This book summarizes current, practical knowledge about what it means to be an effective leader. Leadership implies three major thrusts: strategic thinking (leadership for what?), relationship building (leading whom?) and designing an action context (organizational design issues) all discussed in the text. Further, the book asserts that leaders who target Level Three (core values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations or VABEs) can be more effective and powerful than those who, traditionally, target Level One (focus on behavior) and Level Two (conscious thinking). The book also introduces the notion of INFOCRACIES, or organizations that are increasingly being redesigned by the information systems within them and presents a framework for thinking about developing deeper influence. As the author, clearly I'm biased, AND I've found that this approach has worked very well with many clients and executive education programs. The book was intended as a dense summary for executive education audiences in short, week long seminars. If you have suggestions, I'm eager to hear.

I rarely ever rate textbooks, but I find this one particularly interesting and helpful to my work and education (Master's program).

I use it in my own introductory college course on mythology for two reasons. First the amount of primary materials covered allows one to forgo lots of other books being ordered, a consideration for academia at this point in time. Second, the controversal interpretations of ancient society and the meaning of the myths can be balanced by either the teacher of Powell's "Classical Myth" book. I think that for the college level, this exposure to different views is valuable because it challenges students to think. Not useful beyond the introductory level though.

Harris and Platzner's Classical Mythology is thorough and eloquently written. I particularly like the use of original sources (Hesiod, Homer, Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, Virgil and Ovid)along with indepth analyses of the works themselves. Sometimes I think the authors' interpretations are a bit of a stretch, but nonetheless they are thoughtful and beautifully written.
However, I've decided NOT to use this as a textbbook for my introductory college level course, for a couple of reasons:

1) The organization: not infrequently myths are mentioned briefly in relation to something else before they are fully covered in their own right--a problem, I would think, for beginners. The book is arranged thematically--gods, male and female heroes, the view of after life, world in decline--rather than in a more straightforward myth-telling scheme (as in Barry Powell's book). All of this is quite interesting to someone who has a mid-level understanding of mythology, but I think it makes it a little harder for initiates to grasp the basic myths and their variants.

2) Practical usage: in some senses maddening. For example, simple chapter numerals at the top of each page would be incredibly helpful so that when the text refers to another chapter (which it does continually--because of the way the material is organized) you could find that particular chapter instead of having to rifle through the pages. Then there is the seemingly arbitrary way in which some names and terms are included in the glossary and some are not. Why? Even more arbitrary--and irritating!--is the decision to give helpful pronunciation guides to some terms but not others. Why Minos, for instance, but not moirae; or Aurora (really) but not Anaxagoras (where does the accent go?). Also, a more useful map would help.

But ultimtely, this book is beautiful and richly written--I enjoyed it immensely; furthermore, it offers solid insights into the ways myths might have developed (though Ken Dowden's book is more convincing) and the ways we interpret them today. The authors make quite clear the existence of variants for many if not most myths--which reflects the true complexity of classical mythology. And finally, the visuals are gorgeous, both the 4-color plates and the black & white photos.

I am disappointed that some reviewer brought down the rating of this magnificent book with a review that is unbelievably off-target. As a mythology insructor and writer of books utilizing myth, and a psychotherapist who relates myth to the process of human transformation, I find this the most in-depth and meaningful guide to Greek mythology available - out of over 100 I have read. The questions and commentaries are particularly in-depth but above the level of junior high school and high school students. For those who wish to understand not only mythology but also its deeper implications and relevance.