Fair Trade: A Beginner's Guide (Beginners Guide (Oneworld)) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you're looking for a cut-and-dry approach to fair trade, this is not the book for you. I was looking for something that really got into the functional side of fair trade business relationships, and was disappointed to see the author took the typical, tired, aid-focused approach. I firmly believe that artisans and agriculturalists in developing countries have a lot to offer in trade, and if we approach relationships with a win-win mentality, progress and development will follow. The author seems to believe the developed world needs to engage in these relationships as a form of assistance - I disagree 100%. Until we start to recognize the TRUE VALUE of products and services from developing countries, we will be trapped in a cycle of aid and handouts.

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Coffee: Growing, Processing, Sustainable Production: A Guidebook for Growers, Processors, Traders, and Researchers Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a grower, exporter, seller and roaster of coffee from Jinotega, Nicaragua. When I started my farm, my goal was to own the entire supply chain from seed to cup. It was very difficult as I began this journey 4 years ago found it difficult as no one understand the entire scope of seed to cup as most people understand only a narrow segment of each aspect of the industry, such as farming, cupping, retailing, etc. This book encompasses the entire seed to farming, to processing, export, to cup and to eventually retail. It discusses aspects of ecology, sustainability, and new coffee technology. It covers the various processes of coffee horticulture and milling in different parts of the world. I was able to bring ideas from Africa to my farm in Central America. The locals initially were resistant, but seeing it in action quickly changed minds. Through this book I was able to cut my energy cost to a minimum, and also reduce my water usage to only 20 gallons a day for wet miling coffee. I only use 8 workers for a 30 hectare farm. Fertilizer costs also decreased by judicious use and understanding of nutritional needs of the coffee trees. We were able to get premium prices for our coffee as the quality drastically improved. The cup also is excellent with an average score of 80. Love to see it in a kindle. This book is heavy and stained with coffee from the various trips to Central America.

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Capturing the entire value creation chain, this practical guide describes methods of coffee cultivation, harvesting, processing, storage, quality assessment, and economics. It is unique in incorporating latest research on the coffee plant, its pests and diseases, as well as biotechnological methods for improved breeds. It is likewise unique in addressing the long-term sustainability of current coffee production methods, showing modern alternatives to traditional practices.
Last but not least, it is richly illustrated with more than 900 colour photographs, drawings and diagrams, resulting in the single most comprehensive practice-oriented guidebook for coffee producers, traders and researchers.

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Half Share (Solar Clipper Trader Tales) Review

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(More customer reviews)Thoroughly enjoyed this installment of the series. The major theme of the critiques I have read for "Half Share" concern the "shopping scene" and Ish becoming "sexually aware" in what many folks consider in sudden and deserting fashion. I have no issues with this.
Lets see, Ish is young, overly protected from society by his mother, on his own for the first ever, been trapped in the ship with common berthing for months and the young man hormones are raging. Lets add to the mix that no one on the ship has sexual relations with each other. And last but not least IMHO the most important is he (and the crew) have to do a lot of living while in port. Just go to a Military base after a Ship returns home or goes into port or see a Army base after a major deployment and see how much living those young people pack in 24 or 48 hours.
Another part that seemed real was the old salts (all babes in Ish's case) take care of the younger troops that they deem worthy of their time. Were some of his behaviors cocky, sure, but show me an 18 year old that is not. NL has great grasp of reality of what a young man and crew go through and writes in such a way that I cannot put the book down once I start reading. NL is on my list of great writers because he sucks me into the world that he creates so quickly. Not many writers have that affect on me. I wish the next book was Kindle available, already!! I looked for this one everyday in Nov and Dec until it showed up two days ago. I was my Christmas present to myself. LOL Buy this book it will not disappoint.

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SIX MONTHS IN THE DEEP DARK. FOUR VERY DIFFERENT WOMEN. ONE MAN DISCOVERS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A SPACER.It's a time of change on the Lois McKendrick. Sarah Krugg joins the mess deck and Ishmael Wang moves to the environmental section. Just after getting accustomed to life aboard a solar clipper, Ishmael must learn a whole new set of skills, face his own fears and doubts, and try to balance love and loss in the depths of space.Both Ish and Sarah must learn to live by the mantra, "Trust Lois." For Sarah, there is the hope of escaping a horrifying past. For Ish, he must discover what type of man he wants to become and learn the consequences of his choices.Return with the crew of the SC Lois McKendrick, as you set sail in the next installment of the Trader Tales of the Solar Clipper Series. All your favorites return: Ish, Pip, Cookie, Brill, Diane, and Big Bad Bev. You might even discover some new friends as you travel among the stars.TRADER TALE BOOKS IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE SOLAR CLIPPERQuarter ShareHalf ShareFull ShareDouble ShareCaptain's ShareOwner's Share*SHAMAN TALE BOOKS IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE SOLAR CLIPPERSouth CoastCape Grace**ForthcomingREVIEWS"This is a thoroughly enjoyable coming of age story that had me deciding, three-quarters of the way through, to buy the second book in the series, as I wished to follow Ishmael's journey to becoming a full share (and beyond) crew member aboard a space trader.""This story has no major conflict, no vilian, no drama, no surprises...I couldn't put it down. Story of life on a deep space freighter with good characters.""For me this book brought up shades of Robert Heinlein to me. The scrappy characters fighting to get ahead make you want to root for them. This is not your typical space aliens conquer the universe book. Nathan Lowell takes a seemingly mundane thing (trade and business) and makes it into something you want to learn about.""I'm not the first to say there's a connection here to the works of Robert Heinlein, but the shoe fits. Lowell's writing is crisp and his future is vivid; it's a place you'd like to live.""The story just flows well...I couldn't put the book down until I finished. And then right when I finished (at 1 AM in the morning) I was back on Amazon's site looking for the next book in the series.""I just want to add to all the praise for Lowell, this book was an excellent read, and if you are a fan of SciFi, definitely recommended."

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The Coffee Trader: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle) Review

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(More customer reviews)Edgar Award-winning author Edward Liss returns with "The Coffee Trader," another elegantly written historical suspense thriller. In 1659 the bustling port town of Amsterdam was filled with refugees from the Spanish Inquisition, as well as schemers and rogues from all over Europe looking to make some gulden (guilder). The Dutch, after defeating the Spanish, turned their small country into a major economic power in Europe. Amsterdam became the most financially dynamic city in the world, thanks to the robust commercial activity of their commodities exchange, the world's first.

Miguel Lienzo, a Portuguese Jew, escaped the Inquisition on the Iberian peninsula and moved to the much more tolerant Netherlands. He created a home within the city's close-knit Sephardic Jewish community. Sharp-witted, and a bit of a rogue himself, Miguel thrives on the exhilaration of the Dutch bourse, but his trades of late have not gone well. On the brink of financial ruin due to sudden shifts in the sugar market, he enters into a partnership with a seductive, entrepreneurial Dutch widow with an eye for business, Geertruid Damuis. Together they concoct a daring plot to corner the market on a new commodity - coffee. Lienzo's plan has him going up against a powerful enemy, Solomon Parido, who sits on the Ma'amad, the Jewish self-governing body which controls all aspects of community life. Miguel had been betrothed to Parido's daughter, until his unfortunate lack of discretion caused the relationship to end, earning him Parido's lasting enmity. If Lienzo fails, he will not only be ruined but exiled as well...and nothing would please Parido more.

Liss meticulously recreates the 17th century Dutch city. He brings Lienzo's world to life in great detail, as well as the workings of the Amsterdam bourse which are strangely similar to modern commodities markets. The complex, labyrinthine storyline, chock full of intrigue, is really compelling, and his characters are three dimensional in scope. Miguel, actually, is a surprisingly nuanced figure.
I found myself drinking more coffee than usual while reading this novel. Something about the narrative had me smelling freshly ground coffee beans constantly. Imagine a world without Starbucks! One part of "The Coffee Trader" that I really enjoyed, amongst many, is the Europeans' astonished reaction after their first taste of this bitter, stimulating brew, and their realization that fortunes could be made with the beverage. Lienzo even foresees a day when taverns, serving coffee, will spring up on every corner. Imagine that?
JANA

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