The Magical State: Nature, Money, and Modernity in Venezuela

Book Description

In 1935, after the death of dictator General Juan Vicente Gómez, Venezuela consolidated its position as the world's major oil exporter and began to establish what today is South America's longest-lasting democratic regime. Endowed with the power of state oil wealth, successive presidents appeared as transcendent figures who could magically transform Venezuela into a modern nation. During the 1974-78 oil boom, dazzling development projects promised finally to effect this transformation. Yet now the state must struggle to appease its foreign creditors, counter a declining economy, and contain a discontented citizenry. In critical dialogue with contemporary social theory, Fernando Coronil examines key transformations in Venezuela's polity, culture, and economy, recasting theories of development and highlighting the relevance of these processes for other postcolonial nations. The result is a timely and compelling historical ethnography of political power at the cutting edge of interdisciplinary reflections on modernity and the state.

Customer Reviews:

Too much mumbo jumbo.......2004-05-17

I bought this book in order to get some context for the situation today with Chavez. However, the auother seems to get lost in his own head and and for large parts of the book fails to describe anything other than a load of overly sohpisticated academic speak that nobody understands. While there are a few excellent chapters in it I felt a bit let down.

Good overview of 20th century Venezuela plus.........2002-01-03

an interesting insight into why oil rent cannot buy industrial development. In addition to historical overview, Coronil describes the simultaneously enabling and corrosive effect of oil rent via several focused examples such as the failure to establish a Venezuelan tractor industry. These examples are especially convincing because of the interview material used to round out the characters of the main actors.
On the other hand, the effort to connect the development difficulties of Venezeula with the general theory of rent capture is uninspired.

A Magical Book.......2000-08-14

This book goes far, very far, beyond the pedestrian and misleading analyses of Judith Ewell or John Lombardi. Coronil offers a history of Venezuela that reveals connections among state-formation, national mythology, natural resource exploitation, and class rule. A must read, therefore, not only for all Latin Americanists but also many others.

A Magical Book.......2000-08-14

Intriguing, but poorly executed........2000-04-10

In his introduction to The Magical State, Coronil writes: "As an oil nation, Venezuela was seen as having two bodies, a politcal body made up of its citizens and a natural body made up of its rich subsoil." Coronil's subject is how the state interacted with these two bodies. Abundant oil money, he argues, raised the ambitions of the state and the expectations of the people to an unrealistic extreme. Although excessive cashflow could not be spent efficiently in an underdeveloped country like Venezuela, pretending to do so was the government's sole claim to legitimacy; thus a charade of progress and benevolence pervaded the political culture of an export-driven, dependent economy.

Coronil's ideas are fascinating, and Part I alone (of four) makes this book worth reading. Unfortunately, Coronil does not bring his ideas home persuasively. Instead his book slowly degenerates into deconstructed historical anecdotes and glimpses of bitter subjectivity: reminders of his own experience with the government of Venezuela. Coronil's book casts an intriguing theoretical perspective on more conventional, more competent histories of Venezuela by scholars like Judith Ewell or John Lombardi. Read them first. The Magical State is for those who are comfortable with the historical framework and are ready to read critically--caveat lector.

Average customer rating:
The Magical State: Nature, Money, and Modernity in Venezuela
Fernando Coronil
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OP4FKC

Average customer rating:
The Magical State: Nature, Money, and Modernity in Venezuela
Fernando Coronil
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OP6DZ2

Average customer rating:

Powered by 19 years of bankruptcy background

Surviving Personal Bankruptcy: Your Guide to the Personal, Legal, and Financial Issues
Nora Raum
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

J.K. Lasser's The New Bankruptcy Law and You (J.K. Lassers)

The New Bankruptcy: Will It Work for You? (2nd edition)

Credit After Bankruptcy: A Step-By-Step Action Plan to Quick and Lasting Recovery after Personal Bankruptcy

The Bankruptcy Solution: How to Eliminate Debt and Rebuild Your Life

The American Bar Association Guide to Credit and Bankruptcy: Everything You Need to Know About the Law, Your Rights, and Credit, Debt, and Bankruptcy

ASIN: B000H2M57C

Book Description

From experienced bankruptcy attorney and trusted NPR newscaster Nora Raum: a compassionate, step-by-step guide for recovering from financial crisis

Personal bankruptcy filings continue at record levels, due in large part to soaring medical costs, increasing numbers of uninsured Americans, an unstable job market, and unprecedented credit-card marketing. Drawing on eighteen years of experience as a bankruptcy attorney, Nora Raum has created a unique lifeline for those facing the challenge of insurmountable debt. Counseling readers on the emotional as well as the practical aspects of regaining their financial footing, Surviving Personal Bankruptcy provides:
o Up-to-date, jargon-free information about the new bankruptcy laws passed in 2005
o An eye-opening process for weighing all the options, including alternatives to bankruptcy and descriptions of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy
o Easy-to-use worksheets to help readers analyze their finances rationally
o Worksheets for tabulating debt and preparing to file
o Advice for hiring a great lawyer and preparing for the hearing
o Sample letters to credit-reporting agencies and creditors
o A plan for life after bankruptcy, including how to avoid scammers who prey on those who have declared bankruptcy
o A question-and-answer chapter, with candid advice for real-life situations
o True stories of well-known people who've filed for bankruptcy—heartening proof that it can happen to anyone

Filing for personal bankruptcy is not a dead end; it's merely a turning point in the road to financial recovery. By removing the stigma and confusion, Nora Raum will make that road much smoother.

Customer Reviews:

For nineteen years author Nora Raum has advised her client on how to use bankruptcy to regain personal footing: she's in the perfect position to provide details on the latest changes in bankruptcy laws, how to weigh all the options, different kinds of bankruptcy, and more. Worksheets help users tabulate debts and prepare to file, while pros and cons and dos and don't avoid common pitfalls. Filing for bankruptcy is a turning point to financial recovery, and case histories blend with how-to facts to help avoid scams and establish a new history.

Surviving Personal Bankruptcy: Your Guide To the Personal, Legal, and Financial Issues

Average customer rating:

Surviving Personal Bankruptcy: Your Guide To the Personal, Legal, and Financial Issues
Nora Raum
Manufacturer: Gotham Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N66N6G

Customer Reviews:

HELEN KELLER A LIGHT FOR BLIND.By Kathleen V. Kudlinski and illustrated By Donna Diamond. .......2005-10-29

10/25/05
This book called "HELEN KELLER A LIGHT FOR BLIND ." By Kathleen V. Kudlinski and illustrated By Donna Diamond. It tolled you about how HELEN KELLER lives, how she ate, how she can read and how she can talk. I like this book because it was sad and happy. The date was June 27,1880 when HELEN KELLER when born, March 3,1887 when the teacher came, June 1,1968 when she died, and more. The fact was HELEN KELLER had a baby sister named Mired, when she died, and more. It this book is very good so you should read it.

A True, Inspiring Story.......2005-05-18

This book is a very inspiring story by a wonderful author. Ms. Keller's life had never been clear to me until I read this book and realized how hard it was for Helen. It amazed me that an almost blind teacher taught A BLIND-DEAF girl to speak, write, and understand the world around her. If you are looking for a touchy story, read this book and discover the magic of this amazing woman's life.

Average customer rating:

State V. Diamond
James H. Seckinger
Manufacturer: Nita Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1556813155

Brown V Board of Education: Caste, Culture, and the Constitution (Landmark Law Cases and American Society)

Average customer rating:

Court cases leading up to Brown v. Board of Education
Putting a landmark case in context
Good book, but does not focus on Brown v. Board of Education

Brown V Board of Education: Caste, Culture, and the Constitution (Landmark Law Cases and American Society)
Robert J. Cottrol , Raymond T. Diamond , and Leland B. Ware
Manufacturer: University Press of Kansas
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Civil Rights & Liberties | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Civil Rights | Constitutional Law | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Subjects | Books

Legal History | Perspectives on Law | Law | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0700612890

Book Description

Before 1954, both law and custom mandated strict racial segregation throughout much of the nation. That began to change with Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark decision that overturned the pernicious "separate but equal" doctrine. In declaring that legally mandated school segregation was unconstitutional, the Supreme Court played a critical role in helping to dismantle America's own version of apartheid, Jim Crow.

This new study of Brown--the title for a group of cases drawn from Kansas, Virginia, South Carolina, Delaware, and the District of Columbia--offers an insightful and original overview designed expressly for students and general readers. It is concise, up-to-date, highly readable, and very teachable.

The authors, all recognized authorities on legal history and civil rights law, do an admirable job of examining the fight for legal equality in its broad cultural and historical context. They convincingly show that Brown cannot be understood apart from the history of caste and exclusion in American society. That history antedated the very founding of the country and was supported by the nation's highest institutions, including the Supreme Court whose decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) supported the notion of "separate but equal."

Their book traces the lengthy court litigations, highlighting the pivotal role of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and including incisive portraits of key players, including co-plaintiff Oliver Brown, newly appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren, NAACP lawyer and future Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall, and Justice Felix Frankfurter, who recognized the crucial importance of a unanimous court decision and helped produce it. The authors simply but powerfully narrate their story and show that Brown not only changed the national equation of race and caste--it also changed our view of the Court's role in American life.

As we prepare to commemorate the decision's fiftieth anniversary in May 2004, this book invites readers to appreciate the lasting importance of what was indisputably a landmark case.

This book is part of the Landmark Law Cases and American Society series.

Customer Reviews:

Court cases leading up to Brown v. Board of Education.......2007-07-13

Read this for graduate American history course. This book begins with a brief look at African-American history from slavery to Plessy v. Ferguson and Jim Crow. This history is important to understanding the events that led up to the infamous Brown v. Board of Education case. The authors explain throughout the book not only what the black population endured but also how these events in our nation's history led those involved in the Brown case to feel they finally had a chance at achieving what they had been fighting for. Although this case is known for forever altering American race relations, there were other lesser known and often forgotten cases which paved the way for the Brown decision. Before Mr. Marshall took Harry Brigg's case, Sarah Roberts, Dred Scott, Adolfus Plessy, and Lloyd Gaines had already used the courts to address the issues of segregation and racial prejudices.

Brown dealt with a caste system that dated back to antebellum America. The caste system was developed when the Supreme Court played a significant role in disassembling federal protection for blacks and allowing a system of caste-like restrictions that were to be reestablished and strengthened after Reconstruction (6). Even though the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and allowed Negroes to declare their citizenship, it only heightened the investigation for ways to clearly characterize the inferior status for African Americans.

In 1846 a black printer, Benjamin Roberts, wanted to enroll his five year old daughter,Sarah, in the nearby primary school. However, she was cast out because the school closest closest to her home was an all white school. Benjamin Roberts was required to enroll his daughter in the primary school for colored children, which was farther away. Roberts chose to file suit against the city of Boston on behalf of his daughter (15). The case was tried in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and was presided overby Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw, who decided against Roberts,believing that the institution is unfair; however, he abandoned
the idea of instantaneous abolition anyway (16).

In 1857, the issue of Negro citizenship was under attack in the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford. It was obvious that the South was against the idea that blacks (free or otherwise) were citizens of the different states and of the United States. Dred Scott wanted the court to decide whether they were going to agree with the North or the South asto whether or not
blacks should be considered citizens. Unfortunately, Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney chose the southern view (22).

Before Brown v. Board of Education there was Jim Crow which developed a system of rigid separation between blacks and whites in regards to everything (Le. public restrooms, water fountains, separate seating on public accommodations, etc.) (28). This system became state-mandated segregation of which the highest court approved (29). At the same time the
Supreme Court handed down it decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). The Plessy case dealt with a gentleman, Adolphus Plessy, who was arrested on June 7, 1892 for attempting to ride in the first-class coach reserved for white passengers. He was told to move, but he refused and was arrested because of his one-eighth African ancestry (29). Plessy's attorney, Albion Tourgee, argued the same argument that Sumner and Morris argued for Sarah Roberts which was that the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments prohibited forced segregation (31). Justice Henry Billings Brown discarded the claim that the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendment prohibited segregation. He also rejected the argument that mandated segregation stigmatized blacks (31).

In the aftermath of Jim Crow and Plessy v. Ferguson the results of the two were essentially the same. The Courts permitted states to treat Afro-Americans separately as long as they received equal treatment (33). It was as if the United States overlooked the word If United" in our country's name. The courts decided the law of the land to allow two different races to be able to exist together while totally separate at the same time which is a complete paradox.

In 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed. It was an interracial organization that wanted to challenge discrimination through campaigning for all rights of black people, specifically civil, economic and political rights. The NAACP would help those who had been discriminated against by taking on their case and having it tried in the courts. One example is the case of Lloyd Gaines. He was a graduate of lincoln University, Missouri's university for Negroes. He wanted to go to law school; however, the University of Missouri did not admit African Americans (63). Missouri law required Lincoln University to establish a law school if there was enough interest.- The state law also required that the state pay tuition for Missouri's black students enrolled in professional schools in neighboring states if lincoln University lacked the same program. Gaines brought suit which boiled down to the issue being the adequacy of the out-of state tuition scholarship. The Missouri Supreme Court found that the state's scholarship program satisfied the objections and there was adequate funding for the program (63). Gaines' case would continue on in the court system for quite a few years. While he waited, Gaines moved on with his life. He would work temporary jobs, receive a master's degree from the University of Michigan and move to Chicago. Then Gaines mysteriously disappeared. In 1939, his case ended because without him the NAACPcould not pursue the case any further (68). This case much like those before it would all playa monumental role in leading up to Brown v. Board of Education.

The Brown case originated in much the same way as the Roberts case. There were many plaintiffs in the case with the same complaint regarding the desegregation of schools. Once the case began there was no way of knowing the monumental proportions it would reach. Brown v. Board of Education was exceptional in explaining the history up to the case that ultimately
changed our nation's history forever. The authors went into great detail involving each justice, lawyer, and plaintiff dealing with the case.

It was, however, unfortunate that even after the Supreme Court ruled in Brown's favor that it took years to achieve integration in the school systems. The explanation of the relationship Brown had in regards to other racial issues was evaluated in brilliant fashion. The; book ends with a summary of how Brown impacted race relations and how America is still lacking in racial equality today.

My only criticism is that there are a few factual eras regarding the Governors name in Virginia, and some facts about school closings in Virginia.

As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I recommended this book for anyone interested in American history, civil rights era history.

Putting a landmark case in context.......2004-05-03

This book looks at the case of Brown vs. Board of Education that outlawed segregation in schools 50 years ago this month. The actual case only takes up several chapters in the middle of the book. What is important is that the book tries to put the case in terms of legal, and societal, context. Chapters leading up speak about the legal challenges to segregation that appeared in the 50 prior years since Plessy v. Ferguson enshrined the doctrine of "separate but equal" in our nation's laws. Because law is built upon precedence, these cases mark the stones on which the group of cases, eventually to be grouped under Brown, would stand. The authors take us inside the Supreme Court and helps analyze the decision making process, and examine the subsequent practices and pitfalls of the implementation of that decision. It is a case that even a half century later the repercussions are still felt in America.

This is not a scintillating read. The focus is on the law and the legal actions leading up to and after the decision. But it is an excellent book to put this event into legal context.

Good book, but does not focus on Brown v. Board of Education.......2004-03-07

When one sees the title "Brown v. Board of Education", it immediately stirs up notions of a Supreme Court case involving desegregation of public schools in America. Robert Cottol, Raymond Diamond, and Leland Ware have given us some of that feel, but not enough in this book.

The book, only 240+ pages to start with, does not even touch on the Brown case (or any of the six cases that collectively were referred to as "Brown") until page 119. The first half of the book is spent exploring the history of segregation in education and in America as a whole. I believe that this is an important topic, but not of enough importance to require half of a book that is supposed to be about this one Supreme Court case.

Aside from the fact that there is little in the book that deals with the case itself (besides the history of segregation in education, there is a substantial section of the book that deals with direct ramifications of ordered desegregation and the reactions of state and local governments to this order), the book is well written. I enjoyed reading the book, but I think that I would refer readers to a broader history of the Supreme Court and interventions in race relations, such as the new Klarman book "From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality" instead of this book.

Book Description

Not so long ago every town in the United States that had an ounce of pride had a baseball team. The cities had their big leagues, and the bigger towns had their minor league clubs. The whistle stops and crossroad market towns had their teams too, and they were treasured institutions. This was the golden age of local baseball, and it was remarkable while it lasted. Hobe Hays has written a careful, warm, and evocative account of his days as a serious player on serious teams in middle America. His sketches bring alive a vanishing era.

Diamond Jubilee celebrations: University History Association, Maharaja's College, Mysore

Average customer rating:

Diamond Jubilee celebrations: University History Association, Maharaja's College, Mysore
M. V Krishna Rao
Manufacturer: s.n
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

In the Supreme Court of the United States, no. 73-235: Marco De Funis, et al., petitioners v. Charles Odegaard, President of the University of Washington, ... Washington, D.C., Tuesday, February 26, 1974

Average customer rating:

In the Supreme Court of the United States, no. 73-235: Marco De Funis, et al., petitioners v. Charles Odegaard, President of the University of Washington, ... Washington, D.C., Tuesday, February 26, 1974
Josef Diamond
Manufacturer: The Court?
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

College Guides | Education | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000730DJI

In the Supreme Court of the United States, October term, 1979: No. 79-855, Sidney A. Diamond, Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, petitioner, v. John ... Inc. Morton C. Jacobs attorney for amici

Average customer rating:

In the Supreme Court of the United States, October term, 1979: No. 79-855, Sidney A. Diamond, Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, petitioner, v. John ... Inc. Morton C. Jacobs attorney for amici
John J Bradley
Manufacturer: International Printing Co., printer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Patent, Trademark & Copyright | Intellectual Property | Law | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000736L8K

State V. Diamond: Diamond Teaching Notes

Average customer rating:

State V. Diamond: Diamond Teaching Notes
James H. Seckinger
Manufacturer: Nita Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1556814445

Average customer rating:

State v. Diamond: Homicide
James H Seckinger
Manufacturer: National Institute for Trial Advocacy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Criminal Procedure | Criminal Law | Law | Subjects | Books

Trial Practice | Procedures & Litigation | Law | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1556812213

Average customer rating:
Pasture Management in South Africa
Neil Tainton
Manufacturer: Univ of Natal Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Animals | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Crop Science | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Agricultural Sciences | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0869809601

Average customer rating:
Pasture Management in South Africa.
N.M. Tainton
Manufacturer: Publisher Unknown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UY7UXQ

Average customer rating:
Veld and Pasture Management in South Africa (481p)

Manufacturer: Lawrence Verry
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0869855573

Average customer rating:
Aspects of shoot apex morphogenesis, development and behaviour in grasses with reference to the utilization and management of natural grassland (Technical communication)
Alan Bridgens Bridgens
Manufacturer: Dept. of Agricultural Technical Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Grasses | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007KEYIC

Average customer rating:
Fertilization of red clover Trifolium pratense and of "Lands grass" Setaria pallide-fusca, Panicum laevifolium, Digitaria sanguinalis and D. horizontalis ... sourveld of Natal (Technical communication)
P. J Edwards
Manufacturer: Dept. of Agricultural Technical Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Grasses | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007KEYJ6

Average customer rating:
Pasture Management in South Africa.

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ICGNQA

Average customer rating:
Pasture Management in South Africa.
N.M. Tainton
Manufacturer: Tainton, N.M. Pasture Management in South Africa. University of Natal Press, 2000. Quality paperback. 355pp. As new condition.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TAENT0

Average customer rating:
Studies in pasture management: A preliminary report on the seasonal composition of certain South African pasture grasses in relation to their manuring and intensity of grazing
R. R Staples
Manufacturer: s.n.]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Crop Science | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0008COBDM

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books