Book Description
This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Thomson Gale on March 30, 2007. The length of the article is 730 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Helados para todo tiempo: con estos d
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA) on December 14, 2001. The length of the article is 1197 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Julian T. James: "Esto no ha sido todo, habrá más desastres".(Director de Lloyd's of London)(TT: Julian T. James: "this is not all, there will be more disasters".)(TA: Director of Lloyd's of London)(Artículo Breve)(Entrevista)
Author: Miguel Benito
Publication:
Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 14, 2001
Publisher: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
Page: 118
Article Type: Artículo Breve, Entrevista
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Siempre!, published by Thomson Gale on April 16, 2006. The length of the article is 472 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Mantener la no reelección legislativa: sobre todo en estos tiempos.
Author: Tulio Zaldívar Carrera
Publication:
Siempre! (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 16, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 53
Issue: 2757
Page: 44(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Siempre!, published by Edicional Siempre on June 5, 2002. The length of the article is 536 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Tipos de corrupción: varias clasificaciones: entre corrupción y delito existe una relación de género a especie, esto es, no todos las prácticas corruptas constituyen un ilícito penal. (Seguridad y justicia).(México)(TT: Types of corruption: several classifications: there is a correlation between corruption and crime, that is to say, not all corrupt practices constitute judicial transgression. (Public safety and justice).)(TA: Mexico)(Artículo Breve)
Author: Sergio Valls Hernández
Publication:
Siempre! (Refereed)
Date: June 5, 2002
Publisher: Edicional Siempre
Volume: 48
Issue: 2555
Page: 24(1)
Article Type: Artículo Breve
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA) on June 7, 2002. The length of the article is 568 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Vieja Trova Santiaguera: el último son: "los niños". Así se autodenominan estos cinco cubanos, pese a sumar, entre todos, más de 380 años. No están tan equivocados. Su pasión desbordada por la música les rejuvenece día a día.(TT: Vieja Trova Santiaguera: the last tone: "the kids" That's what these five Cubans call themselves, in spite of adding, between all, more than 380 years. Soy they are not mistaken. Their overflowed passion for music rejuvenates them day by day.)(Artículo Breve)
Author: Belén Lorenzana
Publication:
Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 7, 2002
Publisher: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
Page: 103(1)
Article Type: Artículo Breve
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Thomson Gale on January 5, 2007. The length of the article is 584 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Y los curas de ETA,
Average customer rating:
- Extraordinary Quino
- Excellent book even if you don't speak spanish
|
Esto No Es Todo
Quino
Manufacturer: De La Flor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Comic Strips
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Humor
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| Foreign Language Nonfiction
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
jp-unknown3
| Specialty Stores
| Books
General
| Arte
| Arte, arquitectura y fotografía
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
General
| Tiras Cómicas
| Revistas Cómicas y Novelas Gráficas
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
General
| Revistas Cómicas y Novelas Gráficas
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
General
| Novelas Gráficas
| Revistas Cómicas y Novelas Gráficas
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
General
| Humor
| Entretenimiento
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
No-Ficción
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
| Automotriz
| Ciencias Sociales
| Crimen y Criminales
| Educación
| Estudios de la Mujer
| Feriados
| Filosofía
| Gobierno
| Hechos Verídicos
| Planeamiento Urbano y Desarrollo
| Política
| Sucesos de Actualidad
| Transportación
ASIN: 9505157509 |
Customer Reviews:
Extraordinary Quino.......2004-10-31
If you have never read anything by Quino, try this book. It contains an, lets call it, "anthology" of his work contained in other books. If you do not know Quino's work, this book will introduce you to his world: fantastic, human, sad, happy, ironic, ugly and beautiful. Anything by Quino is a joy to read. Believe me.
Excellent book even if you don't speak spanish.......2003-04-18
The content of this book is mostly visual. It doesn't matter if you speak Spanish or not, you're sure to be swept away by Quino's minimalistic and amazingly eloquent drawings filled with great humor that deals with everyday life's misshappennings.
Average customer rating:
- wonderful book about aromatic jewelry
|
Secrets of Aromatic Jewelry
Annette Green , and
Linda Dyett
Manufacturer: Flammarion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Fashion
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
History
| Fashion
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Aromatherapy
| Alternative Medicine
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Jewelry
| Antiques & Collectibles
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Jewelry
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Chemical
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Essence and Alchemy
Accessories:
-
RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device
-
Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Original Orange, 10 Tablets (Pack of 3)
ASIN: 2080136348
Release Date: 2001-07-03 |
Customer Reviews:
wonderful book about aromatic jewelry.......2003-12-27
Annette Green, President Emeritus of The Fragance Foundation and Linda Dyette, a great jewelry and design expert, wrote an extremely interesting and intriguing book about the history perfume as ornamentation. Their gorgeous book is beautifully illustrated and traces the story of perfume as an ornament from early history to the late 1990s. The book shows that while perfume bottles were sometimes collectors' items, aromatic jewelry has reinvented itself according to the fashion of the era: rings, lapel pins, earrings and even whistles have all carried perfume. The book is very well researched and has beautiful illustrations.
Average customer rating:
|
Crisis Real Estate Investing: Increase and Protect Your Assets from Potential Disaster
Hal Morris
Manufacturer: Beaufort Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Public Finance
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Investments
| Real Estate
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
| Comparative Government
| Constitutional History
| Elections
| General
| Government
| History of the State
| Imperialism & Independence
| International Institutions
| International Relations
| Leaders & Leadership
| Levels of Government
| Movements
| Party Politics
| Political Doctrines
| Political History
| Political Theory
| Psychology
| Public Administration
| Public Policy
| Research
| Rhetoric
| Rights
| Systems Of Government
| United States
Similar Items:
-
How to Stop Foreclosure
ASIN: 082530282X |
Average customer rating:
- very helpful
- A Classic
- Comprehensive
|
The Wise Woman's Guide to Erotic Videos: 300 Sexy Videos for Every Woman and Her Lover
Angela Cohen , and
Sarah Gardner Fox
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Guides & Reviews
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Reference
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Guides & Reviews
| Video
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Genre Films
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Sex
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
| General
| Psychology
| Sex & Religion
| Sex Instruction
General
| Bibliographies & Indexes
| Publishing & Books
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Art & Photography
| Bibliographies & Indexes
| Publishing & Books
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Foreign Languages
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Health Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Reference Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Ultimate Guide to Adult Videos: How to Watch Adult Videos and Make Your Sex Life Sizzle
ASIN: 0553067842
Release Date: 1997-01-01 |
Book Description
Want to turn up the heat in your sex life? Are you one of the millions of women who thrills to the delights of erotic videos but has discovered that making a selection is harder than finding a good lover? Or are you someone who has been curious to watch one but thought they were only for men? The Wise Woman's Guide to the rescue. You'll find over 300 of the most appealing erotic videos for women to watch by themselves or with the men they love.
In reviews entertaining enough to quote to your friends, the authors have selected Fantasies, Romances, Musicals, Comedies, Mysteries, and Suspense for every mood and occasion tailored to the tastes of women of all ages and sexual desires. The index lists videos by category--to turn you on, teach you something new, share with a mate, and give a sexy new dimension to your fantasies.
The Wise Woman's Guide to Erotic Videos includes:
* Over 300 explicit Hollywood, independent, foreign, and classic movies reviewed, along with the best instructional and educational videos.
* Ratings on erotic content, plot summaries, cast lists, and awards. Category listings from Fantasy, Sci Fi, Classic Erotica, Tantric Sex, and For
Beginners.
* Sidebars featuring interviews with stars and filmmakers and tips on such topics as renting videos and safe sex.
* A listing of toll-free mail-order numbers and
distributors to make video purchases easier.
Be prepared to get turned on, improve your fantasy life, and surprise your lover in the comfort of your own home with The Wise Woman's Guide to Erotic Videos.
Customer Reviews:
very helpful.......2003-09-04
I bought this book in 1998 and it was very helpful, it breaks the different types of adult movies down and puts them in catagories. Like man & woman, woman & woman, s&m, etc. It also gives a short summary of each movie. Also where you can find the movies reviewed in the book. I was hoping that they had updated this book in the last six years.
A Classic.......2001-10-14
I refer to this book alot as I scope out internet auctions. This book is really a sleeper -- really excellent. It's just a superb guide through the dark forest of adult videos. In fact, I can't think of a better book on the subject and I've seen quite a few. If you're really interested in the significant films of the genre, then this is the book to get. The authors are very objective and very knowledgable. They've interviewed important actors and directors. If they review a movie positively, then it's a great compliment to it and you should get it. I highly recommend this book and appreciate it alot.
Comprehensive.......2001-04-06
I first ordered this after sniffing around various adult stores and nearly always coming out disappointed. This book is quite helpful if you don't quite know what you want, making it a true guide.
The side panels and the reviews themselves are quite informative and helpful, making the selection process that much easier.
Book Description
"A rock â€~n' roll de Sade."-New York Press
??
Ten years after their U.S. tour with Guns & Roses and not more than a month after September 11, 2001, Zodiac Mindwarp & the Love Reaction rampage once again across the U.S. landscape.
??
From New York to Los Angeles, the tour unfurls with rapidly escalating levels of debauchery. This unrelenting, yet often profoundly insightful, rock â€~n' roll journal details the adventures of Mark Manning's alter ego, Zodiac Mindwarp and cohorts. An explosive road trip full of the customary alcohol abuse, sexual deviancy, and noise pollution, delivered with Manning's trademark acid humor and candid insight. This is the latest addition to the rock-lit genre currently in demand.
?
Customer Reviews:
Collateral Damage Rocks.......2002-10-27
Mark Manning loves women. He has just released a handbag sized book, so that it can be stuffed in along with the tissues, lipsticks, keys, fags, bits of envelope and Orbit sugar free, and so that just as he promises, he will always be with us. Ostensibly, this book is a journal of Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction's recent post-9/11 tour of the States. It documents their movements across the States and has some boss photos of the tour in action. But there is more than this between the covers.
Read carefully, be mindful of the substance abuse, be amused by the entertaining lies, muse upon the wordplay. But be more careful to identify the truth, as when you find it, it is profound, and will make your heart soar and sink by turns. Mr Manning can see all that is inspirational and sickening on planet earth and inside himself, and he weaves it into cartoons and parables to sustain the rest of us who are cursed with artistic and economic cataracts. True prophets acknowledge that sometimes the wheat will fall on stony ground, but I really rated this little book for it's beautiful mess, cynical chuckles and especially for the queeny bickering and tramp fighting.
Book Description
Have you ever purchased a book on games only to find that you have the same old run-of-the-mill rules that you learned as a child? Dominoes Plus is 100+ exciting games, 90% of them original.
A professional writer explains to you the complete and detailed set of rules for each game. Similar games are grouped into topical chapters, with 25 illustrations for reference (that you will remember). An appendix provides a user-friendly cross-reference for finding a game to match ages and number of players.
The author begins with a history of dominoes, and throughout the book introduces the topic of Dominoforms, which explain typical features and structures of tile games. They are at once both familiar in their general styles of play and concise in their treatment.
Breathe new life into those tired old checkers, card, and dice games as you combine them with dominoes in interesting new games—the second half of the book describes many such games. Dominoes Plus is a guidebook as much as a reference. If you donÂ't have someone at hand eager to play, the author offers ideas on how to find a game.
Customer Reviews:
Vanity Press Disaster.......2004-11-07
I wish I had realized before I bought this book that the review above, written by a Mr. Perkins, is actually written by the author of the book. Try making sense of that review, and you will get a sense of the difficulty I had in trying to make sense of this book. The back cover page of this book insists that Mr. Perkins is "a professional writer." If this is so, then it high time that Mr. Perkins quit his day job. I certainly hope he has some other vocation than writing!
No review could be as damning of this book as actually quoting from it. So, here's a paragraph from pages 36-37:
"Upon reviewing the games particulars it does become evident to some students and players alike that there is a fine balance in the competition of forms involved in its designs. Between attack and defense in games and the image of the whole set and its balance between its reciprocals and the interior double set of its whole organization it is so completed. About the interior row of doubles in its number field it has 'wings' of combination tiles. Wings of ascendance! Individual tiles in the body of the 100 tiles perfectly embody individual numbers in a complete number order of a set of consecutive numbers: such examples as a 0:1 tile for the number 1 in a set of a hundred and 9:9 for a number 99 order are typical." [sic.]
Good luck to you if you can make sense of this book! His claim that there are "100+" games in the book is completely absurd. There are perhaps 6 or 7 new games in here. Now, if you believe that two games that differ only in which domino, double blanks or double six, is wild are two completely different games, then you might get to "100+" yourself. Mr. Perkins gives these two games different names ("WILDOUBLE" and "DOUBLETTO") as though they were somehow distinct. Note that words IN ALL CAPITALS figure prominently throughout the book.
By puzzling and parsing through Mr. Perkins' spaghetti text, I did manage to piece together the rules of a couple new games of dominoes that I hadn't encountered before. I doubt that he has actually test-played them, as one of them required significant modifications before it did anything except let the second player win immediately. We have started playing games that we think are somewhat similar to Mr. Perkins' MIX&MATCH, DICEMAX, and DIGADO games with some success. However, we cannot be sure as trying to decipher these writings is quite a chore.
Here's some additional text, from page 38:
"From one ordered set of 100 dominoes with some manipulations a new set emerges and another order of prescription: such is the standards for issuing the 2-dollar bill to commemorate and celebrate it: are you with me? One sees the 450 dots on one half of the set as a whole depicted and so a 500-cent bill is issued by government along with those eagles of course, O.K.? This is in keeping with the 900 dots approximately representing $10.00. 'Count' and 'account', as terms of expression are good qualities that may change our lives for the good at best. Surely we will want to include them in our study of these numbers. Count on them!"
The place in the text where he explains that he believes that by mastering domino forms he will become more attractive to women is particularly embarassing.
Don't buy this book.
DOMINOES PLUS - I can tell you more! I'll tell you all too!.......2002-06-05
DOMINOES PLUS - What is DOMINOES PLUS all about? Get this:
+ The first complete universal game system for domino for the whole family, the complete gamester, kingdom and country in the history of the sport today! It is on a par with what you typically get when you get one of those 10-in-1 gamesets of multiple games with as much game in it as in a complete video-electronic game system such as a Gamecube or Playstation too - YOU BET. (From 6 years to 60 and beyond too). No other book available today completely examines the individual parts of particular merit and note to such a high degree as is in DOMINOES PLUS! Get it all too!
+ Selection, selection, selection! The biggest and best selection of number of games for domino anywhere (previously and today) with 100+ games! Simply good fun for everyone from about 1 to 1/2 a dozen friends in games! (You the man? GET IT ON)! It is all about selection and getting it right too! Count on it!
+ It is a complete reassessment and readdress of all the important sundry parts of domino kingdom, rebuilding the game as by piece by piece to a whole new level of involvement (with never before seen exclusive decimalized KING-SIZED sets of domino based of an ordinal digit number usage for a new style of import). It begins with just one domino as a supertrump and expanding on that in all the many directions of all formalities for play! The author took 10 years of study and deliberation to compose it all. NOTE: Sheesh, no other nation on earth has this modern domino technology for game yet but in DOMINOES PLUS, (and it may be worth the World's Record of it too)! It has an University level competition of subscription to find but even a child may learn some game too in its BASIC GAMES chapter too! It must count as pretty darn good!
So this all counts too:
100+ original exclusive new games for domino (easy to play and remember),
2nd PART in book that features DICE, POKER CHIPS, PLAYING CARDS, GAME BOARDS & more game sets in combination with DOMINO sets too (you can't begin to get anything like it anywhere else, and thats a fact, Mac)! All carefully explained for family use.
The Double 9's set of games have as many games inside this book as any double 6's tiled sets elsewhere in any other treatment of this topic by other authors!
Digitally remastered technology of domino sets new to today! It is simply a marvelous plus of lots of fun!
+ Numerous sources of games of domino listed and mentioned for the students usage (plus many commentaries relevant to the sport too). It should help to improve anyones game - so work on it!
+ Domino as Information Age info categorically and completely examined - this is not your fathers old boy scout dominoes and you can pick it up. It is how everything works! Mechanics and usage of typical domino tiles as in games featured in same topiced chapters such as: Chpt. 4: GAMES USING DOUBLES, Chpt. 5: COUNTING GAMES, Chpt. 7: DIFFERENT LAYOUT GAMES, PART II, (of 4 chapters): DOMINOES AND OTHER GAMES COMBINED - all well covered! Welcome to the club! (If you play they will come).
New featured games (join the club) and uses for domino fun such as:
Chpt. 3: MAGIC SQUARES PUZZLES (solitaire and group fun)
Chpt. 6: GAMES PLAYED WITH BAGS (exclusive 10+ such games)
KING-SIZED domino sets digitally remastered for modern days and new great days for the sport and everyone too with 100+ games featured with them too! It is all covered! Get with it too!
NONSPINSET (by name) doubles games with "trump" dominoes (2x12+ more exclusive such games to select from and play)! This is that supertrump that builds into classic dominoes new import and sport for new days to come! Get it all!
... And of course much, much more to get... if they play, they win!
...So DOMINOES PLUS is therefore everything about domino and more, all it is supposed to be as such about domino in none-the-less all the best terms appreciable for all with all the options and selections anyone might want and with all the bells and whistles to surprise you. And it is readily accessible to anyone who chooses to find domino today! CHECK IT OUT!
Remember this: only DOMINOES PLUS puts forth (as it is set forth in its pages) a complete system for domino relevant to modern number usage (and backs it up point by point all in the money too with monetary and economics relevance (of market) with it too)! No one else does this - it is a BIG turn over folks! For LOVE and MONEY too - get it on! It is about new technology, manipulating and crunching numbers as typical forms of use for gain and gaining the advantages with learning about fun in games too! It starts out real easy to find and play with just one domino then it goes on to show you a whole domino world! You'll find it so therein! It is all established as in principle and in fact too therein - and I just thought you all ought to know it too! Sound GOOD? CHECK IT ALL OUT THEN!
Customer Reviews:
Capitalism and the New World Economy.......2006-06-05
Stuart Hart is an author, instructor, researcher, and lecturer who has written many books and essays on strategic management and the problems/challenges of globalism in the world economy. His consulting services have been utilized by many large companies including DuPont, Hewlett- Packard, and Proctor and Gamble and he has helped these and other companies like them to develop a more Earth- friendly, poverty- reducing approach to solving the world's problems while still maintaining enough economic momentum to stabilize or even improve the bottom line.
The primary focus of this book is the important task that businesses face in the twenty- first century; namely, the task of expanding the world economy, helping third world nations emerge from poverty, and improving the environment. To many, this idea of companies helping other nations, promoting recycling and environmentally sound business practices, and making a profit seems to be one big contradiction. When most people think of business, we think of the bottom- line goal of earning a profit by whatever means necessary; everything else be damned. But like Hart points out, the reality of environmental issues is too important and too critical for business to ignore. And if the right steps are taken, businesses can not only improve the world and its people, they can also reap profits and other rewards in the process. Thus, not only is it the right direction to take morally, it is also the right direction to take financially and if companies move quickly they can establish themselves as leaders in the global marketplace and enjoy the many benefits that their initiative will bring.
Globalism has been one of the most heated topics in economic discussion groups in the past ten to fifteen years. Proponents of globalism feel that it is the best way to spread prosperity all over the world and eradicate a large number of the world's poor. Opponents, however, have been very vocal in their opposition to globalism, citing many key areas where they feel the earth and its people are worse off when large companies expand to other nations. These activists feel that globalism depletes the world's resources at a faster rate; leads to deployment of "sweatshops" and other inhumane treatment of workers; and does little if anything to alleviate the problems of economic distress, inadequate health care, and the like. But like Hart demonstrates in this book, the pro- globalists and the anti- globalists can and must work together to solve these problems. And he feels that private businesses can make this happen by utilizing present technologies that will produce more abundant goods and services, improve standards of living, and leave the environment unaffected and possibly even better than it was before. Hart is a strong believer that much good can be accomplished if companies will simply change their strategy and embrace the idea of global environmentalism and responsibility. New growth areas exist all over the planet and by integrating some of the new technologies with profitable solutions, companies can make money and make a name for themselves as corporate citizens on a world- wide scale.
Much of what this book talks about seems reasonable now that I have finished it, but I admit that I was a little skeptical at first. How, I wondered, could a company implement all of these changes, pay good wages to foreign workers, protect the environment, and still make a profit? It seems like a very expensive proposition but like the author demonstrates, it really isn't a far fetched idea at all. We have to remember that much of the population of the world lives in conditions that are almost completely devoid of any use of modern technologies. Introducing these technologies can improve productivity drastically- so much so, in fact, that it will easily negate the initial expense of establishing the technology in the first place. One example stated in the book is that of Grameen Phone and Grameen Telecom- two businesses that helped establish a cellular phone network in Bangladesh. Money was loaned to women living in the poverty- stricken rural villages so that they could become private entrepreneurs to sell mobile phone service. The loan money was used to purchase a cell phone and a solar recharging unit and the women were then trained and sent out to sell this service. This business venture has proven to be a great success, profitable in many ways. It has raised many people out of poverty, extended modern technology to people who don't normally have this luxury, and protected the environment through the inclusion of solar charging units. All of this was possible simply because a company was willing to take a chance, grant loans, and extend a useful service to a class of people who would never be able to afford cellular phone service using existing business models.
Most of the information presented in this book deals with spreading economic success to the billions of people in the world who occupy the bottom levels of the economic pyramid but what the author talks about can easily apply to other situations as well. Corporate stewardship and environmental responsibility are admirable goals for a company of any size regardless of whether its customers are economically well- off or financially strapped. Hart concentrates mostly on the problems of the third world because it is here that most opportunity exists and where most of the challenges lie. But much of what he talks about could be applied to anyone, including those at the top of the economic pyramid who consume a large amount of resources with little regard for economic or environmental consequences.
I like the way Hart writes this book. It is well- organized with boldface text to break up different topics/subtopics and with notes at the end of each chapter. I also admire the sense of optimism. Hart is convinced that this approach is not only the right thing to do, it is imperative that corporations take action immediately and if they do so and do it right, they will easily reap the benefits. The old ideas that profit is the number one priority, that humans are disposable components of any business, and that the environment is the concern of governments have all become outdated in the modern world economy.
Overall, Capitalism at the Crossroads is a very good book about business and its critical role in shaping the world economy. Conventional wisdom about what works and what doesn't needs to be tossed aside in favor of (as the author refers to them) "disruptive technologies"- business models that go completely against the established way of doing things and present a fresh perspective tailored to the needs of specific people and cultures that protects the environment and still earns a profit. All of this is possible, and Hart feels it is very important that these large, multi- national corporations wake up and adapt to the new world economy. It is not only economically profitable, it is a necessary part of economic sustainability and world stability.
The bottom line of this book could be summed up as follows: Companies that help other people and protect the environment will be rewarded in many ways, including bottom- line profit, improved living conditions, and a better environment for all. Capitalism is at an important crossroad and the path taken needs to be the one that promotes responsible corporate growth for the good of all.
A Classic.......2006-01-31
The book starts with a overview of the dominant position that is occupied by multinationals in today's global economy. Going by the definition of the term, 60000 multinationals produce a quarter of the global output of products and services. Yet they are owned by less that 1 percent of the worlds population and employ about 1 percent of the world's employable workforce. Meanwhile many of these companies in their race for short term earnings have sacrificed sustainable methods of production. In other words they have done irreparable damage to the earth's environment and created social tensions in many countries. In other words, the pursuit of economic gains is at loggerheads with local cultures and environmental interests.
Then comes the interesting hypothesis termed "The Great trade-off illusion". Earlier companies believed that a certain amount of pollution for example was inevitable and any efforts for its reduction will incur expenses for treatment. This is called "end of the pipeline approach" for treating pollutants. Similarly, large companies serving the top 800 million population of the earth's population adopted similar business models and products across countries and cultures. Two thirds of the population was ignored since it was perceived that this huge segment just cannot afford the goods and services offered by the multinationals.
The author offers a radical approach and introduces the concept of "Triple Bottom-line". How can companies win by offering goods and services that are culturally appropriate, environmentally sustainable and economically profitable. This is not wish or ivory tower theory, but a necessity and practically feasible path argues the author.
To serve the base of the pyramid (BOP) population, companies need to adopt disruptive technologies, incubate them in the BOP markets with appropriate functionality and price points. This also needs innovative business models. One should not look at what is bad ( corruption) or what is missing ( western style institutions) in the BOP segment, but understand and serve their needs through innovative products and services through appropriate business processes.
This is essentially a combination of Prof. Clayton Christensen's disruptive innovations ( The Innovator's Dilemma) and the concept of BOP ( The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid - C.K. Prahalad ).
In my opinion the main take away in terms of an excellent framework for business strategy is the concept of "Sustainable Value Portfolio". Defining the Organization's internal capabilities and external constituencies on the horizontal axis, and managing today's business and tomorrow's business opportunity on the vertical axis, we get four quadrants on which companies can operate. Companies typically operate only on the quadrant of internal capabilities and today's business. This is an approach of incremental improvements and greening. The other quadrant below the horizontal axis is the concept of "extended supplier responsibility" or Product Stewardship taking full responsibility for the product including its recycling, in close interaction with existing customers.
To win in tomorrows world, companies need to operate in and fully leverage on internal capabilities to introduce successful disruptive technologies that can cater to the needs of the un-served four billion population( that will grow to about 8 billion by 2050), or B24B, in a manner that is environmentally sustainable. Companies that understand all the four quadrants well and progressively plan their product portfolio are the winners of tomorrow.
Take the automobile industry for example. The author clearly brings out that till the 1970's this industry produced vehicles that polluted the planet with total disregard to fuel efficiencies. Then the focus shifted to emission norms and recycling of used automobiles. A huge opportunity awaits this sector in exploiting disruptive technologies like hydrogen fuel cells and simultaneously use such technologies to offer low cost transportation in countries like India and China.
The book then gets into a detailed discussion on the BOP realities and the right business models to serve this huge market.
A classic by any account, I personally rate it as one amongst the top 10 business books on my bookshelf. One can feel the author's sense of commitment, deep understanding of and a passion for the topic in every page of the book.
What Capitalism Could Accomplish.......2006-01-16
This interesting and provocative book synthesizes several of the most influential ideas in modern business and distills a new idea: that disruptive innovation at the bottom of the pyramid will solve the crises of environmental pollution, business stagnation and international terrorism at the top. No one can accuse author Stuart L. Hart of thinking small or of lacking imagination. His big ideas are all in place. The only missing element, as he freely admits, is one small detail: how. Capitalism must take a new course, and it's pretty clear what the new course must be, but Hart presents only a vague notion of how businesspeople are to go about turning his vision into reality. We recommend that business leaders read this book anyway, because it will stimulate your thinking about what might be possible. Maybe you'll be the one to figure out how to make the difference.
Partner with Prahalad, Valuable Distinct Contribution.......2005-12-09
Edited to respect new information I did not have before, and thank the person making the comment. Also adding hot links.
The author, who gives full credit to C.K. Prahalad, has been a co-author with Prahalad and they are both credited with this brilliant vision for a new kind of moral capitalism that addresses the needs of the five billion poor.
This book should be viewed as a valuable distinct contribution in its own right, read read with Prahalad's book as well as a third book from Wharton, The Next Global Stage: The Challenges and Opportunities in Our Borderless World As I edit this, I am also remined of Paul Hawkin's Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming, and the forthcoming book by Medard Gabel, Seven Billion Billionaires, with a preview here at Where to find 4 billion new customers: expanding the world's marketplace; Smart companies looking for new growth opportunities should consider broadening ... consultant.: An article from: The Futurist
It also complements Yale Dean Garten's book, The Politics of Fortune: A New Agenda For Business Leaders which calls on business to be more responsible about the state of the world. All of these books contrast remarkably with William Greider's The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy, Clyde Prestowitz's Rogue Nation: American Unilateralism and the Failure of Good Intentions and and John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
The math is quite clear. Business had been focused on high profit margins from the top one billion, with disposable incomes on the order of $20K or so. The bottom of the pyramid, five billion people, with disposable incomes on average of no more than $10 a year, represent a four trillion dollar marketplace.
Where business has gone wrong is in being bureaucratic, immoral, corrupt, and focused on outputs for profit rather than listening for solutions that can be profitable (with low profit margins, very high volume, and transformative effect).
I believe that these two individuals could one day win the Nobel Peace Prize for their work, which could literally save the world. As Jonathan Schell tells us in The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People there are not enough guns on the planet to keep these four billion dispossesed from impacting on us negatively. We can help them create indigenous stabilizing wealth in their home countries, or we can die with them as we all suffer the end of cheap oil, the end of free water, and the rise of pandemic disease.
This author is an extraordinary talent, equal to Prahalad. It merits comment that Wharton appears to have displaced Yale as a phenomenal publishing house. For me to find three world-class books on this topic, and for all of them to be from Wharton, is noteworthy.
Much Assailed Capitalism Is Probably the Only Answer.......2005-11-22
We live in a time when the very concept of Capitalism has come under attack from nearly every corner: the religious zeelots who think that only the study of God (THEIR God) should be done, the far left who believe that the Government should do everything, and on and on. Each can present stories of things that Government/Charity/Education or whatever has done better on some task. And they have - developing the Internet, wiping out smallpox - to name just two.
What capitalism brings is innovation into areas where Government would get all kinds of opposition from the various wings. Of one thing you can be sure, the future will not be like the past. We can't say just what problems the future holds, but innovation funded by people who have this idea about how they can get rich will be the answer. Yes, as this author says, it must be sustainable, it must be eco-sensitive.
We are running out of oil, to be sustainable will require a lot of innovation. We must be eco-sensitive, otherwise we all live in a cess pool. No one but capitalism can pull this off.
Books:
- High Techne: Art and Technology from the Machine Aesthetic to the Posthuman
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- In an Influential Fashion: An Encyclopedia of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Fashion Designers and Retailers Who Transformed Dress
- Inside the Visible: An Elliptical Traverse of 20th Century Art in, of, and From the Feminine
- Jack Lenor Larsen: Creator and Collector
- Julien Levy: Memoir Of An Art Gallery (Artworks)
- Leaving Town Alive: Confessions of an Arts Warrior
- Lost Arts: A Cook's Guide to Making Vinegar, Curing Olives, Crafting Fresh Goat Cheese and Simple Mustards, Baking Bread and Growing Herbs
- Manning on Decoupage
- Mastering Light & Shade in Watercolor
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Nancy Cunard: Heiress, Muse, Political Idealist
- Notan: The Dark-Light Principle of Design
- Light Screens: The Complete Leaded Glass Windows of Frank Lloyd Wright
- Quiet Water Maine, 2nd: Canoe and Kayak Guide
- Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realit
- Human Aging: Biological Perspectives
- Portrait Of A Killer: Jack The Ripper -- Case Closed
- Imperial Women: A Study in Public Images, 40 Bc-Ad 68
- Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Resource Management
- Harnessing the earthworm;: A practical inquiry into soil-building, soil-conditioning and plant nutri
