The Skills to Pay the Bills: The Story of the Beastie Boys

Book Description

In 1987, three white Jewish boys from New York City were the most fascinating phenomenon in the burgeoning rap music scene. No, really. The Beastie Boys, barely out of their teens, had just released Licensed to Ill, which quickly became the first hip-hop album to reach number one on the charts. Pairing vulgar and hilarious lyrics with heavy-metal-derived musical backing and a punk DIY attitude, the Beasties—MCA (Adam Yauch), King Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz), and Mike D (Michael Diamond)—changed the face of rap forever by bringing it into the mainstream. In the years that followed, they would change it again and again—musically, culturally, and politically.

To create The Skills to Pay the Bills, Alan Light spent years taping conversations with the group, their friends, roommates, producers, engineers, collaborators, and other artists from Madonna to Chuck D. Here, as told from the inside, is the fascinating tale of three rump-shaking, innovative rappers whose albums still go platinum and whose tours continue to fill arenas after more than two decades of making music. The Skills to Pay the Bills chronicles the Beasties’ unique journey from the hardcore New York underground to the top of the Billboard charts. It is a story of larger-than-life personalities, noble causes, funky beats, and truly one of the most influential and ambitious groups of all time.

I said, Where’d you get your information from, huh?

“The first time I met them, I thought I was on Candid Camera.” —D.M.C.

“I think I made out with Adam Yauch once in their dressing room.” —Madonna

“One of my favorite groups is the Beastie Boys.” —Bono

Customer Reviews:

Very VERY nice.......2007-02-08

I was indeed satisfied by this book. Of course it isn't a complete, in-depth Beasties biography, which it doesn't claim to be anyway, and it's clearly not something that you should expect from a small paperback.

What it is however, is a fascinating read, it doesn't give you any conclusions, ramblings or whatever - only stories from people who knew the Beasties firsthand, most of whom are amazing talents in their own right.

The book might not be ideal for people who barely know the Beasties, but you dont' have to be a hardcore fan to enjoy it. If you know more that one or two of their songs, and/or have interest for hip-hop and pop culture in general - you gotta read this.

Check your head -- this book rocks.......2006-03-02

A first-person account of this unlikely trio of rappers who rock. At first it is jarring to have an entire book of quotations from the actual players in this saga, but it is great to hear them all telling it. One guy is taking credit for the name Beastie Boys, then the ousted woman is telling how she was pushed out of the band so they could go big-time. Riveting stuff! A fun read. Pull out your Beasties CDs and crank them as you read this blast of a book.

Beasties for Dummies.......2006-02-24

I really looked forward to reading this book, figuring that someone with as much access as Alan Light would give me more of an insiders look into a great band. But he remains on the outside like the rest of us, instead relying on first hand accounts of the band members themselves as well as many others in or around hip-hop. At first it's kind of cool to get some of the early stories about the punk scene in NYC, which really branched out from the hardcore D.C. bands like Bad Brains. You just never really get to be in the studio, or at the writing sessions, or on the tour bus. It's more fitting for liner notes. Let's tackle this subject head on and get some good stories in a collection. These guys are legends, and have toured and recorded with and around some of the core players in hip-hop history. I found this book to be a shallow take on a complex and genre bending crew. Disappointing.

Book Description

Contemporaries considered Edward III of England `the wisest and shrewdest warrior in the world', but he has not fared so well in the estimation of modern historians, many of whom have argued that he was a fine tactician but a poor strategist. This is despite the fact that by 1360 the English had become the foremost martial nation of Europe; that famous victories had been won at Dupplin Moor, Halidon Hill, CrÃ©cy, and Poitiers; and David II of Scotland and Jean II of France were Edward's prisoners, and the French, with the Treaty of BrÃ©tigny, had agreed to surrender a third of their kingdom to his sovereign rule in exchange for peace.In War Cruel and Sharp, Dr Rogers offers a powerfully argued and thoroughly researched reassessment of the military and political strategies which Edward III and the Black Prince employed to achieve this astounding result. Using a narrative framework, he makes the case that the Plantagenets' ultimate success came from adapting the strategy which Robert Bruce had used to force the 'Shameful Peace' on England in 1328. Unlike previous historians, he argues that the quest for decisive battle underlay Edward's strategy in every campaign he undertook, though the English also utilized sieges and ferocious devastation of the countryside to advance their war efforts.CLIFFORD J. ROGERS is Assistant Professor of History, United States Military Academy, West Point.

Customer Reviews:

One of the best in depth histories of the military prowess of Edward III.......2007-04-30

Read this for graduate history course in medieval history.
Clifford J. Rogers has written one of the best in depth histories of the military prowess of Edward III.
The British king who was primarily responsible for the longbows' success was Edward III, who reigned for fifty years. In order to gain a clear picture of why the longbow enjoyed its tactical success on the battlefield under the leadership of Edward III and his commanders, it is necessary to study Edward III's record regarding the logistics, recruiting, and training of the longbow men during the Hundred Years' War. The available records during the reign of Edward III, help to flesh out a really good understanding for historians concerning the lengths he went through to build Britain's first professional army using the longbow as its primary weapon.

Rogers delves into the logistical needs necessary to supply Edward III's invasion force. The requirement on localities to provide longbow men with weapons was very demanding. Edward III made great strides to take on the fiscal responsibility of equipping his army. This actually provided him with two advantages--that of quality control of weaponry, and reducing manufacturing cost through economy of scale. One example of how enormous a task it was to prepare for war comes from the armory records at the Tower of London. In 1359, the clerk of the armory is ordered to put bowyers (longbow makers), and fletchers (arrow makers), to work for the king, under penalty of imprisonment if necessary, if they were non-cooperative. Between 1353 and 1360, the armory added to its stores, 15,300 bows, 4,000 bow staves, and 24,000 sheaves of arrows. Each sheave contained twenty-four arrows; thus, this order equates to 576,000 arrows in all. In March 1345, 15 Sheriffs were issued orders to supply the Tower armory with, "3,000 bows, 8,400 sheaves of arrows and 20,000 bowstrings." By looking at supply records leading up to the battle of Crecy, Rogers was able to surmise several important factors about the supply of arrows. Each longbow man had an allotment of 60 arrows for the battle. The average arrow weighs 4 oz., so to supply 7,500 longbow men it took nearly a half-million arrows weighing 55 tons. This supply was easily transportable in some 60 one-ton carts from the port to the army. These figures can cast little doubt on the fact that the king was constantly writing back to England throughout his campaign in France ordering more supply of arrows and bowstrings. These facts about arrow supply gives one a good picture of just one facet of the monumental logistical, organizational, and planning skills necessary to support Edward III's invasion force of about 15,000 men crossing in ships numbering some 700 to 1,000.

Rogers has done outstanding work in publishing recruiting information from both primary sources and other historians' work to explain the methods necessary to fill the ranks with soldiers. Edward III refined the recruiting methods that his predecessors had in place to fight the Welsh and Scottish wars. Unlike his predecessors, who just wanted a lot of bodies, Edward III had his commissioners of array looking for particular skill sets such as longbow men and mounted archers. The two methods Edward III employed to build his army were commissioners of array and an increasingly popular program known as contracts of indenture. Though Edward III had hoped to raise 20,000 fighting men, most historians agreed he recruited about 15,000, which was no small feat for his day. The commissioners of array for each town or county usually numbered three to four men, who themselves would eventually go off to fight in the war. Each town or county would have a quota of men they were expected to raise and equip for war. Across the board, most of the towns and counties provided one-half to two-thirds of their quotas. The counties were largely responsible for recruiting longbow men on foot, and the towns had to supply a mix of both longbow men on foot and mounted longbow men. As a for instance, Kent was required to raise 280 men and Norfolk 200. In reality, the numbers of men actually going to war was somewhat less due to several factors. Some of the men would prove to be unfit for service when they appeared for muster. However, the record shows that there were complaints from commanders in the field about the condition and physique of soldiers sent to them. No doubt, undesirable men were recruited in order to help quota numbers. The granting of service exemptions was numerous usually accompanied by the applicant paying a fee to buy himself out of service. One such request shows an Otto de Halsale paying ¤4 for an exemption. Just like modern times, some men just simply did not show up for the muster call. It is interesting to note that the commissioners met with little resistance from town and country folk during the time of recruitment. The estimation among historians is that some 9,000 out of the 15,000 men that went ashore in Normandy were recruited through commissions of array. Unlike the French, who used many mercenaries from other countries, such as Italy, Edward III's army was recruited from men from the British Isles.

Rogers notes in his research that, "What commissions of array produced was quantity, not quality." Thus, an increasingly popular method of recruitment to fill the ranks was contracts of indentures. This system had nobles and bannerets (knights who were entitled to lead their own men into battle) raising their own troops, which they then hired out to the king, on a contractual basis. In addition to the normal pay, these men were often promised quarterly pay bonuses and shares from war booty. About 5,000 men were recruited in this fashion at the start of the invasion. Rogers research proved that, "The spread of the longbow into the north and west of England, which increasingly became the preferred recruiting ground for archers, was facilitated and sustained by prospects of employment and profit..." Rogers found that the indenture system grew during the conduct of the war. Many men who were brought to war under the array system, would sign an indenture contract after their term under the array system was completed. In fact, men would see which commanders had more battlefield success, and would clamor to sign on with the more successful commanders. No doubt, the lure of money was a motivating factor for these men. This meant that the indentured ranks were filling with war-hardened veterans, thus making them a formidable fighting force.

If any weapon system is to be a force multiplier and weapon of mass destruction on the battlefield, then it must have soldiers properly trained to employ it. The longbow is no exception to this rule. From the age of seven, English boys were practicing with their longbows. The longbow man was not a peasant who owed service or allegiance to a noble. Instead, he was a free man who was rightly paid for his services. These were strong muscular men with a robust build enabling them to pull a 125 lb. bow. Using a longbow was not an innate skill; it was honed and improved through years of training. The young bowmen were constantly under the watchful eye of veterans during training. The veterans knew how easy it was to fire at static targets, as opposed to an enemy knight bearing down on them mounted on a charging steed. "Over the course of hundreds of years it has been proven that the best manner of using a bow is to use the same force for every shot regardless of whether the target is close or far away." All archers were taught to find a spot on their face, usually the chin, that they would draw the bowstring to touch. This gave them the ability to standardize their draw and shot power. Longbow men held all their shots the same amount of time. As they gained experience, the time needed to prepare and aim their shot became shorter. In addition, the longbow men were armed with swords or axes as well, and often joined in the hand-to-hand combat as the battle progressed. "The whole history of English warfare from the middle of the twelfth century to the end of the fifteenth century proves that the flower of her infantry was the archers."

Edward III's strategic and tactical abilities were on full display during the Hundred Years' War. One of the most important tactical innovations that Edward III instituted to increase the fighting capability of the English army before the start of the Hundred Years' War was the introduction of mounted archers to its ranks. Mounted archers rode ponies for quick transport to the battlefield, and then they would dismount to shoot their longbows in battle. Undoubtedly, Edward III learned from the previous one hundred years of his predecessors' fighting the Scottish, that too many times the Scots outmaneuvered the English; thus, they escaped from having to fight a battle advantageous to the English. Edward III was going to do all he could to make sure that this did not happen to his army. Rogers' research shows muster records from 1334 listing mounted archers for the first time as part of Edward III's expedition into Scotland. This was Edward III's second largest campaign against an enemy during his reign. The expedition served as an excellent opportunity for Edward III and his army to prove their new tactics, which they would put to good use a dozen years later in France.

Crécy was the sight of the first major battle of The Hundred Years' War and was a rousing success for the invading English army of Edward III. The battle, which took place on just two days in August of 1346, was emblematic of the tactical successes that the British enjoyed at the battles of Poitiers and Agincourt. "Crécy was fought upon principles learnt by experience in Scotland; after Crécy the same principles had to be perfected, but were not altered." According to Edward III's own account of the battle in a letter he wrote to Sir Thomas Lucy, the French army finally caught up with the English outside of the town of Crécy. Finding the wide-open terrain suitable for the tactics which the English wanted to employ, the king ordered the army to make a defensive stand there. Edward III deployed his army in three divisions; two were on the line facing toward the French on the high ground of the valley, thus, giving the longbow men excellent fields of fire. The right division was under the command of the Black Prince, and took the brunt of the fighting during the battle, while the Earl of Northampton commanded the left division. The third division was in reserve and was commanded by Edward III. The 4,000 longbow men were placed on the flanks of the two forward deployed divisions in wedges of 1,000 men each, and the cavalry was on the far flank of the longbow men. The English dug potholes in front of them on the battlefield to entrap the French cavalry.

King Philip VI of France arrived midday in front of the English and was pleased that he had finally caught up with them. In addition, he was surprised that the English were standing ready to fight and not trying to flee from the numerically superior French forces, consisting of a multinational force of some 60,000 men under arms. Outnumbering the English some four to one, King Philip VI felt over- confident that his cavalry, who contained much of the French nobility, was going to sweep the English off the field. Instead of allowing his army to rest from their arduous march, he unwisely gave orders, counter to the pleas of his allied commanders, to have his army prepare for an immediate attack on the English.

King Philip VI ordered his 15,000 Genoese crossbowmen to advance and engage the English. Still suffering from fatigue from their earlier march that day, they advanced on the English in a disorganized manner and fired their crossbows; however, they inflicted no casualties on the English since they were out of range. While the Genoese were reloading, the English longbow men let loose with a devastating flight of arrows, "...with such force and quickness, that it seemed as if it snowed." The English arrows had such a demoralizing effect on the Genoese crossbowmen that Froissart reports that the Genoese cut their crossbow strings or threw them down and started to retreat to the French lines. Philip VI, seeing the Genoese retreat pell-mell as an act of treason or at least cowardice, ordered his cavalry to run the "scoundrels" down. A general melee ensued, and as many Genoese ran towards the English to try to escape the carnage from the French cavalry, the cavalry, in its haste to slaughter the Genoese, rode within range of the English longbows. Once again, the English launched another shower of arrows striking the Genoese and French cavalry with murderous effect. Most of the cavalry were unhorsed, due to their own wounds and from their horses' wounds inflicted by the English arrows, or by the Genoese trying to defend themselves, or the English potholes tripped the horses. Regardless, the results were that most of the Genoese and French in the first attack lay dead on the slopes below the English--few survived and made their escape off the field. Charles of Bohemia, also known as the King of Germany, lay dead upon the field.

The French cavalry regrouped, and as fresh French cavalry just arrived on the field, the king's hotheaded brother, the Comte d'Alencon, ordered them to follow him on another charge towards the English. The bulk of the French cavalry rode towards the position defended by the Black Prince. His longbow men fired barbed arrows at long range, creating agonizing wounds to both knights and horses unlucky enough to be struck in unarmored portions of their flesh. As the cavalry came within 100 yards of the longbow men, they used an arrow tipped like a chisel, known as a bodkin, which easily penetrated chain mail and weaker areas of armor. Livingstone and Witzel estimate that the 2,000 English longbow men commanded by the Black Prince, shot about 16,000 bodkin tipped arrows at a flat trajectory in the last minute of the charge, which killed hundreds of the French nobility, including the reckless Comte d'Alencon.

The primary accounts wax poetic about the skill and courage that the Black Prince and his men fought with as they fended off several waves of French attacks on that day and the next day as well. Geoffrey le Baker put it succinctly when writing about the sixteen-year-old Black Prince's baptism by fire in battle. "There he learnt that knightly skill which he later put to excellent use at the battle of Poitiers, where he captured the French king." Although heavily outnumbered, Edward III's longbow men were the force multiplier that garnered a stunning victory for the British over the French. Most estimates of the longbow tactics used in the battle state the over one-half million arrows fired by the English easily cut down the French cavalry. Thus, the longbow, and the brilliant way in which it was employed, was responsible for the lopsided casualty figures of the battle. Although casualty figures are somewhat unreliable, most sources put the French losses at one-third of the French nobility-about 12,000 men in all, against the English losses of 150 to 1,000 total. The mastery of the longbow men and the tactics they employed turned them into a weapon of mass destruction and a force multiplier. "They were some of the finest, most highly trained and militarily efficient troops that any nation ever put into the field of battle." The battle of Crécy taught all the armies of Europe that the longbow would reign as the supreme weapon in battle for the next 100 years.

Recommended reading for those interested in medieval history, and military history.

A New Look at Medieval Warfare.......2005-08-27

It's been a while since I've enjoyed a book as much as this one.

Clifford Rogers provides a detailed analysis of Edward III's campaigns from 1327 through 1360, including his early campaigns in Scotland, through the first invasions of France in The Hundred Years War. He does so in an effort to show that, contrary to what other authors have said, Edward III's campaigns in France were not dominated by an effort to simply devastate the countryside and so undermine the authority of the Valois Kings in France, but rather that he actively sought battles with the French in order to bring about swifter, more decisive conclusions to their conflicts.

While Rogers does not use this work to attempt to dispel the more general thesis that Medieval Military Commanders sought to avoid War at all costs, it certainly invites a re-examination of other campaigns to see how well that theory holds up. And for those who continue to hold the outdated view that medieval warfare was without detailed strategy, and that military commanders of the time were without understanding of comprehensive military strategy, this serves as yet another nail in that particular coffin.

Keep in mind that this work discusses the campaigns as a whole - with less emphasis on individual battles. If you are looking for detailed battlefield accounts, other works would be more profitable.

I won't provide a blow-by-blow outline of Rogers' narrative here. Instead I will note the most positive aspects of this work. First and foremost is the reliance on contemporary and near-contemporary sources. This work is copiously footnoted (and the footnotes are important - take time to read them) with accounts of chroniclers that accompanied the various armies, providing frequent evidence that Edward was actively seeking battle and was extremely disappointed when he couldn't bring the French to one.

Second, Rogers goes into great detail covering the political aspects of these campaigns. He discusses the Franco-Scottish alliance, Phillip VI's confiscation of some of Edward's continental holdings when he was a minor, Edward's rights to the Kingship of France, the Papal efforts toward peace and the various alliances that were formed and broken throughout the 33-year period, and the implications of all of these for the War.

Third, he takes time to explain the historiography of the studies of Edward's political campaigns and goes on to refute the findings of other authors that Edward sought to avoid battle at all costs. I won't swear that he has proven his case as this is not the medieval period I am most familiar with - however he has provided a great deal of evidence in support of his view.

Fourth, he also goes into great detail regarding logistics. He discusses the difficulties Edward had in raising money for the early stages of these wars, the role that finding food and water, and foraging for these while on campaign, played in the various campaigns, and how the vagaries of the ability to supply his force and, most of all to secure lines of retreat, played in how aggressively he tried to bring the French to battle.

My quibbles with this book are few and not of great relevance to its overall aim. First, several times Rogers offers that "The first duty of a good lord was to defend his vassals ..." p13. I am not altogether certain this is true. Quite often the first requirement of a good lord was, IMO, to retain an effective fighting force and the loyalties of his nobles. Now these two are related, but not necessarily the same. Second, I found less evidence for his repeated assertions that Edward III sought battle largely through his faith in "the judgement of God" whereby the victor on the field placed his faith that the army held in God's favor would win. I'm not saying this wasn't a primary focus of Edward - just that I found it less fully proven. Personally I feel that Edward's willingness to seek battle with a numerically superior French army was more due to his possession of a more experienced force, his possession of longbow archers for which France had no good answer and, most of all, his faith in his own ability as a commander.

Beyond this, the book is well-written, IMO it is fairly fast-paced and provides a great deal of detailed information. It provides an excellent new look at the Wars of Edward III in particular, and of Medieval Military Warfare in general.

War Cruel and Sharp: English Strategy under Edward III, 1327-1360. (Reviews of Books).(Book Review): An article from: Albion

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War Cruel and Sharp: English Strategy under Edward III, 1327-1360. (Reviews of Books).(Book Review): An article from: Albion
Stephen Morillo
Manufacturer: North American Conference on British Studies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008FNZOK
Release Date: 2005-07-30

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Albion, published by North American Conference on British Studies on June 22, 2002. The length of the article is 939 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: War Cruel and Sharp: English Strategy under Edward III, 1327-1360. (Reviews of Books).(Book Review)
Author: Stephen Morillo
Publication: Albion (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2002
Publisher: North American Conference on British Studies
Volume: 34 Issue: 2 Page: 275(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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The Cathedral Within

spectacularly vacuous

Right on the mark

Not just for non-profits

Building A Soul For Business

The Cathedral Within: Transforming Your Life by Giving Something Back
Bill Shore
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375758291
Release Date: 2001-11-13

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The Cathedral Within uses the metaphor of architecture to look at the way individuals allocate their resources to improve public life. Just as the enduring magnificence of a cathedral is not erected overnight, so, too, the transformation of a society takes many, many years to complete. And just as the construction of a cathedral is less a reflection of its builders' interest in masonry than a testament to the soaring reach of the human spirit, philanthropy is not so much a response to need as to a basic human requirement to give something meaningful back to society.

Bill Shore is the founder of Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit devoted to raising funds for antihunger and antipoverty organizations worldwide, and his book showcases the stories of some of the social entrepreneurs he has come across in the course of his work. Among his chosen visionaries are Alan Khazei, the cofounder of City Year, the community-service program upon which Bill Clinton drew for his own model of a national service, and Geoffrey Canada, the president and CEO of the Rheedlen Centers, designed to provide a safe haven for inner-city children. These leaders and many others, Shore argues, represent a kind of symbiosis between the need to improve oneself personally and the drive to transform the community. The Cathedral Within also contains an excellent resource directory of community organizations where readers can begin their own process of giving back. --Patrizia DiLucchio

Book Description

In this wise and inspiring book, social entrepreneur Bill Shore shows us how to make the most of life and do something that counts. Like the cathedral builders of an earlier time, the visionaries described in this memoir share a single desire: to create something that endures. The extraordinary people Shore has met on his travels represent a new movement of citizens who are tapping into the vast resources of the private sector to improve public life. Among them are:

-- Gary Mulhair, who has created unprecedented jobs and wealth at the largest self-supporting human-service organization of its kind, Pioneer Human Services of Seattle.

-- Nancy Carstedt of the Chicago Childrenís Choir, which provides thousands of children their first introduction to music.

-- Geoffrey Canada, who has made a safe haven for more than four thousand inner-city children in New York City, from Hell's Kitchen to Harlem.

These leaders, and many others described in these pages, have built important new cathedrals within their communities, and by doing so they have transformed lives, including their own.

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—Gary Mulhair, who has created unprecedented jobs and wealth at the largest self-supporting human-service organization of its kind, Pioneer Human Services of Seattle.

—Nancy Carstedt of the Chicago Children's Choir, which provides thousands of children their first introduction to music.

—Geoffrey Canada, who has made a safe haven for more than four thousand inner-city children in New York City, from Hell's Kitchen to Harlem.

These leaders, and many others described in these pages, have built important new cathedrals within their communities, and by doing so they have transformed lives, including their own.

"Simply revolutionary."
   LOS ANGELES TIMES

"Bill Shore is a true American visionary.... This book can change both human lives and organizational lives for the better."
   COLIN L. POWELL

"The Cathedral Within is a clarion call in this time of compassion fatigue, a compelling and convincing plea for us to reconsider the way we approach problems of hunger and poverty."
   RICHARD RUSSO, AUTHOR OF STRAIGHT MAN AND EMPIRE FALLS

"[A] quietly powerful, upbeat book."
   LIBRARY JOURNAL

Customer Reviews:

The Cathedral Within.......2006-02-22

At first I thought the book was too preachy, but forged on and found it lively and rewarding, especially the examples of entreprenurial approaches to building nonprofit organizations and foundations.

spectacularly vacuous.......2004-03-06

The actual content of the book can be summarized thusly: (1) spend more time with kids if you want to affect their development, (2) don't starve young children because otherwise they won't develop properly physically and mentally, (3) run your not-for-profit enterprise just like a for-profit corporation and with just as much of a zeal for profits, except that you can put the profits into your own pocket as salary instead of paying it out to a bunch of shareholders and to the Federales as income tax.

Padding these ideas out to 300 pages requires that the author tell you how famous his friends are, each and every one of them, and how much do-gooding his few non-famous friends have done. There are also long stories about the escapades of his 13-year-old son.

Never does the author address the issues raised in the subtitle, e.g., how does a person balance his or her life between charity and selfishness? Shore's definition of "giving something back" is working at a multi-million dollar tax-exempt organization and paying yourself $400,000 per year. Nice work if you can get it but what about the rest of us?

For a thoughtful look at the issue of personal charity read the novelist Nick Hornby's "How to be Good".

Right on the mark.......2002-05-06

This is a book that touches the heart of both important social issues and the reader. Written in a wonderfully open style the author writes from a perspective of sharing rather than preaching. Bill Shore's approach of tying his view of how the issues of today's society can be most effectively addressed to his personal experiences, rather than theory and conjecture, brings substantial credibility to his writings.
The issues addressed are those of scaling the resources of non-profit, public service, organizations to meet the growing needs of our society in the face of shrinking government resources. The notion of making non-profit organizations self-sufficient is well outlined and easily understood. "The Cathedral Within" is a book that left me feeling encouraged to know that there is not only room for improvemnt in our social structure but that it is being aggressively and effectively pursued.

Not just for non-profits.......2001-05-17

Bill Shore's enlightening book, "Transforming Your Life by Giving Something Back" is not just about non-profits. It provides insight into every part of human life. He spikes the book with advice about marriage, child care, and friendships. The book, in my opinion, has less to do with non-profits and more to do with living a great life. It is certainly a must read by anyone who cares about humanity.

Building A Soul For Business.......2000-05-18

Perhaps the most important points that this book makes are 1) If you can't build the structure, add a few bricks! and 2) Community Wealth and Social Capital are re-inventing business from the soul out!

In this well-written book, Shore (Founder of Share Our Strength) uses the model of a cathedral to demonstrate that large dreams are community efforts that reach beyond personal lifetimes to accomplish, and that appear impossible until the collective brainpower of the community engages to find a solution. This metaphor addresses the "perfectionism" that sometimes stops people from making efforts towards social change. In the inspirational stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, readers feel the passion that rebounds of the pages. Echoing the human voice for meaning in an increasingly digital and isolated world, this book suggests practical ways for American wealth to be redefined, redistributed, and built upon foundations that include social interests. It is a blueprint for building ethics into today's business values and ventures that will create a social structure of community wealth.

I read it in one sitting, underlined heavily, and have placed 39 page markers within its covers. The inspiration found between its pages has helped me redesign my own business plan towards the greater good. In short, read it.

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Cathedral Within, The : Transforming Your Life By Giving Something Back
Bill Shore
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O6M9PE

Product Description

Would an honest golfer be a better choice for President rather then a corrupt politician? While taking his last shot to become a professional touring golfer, Jeff Taylor became entangled in an unprecedented betting scheme and found himself unofficially in the presidential election race. Except for being brutally honest, he had no other skills to run for the most important position in the world. However, Jeff found a new desire to run for president, and actually put up a fighting chance in his effort to win the election with the aid of his off-beat team members. But evil political forces deployed a comical band of thugs, attempting to squash his claim to the presidential throne using any means necessary. One Nation Under Par is a funny and fast paced story that hits a hole-in-one for virtually anyone that has interest in politics, sports, gambling, music, mild levels of absurdity, and even unusual pet tricks. So grab your clubs and enjoy the 18 hysterical holes of One Nation Under Par.

Customer Reviews:

Caddy Shack - like humor with a political twist........2007-06-20

This book reminded me of Caddy Shack: wacky, silly, but with a funny political twist. The 19th hole really summed up the ending. It reads like you're watching a movie. Worth buying.

Political Golf.......2007-03-20

Really a well written, fun book about my two favorite subjects golf and politics.

Great Book.......2007-03-19

I got this book for my husband but I read it too. It was a great story to read especially on a cold winter night. I enjoyed it too and I don't play golf. I recommend it highly.

Hillarious political / pop culture / sports fusion - Great Read!!.......2007-03-05

Great book from cover to cover. The author definitely has a unique but completely appealing sense of humor.

The characters and situations are well thought out. You don't have to be a golfer or have a political vein to enjoy this. It takes you on the improbable roller coaster ride of a prospective pro-golfer as he falls head first onto the American political scene. You'll never look at the (rat)race for the White House the same way again.

I couldn't put this one down. Absolutely a MUST READ!!!

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The State of the Nation's Birds
Chris Mead
Manufacturer: Whittet Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Controlling spread of bird flu requires cultural competencies: Annual Meeting speakers discuss barriers.(control of spread of bird flu): An article from: The Nation's Health

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Controlling spread of bird flu requires cultural competencies: Annual Meeting speakers discuss barriers.(control of spread of bird flu): An article from: The Nation's Health
Gale Reference Team
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000MV9IGE
Release Date: 2007-01-25

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Nation's Health, published by Thomson Gale on December 1, 2006. The length of the article is 458 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Controlling spread of bird flu requires cultural competencies: Annual Meeting speakers discuss barriers.(control of spread of bird flu)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: The Nation's Health (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 36 Issue: 10 Page: 38(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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