ERA Reviews

No one can claim that German intellectual history is an easy subject to wade through; this treatise is a good introduction to the important role that Hegel played in the formation of later 19th century German thought. While the translation is a bit balky at points (translating from German to English is no easy task in academic works!) it gives a good introduction to the basic ideas behind some of the more seminal thinkers of the German intellectual milleau through the late 19th century and is a fine basis for moving on to other books on the periods following. It is at times a bit unclear; this is not a book for beginners or the generalist but one for those who are already somewhat familiar with philosophy and the terms of debate. Still recommended reading to understand more fully the foundations of the later German state and history.

it explains the fur trade of the american west

this is one of the first books i've read which has gone off the path in its study of the american civil war, a topic which one might think has had everything written on it. snay's writing is both clear and insightful.

The chapter on the transformational room offers generous descriptions and anaylsis of reseach based concepts. Verderber and Fine clasify the maternity suite as such a room, they also provide a great BRIEF history of birthing centers in the U.S. The book seems well thought out and thorough.

This is a really touching story about the adventures of a lost puppy.The adventire starts when the box he is being carried in rolls off a truck and lands in the woods. He then has to fend for himself and survive an his own. Along the way he meets other animals and friends. This book is perfect for a person of any age. I deffinately reccommend this book to everyone! :)

This book entitled, "A History of Western Society" is the most informative book I have read in a history class. It describes the Revolutionary Era to the Present day. Vivid descriptions and carefully laid out photos bring history to life in this book. I highly reccomend anyone who ever thought history was boring to take a gamble and read this wealth of knowledge.

In this book, originally published in 1976, Stewart provides a basic history of the abolitionist movement beginning with the period of the American Revolution. While most think of abolition as a 19th-century movement, Stewart demonstrates that this period is also important in examining this movement. Many states, primarily in the North, found that the institution of slavery conflicted with the ideas of republicanism that they were using to defend their own rights. During the years following the Revolution, the Northern states abolished slavery either immediately through court decisions as in Massachusetts, or through gradual programs as in New York. The ideas of the Revolution also played an important role in antislavery movements throughout the 19th century.

In examining the 19th Century movement, Stewart focuses most of his book on the Antebellum period and shows the importance of religion and moral suasion in the movement. Stewart also examines how, as time progressed, the movement expanded into the political realm through third parties such as the Liberty and Free Soil parties and how the ideas of the abolitionists influenced the formation of the Republican Party in the mid-1850s. Divisions emerged over the extent to which the abolitionists should become involved in politics and parties corrupted by slaveholders.

The main weakness of this book, in my opinion is that the Civil War years are only briefly covered. It was during these years that the abolitionists were able to put the most pressure on the federal government to take action against slavery. It was also during these years that many of the goals of the abolitionist movement were met. While racial equality was not obtained during Reconstruction, certain rights were guaranteed through Constitutional amendments. Abolitionists played roles in turning the Civil War into a war merely to preserve the Union into a war to create "a more perfect union." This role should be more fully examined in a history of the abolitionist movement.

For everyone who is interested in matters of ideology and public opinion it is a very useful guide into past and current discussion on the concept of ideology. In the second part of the book you will find quite interesting elaboration of the development of media industry based mainly on data from Braitain, neverthenless vey elucidating. Finally the author's media theory which is trying to consider the inner dynamics of media development against the mainstream of New-Left critics of the mass culture tyranny. The style very clear, so you can follow the author's pace of thoughts quite easy but you can find yourself quite bored going thru three fields of reaserch which will finish in final synthesis.

If you are interested in Indiana history, particularly african-american history, Emma Lou Thornbrough is an outstanding author and researcher. This book has been educational

This booklet is intended not to be theoretical breakthrough or carving out amazing new facts, but to be a policy recommendation in the style of working papers from OECD or IMF which could be downloaded freely from their website.
East Asian developmental states of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, or their policy tool dubbed as industrial policy garnered enviable encomiums in the 1980s and the early 1990s. There were so many speculations on whether its industrial developmental experiences could be copied into the contexts of other developing countries. World Bank¡¯s ¡®The East Asian Miracle (1993)¡¯ was a good example of such trend. Even the stalwart of lasses-faire capitalism, the States, tinkered with the idea. Government-led establishing of SEMATECH was the instance. Now you can witness the stratospherical-scale experiment in China. But the more-than-a-decade-protracted stagnation in Japan, spectacular debacle of Asian financial crises seeded the suspicion about the model and it blossomed to the full-blown denial at the turn of the century. This monograph is another nail in the coffin.
The industrial policy is the policy set of promotion/protection. The state nurtured target industries which could be internationally competitive to step up the ladder of international comparative advantages. The targeted industry should be protected from the hostile environment up to being internationally competitive, and promoted with directing national resources to that industry. This, of course, bucked the basic premises of market economics with distorting the flow of resources. But authors are not concerned with principles, but whether this policy tool was effective at all. In a nutshell, they are skeptical. According to their econometric data, targeting served to shorten economic recovery, at best. It could be claimed that in the early stage of postwar recovery, the state intervention contributed to some degree. But it¡¯s dubious whether its efficacy could be extended after the initial takeoff stage, in Rostow¡¯s words. The industrial policy is more than economics but it¡¯s the issue of political economy, in other words it¡¯s prone to be captured by vested interests. It¡¯s the de facto consensus that since the 1970s, Japan could not be called as the developmental state: the political economy swayed to negative way to the efficiency of economy since then and it¡¯s the fundamental cause of Japan¡¯s stagnation. The point is summed up as ¡®Two Japans¡¯: the inefficient sectors are parasites on the efficient sectors like electronics, auto. This has dragged the overall efficiency of the economy down. Authors argue that the applicability of industrial policy i.e. promotion/protection is not hindered by WTO regime for there a lot of loopholes available under current rule books. The issue at hand is the efficacy and the political economy. The efficacy is questionable according to data. And it would be next to impossible to overcome the issue of political economy which could insulate the state from the vested interest.
The points this monograph poses are not that unknown. But the manner presenting in the form of literature is the problem of this book. Econometric data are interesting and inspiring. But they are employed to support points. I think they could have organized the points in more straightforward way. Points are scattered, not seamlessly sorted out.