Most of the great Utopian socialists were French, i.e. St. Simon, Fourier etc. One exception was Robert Owen who was born in England in 1771. He developed a reformist philosophy which sought to persuade all people to rearrange society so that the means of production were owned in common by all members of the society. He tried to establish these ideas in practice by experimentation in his home town of New Lanarck, England and in the United States.

In 1825 he purchased 30.000 acres in Indiana near the present town of New Harmony, Indiana. He established a self-contained community on that location which lasted just three years. He then returned to England and tried other experiments their and did extensive writing on his ideas.

This book contains a short survey of Robert Owen's life and a sample of his ideas taken for his writings. It is a worthy addition to any history library.

One cannot review a collection by Robert Leslie Bellem; one has to review the whole of his work.
Bellem is many things: inventive, energetic, fun, exhausting. Some might say bad. But like Hong Kong Cinema and whatever kind of rock music you listened to to rebel against your elders, Bellem's Dan Turner saucy, hard-boiled pulp stories transcend such petty, bourgeois categorizations at good or bad. They are entertainment at its purest, most raw and visceral.

Perhaps he was a hack. After all, he cranked out a million words a year by some accounts. He possessed none of the depth of Chandler, Hammett, Ross Mac, not even of Spillane or Gardiner. Then again he is more compulsively readable than Stockbridge or Daly or any of the others except Chandler. His voice was unique, creating a genre parody only a few years after the genre itself had been created. 40's slang has been called the most vibrant language since The Bard's time. And Bellem used his share of it. Although there is none of Chandler's artistry and care with language and simile (Bellem uses the language like a blunt, inexact science, formulated like an equation to get a rise from readers) it is a wonder to behold, all the same. Some say he was spoofing; others merely that he was lousy. But I tend to think he knew what he was doing. It takes talent to write as he did, and so what if he doesn't delve into the human psyche?

What exactly are his stories like? Well, Dan Turner investigates crimes involving drugs, murder, blackmail and adultery among the elite Babylonians of Hollywood. Only he's not a detective or a PI, he's a skulk or an orb for hire. And he doesn't do leg work because he doesn't have legs; he has sticks or pins. And he torches gaspers, sticking them in his pan or his mush. Women are wrens or pigeons, seldom wear a whole lot and every dame in Turner's universe has all the equipment wink-wink, nudge, nudge. He doesn't call people on the phone, he rings and yodels. Roscoes belch ka-chow and people are bumped by lead pills in acts of killery. He finds one or two per story dead as six buckets of fish bait. Turner would not say, "The heck you say!" He would say, "The heck you utter!" Bellem is not above bludgeoning readers with alliteraton. And, come on, the guy actually uses pig latin! How can you not like stuff like this?

Critics might say that once you've read one Dan Turner plot, you've read them all, or that once you've read six stories, you've read every turn of phrase in Bellem's arsenal. There is an element of truth to that, in the same way there is an element of truth to say Speed was similar to Die Hard. But I watch them each and every time they're on TV and don't grow weary. And I will continue to seek out Bellem fiction.

Bellem wrote primarily for the "spicy" pulps, much frowned-on in the 30's and eventually done away with. At his most prurient Bellem feels fairly scummy. On average he is less so that Spillane. Only one in this collection feels like it was meant solely for the lonely, sweaty under-the-counter market. Although Dan Turner demonstrates his way with the ladies and shows he knows how sometime-heroes make use of ellipses...

Okay, I'm back. And no, I didn't. But I trust you get the idea. Anyway, a faint sense of yuckiness keeps me from bestowing this book a fifth star.

But I heartily recommend it, if you can find it, and any other Bellem stories you can dish out your hard-earned geetus for, get your mitts on and glim.

This book has complete information about results-oriented sales training that would increase sales. It shows how to conduct a sales training needs and how to select and train sales people.

This realtively short book is a good place to review accounting principles and terminology with excellent examples provided covering Balance sheets, income statements, cash flow reports, etc. This was used as a supplementary text in a course I just completed that was sponsered by a Society of Financial Analysts and used in conjunction with the other material provided by the instructor this book was quite helpful. I will continue to use it as reference. However if you are looking for detailed training in accounting this is NOT the book to choose.

While not a good source for those who have never taken an accounting course, this text is great for those who have taken an introductory course but need a concise refresher. As appropriately stated in the title, it is a review of the essentials of accounting.

I am a software engineer who needed to learn the basics of accounting in a hurry. If you know nothing about accounting, this book is for you. It is a small, thin (150pp) book that gives you 'just the facts' with simple real world examples (i.e. why is 7up an asset but Coca Cola is not?)

First things first: this is not a Dan Turner book. It is a Duke Pizzatello book. That said, Bellem still does embellish every page with his trademark supersonic slang. And the persona of Duke may be even more hard-boiled than Dan, if a little less intelligent.

However, this book is quite unpleasant, dealing with rampant adultery, VERY graphic murders, and 'operations.' (Duke gets into so much trouble basically to cover up a past indiscretion.) Yes, he is certainly a typical detective antihero, only without even Dan's limited conscience, nor Sam Spade's self-awareness. So the almost-campy, overwritten tone makes the grimy topics explored seem even sleazier here, without either the irony a deeper writer would have injected (Chandler, anyone?) or any particular courage or authenticity to its convictions (a la Hammett). This is merely under-the-counter men's sensationalism. He is perhaps closest in feel to Mike Hammer, minus the kill-crazed vendettas. Duke winds up with about 4 women per night, sometimes the same one twice. (He makes Wilt Chamberlain seem like a prude!) Just once, just for kicks, I'd like to read Bellem describe a woman's nose. Or elbows. Anything but her "creamy white thighs," etc.

Bellem's limitations as a writer are more easily overlooked in short story form, or when the events portrayed toe a line closer to comedic. In short novel form, with subject matter this dark, it's hard to get excited about his fun turns of phrase. You may only smile faintly, as opposed to howling or pumping a fist. (You mean I'm the only one who does that?)

The mystery is appropriately twisty, which is not to say it is unpredictable; intuition may take you a long way toward solving the case. (I'm one of the world's worst mystery-guessers and I figured the culprit by Chapter 3.) Also, there is very little exposition, and little to no character development. Duke just hustles about town to set up the next roscoe fight or harlot or to give Bellem an opportunity to try matching Chandler's gift for simile.

When Bellem is good he's very good, to paraphrase Mae West, but when he's bad he's not necessarily better.

P.S. I wholeheartedly recommend High Adventure #60, if you can find it, and if you can't find it, keep looking, because it's tremendous, and you won't feel like you need a bath after reading it.

More willing dames, more violence, more doublecrosses, more plot twists, more death, more coincidences and a quicker pace than just about anything else out there.
Here's a brief outline:
Intro
Slang (throughout)
Sex
Fight
Sex
Doublecross
Plot twist
Violence
Plot twist
Sex
Murder
Murder
Doublecross
Coincidence
Violence
Plot twist
Sex
Violence
Plot twist
Coincidence
Death
Doublecross
Doublecross
Plot twist
Violence
Plot twist
Coincidence
Death
Solution
Sex

Get the picture? Fun trash.

I am a lecturer, and I am using this book as a text for my comparative languages course (CS316). I found this book rich of information and very suitable for our course. But if I want to comment on the contencts, I guess some of the material needs to be reorganized. Some of sudents feel that there is a missing link between the subjects within the chapter.

I hope we can find the new edition soon. Where it must contain the concepts of the new languages such as Java.

All the best, Qasem Al-Radaideh; Yarmouk University; Jordan.

Good book to get the general knowledge of how computer languages are formed throughout the years.

This book is fairly difficult, even by law school standards. Having a good professor helped bring this book to life, but I shudder to think about having to work through this book alone or with a mediocre professor. Some of the essays are just too difficult, and some of the cases are unnecessarily long. This book could stand another revision, which, I believe, it is currently undergoing. Until then, I would use another textbook.

Well, to put it short, this is a boaring book. Mr. Ludlum skill, knwoledge and writing style are been buried with him and what last is a naif atteimpt to imitate his "way".
The plot is pretty like a soap (including the "idea" of the US President's father who live since 50 year in a light security chinese prison) and some passage (as when Jon Smith enter in the carrying company ran by the bad people, just picking the locks with medic disguised pick tools) are really light year far away from a serious confidence with the covert operations literary topics.
Not to mention what happens when dealing with weapons: it seems that the gun/rifle universe of Ms. Lynds stops to "old AK47", Beretta and a few others.
I don't think Mr.Ludlum would be happy with this book.

In addition to the novels Robert Ludlum wrote before his death and which are being published posthumously, he also created the idea for the Covert-One series. He wrote brief outlines (approximately eight pages) for the plots of the introductory books in the series and then critiqued the work of the authors assigned to write the stories. Thus, the early books were quite Ludlumesque in the intricacy of the plot and the intensity of the action. However, it is now sevral years since his death and this story could best be dubbed "Ludlum-Lite" since his actual involvement in this story appears minimal. The plot is complex but much more straightforward than his own novels; the action is not as heartstopping although just as deadly, and the geopolitical intrigue is much more straightforward. Gayle Lynds (this is her third Covert-One book) has the genre right, but not the Ludlum intensity and surprise factor.

The story involves a potential showdown between the United States and China regarding a ship that has a cargo bound for Baghdad that is suspected to include chemicals used in weapons of mass destruction. The suppposedly true manifest of the ship's cargo has beeb acquired by an American agent in Shanghai. Captain Jon Smith is sent to rendezvous with that agent and obtain the manifest so that the US Government will have the proof required that any attempt to board and search the ship before it enters the Straits of Hormuz is not an act of aggression. However their meeting results in an ambush and the death of Smith's contact before the manifest can be transferred. However, the agent did have time to inform Smith before Jon's escape from the assasins that President's Castilla biological father is still alive after fifty years of captivity in a Chinese prison.

The efforts to both obtain a copy of the manifest and ascertain the truth with regard to Castilla's father are complicated by the fact that a human rights treaty is in the final stages of negotiation and there are hard line factions in both governments that would like to destroy the increasing detente between them. Finally, there appear to be leaks at the highest levels of the US Government regarding all secret actions taken during the heightening crisis. As usual, Covert-One Director Fred Klein is the link to Smith's clandestine operations. And to the surprise of no reader of this series, CIA operative Randi Russell (the sister of Smith's dead wife first introduced in THE HADES FACTOR) plays a key role in Smith's survival and the ultimate success of his mission.

As the above summary should make clear, this is an action spy thriller in the Ludlum style - the heroic operator with powerful forces arrayed against him and with only minimal help. There is also the usual cynicism regarding the political motivations of most leaders and the necessity for political considerations often overwhelming simple choices between right and wrong. What is missing is the Ludlum touch that turns the routine thriller into a story that you can't put down and are often surprised by the outcome. My rating is intended to convey that this is an average novel of this genre. I enjoyed it, especially the fact that the series involves a continuing cast of characters who we are gradually coming to know. So, if you have read and enjoyed the earlier books in the series, you will probably find this worthwhile. And it is a very fast read. But you should read this series in order. One warning, the book suffers from inferior editing and proofreading.

Most importantly, unless you find Ludlum too time consuming and complex or the violence too graphic, all the books published under his name exclusively are far superior to this series. Their consistent quality helped create and define the genre, and even the recently published THE JANSON DIRECTIVE continues that tradition. Reading them will not only prove truly enjoyable but show you why he is the bestselling American author of all time. So read the BOURNE triology and all the others first, then read these if you have time and still want more.

This book was wonderful! Timely with its issues, keeps you locked to the page, rich with information and characters - you move through this book at a frenetic pace, devouring page after page until the end - an oh what an ending! From the cover, it looks like this was written by Gayle alone based on the series with Ludlum and to be honest, I think she's outdone the master! This one will keep you turning the pages until well in the morning. Bravo Gayle! On another fantastic read.