Bulldozed:’Kelo,’ Eminent Domain and the American Lust for Land
Bulldozed:'Kelo,' Eminent Domain and the American Lust for Land
No domestic policy issue more angers or galvanizes the public than the controversy over eminent domain-the taking of private property for public use. The stakes in this always controversial procedure have been dramatically raised in recent years as eminent domain has been used to fund private development. As the notorious Kelo case in New London, CT demonstrated last year. The practice of using eminent domain to enrich municipalities is an incendiary issue. Veteran journalist, Carla Main, takes
List Price: $ 27.95
Price: [wpramaprice asin="1594031932"]
[wpramareviews asin="1594031932"]
The Domain Game
Almost everyone has heard a tale of someone getting rich by selling an Internet domain name for a staggering price. But few understand the secretive world of domain investing, a game that a growing number of people are playing around the globe. The Domain Game chronicles the exploits of leading domain investors and explains how this mysterious market works.
Learn how an Oklahoma watermelon farmer wound up owning some of the world's most valuable Web addresses, from recipes.com to chairs.
List Price: $ 19.99
Price: [wpramaprice asin="B001BHECAU"]
[wpramareviews asin="B001BHECAU"]
July 30th, 2010 - 22:22
Public use or government abuse?,
A terrific introduction to the eminent domain battle. The story of Freeport, Texas in the context of the pre and post “Kelo” world is both a fast yet intimate look at the issue that has sparked so much debate. I found the authors presentation of the “real life characters” in this drama compelling. Carla Main’s narrative is direct and snappy and her historical analysis interesting without being overly theoretical. This is far from a comprehensive look at the legal underpinnings supporting the “Kelo” decision and will not satisfy the deeper constitutional scholar yearning for a “substantive due process” treatise or a “founding fathers’ debate” on the true meaning of the fifth amendment. Everyone else will find it thought provoking and well worth a few nights of reading.
Was this review helpful to you?
|July 30th, 2010 - 23:21
A fascinating read,
Legal and economic issues involve real people.
You will get more insight from reading this book about a heroic struggle among life-long friends in a small city, who are fighting for dignity, hope and the fruition of their dreams, than from a dozen legal tomes.
And it might not interest lawyers, but it raises the key question of whether local governments are even able to understand their own best economic interests. It is a microcosm of the conflict between top-down and bottom-up growth.
Was this review helpful to you?
|July 30th, 2010 - 23:57
You Could Be Next,
Carla Main, an attorney who formerly represented condemning authorities in public domain cases and knows that side of the story, has done an about-face and zeros in on one family that has become a victim. Her caustically humorous commentary tells not only the facts of what happened to the Gore family of Freeport, Texas, but at the same time emphasizes the overtly self-serving nature and often ridiculous logic of most eminent domain takings.
She doesn’t stop with the Gores, however, and presents case after case of similar situations around the country during the same time period. Putting all that in the light of history, she then outlines the origin of eminent domain and how it went from something for government use only with the assumption that civic conscience would be followed in giving just remuneration, to an economic free-for-all whereby one private party benefits from a property (or properties) being taken from another private party (or parties).
The book is a good basic primer for anyone with an interest in present eminent domain issues, written in a highly readable style. More importantly, it highlights the human cost of this practice.
Main puts forth the idea that in the past eminent domain was used mostly in relation to black or other ethnic communities, citing a case where a large black secton of Washington, DC was taken to build an upscale facility. While this has often been historically true, the takings have not been limited to ethnic groups. Those interested in past use of eminent domain would be interested in reading Stolen Fields: A Story of Eminent Domain and the Death of the American Dream by this author, a memoir of the effects of eminent domain on several generations of a family.
Note: A recent update on the case cited by Main in Long Branch, NJ — the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld the case for the homeowners. A step forward.
Was this review helpful to you?
|July 31st, 2010 - 00:48
Not What I Was Hoping For….,
Having been in the domain name market for many years now, I am an avid domainer. Consequently, I was anxious to read this book. While the author writes well, it was “useful” content that was lacking. At minimum, the first 75% of this book is dedicated to the history of how domain names came to be today.
The subtitle for this book is “How People Get Rich From Internet Domain Names.” My impression was that this book would be focused on new insights, new leads, new ways of working with my names to enhance my knowledge. But, after reading this book in its entirety, I do not feel that was the case. A great deal of this book is dedicated to the bygone days of a few successful domainers who got on board “very” early and their subsequent stories. While their stories were interesting, today those circumstances would be impossible to duplicate – which was to purchase a large inventory of “one word,” exceptional names, rather inexpensively.
Additionally, there are many pointed references to those few people and companies who tried to cheat the system. It seems no matter what industry it is, there are always those that push the boundaries. While they are discussed at length, again I would have much rather read sound, constructive ideas, as implied by the books subtitle.
Lastly, I do not agree with many points of the final chapter.
Was this review helpful to you?
|July 31st, 2010 - 01:44
“The Domain Game” Has The Potential To Influence And Ignite The Next Generation Of Leaders…,
Many of us have a valid excuse why we missed an early wave of opportunity to invest – or invest more heavily – in Internet domain names. We may have had no idea what was happening and what we were missing out on, or we may have had a clue but could not quite grasp how to get a handle on it. With David Kesmodel’s “The Domain Game” now available, though, there are few excuses to sit on the sidelines anymore!
Some books focus on one industry but are really about so much more. They are about people, about business, about life. They are about how one’s perspective, creative thinking, actions, and persistence can make a difference in his or her success. “The Domain Game” is one such book, and I highly recommend it both as an insightful view into the world of domaining and as an interesting and enlightening story that is worth reading whether you know what a domain name is or not.
Kesmodel, a staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal’s Chicago bureau who formerly worked as technology reporter for the Journal’s online edition, expertly weaves Internet domain name industry facts and history into the context of events, sharing the true stories of successful domainers. He tells how individuals of varied educational and work backgrounds found success through foresight, smart thinking, and/or aggressive pursuit of domain names that they acquired for prices as low as under $10 to many thousands of dollars.
But Kesmodel doesn’t stop there – he offers insights into opportunities that exist in domaining today, and he introduces readers to many key players and domain industry resources.
Readers who know nothing about Internet domain names beforehand will sooner or later realize that they could have hand-registered a couple of “.com” domain names for the price of the book… and know that buying the book first was a good investment because it can help them make smarter decisions.
That is not to say that you cannot have success in the world of domaining without reading Kesmodel’s insightful historical look at the evolution of the domain name industry – far from it, because readers will see that many successful domainers over the past 15 years or so have done phenomenally well without Kesmodel’s near 20-20 hindsight.
With over 500 Internet domain names in my own “portfolio”, I am by no means a newbie to the world of Internet domain names and have had some modest successes as a domain buyer, developer, and seller… From personal experience, I can attest to the fact that names purchased for tens or hundreds of dollars can sell for thousands if you find the right buyer… I am aware enough about the domain industry to have become a geo domainer, a domain developer, a domain name reseller, the author of a blog about Fractional Domaining, and an active participant in domain industry social networks. Looking back, though, I sure wish I had the knowledge contained within “The Domain Game” years ago when I and so many others were learning on our own and guessing what we should do when opportunities were great and the very best ways to success were not always as clear as they could have been.
The good news is opportunities in domaining still abound, and Kesmodel provides insight, perspective, and direction that can benefit newbies through experienced domainers.
The knowledge you will gain from “The Domain Game” will be invaluable in framing your approach and mindset about domain names and domain name investing. Warning: You may catch yourself beginning to think of concepts, places, and things in terms of domain names! (But that could be a good thing!)
If reading “The Domain Game” generates one idea for you or gets you thinking differently about how you approach things or what you are currently doing, then its value far exceeds the price of the book.
Also, because of the relatively low price of domain names, it is easy to apply the knowledge gained from “The Domain Game” in your personal life. And while it may be possible, you do not have to achieve the astronomical successes of some of the individuals mentioned in “The Domain Game” to have success as a domain name investor yourself.
Are there risks involved with investing in domain names? Absolutely! And to his credit, in Chapter Nine when Kesmodel talks about “The Future”, he is upfront about what some of those risks are. He is also clear in stating that the domain market has changed over the years and some opportunities are different now than they were previously.
“The Domain Game” has the potential to influence and ignite the next generation of Internet and business leaders. Every self-learner and every business school should make “The Domain Game” required reading because it chronicles one of the most important business evolutions of our time and tells how readers can get involved.
The sequel to “The Domain Game”…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?
|July 31st, 2010 - 01:49
Domains Step Into The Spotlight!,
On page 83 of <a href=”http://stepintothespotlight.com”>Step Into The Spotlight!, </a>I admitted that I have 503 domain names. My friends are ready to send me to “Domain Names Anonymous”, but I stand my ground. They’re not making any more lakefront and they’re not making any more .coms. But in the past few months, I let a couple of hundred of them go, scrutinizing each one and really asking myself if I was going to use ‘em to market my business. That’s what domain names are for…aren’t they?
I wish I’d had a copy of David Kesmodel’s new book <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/Domain-Game-David-Kesmodel/dp/1436332281/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1_s9_rk?ie=UTF8&s=books&s9r=8a10809b18796943011a88e87c5a406e&itemPosition=1&qid=1220281079&sr=8-1″>”The Domain Game”</a> at the time. It’s a fascinating history of the high stakes game of buying and selling domain names for fun and profit, mostly profit. The characters are as colorful as Damon Runyon’s gamblers (brought to life in <em>Guys and Dolls</em>) from a watermelon farmer to a young reclusive guy who’s near impossible to contact. There’s intrigue, drama–all the elements necessary for a Hollywood blockbuster.
Those looking for a detailed “how to” on how to get rich from domain names may walk away disappointed and I must admit at a certain point, I did “cut to the chase” by skipping straight to the last chapter, ie the <em>what can be done today</em> portion of the show. But the narrative was gripping enough that I did go back and read what I missed. And I learned a lot. I gotta congratulate this guy, Kesmodel. He’s a journalist and he got people to spill their secrets, big time. And I did put the book down several times to run to the computer and renew some of my almost-expired names. Well worth the read.
Was this review helpful to you?
|