Amazon.com
Like the carefully engineered dies which created his company's first products--steel pitons and carabiners which climbing enthusiasts would recognize as primitive forerunners of today's sleeker gear--Yvon Chouinard is if nothing else an original. How many other shy French-Canadian boys become surf-and-climbing bums, then blacksmiths forging their own play tools, and eventually founders of world-renowned sports equipment and apparel companies like Patagonia? How many other heads of multi-million dollar enterprises open their memoirs by stating bluntly, "The Lee Iacoccas, Donald Trumps, and Jack Welches of the business world are heroes to no one except other businessmen with similar values. I wanted to be a fur trapper when I grew up." The proverbial mold from which Chouinard was cast got broken.
In Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman, readers get a fascinating look inside the history and philosophy of both Patagonia and its irascible, opinionated founder. From its beginning, the book shares a sense of Chouinard's strong-willed personality and his love of the outdoors. He recounts a mostly happy childhood spent in a still-unspoiled southern California, climbing, diving, fishing, and surfing. The narrative soon moves into Chouinard's early entrepreneurial efforts, which were less focused on market-share domination than on earning a basic living to finance his own sporting habits. As his company's first catalog noted, delivery could be slow in the summer months, when Chouinard typically left the "office"--a dilapidated shack converted into an ironworks--for climbing adventures across the American West.
Eventually, though, the story settles into a pattern familiar to business audiences: Patagonia grows rapidly, takes on more employees and product lines to sustain hungry demand from customers, but overreaches with over-ambitious expansion plans and suffers a hiccup in its adolescence. This make-or-break juncture of a business's development often contains the most interesting material, and here Chouinard and his beloved company are no exception. He describes a series of wrenching decisions through which he and Patagonia management team navigated in 1991, as sales growth stalled while capital and operational expenses sprinted ahead. From this crisis emerged Patagonia's first-ever layoffs, affecting a hefty 20% of the workforce, and a serious re-examination of the business's core principles and methods.
The historical part of Chouinard's book largely ends at this point, and gives way to an exposition of philosophies which emerged at Patagonia during its dark moments in the early 1990s. The rest of the book serves as a kind of primer to business, the Patagonia way: one chapter each on product design philosophy, production philosophy, distribution philosophy, image philosophy, financial philosophy, human resource philosophy, and so on. Fans of Patagonia can revel in the company's working details, as can those who support or want to build businesses with self-consciously cultivated soulfulness. Readers who enjoyed Gary Erickson's story about Clif Bar, for example, should definitely find this a welcome addition to their bookshelves. --Peter Han
Book Description
In his long-awaited memoir, Yvon Chouinard—legendary climber, businessman, environmentalist, and founder of Patagonia, Inc.—shares the persistence and courage that have gone into being head of one of the most respected and environmentally responsible companies on earth. From his youth as the son of a French Canadian blacksmith to the thrilling, ambitious climbing expeditions that inspired his innovative designs for the sport's equipment, Let My People Go Surfing is the story of a man who brought doing good and having grand adventures into the heart of his business life—a book that will deeply affect entrepreneurs and outdoor enthusiasts alike.
Customer Reviews:
Who knew that Patagonia had a mean side?.......2007-10-04
Yvon Chouinard built an iconic business which exemplifies commerce with a conscience. I have long been enamored of their products, the photography, and the essays of their catalogs. As a surfer and career environmentalist I was anxious to read this book.
Yvon shared some interesting philosophical perspectives. He takes the position that people who believe the earth to have been created and not the result of evolution are hiding in their faith from the facts. Furthermore, because creationists don't believe in evolution they don't aspire to improve. (Clearly, Yvon never heard of the doctrine of sanctification.) He argues that abortion is a means by which we can keep too many children from being born and then over-running the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. And Republicans? Don't get him started! He might be the only mean spirited Zen Buddhist of whom I have had the displeasure to read.
There is so much to commend here with regard to encouraging businesses and individuals to be environmentally and socially engaged. Too bad the message is soured with arrogance, condescension, and obvious ignorance of those he apparently considers to be enemies of the environment.
let my people go surfing.......2007-09-01
this book is an inspirational page turner until it gets to the philosophy section which is good and interesting, but the first half is really, really good. i would highly recommend it for all 20-40 year olds that are thinking about changing up their careers to something more fulfilling.
An Opus on Business, Management, and Environmental Action.......2007-08-16
Yvon writes clearly and succinctly about his triumphs and mistakes. He's fanatical about product quality but insists on his MBA style of management (management by absence). He shows how doing the right thing is frequently profitable and Patagonia has been a field leader ever since Chouinard decided early on that his petons were destroying the rocks that he climbed on. Making a daring move away from his top selling product to a new product, the hexentric nuts; that would not wreck the rock, proved to be a genius move. Since then, Patagonia has lead the field with material science in using PCR soda bottles in their fleece jackets, making the switch to Organic Cotton, and building the Reno, Nevada Service Center out of all sorts of recycled materials and green technologies
Yvon also discusses how childcare and healthy cafeteria food contribute to a more productive work environment. He rewards employees for purchasing hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles.
Patagonia publishes catalogs that are artful for their photography while at the same time they are calls to action on various environmental issues. There is no push to higher priced products or mega sale enticement. Patagonia has become the best in the outdoor industry by challenging the status quo and daring to be different. It's Yvon's disdain for the mentality of behaving like a sheep and blindly following the current trends whether in business or life that make him extraordinary. It is my hope that he will produce more books of this quality in the future. I finished the book in three days- I couldn't put it down.Patagonia: Notes from the Field
You've got to read this one.......2007-07-02
Whether you're looking for a case study on: a successful business with happy employees, how to create a business from your passion, or what businesses need to do to help the environment.
From management tips, to HR lessons learned, Yvon brings in all his Patagonia experience (good and bad).
As one of the first environmentally-conscious companies in the world, Yvon has a lot to say about the world and what needs to happen:
"The Zen master would say if you want to change government, you have to aim at changing corporations, and if you want to change corporations, you first have to change the consumers." -Yvon Chouinard
This is a book you can't ignore. Especially since Yvon pioneered the `green business' movement back in the 80's.
Investigate the claims in this book.......2007-06-28
If someone was to investigate the claims made in this book, there would be conflict. Patagonia is a corporation, like any other. Their main purpose is profit. Do they offer loads of color variations on their underwear for the environment, or because Yvon is a "reluctant businessman"? I doubt it.
They do contribute money to the environment. This is true. But where do you think this money comes from? Their employees are paid at the bottom of the scale, and their prices are at a premium. So shouldn't their employees be getting credit for these contributions instead of Yvon?
At best, this book is a manifesto of what a company could do, not what any company is currently. From what I've heard, The Management section in this book is nonsense. If anyone was to investigate the claims made in this book in detail, and make the authors prove what they claim, Patagonia would be caught with their $125 pants down, revealing their $35 underwear.
Book Description
In this small book Walter Wink offers a précis of his whole thinking about this issue, including the relation of Jesus and his message to politics and nonviolence, the history of nonviolent efforts, and how nonviolence can win the day when others don't hesitate to resort to violence or terror to achieve their aims.
Customer Reviews:
third way--a viable option.......2007-05-21
This book was used in an Episcopal adult Sunday school Class. Discussed, and rediscussed, argued, pried apart from many more than 3 sides.
Content was complete, literate, challenging. This book is still causing
discussions, with the third way emerging from obscurity to reality.
Wink Falls Short.......2007-01-23
I come away from Wink's book asking myself the question, "Did Jesus have social and political change in mind when he commanded his followers to love their enemies?" I hardly think so. At least not in the way Wink proposes.
Wink makes many good statements concerning the Christian's love and nonviolence. I enjoyed his interpretations of Jesus' examples (go two miles, turn the other cheek, etc.) However, I feel that his application is off the mark of Jesus' intended meaning. As Christians, we are not to concern ourselves with improving on the injustices of the day by beating them (worldly kingdoms) at their own game. Jesus would not, because he did not, ever shame someone into repentance. His motivation was strictly love of God and man. At times Jesus' actions toward an individual may have resulted in shame, but this was NOT his motivation.
I strongly disagree with Wink's use of "submission." He speaks of submission as if it is a weak thing to be despised. The Apostles Paul and Peter did not seem to think so. I don't believe his understanding of "submission" is New Testament. It seems that Wink is more concerned about causing social and political change through pacifism than he is to simply 'love your enemies' as evidence that we are the disciples of Christ who manifest the Gospel by our lives (Jn. 13:34-35).
Wink uses an unbelieving Ghandi and a promiscious civil rights activist like King to reveal something of Jesus' Third Way. He also uses Bonhoeffer (of whom I am a big fan)as an example of Jesus' resistance. Bonhoeffer's writings are phenomonal... yet he compromised his faith and justified his actions of armed resistance. This should alert the reader to a misunderstanding of the Biblical text.
Love's aim is not at temporarily changing the political oppressive systems in government by peaceful means, but at changing the heart of man for all eternity and bringing glory to God. Was Jesus motivation and purpose geared toward politcal upheaval and bringing down the evil men by love so that he might have partisan power!? I think not!
Do we want peace on earth? Yes, but we recognize peace on earth is a very temporal thing and will never fully be Christ's peace. The "already/not yet" aspect of the Kingdom of God teaches us this.
I disagree with Wink that we should follow Jesus "as best we can." The problems are resolved when we recognize that Christ's life is in us... we must learn to walk in his Spirit and not in our flesh. We can do nothing. Our best is no good.
I believe Wink's attempt at presenting "Jesus' Third Way" falls short of the true way Jesus presented. If we dare say that unregenerated man can mimic the love of Christ... we pollute the Gospel's presentation and form it to fit something we can achieve in our flesh. This kind of love is no longer supernatural... just nice... natural... and self-serving.
I recommend reading Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World by Lee C. Camp after you have read Wink and see that his clever thinking only reflects one more sly attempt at getting a grip on the worldly kingdoms.
If you are looking for a book to carry around with you and one that you can share with people all over the world... try the New Testament. I would like to suggest you not use the patriotic version or some man's interpretation of it. Read the words of Jesus for yourself and let the Holy Spirit discern for you the motivation behind loving your enemies. Does the love of Christ manifested by the Holy Spirit lead you to shame your enemy so you might get your way? Let the Holy Spirit guide and counsel you to the meaning of Christ's nonsense love.
One of The Best of Walter Wink.......2006-08-22
This short book is a very good introduction to Analytic/Historic Christianity, that movement which considers the life of first-century, Roman-dominated faithfuls, their language and its often-flawed translation[s]. In other works Wink may seem obscure, but not here. His language is precise, his ideas very clear, his logic as compelling as always; it is just enough. This book is a very good investment.
Something to think about.......2005-12-27
This book gives good examples of how nonviolence has worked in the past to peacefully resolve issues involving government/people relations, etc. I am also pleased that this book makes a case for Jesus' strength, and shows the folly of being or claiming it is virtuous to be a "doormat for Jesus." This book also, every now and then, emphasizes that violence is preferable to cowardice...though afterwards firmly re-states that nonviolence practiced with a spirit of courageous nonviolence is the best way.
However, I have to give this book a mere two stars because it does not confront true evil very well. It did not address Hitler, and though it mentions terrorism, it does so only vaguely, and also in the context of nonviolent reaction, namely, not striking back with physical force. Given the state of things during the time this book was published (2003), this vagueness is not good enough.
This book certainly gives one something to think about, but it does not even touch the foundation from which we must approach the world as it is today. This book addresses stubbornness, and even evil to some degree, but it does not address pure, unadulterated hatred, or the humans who obviously have degenerated so far that they are unredeemable. It is in subtly denying the depth to which man will fall if he is brainwashed (such as a suicide bomber, for instance) that I believe Mr. Wink does a disservice to his country and his readers.
Then again, perhaps he is more enlightened than most people, in which case he just believes that you may act peaceably towards someone like Osama bin Laden, even if he is a degenerate...it seems to me that this would be a form of insanity. With the end goal of peace, do you think that standing defenseless and brave before bin Laden and being butchered would help towards that end? Do you think it would even help Osama's soul? Do you think he would feel sorry for you and change? Could it not possibly be a sacrifice for nothing?
A new look at Jesus.......2005-10-13
This is a small book that you can carry with you as a reminder in your hectic life.This introduction to a non-violent Jesus will empower you to make changes in your life.It has many biblical passages that teach you to respect the dignity of people who disagree with your beliefs. The only lasting way to eliminate an enemy is to make him your friend.
Amazon.com
In the brave new world of the "flexible" corporation, Richard Sennett observes, workers at all levels are regarded as wholly disposable, and they have responded in kind, ceasing to think in terms of any long-term relationship with the organizations they work for. This, he argues, has tremendous negative consequences for workers' emotional and psychological well-being. Even in menial jobs, we extract much of our self-image from the idea of a "career"--a life narrative rendered intelligible by specific loyalties, which is to some degree self-invented but also in some respects predictable. Innovations like "flextime" and bureaucratic "de-layering" seem to promise more freedom to define one's career, but in fact they create jobs in which there's less freedom than ever to be had. The Corrosion of Character is a short, anecdotal book, and while one might wish that it included a discussion of the social and psychological costs of the sheer increase of work time in the average worker's week, Sennett has created a pithy, disturbing picture of the cost of the corporate world's much-vaunted new efficiencies. --Richard Farr
Book Description
In The Corrosion of Character, Richard Sennett, "among the country's most distinguished thinkers . . . has concentrated into 176 pages a profoundly affecting argument" (Business Week) that draws on interviews with dismissed IBM executives, bakers, a bartender turned advertising executive, and many others to call into question the terms of our new economy. In his 1972 classic, The Hidden Injuries of Class (written with Jonathan Cobb), Sennett interviewed a man he called Enrico, a hardworking janitor whose life was structured by a union pay schedule and given meaning by his sacrifices for the future. In this new book--a #1 bestseller in Germany--Sennett explores the contemporary scene characterized by Enrico's son, Rico, whose life is more materially successful, yet whose work lacks long-term commitments or loyalties. Distinguished by Sennett's "combination of broad historical and literary learning and a reporter's willingness to walk into a store or factory [and] strike up a conversation" (New York Times Book Review), this book "challenges the reader to decide whether the flexibility of modern capitalism . . . is merely a fresh form of oppression" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
Customer Reviews:
How Instability and Superficiality Destroy the Inner Meaning of Work.......2007-07-20
Transient consultants have replaced entrenched bureaucrats. Teams and teamwork have replaced adversarial labor/management and individual ego-driven rivalries. Knowledge gleaned from marketing studies has replaced knowledge gained from every day experience. New machines have made the once complex extremely simple, and the once dangerous safely sanitized. Companies that were once entrenched ethnic enclaves are now look more closely like America.
While not totally disapproving, the author looks at these and other current developments and finds them wanting. Work no longer generates the kind of passionate commitment it once did, and he cannot blame the workers, because their employers no longer show the loyalty they once did. In newly created world of permanent transience, little is cumulative, and the only test is who can do the best job now according to given specifications, with little concern for the past or for the future. Individual personal character is corroded--gradually destroyed--because sacrificing for the future makes little sense and virtues like loyalty to coworkers and one's employer are unrewarded, unexpected, and unappreciated.
The author finds the new arrangements are more about glib superficial agreements rather than the creation of authentic human relationships. Teams focus on short-term ends, with leaders who play down their authority and assume the falsely modest role of facilitators. A more adversarial assertion of self-interest and opinion would in the long run serve the companies better, as people bind together from honest discussion and disputes, the author asserts.
The author's individual chapters are each in themselves excellent essays: they are entitled Drift, Routine, Flexible, Illegible, Risk, The Work Ethic, Failure, and The Dangerous Pronoun. The most profound chapters are perhaps those on (1) risk, which documents the odds against success and the difficulty many people have adjusting to this reality; (2) the work ethic, which shows how it is undermined in many different ways by transience in co-workers and authority structures; and (3) failure, which shows both its commonality and the difficulties workers have in dealing with it and crafting a successful future because it is often experienced more as a personal reckoning than as a result of powerful institutional and competitive forces undermining their best efforts.
The author adds statistical tables which document the decline of manufacturing and the rise of personnel and computer and data processing services; declining employment and the rise of wage inequality; lower productivity growth in the U.S. than in France, Germany, Japan; the steady decline in union membership as a percentage of the workforce and its plateau in actual number of workers covered; the rising percentage of women from 22 to 44 in the workforce and the declining percentages of workers in other generational categories; the rising number of workers on flexible schedules; the rising number of workers using computers; the generally falling earnings that job switchers get; the slow rise in jobs requiring a college degree; and the great rise in percentage and numbers within the labor movement of public sector workers.
The strength of the author's approach is that he mixes analysis of anecdotes with scholarly research touching on both workers and working conditions and life in general. The author not only brings a lot of fresh material to the analysis of corporate working conditions, but he provides original and creative analysis to familiar material so that we see it with new significance in new contexts.
No one should consider taking a corporate job, or a job in a large organization, without reading this book. It is sociology at its best, both the critiquing economic trends and relating them to lives of individuals who are both representative and compelling. The author's writing is gripping, passionate, and thought-provoking. He manages simulaneously the difficult tasks of both synthesizing past scholarhip and breaking new ground extremely well.
fight against "de-characterization".......2007-01-04
An important book, in which some of the undesirable effects of the ways our every-day working lives are organized are put under scrutiny and criticized. All those who want to continue to work with real human beings rather than with post-modern robots should read this book.
Sympathetic to workers' problems but you may find little new here.......2006-05-29
A doctor warned me once that people weren't built for rapid mentally jumping from one thing to another and that hi-tech companies tended to use people up. Sennett's warning came quite late.
Sennett's findings seem well intended but not surprising at all to anyone who has worked in hi-tech. I suspect many other workers have noticed the consequences of the "new" capitalism. Similarly, there seems nothing wrong with trying to simplify what is happening by noting a few key characteristics and values. Sennett's observations on the exploitation of "teamwork", although familiar, are welcome. "Risk", "failure", "flexibility" , it all can become as manipulative as political speech about "liberty", "democracy" and "free markets".
However, the 176 pages seem like 20. Despite footnotes, Sennett seems to be writing as if he were the first observer of capitalism, entirely out of character for the profound author of "The Hidden Injuries of Class:. The exact nature of the impact on character in this newer book seems largely unestablished. The efforts of unions, albeit sparse with hi-tech, goes unnoticed. The real consequences on real lives becomes an apparent gentlemenly philosophical exercise. How carefully he closes: "But I do know a regime which provides human beings no deep reasons to care about one another cannot long preserve its legitimacy". If there were, in this book, more sociological and less anecdotal support for such a claim, "The Corrosion of Character" might be worth your reading. As it is, you may well know it yourself.
Sennett does note at the end a "fear of the resurgence of unions". I didn't see that Sennett provided any pointers on where to seek help apart from an abstract appeal to community. Instead of watching your own character corrode, one possibility is seeking out a union on the Web (such as the Industrial Workers of the World).
This book was a big disappointment as I had read Sennett before and been quite impressed, so I may now have expected a lot. It may still be that for some readers this book will help identify for them what is troubling about their work and serve as a basis for discussion of work problems with others.
Yes, but..........2006-04-25
I don't know yet if I learned something I didn't knew from this book. The examples Sennett gives are really entertaining; so much that I think maybe he should follow the Clifford Geertz road (or a more mainstream Barbara Ehrenreich one!). It was also refreshing to listen to old classic names as Smith, some old greek and that one of the Encyclopedia (ah, yes, Diderot). The use of the classics was especially good in Sennett's discussion of character and work, from antiquity passing by Christendom, Calvinism and reaching Weber's 'wordly ascetism' (Ch. 6: The Work Ethic). The rest of the book is not very innovative for the informed sociologist (but I loved the shot in the last chapter against those neo-tocquevillian communitarians Putnam style). So I don't know if recommend this book to you or not. It brings some interesting ideas about the relation of labor structure to character, but mostly does not go deep enough in each facet of the subject. Each chapter could be expanded to be a book in itself, and maybe Sennett's intention was to let us to do it! About those reviewers that are in favour of late-capitalism oppression: enjoy your 'happy life' because nobody's safe. Maybe next year it will be your turn. Anyway we will help you; that is the problem of being from the Left... we care.
Reminds us to think.......2006-04-20
If a book is 205 pages long, and at the end, you have learned 30 pages worth of thought, this can, I guess, been called an incredibly rich book. "Corrosion of character" provides, I would say, a little less, but after all, Sennett is a Sociologist, if I get it right, so diluted messages come at no surprise. Just kidding, of course. I guess people would not buy the book would it be just 25 pages long, and then Sennett could not make all the travels and conversation in doubtlessly expensive intercontinental flights. And the idea of analyzing the working environment of today's people is an interesting one. Not spectacularly new, true enough, but then it comes down to the avility of the author to develop new ideas and show new examples in order to keep the interested. Sennett can do that, and I was only rarely bore, even though I would not be able to define now, that I've read it, what the news really was. There is a floating idea rather than a concrete list of issues: accept that your (our) life needs be permanently refelcted, that you have the liberty to free yourself from the pressures of your environment - and that you should do so at times, because otherwise you may get lost and never have the chance to think about "what went wrong" again. The important message of the book is to remind us of that.
Average customer rating:
- Informative, and Fun to Read
- Better Safe Than Sorry!
- Poor language makes this book uninteresting to read
- Very informative book
- Crimes of Persuasion A Must Read
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Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds.
Les Henderson
Manufacturer: Coyote Ridge Publishing
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Scams & Swindles: Phishing, Spoofing, ID Theft, Nigerian Advance Schemes Investment Frauds: How to Recognize And Avoid Rip-Offs In The Internet Age
ASIN: 0968713300
Release Date: 2003-05-13 |
Book Description
In-depth fraud coverage of computer crimes such as pyramid schemes make this crime library of internet crimes the cyber crime location for the schemes and scams that con artists perpetrate.
White collar crimes such as prime bank fraud, pyramid scams, internet fraud, phone scams, chain letters, modeling agency and Nigerian scams, computer fraud as well as telemarketing fraud are fully explained.
This crime report on organized crime topics include credit card fraud, check kiting, tax fraud, money laundering, mail fraud, counterfeit money orders, check fraud and other who's who true crimes of persuasion.
Customer Reviews:
Informative, and Fun to Read.......2006-06-11
A must-read. The author describes in details many different types of scams through which people get defrauded. The book is also fun to read because it shows how the scammers use people's psychological traits (like greed, insecurity, or even loneliness) to get them to part with their money. It's very interesting and you can actually see analogous strategies being played out in TV commercials or even in your daily interactions with people who try to get things from you. I feel much more prepared to deal with life after reading this.
Better Safe Than Sorry!.......2005-01-18
Reading Les Henderson's Crimes of Persuasion is much like observing a series of 40-foot long steel containers being dropped from a dockside ocean freighter onto a flat-bed truck. The impact, over and over again is huge, as the trailer bounces and flexes, as its tires resist the extra weight of each drop. With each page you keep saying to yourself, "That's how they do it!" "That's how they organize!" "That's the come-on!" "So, that's the hook!" We learn all about the players in the game too: the "Fronter," the "Qualifier," the"No-Saler," the "Takeover" Man. We learn all about the mechanics of the games themselves--"clean sheeting," "blind pools," much more. ##### Sometimes it takes simple minds to understand complicated situations. Thank goodness. Because con games are usually very complex--thoroughly thought out, prepared, and worked by brilliant people--we "Marks" (simpletons--the victims), in this case have a chance. ##### With the aid of this book you are prepared for just about anything the con man might throw at you. It's beautifuly Contents-ed and Indexed. Want to know about sweepstakes scams? Right there. Just look it up. How about telemarketing frauds, home equity, elder abuse, home repair, identity theft, internet shenanigans, etc. On and on. On and on. On and on. It's all right here. You only have to look it up. It's a great defensive tool for everyone, in this day and age of get-rich-quick, follow the bouncing ball, smoke and mirrors trickery. ##### What's the underlying premise of con games? Gain your confidence. Pure and simple. Here's just one example: You get a call from a smooth-talking stock "Expert," who is pitching you because he knows you are an investor. He tells you to watch ABC co. stock; it's going up. A week later, after the stock of ABC co. has gone up, as he said it would, he calls you back and confides that the stock of XYZ co. is going down; keep tabs. When the stock drops, exactly as he said it would, you now have a level of confidence in him when he calls the third time. Right? That's the point. You are now "set-up," vulnerable to whatever kind of investment he may now say is desirable. How did he do it? How did he know ABC was going up and XYZ was going down? Easy. He started out with a list of 200 names from the phone book. He was right on 100 of them. He then called that 100 and was right again on 50. You were in that list of 50. Presto! ##### In all, this book is about the most encylopedic tome for consumer protection I've seen, covering the whole gauntlet of cons, scams, and frauds like the proverbial "blanket." The next time you are in Ceasar's Palace, note the small warning sign by the door, "Gambling can be addictive; if you think you have a gambling problem, call the number below to contact Gamblers Anonymous." Similarly, if you think you might have a Susceptibility-to-Con-Games problem, ownership of this book, Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, Scams, Frauds is your "Gamblers Anonymous".
Poor language makes this book uninteresting to read.......2004-08-04
The author certainly knows a lot about the subject, however he fails to make the book readable. Run-away sentences filled with precise numbers, most probably taken out of the sky, results in totally unreadable text. The book reminded me of a really boring free newspaper, except the editor never learned to use a spell checker.
Apart from really poor language skills, some "facts" are really doubtful. For example, on page 9, Les Henderson writes that "... it is impossible to recover anything to compensate their victims because most of their money has gone to purchase recreational drugs...". I have hard time to believe that criminals smart enough to come up with a working fraud scheme cannot come up with a better use of the money then drugs. Then again, what do I know...
I also absolutely hated the way particular facts are mixed and equated with generalizations, such as the bulleted list on pages 33-34, which includes vitamins, promotional items and ... "small trinkets of minimal value compared to the payments made".
In any case, I would not recommend to buy this book unless you are studying this particular subject and have no other sources of information on it.
Very informative book.......2001-02-12
I have read Mr. Henderson's book and found it to be very informative. My elderly mother was scammed and I wish I had read the book prior to the event to help warn her of the signs that she could have been made aware of. This book would make a great gift to anyone who you would like to inform. I have done a lot of research on the "art of scamming" since this event has taken place, and this book is very good in explaining the different types of scams and how they work. I may add that I am one of those people who never dreamed that "this" could happen in my family......sad to say, it happens more than we even know.
Crimes of Persuasion A Must Read.......2001-01-13
I recently purchased a copy of "Crimes of Persusion" by Les Henderson. This book is an excellent, comprehensive collection of fraudulant schemes contrived by clever con artists. Having been conned myself by a now defunct housing corporation,General Development, this book had particular appeal. The short, easy to read sections with catchy titles highlight hundreds of scams. Whether it be pyramid schemes, poetry contests, cruiseline specials etc..., I think readers will be surprised at how many times they, themselves, have actually been deceived. I know I was. Also, I discovered a cruise line scam that a close friend of mine had just fallen victim to. The author's description of the actual scam was almost verbatim to the phone call she had received. To avoid becoming an innocent victim of some smooth-talking con artist, make "Crimes of Persusion" a must read for 2001.
Book Description
Master ethical theory with SOCIAL AND PERSONAL ETHICS with InfoTrac®! This philosophy text incorporates ethical theory with both classic and contemporary readings. Succinct introductions with study questions guide you through the study of important and charged issues such as crime and gun control, date rape, environmental ethics, and racial harassment on campus as well as classic cases on abortion and capital punishment. Questions for review and discussion follow each essay and the book-specific website provides you with additional review material.
Customer Reviews:
Easy to understand.......2006-12-21
I think philosophy is tough. This book puts everything in to terms you can understand. It's great for a college gen. ed. philosophy or ethics class. I enjoyed reading the book and learned a lot...which is more than I can say about most books/classes I've taken in college.
Book Description
In Solidarity, Hauke Brunkhorst brings a powerful combination of theoretical perspectives to bear on the concept of "democratic solidarity," the bond among free and equal citizens. Drawing on the disciplines of history, political philosophy, and political sociology, Brunkhorst traces the historical development of the idea of universal, egalitarian citizenship and analyzes the prospects for democratic solidarity at the international level, within a global community under law. His historical account of the concept outlines its development out of, and its departure from, the less egalitarian notions of civic friendship in the Greco-Roman world and brotherliness in the Judeo-Christian tradition. He then analyzes the modernization of Western societies and the destruction of the older, hierarchical solidarities. The problems of exclusion that subsequently arose -- which stemmed from growing individualization in society (the "de-socialization of the individual") as well as from the exclusion of certain groups from the benefits of society -- could be solved only with democratic solidarity in the form of its "institutional embodiment," the democratic constitution. Finally, Brunkhorst examines the return of these exclusion problems as a result of economic globalization. Analyzing the possibilities for democratic self-governance at a global level, Brunkhorst finds in recent global protest movements the beginnings of a transnational civic solidarity. Brunkhorst's normative and sociological account, mediating between these two perspectives, demonstrates the necessity of keeping normative requirements systematically attuned with conditions of social reality.
Book Description
No Contest stands as the definitive critique of competition. Contrary to accepted wisdom, competition is not basic to human nature; it poisons our relationships and holds us back from doing our best. In this new edition, Alfie Kohn argues that the race to win turns all of us into losers.
Customer Reviews:
Hits the Mark.......2007-09-17
NO CONTEST confirms for me the idea that competition is rapidly becoming an obsolete thought form. Although I came at it from the angle of potentially flawed neo-classical economic theory (i.e. its impossible to construct a Social Welfare function, a level playing field, or non-attenuated property rights which are pre-determinates of true competition or Pareto Optimality) where bounded rationality inhibits the effective functioning of markets (creating information asymmetry between consumers and producers) KOHN very eloquently sets about systematically destroying all the other justifications or merits of competition in other spheres of human relationship. That is, competition is not natural to our species, doesn't create the best skill set, does not solve scarcity of finite resources, and definitely is not "fun".
On some of the negative reviews - I am shocked at the blind approach towards protecting the venerated place of worship that competition seems to uphold within the American system of economic policy - in order to compete, both parties have to consent to follow a predefined set of rules, or in other words you first have to cooperate to compete. So which one is more powerful - which one relies on the other? If competition were a natural and superior system of organising human relationship it would not require enforcement, indoctrination, or spurious rules of engagement. Much of which governments and companies employ through lobbying and grossly manipulative takeover behaviour (sometimes overtly) executed whenever they are in danger of losing control of resources. Simply changing the rules to move the playing field more in your favour is not the survival of the fittest, but the survival of the most corrupt.
Good on you Mr KOHN for sticking your neck out and producing such a ground breaking synopsis of the research and benefits of cooperative learning relative to the ignorant ranting of competitive mumbo jumbo theorists. And done decades before the real damaging effects of climate change, global militarisation, and marginalisation of the majority of the world has come to light, and is now showing us how dinosaur some of our collective thinking in the competitive area really is.
However, as they say in aviation circles - "the flak is always thickest when you're right over the target". NO CONTEST definitely hits the mark - that alone is a useful indicator that this book is well worth the read, for open minds.
Did Adam Smith Get It Wrong?.......2007-02-24
Having just finished No Contest: The Case Against Competition, fully 20 years after its first publication, I feel somewhat like someone arriving late to a party, but then who finds it has barely even begun. After scanning the many Amazon reviews offered on this provocative, original, and gentle but radical critique of our society, I felt compelled to add my voice and to ask, simply, did Adam Smith get it wrong?
However you read No Contest and answer that question, you will agree that the implications of your reading and answer are considerable, for you and, perhaps, for all of us. They are fundamental to the way you will live your life each day, to the world you will work to create (and accept), and to how you will feel about and treat those of us who are around you.
Across 25 reviews of No Contest spanning a decade, this book garners a solid four out of five stars, but the especially divergent pattern of these reviews is telling and, I think, important. There are mostly five-star ratings and words of praise and encouragement for what is an excellent work, but, consistently, about 20 percent of the reviewers rank this book very low and offer comments that are often dismissive. These latter reviews seem, in some cases, to lack poignancy and clear expression, an infraction Kohn cannot be accused of, and some are quite aggressive and hostile.
I bring up this strong and persistent disparity of reactions to No Contest because it underscores a central hypothesis of Kohn's work: competition and the competitive structures around us work to alter us. They make us reactive and aggressive, closed to new ideas and inimical to alternatives, to new rules of the games we are made to play.
Competition, Kohn argues, makes us less sensitive, less productive, less creative, and even less intelligent. It makes us narrower in our focus and thereby less able to see our frames of reference for what they are - frames - ones ultimately malleable and expandable, and as such, ultimately indefensible. Life in competitive structures, life in competitive mindsets, may even make us less engaged in life itself, as it almost certainly makes us less engaged in others and their lives.
I picked up No Contest on the recommendation of a friend, after a brief but lasting conversation on the practical virtues of cooperation, and, as a friend, I will recommend this book to you. I make this recommendation with the certainty that No Contest will at least give you an interesting perspective, that it may provoke and irritate you, and that it may, as other reviewers have noted, cause you to wake up and live differently each day. I certainly feel this third way.
As a book, No Contest is technically impressive, especially given its largely uncharted subject, and even after 20 years and even as it is disagreeable to some. I found the book extremely well planned and elegantly written, finely passionate, carefully reasoned, worth having for the bibliography alone, and of course potentially mind-altering in its assembled evidence and conclusions. The book was not what I expected, and it will likely not be what you expect now, with divergent views and reviews apt to continue for some time to come.
A few reviewers have criticized No Contest for not offering enough practical guidance, but I am happy to be left to think about its many ideas and conclusions for myself and with others. We all live in a practical world and so do need to wonder a bit - if cooperation is superior to competition in category after category of human affairs, why is there simply not more of it around us?
As I said, I am willing to consider this question, and the many others the book engenders, and I hope you will too. Computer modeling and game theory of the last two decades may offer insights, but as yet not a path to the new states posed as possible and desirable by Kohn. (I would welcome being googled and corrected on this last point).
The organizational psychologists Chris Argyris and Donald Schon wrote about typical "model I" and, far more effective, "model II" group dynamics beginning in the 1970s, and I always was comfortable with these neat non-labels. Having read No Contest, though, I am now more inclined to think they should have rightly named these interactive styles for what they may ultimately be: competitive and cooperative group dynamics. I'll leave you to consider this idea too.
To end somewhat near where I began: No Contest is an awakening for many people and an irritant and even an outrage for a few, probably to all who are disciples and deacons of Adam Smith. In me, it stirred a young child and an old man, all at once, each wiser than me in the way children and elders can be wiser, in their propensity for innocence and in their indifference to external things, and I hope No Contest will be this and more for you.
Important Issue .......2006-03-27
Kohn presents an excellent argument that needs to be heard. This is an important issue and his good work here truly presents a compelling case.
A Stunning Eye-Opener.......2005-12-01
Kohn's main contribution is that in a scholarly and systematic way, with excellent examples, he debunks the 4 main myths that prevail in our culture about competition, which are: (1) competition is part of human nature; (2) competition is more productive; (3) competition is more enjoyable; and (4) competition builds character. None of these are true, but the larger culture (i.e., those in power) promote competition and these myths to keep us in a winning-losing paradigm (because it keeps the winners in power). I must admit that when I first read his book, I was so taken, that it formed the basis of a talk I gave at the Washington Ethical Society (in Wash. DC), which has since been reprinted in a phamplet, available online under "Competition: An Inhuman Activity". In my talk, I gave some suggestions (some serious, some not so serious) about how to move from our current, over-the-top competitive society, to something more cooperative and life-enriching.
valuable message .......2005-06-20
The book's ultimate message - competition is more harmful than helpful - goes against the grain of our culture. Competition is an axiom that very rarely gets questioned. The book does us all a service by putting it up for discussion. However it begins to repeat itself, making a full and close read difficult for even the most supportive reader. Again, wonderful premise and very thoroughly presented.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent book for African-American youth
- This book sucks!
- An excellent book for parents and African American youth.
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Black Christian Singles Guide to Dating and Sexuality, The
Chris Jackson
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In Search of the Proverbs 31 Man: The One God Approves and a Woman Wants
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God's Design for Christian Dating
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How to Avoid the 10 Mistakes Single Women Make
ASIN: 031022344X |
Book Description
Chris Jackson's handbook on dating and sexuality is essential reading for black Christian single adults who seek to honor God with their attitudes and actions.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book for African-American youth.......2001-08-14
I though the book was very thought-provoking and offered some Godly, practical advice in a downt-to-earth language that youth will understand and not feel "preached to". I plan on giving each of my college-bound nieces a copy.
This book sucks!.......1999-10-01
I did not like this book at all. I felt the title of the book is misleading because the author seemed less focused on the Word of God (for Christians), and more on not offending certain groups. I think if amazon.com had a 0 star this book would get it.
An excellent book for parents and African American youth........1999-01-21
This is a great book for parents to use to help guide their youth into relationships. Young people will relate to many of the issues that Jackson covers.
Book Description
Offering inspirational advice in a down-to-earth style, this unique compilation of letters provides wisdom, guidance, and heartfelt insight to help the reader chart their own path to success. Based on the author's motivational speaking at inner-city schools across the country, the letters deal with the tough issues that face young people today.
Bombarded with messages from music and the media, Harper set out to dispel the stereotypical image of success that young people receive today and instead emphasizes alternative views of what it truly means to be a successful male, such as educational and community achievements and self-respect. Intended to provide this frequently regarded “lost generation” of young men with words of encouragement and guidance, Harper's deep-rooted passion regarding the plight of today's youth drove him to write this book, sure to change the lives of readers for years to come.
Customer Reviews:
Great role model for black males.......2007-10-04
This book is a great example of the old fact that your environment has nothing to do with your destiny. It entails young black males that even though we are susceptible to many adversities we can either grow from it or let it empower us to become a victim to failure. His stories related to most of the young men that have a single parent and that had nothing to do with his passion to be successful. The less fortunate he was the more fortunate he became. Great book.
Excellent Book.......2007-09-25
I bought this book for my daughter who works within the juvenile justice system in Australia. I read it before sending to her and thought it was really great and think she will fine very helpful within her work
Manifest Your Destiny.......2007-08-24
This book was an excellent, helpful and thought provoking guide to not just males but also females. Each chapter provided insight into an individual's life; with guidance regarding how to address each situation.
Kudos to the author: Hill Harper.
Excellent.......2007-08-07
This is a must read for every young black male, and even female. I loved it! I brought for my 16 year old nephew and his close friends. I also brought a copy for myself to read along and ensure they were reading too.
Letters To A Young Brother.......2007-08-07
This book addresses areas of concern to not only young black males, but all adolescent boys. For example, relationships with mothers, performance in school, gang affiliation, drugs and so on. The fact that it is written by a successful black man, in fact a movie star who draws on his celebrity connections frequently, should pull young readers in. Unfortunately the writer, in my opinion, is unable to sustain interest in the novel because he really has no "novel" insights. It is in the end a sermon by someone who was never really in the trenches, (though sometimes he implies he had a lot in common with his targeted audience) but a child brought up in a privileged family. There are too many overused cliches that sound good, but are difficult to implement. For example, "You never know when a miracle will happen." "Do the thing that frightens you." "Your best self will continually evolve."
OK, just what does that mean to a kid with serious drug, school suspensions, bad home life, missing parents and other issues. Hill's heart is in the right place, and the title is cleverly modeled on Rielke's work, Letters To A Young Poet, but as a teacher looking for some gems with which to inspire my sometimes troubled, insecure, unmotivated, searching, disillusioned, unloved adolescent students, I mined in vain.
Average customer rating:
- A Must Read
- unplugged: reclaiming our right to die in america
- The right-to-die debate is once again tackled
- A Book for Everyone
- A great read ... packed with helpful information
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Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right to Die in America
William H. Colby
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ASIN: 0814408826 |
Book Description
The time has come for a frank discussion about how we die. Unplugged is the blueprint for that talk.
Medical technology has helped mankind conquer tuberculosis, polio, and countless other once certain-death diseases. It has given us hope against cancer and AIDS, allowed heart and brain surgeries that have saved untold numbers of lives, and delivered us from the pain and crippling legacy of injury. Medical technology, it seems, is a never-ending string of miracles. But it is also a double-edged sword. More often than not, death today happens because of a decision to stop doing something, or to not do it at all. As the tragic life and death of Terri Schiavo so poignantly illustrated, universal definitions of life, death, nature, and many other concepts are elusive at best. Unplugged addresses the fundamental questions of the right-to-die debate, and discusses how the medical advances that bring so much hope and healing have also helped to create today's dilemma.
This compelling book explores recent high-profile cases, including that of Mrs. Schiavo, and illuminates the complex legal, ethical, medical, and deeply personal issues of a debate that ultimately affects us all. Compassionate and beautifully written, the book helps readers understand the implications of current laws and proposed legislation, various medical options (including hospice), and the typical end-of-life decisions we all must face in order to make informed decisions for ourselves and our loved ones.
Customer Reviews:
A Must Read.......2007-02-21
If you have read William Colby's book Nancy Cruzan, The Long Goodbye, you will find his latest book equally informative. Mr. Colby provides an excellent medical history that has brought us to our current debate about killing vs. allowing individuals to die. He shares recent cases and offers insight to both sides of the issue. This book should be read by anyone who has been faced with making end-of-life care decisions and by all who want to ensure that their end-of-life care is clearly understood.
unplugged: reclaiming our right to die in america.......2006-10-05
unplugged delves into timely and essential subject matter with an entertaining, informative, wondrful style of writing. colby's insight to this pertinent topic is beneficial universally, as we all must confront these circumstances at some point in our lives.
The right-to-die debate is once again tackled.......2006-08-07
The right-to-die debate is once again tackled; this time by a lawyer who represented Nancy Cruzan in the first right- to-die case heard by the Supreme Court. While Nancy Cruzan's struggles were chronicled in a prior book by Colby, Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right To Die In America offers a broader perspective on the topic, moving beyond Cruzan's struggle to offer answers to legal, ethical, medical and personal issues involved in the debate. Court records, interviews and the authors' own experiences lend to the discussion of current laws, proposed changes, and their effects on society.
A Book for Everyone.......2006-07-08
"Unplugged" is a book everyone who is going to die should read. It tells you what you need to do to make sure your wishes are respected when it comes to end-of-life decisions. Doing that will spare your loved ones unnecessary anguish. This book, believe it or not, is an engaging page turner and my 90-year-old mother just read it. We took its advice, talked about her wishes, and she now has a notarized health care power-of-attorney, giving us both much peace of mind. All this thanks to Colby's wonderfully written, timely, important book.
A great read ... packed with helpful information.......2006-07-04
"Unplugged" is superbly written and thoroughly researched. Colby provides an unbiased perspective on complex legal, medical, and ethical issues in terms easily understood by both the lay person and professional. This book is invaluable for anyone who cares about how they or their loved ones experience life - and death.
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