Morbid curiosity drove me to open this book. I suppose I expected to find some sort of arch-conservative, Reaganite-Republican, Ayn-Randian, ultra-capitalist dogmatist. But the figure that actually emerges is that of a dedicated, technical-minded civil servant.

The book contains selections from different Greenspan speeches given over the years. Most selections are prefixed with some scene-setting remarks by the author, Kahaner. The book doesn't have much structure to it -- the chapters are in alphabetical order (e.g., "Banks", "Capitalism", "Derivatives", etc). So you can skip back and forth without losing anything.

While Greenspan's speaking style is usually clear, he does have a roundabout way of talking. For example: "I don't want to suggest we're about to do anything at this stage, but I would confirm we are obviously going to do a great deal of thinking about the whole process." Somewhere else, he jokes: "I've been able to string more words into fewer ideas than anybody I know, and I'm continuing to do that."

Nonetheless, the reader can pick up most of Greenspan's opinions without too much trouble. For example: (a)Debt - bad. (b)Inflation - very, very bad. (c)Capitalism - hurray! His view on income distribution: "No society succeeds unless virtually all of its participants believe that it's fair and gives people opportunities." That one sounded all right to me, but his views on labor strike me as downright creepy; for example: "It should always be remembered that in economies where dismissing a worker is expensive, hiring one will also be perceived to be expensive."

On a subject of current political concern, the privatization of Social Security (or "modernization" is what they're calling it now, I think), Greenspan argues against it for workers already contributing to the system: "Investing Social Security assets in equities is largely a zero sum game." But he also suggests that allowing younger workers the option to move to a semi-privatized plan might be practical.

Greenspan maintains a pretty aloof tone in most of his speeches. For example, while touring the economically devastated region of South Central Los Angeles, he dryly observes, "We regulators are swamped with all sorts of data... It's important to put a face on the numbers." On the matter of dealing with others: "...beyond the personal sense of satisfaction, having a reputation for fair dealing is a profoundly practical virtue. We call it 'good will' in business and add it to our balance sheets."

A section near the end of the book contains remarks others have made about Greenspan. One economist sums it up best: "When Greenspan dies his headstone could read: 'I am guardedly optimistic about the next world, but remain cognizant of the downside risk.'"

The core of this book is a series of quotations by Dr. Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve (1987 - ) on the subjects of banks, capitalism, competition, debt and deficits, derivatives, education, employment, the Federal Reserve, forecasting, the gap between rich and poor, globalization, gold, housing, humor, inflation, the new economy, politics, reputation, risk, small business, Social Security and Medicare, the stock market, technology, and trade. The quotations are simplified into their key principles in brief commentaries by the author, Mr. Kahaner. The author has also provided a brief biographical sketch of Dr. Greenspan as well as comments by others about Dr. Greenspan. (For trivia buffs: Did you know he was once married to the painter, Joan Mitchell?)

Alan Greenspan is a classic conservative, monetarist economist. His views fit nicely into that category. He also has a lively wit, which is normally well hidden behind the facade of "non-speak" that he specializes in. The author has considerately included some of Dr. Greenspan's most famous bon mots. His convoluted sentences are more famous across the planet, and deliberately so.

For when Alan Greenspan really speaks, as he did about "irrational exuberance" in the stock market a few years ago, the ground moves beneath the financial markets. So he has to be careful.

Care is also required because of politics. The Federal Reserve is supposed to be an independent body that is not part of the political process. Yet Congress can change its powers very easily. So the best approach is to hide in the shadows, as much as any 800 pound gorilla can.

This strategy is complicated by the fact that the chairman has to make many speeches, and has many required reports to Congress each year. So, Chairman Greenspan has to utter a lot of words while saying very little.

Perhaps the truest statement in the book was the quote about him pointing out that people on both sides of any issue quote Alan Greenspan as supporting their position. And that's the brilliance of these obscure sayings.

The only times he can be open is when he is in front of a group that doesn't matter. For example, he can praise the small community banks to the skies, because they are so small. Bring up Citigroup, and he has to move off in other directions.

The book that still needs to be written about Alan Greenspan is his art of saying much while communicating little. Now, that would be a book!

My favorite slant on Alan Greenspan was missing from this book. The financial news channel, CNBC, has developed a way to anticipate which way interest rates will go. It depends on the size of Greenspan's brief case when he goes into a Fed meeting. When it is thick, rates change. When it is thin, nothing happens. With a between-sized case, the bias between tightening or not may shift. Interstingly, they are often correct with this approach. And this story shows perfectly how much scrutiny he is under.

The man has done a fabulous job of running the Federal Reserve. We should not forget that in our focus here on his words. This is an area where actions speak louder than words, as they often do.

Now that we are off the gold standard, controlling the money supply is more important than ever because there is no limit on the potential to create inflation. As a former economic forecaster, Greenspan knows that economic forecasts are more often wrong than right. So you have to be vigilant and aggressive in anticipating problems. You will get a good sense of that perspective from this book. It will bring all of those words into a coherent sense of Greenspan's philosophy for you.

After you have finished absorbing these very long sentences, I encourage you to think about when in your life it is good to be balanced in your communications in order to moderate the response. Clarity is not always a virtue. But do be clear whenever it is important to get the point across. Follow Hemingway then. When obscurity helps, follow Greenspan.

May you aggressively pursue the opportunities in front of you, but in a balanced way that exercises extreme caution about the risks involved. In considering your choices, you should pause to consider how forecasting may not always be correct. Naturally, you will want to give full weight to the concerns that your hear as well. (This is my attempt at a Greenspanism, for demonstration purposes.)

At a time when so many on Wall Street hang on his every word, this compendium of Alan Greenspan quotations is just what is needed. Reading a collection of quotes -- along with the author's excellent analysis -- gives you a better understanding of Greenspan's theories. The author does an excellent job of organizing the Chairman's thoughts into concise chapters with brief commentary. I found the book an easy read for a topic that can be hard to comprehend.

Though the delightful The Patchwork Girl Of Oz (1913) may be the overall favorite of dedicated Oz enthusiasts, L. Frank Baum's The Scarecrow Of Oz (1915) is very likely his greatest Oz novel, as its story is warmly and enthusiastically told, moves forward superbly, and the only padding found within its pages is the straw that stuffs the Scarecrow's body.

Baum wanted to transfer characters Trot (real name: Mayre Griffith) and her much older guardian, Captain Bill, of his non-Oz titles The Sea Fairies (1911) and Sky Island (1912), into Oz permanently, and they are the apparent stars of the book until the Scarecrow is introduced on its 173rd page. Though Trot, like Betsy Bobbin before her, is almost identical to Dorothy Gale in manner and appearance and would in later volumes largely fade into a pale replica of her, Baum here allows Trot to command the narrative and display a number of admirable, heartening qualities. Perennial lost boy Button - Bright (real name: Saladin Paracelsus de Lambertine Evagne von Smith), who is discovered buried face down in a small mountain of popped corn, is also a key player.

Caught in a monstrous whirlpool that appears out of nowhere while sailing on calm American ocean waters, Trot and Captain Bill awaken in a strangely lit underwater grotto. Though the narrow, claustrophobically confining passage they are obligated to enter and follow does not lead them directly to Oz, it does lead them to another of Baum's fairytale kingdoms. As in previous titles, readers may question whether Trot and Captain Bill have died and passed into the afterlife; certainly their early travails have a purgatory - like quality. In a hilarious episode, the twosome find themselves trapped on a small, lush island with the most cantankerous man living, who complains that the trees are too green, the water "dreadfully wet," and that the sun, which unpleasantly "shines in the daytime," is useless, because "it disappears just as soon as it begins to get dark." This "little old man of the island" is in exile, and certainly seems to occupy his own tiny circle in hell.

As in Sky Island, readers are given excellent expository information about Button - Bright; this is important, because Button - Bright, when appearing later in the Oz chronicle, was often portrayed as an annoying idiot with a tabula rasa for a mind ("Some folks think I'm stupid. I guess I am," he goes so far to say in Sky Island). However, in the Scarecrow Of Oz, Baum explains Button - Bright to his audience in almost Zen - like terms. Button - Bright is "almost as destitute of nerves as the Scarecrow...nothing ever astonished him much; nothing ever worried him or made him unhappy. Good fortune or bad fortune he accepted with a quiet smile, never complaining, whatever happened." Is Button - Bright a young wandering Buddha? Button - Bright, who has an exceptionally hardy appetite, is enthralled by both the beauties of nature and of happenstance. A junior lord of unforeseen contingency, an open meadow, a hedge of berry bushes, or a fluttering butterfly is all that is necessary to send him dashing off blissfully into spatial oblivion. In the Scarecrow Of Oz, Button - Bright, who lives purely in the moment, seems to possess the secret of happiness, if no longer his magical umbrella, and makes a perfect counterpoint to the more responsible, rational Trot.

The Scarecrow Of Oz is also one of the several Baum - composed Oz titles that concerns itself with witches. One of the book's three main antagonists, Blinkie, who, like the Wicked Witch in the first book, has but a single good eye, is a traditional European folklore witch: she is old, wrinkled, eccentric, power hungry, toadying, and spiteful. Interestingly, as in medieval drawings, Blinkie and her fellow witches ride their broomsticks with the brush portion forward. Baum even raises the possibility of witch burning, though, as bad luck may have it, it is the easily consumed Scarecrow and not Blinkie that is eventually tied to a stake and threatened with fire. Baum counters Blinkie with Gibson Girl look - alike sorceress Glinda the Good, who, the opposite of the witch in every way, is lovingly described: "No one knows her age, but all can see who beautiful and stately she is...her hair is like red gold and finer than the finest silken strands. Her eyes are blue as the sky and always frank and smiling. Her cheeks are the envy of peach-blows and her mouth is enticing as a rosebud. Glinda is tall and wears splendid gowns that trail behind her as she walks. She wears no jewels, for her beauty would shame them." Strangely enough, illustrator John R. Neill consistently portrays Baum's sorceress supreme wearing an unusual headdress conspicuously crowned with what looks like a cross between a healthy, long-stemmed, large-capped mushroom and a vigorous phallus.

Here more than in any of other Oz title, the Scarecrow shines, as he rightly should, though the novel is more than half over before he makes his appearance. Baum tended to dilute even his most popular characters over the course of the series, and in too many Baum titles the Scarecrow is depicted as little more than the Tin Woodman's "heterosexual life partner," though of course the Scarecrow bills and coos with the Patchwork Girl as well as with best friend Nick Chopper. The Scarecrow, sent by Glinda to rescue Trot and her cohorts from an evil king, is certainly the hero of the book: "As a conqueror I'm a wonder," he says before single - handedly but futilely demanding that King Krewl abdicate his ill-gotten throne. Happily, the sometimes Christ-like Scarecrow survives both burning at the stake and drowning in a waterfall, but not without the help of less overconfident friends.

Gorgeously illustrated in both color and black and white, the Scarecrow Of Oz is excellent in every way and belongs at the very top of the multi - volume Oz heap.

In this delightful story, a young girl named Trot and her long-time friend, the one-legged sailor Cap'n Bill, are drawn into an adventure that takes them to the magical land of Oz. Readers who are familiar with the works of L. Frank Baum will recognize these two characters from two previous novels that are set outside of Oz, The Sea Fairies and Sky Island. While it is not necessary to have read these two works prior to reading this book, the three novels taken together outline the close relationship of this optimistic and courageous young girl and her pragmatic companion, the worldly retired sailor who lost his leg at sea.

The plot is familiar to readers of other Oz books. Mortals from the outside world get hopelessly lost, but retaining their determination and good will, they move forward until they find themselves in the fairy land of Oz. All along the way Trot and Cap'n Bill meet fantastic beings and explore strange countries which the author creates with a joy and imagination that seem boundless. On this trip they meet and become fast friends with a strange flying creature called the Ork, who, although featherless, is equipped with a propeller as well as four wings. Together the three of them continue on to the Land of Mo where they inexplicably come across another beloved Baum character, Button-Bright, a boy who is unflappable and prone to getting lost. These four next find themselves in a remote and inaccessible corner of the land of Oz called Jinxland. Here they fall victim to the cruel plots of King Krewl and the magic spells of the witch Blinkie. Discovering their plight, the Scarecrow of Oz decides to go to their rescue. But what can a man of straw do to fight a corrupt king and an evil witch? Find out for yourself and enjoy every minute of it by reading this wonderful book.

The Books of Wonder edition has recreated the original first edition with all its twelve color plates, over 100 black and white illustrations, and a full color dust jacket by John R. Neill. It also includes a three page essay by Peter Glassman that discusses this work as it fits into the writings of the author, L. Frank Baum. This is a must-read for Oz aficionados and a joy to anyone interested in children's fiction.

"The Scarecrow of Oz" is a great book to have on your bookshelf with the rest of the Oz books in the series. You'll love the Ork and his friends, Pon the gardener's boy and Princess Gloria.

This book is gold. Alan has made a guidebook, that has everything you need to know about a route, right in front of your eyes. From Elevation gain, approximate round trip time, difficulty, the map needed, route photos for every peak and a completely detailed description of the route. Also he has a colored mini photo album at the beginning of the book that shows some pictures of what you will encounter. He has included over 150 mountains that range from tiny hills that I could take my pet hampster up(jokingly), to glaciated masses of rock that can take a rope and multiple days. This book should be in every climbers pack. I erge you to buy it. It's well worth it.

The author, Alan Kane, does a great job of putting this guide together. This version is much better than the previous edition. Lots more peaks included. For the most part the peaks are all in alberta. Some in the south, others a bit more towards the north. Each hike includes difficulty level and other relevant information.

Alan has climbed every one of the peaks he described. The route descriptions reflect that intimate knowledge that the author has with each route. The details are excellent. Moreover, he really gives you a feel for the climb and from my experience reading the routes made for fewer unwanted surprises on the actual climb.

I'll also say that the book has a nice variety when it comes to difficulty of the scrambles. The concept of scrambling in many ways represents the highest degree of freedom you can have while climbing. This is because you needn't be weighed down by lots of gear (protection, climbing rope, chocks, etc) to do these scrambles. Yet they are more difficult and exciting than a regular walk-up. Kane has all the bases covered here. For a guide to scrambling in the canadian rockies, look no further. However, don't just take my word for it...Alan has a website where you can see some of the routes described in the book. I think it will give you a good idea of what to expect.

I just recently got this guidebook, and let me just say that it blew away all my expectations. Seriously, this is the finest mountain guidebook I've ever seen. Pictures for every mountain, great descriptions, introduction, etc. Bravo. Well worth the money. I had to try hard to keep myself from drooling on the book because it's an x-mas gift to my dad. There are certainly some great peaks to climb in Canada.

Wayne is a true suvivor. We have had numerous conversations across the kitchen counter about raising children in a safe nurturing home. I was aware of Wayne's hideous up bringing, but no where to the extent and the severeity of abuse. I have three children one of wich is a six year old boy. I had to put the book down after the first chapter. I was so disturbed. I was crying and thought I was going to be sick. After pulling myself together and hugging my children tightly I continued to read the book cover to cover. This is a really good, easy to read book. I highly recommend it. Thanks Wayne!!!!

I picked up this book because Wayne is a business acquaintance and I had no idea! What a story! I couldn't put it down! It's amazing to see the man he has become today after reading all that he's been through. It's very scary to know that this type of thing happens to children everywhere. Congratulations Wayne!

As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I am deeply moved by the courage Wayne Theodore brings to survivors everywhere. This book is a catalyst for life change.

I've bought this book as my first reference book of accounting. I've checked out other books about accounting in the local book store but none suits me as this one. The accouting terms are concisely defined and the examples are precisely worked out while other books, which content is obscure and structured in a slovenly way, is an eyesore that confused me.

This book is recommended for any purpose because it gives detail and sufficient information to every topic, covers and accord with the criteria and requirements established by various prominent examinations, so when I finish this book and take one of these exams, I certainly won't botch up it and have confidence in achievement.

I have taken my IGCSE Accounting exam in May 2001, and have thankfully passed it with an A* grade due to my possesion of this vaulable book. It is an amazing book that everyone who studies accounting, at any stage, MUST have! I've lived with it for two years, and I'm grateful for what it has given me. I walk proudly around with this book! For every subject, I had to keep buying other books for reference, but as for accounting, I found this book more than sufficient and have refused to buy any 'reference books'! Thank you Frank and Alan!

who taking accountancy as their course. Ahmad Bohari Ahmad Azahri (KPKI college)

Gladys Alyward was rejected by the CIM because she failed on her theology test, still certain that God wanted her in China, she crosses Russia when they were at war with China over Manchuria, She makes a narrow escape from Russia,as the Russian soldiers mistake missionary for mechanic,gets to China and travels to a small city in northern Shansi. Here she learnd Chinese fluently, gets her name Ai-Wah -Deh (The Victorius One)from stopping a blooy prison riot,converts the mandarin to christianity, falls in love with Linan, a nationalist general and finally amid typhod fever and internal injuries marches to Sian with one hundred children orphaned by Japanese bombs.

I did find it a little disapointing that it does not quite finish the story...but as she was still alive when this book was written it can't be helped.

The movie made me want to read the book. I've read & re-read it. It wets your appetite for adventure in another place, another time. I've begun looking for other books about China and Gladys. I'm enjoying discovering the History, the time, the landscape, it's inhabitants and the many authors who've written about China. It has made me want to go to China to see the places she roamed and walk there. It's romance, history, adventure, so many things in one small book.

Can YOU help. Gladys Aylward's life story has been a source of insipiration for many and I'm currently researching the possibility of producing a TV documentary about her life. I'm trying to track down some of the Children who treked across the mountains with her or anyone who worked with her for a short while and can tell her story. I would love to hear from you if you could assist me in any way. Thank you

In this round of Swamp Thing installments from Alan Moore (original issues #43-50, which includes the double-size anniversary issue), plot elements that had been developing for a year or more finally come to fruition. That would be a battle even bigger than good vs. evil in the final story of this collection, fittingly titled "The End." Here we see the full apotheosis of Alan Moore's groundbreaking work with comic horror writing, a defunct style that he courageously made hip again at the time. And although the Swamp Thing series was thematically unlike anything else DC was doing at the time, Moore still ties Swampy's saga into the greater DC universe. John Constantine and a collection of minor and obscure characters associated with magic and sorcery help in the great battle for the universe. Meanwhile Swamp Thing allies himself with the heaviest hitters in DC's stable of occult characters, including Spectre, Etrigan (The Demon), Phantom Stranger, Dr. Fate, and the very suave Deadman. There is also a flawless crossover with the then-current Crisis on Infinite Earths epic, surely one of the great endeavors ever undertaken by a comics company.

One very interesting aspect of Moore's plotlines during this period is how Swamp Thing himself often falls into the background of the stories, as the focus is on the horrors around him, and he makes dramatic Lone Ranger-like appearances to save the day. Even in "The End" Swampy is a minor presence, action-wise, then defeats the force of darkness simply by reasoning with it rather than fighting. In this collection's first tale, "Windfall," Swamp Thing only appears on one page, and the focus of the story is a psychedelic fruit that grew on his back. During this period of the series, things were changing artistically, as regular artists Stephen Bissette and John Totleben were often overworked or unavailable. Here Stan Woch and Ron Randall really make their presence felt, especially in the most tremendous story of this stretch, "The Parliament of Trees." This concept is surely inspired by Tolkein, and in turn I bet that Woch and Randall's visual creations were an influence on the producers of the recent "Two Towers" film. By the end of this collection Moore and his great team of artistic collaborators continue to teach us about the deep roots of the Swamp Thing character, and he's not yet done learning himself.

Lets face it, Alan Moore is God's gift to the comic book reader. His stories are so intense, so cerebral, so completely real that I guarantee if you give any of his books to a non-comic fan they will never look at you like you're a childish freak again.
Swamp Thing was his first real American hit and its easy to see why: the tales age like a fine wine and you can use any issue as a jumping on point without becoming the least bit confused.

A Murder of Crows lures you in gently with three stand-alone stories that are reminiscent of Tales From the Crypt, but scarier because they are the quiet kind of horror that gradually build to frightening heights. From there you're launched headfirst into the muck of the massive 'Crisis' crossover DC used in the '80s to clean out its proverbial junk room of convoluted plots and multiple Supermans (There were somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 at the time), only your mind is not in the least bit boggled. Moore keeps things tidy (Plotwise anyway, some of this stuff is not for the squeamish) and the characters to a minimum so you always know what's going on with who and where. The depth he is able to go into as he bounces you from South American cults to British seances to Under-World War III will amaze you. For those Hellblazer fans out there, John Constantine's presence provides some serious magic of the non-Harry Potter variety as well as some wonderfully snarky commentary to lift the gloom a little.

You'll smirk, you'll cringe, you'll shudder and squirm.

You won't have a read you'll have an experience.

In "Murder of Crows", the Swamp Thing graduates from one dimensional 'monster that was once a man' to a world-saving elemental with Alan Moore's signature mix of horror and mysticism. This is the climax to the Swamp Thing's quest for truth and who and what he really is. Along the way he crosses tormented ghosts, a serial killer, a crossover from 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' and most of the magical heavyweights in the DC Universe. I would recommend starting earlier in the run (beginning w/ 'Saga of the Swamp Thing'), but if you want only one peak, this is the one to get. Even if horror is not your bag, if you enjoyed 'Crisis' this is a must have. The ending may leave you wondering if you crossed over into 'Crisis', but the journey is vintage Moore. Outstanding!

A friend of mine who met Mr. Klevit a few years ago, gave me the book for my 18th birthday last week. I have already read it and loaned it to a friend, with several others waiting. It's kind of a science fiction book with messages for improving your life. It doesn't preach to me, and I like that, which some books and shows do. It lays it out there. Be anybody you want to be. Respect. Self-love. Where you fit in the scheme of things--the Big Picture. This book is full of hope, while it is exciting. I plan to get some books on meditation and zen, thanks to the author. Not only can this book get you thinking about your life, and what you can do to improve it, it is a fun read. The divisions--chapters are clever, too, "In the Grotto," which is as exciting as Stephen King's "Pet Cemetary", "E=MC2," and other names to get you curious. I hope they make this book into a movie. It would be a hit.

Sometimes a "quest Book" is boring or tired. Sometimes, it's credility is suspect. Not this book on either count. I bought Three Days in Sedona based on some reviews I read. Although they were all positive, the readers were not sure if they believed all of the author's "wierd" experiences. Well, I have seen a spaceship (in Idaho--twice). And I have "travelled in space." And I don't think these things are wierd. I admire the way Klevit describes his unusual experiences with child-like wonder but with no excuses or apologies. And he is right on. Best of all, his observations about his life helped me examine mine. I think I am a better person for it. Thank you, sir.

By the time I finished the introduction, I already had enough ideas to change my life. That was the author's intention, I guess, as he pointed out, very cleverly, that once you believe that just about anything is possible--like science fiction becoming reality--then it applies to your own life, too. I like his style. It is straightforward, very conversational, like he is sitting there talking to you. Even though some of things he claims he did seem pretty far out there, like space travel, aliens and the like, his sincerity makes it hard to not believe him. And whether you do or not doesn't matter, because he uses his experiences as tools. Creative visualization, open mindedness, seeing the big picture, loving yourself, and a lot of things authors are writing about now (14 years later), give this book a lot of credibility. Klevit was ahead of his time. And he doesn't just talk about stuff. He gives suggestions I have been able to implement and improve my attitude and my life. Where's the sequel, sir?

Even while reading this book I was able to pitch an idea for an event and documentary project, my first, and gain acceptance for the project. The concepts are helpful as well as practical.
I read a lot of books once I am interested in a subject and I would place this one at the top for documentaries.

There is little in written text that summarise the worth of this book. I was so moved by its detailed and incisive content and direction that I sold my kids to afford the time and space, the peace required to absorb the rivetting content.
As I sat at my video production terminal I realised that the nirvana of books on docudrama had been produced. This is the sort of book that makes you go and get the authors name tattooed on your butt.
Buy , buy , buy ..

This book is a masterful resource for any filmmaker regardless of their expertise.

No one has come close in their summation of the documentary process. It is 2001, the book was released in 1996, it is timeless. The best book on the market, a better book could only be devised by the author.

Four years of preperation in one book. Every student, professional filmmaker, enthusiast should have it. I have even allowed persons/subjects whom I was documenting to read this book. It made the process that much easier. They were extremely thankful. PURCHASE THE BOOK.