The purpose of this edition is to provide an English translation of three essays about Tomás de Mercado’s book, Deals and Contracts of Merchants and Traders. This translation has been made from the 1569 edition of the book published in Salamanca. The book was later the object of new editions and it was expanded by two more chapters, with an Italian translation appearing in 1571. However, an English edition had never been made before. The 1569 edition is composed of four Books: the first dedicated to merchants and their contracts, the second to currency and loans, the third to usury …

Most people recognize that Arthur Andersen was a great Firm. For the authors,
it was perhaps the greatest. Its fulminating, unexpected and shameful
collapse, with the Enron case and ensuing disappearance from the market,
leaving a cloud of local professional firms, has left in the collective memory
a totally negative image, erasing any earlier merits as if they never existed.

Written by two former Arthur Andersen partners, this book recovers those
merits, the authentic "Andersen Culture", that did many well-done things for
many years, in many countries, with many satisfied clients. Vindicates to
bring back certain values and practices of the entrepreneurial model that made
of Arthur Andersen an …

The loads on structures and infrastructures as well as their self-weight are as a set of forces that need to be always transmitted to the ground.This is achieved by means of a foundation,a system composed of a structural transitional element and the support ground, being the latter the component which frequently controls the foundation behavior.
This Book includes a series of recommendations and concepts that can be useful in the phase of finding for a suitable foundation solution, in their pre-design phase and in the own foundation designThe final selection of a foundation and its design will require the use of …

Infrastructures and buildings are built on a material that is heterogeneous in nature and whose properties are imposed by its origin: the ground. Soil or rock, the ground plays an important role in the cost and viability of any infrastructures and buildings during both their construction and their operation. Thus, knowing the ground and properly characterizing it, stands essential. This Book deals with the geotechnical engineering techniques and methods used to carry out a useful and successful study of the ground. Beginning by laying the foundations for a good geotechnical planning, which must be supported on the use of appropriate …

Europe is experiencing an unprecedented crisis and its fate hinges on its ability to find solutions. This crisis is not only economic but geostrategic, political and cultural. Economic, because Europe may stagnate and/or split up. Geostrategic, because it must identify its mission in the world and administer its borders with it. Political, because it has to improve both its ability to take action and the relationship between its civil society and its political sphere. Cultural, because it is difficult for a society uncertain of its own history to find its bearings; although it may get carried away by the pretence …