I try to read or listen to every new bit of information Mr. Tracy publishes. This book is destined to be a classic. More of a book on business, and life in general than military genius, but that's what I prefer. Again, much of the same material repeated, but that's how we absorb information. This is a wonderful book written by a wonderful man. Hats off to Brian Tracy! When ya gonna run for president?

Although it's an overused metaphor, top business speakers and best-selling author Brian Tracy show how you can apply battle-proven methods to achieving victory in the world of business. While many of the principles sound familiar, Tracy's presentation is lively and well organized. He covers the importance of having objectives, getting the facts, coordinating your activities, daring to go forward, concentrating your forces, conserving your resources and having one person in charge. He uses battlefield illustrations to remind us of these principles. He also draws on ancient and modern historical accounts of battles to illustrate the close connection between victory in war and in business. If your approach to business hinges on careful strategy and targeted planning, we from getAbstract think you will find tactical weapons in this military manual that you can muster in the fields of commerce.

Brian is the best compiler ever. As Aristotle said, "There is nothing new under the sun." You may not find any new idea or concept, but if you follow the strategies mentioned in the book, you will become simply unstoppable. It's an invaluable book that should be in the bookcase of everyone who takes the challenge of succeed in life seriously and wants to do something extraordinary with their lives. Another great compilation by Mr. Tracy.

Luiz C. Carvalho

There are apparently two versions floating around (from the same edition and same printing) with different answer keys in the back for some of the more difficult problems.

Otherwise, this is the standard textbook for game theory for political science. I'm inspired to read Schelling!

This book is an excellent introduction to game theory for the political science graduate student. Although some prior knowledge of economics and game theory would certainly help, the early chapters in the book are excellent in familiarizing the reader with basic formal concepts.

A few comments by the previous reviewer may be misunderstood by some readers. This is NOT a "general concepts" book - in other words this is NOT game theory for poets - not that I hold anything against poets. This book does require some undergraduate level mathematics, mainly differential and integral calculus. Those looking for rigorous formal proofs of all theorems will be disappointed, but this is a technical book with an emphasis on demonstrating the application of formal tools to common problems in political science. Some of the material such as the chapter on perfect and sequential equilibria can be quite challenging.

If you merely wish to get a sense of what formal political science is all about and do not intend to actually fire up the old calculator, I suggest Robert Axelrod's excellent book "The Evolution of Cooperation".

One of the nice things about this book is it can be as technical or mathematical as you want. If you just want the concepts, you won't be jarred by lots of equations. But if you like the technical aspects, they're all there, especially in the appendix.

Great simple treatment of everything from basic Nash Equilibrium to more sophisticated concepts such as Bayesian information analysis.

The only potential disappointment of this book is if you know game theory well and are looking for something very sophisticated, this is not the book for you -- not because there's anything wrong with this book, but because it wasn't designed for that level.

One of the books that are responsible for accentuating stereotypes and supporting Islamophobia.

Whenever someone comes to me wondering where they should begin when it comes to studying modern politics with an eye towards Islam, I inevitably point them towards this volume.

One of the reasons that I do so is that, not only are the two authors widely respected in the field, the both come from different backgrounds. Piscatori I would roughly describe as a political scientist known for his work on Islam and the modern creation of the nation-state. Eickelman is a long established anthropologist who rose to fame working in the Maghreb. The resulting integration of both the politcal and the anthropological is about as ideal as one can get. Since Islamism has the fascinating quality of not being merely political but also being a religious movement employing and revolutionizing the use of tradition and cultural icons of Islamicity, the perspective of anthropology as a part of any attempt to grasp its dynamics I have found to be crucial.

Here, you won't find the top 10 terrorist hit-list or a chart graph of all the members of Hamas, but you find a much more profound and broader picture of how tradition, religion and modern politics intersect with multifarious results in numerous global regions and some of the mechanisms at work. In general, it is an excellent work for gaining the tools with which to critically approach such phenomena in various Muslim societies across the globe.
all intersect

In Muslim Politics Dale Eickelman and James Piscatori have studied the idea of a Political Islam from a broad perspective. The title of the book itself betrays its breadth as it suggests, through the use of the plural 'politics' and the adjective Muslim - practitioner of Islam - rather than Islam itself, that Islam is a dynamic and evolving set of beliefs that have varied in time and space. This suggests that there can be no single explanation to account for the rise of Muslim politics and that a multiple criteria must be used to analyze the phenomenon. The book presents a number of arguments in its six chapters with examples from all over the Islamic world and among these are Tradition, Objectification and Fragmentation.
The authors challenge Modernization theory's contention that tradition is irreconcilable with social and political development and the idea that Islamic legal frameworks may not be altered as they have been conceived as a reflection of divine revelation. They also show that references to the Islamic past are used as rallying points or symbols from which to draw inspiration for change in the present. My main concern and the reason I have not awarded a full 5 stars is that the authors seem to neglect or have chosen to ignore the very real violence that radical islamists have caused. No mention of Algeria -90-present, Egypt and the numerous terror attacks of the last decade, the mindless policies these groups often support, the Taliabn and a host of other less than ideal versions - at best - and downright abominable conditions that prevail as a result of many Muslim Political interpretations.

This book was on a suggested bibliography of books to read before visiting China prepared by Longitude Books. I dutifully read it. The Kirkus review is accurate-a lot of description in a non humorous way about the hassles of living in China. However, one does gain a sense of the passage of time and the many civilizations in Xian. Simon Winchester's book cited by the other reviewers is a lot better and you should read that first. Also I would suggest Death of a Red Heroine-a modern day mystery set in Shanghai for a description of modern Chinese life and how politics affects everyday life That book was one of the top five rated new mysteries of 2000 or 2001.

Down and Out in the Middle Kingdom is not the best book on China. In my Opinion "Mandate of Heaven" by Orville Schell is, and Simon Winchester's book on his journey along the Yangtze river are. But Brown is not far from the truth is portraying China as at times gray and depressing. I have been reading and interested in China for years, but my recent trip to China this summer was very anti-climatic. China has some great stuff and people, but the bottom line is that much of China is polluted, gray, and depressing. Anyone going to China and expecting Japan or the China of Mulan is in for a rude awakening. A trip to China is at times wonderful, and at times very trying and depressing. Its a mixed bag. This book acurately shows this aspect of China. Its a place of magical places and people, but its also a place of some not so great things. This book is a good read for its realism.

I suppose if I expected a Bill Bryson-ish essay on China, I may have not rated this book as highly as I do....But over the last 2 years I have gotten to attend classes taught by J. D., and I became interested in his exploits in China as a result of the many episodes he related; and I must say that the book is a faithful representation of J.D.'s experience as HE experienced it. J. D. isn't Pearl Buck, nor is he a paid travel writer. What he is is a teacher/researcher without pretense. He is an articulate, highly intelligent person who happens to be from the USA....and if this clouds his views on China, is it any wonder? Aren't we all indellibly marked with the cultural heritage that we are brought up in? I recommend this book highly, especially if you are a language teacher. I recommend J.D.'s classes even more....