(source: Library Journal, 01/05/2009)
Economics
Mahar, Sue Martin & Jay Mahar. The Unoffical Guide to Building Your Business in the Second Life Virtual World: Marketing and Selling Your Product, Services and Brand In-World. AMACOM: American Management Assn. 2009. c.320p. illus. index. ISBN 978-0-8144-1270-1. $24.95. BUS
Business as we know it is being revolutionized by Second Life, a Web 2.0 application that enables registered users to create animated identities called avatars and to construct and spend time in virtual worlds represented by these avatars. In the process of building these online worlds, users have also created new virtual marketplaces for buyers and sellers. Second Life users can convert Linden dollars to U.S. dollars, and avatars can give tours of both virtual products and real-world products, directing other avatars to online billboards, movies, and virtual meetings. Sue Martin Mahar, a longtime Second Life resident, and Second Life guide Jay Mahar here show how enterprises (including Fortune 500 firms like IBM) are strategizing ways to use Second Life to gain competitive advantage. This guide shows entrepreneurs how to assess potential opportunities and conduct business in Second Life and includes many handy lists of practical dos and don’ts. With Second Life continually evolving, business possibilities there are in fact limitless, as this book shows. Essential reading for all entrepreneurs and recommended for both the general public and business students.—Caroline Geck, Library Media Specialist, Newark Pub. Schs., NJ
Posner, Richard A. A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of ‘08 and the Descent into Depression. Harvard Univ. May 2009. c.324p. index. ISBN 978-0-674-03514-0. $23.95. BUS
With the stock market tumbling and the unemployment rate rising, the current financial crisis is dominating the headlines. Prolific author Posner (circuit judge, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit; senior lecturer, Univ. of Chicago Law Sch.; How Judges Think) examines the causes and consequences of the financial crisis as well as governmental measures aimed at dealing with it. In the first five chapters, he explores how and why the economy “has gotten itself into such a fix and what the government is trying to do to get the economy out of it and how likely it is to succeed.” The final six chapters describe the lessons that can be learned from the crisis and ways to avoid the next depression. The text is current to the early days of the Obama administration. Highly recommended for both general readers and students as a top title among the growing number of books about the current crisis.—Lucy Heckman, St. John’s Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY
Rushkoff, Douglas. Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How To Take It Back. Random. Jun. 2009. c.304p. index. ISBN 978-1-4000-6689-6. $25. BUS
What do fundamentalist Christians, Margaret Thatcher, and the Rand Corporation all have in common? They are all part of a vast conspiracy that began during the Renaissance when the British East India Company began indoctrinating Europe in corporatism, the belief that corporations should be venerated. So successful were they that we now unknowingly live in a corporatist state, argues Rushkoff; the world is so slanted toward rewarding self-interested, short-term decisions that we have lost all autonomy and humanity, devolving from citizens into consumers. Rushkoff advocates for sustainable, bottoms-up activism, but many of his suggestions (including garden shares and “complimentary credit” bartering) seem like willful amnesia; history has proven that a commune by any other name remains unviable. Still, Rushkoff’s prose is eminently readable, and he weaves together a colorful fabric of facts and anecdotes more than interesting enough to carry the reader past a little kookiness; the first 200 pages are truly conspiracy theorizing at its best. The last 50 pages do suffer from excessive moralizing, unsupported idealism, and a limp call to pseudoaction, but otherwise this is an entertaining screed for those who agree with Rushkoff’s position.—Robert Perret, Univ. of Idaho, Moscow, ID
Yellen, Pamela. Bank on Yourself: The Life-Changing Secret to Growing and Protecting Your Financial Future. Vanguard: Perseus. 2009. c.256p. ISBN 978-1-59315-496-7. $25.95. BUS
In this current economic downturn, investors have been looking for more secure ways to invest. Here, consultant Yellen outlines how to use a particular type of whole life insurance policy as a personal bank. The concept has much in common with the infinite banking method developed by Nelson Nash and relies on a thorough understanding of the intricacies of life insurance policies and when they become taxable. The methodology behind the Bank on Yourself® (BOY) system has been proven sound and effective, but it requires a long-term commitment from the investor and an investment adviser who knows about setting up a dividend-paying life insurance and what companies offer it. Most of this book is dedicated to stories and testimonials of how it has worked for individuals, but it provides very little information on the best way to start the program. When Yellen does provide information, it is generally linked to her web site. Overall, her book comes off as a pitch for the program rather than a balanced explanation on how to use life insurance as a potential investment strategy. For some interested readers.—John Rodzvilla, Simmons Coll., Boston
Political Science
Dowden, Richard. Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. PublicAffairs: Perseus. 2009. c.596p. maps. index. ISBN 978-1-58648-753-9. $29.95. INT AFFAIRS
Dowden (director, Royal African Soc.) can be forgiven if each of the 18 chapters in his massive tome feels like an abridged version of a larger book; summarizing the history, politics, and people of an entire continent in one volume is a daunting task. Dowden, however, has a wealth of personal experience to qualify him for the job, having first visited Africa as a volunteer teacher in the 1970s and then become a highly regarded Africa-based journalist. Here he attempts to educate readers about Africa’s many different nations and to counter the claim that journalists have harmed Africa by publicizing only negative news about it. He alternates chapters each devoted to a particular African nation with chapters on particular issues. Dowden writes in a conversational tone, freely offering up his opinions on controversial topics including politics, foreign investment, the AIDs crisis, and Africa’s leadership vacuum. Like other recent works in English on Africa, such as Martin Meredith’s The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence and John Reader’s Africa: A Biography of the Continent, this work is essentially subjective; unfortunately, books that describe Africa more objectively at this time are primarily directed at juvenile readers. Despite Dowden’s optimistic conclusion, much of what he discusses is deeply tragic and can leave the reader feeling discouraged about Africa’s future. Recommended for informed readers; includes an introduction by famed African author Chinua Achebe.—April Younglove, Linfield Coll. Lib.; Portland, OR
Khosrokhavar, Farhad. Inside Jihadism: Understanding Jihadi Movements Worldwide. Paradigm. Jun. 2009. 320p. index. ISBN 978-1-59451-616-0. pap. $22.95. INT AFFAIRS
Jihadism, a radical global Muslim movement, has arguably become the most persistent challenge to Western capitalist democracies and security interests since the demise of the Soviet Union. For many in the West, it has become synonymous with al Qaeda and its terrorist activities. However, as this thought-provoking book demonstrates, jihadism is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon that is much broader than al Qaeda. Khosrokhavar, a first-rate academic expert on Islamic radicalism, distinguishes two types of jihadi movements: one rooted primarily in the Sunni Islamic countries and the other based in the West. He explains the differences between these two movements and analyzes their major motivations for resorting to extreme acts of violence. In addition, he traces the origin and development of fundamentalism in Islam, distinguishes religious fundamentalism from jihadism, reviews the jihadi critique of conservative Islam, and identifies principal theological and political causes of jihadi violence in today’s world. The author’s intimate knowledge of and keen insight into the dynamics of jihadism and his reliance on important primary sources make this book essential reading for anyone interested in obtaining a critical understanding of jihadism.—Nader Entessar, Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile
Neiwert, David. The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right. PoliPoint. May 2009. c.272p. index. ISBN 978-0-9815769-8-5. pap. $16.95. POL SCI
Vile, slanderous attacks in politics are not new. But their distribution via modern technology is. Neiwert sees the language of Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, Anne Coulter, Michael Savage, and others on the Right as paving the way for American fascism, claiming that these individuals are the successors to lynch mobs and the Klan. Unfortunately, the links and parallels Neiwart draws are not credible; he does not establish a valid historical connection between earlier varieties of group hate in America and today’s provocative right-wing personalities. Nonetheless, some readers may be attracted to his book, with its clearly written text and well-laid-out research, in the interest of sparking debate and conversation on a worthy topic.—Michael O. Eshleman, Law Clerk, Greene Cty. Common Pleas Court, Xenia, OH
Nelson, Brian A. The Silence and the Scorpion: The Coup Against Chavez and the Making of Modern Venezuela. Nation: Perseus. May 2009. c.384p. index. ISBN 978-1-56858-418-8. $25.95. INT AFFAIRS
The events of the April 2002 Venezuelan coup to oust President Hugo Chavez are brought to light here in unparalleled investigative reporting by Nelson (Ctr. for American & World Cultures, Miami Univ., Ohio), who has spent time in Venezuela both before and after the coup. His fascinating and harrowing account is part documentary, part eyewitness to history, yet always riveting. Nelson utilizes a rich variety of firsthand accounts to reconstruct what happened, how, and why, all sourced in an extensive set of notes. At times reading like fiction, his enjoyable text is the definitive account of Chavez’s ouster and return, devoid of loyal or opposition rhetoric. Nelson concludes that Chavez’s countercoup was accomplished with cell phones, not tanks, and, contrary to various reports, denies any direct U.S. involvement. Finally, he states that neither internal nor external opposition presents the biggest challenge to Chavez’s future—the faltering world economy and the dramatic drop in oil prices are his biggest enemies. Highly recommended.—Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., Alabama
Ramo, Joshua C. The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New Global Order Constantly Surprises Us and What To Do About It. Little, Brown. 2009. c.288p. index. ISBN 978-0316-11808-8. $25.99. POL SCI
You can learn a lot by reading this book. China scholar Ramo (managing director, Kissinger Assoc.) explains his theory of “Deep Security” through a variety of wide-ranging analogies. While much of the focus is on peace in the Middle East and the role of Hizb’allah, we also learn about Gertrude Stein and cubism at the beginning of World War I, the development of video games from Donkey Kong to the Wii, the problem of maximum sustained yields for fish populations, the relationship between treating HIV and drug-resistant TB in South Africa, and the perils of running a business in Brazil while coping with hyperinflation. Again and again, Ramo reminds us of the power of individuals and the accomplishments that can be achieved by taking advantage of creativity and underutilized capacity. While (not surprisingly) he offers no great solutions, much can be learned from the examples he sets forth. Overall, a fascinating look at various aspects of today’s complicated world and how interconnecting systems often come to bear in unexpected ways.—Susan Hurst, Miami Univ., Oxford, OH
Warshaw, Shirley A. The Copresidency of Bush and Cheney. Stanford Univ. May 2009. c.280p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-8047-5818-5. $29.95. POL SCI
Warshaw (political science, Gettysburg Coll.; Powersharing) is not the first writer to refer to Dick Cheney’s “copresidency” with George W. Bush. She is, however, the first to present the idea at length and to give as much weight to how this operated as to the results. With an early tacit agreement on division of labor, Bush would focus on what mattered to him—a domestic faith-based agenda—leaving Cheney to focus on energy, the economy, and foreign affairs. Given his knowledge of how the bureaucracy worked, penchant for secrecy, control over administration staffing, and lack of ambition to become president, Cheney was able to see that Bush “essentially rubber-stamped” his recommendations. More than that: after 9/11 Bush “abrogated his presidency and turned it over to Cheney.” Warshaw traces Cheney’s ideas on presidential power to his service in the Ford administration and is particularly good on how power was exercised in the Bush administration. Occasionally repetitive, this work of scholarship complements Barton Gellman’s Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency, a fine journalistic narrative. Because the Bush/Cheney literature is already substantial and no doubt will continue to grow, Warshaw’s book is best for readers who can’t get enough on the subject.—Bob Nardini, Nashville, TN
Social Sciences
Crawford, Matthew B. Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work. Penguin Pr.: Penguin Group (USA). Jun. 2009. illus. index. ISBN 978-1-59420-223-0. $25.95. SOC SCI
Philosopher and motorcycle mechanic Crawford presents a fascinating, important analysis of the value of hard work and manufacturing. He reminds readers that in the 1990s vocational education (shop class) started to become a thing of the past as U.S. educators prepared students for the “knowledge revolution.” Thus, an entire generation of American “thinkers” cannot, he says, do anything, and this is a threat to manufacturing, the fundamental backbone of economic development. Crawford makes real the experience of working with one’s hands to make and fix things and the importance of skilled labor. His philosophical background is evident as he muses on how to live a pragmatic, concrete life in today’s ever more abstract world and issues a clarion call for reviving trade and skill development classes in American preparatory schools. The result is inspired social criticism and deep personal exploration. Crawford’s work will appeal to fans of Robert Pirsig’s classic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and should be required reading for all educational leaders. Highly recommended; Crawford’s appreciation for various trades may intrigue readers with white collar jobs who wonder at the end of each day what they really accomplished.—Dale Farris, Groves, TX
