Like much of the writing of the author's mentor, Dr. W. E. Deming, this book is deceptively simple and straightforward, but contains some basic principles of leadership that have profound implications for the management of any enterprise.

Before proceeding, I have to reveal my bias. I have to good fortune to be friend of the author. Dr. Ed Baler. He and I co-facilitated several Deming 4 day seminars and have kept in touch over the years. It is doubtful that there is much that Ed would say about the subject of Deming's teachings with which I would disagree. This book, however, clarifies and extends those teachings considerably.

A variety of metaphors are used to present the basic concept of systems thinking and the implications of these insights for managers. Of those used, I thought the illustrations using the metaphor of the symphony the most helpful. Ed continually points out that it is the coordination of the talent contained within the orchestra that produces the sound. The interactions of the players produces an effect over and above the sum of each's individual efforts.

It is this concept of interaction that I think is made particularly clear. Some people use the word interaction to mean inter-relationship, but in the sense used here (and by Deming), it means more than that. The interaction is an effect over and above the sum of the parts. This is an important distinction as this book points out clearly, because the interactions must then be considered in any attempt to manage the enterprise as a whole.

The first part of the book is given over to some clarification of the nature of systems generally. They operate over time, they are far-reaching, they are nested within other, larger, systems, and, as pointed out above, a system is more than simply a collection of parts. As someone once pointed out to me, if you divide a pile of sand (not a system) in half, you have two piles of sand. If you divide a cow in half, you are not left with two cows.

The book then draws out the implications of these principles of systems for the human enterprise that operates at the core of any organization. It is disheartening to hear some managers continue to divide organizations into 'people problems' and 'technical problems'. Surely we know by now that these are all people problems and the technical state of the art at any point in time is usually given.

There is, in Chapter II, a discussion of the interaction between the individual and the enterprise which is right on the money and shows clearly one of the major problems with any policy of pay raises or advances based on individual rating and ranking. Separating the contribution of the individual and the enterprise is virtually impossible. The authors description of the 'Enterprise-in-the-Individual' shows clearly how the enterprise molds the activities of those who work in it, and the 'Individual-in-the-Enterprise' shows the converse.

More than half the book is taken up with a fairly specific discussions of the requirements of leadership given the foregoing. There are some general points made such as the echoing of Deming's caution about managing by visible figures, and there are some very specific suggestions such as the Interactions Matrix and it's list of "do's and don'ts".

Finally there are some specific examples of enterprises that have operated to one extent or another with these some of the principles as a basis.

All in all, a book well worth reading not only for those who manage enterprises, but also for those who help them. It would be nice to see similar, companion pieces on some of the other aspects of Deming's teachings such as variation and his Theory of Knowledge.

Dr. Baker has given us an excellent reflection on the theoretical and practical aspects of systems thinking. Drawing us from a strictly mechanistic view of organizations, he leads us to a deeper understanding of the social, interactive organization, and the differences such thinking will have on our managerial actions. Second, this is an important book for educators. If we are to reform education, we must do so by return ing to a theoretical basis for ensuing dialog. Dr. Baker offers us an invaluable contribution in this task.

Dr. Baker's book is an excellent contribution to the Deming legacy of systems thinking. Our mental shift from mechanistic to social, interactive concepts is well served in "Scoring a Whole in One". I strongly recommend that educators as well as managers in business take this book seriously. Systems thinking is essential to re-thinking education. Dr. Baker adds substantially to this task.

In my estimation, Edward de Bono is the world authority on creativity. I have read most of his books, and seen him speak at the International Conferences on Thinking. This book will not disappoint you. I was especialy impressed with his explanations of the creative pause, focus, and how to come up with alternatives. His sensitizing techniques are unique and a must read for anyone who wants to optimize their creativity.

I read the review written by someone from New York. I was surprised that he or she had the same feelings about the book as I had. This is a shocking book. On the one hand, it is excellent and teaches people a lot about how to think about a problem. On the other hand, the author is so self-conceited that sometimes I asked myself: if he is so creative, why didn't he invent ANYTHING apart from his own way of making money?
The funny thing is, that I still recommend this book!

Peter Fabri, Budapest, Hungary

By now I think I have read about fifteen of De Bono's books and this is certainly the best. Many of the others seem to be mostly regurgitations of the the same old stuff. Does he get paid by the word? He claims to have written about 25 books, but I think he has to a great extent written one book over and over again. And he seems so pompous and arrogant. How can someone with such arrogance be creative? He never quotes others (perhaps to him there are no others) or cites other works on creativity, even in cases where his ideas were clearly not first his. This is an excellent book, but by an ego-centric author and that unfortunately colors all his writing.

I highly recommend these Small Arms of the World books, due to the good coverage of Curio and Relic firearms, how you can take them apart to clean them, how they operate, pictures of individual weapons, interesting diargrams of some popular guns, and just simply the most information you are going to get on semi-automatic and full automatic firearms, at least that I can find. Seems that especially machine gun technology is some kind of restricted information somehow, at least in newer books, but at least these Small Arms books can help a former U.S. Army machine gunner like myself understand a little better how the guns I was checked out on,actually worked in principle. So, if your quest for knowledge is machine guns, then I defintely recommend these books. And if your quest for knowledge is Curio and Relic classified firearms, then especially the older versions of the Small Arms books are what you need. The newer ones kind of water down really old technology, while paying special emphasis on what was hot technology at the time, like a early seventies Small Arms will talk in depth on current American small arms like the M16, but will have minimal space on bolt action rifles, for instance.
I definitely recommend the 1969 9th edition as a good all around "get you by", if you just wanted one edition on older Curio and Reic Firearms, if you are a collector of Curios and Relics like me.

For the person interested in modern military small arms, this book is the place to start. It presents the material well, with good photographs, understandable diagrams, and interesting text. Hopefully an updated version will come out someday, but I don't think anyone will regret buying this one now. In fact, I have an older edition from the 1960's that I treasure for it's better coverage of now-obsolete firearms, special emphasis on World War 2 German designs, and more complete history of firearms through the centuries. This edition, on the other hand, gives more attention to weapons developed during the 1960's and 1970's. No doubt, after some future edition finally brings us up to date on modern high-tech weaponry this book will still be a valuable snapshot of the variety of arms in use throughout the world during the final decades of the 20th Century.

I highly recommend this book as the starting point for a good understanding of the small arms field, or as plain old good reading for the relatively technical-minded gun enthusiast.

I am an individual who has worked in the realm of the governments and military's of the world. This is the one and only unclassified guide to small arms of the world, outside of Jane's defence publications. Ezell and Smith have published the only book that is widely used by small arms enthusiasts and people who rely on small arms information in their daily work. I only regret it is out of copy.

Having read them all, I'd rate The Steel Throne in the Top 3, along with The Crane, and The Dragon, in no particular order.

While the previous 7 books in the series deal with the doings of one main character within a short timespan (a few months, at most), this one spans the decades long conflict known The War Against Spirits and there is no main character. Instead, each chapter centers on one character, then jumps forward one month, or several years, to the next. This, far from being confusing, makes for an entertaining and dynamic read.

When dealing with game-based fiction, or shared-world fiction in general, one must thread carefully the narrow line between fulfilling reader expectations and crafting a compelling read, with a few surprises to boot. In my opinion, Mr. Bolme has succeded. Most bases are covered, questions long raised are finally answered, and a plot and characters only hinted at in one-liners on a piece of cardboard are made alive in this most satysfing novel.

As has been mentioned on some listservs, this book has certain continuity errors; this is to be expected, as the book is produced by Wizards of the Coast, while Alderac Entertainment Group now handles the story. But, contrary to the dire criticisms I'd seen, the divergences did not hurt the book much. There were definitely some scenes I would have liked to see that were not included, but then again, this was only one novel :) It is not a great work of literature like Faulkner, Dickens, or Proust, but it is engaging and interesting, especially for a "gaming book". I also greatly enjoyed the human-human conflicts (okay, human-back from the dead human) as opposed to the clans versus the overwhelming evil story of the Clan War storyline. Overall, I have to give this book a very high recommendation!

This is another book set in the world of Rokugan, from the Legend of the Five Rings game which has a Fantasy Japan/Asian setting. The previous books smacked of your usual game-based fiction weaknesses (usually just average writers working with someone else's world--which is ok for fan-fic, but not as satisfying usually, as good writers working in their own world). Ed Bolme is another gaming insider. This is good, since he actually knows the world of L5R. The best of the previous books was written by the one other author who also knew the material well. But I was impressed by Ed's writing. This is easily the best of the 8 books that have been published so far. The book starts when the Emperor Toturi is in the grips of possession by some dark power. The only way to save the Empire is by committing seppuku while he still has enough control. So Toturi finds himself in Jigoku, the world of the dead. The dark power threatens to shut the Gate between the living and the dead, so the living can no longer commune with dead ancestors (something very important to all of Rokugan)... The story is told with a lot of energy, strong characterization and a deft feel for the Asian/Samurai/Fantasy setting of the world. I enjoyed this. Although, I'm biased, since I've been following the story and the game for many years.

In Tokyo Airport, on the way home, I browsed this book and had to have it. The flight was about 12 hours and airplane was empty. People worn mouth mask for afraid of SARS. TV everywhere broadcasted war. Passangers looked tired and sad. I just read this "Take A Deep Breath" to myself, cry a little, stop a while, take a deep breath, nothing is more meaningful than breathing and feel the livelyhood of conscious breathing. Look outside, so vast, so surreal, so steady as nothing is happening or everything is happening. This book can touch your soul and mending the bleeding heart. Let breathing cleanse and carry you.

Take a Deep Breath is a beautiful collection of haiku poems, accompanied by commentary illuminating their meaning and implications. Both the poetry and prose show the way to attend to the present moment; to "just this." Yet as the authors point out, everything is contained in "just this." And so, this slim volume addresses the deepest of questions: Can we let go of the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and our place in the scheme of things? Can we open our hearts to ourselves and to others just as we are? Can we experience ourselves and the world in a truer, deeper way?
Take a Deep Breath takes up these questions with an extraordinary clarity of perception and observation; doing justice to their complexity with a complete absence of pretension. The book is steeped in images of nature, and the power and grace of the natural world are reflected on its pages. After reading it, it's impossible not to be more aware and attuned to the smallest of things - the quality of autumn twilight, a falling petal - details that now resonate with beauty and depth.

This slender,intense book is filled with quiet surprises.

For any reader-but particularly for readers not familiar with haiku or Buddhism-the book offers a gentle but profoundly stimulating introduction to the elegance and power of haiku and the simple but elusive core of Buddhist thought and practice.

The poetry and the commentary could easily stand alone, but they mesh beautifully and carry our appreciation of each to a deeper level.

The poetry and the prose invite us to stay in the moment, to allow ourselves to stop, to pay attention to things as simple as a leaf, the song of an unseen bird, the brakes of a garbage truck, or our own breath. This is the experience that is available to all of us, at any time. It costs nothing and requires nothing outside of ourselves. This is, as the Ryans show us in so many ways, the "basic experience of deep spiritual knowledge."

But can we stop, or at least pause, long enough to really pay attention? Most of us don't seem inclined to stop very often as we race through life, but it can be done, and it is (I believe) worth doing even if we can slow down only from time to time. Take a Deep Breath is not a meditation manual but it can become a thoughtful and compassionate friend who is always near at hand. I think you will find that it is a book that you will keep by your bedside, carry with you when you travel, and to which you will return many times.

I picked up this book, in part, because of the several ...[good ratings]... Isn't it great when people you don't even know turn you on to a GREAT book? I have always been a movie enthusiast, but recently, having discovered how great DVDs look and sound, I am starting to re-discover my love of movies. I want to know more about how movies work, and how different effects are acheived. This book has been wonderful in helping my understanding of cinema. From the first chapter onward, I have found insights into movies that help me look at them with a slightly different eye: why are the colors like that in this scene? Why is the shot framed like it is? Although this book seems like it could be used as a textbook in a beginning film class, I carry it around with me and read it, and even re-read parts. Thanks for the great tip. Yes a five-star book! Fun to read!

"Understanding Movies" is an excellent primer book for anyone starting to learn the art of film. It is not a book that tells you why certain films are great, or why some are inferior. Rather, its objective is for the readers to acquire a good awareness of film art so they will be able to form their own opinions about the films they see. The book is comprised of 11 chapters which can be read out of sequence: Photography, Mise en Scene, Movement, Editing, Sound, Acting, Drama, Story, Literature, Ideology, Theory. Every chapter begins with an short overview (abstract) that points out the key ideas in the chapter, then it proceeds to elaborate on them. Emphases are made not just on the technical aspects of film-making, but artistic ones as well. For instance, the chapter on photography discusses not only things like f/stop, aperture, and exposure, but also how photography can achieve certain dramatic and psychological effects.

Without any hint of snobbery, the book uses examples from all kinds of films, from revered classics to recent box-office hits, to illustrate aspects of the art form. For instance, it cites James Cameron's TITANIC (hardly perceived as teaching material for film art) as an example of a filmmaker's subtle use of different flesh tones to evoke a sense of optimism or doom.

The chapter on "Ideology" was not available on some earlier editions. It provides a fascinating discussion on how movies often contain either implicit or explicit political leanings, religious beliefs, ethical values, and other allusions that reflect the attitudes of the filmmakers. It also includes a discussion on portrayals of gays and lesbians in films.

The book is replete with still photos from movies, each accompanied with a wonderful caption that serves as a mini-analysis of a certain aspect of the movie itself, so that readers can get a quick lession on film art. Illustrations that stand out include: a series of screenshots from the Odessa Staircase sequence in THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN, storyboards from the cropdusting scene in NORTH BY NORTHWEST, a shot-by-shot analysis of a scene from Hitchcock's SABOTAGE that demonstrates sometimes an actor's performance can be made more effective when his or her face is unseen.

This is not a film review book. You won't see capsule reviews, cast biography, production history, etc. written about every single movie. This book does cite from about 300 films, but it only uses them as examples for discussing certain aspects of film art. It often assumes the readers have already seen the films in question. That brings up my biggest concern: the book often gives away plot details of the movies it discusses. To compensate for that, a lot of films cited by the book are popular hits that have likely been seen by most people, such as PRETTY WOMAN, TITANIC, DIE HARD, etc.

Each new edition of the book differs from earlier ones mainly in the selection of still photos. Newer editions contain more stills from recent films. The first three editions came out in 1971, '75, and '80 respectively. Hence, if you want to see more coverage of, say, films made in the 70s, be sure to get at least the 3rd edition or later.

Last but not least, the book ends with a comprehensive appraisal of CITIZEN KANE that (a) analyzes the movie itself, (b) serves as a grand summation for the book, and most importantly, (c) invites the reader to apply all the knowledge gained from the book to becoming a more astute film viewer.

This book is a must for anyone interested in movies or for film students. I first came into contact with this book in 1985 while at film school and it remains on my book shelf as a wonderful reference book. This book covers everthing from a-z and is well illustrated. The photographs are great and are direct references from the text - not just a visual for the sake of it, as often happens in subscribed texts. This is one of those books I would call "A MUST BUY." I am considering buying the most current version - eventhough I am working in a different industry.

One of the most interesting books of the 90's. An icon of it's time. Expect it to be a bestseller the coming years. Congratulations to the author!

this is a real nice small artbook, never saw one like this before.

This is a great art book with a wide variety of artists. Makes a great present!

Anyone who is interested in knowing more about the personal side of Gen. Robert E. Lee and the people who stood behind him and allowed him to become great (his family) will enjoy this insight into their everyday lives and the heritage the author (Lee's great-granddaughter) has had to live up to throughout her life.

I would strongly recommend this.

This book is a great one for providing us a glimpse into life over 100 years ago. It is hard to imagine what a woman had to do back then to create the genteel life. Every household had to be self-sufficient, as this remarkable volume shows, making its own foodstuff, soap and cleansers. I loved this book and have shared it with good friends.

Mix together some spicy ingredients of Southern history, add "receipts" (aka recipes) for food, plus personal memoir, and a fascinating book is ready for you to devour or to send to friends as a gift.
What a marvelous, brilliant weaving together of the family history of the Robert E. Lee family, along with insider Civil War history, social history, food history, family characters and so on, have been put together by Anne Carter Zimmer, who gives us recipes one longs to try. I definitely want to attempt the Charlotte Russe and certainly the Sally Lunn. (Wish I had the courage for the oyster dish where, halfway throughout, you throw out one batch of oysters and add a fresh batch.) When I read the book's first line, "We didn't make much of ancestors when I was growing up," (this from the great-grandaughter of Robert E. Lee), I knew I was in touch with an authentic voice and that I would love this book. And love it I did.

One may wonder why a book like this should have to be written. Clearly Lord is guilty as sin! On that cold April night he just didn't want to be bothered with a strange ship firing rockets in the distance. It was easier to do nothing, hoping everything would go away. But it wasn't so easy or comforting to deal with the blame that fell on him. How dare we blame such a responsible captain? But the facts are there. Reade goes through them step by step like a first class lawyer. This must be done because many still feel that Lord did nothing wrong. Like OJ Simpson's defenders, they believe what they want to believe. My only fault with this book was that it was not the thriller other Titanic books have been. It tended to bog down in jargon and nautical language.

No matter what your view is on this particular aspect of the Titanic tragedy, you cannot help but be impressed by this book. This is, without question, one of the best-researched Titanic books ever written. If you happen to come across this rare gem don't hesitate to pick it up, because it's likely that you won't see it anywhere else!

Reade's book certainly puts quite a bit of blame for the tremendous loss of life on the Titanic on Captain Lord. But it must be kept in mind that even if he had fired up his boilers and navigated safely through the ice to the area where the Titanic went down, he still may not have been able to save many lives. The loss of the Titanic and the 1500 people must be blamed on Captain Edward J. Smith. Why didn't the passengers on the Titanic take the mattresses off the bunks and use them as rafts? Maybe they would not have had enough bouancy to hold someone.

As another reviewer said, "hard to put down". At every turn Cmdr. Ellsberg is told "It can't be done", ranging from Ever to In Six Months.

Fascinating chapter on raising two drydocks (that were labelled unsalvageable) in a matter of days. Same with a floating crane that an English "expert" had thoroughly trashed. Where and how he scrounges up "pontoons" for the job is a howl.

Gut-gripping chapter on raising a wreck only to have the pumps fail mysteriously. A last-minute efforts works just before the ship would have capsized.

Excellent chapter on getting a ruined machine shop complex (key parts smashed/missing)working in days.

Another one on a ingenious solution to a labor problem - getting the "useless" Eritrean laborers to exert Herculean efforts.

And another on Cmdr. Ellsberg's solution in putting a 600' foot long ship in a 400' long drydock. Another job that "couldn't be done".

Great examples of the American "Shadetree Mechanic" besting all the experts. All this done in 120 deg. weather with 100% humidity, not to mention turf wars with American contractors and bureaucratic red tape.

Edward Ellsgerg writes this captivating tale of trials and tribulations durring world war II. He has been told he has to open the most valuable port on the red sea and get it working again. The problem is the bay is filled with a sunken Italian fleet, the shops on shore are a wreck, housing is imposible, and finding matrials too work with and the people to help him is imposible. He tell how he worked one miricle after anouther. Very interesting and a hard book to stop reading once you have started.

This book describes the salvage work in the Massawa harbor in Eritrea. This is a professional description of determined people in a hard climate area , that their goal was to bring back the Massawa harbor into full operation for the allies. This is not an heroic war description with high strategy. This is the story of people. As a son of a Jewish Royal-Navy Officer volunteer from Palestine during the British mandate in Israel , I am familiar with this story. My father served there during 1942-1943. All the knowledge from his service was used by him to built the Young Israeli Navy in 1948. His experience from the service in the Royal Navy was used by him to define the Israeli Navy Salvage unit YALTAM. The Palestinians Jewish Volunteers in Masswa were very appreciated by the British and the Americans for their contribution in the war efforts against the evil Natzy regime. My father rank in the Israeli Navy was Lieutenant Commander. Discharged in 1962. His profession is Naval Architect. In 1969 he designed the fueling ship and the fueling operation of the Missile Boats in the Biskya bay .These boats were taken from the French by force. This operation was during the French embargo and is known as the Cherbourg Operation. If any one is doing an history research on the Masswa Volunteers to the Royal-Navy from Israel (RNVR) , or the Israeli Navy at the beginning send me an Email to Avi-Brillant Email address : optomic@trendline.co.il