In "Princes of the Yen", Mr. Werner successfully makes the case that Japan's central bankers are in control of the economy and hence the country. His arguments are backed up substantial research including personal interviews.

In addition, Mr. Werner sheds light on how Japan's economic war continued long after its military war ended (Chapters 2 & 3).

Last but not least, "Princes of the Yen" provides a historical look at the development of money, credit and banking (Chapters 4 & 5).

Understandably, most of the book is devoted to the princes of the yen, and while I enjoyed Mr. Werner's treatment of Japan's central bankers, I also found his historical overview of money, credit, banking and the history of Japan's war economy to be immensely enlightening. In fact, I am still pondering the idea that money is credit, and that credit can be created out of thin air.

I strongly recommend "Princes of the Yen" to those with an open mind who have an interest in banking, money, economics and history. Rest assured that Toto won't fail to amaze you.

This book offers us an alternative perspective to the rise and fall of the Japanese economy. Supported by extensive research, the author has successfully uncovered the reasons behind the Japanese economic growth. Credit creation accounts for at least 90% of the money supply in the market. An uncheck institution such as the Bank of Japan has control over the country¡¦s credit creation and allocation. It is without a doubt that the central bank plays a major part in any country¡¦s economy. This book has also revealed a very essential question of the necessity of the current central banking system. Who has the control over the central banks? Do we really need a central bank?

This book is an excellent reading for anyone who does not want to be conformed by the standard textbook explanation. In a way, this book is probably closer to the reality than most conventional economic readings.

I was a student of economics and until reading this book I was wondering why I ever entered the disipline in the first place; after I read Princes of the Yen I finally felt that someone had given me that reason.

Princes explains the rise and fall of the Japanese economic and political system and dares to explore areas that historians and economists alike have failed to address. While almost all the information I have read on the Japanese economy focuses on the miracle growth and the recent bubble collapse, Professor Richard Werner goes even further back to WWII to uncover the uniqueness of the Japanese economy. He argues convincingly, through statistics, extensive research and personal interviews, that a purposely-designed bank centered version of capitalism has driven the Japanese economic system, and that those who control the creation and allocation of credit, namely the central bank princes, have made the ultimate decisions in Japan's postwar economic history. Thus the current problems in Japan are exposed not in the confused and varied ways that most economists tend to talk about Japan but as part of the actual credit policies and publicly stated (yet little known) goals of Japan's central bank governors.

I loved Japan but couldn't make any sense out of Japanese economics. I am thankful to Professor Werner that I finally have a clear explaination as to what really happened, and a renewed desire to pursue economics as a discipline.

While the book offers information on some indoor and partially indoor species, I was looking for a book with more species information. The pictures were not all that great and the book in general appeared boring. It was more concise that what I was looking for. The book lacked many species that I was interested in, such as: Camphor, Baobab, Banyan, Coffee, Bald Cypress, and Buttonwood. I have ordered Bonsai in your Home: An Indoor Grower's Guide, and hopefully that will have the information I need.

As stated in the title this book is about indoor bonsai, or more precisely how to grow and maintain tropical bonsai indoors. It doesn't contain much info on non tropical species, which are more appropriate to growing outdoors. There are many beautiful pictures that will inspire the beginning bonsai artist to create masterpieces of their own. Highly recommended beginners book.

I would recommend this book to every first time bonsai owner. I'm sure that if my current trees could speak, they would thank me for reading this book prior to making my bonsai selection. My first bonsai tree did not fair so well. It appears I did everything wrong the first time around. First I selected an out door tree for an indoor garden. I did not know when to trim the tree or how to fertilize. I thought all bonsai needed the same care guidelines. I was very wrong and the tree died.

I love the section on individual tree care. Now when I find a bonsai that I love, I just pull out my copy of Indoor Bonsai for Beginners: Selection, Care, Training, and find out if the tree will thrive in the location I have available. If not, I do the tree a favor and leave it for someone who has the proper location.

Thanks to this book I know which trees will fair well in an office window with only the morning sun. I know to have a drip tray, sprayer and other supplies waiting for the trees to arrive. I know to find out when the bonsai was last transplanted and fertilized. This book is definitely my Bonsai Trees' best friend and a MUST READ for anyone thinking about owning a bonsai. Just do your tree a favor and read it before you make your tree selection.

Too simple, too brief and quite out-dated figues and pictures illustration. Anyone buy this book and hopping to learn something out from it will be quite disappointed.

This book lived up to its promise. I am brand new to the 'real' way to bowl, and I found this book very helpful. The format is great. I think that the book would do any newcomer some good. There is a style to Werner's writing that can only be termed 'relaxed.' I am trying to develop what I have learned from this book. It is a great springboard into the sport.

This is what every non-fiction book should be. Brief, to-the-point, and effective. And this book is very brief. You may probably be able to read it in a half hour and then head straight to the alley and practice. This book is very clear and provides easy-to-follow pictures, too. I understand everything the author is trying to say. Lastly, this book is effective because I followed its exact instructions and I'm able to bowl with a nice hook, something I always wanted to know how to do. Although you won't be able to learn more advanced skills or more fancier hooks, this is not suppose to be a comprehensive guide to bowling.

The text is lovely but needs to be abridged for the attention span of the average preschooler. It starts out fine: "GOD IS GREAT." But when the text waxes poetically about light and stars and ancient mountain tops on the following pages, they lost both my boys. Usually my youngest will at least look at the pictures, but he found the baby doll-faced children, some of them with no pupils to their eyes (at least that is what I think he found scary about their eyes,) off-putting. Perhaps this is better for an older audience (mine were three and five, at the time) -- the message is certainly timeless.

Truth in advertising, what more could you ask for? My Little Book About God is indeed little, and avoids taking any particular dogmatic approach. God is not described as an old man in the sky, nor are any particular religions held to be true to the detriment of others. Simply put, God is presented as great and loving, no more. Comparisons between the child's world and God's make these points explicit. Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, Zoraster, Joseph Smith and the like never make so much as a cameo, and on this basis perhaps some will find the book too bland. But after all, it isn't My Little Book About How My Religion Is Right and Yours Isn't And You Are Going To Burn For All Eternity Because You Are An Infidel. Certainly devout atheists will find the book objectionable, but there is even room for secular humanists (God might literally be Love, and not a separate, intelligent presence at all) in in this approach. Hopefully most will find it a message of tolerance and love from which their children will benefit--two qualities that are far too rare in today's troubled times.

This was one of my favorite books as a child so naturally I wanted my daughter to have a copy. To my delight, it has a few new illustrations now [black children are included.]

The wording of MY LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK ABOUT GOD can be at times too lengthy for a preschooler but it adds to the appeal later in life. My two-year old daughter has never complained though, she is mesmerized by the pictures just as I was at her age! Children love to listen to any story with illustrations this magnificient. Way to go Eloise Wilkin! I finally get to thank you after 30 years!

I highly recommend this book because I remember it fondly and vividly from childhood. I had countless books growing up but this is one of only a handful that I remember and that is also etched into my heart forever. Let's keep the little child in our hearts; this is a great book to help us achieve this feat!

But Jesus said, "LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME TO ME, AND DO NOT FORBID THEM; FOR OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN." Matthew 19:14 THE HOLY BIBLE

Over all, this is a good book if one wants to gain an understanding of the movements of the various units of the Wehrmacht in the northern sector of the Russian Front. One thing that is largely lacking from the book--and which happens to be an interest of mine--is the activities that were going on behind the front lines. The book is also without notations and an index, both most useful things for those who want to do some further research into something that is discussed in the book.

Army Group Center is a useful reference for the force it describes. I must note that due to wide line spacing it contains a bit less content than its 356 page length would indicate. However, it does comprehensively describe the operations of German armies, corps, divisions, and occasionally regiments and lower, throughout the war. Soviet fronts and armies are also covered, but not as thoroughly, and the political/strategic elements that influenced operations are included in a balanced fashion. There are several appendixes (untranslated from the German) which provide useful organizational data, but no index.

El autor formo parte del Ejercito aleman en la Campaña de Rusia, ello lo hace un testigo de primera mano en la accion. El libro hace una excelente descripcion de las unidades involucradas en el Grupo de Ejercitos Norte, destinado a la captura de Leningrado; acompañado con diagramas y fotografias, es una obra de consulta obligada para todos aquellos estudiosos y entusiastas del estudio de la Historia de la Segunda Guerra Mundial; por la manera como esta escrito se lee como una novela de acccion. Se recomienda su lectura

If you want some of the MOST beautiful pictures of macaws to ever grace an item in print, this book is for you. Some features include illustrations of extinct macaws, and a discussion of native habitat.

The one complaint I have about this book is the elementary content; add to that the horribly DATED information on diet, behaviour, etc., ...

Still, buy it for the photos alone!

4 Stars for the incrediable photos! Outdated material and it's text appears to be translated from German, but the photos are awesome. The test does get into each Macaw type and their respective geographic information that is interesting, but most any other data should be read elsewhere in a more updated, newer U.S. text.

This book is spectacular it tells u every thing u need to know about macaws from how they eat to how they sleep,bathe,etc. I really enjoyed this book you really should read it I did.

Tired and sick of care bears heroes who always make the noblest of choices, say no to drugs and have no human flaws like greed, cruelty or disrespect to life. If you are then this is the book for you. If you like a popcorn action book with a hero that can kick [butt], well this is definitely the book for you.
The book contains a series of short episodes in the life of Brunner, a ruthless bounty hunter with more tricks up his sleeve than the notorious galactic hunter mentioned above. Brunner is ruthless, shows little or no compassion or empathy for life and has no notions of honor (except maybe for golden coins). Actually he would prefer shooting someone in the back to face to face combat. The stories are very entertaining, despite of being unoriginal and despite the fact that the end is predetermined. Brunner's only motivation is greed and he would stop at nothing to complete a job. The action scenes are great as you would expect from a Warhammer novel and the fact that Brunner uses guile, (throwing salt in adversaries eyes, sowing the ground with caltrops, hiding pistol under a jacket in a la raiders of the lost ark scene etc..), only adds to the intensity and the overall fun.
Why only three stars?
* I only give 5 and 4 stars to the best Books (6-Being LOTR 5- George R. R. Martin , Tad Williams).
* Brunner lacks any real depth which makes his character rather uninteresting and predictable . He never displays any sort of feelings. It is fine for a tough bounty hunter with a cool attitude, but it doesn't add up to a realistic character. Brunner is like a machine, always on some job of tracking down another target. Almost no background of Brunner is given to explain his choice of occupation. We never hear of how he spends his money or if there is a bigger goal the man is working towards. Actually his tough attitude becomes rather old after a few chapters (I didn't count the number of times Werner wrote "his icy blue eyes stared" but I'm sure there is an overuse of that sentence).
To sum it up: Entertaining cliffhanger of the Warhammer genre worth a few days of fun.

All I have to say is that if you like warhammer books, then you will love this book. It has the raw gritty feeling to it. With the main character being one of the better bad dudes in the warhammer universe.

This is an excellent -- and useful -- book for those who wish to use native trees for their bonsai. However, to get the best benefit from it, you need to live in Europe, since the 'natives' are from that continent.

I think this book is excellent. Although the trees are native to Europe, most of the advice applies perfectly to people in temperate North America. Scots Pine, yew, spindle, beech, hawthorn, apple, willow etc... all species are covered in detail with info on training, pests, propagation, etc.... Definitely not just for Europeans, anyone in the Eastern U.S. and most of Canada will find this very useful. Great photos, too!
-j

Easily the best book on the subject. In typical Grant style he brings yet another ancient history topic to the masses. This book is easy to read and has a pretty good black and white photo insert. The outlines and graphs of the various homes in Pompeii and Ercolano are very well done. Grant goes into detail about the history of the region around southern Italy (not just Pompeii) which is helpful in understanding the urban development of ancient cities like Pompeii. He sheds light on every day life in Pompeii including chapters on the layouts of homes, the importance of gardening in ancient Italy, religious life, political life, and sports. He mixes primary and secondary sources very well. Primary sources include letters written by witnesses of the great eruption including a very important one written by someone witnessing everything from a ship on the sea. A great book by a great historian.

This book still leaves something to be desired (colour illustrations, for example), but overall, it's a must for anyone interested in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Michael Grant has built up a well-deserved reputation as a popular historian, chiefly on his excellent use of the English language as a medium for communicating with a wide audience; by this I mean that his writing is as close to colloquial as possible without sounding unprofessional. "Cities of Vesuvius" benefits from this as much as from his expertise as a classical historian.

The book is shorter than one might expect (barely 170 pages from cover to cover), but it packs a lot of information about Roman life in 79 AD as explained within the context of the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the subsequent destruction of surrounding communities. Detailed maps of Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as floor plans of major buildings, make it easier to put everything in its proper place. What makes the text even more interesting is the inclusion of quotations from the graffiti scrawled all over the walls of both cities (including a brief but scathing remark from a customer about his inn-keeper's wine). Unfortunately, the material in this book is vintage 1971 -- the copies for sale are of a 2001 reprint -- and I could only hope that a new edition, incorporating the latest discoveries and scholarship, will come out soon.

I bought this books because I have been living on an island for seventeen years, desired to learn how to surf for most of them, but didn't have anyone to teach me. All I can say is this book was more than helpful, with great, detailed step-by-step instructions ranging on topics from what kind of board you want to what waves are best to figuring out how to stand on your board. The illustrations were great and it was a good kick-start of background knowledge and safety that I needed to know before I hit the waves.

This is a good general book. It doesn't answer everything and it doesn't prepare you for everything, but if you are a beginner it is a must read. Every sport has certain rules and basic techniques that you need to know to play them, and that is exactly what this book gives you

Doug Werner's style is reassuring. There is quite a bit which can be said about surfing and the learning curve incumbent in its practice. As with any sport, the rules, the culture, and the hazards are all covered here in a gentle manner. It might not seem so from the outset, yet it is implied that surfing is not as simple as just going out there and riding waves. Although not covered in depth, Doug touches upon the social aspects of engaging in an activity where expertise can mean safety for yourself and others in the water. He also pays respects to the likes of Duke Kahanamoku and Pat Curren.
From the novice point of view, basics of equipment and essential technique are covered. Veterans would probably laugh at this book or wax nostalgic about their gremmy days.
A sister publication devoted to longboards has a commercial tie-in from a board maker. This book endorses a surf academy. It is this endorsement which hammers home the idea that proper learning is essential. Besides, I doubt that one could read and surf at the same time.