Amazon.com
Looking to live somewhere where houses are cheap? Head to Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa, where the average home costs $75,700, and annual property taxes for that home are about $960. Perhaps a good job market is a higher priority. In that case, pick Phoenix, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; or Riverside, California, as they top the list of places projected to have the highest-percentage increase in new jobs by 2005. Most of those jobs, by the way, are expected to have above-average pay. This and other detailed information can be found in the sixth edition of Places Rated Almanac, a helpful resource for people thinking of relocating as well as those with a desire to learn about cities and towns. Metropolitan areas are rated in nine categories: costs of living, job outlook, transportation, education, health care, crime, the arts, recreation, and climate. But don't go looking for statistics on Podunk--the focus remains on 354 metro areas, metro defined as a city or urbanized population of at least 50,000, located in a county with a total population of at least 100,000.
Places Rated is laced with intelligent and, unexpectedly, witty writing. The whole concept of judging places, the author notes, may seem the utmost of brass. "Yet everyone does it, privately. Some suspect that culture in Omaha or Des Moines or Saskatoon is a contradiction. Others surmise that daily life in Miami consists of surviving drug-trade shoot-outs..." Organized intelligently, Places Rated acknowledges that "livability" and "quality of life" are moving targets. Livable for whom? The artist who wants mountain vistas? The entrepreneur who wants low taxes and no red tape? With these limitations in mind, the book ends with a chapter titled "Putting It All Together," where the reader is invited to rate cities with a customized list of priorities. Arriving at your customized list, however, requires answering 72 questions that force you to decide once and for all what you value most--a low cost of living or good school districts or mild winters or some other criterion. And should you find that climate matters most, head for Santa Barbara, California, where winters and summers are mild and natural hazards are few, and stay away from Rochester, Minnesota, unless you're willing to endure 35 days when it's 0 degrees Fahrenheit, and 165 days of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, annually. --John Russell
Book Description
This blockbuster best-seller makes headlines coast to coast with its candid, fascinating look at all the factors that contribute to our quality of life. Sometimes controversial and always thought-provoking, Places Rated has been completely updated with the latest statistics. It's packed with timely facts and unbiased information on more than 350 metro areas in North America.Whether you're mulling over the idea of relocating, trying to decide where to start out, or just curious about how your hometown stacks up, you'll be intrigued by Places Rated Almanac. Places Rated ranks each metropolitan area on a number of essential factors, many of which are of vital interest in today's economy. They include:
- Job markets
- Cost of living
- Housing costs
- Educational standards
- Quality of public transportation
- Health care
- Recreational facilities
- Crime rates
- Environmental factors
- Climate
Easy-to-use charts help readers put this wealth of information to work to find the places that best suit their special needs and interests. Packed with unbiased, reliable and up-to-date information, this one-of-a-kind guide offers something to amuse or intrigue on every page. Newly redesigned this year with a two-color interior!
Customer Reviews:
Version 2000.......2007-03-12
Even the older editions give you a lot of valuable information.
I highly recommend it.
Extremely helpful tool in relocating.......2007-02-13
We used this book when we lived in New York and decided we wanted to relocate "somewhere else." It was extremely useful in narrowing the choices to places that had attributes that were most important to us, which in our case were things such as cost of living, weather, education, healthcare. It also offers a ton of info on other factors such as public transportation, the arts, employment, etc.
The book included a "quiz" you can give yourself, the answers to which will help you reveal to yourself which factors are in fact the most relevant to you.
In reading some of the other reviews, I must point out that relocating is not something you base upon a book alone. It was a great reference point, but once we narrowed our choices to several areas, we then did more specific research on those areas via the internet, sending for info from Chambers of Commerce, making phone calls, in-person visits, etc.
We ended up moving south and are extremely happy in our new area. In researching our new region, we found that many other people around here are also "transplants," thereby eliminating the aspect of feeling "foreign" in our new home town.
Definitely an excellent resource I would recommend to anyone considering relocating.
A city may be "great on paper" but beware! .......2004-07-23
These books are full of extremely helpful information, but I warn my fellow readers to take a place's culture into account before making a life-changing move. The books will not help you here. My husband and I bought a previous edition of Places Rated and devoured it while looking for a place to relocate from Los Angeles. We settled on a southern capital that seemed to have everything going for it, including consistently high rankings in Places Rated and every other city ranking we could find. Unfortunately, a city that looks great on paper may not be the place for you. Despite having lived in several states, we were unprepared for the surprising difficulties we experienced as "yankees" living in the south. From petty social and work discrimination to routinely being screwed over by one business after another hired to work on our home or car, etc., it became evident that we were identified as "yankees" on sight and treated accordingly. So much for southern hospitality! I assure you that we did our best to fit in and make friends, as we have successfully done in every other region of the country. After 2-1/2 years of this, we sold our home for a loss and got our "unsweet tea" out of there. Perhaps we were naive, not realizing that the yankee business is still such a potent issue in the south, but we will make future relocation choices with this experience in mind.
The best book of its kind........2003-12-28
It's tough to read a book of someone's opinions on where to live as its really a heartfelt decision each person needs to make for themselves. But most of this book is straight statistics, such as weather and crime. The book is big and leaves enough room for each metro area so you can read the climate graphs without too much eyestrain. It's the best book on deciding where to move that I found. I took tons of notes from this book, and it actually helped me pick an entirely new place to live than the ones I had originally thought of! The only section I didn't like was the arts and culture section. I'm into the artsy scene, but the authors rated cities based on number of symphonies and orchestras and operas - who goes to these anymore??
Love this book.......2002-08-17
This book is just great. I have bought every retirement-places-rated type of book that I can get my hands on and this author is by far the best. The millennium edition is twice as big as the last edition and every subject is covered that anyone would want to know about an area; cost of living, transportation, jobs, education, climate, crime, the arts, health care, recreation. I can't wait for the next edition to come out! We're not retiring any time soon so it's helpful to really be able to study and evaluate where we are going to want to retire.
Book Description
Best Places to Raise Your Family: Experts Choose 100 Top Communities That You Can Afford provides timely facts and expert in-depth analysis on 100 U.S. neighborhoods in an accessible and friendly format. Whether you're mulling over the idea of relocating your family, trying to decide where to live once you have a family, or just curious about how your hometown stacks up, you’ll be intrigued by Best Places to Raise Your Family. In addition to providing population statistics, each city is ranked on a number of essential factors such as: education, standard of living, health and safety, and lifestyle. Easy-to-use tables help you put this wealth of information to work to find the place that best suits your family's special needs and interests.
Customer Reviews:
Best Places to Raise Your Family.......2007-09-09
Great Book! Where each city is broken down and reviewed I would like to see a map of the city/state and surrounding area to see exactly where the city is located and what it is close to...
Not worth it........2007-01-03
Somehow I live in one of these places and I know several others very well. I trying to move from one of the best places to raise my family. This book just didn't have the information needed to make a sound decision.
Great for those seeking new places to live.......2006-11-08
This book is perfect for people interested in moving to better places to raise families. It is well organized and represents choices throughout the country. The one complaint I would offer is that many of the best places chosen are on the expensive side, but that is probably unavoidable, as people pay more to live in nice places. There are many inexpensive options described, as well. This book has been hugely inspiring for my family and we don't regret the purchase.
Great Relocation Resource.......2006-07-27
As just one component of your relocation research this is a great tool. While it is hard to question the underlying research presented in the book you have to look for nuances in the recommendations the authors make to gain a better understanding of a particular area. These carefully worded nuances are a critical part of gaining a true picture of the "Best Place" being rated.
Having lived in a few of the cities rated as "Best Places" the subtle comments reveal a much more accurate picture of the area than the statistical data.
It's OK........2006-07-27
There is a lot of information here. We especially liked the 100 `family' places around the country, but isn't that what any suburb is anyway? Still, the selections are interesting.
There are just a few maps in the book and they are quite cheesy. Plus, a lot of the figures they use are recycled from the Census of six years ago. Any good web surfer can dig that stuff up.
I don't know about you, but I could have used less information on Starbucks outlets and `picture postcard' settings and a lot more on the schools. Isn't that why families move?
This book is an OK start. But there must be a better book out there on how a family in North Carolina can find a good school system in suburban Phoenix.
Book Description
The Latest Facts & Figures on the Best Places to Live in North America!
For anyone thinking about relocating-or interested in the demographics of American life—Cities Ranked & Rated offers unbeatable insights into more than 400 metropolitan areas in the United States and Canada. Data is provided by Bert Sperling, creator of Money magazine's original "Best Places to Live" list.
This unique guide combines honest opinions and objective facts to help readers compare cities quickly and comprehensively.
- Data on the 45 fastest-growing U.S. cities
- Separate rankings and ratings for 27 Canadian cities
- Easy-to-read charts showing the best and worst U.S. cities in over 50 categories
- State-level comparisons of population densities, taxes, government expenditures, educational testing, and more
- Details on how to find more information at Bestplaces.net/CRAR
Highlights Include:
- The strongest job outlook
- The lowest cost of living
- The most days of sunshine
- The best educational opportunities
- The best air and water quality
- The lowest healthcare costs
- The lowest crime rate
- The shortest daily commute
- The lowest automobile costs
- The most leisure amenities
Customer Reviews:
Informative, Helpful, Encyclopedic, Cures Insomnia.......2007-10-01
If it's a location found in the United States or Canada, odds are that inside this hefty paperback colossus of a book (with a friendly green cover!) you'll find it ranked, rated, profiled, cross-sectioned, detailed, written-up, compared, contrasted, broken down, dissected, described, critiqued, praised, criticized, explained, considered, pondered, investigated, turned inside and out, and then in the end set before you with neat little charts and data that give you a good idea of what living in one of the featured areas would be like. Want to know the chances of a hurricane hitting Fairbanks, Alaska in any given year? It's in there! How about the number of library books per resident in Canton, Ohio? Yup, you can find that out, too. (It happens to be 3.96, according to page 248.) How many Hispanics live in El Paso? Cities Ranked & Rated will enlighten you in mere seconds. Whether you're a realtor, a would-be re-locator, or an average Jane who happens to absorb naked trivia like the parched soil of Las Vegas, Nevada absorbs its meager 4.0 inches of annual rainfall (page 487) this is a reference book for you! Can I hear three cheers for the minutia-obsessed geeks who made all this raw information possible?
THE BEST RESOURCE IF YOU'RE PLANNING A MOVE!.......2007-09-24
We waited anxiously for the Second Edition. We purchased two copies so we could each explore cities and then compare our ideas. Having recently made a moving mistake, we wanted to do some serious, extensive research before our next move. Cities Ranked & Rated is the perfect resource for the job! The ten main categories are critical to the comparison of cities, and the numerous sub categories rounded out our need for information. Well done, and definitely worth every cent of the cost, which was quite reasonable! As usual, Amazon got the books to us very quickly.
Cities Ranked and Rated.......2007-09-09
I love all of the detailed information that this book provides. One thing that was missing for me was a small map of the city/state so you could see exactly where it is located and what it is close to (I would like to see this for each individual city)
Lots of Data Ranking One Man's Opinion.......2007-09-02
I agree with another reviewer. There is a ton of data, and if you need information for a move this book gathers most of it for you. Some data however is misleading or confusing. For example my area of interest is the Front Range of Colorado. Some data points listed under a city is actually county or statewide data. Since I am looking for a smaller city to live in I might have crossed off some of the cities because the county population is considerably higher than the city in the book.
As far as ranking goes, it is somewhat driven by the author's view of ideal in each category. For me low humidity is more important than days over 90 degrees or below 32 degrees. Thus the rankings are skewed against what I am looking for. The book would be more helpful if it had a third section that allowed the reader to construct their own rating scale and explain how to load the data in a spreadsheet for evaluation. That would be awesome!!!!
Additionally when we visited Fort Collins, we found the city to lack the building code enforcement we are used to. Consequently, we found the city to look trashy and undeserving of it's high rating. Yes the climate is great, but the neighborhoods are trashy. The book needs to include building code enforcement standards.
Great Reference Manual.......2007-07-12
This is a great reference manual for anyone that wants, needs, or is forced to relocate. It's also a great book for those grads that might be considering several different geographical areas (guidance counselors and human resource folks need this book). The book ranks about 400 cities throughout the US and Canada. You could use "Cities Ranked and Rated" online, but the book is much, much better. The first 140 pages of the book delve into what, how, and the whys of the data, and believe me there is a bunch of data. I'm betting this is the company from which everyone else gets their data. You've seen those mags that list 10 Best Places to Retire, or 10 Best Places to Raise a Family, etc, etc. The amount of data crammed into the two pages per city is staggering. Everything about weather, taxes, education, outdoor activities, libraries, arts, Starbucks (who would have thought), transportation, demographics, housing, income, healthcare; the list goes on and on. We also own the first edition and this new one was worth the "upgrade."
Average customer rating:
- Very useful & user friendly!
- Every bride needs this book!!
- Perfect for planning a wedding and other events!
- Nothing New Under the (D.C) Sun
- Great book for GREAT party!
|
Unique Meeting, Wedding, and Party Places in Greater Washington: Historic Homes, Art Galleries, Ballrooms, Gardens, Inns, Conference Centers, Riverboats, ... Distinctive Settings for Events Large and
Elise Ford
Manufacturer: Howell Press Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Dining
| Food & Lodging
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Tourist Destinations & Museums
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
South Atlantic
| South
| Regions
| United States
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Washington, D.C.
| United States
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Priceless Weddings for Under $5,000
-
1001 Ways To Save Money . . . and Still Have a Dazzling Wedding
-
Bridal Bargains, 8th Edition: Secrets to throwing a fantastic wedding on a realistic budget (Bridal Bargains)
-
Intimate Weddings: Planning a Small Wedding that Fits Your Budget and Style
-
How to Have an Elegant Wedding for $5000 (or Less) : Achieving Beautiful Simplicity Without Mortgaging Your Future
ASIN: 1574271199 |
Book Description
Whether you entertain 50 VIPs at a formal dinner, 100 business associates at a sales luncheon, 200 friends at a wedding reception, or 5,000 conventioneers at an outdoor gala, you'll find no more elegant and romantic place to host a gathering than Washington, D.C. and suburban Maryland and Virginia. Organized by the number of participants a site can accommodate, the possibilities include embassies, famous galleries and museums, riverboats on the Potomac, and the former home of a president.
Customer Reviews:
Very useful & user friendly!.......2004-02-09
My sister found this book years ago when she was looking for sites for her wedding. I used it to help find a location for my companies 25th anniversary party. I had to buy a newer version when I was scouting locations for my own wedding! If found wonderful places I never heard of before. It saved me a lot of time and energy by eliminating contacting places that would not have been a good fit.
Every bride needs this book!!.......2004-02-04
My husband and I are not from the DC area, but have settled here. We knew we wanted a DC area wedding, knew we wanted it outdoor, but didn't know where to go from there. This book breaks down sites by how many guests it can accomodate, and lets you know prices, rules, etc. This saved me hours of phone calls and pointless drives to sites that wouldn't have been right for us. If you know the DC area, this might not be the right book for you, but for us carpetbaggers, it was a lifesaver!
Perfect for planning a wedding and other events!.......2001-11-30
I used an earlier edition, but I would assume they won't differ too much. This was an invaluable resource for our initial wedding planning. We were able to find out ahead of time and w/o phone calls that some sites we were interested in were too small to accomodate our guests. And, then we used it to investigate locations we had never thought of, or knew existed.
I have also used the book as a resource when planning social events for a non-profit association. Again, we narrowed our selections based on size and found locations that we did not know of.
My event planning went much more smoothly because of this book, and I have loaned it to several friends who have also praised its resources.
Nothing New Under the (D.C) Sun.......2001-04-04
When our two daughters recently became engaged, I ran out to buy this new Unique Places book, written by local author Elise Ford. For the price,(around $20 including shipping. For our weddings, each around 120 guests for sit-down dinner, I found this book not helpful. Locally distributed free publications have more information, more sites,similar information on costs, and are more a propos for planning weddings. This book would be useful for an organization, or for planners of galas or huge corporate functions. Most of the interesting locations do not allow private parties, especially weddings. A small percentage of the locations would be suitable for 'small' parties of around 100. I will donate this book to a non-profit organization I belong to. Many sites are excellent for large non-profit gatherings. Other sites have their own food preparation on site so renter can't bring in one's own caterer. A few private clubs are included, but not enough. This book might be helpful to some people, but not to this family. I should have checked it out in the library first. Mea culpa! Fine for event planners... but not mothers of brides.
Great book for GREAT party!.......2000-02-24
Absolutely wonderful reference book if you are looking for a place in the Washington, DC area to have a special party. Arranges different sites by size, area, type etc. Is very useful and convenient to use. Saves hours of phone calls!
Book Description
Cities Ranked & Rated: Your Guide to the Best Places to Live in the U.S. & Canada provides timely facts and unbiased information on over 400 U.S. and 30 Canadian cities in an easy-to-access format. Whether you're mulling over the idea of relocating, trying to decide where to start out, or just curious about how your hometown stacks up, you’ll be intrigued by Cities Ranked & Rated. In addition to providing population statistics, each city is ranked on a number of essential factors, many of which are of vital interest in today's economy. Categories include: economy and jobs, cost of living, climate, education, health and health care, crime, transportation, leisure, and arts and culture. Easy-to-use tables help you put this wealth of information to work to find the city that best suits your special needs and interests.
Customer Reviews:
Must read for anyone moving to a new city or wanting to.......2007-03-17
I've been looking for a place to settle down for a few years now and it's much easier to read a book written by those who have researched every major and medium sized city in the country and Canada than to try and do it myself. This book also includes small cities but obviously not EVERY one. It is very informative and it ranks the cities in an easy to understand way. This book includes details most people trying to relocate want to know about such as - weather, crime rates, what kind of crimes occur the most, water quality, air quality, population, job growth rates, #of hospitals nearby, airports nearby, colleges, sports and culture nearby.
where should i be?.......2007-02-28
I bought this book in hopes of finding my ideal location. The book is useful but almost all statistical. Also, the real estate and economy sections are very much out of date - then again, our economy in general is always changing. I found the sections on Canada very helpful. For more stats, try the US Census website, talk about all the right tools!
Fat book of facts.......2006-02-05
I found this book a delightful conglomeration of every fact you might want to know about a city and it's livability. The catagories were population,economy& jobs, Cost of living, Climate, Education, Healthcare, Crime, transportation, Leisure,arts& culture, and quality of life.The charts, tables,and maps kept me in a sense of discovery! The info is really easy to understand and not too abstract. Peter Sander and Bert Sperling, the authors have a great background and created a very flowing publication.
Truth: its a good book for most of us.......2006-01-28
I think this book is uncannily accurate in the way it described many cities with which I am familiar. Must be accurate for the others as well, right? So I would say it is actually very useful.. Anything with a gazillion bits of information will have some errors, but on the whole, trust me, it's a good book.
A Publisher's Huge Embarassment.......2005-11-24
This book rates cities by several livability factors, then adds the ratings to determine who's #1 (it's Charlottesville, VA), who's #2 (Santa Fe, NM) . . . all the way down to who's #331 (Laredo, TX), dead last.
In doing so, the authors have inadvertently switched the ratings of cities with the same name: Columbia (Missouri and South Carolina), Columbus (Georgia and Ohio), Decatur (Alabama and Illinois), Florence (Alabama and South Carolina) Jackson (Michigan and Mississippi), Lafayette (Indiana and Louisiana) and Springfield (Illinois and Massachusetts).
For example: Florence (Alabama) gets Florence (South Carolina's) rosey score for employment, while the latter is saddled with the former's rather grim employment score. Or, Jackson (Michigan) receives Jackson (Mississippi's) milder weather rating, while the latter is stuck with the former's rotten climate rating.
Since a city's ranking depends on the rankings of other cities, these astounding errors affect the final results of every other city listed in the book. You can verify this yourself by comparing ratings summarized in the beginning of the book with ratings in each city's profile.
This book is a fraud. If this had happened in health care or financial services, the authors would have been fired and their study withdrawn.
Book Description
New edition of a classic. Three distinguished scholars challenge us to put the urban crisis back on the national agenda, both as a moral challenge to our conscience and an economic challenge to America's prosperity and our families' pocketbooks. Focusing on the growing concentration of poverty in our cities and older suburbs and the mounting costs of suburban sprawl, they argue that these problems have political origins and can thus be resolved through political means--but only if we fully understand the power of place.
Despite modern telecommunications--faxes, linked computers, etc.--where we live shapes our lives and fortunes as much as ever. Place affects our access to jobs and public services (especially education), our access to shopping and culture, our level of personal security, the availability of medical services, and even the air we breathe. Economic segregation is increasing in American metropolitan areas--the rich and poor continue to move apart from one another. This has devastating effects on those who are forced to live in areas of concentrated poverty. But it also imposes costs, often unrecognized, on middle class and rich families who in their effort to escape the problems of concentrated poverty, undermine the quality of their own lives by suffering the effects of unrestricted sprawl.
The central thesis of Place Matters is that economic segregation between rich and poor and the growing sprawl of American cities and suburbs are not solely the result of individual choices in free markets. Rather, these problems have been powerfully shaped by short-sighted government policies. The first order of business must be to overhaul those policies. In the process, both urban and suburban citizens will gain a keener awareness that they are all ultimately bound by common interests and share a common fate.
Not simply another polemic on the plight of the inner-city poor, Place Matters provides a practical road map for reform based on penetrating analyses of economic and demographic trends, voting patterns, and congressional politics. While "sounding the alarm," it also provides guidance and hope for elected officials at local, state, and federal levels, as well as policy makers, scholars, teachers, community activists, business leaders, economists, social workers, and the urban clergy.
This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series.
Customer Reviews:
Some Good Some Bad.......2007-05-11
This book is very much an academic book. Some of the recommendations are very mainstream that cities are doing already. Many cities are dedensifying the inner cities to spread the poverty around. (I think that is likely a good thing--it has a good chance of reducing spatial mismatch.) However, their plan for diversifying suburbs with minorities and women who will likely vote democratic because more people in the suburbs vote than in inner cities . . . and therefore congress will be predominantly democratic and voting for those policies favorable to cities . . . is not exactly absurd, but it is a bit forced.
Excellent.......2006-06-21
This book details in stark clarity the dilemma facing our urban environment today. We ignore it's lessons at our peril. Place Matters shows how we have systematically set up a system of the haves and have nots. Literally a tale of two cities. It is crucially important that we involve ourselves in the electoral process because who we elect most definitely determines how wealth and power are distributed in the United States of America. This book is a cogent coherent collection of mind blowing data about discriminatory social engineering against our urban environment.
Place Matters: A Policy Disaster.......2003-10-11
The policy recommendations put forth by the authors of Place Matters are the most absurd thing that you will ever read. It doesn't matter where you are on the political spectrum. This is frankly the stupidest idea that you will ever hear to help solve the problems of inner city America.
In order to "Deconcentrate Poverty," the authors want to move people from areas of high concentration of poverty into more affluent areas. They also want to take more affluent people and move them into the areas of high poverty. Absurd isn't it? This is problematic on several fronts.
First of all, this is completely not feasible. Residents of more affluent areas would never allow poorer people to move into their neighborhood. This is especially true today, with the slow growth movement stopping this same kind of plan in its tracks. Home owners associations continue to be successful in stopping the construction of low income housing in their neighborhoods. They don't want their property values to go down, and they will mobilize to stop this before it can happen.
Second of all, moving more affluent people into poorer neighborhoods will hurt the poor, not help them. Look at the example of Harlem today. After Bill Clinton moved to town, the rents have skyrocketed and the area is becoming more gentrified now.
Third, this is a racist liberal argument which believes that people of color cannot have effective political, social, or economic institutions unless accompanied by whites. Given that the vast majority of residents of the inner cities are people of color, liberals like Dreier et al have mounted a movement to validate people of color as a biologically inferior group in order to achieve parity with whites. In utilizing that strategy to achieve that goal in a society of endless discrimination, people of color must eventually certify themselves as inherently inferior and therefore have to resort to living in white communities in order to have a livable environment and functioning institutions. Why can't the inner cities have institutions that function well such as quality schools and safe communities? Why should inner city residents have to move to a predominately white neighborhood to receive these benefits?
As anyone can see, this is the most absurd book on solutions to inner city problems. As you can tell by now, this book is a complete waste of your time and money. You could honestly better spend your time starting an ant farm then reading through Dreier et al's nonsense.
i.e. How Progressives Think, For Dummies.......2003-07-25
This book is beneficial to both Progressives, and their arch-enemy, the Conservatives
For Progressives ---
the book is a Bible of Progressive politics. It gives readers a backround and a full instuctional book on how to create the policy-jewel of the Progressive movement, which is merging counties so that everyone shares the same tax duties (in other words, a contemporary form of Socialism)
Aside from tax-base sharing, the book offers other Progressive arguements that are very in tune with the Progressive movement --- a great book for anyone aspiring to become a Progressive Poseur
For Conservatives ---
Do you ever watch Progressives debate on Fox News and think to yourself, "What the heck is their logic??? What planet are they coming from??" If you would really like to get INSIDE the mind of a Progressive, and finally see what they truly think, their logic behind their thinking, and the ways that they reach their conclusions, then this is the book for you!
The book is a roadmap of all Progressive policies, allowing Conservatives to truly dissect their policy approaches, in a manner that would allow them to have the upper hand in a debate after thorough analyzing.
Conclusion ---
Many of the policy recommendations in here are far-fetched and are not very likely to occur anywhere in America ---- but nonetheless, it serves as a great Bible for Progressives, and for Conservatives, as an excellent reference to a Progressive cause that is extremely difficult to comprehend.
Think of the book as 'American Progressivism for Dummies'
Customer Reviews:
outdated.......2006-03-18
This would be an excellent and thorough book were it not nine years old. The information on cost of living is useless because so much has changed.
Just OK.......2004-11-28
The book is put together very well and is easy to read. Now for the negatives. Most of the information is old which makes it unusable. It's OK for a starting point, but you'll be going back to the internet for up-to-date information.
50 Fabulous Places to Raise Your Family by Giovagnoli.......2004-08-29
This book describes optimal places to live and retire. The author
describes the quality of life, local economy/jobs , entertainment and a plethora of other concerns. Fountain Hills, Arizona is listed for its jobs, no state income tax and quality of lifestyle. Gainesville Florida is listed as the most livable
city in the USA. Huntington, NY is listed as a preferred
suburb with good schools, beaches and vacation spots.
Charlottesville, VA. is praised for its scenary, affordable
housing, schools and educational centers. This book is a solid
value if you are researching an area unfamiliar to you.
Before you move anywhere, visit the locality, speak to residents and make up your own mind independent of what any book conveys.
Published in 1997 - Too Old & Dated!.......2003-10-25
I was excited to receive this book, but hadn't noticed in the product description that it was last published in 1997, and since it's nearly 2004, this book was not very helpful. The data is time sensitive (cost of living, populations, tax rates, home costs, school info, etc). Each city review had a nice "contact" list at the end, but one major thing missing were website addresses (which would've helped locate more recent data). Only the addresses & phone numbers were listed, and most were not toll-free numbers. Shame on me for not noticing the publication date, shame on Amazon.com for recommending it as a match with "The Places Rated Almanac" (the book found me, I wasn't looking for it specifically).
Inaccurate and way too subjective.......2003-10-11
We visited 10 of the communities listed, and are quite familiar with seven more of them. First, the authors seem to have a preference for non-pedestrian-friendly, car-oriented suburban sprawl. Second, I don't know where they got their info. We went so far as to move to one of the communities listed in the book, and after we got there we found out that the "excellent public schools" cited by these authors were ranked 48th in the country, and that there was very little for children to do. Health care was rated 47th in the country and was subpar, expensive and difficult to obtain. Not only that, the community was not friendly or welcoming to outsiders, and it was a most decidedly un-family-oriented environment. We stayed a year and left this town. We had not gone only on the basis of this book's recommendation, of course, but we had taken it into consideration as part of the total picture and it turned out to be extremely misleading.
Use with caution. If you want to relocate somewhere, visit the place, talk to folks, get the facts, trust your own judgment. Where to live is way too big a decision to trust to subjective opinions.
Average customer rating:
|
Metropolitan Places: Interiors from New York, Barcelona, Milan, Mexico City, Par is, West Berlin, London, Los Angeles
Elizabeth Heyert
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Bargain Books
| Stores
| Books
| Arts & Photography
| Audiobooks
| Biography
| Business & Investing
| Calendars
| Children
| Computers & Internet
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Film
| Greeting Cards & Accessories
| Health, Mind & Body
| History
| Home & Garden
| Humor, Comics & Pop Culture
| Literature & Fiction
| Mysteries & Thrillers
| Nonfiction
| Parenting & Families
| Reference
| Religion & Spirituality
| Romance
| Science & Nature
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Sports
| Teens
| Travel
ASIN: 0517080036
Release Date: 1992-02-16 |
Book Description
Inhabitants of Phoenix tend to think small but live big. They feel connected to individual neighborhoods and communities but drive farther to get to work, feel the effects of the regional heat island, and depend in part for their water on snow packs in Wyoming. In Metropolitan Phoenix, Patricia Gober explores the efforts to build a sustainable desert city in the face of environmental uncertainty, rapid growth, and increasing social diversity.
Metropolitan Phoenix chronicles the burgeoning of this desert community, including the audacious decisions that created a metropolis of 3.6 million people in a harsh and demanding physical setting. From the prehistoric Hohokam, who constructed a thousand miles of irrigation canals, to the Euro-American farmers, who converted the dryland river valley into an agricultural paradise at the end of the nineteenth century, Gober stresses the sense of beginning again and building anew that has been deeply embedded in wave after wave of human migration to the region. In the early twentieth century, the so-called health seekers--asthmatics, arthritis and tuberculosis sufferers--arrived with the hope of leading more vigorous lives in the warm desert climate, while the postwar period drew veterans and their families to the region to work in emerging electronics and defense industries. Most recently, a new generation of elderly, seeking "active retirement," has settled into planned retirement communities on the perimeter of the city.
Metropolitan Phoenix also tackles the future of the city. The passage of a recent transportation initiative, efforts to create a biotechnology incubator, and growing publicity about water shortages and school funding have placed Phoenix at a crossroads, forcing its citizens to grapple with the issues of social equity, environmental quality, and economic security. Gober argues that given Phoenix's dramatic population growth and enormous capacity for change, it can become a prototype for twenty-first-century urbanization, reconnecting with its desert setting and building a multifaceted sense of identity that encompasses the entire metropolitan community.
Book Description
While she's in the Metropolitan Museum with her grandmother, a little girl leaves her prized yellow balloon tied to a railing outside. But its string becomes untied, and the balloon embarks on an uproarious journey through New York City. With an ever-increasing cast of wacky urban characters in tow, it soars past a host of landmarks. Eighteen famous paintings and sculptures are reproduced in this delightful, wordless book that explores the magical relationship between art and life.
Awards:
An ALA Notable Book
An American Bookseller Pick of the Lists
New York Public Library "100 Titles for Reading and Sharing"
A Child Study Children's Book Committee Children's Book of the Year
Customer Reviews:
No Words.......2007-05-13
I live in New York City, and my sister lives in Iowa. I always try to buy her books that are local to where I live. I loved the concept of the book and the illustrations were great, but was dissapointed to find that it didn't have any words in in. I gave it to my sister anyway and she told me "Monica books are supposed to have words!" That said it all.
nice story but i was disappointed.......2005-11-14
I purchased this book knowing I was going to take my kids to the museum during the holidays. I was disappointed with it. Although it is a lovely, humorful story, I had one major problem with it.
Namely, I would have preferred more examples of art from the museum (there were only 18, I believe).
This is a lovely book to check out of the library but not to buy for my personal library.
Ages 5-100.......2005-10-25
A fun picture book,with lots of action. Which compares pictures to the things of the metropolitan museum.
Age 7
I recomend it alot
This superduper it deserves 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 stars.......2005-10-25
This is my favorite book. It is livly with beutful pictures. It compares it's pictures to the pictures of the metropoliyim musim. It is so fun the day after a got it I looked at every detail everyday. I adore it.
You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum .......2005-09-25
The book was in excellent condition and was received within two weeks.
Books:
- Plantation Homes of Louisiana and the Natchez Area
- Professional Practice for Interior Designers, 3rd Edition
- Programming WCF Services (Programming)
- Provencal Interiors: French Country Style in America
- Pure California: 35 Inspiring Houses in the New California Tradition
- Santa Barbara Style
- Saturnalia: A Marcus Didius Falco Novel (Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries)
- Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign 1941-1945
- Sisters (Random House Large Print (Paper))
- Spiritual House Cleaning: Protect Your Home and Family from Spiritual Pollution
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Essentials of Business Communication
- The Mother of All Pregnancy Books: The Ultimate Guide to Conception, Birth, and Everything In Betwee
- Omnibus Press Presents the Story of Green Day
- Long/Short Market Dynamics: Trading Strategies for Today's Markets
- SAP MM-Functionality and Technical Configuration
- The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co.
- The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day
- Glencoe Accounting: 1st Year Course, Chapter Reviews and Working Papers 14-28
- Market Magic: Riding the Greatest Bull Market of the Century
- Dance of the Thunder Dogs
Cities Ranked and Rated: More than 400 Metropolitan Areas Evaluated in the U.S. and Canada, 1st Edition
Retirement Places Rated: What You Need to Know to Plan the Retirement You Deserve (Rated)
Making Your Move to One of America's Best Small Towns: How to Find a Great Little Place as Your Next Home Base
50 Fabulous Places to Raise Your Family: Lee & Saralee Rosenberg's (Lee and Saralee Rosenberg's 50 Fabulous Places to Raise Your Family)
Best Places to Raise Your Family, First Edition (Rated)
