Amazon.com
John Perkins started and stopped writing Confessions of an Economic Hit Man four times over 20 years. He says he was threatened and bribed in an effort to kill the project, but after 9/11 he finally decided to go through with this expose of his former professional life. Perkins, a former chief economist at Boston strategic-consulting firm Chas. T. Main, says he was an "economic hit man" for 10 years, helping U.S. intelligence agencies and multinationals cajole and blackmail foreign leaders into serving U.S. foreign policy and awarding lucrative contracts to American business. "Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars," Perkins writes. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is an extraordinary and gripping tale of intrigue and dark machinations. Think John Le Carré, except it's a true story.
Perkins writes that his economic projections cooked the books Enron-style to convince foreign governments to accept billions of dollars of loans from the World Bank and other institutions to build dams, airports, electric grids, and other infrastructure he knew they couldn't afford. The loans were given on condition that construction and engineering contracts went to U.S. companies. Often, the money would simply be transferred from one bank account in Washington, D.C., to another one in New York or San Francisco. The deals were smoothed over with bribes for foreign officials, but it was the taxpayers in the foreign countries who had to pay back the loans. When their governments couldn't do so, as was often the case, the U.S. or its henchmen at the World Bank or International Monetary Fund would step in and essentially place the country in trusteeship, dictating everything from its spending budget to security agreements and even its United Nations votes. It was, Perkins writes, a clever way for the U.S. to expand its "empire" at the expense of Third World citizens. While at times he seems a little overly focused on conspiracies, perhaps that's not surprising considering the life he's led. --Alex Roslin
Book Description
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man reveals a game that, according to John Perkins, is "as old as Empire" but has taken on new and terrifying dimensions in an era of globalization. And Perkins should know. For many years he worked for an international consulting firm where his main job was to convince LDCs (less developed countries) around the world to accept multibillion-dollar loans for infrastructure projects and to see to it that most of this money ended up at Halliburton, Bechtel, Brown and Root, and other United States engineering and construction companies. This book, which many people warned Perkins not to write, is a blistering attack on a little-known phenomenon that has had dire consequences on both the victimized countries and the U.S.
Customer Reviews:
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man .......2007-10-23
This book will leave your hair standing on end. A riveting piece of work; must read material for anyone trying to understand what is happening to America.
Fact or fiction? Not sure... but.......2007-10-23
The narrative is fast paced and readable. However, in the end one is left wondering about the "facts" and what it means to us.
The book is about the author's account of his involvement in creating "large deals" and later his disillusionment with the idea of being an "Economic Hit Man."
In a sense, I think many consultants too have some self doubt about the "overall value" they help create or how their ideas actually lead towards larger goals. A few end up writing memoirs and books (like this one).
A decent read if you have some time to kill. Nothing more, nothing less.
Not Substantive.......2007-10-21
John Perkins wrote a book that contains no real insight. Most of the information in the book is available through other sources. There was also no satisfaction of him taking us from the start of a project to the end. He speaks vaguely of his various projects, never confiding in us about any details. However, he took ample time to talk about his feelings of guilt and second-guessing. For someone who second-guessed himself as much as he claimed to have, he seemed to make it through a good 20+ years of this work. Without the details, the stories do not have the ring of truth. And, the imposition of his self-doubt and guilt on virtually every page, just leaves the whole story flat and unmoving. And the biggest question is, if he really was a member of such a ruthless and powerful organization, how can it be that he is still alive after writing this book?
Love or Hate it..........2007-10-17
It seems that this book is either a love or hate it affair. I think that the book was a useful look into the ethics of American business and foreign politics, but I also think the book is a little sensational. I must however question the motives of all of those who rated the book, it looks like conservatives rated the book very low, while lefties, tended to go the other way. Like I said I think that the book was an interesting look into foreign affairs, I would read this book again.
READ IT.......2007-10-15
This book, regardless of it's validity, is an interesting read. There are plenty of summaries, I will spare you that, what makes this book interesting isn't in the book, but the questions it raises. What in this book is true? How much impact does the American consumer have on the world? etc... to bigger questions: What impact does anyone (wo)man have on the world? What relations should corporations and governments have? What is Power? and how is it derived? etc...
My advice to everyone I know is: read this book, with an open mind and a large grain of salt.
P.S. Two things, there are parts of this book that are unreadable (e.g. the dream about Jesus) and this book is not for academics, it is, at points, a memoir and for a large portion of the book is a chronicling of world events.
Book Description
In his pathbreaking Resource Wars, world security expert Michael T. Klare alerted us to the role of resources in conflicts in the post-Cold War world. Now, in Blood and Oil, he concentrates on a single precious commodity, petroleum, while issuing a warning to the United States-its most powerful, and most dependent, global consumer. Since September 11th and the commencement of the 'war on terror,' the world's attention has been focused on the relationship between U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and the oceans of crude oil that lie beneath the region's soil. Klare traces oil's impact on international affairs since World War II, revealing its influence on the Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, and Carter doctrines. He shows how America's own wells are drying up as our demand increases; by 2010, the United States will need to import 60 percent of its oil. And since most of this supply will have to come from chronically unstable, often violently anti-American zones-the Persian Gulf, the Caspian Sea, Latin America, and Africa-our dependency is bound to lead to recurrent military involvement. With clarity and urgency, Blood and Oil delineates the United States' predicament and cautions that it is time to change our energy policies, before we spend the next decades paying for oil with blood.
Customer Reviews:
Blood .......2007-05-06
Very well written and understood. Read in conjuction with my book, "The Truth Behind High Fuel Prices" consumers should get a good understanding of why we are in the mess we're in with high prices for oil and fuel. I give Blood and Oil 4 stars.
easy problems, but no easy answers.......2007-03-22
This book provides a good account of America's oil dependency and its relations to American military and political conditions. The chapters are:
2. The American Alliance with Saudi Arabia
3. Choosing Dependency
4. Trapped in the Gulf
5. No Safe Havens: oil and conflict beyond the Persian Gulf
6. Geopolitics Reborn: The U.S.--Russian--Chinese struggle in the Persian Gulf and Caspian Basin
7. A Strategy for Energy Autonomy and Integrity
Most of the book discusses attempts and strategies for increasing oil production and availability, a goal which the author deplores. Klare favors a "postpetroleum" economy based on fuel cells (which he admits are due at some unknown time in the future). (p. 197 ff.). He would like to pull the military out of the Middle East and dismantle the military infrastructure in the region. (p. 191). He believes nations like Iran would not take advantage of this because it would not be in their economic interest. (p. 191). In this, he views the Iranian fanatics as rational economic men like himself rather than religious fanatics, as their own statements indicate.
This book is worth reading, but like so many books on the oil industry, it suffers from an "idiot savant mentality", and by that I mean, a great deal of knowledge about the oil industry and very little understanding of human psychology, beliefs systems, emotions, fanaticism and the like. To get a complete picture of how all relevant factors, including oil, are affecting America, read While America Sleeps: How Islam, Immigration and Indoctrination Are Destroying America from Within. There are no easy answers.
Wake up, America... the price is more than just oil itself.......2007-03-19
NOT counting Iraq, did you know that we already pay a 4 percent military premium on imported oil?
Yep. Klare documents how imported oil now costs about $3.5 trillion a year, and how in places like the Persian Gulf and Central Asia, not counting Iraq invasion costs, we spend about $150 billion on oil-related military security issues. That's 4 percent.
Klare also talks about how this military premium is likely to grow with increasing dependence on exported oil.
And, whether a full-blown war in Iraq or something milder, that doesn't count the human life premium.
Nor does it count going toe-to-toe more and more with Russia or China, and the uncertainties that causes in foreign relations.
Do you REALLY want to pay this price, at an ever inflating rate?
I don't.
All Americans should read this.......2007-02-19
If you have felt for a while that there is something not quite right about this American life style, and our geo-political stance, but that feeling made you a little uneasy, afraid that you're just a timid, wishy-washy liberal ill-equipped to play in the big leagues of real geo-politik - read this book and bring that feeling into sharp focus. Klare lays out in a well researched and scholarly fashion the horror of what we are already trying to do with our military - attempting (an ultimately doomed effort) to secure an ever larger share of a soon to be decreasing supply of oil, in an environment where the rapid growth of Asian economies is spiking demand. Folks, we are a long way removed from the days when the outgunned Native Americans were the only obstacle to "all the resources we could ever need". Its not that wake up calls aren't all around us these days - more and more evidence on global warming, the full exposure of the Bush administration as shills for the theory that "what's good for big oil is good for America", etc. But Klare's book adds a very necessary sense of urgency.
*YAWN*.......2006-11-08
This book COULD have been really great...but Klare feels the need to repeat and reemphasize something you just read in the last 4 chapters AGAIN. YES, it had some good information...but the absolute monotony and repetion detracted from the book, and I actually wanted to learn more than three or four main ideas that could have been summarized in ten pages or less...one of the biggest wastes of time in my entire life.
Average customer rating:
- A Thorough Guide to Understanding the History of Heroin Trade
- an eye-opening read
- Well Done, Dr. McCoy!
- Wanted more on the Golden Crescent as well...
- A must read during the "war on terrorism"
|
The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade
Alfred W. McCoy
Manufacturer: Lawrence Hill Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 History
| Subjects
| Books
| Africa
| Americas
| Ancient
| Arctic & Antarctica
| Asia
| Audiobooks
| Australia & Oceania
| Europe
| Gay & Lesbian
| Historical Study
| Large Print
| Middle East
| Military
| Military Science
| Russia
| United States
| World
Drug Dependency
| Recovery
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Social Services & Welfare
| Poverty
| Current Events
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Public Policy
| Government
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Federal Government
| Government
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Criminology
| Crime & Criminals
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Relations
| International
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Intelligence
| Freedom & Security
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
| AIDS
| Abuse
| Adults
| Aging
| Children
| Class
| Communities
| Culture
| Death
| General
| History
| Leisure
| Marriage & Family
| Medicine
| Men
| Occupational
| Race Relations
| Religion
| Research & Measurement
| Rural
| Social Groups
| Social Situations
| Social Theory
| Suburban
| Urban
| Women
General
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Federal Government
| Levels of Government
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror (American Empire Project)
-
Drugs, Oil, and War: The United States in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Indochina
-
Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America, Updated edition
-
Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs and the Press
-
Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion
ASIN: 1556524838 |
Book Description
The first book to prove CIA and U.S. government complicity in global drug trafficking, The Politics of Heroin includes meticulous documentation of dishonesty and dirty dealings at the highest levels from the Cold War until today. Maintaining a global perspective, this groundbreaking study details the mechanics of drug trafficking in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South and Central America. New chapters detail U.S. involvement in the narcotics trade in Afghanistan and Pakistan before and after the fall of the Taliban, and how U.S. drug policy in Central America and Colombia has increased the global supply of illicit drugs.
Customer Reviews:
A Thorough Guide to Understanding the History of Heroin Trade.......2007-08-06
This is quite a detailed and academic reference that no college student should be without. I have been out of graduate school for over 10 years and it took me nearly 2 weeks to complete and comprehend the facts of the book. There are just so many places and names in the book that one can easily get lost and confused. Nevertheless, the author gives the reader and complete history of the heroin trade starting with 19th century opium production and use in China to present day heroin production, distribution, and consumption that is coming out of Afghanistan. I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to really understand why we are losing the War on Drugs. You want to know the truth about the drug trade? Then this is the book for you.
an eye-opening read.......2007-03-21
this book is an engrossing look at the war on drugs.it gives detailed documentation on how our government influenced other governments and the affect this had on drug distribution in America.
Well Done, Dr. McCoy!.......2006-08-13
Professor Alfed McCoy has here rendered a very important contribution to the overall understanding of United States policy in the post-World War II era. This thoroughly documented and well written text illustrates CIA complicity in the narcotics trade from the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia, to the mountains of Afghanistan, and finally to the highlands of the Andes. Other authors who write of CIA complicity in various nefarious deeds seem to cite this important work more than any other.
One might argue that the level of detail, particularly wtih regard to the various machinations of the KMT army and various sects within Burma, Thailand, and Laos is a little much for the general reader. However, in acknowledging this, we can only assert that this is an observation rather a criticism. McCoy's book is an excellent source. The writing, as previously mentioned, is excellent, and the conclusions terribly important. Read it. And be both well informed, and frankly disturbed in the process. Well done, Dr. McCoy!
Wanted more on the Golden Crescent as well..........2002-02-05
The author is no doubt the master of his domain in as far as the Southeast Asia (the Golden Triangle) is concerned, but only 20 or so pages talk about Golden Crescent, while more than 400 pages are about very minutely detailed drug trade (& politics/ economics) of the Golden Triangle. Considering that countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan earn more than $12b in drug trade every year (only about $1b worth foreign exchange in legal exports), the importance of drug money in financing these breeding grounds of terrorism can't be emphasised enough.
I have to admit that the writing style lacks pace, and I was often confused with the different names that keep cropping up as the author goes back and forth in history. This is a great book for anyone wanting to understand the Southeast Asia though.
A must read during the "war on terrorism".......2001-10-29
Ever since the publication of this updated edition
in 1991, this book has been an essential text
for those trying to understand the "war on
drugs," the exceedingly dangerous role of the CIA
in influencing the course of history, and
historical relations between drugs and empire.
But now the book takes on crucial new
significance. Anybody attempting to comprehend
how billions of U.S. dollars were spent in
creating the agents and forces that launched
the September 11 attacks should read McCoy's
final chapter. And this chapter suggests
what a treacherous path has now been chosedn for ou
nation and the world by the very same people
who created and nurtured the Frankenstein's monster
now lurking in Afghanistan and developing
new schemes for destroying its creator.
Book Description
From reviews of the first edition:
"The best, most balanced picture of the [NAFTA] issue yet to appear.... Author William A. Orme, Jr. has covered Latin America as a journalist for 15 years, for the
Economist and the
Journal of Commerce as well as for the
Washington Post.... He makes the case, firmly and clearly, that NAFTA isn't about a little cross-border turbulence at the very beginning; it's about the integration of yet another brawny adolescent economy into a growing world."
—Boston Globe
"[Orme] writes with wonderful clarity about the economic and political forces that produced the agreement."
—David S. Broder,Washington Post
"Orme understands that NAFTA is really about fundamentally changing Mexico's long-run economic future.... But as [he] correctly points out, very modest direct effects do not make NAFTA an unimportant agreement for the United States."
—Lester Thurow, author, The Zero Sum Society
Understanding NAFTA was first published in 1993 as
Continental Shift: Free Trade & the New North America. This edition includes a new introduction that brings the NAFTA story up through 1995.
Customer Reviews:
Overly Optimistic.......2006-04-11
Overall, I think this book is a very good analysis of NAFTA. It highlights the economic history of Mexico and the role of Salinas in getting NAFTA off the ground. Orme presents a wealth of material that has definitely increased my knowledge of the agreement. Orme does an excellent job in elucidating the good facets of NAFTA; however, to get a better viewpoint of what NAFTA has done at the local level, I would encourage someone to read any recent ethnography of rural peoples in Mexico. Particularly those farmers who are eking out a living in the southern parts of Mexico, so they can buy corn grown in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Orme barely mentions the Zapatista uprising, though this is due in part to the publication date of the book. Also, I think much of the optimism surrounding the agreement in the book has been largely muted by the events of 9/11. Issues surrounding tighter border security has, in large part, replaced those surrounding free trade.
Good background study in how NAFTA affects Mexico........1998-10-11
This book is about Mexico - with litte coverage of how NAFTA affects Canada. It presents Mexico and its circumstances in a realistic manner. It is well written and easy to read. We recommend it to our clients interested in learning more about the Mexican people and the national economy. John R. Jagoe, Director, Export Institute.
Good review of Mexico, but soft on Canada.......1998-07-31
Orme presents a very readable account of the many changes taking place in Mexico as they relate to Nafta and the environment leading up to it. The book mainly discusses how Mexico and the US are integrating and largely ignores Canada, which he feels was taken care of in the FTA.
Overall, a very good account and introduction.
Book Description
Defeating Terrorism: Shaping the New Security Environment: Readings and Interpretations presents original contributions by leading scholars and professionals in the terrorism field, written especially for this book. No other book currently on the market presents this cutting-edge thinking on ways to fight and win the war against terrorism. Chapters include: comprehensive strategies to combat terrorism; combating regional terrorist movements; countering weapons of mass destructions (WMD) threats; countering more recently developed terrorism tactics and weapons; military, intelligence, special operations, business and government responses to terrorism; and countering or removing the causes of terrorism.
Trade Edition
Customer Reviews:
Great Collection of Articles.......2007-03-22
There are eleven good articles in this little book, some of which are reprints and others of which are original. The first, by Gunaratna, is perhaps his best writing on the post-9/11 Al Qaeda threat. Cronin's article follows on terrorism as anti-globalization. Third up is an article on financial counterterrorism tactics which bridge military and civilian resources. Fourth is a similarly interesting piece about using private contractors to fight substate foes. Fifth is a network theory piece about how to disrupt terrorist networks. Sixth is a WMD counterproliferation piece. Seventh is a reprint of Hoffman's 2003 update on his logic of suicidal terrorism. Eighth is a short number about how China handled the SARS epidemic. Nineth is the author's own contribution on preemptive strategy. Tenth is a reprint of Jenkins' thoughts on countering Al Qaeda. Eleventh is Gen. Downing's attempt to wrap things up in terms of the four D's of GWOT strategy: defend; defeat; deny; and diminish. Although in some parts this little book will have to be supplemented, there is no other more concise introduction for the beginner to GWOT strategy and tactics.
Amazon.com
This cutting polemic against the two largest teacher unions in the United States--the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers--should rile every teacher who pays dues to either of them. Myron Lieberman's detailed exposé of the unions' massive political operations and influence is especially interesting. Lieberman estimates, for instance, that the NEA and AFT employ more full-time political staff than the Democratic and Republican parties combined. The best chapter focuses on the late Albert Shanker, long-time president of the AFT and one of the 20th century's great labor leaders. How Shanker rose to prominence as a tough union boss, stayed in power for more than two decades, and cleverly managed to win the admiration of many antilabor conservatives is a story of frightfully good political skills in action.
Book Description
In this startling expose, Lieberman shows how the teachers' unions raise and spend vast sums to maintain their power over education and to push a narrow political agenda. Even dues-paying teachers will be angered to learn how their unions stifle dissent, sabotage meaningful reform, and hold parents hostage to bureaucracy.
Customer Reviews:
public school teacher who agrees!.......2006-07-26
I fought the California Teachers Association in my district and watched as every position they took was against the interests of education and my two kids. I am a teacher in another district. Lieberman is saying what many, many parents rightfully say: the unions are corrupt and immoral. The CTA leadership should be in jail for fraud, lying to parents, lying to its own membership, and single-handedly bringing the state of California to its financial knees. They are crooks.
Roger S. Peterson, Rocklin, California
Right on the Mark.......2004-02-13
It should be clearly evident to anyone who is not a member of a teacher's union that, in today's world, the teacher's unions do indeed seem to do more harm than good. The iniquities of teacher's unions aren't unfixable, but there is much work to be done. What this book brings to light are some of the crucial issues that badly need to be addressed.
For me, this book hits home, as I am close friends with many high school teachers. In speaking with them, I've come to understand that teacher pay has emerged as a crucial issue in education. Quality teachers are universally considered the key to producing high-performing students, but Florida has struggled to attract teachers enticed by high salaries elsewhere. Florida pays about $5,000 less a year than the national average.
In Broward County, the School Board will contribute 3 percent more money into the payroll pot for the current school year. Last year, the figure was 5 1/2 percent. The new scale pays beginning teachers $32,700 and tops out with a base salary of $61,411 for those who have been teaching for twenty-five or thirty years (these figures are very low relative to the cost of living in Florida).
But about three-quarters of that money funds a pay ladder, which rewards teachers for their years of experience--called a step increase. The rest, about a half-percent, is what many teachers consider raises; and the money is not applied evenly. Teachers at the bottom of the scale receive $100 for the entire year; a third of a percent. That works out to 6 cents an hour. Someone halfway up the salary scale with about 10 years experience would earn 54 cents more each hour. In the end, benefits every one except the teachers. As my wife will now get a marginal increase of 3%, administration, union members, and school board officials will receive a 10% pay increase; so much for the integrity of America's education system.
It is completely absurd and incomprehensible to me that the people who are educating our children are being treated and paid like second-class citizens. What an embarrassment it is that our teachers receive not reverence but contempt from the powers that be. When all of these factors are honestly considered, it is easy to see why it is becoming difficult to encourage our collegiate population to become teachers; and the problem has only been intensified with the nation facing a teacher shortage and the Florida class size reduction amendment requiring thousands more teachers than in previous years.
Teachers should be getting the kind of wages that can compete with other fields in the career marketplace. Instead, today's teachers are struggling more than ever to survive on low wages and ever-rising costs of living. But today's teacher's unions are either too weak or too corrupt to make any kind of reform a reality; and it's truly a shame. More and more teachers are feeling like they got sold down the river by the very unions that are supposed to be looking out for them.
My county's school district is the second largest employer in Florida and the $600 million-plus payroll is the largest single expense in the district's $3 billion operating budget. But the people who deserve at least an equal share of that money, the teachers, will be left high-and-dry. So it begs the question: what will it take to get Teacher's Unions to focus back on the REAL needs of teachers instead of their own? I'll tell you what: outrage and action by all of us who give a hoot.
Purely Political hatchet job.......2001-01-29
Anyone who can claim to write a book on the teacher's unions and ignore the many decades of their fighting for students' and teachers' benefit is clearly only on a political hatchet mission and the truth be damned. So if your mind is already made up and you don't want reality to intrude on your pre-conceived ideas, buy this book- you'll love it.
A must read for anyone concerned about education.......2000-05-25
This book is a must read for anyone concerned about the state of education in AMerica. Mr Lieberman speaks from years of experience as a teacher and an insider in the teachers unions. I highly recommend it!
Rantings and Ravings.......1999-11-25
I'd give the book less than one star if I could. As a former teacher union member, all I can say is thank God for my union. No one else seemed to care about school safety, or that the buildings were falling apart or that we had seven more kids in a class than other districts in the state or that we didn't have computer access at work for lesson planning and record keeping. None of this grassroots unionism is in his book, a major sin of omission. Instead he concentrates on salaries of officials, union lobbying activities,and dues. If the union sometimes took a stand on things I didn't agree with, well its a democratic organization, that's to be expected. If they didn't always do as well as I would have liked, they were the only ones with any clout on the right side of most issues. If there are union staff that made more than I did as a teacher, so what? As long as they were good at representing members'interests, which includes helping our kids, I'm not going to quibble. I want the best staff my dues money can buy. As for the bonanza from privatization that the unions are preventing, the Pentagon's bad experience with contracting out isn't mentioned once. It won't end up being a bonanza for kids, but for corporations. There's nothing there about superintendants leaving office to take cushy jobs with corporations, or other backroom deals on the corporate side. Why single out the unions? Judging by the other titles he's authored Lieberman makes his living by claiming that he has the scoop on unions and lazy teachers. I'll bet the worse he makes it sound, the more speaking engagments he gets. This is a sensationalist diatribe, but it does offer an interesting perspective on the way you can stack the deck so as to demonize anything.
Book Description
Rare is the opportunity to see, much less own, an original. Economics by Paul Samuelson is the classic texbook that gave birth to modern economics, and sold millions of copies in more than 40 languages. Now, in this unique and carefully crafted reproduction edition, Samuelson's original words, text, and layout are recreated from the original classic edition. More than just a historical curiosity, however, this book's power to explain economics to both the expert and the novice shines on every page. As fascinating now as when they were first published in 1948, the wisdom and applicability of Samuelson's words remain vital in today's turbulent economic world.
Customer Reviews:
?.......2007-07-27
How can there only be 4 reviews on a book that is considered one of the top-five most important economic books of all time (Smith, Keynes, Samuelson, Schumpeter, etc.)?
Armchair Economist: Economics & Everyday Life by Steven E. Landsburg has 53 reviews.
Wow.
Still the best introduction to the principles of economics.......2004-09-14
Samuelson's Economics is simply the best book available for any individual attempting to obtain an understanding of basic economics.Chapter 2 of the first edition lays out the foundation for an understanding of the different schools of macroeconomics by examining the micro foundation of macroeconomics-the production possibilities frontier(PPF) model.In this path breaking book,Samuelson called the PPF by its other name,the transformation curve.Chapter 11 then ties the student's knowledge of the PPF directly to the problem of insufficient(or too much)investment spending over time.Samuelson ,like Keynes,identifies the intertemporal problem of optimal investment expenditure as THE fundamental problem of all capitalist economies.The extreme volatility and unpredictability of aggregate investment expenditure over the business cycle IS the cause of involuntary unemployment.Samuelson then carefully explains the paradox of thrift in relation to where on the PPF the macroeconomy is operating.If the economy is operating on the boundary of the PPF then the microeconomic optimality conditions of the marginalist calculus,based on the rationality principle of classical and neoclassical economic theory,will reflect resource scarcity.A negative relationship will exist between consumption goods expenditure and investment goods expenditure.Such a smooth tradeoff over time can only mean that investment is NOT volatile and/or unpredictable over time.Private sector investment is as stable and predictable as private consumption spending over time in classical and neoclassical theory .CLASSICAL and NEOCLASSICAL economics is the study of economies operating,with minor inventory flucuations over time,primarily on the boundary of the PPF.This is a special theory that is contained in the Keynesian(neokeynesian)general theory that includes the usual case of the private sector operating IN THE INTERIOR of the PPF.In the interior of the PPF,the optimality conditions of neoclassical economics break down and fail to hold.IN THE INTERIOR the relationship between consumption goods and investment goods is positive,not negative.More savings does not lead to more investment but to less investment as businessmen cut back on the use of their capital stock in the face of decreasing current sales(and decreasing future expected sales)and rising inventories of unsold stocks of goods.This leads to further declines in the capacity utilization rate of the capital stock.The economy moves deeper into the interior of the PPF.More and more individuals are involuntarily laid off.The fall in incomes then negatively impacts consumption goods spending .A cumulative negative downward spiral,deeper and deeper into the interior of the PPF,LEADS TO MORE AND MORE UNEMPLOYMENT.This view of the business cycle is the opposite of the neoclassical view that the problem is naturally self correcting as business inventories adjust over time.It emphasizes the unadjustability of a fixed capital stock. Samuelson's solution,like Keynes's,is for the public sector to provide an offset to decreasing levels of private investment spending by increased public infrastructure spending.The multiplier process will then lead to increasing incomes ,creating expectations of future profits for businessmen.Private investment will increase,moving the economy back to a position on the boundary of the PPF.Neoclassical economics would then be operational.In summary,no other principles book(or intermediate or graduate level textbook)has ever said it better than Samuelson.Master this book and you will know economics.
Liberal economics.......2000-10-26
Mr. Samuelson is most undeniably a great economist, and a great liberal, but from the distant past. As a textbook writer I find him very poor; even irrelevant. He has a way of presenting the subject in a technical/mathmatical way that leaves the reader no better off at all at understanding and discussing the basic economic issues of the day. Besides that he was a remarkably biased teacher/textbook writer. He will perhaps go down in history as the man who said that Russia was a great example of how well a planned economy can perform (even though it really just impoverished its citizens) and that Milton Freidman's work was mistaken (even though it finally became intellectually dominant and was used by the Fed to create the current economic miracle). If you had a choice to spend two semesters plowing through Samuelson or a weekend reading "Capitalism and Freedom" or "Understanding The Difference Between Democrats and Republicans" you'd be wise to pick the later. You'd learn 10 times as much in a fraction the time.
Highly recommended to haters of this dreary subject........1999-01-05
Absolutely easy to read and understand! I never thought I could actually "enjoy" reading about the subject before I came across this book.
The original edition is much better than the one I studied........1998-12-24
I was amazed to discover how good the original edition of Samuelson's classic economics text is. Virtually everything in it is just as relevant today as it was in 1948. Of special interest to me was chapter 10, Personal Finance and Social Security, for the light it sheds on the current debate about retirement income security. I think Samuelson ECONOMICS 1 ed. would be my textbook of choice for a course in introductory economics.
Book Description
Half of all illegal immigrants came into this country legally—and we have no way of knowing they're still here!
Congressmen are putting their wives on their campaign payrolls—so that campaign contributions are really personal bribes!
The ACLU won't allow its own directors free speech.
Liberals want to strip us of the tools to stop terrorism.
The UN is a cover for massive corruption—and eighty countries, who pay 12 percent of the budget, are blocking reform.
Drug companies pay off doctors to write scripts—whether we need them or not.
Teachers unions block the firing of bad teachers—and battle against higher education standards!
Katrina victims are being stiffed by their insurance companies!
Special interests cost our consumers $45 billion—through trade quotas that save only a handful of jobs!
Never heard of these abuses? You won't in the mainstream media. That's why Dick Morris and Eileen McGann wrote Outrage. Their proposals:
- Ban immigration from terrorist countries
- Ban Congress putting spouses on their payroll
- Ban lobbyists who are related to senators or congressmen
- Ban nicotine additives to cigarettes
- Ban trade quotas that drive up prices and save few jobs
- Ban drug company bribes to doctors
- Ban teachers unions' work rules that stop education reform
- Ban insurance companies from backing out on Katrina coverage
In Outrage, you'll get the facts—and learn what we can do about them. You won't read about these outrages anyplace else; too many people are working hard to cover them up. Get them here instead—and learn how to fight the special interests of the left and right.
Customer Reviews:
Just another opportunity............2007-10-08
Looks like Morris has pumped out another book in order to make diggs at the Clintons..... He's either traumatized by the days he worked for them, or he's using them as a gravy train. Which is it, Mr. Morris??
Outrage.......2007-10-05
Excellent book for all citizens to read and react on. Doesn't matter if you are a Republican/Democrat/Independent/moderate/conservative/ or a liberal. The information in this book will make your skin crawl with the devious intentions of our elected officials. Next election there are going to be more changes of the American public wakes up and instead of caring about Britney's problems they focus in on topics such as these.
Boils the Blood.......2007-09-27
Get rid of the UN, get rid of Congress, yada yada yada...that is the book.
Not the best from Dick Morris.......2007-09-18
I prefer Dick Morris books where he actually has firsthand knowledge -- just like his several biographies of the Clintons. This book, on the other hand, was a bunch of facts with a lot less analysis that one would be used to seeing in a Morris work.
A must read.......2007-09-10
This book is a must read for anyone who really cares about the U. S. of A. It is well written and the author is a scholar and a historian, He knows what he is writting about, and so should you.
Average customer rating:
|
Pharmaceutical Price Regulation: National Policies Versus Global Interests
Patricia Munch Danzon
Manufacturer: American Enterprise Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Comparative
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Economic Policy & Development
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Exports & Imports
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Health Care Delivery
| Administration & Policy
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
Health Policy
| Administration & Policy
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
Health Care Delivery
| Administration & Medicine Economics
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Health Policy
| Administration & Medicine Economics
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Pharmacy
| Pharmacology
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy
ASIN: 0844739839 |
Book Description
The author examines the effect of existing foreign regulation on U.S. firms, the major producers of innovative drugs.
Books:
- Crude Chronicles: Indigenous Politics, Multinational Oil, and Neoliberalism in Ecuador (American Encounters/Global Interactions)
- Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind
- Delivering Project Excellence With the Statement of Work
- Desires in Conflict: Hope for Men Who Struggle with Sexual Identity
- Eco-Efficiency, Regulation and Sustainable Business: Towards a Governance Structure for Sustainable Development (Esri Studies Series on the Environment)
- Environmental Law (5th Edition)
- Financial Statecraft: The Role of Financial Markets in American Foreign Policy
- Foundations of Multinational Financial Management
- Game Theory for Applied Economists
- Ghetto Schooling: A Political Economy of Urban Educational Reform
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Perfect Phrases for Setting Performance Goals : Hundreds of Ready-to-Use Goals for Any Performance P
- Designing with Succulents
- The OC 2005 Calendar
- Traveler's Handbook on Tipping
- Adobe Photoshop CS2 Classroom in a Book
- Everyday Food: Great Food Fast
- Atlas of Mouse Development
- Sell It on eBay: A Guide to Successful Online Auctions
- The Marketing Advantage: How to Get and Keep the Clients You Want
- Women with Big Eyes
The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth about Global Corruption
Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance (American Empire Project)
A Game as Old as Empire: The Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Global Corruption (BK Currents)
Shapeshifting: Techniques for Global and Personal Transformation
American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21stCentury
