In studying Judean history in the first century CE, there is no historian more important than Josephus, especially when one is interested in the study of the historical Jesus or of the world around him (the religious/social/political climate, etc.) Josephus is not only the only Jewish historian of this era to comment on Jesus, he is the only Jewish historian to thoroughly present the history as well as psychological outlook of Jews through a lengthy span of time. His works are immeasurably important to anyone interested in this line of study. This book contains all of his important works and more: his autobiography, Jewish Antiquities, The Jewish War, Against Apion, and an extract out of Josephus's Discource to the Greeks Concerning Hades (the last of which is EXTREMELY HELPFUL in understanding the Jewish view of the afterlife at the time of Josephus.)
This edition of Josephus is helpful, with occasional essays on certain topics (i.e. "Josephus and the Romans" or the family tree of the House of Herod.) The translation is a little stale, but easy enough to understand (and I am assured that the faults in the original Whiston translation have been corrected.) The textual notes are VERY helpful, if a little dated and biased. It is for these negatives that I gave this work 4 stars instead of 5-- though I really am indebted to those who put together this extremely comprehensive, helpful volume of one of the most important historians relating to the history of Israel/Judea.

For readers of Jewish history, this book contains an indispensable account of Jewish life during the Roman occupation of Judea. While Josephus is much cited by nearly every subsequent historian recapping this era, these cites cannot capture the nuanced ways in which the author's psychological portrait of the time's leaders. The translation is clear and readable, although a little stilted. The textual notes are dated and largely unhelpful to the modern reader.

To put it concisely, the introduction generalizes the contents of this work, the segment on "The Life of Flavius Josephus" gives a familiar aquaintance with the 1st century A.D. historian, "The Antiquities of the Jews" covers the time of creation to the riegn of Nero, "The Jewish War" covers the time from the taking of Jerusalem to Titus' riegn and subsequent destruction of the Temple, "Against Apion" defends and ascertains the validity of Josephus' history, the seven "Dissertations" consist of numorous interesting topics, "The Table of the Jewish Weights and Measures, The List of Ancient Testimonies and Records, The Old Testamant Parellel to the Josephus' History, and Harmony of the Numbering System" all sum up the gist of this work, inasmuch as the titles and themes go.

The content of this work provides a profound sense of history, and extends without an end a greater sense of it. This book acts many times as a supplement to the bible in filling important gaps that biblical history failed to provide.

The benefits of this work are inumerable and unweighable when contrasted with the abundance of historical resources and the give-away price offered.

The "New Complete Works of Josephus" Translated by William Whiston and the commentary by Paul L. Maier, is undoubtably the best edition yet. Buy this one you will not regret it.

I think Mr. Williams write beautifully. His style flows through the whole book, his concert reviews are rather unique, and, even though I have never had the opportunity to see a Dylan concert, I really could grasp a good picture of them. The only problem is: I think the reviews should have been made a bit less fan-ish. I cannot be sure about the concert part, but the album reviews have such an exaggerated tone that, more than once, I had to think if the album he had reviewed was the same I had listened to. I love Bob Dylan. But, come on, making no difference in quality between albums like Blood on the Tracks and World Gone wrong does sound more like a fan writting than a critic.

I have enjoyed this book & the 2 others Paul Williams has written about Dylan's music & also the one he wrote on Neil Young's music. The "Performing Artist" volumes are more scholarly & well-thought-out (I'm still waiting anxiously for volume 3 in the series) but this book (& the Young book) are written more from a fan's viewpoint. But a fan who really knows his subject. Williams can be rambling & eccentric at times but his enthusiasm for his subject's work is so infectious, you find yourself caught up in his thoughts & feelings. He definitely makes you want to run to your stereo & play Dylan's albums. And that is what the job of a good critic should be. He makes you even want to run & play albums that he doesn't like, just so you can see what he's talking about. He writes these essays in a very excited enthusiastic manner. He is someone who really listens & studies & tries to get everything out of a recording that you can possibly get. And he makes you want to do the same. He makes you want to look at all kinds of art the same way - to really spend time looking, listening, reading & watching. He tries to teach you how to truly appreciate art. That is a hard task in the time that we live in, where everything has to be consumed in a half hour. We treat art (movies, albums, books, etc.) in a very impatient, cynical manner - waiting to be entertained, instead of putting some effort into it, to truly get all that can be gotten out of it. He points out that to appreciate art in a deep & lasting way, we also have to put some effort into it - not just the person who created the art. We're part of the creation as well.
I can read these essays over & over again - which I have. I truly wish there had been a lot more. As someone else pointed out, Williams' writing is like a performance itself. He doesn't worry much about saying something the correct way - he just unleashes his thoughts in a mad, rambling way (often repeating himself) that truly grabs you. It's nothing but a joy to read this man. And I really trust his opinion on Dylan's work. Like Lester Bangs, he really is a fan of music & his reviews & essays are as much about himself as the people he writes about. They are worth reading, even if you don't agree with them. But unlike most critics, Williams gives you his own personal opinion but doesn't assume that you feel the same way or that you should feel the same. I look forward to several more books on Dylan, Young or anybody else he may want to share his opinions about. Definitely get this book. It's a must for Dylan fans & an even bigger must for people who have never gotten into Dylan's music. If this doesn't get you to listen with "new" ears, nothing will.

"Buy it, give your money to the rich as long as you have it, you're better off with the music." Williams on "Down in the Flood" (p. 34)

Superlatives? I'll give you superlatives. Paul Williams is as much a performing artist as Bob Dylan, only he uses a pen rather than a guitar. Like the great Dylan performances, the best pieces in this collection should be "heard" more than once; "Blood on the Tracks" (1974) "Dylan - What Happened?" (1979) and "The Supper Club Shows" (1993) are just three of the ones I return to again and again.

You should expect a mostly positive assessment of Dylan's output here. The author admits in the introduction that he prefers to write about performances which excite him ". . .because disappointment was not the kind of news I felt compelled to spread." (p.11) We'll have to wait (how long?) for volume three of Willams's outstanding Performing Artist series to read more about such "disappointments."

Williams has resisted the temptation to tamper with the originals (he does, however, introduce and provide context for them) so in effect WTRF is a snapshot of two artists' work-in-progress.

So buy it. You'll be better off with the book.

NIGHTS AT THE ALEXANDRA more than makes up for its brevity in the beauty of Trevor's prose - he accomplishes more in a short book like this (99 pages) than many writers can manage in much longer works. He has an amazing ability to shine a gentle but brilliant light on his characters and their lives, giving his readers a window through which to view the story. It is as if we were present - and it is a breathtaking experience that occurs whenever I read anything by Trevor.

The story here is one of love, on multiple levels - not a traditional love story by any means, but one that illuminates the various natures of love as they appear as blessings in our lives. The story is narrated by Harry, 'a fifty-eight year old provincial' as he describes himself - never married, no children. His life is nonetheless a full one - and it is not without love. His fondest memories, of a time in his adolescence, revolve around a woman named Frau Messinger - a beautiful English woman who is married to a much older German man. They have come to live in rural Ireland during the dark days of World War II. Herr Messinger's presence in the small town where Harry lives is a subject of constant speculation and no small amount of suspicion among the town's residents. Harry's father - despite evidence to the contrary - insists that Messinger is a 'Jew man', come to Ireland to escape Hitler's unimaginable persecutions.

Harry gets to know Frau Messinger when she asks him to run small errands for her - and he quickly becomes a sort of sounding board for the woman, who begins telling him things about her life. One might suspect at this point in the story that the woman is looking for a lover - but as she speaks to Harry, it becomes clear that she dearly loves her husband and appreciates what he has given her. Their marriage may not be a conventional one - the age factor, for one thing - but they are devoted to each other. One page one, she tells the boy, 'Harry, I have the happiest marriage in the world! Please, when you think of me, remember that.' It becomes clear as the story progresses that she means every word of this.

In the process and progress of the friendship between the boy and the beautiful English woman, Harry becomes aware of the many facets of the jewel of love. His school friends see his relationship with her as one with sexual possibilities. His mother calls the woman a strumpet and forbids him to go to the Messingers' home any more - a ban he defies, drawn by the gentle love and friendship offered him there, something that he has missed sorely in his home, where emotions are things to be constricted and never voiced.

Trevor's prose flows gently - the book is a quick read, even being so short - and it is sheer delight. I could call this one of his greatest works - but it would be in crowded company, for everything I've read by this amazing writer is of the highest quality.

Nights at the Alexandra may be considered by some readers to be a long short story or novella. I n either base, Trevor presents us auth a wonderful story and memorable characters. In a matter of a few pages he places his readers both geographically and time wise in both the present and at the beginning of WWII. Central to the book is the question, "Who are those people we meet early on in or lives which influenced us then and continue to influence us all of our days.

The book begins as Harry, a 58 year old, cinema owner in an Irish coastal town reflects back to his life and the time during the beginning of WWII. On the brink of adolescence, Harry was quite bored with the days he spent at his boarding school and now with his days spent in his hometown where he was forced to return when the school closed down due to the war. But life is about to change for Harry when an émigré couple move to this hometown and announce plans to open a cinema theater. Mr. Messinger is a much older man from Germany while his wife is who is both elegant and beautiful is a much younger English woman. When the couple ask Harry to work for them in the ticket booth of the cinema Harry wil have one of the greatest learning experiences from his days and nights spent with this couple specifically Mrs. Messinger. For it is this woman who ultimately will have the most profound effect on Harry as he spends his nights at the Alexandra and comes under her spell. As the war rages about all of them Harry learns about life and love from this woman and even years later thinking back on this time period in his life, Harry realizes Mrs. Messinger she still holds a very special place in his heart.

As an avid reader I have long heard about William Trevor although Nights at the Alexandra was my first experience reading any of his works. In this sparse narrative, Trevor wrote volumes about the innocence of youth, unhappiness, dislocation, memories, dreams realized and regrets we may have as we look back on our youth from a different place in time. But most of all, this book depicted how random people can shape our lives. The author not only placed me in a front row seat during this novel but left me wishing I could spend more time with these people. Now I can't wait to read more from this well-known author.

At the age of fifty-eight, Harry looks back on one of the most important times of his life. When he was 15, Europe was locked in World War II, and Ireland (Eire) existed in the "Emergency," an era of uncomfortable neutrality and semi-deprivation. And then, into his quiet life came Frau Messinger, the English-born wife of a German émigré. Drawn like a moth to a flame, Harry became wrapped up in Frau Messinger, developing a love and devotion for her beyond the understanding of all of the other people in his life.

In this bittersweet novella, William Trevor tells a poignant tale of a love beyond what most authors can comprehend. I found it moving beyond words.

Beyond that, though, the book is fascinating for giving the reader a peek into a forgotten time and place, Eire during World War II. I wish I could say more about this book, but words really do escape me. Let me just say that I loved this book, and highly recommend it.

One Step from the White House is a very satisfying, well-written biography of a pivotal figure in both post-World War II U.S. political history as well as 20th century San Francisco Bay Area history. The book chronicles William Fife Knowland's life in a straight-forward narrative from his 1908 birth to his suicide in 1974. Knowland's life makes a compelling story -- from his early days as the favorite son of a politically ambitious father, to his Senate years as a strong voice for the Republican Party's conservative wing, to his self-destructive golden years. Montgomery and Johnson allow the story to unfold slowly and tell itself without too much analysis or summary. While this style gives the book good narrative momentum as the reader becomes more and more familiar with Knowland, this sometimes analysis-free style resulted in this reader wondering how certain events came about, such as Knowland's meteoric rise in the Republican Senate leadership. The book is also too "soft" on its subject for a post-Watergate era political biography. While the author's introductory remarks thanking the Knowland family for their confidence and trust seem polite and appropriate, they ultimately reveal an excessive concern for the subject's descendants at the expense of the story at hand. When Montgomery and Johnson do impose some analysis on the story, it is sometimes unconvincing. The most prominent example of this is naming the book "One Step from the White House," clearly an appropriate title for a biography of Thomas Dewey or Hubert Humphrey, but the author's do not successfully sell its applicability to Knowland. In spite of such lapses, Montgomery and Johnson deliver a effective chronicle of a fascinating man and flawed man.

Gayle B. Montgomery and James W. Johnson have presented an excellent book on the complex life of Senator William F. Knowland. This book is great history of California and the (SF) East Bay Area;the Republican Party of the 1950's and the Oakland Tribune. Daniel Wyatt, the author of the life of Bill Knowland's father, Joseph Russell Knowland.

I knew Senator Knowland well, having worked for twenty years for the Oakland Tribune, and having had the unenviable assignment of writing his obituary for the newspaper following his death. Gayle Montgomery and Jim Johnson have done a magnificent job of capturing the driving demons of a man whose brusque and hearty demeanor disguised a complex and, in the end, tortured personality. This is a compelling book for every reader, not just those interested in the social an political history of the time.

The second collection from Mark Waid's run on JLA continues to improve upon the mess Grant Morrison made of the series. As in "JLA: Tower of Babel", these stories focus on both the individual and the team. Waid brings a human interest to the JLA, whereas Grant Morrison just brought action and chaos. Through Waid, we get to know the characters (Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Plastic Man and Martian Manhunter) both inside and out. No more are the massive team-ups from Morrison's run. These stories are tight and stream-lined. They're more about friendship than saving the world.

Half of this book follows the aftermath of Tower of Babel
(wherein Batman 'betrays' the rest of the League) and the other half deals with one component of that 'betrayal'; the necessity of harboring a 'secret identity'.
After expelling Batman via a 4-3 vote, the JLA finds itself split like Repubs and Democrats; mistrust and petty sniping abound. Finally Supes and Bats have a heart-to-heart that is one of the best stories featuring these two together that has ever been done. If Frank Miller's "Return of the Dark Knight" was about the abject difference between these two, JLA #50 points out the similarities. From there we go to another storyline, where the membership is split up again, although in a totally different way. I won't give away details, suffice it to say it's an Alan Moore-esque study into the inner stress having a "secret identity" can create. It's gets a little complicated and overwrought, but hell, the entire JLA series from ish #1 to The Obsidian Age has been complicated and overwrought, so what the hey. A necessary companion piece to Tower of Babel.

I liked the story line of this book. We all wonder what if you met your alter ego? It catches the flavor of what happens when there is a break up or split. It is worth the price

This book is technically competent, but goes right past the two most important factors; if you are developing XML, then you will probably be using Java, and that if you are developing applications (even with XML) on SQL server, then you are probably using COM+. Sorry.

This book is an excellent addition to the documentation provided with SQLXML, especially if you are just starting to use SQLXML. The book helps you decide if SQLXML is right for your situation. If it is, the book will continue to walk you through some real examples, covering some of the pros and cons of different methods. Being a developer, I highly recommend this book if you are using or considering to use SQLXML in a Microsoft environment.

This is what a technical publication should be. The book covers all aspects of SQLXML, from programming to administrative issues (including security concerns -- everyone needs to do more of that). It even discusses some of the other technologies out there, such as Oracle's integration with XML and the native xml datatype. If you are using or thinking of using SQLXML, I'd consider this book to be required reading.

I started this book, read the first two chapters. Then I had to start all over again a few days later because I forgot what was going on--it obviously wasn't all that important. I never finished this book and never will. I read the good reviews, but I guess I overlooked how few reviews there were for this book. The artwork was interesting (Darrell K. Sweet did it) and the idea was interesting, and I couldn't help but wonder why this didn't have BESTSELLER! screaming across the top of the book. Now I know why. The book is very obscure in the beginning. A man has been exiled, or something. A tattoo is mentioned. What's a Pelbar? Several characters are tossed at you in several dozen pages without really being developed. This is one of those books that could have been interesting but the author left an important ingredient out. If you do insist on reading it, go to a second-hand store so you don't end up paying full price for a book you might not like. It's fairly easy to find. Then, if you do like it, then you can buy it in a better paperback or maybe hardback if they have it. This book did not make a good first impression.

excellent, unique storyline, believable characters. I wish they would make movies of the whole series. I read the seies in the mid eighties when it first came out and just rediscovered it. Just as good the 2nd time around.

Too bad the reader from AZ couldn't read just a little bit further. Maybe he'll try again. I'm glad I did. I bought The Breaking of Northwall when it was first published but read a little and put it away--I just couldn't get into it. About ten years later I came across it again and gave it another shot. Now I've read the entire series at least five times and given the complete set as a gift several times as well. It's a superb series. I can recommend the entire series without reservation.

This is a good play, but it does not match Shakespeare's other history plays. In my opinion too much of the play revolves around a doting mother who wants to see her underage son on the throne even though he is very incapable of ruling. Furthermore, any intelligent observer can see that the King of France only wants Arthur on the crown because a child would be a lot easier to manipulate than the shrewd King John. Remember, John WAS NOT a usurper. Richard the Lionhearted named John as the heir to the crown! On the positive side, Richard I's illegitimate son is a powerful and convincing character. John is an interesting 3 dimensional character. At times he comes off as harsh and cruel. But he also shows himself at times to be to be a strong and competent king. And at times we can feel sorry for him. Shakespeare also manages to squeeze some comical touches in. I feel that to appreciate this play as much as possible, you must realize that Richard I named John the heir to the crown. I also feel you must understand that John did prove himself to be a competent king. (Unlike his unfairly blackened reputation in "Robin Hood.")

the Oxford Shakespeare has been touted as 'a new conception' of Shakespeare, but is in fact merely an update of the cumbersome old Arden editions. Like these, 'King John' begins with a 100-page introduction, divided into 'Dates and Sources' (full of what even the editor admits is 'tedious' nit-picking of documentary evidence); 'The Text' (the usual patronising conjecture about misprints in the Folio edition and illiterate copyists); 'A Critical Introduction', giving a conventional, but illuminating guide to the drama, its status as a political play dealing with the thorny problem of royal succession, the contemporary legal ambiguities surrounding inheritance, the patterning of characters, the use of language (by characters as political manoeuvring, by Shakespeare to subvert them); and an account of 'King John' 'In the Theatre', its former popularity in the 18th and 19th century as a spectacular pageant, the play distorted for patriotic purposes, and its subsequent decline, presumably for the same reasons. The text itself is full of stumbling, often unhelpful endnotes - what students surely want are explanations of difficult words and figures, not a history of scholarly pedantry. The edition concludes with textual appendices.
The play itself, as with most of Shakespeare's histories, is verbose, static and often dull. Too many scenes feature characters standing in a rigid tableau debating, with infinite hair-cavilling, issues such as the legitimacy to rule, the conjunction between the monarch's person and the country he rules; the finer points of loyalty. Most of the action takes place off stage, and the two reasons we remember King John (Robin Hood and the Magna Carta) don't feature at all. This doesn't usually matter in Shakespeare, the movement and interest arising from the development of the figurative language; but too often in 'King John', this is more bound up with sterile ideas of politics and history, than actual human truths. Characterisation and motivation are minimal; the conflations of history results in a choppy narrative. There are some startling moments, such as the description of a potential blood wedding, or the account of England's populace 'strangely fantasied/Possessed with rumours, full of idle dreams/Not knowing what they fear, but full of fear'. The decline of the king himself, from self-confident warrior to hallucinating madman, anticipates 'King Lear', while the scene where John's henchman sets out to brand the eyes of the pubescent Pretender, is is full of awful tension.
P.S. Maybe I'm missing something, but could someone tell me why this page on 'King John' has three reviews of 'Timon of Athens'? Is somebody having a laugh?

Many people feel that this play of Shakespeare's is either unfinished or a poor effort. But I do not think this is accurate or fair. The reality is that many people can never find a middle ground. It is actually (in my opinion) quite common for people to only be able to see things from one extreme or the other. Despite Apemantus' cynical nature, there is no denying that whatever his faults are, HE DOES HAVE RIGHT ON HIS SIDE when he tells Timon: "The middle of humanity thou never knewest,/ but the extremity of both ends...." (4.3.342-343). Critics also tend to think Apemantus is unlikable, but are we missing a crucial point? I can not help but think Shakespeare is commenting on the fact that more people DON'T have a concept of reality. Apemantus refuses to join in the delight when Timon thinks highly of his false friends. Apemantus is aware of reality and no one wants to hear it. In my opinion Timon and Apemantus are VERY TRUE to life. In addition, the roll of Flavius is very touching. He can not dessert his master even when he knows (or thinks) Timon has nothing. Finally, I can not over estimate the mastery of Shakespeare when first Timon has money, he can not do enough for his so called friends and when he has nothing they dessert him. When Timon through fate gains a second fortune, he does not turn back into what he was, but rather he uses his 2nd fortune to destroy Athens. It is interesting that Shakespeare derived this play on the legend of 'Timon the Manhater,' and decides to take it a step further and show how he got there. And how much more realistic could Shakespeare have made this than by first showing Timon as a 'manlover?' Many people feel Timon should have somehow found the middle of humanity, but if he had, that would have defeated the whole purpose of this excellent play.

As Alex Ross' model for Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, I put that costume on many, many times over the course of several months. (It was an emotional day when we did our last scenes!) Upon seeing the final product, I was thrilled to have been a part of such a beautifully painted and well-told story (kudos, Paul Dini!). What struck me most deeply was how Diana Prince was portrayed - as being so very warm, compassionate and loving. I know I'm not exactly an unbiased reviewer, but if you enjoy comic books or graphic novels at all, or if you ever looked up to Wonder Woman as a little girl (or were a teenage boy with a crush - and I've met many of you!), get this book while you can! You may be surprised at how it will move you. And to think, this book was conceived well before September 11. Woah.

Artist Alex Ross & Writer Paul Dini continuue their annual series of oversized Graphic Novels with The Spirit of Hope, and this one is just as good, if not better, than the previous three.

Wonder Woman is, without question, one of the iconic "Big Three" DC characters, alongside Batman and Superman. She also comes in a distant third in terms of high-quality stories. Very few creators have been able to really get a handle on the Amazon Princess. An immensely powerful (and beautiful) Amazon sent to the outside world as an Ambassador of peace, she has often been portrayed (wrongfully) as a butt-kickin' brute.

Well I'm happy to say that Dini & Ross have gotten it right! Spirit of Hope stands right alongside Chris Moeller's amazing Wonder Woman Graphic Novel JLA: A League of One as my all-time favorite Wonder Woman books.

Spirit of Hope doesn't really have a story, per se; more an overlying theme: Wonder Woman questions the way she has been going about her mission of peace. After consulting Clark (Superman) Kent in a wonderfully understated scene (They have coffee together...), she decides to try to accomplish her goals in a more low-key manner: Not as Wonder Woman, but as Diana.

Ross manages to successfully alternate between the bombastic Wonder Woman scenes, filled with double-page spreads, to the quiet scenes of Diana helping in a more Human manner. The pages of Wonder Woman saving a young girl from a tank are amazing! You really feel Wonder Woman's pain and confusion as she is greeted, less than enthusiastically, by the Arab people she is trying to save. Dini and Ross really capture her true essence: A loving, kind woman, who also happens to be able to toss around Tanks! It's also nice to be able to finish a comic and have a warm feeling inside....Good job, guys!

This is the fourth oversized ("tabloid") graphic novel by Paul Dini (writer of the various modern Batman cartoons) and painter Alex Ross (Marvels, Kingdom Come).

None of Dini and Ross's stories are about gaudy supervillains. Instead they deal with heroes trying to make the world a better place. It deals with issues of repression (including a Taliban-like appearance, coincidence as this book was written before 9/11).
Usually in comics, people either love their heroes (Superman) or fear and hate them (X-Men). Here, the emotions are much more complex and human. Told through Wonder Woman's eyes, she teaches compassion, but also learns lessons of humanity.

Fans of the TV series might remember Wonder Woman's alter ego as Diana Prince. In 1986, the WW story was restarted from stratch. Now, she did not assume a secret identity. But this tale shows the value and need of such an identity. The lesson comes from an old friend, who also has experience hiding behind glasses.

Simple, elegant writing and absolutely gorgeous large art. This is a great Wonder Woman story!

It's a good solid read that went REALLY fast -- too fast perhaps. The book is rather fluffy, when you get down to it. I could have learned as much from 5 pages of charts and tables and statistics and about 40 pages of essays on the data.

Instead, this is written for the mass market, and mass-market are too easy. I like a more difficult read that makes me think. As far as financial books go, the trends are important, but not mind blowing either.

Still, I rate it three stars. Even that's a little generous, i feel.

The first four reviews, by the way, were submitted by the author's friends and family, very obviously.

I suggest a little consumer backlash here -- demand a real review, or rate the article "NOT USEFUL." :)

As an accountant and business teacher, I have long wondered about governement's indebted funds--Social Security Debt (at least 15 trillion in debt which is basically equivalent to the total value of American public stocks), Medicare Debt and other debts. This futurist book is one of the few that has been able to understand this. This futurist book is one of the few that even discusses this.

What most people don't know is that the budget uses crooked accounting and count the social security and medicare and medicaid cash-in flows as revenue in the budget, but they don't expense the debt. The result of this is having a budget surplus, despite going futher into debt. Right now, we are at least 25 trillion in debt and it will likely get worse. However, when baby-boomers retire, the cash-in flows in these funds will be huge out-flows.

So, even if the 5.7 trillion "budget" debt is taken care of by 2013 like Clinton says it will be, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid funds will go bankrupt at around that time too if we want to continue to use government for what it was more traditional used for like roads, schools, and police. There is simply not enough money to go around. Either we pay for social security and Medicare and Medicaid or we pay for roads, defense and welfare or we pay for the empty funds. If uncorrected, it will be the end of a free-market society and America will cause a global economic meltdown. I don't know, you decide what life will be like when the AARP, the most powerful interest group finds out that the social security and medicare and medicaid funds are bankrupt and cannot even come close to supporting themselves.

This is the conclusion I have reached and if you disagree and have the data to back it up, I would love to hear from you at tingoglia@hotmail.com because I get too depressed even thinking about it. Or, heck, if you agree, you can e-mail me too. I HIGHLY RECCOMMEND THAT YOU READ THIS BOOK. Vote Republican or Libertarian.

As a member of the financial industry, I'm always looking for hints as to which sectors of the market will do well in the future. This book is exactly what I was looking for. Using demographic trends, the authors have come up with some scenarios which will definitely change my outlook on the future.