The title is compelling enough although the book does not quite live up to it. No expose of the Corps can ever be really complete without reference to the monetary waste and resource degradation that are the bread and butter of the Corps. To his credit, the author made it clear from the outset that his aim was to focus on other subjects, such as the Corps' traditional cliquishness which has its origins in the experience many Corps employees used to have while at West Point, and the breathtaking institutional vanity. In these respects, the book provides some interesting information that probably cannot be found in other books. All in all, this is a "meaty" read and still surprisingly relevant after thirty-or-so years. Keep in mind that the author was about ninety years old when he wrote this book but it is very cogent and well-written.

This is a gripping novel that makes you wonder if it is a novel. The author had many years of experience as Agent-In-Charge in several cities, and his insight into "The Bureau" is fascinating. I know this almost firsthand.

This book is magically insane...will be hated by anyone capable of misunderstanding it (which will be just about anyone who has never really experienced (or has repressed from memory) the depth of insanity this culture has generated in the psyche of mankind). One of the few books that is both bull**** and entirely true. Will either take you on a trip or leave you shaking your fist at the curb. Don't buy this book. I loved it.

A generation ago Upfield wrote a series of books about his Australian detective hero, a half-Aborigine police detecitve named Napoleon Bonaparte. A brilliant, mystical, and fragile character with an understanding of both the white man and aboriginal culture, all the books are readable, although they do vary widely in plausibility.

This is the best one I've read. It's high summer in the outback, and there's a murder at an isolated station near an intermittent lake that's about to evaporate in the deadly heat. Everyone at the station house suspects and resents each other, feelings which grow and grow as the book builds and builds. It's a dangerous place for a detective in disguise.

But the best part of the book isn't the mystery. Upfield's greatest talent was in describing the natural life of his Australia, he can bring the beauty, mystery, and power of an overwhelming land vividly to life. As the tension in the house grows and the danger increases, the temperature soars to 120 degrees and above, the lake outside dies by inches, the water level sinking by feet per day, acres of lake vanishing, the wildlife fleeing or dying. It's a hard trick to put this much nature in a book without being heavy-handed or having it come accross as bad metaphors, but it's very successful here. The lake is the star, the people merely provide a story. Way cool!

In this series, this is definatly my favorite. It's more hard-hitting and plot-driven than the others without missing any charector development.

When I first bought this book, I wasn't sure if it was a collection of articles that simply addressed contradictory point of views on the subjects listed on the cover, or actual transcriptions of debates that occured in the past. I was very pleased to learn that it was indeed transcriptions of live debates that occured in the early part of the 20th century. There are three debates in all:

Has Life Any Meaning? - Between Frank Harris and Percy Ward, Sunday, April 11, 1920, Kimball Hall, Chicago

Debate on Spiritualism - Between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Joseph McCabe, November, 1919, London, England

Is Evolution True? - Between George McCready Price and Joseph McCabe, Queen's Hall, Langham Place, London, September

Though the publishers at a casual glance (of their published books) seem biased towards a particular atheistic/materialistic point of view, they none the less reproduced a fair example of high class debates between learned men of both pro and anti-views on these subjects.

One particularly interesting aspect of this book was exactly what was used as evidence for both anti and pro views at that time. As an example, pro-evolutionist Joseph McCabe said the following:

"Now I come to man. There is a general opinion that a vast gulf separates man from the ape. It did one hundred yeas ago. It certainly does not today... Now we have men of the Stone Age carrying us nearer to the ape; the Piltdown man, and one or two others, going as far again in the direction of the ape"

Of course, as most people are aware, and as the publishers themselves noted, Piltdown man was a fraud and was uncovered as such in 1953. But being "undeniable" at the time, it was still a piece of evidence for Evolution.

Being a collector of books on the subjects of the origin and divisification of life and the existence of the supernatural, I was very pleased with this book and the disputants themselves. While the evidences used are outdated, it has quite a bit of historical value, whether one is interested in the discussions or the men debating. I personally highly recommend it, and believe it would make a good addition to any personal book collection.

Though Third World debt does not currently appear on the public radar screen, it continues to concern Wall Street power-brokers and ad-hoc groupings of conscience, such as Jubilee 2000. Mc Ewan's book, though
somewhat dated, provides invaluable background on sources of the problem and prospects for something more than temporary bandaid solutions.

The text is distinguished by a particularly lucid account of the 1945 Bretton Woods Agreement, the international conference that institutionalized American hegemony over global economics during the lengthy post-war period. By fixing exchange rates around the dollar as international currency, US bankers were able - as the text makes clear - to displace many domestic problems onto foreign economies. This is a crucial aspect of so-called American prosperity that few well-meaning citizens are aware of, but which has affected overseas relations in sometimes decisive ways.

In its dynamics, Latin American debt appears to be particularly unpayable. Growth in south of the border economies - as McEwan shows - has been critically undermined by excessive capital export required to service International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans. This international banker, now the target of world-wide protest, imposes payback conditions that include curtailed government expenditures and increased foreign exports, measures that drain these peasant economies of whatever growth potential is left over. Particularly disturbing is the informed observation that so long as these basic terms of trade remain unaltered, debt foregiveness, like aspirin on a cancer, can produce little more than temporary relief. People of conscience need to read this book.

For a detailed case study analysis of the quantitative decision making process, Schleifer and Bell's "Decision Making Under Certainty" can't be beat. It is a detailed review of the variety of functions that quantitative decision analysis can be used for. From the analysis of operating procedures in the oil industry to the production of sugar, quantitative analysis is an effective tool and Schleifer and Bell have clearly established it as fact.

Dick Weinert has contributed much to the study of Coast Artillery defending the Chesapeake Bay. The story of Fort Monroe is well thought out and on target. His research is outstanding and he tells the story easily and for all interested in Fort Monroe to understand.

Defiant Teens: A Clinician's Manual for Assessment and Family Intervention is a very practical book for clinician's who work with teens with behavior disorders. It combines the best elements of behavioral therapy without ignoring the crucial role the family plays in treatment.

The book begins by presenting a comprehensive model for teen behavior, which includes discussion of mental disorders, parenting, and developmental factors. Then it describes instructions for 18 structured sessions that are used to treat the family and adolescent. It includes handouts, which may be reproduced if you buy the book.

I have used this book in practice as a substance abuse counselor in a correctional facility and found it to be very useful. It is a valuable resource for anyone working with difficult to treat teens and their families.

The best part of this book is that it is written like a workbook. Unlike many books on the matter, it includes step-by-step instructions that are grounded in theory without putting you to sleep. The handouts and session descriptions can be adapted and added to a clinician's toolbox. I would recommend this book to anyone who treats adolescents.