Why Buy A The Cold War A Very Short Introduction Very Short Introductions by Robert J McMahon?
The massive disorder and economic ruin following the Second World War inevitably predetermined the scope and intensity of the Cold War. But why did it last so long? And what impact did it have on the United States, the Soviet Union, Europe, and the Third World? Finally, how did it affect the broader history of the second half of the twentieth century–what were the human and financial costs? This Very Short Introduction provides a clear and stimulating interpretive overview of the Cold War, one that will both invite debate and encourage deeper investigation.

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Over 6 Five Star Customer Reviews On Amazon!

Very well written.
I’m a Political Science/History major at the University of Pittsburgh, and this was one of the books in a ps class I took. It’s very well written, and very informative. McMahon gives a brief rundown of the history and policy of the United States and the Soviet Union during this era in a way that’s not at all hard on the reader. It was actually a very fun read, and is quite helpful if you don’t know much about the Cold War. It’s also short enough that it can easily be read in one sitting in a couple of hours. Great read, and a good book to pick up.

Excellent introduction to the Cold War.
This is a pocket sized book with a title that implies it offers a brief overview of the Cold War but make no mistake, there is nothing lacking in this little gem. Starting with World War II and the destruction of the old Eurocentric world order, the book progresses to the origins of the Cold War, through developing problems in South East Asia, the rise of the Superpowers and finally ends with the fall of Communism in the former USSR.
There are many illustrations and some useful maps along with a very useful chapter pointing to further reading for anyone wishing to extend their knowledge of the subject. This book contains more than enough information to give a good grounding in the subject, not only for the casual reader but also for the student. It may be a `very short introduction’ but it is an extremely thorough one.

Very short but very good.
After searching some time for a short history of the Cold War, this little gem virtually fell into my lap. Though it’s very, very brief, I cannot mark it down for excluding material because it is simply meant as an introduction. Because my previous experiences of this genre have been mixed: The Wall: The People’s Story, The Berlin Wall: 13 August 1961 – 9 November 1989 and The Cold War by John Lewis Gaddis, I actually approached it with some trepidation. This was particularly the case because it was written by an American.

What I got was very different from what I expected. While Gaddis approaches the subject with heavy handed jingoism, relating standard conventional wisdom, Robert McMahon delivers a very reflective style of analysis which promotes a real understanding of what was going on. I have never believed in a partisan approach to history because it only ever gives one side of the story while making the other side look ridiculous or untenable. Rather than simply saying that the Soviets did something evil and getting bogged down in a moral argument, McMahon actually explains why it happened the way it did and leaves it for the reader to judge for themselves. Without this approach it would be just another book.

He goes into some detail about the levels of political aggression on both sides but with particular reference to the rhetoric delivered by a conga line of US presidents starting with Truman and ending with Reagan. This is what makes the book unique and it is this question of American sense of proportion which takes it to another level. How bad was the threat from the USSR and how much did a level of US paranoia contribute to upping the ante? Gaddis, in contrast, is simply incapable of doing that.

In the end we learn that it was Gorbachev who was making all the concessions, usually against the will of some extremist apparatchiks and not without significant personal risk. It happened so quickly, in fact that the changes even pre-empted US pressure. The subtext of McMahon’s thesis is that the traditional view that the US won the Cold War by superiority in technology and philosophy was not actually what happened. It was not the US who won but the entire world and from the point of view someone who lived through it, is a far more accurate and sympathetic analysis of what happened.

This is a great little book, as is the case with so many in this series and I wholeheartedly recommend it. It’s not for everyone and if your political persuasions don’t run in this direction, you probably won’t like it. If you are reasonably open minded, you will end up with a far better understanding than you might from a traditional view many times the length. McMahon has enough material to easily write a book 4 times the size which would be a great source on the period and would probably be a best seller. The sooner he does it, the better because I’ll be first in the queue to buy it!

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Why Buy A Applied Regression Analysis and Generalized Linear Models by Dr John Fox?

Combining a modern, data-analytic perspective with a focus on applications in the social sciences, the Second Edition of Applied Regression Analysis and Generalized Linear Models provides in-depth coverage of regression analysis, generalized linear models, and closely related methods. Although the text is largely accessible to readers with a modest background in statistics and mathematics, author John Fox also presents more advanced material throughout the book. Key Updates to the Second Edition:

• Provides greatly enhanced coverage of generalized linear models, with an emphasis on models for categorical and count data
• Offers new chapters on missing data in regression models and on methods of model selection
• Includes expanded treatment of robust regression, time-series regression, nonlinear regression, and nonparametric regression
• Incorporates new examples using larger data sets
• Includes an extensive Web site at http://www.sagepub.com/fox that presents appendixes, data sets used in the book and for data-analytic exercises, and the data-analytic exercises themselves

Intended Audience: This core text will be a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers in the social sciences (particularly sociology, political science, and psychology) and other disciplines that employ linear and related models for data analysis.

High Praise for the First Edition:

“Even though the book is written with social scientists as the target audience, the depth of material and how it is conveyed give it far broader appeal. Indeed, I recommend it as a useful learning text and resource for researchers and students in any field that applies regression or linear models (that is, most everyone), including courses for undergraduate statistics majors…. The author is to be commended for giving us this book, which I trust will find a wide and enduring readership.”-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN STATISTICAL ASSOCIATION

“[T]his wonderfully comprehensive book focuses on regression analysis and linear models…. We enthusiastically recommend this book — having used it in class, we know that it is thorough and well liked by students.” -CHANCE

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Why Buy A Organizations and Organizing Rational Natural and Open Systems Perspectives by Gerald F Davis?
This broad, balanced introduction to organizational studies enables the reader to compare and contrast different approaches to the study of organizations. This book is a valuable tool for the reader, as we are all intertwined with organizations in one form or another. Numerous other disciplines besides sociology are addressed in this book, including economics, political science, strategy and management theory. Topic areas discussed in this book are the importance of organizations; defining organizations; organizations as rational, natural, and open systems; environments, strategies, and structures of organizations; and organizations and society. For those employed in fields where knowledge of organizational theory is necessary, including sociology, anthropology, cognitive psychology, industrial engineering, managers in corporations and international business, and business strategists.

Over 6 Five Star Customer Reviews On Amazon!

Review
I bought this Organizations and Organizing: Rational, Natural and Open Systems Perspectives a month ago.It come on time.
This is a wonderful book for people who are interested in organizational theories.Very fundanmental.

Comprehensive and Open
I can’t imagine a better introduction to students of Organizations. The writing is clear, and assumes no background knowledge (I had none). Yet it is a deeply informative and thought-provoking book. A friend of mine in the M&O PhD program at Michigan (Davis’ home department) says that you could pass preliminary exams if you memorized (*really* memorized) everything in the book. Unlike most textbooks, Scott and Davis actually locate the “perspectives” in current conversations.

Textbook review
My husband is getting his PHD in Public Affairs. Getting a break on books is a huge bonus. This site has been a great help with saving money.

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Why Buy A Dont Know Much About Geography Everything You Need to Know About the World but Never Learned Dont Know Much AboutPaperback by Kenneth C Davis?
You might think you need to look at a map to learn everything you need to know about geography, but Kenneth C. Davis proves otherwise. In this hugely entertaining and informative program, Davis takes a different approach to learning about the world by pointing out its relevance–and importance–in every sphere of human life. Geography, Davis explains, has been sadly misunderstood, which accounts for the fact that Americans consistently score lowest among peoples of industrialized nations when it comes to knowing where we are. He sets out to show listeners how this mother lode of sciences, the hub of a circle from which all the other studies radiate informs disciplines ranging from meteorology, climatology, and oceanography to economics, ecology, and political science. Rather than looking at geography as a parade of facts about where things are located, he encourages an approach that considers human and natural history in its larger context–and the universe as a large canvas upon which the fascinating story of life is drawn. Using his familiar question-and- answer method, Davis offers interesting anecdotes to explain, for example, who invented the compass; why wars are always fought over geography; the differences between country, republic, nation, and state; why the tallest mountain in the world is getting even taller; and much more. Succinct discussions coupled with Daviss lively writing style makes this a perfect candidate for audio presentation. Indeed, listening to this program without the aid of visuals underscores the sense conveyed that geography is as much about how we think about the world as where things are in physical space–that it is about the tender connections that keep the earth alive. (Running time: three hours, two cassettes) –Uma Kukathas

Over 28 Five Star Customer Reviews On Amazon!

“Don’t Know Much About..” Series is Excellent!
I’ve read all of the books in the “Don’t Know Much About..” series. If you’re interested in getting a rather thorough overview without becoming an expert, these books are for you. They are so easy to read, that I couldn’t but them down.

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Dont Know Much About American History
Dont Know Much About the Presidents

Language NotesText: English, French (translation) –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Features

• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
• Condition: NEW
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• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Over 9 Five Star Customer Reviews On Amazon!

Classic…
If you are a) an undergrad. in sociology, economy, or political science, you must have this for grad. school; b) a grad. student in sociology and unsure of its application, what theory is, or what the masters talked about, you must have it; and c) a theory freak like myself, a must for your collection (but you already knew that!). This book is a classic in sociology, and while Durkheim recanted much of what he said later in his career, his ecological model for the evolution of society is still relevant today. Furthermore, his discussion of the integrative effects of the Division of Labor are unmatched, and while this mechanism is probably not the only one of its kind, it is still important especially in a postindustrial society that is increasingly compartementalized…

An Outstanding Book
A unique thesis: the division of labor is morally cohesive, and inheritance of capital is the flaw of capitalism. It is a great counter-argument to Marx and communism. I read this book at the University of Chicago, and I can only hope other institutions also assign it; it is a must read for anybody interested in human interaction.

Although some people may not think this is important, I must also commend The Free Press for producing such a durable book. Many of my books wouldn’t survive my travels and annotations as well as this one has.

The classical social theorists were the best
Durkheim is sometimes characterized as “the sociologist of constraint,” meaning that, as he saw it, an unregulated life is devoid of meaning and a source of misery. In a very limited way, one might argue that Durkheim, in contrast to Marx, held that man does have a rudimentary nature, at least in terms of social and cultural needs. People need norms, standards, and social ties to provide them with direction, purpose, knowledge of realistic limits, and a sense of belonging. This is one reason for Durkheim’s life-long interest in religion as a social phenomenon. His emphasis on constraint and stability also helps explain why he is commonly regarded as a conservative.

Durkheim was less optimistic than Marx with regard to prospects for the variegated development of human potential. While Marx envisioned opportunities for people to develop a broad range of talents in a self-actualizing way, Durkheim was more cautious. His emphasis on an evermore complex division of labor characterized by increasingly narrow specialization held his expectations in check.

At the same time, however, Durkheim was convinced that a more complex division of labor and the organic solidarity it occasioned enabled individuals to become more independent and self-determining. As with Marx, however, Durkheim was aware that increasing specialization did not serve all interests equally well.

While Durkheim and Marx have more in common than is typically acknowledged, Durkheim did not view the antagonistic character of the capital-labor relationship as inevitable or basic to the structure of capitalist society. In Durkheim’s judgment, increasing social and cultural complexity, along with the rise of modern industry and an attendant ethos of reciprocity and complementarity, were more important than the emergence of mature capitalism and the capital-labor dichotomy.

In my view, Durkhiem was wrong. Nevertheless, his struggle to find a basis for social solidarity for modern industrial society prompted him to develop the powerful concepts anomie (or cultural de-regulation) and egoism (or social deracination). These, in turn, led to this brilliant work on the social sources of suicide. Perhaps it’s a mark of genius that failures lead to new discoveries which give important areas of intellectual endeavor an entirely new and unexpected conceptual direction.

The Division of Labor in Society
Excellent condition as promised. Timely delivery as well. No complaints, I would buy from this seller again.

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Why Buy A Fuzzy-Set Social Science by Charles C Ragin?
In this innovative approach to the practice of social science, Charles Ragin explores the use of fuzzy sets to bridge the divide between quantitative and qualitative methods. Paradoxically, the fuzzy set is a powerful tool because it replaces an unwieldy, fuzzy instrument—the variable, which establishes only the positions of cases relative to each other, with a precise one—degree of membership in a well-defined set.

Ragin argues that fuzzy sets allow a far richer dialogue between ideas and evidence in social research than previously possible. They let quantitative researchers abandon homogenizing assumptions about cases and causes, they extend diversity-oriented research strategies, and they provide a powerful connection between theory and data analysis. Most important, fuzzy sets can be carefully tailored to fit evolving theoretical concepts, sharpening quantitative tools with in-depth knowledge gained through qualitative, case-oriented inquiry. This book will revolutionize research methods not only in sociology, political science, and anthropology but in any field of inquiry dealing with complex patterns of causation.

Over 2 Five Star Customer Reviews On Amazon!

This book is a great first step in reorienting social science
Where to start? Well, first the second reviewer is off the mark with the critique about the specificity regarding the IMF. This is not a book about the IMF, so the lack of exhaustive it not a fatal flaw. What this book attempt to accomplish is to get one to think about new ways of categorizing social phenomena. Too much of quantitative method assumes that one can make clear distinctions between categories. This is stating the case much too strongly to reflect reality in an acceptable manner. What Ragin does is offer some theorizing about how one can recognize the fuzzy-boundaries of social phenomena. His insight rests on the use of key characteristics to provide the metric for those who will try to better reflect social events in their research. If you wish to create a better explanation of what you are studying then purchase this book. It is sure to improve your research and how you theorize about the objects you study.

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Why Buy A Public Opinion by Walter Lippmann?
Written by one of the most influential men of his time and one of the greatest journalists in history, this seminal work of political science presents an incisive examination of democratic theory, the role of citizens in a democracy, and the impact of the media in shaping thoughts and actions.

Over 13 Five Star Customer Reviews On Amazon!

Lippmann Made Sense
Anyone who seriously considers a career in today’s journalism needs to become familiar with how Walter Lippmann approached that once hallowed calling. It’s not enough to be the first on the scene with a story, no matter how important that story may be. What’s important is to have an informed opinion on what caused the event to happen and to be able to speculate, with some authoritative references, on how it will affect the future course of events. What made Walter Lippmann’s thoughts, opinion and observations on current affairs so important to the movers and shakers of his day was his fundamental knowledge of history and how that knowledge related to the often bewildering array of modernist “spin” — from the manipulation of popular opinion through propaganda, to the more often overlooked affect of human psychology on the course of politics and current events.

Briiliant thinker, brilliant book.
Lippman is sadly under-appreciated these days, I hadn’t even heard his name until the past year, when, while working on my dissertation, I came across this book. Written in lucid, clear prose, yet dealing with incredibly complex theoretical and philosophical issues, Public Opinion argues that not only is there not really an agreed-upon “Public Opinion,” but that people rarely even understand what they think they know, let alone what they can agree upon with other people. Lippman persuasively demonstrates that opinions are formed in such a way that they have little or no bearing upon “really existing” facts and truth most of the time, and instead are ill-informed, vague, and haphazard in their application of rational thought. Lippman closes by arguing that, since no one has the time or ability to be as informed as they are expected to be on every issue, what is needed is a group of intellectuals dedicated towards improving the quality of media we receive; a sort of “filter” which can correct misperceptions and inform the public at large. (Although, in his subsequent Lippman becomes even more pessimistic, arguing that there is no such thing as “the public”.) This book is a must-read for those fascinated by media, politics, or even more general philosophical/culture questions.

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Why Buy A Politics and the Bureaucracy by John Bohte?
Enhance your understanding of the federal bureaucracy with POLITICS AND THE BUREAUCRACY! With a focus on bureaucracy as a political institution, this political science text equips you with the tools you need to succeed in this course. Coverage includes topics such as administrative ethics, political control of the bureaucracy, public choice models of bureaucratic politics, and state and local bureaucracies. Examples and case studies clarify difficult concepts and reflect current political debates and their impact on federal agencies.

Over 2 Five Star Customer Reviews On Amazon!

Politics and the Bureaucracy
The book gave an excellent introduction to the formation of the United States bureacracy. The chapters on public participation were valuable. The book was an interesting read and excellent for an overview of democracy from the postion of governing.

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Why Buy A Applied Spatial Data Analysis with R (Use R) by Virgilio Gómez-Rubio?

Applied Spatial Data Analysis with R is divided into two basic parts, the first presenting R packages, functions, classes and methods for handling spatial data. This part is of interest to users who need to access and visualise spatial data. Data import and export for many file formats for spatial data are covered in detail, as is the interface between R and the open source GRASS GIS. The second part showcases more specialised kinds of spatial data analysis, including spatial point pattern analysis, interpolation and geostatistics, areal data analysis and disease mapping. The coverage of methods of spatial data analysis ranges from standard techniques to new developments, and the examples used are largely taken from the spatial statistics literature. All the examples can be run using R contributed packages available from the CRAN website, with code and additional data sets from the books own website.

This book will be of interest to researchers who intend to use R to handle, visualise, and analyse spatial data. It will also be of interest to spatial data analysts who do not use R, but who are interested in practical aspects of implementing software for spatial data analysis. It is a suitable companion book for introductory spatial statistics courses and for applied methods courses in a wide range of subjects using spatial data, including human and physical geography, geographical information systems, the environmental sciences, ecology, public health and disease control, economics, public administration and political science.

The book has a website where coloured figures, complete code examples, data sets, and other support material may be found: http://www.asdar-book.org.

The authors have taken part in writing and maintaining software for spatial data handling and analysis with R in concert since 2003. 

Over 3 Five Star Customer Reviews On Amazon!

The best practial introduction to R spatial
The R spatial packages are the leading edge for spatial analysis and spatial statistics. This book, by the primary developers of the R Spatial packages, is the best introduction to the subject that I have seen.

Now, if you are comfortable with it, you can dive an and download R and R spatial and go to down. But if you need some help, this is a good place to start. This would also make a good textbook for a class on spatial analysis.

Excelent Book!
Do you know that felling you may have when you found exactly what you were looking for? Well, that was the felling I had when started to read this book. It brings detailed information about how you can and should use the spatial data analysis resources of R, with interactive examples and enlighten explanations. You will really understand what you are doing and will find ways to represent it the best way you could.

Lots of information, clearly presented.
This is not a book for a beginner, but is an excellent book for two groups of readers: those who have some background with R and wish to learn about its capabilities for spatial statistics; and those with some background in spatial statistics who wish to learn how to use R. The authors have been the main developers of the spatial statistics packages on R, and therefore know the packages intimately. But the authors also have a deep knowledge of the spatial statistics literature, and I found myself learning something new about these methods in every chapter. Everyone serious about spatial statistics should see what R has to offer. This book is the easiest way to do that.

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Why Buy A The Politics by Aristotle?
This new translation of one of the fundamental texts of Western political thought combines strict fidelity to Aristotles Greek with a contemporary English prose style. Lords intention throughout is to retain Aristotles distinctive style.

The accompanying notes provide literary and historical references, call attention to textual problems, and supply other essential information and interpretation. A glossary supplies working definitions of key terms in Aristotles philosophical-political vocabulary as well as a guide to linguistic relationships that are not always reflected in equivalent English terms. Lords extensive Introduction presents a detailed account of Aristotles life in relation to the political situation and events of his time and then discusses the problematic character and history of Aristotles writings in general and of the Politics in particular. Lord also outlines Aristotles conception of political science, tracing its relation to theoretical science on the one hand and to ethics on the other. In conclusion, he briefly traces the subsequent history and influence of the Politics up to modern times.

Lords translation is clearly the best available.—Claremont Review

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