Asia Rising: Why America Will Prosper as Asia's Economies Boom

Book Description

Rohwer contends that rather than posing a threat to American business, the revitalization of Asia's economic strength opens tremendous new markets and vast financial and business opportunities for forward-thinking companies--all this despite Asia's traditional role as a source of cheap labor.

Customer Reviews:

Capitalism At Work.......2006-02-01

Ten years after its publication, this book is still full of life and rich in anecdotes. Here is a particular one:

"A tale told by a Samsung executive gives a flavor of the regimental but messianic nature of South Korea's drive to industrialize. In the early 1980s the South was still a military dictatorship (though with a new dictator, since Park had been assassinated in 1979) and still on high alert against the possibility of a sudden attack from the North. Seoul, which is only twenty-five miles from the border with the North, had a strict curfew after midnight. This was a considerable irritation to the capital's businessmen, who are great carousers, and many of whom ended up having to sleep it off in a jail cell for breaking the curfew. Once, the Samsung executive was being driven home post-curfew after a jolly evening with some colleagues and an American buyer. Stopped at a roadblock, the executive pointed to the American and whispered to the military policeman, "Export promotion." The policeman snapped to attention, saluted smartly, and said, `You are on the nation's business. Proceed.'"

"Asia makes you greedy," states the author in the introduction. In his case, it also makes him eager to challenge established ideas and offer provocative thinking on a range of economic and social issues. Rohwer's main contention is that European countries exhibit bloated social protection systems that they cannot jettison because these systems are deeply entrenched in vested interest politics, whereas Asia has eschewed the welfare state and maintained a ruthless model that leaves it "without the West's excruciating problem of dismantling an unaffordable welfare state that many voters nonetheless depend on."

Although Rohwer quotes extensively from Lee Kuan Yew, the philosopher-king from Singapore, his favorite place in Asia tends to be not Singapore but Hong Kong, at least before it was reunified with mainland China. A journalist turned banker, Rohwer followed Milton Friedman's advice that "if you want to see capitalism at work, go to Hong Kong" and became enamoured with this British colony, which in his view offers the best of democracy without its shortcomings. But of course he is conscious of the transient nature of this city-state and quite pessimistic about its post-1997 prospects.

Neither democracy nor authoritarianism find favor with him, as he quotes an eighteenth-century Scottish philosopher stating the following: "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until a majority of voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse out of the public treasury." According to Rowher, greed, rather than welfare, provides the social foundation for success.

One of the best Intros to Greater China.......2004-04-04

Mr Rohwer is a HK based journalist for London's newsweekly, The Economist, spending more than 5 years in HK and 12 years at the magazine before writing his first book which was a decade in the making. It is an ambitious book, as he presents and interprets the rise of Asian countries since WWII, with center stage on PRChina's development, yet including the 5 Tigers (Japan, S Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore), Indochina, and the India and Pakistani subcontinent. Asia is illustrated on a two page map and PRChina with a separate map, along with almost 20 tables, graphs, and charts. He has a comprehensive 10-page bibliography and a 16-page index. Rohwer is an uncommonly forthright author, writes without the British colloquialism and arrogance of journalists based in the UK as he was educated in the States at UC Berkeley and a Harvard Law JD.

In a broad-brush introduction in the first three chapters he compares and contrasts the Asian to Western economies. Each Asian country (1995) is presented as metrics in tables (p38-39) so that the reader can quickly compare and contrast key measurements such as GNP, GD Savings, GD Investment, Gov't spending, demographics, imports and exports. Most metrics were based on World Bank reports. He also presents the population growth to year 2015 (p43) of Asian cities and how they compare around the world. Most importantly he showed, from a historical perspective, the political and economic structures in Taiwan and S Korea to foster growth after the devastation of WW2 and Korean conflict.

Then he concentrated on the Greater China community in the next four chapters (80 pgs) which I consider the meat of his book. This includes PRChina (Communist), Taiwan (Western), and OEChinese (ASEAN). In the late 80s and early 90s, the OEChinese invested in PRChina, more than from Japan and US (p108). I was surprised to find out how PRChina become the investor into HK and Taiwan so that it can rev-up its own economy (p133).

Rohwer contends that the Achilles'heel of PRChina is timely development of the infrastructure in rural and cities; such as roads, electrical grid, communications, sewage, fewer barriers to trading (freight forwarding), and rule of law (p140). Rapid development of this societal infrastructure is the key impediments for the Greater China to become the #2 dominant economy in the world by 2015.

The core information regarding the OEChinese and how they fit into the Greater China community is in Chap 11 The Business Roster: The Hua Ch'iao. In over 14 pages, Rowher explains the intricacies network of self-capitalization and family enterprise formation. On this basis, he shows how OEChinese dominated the businesses in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Furthermore, he goes on to show that the Greater China generates business value that is currently larger than the US and is comparable with Japan plus Western Europe. This occurred because Chinese were not consumption-oriented (large savers), taxes for social infrastructure (welfare) were non-existent, and a finely tuned underground financial network for them to quickly make business decisions. Sort of a self-imposed exile in lieu of starvation or political persecution, OEChinese became the gypsy Jews of the East (p231), but later made good. As a class, Rohwer estimates that there are more than 50 million OEChinese (a sixth of US population) throughout the world. Rohwer further remarks that these OEChinese often keep their enterprises secret and private to the world's scrutiny and out of the media spotlight.

In looking into his crystal ball, Rohwer accurately predicted the 1) Asian crash of 2000 (p18), 2) PRChina economic growth in the next decade 6-7% year (p166) compared to 7-8% actual and 3) American companies have the best position to benefit with investment and trade with PRChina (p214).

Less well, he didn't predict 1) PRChina's entry in WTO on Sept 2001 (p98), 2) the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river startup 5 years ahead of his estimate of 2010 (p263), and 3) the millennium deluge of American private financing of projects in PRChina (p277).

Most people acknowledge that the PRChinese SEZs have been a huge success for economic growth with private enterprise with Chinese characteristics primarily funded by OEChinese. From the tremendous growth of Xaimen with labor intensive electronics industry and Shenzhen with a broad based labor intensive industry, Deng Xiaoping's experiment in Chinese capitalism was a runaway success. This success begat the TVE (community owned collectives which had free reign from Beijing) and it had spectacular success with local market-oriented PRChinese agriculture and light industry. With over 20 million TVEs formed since the 1990s (p130), PRChina became largely self-sufficient in food production and producing quality items to support the industrial and rural infrastructure. These successes spurred on PRChina self-opening to the world for foreign trade, investment, and market-driven enterprises that is on-going today. There are many SEZs, in every province, provincial capitals, major cities and towns, interior, Yangtze river, coastal, and islands (p136).

Note that these efforts for opening the PRC for trade and investment was due to PRChina doing it on its own terms. It started after Nixon visited China in 1972 and culminated with Deng's visit to see Carter in 1979. The resulting TV media play in PRChina galvanized and electrified the PRChinese populace (p132) for a market-driven economy. No more colonization.

The most significant SEZs are:

Xiamen across Taiwan Straits - Central East coast, electronics manufacturing
Shenzhen near Hong Kong - South Coast, light manufacturing
Pudong in Shanghai-Central East coast of China, future financial center of PRChina
Zhongguancun in Beijing - Capital, High-Tech Silicon Valley of China

Some authors can ferret the facts, evaluate economic activity at the grassroots, micro, and macro level, and use this knowledge to predict the future, such as Rohwer. Other authors grab the headlines with glittering generalities and post facts from a narrow slice of time, and try to make sweepingly broad generalizations that can't help from being non-sophomoric, as John Neisbitt's Megatrends Asia and Joe Studwell's China Dream.

Correct prediction.......2004-01-22

Writing in 1995, Rohwer predicted China's GDP growth to slow to 6-7% a year over the next decade. (p. 166) Looking back on his words, it is clear that he got it right. In the last ten years China has been growing at an average of 7-8% per year. Growth dipped below 7% around the turn of the millennium. It has picked up again since then.

His optimism in this book and in its sequel "Remade in America" is fully justified. By 2020, China should have the world's third largest economy in nominal GDP, according to Professor Richard Cooper of Harvard, after the US and Japan, and half a trillion dollars larger than the fourth largest, Germany.

By 2025, according to the US Department of Energy's estimates, China's economy will be worth some $5 trillion, while Japan's will be under $7 trillion, and America's under $20 trillion. If the Chinese currency rises in value by as much as 50% against the dollar and the yen - which is perfectly possible over the next 20 years - China's nominal GDP could well be in excess of $7 trillion, and thus the second largest economy in the world.

In purchasing power parity, China's economy may well be equal in absolute size to America's by 2015 according to Angus Maddison of the OECD, or by 2020 based on the calculations of Professor Gregory Chow of Princeton. By 2025 China's PPP should be well ahead of America's.

So in about twenty years' time, China's economy could be the SECOND or THIRD largest in the world depending on the exchange rates. (However, even if second, China will still be only 40% the size of America.) In PPP, China could be larger than America.

Overall, Jim Rohwer's optimism was fully justified both by events since his writing of this and his following book, and by calculations made by distinguished and reliable sources. Rohwer's prediction, that China is going to be a big deal (essentially, the second largest economy after the United States), is in the process of being fulfilled to the letter. This compounds the tragedy that this brilliant man, who was killed in an accident in Sept 2001, will never see China twenty years from now, a wish he expressed in the Prologue of this book.

Extraordinary & Comprehensive Survey.......2003-03-16

First, a bit of bad news: Rohwer died in a boating accident in France in Sept, 2001. So there won't be a second edition to this or any of his other books.

Rohwer (Berkeley MA in Economics, Harvard JD), who was an investment banker with CSFB in Hong Kong, brought a unique set of qualifications to his research. Some people criticized Rohwer for failing to predict the Asian economic crisis in 1998. (One book has the title: "Asia Falling".) But he did, on page 18: "My guess in that, around 2000, Asia's economic growth will suddenly slow down." This book was first published in 1995, so he saw it coming - even though his timing wasn't perfect. The fact that he made such a prediction, contrary to the tone and theme of his own book, is suggestive. Rohwer was prophetic.

Other books I also recommend include "Thunder from the East" by Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn. This couple won the Pulitzer Prize for the NY Times for their China reporting, and their CVs are sterling. "The Rise of China" by William Overholt (Harvard BA, Yale PhD), a former banker at Bankers Trust in Hong Kong, is slightly dated, but shows the brilliant judgment of the author. "China's Economic Transformation" by Professor Gregory Chow, Princeton University's former chief of econometrics, brings Chow's specialist quantitative skills to bear on an authoritative analysis of China's economy. All these authors would no doubt support Rohwer's findings and applaud his outstanding research. I myself can't praise Rohwer enough.

Extraordinary & Comprehensive Survey.......2003-03-16

First, a bit of bad news: Rohwer died in a boating accident in France in Sept, 2001. So there won't be a second edition to this or any of his other books.

Rohwer's sequel: "Remade in America" is just as good. Writing at the height of America's boom, he saw America's slowdown coming, and went on to suggest continuing strength in China's growth. Nothing has happened so far to contradict anything Rohwer wrote. At $6 trillion China is, according to the CIA World Factbook, the world's second largest economy and 13% of the world's total (Gross World Product: $47 in PPP), an economic giant which is expanding much faster than any major economy in the world - including India's. China is anything but "a modest country at best." (Bill Emmott)

Other books I also recommend include "Thunder from the East" by Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn. This couple won the Pulitzer Prize for the NY Times for their China reporting, and their CVs are sterling. "The Rise of China" by William Overholt (Harvard BA, Yale PhD), a former banker at Bankers Trust in Hong Kong, is slightly dated, but shows the brillant judgment of the author. "China's Economic Transformation" by Professor Gregory Chow, Princeton University's former chief of econometrics, brings Chow's specialist quantitative skills to bear on an authoritative analysis of China's economy. All these authors would no doubt support Rohwer's findings and applaud his outstanding research. I myself can't praise Rohwer enough.

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Asia Rising Why America Will Prosper as Asia's Economies Boom
Jim; Simon & Schuster Rohwer
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NXTZ82

Book Description

The Torture Papers document the so-called ‘torture memos’ and reports which US government officials wrote to prepare the way for, and to document, coercive interrogation and torture in Afghanistan, Guantanamo, and Abu Ghraib. These documents present for the first time a compilation of materials that prior to publication have existed only piecemeal in the public domain. The Bush Administration, concerned about the legality of harsh interrogation techniques, understood the need to establish a legally viable argument to justify such procedures. The memos and reports document the systematic attempt of the US Government to prepare the way for torture techniques and coercive interrogation practices, forbidden under international law, with the express intent of evading legal punishment in the aftermath of any discovery of these practices and policies.

Download Description

The Torture Papers document the so-called 'torture memos' and reports which US government officials wrote to prepare the way for, and to document, coercive interrogation and torture in Afghanistan, Guantanamo, and Abu Ghraib. These documents present for the first time a compilation of materials that prior to publication have existed only piecemeal in the public domain. The Bush Administration, concerned about the legality of harsh interrogation techniques, understood the need to establish a legally viable argument to justify such procedures. The memos and reports document the systematic attempt of the US Government to prepare the way for torture techniques and coercive interrogation practices, forbidden under international law, with the express intent of evading legal punishment in the aftermath of any discovery of these practices and policies.

Customer Reviews:

THE REAL DEAL.......2007-08-02

Despite the extensive documentary (literally!) evidence collected in this book, the Bush administration still maintains that "we don't torture." A huge part of why they can get away with such monstrous, blatant lies is because journalists don't know how to ask questions. Here's an example: Just yesterday I watched Larry King interviewing Dick Cheney. Larry King brought up the subject of torture. Cheney claimed that they don't use torture. Larry pressed Cheney a little and Cheney admitted that they use certain techniques, but never said what those interrogation techniques were. And that was that.

But philosophers such as Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger have emphasized how different people can use the same words but mean very different things by them. To sort out controversies, it's imperative that we first clearly define key terms. To clarify the issue of whether we torture or not, journalists first need to establish what torture is. When Bush or Cheney claim that they don't use torture, the journalist must ask them what their working DEFINITION is: How do they define torture? It may very well be that there is a vast difference between what they mean by torture and what we consider torture to be. The next step a journalist or interviewer must take if they wish to clarify the matter: ask whether specific acts constitute torture. They might refuse to answer, saying that they don't comment about specific techniques, but it is in itself significant when they refuse to say or acknowledge that a specific technique, such as waterboarding or beatings, constitute torture.

The President, with the aid of his henchmen and henchwomen, has effectively REDEFINED torture. If I remember correctly, for something to be considered torture now it has to be an action that can result in organ failure or death. IF this is how you define torture, then the pulling out of fingernails is not torture. This is one of the truly evil and insidious things about the Bush administration: by redefining terms, they can basically give the appearance that they don't torture; they can technically be "right," they can deny that they employ torture, and all the while they can be putting heads underwater and pulling out fingernails. We should realize that people are deceived by the redefinition of key terms, so that it becomes imperative for journalists (in so far as they truly wish to bring clarity) to establish what the administration's working definitions of those terms are. If the Press simply did that, so much more light, so much less confusion, obfuscation, and ambiguity, would result, and we would be able to take our national dialogue up to a whole different level.

The Torture Papers.......2007-01-10

Mostly a collection of memos. This book is only a record to let us know what some of the hub bub is all about. Let us not sweep this under the rug. This is a first step in our examination of what we are and what we may become if each citizen doesn't accept responsibility and act on what is rapidly becoming a standard operating proceedure. Does torture acheive better information, Or blind us to truth? The same amount of time spent in a search for evidence would give results. Evidence gained by torturing is an illusion that has caused the torturer to become a goon. Calling torture by some other name does not change its effect. Torture destroys its victims and demoralizes its perpetrators. For those who are pleased to dominate it gives dominance. Torture does not give facts because it is not physical evidence. The veracity of uncovered facts can not be observed, but must be further tested. Torture can destroy any resistance in the one tortured and give the dominator feelings of the power of god. The torturer is loosing the battle without physical evidence. Torturing only gives the feelings of power.
This book is the begining of the examination of official torture and might allow some of us to reconfirm that torture by any name is only the act of a despot and only dispoils free citizens.

The Torture Papers:Road to Abu Ghraib.......2005-10-31

This is an excellent resource for any serious scholar or researcher dealing with the laws of war, the Iraq War or torture issues. It is a broad compilation of original source material, mostly post 9/11; with its depth (over 1200 pages), it may be too much for the casual reader (if so, try Torture and Truth, by Mark Danner), but for serious research, it is essential.

Michael J. Brady, PhD (international law)
Tucson, Arizona

Making Men Scream in Our Name.......2005-09-17

This comprehensive and current compilation makes clear that our government has sanctioned practices not only outlawed by international conventions against torture, to which we are signatories, but which discracefully echo the techniques of tyrants through the ages. The documentation will make it impossible for Americans to claim that they didn't know what is being done in our name. This work should be required reading for every citizen as our nation confronts an official policy that claims our only defense against terrorism is our own use of teror and torture.

A recorded history of sadism, incompetence, and cowardice.......2005-03-13

The editors of this book have done a fine job, and the publisher should be commended for bringing this sizable collection to print. Due to the size of the book, long periods of time would be required to read all of the memorandums in it. A great deal of information can be gained however from the perusal of even a small number of these memorandums. They give an inside view of the workings of a collection of individuals who are far from the combat sands of Iraq and Afghanistan, and whose goal is to make sure that they will be insulated from any legal consequences of their actions and recommendations. Joshua L. Dratel, one of the editors of the book, states this clearly when he asserts that the implicit message in the memoranda is that the policy makers who wrote them actually detest the American system of justice and find it impractical as a tool for fighting terrorism. This reviewer is in full agreement with Dratel's commentary. Indeed, the memoranda definitely support the notion that its authors consider it axiomatic that the Constitution, the Geneva Convention, and other bodies of law are impotent in the face of international terrorism. They have let the events of 9/11 lower considerably their confidence in rational, legal procedures for the resolution of conflicts. Dratel states it concisely and correctly when he states that the events of 9/11 `cannot serve as a license - for our government in its policies, or for ourselves in our personal approach to grave problems - to suspend our constitutional heritage, our core values as a nation, or the behavioral standards that mark a civilized and humane society.'

Some insight, however limited, can be gained from Memo 11, which is one of the memorandums that Bush put forward regarding the treatment of detainees and the prisoner-of-war status of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. After reading Memo 11, the question immediately arises: Why did the memorandums and discussion continue even after Memo 11 (the Bush memorandum to the Vice President, et al)? After all, in this memo, Bush explicitly states that the Geneva provisions do not legally cover Al Qaeda and the Taliban. But Bush emphasizes that even though he accepts the legal conclusions of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice regarding the inapplicability of the Geneva convention to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and that he therefore has the "authority under the Constitution" to suspend Geneva, he nevertheless decides to "decline to exercise that authority." However, Bush is careful to note that he "reserves the right" to exercise this authority in future conflicts. In addition, he orders that detainees be treated humanely, according to the principles of Geneva, "including those who are not legally entitled to such treatment." Thus it appears that any further legal argumentation by anyone in the administration regarding the use of torture should be viewed as purely academic. But as this book clearly shows, there was still much discussion on these matters after Memo 11 was sent (February 7, 2002). The need for further discussion is not clear even after reading the memorandums that were sent between various individuals after Memo 11.

Torture has been practiced by many different individuals, political and religious groups, and regimes throughout history. Whether it is the Catholic Church in the Inquisition, the Chinese government under Mao ZeDong, or American military personnel in Iraq, the practice of torture is not exclusive to "leftist" or "rightist" political groups. The use of torture though to gain information is an implicit admission of the inability to collect real intelligence, either because of laziness or incompetence. Those individuals who practice torture for this reason no doubt understand this. They fully understand that torture is useless in gaining helpful information from prisoners. Therefore their decision to engage in the torture of prisoners is no doubt a result of their sadistic nature, which can be brought out not only in the theatre of war but also under the protection of religious and governmental institutions. These institutions, despicable and contemptible as they are, deserve every legal penalty available against them. Of course, legal penalties presuppose the existence of institutions that have the legal authority to carry them out. Considering the status and jurisdiction of international law in the last few years, the number of these institutions is in rapid decline, leaving the practical application of torture open to any country that desires to carry it out.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Geographical Journal, published by Royal Geographical Society on November 1, 1996. The length of the article is 6188 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.

From the author: KEY WORDS: South Africa, tea, contract farming, labour, GATT.

Citation Details
Title: Tensions and transformation in a tea enterprise: Transkei, South Africa.
Author: Gina Porter
Publication: The Geographical Journal (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 1996
Publisher: Royal Geographical Society
Volume: v162 Issue: n3 Page: p287(8)

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The Nigerian Green Revolution: An Analysis of Rural Transformation in Africa

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The Nigerian Green Revolution: An Analysis of Rural Transformation in Africa
Robert C. Duru
Manufacturer: Univ Pr of Amer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Public Policy | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Agricultural | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0819125350

Report of a Regional Workshop on Agrarian Transformation in Centrally Planned Countries in Africa: Organized by FAO in collaboration with ILO and CIRDAFRICA ... held in Arusha, Tanzania, 17-23 October 1983

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Report of a Regional Workshop on Agrarian Transformation in Centrally Planned Countries in Africa: Organized by FAO in collaboration with ILO and CIRDAFRICA ... held in Arusha, Tanzania, 17-23 October 1983
Bezzabeh Mulugetta
Manufacturer: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Human Resources, Institutions and Agrarian Reform Division
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007C21BM

Book Description

Bootstrap serves as a useful reference for the prospective or newly established entrepreneur and offers valuable lessons for anyone interested in building a self-funded company, regardless of industry. Ken Hess lets the reader step into the shoes of the entrepreneur, and benefit from first hand experiences on what worked well and what failed. Written in narrative form, the book takes the reader through the evolution of a company, from one employee to one hundred, and highlights the fundamental business philosophies that enabled this entrepreneur to achieve success. The book covers topics applicable to any company, such as: how to hire the right employees, developing a functional organizational structure, creating a vision that translates into actionable objectives for every employee, managing the product portfolio, and understanding your customers needs and market trends to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Customer Reviews:

Great inspirational story for anyone thinking of starting a company.......2007-09-07

The 10 year story of starting a company scratch with no outside money, and taking it to US$17/million annual revenue and 80 employees over the span of 10 years.

Lots of great advice for any owner-CEO, especially in the high-tech software field.

A page turner for anyone thinking of starting a high-tech software company (me), or working on high-tech marketing or product development.

Lessons from real life........2007-06-10

A story that talks as much about the satisfactions, disappointments, and inter-personality issues (both people-wise and corporate-wise) involved in starting a business as it does about strategy, finance, product development, and marketing. I found it very enjoyable to read and essentially filled cover to cover with insights and lessons learned. I would highly recommended it. Read other books to learn the details of running a business; Read this one to expose yourself to one man's hard-earned wisdom.

Bootstrap, by Kenneth Hess.......2007-02-26

This is a thoroughly insightful chronology of the author's journey from employee to technology start-up entrepreneur, and back around again (though substantially wealthier). Business tactics, mistakes, family life, and attendant emotions are the main topics.

I'd like to operate my own business someday and I've dog-eared numerous pages of this book to refer back to for insights like:

"A product's sales volume is like a rolling snowball. As the snowball tumbles along, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. In a similar fashion, having a higher sales volume at one retailer makes it all that much easier to obtain distribution at yet another retailer, further increasing sales. Higher volumes also make it more cost-effective to do sales promotions, which in turn increase sales. A collection of [mediocre] products would not have this snowball effect, but one single, strong product would."

Interesting but not particularly educational.......2007-02-07

An interesting book that would have been more useful had it delved into some of the 'mistakes' a bit more. Hess makes it all sound so simple, a straight, clear path that was always obvious to him. Any mistakes (like new products started and abandonded) are dealt with in a very cursory way. As the owner of a bootstrap software company I was hoping for more insight and to learn a thing or two. I was entertained (athough slightly irritated by some of it) but would not really recommend it other than as a bit of light reading. I bought this book because of the rave reviews on the Amazon site, but would have to say that overall I was disappointed. All those people who provided 5 star reviews clearly need to get out a bit more and read something of substance for a change!

Bootstrap.......2007-01-22

This book was recommended for me to give to my friend as a gift.
I have not read the book. Sally Bidlack

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