change Books

Highly recommended reading....Fullan uses current research to highlight thoughts leaders can use to sustain improvement within thier organizations.....

Despite the positive reaction some of my friends had to this book, I have to say that I remain unmoved. As a whole, I find this book to be a disappointment.

Not to say that there aren't many worthwhile things to find in this book. Simply reminding readers of the importance of sustaining success (which is an entirely different animal than achieving short-term results) makes this book valuable. I am particularly interested in his assertions about the effective leader's ability to train new leaders to follow in his footsteps as an important part of sustainability.

On the other hand, this book--for all of the good things it has to say--is shockingly poor in its prose. For a book as slim as this one, it is a trial to get through. The number of numbered lists is mind-boggling as is the number of footnotes and references to others' work. Synthesis can be valuable but it should be more readable than this. In addition, Mr. Fullan makes a number of assertions that he does very little to back-up with data or specific evidence.

When it comes right down to it, this book reads like a series of platitudes about leadership that doesn't really bring its point home. Mr. Fullan may have a lot of valuable help to give but a reader will find it hard to gather it from this, even if he makes it to the end.

I'm giving this 4 stars because, from the perspective of a counselor taking a grad class, I like this text but not quite enough to merit 5 stars.

The potentially helpful comment I have to offer is that the second edition is significantly different than the third one. I often buy an older edition of a textbook to save lots of money, and for most classes that's worked just fine. However, there is too much difference between the layout/content of the 2nd and 3rd editions to get away with that in this case. Some chapters have different authors. I'm not saying that the information is outdated, just that you can't sub one for the other if you're taking a class. I guess what that really means is they actually put work into the new edition, which is a good thing! And it's good enough that I won't mind keeping this extra copy on my shelves.

I received this item so quick I didn't know what the package was until I opened it. Great timing!!

I've referred to this book on many occasions over the years. Now working on my second degree, several classmates and a professor have used it as the basis for discussions on family stress. It covers a variety of topics and the resulting ramifications. The topics apply in all life situations and allow you to see families in a whole new light. An easy, yet very informative read. Working toward my first degree, it was the only text I read cover to cover.

SIMPLE GIFTS is a delightful collection of short stories by beloved authors! Very Enjoyable!

Great book - couldn't put it down.

I have bought this book to read two little novels written by J.McNaught which are not translated into french (I am French).
Despite of my very poor english, it was a very good moment of evasion and the great sense of humour of J.McNaught was still there. The stories were good but definitively too short...

Four quick reads that are perfect for your wait at the doctor's office or waiting at your child's sports practice.

"Just Curious" is a touching tale about a woman who is a widow and stuggling to move on with her life alone. Her boss makes her a business proposition that she can not refuse, not realizing that it will lead to true love.

Some reviewers were disappointed with "Miracles", the story of Nicki and Juliana. Nicki was such an intriguing secondary character in Whitney My Love and Until You (two of Judith McNaught's best sellers), that I can see why fans wanted him to have a longer story.

Those of you who follow the Montgomery/Taggart series written by Jude Deveraux will be interested in "Change of Heart", a story about Frank Taggart. This is a story of mature love between a struggling single mom and a wealthy businessman. Unbelievably, a young boy orchestrates the meeting of these two unlikely characters and it really is a heart-warming story.

"Double Exposure" is a prequel to Remember When written by Judith McNaught. It is Corey and Spence's story. I liked it because I was familiar with the characters. It is an interesting, if not bizarre, wedding.

These short stories may be a good way to become acquainted with these fabulous authors if you have not read any of their longer romance novels. Avid McNaught/Deveraux fans will feel right at home with them!

I only bought this book because of Judith's McNaught short on Nicholas Duville's love story, All I ever did through the piece was sigh and cuddle the book to my heart, and continued reading page after page, I cried I smiled, I felt my heart bloom with every kiss or embrace the characters had...and this is only a FICTIONAL story!! GOD! I miss Mcnaught!!! I miss her so much! So much that I want to wringe her neck for discarding the gift she had in making BEAUTIFUL historicals! she was a legend! and still is! does anybody know's what happened to her?! Honestly!
I adored her story with Nicki, Julliana was the classic Mcnaught Herione...perfection! But what I liked most about her was that she wasted no time in making things interesting, I related with Nicki so much through out the story he was always the "Friend" to the women he was interested in, interesting women on the whole seemed to back away from him and run into the arms of other men...and that was TWO books straight! good thing it didn't end there and had him star here as a hero for once! I loved him since Whitney, my love...I adore him now! the bit with Julianna excusing herself from Nicki saying "Goodafternoon,Mr....er....Deveraux." I laughed so much it was so clever to put Jude Deveraux's name in there...hehehe...

I recommend anything by Judith Mcnaught although for me I have no interest in her contemporary novels...its her historicals you should be looking out for and their the following:
-Almost Heaven
-Something Wonderful
-Once and Always
-A Kingdom Of Dreams
-Whitney, My Love
-Until you
-And lastly this book Simple Gifts (Nicki's story -Miracles-)

I'm sure your going to enjoy all of them! :)

A relevant and practical book for transitional leaders. Describes the current socio-economic environment impacting congregations and need for new leadership approaches. Rendel's writing style and first hand knowledge makes this a fast and compelling read.

Excellent insights for planning strategies to help congregations into and through change. A great guide for dealing with the dynamics of change -- spiritual, intellectual, and emotional. Helpful differentiation between "management" and "leadership" and the kinds of situations when each style is more appropriate. I use it as a handbook in doing interim ministry.

Remember back to course you took in seminary about leading
your church through change? No? There wasn't one! Come now, that can't be true, but sadly it is in most cases. Pastors are called to shepherd their church's through changes but are rarely given the education or tools to do so. Most of this is picked up by trial and error, often painful trials with many errors. This book could be considered "Remedial Congregational Leadership 101," for those of us who never received this formal training. Clearly Rendle wrote this book not out of some theoretical model (although there is solid theory supporting it) but out of his lived experience of leading many congregations through the turbulant waters of change. With so many demands pulling at the free time of a pastor, this book is well worth devoting some of that time.

Might just be the push folks need to step out in faith and create their own circle.

Has a very "step by step" feel for those who have not experienced dwelling in a circle before.

My cousin recommended this book to me and was currently in a circle of her own. I attened it as a guest and as amazed by how I was in a room of 12 women I did not know but I felt completely comfortable and did feel like I was being judged or my wardrobe or weight picked apart. Then I started to realize how cut off woman and men are from each other...we get so lost in comparing ourselves and feeling so isolated and becoming so fake that we dont know who we really are inside and our minds become so clouded and we can't make the right decisions.

After reading this book, only took me 45 min! It reads like a poem so you use the creative side of the brain and it gave me a lot of insights and ideas and I have started my own circle! I was amazed when I sent out the first email 10 of 12 people responded within the first 15 mins! It makes you think of things differently and the exercises and intentions of the book really make a difference!

Enjoy!

This is a very good read if you know nothing about circles. It can be read in a couple of hours and covers the explanation of circles, the do's and dont's. And for me, the book stirred an interest to learn more.

Yes, there are books that tell you a lot more about circles, but if you've just heard about the idea this is the book to read.

Jean gives circle information in an easy to understand format and portrays her enthusiasm about creating the Millionth Circle.

I've recommended this book to all of my friends.

Working as I do in the corporate environment, I have used the principles contained in this concise book to create healthy alternatives to the typical hierarchical meeting. One does not have to have a background in women's spirituality to understand its premise or its practical application in many settings. As businesses of all sizes seek to move beyond traditional organizational forms, the book provides the outline of how furture organizations can work NOW.

This is a small book which one might be tempted to race through, given its size... Do not be fooled! It is a very "meaty" (substantial) book, filled with wisdom and insight and useful information. I would suggest it be taken in little "bites," so as to properly digest all the nutrients it has to offer. It is something that one can use as a concise guide, to be referred to time & time again, and to be held up as a shining example of the strength and healing power of women's circles. A true gem. Blessings, All.

I had to read this book for an Anthro class at my University, it was an easy read....very very easy read.

This short and very readable book is one of the latest in a long line of interdisciplinary works that takes research from such diverse fields as geology, biology, history, epidemiology, and climatology, and puts forth a substantial model of how human activity has changed the climate of the world over the past 10,000 years. The book is written by a scientist, and is written such that a layman can understand it. The different chapters focus on specific ways in which humans affect climate, such as thru agriculture, deforestation, fossil fuel consumption, etc... Read from start to finish, they provide a chronological history of man's affect on earth.

The book itself is quite compact and puts forth its arguments succicintly. The author also cites the major arguments against the idea that man can affect nature, and weighs the merits of these arguments. The author cites a lot of primary research done by others before him, and also cites major books in this subject, thereby offering the layman a great source of reading material. The only drawback I could find with this book is the paucity of illustrations. There are many plots of parameters, such as the amount of methane in the atmosphere, over time. However, many of the concepts mentioned in the book could have been better conveyed using images. A good example would have been an illustration show how CO2 acts as a greenhouse gas. But overall, a great book.

If you don't understand global warming and our effect upon it, after reading this you will, and if you still don't accept the basic premise you will have learned something important nonetheless. Well written by a patient and careful scientist.

"Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum: How Humans Took Control of Climate" is a controversial extension of anthropogenic global warming back as far as the earliest farmers ten thousand years ago. Ruddiman argues that human effect upon carbon dioxide and methane concentrations between around eight thousand years ago and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution was as great as that observed since 1800.

In the first part of "Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum", Ruddiman looks at early human history and the evolution of the human species. Whilst his overview is far from illogical, I must disagree with him about the evolution of human intelligence, which he says was not helped by the cold and frequent climate change. Cooling of the planet is undoubtedly decisive in evolving highly intelligent beings: Tim Flannery shows how environments without glaciation have extremely infertile soils and oceans so that species of human-like intelligence could never evolve. Frequent climate change would probably actually necessitate a better knowledge of the variety of possible conditions and still larger brains.

Ruddiman's explanation of how Milankovitch cycles cause glacial/interglacial cycles on Earth is clear and efficient, with a very good number of graphs even if most are rather coarsely drawn. Nonetheless, he does not take into account how very ancient records show temperatures can change without the levels of carbon dioxide changing or vice versa - even if this does not contradict anthropogenic global warming as sone assume. Ruddiman's claim that continental drift cannot have played a role in causing climate change is however doubtful. The creation of a north-flowing current from the formation of the Isthmus of Panama is known to have increased snowfall in eastern North America. Without warm air from the south northeastern North America would probably receive too little snow to form large glaciers. (Ruddiman does not mention, as a serious student of Ice Ages should, how Siberia, lowland Central Asia, Manchuria, parts of Alaska and the Yukon, plus Argentine Patagonia, have always been too dry for glaciers).

Recent refinement of glacial/interglacial cycles strongly disputes his claim that the interglacial corresponding to marine isotope stage 11 can definitively show human influence before the Industrial Revolution. It also disputes his temperature graph and predictions of further long-term cooling because between 900,000 and 450,000 years ago it is probable areas like Nunavik and the areas of Baffin Island he mentions were never deglaciated.

Ruddiman the goes on to show quite skilfully that modelled concentrations of carbon dioxide do not agree with calculations based upon previous interglacial cycles. "Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum" argues that anthropogenic emissions of methane from rice paddies and carbon dioxide from forest clearing account for the rises in greenhouse gases since eight thousand years ago when wet-rice cultivation began. He then suggests they have stopped ordinary accumulation of ice in northeastern Canada, from which the Laurentide Ice Sheet spread southward to around New York and Omaha. This part is not badly argued, but as I mentioned earlier recent research does question what he is saying.

When Ruddiman turns his attention to plagues supposedly having caused the Little Ice Age, he becomes even more dubious. For one thing, the falls in carbon dioxide he observes correlate very poorly with known coolings during the Dark Ages and Little Ice Age. Whereas Ruddiman says they are linked, in fact cooling began long before every pandemic he mentions struck and did not increase following it. Although I do agree with him that it is unlikely drought followed by famine could cause the same population reductions pandemics can, my knowledge of climate records suffices to view his claim "the likelihood of drought striking vast areas of Eurasia simultaneously is unlikely" as more or less false, especially should ENSO combine suitably with other influences. In the summer of 1911, for instance, deficient rainfall affected the vast bulk of tropical and temperate Eurasia from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

The last part, dealing with the influence of fossil fuels, is extremely bland compared with the rest of "Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum". He suggests, reasonably, that the effect of burning all the fossil fuel we have is quite uncertain and that there is potential for vast warming to be followed by a gradual natural cooling once the fossil fuels run out (reminiscent of Tim Flannery).

All in all, whilst Ruddiman has plenty of ideas, he does often go too far about trying to criticise humanity. "Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum" is an interesting and very easy read, but there are a lot of problems that could almost serve as ammunition for sceptics of global warming.

Ruddiman presents an interesting hypothesis, but his reasoning leaves out too many factors, and does not give enough weight to unknown factors.

Milankovitch cycles are explained extremely well, and Ruddiman attributes ice ages and glaciation periods almost exclusively to these cycles. It is true that ice age/glaciations line up with the Milankovitch cycles, but... we know that further back in planetary history there were Milankovitch cylces that did not result in ice ages. This would indicate that other factors may be required to set off such a radical change in global climate. Ruddiman does not address this, to the detriment of his hypothesis.

Ruddiman also states that orbital changes control monsoon cycles, yet research has shown that monsoon cycles can change more rapidly and more often than the long orbital cycles would indicate. Ruddiman also attributes monsoons to heat, stating more heat, more monsoon. This is not an adequate explanation of monsoons. Areas that were very wet 9,000 years ago are undergoing increased desertification today, with increasing heat.

Entirely too much is supposed in terms of early human development, the amount of agriculture practiced, and it's effect on climate. As one example, Ruddiman supposes that early nomadic humans spaced children four years apart. There is absolutely no evidence cited for this supposition, and given the high mortality rate and shorter life spans, this type of "spacing" may not have been enough to maintain populations. Too little is known about prehistoric agriculture and population levels to come up with a reliable formula on amount of acres farmed for each person, and amount of methane released per acre.

In matching plagues with CO2 levels, Ruddiman does not acknowledge that many climatologists and anthropoligists place cooling weather before the plague events. CO2 levels would have been reduced before as well as durring the plague events.

Ruddiman does not give climate enough weight when considering human development and population levels, as well as when considering extincition events at the end of the pleistocene/start of the Holocene. Studies of central american and mesopotanian civilizations have shown that climate changes have had a huge impact on humanity. Climate change has also been linked to the extincions mentioned above. Humanity played a role, but the size of that role is debatable.

Ruddiman relies far too heavily on the reasoning that "the only difference was humans, so we must have caused it". This is false logic, as there could have been any number of differences that we can't or haven't picked up on. Given the number of variations possible, it is naive to think we were the only one.

The portion of the book that deals with politics is severely lacking. Ruddiman repeatedly takes "alarmists" to task, yet fails to identify the alrmists or the specific claims that are out of line. Same problem with the contrarians. This portion of the book is far too simplistic, and seems to be there only to demonstrate what a reasonable guy Ruddiman is.

Lastly, I think Ruddiman goes out of his way to soft-peddle the changes in store. He ignores problems already being seen, such as persistent droughts, in Africa, the U.S. and Australia, to name a few places. Ruddiman also ignores the possibility of rapid climate change. Studies that predate this book have shown that climate can and does change rapidly. Not to be hysterical, but this is something that needs to be considered.

Despite what I think are some serious shortcomings, I would recommend this book as Ruddimant is not afraid to put out a hypothesis that is somewhat radical. There are too many unsupported leaps in reasoning, but the overall hypothesis may have some validity, and definitely is interesting.

As stated more eloquently in other reviews, this book puts forth the hypothesis that human activities have led to an interruption in the glacial/interglacial cycle that has been occurring in the Northern hemisphere over the last 3-4 million years. The author's treatment of the Milankovich orbital cycles will be instructive to those who have yet to be exposed to this data.
It was refreshing to see his hypothesis put forth in scientific dispassion vice the usual strident pro or anti climate change debate. In true scientific method, the author makes a hypothesis and humbly accepts that there must be debate, validation or refutation before his hypothesis can either be discarded or accepted as theory. VERY refreshing.
What I found most interesting, however, was the adherence to scientific rigor in the debate and test of the hypothesis. This author is the first I have seen to actually quantify the magnitude of the components to the carbon cycle. Instead of ranting about how the sky is falling all because of human activities OR ranting about how no matter how many humans there are there will be no discernable effects, the author actually uses metrics- how many acres are cultivated per person, how much CO2 an acre of forest binds or releases, how many people died in the Black Death, how long it takes nature to reforest clear cut land, etc. He even boldly admits it when his figures fall short of a perfect match and offers alternative explanations.
BTW- another reviewer of this book has erroneously referred to CO2 levels 20X current rates as having been discovered in ice core data. This is incorrect. Ice core data is limited to 400K years at the most- this from the Vostok cores in Antarctica. The Greenland cores (nearly 2 dozen) are both more accurately annually defined and are limited to 100K years. The 20X CO2 concentration is from the Cambrain period- 540 MYA- as in 540 million years ago. No ice cores go back that far. This is an example of the unreferenced hype that the author takes pains to avoid.

The book is well written and has graphics that explain what is being communicated well. It was recommended for my Strategic Change class for my MBA.

I have found that it is the most interesting textbook of 2008. Every leader or manager must read it!

With a wonderful presentation format and very engaging writing style, this book informs and guides leaders who want to roll out change initiatives in their organizations. Critically, it provides information on the most important steps to take, how to build momentum, and the variety of issues that prevent your desired change from happening. This book will prove most useful when there's a good idea, someone wants to champion it, you (as the leader) want it to happen, and you need to know what to do next.

The only real thing that I'd like to have seen was a few more examples of real-world cases where change failed surprisingly due to not following the steps. Sometimes knowing the smoke signals to look for is important as knowing the success metrics to track.

Interesting, but the focus on the organization is missing. We should not confuse management development with organization development (or vice versa).

This is a great book. I recommend it in addition to "Strategic Organizational Change" by Beitler.

Black & Gregersen focus on the management development level. Beitler focuses on the organization development level.

They make a great combo!

Charles "Chuck" Lowell

The author is a colleague of my husband's. Frankly, I had a bit of an attitude about this book ten years ago after a day long seminar because I was ignorant and felt Russell might be overly confining God. Spring semester 2008 it was my text book for Biblical Interpretation and Spiritual Formation at Biola University. Midway through the book I found myself apologizing to Walt Russell for my previous attitude and utter ignorance and told him how much this book has helped me correctly read, understand and apply the Bible in my life. He received my confession with great amusement and humility. This book will help you understand how we all mis-read and mis-apply scripture in ingnorance. Russell is rock solid in his qualifications & knowledge as a scholar and this is a great book written for the common man. Easy read; IMPORTANT read.

After hearing some audio of Dr. Russell, I purchased his book and found it very relative to Bible endeavors. Without criticizing or comparing him to others, I found it very insightful. If you read this Mr. Russell, thanks-Mike

Dr. Russell has served as professor of New Testament at Talbot School of Theology since 1990. Among the courses taught by Dr. Russell is Hermeneutics (the art and science of biblical interpretation). Playing With Fire: How the Bible Ignites Change in Your Soul, exemplifies why Dr. Russell is such a respected professor by his students and fellow faculty members. In a succinct, engaging, and accurate format, he presents crucial methods needed in developing a balanced approach for proper understanding and application of the Bible. This book represents much of the content of his course on hermeneutics, a required course for all seminary students (for good reasons). Carefully interwoven into the fabric of methodology are the aspects of spiritual formation, often neglected in hermeneutics. One will especially profit from chapter 1 and Dr. Russell's explanation of how the western existential worldview "tints our perspective," and also from chapter 4 where he explains the use of Letio Divina (spiritual reading). I have taught both Bible survey and hermeneutics for several years, and it is without hesitation that I recommend Dr. Russell's book. One's Bible reading will be markedly enriched after reading and studying Playing With Fire.
M. Adler
Ph.D. Student, Talbot School of Theology

Dr. Walt Russell's book, Playing With Fire, seeks to counter-act the existential interpretive method of scripture (or any literature for that matter). He is also interested in dispelling of the postmodernist idea about intentionality and content with the text. In other words, he rejects Derrida's view that the "meaning is outside of the text" and the modern existentialist view that the meaning resides in the text itself and is open to just about any interrpetation (regardless of how crazy it may be). In contrast, Russell offers a helpful hermeneutic that seeks to understand Scripture in terms of the genre. For example, one would interpret the Epistles of Paul differently than a historical narrative such as Joshua. It is all about what the author has in mind that we need to be concerned about. If we read a section from Scripture and find that Jesus calms the storm out at sea, we are not to interpret that to mean Jesus "wants to calm the storms of my our lives." This is what Russell essentially is attempting to reject.

Russell also explains the different types of ways to study. For example, in devotional reading, not much background information is necessary as compared to in depth work. He brings this around with similarly with the genres. For example, not as much information is needed for the poetic peices, as is necessary for the the prophetic books. He does a lot of work on comparing context vs pretext, top-down method, what he thinks are bibilcal ways of going about studying the word (meditations), etc.

The second half of the book consists of the application of Russell's method to Scripture in the various genres, where he points out certain information that enables you to better follow how the text should be interpreted. Russell is going to be interpreting this in light of his overarching view that, God has a plan that He is working out in human history to establish His Kingdom on earth and to bless all peoples of the world through faith, thus ultimately glorifying Himself. It should be pointed out (and this is crucial) that Russell's hermeneutic (as he presents it) is the method of progressive dispensationalists. For example, questions like "were the promises made to the church in the mind of the OT authors? No, so the promises are to be given to Jewish ethnic Israel." This is ultimatley why I reject Russell's method, but I think he has the right intentions on refuting the modern existential world view.

Over all, I think Russell is a good scholar and a good thinker (despite my many disagreements with him). I would recommend him for pro-dispensationalists but also suggest reading people like Vern Poythress and Gorden Fee as well.

First, let me say that I read this book and Fee's and Stuart's book "How to Read the Bible for all its Worth" in the same month. My analysis: Although they were written in the same style and utilize similar material, I thought "Playing with Fire" was not quite as clear and not as thought-provoking as "Read the Bible." Truly Dr. Russell is a thinker--I am fully impressed with their Bible program at Biola--and if I had not read "Read the Bible" at the same time, perhaps I would have liked his book more than I did. Russell does utilize some beneficial charts and makes several good points throughout. However, while this book could be beneficial, I hestitate to recommend it when there is a better book on the same subject available to you.