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Rating:  Summary: Shoddy scholarship Review: The title enticed me and I had high expectations to glean some insight into modern economic problems - or at least hear some different perspectives. The book is not a bad read, but it suffers from two continual errors that, as a scholar, I find really annoying. First, in many of the graphs presented, they are not numbered, cited in the text, associated with legends NOR are the axes labelled. The trends are obvious, of course, but I had no idea what the heck I was looking at. There is also a lot of jargon thrown at the reader without explanation.
Second, there are no references for many of the statements made in the book. It would be nice to know where they got their data or even IF they are making a claim based on real data (I assume they are, but without references, who knows?). You may like this book and, again, it's not a bad read, but I got so frustrated with the shoddy scholarship that I just set it down halfway through and gave up. I really don't care to listen to opinions as much as I enjoy examining positions and arguments... and those require some scholarship whereas anyone can throw out an opinion.
Rating:  Summary: Buy this book. You will not regret it. Review: Instead of blaming the right or the left for the country's problems, this book offers solutions. In the past couple of years I've gotten more interested in politics. I've read books on how different parties and people are dragging this country down, but nothing on how things could be turned around. Our country has change drastically since the New Deal. The old Republican/Democrat political vision is outdated. This book offers new thinking and ideas to get this country on track. This Real State Of The Union makes sense. I'd like to buy a copy for every government official in Washington if I could.
Rating:  Summary: A chance for real, productive change! Review: Thank goodness for this book. Ted Halstead has collected some real gems here. The essays are excellent in and of themselves, but this book screams a bigger message: if we cannot collectively think outside the box of partisan politics, the good ole U.S. of A. is on its way down the tube. The Real State of the Union contains intelligent analysis, accurate problem identification and "real" problem solving. As a psychotherapist and author (Embracing Fear, HarperSanFrancisco) reflecting on the lack of mental health and emotional development in our nation's political system, this book offers some rare and welcome hope that it may not be too late. The chief characteristic that distinguishes human beings from other species is our endless capacity to miss the point. Only through genuine connection and authentic communication can we change this. The Real State of the Union is significant in its potential to take us in that direction. Buy several copies of this one and share it with friends. Let's follow Mr. Halstead's lead. Let's consider the real possibility that we might collectively GO SANE. - Thom Rutledge Author of the e-mail feature, "Going Sane."
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