Jean-Louis Levesque: a biography

Book Description

The life of noted financier (founder of Levesque, Beaubien brokers), philanthropist (Montreal and Miami Heart Institutes) and throughbred horse-breeder (winner of many famous races including The Queen's Plate and part owner of Secretariat) is chronicled in this book which covers the subject's rise from the small Quebec townof Nouvelle to the heights of fame and fortune.

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Rememberin' Life in the Trenches
Mike Current
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Football | Biographies | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Football (American) | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0759659311

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Rememberin'...life in the Trenches
Mike Current
Manufacturer: Rhino Holdings, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0967203317

Book Description

This suspenseful and moving memoir of Africa recounts the experiences of Alma Gottlieb, an anthropologist, and Philip Graham, a fiction writer, as they lived in two remote villages in the rain forest of Cote d'Ivoire. With an unusual coupling of first-person narratives, their alternate voices tell a story imbued with sweeping narrative power, humility, and gentle humor. Parallel Worlds is a unique look at Africa, anthropological fieldwork, and the artistic process.

"A remarkable look at a remote society [and] an engaging memoir that testifies to a loving partnership . . . compelling."—James Idema, Chicago Tribune

Customer Reviews:

A great start.......2002-10-24

I've used this book in two classes on the anthropology of religion, and the students love it. The anthropologist wife writes in a way they're familiar with from other ethnographies, and the husband in lovely prose. I think students react so well because the authors aren't afraid to write about their screw-ups, defeats, and fears. I use this as the first book in the semester, BEFORE I send students out into the field. It lets them know that they can do this scary thing called fieldwork and still be themselves.

Hilarious Encounters.......1999-11-23

Of course, I read this for a class, but I would read this again (which I will since I bought it). This is the first book that shows a believable encounter of a foreigner with a new culture. Generally, authors are reluctant to describe in detail all the mistakes and humiliations that occur when entering a new world, but these authors are unafraid to share their trials, but of course their tribulations as well. It is really a heartwarming tale of friendships formed in a strange and exciting world. Plus, it reads like a novel!

Fascinating, compelling and unique.......1999-08-05

Parallel Worlds provides unique insights not only into the world of the Beng, but into the challenging experience of a writer and an anthropologist trying to fit in and to understand an unfamiliar culture. The two alternating voices are interwoven to create a narrative of the couple's years in the Cote d'Ivoire that allow the book to transcend categorization as strictly creative non-fiction or anthropology. Graham's passages are filled with the quiet and distinctive prose that categorizes his work as a short story writer and a novelist. Gottlieb's sections are filled with insights as she learns more about the Beng, often through complicated backward and forward steps as mistakes are made, discovered, and corrected. For readers unfamiliar with African culture, this book provides a beautiful but ultimately real portrait of Beng life as the writers become more and more part of the villiage existance. But perhaps the most interesting thread of the narrative is the gradual process of the familiar turning strange, of America existing as a paralell and unfamiliar world viewed from a distance.

There's no place like home!.......1999-08-04

Wow! Do you know what CRITTERS grow in the legs of some rural African people and whether or not you could endure helping the people remove them? Would you be able to stand eating BITTER and PASTY GRUEL and yams at every meal? This book helps you answer your own questions about personal tolerance. It forces you to think about cultural differences and ask yourself whether or not you could live in parallel worlds if you had to.

If you're looking for a great fiction story, this is not it! Rather, it is an interesting anthropological STUDY which was meant to inform, enlighten and interest. If you are ignorant about the difference between genres, then you have no right to complain about the book!

I particularly found the contrasting writing styles from chapter to chapter very refreshing. The wife, an anthropologist, writes from her perspective in a thorough (scientific) way and in alternating chapters, her husband, a fiction writer (How to Read an Unwritten Language--GREAT, by the way), offers a unique look at the Beng society through the eyes of the creative author and all-American guy next door.

I couldn't wait to read the information toward the end of the book about the trip back to the village and what became of the different Beng people later on.

This book should definitely be required for beginning social anthropology courses because it integrates a traditional ethnography with the perspective of a creative writer. In other words, it has very valid anthropology, yet will still engage the student! I can't tell you how many BORING ethnographies I read in Anthro 105 years ago when I was in college!!! I wish I had been assigned Parallel Worlds first to help me bridge the gap.

Poor investment.......1999-07-30

Parallel Worlds offers a well written account of an unexceptional field study. Anthropologists may like the book. I was left unsatisfied.

PARALLEL WORLDS: AN ANTHROPOLOGIST AND A WRITER ENCOUNTER AFRICA

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PARALLEL WORLDS: AN ANTHROPOLOGIST AND A WRITER ENCOUNTER AFRICA
Alma and Philip Graham Gottlieb
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000P276NM

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Parallel Worlds: An Anthropologist and a Writer Encounter Africa.
Alma Gottlieb
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000M3TV1O

Average customer rating:

Parallel Worlds: An Anthropologist and a Writer Encounter Africa.

Manufacturer: 0
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ICON4O

Customer Reviews:

Chris Pramas is one of the best RPG writers out there........2003-08-16

Everything about this book appeals to the Greyhawk afficianado. It's intelligent, well-written, and builds upon the great tradition laid down by the father of role-playing, Gary Gygax. Find a copy of this if you can. Pramas remains of the best writers out there, and deserves all the credit for this excellent release.

The essence of Greyhawk.......2000-11-30

Don't pick up Slavers expecting a quick, easy-to-run module. It's not. But it can be much, much more. In fact, Slavers can serve as the basis for one of the most epic Greyhawk adventures you'll ever run.

For me, Greyhawk stands out as a campaign world for several reasons: the influence of history, great villains, and strong plot development (though not necessarily resolution). Slavers has all three. It starts with the background of the Slavelords, relating the role they have played in events throughout the Flanaess. We learn what motivates them and what they hope to achieve. They are greedy, ruthless, power-hungry, and above all, smart -- the perfect ingredients for memorable villains. As this story of intrigue develops, the players will discover plots within plots that go deeper than they ever imagined.

Apart from the adventure outline, Slavers holds its own as a sourcebook for the lands immediately surrounding Greyhawk. You'll find a detailed description of the Free City of Dyvers -- including its geography, government, economy, prominent citizens and more. Blackthorn, the humanoid lair hidden deep within the Gnarley Forest, is finally revealed. Slavers also does an incredible job of bringing Pomarj cities such as Highport to life, offering a realistic picture of how thousands of humans, orcs and others manage to co-exist.

Crafting this exhaustive material into a campaign will take some work. (Chances are, you'll spend a couple nights just reading through it all.) But it's definitely worth the effort. Slavers represents one of the best releases put out by Wizards of the Coast for D&D.

Worthy sequel to the proud Slavelords tradition.......2000-05-02

At last, a sequel to the epic story of modules A1-4, Scourge of the Slavelords! I was so excited to see this finally make it into print that I bought 7 copies. A brand new Greyhawk adventure, based on the modules of old, but an entirely new experience, with no rehashing! How long had I been waiting for this? The enthusiasm wore off a bit as I plowed through the module's 128 pages. I haven't had a chance to play this adventure yet, but I have a few reservations about the experience. The adventure begins well. The humanoid clans of the Pomarj, scattered into chaos once again by the heroic depredations of the adventurers of 20 years ago (A1-4), have once again been reunited by a Slavelord - this time, it is the grim, charismatic Turrosh, a half-orc princeling who shows ingenious savagery as both lord and conqueror. The dreaded yellow sails, not seen on any armada for years, have once again become the symbol of death and slavery throughout the Wild Coast, and even as far as the Nyr Dyv. It's time for a new generation of heroes to put an end to the menace! Things get a little sticky as the scenario continues. A bit more reading reveals that this isn't really a heavily-scripted adventure; actually, it's more of a sourcebook with detailed encounter keys. The PCs are given no single incentive to go from point A to point B - and although the work is impressive for its non-linearity, a bit of frustration sets in as the DM realizes that at least 10 hours of preparation will be required (after the preliminary reading) to make this adventure come to life. But don't let that throw you off! The more you read, the more you realize that the book is set up so that it can be perfectly customized to your campaign. Even better, it gives exhaustive, detailed, and imaginative settings, many of which are famous and well-known to long-time wanderers of Greyhawk: Hardby, Elredd, Highport (at last!), and more are revealed for the first time with well-planned encounters and many pages of lore. What's mostly lacking is the dungeon crawls - there's a few slaver outposts highlighted, but the book's pages are mostly spent detailing the settings of the adventures, rather than detailing the adventures themselves. One of the most impressive aspects of the sourcebook is the great ideas. We're treated to the ruined, shipwreck-dotted coastal village of Cantona, whose non-Euclidean angles and magical wardings prevent summonings and teleportation; the Yellow Tooth Kobolds of the Pomarj, who create makeshift floating villages with which to harass the unwary; the Temple District of Highport, where we get to read about the intriguing worshippers of Vecna, Iuz, Incabulos, and more; and the return of Stalman Klim, with his insidious plots to spread the Cult of the Earth Dragon throughout the heartlands of the Flanaess. The final "dungeon," the Temple of the Earth Dragon, is creative, fun, intense, and well-planned; but, this section is abysmally short. The hopeful DM is left with the idea that someone cackled, threw a handful of ingenious ideas into a cauldron, and then... forgot to stoke up the fire. If you're looking for flashing blades, sizzling spells, and piratical scenes of mayhem and drama, you'll likely be disappointed. But if you want an outstanding sourcebook that provides lavish detail on some of the most eternally mysterious corners of Greyhawk (which happen to be very close to the Free City itself), you'll find Slavers to be an excellent resource, with the seeds of many potential adventures. May it live long and free!

Excellent Work-Creates an entire Campaign.......2000-04-28

At once I was pleased to find that several of the original Slavelords had survived and had rebuilt the organization. This super module provides enough action and plot to put together an entire Greyhawk campaign for characters that are roughly 3rd or 4th level. It also provides plenty of side adventure hooks and ideas to keep the action going and to come in and out of the campaign to keep things fresh. Several key towns and cities are described to provide locales for action and to act as bases of operations. Several slave lords are familiar and several are new. The story will take the characters on a ride across several parts of Greyhawk during their quest and serves as a good means of "jumping" in to the setting. All in all this is an excellent module that should provide players and DM's with many sessions of thrills and action.

Better than the original slavers series.......2000-04-03

There are all kinds of contradictory feelings about the original A1-4 series. My group's experience in particular was not very good.

If only we had own Slavers! instead of A1-4 everything would have been different. The new module is more challenging but undoubtedly more fun than the original, with unexpected twists. All in all, it is more juicy.

Book Description

* The fun and easy way to get started with Quicken, the #1 personal financial software, with more than fifteen million users
* A bestseller year after year-now updated throughout for the latest release of Quicken
* Helps readers take control of their money by showing how to track their day-to-day finances, better manage their investments, and evaluate the tax implications of their financial decisions-all without hiring expensive professional financial consultants
* Expert advice shows how to manage bills, maximize investment performance, save money for college or retirement, bank online, maintain detailed financial records, and more
* Written by veteran For Dummies author Stephen L. Nelson, MBA, CPA and author of more than 100 books

Download Description

The fun and easy way to get started with Quicken, the #1 personal financial software, with more than fifteen million users
* A bestseller year after year-now updated throughout for the latest release of Quicken
* Helps readers take control of their money by showing how to track their day-to-day finances, better manage their investments, and evaluate the tax implications of their financial decisions-all without hiring expensive professional financial consultants
* Expert advice shows how to manage bills, maximize investment performance, save money for college or retirement, bank online, maintain detailed financial records, and more
* Written by veteran For Dummies author Stephen L. Nelson, MBA, CPA and author of more than 100 books

Customer Reviews:

Great Source of Bad Jokes - Look Elsewhere For Useful Information.......2006-03-11

It is not exactly a closely guarded secret that Lawyers and Accountants have a rather bizarre sense of humor. Given the manner in which they make their livings I guess this is understandable, if not entirely forgivable.

All that said, I will warn you that if you purchase Quicken 2005 for Dummies in hopes of getting useful information all you will receive for your twenty-two dollars is a pitiful collection of bad jokes.

Don't believe me? Well just how funny are you going to find it when as a Mac owner you are faced with the most unenjoyable task of moving Quicken files from a Windows machine to your Mac and having turned to the relevant section of the book you read the following:

"Did Somebody Say Macintosh?"

"....Keep in mind, however, that this process (converting Windows to Mac or vice versa) is not for the timid or faint-hearted. I would also say that it isn't for people who have better things to do with their time. My advice to you? Go to a movie. Mow your lawn. Read a trashy novel. Forget all about this importing business."

And, as Bugs Bunny would say "That's all Folks!" when it comes to advice on transferring Quicken for Windows files to a Mac.

That's correct, not a single useful word of advice about moving Quicken files between Windows and Mac machines exists in this entire book. I know because I wasted a great deal of time looking. And yes, I would vastly have preferred to use that time doing something useful like mowing my lawn.

And believe you me, Mr. Nelson is an equal opportunity kind of guy when it comes to discriminating against computer users in search of useful Quicken information. Not only does he virtually slam the door in the face of those of us who use Macs, he does his level best to ignore the needs of all other users as well.

Time after time after time I have found myself trying to find information pertaining to some confusing and poorly explained feature in Quicken only to find myself the butt of yet another of Mr. Nelson's lousy jokes.

Countless other times having spent nearly $25 for a manual on Quicken so that I can avoid wasting time wandering aimlessly through the poorly written and illogically organized Help Files that come with the program I find myself being referred to those very files by the author of this book. Excuse me, does he think that I spent $25 to gain access to critical information not provided by Quicken so that I could be told time after time to go to Quicken's help files for the critical information I need?

If all of this were not bad enough, I am afraid that as a book store clerk of 8 years experience I have long understood something about computer manuals that is blatantly apparent in this particular one.

To whit, software sales rest entirely upon constant change. Why buy a new version of a program unless it's different? One of the most unfortunate offshoots of this change or die mindset is that computer manuals have a shelf life of about 6 months. This is not happy news at all to the folks publishing these manuals as they are used to books with shelf lives measured in decades not minutes. One of the tricks that these publishers have come up with in an effort to make these manuals profitable is to issue "New and Revised" manuals each time the software changes in which the new and revised material is a bit on the scanty side if you get my drift.

Thus although the title says Quicken 2005 for Dummies even the dumbest of the dumb will soon realized that the author did not exactly knock himself out during the revision process. In short, all sorts of "old" information remains unchanged, and all sorts of "new" information didn't make it in.

I don't know about you, but I've got better things to do with my time than read books like this... like mowing the lawn or reading a trashy novel, for instance!

Not for my Mac.......2006-02-24

It's an excellent book--unless you have a Mac. To my disappointment, I discovered very little useful info for "the rest of us." Tip to Mac users: before you purchase this book from Amazon, skim through a copy at your local bookstore and see if it's worth the price! Had I done that, I wouldn't have bought it. My fault.

Great for the beginner.......2006-01-10

Like Steve Nelson, I too am a CPA and MBA, with a JD thrown in for good measure. Unlike Steve, I don't make my living writing how-to books for software. I've been searching in vain for a book that takes a look under the hood of Quicken. As Steve points out, "[I]f you're an experienced Quicken user and want to 'take your personal accounting to the next level,' the book is probably a poor choice ... [I]f you're looking for encyclopedic coverage of all Quicken features, this is not the book for you." Regrettably, such books DON'T EXIST. If you have technical training in accounting, Quicken is a real stinkeroo because it is NOT a double-entry accounting system, but rather a sophisticated database application. It uses procedures and terminology foreign to accountants, masking much of its functionality with obscure, proprietary language and reports. Regrettably, Scott Cook (founder of Quicken) won the marketing war and now we're stuck with this beast (or MS Money, which possesses the same faults) for personal finance. Except for some obscure Linux programs, these two packages dominate the market, yet there are no publications intended for tax and accounting professionals to maximize the usefulness of this software. So if you're a beginner, dive right in and get started. If you're experienced with either Quicken or accounting or both, you're on your own. Apparently Intuit (and other publishers) want to keep us in the dark, force us to spend unconscionable amounts of time with their software, and steer customers towards Intuit's "certified" consultants.

Personal finance software guidebook.......2005-03-07

Quicken 2005 for Dummies is the latest edition it the Quicken for Dummies series, all editions written by Stephen L. Nelson. Nelson also wrote all editions of the QuickBooks for Dummies. Whereas Quicken focuses on personal financial record keeping, QuickBooks focuses on business accounting. If your immediate interest is taxes, you might want also to check Taxes 2005 for Dummies by the same publisher, Wiley. More than a million copies of the various editions of Quicken for Dummies have been sold, and that indicates consumer satisfaction with the book in general. It is an easy-to-use guide to the popular Quicken personal finance software.

Although focused on Quicken Premier software for Windows, Quicken 2005 for Dummies contains useful guidelines, tips, and warnings for any Quicken user. The Mac user can refer to the Quick Start card that comes with the Quicken 2005 for Mac for Mac-specific information, like backing up Quicken data and keyboard shortcuts.

After a brief introduction, the book is divided into six parts, the first providing a brief overview of the Quicken 2005 software. The basics section covers checkbooks, accessing online accounts, generating reports and charts, balancing accounts, and calculators for investments, retirements, college, and taxes. The home finance section addresses credit cards, debit cards, petty cash, mutual funds, and stocks and bonds. The business section has a chapter on payroll and one on receivables and payables. The concluding section lists frequently asked questions, with answers, and provides both finance tips and Quicken troubleshooting tips. Part 6 contains an appendix on Windows and a glossary of financial and computing terms. The book also has a detailed table of contents and an index. Introductory and basic material fill half the book; home finance and business follow for those who wish to do more than basic personal financial record keeping. A reader can jump directly to text about the specific topic or task of interest at the moment. One need not read the book from start to finish.

Like all Dummies book, Quicken 2005 has marginal icons to mark tips and warnings. Bold-face type and type changes make it easy to follow step by step, and additional text expands upon each step for the novice. The text is illustrated with corresponding screen images, but these "screens" are too small for easy reading; I have to wear my glasses to read the text but remove the glasses to read the screen images.

The author warns that moving Quicken data from a Macintosh to Windows involves exporting, and he "can think of about a million things more fun to do than exporting Quicken data from a Mac to Windows" (p. 22). That is it for Mac-specific content in this book.

Another word of caution comes from Jeffery Battersby, who in MacWorld (February 2005) reviewed Quicken 2005 software. Battersby concluded his review, "In the end, Quicken remains the hands-down best way to track your personal finances," but, he added, "Quicken's tax planner is no substitute for a trip to the accountant, especially if your tax situation is even a little bit complicated." Similarly, Quicken 2005 for Dummies is a good guide for record keeping but not a substitute for a tax accountant.

That said, Quicken 2005 for Dummies will help the Quicken 2005 user get done the job of keeping personal financial records.

[...]

Fabulous for Quicken "Newbies" - easy to use!.......2004-11-11

I have been a Quicken user for years and have been happy with all the improvements over time! Needless to say - I have repeatedly raved about this great software, but my in-laws are computer phobes and have resisted even trying it.

I purchased "Quicken 2005 for Dummies" for them and assured them the book would answer all their questions. Well, they hemmed and hawed for a few more days, but then tried it out. It worked like a charm! Any question they had was answered quickly by the book and they now feel they invented the software! (You can only imagine how ecstatic they were when they discovered google!).

If you are new to quicken, or are already a believer and want to get someone else hooked, this book is really worth it! Thanks Mr. Nelson for a great guide to some super software!

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