This book just tell you that there are some nasty people around but provide very little insight on how those people should be dealt with.

Do you like to try hard when you go to work? Do you want every project be better than the last? Do you feel good about yourself if you can make things easier or smoother for someone else? All without really wanting anything in return but maybe a smile and a wave?
Is someone lying to, or about you, undermining you, or taking credit for your efforts, all to improve their perceived lot in the company? Is this person taking away your desire to do your best or go the extra mile?
If you can answer yes to _any_ of these questions you owe it to yourself to read this book. It doesn't offer much in the way to get around the situation, but knowing what your up against can help you pick a course before you become roadkill.

Ever since my first job at a small startup company I've been looking for a book like this. At my first job there was a Cain. While he was not directly responsible for this company going out of business, he certainly contributed to its demise. All the other books that I've read since then stressed various things: better communication techniques; handling difficult personalities, promoting one self, using humor to get a point across, and the like. The problem with these books is they all assume that the problem person is well intentioned -- and this is the major flaw in these other books. This book is the first self help book I've ever come across that was willing to admit that unscrupulous people exist.

Lange and Domke's book addresses the problem of how to recognize a Cain. This characterization is important to us Able's, but the downside is that this book can be used as a guide for Cain's-in-training (alas, "it is a poor sword that does not cut both ways"). Sadly, the usefulness of this book to Able's is directly proportional to how useful it is to Cain's-in-training at becoming better Cain's.

The only thing I don't like is that in a lot of the examples, the Able's are forced to leave the company by the Cain's. Because of these examples, I can see the necessity of recommending that Able's 1) "don't corner a Cain" 2) avoid interacting with a Cain (the authors don't say this specifically, but it comes across in the examples and the remedies). I would have preferred more direct methods for dealing with a Cain instead of hoping that all managers read this book and additionally hoping that it is not to the manager's benefit to keep a Cain around. The authors take the high road in dealing with Cain's. I suppose direct methods would involve becoming Cain-like myself and I'd rather eat glass shards than become a Cain. Maybe somebody can come out with a book describing how Able's can triumph over Cain's instead of merely existing in their shadows.

Regardless, this is an excellent book. And when it comes out in paperback, I plan on buying a half dozen copies and giving them to every manager I know.