Just ok, but not worthwhile investing money or time to read it through

It is not easy walking the tightrope between technical substance and general comprehensibility. This is particularly true with technical texts. Many authors of such books either err on the side of over technicality, producing texts so dense only the most devoted of technicians could even venture to read more than a few pages, or on the side of superficiality producing works so devoid of substance as to be virtually useless.

GSM and Personal Communications Handbook by Siegmund Redl, et al is one of the rare technical texts that manages to be both approachable yet technically substantive. Its illustrations are lucid, readily comprehensible yet do not insult the reader's intelligence. While this may not sound like much of an accomplishment, many other authors who have attempted to illustrate multi-layer communications architectures such as IBM SNA or the OSI Seven-layer model, have fallen flat on their faces.

While the authors demonstrate a clear grasp of the technical workings of GSM, they also provide a rich detailed discussion of the implementation of a GSM network. For those charged with setting up a mobile network, even non-GSM, the network implementation information contained in this book alone makes this book worthwhile.

The authors have also managed to inject a bit of light humor into the text, a rare, delightful and an unexpected surprise in a technical book. For example they explain that as GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications, to say 'GSM system' is redundant. Immediately after that, they tell the reader they will, nevertheless, use the term GSM System with reckless abandon.

One very big surprise are the technical overviews of rival systems incorporated in the book. PDC is covered to an extent and there are light discussions, mostly historical, descriptions of analog systems as well as D-AMPS. However, to find a relatively meaty chapter on CDMA in a book on GSM is almost astounding.

Yet this book contains an overview of CDMA that is technically richer than the most of the stuff you could find in other books devoted to telecommunications and actually explains CDMA technology better than some of the books on CDMA that this reviewer has seen.

Moreover, the authors have taken care to keep their discussions on rival systems relatively free of technical dogma, sticking mostly to objective technical overviews.

Perhaps the only area wanting comes in areas of the technical services incorporated in the GSM standard such as Short Message Services, where the book's explanations are relatively light.

Nevertheless, this is a minor nit in an otherwise fine effort.

GSM and Personal Communications Handbook is one of the rare technical books that successfully combines approachable writing

"Gsm and Personal Communications Handbook" (Artech House Mobile Communications Library) is an excellent book on the GSM wireless communications system. It covers all aspects of GSM technology, including the GSM mobile terminal specifications/operation as well as the GSM network in great technical detail, but with a practical tone and description. While it includes very technical information, it does so with grace and insight. Where technical detail would be too lengthy, the reader is referred as to where to find the information. It covers all the phases of GSM, and what the differences are. This book is easy for a technical person to understand, yet still covers the details. A great book!

There is a "serious" mistake in chapter related to the dispute settlements; the Jay Treaty was signed in 1974? Mr. Shaw?? don't think so. can I rely on any other historical dates in this book? not really.

the jay treaty was signed in 1794...it is easy to see how a mistake may be overlooked and the date of 1974 may creep into the text of such a voluminous work. In the light hereof I think the reader from Korea was unnecessarily harsh...editing mistakes are an everyday occurrence and the date was as easy as a search in yahoo to verify.

This book is one of several "must have" while doing a serious investigation on international law. This is the best way to start. It covers most of the aspects of international law, from Sources of Law to Space Law and International Environmental Law.

Here we have an interesting pair. First, we have, on the right, multi-millionare(if not billionare)Steve Forbes, who favors a flat tax of 17%(in which a poor person will pay at the same tax rate or lower as this rich guy does!). On the far-right, we have the infamous Armstrong Williams, who served so nobly as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who is just about the only "contribution" which the Republican party has done for African Americans(I use the word "contribution" liberally - very liberally). I come from New York, New York. For the past 25 years, I have served at a local Baptist church as both a decaon and an Associate Pastor. I am proud to say that our place of worship, which continues to grow, is racially and economically mixed. I am a happily married man(for 30 years married!)and have 5 great kids - including a grandchild on the way. I was also a proud labor union member(as was my father and his grandfather) and an active member of the NAACP, the Anti-Defamation League and the Democratic party of New York. Thus, I know something about the 'private compassion' which these two ideologues want. Yet, I also know about the public good which is necessary. I know this from my fellow Christians and New Yorkers and Americans. I know this from common sense and past experience, including my 5 years in the U.S. Army.

What do these two right wingers do when they combine to speak to our nation's hurting ghettos? Well, they speak to hurting souls not from their well-off souls, but from their ideologies - far right wing ideologies, which state that government has no business to regulate its economy in favor of the masses, and that government has no right to aid the destitute and poor. They claim religious values of God and church, family values and patriotism, all while they aim to repeal the safety net for widows and the poor, cut tax rates for the wealthy(in the vain hope that these funds will "trickle down" upon the ghettos), hurt the poor through deep cuts in social programs and hurt families in the process.

Yes, Forbes and Williams do have some decent suggestions which, by themselves, need help anyway. Their call for individuals(regardless of their race)to embrace religious and family values is a great one. Yet, why can't government help, if what government does is so right? Why is "welfare" so great for Steve Forbes' rich friends and yet it is destructive(in any form to these Republican ideologues)to the poor? Why can not a poor black family in the ghetto expect from their government a Minimum Wage, good health care, a guaranteed job opportunity through a public works program and public education? Why not incorporate the greatness of Forbes' and Williams' cherrished Bible into our welfare state? That is, why not continue to embrace compassion in the welfare state while reforming it and not trashing it as these two right wingers do?

These two push the theory that government can do nothing right. Yeah right! What about Soical Security, Medicare and Medicaid? What about Head Start, Student Loans, scholarships, civil rights guaratnees, environmental and consumer protection and Legal Services? What about public broadcasting? What would we do without labor protections like the Minimum Wage, the right to form a union and the 40 Hour Work Week? How about child labor? How about housing? How about defense and the GI Bill? How about Affirmative Action(sorry Justice Thomas!)? What about aid to the poor in general? Yet, forget this compassion and progress, these two Republicans state in this book, what the ghetto needs is more "personal resonsibility." Yet, what about the "personal responsibility" of the corporations which these two want to shield from law suits from decent consumers? What about the "personal responsibility" of the rich which will be gone under Forbes' flat tax?

Forbes and Williams had better wake up - the problems of the ghetto are, yes, moral in nature, as are the problems with our government. Yes, the ghetto does need more injections of private charity and faith. That means "yes" to churches, Metropolitan Ministries and charity. Yet, we must have a "yes" open to the public good when it is done well, as it should be.

After reading this book, I suspect that this is nothing more than an excuse for selfishness on the part of rich man Forbes and more knee jerk conservatism on the part of Williams, who seems to disaprove of everything which black American approves of, including a positive influence of religion and its compassionate vlaues on the public good.

Mr Armstrong has written a very good book about the average so-called "ghetto" African-American young man. The subject of his book is a 29 year old black man named Brad. After introducing you to Brad and the circumstances in his life, Mr Armstrong, thinks about his encounter with Brad and then writes a series of letters addressing Brad and his condition. That condition and the many problems in Brad's life are what makes this book so interesting.

This leeter format, where we encounter one topic at a time, in a personal letter, opens up the issues on a down to earth style. Not everyone will agree with Armstrong's insight and perespectives as to Brad's diagnosis of the "black-man's" condition in urban America, but the insightfullness is bound to stir dialogue. Most liberals will outright dismiss this short work with straw men attacks and Ad Hominums. Don not be fooled by such silly and distorted speak. Instead, read this book for yourself and wrestle with these issue.

It is time the African-American community as a whole see a different view about the dangers hurting their own people.

This book is well written, easy to read, and interesting. Please disregard Ad Hominem reviews that slander the auther without seriously engaging his message. The book is not a detialed analysis of social problems and it isn't intended to be. It is addressing that African-American urban culture has relied extensively on the idea of victimization.

Most of this book is done with each chapter being opened in a letter format as he writes to us by writing to a young black man who considers himself to be a victim of, well - just about everything. The young man doesn't see how he is responsible for many of his criminal and immoral behavior. This letter format is effective and if people can, for a moment put aside their biases, maybe they willlearn something or at least, understand a different perspective on the issue.

One does not have to agree with all of Mr. Armstrong's points to fully grasp that he is addressing a very real problem amoung young black men. This book accomplishes exactly what it is suppoosed to do - engage us as if we are involved in the discussion.

This book did not really need to be written. It is written by a fraud investigator and is about nothing but specific fraud in Medicare, but we already knew there was tremendous Fraud. If you didn't know that billions are stolen in every conceivable way you do now, and don't need to read the book.
Yes, the gov't sends out $250 billion each year for healthcare related goods and services while somewhere between 5-50% is pure fraud, but what do we do? If you want a Fraud investigators answer: simply improve the software to spot anomalous patterns like one patient with 20 primary care providers in one month. If you want to know one new thing that has not been suggested and tried a million times before you will not find it here.
Creative and brilliant ideas such as medical savings accounts where each American deposits his own tax dollars his own medical savings account and is thereby given the maximum incentive to spend wisely are not considered. What is considered exclusively is fine tuning the likes of which have been tried and tried for the last 45 years.

This is a remarkable book which opens the readers eyes to some of the "real" issues in the financial state of healthcare in the United States. It pulls together what the people in the trenches have struggled with for years ... and puts it into an easy to read text that you just CAN'T put down. This should be required text for anyone working in healthcare or anyone who receives care from the system.

Although he has a wealth of expertise and a scholar's background, Sparrow speaks in a narrative style about the sad state of health care fraud in America today. While some progress is being made, there remains a little depth and sophistication in the responses to the complex and clever fraud schemes out there. Regretably, the many policitcal and institutional barriers to mesuring and uncovering fraud continue to allow the system to be drained of precious dollars. While it takes a large investment to begin the fight on the level Sparrow advocates, the return is immeasurably greater. Not recommended for folks who don't need their blood pressure to rise.

Central to Malcolm Macmillan's book is the fascinating case of Phineas Gage, a railroad construction worker who, in 1848, was involved in an accident in which an iron bar shot through his head, severely damaging his skull and, supposedly, his brain. To everybody's surprise, Gage survived the accident. After he recovered, it turned out that Gage was not quite the same man anymore. He was unable to return to his job and traveled around quite a bit and held a number of odd jobs before he died twelve years later. His personality had profoundly changed as well: he became irritable, short-tempered, and irresponsible, among other things. In this book, all first-hand accounts of the accident are collected for the first time. MacMillan investigates a number of claims about the Gage case and concludes that very few of them have any evidence in their favor. The polemics of the author with other Gage-experts unfortunately detract from the story as they pertain to irrelevant details. The author attacks relativistic and social constructionist views of history which disregards actual facts (but where can such a historian be found?); these attacks are misplaced and irrelevant. In the end, MacMillan concludes that, historically, the Gage case was of no importance whatsoever. This begs the question as to why he filled over 400 pages with the case in the first place!

Malcolm Macmillan has done an excellent job of researching the life and times of Phineas Gage and presenting his story. I am especially grateful for how carefully he distinguishes between fact and conjecture, since much of Gage's life story is unfortunately incomplete and some aspects must be inferred. Within the context of Gage's injuries, Macmillan thoroughly reviews the development of scientific thought on the nature of consciousness. The section on ventricular physiology I found particularly interesting, as a scientist proposing that the basic concept may deserve revisiting. The mystery of consciousness is indeed the greatest mystery of our time, and Macmillan's book is a must-read for every student of the subject.

What a wonderful book this is! Malcolm Macmillan has not only presented a scientific and academic story of this important case, but has truly delved into the microcosm of who "Phineas Gage" was as an 'ordinary man' by carefully intertwining the social and cultural world he lived in with the incident itself, and its aftermath. I enjoyed it very much I know those who will read it from all levels of American life (whether they be physicians, scientists, historians or just plain folk), will enjoy it as well. I want to thank him very much - - not only personally, but on behalf of all the people of Cavendish and members of the Cavendish Historical Society, for all his hard work and the tremendous job he has done.

The author seems to have an underlying and (in my view) childish reverence for Freud and analysis, and this harmed the book, in my opinion.

Readers should not look here for important recent developments, for this book was written in 1982. It was written at the end of the popularity of psychoanalysis.

By 1982, starting in the 1960s, various new forms of therapy emerged in competition with psychiatry and although Malcolm gives these a nod for her classic Freudian analysis was the King, the Father, and the center.

This father is now as spectral as Hamlet's Dad, and even New Age therapies are beginning to fall into disrepute.

The sort of personality able to play the role of analyst who himself does not buy in to whatever malarkey the patient is laying down is in decline these days, for more and more people including medical doctors do not have anything like Freud's 19th century confidence in the validity of an *haute* bourgeois biography. Starting in the 1960s, analysts were not so confident that boys wanted to grow up to be what we now would think are stuffed shirts, and of course the story failed to fit women's aspirations.

However, as Robert Bly as pointed out, no new narrative replaced the old narrative with the result that psychiatrists can be as threatened or in general as dysfunctional as their patients.

Another problem lies in the fact that in 1982 and today, Americans pay their doctors (including their head shrink) using Someone Else's Money.

The best way to save for being physically sick in a laissez faire society is to have a 401K, and also to live a healthy lifestyle, including exercise, alcohol in moderation and tobacco not at all. This way you have at least a chance of paying the bill even if uninsured, perhaps by making time payments and getting the caregivers to give you a break. Or, you can use (disappearing) public institutions.

However, note that with regards to mental illness, the "system" that is preparing for the future by saving and leading a healthy lifestyle is by definition dysfunctional, and mental illness builds up over time. Except for narrowly defined disorders, mental illness is a slow train coming and its onset often includes behaviors at odds with the norm recommended by laissez-faire. There are exceptions, but for every head case who compulsively oversaves, taking the laissez-faire ideal to extremes, there are tens of nutbars who waste their money and engage in substance abuse.

This means that almost by definition societal provision has to be made for the mentally ill but almost by definition a laissez-faire society is unwilling to do so. And to the extent that HMO and insurance companies internally resemble Socialist societies (in that they have the open-ended duty to care for the people who've paid premiums, as socialist states precommitt themselves to cradle-to-grave care for citizens) they are reluctant to pay for extended mental care.

However, as Malcolm points out, classic analysis is open-ended and difficult to terminate. It seems to contemporary culture to be an iatrogenic time-waster, that causes wimped-out Woody Allen clones to acquire problems from the process itself.

Janet writes before developments in cognitive neuropsychiatry and drugs that have regressed the psychiatric profession to about the time of the phrenology that so outraged Hegel, by so reifying mental states in the sick and the normal as to be absurd. It does appear that some cognitive neuropsychiatry gains explanatory power at the expense of ignoring interactions just as phrenology was attractive in the early 19th century, and Dr Peter Breggin has pointed out that the known effects of Prozac and similar concoctions are known only empirically in the form of success rates, and absence of side-effects.

The success rates of Prozac are reified as the explicit rates for the people studied. The absence of side-effects can be refuted by a single toxic side-effect traceable to Prozac but can never be disproved, and the field of neuropharamacology is littered with miracle cures such as Valium which turned out over time to be highly dangerous and addictive.

At the same time Janet published PSYCHIATRY, a character in the early Madonna movie Desparately Seeking Susan was exclaiming "take a Valium like a normal person!" We need to be skeptical of miracle cures and ask what was wrong with the Woody Allen syndrome, apart, of course, from Woody Allen himself.

The Hippocratic oath, to which the MD psychiatrist subscribes, says above all, do no harm. Compared with Valium, psychiatry did little harm and the harm it did has to be proven by psychiatric hermeneutics themselves. Sexual abuse of patients is not this kind of harm since it is malpractice. Heavily headshrunk people do not appear to be psychotic, and although the sorts of individuals who committ spectacular crimes often have psychiatric histories these appear to be somewhat mandated by previous run-ins with the law, or casual encounters with no follow-through. The spectacular crimes can be in many cases in recent years ascribed to a lack of follow-through, which is caused by lack of access to Woody Allenesque abilities to talk things through without religious boundaries.

The best reason to read this book is to learn about a world destroyed by economics, in which ordinary people of the upper middle class were able to talk to shrinks and convert misery into ordinary unhappiness. This does not sound like much, but it is better than forced conversion of misery into extreme misery, whether that misery is internal or visited upon the kids.

Janet Malcolm's book is a great read; very accessible and lucid. The book is couched (sorry for the pun) as an interview with an analyst in New York City who discusses some of the more controversial issues about analysis. In particular, the author explores whether or not analysts should become more "loving and caring" with their patients. Mixed in with the interview are great passages from Freud and other analysts on these topics. If you're like me, you'll bristle at the unbelievable arrogance of some of the anyalysts she speaks with.

Misfit Joe Maloney is taunted and teased by his peers. Even his mother comments on his oddness. Destined to remain apart by strange visions no one else can see, Joe is drawn to a ragged circus that suddenly appears at the edge of town. The circus folk are as much at odds with the town folk as Joe is. Intrigued by their strangeness and mystery, Joe sinks into a world where fantasy and illusion meld with and replace reality. Joe is faced with confronting and accepting his differences, and the torture that goes with it, or joining forces with those bent on making a man of him. The juxtaposition of cruelty and compassion in this tale speak to that very nature in each of us.

It would be difficult not to recommend a book by David Almond. His lyrical writing creates fresh perspectives, thought-provoking storylines, and intriguing characterizations. While Secret Heart doesn't capture the heart of the reader with the same intensity of Skellig or Kit's Wilderness, the imagery and beauty of the language is compelling enough to recommend this book.

I read Secret heart. I thought it was a good book. It was a good book because it was an interesting book. This book was not my favorite book. I read other books that were more detailed. I would think that 4th though 5th graders should read this because it would be a little too hard for 3rd and under. I recommend this book to other people. It would be a good books for people that like tigers.

David Almond's fifth book is a haunting look at an unusual young boy, written beautifully and with fantastic, memorable characters. It occasionally becomes a little confusing and repetitive, but the characterizations are stunning, and overall it's a great read.

Joe Maloney is a dreamer, a shy stutterer whose mother works shifts at a bar and whose father "spun the waltzer at a fair." His teachers want him to study, but he can't. His former friend, Stanny Mole, has fallen in with a ruthless creep called Joff, and wants to show Joe how to kill -- but Joe doesn't want to. And he sees visions of a tiger prowling around, but there are no tigers where he lives.

He makes his way to the circus, which is due to shut down in a few days. There he meets an enormous wrestler, an old woman who sees into people's souls -- and Corinna, an acrobat with whom he shares a mysterious bond. These strange people will help him learn how to find his way around the people who taunt and try to mold him, and about the tiger inside him.

This may be Almond's most confusing book. It starts off in a rather colorless way, except for the interludes where Joe sees the tiger. Almond's stark prose becomes much more flowery halfway through, when Joe meets up with the circus people; it lends itself to a few genuinely nauseating interludes where we see the sort of killing that Joff urges boys to do, claiming that it will make men out of them. But there's no hamhanded moralizing in this book, thankfully. The last third is very surreal, very strange and otherworldly, but those who don't demand a concrete answer for everything in a book will be fine with that. The biggest problem is that at times it gets a little repetitive, with people shouting the same insults after Joe and Corinna, and Joe wondering for the umpteenth time whether Joff is his father.

Joe is likeable from the start, a kid who doesn't really fit anywhere and who feels pressure from all sides to be something he isn't. His patient mother is an almost saintly figure; the circus performers range from the surreal to the everyday, but all are friendly and kind, especially the blind old lady Nanty. Corinna is somewhat like Joe, except more outgoing and less sensitive to the taunts of others. And if there's a villain, it's Joff, a murdering tough who tries to mold boys to be like him, including Joe's friend Stanny (who pretty clearly doesn't believe a word coming out of his own mouth).

This is not a book for everyone -- the boundaries are very hazy and the storyline stretches into fantasy. But it's beautifully written and strangely plotted, and definitely worth the read.

This book was always considered as the work of Thomas Prest. A reprint was issued some years ago with a well-argued essay contending it was the work of Jame Malcolm Rymer. The essay never took into account that "Varney the Vampyre, or the Feast of Blood" was published complete in both their lifetimes under Prest's name, and Rymer never contested it -- as he surely would, considering the money it made.

It is the first vampire novel ever written. It is also poorly written, poorly typeset, illustrated with a hodgepodge of woodcuts from many sources, and about hundreds of pages too long.

The author was writing many other "penny dreadfuls" at the time, and there are a few instances in Varney where he simply forgot which one he was writing. Incidents occur with characters that don't belong in the story -- and they are either hastily written out by the following installment, or they simply vanish. The writer also quite obviously fleshed-out copy simply to fill space.

Varney himself is not your typical vampire. He walks about in the day, exhibits few vampire-like characteristics (except when he's feeding), and may just as well be an elegantly-dressed Ed Gein. As the book progresses, he appears less and less. Elaborate plots are concocted involving new characters, Varney steps in to create a little havoc, then gets quickly chased off. New characters, a little Varney, Varney runs away, repeat. This goes on for about a thousand pages (this current edition is not complete; I am writing my review from the out-of-print Dover edition).

In sum, read this if you are really interested in historical vampire literature. You can at least tell your friends you got through it. As books go, it's not good. And the experience of reading it today is made worse by the fact that it's dull.

Vampire lovers every where have to read this book, just because it was one of the first vampire books that is still recognized. It is true that Rymer isn't the world's geatest writter, and I think I kind of understand why they were called penny dreadfuls, but still read this book. It's good, considering, and it's an excellent book to refer to. Bram Stoker is thought to be influnced by Varney. Fang fanatics, expecially ones of the classic nature, should read this book.

All true vampire fans should definitely check this one out. It's way long and totally 19th century (obviously, that's when it was written), but it's still great, even for those who prefer Anne Rice.

This book is a false report on what went on in Panama. The author's obvious reverence to the men in green obviously indicates his ignorance of the murder that occured during the invasion.

As a veteran of Operation Just Cause (4/325 Parachute Infantry Regiment 82nd Airborne) I found the detail of the planning and execution fascinating. McConnell did an excellent job of providing the right amount of technical information while still telling the personal stories behind this very successful operation. I found the parts of the operation in which I was involved to be accurately portrayed. I felt the only part that was missing was the sheer excitement from the Panamanian people being delivered from Noriega's dictatorial rule. On Christmas Day, the Panamanian people in the neighboorhood we were patrolling delivered Christmas dinner to our company and each citizen stopped to thank us for our help. This is an excellent account and a well written book!

This book must be in the arsenals of every warrior in the U.S. military today, for it describes better than any other book how to fight a modern battle correctly. Operation Just Cause was a triumph that resulted in Panamania dictator Manuel Noriega being captured and the PDF disarmed with as minimum as blood shed possible. the secret was to use fast-moving Airborne not slow-moving seaborne forces to simultaneously converge on the enemy's centers of gravity and collapse them with light tracked armored fighting vehicles like the superb M551 Sheridan light tank (parachute airdropped and airlanded by USAF fixed-wing aircraft) and M113 APC could give shielded infantry with firepower superiority at the point of contact. This is why we had such few casualties compared to the October 3, 1993 raid in Somalia described so eloquently in Blackhawk Down! Compare the two battles. If we had wanted to capture Aidid like we did Noriega we should have had light AFVs supporting our 3-D maneuver inserted infantry.

Malcolm McConnell's book is so full of important details like how Army AH-64 Apache helicopters fly in ahead and destroyed Panamania anti-aircraft guns for the Rangers to parachute jump at 500 feet lightly opposed. How the 3/73d BN of the 82d Airborne took its M551 Sheridan light tanks from the drop zone and clandestine locations to take down the enemy's main center of gravity--La Comandancia by storm. He also doesn't shy away from the woes the SEALs had at Punta Paitilla airport where they were caught unshielded by enemy fire.

McConnell's book is THE STANDARD which all other books on Just Cause will be judged---let us hope Hollywood picks up this book and uses it as a basis for an accurate movie depiction.

Airborne!

If quality is the issue, this book seems to be missing it. Before I read this book, I knew that Crownover's company had won the Baldridge award, and I had read other articles on some of the programs they adapted to do so. I largely expected this book to explain how they adapted quality principles in a small company to win that award. What I received was a somewhat brief, shallow treatment of the history of the company and the current president, and personal insights that seem rather topical. As compared to other business books I have read, or even compared to other "Personal journey" stories I have read, this book comes up short in the "useful material" department.

This book is really worth reading. I can learn a lot from it. It is about how Dale leads his company to success from nearly bankruptcy, which inspire me a lot. Dale's company is compelled to make a decision to adopt the Statistic Process Control program. If he refuses, his company will go bankrupt. After struggling for many times, he eventually adopts using SPC, making the performance of his company improved.

This book talks about "quality" not only in his work but also in his life. The environment changes constantly and we cannot avoid facing uncertainty. Very often, we are forced to make changes, like Dale. In the changing world, we should not stick to the past. We should be ready to try new ways of doing things.

Continuously improving ourselves is another insight that I learn. After fulfilling one goal, we should set another goal. Just like Dale, after he teaches his employees about SPC and meets the requirements for SPC certification, he then introduces TQM to the company to make it further successful.

There are no losers and winners, said by Dale. I strongly agree. After spending our efforts, if we cannot get any achievements or prizes, it does not mean that we are losers. The outcome is not the most important. The importance is the process, that is, your involvement.

Dale also says that there is no master and servants in the company. I think that if employers and employees are friends, the employees are much more willing to spend more efforts on their work voluntarily and they will work more happily, which in turn will increase the productivity.

To conclude, this book is useful to us. It brings out a very important message: to be successful, we should seize on every opportunity to improve ourselves. We should not stop at the existing level. Remember: "Take it to the next level!"

The inspiring true story of how a company rose from the doldrums of near bankruptcy to a level worthy of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. This is extremely readable; don't expect a bunch of management mumbo-jumbo. This should be a textbook in every business school in the world. I had the privilege of attending the party celebrating this book's publication. Dale is a down-to-earth man of character who is enjoying richly-deserved personal and professional success.