Why not, it is from the Discovery Channel people!

I did find only one other guide on Taiwan, but nowhere near the quality of this one.

I had bought a guide on St. Petersburg, Russia from the DK company, and I loved it. But most of the well known companies like DK, Fodor, Knoff, I don't believe publish one on Taiwan.

I am glad that the Insight people did, I am thourougly impressed. I will check them out from now on, when looking for travel guides for other countries!

YA!

What I liked most about the book was simple, jargon-free ideas and instructions. I liked the page on 'calm affirmation'. It reminded me that the list of the words at the end of this section can help me to convert the negatives into positives. For example, 'panic' can be replaced with 'peace'. The 'anger' can be turned into 'love' and 'failure' can be substituted with 'success'.

The book is packed with immediate remedial and effective methods of eliminating stress, negativity and lack of energy from our life.

It is a handbook for those who have to live with stress and worries in this modern 'age of anxiety'.

One of the things I loved about this book is how contemporary it is. Normally when I have picked up books on military colleges, the author spends pages and pages going on about the schools hisotry and its early formation and those who were involved in it. A miniscule amount of time is spent looking at the lives of cadets and how the school is structured (such was the case with Drawing out the Man, a historical book by a VMI grad). Fortunetly this is not the case with the Institute. The book looks at the lives of Rats (first year cadets) as it is right now and their transitions through the school.

This book has also taught me how far VMI has come. VMI is not afraid of positive making positive changes. Unlike another somewhat infamous military college. VMI will shed some of it more archaic traditions in order to be welcoming to others (There were several shots of multi-ethnic cadets). The school has seemed to shed some of its old emphasis on worhipping the Confederate Old South. And has now turned into a school dedicated to educating young people and building them up with character and fortitude. Which in my eyes is what makes this school truly great and unique.

I am too old to attend VMI now, but if I could I would quickly enter.

Rah! Rah! VMI

The strengths of this book include its extensive coverage of the various environments of international business, such as the cultural, political, legal, financial, competitive, and physical environments. Each of these chapters has practical examples to supplement the discussion of key issues and concepts, as well as highlighting points of relevance for businesspeople. The discussion of these various dimensions of international business environment is superior to alternative books, such as Hill or Daniels, that I considered using in my teaching (I teach international business for undergraduate students and also offer executive development courses for universities and businesses).

Another strength of this book is its coverage of issues associated with the operations of an international business. The strategy chapter provides a concise and useful overview of concepts in a way that is superior to most strategy books. Other chapters provide detailed and practical discussion of issues such as how to participate in importing and exporting (presented in a manner that sets this book apart from other books that generally provide only a few general pages on the merits and challenges of exporting but provide minimal guidance regarding how to actually do it!). The discussion on international operations is unique compared to other introductory international business books, and provides an insightful review of operations practices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

There is also a simulation that is provided with this book, allowing users to practice the management of an international business within the global cell phone industry. As part of the 8th edition of Ball et al, I used this simulation with my undergraduate and graduate classes and their response was outstanding. They felt that the experience was one of the best in the entire program, and that they not only learned very much about international business (market analysis, selecting products, pricing, promotion, managing exchange rates, etc.), but that they learned more practical information about functions such as finance, marketing, operations management, and strategy than they had in their earlier coursework.

Teaching or learning the material for an introduction to international business can be a complex and daunting challenge. The Ball et al book helped me and my students to minimize thse challenges, making international business a relevant and enjoyable topic for study, and practice.