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Right Risk – 10 Powerful Principles for Taking Giant Leaps with Your Life a Book Review

Eugene Aronsky — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 00:29:56 +0000

While the title is catchy, it may be a bit misleading. This book offers valuable insight into the world of taking chances. Bill Treasurer, the author, is a former high Diving stuntman and leadership consultant who has seen the need for people to learn how to conquer their fears and go for what it is in life they truly want. Bill explains that we live in a time when there are endless opportunities. The problem is that we are also influenced by what others are doing and thinking about these same opportunities. If someone has had a bad experience, it is broadcast on the web and this will cause someone else to forgo any attempt at that particular opportunity. What they don’t tell you is that it may not have been something they were particularly adept at.

Right Risk - 10 Powerful Principles for Taking Giant Leaps with Your Life

Right Risk – 10 Powerful Principles for Taking Giant Leaps with Your Life will teach you how to gather your courage and try, when everyone around you is telling you that you will fail. He shows you how to ask the important questions. More importantly, he shows you how to seek those answers from within. It is not that you have to jump off bridges or do anything remotely as serious as that. But Bill explains that you do have to be willing to live a little less cautiously if you want to be successful in the business climate of the day.

Risks are all around us. Taking the right risks at the right time and for the right reasons are the driving principles of this book. The ten driving principles are taken from the author’s real life experiences and will guide readers through the entire process. It begins with how to recognize and evaluate risks and obstacles. Next it guides you through a process designed to help you overcome any fears you might have, the right way. Each chapter concludes with probing questions designed to keep you thinking in the right direction.

The book closes with an emphasis on the importance of being your authentic self. Being honest with yourself is truly the only way to really overcome internal fears. Kidding yourself about their own strengths and weaknesses is what leads most people to take risks that they are not equipped to handle. Right Risk will help you find a lot of insights into your own psyche and this will help you overcome your aversion to taking risks. It gives great advice on how to approach the risks that come up in your business, personal and family life. Not only is it a great read, Right Risk is a great life resource.

This guest post was written by Pat Lindle

Pat Lindle is a business strategist and business owner who took a huge risk many years ago and has helped to start one of the largest custom metal decking fabrication companies in the U.S. When he’s not figuring out new ways to utilize and fabricate steel decking, Pat is often found taking his own calculated risks in other ventures and small businesses around the world.

Career Advice Books

Eugene Aronsky — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 23:00:21 +0000

Choosing a career path is a major decision. Discovering your talents and natural abilities is a top priority for college students. What type of work are you passionate about? Many college students simply aren’t sure what type of career to choose. These students might find some guidance in a top-notch career advice book, several of which are discussed below.

What Color is Your Parachute? – This has been the world’s best selling job-hunting book for over three decades – more than 10 million copies have been sold. Will the author Richard N. Bolles help you discover which career is best for you? He might! The book helps you identify your passions.

What Color is Your Parachute?

After you choose the right career, check out Bolles’ great advice for getting a job. The author provides tips for finding your dream job without depending on ads, agencies, or online job postings.

College Majors Handbook with Real Career Paths and Payoffs: The Actual Jobs, Earnings, and Trends for Graduates of 60 College Majors – This practical guide, written by Neeta P. Fogg, is a great resource when making career choices. The book is based on a U.S. Census Bureau study of 150,000 college graduates. It provides extensive information about careers available to students with different majors. It shows the specific jobs actually obtained by graduates holding various degrees. You’ll learn which interests and abilities are best suited to each major. The book also covers job responsibilities and salaries

College Majors Handbook with Real Career Paths and Payoffs: The Actual Jobs, Earnings, and Trends for Graduates of 60 College Majors

The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success – The book’s author, Nicholas Lore, is a well-respected authority in this field. The book received high praise from a large number of readers. Be prepared to do some work; the book includes exercises and “things to do.” The exercises push you to think long and hard about your career options.

The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career For a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success

This book is one of the best at helping you accurately assess your strengths, talents, and natural skills. It’s an excellent resource to help you evaluate your life and your objectives. The book places an emphasis on finding a career that will lead to a lifetime of satisfaction and success. Yes, there is more to a job than money!

Have No Career Fear: a College Grad’s Guide to Snagging Work, Blazing a Career Path and Reaching Job Nirvana – This handy book is filled with advice from recent college graduates and professionals. Hilarious puns and jokes spice up the book and make for an enjoyable read. The book’s numerous tips help you find the right career while teaching you how to be more inventive, aggressive, and persistent when looking for a job.

Have No Career Fear : A College Grad's Guide to Snagging Work, Blazing a Career Path, and Reaching Job Nirvana

How to Get Any Job with Any College Major: A New look at Career Launch – This book challenges you to evaluate your values, beliefs, and skills. Hopefully you like a challenge! The author Donald Asher argues against the notion that only brainy graduates with specialized majors obtain high paying, visible jobs. He makes the assertion that liberal arts majors can also snag lucrative and fulfilling jobs.

The book teaches college graduate how to promote their skills and advises them about the skills that are most valued by employers. Asher teaches recent college graduates how to convince influential people to help them establish their careers. The book also provides detailed instructions such as how to make contact and get interviews.

Another great book, entitled Conversations: Find your niche! was reviewed last year on this blog. Check out that review here.

Obviously, choosing a career path is a major decision. These great career help books can help you make the right choice. It is certainly worth the time and effort to check them out.

This was a guest post written by Len Dreifort

Len Dreifort writes about jobs in nursing, as well as jobs in several other career fields, for Work Coach Cafe.

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr – A Book Review

Eugene Aronsky — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:34:11 +0000

When you see this book in the shelves, and you skim through it, you will be attracted to the caption at the back that says this book aims not to alarm you about the use of Internet, but it is also not intended to proclaim Internet as if to sing praises for its glory. Seeing how important the Internet is, I find no reason to antagonize today’s technology, but it is a good idea too to be aware of what these devices can do to us. “The Shallows: What The Internet is Doing to Our Brains” by Nicholas Carr gives a decently balanced view about the matter by tracing the history of books, reading, and technology. It also points out the developments including how maps and clocks were altered, our perspectives on the changes, and how our brains really are made of and how it works.

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains

To think that the Internet can make us more attention deficit is far from original and only an axiom. One of Carr’s (the author) main problems in this information era is that it has made it hard for people, even those educated ones to just sit down and read a book the conventional way.

Carr’s major criticism that is quite obvious in the title of the book is that, as our knowledge gets broader and readily accessible, it gets shallower, too. It means we do not have time and patience to stay with just one idea for long to thoroughly evaluate it. We are too restless to move to the next website like Facebook, Tweet, blog post and so on.

Arguing with Carr’s arguments is hard, but finally, he cannot really provide a solution to the problem. There is not a real criticism if a solution can not be provided. We can not simply discard the Internet and never use it again, and many people will not be happy about that even if that is possible. For those people who despise it really, a total collapse of civilization and a giant step backwards to the early times would be their best hope. Of course, that is a possibility that most of us can consider inconceivable at this time.

Maybe, Carr, like most people, overrates the true value of conventional book learning. From another perspective, reading is a simulated activity that promotes a particularly left brained and Aristotelian point of view. We could just consider the Internet as a portion of giving tribute to the computer age and we romanticize it slightly.

The Shallows gives some good point regarding the Internet. If you are an affectionate reader, the best cure to Carr’s warnings is to keep reading and net surfing balanced, which means we should not rely solely on the net. You can also listen to books on tape, which is a more healthy way of letting your brain absorb information.

One thing is clear. The Internet is able to distract and waste our time if we don’t use it intelligently. This, of course, has to be kept in our minds and the benefits of it. At least, the Shallows remind us of what we may lose when we are online.

Finding Good Books to Read

Eugene Aronsky — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:50:37 +0000

This is a guest post written by Bob Hartzell

Bob Hartzell went to college before book shopping was an option and is still in debt as a result. He currently writes for Master Degree Online.com and other alternative education options at the graduate level. He recently highlighted the top online masters in education schools & prograsm according to US News & World Report.

When I was an English major I went through the agonizing process that millions of other students have experienced and that spawned this website: I went down to the college bookstore and emptied my checking account buying books that were purely and simply an investment in a college degree. Most of them were a challenge to read, some of them were altogether too dense with paragraphs that landed like lead on my delicate undergraduate brain. Granted those that I got through contributed substantially to my education; they were on the whole a necessary labor and productive in their purpose when I bothered to invest the time they required.

But they changed my perspective on books and book buying radically. Every quarter (I got to buy text books three times a year) I was offended by the textbook price scam that continues today, and every quarter I was saddled with scholarly works that made English seem like a recently acquired language. The books I bought for my major were mostly historical works and I was in most cases years away from truly appreciating them as classics. So the very thing that drove me to declare a literary major became a burden – reading.

If 800 pound textbooks have become part of your college experience it might help to not lose sight of the fact that books come in all intellectual shapes, sizes and flavors. Google the word “books” and Amazon is in your face. Amazon does not own the book space. If you once read for pleasure and would like some entertaining reading on talented work, start with a visit to the venerable New York Times.

1.      The book page in the newspaper still publishes quality reviews and their staff has remarkable range. The NYT Sunday Review of Books, which is a multimedia extravaganza devoted to the printed word. Podcasts, reviews, criticism – and an assortment of soapboxes for commentary relevant and obscure. But the Sunday Review has a much wider range of entertainment than overwrought criticism, it’s a great place to learn about the up-and-comers, and about what the authors that are both famous AND good have been up to lately.

2.      If you’re a little more inclined to browse through a reading resource that is not as engaged with literary prestige, the Barnes & Noble Review does a good job of sorting through new works and offering articles about literary activities across the globe. There’s a lot of history to be found there as well, about writers and about their topics – historical or imaginary. Like every brick-and-mortar outlet for products in the dead-tree media, they’re hanging on with fingernails. But for the moment their review pages offer some quality viewing about entertaining reading.

3.      The New York Times book section is a separate cauldron of critics from the New York Times Review of Books, a biweekly publication that was founded independently of the newspaper and before long assumed a lofty position in the pantheon of Meaningful Book Reviews. For all of its importance it’s still a good resource for new highlights in the bookshelves along with a hefty dose of political and cultural commentary. Click on “current issue” to get to the book reviews, which is where you’ll find the fiction that is identified as such.

4.      The Atlantic Monthly, now the Atlantic, offers an assortment of discussions about printed works in their culture section. These reviews tend to be about books that focus on current events and other Matters of Import rather than literary efforts. If international affairs capture your interest this resource can inform you about a broad range of published works that you’ll never see on the display shelves at the local bookstore.   A little esoteric perhaps, but like every other dustbin you can often find something different. And if your printed environment is composed of mandatory texts, different is good.

Death Wave: a Mystery Novel About Economic Downturn

Eugene Aronsky — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:51:38 +0000

In an effort to escape from the ever present bad news that seems to be the cornerstone of our current civilization I have spent much time recently watching old movies, and reading good books.

The desire that I feel to escape to a “happier time” is understandable, after all, we are living in an unstable world, where no one knows what the next shoe that will drop will be. Oddly enough, instead of turning to fantasy or other such genres I find greater comfort in books that mimic reality, reading about the extremes of what could be possible, but thankfully what has not yet occurred.

One such book is “Death Wave” by Stephen Kahn. This book provides an excellent analysis into much of what is currently happening in our world – in terms of the financial crisis.

From the book cover:

“In the midst of a financial crisis one man must save the world with the aid of a maniacal serial killer, his dead hamster, and a homeless bum named “Troll”.

Stewart is a young man trying to keep it together during the worst financial crisis since the great depression. The corrupt politics and corporate scandals…”

If you want to read more about this book, or listen to free excerpts from the audio book, please go to http://www.kafilmworks.com/deathwave/contents

A book review: Paths to a Green World: The Political Economy of the Global Environment

Eugene Aronsky — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:42:53 +0000

Paths to a Green World: The Political Economy of the Global Environment by Jennifer Clapp and Peter Dauvergne is a book written, to shed light on the ongoing debate about the relationship between environmental issues and political economy. Too many times, say authors Jennifer Clapp and Peter Dauvergne, is the big picture completely bypassed in order to delve into the details surrounding and permeating environmentalism. By putting things into perspective using political and economic theories, one can illuminate the socioeconomic causes and consequences of environmental change. This also helps to avoid any emotional or moral entanglements which many times accompany analyses of environmental issues.

In order to look at the socioeconomic factors behind environmental policy, Clapp and Dauvergne address four main camps involved in environmental change: market liberals, institutionalists, bioenvironmentalists and social greens. These categories are intentionally multi-disciplinary so as to not be too focused on one portion of the issue. By taking a wide swath of the areas which environmental issues touch, one can see the big picture instead of getting caught up in the details of one discipline. It also lets one focus on the international and government levels, especially how globalization and the type of political economic system employed in a state affect environmental issues, challenges and outcomes.

Using these four groups, the authors take a critical look at various elements within today’s political economy, including globalization, trade, international and domestic markets, distribution of wealth, poverty, health issues, and so forth. Each view takes a different stance on the issues. For example, market liberals view globalization, trade agreements and free markets as good things which will eventually work to stabilize economies and give incentive to businesses and consumers to switch to sustainable practices and products. Bioenvironmentalists, on the other hand, have a negative view of today’s free market economies, globalization and trade agreements which lead to over-consumption and over-population beyond the capacity of the planet.

I agree with many of the sentiments contained within the above reviews. It is a very balanced book; it does not give priority to one viewpoint over another, giving each equal representation on all topics discussed. The four viewpoints in themselves were also very helpful in making sense of the environmental debate. The book did exactly what it promised to do: it took a “big-picture” look at the debate and issues without getting impeded by details or moral sentiment. By taking an objective view on the different stances I was able to more fully understand the various groups involved in the debate, what they actually believe and why they believe it. It is also very thorough, discussing the multitude of issues involved, including everything from the WTO and NAFTA to different industries (mining, oil, timber, etc.) to environmental NGOs such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund as they relate to the issues at hand and the four viewpoints at work.

The lessons taken from the book can be applied to the huge number of different issues, problems and cases in the environmental world, and in that it is an invaluable resource for anyone studying environmentalism, sustainable development or political economy. It is also helpful in bringing light to different arguments concerning sustainable development and creating a dialogue which will hopefully aid in developing actual policy prescriptions to the various problems we face.

Get the best deal on, “Paths to a Green World: The Political Economy of the Global Environment” and save money by clicking Here

Book review of World War Z, by Max Brooks

Eugene Aronsky — Thu, 27 May 2010 00:50:39 +0000

This guest post was submitted by William Rohde.

William is a foreign affairs professional, specializing in foreign policy analysis, U.S. politics, writing, client relations, and communications. His research background and interests include Chinese foreign & security policy, U.S. national security policy, U.S.-Chinese Relations, defense issues, governance, and South Asia.
If you wish to contact William, please leave a comment and we will forward your thoughts to him.

Max Brooks’s book, World War Z is an excellent read for all of you zombie lovers out there. The book portrays (is about) humanity’s struggle against a zombie plague ( -virus) that brings mankind to the brink of annihilation and back again. Max Brooks does an extraordinary job of framing humanity’s fragility, limitations, resourcefulness and greatness in his oral history of civilizations fight for survival against overwhelming odds. His unique narrative style provides a wonderful individualistic perspective on how the Zombie War impacted different parts of the world culturally and in a religious sense.

The chronicle of the Zombie War in World War Z takes you from New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve year old patient zero, to floating cities of refugees that dotted the world’s oceans, to the initial feeble attempts by the major world powers to combat the rising and walking dead, to the development of the Redeker Plan that offered humanities best hope for survival, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt that helped turned the tide in North America and paved way for plausible recovery.

Max Brooks’s portrayal of what happens to the different governments and societies around the world as they struggle to overcome the zombie plague outbreak highlights the strengths and weaknesses of nation’s global health systems across the globe.

In addition to being an excellent story about zombies, the book World War Z has been taken a step further by Brooks and can be utilized by global health policy planners as an excellent scenario of how a pandemic might impact the different nations of the world and the types of policy solutions/actions that would be needed to contain such a pandemic. From a global health standpoint the book also highlights the current strengths and weaknesses in emergency response faced by many governments across the globe in handling health emergency such as a global pandemic. The incorporation of workable policy solutions (e.g. Redeker Plan and U.S Reconstruction Plan) that could be realistically used today to contain a pandemic makes the story that more practical and connects the reader to the plausibility of the events that take place.
Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Please submit your thoughts as a comment.

Conversations: a book about how to find your dream career

Eugene Aronsky — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:59:33 +0000

Conversations by Joseph Twelves

A Problem Far Too Common
Conversations by Joseph Twelves

In middle school, you’re asked what do you want “to be when you grow up”. In high school, you meet with guidance counselors and take aptitude tests to try to figure out the “right fit” for you. In college, you are switching majors left and right trying to figure out what to get your degree in. And too often, you will find yourself stuck in a job that you hate just to pay the bills… purely a means to an end.
These are the scenarios that are far too common when, believe it or not, it IS possible to decide on a career and have it be the right match. The odds of ever working in your dream job are truly slim if you simply drift into whatever comes along. On the other hand, the odds of winding up doing exactly what you want approaches 100% if you combine a proven career decision method with the simple steps needed to find your passion.
Here are the three key tools found in Conversations: Find Your Niche! that can help:
1) A demonstrated research and decision-making procedure called the Find Your Niche Roadmap
2) Focused, in-depth interviews with 150 working professionals from the full spectrum of career fields about the nature of their jobs all in a fun, conversational format
3) Six special appendices offering you an invaluable collection of critical career information and hard to find resources that will save you months of research
This is the key information you need to understand the career landscape and make an informed decision. The vicious cycle of being unhappy in your job, not knowing what to do, but having to provide for yourself and your family is not a pleasant one. The key is to either prevent this from happening, or if you are already in this position, stop it now!
Join the conversation, find even more resources to help you on your journey, and make this problem far less common.

Avoid costly mistakes

Eugene Aronsky — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:35:29 +0000

When I was an undergraduate buying textbooks, or any books for that matter, was straightforward, I went to the bookstore and bought the book, or I went online and bought it on Amazon. If I could not afford the book I got a student loan to pay for textbooks (close to $12000 of student loans over 7 years of education went to textbooks). Sometimes I even got a textbook scholarship, but this was rare. All and all I did not have to concern myself with worrying, and had a complete disregard for how I would pay back my student loans. Moreover, the financial aid department at my school often encouraged me to think this way.

Today things are different. Sure you can still act as I once did, and many students do just that, but the reality is that student loans are harder to come by, and the job market being what it is, everyone is struggling and will likely continue to struggle after graduation. This is why I want to share what little wisdom I have acquired during my years as a student.

It has been brought to my attention that I do not make any money from the maintenance of this blog, this is totally true. This blog exists, and We Compare Books itself was founded because I want to help students. I feel an affinity with students, and I do not want them to repeat my mistakes. On that note I would urge you to read this blog, if you are a student, and please take the advice to heart. If you are a professor who cares about your students, you can share this blog’s URL with them. If you are a parent, or know anyone who could benefit from the information here, I would urge you to spread this news. The world has changed, and we cannot afford to keep living as though it has not.

All this to say: compare prices. It is imperative that you check prices, all over the Internet and at your local bookstore. This is the only way you can be sure to get the best prices for all your books.

Classic Book Review: “Wurthering Heights” — (Emily Bronte)

Eugene Aronsky — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:23:59 +0000

The following book review was submitted to me by one of my friends from Twitter, Lisa R. (@Lisalr1)

Buy Wurthering Heights at the lowest price by clicking on this link.

“Set in the 18th century against the backdrop of the wild and rugged Yorkshire moors, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is the story of unbridled passion, longing and revenge. The story begins when Mr. Lockwood, tenant of an old mansion Thrushcross Grange goes across the windy moors to meet his weird, reticent and brooding landlord Heathcliffe, master of another mansion Wuthering Heights. He is forced to spend the night in Heights because of a thunderstorm and is put up in a room which once belonged to a young Catherine Earnshaw. The night turns out to be wild and stormy. Adding a touch of eeriness is the figure of a young woman whose plaintive wails of ”let me in” sets the story in motion.

Heathcliffe, actually of gypsy descent, was raised in the Heights where he was brought by the master of the house Earnshaw from one of his trips to faraway places. Heathcliffe befriends and falls in love with the wild and passionate Catherine Earnshaw who returns Heathcliffe’s silent and brooding love. Their star-crossed love coupled with the intense hatred of Cathy’s brother forms the core of the book.
How Heathcliffe loses Cathy and his agonizing longing for the only woman he could ever love is the haunting motif of the novel.”

A few tips on the GRE’s from someone who recently took the test

Eugene Aronsky — Thu, 28 May 2009 03:45:54 +0000

Submitted by John Sutherland

After such a long absence from the world of Academia, getting ready for the GRE has been no walk in the park for me. For those of you who don’t know how it works, the test is broken down into three major parts with limited time to finish each section. The sections are as follows; Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability, and Analytical Writing Ability.

Quantitative is a 28 question section that draws from all of your High School Mathematics knowledge such as Algebra, Algebra 2, Geometry, and a wee bit of Trigonometry depending on how well you are doing. The tests are now computerized with no proctoring (chaperone) these days. The way the system works is, it starts off easy and the better you do, the harder it gets. Now if you are a Math wizard or you majored in Mathematics, Physics, Engineering and so on, you probably won’t need much help getting ready. I, however, come from a Liberal Arts background and I find the thought of the Quantitative section none too pleasing. I am basically relearning Arithmetic and Mathematics from the ground up.

Verbal Ability is a 30 question section that tests your vocabulary and word logic, complete with analogies, antonyms, sentence completions and reading comprehension. To me personally, Verbal doesn’t scare me so much because the typical words found on the GRE are cake. Basically, if you can read on a 10th-12th Grade level, you’re in good shape. If your reading and vocabulary isn’t so hot, you will need help. But help there is, which I will talk about soon!

Finally, there is the Analytical Writing Ability section. To many of you, this may seem quite daunting if you have trouble formulating opinions and explaining them through. There are two parts to this test. The first is one 45-minute “Present Your Perspective” task, and one thirty-minute “Analyze an Argument” task. If your spelling is bad, not to worry! If you can form a sentence, you’re in good shape! This part of the test is grading on a 1-6 scale and most schools require a 3. All you have to do is be able to argue concisely and to the point. For practice, ask someone you know for assignments and get to practicing!

Now there are a TON of books and programs out there to help you and that’s what I’m going to talk to you about next. A really good place to start in general is the Research & Education GRE General Test book or REA for short. This whopper of a book clocks in at $35.95 U.S.D. at your typical Barne’s & Noble but the best thing about it is it comes with a CD with three sample tests and six more written ones inside the book! As a general place to get started, I highly recommend this book. However, there are weaknesses.

The Arithmetic Refresher section was very useful. I wrote every rule on flashcards and just outright learned them. However, when I came to the Algebra and Geometry sections, they were sorely lacking. So here is my advice to you; don’t be afraid of “Dummies” books! They are extremely useful. If you’re too embarrassed you’re a dummy at something, just use Amazon or something similar. The absolute best book I found on Algebra is a book called Algebra Demystified : A Self-Teaching Guide, written by Rhonda Huettenmueller and printed by McGraw Hill ($19.95 U.S.D. retail). This book is fabulous and does not cut corners! You LEARN algebra. I also purchased Geometry for Dummies (2nd edition) by Mark Ryan ($19.99 U.S.D. retail) but haven’t made it that far. But I’ve used Dummies books before and they are quite useful!

Now as for Vocabulary, there is an outstanding book of flashcards entitled Research & Education Association GRE General Test Vocabulary Building Flashcards. (REA again) In my opinion, the words aren’t too bad. But I’m a writer. What are you gonna do? Just make sure you get the “Premium CD Edition” which includes a CD-ROM complete with games for vocabulary building! This infinitely useful book runs at $15.95 U.S.D. retail and I feel it is an indispensable asset.

Now if you want to get crazy like me, which I doubt you will, because, well, after all I’m…well…er…crazy, you can read the hardest, oldest books you can get your hands on and highlight every last word you don’t know, make your own dictionary, and further your vocabulary that way as well. A word of the day on your website isn’t a bad thing either, but the words are generally stupid and useless. Read philosophy, particularly anything written before the 1700′s. Those guys were wordy and they liked to show off!

Now one more thing, if you have any leftover Undergrad English and Math books, and hopefully notes, dig them out. I’m using my Writer’s Handbook from Freshman Year (way back in 1989!) and a copy of The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing. Remember, if you are weak in ANY of the above categories, get to practicing! The best thing is, you can retake it. But don’t dilly-dally. The test is only good for five years then you have to give it another go if you take a prolonged break from Graduate School.

Oh, and start arguments with a sound leg to stand on. Just bring up anything; politics, religion, current events, even play the Devil’s Advocate! Start learning to formulate constructed thoughts! This will be a great help to your Analytical Ability section.

Book review of “Getting by: Lessons from a rural past”

Eugene Aronsky — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:29:58 +0000

The book: “Getting By: Lessons From a Rural Past” puts forth some ideas that may seem radical. Can we possibly take anything good from the depression days many see as ‘ancient history’? What does it have to do with today? Author Jan Hoadley shows plenty.

Many approaching retirement have seen their pensions, and their safety nets, disappear. Those graduating from college have financial concerns too and those in college wonder how they can not be a casualty of the whole thing not of their creation. For those who have never had to conserve let alone do without it’s a daunting thought.

However the answer presented isn’t chuck it all and move to the high hills as some might think. Instead it’s evaluating our priorities, looking at our place in the big scheme of things, using the technology that we have and encouragement to do what we can from where we are. Basic introduction to gardening, small and large livestock, credit and budget information is all included as well as resources to begin looking further.

Through the end of May get 10% off Getting By: Lessons from a Rural Past” by going to Additional information is also found at the book’s website www.gettingbylessonsfromaruralpast.com – information for Americans no matter where you live. Strong communities build America from the ground up – and this is a good place to find the steps to get there.

The Light of Other Days by Arthur C Clarke

Eugene Aronsky — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:54:15 +0000

If you are a fan of science fiction, philosophy, or alternative visions of the future then you will really enjoy this book. This is a very well written sci fi book that provides a very interesting view into a world with no privacy (a world that we are slowly becoming). This book is not a dystopia, but it does provide a rather different version of the future than many would like.

“What would life be like if we had the ability to watch anyone or anything at any time in history? What would you choose to watch? The life of Christ? The first staging of Hamlet? Your parents in the act of conceiving you? What implications would such a technological development have for society and the people in it? These are the main issues investigated in this fascinating and engrossing novel, by two of the real heavyweights of science fiction, Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter…” (http://thecelebritycafe.com/books/full_review/166.html)

If you wish to buy this book at the lowest possible price click here to compare prices

The Prince by Machiavelli

Eugene Aronsky — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:47:07 +0000

As a philosophy major, I was required to read many books, most were long, boring, and in no way applied to my life, or the life of anyone I knew. Among these volumes there were a few gems, The Prince being the biggest diamond in the patch. In fewer than 100 pages Machiavelli managed to write a book that has influenced ever politician, and every business leader. This book is short, concise, and to the point, I believe that everyone should read this book at least once, and if you are planning to be a leader then I suggest memorizing its pages.

“Those who desire to win the favour of princes generally endeavour to do so by offering them those things which they themselves prize most, or such as they observe the prince to delight in most. Thence it is that princes have very often presented to them horses, arms, cloth of gold, precious stones, and similar ornaments worthy of their greatness. Wishing now myself to offer to your Magnificence some proof of my devotion, I have found nothing amongst all I possess that I hold more dear or esteem more highly than the knowledge of the actions of great men, which I have acquired by long experience of modern affairs and a continued study of ancient history.
These I have meditated upon for a long time, and examined with great care and diligence; and having now written them out in a small volume, I send this to your Magnificence. And although I judge this work unworthy of you, yet I trust that your kindness of heart may induce you to accept it, considering that I cannot offer you anything better than the means of understanding in the briefest time all that which I have learnt by so many years of study, and with so much trouble and danger to myself….” (Preface to the Prince, Machiavelli)
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The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer, by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard and Aeon J. Skoble

Eugene Aronsky — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:36:19 +0000

I have been a fan of the Simpsons for years, and when I was studying philosophy as an undergraduate I ran across this book. This is perhaps not the most concise philosophical text ever written, but it is very interesting, and provides a unique glimpse at philosophy. If you are looking for a present to give to a Simpsons fan, or if, surprisingly enough, you are looking for an interesting book on Aristotle, this book is for you.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer:

The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer is a non-fiction book analyzing the philosophy and popular culture effects of the American animated sitcom, The Simpsons, published by Open Court. The book is edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard and Aeon J. Skoble, each of whom also wrote one of the eighteen essays in the book.

Don’t forget to check the latest prices for The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer, by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard and Aeon J. Skoble, before you buy it.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Eugene Aronsky — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:27:28 +0000

It is my opinion that Brave New World is one of the most profound and enlightening books of this century. Through its dystopic vision of the future this book helps to shine a microscope on our culture, both where it is, and where it is going.

Camden Alexander, from Curled Up with a Good Book, brings us this short but still very good review of the classic Brave New World:

Brave New World is as startling today as the day it was written because most of what Huxley postulated upon has happened to some degree or another.

We are given a glimpse into our future if we continue on the path we are currently on. There will be a drug that makes it all okay – in the book it is called soma; in real life, take your pick from Prozac, Zoloft. John the Savage commits suicide soon after taking soma, guilt and despair born of serotonin depletion. The drug is said to be better than (promiscuous) sex – the only sex brave new worlders practice. However, a regimen of soma does not deliver anything sublime or life-enriching. It is suggested that the price of universal happiness will be the sacrifice of the most hallowed shibboleths of our culture: “motherhood”, “home”, “family”, “freedom”, even “love”. In BNW, happiness derives from consuming mass-produced goods, sports such as Obstacle Golf and Centrifugal Bumble-puppy, promiscuous sex, and” the feelies.”

The novel is seamlessly written with a tight plot that never wavers. The original ideas and the way they are expressed remain fresh today. The characters make you believe in what they are going through.

If you like science fiction you must read Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited. You will never forgive yourself if you do not.

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The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein

Eugene Aronsky — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:39:18 +0000

The Shock Doctrine is a recently (2007) published book that helps to shed light on global capitalism. In this book Klein examines the failures of the free market system and of the economics of Milton Friedman. This is a great read that gives some explanation to the current economic crisis and will help you understand the forces behind the economy.

Read the excellent review on CounterPunch by Alexander Cockburn. The following is an excerpt from On Naomi Klein’s “The Shock Doctrine”:

Leftists used to think that, as a general axiom, capitalism was doomed. But today most of these same leftists deem capitalism invincible and fearfully lob documentation at each other detailing the efficient devilry of the executives of the system. The internet amplifies their funk into a catastrophist mindset. This catastrophism imbues most of the English-speaking left west of the Atlantic after seven years of Bush and Cheney, and frames Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine.

At the outset, Klein permits herself a robust trumpet blast as an intrepid pioneer: “This book is a challenge to the central and most cherished claim in the official story – which the triumph of deregulated capitalism has been born of freedom that unfettered free markets go hand in hand with democracy [...].”

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