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Best Law Practice

Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (Robert's Rules of Order (Paperback))
This newly revised edition is the only book on parliamentary procedure to have been updated since 1876 under the continuing program of review established by General Henry M. Robert himself, in cooperation with the official publisher of Robert’s Rules . Henry M. Robert III is the grandson of General Henry M. Robert and has served as president of the Maryland Association of Parliamentarians and as parliamentarian for the National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP).
Reviews
"General Henry M. Robert published the original "Robert's Rules" in 1875 and 1876 and, since the copyright on that edition (and the next few editions) has long since expired, there are numerous unofficial editions on the market. With the copyright expired, even the name "Robert's" has passed into the public domain, and many imitators have slapped the name "Robert's" on books of parliamentary procedure that bear minimal relation to General Robert's work (much as many dictionaries claim the name "Webster's" without any connection to Noah Webster or the Merriam-Webster brand that carries on his work). Now in its 11th edition, published in September 2011, this book "supersedes all previous editions and is intended automatically become the parliamentary authority in organizations whose bylaws prescribe 'Robert's Rules of Order' ... or the like, without specifying a particular edition.""
"Nothing new here but the latest revision ;). The paper is literally like it’s a bible."
"Good format, good size, print font large enough to read."
"This is a very nicely printed and bound softcover book."
"The language is rather stilted at times and some of the procedures are very detailed, but these are the rules for properly conducting an orderly, efficient, effective meeting."
"It's a good book for officials to know, I use mine a lot to advise new volunteers."
"New Version of old book... Great to have a new one to replace my worn old copy."
"I bought this for my husband, and he says it was exactuaaly what he wanted."
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Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief, 2nd edition (Roberts Rules of Order in Brief)
This second edition of In Brief is now updated and revised to match the new full edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised , also published this year. Henry M. Robert III is the grandson of General Henry M. Robert and has served as president of the Maryland Association of Parliamentarians and as parliamentarian for the National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP).
Reviews
"If you know RR, pass on this and get the updated RR."
"Very nice pocket size abbreviated (translation = useful) version of Robert's Rules."
"Unfortunately, I needed the rules that were not in this version."
"Arrived in a timely manner."
"Taking a class this month This will be a good ref."
"Just what I wanted."
"Pros: Concise, easy to understand. Cons: None."
"A necessary read before those meetings."
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The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation
Presents a guide for lawyers for constructing citations, covering the format of citations from a variety of legal sources, including court cases, statutes, books, periodicals, electronic media, and international documents.
Reviews
"Huge upgrade from my previous 16th edition."
"Needed books for my class, this came in near perfect condition!!!"
"Purchase book for school."
"Great quality, newest edition, fast shipping, wrapped and sealed, would reccomend for any law school Student."
"Book is nice and pretty and such, but citations are still the worst."
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Best Law Practice Research

Drafting Contracts: How & Why Lawyers Do What They Do , Second Edition (Aspen Coursebook)
An eagerly anticipated second edition of this established and highly regarded text teaches the key practice skill of contract drafting, with emphasis on how to incorporate the business deal into the contract and add value to the client's deal.
Reviews
"I am still attending my contracts drafting class and utilizing this book, and have found that for the most part, I like the fun, yet clear and concise explanations the author uses in this book."
"This text is so helpful if your learning about drafting contracts or need a quick reference."
"This is actually a really great, helpful book."
"Front cover had a crease down the center of it, but the book works fine."
"Book condition is just fine not so good as expected."
"Well organized and thorough."
"However, when I compared my book with my classmates’ in class, I noticed that the book is thicker and is in black and white instead of black and blue."
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Best Law Specialties

Dog Company: A True Story of American Soldiers Abandoned by Their High Command
The Army does not want you to read this book. Hill and Scott then led Dog Company into combat in Afghanistan, where a third of their men became battlefield casualties after just six months. ROGER HILL is an advocate for military veterans and first responders, and is active in the fight against human trafficking.
Reviews
"If you're a student of conflict, love true-to-life combat stories, are politically aware or conscious of the issues that affect the sons & daughters we send to war, or if you're just a proud American, then this book is for you."
"I'm glad the truth is out, this book tells everything that happened on FOB Airborne. The book so far has been very well written, can't wait to continue reading."
"I know Tommy Scott and Rodger Hill truly care for their men, and their men love them!! So he took me to Tommy Scott's house."
"The fact - seen all too frequently - that we rely on locals with an entirely different culture of truth and integrity for help on the bases? In Erik Prince's book about Blackwater he made it clear- the US military couldn't function without them, nor could it without contractors on the ground. I've read thousands of pages of WWII history and never heard anything that suggested that the platoons would take a day off for mourn and have a funeral. It is wonderful that our culture celebrates the loss of 2 men so thoroughly, but I never heard of anything like that in WWII when thousands were being killed a day. Sure, there were truces so that the sides could fetch their dead, but i think it was culturally inconceivable that they'd stop the battle of Monte Cassino or Kasserine to have a funeral. In Atkinson's trilogy there was a very offhand story about a group of americans celebrating, I believe, a push up into France or Italy by getting drunk, and the general, and damned if I can remember his name - I think he was from Vermont or Delaware - ordered them executed. In addition, this entire thing about hearts and minds, putting americans on these far flung bases to deal with taliban and treacherous locals, without adequate supplies, with joystick jockeys back in North CArolina countermanding their decisions, just doesn't work. Get 'em out, put 'em to work here guarding our borders, and redirect the resources we're wasting to clear up the Islamofascist fifth column and its useful idiots (the media) here."
"This is AWESOME!"
"The Warrior who craves to honorably lead his soldiers into the fray with all intentions of completing the mission and bringing all his men home, is becoming a relic and increasingly at risk with the politicization of the military and the rise of political elites."
"In the risk adverse environment of the military, independent thinking is ripe to second guessing and arm chair quarterbacks sitting inside the wire--or even worse, the beltway of Washington."
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Best Family Law

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced
With the help of local advocates and the press, Nujood obtained her freedom—an extraordinary achievement in Yemen, where almost half of all girls are married under the legal age. This important book gives them a voice and sheds light on an ugly secret that has destroyed the lives of children for centuries.” —Marina Nemat, author of Prisoner of Tehran “Simple and straightforward in its telling, this is an informative and thoroughly engaging narrative.” — Publishers Weekly.
Reviews
"Women complain all the time how unfair this country is ... they should read about the country this girl lives in."
"Every woman should read Nujood's story."
"Nujood was a girl in a remote village in Yemen (no electricity, running water, etc) when her family was forced to move to the capital to look for work."
"Like that reviewer, reading the book made me a little uncomfortable; however, when I combined listening to the audio book and following along in the book the story leaped to a higher level. The way she read it enabled me to understand that for any girl to pull herself up and find the strength for a divorce at age 10 would be considerably harder there because women were being pulled out of school so young to get married."
"The London Guardian reported on March 13, 2013, that the father and uncles have squandered the money received from the book. The publishers also bought the family a large house, but the father rented out the first floor to another family, moved a new wife into the second floor, and kicked Nujood out."
"I write this review in honor of Nujood, much braver than I."
"The agreement he had made with her father was that he would not touch his young wife until she had hit puberty, but he took that promise with a grain of salt and Nujood suffered greatly while at his home in her old village miles and hours away from her family in Yemen."
"I think its good reading for young people who might not otherwise grasp the importance of this issue for the modern world."
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Best Legal History

Scalia's Court: A Legacy of Landmark Opinions and Dissents
In Scalia’s Court: A Legacy of Landmark Opinions and Dissents , Ring collects Scalia’s most memorable opinions on free speech, separation of powers, race, religious freedom, the rights of the accused, abortion, and more; and intersperses Scalia's own words with an analysis of his legal reasoning and his lasting impact on American jurisprudence. In Scalia’s Court , Kevin Ring has assembled the great jurist’s best and most powerful opinions, showcasing the quotable justice’s take on issues of enduring importance, including contentious constitutional debates that continue today. Same-Sex Marriage "To allow the policy question of same-sex marriage to be considered and resolved by a select, patrician, highly unrepresentative panel of nine is to violate a principle even more fundamental than no taxation without representation: no social transformation without representation." Abortion "It thus appears the mansion of constitutionalized abortion law, constructed overnight in Roe v. Wade , must be disassembled doorjamb by doorjamb ".
Reviews
"This is a true tribute to a towering Justice in U.S. history."
"As America considers replacing this judicial giant, Ring's book comes at the perfect time and is a welcome reminder of what big shoes the next justice will have to fill."
"Great summary of a magnigicant justice."
"recurring purchase - I love Scalia and makes great gift!"
"Gift for my granddaughter, a pre-law student."
"Scalia's legacy and impact will be debated beyond our lifetimes."
"ordered before He passed away and so glad I did."
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Best Business Law

Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (Robert's Rules of Order (Paperback))
This newly revised edition is the only book on parliamentary procedure to have been updated since 1876 under the continuing program of review established by General Henry M. Robert himself, in cooperation with the official publisher of Robert’s Rules . Henry M. Robert III is the grandson of General Henry M. Robert and has served as president of the Maryland Association of Parliamentarians and as parliamentarian for the National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP).
Reviews
"General Henry M. Robert published the original "Robert's Rules" in 1875 and 1876 and, since the copyright on that edition (and the next few editions) has long since expired, there are numerous unofficial editions on the market. With the copyright expired, even the name "Robert's" has passed into the public domain, and many imitators have slapped the name "Robert's" on books of parliamentary procedure that bear minimal relation to General Robert's work (much as many dictionaries claim the name "Webster's" without any connection to Noah Webster or the Merriam-Webster brand that carries on his work). Now in its 11th edition, published in September 2011, this book "supersedes all previous editions and is intended automatically become the parliamentary authority in organizations whose bylaws prescribe 'Robert's Rules of Order' ... or the like, without specifying a particular edition.""
"Nothing new here but the latest revision ;). The paper is literally like it’s a bible."
"Good format, good size, print font large enough to read."
"This is a very nicely printed and bound softcover book."
"The language is rather stilted at times and some of the procedures are very detailed, but these are the rules for properly conducting an orderly, efficient, effective meeting."
"It's a good book for officials to know, I use mine a lot to advise new volunteers."
"New Version of old book... Great to have a new one to replace my worn old copy."
"I bought this for my husband, and he says it was exactuaaly what he wanted."
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Best Administrative Law

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein, a leading authority on housing policy, explodes the myth that America’s cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregation―that is, through individual prejudices, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Through extraordinary revelations and extensive research that Ta-Nehisi Coates has lauded as "brilliant" ( The Atlantic ), Rothstein comes to chronicle nothing less than an untold story that begins in the 1920s, showing how this process of de jure segregation began with explicit racial zoning, as millions of African Americans moved in a great historical migration from the south to the north. “Masterful…The Rothstein book gathers meticulous research showing how governments at all levels long employed racially discriminatory policies to deny blacks the opportunity to live in neighborhoods with jobs, good schools and upward mobility.”. - Jared Bernstein, Washington Post. “Rothstein’s work should make everyone, all across the political spectrum, reconsider what it is we allow those in power to do in the name of 'social harmony' and 'progress' with more skepticism… The Color of Law shows what happens when Americans lose their natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, or in the case of African-Americans, when there are those still waiting to receive them in full.”. - Carl Paulus, American Conservative. “Original and insightful…The central premise of [Rothstein’s] argument…is that the Supreme Court has failed for decades to understand the extent to which residential racial segregation in our nation is not the result of private decisions by private individuals, but is the direct product of unconstitutional government action. “Through meticulous research and powerful human stories, Rothstein reveals a history of racism hiding in plain sight and compels us to confront the consequences of the intentional, decades-long governmental policies that created a segregated America.”. - Sherrilyn A. Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Reviews
"When William Julius Wilson writes that a book is "the most forceful argument ever published on how federal, state, and local governments gave rise to and reinforced neighborhood segregation," it grabs your attention. Rothstein's book is exactly that--a seminal work on the history of housing discrimination that is required reading for anyone who cares about the effect of residential segregation on cities and schools in our country. Stegner and friends formed a cooperative to purchase a 260-acre ranch in Palo Alto in which they planned to build 400 affordable homes for low-paid professors and other working-class families. Because the Veterans' Administration also relied on FHA rules for underwriting, black servicemen were similarly barred from receiving the same VA loans for housing that white vets enjoyed."
"Rothstein modestly suggests a number of "remedies" to compensate for the financial losses and missed educational opportunities their kids suffered because they were deliberately forced by discriminatory federal government housing and lending policies and local laws to live in segregated low-income city neighborhoods. His book's great value comes from showing readers that it was deliberate government policies, not private choices or voluntary social forces, that created, enforced and perpetuated racial segregation in the North for nearly a hundred years. I wish I had been able to read this book last year when I was writing 30 Days a Black Man: The Forgotten Story That Exposed the Jim Crow South,' which only touches lightly on how Northern cities like Pittsburgh, Portland and Washington, D.C., kept their neighborhoods rigidly segregated."
"I am currently working in the credit analysis area and it was an eye opining for me that the US Government was in-fact institutionalizing discrimination by not insuring (such as the FHA) or not guaranteeing (such as the Veteran's Administration (VA) ) mortgage loans if the builder or the lender was selling to African-Americans (AA)."
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Best Legal Self-Help

Executor's Guide, The: Settling a Loved One's Estate or Trust
• preparing for the job of executor or trustee. • the first steps to take. • claiming life insurance, Social Security and other benefits. • making sense of a will. • what to do if there is no will. • how to determine whether probate is necessary. • filing taxes. • probate court proceedings. • dealing with family members. • handling simple trusts. • working with lawyers, appraisers, accountants, and other experts. The 7th edition contains updated tables outlining key points of each state’s laws, the latest information on estate taxes, plus worksheets that help you stay organized. "Mary Randolph, an editor at Nolo, a publisher of do-it-yourself legal guides and author of. "The Executor's Guide," says it is a good idea to get a lawyer to help unwind a trust, especially if it will hold a significant amount of money. "The Executor's Guide [is] a super-detailed, step-by-step book that's a must-read."
Reviews
"Have only read excerpts from this book so far,but it has already helped me immensely."
"As an auctioneer who has a specialty in Estate Liquidation Auctions, this book has been an indispensable reference while working with heirs, executors, and probate courts and lawyers."
"Its a good general reference and starting point but plan on still having to deal with clerk of court a lot and possibly get an attorney knowledgable with your state's specific laws for more complex situations."
"I'm using it to settle an estate that shouldn't have required probate but did due to the lawyer who produced the will not paying attention to the low financial threshold for real property in our state."
"After having to experience settling an estate without this resource, I can say, without hesitation, this book is invaluable."
"Cleaning up a loved ones home after they have passed is a very emotional job."
"Excellent book for Executors of Estate or Trustees of Trust."
"I bought it to make sure that my trust is in order; my final arrangements clear; and learned many new things to assist my family after I am gone."
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Best Legal Rules & Procedures

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Called "stunning" by Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David Levering Lewis, "invaluable" by the Daily Kos , "explosive" by Kirkus , and "profoundly necessary" by the Miami Herald , this updated and revised paperback edition of The New Jim Crow , now with a foreword by Cornel West, is a must-read for all people of conscience. — Forbes Alexander is absolutely right to fight for what she describes as a “much-needed conversation” about the wide-ranging social costs and divisive racial impact of our. criminal-justice policies. a timely and stunning guide to the labyrinth of propaganda, discrimination, and racist policies masquerading under other names that comprises what we call justice in America. A call to action for everyone concerned with racial justice and an important tool for anyone concerned with understanding and dismantling this oppressive system. Undoubtedly the most important book published in this century about the U.S. — Birmingham News.
Reviews
"But more than that, a very high percentage of these people are black, and in fact they go to prison at a rate disproportionate to the frequency with which they commit crimes. To be blunt, if you are caught selling illegal drugs in most states, you are likely to go to prison if you are black, but you will more likely get treated more leniently if you are white. It's worse than that, because, unlike most other developed nations, we make certain that once someone is convicted of a felony, he loses the vote, his right to public housing, the ability to get a job, in other words, he can be discriminated against for life. Alexander traces the history of the drug war, and describes how it became a vehicle for mistreating blacks even in the face of prevalent "colorblind" attitudes of most Americans today. Many things have to be undone, such as the entire drug war, disenfranchisement laws, the management of prisons by private corporations to name a few. Especially fascinating was her description of how such concessions, or "racial bribes", as affirmative action serve to justify continuing the system as it is."
"Worked with wonderful people, and my favorite person in the whole world was our housekeeper Estelle. This evil is real, people suffer at the hands of bigots and our country is losing out on the talent of those who are oppressed."
"A chilling glimpse into the criminal justice complex in America and the impact this has had on generations."
"This should be required reading... for all of us who believed that we moved forward with the civil rights movement and that we left Jim Crow behind."
"Informative and compelling.This book really made me think about mass incarceration and what I can do to actively try to participate in the efforts to end it."
"America simply cannot truly move forward in the arena of "racial" justice and equality until we address the broken judiciary system of our society."
"This book should be required reading."
"I'm attending a group that meets monthly to discuss this book."
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Best Legal Estate Planning

Wills, Trusts, and Estates, Tenth Edition [Connected Casebook] (Aspen Casebook)
Wills, Trusts, and Estates, Tenth Edition will soon be available as a Connected Casebook, a powerful, all-in-one learning solution offering a print casebook plus access to CasebookConnect, which includes a fully functional eBook version of your casebook with highlighting and note-taking capabilities, hundreds of practice questions in the Study Center from leading study aids, and an Outline Tool to help make outlining more efficient and effective. All new section on trust decanting, now recognized in a majority of states, with attention to the latest statutory and case law developments. Updated treatment of trust fiduciary law, including new case law and statutory developments on waiver of fiduciary duties and in trust investment law.
Reviews
"Excellent book that arrived with access to a website that granted access to the book online and had tools that made outlining the cases extremely easy to do."
"Casebook Connect is the BEST."
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Best Health & Medical Law

Nurse Practitioner's Business Practice and Legal Guide
What's more, it addresses emerging health law issues with analysis of key cases, including: * Examples regarding trouble over NPs and kickbacks. * Stark Law compliance issues and related criminal cases involving nurse practitioners who are employed by hospitals. * Nurse practitioners who have encountered issues with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). * An attempted work around for the Medicare requirement that a physician order home care resulting in an NP using a physician's name to order home care and then being prosecuted for identity theft. * An NP and physician who did not follow Medicare's incident-to rules and both the NP and MD were charged with health care fraud. * Criminal cases against NPs who prescribed opioids or steroids either without authorization or without appropriate evaluation and monitoring.
Reviews
"If you are a nurse practitioner you should not be practicing without this helpful book."
"Great book in perfect condition."
"exactly what i was looking for."
"Just what I needed, when I needed it!"
"Everything professed to be, and more."
"Indispensable guide; no NP should practice without it."
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Best Constitutional Law

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
#1 National Bestseller From two of our most fiercely moral voices, a passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world. With Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn as our guides, we undertake an odyssey through Africa and Asia to meet the extraordinary women struggling there, among them a Cambodian teenager sold into sex slavery and an Ethiopian woman who suffered devastating injuries in childbirth. Far from merely making moral appeals, the authors posit that it is impossible for countries to climb out of poverty if only a fraction of women (9% in Pakistan, for example) participate in the labor force.
Reviews
"Forced prostitution, trafficking, genital mutilation, poor health care and list goes on and on that will make reader angry, cry or even feel like throwing book half way across the room. This books talks about social entrepreneur and how they have devoted their entire life supporting female rights, establishing organization. I think writers need to understand that attacking culture and men and turning their head the other way and solely micro scoping female issues won't solve the problem but it creates more."
"It is real stories about women and girl's lives and the incredible efforts it takes to make change and yet, change is being made."
"While the truth of the situation presented by Kristof and WuDunn is beyond bleak, we are also presented with success stories and introduced to warriors for causes that cause us to hope that life doesn't have to be so precarious for women and change can be implemented in which women and girls can lift their lives out of despair. He asks difficult and pointed questions to gather the information he needs to get a picture of what is happening both in the lives of the individual women and the situation they find themselves in."
"The book indicates that, in some areas, women are complicit in what is happening and that no one approach to women's problems works across the board."
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Best Legal Theory & Systems

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence? Sadly, the people of the north have endured decades of famine, political repression, and very different economic institutions—with no end in sight. Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including: Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority? “For economics and political-science students, surely, but also for the general reader who will appreciate how gracefully the authors wear their erudition.” — Kirkus Reviews “Provocative stuff; backed by lots of brain power.” — Library Journal “This is an intellectually rich book that develops an important thesis with verve. large and ambitious new book.” — The Daily “ Why Nations Fail is a splendid piece of scholarship and a showcase of economic rigor.” —The Wall Street Journal "Ranging from imperial Rome to modern Botswana, this book will change the way people think about the wealth and poverty of nations...as ambitious as Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel ." A wonderfully readable mix of history, political science, and economics, this book will change the way we think about economic development. "Some time ago a little-known Scottish philosopher wrote a book on what makes nations succeed and what makes them fail. The Wealth of Nations is still being read today. “This fascinating and readable book centers on the complex joint evolution of political and economic institutions, in good directions and bad. Acemoglu and Robinson provide an enormous range of historical examples to show how such shifts can tilt toward favorable institutions, progressive innovation and economic success or toward repressive institutions and eventual decay or stagnation. Written with a deep knowledge of economics and political history, this is perhaps the most powerful statement made to date that ‘institutions matter.’ A provocative, instructive, yet thoroughly enthralling book.” —Joel Mokyr, Robert H. Strotz Professor of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Economics and History, Northwestern University. “This important and insightful book, packed with historical examples, makes the case that inclusive political institutions in support of inclusive economic institutions is key to sustained prosperity. This is important analysis not to be missed.” —Peter Diamond, Nobel Laureate in Economics “Acemoglu and Robinson have made an important contribution to the debate as to why similar-looking nations differ so greatly in their economic and political development. The openness of a society, its willingness to permit creative destruction, and the rule of appear to be decisive for economic development.” —Kenneth Arrow, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 1972 “Acemoglu and Robinson—two of the world's leading experts on development—reveal why it is not geography, disease, or culture which explains why some nations are rich and some poor, but rather a matter of institutions and politics. “Some time ago a little known Scottish philosopher wrote a book on what makes nations succeed and what makes them fail. The Wealth of Nations is still being read today. Two centuries from now our great-great-…-great grandchildren will be, similarly, reading Why Nations Fail .” —George Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2001 “In this stunningly wide ranging book Acemoglu and Robinson ask a simple but vital question, why do some nations become rich and others remain poor? This book is a must read at a moment where governments right across the western world must come up with the political will to deal with a debt crisis of unusual proportions.” —Steve Pincus, Bradford Durfee Professor of History and International and Area Studies, Yale University “The authors convincingly show that countries escape poverty only when they have appropriate economic institutions, especially private property and competition. More originally, they argue countries are more likely to develop the right institutions when they have an open pluralistic political system with competition for political office, a widespread electorate, and openness to new political leaders. This intimate connection between political and economic institutions is the heart of their major contribution, and has resulted in a study of great vitality on one of the crucial questions in economics and political economy.” — Gary S. Becker, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 1992 “This not only a fascinating and interesting book: it is a really important one. The highly original research that Professors Acemoglu and Robinson have done, and continue to do, on how economic forces, politics and policy choices evolve together and constrain each other, and how institutions affect that evolution, is essential to understanding the successes and failures of societies and nations.
Reviews
"They commence, like medical researchers do when they hope to minimize the number of variables, by examining “twins.” In the author’s case the “twins” are the cities of Nogales, immediately adjacent, in Arizona, and in Sonora. His outlook was rigid: if he was “sharing” the profits with the workers, he was a loser, and the thought that he might have a slightly smaller percentage of a much bigger pie never entered his mind. I also found the authors description of how Venice turned into a “museum” to be one of their most concrete examples, in terms of identifying the steps taken by the elites to protect their interests, and eliminate the “profit sharing” with the masses. But the authors seem to have taken this concept to the extreme, juxtaposing wildly disparate situations, and providing no “connective tissue.” For example, chapter 6 contained 10th-12th Century Venice, the Roman Empire, and Axum, in Ethiopia, without any meaningful comparisons. Thus, we are treated to a catalog of Napoleon’s military successes, the number of tons of gunpowder the British sold between 1750 and 1807, and Roosevelt’s efforts to pack the Supreme Court. There was Kapuscinski’s classic account of the fall of Haile Selassie, The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat but I was astonished to find missing Gunnar Myrdal’s equally classic inquiry into the poverty of nations Asian Drama, An Inquiry Into The Poverty OF Nations Volumes I, II and III (Volumes I, II and III)It is a rich book, which covers a vast swath of human history."
"I don’t think that the key argument about the book should be whether it is right or wrong, but rather, is their concept is a useful tool in understanding wealth and poverty? (A slightly sharper question might be, “how good is it as a predictive tool?”) As a non-specialist I must simply accept critical arguments that some of the history is a bit inaccurate, that some of the examples are oversimplifications and that some of their comparisons of countries are a bit skewed one way or another or ignore counter-examples."
"I would also question whether a government that is one party cannot be pluralistic if that one party encompasses many of the rules of what we deem democracy (anyone can join the party, the leaders are chosen by party members not previous leaders. internal scandals can move a group from power within the party, within the party disagreement is allowed on policy, the leader are criticized for enriching themselves at public expense, anti corruption has true support, ...). Those who rant against the 1% elite in america can see things to support and also disagree with on how to cope with this unequal wealth problem."
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Best Foreign & International Law

War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America's Colony
Through oral histories, personal interviews, eyewitness accounts, congressional testimony, and recently declassified FBI files, War Against All Puerto Ricans tells the story of a forgotten revolution and its context in Puerto Rico's history, from the US invasion in 1898 to the modern-day struggle for self-determination. “A meticulous and riveting account of the decades-long clash between the Puerto Rican independence movement, led by Pedro Albizu Campos, and the commonwealth's U.S.-appointed stewards, national police force, the FBI and, ultimately, the U.S. Army" —Ray Monell, New York Daily News. "[Nelson Denis] provides scathing insights into Washington's response to Albizu Campos's nationalist party and its violent revolution in 1950 that still has broad implications...his perspective of largely overlooked history could not be more timely." "In searing and well-researched prose, former New York assemblyman and El Diario editorial director Denis covers a much-neglected side of U.S. imperialist and colonial practice in Puerto Rico...The historical account he adeptly weaves unabashedly reveals the government's racist and often predatory actions toward its Caribbean colony...This timely, eye-opening title is as much a must-read as Juan Gonzalez's Harvest of Empire ." Denis provides a more detailed account, thanks to exclusive interviews conducted over a span of decades, as well as thousands of public records, including recently de-classified FBI documents." Here we have a full-throated eulogy of brave heroes, men and women of conviction, who devoted every drop of their blood to a people and a principle...Denis packs 258 pages (plus another 71 pages of notes) with detailed accounts of government corruption, police abuse, Wall Street greed, scientific experimentation, politicking, graft, racism, wholesale slaughter, surveillance, assassinations, eugenics, propaganda, espionage, forgery and falsification — all within the span of half a century, and on an island no bigger than Connecticut." “A patient, calibrated, fully-researched study of the mendacious, hypocritical way the United States treats its Caribbean colony, castrating its leadership, bombarding its villages, experimenting biologically with its population. “As more than a half century of failed US policy toward Cuba comes to a slow end, Nelson Denis's fascinating new book is a timely reminder of that other island in the Caribbean that the United States took possession of in 1898: Puerto Rico.
Reviews
"I was stunned and astounded by Nelson Denis’enthralling book, “ War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America’s Colony.” This book documents a "secret history" of Puerto Rico that is not taught in our schools - not in the US, and definitely not in Puerto Rico. Yet these events did happen, and they are presented this meticulously researched book with nearly 100 pages of footnotes as well as many intriguing photos of that epoch. By the end of the book, the entire US government has been placed on the witness stand, cross-examined, and found guilty of stealing an entire island."
"I grew up in Puerto Rico and went to school there starting in the 5th grade to 2 years of college at the University of Puerto Rico and I don't remember learning any of this! Luis Munoz Marin was always hailed as some kind of hero there when I lived there in the 1980's."
"Everybody should read this book, Puerto Ricans and non-Puerto Ricans alike."
"It is a historical book; it exposes the tragic history of my country and how it was raped and pillaged by the US empire."
"This is a comprehensive and enthralling book detailing the injustices endured by Puerto Ricans, particularly during the earlier decades of the American occupation of Puerto Rico."
"This book have gave me a better understanding of the present situation regarding the island status and chaos."
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Best Professional Responsibility & Law Ethics

Licensed to Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice
A tragic suicide, a likely murder, wrongful imprisonment, and gripping courtroom scenes draw readers into this compelling story giving them a frightening perspective on justice corrupted and who should be accountable when evidence is withheld. The takeaway is that both Bushies and Obamaites should be very afraid: over the last few years, a coterie of vicious and unethical prosecutors who are unfit to practice law has been harbored within and enabled by the now ironically named Department of Justice.''. ''When you ve finished reading this fast-paced thriller, you will want to stand up and applaud Powell's courage in daring to shine light into the darkest recesses of America's justice system. ''I have covered hundreds of court cases over the years and have witnessed far too often the kind of duplicity and governmental heavy-handedness Ms. Powell describes in her well-written book, Licensed to Lie.''.
Reviews
"I have been lied to, threatened with bar complaints and had complaints made to judges behind my back, all for trying to provide a zealous defense to my client."
"heckuva accounting of crooked government prosecutors-------."
"Revealing story of the mis-deeds done by Federal prosecutors in the name of “justice” whilst feathering their own nest with promotion to higher echelons."
"It is a damning indictment of what is supposed to be the epitome of our country's 'justice' system, our corrupt and corrupting Department of Justice as well as a few courtrooms in this country, to boot. So many lives ruined because a few (or many) justice department lawyers apparently valued their own upward career mobility over the very reason for their existence in their positions...JUSTICE."
"When I was a teenager I read the Exorcist, and until today, no book I have read since has come close to being as scary."
"Got a hard copy and kindle. Great book."
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Best Environmental & Natural Resources Law

Prophets and Moguls, Rangers and Rogues, Bison and Bears: 100 Years of the National Park Service
Anyone who has stood beneath a redwood, neck craned to see its top rising far above; or who has heard ghostly whispers of residents long-past among the burnt-red cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde; or who has climbed the stairs to gaze out from the Statue of Liberty’s crown, would agree that our National Park system is a source of pride and wonder. They battled “progress,” which often masked greed and ignorance, and their story continues with those who molded and grew the NPS through a flu pandemic, the Great Depression, World Wars, and beyond. Heather's work has appeared in High Country News, Men's Journal, Coastal Living, National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, Outside, Mountain Gazette, Away.com, and other publications.
Reviews
"The stories in this book are great, and the book is written in a magazine type format."
"This skillfully written book makes the past 100 years of National Park history come to life."
"A wonderfully written book on the history of the National Parks Service, with an abundance of sources."
"I have a feeling the receiver won’t read all of it anytime soon and wish I had read more of it before gifting it because it was well written and had loads of pictures and seems like a great book!"
"A history of America's National Parks, focusing on a few to illustrate the variety."
"What a great read...my dad loved this book!"
"Good history of the issues and personalities involved in the development of the National Park Service."
"I'm only about 100 pages in so far, but I am really enjoying this book."
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