Risk Management and Analysis, Measuring and Modelling Financial Risk (Wiley Series in Financial Engineering)

Book Description

Risk Management and Analysis Volume 1 Measuring and Modelling Financial Risk Edited by Carol Alexander In the two years since the publication of The Handbook of Risk Management and Analysis interest and the practice of management, modelling and control of financial risks has grown enormously. The author/editor has produced two stand-alone or companion volumes. Only one third of the original material remains. Measuring and Modelling Financial Risk has been structured in four parts: the first three chapters survey standard approaches to measuring and modelling financial risk from the risk manager perspective, Chapters 4 and 5 are aimed primarily at quantitative risk analysts whose job it is to put the systems in place. Chapters 6 and 7 discuss important issues in IT and systems design, and the last two chapters cover pricing and risk management of credit-risky products. Leading figures in the field contribute: Michel Crouhy, Dan Galai and Robert Mark, Stan Beckers, Thomas Wilson, Mark Broadie and Paul Glasserman, Nigel Webb, Ron Dembo, Robert Jarrow and Stuart Turnbull, and Lee Wakeman. "Risk management is becoming an increasingly important activity for financial institutions, fund managers, and corporate treasurers. It used to be the case that the brightest 'quants' were used to design and value ever-more-exotic derivatives. Now increasingly they are finding that their talents can best be put to work in risk management. In this volume Carol Alexander has gathered together nine articles concerned with different aspects of risk management and analysis. The topics covered include the regulatory framework, volatility and correlation models, value at risk, and credit risk. The book will provide a valuable source of reference material for both market participants and students." John Hull, August 1998

Customer Reviews:

Good Coverage.......2000-03-24

This book covers the topic very well. It is clear and concise. Useful for anyone who wants an overview of risk management concepts. But if you are like me who understands better with lots of numbers and examples, this is not it.

Financial Models Using Simulation and Optimaization.......1999-12-17

A good book to tell you methodical risk analysis in the area of fincance and marketing. If more interpretaions of analysis results written there, I would have rated it as "5" stars.

Product Description

The Candidates Guide to (CFA) teach the full CFA Level I curriculum, eliminating the impossible task of predicating the content of the actual examination. The purpose of The Candidates guide is to supply you the information required to pass the CFA Level I certification. This book is divided into Study Sessions (1 18), Appendix A (Exhibits 1 3) and a Glossary of Financial Terminology in question format. Appendix A is a collection of Exhibits and flow charts for condensed reference and review. Additional white space was intentionally designed into the book for the candidates personal notes and remarks. The 18 2005 CFA Level I Study Sessions breakout is as follows: Ethical and Professional Standards Study Session 1: Ethical and Professional Standards Investment Tools Study Session 2. Quantitative Methods Study Session 3. Quantitative Methods Study Session 4. Economics: Macroeconomic Analysis Study Session 5. Economics: Microeconomic Analysis Study Session 6. Economics: Global Economic Analysis Study Session 7. Financial Statement Analysis: Basic Concepts Study Session 8. Financial Statement Analysis: Financial Ratios and Earnings Per Share Study Session 9. Financial Statement Analysis: Assets Study Session 10. Financial Statement Analysis: Liabilities Study Session 11. Corporate Finance: Corporate Investing & Financing Decisions Portfolio Management Study Session 12. Capital Market Theory: Basic Concepts Asset Valuation Study Session 13. Securities Markets Study Session 14. Equity Investments Study Session 15. Debt Investments: Basic Concepts Study Session 16. Debt Investments: Analysis and Valuation Study Session 17. Derivative Investments Study Session 18. Alternative Investments

Examinsight for 2003 Cfa Level I Certification: The Candidates Guide to Chartered Financial Analyst Level- I Learning Outcome Statements

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Saves time, but be careful with the errors.

Examinsight for 2003 Cfa Level I Certification: The Candidates Guide to Chartered Financial Analyst Level- I Learning Outcome Statements
David Stewart
Manufacturer: TotalRecall Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1590959043

Book Description

Part of the TotalRecall: ExamInsight For Chartered Financial Analyst Certification Series, this new material is now available for candidate's preparing to sit for CFA Level I Certification. The book covers the information associated with each of the 18 exam topics in detail and includes chapters on Ethical & Professional Standards, Economics, Quantitative Methods, Financial Statement, Markets and Instruments, Asset Valuation, and Portfolio Management. Using the book will help readers determine if they're ready for the CFA Level I exam. Within each unit are loads of author scoops describing each exam topic, along with additional exam-taking tips, tricks, hints, and test traps. The overall summary at the end of the book provides a review of essential exam-related terms and concepts that will prove invaluable just before taking the exam. Also included are helpful tips and time management techniques that will alleviate pre-exam jitters and put you in control. This book is divided into Study Sessions (1 - 18), Appendix A (Exhibits 1 - 3) and a Glossary of Financial Terminology in question format. Appendix A is a collection of Exhibits and flow charts for condensed reference and review. Additional white space was intentionally designed into the book for the candidate's notes and remarks. Free $100.00 Discount on CD Purchase. The purchaser of this book is intitled to receive a $100.00 discount to our exclusive CD-ROM test engine that creates randomized simulated exams drawn from a database of 850 sample exam questions. The CD-Rom provided in the guide includes an assessment quizzer to measure comprehension of each topic. Written to mimic the real exam, you also get complete answers plus a detailed scoring summery showing test results by exam topic. The engine also keeps a history of test questions so you can monitor your progress toward expertise in each topic. Visit FinancialExams web site for details.

Customer Reviews:

Saves time, but be careful with the errors........2003-04-09

1) It saves you time by arranging the related sections, without a very expensive pricetag.
2) But be careful about the careless errors.
3) Also, it does not explain the abbreviates in texts or mathmatical functions; the answer texts provided are often unable to explain the whole idea clearly.

Summary: The reader is expected to have reasonable level of understanding and familiarity about the contents. You have to buy / have access to the reading materials to make this book meaningful. It works as a draft for your own study notes, but will not work as a replacement for the assigned reading materials.

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Examinsight for Cfa 2006 Level I Certification: The Candidates Guide to Chartered Financial Analyst Learning Outcome Statements (With Download Exam)
Jane Vessey , M. Afdal Pamilih , and David Stewart
Manufacturer: TotalRecall Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1590959221

Download Description

About the Book: ExamInsight to CFA Level I Certification is designed to help you master the Learning Outcome Statements as quickly and as effectively as possible so you can pass the CFA Level I exam your first time. This compact study guide and download test engine with 1250+ practice questions will give you the information, practice exams, and test-taking tips that you need to reach a passing level and feel confident that you are ready for the real exam. You can also feel confident that your are getting some of the best advice and coaching available, since our authors are not only CFA charter holders and successful investment professionals, but also teach CFA exam preparation courses in college, online, and in seminars. You get the benefit of their combined international experience. This book is divided into Study Sessions (1 - 18) that cover the Learning Outcome Statements and the associated Assigned Readings. Appendix A (Exhibits 1 - 3), is a collection of exhibits and flow charts for condensed reference and review, including examples of accounting statements, puts and calls, PE breakdown, and financial ratios. The 18 2006 CFA Level I Study Sessions breakout is as follows: Ethical and Professional Standards Study Session 1: Ethical and Professional Standards Investment Tools Study Session 2. Quantitative Methods: Basic Concepts Study Session 3. Quantitative Methods: Application Study Session 4. Economics: Macroeconomic Analysis Study Session 5. Economics: Microeconomic Analysis Study Session 6. Economics: Global Economic Analysis Study Session 7. Financial Statement Analysis: Basic Concepts Study Session 8. Financial Statement Analysis: Financial Ratios and Earnings Per Share Study Session 9. Financial Statement Analysis: Assets Study Session 10. Financial Statement Analysis: Liabilities Study Session 11. Corporate Finance: Corporate Investing & Financing Decisions Asset Valuation Study Session 12. Equity Investments: Securities Markets Study Session 13. Equity Investments: Industry and Company Analysis Study Session 14. Fixed Income Investments: Basic Concepts Study Session 15. Fixed Income Investments: Analysis and Valuation Study Session 16. Derivative Investments Study Session 17. Alternative Investments Portfolio Management Study Session 18. Portfolio Management Download Supplemental Information: additional printable content visit these download links. Preliminary Reading Assignments Supplement and Concept Check Questions Workbook

Examinsight for the Candidate's Guide to (Cfa) Chartered Financial Analyst 2003 Level II Learning Outcome Statements (InsideScoop)

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Examinsight for the Candidate's Guide to (Cfa) Chartered Financial Analyst 2003 Level II Learning Outcome Statements (InsideScoop)
David Stewart
Manufacturer: TotalRecall Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1590959051

Book Description

This book is divided into 18 Study Sessions, Appendix A with four exhibits and a Glossary of financial terms. The Exhibits and flow charts are for condensed reference and review. The last section is the Glossary formatted in Question style. The extra white space at the end of the page and around the text has been intentionally created for your study notes and remarks. The 18 2003 CFA Level II Study Sessions breakout is as follows: Ethical and Professional Standards Study Session 1 Study Session 2 Investment Tools Study Session 3 Quantitative Methods for Valuation Study Session 4 Economics for Valuation Study Session 5 Financial Statement Analysis: Intercorporate Investments and Business Combinations Study Session 6 Financial Statement Analysis: Global Issues Study Session 7 Financial Statement Analysis: Earning Quality Issues Asset Valuation Study Session 8 Basic Valuation Concepts Study Session 9 Equity Investments: Industry and Company Analysis Study Session 10 Equity Investments: Valuation Models Study Session 11 Equity Investments: Valuation Models and Applications Study Session 12 Equity Investments: Special Valuation Cases Study Session 13 Debt Investments: Credit Analysis Study Session 14 Debt Investments: Valuation Issues Study Session 15 Debt Investments: Structured Securities Study Session 16 Derivative Investments: Futures and Swaps Study Session 17 Derivative Investments: Options Portfolio Management Study Session 18 Capital Market Theory and Asset Pricing

ExamInsight For the Candidate's Guide to (CFA) Chartered Financial Analyst 2004 Level I Learning Outcome Statements

Average customer rating:

Not worth the price

ExamInsight For the Candidate's Guide to (CFA) Chartered Financial Analyst 2004 Level I Learning Outcome Statements
David Stewart
Manufacturer: TotalRecall Publications, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Corporate Finance | Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

This book is divided into Study Sessions (1 – 18), Appendix A (Exhibits 1 – 3) and a Glossary of Financial Terminology in question format. Appendix A is a collection of Exhibits and flow charts for condensed reference and review. Additional white space was intentionally designed into the book for the candidate’s notes and remarks. The 18 2004 CFA Level I Study Sessions breakout is as follows: Ethical and Professional Standards Study Session 1 Investment Tools Study Session 2. Quantitative Methods Study Session 3. Quantitative Methods Study Session 4. Economics: Macroeconomic Analysis Study Session 5. Economics: Microeconomic Analysis Study Session 6. Economics: Global Economic Analysis Study Session 7. Financial Statement Analysis: Basic Concepts Study Session 8. Financial Statement Analysis: Financial Ratios & Earnings Per Share Study Session 9. Financial Statement Analysis: Assets Study Session 10. Financial Statement Analysis: Liabilities Study Session 11. Corporate Finance: Corporate Investing and Financing Decisions Portfolio Management Study Session 12. Capital Market Theory: Basic Concepts Asset Valuation Study Session 13. Securities Markets Study Session 14. Equity Investments Study Session 15. Debt Investments: Basic Concepts Study Session 16. Debt Investments: Analysis and Valuation. Study Session 17. Derivative Investments Study Session 18. Alternative Investments

Customer Reviews:

Not worth the price.......2004-03-06

For over a hundred dollars I expected a lot more from this book. The book really has two parts. The first is a very brief summary of the concepts on the test. No examples are used in these summaries, so it is not overly useful. The second part of the book is a very short practice exam. Although there are answers for the exam, there are no explanations for the non mathamatical problems. The solutions for the mathamatical problems are extremely short as well. If I paid $30 for this book I wouldn't be overly upset, but for four times that amount I expected a lot more.

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Examinsight for the Candidate's Guide To (Cfa) Chartered Financial Analyst 2004 Level I Learning Outcome Statements.
David Stewart
Manufacturer: TotalRecall Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N6B988

Book Description

Basic Neurochemistry: Molecular, Cellular and Medical Aspects, the outstanding and comprehensive classic text on neurochemistry, is now newly updated and revised in its Seventh Edition. This well-established text has been accepted worldwide as a resource for postgraduate trainees and teachers in neurology, psychiatry, and basic neuroscience, as well as for graduate and postgraduate students and instructors in the neurosciences. It is an excellent source of current information on basic biochemical processes in brain function and disease for qualifying examinations and continuing medical education.

Version 2 of the CD-Rom is now available, now including all references linking to PubMed and all tables from the book in addition to the figures.

Replacement CDs are available to customers who purchased Basic Neurochemistry 7ed in 2005. To order, send e-mail mentioning that you are ordering version 2 of the CD for Siegel et al. Basic Neurochemistry 7th edition and the ISBN 0123694361 to:

If you are from the Americas: usbkinfo@elsevier.com
If you are from Europe, Middle East, or Africa: eurobkinfo@elsevier.com
If you are from the Asia Pacific region: asiabkinfo@elsevier.com

Please note that books ordered in 2006 will have the new version of the CD included, only books delivered in 2005 include version 1 of the CD. Version 2 of the CD is clearly marked, and you don't need to order a replacement if you are in possession of version 2.

· Completely updated with 60% new authors and material, and entirely new chapters
· Over 400 fully revised figures in splendid color
· Accompanying CD-ROM with all the figures and figure legends - perfect for slides, presentations, and handouts

Customer Reviews:

Book Purchase: Basic Neurochemistry, Seventh Edition: Molecular, Cellular and Medical .......2006-11-10

Good Transaction, Thank you.

Best current review of neurochemistry.......2006-11-07

For anyone interested in neuroscience, it is a must read. Basic Neuroscience gives a snapshot of where neuroscientists are currently doing research, including the edge of what is known and not known. Much of this knowledge has only been discovered in the last few years.

A book to get if you need a good understanding of neurochem.......2001-09-19

This book is ideal for both undergrad and grad students in the fields of neuroscience, pharmacology, and psychology. The information is arranged neatly with the authors introducing concepts at the cellular level (anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry), then moving on to intercellular signaling. From here, the neurochemical factors are introduced, outlining their functional significance at the molecular level. The last few chapters of this book expands on the role of several neurochemical interactions in the context of diseases like Alzheimer's and Creutzfeld-Jakob (Mad cow-like disorder), Huntington's (and other related basal ganglia disorders), and several Psychiatric disorders (anxiety, mood disorders, addiction, etc). The figures are excellent, and succintly explained. Several color plates are also included. Note that the book I bought has textual addenda/errata located at the back, in order to correct factual/typographical errors. Nevertheless, these corrections don't affect the whole integrity of the contents, but rather they strengthened it.

This book also includes a CD-ROM which constitutes the book's contents, and provides nice figures that you can use as a reference. Overall, I recommend this book if you think you will embark on a career in the medical sciences, or if you are an undergrad that would like to go to grad schools.

Alcohol and the chemistry of human memory.......2001-03-11

Some fresh angles on the memory problem can be pieced together from distinct bits and pieces included in this book on the brain's catabolic habits, on starvation and diabetes, and on the effects of alcohol and other drugs on the chemistry of the brain.

Alcoholism offers us clues to how the memory works and fails. In both chronic and acute alcoholism, it appears the pen of memory stops writing quite suddenly. In the extreme chronic condition, an alcoholic who has progressed to Wernicke-Korsakoff's syndrome can be trapped forever in a particular day - the day the pen of memory lifted.

For a few fortunate alcoholics the brain's working memory can be restored with early injections of Vitamin B1, which is thiamine. Thiamine is a very common co-factor. It operates in a great many different biochemical pathways. But look: One among those many pathways is quite possibly the biochemical pathway that is essential for -- and could thus lead us straight to -- the human memory machine. The grand prize. This helpful hint has never been followed up exhaustively, although there are lots of takes on what might be going on.

This book holds a second hint. Perhaps the same crucial biochemical pathway to memory can be interrupted at a different point, in a different way -temporarily -- in the brain of a drinker experiencing an acute alcoholic memory blackout. See pages 659-660 for a summary discussion of ethanol, glucose and ketone body catabolism in the brain.

Notice sometime, in the spirit of science, the horrible, noxious, acetone like odor on the breath of a heavy drinker. It is very evident on the morning after. Ketone bodies are still so plentiful in the blood that an observer can smell them, and the brain (perhaps thinking the body is starving) may have shifted gears to protect itself. Instead of glucose, which the brain almost invariably prefers to eat, the brain can in a starvation emergency burn ketone bodies instead. Whenever they turn up, as for example on the occasion of a drinking binge, the brain will sense an emergency and make the changeover from glucose passively and automatically. So perhaps this emergency shift away from glucose is another pointer to the biochemical pathway that leads to human memory.

Maybe sugar synthesis, via the phosphogluconate shunt, is an important part of the memory pathway. It we are talking about ribose synthesis, which is certainly one possibility, this would imply an interruption or a shift, within the programmable phosphogluconate shunt, to the production of sugars other than ribose. Downstream, the pinch on ribose production would also constrain the synthesis of nucleotides and nucleic acids. It is an in interesting possibility because some people are examining anew the long despised notion that nucleic acids might constitute a human memory store. See Steven Rose's The Making of Memory for this longshot idea.

The basic notion is that to make a memory machine, you could simply run the equations describing the Central Dogma in reverse. (The first step, from Protein back to RNA, is thought to be impossible. However, the cell essentially takes notes on its protein manufacturing activity, leaving behind discarded introns like a dressmaker leaving shards of cloth on the floor. From the cutout cloth, you can determine the pattern of the dress. An intron uniquely marks a gene, and an intron can be written all the way back to DNA. A sequence of introns, or some sort of intronic shorthand, would essentially tape record a sequence of protein synthesis - a program.)

Another possible memory storage medium is a sprigged together sugar or glycoprotein molecule, perhaps assembled in the manner of a ganglioside.

There are lots of other avenues of action for ethanol upon memory. For examples, Ethanol is directly toxic to the nerves of the hippocampus, it affects LTP there and it also bombs the daylights out of the liver, suggesting that alcoholic memory loss is not a biochemistry problem to be pursued in the brain alone. If you are interested in the memory problem, Basic Neurochemistry is a major resource and great hunting ground for fresh ideas.

As with any other text in neuroscience, you should first read Spikes (Rieke et al. 1996) as an essential preface. It will help you parse out which assumptions in this science can still be believed, post 1993, and which assumptions should now be sharply questioned or instantly discarded.

an excellent introductory reference book in Neurochemistry.......2000-06-22

The topics in the book are arranged well. It is suitable for both junior and senior students. The concepts are explained clearly. This must be the most excellent book in this field for introductory courses.

Book Description

Proceedings of an International Conference on Current Developments in Atomic, Molecular, and Chemical Physics with Applications, held March 20-22, 2002, in Delhi, India.
The 38 chapters cover a broad range of research activities categorized into four sub-topics, namely:

* Processes in Laser Fields,
* Chemical Physics,
* Collision Processes,
* Atomic Structure and Applications.

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Current Developments in Atomic, Molecular, and Chemical Physics With Applications
Man Mohan
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSLXPO

Average customer rating:

Superb book - you can't put it down.

arafat and my hot flashes

Worth reading with some caveats for the uninformed reader

Our hope for peace? We're in trouble

Life OVER the Occupation

Sharon and My Mother-in-Law: Ramallah Diaries
Suad Amiry
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400096499
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Book Description

Based on diaries and e-mail correspondence that architect Suad Amiry kept from 1981 to 2004, Sharon and My Mother-in-Law evokes the frustrations, cabin fever, and downright misery of daily life in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Amiry writes elegance and humor about the enormous difficulty of moving from one place to another, the torture of falling in love with someone from another town, the absurdity of her dog receiving a Jerusalem identity card when thousands of Palestinians could not, and the trials of having her ninety-two-year-old mother-in-law living in her house during a forty-two-day curfew. With a wickedly sharp ear for dialogue and a keen eye for detail, Amiry gives us an original, ironic, and firsthand glimpse into the absurdity — and agony — of life in the Occupied Territories.

Customer Reviews:

Superb book - you can't put it down........2007-07-04

I read this book within a day, I just couldn't put it down, it was so beautifully written, and so easy to read.
Suad Amiry has a remarkable ability to say in one sentence what other writers take three pages over. A single sentence can be so thought-provoking, you consider all the many implications that follow from just one statement.
Despite the misery of her situation, Suad's defiance of her occupiers is hilarious - what a courageous and spunky woman! Her frankness and honesty of her own feelings, including her failings, are also very impressive.
Well done to Suad Amiry, I eagerly look forward to her next book - I hope she will write one!

arafat and my hot flashes.......2006-12-26

Arafat and my hot flashes - an Israeli response to Suad Amiry's Sharon and my Mother-in-Law.

After reading Suad Amiry's novel Sharon and my mother in law I was extremely moved ... as an Israeli, living in Tel-Aviv at ta time when all around me people were "bursting at the Seams" or merely committing suicide at their leisure while taking other people's lives, limbs, children and women with them, I could identify myself with her agony at not being able to move freely...

It was Saturday eve; I always felt weird on Saturday eve, uneasy. On a verge of a panic attack. Maybe it was to do with the gloom I experienced at home, as a child on Sat. eve (My mother was a BA -graduate of Auschwitz). It was exactly 2 years ago, me and my not-such-a-great-hero, husband, who was an extremely gifted and intelligent man but the biggest coward if there's ever was one, were having a row, after a long week ... I wanted to venture out. Out of doors...out of our building; living in Tel Aviv had become a Russian roulette ... the streets were very quiet and empty ... not a dog in sight, the stray cats had totally disappeared, everyone was waiting for the next one, and we didn't know where it would come from. I wanted to go to the movies.
"Are you out of your mind?!!!" Gideon screamed. I couldn't sit at home anymore I had to go out. To a coffee place, "A coffee place?!!! Now?!!" Only yesterday one of the most popular coffee places in Tel Aviv blew up.
"Ok then, the bar around the corner is always empty! Why would a suicide bomber come there, to kill us and the barman?". I thought that was reasonable enough.
"I don't know why?" argued Gideon back "he might just get fed up half way to the Hilton, did you think about that?".
I tried the movies, again.
"Crowded places?!!! Hello? Anybody home?", pointing at my head.
"but we never had a suicider at the cinema!!", I tried to reason.
"Exactly!!!", exclaimed Gideon with a big smile, winning the argument.

I felt a hot flash coming on. It was August and I just had to have some air. "I don't care!!!", I screamed, "I am going out!!! Now!"

All of a sudden a siren was heard, and another one and another one, a string of sirens always meant a suicide bomber, and the ambulances were rushing to the scene. We looked at each other with terror and turned on the TV. There was a suicide bomber at Michael's Pub, a few minutes away from us. It was my son's favorite hang out; thank God he had been living in Holland for the last few years. He didn't even come home for a visit; I wouldn't let him, my only son...

Gideon, quickly rushed to the phone to ring his three children (from his 2 ex wives) they were all in their twenties ... that was his usual routine, every time a bomber hit the town. Then he would take his clooney (Cloonex - a tranquilizer) I was always angry when he took it, being a practitioner of Chinese medicine, it was totally against my principals. But he couldn't care less. He was slowly becoming addicted to clooney.

We stayed at home glued to the TV watching the horrible scenes of children, women, blood, screaming, etc etc. Gideon began his usual snores beside me, the clooney had knocked him out!

The next day we heard on the news that Palestinians were under curfew ....

There are always three sides to every divorce: the wife, the husband and the truth...

We are having a terrible, endless bloody row: it's time to stop talking about the past. I would expect an educated person like Suad not to live in the past, but to accept our existence in Israel and to start talking from that point. We have no where else to go, and the experience of living as a Jew outside Israel has not been very successful ... I could attach a picture of my mother's green number tattooed on her arm, she is only 74, she was 12 when they took her to the camps, one of the last survivors in the world ... Tell me Suad, the truth: this is not about the occupied territories. Barak begged Arafat to take it back. This is about Jaffa...according to your book. Do you expect my mother to go back to Czechoslovakia? And look for her confiscated home? And what about me? I was born here, am I to take a dive in the sea?

Yours sincerely,

Yael Stern O'Dwyer

Worth reading with some caveats for the uninformed reader.......2006-09-16

I enjoyed reading this book but was chilled at the author's inclusion of "1929" as a year of Palestinian "pride" without mention of the atrocities of the Hebron pogroms. "Text without context is pretext" as the PLO's old friend Jesse Jackson used to remind us. Tom Segev's One Palestine, Complete: Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate (which alot of Amazon reviewers think has an anti-Zionist bias) would be a good corrective for the reader new to these issues.

Amiry is not a fanatic or a fundamentalist and this is her P.O.V. and her life. Can she address the moral failures of the Palestinian leadership, beginning with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and ending in Hamas? Maybe, but this is not that book.

Our hope for peace? We're in trouble.......2006-09-03

I picked up this book at Ben-Gurion airport at a time when I could have used an uncommonly witty look at life under the Occupation, but alas, I found nothing witty or uncommon about Suad Amiry's wonderfully named but lazily written screed -- and if you are a thinking person, you'll find nothing funny about her bigotry.

Some parts rattled me, but it wasn't her so-called reportage, which anyone familiar with the region will recognize as the usual embroidering. I am not saying that life under occupation is not difficult and sometimes brutal. However, my editor's antenna went up more than once. Naturally, Amiry's stories are impossible to verify.

No, it was her attitude throughout the book that unnerved me. For instance, Amiry dismisses out-of-hand the very public military inquiry into reports of looting by Israeli soldiers. And yet she cheerleads without shame for Palestinian thievery, and even opines that Palestinians aren't stealing enough from Jews.

And the child-free Amiry treats us to a charming vignette, her tacit approval ringing loud and clear, of Arab mothers warning their mischievous children: "Behave or the Israeli soldiers will shoot you."

Interestingly, on my flight to Israel, just in time for the Israel-Hizbollah war, I read Amos Oz's new book, an essay, really, called "How to Cure a Fanatic." And one of his cures is humor. If you can laugh at yourself, you are in no danger of becoming a fanatic. Sadly, Amiry can make fun of her neighbors and relatives, and she can indulge in the most racist of rants against Jews, knowing someone will find them funny. But she cannot laugh at herself. I suppose we should be grateful that she left out the hilarious phenomenon of suicide bombers.

In the end, I pitied Amiry -- an obviously unstable middle-aged woman who I suspect would have been unstable even if she had stayed in her native Jordan. If the Israeli occupation hadn't driven her to distraction, something else most assuredly would have. But if you can blame the Occupation for your woes, so much the better. How good and pleasant it is to be a victim. How little responsibility you bear.

Life OVER the Occupation.......2006-07-09

Suad Amiry's book is very witty and easy to read. The book is based on a compilation of emails, letters and Amiry's recollection of the various events. Amiry offers a portrayal of life of a relatively well off Palestinian family under Israeli occupation. The Israeli occupation and the siege of their city feature prominently in the book but almost as natural disasters or "Act of God" ..so they are there thrown into the mix making ordinary complex life even more complicated. The politics of the occupation are touched upon but clearly what is central is just the day to day life.

The title of the book is very much a reflection of the light hearted style of the book but also of the very menacing undertones. In the United States Sharon largely has(d) the reputation of being a tough minded and determined leader and with the Gaza withdrawal in 2005 as a peacemaker; whereas in most of the world outside of the US Sharon is seen as a ruthless cruel man responsible for the death and destruction of many who was sanctioned by his own country and was even wanted for trial on war crime charges in Europe. For the Palestinians I imagine Sharon had simply been a brutal merciless monster; the title Sharon & My Mother in Law with that background is therefore very ironic! A daughter - mother in law relationship in a middle eastern environment is never straight forward ..the very words mother in law carry a whole world of conations. The very title of the book comes across funny to any Middle Eastern; equating or even putting Sharon & mother in law in the same sentence carries with the wit and the determination that comes across in Amiry's words.

Many reviewers of this book talked about the book illustrating the humanity of the Palestinians, I doubt if that has been on Amiry's mind; for those who doubt the humanity of the Palestinians better read John Grisham or watch Pirates of the Caribbean; this book celebrates the humanity of the Palestinians and the triumph of their spirit.

Average customer rating:

Interesting perspective
Funny & Touching -this book has a lot to offer.
Annoying
A great novel.
Highly entertaining, thought provoking

The Mother-in-Law Diaries
Carol Dawson
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0671040855

Book Description

From Carol Dawson, "a master of the light, suspenseful touch" (Chicago Tribune), comes a bittersweet novel about the "other woman" in every marriage....

the Mother-in-Law Diaries

Lulu Penfield has had more mothers-in-law than most people could have in three lifetimes. From the maven of household hints to the glacially polite New Zealander to a reputed witch who practices voodoo on an old Raggedy Ann doll, each one of her husbands' mothers has been a singularly memorable participant in Lulu's colorful marital misadventures.

Now Lulu herself has become a mother-in-law...and as the torch is passed, Lulu cracks away at the ageless mystery of bonding with her own son's wife -- and makes some surprising discoveries as she goes.

"Alternately hilarious and gut-wrenching" (The Austin Chronicle), the Mother-in-Law Diaries rings true for anyone who has ever said "I do" -- and who didn't realize that she was marrying not one person, but two.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting perspective.......2002-09-11

I found most of this book to be engaging, and it was written from a unique perspective: Lulu Penfield has suddenly and unexpectedly become a mother-in-law, and she is not ready for this new role. She decides to write, in a journalistic form, about her experiences with the mothers of the boys and men whom she has loved. The journal is directed to her newly married son and provides the insight that one not only marries a man but the woman who raised him. I am not sure that I agree with this premise, but I accepted it since the entire book seems to be based on it.

Lulu has always tried to figure out how her various (and distinctly different) mothers-in-law have insinuated themselves so deeply into her life and had so much influence/impact on her. In her journal, she has time to explore these questions and to consider how to think about mothers-in-law..

I think Dawson has done a good job of character development. Each woman in this "gallery" is distinctive, real, and complex, which made it easy to picture them and how they "operated". The author used the structure of multiple marriages to explore the female-to-female connection.

A funny and bittersweet look at love, marriage, and mothers-in-law.

Funny & Touching -this book has a lot to offer........2001-01-24

Lulu Penfield is shocked to discover that she is that (horror of horrors) a mother-in-law. Her son has eloped and it throws her for a loop. Or as she writes, "On top of everything else you've changed MY life condition. You have actually reached across two thousand continental miles and tampered with my life condition. Do you realize what this means? You've turned me into a mother-in-law!"

She then remembers each of HER mother-in-laws. Five completely different women each having an impact on her life. She learned from each of them but in the end, does it really help her when she meets her daughter-in-law for the first time?

Whether you're a mother-in-law, a daughter-in-law or someone in between, you'll enjoy the experience.

Annoying.......2000-06-19

Character development? An interesting plot? This book has neither. Frankly, I had trouble understanding what a publisher saw in it. While the premise/gimmick is great -- explore the men you've loved and where those relationships went wrong through the women who raised them -- but Dawson forgets her premise on nearly every page. Further, she forgets to tell us anything about the main character. We don't care about Lulu -- therefore we don't care about her men (and she gives us so little information about THEM it's hard to see why she keeps falling for these guys). Overall, Dawson's skimming over the details leaves one just plain annoyed. It was a chore to get to the end of this book, and the end is utterly unsatisfying.

A great novel........2000-06-06

Basically, to get straight to the point, the author describes throughout the entire book, a relationship between her first-born son and all about her life with Mothers-in-law. The mother, Lulu, named her first-born son, Treatie. Not only did Lulu tell Treatie, but to her entire audience the changes with Mothers-in-law she would have to make because of her various marriages. Thus having various Mothers-in-law. Treatie would also have to go through various changes. The title of the book is a bit misleading because although the book describes her various relationships, she is talking to Treatie throughout the entire book. She also has two sons, by a different marriage, Mick and Jonathan. I only found one discrepancy in The Mother-In-Law Diaries. On page sixty-four, while describing a wedding, first the author wrote it was an afternoon wedding. Later on, in the same paragraph, the author wrote it was a morning wedding. Toward the end of the book, after Treatie goes to college, he goes home with a girlfriend and announces a marriage. Lulu got hysterical. Then, ends up seeing her life in him. On the very last page, she thanks him for making her a Mother-in-law. I believe this book has a wide ranging readership. Moreover, I believe anyone who reads it would like it. The author should really think about making it an audio book and possibly make a movie about it. Taken from the book, Carol Dawson was born and raised in Texas and has lived in a variety of places---California, England, Italy, New Zealand, New Mexico, and Washington. During that time, she's published three novels ("The Waking Spell", "Body of Knowledge", and "Meeting the Minotaur") and a volume of poetry ("Job"). Dawson recently returned to her home state, where she is currently writing a history on the Maori people of New Zealand and is at work on her fifth novel.

Bianca Spontaneo, Reviewer

Highly entertaining, thought provoking.......2000-03-05

I very much enjoyed this novel, having started and finished within twenty-four hours. I loved how Lulu identified her life in stages through her mother-in-laws, rather than her husbands, because each of her husbands possessed extremely strong personalities. In their own way, they each deserved their own novel. I look forward to reading Ms. Dawson's other novels.

Sharon And My Mother-In-Law Ramallah Diary

Average customer rating:

Sharon And My Mother-In-Law Ramallah Diary
Suad Amiry
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N6OSR2

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