Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett, 2006 Literary Edition

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The best book about Warren Buffett (including his Berkshire days)

Makes Sense for Value-Oriented Readers

Mr. Kirkpatrick, please hire an editor

Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett, 2006 Literary Edition
Andrew Kilpatrick
Manufacturer: Andy Kilpatrick Publishing Empire
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Business | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Buffett, Warren | ( B ) | People, A-Z | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0964190575
Release Date: 2005-08-01

Product Description

The theme of this fully revised biography about Warren Buffett is books, books, books. Many works directly related to Buffett or Berkshire Hathaway, as well as many indirectly related, are the focus. For example, a chapter about Procter & Gamble includes photos and information about books written about P&G. A good number of the more than 1,100 photos in the book relate to books to help move the story, indeed the odyssey, along. The muse for this odyssey is James Joyce's Ulysses. The cover is blue because the original cover of Joyce's masterpiece was blue. The back cover of the book sports a superb photo of Buffett and Bill Gates standing together at a golf outing.

Customer Reviews:

The best book about Warren Buffett (including his Berkshire days).......2006-10-06

First, I want to mention two constructive feedback about this book. One is that this book is probably only suitable for Warren Buffett fanatics/fans. For general investors interested about Berkshire Hathaway or how Warren Buffett invest, this is probably not the best book to read (as it has so much more info. i.e. more than 1000 pages). Second is that I have read this book more than once and I still don't know how the book is organized (the chapters aren't following chronological order, alphabetical nor topical order), therefore it is quite confusing to read as you progress from one chapter to another. Only after you read enough chapter (or completed the book) then you can put it all in the big picture in your head (from Warren's childhood till his current Berkshire days). Nonetheless, kudos to Andrew Kilpatrick for putting this book together. Moreover, once you know the limitation, this book is easily considered the best book about Warren Buffett in my opinion.

Now about the content of the book. You will learn a lot about Warren Buffett and his life, and not only investing topic (investing decisions that he made throughout his career) but his life principles, family, and business in general as well. You will learn about his first job delivering papers when he was 13 (he filed income tax and deducted the bike as business cost), and how he build his first business (pinball machine business), created Buffett partnership, break it up (liquidate), acquire berkshire mills, creating Berkshire Hathaway as investment vehicle, and many other great investment decision/story that he made (Geico, See's Candies, Dairy Queen, General Re, Coca Cola, Salomon, Washington Post, Gillette etc)

Buffett concrete rules for investing are:
1. Never lose money
2. Never forget rule #1

I know it's easier said (what he say above about to never lose money) than done based on my 10 years of invesitng experience , but then again I'm no Warren Buffett.

In my opinion, here are the 5 strategy/skills that Warren Buffett uses (Mr. Buffett, please correct me if I'm wrong):
1. Intrinsic Value
2. Margin of Safety
3. Temperament (discipline and understanding Mr.Market)
4. Circle of Competence (knowing what your circle of competence)
5. Common Sense (which I think is the most important factor and encapsulate everything about Warren Buffett.)

You will learn that Warren is very good with numbers (calculating in his head) and memorizing so many facts and numbers. You will also learn that Warren is a man with a very good sense of humor.

There are so many things/chapters that I like on this book. Let me try to mention two of my favorite sections.

One is when Warren need to make a decision who would run Salomon ($150B institution with 8000 employees) within 2 days during their first crisis. There are 12 top-level managers that he interviewed. "This was the most important hire of my life", said Warren to the Columbia business students. The chapter explain his thought process of this candidate selection in detail. Warren mentioned that the good news (for the students and the candidate) is that he didn't ask what their grades were (laughter). Warren also said, "Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. and if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you. if you think about it, it's true, if you hire somebody without integrity, you want them to be dumb and lazy" (laughter). And he conclude the topic with this statement which I think is very powerful: "Pick the kind of person to work for you that you want to marry your son or daughter. You won't go wrong". By the way, he picked Deryck Maughan by the way for his integrity.

Another chapter that I really like is how Warren put the audience (of more than 2000 people) through Business School in an electrifying two minutes (The chapter about "Generics"). See how Warren answer the question of "Will developments in the generic brand area hurt coca-cola?" which is a very important questions. I'll try not to spill too much and take the joy of reading this chapter yourself but he basically explains in a nutshell (with all the details and numbers) how business and competition works (and using several other example like Gilette, Marlboro, Sam Cola etc) and how he convinced the audience (and me as a reader) that coca cola is considered immune to generics. He explains how one can save $500 for smoking generic brand (vs Marlboro) which is a lot of money. While a man will probably will only save $11 per year by not using Gilette Sensor and probably leave band-aids on his face and an uncomfotable experience for opting for generics/lower quality blades. And for coca cola, the net profit margin is only 1 cents per serving (can) while a lot of the ingredients cost (such as the aluminium close to 6 cents a can, sugar 1.3 ounce per can or 1.75 cents etc) the same regardless for coke or other cola company.

I'll stop here before it's getting too long. In summary, If you are a Warren Buffett fans, then this book is for you. If you are uncertain, you can get other books first (potentially less thick book), like "Warren Buffet Way" or maybe "Buffettology", and if you like them (Warren) or want to know more about Warren then get this book. I personally don't like it in the beginning but as time goes by (and after I re-read the book/chapters), I changed my mind, this book is a masterpiece.

As a Berkshire shareholder, I want to encourage all berkshire shareholders (and potential/future shareholders) to read this book to know more about the person in charge of your berkshire investment. I also want to encourage all shareholders to go to the annual shareholder meeting while Mr. Buffett is still in charge.

Last but not least, if I have to sum this book up in a word or two, I would use the word "WISDOM" to describe this book, though I have a strong feeling that Warren will disagree with me and think that the more suitable phrase is "COMMON SENSE"

Makes Sense for Value-Oriented Readers.......2006-10-03

The average American reads about 2 books averaging 200 pages per year. This books comes in at 1682 pages, so this could be the only book you need to buy for the next 4 years (assuming you read 400 pages per year). That, in my opinion, is a great value and a great way to simplify your life. Make one decision now instead of having to make many over the next four years. Hopefully Kilpatrick's next book will be 2000 pages, which would be a 5-year book. Some may argue that Kilpatrick could have made his points in 1500 pages or even 1400 pages, but bottom line is giving readers value. For the same price that most 1400 page books carry, Kilpatrick gives you 1682 pages.

I would recommend this for any serious consumer of pages, but would caution that people who are frail or have back problems should not attempt to handle the book on their own. When attempting to pick it up, remember to always lift with your legs, not your back, to avoid injury.

I'm not sure what "Literary Edition" means, except that it's intellectual and scholarly and long and important and not for illiterates.

Mr. Kirkpatrick, please hire an editor.......2006-01-14

Once again, this book comes out with more repetitious chapters. This book can be a resource for some new material, but it is not to be read straight through. Self-publishing has its downside, and this book demonstrates that. Kirkpatrick is a nice old newspaperman, and he has written several scores of short articles and collected them into his idea of a book. It must pay very well, emotionally if not monetarily, becuse he keeps doing it, but it does not serve anyone who values their time.

Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett, 2006 Literary Edition

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Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett, 2006 Literary Edition
Andrew Kilpatrick
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MUBGMY

Book Description

24 b/w photos 38 maps 6 x 9
* First full-length biography of the controversial Union cavalryman
* Comprehensive, well-balanced treatment of the infamous Dahlgren Affair, the plot to assassinate Jefferson Davis

Nicknamed "Kill-Cavalry" because of the unusually high casualty rate among his men, cavalry commander Hugh Judson Kilpatrick was also the most notorious scoundrel in the Union army. Kilpatrick lied, thieved, and whored his way through the Civil War, yet managed to attain the stars of a major general. But despite his faults-or perhaps because of them-he is a fascinating character. This exceptionally well-researched biography (all the more remarkable given that Kilpatrick's daughter destroyed all her father's papers after his death) profiles one of the most interesting soldiers to ever wear Union blue.

Samuel J. Martin has published several articles in Civil War Times Illustrated, The Kepi, and Virginia Country, and is the author of Road to Glory: The Life of Confederate General Richard S. Ewell. This is his second book.

Customer Reviews:

Has Some Research Value.......2007-06-16

The earlier critical comments about "Kill-Cavalry" are generally accurate. Here are some of the main points.

1. Author Samual J. Martin is neither a trained writer nor a trained historian. He is a retired businessman in South Carolina whose post-retirement hobby is doing Civil War research. The lengthy bibliography attests to his detailed research, much of which is semi-original (manuscripts, official documents, correspondence, newspapers, etc.). His writing itself is dreadful, not in the sense of poor grammar or sentence structure but in its straightforward and completely uninvolving style.

2. Although Kilpatrick led an extremely colorful (if brief) life, he is a difficult subject for historical research. His daughter burned his personal papers after his death, his contemporaries are long dead, and his tendency to exaggerate his successes and disguise his mistakes make most surviving accounts suspect. Factor in the difficulty of tracking the activities of any individual cavalry unit during the Civil War and you have a very difficult task making any definitive claims about Kilpatrick.

3. Martin has an obvious ax to grind concerning his subject. While Kilpatrick was a self-promoting scoundrel, an objective examination of most of his contemporaries would reveal that these qualities were almost a prerequisite for ascendancy within either army. Martin's anti-Kilpatrick agenda sidetracks him from the two best biographical styles for a subject such as Kilpatrick. The most entertaining would be a light-hearted examination of his escapades (Kilpatrick was a Civil War version of actor Errol Flynn-both of Irish descent) and a fun look at his exploits would be quite entertaining. Another alternative would have been to draw parallels with contemporaries like Dan Sickles, Phil Sheridan, and George Custer. Unfortunately Martin's pious disapproval does not allow him to explore either avenue.

4. Because of Martin's prejudices about his subject and his lack of good source material he seems compelled to editorialize throughout the book. Bad enough, but his narrative often contradicts his conclusions. For example, Martin is convinced that Kilpatrick was a cowardly soldier and points to many examples of Kilpatrick losing his nerve in combat situations. Yet at the same time he details Kilpatrick's drive for recognition and tendency to recklessly commit his command to action. Like all but the most senior cavalry officers, Kilpatrick was up in a saddle with his troopers on all their raids and maneuvers, and remained this style of cavalryman for almost the entire war. He was not an armchair general but a field officer in a serious pursuit of advancement and fame. There were far easier and safer commands for West Point trained officers. Had he been lazy or cowardly he would have sought a desk job but he believed the cavalry offered him the best prospects for advancement and recognition.

5. Martin is highly critical of both Kilpatrick's command performance and his refusal to expose himself to danger at Brandy Station in 1863. He does not even mention Kilpatrick's saber fight with a hated West Point classmate during that engagement. But Eric Wittenberg goes into detail about this incident in "The Union Cavalry Comes of Age" (2003): Kilpatrick squared off with a Confederate officer he had known and disliked at West Point...the Southerner gave Kilpatrick a slight cut on the arm...receiving a vicious slash the Confederate officer reeled in his saddle. Seeing an opportunity Kilpatrick killed his injured foe with a slashing cut of his saber. The victorious colonel rejoined his brigade, proclaiming, "That rights a wrong. I have wanted to meet him ever since the war commenced".

6. Rather than bring Kilpatrick to life, Martin fills many pages of the book with general Civil War history. For a book of only 268 pages, there is simply too much detail about the battles and movements of the two armies, without regard to whether Kilpatrick himself was involved.

7. Martin sensationalizes the cavalry charge Kilpatrick and Merritt ordered during the 3rd day of Gettysburg. He goes into great detail about a somewhat dubious account of Kilpatrick's interaction with a subordinate commander, yet fails to examine the very real tactical opportunity that he and Merritt had recognized and were trying to exploit. One of Merritt regiments had tied up the two brigades of Confederate cavalry in Fairfield; leaving the right flank of Lee's army open to attack. Had Law's (formerly Hood's) division been positioned to support Longstreet's assault on the Union center, the cavalry charge would most likely have been a significant success.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Overkill-Cavalry.......2006-10-25

There are some figures of the Civil War that it is very easy to hate. Even today, very few Civil War buffs have anything good to say about Braxton Bragg or Henry Halleck for example. While not as well known as Bragg or Halleck, there is much to distain in the life of Hugh Judson Kilpatrick, a Union cavalry commander from New Jersey. Samuel J. Martin provides more than enough dirt on Kilpatrick's rather sordid personal life and less than honorable character. Kilpatrick was a selfish and vain man whose ambition for power and glory led him to act rashly and often foolishly while covering his mistakes in the press and reports to his superiors. Furthermore, Kilpatrick was a womanizer who had no qualms about cheating on his wife and discarding mistresses, even those who he impregnated. Martin certainly proves that General Kilpatrick was a scoundrel.

Martin leads the reader through Kilpatrick's rather checkered Civil War career. Graduating from West Point in 1861, Kilpatrick served with the New York volunteers and became known for his rash charges and his willingness to fight. Martin seems to accept this reputation but seems to argue that Kilpatrick was a physical coward, a rather odd statement considering the general's willingness to fight on the battlefield or off (even calling out Southern cadets at West Point to fist fights). Kilpatrick won some fame for driving his men to within 2 miles of Richmond as part of the Stoneman Raid during the Chancelorsville campaign and became a general in the summer of 1863. While part of his division won laurels at Gettysburg (Custer's brigade), the Kilpatrick ordered charge on July 3 proved to be an error, costing the lives of many men of Farnwsorth's brigade including Farnsworth himself. Kilpatrick would lead another raid on Richmond in early 1864, hoping to free a number of Union prisoners, pass out Lincoln's amnesty proclomation and capture and perhaps kill key Confederate leaders including Jefferson Davis and his cabinet. Martin agrees with the Stephen Sears that Kilpatrick was in charge of the raid though a recent article by David Long (which he is turning into a book) argues that Dahlgren planned to kill Davis and that Kilpatrick, a notorious leaker to the press, was out of the loop. After the failure of the raid, Kilpatrick was sent west and led Union cavalry for Sherman's march to the sea and Carolina campaigns.

After the war, Kilpatrick, who in the war expressed presidential ambitions, made two failed efforts to get the Republican gubenatorial nomination in New Jersey, ran unsuccessfully for the House of Represenatives in 1880 and twice served as ambasador to Chile. He passed way in 1881 in Chile at the age of 45. While a Republican, he was recalled from Chile by Grant which led to his supporting Horace Greely in 1872. Kilpatrick returned to the GOP and supported Hayes in 1876 and Garfield in 1880.

Martin certainly reveals Kilpatrick's dismal character and offers a solid, if often overly critical, account of his military career. In all fairness Martin had little to work with as Kilpatrick's papers were destroyed. Still, Kilpatrick's political career could have been examined in greater detail. For all his faults, Kilpatrick had an energy and ambition to him which made him a fairly represenative figure for his times. One is left wondering, after reading Martin's book, why Kilpatrick simply was not shelved. Kilpatrick, again with all his baggage, was a fighter and those were few and far between in the Union ranks. His ambition forced him to the battlefield and took him into politics. While Martin reveals the dark side to this ambition, Kilpatrick rose out of youthful obscurity to win a solid reputation. He could not have been merely the talentless scoundrel that Martin depicts. While Martin seems to rely a great deal on secondary sources, he really had no other choice. Despite that, one suspects that Martin went into writing the book with his thesis already formulated and that is what proves frustrating about this book. Martin should have given the reader a portrait of Kilpatrick in full as opposed to bashing us over the head with how much of a jerk the man was.

Biography of a controversial cavalry commander.......2006-01-16

To say Hugh Kilpatrick was a controversial figure would be an understatement. Small in stature, it's my opinion he suffered from the "little man" complex: he attempted to over-compensate for his slight physical size by his recklessness and bravado. This would explain his rashness regarding his plan to attack Richmond and free the prisoners there, which was repulsed decidedly by the Confederates (though Sheridan attempted the same thing 10 weeks later with the same results). Disparaged by many of his fellow officers (Sherman called him a "damned fool"), it's also reported that his men respected him. Martin is highly critical.

Kilpatrick was born in New Jersey in 1836 and graduated from West Point the year the Civil War broke out. He commanded a number of New York Cavalry brigades during the first two years of the war, receiving a serious wound at Big Bethel and then seeing much action in Virginia. After participating in the largest cavalry engagement of the war at Brandy Station in June 1863, he was promoted to brigadier general. He was conspicuous at Gettysburg, where his orders to E.J. Farnsworth to attack Hood, who was well-positioned behind stone walls, on the third day caused much slaughter to Farnsworth's men and Farnsworth's own death from five separate wounds. In the winter of 1864 he made his ill-fated attack on Richmond which resulted in failure. In the spring of that year he served in the Atlanta campaign and was wounded seriously for the second time at Resaca, GA. Recuperating by August, he performed well as commander of cavalry during the Carolina campaign and was a major factor in the capture of Fayetteville, NC, in March 1865. After the war he was appointed U.S. Minister to Chile, where he died in 1881.

Martin's dislike for his subject is quite clear. In this he joins a long list of historians, most of whom regard Kilpatrick as showing poor judgment and costly wantonness. He finds his failure at Richmond to be his worst mistake. Despite this, however, I thought the book was interesting and well written, and made an honest attempt to capture the life of the man for the reader. The book also contained excellent maps and clear elucidation of military affairs. Not the definitive work on Kilpatrick, but not one for the waste heap, either.

Not all bad........2004-06-30

This book smacks of a work done by someone who had a thesis and then did everything he could to prove it, rather than letting the research bring him to a conclusion.

Fortunately, I did get the feeling that the basic history of Killpatrick was decent and reasonably fair-minded. At the end of each chapter, however, Martin adds his commentaty about how the foregoing information shows that Kilpatrick was a horrible leader, womanizer, thief, etc. At one point, Martin suggests that the attempt on Jefferson Davis' life introduced the idea of assination, even to the point of possibly leading to Lincoln's murder. Right.

Killpatrick's womanizing, thievery, etc comes out, for sure, but were his casualities really highter than comparable commanders? That's not clear. He won some battles and lost others--like most Civil War leaders.

Insufficient research.......2001-12-16

This author falls into the same trap that's been laid for researchers for the past 135 years. The most glaring example is the standard portrayal of Kilpatrick at Gettysburg, all of which is based on one source who admitted years later he was never a witness to what actually happened or was said on the field that day. Like researchers before him, the author missed this glaring truth.

Here are two hints of Kilpatrick's character and performance: (1) His men held him in such high esteem that they petitioned Lincoln to have him promoted to general (a rare occurrence in the CW); and (2) after the battle of Gettysburg his men presented their commander with a Damascus sword in appreciation for his leadership on July 3.

Book Description

There are currently nearly half a million drug offenders incarcerated in US jails, more than the entire EU prison population. Added to the financial consequences of current drug policy there is the enormous human cost. Police corruption, organized crime, contempt for the law and drugs made dangerous because they are illegal and thus not subject to proper controls are other consequences of current drug policies. Politicians from all sides of the political spectrum are now beginning to ask: is it worth it? In this trenchantly argued book both students and the general public will find a clear statement of the case for the decriminalization of recreational drugs. For instance, more than half of high school seniors take drugs, yet the US is not overrun with drug-crazed addicts. Indeed, psychological tests show that adults who have experimented with drugs but are not addicts are better adjusted than either abstainers or heavy users. Horror stories of the dangers of drug use abound, but the truth is more prosaic; although recreational drugs are sometimes bad for users, there are between 80 and 90 million US citizens who have used illicit drugs without ill effects.

About the Practical Ethics Series: Providing clear analysis of a number of central moral issues and written by experts, the titles in Verso's new Practical Ethics Series will appeal to the student while being lively and topical enough to make them attractive to a wide general public.

Customer Reviews:

Superior Treatise With a Somewhat Cumbersome Writing Style.......2006-07-20

Overall, this book is excellent. The writer is clearly pro-legalization (as am I), but tries to balance this with an analysis of the opinions and positions of prohibitionists. Husak acknowledges that he cannot truly be objective.

Husak takes a somewhat different approach from the norm of the pro-legalization camp in that he doesn't rely primarily on the Libertarian argument of the right of self abuse-the position of John Stuart Mill. While much of the book is devoted to the inherent injustice of America's war on drugs and its erosion of our civil liberties and the deterioration the health of drug users, he also tackles the entrenched Prohibition-Industrial complex. However, his approach is 1 primarily of cost benefit analysis. Husak argues convincingly that prohibition is simply too expensive-not to mention unhealthy and unjust-for it to be feasible or fair.

The single drawback to the book is that the author reveals himself to be a prof of Philosophy. The book begins VERY slowly and is often overly abstract and bloviating. His book is so engaging at most points though that I was able to overlook this to come away even more enlightened on this oversimplified problem than before.

Thinking about the drug war.......2005-12-18

This book explores the legal, social, economic, and political issues surrounding the banning of certain addictive substances by the government, emphasis on the banning of marijuana, heroin and cocaine by the US government. The author provides a brief history of these substances, how each came to be widely used within the US, and the history of how and why they were banned. The author explains how the legal and criminal justice system evolved to deal with the banning of these substances, and in turn how criminals and criminal organizations evolved to evade law enforcement authorities in the production and distribution of these same substances. The author also shows how prosecuting the drug war has inspired police corruption, invasion of privacy, and creates financial drains on the burses of local, state and federal governments that are much worse than the actual effects of substance abuse.

The author then delves into the moral and legal justification for banning these substances. The book goes into the physiological effects of consuming these substances, and distinguishes them from the effects of being incarcerated / criminally penalized for consuming the same substance. By doing so, he shows how the legal consequences (which are permanent) are often worse than the actual health affects (which are often temporary). By the end of the book, the author has come up with a convincing argument that some of the currently controlled substances should be decriminalized, if not outright legalized.

Overall, a good book on the subject of illecit drugs. The emphasis is on the US, so nothing much in the way of Colombian drug lords or opium smuggling in SE Asia. I recommend this book for all US citizens.

Truly Awesome and Important Analysis.......2003-11-11

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT BOOK.
Here's a splendid, novel, thoughtful view of prohibition that not only teaches readers a ton about the drug war but also educates them about how to think. Unlike other books that focus primarily on the costs and benefits of decriminalization, Husak's work turns to the moral question: Is it just to punish recreational drug users? No matter where you stand on the issue, you will find Husak's accessible, enjoyable prose gets you thinking about morals, justice, drugs, and people in ways you've never thought before. He has a writing style that pulls you right in, making you feel as if you're just having a beer with a buddy. He defends his conclusions so logically and so well that it seems impossible for any rational person to disagree!

Drug policy is a convoluted mess..........2003-04-16

Many get the terms legalization and decriminalization confused; although each term has many variations of definition, the denotation of each term has a definite political, moral, and/or social end -- and this is where the most profound difference lies between them. An important thing to remember is that legalizers want drugs to be legally regulated and accessible to citizens just as alcohol is available, whereas decriminalizers support a policy that does not punish drug users as criminals for carrying and/or using personal amounts of drugs for recreational purposes; nonetheless, they still favor the criminalization of drug producers and drug dealers. Even this dichotomy between legalizer and decriminalizer is oversimplified.

The complexities of drug policy and all the human aspects that are involved in policymaking are both fascinating and intimidating. Douglas Husak is an articulate arguer for the position of decriminalization. He attempts to clarify some of the legal complexities in this excellent, well reasoned argument. He addresses many basic tenets of criminal theory and applies them to how drug users are being treated in this country. Unlike those who embrace the rigid attitude: 'If you're not with us, you're against us,' (meaning good v. evil) a convenient dialectic you will most likely find informing the minds of the current 'drug warrior' regime leaders, you will not find this authoritarianism in Husak's treatise. If he cannot be categorized as a legalization proponent, he is like them in one respect, he is highly disturbed by the inane drug policies of this country and is part of an ever growing population of dissenters who see a need for change.

High recommendation; good start to understanding the issue as whole. An even higher recommendation goes to "Drug War Heresies: Learning from Other Vices, Times & Places" by Robert J. MacCoun and Peter Reuter (2001). This is an excellent, exhaustive, and disinterested study of drugs use in our society and is easy for those not well versed in the complexities of public policy issues (which is most of us)

Book Description

Attempts to halt the destruction of rain forests and other natural habitats in the tropics have met with little success. In particular, national parks, like those found in wealthy nations, have proven difficult to establish in Africa, Asia, and South and Central America. More often than not, people inhabiting areas designated for protection resist being told by outsiders that they must change how and where they live. Alternative approaches, frequently embodied in integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs), are now being pursued. The goal is to address local communities' desires for improved standards of living while simultaneously meeting conservation objectives. Nature-based tourism and sustainable harvesting of forest products are the centerpieces of ICDPs and related initiatives. This book assesses the viability of conservation strategies predicated on the adoption of environmentally sound enterprises in and around threatened habitats. Drawing on research in Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru and on his extensive experience working in South and Central America and the Caribbean, the author demonstrates that it is rare for forest dwellers to derive much benefit from ecotourism, the extraction of timber and other commodities, or the collection of samples used in pharmaceutical research. Often these activities are simply unprofitable. Even when they are profitable, the benefits tend not to accrue locally, but instead are captured by outside firms and individuals who can provide important services like safe and reliable transportation. The author contends that human capital formation and related productivity-enhancing investment is the only sure path to economic progress and habitat conservation.

Tropical Forest Conservation : An Economic Assessment of the Alternatives in Latin America

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Tropical Forest Conservation : An Economic Assessment of the Alternatives in Latin America
Douglas Southgate
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKKWSQ

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