Book Description
Reveals a dark secret of the ideological environmental movement. The movement imposes the views of mostly wealthy, comfortable Americans and Europeans on mostly poor, desperate Africans, Asians and Latin Americans. It violates these people's most basic human rights, denying them economic opportunities, the chance for better lives, the right to rid their countries of diseases that were vanquished long ago in Europe and the United States.
Customer Reviews:
Eco-Imperialism Will Enrage You.......2007-04-05
Paul Driessen convincingly argues that eco-imperialism is responsible for the widespread hunger and deaths of millions. The world's poor truly pay the ultimate price tag for their nonsense. Malaria should be a minor problem. The disgraceful banning of DDT alone results in countless deaths. Eco-imperialists normally live extravagantly and it is very fair to describe them as hypocrites. One has every moral right to demand that they wear hair shirts and eat uncooked grass. There is one thing, however, that Driessen should have stressed. He overlooked the sad fact that most people are self centered and really don't care about Third World poverty. Driessen needs to remind them that the extremist also hurt them. We all pay a steep financial price tag. Our own lifestyles are negatively impacted.
The author even takes to task a number of large corporations who have jumped onto this bandwagon. They do so, if for no other reason, then to earn billions of dollars from their investments in so-called green technologies. This is why they often seem so willing to partner with those dedicated to destroying capitalism. Driessen points out that the environmental crazies have no problem with funding. The big bucks only go to causes such as global warming hysteria. Government bureaucracies and the larger non-profits have often been captured by left-wing ideologues. They dictate policy and punish those daring to oppose them. I strongly encourage you to read Eco-Imperialism. You might even want to purchase copies for your friends and relatives.
Greenpeace: The Eco-Barbarians at the Gates.......2007-02-25
Rabid environmentalists have blood on their hands.
Through their quasi-religious promotion of theoretical eco-catastrophes, they have forced a virulent agenda that has resulted in the deaths of millions of people in poor, developing nations. Forced to follow the unquestioned shibboleths of "sustainability" and "social responsibility", poor nations (notably in Africa) are prevented from developing infrastructure that the first world enjoys and indeed seems to take for granted - instead, inefficient power sources like wind and solar are promoted, food imports are regulated and even banned, and ultimately, people are prevented from rising out of poverty. Note: even in the developed world, solar and wind power account for less than 1% of the total energy produced. Access to cheap electricity and clean water are crucial steps in development. Without it, these developing nations will remain forever mired in this tragic cycle of poverty. Preventing access to coal, nuclear, and hydroelectric power - the very foundation of the first world's energy infrastructure - is pure hypocrisy.
What is most disturbing is that people (read: environmental organizations) with NO STAKE in these developing nations are actually dictating policy. We have no business telling people in other nations how they can develop, especially when our intervention only makes their lot in life worse. The banning of DDT, the prevention of imported GM crops, as well as the ridiculous obsession with wind and solar power, have only resulted in more disease, starvation, and death. Folks, this is misanthropy cloaked in the clever disguise of magnanimity. Is it any surprise, then, that Greenpeace's own founder abandoned the organization because it had become so politically shrill and unreasonable? Greenpeace's loss of perspective is exactly what happens when you have large groups of people with strong feelings but weak minds, and a very limited cultural and historical frame of reference. Their practice of GM crop slashing, vandalism, and other forms of hooliganism makes them fundamentally no different than barbarians.
My hope is that future environmentalists will have a more rational and humanistic approach to solving the world's problems. As it stands now, the environmentalist movement, for the most part, is fundamentally misanthropic. They are more concerned about the theoretical effects of global warming and other prefabricated bogeymen than the very real suffering that is occurring around them right now. Their ideology interferes with their analytical skills and ability to discern the likely consequences of their policies.
This is a very short but excellent book. If you are grounded in reality, many of the facts presented here may upset you deeply. I recommend it wholeheartedly, however, because it fully exposes the misguided and immoral nature of many of these eco-organizations.
"The environmental movement I helped found has lost its objectivity, morality, and humanity."
- Patrick Moore, Greenpeace founder
"Why do Europe's developed countries impose their environmental ethics on poor countries that are simply trying to pass through a stage they themselves went through?"
- James Shikwati, director of Kenya's Inter-Regional Economic Network
"Developing countries need to be free to make their own decisions about how to improve their people's lives."
- CS Prakash, professor, Tuskegee University
Dont believe the hype (of this book that is...).......2006-09-08
Firstly, i want to make clear that i have a degree in geography and am very familiar with the topics 'discussed' in this book. Paul Driessen is obviously well-educated and knows how to write, therefore it must be assumed that he has purposefully neglected the facts in order to contrive an argument that will appeal only to people with no prior knowledge of the topic...
For example,
He advocates the continued use of fossil fuels by declaring that there is no proof carbon emmisions are responsible for climate change. Regardless of climate change, the excessive air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels is indeed responsible for chronic respirotory illnesses worldwide (inc in the third world), and also catastrophic 'acid rain'...
This one example is indicative of basically every chapter in this book (this is why it was published by a small company and wasn't found in my university library). Without prior knowledge of the subject, one could easily be led astray.
As a geographer i found this book interesting. However, its profound inadequacies serve only to strengthen the integrity of the environmental movement.
I do fear though, that too many people have believed the rhetoric they have digested in this very short book with a catchy cover and title.
Mixes truth with falsehoods.......2006-07-17
Paul Driessen, the author of this book, is a PR specialist who works for two business lobbyist think tanks, Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow, and the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise. The purpose of organizations such as these is to spread right-wing and anti-environmentalist propaganda. As such, the message of this book should be taken with a grain of salt. One reviewer said that if DDT was used widely malaria would be wiped out. Well, the pesticide companies want you to believe that, but biologists have found out that mosquitoes quickly develop resistance to it, making that statement untrue.
Like most pro-business PR, it mixes scientific and economic facts with falsehood. The purpose is to make environmentalists who get in the way of their profits look like monsters, apparently this book has succeeded.
Useful account of environmental movement.......2004-11-23
The issue of global warming is scaremongering, a massive red herring to make workers take their eyes off the tasks facing us - stopping deindustrialisation, unemployment, the destruction of our services, the European Union's destruction of our nation Britain. Scare stories about global warming, melting ice caps and glaciers, intensifying storms and droughts, a `Day After Tomorrow'-style ice age, overpopulation, mass extinctions, imminent famines, nuclear proliferation and energy shortages are grounded not in reason but in false science and a fear of progress. They are kin to medieval fears of apocalypse. We need to denounce the doom-mongers who portray us as helpless victims, at the mercy of events beyond our control as a nation.
The facts are that Antarctica has been cooling and its glaciers thickening for the past 30 years. Global fertility rates are falling dramatically, and with advanced technology, farmers are producing more food using fewer resources than ever before. Environmental pollution accounts for at most 2% of all cancer cases versus 30% caused by tobacco use. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the world's forests covered 40.24 million square kilometres in 1950, and 43.04 million in 1994. 80% of the world's original rainforest is still intact. Sea levels in the region of the Pacific around the island nation of Tuvalu have been falling.
Some see all problems as supranational, requiring supranational solutions, worldwide action through intrusive international agreements like Kyoto, with cartoon cries to `save the world' through pre-emptive actions. They revive the anarchist slogan `No states, no borders' mirroring the capitalist agenda of `globalisation'.
Human innovation is the ultimate resource. Workers are wonderfully creative. The Greens, with their contempt for productive forces, line up with the anti-industry parson Malthus against the pro-industry Marx. The working class cannot conduct its present policy on the basis of scares about a possible future ice age in 50,000 years.
Average customer rating:
- Graphic SF Reader
- Ultimate Spider-Man
- fun, diverting update of the story: nothing revolutionary
- Outstanding
- good spider-man collection...
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Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 1: Power and Responsibility
Brian Michael Bendis
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
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Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 2: Learning Curve
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Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 6: Venom
ASIN: 078510786X |
Book Description
The comic book publishing event of 2000 is coming to your bookstore.
Ultimate Spider-Man received extensive press coverage and was the highest selling comics launch of the year. It is the reinterpretation of Spider-Man's origin, updated for today's tweens and teens. Starting over at the beginning, the story of how a tortured teen is imbued with startling powers, has been completely re-imagined to appeal to the hi-tech, media savvy youth of today.
In the process, great steps were taken to make the unfolding saga reader-friendly to the non-comics reader. "Our characters have been around for almost 40 years," explained Bill Jemas, Marvel`s President of Publishing and New Media, explaining the reasoning behind Ultimate Spider-Man. "It's great that our comics are so rich that storylines run forever, but we want the Ultimate books to be accessible to the first-time reader. Someone will be able to pick up an issue of Ultimate Spider-Man and have enough information to understand and appreciate it."
An outsider even amongst his own peers, high school student Peter Parker is a young man at the crossroads of destiny. Orphaned as a youth and raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May, Peter finds himself the target of a constant barrage of pranks perpetrated by school jock Flash Thompson and his burly bud, nicknamed Kong. After Peter is bitten by an experimental spider from the laboratory of Osborn Industries, industrialist Norman Osborn takes a deadly interest in this development. Will Peter be able to avoid a violent case of corporate downsizing? When backed into a corner, will our hero learn that with great power there must come great responsibility?
Customer Reviews:
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
A Spider-Man reboot. A young Spidey gains his powers by being bitten by an enhanced Spider on a tour of Osborn Industries.
Otherwise, this is mostly the same, except for Peter has a girlfriend to start with who thinks he is hot, and Norman Osborn, trying the process that made Peter Spider-Man, turns himself into a monster.
Ultimate Spider-Man.......2007-08-06
This is great book. I recently got interested in comics, and I thought I might give this one a try. I read through it and by the end I knew I needed to get vol. 2 Learning Curve. Although it's not my favorite Ultimate Spider-Man, it's definitely a ggreat start. I would reccemend this book to new comic book readers who are looking for a place to start.
fun, diverting update of the story: nothing revolutionary.......2007-07-17
This isn't exactly your parents' Spider-man: no radioactive spider, yes internet, Uncle Ben has a ponytail. But in general, it's the basic Spider-man origin story: bitten by Mr. Osborne's experimental spider, Peter Parker develops the skills. Mr. Osborne injects himself with something and turns into a Goblin. Fight.
Even though this isn't going to turn your ideas of Spider-man upside down (like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns did), the art is good and the story is engaging. I haven't read the original Spider-man, but the story here largely parallels that of the Tobey Maguire movie. I totally look forward to reading Volume 2.
Outstanding.......2007-05-13
If you love The Amazing Spider-Man, or you are just looking to get into spiderman comics, then you will love this. I couldn't help but read it in one sitting, and once i finished it, i wanted the second volume right away. Im not really a big, buy every issue of a comic book, thats why these volumes work extremely well.
good spider-man collection..........2007-01-21
1. i don't like the ultimate universe idea at all. i dislike the infinite earths dc junk also. when you have iconic characters i don't think it's good to confuse the average non-comics fan (or even the average comics fan) with earth-2 superman, superboy prime, ultimates nick fury, etc. they water down the legacy and the impact of the great classic storylines and characters.
2. despite the above, this is a pretty nice comics collection. it's a good read, but just don't confuse the alternative ultimate universe with the real 616 universe.
Book Description
What is the Power of Personal Accountability Approach?
Pay attention to what really matters to you. Find out where you spend your time and energy. Understand what works and what doesn't and then use the simple strategies described in this book to change what doesn't. Built around Mark Samuel's and Sophie Chiche's Personal Accountability Model, the authors share their structured approach, case studies, and exercises in a highly motivating manner. You will learn how to make choices consistent with your desired outcomes.
Why You'll Want to Read This Book
Because life's too short. This book invites you to look at what is there and what you would like instead. Then go for it.
Who Should Read The Power of Personal Accountability?
You should, if you want to: • Be more successful - at work, at home, even at play • Improve relationships with clients, co-workers, family and friends • Realize your full potential, get more done, fulfill your dreams • Finish ongoing projects, take on new challenges, set and achieve new goals • Look back on your life with satisfaction, with the absolute certainty that you did the best you could
Bottom Line on The Power of Personal Accountability
Being accountable helps you achieve what matters to you. Get things done. What you want to get done. Don't let fear get in your way. Don't be a victim. Don't blame others. Don't be afraid to fail—or succeed. Learn from leading authorities in the human potential movement to be accountable for your own success--- Start now.
Customer Reviews:
Two "Loops": Which to select? .......2006-08-25
I just read this book as well as the more recently published Creating the Accountable Organization and highly recommend both. Now more than ever before, the issue of personal accountability is critically important to all organizations (regardless of size or nature) and will become even more important in years to come.
In this volume, Samuel and Chiche present a number of insights whose foundation is what they call "The Personal Accountability Model." It can guide and inform efforts to live a deliberate life, an accountable life, one in which professional success and personal happiness are interdependent rather than mutually exclusive as is so often the case. Samuel and Chiche come across to me as being clear-headed idealists and warm-hearted pragmatists. They suggest that people usually resist accountability because of three fears: of blame, of failure, and of success. They examine each of these fears and suggest how to overcome them. They also identify and examine various "rewards" to those who are personally accountable. It is important to keep in mind that both those who resist holding themselves accountable are often the same people who (if not resent) resist being held accountable by someone else. Hence the importance of "buying into" the potential rewards. This is an especially important point for supervisors who are required to hold others accountable for their performance. They must understand various fears and respond to them appropriately, especially in terms of body language and tone-of-voice. Also, they must help those entrusted to their care to understand why holding themselves personally accountable really is in their own best interests.
I was especially interested in what Samuel and Chiche have to say about the "Victim Loop" from which so many people seem unwilling and/or unable to escape. Those who select the "Accountability Loop" proceed through a sequence of recognition, ownership, forgiveness (of themselves as well as of others), self-examination, learning, and eventually taking appropriate action. Those who select the "Victim Loop" proceed through a sequence of ignorance, denial, blame (usually of others), rationalization, resistance, and ultimately, they "go into hiding." They must then cope with the consequences of that choice...and many do so by choosing to repeat the same sequence,. They are indeed "victims" but voluntary ones who continue to suffer from self-inflicted wounds, real or imagined.
Readers will appreciate the care with which Samuel and Chiche examine a series of very sensitive, potentially volatile situations in which there is a significant breakdown in communication or a loss of trust or a sense of betrayal. Those who accept personal accountability make every reasonable effort to resolve disagreements and even significant conflicts. They fully meet all of their obligations. Their word really is their "bond." In negotiations (whatever the given issues), they do everything they can to reach a mutually beneficial, "win-win" conclusion. Of course, those who accept personal accountability are often confused and perhaps enraged by those who can't...or won't. Samuel and Chiche's sensitive and sensible advice on this familiar situation (all by itself) is worth far more than the price of their book.
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out the aforementioned Creating the Accountable Organization as well as James O'Toole and Edward E. Lawler III's The New American Workplace, The Workforce Scorecard co-authored by Mark Huselid, Brian Becker, and Richard W. Beatty (Huselid and Becker also co-authored The HR Scorecard, another fine source), Dick Grote's Forced Ranking, Leigh Branham's The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, and Workforce Crisis co-authored by Ken Dychtwald, Tamara J. Erickson, and Robert Morison.
The Power of Personal Accountability.......2006-03-03
Concise straight forward well organized presentation with general illustrations and examples easy to understand and to apply to real-life situations.
No more victim!.......2005-05-08
This books makes it clear how "accountability" is the antidote for feeling victimized...and more. If you find yourself asking, "Why me?", then read this book to learn how to move from hiding and denying, into owning, forgiving and taking action. "The Power of Personal Accountability" is a way to set yourself free by getting rid of bad habits and thoughts, and then holding a powerful intention to create the life you want. Very straightforward and easy to read, this book is a winner both at home and in the executive suite.
Personal Accountability has shifted my life!!!.......2004-12-25
This book is phenomenal! I have used this book for my own personal process to get unstuck in certain areas of my life, and it is powerful. Getting out of the victim loop and into the accountability loop feels incredible...I feel more alive and excited about my goals and dreams for myself. And, as a coach, I recommend this book for my clients to read and use, a valuable tool to stay on track with their goals. Sophie and Mark created such a simple process, and yet, so complete. This is a must have book!
Powerful Message That Leads to Positive Change.......2004-11-30
A clear and demonstrative guide to recognizing the personal traits that lead to failure and building the actions that lead to success. One of the few business books you will actually want to read more than once. Highly recommended.
Book Description
Most leadership in today’s churches comes from “solo practitioners”--individuals who bear the burden of providing all the direction the ministry they direct requires. Inevitably, this results not only in burned-out leaders, but underutilized lay people who merely attend and observe rather than becoming actively engaged in ministry, growing in discipleship, and freeing professional staff to focus on pastoral priorities.
In The Power of Team Leadership, noted researcher George Barna demonstrates the incredible difference lay-team leadership can make in a church’s ministry. Based on Barna’s latest national studies, the book sets forth clearly what churches need to know in order to recruit, train, and deploy lay leadership teams for maximum effectiveness in the Kingdom of God.
Customer Reviews:
Good.......2007-09-21
This was a helpful tool. Not Barna's best but it was useful. I think a little more instruction would help. I would recommend it to anyone that is part of any team.
Book Description
Cruising Fundamentals provides the tools necessary to make the transition from basic sailing to competent coastal cruising. Sailors interested in learning how to sail and live aboard a 30 foot to 50 foot auxiliary-powered sailboat will find a wealth of practical skills in this book, from simple instruction on plumbing, electrical, and mechanical systems to navigation, weather prediction, and anchoring techniques.
Cruising Fundamentals is the official American Sailing Association guide to intermediate coastal cruising and bareboat chartering. Sailing schools, yacht clubs, and other educational institutions throughout North America use this book as a text and indispensable resource in their teaching. Unlike other books on similar subjects, Cruising Fundamentals presents material in a chronology that has proven effective with thousands of developing sailors. Readers progress from "Getting Acquainted" to "Getting Familiar," "The Voyage," "Arrival and Living Aboard," and finally "Emergencies and Trouble Shooting." Each of the first four sections has review questions to help sailors evaluate their comprehension. Cruising Fundamentals is more than a book; it is a complete course that can benefit any sailor who desires to enter the exciting world of sailboat cruising.
Customer Reviews:
A sailing instructor's view.......2003-09-13
It is a big step for an intermediate sailor to go to the Caribbean and bareboat charter a 40' vessel. We use this book to take the intermediate sailor to this level. Cruising Fundamentals contains a vast amount of detailed information and yet it is organized in logical steps to bring students to the desired level of competance without overwhelming them. This book contains many excellent photographs and sketches. The basic navigation information is excellent without going too deep and the review questions are good for self evaluation (am I really getting it?)
I particularly like the way systems are presented and compared. For example, the House DC system vs the shore power AC system, diesel engines vs gasoline engines featuring the differences and types of cooking fuels discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each.
This is an all round excellent book that can be read straight through or used as a reference. I understand the second edition is in the works and I look forward to getting it.
Very Beginning Level- Not all that great.......2003-06-28
I have never been cruising and really did not find this book to be very enlightening. It was VERY basic. You can expect things like "This is the hull, this is the sail" kind of stuff. I was really looking for more advanced topics like weather, emergency situations, planning a long distance cruise, etc.
This book is really for those of you thinking about buying a sailboat for cruising and have absolutely no boating experience. It touches on basic troubleshooting (and I mean basic) but does not really go in depth. I also purchased SAILING FUNDAMENTALS by Gary Jobson (Author), and found this book to be worth every penny. I would only recommend Cruising Fundamentals to those of you dreaming of cruising in the future, not very useful for anyone actually doing it.
I would rate this book at a high-school reading level.
Outstanding Followup to Sailing Fundamentals book........2000-08-04
This is American Sailing Association textbook for more advanced sailing topics and the the second of a series. The major plus of this book is that it teaches you how to sail with all the information you need to learn in the proper order you should learn it.
There is an advantage in learning the material in a time tested manner. Every time an instructor like the author, Harry Munns, teaches a course it gets better. This book gets the benefit of his tried and true, tested methods of sailing instruction. It works well.
This book follows "Sailing Fundamentals : The Official Learn-To-Sail Manual of the American Sailing Association and the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary"
Get them both.
Each book follows the ASA Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising, and Bareboat charter courses.
Reading the books and then taking the courses will give you a jump start on your sailing skills.
Most sailors have knowledge like swiss cheeze--with lots of holes. The books will give you knowledge like American Cheeze--no holes.
Buy both books--you won't regret it. Read them and then take the courses for maximum effectiveness.
This is the path to skill, safety, and confidence on the water.
Average customer rating:
- influential exploration of nuances of adversary theorem
- What Moral Compass?
- More questions than answers
- A catalogue of sliminess
- A clear, engrossing, and important commentary on lawyering.
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The Moral Compass of the American Lawyer: Truth, Justice, Power, and Greed
Richard A. Zitrin , and
Carol M. Langford
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
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The Law Governing Lawyers: National Rules, Standards, Statutes, and State Lawyer Codes, 2006-2007 Edition
ASIN: 0449006719
Release Date: 2000-09-05 |
Amazon.com
We have all heard the derogatory jokes comparing lawyers to slimy, venomous invertebrates. And we have laughed. On the scale of public contempt, the legal profession ranks somewhere between tabloid journalists and telemarketers. What should be a good and honorable vocation is collectively vilified as devious and mercenary. In The Moral Compass of the American Lawyer, Richard Zitrin and Carol M. Langford try to explain legal ethics to nonlawyers. While they provide a vigorous defense of the American system of justice, they also note the ethical catastrophes caused by the excesses of the adversarial process.
Lawyers are not paid to defend "Truth, Justice, and the American Way," the authors note; they are paid to defend their clients, and the duty of zealous advocacy sometimes pushes lawyers to work at the margins of decency. Some lawyers straddle the ethical line, or skip back and forth with impunity; others dive headlong over the edge and never return. Clients want to hire successful lawyers, of course, and the lawyers who are successful are too often the ones who are willing to ignore the boundaries of professional responsibility. The ethics of the profession seem to be defined by whatever the slickest can get away with. Nice lawyers finish last in this race to the bottom, and the victors gladly suffer the slings and arrows of popular opinion as they amass outrageous billable hours. The Moral Compass of the American Lawyer is a sweeping overview of the ethical dilemmas that face every member of the legal profession every day--whether they are a criminal defense lawyer, personal injury attorney, corporate in-house counsel, or junior associate at a 500-lawyer megafirm. The authors also provide a frank assessment of the shortcomings of the entire U.S. judicial system, from the law schools to the courtrooms, and what can be done to remedy the situation. --Tim Hogan
Book Description
These are perilous times for Americans who need access to the legal system. Too many lawyers blatantly abuse power and trust, engage in reckless ethical misconduct, grossly unjust billing practices, and dishonesty disguised as client protection. All this has undermined the credibility of lawyers and the authority of the legal system. In the court of public opinion, many lawyers these days are guiltier than the criminals or giant corporations they defend.
Is the public right? In this eye-opening, incisive book, Richard Zitrin and Carol Langford, two practicing lawyers and distinguished law professors, shine a penetrating light on the question everyone is asking: Why do lawyers behave the way they do? All across the country, lawyers view certain behavior as "ethical" while average citizens judge that same conduct "immoral." Now, with expert analysis of actual cases ranging from murder to class action suits, Zitrin and Langford investigate lawyers' behavior and its impact on our legal system. The result is a stunningly clear-eyed exploration of law as it is practiced in America today--and a cogent, groundbreaking program for legal reform.
Customer Reviews:
influential exploration of nuances of adversary theorem.......2005-05-04
Intended for popular consumption, Zitrin & Langford provide a riveting, accessible exploration of the ethical ambiguities posed by the adversary theorem in legal practice.
The adversary theorem, the core of American legal practice, asserts that zealous advocacy on behalf of clients will serve the ultimate cause of justice even if lawyers engage in otherwise questionable behavior because the competition between lawyers who engage in the same practices ensures that justice will ultimately prevail.
Folks looking to denounce lawyers lightly will find little sympathy for lawyers by reading the cases in this book. Rather than consider the implications of the billable hours or the justifications for Frank Armani's interpretation of confidentiality, they'll rush to denounce. It's always easy to pre-judge. That's why lawyers exist.
Zitrin & Langford are less interested in denouncing the adversary theorem than in examining its effect in the real world. The proposals they offer mesh with developments that occurred after their book. The American Bar Association revised its model rules in 2002. Harvard Law School added a pro bono requirement for all students. Law firms tout their pro bono service prominently on their websites, sometimes more prominently than they tout their client list.
Zitrin & Langford add considerably to serious discussion about the application of ethics to legal practice - a perpetual discussion that will last so long as humans disagree.
What Moral Compass?.......2004-03-07
The only moral compass I've seen yet is whether or not they can get away with justifying their acts with regard to clients. Much of that depends upon the nature of their confidence and where they sit in the "pecking" order of human beings, a.k.a., to whom they were married (denoting family power), where they went to school (usually denoting family power), and what firm they are with (often denoting family power), or who they know (as a result of family power). Therefore, the ethics displayed say a lot more about who's who in family power than about the topic of morality - since it is family power not God who governs the universe. For example, if you come from the right family, you can be a judge, and many have, or even a President, provided you are not a woman. This has been the history for most professions since the nation was founded.
More questions than answers.......2001-08-13
I am afraid that I don't share other reviewers' enthusiasm for this book. Others have noted that it is rather short on solutions to the problems that it outlines. However, it seems to me that this book doesn't know which audience it is aimed at.
My instincts tell me that it is aimed at the general public - not least because of the breezy, senasationalist tone it adopts. There's an awful lot of scaremongering of the "Gee - isn't it awful what these lawyers are doing?" variety. Indeed, I don't take issue with the factual accuracy of the behaviors instanced by the authors. However, my gripe is that the authors do not put these acts in proportion - the lay reader will come away from this book without any idea at all as to how common are these practices that the authors catalog.
The reputation of the legal profession in the United States is at a pretty low ebb. This book will do nothing to improve public perceptions of it. I do not claim that all is well and the public has nothing to worry about - however, the public does deserve to know just how widespread are the practices that the authors describe. The subtitle for this book might just as well be "lawyers are bad for your wealth" yet the public cannot do without legal services. We can expect those who read this book to view their visit to a lawyer's office with as much enthusiasm as a visit to a dentist or a proctologist. Frankly I think the public deserve to be better informed than this on the issues raised by this book.
Lawyers will find little surprising here - other than the impression that the temple of the law is falling about heads and we know nothing, or care nothing, about it. Zitrin and Langford produced a useful casebook on legal ethics - although not as good as Professor Rhode's - but their legal scholarship has taken second place to legal journalism with this book. The book is short but its scope is all encompassing. The inevitable result is a superficial treatment of important issues and a general lack of reflective insight.
If lay or professional readers want to know just how thought provoking and readable a good reflection on the "state of the profession" can be, I urge them to read Michael H Trotters's "Profit and the Practice of Law: What's happened to the legal profession?" and compare that with Part Two of this book.
A catalogue of sliminess.......2001-06-04
Richard Zitrin and Carol Langford have written here a book that will not only introduce the law student to the sleazier side of law practice, but also warn the "law consumer" what to watch out for (or perhaps what to look for by way of "zealous representation").
But this is not only a catalogue of egregiously unethical practices by real-world lawyers. It also contains interesting tidbits of great relevance to those who want to know what's wrong with the legal profession.
(For example, here's a point libertarians will enjoy. Lawyers once tried to get around the silly practice of accounting for everything in "billable hours" by settling on standard fees for certain common legal tasks. What stopped them? Antitrust law. It seems adopting industry-standard fees is a form of collusion in restraint of trade. Thank heavens; the current system is _ever_ so much better.)
Not long on solutions, this volume is still a solid overview of the sort of nonsense engendered by the adversarial system. It's also a list of good reasons to look into alternative dispute resolution the next time _you_ have a legal problem.
For law students, I'd personally recommend supplementing it with any or all of the following: Mary Ann Glendon's _A Nation Under Lawyers_; Deborah Rhode's _In the Interests of Justice_; and Philip Howard's _The Death of Common Sense_.
A clear, engrossing, and important commentary on lawyering........1999-11-06
I am a paralegal, and have worked in the legal field for 23 years. I could not put this book down. I have been talking about it since I turned the pages of the first chapter. I recommend it to everyone; I plan to read it again, and when it is not in use, I place it in plain sight of the lawyers with whom I work. Langford and Zitrin have written an important commentary about the practice of law that is easy reading for non-lawyers without being condescending. But their book should be required reading for every lawyer. It is as if someone finally mentioned the elephant in the center of the room.
How did the profession get this far afield? Clients are served less and less while more lawyers are churned out of law schools, and competition is fierce. Money talks; clients at the lower end of the economic scale get less effective counsel or simply try to solve problems without representation. The legal profession has evolved into a business to survive; but, along the way, its vision has deteriorated with regard to justice, public service, and what is morally right.
The fact pattern presented at the beginning of each chapter had me guessing about its outcome as I read on regarding actual, related cases. The anecdotal evidence of injustice and moral dilemma is overwhelming. These are not just occasional news items. They are things that happen every day to lawyers and ordinary people.
I loved their straightfoward and common sense proposals for solutions to make the practice of law better for everyone involved. If only the legal profession, which, as they point out, largely regulates itself, had the courage to implement them.
Just read it, okay?
Book Description
Drawing on years of practice as a Christian counselor, Chuck Lynch examines God's concept of personal responsibility as a means of reconciling conflict. In concise, easy-to-digest language, You Can Work it Out provides practical tools and proven methods for learning how to find peace and resolution in our relationships.
Customer Reviews:
Ethics in the business world.......2007-06-12
Outstanding book for any person that that works within an organization. Focuses on how one can live a fullfilling life and be still be successful within an organization in terms of being a leader of the team. To lead one must be of high integrity and be willing to serve others. With Enron and other corporate scandals, we seem to have lost track of how to run an organization for the benefit of others (employees, shareholders, customers, etc,)instead of our own personal gain.
Business owners will find this an essential key to maintaining ethics in a blossoming business structure.......2007-03-05
What are the ethical and spiritual principles businesses should embrace and incorporate to prevent the problems that affected Enron and others? Examples from a range of corporate scenarios narrow the ideas down to ten 'old' principles and review them with an eye to surveying how business decisions may be tempered by ethical and spiritual considerations. Business owners will find this an essential key to maintaining ethics in a blossoming business structure, and business libraries will find students of business will choose this for classroom debate and discussion.
Powerful principles provide guidance.......2006-12-24
As business and business schools struggle with the problem of teaching, promoting and practicing ethics, Bill Byron provides a useful guide, not just another ad hominen critique.
The decline in corporate ethics needs less lamentation and more solutions. Byron has a solution and he conveys ten core principles that form a positive, prosocial set of ethics for business today. He identifies and outlines "ten classic ethical principles" (pp. 6-7): integrity, veracity, fairness, human dignity, participation (empowerment), commitment, social responsibility, the common good, subsidiarity (delegation) and love. He devotes chapters three through twelve to explaining and illustrating these principles. He has excellent, current examples, plenty of conversations with a variety of leaders, and a clear, engaging way of tying all of these together. His final chapter asks business leaders to reflecton the ten principles, in the form of an open letter to their chilren or employees. One takes the form of C.S. Lewis' "Screwtape letters," offering the devil's own interpretation of the principles. Of course, the best advice is to do just the opposite of what the devil suggests, but reality shows that Satan himself may have won the hearts and minds of some executives. Enron receives a lot of attention. He concludes each chapter with a nice, italized, summary lesson. He draws on civic, business and academic leaders. Byron has had the opportunity to meet and converse with a wide array of leaders. He has been the president of three universities. Now if he could only explain the ethics of Harvard's greed in accumulating a $29 billion endowment.
Under social responsbility, Byron takes on Milton Friedman's advice to firms, that they should maximize profits to shareholders, period. Byron does endorse that socially responsble firms must be economically viable. I believe that there is a middle ground, and these include the principles that I teach busines students: Organizations must create wealth, customers, and a sustainable comparative advantage. Social justice comes from the distribution of wealth, but only if firms generate enough wealth -- for shareholders, employees, managers, and customers -- to distribute and to re-invest. Being viable is not enough. Firms and employees have a moral, social responsbility to build or create something of value. The error is in the egregious accumulation of wealth by a limited, unethical few. Money is not the root of all evil. It's the love of money that is the root of all evil.
Bill Byron has done it all, from a Normandy paratrooper, to Jesuit priest, to university president, to business ethics professor, to high school principal. As a colleague in his department when he wrote this book, it was a privilege to have him with us, if only for a short time before his next, challenging appointment.
Average customer rating:
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International Intervention in the Post-Cold World War: Moral Responsibility and Power
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Books:
- Ethical Theory and Business, Seventh Edition
- Ethical Theory and Business, Seventh Edition
- Ethics: An Introduction to Philosophy and Practice
- Ethics in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Standards, Research, and Emerging Issues
- Ethics in Crime and Justice: Dilemmas and Decisions (Ethics in Crime and Justice)
- Ethics in Crime and Justice: Dilemmas and Decisions (Ethics in Crime and Justice)
- Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose
- Five Minds for the Future
- Five Minds for the Future
- For the Sake of the Children: The Social Organization of Responsibility in the Hospital and the Home (Morality and Society Series)
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