Having worked in insurance for years, I expected this book would be of interest to people like me. I was surprised, however, to find it has a much broader appeal. It was fascinating to read how commercial insurance developed in conjunction with and support of our country's development. Many will be surprised to learn of its significant role in protecting our society and promoting our economy.

The personal stories about the people who developed the business are especially enjoyable--some of the most interesting are
about founders of major brokerages and those associated with
problems at Lloyds of London in the eighties.

I recommend this book to insurance and business professionals and to general readers with interest in American history.

Spreading the Risks: Insuring the American Experience is a fascinating account of the key events shaping the development of property and casualty insurance as an indigenous American business -- from colonial times to the present day. It is based on 13 years of research by an industry insider who had unique access to insurance leaders and records. It also is the most complete account I've found of how the insurance agency and brokerage system evolved through disasters and economic transformations into the 21st century.

It has an extensive bibliography and a comprehensive index that make it especially useful as a source of information.

Spreading the Risks does an outstanding job of telling the amazing story of the insurance industry. Who knew that insurance could be so interesting?

John Bogardus and Robert Moore have clearly spent considerable time researching this material and their "real life" experience in the field shines through beautifully. This book is incredibly valuable to people in the insurance field. However, it is written in a way that also appeals to the person who is simply curious about business, history, and life in general.

The book does a great job of demonstrating how the insurance business (in the past, and now ) affects all of us.

My son chose to enter this year's science fair with an advance project that required vacume chamber construction, optics, and the original charged particle detection systems. This book is a perfect guide towards building most any mid-level research instrument.

Practical, realistic approaches to developing more effective school improvment strategies, from some of the leading specialists ni the educational community.

I would like to cast a somewhat dissenting view of this book. It is certainly a good place to start for information on various projects but comes up short on construction techniques. Perhaps an older source, Procedures in Experimental Physics (Lindsay Pubs), is better. Of course, it was written in 1938, so materials cited might be out of date, but the construction techniques aren't bad. I recently decided to build a good sized water tank (40" by 6" by 3") of acrylic and found nothing about construction tips. I was thinking of building something that probably required casting, and found a paltry two pages on the subject.

It would be good to see it updated every 5 years or so. I see the pub date is 1991. Things have changed a bit. It has a very good list of references, but with the advent of the web, it would be good to see some the reference material cite the web.

This is a _great_ book! I buy a copy of this for every student who starts work for me--which I consider to be a fine investment. Practical, hands-on information is given on a huge variety of skills needed by those working in Physics labs. From glass blowing to vacuum systems, to instruction on attaching BNC connectors, it's all in here.

Have never seen a book which was able to pack so much practical information into so few pages, and able to explain complex concepts so simply.

If you have to work with any type of laboratory equipment you would be insane to NOT have this book on your shelf.

I FOUND THE BOOK VERY SPECIFIC ON WHAT AND WHAT NOT TO DO IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS.THE INFORMATION PROVIDED WILL BE VERY HELPFUL TO ME, AS I AM A BANK TELLER MYSELF.

I fully recommend The Armed Robbery Training manual on CD-ROM to anyone and any location which could be randomly selected for the crime of Armed Robbery.

Now that we have entered the Year 2000, and the world did not come to an end, the criminal element has once again set to work to wreak havoc upon Mom and Pop stores, retail convenience stores, fast food restaurants, retail chain stores, armored couries and even postal carriers. All of these occupations can be categorized as High-Risk occupations and High-Risk workplaces. It goes without saying that Banks and other financial institutions are certainly high risk workplaces, but with the newest coined phrase, "Going Postal" and the fatal and life-threatening incidents which have taken place in our nation's postal facilities, the playing field has greatly expanded to each and every postal location becoming a hazardous, high-risk workplace. Armed Robbers, throughout the nation, have taken "Going Postal" still another step by boldly committing armed robberies against carriers in "your" neighborhood and community. The time for honing awareness, training, Intervention and prevention skills and tactics is now! The Armed Robbery Training Manual on CD-ROM is that answer. I have used both the diskette version and the CD-ROM version and I can attest that the CD-ROM is one of the best anti-Armed Robbery I have seen in many, many years. I can see that someone, probably the publisher has come before me and has listed the contents, but the latest CD-ROMs have been continuously enhanced with more and more information, which will continue to help both employers and employees in any at-risk or high-risk workplace.

The local food store you shop at now may not be the safest place to buy your food if their employees and security staff have not been properly trained in what to do and what not to do before, during and after an Armed Robbery, which includes how to safeguard customers and innocent citizens. This goes for your Bank, Convenience Store, Retail Clothing Store, Your favorite Sit-Down Restaurant, Fast Food Restaurant (Remember Wendy's in New York and Luby's in Killeen, Texas and McDonalds on California), your favorite Dance Club and more. If they are not properly trained if it occurs while you are there, then your life and safety are also at-risk and in jeopardy. While it may not have happened to you yet, it's something to think about. We all know how to keep ourselves reasonably safe, but what happens when that safety is threatened and we are unable to trust those who wield the responsibility to protect us.

The next time you go to any of the locations listed above, ask the Store Manager or Proprietor or the uniformed or plainclothes security officer if he or she has been properly trained on What To Do and What Not To Do in the event of an Armed Robbery, especially if it occurs while you and your children are patronizing the store or facility.

If they can't reasonably answer you to your complete personal satisfaction, they may not have because of the overwhelming belief that "It Can't (or Won't) Happen Here!" ... please feel free to refer them to the Armed Robbery Training Manual on CD-ROM, readily available for acquisition from Amazon.Com.

Armed Robbery is a grim reality and an important concern in our seemingly modern society. It's better to prepare and not have to use the training and tactics, than not to prepare and experience victimization on a grand scale.

Five stars is not nearly enough of a rating for The Armed Robbery Training Manual on CD-ROM, because the training it offers to properly prepare the at-risk workplace, the high-risk workplace, the school, the retail faclity, the library or any target which may be randomly selected by Armed Criminals has the unique capability of saving innocent lives, and because it's just that important!

A summary of his statement on p. 125 on "Russell's Mathematical Logic" describes the "vicious circle principle: forbids a certain kind of circularity which is made responsible for the paradoxes. The fallacy in these, so it is contended, consists in the circumstance that one defines (or tacitly assumes) totalities, whose existence would entail the existence of certain new elements of the same totality, namely elements definable only in terms of the whole totality." This led to the formulation of a principle which says that "no totality can contain members definable only in terms of this totality, or members involving or presupposing this totality." (The vicious circle principle). (Also a "not applying to itself principle to keep the vicious circle principle from applying to itself p. 126

In describing Russell's theory of types he says, "The paradoxes are avoided by the theory of simple types which is combined with the theory of simple orders - a "ramified hierarchy""

Godel argues that the vicious circle principle is false rather than that classical mathematics is false.

p. 202 "A remark about the relationship between relativity theory and idealistic philosophy (1949a) (Note that this view supports my usual presentations in class on this!)

"The argument runs as follows: Change becomes possible only through the lapse of time. The existence of an objective lapse of time 4, however, means (or, at least, is equivalent to the fact) that reality consists of an infinity of layers of "now"

p. 203 which come into existence successively. But, if simultaneity is something relative in the sense just explained, reality cannot be split up into such layers in an objectively determined way. Each observer has his own set of "nows", and none of these various systems of layers can claim the prerogative of representing the objective lapse of time. 5"