There is a reason why only a few people produce most of the wealth in the world. It's because the majority of people have no interest in taking charge of their future. They keep waiting around for someone else to do it for them. They're content to take what comes, good or bad -- to be victims of chance and to accept other people's ideas of what's good for them.

Nobody has introduced me to more fascinating, and more profitable, business opportunities than Adam Starchild.

Harvard Business Review article, published in July-August 1995, by Harvard Business School professor Adam M. Brandenburger and Yale School of Management professor Barry J. Nalebuff.

"Unlike war and sports, business is not about winning and losing. ... The essence of business success lies in making sure you're playing the right game." The authors predicts that 50 years after the introduction of game theory by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern ('Theory of Games and Economic Behavior', 1944), "game theory is about to change the game of business." They use the introduction of General Motors' credit card in 1992 as an example for win-win situations. Win-win strategies can give several advantages: (1) There is greater potential for finding new opportunities; (2) They are easier to implement; and (3) The new game is more sustainable. The authors turn to the game of business which is all about value: creating it and capturing it. They introduce the 'Value Net', with the same players are Michael Porter's five competitive forces, as a schematic map designed to reprent all the players and the interdependencies among them. This 'Value Net' prompts you to explore all the interdependencies in the game. In order to change the game, you first need to draw the 'Value Net' for your industry and, second, identify all the elements of the game. According to game theory, there are five elements: players, added values, rules, tactics, and scope - PARTS for short. Brandenburger and Nalebuff discuss each of these elements in detail, including examples. But they warn readers: "Changing the game is hard. There are many potential traps." The authors discuss five of them, but provide another warning: "there is no silver bullet for changing the game of business. It is an ongoing process. ... There is, after all, no end to the game of changing the game."

Game theory is far from simple and it requires you to open your mind or even change your mind-set. This article provides a good, simple introduction, but for further guidance you probably have to go for Brandenburger and Nalebuff 1997-book 'Co-opetition'. I would like to recommended 'Wharton on Dynamic Competitive Strategy' (1997). This article is recommended to MBA-students and beginners in the field. The article uses simple US-English.

In his instructional manual, The Right Words: The Grace of Writing, author Blair Adams takes basic composition class to a new level. I appreciated the book immensely, as I always had a problem with the dry instruction typical of English Grammar and Comp class. How were we supposed to produce a sensitive, meaningful essay after spending hours dissecting paragraphs and sentences and labeling their parts? The assignment was comperable to being asked to produce a living, breathing frog after slicing it apart in biology class. The Right Words teaches how to use words and structure to make writing live, breathe, and dance off the page into a reader's mind and heart. In short, Adams revives the lost art of true communication. Good writing effectively communicates the writer's self-expression to produce a work that connects with and speaks to others. Adams gives several guidelines that help budding writers to comfortably master the thinking and writing process. The book itself is a model of the principles that it encourages. In distinct contrast to most writing textbooks, The Right Words provides witty, enjoyable instruction. I highly recommend it for anyone, including children.

This is one of a small number of reports on individual Maya archaeological sites that is written for laypeople as well as fans of the Maya. Rio Azul was a riverside city of the ancient Maya located in the forested lowland corner of Guatemala next to Mexico and Belize. The book is an excellent introduction to the format and reasoning of archaeological reports, but in this popular summary of his findings, Adams, who directed mapping and excavation a decade ago, digests all the numbing lists of basic data and highlights the most interesting discoveries. (If new to the Maya, follow the author's advice [Preface] and read his stirring conclusions first.) In his early chapters Adams ably shows how insights and broad implications can be drawn from simple facts by analysis and wide comparisons. He explores his favorite topics like architecture, pottery, tomb ritual, wetland agriculture, population estimation, and rank-size ordering of sites for determining political relations. He has long championed military explanations for ancient Maya events and the rise and fall of their cities, a useful counterpoise to the euphoria over Maya religion and personalities generated by the recent decipherment of Maya hieroglyphics. Strong on comparisons with the regional capital, famous Tikal, to the west, Adams almost ignores the extensive investigations across the river in Belize which he has since led! (This book seems to have been about 5 years in publication.)

Other than six color plates, 60 illustrations are slightly fuzzy because they are printed on ordinary paper. The index is terrible. A completely different way of presenting a Maya city, which looks an awful lot like Rio Azul, can be enjoyed in the oversize pictorial book of fictionalized history titled San Rafael: A Central American City Through the Ages, by Xavier Hernandez.

Sheingate's path-breaking study into agricultural subsidies is not just for farmers. Anyone interested in how policy is made, the role of interest groups, and the moderation of American politics should read Sheingate's incisive and accessible book. Perfect for the classroom, and those who miss it.

Road to the Stilt House is an excellent novel written within the naturalist tradition. The gritty novel is written in a terse, pithy poetic style that suits Richards' relentless investigation of the social and moral consequences of poverty. Richards' sense of indignation at the arm of the state is at its most palpable and effective. Though often neglected, this novel is one of the best to come out of the Maritime Provinces and must be dealt with in any comprehensive theory of Canadian Literature.

This book contains short stories from some of the greatest minds in SF, Including a Dorsi novela that appears no where else. Quite simply a must for all warriors of the future.

This book was spectacularly well-researched. I learned more from reading it--and came away with more amusing anecdotes to tell my friends-- than I have from my eleven years of subscribing to Rolling Stone. The author really knows what he's talking about.

this is not the type of book where the women go running through the forest in high heels. It is well written with strong, intelligent, and realistic characters. I fell in love with Sin the minute he came into view. And, I do mean view..it is written so well you can actually see him. great book looking for more. Faye...where are you?

This book very quickly introduced me to Rumi whom I now consider one of the great spiritual teachers in my life. He loved God so deeply and his words exude this love in a way which is infectious. Helminski has done a great job of breaking out small fragments from the larger body of Rumi's work and has presented them in a format for easy assimilation. Each bite-sized piece though, is extremely profound and capable of capturing the attention for a lifetime of purposeful remembering. I never feel bored with Rumi's writings and refer to his words often to find that spiritual refreshment to make it through, what would otherwise be, trying days. Helminski's translation seems superior to other translations I have read of Rumi's words. Though I'm not capable of comparing it to the orignal, Helminski's translations sing for me like no others do. A most rewarding book and now a valued frequent companion for me.