power

Power: A Novel
$13.95
I was obligated to read this book for a college course. While it does have some redeeming literary value (and quite frankly the panther hunt was cool), it fails as a narrative. It moves from being a well driven story in the beginning, to an amorphous and boring fictional dissertation about the friction between tribal an western ways of viewing the world.

You will be hard pressed to find a book that is more stylistically pretentious, or one that says so much while conveying so little, or one that will take as much of your will 'power' to finish.

If you have a choice in the matter, there are other pieces of native american fiction that are more entertaining and contain more original thought.

Concise 48 Laws of Power
$11.54
I have read a lot of strategy and power books and this by far is one of the better. If you have done some research on the topic this is a great source of compiled theories with tons of historical facts to back the law theorys. If this is your first taste of power/strategy books its a good primer but with the topic being so massive don't expect it to be the be all do all. Great book worth every cent.

Power (The Essential Works of Foucault, 1954-1984, Vol. 3)
$19.95
This collection of Foucault's essays, lectures, interviews, and editorials, offers even the casual reader of Foucault welcome insights into his methods, his intellectual biography and the development of his own methods. Most valuable perhaps are interviews collected from various magazines where he is challenged by his interviewers to respond to their criticisms and the criticisms of others. In one, for instance, Foucault tries hard to correct those who read his works as a totalizing critique of capitalism, or the current penal system, or the mental institution. He insists that his works are only intended to be seen as the history of various specific institutions and that those critics and followers who are tempted to project his findings onto current practices distort his intent. Whether or not you believe him, his defense of his method and his avowed intent are compelling. In another, he also quickly and cogently characterizes his two main intellectual influences, Hegelism and phenomenology, explains why he rejected these particular philosophical trends, but how they nevertheless challenged him to arrive at his own agenda and the course of his studies. Throughout Foucault is ruthlessly honest about his own failings -- for instance his lack of knowledge about the Frankfurt School, and thoughtful -- his appraisal of the problems that inhere in national healthcare programs, which he generally supports but with interesting qualifications. The editorials, while they address issues that may seem remote or dated, demonstrate that he was actively engaged in the politics of his time, and show how he applies his analytical methods to current events. Some selections will be of interest only to the Foucault fanatic or to his biographers, which is the reason for the four star, instead of the five-star, rating. Highly recommended.

Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior
$14.95
In "Power vs. Force," David Hawkins attempts to set up an absolute test for truth using kinesiology. In brief, a person holds his arm horizontally while a second person pushes down on the arm with two fingers above the wrist. The first person is asked to resist the pushing. A concept or idea is then introduced (for example, Adolph Hitler or Jesus Christ). According to Hawkins, if a concept tests "strong," the person will be able to resist the pushing on his arm, no matter how strong. On the other hand, if a concept tests "weak," the person cannot successfully resist the push, and his arm will go down. Hawkins claims all would test strong for Jesus Christ and weak for Adolph Hitler, regardless of whether they had any knowledge or information about the subjects. Moreover, Hawkins claims that this strong and weak test is true for all people and all cultures and is absolutely valid. Therefore--and this is the outrageous part--this test can be used to test the truth of anything from a political regime to a TV commercial. Supposedly, this is because the collective wisdom of mankind is stored in one's muscles.

This is obviously absurd. While there may be some correlation between ideas and physiological responses (a polygraph is based on this claim), to assert that such responses are universal and absolute and independent of any conscious knowledge is laughable. Nevertheless, Hawkins feels compelled to base his entire book on this theory. One could just as easily claim that universal truth could be detected by how quickly one blinks his eyes and set up "tests" to prove that it is valid.

If this book has any validity, it is that human beings benefit from considering psychological and spiritual dichotomies such as power vs. force, freedom vs. domination, openness vs secrecy, and so on. Anyone can do this by using his own intuition and discernment. You don't need to hold your arm out and have someone push down on it to know that the message of Jesus Christ is more powerful than the message of Adolph Hitler.