Yearbook of Tourism Statistics 1996-2000 (Yearbook of Tourism Statistics)

Book Description

This book analyzes why local officials in China comply with investment-reduction and inflation-control policies of the central government against their own economic interests. The book shows the importance of political institutions, and provides a political story as to why China has been able to control inflation and to deepen reforms, in contrast to the former Soviet Union. While most other studies focus on the economic or political aspects, Inflation and Investment Controls in China integrates political and economic analysis.

Customer Reviews:

Breaking new ground.......2001-03-16

Many observers of China have interpreted the decentralization of economic authority to local governments as representing a loss of power for the central government. In this book, Huang carefully lays out the objectives of politicians at the central and provincial levels, and the control systems available to the center. He then uses economic data on inflation and investment to demonstrate that, at least for this one aspect, the central government has in fact been able to use its political tools to rein in provincial leaders when necessary.

Inflation and Investments Controls in China: The Political Economy of Central-Local Relations During the Reform Era

Average customer rating:

Inflation and Investments Controls in China: The Political Economy of Central-Local Relations During the Reform Era
Yasheng Huang
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0521555019

Book Description

Fifth in a series of award-winning humor books from Travelers' Tales, Hyenas Laughed at Me and Now I Know Why gathers wide-ranging tales from hardy, hilarious, outrageous — and even reluctant — voyagers. For armchair travelers and globetrotters alike, these stories of laugh-out-loud adventures and misadventures from around the world show how ghastly faux pas, missed connections, god-awful meals, and dumb (bad) luck can provide plenty of fodder for the amusement of others. Contributors include Dave Barry, Calvin Trillin, Doug Lansky, Anne Lamott, and Elliott Hester.

Customer Reviews:

Mean-spirited mockeries.......2006-08-06

At the beginning, I laughed out loud, and then, reading on, grew more and more dismayed. This is not a book about funny incidents. It is a book often filled with people being humiliated at best and beaten at worst. Hidden within this book are messages of how each culture mocks the other. I found the story about the Egypt border, with the snide Italian boasting, "You Americans think that you are individuals. In fact, you are not and that is why you cannot understand that someone might hate you for being an American," juxtaposed with the crazed American guard on the Canadian border, as more horrifying than funny, and more full of warning that the world is a dangerous place. Okay, this is a political message and if you want to debate them, fine. But don't confuse it with comedy.

If you want to keep someone at home, never to set foot on foreign soil, give them this book.

Nice title - That's about it.......2005-08-03

I picked this book up, because I loved what the editor "Sean O'reilly" did with the Danger! Series.

But this book was a bust. The stories were not entertaining, some poorly written, and boring to a T.

Needs funnier hyenas.......2005-04-12

A collection of 25+ "amusing and hilarious" stories from various travel writers. Okay, there a some slightly amusing stories in this compendium of travel and the best story is "The Snake Charmer". For a best of humor moments, this collection is sadly void of the humor. Not to say the stories for the most part weren't nice little snippets of their travels, but overall it falls far short of being outright boisterious. The high points of interest are Snake Charmer, Monstrous Dildo, and the explosive release while attending a mass gathering of India peoples for a religious observance. Many of the stories range in length of 4-7 pages, hardly enough to get you interested and then they end abruptly. The book is worth reading, certainly, but not one I'm likely to reread. For me, the first half of the book was much better than the second half.

Hyenas Laughed at Me for Buying this Book.......2005-03-25

I'm a big fan of the Traveler's Tales Series, having read The Best Travelers' Tales, Spain, Greece, Australia, etc. After reading the VERY FUNNY "Snake Charmer of Guanacaste", a short story that is also in the Best Travelers' Tales, I was expecting more of the same humorous situations in travel. This book, however, sorely underdelivers. It is hard for me to recall a single other funny story in this book, with the possible exception of the Monster Dildo. Which isn't even as funny as it sounds. Now I'm not one for forced humor, but there are obviously funnier stories about traveling than those listed here (I know I have several of my own).

The biggest disappointment, however, is this book's contrast with the vastly superior Best of and individual country books. I feel shortchanged and as if the hyenas are laughing at ME.

Hyenas Laughed at Me and Now I Know Why.......2004-11-16

Hyenas Laughed at me and Now I Know Why is a collection of twenty-eight humorous travel stories written by various travel writers. These stories educate, terrify, and entertain readers with cultural miscommunications and misadventures in various exotic locations.

These tales vary from quirky ironic situations such as William Dalrymple's I am an Englishman where the author must translate English with a heavy Indian accent to English to downright dangerous, funnier after the fact, stories such as Patrick Fitzhugh's The Snake Charmer of Guanacaste in which the author must convince another man that a snake is indeed dangerous. Many of the situations are funny after the fact or because they didn't happen to you. Some of the stories will even make you grimace and shake your head but ten minutes later you will find yourself relaying the story to your best friend or your spouse.

It is difficult to choose a single favorite story as all of the stories were enjoyable. I enjoyed Elliott Hester's When Fists Flew on the San Juan Special at the shear idiocy of the entire chaotic flight. I was enthralled and appalled throughout Jono Marcus' It's Dar es Salaam and I Am Not Dead as the author described his ordeals with criminals, police corruption., and border crossings. I think I even learned a lesson or two during that story. I felt a sense of ironic kinship with both Rikke Jorgensen's Ravioli, French Style with unwanted extras in her lunch and Bradley Charbonneau's Hungry? Where that author just wants some chicken.

This book is intended to entertain. Some of the stories contain some potty humor or rather underpants from hell humor. Thus, this book is intended for a somewhat mature audience. Furthermore, some of the stories could scare younger readers into never setting foot outside their own home town. Nonetheless, this is a hilarious book to read while you're on a plane, sitting on the beach, or lounging on your couch. I think this book would even be suitable for one of those days when you need to be reminded that someone somewhere is having a worse day than you.

Average customer rating:

Inaccurate presentation, unexplained omissions, mistakes in the translation

mariage of figaro don giovani cosi fan tutte

"Complete in Italian and English" is misleading

Three Mozart Libretti: The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and Cosi Fan Tutte, Complete in Italian and English
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Classical | Musical Genres | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Opera | Musical Genres | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Voice | Instruments & Performers | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Seven Verdi Librettos: With the Original Italian

Mozart's Don Giovanni (Dover Opera Libretto Series)

Tartuffe and Other Plays

Mozart's Operas (A Centennial Book)

Four Great Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Twelfth Night; The Tempest (Signet Classics)

ASIN: 0486277267

Book Description

Ideal for following a recorded performance, or for familiarizing oneself with a libretto before a live performance, this volume contains the complete libretti of 3 of Mozart's most popular operas. Excellent line-for-line English translations face the Italian texts. Also included are introductions, plot synopses and lists of characters for each opera. Translated by Robert Pack and Marjorie Lelash.

Customer Reviews:

Inaccurate presentation, unexplained omissions, mistakes in the translation.......2006-09-04

This is an awful edition of these libretti.

First of all, the editors have given us, not the libretti themselves, but a record of what is sung in the opera. That is, if a character repeats a word, the editors have correspondingly repeated that word in the text, as many times as the character repeats it, even if in the libretto as it was written, each word appeared only once. This unnecessarily bloats the text, since words tend to be repeated in this opera with a surprising frequency. For example, on p. 64, during the Act II Finale, the editors print an exchange between Figaro and the others as follows:

FIGARO: Nol conosco.
SUSANNA: Nol conosci?
FIGARO: No!
LA CONTESSA: Nol conosci?
FIGARO: No!
IL CONTE: Nol conosci?
FIGARO: No!
SUSANNA, LA CONTESSA, IL CONTE: Nol conosci?
FIGARO: No! No! No!

This is not only unnecessary, it is not even an accurate record of how the passage is sung: The first line of Figaro's should be "Nol conosco, nol conosco." Furthermore, it obscures the structure of the text, hiding the rhymes and making many lines scan improperly.

Of course, even without the repetitions, you would have difficulty scanning the lines anyway, because the editors have inserted the line-breaks incorrectly. For example, on p. 12 the Duet between Figaro and Susanna is printed as follows:

FIGARO: Se a caso madama la notte ti chiama --
Din, din, din, din --
In due passi da quella puoi gir.
Vien poi l'occasione
Che vuolmi il padrone--
Don, don, don, don --
In tre salti lo vado a servir.

The correct lineation is:

Se a caso Madama
La notte ti chiama:
Din din: in due passi
Da quella puoi gir.
Vien poi l'occasione
Che vuolmi il padrone,
Don don in tre salti
Lo vado a servir.

This is not a merely technical objection. The faulty lineation and unnecessarily repeated words obscure the structure of the text, hide the rhymes, and undercut the ingenious way in which words and rhythm are united in the music. And they are rife throughout the book.

In the Foreword, the editors, perhaps in an effort to justify these peculiarities, write that "our texts approximate as closely as possible what our readers will actually see and hear, since this book is intended not as a scholarly work but as an attempt to make the riches of Mozart's operas more accessible to a less specialized audience." I agree with these goals, but I think that introducing faults into the work was not the way to achieve them. In fact, it had quite the opposite effect. The "scholar" and "expert" will be able to correct the lines and restore their original harmony: it is the "less specialized" man who loses out in the end by having "the riches" of the work obscured.

Last but not least, as a previous reviewer noted, the editors have introduced arbitrary cuts into the work. Not only No 28 of Cosi Fan Tutte (Despina's aria "E amore un ladroncello"), but also the preceding number is cut (Ferrando's recitative and aria "In qual fiero contrasto... Tradito, schernito"). There appears to be no reason or system behind these cuts. In Marriage of Figaro, Marcellina's aria "Il capro e la capretta" is included with the footnote "usually omitted in performance", but Basilio's following aria, "In quegli anni, in cui val poco", which is omitted from performances with equal frequency, is cut from the text without even a note. These are only some of the more glaring excisions, which are widespread, and sometimes even lead to mistranslations.

For example, on p. 106, in a bit of Figaro's recitative, the Italian text reads "In questo stesso loco celebrerem la festa della mia sposa onesta e del feudal signor" meaning "In this very place we will celebrate the wedding of my honest wife and the feudal lord", but this phrase has no translation on the English side. Instead, the English side reads: "Hide yourselves, and don't come out until I whistle", presumably a paraphrase of what would have been the following line: "Voi da questi contorni non vi scotate; ... a un fischio mio correte tutti quanti", which, however, was cut from the Italian text without any mention. In other words, the editors printed one part of the Italian text, but translated the other part. This has one slight benefit: it allows us to reconstruct the portions of the text that have been left out.

Here is one further example of the awkwardness of this edition. It is the very first page of the very first opera in the book, The Marriage of Figaro:

FIGARO: Cinque -- dieci -- venti --
Trenta -- trenta sei -- quarantatre.
SUSANNA: Ora si, ch'io son contenta,
Sembra fatto in ver per me.
FIGARO: Cinque.
SUSANNA: Guarda un po', mio caro Figaro!
FIGARO: Dieci. Venti.
SUSANNA: Guarda adesso il mio cappello!
FIGARO: Quarantatre.
SUSANNA: Guarda un po' mio caro Figaro.
Guarda adesso il mio cappello!
FIGARO: Si, mio core, or e piu bello.
Sembra fatto in ver per te.

First of all, the first two lines are incorrectly printed: "Trenta" belongs at the end of the previous line, giving it its full count of eight syllables, and rhyming pleasantly with "contenta". Secondly, all the material betwen "Sembra fatto in ver per me and Susanna's last "Guarda un po'" is unnecessarily repeated text. We do not need it. The passage should read:

FIGARO: Cinque -- dieci -- venti -- trenta --
Trenta sei -- quarantatre.
SUSANNA: Ora si, ch'io son contenta,
Sembra fatto in ver per me.
Guarda un po' mio caro Figaro.
Guarda adesso il mio cappello!
FIGARO: Si, mio core, or e piu bello.
Sembra fatto in ver per te.

Here the rhymes (cappello -- bello, trenta -- contenta, me -- te) pop out, the rhythm of the lines is preserved, and the structure of the text is much easier to grasp.

These may seem minor problems, but they add up throughout the text, and with the amount of crossing out and rearranging that you will have to do in order to understand the real structure of the text, you might as well write down the words yourself.

These Dover libretti do not even have the advantage of matching the Dover score, despite the Bibliographical Note at the front of the book claiming that "The Italian has been tacitly corrected to conform with the Dover full scores of these operas." If you try to use the Dover score together with these libretti, you will notice some discrepancies, and not only in cases where some text that is present in the score has been cut from the libretto. Sometimes a passage, present in both the score and the libretto, has a different wording in each. For example, on p. 106 of the libretto, Bartolo asks "Ma che guadagni?"; at the corresponding place in the score, he asks "Ma cosa nacque?"

Furthermore, the scene numbers, present in the Dover score, have been left out of the libretti. It may well be the case that "the system of beginning another 'scene' every time a new character is introduced seems antiquated and confusing," but it is even more confusing to try to line up the Dover score with the Dover libretto. We are left to turn pages in a vain search for a piece of text, which we will never find anyway because it has been cut out or changed.

I would give this zero stars if it were possible. It deserves the lowest rating. Don't buy it.

mariage of figaro don giovani cosi fan tutte.......2006-08-21

very good

"Complete in Italian and English" is misleading.......2006-03-15

I picked up this book, because I was writing a paper and thought that having the libretto of Cosi Fan Tutte would be helpful. I would not have bought the book had not the word "complete" been on the front cover. However, it is not complete: Aria N. 28, which was the reason for my buying the book, was completely cut out. I found this very irritating.

Other than that, I found this an easy and pleasent read, and facing pages of Italian are always nice

Book Description

From the perspective of the commercial, voluntary, and state sectors of sport and leisure provision, this book examines a number of aspects of the social history of recreation, including the development of spectator sports, the attractions of the cinema, the role of the press, radio and television, and the significance of clubs and societies. The relationships of social class, gender, and ethnicity in sports and leisure are given prominence in an analysis that spans the whole of the century.

Jeffrey Hill, Sport, Leisure and Culture in Twentieth-Century Britain.(Book Review): An article from: Labour/Le Travail

Average customer rating:

Jeffrey Hill, Sport, Leisure and Culture in Twentieth-Century Britain.(Book Review): An article from: Labour/Le Travail
Alan Metcalfe
Manufacturer: Canadian Committee on Labour History
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Sports | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Labour/Le Travail, published by Canadian Committee on Labour History on September 22, 2003. The length of the article is 1180 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: Jeffrey Hill, Sport, Leisure and Culture in Twentieth-Century Britain.(Book Review)
Author: Alan Metcalfe
Publication: Labour/Le Travail (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2003
Publisher: Canadian Committee on Labour History
Issue: 52 Page: 316(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Sport, Leisure and Culture in Twentieth-Century Britain.(Reviews of Books)(Book Review): An article from: Albion

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Sport, Leisure and Culture in Twentieth-Century Britain.(Reviews of Books)(Book Review): An article from: Albion
Jack Williams
Manufacturer: North American Conference on British Studies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Sports | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Albion, published by North American Conference on British Studies on September 22, 2003. The length of the article is 834 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: Sport, Leisure and Culture in Twentieth-Century Britain.(Reviews of Books)(Book Review)
Author: Jack Williams
Publication: Albion (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2003
Publisher: North American Conference on British Studies
Volume: 35 Issue: 3 Page: 543(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Amazon.com

Lest you think that Christmas is just a sentimental commercial venture perpetuated by misguided Victorian-era worshippers, Flight of the Reindeer offers proof positive that there is a Santa Claus and yes, reindeer really do know how to fly. Robert Sullivan, a senior editor at Life magazine, diligently gathered documentation from respected scientists, historians, zoologists, and Arctic explorers to prove once and for all that Santa is not just a myth. The gorgeous illustrations, convincing photos, and smoothly written text make this book an ideal gift for children who are teetering on the edge of nonbelief and an even better one for grownups who long ago gave up hope.

Book Description

In Search of Santa Claus Those who know him best tell their remarkable tales. George Bush President Was a Helper Helping that fellow clear his airspace by signing the Santa Claus Clause was a great privilege of my office. A great privilege." Sir Edmund Hillary New Information on Everest The local people insisted there was something happening up there on the summit every December. Tenzing must have believed that. At the top, I saw him place some cookies in the snow." Al Roker Forecaster to the Elves In one hour in New York you can have snow, ice, rain—then it changes back to snow! Santa has to know what's going on. I tell him." Will Steger Only Man to Visit the Village It was big, but it was small. It was calm, but it was bustling. It was happy—yes, I would even say it was jolly. The village was precisely like Santa Claus himself!"

Customer Reviews:

Cannot confirm or deny.......2006-12-25

I have this book, with some handwritten annotations. The author got a couple facts wrong, but then I used to be in the Air Force, worked in many. many different command posts and operational centers, and well somethings are still classified. Some good guessing and all!

Cute book, I love it, my husband, a "Santa Helper" loves it, our teens liked it (really!) and the few copies I have given as gifts were very well received.

If you have older kids this is a great book.

looking for christmas inspiration.......2006-12-23

I found this a long time ago in a bargain bin for $2. I *love* this book--it's one of my all-time favorite books. Although I haven't put up a tree in years, it's now a tradition to read this book every year. It puts me in the Christmas spirit--and adds realism, proof and perspective to the Christmas mission.

Buy it and make your own family tradition.

Not about the book but the movie.......2006-12-20

I have the movie with Bridges and Thomas and I love it. It is called "The Christmas Secret" it is suppose to be taken from part of the book "Flight of the Reindeer" I don't know if that is true or not. Because I did not buy the book yet.

Yes, Virginia, and Everybody Else............2005-12-12

There is a Santa Claus! This is an amazing book, written in documentary style about the existence of Santa and his reindeer. It is a delightful addition to anybody's coffee table at Christmas time or any time. I really love his description of how he found Rudolph, and how he guided the team that one year, a small reindeer with a big heart. The description of the reindeer's year is fascinating!

This book will warm the hearts of Virginias everywhere. Yes, there is a Santa Claus!

Five Stars.......2005-12-07

This is the only Amazon book review I've ever read that has an overall 5 star rating.

Flight of the Reindeer: The True Story of Santa Claus and His Mission

Average customer rating:

Flight of the Reindeer: The True Story of Santa Claus and His Mission
Robert Sullivan
Manufacturer: Diane Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0756763983

Flight of the Reindeer: The True Story of Santa Claus and His Christmas Mission

Average customer rating:

Flight of the Reindeer: The True Story of Santa Claus and His Christmas Mission
Robert Sullivan
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OA56LY

Book Description

Create your maximum PC with the Maximum PC Ultimate Performance Guide. This 350 page guide is full of succinct, practical advice that you can use to build, supercharge and customize your PC. You will learn your PC from the outside-in, including how to choose the best case and hardware, how to tweak your PC settings to maximize performance and how to customize and exploit the features of your Windows operating system. This book truly is your ultimate guide to everything you need to know about your PC and it is the only one endorsed by the top name in PC hardware technology, Maximum PC.

Customer Reviews:

Vivid descriptions.......2004-12-17

This glossy book has some of the ambience of a computer magazine and a Sharper Image catalog. Very visually appealing. There has been careful attention to make what might often be bland subjects like optimising your file view or removing unnecessary DLLs into something that grabs your attention.

While I compared it to a magazine or catalog, I should add that there is a lot of solid material here, that is technically accurate. Plus the choice of topics is clearly contemporary. You are shown how to overclock, which helps gamers, amongst others. Or, you can see how to use your PC for digital photography or digital video. These are now burgeoning fields, as photography and film both make the transition to digital formats. The authors are hitting all the prominent market segments for a consumer PC.

Though, after reading the book, you might yearn for the quiet of a plain black and white printed page.

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