Are today's intuitions of high learning more kindred to centralized indoctrination centers than institutions where traits such as insight, wisdom, justice, resourcefulness, courage, and originality are encouraged and cherished? Do professors and administrators instill politically correct and servile thoughts in their students, jaundiced by their personal moralities, philosophies and self interests? Is it possible that colleges and universities are not enlarging a students power, but diminishing it?

You will find the answer to these questions in Frank's hard-edged satire of the American higher educational system - Utopia U. An exceptionally witty and clever read, this book is a humorous allegory questioning the accepted practices of today's educational system.

The serious concerns raised at the pointy end of Frank's satirical pen are not diminished by an unpretentious and easy reading style that makes this book a pleasure to read.

This book should be on every student and professor's "must-read" list, unfortunately I doubt if it will find a warm reception in such Politically Correct academic quarters.

An excellent book, highly recommend for educators, students and those interested in the practices (or should I say indoctrination methodology) of today's higher educational institutions.

To begin, "Utopia U." deserves more than 5 stars: It's really a marvelous book and one long overdue. It tells the truth about political correctness, and truth is foreign to political correctness.

The author, Keyes, is very brave to take on political correctness. The term, by the way, comes from Lenin (not Agnew, as some suppose). Then you were either politically correct, or you stood against the wall. Now you are either politically correct, or you stand against the wall intellectually. I know about this because I teach humanities and literature in a politically correct department and college. I don't have his courage (I don't have tenure yet and wonder what I'd do if I did).

But on to the book! It's an easy read. I read it too quickly the first time and took my time the second time. Funny? I chuckled through the first three chapters and laughed out loud through the last two.

In a way it's a book of parallels, but I didn't "get" all the parallels until the second read. In the first chapter the characters, the animals (no humans in this book) have escaped from Plato's Cave-not all animals, as we find out in the last chapter. In this last chapter the politically correct are urging us to return because we have much to learn there. Right.

The other striking parallel is the physical slavery of the animals in the second chapter and the mental slavery of the animal-students in the fourth. Well done!

I hope the book succeeds in bringing back truth and logic. We miss these two pillars of the Enlightenment.

Last, students will love this book; educators will hate it. It tells the truth.

R.J. Ph.D. English

This book brought 'wow' after 'wow' to my mind when read. This book stimilated whatever thought that was possible in my mind. The way that Frank E. Keyes Jr. portrays the American school system in this book is far beyond that one would've thought. Excellent job Mr. Keyes!

Among all the movies and books that I have read bout the Vietnam war(my father and uncles were officers in the Vietminh and later the North Vietnamese army), only one film truely depict the war and its effect on the Vietnamese. That movie is called "We want to Live", directed and written by Vinh Noan. This book is no less accurate as the film that Vinh Noan have made.

Frank Vinh Noan has written a winsome and marvelous book that captures one's imagination. Part of the charm of the book is simply the story the author tells. However, the real charm is the way the author leaves the questions of love of country, love of culture, love of religious commitments, and love and devotion to families, both of one's birth and of one's marriage, as mysteries to be resolved by the reader's thought and imagination. This is not just a book of fiction. It also is a profound history of different cultures, different religions, and different countries, and the forces that brought them together. Then ending is both gripping and convicting, and must be read and felt to begin to understand what happened at the conclusion of the war in Vietnam. Anyone who lived through the period known as the war in Vietnam will have to re-examine assumptions and come to terms with importance of that period of history, both on Vietnam and on the United States. After having read the book several times, I felt I knew the author and his family in a deeply personal way. This is what good reading is all about.

Although a novel, much of this book seems derived from facts. It tells a story of two people, from seemingly different cultures, united by the power of love but cruely torn apart by the war in Vietnam. The book is artistic and descriptive, and will be of interest to anyone who has any feelings about Vietnam. The passages about the attrocities and conditions suffered by the Boat People are very moving and are likely to bring you to tears! Does the story have a happy ending? You'll have to read it to find out!

I have an 8 year old granddaughter and a 3 year old granddaughter. This book is perfect for the older one to read to the younger one. They both like it as much as Grandma does. The illustrations are colorful and the story is just right.

This is a really special book for children. The colors are brilliant, the figures well drawn and the words flow very well. The story is not deep, but ideal for 2-4 year olds. Frank the Coyote, obviously, lives way out west, has coyote friends and meets other animals along the way. Frank teaches that it's ok to be alone sometimes and the joy of being with friends. Unlike some children's books, you won't get tired of Frank the Coyote and your children won't either. I highly recommend this book for parents of young children.

We purchased this book when visiting Grandparents in Tucson. My two year old really enjoys this story about Coyote Frank and his friends. The illustrations in this book are full of saguaro cactuses and animals that are found in the Sonoran Desert. We enjoy looking at the illustrations and remembering our visits to Grandmas house.

The book is very will written and illlustrated. The capter on metallurgy is excellent; direct and clear with no unneccesary techno-babble. The expanded chapter contains wonderful tips on fabrication and repair. I have been in the metals industry for twenty-nine years, and this is the best welding manual I have come across. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned veteran, I think you will agree.

If you really want to learn how to weld and not just shoot sparks around the room to impress your friends, get this book. Welding is not simple as it might seem. To choose the correct process, weld safely and KNOW what you're doing is not easy. Where Galvery and Marlow make this book a winner is in the title. They bring the welding essentials into a reader friendly format. The explainations are concise and clear. The illustrations compliment the text. Stuck in an overcomplicated textbook? Help is here. This one is a keeper. Glad I bought it.

This is the book for all weldors, students and journeymen alike. With its bilingual Spanish/English Glossary of Terms, it takes books of this kind to a new dimension, recognizing the need for this kind of aid. It is the clearest book on the elements of welding that I have ever read, and I have read books on this topic for nearly 40 years. Simply put, every interested person will benefit from the book--and at the same time, believe it or not, every interested person will *enjoy* reading it. A grand example of how to write a book that informs its audiences.

This is a well written book that expertly envisions the story of Apple's early years. Rose provides an in-depth look at the people involved and draws out the fascinating stories that surround Apple's early existence. This is by far the most accessible and enjoyable account of Apple's founding. The only problem is that it was written in the early '90's and doesn't reach the amazingly entertaining last few years the company has gone through. If only Rose would write a sequel...

Incredibly fascinating book that takes you on an intense and vivid tour of how Apple was started and what went on behind the scenes. Highly readable and very tough to put down.

West of Eden reads like a novel which makes me wonder if it's all true. After having it gather dust on my shelves for years I finally decided to read it and it's fascinating. I had a hard time tearing myself away in order to get my final progamming assignment done. Whether it's all fact or not one thing's for sure: now that Steve Jobs has been back at Apple for a while I hope Mr. Rose writes a followup!

Teams are everywhere-in all kinds of organizations. Some work beautifully to produce wonderful successes; others are miserable failures. Why? The authors conducted research with over 6,000 team members and discovered five factors that determine a team's success: collaboration, relationships, group processes, leadership, and the organizational environment. This book is a report of what they learned, loaded with plenty of advice for increasing team effectiveness.

After an introductory prologue, the book delivers five well-organized chapters that correspond to the factors of success. The first chapter explores what makes a good team member--abilities and behaviors that matter. What determines how collaborative someone will be in a team setting? The second chapter examines relationships among members of teams: what's most important, where are the greatest challenges, and how can you make it all work?

In the third chapter, the authors look into team problem solving. Included are the distinguishing factors of good problem-solving teams, dynamics and processes of solving problems and making decisions, and building systems that support results. Chapter four really digs into the team leader, reviewing six key dimensions of the role. This chapter alone is worth buying this book. Following the research-based model, the last chapter zeros in on the organizational environment. The authors evaluate management practices, structure and processes, and systems in an insightful look at how the environment affects team performance.

Each chapter is preceded by a one-page Snapshot that offers a valuable overview of the chapter. Two indexes and a half-dozen pages of notes add more value to this volume. Good flow, readable, and useful. Recommended as a good tool for team leaders, members, and encouragers in any organization.

When Teams Work Best: 6,000 Team Members And Leaders Tell What It Takes To Succeed by Frank LaFasto (Senior Vice President of Organization Effectiveness for Cardinal health, Inc.) and Carl Larson (Professor of Human Communication, University of Denver) is a practical, "user friendly" guide to the harnessing the power of cooperation and teamwork for increased productivity and effectiveness. Individual chapters address what makes a good team member, what makes a good leader, problem solving methodologies, and how to best promote confidence and trust. When Teams Work Best is very highly recommended for anyone charged with the corporate responsibility for cultivating business group work skills!

LaFasto and Larson have composed a MUST READ guide for maximizing team effectiveness. Rich in content and advice, will give readers and indepth perspective on how to unleash the power of Teams.

This is a great book of the ABCs of understanding Wi-Fi for everyone. It walks you through all the scenerios you would need to know to talk the talk!

It's a good book for the Computer Salesman trying to understand Wi-Fi. The best part is that it shows how to overcome buying objections and shows how installing Wi-Fi in a home or small business can be just as safe as a wired installation at the same cost (or less). *****

Complaints or concerns against the 802.11 family of networking standards can usually be broken down to quality of service (QoS), security and range of service and bandwidth. The authors of this great book tackle these subjects head on and show you how this is not the case and how they can be over come. In this book, each is highlighted independently (after a good overview of 802.11) and the information presented there is wonderful. They wrap everything up with some real life scenarios that are also worth a detailed read. If you are in the business of setting up WLANs in a corporate environment, then you will want this book to occupy a place on your reference shelf. But more importantly, if you are on the technical sales side of the house, this book could be a real life saver and deal closer for you. Highly recommended!

I had to read this book for my HRM course at Nyenrode, mr. Tissen is my prof. This book cannot be compared to any studybook I've ever used before. Mr Tissen introduces a lot of difficult terms wich I couldn't directly understand and that are rather vage. His vision of the futere isn't of any use to me, and I think that the autors don't have to try to beat Nostradamus because they can't.

Finally, I've found a book that demystifies knowledge management, offering a perspective that doesn't originate from one of America's ivory towers. It's refreshing and enlightening to read about international companies operating within the global marketspace and how they've met the challenges posed by the Knowledge Economy.

Unlike other KM books I've read, Value-Based Knowledge Management showed me how to recognize "meaningful" knowledge and why it is more important for my company to possess only that type of knowledge. I now have a totally different attitude toward the knowledge of my customers, my associates and my fellow employees.

The companion CD-ROMs are invaluable. The Value Enhancer is helping me to assess my company's abilities and increase its competencies. The tutorial CD-ROM keeps me on track and prepares me for the next bend in the road.

Thanks, Amazon, for offering within your titles a truly integrated approach to knowledge management.

This is the first book I have seen on this subject who looked at knowledge management not from a technical viewpoint but rather from a ' value' based viewpoint. What does it mean, don't look at all information categories but only and the information types which might add value. The CD's are a perfect tool to support you. A perfect management toolkit!

I bought a MIG welding machine and quickly learned to put down nice weld beads. But when I tried to weld up a project with angle iron, I quickly discovered I didn't know how to make anything. This book shows how to make square frames, and assemble other basic building blocks. There are also lots of rules of thumb and good industry practice, but no heavy math. If you're like me, you will save a lot of time, steel, and welding materials if you read this book before starting your welding project. Many helpful drawings.

we would like to inform anyone getting this book that, at this time it does not ship within 24 hours. we are still waiting for ours and have been waiting for 6 days and, it still has not been sent out to be shipped. we will love this book when we finally get it!!!!!!!!!!!! thank you

This is not your typical welding book. It's about how to use welding to make things, not how to make welds. If you want to build welded frames, tables, boxes, and join pipe, or repair truck frames, this is the book for you. There's also a good chapter on bending and straightening metals, and another on metal fatigue. Also, lots of how advice on solving--or avoiding--common welding problems. This book is written in plain English with a drawing on nearly every page.

My wife and I purchased West's Business Law, 7th ed. through the University of the Pacific bookstore and were generally pleased with it. We have referred to it on numerous occasions to understand legal concepts at school, as well as in our private lives. However...The copy we received was defective. It was missing everything between appendix page 212 and glossary page G-11. I have e-mailed the publisher, but received no response. I will probably order ANOTHER copy of the book (this time through amazon.com) and hope that this copy isn't defective. Because of the difficulty in getting a response from the publisher, I recommend ordering through a reputable retailer like amazon.com (which focuses on customer service as a priority).

I recently purchased this book since it was directly related to my job (Purchasing). My friend went to a college that used this same book and it had looked interesting.

After I bought it from Amazon (lowest price, believe me), I was very satisfied. The author explains all topics in a clear manner and provides interesting case examples. This is one book that I will use as reference over and over. I can't imagine myself without it now. I also can't imagine a better business law book.

I used this book for two law classes. It is understandable, well written, and has intersting cases. I strongly recommend the additional study guide.