Robert Stephens – författare

One of the wildest, most spectacular decades in American history, the 1920s were a period of unprecedented growth and mass consumerism. In the New Era, people drank in speakeasies, danced to jazz, idolized gangsters, and bet their life savings on stocks.Born and raised in a small Canadian town, Arthur Cutten went to Chicago in 1890 with ninety dollars to his name. Through utter ruthlessness, he amassed a fortune trading in grain futures and stocks. Cutten was heralded as the modern Midas, and his every move was followed by the masses, who believed they could get rich quick. But everything changed after the crash of 1929. The heroes of prosperity became the villains of the Great Depression. Determined to crack down on the "banksters," the Roosevelt administration launched an all-out attack on those it blamed for the collapse – and Cutten was at the top of the list. A US Senate committee probed how he manipulated stock prices. The Grain Futures Administration moved to bar him from trading. And the Bureau of Internal Revenue indicted him for income tax evasion. But the wily operator won on every count: he emerged from the Senate investigation unscathed, maintained his grain trading privileges after a victory in the Supreme Court, and left almost nothing for the tax collectors upon his death.To Make a Killing tells the tale of Cutten's journey to fabulous wealth, the forces that propelled him, and the fascinating characters in his life.

One of the wildest, most spectacular decades in American history, the 1920s were a period of unprecedented growth and mass consumerism. In the New Era, people drank in speakeasies, danced to jazz, idolized gangsters, and bet their life savings on stocks.Born and raised in a small Canadian town, Arthur Cutten went to Chicago in 1890 with ninety dollars to his name. Through utter ruthlessness, he amassed a fortune trading in grain futures and stocks. Cutten was heralded as the modern Midas, and his every move was followed by the masses, who believed they could get rich quick. But everything changed after the crash of 1929. The heroes of prosperity became the villains of the Great Depression. Determined to crack down on the “banksters,” the Roosevelt administration launched an all-out attack on those it blamed for the collapse – and Cutten was at the top of the list. A US Senate committee probed how he manipulated stock prices. The Grain Futures Administration moved to bar him from trading. And the Bureau of Internal Revenue indicted him for income tax evasion. But the wily operator won on every count: he emerged from the Senate investigation unscathed, maintained his grain trading privileges after a victory in the Supreme Court, and left almost nothing for the tax collectors upon his death.To Make a Killing tells the tale of Cutten’s journey to fabulous wealth, the forces that propelled him, and the fascinating characters in his life.

This book explores the Arab world and its development problems as its new oil wealth opens up prospects of accelerated economic and social progress. It describes Kuwait's aid operations and looks at the effect the sudden torrent of oil money has had on the Kuwaitis.

This book explores the Arab world and its development problems as its new oil wealth opens up prospects of accelerated economic and social progress. It describes Kuwait's aid operations and looks at the effect the sudden torrent of oil money has had on the Kuwaitis.

Germans on Drugs is both a groundbreaking study of the creation of youth drug culture in Hamburg during the 1960s and 1970s and an innovative exploration of the paradoxes of modernization. The very processes that allowed West Germany to flourish after the devastation of the Second World War—consumerism, globalization, and democratization—created the conditions under which a new intractable set of social problems could emerge. Placing Hamburg’s drug scene within national and international contexts, Robert P. Stephens examines the ways in which mass consumerism created complicated forms of resistance to state power and cultural norms, and he highlights the fragility of the physical and cultural boundaries of the nation-state in a globalizing world. "Coming in a rush of historical work on the 1960s and ’70s, Stephens’s study offers a unique approach. Looking through the lens of drug use and 'the drug problem,' Stephens brings new understanding to a raft of issues concerning not only the Cold War Federal Republic but also modernization, liberalization, globalization, and consumer society, offering important challenges to still-standing complacencies about the period and about West Germany's glide into 'the West.'"—Belinda Davis, Associate Professor of History, Rutgers University"Far more than a local or national study, Germans on Drugs is a lucid model of how research on drug cultures illuminates a remarkable range of historical issues." —Paul Gootenberg, Professor of History, State University of New York at Stony Brook"Germans on Drugs covers all aspects of the topic: production, distribution, consumption, practices of social agencies, public discourse, and governmental action. The book presents a vast amount of new insights into a subject that has never before been analyzed systematically. This will be an important contribution to the history of the consumer society in the 20th century."—Detlef Siegfried, Faculty of the Humanities, University of Copenhagen"A fascinating book on a fascinating topic. From international trafficking routes to the streets of Hamburg to the halls of treatment centers, Stephens shows modern drug culture as part of consumer society and global trade, and he elucidates mind-reeling shifts in ideals of treatment and control. This is an essential work for anyone interested in the dramatic changes of the 1960s and 1970s."—Elizabeth Heineman, Associate Professor of History, Lecturer in International Programs, University of IowaRobert P. Stephens is Assistant Professor of History at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Cannabis dependence is controversial. Does it occur or is it a myth put forth by those who oppose legalisation? What are the signs of cannabis dependence? How many people are affected? What are the health and behavioural risks of becoming cannabis-dependent? What counselling approaches have been tested with adults and adolescents, and how effective are they? What are the arguments for legalisation, regulation or prohibition? Looking back and toward the future, what do we know and what do we need to learn? This state-of-the-science review sets out to answer all those questions, beginning with an historical examination and moving into diagnosis, classification, epidemiology, public health, policy, issues relating to regulation and prohibition, and evidence-based interventions.

The Geek Squad comes to the rescue of computer users who are tired of paying and waiting for technical assistance on help lines, taking their machines to over-priced repair shops, or struggling with incomprehensible computer manuals. With an irreverent attitude, Robert Stephens demystifies hardware and software once and for all. Stephen's uncomplicated techniques are applicable to every computer and all software applications and require no tools. This book covers everything from buying a computer to how to handle problems with RAM, the CD-ROM drive, the keyboard, the mouse, data recovery, the Internet, security and much more. Most computer manuals and books are for computers that work - this is the first one designed for those that don't! Remember, it can't crash, it won't put you on hold, and it never takes lunch breaks!