This book knocks the legs out of the diamond industry. What appears elegant and elite turns out to be a down and dirty industry, selling tainted, overpriced products. And they've maintained a monopoly during generations of anti-trust measures!

This book is very readable and very entertaining. I wrote a report on the subject for a MBA class which got great reviews. I'm inclined to think it was as much for the shocking truths which were revealed as much as my superior writing skills! I'd recommend this book to anyone who has ever considered purchasing a diamond.

This is an unparallelled history on the account of a most treasured mineral which continues to live on only through the de Beerse's famous and clever phrase: "Diamonds are forever." After so many found, cut, polished and rated by the 3 c's, it's stunning one can still be duped into buying a fake. There is a Statue in Antwerp, Belgium, of Lodewijk Van Berken, Go see it! You will understand!

Diamond and Plattner offer a valuable update from their 1993 book, now comprised of articles from the Journal of Democracy from 1990 through 1995. Anchored by a thorough introduction, the first section introduces the third wave of democratization, the new world disorder, and definitions and dangers of democracy. Articles on institutional choices debate the structural questions of democracy, with a broad perspective on presidential, parliamentary, constitutional and representative questions. A new section on civil society discusses an area to which political scientists are bringing renewed attention. Eight new chapters make up the cautiously optimistic section on the prospects for democracy.

A strength of this book as a teaching tool is that it offers both theory and comparative chapters. Several articles are broad-based, discussing paradoxes intrinsic to all democracies or the gap between democratic concepts and political realities, for example. Others are country- or region-specific, such as civil society in Russia or pluralism in the Arab world.

A second strength is the frequent intermixing of political, economic and cultural concerns. In many individual chapters and in the collection overall, the reader is reminded that institutions, currencies and mores do not exist or operate in vacuum. Rather, they influence and change each other -- and not always for the better. Chapters on technocratic economic emphasis in post-communist states and ethnic divisions and underdevelopment in Africa are particularly revealing.

By highlighting the research published in the Journal of Democracy, this volume offers educators a valuable collection for comparative and theoretical approaches to democratization. The readings prompted thoughtful debates among my students on the central issues. Such a fluid field depends upon regular updates, and this reviewer looks forward to using future editions. (January 2000)

Despite being nearly 1000 pages long, this is one book that I often travel with on business, due to the completeness and accessibility of the content.

This encyclopedic, incredible resource includes chapters and many case studies on:

* the marketing process: marketing in a changing world- satisfying human needs; marketing and society- social responsibility and ethics; strategic marketing planning.

* the marketing setting: the marketing environment; the global marketplace; market information and research.

* buyer behaviour- consumer markets; business markets; and buyer behaviour.

* core strategy- market segmentation and targeting; positioning; building customer satisfaction through quality, value and service; creating competitive advantage: competitor analysis; and marketing strategies.

* product- designing products- new product development and lifecycle strategies; designing products- products, brands, packaging and services; marketing services.

* price- pricing policies- considerations and approaches; pricing products- strategies.

*promotions- promoting products- communications & promotion strategy; promoting products- advertising, sales promotion and PR; promoting products- personal selling and sales management;

* place- placing products- distribution channels & logistics management; placing products- retailing and wholesaling,.

It's well written, well supported with references, attractively illustrated, and easy to read at chapter level down to sidebar level (I've never read from end to end in one sitting!). The only complaint, is that because of the broad and deep coverage beyond traditional marketing, newer breaking ideas are not covered.

Overall highly recommended, particularly with a slimmer latest "fad" business/ technology/ marketing book to confirm that you are not missing anything that may add value to your organisation or clients.

[Refers to European Edition ISBN 0131659030 by Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders, Wong 1996 ]

This book is one of the best marketing books. The content of book is very comprehensive and embellished with cases that help you better understand the marketing theory. Especially, the most fascinating aspect of the book is its chapters about INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY and its impacts on the marketing concepts.

You can buy this book even for its excellent cases. I strongly recommend this book to all MBA students whose interested field is marketing.

Books like these are used for reference and do there job well but this book is different. Its fun to read for somebody who is into business. Why? Well because it is so up-to date, features ad campaigns that are still in magazines, refers to interesting real life examples and case studies from large multinational businesses to small family firms.

Its written well, it highlights the main points on the sides of the page for quick reference but the only criticism is the index isn't very well laid out but you get used to it.

I honestly find my self reading the case studies when i'm bored, so this is like a fiction/ reference book.

On the reference front it contains pretty much everything you need to know for an introduction to undergraduate marketing but be warned it doesn't go that much further. If you are studying for a course which goes into great depth about marketing this isn't for you, it just covers all the basic aspects. Layout is great and the book itself is quite bulky, so its best not to carry around.

I have also got the European edition which is very good, the case studies are different and its slightly smaller and much much cheaper. The cost of this book is astronomical, but it could be the difference between getting a good grade or a mediocre one.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who studies political science, democracy, or is simply interested in Latin America. It is an excelent scholarly work, which defines democracy (using Robert Dahl's definition) and defines the criteria, and then each individual essay gives a complete case study and rates it next to the criteria and definition. This book excludes countries with little or no expirience with democracy or limited democracy, such as Cuba, and Central America (with the exception of Costa Rica). The countries that are analyzed are: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Costa Rica, The Dominican Republic, and Mexico. I would be hesitant to recommend this book as an introduction to the subject. Though this work establishes a clear context and frame of reference in which every country is being analyzed, it can sometimes be dry reading, but the extent of expert analysis that went into this work is overwhelming. This book would be a great starting point for any detailed research into Latin American politics, or would be a great read for any student of comaparative studies in Democracy. As an introduction to political sciene or Latin America, however, this book might be ill-suited, I would recommend reading some of Robert Dahl's works first, or Richard S. Hillman's "Understanding Contemporary Latin America". These are not required, but recommended in my opinion. But, it is still a great work and I consider it to be an essential work on the topic.

I found this book good for beginners in the field of visual merchandising. The basics listed were helpful and I will keep it on hand as a referance. If you are looking for inspiration, this is not the book for you. However, you can never read too much about any subject.

Is there any hope for democracies in ethnically divided lands? This is a question that the West needs to answer, because if there isn't, aide and security policies need to be readjusted to realities, or peace will never find a permanent home. The book's highest points are two extended essays on the title topics. However, other essays cover such diverse ethnic issues as Serbia's disintegration, Nigerian tribal problems, the Quebecois of Canada, and India. This is an excellent starting point for reflection, and for comparing the book's prediction of the future as it looked in 1994. The 'stable' world must address the issues of ethnicitiy and minorities. This book clearly makes the case for that. Perhaps other books help point the directions that we might should go.

Diamond and Pintel's 5th Edition continues to focus solely on Retail Buying for the Fashion (softlines) industry. The focus is on high end retailers Macys, Nieman Marcus and The Limited. There is only cursory mentions of other retail types.

While some of their basic principles are sound, the technology is 20 - 30 years behind the times. Therefore, a student interested in improving their marketability is sorely served by text that constantly refers to paper forms, "the growing use of computers" and the increased use of the UPC.

Only a good read if you are interested in how retail fashion buying was conducted in the 1970's.