by George Shaffner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1999
“Life can make sense,” is the motto of this forthright little book, and all it takes is a little math. Shaffner, an executive in the computer industry, has taken a selection of the basic situations and decisions of day-to-day life and quantified them. The math is within the grasp of even the most number-shy: nothing more complex than percentages and division. Each short chapter addresses a basic question from everyday life: how much difference does staying in school make in a person’s income? What are the odds of getting caught speeding (or robbing a bank)? How much does it really cost to smoke cigarettes? In each chapter, Shaffner takes some raw data (e.g., the cost of a given federally funded project), and performs a simple calculation (division by the number of taxpayers) to arrive at the per-taxpayer cost of a given project, and then multiplies by the number of congressional representatives to show what it would cost if each of them were allowed one “pork barrel” project a year. Similar calculations are applied to everyday economics—for example to debunk the widely accepted principle that the top 20 percent of workers do 80 percent of the work or to show the necessity of middle management in large organizations (otherwise, top executives would have no time for their own jobs). Other chapters discuss fields where superficial logic often yields wrong results: simple calculation proves that even when 70 percent of the players at a “fair” gambling game are winners, the house still makes a tidy profit. Another shows how million-to-one “coincidences” can easily occur in a large enough sample. Written in lively style, with sly wit and plenty of examples from familiar areas of experience, the book offers an appealing mix of common sense and solid reasoning. Shines light into several interesting corners of everyday life, often with surprising results—and the numbers don’t lie.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-345-42631-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
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by Timothy Paul Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2005
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Albert Camus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 1955
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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by Albert Camus ; translated by Justin O'Brien & Sandra Smith
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