change Books

The book seemed to have info I need but I had trouble trying to figure out out to implement the ideas of the book into my situation.

20% of the upper corner of the book was bent - may have been due to the packing type used

As a social entrepreneur and current business school student, I was fascinated by Collins' work in Good To Great, and I am thrilled that he has provided this monograph to answer the questions that many of us the social sector have been wrestling with since his Good To Great publication was first released.

Unlike most publications about this sector, Collins directly provides interesting insight into accountability measures for social sector organizations, as well as the characteristics and the qualities that successful managers exhibit in the social sector. As usual, his Good To Great technique of analysis has yielded him not only important take-aways for organizational management, but an intuitive sense of how organizations, both for-profit and non-profit, can truly achieve sustainability.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone who enjoyed Good To Great and has pondered its applications to the social sector. I would also highly recommend the How-to guide: Business Planning for Enduring Social Impact: A Social-Entrepreneurial Approach to Solving Social Problems by Andrew Wolk and Kelley Kreitz for anyone looking for a very clear and direct approach to putting some of Collins' idea and suggestions to practice.

This book by Jim Collins results of a study of several companies which made a sustained quantitative and qualitative jump over a period of at least 15 years. The framework it describes covers six core common principles of these companies: Level 5 Leadership; First Who... Then What; Confront The Brutal Facts; The Hedgehog Concept; A Culture of Discipline; and Technology Accelerators. It's interesting to notice how some the referred companies have developed since the time the book was written, such as : Gillete (bought by Procter & Gamble); Fannie Mae (hit by the subprime) and Circuit City (underperforming). Nevertheless, while I don't believe that companies can be forever great, I do believe that the principles outline in this book are timeless. Highly recommended - together with Built to Last from the same author.

Jim Collins is the author of "Good to Great," an influential business and leadership book. In the time since the publication of the book, Collins realized that there exist points of disconnect within the book for leaders of not-for-profit agencies (e.g. churches, local charitable organizations, groups that exist for specific causes like disease eradication or the advancement of art). In an effort to apply the concepts of "Good to Great" to the unique needs of social service organizations, this monograph was produced.

This monograph can best be thought of as an appendix or additional chapter for "Good to Great." Indeed, the reader will be lost unless first reading the work upon which this monograph is based. In it, five points/modifications/explanations are provided that address what Collins perceives to be the five biggest "trouble areas" when applying "Good to Great" to not-for-profit agencies.

First, not-for-profits struggle with the definition of "great." In the definition supplied by Collins in "Good to Great," "great" is partly defined in terms of profit margin. Since not-for-profit agencies, by definition, do not seek profits, a modification must be made. Collins suggests using anecdotal evidence and rubrics instead of budgetary numbers to determine if the organization's goals are being met.

Second, power and authority in social sector organizations are not centralized, but contain nearly limitless checks ("a thousand points of no"). Collins advocates a leadership style that emphasizes the good of the organizations. If the organizational leader can effectively communicate (legitimately, not falsely) that his main concern is the health of the organization and realization of the cause, he buys himself a lot of leeway in decision making.

Third, volunteer-based organizations feel great pressure to simply put warm bodies in positions of authority instead of selectively choosing only the best candidates. Collins argues that the pressures of a volunteer-based culture should only make the leader more determined to practice selectivity. Setting high standards, focusing on creating "pockets of excellence" within organizations, and emphasizing the moral importance of the organization can help to attract high-quality employees and volunteers.

Fourth, the concept of profit margin creeps in again. It is important to recognize that organizations--business as well as social-sector--need money to operate. Even though not-for-profit agencies are not about the money, their "hedgehog concept" should certainly include consideration of their economic engine. That is, their social cause should take into consideration the question, "will people actually buy into our cause and support it with donations of volunteer hours, monetary donations, and in-kind support?"

Finally, the organization must not neglect promoting itself as a "brand." Although the natural inclination of social sector institutions is to keep the focus on the cause, they must also make sure people understand that the organization is meeting the cause effectively...indeed, they are "the best" at what they do. A reputation for excellence tends to attract loyalty and donations. Consider Harvard University, which attracts millions of dollars it doesn't necessarily need because people believe that a Harvard education is "the best" in the world.

In all, as a pastor in a not-for-profit church, this book addressed all the concerns I had in applying Collins' "Good to Great" concepts in my situation. Truth be told, it even addressed problems I had not yet identified. I highly recommend this brief monograph to compliment "Good to Great."

And they say that knowledge is an easy burden... Beautifully written, educational, but not quite bedside literature.

This has to be one of the best histories published in a decade. The Oxford Series is through, well written, and very readable. Certainly they have made the period from 1813 to 1848 come alive in a tale that flows like a good novel. Somewhere between the War for Independence and the Civil War lies a significant period, this one, of which few students are well informed. This volume belongs on the shelf of every student of American History and every citizen who would be informed of the growth and development of the United States.

This addition to the Oxford History of the United States is truly a masterpiece covering the era of the new republic. The book begins in the aftermath of the War of 1812 and tracks the political, social, economic and cultural development of the United States through the Seneca Falls Convention and beginning of the Gold Rush. The book explores the rise of evangelicalism in the United States through the great awakening and looks at the rise of the city which organized many natavist movements. The role of slavery and the treatment of Indians is also explored in a responsible way. Although some reviewers have complained that it is revisionist there is quite a bit of truth to Howe's writing. The organizers at the time wrote about "the extermination of the Indians" and we cannot change out countries past. We can only study it and interpret what it means for our future. The United States came into its own during this time laying the seeds to become an economic powerhouse. The rise of the telegraph, railroads, canals and industry across the country shaped the United States for its rise in the 1880's.
The book is divided up amongst the major events during the time period and covers them thoroughly. The two major focus points of the book are the Jacksonian era and the age of expansion under Polk. Jackson is painted in a darker light than in many books have written about him. The author justifies his points well and his criticisms of Jackson are on target. The destruction of the bank and the spread of populism and patronage changed the United States. The Age of Expansion was another defining moment as the United State added Texas, Oregon and the southwest to its borders. Although Polk wanted to go even further he was sabotaged by his own representatives into drawing a reasonable peace with Mexico. Overall a well done book and truly a great addition to this already wonderful series.

It is best to compare this book to "Market Revolution" by Charles Sellers. Both cover the same period of American history although Sellers' book was published 16 years prior, in 1991. Even in structure, both are similar yet the most surprising resemblance is in academic attitude while following academic fashion. They cover much the same information.

"Market Revolution" is affected with lingering Marxism, a fashion just about on its way out in 1990. Howe's 2007 book is, thankfully, largely free of Marxism analytics, but substitutes a more evolved political correctness and even delves into Bush Derangement Syndrome.

Of the two, Howe is easier and more enjoyable to read, partially because the author takes a more human interest approach. Like Sellers, too many pages are devoted to obscure social and political pioneers decades before they made a general impact on society. Much like public school textbooks, they highlight the politically correct minorities at the expense of the real forces moving society. Both look backward from contemporary liberalism's political correctness and too often judge men and their times not with an appreciation (or understanding) of people dealing with the world as they found it but judge them against what the current academics WISH the world would someday aspire.

One completely gratuitous passage of BDS arises in the telling of Scott's invasion of Mexico City. In one battle, Scott hears intelligence that a certain foundry is melting down church bells to make cannon. The general sends a detachment to take the foundry and it turns into one of the bloodiest engagements of the campaign only for the Americans to discover that the cannon casting is not taking place. The author then makes a cute remark about Scott not finding weapons of mass destruction.

Still, I read the book through without too much pain and found myself learning much, in spite of the avoidable detours when the author wasted paper and my time to little effect. I don't know of a better introduction to the period although I hope there is one. Still, it leaves one wondering what happened to American academia, especially in California - Sellers was professor at UC Berkeley, Howe at UCLA.

Thanks again to my daughter-in-law Larisa for a well-chosen Christmas gift.

This is a history of the United States from the end of the War of 1812 to the end of the Mexican War. It is very long; it over 900 pages. It is thus not for the casual reader or those with short attention spans.

For those with the patience to appreciate it and savor it, however, this is a magnificent book. To begin, Howe's scholarship is beyond reproach. He knows his stuff, backwards and forwards, and it shows on every page. His peculiar slant is to have no peculiar slant. He covers political, social, economic, religious, intellectual, technological and military history. He really tries to cover everything, and does a magnificent job. I would say he has a bit of an anti-Jackson, pro-Whig bias, but it is slight; he really is an objective scholar.

I thought, at first, that the book was going to stink, because it has many clear signs of being written in the 21st century, by an academic, and thus being subject to all of the fads of political correctness and so forth. I found, however, that this helped the book, rather than hurt it. Academic history for the last generation has focused on the non-mainstream stories, the women, the poor, the common person, rather than the rich and the powerful Howe takes all of this new learning and incorporates it into the overall story. I was particularly impressed by his close and respectful attention to the history of American religion. Frankly, I expect a professor to be anti-religion and to sneer at the bohunks who believe in such things. Howe does not take that tone at all. Rather, his approach is to view 19th century American religion, like an anthropologist coming to a foreign nation. Which is to say, he does not assume that you know anything about it, and he explains in great detail where the different Protestant movements came from, what issues they disagreed, the contributions they made to different aspects of American life and so forth. Very informative, and not biased one way or the other.

As befits an early 21st century academic, Howe has ambivalent feelings about his subject. This shows up in the title. He is quoting Samuel Morse, who quoted the Bible in his first telegraph message. At first, I thought that Howe was mocking the quotation, and making fun of the idea that America had been produced by God. But, as I went on, I realized that Howe is not that heavy handed in his bias, and that the story he is telling is far more subtle. If there is one thing about early American that really bothers Howe, it is not so much slavery, which bothers him, of course, but is not central to his story. Rather, what bothers him is the self-assertive violence of Jackson, the conquest of the Old Southwest by Jackson and then the conquest of the north of Mexico by Polk. These actions, of course, are the ultimate violation of poltical correctness; political leaders who believe so much in America that they are willing to conquer and subjucate anyone standing in their way.

Howe tells the story well, including those who opposed Jackson and Polk at the time. Oddly, though, he seems to have some glimmerings, if not of sympathy, of at least understanding for Jackson and Polk. He actually ends up suggesting that, while this conquests were evil, perhaps they served God's purposes by making America ultimately a larger, stronger nation better able to fight the totalitiarian horrors of the 20th century. In short, when he looks at American history, he sees events that are great, terrible, inspiring and baffling, all at the same time. In the end, his title actually seems to have some reverence in it, not of the full-bodied patriotic sort, but more one of awe at the power and incomprehensibility of God and his creation. Not at all a sentiment I would expect a tenured professor to have. Bravo. A marvelous job.

Epicenter: Why Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future
This is an amazing book that helps understand today's history through the filter of Bible Prophecy. I don't agree with the author 100%, but then I don't agree with my spouse all the time either. The book contains LOTS of up-to-date information about what is going on in "the church," meaning believers all over the world. Surprising first-hand reports from Muslim countries, and other unexpected places! Very very good!!

The Epicenter is an excellent amalgamation of the historical and current affairs of not only the middle east but also the world and how it is reworking the future. All this is based on extraction from biblical sources. An exciting read which challenges the darkest fears of man kind.

Joel C. Rosenburg is the most influential speaker of this century, without even trying to be! His knowlege and open-mindedness is something we ALL should learn from and pay extreme attention to! Please, Please, Please....read this book, and maybe you'll feel like I do! "The Obligation To Pass It On" Knowledge and faith are the key to salvation!!!

I really enjoyed reading this book. Joel Rosenberg did a great. The book gives a "heads up" from a journalist's viewpoint on his experiences in the Middle East, Washington, and in various places around the world. His interpretation of events by viewing them through the third lens of the Bible is revealing, interesting, and sometimes shocking. It left me with a different view of the future and a need to prepare for what may come.

Well done! Loved the read from beginning to end. Joel has a "grip" and insight on current events and how they relate to bible prophecy.

John Kotter is a business professor at Harvard University who writes "Leading Change" as a guide to business leaders, helping them to transform their stagnant, ineffective, hierarchical companies into more effective, responsive, team-oriented ones. To help companies and leaders make this transition, he presents eight sequential steps that must be followed in order and done well.

These eight steps are:

1. Establish a sense of urgency (fight complacency)

2. Create a guiding coalition (both influential leaders and effective managers)

3. Develop a widely inspiring vision and strategy for achieving it

4. Communicate the vision, communicate the vision, and communicate the vision even more.

5. Give the employees authority to creatively experiment concerning how to best make the vision a reality

6. Make sure you point out things to celebrate as you make progress toward your goals; it rewards appropriate behavior and, besides, people need to celebrate once in a while.

7. Understand Bowen Family Systems Theory--that when you change one thing, everything else changes with it. Systemic change is difficult work that produces a whole lot of anxiety and unintended consequences.

8. Make sure that, once the changes are made, they become engrained in the new culture of he company; make them "the way we do things around here."

Kotter does get credit for being comprehensive and for being among the first to write a leadership book of this sort (copyright 1996). He appears correct in all of his arguments and this reader has difficulty finding flaws in his eight steps. He appropriately balances task-orientation and relationship-orientation and distinguishes between leading and managing. Furthermore, he is the only author I've come across that understands how Family Systems Theory plays out in an organization undergoing change.

However, the book is outdated. Newer authors like Jim Collins, John Maxwell, and Kouzes & Posner have refined Kotter's ideas and presented them in a more readable, more applicable, and more modern way (again, 1996 copyright).

Kotter limits his ideas and examples to the large, highly structured business world; other authors deliberately address leadership within smaller businesses, schools, non-profits, and other environments. Kotter writes before the internet was widely used; other books keep rapid communication advancements in mind. The obligatory quotes from people I've never heard of who praise the book say over and over again how highly readable Kotter's prose is; I found the prose dry and could cite many examples from this genre which are much more readable.

The ideas Kotter presents are not bad; in fact they're quite good and have blazed the trail for other leadership books. However, "Leading Change" could certainly use an updated edition. Other authors have taken many of Kotter's ideas, refined them, re-worked them, and present them in a manner much more helpful to a wider audience.

I neither recommend this book nor do I contest it. You would do well to read "Leading Change," but you would do better to read some of the authors listed above.

Very well written book and easy to read and follow. Since change is a modern requirement for any business, it simply makes sense to focus in on what it takes to provide the necessary leadership to do so.

This book is phenominal! An excellent guide for the leader experiencing change. If I had no other resource, this book would be enough for survival in the business world of change. Definitely worth the investment.

The book came right on time, and was delivered in the best of conditions. It is always very good doing business with you. I can trust that my books will arrive on time and the shipping is done with the urgency they deserve. Thanks once more. Teresa

The book I bought is a new copy.
It is in very good condition and also delivered in time, as mentioned.
When coming to the content of the book [It is a prescribed book for our course], It is good, worth reading once atleast.

After I read this book, I bought it for all my friends for Christmas. Definately a book you want to pass along. Powerful message.

Being told to read Ishmael, I was very excited in understanding the "life changing" aspects of it. However, as I read further, I realized that this was simply an insult to my intelligence. Before I get into the fundamental flaws, I shall note that the writing of this book is horrendous. The imagery is beyond dreadful and the main character is one of the least entertaining characters there is. Quinn many times references books that he is read simply to drop name. Furthermore, there are so many flaws with Daniel Quinn's book that it is almost a joke:

1. The most common problem is the "Noble Savage" myth. The idea that tribal life is better off than regular civilization is a wrong. The emergence of most of the technological and philosophical understandings of the world are a direct result of the increase in population. The time allowed when not hunting allowed for the innovation needed to develop many of the tools that Daniel Quinn(who is a hypocrite) to spread his message.

2. The timeline for the Neolithic Revolution is put at 10,000 years ago when the more correct definition is 12,000-13000 years ago. Although, I will admit this is a small flaw.

3. Quinn claims there is a a Law of Limited Competition stated as this:"You may compete to the full extent of your capabilities, but you may not hunt down your competitors or destroy their food or deny them access to food." However, he fails to recognize chimpanzees that many times deny competition to their own as well as others. He also fails to realize the symbiotic/agricultural of ants.

4. Quinn biggest flaw is his idea that starvation of one species is better than others. He claims that humans should die off in order to allow for the other species that humans rely on to flourish. The idea that the deaths of humans is somehow better than the deaths of other animals is fundamentally wrong with his premise that all species are the same and needed for diversification.

5. Quinn seems to forget the evolutionary aspects of competition in nature. He believes that the extinction of other animals by humans is wrong and that "Mother Culture" prevents this by not denying other animals foods. However, "Mother Culture" is responsible for a GREAT number of more extinctions than humans.

6. Quinn believes that no animals stores more than it needs. He brings the example of bees. However, he is wrong. Bees frequently store more than they need for the same reason that humans do in that they will have an increase in population supply.

7. Quinn claims often that the problem with third world countries food production is that first world countries supply the majority of food to third world countries. However, first world countries are the biggest importer of foods.

Quite possible one of the best books you will evere read. You'll never look at anything the same way again.

Unexpected and enlightening! At times a little difficult to follow in the back and forth exchange, but easily remedied. It kept my attention to the end.

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn *****

Ishmael is a stunning narrative on the way things came to be. A story of awareness and philosophy; the way things are and the way things could be. A wonderfully heart-warming, and heart-wrenching tale of acceptance and tolerance.

Ishmael is a Gorilla, who can communicate with humans. Those who want to communicate with him anyway. Sounds a but Peter Pan I know but it really isn't. After Ismael places an add in the paper looking for "A willing student who wants to save the world" he meets his sixth subject. As Ishmael tells his theory of how things came to be the way things are in the world he divides the world into to groups, the takers and the leavers. Telling who each is would ruin the book. The ending is both uplifting and tyrannical making it among the strongest endings in literature.

The story is easy to follow along with despite it's complicated subject matter. Ishmael is never dull and always an interesting read, and one I will soon make mandatory reading for my class.

I couldn't finish reading this book completely before it was time to return it to the library. It is not one I want to purchase to reference again and again.

At first, I was thrilled to receive Tapscott and William's message. The companies they cover are the new stock market darlings of the Internet.

It absolutely makes sense for a software development company, such as the one I am at now, to open up support channels for "prosumers" to tell us what they want and need in our products. Such effort would also provide material for marketing, development, customer support, Help files and User Guides. This is not so much "mass collaboration" as it is good, old-fashioned "listening to the customer."

Although Tapscott and Williams don't have a very in-depth understanding of exact technologies powering the collaboration phenomena, they do a great job of illustrating the very real changes currently cutting apart the music, media, financial services and just about every industry. Executives ignore these developments at their peril.

Blogging, for one thing, seems like the new press release. The online public pays more attention to a supposedly personal message from a CEO than a canned press release aped by the media.

But then, I found myself slogging through it. The book is full of the same generalizations over and over again. The authors spend way too much time to get to too few points. They make obvious attempts to coin new jargon. The authors admit to several "studies" they have done, raking in, by their own admission, $9 million, so I guess such unabashed egocentricity must work in the real world, although I thought mighty corporate heads were smarter than to fall for that.

Like their own experience, the authors often confuse entrepreneurial spirit, with few resources, for corporate creativity. They never offer a clear blueprint for how a company without a solidly established R&D department, and its attendant army of patent protecting prosecutors, can tap the intellectual brainpower of the World Wide Web for maximum profits.

While the stories are fascinating, they can hardly compare to the realpolitik of economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner's Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.

Nor can they compare to the vast world-wide experience and sophistication of New York Times globe trotting columnist Thomas Friedman in his seminal The World is Flat.

Finally, in my opinion, Wikinomics does hold up as well as the fascinating story John Battelle etches in The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture.

All three of these books are factually stronger, and yet easier to read, making them more powerful, informative and thought provoking than Wikinomics. And yet, Wikinomics is a good sequel to The Search, because it shows how companies are capitalizing on the spread of free information on the Internet.

Red Hat capitalized on open-source Linux. IBM supported open-source Apache while their own Websphere languished. Linden, and many others, profit from the content created by their users.

As I write this, two giants are making opening salvos in the smart phone operating system market. The man who revolutionized personal computers, handheld music players, movie animation and music distribution with proprietary technology is announcing that more than 250,000 people downloaded the free tools to build applications for his proprietary iPhone. In the meantime, Google is using open source for their smart phone OS.

Tapscott and William must be thrilled. Stayed tuned for their sequel.

what a great book. it's one of those books, like daniel pink's a whole new mind, or some of seth godin's books and patrick lencioni's books, that constantly had my brain thinking about changes we could/should make to the company i lead. seriously, like dozens (hundreds?) of ideas. maybe a few of them will actually get implemented!

the book is about how a web 2.0/wiki culture is changing our world; specifically, it's about how collaboration is changing work places, content development, and problem solving. two chapters in particular had my brain really churning: the one on open-source work spaces, and the one on collaboration spaces for idea generation, development and sharing. i really do expect those to shape some stuff for ys in the months and years to come, and have been working to put some notions into motion already.

while this would be an interesting read for anyone, i think (as it speaks to our changing culture), it's an important and great read for anyone in an organizational leadership role (church, ministry, business).

This book takes a look at the business and technology aspects of the mass-sharing open- source world whose principal Logo is 'Wikipedia'. It argues that the way of the future is in a new non- heirarchical business model in which the creative resources of mass publics work to solve problems together. My question is how people are rewarded for their efforts, and what economic benefit will accrue to the individuals who participate in this?
Hundreds of thousands anonymously contribute to creating 'Wikipedia' They are not paid for this. But they must have income from somewhere else. What happens to those who formerly worked in the Encylopedia world and had jobs? Where are they working now?
If all is open- source how will individual writers, painters, composers be rewarded for their creative efforts?
I simply do not understand through this work how the whole world of future work will be organized.
Clearly this book picks out and elaborates important trends. But it does not answer the main questions I have.

Wikinomics is a painful read. The only reason that I finished it is that I was on vacation in a foreign location where it was hard to find an English bookstore with anything beyond Danielle Steele. I think that I could have learned as much about the topic from reading Ms. Steele. At least she can spell :)

Now that I have vented, here's what I didn't like:
- Too much meaningless jargon
- Arguments that rely on points that are not remotely proven
- Usually no consideration of alternative evidence/interpretations

One of the other reviewers called the style "consultantese". That is a great description. It reads like a marketing brochure for a management consulting firm, not a technology or economics book.

I'm giving it 2 stars only because the topic is important, so if you can manage to make it through the book you probably will pick up something important.

I listened to this on CDs instead of turning pages.

It might be better as a book; it would be easier to skim.
The book is organized in chapters, sections, and subsections,
but I do not know how deep the outline goes. Chapters are
numbered and named, but the more detailed portions have
names only. The narrator is good, but he can not reveal
the level of the topic in the outline, so you can skip
parts you suspect will only add another example of a point
already made.

The book is too long, at 11 CDs. I suspect 4 to 6 could
deliver all the worthwhile material.

Other reviewers have noted a profusion of "consultantese."
Much of it is blather. The favorite word is eco-system.
The authors can talk of yours, each of your competitors,
each of your suppliers, and each of your customers, all in
the same sentence, with each eco-system being different.

There is also a lot of integration, all of it seamless.
A person that can help you is "the uniquely qualified mind"
and there are thousands of them. Those were the ones that
annoyed me most. Other readers will focus on other cliches.

The book contains many examples of organizations using the
principles of openness, "peering", colaberation,...
Some have enough history that they appear to be long term
success stories. Some show promising signs of success.
Others might or might not make it, but the authors know
they will.

The authors seem to think they have found the next big thing,
and businesses, even all organizations, better get on
board or they will be left behind, in the dust, doomed to
failure, in the dustbin of history.

In spite of the flaws, there are probably several hundred,
or thousand, successes that could be triggered by one of
the insights in this book.

Jared Diamond's at it again, providing a comprehensive view of the real root causes and conditions that have brought past civilizations to an end and what we can learn from them today. Though he delves on pre-set circumstances to help determine an outcome of society, he still leaves room for human variables and conscious decisions as we are capable of making. In fact, he not only leaves room for it but insists on its importance when he says from all his background and experience that he is "cautiously optimistic" about mankind's future prospects, depending on how we plan and react to those pre-set circumstances in the future... A decision which we ultimately face and continue to face.

The book can be quite dry at times as it is not a story but an anthropology, yet stick with it as I believe it changed my way of viewing the world and how important our relationship to Earth is.

I read Guns, Germs, and Steel and was so impressed that I bought Collapse. Although it is slightly less engrossing (perhaps because it is about a less uplifting topic), it is still an amazing book.

I absolutely loved GGS and highly respect Dr. Diamond as a professor, a writer, and a scientist. However, this book failed to thrill me in the way GGS did. Its wandering, highly anecdotal and verbally confounding chapters left out more detail than they were intended to include and lose the reader in twisted rhetoric and "smart" sounding verbage that really, to the trained scientific eye, is incredibly frustrating and tedious. Dr. Diamond picked some of the most fascinating societies to explore, and gives the reader an intro to each, but I think with some revisions and editing to his journal-like writing style, at least twice as much information could have been included, much in the way GGS was incredible dense, but equally informative. I hate to say it, but I really was at times bored with this book, and wish I hadn't bought it new. GGS remains on my top shelf, where I can access it almost daily, but this one I have a feeling will end up as either kindling or a gift to a less critical friend...

I had read Guns, Germs and Steel by the same author previously. This nicely rounds out the other work and I would sincerely recommend that both be read in order to come away with a more comprehensive view of the advances, declines and falls of civilizations and some of the things that are germaine to those processes.

Diamond's books are always filled with interesting facts and thought provoking theories about ancient societies. But while I enjoy reading his books, I find his conclusions are often undeveloped.

Although Diamond makes an effort to distance himself from environmental determinism, his writings can often be classified as just that. A typical example can be found in the last chapter, when he notes that the countries with the greatest environmental problems are the same countries with the greatest political problems, concluding that lack of environmental awareness leads to social upheaval. But when evaluating any correlation, the researcher must be aware of directionality (does A cause B or does B cause A?) and a potential third variable (are A and B caused by C?). Only one explanation is considered.

More generally speaking, Diamond seems to pick and choose his examples to fit his theories. I find it very suspicious that in a book that examines the failures of past societies, he neglects to include the ancient Romans!

I'm also annoyed that with such a voluminous collection of statistics, he never uses footnotes. When an author makes the claim that we must solve all of 12 environmental problems within the next 50 years or the world will be doomed to some level of disaster, I want ample citations. I recommend any of Diamond's readers to take a look at Bjorn Lomborg's, "The Skeptical Environmentalist," and see how a researcher should cite his sources. (And, interestingly, how much more optimistic Lomborg is about the state of the world.)

I have gained so much information about menopause from this book. Christiane is wonderful at telling it like it is and I am so grateful for that. We can do so much to take charge of our own lives and this book gives all the angles, from homeopathy to medicine/drugs and learning to trust our instincts. Women need to begin by taking real care of themselves and everything else falls into place. If you have questions about menopause READ THIS BOOK! And live it's message.

The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing during the Change (2nd ed.)
By Christine Northrup, M.D.

Written as only a woman could write about the complexities of going through menopause, Christine brings her vast conventional knowledge into a perfect relationship with complementary medicine. She sees menopause as an opportunity for creating emotional and physical health by addressing the symptoms along with their emotional counterparts. Christine guides you step by step in easy-to-understand language by helping you find your own body wisdom. Christine Northrup is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist with more than 25 years of experience and past president of the American Holistic Medical Association. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, The View, and Good Morning America.

Dhara Lemos, Lotus Guide Magazine (www.lotusguide.com)

I thank God for this book. I have been reading books for 10 years trying to find the answers to what is happening to me. This book is for women who not only want to know but want to know how to respond and help get through it with sanity intact. This is THE best resource. Men just don't get it. I'm sorry, but no male doctor book has the depth and understanding this female doctor has. It is worth so much more than the price....it's priceless.

This book isn't what I was expected. I expected to learn more about the stages before menopause, and I did, but I didn't expect to read something that, in some ways, was depressing. The author explains her life and how menopause affected her when she didn't realize it, causing her marriage to fail. But with me, this is the happiest time of my life with a new marriage. It's hard to read the depressing divorce stories while my marriage is happy and a new beginning on life.

I was very disappointed with this book. I was looking for a book that discussed the body changes with menopause. Instead I got a book that was very pro divorce. It was interspearsed everywhere throughout the book. Very sad that alot of people might read this book because the author is well known and they will be encouraged to drop everything and think only of themselves at the expense of their families, especially their children. I ended up throwing the book in the garbage can.

In this eye-opening book on global warming issues, the author presents some of the scientific arguments of those scientists who are known as "deniers" of global warming. However, what becomes very clear in short order is that they are not deniers at all. In fact they freely admit that the earth has indeed warmed over the past decades/centuries. Their main point of contention, as clearly elaborated upon in this book, is that the science is not that simple and not at all settled, as many of their adversaries in this matter profess. The author's approach is to give a brief resume of the selected scientists and quote their respective scientific views. From their resumes, it is clear that these scientists are world class in their scientific fields with extremely impressive credentials and numerous peer-reviewed research publications to their names. They are scientific specialists in disciplines that are directly related to the environmental concerns under debate. Based on their extensive work, they believe that it is much too early to sound the alarm on climate change and that, most likely, the observed warming is mainly natural - possibly the continuation of a process that began at the end of the last ice age. The writing style is clear, friendly, engaging and very accessible. The many quotes from the scientists are very clear and authoritative yet free of unnecessary scientific jargon; they express their views in a plain English that any reader can understand, whatever his/her background. Consequently, this is a book that can be enjoyed by anyone. If anything, this book makes clear that scientists on both sides of this issue should get together to objectively discuss the scientific evidence and their respective interpretations with the ultimate objective of, hopefully, reaching some sort of consensus that world leaders can more reliably work with, as deemed necessary.

The Deniers was an excellent review of another or hidden side of the global warming or climate change issue. It highlights the research being done by others in field that we would otherwise not hear from. This outstanding climate change understanding has been relegated as irrelavent by the IPCC "managed information" community for political reasons. "The Deniers" are asking and answering questions that need to be raised and deserve answers, with the intent of understanding the cause and effect of the broad range climate change influencers or phenomena. Solomon's work suggests that it is not as simple as the IPCC/others wants us to believe. Duh!

More importantly, what is frightening about all of this is that the IPCC, sanctioned and supported by global liberal media and political interests, is successfully driving their "human caused global warming with dire consequences" program and weeding out the other qualified thinkers that are developing a more complete picture of what is happening to our climate. The latter provides future options with more reasonable and balanced strategies. The IPCC and Democratic platform's purpose of control/allocation of energy, would likely cripple our national development and economy.

A well researched study of some of the renowned scientists who do not support Gore's hysterical propaganda, and why.The Deniers: The World Renowned Scientists Who Stood Up Against Global Warming Hysteria, Political Persecution, and Fraud**And those who are too fearful to do so

This is an objective and very informative review of salient global warming issues. While the book stands alone on it's own merits, the various specific topics covered are easily verifiable by the interested reader who wants to understand on a deeper level. Each issue is honestly discussed without the emotional drive so often found in global warming advocates.

The Deniers is an example of how the global warming debate should proceed: data based and without ideological agenda. I recommend this book to anyone who actually wants to know what the issues are and who desires to make their own conclusions regarding climate change.

I have never thought that being "alarmist" over global warming is a good idea, and see no reason to begin that trend now. And, some dissent among scientists is reasonable on any subject, especially one that could have implications for the entire world population. However, to properly show that there is dissent within the scientific community, it is essential to compare apples to apples, which was done well in some places in the book, but which failed to happen in others.

I agree that the hockey stick is gone as a useful tool, but questioned it all along. I am always very leery of any sort of graph that uses statistics as a measurement...they are just too easy to adjust. Lengthen the time frame and you get one picture, shorten it and you get another. It is also easy to dismiss the work of Stern, who is an extremist and has few followers in the climate change debate that I am aware of.

There are places in the book where I noted problems. To contradict current glacier science, the author produced a nuclear physicist who has worked on some glacier issues. The key is, however, that he is not a specialist in glacier science. That is roughly equivalent to going to your internist when you are having heart attack. He may know some of the science, but is hardly the expert that you would want.

Finally, I think it is important to look at the author's biases. As a foe of nuclear energy, it is in his best interests to deny the problem exists. If global warming does exists, it will require, almost certainly, the use of nuclear power to bring an end to coal and oil usage. Overall, the book was a good read despite some problems and I think it has a place on the shelf of anyone who is concerned about the problem of global warming, be it man made or natural.

In general, I am not easily impressed by these business books that purport give some great insight into how to make things work. If somebody really had the ability to "change anything" then he wouldn't be wasting time writing books, he'd be out there changing things, if not for the better, then to his advantage. With that caveat in mind, however, I have to say that I enjoyed this book.

There are a couple of reasons why I enjoyed it. First, it is so much better written than most. I don't know how its five authors actually collaborated to produce this volume but it reads very well. It doesn't show the effects of too many cooks. It delivers a series of very clear, easy to follow steps. If it doesn't support itself with a lot of quantitative research, it has a selection of well-chosen anecdotes. The Guinea worm stories and the Delancey Street stories have etched themselves into my memory. I've already shared them with a number of people.

Second, the six sources of influence, the elucidation of which takes up the bulk of the book, are simple to understand and seem very reasonable. In fact, most of us have used or experienced each of the types of influence before. It is the author's cleverness to synthesize them for us. Not only that, that demonstrate how to use them effectively. Ultimately, they make the point that, to have real success in influencing others, you must use as many of the sources of influence as possible, preferably all of them. Too often, change doesn't happen because we don't use all the sources of influence available to us.

Like many books of this type, it wouldn't have suffered any by being a little bit more compact. Still, as someone who works for change in my day to day life, I was able to draw a lot of useful information out of it. Perhaps more useful things than in any book I've ready recently. That's high praise indeed.

A great "how to" book that should be required reading for anyone in management. We've used a couple of the strategies over the years, but not as effectively as a combined and orchestrated manner as we will in the future. This book exposes some of our strategic deficiencies that we are setting out to change. A great guide that could have saved us substantial time and money in the past, and will surely help us in the future. It's an easy & quick read - and great on CD as well.

When your book has the subtitle "the power to change anything," you really need to deliver tools to let readers effect change. Instead, this book is dry and jargon-heavy, telling what some alleged influencers did, rather than showing how the reader can do it as well.

As a result, it's a marginally interesting read at best, and of dubious value.

I was invited to a webcast featuring the new book by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxwell, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler, Influencer: The Power to Change Anything, McGraw Hill:New York (c) 2008. I left the room convinced I had to buy it and also give it to two managers as belated Christmas presents. I picked those two not because I thought they needed it most, but rather because I thought they would be most receptive. I have now read the book and can recommend it highly to all of you. You can breeze through it, but I recommend that you do as I did and take your time thinking about how their "out of box" solutions might apply in your life and work.

Those of you who have heard me speak about learning through "stories" will appreciate my surprise and delight to find 12 pages devoted to using stories. These pages were at the end of a chapter and started with the subheading "Use stories to help change minds." Many of their examples were short stories. I didn't appreciate how they kept promising "more about that later". But this is still a book to make you think about how you can influence the world.

Parents and teachers will be interested in the findings that the "use praise versus the use of punishment." is a behavior that separates top teachers from poor teachers (p. 33). They also found that "top performers rapidly alternate between teaching and questioning or otherwise testing."

Good book with a good system which takes you through the different steps required in influencing. The one negative is they seem to draw on the same examples over and over again. Sometimes it is hard to tell what the difference is between the various sections. It does get the message across that you can influence anyone to do anything. It also helps lead you into a direction so it is a pretty decent book.

I liked the last part of the book where they gave an example in corporate America where they went in and changed attitudes and behaviors. I would have liked another few examples like this throughout the book.