gets points for originality, and has a wealth of ideas for teachers. But as a consumer product, the awful audio gives it limited use, making it hard to justify the hefty price tag.
Book Description
Drive . . . and grow rich!
The bestselling author of
Investment Biker is back from the ultimate road trip: a three-year drive around the world that would ultimately set the Guinness record for the longest continuous car journey. In
Adventure
Capitalist, legendary investor Jim Rogers, dubbed “the Indiana Jones of finance” by Time magazine, proves that the best way to profit from the global situation is to see the world mile by mile. “While I have never patronized a prostitute,” he writes, “I know that one can learn more about a country from speaking to the madam of a brothel or a black marketeer than from meeting a foreign minister.”
Behind the wheel of a sunburst-yellow, custom-built convertible Mercedes, Rogers and his fiancée, Paige Parker, began their “Millennium Adventure” on January 1, 1999, from Iceland. They traveled through 116 countries, including many where most have rarely ventured, such as Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Angola, Sudan, Congo, Colombia, and East Timor. They drove through war zones, deserts, jungles, epidemics, and blizzards. They had many narrow escapes.
They camped with nomads and camels in the western Sahara. They ate silkworms, iguanas, snakes, termites, guinea pigs, porcupines, crocodiles, and grasshoppers.
Best of all, they saw the real world from the ground up—the only vantage point from which it can be truly understood—economically, politically, and socially.
Here are just a few of the author’s conclusions:
• The new commodity bull market has started.
• The twenty-first century will belong to China.
• There is a dramatic shortage of women developing in Asia.
• Pakistan is on the verge of disintegrating.
• India, like many other large nations, will break into several countries.
• The Euro is doomed to fail.
• There are fortunes to be made in Angola.
• Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are a scam.
• Bolivia is a comer after decades of instability, thanks to gigantic amounts of natural gas.
Adventure Capitalist is the most opinionated, sprawling, adventurous journey you’re likely to take within the pages of a book—the perfect read for armchair adventurers, global investors, car enthusiasts, and anyone interested in seeing the world and understanding it as it really is.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
The Ultimate Road Trip, indeed.......2007-04-05
I am quite impressed by this book and Jim Rogers trip. We all would like to do a tour of the world, but very few of us can spare the time or the money. Being a retired billionaire does help in that respect and if only because it gives the necessary funding to construct your own vehicle and do as you please. Jim Rogers does precisely that. In a way, we all ought to be jealous or make a killing money-wise and do it ourselves.
I loved the description of his trip from Ireland to Tokyo and back to Ireland as well as his trip down and up through Africa. Jim Rogers being an investor he was bound to make all sorts of observations on the economies he traveled through. Some of these I found spot-on. I also agreed with his observation on foreign aid projects given that I have also seen them in action.
The one disappointment for me were his travels from India to New Zealand and his trip through the American continent and largely because he describes it rather briefly. I think they would have deserved at least as much attention as Part One and Part Two of his trip.
But apart from that, this is excellent stuff.
A travel saga through an investor's eyes.......2006-07-18
Jim Rogers, an independent, insightful global investor, wrote this great modern adventure story. He made his money by being an investment iconoclast and that maverick attitude shows in his forthright assessments of entire nations and government bureaucracies. His ground-level adventures are entertaining, but they also provide fundamental research about global markets that economists and corporate strategists should find very valuable. If Rogers is right, his feedback could save strategists hundreds of thousands of dollars in research or consulting fees. He seems to report his observations honestly. He flatly states which countries he thinks are disintegrating, and which ones he thinks seem to be ascending. And, he throws in some disturbing opinions about the U.S. We find this book valuable for global investors, corporate strategists and people interested in adventure travel. While Rogers and his traveling companion had to endure months of inconvenience, inoculations and car trouble to make their trek, you can enjoy their story from your home or office - unless, of course, it inspires you to hit the road.
CEO Blog reviews.......2006-04-13
I finished one of the books I started on the weekend called Adventure Capitalism by Jim Rogers. It is an awesome book. More like a novel or travel narration in many ways than a business book. This makes it slightly slower reading. Jim, and his wife Paige, drive around the world in a modified Mercedes. He comments on the business environment and economy of the countries he visits. Part of what makes the book interesting is the stories he tells of their experiences. He is a natural story teller.
He is a big believer in free trade and open borders and cites numerous examples of countries with open (or closed) borders that prosper (or whither). For example, Burma was a wealthy country which closed its borders in 1962 - it is now a disaster. Same for Ghana, the wealthiest country in the British empire in the 50's(ever wealthier than England) which closed it borders in 1957. Seven years later it was bankrupt.
He has a view is that handouts to countries create dependency and slow self reliance. This is similar to a view taken in one of my favourite books The Millionaire Next Door to handouts to our children..
Trade tariffs (or things like the beef embargo) act as an inefficient tax on the citizens of a country. The citizens pay more for their products which allow local producers to make a bit more profit. This creates a laziness and inefficiency in the local producers that cause them to not be competitive on a world scale. Interesting view.
His view on India differs from The World is Flat (see June 19th post on my blog). Good on the ground R and D.
Rogers can sure execute a plan.......2005-12-17
Rogers writes this book as a follow-on to "Investment Biker" which he wrote in the early 1990's. The difference is he doesn't get rained on as much as his exposure to the elements is limited by his surrounding automobile versus his totally-exposed-to-the-elements motorcycle.
The crux of his book isn't so much a travelogue as about his exploits as a commodity maven or as one who seeks to improve his human capital in that regard. Throughout the book I marveled at his insights and comparisons, and his doggedness at learning by keeping his ear to the ground and his eyes on the road. He knows a great deal about history and the ebb and flow of successful (and unsuccessful) societies. He recounts his own take on the historical, social, political, military, and financial (seen thru currency spreads) realities on every country he visits, - all 116 of them. He's a courageous guy, one with the genes for adventure and risk taking even though he claims to never take risks while investing. This implies that he always buys when there's "blood in the streets" (at the bottom), but his latest problems with Refco, the bankrupt commodity trading operation and it's fraudulent books are a testament and refutation to this claim. That may seem rather cavalier of me to say, but there are always unforseen risks in investing no matter how thorough your research and he knows this better than I.
As a contrast to the high regard in which I hold Rogers as an investor, I am somewhat flummoxed with his claims to be anti-war. After all, he had to occasionally be escorted by armed convoys when he traveled thru Africa and other countries of the sub-continent. Why does he think we give guns to cops? Put another way, the only way you can ultimately neutralize the bad guys is with force. If you want peace you must be prepared for war or so the saying goes. While Rogers correctly states that avaricious politicians are almost always the culprits with regard to war mongering, there are some wars which are wars of liberation i.e. our forays into Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, etc. One need only look at the tremendous outpouring and participation of those who have recently voted in Afghanistan and Iraq. These events make George Kennan's containment theory look a bit dated though it did work acceptably at the time, some 55 to 60 years ago. From my personal perspective Reagan had it right in his dealings with the Soviets and we could have shortened the Cold War considerably had we followed his dictums.
Rogers is certainly correct in understanding the damage that unscrupulous politicians can wreak citing endless examples of it in this book, and his major investment thesis is to buy into a country when no one else will consider it. Given that many of these countires seem to be not countries at all but oil wells with a flag over them, Rogers is true to his calling as an investigative commodities investor, one with his nose close to the ground. By contrast, most large investors are "top-down" guys who look for expanding or contracting spreads after which they invest in the biggest companies in the sector. If you pay close attention to Rogers you see that he always goes for the stocks of staple industries: tobacco, banking, brewing, oil, gas, etc; all industries with a local as well as a potential global market. Because most countries don't manufacture anything that any global consumer will buy, they sell what they can grow and what they have underground in the way of natural resources. If they can cost effectively get it in deliverable form they can export it. After that their next gambit is arms and tourism. As an aside, Rogers points out and correctly so that when the price of oil drops again the Russians are in for a heap of trouble, all the way around. But, it's always something isn't it (Remember Roseanne-a-danna-danna?)
I'd recommend this book to anyone who is an investor and intersted in a macro level birds-eye view of the world. Not many guys have Rogers' keen insights nor his zest for getting down and dirty in the pursuit of the next profitable natural resource or currency play. He's a real maverick and a successful on at that. My hat is certainly off to him and I will faithfully read his next offering which though unannounced will, I'm guessing, be about either undersea or space travel as he seems to have covered everything else, what do you think?
Post-script with a dolled-up Mercedes AMG.......2005-11-27
Following-up on the Investment Biker travelogue, Rogers decides to take this trip in the comforts of an AMG spruced up car. While traveling to more locations and experiencing more life-changing events (death of father, marriage), Roger's 2nd world travel account lacks the cutting adventure of the first. Unique to it's moment in history the first explored the vastly changing political and economic changes that occured with the overnight end of the Cold War, while this account alienates its field description due to a more distanced and experienced writer, as well as more entrenched world situation.
Just as winning a 2nd championship doesn't compare to the first, going around the world and being exposed to things you could never describe or fully understand unless there in person is mitigated by a 2nd serving. Upon trying a new fruit, the possibilities and diversions are endless, but upon experiencing the taste, texture, and terrain of a fruit, analagous to a geographic continent, becomes less revelatory and more familiar. Despite the more distanced, more fragmented, and less nuanced description of each area, this is still an amazing account, few of which can match living in the world today.
Average customer rating:
- not the greatest iv seen
- Excrement
- Ultimate War
- Ultimate filler....
- Good But what About Captain Vs. Wolverine
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Ultimate X-Men Vol. 5: Ultimate War
Mark Millar
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0785111298 |
Book Description
The Ultimates vs. the Ultimate X-Men: the battle begins. When the X-Men do the worst thing they could to humanity, the government orders Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the rest of the Ultimates to bring them down. A small but lethal army, the Ultimates were created to face these and other newly rising threats to mankind. But the X-Men's founder, Professor X, hasn't been training his students for nothing -- and the youngs mutants just might take out the Ultimates first.
Customer Reviews:
not the greatest iv seen.......2006-09-01
i hate the art in it the fight where to short but the story was ok
Excrement.......2006-01-18
This is a positively terrible book. The artwork is by no means up to the standards of the first three books. I would not waste my money!
Ultimate War.......2004-03-16
Here we have two new Marvel creations meeting and fighting: The Ultimate X-Men and the Ultimates. The art is back up to par in this book. The story still as strong as the previous books. Even this far along they've kept it fresh.
Ultimate filler...........2003-08-19
I found the matchups also X-biased and without the huge dramatic impact of the Ultimates series -- Colossus tossing Thor around after Thor and Hulk go toe to toe? Wolverine shredding Stark's armor and taking out Iron Man in seconds? Isn't Iron Man the guy who captured the Rhino in U-Spidey without working up a sweat? C'mon. The revisionist stuff is great, and works in Ultimates, U-X and U-Spidey, but Ultimate War is only filler between the two super teams' Ultimate books. Poor use of continuity and very little action payoff.
Good But what About Captain Vs. Wolverine.......2003-08-09
This was a great comic X-Men vs. Ultimates first of all my two favorite characters Colossus and Wolverine were awesome. Colossus beat up iron for a little and then beat up Thor. And wolverine just killed every one in his path. The only thing i really wanted to see was Capn America vs. Wolverine. INsted all the action ends with Capn america playing a mind trick on wolverine then shooting him with a machine gun. Where is the hand to hand combat even though the better fighter is wolverine that would be great stuff ending is awful though
Customer Reviews:
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Spider-Man gets the dreaded parent teacher consultation. Even worse, an impostor is running around committing crimes while wearing his costume. This ends in tragedy, and a chance in his own living arrangements.
Scratch one girlfriend, as well. He gets patched up by the Wasp. Whether meeting her, or any of th e Ultimates is a good thing is highly debatable.
Very Good.......2007-02-27
I never like to read spider man before I picked up Ultimate. i love to follow Spider-Man and the rest of the main cast. I find it to be very interesting, I would never expect to see what happends in this book. I am now hooked.
ultimate spidey rules..........2007-02-02
ultimate spider-man by bendis and bagley is one of the best series out there. not as much action and non-stop bad guy fighting, but a good mix of that and a lot of peter parker being a teenager with problems (girls, bullies, being grounded, etc.) along with his spidey life.
the series is great great great. only a few minor things that could be better:
1. i don't like how nick fury comes in and tells spider-man he's going to work his whole life for him and shield. the idea of peter being...trapped in a web? haha...well it isn't too cool. superheroes need to fight the good fight because they want to, not because shield will go and take away their superpowers (as fury has threatened) if they don't comply. plus the issues where the ultimates come in aren't that great, the whole series gets hijacked by them and not a lot of spidey. imo, the ultimates are easily the worst part of the ultimate universe. beyond ultimate spider-man and the ultimate fantastic four the ultimate universe isn't too great.
2. bendis needs to cut down on the tuchas talk. seriously if parker grew up in nyc today he'd more likely speak spanglish than yanglish.
3. geldoff.
Public Scrutiny, Private Torment.......2005-07-14
This review refers to Ultimate Spider-Man vol. 5 paperback edition: Public Scrutiny
While the previous four volumes of Ultimate Spider-Man have dealt with Peter's private life in the background, and a big league bad guy (or two) in the foreground, this volume is almost exclusively about Peter Parker's home life, his social life, and his love life. As if his career as Spider-Man isn't filled with enough people that hate him, someone else is posing as Spider-Man and robbing people. It's actually much worse than it appears at first, when yet another person close to Peter is killed, this time by the Spider-Man impostor.
His love life is also complicated more, here. With Gwen Stacy in need of comfort, she runs to Peter and his Aunt May for comfort. How much of Gwen wanting to be with Peter is friendship and how much is romance isn't revealed, but it does bend MJ to the breaking point. While I did enjoy MJ and Peter's close relationship from the off, this tension and disharmony is more in keeping with the regular Spider-Man continuity, at least in the beginning.
The writing and art are perfect. Bendis and Bagley are a great duo, who work very well together. This fan girl is wishing them many happy years of collaboration.
Public Scrutiny reprints Ultimate Spider-Man #28-32 and is a fine addition to any Spider-Man collection.
Highly recommended!
A preminition to "The Six".......2003-08-23
...
Now,, On to my Review...
I have activly read Ultimate Spider-Man since issue #1 (in collection form, that is) and i personally love the comic. But this collection wasn't as good a Legacy. It featured a great problem, especially Spidey's injury (No Spoiler). But it did lay way with a great and sad ending to the Ark. My advice: Read it now, weather or not you've read volumes 1,2,3, or 4. It's Awsome.
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