Customer Reviews:
A Must Have for Admirers of Beretta Firearms.......2003-07-25
R.L. Wilson has assembled a handsome, well-researched volume on the world's oldest and most respected maker of firearms, Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta. Beretta stands out for its superb Italian craftsmanship, durable quality and design. Beretta's reputation has earned it respect and Beretta supplies the standard sidearm of the U.S. Armed Forces, which is the 9mm M9. Too me there are few things that surpass the exquisite aesthetic appeal of the Beretta pistol, except maybe a beautiful blue-eyed blonde. I'm a Beretta owner, and it's often to be expected that a man claims his possession to be best, but when I'm in the market for another gun, I'm not getting a Smith & Wesson or a Ruger, I'm getting another Beretta. These guns are tried and true. So, whether you're a collector of these fine firearms or just an admirer, I wholeheartedly recommend this informative, illustrated and history-filled volume on Beretta firearms. Some other reviewer scoffed that this is book is merely an effort to create "a mystique and romance" about Beretta, but Beretta has earned this after nearly 500 years. Wilson just captures the essence of the "mystique." Sure this book is a coffee table tome, but it is beautifully illustrated and fun to read and skim through! I give it 4.5/5.0 stars.
A Great Book For Beretta Aficionados.......2003-04-20
If you love all things Beretta, then you will appreciate this superb book. Wilson magically transports you through 475 years of history to Gardone, Val Trompia, Northern Italy, by way of some of the most delightful examples of the perfect blending of walnut, metal and handcrafted artistry.
Don't buy it if your looking for facts.......2003-02-02
I had hoped this book would provide some useful information on older SO shotguns. The book devotes lots of pages to the subject, but it seems that almost all of the information is available through the old catalogs that are downloadable from Beretta.com. There seemed to be an effort by Wilson and Beard to build more romance and mystique into the Beretta brand, hey guys that's what Beretta has a marketing department for!
This is a beautiful book for the coffee table but if your looking for a book with useful data then keep searching.
kinda fluffy but beautifully illustrated w/ great background.......2002-05-04
It's beautifully illustrated and he relates many interesting and deliteful anocdotes about the Beretta family. Less attention is paid to the technical side, I do agree that Beretta firearms are uniformly of a high quality but Wilson's appaissels are uniformly glowing, fail to acknowledge some shortcomings (as gangarosa did) and are technically no more informative than the catalogs (which he excerpts from often). I read this book after reading Gene Gangarosa's Modern Beretta Firearms (which I also reviewed) and it compliments many of the shortcomings of the Gangarosa book. There is much more focus on their shotguns and sporting rifles. Unlike Gangarosa's book where Berettas are often talked about in relation to other inovations in firearms. Wilson's book is narrowly focused in talking only about Beretta products.
The worst part about this book is when he talks about James Bond. It sounds like such a sales pitch because while he mentions that James Bond originally had a Beretta .25ACP pocket pistol he doesn't tell us what model (Model 418 which is out of production, perhaps the company wanted us to buy one of their fine current production pocket pistols?) and remarks that in the first movie Dr. No he had to replace it with "a .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol." Like he couldn't possibly say another companies name (he even gets it wrong, Bond had a Walther PPK in .32ACP). There are other technical innacuracies. Your best option as a fan is to buy both Wilson's (the human side and colourful history) and Gangarosa's (the more technical and firearms hobbiest oriented) book. This one is well written and might have been the definitive beretta book if Wilson had Gangarosa's in depth knowledge.
Why is this book the more sales pitch and coffee table-like book? It would seem that that would more likely describe the Gangarosa book because it was published by Stoeger (which is owned under Beretta holdings). I would read another Gangarosa book because he writes more generally of firearms history, hobby, and innovation but Wilson's book is of interest only to the fan.
Average customer rating:
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Inside the NHL Dream
Debbie Elicksen
Manufacturer: Freelance Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Biographies
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
Hockey
| Biographies
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Hockey
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0973023708 |
Product Description
TAKE A TOUR OF THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE FROM THE INSIDE Inside the NHL Dream (ISBN 09730237-0-8) touches on the human side of the players and people who work inside the National Hockey League. It's a part of the game most people never get to see unless they work on the inside. Learn about the true professional lives of the people and players who work INSIDE THE NHL DREAM. People like Jarome Iginla, James Patrick, Anson Carter, Michael Peca, Paul Kariya, Eric Duhatschek, Kelly Hrudey, Perry Berezan, and many more. What really happens behind the scenes? Learn about trades, travel, time commitments, sacrifices, the physical toll and what itÂ’s like to live on the bubble. What kind of commitment do players actually give? What role does management play in the overall state of the league? Who are the media and what is their role?
Average customer rating:
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Structuring Time: Notes On Making Movies
Michael Betancourt
Manufacturer: Wildside Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Stagecraft
| Theater
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Direction & Production
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0809511177 |
Download Description
A NEW KINETIC ART: This book presents a new approach to the conceptual basis of all visual art, and while it is about making movies -- the catch-all for video, film, computer graphics and anything else that may appear to move -- the thrust of this book is a radical redefinition of all visual media, including traditional standards like painting. The framework these notes propose is a way of thinking about visual art that eliminates all former media in favor of a division based on our ability to see movement or change in a work of art. While most movies change and move rapidly, this understanding is equally concerned with the very slow, or apparently immobile.
Book Description
1995 Gold Medallion Award winner!
Teens today face tough issues and tough choices. Parents and youth leaders can make a difference by really understanding the culture in which teens live. Without such understanding, attempts to provide direction may not be heard and may even be misguided. Understanding Today's Youth Culture is a complete guide for parents, teachers, and youth leaders on music and the media, sex, peer pressure, substance abuse, cyberspace and the Internet, teen depression, and suicide.
Customer Reviews:
Good Reading.......2000-11-27
For me this book was somewhat of a revelation on what I went through during my teen years. I am sure this book would have helped my parents deal with what I went through a great deal had they read it while I was in high school. In this book, Mueller attempts to show parents, youth workers, and anyone who cares about teens what they are experiencing during those tumultuous years between thirteen and nineteen. Mueller introduces his reader to the material aiming mostly at parents of teenagers; this required me as a reader to always be asking how does this affect my ministry, or my students. While this was mostly helpful it would generally be a better guide for parents than youth workers. He then goes on to talk about teens and how they are influenced by music, the media, and how parents should help their teens navigate through this complicated web of adolescence. Although a little bit out of step with today's fads, Mueller's points hit the right chords and can still be applied today. I again found myself having to switch my frame of reference to make the examples current. The author then dives into looking at what pressures teens face today from peer pressure, to love and relationships including sex, and popular culture as a whole. He turns from those topics into drug and substance abuse and depression and the state of teen's psyche. Mueller brings his book together in a fairly good fashion by helping to show parents how to point their children towards Christ. I really enjoyed how Mueller had practical ideas for parents at the end of each chapter. There is nothing worse than a book on a topic that does not offer practical advice, but Mueller did not leave this important part out. I would like to use Muller's practical opinions on the media and its influence on teens to do a Sunday school series on how the media can influence teens and what they need to do to be aware of what is swirling around them at all times. I think we underestimate the power of the media and Mueller softly reminds us of how we need to be vigilant as to what we put into our heads, consciously or unconsciously. The author's practical applications prodded this reader to look at where I could make a small dent in these influences, or at least make my students more aware of what is going on around them. I did find the statistics the author used to be somewhat closed to the evangelical community. I think in order to have a more balanced use of evidence Muller could have opened his eyes up to some more secular statistics and surveys, hopefully to balance out the information he received. In general this book was helpful and practical. I would recommend it to parents of students in my youth group, with the simple caveat of changing the examples to current examples as much as possible.
A must-have for parents, teachers, anyone working with kids.......1999-01-22
Walt's book is a must have for anyone who is working with young people - whether they are parents, teachers, youth pastors, coaches, etc. This book contains a very balanced, level-headed approach to youth culture, going way beyond the surface. Walt takes a much-needed hard look at the reasons kids engage various media. Anyone struggling to make sense of the adolescent sub-culture will appreciate Walt's window into a world too many people ignore. One of the best features of the book is the way the author weaves in issues of adolescent development and spirituality into the discussions about youth culture and the problems facing many kids. Parents will especially appreciate the way Walt provides some "hands on" ways of constructively interacting with their children.
One of the best overviews of American youth culture........1998-09-01
Obviously, the person who wrote the above evaluation has his doctorate of youth culture studies and therefore, didn't gain much from the book. I read the book as a youth worker of 19 years and father of 4 teenage sons. The book not only grasps what is means to be an adolescent but how both parents and youth workers can benefit. The thing I enjoy most about the book is that it accurately describes what many of our Canadian youth are going through as well. It is mandatory reading in the Youth Culture classes that I teach in Toronto and recommended reading for all the parents that I deal with in the parenting adolescent seminars that I teach. The key to the greatness of the book is for youth workers and parents alike to apply what they have learned. Unlike the evaluator above, I am not afraid to leave my name.
Issues among teens in the early to mid 1990s.......1998-07-31
Mueller's book goes into detail about many aspects of the youth culture of the early and mid 1990s. He does this in a way that it is speaking directly to the parent of a youth, however the book claims it is useful for all who work for youth, which it is, if one can get over the direct speaking to parents.
The first few chapters of the book basically serve as an introduction to the rest of the book, bracing the reader for what is to come. Mueller gives some statistics about the youth culture and also gives some examples of what he feels is wrong in the culture. He follows this by patting the parent on the back for reading his book by mentioning that parents need to know their teen's culture. By reading the book, a parent is beginning to get involved in the culture. Mueller lists some other ways of getting into the culture, such as watching youth in a mall or listening and observing their teens with their friends. One item which Mueller doesn't mention which I hav! e found very helpful in understanding the teen culture is reading their magazines. Just go to a local newsstand and purchase a few magazines which target the audience. For boys, this will often be skating, music, and wrestling magazines. For girls, pick up some dream-teen and lifestyle magazines.
The book includes discussion on a wide variety of issues in the teen culture today. These include a lengthy, but not complete, discussion on music and media, sex, peer pressure, materialism, drugs, and depression and suicide. Each section provides a background of the issue, with many documented, although not necessarily scientific and well researched, studies conducted among youth. At or near the end of each chapter is some often helpful advice to parents on how to deal with the particular issue among their own children. This advice is often both biblical and practical.
There are several areas of concern to this reviewer about the book. One already mentioned is the inclus! ion of some studies which may not reveal accurate results. ! Many of these studies come from conservative Christian organizations which may limit the audience of the participants within the study. They may also not take a scientific approach, choosing instead to first have a conclusion and then prove it, rather than gather statistics then coming to a conclusion. This is only a possibility. I am likely making a bigger deal out of this than is warranted. All the studies may indeed be accurate.
In his discussion on music, Mueller lists many types of music and gives a description on how it may influence a youth negatively. Rarely does he look at how music may influence a youth positively. I was surprised that he completely left out any discussion of Christian Hit Radio style music, which while often times theologically lacking or inaccurate, does provide a positive message. Mueller fails to mention such musical styles as new age or smooth jazz, classical, country, and oldies. One may think that this type of music would not need! to be mentioned as teens don't listen to these styles. However, it has been this reviewer's experience that many do listen to these styles on at least an occasional basis.
The reader would be better off reading another source about suicide. While the reasons a person may contemplate suicide are quite well done, Mueller's facts, figures, and logic do not correspond to an accurate view of suicide. On a side note, in chapter 12, Mueller asserts that the adolescent chooses to be depressed. Depression is just but one reason an adolescent may consider suicide. I have researched the topic of suicide in the past, and Mueller's dealings with the subject matter make me feel less comfortable with Mueller's discussion on other matters.
While the above may seem as though the book is not good, it in fact is good. The summaries of the issues were, for the most part, well done. I very much feel that the sections on what parents can do to help their youth in this turbulent time wer! e great. There are too many books that give you the summar! ies of the issues but leave one hanging on what to do about those issues. The discussion on materialism I found to be quite informative. This is actually a large problem in today's middle and upper class families, both for the youth and the adults. Even though the problem is so widespread, the issue is rarely discussed. I applaud Mueller's decision to include this section. I also applaud Mueller's humility in admitting that even he falls to materialism quite often.
Who is this book geared for? I read it as a youth minister, and I don't find much new in it. I don't believe a parent would find anything new in the book either. However, the book does serve as a reminder of many topics, and may help start discussion on the issues between adults in youth. The discussion starter aspect of the book makes it useful for both parents and in ministry.
The book is a worthwhile read if only to get an overview and reminder of what a teenager in this world faces. It is to easy! to write off a teen as a hopeless cause or the behavior as just being teenage behavior which will be grown out of. This book will help the adult remember their own teen years as well as help in understanding the world in which the teen lives in today.
Book Description
Parents, youth leaders, teachers, and others who work with youth will find this a valuable tool for discussing and applying the insights found in the book itself.
Customer Reviews:
Timely.......2002-08-15
As a servant of the Lord (part-time ministry) and a father I recognise the need to understand today's youth culture - and this discussion guide is a handy primer. I refuse to go along with the naysayers who talk of a general "dumbing down" - i rather think of it in terms of a fundamental shift in the way young people think nowadays. Sure, even I might not have heard of Pascal's Wager when I was 17 like my son; but I certainly wouldn't have thought that "he" was an adult entertainer. Neither is "Otempora Omores".
Book Description
An innovator in contemporary thought on economic and political development looks here at decline rather than growth. Albert O. Hirschman makes a basic distinction between alternative ways of reacting to deterioration in business firms and, in general, to dissatisfaction with organizations: one-exit-is for the member to quit the organization or for the customer to switch to the competing product, and the other-voice-is for members or customers to agitate and exert influence for change "from within."
The efficiency of the competitive mechanism, with its total reliance on exit, is questioned for certain important situations. As exit often undercuts voice while being unable to counteract decline, loyalty is seen in the function of retarding exit and of permitting voice to play its proper role.
The interplay of the three concepts turns out to illuminate a wide range of economic, social, and political phenomena. As the author states in the preface, "having found my own unifying way of looking at issues as diverse as competition and the two-party system, divorce and the American character, black power and the failure of 'unhappy' top officials to resign over Vietnam, I decided to let myself go a little."
Customer Reviews:
Snapping the firm back to efficiency.......2007-05-02
Hirschman argues that rather than operating at permanently optimal level - seeking profit maximization - firms often operate at a merely "satisfactory" level. Hirschman argues that this level of inefficiency leads to "organizational slack" in the firm. In times of strong competition, firms can draw upon this slack in order to squeeze out greater production through an investment in work hours, improved productivity, and other forms of pressure. When competition is not so fierce, firms are subject to a certain level of decline and subsequently become inefficient, i.e. they experience declining quality, high prices, etc. When firms are underperforming in this manner, customers have two options to correct this inefficiency: exit and voice. Both exit and voice are used by consumers in order to snap a firm back into efficiency. When selecting exit, customers leave the underperforming firm in favor of an alternative. When using voice, customers voice their concern directly to the firm or its managers. These two options are not mutually exclusive and may be used in tandem.
Exit represents the economic side of recuperation mechanisms and often results from a decline in quality. When quality drops, customers exit and the firm's revenues fall. When management becomes aware of customer desertion, it must take an active role in repairing the damage to the firm. However, the level of response varies with the level of exit. A small number of exiting customers is unlikely to lead to corrective action by management, because the damage caused by the exit is not significant to serve as an incentive for change. The same can be said about a high number of exiting customers. If the damage is too great, no recuperation measures will be pursued as the damage is too great to recover from. However, if an intermediate number of customers exit, the management will pursue actions which may lead to a full recovery. This illustrates the need for both inert and alert customers in order for exit to work. Alert customers leave and thus provide the firm with feedback, while the inert customers grant the firm time to adjust and change. However, it must be noted that exit does not always lead to efficiency. When goods are not readily substitutable, or a decline in quality occurs across a sector, exit will not work. Those who exit will be shuffling from firm to firm across a sector. For every customer lost, the firm will simply gain a customer from a competing firm.
Voice represents the political side of the recuperation mechanisms. It can be used as either a supplement or alternative to exit. The effectiveness of voice is positively related to its volume, but, like exit, it can be overdone. Like exit, a mixture of both inert and alert customers is necessary for the voice option to work. People will hold their political capital in reserve and bring a great weight to bear on the firm when they deem it necessary. However, the elites still must be allowed to make decisions. It must be noted that voice often serves in a residual role to the exit strategy. The voice option is often the only way a customer or members of a group can react when the exit option is unavailable, i.e. in churches, families, or the state. As such, "The actual level of voice feeds on inelastic demand, or on the lack of opportunity to exit" (Hirschman, 1970, p. 34). In such a case, voice carries the entire burden. However, in such cases where customers feel that voice will serve as an effective recuperation mechanism, the will postpone exit. This is true in that once a person has exited a firm, they have lost the power of voice, but not vice versa. Customers will prefer the voice option to exit when; 1. they assume the firm will return to its original superiority over substitutable alternatives; 2. they want to "do something" to change the quality, i.e. to exert influence; 2. they expect their own influence, coupled with that of others to create changes; 4. they have developed loyalty to the firm. In sum, the voice option works in markets with a limited number of buyers. Here, a group of buyers are able to influence the management of the firm. Such a trait is most often found in organizations as opposed to business firms. Additionally, we are most likely to see the voice option used when the buyer is stuck with, and dissatisfied with a product from which the customer can not readily exit.
With the Exit and Voice framework established, Hirschman seeks to use the paradigm to explain a number of social phenomena. For example, Hirschman argues that "the consumer who is rather insensitive to price-increases is often likely to be highly sensitive to quality declines" (1970, p. 49). These consumers tend to be better off as they can afford changes in price. In short, if price increases but quality remains the same, the customer is likely to stay. However, if quality declines and price remains the same, these consumers will exit in favor of a higher quality, but perhaps more expensive substitutable good. As such, Hirschman hypothesizes that customers are more likely to resort to protest in regards to declining quality in high-quality goods than they are with medium of low-quality goods. Hirschman uses this hypothesis to explain the differences between upper and lower class cleavages: "the role of voice in fending off deterioration is particularly important for a number of essential services larges defining `quality of life.' Since in the case of these services, resistance to deterioration requires voice, and since voice will be more forthcoming more readily at the upper than the lower quality ranges, the cleavage between the quality of life at the top and at the middle or lower ranges tend to be more marked" (1970, p. 53).
Additionally, Hirschman uses the Exit and Voice paradigm to examine monopolies, arguing that sometimes, a tight monopoly is better than a system of competition. He argues that a no-exit situation will be better than a system of competition under two circumstances; 1. "exit is ineffective as a recuperation mechanism, but does not succeed in draining from the firm or organization its more quality-conscious, alert and potentially activist members"; and 2. "if voice could be made into an effective mechanism once these customers or members are securely locked in" (1970, p. 55). This implies that in a tight monopoly, voice still holds some power. In a loose monopoly, where some competition still exists, a company is willing to loose those loud people who will choose to exit, thus ensuring that the firm will not pursue a move towards returned efficiency.
Hirschman also examines the role of Exit and Voice on the two-party system. Changes in quality are interpreted differently by different people. For example, in political parties, a move towards the center will anger those in the extreme polls. Hirschman writes that the firm will tend to minimize the discontent of its customers to reduce hostility in the environment in which it operates. This implies that the market will "clear" somewhere in the middle of the two discount levels. Hirschman argues that those voters who are near the middle of the spectrum are non-captive voters, meaning that they retain the power of exit. They may defect to the other party. Those on the extreme polls, however, do not have the exit option as they are too distant from the other rival party. Hirschman refers to those in the fringes as captive voters. As such, in a dual-party system, it pays for the party to mover towards the center in the hopes of maintaining the non-captive voters, knowing that the fringe voters are relatively stuck with the situation.
The main value of Hirschman's Exit and Voice framework is that is can be applied to a host of social science phenomena. Although written nearly forty years ago, scholars still take the Exit and Voice model when explaining other social problems.
Bridging the Gap between Economic and Political Theory.......2001-03-07
I read this book in the 1970's when I studied Political Science in Jerusalem. The Author bridges the gap between Economic and Political Theory. He shows from his real experiences that not always a monopoly is bad for the Public. A situation where you have too many choices is worse than having a few choices. As People who have experienced Multi-Party Systems like Weimar Republic in Germany and France in the Fifties, Many Parties does not mean Effective, (Good) Parties. USA and UK Manage very Well with few Political Parties. The Implications of this book are wide. How do you encourage people to use "Voice" to improve organisations instead of Exit or Loyalty (Where people stay quiet). A must to read to Understand the Social Dynamics. Another must is Isiah Berlin on the Paradox and clash between Freedom and Equality.
A fresh view at market liberalism.......1999-12-30
Albert Hirschman's Exit, Voice and Loyality is a book written by an economist but accessible to all - a rare achieve in any academic disipline, especially economics. The book was written in the early 70's but still has relevant today. Its greatest achievment is the illumination of 'exit' as the mentality of modern western capitalist societies - the idealisation of the consumers' right to 'vote with one's feet' - and its spread into all forms of social activity. Hirschman adds a historical dimension to this by arguing that the whole of the United States has largely been built on 'exit' mentality - from the mass migration out of Europe from the 17th century onwards to the calls to 'go west' across the plains. Exit is the strategy advocated today by neo liberals as being the manifestation of democracy in the market sphere. Hirschman's observations were made in the early 70's, yet their relevance as an internal critique of the free market is perhaps even more important today in the post-cold war era when the traditional critiques of the capitalism (such as Marxism in its Communism manifestation) have so clearly failed. As liberals try to grasp the future - while opponents of liberalism turn their attention from Marx to Nietzsche (such as John Gray), Hirschman's Exit Voice and Loyalty is an accessible, refreshing and insightful look at market liberalism from within, and is therefore throughly recommended.
Books:
- Touching the Earth: Intimate Conversations with the Buddha
- Wedgwood: The First Tycoon
- Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun: How Reginald Lewis Created a Billion-Dollar Business Empire
- Why the Best Man for the Job Is A Woman: The Unique Female Qualities of Leadership
- William: The Inside Story of the Man Who Will Be King
- 21 Dog Years : Doing Time @ Amazon.com
- '45: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Untold Story of the Jacobite Rising
- A Biography of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox,(1515-1578): Niece of Henry VIII and Mother-In-Law of Mary, Queen of Scots (Studies in British History, V. 62)
- A Journal for Christa: Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space
- A Wee Guide to Mary, Queen of Scots (Wee Guides)
Books Index
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Modern Beretta Firearms
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