Drafted by a committee of 19 (but sufficiently well edited to read as if it were written by a single author) this book provides a well-argued, detailed and wide-ranging analysis of the consequences of economic globalization (the term corporate globalization is also extensively used in the book) and an examination of alternatives and the action required to move towards those alternatives. It has succeeded brilliantly, and deserves very close study, whether or not you agree with the drafting committee's views.

This is no extremist anti-corporate, anti-capitalist text, although it does clearly come to the conclusion that the vector of economic globalisation that we are on is neither inevitable, desirable nor sustainable. It is notable for arguing at the level of underlying principles and their practical consequences - it makes explicit the assumptions underlying corporate globalisation and questions them. This, in itself, is a valuable service as so much of the 'debate' in the media proceeds on the basis of bald assertion of essentially fallacious economic dogma.

The report starts with a critique of 'corporate globalization'. The term itself is useful, because the term 'globalization' has become something of a 'Humpty-Dumpty' word ('when I use a word, it means exactly what I want it to mean, neither more nor less'). 'Corporate globalization' describes a process driven and promoted by the large global corporations which, whatever its other consequences, gives primacy to the benefits that will flow to global business.

The critique identifies eight key features of corporate globalization:

1. 'Promotion of hypergrowth and unrestricted exploitation of environmental resources to fuel that growth
2. Privatization and commodification of public services and of remaining aspects of the global and community commons
3. Global cultural and economic homogenization and the intense promotion of consumerism
4. Integration and conversion of national economies, including some that were largely self-reliant, to environmentally and socially harmful export oriented production
5. Corporate deregulation and unrestricted movement of capital across borders
6. Dramatically increased corporate concentration
7. Dismantling of public health, social, and environmental programs already in place
8. Replacement of traditional powers of democratic nation-states and local communities by global corporate bureaucracies.'

It demonstrates each of these propositions and explores who are the beneficiaries of application of these policies. One of the complexities of trying to follow the arguments of the pro- and anti- globalisers is that both use statistics, both from apparently authoritative sources, that directly contradict each other. It is almost as if the two sides inhabit parallel universes that operate in different ways. Suffice it to say that the report puts forward convincing arguments in support of its case.

The critique proceeds to a devastating analysis of the impact of the World Bank, The IMF and the WTO, the three pillars of corporate globalisation, over the last four or five decades.

The report then argues ten principles for sustainable societies, as a basis for identifying ways of realising these principles in the subsequent chapters of the report. It argues that these principles 'seem to be the mirror opposites of the principles that drive the institutions of the corporate global economy.'.

One of the minor problems in the debate is that, whereas 'globalization' rolls easily off the tongue, 'the principle of subsidiarity' is neither easy to say nor obvious in its meaning. The report contains a chapter on the case for subsidiarity, and it is a strong one. The counter argument is almost entirely concerned with power. While there are many elements of conflict between corporate globalisation and the principle of subsidiarity - local control - they are not entirely antithetical. But the reach of the large corporates would unquestionably be reduced.

You may or may not agree with the arguments in this report, but they deserve serious attention. They are well and carefully argued, they represent (in fairly sophisticated terms) the views of a growing number of people around the world who believe that current beliefs and institutions serve them poorly, and they show those who wish to promote change a path for doing so.

This book is excellent for all those who think we can do better-that small farmers needn't be driven from the land, our water needn't be polluted, people need not go hungry while others are overfed genetically engineered chemically altered junk food, etc. It has great thinkers presenting clear, well thought out ideas about what's wrong and what we can do about it. It helps when getting in that classic argument of keynesianism/communism v. neoliberalism because it outlines the thrid alternative very well. I am a grad student and I used it for a paper i wrote recently refuting neoliberalism and it was very helpful. I highly recommend it! Also, look into Maria Mies. She is the anti-capitalist-patriarchy bomb, yo.

A friend of mine who is involved with Rabbi Michael Lerner's Tikkun Community movement recently gave me a copy of Alternatives to Economic Globalization: A Better World is Possible. I'm not an expert in this field at all, but I found the book worthwhile and very accessible. (So accessible that I read the entire thing in a week!) The writers include Jerry Mander, David Korten, Lori Wallach, and many people working around the world in the anti-globalization movement.

What makes the book really important is the positive solutions and alternatives offered. The authors offer real ways to put into practice the Tikkun Community's first and second core principles (interdependence and ecological sanity, and a new bottom line in economic and social institutions).

I think other Tikkun readers, progressive-Democrats, Green party members, and thoughtful people everywhere---who want to see the world change from how it is now to how it could be---would want to read a book outlining specifics of how to create sustainable energy, transportation and food systems. And Alternatives to Economic Globalization does just that. I can't recommend this book enough (in fact I've already bought several copies to give to some of my friends).

After two decades of research, Colin Andrews, the world's foremost authority on crop circles, has written what may be the most comprehensive book on the subject. Starting with his early years of research Andrews recounts some of his first crop circle encounters. Readers will learn about the characteristics of the phenomenon before complex patterns began to appear in the late 80's.
This is one of the few crop circle books to adequately explore the connection of crop circles with nature and global environmental conditions. Andrews continuously reminds us how crop circles serve to raise our awareness of the planet.
Throughout the book, Andrews clearly wrestles with the reality of human circle-making activity. Coming from someone who previously disregarded the significance of this aspect of crop circles, he still refers to it as "hoaxing," implying a certain degree of recklessness and irresponsiblity on the part of the human circle-makers. He also tacitly recognizes their role in the evolution of the patterns.
Personally, I think it is unfair to call these human-made patterns "counterfeits" given their beauty and genuinely weird effects on our cameras and other equipment. As far as I know, there is no evidence to suggest that any of the complex patterns made since the late 80's in England are created by anyone or anything else than human circle-makers. Nonetheless, Andrew's book bridges many different points of view and leaves us with a mystery rather than a closed case. As a bonus, the book contains a catalogue of every circle to appear in England since the 1980's. It is quite a sight to see all these patterns together. There are also detailed discussions of Project Blackbird and the Oliver's Castle video.
This book is recommended for anyone with a passing or strong interest in crop circles. You may not agree with Andrews on every point but you are certain to come away with a greater appreciation of the phenomenon and the mysteries that surround it.
(Dr. Simeon Hein is the author of Opening Minds: A Journey of Extraordinary Encounters, Crop Circles, and Resonance (2002, Mount Baldy Press, Inc.)

I knew that Colin Andrews was the technical advisor for the movie Signs and had seen him in a variety of Crop Circle documentaries, I think on the Discovery Channel (it seems he's in every doc. every made on crop circles)! Now I know why he's always on them -- This is an excellent book, even (especially) for non-"woo woo" people who really want to know about crop circles. Are they real? Where do they come from? How do we know? Colin Anderes has done a fantastic job. And the four color photo insert is spectacular.

I loved this book. Anyone who wants to see great pix of crop circles, this is as far as you need to go.

Simple and delicious. I only bought this cookbook two weeks ago, and have already used it half a dozen times. Fantastic. Silvano Marchetto is a true master.

If you are looking for to understand 6800 microprocessor don't go pass this book.The author is certainly have a deep understanding of this microprocessor,although this microprocessor is ancient and almost extinct , the design is the prototype of later 6800 and 68000 family microprocessor. FYI, 6805 which is direct descendant of this ancient still produced and in large quantity. I personally choose this microprocessor becouse of its simplicity and easy to understand, the other micros just put extra bell and whistle out of this architecture. Also excellent tutorial in understanding 6820 PIO chip, You can't find such excellent explanation elsewhere else. Btw, you can forget about FORTH language, PASCAL is alot better. I would suggest that this book is preserved in Adobe Acrobat format, so buyer can download after purchased it. (if the author don't want the money, I do )

The Andrew Lang collections are well worth it. I read them when I was a child (bless that library) and when I saw them for sale I couldn't resist. The stories have retained their freshness and it is interesting to see similar themes dealt with by different cultures.

These would be great for parents reading to their children or for children looking for something interesting and fun to read.

Definitely worth it!

I was at the library with my father and mother when I first saw this book. I looked at all the colors and decided by pink being my favorite color. I read the whole book in gaps between 2 days and at bedtime. And I was so amazed at the mermaids, princesses, and fairies and all the wonder that a few days later I took out the orange, green, and crimson fairy book just so I could dwell in the land of fairy tales for a few more weeks! Im a young girl of fourteen, and I love fantasy stories. The Pink fairy book is my favorite because it was my first, but the whole collection are my favorites and I recomend them to boys and girls (There are plenty of stories boys would like too) and adults! (for they are just as interesting) I love art, and the pictures by H.J ford are so amazing and attractive, I stared at them for hours!

I am a teacher and I read many stories from The Pink Fairy Book to my class. They were amazed that there were so many more wonderful fairy tales that they had never seen on cartoons. I recomend this to all teachers and parents to read to treir kids.

Dear Mr Oldham,

your book is so full of mistakes that it makes the average ABBA-fan scream for justice. Here are just a few of your inaccuaracies:

You write: "No more carefree laughter..Agnetha sings mournfully on Knowing Me Knowing You"...well, it was Frida who sang lead on this one- a fact that was even mentioned in the liner notes on the "Arrival"-album.

You write:"At the end of their 1979 tour ABBA knew they would never tour again...well, Mr Oldham, tell me then, who toured Japan in spring the following year- impersonaters???

You write: Opus 10 died of boredom before delivery- but the one track they recorded for that album- I Am The City shows that ABBA had lost none of their vitality...well Opus 10 was never recorded because such a project didn't exist and I Am The City was recorded way back in 1982- and not in 1986.

Dear Mr Oldham, you don't even know the bare facts that one can look up in any "Gold" compilation inner sleeve. A man who doesn't even know who sang lead on the worldwide hit Knowing Me Knowing You is surely not the right person to write an in-depth biography.

Save time and effort next time !

I don't like this book at all! First of all, I don't think that interfering of the authors of the book into private lives of Agnetha, Frida, Benny and Bjorn was very nice of them. And then I don't think that these people really can know what they are talking about. I mean, it can be interesting to read about the behind-the scene lives of ABBA members but how can these people write what Agnetha was thinking about sitting alone in her hotel room? No one but Agnetha can know it , and I don't think it was she who told Andrew Oldham about her feelings. I suppose that the authors really did a big research before writing this book but there things they just couldn't know about. They give their idea of private lives of Frida, Agnetha, Bjorn and Benny, told some gossips and rumours but most of those things can't be proved. You may think that I think so 'cause I'm ABBA fan and I just don't like reading some rather unpleasant things about the members of the group. It isn't so. Being ABBA fan I'm interested in knowing as much as possible about their lives, even if sometimes I don't like what I hear. But it should be facts, not rumours! Though I have to admit that this book can give you a lot of fun if you don't take it seriously! I gave it 2 stars only because of the pics. Some of them are really cute!

This is a triumph of style over substance. The research is very poor with the result that there are a lot of factual errors in this book. I counted three in the first chapter alone (an example is the scoring system used in Eurovision in 1974). The main one, of course, is the repeated reference to Frida and Agnetha hating each other, which simply wasn't (and isn't) true. Nevertheless, this book is a fun quick read and the author's opinions, which range from comments on ABBA's music (which, in general, they rave about) to pop lyrics in general and musicians in the movies, are lively and entertaining. If you just cut out the personal stuff between the girls, the rest of this book will tell you as much as you ever need to know about ABBA, unless you're more than a casual fan. For those wanting more, 'Bright Lights, Dark Shadows' fills out the details, in a less tabloid fashion - but that still has it's moments of wrong-headedness (the comments in regard to the failure of Chess, in particular)