I have read this book after its successor "Small World" which I enjoyed very much. And even if it is quite entertaining it does not reach up to the later novel - not at all. It was nice to observe the two protagonists Swallow and Zapp trying to adapt to the way of life at an American respectively British university in the 60s. In describing and satirizing the academic world Lodge is at his best. But having him experimenting with the novel (newspaper clippings make up the center part of the book, a film-script the end) did not seem very convincing in this context. Where the story should really take off it becomes downright boring through this technique. Pale in comparison to "Small World" and "Nice Work", the third book in the series.

It is obvious that Lodge is looking at the tumultuous student movements and blossoming women's movements of the late 60's from a critical distance. Both are satirized in this novel; but it is primarily concerned with exposing the inherent differences between British and American Academia and poking fun at the upper echelons of the ivory tower of English literature. The student movements serve merely as a backdrop for the mid-life crises of Lodge's main characters.

This is the story of Morris Zapp, an American professor of English literature and Jane Austen expert, and Philip Swallow, his English counterpart. They undertake an academic exchange between their respective universities, and swap more than just their positions, as their personal lives become intertwined in a typical Lodgian move: all things are connected.

This is an intelligent book, full of interesting if not improbable plot twists. The dialogue is witty, the prose full of brilliant and well-used ten cent words to build a vocabulary on. It is not laugh out loud funny, but snicker out the side of your mouth humor. The experimental part at the end is a bit misshapen and very disappointing, especially for the reader, who comes to care about his characters.

And yet this is about something much bigger, especially for the academic. These are men who are trying to make their way in a world where publish or perish is the only mantra. Their respective crises are coupled with new couplings on both sides of the Atlantic, and a new view on life--all they needed was a change of place. They seem to have discovered how much there is to gain by leaving that which you know. I'm not sure how much truth there is to that belief, this is most unfortunate for the marriages in discussion, but in the end, aren't the women also better off? We can't know. He leaves us hanging.

This is a great novel for the literary academic in all of us, for those who wonder what kind of actual resonance their life's work has, for those who have discovered that new, brief experiences can turn your life on its head.

David Lodge's "Changing Places" had me in stitches. It's such a funny book. The prose is highly readable, crisply written and races along so charmingly that it's hard to put it down once you've started. Although Philip Swallow and Morris Zapp are drawn from the two contrasting cultures they symbolise, they are never allowed to degenerate into caricatures. Both are highly real and believable characters, sharing much the same human frailties. While Zapp is unashamedly direct, hollow and crass, Swallow is rather more reserved, diffident, but with the same potential though not the guts for dishonesty. It is only by "changing places" that they become themselves, albeit in a different environment. Even the behaviour of their wives change when subjected to the opposite cultural influences. Admittedly, the setting of the "exchange" in the late 60s (with all the references to student protests and pot smoking in university campuses) has tended to date the book a bit. But who cares, when you derive such enormous pleasure, laughter and fun from reading what must seem like a novel for the ages. I can see thousands reading it 50 years into the new millenium.

This book manifests the proper perspective for both introducing students to physics and for refreshing those long out of college, or just anyone who wants to learn the essentials but does not have advanced math skills.

In this textbook for introductory physics, the author takes a wise approach by presenting the essential nuts-&-bolts of physics concepts. The concepts and principles should always come before the actual applications, i.e., involving the "math". Mathematics is certainly vital in physics, but any science book (or study course) needs to establish a foundation before proceeding with complex (and often confusing) calculations.

This publication has helped me immensely and I highly recommend it.

The fourth edition of this text is what started me on the path to a masters degree in physics (achieved ten years ago). Now I am preparing to teach basic physics to remedial-level adult students and non-science majors and so am buying an updated copy of the book.

This is a GREAT way to learn concepts for those who don't have the math skills for a standard course (as I didn't when I started all those years ago). I found it a great jumping off point, and I still return to my old text when I find I've forgotten my basics! I can't wait to read the new edition!

I took freshman physics in college. I picked up this book as a bit of a review. It is well worth reading. It is pitched at a level that a 12 year old could understand, but contains physics that would educate and entertain adults. I recommend getting the accompanying work book as well. There are concept questions and math questions. The math questions at the end of the chapters require knowledge of arithmetic ( not heavy algebra or calculus ).

I recommend this book for those that just like to read educational material for fun.... this is a light enough read to allow that. I also recommend this book for science students that want to get the concepts of physics down, before they get bogged down in the math. It makes your higher level physics book much easier to read.

If you dont get this book, you are really missin out on a good thing.

Katherine
PS yes real girls do read physics

Anyone who thinks this book is about a "having a good attitude" or "positive thinking" hasn't read the book.
Stoltz states at the beginning, "It's more important to know how to deal with the negative than to be 'positive.'" This mirrors the I Ching, which says, "The event is not important, but the response to the event is everything." Stoltz says it's not only how we _respond_ to adversity, but how we _perceive_ adversity.
Stoltz breaks down our response to adversity into five categories -- Control (how much control do we perceive over the adverse situation?), Origin (are we to blame for the adverse situation?), Ownership (are we responsible for fixing the adverse situation?), Reach (how far will this adverse situation reach into other areas of my life?), and Endurance (how long will this adverse situation last?). He provides abundant examples (everyday and historical), hypotheticals, and even a test where we can score how we tend to respond to adversity, and improve our response.
He lists 22 helpful ways to _destroy_ the adversity of those around us (#4 -- Model victimhood. Act depressed -- it's contagious; #9 -- Frame success as a freak accident; #19 -- Uproot enthusiasm before it can grow).
Problems with the book? Sure there are. It's a bit padded, especially in the beginning. Much of the book deals with overcoming adversity in business situations. He also criticizes those who decide to "camp" on the hillside instead of always "climbing" to the top of the mountain. I feel we can have success and happiness, not to mention a family life, by "camping," just as I suspect "climber" is another word for "workaholic."
In all, it's a very worthwhile book.

In today's environment of mega changes, it's easy to forget about the most important differentiators of success. Attitude and motivation still transcend knowledge, skill, and technology as the most important contributors to success.

Dr. Stoltz makes tremendous sense, and breaks down what is obvious to some (think positive and positive things will happen) and provides the tools to understand and develop ownership and accountability for a much richer personal and professional life.

I don't know how many times I've participated in rah rah training sessions where everyone went away positive, but without lasting impact. AQ provides practical tools to move foprward.

While others tell us we need to be motivated and have a positive attitude, Dr. Stoltz shows us how to break it down, measure it and understand its impact on us and on organizations. But even more important he shows us how to develop the attitude and personal motivation required to pick yourself up and go at it again, with renewed if not relentless vigor, to learn, and fight again.

In today's highly complex and competitive markets the only significant differentiators are an organization's people. AQ is the tool to develop within individuals and groups the power to make choices consistent with personal and organizational goals.

Empowerment does not fail because people are not given power. It fails because people do not have the tools to exercise their power of choice. AQ gives individuals and organizations that power.

Too many people suffer from learned helplessness - they believe that nothing they do really matters and that they can't make a difference in their own lives nor in what happens to them. They give up and become quitters, or camp out and live lives of quiet desparation. By building up your Adversity Quotient, Stoltz shows that adversity doesn't have to intrude into all areas of your life; nor do you have to believe that your problems have to last forever. By increasing your AQ, you can rebound almost instantly. Everyone stumbles and falls, but now you can learn how to pick yourself up, renew your spirit, and face any problems by taking action that eliminate and prevent the same adverse situation from ever occurring again. This is a remarkably well written and useful book. It is helpful in improving the quality of every aspect of your life, including your private life, career, etc. Given today's challenges and stress levels, it should be required reading for everyone. Even big challenges and adversities - losing a job, getting a divorse, being reprimanded, etc. - will be reduced to little ones once you know how to deal with them effectively and easily. A great book!

I've read about the shortcomings others are citing, but I just don't see them. The amount and kind of information that a professional graphic artist, designer or illustrator, needs has exploded, and it's unrealistic that any book can keep up with the variety and complexity of projects that we're faced with everyday. This reference does a MAGNIFICENT job of distilling the essential factors that go into a pricing decision. The ultimate decision rests with the artist about what to charge. This book has been a lifesaver and continues to be dog-eared at every turn....it's SO valuable.

You can blame it for not keeping the x-acto knife sharp, and lots of other challenges that designers and illustrators face, but it does a FANTASTIC job of doing what it sets out to do: provide a professional graphic artist with the tools needed to make a pricing decision.

One reading of it will give you the confidence to MORE THAN make up for the purchase price.

This is the most comprehensive guide to pricing illustration and graphic design available. If you are a professional or thinking of becoming one, then this book provides the kind of in depth information you need to run a successful business. GET IT TODAY.

It's not a how-to... there are plenty of those around.

WHAT IT IS is a detailed resource of the tools you need to sell your work for a fair price and retain the rights to that work. Sample contracts are provided that cover a variety of situations from an artist-rep agreement to a Multimedia job order confirmation.

Next time you ask "what do I charge for that?!?!?", turn to this book. It'll save your business and repay the cost of purchase many many times over.

Whether you're a one-person design firm, part of a small staff firm, or a corporate in-house designer, you will need this book. Anyone who is seriously considering making a career of design should get the Guide as well. This book provides invaluable advice on the design process, dealing with clients, graphical standards, sample contracts, sample costing sheets, and a listing of invaluable reference and resources in the back. The biggest strength the Guide has is detailed explainations of different areas of design. How many times have you gone into a meeting with a new client and had to differentiate between the many specialization in design for your prospect? Just about everything is covered...illustration, print graphics, web design, fabric design, video, audio...with sufficiently detailed information to help keep you on track. Many's the time I have actually quoted from the copyright and contracts section of this book when clients got balky on payment or terms. Anybody who is freelancing, starting out, or working in a small firm owes themselves the favor of getting this book.

The largest problem with this book is the manner in which he draws his conclusion. I had doubts as to whether or not I was going to even read the book after I read his preface. To paraphrase what he said, Bristow started to question the tratditional interpretation of selected scriptures relating to women based on discrepancies that he saw betweeen what scripture says and what he saw in the world around him. I would like to say that that is an incorrect way of doing biblical investigation. When the world around us and the Bible contradict, the biblical position is to see what the world is doing wrong, not what is wrong with the Bible. It is not right to change our interpretation of the Bible, based on what we see in the world. We can only change our interpretation of the Bible based on the Bible.
Bristow's premise that women and men are "equal" is correct, and that is what Paul believe. However the traditional interpretation of Pauline epistles does not say that women are inferior to men. IT simply says that women and men are equal, but have different roles.

I came from a rather abusive/sexist church background and while I was still interested in Christianity (often out of fear of hell) I just couldn't resolve my problems with the religion. One of these problems was the sexism that seemed present in the Bible. This book is a short enough read and has enough infomation to have you questioning a lot of what you thought you knew after just a weekend. However, if you have spent years believing in the sexist interpretation of the Bible you may have trouble beliving this book, and you could write it off in your head as "doctrines of demons." Overall, I found a defence for women talking in the church VERY comforting. If you need to take even more of the terror out of Christianity you might also want to read Liberating the Gospels : Reading the Bible With Jewish Eyes : Freeing Jesus from 2,000 Years of Misunderstanding by John Shelby Spong

A must for all to read, not just Christians, but especially for Christian women to regain a positive attitude towards the Apostle Paul (in case one might not have had a positive attitude towards him due to the inaccurate translation of his writings concerning women and their place in the Church which made him appear to be either, at worse, a misogynist, or, at best, not "pro" women). This book sets the record straight and quiets my mind on this subject. Thank God!

The software alone is well worth the price of this book. The publisher supplies you with all 5 major DB's. SQl Server, Oracle 8i, DB2, Sybase, and Informix. If your a newbie I suggest Sam's SQL in 10 minutes. Together these two books make a great combo.

The title of this book says it all: it's an extremely complete reference to the SQL language. It covers the SQL-89 and SQL2 standards and indicates the features found in SQL2 but not in SQL-89. It covers not only basic SQL data definition, queries, and updates, but also advanced topics such as transaction processing, security, embedded SQL, stored procedures, and object-oriented databases. It also explains how some of the more popular DBMSs vary from or extend standard SQL.

There are some places where the information on SQL is not quite complete. For example, the section on data types doesn't give the sizes of the integer types. As another reviewer mentioned, the section on built-in functions doesn't provide enough information to use some of the more rarely used functions. But these omissions are minor; overall, the completeness of information on SQL is quite impressive.

If you're totally new to relational databases, and you need to design a database schema, you'll want to also get a book on database modeling and normalization, because these topics are not covered. But if you know relational databases or merely need to write queries and updates on an existing database, this book will be more than adequate.

In addition, if you want to access a database from Java or Perl, you'll also want a book on JDBC or DBI, respectively. Perhaps a future edition of the book will cover these topics in the SQL APIs chapter, but they're probably too new to have made it into this edition.

First let me tell you why NOT TO BUY this book: You want to learn how to create SQL statements- there are lots of SQL manuals that are better, and easier to use as a reference because they are lighter in pounds. You want to learn advanced issues in creating a database- if you are that advanced you should buy a book about the particular issue you need help with.

Now let me to you WHY TO BUY this book: If you are just building databases complex enough to get into real trouble (and that happens a lot sooner than you may think) you must read this book. It gives an overview of all the problems you need to think about. Very simple databases can get into trouble if you aren't very careful about data integrity and security. This book will raise warning-flags in your head- to find out what do about those warning-flags, however, you may need to go to a book specifically about your application or problem.

I agree with many of the reviewers below that this book was helpful and often interesting. It gives a readable orientation to one of the most important movements in the software industry today, and the editors have been fortunate to gather together so many contributors who obviously know whereof they speak. In particular, the editors' Introduction, Eric Raymond's "Brief History of Hackerdom," Richard Stallman's account of GNU and FSF, Bruce Perens's discussion of Open Source, and Tim O'Reilly's essay on "Infoware" were informative and thought-provoking.

That said, it should be noted that the Amazon reviewer above gets it wrong when she writes that the book gives a "fascinating look at the raging debate." In fact, *nothing* about Open Source is debated in this book, which is a major disappointment. As the reviewer from Princeton below notes, the goodness of everything Open Source and the badness of everything Microsoft seems to be a given for many of the writers. At the risk of criticizing the book for not being something its creators didn't intend, I think it would be greatly improved with the addition of a wider range of viewpoints and even a dissenting voice or two. (There are a number of essays that could give place to some alternate content: Eric Raymond's second essay, "The Revenge of the Hackers," leans heavily toward the self-congratulatory, as does the Netscape cheerleaders' "Story of Mozilla." And Larry Wall's "Diligence, Patience, and Humility" seems to have been included not on its own merits but on the author's reputation as the Perl Deity.)

A final wish is for the book to address a broader range of readers. As a longtime computer user but a relatively new programmer, with no formal business training, I found many of the essays to rely heavily on the jargon of hackers and MBAs. More editorial control here, in addition to a broader range of content, would make this book seem less like preaching to the choir and more effective at spreading the Open Source gospel.

This is a good idea on O'Reilly's part to try to document the history and goals of the Open Source movement, which had roots in several college campuses and research labs in the '70s and '80s, and became news in the late '90s with the popularity of Linux, Apache, and the decision of Netscape to open its browser source. The best introductory piece, however, is probably Eric Raymond's "Cathedral and the Bazaar" which is not in this book(O'Reilly publishes it separately, but it's available free on the Web and short enough to be read in one sitting). As for this collection, I liked Robert Young's business case for distributing open source - his story of how Red Hat was launched reminds me of the Compaq tale of "three guys in a restaurant". The Apache article is also quite good, and Linus Torvalds offers a brief but interesting (and characteristically opinionated) article about how Linux evolved technically. There's also a good article discussing the various open source licenses (BSD, GPL, Netscape, etc) and what they do and don't restrict.

Others I was less impressed with. Stallman's article is predictable and self-serving. He explains how he evolved his software-as-gift philosophy but doesn't come close to terms with how the software industry can support substantial employment if all source is given away. There's yet another history of the different branches of BSD Unix. There's a breathtaking inside account of the launch of Mozilla which ends with the fancy Silicon Valley party when development has finally gotten underway. The low point is Larry Wall's "essay", which is a frankly ridiculous waste of time and print.

Although this is a mixed bag, there's enough reference material and interesting points of view to keep the book around.

Open Sources is a collection of essays by people who have been involved in a prominent way in what is being called "the open source revolution." The authors are all very bright people with good intentions and diverse viewpoints; this makes for interesting reading. However, I had a problem with the introduction. In fact, I hated it. It attempts to couch the issue of free vs. non-free software in religious terms: in the bad old days, free software only came from universities or other government-funded research. Then, a few companies saw the light and began to open-source their software; currently the industry is divided between these companies (the saved) and the rest of the companies (the damned) who will spiral into oblivion due to their proprietary selfishness. I thought the presence of this sort of rhetoric in the introduction, which sets the tone for the rest of the book, was particularly unfortunate.

The essays in Open Sources are a mixed bag. Kirk McKusick's history of Berkeley UNIX is great, as is Michael Tiemann's history of Cygnus Solutions, RMS's article about the GNU project, and Bruce Perens' article about licensing issues. Also, I really enjoyed the transcript of the infamous 1992 flame war between Linus and Andy Tanenbaum about the merits of Linux vs. Minix. On the other hand, Paul Vixie's article about software engineering is pretty random, Larry Wall's article does not seem to have a point at all, and Eric Raymond's

second article and Tom Paquin's account of the open-sourcing of Netscape are too self-serving to be useful.

Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. However, the year that has passed since its publication has exposed some of the more outlandish predictions made by its contributors (Eric Raymond said that Windows 2000 would either be canceled or be a complete disaster). My guess is that Open Sources is not destined to become a classic. Rather, in a few years it will be viewed as an interesting but somewhat naive period piece.

Though thought-provoking at times, this exchange ultimately falls flat on the unwillingness (which many will interpret as inability) of the liberals to give more than a cursory, self-satisfied justification of their views. One would assume from their half-hearted effort that the liberals have no "facts" to back themselves up, but that is not my understanding of their position. The few factual arguments they did raise were ruthlessly shot down by Craig. And they barely tried refuting Craig's own factual assertions, so Craig could only point out their omissions and could not develop the debate any further.

There are some illuminating thoughts here, especially from the responses and Craig's concluding reflections -- thus, three stars. But those looking for "meat" should look elsewhere. I liken this book to an "all-star game" -- neat concept, but not to be taken too seriously.

One concluding note: even to this "conservative" reader Buckley's partisan "mediating" was inappropriate and distracting. His smug comments about Jesus making Crossan disappear "in a puff of smoke" and his attack-dog questioning of Crossan made the "debate" look like a 2-on-1 mugging. Craig would have done just fine by himself.

As a conservative (not fundamentalist), I found this book to give good insight into the beliefs of extreme liberals. I can't say I didn't have misconceptions. SO in that aspect I found the debate extremely helpful.

The major problem with this book is the liberals themselves. William Lane Craig and Claig Blomberg simply destroy the liberals in terms of arguments put forth. That is the problem -- the liberals do a good job of expressing their views and beliefs, but they spend a very minimal amount of time actually putting forth arguments for their beliefs. Here is a brief summary of the book:

William Craig's opening statement -- Bill does his standard debate arguments. Solid foundation, yet still quite simplistic. A good opening for the conservatives.

John Crossan's Opening -- He talks about his perspectives a lot, but put forth's almost no factual data.

William's response -- Craig criticizes Crossan's metaphorical interpretation a bit, and goes over his original arguments in a bit more detail.

Crossan's response -- Again, Crossan puts forth little new empirical facts and claims. Disapointing.

Discussion -- They talk a bit. The moderator is too biased...he is a conservative and shows it.

Closing statements -- Craig criticizes some points that Crossan put forth in the chat; Crossan gives no actual data.

Robert Millet's essay -- Robert gives good insight into that apologetics are usually designed for the people they represent (i.e. Christian apologists impress Christians much more than athiests). He also attempts to criticize the account of people raising from the dead in Matthew. The fatal flaw is that it's fine that Millet isn't convinced but WHY DIDN'T HE THEN RESPOND TO WILLIAM'S ARGUMENTS IF THEY WERE SO UNIMPRESSIVE!?

Craig Blomberg's essay -- Craig reviews the debate. Craig is suprisingly critical of William, but since Will won the debate so much it is still evident (in the essay and debate) that Will won.

Borg's essay -- Borg gives great insight into his belief's, and it was very interesting, but puts forth little data.

Witherington's essay -- Withington demonstrates using the Bible that the Bible does show that the resurrection was not metaphorical, but instead literal. The problem is, is that the Jesus Seminar rejects most of the Bible so it is irrelevant.

Closing -- Crossan again puts forth little data but talks about his beliefs. William does his standard good job of puting forth evidence.

----------- This book was very interesting and worth a reading, though the liberals put forth very disapointing arguments. Conservatives win. Woorah.

This was a great book and I agree with the general observations of the vast majority of the reviewers. That is, Craig won hands down. Crossan didn't really even enter the debate which surprised and disappointed some reviewers. But it's really not surprising at all. Crossan's arguments (or lack there of) come directly from the work of the Jesus Seminar. And Crossan's utter defeat illustrates that the Seminar's work is of little value in disproving the Gospels and the mainstream Christian interpetation of them as largely accurate, HISTORICAL accounts of Jesus' life.
Rather, the Jesus Seminar must be looked upon as an experiment in liberal theological thought. It was a chance for liberal scholars to come together and develop a consensus unburdened by critical peer review from their more conservative, and for the most part more mainstream, more distinguished peers.
The result was a new pardigm for interperting the NT. Briefly, the consensus was that it is all symbolism and metaphor. This new paradigm is a logical outcome based on the assumptions, membership, and methods of the seminar. But when brought out into the light of day, it is very awkward and even ridiculous.
The seminar serves a worthwhile purpose as an experiment and "anchor" at the extreme liberal end of the spectrum. But not much else.

Master Georgie is a novel set in the time of the Crimean War. Through the eyes of three people close to Master Georgie, Myrtle, a girl believed to be Georgie's sister, Dr. Potter, a geologist and Pompey Jones, the photography assistant, we follow him from Liverpool to the battlefield of the Crimean War.

This way to write about a person and his happenings is well known through Ian Pears An Instance of the Fingerpost. And can be a perfect way to keep the readers interest and also the readers capability to live with the story. But Beryl Bainbridge do not master this art in this book. The language is too flat, without feelings, and the plots are sometimes too cryptical to be understood. I had to read several parts more than once to be able to understand what it all really was about, and to understand which lenses where used.

Still the book has some good parts, among them are the battlefield scenes. And I also like the way Bainbridge use the meaning of the photography, to let us see snapshots of Master Georgie's life, using other people as lenses, as cameras.

The book is a short one, less than 200 pages, and the surprising ending helps to give meaning to the story.

Britt Arnhild Lindland

From the first pages, this novel fails to draw one into its world to the extent of its most recent predecessors. The 1840s in England do not come alive quite as well for Ms. Bainbridge as the early 1900s of her The Birthday Boys and Every Man for Himself. This may be a result of the narrative coming from different observers of the events, which perforce must take the time to limn each separate narrator as he or she appears. While this method succeeds quite powerfully in The Birthday Boys, with the various members of the Scott expedition continuing the story from their differing points of view, it does not work as well here. Master Georgie lacks the successive stream of events, as exists in The Birthday Boys, which could hold together the differing shifts of narrative.

However, the story takes on an absorbing sense of urgency as the 1850s arrive and the characters shift to the Crimea. These later episodes certainly contain the strongest writing in this work. Ms. Bainbridge's descriptions of war are chillingly gruesome, even though the focus is usually only upon the fringe of battle itself, but seem at times to be lazily gloomy. Certainly the atrocities of the Crimean or any war merit the most horrid descriptions, but aside from some poignant scenes, much of the horror is conveyed through somewhat stock descriptions of the filth, disease, deprivations and insanity that accompany every war. Furthermore, neither the action nor the characters, especially the title character who throughout remains shadowy and elusive, seem to progress substantially during these latter stages of the novel.

All in all, this is still a very fine book, that perhaps suffers only in comparison to the author's greater works.

Beryl Bainbridge has to be one of the greatest of all English authors. All of her books are superb and Master Georgie, her third book of historical fiction, is different, but no less superb, than the two preceeding. I think Master Georgie has not been praised quite highly enough because its subject matter may be less familiar to Americans than Bainbridge's two previous historicals. As a European, however, Master Georgie is definitely my favorite. It is quieter and more subtle, but I think it has much more emotional depth.

Bainbridge is always a little cryptic with her subject matter and Master Georgie is no exception. Don't let this put you off the book, though--the undercurrents of energy and intrigue make this short book riveting and well worth anyone's time.

The protagonist, Master Georgie, is actually George Hardy, a Victorian English dissolute and surgeon who, one day, decides to pack up his family and head for Turkey. Although his intentions are to provide medical care to the wounded during the Crimean war, we all know things rarely go as planned. Suffice it to say that Murphy's Law holds just as true for Master Georgie as it does for us.

The battlefield scenes are some of the best I have ever read, not surprising with Bainbridge. Although the scenes are brutal and sometimes even gruesome, this marvelous author has managed to infuse them with a sardonic wit that rivals anything I have ever read. Bainbridge is true to her subject matter in these scenes. Bainbridge chooses to forgo romanticism in favor of the reality of confusion and futility that surely must have existed on the battlefields of the Crimea. Lest you think she's making fun of her subjects, let me tell you she most assuredly is not. She is compassionate, but she wisely keeps that compassion from coloring the facts. I think she is simply interpreting events with her own brand of intelligence and irony.

Master Georgie can meander at times, but Bainbridge has even this meandering under complete control. She also tempers it with vivid details. We really feel as if we are reading an actual eyewitness account to the war.

Master Georgie is a short book, really more of a novella than a novel, and you can easily read it in one sitting if you so desire. Don't let its length fool you, though. Master Georgie is a dark book and one that really packs a punch. It is stylish, sophisticated and sardonic. In short, it is a book that is worthy of all the praise it has garnered.

FISH! TALES is a follow up book to the bestseller FISH! For many who read the first book, you will find the fundamental philosophy repeated again but it is needed because the authors have designed this book to stand alone on its own merits. If you haven't read the original you can read this book and understand the principles.

I personally think that reading the original book first is best. Just my opinion.

If you choose to read the original book (only 130 pages or so) you understand the basic principles of the FISH! Philosophy and what the goals are. The goals of this book are the same as the first........As the authors put it in the first book "Enclosed are the keys to creating an innovative and accountable work environment where a playful, attentive, and engaging attitude leads to more energy, enthusiasm, productivity, and creativity."

Doesn't that line above ring of salesmanship? The authors are selling to senior managers the supposed benefits of their book...just something to think about...

While FISH! was written in a parable (short story using fictional characters) format FISH TALES is not. This book is much different than the first and I personally enjoyed this book much more than FISH!

In this book the four points to the philosophy are repeated.

The four key points of the philosophy are:

•Play - have fun and create energy at home or at the office.
•Make their day - how can you engage fellow employees, customers and make each other's day?
•Be Present - How can you make sure you are fully available and aware during conversations with people? It is about create a greater sense of intimacy between individuals.
•Choose Your Attitude - Each day you choose how you are going to act or which "side of the bed" you wake up on. The choice is yours and, the way you act, affects others.

Where this book differs is the following:
•They provide REAL WORLD examples of how companies have implemented the FISH! Philosophy. I personally felt as though the first book was HIGHLY deficient in that sector.
•They interview senior managers who convey that they must "practice what they preach" and be committed to the program.
•They show real world examples of how employees began trusting managers and how critical it is in the whole process.
•They give you a 12-week roadmap to success. I believe this is critical to the success of implementing such a philosophy

This book, like its predecessor, is a great read for the following reasons.
•It is a quick read. I read it in about 2 - 3 hours and I am a fairly slow reader.
•The book is able to illustrate one point extremely effectively. For example, in this book they show how workers attitudes can impact a setting and how many of us don't understand how our attitude impacts our work setting and quality of life.
•These are the kinds of books that employees will read (great for training programs) as they are 100-200 pages in length and easy to read so a massive investment of time and energy isn't required by employees.

My concluding thoughts: I think this book does a better job than its predecessor in conveying key elements but it still never spells out the reason why most management programs fail. I really enjoyed reading the book. I think the book made some inroads from its predecessor through more illustrations and another 40 pages of writing. I still think they just need to convey a basic point to readers. That point is "If top managers don't cooperate or "practice what they preach" or understand why and how this philosophy works it goes nowhere, just like most management programs designed to attain all of the above mentioned goals of productivity, energy, etc.

If you want a great book on business principles I highly encourage everyone to read "The Essential Drucker" by Peter Drucker. Jack Welch is a big Drucker fan and this book is a compilation of his best work of over 60 years and 30 books on management principles.

Things are going swimmingly in Fish! land. In the latest volume, Fish! Tales, authors Stephen C. Lundin, John Christensen, Harry Paul and Philip Strand build on the successful training program that evolved from their first Fish book. Tales shows how four companies - a long-distance call center; a hospital neural-renal unit, a car dealership and a roofing company - have applied Fish! theories effectively. They also provide short examples from other companies to show how well the Fish! function. The four main principles are familiar by now - keep the work fun, seek to serve others, stay focused on your customers and have an enthusiastic attitude - but the examples in the book bring them alive. Along the way, the authors heavily sell their Fish! courses and merchandise - that's just good salesmanship - but the real catch of the day is the final how-to section, showing ways to apply these principles in any organization. The lively writing style helps keep you hooked. We from getAbstract suggest that if you haven't yet caught any Fish!, start with this one. Its cheery, accessible methods should lure you in, hook, line and sinker.

It is rare when a follow-up book is better than the original,
but I believe that is the case with FISH! TALES by Stephen C. Lundin, John Christensen and Harry Paul
with Philip Strand.

FISH!, the authors' first effort, is a fable that draws lessons from Seattle's
Pike Place Market . . . it shows you how to create a better workplace
by taking lessions from happy fishmongers . . . though the concept
may sound far-fetched, I came believing that this could be done.

But after reading FISH! TALES, I now know that this CAN be done
because of the actual examples that are included . . . organizations
both big (a major hospital and long-distance carrier) and small
(a local car dealership and roofing company) are presented . . . in
addition, I liked the other examples that are given in the form
of "small bites" . . . and perhaps best of all, there's a 12-week
blueprint given that will enable anybody to discover "a richer and
more rewarding life that is just a few choices away."

That quote was taken from the book, but it also points out something
else that I liked about it; i.e., the material applies not only to the
workplace--but to your personal life as well . . . I urge you to
read both FISH! and FISH! TALES and to begin applying the four
basic principles: Play, Make their day, Be there, and Choose your
attitude.

To cite just some of the memorable passages in FISH! TALES as
to how this might be done, consider these possibilities:

Sometimes the agents played bingo, with supervisors walking around
displaying the numbers on a board. "When someone gets bingo, the
supervisor takes 15 minutes of calls for them while they take a break,"
Mary says. "It's a good way for supervisors to keep up their call-
processing skills."

Why do so many flip charts have to look so boring? One woman decided
to spice up her presentation by asking her kids to color her flip charts
with crayons. Her coworkers loved the rainbow-splashed flip charts,
and her playful presentation was a hit.

A 140-employee company that provides school bus services has always
had a policy of not allowing children at interviews. But one day the hiring
director got a call from a woman who wanted to interview for a school
bus driver job and needed to bring her two young children. The hiring
director said, "I love kids! Bring them with you!" The interview went
great and the applicant said, "Any company that loves children so much
must be a good place to work." Recruitment and retention are two of
the biggest challenges facing the bus industry; to meet that challenge,
it takes people, like this hiring director, who are willing to bend the rules.