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This book offers relentless proofs that public debt works

Insightful!

England's Democracy versus France's Ancien Regime

Insightful!

An excellent history of public debt and its role in developi

A Free Nation Deep in Debt: The Financial Roots of Democracy
James Macdonald
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Economic History | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
Democracy | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0691126321

Book Description

For the greater part of recorded history the most successful and powerful states were autocracies; yet now the world is increasingly dominated by democracies. In A Free Nation Deep in Debt, James Macdonald provides a novel answer for how and why this political transformation occurred. The pressures of war finance led ancient states to store up treasure; and treasure accumulation invariably favored autocratic states. But when the art of public borrowing was developed by the city-states of medieval Italy as a democratic alternative to the treasure chest, the balance of power tipped. From that point on, the pressures of war favored states with the greatest public creditworthiness; and the most creditworthy states were invariably those in which the people who provided the money also controlled the government. Democracy had found a secret weapon and the era of the citizen creditor was born. Macdonald unfolds this tale in a sweeping history that starts in biblical times, passes via medieval Italy to the wars and revolutions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and ends with the great bond drives that financed the two world wars.

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This book offers relentless proofs that public debt works.......2004-11-25

I have not finished this marvelously over-written book but I can tell you I no longer look at the U.S.'s problems the same way. This book of history has much to say about our current problems with social security, health insurance and the Middle East. The most impressive insight I have taken away from this book is that a King with a hoard of gold is no match to a republic where everyone willingly shares the debt load, no matter how great that debt is. You have to wonder if the U.S./U.K. would do better in Iraq if they spent more time setting up money markets. I also understand why the Palestinians refusal to use direct deposit will forever keep them poor and undeveloped.

Insightful!.......2004-06-08

This impressively researched opus reflects an obsession with One Big Idea that never comes quite clearly into focus, but revolves around the critical historical role played by national credit. Behold an author who not only quotes the Biblical book of Numbers, but also interprets it as a document of financial history, ignoring the contentious issues of authorship and anachronism that make scriptural exegesis such challenging work for specialists. He traces the way government and conflict are funded from Herodotus to the Hanoverian Court to Woodrow Wilson. Like the River Platte, this work is a mile wide and an inch deep; but the river has a definite direction, and this meanders. If you fancy an intriguing browse through major and minor points of political and fiscal history, we have found just the book for you. Some scenes are indelible, like the Germans celebrating WWI bond purchases by driving iron nails into a big wooden statue of a Field Marshall, and may jolt you if you think Allied and Axis powers were funded differently. The U.K. and the U.S. sponsored similar popular financial mobilizations, complete with bombastic slogans (no statues, though).

England's Democracy versus France's Ancien Regime.......2003-11-14

MacDonald argues that democracy arose to allow governments to borrow for war from their people. There is superb chapter on France versus England in eighteenth century. England had half the GNP of France, but it was always able to outspend France in their wars. England relied on 3% perpetual debt, readily marketable by holders, with published information about budget and single market indicator of England's credit rating. Plus England was run by "heroic citizen-creditors" who were willing to entrust their capital to Bank of England (for loan for war) because they ran the government and were sure they would get taxes to make the debt sound.
France had kings who defaulted on a whim, a bramble bush
of borrowing instruments, a terribly inefficient tax system, with lots of exemptions for their aristocrats, no public information and a lousy resale market. French citizen did not lend to France. England paid 3% on its debt and France paid 11% on its debt as the Revolution neared. England carried debt of double its GNP and France went bankrupt which killed the ancien regime with debt of 2/3d of GNP. Terrific story.
MacDonald is concise and accurate summarizer of the literature on issues (American Revolutionary War debt) that I know about.

Insightful!.......2003-10-16

An excellent history of public debt and its role in developi.......2003-08-25

This book is not what you think. The title suggests the repeat of the theme exposed by Paul Kennedy in the 80s in his book "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers." But, the two books advance almost symmetrically opposed theories. Paul Kennedy suggested that great powers eventually decline because they can't withstand the fiscal burden of maintaining a nonproductive military effort to govern their empire (the Imperial Overstretch concept). Macdonald instead advances that a public bond market is a nation?s best tool in raising funds for emergencies such as warfare. In Kennedy's book debt is bad. In Macdonald it is good.

Macdonald's argument starts with the fiscal stress associated with having to raise huge amount of funds in preparation for warfare. In such situation, raising taxes is impractical. Often tax rates would have had to double or treble to raise adequate funds to finance wars throughout history. A government can?t do that without causing a revolution. Often what states and government did before the advent of well developed public bond markets was to mine their grounds (or grounds of conquered territories) for mineral riches (gold and silver). The states would then hoard these gold reserves as funds available for a rainy day (war). But, as Macdonald points out this treasure hoarding was most inefficient from an economic standpoint.

Public debt markets became a much preferred alternative to treasure hoarding for financing wars. This was true for several reasons. Treasure hoarding represented a huge amount of wasted capital not reinvested in the economy where it could have generated rapidly rising living standards for society at large. Bond financing (public debt) was so much more flexible a tool for war financing than an ongoing tasking treasure hoarding mechanism.

Comparing two countries, one being a bond borrower, the other a treasure hoarder, one could readily observe that the bond borrower economy would grow much faster, and that it would have an easier time to finance wars when and as needed. Typically, you run out of gold reserve faster than you run out of a state's borrowing capacity.

But, for a public debt market to thrive you need democratic institutions. In democracies, the motivation of the government and its citizen are aligned. This facilitates a trust between the creditors (citizens) and the borrower (the government). As a result, democratic governments can borrow more and at a lower interest costs then other governments. In other words, the creditors of a democratic government assess a lower credit and counterparty risk to a democratic government, and therefore demand a lower risk premium (lower interest rates). This is Macdonald's main argument. Therefore, he concludes that the pressure to create public credit markets to finance wars was an impetus to create public debt markets and in turn to develop democratic institutions.

Macdonald's theory is so current. Today, it is self evident that the countries who have the most transparent disclosure, integer accounting system, accountable governance associated with democracies can borrow at a substantially lower cost than others.

Book Description

This book gives the first comprehensive analysis of privatization and restructuring by the Treuhandanstalt in East Germany. It also addresses the theoretical and conceptual problems of large-scale privatization in the transformation process. Contrary to many transition economies, the East German privatization approach was based on the sale of state-owned companies to strategic investors under the constraint of a mixed set of allocative criteria, including employment and investment objectives. In order to achieve these objectives, the Treuhandanstalt frequently granted huge subsidies to private investors. This required the negotiation and enforcement of complex contracts. Their approach encountered widespread criticism in the public as well as the academic literature.

The author's study first discusses the effects of different privatization procedures in transition economies on the allocation and distribution of property rights, using the framework of the neo-institutionalist approach. Second,it investigates the privatization strategy of the Treuhandanstalt under the specific macroeconomic and institutional conditions of German unification. Finally, it analyses the problems of the agreement and enforcement of employment and investment objectives in privatization contracts under incomplete information, based on a game-theoretical model.

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The Mad Sampler
Albert B. Feldstein
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QV2U60

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The Mad Sampler
Albert B. [editor] Feldstein
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000L27PMI

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Mad Sampler

Manufacturer: Warner Books, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0446887382

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Mad Sampler
Albert B. (ed.) Feldstein
Manufacturer: Signet Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000ON2ZUG

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Mad Sampler
William M. Gaines
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0451034953

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Mad Sampler #18

Manufacturer: Warner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GY1FA4

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Mad Sampler (Mad Ser. )
Mad Magazine Editors
Manufacturer: Warner Books, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K688NK

Book Description

Professor of Music at Colgate University and a widely respected musicologist, Godwin traces the history of the idea, held since ancient times, that the whole cosmos, with its circling planets and stars, is in some way a musical or harmonious entity. The author shows how this concept has continued to inspire philosophers, astronomers, and mystics from antiquity to the present day.

Customer Reviews:

A Conscious Cosmos ~ Re-Discovering The Adam Kadmon.......2006-05-19

Jocelyn Godwin's 'The Harmony of the Spheres: The Pythagorean Tradition in Music' was published in '92 by Inner Traditions Publ. This 512 page text along with his 'Music, Mysticism and Magic' in '86 and 'Harmonies of Heaven and Earth' in '87 comprise a trilogy of monumental importance.

Building from the foundation of these two previous works Joscelyn Godwin presents a treatise encapsulating all the arcane and mundane wisdom of the ages to come to a conclusion that we knew all along in our heart of hearts. There is no separation, no "I and Thou" in the universe. All is one and music is the hidden key to unlocking this ancient truth. The cosmos is a musical, harmonious entity (Adam Kadmon)!

His scholarship is beyond repute, his research exhaustive and his conclusions, well you decide.

Source Readings in Music.......2002-12-11

Yes, this is a highly specialized, scholarly, and esoteric collection but it contains the translated writings of philosophers of music not easily available. Not even the huge "Strunk's Source Readings (1998)" has the information which Godwin has collected and translated: Nicomachus, Pliny, Ptolemy, Kepler, Fludd; Arab writers Al-Safa, Al-Katib; the kabalist Ibn Latif. If you are a fan of Godwin's research as I am, these source readings will fill in the gaps in the history of music which is not taught. It is, however, a reference book first and foremost.

THE HARMONY OF THE SPHERES: THE PYTHAGOREAN TRADITION IN MUSIC.

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THE HARMONY OF THE SPHERES: THE PYTHAGOREAN TRADITION IN MUSIC.
Joscelyn. Godwin
Manufacturer: Inner Traditions,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PJF1OG

Book Description

Sixteen essays, written by specialists from many fields, grapple with the problem of a popular culture that is not very popular — but is seen by most as vital to the body politic, whether endangered by globalization or capable of politically progressive messages for its audiences.

Slippery Pastimes covers a variety of topics: Canadian popular music from rock 'n' roll to country, hip-hop to pop-Celtic; television; advertising; tourism; sport and even postage stamps! As co-editors, Nicks and Sloniowski have taken an open view of the Canadian Popular, and contributors have approached their topics from a variety of perspectives, including cultural studies, women's studies, film studies, sociology and communication studies. The essays are accessibly written for undergraduate students and interested general readers.

Customer Reviews:

So very interesting!.......2007-08-11

I felt like a housewife at her fence, excitedly listening to all the juicy neighborhood gossip. It's a great book, though dated.

Live From New York.......2006-01-17

Like many, I grew up watching Saturday Night Live, either new episodes or those rerun on various cable channels, marveling at the wonderful humor and originality. I had always heard urban legends surrounding the show, and its earliest moments, and when I discovered this book I knew I had to read it. The authors take you through the first several seasons of the show, showing the reader many aspects of the backstage history, from the dynamics between Lorne Michaels and the cast to the use of drugs in the early days. There are many anecdotes from tales involving the Hell's Angels to the trip Chevy Chase made to the White House to lampoon President Ford, and all of the early greats are covered from Belushi, Murphy, and Chase to O'Donoghue, Franken, and Davis. I laughed recalling many of the skits that are presented in this book, and I sit amazed as I read about many of the sorrowful topics including the decline of Garret Morris and Larraine Newman. This book is older and dated, and many of the actors that were predicted to go into obscurity have resurfaced since publication and have seemingly came into there on. It's very light hearted, even given some of the darker topics, and it is a fairly quick read as it is written in an anecdotal style. Read this book and enjoy.

A review of SNL's first ten years.......2004-07-13

Here's everything that happened during the first ten seasons of NBC's late night comedy-variety show Saturday Night Live. There are ten faces of previous cast members on the cover. They are the 7 original members Dan Aykroyd,John Belushi,Chevy Chase,Jane Curtin,Garrett Morris,Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner. The other three are Bill Murray,who came shortly after Chase's departure,Joe Piscopo and Eddie Murphy,who were both cast members from 1980 to 1984. The book even tells about the cast members' post-SNL experiences and credits. During the first 10 years,SNL had three producers:Lorne Michaels(1975-1980 and 1985 to present),Jean Doumanian(1980-81) and Dick Ebersol(1981-1985). Michaels left with the remainder of the original SNL cast with Murray in tow as well,in 1980 and returned five years later. Doumanian was fired after the disasterous 1980-81 season and was succeeded by Ebersol. Ebersol met actress Susan Saint-James when she guest hosted once in 1981. They were later married and still are today. We won't forget other previous cast members such as Gilbert Gottfried,Robin Duke,Tim Kazurinsky,Brian Doyle Murray(Bill's brother),Billy Crystal who almost became an original member,Martin Short,Joan Cusack,Julia Louis-Dreyfus,Harry Shearer and James Belushi(John's brother). For more information on subsequent seasons,check out SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE-THE FIRST 20 YEARS.

Quite possibly one of the best SNL books ever........2002-09-23

You never see much of the behind the scenes going ons of SNL. It would probably make a great documentary "A week in the life of SNL" Until that video comes out (if ever) this is probably the next best thing. I havent finished it yet and already there is a wealth of things I learned. ...Come out with another edition guys! We want more.

As entertaining as the show itself (the good episodes).......2001-01-25

An excellent book, in terms of its breadth and the behind-the-scenes perspective it gives to the Saturday Night Live episodes we have all seen on TV. The writers certainly did their homework, and yet the scores of names, dates, and places mentioned never bog down the flow of this story. It is fascinating to read about the clashes between these stars who were both comic geniuses and petulant egomaniacs, and frankly, it is surprising that any episodes were able to air at all. Despite what you think about Saturday Night Live, you cannot deny the show's existence as a television institution, and reading this book makes you appreciate its innovation then, and longevity now, all the more.

Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live

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Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live
Doug; Weingrad, Jeff Hill
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000J4HYA6

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SATURDAY NIGHT - A BACKSTAGE HISTORY OF SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
HILL DOUG & WEINGRAD JEFF
Manufacturer: BEECH TREE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PGKB76

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SATURDAY NIGHT A BACKSTAGE HISTORY OF SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

Manufacturer: Beech Tree Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H209Z2

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Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live.
DOUG HILL
Manufacturer: See notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RQV25O

Customer Reviews:

Not quite what I was expecting.......2007-10-01

The main focus of this book in on the creation of a professional software development association or organization, similar to the ones of doctors and arquitects. The discussion is interesting, but not very useful if you have to deal with the problems and challenges of the day-to-day life in software development.

middle brow.......2007-05-18

Steve McConnell knows a lot about organising resources to get things done, specifically he knows (probably more than 50,000 things) about getting software done. I appreciate this, and I have benefited greatly from two of his books, the software project survival guide and software estimation; I have also benefited measurably, if to a lesser extent, from another (Code Complete).

Getting things done is a species of management, and an honorable activity, but McConnell is not happy to be a manager (a guy in a suit), he wants to be an engineer (a guy with, at least once upon a time, a slide-rule). His strategy for doing this is to rename his sort of 'organising resources to get things done' as 'software engineering'. Unfortunately, it is not clear to me that he knows, or has thought seriously about, the philosophy of engineering at any level much deeper than that of a self-confident guy in the bar on a Friday evening.

For instance the first thing I saw in my initial leafing was a pair of pictures, of Reims Cathedral, which is cited as an example of 'art without very well developed engineering', and of Sidney opera house, which is contrasted as a paradigm of 'art dependent on engineering'. This says of McConnell first that he knows nothing about the history of european architecture and that he is a dork worthy of Gary Larsen (you don't need any book learning to at least begin to appreciate the sophistication of Reims cathedral as an engineering achievement, all you need to do is to stand in the nave and look up); second that he knows nothing of the very well documented history of Sidney opera house, which is an ornament of the harbour, but is not a usable example of anything to do with scientific engineering (not to mention effective project managment - nor is it even thought a notably good opera house); and third that he is happy to opinionate about things about which he knows nothing and about which he has not even paused to think.

Speaking of which, the second thing I saw is that he does not appear to know much about Francis Bacon other than as a source of pretentious quotations.

If you look at the details, things do not get much better. Consider chapter 13, 'Business case for better software practices'. McConnell wants to argue that the returns on investing in better software development are enormous. This is a plausible claim given the stack of empirical data he quotes, but he does not add anything to the data that he (very helpfully) collects in one place. In another chapter he has complained about 'Cargo Cult Software Engineering', but the subsection 'State of the Practice' here is cargo cult statistical analysis: I could identify no coherent content in it. He also repeatedly says that the gains from investing in improved software processes are even larger for the 'best organisations', but I couldn't figure out what he meant by 'best' - surely the best organisations are the ones that already have good processes in place, and thus have less room for improvement (absent some weird positive feedback loop, which would result in the best organisations disappearing ínto a productivity singularity). I can only assume that by 'best' he means 'rotten, but turn-aroundable'.

A few years ago, I bought a house that needed complete renovation before I moved in; i.e. a new water system, new electrics, etc. The infrastructure that brought mains water and electricity to my house was designed and constructed, and is maintained by engineers. The people who connected my sinks and lights to that infrastructure, on the other hand, were 'plumbers' and 'electricians'. The very competent person who coordinated the work was a 'site manager'.

Equally, the people who built and maintain Oracle are engineers. The vast number of people who build software based on it are almost all 'programmers', while the slightly less vast number of people who coordinate them are 'software project managers'.

McConnell Does it Again - This is the future of our industry.......2006-03-18

I graduated from a highly specialized program at Virginia Tech that focuses on Engineering Theory - Rocket Science & celestial mechanics (intermediate dynamics), 3 fluid mechanics, etc. with the goal of leading up to Biomechanics concentration. I programmed CAD software and joint-torque analysis physical therapy recommending software as part of my program.

Steve McConnell's association of Software Development to Engineering is a welcome (although at times, not faultlessly backed up) addition to the camp of people like myself who understand firsthand the benefits of Traditional Engineering approaches to Software Development.

Within 4 years of professional experience, I myself was able to secure the top technical position in our industry, Enterprise Architect - one that usually takes 12+ years to even consider.

Do I attribute this to my 152 IQ, impeccable communication skills, or rigorous background in Traditional Engineering? There are lots of people with a VA Tech degree who have high IQs and go through the same communications training. A fundamental flaw I have observed time and time again with my developers is the lack of rigorous problem solving techniques.

When you have spent 2.5 days on a LaPlace Transformation or 6 hours figuring out the angle of an attached pendulum to a moving body in a 3 DOF system in 3D, or deriving acceleration, velocity, and position plots for vibration systems, and you do these things for 4 years straight, often programming to achieve the results, you become a master of elegant problem resolution - engraining into your very being the ability to simplify, breakdown, and attack problems.

My experience in the software industry has proved skeptics like Alan Cooper wrong in my point-of-view. My colleagues and developers are often impressed with my architectures and coding approaches. To me it seems just like second nature - mastering the fundamentals of your technology with a certification, mastering best practices (like Code Complete & CxOne), and mastering inherent problem solving. Then, like the art of Traditional Engineering, there is a beauty to the approach you choose in the art of software design.

Yes. The leaders that will take this industry forward are at NASA and BOEING and increasingly Microsoft. We are Software ENGINEERS, and must embrace that distinction to move forward as a honed, veritable practice in general. Steve McConnell has a good jump start on telling you why - but don't expect an indisputable and flawless argument.

High Hopes for Practical Solutions, Dashed on the Rocks of Pet Theories.......2006-02-09

This book is a respectable endeavor, to be sure...the title itself makes it sound as if it's going to somehow define a profession in a way that makes us all known quantities. Isn't that what we like to work with anyways? Known quantities? Measurable results?

Unfortunately, there's a critical piece missing: while McConnell throws us some useful practices regarding the definition of our craft and the further measurement of our knowledge, it all sounds like a heap of pet theories and practices that never quite gel into something you can sink your teeth into.

Take for example his chapter devoted to the rigid, complex system he uses in his own company to measure the skill levels of its employees. I looked at it, read the different 'grades', but at the end wanted to know exactly how in practice this made their practice more effective. No dice...just 'here's how we do it, and it's the right way.' No why. No when. No who.

I lost a bit of respect for McConnell after reading this book...Code Complete is a landmark, but after reading
Professional Software Development I felt like he's lost his way amidst the mountains of white papers and the multitudes of 'best-practices.'

Excellent overview of software development.......2005-10-16

My biggest disappointment is the lack of details and specific examples. It's like McConnell tries to be vague to avoid spending time on tedious fact finding or in depth analysis. This book provides an overview of software development that will benefit anyone in the industry.

Professional Software Development: Shorter Schedules, Higher Quality Products, More Successful Projects, Enhanced Careers

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Professional Software Development: Shorter Schedules, Higher Quality Products, More Successful Projects, Enhanced Careers
Steve McConnell
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OUEZQ6

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