"A Naturalist's Guide to the Canyon Country" is an excellent overview of the natural history of the Colorado Plateau, and especially valuable for first time visitors and amateur naturalists. When my sister brought her family to visit this past June, we consulted this book every hour of every day. The adults and the children all found it invaluable for both identifying plants and animals and learning something about their life history. No, the guide is not all-encompassing, but most of the major players are here. I especially appreciated the inclusion of the little guys- especially the beetles lizards! We also appreciated the extremely sturdy binding, which held up well against all of the abuses that a 9-year-old could think of.

I have been visiting the four-corners every summer for 25 years and this is one of the most delightful books I have seen yet! In fact I just returned from my four-week summer 2000 trip and this Guide was my constant companion. Of the many guides and books I have collected over the years, this was the one that I carried in my Jeep, kept with me in my tent, and consulted on my hikes. As an academic biologist, I appreciate the accurate (and beautiful) paintings of the animals and plants that I routinely encounter on the Colorado Plateau. The selection of species is representative of those that a visitor will likely see.

And the one thing that distinguishes this guide from the many others I have is the inclusion of interesting, yet concise, information about the different species pictured. Many guides merely help identify, while this one tells you something about what is identified. Each night above my desert tent a common nighthawk performed as the Guide described: "While they dive and climb during courtship, wind moving across their wing feathers produces a 'booming' sound. This has led to another common name: bullblasts." So much better than just color, pattern, length, scientific name.

I have recommended this Guide already to anyone I know who is considering a first trip to the Colorado Plateau, and even to those who, as I have done, continue to visit canyon country every chance they get. The beautiful paintings alone are worth the price.

* David E. Brown's INVENTING MODERN AMERICA is an extensive
set of profiles of prominent American inventors, including
famous faces such Henry Ford, Robert Goddard, Elmer Sperry,
George Washington Carver, Steve Wozniak, and R. Buckminster
"Bucky" Fuller; along with less famous faces such as
Garrett Morgan (traffic signal), Ole Evinrude (outboard
motor), Wilson Greatbach (pacemaker), Stephanie Kwolek
(Kevlar), and dozens of others.

This book covers a lot of ground and discusses many
interesting people. It is neatly laid out and nicely
illustrated. However, despite the fact that it pretty
much delivers what it promises to deliver, I found
less than sparkling reading, even though I have a
fairly wide range of interests in technology.

The fact that this book is defined as a set of short
biographical essays about a wide range of inventors does
impose some inescapable limitations. The text becomes a little
repetitive and, because of the necessarily small size of
each chapter, tends toward the superficial. There is also
the issue that the range of inventions is so very wide that
few readers will find all of them interesting.

Now given the definition and goals of this book such
limitations are inevitable, but there is a more specific
problem in that the writing is uninspired. The essays
tend to sound like corporate public-relations pieces,
coming across as sanitized and a bit too high-flown.

OK, I would be cynical to complain about the high-flown tone
too much, I can't claim it's an inherently bad thing, it's
just that a little bit of this stuff goes a long way.
These *are* extraordinary people, their accomplishments
are impressive, and the praise is deserved.

Still, consider the chapter on Buckminster Fuller, which
follows the mantra of his admirers in playing him up as a
visionary genius. The reality was that Bucky Fuller
arguably was about half genius and half con-artist.

What is absolutely unarguable was that he was a
three-ring-circus, five-alarm-fire doubletalker, the best
in the business. Listening to him pour out a continuous
line of plausible-sounding gibberish was an experience.
What was particularly bewildering was wondering
if he honestly believed it all himself. We'll never know.

This peculiar combination of traits made him vastly amusing,
and failing to give a more balanced view of Fuller makes him
colorless. David MaCaulay's BUILDING BIG did a much
better job on Fuller, praising his sparkling geodesic domes
while showing how he stole ideas from his students and patented
them as his own.

Now that I think of it, INVENTING MODERN AMERICA would have
been an excellent book if McCauley had written it. Alas,
not all people have his writing skill.

If your child is heading off to higher education, or is just looking for a book that has some great information for a middle to high school book report, a parent can't go wrong with the book "Inventing Modern America: From The Microwave To The Mouse" by David E. Brown (2002, MIT Press, 209 Pages).

One of the features that grab the reader right off the bat is the fact that the book centers upon modern innovations, such as that friendly little gadget that makes home computer use such a joy--otherwise known as a 'mouse'. Another great inclusion is the contributions of Black inventors, such as Dr. George Washington Carver and Garrett Morgan. No, we are not talking about just a 'paragraph or two', we are talking about royal treatment of each of the inventors contained within its covers--including glimpses at other inventions by featured inventors.

Of course, to a real info-junkie, the book is too short. However, it does provide a lot of inspiration to those who have the talent and the drive to invent. It is an encouraging work, as it talks not only about the successes of each inventor and innovator, the book is full of diagrams, photos, and pictures of many other inventions by those selected for discussion.

If you are looking for a book to encourage and uplift your future inventor, you can't go wrong with presenting a copy of this work to your son or daughter--or even as a gift for yourself, if you have that hidden desire to want to create a better mousetrap; or even improving upon something that already exists. It is a reference book that will keep on giving, and inspiring long after its purchase. I highly recommend it.

Mike Ramey

this was the best book i have ever read in my entire life! it really made me think about were all this stuff we use in our everyday life comes from. 3, no 4 thumbs up!

Knowledge Management, published by Harvard Business School Press, is a compilation of articles excerpted from the Harvard Business Review covering a period from 1988-1997. The articles in general focus on the way organizations can acquire, use, and maintain knowledge in order to remain on the cutting edge of their fields. The underlying message of this book, expressed by Peter F. Drucker in "The Coming of the New Organization (page 1)," is that future organizations must take advantage of technology to collect and track data so that data can be translated into useful information.

The manner in which companies acquire knowledge from data can vary. Ikujiro Nonaka in his article "The Knowledge Creating Company (page 21)" provides a general approach. Nonaka suggests that creating new knowledge requires, in addition to the processing of objective information, tapping into the intuitions insights and hunches of individual employees and then making it available for use in the whole organization. Within this framework is an understanding of two types of knowledge: tacit and explicit. Both of these have to exist in an organization and exchange between and within each type is needed for creation of new knowledge. Another point in Nonaka's article is that the creation of new knowledge is not limited to one department or group but can occur at any level. It requires a system that encourages frequent dialogue and communication. Similar but more defined ideas are presented in David Garvin's "Building a Learning Organization (page 47)."

Garvin's approach focuses on the importance of having an organization that learns. Garvin defines a learning organization as one that is "skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights (page 51)." He describes five activities/skills that are the foundation for learning organizations. These are systematic problem solving, experimentation, and review of past experiences, learning from others, and transferring knowledge.

"Teaching Smart People How to Learn (page 81)" by Chris Argyris, deals with the way individuals within an organization can block the acquisition of new knowledge because of the way they reason about their behavior. In order to foster learning behavior in all employees, an organization must encourage productive reasoning. One caution is that use of productive reasoning can be threatening and actually hampers the process of learning if not implemented throughout the whole organization.

Leonard and Straus in "Putting Your Company's Whole Brain to Work (page 109)," address another way in which knowledge can be acquired. They identify two broad categories: left brained and right brained individuals, with different approaches to the same concept based on cognitive differences. Within these categories, there is great potential for conflict, which can stifle the creative process. However these different perspectives are important for full development of a new concept. Innovative companies should keep a balance of these different personality types to avoid stagnation and to encourage development of new ideas. The management of the cognitive types in a way that is productive for the company occurs through the process of creative abrasion.

One can surmise from the articles in general that data and information are valuable if they can be used to maintain the knowledge base or provide the basis for acquiring new knowledge. The organization that creates new knowledge encourages the following in its employees: creativity, a commitment to the goals of the organization, self-discipline, self-motivation, and individual exploration and identification of behaviors that may be barriers to learning. Cognitive preferences should be recognized and used to the companies' advantage. Finally, companies can learn from the best practices of others and from their customers. After knowledge is acquired, it can be disseminated for use throughout the organization and maintained in different ways.

One key method to maintain knowledge repeated in several articles is the importance of an environment that fosters innovation. Quinn et al, in "Managing Professional Intellect: Making the Most of the Best (page 181)," describe this as creating a culture of self-motivated creativity within an organization. There are several ways to do this: recruitment of the best for that field, forcing intensive early development (exposing new employees early to complex problems they have to solve), increasing professional challenges and rigorous evaluations.

Another way to maintain and use knowledge is through pioneering research, described by Brown in "Research that reinvents the Corporation (page 153)." In this process companies can combine basic research practices, with its new and fresh solutions, and applied research to the company's most pressing problems. Dissemination of new knowledge can occur by letting the employees experience the new innovation and so own it. As mentioned in the article by Nonaka, creation of a model that represents the new information is a way for transfer to the rest of the organization. Also the knowledge from the professional intellect within an organization can be transferred into the organization's systems, databases and operating technologies and so made available to others within the organization. An example of this is Merryl Lynch, which uses a database of regularly updated information to link its 18,000 agents.

Yet another tool for disseminating information within an organization is the learning history, described by Kleiner and Roth in "How to Make Experience Your Company's Best Teacher (page 137)." This makes use of the ages old community practice of storytelling to pass on lessons and traditions. The learning history collects data from a previous experience with insight from different levels of employees involved and puts it together in the form of a story that can be used in discussion groups within the organization. In companies where this has been used, it builds trust, provides an opportunity for collective reflection, and can be an effective way to transfer knowledge from one part of the company to another. In addition, incentives in the form of a report in response to the new innovation and achievement awards encourages employees to learn and helps with the dissemination of information.

Looking for some informative, original and clear thinking about knowledge management? This book is a great choice! In its pages you will find an outstanding collection of articles drawn from past editions of the HBR. The eight articles cover: analysis of a knowledge-creating company; building a learning organization, using experience; teaching people how to learn; and managing professional intellect. Each article begins with an executive summary which, for the fast-forward crowd, is a big plus.

So many books are merely ONE GOOD ARTICLE embedded in a thicket of verbiage. Chopping away through such a jungle of verbosity for the gist-of-it-all often proves tedious and disappointing. (Blessed are the laconic!) This book, on the other hand, just serves up a bunch of 'gists' -the pure meat and potatoes of ideas. Happily, the HBSP has published several other collections of this sort on such topics as leadership, change, and strategies for growth. Each of these is collection of first-rate 'gists'. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, founder, Stern & Associates, author of Stern's Sourcefinder The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and the Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.

While other facets of managment consulting will ultimately yield to lower-cost technology tools, or consultants, KM shall reign as the ultimate value-added analysis. That was my hypothesis before buying this book, and it has only been proven true. The essays in the book range from esoteric to the executable, and include valuable case studies to punctuate the themes. Knowledge Management means so many things, that it can come to mean nothing. This book does an excellent job of providing some metes and bounds to the topic and to stimulate thinking around important organizational and operational issues.But don't get it and expect to be an "instant expert." This is an overview, albeit an excellent one.

We are fortunate to live close to San Francisco and have been to Greens several times, so when I saw the cookbook, I had to have it. I have used and enjoyed it since 1987. Everything I have ever cooked from it is fabulous. A special favorite is the leek and mustard tart. I'm on Amazon.com today because I served the tart to my sister-in-law and niece last month and they asked me to send them not just the recipe but the cookbook.

The recipes are complex and have a lot of ingredients, but that is what makes them taste so wonderful.. Don't leave anything out! Fortunately here in California the ingredients are all available at our neighborhood grocery. My husband jokes that even the most simple recipe in the book takes at least an hour to prepare, and it's true. You think, "This looks simple; it can't take very long," then it does take very long. But it's worth it. By the way, my husband is able to use the book just fine, and he is definitely a novice cook.

Believe it or not, my husband and I have been to France and Italy, and nothing we ate there was as good as the recipes in this book. We also enjoy the cookbook Fields of Green by Anne Sommerville, (who took over Greens aftrer Deborah Madison left, I think), but this is our favorite of the two. Happy cooking! Happy eating!

I just got this book a week ago, and made my first dinner with it last night. I made the Mushroom Lasagne, and the Peach and Blueberry Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream. All three dishes we superb. One of my non-vegetarian friends summed it up nicely by asking "Who needs meat?"

If you enjoy a finely crafted meal, and do not mind the time involved in creating it, get this book. It provides a lot of background information on various ingredients, and provides pretty good how-to instructions.

Things to know: Everything in this book is from scratch. For example, the Vanilla Ice Cream calls for 2 vanilla beans, not vanilla extract. All of the pasta dishes assume you will be making your own pasta, so get a pasta machine (the pasta turns out great with regular flour, no need for semolina. I did add an extra 2.5 Tbsp water to the intial pasta recipe, too dry otherwise). The soup recipes usually require a stock to be prepared in advance. While this increases the prep time, nothing can compare to the taste and quality of fresh ingredients.

This, together with Yamuna Devi's "The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking," is my favorite cookbook.

As has been mentioned in other reviews here, the recipes are somewhat complicated. I am slowly working my way through the book and have already attempted almost 50 of the recipes.

The first few recipes were daunting and I was tempted to give up on the book, but the more recipes I tried, the easier it got. I found that I was learning something.

As others have mentioned, I also don't have all day to prepare a meal, and more often than not, I will only cook from this book on weekends, though to be fair, not all of the recipes are as time-consuming as they seem.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who also considers cooking a hobby and not just a means to an end.

David G. Brown's "White Hurricane" is yet another in the recent flood of books depicting historical weather releated disasters. Indeed, the 1913 storm of the book's title is so little remembered that I had never heard of it prior to reading the book, despite growing up in the Great Lakes region. Brown obviously did a copius amount of research and does a fine job describing the history of Great Lakes shipping and demonstrating the risks that sailors face when the "gales of November" start howling.

The 1913 Great Lakes storm was unusual both for its intensity and because it raged over the lakes for almost a full week rather than just a couple of days. As a result, it claimed a dozen ships and nearly 250 lives. Dozens of other ships barely escaped and the first hand accounts of the sailors who survived the tempest make for chilling reading.

The book's main drawback, however, is that it lacks a single compelling central event as a focus for its narrative. Brown gamely switches back and forth between accounts of each individual ship as the storm progresses. Unfortunately, there are far too many ships and sailors for the reader to keep easy track of and eventually all the accounts begin to sound the same. On the plus side, the book provides several helpful maps as well as a generous helping of photographs, mostly of the ships that were lost.

Overall, an informative if not highly readable account of a largely forgotten weather disaster.

Hate to admit it, since I live along Lake Erie, but I never heard of this storm until someone bought this book for me. It is really excellent. The author picks a certain day, certain time, and writes about what is happening with which ship, etc., at that particular time, and sometimes it was a little hard for me to keep track of which ship he was writing about. However, he really makes you understand and feel what it would have been like being on one of the ships breaking up or getting stranded in the terrible storm. This would be an excellent movie! I recommend this book to anyone interested in the weather, the Great Lakes, or boating/shipping in general.

As a Coastie recently stationed on the USCGC ACACIA out of Charlevoix, MI. I found this book to be very helpful in my learning about the Great Lakes geographically, meteorilogically, historically. If you are at all interested in Great Lakes lore then you will thoroughly enjoy this book as well as learn a few things you may not have known, such as why lake storms are different from those on the sea.

D W Griffith figures as the patron and idol of Karl Brown. There is no doubt that D W Griffith, the director of "Birth of a Nation" and "Intolerance". the supposed inventor of the "close-up" and discover of the Gish sisters, contributed immensely to the development of motion pictures as a distinct art form (perhaps THE art form of this century). Even so, the Griffith which emerges from these pages is half tyrant and "control freak" who ultimately is made obsolete by a public becoming increasingly sophisticated in its tastes. Karl Brown was taken on as a junior camera man by Griffith, and it is through his recollections that the early years of the American cinema comes alive. Still, this is an autobiography so we are treated to a Norman Rockwell account of the early years of this century that illuminates the millieu from which Griffith's work sprung. There is more than an element of defensiveness from Brown as he tries to reconcile Griffith's persona as a "gentleman" with his often reactionary views as exemplified in " A Birth of a Nation" ( afilm that was almost banned in Australia and parts of the US). Griffith does not emerge from this work unscathed. Worth reading for historical interest.

Many books has been published about the silent movies era, from picture books to great actors to the eternal Chaplin and Pickford. This one is from one of Griffith cameramen's so for once, we stand behind the camera. What is different about Brown's account is the way the narration goes: his autobiographical experience of going through that time where everything was almost new and a lot had to be done. He states the important and not so important anecdotic facts while using a sometimes ironic tone and a semi-chronological pace of remembrance. He even explain, matter-of-factly, some technical aspects of the trend, etc... This book has a lot to offer for the silent movies or Griffith fans, especially if you have seen "Birth of a Nation" and "Intolerance". This is not the typical movie-related-good-for-the -fans-only book with Ohs! and Ahs! and Wow! to sustain you throughout your reading. It is a very specific moment in the life of a guy who was there when movies were at their beginning, a time long gone...

If you are interested in silent films or David Wark Griffith, then you won't be able to put this book down until you are finished! Karl Brown worked for the Kinemacolor company as a teenager in the 1910s. Just when this company went out of business, D.W. Griffith and his stock company arrived in Los Angeles. He quickly became a camera assistant to cameraman Billy Bitzer. He worked on Griffith's THE AVENGING CONSCIENCE, BIRTH OF A NATION, and INTOLERANCE, among other films. His book is funny, exciting, and informative. He is in awe of Griffith and actress Lillian Gish. He works his hardest to satisfy Griffith's demands on the job, but this sometimes makes Bitzer jealous of him. Brown is confused by many of the things that Griffith does while making these films, but he soon learns why Griffith works this way. The book also includes a chapter on Brown's stint in the Army during World War I, where he was given a one-week leave of absence to help Griffith with BROKEN BLOSSOMS. This is the finest memoir by any silent film vetran that I've read, and I've read quite a few.

I would say there are samples of other books, like "Revolutionary Suicide", I don't see exactly why, as this book ("Revolutionary Suicide") isn't out of print...and the fact that you have people like David Hilliard behind this isn't really a good selling point for the true defenders of The Cause. anyways, there are some scoops I would say in this book, and it allows a better understanding of Mr Huey Newton

I searched this book from beginning to end, and nowhere does it mention Newton's stay in Cuba. If I am wrong please correct me.

What IS it with goofy liberals who *think* they know what "The Cause" is and take it upon themselves to diss someone like a David Hilliard??? For the record, Mr. Hilliard was the childhood friend of Dr. Newton, the BPP Chief of Staff, and has more true knowledge, fervor and *experience* in "The Cause" than any ne'er do well might think s/he posseses in their small liberal brains.

This compendium is essential reading for anyone interested in revolutionary politics in general, and for an inside look at the theoretical underpinnings of the BPP in particular. Talk a lot but do nothing liberals aside.

This gentle tale of the value of perseverence is in the best Margaret Wise Brown tradition. Without talking down to young children, she manages to convey the importance of stick-to-itiveness and the great love a young scarecrow boy has for his father. Trying the best he can to live up to his father's work ethic and talents, the little scarecrow boy tries and tries to scare the crows away. Although he fails over and over again, he does eventually succeed and sees that not only is his father proud of him--he is proud of HIMSELF. This is a great lesson quietly told--it's not preachy or high-handed in any way.

Brown's charming tale is greatly bolstered by the color-saturated illustrations of David Diaz. These have a lovely, soft 1930s look that reminds me very much of the illustrations in the original Raggedy Ann and Andy books. I especially like the way Diaz pulls back his perspective on the last page so that you really see why the little scarecrow boy feels, happily, that all is right with the world.

I just read this book to my first grade class and they loved it. It's a great book to introduce the idea of never giving up and feeling proud after a job well done.

Margaret Wise Brown has, through this book, shared with parents how to accept and assist children wanting to take risks and explore life. This is also a wonderful book to use as a way of explaining adult jobs to children. It is a way of aleviating children's fear of separating from parents when they go off to school. The author has shared her humor, creativity and I suspect her experiences. This picture book is also considered a predictable book, because there is one verse that is repeated. Enjoy this delightful lighthearted story and see if you can relate to it or to other books that you have read.

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel has four primary uses:

(1) To let you fantasize safely about what you would do in a life-threatening situation you probably won't face, but have seen in the movies (survive after being lost in a jungle, escape a mob, survive a kidnapping)

(2) Provide humorous scenarios that you will probably never face to give you a good laugh (being abducted by a UFO, handling a runaway camel, getting rid of a leech in your nose)

(3) Practical advice for challenges that many travelers will encounter (stopping a car with no brakes, handling a runaway horse, foiling thieves)

(4) Reducing risk of harm from unlikely events that you probably do think about (escaping a hotel fire, what to do after falling onto a subway track, surviving an elevator fall).

I was impressed that although I did not expect to learn anything I could ever use, the book actually had several sections which I wish I had known about when I faced travel challenges in the past (handling scorpion stings, what to do in a hotel fire, how to stop a runaway horse that someone else is on, making a shelter in the snow, avoiding having your carry-ons stolen at the x-ray machine). I suspect that I will be able to use this information in the future.

Another benefit I got was to realize that I could handle some emergencies that I would normally consider well beyond me. In these days when travel seems more dangerous than before, this book may also be worth carrying to play the role of Dumbo's magic feather -- to build a little confidence. For example, I don't like to fly in small planes. I think I could follow the instructions in the book for crash landing a small plane in water, as long as someone could help me. But I could never remember all of these details in a crisis. Having the book along will help me relax a lot more on my next small plane flight.

People with phobias about certain travel situations may find the knowledge that they gain here can help reduce their anxiety.

One of the best parts of the book came in the foreword by David Concannon of the Explorers Club who described the many hideous things that had happened to him in order to encourage you to realize that the unexpected does happen, you need to accept what is beyond your control, always have a contingency plan, and no matter how bad things are . . . they could get worse. As a result, you will probably spend more time thinking through the potential challenges that you will face on future trips, and be better prepared to handle these challenges.

My favorite funny parts in the book were the runaway camel, passing a bribe, foiling a UFO abduction, trailing a thief, losing someone following you, jumping from a moving train, escaping from being tied up, ramming a barricade, surviving a volcanic eruption, surviving a tsunami, getting rid of leeches, and crossing a piranha-infested river. Indiana Jones, move over!

Even if you never travel, the book "will provide good information and entertainment for the armchair survivalist."

Be prepared!

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel'

By Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht

This book would be for a frequent traveler, and if you were one, you would want to keep this book nearby at all times. There are lots of things that you're probably not going to need, but they're vary interesting to read about. Some examples of the situations are how to deal with run away camels and UFO abductions.

Lots of the things that this book will talk about are going to be useful like escaping a high rise or hotel fire, or stopping an airplane hijacking, or how to escape when tied up.

I would recommend this book to travelers, or people who are thinking about traveling to a secluded jungle type place. Even though I don't travel much, lots of the things are useful to know. Recommended ages, 8 and up.

A lot of the topics probably will never apply to us in our whole lifetime, i.e. how to control a runaway camel, how to cross a piranha-infested river, etc., so I could simply read them & laugh out loud. It contains useful info, though, such as strategies for packing & flying. I'm not a frequent traveller & could've used those tips, especially since I just got back from a vacation. Of course, I had thumbed throught the table of contents prior to my vacation (and prior to purchasing it), & the topic "how to survive an airplane crash" did not appeal to me at that time--it made me antsy as I was about to go on a plane! I did not want to visualize or even think about airplane crashes at that time! :) But hey, I bought the book afterwards, & I love it.