A Variable Harvest: Essays and Reviews of Film and Literature

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Impact beyond price

Balanced & Comprehenisve

Costs of everyday low prices

Wal-Mart---Made in China

Good or Bad, Fishman makes you think

The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works--and How It's Transforming the American Economy
Charles Fishman
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Wal-Mart Way: The Inside Story of the Success of the World's Largest Company

ASIN: 0143038788

Book Description

Wal-Mart isn't just the world's biggest company, it is probably the world's most written-about. But no book until this one has managed to penetrate its wall of silence or go beyond the usual polemics to analyze its actual effects on its customers, workers, and suppliers. Drawing on unprecedented interviews with former Wal-Mart executives and a wealth of staggering data (e.g., Americans spend $36 million an hour at Wal-Mart stores, and in 2004 its growth alone was bigger than the total revenue of 469 of the Fortune 500), The Wal-Mart Effect is an intimate look at a business that is dramatically reshaping our lives.

Customer Reviews:

Impact beyond price.......2007-09-24

Having spent the past 18 months researching and writing on the negative impact on the economy of poor customer service, go to ACSI research at University of Michigan School of Business, I have found that Wal-Mart's fanitical focus on price, and consumers that focus only on price are having a very negative impact on our country and society. Of all of the books I have read on Wal-Mart, Fishman presents the most detailed factual and insightful information on which to base an opinion on the impact Wal-Mart has made on our communities.

Balanced & Comprehenisve .......2007-09-17

Like many, I begrudgingly shop at Wal-Mart familiar with the arguments of it's negative impact on locally owned business's, and it's poor wages and benefits--------trying in vain to strike a balance between social responsibility and self-interest. It's always struck me as large version of the beloved "five and dime" where I bought my baseball cards growing up. I marvel at the low prices, and the sheer variety of merchandise. Fishman has permanently purged me of the that nostalgia. His backstory on Wal-Mart is utterly convincing in it's pernicious effect on our economy. He ably tells the story of Wal-Mart's rise with it's hyperfocus on pricing. But he's after something bigger here, and that's corporate secrecy. Like many large corporations, Wal-Mart is a closed and secret society. Consumers are robbed of the information that would assist them in identifying the true cost of consumption. Fishman is saying that the rise of the mega-corporation, with their ability to dominate a whole sector of the economy, is both anti-free market and anti-consumer. Though vague, he argues that we must consider stronger governance and regulation. This is where his book left me wanting. I wanted to know what exactly that would look like. That said, this is a well-researched, balanced and important book for our times.

Costs of everyday low prices.......2007-09-16

Wal-Mart's obsessive focus on a single core value - delivering low prices - created the largest and most powerful company in history. Employing over 1.6 million people, Wal-Mart is so large that it can often defy the laws of supply, demand and competition. However, the same core values are also responsible for low wages, enormous pressure on suppliers, cheap quality and continuous off-shoring. Charles Fishman provides an insightful look at the growth and the careful balancing act that Wal-Mart has engaged in most recently: trying to find profit while moving beyond the simple slogan of `everyday low prices'. Given the scarce resources available on the company, `Wal-Mart Effect' offers a great overview of the largest corporation to date.

Wal-Mart---Made in China.......2007-09-02

An excellent book on the behind scenes of what shopping at Wal-Mart means to America and the world. Wal-Mart has sold out its fellow Americans for pure greed on its own behalf. Thousands of jobs lost to over-seas countries to cut costs and to bully the suppliers into submission. Everyone should think twice before shopping at Wal-Mart. A good DVD on this subject, "Is Wal-Mart Good For America"? by PBS Frontline.

Good or Bad, Fishman makes you think.......2007-08-30

Simply stated, Charles Fishman throws forth ideas and makes you think. Some reviews will say the book is great because it demonstrates Wal-Mart's 'evil' business model. Other will say that Fishman is just another anti-capitalist. As with all reading, and information for that matter, The Wal-Mart Effect should be read with an open mind but through a filter.

A great teacher will make a student think. Fishman, doubtlessly, is impressed with Wal-Mart's efficiency. But he remembers to state that efficiency and lower production costs can have long term effects that may not be in the consumer's long term interests.

Take the book how you would like. The Wal-Mart effect, like the bible, can be read to say many things. But read both with an open mind and you will have more information with which to approach life.

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The Wal-Mart Effect (Unabridged)
Charles Fishman
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download
ASIN: B000FEBYN8

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Holy Smokes (Aisling Grey, Guardian, Book 4) (Aisling Grey Guardian)
Katie MacAlister
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Holidays Are Hell

ASIN: 0451222547
Release Date: 2007-11-06

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Good Weekend Read

delightfully droll dark thriller

Holy Smoke
Tonino Benacquista
Manufacturer: Bitter Lemon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Involuntary Witness

ASIN: 190473801X

Book Description

"Boisterous black comedy . . . funny and goodhearted, with much incident and expert enthusiasm for sex, food and drink."-The Literary Review

"Much to enjoy in the clash of cultures and superstitions, even a tasty recipe for poisoning your friends with pasta. Detail like this places European crime writing on a par with its American counterpart."-Belfast Independent

Some favors simply cannot be refused. Tonio agrees to write a love letter for Dario, a low-rent Paris gigolo. When Dario is murdered, a single bullet to the head, Tonio finds he has been left a small vineyard near Naples. The wine is undrinkable, but an elaborate scam has been set up. The smell of easy money attracts the unwanted attentions of the Mafia and the Vatican and the unbridled hatred of the locals. Mafiosi aren't choir boys, and monsignors can be very much like Mafiosi.

Winner of three mystery prizes in one year, including the Grand Prix de la Litterature Policiere and the Prix Mystere de la Critique.

Tonino Benacquista, born in France of Italian immigrants, dropped out of film studies to finance his writing career. After being in turn a museum watchman, a train guard on the Paris-Rome line and a professional parasite on the Paris cocktail circuit, he is now a highly successful author of fiction and film scripts.

Customer Reviews:

Good Weekend Read.......2005-04-27

This was a good read. Surprisingly one of the most believable books that I have read in a long time. I recommend it for anyone who likes books that are intelligent yet still an easy read.

delightfully droll dark thriller.......2005-04-09

Dario Trengoni and his childhood pal Antonio Polsinelli meet for the first time in years and discuss what each is doing and what is happening with some of their mutual friends from growing up Italian in South Paris. Dario insists "Anto" speaks the real language, Italian better than he so he asks a favor. Anto reluctantly agrees to writes a love letter for Dario to Madame Raphaelle ironically in French.

Not long after their encounter, someone shoots Dario in the head. Tonio as he known now is stunned to learn he inherited an Italian vineyard near Naples from Dario. He also finds out that his friend was a Taxi-boy earning his money as a gigolo. Tonio tries to locate Madame Raphaelle, but that proves a bit dangerous. So instead he travels to his new property only to find the wine stinks, the vines are worse, the locals already hate him, and a religious scam is in place. With the inheritance comes the Mafia and the Vatican, two of the toughest mobs in Europe, who expect Tonio to give each of them a 100 percent tithe.

HOLY SMOKE! This tale is a terrific twisted look at crime from the perspective of a small timer who is being squeezed by organized groups who want the whole action. Tonio is fabulous as a minnow suddenly swimming with sharks. Fans will appreciate his distinction between the two outside "mobs". The story line satirizes criminal behavior (a crime is defined by the state) to include organized religion as a subcategory of crime. Tonino Benacquista provides a delightfully droll dark thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Longarm 340: Longarm and the Holy Smokes Gang (Longarm)

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"Billy,did you even notice I was early this morning...even after some privy snipe tried to turn me toe-down".

Longarm 340: Longarm and the Holy Smokes Gang (Longarm)
Tabor Evans
Manufacturer: Jove
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0515142654

Book Description

GOING UP IN SMOKE

The Haughton Brothers-better known as the Holy Smokes Gang-have broken free from the grips of the law. With wild ideas of overthrowing the government, they're wreaking havoc in the Rockies, preying on ore trains taking gold to the U.S. Mint.

Longarm has low tolerance for greedy men and plans on making them pay-with their lives, if necessary. With the assistance of some holy-rolling dames who have a few tricks up their petticoats, the Holy Smokes Gang better look out, because they're in for some holy hell...

Customer Reviews:

"Billy,did you even notice I was early this morning...even after some privy snipe tried to turn me toe-down"........2007-03-30

This is the March 2007 Episode in the long running Longarm Series. As with any series, some episodes are better than others. This is one of the better ones; as a matter of fact,it's the best I've read for a long time.
Longarm gets sent to Lulu City ,west of Colorado Springs , to mine country ,to find out who is preying on ore trains taking gold to the U.S. Mint.
It's a great Old West story,filled with excitement,train robberies,an exciting travel adventure with a travelling companion full of surprises,shoot-outs in the canyons,a little Old West mining town filled with one- of -a-kind-characters,and a storyline that keeps you stimulated from beginning to end. We get a great glimpse into the way things are done in a frontier town,what the surrounding countryside is like and the way gold mines ,both legal and otherwise operated.
When Longarm encounters the "bad guys" we get some of the most outnumbered battles you'll ever see our hero get into.This has to be one of the roughest assignments Longarm has ever been on.How much punishment can he take? Even after this episode, we see he still hasn't met is limit; but he comes close to it.Rather than heading back to Denver immediately;he gets a wire sent to Marshal Billy Vail saying he'll be taking a week's R&R to recover from his ordeals and injuries. The tale leaves you wondering if this recovery will finally do him in!
One of the things I enjoy about the Longarm series in when the stories tie in with the history of the period.Here we see reference to a Jay Gould. I am quite familiar with that name as a writer ,Biologist and Natural History writer,but not from this time period. A search on the net, and I find he was one of the big Railroad Barons of the time;and a very colorful character in his own right.
When you read Longarm novels,you are never in doubt about him bringing the owlhoots to justice.When he finally gets a bead on this bunch it looks like the odds are unsurmountable,and they almost were!
A great read ,and the kind of saga I look forward to reading in this series.

Longarm Series Information
It's funny how things happen at just the right time. I've been reading Longarm for several years and have quite a large collection of them. I have worked at making a complete list of numbers and titles of the series. I had to do it piecemeal from the lists of a number of recent novels included,usually at the back.Just recemtly,I stumbled on a Website that is fantastic. A search of FANTASTIC FICTION will get you to a Website that lists all the books any author of fiction has written. Look under Evans,Tabor and there you will find all the Longarm novels listed ,by number and year published;including the Giant Novels. As far as I can tell ,all the numbers and titles jive;but some of the publication years are incorret. For instance;#244 "Longarm and the Devil's Sister" shows being published in 2001 ,when it was actually published in April 1999. Not only that,there are pictures of the front covers of most of the books.And then there is also the number and title of some future books.They now show future books up to # 348, which will be called, "Longarm and the Dirty Doin's in Hell's Half Acre". I am really looking forward to that one,I grew up in a little town in Nova Scotia which used to be known as "The Devil's Half Acre" and has a prominent road that is still called "Gallow's Hill". I wonder if there's going o be any similarities? There is also information about where to get these books.As the site is called ; FANTASTIC !!!. Talk about timing,I notice that there is no listing of recent books in the series in thi book I just reviewed....Just thought somebody would like to know.

Holy Smokes/Inspirational help for kicking the habit

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Holy Smokes/Inspirational help for kicking the habit
Jean Flora Glick
Manufacturer: Kregel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739441841

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Holy smoke: A novel of suspense
David L Larsen
Manufacturer: Morris Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: B0006ROR06

Blood Fire and Vapor of Smoke: Holy Ghost Outpourings...the Doorway to Revival!

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Blood Fire and Vapor of Smoke: Holy Ghost Outpourings...the Doorway to Revival!
Mark Brazee
Manufacturer: Harrison House Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A Spiral of Words

Holy Smoke
Fanny Howe
Manufacturer: Fiction Collective 2
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0914590545

Book Description

A woman travels among geographies both real and imagined looking for her daughter.

Customer Reviews:

A Spiral of Words.......2001-08-05

This is a work of startling innovation. Stylistically, it towers above the novels of most mortals. Nominally spawned by Smithson's famous Spiral Jetty "sculpture," this book maps the external and internal landscape from a cab ride in Manhattan to the wilds of Utah as we trace one woman's search for her daughter. In a structure and syntax that defies description, Fanny Howe has produced a book that shows how creative American fiction has not yet exhausted itself. This book is not to be missed.

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Fun Romp

Holy Smoke
Guillermo Cabrera Infante
Manufacturer: Diane Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Customs & Traditions | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Three Trapped Tigers (Latin American Literature Series)

ASIN: 0756766494

Product Description

This fascinating book presents a whirling, free-associating history of the cigar, beginning with the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492. Columbus sent Rodrigo de Xeres inland to prospect for gold; he came back with tales of men who think they are chimneys: men who smoke, using a brown tube burning on one end. Here Guillermo Cabrera Infante describes the history of cigars in the Caribbean & the process of making cigars by hand in Cuba; & the history, customs & popularity of cigar-smoking in America & Europe. He also includes poems & passages from literary works that describe cigar smoking by famous authors, such as Rudyard Kipling, James Joyce, Colette, & John O'Hara. Originally published in 1985.

Customer Reviews:

Fun Romp.......2005-07-18

Great romp through history and literature, definitely free-association. If you enjoy cigars, literature, movies, history, etc, this is a fun book to read. Enjoy in small bites, its pretty rich. Perhaps the experience is a bit like enjoying a cigar: smoke one now, savor it, but don't smoke through the entire box all at once!

Holy Smoke: A Bones and the Duchess Mystery (Bones and the Duchess Mysteries)

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Holy Smoke: A Bones and the Duchess Mystery (Bones and the Duchess Mysteries)
Alexandra Eden
Manufacturer: Allen A. Knoll Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1888310464

Book Description

Bones and the Duchess are at it again! When a neighborhood church burns to the ground, Bones is hired by the church reverend to discover the culprit, but on one condition: he must get the help of "the duchess". The duchess is a young girl named Verity, a bright twelve year old with Asperger's Syndrome who helped him solve the mystery of two missing girls in To Oz and Back. Verity claims to know who set fire to the church, but can she convince Bones? With the help of the reverend's adopted son Danny and Verity's clever instincts, Bones and the duchess set out on another investigation full of quirky characters, coded e-mails and lots of mystery! Holy Smoke is the second exciting Bones and the Duchess Mystery by Alexandra Eden.

Holy Smoke!: Whatever Happened to Tithing?

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Holy Smoke! What ever happened to the Word of God?
Good Advice

Holy Smoke!: Whatever Happened to Tithing?
J. Clif Christopher , and Herbert Mather
Manufacturer: Discipleship Resources
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Bible & Other Sacred Texts | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0881772844

Customer Reviews:

Holy Smoke! What ever happened to the Word of God?.......2000-06-13

A previous reviewer of this book wrote that Holy Smoke "is useful in helping we clergy get over the guilt around encouraging people to give." Unfortunately, it appears this person was ignorant of the fact that "guilt", according to the Word of God, is actually defined as being sin? (Ezra 9:6; 10:10; Psalms 69:5, etc. - just a few examples). I would dare say that if a pastor is experiencing guilt in "encouraging" their flock to tithe, this should be an indicator that perhaps there is a valid reason for the existence of that guilt. Selah! (that means "think about it")

Regardless of the reviews concerning this book, I purchased it anyway to sincerely examine it for myself, also in an attempt to further achieve a balanced perspective on tithing in my studies. What I encountered in this book was, unfortunately, a poorly presented case for tithing, at least from the perspective of a student of the Bible who is not interested in mere indoctrination by methods of human reason and intellect. There were (in fairness) some fun stories and a few interesting thoughts on the subject, but in all honesty they seemed to be more of a distraction than a help in understanding the biblical application of tithing or proving any convincing contrasting point. I guess for me Scripture carries far more weight than just a few nice stories and suggestions based on tradition and the authors' opinion. It would have been nice to see a more indepth examination of the Word.

The book quotes several historical examples of tithing, some personal stories and accounts and a lot of reason again without strong support of Scripture. The book failed to convince this student of the Word that the author had any detailed understanding of the biblical tithe and its application at all, but rather a lot of ideology based on tradition and verses removed from their proper context (perhaps in ignorance) used to "proof text" the authors' plug for tithing.

The book also contains an outline study intended to be used in a group setting for the purpose of teaching on the tithe and engaging in discussion. The problem is that rather than encouraging discussion pertaining specifically to the Word, the reader is instructed to discuss points made in the book by the authors. And, quite frankly, some of the questions are (in my personal opinion) borderline ridiculous to say the least. For example, this one from page 92: "Read this familiar passage as if you were in a spacecraft circling the earth. You look down at the blue planet. What new insights does this new perspective provide?" This book certainly seems like appropriate reading for space travel (grin).

I have read several other books from a pro-tithing perspective that were interesting and made some thought provoking points (Larry Burkett's book "Giving and Tithing" was especially good), but this book, unfortunately, only makes the bottom of my list for recommended reading. I really was hoping it would have been better. I would really like to challenge these authors to get a book like Theologian Dr. Russell Kelly's "Should The Church Teach Tithing" or Mitchell's "Beyond Tithes And Offerings" and answer some of the hard questions presented that tithe teachers seem to often skirt around dealing clearly with according to Scripture. I give it one star.

On a positive note, the cover is cool looking. :)

Good Advice.......2000-04-02

I'm a pastor and I found this book to be an extremely practical, useful guide for many of my colleagues as we try to encourage the people in our congregations to see their tithing as a call into a deeper relationship with God and the world. The authors use of scripture and historical documents adds depth to this skinny guide. It also is useful in helping we clergy get over the guilt around encouraging people to give. Thanks!

Product Description

NAFTA entered into force in 1994 after a bitter Congressional debate. But NAFTA in operation has proved no less controversial than NAFTA before ratification, for both supporters and opponents of trade liberalization have cited experience with the agreement to justify their positions. To provide a factual basis for this ongoing debate, the authors evaluate NAFTA’s performance over the first seven years, comparing actual experience with both the objectives of the agreement’s supporters and the charges of its critics. They then examine future challenges and opportunities in the trade and investment relationships among the three partner countries and the broader implications for new trade initiatives throughout the hemisphere.

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