Customer Reviews (1)

GOOD SCI-FI BOOK!
Being retired, I enjoy the time reading more books. This was a good SCI-FI book by David Sherman. Enjoy. ... Read more

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He joined the army at 15 and is today America's most decorated living soldier. In one of the most extraordinary military memoirs of our time, About Face chronicles the wars of David H. Hackworth--from World War II to his opposition to U.S. tactics and goals in Vietnam. Photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (83)

Hack Had it Right.This Still Relevant.
About Face is compelling - could not put it down - but ultimately painful.I saw nobody had reviewed this book so far in 2010 and decided to participate.

I first learned about Colonel David Hackworth when I came across his website early in the Iraq War.Soldiers were writing to him about their problems getting armor on their vehicles and the Pentagon wasn't responding.The way Hack worked on their behalf then inspired me.Eventually I learned that Hack was badly betrayed by the Army yet had not become a cynic.Sadly, now he's gone.He's clearly not forgotten.Thanks to his books, we can pass on portions of his wisdom.

From Hackworth's early days in the military, he was gung-ho/hardcore/highly-motivated with intestinal fortitude.He excelled at everything he did.His accomplishments often required time and perseverance.An example is his work with the unit he named Recondo Hardcore, which had suffered incredible casualties due to corrupt leadership.

The Hardcore unit had been badly used by ambitious commanders who sacrificed the limbs of young American draftees in the pursuit of power, status and position.The way it worked was the commanders would from the safety of high-flying choppers instruct the young men to patrol recklessly through dense minefields (dense with explosive booby traps).As the soldiers got legs blown off, one by one, it made the commander appear on paper to be aggressive in pursuing the enemy.Result: commander would secure medals, awards and promotions.

The most painful part of About Face, to me, was when Hack turned down the invitation to attend the War College.The War College was a highly sought-after ticket toward becoming a general.Hack had seen enough and knew the system was corrupt from the top.After that, Westmoreland made a show of removing a standard letter from Hack's out-processing file - real petty behavior from the guy that made sure all his buddies got undeserved promotions.That was Westmoreland, supreme commander of the war.To Hack, his relationship with the Army was like unrequited love.

Hack saw these things and explained them in About Face.This is doubly sad because the reader will feel certain that rotten leadership at the top, or perhaps at high political levels, continues.

Required Reading for Military and Politicians
When the nation's most highly decorated soldier speaks up, everyone should listen. Those serving in the military of all ranks and especially the policy makers who put our young men and women at risk.

Hackworth served from 1945-1971. The title is due to his change of heart from being a gung-ho, hard charging soldier who did not question the Army, to one who became disallusioned and dared to speak out. No institution, corporate or government, likes criticism. Hackworth showed his bravery not only in battle, but having the courage to speak out and challenge the status-quo.

This is a fanstastic read - well written, humourous, touching, sad, moving "Hack" captures all of the emotions and sacrifices a soldier makes during a career and the isolation he endures when he turned against the military and spoke out.

An excellent narrative about an interesting man in interesting times. His advice should be heeded by all who want to be true leaders - those who are willing to lead by example, listen to the troops and do what is right no matter the cost. We could use a lot more David Hackworths in all walks of life.

Hackworth Always Gets It Right!
This is a great book and if you are in the military is a must read!If you are in combat, it is a must read and a must reference book that should be taken with you into your theatre of operations.Colonel Hackworth has done it all and he's done it right!Learn at the hands of the Master.If you want to stay alive and learn useable tactics and start to think strategy, this is the book!!!

Lessons learned
I read this book when it was first published -- coincidentally, a few years before I retired from the Army. I read it cover to cover, in two or three sittings, the door to my office in West Point's Thayer Hall closed so I wouldn't be disturbed.

I've thought a lot about it in the years since. As a two-tour veteran of Viet Nam who put this uniforms in the closet after Desert Storm, I found countless lessons and insights; the story of his rebuilding of a dispirited, ineffective infantry battalion in Viet Nam, for example, is a classic of thoughtful leadership, a hard campaign fought against bad habits and weak leadership. Viet Nam was my war; Hack told the story well.

But lately I've thought more about the longer term lessons learned. In particular, I recall Hack's evocation of a particularly sad moment in the Army's history, when the efforts to reduce the force after Korea led to a particularly brutal culling out of the officer ranks. Many reserves on active duty with less than 18 years' service -- there were many then -- were given the choice of eviction without pension or arbitrary reduction to enlisted grade for the rest of their service. My family was military, and I remember this sad time (I was in the seventh grade).

Quite beyond the humiliation of many fine, decorated soldiers -- service record meant nothing in this exercise, it was just a numbers game -- it resulted in an entrenched cynicism in the survivors. Their Army had slaughtered its own morale, and it was during the Presidency of Ike, one of the Army's own. The result was a generation of officers without a sense of loyalty to the Army (because the Army was not loyal to itself). Many of the destructive habits Hack cites solidified during this time, and those officers were commanding battalins, brigades, and divisions in Viet Nam.

Lesson: the Army in war time is inescapably the Army formed in the period of peace that precedes it. If "God is forgotten and the soldier slighted" the result in war is inevitably affected.

Hack was not awarded pariah status after ABOUT FACE. There was a huge crowdat the Fort Myer chapel when we said goodbye to an American soldier, a man whose great heart was finally broken by the failure of the one great love that gave him life and hope.

Required reading for US military officers
An absolutely superb, candid account of David Hackworth's long career
in the US Army. His unflinching review of the mistakes made at every
level, from training to front line combat is breathtaking--and appears
to still be true today. Last week 8 US GI's were KIA when their combat
base--in an isolated valley surrounded by enemy-controlled mountains--
was overrun by a large enemy force. That was in Afghanistan, 2009; but
it could easily have been Khe Sanh, Vietnam, 1968! As Hackworth states
repeatedly, lessons learned the hard way are simply not passed on to
those who need them. He notes the total one hour of training on mines at
Ft. Lewis, with no "demonstrator" mines, at a time when mines were
causing 50% of US casualties in Vietnam! This book should be required
reading before anyone is commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, but it is
also fascinating for those of us who enjoy military history. ... Read more

Product Description
Systematic comparison of Sartre and Adorno that focuses on their theories of the subject. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An absolutely fascinating book
The best new book on the subject, written by America's best young Adorno scholar, and our most promising Sartre scholar. Brilliant, clear,. a must-read. ... Read more

Product Description
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Reference for veterinary practitioners on the diagnosis and treatment of individual goats as well as herd or flock goats. Reflects goat management in tropical, subtropical, and temperate zones. Well-referenced. Halftone illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Paid for itself at kidding time
This book paid for itself the first month I had it. There is not a goat vet within 75 miles of where I live so a good goat medicine book is a must have. There is more technical information than I can use, but the in depth look at each disease helps me narrow my diagnosis and treat as needed. This is the most helpful goat medicine book I have found so far and I own several.

Top Notch
This book has saved several of my goats lives, I've shared it with my different Veterinarians, they all agreed it was very helpful,, 3 have now bought their own copies.

Great Reference and learning Tool
Goat Medicine is a MUST for folks who have goats and want tounderstand and learn about goat health and diseases.Don't run your veterinarian off! but this book can help the owner/manager recognize symptons, understand prevention and work out reasonable treatments...treatments that work into an already too busy day.Yes, there is theory.... Great if you like to understand and run ideas through your own head.skip that part, if it doesn't make sense, and go onto more basics-- prevention, control, treatment.

If my 75 animals aren't 100%, this is the first book I open.And the book stays on my truck seat, kitchen table, bedside until some questions are answered.There are many books with basic goat care.If that is what you want, fine.If you want to dig a little deeper, understand goat health and learn more about your animals, then THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU!!Well worth the money..just by saving/helping one animal.
P.S.Exceptional for international goat health..if that's your thing.

A cracking good read for old billys and young kids alike!
Never in all my years have I found such a moving and touching tale, disguised within the often dry confines of a medical textbook.

Full kudos to the authors, and to those bounders who complained about the lack of detailed information in the "poison plant" section, well, what do you think your village wise-woman is there for? Certainly not her good looks, at any rate.

It's OK I guess
Having a vetinory background, I frankly think that some of the so-called 'cures' are a bit dubious, but this book really helped when our flock came down with red-scruff mange last sprong, so I guess it falls somewhere between "invaluable" and "childish scrawlings". ... Read more

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The service economy is now the largest portion of the industrialized world's economic activity. This development has dramatically raised the importance of maximizing productivity excellence in service organizations. The need for productivity excellence has led service organization managers to use benchmarking techniques to identify and adopt best practices in their organizations. Benchmarking has enabled service organizations to continuously improve by allowing service units to learn from methods that prove the most efficient and effective.

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Profiles the Civil War general who captured and burned Atlanta before beginning his "March to the Sea" at the head of an army of men, mules, and wagons that stretched for more than twenty miles. ... Read more

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Among the finest prose stylists in Yiddish literature, David Bergelson (1884-1952) was caught up in many of the twentieth century's most defining events. In 1909 he emerged as a pioneer of modernist prose, observing the slow decay of the Tsarist empire. In 1917 he welcomed the Revolution, but the bloodshed of the ensuing Civil War and the dogmatism of the Bolsheviks drove him to emigration. For more than a decade (1921-1934), he lived in Weimar Germany, travelling extensively in Europe and the United States. Shocked by the Wall Street Crash of 1929, disheartened by the decline of Yiddish culture in the West, and inspired by Soviet promises to create a Jewish republic, Bergelson became a Communist sympathiser and moved towards socialist realism. Returning to the Soviet Union after Hitler's rise to power, Bergelson flourished in a state-sponsored cultural environment in which his work was widely read both in Yiddish and in Russian translation. After Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Bergelson became a prominent member of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, writing extensively about the Holocaust. In the paranoia of the Cold War years, the Stalinist regime accused him of anti-Soviet activities and, after a secret military trial he was executed on 12 August 1952, his 68th birthday. For years, critics have argued that Bergelson produced his best work before the Revolution, and afterwards largely wrote Communist propaganda. David Bergelson: From Modernism to Socialist Realism challenges this view by examining Bergelson's entire oeuvre. The book argues that Bergelson continually reinvented himself as a writer, experimenting with style and narrative technique even under the most severe restrictions of Party dogma. With contributions from an international team of Bergelson experts, the volume offers a full-length biography, the first complete bibliography of Bergelson's work, translations of two of his most influential programmatic articles, and a range of essays dealing with all periods of the writer's life. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Product Description
This is an enhanced edition of HBR article R0107K, originally published in July 2001. HBR OnPoint articles include the full-text HBR article, plus a synopsis and annotated bibliography. In the current economic climate, there is tremendous pressure--and personal incentive for managers--to report sales growth and meet investors' revenue expectations. As a result, more companies have issued misleading financial reports, according to the SEC, especially involving game playing around earnings. But it's shareholders who suffer from aggressive accounting strategies; they don't get a true sense of the financial health of the company, and when problems come to light, the shares they're holding can plummet in value. How can investors and their representatives on corporate boards spot trouble before it blows up in their faces? According to the authors, they should keep their eyes peeled for common abuses in six areas: revenue measurement and recognition, provisions and reserves for uncertain future costs, asset valuation, derivatives, related party transactions, and information used for benchmarking performance. This article examines the hazards of each accounting minefield, using examples like Metallgesellschaft, Xerox, MicroStrategy, and Lernout & Hauspie. It also provides a set of questions to ask to determine where a company's accounting practices might be overly aggressive. These questions are the first line of defense against creative accounting. The authors argue that members of corporate boards need to be financially literate. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The six areas for common accounting abuses
H. David Sherman is Professor of Accounting at Northeastern University in Boston; S. David Young is a Professor at INSEAD, the famous French business school. S. David Young is co-author of 'EVA and Value-Based Management: A Practical Guide to Implementation' (2001). This article was published in the July-August 2001 issue of the Harvard Business Review.

It is more and more common, misleading financial reports. One of latest victims was Enron, but there are plenty of other examples including most-famously MicroStrategy. "There is tremendous pressure - and personal financial incentive for managers - to report sales growth and meet investors' revenue expectations." And in most cases, shareholders and their representatives on corporate boards are the ones that lose out. Therefore the authors introduce a the six areas for common abuses: (1) Revenue measurement and recognition; (2) provisions for uncertain future costs; (3) asset valuation; (4) derivatives; (5) related-party transactions; and (6) information used for benchmarking performance. Each of these so-called minefields are discusses and explained; clearly but not in great detail. The authors also introduce nine categories of businesses that are most likely to feature manipulation of company accounts. "The issue facing any business is whether or not its accounting methods present a reasonable picture of earnings compared with prior periods and compared with domestic and foreign competitors."

This article was published under the Toolkit-section of the Harvard Business Review and it "aims to arm more managers and board members with financial literacy - and also to remind them of their obligations." The article provides a general oversight of the six most common areas of accounting abuse, but it does not go into great detail and is perhaps therefore not that interesting for the more financially-educated readers. The authors use simple US-English. ... Read more