The problem here is that almost everything in the book they have already published elsewhere, and thus only is a slight updating of earlier results. It is nice to have them altogether in one source, but the underlying methodology is so questionable as to render it not worthwhile.

The empirical tests to distinguish between various models of political business cycles and partisan theory have been justly criticized. The authors could have made an important contribution by altering their work to properly incorporate the critics, but instead simply restate the problems, pay a little lip service to the issues, and then proceed to ignore them without proper justification.

Alberto Alesina is one of the leading scholars to adapt that new theory of macroeconomics to the possibility of political goals and motivations on the part of policy makers. And "Political Cycles and the Macroeconomy" is the most comprehensive and authoritative statement of scholarship in this field. It is a theoretical and empirical statement of the state of the art in political macroeconomics. It contains a review of alternative theories and fresh empirical tests. It builds on a decade or more of empirical work by Alesina, with the present colleagues and others, and by many other scholars.

Alesina and his colleagues begin with an intellectual map of opportunistic and partisan theories, for each of which there are traditional models with an exploitable Phillips curve and models that are consistent with rational expectations. The conclusions are that the rational choice and rational expectations theories are more successful than their more traditional predecessors and that the partisan model is more successful than the opportunistic model in explaining macroeconomic behavior. That is, the designated winner on both theoretical and empirical grounds is "rational partisan theory," of which the leading scholar is Alberto Alesina himself. The theories are tested with data for the United States and for most of the developed economies in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)....

Although the book's empirical work pertains to most OECD nations, there is a separate chapter devoted to political cycles in the United States. Descriptive data regarding inflation, unemployment, and growth are presented, organized by party and position in the electoral cycle. Hypotheses are tested on data for the period from 1947 through 1994. Results support the rational partisan theory and fail to support opportunistic electoral cycle hypotheses. For nonspecialists the most telling evidence in favor of the "rational partisan" theory, as opposed to the traditional theory, is that differences between the parties on unemployment and growth are confined to the first half of administrations, in response to the element of surprise in electoral outcomes, but the differences dissipate in the second half.

"Political Cycles and the Macroeconomy" is a state-of-the-art presentation of an important field bridging economics and political science. Although the technical level of the book is high (some chapters have more than a score of equations), the book is accessible to serious readers and will be rewarding to them. It simultaneously advances the study of macroeconomics and the study of political processes and institutions. It is a fine book.

This novel written in the twilight of Dame Agatha's long and illustrious career (1972) would have been better left on the cutting room floor. It was especially painful for me to read because I not long ago re-read her vibrant, lively and completely mystifying "Murder at the Vicarage" which was written in 1927. The comparison was depressing.

Hercule Poirot is teamed with Mrs. Oliver, a crime novelist, to find the truth of a 15-20 year old murder/suicide. Mrs. Oliver's goddaughter, Celia is the daughter of the couple who supposedly entered this pact. For the first one-half of the book, we are not advanced an inch in any direction. Many people are interviewed (the "elephants" of the title) and most have vague memories of the couple, as does Mrs. Oliver herself. Mrs. O's dithering is not artlessly charming, for we are as confused as she. Saddest cut of all, the red herrings are not "herrings" at all. They are giant signposts. Rather than Poirot gracefully unraveling the mystery on the last page, the reader has left him in the dust 50 pages ago. The prose has a distinctly purplish hue.

According to the publisher, "Elephants Can Remember" was originally published as "Five Little Pigs." I do not recommend this book, because it does not do Dame Agatha justice. There are 75 titles to choose that will far better reflect her abilities and why she earned the title "Queen of Crime."

It could have been solved in half the time. But it is not, and to appreciate or understand this novel, readers must place it in the proper context.

The problem was at first vague; Ariadne Oliver was asked by a stranger if the mother of Ariadne's goddaughter killed the father, or was it vice-versa. The deaths were actually some twenty years or more before. As the stranger was the mother to a man who was contemplating marriage to Ariadne's goddaughter, she could be partially forgiven for her apparent concern. Of course one of the things Ariadne did was to call on Hercule Poirot, and together they embarked on elephant-chase to pry for secrets from the past.

"Elephants can remember" was published in 1972, that is 52 years after the first Poirot novel "The Mysterious Affairs at Styles". Many people did not even live that long. Agatha Christie aged her characters along with the years, and therefore there were cases that were different from bodies being found all over the place.

Other similar novels before this whereby Christie's detectives investigate deaths long in the past included Dumb Witness, Five Little Pigs, Mrs McGinty's Dead, Ordeal By Innocence, and Nemesis. The common theme among them was that the investigator(s) had to depend on memories of various people who might not even be present; but from their recollections, clues were found to provide either the definitive picture of the culprits or the definitive picture of the crime. What a lot of impatient readers would find irritating was having to sift through the useful information from the useless. Elephants is such another tale.

Mystery veterans would probably have been able to jump to the solution before Poirot's grand finale, but would they have been able to unravel the threads in the manner necessary? Proofs have to be gathered, and evidence, motivation, etc were all the necessary persuasions for Elephants before they would give up their secrets.

The meat and drink of this novel is more than solving the mystery of who killed who, but to recapture the atmosphere, the mood, the aura of that time in the past, and to be able to put events in their proper perspectives. Also no less important was Poirot's being able to relate the past (in its correct perspective) and its impact on the present in order for persuade the elephants to give up their secrets.

Twenty years before this novel opens, a tragic double-death has occurred. Alistair Ravenscroft and his wife Margaret were found shot to death near their home. The deaths were declared suicides at the time. Now, years later, their daughter Celia is engaged to be married. Her future mother-in-law wants to know more about the cirumstances of the death and if the wife killed the husband or the husband killed the wife. She does not want some inherited proclivity to murder to affect her son. Celia turns to her godmother, Ariadne Oliver, who once again enlists the help of her old friend Hercule Poirot. Together they track down a list of "elephants," people with long memories who never forget past events. The officer who had been in charge of the case, a wig stylist, two French governesses, and a family friend each remember some piece of information that Poirot can collect and assemble as he uncovers secrets long buried and brings the truth to light.

This is Mrs. Oliver's final appearance in a Christie novel and also the last Poirot book Agatha Christie wrote, although readers will see him again in "Curtain" which she wrote during the 1940's but was not published until 1975.

It is without a doubt an intresting book that will take you back in time and will make your mind wonder and imagine things that are well described in this book. Mr. Andahazi does a good job at gathering facts and making a good fiction. The lecture will be easy and fast. This is a book you will be able to read in two days without any trouble if you are a good reader. However, you might end up with that particular feeling that there was something missing. The book does not meet the expectations you might have from reading the editorial review. A three out of five is well deserved.

Somewhere halfway through, I could not help thinking that this was nothing but one more glorifying repackaging of Rennaisance alchemic sophistry; more fodder against the monopoly on knowledge of the Catholic Church and the effective extermination by auto-da-fe of minds that dared even a slight deviation from its preachings.

To understand in what ways this is much more than that, one needs to read it to the last page. The most intriguing aspect of it, is the triangle formed by Matteo Colombo, the anatomist, Ines de Torremolinos, the pious Florentine widow and Mona Sofia, the classy Venetian prostitute--and what became of each at the end.

Boludo is an Argentine word literally meaning "chutzpah" but also describes an "idiot" in liberal interpretation. Well, this is a boludo book in a literal sense...

This book may suffer a little in translation but I enjoyed it! It is interesting to read about the growing knowledge of human sexuality during the Renaissance especially about the brave and curious who dared probe what the Church forbade. The book has given me a new appreciation for female genitalia and the ultimate power of women's sexuality over men.

If the book was titled "Treadmill Training and Workout Guide for Marathon Runners," it would have been more telling. The first 42 pages involve stretching exercises and is then followed by treadmill workouts for people who are training for marathons.

If this is your goal then the book may be worth it. If your goal is general walking for health and exercise then there are better books out there.

I found this book to be ideal for my whole family. From my father and mother who will appreciate the stretching, walking and nutrition chapters, to myself who likes to sprint and run, the book has something for everyone. Though I have never run a marathon (though I have run a 1/2 marathon), if I do, I will use this book.

I use the treadmill for interval training and have already seen improvements in my speed and endurance.

An easy to read and follow program of exercise and training for all levels. I especially appreciated the innovative stretching routines and running/walking workouts.

I have a treadmill at my office and thanks to this book I have a greater appreciation of it's strengths as an exercise and conditioning tool.

This novel is an extreme example of the Argentinian ego: I guess only men from Argentina could possibly dream that the semen they throw away after jerking off will feed --by a dark and horrendous coincidence--, the life of two beautiful women. To make it short, even the semen they throw away is able to give life to another person, how glorious they are!!
The review of Donna Seaman above is absolutely ridiculous. John Polidori did exist and he is the author of "The Vampyre," the novel that paved the way for all the future vampyre novels, with Bram Stoker's "Dracula" at its peak. From where does she believe that Polidori is an original Andahazi character can only be explained by laziness: the first five results after querying google for John William Polidori tell the whole story.
I only write this review to prevent other readers to spend their time and money in a silly and disgusting book.

This is one of the worst books I've ever read. I don't know what should be good about this [book]. Weak storyline, no suspense, and not a very good use of language. Don't buy this!

On a dark stormy night, a group of people holidaying by Lake Geneva gather to read out their stories. It is a competition devised by the dashing Lord Byron, to see who can write the most horrific and terrifying story... one of these people is Mary Shelley....

This book is a fantastic parody of the Gothic genre; the dark stormy nights, the mysterious castle and the heaving,storm-tossed lake... all in all, a tremendous read for anyone who enjoys Gothic tales or their parodies. Although sometimes graphic, the story is gripping and the elements of historical truth are enough to keep you interested right up to the thrilling and unexpected end. The book is filled with dark irony, and the intertextual references to the Gothic genre and the creation of that monstrous, classic tale Frankenstien, are witty and clever, but the book can be enjoyed on many levels. I would highly recommend this book, and have bought multiple copies for all of my friends.

This is the worst book I have ever seen. This book is such a mess book.

After having taken a course, then later helped teach a course (University level) using this book I found that it is full of mistakes and difficult to read. Not recommended as an introductory text. The book may serve acceptably as an reference, but it is not a great teaching tool.

Instructors take notice that the electronic solutions to the problem sets have many errors. There are also many errors not acknowledged in the book's errata. (Errata hasn't been updated for 1 year).

This is the book that is used at the University of Toronto in the fundamental courses of communication systems. I would say, althought very hard to read the whole thing in one term, it is an amazing book, very good and concise.

It covers a broad range of topics some to details and some just a scratch. It is very easy to understand and that's where it gets boring!(too much story writing) however, you can be sure that you can understand a topic fully by reading that chapter. Almost no point is left unclear.

It is a very good encyclopedia for this field. I would suggest buying it if you would like introductory stuff plus a bit of technical details but not too gory!

A very good book , overall....:-)

...Lo lei en el avion y puedo decir que si, tiene de todo--amor, romance, sexo, aventura, drama, etc. Pero no porque un libro tenga todas las formulas del exito, lo hace un buen libro. El buen libro se hace por estilo. Y definitivamente este autor no tiene nada de estilo. Que pena porque el titulo esta fantastico.

A writer with no "chispa" (spark)way too concerned with the formula novel to be successful. definitely, not the dreams of a journeyman.

Balarezo has more than "chispa". When I started to read this novel(2 years ago) I couldn't stop until the end. I usually read Vargas Llosa and Garcia Marquez but is the first time that I found interesting facts in every single page. I learned about different latinamerican countries, and I was shocked because some of the real life escenes that the author described during the whole story. Is this the Balarezo's autobiography? Its looks like. Even though the main character (Diego Hernando)live a dramatic journal trying to reach the United States, he was very lucky with females characters. I am not an old fashion person and I think that those experiences were a relaxing relief. Any way...I am waiting for the second part of this story, and of course for more books from Martin Balarezo. Para terminar me hago una pregunta: Por que hacemos los comentarios en ingles si este es un libro en espanol?

A light, compact tome that provides a decent cursory overview of the aesthetic arc of this legendary Italian design house. Book itself is nicely laid out, illustrated and printed on excellent stock. A great start point for newcomers to the field in learning more about key designers and products launched and fielded by Alessi. On the downside though, this book lacks depth and could've used better 'copy' to provide for a more interesting read.

Whilst this book is by no mean concise, it does give the readers a general overview of Alessi, its maestros, its philosophy & so forth. It's such an enjoyable & simple book to read. If the readers want to have an in-depth knowledge of Alessi's product lines, & so forth, perhaps, Alessi: The Design Factor is a better option.

I have this book only because of the shortage of Apache books out. The O'Reilly Apache book is much more concise, and you should have that one instead.

But this book is pretty good to have on hand.

Revenge is a theme that has always fascinated and beguiled me, so several years ago I bought this book in order that it's tales might perhaps quell any demons within.

The 18 stories' authors are a good blend of the long-dead and still breathing, the eminent and the obscure, mostly Western, but not all. The famous Lord Dunsany starts things off with an exquisite--if harmless--story to set the table. Faulker, Saki, and some long-dead German named von Kleit proceed to muck things up with three forgettable tales (the first two involving animals) before Frederick Forsyth gets things back on track with "There Are No Snakes In Ireland."

A Canadian (Ken Miller) and the eminent E.L. Doctrow muddle through two forgettable stories before Bram Stoker's entertaining, though predictable, "The Squaw" (which involves yet another animal). Argentinean Isidoro Blaisten and Mexican Edmundo Valades contribute neat little pieces, sandwiching a rather forgettable Rudyard Kipling tale. The Irish author, William Trevor, contributes a brilliant piece of comeuppence in "Torridge," which is followed by a somewhat contrived letter by Kafka's father, as conceived by Nadine Gordimer.

Borges is Borges in "Emma Zunz", and once again, I fail to see what the big deal is. Edgar Allen Poe's "Hop-Frog" is as solid and bloody a tale of revenge you would expect. Then follows the longest piece, by a 19th-century Frenchman, d'Aurevilly, which suffers from being overwritten and overblown (of its time, one suspects). August Derleth's "Miss Esperson" reads like an X-File, but thankfully Roger Louis Steveson's "The Isle of Voices" ends the volume on a sound note. So, pick and choose.