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Book reviews for "Felperin,_Howard_Michael" sorted by average review score:

The Political Economy of Marx
Published in Paperback by New York University Press (1988)
Authors: Michael Charles Howard and J. E. King
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A concise intro to Marx that tackles all the deep issues
I took a course from M.C.Howard five years ago at the University of Waterloo, and was pleasantly surprised to see the book appear on my reading list in a graduate Political Economy course at MIT. Not only is it a terrific guide to Marx, easy to read and follow, but having seen it years before saved me from reading a whole book on the syllabus. A must-have in the personal library of anyone interested in Political Economy.

The best reader for Marxism available
If your interested in Marxism, buy this book, it'll save you the trouble of wasting your money on other explications of Marx which have more to do with the author's beliefs than what Marx actually said. The authors of this book have also written a massive, two volume, scholarly book detailing how the ideas of Marxism, scholarly debate, and the implementation and creation of Marxist and neo-Marxist theory developed from the time of Marx's death to the mid eighties. So they know their stuff, and they demonstrate that continually. It seems that they reference every Marxist theorist sometime in the book, with references to well known authors like Gramsci and the more obscure modern Marxist economists as well. Be prepared to dig in on economics, to understand Marx it's unavoidable. Their style is scholarly, and it's organized like a text book. In fact it is used as a text book in some English Universities. Marx produced a huge amount of work, and it's difficult to get the big picture out of it without trying to do what's impossible--reading it all, but these guys have, and the book is a guide as well. It also includes criticism of Marx, thus presenting him as he really is, not sugarcoating him. This book is valuable to have, it can only clear away the mists, not plunge a person deeper into them.


The Klutz Book of Magic
Published in Spiral-bound by Klutz, Inc (1989)
Authors: John Cassidy, Michael Stroud, Sara Boore, and Howard Lewis
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The Klutz Book Of Magic
This book teaches you the basics of magic. It includes everything you need to know from card tricks to small illusions. This book is great for beginners of magic. I am a magician and I loved this book. One of the reasons this book is great for everyone is because it includes all the props you need! Also for the serious magician the Klutz Book of Magic (The Movie) is a great companion for visual learners. Buy them both today

Great Book
This book is great. I got it when I was 7, and now am 13 doing all sorts of great tricks. All the props are included (so you dont have to waste any time making your own) and there are great illustrations. (i.e. For one trick, one side of the page shows your view of the trick, while the other side shows the spectator's view. (a MUST for all magic tricks) So if you like magic, (or if you don't) this book will get you started in no time at all.

The Klutz Book of Magic
This book was absolutely great, it got me on my feet in the world of magic. I got this book at age 10 and did my first Birthday-Magic Show at age 12 I am now 13 and doing at least one party a week a long with the occasional nursing home ect. I owe it all to this book i wasn't even interested in magic before I got it and look at me now i have twenty different Magic Books and can perform over 300 tricks spontaneusly. Out of all my books I like this one the best. I have other Klutz Books and would reccomend any of them even if you don't like magic I'm sure they have a book about something you like . thanks for your time


Modern Carpentry: Teachers Resource Binder
Published in Hardcover by Goodheart-Willcox Co (2000)
Authors: Willis H. Wagner, Howard Bud Smith, and Michael B. Kopf
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Q & A work book!!!
This version (Workbook) of Modern Carpentry is a workbook. Its questions that you must fill in the blank (answer). It is NOT a book but more of a 'test' (I'm assuming) of the material in Modern Carpentry.

An excellent guide to carpentry.
Full of information on every aspect of the carpentry field. In depth and up to date.

Center of the world in carpentry
This is the best carpentry and overall construction book I've ever read. This should be at the center of all of your construction books. I do construction in the Navy and we have some great books to learn from but this gives book gives you more info on standard construction practices, load sizes for lumber and such detailed information with pictures that can't be beat. I've owned an older edition and that helped me out alot, but this book is truly modern and up to date with construction practices going on right now. This is a must have and you won't go wrong.


Franco Prussian War: The German Invasion of France, 1870-1871
Published in Paperback by Routledge (1985)
Author: Michael Howard
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Brisk and Detailed
This is a very detailed account of the military and - to a lesser extent - political maneuverings of the Franco-Prussian War. Given the detail and the heavy footnoting, it is a surprisingly brisk read, though I do have one suggestion to assist future readers: photocopy the various pages that have maps on them so you can easily refer to them as you read on. Since I hadn't thought of this idea while reading the book, I found myself holding two or even three such pages open with the fingers of my left hand while reading battle descriptions many, many pages later.

One disappointment was in the very brief epilogue. The author discusses how the speed of the Prussian victory raised the stakes for all European powers, Germany in particular, but the author does not really discuss the aftermath of the war in France or explain how France formed a post-war government given the fractious way it had fought the war. Every history needs to stop at some point, of course, but a brief explanation of France's recovery seems in order.

Good Old-Style Military History
Michael Howard utilizes the Franco-Prussian War as a case study to illustrate Germany's military dilemma of the mid-19th to mid-20th Centuries. On the one hand, Prussia employed every means at its disposal--military/industrial technology, professional military training and education, and rapid mobilization and deployment-- to set the president and become Europe's greatest military power. On the other hand, the recently united Germany's victory over France would create a fervor of nationalism and militarism that would transcend two world wars in the 20th Century in what Howard refers to as "a disaster: for herself and for the entire world" (p. 456). Howard incorporates the classic old style military history approach. The author describes the political atmosphere, causes, troop movements, weapons, strategy & tactics, battles and leaders that are common fare for this genre. To a lesser degree, Howard describes the affect the war had on society especially the Paris Commune that rose after the fighting subsided and the "precarious" peace that followed (p. 455). Throughout, Howard stresses the technological aspects of the conflict, especially the role of railroads. Even Howard admits the vast array of archival material that emerged from this war is too much for any one historian to master. He carefully selects and synthesizes primary sources from both sides of the conflict yet tends to lean more towards German language sources. Among these, Howard also consults diaries and memoirs from the major actors such as Bismarck and Moltke. Howard also credits the work of Emil Daniels who published a definitive one-volume history of the Franco-Prussian War in 1929. The social aspect of Howard's thesis pales in comparison with the military historical narrative. Much of Howard's contentions are found between the lines; a technique favored by some and shunned by other historians. Also, any treatment of vast units and their commanders describing intricate troop movements and tactics should include an order of battle in an appendix. The absence of an order of battle is a major weakness of this book. Finally, what maps are provided, are just those: maps. They show no movement of troops, offensive or defensive positions or tactics utilized, another major flaw. Howard utilizes the top-down approach to military history to great affect. The strength lies in the compare and contrasting of preliminary preparations of both countries and the political/military leadership that implemented policy. Although Howard makes the French deficiencies obvious and outlines the command faults on both sides, he does it with a sympathetic approach for the realities of the nature of war. This objective style is a major strength of the book. For the Franco-Prussian War, Michael Howard's book remains the top-dog!

The best account of this War yet!.
Concise, clear, to the point, unbiased account of a very complicated subject.
You must understand the difficult internal political climate of France at the time to get the grip of some of the consequences of it, the author puts that in perspective brilliantly.
For the Germans (hard to believe mind!) IT WAS A PURE DEFENSIVE preemptive strike... (Sounds bloody actual is'nt it).
One of the best XIX'th Military History Books around.


Everlasting Love
Published in Paperback by Pocket Books (1997)
Authors: Jayne Krentz, Linda Miller, Carla Neggers, Linda Howard, and Kasey Michaels
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four average stories, but one's a keeper...
Five authors contribute to this volume. I bought it intitally because I knew Jayne Anne Krentz, but her chapter is one of the weakest. Indeed, four of the five stories are pretty average, and definitely not keepers - but the fifth one...

Linda Howard's Lake of Dreams is a haunting, romantic, sexual tale which is definitely worth tracking down. I read the other stories once only, but I've reread Lake of Dreams many times and it is definitely a keeper... So buy all five, but you'll keep it for the one.

Like L. Howard's story? Try Remembrance by Jude Deveraux
I purchased Everlasting Love after reading customer reviews praising Linda Howard's story, Lake of Dreams. Reading it reminded me of Remembrance (1994) by Jude Deveraux. It is a full length novel about soul mates struggling to "get it right this time". Remembrance is both poignant and unforgettable. I highly recommend it!

Now I want to go to a lake......
The stories in this book are all good. It was my first taste of Linda Howard, Kasey Michaels and Carla Neggers. I especially enjoyed Linda Howard's Lake of Dreams. I have since become a huge fan! Each of the stories is quite different and offers a different style of writing. What a great way to spend the day.....


Save the Tiger
Published in VHS Tape by Paramount Studio (22 June, 1994)
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Worthwhile, but not as interesting as it should be.
This is a short treatise, based on a series of lectures. Its objective is to identify the interactions between economic, social and political structures, technology, the objectives of warfare, and the ways war are thought. It covers European warfare from the middle ages through World War II. The book is replete with insights and interesting generalizations. Yet, for a short book, I still found myself getting bogged down in details of 16th and 17th century political history: perhaps had I a better background I would have enjoyed the politics as kind of a quick review, but I think Howard emphasizes political details too much in several of his chapters, while not focusing sufficiently on tactics and technology. As it happened, immediately prior to reading Howard, I had read about 40 pages of Fighting Techniques of the Ancient World: Equipment, Combat Skills and Tactics by Simon Anglim et al and found this terrific, almost indispensable background (I would not recommend the rest of that book so highly).

Very quick read.
A very good, very quick military history overview - hits all the main points without belaboring any, gives the reader a good list of authors to look at after finishing Howard.

Easy, fun to read, fairly basic.....
Regarding this book, I'd go opposite of the last reviewer. I'm not certain that any more than a prefunctory grasp of European history is necessary to make this book worthwhile. It is a small tome (165 pp); it provides a clear and simple diagram of the ways that war has changed as society has changed, and how war itself has changed society.

Howard provides the clear and erudite prose that befits a man who will probably be remembered as one of the class military historians of the last century. I recommend this book as an introduction to military tactics and history; with it, Earle or Paret's 'Makers of Modern Strategy' and John Keegan's 'A History of War' at least an outline of questions to investigate will start to form.....


The Entrepreneurial Venture (The Practice of Management Series)
Published in Paperback by Harvard Business School Press (1999)
Authors: William A. Sahlman, Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J. Roberts, and Amar Bhide
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A rigorous analysis but could use more practical input
The 1999 edition that I read is a collection of 34 Harvard Business Review articles, class discussion papers and case studies written by the four authors (all business school professors) and a few others over the 1980s and 90s.

The chapters written by the four professors have a strong academic/pedagogic orientation. Dealing with basic issues in extreme analytic detail, they frequently belabor the obvious and often come across as though they have all the answers (chapters written by Sahlman were especially bad for this). The book does, however, provide some thought-provoking discussion and a reasonable introduction to the issues of assessing viability, planning and managing a new business, and of attracting resources. Some of the chapters not written by the professors provide a good "textbook" reference for subjects such as patent law, raising venture capital, and management technique in checklist style.

I give the book three stars for its rigorous analysis but not five because of its presumptuous tone and the fact that too many of the chapters lean toward the hypothetical. It lacks the genuine, practitioner-based input this subject deserves.

GOOD OVERVIEW, MISSING SOME PRACTICE
Sahlman provides a very comprehensive volume on the current stage of knowledge of entrepreneurship as a field. In the articles, which are mainly written by a limited number of professors, all important topics related to entrepreneurship are addressed, such as finance, personality, marketing, strategy, culture, and many more. From an academic perspective, it is a 10.

However, I often felt that it was missing more on the practical side. For example, there are a few case studies, but only on certain topics. It was missing more of the "been there, done that" perspective. Definitely there were stories, but in those there was more of a strategic analysis rather than visionary or inspirational.

Overall, this is a very good book to use as reference to certain topics, especially in an academic environment.

Previous student and current early stage investor
As an MBA student at Harvard six years ago, I had the opportunity to learn under Professor Sahlman. His class and his books are worth their weight in gold if you intend to either start companies or invest in them. This book brings together some of the best ideas from his colleagues.


The Oxford History of the Twentieth Century
Published in Paperback by Oxford University Press (2000)
Authors: Michael Howard, Wm Roger Louis, and William Roger Louis
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a thoroughly mixed bag
My colleagues and I selected this book for a team-taught course on the 20th Century, reasoning that multiple authors would give us multiple perspectives. Alas, it also gave us multiple standards of quality, and an overall lack of focus. The students voted with their feet and gave up on the book perhaps half way through. We stuck it out to the bitter end & concluded that the students were probably right, although there are periodic flashes on insight & interest throughout. The second time around we used Roberts' 20th Century history & both we & the students were much happier.

Good introduction for anyone!
I remember that history was one of my least interested and weakest subjects when I was in junior secondary school. It's not until recently that I started to realize I should know more about what's going on in the world. And I bought this book.
This 450-page book consists of 27 chapters, grouped in 5 parts, namely The Framework of the Century, The Eurocentric World 1900-1945, The Cold War 1945-1900, The Wider World, and finally Envoi.

Part 1 is an overall review of the century from different points of views, science, technology, economy, politics, culture and art. This gives you a very brief yet concise idea of what the century is like, what happened, and what were eventually the consequences.

Part 2, a very exciting part, tells about the politic and military situations in the two world wars.

Part 3 is on the post-war period after the second World War. This tells you about the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and its influences.

Part 4 is dedicated to the development of areas other than Europe and the U.S. If you are interested in the history of a specific area other than those dominant countries in the century, or if you would like to look wider than just those countries, this part surely gives you what you want.

And finally Part 5 concludes the 20th century and looks forward to the 21st century.

This book did a very good job in trying to gather different opinions. The 27 chapters were actually written by 26 leading professionals, including Nobel prize winner Steven Weinberg. As each chapter is dedicated to one particular interest, you can easily jump to where you are interested - if that's what you prefer.

In conclusion, this book is a very good choice for anyone, who want to widen their world view and know more about the 20th century, a remarkable century in human history that makes today's world the way it is.

Wonderful, Concise, & Thematically Organized Reference Book!
I enjoyed reading this one-volume survey of the events of the 20th century, whose stated editorial objective was to provide a literate and understandable survey of the panorama of change and tumult that so characterized these last hundred years. Given these very real limitations, this essay-driven approach featuring a whole drawer full of celebrated historians is a very satisfying and entertaining way for a reader to gain an interesting, thematic, and absorbing overview of the events of our century. This is a useful reference book that provides authoritative historical sources describing the momentous events as well as significant themes of the 20th century.

It is organized both by period and by geographical areas, and commences with an excellent social, economic, and political snapshot of the world as the new century dawns. By employing a number of different essayists to describe various aspects of the unfolding drama, it provides the reader with relatively concise overviews of salient topics without having to muck about in the mind-boggling details some more expansive histories would. In essence, the text neatly describes the major events and phenomena of the century, discussing the various aspects of each, and analyzing the particulars of both social disruptions via shifts of power as well as the remaining elements of social cohesion and continuity. As the reader soon discovers, however, the former far outweigh the latter in the events and trends characterizing the times.

Indeed, when one considers the radical departure between what existed throughout the world at the onset of the century as opposed to what prevails at its close, one is moved by the sense that the world had been literally transformed over the hundred-year span. Where once proud and autocratic kings, tyrants and potentates ruled with despotic indifference, now indifferent democracies, uncertain dictatorships, and benignly ignorant despots rule the stage. We've moved from unreliable telegraphs to instant wireless phones, from horse and buggy to space travel, and from death to an early age to whole societies of seniors planning to live well into their eighties and nineties. Where once people lived in splendid isolation from the outside world in a sphere only painfully connected from one community to another by mail, telegraph, and slow travel, we now have instant awareness of all that happens around the globe. So, if some of us are not entirely convinced of the progressive nature of this change, even we have to admit that W. B. Yeats captured the kernel of the times by warning things had "changed utterly".

As I mentioned above, this book provides the reader with a quite handy reference tool and a terrific overview, and is organized both in terms of time periods, geographical area, and also thematically around several key master processes that were instrumental influences in the century. It is expressly not the sort of expansive, detailed, and authoritative source for understanding or researching particular events such as the Depression or the Cold War. For those kinds of discussions one must turn elsewhere. But for its intended purpose of providing the serious student with an approachable, readable, and useful guide to understanding the main currents and highlights (or perhaps low points) of this explosive century, this is a wonderful book that belongs on every 20th century history student's bookshelf. Enjoy!


Strategic Deception in the Second World War
Published in Paperback by W.W. Norton & Company (1995)
Author: Michael Howard
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A ¿DRY¿ ACCOUNT OF BRITISH SPYING DURING WW II.
If you were expecting an exciting, hold-your-breath account of British spies doing dangerous and crazy things and commando frogmen sneaking up enemy rivers and blowing up German ships, you are in for quite a disappointment. This book is simply a long-winded description of the organizational structure and strategic planning and strategy of British deception intelligence agencies during the war with Germany.

But, to be honest, the book does what it proposes to do: tell the story of British deception practices from an organizational standpoint, all of which is very boring to the average reader looking for spy adventure, but perhaps quite valuable to a serious student of World War II or a person who themselves participated in the British deception practices since the book mentions every possible name, committee, group, office, MI5, MI6, Sir this, Sir that, people such as Lt. Col. Strangeways, Major General Sir Frederick Morgan, etc. involved in the effort . (Very dry stuff, I dare say...) On top of that, on every page occurs the word notional or notionally, which is very strange usage of English to an American reader, as is the use of the word Schwerpunkt, used occasionally.

Overall - for the average reader this is a TWO STAR book - there is some very interesting information in this book which will expand your knowledge of World War II deception practices by our friends the Brits; however, I found myself skipping a paragraph here and there, and then a page or two, and several times my eyes glazed over. But, for the professional researcher, this is a FIVE STAR BOOK containing a lot of basic information about the spy business. What worked and what didn't, and why. How is strategy developed, coordinated, implemented. Can it come back and bite you? How do you confirm the effectiveness of your deception efforts. And so on. I should think it would be a required reading (text) for a course given by the CIA or NSA.

The Indispensible Official History
There are four essential accounts of deception in World War II: this is one of them. The other three are Michael I. Handel (editor), "Strategic and Operational Deception in the Second World War;" Anthony Cave Brown's best-selling history, "Bodyguard of Lies;" and Colonel David Glantz's definitive, "Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War."
What distinguishes these volumes from deception accounts is their analysis of the deception process. That is, they go beyond simply detailing deception history to explain how deception planners adjusted and adapted their gambits throughout the war based on their successes and failures in fooling their Nazi enemy.
Basically, the Americans and British succeeded in convincing the Nazis throughout the war that they were far stronger than they truly were, while the Russians continually fooled the Nazis into thinking they were far weaker than was the fact.
Publication of Howard's official WWII deception history was held up for a decade by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who, according the M.R.D. Foot, "saw no reason to explain to potential enemies how Britain might fight them." Once (now) Lady Thatcher left office, the deception history was published.
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Howard's history is its account of deception's deep roots in British tradition. Both Professor Handel and Sir Michael credit General Edmund Allenby in the First World War with laying the groundwork for the remarkably successful strategic deceptions of the Second World War. Handel wrote "For Allenby, unlike almost every other general of the Great War, [deception] plans were a key element of every operational plan. As T.E Lawrence [i.e., "Lawrence of Arabia;" Colonel Lawrence's Arab Desert Strike Force executed many of Allenby's deceptive stratagems] remarked, 'Deceptions, which for the ordinary general were just witty hors d'oeuvres before battle, had become for Allenby a main point in strategy.'...Allenby's ... operations closely resembled the more complex schemes devised during the Second World War." Howard notes that Allenby's deception staff in WWI included General Archibald Wavell, who in World War II used Allenby's methods successfully against the Italians and Germans in the Western Desert, at one point defeating 250,000 of the enemy with a British force of only 50,000. General Wavell and his deception planner, Brigadier Dudley Clarke, recommended these methods, leading to establishment of the London Controlling Section (LCS), the Allied D-day deceivers. Allenby is truly the father of the 20th century grand military deception.

Great information on the most secret business of war
This book describes the dark alleys of second world war in a very academic fashion. Who is interested by facts will find this book very well done. If you are looking for James Bond-type romance, this is simply the wrong reading.

There is some underlying humor, especially with the depiction of Agent Garbo wild imagination and the credulity of supposed senior German Intelligence officers.

I understood that deception and spycraft is a very thorough work with little place for intuition. It introduce a scientific approach to the art of lying.

If you have a politician amongst your friends, do not give him this book!


Encyclopedia of Diet Fads
Published in Hardcover by Greenwood Publishing Group (2003)
Authors: Marjolijn Bijlefeld and Sharon K. Zoumbaris
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Great summary but it does not replace the real thing
In 1997, Theresa W. Fossum and 4 colleagues wrote a comprehensive book on Small Animal Surgery. I have not seen it but I have heard excellent comments about its illustrations and descriptions. For this reason, I bought the Manual thinking that it was a summary of the larger text. Great disappointment! It is a summary but without pictures! Paraphasing Alice: "What good is a surgery book without pictures?" There is nothing wrong with the Manual, except the absence of pictures; I don't feel secure trying to image operating procedures guided only by text, regardless how good it is. The Manual costs $ 50 against $ 150 de original; I should have sprung the full price and bought the original.

Great for students, Good for the practicing veterinarian
This book covers most procedures you'll ever need as a practicing veterinarian. tough less comprehensive than Bjorab's or Harris's small animal surgery books, it simplify many procedures with wonderful colourful images. A very attractive price (~45$ instead of more than 200$),makes it the perfect decision for students. I think that most veterinarians will find it sufficient for their needs. Enjoy


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