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.

This book is well-written and covers a vast scope. Contrary to what the title might lead you to believe, this book covers a lot more than just plain mediums. In fact, it offeres detailed information on just about any faction in the Skinlands that might interact with the Restless Dead: "Boardwalk mediums" found at carnivals and circuses the ruthless Giovanni vampires, even charlatans and frauds who possess no real talent, but manage to offend wraiths with their very presumption and chicanery.

This book is definitely worth the purchase price- it will enrich virtually any Wraith chronicle.

This is a fine resource for mediums, much better than the Quick and the Dead. The systems stuff is vastly improved, with a battery of new merits and flaws for mediums that I actually found useful (and can be used to supplement or replace the hedge magic paths for interacting with wraiths). There is some good stuff on summoning, a large section on Native American medicine men and shamanic dealings with the dead, a fresh look at many of the old ghost-dealing groups, and a new ability for those people who have had enough with wraiths shouting in their ears.

Robert Drury was a 15 year old English sailor when his ship The "Degrave" ran aground on Madagascar in the early 1700's. All the crew were either killed or enslaved by the natives. After 15 years, Drury escaped and returned to England. He left this account of his adventure when he died. Some say his journal is fiction and is the work of Daniel Defoe. But "Sources for Robert Drury" tells how church records of the time list a person who's name was Robert Drury or Robert Jury, and who was not only born at the time of the protagonist, but entered the navy at the same time. A recent expedition to Madagascar found that all locations and historical references in the book are accurate. If Defoe realy did write the book, then he first heard the story from the real Robert Drury.

We have been trying to decide on some of the best wireless initiatives for our company for quite some time. This book was incredibly useful in understanding where some of the industry leaders see the future going. I especially liked the chapter written by the CEO of AT&T Wireless. This book is a must have for anyone interest in wireless opportunities or in the wireless industry.

Twenty-five years after the fall of Saigon, The Center For National Security Law of the University of Virginia Law School hosted a seminar designed to determine the "real" lessons of the Vietnam War. In doing so they assembled a distinguished team of twenty-one scholars, each an acknowledged expert in his field. The results were then compiled and published in this work. The conclusions reached included, but were not limited to the following:

Vietnam was a small "hot-spot" in a global "cold war" It was important because the great powers of the day chose to contest it, if for no other reason.

Ho Chi Minh was a dedicated agent of international Communism, not a Vietnamese Nationalist fighting for his people.

While the "Peace Movement" greatly aided the Communist efforts, they did not lose the war. Our flawed, "no-win" strategy did.

American forces were not given a free license to rape, kill, pillage and burn at will. Soldiers and Marines were indicted and vigorously prosecuted for war crimes in Vietnam.

Our involvement in Vietnam WAS necessary. Had we meekly capitulated when the Russian bear growled, we could not have remained credible as an ally.

The war was NOT unwinnable. In effect we DID win. Only Congress' refusal to provide the support promised our allies caused South Vietnam's capitulation and the subsequent blood bath that left millions dead.

The authors authenticate their findings with well-researched data. These facts will be contested by some and ridiculed by others. However, mere hype cannot refute their research. Facts are facts. The carefully prepared and skillfully perpetuated myths by some in government and many in the media cannot change them although they can be fully expected to try.

In the preface, editors Moore and Turner say that, "Obviously, this small volume is not intended to be the final word on the Vietnam War." Inevitably, more facts will emerge from such diverse places as Hanoi, Washington, Moscow and/or Beijing. However, until more facts emerge, this work is the most complete review of the conflict available. It deserves a place on the bookshelf of every serious student of the war for that reason.

Since Vietnam the world situation has changed completely. State sponsored terrorism has replaced Communism as our major threat. Knowing when and how to use force are more critical today than ever. Being too eager and too reluctant to use force when necessary are equal evils. This work provides valuable insights on the when and how of using force. It is an invaluable tool for today's national security planners for that reason.

I was privileged to attend the Conference that inspired this work and eagerly awaited publication of this book for two years. It was well worth the wait. I am much better informed for having read it. You will be as well.

This is a well-organized, clear, short reference work. Well done

Here is the little red bok.
If the big one is too expensive for you, you can always buy this. You'll find inside all the important protocols and data for molecular biology.It's up to date, and clearly presented.
Try it, and then buy the big one!

This book is an essential tool for people in the scientific field such as Molecular Biology (obviously), Biochemistry, and Neuroscience. It is comprehensive and up-to-date as far as the techniques are concerned. It is good value in a sense that you don't have to buy the whole "Current Protocols Series" which costs an arm and a leg if you do. Although nowadays, a lot of "kits" are commercially available, the techniques found in this book explain principles and provide different alternatives suited for your needs. Molecular Cloning by Maniatis et al., although needs updating, is still a helpful reference in my opinion and it complements this book.

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"

My high school history class uses this book, and I'm very disappointed with it. I have not noticed any outright mistakes, but the authors tend to imply things that aren't quite true. Take one of their statements from a chapter on the presidency: "Despite their unhappy experience with George III, the creators of the American political system perceived the need for a single person to serve as both the symbol and the leader of the new nation, and so they created the presidency" (87). They go on to talk about the powers granted the president by the Constitution, conveniently ignoring the Articles of Confederation. This type of oversight is common in the book, as are the poor placement and the overuse of footnotes. And the authors' use of exclamation points is amusing. ("Ford had not even been elected vice president but had been appointed to the office by the now deposed Nixon less than a year earlier to replace Spiro T. Agnew, who had been forced to resign when evidence emerged that he had taken illegal payoffs while vice president!" (89).)

As a high school student, I am certainly not qualified to judge this book. When a person as unschooled as I catches problems with a book, however, I worry that there are other problems--deeper problems--that slip by unnoticed.