Switzerland Books

Rolex Wristwatches: An Unauthorized History (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

James M. Dowling, Jeffrey P. Hess

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Big Watches; Big Book 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Similar to Rolex watches on which this book focuses, it's heavy, quite large, and overpriced. Again similar to Rolex watches, it does the job fairly well. Generally good to excellent photography traces the evolution of Wilsdorf's watches from "unknown," to a famous name. Furthermore, Wilsdorf understood the value of publc relations and advertising campaigns to boost his product to what's probably the most recognized brand of Swiss mechanical watches. While the book is lavish in its photographic presentations, there are too few words. Especially with watches, I want to know original and current selling prices, too. I yearned for a newer edition. Of course there can't be one every year, but this volume is better suited to the collector of older watches. I'd love one highlighting post-2005 Rolexes. But, you sure can't slight the research accomplished. Tops in that regard, few cover older Rolexes as completely. As a photographer who owns six Rolex watches, I appreciate the photography, and respect the teeth-pulling exercises the authors no doubt went through to locate the pictures. I prefer smaller books that are more conveniently sized for reading and storage. My library leans like the famous tower due to myriad so-called "table- or coffeetable-top" books that are oversized. Sometimes, as is this publication, that's the only way I find the material I seek: books about cars and watches. A slick, perhaps thicker, paperback edition possible to read lying down beats hell out of these large, cloth bound, impractical volumes. This book, at its price, is a product only a "watch buff" or a Rolex fan will likely cough up $125.00 to own. I'm both, plus I got it for $75: a "bargain," I suppose, maybe much in the same way Rolexes are when compared with several finer Swiss timepieces, such as Patek Philippe, a brand against which all watches are weighed,watchmakers often say. Rolexes are no Patek Philippes, of course, but they don't sell new for $100,000, $200,000, $300,000 or more, either, and sans diamonds as well! As a "gearhead" and watch hound for more than 50 years, I say a Rolex is similar to a Dodge pickup loaded with leather, GPS, Sirius and all the toys. They're tough, rough, practical. As mechanical devices go, they're reliable as granite. Each has a strong, masculine, but very attractive presence, and either one that's serviced religiously will work a century more. This isn't the best watch book I own, nor is it even the best Rolex book I have, but those of us dedicated to horology and Rolexes may say, as did I: "To hell with its dimensions, ungainly weight and price: I gotta' have it!" Unless Auntie Maude is the bearded weight lifter at the circus, don't send her after it. Plan to sit at a table to flip through it comfortably. (Be sure to order the 3rd edition, circa 2006!)

Editorial Review:

The name Rolex is recognized around the world. It has become an icon of beauty, quality, accuracy, style, and taste. While there are other fine manufacturers of timepieces, none has reached this pinnacle of public respect and acclaim. The watches produced by Rolex over the last 100 years are celebrated in this lavishly illustrated classic, now in a revised and expanded third edition. Over 30 newly discovered wristwatches are included in this volume, along with new information and a revised value guide. In addition there are detailed looks at some of Rolex's legendary movements. Dowling and Hess, both acknowledged Rolex authorities, have captured the watches' beauty in color photography and present the most thorough and extensive history written of the company. The watches and the extensive information this book offeres to collectors make it a truly useful volume, one that will be cherished by watch lovers around the world.

Seven Days in January: With the 6th SS-Mountain Division in Operation NORDWIND

Wolf T. Zoepf, Theodore Mataxis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The first book-length account of the initial phase of Operation NORDWIND, the last German offensive on the Western Front in World War II, Seven Days in January is also a personal memoir by a key participant. For perspective, the author includes a detailed, yet concise, summary of his division's operations during three years of combat against the Soviets on the Arctic Front near Murmansk, and its epic 1,000-mile fighting withdrawal across Finland and Norway after the Finns concluded a separate armistice with the USSR in 1944. With this as background, the author focuses on a day-by-day description and analysis of Operation NORDWIND, based on not only his personal experience in the campaign, but on extensive use of both German and American archival sources and dozens of interviews with the combatants of both sides. A gripping and detailed account of an important, yet until now obscure unit's participation in the last critical contest on the Western Front in WWII. Includes 36 highly-detailed maps, including eight textured 3-D maps derived from satellite imagery to facilitate the reader's fullest possible understanding of the terrain's effects on operations. 6" x 9" format; photos; index.

The White Spider

Heinrich Harrer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Beautiful, Magnificent Eiger 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I love this book, and I love all of the writings of Mr. Harrer. The two Tibet books and this are must reading if you love Mountain books, and if you are interested in Tibet. Another fantastic book to read about the Eiger is The Climb Up To Hell, by Olsen. Mr. Harrer was on the team that made the first successful ascent of the North Face of the Eiger. It is an incredible event, truly one of the most fantastic in the history of mountaineering. I have to laugh sometimes when I see and hear about all the "extreme" sports and athletes, letting us all know how radical they are, using their thousands of dollars of equipment and guides to do these things. Just wait until we can get helicopters to fly higher in thin air, then we'll ALL be able to get to the summits of these mountains and have a beer and a bratwurst. Until then, do yourself a favor and read Mr. Harrer's books.

Editorial Review:

The White Spider dramatically recreates not only the

harrowing, successful ascent made by Harrer and his comrades in 1938, but also the previous, tragic attempts at a wall of rock that was recently enshrined in mountaineer Jon Krakauer's first work, Eiger Dreams. For a generation of American climbers, The White Spider has been a formative book--yet it has long been out-of-print in America. This edition awaits discovery by Harrer's new legion of readers.

Euler: The Master of Us All (Dolciani Mathematical Expositions, No 22) (Dolciani Mathematical Expositions)

William Dunham

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Nice book for readers with a background in math 4 out of 5 stars.
35 of 36 people found this review helpful.

I really enjoyed reading this book that describes some background on Euler and his work. It is written in an informal style, so for people with a math background it reads like a novel.

The book is not suitable for people who want to learn more about the person Euler, but do not have a math background, because 75% of the book is about real math (equations). So if you don't enjoy reading equations, do not buy the book.

Summary: as enjoyable as the other Dunham books, although a bit more expensive (but still worth the money).

William Dunham has done it again! 5 out of 5 stars.
32 of 32 people found this review helpful.

With the publication of this, his third book, Dunham has once more shown himself to be a master himself of mathematical explanation. Unlike his previous two books, The Mathematical Universe and Journey Through Genius, which covered results by a variety of mathematicians, this book focuses on selected results that sprang from the remarkable mind of Leonard Euler, one of the most prolific and important mathematicians of all time. What sets Euler apart is not only the vast quantity of his output (the publication of his collected works, the Opera Omnia, spans six dozen volumes, or over 25,000 pages in all!), but also the breadth and originality of his work. Not only did Euler contribute to a wide array of mathematical fields -- from number theory to complex analysis to geometry -- but in many cases, he was the founder of those fields. For example, Euler invented the field of analytical number theory, and he was the first mathematician to recognize the importance of and to discover the important properties of complex numbers.

This book in many ways resembles Dunham's Journey Through Genius. As in that book, Dunham has selected 15 or so theorems to present in detail, and he makes an effort to keep the proofs similar in spirit to the original proofs. Although the proofs are complete and the book is full of equations, they are accessible to anyone with a high school level of mathematics education. But in addition to the proofs, Dunham also provides historical context, as well as commentary on how later mathematicians used and improved upon Euler's work. For example, we learn that Euler began to loose the sight in his right eye at the age of 32, and that despite his virtual blindness by the age of 65, he continued his prolific rate of output until his death at age 84.

The book's title is taken from a quote by Laplace, who said, ``Read Euler, read Euler. He is the master of us all.'' Indeed, if you have any interest in mathematics, you will almost certainly find yourself in complete agreement with Laplace's sentiments by the time you finish reading this wonderful book. ...

Editorial Review:

Leonhard Euler was one of the most prolific mathematicians that have ever lived. This book examines the huge scope of mathematical areas explored and developed by Euler, which includes number theory, combinatorics, geometry, complex variables and many more. The information known to Euler over 300 years ago is discussed, and many of his advances are reconstructed. Readers will be left in no doubt about the brilliance and pervasive influence of Euler's work.

Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style, 1920-1965

Richard Hollis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Swiss graphic design and “the Swiss Style” are crucial elements in the history of modernism. During the 1920s and ’30s, skills traditionally associated with Swiss industry, particularly pharmaceuticals and mechanical engineering, were matched by those of the country’s graphic designers, who produced their advertising and technical literature. These pioneering graphic artists saw design as part of industrial production and searched for anonymous, objective visual communication. They chose photographic images rather than illustration, and typefaces that were industrial-looking rather than those designed for books.Written by noted design authority Richard Hollis, this lavishly illustrated volume looks at the uniquely clear graphic language developed by such Swiss designers as Theo Ballmer, Max Bill, Adrian Frutiger, Karl Gerstner, Armin Hoffman, Ernst Keller, Herbert Matter, Josef Müller-Brockmann, and Jan Tschichold. The style of these artists received worldwide admiration for its formal discipline: images and text were organized by geometrical grids. Adopted internationally, the grid and sans serif typefaces such as Helvetica became the classic emblems of Swiss graphic design.Showcasing design work across a range of media, including posters, magazines, exhibition displays, brochures, advertisements, books, and film, this essential book shows how many of the Swiss designers’ modernist elements remain an indispensable part of today’s graphic language.

Caravan: Cessna's Swiss Army Knife with Wings

J. D. Lewis, LeRoy Cook

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Editorial Review:

From its colorful history to its innovative yet conventional aircraft systems, this chronicle details the entire story of the Cessna Caravan, a single-engine propjet. Introduced in 1985, this utility aircraft with a gargantuan engine is a rugged, reliable, and versatile plane that is fully explored in this record. Entertaining and enlightening, this examination of the plane that operates in more than 70 countries and is often referred to as “the flying SUV” contains interesting pilot stories, historical anecdotes, and dozens of expert flying tips that cover everything from preflight troubleshooting to executing smooth landings.

Altitude: Contemporary Swiss Graphic Design

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A new wave of intellectually rigorous and iconoclastic Swiss designers are carving their niche in a new graphic language. By combining traditional high quality "Swiss Style" with advanced media, they are giving rise to a progressive style of visual expression. Seven years after publishing Swiss Graphic Design, we present Altitude - a new generation of flourishing contemporary designers, giving insight into the impact, essence and diversity of the work and evaluating the significant evolution of illustration and typography in recent years.

An increasing number of designers are working internationally with interdisciplinary design practices in typography, vector graphics, photography, interiors and web design. They bring about an experimental, playful and humourous element while maintaining the minimalist approach and precision that gives Swiss Design its universally recognized trademark.

Altitude is an expansive volume that showcases and examines current trends as well as providing an analysis of contemporary Swiss Design through visuals, texts, interviews and commentary from the designers and editors themselves.

Democracy and Redistribution (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics)

Carles Boix

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Asset Specificity, Equality, and Democracy 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Boix seeks to explain the emergence of various political systems; particularly the transitions between democratic governments, right-wing authoritarian regimes, and left-wing dictatorships. However, Boix's use of triangulated research - the combination of quantitative and qualitative measures - provides a more accurate explanation of regime transition than Lipset's original work.

Boix uses three main independent variables to explain political outcomes. First, Boix examines rates of inequality. He suggests that a nation with a more equitable distribution of assets is likely to see the emergence of a democratic regime. Boix writes, "A more unequal distribution of wealth increases the redistributive demands of the population and the ultimate level of taxes in a democratic system. As the potential level of transfers become larger, the authoritarian inclination of the wealthy increase and the probabilities of democratization and democratic survival decline" (37).

Second, Boix examines the specificity of assets, that is, whether or not assets are expropiatable to other countries. The author contends that the more liquid an asset, the more likely a democratic regime will emerge. Boix asserts that if the wealthy are able to expropriate their assets to other nations, these assets are less likely to be taxed heavily by the poor. As such, the upper classes will be more receptive to a democratic regime. On the other hand, assets that are nontransferable - such as oil wealth - are likely to be subject to heavy taxation by the poor if a democratic regime took hold. As such, it is in the best interest of the wealthy elite to repress the poor and protect their monopoly of assets.

Lastly, Boix looks at the impact of political resources on regime transition. The costs and benefits of repression or revolt fluctuate between social classes under various circumstances. Boix argues that, holding inequality and specificity constant, the conflict between these oppositional groups, and their relative political strengths and weaknesses, lead to the emergence of specific regime types. He writes, "rich and poor assess both the income and benefits associated with each political regime and the costs of achieving their preferred solution" (44). For example, an authoritarian regime often operates in the interests of the ruling elite. So long as the costs of repressing the poor are less than the costs of granting universal suffrage, authoritarianism will continue. On the other hand, if a shift in the balance of power between classes occurs, transition becomes more likely. Boix argues that as the poor gain political resources, and overcome the problems of collective action, they are likely to put pressure on the upper classes (45). The cost of repression to the wealthy then becomes too high to justify continued authoritarianism and democracy emerges. If the poor believe that they have gained political power, or that the cost of being repressed has become unbearable, revolt ensues, and a left-wing dictatorship takes over.

Boix's combination of econometric techniques and qualitative analysis has reexamined the modernization and democratization debate and will prove a lasting contribution to the field.

Editorial Review:

Employing analytical tools borrowed from game theory, Carles Boix offers a complete theory of political transitions. It is one in which political regimes ultimately depend on the nature of economic assets, their distribution among individuals, and the balance of power among different social groups. Backed by detailed historical research and extensive statistical analysis from the mid-nineteenth century, the study reveals why democracy emerged in classical Athens. It also covers the early triumph of democracy in nineteenth-century agrarian Norway, Switzerland and northeastern America as well as its failure in countries with a powerful landowning class.

Why Switzerland?

Jonathan Steinberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Must read if you spend over a week in Switzerland 5 out of 5 stars.
68 of 69 people found this review helpful.

This turned out to be an utterly fascinating book, and it explained quite a bit about Swiss behavior and culture. While I of course can't vouch for everything in the book, I've tested a lot of it by observation and questioning the natives, and it seems consistent with reality.

Switzerland turns out to have a number of unique characteristics that aren't obvious to the outsider. For example, the government consists of an extraordinarily complex nested set of committees with a rotating presidency. The author makes the case that virtually all Swiss institutions, including government at all levels, the church and major corporations, are strongly influenced by an 800-year tradition of committee organization. In spite of having the most stable government in Europe (which my Swiss co-workers do not dispute), Switzerland has one of the most malleable constitutions in the world (which my co-workers do dispute).

I'm personally fascinated by language issues, so I read ahead to that chapter before finishing the lengthy chapter on politics. Again, Switzerland is unique in its treatment of dialects, which have very different social implications and practices in the French, German, Italian, and Romansh areas. According to the author, the urban Swiss Germans gave serious consideration to aligning themselves with 'greater Germany' in the 19th century. This obviously did not take place, and one of the unique results is that the local versions of Schwyzer Tüütsch (choose your spelling depending upon the valley you're in) are universally spoken without significant class variations. In other words, this chapter explains why the Italian Swiss are more likely to be comfortable in standard Italian, and the French Swiss are more comfortable in standard French, than the Swiss Germans are speaking standard German. As any outsider who speaks German is painfully aware, the Swiss Germans read and write standard German (Hochdeutsch), but generally prefer not to speak it.

Swiss seem more willing to discuss politics than religion, but the chapter on religion was enlightening. After all, Switzerland was at the heart of the reformation, with Zwingli in Züri and Calvin in Geneva. Again, the Swiss are unique among European countries in their treatment of religion and the extraordinary compromises they have made to allow the peaceful co-existence of roman catholicism and protestantism.

The Swiss military is, unsurprisingly at this point, another unique institution. Virtually the entire male population is expected to belong to the reserves for most of their working years, and they keep their weapons and ammunition in their homes. It was only recently that 52 year olds were no longer required to serve a short annual duty. I've found that the military intrudes regularly when you are working with the Swiss, so besides being interesting, the chapter on the Army is helpful in becoming more aware of some of the workplace dynamics.

How can a country with 4 different official languages have and maintain a common culture? What do the different regions have in common? Quite a bit, actually. Anyone who deals with the Swiss on a regular basis or spends over a week here would find this book a helpful start on building an understanding of Swiss institutions and culture. This would also be an excellent book for students doing cultural area studies of Europe or Switzerland. It is a good read, and anyone interested in contemporary Europe would enjoy it and find it educational.

Editorial Review:

Why Switzerland?, first published in 1976, offers a unique analysis of the structures that make Switzerland work and provides a short, concise "working model" for the visitor or student. Linking an analysis of the microeconomy to the major features in politics, history, religion and language, it shows how a "bottom up" society has survived in a world of "top down" states. For this new edition Jonathan Steinberg has completely revised and extended his text, and a number of unusual and attractive illustrations have been added.

Carl Jung: Wounded Healer of the Soul

Clare Dunne

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Carl Jung: Wounded Healer of the Soul is a spiritual biography of one of the most important figures of the twentieth century, a man whose ideas revolutionized modern psychology. Through over 150 full-color and black and white illustrations, including rare photographs and never-before-seen artwork by Jung himself, his life and work comes vividly to life. By combining Jung’s voice with the impressions of his contemporaries, author Claire Dunne gives the reader a multi-dimensional view of this complex genius. A book that will deepen and expand the understanding of both novice and expert.

“Claire Dunne’s sensitivity of feeling for her subject allows us to meet Jung in all his diverse complexity — his contradictions and paradox, human failings and strength, his greatness and creativity. We meet a man at once transparent to transcendence but also earthy, practical, a craftsman of wood and stone as well as souls.” — From the introduction by Jean Houston.