Since independence most African governments have been, in the authors' words, authoritarian and "neopatrimonial". Why was there an outburst of democracy in these nations during the early 1990s, followed by a slide back toward authoritarianism? To answer this question, the authors survey democratization theory, and they compare the African experience to democratization in Latin America and Eastern Europe. The authors' answer to the above question, very simply put, is that beneath the appearance of democratization, all the structural sources of authoritarianism persisted -- and still persist today.

This is a collection about the reshaping of the business enterprise. Whether the underlying driver of change is 'the digital revolution' or whether it is simply the emergence of new perspectives on business is probably not a profitable argument. Certainly some of the best articles in this collection have little to do with the Internet as such and a lot to do with rethinking business models.

Carr's introduction is particularly good - and is the one part of the book that subscribers to HBR will not have had the opportunity to read already.

In Part 3, there is a very engaging article by Ricardo Semler, best known for Maverick! It is essentially a description of how an entire enterprise has set itself up as a powerful forcing bed for developing and supporting every individual and group within the organization to act as entrepreneurs. By extension it is a powerful condemnation of the loss of potential creativity - and profit - in 'conventional' organizations.

Part 1 ends with a truly startling article entitled 'Transforming Life, Transforming Business: The Life-Science Revolution'. It is startling not for what it says, which is that genetic engineering in all its forms offers enormous business potential, but also carries with it great difficulties, both technically and of acceptance. The startling thing is that there is no mention - not even the whisper of a suggestion, either in the article itself or in the appended note by the Editors of Harvard Business Review - that there are ethical issues to consider and resolve. If this article reflects the thinking of those engaged in the genetic engineering industries, it is no wonder that they have a problem!

This is an excellent mystery featuring Nigel Strangeways, who is called upon to investigate poison pen letters that have been disturbing a village. There is an interesting cast of characters, including a beautiful, paralyzed woman and a vicar with a sad secret. There are hidden conflicts with friends and family members and a dramatic conclusion.
The author tends to stereotype the villagers as being greatly different from the gentry, which seems to be a common English theme. However,the Chantry and Blick families are very well described and unique.Their personalities can be clearly seen.
A very readable mystery.

It is really a good book for this prize. Though there are plenty of books on theory of elasticity subject, there is no book concisely explains the subject like this one. It is meant for a first time learner also helps little bit to understand the complex notations in tensor, dyadic approach for elasticity problems. Overall it is a good buy for a beginner who ants to learn the elasticity subject from the scratch. I would strongly suggest this book for both senior and graduate students who are interested in theory of elasticity.

This was a quiet, unassuming story that draws one in, almost by surprise. A simple novel about the intertwined personal relationships of two families on a kibbutz; for all its lack of action or high drama, it was nonetheless a very satisfying read.

This book reviews several areas within labour economics where search theory has been applied to explain unemployment, labour supply and labour demand. The coverage is quite good, although by 2000 is may be a bit out-dated. When I began learning about search theory and its application to labour economics, this was the main book to get an insight and learnt about the empirical results reached until then.

So, you know a little about the Russian language and you want to learn all there is to know about Russian grammar? The Essentials of Russian Grammar is the book for you! It takes a look at all aspects of Russian grammar and covers them very in depth. If you learn the materials in this book, you will know enough to be fluent in Russian , and thats a fact. But this book is not for the faint of heart. It can get a bit complicated, so a some knowledge of how the language works is probably required before diving into this one.

This is a readable and often entertaining look at the shallow world of fashion. It makes glaringly obvious that the term "fashion genius" is a contradiction in terms. Anyone who pays too much for a designer label, should read this book, and be cured of such silly behavior.

This is a very good book on a complex subject. It's full of interesting and cutting edge perpectives on development economics. However, the book leaves out an important viewpoint, which can be found in The Elusive Quest for Growth by Easterly.

This is one of three out of a set of cookbooks. The recipes are easy to follow, but the main point is the art included. The cookbook is also full of paintings (very victorian in style) as well as all of the fruit recipes.