Financial Times Guide to Using & Interpreting Company Accounts (Ft Guide)

Book Description

The FT Guide to Using and Interpreting Company Accounts answers these questions: What information will I find in the accounts? What financial statements tell you about the business, how they are prepared & how they differ internationally. How do I analyse the accounts? Work through a full set of published accounts; learn how to approach and structure the analysis, which ratios to use, what the ratios do and do not tell you. How can I use my analysis? How to analyse suppliers accounts, customers accounts, competitors accounts & identify the acquisition potential of a company.

This book takes the subject of accounts into the advanced area of company analysis for those people who need more in-depth knowledge of a company's accounts before they make any major decisions regarding their involvement with that company. Fully updated, it provides an understanding of the newest valuation analysis techniques, modern international accounting standards and the huge changes in creative accounting. This book is essential reading for all non-financial managers who need to understand accounts and want to make more informed financial decisions

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Financial Times Guide to Using and Interpreting Company Accounts (Ft Guide)
Wendy McKenzie
Manufacturer: Trans-Atlantic Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0273630997

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The Financial Times Guide to Using and Interpreting Company Accounts
Wendy McKenzie
Manufacturer: Pitman Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQT4U2

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Financial Times" Guide to Using and Interpreting Company Accounts (Ft Guide)
Wendy McKenzie
Manufacturer: Financial Times Management
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQPZ8M

Amazon.com

Can we do it? Plowing his furrow between the doomsayers and the blind optimists, agriculture researcher Vaclav Smil believes that our planet can sustain more than 10 billion people, and he makes his arguments clearly and plainly in Feeding the World: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century. His prescription is fairly simple: waste less, eat less, and produce more--and he shows just how easy it could be. Just like doctors' advice that the key to losing weight is to eat less and exercise more, which is ignored in favor of simpler and less effective plans, Smil's ideas are just unglamorous enough to fall by the wayside. Why not take the easy way out and decide either that we're all doomed or that market forces will mysteriously solve problems that they have yet to acknowledge exist?

Smil prefers to look coolly at our habits and suggest how we can make moderate changes to our production and consumption and reap great benefits of efficiency--and better health. You won't be surprised to learn that beef takes a beating in the race to convert solar energy to food, but you might not know that pigs and chickens are practically neck and neck. Of course, all of our two- and four-legged friends are eating the dust of the grains and vegetables, proving again that slow and steady wins the race. If Smil's ideas can get the attention they deserve, and if as he says "China could do it," then we ought to be able to look forward to an equitable, sustainable place at the table for everyone, even as our population reaches 11 digits. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

This book addresses the question of how we can best feed the ten billion or so people who will likely inhabit the Earth by the middle of the twenty-first century. He asks whether human ingenuity can produce enough food to support healthy and vigorous lives for all these people without irreparably damaging the integrity of the biosphere.

What makes this book different from other books on the world food situation is its consideration of the complete food cycle, from agriculture to post-harvest losses and processing to eating and discarding. Taking a scientific approach, Smil espouses neither the catastrophic view that widespread starvation is imminent nor the cornucopian view that welcomes large population increases as the source of endless human inventiveness. He shows how we can make more effective use of current resources and suggests that if we increase farming efficiency, reduce waste, and transform our diets, future needs may not be as great as we anticipate.

Smil's message is that the prospects may not be as bright as we would like, but the outlook is hardly disheartening. Although inaction, late action, or misplaced emphasis may bring future troubles, we have the tools to steer a more efficient course. There are no insurmountable biophysical reasons we cannot feed humanity in the decades to come while easing the burden that modern agriculture puts on the biosphere.

Customer Reviews:

Reality check.......2003-07-17

The debate over feeding a growing world population seems like an ink blot test - you "see" your paradigm (prejudices, world view) and feel strongly, usually without a lot of data.

This seems true of environmentalists as well as free market enthusiasts.

Vaclav Smil recaps the debate, including Paul Ehrlich's famous vasectomy and - so far always wildly inaccurate - prophesies of massive starvation, and the equally enthusiastic faith of free marketers that technology and free markets will _always_ and _forever_ keep right on booming.

Then he adds a reality check, going over the data and the science in loving detail.

Smil has spent many years in the field - and in paddies ;-) - all over the world, so his summary for general readers recaps his own cutting-edge scholarly books as well as scholarship generally. Freeman Dyson was deeply impressed by Smil's general work on bioenergetics, the physics of ecology - Smil is the rare bird who can do first-rate research _and_ explain it without talking-down, grinding an ax or equations (he does have a flow diagram for biospheric nitrogen that is truly elegant, as well as charts and graphs that _work_ without bogging you down).

While he concludes it is just possible to feed the projected world population over the next century, the fascination is in the details he presents elegantly.

For instance - the loving movement for more work horses on farms. I love morgans, but some even love mules ;-)

All agricultural uses consume about 1% of North American liquid fuels, but feeding the horses needed to replace internal combustion would require 250% of current land devoted to agriculture. Smil is too delicate to ask what we'd do with all that horse manure - in the 1850s, New York City had a small industry devoted to sweeping it up and shipping it to Connecticut's "gold coast" to grow onions.

Nitrogen fertilizers are perhaps the critical input, and perhaps one third of us today could not be fed without artificial nitrates (Smil has a book _Transforming the World_ just on this topic).

He is equally powerful, point by point, on just how China went from starving en masse with Mao to current surpluses, what we know and do not know about soil erosion, and each of the limiting factors in crop varieties (cultivars, if you like good words). He does not seem to over-emphasize, but if genetic re-engineering of crops ever gets beyond resistance to pests, the underlying efficiencies of photosynthesis plus organic fixation of nitrogen _conceivably_ might allow some wildly more efficient "Frankenfoods", a sort of "monster mash" using C4 photosynthesis as the basis.

If Smil takes sides in the clash of worldviews, he successfully presents it in terms of in-put efficiencies. E.g., will we really starve because we will run out of farmland, because artificial fertilizers will run short or kill-off the micro-life that make soils live.

I found one sentence bemoaning the "collapse" of petroleum prices, which cut short "drilling for oil" by improving energy efficiency. This is where engineering efficiency loses touch with most of us. Gasoline cheaper than bottled water is good for most of us, bad for OPEC, and state interventions to artificially impose the cost signals from $40/barrel petroleum would be hugely costly even before you count pure waste.

Consider Al Gore's "carbon tax" which immediately gave coal an exemption - because coal is so clean, or maybe to pay-off the UMW and Senator Byrd. Britain passed a carbon tax, but somehow imposed a double helping on state-owned _nuclear_ power plants that generate zero "green house" gases, again because coal production has political clout that completely offsets any environmental arguments.

But Smil's strength is _precisely_ his ability to focus on the data, on the science. Economics and politics, let alone worldviews that mimic theology, show up only as consequences of the biophysics.

When to Be Optimistic.......2000-08-24

Smil's book is a "must read" for anyone interested in the world food problem. His most valuable contribution is his insistence, backed up with an unparalleled marshalling of facts, that the biggest hope in the short run lies in greater efficiency. By looking at the whole food cycle, from field to final end, he can show (correctly) that waste all along the line is costing us more than enough food to feed all the hungry AND many of the unborn. Water and fertilizer are lost in the field, grain goes to rats and weevils during storage, and so on down to the appalling plate waste in the US. Smil does not side with the catastrophists who project imminent famine (they have been wrong too often) nor with the cornucopians who see nothing but plenty ahead (he dismisses them with the tart comment that, ultimately, the earth would have to be all grain if food and population kept growing). He is, however, on the optimistic side, seeing existing and fairly easily-developed technology as quite adequate to feed the expected world population. There are some problems. First, he accepts the hopeful premise that world population will level off around 10 billion. In spite of the mantra-like repetition of this figure by aid agencies, it is probably too optimistic. China is barely managing to sustain its one-child policy, and population growth is still rapid in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, and Latin America; many countries show no sign of slowing. Second, he adopts the most optimistic possible figures or scenarios on soil erosion and some other variables. Desertification, for instance, he ascribes largely to natural climatic swings. This is not credible; there are far too many photographs, from around the world, of desertification that stops short at barbed-wire fences (which prevent overgrazing). On the other hand, he does not say much about minor and obscure crops, and still less about obscure cropping regimes and methods. Use of such technologies (found mostly among traditional peoples around the world) could vastly increase the productivity of world agriculture. One notes, going beyond this book, that some countries today are as badly off as the most pessimistic of catastrophists feared: Sudan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Mali, and many more. These are countries with weak and usually tyrannical governments, often torn by conflict. Conversely, some countries have done as well as the most cheery optimists could have hoped; these are mostly European countries with strong, democratic governments with high levels of accountability. In between, countries fall neatly into line along a continuum. China, Smil's and my main area of expertise, is in the stretch. Smil, arguing against Lester Brown, sees much hope for China. However, China's government is currently toward the weak and tyrannical end, making Lester Brown's gloomy predictions look more reasonable. China has a long history of saving itself at the last minute, and Smil may be right in the end. But China also has a long, long history of famine caused by inept governance. Anyway, the point is made, and I wish Smil had made it: Good government, not technology and not food waste, is the key. This being said, Smil's book is about the best out there at the present, and brings together a huge array of important facts, many of them otherwise almost impossible to find in the specialized literature. Anyone interested in world futures had better read it.

FEEDING THE WORLD: A CHALLENGE FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.(Review) (book review): An article from: Journal of Economic Issues

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FEEDING THE WORLD: A CHALLENGE FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.(Review) (book review): An article from: Journal of Economic Issues
Thomas R. Degregori
Manufacturer: Association for Evolutionary Economics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008HXPN4
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Economic Issues, published by Association for Evolutionary Economics on March 1, 2001. The length of the article is 764 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: FEEDING THE WORLD: A CHALLENGE FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.(Review) (book review)
Author: Thomas R. Degregori
Publication: Journal of Economic Issues (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 2001
Publisher: Association for Evolutionary Economics
Volume: 35 Issue: 1 Page: 210

Article Type: Book Review

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Feeding the World: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century.(Review): An article from: American Journal of Agricultural Economics

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Feeding the World: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century.(Review): An article from: American Journal of Agricultural Economics
Ben Senauer
Manufacturer: American Agricultural Economics Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0009FEGRO
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from American Journal of Agricultural Economics, published by American Agricultural Economics Association on August 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1640 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: Feeding the World: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century.(Review)
Author: Ben Senauer
Publication: American Journal of Agricultural Economics (Refereed)
Date: August 1, 2001
Publisher: American Agricultural Economics Association
Volume: 83 Issue: 3 Page: 790

Article Type: Book Review

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FEEDING THE WORLD: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century.: An article from: The Geographical Review

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FEEDING THE WORLD: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century.: An article from: The Geographical Review
Andrew Goudie
Manufacturer: American Geographical Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008JAAYE
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Geographical Review, published by American Geographical Society on April 1, 2000. The length of the article is 590 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: FEEDING THE WORLD: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century.
Author: Andrew Goudie
Publication: The Geographical Review (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 2000
Publisher: American Geographical Society
Volume: 90 Issue: 2 Page: 285

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Feeding The World: A Challenge For The Twenty-First Century

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Feeding The World: A Challenge For The Twenty-First Century
Vaclav Smil
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQDF98

Product Description

History: Fiction or Science? is the most explosive tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by solid scientific data. The book is well-illustrated, contains over 446 graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays, which never cease to amaze the reader. Eminent mathematician proves that: Jesus Christ was born in 1153 and crucified in 1186 The Old Testament refers to mediaeval events. Apocalypse was written after 1486. Does this sound uncanny? This version of events is substantiated by hard facts and logic - validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources - to a greater extent than everything you may have read and heard about history before. The dominating historical discourse in its current state was essentially crafted in the XVI century from a rather contradictory jumble of sources such as innumerable copies of ancient Latin and Greek manuscripts whose originals had vanished in the Dark Ages and the allegedly irrefutable proof offered by late mediaeval astronomers, resting upon the power of ecclesial authorities. Nearly all of its components are blatantly untrue! For some of us, it shall possibly be quite disturbing to see the magnificent edifice of classical history to turn into an ominous simulacrum brooding over the snake pit of mediaeval politics. Twice so, in fact: the first seeing the legendary millenarian dust on the ancient marble turn into a mere layer of dirt - one that meticulous unprejudiced research can eventually remove. The second, and greater, attack of unease comes with the awareness of just how many areas of human knowledge still trust the three elephants of the consensual chronology to support them. Nothing can remedy that except for an individual chronological revolution happening in the minds of a large enough number of people.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Process Design Tools for the Environment

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Process Design Tools for the Environment
Subhas Sikdar
Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 156032824X

Book Description

Much of the pollution in the air, water or soil results from discharges from industrial activities. Industrial practice can be significantly altered to reduce or eliminate the pollution if processes and products are so designed that either toxic materials are not used, or processes are inherently less polluting. This book is a collection of methods, written by experts, that would enable industry to design benign processes at the outset to achieve this purpose.

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PROCESS DESIGN TOOLS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
SUBHAS EL-HALWAGI, MAHMOUD SIKDAR
Manufacturer: TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N5DEWI

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Process Design Tools for the Environment
Subhas K Sikdar
Manufacturer: TAYLOR & FRANCIS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N6B7DA

Book Description

The aim of the book is to present the state of the art of the theory of symmetric (Hermitian) matrix Riccati equations and to contribute to the development of the theory of non-symmetric Riccati equations as well as to certain classes of coupled and generalized Riccati equations occurring in differential games and stochastic control. The volume offers a complete treatment of generalized and coupled Riccati equations. It deals with differential, discrete-time, algebraic or periodic symmetric and non-symmetric equations, with special emphasis on those equations appearing in control and systems theory. Extensions to Riccati theory allow to tackle robust control problems in a unified approach.

The book is intended to make available classical and recent results to engineers and mathematicians alike. It is accessible to graduate students in mathematics, applied mathematics, control engineering, physics or economics. Researchers working in any of the fields where Riccati equations are used can find the main results with the proper mathematical background.

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Great Read

A very fun read. Highly recomended.

Excellent Book

first-person account of training for French Foreign Legion

"Enjoy this life you have chosen..."

The Making of a Legionnaire: My Life in the French Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment (Cassell Military Paperbacks)
Bill Parris
Manufacturer: Cassell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Naked Soldier: A True Story of the French Foreign Legion

Legionnaire: Five Years in the French Foreign Legion

Life in the French Foreign Legion: How to Join and What to Expect When You Get There

Legion of the Lost : The True Experience of An American in the French Foreign Legion

Mouthful of Rocks

ASIN: 0304366978

Book Description

Penniless, divorced and AWOL from the British forces, Bill Parris volunteered for the French Foreign Legion in the early 1980s.

Unlike many British volunteers to the Legion, Bill did not desert. He endured a horrendous training regime and, despite a fear of heights (!) joined the elite Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment.

He discovered how women from all over the world flock to Corsica where the Legion is based - so his RandR was almost as exhausting as the jungle warfare school he was later sent to.

Customer Reviews:

Great Read.......2007-09-12

Very well written book. It took me less than a week to get through it. I hope the author and ex-Legionnaire is doing well these days. I highly recommend this publication.

A very fun read. Highly recomended........2007-06-07

This is a fantastic little read. Unlike some other Legion books it's not quite as raw. Perhaps the author's modesty is the reason why. But his story is again the one of the classic alienated young man who throws caution out the window and joins the legion.

Only this man is just a little different. He was lucky enough to have the foresight and knowledge to understand he was attempting to be part of something very historic. Something he had to live up to. The pages are filled with examples of how he relished his experiences, both good and bad, and made the best of things when sometimes things were at their worst.

What I particularly enjoyed was his comments on training and mindset. He proves that once you put your mind to something you can nearly do anything. He certainly knew that when he left the legion. He'd done it all, from combat in Rwanda to the deserts of Africa, parachute and jungle training, he was no arm chair commando!

But most importantly he never appears to lose his sense of who he is and finds some laughs on the way. I damn near spit out a beer when he wrote about the night before his first parachute jump when he explained to his friend that he was afraid of heights.

Part historian and anthropologists, Bill Parris faced down his fears and thrived. There's a great lesson to be learned here and you don't have to join the legion to find it. You just have to have the nads to take life by the horns and hold on. Of course, in his line of work you never give up, never give in or you're worm food.

I'm going to leave my copy on the desk at work for a while and let the little old ladies with blue hair and sensible shoes wonder about me some more. Right next to my copy of Evan McGorman's How to Join the French Foreign Legion and What to Expect when you Get there.

Excellent Book.......2006-07-19

I carried this book around with me for two straight days (even reading it at traffic lights!). Bill Parris (aka Peter Parker) does a wonderful job conveying his experiences, and thoughfully places his stories into perspective for the lay reader. My only complaint is that there are a few gaps in his timeline (particularly toward the latter half of the book), although I suppose there is only so much one can write about training.... All in all a very good read.

first-person account of training for French Foreign Legion.......2005-07-06

The Englishman Parris recounts his basic training in becoming a French Foreign Legionnaire with a "you-are-there" detail and liveliness; in places down to the cot he slept on and the food he ate, but also the weapons he learned to use and the tactical lessons he and the other recruits were taught. Like most other Legionnaires, Parris joined from a deep sense of disappointment after certain difficult experiences in his life; although he left the Legion after a few years and is now living in England married with children. The challenging training takes place in environments as varied as French Guyana, North Africa desert, and hills of Corsica, with Parris and his fellow recruits having to master different skills and succeed at different objectives in each. Parris gives an indelible inside look at the rigorous training Legionnaires undergo.

"Enjoy this life you have chosen...".......2005-06-16

Yearning for adventure and eager to leave behind an unfulfilling life in England, Bill Parris joined the French Foreign Legion... and what a journey it would be. From knocking on the infamous front gate at Fort de Nogent in the Parisian suburbs ---the starting point of a recruit's quest to become a Legionnaire--- to the hellish killing fields of Rwanda, Parris gives a gripping account of his experience as a soldier in an elite fighting force that has historically been the subject of both profound admiration and contempt.

Tough and unforgiving, life in the Legion is portrayed in a way that leaves us with the impression that despite its seemingly unbearable hardships, it is an organization that offers men unparalleled challenge, comradery, and redemption. Although it still functions as a refuge for lost souls, the days of the Legion serving as a hiding place for criminals is long gone, and has instead been replaced by a highly competitive selection process where only a fraction of recruits are actually chosen to undergo training.

Putting aside comparisons with past literature on the subject, this inside look at one man's experience in a legendary military force makes for an absorbing tale of adventure that is sure to answer the question: Who are those brave, respected, feared, and hated men who together form the French Foreign Legion?

Customer Reviews:

Calling All Adults on the Spectrum!.......2006-05-30

If you are an adult with Asperger's Syndrome, which is the spectrum partner to autism, make this book your best friend. Believe me, you will be glad you did because Gerland takes readers through her odessy of ill treatment by people lacking understanding of her sensori-neurobiological condition.

This book is an excellent insider's view of what it means to have Asperger's Syndrome and to cope with sensory issues and baffling behavior on the part of neurotypical (NT) counterparts. One of the most frustrating things people on the autism/Asperger's (a/A) spectrum encounter and endure is not knowing when the Tacit Social Codes & Rules will change. These Rules change always at the behest of the NT population and seems always to suit the needs of the NT population. Gerland has done an admirable job of providing a voice for those with AS. At last people on the spectrum have had their turn at bat - knowing what undefined differences are can make all the difference in the world in helping people on the a/A spectrum cope. Once armed with such knowledge can one gain a better understanding of things that always seemed so nebulous.

This book deserves a place of high honor. It will enrich and empower people and generate tolerance, understanding and ultimately acceptance among the NT population. We need this book!

10 out of 10 for honesty.......2005-08-27

This book is a brutally honest account of the childhood, adolescence and beginning of adult life of an intelligent and insightful woman who did not recieve a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome until adulthood. It shows a side of the "Aspergers experience" that one doesn't read about often, a family and school that were anything but supportive, and the lonely experience of knowing that one is different from other people, but not knowing why. If you didn't know that aspies (people with Asperger syndrome) are often treated really badly by "normal" people, have a read of this book, you will find it informative, but perhaps a bit depressing. I hope the author sent a copy of this book to the evil aunt when it was published!

A Must Read.......2004-03-23

One of the most eloquent first-hand accounts of growing up with an undiagnosed autistic spectrum condition, this book should be compulsory reading for anyone working with, teaching or parenting people on the spectrum.

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