Securitized Insurance Risk: Strategic Opportunities for Insurers and Investors

Book Description

SECURITIZED INSURANCE RISK Securitized Insurance Risk focuses exclusively and in depth on the convergence of the insurance and financial markets in risk management and the emergence of insurance risk as a non-correlated asset class. Written for insurers and investors alike, this book explores the opportunities available to forward-looking risk and investment managers. Chapters by prominent experts specifically address:

** the win-win principle behind securitizing insurance risk

** current structures, including catastrophe bonds, structured notes, catastrophe options, and swaps

** combining financial market tools with traditional reinsurance programs

** holding insurance risk, uncorrelated with stocks and bonds

** pricing insurance risk instruments and evaluation basis risk

** regulatory and accounting concerns

Book Description

"This timely addition to a new genre of evaluation methodology eschews the objectivity of an external evaluation in favor of internal value-driven assessments that advance the goal of self-improvement through self-determination. Fetterman offers down-to-earth, clearly written descriptions and explanations of an approach that reconciles the contingencies of organizational practice with the standards and principles of evaluation accountability. He adroitly bridges the gap between the subjectivity of self-evaluation and the objectivity of external evaluation by showing with case examples and detailed methods, forms, and narrative why empowerment evaluation extends the reach of standard evaluation practice."

--Dennis Mithaug, Teacher’s College, Columbia University

What is empowerment evaluation? When is it the most appropriate approach to use in an evaluation? How can it best be implemented? Aimed at demystifying empowerment evaluation, the book shows readers when to use this form of evaluation and how to more effectively use its three steps (developing a mission statement; taking stock by identifying and prioritizing the most significant program activities; and, charting a course for future strategies to accomplish program goals). Fetterman also illustrates the steps with four case examples, ranging from hospital to educational settings. In addition, he covers: how to use empowerment evaluation to meet the standards developed by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation; the caveats and concerns about the use of empowerment evaluation; the relationship between collaborative, participatory, stakeholder, and utilization-focused evaluation with empowerment evaluation; the role of the Internet in disseminating empowerment evaluation; and, an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, and conditions of empowerment evaluation. This book will guide evaluators exploration of their roles as coaches, facilitators and advocates as well as enable them to more effectively use this innovative evaluation technique.

Customer Reviews:

Empowerment Evaluation Need Empowerment.......2001-05-10

As a social worker committed to empowerment of oppressed peoples, I come to David Fetterman's "Foundations of empowerment evaluation" favorably predisposed. This favorable disposition is reinforced when Fetterman writes that empowerment evaluation has usually "focused on traditionally disenfranchised, oppressed, and economically impoverished populations" (p. 114). He could just as well be talking about the focus of social work practice.

I also bring to Fetterman's book a growing discomfort with traditional, empiricist research and program evaluation. My colleagues have been working for several years with different Native American tribes and have learned first-hand why research is so often considered a dirty word in Indain Country. At best, positivist research and evaluation are usually irrelevant to the experience and concerns of Native peoples, at worst it contributes to their continued subjugation by reinforcing negative stereotypes. I therefore come to Fetterman's book with a keen interest in research and evaluation which in itself is a benefit to the participants.

Empowerment evaluation, as articulated by Fetterman, is located within "the larger context of emancipatory research" (Fetterman, 2001, p. 110) and specifically action research. Empowerment evaluation differs from action research, however, because it is "explicitly driven by the concept of self-determination" and collaboration at every level of the agency, program, or community being evaluated (p. 11). Within that framework, empowerment evaluation helps people analyze their programs using self-evaluation and self-reflection. In contrast with some program assessments conducted by outside evaluators, empowerment evaluation is not an endpoint but in integral part of program development and improvement (p. 3). As a result, empowerment evaluation "ideally helps organizations internalize evaluation principles and practices, making evaluation an integral part of program planning" (p. 35). Not surprisingly, Fetterman equates using empowerment evaluation with teaching participants to fish.

The methodology of empowerment evaluation is deceptively simple. First, gather everyone involved in the program together, from clients to workers, to administrators, to funders. The empowerment evaluator then acts as a coach or facilitator, who leads the group through three activities: 1) explicate the mission of vision of the program; 2) take stock of each program activity, rating how well each is doing; and 3) plan for the future by setting goals, strategies for reaching the goals, and documentation to be used to track progress. Because empowerment evaluation is ideally an ongoing process, the first time through these steps forms the baseline for monitoring future progress.

Methodologically, the obvious potential weakness of empowerment evaluation is the possibility of generating self-serving, `sugar-coated' results (p. 5-6). "An outside evaluator charged with monitoring the progress can help keep the effort credible, useful, and on track, providing additional rigor, reality checks, and quality controls throughout the evaluation" (Fetterman, 2001, p. 6). This task is operationalized during the ranking phase, for example, when the empowerment evaluator questions each individual's ranking of each activity, asking for specific documentation of why the rating is no higher and no lower than they have indicated. Additional rigor is gained, according to Fetterman, by indicating that people can change their ratings at any time. Mostly, however, Fetterman argues that trustworthiness flows from the nature of the group (the insistence on democratic participation of clients, workers, and administrators), and the group process itself which he claims comes to conclusions which are more realistic than the conclusions of external evaluators (pp. 32-33).

Unfortunately Fetterman's organization and writing of this volume does little to support his claim that empowerment evaluation is rigorous and inherently trustworthy. In terms of organization, note that the two quotes I used to locate empowerment evaluation within research and evaluation traditions were separated by 100 pages. Repeatedly, ideas and concepts are partially developed in one place, only to be modified or more fully defined/described much later. In many ways, this review has made Fetterman's book more comprehensible than it is. For example, I stated previously that when participants rank program activities they must provide documentation. Fetterman, however, discusses ranking on page 29, but waits 60 pages (almost half the book) to mention that "documentation is always required to support a high or low rating about a program assessment, and is scrutinized." (p. 93).

In addition, Fetterman's writing often confuses or obscures important points. The trustworthiness of empowerment evaluation rests in large part on including the perspective of every stakeholder and participant in the program, from clients to administrators. Fetterman, unfortunately, uses the term program participants variously, mostly to refer to paid employees, but occasionally also to include clients (e.g. pp. 3, 34, &146). As a result we are never sure who he is talking about participating in what aspect of the evaluation. Similarly, Fetterman refers to "outside evaluators" both as the `coaches' who help participants throughout the process and, in other places, as people not otherwise involved in any aspect of the evaluation. Consequently when Fetterman writes that "An outside evaluator charged ... can help keep the effort credible, useful, and on track" (2001, p. 6), I have no idea who is responsible for this crucial methodological function.

Finally, Fetterman states that the trustworthiness and utility of empowerment evaluation flow, in large measure, from use of baseline data and repeated empowerment evaluation sessions. Though Fetterman devotes more than a third of his book to case examples, every one of those examples is of an initial evaluation, never a follow-up session. Because Fetterman (belatedly) admits that empowerment evaluation "takes more time than most traditional evaluations (p. 145), I am left wondering if follow up is ever conducted.

The disorganization of the book unfortunately contributes to an impression that empowerment evaluation is methodologically less rigorous than I believe it really is. Fetterman thus undermines the very evaluation methodology which he passionately believes in and espouses.

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Foundations of Empowerment Evaluation
David M. Fetterman
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MUFKCQ

Book Description

Osteoporosis in men is an important clinical problem that has received little attention, both in the medical arena and from the general public. Although the condition affects a higher percentage of women, it is estimated that two million men in the U.S. have osteoporosis, and three million more are at risk. The lack of awareness by doctors and their patients puts men at a higher risk that the condition may go undiagnosed and untreated.
Osteoporosis in Men is the first book to explore this issue in depth. This groundbreaking text brings together eminent investigators and clinicians who interpret developments in this emerging field, and describe state-of-the-art research as well as practical approaches to diagnosis, prevention and therapy. It is an essential reference for researchers, students, and clinicians in bone-related disciplines.

Key Features
* Provides the first complete description of osteoporosis in men--epidemiology, clinical character, basic aspects, and research directions
* Discusses appropriate diagnostic, prevention, and treatment options
* Covers a wide range of topics, including the economic impact of fractures on health care expenses
* Includes a description of the roles of androgen and estrogen in men
* Discusses bone mass measurements and their clinical utility
* Explores the essential role of gender in the manifestations of osteoporosis. How is this disorder different in men, and how can we learn from these differences?

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Clinician's Manual on Male Osteoporosis
Orwoll
Manufacturer: Science Press Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Osteoporosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Musculoskeletal Diseases | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1858739241

Be Aware That Osteoporosis Also Affects Young Women and Men.: An article from: Family Practice News

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Be Aware That Osteoporosis Also Affects Young Women and Men.: An article from: Family Practice News
Mary Ann Moon
Manufacturer: International Medical News Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Osteoporosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0008GS080
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Family Practice News, published by International Medical News Group on May 1, 2000. The length of the article is 1013 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: Be Aware That Osteoporosis Also Affects Young Women and Men.
Author: Mary Ann Moon
Publication: Family Practice News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2000
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 30 Issue: 9 Page: 25

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Bisphosphonates.(Medicine Chest): An article from: Men's Health Advisor

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Bisphosphonates.(Medicine Chest): An article from: Men's Health Advisor
Gale Reference Team
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Osteoporosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000O769RM
Release Date: 2007-03-09

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Men's Health Advisor, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2007. The length of the article is 469 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: Bisphosphonates.(Medicine Chest)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Men's Health Advisor (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Page: 6(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

$Bone mineral density predicts fracture risk in men, women.(Rheumatology) : An article from: Internal Medicine News$
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Bone mineral density predicts fracture risk in men, women.(Rheumatology) : An article from: Internal Medicine News
Timothy F. Kirn
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Osteoporosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000EHQAHG
Release Date: 2006-02-06

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Internal Medicine News, published by Thomson Gale on February 1, 2005. The length of the article is 454 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: Bone mineral density predicts fracture risk in men, women.(Rheumatology)
Author: Timothy F. Kirn
Publication: Internal Medicine News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 38 Issue: 3 Page: 23(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Expert panel to devise guidelines on managing male Osteoporosis. (Problem often Overlooked in Men).(American Society of Bone and Mineral Research): An article from: Family Practice News

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Expert panel to devise guidelines on managing male Osteoporosis. (Problem often Overlooked in Men).(American Society of Bone and Mineral Research): An article from: Family Practice News
Betsy Bates
Manufacturer: International Medical News Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Osteoporosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Science & Technology | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Family Practice News, published by International Medical News Group on May 1, 2002. The length of the article is 567 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: Expert panel to devise guidelines on managing male Osteoporosis. (Problem often Overlooked in Men).(American Society of Bone and Mineral Research)
Author: Betsy Bates
Publication: Family Practice News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2002
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 32 Issue: 9 Page: 6(1)

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Fractures signal high risk in men over 60. (Indication for a Bone Scan).: An article from: Internal Medicine News

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Fractures signal high risk in men over 60. (Indication for a Bone Scan).: An article from: Internal Medicine News
Mitchel L. Zoler
Manufacturer: International Medical News Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Osteoporosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0008G4TRQ
Release Date: 2005-07-30

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Internal Medicine News, published by International Medical News Group on January 1, 2003. The length of the article is 431 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: Fractures signal high risk in men over 60. (Indication for a Bone Scan).
Author: Mitchel L. Zoler
Publication: Internal Medicine News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2003
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 36 Issue: 1 Page: 14(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

GnRH agonists boost osteoporosis risk.(Men's Health): An article from: Family Practice News

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GnRH agonists boost osteoporosis risk.(Men's Health): An article from: Family Practice News
Erik L. Goldman
Manufacturer: International Medical News Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Osteoporosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00084CIOE
Release Date: 2005-08-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Family Practice News, published by International Medical News Group on September 1, 2004. The length of the article is 706 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: GnRH agonists boost osteoporosis risk.(Men's Health)
Author: Erik L. Goldman
Publication: Family Practice News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2004
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 34 Issue: 17 Page: 44(1)

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Growth, Parathyroid Hormones Studied to Promote Bone Formation.(treatment of idiopathic osteoporosis in men) : An article from: Internal Medicine News

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Growth, Parathyroid Hormones Studied to Promote Bone Formation.(treatment of idiopathic osteoporosis in men) : An article from: Internal Medicine News
Bruce Jancin
Manufacturer: International Medical News Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Osteoporosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0009FFXNU
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Internal Medicine News, published by International Medical News Group on September 1, 2001. The length of the article is 787 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: Growth, Parathyroid Hormones Studied to Promote Bone Formation.(treatment of idiopathic osteoporosis in men)
Author: Bruce Jancin
Publication: Internal Medicine News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2001
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 34 Issue: 17 Page: 18

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Measure BMD at two sites to diagnose osteoporosis in men: site does matter.(Clinical Rounds)(bone mineral density ): An article from: Family Practice News

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Measure BMD at two sites to diagnose osteoporosis in men: site does matter.(Clinical Rounds)(bone mineral density ): An article from: Family Practice News
Damian McNamara
Manufacturer: International Medical News Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Osteoporosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00082U3GG
Release Date: 2005-06-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Family Practice News, published by International Medical News Group on June 15, 2004. The length of the article is 7317 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: Measure BMD at two sites to diagnose osteoporosis in men: site does matter.(Clinical Rounds)(bone mineral density )
Author: Damian McNamara
Publication: Family Practice News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 15, 2004
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 34 Issue: 12 Page: 43(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

The papers in this volume cover a large range of questions concerning the dynamics of objects of the Solar System, from theoretical Hamiltonian mechanics to the study of the dynamical behaviour of specific objects, with a strong emphasis on the detection, causes and effects of chaotic behaviour. Several papers describe the very latest contributions in two very lively and recent topics which are considered as a major breakthrough in numerical dynamics: symplectic methods of numerical integration of Hamiltonian systems, and methods for spectral analysis of numerically computed orbits leading to refined tools for the detection and evaluation of chaos. The dynamics of the asteroid belt and other small objects, a fast-moving topic with important implications for the origin and evolution of the Solar System, is also extensively covered. The volume will be of interest to mathematicians and physicists interested in Hamiltonian mechanics and in the dynamics of the Solar System.

Book Description

Evolutionary algorithms are relatively new, but very powerful techniques used to find solutions to many real-world search and optimization problems. Many of these problems have multiple objectives, which leads to the need to obtain a set of optimal solutions, known as effective solutions. It has been found that using evolutionary algorithms is a highly effective way of finding multiple effective solutions in a single simulation run.
· Comprehensive coverage of this growing area of research
· Carefully introduces each algorithm with examples and in-depth discussion
· Includes many applications to real-world problems, including engineering design and scheduling
· Includes discussion of advanced topics and future research
· Can be used as a course text or for self-study
· Accessible to those with limited knowledge of classical multi-objective optimization and evolutionary algorithms
The integrated presentation of theory, algorithms and examples will benefit those working and researching in the areas of optimization, optimal design and evolutionary computing. This text provides an excellent introduction to the use of evolutionary algorithms in multi-objective optimization, allowing use as a graduate course text or for self-study.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book.......2007-02-26

I highly recommend this book, it covers all the important subjects. A great acquisition!

Great book; a must for engineers and scientists alike.......2001-09-28

Kalyanmoy Deb has put together a great summary of the state of affairs in multiobjective genetic algorithms. Should you be an engineer or a scientist involved in the optimization of any design of sizeable complexity, you should read this book and become familiar with the techniques that have evolved over the last decade into powerful methods of optimization. This book is in many many ways bridging the gap from Michalewicz's and Fogel's book ("How to solve it") to the more modern era of this field (eg late nineties up to now...). So whereas those two authors never really considered multiobjective genetic algorithms, Deb plows through with the great expertize of a (perhaps even "the") leading researcher in that domain. This is a great book of _receipes_ with the level of details necessary to make use of them. It's a "how to" book; this is the one you have cracked open on your desk while you're hard coding it all up. However, it's not very well written with the prose being very terse and basically quite unengaging. But so what! In some sense yes perhaps, but Michalewicz and Fogel made a point that one can write technical litterature that one can also read. Perhaps they went overboard... in any case, Deb's book is about algorithms so who cares about whether the book puts you to sleep and it can do that, unfortunately. Apart from the unengaging style and the paucity of depth in the examples scope, the real problem with the book is not with the book itself, it's with the field of multiobjective optimization based on evolutionary methods. It's fairly evident that there is not much of any sort of fundamental understanding available at this time in support of why evolutionary techniques do work well, and they do, sometimes... If this understanding is available, you won't find it in Deb's book. If you are like me though, you won't care all that much really so long as the techniques are efficient and presented in a way that make them useable, and that's done right... But on the whole, it's a little unsatisfying because one's left with a panoply of various techniques and ways to define operators and representations but there is no insight given on which one might be best or how to craft them to particular situations. There is a lot of so-'n-so in reference this and that did it like this and it seems to work well there, however... The reason for this state of affairs is, of course, that nobody has a real clue, yet... But that is _not_ Deb's fault and this is not why, as a user, I'm not rating his book a full 5 stars. In some sense it could be rated as high as that but I thought the presentation was rather unengaging and not with all the breath and depth it could have had. So it's a 4.5 stars perhaps... let's say... but Amazon does not let me select 4.5 stars so it's 4, this edition at least...

The Reference in Evolutionary Multiobjective Optimization.......2001-07-23

This is the first complete and updated text on Multi-objective Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs), covering all major areas clearly, thoughtfully and thoroughly. Thanks to the development of evolutionary computation MOEAs are now a well established technique for multi-objective optimization that finds multiple effective solutions in a single run. The widely interdisciplinary interest of engineers, scientists and mathematicians towards MOEAs has been evident during the first international conference on this topic (EMO2001,Zurich). The book is extremely useful for researchers working on multi-objective optimization in all branches of engineering and sciences, that will find a complete description of all available methodologies, starting from a detailed description and criticism of classical methods, towards a deep treating of the most advanced evolutionary techniques. Moreover several analytical test cases are given, covering all difficulties a MOEA encounters when converging towards the Pareto Optimal front. This set of test problems, together with several performance measurement parameters are essential when testing a new strategy before its application to a real-world problem. Despite the detail in advanced topics, Deb's book may be also used as a reference-book for a post-graduate course thanks to the scholarly coverage of basic arguments. As a final remark I strongly suggest everyone working on evolutionary computation and optimization to keep this book on the desk.

Multi-Objective Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithms

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Multi-Objective Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithms
Kalyanmoy/ Kalyanmoy, Deb Deb
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N6F06U

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Multi-Objective Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithms
KALYANMOY (INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, KAMPUR, INDIA) DEB
Manufacturer: JOHN WILEY AND SONS LTD
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N5BOU2

Amazon.com

A shipwreck in the South Seas, a palm-tree paradise where a mad doctor conducts vile experiments, animals that become human and then "beastly" in ways they never were before--it's the stuff of high adventure. It's also a parable about Darwinian theory, a social satire in the vein of Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels), and a bloody tale of horror. Or, as H. G. Wells himself wrote about this story, "The Island of Dr. Moreau is an exercise in youthful blasphemy. Now and then, though I rarely admit it, the universe projects itself towards me in a hideous grimace. It grimaced that time, and I did my best to express my vision of the aimless torture in creation." This colorful tale by the author of The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The War of the Worlds lit a firestorm of controversy at the time of its publication in 1896.

Book Description

Ranked among the classic novels of the English language and the inspiration for several unforgettable movies, this early work of H. G. Wells was greeted in 1896 by howls of protest from reviewers, who found it horrifying and blasphemous. They wanted to know more about the wondrous possibilities of science shown in his first book, The Time Machine, not its potential for misuse and terror. In The Island of Dr. Moreau a shipwrecked gentleman named Edward Prendick, stranded on a Pacific island lorded over by the notorious Dr. Moreau, confronts dark secrets, strange creatures, and a reason to run for his life.

While this riveting tale was intended to be a commentary on evolution, divine creation, and the tension between human nature and culture, modern readers familiar with genetic engineering will marvel at Wells’s prediction of the ethical issues raised by producing “smarter” human beings or bringing back extinct species. These levels of interpretation add a richness to Prendick’s adventures on Dr. Moreau’s island of lost souls without distracting from what is still a rip-roaring good read.

Download Description

BUT the islanders, seeing that I was really adrift, took pity on me. I drifted very slowly to the eastward, approaching the island slantingly; and presently I saw, with hysterical relief, the launch come round and return towards me.

Customer Reviews:

Worth reading carefully.......2007-10-06

I went through this book pretty quickly, and read it the way you'd read a Dan Brown book. As a result, when I finished it I thought of it as a freaky adventure story with a few comments on evolution.

However, after reading the afterword by Brian Aldiss, I realized how deep the rabbit hole really goes with this thing. H.G. Wells has not only talked about evolution and weird science, but tied in religion, the human capacity for reason, the abuse of knowledge, and enough other deep thoughts to make your head spin. I might have to give it a second read sometime.

If you can pace yourself while reading it to let the ideas sink, then I recommend the read.

Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

An Englishman is rescued twice, once from a shipwreck, and once from being abandoned by the captain of the ship who rescued him.

Dr. Moreau takes him into his home, and slowly it dawns on the
horrified individual that Moreau is basically insane, and has been
experimenting with enhancing animal intelligence. The relationship
between the creations and Moreau is very warped, and a large part of
the horror.

Staggeringly good!.......2007-08-28

I thought the book was more about what happens to Society when the thought of a central God is removed. We have moved into a world where Christianity is a million miles away from how it mattered to people in 1896, and there is confusion and hostility with those to whom religion matters a great deal. The Society of the Beasts surely mirrors what Wells thought we were all heading for in 1896? He was, in part, quite right. A book which has many interpretations, and amazingly gains more as the decades pass.

Cheap reprint from public domain.......2007-08-28

Filiquarian Publishing, LLC published this book under the idea that it is in "public domain status." Meaning, it is not any better than you would find online. The book is readable, but emphasis (bold or italics) are done by an underscore before and after the word(s). Example: "_His_ is the lightning flash, we sang. _His_ is the deep, salt sea." (page 82) To me, it is annoying to read it this way. You occasionally find extra quotation marks and a double dash (--) in the place of an ellipsis (...). On page 41, you get all of the above.

The binding is right up there with self-published titles. The cover is as basic as it gets, and has no text on the spine (see picture.) The back cover has merely a UPC barcode. On my copy, the glue they used for the spine was pressed out and made a rather strange bind. By strange, I mean cheap-looking.

Anyway, if you are looking for an inexpensive copy of this book and don't care about the bindery or text issues, then this book is for you.

The difference between can and should.......2007-01-07

I was not planning on writing a review of this book, as I should have thought that a book this popular would have been reviewed well here by this point. As I looked through the fifty or so reviews, however, I realized that none of the reviewers had realized what the main idea of this book was, or if they had, they failed to mention it, and failing to mention the main point of a book in a review of the book is a rather poor practice, is it not? The main point of this book was that Wells wanted us to wrestle with one assumption that science in his day was making, and still is today, namely that whatever we can do we should do. Just because scientific advancement has given us the ability to do things, does that mean we should? In Wells' day the hot topic was vivisection, so that is the practice discussed in this book, wrapped in the garb of a novel, and a very good novel at that. The same discussion is raging today with issues like stem cell research and cloning. Just because we can clone a human, does that mean science should do it? If not, why not? Because it violates humanity? If we are products of evolution what basis do we have for holding humanity as something that should not be violated? These issues are the ones that Wells brings to bear in this book by having Moreau use vivisection to create (near) humans from animals. The horror of the new creations is that they are distorted humanity. They are the violated humanity, but why should we find that horrific? Dr. Moreau, the figure of rationality with no regard for emotion, conscience, or morality, has no problem with the creatures. He does not see why they are horrific to Prendick, the narrator of the story. It seems that Wells is saying that scientific rationalism has no basis for saying that we should not violate humanity in the interest of science. For those who hold to this scientific rationalism, the question of should does not even arise. In such a position, can is equal to should. Of course, there are secondory points as well, such as man's ever persistent derire to shape the world around him to fit his will. Wells' point seems to be that our attempts to do this are doomed to failure, as nature simply refuses to be bent, just as Moreau's "humans" refused to stay human and kept reverting to their original animal state. As for the literary quality of the book, it is of the same excellent quality of the rest of Wells fictional works. The sense of realness is still there. The best way I can think to describe it is that is writing seems have the exact opposite feel that of fairy tales. Fairy tales always seem magical, happy, and imaginative. Wells is extremely realistic, usually unhappy, and seems as if they were writings of someone who had really been through the things the narrator claims to have been through. Overall grade: A

H. G. Wells: The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, The First Men in the Moon, The Food of the Gods (Masters Library)

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H. G. Wells: The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, The First Men in the Moon, The Food of the Gods (Masters Library)

Manufacturer: Amaranth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: 0808162985

Product Description

Bound in blue bonded leather. Gilt edges, silver titles, and raised spine.

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The Island Of Dr. Moreau
H. G. WELLS
Manufacturer: Magnum Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000EK4Y4E

Product Description

Large type for easy reading. complete and unabridged.

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The Island of Dr. Moreau
H.G. Wells
Manufacturer: Airmont
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GRI4O6

Seven Famous Novels By H. G. Wells : The Time MacHine , the Island of Dr. Moreau , the Invisible Man , the War of the Worlds , the First Men in the Moon , the Food of the Gods , the Days of the Comet

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Seven Famous Novels By H. G. Wells : The Time MacHine , the Island of Dr. Moreau , the Invisible Man , the War of the Worlds , the First Men in the Moon , the Food of the Gods , the Days of the Comet
H. G. Wells
Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GQMVVE

The Island of Dr. Moreau (Science Fiction Classic, D-537)

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The Island of Dr. Moreau (Science Fiction Classic, D-537)

Manufacturer: Ace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: B000GOHRG0

Product Description

H.G. Wells wonderful fable of science gone mad. Edward Prendick finds himself stranded on Moreau's island, full of medical atrocities and freaks. This book has been made into movies many times, an absolute classic unlike any other.

GradeSaver(tm) ClassicNotes The Island of Dr. Moreau

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GradeSaver(tm) ClassicNotes The Island of Dr. Moreau
Jon-Mark Overvold
Manufacturer: GradeSaver, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Education | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1602590443
Release Date: 2006-07-11

Book Description

GradeSaver(TM) ClassicNotes are the ultimate study guides, written by Harvard students for students! Each note includes: * An author biography * An in-depth chapter-by-chapter summary * A short summary * A character list and related descriptions * A list of themes * A glossary * Historical context * Two academic essays * 100 quiz questions to improve test taking skills!

THE GREATEST OF ALL CLASSIC SCIENCE FICTION: War of the Worlds, Time Machine, Invisible Man, Island of Dr. Moreau, In the days of the Comet, First Men in the Moon, Food of the Gods

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THE GREATEST OF ALL CLASSIC SCIENCE FICTION: War of the Worlds, Time Machine, Invisible Man, Island of Dr. Moreau, In the days of the Comet, First Men in the Moon, Food of the Gods

Manufacturer: Berkley Medallion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000FBUBQM

The Invisible Man / the Island of Dr. Moreau

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The Invisible Man / the Island of Dr. Moreau
H. G. Well
Manufacturer: Reader's Digest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Product Description

Great reading or decorating copy. Black cover with maroon spine with gold lettering. 306 pages.

The Invisible Man and The Island of Dr. Moreau (Reader's Digest Edition)

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The Invisible Man and The Island of Dr. Moreau (Reader's Digest Edition)

Manufacturer: Reader's Digest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: B000B8NCSS

Book Description

This cutting-edge volume fully describes the bankruptcy law in Canada, and sets forth a comprehensive body of agreed-upon principles governing multinational insolvency cases in which the assets are located in one or more of the three NAFTA countries; and offer practical approaches to managing such cases based on those principles. In part influenced by ALI's Transnational Insolvency Project, all three of the NAFTA countries have reconsidered aspects of their bankruptcy laws during the life of the Project. These changes are fully reflected in this timely and up-to-date volume

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