John Davis takes a simple step-by-step approach in describing the transformation of a plant from a typical troubled operation to a lean operation. Davis focuses on basics and "how-to", not buzz words and jargon. Davis provides a framework that can be used by any plant manager who is trying to implement lean manufacturing concepts in a 'traditional' manufacturing setting. This can be used in high volume opertaions but is especially useful in low volume or job shop manufacturing, where the Toyota model with its manic focus on tact time is not always applicable. Davis focuses on workplace organization (using a 6C model which is an adaptation of the familiar 5S concept) as the basis of any lean transformation. This perspective alone is worth the price of the book because many lean efforts fail due to lack of fundamental workplace organization. If you are a plant manager or GM tasked with turning around a low performing operation, or you simply want a primer on Lean, this is the one to buy.

Having worked as a facilitator, manager, and consultant transitioning fortune 500 manufacturing companies from batch to lean manufacturing operations since 1991, my hat is off to Mr. John Davis on his superb book "Fast Track to Waste Free Manufacturing." In my travels and teachings I have been exposed to hundreds of teachers, managers, and authors who profess to be experts in the tools, techniques, and principles of the Toyota Production System and lean organizational skills. However, few if any, have the true experience of being in a position responsible for the success of failure of its implementation. Having had the privilege of working with Mr. Davis in the early 90's as he developed his expertise in waste free manufacturing, I can attest that in this book, Mr. Davis does what he always did best. "He walks the talk." In this book, he takes you on a journey of successful implementation of waste free manufacturing and profitability. This is a must read for managers and associates who understand and belief in the tools, principles, and techniques of a waste free manufacturing organiztion and want to learn how to do it. In this book, Mr. Davis demonstrates the importance of focus, commitment, communications, and leadership in transforming a batch organization to a waste free, profitable organization. "For when a true leader has successfully completed his task....They will say we did it ourselves.

I've been researching and reviewing dozens of books on Suzaki, Womack and Jones, Liker, Hamel and Prahalad, Treacy and Wiersema, Womack, Jones and Roos, Schonberger, Imai,Shingo,Monden, et. al. This book is the first one I've found that provides both rationale for change and, most importantly, step by guidance on "how to" implement the necessary changes. Written in a style that is at times reminiscent of "The Goal", Mr. Davis offers suggestions, recommendations,and guidelines in an easily readable 264 pages that contain no unnecessary jargon, disconcerting statistics, nor is it part of a doctoral thesis meant to impress the academic community. One gets the feeling from reading this book that Mr. Davis has actually "been there"; that he has worked in a career in manufacturing and is truly speaking from experience. Take my word for it; if you want to read one book or recommend one book to your subordinates on the subject, this is the one! I am pleased to write this review and would be willing to communicate with anyone regarding my impressions

This science fiction, fantasy and horror movie guide provides an excellent survey of the genre to fans who are avid movie-watchers: chapters provide capsule reviews of thousands of films, provide a rating system and guide to obscure and rare as well as mainstream titles, and include distribution and mail order information. Outstanding.

I own MANY film reference books, including many inclusive to horror and cult films. This is by far the best one I own. It gives extremely detailed entertaining descriptions of each of its ,many films. It has many hard to find titles. I was extremely impressed with this book and recommend it to everybody.

This book is a Genre fans dream! I happen to be one of those people who like Horror, Sci-fi, and Fantasy movies. I own several books on each subject. When I found this book in a used book store, I never imagined that I would find something that so perfectly matched my taste in movies. There are 5,614 reviews with intelligent descriptions behind each one. I take my copy to the video store with me! That way I know I'm not renting a total turkey. Some of the major pluses included in the book are: TV movie reviews, 1,709 cross references to secondary titles, direct-to-video reviews, and the fact that an estimated 30% of the titles listed in the book cannot be found in most major movie guides. The last fact is entirely true! I have also noticed that there are little if any errors in the reviews. Other books I have read , have many noticeable mistakes that tend to irk genre fans like myself. Try it out for yourself, this book has never done me wrong!

This book, is the best result of the masterminds of the state of art, and I Suggest as a read for everyone that work with this technology.

I do not read Japanese but the only available edition of this book when I needed it was the Japanese edition. I still found the book to give me all the information I needed to do what I needed to do, write an audio recording app without knowing anything about Multi-Media beforehand. I also liked that it used mostly lower level coding so that it would not be so at risk from Microsofts whims.

I can honestly say that I have never been disappointed by any Robert Simon book and this is no exception. Rather than read this book from cover to cover I use it as a reference. It is a fairly complete guide to multimedia and ODBC API calls and it is presented in a way that anyone can understand. Good job Mr. Simon!!

Ullmann encyclopedia of IC is an excellent chemical guide for any person interested on chemical processes including pharmaceutical and food industries. The version we own is from year 1954 and is in german. Current edition is too expensive for any individual...I wonder how many libraries own a new edition. I am open to any further discussion about this collection...I am thinking on donate it...

I own the 2nd edition (from 1933) of this work, and I still use it almost weekly. I would love to buy the latest version, but cannot afford it.

I really enjoyed this book. First, I have to mention the design because it contributes to the reading experience. The cover, the sepia drawings and photos and the ruffle edge pages all are remind the reader of an old voyage log. The story is great. The adventure, the discomoforts(the Alaska back country in July is not nice)the sights and sounds are amazing. It is a very exciting book. Despite the hardships the men are very upbeat and bathe the whole trip in prayer. I decided to read Call of the Wild afterwards.

This book is a quite an adventure story! Best of all it's true! As they make thier jorney through Alaska they did make it despite a lot of troble on the trip there! My favorite part is when they find a dinosaur bone and well you'll just have to read it and find out!

With a text that glows as brightly as the book's sumptuous photography, Growing Home is a triumphant celebration of "diversity." But Ms. Price's work is far from mere political correctness; every page is warmed by her deeply felt sense of community with her subjects. From the Russian-born botanist who declares that gardening "is my soul" to the Hmong mother preserving her Laotian heritage and feeding her extended family, these men and women represent "a vast, invisible network of people living full, well-integrated lives." Their serenity and common sense testify that "even in the midst of a culture nourished on fast foods and hurried entertainments, it is still possible to live in concord with the rhythms of the earth." Beautifully designed and produced, the book is a perfect gift for any garden enthusiast...I love it.

Growing Home is a real treasure of a book. Price has profiled a very diverse group of "transplanted" gardeners--mostly immigrants--who use gardening as a way of maintaining connections between their ethnic and cultural roots and their present-day lives in Minnesota. The profiles effectively turn the subjects' gardens into windows on their life stories, revealing the broader cultural meaning behind the simple act of tending a plot of land. Price skillfully balances the botanical, historical, and culinary backgrounds of the gardeners she profiles, and John Gregor's photographs are beautiful on their own. I think this book's stunning layouts and engaging stories make its appeal extend far beyond the world of Minnesota gardeners.

Sometimes, when reading a book, I skip the footnotes in order to save time. I wouldn't dare do that with this book! The footnotes are the best part because they show HOW the verses are understood by those with opposing beliefs. They show why, for example, you can have two or more different theological views each supported by the SAME bible verses! Very interesting reading. This book is a great quick reference and is also good for devotional reading. I assign this book when I teach new members classes in my church! This is a book that should never go out of print!

This is an excellent book to help you understand the basic theological differences between major doctrinal interpretations. Instead of giving you "unbiased" commentary on each verse which is almost always, by definition, slanted toward one side or another, the author simply gathers together the main texts each side uses to prove their position. This not only helps you decide for yourself if you agree with any of them or not, but it also trains you to recognize a good or bad argument when you hear one.

Since the different views must rely only upon the scriptures to support them in this book, you begin to see which arguments are the strongest biblically and which ones seem to be stretching the truth. All of the comparative doctrinal texts are placed in close proximity for easy comparison. You will learn a lot of theology (hopefully not just your own) by simply reading this book.

This is a great book! The author is apparently an extremely knowledgable indoor gardener and she shares this information in an easy to read enjoyable book. All aspects of indoor gardening are covered from decorating with plants, care and requirements, planting and placement. Included in the book is an encyclopedia of common houseplants with plant requirements and pictures to help you identify all those plants you never knew the names of!! If you have houseplants this book is a MUST.

This book is GREAT!!!! Growing up my mother always had silk plants about the house that were not attractive. Come to find out later in my life she had tried living houseplants but somehow killed them once they were in her home. If she had this book she would have not had that problem!

When I had a home of my own I vowed that I would not succumb to her tactics with plants. I love the look and ambiance of living plants and was determined to have many of my own. Over the years I have become a more avid gardener and have always loved indoor houseplants. Although I have become a better indoor gardener it seemed that I still had my mother's knack of being able to swiftly kill some plants until I came across the Black and Decker series book, "Houseplants & Indoor Gardening". This book gives you so much information for decorating your home with houseplants it is unbelievable. After reading this book I quickly was able to identify some quick targets of my plants demise. One was as simple as the selection of plants when buying them in the nursery. It is a great reference tool that I use almost daily. I really love the encyclopedia of Common Houseplants which breaks all the specifications and growing conditions needed for certain plants. Overall I have found this book to be invaluable. A must have if you want you indoor garden to flourish!!!!!!

Above is a quote directly from the novel. The book follows Arthur Dent, an Englishman, or former Englishman I should say as the Earth has just been destroyed to create a galactic bypass, and his Betlegeuseian friend Ford Prefect as they traverse the galaxy with their supplies: a towel(the most widely useful object ever to be invented) and of course the fabulous Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, a book in the form of a computer because if it were in regular page form, the carrier would have to lug around seven inconveniently sized buildings full of paper. The pair meet wierd aliens, robots, and other creatures. Don't be confused at first with the names: Zaphod Beeblebrox, for example, is a main character who's name you'll easily catch on to. This book is just flat out hilarious. It's Brazil (the 1984 spoof, not the country) meets Star Wars. Douglas Adams is more or less the master of confusing but hilarious plot as well as dialouge. Now, I'm not just writing this review because I love all sci-fi books. In fact, I read very few, about 20%, sci-fi books, although I still like the genre. So you can see I'm not a Die Hard sci-fi comedy fan. This book is extremely funny. Adults as well as children (teenagers really) will find the material and dialouge side splitting.

I found this book to be very entertaining. Douglas Adams did a brilliant job carrying the reader along with this absurd sci-fi novel. In fact, at times the book gets so absurd that it's hard to follow. But I still recommend it as a great read.

Basically the book is about two friends that live on earth. Arthur Dent and Ford Perfect. Ford Perfect(who is actually an alien) reveals to Arthur that the world is about to end.Not long after their conversation, a Vogon spaceship appears and announces that earth will be destroyed shortly because it is in the way of a new intergalactic highway bypass that is being built through our galaxy. Ford and Arthur manage to board the ship before the earth is demolished, and they are quickly discovered.

The Vogon ship ejects them into space and they get picked up by another ship called the "Heart of Gold" which houses the Infinite Improbability Drive-makes the improbable happen. They travel to the planet Magrathea to figure out what to do about their non-existent planet earth. Then discover that earth was really a giant organic computer that was working on finding the meaning of life. But 5 minutes before the program was done the planet was desroyed. Ah, the irony!

This book was all over the place, in a way that reminded me of Slaughterhouse five. The characters would go off on weird tangents that didn't really have much to do with the plot of the story. But I enjoyed its off the wall style and bazaar storyline. Its definitely unlike any other book I've read, and I admire its originality.

Setting the ultimate questions of life, physics, and digital watches against a backdrop of science fiction, Douglas Adams successfully creates an amusing and thought-provoking story that is considered a must-read by millions. Arthur Dent, the fortunate Earthling who has been miraculously rescued from the destruction of Earth with the help from some friendly Dentrassi cooks, acts as the readers alter ego due to his complete lack of knowledge concerning the universe. Arthur asks the same questions that we would ask, should we be in his position. The majority of the answers about the universe obviously come from Ford Prefect's copy of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Within this manuel, Douglas Adam's provides the reader with a brilliantly shaped world which lives within his imagination. The most clever aspect, however, is the fact that Adams has a rational explanation for each of the entries in the guide. For instance, he explains for a page and a half why putting a Babel fish in one's ear allows the brain to understand every language in the universe. In addition to his wonderful imagination, Douglas Adams must also be praised for his humorous treatment of the major questions of life. When asked the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything, Deep Thought(the second greatest computer in the Universe of Time and Space), comes up with the very simple and unexpected answer of "forty-two". Adams plays off of the reader's inquisitive nature by building up the suspense and finally showing them that in order to know answers, you must understand the questions. This is an amazing journey through philosophical experimentation that the reader will never forget.

Considering the reputation of the primary author, I found the book to be ponderous to read and seemingly focused more on what the authors wanted to discuss than what might be really useful to students and those practicing M&A. The authors should have sought a more appropriate balance between theory and practice. This tome is weighted in favor of theory. It seems to spend more time addressing societal issues and issues of government policy than addressing the mechanics of how to plan for and implement transactions. In fact, only the last few pages of the book deal superficially with an approach to doing M&A.

The book also assumes substantial knowledge of accounting, finance and economics on the part of the reader. The dearth of examples also hinders the readers ability to readily understand how to apply complex concepts explained in torturous paragraphs of prose. It would have been helpful to use more illustrations to communicate concepts that are difficult for those of us that don't have Phds to understand.

Thankfully, there are other books that are far more helpful in explaining both theory and application of M&A. I have found Mckinsey's book on Measuring and Managing Valuation to be a much better guide to understanding how to apply complex valuation techniques. Integration methodology is well explained in Marks and Clemente's Winning at Mergers. For an excellent detailed overview of M&A, see Depamphlis Mergers Acquisitions and Other Restructuring or Weston's other, more recent book on M&A.

The book is really only useful for those interested in a literature survey, discussion of public policy, and somewhat tedious discussion of theoretical concepts.

On balance, this book provides a good overview of the subject and of recent academic studies. However, it is often theoretical and "ivory-towerish." There is relatively little that really instructs the reader about transactions are actually done. A great deal of time is devoted to discussing why they occur, but little practical insight is provided as to the challenges and issues that must be resolved. This book may be suitable for someone who is curious and interested in reading about M&A but provides little guidance for those interested in learning how to undertake transactions.