Microeconomics: Behavior, Institutions, and Evolution (The Roundtable Series in Behavioral Economics)

Microeconomics: Behavior, Institutions, and Evolution (The Roundtable Series in Behavioral Economics)
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Brilliant synthesis of behavioral microeconomics

Very strong, but flawed

Demonstrates The Instability of Current Economic Theory

Microeconomics: Behavior, Institutions, and Evolution (The Roundtable Series in Behavioral Economics)
Samuel Bowles
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0691126380

Book Description

In this novel introduction to modern microeconomic theory, Samuel Bowles returns to the classical economists' interest in the wealth and poverty of nations and people, the workings of the institutions of capitalist economies, and the coevolution of individual preferences and the structures of markets, firms, and other institutions. Using recent advances in evolutionary game theory, contract theory, behavioral experiments, and the modeling of dynamic processes, he develops a theory of how economic institutions shape individual behavior, and how institutions evolve due to individual actions, technological change, and chance events. Topics addressed include institutional innovation, social preferences, nonmarket social interactions, social capital, equilibrium unemployment, credit constraints, economic power, generalized increasing returns, disequilibrium outcomes, and path dependency.

Each chapter is introduced by empirical puzzles or historical episodes illuminated by the modeling that follows, and the book closes with sets of problems to be solved by readers seeking to improve their mathematical modeling skills. Complementing standard mathematical analysis are agent-based computer simulations of complex evolving systems that are available online so that readers can experiment with the models. Bowles concludes with the time-honored challenge of "getting the rules right," providing an evaluation of markets, states, and communities as contrasting and yet sometimes synergistic structures of governance. Must reading for students and scholars not only in economics but across the behavioral sciences, this engagingly written and compelling exposition of the new microeconomics moves the field beyond the conventional models of prices and markets toward a more accurate and policy-relevant portrayal of human social behavior.

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant synthesis of behavioral microeconomics.......2007-06-19

Samuel Bowles, a heterodox economist known for his long time cooperation with Herb Gintis on various cutting edge works in the field of behavioral economics and related subjects, has made a fantastic synthesis of all the material and conclusions in this area of research in "Microeconomics: Behavior, Institutions and Evolution".

As the title promises, Bowles makes extensive use of concepts from socio-evolutionary theory, institutional economics and anthropology, as well as applications from (evolutionary) game theory, to discuss the basics of economic choices, interaction, cooperation, and exchange. It may take a bit of adjusting at first, especially if one is not used to heterodox economics, since his well-written overview starts from very different points than most generic orthodox textbooks do. But it is very rewarding: all the relevant issues are presented in their complexity, nothing is swept under the carpet, and what makes this book in particular commendable is the way in which information from anthropology, psychology and the social sciences is weaven into the 'story'. The contrast with the ridiculous assumptions and the unrealistic or simply false simplistic models of standard neoclassical textbooks (like for example that of Mankiw) is striking.

It must be said that a proper understanding of all the arguments requires familiarity with intermediate level mathematics for economists, and the general level of abstraction and discussion is quite high, so this is not an easy book. Fortunately, this is mitigated somewhat by Bowles' clear writing, and sometimes he also takes the trouble (which unfortunately few economists do) of specifically explaining what the mathematical formulas mean, for people who have difficulty with somewhat advanced equations and the like. In any case, he relies quite correctly more on empirical arguments regarding problems of the common, of evolution of institutions, the workings of altruism, prisoner's dilemmas, and so on than on any kind of math (although these things can be expressed in math, often).
At the end, Bowles provides some problem sets organized by subject as in the book, to allow readers and students to grapple with the issues presented.

Overall, this is probably the best overview specifically about microeconomics currently in existence, and it's a shame that it is not the standard textbook in all economics classes on the subject. Much better than anything Mankiw, Barro etc. have ever produced.

Very strong, but flawed.......2006-03-30

In Microeconomics, Bowles applies game theory, the insights of experimental economics, a contested exchange theory of the firm based upon conflict and power, and endogenous formation of traits, to microeconomic theory.

This is probably the most developed statement of what Bowles has called "Post-Walrasian Economics." Essentially, a form of neoclassical economics in which the unrealistic assumptions of Walrasian/ perfectly competitve type economics are rejected and not merely replaced "imperfect" competition and information (e.g. some degree of divergence from the walrasian assumptions, using those assumptions as their reference point). Rather, Bowles gives complex, somewhat realistic descriptions of the non-Walrasian characteristics of the economy, many of which have a totally different qualitative side than the Walrasian model.

Bowles is largely successful, yet there are some problems. There is alot of calculus in this book, not at an incredibly high level, but this certainly limits the appeal of this book to many readers without an understanding of calculus. Also, many of the examples used in the models are very abstract. An agent is faced with a choice to "adopt a characteristic" when they "have an interaction" with some other agent. Nothing wrong with abstraction per se, but it would be nice to have a better idea of what real world issues these models have relevance for.

Also, Bowles rose to prominence as one of the top radical economists and one of the founders of the Union for Radical Political Economics. He apparently still has similar political views and much of this book supports the existence of pervasive market failures supports a left perspective. Yet, not much time is spent on the particular topics usually explored by radical models. Those aspects of the "conflict theory" of the firm which are most profound, such as the choice of technique being influenced by the need of the capitalist to maximize their bargaining power rather than efficiency, are mentioned but not explored in great detail. However, given the incredibly detailed exploration of various aspects of conflict in the labor process, the models developed in this book have great value for those looking to develop new radical models.

Also, this book is thoroughly neoclassical (albeit informed by the best advances in NC economics, even those which contradict age old staples of NC theory) in terms of price and distribution theory, etc... As someone who is heterodox in their beliefs about economics, this is bit of a disappointment for me. However, most of these insights could be integrated into heterodox theory.

There are also a few problematic claims in this book. Bowles apparently supports Duncan Foley's argument that if we focus on aggregate outcomes, the consequences of the SMD theorem are somewhat mitigated. Foley's claims are actually quite questionable. See Frank Ackerman's "Still Dead After all these Years: Interpreting the failure of General Equilibrium Theory."

Demonstrates The Instability of Current Economic Theory.......2005-06-08

The idea of Walrasian equilibria is in serious trouble, and there isn't a good back filler that fits experimental evidence. If this represents an exciting plot for you, read on. On the other hand, if you want to hide out in late 19th century (supplemented by 1950s) math models for a few more years, avoid this book.

If Bowles is any indication of the enlightened center, the walls of stable microeconomic theory are shaking. The trumpets are blown by experimentalists and and supporting work from serious anthropologists, historians, etc. that suggest people just don't quite do what is expected by classical microeconomics. That is a problem. Elegance that isn't factual just isn't science. Neither does it look like the gods of game theory fully come to the rescue, no matter how elegant Nash equilibria might be.

Still, the most likely candidate theory for stable microeconomics is the evolution literature and the associated game theoretic concepts that have been staples in biology for over 30 years. Ideas adapted from biology may offer dynamics without contextuality. Bowles teaches related constructs neatly in a book that is still less quantitative than a few others I have looked at. There are few partial differentials for their own sake. On the other hand, there is real math here--enough to scare people off who are fightened by such things, but math isn't the point as it can be in other micro theory works. The point is reality, which is also the slippery slope that will make this book hard for the trade to adopt, I'd guess. Remarkably, the book reads like a search for solutions rather than the expression of what can be said with simple math models in a logically consistent manner.

If your prof uses this text for microeconomic theory, you are lucky. It could be a lot worse. On the other hand, if you are an economist (or wannabe), you might want to supplement this with more conventional work if you are going to face departmental exams, syllabus reviews, etc.

This is decidedly the new view of things, though it will probably become dated in a reasonably short period as experimentalists proceed. It is isn't a history book of ahistorical microeconomic theory, which is the safe way to go for conventional texts.

Overall, this is probably as exciting as microeconomic theory can be, and it is the foundations of an honest social science theory--no matter how tentative. It opens more questions than it solvies which is probably the new standard for positive social science texts.

The book might have been improved by some broader treatment of social network theory in the game theory section and by even more extensive treatment of experimental evidence and methods--particularly methods. Few people are actually training social scientists to do experiments these days. That's too bad. It is the future.

If this work is the skeleton of such a future, economists are going to be political psychologists, are going to be behavioral biologists, are going to be population ecologists, etc. It may be a very interesting time to become an economist if this is the sort of book a program is using. Historians and science studies folks will want to monitor these emerging changes. This is a place to peg legitimate change.

Book Description

How to manage and respond to escalating violence towards staff working in the human services is a pressing professional problem. This workbook:

Empowers individuals by providing a range of useful skills that can help in managing aggression
Enables staff placed in difficult or dangerous situations by their employers to address the issue effectively
Clarifies the responsibilities of the manager in ensuring staff are safeguarded
Builds confidence in staff and their managers by offering workable solutions to reducing levels of aggression in the workplace.

Highlighting examples of good and bad practice, Managing Aggression is a book for anyone who has ever faced, or is likely to face, aggression at work.

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Managing Anger in the Workplace
Donald Gibson
Manufacturer: HRD PRES, INC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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How To Reduce Workplace Conflict And Stress: How Leaders And Their Employees Can Protect Their Sanity And Productivity From Tension And Turf Wars
Working Anger: Preventing & Resolving Conflict on the Job

ASIN: 0874256771

Book Description

Relationships at work tend to be interdependent, competitive, hierarchical, overexposed, and compulsory. Keeping the interests of yourself, your boss, your peers, your subordinates, your vendors, and your customers in alignment all the time is impossible. Meanwhile, you must also contend with competitors and unpredictable markets.

Thus, for most people, work involves a constant juggling of-and wrestling with-competing interests. Whether the stakes are pecuniary, psychological, or both, they are always on the line in every interaction at work. While the workplace is an environment more likely to provoke feelings of anger, the consequences of poorly managed anger in the workplace may be much greater than in other contexts. At the same time, if managed effectively, anger can be a positive and productive emotion producing valuable data, as well as considerable motivation.

Managing Anger in the Workplace will help you understand the costs and benefits of anger in the workplace; diagnose anger and common anger syndromes; use the underlying causes of anger as data to continually improve relationships, systems, practices, and policies; and manager anger in yourself, in others, and in your team.

Book Description

Drawing on newly-opened Soviet archives, especially the letters of complaint and petition with which peasants deluged the Soviet authorities in the 1930s, Stalin's Peasants analyzes peasants' strategies of resistance and survival in the new world of the collectivized village. Stalin's Peasants is a story of struggle between transformationally-minded Communists and traditionally-minded peasants over the terms of collectivization--a struggle of opposing practices, not a struggle in which either side clearly articulated its position. But it is also a story about the impact of collectivization on the internal social relations and culture of the village, exploring questions of authority and leadership, feuds, denunciations, rumors, and changes in religious observance. For the first time, it is possible to see the real people behind the facade of the "Potemkin village" created by Soviet propagandists. In the Potemkin village, happy peasants clustered around a kolkhoz (collective farm) tractor, praising Stalin and promising to produce more grain as a patriotic duty. In the real Russian village of the 1930s, as we learn from Soviet political police reports, sullen and hungry peasants described collectivization as a "second serfdom," cursed all Communists, and blamed Stalin personally for their plight. Sheila Fitzpatrick's work is truly a landmark in studies of the Stalinist period--a richly-documented social history told from the traumatic experiences of the long-suffering underclass of peasants. Anyone interested in Soviet and Russian history, peasant studies, or social history will appreciate this major contribution to our understanding of life in Stalin's Russia.

Customer Reviews:

Peasants into Soviets?.......2005-07-27

Sheila Fitzpatrick's study begins with the advent of collectivization in 1929 and covers the decade of the 1930's to the German invasion of June 1941. Fitzpatrick argues the peasants reacted to Stalin's brutal policy, what they regarded as "a second serfdom" (p. 4), with varying degrees of passive resistance. The author concludes that by the end of the decade, peasants, justifiable embittered and angered over the policy, did not approve or conform to collectivization as the states had intended it to be, but rather, "modified the kolkhoz (collective farm) so that it fit their own purposes as well as the state's" (p. 4). According to Fitzpatrick, by the end of the 1930's, "similar cultural patterns of resistance and adaptation" had spread throughout rural Russia despite well-entrenched ethnic and cultural ways of life. Fitzpatrick clearly shows why, in the summer of 1941, many peasants consequently regarded the invading Germans as liberators to the repressive Stalin regime. The author also explains how the initial decade of collectivization differentiated from the "kolkhoz amalgamations" of the post war period. Utilizing a narrative approach, Fitzpatrick provides us with nearly every aspect of life within the peasant village while simultaneously presenting a balance of political imagery from the Soviet regime. This combination of predominately social and cultural history along with an easily flowing narrative is what makes Fitzpatrick a leading scholar of this genre. The focus on the peasant village itself is what sets this study apart from other similar works. From Fitzpatrick's pages, we learn that the peasant village was not as united an entity around an earthly neighborly bond as one would suspect. In fact, the typical village was deceivingly factious. These animosities based on class are deeply rooted in the Emancipation (1861) and Stolypin (1905) reforms and, are perhaps exhibited best in the long-standing resentments between the Bedniaks and Kulaks. Stalin's systematic dekulakization demonstrated the threat the latter posed to the state's exploitive machinations and, as Fitzpatrick clearly shows, undermined the egalitarian objectives of collectivization. Nor, were the majority of peasants typically uneducated. This aspect is revealed in the numerous letters of peasant grievances culled from various archival depositories and delightfully reproduced within the pages of Fitzpatrick's work. Moreover, the theme of education is further illustrated by what is perhaps the most positive reform to emerge from collectivization: the rapid growth of rural schools. Fitzpatrick succeeds in differentiating between the social and cultural realities of the peasant village and the regimes propagandist illusions of the regime's ideal kolkhoz (Potemkin village). These differentiations in status played a significant role in the form of resistance the members of the peasant village chose to incorporate. Fitzpatrick gleans from a rich deposit of archival and published sources. The former make up the bulk of her work, however, the book was published at a time when still more Soviet archives were being made available too western eyes. But Fitzpatrick is no stranger to Russian language material and even with more resources becoming available, it is doubtful whether it would have added substantially or fundamentally altered the scope of this book. As Fitzpatrick concludes, the purpose of collectivization "to incorporate the Russian village (culturally and politically) into the emerging Soviet nation-failed (p. 314). In a play on Eugen Weber's classic study (Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France 1815-1914 [1976]) collectivization did not turn "peasants into Soviets" (p. 314), at least not before World War II. Sheila Fitzpatrick is essential reading for anyone seriously interested in modern Russian history.

Excellent social history of rural Soviet life in the '30's.......2003-07-29

Stalin's Peasants is the pre-cursor to Fitzgerald's "Everyday Stalinism". While the focus of the later is soviet urban life the focus here falls squarely on the agrarian Soviet Union in the 1930's.

This is an eye-opening look at the effect of collectivization at the village level. The famine of the early '30's- not the main focus- is shown to have been more the case of poor planning, beauracratic ineptitude and peasant reactions against collectivization rather than a diabolical program of systematic starvation.

Post Soviet studies into the Stalinist era confirm the fact that non-party and non-technocratic wrokers who were not Kulaks were much safer from the pograms raging around them. The effect of this was that Kholhozes were constantly replacing managers and technicians caught up in the latest round up of wreckers, this in turn led to confusion and declining morale among the peasants.

The peasants are contrasted with the urban vanguards who flooded the rural kholhoz's who were filled with communist fervor. These vanguards were resented and looked down upon as interlopers and outsiders by the local farm workers. Fitzgerald does great work showing how peasants retained their religious beliefs in the face of communist pressure and their passive resistance to constant pressures from the central government to accomodate the latest decrees.

Just as in Everyday Stalinism, Fitzgerald's work here is excellent. This isn't for the novice reader but a great resource for those who are already knowledgeable on the Soviet Union in the 1930's.

Life as it really was - interesting lesson.......2001-05-26

Fitzpatrick presents a view of Soviet collective farms that many of us may have guessed at, but never really knew or understood. As an amateur researcher of the former Soviet Union and now Russia, particularly the rural and agricultural sectors, I found the book to be very intriguing. It lays out the precursors to and development of the collective system. Provides insight and commentary on political decisions affecting and resulting from the same. And throughout, manages to allow a glimpse into what really happened from the vantage point of the people on the farms themselves - how they managed to survive despite living under a system so flawed as to almost be designed to see them fail.

If you don't mind a long history and political science lesson, I highly recommend this book.

Book Description

This book tackles quantum gravity via the so-called background field method and its effective action functional. The author presents an explicitly covariant and effective technique to calculate the de Witt coefficients and to analyze the Schwinger-de Wit asymptotic expansion of the effective action. He also investigates the ultraviolet behaviour of higher-derivative quantum gravity.
The book addresses theoretical physicists, graduate students as well as researchers, but should also be of interest to physicists working in mathematical or elementary particle physics.

Customer Reviews:

Some of the best in mathematical physics!.......2002-08-06

Spectral theory for the heat equation represents one of the
more exciting points of interaction between math and physics:
It also serves as a deep link, via spectral theory, between geometry(math), and quantum gravity(physics). While the subject has roots far back, this lovely book presents some of the more exciting developments in the past decade. One of the success stories in interdisciplinary theoretical science! It is well written, and will be a great source for grad students. This very nice book further points toward the research trends of the future. Moreover, the results presented in the book are timeless. The book will be of value also ten years from now. Being an acknowledged authority in the subject, this author is in a unique position to write a book on the central themes and theories in the subject.

Heat Kernel Techniques & Quantum Gravity (Discourses in Mathematics and Its Applications)

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Heat Kernel Techniques & Quantum Gravity (Discourses in Mathematics and Its Applications)

Manufacturer: Texas A & M University, Department of Mathema
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Mathematics | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0963072838

Book Description

For owners of rural properties who are considering raising small animals, this clearly written guide provides valuable information. Explains how to get started, provides guidance along the way, and suggests what to do when problems occur, with specific information on caring for animals, available breeds, disease control, and mixing feed. 27 halftones; 23 line illustrations.

Book Description

The personal story of the 1978 American team who, following five failed attempts by previous American teams, gained the summit of K2, the second highest and most difficult mountain in the world.

In September 1978, Rick Ridgeway, Jim Wickwire, Lou Reichardt and John Roskelley stood atop K2, the first Americans ever to achieve that victory. Under the leadership of Jim Whittaker, they and their teammates had spent 67 days on the mountain, nearly all of them above 18,000 feet, where the stresses of high-altitude living, of monotonous food, of confinement in tiny tents for day after day of frustrating storms had worn them down to the core.

The Last Step is Rick Ridgeway's inside story of this extraordinary expedition. It's about the people who, battered by the mountain and their isolation, overcame their individual fears, desires, and disappointments to work together to get somebody - anybody - to the top of K2. It's about the glorious success the team achieved, and about the perilous bivouac Jim Wickwire spent just below the summit without food, oxygen, or shelter in temperatures of -40 degrees.

Customer Reviews:

Sixty-Seven Days to the Top of K2.......2007-04-02

"The Last Step: The American Ascent of K2" is Rick Ridgeway's extremely well written account of the first successful American ascent (and only third overall ascent at the time) of the world's second highest peak. "The Last Step" is the "expedition account" and includes fascinating commentary from several climbers, making for a more rounded view than most climbing books. "The Last Step" is blessed with a stunning collection of photographs which provide a sense of scale both of the beauty of the Karakoram Mountains and of the incredibly difficult terrain the expedition overcame.

Ridgeway's account candidly describes the tensions and acrimony that built up in the expedition as it was repeatedly stalled by poor weather in the fall of 1978. The expedition spent 67 days on the mountain, much of it exposed to the debilitating effects of high altitude. The normally driven and competitive natures of good climbers became points of friction as the expedition faced oncoming winter and the likelihood that few if any of the climbers were going to get a shot at the summit.

Ridgeway's narrative of the two successful summit attempts is absolutely hair-raising, as men too long in the "dead zone" above 26,000 feet climbed like near-zombies over dangerously exposed snow slopes. One climber, Jim Wickwire, was forced to bivouac overnight in sub-zero temperatures at 28,000 feet after zoning out and lingering too long at the summit.

The account makes clear that only the most fit, capable, and single-minded climbers had any chance of topping out on K2 under the conditions faced in 1978. Those climbers with lesser skills or with distractions such as homesickness or as in one case, an affair with another member of the team, were unable or unwilling to risk all for the summit.

This book is most highly recommended to fans of the climbing account genre. Although a long read at over 300 pages, others may find it of interest as an indepth look at what happens on world-class climbing expeditions.

The Last Step: The American Ascent of K2.......2007-01-11

Outstanding account of the expedition. May be a bit too detailed for some, but it definitely picks up as it goes. It's unusual to see this much detail on personal interactions. Photos were incredible, could have even used a few more.

The Last of Its Kind.......2006-07-17

This expedition of the first Americans (and third group) to summit K2 took place in 1978--which for me doesn't seem like ancient history. But while the equipment was relatively modern, communication was archaic by today's standards. No GPS, no satellite phones, no internet uplinks--the wife of one climber learns of his fate by telegram! Also, because this was Pakistan and not Nepal, there were no Sherpas and only a very small number of high altitude porters and none in the final stages.

So these guys (and gals--it really wasn't ancient history) did it the old-fashioned way--they trekked in for many days to reach Base Camp, they fixed their own rope and carried all their own equipment and cooked their own food. No team of Sherpas to set up aluminum ladders and make sure everyone gets across them. These folks write letters home and listen to cassette tapes.

And yet the story is told with the frankness of modern times--how do you pee at 27,000 feet, how do you deal with adultery on the expedition, and is it really worth it to climb mountains like this, risking death and the possibility of leaving your kids orphaned?

Extremely up-close and vivid writing, step by step and ragged breath by ragged breath. I read this on a hot summer day and yet the feeling of frostbite seemed more real than the hot air around me. A captivating story told by a skilled climber who is also a gifted writer.

Great read ... gripping at times.......2005-10-20

I had intended to stretch the reading of this over a couple of weekends. Instead I read it in two sittings. I literally could not put it down! I especially liked the author's account of his experience in the "death zone" while making his successful assault on one of the more difficult peaks in the Himalaya - without supplemental oxygen! I had always thought I would like to climb in the Himalaya. After reading the part about Wickwire's bivouac near 28,000 feet, I think I will be satisfied just reading about it. I highly recommend this excellent book!

Be sure to dress warmly!.......2004-03-13

The most amazing thing about this book is the sense of being there it creates for the reader. If you've ever wanted to know what it's like to be on a high-altitude expedition, this is the book. I've read a number of other mountaineering books, but this one stands out in putting the reader in the action. Aside from that, the book is also an inspiring story of heroes who knew what they wanted and were willing to do whatever it took to get it.

The Last Step: The American Ascent of K2

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The Last Step: The American Ascent of K2
Rick Ridgeway
Manufacturer: The Mountaineers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NQH0V8

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THE LAST STEP: THE AMERICAN ASCENT OF K2.
Rick. Ridgeway
Manufacturer: Mountaineers,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UXS8X8

Book Description

This popular approach to learning Hebrew is designed for adults who want to use Hebrew when celebrating Judaism at home and in the synagogue. Students will learn how to pronounce the Hebrew letters and vowels, enabling them to read more than 30 essential Hebrew blessings and prayers. For classroom and individualized instruction.

Customer Reviews:

Good book with one drawback.......2007-08-16

This book is as good as everyone else says it is, but I have one problem with it. There is a presumption that the reader is Jewish and is familiar with the Prayer over Bread etc. The prayers are presented with no transliteration other than the letter by letter descriptions. Fortunately I happen to know a couple of the prayers, and have Jewish friends who can help me with the others. But if you are approaching Hebrew from a more secular direction, and you don't know the common prayers by heart, then you might look for a different book.

If you grew up hearing those prayers on a regular basis, you will love this book.

Easy and very user-friendly for the right type of student.......2007-07-03

I absolutely loved this book and it was perfect for me. I just want to add one thing. Know what TYPE of learner you are. Do you tend to remember things best when you HEAR them or when you READ them (or, perhaps, a combination)? I ask because most of us tend to be learn better one way or the other.

For those who learn from looking at words on a page, going over thing, taking time to read about the sounds and letter combinations, this book is among the best out there. For other people, I would recommend the audio version of this book. It comes in both forms. Or you could use BOTH to compliment each other.

In any case, if you buy this book, you'll find it carefully takes you through each step of learning basic Hebrew, the Alef-bet (alphabet, the ABCs) of the sounds and combinations. Before long, you'll have the thrill of sitting in temple and being able to read along with the Hebrew portions!

Also, consider looking at the selections below for comparison and to find what is right for YOU:

The First Hebrew Primer: The Adult Beginner's Path to Biblical Hebrew, Third Edition

Hebrew in 10 Minutes a Day

To Pray As a Jew: A Guide to the Prayer Book and the Synagogue Service

Hebrew for Dummies

Munich (Widescreen Edition)

Rough Guide to the Music of Israel

Well worth the price.......2007-05-12

This book has helped me tremendously in learning to read Hebrew. I have not seen a better way to learn the aleph bet. And it is a great way to learn your vowels, beginner reading, and some very cool Hebrew blessings. If you are just starting out in Hebrew, buy this book. Shalom Aleichem

No Pronuciation Key or Appendix.......2007-04-29

This book does take a slow, step by step approach to learning vowels and letters, but it lacks a key or appendix with a pronunciation guide. I found it hard to know whether or not I was reading or pronouncing the lessons correctly. This made using the book difficult and frustrating.

hebrew self taught.......2007-03-17

Not a bad book but could have been written a bit more interesting.

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