The main theme of the End of Politics is that the US despite a history of citizen participation has become a de-politicized culture, especially so over the last two decades, partly as a result of an ever-increasing penetration and transformation of American society by enormous corporations, most noticeably media giants. In lieu of genuine politics the American public is treated to the corporate media's orchestrated political charade that sidesteps serious social issues. The media, as the public relations tool for corporate America, devalues politics and panders to an historical anti-statism by its incessant focus on scandal, corruption, and bureaucratic ineffectualness. While big government is critiqued, the impact of big, trans-national corporations on society never makes it to the table for discussion.

I contend that the author overstates the ideological commitment to democracy in the past among the general citizenry. He acknowledges that the liberal-capitalistic order has always operated on the principles of free markets and individualism and minimal governmental interference in the economy. The challenge of the Knights of Labor, the Populists, and the Socialists was the last time that the working class in America acted politically against the economic order. The fact that urban-based political machines in the mid-twentieth century were able to orchestrate get-out-the vote efforts among urban ethnics and union members over bread and butter issues is not evidence of great political insight. Many of those voters and their children are now suburbanites and quite content with their privatized lifestyles of television viewing and mega-mall shopping, a situation that the corporate order is only too happy to exploit.

The author devotes considerable space to examining various localized organizations or orientations such as environmentalism, new-ageism, therapeutic fads, rural militias, and postmodern intellectualism for their relevance to political activism. He concludes that the withdrawal from the general public sphere, an enclave mentality, or the reliance on the transforming power of new consciousness give hegemonic elites even more space in which to operate.

Though I rate the book at five stars, it is at times tedious and repetitious but it does add to the debate concerning the viability of politics in the US. The author, while focusing on the depoliticization of the culture, finds some hope in the inherent contradictions of capitalist-liberalism. The political charade that is foisted on the American public does contain the pretense of participation that could grow in ways that would be distressing to hegemonic elites.

The End Of Politics: Corporate Power And The Decline Of The Public Sphere takes an in-depth examination social and cultural trends over the past twenty years which have resulted in a narrowing public discourse and a diminished ability of ordinary citizens to participate in the democratic process. The End Of Politics persuasively demonstrates how social and economic policies initiated during the Reagan presidency and expanded by subsequent administrations have closed political spaces previously opened by civil rights, feminist, and 1960s "New Left" movements. Author Carl Boggs traces the various ways both the right and the more recent left have helped bring us to the point where fewer Americans today bother to vote than at any time in our political history, that money influences elections more than ever before, and large segments of the population no longer believe that government is capable of improving their lives. The End Of Politics takes particular aim at economic globalization and the way large corporations have been allowed to influence all areas of public life, intensifying people's sense of disempowerment and accelerating the "triumph of antipolitics". The End Of Politics is highly recommended, essential reading for all political science students, political professionals, and anyone with an interest in defending and preserving the American political system of citizen participation in the governance of the country.

It is out of print? I better keep my copy safe!

This is a great book, explaining why the TCP/IP standards killed off the OSI/ISO standards, why so many people don't get the internet, and what it takes to be a technical leader. It is written by somebody who knows networking inside and out, but who also understands politics. He is a very good writer, and has a deep understanding of his topic. You should read the book if you want to understand where the internet came from, and you should also read it if you want to help make the next technological revolution happen, and would like some hints on how to do it.

In spite of the other books that Malamud has written, this is not a technology book, but it is a book about technology. Historians and politicians can and should read it. But it will be enjoyed most by engineers, because it will tell them how to change the world.

Being somewhat of a historian, I gave this book high ranks simply because it goes where few books have gone before. Very little non-technical information about the Internet was available until it became THE Internet.

The author starts with what sounds like a relatively simple goal, publishing various communications standards on the Internet. His philosphy, sensible by today's standards: ¨Standards are laws and laws must be known to be observed."

This was 1991, the days when FTP was still king, before the WWW changed the way we thought about Internet, information access, and just about everything else. Even "old-timers" have trouble remembering the internet before the Web, so it is equally hard to remember the mindsets of the standards organizations of those days. When the ITU cancels online publication after 90 days, they (in typical bureaucratic fashion), also demand a report from him. This book is his report.

Hardcore network types will see how the Internet, as we know it, could have just as easily ended up X.25 and/or OSI based.

There are also precious stories, like why is ElevatorNET* better than X.400 **? Or, where were people using floppy-net to actually deliver email?

* Posting in the elevators of the ITU building. ** An email standard created by the ITU.

Wonderfully presented book examining the history and production facility set up by Carl Faberge. The research is spot on, as are the sumptuous colour photographs of many of the pieces produced, and I have seen few works on the subject as comprehensive as this one. As with the designers and craftsmen at the Faberge workshops this book is an inspiration, and I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject. A visual and intellectual feast for the mind and soul.

This book is an exhibition catalouge for what must be one of the most amazing exhibitons held on Faberge in the World, in Vienna in 1987. At the back of the book there are hundreds of illustrated items by the firm. Most of the pictures are in colour, and the book is gorgeous, and covers everything from Imperial Easter eggs to jewllery and hardstone figures.

In additon to it's stunning photos the book also has as great deal of information about the firm and it's manufacturing techniqes that many other books on Faberge don't cover.

If you can find a copy of this book - Get it! I've only got a library book but if I ever get the chance to own a copy of this I will. Shame it's out of print.

A leisurely canoe trip across the North American continent. Hey honey let's take the kids. It'll be fun! X-treme eco challenge for the whole family. No one can be voted out of the boat. What are you goig to do.....leave one of the kids beside the river 1000 miles from home? They are all survivors! Did I mention they almost beat the French canoe racing team that was attempting to set a new record. Awesome! I guess they were in a hurry to get back before school started in the fall. What did you do on your summer vacation? I've canoed Texas, Washington, and Minnesota but nothing like this. I borrowed this book; Now I want my own copy. Do you want to feel alive, get closer to your wife and family, or maybe just bond a little with Mother Nature. Let the Shepardsons show you how as they take you along on The Family Canoe Trip. If you like Camping, Canoeing or Adventure I recomend you read this book.

The Shepardsons (including their children, Tina, 8, and Randy, 5) had the determination and skills not only to undertake paddling from New Hampshire to Alaska, but to succeed at it! As fellow paddlers, my husband and I enjoyed reading their story on a much shorter canoe camping trip with our son, Matt (3 1/2), in the Adirondacks. Their trip, however, covered a huge variety of terrains from relative civilization to northern mountains and tundra. This book almost makes you want to be there despite the inevitable hardships and mishaps. It is spellbinding.

Chopin's music is usually published by category--i.e. Mazurkas, Polonaises, Walzes, Etudes, etc. There are a number of works that don't fit into any of these categories such as the glorious and technically horrific Berceuse and the surprisingly easy to read but showy Tarentelle--not only gorgeous but a good exercise for technical proficiency.

This book is worth having just for the Berceuse and Tarantella, and also for the Barcarolle, another brilliant and showy work that is all too rarely played. This is a great addition to any piano music library, especially if you adore Chopin. Easy to read edition, clear print.

A Fine collection of scores that does they great man justice. For beginners and proffessionals alike, clearly printed etc... and well worth the price, considering te usually high price of sheet music.

Most of us are quite aware that a positive attitude helps us feel better but fewer people are aware of why. A positive attitude stimulates certain hormones and enzymes that strengthen our immune system and can give us an overall feeling of improved well being. In this book the reader will learn how stress, tension, anger, loneliness, depression and negative feelings in general can lead to a variety of physical ailments. It also shows how positive influences in our life can improve our health and contribute to a longer life. Music, biofeedback, prayer, meditation, happy fulfilling relationships, pets and basic responses, such as laughing or the feeling of a warm touch not only increase our emotional state of well being, but they can actually improve our physical state as well. Stress is a personal affair. Each one of us must discover what activities cause us stress and which ones help to relieve our stress and soothe away inner tensions.

As a counsellor, it has become apparent to me that many individuals often recognize when they are under stress, but most people are not able to determine for themselves the "degree" of stress that plaques them. A prime example of this is high blood pressure. One individual may have apparent symptoms while another may have no significant symptoms at all until a stroke or heart attack strikes. "Feeling Good Is Good For You" is an excellent book which helps the reader understand the connection between mind and body, and how, to a certain extent, we can control the state of our well being. There has obviously been an extensive amount of research undertaken in writing this book, and it is one well worth reading.

Those who enjoyed and learned from Dr. Dean Ornish's fine book, Love and Survival, will be glad they read Feeling Good Is Good for You. Drs. Charnetski and Brennan report on fascinating scientific research in human studies concerning the positive influence that various pleasurable experiences and influences can have on the body's immune system. "The human drive for pleasure, if satisfied in moderation, can assist us on the pathway to good health." The authors make it clear that pleasurable experiences and environments are not the only ways that the immune system can be supported.

The book provides a basic overview of how your immune system operates, and how various diseases are encouraged or repelled by strengthening or weakening immune responses.

The starting point for all kinds of mind-body research (psychoneuroimmunology or PNI, in this case) is the well-known placebo effect. Many people get better if they think they are receiving medications, even when they are not. The placebo effect works best when the evidence of receiving medication is strongest (such as through an IV in a hospital). This effect is a real one because the brain can calm stress-based hormonal and chemical turbulence, trigger feel-good chemicals, and cause chemicals to be released that stimulate the effectiveness of the immune system.

The book goes on to take a detailed look at how optimism versus pessimism, hostility, stress, music, friends, love, touching, pets, laughing, light, visualization, religious practices, eating and drinking habits, and the degrees of these factors influence specific parts of the immune system. At the end of each subject, you are given suggestions for ways to apply the lessons to your own life. In several sections (such as the one about stress on pages 76 and 77) you will find tests you can take to measure how this factor affects your life now.

The key lessons of these practices are summarized on page 181 as a 13 point pleasure formula.

One impressive part of the book was that the authors look at the implications of following these practices if these scientific studies are later overturned by newer research. Their argument that following this advice will do no harm seems persuasive.

Although I was aware of much of this kind of research from reading other books, I found many studies here that I had not read about before. Of particularly interest was the new research that the immune system can be conditioned to become stronger.

The big surprise for me was to see that one quiz showed my stress level to be apparently much greater than I would have subjectively described it as being. I wonder if you can build up an immunity to feeling stressed, even as potentially stress-inducing situations occur. Also, I wonder if different factors affect individuals differently. I find considerable pleasure in some of the "stressful" events on the list.

After you finish enjoying applying this book's "pleasure in moderation" lessons for a few days, I suggest that you think back to other things you have done in the past that have brought you stress reduction, contentment, moderate pleasure, or peace. How can you also incorporate those activities and elements into your life now?

Give a boost to the moderate enjoyment instincts of those you meet!

This dealer wrote the definitive book on banner art and artists. If you plan on collecting banners, you must read this book.

This terrific book celebrates the (now) lost world of Circus Sideshow banner art. This book includes illustrations for such classic Circus Sideshow acts as the Alligator-Skin Girl, the Amazing Eeka, the Sword Swallower, the Rubber-Skin Man, and, of course, everybody's favorite cover girl, Sweet Marie, the world-renowned Fat Lady. This book also includes biographical information about the artists who created these amazing works of folk art such as Snap Wyatt, Johnny Meah, Fred Johnson, and Jack Cripe. This book is a surprisingly serious treatment of this little-known corner of the folk art world. (The authors convincingly link various visual elements in the sideshow banners to 17th Century Flemish portrait painting and Japanese wood-block prints!) This is a really fun book that every folk art fan will really love. The book contains 70 color illustrations and a total of 35 pages of essays. Incidentally, although I bought this book because of my interest in folk art, this book will also certainly appeal to circus enthusiasts and collectors of circus memorabilia.

I'm writing to you to tell you that the book is not out of print! At least my local bookseller quoted me £23 for it only yesterday!

I rate the book very highly, and the reason I want a copy is so that I can present it to my daughter on her graduation as a teacher. If you confirm to me that it is out of print I shall go back to my bookseller (who may, of course, be wrong!).

Best regards,Paul

Humanistic education alive and well!! Did John Dewey start this lineage, or does it go back farther still? This book is both an introduction and an advanced course in the heart and soul of relating to students as individuals, not classes. Following Carl Roger's death, H. Jerome Freiberg co-wrote this Third Edition at the invitation of Roger's daughter. Freiberg keeps the best of the old and supplements it with up-to-date research. His touch is so deft and his philosophy so congruent with Roger's that I had trouble telling one author's voice from the other's as they alternated first-person chapters. One chapter is a summary of Aspy and Roebuck's Kid's Don't Learn from People They Don't Like, a hard-to-find out-of-print book that provides some surprising (to me) statistical support for humanistic education. Freiberg also cites Arthur Combs, author of A Personal Approach to Teaching: Beliefs That Make a Difference, another out-of-print book that with Zen-like simplicity cuts through all the debate about teaching technique to reveal that it's how teacher's FEEL about students, not so much what they do, that creates healthy learning places for people to grow. I highly recommend FREEDOM TO LEARN, and it also contains a wealth of resources for teachers wishing to follow this "path with a heart."

Such a compelling and thrilling book. Keeps you on the edge and holds your attention. Unable to stop reading. Just as previous reviewer, new author on the horizon - Best seller! This book hits every sense imaginable. It has adventure, love, revenge, heartache, betrayal, patriotism and much much more! Remarkable! This is a must have for every home.

After reading this book, I truly believe that the US has a terrific new author on the horizon. I absolutely could not put the book down. I started one evening at 8pm and read almost straight through. Without spilling the story, the action that a young man and his band of friends were subjected to first voluntarily and then involuntarily is incredible. There is passion, excitement and multiple tricks in the plot that keep you wondering: Did this really happen? After finding out some about the author, there is such description to some of the characters that I wonder where is the fiction and what was real life. But apparently the author is not the one to ask. I would highly recommend this book. It is worth the effort to order it.

I think this "We Both Read" series is great. Whatever mood my boy is in when bedtime rolls around - whether he's working with me or against me - this concept works. I read the (difficult) left page in each two page spread, and the child reads the (easy) right. Teamwork. And even though these make no mention of Power Rangers or Batman Beyond, these are my boy's favorites. Along with some math books from Singapore(sgbox.com), and a learn-to-read series called "Now I'm Reading" by Nora Gaydos, these books are a great experience for your child. After your child has finished reading and they climb in bed, give your child something to strive for... turn on your booklight, turn off the room lights, and read your child a chapter or two from a more advanced book. Treasure Island, Harry Potter, anything by Roald Dahl... That's what works for my boys and I.

This series of readers really works. I've been running through them at bedtime with my six-year-old, who adores taking it in turns with me to read her page after I've read mine. It turns reading into a collaborative game, with plenty of play-acting (doing the different voices of the characters) thrown in. At my daughter's stage of reading, a short book can be a long haul, when she has to do it all by herself. The "We Both Read" books break up the text into manageable segments, and give her time-out while I do my share of the work. I'd like to see more and more titles quickly added to the series. I am baffled as to why Amazon should inflict a $1.35 surcharge on the publisher's recommended price--it seems to run entirely counter to the Amazon way of doing things. But the books themselves are splendid.